Happy New Years
Bellwood, New York, December 21st, 2010; 7:32PM.
Ben's eyes snapped open with a gasp as he sat up quickly, nearly hitting his head on the bunk above him in the Rustbucket; he held his head and looked around, noticing he wasn't alone as Gwen had turned over to stare at him from the bench. She had called out his name but, he hardly heard it at first as his heart rate increased and he felt his breath quicken.
It was a totally strange sensation as his perspective had changed completely, all five of his senses dialed up to ten, the clarity of the room he'd never experienced, the heat coming from Gwen and Grandpa's individual bodies, the exact temperature of the air conditioning; he closed his eyes and fell flat, holding his head because he could see pieces of genetic code floating in his minds eye… in the darkness of his head even as it slowly subsided and the serum finished its work, it was a lot to take in all at once and even though he felt her coming, he didn't hear her until she had sat down on the bunk with him, grabbing his hand in hers, "Ben, I'm here… calm down, take deep breaths, you'll be okay," Gwen's voice echoed in his head as if he could hear her like a sonar, a high pitched whine stretching out behind every sentence, almost like he was Wildmutt but, as a human.
"Too much noise, too much…" he responded clutching his head tighter with a slight sob at the end, curling up close to her knees as Max approached, he said something to her about another sedative but, he couldn't tell what exactly he said until Gwen responded while running a hand through his hair, he didn't know what else his Grandfather did as it was all flushed over by static other than her touch.
"No, I can handle this…" She glanced down with a warm smile, turning him over on his back with his head still in her lap and looking deep into his eyes, clutching the sides of his head, "Ben… focus on my voice, just on me… I'm right here," his squirming stopped at bit as he listened closely to her voice, it was velvety smooth and as relaxing to him as a warm blanket, "Just, remember that you're safe here with us… with me… just calm down, breathe…" as she spoke they noticed his expression soften following her instructions as he became accustomed to the sensations, finding them simmering into the background at a moments notice, though he still had a splitting headache.
Ben finally managed to speak as the pain in his expression shifted to a more minor irritation, "Why does my head hurt so badly," he muttered up at her without opening his eyes, lowering his hands from his head down by his sides; even as he felt her petite fingers gently caressed his scalp slowly, rhythmically, his head still thumped in pain.
"Just relax, I'm here…" Gwen sighed in response, moving her hands down to his temples and massaging them slowly with an aura around her fingers to heal his mind as well as his body, "Try to remember, Kevin gave you more than one concussion during your fight… and I may have dropped us off a building," she tried to speak over that part as quickly as possible before moving on, "You've been asleep for sixteen hours…" she noted which caught his attention.
This prompted him to open his eyes slowly, not seeing any of what he saw before, the world was back to the way it should have been but, it felt as though his senses had been altered, more acute than the average maybe… "I remember," the promising news to him was that it wasn't painful anymore, other than the concussion. He looked over to Grandpa, who stood above him with folded arms and a smile, "Nice beard…" Ben commented with a stressed chuckle, "I'm guessing you know about…" he looked back up at Gwen who continued to caress his head with a smile only glancing away with rosy cheeks.
He chuckled at their over-all nervousness, "I had my suspicions but, Gwen and I had a talk about it," Max closed his eyes and shook his head, "Trust me when I say, the rest of the world won't be as open minded as I'm being… even some family might turn on you," he opened his eyes and looked down on them both with a compassionate smile, putting his hands on their shoulders, "But, I never will… love is love and there isn't any reason for me to judge you two for who you fall in love with."
Gwen smiled down at Ben as her healing magic worked its wonders on his throbbing headache, he was finally able to smile up at her, reaching out and grazing her cheek with his right hand gave her goosebumps down her neck, "Thanks, Grandpa… it means a lot to have your blessing," She giggled and pressed his hand up against her shoulder while keeping both palms on his head, caressing it with the side of her head for a moment.
"You may have my blessing but, whatever you've been doing to keep this from your parents, I suggest you keep doing it… you don't have long before you two can make your own decisions; when you turn eighteen you two can work it all out yourselves." Max advised as he turned around and walked towards the drivers seat, flipping a few switches and pressing a few buttons, before leaning against the head-rest of the driver's seat and looking at the healing hero, "Otherwise, how do you feel, Ben?"
He tore his eyes from Gwen's at the sound of his name and sat back up, not feeling nearly as dizzy as before, and his senses were relative to normal, he realized his sweater had been taken off as well as his shirt; he touched the scars still across his chest with his left hand when he saw the Omnitrix on his wrist and suddenly remembered everything that happened the night prior, his fight with Kevin and the subsequent discussion and even the events he barely remembered afterward, "Whatever Azmuth injected me with must have worked, this watch was going to turn me into a monster like Albedo and instead I'm more powerful than ever…" he wasn't sure exactly how to feel in the wake of news like this, was it good that he was felt more powerful and confident than he ever had? Or was it a bad thing that he may spend the rest of his life with the watch on his wrist?
Max put a hand on his shoulder and smiled, "Azmuth told me before he left that now it was your Omnitrix more than even his," kneeling down to Ben's sitting position, he looked his Grandson in the eyes with a confident smile, "I'm sure among all of that intelligence is a little wisdom in knowing you would make the right uses of it."
"There's so much more to it than I imagined," Ben looked back down at the dial as it illuminated via mental command with a unique activation sound as the dial popped with a single thought, "I feel the connection, there are more than ten thousand different species in the core… way more," Gwen watched as a glimmer of green light glistened over his pupils for the briefest moment, as if he was controlling his connection to the device and accessing information on a whim, "One-million-nine-hundred-and-twelve genetic samples… three-hundred-thousand different command combinations of which twelve are the only ones that matter…" he looked around, seeing the variables and codes, numbers and data to the watch in his pupils, "I think I'm getting the hang of this."
"Earth to doofus, are you sure you're okay?" Gwen gave him a concerned glance, putting a hand on his bare forearm which caused him to make eye contact with her as she noticed his eyes were a brighter green now, both of them shun just a bit more than usual. She doubted anyone else would notice but, it was her doofus so of course she noticed immediately, just like he noticed when she spent time in the sun because her freckles would show just a tad more.
"I'm fine, I just know so much more now," Ben leaned his head on her shoulder and wrapped a hand around her waist, "And I was just in so much pain but now, I see it clearly… I can see what the Omnitrix project was really made for."
Gwen raised a brow even as she relished in his grasp, resting a hand lazily around his neck as Grandpa stroked his thin beard with one hand and the other arm was folded over his chest, "Does that mean you have master control?" he worried as even now he didn't think the boy was ready for that type of power.
Ben shook his head, not because he didn't have access to the function but, because they didn't fully understand what he was trying to say, "I can see the codes, before I didn't know what a species was capable of when I transformed into them but, now I will… I could use Master Control but, what would be the point, that would be boring," he tapped the dial activating a bright light as between his palms, he formed an emerald hologram that projected the entire observable Universe between his palms, entire galaxies just clusters of white specks across a green field, "The Omnitrix is a genetic back up for all life in the Universe, I could potentially bring back entire races from the brink of extinction, or restore life to long dead planets, I can do real good with this watch."
Gwen and Grandpa watched in awe as the lights twinkled in front of them and slowly fizzled away between his hands as Ben exhaled and smiled up at them, "I've never felt better, and the Omnitrix is a totally unique tool to me now, now that I understand it, I know Master Control was all I ever wanted but, I'll turn it on when I'm ready," they watched as he stared longingly at the device around his forearm which had grown slightly due to the injection, forming an inch or two of plating over his the front of his hand, "It's more than a sword… it can be a shield too, for all life…" his goofy smile brightened the entire room as they were surprised at Ben's optimism and new insight on the watches capabilities.
Max cleared his throat for a moment, floored by the new way he was carrying himself, "Are you sure you feel okay?" he wanted to make sure as Ben looked down at his hands for a moment, trying his best to focus in and out on the codes, the emerald energy that flowed through his veins now, it felt more controlled.
"I feel normal, more than normal, I feel great," He announced as Gwen gave him a warm smile but, kept her eyes averted from him as he stood and adjusted his back, looking back up at Grandpa Max, "What?"
Max took him by the shoulders and opened the closet where hung from the door a long body-sized mirror that allowed him to see himself more clearly; whatever was done to him had changed more than just his genetics, his body was leaner and it looked like he'd grown about an inch or a bit less. His shoulders were a tad wider and the six-pack that was slowly growing in month by month, was now fully cut, and defined with wider pecks to match his shoulders. Altogether, he looked like he had done a years worth of weight training and cardio overnight, "Woah," was his only response as he grazed his hand down his own abdomen in surprise.
"That's what I said…" Gwen wiped the drool from the corner of her lip before clearing her throat and continuing, "Rapid muscle growth, you'll probably need to buy new tee-shirts…" the heat in her cheeks was only slightly inconveniencing as she watched him check out the new sight of his muscles, it wasn't as though he looked abnormal, in fact, she always imagined he would end up being this fit with all of that hyper-activity he held onto as a child, but this was so sudden, "Wait until Cash and J.T see me when winter-break ends, it'll blow their minds…" she crossed her legs and looked away until he stopped watching his own abs in the mirror, dropping his shirt finally.
"Other than the height growth, you need to keep your abilities a secret just like the watches…" Max informed him but, inadvertently opened another door for Ben to walk through in their conversation.
"Abilities? What other side effects are there?" He asked with a bit of enthusiasm as Max closed his eyes, wishing he had kept his mouth shut a bit longer.
…
Bellwood, New York, December 21st, 2010; 8:01PM.
Max pulled the Rustbucket into an old construction sight lit only by the adjacent city lights and the moon above them, just passed the gates and out of sight as they needed somewhere that nobody could see them from; there was nothing but a long fence and a massive lake out in front of them as they piled put of the mobile vehicle, "How should we do this?" Gwen asked, looking around at the large concrete pillars and piles upon piles of stone slabs.
Max stroked his beard for a moment as he spotted some smaller rocks, picking up two into his hands as he looked down at them formulating a regiment in his head, "We'll start small, a series of tests to-" before he could finish, Ben had already approached a large stone pillar coming up from the dirt. It was about the thickness of the average lamp-post, in fact that's probably what it was going to be before he threw a right-straight punch through it, concrete and dust flew into his face as the rest of it collapsed in front of him, hitting the dirt with a muffled thud.
"Ben!?" Gwen shouted as she ran head-first into the thin cloud of smoke, as he stared out at the water behind the pillar he'd just toppled reflecting moon-light into his eyes, his breath shrouded his face in steam as she brought her eyes down and looked over his knuckles, running her fingers over the skin to get the concrete dust out of the way and he was totally unscathed, "You're okay?"
"I feel great, it didn't even sting a little…" Ben noted as he approached a large iron construction beam, as hesitant and frightened as Max and Gwen were watching him grip it, they weren't expecting him to lift it above his head with only a grunt and his bare hands; his sneakers dug into the ground when he turned as it swung through the air, had they been three feet closer it would have taken their heads off. He faced the water before stepping back and launching the beam like a javelin with both hands, sending it nearly a hundred feet away over the fence and into the water, "I wonder if I can fly or shoot heat-beams from my eyes," he turned on a dime and stared intently at a metal beam behind him, narrowing his eyes for several long seconds, before finally exhaling in defeat, "Probably not."
Gwen grazed her hand over one of the iron beams he'd just lifted, he was stronger than she was now, even with her Keystone of Bezel amping her muscle density and reflexes; once she felt like this would have burned her with fury from the inside with rageful jealously but, now it actually relieved her a bit. He could handle himself better, even without the Omnitrix to rely on, he was safer now and that's all that mattered to her. However, her roots were her nature as she suddenly thought about all the magic she could have been learning, all the spells she could be mastering; she couldn't let herself fall behind and now she would have even more time to focus on those things with Ben being more capable of being a hero alone.
She found Ben grabbing a long iron-rod with both hands at equal intervals so he could bend it with relative ease, only furrowing his brow a bit as he pretzeled the metal-bar, showing it off to Gwen and Grandpa before tossing it behind him.
"What do you think?" Ben turned to Max who only scratched the back of his neck, looking out at the iron beam sticking a quarter of the way out of the water over the fence; not sure exactly what to say about his new abilities.
He gave a long sigh as Gwen turned around to face them, looking down only a few inches into Ben's eyes and put a hand on his shoulder, "I think you're going to need to start taking better care to control your strength, you could break things by mistake, prompting questions from your parents we don't really have answers to," this left him to glance down at his shoes in minor disappointment, the obvious with 'great power comes responsibility' and all that. He had been hearing that speech since he was ten years old and he was so sick of it, shrugging his shoulder free of his grandfather's grip.
"I've been handling more power than anyone on the planet for five years, I know how to manage keeping my strength a secret…" he spat with a bit of attitude, folding his arms.
Max only took a single step back, clearing his throat as he glanced back at Gwen who only shrugged in response, "I didn't mean to offend you, I just want you to know to be careful, I'm always going to care, Ben."
They watched him take a long exasperated deep breath in through the nose and out through the mouth, calming his nerves for a moment as he turned to face the water and shoved his hands in his pockets, "Sorry, I guess it might not be as easy to control as I thought."
Gwen took a step forwards and wrapped her arm around his neck, placing her hand on the opposing shoulder, "Don't worry doofus, remember what I told you about being your demon's leash?" She gave him a grin while closing her eyes, practically glowing in the sunlight, with his new perception he could see the freckles so clearly over her nose, he was almost lost in her beauty, "Now, it'll just be a little more literal…" she ended with a giggle that melted his heart, as he pulled her into a hug quickly, she squealed as they spun in place, holding her up off her feet by the waist effortlessly, "Ah! Help! Grandpa! Make him put me down!" she tried to get out through the giggling laughter as she smiled down at him, practically dancing in the air.
Max turned to face the water just as Ben had before only with a smile curving over his lips, looking away from the scene to take a deep fresh breath of bay-area air, their little antics reminded him so much of him and his late wife when they were young, "Can't help you, pumpkin, I haven't seen a thing," he shrugged as Ben tickled her relentlessly even as he held her up and she tried only her best to get from between his hands.
"Traitor!" Gwen shouted at her grandfather succumbing to the fit of tickling as he stopped spinning and put her down on her feet gently, helping her keep her balance while she was a tad dizzy but, still giggling and practically falling back into his arms, "Let go of me, doofus," she said as she acted as though she wasn't exactly where she wanted to be, as though she wasn't completely enjoying his spontaneous dance movement under the pale moonlight putting her hand against his chest with a giggle. He knew though that it was a totally empty demand, void of truth as her uninterrupted beaming smile told him never to take his hand from her lower-back.
He shifted his arms, taking hold of her lower waist with both hands as she felt his firm grip tighten around her hips, "Never in a million years," Ben touched his nose to hers with his eyes closed for a second as their foreheads brushed together, he heard her breathe as a gust of fog billowed out over his face letting out a light giggle in the process.
"You are so corny," Gwen used her free hand to run it through his combed down brown hair, her finger tips running down the side of his face and to his chin, where she gave him a quick peck on the lips that she couldn't resist, even if it only lasted a second, "Ugh, you are very lucky that you're cute…" her hand cupped his left cheek, rubbing underneath his eye with her thumb, almost still seeing the genetic energy forming in that eye with emerald veins stretching into his pupil… she shut her eyes trying her best to forget about that traumatizing sight and placed her head on his lower-shoulder for a moment just so she could hear his heartbeat again, the one sound that always reminded her that they were both safe with each other.
Max turned to face them as he adjusted the collar to the brown jacket over his trademarked Hawaiian shirt and cleared his throat, they both turned to look at him, slowly separating from their embrace as he approached, "I want to take you two somewhere… I figure this rooftop nonsense has gone on long enough," he approached with the car-keys swinging on a ring around his index finger as they gave each other odd glances.
"What does that mean?" Ben asked with a simple shrug.
He passed them both as he stepped back into the Rustbucket prompting them to follow him as Max took his rightful seat in the driver's position, starting the engine, "You'll see…" Ben shrugged once again only this time at Gwen as he sat in the booth, her not even realizing that she instinctively followed him, sitting down across from him as they looked out at the minor wreckage they were leaving behind having relatively tested his strength but, it wasn't anything severe enough to warrant guilt.
Ben stared out the window at the bay as they left it in their rear-view, slowly coming to the realization that they just proved he had super-powers, real super powers that weren't dependent on a time limit or a random device, mostly out of his control, working properly. Maybe now he could become a successful hero and still avoid losing himself in his ten-thousand aliens in the future that seemed destined for him by this point. His brow furrowed unintentionally staring out at the damage he'd done in deep thought, and he probably didn't even notice but, Gwen had noticed from across the table, turning to look away as he felt her right foot wrap around his left one. Ben glanced across the table and she didn't look back at him but, her hook around his foot only got tighter just showing him that he had her support with him no matter where they went or what would happen.
…
Bellwood, New York, December 21st, 2010; 9:17PM.
Just about ten miles from the park that intersected between Ben and Gwen's respective houses, the Rustbucket pulled into a back alley behind a large old apartment building that looked rundown but, otherwise totally habited by normal residents, some even out on their terrace smoking a cigarette; Ben raised his brow as they came to a stop, "Grandpa?" he asked as the old man reached under his dash for a set of switches, flipping the third to the right as an activation noise hummed in the background.
"In the eighties, The Plumber's used outposts like these to hunt down supernatural threats that weren't necessarily alien; it required discreet work and just like Rushmore," the signal activated by the switch went off opening a long since used tunnel system that appeared seamlessly from the road that led directly to and under the dead-end of the alley, "We liked to hide in plain sight, using the New York tunneling system to set up safe houses… this is where you two are going to operate out of from now on when I'm not around," he drove down into the darkness as motion lit up bulbs for less than a quarter-mile down the tunnel, reaching an opening that wasn't that large. It was about as big as any regular apartment but, there was some equipment that came with the place like punching bags hanging from the ceiling in one corner as well as studded wooden-dummies for practicing wing-chun. Half the floors were old wooden floor while the other half was a training-matt that hadn't been used or washed in likely multiple decades, Gwen blew a notable layer of dust from one of the training dummies.
On the other side of the room was a long desk connected from wall to wall; the computers were all from the nineties and covered in cobb-webs as well as other outdated technologies like a phone that once ran directly through to the White House, devices that read frequencies that weren't even used anymore… it brought back a whole lot of good memories as Max flipped on the lights from a switch on the wall, "Obviously, I'll throw some more advanced computer systems in here along with more updated training equipment… it isn't much but…" he trailed off as he looked around, likely reminiscing on whatever time he spent in this facility thirty years prior.
Gwen looked over the entire room and saw much promise but, it was too much… she turned her head over her shoulder, raising her brow at him for a moment, "Last year you were disappointed that we were going out at all, you told us there were still Government agents to look out for and now you're handing us a base of operations? And on a silver platter too?" She folded her arms and turned around fully to face him as he noticed Ben narrowing his eyes in the same way, slowly becoming suspicious as well.
Max scratched the back of his neck, looking for a way to explain his sudden change in perspective on the idea of them becoming super-heroes and from what he was told, they were quite successful in the future, he could already see their potential but, it had to be their choice, "Well, you know how some 'cool' parents let their kids smoke pot for the first time with them in the house, so that they don't go out and do it somewhere dangerous?"
Ben nodded as Gwen seemed confused, slapping his shoulder, "What? Carl did that with me…" he noted as Max practically facepalmed, he knew his son was more open minded like his mother but, he was hoping he'd at least wait until he was sixteen for that kind of thing, "The stuff hurts your lungs way too much, I was coughing forever…" he explained to Gwen who only seemed fascinated in the fact that he had done something that she hadn't yet.
Max tried to give the simplest analogy he could but, only ended up diverging from the topic entirely as he continued on with his explanation, looking back at both of them who focused up, "When I saw you two fall off that roof… I realized that it was time to be the cool Grandfather, you guys can't be out in the cold every night and I can't stop you from doing it either way so," He made sure to hand the keys to Gwen directly after taking them out of his back pocket, it included a magnetic fob and a physical set of keys, "I have some connection that can get you two started with some decent, up-to-date technology, to replace these computers…" he pointed down to one of the first Macintosh's to hit the market, in a line of four, "And obviously it'll be clean…"
Ben took a step forward, putting a hand on Gwen's shoulder as he wanted to share her stare of awe at the keys in her hands, looking back up at their Grandfather who had trusted them with more than they could have asked for, "It's great, Grandpa, it really is…" she darted towards him, wrapping her arms around his torso, she remembered a time where she couldn't get her arms all the way around his back and now he seemed much smaller in her embrace.
He glanced up as they hugged tightly and separated, looking into his Grandfather's eyes, he looked around at the dust and cobb-webs, he reached up and poked one of the bulbs hanging down close to his head, "It'll look better once we have it set up, Ben, I'm sure…" Max insisted assuming the boy wasn't pleased but, he only chuckled instead.
Gwen pulled away from her hug to stand side by side with him as Ben turned around and over looked the room behind him, the training area, the empty space leading to a small bedroom or closet he assumed, "So, this is it…" he started with a smile as he glanced at everything quickly before landing on the eyes of his vigilante partner and retired-hero Grandfather, "This is where the legend of Ben Ten Thousand begins… it's not a tower connecting into the Rushmore base but, it'll do," he smiled brightly at them both, beaming not with happiness but, with optimism on the future which she could honestly say she hadn't seen since he was ten-years-old.
Max took a step forward and placed a hand on either of their shoulders prompting Ben and Gwen to give each other identical glances before returning their attention to him, rolling his eyes as even he found this a bit awkward, "Also, I'm sure this will help with keeping your… relationship as discreet as possible."
"We've been pretty careful on our own, I think this will only make things easier," Gwen noted as she looked around, turning to point at an empty space besides the training matt on the floor, "We can put your bean-bags there, and the Gamestation too!"
Ben put his hands on his hips, chuckling as he glanced over at their Grandfather, "Maybe our favorite Grandpa in the world can try for the Playcube 3? It's got next generation graphics and wireless controllers!"
Both of them looked to him with the same dazzling sparkle in their eyes that made him melt because they were still his grandkids, it was a difficult perspective to understand but, he had to understand it for them. Giving a nervous laugh, Max held his hands out, "Now, hold on just a second…"
…
Bellwood, New York; December 31st, 2010; 5:38PM
Ben adjusted to his minor growth-spurt and not many people seemed to notice much at all not even his own parents, especially since he wouldn't see any classmates until the winter-break was over; the iconic couple celebrated their birthdays individually this year, because now that they had an amazing secret base to hang out at… they didn't feel the need to over rouse suspicion by insisting to party together for another year in a row. Last year it felt like they needed to have their celebration together just to have an excuse to see each other but, now they had a bit more patience under their belt. They waited until New Years to exchange their gift as neither had the time to spend really savoring a romantic moment when their parents would be around for every moment of it.
Gwen sat on a park bench swinging her legs as she watched a few birds settle on a nest perched on the branch of a tree across the hill of grass from her, and a stray kitten scurrying into a bush in another direction; she felt harmonious nature around her, and took a deep breath of fresh air in, she had made so much progress with her magic lately that there wasn't a care in the world. After noticing how many new aliens and abilities Ben was unlocking as he grew and matured, Gwen became fueled by that spending several nights up and taking time off from fighting crime to focus solely on catching up to Ben and the recreation of the Electrokinesis Charm. It wasn't easy, by any means, but it wasn't nearly as difficult as Pyrokinesis which resulted in the stone she crafted to inherit the Charm's magic exploding on several occasions. In this case, she accidently crashed her neighborhood's power grid, and they were without it for a day and a half while the city came to fix it, she was very lucky her second try was all it took to get it done right.
Staring down at her swinging feet as the tips of her white shoes grazed the grass below her, Gwen realized the last two Charms wouldn't be anywhere near as easy to recover the powers of… in fact, they dabbled with literal concepts of reality like probability/fate and death itself so to recreate the Charm, all of her studies have pointed to a single dimension with enough magical energy to properly focus the incantation's power into the talisman. That meant she couldn't perform the ritual anywhere in this Universe other than that lone dimension, meaning she would need to master her portal spells and the other four Charms of Bezel before even attempting to recreate either the Luck or Death Charms.
It wasn't long before a boy sat down next to her, startling her from her thoughts as he said something spurring her to look up and noticed Ben staring with a raised brow, "Earth to Gwen?" he asked as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his black and white hoodie, she looked up at him and shook the stupor from her expression.
"Repeat that? I spaced sorry," Gwen chuckled nervously having adapted his habit of rubbing the back of her neck when she was a tad anxious from her now boyfriend.
He responded with a chuckle of his own, looking down at her navy-blue blouse with its golden zipper running a quarter the way down her chest, paired with simple blue denim jeans, he gave her his trademarked goofy smile, "I said you look good, dweeb," his cheeks turned a bit red as the heat rose over his nose, forced to repeat it.
She brushed a small lock of her hair behind her now triple pierced ear, a golden ring around the lobule and two more across the top of the helix of her ear; Gwen giggled with a light blush of her own in her cheeks, "Well, I think you look… the same, when are you going to get a new wardrobe?" she poked at his sweater as he shook his head with a bit of laughter.
"I figure I'll get a bunch of new clothes for Christmas; my mom always sends Aunt Vera of pictures of the clothes I want…" He stretched his arm in the hoodie which was a tad snug on his now broader torso but, it was the only thing left that fit at all, he even wore it to Christmas dinner.
As they stood up in synch, heading in the same direction, Ben kept his distance from her while still in his neighborhood, walking a pace or two away from her to ensure there wasn't anybody happening to walk by or see them from a window getting too close. Neighbors talked, especially his mother and he could barely resist the urge to grab her and pull her in close but, it didn't matter. It was enough to see her again as she moved her lips eloquently, as her emerald-jeweled eyes glistened off the setting sun in the distance blocked by shade every now and again; it was a beautiful moment during a beautiful afternoon.
Ben had tuned out from what she was saying for a second just to stare at her beauty but, he was able to piece together what she was saying when he finally tuned in, "-Now I can absorb the electricity from a room before I enter it, shutting off the lights for stealth attacks, or just collect it all to fry the bad guys…" she hummed in excitement as she couldn't wait to finally get use out of her new Charm which was almost like a Christmas gift to herself in a way, a new toy she was ready to use.
"Just try not to overload the breaker at the new base… speaking of the new base," they turned a corner around a block that took them down a familiar sidewalk, on said sidewalk was an alley they had dipped into last year around this time and was perfect for transforming into speedsters discreetly to zip them over to their new headquarters on a whim, all she needed to do was text him for a meet up at the park, "We need to give it a cool name, like the Bunker or… the Watchtower…" Ben exclaimed as he pounded his fist gently into his palm with enthusiasm in his voice, thinking of different names to give his first super-hero base.
Gwen chuckled at his idea, it was silly but, she still found it endearing coming from a goofball like him, though; it was easy to surmise why they needed a name for their headquarters; Ben Ten Thousand never named his base of operations, or took any joy in it at all, simply using it for its efficiency and access to the Plumber base in Mount Rushmore. Doing this would be effectively changing that history and writing a new timeline, this one tiny thing coupled with as many changes he could think to make to avoid becoming that lonely shell of a hero.
Nodding in response, she supported him, "I like the Bunker… it is underground but, I think the last one is taken from those comics," Gwen tapped her chin to think of different names as Ben kept his stride on the sidewalk next to her, "I know the future version of you didn't have a name for it so I guess it's a good step in the right direction to give it a name, we should call it something like… the Tennyson Cave…" she ended her point sarcastically to get a chuckle out of him which she was very successful at.
"That was definitely my third choice," Ben noted sarcastically as they shared another laugh, her light giggle was as appealing as ever approaching the brick corner that led into the short alley they could use to get out of sight. As soon as they rounded it, Ben closed in on her as she found herself suddenly back first to the brick wall with his face only an inch or two from hers, her hands landing on his shoulders as he locked his lips with hers. Slowly gliding her hands up his arms to his neck as he cornered her by placing both his palms against the brick on either side of her head, locking her upper lip in his mouth as he pulled gently and her eyes fluttered shut in response. Gwen moved her hands up to caress his chin and his cheeks, his lips reconnecting with hers softly at first, and then with a swift gradation of intensity that made her cling to him as the only solid thing in a dizzy swaying world. His insistent mouth was parting her shaking lips, sending wild tremors along her nerves, evoking from her sensations she had never known she was capable of feeling.
As Ben backed away slowly, with a smile and heated cheeks, some of her auburn bangs fell into her face as their breaths fogged up the air around them; she placed her boot up against the wall behind her as her hands drifted back down to his shoulders for support, "What on Earth did I do to deserve that?!" she whispered through deep breaths almost succumbing to a giggling fit, her cheeks turning deeply rosy.
He kept his eyes locked on hers as she followed his finger up, grazing across her cheek before brushing one of the strands out of her eyes, "That's something Ben Ten Thousand never did," he finished the sentence by backing up and fixing his hoodie with a smile, "Besides, I'm not allowed to miss my girlfriend?" he punctuated the sentence by pecking the tip of her nose with his lips leaving her speechless, even reaching up to touch her lips just to prove to herself that the feelings were real.
He snickered a bit as he backed away from her shocked expression completely this time, moving for his Omnitrix to transform as she responded, "I didn't exactly know you missed me that much," she shifted her jeans a bit and pulled up on her blouse, still feeling a bit disheveled.
Ben turned his head over his shoulder as he had the Kineceleran silhouette ready on the faceplate, he winked at her before transforming as the energy exploded and she was whisked away in a blur of black and white at several times the speed of sound, gracefully cutting around corners as he'd had time while helping set up the base to memorize the route to get there from his house even at super-speeds; it was far closer than their training grounds in the woods and far more equipped to deal with regular danger in the city as well as supernatural threats.
They arrived as XLR8 used a new ability which he had learned whilst training as the speedster for so long in the last year, vibrating his body at such incredible speeds and at a certain frequency equal to that of air allowing him to pass through solid objects, another idea he'd gotten from a comic-book but, since his life was starting to play out like one anyways, he figured he'd take a page from the professionals. Even vibrating another person along with himself was easy enough, phasing right through the door with no need for use of a key, Gwen always said it felt like being in a paint-mixer for a millisecond as she too dashed through the access panel and down the literal thousand foot corridor in his arms.
Grandpa Max had used a truck to deliver a ton of equipment, with the combined effort of Max, Upgrade, XLR8, and a new genius alien Ben dubbed Brainstorm; they managed to pull together an entire network operating system using three large monitors and a highly-advanced computer ten years ahead of its time to keep tabs on the entirety of the cities public society. Developing something Brainstorm coined the 'danger alert' to detect all manner of serious crime within the range of their CCTV and detailed satellite imaging, being most of the New York state.
XLR8 had more to say though, rushing in and out with things he'd purchased or found in his garage, room, and even a poster of Gwen's favorite band because aside from cleaning the entire studio top to bottom of dust and spiderwebs; Grandpa caved and bought them two yard-sale recliners and the brand new Playcube 3 with two games for them to use at any time but, they hadn't even turned it on yet as it was plugged in to a large sixty-inch screen that made them both apprehensive to even use it at first. Everything felt so expensive, they hadn't yet worked up the nerve to touch any of it yet as this was the very first day that they had everything completely set up.
They now had a place to spar and train, especially with Ben likely needing more of it now that he wielded super-human strength even in his human form, in privacy and outside of the elements, training could be done more efficiently; there was a closet-sized space that could act as a bedroom for one person if they ever needed it but, otherwise it felt all too surreal for them, especially Ben as he looked around at what would become his crusade to save the city, and one day, the world.
He turned his attention to the corner of the room where she still hadn't noticed it, "I don't wanna get corny or anything so, I'll just say that I set something up for you that totally doesn't count as a gift, you only get one," Ben made sure he was crystal clear as she raised her brow, on the wall was a large rectangular case of some kind with a sheet tossed over it and somehow she wondered how she managed to miss it hiding in the plain sight by the wiring for the Danger Alert system.
Gwen giggled, covering her mouth with one hand at his warning, "Okay? So, what not gift did you set up for me?" she asked as he grabbed hold of the thin sheet and pulled it down, revealing a glass casing with a mannequin standing upright on the inside. The mannequin was identical to her in body posture, size, height, and measurements to fit the tight Kevlar navy-blue suit that almost matched the color of her top; aside from the black patterning running across the torso, the teal scarf that led to two cape-like ends down by the ankles, along with the sleeve he'd gifted her the year prior, it made the perfect ensemble. She took a step forwards with a longing gaze before turning to look at him for a moment before placing a hand on the glass and looking back up at it in awe for a minute before responding, "You made the whole costume? Just for me?" she was more than shocked, the effort he must have put into this, even with alien powers, was astonishing to her.
Ben scoffed and folded his arms, never once missing a chance for a slick comment, "It's not like I'm going to fit in it," he reasoned before leaning against the secured case, glancing over at her from the side of his face, "I think you deserve it after a year of being my sidekick…" his smile curved when he finished his sentence.
"Partner!" She shouted before recognizing his smug expression from his countless pranks only this was warmer and sweeter than anything he'd ever shown before; she also realized it was exactly the reaction he was hoping for from her prompting her to roll her eyes and put a hand on his shoulder, "Ben, this is so sweet, I don't know how to thank you…" she leaned up closer, kissing his cheek gently while grabbing his hoodie, sending goosebumps up his arm and neck.
He looked away with heat rising in his cheeks and across his the bridge of his nose, just making out was one thing especially when it was casual but, having serious passionate moments were more than he could sometimes take, if this was her reaction to just the case, his actual gift would… would… "T-That's right, this is the gift to which I was going to give you, however will you repay me?" He dodged around her, moving towards the computer with no real objective, as she took a second to narrow her eyes at his response before turning around to face him.
"You told me not to consider this a gift?"
He rolled his eyes at her intuitive perception, "Well, now I'm telling you it is, Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas… joy to all," he kept his hands firmly on the desk in front of him staring at the computer screen and most certainly not her infamous pouty face which only got cuter with age somehow, the screen displayed no active physical crime worth their time in the area just yet.
"You totally got me a second gift, didn't you?" Gwen asked taking steps forwards to poke at the side of his face causing Ben to swat her hands away in protest, "I'm gonna keep buggin you unless you tell me…" she sung into his ear from behind, her breath tickling the back of his neck, reaching down and grazing his side under his shirt where her hands tried to force a giggle from his lips but, she only persisted even as he tried his best to keep from laughing, "C'mon, it's not that big of a deal!"
"Alright, fine… fine," Ben stepped away and pulled a small black box from his back pocket about the size of the palm of his hand, he opened it up looking at it for a second before closing it and handing it to her, "Happychristmas…" he muttered as his cheeks only turned a deep bright red as he tried to speak through his embarrassed mumbles.
She didn't know what to expect when she opened the box, a cold sweat ran down her back wondering if it might be a wedding ring but, she knew he would never be that crazy, she wasn't, however wasn't expecting a set of earrings made from Petrosapien and Sugilite crystals taken from their respective hero forms in Ben's arsenal. Bright magenta crystal, followed in a pattern by bright blue diamond, and another magenta colored crystal to finish it off, taking one out and holding it to the light was almost mesmerizing from its gleaming beauty, "B-Ben… I…" she was absolutely flabbergasted, she hadn't gotten him anything near as special as this, certainly not something as meaningful as jewelry this gorgeous.
"Do you… like them?" Ben asked, trying his best not to seem like the embarrassed wreck he was on the inside, during those few seconds wondering whether she hated or loved them, it was agony for his soul; his eyes could pick up on micro expressions now, being able to see the shifts in peoples moods with his enhanced senses. He saw her curve into a smile slowly as one hand just held itself over her heart on her chest, the other holding the box in her palm as she stared.
"Ben… I love them… I love you…" she leaped into his arms, wrapping them around his neck as her feet left the ground and she practically swung around on him, kissing him on the lips for a few seconds out of pure happiness.
He chuckled and held her by the shoulders, still embarrassed to show his emotions completely especially to someone he cared about so much, she wanted to bring him out of his shell a bit and suddenly remembered the night out behind the Rustbucket, when they sparred without their powers. It was one of the most intense moments in their entire relationship up until that point and recalling the look on his face, there was a way she knew how to channel his… arousal.
"Look, all I got you was a new shirt… but one that fits and its custom made but, this…" Gwen looked down at the practically glowing jewelry glistening in the artificial lights, closing the box and looking up at the glass case with her new outfit in it, it was all way more than she expected. Some girls consider this type of unexpected showering of love too much but, all she could feel was the sincerity rippling off him in waves along with several other emotions. She spotted the Keystone of Bezel in its place attached to her sleeve; with a really good idea in mind she formed a devious smile across her face as she opened up the glass case with a single press of her fingers; she reached in and took hold of the Keystone alone, closing the glass behind her before turning around and flashing it at him, "I know how to make us even, and I know you'll love it…" his addiction to combat was something they had been working on but, she knew he liked it rough so to speak, and the best way to bring him out of his shell was to force him out.
"What are you talking about?" Ben asked as he was pulled from the desk back towards the training mat that had been dusted, vacuumed, mopped, and scrubbed ten times; still smelling of fresh detergent cleaners as they stepped onto it nonchalantly at first.
Ben and Gwen stood a foot or two apart as she let go of his hands and got into a fighting stance quickly, shifting her feet as she jumped up and down on her toes, "We're going to fight, this time we'll see who wins," shaking the Keystone at him, he quickly realized she wanted to test their super-strengths against one another, which sounded both amazing and dangerous.
Ben chuckled and stepped back with his hands up and an apprehensive expression, "I'm not gonna fight you," he implored.
She cracked her knuckles and part of her neck simultaneously, sticking the Keystone in the pocket of her tight jeans, "What are you afraid that you might get your butt kicked by a girl?" she chided at him trying best to antagonize while still in a fighting stance.
"I am not going to-" Ben was interrupted when a fist that could crack concrete jabbed him in the nose, sending his head reeling back for half a second as he wiped his nose to make sure he wasn't bleeding, "Fine…"
Ben stepped in quickly, faster than she expected as his speed was on par with even her own enhanced reflexes now, he sent a right straight for her face but, she managed to dip to the left in time to avoid it, using one forearm to deflect his line of his attack and the other to counter, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and flipping him over her head onto his back. Though his adrenaline started to pump, this kicked him into another gear as he quickly rolled onto his upper-back, leaping back to his feet without the use of his hands, in a perfect fighting stance.
"Hit me," Gwen announced as she watched this time, looked deep into his eyes, as he snapped and his expression went dead with a familiar fire in his eyes; he cracked a quick half-smile at her, as if he wasn't expecting this but, it wasn't unwelcomed. He quickly jabbed at her in response, she pulled back to avoid it but, he rushed forwards, swinging his opposing hand for a follow up left hook which she blocked with her supported forearm, grabbing it with her other hand and twirling into his close quarters, she managed to elbow him in the chest sending him back a step or two, "I said hit me already!"
Like an animal, his speed increased in a sudden jolt, he turned and aimed a roundhouse kick for her face but missed as she dodged the heel of his sneaker by centimeters, almost cutting her head off; she wasn't prepared for an uppercut to follow so quickly to the chin that it sent her off her feet and onto her back.
"I'm so sorry," Ben noted as he rushed to her side, even though she had the Keystone it was still instinct to hold his hand out for her support, "I told you this was a bad id-" he was surprised when she slapped his hand away, getting up on her own as she wiped only a small trickle of blood from her bottom lip.
"Hit me again," she huffed, getting back into her fighting stance, licking her bottom lip to taste the blood a bit with a wink; she vaulted forwards and swung at his head, right-cross, left-cross, straight combination but, he was simply too fast for her to land a single hit now, "Don't just run, hit me again!" she whirled around side kicking Ben in the chest as he flew backwards landing across the mat on his back, rolling over to stand up this time. Ben focused this time less on his strength and more on his technique, where he swung at her quicker, with more precise strikes, he was giving it more effort than the first time around clearly as Gwen ducked under a right-hook that snapped a wooden dummy in two, sending it flying into the wall.
Gwen was sweating a bit but, still had a smile on her face as she noticed the practice dummy had been broken sending wooden splinters over part of the mat, prompting them to move over a few feet; she took off her blue blouse suddenly for comfort, leaving her in nothing but a black training sports-bra, a color variation of what he'd accidently seen once as Big Chill in the Rushmore base. Only this time, he wasn't thrown off his game just by seeing it, instead he put his hands back up and returned to a more serious expression.
Ben came in with a jab that she just barely ducked under before being uppercutted again followed by a left hook to the cheek which sent her stumbling back, only she looked up at him with blood on her teeth and a smile, "Is that the best you got?" He tackled her onto the mat and tried to pin her, mounting her waist and pulling his fist back, she threw both arms in front of her face before the fist came down and she felt the ground shake below her, feeling concrete beneath the mat cracking under the pressure. Gwen parted her forearms and looked up into his eyes as Ben looked down at her, their faces now only a few centimeters apart, they stared blankly into each other's eyes, feeling the adrenaline and the lust flowing out around them, the sweat glistening off their dense muscles and mixing as they pressed their bodies together… the feeling of pain burning across where they'd been hit. Heat rose from Gwen's stomach to her chest she couldn't help her lips from getting closer and his heart decided to skip a beat just as they did, the smell of her perfume and sweat was hypnotic beyond reason. Ben parted his lips and felt her washing over him like a wave of warmth, she curled her toes, unfurling all her senses as the taste of him nearly silenced all thoughts entirely.
Her whole body tingled, the feel of his frame mounting hers as his hand pinned one of her wrists, the other now wrapped gently around her neck which felt nearly forbidden but, also received a light moan as he tightened his hand there for a second. He shifted his hand and pulled her in slowly by the back of the neck, claiming her mouth again, hungry and intense. By the time Gwen became aware of her own fingers, they had already slipped under his shirt, his skin smooth and radiating heat from the muscles she'd been dying to caress since she first saw them last week.
"Happy New Years," Ben managed to mutter as he pulled away from her and pulled his sweater off entirely, it's not like they would be having sex but, this was definitely something new to both of them and they couldn't think of a more intimate person to share the moment with, as he reached down and kissed her neck gently, she couldn't help but moan back in a giggle.
"Happy New Year, doofus…