Ben's Bad Day
Gwen observed her cousin stuffing several orders of corn dogs and french fries into his mouth at a local food festival. She shuddered as ketchup ran down his chin.
"Ben! The least you could do is use a napkin!" she advised.
"The least you could do is quit nagging at me about every little thing," Ben said before he gulped down the rest of his soda.
"How much have you eaten today? Eating that much in one day isn't healthy for you, you know. Not that you would care!" Gwen said.
"So what? I get enough exercise from saving the world from the forces of evil on a daily basis," Ben asserted. "Now, if you'll excuse me, dweebus maximus, I'm going to enjoy myself without a backseat nagger."
Ben departed in a hurry and went straight for the nearest soda fountain. He filled his large cup to the top with soda. Before he could drink from it, something shook the ground hard enough to cause him to lose his balance. He observed his soda spilling from the cup and splashing his hands. He developed an expression of frustration and confusion.
"Hey! What is this? An earthquake?"
Ben gasped when he turned and viewed a giant blue kangaroo. The creature shook the ground with each stomp of its giant feet. People ran from the beast in large crowds while screaming loudly. Ben dropped his soda to the ground and reached for the Omnitrix until he transformed into Cannonbolt.
"Call it a hunch, but this looks like the work of Doctor Animo," said Cannonbolt before he curled up and rolled at the kangaroo.
The kangaroo sat back on its tail and raised its feet seconds before Cannonbolt realized what it was about to do. It struck out with its legs and kicked the giant alien ball, causing him to fly several hundred feet into the air.
"Noooooooo!" Cannonbolt yelled from inside his armored shell until he fell.
He landed in a forest that seemed miles away from his last location. He unrolled and rubbed his head with his claws. "Even with the armor, I felt that!" He stood on stumpy legs and wobbled. "Grandpa! Gwen! They're still in danger, along with all those people."
Cannonbolt wobbled for another reason. He quickly put his clawed hands to his wide mouth. He felt suddenly very ill. He belched uncontrollably until he held his stomach. He sat down in the grass and looked briefly into the sky while taking deep breaths.
"Maybe Gwen was right! Maybe I shouldn't have eaten all that food at once. I feel like I'm ready to barf. Must have been from all that rolling."
He heard screams in the distance and knew he couldn't sit around and wait to feel better. He had to save the day.
"Barf or no barf, I need to go!" Cannonbolt said until he rolled and revved up. He shot forward and made it back to the festival grounds after several minutes. He unrolled and stood up shakily before he belched again. "Where's that jerk, Animo? The sooner I beat him, the better."
The kangaroo left a large trail of destruction and smashed nearly everything in its path beneath its huge feet. Cannonbolt observed it smashing a building with its long tail. The kangaroo turned and revealed Gwen in one of its multiple clawed hands.
"Gwen!"
"Ben!" Gwen yelled when she witnessed her cousin's alien form. The kangaroo jumped into the air, causing her to shriek. "Help!"
"Ben!" called Grandpa Max until he ran up to Cannonbolt. "Where did you go? That was one of Doctor Animo's latest mutants, and it's taking Gwen."
"I got my butt kicked, Grandpa. Literally," Cannonbolt said until he transformed back into Ben. He clasped his hands to his mouth and turned away from his grandfather. "I feel sick, but I've got to rescue Gwen before something happens to her."
Meanwhile, the kangaroo hopped through the forest until it reached an abandoned factory near the edge of the lakeside.
"Let me go, you hopping mad freak!" Gwen yelled.
"Well, if it isn't Gwen Tennyson," said Doctor Animo's voice until he appeared on a platform. The platform lowered and brought him to the floor. He stood in front of a huge machine with multiple flashing lights. "I sent my latest creation to hunt down Ben. Now I'll use you as the perfect bait to pull him into a trap."
"Why can't you just stay in jail where you belong?" Gwen shouted.
Doctor Animo simply laughed before he ordered his kangaroo to bring her over to the machine. He held rope and grinned evilly. He began to tie her up.
Ben had transformed into XLR8 to track down the mutant beast and his kidnapped cousin. He followed multiple broken trees until the trail lead him to the factory at the water's edge.
"They must be in there," said XLR8. He had his mask open as he ran even though bugs hit his face. "The fresh air helped, but I still feel terrible." He held his stomach. "If only I had an alien that was built to take the punishment I just gave my stomach!"
Ben pondered and came to a sudden epiphany.
"Oh! Wait!"
Inside the factory, Gwen frowned while strapped to a table in the middle of a painted red circle. "Like this isn't completely obvious as a trap!" she muttered. "But now that I think about it, Ben might fall for something this obvious."
She sighed until she looked up at the ray gun device pointing down at the target she was currently on. Doctor Animo had stated the device to be a new mutant ray. This time he had calibrated it to destroy as well as mutate. Once Ben arrived to try and help her, they would both be in trouble. She grimaced when Doctor Animo returned with a roll of silver duct tape.
"And now, so you're not tempted to give everything away with a warning to your dense cousin, Ben," he said until he tore off a section of tape and placed it over Gwen's mouth. "It'll be far too late before he figures out the situation for himself."
He laughed menacingly again before running to hide and wait for Ben to arrive.
Several minutes later, the window broke and Upchuck dropped through to the floor.
"Gwen! I'm coming for you," he said. "Now that I'm Upchuck, my stomach feels just fine," Ben thought. "If only humans could pack away as much as an Upchuck. Being able to barf explosive energy isn't too shabby of an ability. It's way more fun than barfing ordinary stomach bile."
Upchuck ran to Gwen until he noticed her struggling and shaking her head. He looked down and noticed a large red circle on the floor that his foot was now inside of. The lights came on and blinded him. He raised a hand to shield his eyes until he notice the silhouette of Doctor Animo and familiar voice.
"I have you now, Tennyson! Say goodbye."
The sound of a machine powering up filled the room until it blasted the spot where Ben and Gwen were.
Doctor Animo raised his fist into the air. "I've done it!" he shouted. He observed the huge scorch mark on the floor where the circle had been painted. Everything within it had been vaporized.
"Think again, genius!"
Doctor Animo gasped and turned to see Ben's Upchuck form holding the entire table with Gwen on it in his strong multiple tongues.
"No!" Doctor Animo yelled. He attempted to adjust the ray's path and calibrate it for another shot. It would take time.
The mutant kangaroo bounced at them before Upchuck opened his mouth and let loose with green energy. The explosion caused the mutant creature to fly back out through the wall and crash land, unconscious.
"Now I want to barf," said Upchuck. "Which means you're in big trouble."
Doctor Animo reached for the button to fire the ray until he yelped and withdrew his hand. An explosion of bright green energy blew part of the machine off. It powered down and began to smoke. Doctor Animo jumped down and ran away to escape before Upchuck could spit at him again.
"You better run!" Upchuck shouted at Doctor Animo as he ran.
Gwen yelled through her duct tape before Upchuck pulled it off. She screamed in pain.
"Are you trying to tear my lips off?" Gwen yelled. "Doctor Animo's getting away! What are you waiting for?"
"Let me get the ropes first," Upchuck said before he put the tape back on his annoying cousin's mouth.
"Ben, Gwen," Grandpa Max said with relief. "Are you hurt?"
"No, we're fine," Upchuck said.
Gwen stood up and slowly pulled the tape from her mouth again. "Speak for yourself!"
"I've got to catch Animo before he gets away," said Upchuck until he stopped in his tracks. The Omnitrix powered down. "Uh oh!"
In a flash, Ben appeared and started gagging. He sat down and shook his head. He felt terrible.
"Not again!" he groaned.
"See? I told you eating all that food as Ben wasn't a good idea. You're still only human," said Gwen.
"I've got a remedy that might help, Ben," said Grandpa Max. "Animo won't be too dangerous without making another mutant to fight for him. We'll destroy his machine and take care of that kangaroo outside, then track him down before he gets anywhere with a new plan for mayhem."
Ben fell down on his back due to dizziness. "Thanks, Grandpa. I swear, I'll never eat that much junk in one sitting again."
Gwen rolled her eyes. "I wonder how long it'll take before he breaks that vow."
30 minutes later, Grandpa Max had a pot cooking on a campfire outside the Rustbucket. Gwen came out and immediately fanned her hand in front of her face.
"Oh, Grandpa! What a horrible smell! Now I understand why you didn't want to cook that on the stove."
"Most medicine isn't appetizing," Grandpa Max noted. "But it gets the job done." He ladled some of the disgusting mixture into a cup. "Here you go, Ben."
Ben struggled to sit up. He took the cup from his grandfather's hand. He got a whiff of the drink and started gagging harder than before. "Gross! I'm going to throw up just from smelling this!"
"Just pinch your nose closed," Grandpa Max suggested.
Ben tried to do what his grandfather suggested. He struggled to drink. Once he swallowed it all, his face turned several shades of green. He dropped the cup and covered his mouth.
"I thought you said this junk was supposed to help me feel BETTER, Grandpa! Not WORSE!" Ben groaned through his fingers. "I can't take it! That's it! I'M GONNA BLOW!"
He stood up and ran until he reached some tall grass. He began to puke everywhere.
Gwen covered her ears. "Nasty!" she wailed.
"That's odd. It usually settles the stomach," said Grandpa Max. He rubbed his chin. "Maybe I mixed it wrong? But Ben should feel better after vomiting anyway."
Gwen attempted to look away from her cousin heaving his guts. It was like a car crash. She couldn't pull away from the awful sight, no matter how much she wanted to. "He's throwing up stuff he hasn't even eaten yet!" She finally found the strength to cover her eyes when Ben started projectile vomiting.
After several minutes of forcefully emptying his stomach, Ben stumbled back to his Grandfather and cousin.
"Are you okay now, Ben?" asked Grandpa Max.
"Let me make sure all my internal organs are still inside me," Ben moaned as he rubbed his aching stomach. "Grandpa, your 'cure' would make a better weapon!"
Ben's eyes lit up as he got another epiphany.
"In fact, let me take a few more jars with me for safety."
Elsewhere, Doctor Animo had taken up a new temporary residence in an old warehouse along a harbor. Many animals were inhabiting the vicinity, all ripe for becoming his new minions. There were mice, rats, seagulls, pigeons, various insects, stray cats and dogs, so on. He regretted that his mutant kangaroo had been defeated. He paid quite a price to import it off the black market.
"Tennyson and his family will regret their every move once I've completed my newest mutations," Doctor Animo vowed.
He was in the mood to mutate many vermin and send them into the city to cause chaos until Ben Tennyson showed up to try and stop him. The door broke open and caused him to jump. He turned and witnessed Ben, his cousin, and his grandfather.
"Ben Tennyson!" Doctor Animo gasped.
"All the Tennysons," said Gwen.
"I knew he had to be somewhere around here. Good thing we checked this dilapidated warehouse. It was filled with various rodents and insects, as well as strays. The perfect hideout for Animo," noted Grandpa Max.
"You won't stop me that easily," said Doctor Animo until he used his Transmodulator to summon hundreds of mice and rats.
"Think again," Ben shouted before he revealed a jar filled with a sickly gray-yellow substance.
He threw it at Doctor Animo and the approaching rodents. It smashed on the ground. The mice instantly scattered from the stench. Doctor Animo covered his nose and mouth and gasped. He coughed.
"What is that smell? It's like a tire fire combined with rotten eggs, roadkill, burning hair, and sulfur!" He started gagging.
"It's the scent of victory," Ben gloated before he used the Omnitrix to transform into Heatblast. He raised his hands. "Let's turn up the temperature on the situation."
"Ben, wait! You shouldn't try that," Gwen warned. "That mixture is starting to smoke! Something in here must be reacting with it. The last thing you should do is hit it with an open flame!"
"Oops. Now you tell me," Heatblast said before his outstretched fingers accidentally tossed a small ball of flame onto the smoking mixture.
It exploded into a large fireball which caused everyone to get blown onto their backs.
"Grandpa, this stuff is downright DANGEROUS!" Heatblast yelled.
"Maybe it's a better fuel source than a cure after all," Grandpa Max said until he grabbed Gwen and dove for safety.
Doctor Animo ran away from the flames and went outside until he paused for breath. He coughed and inhaled fresh air. He recoiled when Heatblast burned through the wall and stepped out into the open. He backed away before realizing he had nowhere else to go but the docks that lead to the water. He was trapped.
"Surrender, Animo," Heatblast said with his arms out and ready to shoot flames at his trapped enemy. "Otherwise things will heat up."
Doctor Animo frowned until he smiled suspiciously. He stepped backward before he paused. "You're not very bright, Benjamin. Otherwise you'd realize that fire doesn't last very long when water is involved."
Before Heatblast could react, Doctor Animo grabbed a nearby hose and used it to spray the fiery alien. Heatblast gasped and smoldered while his head and body became a duller color. He fell to his knees in a cloud of steam before Doctor Animo laughed manically and dropped the hose. He ran past the incapacitated alien form.
"That wasn't supposed to happen!" Heatblast sputtered.
"Ben!" Gwen called out before she rushed to her cousin's side. "This just isn't your day, is it?"
Ben transformed when the Omnitrix prepared for recharging. He coughed and waved away the smoke from his face. "It's like I've been hit by a bad luck streak."
"Your bad luck streak makes me feel like I'm Lucky Girl again. Knock on wood," Gwen said. She tapped Ben on the head.
Ben groaned. He turned when he heard Doctor Animo yelling.
"Got you," Grandpa Max declared as he stepped out in the open with Doctor Animo in a headlock. "It's back to jail, Animo."
"Noooo!" Doctor Animo whimpered as he struggled. He could not free himself from Maxwell Tennyson's iron grasp. He finally gave up when Maxwell used a submission hold that caused him to nearly pass out. "Stop! I surrender!" he whined until Maxwell ceased applying painful pressure to his body.
"Go, Grandpa!" Gwen cheered as she jumped up and down. "Even Grandpa is having a better day than you, Ben."
"What else could go wrong today?" Ben grumbled until a storm arrived and it began to pour down rain on all of them.
"You're spreading your bad day to all of us now!" Gwen complained.
Ben smiled before shrugging. "Misery loves company."
The End