Chapter 151: Court Room Drama
Disclaimer: I Don't Own Ben 10 Or Any Of The Characters. I Don't Own The Rights To Nathan Black Or Any Associated Characters, The Rights Go To annihalator2015
Author's Note:
* Hello and welcome to Chapter One Hundred and Fifty One!
* So, this chapter will feature a couple more flashbacks before we finally get back full time present day scenes, if that makes sense.
* Anyway, I don't have anything else to say. With that said, let's get into this chapter!
Earth-Prime
Four Weeks Ago – Saturday, February 9th, 2019
Bellwood General Hospital
Ben
Albedo ended up being treated in the same hospital where Dad was treated for his gunshot wound. After the week that I had, I finally went in to see him, a few days after he had first woken up. This was also the same day that I had gone to see Albedo after he had woken up in the hospital, but that story comes later.
"It's really good of you to come see me." Dad said from his spot in his hospital bed.
"Of course, I'd come see you." I replied hesitantly. "I'm just sorry that I couldn't make it sooner."
"Don't do that. I understand full well that you had things to take care of, between that band of lunatics and school. I didn't want you to be in a rush to get up here."
Hearing that was a bit of a relief.
"Mom told me—" I began to speak again, only for him to cut me off.
"I heard what your mother told you and I'm not happy with it. That nonsense she put into your head was uncalled for. There hasn't been a situation where you were the one who was completely at fault and this—"
He barely patted his left thigh.
"This isn't on you, don't listen to what your mother tells you. You're doing good work and regardless of what she says, I am proud of you."
"But she said—"
"I don't care what she said! It isn't right! Son, you can't let her get to you! You need to... You need—"
He stopped speaking for a second and took a deep breath.
"The doctor and nurses told me that I can't get too worked up, give me a few seconds."
He took a couple of deep breathes, several seconds between breathing in and out, before speaking again.
"Okay, listen now. Ben, you see, women are very... interesting. There are instances where they'll tell you that you're doing good things and they appreciate what you're doing. And then they turn around and make it seem like you're the bad guy."
"Kind of like Mom is doing now?" I asked.
He chuckled a little bit.
"Exactly like your mother's doing. Just listen to what I say. Don't listen to what she says and don't let her get to you. You're doing great, I'm proud of you, Ben. There was a time not too long ago that I thought maybe all of your silly comic book fantasies had gone to your head. I'm glad to say that you've proven me wrong as of late."
Silly comic book fantasies going to my head? I think it's best if I just let that one go.
Dad let out a sigh as he leaned back into the support pillows behind his back.
"So, what else is on your mind?" he asked.
I gave him a confused look following that question.
"I'm sorry?"
"Come on, Ben. I know that there's something else on your mind. Talk to me."
Okay, maybe there was something on my mind, but how did he...
"How did you know that I had something on my mind?" I asked.
"I'm your father, Ben. I can tell if something's bugging you. You can tell me anything, don't you know that?"
I gave him a bit of a slow nod.
"I think so..."
"Well, come on, then. What have you got for me?"
I let out a sigh.
"It's Albedo." I said.
"What about him?"
"He won't let me in. He doesn't want to see me. I'm pretty sure that he blames me for what happened to him. And honestly, he should blame me. It was my fault."
He took a sharp breath through his nose.
"Don't say that, Benjamin." He said at last.
I was a bit surprised due to the fact that he had said that in a bit of a stern tone.
"Why?" I asked.
"Don't put yourself down like that. You're a good person, you mean well. He was shot in the eye, yes? Even if it doesn't sound right, even if it may be your fault, you still had good intentions in mind. So, don't let people get to you like that and don't bring yourself down. Things will turn out fine, you'll see."
He was right. What he had said didn't sound right, not really at all. But you couldn't fault him for trying to make me feel better, can you?
Nevertheless, I let out another sigh before responding.
"Thanks, Dad."
He nodded without a word. A long silence passed between us and during that time, I looked down at the floor, beginning to think unpleasant thoughts. I started thinking about how Dad had been shot just last week and if anything had gone differently, I never would have seen him again. The tears began running from my eyes and that's when I looked up at him.
"I know I don't say this enough, but I love you, Dad." I found myself saying in a shaky voice.
He seemed surprised by what I said, but he responded pretty quickly.
"I love you too, Ben." he said as he opened up his arms. "Come here, kid."
And so he pulled me into a hug and that's when I broke down crying into his chest. See, me here, crying my eyes out? To do that, for me, a boy, wasn't it unmanly? Either way, I didn't care.
The Tennyson House
Present Day – Wednesday, March 6th, 2019
After I had come to, Albedo was long gone. I found it a little surprising that no one stepped in to stop Albedo from attacking me. Now, I stood in the bathroom, the same bathroom that he had been in, assessing the damage he had done in the mirror. He had given me a black eye. I let out a sigh as exited the bathroom, turning off the light as I went. I walked into our bedroom, where Gwen was still sitting on the bed with the cat.
"Ben?" she asked as I entered.
"Going to bed." I replied.
Since she was sitting on my side of the bed, I walked around to the foot of the bed and crawled up onto her side of the bed, which she pointed out quickly thereafter.
"Ben, that's my side of the bed."
"I know. Don't care. Good night."
I rolled over onto my side, my back to her and tried to get to sleep, still in my day clothes. I started thinking about my encounter with Albedo again.
It's been three weeks or so now and he's still hostile toward me! When will this end?!
Bellwood General Hospital
Four Weeks Ago – Saturday, February 9th, 2019
The day I went to go see Dad in the hospital, I had gone to see Albedo first. He might have woken up the previous night or that Saturday, I didn't really know for sure. Anyway, the "visit" would end in a way that I hadn't expected it to. But honestly, I should have anticipated the outcome that I would get.
I stood outside the door to Albedo's hospital room, for some reason feeling too nervous to enter. In my left hand, I held a yellow balloon with a "Get Well Soon" design on it and in my right hand was nothing, although it was twitching due to how nervous I was. Eventually I had to work up the courage to lift up my right hand, still twitching as I did and knock on the door.
"Come." I heard Sunny call from the other side of the door after a few seconds.
So, I opened the door and slowly walked into the room. It was your average hospital room, nothing fancy. Albedo sat sitting up in the hospital bed, with Sunny sitting in a chair next to the bed, whispering to him. Without the Omnitrix, I couldn't tell what she was saying to him, but she was probably telling him that "everything was going to be alright" or something like that. I came to a stop at the side of the bed.
"Hey, brother." I greeted him.
He didn't say anything in response, but he slowly began to look up, turning his head to face me as he did. He did not look happy to see me. His remaining eye began to burn bright red as he spoke in a low voice.
"Get out."
The smile on my face disappeared along with the nervousness that I was feeling before I had stepped in here. In fact, I couldn't tell what I was feeling right now. My continued standing in place seemed to make Albedo angry, as he raised his voice.
"Get the hell out of here!" he screamed. "Get the hell out of here, right now!"
I slowly began to back up as he continued screaming, as the monitor to his right began beeping in tune with his rising heart rate. Meanwhile, Sunny didn't even try to ease his outburst. Eventually, I had to leave the hospital room, without having delivered my get well soon gifts.
The Tennyson House
Present Day – Thursday, March 7th, 2019
When I woke up the following morning, my face hurt. And I mean, it hurt. Albedo had hit me pretty good. I sat up on the side of the bed that I had fallen asleep on, to see that Gwen had already gotten out of bed. I looked at the clock next. I didn't have much time till I had to leave for school. I got up from the bed, not even having been under the covers, though Gwen had draped a quilt over me at some point during the night.
I left the quilt on the bed and walked over to the side table that sat next to the window on the other side of the room. I came to a stop at the side table and opened the drawer on it, to see the blue notebook and mechanical pencil sitting inside. I grabbed both and took them out of the drawer before closing it again. I sat down on the bed, opened the notebook to the first page and started reading.
February 6th, 2019
Things aren't great. Dad's in the hospital and my secret identity could be revealed to the world at midnight tonight. Yeah. Things could certainly be better. I don't even know why I'm writing this. Maybe writing all of this down will help to reassure me about the coming storm. To whoever's reading this for whatever reason, if you start hearing bad things about me, don't believe any of it.
They'll say that I've done terrible things and none of it will be true. Sure, I've made mistakes, who hasn't? But I'm not a bad man. I've just never been more terrified in my life and I needed something to escape to for a few seconds. If things do go horribly, well, at least this can be my last will and testament, so to speak. There'll be something to set the record straight.
I looked at the next section that I had written in the notebook.
Thursday, February 7th, 2019
The end never came. With help from a group of friends and other... interesting people, I raided Enoch's tower and had the doctored footage of me erased from their databanks. It's not all good news, though. In the chaos, Albedo was shot in the eye. That's a very long story that I don't have the will to tell right now. It was revealed to us that Leon's family is still alive and the last year or so of his anti-heroish escapades were wasted.
And he'll never be able to see his family again, because of what he's become, all due to the consequences of my actions. For all I know, Clancy is out there and could be, hell, he probably has killed again, even after nearly breaking our agreement. Anyway, besides all of that, everything went mostly well. Nathan did his part, he really came through for me. Sure, I may not have liked his methods, but I wouldn't have been able to do it without him. His help has been invaluable.
I looked at the next entry and began reading that one:
Saturday, February 9th, 2019
Albedo woke up and I went to see him today. He didn't even want to see me. He blames me for what happened to him that night and you know what? I understood why he blamed me. Even I blame myself for what happened. The whole thing was my fault and I don't fault him for blaming me. Anyway, enough of that.
Saw Dad for the first time today, since he woke up as well. Seeing him and talking with him really eased my spirits. Unfortunately, my spirits aren't eased all the way, if that makes any sense. Mom and I spoke yesterday for the first time in a couple days. She told me that my super hero days were over, whether I liked it or not.
And I told her no, that I had no intention of giving up the costume, I insisted that I was doing great things and that I was proud of myself. Despite that, she still told me that I was done. And so we argued for what seemed like hours. Finally, we came to bit a of a compromise, if you could call it that.
She told me that she'll look the other way, while I continue doing my hero work. As long as she didn't ask me about it or I didn't say anything about to her, we'd be fine. A sort of don't ask, don't tell system. So, we just don't talk about it. It isn't a healthy way of doing it at all, it just isn't. We will have to talk about it eventually. But I don't know when that time will come.
The day following that night, I wrote in that blue notebook again, just for the peace of mind.
Sunday, February 10th, 2019
I've written two additional entries in this thing since I thought my life was coming to an end and you know what? I kind of like the idea of writing my thoughts down. So, maybe I'll keep up with doing this. Besides, I'm pretty sure I heard my therapist say that keeping a journal can be beneficial. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to call Doc Nocturne – Jenny – and ask to put a session together. It might help to tell some of this stuff to a professional.
I turned the page and continued reading.
Saturday, February 16th, 2019
Who does Director Steel think he is? Telling us that us as soon as we graduate high school, we belong to him? He keeps saying that we're "illegal genetic mutations" or something. Let's think about that. The Omnitrix has probably changed the structure of my DNA to some degree, so I'm most likely not a pure human anymore. Gwen has been called – on more than one occasion – a Human-Anodite hybrid. So, she could possibly have alien DNA in her blood.
Albedo is a clone of me with his own Omnitrix, so he also isn't pure. And Sunny is a clone of Gwen, so she isn't pure by default, either. So, maybe we really weren't one hundred percent human. Who knows? But we're still people. Aren't we? And we have certain, unalienable rights. Rights that it feels like he'd be taking away from us if we go to "work" for him. In these moments, Director Steel reminds of me of a few certain individuals throughout history. And none of them were good people.
I looked at the most recent entry.
Thursday, February 28th, 2019
Our visit to that new comic book store didn't end up going so well. Nathan actually went along with us, not that that was the problem. I thought that maybe I could use this time to reveal my secret to J.T and Cash. Boy, that didn't go according to plan. Nathan practically scolded me when I told him what I was actually trying to do. Maybe next time I should just be more direct and not be so weird with my approach.
That was all I had written so far, only a handful of entries. And I was about to start writing another entry, when Gwen spoke from the doorway to the room.
"Ben, it's time to go to school."
I looked back at her. I was going to say something, but she beat me to it.
"Come on!" she said as she gestured to me with her hand.
She disappeared from the doorway, leaving me alone once more.
No way had I been sitting here, reading for that long!
I looked at the Omnitrix, currently in its wristwatch form and sure enough, we had about half an hour until school started. I let out a sigh and I shut the notebook, before I got up and put it back in the nightstand drawer, along with the mechanical pencil. I guess it was time to go after all.
Five Hours Later
Madison High School Cafeteria
I placed my tray down at our lunch table and sat down in my seat with a sigh, pressing an ice cream sandwich (still in its wrapper) that I didn't intend on eating, against my black eye. I didn't have enough of an appetite to eat my lunch, so it would probably just sit there for the entire lunch period, uneaten.
"That's an interesting fashion statement, Tennyson."
I looked up at Nathan sitting across the table from me, sporting somewhat of a grin on his face. I chuckled as I came up with my response and mentally cursed in pain.
"Very funny. I didn't think you had a sense of humor, Nathan."
"I have a sense of humor, Tennyson. We just haven't known each other long enough for you to realize it."
I didn't say anything in return. Kind of because I couldn't think of anything to say in response, but mostly because someone else spoke before either of us could.
"Oh my God! What happened to you?" a voice asked.
I turned to my right, to see Kai just now sitting down a couple of seats away from me. I was a little confused, but I responded anyway.
"Um, I confronted Albedo for the first time in four weeks yesterday. And as a result, he gave me a black eye."
"And you're using an ice cream sandwich as a substitute for an ice pack?"
"Um, yes?" I asked, still a little confused for some reason.
"Pull that back so I can see it better." She commanded.
For some reason, I did as she told me. When I did, the look on her face changed to more of a stern one.
Imagine that, I thought. Kai Green has a stern look on her face, as if she's about to lecture me.
"You supposed to put ice on it immediately, you dummy!"
"Thanks." I muttered.
"She's right." Nathan said from across the table.
I turned to look at him.
"Hey, you stay out of this."
Nathan raised his hands in a placating manner.
"Hey, I'm just saying, man. She knows better than you, and you don't want to piss off the person helping you with your health, otherwise she can and will make it hurt way more than it needs to." He said with a chuckle. "Besides, you're the one who decided to waste a perfectly good ice cream sandwich instead of putting that eye on ice, so I think I get to chime in a little."
"I'll be right back." Kai replied before I could respond to Nathan.
I looked back at her, to see her getting out of her seat.
"Um, okay?" I asked.
I watched her as she walked around the right side of the table, from where I was sitting, and out of the cafeteria. And so, I just sat there, while everyone else sat in silence, waiting to see what she was doing.
I'm so unused to Kai actually being nice. I'm used to the snarky, manipulative, "you don't actually matter to me, you're just a toy to me until I'm done with you" Kai.
She was gone for a few minutes and in that time, some of my tablemates began talking amongst themselves, although I wasn't paying attention to what they were saying. After a few minutes, Kai returned. And to my surprise, she had an ice pack in her hands.
She must have gone to the nurse's office.
She rounded the table and eventually sat back down, but this time she sat directly to my right, instead of two seats down.
"Here." She said as she plucked the ice cream sandwich from my hand. "Put this on it instead."
She pressed the ice pack right up against my black eye, which earned a hiss of pain out of me. I recoiled away from the cold, but I grabbed the ice pack from her, briefly touching her hand for a split second as I did.
"Okay, okay!" I said. "I can take it from here!"
I gently pressed the ice pack to my black eye as I spoke. I considered what I said for a second, before I spoke again.
"Thanks."
She nodded.
"Of course." She replied.
Remember what I said about how I'm not used to Kai being nice to me? Case in point.
As I sat there, Cash spoke up from down the table.
"Are you going to eat that?" he asked.
I saw him pointing at the ice cream sandwich that now sat on my tray.
"No." I said with confusion once more.
"Gimme." He replied.
You really want to eat the ice cream sandwich that I had pressed against my black eye? Your funeral.
I picked it up and tossed it to him, which he caught it.
"That's disgusting." Kai remarked.
"I reckon that I'll pretend I didn't just hear you say that." Nathan said as he got on with eating his lunch.
I let out a sigh as I rested my chin in my free hand, pressing the ice pack to my black eye.
I can't do it, I thought. I just don't have the appetite to eat my lunch.
Sometime Later
The Tennyson House
I stood in the bathroom, staring into the mirror at my black eye. I was thinking about my encounter with Albedo last night.
"Why?! Why?! Why?!" I heard Albedo's words from the previous night. "Take a look! I have a fucking hole in my head, Ben!"
I let out a sigh.
If Albedo doesn't clean up his act soon, he won't be graduating high school with us, but he won't do anything on his own. So, how can I help Albedo? There's got to be something I can do to make things better for him.
I stood there for a few minutes thinking and that's when the idea came to me. I forced a sigh of annoyance.
God, I can't believe that I was stooping to this level, I thought.
I left the bathroom, but left the light on, heading towards the bedroom that I shared with Gwen. I had a phone call to make.
One Hour Later
S.E.C.T. Helicarrier
I couldn't believe that I had found myself coming down to this level. I was desperate enough to go to Director Steel and S.E.C.T. for help. Anyway, before I left the house, I made sure to use some of my mom's makeup that was in the bathroom to mask my black eye and it had worked for the most part. I had been directed/escorted to Director Steel's office.
"Okay, kid. Here you are." The agent next to me replied.
"Thanks. I can take it from here."
I took a deep breath and then entered his office. As I entered, I saw him sitting at his desk, looking in my direction.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't the great Ben Tennyson, coming crawling back to me after your refused to work with us." He said as he stood up from his desk. "So, what can I do for you?"
Working with you?! The way I heard it, you were going to force us to work for you against our will! That's not how you describe someone "working with you".
I held my tongue. I couldn't risk setting him off when I really needed his help.
"I need a favor, Director Steel." I said.
He grumbled, before sitting back down at his desk.
"Don't you always, Ben? You always come here asking for a favor. You never ask us what you can do to help."
Like hell I would want to help you speciesist fucks, I thought.
He sat at his desk in silence, before speaking when I didn't.
"Well? Spit it out. What do you want?"
I didn't waste time.
"My brother Albedo is going to end up flunking out of high school and will end up dying from sulking in the shadows with his negative energy. He needs that robotic eye that you guys designed for him. Please, Director Steel. Help me help him."
He sat there for a few seconds, before he looked up and I got the bad news.
"No. Absolutely not. You've gotten enough free favors out of me. We are not a charity, Benjamin. If you want something, you'll have to work for it."
He looked back down at his desk and just left me here, standing in silence. After maybe a minute of standing there, he looked back up at me.
"What are you waiting for?!" he exclaimed as his face grew red. "Get out of my office!"
He looked back down at his desk and I sighed, realizing that I'd have to give in.
"What do you want?" I asked at last.
He looked up at me once more, before getting up from his desk once again.
"That's more like it, kid." He said as he walked over to me. "Now listen closely. There's a court date coming up this weekend."
"A court date?" I asked with confusion. "So, you want me to do jury duty?"
"I never said anything about jury duty. Now pay attention."
And so I shut up and did as I was told.
"There is a court date coming up this weekend. Do you remember young Alan Albright?"
Flashes of that day that I chased the flaming being across the city instantly came to my mind and my eyes widened.
"Alan Albright?" I asked. "The kid that I chased across the city, trying to get him to surrender so he could get the help he needed?"
"Yeah, we both know how that ended. You made things infinitely worse."
My faced reddened with anger as he said that.
"Hey! I was just trying to help!"
"And you just made things worse. Anyway, the kid is standing trial for crimes against the city. And—"
"Standing trial for crimes against the city?! He didn't do anything wrong!"
"He most certainly did! He injured at least one person and put many other people in danger. Honestly Benjamin, you're lucky that you're not on trial with him."
Honestly, hearing him say that pissed me off even more that what he had said previously.
"What?! Why would I be on trial with him?!"
"Aren't you the one who burned down another apartment building?"
"That's not fair! I didn't mean to do it!"
"But that still doesn't make what you did okay, does it?"
What the fuck?!
I decided not to say anything more about it and as it would turn out, Director Steel had more to say about the matter.
"If we're being honest here, you're lucky that I decided to be generous enough to keep your name out of the newspapers."
That made me go completely cold.
"You fucking asshole." I whispered under my breath.
"What did you just say?" he asked in an aggressive tone.
I shook my head.
"Nothing." I replied with anger.
"That's what I thought." He said in a stern tone, before clearing his throat. "Anyway, he's on trial for crimes against the city and—"
"Why is he on trial? He can't control himself! Don't forget that the Forever Knights made him like that!"
His face turned red before he spoke again.
"Will you quit interrupting me and just let me finish what I'm saying?!"
He let out a sigh before he answered my question.
"Maybe he couldn't control himself. But answer me this: if your dog goes berserk and attacks someone out of nowhere, does that mean that you don't have to be held accountable?"
No? Yes? What kind of analogy is that?!
I sighed.
"Can we just get to the point?" I asked, running short on patience.
"Absolutely, thank you. So, he's on trial for his crimes against the city and he's agreed to plead guilty in exchange to get help for his condition. He pleads guilty and he is able to get into therapy and hopefully have his condition reverse engineered."
I was baffled at what he said.
"Plead guilty to get the help that he needs? But this entire mess isn't his fault, Director! The Forever Knights did this to him!"
"But the public doesn't know about that part, do they?"
I stared at him with shock, as my jaw hung open,
"You monster." I muttered to his face.
He stepped forward and jabbed his finger into my chest.
"Watch your tone, child. I'm the one who's about to grant your brother the surgery that he needs in exchange for a favor."
I sighed once again.
"What does all of this have to do with what you want from me?" I asked in as calm of a voice that I could muster.
"Well, I'm needed at the trial, just to make sure that everything goes smoothly. However, I don't really want to go to the trial."
You're kidding... Is he about to ask me what I think he's going to ask?
"So, maybe you could be kind enough to go in my place and make sure that—"
"Forget it." I interrupted. "I'm not doing your dirty work."
"Do you want your brother to have that robotic eye or not?"
I let out another sigh.
"Fine." I gave in, "What do I have to do?"
"You don't need to do much. All you need to do is sit in on the trial and make sure everything goes smoothly."
"Make sure everything goes smoothly. That's it?"
"That's it."
It sounded simple, sure. But I didn't think that it would be that easy. And little did I know, I would be right.
As I stood there, another thought came to my mind. A question, rather.
"Director, what happened to Clancy after he deserted us during our raid on the Forever Knights' tower?"
He chuckled.
"Your 'raid'? Is that really what you call it? Well, as your 'raid' was wrapping up, we picked up Clancy and he's been a good boy ever since."
He's been a good boy ever since?
"What does that mean?" I asked with confusion.
"Submitting him to electroshock therapy, anything that'll break him down from the monster that he is. Hopefully one day, he'll be too docile to attack someone ever again."
Why don't you just lobotomize him then?
"Is that even legal?"
He looked back at me with a confused gaze.
"He's a monster that has killed several people. I'm not sure that the legality of the situation matters."
I mean, I guess. But does it really not matter?
After that, I dropped the subject and he escorted me out of his office, to be taken back to the suburbs. As I was being escorted through the halls, I saw a couple of scientist type people wearing biohazard suits entering a room. As I passed the room, I noticed that the door was open, I was overwhelmed by the attempt to look into the room and so, I did. In the room, I saw that there was some kind of giant tank in there filled with water. And who was in it? None other, than Savage Animo. I stopped and continued looking into the room.
Wait, that doesn't make sense! I saw him at the tower just a few weeks ago! And in human form no less! What's going on here?
As I looked, I saw that one of the guys in the suits turned and saw me. They probably panicked, because they ran over to the wall on the inside of the room, slammed their hand down on a button or switch of some kind and the door slid shut. Meanwhile, the agent escorting be marched over to me, aggressively grabbed my sleeve and began to drag me the rest of the way to the transport. As I was being dragged, I reflected on what I had just seen. I had just seen Savage Animo, still in stasis, but I had seen a human Animo die at the tower. How was that possible? I flashed back to the past.
He slammed right into me, causing me to spill my coffee all over my jacket. The man also fell once he ran into me, dropping everything in his hands. I turned to look at him as he scrambled to pick up his things. Folders, papers, maybe technical data of some kind and oddly enough, a single vial of blood with no markings of identification on it.
That man was caring a blood vial when he left Animo's containment chamber. Wait, a blood vial? Oh my God, how could I have been so stupid? Is it so impossible to think that while Savage Animo was still in stasis that man drew blood from him? And he probably wasn't a S.E.C.T. agent either, he was more likely than not an insider for Enoch. The Animo that died that night wasn't the real thing, was it? If Savage Animo is still here and if I saw Animo die in the tower that night, there's only one logical explanation.
I let out a sigh.
A clone, I dreadfully thought.
Saturday, March 9th, 2019
Bellwood Courthouse
I told Mom about the favor the Director Steel needed me to do after I got home that day, even though she didn't want to hear anything about it. So, we came to a compromise, I guess. She gave me one of Dad's old suits, made sure it fit me and that's what I would wear to the trial. And it was what I would wear to the trial. Mom still wanted to hear nothing about it, so she didn't even know why I was here.
Anyway, the whole trial was kind of boring. I now kind of saw why Director Steel didn't want to attend. One of the only two interesting things about this trial, the other thing would take place very soon, was one of the people who was testifying against Alan, if that was the correct terminology. The girl who looked to be near my age had light brown skin and black hair, along with wearing a bandage on her forearm and up to her shoulder. I quickly recognized her as the unfortunate innocent bystander that he attacked that day.
Unfortunately, a random citizen just so happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
He reached out and grabbed a black-haired girl, who might have been my age. The girl shut her eyes and cried out with pain, so Alan must have been giving off heat still. Then he started speaking in an enraged tone.
"All of you back off now or the girl gets it! I swear to fucking God, I'll kill this bitch!"
As he said that, Alan's free hand reignited, setting his arm ablaze all the way up to his elbow.
"I'm serious! Just back off and leave me the fuck alone!"
But that wasn't the most interesting part about her. In her black hair, starting above her right eyebrow and gradually curving around to the far right side of her head, was a streak of white hair. I had a few theories about that, but I was pretty sure that the stress of being held against her will by Alan played a part in it.
The defendant, if that was the right term, Alan, was wearing some sort of containment suit and he wasn't back in a human form. His "skin" was a mass of dark red briquettes, with no fire to be seen on his body. Well, the trial was just about to get interesting. As Alan sat in the box opposite of the judge, he was asked the million dollar question:
"Mr. Albright, how do you plead?"
And he just sat there for a few moments. He was supposed to plead guilty, in exchange for getting the help that he desperately needed. He was just one step away from being able to be rehabilitated. Well, maybe that didn't matter to him in the end, as he ultimately spoke.
"Not guilty, your Honor."
I sat up straight in my seat in shock as to what I just heard.
Why did he say that?! He was supposed to plead guilty!
"I beg your pardon?" one of the people, probably his lawyer, at his table asked.
"You heard me. I said, 'not guilty'. I don't care about the things I may have done, I had no control over myself and it's not my fault, the condition that I was left in. I was mutated to look like this by a man named Ulysses Enoch and a group called the Forever Knights!"
Well, I guess the cat's out of the bag now. But how can he just give away that information? Isn't that confidential?!
For the last four weeks, his rage had been allowed to just simmer and boil. As Alan spoke, I could see flames begin to rise from the dark red briquettes on his face.
Shouldn't the containment suit keep him from reigniting?!
"You people called me 'The Human Torch' in the paper! Well, if you want a Human Torch, then I'll give you a Human Torch!" he said as the flames on his body continued to build up. "I'm going to incinerate Enoch and his Forever Knights for what they turned me into, even if it kills me! I'll burn down the entire city if I have to!"
He then stood up and I was surprised by what I would soon witness. I think he shut his eyes and then it was like his entire body began to vibrate. The judge seemed to understand what was happening, because she ducked down and took cover in her box. Then, the containment suit he had on exploded around him as he fully caught fire. The cops in the room (I don't know if there were any undercover S.E.C.T. agents here) got up, pulled their sidearms and began to fire at him, as if that did anything, though.
But his body was different this time. During our first encounter, he looked exactly like Heatblast, while still looking slightly different. That was no longer the case. I could no longer see the briquettes underneath the flames on his body. He looked like a being completely made of fire, through and through. He didn't remain standing there for long. He pointed his hands upwards toward the ceiling and blasted a beam of fire from each of his palms.
The beams of fire hit the skylight in the ceiling and shattered it, sending shards of glass raining down upon us. Everyone dove to get cover, as Alan transformed his lower body into a spiral of fire and flew out of the destroyed skylight. He was gone. After a few seconds, everyone started to come out of hiding. I suppose that there couldn't be trial if the defendant had escaped. I guess that there wasn't much to do now. They'd probably have to wrap up the session after this.
A Couple Hours Later
The Tennyson House
When I returned home after they finally released everyone from the court room, I walked in the front door to find Mom sitting on the couch, watching T.V. She noticed me as I came in.
"How did your thing go?" she asked as I shut the door.
"Not great." I replied.
She didn't respond after that and so, I just kept standing there.
"Don't you want to know what—"
"No." she interrupted me.
I gave her a frown and just kept standing there for a few seconds.
"Okay." I said at last, before I walked past her.
I headed down the hall and into the bedroom that I shared with Gwen, to find her on the bed, on her phone. She looked up at me as I entered and she put her phone away, turning her attention to me.
"How was your little court thingy?" she asked.
I sighed with disappointment. I took off my suit coat and my tie and dropped them on the floor, which wasn't at all good for the coat. I laid down on the bed with my dress shoes still on.
"It sucked." I replied.
As I laid there, Gwen came over, laid down on top of me and began to gently stroke my chest through my dress shirt.
"What happened?"
"He escaped. He refused to plead guilty like he had initially promised to and told everyone in the court room that he was going to burn Enoch and his Forever Knights for what they had done to him."
"Only, he doesn't know that Enoch is already dead and this revenge quest of his won't get him anywhere."
"Right."
She was silent for a moment.
"What are you going to do about it?" she asked.
I sighed.
"Well, I feel like I'm responsible for him now, even if I'm really not. I need to find him before he lets his own rage consume him. I just know that I can get him the help he needs."
"It's not like you have to do it now. Right?"
"No, I don't. But I just can't stop thinking about it. I feel helpless, I guess."
She went quiet again and eventually, I felt her begin to paw around below my waist. That made me go as stiff as a board and I looked at her directly. I knew exactly what she wanted from the look in her eyes. As she continued feeling around down there, she leaned in and began to speak into my ear.
"Would some 'alone time' with me make you feel better?" she seductively whispered into my ear.
The offer was definitely tempting, but I just wasn't up to it right now. I let out a sigh before speaking.
"Not right now. I'm just not in the mood. Maybe later tonight."
The look on her face dampened.
"Oh, okay." She said as she got off of me. "Fine, then."
She then left the room, leaving me alone. After lying there comprehending what had just happened for a few seconds, I let out a sigh.
I'm definitely going to have to make it up to her later, I thought.
Late That Night
Well, I indeed did have to make it up to Gwen. Before we went to bed for the night, we made love for about half an hour. Afterwards, we laid in bed and Gwen eventually fell asleep on her side to my right. I wasn't completely tired and I needed to get something off of my mind, so I sat up and turned on the light in the room, surprisingly not waking Gwen. I got out of bed and walked around to the foot of the bed, where my nightstand stood directly across from me against the wall. I opened it, pulled out my notebook and pencil, and opened it up. After maybe half a minute of thinking, I began to write:
Saturday, March 9th, 2019
Well, earlier in the day today, I went and sat in on Alan Albright's trial. To make a long story short, he escaped after refusing to plead guilty. His goal is to kill Enoch and his Forever Knights for what they made him into. The only thing is that he isn't aware that Enoch is already dead. He is a young man who has a lot of anger locked up inside and if something doesn't happen, he'll lose himself to that rage.
I feel like it's my responsibility to make sure he gets back on the right track. In a way, he reminds me of myself, about a year ago. I was also a very angry individual then, easily tempered. It was primarily because Gwen rejected me for my super hero persona (I know how dumb that sounds) and a few other occasions. I really think I was just drastically overreacting in these instances. I'm still not in a very good place, but I think I'm better than I was, in the very least. Now that I think of it, I'm kind of an asshole, in some aspects.
Anyway, maybe I can convince Director Steel to help him free of charge and in exchange, I'll take the fall for his "crimes against the city". It isn't likely to happen, but it's worth a shot. He was willing to allow me to work to get Albedo his robotic eye, didn't he? Speaking of which, how is that going to go? Will he hold his end of the bargain? Didn't I do my part? I sat through the trial and acted as his "temporary agent", making sure that nothing went wrong. But that's the thing, why would he send ME?
I have a secret identity and I would have compromised it if I had tried to chase after Alan today. I think sending me was a terrible idea. But at the end of the day, he should honor his end of our deal. He owes me that at least. In other news, I've noticed something at school. I think it's been a full week and Mr. Fargas still has yet to return. And I—
"Ben?" I heard Gwen ask from behind me.
I heard her starting to move as I turned to look at her and I saw her getting up from the bed, holding the top sheet up against her chest so that I couldn't see anything.
"Baby, it's cold in bed without you!" she said in a bit of a whiny tone. "Come to bed and cuddle me!"
I looked past her and saw that the bed was an absolute mess. The top comforter was lying in a tangled stream at the foot of the bed and one of our pillows sat on the middle left of the bed. I know that we had been gentle with each other, but I hadn't realized we had made a mess. At least tomorrow's Sunday, so we'll be able to sleep in.
"In a minute." I replied, before turning back to my journal.
—can't help but be worried about him. I know that he told us that it was early stage cancer and that he'd be fine, but he's been gone for a while now and I am worried about him. He's my favorite teacher, after all.
I heard Gwen start to move again and this time, she came over and sat down in my bare lap. I was surprised when she shut the notebook in my hands. She then tossed it to the ground and began whispering into my ear.
"Come. To. Bed." She whispered, before gently licking my earlobe.
I felt a shiver go down my spine.
"Okay, okay, okay! I'm coming, no need to get frisky again. I'm too tired for that."
I looked at her and saw her smiling, knowing that she had won.
That shows me that I should never go against my girlfriend's demands, I thought.
I got up from the foot of the bed and she took my hand with her free hand as we walked back to the side of the bed. I laid down on the bed and put my head against the pillow as she shut off the light. She then pulled the sheet from her body and laid down with me, before covering us up with the sheet. She then partially rested herself against my chest and let out a sigh of content. The sheet in all honesty shouldn't have been enough, but with the warmth that both of us were giving off, it was more than enough.
"Good night, Ben." she whispered as she gently stroked my bare chest. "I love you."
I wrapped my arm around her and rested my hand on her bare back.
"I love you, too." I whispered.
We continued lying there and we eventually fell asleep.
Author's Note:
* And that's it for this chapter, I hope you all enjoyed! So, what did you guys think of this one?
* So, what are your thoughts on how Director Steel is acting towards Ben? What are your thoughts on how Albedo is treating Ben? I'm curious about really any thoughts that you may have for this chapter.
* With that said, I'm going to go though, so have a fantastic day and bye.
Review Responses
arvindmeena101 (Chapter 1): This story is a Bwen btw and probably the reason why you decided to check this story out. And if you don't like Bwen, then I highly suggest that you leave right now
Just this was enough for me liking you & your story.
Thanks, Arvin. That's an interesting reason to like me and my story. Just to be clear, if at any point you decide that you don't like the story that I'm writing and just want to check out, there'll be no hard feelings. Thanks for the review, as always.
Next Chapter: Ben goes back to Director Steel to further negotiate with him. Later, Ben hears about a new threat terrorizing Downtown Bellwood and he has to go to put a stop to it.