Chapter 77: Psychology Texts

This is another interlude chapter, but I like it. It's pretty chill, and it nicely sets things up for the next update.

On with the chapter!

"Jackson, take off the cowboy hat."

"No. I want to blend in with the locals."

"We're in Michigan, not Texas."

"But I thought the American population was made up of cowboys!" Jackson joked, flinging off his hat.

Charlie rolled his eyes good naturedly. "That's an outdated joke and you know it."

"It's still a bit funny, you know."

"Where did you even get this, anyway?" Charlie eyed the red felt monstrosity that was laying innocently on the wooden table. "I didn't think they made them this far up north."

"Oh, they don't," Jackson told him, properly settling into his chair next to his friend. "That was actually made in Texas. I bought it in a costume shop."

Charlie blinked. "…there was a costume shop nearby?"

"It was tiny, you must have missed it." It wouldn't have been hard either, what with the sun's glare. The weather was humid, to say the least, but it was still rather nice out, which was why the boys were sitting at a table outside instead of in.

"And this is why we let Jackson hold the map, not you," Damian joked as he walked towards them. He was holding a tray with three cups of iced coffee from the local shop. All three boys were dressed more leisurely, in shorts and t-shirts and with no weapons in sight. Michigan wasn't New York, after all; one couldn't just go around wearing all black and not expect to escape notice.

"I'm surprised you're joking about this," Charlie remarked as he passed a drink to Jackson before taking his own. "Normally you're the one who rushes into a mission instead of hanging back to enjoy the scenery."

"Jackson's from Michigan, isn't he?" Damian pointed out as he quickly waved to a pretty girl. Said pretty girl giggled and waved back. Turning to his friends, he continued, "I figured we'd pay a visit to his old hometown while we're here. And besides, you have a point, Charlie; we're across the pond, we might as well take in the view." He leaned back in his beach chair and sipped at his coffee.

"I'm surprised you remembered," Jackson said, his dark cheeks flushing a bit.

"And while I'm touched you actually remembered my advice, I can't help but feel as if we have different ideas on what 'taking in the view' means." Charlie raised an eyebrow at the girl Damian waved at earlier.

"Besides, it's not as if I really want to go back to my hometown," Jackson admitted sheepishly.

"Why? Bad memories?" Damian's brow furrowed in concern.

"Not exactly." He averted his gaze. "I mean, they're not bad, but they're not exactly good, either… Honestly, I'd rather just skip it." He hurriedly sucked in his iced coffee.

Charlie and Damian exchanged a look. With one eyebrow raised, Damian said, "In that case, we can still look at some of the more haunted attractions in Michigan. Who knows what sort of nasty creatures we'll find."

Charlie raised an eyebrow. "While this state does boast a lot of haunted places, I don't think it has more than any of the other forty-nine. I mean, have you seen how huge this country is on a world map? At this rate it'll take all summer to get to Bellwood."

"Does it really matter how long it takes?" Damian drawled. "We're wicked smart, we'll pass all our classes even if we take a few weeks off. We've got the principal of our school eating out of our hands."

"You mean, the Abraham Group has him eating out of our hands," Charlie said flatly.

"Either way, we can miss classes for a while." Damian took out a pair of dark aviator sunglasses from his shirt pocket and put them on. "We're on paid vacation, and can spend as much as we want. I say we enjoy it while we can."

"And it's not like anyone's expecting us," Jackson piped up, suddenly over his funk. "I mean, our superiors did say that they needed time to establish bases in America, and that the problems in Bellwood could wait."

"Are you sure?" Charlie asked skeptically. "With all the things I've been reading up on that town, investigating it should be top priority. Something you're normally on about," he said pointedly to Damian.

Said boy lowered his glasses just enough to show amused blue eyes. "Our superiors also said that another group was handling it over there. They can keep handling it while we enjoy our all-expenses paid vacation. And then, once we get over there, we'll show those Yanks the proper way to kill vampires."

"Which brings me back to my earlier point; why are we looking for ghosts instead of vampires?" Charlie snapped.

"Don't you know, Liu?" Damian pushed his glasses back up and put his heels on the table surface. "Monsters attract other monsters. You're always ragging me about being more patient, and now I'm going to practice it. Honestly, you'd think you'd be happier for me."

Charlie gave him a withering glare, and Jackson blinked. "Wow. You really are incorrigible," remarked the African-American.

"I still don't know what that means."

Charlie let out a long-suffering groan.

Meanwhile, in the Valentine Manor

It was rare for Kevin to be in Carter's home by himself. Normally he was with the others as they all lounged around in living room, but most of the others were off on other activities. Gwen was doing a school volunteer thing- something about getting into an honor society- Sam was recuperating at home with her little brother for company, and Evan was with Newt in D.C. With nothing else to do, Kevin agreed to Carter's invitation to hang out for a bit in between alien missions.

Now, Kevin didn't really know what teenagers did when they hung out- movies and television were exaggerated for a reason. But he figured most kids just sat around, watching TV and not getting into some sort of wacky hijinks. Which was exactly what Carter, Kevin, and Ben were doing: Carter was watching something on the TV, leaning back comfortably on the living room couch; Kevin was sprawled across the loveseat, reading his GRRM book; and Ben was curled up asleep on the couch, his head in Carter's lap with his arms wrapped around her waist.

Kevin would have commented on Carter and Ben and their apparent repaired relationship, but he was so close to the end of his enormous book. His eyes flickered over the pages, and when he finished with one passage, he paled considerably. He quickly skimmed to the end of the text, and quickly flipped back between the few pages that meant the end of the novel and the back cover. "That can't be it," Kevin muttered under his breath. "That can't be the end of the story."

"It isn't," Carter piped up, sliding over the second part of the series (which was a book that was slightly bigger than the first novel). Kevin exchanged one book for the other and eyed it. And then he scowled at Carter's shit-eating grin.

"I hate you."

"No you don't," she sang quietly as she turned down the volume of her mixed martial arts program, stretching out her arm and shifting in place. How she was moving about without disturbing her boyfriend was beyond Kevin. The brunet even snuggled his face further into her stomach just to drive the point home.

Said Osmosian just glared at the Goth harder. "Ned Stark was the best thing to come out of this series, and he dies at the end of the first book. How can you expect me to keep reading?"

"Kevin, you've only read the beginning," Carter said flatly. "You're still a sweet summer child compared to me and Evan and Sam."

"'Sweet summer child'?" Kevin slowly parroted back, incredulity etched into his voice. And then he closed his eyes and lightly shook his head, as if clearing away the thought. "That doesn't matter. Ned Stark was the one genuinely good guy in the rotten core of King's Landing, and Martin killed him off."

"That was to fully drive home the point that the world of Westeros isn't some sort of fairy tale setting, it's a genuinely horrible, realistic place where anyone can die," Carter stated, her voice as apathetic as her expression. "Fairy tale-like figures such as Ned Stark won't last long."

Kevin groaned, throwing his head back against the armrest. "I hate reality sometimes."

"Tell me about it," Carter moaned. "And the series is so popular because of how realistic it is."

He took a look at the second book's cover and mumbled petulantly, "And I still wanna know what happens to Arya and the other Stark kids…"

"You have to keep reading to do that."

He laid his head back and stared at the ceiling, book dangling over his side. "…Fuck, Evan was right. This series did fuck me over."

"Join the club." Carter then perked up slightly. "But I hear their going to make a TV series about this."

Kevin started, eyeing her to see if she was kidding. "No."

"Yes."

"How are they going to get child actors? The content is seriously violent."

Carter shrugged. "I have no idea. And it's going to go on a mature TV station, considering all the murder and sex and unfortunate implications."

"This is either going to be the greatest thing ever or the worst," Kevin remarked as he thumbed through the pages of the second part of the series.

"You can say that again." Carter put her elbow on the couch's armrest to cup her cheek, the other hand idly running its fingers through Ben's hair. The boy was still asleep, lightly snoring and still very much in the realm of dreams. It was a wonder how he didn't wake up from the conversation happening literally above them.

Temporarily putting his curiosity for a book series on hold, Kevin raised an eyebrow and asked, "So, can I assume you and Ben are…?"

"We're good," Carter said, never taking her eyes off the TV screen. Kevin didn't imagine that two guys beating each other to a bloody pulp actually interested her; there simply wasn't much else to do on a gray, cloudy day without all their friends there.

"Really? I mean, Ben seemed pretty upset…"

"So was I. I was just better at hiding it."

"…Yeah, Benji doesn't have a very good poker face," Kevin conceded, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. "But, I mean, you two seemed pretty fractured for a while there, and now you're…okay?"

"Kevin." Carter dropped the hand holding her face and finally turned her gaze away from the television to him. She raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "Do you really want to know how my love life is? Especially with Ben?"

He screwed up his face in thought. "Kind of…?" he said, sounding as if he wasn't sure himself. "I'm not gonna lie, I'm a little curious, but not, like…"

"Too curious?" Carter said, sounding vaguely amused. She rolled her eyes affectionately. "I suppose I can indulge the small amount of curiosity you have. To make a long story short, Ben and I had a talk, we hashed things out, and now we're stronger than ever, as the saying goes. The end." She looked at him expectantly. "Does that satisfy?"

"…Not really," Kevin admitted. "Like I said, Ben was upset about this. Like, really upset."

She furrowed her brow. "How so?"

"Explosive's a good word to use."

She widened her eyes in alarm. "Explosive?"

"His temper, I mean," he quickly added. "I think a lot of things are bothering him, but your relationship problems brought them to a boiling point."

Carter bit her lip and looked away guiltily. "I shouldn't have said anything then. I wanted to give him space afterwards so he could work things out, but maybe I shouldn't have…"

"Hey, hey," Kevin soothed, "it was going to come out eventually. Keeping it bottled in wouldn't have helped anyone. Besides, you already waited for, what, three weeks?"

"I brought it up because I thought Ben was doing better," Carter admitted. "He seemed okay with getting shot- and I'm not blaming you, Kev," she added in alarm when she saw the contemptuous look on his face.

"I know. That doesn't make me feel better," he spat out.

"What's done is done," she went on gently. "Besides, do you really think Ben would be better off with you taking the bullet instead of him?"

"…No," Kevin finally said, the shame on his face receding slightly. "I just wish we weren't in a situation where that had to happen."

Carter looked down at her lap, where Ben was still sleeping. "In the Pride's line of work, this happens pretty often. Someone takes the bullet for someone else, or stays behind to detonate the bomb… it's all just normal for us to sacrifice ourselves so the other can live on. And we know it's not healthy, but let's face it, we're dependent on each other. Our friendship was never meant to be healthy." She looked Kevin right in the eye. "Whatever your past with Ben means nothing now. It's a good friendship, and it should stay that way. So neither of you sacrifice yourself for the other, alright?"

Kevin swallowed, feeling the dryness in his throat. In a small, hoarse voice, he said, "I don't think I can promise that."

Her eyes softened, and she gave a sad smile. "Yeah, I figured that'd be too good to be true."

Eager to get away from the topic, he cleared his throat and asked, "But there's another thing about Ben I want to talk about."

Raising an eyebrow, she said, "Okay then, go on."

"On the ride to Coda-Coda, the guys and I were trying to get Ben to talk about whatever was bothering him."

"You really shouldn't force someone to talk, you know."

"Well, we know that now," Kevin said tersely. "And let's face it, if something's bothering Ben he wouldn't say anything."

"...He does have an unusually large hero complex." Carter went back to running her fingers through his hair. "I suppose forcing him of all people to talk wasn't such a bad idea."

"Yeah, well, as it turns out, Ben's got a bit of a temper."

"Hence why you said 'explosive' earlier."

"He tore the armrests of his seat off."

She blinked. "Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"Well, fuck."

"Not to mention sometimes I see him suddenly clutching at his chest and wincing," Kevin said analytically, steepling his fingers together in a way reminiscent to Sherlock Holmes.

"And he's holding the spot where the bullet entered his chest," Carter said, eyes narrowed in thought. "Phantom pains, most likely."

"Yeah, Sam said as much." He looked at her. "Is that a sign of PTSD?"

"So you think he has it too?"

"Well, yeah. After that, how could be not?"

"I'm honestly surprised he hasn't shown symptoms of PTSD before this," Carter revealed. "Think about it: he's had aliens trying to rip his arm off since he was ten. And if they didn't want the Omnitrix, they just wanted to kill him. Maybe he's just good at compartmentalizing…?"

"What's that?" Kevin asked curiously.

She furrowed her brow. "Well, I'm not a psychologist, so it's hard to explain, and what I'm about to tell you is the textbook definition, but it's basically this unconscious psychological defense mechanism that people use to avoid mental discomfort and anxiety caused by having conflicting values or emotions or beliefs within themselves."

"And how does that help Ben?"

"Well, compartmentalization is all about separating thought from feeling and using rationality. You isolate the problem in your head, acknowledge it and separate the thoughts and feelings associated with it so it can't keep bothering you, and you just rationalize it away."

"That does not sound healthy," Kevin stated.

Carter winced. "Maybe not, but it does help people, and it's a lot more common than you think. Like, say you meet someone with a different, arguably better viewpoint than you, and it completely contradicts your view of the world, but instead of changing you just compartmentalize it away and act indifferent towards it."

"That doesn't make me feel better about any of this."

"Well, some people may actually need to compartmentalize," she went on to say. "Some people can't get over something and it's hurting them, so learning how to do this may help them in the long run."

"And you think Ben's been doing that all this time?" Kevin took a quick concerned look at the sleeping boy.

"I can't really think of any other explanation," Carter admitted. "Besides, I'm not a doctor or a psychologist. Everything I know comes from medical journals and the Internet."

"But Isaac is a psychologist, right?" Kevin asked. "Or he can act as one?"

"He's been the Pride's psychologist for years," Carter answered. She furrowed her brow. "Knowing him he's been teaching us to compartmentalize for years now. Though the results are mixed," she added as an afterthought.

"Maybe we can talk to him about this." Kevin quickly stood up. Carter gently picked Ben's head up, removed his arms from her waist, and moved her body away, slowly lowering his head onto the couch. Straightening, she gave Kevin a solemn look.

"I doubt he's in the house, but the first place we can check is his study. Even if he's not in he might have information for us."

"Lead the way then." Kevin gestured to the door. Without another word Carter turned on her heel and walked out of the room with the older boy following right behind her. Two sets of heavy footfalls quickly faded away.

Ben opened his eyes and sat up, rubbing his head. He took a quick glance at the hallway his friends had gone down before turning back around and shutting off the television. Unconsciously his hand went for his heart, feeling the dull throb that was slowly becoming sharper.

He bit his lip, and he shuddered violently. And then he threw himself back onto the couch and curled up into a ball, his breathing growing more and more ragged.

"I can handle this," he said quietly, the empty room swallowing his words. "I'll be fine, I always am, I will be fine-!"

On a distant planet, in a star system near you

Dr. Chase pulled his mask over his head and tied it securely. It was a simple thing, slate gray with two eyeholes to see through. Coupled with his gray clothing and armor, and he looked dull and drab, not something one would bother to remember after a long day hard at work.

In this seedy place, anonymity may be his best friend.

The bar he was currently walking towards was one of those notorious bars where a catch of morally questionable characters often came in for a drink. There wasn't a better place for Chase to find the man he needed. Well, there probably were better places, but this planet was the closest to Earth, and honestly he needed to get back there soon. The Abraham group would miss him if he was gone for too long.

Walking into the dimly lit bar was a piece of cake- his gray attire did wonders to trick the naked eye. From there, Chase ordered a drink and sat at a table. From there he waited and pondered, as he so often did.

It had been a while since Dr. Chase had met up with Isaac and Cordelia and the other Immortals- was it World War II when he saw them last, or perhaps a few years after? It had certainly been before the 1950s, he was sure of that. One of the worst things about living forever was how everything seemed to blend together- you noted the different eras and breezed through them, barely taking note of anything worthwhile. It was all so exhausting, really.

But the thing about immortality meant that it was that much harder to change habits, and that was something Chase could use. He knew Cordelia would train the children to be the most efficient killers possible; it was simply in Slayer nature. They would have to be dealt with, naturally. Perhaps he could study them for a bit; vessels had similar personality traits as all their predecessors, but that didn't mean genetic destiny could not be countered by environment and time period. Honestly, it would have made a good project to pass the time with.

Chase quickly drove his thoughts away before he succumbed to his longing. There were three other children to deal with besides the Pride: the Osmosian he quickly disregarded. It wasn't so much that Chase didn't think of him as a threat- indeed, he could be a wildcard in the long run- it was simply that the boy willingly sacrificed his own powers to keep his sanity. Osmosians could absorb energy, but at the cost of their minds, so to protect his loved ones, the Levin boy simply refused to absorb any form of energy. It was admirable, the way he must constantly feel the need to satiate his hunger and time and time again refusing to do so because he didn't want to hurt innocent people anymore. Nevertheless, he was weaker this way, so his honorable decision meant he would be disposed of easily.

The Anodite was another he felt he could discard of fairly quickly. The girl was obviously one of the biggest threats, but she used her powers so narrowly. Mana was in everything, so wouldn't that naturally mean she could control anything she put her mind to? Couldn't she do more then send energy blasts at her enemies? She knew magic, the same principles applied. The girl clearly had the capabilities, she merely didn't have the imagination to work up to her potential. She was too logical minded for such a free-spirited power. With a little clever thinking she could be dealt with quickly enough.

As for Ben 10, well, he was obviously the wildest card of the lot. Aliens that could turn him slimy, creepy, fast, and strong, any shape and size. So many aliens in the universe, too many contingency plans. And the boy was relatively good at putting his brain to good use for every fight; he'd have to be, considering the versatility of his alien selection. He'd be unstoppable if he weren't so proudly human. So much compassion and kindness, admirable for a teenage boy. Alas, he was human, and therefore fallible. His Omnitrix was flawed, and while clever, the boy couldn't think of everything. He would be the hardest to dispose of, but it would be well worth it in the end.

And with that analysis, Chase found his guy. A gray-skinned alien covered in black and red armor, a large axe strapped to his back. He slowly made his way across the bar, joking and taunting with other regulars before making his way to the bartender. The doctor abandoned his drink and made to follow him.

Sunder was a finder of rare and precious objects, and what was rarer and more precious than the legendary Omnitrix? It wasn't as if Chase needed it; while he could think of numerous projects he could do with the device, it wasn't as if he had any particular desire to have it. It would certainly make it easier for him to destroy Isaac and his group, but it wasn't like he needed it to do so. Chase was smart enough to consider nearly all the possibilities- nearly, because even he knew he must have missed a few.

Still, the farther away the Omnitrix was from Ben 10, the better it would ultimately be. Which was why Dr. Chase ordered a large tankard for Sunder, sat down next to the bounty hunter, and gave his best disarming smile.

"Hello Sunder," he said politely. "How do you feel about Earth?"

Compartmentalizing can be a good or bad thing, depending on the reason. It's neither good or bad by itself, it just is. It's like ambition that way, it depends on the person. I think the reason why Kevin didn't like the idea so much was because of how Carter worded it. She knows it can be helpful, but she doesn't know enough about it to convey a truly convincing argument. Still, compartmentalizing could explain why Ben takes the whole 'aliens trying to kill me' thing so well.

As for Dr. Chase, his analysis of Ben and Gwen and Kevin is fairly superficial. While he has examined them and their powers, he doesn't know everything about them. Gwen doesn't use her powers fully because she doesn't want to lose her humanity, and Ben hides his problems. As for Kevin, well, he does have him pegged pretty well, honestly. (Though Gwen could use more magic in the series, seriously. She really shouldn't depend so much on her mana.)

So, thoughts anyone?