Aggression

"You know, you don't have to push me. I'm a big girl, I can manage." Emily teased, a smile in her voice. Gwen just grinned down at the girl in the wheelchair.

"It's my pleasure. Besides, Ben dared me into destroying a plate of cookies with him yesterday. I need to burn off the fat." She groused, her grin gaining a slightly sheepish quality. Emily turned her head to smile coyly up at Gwen.

"It's winter. Fat is how we survive. And hanging out with Ben again? You two have been getting along really well lately. It's weird."

Gwen chuckled, but didn't deny the girl's observation. Emily had been her friend since forever, her only friend for the longest time, and had sat by for plenty of spats between Ben and Gwen, and even more rants about how stupid the doofus was.

Gwen was self-aware enough to know that, whenever she talked about the doofus these days, it was in a… distinctly friendlier way. Sometimes, Gwen wondered if the girl suspected. Sometimes, Gwen wondered if she should just tell, even if the blonde hadn't been as involved in her struggles as her newer friends had been.

She'd get there. Just not today.

Pushing into the schoolyard during break and maneuvering around their schoolmates, they conquered a nice bench in the sun, perfect for enjoying the early November weather. The clear blue sky had the sun beating down on them, but the weather had finally turned cold enough that Gwen required a jacket over her dress, and leggings under it.

Maybe the cold snap would last long enough for snow. That'd be nice. She could have a snowball fight with Ben. Gwen grinned. She was so burying the squirt.

"I had to learn to tolerate him over the summer. Might as well keep at it." It might have taken a few life and death situations to drive that point home, and some positively mind-blowing kisses to keep it there, but better late than never.

Emily shrugged, giving Gwen a meaningful look. "I'm just glad you're having fun again." And not looking like you're about to cry all the time, was the unspoken bit. Gwen swallowed, averting her gaze to the ground.

Both Ben and her had done pretty well to keep the overt meltdowns to a minimum at school, but people had noticed their change in demeanor. And after her episode last week when Marci pushed her into the bushes, Emily had been watching her like a hawk. It was heartening that she cared, but a part of Gwen felt sad that one of the last bastions of her 'normal life', before magic, aliens, hurt and Ben, was no longer immune.

At this rate, there would be nothing left of that life. At that rate, she'd end up like Gwendolyn had. She wasn't sure if that was a path she even wanted anymore.

Before Gwen could dwell on that, her phone started vibrating in the inner pocket of her jacket. It was just as well; she was pretty sure her thoughts had been about to become depressing. Thanks for the save, random caller! Despite thinking that, she still quirked a brow at the caller id when she pulled the phone out. Lizzie calling wasn't exactly unusual; the girls texted her every few hours or so, all the moreso since they learned that it wasn't just Ben who could get… scared, from time to time. But a call usually meant something was up with-

Emily leaned over to peer at the display before she snorted. "First you befriend Ben, now some girl is calling you; I'm starting to feel replaced." She huffed with mock indignation. Gwen put on the best grin she could muster before standing and leaning down to give the girl a quick hug.

"You'll always be my forever girl, Em." She assured. It was true. Sure, Anna and Lizzie had grown on her, but Emily was the one sane friend that she had. That counted for a lot. And Ben… well. Ben needed no explanation. Pulling back, she gave the girl a sheepish grin.

She got a fond eye-roll in response. "Fine, fine. Don't mind me."

Gwen poked out her tongue before stepping away and answering the phone. "Sup, Liz?" She asked, casually as she could. It was likely that the girl was just calling for fun; they hadn't seen each other for a while after all.

"Helloooo, gorgeous!" The exuberant girl greeted, voice cheerful over the line. It almost put Gwen's worries at ease. Almost. "How are you doing?" She finished sweetly.

Gwen quirked a brow, uncaring that her intended recipient couldn't appreciate the sardonic effort she'd put into it. She was sure Anna would've been proud of her, though.

"Fine, all things considered." She answered honestly. Granted, when Ben had whispered 'it's raining squids' in her ear last Friday, she hadn't been fine. She hadn't panicked. Neither had Ben. Vilgax, while dangerous, was nothing new. It hadn't stopped her from glancing over her shoulder more often than she normally would. It hadn't stopped Ben from being jumpy for all of that evening. And it hadn't stopped them from clinging to each other a little more than normal when her cousin had, predictably, stayed over.

Saturday had been easier on them both. He'd explained how he'd found a drone, a large one, and how he'd torn it to shreds with Upgrade. Hardly a prelude to an all out attack, he'd agreed with her, but still. Vilgax was back and they would have to deal with that, but Gwen was confident they could take him. They'd been trashing him since before they'd barely mastered their respective powers- now? Either of them could do it on their own, and Vilgax wouldn't know what hit him, whenever he showed up. Ben had smiled when she'd mentioned that.

It hadn't reached his eyes.

Sunday had left her mostly normal. Ben had been antsy. Very much so. But again, he hadn't panicked once, and hadn't stopped being himself for even a moment. She didn't have to like that he was worrying, but she definitely understood it. To a point. She figured he would start worrying less as the shock wore off, but maybe Ben was just going to linger in it for longer. That was fine.

And it had given her an excuse to kiss him as often as she could get away with- essentially any time her father was not in the room. The faces mom had made were hilarious, though they had often moved toward more secluded rooms. No need to strain her mother's tolerance to the breaking point, after all.

Ben had stayed another night, but left early today to see grandpa. Ostensibly because he did so every other morning, but Gwen suspected he wanted to discuss their newest problem with the experienced Plumber too.

He'd seemed to be getting better though. But perhaps, she'd underestimated this. "Is Ben not doing well…?"

Silence met her query, and she felt the weight of a rock settle in her stomach.

"Yeah, see, here's the thing." Lizzie started, sounding equal measures of worried and sheepish, "He didn't show up at school. And you know, it isn't like Ben's never late, because oh boy is he late all the time-"

"He didn't show?" Gwen asked, the weight in her stomach turning into a swarm of wasps, buzzing against the inside of her skin.

"Err, no. We figured you might know more..." The girl trailed of, hope and dread coloring her voice. Gwen swallowed. Ben should have made it just fine. He hadn't slept in. He'd been up and about, there was no reason for him not to make it to school unless-

"I haven't seen him since this morning. But I'll…. I'll go look for him. Thanks for telling me, Liz. And don't worry!" She smiled, knowing full well that her friend couldn't see it. Ben and grandpa always told her that they could hear her smile. She hoped Lizzie could as well. "He's probably just in bed again, sleeping through everything like the lazy bum he is." A bold-faced lie. She knew he had to be up, and while Ben used to be an extremely heavy sleeper, nowadays, he only slept deeply when she was there. Otherwise, he'd jump awake at the drop of a hat- or the ring of a phone. She'd called him up after a nightmare often enough.

"...okay Gwen." The brunette voice rasped softly over the connection, and Gwen's heart lurched a little at the worry in her voice. It reminded her viscerally that Anna and Lizzie cared a lot about her cousin. And beside that worry, there was trust; trust that Gwen would find him and that he'd be just fine.

And he'd better be because if Ben was making Gwen into a liar, she was going to kill him.

...okay, she might not kill him, but she'd yell. Meanly. And use those swear words grandpa told her to save for special occasions. "I'll keep you posted, okay?"

Lizzie thanked her again and the line went dead a long second later. Gwen sighed, turning to Emily with an apologetic smile-

The wheelchair bound girl waved her off. "It's fine. Go find your doofert."

"Doofus, Em."

"It's all doof to me."

Gwen shook her head fondly before she grabbed her backpack and marched from the schoolyard without further ado, ignoring the weird looks it garnered her. Gwen had always been a bit of an oddball; she was used to it. The streets were quiet this time of day, morning traffic having long since ended. Perfect for being a moody little thundercloud on a mission.

She called Ben first. Because yes, he hadn't answered Lizzie, but if he was in a mood, he could do that just to be a jerk. And if he was, she was gonna add that to the list of things she was going to chew him out for.

The phone rang, but no one answered. Gwen frowned. Alright, not gonna shout at him for ignoring Lizzie. I am gonna shout at him for ignoring me! "Idiot boyfriend." She growled as she selected another contact. This time, there was an answer.

"Pumpkin! Now if this isn't the most lovely surprise!"

"Hey gramps." She smiled despite the situation. Grandpa's exuberance always made her feel better. "Sorry to cut right to it, but have you seen Ben today? I can't reach him, and with it raining squids and all that..."

Her grandfather hummed, thoughtfully, but not worriedly. It made her stomach unclench, if just a little. "He showed up like usual for, err..."

Gwen rolled her eyes. "Yeah yeah, for the training that I totally don't know about and which is absolutely going to catch me off guard during our next sparring session." She said, dry as a desert. She thought it was cute that Ben thought he could pull the wool over her eyes, but it was kinda hard to blindside someone who's thinking of you more often than not.

...yikes. She really needed a hobby. Maybe she'd been too quick to drop all of her extracurricular activities.

Grandpa Max chuckled at her words. "Yeah, that. He showed up for that, left just before school started, same as always. Was a little tense, but I think we all are." Well, he wasn't wrong there. "Have you tried the tracker in his phone?"

"No, I haven't. Could you do that for me? The phone only gives coordinates..." Grandpa could use the Rustbucket's equipment to actually know where he was. Coordinates were fine when you knew thereabout where someone should be, but she had no idea where Ben could be, or if Vilgax hadn't snatched him and taken him off planet-

Get it together Gwen. She told her racing heart. Don't turn into Ben over this. Which really wasn't fair to him because they were both enormous worrywarts when it came to the other, but she needed to hang onto something.

"Sure thing, let me boot up the tracker... uhuh, commands given... give it a second… any minute now..." A loud bang resounded over the line and Gwen almost snickered. Rule number one of Plumber training: when in doubt, hit it. "Ah there we are. It looks like he's in the foothills of the Bellwoord national park. You remember that place?"

Gwen smiled, and didn't care that she probably looked more than a little smitten. "Yeah, I remember." It was where she and Ben had first kissed, really kissed. And decided that this thing between them was something they weren't going to run away from. The memory was good on her heart, that was for sure. Even if she was still going to yell at him for making her worry. "Thanks, grandpa. I'm gonna make sure that he didn't accidentally trip over the tentacly jerk."

Hanging up the phone, she dove between the houses, walking through the narrow pathways created by backyard fences. They'd hide her well enough. Closing her eyes, she felt weightlessness settle over her, and when she opened her eyes her hands shone with blue light, as did all of her. From one step to the next she was flying.

Much as she wanted to swoop and cheer and just enjoy the flight, she had a place to reach that was pretty far away and she had to conserve energy. Powerful as she felt like this, she was on a timer that was every bit as unforgiving as the Omnitrix had been to Ben in the beginning. Besides, flying was way more fun with her doofus there anyway.

Racing high above the land, she saw civilization fade into wilderness beneath her and turned her resolute gaze to the mountains and foothills. It took her only a short while to get to them, even if she did feel the strain of the prolonged flight, and she scanned the area for telltale signs of doofus habitation- there! She spotted him in the distance, a lone figure against the grassy hills. He saw her too, and raised his arm to wave enthusiastically. She smiled and tried to ignore the twinge of her ethereal heart at all the greenery below her. He was safe, and glad to see her. She just had a final stretch to go-

Her form shattered and she felt wind rush passed her and she needed to throw up a shielding spell-

Stinkfly caught her, knocking the wind out of her even as she inwardly sighed in relief. A sloth for most of the time, but when she needed him, he could be ridiculously fast. Or at least when she was. She appreciated the feeling of safety that gave her.

"And this is why you should leave the flying to the professionals, dweeb." She appreciated the commentary less. She swatted his chest, heart still hammering in her throat. She really needed to work on her endurance, and on knowing when it was about to give out on her.

"You're just mad that I'm more graceful when I do it, you petty bug." She retorted as her breathing returned to normal.

He snorted as he angled them down and landed them. It sounded harsh in this form, but she doubted it was meant that way. "Yeah, you looked real graceful when you were falling from the sky like a brick." She huffed an annoyed breath before reaching up and pressing her hand to the Omnitrix symbol between his eyes and ran her magic directly into it.

A flash of green and a crash later, she smirked down at the doofus groaning under her, mood much improved. "You were saying something about grace?" She asked, sweetly, grin all teeth.

He groaned again, propping himself up on his elbows to glare at her. "You were saying something about petty?"

Gwen just hummed, getting off him and looking around, taking in the scenery. Last time they'd been here, it had been earlier in the season, but colder on account of the gray and the fog. While the clear blue sky did nothing to keep the warmth trapped, the sun was pleasant, and the fields felt less soggy to her feet. On a nearby rock, she could see Ben's jacket and backpack- likely where he'd left his phone.

Turning back to the boy, she found he'd gotten up as well and was looking at her curiously, cocking his head in that infuriatingly endearing way of his. She liked to think that he did it just to get under her skin, but she knew it was genuine. That just made it worse. "Why did your glowing thing fail?" He asked, mystified.

Gwen just stared him down, burying the disquiet his question inspired under haughtiness. She did not like being reminded of how fragile she, and her power, really were. How extended use and fear, could still blow her out like a candle. She shook her head, shaking off the thought and his question. "You're not picking up your phone." She stated, instead. "Lizzie's worried." I'm worried, doofus.

Ben groaned. Even as he did, she could see him flinch at her words. He'd gotten the message loud and clear. "Please tell me you're not that kind of girlfriend..."

Gwen crossed her arms, quirking an imperious brow at him. It would've sent most of her classmates scurrying. It did precisely nothing to Ben. Cheater. "Oh I am definitely that kind of girlfriend." She returned, letting him know by her glare that no way was he getting off the hook for this one.

Ben pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm fine, dweeb. Just wanted some space to train."

That's not what her eyes told her. He'd seemed well enough when he'd left this morning, but now, he seemed... tired. Scared. Hunted. She buried her anger, same as she had last time. Not because she wasn't angry on some level, because she was. But she knew her anger didn't get through to him, and more importantly...

Her anger didn't heal. It didn't steady when he faltered. And that was her job right now. "You... don't seem fine, Ben." She remarked, quietly, stepping up into his personal space. He didn't push her away, but he did stiffen. More because of her words than her proximity, she thought. But he wasn't cracking yet. So she closed the distance and leaned her forehead against his, the tips of their noses brushing. He closed his eyes, and she felt his brow slowly smooth out, tension draining out of him little by little.

She kept her eyes open. She'd like to think that it was because she wanted to keep her imploring stare on him and didn't want to get sucked too deeply into the gesture of comfort- that way lay kisses and she didn't want to 'kiss it better'... yet. But it was really just because she wanted to keep looking at his face and into his eyes.

No, she wasn't going to offer a better explanation than that.

His breath ghosted over her face and she did her utmost not to shudder. It was tough going, but became easier when Ben spoke up, voice barely above a murmur. "When I took out the drone with Upgrade, I met him again. Like the first time with that crazy lady." Ben explained. "He said... he said he was going to come for all my weak spots." The boy gave her a moment to digest that. It had killed any romance in the air, alright.

But it wasn't ever going to kill her attitude. "Vilgax threatening us is basically Tuesday, Ben." She joked, earning a startled snicker out of him. She grinned and nuzzled his face. He didn't quite nuzzle back, but he was slowly relaxing. It was a start. "We can take him. We've done so since before we were half as strong as we are now."

She felt that Ben wanted to agree with her, but instead he shook his head, opening his green eyes. "He called you 'firefly.'" He said, sounding miserable, as if that was supposed to make any sense to her.

Gwen's own brow furrowed in puzzlement at that for a long moment before it clicked. Ben had a ton of nicknames for her; most he used in passing, others he used specifically as insults, and some where only whispered like a secret into her ear. But 'firefly' was a recent one. And Vilgax could only know that if... alright, that was creepy. On a host of levels.

Ben nodded. "He's been watching. He knows that we're stronger." Ben moved back, ever so slightly, but even that distance physically hurt her- hurt them both, if the look on his face was anything to go by. She grabbed his shirt, more as a gesture than to actually stop him. He stopped anyway. "But he's back, and asking for more, despite that." The boy finished, gritting his teeth.

"Which means he thinks he can beat us." Gwen mused, absently trailing her hands up his sides, if only to have something to do. And to enjoy the way his face slowly melted from misery to an endearing blush. "And that's got you worried."

Ben swallowed, but didn't object and... okay. That made some sense. Only... "But this is Vilgax we're talking about. He always overestimates himself. And underestimates us. Even when we beat him again and again." She pointed out. "So how seriously do we really have to take his estimate on if he can take us or not? The dumb squid's probably wrong. Again."

Ben bit his lip and she had to use all of her considerable willpower not to be completely sidetracked by the sight. "Yeah, see, I agree." He told her, sighing, seemig exasperated, but not with her. "You're probably right. He always does that, and we always win. But..." He trailed off, letting the silence stretch.

Gwen closed her eyes, conceding the unspoken point. Yeah. Even knowing that, it was a hard fear to shake, and, bluntly put, all those wins had been very close calls every time. She was far more flippant about it than Ben, and even she felt some disquiet at the idea of Vilgax planning something that could actually be a threat. Even when she knew, she knew, that they could and would win this.

She could try to sway him into calming down, talk to him. Reason with him and make him see things her way. But... she sighed, seeing the guilt in his eyes all too clearly. Neither of them were strong enough to face their fears yet, and Ben's were roiling right under the surface. He raised a hand to cradle her cheek. "I just don't want you to get hurt." He whispered, apologetically, miserably. She smiled despite herself. She'd leveled him every sparring match they'd ever had, and he still worried about her safety above anyone's.

It was one of those moments that made her love him, not caring that she was ten and was being a sap for even thinking it. She tilted her head slowly to brush her lips to his despite her earlier resolve not to- a ghost of a whisper, an invitation at best-

Her toes curled when he kissed her back fiercely, his hand tangling in the hair at the nape of her neck in a way that he hadn't done in a while while his other snaked around her waist. She almost whimpered at the sensation. Say what you will about his attitude towards anything else, Ben held nothing back when he kissed.

It had to be this place, she reasoned. She couldn't be held accountable for being kissy when she was in the place where they'd first smooched it up. It be sacrosanct not to kiss him here-

Ben tackled them both to the ground as a dark orange blur shot overhead.

Ben didn't waste any time rolling off Gwen, nor did she waste any time jumping back up, eyes sharp and focused. They scanned their surroundings, quickly spotting a Wildmutt skidding to a halt ten yards away from them before it sniffed the air and turned back to the children- baring its sharp teeth as it did. It was bigger than his own Wildmutt form, but also emaciated, and covered in scars.

And it wore a collar around its neck that was a familiar red metal. Ben narrowed his eyes, gritting his teeth. He was going to turn the squid into sushi once he got his hands on him.

Exchanging a look with Gwen, they nodded in unison. Hero time. The girl immediately channeled mana throughout her being and Ben watched, mesmerized with anticipation for her glowing form to spring to life slowly with sparks of blue- only for it to dissipate with a sound like a balloon deflating.

Ben tried very, very hard not to snicker at that. He failed abyssmally. At her heated glare, he just laughed harder.

"Not a word out of you!"

"And for my next balloon animal, I'm going to make a dweeb- oh sorry she deflated."

Gwen yelled in frustration before raising a hand in the face of the charging beast. "Berdi mordo nata!" She yelled, and even if her glowing form was not working, this was a quick reminder that Gwen was far from helpless.

A beam of fire shot from her palm and hit the charging beast in the head, causing it to stumble and whimper, before it dashed away in the opposite direction in a panic, fur smoking. As it did, Ben noticed that the collar attached to its neck delivered a visible and painful looking shock to the beast.

Gwen grit her teeth beside him, muttering darkly while Ben hissed. Yeah, this was Vilgax's style alright.

This time when it came around, Ben shot forward to meet it, a flash of green morphing him into own Wildmutt form. He tackled the larger canine out of the way mid charge, growling at the creature, a sound that roughly translated to 'what gives?'

"Good boy!" Gwen cheered behind him, earning her a disgruntled snort. He was gonna get revenge for that remark later. "Can you ask it what the heck is going on?" Ben growled louder, this time directing it at the other creature, trying to convey the question. It was hard. It felt like more of an instinctual growl than an actual language, a raw emotion rather than a sentence. So he kept his form tense and at the ready, and was relieved to smell and hear the crackle of Gwen's magic in her palms behind him.

The beast's answering screech made Ben wince because it screamed of pain and hurt and please make it stop- Ben lowered his head and whined. Crap. How the heck was he even supposed to fight this thing? It didn't feel very intelligent to Ben, either, but he had no idea if that was due to this individual or if Wildmutt's in general just weren't very good at talking-

Another loud screech tore him from his musings and he found it charging him again. This time, Ben shifted into Fourarms, catching the beast's charge before hauling him off the ground and tossing him far away, giving them some breathing space. He hoped he hadn't hurt the creature too much with that move.

"It doesn't seem to be to very smart." The red giant rumbled to Gwen. "Doesn't seem to understand its own kind very well either."

"You two should get along like a house on fire..." She grumbled, eyes narrowing in thought, biting her lip. "Can you get the collar off?" She asked, giving him an imploring look.

Fourarms crossed all of his arms, in thought, eyes focused on the distant form getting off the ground and shaking its head; right before it let out another ear piercing screech. "The only thing that's fast enough for that is XLR8 or your glowy thing. But steering that form is not as easy as I make it look, and if I can't get it off fast enough..." A Wildmutt vs XLR8 match-up... The giant shuddered, giving her a sheepish look. "Yeah, how about I don't get mauled today?"

Gwen blew out a frustrated breath but didn't contest his point, merely attempting to restart her power form again, if the blue sparks were anything to go by- but it failed again. She swore up a storm that made him snicker. He wasn't the only one that had picked up some nice ones from Tetrax.

Speaking of Tetrax... Ben shifted into Diamondhead and slammed his fists into the ground, causing a large shelter of crystal to form around them- a shelter that shook after the beast outside crashed into it moments later. Aw yeah, hero timing is at it again.

"That should buy us some time." He grumbled before shifting back into Ben. He turned to face her. "Okay, brainiac, time to put that big brain to work-"

The shelter shook again and a crack formed on the exterior. Gwen winced. "You wanna reinforce that, freakazoid?" She asked, caught between sheepish and meek. It was a very weird look on Gwen, but not one he'd never seen before. This wasn't the first tight spot they'd been in, after all.

Ben eyed the crack for a second before shaking his head, ears twitching at the sound of scratching outside. "No. It's already hurting itself enough as it is, if I make it go at this for longer..." They might kill the creature. And no way was he letting Vilgax turn him into a murderer. Gwen crossed her arms in thought, gears churning in her head, eyes flitting about in thought. He kept one mesmerized eye on her and one on the crack in the wall- ah, another one had appeared, but it was on a different part of their shelter. Good. Seemed the beast wasn't smart enough to focus its rage on one spot. That might give them more time.

"So you think it's not being mind controlled but coerced?" Gwen asked, thoughtfully.

"Conversed...?"

"Forced, lame brain."

"Ah. Yeah. It seems to be in control, its just really, really hurting. But I don't think it wants to hurt us..." And that really made this fight ten times more bitter.

Gwen sighed, rubbing her temples. "Probably conditioned to hunt you, than. Guess we can't just ask it to sit down for a second so we can figure out how to get the collar off..." She stilled completely for a long second before looking around their large shelter, eyes settling on her backpack and making a jump for it. Quickly scooping it up, she rooted inside it and pulled out the spellbook.

"Dweeb?" Ben asked, nervously as another crash shook the shelter. He let the Omnitrix power up, feeling his veins burn as his arm throbbed. Whine about that later, we got work to do. "If you've got something..."

"It was around here, I know it was… got it!" She looked up from the small book and turned to Ben. "Hold it still when it comes through!"

Simple enough. In a flash of green he was Fourarms once again. Wildvine would probably have been more effective...

But no way was he doing that to Gwen. "Get ready to cast, dweeb!" He responded.

The beast burst through the wall and Ben met it as it did, tackling it down and pinning it to the ground. It thought fiercely, jaws snapping and claws rending, but Fourarms' hide was strong and it only managed to tear one gash on in arm. "Do it!"He told her, seeing her raise her hand from the corner of one of his four eyes, channeling her magic directly from the spellbook, something he hadn't seen her do in a while.

It was a pleasantly familiar sight. "Amorous infecta!" She called out, a beam of light shooting from her hand. The spell struck both aliens, and some of the crystal around them, filling the room with light for a brief moment. It only took a second to take effect. Ben didn't feel any different, but the mutt quickly relaxed, its bites turning into licks and its attempts to rip him to shreds turning into affectionate nuzzles.

Ben shot Gwen a distinctly flat look with his four eyes as soon as it seemed like the danger had passed and he moved off the mutt. "Really? That spell was your big play?"

Gwen shrugged, pocketing the book with a grin. "I needed it to stop biting you." She explained, grin widening when the mutt reared up on its hindlegs and licked Ben's face with vigor. "And it worked."

"Yay." Ben grumbled as a large orange head nuzzles his face. "Lucky me. Would you sit down already-" He pushed the creature back with two of his arms. It didn't seem to mind, instead shifting its attention to nuzzling the hands, sitting on it's behind. The giant groaned. At least Gwen seemed amused with the whole thing.

"Don't whine, you big red baby." The redhead snickered, slightly sweaty from all the magic cast and her eyes bright with adrenaline and misschief. "You should be used to getting attention from a redhead by now." She finished with a wink, and Ben was very grateful that Fourarms was already beet red. Gwen stepped up, examining the collar around the mutt's neck. "Can you get it off?" She asked, looking up at him. It always made him well great when she had to- Focus now, fantasize about being taller than her later.

Ben examined the collar as well, running calloused fingers over the red metal; something not made all that easy by the mutt trying to nuzzle his hands the whole time. "Not sure." He muttered, more to himself than to Gwen. "I can try to rip it off, but doing that to metal attached to a neck..." Not even he was that reckless. Better if he went Upgrade and took it off from the inside out. But for that, he needed to create an entry point or he was going to get zapped. Again. He was about to shift into Grey Matter to figure out how when he spotted Gwen beside him and the beast, reaching up on her tip toes for collar.

Huffing a laugh, he picked her up so she could reach it. She smirked at the gesture. "My hero." She coed. He snorted. She could fly, for crying out loud. Or they could've asked the mutt to lower its head. She was just milking this for all it was worth.

Reaching out, she ran a mana wreathed hand over the metal, brow furrowed cutely in concentration. He could watch her for hours. Unfortunately, or fortunately he guessed, it only took her half a minute to figure it out. The red metal parted under her fingers like a curtain, revealing its inner workings. She blew her index finger as if blowing the barrel of a gun, and the Wildmutt groaned appreciatively at the progress. "Yeah, I'm awesome. No need to say it."

"And modest as ever." Ben remarked, rolling all his eyes before smirking. "But I guess you're right; you are pretty awesome." One of his smaller hands ruffled her hair and she cried out as he put her down. Shifting into Upgrade, he merged with the collar through the opening she'd created before she could go to town on him.

"Ben!" She whined as she tried to fix her hair. "I'm gonna kick your scrawny butt the second you're human enough to get kicked." She promised.

"Yeah, sure you will. You love my butt, and you know it." She yelled in frustration again, but didn't deny it. He smirked inwardly, but before he could tease her further, the lock on the collar gave way and he fell off the mutt, hitting the ground hard.

Gwen laughed at him, right up until the beast let out a cheerful yip and lowered its head to lick her face. Ben snickered at her squeal.

"Ew! Gross! So gross! Sit! Fetch! Do anything but this!" As she yumped several feet back out of the mutt's reach- to the its great sadness.

Ben's mechanical laughter rang. "Not so fun when it's you, isn't it? Seems I wasn't the only one marked by your spell." He observed as he detatched himself form the collar, standing to his full height, unfortunately diverting the Wildmutt's attention back to him.

Gwen sighed. "At least it only goes one way..." She grumbled, wiping her face as the creature decided to see if Upgrade made a good chew toy. Ben took it up on that challenge with a snicker. As the canine munched on Ben's arm (which sorta felt like a dog gnawing on his arm through an oven mitten) he considered that the spell had at least done it's job; and compared to last time when Gwen had cast it to set three dogs' worth of affection on him, this was still a great improvement.

And it seemed the effects were limited to the mutt that was lovingly trying to eat him, even if it had looked like the spell had hit them all. He felt normal, and Gwen didn't seem to be acting any different either, he mused, glancing at her. She was on the phone, probably calling grandpa. He could've listened in but didn't bother. Aside from looking tired and a little frazzled, she seemed normal. Not trying to eat his arm like the mutt, or trying to lick him like those dogs had done last time.

Then again, if Gwen was affected by the spell, she'd probably not act like that anyway. She'd be more likely to crawl in his lap and kiss him while tickling his jaw-

Upgrade disolved into a puddle. The Wildmutt whined at this turn of events and lowered itself, sniffing at Ben. Yeah, probably for the best that neither of them had been affected by the spell.

Small feet appeared beside his puddle and he glanced up at Gwen, who was quirking a brow at him. "You trying to get an upskirt down there, freakazoid?"

He couldn't even do that, what with her leggings under the dress, but he still shot up stammering. She laughed at him. "I'm teasing, doofus. Grandpa's on his way with the Rustbucket. Shouldn't take long; he's using the jet engines."

Probably not the best idea to do that during the day, or at all, but he assumed grandpa and Gwen had that figured out. "Huh. Neat. At least we won't half to walk back." He shifted back into himself. "Cuz I don't know about you, but I'm pretty... tired..."

Well, okay. He had to admit: his dweeb looked very different to his human eyes. In all the best ways.

"...doofus?" Gwen asked, eyeing him warily, flushing under his scrutiny. "Did your last braincell finally implode?"

Ben swallowed, feeling heat pool everywhere. "I-I think it did." He admitted, stepping forward. He placed one hand on her waist while another cradled her cheek. Her breath hitched while his heart skipped a beat. He placed his forehead against hers and, but he didn't close his eyes. He wanted to see her. It was strange, in a way. Not fifteen minutes ago they'd done this very same gesture, but the energy was totally different.

It felt amazing. Exiting.

Her pupils became so large that he could see himself reflected in them. Still, she tried to play it cool. He'd stopped pretending to. "W-Where is this coming from, doofus?" She asked, hesitantly, even as her hands betrayed her by tangling in his shirt. He almost smirked. Almost. But his mouth had better uses. Like kissing her. But before that...

"You are so beautiful." He told her, throat dry, and even as he knew that he wasn't entirely doing this because he wanted to but was sorta highjacked by that stupid love spell of hers-

Well. It wasn't like he wasn't thinking it all the time. But maybe he should say it more often because the way her eyes widened and her jaw slackened were absolutely amazing. It made her look insanely kissable.

So he did. Because spell or no spell, he wanted to do that all the time anyway.

Not that this felt anything like hypnosis. He was still him, he felt that clearly. He controlled the hand that trailed from her cheek to the nape of her neck, just as he felt they way her lips worked against his, and the shudder as she gasped against his mouth when he clenched his hand in her hair and the amazing sensation of her tongue dancing against his-

And it was certainly him that groaned when he landed flat on his back after she threw him over her shoulder. Cracking his eyes open, he saw she was looking down at him, beet red.

"...sorry." She muttered. "You were kinda going wild." In the background he heard the Wildmutt blow out a breath in what sounded like affirmation. He sighed, struggling to his feet, standing in front of her.

They looked at each other for a long moment and he still felt the heat run all through him, but now that the initial shock of it had passed, he could control himself a little better. Probably. He licked his lips, trying not to let his eyes stray to hers, even if he desprately wanted to capture them again. "Sorry." He rasped, voice still dry. "I'll keep a lid on it, freak." He should be able to do that. He was in love with her all the time after all, this was really no different.

He could do this. And even if he slipped, even if it was in front of grandpa, at least now they had a darn good excuse. And the dweeb knew that.

But with the way she was looking back at him, he was pretty sure that both of them knew that having that excuse was far too much temptation for either of them