The Elemental Enerithian (Ben 10)

Singlehanded

Aria was walking around Bellwood, enjoying a smoothie, when something tugged on her leg. The girl shrieks and looks down, seeing Ben's hand with the Omnitrix still on it. "What the?" She questions and picks it up. "What you got there?" Michelle asks. "Nothing." Aria hides the hand behind her back. "What are you hiding?" Sam takes the hand from behind her back. "Is that a hand?" Michelle asks. "Have you guys ever seen a watch like that before?" Maya asks, activating it. "Don't touch that!" Aria tries to get it from Sam, but she holds it up high. Since Sam was taller than her, she couldn't get it. "What's so important about this hand thing?" Sam asks. "Nothing, I just..." "Hey!" Sam yells when Maya grabs it from her. "Ooh, what's this?" Maya asks as a hologram of Big Chill appears. "Let's find out." Michelle tells her and presses the watch, turning the hand into Big Chill's hand. "Cool." Michelle says. The hand then turns into Swampfire's hand. "Come on, guys! Give it back!" Aria whines. "Why?" Michelle asks. "Because... because it's Ben's. It's a limited edition watch his... his grandpa got for him." Aria lies, and just then the hand shoots flames, causing Maya to drop it with a shriek, and the girls stare at it, intrigued. 

The hand transforms into Jetray's hand, and Aria picks it up. "Ben's grandpa sure gets him cool stuff." Sam comments. "He sure does." Maya agrees. "How'd it even get here?" Michelle asks. "No clue, but I've got to find Ben." Aria replies and looks around. 'Where are you?' She thinks, looking at the hand. "Ooh, Ari wants to go find her boyfriend." Michelle teases, and the other girls laugh. "Shut up." She tells them. "Take me to Kevin's." She tells Michelle.

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Aria, Gwen, and Kevin were in the latter's garage with Ben's hand on the drawer and Kevin staring at it. The boy laughs, and the girls glare at him. "I don't get what's so funny." Aria tells him with a glare. "Sorry. Sorry." He apologizes and looks at the hand. The hand starts moving, and Kevin laughs again. Gwen looks at the hand and tries to sense Ben. "I've tried that in the car with the girls. He's nowhere on Earth. I don't even know if he's alive." Aria shares sadly, and Gwen sighs. "See that energy surge. Classic sign of dimensional displacement." Kevin shares. "So?" Aria looks at him. "He's fine. The rest of him is just somewhere else. Had the same thing happen to me when I tried to use a refurbished personal force field belt." Kevin walks to his car and opens the trunk. "Spent three hours with my nose in another dimension." He shares and looks back at the girls. "Aren't you gonna ask me how I smelled?" He asks. "Terrible. Just like your joke." Gwen tells him. "Relax. I've got some stuff in here I could plug into a retrieval generator. Shouldn't take a second." Kevin tells them and rummages through his trunk.

"I don't think we have that long." Gwen says and looks out the garage at Sunder. "Sunder." Aria mumbles and hides behind Gwen. "Oh great, it's Sunder the Retriever." Kevin shares. "You know him?" Gwen asks. "Deals in one-of-a-kind artifacts." Kevin places the equipment on the table. "Hm? I wonder. A retriever in the same place as the Omnitrix, which just so happens to be one-of-a-kind." Aria says sarcastically. "Right, okay. Keep him busy so I can get Ben back." Kevin tells them, and Gwen walks out of the garage. "Come on, Ari." Gwen says and puts up a shield to block Sunder's axe. Her shields continue breaking, meanwhile, Aria backs up against a wall. "Aria! A little help here." Gwen tells the girl, who shakes her head. Gwen and Kevin look at her, confused, but turn back to what they are doing. "Where's Ben?" Gwen asks. "Don't know, don't care. Just want the Omnitrix and the princess." Sunder says. "Princess?" Gwen and Kevin say simultaneously. Sunder slams his axe against Gwen's shield and flips over it into the garage.

He looks around, spots the watch, and charges for it, but Aria grabs it, and Gwen wraps mana around her, pulling Aria to her. "We have a lot to discuss." Gwen tells her and blocks Sunder's axe with a shield. It breaks, and she makes another one. "Kevin. Can you work a little faster?" Gwen tells the boy. "I can help buy a little time." Kevin says, his hand grows bigger, and he punches Sunder out of the garage and into a post. "What was that all about?" Gwen asks, turning to Aria. "I've been keeping a big secret from you guys..." The girl looks down and takes in a deep breath. "Take your time." Gwen places a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I'm one of the princesses of Aeloria, and I'm highly valued since I'm the only one of my kind able to use energy and elemental manipulation. Since I've been gone for five years there's bound to be a bounty out for me to be brought back, and Sunder's one of the people answering to it." Aria shares. "That is a big secret-- ow!" Kevin winces when Gwen punches him. "We'll protect you from anyone that comes to get you." Gwen reassures her. "Yeah, no one's taking you away without getting through me." Kevin tells her, cracking his fist.