Idleness (Open)

[bears-omnitrix.livejournal.com]

Lately Ben had been kind of restless, and thus had been buzzing around the city. It was way too quiet with everything going on, and as much as he hated being idle, there was really no helping it at times.

He had gotten a RideVendor remote from Philip and had taken out one of the cycles for a spin. A few false starts and he was roaring around the city at a breakneck pace before pulling up to the park. Removing his helmet, he brushed his hair of sweat. "I really like motorcycles," he declared to no one as he got off and began to do a few warm ups.

While training in the sensoriums was always fun, he was often finding himself preferring the city more and more, and he selected an alien from his watch, an old standby favorite.

"CANNONBOLT!" yelled Ben as he began to roll and bounce all over the place.

Comments

[8wings.livejournal.com]

There was a giant yellow and black sphere rolling down the city street. Noisily. Sentiently?

Anwei (who was only looking for more pens to put in Howard's desk) swiftly side-stepped into the doorway of a nearby building, mentally preparing a message for Security. This reminded her a bit too much of Kain.

"Who are you?" she said, a little challengingly.

[bears-omnitrix.livejournal.com]

Said sphere paused in his rolling and unfurled into the sort of pill-bug like Cannonbolt. "Er, I come in peace?" inquired Cannonbolt. "Don't call security or anything, I'm just having some fun. I'm a crewmate, for reals."

[8wings.livejournal.com]

"Ah, did you just arrive in the last podpop? I don't recognize you." That might make sense; a sentient this large might have been directed into the ship via a different channel.

If so, Anwei wanted to go point a video camera at that channel, if not simply seal it up.

[bears-omnitrix.livejournal.com]

"Naw, I've been here for a long time now," replied Cannonbolt, touching the device on his forehead and in a flash of light, changed back into Ben. "Ben Tennyson. I've been here for a long while."

[8wings.livejournal.com]

Anwei heard a distant cry in the back of her mind, as though the laws of physics had cried out in pain but were suddenly silenced. She ignored the cry; she was hearing it too often, here.

"I'm Anwei Ayles. I've only been here a few months." She blinked at him, mentally comparing the green-eyed young man to the rolling ball to the black-and-white bipedal giant. "You have quite the talent, there."

[bears-omnitrix.livejournal.com]

"Ah that's really not me, it's the Ultimatrix here." He held up his wrist to show it off. "With it, someone can become an alien, and assume their biological powers. Level 20 Alien Tech, the only one in existence."

[8wings.livejournal.com]

She touched two fingers to her lips, rather alarmed. "Do you also take on their biological vulnerabilities? Could you catch an alien disease and be harmed by it?"

She was picturing going among, say, a pack of lopench'n and changing into one of them, giving them all some sickness, and then changing back. A time bomb, just waiting to be used.

Of course, she didn't like lopench'n. Really, who did?

[bears-omnitrix.livejournal.com]

"As far as I can tell, I'm protected from disease when I'm in any form." Not to pregnancy, he added silently, remembering the Big Chill incident. "And I can head into space too. The only disease I've known to catch are earth-borne ones. Like a cold or flu, but that's normal for me."

[8wings.livejournal.com]

"Whoo," she blew out her breath. "A pan-species immune system? And the ability to duplicate biological powers? Whoever made your Ultimatrix must have had incredible knowledge! And for you to be entrusted with such a machine..."

Her look was frankly admiring.

[bears-omnitrix.livejournal.com]

"His name is Azmuth, and he's the greatest scientific mind in two galaxies, maybe more." replied Ben. "I could never come up to his level, so I just use this, and keep thinking about how good it'll feel to see everyone again."

[8wings.livejournal.com]

"To see everyone again would be wonderful. To bring everything back. And what a story we'll have to tell everyone back home."

Of course, whether anyone would believe her would be another matter.

[bears-omnitrix.livejournal.com]

"I know my mom and dad would be amused by the stories I'll tell them later," said Ben. "I mean, they accepted Grandpa Max's intergalactic cop thing pretty well."

[8wings.livejournal.com]

She really hoped that her family never showed up, here or anywhere, ever again. Ever.

"So, being a hero is a family tradition?" That sort of made sense. A grandfather as an intergalactic cop, a grandson in control of a shapeshifting machine.

[bears-omnitrix.livejournal.com]

"Well we don't plan on being heroes. It just sort of happens," replied Ben, grinning lightly. "My family's pretty extraordinary in their own way. Even without the alien bloodline."

[8wings.livejournal.com]

"It just sort of happens," she repeated, deadpan. "Like climbing up a tree? Just - suddenly, hero?"

[bears-omnitrix.livejournal.com]

"Yep. Happened to my grandpa, happened to me. Grandpa Max became a space cop from what I was told was a complete and utter accident, saving grandma from a slaver. The Omnitrix, at least the first one, crash landed near our camp when I was 10 when since my genetic profile matched grandpa's it latched on, causing me to gain the powers."

Ben shrugged. "Heroes aren't born in my world, they're made."

[8wings.livejournal.com]

"That's a little daunting, actually." Was this ship trying to make its crew more heroic?

Did Stacy really think that would work?

"I don't think I have anything like that in my background. I still get the feeling sometimes that I was just standing next to someone else who was important, and got snatched up with them."

Hopefully, not instead of them.

[bears-omnitrix.livejournal.com]

"Everyone's got something to contribute, even if it's not seen immediately," pointed out Ben. "Just gotta keep looking for it y'know?"

[8wings.livejournal.com]

"I'm definitely still looking. I thought it was a medical database, but that was incomplete. Then I thought it was helping out in Medical, but Stacy started sending me on missions."

She shrugged, hands out. "I wonder if I'll end up doing everything once. Like - what's the program called on Earth? Apprenticing, or work study, or something."

[bears-omnitrix.livejournal.com]

"Apprenticing is a good way to learn what you really want to do," said Ben, perching himself onto a low wall. "A lot of people do it, well into their 30s back home, and sometimes we change majors."

[8wings.livejournal.com]

Anwei sat down as well.

"My species has a sort of - compressed - adolescence," she said, gesturing with her hands as though squeezing time between them. "A very small window for learning things. And once you learn, you're not suppose to change." She put her hands down on the wall, and kicked her heels. "Well. I changed before. Time to change again."

The question was, would she ever be able to change back?

[bears-omnitrix.livejournal.com]

"Well, that's something you need to answer for yourself then," said Ben. "Changing will give you the opportunity to give a second chance at everything."

[8wings.livejournal.com]

She smiled. "A chance that many don't ever get. This is a very strange classroom to learn in, though," she said dryly, indicating the maze of mismatched buildings, and the artificial sun glowing overhead.

[bears-omnitrix.livejournal.com]

"That's life for you. Or for me at least. This is pretty old hat for me." replied Ben. "I haven't seen anything yet that surprises me."

[8wings.livejournal.com]

She blinked, surprised. He'd been here a long time, and nothing had surprised him? What sort of a life had he led before he got here?

She looked at him sideways. "Old hat? I can't tell if you're serious or not. If you are, I wish I could figure out how to get some of that equanimity bottled and distributed. It would make arrival here a lot easier."