Ben stood in front of the mirror inside his bathroom. He had just taken a shower just about over thirty minutes long. It took so long because he didn't want to leave the fantastic feeling of the warm water cascading on his filthy form. The shower also took so long because he had to scrub hard to get off all the grime on his body in his now long hair.
The glass was covered with condensation, blocking the image of himself from his own eyes. He took his hand and wiped off the warm moisture revealing a stranger staring back at him that he had once knew as himself.
He traced his fingers over the scar adorned over his eye. The skin felt rough as he rubbed the darkened flesh. He brought his hand down his face to his chin to the scars wrapped around his neck and finally down to his chest, he completely forgot about those. Three slash marks ran from the right shoulder, ending at the bottom of his left pec. He probably still had those scars atop his scalp too, but his hair hid them away.
Ben stopped feeling his old wounds and looked at his face again before sighing. He'd never really had a chance to look at his own image for a long time, personal appearance didn't really come to mind when you were trying not to die.
Ben gripped the towel around his waist tighter to keep it from falling as he made his way out of the bathroom and to a pair of clothes set on the bed. It was a plain blue T-shirt with underwear and tan shorts delicately folded atop of the bed. With the articles of clothing in hand he went back into the bathroom to change. When he got them on it felt almost uncomfortable to be wearing a shirt again, there was also a pair of sox and shoes, but chose not to wear them. Going for a year without footwear made them feel strange to have again, so Ben chose to make due without.
He walked out and sat in a chair on the other side of the bed across from a sleeping girl wearing a white stocking cap, black pajama pants, and a white T-shirt that was way to big for her. Ben wiped some stray hair out of Kat's face "her hair still feels so soft." he gave out a worried sigh, a now permanent habit of his, wondering when she would awake from her slumber.
Ben has been with her ever since he had awoken from his own little coma yesterday. He'd been talking to Captain MacArther and they both concluded that Kat's body had absorbed his human DNA through the broken Omnitrix and drastically changed her physical appearance. She was now completely human except for a few attributes, the most obvious ones were her panther ears and a long tail that laid tucked away in her black pajama pants. Her nails were sharp, and as hard as they were while she was a panther.
Thankfully theses attributes didn't visibly manifest till they were on the ship which caused MacArther to cover them up. MacArther was going to Question Ben about her being a alien, but after learning who Ben was and of the circumstances decided he learned enough to understand the situation.
Ben was alerted by the sound of the door opening which caused him to whip around, knock the chair down with a loud thud, and protectively stood between Kat and the door way. He wasn't going to let his guard down for a second while he was here. Hell, he wasn't even going to leave the room while Kat was indisposed.
In the doorway stood Dr. Errigo and the employee, Stacey, holding a tray in her hands covered with a lid.
"Please refrain from ruining any of the furniture with your barbaric manners," spoke Errigo with his usual 'I'm better, and smarter then you' tone. "these rooms are for paying customers, not wild children."
Ben held back a growl that threatened to escape his throat knowing it would only satisfy the doctor by getting on his nerves. Errigo just ignored Ben and continued walking toward Kat and began checking her pulse and whatnot.
Stacey stepped forward and placed the tray on a table located in the corner, all the while talking on her way there. "The Captain thought you would be hungry so he ordered me to bring you some food," she lifted the lid to reveal some still steaming spaghetti and a couple of baloney sandwiches "this is all we have left from our buffet so I apologies if it doesn't seem to glamorous."
She turned around to see Ben wasn't paying attention and was eyeing Dr. Errigo untrustingly as he performed his checkup on Kat. This caused her to be a little peeved so she walked to him and began snapping her fingers in his face to gain his attention.
When she did she began giving him a little lecture "it's not polite to ignore someone when there talking to you," she said sternly "now I brought you some food, it may not be the best but it's the only thing we have at the moment."
Ben just gave her a blank stare before apologizing. He was never one to say sorry, but they did help him so he was willing to make an exception. She was about to continue speaking, possibly more lecturing, until her attention was brought to the doctor when he spoke up. "We are in tropical weather, why is she wearing a stocking cap?"
Ben turned around, seeing Errigo beginning to take the cap off. His eyes widened considerably as he watched the doctor almost in slow motion. As quick as a blink Ben was holding Errigo's wrist firmly to refrain him from proceeding.
Stacey looked slightly shocked while the doctor only turned and gave a heated glare at the pre-teen. Ben returned the glare tenfold as he squeezed tighter on the doc's wrist.
(!)
The Captain was having a great day. He woke up feeling completely refreshed, had a great breakfast, and got to break the news to his dear old friend, Max, that his grand kid was found alive and well. He made the call to Max only a few minutes ago and what he could make out from Max's voice was that he was happy beyond belief.
They made arrangements to meet up together when MacArther took the cruise ship back to Florida in a week when the cruise was over. Max would fly in by airplane, he couldn't take the Rust Bucket or it would take too long, and stay at a hotel till he arrived with Ben.
He couldn't wait to tell Ben of the good news so he was already on his way to where Ben's room was located. There was the problem of what to do with Kat that was eating at the back of his mind, but he decided to cross that bridge when they came to it.
He walked by a few of the passengers, giving them a tip of his hat to them as he continued his trek toward his destination. When he reached the door he pulled out his cardkey, but before he could swipe it through the scanner he heard a muffled yell and a woman yelling.
The door flew open as MacArther barged into the room without any hesitation. What he saw took him completely by surprise.
Errigo was on his knees as he clutched painfully to his arm that was being held in a twisted grip by Ben, the ligament looked like it was in a very unnatural position. Stacey looked close to a heart attack as she kept yelling at Ben to stop.
She was keeping her distance, afraid that if she tried to physically stop him that Ben would break Errigo's arm. Whom of which could only wither in pain, not able to form a coherent sentence as the sharp sting of his twisted arm kept him from doing so.
Ben ignored Stacey's words as he glared heatedly down at the doctor. His green eyes looking fierce, promising pain if the white coat clad doctor so much as twitched in a way that Ben didn't like.
The captain moved slowly and grabbed Stacey's shoulder "Stop shouting and calm down," MacArther motioned her to the door "wait outside and shut the door, I will try and calm him down."
She looked apprehensive, but complied when he started to push her to the door. After he heard the audible click of it shut he began to speak quietly and slowly to Ben. "Ben I'm gunna need ya to calm down for me."
Ben ignored MacArther and started to twist Errigo's arm even more, earning him a groan of pain.
The cruise captains rushed over and gabbed Ben's arm before he could continue his painful ministrations on the poor man. Ben in return shifted his sharp gaze onto the one who dared to try and stop him.
"Ben, you need to calm down and let go of his arm" the captain spoke softly, "it wouldn't do any body any good if you continue to hurt our doctor."
Still refusing to budge, Ben tightened his grip and started growling. MacArther continued, "I called your grandpa, Ben. His gunna tell your family that your back and you don't wanna return just to have a police officer to take you away for assault, do ya?"
Ben's gaze softened somewhat, but he still held tightly onto Errigo's wrist. Ben voiced his words in a low growl "I don't want this guy coming into this room any longer."
"Why?" the old man questioned with a raised eyebrow. Ben explained what happened only minutes ago and his obvious displeasure of withholding any type of conversation with the bitter doctor. MacArther could only sigh at the explanation and complied.
Letting go of the doc's ligament, Ben backed up and watched with pleasure as the cruises medic fell to the ground and protectively cradled his abused arm. After taking a few minutes to collect himself Errigo stood up and left the room while hissing out a few words, "don't think you can get away with that unhindered you dreadful little wild child. You'll be lucky if I don't report this and have you taken in." he then roughly opened the door and slammed it behind him.
Allen MacArther could only sigh, it was such a good day too. He turned to the pre-teen, "I hope you can refrain from do'n that for the remainder of the cruise. I don't think Errigo is cold enough to call the police for the excuse of you being overprotective, but if ya do it again I don't think he'll hold back."
"Neither will I," Ben thought darkly.
As if reading his thoughts, Allen could only shake his head. To truly make sure that the ships doctor didn't call the police he would have to talk to him later about reconsidering.
Not wanting to keep such a serious atmosphere lingering so long, he place a bright smile on his face "were gunna be meet'n Max at a hotel when we finally depart off my vessel."
That seemed to brighten Ben up significantly and a glimmer of his old self shown through him, even if it only lasted a little bit, "I can't wait!" He exclaimed via fist pump.
(!)
Gwen sat in the back of her mom and dad's mini van. Chin resting in her palm as she held her face out the cars window.
They were going to visit her aunt and uncle to check on them. They hadn't spoken to them for a while since the funeral and they thought a little get together would be a good idea.
"It's not if Bens' not there," a random thought said through her mind. That was another reason why Gwen guessed they were probably visiting. Her parents noticed she had become more withdrawn then usual and probably thought it would be a good idea for her to talk to her aunt about it.
It was unhealthy for their daughter to be brooding all the time about her dead cousin, even her friends took notice and Britney refused to hang out with a buzz kill. Some friend she was.
They had reached the house quickly, since it was only a few blocks away, and walked up to the door and knocked. Uncle Carl opened the door and gave a bright smile, "well look who decided show his ugly mug here." Her uncle looked almost exactly like her dad, the only way she could tell the difference was because Carl's hair was lighter and they wore different colored clothing.
Gwen's dad could only chuckle, "its good to see you too Carl." The brothers gave a short hug before Carl turned to her mother and gave her a hug as well, " no point in staying out here, come on in."
They all walked in and Gwen couldn't help the onslaught of memories the room brought. When her and Ben were little they always played and pranked one another during the holidays when she visited. She noticed a barely seeable stain in the carpet by the tan couch and couldn't help but sadly smile. That was where she had dumped gravy on Bens head during Thanksgiving, and got everyone laughing except for him. Ben had only glared at her and pouted, this just got everyone to laugh louder, but Ben joined in soon after.
How Ben's parents could still live here was beyond her. It was filled with happy memories, but they were of someone they had gravely lost.
A voice abruptly broke Gwen from her thoughts, "Its good to see you all again." Gwen looked up a saw it was her Aunt. She wore black dress pants along with a white T-shirt. Her blond hair flowed to her shoulders and framed her face holding her sharp eyes and full lips.
After Sandra arrived there was another exchange of hugs before they all sat down on separate couches and began to talk.
Gwen merely detached her self from the conversation, settling with just shifting through the time she spent with Ben in this house. How much fun they use to have before they detached and started hating each other when they turned eight. That didn't matter however, they spent quality time together while on the field trip with their grandpa. This in turn kind of made them friends again.
A good hour into the adults conversation, Gwen stood up and started walking up the stairs to where she knew was Ben's room. She didn't go unnoticed.
"I'll go talk to her," spoke up Sandra. They already talked about Gwen's attitude over the phone and Sandra planned on talking to Gwen about this issue later. It appeared she would have to do it sooner than she thought.
When Sandra reached Ben's old room, she opened the door to find Gwen sitting on the bed holding a picture of when they were touring with their grandpa. Sandra quietly sat beside Gwen and draped her arm over the child's shoulders. Gwen jumped in surprise from the contact and looked up at the older woman
"I miss him too," Sandra whispered sadly.
Gwen's eyes began to slightly sparkle with unshed tears, "I can't help but think it was all may fault." Gwen began to slightly shake, "I'm the one who told him to stay outside, I belittled him for ruining my stupid computer. Its my fault that he's gone."
Little sobs escaped Gwen's throat as Sandra held her. This went on for a little while until Sandra began to speak, "You shouldn't think like that. Not everyone has control of what happens and there's know way you could have known."
Gwen lowered the picture into her lap, "How can you forgive me for being the one responsible for his death so easily?"
Sandra could only sigh at the question, "if you were listening, I said that you couldn't have known such a thing could happen. There no reason for me to forgive you if you never did anything wrong in the first place." Gwen seemed to except that, but she still felt depressed.
Something began to bother Gwen about Sandra talking to her. she didn't seem to care that Ben was gone anymore. Sandra talked so easily to her parents when they had arrived and now she was talking to Gwen without a single tear in her eye.
"You sound like you completely let go of the memories you shared with Ben" Gwen said, glaring at Sandra through her tears. "Its like you threw away his memory just to not feel the hurt of him no longer being here."
Sandra couldn't help but frown at Gwen and return the glare, "I would never do such a thing." She had spoke harshly and made Gwen wither away from her a little, but Sandra's arm was still firmly across her shoulder and kept Gwen in place.
Sandra's eyes softened, "I would never forget about Ben. He was my only child and I still miss him dearly."
Gwen softly apologized before Sandra continued, "Gwen, you cant let his death control you. You need to move on with your life, but that also doesn't mean you should completely forget about him."
Gwen looked back down at the portrait in her lap and started to run her finger across the glass cover. She was still doubtful that she could completely move on with her life. That was until Sandra asked her a question that truly struck her.
"Do you think Ben would be happy to see you like this?" Sandra gently questioned.
Gwen hadn't said a word, the question was reverberating throughout her mind like an echo across the mountains. All she could do was sit there and slowly digest the question.
Sandra stood up and walked through the door before stopping midway, "I want you to think about what I told you Gwen. I don't want you to become as depressed as I had once been."
With that, Sandra closed the door and left Gwen to truly think about things.
(!)
Sandra came back to find everyone had moved from the living room and into the kitchen. There was a fresh batch of coffee in the coffeemaker and she helped her self with a batch.
"Do you think you got through to her?" her husband, Carl, asked while taking a swig of his coffee.
His brother piped in, "I hope so, its not healthy for her to be so withdrawn."
Sandra gave a tired sigh which coffee would soon fix, "I hope so, if not then I can talk to her again till she can pull herself back up." She grabbed a cup from the cupboard and started pouring herself a glass.
More questions would've been asked if the phone hadn't started ringing. "Ill get it," Sandra said after a sip of coffee.
"Tennison residence," There was a muffled reply and Sandra couldn't help but smile "oh Max, its great to hear from you again. What's been going on?" She waited for his reply. Her facial features slowly turned into a small frown before contorting into a completely shocked visage at the completely unbelievable words she was hearing.
The only thing left afterwards was the sound of a porcelain cup shattering as it impacted against the kitchen tile.
(A/N: Sorry for the wait, I feel like a real ass for forgetting about this story. So I updated and I hope you
all don't think I'm a complete douche.)