Anti-Ben 10: Side Effects

"Yee-Haa" Ben cried out as he drove a motorbike, or more accurately, drove as a motorbike having gone Upgrade and hijacked it. He knew he was going to get in trouble with Max but he was so bored as Gwen bought and tried on new clothes, shoes, make up and other girly things that he had to get some excitement or he'd die.

He could see in his mirrors the Rust Bucket trailing him and doing a good job of not loosing him but if Ben was going to get in trouble he always went the whole way. weaving in and out of cars Ben laughed as he tried to lose the R.V, only succeeding once he turned a corner and parked himself between a truck and a car, the R.V passing the turning.

"Oh man I can't wait to get my own bike," Ben laughed as he pulled himself off the motorbike "now there's got to be something else I can do"

Looking around Ben saw a symbol he recognised on the back of the truck he'd park behind "well if grandpa's going to kill me I might as well have a good last meal" he smiled as he pulled open the back of the truck, inside it was box upon box of his favourite brand of ice cream and he was going to enjoy all of it.

"It was around he we lost sight of Ben, where do you think he is?" Max asked Gwen as he stepped out of the parked R.V and looked around the area, he saw the bike he recognized as the one Ben had taken but Ben himself wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"Hm, a hot day, a successful road race and managed to disappear" Gwen said out loud as she saw the truck "I think I know where he is"

Smiling Gwen led Max to the truck with the ice cream symbol on its side, checking the back she opened it and sure enough Ben was there, sitting and shivering on the floor with empty ice cream wrappers and sticks all around him.

"T-T-T-Totally worth it" Ben shivered as he took a bite out of his current ice cream, only to sneeze and spat it back out onto the floor.

Back in the R.V Ben was wrapped up in a thick blanket with a thermometer in his mouth, Max had foregone the large speech and punishment until he knew Ben was ok. As the electric thermometer began to beep Max took it out of Ben's mouth

"101" he read the temperature aloud "sorry Ben it's official, you have a summer cold"

"Maybe next you'll think before having snack time in a frozen box" Gwen smiled taking pleasure in anything that made Ben uncomfortable "oh my mistake, you don't have the brain cells to be able to think"

"Laugh it up, I'm going to make sure you catch this" Ben sniffled as he felt snot run out of his nose, grabbing the nearest piece of Gwen's clothes he wiped it off his face

"Hey that's my new shirt, it cost 300 dollars" Gwen shouted as she slapped Ben around the back of the head and pulled her shirt out of his hands.

"Perhaps you'll think twice before leaving your new clothes just lying around" Ben smiled, his head felt stuffy his nose was running and his throat felt like he'd swallowed sand paper and the slap around the head only made him feel worse, but it had been worth it.

Reaching into a cupboard Gwen pulled out a box and placed it on the table and started pulling out it's contents. "Cold tablets, decongestants, cough surpresent, hospital mask. Ok I think we're safe" she smiled

"I don't need all that junk" Ben groaned as he sat up, snot running out of his nose

"They're not for you dumb ass they're for me, once a bug like that gets out there's no stopping it" Gwen pulled the mask on as Max pushed Ben back down

"Why don't you just lock me up somewhere till I'm all better" Ben complained

"Can we grandpa? Pretty please? I won't complain about your cooking for the rest of the summer, I'll even eat some of it" Gwen pleaded as she smiled behind her mask

"All Ben needs is some of my famous San-Shu Yen Pe Yen cold remedy, let's go Chinatown is just down the street" Max smiled as he stood up, oblivious to the worried faces of Ben and Gwen.

-Break-

"It's so hard to find fresh P-tigerdon fruit anymore" Max sighed as he looked at the jar containing the fruit, it'd taken him nearly an hour of searching up and down Chinatown while dodging the festivities "it's all freeze-dried these days"

"We could've stopped and got a milkshake" Ben complained as they walked back to the R.V "my throat is killing me"

"No need, this will coat your throat and make it feel like silk" Max smiled as he opened the jar and held in front of Ben's nose, who could feel the smell burn its way through his blocked nose and down his throat making him cough violently.

"Are you sure that still will cure and not kill me? Ben asked as Max laughed and resealed the jar

"I thought grandpa was going to punish you by doing the washing for a week, but this much better" Gwen gloated as they passed an old run down building which had a sign in front of it telling everyone it was part of a project to fix it up and make it livable again "being forced to drink one of grandpa's crazy concoctions is the worst punishment I can think of"

"I won't have to drink it if I don't have a cold" Ben sniffed as he wiped some snot off his face with his arm before activating the Omnitrix "I bet one of these guys can get rid of it in seconds"

"Don't be stupid, who knows what that cold's going to do to your aliens" Gwen went to grab his arm but realised it was covered in snot and hesitated, giving Ben the chance he needed

"Come on Heatblast" slamming down on the watch a bright flash of green light covered Ben and in his place now stood Wildmutt who slobbered and drooled worse than usual, around his scent gills was a thick ooze that was crusting around the edges.

Ben started howling and roaring as he scratched at the ooze and rolled on his back trying to scratch something that he couldn't reach.

"Ben what are you doing?" Max turned and watched Ben as he jumped up onto his feet and started to shake his head sending drool flying in every direction

"Hey watch it dog breath" Gwen shouted as she protected her face from the drool, Ben grabbing his head as she shouted.

Suddenly Ben charged through the large fence that surrounded the old building and jumped through one of the boarded up windows disappearing from site.

"What's wrong with Ben?" Gwen asked as she looked through the hole Ben had made

"His cold must be affecting his alien form, did you see the way he acted when you shouted? Not to mention the stuff on his neck" climbing through the hole Max and Gwen chased after Ben, Max lifting Gwen in through the broken window then pulling himself in.

Inside the house was completely ruined, the floorboards creaked the wall paper had rot growing on it but thanks to the dark shadows it was a lot cooler than outside. Max and Gwen tread carefully as they searched the house, gingerly putting their weight on the old, and some rotting, floorboards which creaked with every step.

"Where do you think Ben is?" Gwen asked as they walked up the narrow stair case.

"probably somewhere cool and quiet, I think it hurt him when you yelled at him" Max felt his foot nearly go through the rotting wood "so when you see him don't shout or he'll run through a wall and probably bring the house down around us"

Searching the top floor rooms Gwen found Ben huddled in a corner still trying to scratch the ooze off his neck and shaking drool and slobber everywhere, both Max and Gwen approached him quiet and carefully.

"Ok Ben just keep calm, all you need to do is wait till you turn back" Max spoke gently as he got closer to Ben

"It's too bad we haven't got a muzzle" Gwen complained as she moved her foot to avoid a flying glob of drool, as she looked at the floor that's when she noticed all the different kinds of bugs crawling on the dark surface. "Er, grandpa" as she took another step she watched as the bugs moved out-of-the-way her foot.

"Hold on Gwen" Max felt Gwen grab onto him suddenly, as he turned to fave her that's when he saw her looking at the floor with worry on her face. Looking closely he could just make out the bugs moving over and around each other.

"What are you doing here?" A rasping voice asked behind them, turning they saw a man wearing a thick jacket with a hood covering his face.

"Who are you?" Gwen asked the hobo, even though he was on the other side of the room she could smell him

"What are you doing here?" The man asked again ignoring Gwen's question

"Our uh, dog, is sick and ran in her by mistake" Max moved Gwen behind him as he spoke placing him between Gwen and the homeless guy

"This place isn't safe for you, you must leave" the man moved closer as he spoke, the bugs moving so not to be stepped on "this is our home, only we belong"

As the strange man got closer Gwen tried to see under his hood, lowering her head and looking up seeing his face clearly, along with all the bugs that was crawling all over it. Shocked and surprised Gwen was unable to stop herself screaming out, which was followed by a loud roar and a blur of orange as she was pushed to the floor as Ben leapt over her and at the mysterious bug man.

As soon as Ben touched the man cockroaches started to crawl up onto him, as they slammed into the floor the rotten wood gave way un their weight and they were sent crashing into the room below where Max and Gwen could hear the roaring of Wildmutt and the grunts of the man as they fought.

Pulling Gwen to her feet Max yelled "we have to go" as he ran for the door dragging Gwen along with him. Around them the house began to shake and crumble as Ben and the bug man crashed into, through and smashed the floors, walls and ceilings. As Max ran down the stairs he felt his foot step through the rotten stair he'd stepped over earlier, as he crashed through the rest of them he dragged Gwen down with him. Thankfully neither was badly hurt as they crashed into the ground floor only a few splinters jabbing into them, pushing the wood off them Gwen grabbed Max by the arm

"Come one grandpa, we're nearly out" she cried as Ben slammed through the ceiling in front of the door. All around them the house was creaking and falling apart, unable to support itself anymore after the damage done to it. All around them chunks of wood and plaster fell onto them as Gwen struggled to get Max to raise to his feet "grandpa it's about to collapse" she pleaded

"Stay down" a voice called as the bug man landed in front of them his stench instantly hitting Gwen and over powering her. A second later a large dome of bugs surrounded them and covered them in darkness as they heard the house continued to collapse and fall around them.

When it went quiet Gwen could hear the bugs moving around her, another sound picked up but it was different from before like things were being moved instead of being dropped. Less than a minute later the bugs opened up to show sunlight and fresh air, which Gwen gulped down eagerly, as they looked around they could see the whole house had collapsed in on itself with barely the corners of the house standing.

As the man moved away the bugs moved with him, moving over and under the rubble with ease.

"Where are you going?" Gwen asked Max rubbed his head

"I am Clancy, We must find your... dog" Cletus said as he continued to walk away. As he disappeared around the corner a large slab of rubble was flipped and Wildmutt roared in freedom, a second later a bright green light flashed and Ben stood in the rubble.

"I have the worst headache" Ben sniffled as he leant against the rubble.

-Break-

"Here Ben, drink this" Max held a pack of ice to the back of his head as he passed Ben his famous San-Shu Yen Pe Yen cold remedy, the stench of it instantly cutting through his blocked nose.

"Ugh just when I thought this couldn't get any worse" Ben held the jar the held the cold remedy at arms length.

"Don't worry it smells worse than it taste's, or is that the other way around?" Max asked himself but brushed it aside for the moment. "It's not just you I'm worried about, your bug has spread to all of your aliens, as Wildmutt you practically went feral"

"I could barely see anything, and I couldn't smell at all, guess I kind of panicked" Ben weakly chuckled

"There's no telling how it's going to effect your other aliens, I want you to promise me not to go alien again until your cold is gone, understand Ben?" Max made sure Ben understood he was serious, as Wildmutt he wrecked an old house but who knew what he'd do as someone like Diamondhead or Upgrade.

"Fine, I promise" Ben sighed, taking a deep breath Ben chugged down as much of the remedy as he could in one go finishing about half before it became too much and he started to cough violently.

"Don't worry, after ten or so doses you get used to it" Max smiled as he patted Ben on the shoulder, removing the ice pack from the back of his head he felt the bump. It'd gone down considerably and he knew he didn't have concussion so he was safe to drive "strap yourselves in, we 're hitting the road" Max told Ben and Gwen as he dumped the ice bag in the sink, he wanted to get out of the city quickly before Clancy decided to come and ask them questions about their 'dog'. For that he'd have to take the road going past the nuclear power plant.

-Break-

Ben sat up front of the R.V with Max as he drove, the A/C in the motor home on and pointing at him but he still felt cold.

"Turn the heat up grandpa, I'm freezing" Ben's teeth chattered as he spoke, running his arms to try and warm them up

"It's already on max but you're shaking like an earthquake, perhaps you should get some rest in back, and make sure to finish the cold remedy" Max suggested

"S-sure, I'm feeling a little groggy" Ben sniffled unclasping his belt, he slowly made his to the back of the Rust Bucket and pulled the thick blanket over himself. He eyed the San-Shu Yen Pe Yen cold remedy and felt his stomach turn, if he had to drink any more of it he might actually throw it back up, hopefully all over Gwen.

"Grandpa wants to know if you've finished his cold cure" Gwen stuck her head through the curtain separating the back of the R.V from the rest and sae the half full jar

"I don't know what's worse, the cold or the cure" Ben groaned as he opened a draw and placed the remedy into it and closed it. "What grandpa doesn't know won't hurt me"

Smiling evilly Gwen yelled over her shoulder "he's drank it all grandpa, but it looks like he could do with some more"

Before Ben could complain Gwen's head disappeared through the curtain, he could hear Max saying "as soon as I find a spot I'll pull over and make some more, he'll be right as rain soon enough"

Knowing he'd run out of hiding spots before Gwen lost interest in torturing him Ben tried to think of something, but his head felt slow and groggy and nothing came to mind on how to beat a cold bug. Then a thought struck him.

"If you want to get rid of cold, all you got to do is add some heat"

He knew he'd get an earful for breaking the promise but Ben knew a creature made of fire would easily burn off a cold bug, what was the worse that could happen? Activating the watch Ben turned the screen until he found Heatblast and slammed it down, almost instantly he knew something was wrong. As Heatblast Ben had a constant warm feeling over his body that stopped him being cold in all conditions except the extreme cold, but now he felt frozen from the inside out and he needed to warm up fast. He looked at his body and saw instead of being its usual red and yellow flame he was now ice blue, and feeling colder by the second. He looked around for something, anything that could make him warmer but there was nothing and it was starting to drive him insane. Every fiber of his being told him to warm up and fast, he looked around again then saw it out the window, the nuclear power plant.

Ben knew from watching movies that a power plant produced a lot of heat because of the core at the centre, if he could get close enough to it he'd be able to absorb the heat from the reactor and feel warm again. Punching the glass Ben leapt out of the moving R.V and rolled as he hit the road, hearing the R.V screech to a halt.

"N-n-need to w-w-warm up-p-p" Heablast stuttered as he aimed his hands downwards, instead of his usual fire blasting him upwards he shot out a thick pillar of ice that carried him up the hill to the power plant.

Gwen and Max looked out of the broken window and watched as Heatblast was carried up to the power plant, as the watched the sky they saw a large swarm of bugs fill the sky and chase after Ben.

- Break-

As Max and Gwen entered the power plant they saw all the staff had evacuated and there were signed of a fight everywhere, parts of the floor and walls had been frozen and other parts had holes smashed into them. following the destruction Max and Gwen found a blue Heatblast that was shooting ice out of his hands fighting Clancy and his bugs.

"L-leave me a-a-alone" Ben yelled as he tried to run past Clancy aiming to jump through the windows leading to the reactor only for his leg to get caught in mid jump by the horde of bugs and slam him into the control console.

"Come on, we need to check the reactor" Max shouted over the alarms now blaring

"But what about Ben? Heatblast is seriously messed up, he's shooting ice instead of fire" Gwen pointed out as she ran along with Max.

"I know but there's nothing we can do, we'll let Clancy distract him long enough so we can make sure the reactor doesn't overload then we'll have to wait till Ben turns back to normal" Max panted.

As they entered the reactor room they were hit by the heat immediately sweating, as they looked at the reactor they could tell it was glowing too hot to be normal. Rushing over to the controls Max tried his best to respond but nothing worked, the fight going on in the main control room must have damaged the entire system.

"How do you know what your doing?" Gwen asked as she wiped sweat off her brow "You pick these skills up in your years as a plumber as well?"

"Not now Gwen" Max answered agitated, unless he could get the core to cool down in the next few minutes the entire city was going to be destroyed and become uninhabitable.

Suddenly there was a crashing noise above them and as glass rained down on the floor Max and Gwen watched as Ben and Clancy, who was protected by his bugs, fell to the floor.

"W-warmth" Ben stuttered as he dragged himself to the reactor, placing a hand on the metal he started to absorb the heat and started to feel better, his body wasn't as cold any more and started to feel like he usually did as Heatblast.

Suddenly he was pulled away and thrown against the wall as Clancy stood between Ben and the reactor, the heat rising again. "We won't let you mess with this reactor" he said as the bugs swarmed around like a giant battle suit.

Struggling to his feet Ben faced Clancy and pointed both hands at him yelling "Stop Getting In My Way" and blasting him with as much ice as he could make, it growing to wrap around Clancy, his bugs and the reactor, steam instantly coming off it and filling the room as Ben dropped to his knees and collapsed.

"Temperature's returning to normal" Max told Gwen as the alarms stopped and the devices showed the heat levels returning to green.

-Break-

Ben woke to find himself back in the R.V, he groaned slightly as he sat up and took a deep breath. That's when he realized he had no trouble breathing; his blocked nose was gone, his throat didn't hurt and his head was clear.

"Alright my cold is gone" he laughed as he jumped out of the bed, pulling the curtain back Ben was met by a fist traveling fast towards his face and slamming into his nose. Sending him stumbling backwards.

"Ben's awake grandpa" Gwen shouted as she smiled and cracked her knuckles

"What the hell was that for?" Ben asked as he covered his nose, it wasn't broken but was still bleeding.

"You mean you don't remember that part where you broke your promise to grandpa, broke the window, broke into a nuclear power plant and smashed its controls, and not to mention, nearly blew me and grandpa up along with the city" Gwen sniffed slightly and pulled out a tissue and wiped her nose "I can't wait to see what your punishment is, I'm going to enjoy every second of it"

As Gwen sneezed a couple of times Ben smiled, opening the draw he put Max's famous San-Shu Yen Pe Yen cold remedy and pulled out the remaining half.

"Here, this should help" he teased as Gwen blew her nose.