10) Repairing the damage - 1

"Wait, I am immortal?" Ben asked, amazed. He couldn't believe what Kevin had said, but then again, the things he said made sense.

Ben himself had long suspected the possibility of his immortality. Since he was young, there was always a hunch in his mind about it, and it only got more pronounced when Kevin confirmed it.

"What type of immortality are we talking about here?" Sandra asked, worried. She was curious and alarmed about this whole immortality revelation. Her son had been a hero all these years, and she knew nothing about it. Now, learning that he was immortal too added another layer of complexity. It was a hard pill to swallow.

"Well, it's hard to say. He will age, but the Omnitrix makes it hard to kill him," Kevin replied with a frown. He had to acknowledge the complexities of Tennyson's unique condition. The boy was really gifted with good luck.

"So the Omnitrix holds the cure for Grandpa and everyone?" Gwen asked, setting aside the discussion about immortality for later. They needed to focus on the bigger problem at hand.

"It must have," Kevin replied confidently. "The Omnitrix would have a failsafe for genetic damage, for sure."

"Bring your hand here, Tennyson," Kevin said, looking at Ben with a confident look.

Ben made his way towards Kevin, locking eyes with him before slowly extending his hands. The hardened slime had completely wrapped around the Omnitrix.

Kevin touched the slime around the Omnitrix and slowly absorbed it up to his elbow. Once absorbed, he slowly began to manipulate it back into a liquid state.

The liquid slime now, slowly started to drip from Ben's hand, freeing the Omnitrix and his hand once again. Kevin looked at the Omnitrix surrounded by the slime, memories of his past actions coming to haunt him subconsciously. He immediately pushed those thoughts away with a frown.

Though the Omnitrix was beeping green strongly. Once the slime was removed from around it, the Omnitrix immediately started to sound. "Severe Genetic Damage detected nearby."

"Told ya," Kevin said, looking at Ben and the Tennysons in the room. He was right in his guess. It seemed the Cerebrocrustacean's powers weren't failing him.

"Omnitrix, is that you?" Ben asked, confused, as, for the first time in his life, he heard his watch speaking.

"Genetic code splicing error. Should we attempt to repair?" the Omnitrix asked in a male robotic voice.

Ben was taken aback by the reply, but he immediately composed himself. He ordered within a split second,"Yeah, make everyone normal."

The Omnitrix immediately emitted a bright light that enveloped the whole room. The intense green light was so dazzling that everyone, apart from Kevin, had to shield their eyes. Even Kevin, with his stubborn determination, couldn't withstand the intensity and had to close his eyes within two seconds.

The light dimmed away after two seconds. Everyone looked around the room to see four figures lying on the floor. Their faces were all human now, and the Xenocite creatures were sluggishly moving, about a foot away from their faces.

"Frank! Ken! Carl! Dad!" were the yells that emerged in the room instantly.

"It ain't Max," Labrid commented as he looked at the fourth man there. Kevin too nodded. It seemed the aliens had sent a normal soldier in place of Max Tennyson, using an ID mask. A clever trick for sure.

"Yeah. He must still be there. The old man knows more about the Plumbers and their procedures more than anyone. I don't think they would let him go so easily," Kevin commented factly. He levitated the four Xenocyte creatures to the table and inspected them. Little fuckers were really dangerous.

"The pulse of the people on the floor is a little lower than normal. They may recover fully in a short time," the AI's robotic voice traveled through the room.

"I think we should move them upstairs," Kevin suggested, noticing the worried family members of the Tennyson family. They all seemed to get a little better after hearing that they were merely lethargic at the moment.

Gwen nodded. She immediately conjured pink magenta stretcher-like constructs under the four people and began to levitate them in the air.

Gwen slowly took the unconscious figures upstairs, while the other members of the Tennyson family followed. Kevin and Labrid followed them slowly not before Kevin enclosed those Xenocites in a tight jar.

_________________________________________________

"Thank you, Magister Kevin, Magister Labrid," Frank said with a smile as he looked at the two Plumbers in front of him.

Kevin nodded to Gwen's father. It was indeed odd to converse with them, considering they lacked common ground for bonding. The situation was even more challenging for the third man who had left half an hour earlier. Kevin had to fabricate a story, claiming that he had just passed out outside the house. The man struggled to recollect his memories, facing difficulties in the process. Though he left in search for his home. Kevin had given him more than enough money to his way to the home. He had even booked a cab for him.

"I never knew that the things I was hoping to avoid would come to bite back in my ass," Carl spoke up with a sigh, reflecting on the unforeseen consequences of their actions. His eyes went to Ben who fidgeted nervously in his seat.

"Carl!" Sandra gasped as she entered the room with Gwen and Natalie, carrying trays of food and drinks, only to be met by Carl swearing. Since the dinner had been ruined, Kevin had decided to let them prepare dinner. Besides, he acknowledged it was also his mistake.

He had disappeared for a week into space, and things went downhill. The week of absorbing powers of various aliens ended in an emergency on Earth. Kevin thought with a frown.

"It's not a problem, Mr. Tennyson. The Plumbers are actually a reputable organization; however, our work comes with its own problems. A cop's family is always at risk of being targeted by evil factions; we are the same. Though in our case, it's extremely diverse in the threats and actions. Max's tenure as a legendary Plumber was bound to bring attention to your family," Kevin explained, looking at Carl.

"I know you both are angry at Ben and Gwen. However, they are more capable than you think. Ben might be a little rash, but your father always trusted his instincts. As for Gwen, I think she clearly got her grandma's abilities," Kevin said with a cordial smile to Carl and Frank, trying to ease the tension.

Ben and Gwen were amazed to hear those words, especially from Kevin Levin. The self proclaimed enemy of theirs. However, his last words caught Gwen's attention immediately.

"I know. Neither of us got Mom's spark. Guess Gwen inherited it," Frank said with a sigh, acknowledging the unique abilities Gwen seemed to have inherited from their grandmother.

"Was Grandma different? Was she a magician too?" Gwen asked excitedly. She didn't know that her grandmother was a magician too. It explained her talent in magical arts. It was in her veins.

"Gwen, your grandma isn't a magician. She is an alien. An Anodite. They are aliens made up of energy," Frank said, meeting Natalie's weary eyes.

"Is? That means Grandma's alive. Where is she? How come we never met her?" Ben asked instantly, while Gwen struggled to grapple with the words.

Gwen had always known that she was special. She always felt different, as if she was meant for greater things. At first, she attributed it to magic, but now, she wasn't sure. It made sense now; it was her alien heritage that she realized.

"Your grandma's an alien, Ben. Her people's customs are different. They are fun-loving and extremely carefree. She left when she couldn't suppress her desires anymore," Sandra explained before Natalie could do so. She knew Natalie wouldn't be kind in her words. It was better if she offered insight into the circumstances of Gwen's grandmother.

Gwen, Ken, and Ben took the words into their minds as they grappled with the secrets kept from them in their family. It was odd for them to learn so much in such a short notice.

"So, you live alone here, Magister Kevin? Surely you miss your parents," Frank asked, trying to make small talk. It was awkward already and the best way was to make small talk.

"I am an orphan, Mr. Tennyson. My parents died when I was in the Nullvoid serving my sentence," Kevin replied. He had checked for his birth parents, only to find out that they died while he was in Nullvoid.

"Isn't Nullvoid the prison dimension?" Frank asked instantly, without double-thinking. He immediately regretted it, though.

"Yeah. My powers make me powerful, but it also has a drawback. Too much power absorption makes me insane. The same happened six years ago. I tried to absorb the Omnitrix, and it made me insane. Suffice to say, insanity mixed with a child's mentality that doesn't care about anything but his desires. The combination is not something you want. Your nephew was the one who ultimately sent me to prison. Once I served the sentence where I also gained control over my powers, I joined the Plumbers and was promoted directly due to my experience and skills," Kevin explained without hesitation. There was no reason to lie here. He didn't care about their opinions either way.

"I think we should move to dinner. The day has been full of various ordeals. Everything else can be discussed later after we have dinner. You all must be starving after all," Natalie said suddenly with a smile, trying her best to diffuse the tense situation that had suddenly formed.