Ben X Chapter 22

Return Home Arc

Conversations

Ben sighed as he entered his private quarters at the Plumber base. He flipped on the lights and looked around at the bare spartan room. He looked down at the box in his arms which was filled to the brim with clothes, pictures, and other mementos he had taken from his room. Last night he had reunited with his parents. Many joyful tears were shed and they had a nice dinner. Their night was quiet, spent catching up and reminiscing. His parents' anger at having left for so long had long since faded, they were happy simply to see that their son was alive and well. As such they pointedly avoided any conversations about what caused Ben to come back in the first place. But eventually he had told them that he wouldn't be staying for long, he needed to figure out the next moves for some of these villains. And he wasn't sure where that journey would take him. His parents were worried of course but they understood. Having a famous superhero for a son meant that there wasn't a whole lot they could do to stop him. But they were proud of him nonetheless.

The next morning Ben had packed up his essentials and transported them over to the base. He had always planned to move out from his parents but he never quite imagined it would be like this. He knew this was only a temporary measure until they figured out where the next mission would be. But he did take some small measure of satisfaction of having his own private place. Before his parents would always barge into his room, not giving him a lot of privacy. He began putting away clothes and placing things around the room when he heard the mechanical hiss of the door closing behind him. He looked up to see Kai staring at him with a smirk on her face.

"Oh Kai. Hey, what's going on?" Ben asked. He never realized before but he was always on edge around Kai, never knowing what would set her off. Even after yesterday where she sucker punched him not two seconds after kissing him full on the lips. She was unpredictable and wild, and her beauty made him fall hard for her, even back when they were kids. Now though, she stared at him with half-lidded eyes, biting on her lower lip subtly. She walked over to Ben with a sway to her hips. But despite the alluring sight, Ben could only feel his anxiety build.

"Hey Ben…" She trailed off suggestively as she closed the distance between them and grasped him by the shirt. Ben looked at her nervously. "I didn't get to give you your welcome home present last night." She said as she brought a hand up to play with Ben's hair.

"Oh uhh, heheh, what would that be?" Ben asked not liking the direction that the conversation was going. Kai smiled seductively at him.

"Mmm why don't you find out." Kai said before bringing his head closer to hers and pressing their lips together.

In an instant, Ben's body melted into the kiss. Her lips on his tasted sweet and familiar. Her tongue darted out to his, seeking entrance into his mouth. Her hands began roaming his body, pulling and tugging at his hair and skin. Ben was startled and didn't know how to react. He had been alone for so long that such close intimate contact left him at a loss. He wanted to reciprocate. His body started to move on it's own, his hands seeking out her body by themselves. His mouth moved, following her own lead. For a few blissful moments there was nothing else, no duties, no memories, just that wonderful feeling in the here and now. But something wasn't right. A nagging thought persisted in the back of his mind. When Kai began insistently tugging at the hems of his pants and shirt, his mind shot back to the forefront of his consciousness. Ben pushed back gently against her insistent motions, leaving Kai looking at him with confusion.

"Kai, wait." He said firmly. Kai looked at him, her hair messy and face flushed. God, this was going to be tough.

"What's the matter? If you're worried about protection I've…" Kai began but Ben waved off her concern.

"No, no it's not that." Ben assured her. "It's just… I don't know if I'm ready for this again." Ben began noticing the slight tinge of hurt in her gaze. But he powered through. "I've been gone for a long time, and I don't know if I can just jump back into things like I haven't been gone for three years. And I'm under a lot of pressure right now. I just don't want to make any… rash decisions just yet." Ben tried to explain but he could feel that his attempts were failing miserably. Kai stepped back and looked him up and down.

"Are you actually… turning me down?" Kai asked incredulously.

"Yes, kinda. Look I want to but there's so much else going on right now." Ben tried to explain. "Believe me it's not you, you're still amazing but, I've got a lot on my plate." He said. Kai's face fell, her mouth slightly agape as she realized she was being rejected. "Besides, I'd really rather not have an audience, if you know what I mean?" Ben said in a whisper. Kai looked up at him very confused before a voice spoke up from Ben's wrist.

"Oh don't worry about me you two." Trixie said, popping her head out from the Omnitrix dial. "I am well versed in the sexual reproduction habits of multiple species, humans included!" She said cheerfully. Kai looked down at the little hologram and her face blanched, suddenly reconsidering the idea.

"Oh, yeah. Ok then. Uhm, uh, yeah, I guess you can't shut her off again either huh?" Kai asked sarcastically.

"Nope!" Trixie responded before Ben could. The two young adults looked at each other. Ben gave an apologetic smile. Kai gazed into his eyes before rolling her own and scoffing. "Whatever, but you owe me Tennyson." She said with a wink before kissing him on his cheek again. With that she walked out the door, leaving Ben and Trixie alone. Ben breathed a sigh of relief he didn't realize he'd been holding. Now that Kai had left, he realized just how tense and nervous his body had been. He found it strange that he never noticed that before.

"Thanks for the save Trixie." Ben spoke into his watch. Trixie's hologram form popped on the watch face.

"No problem, but you do know I could have uploaded myself onto some other server for the time being." Trixie questioned.

"I know but, I just wasn't ready for that just yet." Ben said trailing off. Trixie raised an eyebrow at him.

"That girl was Kai correct? The girlfriend you left behind? She is quite attractive by human standards. Why did you reject her?" Trixie asked. Ben sat down on the bed.

"I… may have let slip to Julie that I still have feelings for her." Ben said ashamed. "She, I don't know, she said we could figure it out when we got back, but I don't know what to do about Kai either." Ben said. Trixie hummed thoughtfully.

"It sounds like you should go talk to Julie then. She was the Ex you mentioned all the time yes?" She confirmed. Ben nodded.

"Yeah, I think you're right. I'm gonna go find her. Maybe, um go for a walk if you don't mind this time?" Ben asked. Trixie gave a mock salute and smiled before her Hologram form disappeared.

Ben left his room in search of Julie. He did not have to look long for her. Since Julie no longer lived in Bellwood she had asked the Plumbers for the same temporary quarters that Ben had while she decided on her next move. She could have stayed with her parents, but she knew they would have scolded her for putting herself in danger again over Ben, and she was not ready to have that conversation. As such, she was sat in her room, what few posessions she brought with her laid spread out on the bed. She sat on the floor playing with Ship. She was trying to uncover if the little droid had any other secret abilities she was unaware of. Her trip to outer space had revealed that Ship had a lot more surprises in him than she had originally thought. But, like an excited puppy, Ship only did simple tricks when asked. It seemed like all of his other abilities were more responses to unconscious desires from her. But Julie was brought out of her musings by a knock at the door.

"Come in." She called. The door slid open and Ben walked in, looking sheepish and nervous. Julie stood from the floor and gave him a questioning look.

"Hey Julie, I wanted to come by and talk to you?" He asked unsure.

"What did you want to talk about?" Julie asked pointedly. Ben took a deep breath, not realizing how nervous he was until that very moment.

"I wanted to talk about us…" Ben started off. "Back on that planet, I said I still had feelings for you, and you said you were going to figure out yours about me. So I wanted to know… where do we go from here?" Ben asked. Julie frowned and stepped towards Ben.

"What about Kai?" She asked. Ben blanched and he looked to the side with shame and nervousness.

"She uh… she came by earlier but uh, I turned her down." Ben explained. Julie raised an eyebrow.

"So you broke up with her?" She asked looking for clarification. But Ben only rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"Well, not exactly." Ben admitted. Julie sighed and put her hands on her hips.

"So what? You're just going to leave her hanging until you figure out if I'll take you back or not?" Julie accused.

"No, that's not it at all." He said gesturing with his hands.

"Well it sure sounds like it Ben." She responded. Julie sighed again. "So what exactly did you tell her? Did you mention me?" She asked curious.

"No. I just said I wasn't ready to take that step again." He admitted.

"If you weren't ready for her what makes you think you're ready for me?" Julie asked pointing a finger at his chest.

"I… what?" Ben asked confused. Julie frowned sadly at Ben before picking up one of his hands in hers.

"Ben, I think you've changed. And some of that change is good, but, there's other parts of you that make me worried." She said.

"What are you talking about?" Ben laughed nervously.

"Ben, I've seen you almost cry twice in as many days. I've never seen you cry before." Julie spoke softly with concern. Ben's eyes widened. "And your anger, I know you said it was just because you were concerned for my safety but it still scared me when we reunited. And the way you were so focused on stopping Vilgax? I've never seen you do anything like that before. I'm worried about you Ben, and regardless of my feelings for you, I think you need to do some searching yourself and figure out if a relationship is even something you really want or need right now." Julie told him. Ben's hand fell from her grip as he took in her words. His eyes seemed to look through her as he contemplated her words. "I really think you should talk to someone, maybe somebody professional. If you really were alone like you said, it can't be good for anyone, even if you did have Trixie." Julie finished and put a hand on Ben's shoulder who's head was now bowed and looking to the floor. She lifted his head up to meet hers and saw his eyes were still searching. Julie gave a sad smile before planting a light kiss on his cheek. She walked past Ben and exited the room, leaving Ben alone with his thoughts.

Elsewhere in the plumber base. Kai paced angrily back and forth in front of Charmcaster who sat at a table with a bemused expression on her face. The older girl watched as her newfound friend ranted to her about the events of that morning.

"And then I think he tried to pull that whole 'it's not you it's me' line on me." Kai complained as she paced a hole in the floor. Charmcaster sat with her head perched on her fist.

"I'll say it again, I don't know what you see in that pipsqueak." She commented. Kai turned to her with a smirk on her lips and hands on her hips.

"Oh come on, you've gotta admit he's at least a little cute." Kai shot back.

"Uh, no girl. He's way too scrawny, I've got zero interest." Charmcaster replied looking at her nails. Kai rolled her eyes but sat down across from her.

"I bet you that bitch had something to do with it." Kai muttered under her breath.

"Who, pinky?" Charmcaster asked. "I thought you said she was like his ex or something?" She finished.

"Yeah, but he trusted her with that data cube! He wouldn't have done that without a reason. And she went out on the mission to find him. Who knows what could have happened?" Kai said paranoid.

"Jealousy isn't a good look for you hun." Charmcaster said. Kai glared at her.

"Pssh, I'm not jealous of her. I'm ten times hotter than she is." Kai said flicking her hair. "But Ben is easily manipulated, it's how I've gotten him to do things for me over the years. A bat of my eyelashes is usually enough to get him to give in. It just didn't work this time… And I don't know why." Kai spoke quietly. "And the only thing that I can think of is that Julie must have done something." She reasoned.

"Well, I wish I could give you advice, but sadly my love life is nothing to write home about." Charmcaster admitted. Her eyes flitted upwards as Lucy and Cooper walked in. Kai looked over to them.

"Ugh, speaking of couples." Kai muttered as the pair were walking over.

"Oh, stop. Now I think they make a cute couple." Charmcaster said. Kai rolled her eyes.

"Kai, have you finished the presentation for tomorrow's mission briefing?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah, I'm still working on it." Kai said dismissively. Lucy frowned.

"So where is it?" She asked.

"Tch, I told you I'll have it finished before tomorrow okay?" Kai said still trying to ignore Lucy. But the shapeshifter scowled and stepped closer so she stood taller over Kai's sitting form.

"Is this a joke to you?" Lucy spoke with uncharacteristic venom. Startled by the tone of her voice Kai looked up to her.

"I like you Kai but you don't seem to take any of your duties or responsibilities seriously." Lucy said. "And I can't afford to have a member of my team be underperforming." She finished.

"Since when did you care so much about proper procedures?" Kai asked skeptically. But this response only served to make Lucy even more livid.

"I have always followed the rules Kai! Do you even know anything about my background?" Lucy asked incredulously.

"Uh, well…" Kai stammered out trying to recollect the information from when she briefly glanced at Lucy's personnel file.

"I'm the first Lenopan plumber. The First, period. My people were at war with the Plumbers for decades. And the peace treaty is barely ten years old. I can't afford to screw up or disregard orders or do what I want. Because everyone's eyes are on me. I'm under tremendous pressure. If I do something wrong then the Plumbers will accuse me of sabotage, and my homeworld will accuse the Plumbers of bias and the whole war could reignite like that!" Lucy said with a snap of her fingers. "That's why I have to be perfect. I worked hard to get where I am today. And I'm still aiming higher, to become the first Lenopan to reach Magister rank. So I'm sorry if I seem harsh but I can't have you disregarding orders or pulling stunts like the one that got you demoted." Lucy said, causing Kai to look down in shame. "Now I expect you to have the presentation ready for me by tonight so I can proof read it. Are we clear?" Lucy asked with a demanding tone.

"Yes, ma'am." Kai responded quietly. Lucy looked down at the girl for a few more moments before she was seemingly satisfied and walked off. Cooper followed behind her looking uncomfortably between Lucy and Kai, who's head was still hung low.

"Did you really have to be that harsh on her?" Cooper asked once they had reached the hallway.

"Yes, Coop. She has to realize she's not going to get any special treatment. If she wants to be on this squad she's going to follow orders just like the rest of us. It's harsh but Kai has tremendous potential and if she's going to live up to it she needs to fall in line." Lucy explained as she stormed forward.

"Which reminds me, you and I need to go fill out some paperwork with Inhuman Resources." Lucy stated.

"Uh, okay. Why?" Cooper asked nervously. Lucy paused and turned to Cooper, a sly smile on her face. She leaned in close to him and placed a finger on his chest.

"If you want to be with me it has to be above board, got it?" She said tracing circles on his chest. Cooper could only smile and nod nervously.

Back with Kai and Charmcaster the former was still sitting despondent after her verbal rebuke by Lucy. Charmcaster was not used to such displays, and worse did not know how to comfort someone. She watched Kai silently stew in her emotions. Charmcaster glanced around nervously, coming around the table to sit next to Kai.

"Are… you okay?" She asked unsure. Kai was silent for a few moments before responding.

"Yeah. I'll be fine." She said, picking up her head. The silence lingered for a few minutes before Charmcaster spoke again.

"Man, she really seems like a pain in the ass huh?" She said.

"No, she's right. I do need to get my shit together." Kai said breathlessly. "I just feel like everything has been against me lately, ya know?" She said looking over. Charmcaster turned away, her vision going unfocused as she reflected on the last few years of her life. Her subservience to her uncle Hex, her jealousy of Gwen, her overthrow of Addwaitya, becoming the most powerful sorceress in Ledgerdomain. Yet still, no matter how hard she tried, things never seemed to go her way. Eventually, she realized it wasn't the universe conspiring against her, but her own self-sabotage ruining her life. When Charmcaster finally zoned back in, she stood up.

"Hey, look. I've gotta go do something that I've been putting off for a long time. But, I'll see you later. Okay?" She said. Kai looked at her curiously before smiling back and nodding.

Charmcaster turned to walk out of the spacious room. She needed to find Gwen. She was long overdue for a talk with her. Thankfully finding her wouldn't be too hard of a task. The girl leaked mana like a broken faucet. Charmcaster had to supress the reflexive twinge of jealousy at the thought. She wandered the halls of the Plumber base, following the trail of mana that Gwen left behind. Technically she wasn't supposed to be walking around the base without an escort, what with her still being on probation. However, she figured that the plumber badge they had given to her served as enough of a location tracker that she wouldn't have to worry about it. Charmcaster finally tracked Gwen down and sighed when she realized where she was. The women's bathroom was not the ideal place she would have picked for a heart-to-heart with her former nemesis but she had come too far to back out now. Charmcaster pushed through the door and looked around. She saw Gwen standing at the sink, finishing washing her hands. The younger girl looked up and her face screwed up in animosity at the sight of her foe.

"Charmcaster," Gwen said with barely restrained venom. Charmcaster swallowed nervously.

"Gwen, look I just want to talk." She said.

"What could I possibly have to talk with you about?" Gwen spat.

"Look, I know you have every right to be angry with me but," She began before Gwen cut her off.

"Angry? Why would I be angry with you? I mean it's not like you've done nothing but try to kill me since I was ten years old." Gwen said sarcastically. Charmcaster looked aside and had the decency to look ashamed.

"I know, and I want to apologize for that. Seriously." Charmcaster said pleadingly. Gwen sighed, rubbing her forehead.

"Look, I want to believe you Charmcaster but…" Gwen started. "But I feel like you've pulled this trick a bunch of times before." She said. Charmcaster looked crestfallen. "The last time you asked us to help you defeat Addwaitya, I actually believed you. I thought that maybe we could finally put aside our differences and become friends. When you cast us out of Ledgerdomain to save us I was worried for you! But the next time I saw you, you had gone mad with power. You killed us and everyone in Ledgerdomain to bring back your father! And you had only gotten worse and worse since then. How do I know that you're not just using us to gain power again? I'm sorry but I'm not ready to trust you again." Gwen said resolutely.

Charmcaster listened to Gwen's harsh words but could not speak against them. She gripped her arm tightly, biting her lip to hold back sobs as she listened to the one person that could possibly understand her recount all of her past misdeeds. She choked back a sob, swallowing hard to respond.

"You're… you're right Gwen…" Charmcaster spoke. Gwen's eyes widened slightly from shock. "You're right of course. I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I abused your trust and have tried to destroy you so many times. I thought… I thought that if I became more powerful than everyone else, that I would finally be happy. That I finally wouldn't be afraid of anything or anyone else. But all that power did to me, was make me worse. It only made me more jealous of you, more afraid that someone would take more from me. Having all that power only amplified the darkest parts of me. I never wanted to be this way, I promise! Please you have to believe me." Charmcaster pleaded. She looked to Gwen but saw that she only looked at her with a skeptical yet pitying gaze.

"I'm serious Gwen!" Charmcaster said desperately. "I gave it all up. All that power. I realized how twisted it made me, I was worse than Addwaitya, worse than Darkstar. So I gave up my rule on Ledgerdomain, I gave up the Alpharune. My castle is in ruins, my spellbooks are lost, I don't even have that many charms left. Please I know you have no reason to believe me but it's true! I want to be a better person. I want to be your friend if you'll let me. I've been so alone for so long, and I just can't stand it any longer!" She cried out near hysterical, tears beginning to fall from her eyes. Gwen's frown deepened and she moved closer to Charmcaster. The sorceress looked up, staring at Gwen's apprehensive form through tear blurred vision. She could tell that Gwen was still hesitant. Charmcaster wiped the tears from her eyes and stood up straight.

"I know, you still don't trust me and I don't blame you. But you've gotta believe me. I gave all that up, I'm trying to give all that up. I know! You can cast a lie detection spell on me! That will prove what I've been saying. Or I can tell you my real name! Anything that will get you to believe me, I'm an open book." Charmcaster said. Gwen looked surprised.

"Uhm, I don't know any lie detection spells…" She admitted sheepishly. Charmcaster looked surprised.

"Oh, well… I could lend you a spellbook with it. It's not a hard spell to learn. Here give me a minute." Charmcaster said as she started to rifle through her pouch.

"No, no it's okay. How about, we just start with your name." Gwen said holding out her hand. Charmcaster looked between Gwen's face and her outstretched hand with shock. Charmcaster smiled back at her before grasping her hand with her own.

"My name's Hope…" She said with a genuine smile.

"Hi Hope. I'm Gwen. It's nice to meet you." Gwen replied with a smile of her own.

Charmcaster felt her smile grow even brighter.

A/N: Happy New Year. Sorry for the late updates but between the holidays and being sick I didn't have the energy to post any new chapters. Speaking of which does anybody have any input on the format or length of the chapters themselves? I feel like old school FF had some rules about formatting that I've just stuck with out of habit. Also I feel like I usually try to hit 3k words a chapter. Do you guys feel like that's too short? Would appreciate any feedback. Until next time.