New York City/1:23pm/A Week Later
The last week hadn't been that interesting after leaving sparksville, honestly it was mainly relaxing while driving down the highway, occasional games of eye spy, Gwen practicing with her gauntlets, while I was reading up and trying to understand Omni-energy(with XLR8 I could read at incredibly fast speed but my intelligence was around the same so actually breaking down and understanding the information was difficult to say the least) and occasionally challenging Gwen to a round of video games.
I'd learned a bit but not enough to feel like even a beginner. Using Greymatter I'd been building up a small…well it basically looked like Doctor Who's sonic screwdriver, intentionally made with a colorfully blue and silver plastic outer shell to make it seem like more of a toy.
Gwen looked up from her food, mac and cheese cooked by your's truly, and peered at my creation as I screwed the energy pack into the handle. "What's that supposed to be? Another scanner?"
"Nope" I said, popping the 'p'. "This is an energy ionizer array. Using the little bit of data I understand from the omni energy and the data from that thing of living energy or whatever in sparksville I made this, it creates an energy field that destabilizes other sources of energy, at least if there not shielded"
"Huh..so it'll mess up robot's?" Gwen asks.
I nod. "Yeah, make most robots lose power and if a person gets hit they'll basically feel like they got tased. Safe and useful though I'm currently trying to figure out a good way to increase the uses since the battery only supports five shots, it's just a prototype but it'll definitely be useful if I'm fighting and time out or can't use the watch for some reason"
I close the shutter on the EIA blaster…I'll workshop the name. Anyway I shut the shutter and pick up my pencil to make a few notes in my journal.
I'll need to alter the grip to fit my hand better and I think if I add two capacitors at specific points in the circuit I can cut down on a bit of the energy loss and increase the shot count a bit, the main constraint was having to make it something inconspicuous that a ten year old can carry without anyone raising a fuss, people could make all the jokes they wished about the USA but people would still find a kid open carrying any kind of pistol concerning, especially a laser one.
Maybe I could re-design the field projector and alter the timing a bit to get it less energy intensive? Omni energy had a very shit conversion rate and was a fuel hog to keep it from decaying into a burst of electrons, I'm not sure what the hell Azimuth did to make the Omnitrix battery but it had to be some level of Rick and Morty bullshit.
Putting the EIA down I flipped the page to a big wall of calculations and started reading. The thing was that when I became Greymatter everything because hazy, I had trouble remembering and understanding what the fuck I'd done because my human brain couldn't understand the galvin point of view, at least not yet. While XLR8 was closer to my own intelligence and his speed allowed me to spend hours slowly breaking down and understanding concepts, even then though I had to keep going back and working through the original math at least partly to get my head around how exactly I wanted something to work, or if it was even functionally possible.
This was why I was rereading Greymatter's calculations on a graviton generator and specific corrections to my previous theories, literally backend teaching myself by having Greymatter go over and correct my mistakes and break them down into 'simpler' concepts, the word simpler doing a lot of heavy lifting as it still ended up feeling like I was taking a college course but that was preferable to trying to solve cutting edge engineering mixed with theoretical physics.
"Hey doofus, what are you working on?" Gwen said, lightly poking me with her fork.
Barely paying attention I offhandedly answer, more focused on trying to understand Greymatter's explanation of a calculation. "The math behind a theoretical gravity FTL engine, I had Greymatter write up the plans for a simple one and then dumb down an explanation so I can try and actually learn what the fuck he's doing"
"Gravity engine? English dork" Gwen flicks me in the head, breaking my train of thought.
"God damn it! Uggh~" Pinching the bridge of my nose I put down my pencil and explained. "Take a space ship, instead of using rocket fuel it puts a lot of heavy weight in front of it to pull it forward and makes it really light behind the ship to push it away. I'm trying to figure out the math for how the gravitons specifically warp space time and how exactly you'd calculate it to use as a method of travel, but Greymatter keeps marking my theories as wrong and I can't figure out where I'm messing up on this" "You keep dividing by four instead of multiplying you idiot"
Gwen tilted her head. "Well I don't have any ideas for that but.. you're basically just taking away and giving gravity? Well wouldn't it be easier to make that shoot like a gravity bubble or something?"
Gwen pointed towards the EIA and I rolled my eyes. "I'm already having trouble getting it to properly hold together and fire a coherent stable shot, why would I waste time making it shoot.. gravity bubbles…"
"..."
Gwen stared at me. "Ben? You okay?"
I turn towards her and tilt my head. "Huh? I can't believe it, it's a wonder of the universe. A true fucking miracle"
"What?" Gwen blinked. "What miracle?"
I reach out and pat her head. "You had a good idea!"
Gwen blushes bright red and smacks my hand away. "Fuck you! Raggedy micro dicked hoe!"
We both freeze. "Oooh~ You're in trouble!"
Turning in sync towards the front we see Grandpa looking at us through the mirror. "Ben"
"Yes Grandpa?"
"You're grounded"
"What?! I didn't even do anything!" I slump in my seat pouting, Gwen giggling at my misfortune.
"Gwen" Only to freeze as she remembers she's got her own problems.
"Yes Grandpa?"
"I'm going to call your Mother once we get to the hotel"
"Aww man~" "Hahahaha!"
—
"You've been cursing too much and now you've even got Gwen doing it, so while I'll still let you enjoy the hotel and have fun you won't be allowed to do any reading or science experiments or inventing for a week, Gwen I'll be calling your Mother like I said but I'll also be taking your laptop and phone for a week as well" Grandpa said in between talking to the receptionist and getting us checked in.
""Man, this some bullshit"" Gwen and I complain in sync, Grandpa's eye visibly twitching. "You know he might be right about you corrupting her"
Thanking the receptionist, Grandpa takes the three key cards and lightly swats us on the head with them. "Come on you two potty mouths, I swear"
"Don't do that, I got grounded for it" Was my smart ass response as we headed to the elevator, an exasperated groan coming from Grandpa but at least I got a giggle out of the receptionist.
Heading up to our floor Grandpa runs his eyes tiredly. "Look kiddos, the comedy routine is funny but you can't keep making it a habit"
"Too late" I say while Gwen folds. "Sorry Grandpa"
Immediately we turned on each other like savages.
"Dork"
"Delinquent"
"I'ma go take a shower, say hello to Ken for me" I wave as Grandpa opens the hotel room.
Gwen growls angrily behind me, fully aware I'd won by both getting the first proper hot shower of the whole summer and by successfully avoiding Aunt Nat.
"Eerggh!~ Bastard!"
"Gwen!"
The last thing I hear before going into the bathroom is Grandpa nearly shrieking scandalized at a pair of foul mouth ten year olds, I don't think his heart is going to be able to handle the rest of the summer.
—
I dry my hair with a towel as I step out of the bathroom about an hour later to see Gwen slumped and pouting sitting on one of the beds while Grandpa checks the fridge, getting my stuff put away I turn towards Grandpa. "Hey Grandpa, I saw an arcade on the way over. Can me and Gwen go take a look?"
Grandpa turned towards me while Gwen seemed to get a bit less glum, after a moment of thought Grandpa nodded. "Alright but remember, no science or experiments, you can use the watch if there's trouble but otherwise go to the arcade and come back"
"Sir yes Sir!" I comically salute getting an exasperated sigh from him as I grab Gwen by her hand and drag her towards the door, making her yelp. "Ben! Wait! I haven't gotten to take a shower yet!"
Time to go find the actual delinquent of the series, hopefully I remembered enough of the show to pull this off. "Hehe~ Adorable, you want to save the monster. I hope he tears the watch out of your chest mid transformation"
NYC - Total Zone Arcade/3:36pm/Kayden POV
Spoiler: Tomboy Kayden Emily Levin
Kayden had felt hungry when she'd woken up so after getting up and out of her little hideaway she'd gone, stolen a slice of pizza and headed towards the arcade.
That was a fairly easy way of getting money from some random stupid teenager, they'd give her twenty bucks and she'd go reach behind the machine, 'mess' with the wires and make it shoot out a bunch of coins. She'd been doing this sorta scam for about three weeks at this point, so she'd even started getting repeated customers, but of course things had to go wrong.
"Come on freak, you need to pay us back for our hide out!" The tall lanky teenager of the gang of four teens said as the fat dark skinned one punched her in the side and threw her against the wall, the light of the arcade was dim and the nearest kids had quickly made themselves scarce already, worse the batteries she usually kept in her pocket were dead.
Gritting her teeth she looked between the teenagers and tried to think of a way out, her luck had definitely taken a bad turn.
"Oi! You fat dickless cowards like hurting little girls huh? How about we see how you do against someone who can bust your asses!"
They all turned to see a brown haired shrimp of a boy marching over, taking off his hoodie he threw it towards a girl with red hair and lifted his arms up like something from a boxing or martial arts movie, almost hopping on his feet as he came to a stop about five feet from them. Kayden blinked in surprise at what was happening even as the red head came over to grab her by the arm and pull her behind the boy.
The group of teens laughed. The lanky one confidently spoke. "Aren't you a little young to be away from your mommy brat? Step aside and we won't hurt you"
"All I see is a bunch of losers playing dress up and trying to shake down a little girl like that makes them cool, if you step forward I will send you to the hospital" The boy said confidently.
"Tch~" Lanky rolled his eyes and motioned towards a bald headed boy with piercings in his lip. "Johnny! Fuck this little Mama's boy up!"
Johnny apparently, confidently started stomping towards them and the boy stayed calm, simply calling out one final time. "You sure you want to be the one taking the risk?"
Then it happened, Johnny threw a right hook so hard and with his full body weight she was sure she'd have been lights out if it hit her. The boy who was trying to be a hero just moved, so fluid and fast that she didn't even register what he'd done till after.
Hopping from his front to back foot he twisted and leaned back dodging the punch before his leg snapped out like a whip and hit the inside of Johnny's knee, which bent with a sickening crunch. Before the older teen could make a sound the boy seemed to almost fall up as he planted his foot back on the ground, driving his elbow up with his momentum into the teens throat.
His free hand grabbed the arm that was extended in a punch while the arm currently buried in the teens throat twisted and snapped out to hammer a fist across Johnny's face, with the blow and holding Johnny's arm the boy forced his body to spin while also jumping up, he kicked Johnny in the side and used him to jump back. Johnny flew in a crumpled jeep at his friend's feet while the boy landed directly in front of herself and the redhead, dropping back into a fighting stance.
"""JOHNNY!""" The whole gang shouted in horror and quickly moved to grab their friend.
"Get the fuck out of here and get him to the hospital, he'll need a doctor to reset his knee and check his trichia and liver to make sure there not permanently damaged" The boy advised in a completely smooth calm tone, he didn't even look like he was sweating.
"Y-your all fucking freaks! Let's get the fuck out of here!" The lanky leader said as the gang carried their friend in the fastest group run they could.
They watched them run away and after a moment of silence she couldn't help the laugh that came from her. "H-holy shit! That was so fucking cool! You totally owned them!"
"Hehe, it was nothing" The boy turned and she got a proper look at him, like she thought he was a shortie about a head smaller than her and he was wearing green cargo pants and a white shirt with a black stripe down the middle. He had bright green eyes and his grin was playful as he tilted his head and waved his hand dismissively. "Are you okay? I'm Ben Tennyson and this is my cousin Gwen"
"Hey" Gwen waved, frowning as she glanced at where the teens had run off then glaring at Ben as she handed him his hoodie back. "Did you really have to break his leg? I haven't seen you be that hard on anybody before even in tournaments"
Ben shrugged. "Yeah, mostly because I end up fighting you. And besides in tournaments I'm not fighting losers who A decided to attack a girl half their size and B potentially fighting a group of four, I gave him a chance to back off and I'm not going to let them be able to gang up on me"
Ben then blinks before turning to her. "Right, sorry, what's your name?"
Gwen blushed. "Hehe~ whoops sorry"
She grinned, Ben had saved her from an ass beating and had shown he could definitely fight, she wasn't going to get pissy over them being a bit rude. "No problem, name's Kayden Levin. What were you guys here for?"
Ben shrugged. "Bored and wanted something fun to do"
"Our Grandpa is taking us on a summer road trip and we're staying here for a few days, the hotel is really cool but we wanted to see the city" Gwen elaborated while rolling her eyes.
"Cool" She nodded, pushing down her feeling of jealousy. "Here let me show you a few of the games around here that won't eat your tokens"
"Why were those guys after you?" Gwen asked as they walked, Ben nodded. "Yeah they called you a freak, which is fucked up but what caused that?"
She shrugged. "Well I kinda trashed their old hideout, I've got powers, watch this"
She grabbed an empty bag and walked up to one of the arcade machines, she wasn't sure why she was telling them but honestly she was maybe, just a little bit feeling indebted towards them. She put her hand on the game and zapped it in the specific way she'd found to trigger it and..boom!
All the coins started shooting out of the machine and raining into her bag, easily fifty dollars worth of little metal coins, grinning as that sharp high of a fresh sugary soda and day of playing filled her veins, her body going light and everything sharpening. She looked back to see their reactions.
Ben tilted his head and there was clear interest in his eyes as he looked at what she'd done, he looked like someone examining an interesting puzzle, nerd. Gwen meanwhile had jumped and quickly looked around before getting a look on her face, oh no, Gwen used the one Kayden was very used to. "Hey! We can't take those! They're not ours!"
Uugh, a rules follower. Then she saw Ben open his mouth and braced, fully read for the insul-. "To be fair this isn't exactly a small business and it does look fairly shady, personally I don't like stealing from innocent people but in this instance I don't exactly think anyone is getting hurt by losing…sixty bucks? max"
Gwen growled in a low tone. "Are you kidding me? That doesn't matter! Stealing is wrong and the reason doesn't matter!"
Ben snorted. "Where'd you learn that? Kindergarten? What about an orphan stealing food or someone stealing something dangerous from a bad person? No one is getting hurt and nothing bad is happening that puts anyone or thing in danger"
Ben turns to her now, his expression serious. "Though it would be smart if you are careful and only take what you need, that way it doesn't threaten anyone and no one is likely to notice, whereas if you become a problem then someone is likely to try and stop you and that could be a lot more dangerous than some random teenagers. Also you can think about it like training your control to be more precise"
She definitely didn't agree with that but it honestly didn't make that much difference for her so she shrugged. "Sure, whatever"
"Works for me. Now does this place have an air hockey table? I'm going to beat yo' ass" Ben said with a confident smirk.
Oh! He curses! Maybe he wasn't too much of a nerd. She grinned and grabbed the two by the hands to lead them towards the only working table in the place, well that's if some teen hadn't shoved a bunch of cans into one of the slots till they jammed. "Right this way nerd"
"Hey wait! I still don't agree with this damn it!"
—
"Haha red! That's thirteen to four, you suck ass!"
"Bitch! Bite me you little hussy delinquent!"
"Ooh Red's got some claws for a girl who wears a cat theme"
"Cat's are cute and I'll show you claws! Where's one of them fighting games!?"
"Uggh~ I didn't even get to play a second game damn it"
—
"-two degrees to the left…just a bit lower.. balls slightly heavier so push with a bit more force..shoot! SHIT!"
"Popcorn?"
"Oh! Thanks Red! Soooo? Dork is ass at basketball"
"Couldn't hit a net if his life depended on it"
"The both of you can go to hell!"
—
After about an hour and a half of fun the electric feeling under her skin was fading and her heart beat was calming down, her thoughts had stopped being that weird mix of too fast and too slow as she focused again on what was happening.
Ben was grumbling because they'd tag teamed him on the dino shooter game and kept distracting him so he never made it past level one, hacking the game to give yourself max points didn't count! Meanwhile Red has this cute excited grin because apparently she was competitive and lost that rules shmoolz shit once you poked her buttons properly.
Red was still a goodie two shoes nerd but she was alright and they both found it funny to poke fun at the actual dork whenever he did something nerdy. Though there were a few times he was cool, like how he cursed all the time like a sailor(holy shit did he curse, her mother would have cut out her tongue if she'd said the word cunt in front of her) and how he told off one of the employees who tried to tell them the fucking machines weren't bugged and that they were just bad.
She grinned and laughed as they quickly ran out of the arcade and down the street, Red next to her and Ben in front of them as they turned a corner, angry teenagers yelling behind them.
Once safely hidden behind the wall they stopped and she couldn't help busting out laughing. "Holy shit! Hehaheha~ Did you see her face? It looked like it fucking imploded when you called her a bald faced chimp with cunt hair taped to her lip! Hehehhehehhe~"
She couldn't help giggling as she leaned against the wall. Ben chuckled while Red lived up to her new nickname with her face matching the shade of her hair, Gwen groaned and put her hands over her face. "Uuuhgh~ That was mortifying! Damn it Ben, why do you always have to cause so many problems? S-sorry Kayden, I hope you don't get permanently kicked out?"
Ben flinched when Gwen said that and looked at her guiltily. "Shit. Sorry Kayden, I-i didn't mean to get you in trouble. I just got pissed"
She waved it off. "It's fine. That place is too cheap to use camera's or enforce anything, hell I'm pretty sure a couple of those teens aren't even getting paid properly with how they always complain, so I can just wait a month or so and come back and they'll have forgotten all about it. Besides there's another arcade like ten blocks from here that I can go to in the meantime though it's smaller"
After thinking about it for a moment she grinned. "Hey, follow me to my place! Come on!"
"Whoa!" Red yelped as she grabbed them by the hands and started pulling them along.
"Yeah alright" Ben agreed easily.
Gwen bit her lip and looked worried for a moment before nodding. "Grandpa shouldn't mind"
"Yes!" She cheered and let go of them once she was sure they were following behind her.
"Oh, by the way, how'd you get your powers? What are they specifically?" Red asked before tilting her head and guessing. "Making tech malfunction?"
She shook her head. "No, I absorb energy, car batteries, air conditioners, motors, whatever I can touch. Been this way my whole life"
"Huh. Do things get colder when you drain them? Has anything ever started falling apart or changing color?" Ben asked curiously.
She blinked in confusion. "Uuuh..no? Not that I've noticed. Why?"
Ben started explaining, going into lecture mode like a teacher. "Because if it doesn't get colder then you're not absorbing heat energy, meaning you're likely stuck with electrical energy for now and if stuff isn't changing when you drain it then you're not changing it's innate atomic charge but instead siphoning it's free energy, meaning most likely you can't change matter"
Her and Red looked at each other and then in sync turned to Ben and said. ""Dork""
"Hey!"
They she would admit in the privacy of her own head that it was a little cute how he explained it in a simpler way than any of her teachers ever would have without trying to make her feel stupid, assholes.
Shaking her head she focused on the present and asked a question she'd been wondering. "Where'd you learn to fight like that?"
"Martial arts classes" Ben says with a shrug. "I've tried out a ton of different ones over the years, sometimes multiple at once. Boxing, jujutsu, muay thai, krav maga, wing chun, Gwen and I take karate together"
She blinked. "Okay what the fuck Bruce Lee, you and Red just learning everything? Do you two sleep?"
"Oh no, don't lump me in with him, he's weird" Gwen shook her head insistently, her tone sounds just a tab bitter. "He'll take a class for like two months or something and then just quit and go to another one, the only reason he's able to do that is because all the classes are run in the same building and his parents don't really mind as long as he stays in karate because apparently they want us to keep being 'friends'"
Ben shrugged. "I learn the cool moves that work and are important and skip all the basic crap. Every martial art teaches you how to punch or kick, some better than others, so learning that repeatedly is useless. Just focus on the specific part of the style that's really good and ignore the fluff, gets rid of like ninety percent of the lessons…as long as you know how to fight from the beginning anyway"
"Whatever. I still say you're no fun to spar against, you damn near broke my arm that one time because you decided to go MMA during practice"
"Hey I said sorry, it was instinctive. And besides you punch too damn hard anyway"
She just shook her head. These two were fucking crazy, she loved it!
NYC - Abandoned Subway Station/5:07pm/Gwen POV
Gwen blinked in confusion as her eyes adjusted to the low light. Her, Ben and the girl they'd recently met, Kayden, walking down the steps into an abandoned subway station, different random junk like arcade machines, fluid lights, fridges and boxes everywhere, the entrance was boarded up mostly except for a doorway that had been cut into it at some point.
She'd only come down here because she'd thought they were going to take the subway..was this Kayden's home?
"Welcome to mi casa!" Kayden said with a big grin.
"Huh..like to live messy?" Ben said pointing to a bed roll on the floor in one of the corners, clothes half hazardly tossed all around it like a mine field, including a pair of Captain Planet print boyshorts hanging from a lamp. "Captain Planet's pretty on the nose though don't you think?"
"Hey! Don't look at those!" Kayden yelled with a blush that covered her nose and cheeks before running over and snatching the underwear and hiding them behind her back, much to Ben's amusement as he laughed.
Meanwhile she kept looking around, she couldn't help frowning as she noticed more stuff that didn't make sense being down here. She had a bad feeling and the nonchalant rule breaking attitude Kayden showed was starting to make her dislike her, sure she was fun to play against since it didn't feel like she was three steps ahead all the time like with Ben, but the way Kayden acted made her feel like she was always breaking some rule.
She didn't know what rule or how many times, but just constantly breaking it, it left her feeling off balance.
"Hehe. Cute choice in clothing aside, what's with the living situation?" Ben asked, taking a seat on a crate and after a moment she decided to join him, at least she'd have an easier time smacking him if he said something stupid.
Kayden blushed harder and coughed to clear her throat. "Right! Subject change. W-well..honestly this has been my home for the last few months, nothing big"
Ben frowned and she wasn't far behind him, he leaned forward and asked. "So you've been living on the street homeless for a few months now? Why? Does it have something to do with your powers"
Kayden flinched slightly before quickly hiding it, she frowned and crossed her arms before huffing. "Yeah. Trashed my old home and got kicked out, stole a bike and used it to get here"
Ben blinked. "So you can't control your powers?"
Kayden glared and spoke in an angry tone. "No, I've gotten better! I'm perfectly in control!"
"Really?" Ben raised an eyebrow. "Soo it wasn't an accident that you trashed those guys place too?"
Kayden flinched again and looked away. "Shut up! I knew perfectly well what the hell I was doing. They were assholes and one of them shouldn't have beaned me over the head with a pipe while I was absorbing energy and I wouldn't have blown their place up"
"Uuh..that sounds like you lost control" Gwen found herself saying hesitantly as she tilted her head. "How often exactly have you done that? Just..pop out all that energy you've absorbed?"
Kayden grit her teeth and Gwen immediately noticed her hands sparking as they clinched. "Whenever I want, because I have control! A few gangs and losers have seen me as a freak and I've made sure to fry them, it's what they deserve and it sends them running!"
Gwen frowned even harder and behind her back she carefully adjusted the settings on her bracelets, the dial softly clicking to the yellow setting that Ben had explained would hurt a person but shouldn't be lethal as long as she didn't go overboard or hit someone somewhere important like the head, then she flipped her left bracelet to shield mode just in case.
'Maybe they're right' Gwen thought as she thought about this girl living on the street and taking stuff, trashing houses and not caring about who she hurts.
Did she recognize it as unkind? Of course. But she was also hearing a girl repeatedly say she was justified in hurting people, destroying and stealing things just because people were mean. Boo hoo, bullies used the same excuse at her school.
Before she can speak though Ben jumps down from the crate and claps his hands, nodding with a big grin. "Alright then, that just means we know what to do! I've got a little experience with handling different abilities so let's see if I can't figure out how to help you"
'Wait…is this idiot seriously..?'
Kayden and herself blinked in confusion and the delinquent asked. "Wait..you've got powers too?"
"Ehh~? Sorta" Ben shrugged. Then he held up his wrist like a fucking dumbass. "My watch lets me turn into ten different aliens or whatever and they each have a cool power"
"Wait you idi-!
She was cut off as Ben transformed in a flash of green light.
Spoiler: Heatblast!
She blinked as the spots left her eyes. Kayden had a wide eyed stare and then a big toothed grin split her face wide as she cheered. "Cool! Your on fucking fire!"
She on the other hand growled and smacked the idiot's arm, the arm of Heatblast only mildly warm. "Why would you show her the watch idiot!? It's supposed to be a secret!"
Ben turned to her and waved dismissively. "Gwen it's fine, trust me. She trusted us enough to tell us about her abilities, I'm not going to be a jerk and hide it from her"
Ben turned and rock shifted as the flaming 'skull' grinned creepily, its head tilted just so and she just knew he'd be giving what he thought was a goofy reassuring smile if he was human. "So let's see what you can do Kay, set up some targets and we can work on your aim and control"
"Cool!"
Gwen stayed back, hesitantly watching as Ben and Kayden started setting up targets. Ben first had Kayden try shooting at cans, then try manipulating her energy to curve it, then he started sending small fireballs flying back and forth as a distraction to force Kayden to concentrate.
The whole time he kept calling her 'Kay'.
She had a bad feeling about this.
New York City Skyline/7:28pm/Kayden POV
"HOOLLLY SHHIIIT!"
Kayden was grinning ear to ear as Ben carried her while flying in some weird bug form, he'd offered to take her flying and now she was weaving between skyscrapers! She spoke in a yell trying to be heard over Ben's loud ass flying.
"This is awesome!"
Kayden looks up at the bug/alien/thing Ben had transformed into.
Spoiler: Stinkfly
"I'm taking us higher up, the wind won't be as strong above the buildings!" Ben spoke in a wet voice, like his throat was filled with slimy mucus.
She cheered kicking her legs as they flew up and around buildings, the big electronic billboards advertising whatever bullshit and providing bright lights all around making for an incredible sight. As they burst out of the tight feeling confines of the buildings into the open sky there's a rush of air, she feels herself gasping sharply from how the pressure and rushing wind just suddenly cuts away.
"You can do this whenever? Just transform and fly around? Lucky!" She said with a laugh, no longer having to yell to be heard. She gazed down at the speeding cars and little dots of people going about. "Everyone looks so small up here"
One of Ben's eye/tentacle/thing's turned to look back at her, the others fanning out to keep a view in every direction. Ben gave a considerate hum before speaking. "Yes, humanity as a whole is small, I think that's one of the benefits of being able to fly, to get that reminder. Maybe that's what the astronauts that have gone to the moon meant when they talk about a 'global oriented consciousness', it's a good reminder that we're all just some apes from Africa that learned to tell stories and throw things"
Kayden frowned annoyed at herself at not really understanding what he meant but the tone, how he spoke of such things so easily, maybe it was just that hype of flying but she felt herself flushing and her chest felt warm. She was missing some of the information he had, that was annoying and stung her pride, she could get the gist of it but the fact this nerd just could randomly pull out something smart to say about whatever got her feeling competitive and..also…something else?
"Countries destroy their own or others land, businesses drain their workers for pennies, the rich hoard more money than they could use in a hundred lifetimes, the poor complain about their lives while dividing themselves and acting like their separate groups instead of one whole. Humans are stupid storytellers eager to throw stones and well practiced at telling the right lie to get a target" Ben shook his head, his tone somber and suddenly she was reminded of that first week when she had to figure out where to get her pads after running away, that had been a very humbling week till that old lady in an alley helped her. "Petty things that don't really matter. Like the arcade machines in your house that you obviously stole or how you've been picking fights with gangs"
Kayden jolted. "Huh? H-how..!?
She trailed off and Ben scoffed. "It's not that hard to figure out. You aren't exactly subtle"
She growled and crossed her arms, turning her head away from him and his accusing eye tentacle thingie. "Fuck you. I don't care about any of them, they're all just assholes and jerks that think I'm a freak, it doesn't matter if I'm stealing or fighting them when they just haven't had the chance to hurt me yet. They're all just losers jealous that I'm better than them"
When she hears Ben scoff she turns back to glare at him only to pause at the deadpan expression on Ben's bug alien face. "Kayden. I'm a ten year old autistic genius who experiments with super technology and can transform into aliens, you were born with the ability to absorb energy. Usually there'd be this whole speech about how every snowflake is unique and special, but we're quite literally BOTH freaks by definition. Actually I've got a question, you religious?"
She blinked in surprise, not seeing the point she shrugged as best she could, considering they were flying that didn't really work so she said. "Yes? Mom was christian, I've never thought about it"
"Fair enough. Mom and Dad were hippies basically, I was christian for a while then just spiritual, maybe atheistic now" Ben shrugged which considering he was holding her actually did do something and made her yelp, much to the dorks amusement. "Hehe. Largely I find people can be dicks, cruel greedy dick heads, though I can't exactly blame them. From dictators, nazi's, terrorists, cult leaders, all the way to just the asshole on the corner shouting that you're going to hell. Each one largely was born and lived as products of their environment and those around them, doing what humans do and lying to either themselves to justify something or to others to keep living. That's what most cruelty is really, even the small ones, just an ignorant lie to survive that's grown from a defense mechanic into a daily necessity for life like breathing"
"What?" She tilted her head confused, he'd lost her.
Ben blinked and shook his head. "Oh, whoops sorry. That was a bit too philosophical wasn't it? My point is that cruelty is natural for any large number of humans, it often happens unintentionally, simply because people are selfishly focused on themselves and their own lives, on what can improve their position, what can help their pains and what can help those close to them. It's hard to think about something from someone else's perspective and how can you if you don't even know them to start with?"
Ben looked down and she followed to again see the little dots of people and cars, hundreds of them. "What do you think most of them are doing?"
Kayden frowned. "Uhh? Going to work? Out having fun or eating? Maybe headed home?"
"It's also dark out, a few are probably pretty scared and rushing, or exhausted after a long day of work, or excited about finally going out with friends" Ben pointed out. "You think you're better than them? Objectively you might be, you definitely are more capable than many people due to your powers. But if you ARE better than them are you going to have the same flaws?"
"What do you mean?" She couldn't really decide if she wanted to look at Ben or keep looking down at the city, she was sorta stuck craning her head to get a look at both. "How would I be flawed?"
Ben took them out over the water and for a minute her feet skimmed the water, a grin of excitement breaking across her face again as the cold water splashed against her cheeks. "People are mean and selfish, calling you a freak and being scared of you simply because of how you were born. But that raises the question, if you are better than them then shouldn't you also be able to do what they can't? To look and try to empathize with others?"
They passed through liberty island and circled around the Statue of Liberty, she'd seen the thing often in the distance, but never like this. Reaching out her hand brushed against the rusted copper and her eyes widened in wonder as they came past the stern but kind looking face of Lady Liberty.
Ben's tone was soft and hard to hear over his wing beats, but they were away from the noise of the city and she couldn't bring herself to speak. "You wanted someone to tell you it was okay to be weird, you wanted someone to beat up the bully's, everyone always does want a hero. There's a lot of freaks in the world Kay, a lot, and if you want to be better than everyone else then why don't you be an example? Make freaks feel normal and safe, save them, be the freak you wish had been there for you"
She…she couldn't really speak, she didn't know how to speak at the moment. After a minute Ben silently flew them back over the water and towards the city, rising high enough that most people wouldn't notice them, they found a secluded alley and lowered down, Ben letting her jump down and move away before he landed.
She rolled her shoulders and stretched, feeling something pop from being held like that for so long, Ben meanwhile reached up and tapped his dial/eye/thing and in a flash of red light transformed back into the usual cute grinning dork.
Ben turned to her and bluntly said. "So you want to come with me? I'm sure we can convince Grandpa and after the summer is over I'm sure we can work something out"
"Whoa! Hey now" She stepped back with her hands up. "Y-you don't want me. I-i..i can't control my powers! I'd definitely end up blowing something up!"
Ben shrugged. "Ehh~ Big deal, I've had to fix the RV once already"
She shook her hands and head quickly in denial trying to make him get it. "N-no! I'm a..a delinquent street thief! I live in an abandoned subway station! I'd probably end up stealing your ride"
The bastard had the nerve to laugh at her, waving off her words with a grin. "If you're telling me then you're probably not that good of a thief so I'm sure we'll be fine, also you can't be a delinquent or live in an abandoned subway if you live with us and be a hero"
"Errg! Damn it! Listen, you idiot!" She growled, actually getting a bit mad now. "I..i-Fuck! Shit! I stink, I haven't bathed in weeks..uhh, I'll definitely steal your stuff! And..and raid through your personal notes or information without permission! Probably embarrass you a ton! A-also I snore!"
"Hmph!" Ben's eyes narrowed as he frowned, she felt a mix of joy and a pain in her chest at getting him to understand that he couldn't have her around. "Well huh, maybe you're right and this can't work. I could easily have Gwen throw your ass in the shower and scrub you clean. Gwen already steals my stuff. Also I don't really care about hiding anything, hell I'll probably read my notes out loud and bore the fuck out of you, but if you're going to be snoring…"
"It's decided!" He nodded with a firm look on his face. "You'll sleep in Gwen's bed and we'll just gag you before bed"
Her face turned red and something burned in her lungs as she grit her teeth and hit him hard in the stomach. "D-damn it! Don't fucking make fun of me! Don't lie to me or give me that half assed shit! I'm a freak!"
Her voice was a screeched yell at the end that rang through the alley and echoed in the distance, Ben gave a rough cough from her fist getting buried in his stomach, she'd found she was a lot stronger than girls her age, usually she could match guys two or three years older than her if she wanted so she knew that punch had hurt.
She tried to quickly pull away so she could run only to jerk as she found an iron grip on her wrist, she turned to look and froze seeing the intense fire burning in Ben's eyes, it locked her in place and then he grinned.
"So fucking what bitch?! You think you're the only freak?" Ben's words were filled with just as much rage, just as much conviction as her own, spite filling his eyes. "I want to save people! Save the whole fucking world! I'm smart and I've got this watch but it doesn't feel like enough! You want to be a freak? Fine! Then we're in perfect company! Now stop being a fucking pussy! You want to live with us! You want to help others like me! You want to be a hero to freaks! So just shake my fucking hand!"
Ben held her hand, drew back and slapped his free hand hard against hers, gripping it tight. Her lungs were burning with something and she couldn't look away as her face felt like an oven, his grin was savage. "So do you want to live with us!"
"I..i d-
Zzsprraack!
They blinked and looked down, Ben's watch had turned green, sparks flickering. One stray spark caught her haaannd-
Suddenly it felt like that weird heat in her twisted and turned into an anguished torch against her heart, her head was fuzzy and her thoughts stopped but the world sped up as her senses matched it. Her focus tight. Her throat tight, yet her lungs felt over inflated. She breathed and the air felt fresher, her cheeks cracked and she giggled, then green light shone.
Boooom!
Green lightning blasted from Ben and he screamed, it flooded into her pores and she felt bloated as it flung her against the building and down the alley, skipping like a stone.
But that was only a drop of the power, only a tenth of a fraction of a percent.
It filled her body.
It boiled her blood.
It held her bones up and made her feel light, like all the weight was on someone else.
She nearly flew, dancing like her mother loved, back to her feet from the crater in the sidewalk. A giggle on her lips, sparks trailing.
She looked down and one of her hands was warm and covered in pretty red flames.
Thi-this was awesome! So cool..best day ever! She had so much power!
What was she doing again?
She frowned before she remembered. She'd been calling herself a freak, like those teens called her.
Someone called her name.
She grit her teeth and started running.
No one called her a freak!
None of them really meant it, she wasn't a hero, no one wanted a freak. He was just making fun of her.
NYC - Rustbucket/8:00pm/Ben POV
SLAM!
"Whoa there!"
"Hey! What the hell Ben! Where have you been!?"
I slam open the door to the RV and hurry over to the table where the energy ionizer array is sitting and start going over resetting it, Grandpa Max and Gwen having jumped away from me when I'd rushed in. They get closer and Gwen sounds annoyed.
"Damn it Ben, you ran off with Kayden and didn't come back! I was worried and told grand…wait, are you hurt? What happened to your arm?"
I glanced down to see I'd got a scratch on my arm at some point but I ignored it and kept working, I tried to speak quickly while keeping focused. "Not important, no time. I was talking to Kayden and she touched the watch, she must have accidentally absorbed some of the energy from it because she freaked out and started acting loopy. Fuuuck! It's like in the arcade but worse, she was totally out of it, her power must give her some sorta dopamine hit whenever she absorbed energy"
Grandpa rubbed his chin. "Huh, and with something as powerful as the Omnitrix..if you're right then she'd be out of it and could potentially hurt herself"
"Worse" I shake my head. "She looked like parts of her had..fused almost to Heatblast, I don't know how but she could seriously hurt someone"
Grandpa and Gwen gained looks of worry, Grandpa quickly asked. "Where do you think she'd be headed?"
"Thirty ninth Street bridge, that's where that gang that attacked her earlier today's hideout is" I answer.
Grandpa nodded and headed towards the front. "Right"
As we started moving Gwen sat down across from me, I could feel that she was mad but I ignored it till she said. "I knew she was bad news Ben, she's a delinquent who steals stuff and uses her powers to fight gangs-
"Shut up" I hissed. "She's also somebody living on the street with powers she doesn't understand, I'm going to try and help her"
"UURGH!" Gwen growled. "Damn it Ben, you just want to help her because she's a cute girl!"
I paused. I had wanted to help originally because Kevin was cool and a powerful ally from what I remembered, getting him on my side early would definitely solve a lot of headaches, the fact he was a she for some reason…it didn't make me want to help her less. But the truth was-
"She sees herself as a freak and I understand that" Gwen flinched a little bit at my cold tone and glare. "For a long time I felt like a freak and that I wasn't normal, I got over it, but obviously she hasn't. She doesn't have a home or family or help, she wants to be a good person but doesn't know how. So yeah, I want to help the fucking pretty delinquent, shove it up your ass!"
The RV was quiet for a bit before Gwen hesitantly asked. "What are you doing with your taser thing?"
"Kayden's an energy absorber, this was meant to be a quick way to subdue people and robots without the watch but theoretically if I boost the charge and lower the shot count…strip a few safety breakers out…plug in a big capacitor and tighten the projector's beam" I say paying only halfway attention as I focus on working quickly. "It should be able to safely force Kayden to expel all her stored energy and knock her out, it'll almost definitely fry the wiring and make the battery blow though so I have no idea how many times I can use it. Once definitely, two if I'm lucky"
"So one shot then?" Gwen tried to joke.
I just nodded and spoke in a flat tone as I pulled out the soldering iron. "Yeah"
Before I'd felt like a freak in my first childhood as an autistic kid who was slowly becoming an atheist in a somewhat normal catholic household, then here I was a kid with memories of a whole different life stuck around toddlers, I still had the emotions and impulses of a kid even if I tried to more tightly control them, I felt like a freak for a long time.
Did I kill the Ben of this universe?
Was it weird that I got crushes on girls in my class or that I'd get distracted and end up playing with my classmates? Should I be a kid even though physically my body hasn't developed yet?
When I had meltdowns and lost control I felt powerless, in this life and the previous one, but being in this body with the memories of almost thirty years of life meant they'd happened more often as my brain got overwhelmed easier.
Eventually I just decided to say fuck it, this was my second chance, if I had reincarnated normally without my memories then none of this would have been weird so it didn't make sense to stress, I had no way of knowing if this was how the afterlife worked, if we all reincarnated and I'd just gotten lucky.
Maybe I was always meant to be 'Ben', why shouldn't I let myself have relationships and friendships with people my 'age' when that was the normal thing to do?
Didn't I deserve that life instead of trying to think around every response and action?
I'd been eight years old when I'd decided that, just two years ago but even then it had felt like heaven over the stress I'd drowned myself in. Now someone else was suffering, I couldn't just not help, this life, this body would have been a hero who saved the whole universe, whether that was always going to be me or some other soul I beat to the punch didn't matter.
I'd honor that legacy all the same.
—
Fire crackled under the bridge and things were destroyed, from a couch to tables and TVs, all of it was trashed, even pipes had been torn out from under the bridge. As I landed I found those teens from before stuck under the pipe and Kayden standing over them, her body steaming and seemingly having just transformed back to normal.
I was transformed into Fourarm's when I arrived and I landed at the entrance of the bridge with a crash.
Spoiler: Fourarm's!
I step forward and raise my hands, my voice is gruff, deep and gritty like a tween who'd spent a decade chain smoking. "Seems you're out of juice Kayden. Let's stop this now before you kill someone"
"H-hheh~" Kayden turned, a big grin on her face as her shoulders shook from giggling. "No! Them, they get to suffer for once! And if I'm out of power then you're going to give it to me! I-isn't that right doofus? Isn't that what family does?"
Her voice is mocking but I don't let it bother me. I shake my head and gesture imploringly. "No Kay, family does what's best for each other. Come on, you're acting like a druggie off the streets, you can't let the power control you"
She flinches like if I'd physically struck her, her face turning red in rage as she huffs. "H-how dare you!? I'm not a fucking druggie!"
"Oh yeah? Then why are you acting like this Kayden? Think about what you're doing for a second, think about why you're doing it, focus" I stressed the words. "I'm sure the high must be leaving now right? Your thoughts aren't as cloudy? You feel heavier? You can focus a bit better? You are a smart girl Kay, so please think about what that means, remember what I said about being a freak"
Kayden blinks and grabs her head, taking a step back as she shakes her head, but instead of getting clarity sparks trail across her body and she spasms erratically.
"NO! I'M NOT A FUCKING DRUGGIE YOU IDIOT!" Kayden screamed and energy built around her making my eyes widen. "I'M TIRED OF BEING A FREAK! I DON'T WANT TO IMPRESS ANYONE! I WON'T BE THEIR FUCKING FREAK!"
'Fuck! I set her off! I have to keep those idiots behind her from getting hit!'
Breathing deeply I crouched and tensed my core and thighs, my weight on the balls of my feet and in one push the floor cracks below me. In a blink my lower arms wrap around Kayden and my top arms slam down behind her acting as a shield between her and the defenseless teens.
Then.
Pain.
Kayden probably had less than a percent of her full charge but even then I'd pressed her right against my stomach and held her against the most vulnerable part of my body when thunder shook me, it wasn't like it sent me flying but my legs did feel weak and my arms and chest felt like they'd been burned, the breath and thought had left my body like God had personally decided to ball tap me.
Then suddenly my vision goes blurry and then everything turns unfocused as a sound tickles my ear like church bells chiming. "..he..hehe..ehehehee~"
I look down, dazed, to see Kayden grinning up at me as she presses her cold hands to my arms, energy surging into her reddening skin. She grows in size and my weakened grip breaks. Bones crunch and skin grows and tears, it's not bloody but it's also not as quick as my Omnitrix's transformation, her flesh changing in real time.
Her face distorts as her left eye splits into two eyes, her jaw growing into something larger, within moments she's as big as I am and her shoulder bubbles before the flesh pops-
Booohm!
CRASH!
My body bounces against the building outside of the bridge, how'd I get out here so fast? And then down the road before I instinctively roll to bleed off momentum and flex my arms, landing on my feet and fanning out my four massive arms to regain my footing.
I spit out a bit of blood and refocus, shaking my head to clear the fog that had come, the pain in my jaw waking me right up.
Kayden walked forward in a mutated fusion of Fourarms, two pairs of arms looking sickly and thin, one from her waist and one coming from her chest that looked very disturbing on a girl. From her left shoulder was a fifth arm that was what most likely hit me, it looked thicker than two of my arms put together, a sixth arm tore from her right shoulder to match before my eyes.
Kayden walked out from under the bridge and chuckled. "..Hehehe~ I'm going to fuck you up pretty boy~ Till you're just stuck as a shortie!"
I stared at her for a beat, looking over her transformation and then my smart ass replied. "I think we should see other people"
Her face twitched and with a yell she was charging at me, using her strength and bulk to jump in the air for a hammer blow.
SHIT.
My upper arms quickly go up and I grab her forearms, bending my knees and absorbing the force as the floor cracks under us then I push her arms out to send the rest of the force out. Fuck, the breath left my body as I felt stunned by the force. My lower arms quickly went up to punch her in the face as she landed, her head flying back.
For a moment I'm surprised at her strength, she's only supposed to be one tenth as strong as me right? Was the Tetramand female strength difference really that big?
Then I refocus and move, my arms switching positions, my lower arms swiping down to keep her arms at bay while I clap my upper hands on her ears, completely stunning her.
I place a hand to her chest, tense my body and push in one fluid motion sending her flying back.
I take a deep breath to center myself and notice Gwen and Grandpa sneak into the bridge, I nod and refocus on Kayden. "You can't beat me Kay. Please stop, I don't want to hurt you"
Kayden grins as she pulls herself to her feet, her tone mocking. "Oh? What about us seeing other people? Huh Tennyson? You like saying nice things to girls then insulting them and acting like you can just flip flop like that?! YOU'RE JUST AS MUCH OF A JERK AS ALL THE OTHER GUYS WHO CALLED ME A FREAK!"
'Oh goddamn it, just great' I thought, annoyed as Kayden charged me.
I form a boxers guard with my upper arms and a more stomach focused open handed guard with my lower arms, my right foot sliding to a more steady balanced position behind my left.
Kayden hits me like a train and yet I take it, it makes me suddenly realize something as I push aside her punch, halting most of the force of her haymaker by stopping it at the elbow and then throwing a straight jab at her face.
Kayden may be a good fighter sure, and she's stronger than I am currently but two very important facts are. One she's suddenly transformed into a completely new form while I've tried to at least practice a little with each of my aliens, secondly she's a street fighter whereas I'm extensively trained in multiple martial arts specifically because I knew what was coming.
I felt myself sink into an instinctive flow that I was familiar with from training, just going through the motions without thought, something I hadn't let myself do in combat to this extent yet.
I block a kick to the nuts with my leg, catch a different kick and elbow her thigh, palm strike away a flailing elbow, punch to the body, hammer fist to the face, redirect her momentum into a knee, dragon fist(basically a fist with the knuckle of the middle finger extended out) into one of her floating ribs.
To be frank, in hand-to-hand I just outclass her completely.
I dismantled her even while being careful not to actually hurt hurt her. Let it not be mistaken that I'm good, not going to be in the running for a world championship but I'd consistently gotten the state championship first or second place the last two years alongside Gwen and that was when I wasn't trying to hurt someone, that was my main hindrance really, not permanently hurting someone.
I grab Kayden's arm and put her in an arm bar, giving her two firm shots to the liver forces her to instinctively curl in onto herself. I put myself behind her and grab her with all my arms, hook her leg, twist and roll my hips. With an explosive yell I turn and pull her over my shoulder in a full body throw that slams her hard face first into the ground, instantly causing the road to crack and crater.
THUM-CRACK!
I quickly jumped back and slapped the watch, instantly covering myself in a red flash that transforms me back to normal. I reach into my hoodie and pull out the modified Ionizer Array, pressing the button it takes a solid eight seconds for it to charge and Kayden just starts to stir as it fires.
Buuooom!
Pop-fwoosh!
A green crackling beam as long as a pencil and as thick as a telephone pole tears its way out of the Ionizer, which instantly sparks and bursts into flames forcing me to drop it with a curse, the beam meanwhile clears the distance in moments and slams into Kayden's chest.
Green sparks crackle across her body and she yells in rage, light glows from her eyes and mouth, glowing sparks and veins cover her form then flesh tears.
Her yelling turns to violent screaming that's quickly covered by the howling of a hurricane of energy that consumes her, blasting in all directions, I quickly covered my eyes and turned away.
Once the light faded and the nearly deafening ringing in my ears died I turned back to find a crater in the road like someone had hit it with a cruise missile. In the middle of the crumbled asphalt was Kayden, completely unconscious but alive based on how her chest rose and fell.
"Ohh thank god that's over, I'm beat" I groaned and sat my ass down on the road. I had a few burns and cuts I'd need to get treated but first I'd have to figure out a way to keep her secured and deal with any lingering mental issues.
…fuck.
Grandpa Max runs over and Gwen flies using the hoverboard, her shield on but seeing the dangers passed she shuts it off. Gwen huffs. "I see you finished your lovers spat"
"Ughh~" I groan tiredly. "You're still on that? Shut the hell up"
Gwen scoffs before tilting her head as she glances at one of my bruises. "Did you seriously have to be so reckless though? I think that cut on your cheek might scar…Aunt Sandra is going to be furious"
"Hah!" I wave away her concern with a laugh. "Have you met her? She'll be fussy that my face got messed up but she's not exactly the type to be mad, I'll just say I was running around and fell on a sharp rock"
I sigh and pull myself back up to my feet. "So you guys saved the gang of idiots?"
They nodded and Grandpa spoke. "They're probably going to need therapy and they definitely won't be messing with anyone again after this but physically they're fine. Now kiddo, what do we do with her?"
We all glance towards Kayden.
"Not sure" I say after a moment and I start walking towards her. "But I know I'm going to make sure she's alright and that she's not going to hurt anyone, we can talk options when she wakes up"
I crouched down and carefully picked her up, one of her arms over my shoulder and hauling her up, Gwen quickly ran over and helped. Of course she couldn't keep from saying. "Fine, just watch your hands doofus, I don't think your girlfriend is ready for that yet"
"Go screw yourself"
Grandpa just sighed in defeat behind us and I felt kinda bad when I heard him mutter. "..guess I shouldn't have paid for three nights at the hotel"
This is the first big divergence of this series now, both Kevin instead being Kayden but also now the potential of her joining the team early, though we'll be seeing exactly how that goes in the next chapter.
So I'm curious, does anyone think I should keep the Ghostfreak lines going forward? I plan to have them show up at certain times but definitely not every chapter, Ghostfreak does not care enough about what's happening to talk every chapter lol. However if people especially like them then I can make it a more common thing, let me know what you guys want.
Also did you find them all?
Do people still say mi casa? Seems like that was a weirdly common thing back when I was a kid but I don't really see or hear it anywhere anymore.
I don't think Kevin is a sapiosexual specifically but it is clear in the series that he generally likes attractive, strong women, either in personality or physically if not both, and often they'll be very intelligent and or academic. It's clear he has a type, so yeah, Kayden also has a type though she's only eleven and just a few years into puberty at most so she's not aware of any specific interests she may have yet.
I figured if normal electricity was like weed and got Kevin feeling high and addictive from the power then something like Omni energy from the Omnitrix would be like fucking meth, and she's very emotional right now so…yeah she's tripping, hard.
I'm feeling far more comfortable writing fighting scenes than I was when I first wrote this, still hesitant a little bit but I found that my mental picture of how everything happened was a lot clearer for this chapter then previous one's, not sure if that's because I'm improving or if it was just this time but I feel like I'm getting better at least. Let me know what you guys thought about the fights in this chapter.