Monster High and Ben 10 do not belong to me.

This is a work of fiction.

Any resemblance to people, organizations, religions, and places is just a coincidence.

Possible grammar problems.

Chapter 15: AMONG THE NORMAL


Lagoona put a lot of effort into her work because her aunt gave her the job and she didn't want to let her down, but besides that, the job was a good distraction. It distracted her for a few hours from her insecurities. It distracted her from the fact that her boyfriend, or maybe ex-boyfriend by that point, never returned her messages. It had been over a month since the last message and although it hurt, maybe the best thing to do was to get over that and move on. That's why she was working so hard. Work to not thinking.

She saw a lot of things at her job as an employee at Coffin Bean. From friends hanging out, to lonely people just looking for a quiet place to sit and read. Couples in love and breakups. In each case, she was just a mere spectator, someone doing her job and little else, but she wasn't like that. The bad thing was that when she saw a couple, either in love or arguing, she thought of Gil.

Or at least it was until a week ago.

It was unexpected. One day Clawdeen suddenly arrived at the place accompanied by a human whom she recognized. It was that boy who seemed to be related to Frankie in some way that no one could explain and although certain rumors were circulating, Frankie made it clear to her that they were not a couple.

When she served him, she was polite as with any other customer, but gradually began to restrain her urge to laugh at the boy's immature way of acting. Ben was a smoothie lover, or so he told her, although it took him several minutes to even choose the flavor he wanted.

She hadn't forgotten how he had appeared to keep her from being hurt. Of course, she couldn't bring herself to do it. She wanted to thank the boy for saving her that day when those strange monsters started destroying the city. She was unsure what to say, for it was strange for a monster and a human to hold a conversation, and besides, Clawdeen and he seemed to be on a date, though the werewolf woman denied it.

When they left, Lagoona thought it would take some time before she would meet Ben again. Maybe she should even go see Frankie so she could thank the boy, but to her surprise, Ben showed up the next day at the Coffin Bean. She was surprised, but again acted like an employee and took his order. She didn't get to talk to him much either as more customers arrived.

The next day the same thing happened. And the next. And the next. For a whole week, the guy would show up at the same time and order a different smoothie, then go sit at a table in the corner and drink in solitude.

Lagoona was a little surprised. Seeing him so often was unexpected, which made her question if he had a motive. Maybe it was to see her? No, impossible. Besides, she had Gil - or didn't she?

Thoughts like these flooded her mind every time she took a short break from work.

Thoughts that affected her at that very moment.

Ben had been looking at the menu of different foods offered in the place for a few minutes. Focusing all his attention on the Smoothies section of the menu.

Lagoona just kept waiting expectantly. That week she had asked her aunt to add some more fruits so that they could expand the smoothie range. She presented the idea to her aunt telling her that with the hot days so closely followed one after the other the sale of coffee would go down, so the right thing to do would be to add more cold drinks. That's what she said, but secretly, she just wanted to thank Ben in some way.

"Ben. can I ask you something?" the boy looked at her curiously, expectant of what it was the girl might want to know. "Why do you keep coming here?"

"Can't I?" he asked, cocking his head to one side, but the girl was quick to deny it.

"No! It's not that!" She hastened to say. "It's just... I find it strange that you come almost every day."

"It's for your smoothies." He replied quickly then returned his attention to the menu. "Ever since I came to this town I've been looking for a good place that sells good smoothies. This place has the best smoothies I've tasted." He explained. "You still don't have grape?"

"Uh... No. But there are pineapples."

"I'll take that one."

Lagoona was a little disappointed by the answer. It wasn't because of her that Ben came every day, but because of the smoothies. Though at the same time, it was a little comforting to know that he wasn't interested in her in that way. Still, she couldn't help but feel attracted to him, something she hadn't felt since she started dating Gil.

As she made the smoothie, Lagoona couldn't stop thinking about Ben. Why was she so attracted to him? Why did she feel so different from Gil when she was around him? She knew she had to stop thinking about it, but it was hard.

When she finished the smoothie, she took it to Ben and he smiled gratefully. Lagoona watched him take a sip of the drink right there. That goofy smile graced his face, with his brown hair and green eyes. He was average in every way, but she was attracted to him.

"Thank you for coming every day." She said finally. Let her words be misinterpreted she added. "It's good for business."

"You're welcome," Ben replied with a shrug. "Smoothies are great." The girl let out a soft laugh and the young man said goodbye and went to his usual spot. That table was away from everyone and just sat and looked out the window of the shop.

She decided it was best to leave it there. She didn't want to think about it too much, not when she was still trying to get over Gil. Instead, she decided to slow down, talk to Ben and learn more about him. Maybe, soon, they could be friends.


It was almost five forty in the afternoon and Ben was walking leisurely in the direction of Frankie's house while sipping on a glass of peach smoothie. As was his wont, he took the time to walk around the city, memorizing the streets and points of interest. Having spatial knowledge of where everything was was useful when it came to being a hero. This way he could know how to get there or how to shorten his way to wherever he was needed.

Of course, knowing when something was happening was more like luck. The information didn't reach him like it would have if he were still in his world. The Plumbers' information network was efficient, taking only minutes to notify him of anything.

He walked, blending in with the people on the sidewalk with ease, it wasn't even necessary to wear the hood of his sweatshirt to go unnoticed. No one knew him anyway. This was in a way something he had the luxury of enjoying. The peace of not being a public figure. He was even able to go eat at a fast-food restaurant without being surrounded by people! And besides, the cashier treated him quite badly! It was no reason to celebrate, but he liked being treated like anyone else.

The boy stopped for a moment in front of an electronics store. In the window were some TVs on, showing the news. All with different prices, but it was not what caught the boy's attention, but what was being shown.

"That's not my best angle." He whispered as he saw a creature made entirely of bandages appear.

It was a video taken from a security camera, a group of thieves tried to rob a jewelry store, when they were interrupted by a very tall mummy who fought them off and incapacitated them.

The video continued to show how the mummy tied them up with his bandages and then fled the scene, but by the time the video showed this, Ben was already several meters away.

"Ah... I miss my tv and consoles." With regret, the young man sighed. One of the things he liked least about being trapped in other worlds was that he only kept the things that accidentally got dragged along with him, and despite having a few portable consoles and such to keep him entertained, he had already finished all the games on the portable console for the third time in a month.

He grunted and gritted his teeth. He wanted to waste his time with his video games! Level up like the amazing gamer he was and get the best equipment!

It was a pity that I had no money at all. I needed a job.

"I could use the money for other things." He weighed the pros and cons. He barely had any money and living on borrowed money didn't appeal to him, but Viveka and Viktor insisted it was better this way.

He remembered coming up with an idea. It was when they asked him to study the two alien forms they knew. Upgrade and Diamondhead, the latter they knew from the videos.

When they saw the alien made of crystals, Viktor asked a question, he wanted to know if the crystals he used could be of other types and not just crystals. That afternoon was long for Ben, he spent three hours putting up with his friend's parents, who were NERDS, in capital letters. He did not understand very well what they were telling him, especially when they started talking about the physical structure of the different gems existing on the planet, but without understanding how Diamondhead was able to create them. That was when he managed to create some gems of great value, such as sapphire or emerald, but mentally he was exhausted. Creating anything other than those quartz crystals left him without energy. He didn't know it was possible, he had never tried anything like that before.

Realizing that he had a mine of money in his hands he thought that maybe it was a good idea to sell those stones and earn some money, but he was stopped by the adults. It seems that to show up with a large number of precious gems was to attract attention. And besides saturating the market, which would cause them to lose their value, it would be extremely suspicious and lead people to start asking questions. Ben didn't want that so he let the adults decide what to do.

In the end, they bought them from him, or so they said, but Ben had only given them away as he could find no use for them. They for their part were more lenient with him, allowing him to decorate his new home a bit. The attic of the house. Frankie was happy to help him decorate, but it was just moving some boxes and then dusting. Using Ditto, another of his transformations, sped up the process but caused another wave of questions to start from the couple, and Frankie captured one of Ditto's clones and didn't want to let him go claiming he was too cute. Thus was born a new rule that added a new shackle to Ben Tennyson. No using transformations in the house. It was an unfair rule to him, but he wasn't going to fight back. He was living with them after all.

Plus, he had to put up with Frankie and her intense acting when it came to teenage stuff. The girl had tried to give him lots of posters of movie stars, music, and the like. Ben wasn't interested in those posters, preferring things related to his video games or comic books. This led to Frankie trying her best to wallpaper the boy's new room with those posters, but to no avail.

Ben stopped at an intersection. The traffic light allowed vehicles to proceed, forcing him to wait. He leaned his full weight on his left leg and waited. As he did so, his mind continued to do its work. Thinking about the things he went through living with a family of monsters. Surprise to him, it was like living with his aunt and uncle. They were as strict as Gwen's parents. Was that how his cousin felt?

Being so engrossed in his thoughts, he did not notice the moment when a young woman stood next to him. She was, like everyone else in that area of the city, a monster. A young woman with grayish skin similar to the pierced one. Contrasting the gray of her skin, her hair was a pinkish color with pale blue-green highlights and was pulled back in a ponytail and partially covered by a beret.

This young woman stood three steps away from Ben and glanced for a few moments at the watch she wore on her left wrist. Her expression became a little worried as she was running late for where she was supposed to go.

The green light changed to red seconds later and Ben moved forward without looking at the street. Because of this, he did not see a speeding car, not caring about the red light.

"Watch out!" the young human felt someone tug on the back of his attire, with enough force to slow him down and pull him backward, causing him to trip over the curb and fall, knocking his butt to the ground. Almost at that same instant, a straggling car crossed the very spot where Ben had been standing.

Ben grunted and looked in the direction of the vehicle. It had gone a long way in a short time. Ben cursed it in his head, he hated it when people did that.

"Are you all right?" asked a female voice with a slight French accent.

A bit disoriented by what had just happened and mentally scolding himself for not paying attention while crossing the street, the boy rubbed his hindquarters, clearly in pain, and responded.

"Yes, I am. Thank you for that." After saying that he looked up, he met the worried face of the young woman who had stood beside him moments before.

He observed her, her face was similar to that of an animal, but at the same time human, her nose was big, but with an elegant shape, and what caught his attention the most, were her eyes, pink eyes as well as her hair, she was a very attractive girl and almost without realizing it, he kept watching her.

The girl was not unlike Ben. She stood watching him too, her gaze practically locked on his green eyes.

For about ten seconds, they both looked at each other, and it wasn't until a car horn forced them back to reality.

She held out her hand and he accepted it, then stood up. Once again, they stood staring at each other, but this time, Ben was the one to break the strange silence.

"I-I... Thank you. For saving me." His words came out in a stutter. The young hero and savior of the universe had been unnerved by the beauty of the girl shaking his hand.

The young woman watched him for a few moments, a little hesitant about responding. This was not lost on the young hero who let go of her hand and coughed in an attempt to calm down.

"It was nothing." She said. "You should be more careful. You could hurt yourself."

Ben rubbed the back of his head, tousling his hair even more, accompanied this, a silly grin formed on his lips.

"Sorry, I was thinking and didn't see the street."

The girl couldn't help but find that behavior a little tender, but at the same time, she found it irresponsible.

"You have to be more careful. You don't have a rock skin like me and I won't be around every corner to save you."

That comment caused the hero to let out a small laugh, the girl was nice, and he was going to give her that.

"I'll keep that in mind. I owe you one." The young hero gave the girl a friendly smile and she returned it, but soon her expression changed and she asked a question.

"I'm new in town and I need to take the bus. I was told it was this way, but I haven't had any luck. Do you know where I can catch one?" she asked.

Ben simply raised his hand and pointed to the right. The girl followed his gaze, realizing that nearby was a parked bus on which people were boarding.

"Looks like I'm not the only one not paying attention." He commented in a joking tone. The girl laughed at his comment and merely thanked him and left, but not before waving goodbye.

The boy stood watching as the young woman climbed in and the vehicle began to move forward. In the next instant, he realized what had just happened.

"Uhg... I didn't even ask her name." In frustration, he palmed his face but looked back at the bus. The vehicle was already far away, so the young man's hopes were further crushed.

Resigned to his fate, the boy crossed the street and continued on his way.

On the other hand, the gargoyle girl was looking out of the bus window. The image of the boy's eyes stuck in her mind and along with it, a question took shape. Would they meet again? She hoped so. It was then that she realized that she didn't ask his name, so it was likely that they would meet again soon.


When he arrived near the Stein family home, Ben noticed Frankie's parents' car parked on the porch, which meant they were already there.

The boy walked to the door and knocked three times. Soon her friend opened the door. The girl was dressed in an outfit that left almost no skin exposed, plus she was wearing that human makeup.

Ben looked at her with some pity. He knew his friend hated wearing both those clothes and that makeup, but if she was wearing it was because her parents forced her to.

"Who's coming tonight? Another fancy university director?" he asked as he entered the house. "Another dinner party where I have to hide?"

"No, not this time." Replied his friend. "I'm going with my mom to buy my school supplies."

Ben unceremoniously plopped down on one of the sofas in the living room and his friend did the same on another, then let out a deep sigh.

"What's wrong with you?" He questioned. It was odd that his friend was so down. She always seemed to have energy and a positive attitude. "Aren't you excited to go to class?"

"It's not that. Of course I'm excited to go back to class and see my classmates again... It's just..." The girl tugged at the collar of the sweater she was wearing. "This thing is uncomfortable."

"Why are your parents trying so hard to hide?" he questioned. That was something he didn't understand about the couple, they were geniuses and if they were anything like their transformation called Frankenstrike, then they were very strong. why hide?

"They say it's for my safety and it's easier that way." Frankie grunted at the itch the sweater was generating. "I think my arms are allergic to this thing."

Ben just listened to his friend's complaints. Maybe he was a hero, but there was nothing he could do about the itch.

"Will you be seeing Clawdeen again today?" asked Frankie. Ben nodded in response.

She knew that her friend and Ben had been seeing each other for the past few days. She wasn't sure what it was that they were doing, but Clawdeen always came back very exhausted.

The two teenagers were silent. Despite living under the same roof, they didn't talk much. Maybe because they couldn't find topics of conversation. What was normal for Frankie was strange for Ben and vice versa.

The silence lasted until Frankie's mother entered the room.

Like her daughter, the woman was wearing that makeup that made her pass for human, plus an outfit more befitting a scientist, which didn't leave much skin exposed. She also had that turtleneck sweater like her daughter.

Ben just stared at the blissful sweater with some distaste. How could anyone stand the heat that thing was supposed to generate?

"Are you ready Frankie?" asked the woman and her daughter stood up and nodded. "We're going to the human side of town. Do you want to come with us, Ben?" questioned the woman.

"Nah, I have plans." She replied. Ben didn't mean to be rude, but he knew that the woman and her husband watched him most of the time when he was around. It was clear they didn't trust him, but it didn't bother him.

"Do you want us to get you something?" Frankie asked. The offer tempted the boy. Could he ask them for something to eat perhaps? Although his friend's mother would most likely bring something extremely healthy. That was a "no thanks."

"Before we left. Didn't you forget anything, Frankie?" the woman questioned, looking at her daughter.

"Yes, mom. I have makeup on in all the areas that can be exposed. I also have a little extra in case I get wet and have to put it back on." The girl's words came out repeated almost like a tape recorder.

Ben for his part stayed out of that conversation. Seeing that felt somewhat familiar. He had a strange feeling that transported him to a distant memory.

In front of him were not his friend and her mother. No. It was a woman with blonde hair, a red shirt, and white pants talking to a version of himself but a few years younger.

It was a memory of when he used to go shopping for school supplies with his mother. He remembered how she would force him to accompany her to multiple stores for different things that he wouldn't even use. Being away from home made him long for those moments.

Her expression became droopy, which Frankie and her mother noticed. The somewhat worried woman decided to ask.

"Ben, are you all right?" the woman's voice brought the boy back to reality.

Shaking his head to get out of his thoughts.

"Yeah. It was nothing."

The woman looked at him a little doubtfully but did not inquire further. After a few minutes, Ben watched Frankie as she and her mother left the house, carrying some shopping bags, and got into the car. He just waved goodbye to the two women and watched them drive away.

Once they left, Ben just stood there. He felt strange. As if he had an emptiness inside him. With a sigh, the boy pushed those thoughts away. He was just brooding over an unimportant issue. It wouldn't be long before Clawdeen showed up, so it would be best to find the anti-gravity skateboard and wait outside the house.


After a few failed attempts, Clawdeen dropped to the forest floor. Exhausted and full of frustration, the girl hit the ground and exclaimed.

"Fuck!"

Nearby, Ben was drinking a box of grape juice courtesy of his werewolf friend as stipulated in the deal they both had. He was sitting on a fallen log and grinning, amused at his friend's attempts. He found it amusing the way the girl kept trying.

"Come on stop laughing and hand me that key!" suddenly, in Clawdeen's place was a rather long black-haired boy with an X-shaped scar on his chin.

That boy had an arrogant and confident smile on his face.

"You'd better get ready, Tennyson. My new car will be indestructible!"

That young man soon disappeared and once again there was Clawdeen, she was sitting cross-legged and drinking water from a bottle. The scene was just a memory. A memory of Ben's own from when he was visiting his best friend. A hardhead was as stubborn as he was himself. Clawdeen reminded him a little of his friend. She was stubborn, no matter how hard it cost her, she stuck to her idea of learning how to use the anti-gravity skateboard.

"Nothing you told me works!" was the girl's complaint. "Are you trying to sabotage me?"

"No. You're just too bad at this." Reply to Ben with a big smile.

The girl narrowed her gaze and then stuck her tongue out at him. Even though they didn't seem to get along so well, they both behaved that way with each other. Within a week of seeing each other every afternoon, they had developed a friendship. A friendship was full of jokes of course.

"I don't understand how you can pull off such crazy stunts without falling off! This thing doesn't even have insurance!"

"You should see me in freefall." Clawdeen just looked at him with a flat expression. "I'm not bragging."

"Aha. Keep telling yourself that." She replied. Wearily she dropped to the floor and folded her hands behind her head.

The girl's eyes looked up at the sky. A few clouds stained the sky white. It was still early so the light remained.

In turn, Ben looked up at the sky. He calmly took another sip from his juice box. The sky brought back more memories. When he and his friends would go out for a few laps when he wasn't yet a public superhero. In turn, how much he enjoyed flying with his transformations able to do so. Although he usually used them to fight crime, he occasionally used the flying aliens to go for a ride or used his anti-gravity board.

"Uhm..." thinking about that gave him an idea so he stood up, which caught Clawdeen's attention, who focused her attention on him and watched him pick up that alien artifact.

"What's now? Are we leaving already? I want to practice some more."

"I came up with an idea on how to help you get better." This made the girl excited, so she hurried to her feet. "I'll walk you through this." Saying that Ben hopped onto the anti-gravity skateboard and waited for Clawdeen to do the same.

"You want us both to be on that thing?" She questioned uncertainly. "I don't think it's safe."

"Do you trust me?" questioned Ben. The girl just looked at him and so a few seconds passed, which caused Ben's expression to wane. "Y-You… Come on! We've been at this for a week. I'm not that bad."

"I know, I know. I admit that a lot of what I believed about you wasn't true, but trust... It's still early." Ben understood, but he wasn't daunted by it. Clawdeen, on the other hand, thought about it some more. "All right. I'll trust you this time, but are you sure it won't be dangerous?"

"Easy. It can handle the extra weight." Although the comment was innocent, there was a hidden joke behind it, and Clawdeen noticed it, so she crossed her arms and looked with an arched eyebrow at Ben.

"Did you just call me fat?" Ben just hissed, glancing in the direction of the treetops. Clawdeen narrowed her eyes but said nothing, eventually, she would get her revenge.

The girl approached and carefully rested her feet next to Ben's, but before the boy could move the artifact forward, the girl looked over her shoulder at him.

"Don't even think I won't push you if you get too smart."

"How funny." Was his reply. "I already have one jealous father on my neck, I don't want another."

"You'd better. So, what's your plan?" Seeing the smile Ben had on his face, the wolf girl felt a chill. That smile was weird, like those psychopaths in the movies! What was her friend planning?


CUACK

A flock of ducks flew past the two youngsters. An expression of regret adorned the face of Clawdeen who tried not to look down as she clung with all her might to her friend who looked somewhat uncomfortable.

"Hey, what's with the physical contact?" He questioned in a joking tone.

"Shut up and put us down!"

"You`re over acting."

"NO! LET US DOWN!" She shouted. With trepidation, she leaned out a little and looked down. She wasn't even sure how high up they were, but it was high enough to make people look like ants. She never had to accept this idea.

"Trust me. It's all right." Ben in an attempt to calm her down patted her gently on her back.

This action seemed to work as the girl peeked out again, but only for an instant. Vertigo invaded the girl.

"Come on. it's no big deal. I've flown higher than this." He commented as if the deadly fall was no big deal.

"Yes it is! Aaah!" the young woman was startled as she lost her balance for a moment, but regained it.

"If you want to learn how to use my anti-gravity board, there is no better method than this." The boy managed to let go of her and took a step back, standing on the end of the board. Clawdeen at the sight of him widened his eyes, Ben winked at him and dropped backward.

"BEN!" she screamed in terror and tried to hold him, but only managed to lose her balance.

The next thing she saw was the ground approaching. Next to her, the anti-gravity board was also falling, this was due to not having a pilot it had been deactivated.

She screamed. Her eyes began to water from the air and the fear. Would that be the way she would die? No. She couldn't do it. She couldn't afford to die. She had things to do!

She noticed the anti-gravity skateboard next to her so she reached out and grabbed it. Using her acrobatic knowledge learned from being part of the school cheerleading squad she did a flip. Her feet hit the skateboard and it went back into action.

With her wolf-like reflexes, she managed to stabilize herself in the air. The skateboard accelerated, which made her lose her balance for a moment, but she refused to fall. The adrenaline pumping in her body sharpened her reflexes and little by little she managed to stabilize herself completely.

"All right. Got it." She said in an agitated voice. Her chest was rising and falling erratically and her hands were sweating, but she was steady. She blinked. "I got it..." she blinked again. "I got it!" she exclaimed excitedly.

She'd done it! That was a great reason to celebrate! She was going to rub it in Ben's face when she saw it.

"Fuck! Ben!" she shouted. She looked down, but the altitude didn't let her make out the human anywhere. "Where is he?"

"Here. Wack!" the girl almost jumped when she heard a male voice accompanied by a squawk a few feet away from her.

She looked with surprise at a strange creature. It was a kind of flying reptile somewhat similar to a pterodactyl. It possessed a large yellow beak-like mouth, green eyes, and red skin, along with two yellow wings extending from its sides. Its clothing consisted of a black outfit with green suspenders and a belt with a strange buckle with an hourglass symbol, and its hands were covered by green gloves. The strangest thing was not the fact that he looked like something straight out of Jurassic Park, but that he had some sort of jet pack on his back.

"I knew you'd make it! Wack!" even though his manner of speaking was casual and friendly, Clawdeen just looked at him. "Wack?"

"Be-Ben?" she questioned in confusion.

"That's right, Wack, meet Astrodactyl! Wack!" the reptile soared a few feet above the werewolf woman and began to fly in circles and then approach her. "I knew you'd get it with the right motivation! Wack!"

"You... are... an idiot!" she shouted. She almost lost her balance but managed to recover. "What the hell were you thinking, I'm going to kill you!"

"Easy! Wack!" the reptile backed away, avoiding her friend's attempts to catch him. "I wasn't planning to drop you. If you didn't make it, I would have rescued you. Wack."

The wolf woman kept a frown on her face. She wasn't going to forgive him soon this was a sure thing.

Seeing the girl's annoyed expression, Ben felt guilty for the scare, so embarrassed, he ducked his head.

"Sorry. Wack. I thought if I could take away the fear you were feeling you could do it."

Clawdeen said nothing. She was offended, she was not afraid of flying. She was afraid of flying?

If he thought about it, in a way, yes, he was scared. That skateboard was cool, but it could be dangerous if he wasn't careful. He was aware of the injuries he could get into while skateboarding, maybe without knowing that fear was present.

She looked back at Ben. The reptile remained crestfallen. Although it was dangerous, it was with good intentions, plus he said he wasn't going to drop her.

"I won't forgive you." She folded her arms, but with a smile. "Until I learn how to handle this thing perfectly."

Her words excited the flying reptile, who nodded and pointed into the distance.

"Let's go! Wack! We've got a lot of practice to do! Wack!"

"Hey, why is it that when you finish a sentence you say "wack"?" she questioned confused.

"I don't say that. Wack."

"You just did."

"No I don't."

"Yes, you do."

"No."

The two continued that silly discussion for a few more minutes until Ben made a joking comment about how he had taught her a new trick by asking her if she wanted a cookie as a prize, which annoyed Clawdeen. Suddenly they were both engaged in a chase, although for Ben it was just a game, he knew Clawdeen wasn't realizing how overcoming her fear was helping her use the anti-gravity board better.

As the afternoon progressed, Clawdeen's skills were getting better and better. She had realized that by super her initial fear she could now be more daring and with Ben watching over her everything was safer.

They took a break after almost forty minutes of practice. Clawdeen was sweaty but a cool breeze relieved her from the heat.

"ah... up here is great." He commented.

"I know! Wack!"

"You know, I think I'm beginning to envy you." Hearing that caused the reptile to tilt his head slightly. "Transforming you and being able to do cool things like being able to fly. I'd like to do that. Go everywhere. You can even make a car out of a bunch of scrap metal. I'd love to be you."

Although the girl's words were kind, they had a strange effect on Ben. The reptile remained silent, his gaze was lost and his mind remembered many things. And not all of them were good.

Clawdeen noticed that suddenly his talkative friend was very quiet. She saw him spaced out as if his mind was not even with them in that place above the skies of Salem. This worried her.

"Hey, Ben, are you okay?" the girl's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"I'm sorry, were you saying something? Wack!" he questioned, disguising that for a moment he had lost himself.

"I asked you if you're okay, did something happen?"

"No, I was just thinking about home." He explained and although it didn't look like it on the outside, Clawdeen sensed a certain sadness in his friend.

His home was a mystery. Despite claiming to be from Tennessee, he had made no effort to go home. Which was strange since he could leave, either by flying or using the car. This confused her a bit. Why was he staying with Frankie?

"Are you ready to go on some more? Wack!" Ben started moving again, leaving his friend behind for a moment. She looked at him, she had some questions now, but she didn't know if it would be a good idea to ask them.

She hurried to catch up with him. Being up there, flying next to a strange reptilian being, definitely made it into her top five strangest moments. But it was a lot of fun.

Suddenly, a strange sound caught her attention, it was as if it was an alarm, which came from his friend's belt.

Ben, hearing this, became concerned and slowed down.

"Hey, what's wrong?" questioned the wolf woman, but before Ben could say anything, his body was covered by a green glow, and before the girl's eyes, there once again was that brown-haired human boy. "Ben!" she shouted as she saw that the boy was in free fall.

Overpowered by her instincts she made a risky maneuver and began to plummet in an attempt to reach her friend, who was desperately trying to activate his watch.

"Ben! If this is a joke I'm going to kill you!" shouted the wolf woman.

"It's not!" he replied nervously. With each passing second it was one second closer to the ground. "The watch ran out of power!"

"What!" She shouted. She soon realized that they were almost to land, so if she wanted to save her friend it was now.

The young woman extended her hand towards him, who, upon seeing her, tried to extend his hand as well, but they still could not touch each other. The distance between them was slowly getting smaller, but it was still not enough for them to touch. Clawdeen's concern only grew and grew. She just needed a few more centimeters and...

"Gotcha!" she shouted. Holding Ben's arm, she stomped hard on the board in an attempt to slow down, but the inertia of the motion caused them to continue falling.

In a nimble motion, Ben positioned himself on the anti-gravity board and wrapped his arms around Clawdeen's waist, and took control of the board. Unlike his friend, Ben didn't try to slam on the brakes, he changed the direction of the board's motion before they hit the ground, which caused them to now surf over a cornfield.

"Woooohooooo!" exclaimed the boy, as his friend watched in amazement at what someone with Ben's skill was capable of doing.

"How the hell did you do that!" she questioned, eager to be able to do it someday.

"It's an old trick I learned! It was taught to me by an alien friend. If you change direction before you hit the ground it can continue as if it were surfing." His explanation was unclear and Clawdeen didn't understand it, but he also didn't have time to probe further.

"Look out!" she shouted and looking ahead, Ben was horrified.

THUMP! CRACK! THUMP!

Due to his distraction, Ben had not realized that they were heading towards a barn, so they ended up crashing into it and falling on a large amount of hay.

Both ended up buried in the hay, with the anti-gravity board next to them.

It didn't take long for them to leave, and when they did, Clawdeen could only look disappointedly at her friend.

"Not that you were a professional?" She questioned.

"Hey, even professionals make mistakes." Was the excuse he gave.

And although for a few moments, they both looked at each other with some resentment, they soon began to laugh together.

Clawdeen stood up and shook the hay out of his hair. In turn, Ben also stood up and picked up his anti-gravity board, returning it to its compact form in the process.

"I'm in one piece. What about you?" She asked looking at her friend.

"I'm perfect." The boy walked over to the hole they made in the barn when they crashed and examined the outside. "It's getting dark. We'd better get back to town."

Clawdeen just nodded and they both left the place. It didn't take them long to find their way out of that cornfield, although they had to run when an old man saw them and started yelling something about their camp not being a motel.

After a while, they were both walking along the side of the road in the direction of Salem City. Clawdeen couldn't have been more annoyed, though.

"Do we really have to walk?" She questioned. "Can't you transform and give me the board?"

"I used up all the energy in the watch. Not being able to transform until it recharges." He explained though the girl didn't stop being annoyed.

"That thing uses batteries? What a rip-off." Ben could only laugh at the comment. Yes, it was somewhat unfair for the watch to do that, but he was aware that it was part of a safety system.

Their walk continued and they both took the opportunity to talk a little. They told jokes, or anecdotes, trying to kill time that way.

"Then Venus throws her pollen in Cleo's face, causing her to have a sneezing fit!"

"I can't believe Cleo would start a fight just to see who was right... I didn't take her for someone who would grab a book either."

"And she doesn't. But she's very proud of how good she is in language class." Clawdeen commented with confidence in her words. "Just like Frankie is good at science and Draculaura is good at literature and drama."

"And you?"

"I'm good at sports, not to brag, but I'm the fastest in school, after my brother. what about you?"

"About me?" he asked doubtfully.

"Yes! You're two years older than me, have you finished high school yet?" Ben looked away, which confused the werewolf woman. "Ben?"

"I...dropped out of high school." His words surprised Clawdeen, who looked at him puzzled.

"You dropped out of high school? Why?" she questioned confused.

"It's complicated. But at the time my... hmm...job, kept me from being able to attend classes normally, so I quit." Hearing that her friend was working at such a young age caught her off guard. Was Ben forced to make that decision because, like her family, his family had money problems too?

Clawdeen would deny it in front of everyone, but she had considered doing that. Dropping out of school so she could earn money for her family. Of course, if she did, her mother would kill her.

"My mother wanted to kill me when I told her." Commented the boy with some amusement. "But when I explained my reasons, she accepted it, even though she forced me to study online every chance she got."

"Wow..." Clawdeen couldn't imagine the hidden truth behind what Ben was telling her.

His years as a superhero earned him enemies, and as his identity became public everyone he came in contact with had a painted target. Ben had stopped going to classes for fear that someone would get hurt. That and because his fame brought good and bad things.

Teachers who were with and against him, which led to him being the focus of certain unprofessional attitudes, whether it was signing a book for his history teacher, or receiving ten times the normal amount of homework from his math teacher because she saw him as a threat.

"Have you thought about going back to school?" Questioned the wolf girl once again.

"I… never think about it." Was the answer the boy gave. "Although I don't know if it's a good idea. It's been two years. I don't even know how to multiply anymore." He added with a joking tone.

"Soon school will start and we won't be able to see each other as often. I hope you won't feel so lonely without me." She commented with a jocular smile, which got Ben to arch an eyebrow.

"Excuse me? I remind you that you're the one who begged me to teach her how to use my anti-gravity board."

"I didn't beg you, you offered!"

"Not true."

"Yes it is!"

"No it isn't!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

The discussion lasted for a few minutes, only coming to an end when Ben's watch beeped, signaling that it was back on.

Both put that fight aside and the boy activated the watch, transforming into Upgrade, to Clawdeen's surprise. The mechamorph fused to the anti-gravity board and Clawdeen jumped on, embarking on a quick trip to the city of Salem, making sure of course that no one saw them.

On the way, the werewolf woman made a joke about her "riding" the young man, which had Upgrade speed up in response, causing her to lose her balance, and although he didn't drop her, the girl started yelling at him very angrily. Ben just ignored her, though.


Late that night, Ben found himself in the attic where he was allowed to sleep. He had a few things there, enough to make the place look like a makeshift bedroom for the boy. Different artifacts, such as an old TV, an mp3 player with the word "Rook" stuck on the back, a box with some magazines and comics, and a couple of portable consoles placed on the floor next to a mattress.

Above the last one was Ben, the boy was staring at the ceiling with his arms crossed behind his head. He was thinking about what Clawdeen had said. She would soon be starting school again, as would Frankie, which meant he would be spending a lot of time alone. This made him uncomfortable.

He considered going to school. No. He couldn't do that. The right thing to do would be not to form relationships, so it wouldn't be so hard to say goodbye when he had to leave.

But... if he was honest, he would like to experience that again. To go to class as a normal person, someone who wasn't a well-known public hero. If only for a little while.

He wasn't sure how much longer it would be before he could return home, no one contacted him, which led him to think they didn't even know where he was. He had to do something about it. Find a way to return home.

Frustrated, the boy sat up, sat down on the mattress, and evaluated his options. He needed to make a list of things he needed to do. Find Malware, find a way to contact his family, and return home. He was going to need a pencil and paper.

The young man evaluated the surroundings. He remembered that when they cleaned that place, they had come across some boxes with some papers that were no longer useful, maybe one could be of help to him.

After some rummaging, he managed to find a small notebook. He tore off the sheets that were written on, leaving only a few for him to use, and next to a biro that was attacked to the notebook, he began to write.

"Well, let's see..." he began to read what he had written. It was something rather short and easy to remember, but he wanted to bring something with him that would allow him to change plans if necessary. "First, find and capture Malware. Second, try to contact my family or Azmuth, third, search for who or what brought me here. Fourth, find a way home. Fifth, take as much grape juice with me as possible."

It was an adequate list for his situation, but it seemed to him that it could still be better. Maybe he could add something else.

All the time he was in that world, he had been doing his job as a superhero, or rather as a vigilante, under the edge of the night, he would go out to fight crime when he was sure that everyone in the house was asleep. He had discovered many things, such as that the thugs were varied, both monsters and humans, but they all behaved like common thugs, no one used their powers, with few exceptions and they did it in rather ridiculous ways.

Then that racism existed in that world, which bothered him. In his own home, there was also that discrimination towards aliens, but he managed to change that a little bit, so maybe he could do that there as well.

"Uhm..." he nibbled on the pen, even though his list was now longer, it still felt incomplete.

"We're going to start classes soon."

The memory of Clawdeen made the boy pause for a few moments. Should he do it? What could he gain from it? Was it for the good or was it just a selfish wish of a seventeen-year-old boy?

He looked at his notes and with some hesitation went back to writing.

It wasn't a bad thing to be a little selfish, was it? Maybe it was just a selfish whim, but he missed being normal, and even if it was just for a moment, he wanted to fulfill that wish.

"Maybe Viktor and Viveka will let me go to school." He muttered. Her attention returned to the list. She still had room to add other things. Maybe she could think about that later.

He felt satisfied with his to-do list and left the notebook inside the box where those magazines and comics that belonged to him were. He knew that accomplishing each item would be difficult and time-consuming, but he was determined to do everything he could to return home and in the process help everyone he could.

The boy lay down again and returned to his original position. Soon he could leave unnoticed and be a hero.

"I wonder if that girl goes to the same school as Frankie." He thought aloud, remembering his encounter with the pink-haired gargoyle girl. "She was very pretty." For a few moments, he was silent. "I should stop talking to myself."

The young man's ear then picked up a rather strange sound. It was as if a large animal was being hung with chains. This peculiar sound made the boy's expression change. He knew that sound. It was the signal that he could leave without being discovered.

He stood up and activated his watch and after a few moments of observing the options for transforming, he pressed the core. His body was covered by the green glow that characterized his transformations. His current form was that of some sort of humanoid cat alien, though Ben called him Fasttrack.

The humanoid cat sharpened his ears. He needed to make sure everyone was asleep. Or failing that, Frankie's parents. He knew the girl sometimes stayed up into the wee hours of the morning. He found out by accident when he was returning one day and had to lie to her and tell her he was just back from the sewers, even though it wasn't true.

Sure that no one would hear him, the cat walked to the only window in the attic and carefully opened it. Making sure to be stealthy, he crossed to the outside and jumped down.

Already on the approach he looked around. No one was out of their homes at that hour. Without further ado, he began to run toward the center of the city.

What the young hero did not know was that he was being watched. At the second-floor window of the house stood Viveka. The woman was frowning, keeping her gaze fixed in the direction in which Ben had just run off.


Heavy footsteps echoed in the solitude of a dark library. A dark figure that mimicked the gloom of the night advanced through the aisles formed by shelves of books of all kinds.

The silhouette was humanoid and his attire appeared damaged, perhaps by fire or battle. What was once a long black trench coat was now little more than a damaged jacket under which he wore a purple T-shirt. His dark pants were tucked into military-style boots. His face, barely illuminated by the moonlight filtering through the skylight of the library presented a beard of about three or four days growing there. His brown hair with some gray was messy as if he had been doing physical exercise. And his green eyes roamed the place, inspecting every detail.

This figure stopped for a moment and picked up a book. Carefully, as if the book would turn to ash between his fingers, the figure began to turn the pages.

"He who desires but acts not breeds pestilence." He read. "So it is written." Roughly he closed the book, creating a small draft which caused some leaves of nearby books to flutter.

For an instant he didn't, he just stared at the cover of the book, but when a familiar feeling stirred inside him, he knew that his other self was out there, somewhere in the city where they both now found themselves.

The figure put the book away in his clothes and turned slowly into the darkness of the library, beginning to walk back to it. The echo of his footsteps faded into the silence of the night, while a violet light flared, taking the shape of a sword.

"Some of us are united even across time. The time will come for our reunion... Ben Tennyson."

The library returned to silence, but the atmosphere was no longer the same. A sense of dread and ominousness filled the air.


xxx


SB: Who the fuck uploads their story at 3 am?

Oh, look! 3 am! It's a good time to upload my story!

Another chapter, this time showing a few things. Developing Clawdeen and Ben's FRIENDS relationship. I think the guy is a little off in the head, I mean, knowing Clawdeen is a werewolf he interprets it as doing something extreme might help.

I have to say that my version of Ben is someone who is quite detached from his human side, so there are a lot of things that seem normal, but Ben doesn't participate in them. Like going to school or going out with friends to do normal things. It's even reflected in Ben drinking only his Smoothies. Cosmic, I know.

Anyway, I'll keep this short. The next chapter will be with back-to-school just around the corner so it will be time for Ben to sign up. I'm formulating some ideas on how to do this, if anyone has a suggestion, welcome. What follows would be a little explanation of what Eon has been up to during these 2 months that went by in so few chapters. Believe me when I say that I have put this off for too long and I can't wait to show it.

By the way, how do you like the first hints of romance? Good? Bad? I'm trying to show something different than usual.

I'll clear this up once and for all, no guys, this is not going to be a harem. I have my ideas for romance, yes there are a lot of girls, but it won't be a harem. contradictory? Yes, but you'll understand. As they say out there, "those girls are going to give you your character development."

One last thing, mataeae123, thanks for helping me with the loose ideas! You're awesome.