Chapter 2

Ben 10: Omniverse
Frogs of War: Part 1 & 2

"Here's your food, human meat," An Incursean snickered, as it passed the lunch tray underneath the cell door.

Gwen grabbed it and glared with hatred at the guard who just continued to walk off, delivering more trays. She grabbed the bottle of water and set down the food carefully on the floor. "Eat up. We won't have any grub until tonight."

Kevin stared at the tray with distaste. "Great this stuff again? I hate when they serve this."

"Do not complain. We are extremely lucky they have the thought about feeding us and not conquering the rest of earth," Rook looked away.

Whimpers from the bed got everyone's attention and Gwen sighed, "I don't know how much longer Ben's going to last. He doesn't have much time. His heartbeats getting weaker and his body is almost to the point of freezing. We won't have anything good to warm him up and without any medicine.."

"We get it Gwen. But nobody's going to help us. Ben's going to die," Kevin threw his fork down against the floor and crossed his arms, "Why couldn't they just kill him already? I don't wanna see Tennyson suffer anymore."

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"What's that sound?" Max asked glancing towards its source which was aimed towards Ben. "Is that coming from him?"

Gwen slowly walked over to the sprawled boy and stared at it with confusion, realizing it was coming from the omnitrix. She tapped it lightly and jumped back when a large energy source flashed in her eyes. The bottle of water she held in her hands, hit Kevin in the face, who whined in pain.

By the time she could regain her sight, she gasped at she saw the omnitrix's creator, glancing with sorrow at his creation's wielder. "What happened to him?"

She glanced over to her friends and swallowed, "The Incurseans managed to land a hit on Ben. It.. We don't have anything to heal him. He's been surviving on water for a couple days now."

"I wish I had been alerted sooner," Azmuth mumbled and shook his head, "I had designed my omnitrix to alert me if the wielder is in deteriorating health but Benjamin had gotten hurt so often I had changed it for it to trigger if he was in life threatening danger. And unfortunately, it seems to late to assist him."

"No," Gwen whispered and crouched beside the Galvan, "It can't be too late! You're a Galvan, you should have the most advanced medicine around. You can do something right? Right?"

He glanced sadly at her, "His pulse is too weak to save. If I had arrived a couple hours ago, I might have had a chance to help, but it's far spread for that. The infection's spread all over his body; he'll lose feeling to his limbs soon and soon he'll just die from there."

"Azmuth, there must be something. Anything for my grandson," Max begged, "I can't lose him again. Not for a third time."

He glanced down and sighed, "I may have something but I do not guarentee success on it working for him. I would have to freeze his body to a state but warm enough to try and kill the virus from the inside. The only problem is that humans are very sensitive to below average temperatures and if we do it for too long, it could kill him."

"Anything. I can't live without knowing we could of done something to save him," Gwen said, tears springing from her eyes.

"Alright," He nodded and pressed a button on his wrist, which flashed green as everyone disappeared.

All that left was the remains of half eaten food on the floor and the bottle of water in the corner of the room as proof of their existence.

Once everyone had appeared on Galvan Prime, Azmuth immediately yelled for help. "I need the medics here ASAP. Prepare the cryogenic containment for Benjamin Tennyson, stat."

Ben was immediately taken away on a hovercraft as he was continuing to whimper in pain. The metals doors slid shut without another word.

Gwen glanced at the doors with concern, "We can't see him?"

"No dear girl," He shook his head, "My medics like to work alone. They'll alert you of anything once it's complete. By the way, how long were you poor folks in there for?"

"5 days," Rook interrupted.

Azmuth held his head, "It is remarkable to see that he's lived for this long. He's a very strong boy, indeed. I could tell from the food that you were given, it wasn't enough for all of your standards. Relax and go feed yourselves. We'll alert you in a couple hours."

Neither of them complained as the four were led into a large dining room and kitchen, stocked with food. Kevin immediately rushed to the doors and yanked it open, mouth agaped at how good the food looked about now. No honestly concerned on what he was eating, he pulled out a small cake and began to shove large amounts into his mouth. Rook smiled as well and did the same, only with a piece of pie. Max, deciding to go with some of his favorites, grabbed a purple looking dish, which at the sight, nearly made Gwen throw up.

She didn't dare touch food until she knew the condition of her cousin. It wasn't wise, since she hadn't eaten anything fulling for days, but she owed her cousin this. Ben was more valuable than food. Hopefully her help the last couple days was enough to help him survive.

She had fallen asleep and when she awoke, Kevin stood above her with a goofy grin. "Hey cutie."

Gwen rolled her eyes and looked around. Rook and Max were missing so that meant something right? "Where's the others?"

"Seeing Ben."

"Ben's awake?" Her eyes widened. "Why didn't you wake me earlier!"

He shrugged, "He's not technically awake. The doctors or whatever finished the procedure and he's resting. Azmuth said he wasn't sure if the machine worked or not. Ben seems to be the same but he isn't coughing anymore."

"So he's fine for now?" She asked with hope lighting in her eyes.

He nodded, "For now."

Kevin held her hand as he guided her to Ben's temporary room, which didn't look to far from a regular hospital room. When she had arrived, Rook and Max were both playing with a deck of cards beside Ben's bed. They looked up from their game and waved, promptly returning back.

Gwen's eyes soon drifted towards her cousin and she smiled. Ben looked much cleaner than he had a couple days ago. His clothes had been washed and restitched back, looking like it had never been worn before. His hair was washed and combed in place and he was no longer pale, just a normal tan. As Kevin had said, he was no longer coughing or whimpering in pain anymore and he seemed to be in a more peaceful sleep. His torso was wrapped with thick bandages and he had a couple of IVs in his wrist, pumping blood and a couple other meds.

She relaxed gratefully. At least she knew her cousin was fine now.

"How's Benjamin doing?" Azmuth appeared, smiling with satisfaction at his medics work. "I see he's doing better."

"Yeah, the doctors said to wait a couple hours and if he improves from there, then he'll be perfectly fine. He's got a strong fighting chance," Max smiled, "I can't thank you enough Azmuth."

"Do not thank me just yet. We have to wait and see if Ben does indeed wake up. If he does, then you can thank me," He corrected.

"You've never changed your spunk dude," Kevin chuckled, crossing his arms and propping himself on the wall.

The old Galvin grunted, "I will take that as a compliment, young Osmosian. You should watch how you talk to your elders."

A groan of pain interrupted everyone as they shot their heads towards Ben. The teen was managing to open his eyes as slowly rub his eye. Half lit green eyes stared at everyone before Gwen jumped in and hugged her cousin. "Ben! I can't believe you're okay! You don't know how much I'm relieved to know you're alright."

Ben stared at confusion at her and attempted to speak only to close his mouth and hide back into the covers.

Gwen cocked her head and glanced back at Azmuth, "What's wrong with him?"

"Oh dear," Azmuth mumbled and jumped beside Ben, who flinched at the weird alien coming closer to his persona. "I hadn't thought of this being an outcome."

"What the greatest genius in the universe couldn't predict this from happening?" Kevin muttered with anger.

"It was not a outcome I would have thought would come true. It was quite possible but given the circumstances, I had pushed this away for now," He mumbled, studying the clipboard on the table.

Rook frowned and walked closer to Ben, "Are you going to inform us of what went wrong or are we going to have to guess what happened to him?"

"The cryogenic experiment freezes the person or object in use, preventing the infection from spreading faster. We managed to kill off the infection fine but the cold affected his brain. It seems he has amnesia, or short brain damage that will heal in due time. We just have to wait to see what happens," Azmuth finished. "I'm sorry for any incovienence but I had warned you that the machine may not work as I had intended."

Gwen's shoulders dropped, "No, it's our fault. We forgot that you warned us of anything dangerous that could happen to Ben. But at least he's alive, even if he doesn't remember us."

"Yes, I guess it's good to look on the bright side, correct? Try and speak to Ben and see if you spark anything. Just don't rush him and do not let him leave this room unless it's for private purposes. My medics should return in a couple minutes. I again apologize for anything," He said as he vanished once again.

Kevin and Rook glanced at each other, both shrugging at the same time. Gwen stared at the boys with distaste before softly walking over to her cousin and taking a seat. She put a hand on his and squeezed it lightly, "Hey Ben. Do you remember me?"

The boy squinted his eyes for a moment before hesitantly nodding.

Taking that as a good sign to continue, she continued, "Do you remember Grandpa Max?"

Ben nodded.

Rook and Kevin walked over to Gwen's side, who pointed in their direction, "What about Rook?" A shake of his head. "Kevin?" Another shake.

Gwen frowned, "At least we know the period where he kinda remembers things. Before he met Kevin. He's probably haven't even received the omnitrix yet, since he doesn't even remember Azmuth's species."

Max sighed, "Nice detective work Gwen. You should eat. You know Ben's alright, it's the best to eat and keep your energy going."

The Anodite reluctantly nodded, "Fine, Kevin you're coming with me though. I don't wanna walk alone plus I kinda forgot where it was."

"Fine. You're glad I love you."

"Whatever Kev. Hurry up, I'm starving."

The two rushed out the door and Rook walked over to Max sadly, "I cannot believe Ben's memory has been left to a child's. He doesn't remember all the Plumber business, the Omnitrix and myself."

"Ben's been through alot the past couple of days," He laid a hand on the Revonnahgander's shoulder. "We just need to give him some time. He'll pull through."

The next couple of days were productive in Ben's restoration back to health. But as many days there was to grow, there were many days that were extremely worrisome.

The next day, Ben had immediately started to gain more memories; remembering small things about Rook and many dangerous and scary things about Kevin. He had nearly screamed at the sight of grown up Kevin and started to cry in place, angering Gwen to a point and demanding that her boyfriend leave the room for now. He had stomped out and Gwen, realizing what she had done, rushed after him and quickly apologized.

He remembered some of his aliens and some Plumber missions as a teen with the old omnitrix.

His speech had slowly returned, with a small slur on each word as if he wasn't sure he was saying what he meant.

Ben had started a strong road to recovery until a small mistake from the Galvans, nearly made Gwen blast everyone at the sight. Bits and pieces of the infection began to multiply and kill of some somatic cells inside Ben's body, which required a surgery that would do the trick and fix everything.

Azmuth had been cursed out by nearly everyone except Rook, just taking it and explaining what had went wrong. Unfortunately as they were scanning Ben for any traces, it was very difficult to scan through bones with their machinery and hadn't scanned thoroughly to find a small sample left, in front of his heart.

The surgery lasted only a hour, but it was a very stressful one for Gwen. She couldn't sleep, eat, think, with all the worry fixed on Ben's condition. And as soon as it was finished, they had been alerted and she had been the first one to slam open the door and rush to his side.

He looked much better, now looking almost like before all this craziness had happened on earth. He looked healthy and strong and his speech somehow seemed to get much better as they burst through the doors.

"G-Gwe..n?" Ben mumbled, reaching out a hand in her direction.

She rushed towards him and curled her fingers around his soft ones, smiling with tears in her eyes. "I'm so glad you're okay."

He smiled cheekily, "Do.. n-not wor-y ab-out.. me."

Gwen shook her head, "Ben, you know that won't happen."

He just smiled in response.

The surgery had been a success with a couple of surgical marks lining his chest. He was slowly but surely regaining his memories, which made everyone extremely glad that their most powerful ally would be able to help fight the war.

Once Ben had started to learn how to walk again, Max immediately brought everyone over to discuss returning to earth.

"You're kidding, right? You've seen what they did to Ben!How do you know that Attea won't do that again? She'll be furious to see that he's still alive along with the rest of us!" Gwen argued, standing up to emphasize her point.

"You know we can't leave the earth like that. Once Ben's healed up, we need to go back. No matter what," Max countered back. "What about all those innocent people were leaving on earth? We can't just leave them there."

"Max is right," Kevin interrupted, "I don't like the idea of bringing Ben especially in his condition but it's our only chance. The longer we wait, the worse it'll get. We have to act now; we've stalled long enough."

Rook nodded as well leaving Gwen at a 3-1. She huffed, "If Ben gets hurt because of you all, don't blame me. He'll die on his feet!"

"No, I'm all in," A voice agreed behind them. Ben stood there, shakily holding onto a wall and guiding himself towards the small table they sat at. Gwen nearly rushed to his side, scared at how fragile her cousin looked just then. Her spine tingled.

"Ben, no. You can't."

"I can and I will. You can't stop me Gwen."

"You'll die! I-"

"I almost did die Gwen. If I can stop the war with everyone else and free everybody, that'll be well worth it," Ben glanced towards the males, "We leave tomorrow."

"No-!"

"Way to agree Tennyson!"

"Good choice Ben-Dude."

"Nice too see you're agreeing with us finally."

Ben high-fived everyone except Max, learning a large bear hug. Gwen just continued to watch as her cousin shook on his feet, nearly looking like a puppet that dragged their feet around. She could see the small winces of pain on his face when he made a move that hurt his torso. There was no hiding it from her.

When everything calmed, she grabbed Ben's arm and roughly dragged him to the bathroom. He hissed in pain as he regained his balance and glared at her. "What was that for?"

Her eyes lit with mana, "You know exactly what I did that for!" She pointed a finger at his chest, "Don't you dare lie to me Benjamin Kirby Tennyson. Why are you trying to force yourself into this? You know you aren't ready to go out again, let alone try and fight any Incursean."

Ben sighed and glanced at her narrowed green eyes. He chuckled softly and rubbed an arm, "It's that noticeable? I was hoping you wouldn't see."

"Of course I can see it! Ben, you're my cousin. I know alot of things about you, when you're upset, when you're happy, when you're confused. You can't hide anything from me, you should already know. But I think going onto the field is risky, especially for you. I can't.. I can't see you die again Ben. You almost died and I can't go through that stress thinking I could have done something," She whispered softly, "I love you Ben. You mean alot to me. To everyone. You're the planet's.. the universe's last hope. If you die.. then it's over."

He looked away, trying not to meet her gaze, "I know Gwen. Dying.. had a big effect on me. It's not just playtime anymore, I know that. Every mission's serious, no matter the villain. But I have to do this Gwen. I can't just wait, more people are going to suffer because of me. If I'm able to do anything, I have to do it now. I've gotta save earth."

Tears leaked out of her eyes but not sad ones. They were happy, slightly sad ones. She knew her cousin had a responsibility to earth and she couldn't pull him out of that zone. She just had to hope that'd he come back home in one piece. Tackling him in a hug, she gave a small peck to his cheek, "I understand. Just.. please be careful."

He smiled, "I promise."

Gwen was boarding a new ship from Azmuth, right behind her cousin. She glanced at his small limp with worry but waved it away. She was just glad they'd be going home for now, ready to fight the war.

As soon as they had alerted Azmuth of their departure, he had been reluctant on giving them a ship to return with. He was also worried on the status of Ben fighting but had given him the clear once he realized how determined Ben looked to continue fighting. Honoring his wish, he ordered the delivery of a Galvanic Ship, which was expected to arrive in a couple hours.

Ben seemed more fidgety than usual, his eyes darting from place to place. She knew how nervous he was, especially returning home to face.. Attea. At one point, he had fallen asleep, only to wake up screaming, nearly startling everyone to death. Rook offered to watch him else where as everyone stayed there, which was reluctant from Gwen.

Arriving at earth was sooner than they expected only to gasp at the sight. The familiar green and blue color scheme of earth was replaced with black instead of green and a dirty green color instead of the ocean. It looked disguisting.. as if the earth had dumped all their trash into the ocean and exploded every inch of soil. It looked beyond terrible.

"We're suppose to land on that?" Kevin muttered as he drove the ship, towards 'North America'. "Where's Bellwood?"

"There..," Max whispered as he pointed to a small spot on the mirror which was the only piece of green left.

"Did.. Did they leave Bellwood alone?" Gwen asked.

"I highly doubt it."

The ruffian shrugged and moved the ship towards the direction Max had said. As they approached, there were many other green spots but too small to see from outer space. It was mostly trees, which had been miraculously left alone.

"Why'd they leave trees alone?"

"Oxygen. We can't survive without it."

"Oh."

They headed towards the outskirts of Bellwood, which was unaffected. They landed in an open spot under a couple trees before Kevin hit the 'cloak' option. He spun his chair around to meet everyone else, "Well that was fun."

"Fun?"

"Yeah, this is a neat ship."

"C'mon, let's go see if Azmuth packed any food in here. I'm starved."

Gwen rolled her eyes and followed her boyfriend out of the control deck, heading towards the hallway to find anything relating to a kitchen. They passed by a room which held Rook, who was staring right at Ben's sleeping form. Gwen stopped and popped her head into the room.

"How's Ben?"

Rook looked up at her and sighed, "He has been doing worse. I do not think earth is helping to heal his stress."

"I know. He wasn't alright when we got on the ship, and he won't be alright in a couple hours. We just need to give him space. This place must be giving nightmares," Gwen scratched her arm, "Do you want anything to eat? Me and Kevin are looking around for a kitchen."

"Anything small would be great," Rook mumbled, going back into deep thought.

She nodded, gave one last glance in Ben's direction and went off to find Kevin, who trudge on ahead.

They found a pantry full of canned food and vacuum food, which was enough for Kevin grab from jerky from there and tear it open. He happily chewed on it and glanced at Gwen, offering her the bag. She shook her head and searched inside, smiling when she found a couple fresh fruit. She grabbed two bananas and ripped off the skin of one.

"I gotta go back and see Rook," She said after chewing and swallowing. "I promised I get him some food."

He shrugged and continued to eat, "Alright, I'll be in here or in the main deck with Max."

She nodded and rushed off to find Rook.

When she entered, she found Rook in the same stance as before and Ben missing.

"Huh?" She questioned and dropped the banana beside Ben's partner. "Where's Ben?"

"Bathroom," He mumbled and dug into the banana without a second thought, "He did not seem alright when he walked in at first. He has been in there for a couple minutes."

Before she could reply, Ben walked out, looking extremely pale and shaky. His green eyes glanced at hers and he looked away with shame.

"Ben? Are you okay?" Gwen asked softly, reaching to touch his shoulder.

He flinched away and nodded, "Super. Can I just go back to sleep? When do we have to be ready to fight the stupid frogs?"

Ignoring his obvious display of sarcasm, she shrugged, "We need to plan an attack. Once we've got that down, it's showtime. Rest up."

He jumped back into his bed and wrapped the blanket around his body, his face towards the wall. "Already on that."

Gwen sighed softly and glanced once more at Rook, who had gone back into his daze at the wall. She closed the door behind her and looked up when she heard hard footsteps approaching. Of course Kevin, who had a large bag of food in his hand, waved her over and chuckled, "Anything I miss?"

"No," She mumbled and walked off, with her boyfriend following behind her like a lost dog.

"What's up? What happened in there? Ben alright?" He asked, swallowing his food.

She closed her eyes, thoughts racing across her head, "I don't even know. Ben.. Ben doesn't look like he's ready to do anything-let alone fight. I don't think he can handle this."

"Your cousin? He can handle anything; he's proved it enough," Kevin reassured. "Ben'll be fine."

"Rook doesn't even look alright!" She blurted out with disagreement, "I think Ben's conditions starting to take an affect on him."

"How?"

She glared at him, "Because of the way he stares at the wall as if he doesn't know what to do? He looks like he just went through trauma. I don't know what to say or do to help him."

Kevin remained silent as they continued their walk back to the main deck. Gwen could sense his slight discomfort and she could tell how much of a mistake it was trying to force Ben onto the battlefield. If only her Grandpa Max would realize..

"Good news, kiddos!" Max grinned as they passed through the double doors. "I know how to infiltrate their lair without notice. We'll catch them by surprise, shut down their machine and capture the two commanding officers."

"Sounds easy enough."

"What?!" Gwen's eyes widened. "You can't be serious. That was our last plan and look where it took us. We wounded up in a Plumber Jail trapped for days!"

The elder man frowned, "Where else could we attack? We have to attack soon before they realize we've escaped our cells are now hiding in the forest, too close for comfort near the large ship they've had under repair for over a month. We need to do something now."

"..And that would be our cue," Attea grinned as she jumped from her hiding place, along with other frog guards that jumped through the windows or followed behind her. That left the trio completely surrounded by the Incurseans once more. "You didn't think you could come back on earth without my notice? Ha, funny."

"How? We have cloaks all over the ship, there's no way you could find us even with Galvin tech," Kevin scratched his head.

Gwen gave him a glance, "No time for that. We need to warn Rook."

"Already taken care of," The frog princess grinned as two figures were thrown into the room, one left in a headlock. Rook gasped and sputtered, grabbing a hold of his throat. Once he realized his surroundings, he looked at Ben with horror and whispered out, "Brallada."

"Now that we've taken care of everyone on the ship..," Attea glanced at Ben who was struggling with all his might. "How are you still alive Tennyson?"

Ben stopped fighting and his face fell to desperation. "Leave them alone.. please."

"After what I did to you, you think I'm afraid of you?" She smirked, "Think this as a reunion. One that you won't come out of. When I'm done with you, you'll wish you were dead."

He didn't answer as the princess pointed to the others. "Send them to the Incursean prison. Make sure they're each in a different cell this time. I don't want any chances that they'll escape again."

Gwen eyed the guards approaching them and her eyes lit with pink energy. A surge of pink energy blasted everyone back, leaving the four completely unharmed and Ben dazed in the corner. They rushed over to him and Gwen tugged on his arm. "C'mon get up. We don't have all day!"

Ben rubbed his head and followed after him, holding onto Rook for assistance. He could hear the screams of frustration from Attea behind them and he picked up the pace, afraid of seeing her once more. Faint footsteps could be heard behind him and glanced back, only to pull his head back forward. The guards and her were catching up on them and he could feel his energy slightly diminishing.

To his misfortune, he managed to trip over a tree root, leaving him to see white spots for a moment. Rook yanked him to his feet but didn't leave it at that, as he carried him bridal style after Kevin, Gwen and Max. Ben opened his mouth to protest but at the rate the Incurseans were following after, he decided to keep quiet for now.

"Where are we headed to?" Kevin panted, already absorbed as wood and knocking nearby trees down.

"I don't know, just away from here. We need to protect Ben," She gasped as she stopped. Everyone else stopped as well and she put her hands up in the air, "Abeo Exorior."

A pink dome encased them as they blurred and disappeared from sight. Attea and her guards reached their last location and she kicked the ground. "Darn it! Guards, search everywhere for them. Bring me back Ben Tennyson. Alive."

They appeared in abandoned warehouse, far away from Bellwood. Gwen rubbed her head and groaned, "I could kill for some juice."

Kevin rubbed her back, "It's alright babe. Just ignore it for now."

A whine of pain from the other end caught their attention. They rushed to Ben's side, who clutched his stomach tightly. Rook glanced around him and shook his head, "I cannot find any injuries. What is wrong with him?"

Her eyes widened, "The stitches. Those aren't healed yet."

The green eyed boy hissed once more, "I.. I'm fine." He managed to slowly sit up and push them away, "I.. I'll be fine for a while. It just hurts if I move too much.. I'll be fine."

"No, you're in no condition for any fight," Gwen argued pushing the boy against Rook. Ben groaned in pain and she pointed right at him, "See?"

"Doesn't matter. We can't let them win.. not again. I'm going to fight. And you can't stop me," The teen mumbled as he managed to sit up, suppressing the pain coursing through his system.

She pushed the boy, her eyes flashing a menacing pink. "Don't you dare lie to me Benjamin Kirby Tennyson! I can see right through you! You may not think this is a big deal but you're the last hope for earth. If you waste it on a stupid opportunity like this, you'll kill yourself, along with the rest of earth."

The words pierced his mind like a knife through water. He knew.. deep down that Gwen was right but he wasn't ready to admit it to anyone. He needed to fight the frog war, no matter what the costs. Ignoring his injury, he got to his feet and faced her, confident and tall.

"Gwen, I know what's on the line. I know. But if I just sit on the sidelines, I won't help with anything. It's now or never and I prefer now alright? I may not come back alive, but if it helps you guys on having freedom again, then I'll take that chance or any chances. I just have to do what's right," He finished and spun around, heading towards a half open door on the other side of the building. "You can either join me or I'll fight on my own."

Everyone remained speechless as the hero walked out the door, into the open world, crawling with frog aliens and scared, desperate people that wished for their old lives back. Gwen, unable to see her cousin just walking out the door like that, sprinted after him, calling out swears and 'come back here'.

The rest of them followed after, towards the last known direction they had seen Gwen headed.

They stopped at an alleyway, where Ben stood frozen, his eyes fixed on something that horrified him. "No.. They.."

Gwen stopped behind him and matched his gaze, only to shake her head. "Some world's greatest hero, huh?"

"What is wrong with him?" Rook asked at they stopped behind her.

She once again shook her head and stuck her thumb towards the direction he continued to stare at. "Why don't you take a look yourself? It's better if I don't say anything."

They all looked in the direction she pointed at and Max chuckled out of the blue, "The kiddo's hasn't changed, has he?"

"Nope."

"How could they do this to Mr. Smoothy?" He walked carefully towards the destroyed wreck of the smoothie joint, which was crumbled to pieces like a cookie. The only way they could tell it was the designated restaurant, since there was a large sign which remained unharmed miraculously. His head lowered as he tightened his fist. "They can beat me up. They can hurt you guys. They can take over the earth. But nobody touches the smoothie."

Gwen rolled her eyes, "If we died, he wouldn't care. It's just about that smoothie place he's in love with."

Ben glanced over at them, "New plan. We're not attacking them. We'll wait for them to come to us and that's when we'll fight. We're fighting on our terms, not theirs."

Max frowned, "Are you sure that's okay kiddo? What if-"

"I'm sure. It hasn't worked those last two previous times right? This is the time where we change our mistake. They'll come to us; if Attea wants me dead that bad, she'll come."

"So what do we do now, Tennyson?" Kevin crossed his arms.

"Go back to the warehouse Gwen teleported us in. We'll wait there for them to arrive. But I think Attea needs come encouragement to find me," Ben grinned.

"Encouragement? What for?" Rook's face twisted in confusion.

The teen didn't let his smile drop once. "Just a little thing I like to call, sharkbait."

Next chapter, whoo.

Encouragement on this story would be greatly appreciated, since I didn't anything the last chapter. What do you guys think?

~Tortoro15