Ben 10: New Summer, Old Problems (CLOSED)

Ben

Ben's face began to mimic Cooper's as he sat up straight, facing the boy, "What do you have in mind?" he asked, grinning deviantly.

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???, Kai

The girl accepted Gwen's outstretched hand gladly, even covering their joined hands with her free hand, "Oh, me? I'm no one special, but you can call me Jenny, uh, Jen for short; almost everyone calls me Jen." she said, cheeks flushing from the contact.

Kai just looked at the two incredulously, "That's fine, but I don't think she'll be staying here. I mean, okay, you're willing to share the bed; do you really think camp regulations will allow that?" asked the Native-American girl.

Jen looked over at the girl with a veiled sly smirk, "Only if the other cabins are full..."

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Charmcaster

Crestfallen, she had spoken briefly with the a few other Female councilors, all of which had confirmed that they had already exceeded the expectations of the number of girls that would be arriving, having already pulled out what spare beds they had in storage to accommodate for their surplus.

Charmcaster mulled it over in her head, and while she could let Gwen share with the other girl, Camp regulations would prevent her from doing so.

Something about being a safety hazard, or fire hazard...or something like that. Charmcaster slept through that portion of the orientation, though she did make it through first aid and CPR with flying colors.

"This is not going as I had thought it would..." muttered Charmcaster as she sat down on a fallen tree that had been converted into a bench.

Cooper

"You still have the Omnitrix, right?" Cooper asked with a grin. "When it's dark, you can always change into your scariest alien. And we can prank the girls, or something. That outta be fun."

Tiffany

"Tough first day?" Tiffany asked with a slight smirk, as she sat down next to her fellow councilor.

Gwen, Lucy

"It's nice to meet you, Jen." Gwen replied with a smile. Her cousin Lucy made her way over, then, eagerly introduced herself.

"Hi! I'm Lucy! Lucy Tennyson! Gwen's cousin. This is my first time at an Ear....at camp." Lucy quickly said, giving an embarrassed giggle at her near slip up.

Ben

Laughing, he pumped his arm, "Aw, man, that's a great idea!" he said, holding up his hand for a high-five, "This is going to be so awesome!"

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Charmcaster

"Not really...I suppose it could be worse, but we're short on beds for my cabin, and my bed just so happens to be big enough for the extra camper...unfortunately." she stated, muttering the last part under her breath. Looking over at the girl, she sighed, "I don't suppose your day is going any better?"

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Jen, Kai

Reluctantly letting go of Gwen's hand, she looked over at Lucy, glancing over her, "Pleased to meet you." she said with a smile, ignoring the eager girl's slip-up, "So I guess we're going to be cabin mate's, right?"

Kai nodded, "That's right. So what now? Are we going to get to know each other?" she asked, stretching, "I don't know about you, but I want to see the camp." she stated, hopping off of her bunk.

Cooper

Cooper eagerly high-fived Ben back. "We may only be able to do this a few times, but it's better than nothing, right? So, what alien are you going to use?"

Gwen

"Shouldn't we wait for Char...wait for our council to get back, first?" Gwen asked. "I'm not sure she'd appreciate us running off without her permission."

Tiffany

"Eh, could be better. I was lucky enough to get the younger girls in my cabin. One of them's already crying that she wants to go home, and the others aren't a big help at all."

"I wouldn't even be here if this didn't earn some college credit." Tiffany added, scowling a bit. "Why I ever thought earning it here would be a good idea..."

Ben

Chuckling, Ben looked at his wrist, "Three: Ghostfreak, Ripjaws, and Wildvine. I might be able to use XLR8 to spook some of the others into thinking the Camp is haunted when their stuff 'mysteriously' goes missing, heh heh." Ben said, chuckling.

Thinking it over some more, "Dude, if this place has anything electronic, I could so use Upgrade!" he said excitedly, "And here I thought this was a boring summer, you're a genius!"

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Jen, Kai

Kai shrugged, "If she has anything important to say, she can come find you, right? Besides, it's just a bed. Not like it's anything that can't be taken care of in, what? Ten? Fifteen minutes?" asked the girl as she turned to leave.

Jen nodded, "She's right. Besides, it's almost lunch, right? We can at least take a look at the menu while we're out. And who knows? We might run into our Councilor as we go!" Said Jen, tugging Gwen towards the door.

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Charmcaster

Frowning at the younger girl, she leaned forward, resting her chin in the palm of her hand as she set her elbow on her thigh, "Really? Bet that must be fun, but at least you're here willingly." she admitted with a heavy sigh, "I figured this would be an easy way to cut out some time at Juvie, and so far...it's not bad...yet."

Looking at the girl from the corner of her eye, "Say? Do you happen to have an open bed in your cabin?" she asked somewhat hopefully. Not that she necessarily didn't like Gwen...just, she felt that Gwen didn't exactly like her.

Not that the dislike was unfounded, but still, she was trying to change.

Cooper

"Thanks." Cooper replied with a chuckle. "With you here, things ought to be mighty fun. If we're lucky, then maybe some foolish alien might come to attack. And if not, well, if I can get the proper parts I'm sure I could make some stuff to keep us entertained."

Tiffany

"Nope." Tiffany shook her head. "We happen to be short on a bed, too, so I'll have to share a bed myself with some unlucky brat."

Gwen

"Well, all right." Gwen sighed. "Let's go, then."

She turned to see what her cousin Lucy would do, but noticed that the young alien was already gone.

Lucy

Lucy eagerly ran across the camp, taking in the sights with great joy and glee. Eventually she came to a stop in a garage like building, which currently housed the camp buses. She walked in, and looked around.

"Hello? Anybody here?"

Ben

Grinning triumphantly, Ben jumped up and down, "Heck yeah! Sounds like we're going to have an awesome summer!" said Ben, "And let them! It'll make things that much better."

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Charmcaster

"Oh? Well...that's pretty disappointing. Guess I'm stuck with Gwen then..." muttered the spell caster. Standing up, she looked across the camp grounds, "well, I guess I'll just let you get back to doing whatever you were doing...I've got to tell my soon-to-be bed-buddy the great news..." she said.

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Jen, Kai

Looking around her, Kai also noticed the lack of a particular energetic blond, "Well, she doesn't waste any time..." she muttered, hands on her hips, "Well, whatever, I'm heading over to the lake." Shrugging, Kai began moving away from Jen and Gwen.

Jen smiled at Gwen as she spoke, "Well, I guess that just leaves you and me."

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Turbine

A pair of legs were poking out from underneath one of the buses when a voice sounded out from beneath it, "Yeah! I'll be with ya in a sec!" The voice was currently busy cleaning up after having changed the oil; the residue of which clung to her as she pulled out from underneath.

Looking around the garage, she didn't immediately spot anyone, "Yeah? What'd ya need?" She called out, grabbing a nearby rag to clear the excess oil from her grimy hands.

Lucy

"Down here!" Lucy replied, waving eagerly from Turbine's waist. "Nice to meet you! I'm Lucy!"

Gwen

"That is does." Gwen replied. "So...want to go outside and...do something Jen? Explore, maybe?"

Sera

"Oh, hello." Sera greeted, as Kai walked toward the lake.

Tiffany

"Good luck with that," Tiffany replied with a smirk. "I'm sure having the older kids would be much better than the younger ones."

Turbine

Looking down at the waist-high girl, the mechanic looked around the garage and then back down at the blond, "Yeah, hon? Uh, is there somethin ya need?" she asked, still wiping off her hands, "What are you doing here in the garage?"

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Jen

"Sounds good to me...maybe we can explore the woods?" suggested Jen, moving closer to Gwen, "No point in being out in nature with out going out into it, right?" asked the young girl.

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Kai

Slightly startled, Kai turned to see another girl approach her, "Wow, I didn't know this camp had so many girls," commented the girl as she picked up a stone and threw it into the lake, "First day of summer...I have to say it...is quite nice further north."

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Charmcaster

"Right, well...it's getting time for lunch," stated the older girl as she looked at her watch, "I really should get the girls, and the best of luck to you." she said, hiding her grimace. Having to deal with an infantile Uncle...yeah, Tiffany had it bad.

Making it back to the cabin, it occurred to Charmcaster...she really shouldn't have left them unsupervised...

Sera

"Oh? Where are you from?" Sera asked curiously.

Gwen

"Sure, sounds fine with me."

Lucy

"Just exploring." Lucy replied happily. "Who are you?"

Turbine

Staring quizzically at the girl, she responded, "Well, you can call me Turbine, and I'm the camp mechanic...well, as long as it's a vehicle that is," she said, looking around awkwardly, "Um, so what brings you down here? I doubt the garage is very interesting for an explorer like yourself."

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Kai Green

Kai just shrugged, "Depends, I guess. I stayed with my grandpa down on a reservation in New Mexico for a while." she said, looking out over the lake, "What about you?" she asked in return.

Sera

"I'm from...Mississipi." Sera replied after a moment's thought. "My uncle is one of the sponsers of this camp, and thought I might have a good time here, this summer."

Lucy

"Oh no, it's very interesting!" Lucy replied excitedly, giving Turbine a bright smile. "I've always wondered how Ea...how cars and such work."

Gwen

Before Gwen and Jen could run off, Chamcaster happened to return to the cabin. Gwen gave a relieved sigh and looked at her once foe with some hope.

"Please tell me you found another cabin for me to stay in that has the room? Or found an extra bed?"

Charmcaster

"'Fraid not, small fry...seems the whole camp is running short on beds, so you're stuck with me," said the spell caster as she approached, "Yeah, I know; not quite the ideal situation...but I can guarantee at least my bed is comfortable...well, more comfortable than the other beds." she said, somewhat disappointed.

"Come on, lunch is about to start, and I had enough experience from being you to know that his cooking isn't something to look forward to," she said, ushering towards the cabin.

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Turbine

Giving the girl a curious look, she shrugged, "Well, if you really are interested, I guess I could show you around." she said, returning the smile, "Over here, I'm changing the oil; you'll want to stay out of that...it's a mess," she said, holding up her hands.

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Kai

Questioning gaze directed at the girl, she said nothing about her hesitant answer, "Well, I find it very odd that the camp should have a shortage of beds. Wasn't there a list or something of all arrivals?" asked Kai.

Sera

Sera shrugged. "Beats me. Maybe the camp didn't have a good budget this year, or something."

Lucy

"Ok." Lucy replied with a smile. She looked around and gave Turbine an inquisitive look.

"Do you live in here?"

Gwen

Gwen sighed. "Fine, fine, I can get used to this arrangement. I guess. And ugh, no, it isn't. I doubt Grandpa's cooking has gotten any better in a year."

Paradox

"Ah, hello Benjamin! So good to see you again!" Paradox exclaimed as he appeared before the young hero. Cooper showed no reaction to the sudden appearance of the mysterious man. In fact, he almost looked....frozen....

"We have much to speak about, and so little time to do so!"

Ben

"Whoa, no! I think you have the wrong person, because I know we've never met!" stated Ben as his hand hovered over the Omnitrix.

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Turbine

Chuckling, Turbine shook her head, "No, but I may as well; I have a bed set up on a couch in the back, so I have a place to crash when repairs take a while." she said, placing the oil covered rag on a nearby workbench, "Not really much to show you to be honest. I just recently picked up this job since they needed someone to keep up their busses," she said, gesturing to the workplace.

She looked back at the girl, "Say, shouldn't it be about lunch? You should get going, while the food's still there,"

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KaiThis just seems to be more trouble than it's worth...I wonder if they made the same mistake with the food to," she wondered out loud.

Gwen

"So, I guess we better head down to the cafeteria..."

Lucy

"Ok. Say, you want to go with me?" Lucy asked, giving Turbine a smile. "I'm sure you must be hungry too!"

Sera

"Don't ask me." Sera replied with a shrug. She continued to walk with Kai toward the docks of the lake. Silence continued between them until Sera spoke up again.

"So....you happen to know someone by the name of Ben Tennyson?"

Paradox

"Oh calm down, boy!" Paradox admonished. The older gentleman shook his head, before his eyes lit up with remembrance. Slowly, a smile spread across his face. Paradox then cleared his throat, and gave an apologetic bow.

"Ah, sorry my boy. I forgot, I have yet to meet the younger version of you in this Timeline. Well, until now. Introductions are in order then! I am Paradox; time-traveler, dimension hopper, and Saver of the Multiverse extraordinare! And I am a great friend of yours, Benjamin. Or at least, I will be." Paradox said.

Ben

Smiling, he took his hand away from the Omnitrix, "Oh, well that makes perfect sense!....Not!" he spat, hitting the Omnitrix; the room filled with bright green light as Ben transformed. Flaring up, Ben looked at himself, "Yeah! Now that's what I'm talking about!" he said, aiming his flaming hands at Paradox, "You better start talking, or I'll toast you!"

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Charmcaster

Staring at the girl, she frowned, "Did you hit your head when I wasn't looking?" she asked, quite serious, then she slapped her palm to her forehead, "Know what...nevermind, you go ahead, I'll just be back in the cabin if you need me," she stated, walking towards said cabin

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Kai

Looking over at the girl, Kai came to a complete stop, "Why?" she asked, staring at the girl with suspicion. She had just met the girl and with in barely a minute, she was asking her, her, if she knew Ben.

Of course she did, but that wasn't the point. Seemed a little sudden that the question itself should just come up.

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Turbine

Smiling back, the mechanic nodded, "Sounds good, but I have to wash my hands first. It'll take a minute or two, if you'd like to go ahead," she said, heading over to a sink in the back of the garage.

Lucy

"I'm fine with waiting!" Lucy replied, giving an energetic smile. She looked around the garage some more as she waited for the older woman.

Sera

"N-No reason." Sera replied with a tint of a blush. She looked away nervously as she spoke again.

"I had just heard about him from my....father. I was just curious if maybe you knew who he was..."

Gwen

"Wait!" Gwen gave Charmcaster a desperate look, as she hesitantly looked over in the direction of the lunchroom. Oi...

"Can we, um, please share some of your food?" Gwen asked after a moment, trying to sound as nice as possible toward Charmcaster. "I don't really want to eat Grandpa's cooking, and I'm sure Jen wouldn't like it either. And you must remember what Grandpa's cooking tastes like. It's not something easily forgotten..."

Paradox

Paradox shook his head gravely. "Ah, the folly of the youth. You'd think by now I'd come across a young Benjamin Tennyson with some sense!"

Paradox held out his hand, and before Ben could do anything the time-traveler froze the young Hero in place. Paradox then calmly strode toward Ben, and placed a finger upon the Omnitrix. In a flash of green light, Ben was turned back into a human.

"Now, can we speak like civilized men?"

Ben

Looking down at his deactivated Omnitrix, "Awww, man...how is it everyone can do that but me?" grumbled Ben, looking up at the man he scowled, "Alright...what do you want?" he asked, trying to reactivate his seemingly timed-out device, "And how did you do that?"

Charmcaster

Blinking, she just looked at Gwen, "You...are asking me to share food? I know we haven't exactly had a very pleasant relationship, but that's a little left field for me." she said, hold her hand in front of her in a 'stop' motion.

Looking between the two girls, she groaned, placing her hand against her head.

Gwen

"Oh come on; you know what my Grandpa's food is like. And I've been lucky enough to go nearly a year without it, now. I do not want to go back to eating it for another summer." Gwen replied. She gave Charmcaster a pleading look.

"Please?"

Paradox

"All in good time, my boy. Now, tell me: what do you know about time travel?" Paradox asked with a curious look.

((You forgot to post with Kai, Warboss.))

Ben

Snorting, the boy looked up at the stranger, "I know I'm going to be cool and kick all kinds of alien butt!" he said, looking up at the man, "Other than that...you might want to ask Gwen."

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Turbine

Having finished up washing her hands, the mechanic met back up with the blond, having a bit of difficulty tracking the little explorer down, "Well, I have to say...I honestly didn't think you'd wait. So, you ready to go eat?" she asked, looking over the girl, "Or are you still looking around?"

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Charmcaster, Jen

"Alright, alright! Knock it off!" said the spell caster, holding the begging girl at bay, "I don't have very much, but you can have some," she relented, "But just this once. I pay for the food myself, and I can't afford to feed the cabin....i was lucky they let me have the fridge at all..."

"That fine," said Jen, taking Gwen by the arm, "I think I brought a few snacks in, so you don't have to go through the trouble."

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Kai

"Yeah, i know him...and his cousin too," she spat with much distaste. Looking over at the girl as she sat down at the edge of the docks, "Why?" she asked suspiciously.

Paradox

Paradox shook his head at Ben. "Oh, Ben. Why, in nearly every dimension I visit, must I always get the same answer from you? Ah well. Anyway, moving on. We do not have much time, Ben, so I will cut to the chase: two....criminals....from the future.....or rather, from a parallel history that is in a future point of time, to be technical.....have come to your history to target both you and you cousin, Gwen. While I am unsure what Gwen's targeter seeks to do to her, yours....wishes to kill you. Quite violently, actually."

Paradox smiled at Ben. "And while I am sure you could handle her quite easily, your opponent is quite the.....what do you children call it? Quite the....bad***? Well, yes, anyway because of that....quality, she will be a difficult enemy to defeat. Thus I have come to offer you help, Ben. Of a sort."

Sera

"Um, no real reason." Sera replied, looking away nervously. "I, just, um, heard a lot about them from my....uncle."

Lucy

"I'm ready!" Lucy cheerily replied, giving Turbine a wide smile.

Gwen

Gwen gave a relieved sigh. "Thanks, Charmcaster. Oh, and thank you too, Jen. I appreciate the offer. But I'm sure Charmcaster's food would be more filling. Well, then, let's go back to the cabin."