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caniruineverything · 2 months ago

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while you were saving your neck, i've been breaking mine for you

Chapter 6: The Incursions

Last chapter! Character death here, not graphic, but the implications of it are explored. Also non-consentual drugging. It's not done with bad intentions, but still. Be safe!

The last time it happened was the worst. By this point, she was determined to stop Ben from needlessly sacrificing himself. But her doofus of a cousin was dead set on preventing her from keeping him alive. The universe, too, was practically demanding that she fail.

The Incursions were back, and they were ready. Within minutes, the whole planet was surrounded. The Incursions would attack, they promised, unless the people of Earth surrendered Benjamin Tennyson.

Gwen groaned the second the Incursions stated their demand. She knew her cousin, of course he would choose Earth over himself. There was no way he couldn’t. But she wouldn’t let him. She, Max, and Kevin were a united front on this, no matter how much Ben insisted that he had to give himself up. They weren’t going to risk it, risk him. They were going to find another way. Ben wasn’t happy about it, but at least he stopped arguing.

“Fine. We’ll come up with another plan. But you owe me a smoothie!” Gwen was so relieved that she didn’t protest, and the trio soon found themselves back at Mr. Smoothy. Gwen gave Ben some cash, saying that smoothies were on her, and Ben walked away to order. As soon as he was out of earshot, Kevin turned to Gwen.

“You think he’s gonna try something?”

“Of course he will. This is Ben we’re talking about.” Kevin shrugged, clearly in agreement with that.

“So what are we gonna do about it?” Gwen turned to face him.

“Azmuth is going to deactivate the Omnitrix and sedate him. It’s extreme, but it’ll work. He’ll do it when we get back to Plumber HQ after this.” Kevin didn’t look happy, but he nodded. Gwen didn’t particularly want to do this either, but they had to. Ben had left them no choice.

They stood in silence as they waited for Ben to return. It was several more minutes before he appeared, holding a tray of cups.

“Sorry that took so long. There was a line.” Gwen just stared at him, unamused. The place was practically deserted. There was one other car, and the parking lot was silent. “Right.” Ben laughed, the sound a bit strained. “Well, drink up!” With that, he removed the life of one smoothie and gulped it down. Gwen was slightly impressed, if only because he managed to avoid getting brain freeze. Mostly, though, she was just disgusted.

Gwen and Kevin drank their smoothies less quickly, and the trio chatted idly as they often did on smoothie runs. Eventually, Gwen yawned, and she thought it was probably a good idea to get going. But Ben frowned, looking sad enough that she decided a few more minutes couldn’t hurt.

Gwen woke up with her mouth dry and full of her hair. She blinked, head pounding like she’d drank too much last night. Had she? She couldn’t remember. She was just about to drift off again when she realized she was not in her bed. Instead, she was in Kevin’s car, and when she looked over she found Kevin asleep next to her. They were still in the parking lot of Mr. Smoothy.

“Kevin,” she called, gently prodding him awake, “wake up!” He opened one eye and glared at her, but she shook him, hard. “Why are we in your car?” This got a reaction out of him. He sat up and looked around, brow furrowing.

“I don’t know. The last thing I remember is drinking smoothies.” Gwen thought about it, and yeah, that was the last thing she remembered, too. Kevin growled angrily. “Ben. He must have drugged us.” Gwen wanted to argue, but it was the only thing that made sense. She swiveled around, trying to see if anything was out of place. There, lying on the backseat, was a piece of paper. Gwen reached over and grabbed it, opening it to reveal Ben’s handwriting.

Gwen, Kevin,

I’m sorry. I’m sorry I drugged you, and I’m sorry I didn’t say goodbye. But I needed to go, and I knew you wouldn’t let me. The planet, all these people, they need me, and I can’t sit around. This is the only way I can save everyone, so I’m giving myself over to the Incursions. I know you wanted to keep me safe, and I love you for it. But we all know I have to do this. You guys are the best team I could have asked for, and even better friends. Please forgive me, but don’t forget me. I’ll always be with you.

I love you guys so much

Ben

Gwen was crying by the end, and even Kevin was teary-eyed. The sadness quickly turned to anger, burning hot in her chest.

“How could he? How dare he?” Gwen yelled. She wanted to yell at Ben, scold him for being stupid, being selfish. But he wasn’t there, and she knew he was the opposite of selfish. She was the selfish one, the one willing to let the world burn if it meant Ben would stay by her side.

Kevin was silent, and when Gwen looked over, wondering why he wasn’t seething, she saw him glancing down at something in his hands. At the Omnitrix. If Gwen hadn’t been terrified before, she definitely was now. Ben had no weapon, and they had no way of tracking him. Actually, she remembered, she did have a way of tracking him. Maybe it wasn’t too late to get Ben back.

“We have to tell Grandpa. Then I’ll track Ben’s mana and we’ll go get him.” Kevin looked over at her, face drawn, and nodded wordlessly. He started the engine, and they took off towards Max.

Max was unsurprisingly less than pleased when he was told that his grandson was not, in fact, safely sedated. But he was a soldier, and he had a job to do. He was barking orders in no time, and only an hour after Gwen and Kevin had arrived, the Plumbers were ready to dispatch their ships. Seated aboard the Rustbucket III, Gwen closed her eyes and felt across the universe for Ben.

She found nothing. Not a single flicker of his familiar signature. She let out a sob, hopelessness filling her from head to toe. No. It couldn’t be.

“I can’t feel him. Grandpa, I can’t feel him!” Max’s face fell, but he simply wrapped Gwen in a hug as Kevin closed his eyes, already grieving.

“That’s alright, sweetheart. We’ll find another way to locate him.” He sounded so certain they would find Ben, but Gwen knew. Tracking Ben was second nature to her now, and finding absolutely nothing could only mean one thing. Ben was gone. They were never going to find him, at least not alive.

Max sent Gwen and Kevin home, instructing them to get some rest and promising to inform them of any updates. The second Gwen reached her bedroom, she buried her head in her pillow and screamed. She didn’t stop screaming until the screams turned to sobs. She cried herself to sleep that night, and the next night, and the night after that. Then she just stopped sleeping. She would reach out every night with her mana, trying to find any trace of Ben. Nothing, night after night.

Life went on for the people of Earth, Ben had made sure of that, but not for Gwen. Not for Kevin, or Max, or any of the Tennysons. Ben was gone. No, Ben was dead, and Gwen didn’t know how to live without him. Her brave, funny, resourceful, selfless cousin would never be back.

She clung to Kevin, and Kevin clung to her. Gwen visited Carl and Sandra after a few days, and then she started visiting them every day. Ben would have been shocked to see how well Carl got along with Max, when the Plumber wasn’t searching for a boy who would never return. He hadn’t given up hope that Ben was alive, nor had Ben’s parents. But Gwen knew he wasn’t, and so did Kevin.

Months passed, and Gwen didn’t get over losing Ben. She did accept it; she wasn’t happy, but she was living, and that, somehow, was an improvement. She slept, she ate, she went to school. It was better. Not good, not even okay, but it was better. Kevin helped, but he was suffering too.

Gwen had failed in the most important task of her life. She was living with the consequences of that. A tiny part of her declared that she deserved this. But Kevin, Max, Ben’s parents, Ben? They didn’t deserve this.

One night, she gives in to the need to reach out with her lifeforce. She knows she won’t find anything, she never does. But it helps her feel connected to the cruel world that took her cousin away. Without that connection, as painful as it is, she feels lost in the vacuum of space. She stretches far and wide, reaching further than she ever has before. Nothing. A tear drips onto her pillow, leaving behind a perfect circle.

Something compels her to try again, just one more time before she can put this to rest forever. She does, weakly grasping for something, anything. For a moment, she feels nothing but cold emptiness. Then, her awareness brushes up against the warmest thing she’s felt since it happened.

“Ben?”

#ben 10 #ben tennyson #gwen tennyson #kevin levin #hurt/comfort #ben 10 uaf #ben tennyson whump #my writing

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caniruineverything · 2 months ago

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while you were saving your neck, i've been breaking mine for you

Chapter 5: Vorath

Warning, I am bad at writing fighting scenes. Slightly more graphic depiction of injuries here, but it's still relatively tame.

By the fifth time, Gwen should have known it was inevitable. It started as it always did: with the bad-guy-of-the-week screaming her cousin’s name.

At this point, none of them were fazed. Ben, ever the picture of confidence, simply called back:

“Yeah?” The alien, a rogue Tetramand, and a large one at that, did not appreciate this. He growled angrily before responding.

“I, Vorath, have come for-” “The Omnitrix, probably,” interrupted Ben, much to the annoyance of Vorath. He stomped a bit closer; Ben didn’t flinch. Nor did Gwen or Kevin.

“Yes. The most powerful weapon in the universe. It will be mine!” Ben just sighed, rather dramatically in Gwen’s opinion, then reached for said ‘most powerful weapon in the universe’, the brightness of the hologram lighting up his face even in the bright sunlight.

“Right. Like that’s gonna happen. Ben let his hand fall, and with a flash, the scrawny form of her cousin was gone, replaced by the hulking figure of Armadrillo. Then he jumped right in, Gwen and Kevin falling in like clockwork, and for a while, everything went as it usually did.

Then it went to hell. Gwen wasn’t sure how surprised she should feel, especially with how things kept going south lately, but she didn’t exactly have the time to figure that out. The Tetramand - Vorath, he’d called himself - had an eighteen-wheeler held aloft, ready to toss it into the intersection below, an intersection bustling with people blissfully unaware of the looming danger. Ben froze, as did Gwen and Kevin. What else could they have done?

“Hey,” Ben began, voice shaking almost imperceptibly, “let's not do that.” “You will battle me alone, wielder of the Omnitrix. To the death.” Vorath’s tone allowed for no arguing, nor did the semi still held up by two arms. A third was pointing directly at Ben.

“Fi-” Ben began, but Gwen and Kevin cut him off, voices overlapping. “Ben, no!”

“Yeah, that’s not happening.”

“Quiet!” Vorath boomed, and Gwen and Kevin acquiesced. They knew what awaited them if they didn’t. Ben transformed with another flash, and he offered his teammates a tight smile.

“Guys, it’ll be fine. Just let me handle this.” Kevin gave him a terse nod, and Gwen let her mana flow back into her body. Ben turned back to Vorath. “Right. Could you put that truck down now?” Vorath growled low, but he placed the semi back on the ground, and Gwen relaxed a tiny bit. But the fear that had run through her veins for the people in the square only moments ago gave way to a slow-building worry for her reckless cousin. She knew this wasn’t the hardest thing Ben had ever done, but her heart thumped painfully at the thought of not being able to fight with him. Kevin didn’t look jazzed about that either.

But there was nothing they could do except trail helpless after Vorath and Ben as the latter led them to a more secluded place where they were less likely to accidentally injure someone. Gwen knew the dangers of backing out of the deal now wouldn’t be good, so she really did just have to watch. God, she loathed the idea of that.

Gwen boosted herself and Kevin into the air on a mana platform so they were out of the way. Ben flicked through the Omnitrix’s catalogue before settling on one and slamming his hand down decisively. Vorath and Big Chill faced each other, statuesque for a few seconds before Vorath lunged. The fight had begun.

Ben managed to go intangible in time, letting out a subzero breath that froze Vorath in place for about four seconds. Then he was moving again, fast and strong and confident. Ben matched the confidence, and the duel moved so fast that Gwen almost got dizzy trying to keep her eyes locked on her cousin even as his entire figure flickered between solidly present and entirely transparent. It was probably comical, the way Gwen’s head swiveled constantly like she was watching one of Julie’s tennis matches. But Gwen couldn’t find any humor in it, not now.

She wasn’t sure what Kevin was doing, and she honestly didn’t care. All of her attention was intensely focused on Ben, who was holding his own pretty well. It wasn’t that she doubted his ability, but he tended to be reckless, and it had been her job to look out for him ever since they were little. The urge to pull him out of anything even remotely dangerous wasn’t something that would ever go away.

The two duelers were evenly matched, both dodging most of the attacks, making the fight fairly uneventful. This should have eased Gwen’s fears, but somehow every second her cousin grappled with Vorath augmented her anxiety. There was no cryptic sign, no omen, but Gwen couldn’t shake the growing dread that settled in her stomach like a stone.

Her anxieties proved to be warranted when Vorath landed a powerful hit that sent Ben sprawling. Gwen gasped, unable to stop the fear spreading through her veins. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Kevin grimacing. This wasn’t good.

In an instant, Vorath was on top of Ben, three arms pummeling him while the fourth held him down, as if there was any way Ben was getting up.

“Why doesn’t he just go intangible?” Kevin asked through gritted teeth.

“He’s too dazed, look at him!” Gwen knew she shouldn’t be yelling at Kevin, but there was too much emotion welling up in her, and it had to go somewhere.

“Shit,” was Kevin’s response. Shit indeed, Gwen’s mind whispered sardonically. “We need backup.” His town harbored no hesitation, a sentiment mirrored by his stony expression. Gwen wasn’t about to argue; Ben would want to finish this with honor, but Gwen was not about to lose him. Not today, not ever.

Kevin punched his Plumber’s badge harder than was probably necessary to activate it, and he was barking demands the second the call connected. Normally, Gwen would have berated him for being so loud, but there was no way Vorath was paying any attention. He was way too busy with his fallen foe. Whoever had picked up Kevin’s call now had several teams en route, so now all they could do was wait. They didn’t dare attack Vorath before backup arrived, at least not while he was actively on top of Ben, for fear of exacerbating things.

Gwen didn’t want to watch, but she needed to have eyes on her cousin. She flinched with every punch that landed, but she never glanced away. Then, just as Gwen thought Ben had passed out, a bright flash forced her eyes closed. When she opened them, blinking away the dark spots dancing in her vision, she saw that Ben, now back to his much smaller human frame, had escaped Vorath’s grip. The flash had seemingly blinded the Tetramand, who hadn’t managed to grab hold of Ben again.

As Ben half-ran, half-crawled away from Vorath, Gwen and Kevin didn’t hesitate. Gwen scooped her cousin’s shaking form up with a mana bubble while Kevin donned a stone suit and began distracting Vorath. The second the bubble was out of Vorath’s reach, Ben went boneless. Gwen rapidly pulled him over to her, praying that he was merely unconscious.

When the bubble disappeared, Gwen got her first good look at Ben. He looked awful. Blood coated his face, pouring from his nose and seeping from his badly cut lips. There wasn’t any bruising yet that Gwen could see, but she knew it would be bad. His hair was matted with dirt and more blood, and his clothes were ripped, only slightly, but enough to see cuts marring his arms, chest, and legs.

Gwen leaned over him, nearly collapsing with relief once she felt his heart thudding against her fingers, tightly pressed against his neck. Ben groaned softly, and she realized that he was still conscious. She teared up at the sight of his swollen eyes cracking open, green meeting matching green. He tried to sit up and sucked in a pained breath through his teeth.

“Shh, lay back down,” Gwen soothed softly, helping him lower himself back down to the ground. “It’s okay, you’re safe.” No sooner had the words left her mouth when Ben let out a breath and slipped into unconsciousness. Gwen’s heart raced, but she calmed slightly at the thought that the Plumbers were on their way.

Sure enough, not even a minute later, several Plumber ships arrived. One landed near Kevin, who was dodging Vorath’s enraged fists. Another hovered above Gwen, and she had to remind herself that they were on her side as the agents carried Ben away from her.

After that, it was a blur. Gwen couldn’t remember anything other than her ever-building worry and Kevin’s silent presence beside her. The only noise between them was the tapping of Kevin’s shoe on the ground as his leg bounced anxiously.

When they were finally allowed to see Ben, Gwen nearly tripped in her haste, Kevin right behind her. Ben still looked awful. The blood on his face had been wiped away, revealing dark bruises around his eyes and re-straightened nose. There were stitches in one of the cuts on hip lip, and his eyes were slightly unfocused, courtesy of the concussion he was no doubt sporting. There were bandages on his arms and legs, and his chest was wrapped, but he was alive.

Gwen immediately took his hand in hers, both to comfort him and to reassure her that he was still there. Kevin sat down, carefully laying a hand on Ben’s shoulder. They didn’t talk. Ben was pretty foggy, and Gwen and Kevin didn’t know what to say. As Ben’s eyes slipped shut, Gwen took a seat and settled in, still holding his hand. They were going to be here for a while.

#ben 10 #ben tennyson #gwen tennyson #kevin levin #ben 10 uaf #hurt/comfort #ben tennyson whump #my writing

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caniruineverything · 2 months ago

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while you were saving your neck, i've been breaking mine for you

Chapter 4: Rampaging Beast

I think these are getting more intense with each chapter! Still, this shouldn't be too bad. Enjoy!

By the fourth time, Gwen had expected it. But the whole scene was too chaotic for Gwen to prevent her cousin from pulling the same selfless sacrifice stunt.

While normally, things started alright and then went to shit, this time, everything started badly and just stayed that way. As per usual, the rampaging alien had no regard for property. It didn’t help that whatever-it-was was extremely large, making it decently destructive. Will Harangue was going to have a field day with this one. She could almost hear his weasley voice now: Ben 10, menace to society.

The chaos of the scene meant she, Ben, and Kevin were all busy with different tasks. Ben, naturally, was going one-on-one with the alien. Kevin was doing his best to manipulate materials to minimize property damage as much as possible. This left Gwen to help any stray civilians out of danger

It was no easy task; panic can make people very resistant to following instructions. She was doing her best, but the task was taking all of her concentration, meaning none of her attention was on Ben. Which would probably have been fine if the beast’s armored tail hadn’t gotten just a bit too close to an apartment complex lining the street.

Screams rang out, the sharp sounds cutting through the rumble of the building shuddering. As the structure shifted, Gwen froze. They needed a new plan, and fast. Kevin clearly had the same idea, because he came running up to her, looking unsettled.

“What should we do?” he yelled over the din of battle, collapsing buildings, and screaming people. Part of Gwen loved being the one Kevin deferred to, but right now, she wished someone else could take charge. But there wasn’t anyone else, so Gwen would have to get it together.

Luckily, the apartment hadn’t collapsed just yet. A total collapse might not have even been inevitable, so at least they had a few minutes to strategize as the inhabitants of the building began rushing out.

“Continue trying to hold the building up. I’ll help Ben. Go!” Kevin didn’t waste time. He turned on his heels and ran off, and Gwen didn’t stick around to watch. She glanced around, eyes locking on her cousin’s hulking form, still grappling with the attacking alien. Ben glanced over at her for a split second as she approached. All she had to do was nod, and she saw understanding flicker in his eyes.

She began slinging projectiles, which ended up only slightly effective. Gwen almost switched attacks, but then she noticed a slightly discolored area on the beast’s underbelly. She aimed a projectile at the spot, firing. The beast’s tail intercepted it, seemingly by accident. Gwen tried again, and this time, her projectile landed.

The hit distracted the beast, maybe from pain, maybe from surprise. Whatever the reason, Ben wasted no time landing a solid hit, knocking the alien to its knees. Ben kept pounding, and Gwen held her breath. Would he take it too far? She reached out a hand to grab her cousin’s arm, but before she formed any construct, Ben paused, breathing hard. Looking at their foe, Gwen realized Ben had simply rendered it unconscious.

Or close to unconscious, she amended as the alien let out what she assumed was a groan. It raised its head once, then let it fall, eyes closing. Gwen shot a blast at it, encasing as much of its body in mana as she could. The beast was done rampaging. Its tail, still free, twitched, then slammed into the ground, hard.

It would have been fine, if the apartment complex a few meters away hadn’t already been weakened. The building groaned, creaking and cracking. Gwen didn’t even turn her head at the bright flash emitted by Ben detransforming. Her head remained frozen as the building began to sag.

A green streak ran by her, and with some effort, she focused her vision on her cousin sprinting straight at the listing structure. It took Gwen a few moments to realize what was happening; it was all too surreal.

“Ben!” she called out. He looked back at her, and despite the distance she saw him mouth the words ‘I’m sorry’. Then he was gone, the great of his jacket surrounded by the enormous building. “No!”

She wanted nothing more than to grab her stupid cousin with a mana tendril, but she couldn’t risk releasing the alien. It could wake up at any moment, and they couldn’t afford any more destruction. Plus, Ben was so far away and she was so tired. But she would have dragged him out in an instant if she could have.

Kevin came running over, saying something about the building being beyond fixing. She wasn’t listening, too busy staring at the building. She tried to focus on what Kevin was saying, dragging her attention away from where she’d last seen her cousin.

“Where’s Tennyson?” It was too hard to speak, so she choked out a sob and pointed at the building. Kevin’s eyes widened and he opened his mouth to say something, but a deafening sound stopped him.

It was the apartment complex giving out. In a matter of seconds, the multi-level building was replaced by a mess of rubble and dust. Even with as far away as Gwen and Kevin were, they still ended up choking on the wave of dust sent forth by the collapse.

When her ears stopped ringing, Gwen became aware of three things. One, Kevin was hovering above her, shielding her from the worst of the debris with his stone body. Two, people were gathered, not screaming, but freaked out, and sirens were approaching. Three, she could not see her cousin.

Ben was not in the growing crowd of people/ That meant he was under the rubble.

“No,” Gwen murmured. “No!” Kevin shifted, peering down at her worriedly. Gwen did her best to scramble to her feat, unsteady and feeling disconnected from her body. Kevin placed his warm hands on her shoulders, the touch not grounding her the way it usually did.

“Hey, hey, wait.” He held out a hand to help her to her feet, clearly not understanding why she was so shaken. He didn’t understand.

“No-no! Ben!” She couldn’t get her mouth to form any other words. She didn’t take his outstretched hand, body unusually heavy. Focusing her eyes on Kevin’s face as it eclipsed her vision, she could see that he was still worried, except now he was also confused.

“Hey, I’m sure Tennyso-” His expression suddenly shifted, and he looked almost afraid. “Wait, where did you say he went again?” She couldn’t form the answer, so she opted for pointing again. The color drained from Kevin’s face as his gaze followed her finger. “You mean he’s-” It seemed he couldn’t say it either.

She was saved from having to answer him by the arrival of emergency services. A few ambulances had pulled up, along with the firefighters. The apartment complex luckily hadn’t caught fire, but the firefighters excelled at helping people escape unstable or collapsed buildings.

EMTs swarmed the gathered crowd, looking for anyone who might have been injured. The firefighters were moving rubble, forming a path to make their way through the wreckage. Gwen pushed herself up, arms shaking. She could feel Kevin staring at her.

“I-” She faltered, wondering if he’d try to stop her. “I’m going to help them look for Ben.” She stared back at Kevin, trying to discern how he’d respond. He didn’t stop her.

“I’ll come too,” was all he said. He leaned down, placing a hand on the ground and letting the concrete of the ground cover his body. Gwen stood there, just breathing. She wasn’t sure what she was going to find in there. Ben. She jolted as cold stone brushed her hand. Gwen looked down.

Kevin had grabbed her hand, and he gently let the concrete melt away. The warmth of his skin was the comfort she needed, this time having the effect he no doubt intended. Kevin gently squeezed her hand and met her eyes, but said nothing. They began to walk to the collapsed building.

Gwen’s hands shook with every piece of rubble she moved, but her mana stayed steady. In the chaos, she was unable to locate Ben’s mana. She didn’t want to think about what that meant. She was vaguely aware of Kevin and the firefighters working around her, but all she could hear was static. Somewhere in this wreck was her cousin, and she would find him, alive or d-

No. She shook that thought away. This was Ben. He was always fine, he had to be fine. She heaved in another deep breath, and that’s when she became aware of Kevin screaming her name. Her head whipped over to him, eyes wide. He mouthed one word: Ben.

She was at Kevin’s side in an instant.

“Where?” she demanded. It was Kevin’s turn to point wordlessly. She followed his finger, much like he had earlier, and there, amid the dust and rubble, was a tiny bit of a green jacket. Gwen wasn’t sure if she’d ever moved as fast as she did in that moment.

Once she could fully see her cousin, Gwen nearly sobbed. Her foolish, selfless, brilliant cousin had tucked himself into a small corner, where he had been mostly protected from the collapse. Gwen sank to her knees beside Ben, who was unconscious. A small cut on his forehead was bleeding, and tiny nicks littered his face and hands. But otherwise, he seemed alright.

She gently laid a hand on his cheek, fingered smudging away the dust.

“Ben?” she asked gently. Her cousin didn’t move, so she called his name again. This time, he began to stir slowly. Once his unfocused eyes landed near her face, she began to gently help him into a sitting position.

Ben’s still-hazy gaze and confused expression, along with his bleeding forehead, told Gwen he probably had a concussion. Luckily, it didn’t seem too severe. They’d all dealt with worse. A rustling noise made Gwen aware of Kevin kneeling down next to her.

“How is he?” His voice was uncharacteristically quiet, almost soft.

“He’s a bit banged up, but he’ll be alright,” she replied, a tiny smile on her lips at the sound of Kevin’s relieved exhale. “Can you help me get him upright?” Kevin turned to stare at her, wide-eyed.

“Are you sure we should do that this soon? He’s still pretty out of it,” he reasoned, with a gesture towards Ben. Gwen looked at her cousin, who blinked up at her slowly.

“Ben?” she asked, laying a hand on his shoulder. “How do you feel?” Ben stared at her for a few seconds before opening his mouth.

“Gwen?”

“Yeah, it’s me. How do you feel?”

“Bad,” was his only response, so short and matter-of-fact that Kevin snorted. Gwen almost laughed, too.

“I gathered that. Do you feel up to us helping you walk to the car? You’ll probably feel more comfortable.” “Can I take a nap? I’m tired.” Gwen smiled softly.

“Once you’re in the car, okay?” Ben nodded, then began trying to lift himself up. Gwen stopped him, and slipped an arm around his waist. “Let us help you.”

“Uh,” Kevin cut in, “are you sure we should let him sleep? He’s clearly concussed.”

“It’s not too bad, so it should be fine.” Kevin shrugged, then walked over to Ben’s other side and placed Ben’s arm over his shoulder. Together, Gwen and Kevin helped Ben stumble over to the car. They got Ben situated in the backseat, and Gwen climbed in after him while Kevin got into the driver's seat.

“You good back there?” he called out to Gwen once the ignition was running. Gwen nodded, and Kevin must have seen it in the mirror, since he started driving without another word.

As they left the chaotic street, paramedics still swarming the scene, Gwen felt herself relax. She threaded her fingers through Ben’s hair as her cousin leaned on her, asleep. She thanked whoever would listen that everything had turned out alright. Her cousin was safe. Still, some evil part of her whispered: for now.

#ben 10 #ben tennyson #gwen tennyson #kevin levin #ben tennyson whump #ben 10 uaf #hurt/comfort #my writing

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caniruineverything · 2 months ago

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while you were saving your neck, i've been breaking mine for you

Chapter 3: Ultimate Kevin

Partial rewrite of the episode "Nor Iron Bars a Cage". Love love love how angsty the Ultimate Kevin arc is. So many fun character dynamics to play with!

The third time it happened, she still wasn’t expecting it, but she wasn’t really surprised, either. Gwen had mostly forgotten about her cousin’s burgeoning habit due to everything happening with Kevin. Between trying to locate their currently insane friend and talking Ben down from any extreme actions, she kind of had her hands full.

When they finally tracked him down to the mining prison, Gwen was swallowing down anxiety. Would Kevin be too out of his mind to recognize them? Would Ben take it too far? Speaking of her cousins, one glance over at him revealed that he was having his own internal struggle; lips thinned and brow furrowed. Part of her wanted to ask what he was thinking, but she didn’t for fear that he would voice the very plan she’d been trying to prevent him from seriously considering.

Ben turned his head to meet her gaze, seemingly sensing her eyes on him. Whatever expression he saw on her face caused his own to soften.

“Hey,” he began, voice gentle, “it’s, uh, gonna be alright.” She sharpened her gaze and he flushed, admonished. “Okay, maybe not ‘going to be’, but I know you. You’re probably thinking worst-case-scenario. Just, I don’t know, don’t do that?” She snorted, and he huffed out a short laugh.

“That’s the best you can do, doofus? ‘Don’t do that.’ That makes me feel so much better.” She nudged him with her elbow, teasing.

“Ugh, you know I’m not good at words! But, hey, you’re smiling. So it did kind of work.” He grinned back at her, because yeah, she was smiling. He might not be the most eloquent, but he did know how to cheer her up. Still, they both sobered pretty quickly once they reached the entrance of the mines.

“Gwen?” She looked back over at Ben, who now looked slightly apologetic. “I’ll try not to hurt him.” She opened her mouth to speak, but he continued. “Unless he’s gonna hurt you or one of the prisoners.” At this, the apologetic look vanished, and it was replaced with a stonier, more determined look.

Gwen thought for a moment, then decided she could live with that. “Thanks, Ben. Don’t worry about me, though. Kevin wouldn’t- won’t- hurt me.” She tried to sound confident about that, but the sad, almost pitying look on Ben’s face told her she hadn’t entirely succeeded.

She was so preoccupied with thoughts about the upcoming confrontation that she didn’t notice until later that Ben had implied that he would let Kevin hurt him if it meant he didn’t injure Kevin.

Everything had gone to hell, of course. Kevin was so far gone in his power-madness that he didn’t even acknowledge Ben and Gwen until they forced him to. He also made it very clear that he wasn’t leaving until he avenged someone, and he didn’t seem to care who he hurt to do it. Which of course meant Ben was having none of it.

Problem was, the Omnitrix was timed out, and it seemed to have no intentions of turning back on any time soon. Kevin did not feel like being patent, so he made his demands.

“Tennyson! Either you get out of my way, or I’ll make you get out of my way.” Gwen shivered at the anger in his voice. Would he really hurt Ben? She held her breath, waiting.

Ben stood his ground, legs shaking as the ground rumbled. Kevin growled, the sound causing Gwen’s heart to squeeze painfully. Then he grinned, a bone-chillingly excited glow entering his eyes. He was going to enjoy this.

“Well, well, well. If you insist.” Kevin flexed his hands, knuckles popping. Ben just stood there, face impassively neutral.

“Ben!” Gwen yelled. She couldn’t bring herself to address Kevin. “Ben, come on! You’re not going to stay, right?” Ben turned wide eyes on her, and her heart damn near skipped a beat. “No.” He turned back to Kevin wordlessly. “No!” She lunged forward, about to grab her stupid, stupid cousin and drag him away. Before she could even take three steps, Kevin slammed his tail into one of the wooden supporting beams, then into the wall of the tunnel.

The stone crashed down, blocking her path and her view of her cousin. The loose rocks began to tumble down, falling on top of her, forcing her to flee. Without another option, she threw up a shield and ran.

Eventually, the cave-in slowed, and Gwen stopped running, breathing hard. Once she was certain everything was silent and she was alone, she dropped the shield and sank to the ground near the wall of rocks separating her from Ben and Kevin.

Her eyes welled up, and it wasn’t long before she was sobbing. She wasn’t sure who she was crying for; brave, selfless Ben, who had just willingly chosen to fight a homicidal mutant unarmed, or Ben, avenging the unjust death of his friend the only way his power-maddened mind knew how.

It hardly mattered, as she wept until she could weep no longer. Both her closest friends were trapped, either dead or fighting to the death. When she resurfaced, would she still have both of them? She was about to break down wailing again when an odd noise halted her.

It was the rustling of rocks crumbling against each other, which was normal. But there was another sound, one that sounded like squelching, as if a viscous liquid was being forced through a small opening. It was so unexpected that she glanced around, trying to see what could be causing that noise.

Then she saw it, a lime-green liquid oozing from the wall of rocks left behind by the cave-in. She watched, dumbfounded and in shock, as the liquid continued to gather, congealing into the beginnings of a familiar shape. It- it couldn’t be. Right?

A bright flash of light blinded her dark-adjusted eyes. When the white spots faded from her vision, tears began to blur it again as she took in the sight in front of her.

“Ben!” And it was. Standing in front of her, jacket ripped and soot-covered, was her cousin. Gwen nearly bowled him over by tackling him with a hug. He laughed, the sound lacking humor, and gently returned the hug. Gwen pulled away, feeling him tense at the sudden movement. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“A little beat up, but it’s nothing I can’t handle,” he responded nonchalantly, and from what Gwen could tell, truthfully. Small cuts and bruises littered his face and arms, but he looked otherwise alright. Sobering and swallowing, she asked,

“And Kevin?” She held her breath, Ben’s expression giving away nothing.

“He’s alright as far as I know. I left as soon as the Omnitrix could be activated and I was sure no one was around to get hurt.” He paused, looking down at his scuffed shoes. “I’m sorry, Gwen. I should have- I don’t know. Done something, I guess.” He looked so guilty that, despite her own anger at hearing no progress with Kevin, she stopped him.

“It’s fine. You did what you had to. It’s not your fault he was going to k- hurt you.” Ben looked up at her, gaze hardening.

“He was going to kill me, Gwen. We can’t afford to play nice anymore.” She wanted to argue, she really did, but she was just so tired. She sighed, stepping forward.

“Let’s go home. We’ll talk about this later.” Ben didn’t argue, he just fell into step beside her. They walked silently, neither one daring to broach the subject of the day’s events or the future.

As they reached the mine entrance, Gwen glanced back in, wondering where Kevin had ended up. She couldn’t help but feel that something had changed, as though the dust from the mines had caused some chemical reaction, and now maybe everything was broken. Shaking her head, she sped up to reach Ben, and they left together, walking side by side but feeling miles apart.

#ben 10 #ben tennyson #gwen tennyson #kevin levin #hurt/comfort #ben tennyson whump #my writing #ben 10 uaf

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caniruineverything · 2 months ago

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while you were saving your neck, i've been breaking mine for you

Chapter 2: Trat-ska

Kind of a lighter one, I think. Enjoy!

The second time it happened, Gwen was still pretty surprised. Sure, he’d done it before, but it wasn’t exactly a pattern yet. All the same, she still cursed herself for not anticipating it.

They had been sent to protect the princess of some planet none of them had ever heard of. She was agreeable, and the four got along well enough. And like so many missions before it, things were fine, until they suddenly weren’t.

Ben and Kevin were bickering playfully as the latter drove, and Gwen, in the backseat with the princess, felt a sense of peace wash over her. She likely would have fallen asleep if a loud noise hadn’t sounded just a few feet from the car.

Rubbing at her eyes, Gwen asked, “What was that?”

Kevin cursed. “Those stupid aliens found us.” He said nothing else, just jerked the steering wheel and began evading whatever was chasing them. Ben turned around and looked at her, eyes wide. Her heartbeat quickened, and she stared back.

“Ben,” she intoned severely, “who is chasing us?” He winced and paused before answering.

“Um, the people looking for Princess Trat-ska. They, um, they have a Techadon, too.” Great. Before she could prod her cousin for details, Kevin spoke up.

“When I stop the car, get ready to run!” Gwen tensed, startled, and her hand dashed to unbuckle her seatbelt. The car stilled, and all four occupants scrambled out, the princess in the middle. Gwen threw up a mana shield, and they all ran for cover.

The Techadon, or what Gwen assumed was probably a Techadon, as she wasn’t exactly able to turn around and look at it, kept shooting at them. She could feel her shield weakening with every blast it absorbed.

“Guys, I can’t keep this up forever!” she warned. Ben nodded, reaching for his left wrist. Kevin grabbed it before he could slap the Omnitrix.

“Tennyson, wait. That thing’s too strong.”

“Well, what do you propose we do? Try to persuade it not to kill us?” The sarcasm in Ben’s voice was scathing, and Kevin glared at him, opening his mouth to respond in kind.

“Boys!” Gwen interrupted, annoyed, “Not the time!” They both sighed, rather dramatically in Gwen’s opinion. They managed to find a small corner to hide in just before Gwen’s shield gave out.

All breathing heavily, they stood there for a moment before getting right back into business. The princess, who hadn;t said a word for quite some time, faced Ben.

“Benjamin, what are we going to do?” The fear on her face and her quivering voice tugged at Gwen’s heartstrings, and one look at Ben told her he felt the same.

Brows furrowed in worry and determination, he responded, “We’re gonna take it down.” Kevin nodded, his face a mask of solemn anger, perfect for fighting with. He grabbed the side of the building they were hiding behind, allowing the strong metal to cover his body.

Sometimes, Gwen allowed herself to be mesmerised when he did that, but now was so not the time. Her fists lit up, mana collecting around them. Ben flicked through the Omnitrix, then let his hand fall. With a flash, her cousin’s scrawny form was gone, replaced by the round, armored body of Brainstorm.

And then they were launching themselves at the Techadon and the ship hovering nearby. Gwen let the blur of the battle take hold of her as she launched projectiles and dodged strikes. She vaguely registered the sounds of Ben and Kevin doing the same.

It didn’t occur to Gwen that they’d left the princess alone until she heard the girl cry out. Gwen whipped around, eyes shaking the scene to find Trat-ska. The girl was surrounded and she looked utterly terrified.

Before Gwen could think of a plan, the aliens had moved closer, one of them holding what Gwen assumed to be a knife to her throat. Well, shit.

Gwen, Ben, and Kevin froze, all unsure of what to do to get out of this seemingly hopeless scenario. They had had one job - protect the princess - and they had failed miserably.

The alien holding Trat-ska began to bark orders at the three supposed heroes: “Don’t move, put your hands up!” They acquiesced, though it was through gritted teeth. “Now, we’re leaving here with one of you- it doesn’t have to be her.”

“Wait,” Ben interrupted, “one of us can go instead, and you’ll release her?” Gwen was beginning to see where this was headed, and she definitely didn’t like it.

“Yes,” replied Trat-ska’s captor. “Any one of you will fetch a better price than Little Miss Royalty here. Especially you, Ben Tennyson.”

“I’m flattered.” No, Ben! Her cousin could be an idiot sometimes. Quite often, actually. “Take me instead.” His voice left no room for argument from Gwen or Kevin.

The alien, who appeared to be the leader, nodded at Ben, who stepped forward. As soon as he was close enough, other aliens surrounded him. They grabbed his arms, separating them so he couldn’t reach the Omnitrix, and forced him to his knees. Trat-ska’s captor released her roughly, pushing her away. She stumbled a few steps forward before she reached Gwen, who steadied her.

The poor girl was shaking, but Gwen was too preoccupied with watching her cousin and desperately trying to come up with a plan to focus on comforting her.

The aliens began loading Ben onto the ship, Gwen and Kevin watching helplessly. That was when they made a crucial mistake.

In order to push Ben forward, the aliens let go of his arms. Ben wasn’t stupid; he immediately slammed his hand down onto the Omnitrix, which luckily seemed to be working properly. With a bright flash, Ben’s human frame was gone, Way Big’s towering silhouette taking its place.

One giant foot smashed the alien’s ship, while a massive hand ripped a large piece of metal off it, wrapping it around the aliens. Once he was sure the aliens were trapped, Ben detransformed, looking far too pleased with himself for Gwen’s liking.

She distracted herself by calling the Plumbers and telling them to come arrest the aliens. Trat-ska shakily asked if they could hide her in Plumber headquarters for a bit. Then the four of them walked back to where they’d run out of the car.

Gwen was just about to pull Ben aside and lecture him for being a world-class idiot when she was interrupted by Kevin’s distraught cry.

“My ride! Again?”

#ben 10 #ben tennyson #gwen tennyson #kevin levin #ben tennyson whump #hurt/comfort #my writing #ben 10 uaf

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caniruineverything · 2 months ago

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while you were saving your neck, i've been breaking mine for you

Chapter 1: Vilgax

Had to start off with a classic villain!

It took Gwen a while to notice it. In her defense, she had a lot of things going on in her life, and each battle blurred into the next. But once she did notice it, it was impossible to miss. She had known for a long time that her cousin was reckless, often running headfirst into battle without thinking twice.

Recently, however, he had been far too eager to sacrifice himself. The first time she was aware of it happening, she didn’t realize until it was over.

The battle had been going well by all accounts. That is, until Vilgax arrived.

“Really?” she heard her cousin complain, “I thought we got rid of you. Looking to get your ass kicked again?”

“Ah, Tennyson, always a pleasure. You and your little team may have beaten me before, but I have grown stronger while you remain the same.” Ben leapt at him, suddenly in Humungousaur form, but Vilgax blocked his strike easily.

Ben grunted in pain, going in for another strike. This one, too, was blocked with ease, and Vilgax landed a strong hit that sent Ben flying back.

“Ben!” Gwen cried, launching mana projectiles at Vilgax, who laughed in response. He shrugged every attack off, striding closer to Gwen. Kevin, covered in metal, stood in front of her, stance wide.

Ben struggled upright, then went for Vilgax again. The two struggled against each other while Kevin and Gwen launched attacks from the ground. Still, it was obvious nothing they were doing was helping, and Ben was losing.

With a roar, Vilgax pushed against Ben, sending the Vaxasaurian flying back again. Ben was still for a few terrifying moments, before he groaned and pushed himself up, the Omnitrix timing out and sending Ben back into his human form.

With Ben still recovering, Vilgax turned his attention on Gwen and Kevin, backing them against a wall. Gwen threw up a mana shield, but Vilgax broke through it easily.

Gwen glanced back at her cousin, who was standing again. He was looking back at her, eyes wide with fear for her and Kevin, frozen. Grinning, Vilgax turned to Ben.

“Yes, hero. You’ve lost. Now, hand over the Omintrix and I will let your teammates live.”

“Ben, don’t!” Gwen yelled, seeing Ben hesitate. He looked over at her, and she saw his expression harden as he became determined. Gwen hoped the determination was to find another way, but her heart sank as she watched Ben walk slowly over to Vilgax.

He reached for the watch on his wrist, entering the detachment command and password. He pulled the loose watch off his wrist, then placed it into Vilgax’s open hand. He went to walk away, but Vilgax stopped him.

“No, hero. I said I would let your teammates go, not you. I will not risk you taking the Omnitrix back again.”

No!, Gwen thought, heart beating faster. What was Ben doing? As she watched Ben walk back to Vilgax, face set, she realized that he probably had a plan. She was proven right when Grandpa Max and several other Plumbers arrived. She breathed a massive sigh of relief.

The Plumbers made quick work of Vilgax, and he quickly retreated, running back to his ship. Max held the Omnitrix out to Ben, who strapped it back onto his wrist, tension releasing from his body.

As they walked back to their ships, Gwen had one question.

“How did Ben contact you without the Omnitrix?”

Max looked confused, brows furrowing. “He didn’t contact us. We got an alert that Vilgax’s ship was seen by a Plumber in the area and came to check it out.” He hugged Gwen tightly, then boarded his own ship.

Gwen walked back to the car, more questions bubbling up in her mind. Before Ben got into the car, Gwen pulled him aside.

“Were you really going to let Vilgax take the Omnitrix and kill you?” She was praying that his answer would be that he would never do that, that he’d had a different plan. But instead, he just looked at her.

“What else could I have done? He had you and Kevin surrounded. Besides, everything turned out alright. It doesn’t matter. Now, come on, let's go home. I want to get chili fries.”

It did matter to Gwen, however. She didn’t want to believe that her cousin had almost willingly walked into his death, but that was exactly what had happened.

#ben 10 #ben tennyson #gwen tennyson #kevin levin #my writing #ben 10 uaf #hurt/comfort #ben tennyson whump

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