Hello all, here's a fanfiction for the show Ben10. I feel like I should warn you that this story contains the following, besides the usual stuff: Size stealing, magic, and alien transformations.
Enjoy :)
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You know, there's a certain kind of silence that only exists at sunrise, when the world's still shaking off the last bits of sleep. It's both peaceful and haunting. You'd think that going on a cross-country trip to fight aliens and other monsters would be hectic and chaotic as all hells, you'd be right most times. But As I lean against the hood of the Rustbucket, and watch with interest the morning sun climbing over the hills like it had nowhere better to be, this type of quiet, I wouldn't find it in anywhere else, and I trust me, I've been all around the universe and even beyond.
"Heh, look at me being all melancholic and philosophical... " I mumble under my breath with a sigh. I can hear Grandpa Max clanging around inside the van, looks like he's awake. Probably going to cook us something both unholy and delicious for breakfast. Gwen is sitting cross-legged nearby, her nose buried in a book like always. She's wearing a white T-shirt with some rock band logo on it's front, probably one of Kevin's, and a short summer skirt, one of those with random, colorful designs on them. When I look at her, me and grandpa Max, I can't help but get this feeling of nostalgia. Eighteen years old and not much has changed... Except everything did change.
We're older now. College-bound. Adults, one might say. But something about this trip has been gnawing at me since we left Bellwood two weeks ago. It was supposed to be a final farewell to our childhood, a way to say goodbye to the cross-country chaos we used to live for. The kind of summer vacation where aliens show up, lasers fly, and Gwen and I bicker like it was a competitive sport. So far, though? It had been... normal. Too normal.
"Miss the action?" Gwen asks, not looking up from her book.
I give her a sideways glance. "You're a telepath now?"
"No, you just sigh a lot." she flatly replies.
She's not wrong. I do miss it, the unpredictability, the adrenaline, the way the Omnitrix would glow and my pulse would race. Don't get me wrong, I am grateful for the peace. But there's something about peace that makes you realize how much you've gotten used to chaos.
"I guess I do... Don't you?" I ask back, leaning on my side to face her.
She scoffs. "God, no. I much prefer enjoying a normal, teenager's life without all that ruckus."
"Are you suuuuuuuure?" I rest my chin on my hands as I eye her, waiting for her answer.
Gwen tears her eyes from her book and locks them with mine for a second. She seems to think about her answer for a brief moment before rolling her eyes. "Well, maybe a little bit." She finally says as she closes her book. She gives me a cheeky grin. "What? Did you think I actually liked getting into fights with you, you big goof?" She adds as she gets up and gets closer, leaning against the van beside me.
I grin back. "Honestly? Yes." I laugh and so does Gwen.
She pulls a lock of her hair behind her ear before she playfully pushes my shoulder away. "What do you think Grandpa is going to make us today?"
I shrug my shoulders. "No idea, but I feel like having something sweet right now."
"Yeah? Why am I not even surprised..." She rolls her eyes as she sees me reach out for the Omnitrix on my left wrist.
"A nice smoothie should quench my morning sweet craving..." I grin as I quickly flip through my roster. "Wanna tag along?" I ask as I lock onto the figure I was looking for.
"I don't know... grandpa-"
"-Is going to be fiiiiiiiine." I cut her then slap my watch. Instantly, a wave of green energy surges through me, crawling over my skin like fire and lightning all at once. My body shivers and snaps, muscles reshaping, bones compressing and elongating. My feet stretch and twist backwards into sharp, talon-like claws that click as they meet the ground. My spine elongates and my tailbone becomes a tail.
A helmet slides over my face like liquid steel, forming a sleek aerodynamic shell, my eyes glowing a bright neon blue behind the black visor. I could feel the world beginning to slow down around me. Or maybe I'm just moving faster.
"XLR8!!" I shout with glee.
I extend a hand to Gwen. "C'mon, Gwen. We'll be back in a flash." I joke.
She hesitates for a second then grabs my hand. "Grandpa Max, we're going to town for a bi-iiiiiiiIIIIII-!!!!!" Before she could finish her sentence, we bolt off towards the nearby town. Gwen yelps as she grabs on for dear life as we shoot through the desert like a speeding comet.
"Ya-hoooooooooooo!" I yell. "Feels great, doesn't it?"
She gives a short chuckle, trying to mask her obvious fear of this sort of trip, "Yeah! Sure...!" she lies.
"Ha! Don't worry, Gwen." I tell her with confidence. "I'll go slowly for you." I push myself forward as we approach a busy road, Gwen tightens her hold around my shoulders.
The world is a blur, colors and shapes just flashing by as I run across the land, faster than the eye can see. The road beneath my feet seems to warp and buckle, cars appear out of nowhere, like bugs suddenly flashing under your car's high beam, then disappear behind us.
And just like that, within maybe a couple of minutes or so, we're here. A small place with maybe a couple thousand people. Gwen and I stop just in front of the first shop. "How was that, slow enough for you?" I tease, and Gwen almost falls over. I catch her just before she does, a smug smile plastered over my face.
She gives me an angry glance and slaps me playfully across my arm, I laugh in return.
"Ooookay, that was fun and all... But let's never do that again." She retorts as she fixes her fiery hair and her shirt, making sure to put the rest of her dignity back together. "That wasn't the best of my decisions..."
I laugh again as I retract my helmet and turn back into myself. "You don't know how to have fun is all, dork." I playfully shoot as I wave to the astonished bystanders that just saw me turn from a tall lizard like thing to a handsome young man. "Want me to get you something? My treat." I say as I push the glass door of the fast food place and enter.
"Well, in that case, how could I refuse."
We walk up the counter and a short chubby guy with square glasses takes our order. "Welcome to Mr. Smoothy, what can I get you." He says with a dead tone to his voice. He looks like he doesn't even want to be there... I can't say I don't relate to him right now, though.
