In this chapter, Ben is going to face his worst nightmare: summer school! Also, I'm going to throw in some jokes. I can't resist the opportunity.
Oh, and the Teen Titans are going to be captured...again! Sound familiar?
Chapter 7: Mad Moderation
"Grandpa, have you seen Ben?" asked Gwen.
"No, I haven't seen him. Not since he went to get a copy of the latest issue of Superduper Man...' said Max. He certainly loved his comics.
"I hope we find him soon." remarked the girl.
She was starting to miss all the squabbles they had, like the time they argued who got to eat the last pizza in the fridge.
She sure hoped that they found him soon.
Why exactly had Ben gone missing anyway?
Usually when he went hero he came back to the van before too long. He didn't want to keep his grandfather or his cousin worried.
A short while ago...
"They're sold out? Aw man!" exclaimed Ben. He was really hoping to get that comic. He was having some rotten luck.
Well, it looked like he would have to try again after they restocked.
Maybe he could to the arcades and play Sumo Slammers instead.
Fortunately, it seemed that there was a man that was willing to help.
However, he looked very suspicious. He was wearing a cloak to disguise himself.
He also had a very wide grin on his face.
"Psst! I have a copy of the Superduper Man comic right here!" exclaimed the mysterious man.
"Really?" asked Ben.
"Meet me in that dark alley over there!" shouted the man.
"Sure thing, strange man wearing a cloak who possibly isn't trustworthy!" exclaimed Ben.
As the man requested, he met the man in a dark alley.
The man handed Ben the Superduper comic book he wanted.
"He has the same name as a certain clocktower...how ironic." thought the man.
Ben opened the comic book...
...and found himself being punched in the face by a boxing glove.
"Remind me never to become a a professional boxer..." remarked Ben, who now had several stars around his head.
Ben passed out on the ground.
"This was too easy!" shouted the man.
He discarded his cloak, revealing him as Mad Mod, a member of the Teen Titans' rogue gallery.
"Now for the Teen Titans!" exclaimed the British supervillain.
We now return to the present...
Gwen sighed. She still had no luck finding Ben.
It seemed that he had disappeared off the face of the planet...which was rather ironic considering that he could transform into aliens.
However, she had received a clue. Apparently, Ben had been spotted with a man wearing a cloak to conceal himself. Gwen wondered why Ben hadn't been cautious.
Well, she wouldn't put it past him considering how well she knew him.
She decided that she would ask the Teen Titans for help. Since Beast Boy could transform into animals, it was very likely that he was a good tracker.
So, she paid a visit to the Titans Tower.
"Yoo-hoo! Anyone home?" asked Gwen.
The tower was eerily quiet for some reason.
"What's going on?" inquired the girl.
Apparently, the Teen Titans weren't home.
Were they off performing heroics? She watched the news and it didn't seem like the Teen Titans were doing such a thing.
Suddenly, she noticed a silkworm.
"A giant silkworm? Don't tell me that the Teen Titans were eaten for breakfast!" exclaimed Gwen.
Silkie shook his head.
Gwen sighed in relief.
However, she noticed something suspicious.
There was a car with the British flag painted on it flying away.
It didn't look like any vehicle that the Teen Titans used.
"Something is going on here!" exclaimed Gwen.
Silkie attempted to explain the situation to Gwen.
Fortunately, her mana abilities allowed her to understand him.
"The Teen Titans were kidnapped by a British supervillain? But what about their security systems?" asked Gwen. Theoretically, they would have kept the super villain out.
Silkie continued to explain.
"They were still repairing them? Oh, right. The break-in..." remarked the girl. Unfortunately, in order to save the rest of the Teen Titans, Starfire and Ben had sabotaged a lot of them.
Apparently this particular supervillain had seized his opportunity.
"Do you know where he's headed?" asked Gwen.
Silkie shook his head. He didn't know where Mad Mod's hideout was.
"I guess things aren't going to be that simple." remarked the mana user.
However, she was getting strange readings from Silkie.
"Wait, hold on...I think I see some sort of warehouse..." said Gwen, whose eyes were glowing purple.
Unsurprisingly, it had a British flag on it.
Could it be that she could track people using their possessions? Given that Silkie was good friends was Beast Boy and Starfire, perhaps it made sense that she could use him to track them.
This was rather interesting.
Holding onto Silkie, she was able to determine its exact location.
"Thanks for your help. I'm not normally fond of worms but you're fine with me." stated Gwen.
Silkie smiled.
Gwen went to go find Ben and the Teen Titans.
Meanwhile...
"What happened?" asked Ben.
Curious, he found himself strapped to a chair.
"Oh no! I've been kidnapped by some sort of crazy supervillain!" exclaimed the boy.
Looking around, he discovered that the Teen Titans had been captured as well. Each of the chairs were specifically designed to counter their powers. For example, Raven had a gag on her mouth.
"How in London Bridge do we keep getting in these messes?" thought Raven. Unfortunately, she wasn't exactly in a position to cast spells to get out of this mess.
"How did you get captured?" asked Ben.
"Let's just say that we should have put on our gas masks..." remarked Robin.
"Salutations, Teen Titans! Welcome back to Mad Mod's Schoolhouse!" exclaimed Mad Mod.
"Not you again!" shouted Beast Boy. He was the worst teacher ever. There were school bullies that were more pleasant than him.
"Wait, we're at summer school?" asked Ben.
"You certainly are, lad!" exclaimed Mad Mod.
Ben closed his eyes, and he began to scream.
"Noooooooooooooooooooo-"
The Teen Titans looked at Ben curiously.
"ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo-"
Mad Mod raised an eyebrow.
"-oooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"
"Alright alright, we get it!" shouted Mad Mod.
Ben started to cry.
"Now then, where were we? Ah yes. The Teen Titans already know why they're here, since they've already been at this schoolhouse once before. so why don't we explain why you're here instead?" asked the teacher.
"Because I have a C average at school?" asked Ben.
"That's not what this is about! Though you probably could do better at school, now could you?" inquired Mad Mod.
"I don't want to!" exclaimed the boy.
"I've been watching your work, and you've been nothing but a goody two-shoes!" shouted the British man.
Mad Mod showed Ben a video of him saving the day from a bunch of criminals who were robbing a bank.
"Yeah, that was awesome." noted Ben.
Another video showed him saving a kitten from a tree.
"He was cute." remarked the boy.
Yet another video showed Ben fighting the Forever Knights.
"Those guys will be my enemies forever and forever." noted the boy.
"Your heroics make me sick to my stomach! Because of you, several of my colleagues are now behind bars!" exclaimed Mad Mod.
"I was just sending them where they belong." said Ben.
"Silence! You've all been saving the day for all too long, my duckies!" exclaimed the evil teacher.
Beast Boy transformed into a duck.
"Quack! Quack!" exclaimed Beast Boy.
"What? Oh, ha ha ha! Very funny! Now where was I? It's time I taught you all to respect the legions of evil!" shouted Mad Mod.
"Let us go!" demanded Cyborg.
"Oh, Don't worry. You'll all be released in due time...after I taught you all a lesson that you will never forget!" exclaimed the teacher.
"Woohoo! Wait, what was that last part?" asked Beast Boy.
Shortly afterwards, Ben and the titans found themselves being sent to different rooms at a rapid pace.
"This is making me dizzy!" shouted Ben.
Mad Mod let out a laugh.
Meanwhile...
Gwen investigated the warehouse where Ben and the Teen Titans were apparently being held.
She discovered that Ben and the Teen Titans were in simulation booths.
The mysterious villain had brought them here, alright.
Gwen attempted to remove the helmets from their heads, but they were fastened on tight.
She was going to have to find a different way to release them.
Curious, she noticed that there was a simulation helmet nearby.
Perhaps Mad Mod had kept a spare in case one of them suddenly broke down.
Maybe she could rescue them from the inside.
Shrugging, she decided to put on one of the simulation helmets.
Hopefully she would be able to save them.
Who knows what horrors they were experiencing?
She placed the helmet on her head.
"Here goes nothing." thought Gwen.
At Mad Mod's schoolhouse...
Ben found himself in a simple classroom, sitting on a desk.
"Time to go hero!" exclaimed Ben.
However, a metallic hand grabbed Ben's arm.
"Trying to go hero, are we? I don't think so!" shouted Mad Mod.
Ben sighed.
Things were never so simple.
"Now then, why don't we take a test?" asked the teacher.
"Oh c'mon! Can't I just take a pop quiz?" inquired Ben.
"No!" shouted Mad Mod.
Ben sighed again.
A test appeared on his desk.
He began to read the questions.
"Mad Mod is cool? True or false? Well, that's an easy question." said Ben.
Ben answered false.
"Wrong!" exclaimed Mad Mod.
Suddenly, the chair he was sitting on zapped him.
"Ouch!" shouted Ben.
The second question is "Is Mad Mod awesome?"
Ben answered false.
Once again, he found himself being zapped.
"Stop that!" demand Ben.
The third question was "Is Ben Tennyson a loser?"
"Now that's just mean." remarked the boy.
Once again, Ben answered false.
Ben found himself being zapped again.
"Would you cut that out already?" demanded the boy.
Suddenly, his Omnitrix began to glow.
"Huh. I guess all the electricity must have affected the Omnitrix." remarked Ben.
He transformed into Gray Matter.
"And I turned into Gray Matter. Looks like it's time for me to make a sneaky getaway!" exclaimed the tiny alien.
Grey Matter began to run out the door.
"Are you done answering the questions? Hey, where did you go?" asked Mad Mod.
He didn't see Ben 10 anywhere.
All he saw what appeared to be a frog.
Wait, since when did frogs run on their hind legs?
Apparently, Ben had somehow managed to use the Omnitrix to transform.
He noticed Grey Matter running for the door.
"Hey! Class isn't over yet! Get back here!" demanded the teacher.
Suddenly, metallic hands appeared and attempted to grab Grey Matter.
Grey Matter grabbed the door handle and opened the door, running out of the classroom before they could grab him.
"Now then, how do I get out of here?" asked Grey Matter.
Meanwhile in the cafeteria...
"So, you like food, don't you?" asked Mad Mod.
"Well, I do have nine stomachs." admitted Starfire.
"Nine stomachs? What do you need nine stomachs for?" inquired the man.
Starfire shrugged. She found it perplexing that humans only had one.
"Well then, let's see just how much you can eat!" exclaimed Mad Mod.
A huge pile of food appeared, as well as a conveyer belt.
Metallic hands appeared and opened Starfire's mouth.
She found herself gorging on food...repeatedly.
"Hahahahaha!" laughed Mad Mod.
However, this torture method didn't seem effective on Starfire. Even after putting on half a dozen or so pounds, she didn't seem too phased.
"Mmm, this is delicious!" exclaimed Starfire.
Mad Mod sighed.
"You're one tough cookie, aren't you?" asked the teacher.
"I guess." nodded Starfire.
Starfire let out a burp.
Beast Boy laughed.
For some strange reason, he was in the same room as Starfire. He wasn't quite sure why.
"What tortures do you have in mind for me, Mr. Crazy Teacher Man?" asked Beast Boy.
Curious, he noticed that there was a conveyer belt leading directly to him.
"Are you going to make me stuff my face too?" inquired the boy.
"Something like that. You happen to be a vegetarian, do you lad?" asked Mad Mod.
"I am. Why do you ask?" inquired Beast Boy.
"Well then, let's see how much you like meatloaf!" exclaimed the teacher.
"What? No no no no no!" bellowed the boy.
A huge pile of meatloaf appeared, and like Starfire before him, Beast Boy's mouth was opened widely.
"You can't do this to me! No!" shouted Beast Boy.
Meanwhile, Mad Mod wondered how else he should torment Starfire.
"Why don't we do one of the classics?" asked Mad Mod.
Suddenly, Starfire found herself being tickled across the midriff by a bunch of feathers.
"Hahahahaha! Oh man, I picked a bad day to bare my midriff!" exclaimed Starfire.
Wait, since when did she NOT bare her midriff?
Starfire laughed hysterically.
"This is too easy really..." remarked Mad Mod.
However, in the process of being tickled, Starfire ended up tipping the chair over.
She landed right on the dial of her Omnitrix.
Starfire transformed into Ghostfreak.
"Hey! This isn't a ghoul school!" exclaimed Mad Mod.
Immediately, Ghostfreak went to rescue Beast Boy.
"Why don't you respect my views on meat?!" exclaimed Beast Boy.
Suddenly, Beast Boy found himself being freed from his chair.
"Starfire? Is that you?" asked Beast Boy.
Starfire nodded.
"I didn't know this school was haunted..." remarked the boy.
"It is now, i guess." nodded Starfire.
Metallic hands attempted to grab Starfire...but unfortunately for Mad Mod, they couldn't grab a ghost.
The evil teacher facepalmed. He had forgotten the fact that ghosts were intangible.
Fortunately, he had another idea.
"Time to do some janitorial duty!" exclaimed Mad Mod.
Suddenly, a giant vacuum cleaner appeared.
"Run for it!" shouted Beast Boy.
Frantically, Starfire and Beast Boy attempted to avoid being sucked up.
However, there was the not so small matter of trying to rescue the rest of the Teen Titans.
Where exactly were the rest of the Teen Titans?
Meanwhile in the music room...
As it turned out, Robin was being forced to listen to a certain song inside the music room. He was wearing a set of headphones.
"Batman smells, Robin laid an egg!"
"Noo! Make it stop!" screamed Robin.
"The Batmobile lost its wheel and the Joker got away!"
"Aah!" shouted the boy.
At this rate he was going to end up at Arkham Asylum...which unfortunately was where the Joker was.
Suddenly, somebody turned off the music.
Robin sighed in relief.
But who exactly turned off the music?
Suddenly, he found himself being released from his chair.
As it turned out, he had been saved by Gwen.
"Gwen? How did you get into Mad Mod's Schoolhouse?" asked Robin.
"I tracked you down using Silkie..." explained Gwen.
"I'm not sure how you found Mad Mod's hideout using Silkie...but we appreciate your help." said the boy.
"You're welcome." answered Ben's cousin.
Mad Mod sighed.
Things were not going according to plan. The Teen Titans were escaping...again!
Well, he would capture them again in due time.
And for some strange reason, Ben's cousin happened to be in there with them.
He didn't remember capturing her.
To be honest he didn't think of her as a threat...she was just Ben's sidekick, that's all.
He decided that he would focus on the rest of the titans for now.
As it turned out, Cyborg was being spun around on a giant magnet in the science room.
"I think I'm going to be sick..." thought Cyborg. Already, his face was starting to turn green.
Robin quickly turned off the magnet.
"Thanks..." said the man.
"I wonder where Raven is..." spoke Robin. They needed to find her pronto.
As it turned out, she was being forced to watch Teen Titans Go.
"Did Beast Boy write this? I wouldn't be surprised if he did." thought Raven.
Suddenly, Robin turned off the TV.
"Robin? Is that you?" muffled Raven.
Robin released Raven from her chair and removed the gag from her mouth.
"I appreciate your help. I don't see why people find this show funny." remarked Raven.
"At least Beast Boy enjoys it." noted Robin.
"Yeah...I asked myself if he was the writer." answered the girl.
"He's probably one of them." remarked Beast Boy.
Now that she thought of it, didn't Ben 10 also get a reboot? That one seemed to focus less on comedy than the show Raven was watching earlier.
Hopefully they could find the rest of the titans. The sooner they reunited, the better their chances of stopping Mad Mod.
However, they could be anywhere in the school.
Well, they might as well start searching for them.
Meanwhile...
Ben ran to the front door, hoping to leave the school.
Suddenly, a butterfly net grabbed him.
He was placed inside a jar.
"Hey! Let me out!" exclaimed Ben.
"Trying to leave school early, aren't we? You're a naughty boy!" shouted Mad Mod.
"This isn't a school! It's a madhouse!" shouted the boy.
Suddenly, Mad Mod found the jar being swiped out of his hands.
"Wha-" exclaimed Mad Mod.
Ghostfreak opened the jar.
"Thanks for the save." said Grey Matter.
Beast Boy charged towards Mad Mod as a rhinoceros.
However, he was stopped in his tracks by a familiar hypno projection screen.
His eyes became swirls, and he turned back to his normal form.
"Oh no! Not again!" exclaimed Starfire.
"I actually faced a hypnotist once...this is ironic." remarked Ben.
"Anarchy rules..." said Beast Boy.
"Snap out of it!" shouted the alien princess.
"World domination is awesome..." noted the boy.
"Wake up!" bellowed Starfire.
"Mad Mod is the coolest villain ever..." murmured Beast Boy.
Starfire sighed. Desperate times called for desperate measures.
She opened her second layer of skin, revealing Ghostfreak's true form.
"AAH!" bellowed Beast Boy.
This was enough to snap Beast Boy out of his trance.
"That was horrifying!" exclaimed the boy.
Ben and Starfire's Omnitrixes timed out.
"Ben? Starfire?" asked Beast Boy.
"I'm afraid you were hypnotized..." noted Starfire.
"Not again!" shouted the boy. He was getting tired of being subjected to hypnosis.
"We should probably look for the others." advised the alien princess.
"Sounds like a good idea to me." nodded Ben.
Immediately, the trio attempted to search for the three remaining titans.
I couldn't resist the opportunity to give the Teen Titans ironic punishments for their heroics. It's dark humor, I know. But maybe you still found it funny.
In the next chapter, Ben and the Teen Titans will attempt their escape! Oh, and Gwen will be assisting them. Let's just say you shouldn't underestimate her just because she's Ben's sidekick. Robin used to be a sidekick, after all.