บท 22: CH 21: Permanent Retirement (E4)
(A/N: A lot of people said Gwen was their first crush, or at least one of their first crushes from their childhood. What about other candidates? Mine was Felicia Hardy aka Black Cat from Spider-Man 1994. I'd get butterflies in my stomach whenever she showed up, man.)
"What do you have that's non-fat with less than 3% sugar?" In the middle of a desert —or something— Gwen asked the store owner while looking at the ice creams with Alistair and Ben. Earning a look from the two for her very specific request when it was just ice cream.
"Napkins." Said the old store owner, grumpily at that, before turning to the boys :"What do you want, kids?" Just as Ben was about to answer, Alistair felt a tingling sensation in the back of his head before the sound of metal clanking outside came. Turning, they saw a fat man along with the goofiest robber —skinny as shit with bunny teeth— that Alistair had seen trying to rob an ATM.
"I'm about to go rocky road." Ben smirked, running outside. Alistair didn't accompany him. No need to, since they were only two idiots. Instead, he set his eyes on the different flavors —but beautiful nonetheless— of ice creams. He licked his teeth. Ice cream would really hit the spot in such hot weather.
"Two chocolate ice creams, sir." He didn't forget to order for Ben. Walking out with two ice creams in hand, he saw the robbers already dealt with and restrained with chains. Probably used XLR8 to deal with them quickly before transforming back. Man, was Master Control awesome.
"Good work, Ben." Max smirked at his grandson, who smirked smugly after grabbing the ice cream Alistair handed to him :"Oh, yeah! I'm ready for anything. Bring it on! What's next?"
"We're heading off to see your aunt Vera for the weekend." Max smiled. Ben didn't share his enthusiasm though :"Aw, boring old aunt Vera? Nooo!" Biting into his ice cream (fucking demon), Alistair walked to the robbers' truck and absorbed it into his Techtrix. You wanna rob, you'll get robbed, bitch.
'So it's that episode, huh? Man, I remember how creepy this episode was when I was a kid. In fact, Ben 10 had a knack for creepy and scary episodes. Ugh, remembering the first time Ghostfreak gained consciousness still sends shivers down my spine. That one eyed, twisted face bastard was the embodiment of all 2000 kids' paralysis demons.'
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"When aunt Vera said she wanted to move away from it all, she really meant it." Gwen said, cleaning the dishes. Ben still looked bored by the idea :"Oh, man. This summer was supposed to be about f-u-n, not hanging out in some old lady's place."
"I like aunt Vera." Gwen smiled, earning frown from her cousin :"Duh. That's because you act like you're 100 years old." Sitting across from Ben, Alistair was sorting out some special cards :"So what's wrong with this aunt Vera that you're so bothered by? Do you dislike her or something? Is she weird?"
"No, it's not like I hate her." Ben groaned, leaning on his palm :"It's just that she's so... boring! *Mumbling* And god forbid her cooking... Jesus Christ, I remember her cooking being the same as grandpa..."
At the mention of the elderly Tennysons, Gwen's enthusiasm left her somewhat. Alistair chuckled :"Well, so far so good in my books. As long as she's not some grumpy old lady who complains about everything, I'm chill with her."
"Of course you would be." Ben rolled his eyes. Sighing, he looked out of the window at the barren land. Looking up from his device, Alistair noticed Ben's weirdness. "What's with you?" He raised an eyebrow, but Ben simply mumbled :"It's nothing."
But Alistair figured it out right away. Bored, lonely eyes staring out the window, seeming to be missing something. Or someone, specifically. He smirked, speaking quietly :"Somebody's lovesick."
"No, I'm not!" He whisper shouted, earning a teasing smirk :"Yes, you are."
"No, I'm not!"
"Yes, you are!"
"No, I'm not!"
"No, you're not."
"Yes, I am! Wait... damn it!" The noiret snickered, putting down his cards and leaning on the table :"What, missing your first crush?"
"... Shut up."
"Hahahaha, I'll take that as a yes. You do know she's married, right? And that she has a kid?"
"Haaah... yeah, that's the annoying part."
"Tell me about it. You meet your first crush, and forget about having a boyfriend, she's already married and has a kid."
"Yeah, talk about being unlucky..."
Smiling in amusement, Alistair got up and sat beside him, patting his shoulder :"It's alright, Ben. That's how life is. You win some, you lose some. There are plenty of fishes in the sea, so don't beat yourself up about it."
"What do you know about life? You know less than me, you have amnesia, dude!" Ben side eyed him. Glaring playfully, Alistair ruffled his head forcefully :"Wow, insensitive much? And what does not having any memories have to do with this? I'm still smarter than you!"
"Ugh, stop that!" He got his head away, fixing his messed up hair with a frown :"What, so you're not even mildly sad they went away? Don't tell me you didn't have even a little bit of a crush on Mrs Saturday, because I won't believe you."
"Of course I did. Bro, she's drop dead gorgeous. I would question my sexuality if I didn't find her attractive. But you see, you just have to give up sometimes. I mean, dude, she has a family and we're literally children the same age as her kid."
"Fair enough..."
"Come on, cheer up, dude! Don't worry, I'm sure you'll score a baddie in the future." 'I mean, Ben was compared to Spider-Man in terms of getting bitches. I just have to make sure he'll end up with an actually good girl, instead of that toxic bitch Kai who's into bestially. God, it pissed me off when he ended up with her.'
"Alright, what are you two whispering about?" Gwen said, sitting in front of them. Alistair shrugged :"Nothing, just boys' talk." Winking at Ben. He wasn't going to give Gwen the chance to tease his pal. And Ben appreciated it, nodding in acknowledgement.
"Is that so?" She narrowed her eyes, but he simply picked up his cards :"That is so." Seeing she won't be getting anything out of it and simply got a smirk from Ben, she rolled her eyes. Gwen leaned on her palm, looking at the cards splattered around on the table :"So what are these cards anyway? Don't tell me Ben corrupted you into being obsessed with sumo slammer cards."
"Hey, sumo slammer cards are awesome!" Ben glared, offended. Alistair smirked :"Nah, don't worry. I don't have bad taste. These are the cards of the game I've gotten interested in." And again, causing Ben to glare :"Dude!"
"Oh, a game that pulled your attention away from your Techtrix? What's the game's name?" Gwen grew curious, and Alistair showed the cards he was putting together :"Yu-Gi-Oh." Even if he was in another world, his spirit of a duelist wouldn't die.
-
"This is gonna be sooo boring!" Ben whimpered at the sight of elderly people everywhere after driving into the city :"Their idea of excitement in this place is probably watching the grass grow." Frowning to himself in boredom, his eyes widened when an old man jumped and flipped in the air when he missed his step and came sliding down the rooftop.
"Whoa! Did you see that?!" Alistair and Gwen, who were on their own computers, looked outside to see nothing except normal elderly. "See what?" Gwen looked up from her laptop :"The heat must be frying that pea-sized brain of yours."
"No, there's something weird here." Alistair looked up from his supercomputer laptop, taking off his earphones he was using to watch Yu-Gi-Oh in peace and speaking loud enough for Max to hear as well :"I can smell it in the air. My senses are telling me something's going on here. We better be careful."
"What? Something weird going on here?" Max frowned :"Are you sure, Al?" Earning a smirk :"Were we wrong with the Krakken, grandpa Max, or not?" Ben nodded beside him :"Yeah! You two didn't believe me then either! But in the end, what happened?"
"Um... well..." Max coughed awkwardly :"Alright, we'll be careful then. Gwen, you don't ignore the boys' warning either. We better be careful. Especially since Alistair said he senses something. I don't know how, but it seems like his sense of danger has been getting sharper gradually. Better safe than sorry, you know?"
"Well... alright, grandpa." Gwen nodded, receiving a smile from the noiret :"Thanks for listening. I'm telling everybody to be careful so nothing bad will happen to us, that's all." Himself receiving a smile from Max :"I know, son. And we're thankful, that's why we'll listen. Isn't that right, kids?"
"Huh, as if I would ignore my best pal's words." Ben slapped Alistair's back with a big grin. Gwen nodded behind her laptop, a small blush on her face that Alistair ignored :"Yeah, thanks, Al. I'll be careful too."
"But what could be going on here?" Max frowned :"There's nothing here except elderly people. What could be dangerous here?" Ben folded his arms, leaning back with a smirk, snickering :"Who knows, maybe there's going to be an alien invasion or something."
'Man, the jinxing here is phenomenal...'
"Nonetheless, be careful." Max reminded.
-
After a bit of driving, they finally came to a stop. Alistair walked out with Ben, who was already frowning while covering his face from the intense heat of the sun :"Seriously, why do old people have to live where it's sooo hot?!"
Behind them, Gwen came out with an evil grin, hiding something behind her. Suddenly, the same feeling of tingling in his head came, and he unconsciously dodged to the side, dodging the water shot of Gwen's water gun.
"Hey!" Ben wasn't so lucky. His neck and shirt got wet and Gwen ran off before he could say anything. Alistair glared at her though :"Don't make me freeze you, Gwen!" But she ignored him while laughing.
Huffing, he looked down at himself :'Am turning to Spider-Man? Now I've got Spider-Sense or something. Not that I'm arguing though.' Just as he thought so, the same feeling was triggered again.
Looking up, he saw an elderly man glaring at them. His mouth opened to a freakish degree as he hissed before twisting his neck to impossible degrees, making it crack all over before he closed the curtains.
"Huh, they really make you feel welcome here." Ben said from beside him. But Alistair caught his attention by tapping his shoulder then pointing at his Nemetrix :"[Unidentified DNA detected, proceeding to scanning. New alien and predator DNA unlocked: Limax, Polymorph (Goop) and Viscosian Shurkez.]"
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[Viscosian Shurkez Description: Predator of both the Limax and Polymorph species. This species has cryokinesis and is able to release very low temperature freezing gas from its body —mainly its hands— that freeze its prey. It then shatters the ice statue and eats it. The ice parts thaw in its stomach and begin to dissolve.]
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Ben's eyes widened in shock, before frowning at Alistair. They nodded at each meaningfully before Max warned with a smile :"Just watch your cheeks. Vera's a pincher."
"Max!"
"Vera!"
An old but healthy lady walked out, arms spread as the siblings shared a hug. Alistair smiled at the scene. Old people could be so wholesome and heartwarming. As the two stopped hugging, Vera smiled at the children :"I can't believe you're finally here."
She hugged Gwen, who rudely didn't return it :"And look at you two." She pinched Gwen's cheeks, shaking her head fondly :"So grown up!" As she let go, Gwen groaned in pain before Vers hugged Ben and did the same. With Ben not returning the hug either. Seriously, did they not know how precious hugs were?
"Ow." Ben groaned at the ache of his cheeks, before Vera noticed and smiled at Alistair :"And who might you be, young man?" Smiling awkwardly, Max tried to explain :"Uhh... actually, Alistair here is a friend of Ben! He joined us on this trip when Ben asked if he wanted to come. Right, Ben?"
"Oh, uh, yeah!" Ben quickly smiled :"Couldn't leave my buddy to feel lonely while I enjoy all the fun!" Smiling politely, Alistair greeted :"Hello, Mrs Tennyson. My name is Alistair Aliyev from Russia. It's a pleasure to meet you."
(A/N: The name literally means Ali's in Russian. Which I thought was literally the best surname for him.)
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