Chapter 28: Lucky Girl: Part 3

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 Twenty Eight of the reboot!

* To start, I want to say that this chapter will be very different from the original version. Whereas the original version of this chapter wasn't very good, I put a lot of thought into this one and I'm very happy with how it came out. So, I hope you all like it, as well.

* And because this chapter will be very different than the original version, that calls for a bigger segment of Director's Commentary, too. I don't really have anything else to say in regards to this chapter, so let's get right into it!

Earth-Prime

Wednesday, June 6th, 2018

Downtown Bellwood

Ben

"We've checked the rest of the tips that Gwen gave you and still nothing." I said as I took a bite out of my hot dog. "I've got nothing. It's like he just dropped off of the face of the earth."

"And you're sure that you haven't seen any signs of him?" Lucky Girl asked as she in turn took a bite out of her hot dog.

I shook my head.

"I haven't seen anything."

This whole charade of pretending to help Lucky Girl find my missing alter ego was getting a bit old. I honestly thought I was just stretching this out for as long as I could. And eventually, I wouldn't be able to stretch it out any farther. At some point today, I'd have to return home and face the music. We had taken a break from the "searching" to get something for lunch.

She was nice enough to buy me a hot dog. She didn't have to, as I wasn't her responsibility, but it was the thought that counts. Honestly, she probably did that just to ensure that I stuck around with her. Sure, it looked weird, two masked vigilantes buying a couple of hot dogs in broad daylight, but we weren't turned away.

After that, we ended up eating on a rooftop. She used her abilities to generate platforms made of that hot pink stuff to make sure I could get up there, too. I was still a little weirded out by the fact that she wouldn't tell me how she was able to do that, but I guess I would just have to let it go.

"He'll turn up." she said. "He has to."

We had spent all morning searching, well in my case, I was pretending to search. And of course, we still had found nothing. As I had already said, we eventually stopped looking and got two hot dogs for lunch from a hot dog cart in the city. I finished eating my hot dog and slipped my mask back down below my nose, so it was covering my whole face again.

"Look, I hate to cut this short, but I have somewhere I have to be."

"And where is that?" Lucky Girl asked as she stood back up.

Before I could reply, we were interrupted.

"Hey, Alien Guy!" I heard a voice exclaim.

I looked up, to see Albedo jumping down from a rooftop that was up just a bit higher than us. Before he could say something else to me, he noticed Lucky Girl.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed as he turned to look at her. "Who's the hot chick?"

Lucky Girl crossed her arms over her chest, obviously not impressed with Albedo hitting on her. Even I didn't exactly think that it was okay for him to do that.

"The 'hot chick' is his partner in an investigation." she said in an aggravated tone.

Albedo turned to look at me.

"I'm helping her search for a missing person."

"A missing person? Who?"

"Benjamin Tennyson." She said. "It's tragic. The kid ran away from home. Anyway, who exactly are you?"

"I'm Albedo. I was also looking for Ben. I thought that he could help me figure out what do with my life. So far, I haven't had any luck, though."

I don't know why, but what Albedo said seemed to spark a revelation within Lucky Girl. The look on her face changed as she spoke again.

"Oh, now I remember you. Gwen told me all about you and everything you tried to do to Ben. She also told me that you can't be trusted."

Albedo obviously took offense to that.

"Hey, I may have done stuff in my past that I'm not proud of, but I'm trying to do better!"

This didn't seem to change Lucky Girl's mind, however.

"Gwen told me all about you." she replied with a shake of her head. "She doesn't trust you and that's enough for me."

The look on Albedo's face changed after that and he now looked angry.

"Now, hang on a minute! You haven't even met me before—"

"Both of you knock it off!" I exclaimed with frustration. "Now, I know Albedo better than I know you and I think I can say that I trust him. He means what he says, so just relax!"

The look on Albedo's face changed after that, so he now looked a bit more relaxed than he had a few seconds earlier.

"Thank you." he replied.

Next, I turned my attention back to Lucky Girl.

"As for you, no offense Lucky Girl, but I only met you just last night. Besides the fact that you were hired by Gwen Tennyson to find her missing cousin, I know nothing about you."

Lucky Girl seemed surprisingly cool with how I just said that to her face.

"No offense taken."

I let out a sigh before continuing.

"You two don't need to be friends. But if you both are going to be in my presence like this, then you'll at least try to peacefully coexist. That means no pointing fingers at each other and keep your distrust of one another to yourselves. Do we understand each other?"

Lucky Girl let out a sigh of her own, clearing displeased with what I had said. But, she relented anyway.

"Understood."

"Yes, 'Dad'." Albedo sarcastically replied.

I turned and looked at him with disapproval, even though he couldn't see my face.

"Don't call me that."

He started to laugh as I cleared my throat to speak again.

"With all of that said, are we done here? I really need to be somewhere."

Lucky Girl didn't seem to take this very well.

"But what about the search for Gwen's cousin?" she asked.

"I can't help it if this super hero thing isn't my day job. I'll catch up with you later. Do you know the Bellwood Post's building?"

She nodded.

"Yes."

"Meet me there after ten tonight. Or tomorrow night, if I can't make it there this evening."

Lucky Girl really didn't like that.

"A whole day and a half from now?! But this search is important to me!"

"I'm sure it is! But my personal life is important to me. I've put it aside for hero work for too long and I need to get back to it before things get any worse."

She looked angry now, maybe even furious.

"Fine, go. I'll finish this investigation by myself."

"But Lucky Girl, I'm not saying that you're on your own! I just need to—"

Lucky Girl turned away from both of us and cut me off.

"Just go, both of you!"

I looked to Albedo and he nodded at me. Without another word, we both took off away from Lucky Girl. Once we were a good distance away from her, about two rooftops away from her, Albedo spoke.

"I thought you were going home today?"

"I had planned to," I began to speak. "but last night, that woman called Lucky Girl showed up."

"Who is she, really?"

"I already told you everything I know. Apparently, she's another super-person that Gwen hired to find me."

"She must be really worried about you."

"My thoughts exactly."

Sometime Later

Downtown Bellwood, The Tenement Building

"I have to get home." I spoke as I packed away my makeshift costume. "Albedo, I need you to do something for me."

"Okay." He replied. "What is it?"

I handed him my backpack.

"I need you to take this back to my house. Stash it in the bushes in the front yard. Try and make sure that Gwen doesn't somehow catch you, though."

He nodded as he took the bag from me.

"Okay, can do."

I let out a sigh.

"Well, let's get going, then."

Albedo looked at me with confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we're going to the same place. So, there's no sense in us splitting up."

"I guess you're right. Okay, let's go."

Sometime Later

The Tennyson House

I stood outside of my house as Albedo stashed my bag into the bushes like I asked him to. Meanwhile, I couldn't help but keep staring at the house. I know that I had only left a few days ago, but it felt like I hadn't been here in a long time. Albedo gave me a thumbs up and walked back over to me.

"Well," he began speaking as he stuck out his hand. "I should get out of here now. Good luck with Gwen. Thanks again, for all your help."

I took his hand and nodded as we shook.

"Just remember what I told you. I'm not through with helping you yet."

"I appreciate it. Now, I should get out of here. Good luck, again."

"Okay, be careful. Go back to the tenement building if you need a place to stay in the meantime."

"Okay."

I let out a nervous sigh. Odds were that Gwen would be lecturing me for a long time.

"Well, it's now or never." I said as I knocked on the door.

Gwen answered the door maybe half a minute later. She was using a towel to dry her hair, so she must have just been in the shower a short while ago. Gwen made an audible gasp when she saw me and dropped her towel.

"Where have you been?!" she exclaimed in a worried and angry tone as she grabbed me by the collar of my shirt. "Y-You... Y-You..."

She gave up stuttering, let go of my shirt and just hugged me. I couldn't say anything; I didn't know what to say. So, I just hugged her back for the time being. She eventually pulled away from me and gave me an angry look.

"No note, door locked, window open!" she exclaimed. "Where were you?! I thought you had been kidnapped!"

I sighed out of embarrassment.

"I ran away."

The look of anger on her face didn't change when I said that. In fact, if anything, if got worse.

"Ran away?! Ran away to where?! And why?!"

I couldn't answer. I still didn't know what to say. When I didn't answer, she just hugged me again.

"Don't just run off like that!"

She eventually fell down to her knees as she hugged me, bringing me down with her. I remained there while she continued hugging me and I began to gently pat her back.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

After sometime, she finally pulled away from the hug. I stood up and helped her up. She then ushered me into the house so that she could shut the front door.

"Okay, you've been away for three days. Go get in the shower."

"Excuse me? What are you, my mother?"

Gwen let out a sigh of anger and placed her fingers on her temples.

"Ben, just go do what I told you before you make me angry."

I decided that it was best if I just did what she told me. I walked away from her toward the bathroom without another word after that.

A Few Hours Later

After I got out of the shower, I obviously went to my bedroom to change into a fresh pair of clothes. Once I had changed, I quickly snuck back out my window to get the bag that Albedo had stashed for me. I stowed it away in my closet and just kind of hung out in my room until Gwen called me into the kitchen for dinner. She had made spaghetti with little bits of meat in the sauce.

"So, where did you go?" she finally asked the question again.

"I stayed in the city, don't worry." I replied as we began to eat. "I don't see the need to tell where I was. What should matter to you is that I'm safe."

"Okay, I'll let that one go. Why did you leave so suddenly?"

"Didn't you read the note that I left?"

"Yes. What about it?"

"I had some mental issues to sort out. Issues that I could only work through if I was alone for a while."

"So, you were telling the truth?"

I looked up at Gwen, sort of taking offense to what she had just asked.

"What?"

"I had assumed that you were lying. I thought that there might be a deeper reason to you leaving."

I shook my head.

"No, no deeper reason."

After that, she was silent. I eventually felt her touch my hand, so I looked back up at her to see that she had reached across the table to put her hand on mine.

"Ben, if there's something going on with you, if something's bugging you, I'm here for you if you need me. Just talk to me. I care about you, Ben."

I looked back down at my plate, trying to avoid her gaze.

"I appreciate it, Gwen. But with all due respect, there's nothing that you'd be able to do to help me. It's too complicated."

A few seconds passed after I said that and I then felt her retract her hand from mine. So, I looked up at her and saw that there was now a sad look on her face.

"Gwen?"

She slowly got up from the kitchen table without a word to me.

"Gwen? What's wrong?"

She walked past me and out of the kitchen. As she went, I could hear the sound of her sniffling. I didn't need to know what was wrong anymore. Even though I wasn't trying nor did I mean to, it was obvious that I had hurt her feelings. I heard a door shut in the hallway, probably the door to her bedroom.

Meanwhile, I stayed in my seat at the kitchen table, I guess trying to work up the courage to get up and try to talk to her. After a while of sitting there, I finally got up to leave the kitchen. I walked out into the living room and down the hall to the door to room, which was shut. I considered just going in to talk to her, but I quickly lost all of my courage.

No, I thought. You'll just make things worse.

At that point, I had lost my appetite. I returned to the kitchen and took both of our plates of spaghetti from the table. Neither of us had eaten very much. I put down the plates on the kitchen counter and went to get containers to put them in. It would be a waste to shove all of this down the garbage disposal.

Once I had gotten both plates of spaghetti into separate containers, I put them in the fridge. After that, I washed off the plates and put them into the dishwasher. I then went to my room to lie down, where I would wait for ten o'clock to roll around.

Ten O'clock

That time had rolled around and I was about to get out of bed to put my makeshift costume back on, however, before I could get out of bed, I began to hear footsteps outside my bedroom door. I rolled over onto my side, facing away from the door and stayed still while I waited for Gwen to go back to her bedroom. Instead of that happening though, I heard her open the door to my room.

I heard her walk into my room and about a second later, I heard her footsteps stop right next to my bed. I waited, thinking that maybe she was just checking on me. However, something I hadn't anticipated ended up happening instead. I felt my blankets get pulled back and she then got into bed next to me. If I was being completely honest, I didn't know what to do nor what to think here. Then, I felt her wrap her arms around me until she was hugging herself tightly up against my back.

"Ben..." she whispered my name.

"What the hell?" I whispered out loud, feeling unnerved.

"I can't lose you, Ben."

She hugged me even tighter after that.

"I can't lose my baby cousin, Ben." she whispered as she began to cry.

And cry, she did. And this wasn't any kind of crying, no. She was bawling like a baby, so much so that I could actually feel her shudder against my back as she cried. After what seemed like forever, I finally found my voice.

"I'm sorry, Gwen." I whispered at last.

She didn't answer. She just pressed her face into my back as she continued to cry. I knew that I had fucked up, sure. But now I knew just how badly I had fucked up and I was going to have to fix it. The only problem is that I wasn't sure how to do that.

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 of Chapter Twenty Eight? Did anything stand out to anyone? I put a lot of thought and work into what to do with this version of Chapter Twenty Seven, so I really hope that you guys liked it. I really want to know what you guys thought of the changes to this chapter, especially the end, so please, I implore you to leave a review on this chapter. 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 thought of this chapter and it would mean the world to me.

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

Director's Commentary

* So, this installment of Director's Commentary will have a good chunk of stuff to talk about. Let's get started.

* To start off, let's talk about when Albedo and Lucky Girl meeting for the first time. I want to point out how Lucky Girl is really distrusting of Albedo and has a low opinion of him. I think that Gwen really would do this, even though Albedo hasn't met Lucky Girl before. She doesn't really understand the professionalism between super heroes yet. Plus, I think she would use her own bias at first when using the guise of Lucky Girl.

* So, I really fucked up the original version of this chapter. The original character dynamic between Ben and Gwen was terrible in this chapter. In the original version, Gwen came off more as a mother who was angry with her child more than she did as a cousin who was worried about her family member. She screamed at him and even hit him at one point and I think this really needed to go. I like this version of their reunion much better and I hope ya'll like it, too.

* Next, I want to briefly discuss their scene at the dinner table. When Gwen tells him that she's willing to help him anyway she can, Ben tells her that there is nothing she could have done to help him. And in response, Gwen's feelings are hurt by that and she then goes to her bedroom to cry. I think that this is a very real and human reaction to have when someone tells you that there is nothing you can do to help them. Or at least in this case, as Ben kind of lies and tells Gwen that he had mental issues to take care of.

* And lastly, the big scene: Gwen comes into Ben's room late that night to snuggle with him as she has a bit of a breakdown. She whispers to him that "she can't lose her baby cousin" and proceeds to bawl like a baby into his back. I put a lot of thought into this decision and I ultimately think that it was the right thing. She can't just be angry with Ben about him leaving, sure she can be impatient with him once he returns, but being angry doesn't do anything.

* So, instead, I thought it would be more effective to have her breakdown and cry like this, seeing as she thought that she had lost him when he left. I also think that this gives her a bit of character development, because I think this shows that she isn't as strong of a person as she makes herself out to be. I also think that this will go on to strengthen her bond with Ben in future chapters. Anyway, that wraps up this installment of Director's Commentary. Thanks for reading.

Next Chapter: The following day, Ben has to comfort Gwen following her breakdown. Later in the day, he goes out to meet Albedo and Lucky Girl.