When Ben woke up, he was in bed. Which was weird. His memory was fuzzy, slowly returning to him, but he was sure the last thing he did before falling asleep was watching a movie with Hope. He didn't even remember when exactly he fell asleep, just that he kind of left Hope alone. Which was awkward. Turning to the right, he noticed the other bed was also occupied, Hope sleeping with sheets covering almost her entire body, even her face. It would be the case if not for her untied white hair that seemed to glow in the darkness, and her left arm splattered across her pillow.

Ben's phone vibrated, which explained why he had woken up at... four in the morning. Typical. He was truly expecting that the doctor had leaked his number to the press, but to his surprise, it was a notification from Gwen. What was his cousin doing awake in the middle of the night? Then his heart clenched. Had she heard about Sunny? Oh, God. That would be a heartache of its own.

Gwen: Hey, Ben. Nothing accusatory, just a greeting. It was sent two minutes ago, so Ben didn't imagine she would have fallen asleep waiting for a reply.

Ben: "Heyy, what's up?"

Even to himself, his fake enthusiasm seemed... fake. But he didn't want to sound concerned. In his head, it would only make things worse.

Gwen: ''Grandpa told me what happened with Elena." Ah, there it was.

Gwen: "I'm out of the country, and I know it's the middle of the night, but I was worried sick. Did I wake you?''

Ben: "Dw, it's okay" And it was. Not like he valued his sleep that much recently.

Ben: "Where u at?"

Gwen: "Ireland. Just doing some family research while classes don't come back. "

Gwen: "I'll tell u about it when we see each other again. But how are you?"

How was he? Well...

Ben: "Decent"

Ben: "Ig"

Ben: "I mean, you already know what happened"

Gwen: "Yeah."

Gwen: "I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you."

For a few seconds, Gwen kept typing, so Ben knew she either had something to say... or didn't know how to say it.

Gwen: "I know I've been absent since I went to college."

Gwen: "But I want you to know that I'll be here if you need me. And we can always reach other quickly if we need to."

Ben couldn't help but smile. In truth, he had missed Gwen. A lot. But at least they still saw each other. And she was right. She could teleport or take Rust Bucket III with Kevin, and he could turn into Jetray, Fasttrack, or XLR8. Only a few minutes apart.

Ben: "Thanks"

Ben: "I hope we can meet soon"

Gwen: "Me too."

Gwen: "How is Elena? I know she is in the hospital, but Grandpa didn't tell me much."

He waited a moment before typing a response:

Ben: "It's not good"

Ben: "But I'm hoping she recovers"

Ben: "I still feel guilty"

Gwen: "Don't be."

Gwen: "It's not her fault, being possessed by the chips. Much less yours."

Ben: "Ig"

Ben: "I just feel terrible"

Gwen: "She is gonna be fine."

Gwen: "Go get some sleep. I think I have to go."

Gwen: "Can I call you later? I miss talking to you properly"

Ben: "Sure thing"

Ben: "Take care."

Ben: "Ily"

For a moment, he thought there wasn't going to be a response until he saw his cousin typing again.

Gwen: "I love you too."

"What are you doing?"

Ben was startled to find out that Hope had woken up and was looking at him with tired eyes.

"Uh... did I wake you up?"

She shook her head. "No. I mean, you did, but I slept by accident."

"By accident?" Ben questioned.

"Mhm." Hope stretched her arms. "I wanted to look after you."

Despite himself, Ben's face warmed up. "Why?"

"I wanted to see if you have nightmares. Or at least if you're quiet on sleep. Seems as much." Using mana, she willed the sheets away from her body, and sat on the bed, adjusting her hair, but she didn't tie it.

"Uh... that's great?" Ben felt a bit uncomfortable, but... "At least you're looking out for me. You never know when a villain might try to kill me in my sleep."

"Perhaps," Hope said, gazing at him. "I only want to know if you're feeling better. You slept too early."

Now, Ben blushed for different reasons. "Sorry. I guess I didn't realize how tired I was."

"Don't worry." Hope smiled sympathetically. "I enjoyed the movie anyway. But I've seen worse from past battles. Ones much closer to home."

Ben could identify the teasing a mile away. "I know I haven't been a friend of private property..."

"More like an enemy." Hope extended her hand, and Ben's phone flew onto her grasp, despite his protests. "Just borrowing it to show you what I mean. Oh, were you talking to Gwen?"

"Yeah." Ben raised an eyebrow.

"Hm." Hope typed on the phone, but Ben didn't know what she was searching, until she showed her a video of an event he remembered too well. It was in Undertown, as Incurseans ran around, trying to restore order in the chaotic city, until a huge part of the roof was torn apart by a giant head, belonging to one of those Way Bads. Ben, in the form of Way Big, stood outside the now massive hole, only to disappear soon after. The destruction was immense, but at least that portion of the alien city had been mostly evacuated, or so did they tell him.

"That wasn't my fault." Ben grumpily stated.

Hope shrugged, throwing his phone at him. "That's just the tip of the iceberg. I always liked the way you were so careless."

"I... didn't tend to think about my surroundings all that much..."

"Not hard to notice," Hope said, but a smile still graced her lips. "But I dig it. When order is gone, better to relish in chaos."

"Isn't it worse when you fully adopt such a line of thought instead of not being aware of it?"

The witch looked at him with a curious expression. "Huh. That's philosophical."

"Not all the brain cells in the family went to Gwen, okay?"

Hope chuckled. "I know. I used to think you were a dumb brat, I told you that."

"Mostly because I probably was." Ben mirrored her laugh.

"A true brat wouldn't choose to be a hero, though." She argued. "I failed to notice that until recently."

"I... I suppose..." Ben was left a bit speechless. He wasn't prepared for that type of praise coming from Charmcaster.

"You downplay yourself too hard?" Hope got up, grabbing her robes and mask. "How about we get a breath of fresh air?"

"Now?" Ben asked. "It's four in the morning."

"Then," She put her mask on, morphing into the figure of Sunny. "I get to be myself for longer if we find an adequate space. I don't like to be your cousin, much less a copy of Gwendolyn."

"I don't like Sunny either. But sure. We can go out. Together."

The apartment was quiet. So quiet that it had woken Benjamin. What were they up to now? Worst case scenario, they were trying to scare, slash surprise him. In the best-case scenario, he was alone.

And it seemed to be the case. Investigating the place, he found no one. Which was weird. But they knew what they were doing. Not like Benjamin would worry too much about a villain and his counterpart, no matter how important he was to the timeline or something.

He sat on the couch, looking at the black screen in front of her, grimacing. Benjamin didn't know what was worse. Whether to be accompanied or to be on his own. Both were painful in their own right. Both feelings present thanks to similar reasons. The fact that he was so far from home. Benjamin wasn't a saint, of course, he wasn't. But... he loved his home. And his family, what was left of it, that is. Unlike his Mad Max counterpart, he didn't care for himself and him alone. Or not even that, seeing that one reality where he is an emo. Or worse than all that, a zombie. No. He ft love. Anger. Hate. Disgust. Happiness.

And he was robbed of that. Azmuth was an idiot. He learned that a long time ago. But to this extent? Like... He thought Elena had been better. For a time. A short time, but it was all for nothing. He had liked her, truly. Perhaps even more thanks to her personality. But it was intoxicating too. And it led to him causing the deaths of thousands, including his girlfriend.

To Benjamin, evil was relative. It all depended on the point of view. But he couldn't forgive his recklessness, borderline amateurism. He should have dealt with it better. The whole reason Azmuth had let him with the Omnitrix – even despite all that happened – was because he was so effective. Ruthless at times, but effective.

This world was eerily like his own. But here, the people revered a hero. In his Earth, they had yearned for justice, and he had given it to them. At the cost of so much. But it was all for a greater purpose. A few slip-ups along the way, some way bigger than others, of course, but he arrived in one piece.

But now... his wrist felt bare. Naked, even. His Omnitrix, taken away, perhaps irreparably damaged. And here Azmuth sent him, for rehab. He didn't see the point. Benjamin had tried to be a Boy Scout. It had not gone well. At all.

Snapping him out of his thoughts, the telephone rang, so he assumed it was the front desk. Was it Ben and Charmcaster, already back from whatever they had gone? He picked up the phone and tried to fake his voice to sound like his younger counterpart.

"Yes?"

"Mr. Tennyson?"

"The one and only." He tried to talk like what his counterpart almost sounded to him. It wasn't too difficult.

"There's a person claiming they want to see you. A Julie Yamamoto."

At that, Benjamin froze. What was Julie doing here? As far as he knew, Ben Prime had broken up with her years ago. So, what on Earth was she doing wanting to see him?

"I'll be there," Benjamin said with a stutter, feeling unusually nervous. He took a deep breath and grabbed his mask, setting it up so he would look exactly like Ben Prime. Looking at the mirror, the main changes were to his hair and eye color, but apart from that... it was still him. Better than playing a retired Plumber.

Five minutes later, he arrived in the main lobby, where he spotted her from a mile away, even without her signature pink hoodie. Julie looked just like he remembered. Her brown eyes were already set on Benjamin, almost examining him.

"Ben." Julie greeted, getting up from the bench, and going for a hug. Okay, this was not what he expected. But he returned the gesture. "How are you?"

"I'm... fine, Julie." Talking to his... well, not his former girlfriend, but it served the same purpose, was not pleasant. Especially because he had made his Julie run from the town after Elena imprisoned her four times. He also cheated on her. With Elena. "I didn't expect you here."

"I was worried. I heard about Elena, it's all over the news." Ah. That explained it. Partially. "I just happened to be in town, but I went to your home and your mom said you were here."

"Just a Plumber assignment. Nothing big." Benjamin tried his best not to laugh at the situation. "I am fine, though. Could be better, but it's been fine since I dealt with Elena."

Julie pursed her lips. "That's good. I... I was very concerned. Do you want to take a walk? I don't have any plans today."

Benjamin felt like screaming. "Of course." And so, they did, roaming aimlessly, in his opinion, across Downtown.

"How's life been?" Benjamin inquired since he really did not know a thing about this Julie's personal life. And he did not have a hint from his own world, since Elena made sure he had no contact with the tennis player.

"It's been good, actually." Julie said. "I'm doing well in my career. I'm trying to go to the Olympics, you know?"

"Oh, that's awesome." Benjamin half-heartedly praised her. "You were always great at tennis. I'm glad you're reaching such heights."

"Thanks." She smiled. "Apart from that, it's been going okay. I moved to New York; I live near the Central Park with Hervé. The prices there... oh, it almost makes me want to go back to Bellwood."

Benjamin did not have a clue about who Hervé was. Probably her boyfriend or something akin. He did not feel jealous, not one bit. This wasn't even his Julie, after all.

"Great. I started working as a full-time Plumber." Benjamin tried to sound grateful, unlike his melancholic counterpart. "And I'm thinking of renting a place for me." That last bit was a lie, Benjamin didn't know if Ben Prime wanted to move out of his parents' house, but he assumed as such. I mean, come on.

Julie glanced at him with a weird look. "Did you break up?" She didn't sound particularly sorry. Was Ben Prime the one to break up with this Julie? That would be funny.

"Yeah... I did. A few weeks ago."

"That was all over the news too." Julie scoffed. "What happened this time?"

"Eh, it just wasn't working. We both decided on that." That was also a lie. He knew very well how much Ben Prime wanted to stay with Kai Green.

"Well, I'm sorry." Julie's voice softened just enough. "I guess it wasn't meant to be."

"Indeed. But there's nothing I can do now."

"Apart from moving on." She suggested. "Don't stay too attached to the past. My therapist's words, not mine. And it helps me a lot."

Benjamin slowly nodded. "I'll... keep that in mind."

They walked a few minutes in silence, stopping at a square with a big fountain nearby. It was full of people, so Benjamin hoped neither he nor Julie would be recognized among the crowd. The last thing he needed was more attention.

"I think I'm going to stay here. My dad is gonna pick me up."

"Alright." Benjamin forced a smile. "It was good to see you again."

"Same." Julie hugged him once more. "See you around, Ben."

Benjamin simply nodded and walked in a random direction, just wanting to fully comprehend their conversation. At least it wasn't anything absurd, he was used to a lot worse with Elena, a lot of weird stuff. But it was still interesting.

But he couldn't help but feel lost. This wasn't his world, that wasn't his ex, and he was now dealing with problems that weren't his. He didn't care to deal with practical stuff. A robbery. Villains kidnapping people.

But he was not meant to deal with relationship drama from another Ben Tennyson.

His counterpart would have to answer to him.