Chapter Text
Ben stepped into the room with Nega, holding the hooded teen's files. The door had now windows, and no cameras, per Ben's request. The boy had been with brutal police and Plumbers before Ben, so he was bruised and bloody. Ben disliked it. The young hero placed the file down on the table and sat across from his villain counterpart. The emo looked at Ben. "No worries, I don't intend to beat the answers out of you." Ben took a key from his pocket and uncuffed Nega's hands. "There you go, that should let you move your arms more freely. That better?" The emo rubbed his wrists and nodded.
"Good. Shall we get started?" Nega nodded and Ben opened the file and read through it. "Oh... Money troubles, huh..?? I'm sorry dude. Did Vilgax promise ya money?" Nega shook his head. "Says here you also... Ran away a couple years ago..." Ben sighed. "That bad, huh...?" Nega nodded, keeping his gaze averted. Ben continued looking at Nega's files. "You didn't stay with your uncle Max or your Gwen's family?" Nega shook his head. "Wasn't an option... Dead..." Nega said. Ben twitched. "Uh, all of them or-" Nega nodded. "Maltruant..." was all Ben got afterwards. The teen nodded. "So that's what happened... I'm so sorry..."
Nega shook his head. "Don't be... Gwen's still alive... Missing..." Ben's eyes widened. "Oh geez..." Ben found it slightly hard to breath. The hero took a deep breath. "You're shaking..." Nega commented. Ben let out a chuckle that sort of got caught in his throat. "I uh... Wasn't expecting it to be this bad with you. Did Vilgax and the others act as a second family to you?" Nega nodded. Ben smiled. "Did they treat you good?" Nega nodded again. Ben noticed a small smile on the young teen's face. "Good." Ben looked back at the files. "Doctors say you're heavily underweight... That because of the money troubles?" Nega's smile faded. "I'm sorry for going back to Bad things, Nega..." The hooded teen raised a hand.
"Don't apologize... But, it is..."
"And how long have you gone without food??"
"..."
"Nega...??"
"...The last time I ate was...when I left..."
"Your parents?"
"Mhm..."
"Oh Nega... You know that's terrible for you..." Ben reached over and gently grabbed the smaller teen's hand and held it. Nega nodded and slightly trembled. "Don't worry, we'll get you into rehab for it. And I promise I will do whatever it takes to find your Gwen. Ok?" Nega nodded and wiped his eyes. "Did Vilgax feed you guys?" Ben asked. Nega nodded. "He took really good care of us... Mad needed extra care because he's so accustomed to the heat..." Nega informed Ben. "I see. So a heated room or cold room?"
"Heated... If it's cold keep a bucket near, he'll get sick if it's cold..." Ben nodded. "Thanks. I'll talk to Rook and we'll see where we can get ya and get people looking for your cousin." Ben stood and helped Nega stand, then he hugged the smaller one. Ben helped Nega out of the room and found his grandpa, Gwen, Kevin, and Rook waiting outside the interrogation room. "Is he alright?" Max asked. Nega immediately hid behind Ben. Gwen walked over behind Nega and gently grabbed the small boy by his elbows and led him to the others. "A little bruised and battered, no thanks to Ben, but he should be ok!" The redhead said. "Yeah, he was hit by the police trying to get answers out of him. Same with those Plumbers sent to watch him." Ben said. Max sighed with disappointment. "I'm sorry they did that to you, Ben." Max apologized and reached to pull Nega into a hug, which Nega flinched away from.
"Oh..!" Max lowered his arms. Nega ran to Ben and hid behind the hero. Ben hugged Nega. "It's ok, they're not gonna hurt you, I promise." Ben cooed into Nega's ear. The smaller teen trembled in the hero's arms. Ben motioned for Max to come closer and the old man did. Ben slowly transitioned Nega from his arms to Max's. Max held the small boy close and held him tightly. Nega hugged Max and began to quietly cry. Max felt a wet spot form on his shirt and he began to rub the young boy's back, whispering comforting words into his ear. Nega sobbed into Max's shirt. Gwen walked over and made Max and Nega's hug a group hug for the boy that lost his family. While Nega was being consoled, Ben took that chance to talk to Rook and Kevin. The 3 boys went to a separate room and Ben sat in a chair and plopped the file on the table.
"He has no family, his Gwen was last known missing and no one has seen her since she disappeared, Nega thinks she's dead. The rest of his family has been confirmed dead. He's malnourished and extremely underweight despite Vilgax taking full care of him, and he has agreed to go to rehab. I DO want him checked thoroughly by a doctor for any illnesses he may have or any extensive injuries caused by the Plumbers and Police." Ben looked at Rook and Kevin. "Rook, you find a good rehab center nearby, Kevin, I want you to get him looked at by a doctor. Think you can see it through?" Rook and Kevin nodded. "I will get started right now." And Rook left the room. Kevin sat on a backwards chair and looked at Ben. "I'll go ahead and wait for him to have his moment with Gwen and Max. Seems the kid needs it. Especially after you explained things."
"He kinda reminds me of you. Just without the insane part."
"Yeah yeah, keep yapping, Tennyson, I'll turn them against you again." Kevin warned. Ben laughed. "Good luck with this one." Kevin snorted. "He'll be easy." Ben shook his head with a smile. "C'mon, let's go see how he's doing." Kevin nodded and they went back to the waiting room. Max, Gwen, and Nega were talking casually. Nega being usually silent. Ben and Kevin walked over to the emo. "Imma head to Mr. Smoothies, ya want anything?" Ben asked. Nega's eyes light up. "Can I go with you??" That was the most excited that Ben had seen Nega the whole time he knew the kid. "Actually, why don't we save it for a treat after your check-up with the doctors? We can go for chili fries too." Ben offered. Nega looked betrayed and slumped.
"Do I have to go see a doctor...?" Ben sighed. "With you being at a very unhealthy weight and those Plumbers and police trying to beat answeres out of you, I wanna make sure you're ok. It'd probably help Vilgax and the others out as well. Nega sighed and nodded. "F-fine..." Ben smiled and extended a hand to Nega. "Good. We'll take Kevin's car, my bike only holds one person." Nega nodded. "So what doctor are we seeing?" Kevin asked. Ben thought. "Why not doctor Cerva, that conductoid?" Ben suggested. Kevin nodded. "Alright, let's go. I suggest she check out your electric alien too, that one you ALWAYS wanna use."
"Feedback? Heh, yeah, been 5 years since I used him last." Kevin looked confused. "5 years?" Ben nodded. "I was 11 when I lost him to Malware. Kinda funny. The same alien I lost to him was the same alien that defeated him." Kevin chuckled and unlocked his car. "I'll be with ya in the backseat." Ben told Nega. The emo nodded and and both Ben's climbed into the backseat of the green car. Kevin hopped into the driver seat with Gwen hopping into the passenger seat. The boys looked at her. "I'm coming with you! Both of them are my cousins, same world or not!" She said. The boys nodded and Kevin drove to Dr. Cerva's clinic.
The 4 walked in and were greeted by the conductoid herself. "Hello Ben, Kevin, Gwen, and... Who's this little one??" The doc bent down to take a closer look at Nega. "Oh my, sweetheart, what happened!?" She asked, worried. "Police and Plumbers... Wanted answers..." Nega informed her. "I'll tell ya later, doc.." Ben said sheepishly. Cerva nodded and looked back at Nega. "I'll check you personally. This way please. Ben, do you intend to stay with him?" Ben nodded. "Join us, please." Ben followed Cerva and Nega to the room she wanted Nega to stay in. "You boys will be in here. Ben, I'd like to run a check-up on Feedback, if you're willing."
"Oh no problem, doc! Want me to switch right now?"
"That would be nice." Ben nodded and tapped his watch, chose Feedback and slapped the Omnitrix and turned into Feedback. "Whoo, I love this guy!" Ben said happily. Nega was just sitting on the bed. Ben took a seat in one of the chairs. Cerva walked back in and brought a thermometer to Nega's mouth. "Alright, let's see if you have a fever, little one." She said as Nega let her place the thermometer into his mouth. When it beeped, she removed it. "No fever, perfect." Cerva went through every basic question with Nega and he seemed fine. Cerva ran some more tests to get a real look at Nega and looked worried when she saw how thin he was when she asked him to remove his hoodie and shirt.
"Oh, sweetie, how are you this thin!?" She asked. Ben explained his situation and Cerva ran some extra tests and offered to have Nega be placed in her care and rehab facility. Ben checked with Rook and the group agreed to let Cerva care for Nega. Cerva smiled when hearing the news. "Great! We'll start next month. I'll prepare a room for him." She said when the check up was done and the group agreed. Then Cerva left to tend to other patients, her tail wagging as she walked. Nega looked up to Ben. "Smoothies and chili fries?" He asked. Ben looked at Nega and smiled, then nodded. "Let's hope you can keep it down." Nega nodded rapidly.
Kevin smiled. "Let's get going, then!" And they all drove to a Mr. Smoothies after stopping for chili fries. Ben and Nega both got a grape smoothie, Gwen got a cherry one, and Kevin got a banana smoothie. Ben enjoyed getting to do this. He hoped to do this more often in the future. Nega ended up eating a bit too quickly and chocked on his fries. "Jesus, slow down, Nega!!" Ben said while laughing and patting his counterpart's back. Nega was coughing and panting. "I'm good, I'm g-good!!" The emo said. Ben laughed and hugged Nega close. The group continued to laugh for about another half hour. Ben brought Nega back to his house and was happy to see the young boy happier than he's seen him so far.
"Oh, you're back. With an accessory." Albedo joked. Nega immediately ran over and hugged Albedo tightly. "Woah, someone's happy!" Albedo laughed and looked at Ben. "Thank you for helping him today. Let's hope next week with Mad goes better." Ben nodded. Nega pulled away from Albedo slightly and looked up at the albino and told the former Galvan about his success that day. "I went to a doctor without freaking out and didn't get sick after drinking or eating anything!!" Ben and Albedo loved how proud Nega was of himself for the day. "That's great, Negs! Maybe you can do the same thing tomorrow! Minus the doctor part."
"Oh, I have to go to rehab next month though."
"Rehab?" Albedo looked at Ben. "To help get his weight up and get him eating regularly again." Albedo nodded. "I see. Thanks again, Ben. For everything." Ben smiled. "You guys are family now. I'd do anything for you." Albedo gave Ben a grateful look. Ben sighed. "I'm wiped, I'm gonna head to bed early. Nega, you had a bit of a rough day too, you should get some rest as well. We have a guest room you can use." Ben said as he headed up the staircase to his bedroom. Ben flopped on his bed exaughsted. Doing those tests with Cerva was tiring, he knew that. But running around with Nega was also pretty tiring. But at least everything turned out good and Nega was happy.
"They tried to make me go to rehab, but I said no, no, no- FUCK!!" Ben shouted and flopped his face into his pillow laughing at himself. Now he had 'Rehab' stuck in his head. Ben rolled over and stared at his ceiling. He was dreading the next week when he'd have to interrogate Mad Ben, the former warlord...