Episode 4: So Not A Tennyson!
Summary: After a battle against a group of armed thugs, Ben suddenly gets amnesia and becomes the perfect kid the Tennyson will ever know. Gwen loves the new and thoughtless Ben because he loves to study and doesn't tease her anymore. Max also likes the new Ben because he can do practically anything in camp. Will the family help bring the boy's memory back or will they keep the new and improved Ben Tennyson?
Chapter 1: Forget For Good!
(Bellwood city)
It was a normal day here in Bellwood city… the normalest town in the US of A. Yup, everything was just as it should be. People running through the streets, kids playing in the playground, workers going by their daily routines to make ends meet… (sigh) And today was no different either. For today a group of thugs were planning to make away with some stolen loot from a jewelry store. After they had gotten what they came for they quickly bailed out and drove right into the main part of the city which then resulted in a high speed chase.
As the driver got a good distance away from the cops his partner quickly opened up the sack and had a sample taste of the loot they stole. "Ahehehe… way too easy" he began, "We probably did it in record time too. That must be the fastest heist we ever pulled off ahehehehehehe. I wonder how much we're gonna sell for this little beauty over here" he took a large piece of ember and dangled right in front of his face trying to think of a price to put on this little darling.
But just before his partner could reply, he suddenly noted a green flash coming in front of them. "A… a… a… a…" he stuttered out which made his partner confused, "A? A what?"
"A… a… a… alien!!" he quickly pointed out on the window where XLR8 was keeping up them with minimal difficulties. "Sorry to disturb you guys" Ben mocked, "But I'm afraid you broke the speed limit of the city. I'm gonna have to ask you to come with me quietly" the guy on the front seat quickly pulled out a weapon out of fear and began blasting the boy away. "I guess we're gonna have to do this the hard way"
As Ben lowered speed down a little bit, he quickly used his sharp claws to tear the tire's rubber surface and let the air come out with a good wheezing sound. "That should stop you guys on your track" he remarked. But unfortunately for him, the thieves didn't feel like stopping right now. Once the two goons got out of the car they quickly made a break for it towards the streets trying to lose their pursuers using the alleys and hide points. But that was probably a stupid move on their end.
Ben was the master of the back alleys; he probably lived half of his life in those dark corners. He knew every twists and turns like the back of his hand and it was probably just a matter of minutes before he finds them. He wanted to take his time finding them, so instead of rushing in like he usually does with XLR8 he decided to just skate around, looking at every dumpster even though he knew that they would not be there.
"Come on guys… do you really have to make this any harder?" he groaned playfully as he looked through the trashcans, "I have a lot of homework to do so I would just appreciate it if you just come out quietly" his offer was simply returned with utter silence. "Ok… but if I find you, you're gonna regret it" he said in a singing tune.
Just as he searched through then next few trash cans in the area, he suddenly discovered that the place was literally teaming with cats. "Uh… cats… I'm more of a dog person, thank you" but then suddenly, he heard a sudden ruckus from behind. Apparently one of the goons was planning to sneak up on him using a club but unfortunately for him, it was a failure. "Well hi ya buddy! Why don't ya hang around for a minute?" with a blink of an eye, Ben immediately gave the man with the loot the most painful weggie of his life and hung him from a flag pole near one of the buildings. "One down, one to go"
And immediately Ben's prayers were answered. Just when he turned his eyes to the next corner, he noted the driver escaping. "Hold on for a moment. I'll add a friend with you soon!" the boy immediately gave chase, going through the intersection and crisscrossing through the alleys and taking a shortcut which eventually led to the front of the goon. By the time Ben got there, the thief smacked right onto his chest so hard that it sent him to the ground. "Sorry pal, but it looks like your joy ride is over, now come over and we can…" but in a sight of fear, the goon quickly grabbed the nearest hardest thing he could find and slammed Ben right on the head, sending him to dreamville faster than a guy breathing sleeping gas.
"Oh… man… I'm gonna feel that one… in… the… morning…" the boy groaned before finally falling on the floor. His visions began to go blurry and brain began to feel kind of numb. The last thing he saw, was the goon making a break for it and a small pendant falling on the floor until everything turned completely dark.
(Time skip 1 hour)
"Ben! Ben, are you alright?" came a voice through Ben's head. "Ben, say something!" the voice was so loud that it made the boy flutter his eyes as he tried to move his body. "It looks like he's coming through" Ben squinted as the light came to his eyes. He wished someone would close the window and allowed some shade into the place.
As he finally got used to the light, the only thing he could see were blurry images of two people sitting next to him. "Oh… my… head" he groaned out looking a little weary. As his visions finally focused he came to sight with Max and Gwen who was holding a pack of ice on her hands.
"You ok there sport?" Max asked worryingly, "You were out for a whole hour" he quickly reached for the black spot on Ben's head which the boy flinched the moment he touched it, "Oh… sorry about that. Guess it must still hurt"
"I told you to finish it quickly, but noooo…" Gwen added, "You just had to take your time and play with the guys. If you finished early we would've been home by now"
"Gwen" Max called, "Be nice to your cousin. (to Ben) Well it doesn't look like anything serious. A little ointment here and there and a good night's rest should clear your head in the morning. You can just tell your parents that you hit a tree on your way back from school" he let out a slight chuckle in the end. "Here have some water, it'll help clear up your mind" the boy didn't reply. He simply nodded and took the glass and drank its contents with six proper gluck sounds. "Feeling any better?"
"Y… yeah…" he replied finally, "But… can I ask you guys a question?" this only made Gwen and Max look at each other before nodding back to him, "Who are you?" even the gods themselves would laugh at that moment if they saw the expression on each of their faces. If only someone had a video camera at that moment, they would've caught the funniest scenes ever made in America's history. It was just absolutely priceless beyond bounds!
(Opening theme)
Right after Ben had asked them that freaky question, Max quickly got out his medical gears and began examining Ben's brain to see if there was any damage done to it. He checked through his ears and eyes trying as hard as he could to see if there was anything wrong. Ben wasn't exactly comfortable when Max approached him with those strange looking devices, but Gwen simply gestured him and said that it was ok. After another hour of examining the boy's brain, the old man finally came to a conclusion.
"Well the good thing is, the brain isn't damaged" he began, "I think the effects of that last hit on the head must've caused a post-traumatic amnesia on him. But it's nothing too serious"
"So you mean, he doesn't remember anything?" Gwen asked a little intrigued and yet at the same time worried about her cousin's memory. "As in literally anything?"
"He doesn't even remember his own name" Max answered after he took off his medical equipments, "But I wouldn't worry too much about it. His memory should eventually return in time. I'd give him about two days tops at least. Other than that, I can't do anything else"
"So how exactly are we going to explain this to Ben's parents?" Gwen asked again pointing out a good reason, "We can exactly tell them that Ben got amnesia" but Max simply waved it off, "Don't worry. I'll just tell them that Ben wants to spend the rest of the week with me at camp. I'm sure they wouldn't mind" he quickly picked up his cell phone and dialed Ben's house.
With Max busy explaining to Carl and Sandra about the situation, Gwen decided to turn her attention back at her cousin who still had that confused look on his face cowering under that green blanket that Max kindly gave to him. I guess she shouldn't be surprised. Having amnesia is like waking up one day in wonderland wondering where you should go and what you should do. If she was in his position, she'd probably have the same reaction. As she looked closer at him, she could see that there was a slight hint of fear coming onto his eyes and a slight shivering across his body.
"You ok?" she said in the nicest way possible. If Ben still had his memories with him, he'd probably be in shock when she said that in such an affectionate tone. "Yeah…" he nodded slightly. But Gwen could tell that he was far from ok. The kid was scared and he probably didn't even know the first thing on what a guy should do at a time like this. It was like you had all the skills of a ten year old, but without the memories of where you got them.
"Don't worry" she cuddled him, "I would be just as scarred as you if I knew I had amnesia. But don't worry. Grandpa Max said that it was only temporary and you should have your memories in a day or two"
"Grandpa Max?" he questioned to which the girl gladly explained, "He's the big Santa Clause over there" she gestured to his big belly and white hair, "Don't worry, he's harmless and you kinda look up to him a lot too"
"Ok… I think I can handle this" Ben replied now feeling a little reassured of himself. "Thanks… I appreciate it. By the way… wha… ha… haa… haaaa… HACHOO!" just before the boy could finish, he instantly sneezed right on Gwen's face making her gross out beyond all reasons, "EWW!! Gross!! Talk about your major snotness!" she stood up and quickly began wiping her face.
Ben knew right away that he had made an error in his moves, "I'm sorry!" he apologized in a very worried tone, "I didn't mean to! Here, let me wipe that off you" he quickly grabbed his towel and wiped the girl's face but this only angered her even more. "BEN!!" she yelled to which terrified the boy to his heart. "AH! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it, honest!" he cowered down on the ground terrified like a scarred pup being threatened by a wolf.
Gwen was even shocked herself. Usually Ben would stand up against her like a mountain unmoving, but now it looked like he had turned into a simple strain of grass bending before the mighty storm that was her. Was she really that terrifying? "Ok… I'm a girl and even I find that embarrassing" Gwen said to herself before pulling the boy up, "Boy… you really don't remember anything do ya?" Ben only shook his head in reply. "I guess we're gonna have to start somewhere" the girl remarked before turning back to Max as he hung up his cell phone.
"Well, I talked with Carl and Sandra and they've agreed to let Ben stay with me for the rest of the week" the old man stated, "I'll drive you back home and pick you up tomorrow. Probably by then we'll be able to sort this mess out"
"Well I guess there's really isn't much I can do to help" Gwen replied. "Who knows? Maybe the new Ben might just be an improvement"
(Abandoned subway station) (07:00 PM)
It was dark and quiet here at the abandoned subway station at the city slums. A perfect place for criminals and villains to plan and plot their next move like the sniveling snakes that they are. It was perfect because only a few police force actually comes through here. The place was riddled with mysteries and hidden passages that only rats and other miscreants knew. If an armed force should come and take over this joint, they would be immediately be having a fight of their lives.
There were more than enough gangs and warbosses in the area with enough weapons and gears to start world war three all on their own. Even though this place may looks like a ghost town, there were actually more than a thousand people living in each and every building complex, ready to be unleashed upon the city. The only reason why they haven't taken this city yet, is because all the gangs here don't exactly see each other eye to eye. They were still busy amongst themselves to look for the biggest, baddest boss in the entire city. But we'll get to that later.
Just as the street rats were out looking their next meal on the road, a van suddenly turned up from the corner and scarred all of them away back to their rat holes. Once the van came to a complete stop, three thugs wearing black masks came out from the vehicle with bags of loots on their backs. From the looks of their suit, a rough guess would say that they have been busy stealing from a small time bank in the city.
"Hey, hurry up and get those things out" the boss ordered to which his two goons complied. "We'll dump this van in the port later on tomorrow" after making sure that they weren't by some vigilante or cop, they quickly approach the entrance of the subway which had the sign 'Keep Out' plastered in front of it. After a few knocks, the metal on the other side quickly slid open its peep hole, "It's us, open up" the thug on the other side of the door nodded to their appearance and quickly shut the peep hole up. A few seconds later you can hear a number of locks being undone from his side. Whoever stayed in here must've really wanted to keep those pesky guys out with good reasons too.
After a few seconds later, the metal door opened revealing a small cozy area with several sofas on the sides and one fireplace at the center illuminating light for the whole room. As the goons entered the hideout they were immediately greeted by a strange metallic figure hiding just beyond the reach of the light. "Did you me my share of the loot?" the figure asked in a demanding way. From the tune of the voice, they could already tell that it was a woman.
"Yeah yeah, don't worry we got it" the boss of gang replied as he lowered his sack down up front. As he unzipped the hatch open, he revealed a large pile of cash and handed it to the shadowy figure. "It was only a small time job, nothing too serious. You should've seen the looks on those guys faces when we busted into their shop ahehehehe! It was priceless" but then that last remark became his downfall when the shadowed figure decided to shoot him with a laser beam which sent him flying towards the wall.
"If I wanted to hear how it went, I'll ask for it" she said annoyed. After holstering her weapon back, she quickly took out the loot in the bag and grunted, "Hmm… good enough I guess" she then threw the bag away and turned to her gang, "Alright you peons, time from stealing candy from babies is over. It's time we went on the big targets!"
"What? You want us to hit the metro bank or something boss?" one of the goons asked to which she shook her head in reply, "No… the target we're dealing with is gonna be a hundred times more valuable than a hundred metro banks! I'm talking about BIG money and I mean really big!"
"Well… don't keep us in suspense boss. What's the plan?" asked another goon.
"Not yet…" she answered him with a fist held, "To do this mission, we're gonna need some special equipments. But trust me on this one. Once we're finished with this heist, we won't to do squat no more. We'll be living the dream boys! And believe me……… this plan… will put our names in the record books for years to come" and it was in that moment that she finally revealed her true self on the light. It was none other than… Rojo, the ex-member of the Negative 10.
(The next morning) (Rust Bucket)
Today was a beautiful day in Bellwood city. The sky was blue, the sun was shining, the birds were chirping and not a single dot of cloud in the air. It was a peaceful morning to behold but one that would soon turn for the better. For today was history quiz day for Gwen and she has been preparing all week for this very moment…… but little did she know that this day… was just about to get even better for her.
"Bye sweetie!" came Lily's voice as she drove off in her convertible car. "Bye mom!" Gwen replied waving back. Once her mother's car vanished into the distance, the Rust Bucket soon appeared shortly after, like a timer. Gwen quickly checked her watch and noted the time. She wasn't surprised that it was a few minutes earlier since Ben was probably inside since yesterday.
As the young red head entered the RV of her grandfather's her heart immediately skipped several beats before it managed to pump again. "Ben!?" she gasped out loud as she saw the boy on the table, reading a book. Once the young hero noted her presence he quickly gave out a soft smile back, "Oh, hey Gwen" he replied in the most innocent manner possible.
"What are you… reading?" Gwen inquired looking a little shock.
"Yup! It's a math book grandpa gave me" Ben replied casually like nothing was wrong, "He says that since my memory isn't coming back in another day or two, he suggested that I tried putting in some new memories while I'm at it"
"Well sorry to burst your bubble, but studying isn't exactly your thing" Gwen chuckled back thinking that grandpa must've been trying to do the impossible.
"Yeah, grandpa told me about that too" he replied as he flipped through the pages, "So I thought it must just be interesting if I just put myself in a different position. You know? Try out a new me. A fresh start"
"Well the only time when I ever saw you studying was probably back in kindergarten. When you were still learning your ABCs ahahahahahaha" but later did Gwen know that her mocking joke was only returned with a plain empty stare from Ben. Usually by now the boy would probably think of a good come back to say to her, but it was probably even more humiliating for her just to receive a plain stare. "Ohh… you're no fun at all"
"O……k… Hey, is that a new hair clip?" he pointed to the clip that was meant to hold the bang on Gwen's hair. It was a minor detail but he still noticed it.
"Oh you mean this?" Gwen questioned.
"Yesterday you were wearing a purple one, now you're wearing blue" he commented, "It kinda matches your clothes" if that was a compliment, then that would probably be the first and last Gwen would ever hear from her.
"Well… thanks…" the girl replied a little embarrassed with the whole new Ben thing. Not wanting to let this get to her focus, she quickly joined him on the table and pulled out her history text book to review for her quiz.
But Ben noticed this and quickly remembered what grandpa told him last night, "Oh yeah. Grandpa Max told me that you were also gonna have a history quiz today so he told me to give you this" he took out from his backpack what looks to be a charm of some sort. "He said that he found this near me when I was knocked out so he thought that I should keep it as a lucky charm. But I think you'll be needing it a lot more than I do" it was a beautiful pendant decorated with silver markings and a black cotton smoothening the lines with a topaz stone embedded on the center of the body. The stone itself was an eye candy and it would take a person minutes before he could pry his sights away.
"Really?" Gwen replied in disbelief. As she held the pendant in her hand she couldn't help but marvel at the beautiful object she had been given. It was probably the same stuff that had been stolen by the thugs yesterday when Ben was knocked out. But then something seemed fishy here. Wait a minute… Ben giving out a present for no reason? There has to be a catch. "Wait a minute… what's the catch?" she asked suspiciously. But again… Ben replied to her question with a confused stare.
"Uh? Catch?" he raised a brow of curiosity.
Seeing that he didn't get it, Gwen decided to explain. "Well usually when you give me something like this, I usually have to do something in return. It's kinda like a bribe or something. We normally do that sometimes"
"Well, dunno what a catch should be" the boy replied innocently with a slight blush coming on his cheeks. "How about we head out for the country fair later?" he said finally, "Today's Friday anyway. Maybe after school, we can ask grandpa to take us" the boy quickly jolted his head to the sides to talk to Max, "Hey grandpa. You think you can take us to the country fair over by the pier later this afternoon"
"You mean the same one that just came yesterday?" Gwen inquired.
"Yeah. Grandpa says that we should take some time off. So what do you say grandpa Max?"
"Why that's a great idea Ben!" Max agreed wholeheartedly, "It'll be nice to have a little rest and relaxation for one night. We can play some of the games there while we're at it"
And with that, the two Tennysons quickly gave out a wide smile altogether. But little did Gwen know that the best day of her life was just about to get even better.
After another ten minutes of driving, the gang soon arrived at Gwen's school, where they dropped the girl off. Once the girl got her knapsack, she opened the door and wave out, "So I'll see you later grandpa?"
"Same time sweetie" the old man replied warmfully. As he saw his two grandchildren waving each other like true siblings, it made his heart burn with happiness. It wasn't often that he would see such an affectionate sight between these two cousins. He often thought of it to be impossible for them to stand with each other for a whole minute, but now it looks like Ben was looking forward of seeing his cousin sooner than he wanted too.
And it wasn't long then till Ben arrived at his school… or at least that's what grandpa Max said was his school. The moment he left the RV he felt like he was now the new kid on the block. His legs wiggled and his sweat glands were acting a bit more than they should be. I guess it wasn't surprising seeing that there wasn't a cloud in the sky to block the heat. As he looked around, he turned back to his grandpa who seemed a little worried as well.
"You sure, this is a good idea grandpa?" the boy asked a little hesitant to take the next step.
"Don't worry" was his reply, "Just follow the schedule I gave you and you'll be fine. I also called principle White to help you out just in case. He's an old friend of mine and he'll help you out. You've helped him a lot too during some… crucial times"
"I was friends with the principle? Wicked!" And with that he walked off, trying to look as normal as possible to the other students.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
As Ben entered his classroom, he quickly noticed that the teacher had not yet arrived so he still had time to do some of his assignments. That is… if he remembered that he had any assignments. When he opened up his notebooks he soon found out that all the pages were filled with doodles and drawings of strange alien creatures that he had never seen before in his life. "Ok… so where are my notes?" he asked himself as he moved onto to his text books. Soon later he found a lot more doodles and drawings on each of the pages. "No… no… no… no! Oh man! What have I been doing for the past ten years of my life!?"
Ticked off by his passed self, Ben quickly took out a piece of paper that was left unused by his previous self and began writing something on it. Once he was done, he quickly slapped it on the back of his backpack. He knew that his old self would see this when his memory jolts back and hopefully, it would leave a message too.
When the teacher finally came in, the school bell suddenly rung, bringing the attention of the class together.
"Welcome students, please take your seats and we may begin"
"Something tells me… this is going to be one… long… day" Ben groaned out.
(Bellwood Junior high) (Gwen's school)
As Gwen sat in her respected seat number to wait for her teacher to get settled in, she put the pendant around her neck and tinkered with the stone that was centered on its little body. It glittered brightly as the sun's rays shone on it. That little piece of rock alone, allured many eyes from her nearby seatmates and made them wonder, who could give someone a gift like that.
"Wow Gwen" came one of the girl's voice. "Nice pendant!"
"Really? Thanks! It was a gift" she replied showing off her new cool accessory.
"It's so pretty… it matches your hair perfectly" said another. And before Gwen knew what was happening, she quickly became the center of attention for the whole classroom. Everyone wanted to see what she had brought with her today and that stone on her neck was just the thing they needed to accessories.
The teacher, who was a cranky old woman quickly gave out a loud cough as she spoke, "Ahem… attention class. As you all know… I will be giving out a quiz today" some students moaned and groaned altogether, "I hope some of you have studied, because this will determine where you stand in your history class… and…" just when she began handing out the papers to the students, she suddenly noted Gwen's irresistible pendant. "Ms. Tennyson, as much as I like fancy jewelry, I will have to insist that you do not wear something so… expensive. Your so called 'bling bling' as you say it, will not be tolerated in my class"
"Yes Mrs. Prune" Gwen quickly hid her pendant under her clothes and placed her pen on her paper. But even if she didn't like the pendant, she still couldn't take her eyes off it. She's definitely not going to let Ben through this. She was going to brag on about this piece of jewelry for the generations to come