"You've got to be kidding me."
"Sorry Ben, but two weeks are the longest I could take off my studies. The finals are coming up and I've-"
"Come on, screw the finals! You're Gwen, you can learn all that stuff at a glance."
"Gwen-do-lyn."
"Yeah, what-e-ver. Come on, we were having fun!"
Gwen sighed. "Sorry, Ben, but no-can-do. Me and Kevin will hang out with you more during winter break, I promise."
"Kevin? Come on, can't you convince her?" – Ben asked him in one last desperate attempt.
"Sorry, Ben. The lady does what the lady wants."
"What about you? You're staying, though, right?"
"I also do what the lady wants." – Kevin told him.
"Oh, come on! It can be the three of us, me, you and Rook! A roadtrip with the bros. In space!"
"That's all we ever do anyway, Ben. But I've gotta get back to the garage. If I don't check up on there every once in a while, Argit's gonna get some ideas." – Kevin sighed.
"Fine, nobody needed your whipped butt anyway. It's just me and Rook on our cosmic road trip now. After all, we ARE the ones that recreated the whole entire universe!"
"Ben." – Rook intervened.
"Oh, for the love of…"
"I'm sorry, Ben, but we must get back to our Plumber duties now."
"You didn't have a problem with your Plumber duties for the past 2 weeks!" – Ben protested.
"Those were my vacation days."
"Can't we go on for a little bit longer? I'm sure grandpa Max would be fine with it!"
"Ben. I'm a Plumber Magister now. It would be unbecoming of me to miss work for such a reason. And it is unbecoming of you, too."
"Unbecoming this, unbecoming that." – Ben waved his hand. "Technically, I'm not even an official officer, remember? I'm just deputized."
"While that is true-" – Rook tried to say, but Ben interrupted him.
"And I don't actually have to act like one."
"I would advise you to-"
"I mean, come on!" – Ben interrupted him again. "Look at all the amazing stuff we've seen on the trip so far! You mean to tell me you would have ever witnessed the birth of a to'kustar anywhere else? And you wanna call it quits now? Can't I at least keep Zed for a while?" – Ben asked Kevin as he pet Zed on the head and back. Zed licked his face.
"No way." – Kevin told him.
Rook looked at Gwen and Kevin, hoping that they would back him up and help him convince Ben to drop the road trip.
"Forget it." – Gwen told him. "When he gets going, there's no stopping him."
"Well, Ben, if you wish to continue on the road trip alone, neither I nor your grandpa can stop you." – Rook finally told Ben with regret in his tone.
"So, you're leaving me alone on this?" – Ben asked the three of them.
"Yes, now get the hell off of my ship." – Kevin told him nonchalantly.
"Kevin!" – Gwen told him sternly.
"Alright, alright, PLEASE get the hell off of my ship." – Kevin corrected himself with a sly grin.
"No! It's late. Ben, we'll drop you off at Bellwood." – Gwen offered.
"Nope. This is supposed to be a road trip, I can't just return to Bellwood. That would defeat the whole purpose of going on a trip in the first place. Not that you guys would know. Wait, where the heck are we right now, anyway?"
"Nav says Empire City."
"EMPIRE CITY?! Kevin, come on! This is where we met! Don't you wanna retread old grounds?" – Ben turned back to Kevin.
"Oh, yeah, didn't we get chased by helicopters after stealing that videogame?" – Kevin remembered, but then Gwen nudged him with her elbow. "I mean, we can go down memory lane some other time."
"You did what with that videogame?" – Rook repeated, but got ignored.
"Whatever." – Ben said in annoyance and got out of the Rust Bucket III, which had transformed itself to look like an RV.
"Bye, Ben!", "Later!", "See ya!" – Gwen, Rook and Kevin waved him goodbye. "Arf!" – Zed barked with them.
"So long, guys! And thanks for NOTHING!" – Ben yelled and turned his back as they drove off. "So, does Empire have a Mr. Smoothies?" – Ben wondered to himself as he looked around the golden lights of the big city.
He had been driving for hours. Just a little longer, and he'd arrive at his first destination. Empire City. He had been so anxious about leaving the Gems, he still could barely contain himself in his seat. It's like nervousness was bubbling and boiling up inside him, and three times already he's had to pull over and walk around to shake the feeling off. But even though that was what had him agitated, he'd be lying to himself if he said that he wasn't excited about this. For he was Steven Universe, and for the first time in his life, he was his own man. Nothing to stop him from discovering his true identity. He felt like had been anchored to Beach City all his life, and only now was he cut off to explore the ocean. Just then, a realization hit him, and it hit him so hard that he lost control of the car and hastily had to pull over to avoid an accident.
He was exploring the open sea, but what if he couldn't swim? What if he couldn't make it on his own? Wouldn't that be embarrassing, driving back to Beach City with his head hung low the very next day because he got lost in the big city? He'd turn into a giant pink monster all over again, this time out of embarrassment.
"Do NOT think about that." – he told himself, as firmly as he could. "Or maybe I should." – he then thought. "If I normalize it, I'll finally stop worrying about it."
Though he knew that that was the last of his worries right now. He was supposed to meet the bed-and-breakfast host in 20 minutes, and if he didn't get a place to stay in Empire City of all places – that'd be the first defeat in his "independent life", and others would be sure to follow.
"Okay, don't panic. Remember the techniques." Steven started breathing heavily and looked around to name all the objects in his vicinity. That usually helped to calm him down.
Oh. There were buildings all around him. He was already in Empire City, just too preoccupied to notice it before.
"Whoa."
He felt anxiety building up again. It was almost as bad as the pink energy outbursts, though he had enough self-control not to let them manifest anymore. But he was getting restless again. He unbuckled the safety belt and got out. He needed to breathe, and for that, he had to get out. Out, away, and UP!
He was now high in the sky, almost hanging in the air thanks to his decelerated gravity. He thought getting off that seat for a bit would help, but with not even firm ground to stand on, he was feeling completely vulnerable. This metropolis would eat him whole and spit him back to Beach City, and he could forget about all the other destinations that were supposed to come after. The nervousness enveloped him from all directions and he felt himself drowning.
"Oh gosh, I really can't swim!" – he thought to himself. He tried to descend to at least have a leg to stand on, but he found himself unable to do even that. So, the only thing he could do was to watch the city below him.
He wasn't surrounded by skyscrapers from every direction – he hadn't made it that far into the city yet, that would come ahead. Instead, he could see residential buildings all around. Then far ahead, he noticed an explosion. Something was wrong. People might have gotten hurt.
Instinctively, he immediately descended back to his car and forgetting all of his insecurities, drove towards the disturbance.
Soon, Steven saw before him a large rhino-looking creature rampaging on the road, knocking cars around and heading towards his direction. It was decked out with thick armor plates all over its body. People were all leaving their cars and running off the road to get out of its way. Whatever it was, it didn't look like a gem.
"Hey! Hey, you!" – Steven called after it, but it ignored him. As it trampled another car, Steven had no other choice but to summon his shield and throw it at the attacker.
As the shield made contact, the rhino creature flinched.
"Ow! Hey, stop that!" – it yelled at Steven.
"So you can talk." – Steven concluded. "You stop messing up the cars first! You're scaring people and destroying property!"
"I don't care!" – the rhino responded. A laser activated in his horn and blasted another car, which went up in the air and toppled over.
"I'm serious!" – Steven tried to warn him, but got ignored. With no other choice left, he ran up to the rhino guy and punched him with a bubble knuckle. He had been somewhat rusty, not having participated in combat ever since that fight with Jasper… but this was enough. The opponent staggered back, which was impressive, given his size.
"Hey! I told you to stop! Mind your own business!" – the rhino yelled in frustration, then decided to charge at him instead to take his anger out on him. A pair of jet boosts activated on his back, propelling him at high speed right towards Steven. Steven summoned a bubble around him, then got knocked away once the bubble was hit. It crashed into someone's car, but thankfully, it was vacant.
The rhino then activated its horn laser again, this time directed at Steven. Steven had to summon his shield to reflect it back at the rhino again.
"What are you even trying to accomplish here?!" – Steven yelled from behind the cover.
"I don't wanna talk about it!" – the rhino groaned.
"I'm sure you don't wanna get beaten up, either!" – Steven kept trying to reason with him. He then de-summoned the shield and ran towards the rhino.
"Well, what if I do?" – the big guy responded as he charged for Steven.
"Well, that's really not a healthy way of dealing with wh-" – Steven was explaining, but then got hit in the face and knocked back into the same car again.
"Who the hell are you, anyway, to tell me how I feel?" – the rhino yelled at him after getting up on his hind two feet. "I'm pissed and I wanna wreck something. Either shut up and fight or get out of the way!"
"Well, I can't just let you do it in the middle of the city! People might get hurt!" – Steven kept reasoning while the rhino activated its horn again. "What did they ever do to you to deserve it?"
"Well, what did I ever do to Subdora?" – the rhino roared as it shot another laser at Steven, which Steven deflected right back at him again.
"Nice one, Steven!" – Steven heard someone say from above. A red streak flew overhead and shot green lasers at the rampaging rhino.
"Um, do I know you?" – Steven asked, confused.
"It's me, Ben." – the flying creature told him as it approached.
"Oh, I didn't recognize you."
"Haven't used this one in a while. Now come on, let's take on Exo-Skull together!" – he said as he kept shooting lasers at the rhino creature.
"Wait, Ben, don't shoot him! I think I was gonna get through to him!" – Steven tried to intervene, but he was too late.
"TENNYSON?! No way am I gonna go back to a Plumber cell!" – Exo-Skull yelled, knocked Jet Ray right into Steven and charged away at full speed. Jet Ray and Steven got knocked back against that same car again, which blew up this time. A couple minutes later Steven came to and got up from under Ben, who had been knocked back into human form. Ben got up too.
"What was with that guy?" – Steven asked him.
"Alien criminal, goes by the name of Exo-Skull. Big, stupid and charges at things." – Ben quickly explained.
"He seemed upset."
"No kidding. Didn't even look like he stole anything, just went on a rampage."
"So, should we go after him, or…"
"Yeah, hold on." – Ben told him and got his phone. "Hey, Gwen, I- Yeah, I just fought him on- Well, why don't you and Rook go after it, since he wants to be all responsible and stuff? Fine, well maybe I will!" – Ben then yelled into his phone and hung up.
"What was THAT all about?" – Steven asked Ben.
"It's all taken care of." – Ben said confidently. "The Plumbers will pick Exo-Skull up in no time."
"What's gonna happen to him?" – Steven said, unsure.
"He'll get sent back to HQ until he breaks out of his jail cell and goes on another crime spree. It's all good."
"Seriously?" – Steven was unimpressed.
"What?"
"You don't see anything wrong with what you just said?"
"Okay, HQ needs better security, I've been telling them that the whole year, but…"
"That's not what I mean. Maybe if we figure out what he was so upset about, he won't go on a rampage again." – Steven suggested.
"But he will eventually!" – Ben protested.
"Maybe if you keep doing it the Ben way. This time, let's try to gonna do it the Steven way. Come on, we'll have to find him before the Plumbers take him away."
"Fine, as long as it's not that "funky flow" of yours that Connie told me about." – Ben said irritably as he followed Steven back to his car. Steven cringed when he heard those words.
Before Ben got into the car, he picked up his cell. "Hey, Gwen, it's me. Listen, do NOT engage with Exo-Skull, me and a friend are taking care of it, and it's better if we do it without interference. Okay?"
"So what have you been up to?" – Steven asked Ben after they got into the SUV and started following Exo-Skull's trail of destruction.
"Oh, not much. Went to the beginning of time and saved the universe from an evil chronosapien who plotted to recreate it in his own image."
"Wow!" – Steven said in awe.
"Something Exo-Skull was an accomplice in, by the way." – Ben said matter-of-factly. "Now, after re-creating the universe, I'm on a road trip to explore it. It's pretty cool out there."
"What a coincidence! I'm on a road trip too!"
"Really? You're going around the gem colonies to help keep the peace?" – Ben asked him excitedly.
"No, not really. This is more like a personal road trip for me. The plan is to go around exploring the United States, and try to discover myself on the way."
"Oh, alright. Wait, what about Little Homeworld?" – Ben inquired.
"I think it's in good hands with the Crystal Gems. But after the whole… wait, do you know about the incident?" – Steven asked Ben.
"That time you turned into a kaiju? Yeah, I was there with the Plumbers in a fleet of Plumber ships, ready to step in if anything got too bad, but Grandpa Max figured this was more of a personal issue that should stay among your close friends, so we kept our distance." – Ben explained. "Wait, take that exit." – he then pointed out as Exo-Skull's trail of destruction got off the highway.
"Yeah. So after that whole thing, I figured it was time for me to leave the gems behind, at least, for a while, and go on an independent journey. But, it's kinda terrifying. I've never really been on my own before."
"Come to think of it, I've never been on my own either. I've always had Grandpa, or Gwen and Kevin, or Rook with me." – Ben told him. "I mean, I'd rather have someone to share the memories with, you know, but…"
At that moment, Steven stopped the car. Exo-Skull had left the road completely and now his trail was on the field among the tall grass. Ben and Steven decided to get out of the car. Ben pressed the dial on the Omnitrix and then hit it, turning into XLR8.
"Yes! Exactly who I wanted!" – Ben exclaimed. "Come on. Hop on." – he then told Steven.
"On your back?" – Steven asked, unsure.
They saw the Rust Bucket III flying overhead, high in the air.
"Yes! Do you want to find him before the Plumbers do or what?" – XLR8 told him. He complied and they were off.
"So, what's your plan on this one? I hope you're not just gonna start singing at him." – XLR8 told Steven as they followed Exo-Skull's trail.
"He mentioned someone named Subdora. Do you know why would he be upset about them?"
"That's his girlfriend/partner-in-crime!" – Ben pointed out. "You think they broke up?"
"Maybe he proposed and freaked her out." – Steven thought to himself, though didn't say out loud. "That must be it!" – he told Ben instead.
"Well, what are you suggesting we do? Send them to couples counseling?" – Ben remarked sarcastically. Steven didn't respond. "Wait, you seriously don't mean that, do you?"
"Well, you were gonna toss him in a cage and throw away the key." – Steven responded.
"I'd rather toss him in a hole and throw away the hole, but yeah." – XLR8 remarked. "Fine, we'll try it your way."
"Alright. Stop for a moment." – Steven told him. He then hopped off XLR8's back and leaped high into the air again to see where Exo-Skull was.
"He's close up ahead." – Steven told Ben after he landed. "Maybe you should wait back here a bit. I'll try to reason with him."
Ben de-transformed and followed, but kept his distance.
"Hey! Exo-Skull!" – Steven called after him. Exo-Skull stopped charging.
"Hey, you're that kid. You're Tennyson's friend!" – Exo-Skull realized. "Listen, I'm not bothering anyone anymore, so can't you just leave me alone?"
"I just wanna help you! Work with me here!" – Steven told him.
"Forget it! Just beat it till I get mad again!" – Exo-Skull groaned.
"Listen, Exo-Numbskull, Steven here is the only one keeping the Plumbers from hauling away your sorry butt back to prison, so you might want to listen to what he's saying!" – Ben yelled as he stuck his head out from behind the tall grass. Steven facepalmed.
"I thought you were gonna let me do the talking." – Steven whispered over to him sternly.
"Tennyson? I knew it! You Plumbers don't have anything on me! I got released officially! Chadzmuth saw to it!"
"Chadzmuth? One day I'm gonna get my hands on that twerp and I'll-"
"Who's Chadzmuth?" – Steven asked.
"Never you mind. WELL, WHAT ABOUT THE HAVOC YOU CAUSED ON THE ROAD?!" – Ben then yelled over at Exo-Skull.
"I'm sorry, okay? I got a little temperamental, so sue me."
"Oh, they're gonna sue you alright. Who else is gonna pay for the damages?" – Ben yelled back at him, but Steven interrupted him.
"What happened with you and Subdora? Do you wanna talk about it?"
"Of course I don't wanna talk about it! But I guess I gotta sooner or later." – Exo-Skull sat down on the ground, or rather, slammed down.
"Why don't you tell us what happened?" – Steven approached him warmly.
"Let me guess. You're too brute and she's too graceful and your conflicting methods of criminality or whatever just didn't work together." – Ben theorized. Steven shushed him.
"What? No. We've always made that work. But this time, as soon as we're released from custody, she says: "I want-a to call off the wedding." Out of nowhere!" – he repeated, imitating Subdora's accent.
"WHAT?!" – Ben yelled in total shock. "You guys are GETTING MARRIED?!"
"Ben, be quiet!" – Steven shushed him again.
"What?" – Ben said as if he wasn't doing anything.
"Go on, Exo-Skull." – Steven turned back to the rhino.
"So, she says: "You don't have-a any respect for my art." I told her that I did, but then she said "well why is it-a always "Exo-Skull and Subdora", not "Subdora and Exo-Skull"?" – Exo-Skull went on.
"But if it's "Subdora and Exo-Skull", wouldn't that mean that she's the one that doesn't have respect for your, um… demolition art?" – Ben butted in again.
"Yeah, nice save." – Steven whispered sarcastically.
"That's exactly what I said! Then I lost my temper, because she would always insult my intelligence, and I ALWAYS resent that." – Exo-Skull then told him.
"Really? I insult your intelligence all the time and you don't get too angry about it. Well, maybe a little bit." – Ben said, getting a disapproving glance from Steven.
"It's different when she does it, okay? So we had a fight and both of us decided to call off the wedding and break up." – Exo-Skull grunted.
"Well, if it was mutual, what's got you so upset then?" – Ben asked him.
"BECAUSE I MISS HER, DAMMIT!" – Exo-Skull roared so suddenly that Steven was taken aback. "I wish I never said any of that stuff! It can be her name first for all I care, you can even drop my name completely and just call us "Subdora and her sidekick", I just want her back!"
"And your way of dealing with it is going on a rampage on the highway…?" – Ben muttered, but got elbowed by Steven.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Tell her about it!" – Steven told Exo-Skull like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"I would, but what if she still doesn't take me back?!" – Exo-Skull yelled, almost going into tears.
"Oh, darling!" – a female voice said. Ben and Steven looked around to see where it was coming from. Subdora now appeared in front of them. Steven was puzzled, but Ben whispered over "She's like a chameleon." "Ohhh."
"Honeybun! Is it really you!" – Exo-Skull yelled in disbelief.
"Yes, my darling, it's-a me! I've been following you, but didn't dare-a say it first! I will!" – she responded.
"You will what?"
"I will-a take you back! I never meant any-a-thing I said either, I hated every word of it! I don't care whose-a name comes first either, it can be you!" – Subdora told him.
"No, it should be you!"
"No-a, you!"
"Oh, boy." – Steven said.
"Excuse me, I believe I know how to break this tie." – Ben stepped in between of them. "So, the two of you are the "smash and grab." You're the smash…" – he pointed to Exo-Skull. "And you're the grab." – the then pointed to Subdora. "So if we go by the expression, Exo-Skull should come first."
"Eh. I'll take it." – Exo-Skull said indifferently.
"Oh, darling! I promise never to insult your intelligence ever again!" – Subdora yelled as they embraced each other. Ben barely ducked out of the way. "Or, maybe sometimes." – Subdora added.
"Aw, okay. But only when I really really deserve it, okay?" – Exo-Skull asked in a cutesy tone.
"Of course!" – Subdora responded and they started making out.
"Bleeeeeargchhhhhh! That's the grossest thing I've ever seen!" – Ben exclaimed.
"I think it's sweet." – Steven told him.
"His mouth is bigger than her entire head!" – Ben raised his hands in the air. "Alright, alright, that's enough for you two. Gwen? You can take him away now." – he spoke into his phone. Shortly after, Kevin's Rust Bucket III flew down.
"Wh-what is this?" – Exo-Skull exclaimed. "TENNYSON!"
"Just because your love life is back on doesn't mean you don't have to pay for the damages! I counted like 57 wrecked cars before I caught up to you!" – Ben told him.
"Eh. I've got what's the most important back with me, I could care less about a jail cell. I'll be out of there in no time, anyway."
"And I will be waiting for you!" – Subdora told him and kissed him on his massive chin.
"Alright, break it up, you two." – Kevin had stepped out of the ship, followed by Rook, Gwen and Zed.
"Exo-Skull, you are under arrest for-" – Rook started reading the procedure, but Exo-Skull interrupted him.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Just put the cuffs on, redspot."
"I'm surprised, Ben. You managed to subdue Exo-Skull without so much as a confrontation. Perhaps this should be attributed to your friend…?"
"Steven." – Ben introduced him to Rook. "Steven, these are Rook, Kevin and my cousin Gwen" – Ben was saying, but he noticed Gwen's stare throwing daggers at him. "…dolyn." – he finished. "Everyone, this is Steven, one of the Crystal Gems."
"Nice to meet you." – Steven told them as he shook her hand.
"Likewise." – Gwen told him.
"Though, I'm actually taking a, um, "leave of absence" from the Crystal Gems." – Steven explained.
"He's on a road trip/journey of self-discovery." – Ben explained to them.
"Since you're taking a "leave of absence" of your own, why don't you two travel together?" – Gwen suggested. "You wanted a road trip buddy, after all."
"A together road trip?" – Steven asked. "But didn't you want to explore, like, the entire universe?"
"That doesn't sound like a bad idea. And hey, we can do both, can't we? The road trip can be sometimes personal, sometimes cosmic." – Ben agreed.
"Yeah, you might even learn a thing or two." – Gwen said.
"Steven does seem to have a positive influence on you." – Rook agreed.
"Hey, am I the only one who knows about the whole thing with the Diamonds and Pi-" – Kevin was saying, but he got elbowed by Gwen.
"What do you say, Steve-o?" – Ben asked him.
"Okay. Ben-o." – Steven agreed.
"Alright! But you're gonna have to think of a better nickname for me." – Ben told him.
"We can still pick you up till Bellwood if you haven't found a place to stay here." – Gwen told Ben.
"Don't worry, I'm sure Steven has got it under control."
"OH, NO! I totally forgot! I'm late to check in with the bed-n-breakfast host! He'll have given my room away by now!" – Steven exclaimed.
"We'll think of something." – Ben assured him and Gwen as they headed back to Steven's car.
"Good luck, you guys!" – Exo-Skull yelled as Kevin was taking him away.
"Oh! Is the wedding back on with you two?" – Steven asked Subdora.
"Wedding?" – Gwen and Kevin repeated in disbelief.
"Of course! We'll start planning together right after Exo-Skull is released!" – she told them.
"Good luck to you two!" – Steven told her.
"Of course, you two will be invited!" – Subdora told Ben and Steven.
"Say, what now?" – Ben said.
"Signori Ben and Steven, you are-a officially invited to our wedding!" – Subdora told them happily. Gwen barely contained her laughter.
Ben and Steven looked at each other in disbelief. Ben's face was stuck in a half-grimace and half-contorted smile as he couldn't say a word. Steven panicked and yelled "OF COURSE, WE'D LOVE TO!" and drove off without another word.
"Huh. Not the first alien wedding I've been to. This one time, I was almost the one that GOT wed. wedded. we-wed. Which one of these is a word again?"
Steven listened to Ben's story about four-armed alien warlord princesses as they drove back into this city. He hadn't even realized that all of the loneliness and anxiety that had him in a panic attack earlier had now washed away. From now on, he'd be taking this journey with a friend.
Alright, let me get it out of the way: I'd like to hear your opinion on it, the things you liked, the things you didn't like, hell, things you wanna see. If you take the time to leave all that in a review, I'd greatly appreciate it.
So the thought of this crossover, with Ben and Steven going on their road trips together, it actually was inspired by DC's Green Lantern/Green Arrow comic series. Well, that, and I really like the road trip vibe. And since both of their heroes went on road trips that were huge for them at the end of their respective series, I felt that they could work very well together. I wanted it to be just Ben and Steven, so Gwen, Kevin, Rook (and sadly Zed) had to go but I still gave them a good 2 weeks of their road trip to not take away from Omniverse's ending. Still, you don't know who you're gonna see team up with Ben and Steven.
I'm not sure on how quick the progress will be on this story, though, since I have other fanfics that I write. Still, I can promise more stuff in the near future. This was just the tip of the iceberg.