13 Fitting In: Part 3 Familiar Faces

Happy Birthday, Ben!"

Ben smiled at the friends who'd decided to stop by his house and throw him an impromptu birthday celebration. Diana, Wally, Clark, John, and of course Kara had all come to see him.

"Thanks guys; it means a lot to me that you're all here." Ben actually struggled to keep tears from falling.

"Hey, no problem," said Wally West as he threw an arm over Ben's shoulder in a comradely fashion, "after all, you only turn nineteen once."

Ben was going to reply, but Kara walked up and kissed him, causing his mind to draw a blank. Wally only smirked.

The heroes had been hanging out for some time, when they received a call from the Watchtower, which was answered by Clark.

"Is it a world-saving crisis, Batman?"

"It might be." Came the voice of the Dark Knight, "At any rate, Dr. Fate asked me to contact you."

The others tensed; it had only been a couple of week since the Amazo incident, and Fate had been the android's supervisor. If Fate was calling them…

"Did Amazo decide to destroy the world or something?" asked Ben. It might have been his birthday, but if he was needed, he'd be there.

"Fate said that something has come to Earth from another universe," said Batman, "sound familiar?"

Everyone present froze; the other heroes looked a Ben, who had a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Hey Bats," asked Ben, "Did Fate say if this person or object was from my universe?"

"He didn't, but he said that he could show us an image of what appeared, and that he wanted the opinion of someone who's been to other universes."

Ben looked at his friends, who nodded at him, as if to tell him that they would support him if he needed the backup. He returned the gesture.

"Okay, I can get brought up now; everyone else needs to get sent to their rooms to get into costume."

As Ben started to move to another room to grab his jacket, he felt a hand on his shoulder; he turned to see Kara with a sad expression.

"Sorry something like this had to happen on your birthday, Ben."

Ben shrugged. "It's no big deal; I'm so used to something freaky happening to me, I'm almost disappointed when it doesn't."

A sly smile appeared on Kara's face. "What about when it's just us?"

A similar smile appeared on Ben. "You're the exception; I'm never disappointed when it's just us."

Blushing, but still keeping the smile, Kara gave Ben a quick kiss before he was teleported away.

…

Watchtower

"I have no idea what it is," said Fate as the heroes assembled in front of him; Ben was the only one not in costume, since everyone present knew his identity, "but the amount of power that it displayed as it entered our universe was staggering."

"If you could sense power like that, how come you didn't sense Ben when he came into our universe?" asked Flash, "I mean, the kid's got a lot of power."

Fate shook his head. "Ben's power comes from technology; this being wields natural, mystic energy, which I am attuned to."

Ben nodded. "Okay, so we know it's got power, but Batman said that you could show us what it is; if it is from my universe, I might be able to recognize it."

Fate nodded and raised his hands; purple light surrounded the space in front of him as he chanted.

"Wohs su eht gnieb morf rehtona esrevinu!"

A mirror appeared in front of them, with the form of the extra-universal being coming into focus. Ben stiffened as he recognized the creature. He started to sway from the shock, before Supergirl brought him over to a chair.

"I think that answered the question if Ben would recognize it." Said Flash.

"Are you okay, Ben?" asked Wonder Woman.

Ben blinked a few times, then shook his head as if to clear it. "Sorry, I was just a little surprised; I didn't expect to see one of those here."

Supergirl turned back to the image. "So what is it?"

"That," said Ben, gesturing to the picture of a humanoid female with purple skin and hair that seemed to be made of pink light, "is an Anodite."

"Is that bad?" asked Green Lantern.

Ben took a deep breath, then exhaled; he was getting over the shock of seeing an Anodite, but it still brought back some unpleasant memories.

"It really depends on the Anodite in question; some are good, some are bad, but they all share an insatiable curiosity. They're free-spirited wanderers."

"Are they dangerous?" asked Batman; he didn't like the idea of something that scared Ben running loose on Earth, even if it wasn't evil.

"Again, it depends on the Anodite." Replied Ben, "But they are powerful; probably in the top ten most powerful beings in my universe."

The others stared at him in shock; they'd seen what Ben could turn into, and the way he'd said it made it seem like an Anodite was more powerful than anything he could become.

"What are their capabilities?" asked Batman, his analytical mind trying to discover an exploitable weakness.

"Honestly?" said Ben, "I've never seen what they can really do. I know that they can manipulate Mana, the life-energy in my universe, and they can use it to do anything they want; they can even alter reality, to an extent. As long as there's Mana available, the only thing that can stop an Anodite is another, more powerful Anodite."

Flash gulped nervously. "Okay, so we've just gotta hope that it's a friendly Anodite."

Ben nodded. "Yep."

"Where is the Anodite now?" Superman asked Fate.

Fate, after dispelling the image, looked up for a moment, his eyes glowing. "Gotham City, near the docks; that is the closest nearest I can narrow the search area."

Superman nodded. "It'll do; Batman, you know the area best, so you'll lead the team. Ben, Lantern, Supergirl and I will go with you."

"Uh, guys?" everyone turned to Ben. "We don't want to spook an Anodite; she might attack if we do."

"Got it," said Supergirl, "no scaring the purple alien."

The heroes went to the teleporter pad as Ben transformed into Diamondhead. A flash of light later, and they were gone.

…

Gotham City

The team appeared at Gotham's docks and cautiously spread out; Diamondhead had been designated spokesperson if the Anodite was discovered. Hopefully, the Anodite would be in a talkative mood.

As they searched, Supergirl worried about her boyfriend; he hadn't seemed scared of the Anodite, more like he'd seen a ghost. Maybe he'd had an Anodite friend who'd died, or something.

Diamondhead slowly pushed open the doors to a warehouse, entering with caution; after his experience with Sunny, he really did not want to get on the bad side of an Anodite. He froze when he heard a noise; it sounded like a sigh. Squinting, Diamondhead could faintly make out a pinkish glow.

"Uh, hello?" he called out softly, "Excuse me, Miss Anodite? Do you think you could come out and talk?"

From around a large crate floated the Anodite. She hovered over him for a moment, before lowering herself to his eye-level. Superman and Supergirl, having heard the sigh thanks to their super-hearing, gathered Lantern and Batman and slowly entered the same building. Diamondhead heard them enter and made a gesture behind his back to stop them from doing anything rash.

The Anodite kept her eyes locked onto Diamondhead's for another moment, then looked down at the Ultimatrix symbol. Slowly, she reached out and put a finger against the dial. In a flash of violet light, Diamondhead was changed back into Ben, who looked down at himself in shock.

Didn't expect that, he thought. He also didn't expect the Anodite to throw her arms around his neck.

"Hello Ben!" she exclaimed, "Happy Birthday!"

The other heroes were startled and confused, with Supergirl having the added emotion of anger. Ben, on the other hand couldn't believe it. That voice…

"Grandma?"

…

Watchtower

After confirming that the Anodite was not a threat, the team plus one were teleported back to the briefing room of the Watchtower, where they were rejoined by Flash, Wonder Woman and Dr. Fate.

"So, Ben," said Supergirl, "you have an alien grandma?"

The Anodite smiled, still giving Ben a one-armed hug as they sat next to each other. "That's right; I am Verdona, Ben's grandmother. How do you do?"

"And you never told us that you had an alien grandma because…?" asked Green Lantern.

"Because she disappeared over two years ago." Ben replied curtly. The fact that he wasn't exactly happy to see his grandmother was a mystery to the other Leaguers; after losing everyone else, they thought he'd be ecstatic to see a living relative.

"Oh Ben, you know that Anodites don't spend too much time in one place, and besides," Verdona said, her smile dropping slightly, "I sent messages."

"Yeah," said Ben bitterly, "to Grandpa Max, to Gwen, even Kevin and Julie; but not to me." Then his eyes narrowed. "But you weren't there when they needed you the most; you weren't even there after they died!"

Verdona's smile fell completely as her arm dropped to her side. She looked at her feet. "I tried to help, Ben, but by the time I received Gwen's call for aid, it was already too late. I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you; I was so caught up in grieving for my husband, children and grandchild that I… I…"

"You forgot about me." It wasn't a question so much as a statement.

"I am so sorry, Ben." Verdona's voice had fallen to a whisper. She stood up, turning her back to her grandson. "After I came to my senses, I tried to find you through the Mana-Stream, but you weren't there. You'd disappeared off the face of the universe. I've spent months searching universes, trying to find you. I was starting to believe that I would have to live with these regrets forever."

Ben blinked; deep down, he knew that his grandmother loved him, but she'd always given more attention to Gwen, since she'd inherited the powers of an Anodite. But after Gwen died, she'd spent months trying to find her grandson. Suddenly, Ben didn't feel so bitter towards her; she'd been grieving just as much as he had, maybe even more so. He stood up and walked over to Verdona, and gently turned her towards him.

"Hey," Ben said as he wrapped his grandmother in a hug, "it's okay; you were sad, I get it. I'm sorry that I snapped at you; I guess after a while, I thought that you didn't care."

Verdona shook her head, even as she buried her face into Ben's shoulder; violet streams of Mana poured from her eyes.

"I realize that I must have made you feel forgotten, and for that, more than anything, I am sorry about. I just thought that if I kept talking to you, you might be resentful of never inheriting the same powers as your cousin." She lifted her head again. "I promise that I will talk to you more often, Ben; that is, if you forgive me?"

Ben smiled, even as tears of his own started to form. "Grandma, I was never resentful about that; I could turn into aliens with super-powers before Gwen even realized where her powers came from." He hugged her again. "And I forgive you, even though I don't think that you needed to be sorry."

A small cough broke the moment, and both turned to see the other Leaguers staring at them with mixed expressions. Flash looked a little bemused, while Batman merely raised an eyebrow. Superman and Green Lantern had small smiles on their faces, while Wonder Woman and Kara had tears in their eyes from the whole exchange. The reunited relatives separated, a little embarrassed.

"So," said Superman, after composing himself, "we can establish that you are not here for hostile purposes?"

Verdona smiled. "Of course not." Then her smile turned into a frown. "Unless someone has hurt my grandson, in which case you may consider me very hostile."

"Grandma," whined Ben, "I can take care of myself!"

The Leaguers, minus Batman, shared a laugh at Ben's reaction. Flash raised his hands in a placating gesture.

"Don't worry, ma'am," he said, "we've been taking good care of the kid."

Ben turned to him. "I'm sorry, who busted who out of an alien prison a while back, then helped you save the world?"

Verdona smiled at him. "Ah, Ben; sent to another universe and you still save the world. I am so proud of you."

Ben smiled back; he'd never gotten much praise from his grandmother, so he treasured whenever it happened. "Thanks, grandma."

Verdona snapped her fingers. "Oh! In all the excitement, I almost forgot your birthday presents!"

"What?"

"Well, I've missed a lot of your birthdays, Ben; I've got to start making up for that!" Verdona held out her hand and adopted a look of concentration. After a moment, a violet crystal formed in her palm, and she held it out to Ben.

"This is a Mana-crystal," she explained, "and it's connected to me; all you have to do is speak while holding it, and I'll be able to talk to you or visit if you need me, within twenty-four hours."

"Wow, Grandma," said Ben as he accepted the crystal and put it into his pocket, "thanks!"

"Oh, it gets better," said Verdona, tracing a circle in the air, which became violet-colored, "I promised a friend of yours that I'd bring him to you when I found you."

"A friend? Who…" Ben started to ask, as Verdona reached into the circle.

When she brought her arms back out, she was holding a small creature. It was black and had green circuitry covering its back; it had only one eye and two stubby legs on the front, with a slug-like rear. It looked at Ben and started to wag its rear like a tail.

"Ship, ship!" said the creature.

Ben stared, dumbfounded.

"Ship?" he asked tentatively. The wagging increased in speed as the creature jumped into Ben's arms.

"Ship ship ship!" cried Ship in joy. Ben had started laughing as he held the creature close.

"Hey, buddy! I thought I'd never see you again!"

"Uh, Ben?" asked Supergirl, "What is that?" Ben held Ship out to her; Ship actually jumped from Ben's arms and into Supergirl's.

"This is Ship," Ben explained to everyone, who'd been staring at the odd display, "he's a Galvanic Mechamorph Symbiote." He sighed as he saw the blank looks he was getting. "He's an Upgrade, but like a dog."

"Ship ship ship!" said Ship indignantly.

"Right, sorry," apologized Ben, "he's a lot smarter than a dog and he has the same powers as Upgrade, plus he can do other stuff that I can't do as Upgrade."

"Aww," gushed Supergirl, "he's so cute!"

"Ship ship!" Ship started nuzzling Supergirl's neck; he liked it when people complimented him.

"Why is he called Ship?" asked Green Lantern, "Besides the fact that that seems to be the only word he knows."

"Uh, that's kind of a long story." Ben turned to Verdona. "Where did you find him? I thought he'd died when Julie…" he trailed off.

"Ship, ship." Said Ship mournfully. Supergirl patted his head consolingly.

"I found him in the wreckage of your house after you'd disappeared," explained Verdona, "but he was very weak. I nursed him back to health, and after he got better, he wanted to find you. I suppose that after Julie was gone, you were all he had left."

Ben walked over to Ship and started petting his head; in a few moments, Ship fell asleep in Supergirl's arms.

"Can we keep him?" asked Supergirl.

"I don't see why not," said Ben, "he could be a great help with all the technical stuff on the Watchtower."

Ship's head snapped up at the mention of technology; he jumped out of Supergirl's arms and rushed through the door.

"Ship ship ship!" he cried happily.

"Hey, Ship, come back here!" Ben ran after his friend, followed by the rest of the heroes, all of whom were laughing, save for Batman.

"Just a moment, Supergirl." Said Verdona. Supergirl, who was the last one out, turned.

"Yes?"

"Do you suppose that I could speak with you for a moment?"

Supergirl shrugged. "I guess so."

Verdona smiled and sat in a chair, gesturing for Supergirl to do the same with an adjoining seat. After they got comfortable, Verdona leaned in close.

"So, how long have you been dating my grandson?"

Supergirl reeled back. "How did you…?"

Verdona laughed. "Oh, a grandmother knows these things, my dear." Then she shrugged. "Plus, I could sense the emotions the two of you have regarding each other. Though I must say, I've never seen a human like you before."

"That's because I'm not human," explained Supergirl, "I'm Kryptonian; we just happen to look exactly like humans."

"Huh," said Verdona, "that's weird. Evolution took a bit of a lazy turn with that, I guess."

"Hey!"

"Oh, relax, dear, I'm only teasing." Verdona's face grew serious. "But you didn't answer my question."

"Oh right." Kara straightened her back. "Almost two months."

Verdona nodded. "I can tell that he's happy, as are you." She looked Kara in the eye for a moment, before giving her a gentle hug. "Thank you." She whispered.

Kara was confused. "For what?"

"I spoke to Julie several times before she died," explained Verdona as she let go, "and from what I could tell, she and Ben were very much in love. For her to be taken away like that… Well, I had decades with Ben's grandfather, while Ben only had three years. I'm just glad that he was able to find that kind of love again."

Kara smiled. "I'm just glad that he's feeling better."

Verdona shook her head. "It was more than just helping him feel better; you saved him, my dear, even if neither of you realize it. For that, and for filling my grandson's heart with love, you have my deepest thanks."

The conversation was interrupted when Ben came back into the room, carrying Ship.

"Sorry," said Ben, "Ship decided to merge with a refrigerator in the cafeteria and was spitting defrosting chicken at people."

"Ship ship!" said Ship, pleased with himself.

"You know, you don't have to throw things at people; you should know that's rude!" admonished Ben.

Even though he didn't have a very expressive face, Ship seemed to be sticking his nonexistent tongue at Ben. Ben rolled his eyes before turning to the two women.

"So, what'd I miss?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing." Said Kara, "Just some girl-talk." Then she wrapped her arms around Ben's neck and gave him a long kiss.

"Ship?" Ship asked Verdona.

"Oh hush, you." she replied, "This is cute."

After another few seconds, Kara broke off the kiss. She walked out the door, but not before giving Ben a wink. Ship, having squirmed out of Ben's arms, followed his new friend.

Ben, having temporarily lost the gift of coherent thought, merely said, "Uh…"

Verdona placed a hand on Ben's shoulder. "She's a good one."

Ben nodded. "Yeah, she is."

"I'm happy for you, Ben." Verdona gave her grandson another one-armed hug. "It's not often that someone finds true love twice in one life." Then she released him. "Well, it's been a blast, but I really must be going."

"What?" asked Ben, "But you just got here!"

Verdona sighed. "Ben, I have responsibilities back home, even if they are self-appointed ones, and I can't let go of them; don't worry though, I'll visit as often as I can. While I'm back in our universe, I'll check on Earth; I'll see how things are going since you left."

Ben smiled. "Thanks Grandma."

With a flash of violet light, Verdona vanished. Ben pulled the Mana-Crystal out of his pocket and stared at it for a moment, before Superman's voice emerged from a nearby communication panel.

"Uh, Ben, Ship just found his way into the Javelin bay, and…"

Ben's head snapped up. "Got it, I'm on my way." He turned into XLR8 and rushed off, a smile underneath his visor.

Things just kept getting better and better.

So, yes, I'm still keeping Verdona and Ship in, just like in the original chapter. I wish I had a sentient techno-blob capable of turning into a warship. Think of all I could get away with, MWAHAHAHA!

Ben: Great, there he goes again. Wait a-why am I speaking outside of my own story!?

Why not? I thought I'd try something different, see what people think. You don't like it?

Ben: I'm not really sure yet. It's just kind of weird right now.

Kara: I think it's kind of cool. Hey, audience! How's it going!?

Flash: Nice! I get more screen time with my adoring public.

You mean the people who like laughing at your role as comic relief? I suppose they do get a gas over your goofiness.

Flash: HEY!

Next time on Ben 10: Unlimited – "Ultimatum"

Ben: Well, that sure sounds ominious…