Chapter 8: The Best Defense

I Don't Own Ben 10 or Any of the Respective Characters, The Rights Belong to Man of Action Studios and Cartoon Network

Author's Note:

* Hello and welcome to Chapter Eight of the reboot!

* Know that the last chapter, which was original to this version of Volume One, was not a one time thing. Though there will not be many original chapters in the reboot of Volume One, there will be a handful of them. But after the last chapter, we're back on schedule, to speak.

* I don't really have anything else to say in regards to this chapter, so let's get right into it!

Earth-Prime

Monday, May 28th, 2018

The Tennyson House

Ben

I opened my eyes, as I found myself waking up in bed like usual. Unlike usual, I turned to my left to see Gwen lying in my bed next to me, with her arms curled around my left arm. That's when it came back to me. She had come to my room and asked to sleep in my bed last night, claiming that she'd feel much better knowing that I was safe and sound in bed next to her. So, I went with it.

I looked at the alien watch on my wrist, in wristwatch mode, and saw that it was four thirty in the morning. I could go back to sleep and wake up past eight or nine, but I didn't want to. I wasn't tired anymore. So, I sighed as I moved to get out of bed, trying not to wake up Gwen. Once I was out of bed, I walked to my door and out into the hallway. I walked down the hall, through the living room and into the kitchen to get a glass of water. I was filling up the glass with water from the fridge, when I heard footsteps.

Apparently I failed in trying not to wake Gwen up, I thought.

I took a drink from the glass as I stared down at the kitchen table, looking at the newspaper that had been sitting there for a few days now.

Hero or Menace? What a joke, I thought to myself.

I heard Gwen walk into the kitchen and I turned to look at her, seeing her red hair shine in the moonlight coming in through the open shades on the kitchen window. She let out a yawn as she spoke.

"Are you doing okay?" she asked.

I nodded.

"Yeah, I just got out of bed to get a drink of water."

"What made you wake up? It's not even five, yet."

"I don't know. I guess I don't feel like sleeping anymore. I'm not tired."

"Then what are you going to do?"

"Probably go downstairs and play video games for a while. You should go back to bed, it's four thirty in the morning, Gwen. You should be asleep."

"So should you!"

"I already told you that I'm not tired anymore."

"So, you're just going to leave me up here by myself?"

Her question left me dumbfounded. After a second or two of silence between us, I spoke again.

"You don't want me to leave you up here by yourself, do you?"

She shook her head.

"No, I don't." she spoke in a small voice.

I let out a sigh.

"Alright, fine. I'll take you downstairs with me. Come on."

I put out my arms for her. She just stood there, giving me a look of confusion.

"Excuse me?" she asked.

"I'll carry you down the stairs."

"My legs work just fine, thank you."

"You're tired, let me carry you."

She rolled her eyes, but relented.

"Whatever."

She stepped forward and I picked her up, resting my hands on the bottom of her thighs. She then put her arms around my neck and rested her chin on my shoulder. After that, I started carrying her toward the basement stairs. As I carried her down the stairs, she spoke.

"I'm so happy you're safe."

She's commenting on how I just disappeared for hours yesterday again, I thought to myself.

"I know," I spoke as I took a hand off the bottom of one of her thighs to pat her back. "I know."

Once we were at the bottom of the stairs, I flicked the light switch up and carried her over to the couch. I gently put her down on the couch once I got there and handed her the blanket that was draped over the back of the couch.

"You know, for a seventeen year old girl, you're pretty light."

She cast a look at me and then immediately after, kicked me in the shin with force. Once I got over the initial jolt of pain, I spoke again.

"Alright, I think I deserved that."

"I think you did." She replied.

Later That Day

Kevin Levin's House

Later on that day, I momentarily left my house and went to my friend, Kevin's house, to ask him to cover for me after yesterday. I got out of my car and walked up to the stoop. I walked up the concrete stairs and knocked on the door. I waited for a few seconds until he eventually answered the door.

"Ben, my man!" he exclaimed upon seeing me. "What's up?"

"Kevin, I need a favor." I replied, getting straight to the point.

"Sure, man. What can I do for you?"

"I need you to cover for me, Kevin."

"Cover for you how?"

"I was away from home for multiple hours yesterday and my excuse was that I was hanging out with you, as well as my phone had died, so I wasn't able to call anyone. I need you to claim that I was with you if anyone asks about it."

After I said that, a mischievous look came to Kevin's face.

"You were away from home for multiple hours? What were you doing, huh?"

I gave him an angry look in response.

"I wasn't doing anything that should make you look at me like that. Anyway, I think I was mugged."

After I said that, the mischievous look on Kevin's face immediately faded.

"Oh, man! I'm sorry, I had no idea. Wait, what do you mean 'you think you were mugged'?"

I shrugged.

"I guess I don't have a good answer. When it happened, I was entering an alley after I heard a noise. I was under the assumption that someone needed help. I recall getting hit in the back of the head by something, but that's all I remember. And when I came to afterwards, there was nothing out of the ordinary. And none of my things were stolen."

"Always the goody two shoes, huh? That's so you."

I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever. Can you cover for me or not?"

"Of course, man! Bros before hoes, right?"

"Shut up."

Kevin always did have a peculiar sense of humor compared to mine.

"Anyway, now that we got that out of the way, do you want to come in for a while?"

I shook my head.

"Sorry man, I can't. I need to get back home. I'm keeping my cousin, Gwen, waiting."

Kevin looked a bit disappointed but he didn't say so.

"Alright, I'll see you later, man."

"Yep," I spoke as I stepped off the stoop. "Later."

The Tennyson House

I had gotten back home, having just walked through the door. As I walked into the living room, I saw Gwen sitting on the couch, with her knees drawn to her chest.

"What's up?" I asked, greeting her.

"Nothing." She replied. "Can we go to the park?"

I was a little bit weirded out by her question, as it just had come out of the blue.

"Um, what?"

"I asked if we can go to the park."

"No, I got that part. But why do you want to go to the park?"

She shrugged.

"I don't know. I just remembered how your dad used to take us to the park when I would come over here before our fight seven years ago. I thought that maybe we could go to the park, see how it has changed and reminisce about old times. Stuff like that."

I gave it some thoughts for a few seconds.

"Sure, why not?" I spoke at last. "Give me a minute and then we'll go."

"Okay."

After that, I walked to my room to put my car keys away.

The Park

Gwen and I were walking through the park, just the two of us.

"Hey," Gwen spoke. "can I ask you a question?"

I nodded.

"Go ahead." I replied.

"What do you think of that Alien Guy character from the news?"

I thought that she had asked me this in the past and we had already gone over this, but I answered anyway.

"I guess I don't know what to think of him, Gwen. I think he means well, but I also think that he could be doing a better job."

"Maybe he's just confused. Or in a tough spot right now, having a rough time."

"Yeah, maybe."

"What about that giant alien thing that attacked the water park the other day?"

"That thing's dangerous. Alien Guy shouldn't be fighting him alone. I think he'll need some help against that thing."

"I would have to agree."

A second or two of silence passed between us before she spoke again.

"How's Grandpa Max doing?"

"You saw him yesterday. Didn't you ask him?"

She shook her head as we continued walking.

"Sorry, but since he came over because I called to tell him that you never came home, there wasn't any time to ask him how he was doing. It wouldn't have been the right thing to do in that moment, anyway."

"I see. Since you asked, he's doing well. He's doing really well."

More silence passed between us before I spoke this time.

"Gwen, can I give you some advice?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"You need to be careful with this freelance photography thing of yours. I understand that taking pictures of Alien Guy is your hobby and I support it, but with him making new enemies recently, it could get dangerous soon."

"I appreciate it, Ben. But I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself."

"If you say so."

I looked over my shoulder. For the last couple of minutes now, there had been a guy who was trailing behind us. He was walking as though he were drunk. To tell the truth, I think he actually was drunk. I leaned closer to Gwen and whispered into her ear.

"Don't look now, but I'm pretty sure that there's a drunk guy is following us."

She just shook her head and I saw her smirk.

"I hate people sometimes, you know that?"

I nodded in response.

"Me too, me too."

We continued walking after that for a few seconds. However, it didn't take long for that drunk guy to catch up and interrupt us.

"Hey girl," he spoke with slurred speech. "why don't you come home with me, tonight?"

"What the hell?" Gwen asked as she turned her head to look at him.

"Ditch this guy and stick with me!" he continued slurring as he pushed me out of the way and onto the ground.

I got back up as the guy firmly gripped Gwen's forearm. She slapped his arm in response to him grabbing her as I approached him from behind. I put my hand on his shoulder as I spoke.

"I'm only going to ask you once to back off, buddy."

"Fuck off!" he exclaimed as he shook me off.

I grabbed the back of his baggy jacket and began to pull with force.

"Let her go!"

He elbowed me in the jaw with his free hand, sending me face down into the grass.

"Ben!" Gwen exclaimed. "Help me, please!"

I got up from the ground and rushed toward the guy. I grabbed the back of his jacket once again and this time I succeeded in pulling him off of Gwen.

"What the hell?" he asked as he looked at me.

I punched him in the jaw, sending him to the ground.

"That first punch was a warning, pal." I said. "Don't get back up."

He didn't listen.

"I'll show you a warning!"

He got up and rushed me, but before he was able to attack, I sent another swift punch into his jaw, which sent him back to the ground. And this time, he stayed there. I looked back at Gwen and saw that she looked scared. But she didn't look scared of me, no. Rather, I think she was scared of the concept of what almost happened. I approached her and gently put my hands on her shoulders.

"It's okay." I assured her. "It's over."

"Ben, that was scary!"

I gently patted her shoulder with one of my hands.

"I know, I know. But it's over now and you're safe. Now, I need to call the police and report this guy."

She nodded.

"Okay."

I retracted my hands from her shoulders and stepped away from her, taking out my phone to call the authorities.

Sometime Later

After some time had passed, the police had arrived and they were taking the guy into custody. Gwen and I each had to give statements of what happened to the police. It was fine for me, but it was a little difficult for her, seeing as what she was almost put through. I watched as they put the guy into the backseat of a police car, as he gave me a look of hatred the whole time.

Poor guy, I thought. It's not like I wanted to attack him, but he wouldn't cooperate with me. I hope that he gets the help that he needs.

I continued standing there, with my thoughts, but I was eventually brought back to reality by Gwen shaking me. I looked at her as I came back to my senses.

"There's no point in us sticking around here any longer." She said. "Let's go home."

I nodded.

"Okay."

Sometime Later

The Tennyson House

Gwen came down the hall with something in her hand, as she looked at me with a indescribable gaze. She tossed me the thing that was in her hand, which turned out to be an ice pack.

"Here. I know you only hit that guy once, but you should put ice on your hand for a while to prevent any swelling that could happen."

"Thanks."

She nodded, now with a look of gratitude on her face.

"You're welcome. And Ben?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for defending me from that drunk."

"Of course. I couldn't just let that guy get ahold of you. But I thought you knew karate? Why didn't you put that guy in his place?"

"Oh, no! Don't put this on me, Ben. I won't have that."

"Sorry. But seriously, why didn't you do something?"

She shrugged with an unhappy look on her face, probably because I was pressuring her to talk about it.

"I guess I just froze up. I thought that I could defend myself if I had to, but when something scary ended up happening, I was just overwhelmed and I froze up."

"That makes sense, I guess."

"But I didn't have to defend myself, because you were there to help me."

"Of course I was. I couldn't just let something happen to you."

After that, the look on her face brightened.

"Now that we've gotten that out of the way, I'll get started on dinner."

"Okay."

Later That Night

That night, Gwen went back to sleeping in her own bed. That was fine by me. I understood why she did what she did last night, but it was a little weird to have to share my bed with my cousin. So, I was glad that things had gone back to normal. I rolled over onto my back in my bed. I just wanted to go to sleep. And hopefully forget that today had ever happened.

Author's Note:

* And that's it for this chapter, I hope you all enjoyed!

* What did you guys think of this one when compared to the original version? Give me any comments or questions that you may have in either a review or a private message, please. I am very curious on what you all are thinking in regards to this version of Chapter Eight.

* Anyway, that's going to do it for me. I'm going to go, so have a great day and bye.

Director's Commentary

* To start off this installment of Director's Commentary, we're going to talk about a change that I made to the version of this chapter. The scene at the very beginning of this chapter, where Ben wakes up earlier than normal and goes out to get water, followed by Gwen waking up too, and them having a short chat, the basis of that scene was taken from the original version of Chapter 11. So, when the new version of Chapter 11 comes out in a few weeks, don't expect for a similar scene to be in it at the beginning.

* Next, I changed most of the scene with the drunk guy in the park. I changed it so that Ben was nowhere near as aggressive as he was in the original. I also cut out Ben's obsessive talk about Gwen toward the end of original version of Chapter 8. And I cut the part where Ben kisses Gwen, as well. That just doesn't fit tonally in this chapter and it's also way too soon for anything like that. With that said, it's time to wrap this up. Thanks for reading.

Review Responses

Hamzah haha (Chapter 7.5): If this ain't pure progress... I don't know what else to say.. your writing skills seem to improve with every chapter... the chapter was fine paced ... entertaining throughout, it was lightly eventful but didn't make me bored at any point keep this up and I'm sure you will have a masterpiece before you know it... I'm already loving the fact this one doesn't have those dc marvel comic elements ... this is original and awesome

Thanks, Hamzah, I really appreciate your kind words here. My writing skills have really been improving for the last few years, but I feel as though I haven't started to utilize said skills until just recently. All of your comments about Chapter 7.5 (seeing as it's completely original) are much appreciated. This version of Volume One will still have references to Marvel and DC here and there, but I will try to make them a bit more minimal this time around. Thanks for the review, as always.

Patjeeson (Chapter 7.5): Interesting way to show the birth of Albedo and how it actually opens up a new relationship to Ben himself. I don't think Vilgax is fooled so I think he will do something for revenge... And maybe Ben should have some dreams about what happened when he was unconscious to have some inkling of the events ... Good chapter!

Thanks, Patjeeson. I suppose this way of showing the birth of Albedo does open up a new relationship for him to have with Ben (if I was correctly interpreting what you said here). We will see about what happens regarding Mr. Enoch not honoring his part of the deal and Vilgax taking revenge in the coming weeks.

This chapter (Chapter 8) had been written in advance of you posting your review, but I will see what I can do with your idea of Ben having a dream about the events of his abduction. It's an interesting idea and I may be able to utilize it in making use of an idea for a future concept that I already had planned, but forgot to include in 7.5. Thank you for your kind words, your idea and thank you for the review, as always.

Next Chapter: Ben wakes up in the middle of the night and after not being able to get back to sleep, goes to his clubhouse to relieve some stress. While there, he begins to feel as though he is being watched.