It was a coastal town with an on-the-nose name of Beach City. However, given that there looked to be fewer than 50 buildings, calling it a city seemed like wishful thinking.
“After all the big adventures we’ve been having lately, I figured you guys could use a simple beach trip to relax and get away from all the aliens,” Max explained as he drove them through the town in a brief sight-seeing tour. “What’s the travel guide say, Gwen?”
Gwen buried her nose in the brochure and frowned. “Not much. A lot of this sounds like they’re desperately trying to be a tourist town, but there really isn’t much. Ooh, there are some old ruins we could investigate. There’s also a-”
“Ferris wheel!” Ben exclaimed while pressing his face to the window. “And they’ve got an arcade, too. Nice.”
Gwen rolled her eyes. “Yeah, the boardwalk has a fair with a few rides and games, but an arcade?” She leveled a flat stare at her cousin. “Really, Ben? We go to a place with beach literally in the name, and your first thought is to go play video games?”
“What about you? You got excited about some dumb ruins. Typical lameo, Gwen.”
“Ruins aren’t lame! These are said to have been built by ancient aliens.” Gwen immediately regretted her words when she saw the look on Ben’s face. “Oh, no.”
“Aliens, you say?” Ben’s grin split his face while he touched his chin in intrigue. “What kind?”
“It, uh, doesn’t say.” That’s when Gwen got her own mischievous grin. “But ya know, maybe the two of us could go exploring together,” she offered suggestively.
Frankly, it was embarrassing how many seconds it took for Ben to catch Gwen’s meaning. “Oh, okay! Nice.”
“Well, you kids go have fun. I’ll hang back at the car wash. The Rust Bucket could use a thorough scrubbing after that mud monster incident. You kids play safe, but remember that most older Earth structures have at least some alien influence. Just keep on your toes.”
“We will, Grandpa,” assured Gwen after she and Ben got changed into their swimsuits. She tore out of the Rust Bucket, practically dragging Ben by the wrist.”
“Hey, what’s the rush? Those ruins have been there for, like, a million years. They’re not going anywhere.”
“No, but after the stunt you pulled this morning, I’ve been…” Gwen looked around to make sure that no one was eavesdropping. “I’ve been feeling tingly,” she admitted with a blush.
Ben snickered. “Serves you right for not accepting my generosity while you could.” As Gwen stood in place, red-faced and flustered, Ben experienced a rare moment of maturity and decided to be magnanimous. “C’mon. Let’s go.” He took Gwen’s hand and led them along their original route.
Gwen smiled appreciatively. For as much as her cousin drove her insane, he had his moments where he proved that he could be a pretty dependable guy. Looking around, she decided to reward him. “Hold on. Can’t go exploring on an empty stomach.” She gestured at a shop called The Big Doughnut.
“Good call.”
They entered, and the staff greeted them.
“Hey, there. Say, you two look new,” said the cheery blonde girl. She was short and stocky, but with very generous feminine assets. Her counterpart, a tall and lanky boy, just smiled and nodded like he’d rather be anywhere but here. Their nametags read Sadie and Lars, respectively.
“We just got in town. Got anything with extra calories? We’re planning on doing a lot today,” Gwen informed.
“Oh, yeah? Doing what?” said the blonde.
Gwen blinked, suddenly fretful that she’d said too much. Luckily, Ben was less prone to thinking himself into helplessness and answered first. “We’re going to the abandoned ruins to explore!”
Sadie and Lars shared uncomfortable looks that left the cousins wary.
“Uh, you probably don’t want to do that,” Lars offered. “That place is pretty weird and probably more than you can handle.”
Ben scoffed. “More than I can handle? Puh-lease. After all the things I’ve faced this summer, there ain’t nothing that Ben Ten can’t handle.” He puffed out his chest in boast. “Why, at this point, weird is practically my middle name.” He took a second to think about his words. “Wait…”
“He’s not wrong,” Gwen added nonchalantly. “He’s definitely the weirdest boy I’ve ever met.” That got a snicker out of Sadie and a withering stare from Ben. “But he’s also right that we can handle ourselves. What’s so weird about this place, anyway?”
“For one, it’s not deserted. Our friend Steven lives there, along with the Crystal Gems,” explained Sadie.
“Sounds like a band. Ooh, or a gang!” Ben wondered excitedly. “Is it some kind of seedy criminal underbelly for the town?”
Both wage slaves blinked their confusion, but it was Lars who spoke. “That’s a really weird thing to be excited about.”
“And point proven,” offered Gwen.
“No, it’s nothing bad,” corrected Sadie. “They’re really nice people. And Steven is…” She trailed off with a blush, making sure that Lars didn’t notice. Luckily, Lars was too busy saying the worst possible thing.
“They’re all a bunch of freaks with all these freaky powers. Whenever there’s trouble, like some weird tentacle monster or some killer moss, they’re always at the center of it. Trust me; you’re better off staying away.”
Lars’ words fell on deaf ears as the cousins moved away and huddled for a whisper.
“Maybe not a crime gang, but possibly a cult that worships aliens or something,” Gwen theorized. “I’ll bet there’s some ancient technology they’re using to give themselves powers.”
“Well, gee, how original,” Ben said sarcastically while holding up the Omnitrix.
“Exactly. They probably just live there to keep others away from their source of power. Before we do anything crazy, we should do some scouting to-”
“You realize that we can hear every word, right?” Sadie pointed out. A long and terribly awkward silence followed, broken only when she rang up the register and put the bag of doughnuts on the counter. “Cash or credit?”
Smiling sheepishly, Gwen paid while Ben grabbed the treats, and they bolted out the front door. “Wow, that was bad. I’m not usually so careless,” she said after they’d left the shop behind. “Those two might have been part of the cult, and now they’re warning their friends.”
“Yeah, pretty sloppy, dweeb,” mocked Ben as he ate his pastry and licked his fingers. “You seem tired. Wanna sit this one out?”
“Over your dead body!” Gwen shot back. “I’m holding you fully responsible for that mess up.”
“What? Why?”
“The panty incident, remember.” Gwen gestured to the crotch of her purple, one-piece swimsuit. “Grr! Why couldn’t you have just asked first? You know I would’ve said yes.”
“Yeah, but where’s the fun in that?” Ben replied with a shrug and looked around. They’d left the pavement behind and now stood near the cliff with sand beneath their bare feet. “Seems like we’re pretty far out of town, now. Wanna grab some bushes and get things settled?” He then showed his true maturity. “Ya know, cuz you don’t have one, yet. Hic. Bwahahaha!”
Gwen pushed him to the sand. “You’re so annoying! You know that, right?”
“Yeah, but you love it,” Ben teased while lying down. He then grabbed his crotch through his swim trunks and started moving his package around. Despite having done this plenty of times in front of his cousin, her eyes went wide, and she licked her lips. She must really be craving some nooky to have that kind of reaction. Ben decided to be cruel and press the issue by sliding down the front of his trunks just enough to tease at what lay within. “Your call, cuz. Wanna go fight some bad guys, or am I just too much for you to resist?”
As much as Gwen wanted to just stomp on Ben’s crotch in retaliation, she knew that that wouldn’t get them anywhere. On the one hand, her imagination was running wild, and her core was burning with desire. She craved feeling Ben’s little body wiggle inside of her. On the other hand, the thing with the ruins was probably a big deal. Morally speaking, they had a responsibility to beat out any bad guys who happened to be squatting there. Then again, could she really trust herself to keep focused while her body was tingling like this? Worse, it seemed like no matter what she picked, she would lose, and Ben would win.
They’d only just gotten here, and already Gwen knew that Beach City was the worst.
What happens next?
Gwen tries to control herself and they go exploring.
Gwen can’t resist and Ben shrinks.
Gwen can’t resist, but the Omnitrix is acting up again.
Before they can do anything, someone from the ruins spots them.
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