Ben 10 Alien+Vampire
Chapter 14: Attack of the Cousins; Security Committee's A'Snoopin'
Youkai Academy
Location: Unknown
In an undisclosed location, several black clad figures were seated with a projector shining upon a screen. The projector was showing an image of none other than Ben. Most of the figures in the room seemed to be less than interested in what was being shown. However, they had been asked to be there and they couldn't refuse from one of their own. Especially since their leader was also present. They couldn't refuse after hearing that.
"His name is Benjamin Tennyson and he's a foreign exchange student from America," a female explained. She was standing near the projector, manning its operation
An arrogant male voice snorted, "So? He's just a gaijin monster. What's so interesting about him?"
"This," the female continued to explain, showing slides of Ben in his various 'monster' forms. "It seems to me that this Benjamin Tennyson doesn't have a set monster form. He is able to shape shift into a variety of monsters of unknown species."
The first slide showed Ben as Fourarms, then as Ripjaws, then as Diamondhead, then as Humongosaur and then so on. The slides showed all of Ben's monster forms. In each one of them he was fighting one of the other students in the odd case one of the members of the faculty like Kotsubo or Ishigami. The slides also gave some idea as to the abilities which each of Ben's alien forms held, but many in the room felt that they only scratched the surface.
"What is that emblem? It seems present on all of his monster forms," said the male voice, pointing to the Omnitrix dial that always appeared on all of the forms.
"We are unsure, but witnesses claim that before Tennyson assumes his monster forms, he touches his watch," said the female. "It could just be a limiter seal and he was deactivating it to transform, but due to the inconsistency of his forms, I am unsure."
The male contemplated before speaking, "Have him watched. I want to know more about him. He's not an outcast Ayashi, that's for certain. He's likely some sort of shapeshifter who can mimic the forms of other creatures. An onimodoki or a doppleganger."
"An onimodoki would be weak, sir, so that is unlikely."
"So, what else is known about him?" the male voice asked.
"He is a member of the Newspaper Club. It seems they've revived with new members. The members consist of Yukari Sendou, Kurumu Kurono, Mizore Shirayuki and Moka Akashiya."
"Those eyesores?" Yukari had been known as a trouble maker, Kurumu had been known as a seducer, Mizore had attacked a teacher and finally Moka…Moka was very popular. To the man, any student who drew too much attention to themselves was an eyesore. "And joining the newspaper club. We should pay them all a visit."
The Next Morning
Youkai Academy Main Gate
It was another average day at Youkai Academy and things were going smoothly. It was in the morning hours in which the Newspaper Club would pass out their newest editions for the student population at their school. Despite the craziness of the slug monster which almost got their latest edition destroyed, they managed to get it done on time and ready for publication. The front page article was all about the beloved Hitomi Ishigami and her insane beliefs on art making her petrify several students. At the front of the stand was the guy who found her out, Ben Tennyson.
"Extra! Extra! Read all about it!" Ben called. "Popular art teacher, Hitomi Ishigami on the lam for kidnapping and petrifying female students! Read all about it! Come and read the exploits of the Humiliating defeat of Chopper Rikishi against the mysterious Tiger Fighter, Rath! Come and get it folks, and remember: if you're not the first, then you're the worst!"
Moka giggled at Ben's enthusiasm as he passed out newspapers, and took payment for each one. "You seem to be enjoying things here, Ben."
"Yeah. I never thought I'd enjoy being part of the school newspaper," smiled Ben. "Of course maybe it's the company."
Moka blushed at what he was implying.
The story of how Hitomi Ishigami kidnapped and petrified those girls was hot news and everyone wanted to know all about it. Moka and Ben were becoming celebrities themselves for being the ones to expose Hitomi's crime. As well as the defeat of the bully wrestler, Chopper. Thanks to Ben's heroic escapades, ever since he arrived on campus, the Newspaper Club were selling like hotcakes.
Kurumu and Mizore glared at Moka but continued with their work as did Yukari. However, things were about to take a turn for the worse as the mood grew cold. Ben looked to see the students stepping back and making a path for a group of students who did not wear the standard green uniform. Instead, the male students were dressed in black and white coats as the female students were dressed in black and white jackets. Even Ship was backing away, whimpering behind Moka at the sight of these strangely clad students. Ben cocked an eyebrow at them and also at the other students who seemed fearful of them.
"Who gave you all permission to distribute newspapers here?" the male in the lead, a blonde with long hair, pale skin and dots for eyebrows, demanded. And then glared down at Ship, as he taunted, sending the poor Mechamorph shivering with fear, "AS well as allowing strange pets on campus as well?"
"And who wants to know?" Ben retorted.
"The Student Police Committee," the blonde answer. "I am Kuyou, the leader of the Student Police Committee."
"Benjamin Tennyson, or Ben for short. Nice to meet you," Ben said, seemingly unfazed by the cold gaze the one called Kuyou was giving him, and held up a paper. "How about a paper?" He smirked, "It'll brighten your day."
Most of the students gasped and murmured at the audacity Ben was showing, but the Omnitrix's wielder was unfazed. Even some of the students had to admit, even a few of Kuyou's men were a bit taken by Ben's gutsy move. Kuyou and his gang were just bullies and nothing more. Kuyou smirked and snatched the newspaper away from Ben's hand before leafing through it. With a snort, he dropped it on the ground and stomped on it.
"Garbage," Kuyou criticized as he scraped it on the ground underneath the heel of his shoe. " Nothing less to expect from a foreigner and a band of troublemakers," Kuyou said. The rest of the Student Police snickered. "Tear the stand down," he ordered.
The other members of the group began to move forward with the intent of following their leader's orders. However, Ben stood his ground and raised his hand over the Omnitrix, prepared to go into action. "I don't think so!"
His green eyes met with Kuyou's cold eyes as they stared each other down. The other members of Kuyou's group gave pause, knowing about Ben's ability to change into various forms. Truly, if their leader and this foreigner fought, it would be a battle against Titans. But with their leader possessing such strength, this boy's power was a joke.
"Wait! Hold on! Time out!" A new voice cried, breaking the standoff. Gin appeared on the scene in a blur of speed as he pulled Ben back and began bowing repeatedly in front of the pale leader of the Student Police Committee. "Sorry about my subordinate. He's new, as are the others, so they all don't know all the rules!"
"Gin!?" Ben hissed.
"What are you doing!?" Moka gasped.
The rest of the girls' eyes narrowed at their president. Where was the gung-ho leader who was so passionate about the Newspaper club? This guy was practically begging for mercy from the leader and looking like a real wuss in the process. The Gin they knew wasn't some kind of wimp who would bow to anyone. Maybe it was Ben's experience with people like Vilgax, Dr. Animo, Eon, Zs'Skayr, or even Zombozo… especially Zombozo, and others, but he didn't see what was so scary about Kuyou. But if Gin was freaking out around this guy, it meant only one thing: hidden trouble, calm but beastly, radiating from this Kuyou character.
"At least one of you knows how to show respect," Kuyou smirked. "Now, remove this stand before I have my people do it for you."
"Right away, Kuyou, sir! I'm on it!" Gin nodded. "Come on, everyone! Let's pack up! Hurry!"
Ben could only glare at Kuyou's smug expression, as he reluctantly packed up their things and carried them back to the clubroom.
Later On
Newspaper Club Room
Returning to the clubroom, everyone was in a sour mood. They had been trying to sell the papers they had made, but now it seemed that all of their hard work was going to waste thanks to Kuyou and his cronies. Of course, most of the group was upset at Gin at how he had folded like a wet towel in front of the group, especially when they hadn't done anything wrong in the first place. Before anyone could complain to him though, Gin turned to the group with a dire look on his face.
"You shouldn't oppose the Student Police!" Gin exclaimed to his club members. "That's practically suicide!"
"What's the big deal? They're just the disciplinary committee," said Ben. "Why'd you wimp out like that? I could've taken him out with either Big Chill, maybe even Rath, or…"
"Ben, you don't understand," Gin answered, sounding rather serious now. "The Student Police aren't simply a disciplinary committee. They've been given permission to arrest and punish any students as they deem fit!"
"They can't do that!" Kurumu shouted.
That bit of info got Ben interested, as he raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Can they?"
"Actually, they can," said Yukari, reading a part of the student handbook which detailed the Student Police. "Right here. If they even suspect a student has committed a crime against the school, they can arrest them and have them locked up indefinitely."
Ben frowned, but he had to remember this was a monster school. Different rules had to be applied considering how violent some monsters could be, requiring swift and decisive action. Still didn't make it right, though.
"And Kuyou's the worst of them all. He sees himself as the law and anyone who goes against him is to be punished." Gin shivered.
"You have experience with them," Ben guessed. "That's why you acted the way you did when Kuyou showed up."
"Let's just say they're the reason I was the only member of this club before you joined," Gin answered. "Just promise me you guys won't go against them."
"I'll try, but if they shove and continue to do it, then all promises are off," said Ben. "And trust me, I'll shove back. Harder."
He had experience with bullies, especially the likes of JT and Cash who would torment him just because they felt like it. Kuyou had the same look on him, someone who took advantage of others just because he was stronger than them in one way or another.
"Ben, I'm not kidding!" Gin cried.
"Neither am I," Ben frowned angrily. "Those guys are what my Grandpa Max would call fascists. As soon as they get a taste of power, they go power-hungry. Until they forget why they took it in the first place, and lose themselves to it. They force people to follow their lead, no matter what they have to do. They may be the authority here, but I was never known to respect that kind of authority."
"And we'll be right there with you!" Kurumu beamed, hugging Ben's face to her chest.
"That's right," nodded Mizore.
"Thanks, girls," Ben said, once he pulled away from Kurumu's chest. "We'll just continue to do what we do." And looked sternly to Gin, "Under their radar."
"Ben…" Gin sighed. This was not going to be pretty. Sighing in defeat, he slumped in his chair, and mumbled, "For this club's sake, I sure hope so."
Later that Night
Boys Dorm Roof
At night, Ben would leave his room and do training on top of his dorm. While he relied on his alien forms in a tough fight, he simply couldn't rely on the Omnitrix all the time. Without it he was just human. His Grandpa Max and Gwen had been training him for the past 5 years and while not a black belt like Gwen, he knew how to defend himself. He was presently performing a kata Gwen had shown him.
Ben had read a lot about the school rules, one of them being that no human was to be allowed in the school…alive. The Student Police had the authority to kill any human 'spy' regardless of why they had appeared in the school. Luckily for Ben, he had the Omnitrix so the issue of him being accused as a human was a none issue. However, the students wondered what sort of monster he was since he kept changing. Some said he could run as fast as a werewolf, others said he was a golem, a variety of monster bugs, and a few even said he was some sort of fire demon from hell. Regardless of the rumours, there was no evidence to prove he was human to the students. Plenty of students had seen him change.
The Omnitrix still had the whole timing out problem. It would sometimes time out at the most inappropriate time, causing Ben to be at a disadvantage. Then there was the problem of him turning into the wrong form at the right time. He learnt this was the Omnitrix's way of overriding his choice since it knew which form was the right one for the situation. What was not a problem was the new forms he kept getting. He suspected that the Omnitrix was reacting to the amount of demonic energy in the air and the more intense energy it was exposed to, a new form would be unlocked the counter. He knew that he had access to a lot more aliens than he had right now due to his visit to the future. Just when would be unlock all 10,000 his future self had access to? Buzzshock, Spittor and Articquana would make good additions in his situation right now but Azmuth only told him to learn on him own. Ben just guessed the old Galvan just forgot and didn't want to be embarrassed.
As Ben continued to perform his kata, he thought back to all the adventures he had in Youkai Academy alone. His old school hadn't been this exciting, but then again none of the students at his old school were monsters in disguise…as far as he knew. The first fight he had in Youkai Academy was against Saizou to save Moka, only for Moka to show him her true form when he accidentally removed her rosario. Then he and Moka ended up having to fight Kurumu, but he didn't harm her, merely incapacitate her while Moka took the fight out of her. Following that was a fight against three scaly bullies when saving Yukari. During the Club Festival, he had to fight those mermaids. And then all the fights that followed, involving the Love-Love Alliance, and the one against Kotsubo, the slug guy, Chopper, and the last one was against Hitomi. It seemed that each day was an adventure when in Youkai Academy.
That was why Ben needed to be stronger. The alien forms he could assume had their own strengths but they also enhanced what already existed.
The Next Day
Bus Stop
The following day, the academy's bus was dropping off a new addition to the school. Unlike some trips, this wasn't for a group of new students. Rather, it was for a single student who managed to transfer in with a recommendation to the Headmaster himself. Coming to a stop near the scarecrow/bus sign, the doors opened so that the new student could leave.
"Remember, girl," said the creepy bus driver. "Youkai Academy is a very scary place." Laughing in his creepy/sinister way as the newest student got off; he shut the doors and pulled a U-turn before going through the tunnel again.
"Believe me, my Grandpa's cooked scarier things," the girl sighed to herself as she looked around.
Really, the place only looked like a big Halloween park of some kind. She had seen way scarier things than this exotic scenery. She didn't see all that much to complain about…save for how short the school uniform's skirt was. That she would have to deal with at a later time though.
Hefting her bags over her shoulders, she began her trek towards the school. "Now where is that dork of a cousin of mine?"
Meanwhile
Ben yawned as he entered the school gate. He'd lost track of time and slept late last night. Thus, he only had a couple of hours of sleep. He had gotten too into the movements, trying to keep a level head concerning the actions of the Student Police. Every time that arrogant smirk of Kuyou's entered his fast it just served to get him riled up. He hated bullies with a passion, which was understandable considering the amount of torment he went through under JT and Cash. Although, since that incident with the Forever Knights and their plot to replace the President with a robot they'd backed off somewhat.
Walking past the gates, Ben was suddenly met with a pair of hands over his eyes. Normally one's first reaction would be panic, but considering Ben's experience with how Mizore, Yukari, Kurumu, or even Moka would often come at him from behind with a flying hug, he decided to try and figure out who it was this time. 'Feminine hands, about my height not feeling cold and not biting my neck already. So that means…"
"Hey, Kurumu," Ben greeted sleepily. Strange, she wasn't pressing her chest into his back like she usually would.
"Wrong answer, Ben!" the female giggled. Ben's eyes shot wide, as he took the hands off his eyes and turned, stunned at the appearance of the person.
Not Too Far
Kurumu, Yukari and Mizore were running to school, hoping to catch up to their object of affection. The marathon had started when Kurumu had finished a new batch of cookies she wanted to give to Ben. Of course, Yukari then showed up with her usual remarks of how it was hopeless for a 'cow' like her to keep a man like Ben when he had Moka and Yukari herself. Mizore suddenly appeared from her hiding place, mumbling about how she would make such a better choice. Moka had attempted to calm them down, but the girls' anger wouldn't be satisfied and thus they began a charge straight for school in yet another bid to make Ben their own.
However, when they got there they saw Ben hugging a girl so blatantly. At first they had thought it might be Moka, but that thought was quickly discarded when they saw that this new girl's hair was a deep red colour rather than Moka's usual pink. Of course, that just made it worse in the eyes of the girls since Ben had run into the arms of some other woman they didn't even know about. Kurumu growled as her nails threatened to lengthen into razors again. Mizore's hands became covered in ice, turning into claws while Yukari frowned and gripped her wand threateningly. Their anger only boiled for a moment, a record high, before breaking out.
"BEN!" the three girls cried out loudly, charging towards their common love interest.
"Huh?" Ben let go of Gwen before he was surrounded by all three girls.
"Who's this girl!?" demanded Kurumu.
"Where did she come from!?" demanded Mizore. "Don't think for a second I won't Ice her."
"And why were you hugging her!?" Yukari demanded, and glared daggers at the girl, "Who do you think you are, you hussy?"
"So, these are those friends you've been telling me, huh, Ben?" Gwen snickered softly. "You never said they'd be this defensive for you."
Like her Grandpa Max, she had also been receiving letters from Ben concerning his adventures in Youkai Academy. She had heard all about the four girls who were competing over Ben's heart. From what she could tell from Ben's descriptions, the three girls who were upset with her cousin were Kurumu the succubus. Mizore the snow woman, and Yukari the witch. As amusing as it was to watch her cousin get the third degree from the girls, she decided to try to resolve the situation…in a minute or two.
"Girls! Girls! It's not what it looks like!" Ben tried to calm the three girls down. He knew full well what these girls could do when they were upset and thus decided for his own safety to try and explain the situation before it got out of hand. "This is Gwen and she's-"
"Ben's cousin!" Moka exclaimed as she appeared.
She was slightly winded from having to chase after her friends, but had managed to arrive to see the redheaded girl and Ben talking to the others. Of course she recognized Gwen from the photos that Ben had shown her of his relatives. Instantly stepping forward, she introduced herself. "Hello, I'm Moka Akashiya; I'm Ben's friend." Moka extended a hand in friendship.
"Gwen Tennyson," replied the redhead, as she took Moka's hand, shaking it firmly. "And unfortunately, I'm this dork's cousin."
"Hey, I thought we agreed you'd never call me a dork again," frowned Ben.
Yukari gasped in realization. "You're Ben's cousin! The one Ben said was a witch too!"
"Well, I'm no master, but I know a few things," smiled Gwen. Before Yukari could press for further details out of a fellow witch, the warning bells from the school went off, signaling that classes were about to begin.
"We better get to class," said Ben. "We're going to be late for homeroom."
Home Room
After homeroom, Gwen was surrounded by her cousin's harem. They really wanted to get to know Ben's cousin despite his protests.
Gwen was placed in Ben's class and so far she was enjoying the experience. She may be a human like her cousin but her powers made sure that would not be discovered. Grandpa Max had told her about all of the academy's rules. Still, she was proven to be popular enough as several boys in the classroom paid rapt attention to her as she introduced herself. Ben bristled slightly, his protective family instincts coming in, but he reminded himself that Gwen was able to take care of herself easily.
"So Gwen, you'd know a lot about Ben since you're cousins, right?" asked Kurumu with a grin.
"More than I'd like to know sometimes," Gwen laughed slightly. "The stories I could tell."
"I'd rather you didn't," Ben grimaced. "So what are you doing here anyway?"
"Well, after your last bunch of letters with the psycho teacher and that freak slug guy who tried to hurt Kurumu, not to mention the muscleheaded troll and the krakyn gym teacher, Grandpa was worried that something might happen that got you in over your head," Gwen explained. "So I volunteered to transfer in and cover your back if something did happen and your girlfriends weren't here to lend a hand. Grandpa had several connections with his 'acquaintances' to help me get in."
"They're not my girlfriends," Ben flushed slightly.
"But we want to be!" Yukari added with a smile, as she linked with Ben's arm, making Ben groan and Gwen giggle.
"Wow. Ben's never been this popular with girls back home," she smiled as she looked to her embarrassed cousin. "So Ben, just how were you able to charm all of these girls anyway? Don't tell me you actually learned some moves at long last."
"Gwen…" Ben sighed. He had been expecting the teasing, but it still didn't make it any easier to deal with.
The Rest of the Day
Gwen proved to be quite intelligent in all the classes and athletic in gym class. She did, however, show reservations about the bloomers but she told herself, "When in Rome…" and got into them. They were snug and showed off her legs which boys were drooling over. Ben frowned as he heard many of his male classmates hoot and holler over how hot the new foreign student was. While he and Gwen had a few disagreements, he cared a lot about her. That was proven when he had to rescue her from Zombozo and also discovered how creepy Ghostfreak could be.
When the final bell rang, Gwen wanted to go to the Newspaper Club with him to see for herself what it was like. After reading about how much fun her cousin was having in this club of his, she wanted to experience it first hand.
Later on
Newspaper Club
"Welcome to the Newspaper Club, Gwen Tennyson!" Gin grinned, holding a bouquet of flowers out to the new foreign transfer student. Somehow, he had heard all about the new arrival to Youkai Acadmey. Hearing it was a girl, a pretty foreigner to boot, he pulled out all of the stops to make himself look good in Gwen's eyes. "I'm Ginei Morioka, president of the Newspaper Club…"
"And the academy's infamous peeping tom," added Ben.
"Ben, we agreed never to talk about that," Gin whispered.
"Stop being such a pervert and I will…" Ben retorted. He then reached for the Omnitrix, as he threatened, "Don't make me go Rath on you again."
"Thanks," Gwen accepted the flower, smiling. She was honestly flattered, but she had dealt with guys like Gin in the past. Confident, suave, and tended to not take no for an answer. She knew how to deal with them, even if this one was really a werewolf.
Suddenly, Ship hopped onto the desk, barking out, "SHIP! SHIP! SHIIIIP!" He looked to Gwen, almost sensing a similar scen emanating from her as he picked up from Ben. He slurped up to her, and petted his head on her arm, almost purring.
Gwen smirked, as she looked to Ship and to Ben, "So this is the infamous Ship, eh? You never mentioned he'd be this affectionate." Ben shrugged, smirking at that deduction, as she continued to question Gin, "So, aside from publishing the school newspaper, what else do you do in this club?"
"Well, we cover a lot of news in the school," boasted Gin.
"That's our job," Ben corrected, pointing to himself and the others. "You just sit on your butt looking at your 'collection'."
"I'm the editor! I'm supposed to sit on my butt and make sure you guys do your job; so that's what I do," Gin said firmly.
"If you actually did any work at all, I'd have more respect for you," argued Ben.
Normally Ben might not have been this harsh on Gin, since the perverted werewolf had been punished for his actions with the whole peeping episode…not that it stopped him, as he had to go Rath once in a while to scare it out of him. However, Gwen was Ben's cousin and he didn't want his club president to try anything with her. Even if Gwen had her powers and could easily take care of herself, Ben was still protective of her. He didn't want the werewolf to pull any stupid stunts with her like he had with other girls.
"Details…So, Gwen, are you thinking of joining?" Gin asked hopefully. He was always hopeful for another cute girl to join his club. Of course, being with the hot new foreign girl was a great way to spend the afternoon to him.
"Maybe," shrugged Gwen, "Though I do want to look around the school."
"Then look no further, for I will give you the grand tour!" Gin announced.
"Oh, no you won't!" denied Ben, as he got between the two and pointed at Gin accusingly. "If anyone's giving Gwen a tour, it's gonna be me: her family! If anything, you'll just try and find a way to touch her butt, take pictures of her when she's in the restroom, without her knowing."
"And considering how fast you are, that might be possible," Kurumu added.
Gin just stood back with a look of shock on his face, and lightning in the background going off to show how shocked he was. The girls were just happy knowing that Gwen was Ben's cousin, otherwise they would have been jealous with how he was arguing with Gin over her.
Meanwhile
In the HQ of the Student Police, Kuyou was looking through a new file. It was in regards to the new transfer student, Gwendolyn Tennyson. Usually he didn't personally look at the files on students unless they were involved in an investigation of some kind. However, his interest was sparked when he heard that the new girl was in fact a transfer from America and even Ben's cousin. "So, this is Benjamin Tennyson's cousin," read Kuyou, musing over the photo of both Ben and Gwen. "I can see the resemblance. They both share the same eyes."
"Her name is Gwendolyn Tennyson and we've heard she's a witch," said one of Kuyou's subordinates, "At least that's what one of our spies reported."
"Have her watched along with Tennyson," ordered Kuyou. "I want you to report the full extent of their abilities. They may make fine additions to our group."
"Recruitment, sir?" one of his subordinates questioned. "But Tennyson disrespected you."
"True, but I saw something in his eyes. There's this… conviction that I see myself having," Kuyou smirked.
He saw it in Ben's eyes. He had no fear of Kuyou, something which almost every other person in the school did have. Even his own subordinates were afraid of him. However, Ben Tennyson lacked that fear and was actually prepared to fight him if he had to. That kind of courage and determination could mean trouble for Kuyou…unless he harnessed it for his own means. "And also his power is one that should be used to benefit the school."
Next Chapter: The Enemy of My Enemy; Old Grudges Settled With