Hidden inheritance

Chapter 9: Picking up broken pieces

"Are you okay, Ben? You look troubled."

"Sorry..." he apologized. "I got a lot of stuff going on all at the same time today, I didn't think Kevin finally being stopped would be one of them. But... thank you."

The boy smiled, though his father knew there was something wrong. Ben didn't look entirely relieved, like something was still bothering him.

"Hey, uh, could you go back with Sixsix and Kraab for a sec? I, I need to rethink about this whole thing."

Vilgax hummed, uncertain Ben would be okay. He didn't question Ben's decision however. "Hmm, very well. Are you sure you'll find a way back on your own?"

Ben pouted. "I can come back without your help, thanks." 'I know this thing is huge, but I don't need help or a map to know where to go.'

With a chuckle, Vilgax left his son alone, letting him muse in peace.

Ben made sure he was gone before getting closer. Kevin was completely out of it, he didn't budge when they came in.

He looked at the hybrid, feeling slight guilt for his current state. 'Come on. Kevin had it coming, he was the one who started it.' He told himself.

The alien abomination was so unnaturally calm, even if he breathed with something akin to a gnarl. Kevin was now used as a battery for Vilgax's plan. This wouldn't have happened if Kevin listened.

This wouldn't have happened if Kevin didn't get mad at him.

This wouldn't have happened if Kevin didn't absorb energy from the watch.

This wouldn't have happened if Kevin didn't reject his friendship.

This wouldn't have happened if Kevin didn't want to take the watch.

This wouldn't have happened if Vilgax had taken the watch beforehand.

"Kevin, I..."

This wouldn't have happened if...

This would've never happened if Ben didn't cause trouble with the Omnitrix.

This would've never happened if Ben didn't humiliate him.

This would've never happened if Ben managed to reform him.

This would've never happened if Ben didn't fail.

"I'm sorry, Kevin." he finally said.

He looked sadly at the mutant's blank expression, putting his left hand on the teen's chest.

"I never wanted this. You were asking for it, but this is my fault. I really wanted us to be friends, I really thought we would've worked well together. I'm sorry you had to become a freak because of me."

The mutant didn't show any sign of change, not interrupting what Ben had to get off his chest.

"Your powers were already cool, I thought we could be a duo of heroes, teaming up and combining what we got to be invincible. I'm sorry I made things more complicated, I know what it's like to have everyone see you as a freak. If I could, I'd do everything in my power to fix you up." he said, clutching Kevin's chest with his clawed hand.

He however didn't notice the green sparks coming out of the Omnitrix and getting to Kevin's body, too busy looking down to see what he was doing.

"Right now, both of our lives got way more complicated than ever. I'm sorry things have to be this way, I'm sorry." he repeated.

He brought his palm to his face, feeling a headache from all the emotions he went through recently. Maybe Vilgax had aspirin or something to calm it down.

He silently left the room, not realizing Kevin behind him was slowly shrinking.

Wildmutt's arms retracted into his body, Heatblast and Diamondhead's arms were losing their toughness, becoming softer and showing a pale skin as the volcanic rock and diamond disintegrated. XLR8's tail and Stinkfly's wings retracted, as well as Ripjaws' teeth and lure.

Soon enough, Kevin's body had shrunk back into the size of a normal 11 years old kid. His eyes were back to normal, his muscles lacked the markings he had from the alien skin, he had no trace of harm anywhere despite the beat-down he got. And while his cargo pants were torn a few minutes ago, it seemed his clothing had been fixed too, as if his mutation didn't affect his original form the slightest.

The young boy fell down on the ground, his normal body too small for the tubes to still pierce through his skin and hold him captive. He laid down on the arena's floor, still staring into the abyss.

It took several minutes for his mind to finally start putting pieces together, even if it hurt. He found himself gasping for air and, for the first time since he was caught, Kevin was jolted back into the real world.

He woke up, his eyes open wide, staring at everything around him.

"Wha... what's going on? What happened to me? Where am I?" he asked himself in panic.

He looked around. This room... Vilgax lured him in and he kidnapped him... Then he lost against Vilgax...

Then what?

As he tried to remember, he felt a splitting headache. He couldn't recall what happened. He felt like he was knocked out, but he wasn't sure, it also felt like he had been awake for a long time, and he couldn't remember what happened a few minutes ago, everything was a blur.

"I... I need to get out of here!"

As he tried to run, he paused.

He looked at himself. His body... he was normal. He wasn't a mutant alien freak anymore, he was back to his old self.

How?

It hurt him even more to think about it. He tried to summon the small alien's brain power and XLR8's speed, but nothing came. When he tried to reproduce Heatblast's flames, the only thing that came out of his hands... were blue energy sparks. His powers were back to normal, he was back to who he was before... before he met Ben Tennyson.

"How did this happen? Did Tennyson do this? Or did that squidface steal my powers?"

Whatever it was, he didn't feel safe to keep pondering there. He needed to get out of here, now.

If you like this story I suggest going to the original source here
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12886550/1/Hidden-inheritance

And if you want more like this I suggest going to the original author of this story Heato-kun's home page here
https://www.fanfiction.net/u/7748632/Heato-kun