Gwen Tennyson, All Grown Up

Chapter 7
Secrets and Solutions

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Chapter Description: When Gwen woke up, she and her family need to figure out why she lost control of her powers. Even if it means getting help with the unlikely of people. Meanwhile Max realized where Gwen’s new powers came from and it wasn’t anything magical. Would he have the nerves in telling his granddaughter?

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Gwen’s POV

Argh... What happened? Where am I? Can’t see a thing underneath all this blackness. Wait a minute... I can’t even open my eye either! Am I dead? No it can’t be. I’m still breathing right? I could feel air coming in and out of my lungs and my heart is still beating normally. Maybe I’m unconscious. That could explain everything. But how did I get this way? Let’s see... The last thing I remember was battling one of Zombozo’s freaks. And then I use this new power and... That’s it! That new power! I seem to have lost complete control over it. Ah man... What have I done? I almost trashed the mall’s parking lot and nearly got my grandfather and cousin hurt. But I didn’t mean it. That new power I obtain made me loose control. I never use that type of magic before in life and it came to me so sudden. What was that power and how come I never use it until now?”

Ben: “Are you sure she’s okay Grandpa? She has been sleeping for almost a day now.”

Grandpa Max: “She’ll be fine. After all the madness she had done, she deserves all the rest she could get. Still, she wouldn’t be in this condition if you hadn’t attack her in the first place.”

Ben: “Okay, for you information, I was trying to save both of us from her. If I hadn’t, we would’ve been knocked out just like Zombozo’s gang of freaks.”

Wait a sec... Those two voices... Ben and Grandpa? Suddenly, I could feel my eyelids moving. It’s almost like they’re beginning to open up. But the bright light is causing them to close tight. Got to readjust. Gotta see what’s going on.

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Normal POV

Gwen was trying to open her eyes once more. But once again, the bright light caused her to shut her eyes again, followed by a low painful groan. Both Ben and Max heard that and approached her sleeping on Grandpa’s bed. After a couple of tries Gwen finally managed to open her eyes fully, adjusting to the light around her. When they saw her waking up, they sighed in relief as Grandpa asked her something.

Grandpa Max: “Gwen, are you all right? Can you speak?”

Gwen slowly looked at her grandfather and weakly smiled.

Adult Gwen: “I’m fine grandpa, just feel a little sore is all. What happened?”

Max smile faded as he tries to explain everything to her.

Grandpa Max: “You sort of lost control of your magic and nearly destroyed the parking lot. Not to mention taking us on a little ride you made.”

Gwen understood that and took a deep breath to sigh to herself.

Adult Gwen: “Sorry guys. I was only trying to help.”

Ben approached his cousin and had a warm smile on his face.

Ben: “Still, you did a pretty good job taking care of those freaks and saving our butts. Well, except for the whole loosing control part anyways.”

Gwen turned her head to Ben and never expected him to act that way to her.

Adult Gwen: “You... You really mean it?”

Ben: “Sure Gwen. I mean, the way you used your powers was awesome. The way you shield yourself, those levitated floor tiles, that purple blast, even those string things that tied those crooks up. That was totally cool!”

Gwen eyes were wide in shock, realizing that Ben must’ve seen her fight.

Adult Gwen: “You mean you saw me fight the whole time without even me noticing it?”

Ben: “Hello? I was Eye Guy. I could see just about everything around me. And you certainly taught those Zombozo’s freaks a lesson they will never forget. Still, that power you obtained was different then what you always do. What type of magic spells did you use to gain that?”

Gwen slowly got up and shook her head from sleeping too much and rubbed the temples of her head, trying to figure out her powers. But to her dismay, she didn’t know any spells that triggered her new ability. She then looked at the two and told them the truth.

Adult Gwen: “To tell you the truth, I don’t really know. I didn’t cast any spells and conjure up any magic to begin with. All I did was think of something and it happened. Whenever I need to protect myself, a shield appeared and protected me. When I wanted to land on something now, those levitated floor tiles came and I landed on them. It’s almost like whatever was in me acted on its own and was helping me the whole time. Though I find it quite strange that I completely loose control over something like this. I mean I used all of my spells before and that had never happened before. It’s almost like this kind of power is new, foreign, almost alien for that matter.”

Max listened in to what Gwen was talking about and could agree with her on that. Most of the time, she has to conjure up a spell to perform a different type of magic. But this is completely different then ever and he never seen anything like that before. In fact, it almost looks completely familiar. Rubbing his chin, he decided to leave the RV and have some time alone. As he turned around to leave, Ben and Gwen watched him and wondered where he was going. That’s when Ben looked at his grandfather and wondered what he’s doing.

Ben: “Hey Grandpa, where are you going?”

Max answered his grandson’s question without even looking at him as he approached the doorway.

Grandpa Max: “Just going to get some fresh air. After what happened yesterday, I really need to catch a break.”

He opened the door and left the Rustbucket, leaving two of his grandchildren a little confused at his moves. Ben then looked back at Gwen and asked her the question he was thinking.

Ben: “Okay... Do you know what’s up with Grandpa?”

Gwen turned to see Ben and lifted her shoulders up for an ?I don’t know’ gesture.

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Outside of the Rustbucket, Grandpa Max was sitting at the picnic table’s bench, thinking about what just happened yesterday while looking at the sky on a hot summer day. It was hard for him to imagine the new type of power Gwen obtained. In fact he was surprised at the fact she was able to take out the entire Zombozo’s freak team right before she lost control. She said that this magic she never even used before, let alone cast. But to Grandpa, that didn’t look like any magic at all, let alone from this world. From what he could understand, this power wasn’t from Earth, but something that was completely alien.

From what he could understand, those powers belong to that of an Anodite. Anodites are pure energy beings that use the mana around them to help manipulate these powers. He should know, because he uses to fall in love with one. During his Plumber days, he met with an Anodite called Verdona, the grandmother of Gwen Tennyson. Soon enough, it was love at first sight. They soon started to date for a few months then a year later got married. They even give birth to Gwen’s father a few years later. Though they were the perfect couple, they have separate purposes to do, duties they cannot ignore. Verdona went back to her planet to reconnect with her Anodite roots while Max continued his campaign against Vilgax.

Though she was gone, there were doubts that Max thought that his son would obtain his mother’s powers and abilities. Luckily, he didn’t share the anodite gene and they were in the clear. But the moment Gwen and Ken came to the world, again Max was worried. Even Verdona came back to Earth to see if her grandchildren have a spark of her powers. Fortunately, the grandkids didn’t had that power and the entire family sighed in relief.

Max had reason to believe that Gwen would be just an ordinary girl with a bright future ahead of her. But during the road trip through out the summer, she was starting to gain what appeared to be some kind of aurora within her body. That and with the help of a spell book she obtained, she used different magical spells and talents to help both himself and Ben out of tight situations. Max thought it was strange she would know magic, but he brushed that aside thinking that it didn’t had anything to do with her alien heritage. But now that this happened, he was now having second thoughts. Those new powers Gwen had were very similar to that of her grandmother. And even that those were the Anodite powers, why didn’t they emerge when she was born until now? Didn’t it have anything to do with her human biology? Is it possible that this power would emerge when she hits puberty? Was she unprepared when she was conducting that spell that caused her to grow abruptly without any consequences? Yet after circling those questions in his head, another one came up. Is it possible that Gwen was in fact a budding Anodite, not fully mature to control her powers? Just as he was trying to find the answer for himself, someone interrupted his train of thought.

Ben: “Grandpa?”

Max looked down and saw Ben looking a bit confused at his grandfather.

Ben: “Are you all right? You look a little spaced out as of late.”

Max could tell that his grandson looks concerned at what he was thinking. So he took a deep breath and talked to him in a calmly matter.

Grandpa Max: “Yeah Ben, I’m fine. Just thinking of something that’s all.”

There was a deep silence within the two until Max spoke up.

Grandpa Max: “Ben, can I ask you something?”

Ben looked at his grandfather and was a little confused at what he said.

Ben: “Um... Sure, I don’t see why not.”

Grandpa Max: “Have you ever wondered how Gwen was able to get her magic powers?”

Ben shrugged his shoulders and didn’t have a clue about Gwen’s powers.

Ben: “Heck if I know. Maybe she was born with it or something? I mean her powers started when she had that luck medallion on her and the bracelet she got back in Las Vegas made her a real hero. Why’d you ask? You want her to join the Hogwarts School for Wizardry?”

Ben chuckled at that joke he said while his grandfather didn’t listen and thought about what he said.

Grandpa Max: “No, nothing like that. It’s just that her powers she used yesterday... I think I’ve seen something like that before.”

Ben’s eyes grew wide when he heard Max said that right in front of him.

Ben: “Really? You mean you use to know a magician or a wizard before Grandpa?”

Grandpa Max: “No, not really... It’s just that I’ve seen that power before back in my Plumbing days. But that power I saw wasn’t anything magical. I think the powers she used were in fact alien.”

Ben looked at his grandfather completely quizzically and was a little confused by what he said. After a brief moment in silence, Ben started to laugh hysterically at what Max had said and couldn’t believe it.

Ben: “Very funny grandpa. Gwen an alien? That’s rich!”

Grandpa Max: “Ben, I’m serious. What I saw yesterday wasn’t from this world.”

Ben: “Yeah right gramps. You think her magic powers came from an alien and not by family blood or magical transfer or something. Like that would really happen?”

Grandpa Max: “Well I do believe that’s possible. I mean, she was able to attain some kind of magic in her blood and we have no idea where it came from. Even you yourself said that she was an alien a couple of times.”

Ben: “I was only joking about that gramps. Besides Gwen is just only a normal girl. A normal girl with the gift of magic, but a normal girl none the less. We just gotta learn to accept that, no matter what happens. I mean you accepted me when the Omnitrix choose me to help people.”

He then lifted his arm up and showed his Grandfather the Omnitrix wrapped around his arm. Max looked at the alien watch and sighed to himself.

Grandpa Max: “That’s not the point. What I’m trying to say is that-“

Before the former Plumbers member could finish what he was saying, the two heard the loud voice from Gwen.

Adult Gwen: “Guys, can you come in for a second? I think we have a problem here.”

Hearing that, Max decided to give up and got up off the bench.

Grandpa Max: “Never mind Ben. Guess I was thinking of something else. C’mon, let’s see what Gwen wants.”

He then left Ben and headed straight to the RV, leaving Ben completely confused and bewildered.

Ben: “Uh... Sure Grandpa, whatever you say.”

Ben then got off the bench and followed his grandfather into the vehicle.

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Inside the RV Gwen is trying to look through the spell book to see if there was some kind of magic that is connected to her new powers or a chance to reverse the acceleration spell. Sadly she couldn’t find anything as she skimmed through page to page looking for an answer. As she was searching, both Max and Ben entered the Rustbucket and approached the dinning table where Gwen was sitting.

Grandpa Max: “Gwen, shouldn’t you be resting by now? You did had a rough day yesterday.”

Without even looking at Grandpa, Gwen kept on looking through the pages while answering his question.

Adult Gwen: “I know, I know... But I need to take care of something first.”

Ben immediately sat on the sofa chair across Gwen and wondered what she was doing.

Ben: “And exactly what are you taking care of?”

Gwen glared at her cousin for a quick second then went back to her spell book.

Adult Gwen: “Well for your information Ben, I’m trying to find a spell that is somehow connected to this new magic I’ve obtained.”

Ben: “And what did you get?”

Gwen deeply sighed and came up with an answer.

Adult Gwen: “So far, all I got is squat. All the magic spells I’ve been looking up is nothing close to or related with this new power. My guess is it must’ve come from another spell book I’m not aware of, or maybe it was part of the last spell I cast to make myself more powerful. Whether the case, I can’t control this power unless I find a spell that can help me. And since there is none, then I guess I have but one alternative, reversing the last spell.”

Max listened in and rubbed his chin, knowing what she was trying to do.

Grandpa Max: “You mean you want to reverse The Amplification Spell?”

Adult Gwen: “Well I have to. I don’t want to be stuck in this body forever right? And besides, what am I going to tell my parents when we get back from summer vacation? ?Hello Mom, Dad. I’m back from vacation. What are you talking about? Oh, this body? It’s really me, only a little older. You see, I was gifted with magical powers and used a spell book to help increase my talent. Turns out, that spell made my body grow twice as much and my powers are a little out of control. Have a nice day!’ How am I going to explain that to them?”

Gwen’s grandfather started to visualize that moment and realized that she has real good reasons to reverse the spell.

Grandpa Max: “Hmm... Good point.”

Ben: “So did you find a way reversing what you done Gwen?”

Gwen’s response was to close the book and shook her head in frustration.

Adult Gwen: “Unfortunately that too is squat. It seems that a reversal spell is impossible to find. It seems like this book doesn’t want me to change something I cast in the first place. I’m going to be stuck like this for the rest of my life.”

During this time of depression, Ben came with both an idea and a joke.

Ben: “Hey, why not go by a different name and stay with Grandpa. I can even tell your parents you are a little under the weather during the trip and is staying in my house for a while.”

Ben’s cousin looked at him with icy eyes and felt really upset by this.

Adult Gwen: “Are you kidding me?! First of all, if I want to change my alias, I would need to sign some documentation and papers, which is illegal for your information. Secondly, if you tell my parents that I was sick and living in your house, then they would come to visit me. And if they find out I’m not at home then they will start asking questions. Ever thought of that before you open your big fat mouth Tennyson?”

Ben’s reaction to that was to stand up on the seat and waved his hands around.

Ben: “Whoa... Easy there missy! I was only fooling around is all.”

Gwen then lifted her hand up and tightened it into a fist.

Adult Gwen: “You better be. If you make fun like that again, you’re going to see how a true woman can fight.”

Ben swallowed a hard lump in his throat, knowing that he didn’t want to get pummeled by a now adult Gwen. As he was getting a little nervous, Max decided to break it up and brought them back to the task at hand.

Grandpa Max: “Enough you two. Let’s not fight over something as simple as this. We just have to figure out a way in reversing this spell if we are able to get Gwen back to normal.”

Gwen stopped what she was doing and understood what her grandfather meant. But she bowed her head down and felt like she was going to cry.

Adult Gwen: “Thanks Grandpa, but I don’t know how to get myself back to normal even if I try.”

Suddenly, Gwen lifted her head up and thought of a way in an instant.

Adult Gwen: “Unless...”

The two Tennysons looked at Gwen and had question marks on top of their heads, wondering what she got in mind.

Ben and Max: “Unless what? What is it?”

She then looked at the two and told them what she came up with.

Adult Gwen: “Unless we get help. The sorcerer who owned this book could help us find a reversal spell and get me back to normal in no time. If we find this person, we might be able to find a way to reverse this state.”

Ben: “And where are you going to find this sorcerer. I mean the only person who obtained this spell book the last time was...”

Just this instant, Ben’s eyes were as wide as saucers, realizing whom Gwen was talking about.

Ben: “On no... Not her... Anyone but her. Please tell me your not serious about this?”

She looked at Ben and has that confident look on her face.

Adult Gwen: “Oh I am serious about this Ben. If I’m ever going to be back to my real self, we need her help more then ever. Besides, she’s the only person who knows more about magic then me and has more experience in this. We need to find her and ask for her help, even if it means we have to trust her.”

Max could agree with her on that occasion, but there was a slight speed bump that his granddaughter has forgotten.

Grandpa Max: “Sound completely crazy enough to work. But do you know where are you going to find her? We don’t even know where to begin.”

Gwen thought about this for a moment, wondering how to find a sorceress. She then looked at the spell book and came up with an idea.

Adult Gwen: “I think I know where I could find her. If I can use my powers to locate her, maybe we could find her quicker. Just let me concentrate for a moment.”

Gwen took a deep breath and closed her eyes to focus on the spell book. Suddenly her eyes opened and were glowing in a purple light. She then lifted her hand up and it too was glowing purple. In a matter of seconds the book started to levitate and was outline in a purple glowing border. She remained like that for a couple of minutes as the Tennysons watched in awe at what she was doing. Soon enough, the book drop to the table and her eyes went back to the normal, leaving a complete smile on her face.

Adult Gwen: “Got it! I know where she is. Grandpa, I need you on the wheel. I’ll give you the directions.”

She left the table and headed to the front seat, leaving both Ben and Max were a little confused at what just happened a few seconds ago. Max decided to shake that thought and headed to the steering wheel, trusting her granddaughter. At the same time, Ben slouched down on the chair and groaned to himself.

Ben: “Oh man... This is going to be a long day.”

 

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