Power Cosmic...

"What do you mean 'there isn't any outside influence that is causing this mental block'? How could it have gotten there then? Why is it in my head!?" Ben shouts already knowing the truth but doing everything in his power to deny it and try to make up an excuse but he knows and by this point so do all of we and I can't help but feel sad for the man, Charles also apparently feels the same way as me as he does a deep sigh before trying to explain to Ben the obvious truth. "Ben, no one has implanted this mental block inside of you and there isn't a mysterious and convenient excuse as to why you have this mental block. It's of your own making, your subconscious mind has made this mental block and only you yourself can resolve this issue." The Professor speaks out brutal and to the point and for a moment I wonder if he could have been a little lighter but then again he is the trained psychologist/therapist and if he thinks ripping off the bandaid as soon and fast as possible is the correct solution in this situation then who am I to question it, Ben is still clearly having issues with the revelation and I can understand that as he has learnt that the thing that has been stopping him from returning to being a normal human (his greatest wish perhaps) is himself and it's a bit of a mind fuck to deal with. "How? How is that possible? I want to return to being human, it's the only thing I actually want so why are you telling me that I've subconsciously been stopping myself from doing that!?" Ben questions quietly at first before gradually getting louder and ending shouting straight into the professor's face point blank and though Ororo tenses up a little at this presumably to take action if needed Charles stays calm and tranquil as if there's not a ornate rock man screaming into his face but then again I guess the Professor has dealt with these types of situations before and knows how to deal with them, Charles let's Ben get it all out and then gives him a moment to calm down and catch his breath not at all minding the spittle on his face as if he's used to these kinds of situations.

After Ben calms down he realised that he's standing and leaning over the Professor threateningly so he moves backwards and slumps back down onto the medical platform in defeat and I can bet that part of why he's done that is because of him noticing Ororo behind the Professor clearly preparing to take action if needed and that must've alerted him that he's getting a bit too worked up so he decided to move back and realise the situation he's in, he's also decided to try and see if there is any solutions to this problem which I'm pretty sure is the right thing to do in this situation and I'm glad he's realised that as shouting at the Professor and denying reality isn't going to help him overcome his problems and return him to being human. "Sorry Professor, I got a bit worked up but I'm fine now. So, what can we do to fix this? Can you remove the mental block from my mind and let me turn back into a human? Can you do that?" Ben speaks asking a relevant question and I too am interested in this as the topic of why the thing can't return to being human interested me in my past life and I actually researched it and found a few things so I would like to see if any of these theories are true and so far it's looking like one of them are but then again that depends on the reason behind Ben having this mental block, I'm rooting for the guy now and I want him to get his human body back because I know that me and him haven't been on the best of terms since we met but somehow I'm relating to him and I don't know in what ways I'm relating and I can't quite tell why but I am and I want this guy succeed in getting his human body back. "I'm afraid that's quite impossible Ben, I find that it's better for the person with a mental block to work through it by themselves perhaps with the help of a therapist because if I rid you of the mental block then there's nothing to guarantee it not coming back if you haven't worked through the issues and solved the root problems. And even if I could do this Ben, which I'm considering as you are a good man and a hero and deserve some happiness, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to as there is something inside you that is preventing me from doing so." The Professor clearly tells him clearly and concisely giving him all the facts and reasons which everyone can understand and agree with but the last thing is what catches mostly everyone's attention and draws us to him again, what could be preventing the Professor from messing with Ben's mental block and it seems Reed is also perplexed by this as he asks the question which is in everyone's mind.

"Charles, why is it that you wouldn't be able to remove the mental block? I understand why you don't but to know that you, one of the most powerful telepaths in the whole world, can't remove this mental block even with your strength and expertise I can't help but be curious as to what is preventing you from doing it." Reed says and I find myself nodding along with his question and though Johnny didn't really think of this before at the professors words he's clearly realised it know and he also wants to know just what is preventing the Professor from removing the mental block, we all want to know Ben especially and seeing this the Professor endeavours to answer our question to the best of his abilities. "I'm afraid I too am quite puzzled by this as well as it's not often that I find myself limited when it comes to matters of the mind but I find myself stumped, this isn't something I've encountered before. When I tried to view the mental block itself before I only managed to learn that it is impeding Ben from returning to his human form and I tried to learn more about the cause of this mental block but no matter how much I tried I was unable to do so and the mental block was fused or empowered with some strange almost primordial energy that was preventing me from truly analysing the block and when I tried to break through it it rebounded me and before I could learn anything else I was blasted out of his mind by the weird powerful energy, it even impacted me in the real world and forced me across the room. I've never encountered such a phenomenon before, I've seen some strange mystical things in my day but this energy truly feels like one of the most powerful energies I've ever encountered." The Professor says and I notice that he only said 'one of the most powerful energies' he's ever encountered and from that I can infer that he's already come across the Phoenix inside Jean Grey's mind though he probably doesn't know that that's what the energy he found in her mind is and if this energy in Ben is what I think it is then it may have indeed come close to the Phoenix energy but ultimately falls short and it's seems Reed is also thinking what I'm thinking as he also has some ideas as to what that energy in Ben is, of course there's every chance that I'm working but I somehow feel that I'm correct as this energy would alone with one of the theories from my last life.

Reed snaps his fingers together in a eureka moment. "It must be cosmic power, Ben was exposed to a lot more of it than the rest of us when we first got these powers and it wouldn't surprise me if there's where most of Ben's problems with his transformation are coming from and it seems that because of his over abundance of cosmic power some seems to have somehow empowered the mental block in his mind and enforced it. I'll have to run some tests and research some things but if if I'm correct then I could build a device to drain him of the cosmic energy but not enough that it would kill him as this cosmic power has become an complicated part of us and entwined itself with our DNA but I could drain enough that you would stay in your rock form but have the power drained from the mental block which could allow the Professor to remove the block with ease, I just have to run some tests." Reed speaks aloud unintentionally mimicking the same thoughts running through my mind and confirming the past theories in my past life of which there were two main ones which were the fact that Ben had a mental block preventing him from returning to being human because he was afraid that his girlfriend Alicia Masters (the blind sculpture artist) would leave him for some reason or another and though I haven't seen her since I've been in this building I have come across a weird art room the was quite at odds with the rest of the scientific building so I guess she's not been here for the past few weeks for some reason, another theory was that the universe itself didn't want Ben to stop being the Thing as he had a higher purpose or something and so they stopped him from returning to being human and it seems in this universe it is both of these theories as he has the mental block (I don't know if the cause is the same) but it is in fact being empowered and enforced by the power cosmic which is the universes way of keeping him as being the Thing and it has in fact been noted in my last life that the more comfortable Ben became as the thing the more his form showed it as it became more cartoony and friendly basically keeping him as the thing and I guess that's what would've happened here as well.

"Stop it Reed, the Professor is right. This is the cause of my own issues and I should solve them myself otherwise they're always going to be there, I'm grateful for the help Reed but this is something I have to do myself. Professor, would you perhaps be able to give me some therapy sessions in the future? Or if you can't can you please refer me to some trustworthy therapists?" I'm happy that Ben is taking the actions needed to solve his problems and it seems this will work out in the professors favour as well as helping the Fantastic Four can help him a lot in the future, I can't help but wonder if this is a coincidence or something that the Professor saw and took advantage of in the name of mutant and human coexistence...

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<AN> I now have a Pa treon up and running and when a chapter is ready it will go up on Pa treon first so please take a look. Some support from you guys would be appreciated and motivate me.

Currently 34+ Chapters.

(www.pa treon.com/GutsyRipper)

A special thank you to my patrons Tim Brown, Stormrall, Turtle, Matthew Laird, Sage Honos, Derrick Porter, Manuel Arauio, Darth Bane, Zed and napier Crawford. Thank you for the support.