Gwen Tennyson, All Grown Up

Chapter 12
Gwen vs. Charmcaster

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Chapter Description: Both Gwen and Charmcaster duke it out in order to obtain the very book they need. Gwen wants it to return to her old self while Charm wants it to get more powerful. Who will win this major battle? And with Gwen’s powers in the fritz, will she be able to control them before it’s too late.

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In Hex’s cottage, a huge battle was going to take place between both Gwendolyn Tennyson and Charmcaster. Since the start, Charm started to help Gwen and her family in reversing her condition. She believes that the only way in returning Gwen to her old self is by a book that has a spell that can help her. And the only place they could find this book is in her uncle’s cottage. So they ventured through the forests and into the mansion just to reach the book. There have been a few setbacks with this adventure being that they have stumbled into one too many traps, but they managed to get through them one way or another. After all that trouble, they managed to reach the library and got the book Gwen needs so badly. But just as they got the book, Charm betrayed them and sent Ben and Grandpa Max into another secret passage way through the bookshelves. Now Gwen and Charmcaster are the only ones left in the library with their powers charged and their prepared for a fight between what they need. Both stood there and waited for the right moment to strike. After a few minutes, they all charged in and attacked. Charmcaster started the fight by launching small barrages of hexes. Gwen jumped up high and over the hexes. She flew high and rocketed down towards the young sorceress with a torpedo kick to her head. Charm side stepped out of the way and avoided the kick with ease. Gwen landed on the ground and turned to the woman, only to get sucker punched by her in the face. Gwen felt that punch and nearly stumbled. But that gave her an angry edge. She quickly got up and gave Charm a sucker punch of her own, only this time it was much harder then before. The impact of the punch caused the sorceress flying to the wall of books and was hit hard in the back. Charm slumped to the ground while books fell around her. She shook off the effect and looked up at her archenemy with evil eyes. She waved her hands and the books around her were engulfed in a pinkish glow. All the books then lifted themselves up in the air and then flew straight to Gwendolyn. She noticed that and waved her hand to the right to form a purple wall to protect herself from the incoming projectiles. Each of the books hit the wall and caused a few cracks here and there. But she managed to keep the wall intact for a moment. Still, she has to be really careful. She used up most of her powers for all those crazy adventures up until now. Being that she used most of it up, it was going to be a matter of time before she looses control of them completely and who knows what will happen after that. As she was contemplating her worse case scenario, she heard Charm laughter at a distance.

Charmcaster: “What’s the matter Gwendolyn? You seem to be a little hesitant. Are you having some regrets using your powers?”

Gwen squinted her eyes and didn’t like that comment. She removed her shield and starred down at the young sorceress with glaring eyes.

Charmcaster: “I know what your thinking young girl. You been using too much power during this whole experience and you’re afraid that if you use more, then you will loose control completely. And when you do that… Well… Who knows what would happen if that occurs. Though I got to admit, you’ve sustained those powers up until now. I’m pretty sure you’re already reaching your limit.”

Gwen tightens her fists and was getting pretty aggravated at her insults. But Charm had a sly grin and continued to mock her.

Charmcaster: “Aw… What’s wrong Gwen? Are you getting angry? Come on girl, what are you waiting for? Go ahead, release that anger inside you. Use your powers to destroy me. So what if you’re going to loose control again. You do want your revenge against me right? Then hit me with your best shot!”

Gwen continued to tighten her grip as purple orbs started to glow on each hand. There was the same glowing purple in her eyes as she couldn’t take these threats for too long. But in her mind, her conscious was telling her not to. She can’t use her powers at her full potential cause if she does, her condition will get worse. So she took a deep breath and her powers were at rest. Charm watched on and sighed to herself, knowing Gwen let her sanity come into play.

Charmcaster: “I see… So that’s your decision. You want to beat me without your powers. This proves it. You’re just like your cousin. You’re weak!”

That remark made Gwen cringe in disgust. But she looked straight up to her and told her in a calming manner.

Adult Gwen: “Is that so? Well let me show you how weak I am!”

She then charged her purple orbs and threw each of them at the appropriate target. Charm jumped out of the way and avoided the incoming projectiles, letting them hit the bookcase. The young sorceress rolled out of the way and got up in a kneeling position, sending out multiple hexes at the Tennyson. Gwen then formed a shield and protected herself against the hexes. As the fight was going on, Gwen had to figure out a way to take Charm down without using too much power. And that is no easy feat.

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Meanwhile, as the fight was going on, both Ben and Grandpa Max were stuck in one of the secret passage Charmcaster put them in. Ben continued to hit the back door of the bookcase multiple times and screamed out loud as much as he could.

Ben: “HEY!! LET US OUT!!! YOU CAN’T LEAVE US HERE LIKE THIS!!!”

But still, no one didn’t listen, let alone care. Grandpa Max looked on and sighed to himself, knowing this isn’t getting them anywhere. He placed his hand on Ben’s shoulder and told him to calm down.

Grandpa Max: “Easy Ben. We didn’t expect this to happen. Just relax…”

Ben turned to his grandfather and was a little upset still.

Ben: “Pft… Easy for you to say. I told Gwen that we shouldn’t trust Charmcaster, but she wouldn’t listen to me. She’s so focused on getting back to her old self that she wouldn’t listen to anyone but her. And now look where we are! That traitor going to pay for this!”

Max again tried to ease the young boy but it was proven to be all except useless. So he tried the next best thing.

Grandpa Max: “Don’t worry Ben, will get to her as soon as possible. Right now, we need to find a way out of here and get back to the library fast. Now it looks like we are in another hidden passage. If we follow this path, we might find a way out and retrace our steps. Come on, let’s get going.”

Max turned around and left the area, while Ben stood there completely defeated. Being there’s no other way out of this, he decided to follow his grandfather’s advice.

Ben: “Fine…”

He then walked away from the door too and followed his grandfather wondering if this new plan would work.

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Back to Gwen, she still had her shield up and was still figuring out a plan to stop Charm without using the full extent of her power. Charmcaster just watched on and was enjoying this moment for a long time.

Charmcaster: “I don’t know what your trying to do girl, but it’s not going to work for long. Why don’t you surrender yourself and maybe I can let you go peacefully. What do ya say?”

Gwen continued to plan and wonder what she’s going to do next. She then looks down on the floor and came up with a really good idea in stopping her. With one of her hands behind her back, she opened it up and a purple string came out and phased right into the floor. All the while the young sorceress wasn’t fully aware of it. She kept on shooting hexes at her and was getting a little aggravated then ever.

Charmcaster: “C’mon, quite holding up Gwendolyn. Why don’t you let your shield down so I could destroy you.”

Gwen looked up to the sorceress and smirked to herself. She couldn’t even help but to giggle at that little threat. Charm cocked an eyebrow and wonder what she’s laughing about.

Charmcaster: “Hey! What’s so funny?”

That’s when Gwen starred her down and answered her question.

Adult Gwen: “Oh, it’s nothing. I’m just thinking of how cocky you are.”

Almost immediately, Charm snapped and retorted back to her without realizing a purple string came out of the floor behind her.

Charmcaster: “And what does that suppose to mean?!”

Just then, she felt a few taps on her shoulder. She brushed that aside and thought it was nothing, but the taps continued to get more annoying by the second. She quickly turned and wonders who or what’s tapping her. That’s when she noticed the purple string starring right at her. Immediately, the string wrapped around her body and tied both her arms and legs. Once it wrapped around her face, she can’t speak or see anything. With her body fully wrapped, she was completely trapped and doesn’t know what to do. Gwen just looked at her and liked what she did.

Adult Gwen: “That’s what I mean when I say you’re too cocky.”

She was glad that she got her enemy caught, but she wasn’t done yet. She wants to beat her severely. So she waved her hand that was the string and swings the wrapped body left and right. During the process, she slammed her body on many things like the walls, bookshelves, furniture, and even the floor and ceiling. Charm could feel every bit of pain and couldn’t take it anymore. So she screamed out loud through the bandages, hoping that the young woman would listen.

Charmcaster: “Let me go!!!”

Gwen head that and smirked even wider.

Adult Gwen: “Gladly…”

So she give Charm one more hard swing just to make some good leatherage. After that huge swing, she closed her hand and the string detached itself from her. This caused Charm to fly through the library and smashing into things. She broke through a couple of bookshelves in the middle of the room, knocked down a chair, and crashed right through a concrete wall. The crash caused her to go right through it and went into another room. Gwen notices this and realized that maybe she went a little too far.

Adult Gwen: “Opps… Guess I went a little too far.”

She quickly ran to the huge hole in the wall and checked to see if Charmcaster was around. That’s when she was another guest room that’s a little bigger then the last one they were in. So far, all she saw was nothing. Looking around, she scratched her head and finds it all completely strange.

Adult Gwen: “That’s strange… I could’ve sworn she went through this room. Where did she went?”

Just as she was about to figure it out, a swift punch came from the left and hit her in the cheek. The young woman was knocked down in an instant and laid there on the floor for a few good seconds. Coming out from the shadows was Charmcaster, a little bruised up from the attack and completely angry.

Charmcaster: “You know, that was a really good cheap shot you pulled on me. Very cheap. But you know what, it wasn’t enough to take me down.”

She then approached Gwen and bent down, grabbing her throat. Once she lifted her up off the ground, she continued to taunt her.

Charmcaster: “Gotta admit, you certainly know how to pull it off. Too bad you didn’t use your full potential though. You would’ve finished me off there.”

Gwen slowly opened one of her eyes and has a distasteful look on her face, fearing of what would happen if she uses too much of her power.”

Adult Gwen: “I will never do that. You know what would happen if I did.”

Charm smile then turned into a frown and did a fake expression of someone being sad.

Charmcaster: “Aw… That’s too bad. Looks like I have no other choice but to kill you!”

Then with all of her strength, she tossed Gwen to the other end of the room and let her land on the bed. Though the bed was comfortable, Charm had some other intentions. With a wave of her hands, she said some magic words.

Charmcaster: [color=#FF0000]“Wrapdous Entraptus!”[/color]

Instantly, part of the bed sheets around her lift themselves up and tied together around her chest and arms, entrapping the young woman in seconds. Gwendolyn tried to get out of it, but it seem too useless. But Charm was enjoying it as she placed her hand on her hip and had a sly smile.

Charmcaster: “There we go… Why don’t you keep yourself comfortable while I finish the job.”

She then unzipped her magic bag and took something out of it. What she got in her hand is a magical dagger with symbols on the blade. She tightens it and the blade glowed bright pink. Gwen looked at the dagger and there was a lot of fear in her eyes. But Charm starred at the Tennyson and tried to reassure her.

Charmcaster: “Don’t worry Gwendolyn. This dagger is not going to kill you; it’s just going to sap you of all your magic. Since you won’t use all of it to its full potential, I guess I could take it away from you. Once your magical powers are gone, it will be much easier for me to finish you. Now, time to end this!”

She ran up to her and jumped high to land on the bed. Gwen watched on and tried to get out, struggling with all of her might. But still, the sheets wouldn’t let her get out of it. Meaning without her hands, she won’t be able to get her shields or anything that will protect her. But then she wondered if her feet could do the same. She didn’t have much time contemplating about that as Charmcaster was about to stab her and take away all of her powers. So she quickly lifted her leg up and the foot emanated the purple shield. Charm bounced off the shield and the dragger left her hand after the bounce. She landed on the floor and was knocked for a loop after the unexpected move. She quickly lifted her head up and looked around for her dagger. When she saw it close to her, she quickly scampered and tried to reach it. But Gwen saw this and prevented it by using her leg to wave around and another purple strip came out of it. Swinging her leg around, the strip on her foot extended and flew to the enemy. Within moments, the strip reached her and the end of it wrapped around her right ankle. The young sorceress felt that and was surprised that her archenemy can do something like that. Once again, she waved her leg around and the strip flew up in the air, bringing Charm up along with it and spinning her around like an extremely fast merry go round. After all that spinning, Gwen brought her foot down the same time the strip plummeted to the floor, making Charm crash right through it and down to the lower level. With her out of the picture, Gwen used her leg to create a sharp strip, using it to cut the sheets around her that tied her up in the first place. Now that she was free from those straints, she got up and flexed her wrist to see if they were damaged in any way. She then walked down to the huge hole that was formed by the young sorceress to see if she’s still alive. When she looked down, she saw Charmcaster crashed right through a long table that was filled with plates, glass, silverware, and pots of wilted flower. Gwen’s guess that her arch nemesis has entered the dining hall in an uncomfortable way. She smiled to herself and couldn’t help but to laugh.

Adult Gwen: “My Charmcaster, you certainly know how to make an entrance for dinner.”

She could also tell that Charm was completely vulnerable. So it was her only chance in taking her out once and for all. So she jumped up in the air and rocketed down to Charm with a speeding tornado kick. But the young sorceress started to stir and opened her eyes to see what happened. When she saw Gwendolyn rocketing to her with a foot that’s ready to stomp, she was alerted and got up backwards with her hands for support, only to jump off them and flipped to her feet. This happened the same time as Gwen hit the floor only to miss her by a swift foot. She then turned around to see the sorceress positioned for a fight. Charm then grinned and was getting impressed by her enemy’s new move.

Charmcaster: “Now that was something unexpected. Using her foot to block off my attack and take me down? You are full of surprises. Let’s see how long to can last with me once I hit you with all I got.”

The moment she said that, both her eyes and hands glowed pink and she was prepared to attack her. Gwen did the same as she got her eyes and hands glowing purple. At that defining moment, both of them fired beams of pink and purple light at each other and they both hit into each other at the same time. The two kept on concentrating onto each other and weren’t going to rest until one of them is put away.

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While that was going on, both Ben and Grandpa Max were finding a way out of the secret passages. They went from turn to turn, looking for a way out, so far the only this they found were nothing but wood planks and dirt. Max had his rifle up and scanned the area, hoping there were no traps or any creatures around. But Ben was right behind him, feeling both slumped and tired. He groaned to himself and complained about this trip.

Ben: “Are you sure you know where you’re going Grandpa. Because I think we are going around in circles.”

Max sighed to himself and told his grandson to chill.

Grandpa Max: “Calm down Ben. I’m pretty sure we’re close.”

But Benjamin ain’t buying it as he lifts his hands up in desperation and was getting more obnoxious then ever.

Ben: “That’s what you said after the last five minutes! We are officially lost in this place and we don’t even know if we’re anywhere close to Gwen and Charmcaster.”

Grandpa Max: “Just try to be patient with me for a little bit more all right? I’m pretty sure there’s a doorway around here somewhere.”

They continued to turn the next corner and enter yet another hallway. But then, the two noticed something out the corner of their eyes. Not far from them is a secret doorway leading to somewhere. Both of them sighed in relief and knew this was their ticket out of there.

Grandpa Max: “See… Like I said, there’s was a doorway around the corner. Now we can get out of here.”

The two approached the door and tried to open it. Looking at the door Max could tell that it wasn’t no ordinary door.

Grandpa Max: “Hmm… This is odd. There’s no door knob or handle on this doorway and looks like we can’t push it.”

Ben thought this through and remembers the last time they opened a secret passage. That Charm pulled an ordinary object in the room and the door opened. So he told his Grandpa what he thinks.

Ben: “Maybe there’s a switch or something that can open the door. You know, like the one Charmcaster used a while ago.”

Max looked at his grandson and nodded in agreement.

Grandpa Max: “You’re right. Let’s find this switch so it could open. I’m pretty sure there’s got to be something could work.”

So the two started searching for any pulley or lever that could activate the door, something that’s recognizable. After a little searching, Ben notices something out of his eye. There was a piece of wood within the wall that looked completely different from the others because it’s a different color, like a darker color. So he pointed to it and told his grandfather what he found.

Ben: “Hey Grandpa, I think I found something.”

Max approached his grandson and spotted the new wood resting on the wall. Putting two and two together, he came up with an assumption.

Grandpa Max: “That must be it. Let’s see if this works.”

He then placed his hand on the wooden plank and began to pull it. He finds it strange that the wood didn’t break or anything and it felt really hard like metal. Once he pulled it to the other side, he heard a click and strange noises. The two turned around and saw the doorway opening up not far from them. The two smiled and were finally able to get out of the dark and dreary place. As they were walking out of there, the former Plumbers member told Ben what to do next.

Grandpa Max: “All right… We got out of that passageway. Now we have to find a way back to the library and help Gwen out. Let’s hope she’s not in trouble.”

As he was talking, his grandson looked at something and was a little nervous now. He then told his grandfather a question.

Ben: “Uh, Grandpa… You sure we won’t run into any trouble?”

Grandpa Max: “Well if we make it there in time we won’t be in any trouble. Why were you asking that question?”

Ben: “Well, remember those knights we encountered from the beginning?”

Grandpa Max: “Yeah…”

Ben: “Apparently, they are still searching for us.”

Grandpa Max: “And why would you think that?”

He turned around to see what Ben was getting at only to see something his grandson is seeing. What he saw was the same armor knights all starring at the two. Ben then answered his question.

Ben: “Because I seriously doubt that gave up searching for us.”

All the knights then poised their weapons and charged straight at the two.

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Heading back to Gwen, she was fending herself against the young sorceress. They still fired streams of energy at each other and were still concentrating on them. So far, it was an even stalemate, but it would be a matter of time before one of them breaks under pressure. After five minutes of this, Gwen started to feel a little off. She wanted to push harder on her power but couldn’t because she knows that if she keeps it up, she would loose control again. As she was thinking about that, the pink line of energy pushed through the purple bit by bit. Charm watched on and was liking where this was going.

Charmcaster: “Aw… What’s wrong Gwen? Afraid of using your powers at full capacity? It’s a shame… You having to use just a portion of it instead of the real thing. Face it girl, with what you got in your possession, you have already lost!”

The young sorceress then concentrated really hard and used all of her powers to make her beam incredibly strong. In seconds, the beam destroyed Gwen’s and was hurtling towards her with incredible speed. She then got hit with the blast and was flying towards the doors to the kitchen, knocking down a few knick-knacks on the table along the way. Her back then hit the doors and pried them open by force, letting her into the kitchen and hit the stove in the process. The hit caused the shard objects over her to shake and detach themselves from the hooks above her. Gwen rubbed her head and looked up to see the knives coming down onto her. Quickly, she waved her hand high above her head and created an umbrella dome to protect her from anything sharp. The knives hit the dome but didn’t penetrate it. Instead they tumbled on top of it and landed on the floor around her. The young Tennyson looked around and was glad she didn’t get killed. But then she knew something much more dangerous is coming her way. She looked up and saw the dangerous sorceress heading towards her with both her hands glowing pink and had a devilish grin on her face.

Charmcaster: “You know, you’re making my job much more easier. Why don’t you surrender right now and save yourself the humiliation? You know you can’t win. And the last thing you want is to get killed by me. So what do you say? You give up yet?”

Gwen looked up her and was getting a little ticked off on her. She quickly thought of a quick plan. She placed her hand on the ground and it glow purple as the sharp objects around her started to shake completely. During that, she answered Charm’s question.

Adult Gwen: “Not by a long shot…”

In seconds, all the sharp objects around her were covered in a purple like energy and lifted up off the ground. They all flew towards the sorceress and was about to strike her. But she lifted her hand in front of her and opened it up creating a pink barrier to protect herself from the knives. The sharp objects hit the shield and were completely deflected, knocking them off and scattered on the ground. With the sharp objects out of the way, Charm removed the shield and looked down at the mess, shaking her head and sighing to herself.

Charmcaster: “Really? Is that all you came up with? Throwing knives at me? That’s so old school. You need to come up with some new material if you going to defeat me.”

She started to look up to continue to taunt her. But when she was looking down, she didn’t notice Gwendolyn preparing herself to strike again, only this time, it wasn’t her magic. She ran to her and speared her with incredible force. Charm wasn’t prepared for this and was taken down quick. Gwen pinned the sorceress with her karate like moves and tired her best to hold her down.

Adult Gwen: “You know, you should’ve at least paid attention to your enemy. Or you would be off your guard completely.”

Charm then was getting ticked off and bend her leg to kick her enemy with her knee. Gwen was caught off guard by it and felt the pain really hard, coughing up a little blood. Charmcaster then extended her leg and used it to push Gwen off of her. Gwendolyn rolled out of the way and quickly got up in a stance, still feeling the effects of the strike. The sorceress got up too and gotten into a stance as well. But then, she came up with another good idea. She took a quick peek to see the fridge behind her and thought it would be a good opportunity to flatten her. So with a flick of her hand, the entire fridge glowed pink and was levitated up off the floor. Then in seconds, the fridge flew at blinding speed and headed straight to the destined target. Charm sidestepped and avoided the attack, but Gwen was completely off guard from this unexpected move. Quickly, she covered herself with her arms and a purple sphere surrounds her. At the same time, the refrigerator hit the sphere and pushed it right through the wall. The force of the push made the sphere go through the wall and into another part of the cottage. In a matter of seconds, debris was all over the floor and smoke covered the entire kitchen. When the smoke cleared, Charm could see the hole that both Gwen’s shield and the fridge went through. Charm cocked an eyebrow and snickered to herself.

Charmcaster: “Well, that was easy…”

She walked through the hole and entered the next room, which was of course the ballroom. It was a huge room with a number of tables and chairs all around her and a huge dance floor in the middle. On the walls were paintings that looked pretty popular. Preferably paintings that were stolen. Charmcaster looked around to see if Gwen was around. She noticed the fridge at the end of the wall opposite of the hole that it created. Curious, she approached the crash and wondered if the girl was still under it. With a quick flick, the refrigerator was covered in the pink light again and was tossed aside like a rag doll. But as she did that, she noticed that there was no Gwendolyn in sight. Charm was shocked by this and wondered what happened to her.

Charmcaster: “What the… Where did she-“

But before she could finish, she got hit in the back by a foreign object. Feeling that pain, she turned around and looked up to see who shot her in the first place. Turns out, it was Gwendolyn up in the air with a purple square high on her feet and a purple sphere around her tightened hand. The young woman looked down at her enemy and couldn’t help but to laugh about it.

Adult Gwen: “Miss me?”

Now Charm was getting a little angry as she starts throwing pink hexes at the girl. Gwen jumped away from the blast the same time the blast hit the purple flooring and shattering it to pieces. The young woman quickly waved her hand and another purple platform materialize before her. She immediately landed on the platform and fired another shot at her target. Charm immediately dodged that attack and went into the defensive position, shooting a couple of more Hexes at Gwen. Gwen continued to run in the air as more purple platforms appear before her feet. While she was in the air, she continued with firing her orbs of purple energy right at Charmcaster. Charm dodged the projectiles by somersaulting around. For minutes, the two continued to attack each other and avoiding each other’s projectiles.

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While the battle was taking place, both Ben and Grandpa Max was having their own troubles. Right after they found a way out of the passages, they encounter multiple armored guards without any humans in them. Being that they have very little options in fighting their main instinct is to runaway. They ran through hallway after hallway just to find someplace safe. But no matter where they go, all they found was nothing but empty pieces of moving armor. Ben looked back at the army of armor heading towards them and couldn’t believe any of it.

Ben: “This is getting tiresome! Don’t they ever give up?”

Grandpa Max: “Forget about them! Right now, we have to find a way to get to Gwen and help her out. Let’s head for the library before we get overrun!”

They turned from corner to corner, avoiding any known hostile as possible. They went through hall to hall and tired to hide from them by going into the rooms. Even Max used his rifle and shot down a couple that were in the way. But no matter where they turn to or how many they shoot, more guards kept on showing up. With no place to hide, they don’t know what to do. So they continue to run until they find the library. So far, they managed to reach the second floor and were about to approach the library. But just was they were about to enter, more groups of armored soldiers appeared and block their path. They immediately stop and turned around to fallback but there were enemies on the other side as well. With them trapped, Grandpa Max was getting a little upset about this.

Grandpa Max: “Great… We’re surrounded! I don’t think my rifle could handle this mess.”

Ben could tell this could be bad and knew there was only one thing to do. He looked at his Omnitrix and check to see if its ready. To his luck, the watch is recharged and the light is green. Smiling about this, he told his grandfather that everything’s going to be okay.

Ben: “Don’t worry grandpa. I’ll handle this.”

He pushed the small button and activated his watch then used the dial to select his alien. Once he found the proper alien for this type of danger, he raised his hand high into the air and yelled out his favorite phrase.

Ben: “It’s hero time!”

He slammed the dial down and a green light exploded out of the watch, engulfing the entire hall. When the light faded, standing where Ben was is another alien that was selected form the Omnitrix. This alien is a large bulky one with white skin, black linings, and yellow domelike things on the sides of his knees, his arms, and his shoulder blades. His face was on his chest with the yellow eyes and razor sharp teeth, and he had claws on his hands and stumps as feet. On the top of his body is the symbol of the Omnitrix. It was evident that Ben has transformed into one of the most versatile and destructive aliens, Cannonbolt. The alien looked at his body and was glad that the watch didn’t pick a different one.

Cannonbolt: “Now we’re talking.”

He looked at the empty armor knights and had a sly smile on his face.

Cannonbolt: “All right. Time for me to go bowling for badies!”

He then ran up to the group of guards and formed into a ball like that of an armadillo. Rolling like a ball, his hard shell hit the armor guards, flattening them like a pancake. Luckily, there were no people inside those armor otherwise it would’ve been messy. As he was clearing the path, Max was following his grandson, trying to keep up. With all the guards squished, the alien made it to the entrance to the library and smashed the doors open with his huge mass. He uncurled himself and searched the library, hoping if his cousin was around.

Cannonbolt: “Gwen! Are you here? Answer me!”

But he didn’t hear anything. All he saw was debris, toppled shelves, and discarded books. He could tell that there was a struggle within the place, but he didn’t see Gwen or Charmcaster. He then sighed to himself and couldn’t believe this.

Cannonbolt: “Great… Just my luck. I’ve been through all this trouble only to find that my geekazoid of a cousin isn’t here.”

His grandfather managed to reach the library and noticed the mess too. Noticing that the girls aren’t present, he came to a wise conclusion.

Grandpa Max: “Looks like they must’ve left the library. They couldn’t of gone far. C’mon Ben, let’s continued to search.”

He placed his hand on Cannonbolt’s armored shoulder and urged him to not give up. The alien looked at him and nodded in agreement. So the two turned around and were about to leave the library. But just as they were going to leave, more guards appeared and blocked their exit. Cannonbolt walked up in front of them and cracked his knuckles, ready for a fight.

Cannonbolt: “You guys want to go at it again? All right. You asked for it.”

Once again, he ran up to them and formed into an armor ball just to flatten the enemy. Leaving the library, he went through hall to hall, flattening anything that gets in his way. Max was soon following him, or the crushed armor that was on the floor, just to see where he was going. Within seconds, Ben rolled through halls and smashed through walls just to find the two. With them not upstairs, Ben decided to check the lower level. So he headed to the stairs in the main room and took down a couple of guards that were heading up the stairs. The moment he got there, he rolled through more armored guards and went through room after room. He managed to find the dinning room and noticed that it was a wreck as well. His guess is that they were there before and knew that he was getting close. So he kept on searching. Rolling around in his armor ball, he smashed through rooms; plow through empty armor knights, and sped through halls just to find the two. As for Max, he was trying his best trying to play catch up but Ben was too fast for him. He rested on the wall and took a quick breather.

Grandpa Max: “I’m getting too old for this.”

The moment he managed to catch his breath, he decided to follow the trail of destruction along the way. But then he stopped instantly and saw a few guards that managed to survive the attack and was blocking his path. He got his rifle out and was ready to fire, but one of the guards used the sword to cut weapon in half, leaving him completely defenseless. Knowing this wasn’t going to be easy, he spotted a sword in front of his feet and picked it up. He positioned himself for an attack and waited for the right moment to strike.

Grandpa Max: “So, you all want to fight me? Come on! I got plenty of strength to take you all on!”

The group then charged in and started their attack. Max smirked and positioned his sword to give off the first slice on one of the guards. The second one tried to get him from the side but the former Plumbers member immediately blocked it off. Then another guard came from behind and did an attempt to stab the old man in the back. But Max could tell that it was going to do that and gave the knight a back kick to the chest plate. With it down temporarily, he used his sword and knocked the knight’s head off. He then went back to the second guard and stabbed him in the chest. Then with one swift move upwards, cut the knight up to the top of his head. Next he reached the forth one and made a diagonal cut to it. The last two then raised their axes and were about to strike down on Ben’s and Gwen’s grandfather. Max turned to that direction and lifted his sword up to block the attack. With all of his strength, pushed the knights away from him and did a quick slice before they could regain momentum. The last two knights went to pieces and the group of armored guards were long gone. Grandpa Max looked around and saw there were no more guards to dispose of. He dropped the sword to the ground and sighed in complete relief.

Grandpa Max: “Phew, that was rough. Better catch up with Ben before he goes a little too far.”

He then went back to the search he continued to search for his grandson. Back to Ben, he was still searching, going into his ball form and crushing anything that gets in his way. So far he didn’t see anything that’s either Charmcaster or Gwendolyn, so he continued to search.

Cannonbolt: “Hang on Gwen! Ben’s coming to save you!”

He continued to roll through one of the halls, only to get closer to the ballroom. The very same ballroom where the girls are fighting.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

In the ballroom, Charmcaster continued to attack Gwen by continually throwing hexes at her. Gwen was still in the air and was forming more purple platforms all around her. She was running around like crazy while at the same time throwing purple orbs at the enemy. Charm kept on avoiding them and used her hexes to destroy most of the platforms. One of the hexes reach the platform Gwen was on and hit it on contact. She was able to jump out of the way before the hex hit her and landed on the one of the platforms that wasn’t destroyed. Gwendolyn stood up on the platform and was getting a little upset of this.

Adult Gwen: “This is how you would attack me? For a sorceress, you certainly are mediocre.”

This popped a nerve on Charms head as she snapped and wave her hands towards her.

Charmcaster: “Shut up!”

Just then, multiple hexes came out of her hands and flew just about everywhere. Gwen noticed this and was completely overwhelmed. She jumped up high in the air and dodged every single attack with her agility. She also watched on and noticed that she was completely vulnerable. With that, she decided to pull something off really quickly. While in the air, she waved her hands and purple squares came out of them. They spun really fast and destroyed the hexes once they come into contact. The other purple squares came down to the floor and surrounded the sorceress. The squares then merged together and entrapped her in seconds. With the enemy unable to move, Gwen landed on the ground and placed her hands on her hips, shaking her head in accomplishment.

Adult Gwen: “So, how does is feel to be trapped with my own magic. Now I would like to use this box I put together to squeeze the life out of you, but I’m a little pressed for time. Just hand over the book and maybe I could spare your life and take you to the prison alive. Got it?”

Charm looked at her with a nasty glare and wasn’t sure on what to do. Knowing that she’s in total defeat, she slumped her shoulders and gave up.

Charmcaster: “All right fine. You win.”

She placed her hand on her back just to get the book while Gwen smiled at her victory. What she didn’t know was that the sorceress was pulling something magical out of her hand. Smirking to herself, she lifted her head up and chanted something really loud.

Charmcaster: [color=#FF0000]“Sonicia Blastove!!!”[/color]

In seconds, she spines her body around and formed a pink circle around her. The pink circle then enlarged and exploded, destroying the box that sealed her up and threw the young Tennyson off her feet. She flew to the wall and was hit hard on impact. Skidding down to the group, Gwen shook her head and was slowly regaining conscious. But that wasn’t enough as Charmcaster approached her and was flicking her wrist about, ready to give off the final blow.

Charmcaster: “Silly girl… You really think that an enclosed box can stop me? You really are as basic as ever.”

She then raised her hand to the young woman and a pink hex came out of it, ready to fire. But before she could fire it, she asked her enemy one question.

Charmcaster: “So, any last words before I finish you off?”

Gwen looked up and was really upset about this. She didn’t even have to say anything. Charm just stared at her and cocked an eyebrow.

Charmcaster: “No? Very well then. See you on the other side Gwendolyn!”

She was about to fire her hex and end it all. But just as she was about to do that, a huge explosion came through the wooden doors to the right that would go into the ballroom. She quickly turned to the right and see what happened. But what she saw was a huge yellow shell rolling towards her. She didn’t have the time to avoid it as it hit her so fast and sent her crashing through tables and chairs. The yellow shell opened up and coming out stood Ben in his Cannonbolt form, pointing at the down sorceress and threatening her.

Cannonbolt: “You put your hands on my cousin again, you will regret it!”

He turned to see Gwen still trying to regain consciousness. He bent down and slapped her a couple of times just to wake her up.

Cannonbolt: “Hey Gwen, are you all right? It’s me, your dumb cousin Ben. Wake up! Say something!”

There was a bit of a silence until Gwen finally opened her eyes and saw the alien that saved her.

Adult Gwen: “Ben… Is that you?”

Ben gave his cousin a simple nod as a yes. Gwen just looked at him and gave him a quirky remark.

Adult Gwen: “You brain dead idiot… What took you so long?”

Cannonbolt laughed after hearing her cousin said it. Gwen then looked around and noticed someone else was missing.

Adult Gwen: “Hey, where’s Grandpa?”

Just then, the two heard a familiar voice coming from the right.

Grandpa Max: “Over here…”

They turned to the right and saw their grandfather at the busted doorway catching a breath. He looked up to them and smiled knowing he found them.

Grandpa Max: “Huff… Huff… You know… You should’ve at least wait for me. I’m not getting any younger.”

The two looked at their grandfather and couldn’t help but to laugh about it. He approached the two and checked to see if his granddaughter was all right.

Grandfather Max: “Gwen, are you okay? Are you hurt?”

Gwen looked up to her grandfather and told him she’s fine.

Adult Gwen: “I’m all right Grandpa. Just a little beaten up is all. Heck, if it wasn’t for my cousin here I would’ve been a goner.”

Cannonbolt looked at her cousin and smiled at the thought. Grandpa smiled as well and was relieved that Gwendolyn was in one piece. But then he looked around and wondered what happened to the other woman.

Grandpa Max: “Hey, what happened to Charmcaster? Is she around?”

Ben turned to him and told him what happened.

Cannonbolt: “Oh her? She was going to kill Gwen. I was able to knock her out before she got the chance in killing her.”

Gwen got up and told the two that they weren’t finished yet.

Adult Gwen: “Well, we can’t leave now. I still need to get the book that she still possess in her hands.”

Grandpa Max: “Then we better find her and get that book quick. Where is Charmcaster by the way?”

The alien then pointed to the direction of where the sorceress was and answered his grandfather’s question.

Cannonbolt: “Last time I checked, I knocked her out and she flew through the debris of chairs and tables. She must be underneath all that mess.”

Max looked at that direction and saw the huge mess of chairs and tables.

Grandpa Max: “Lets check it out.”

The two approached the mess while Gwen stayed behind and recover from the pain. The two got closer to the ruble and was about to uncover it. But then, they noticed something pink glowing underneath it. Before they could react, the strange energy exploded and sent both the debris and the Tennysons flying. Gwen watched it all go down and was in a panic frenzy.

Adult Gwen: “Ben! Grandpa!”

She rushed in to help them only to get hit by a pink hex out of the smoke. She fell to the floor and skidded to a stop, shaking her head from the wooziness. As she was trying to get up, she noticed both her cousin and grandfather levitating in the air with pink rings around their mid sections. She was going to save them until she heard a very familiar voice.

Charmcaster: “Uh uh. I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

She looked down and spotted Charmcaster, who managed to survive the onslaught of Ben’s alien. She was a complete wreck, from her tattered clothes to her messed up hair. Parting a bang out of her face, she smiled and wicked smile and had an expression of a sour puss.

Charmcaster: “This is getting really boring Gwen. Did you really think that you would beat me with your second rate magic? Don’t make me laugh. I’ve been raised by a family of sorceress, my uncle taught me all that is dark magic, and I have perfected any known spell imaginable. And what do you have? Just my spell book with a few basic tricks. How pathetic…”

Gwen got up and was going to attack her head on. But just as she was going to do that, Charm decided to stop her with another hex. Her expression quickly changed from sour to angry as she spat to the young woman.

Charmcaster: “Don’t interrupt me! Here let me keep you down.”

With on flick of her wrist, pink cuffs appeared on Gwen’s hands and feet and they pinned her down on the floor. She tried to get out but they were much stronger then the cube prison she created. Charm looked down at her and chuckled for a bit before she could explain.

Charmcaster: “Magical cuffs, design to keep you down until I say so. Now as I was saying… You got nothing compared to me. I’m fast, clever, and skilled better then you. And now that I have the spell book you and your family helped me get I now can do anything better. But first thing’s first, I’m going to get rid of that little annoyance that has been pestering me for two months. You.”

She approached the young Tennyson and held a hex at the palm of her hand. She was going to fire on her as Gwendolyn closed her eyes and realized that the end was going to come. But then, Charm changed her mind and the hex disappeared completely. She got up and smirked, thinking of something else.

Charmcaster: “You know what? I don’t think that killing wouldn’t be enough. If I am going to enjoy this, I decided to move on to the next best thing.”

Slowly she looked up and saw Ben and Max levitating into the air entrapped by the rings. Gwen noticed that too and knew what she was going to do.

Adult Gwen: “No… No. You can’t. You must not.”

Charmcaster: “Oh but I will. I’ve been waiting to get my revenge on you for so long. But… It is your family that got involved with my uncle. So I think it’s wise that they would suffer just like you.”

Gwen growled under her breath and knew that was something she didn’t want to happen.

Adult Gwen: “If you lay one finger on them, I’m going to-“

Charm turned to the trapped woman and spat back.

Charmcaster: “You will do what? You are stuck on the floor, trapped in my magic, which is more powerful then yours. You can’t go anywhere. And just to make sure you don’t do anything stupid…”

She raised her hand up as her fingers sparked around. With one swift move she pointed her hand to her and pink lightening came out of it and electrocuted the young Tennyson. She screamed out in complete pain and was passed out in an instant. Now it didn’t actually kill her, it just made her go into an unconscious state. Both Ben and Grandpa Max witnessed this and were scared by it.

Grandpa Max: “Gwen, NO!”

Gwen moved a little bit and groaned in agony, but she was too knocked out to even react to anything. The sorceress just looked her down and shrugged her head.

Charmcaster: “Now stay down.”

With Gwen out of the way, Charm moved on to the other two and told them that she’s fine.

Charmcaster: “Don’t worry about her. I just gave her enough juice to put her out. She’s alive, for the moment. But it won’t be the same for you.”

She slowly walked towards the two in the air and spins her wrist around so she could feel her bones cracking to position. Looking at her hand, she started to wonder what to do.

Charmcaster: “Now what shall I do with the two of you? There are so many options and yet there is so little time.”

Ben, still as Cannonbolt, squirmed a little and was trying to escape. Yet he still was posing some serious threats.

Cannonbolt: “Keep thinking… That will give me enough time to get out and beat you senseless!”

He continued to thrash about but he was still locked up tight in the air. Charm just watched on and was enjoying this little show.

Charmcaster: “Don’t waste your energy. Those rings I placed are impossible to break. Not even any of your aliens will be able to get out of there. Let’s see…”

She opened her magic bag and checked to see what she can use. What she didn’t know was the Gwen was still stirring, but something was bound to happen, something very bad. As she was regaining conscious, her mind was fully active and filled with millions of thoughts. Her mind was screaming out, telling her to save her family and defeat Charmcaster, about what happened if she fails, what would happen if she dies, just about everything. If kept repeating in her head over and over and over again until she suddenly snapped. Her eyes were forced open and they were glowing purple and she was slowly getting out with her new powers, which were slowly emerging. As that was going on, the young sorceress took out a sword with purple marking on the blade. She held in into position and it started to glow pink. She looked at the sword and smirked to herself.

Charmcaster: “Yeah… This should do it.”

She looked up to the two and told them about this sword.

Charmcaster: “This sword I got in my possession was given to me by a late relative of mine a long time ago. Now it can cut people of course, but there is something else it can do. Not only does it kill people, it takes their souls away and entraps them forever. A very useful weapon when dealing with revenge. Now who should I kill first? Oh I know! You…”

She waved her hand and lowers the alien down to her level. Max didn’t know what to do as he called out his grandson’s name.

Grandpa Max: “Ben!”

Once he was in Charm’s level, the sorceress approached him and was going to finish him up.

Charmcaster: “Since you were a pain to my Uncle’s side, I think I’ll start you off first. Now then, anything to say before I end you?”

Ben thought this one through until he came up with a quick comeback.

Cannonbolt: “Yeah, I got one. Let’s hope that sword of yours can penetrate my hard shell!”

The sorceress cocked an eyebrow, thinking it has to be some sick joke. But she brushed that aside and lifted her sword up in the air. She was going to end Ben’s life until she heard a very familiar, yet very bizarre voice.

Adult Gwen: [color=#800080]“Don’t you dare hurt my cousin!”[/color]

Charmcaster was completely startled by this and turned around to see what she heard. What both she and the Tennysons saw was completely baffling. There stood Gwendolyn who manage to free herself from Charm’s magical cuffs with her eyes deep purple and a purple lining around her body. The young sorceress was shocked and didn’t know what to say.

Charmcaster: “Wha… But… How were you able to get out of that?! My powers are much stronger then yours! Unless…”

She looked at her closely and noticed something completely off. Normally, Gwen wouldn’t use all her powers cause she might loose it. But now it was something completely different. It was almost like the young woman is accepting her new powers and wanted to use them to protect her family. Even if it means if she’s risking her entire life to do so. Charm kept starring at her and found out what she was doing, giving herself a devilish smile.

Charmcaster: “Oh… Now I see. You decided to use your full powers against me. This should be interesting.”

Gwen slowly approached the sorceress and was threatening her once again.

Adult Gwen: [color=#800080]“Maybe you didn’t here me. Release my cousin right now or you will suffer the consequences!”[/color]

Charmcaster thought about this and couldn’t decide whether to end Ben or continue fighting with Gwen. After much debate, she came to a conclusion and decided to fight her arch nemesis.

Charmcaster: “All right then. Let’s see what you got.”

She flicked her wrist and sent Ben crashing into the wall behind her, letting him go through chairs and tables in the process. Gwen witnessed this with her own two purple eyes and just about had it with her. She slowly levitated off the ground and was floating in the air. While in the air, she waved her hands and multiple chairs and tables were covered in a purple energy and were lifted up off the ground, surrounding the young woman. With all the inanimate objects surrounding her, brought her hands down and threw them all at the sorceress. Charm cracked her neck and lifted her hand up to create a pink bubble shield to prevent any objects from hitting her. Once they were all gone, she removed the shield and jumped up high in the air to attack the Tennyson with her sword. She was going to go a full on head slice to her until Gwen flew out of the way and avoided the incoming attack. Charm missed her and stopped in mid air floating above the floor. Looking right at the woman, she got upset and went for another attack. The moment she attacked, Gwen waved her hands and formed a shield to protect her from any known strikes. The sorceress started to slash away on the shield, but it proved to be too strong for her to penetrate. The Tennyson looked on and was liking where this was going. So she decided to pull off something crazy, she focused her power on her shield and it began to glow brighter and brighter by the second. In an instant the shield glow bright enough that it would deflect anything that’s in its way, including sharp weapons. Charm just had enough and was about to pull a forceful blow on the shield. But the moment the sword hit the shield; it deflected the weapon back and sent her flying in the air. She immediately stopped and was prepared for round two. However, Gwen prevented that by throwing the shield right at her. The shield connected to her and shattered in a forceful blow. The sorceress felt the impact and was hurt, letting the sword fly out of her hand and falling to the ground. Charm looked down at the sword and needed to get it back. At the same time, she realized that she still needs to fight her enemy. She looked up and saw Gwen flying towards her, but that didn’t surprise her. What surprises her was that her body was glowing brighter then ever. The Tennyson approached the sorceress and did some on air karate on her. Gwen did a couple of kicks while Charmcaster blocked them all as much as she could. But then, Gwen did a sneaky move as she gave the sorceress a high roundhouse kick. When Charm ducked low to avoid the kick, Gwendolyn found an opening and used her other foot to give her a straightforward kick. Charm was hit in the face and sent her flying down to the ground. Gwen, on the other hand, didn’t want to finish like that. She tightens her fist and it glowed purple. Lunging it forward, she formed a huge strip and it was heading straight to the woman, wrapping it around her. As she felt it around her Charmcaster tried to get out of it but the strip was too tight to escape. Smiling very evilly, she spinned her body around and sending Charm flying all over the place. She kept smashing to walls and through furniture and she had very little control of getting out. There’s even one time that the she hit Grandpa Max that was still held prison on the floating ring. Upon getting hit, Max fell to the floor and landed with a loud thud. He skidded to the floor and smashed right through some tables. The moment he landed on the ground, the ring faded and he was free for the moment. The moment he got up and rubbed from the pain, he looked up and saw Gwen attacking Charm and doing a fine job on it. But he noticed that were powers were growing by the second. He fears that if her powers overload, then there would be problems, terrible problems. Afraid of what’s bound to happen, he looked around to find Ben, but couldn’t find him anywhere.

Grandpa Max: “Ben? Ben, where are you?”

As he kept on searching until he heard a familiar alien voice.

Cannonbolt: “I’m here grandpa. You don’t have to yell.”

Max turned to the direction of the voice and saw Ben still in his Cannonbolt mode, shaking the effects of the throw. The former Plumbers member saw this and rushed to his side to make a quick checkup.

Grandpa Max: “Ben, are you hurt?”

The alien rubbed the back of his shell and was a little dazed of what happened.

Cannonbolt: “Yeah, I’m good. Thank goodness my hard shell comfort the impact. What happened?”

Just as he said that, Charmcaster came down and was slammed to the ground. The two turned around and saw the sorceress struggling to get up. Upon observing that, they both looked up and saw Gwendolyn floating high in the air, with her body white as a ghost. Max kept starring and realized what’s Gwen doing. From what he could understand, Gwen’s body is slowly taking form of an Anodite and the more she kept on using her powers, the harder it will be for to control them. Ben and Charmcaster however, didn’t know that as the sorceress got up and looked in the air to see Gwen floating in the air. Looking right at her, Charm couldn’t take this anymore and does something completely stupid.

Charmcaster: “Oh that’s it! I have had it with you! If I’m going down, I’M TAKING YOU WITH ME!!!”

She placed her hands to the front of Gwen and fires a powerful ray of pink energy right at her. Gwen did the same and fired a purple beam with one hand right at Charm. Both beams hit and created a minor burst of energy in between. This led to another tug of war between the two as the beams went back and forth for a short period of time. Max kept watching the battle and fear that if Gwen uses her beam to finish Charmcaster off, its going to do more then defeat her. He quickly turned to his grandson and asked for a favor.

Grandpa Max: “Ben, I might need your help. How hard is that plating on you?”

Cannonbolt cocked an eyebrow and wondered about that question.

Cannonbolt: “Uh… Why do you want to know?”

Grandpa Max: “Just trust me on this one!”

The two ladies continued to wrestle with their powers and were trying their best to get the better of each other. Charm used all of her full power to push her pink beam closer to her desired target. Gwen tried her best to hold it off but it continued to grow stronger and stronger at the pink beam nearly reach her hands. The sorceress looked on and knew she was close to victory.

Charmcaster: “See Gwen? What I tell ya. No matter how hard you try, I’m still the most powerful sorceress around here.”

Gwendolyn was getting to frustrated about this and just about had it with the woman. That was when her powers reached its peak and her true form was revealed. Her body was now completely purple with white eyes and her hair went white while separated ways and waved violently. With her form completed, she started to say something that will ultimately end this battle.

Adult Gwen: [color=#800080]“You want power? HAVE A TASTE OF THIS!!!!!”[/color]

She focused all of her powers on her beam as it started to glow incredibly bright. Within seconds, her beam pushed forward and slowly approached the sorceress. Charm suspected this and used all of her own power to push back, but there was a problem. Apparently, Gwen’s had become so powerful, it even surpasses her own. She was shocked and didn’t know what to do.

Charmcaster: “No… It can’t be! IMPOSSIBLE!!!!”

The purple beam flew fast and destroyed the enemy’s own beam of light. The beam went straight to Charmcaster, giving her little to no time in avoiding the attack. In fact, the only thing she could do is scream in total defeat.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Outside, the cottage, everything was completely quiet, that was until something unexpected happened. Within seconds, the cottage completely exploded with a stream of purple energy and sending debris flying just about everywhere. In fact, the light was so bright that even an entire state could see it. But the moment the light appeared, it faded away, leaving nothing up a crater of where the house used to be. Within the crater, the only thing that was left was nothing but chunks of wood, torn furniture, and other unknown materials. No one would survive a blast like that. Well almost no one. In what use to be the ballroom, a part of the debris began to move on its own and exploded out. Coming out of the rubble was none other then Cannonbolt with Grandpa Max being covered. During the whole event, Cannonbolt turned his back to the fight and hugged his grandfather to prevent him to being destroyed by the blast. Not to mention to protect him from the falling debris all around them. Once that mess was over, the alien let go of the former Plumber’s member and checked to see if he’s in one piece.

Cannonbolt: “You okay Grandpa?”

Max rubbed the back of his head and was glad he is in one piece.

Grandpa Max: “I’m all right Ben. Just a little banged up, but I think I’ll made it.”

The alien smiled and knew that his grandfather will survive. While he was sighing in relief, the Omnitrix symbol started to beep red and in moments, a red light engulfed him. Max covered his eyes and waited for the light to fade away. The moment it faded, he uncovered his eyes and saw Ben back to his human self, looking at his watch and took a breather.

Ben: “Phew… Good thing it didn’t time out before the explosion or we could’ve been goners from the start.”

Once that was all over with, Ben started to look around and noticed something was missing.

Ben: “Um… Have you seen Gwen?”

Grandpa Max had her eyes wide and found out that Gwen was responsible for this. He too searched the place to see if she was still around. After much looking, he finally around her and pointed to the left.

Grandpa Max: “Over there!”

Ben turned to that direction and saw his cousin lying on the ground and not moving. The boy’s eyes grew wide and feared the worse.

Ben: “GWEN!!!”

Ben ran towards the body while his grandfather followed behind. Once the two approached her, they both took a look at her. Apparently, she returned back to her original self, with her clothes in tatters and her hair a complete mess. Max got down and placed two fingers on her neck to see if she had a pulse while Ben was by his side.

Ben: “Well Grandpa, anything?”

His grandfather removed both his fingers and sighed to himself.

Grandpa Max: “Well, she still has a pulse. That’s a good thing. But she must’ve used too much power that she blacked out.”

Ben looked at her and was lucky that she was alive, but she was sleeping away after a fight like that. He kneeled close to her and told her quietly to wake up.

Ben: “Gwen, I know that you can here me. Please get up. I don’t to have my summer vacation quiet without you annoying me. Please get up.”

The two waited for their family member to move but still there was no sign of anything happening. After a few minutes of waiting, Gwen’s eyes slowly opened and saw both her cousin and grandfather.

Adult Gwen: “Hey guys… What happened?”

Both Tennysons saw her waking up and smiled, knowing that she is going to be all right. But then they noticed that she was a little confused as she sat up.

Adult Gwen: “Whoa! What happened to this place? Looks like its blown to smithereens!”

The two looked at each other and wondered if she remembered everything. Ben then looked at her and asked her what happened.

Ben: “You don’t know what happened?”

The young woman lowered her head and thought about what happened to her.

Adult Gwen: “All I remember was Charmcaster striking me with her lightning bolts and then everything else is a blur. What did I miss?”

The shock was in their faces and couldn’t believe she have forgotten something like that. So Ben told her what just occurred moments ago.

Ben: “What you miss? You used your full power to defeat Charmcaster!”

Gwen’s expression was shocking and couldn’t believe this. She then remembered about Charm and checked the area to find her.

Adult Gwen: “Wait, what happened to Charmcaster? Is she around?”

Max looked around and noticed she wasn’t around.

Grandpa Max: “Don’t know. Don’t see her anywhere. Pretty sure that after the blast she must’ve disappear or you destroyed her. Whatever the case, you manage to defeat her.”

Gwen lowered her head and couldn’t believe it. She managed to defeat her own nemesis without even her knowing it. She then realized something else and checked the destroyed place again.

Adult Gwen: “The book! The spell book! Where is it?!”

Both Ben the Max could tell she’s in a panic frenzy. The two then helped her looking around the destroyed area as well. They kept on searching until Ben spotted a book near where Charmcaster used to be.

Ben: “I see it. Right over there!”

Gwen turned to the direction of where her cousin was pointing to and found the very book Charm took from her. Crawling on her hands and knees, she reached the book and finally picked it up. Starring down at it, she smiled and hugged it as tight as he could. She now has the book in her possession and could finally reverse the spell she cast upon herself in the first place. As she was enjoying her moment, Max approached her and told her that they need to leave.

Grandpa Max: “Gwen, we should get going. The blast you made might have alerted the authorities to here. Let’s hurry.”

Gwen looked up to him and nodded in agreement. She was about to get up but she was still weak from the fight as her knees began to buckle. So the former Plumber’s member carried her over her back as the family left the ruined mansion and retraced their steps back to the Rustbucket. While they were escaping, they didn’t notice a hole that was in the spot where Charmcaster once stood. Could it be possible that Charm is still alive?

 

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