Chapter 1 - In the Beginning
Submitted November 11, 2007 Updated November 11, 2007 Status Incomplete | Here's the story! It took long enough to write due to having to re-write it so many times, but...well...enjoy! |
Chapter 1 - In the Beginning
Chapter 1 - In the Beginning
“In the Beginning”
“Awesome!” exclaimed the teenage girl known as Hazel Felina. She twirled around in place towards the center of the rusty camper RV that she currently inhabited. But just then, a 10-year-old named Ben Tennyson walked by and knocked her over. He seemed not to notice as Hazel landed with a loud thud. “Hey fathead, watch where you’re going!” she yelled after him. She tried to get back up, but toppled over in the process. Ben seemed to ignore her though as he sat down and opened up a packet of cookies. Grr, Hazel thought. But then an evil smile consumed her frown. She reached for the blue collar around her neck and rubbed it. She closed her eyes and slowly started to become invisible.
Ben took a bite off of a cookie and hummed a familiar tune that regularly played on his favorite video game; Sumo Slammers. Hazel crept up behind him and she was surprised that he didn’t notice her presence. Then again, she had always thought that he had a brain the size of a cookie crumb. She had always known him to love his video games, but she couldn’t remember where the cookie obsession had derived from. She figured that it was just a phase. At least, she hoped it was just a phase. She continued with her plan and snatched one of the cookies from the foil wrapping. Ben seemed oblivious to her actions and kept on humming. The cookie seemed to be floating on its own as it passed right under Ben’s nose. His expression became blank and his eyes widened. “Cookie,” he said, as if hypnotized. Hazel stifled a snicker as she moved it around in front of his face. His eyes followed every movement, not blinking. She suddenly threw the cookie out of the window with all of her might. But to her surprise, Ben actually followed it. In the process however, he became hopelessly stuck in the window. Hazel couldn’t take it any longer and fell to the ground with laughter.
“Ha! I can’t believe you actually fell for it! You are such a dim-witted doofus!” she gasped between breaths.
Ben struggled to get out of the window, but finally gave up. He glared down in defeat. “So, do you want to try that again?” Hazel asked from behind him. He shook his head solemnly and sighed. I’m sorry, he thought, sorry that you’re such a rude freak that can’t even control your own strength. But at least Kevin finds you attractive. I guess somebody has to though. Hazel gasped. She was able to read minds and heard every last word that Ben thought. “You…are...” her voice began to rise, “Unbelievable!” She huffed and stomped off. She sat down quickly and the seat beneath her made a ‘chht’ sound. She couldn’t believe the brat. He had always annoyed her, but never this much. She wanted…revenge.
“Um, a little help here?” Ben asked, starting to get a little worried that he would never be free from the metal clutches.
“Pssh, yeah right,” Hazel retorted.
“Come on, please,” he begged. But Hazel turned away from him and crossed her arms.
Ben’s cousin, Gwen, walked in at that moment. She observed her surroundings and she raised an eyebrow. “Okay Ben, what did you do this time?” she sighed.
“Nothing! I swear!” he yelled. His voice had been loud and the RV seemed awkward from the silence that followed the yelling. Hazel grunted and started to get up. “Wait,” Ben said, now with a serious tone. But she walked out of the camper and slammed the door.
“Nice going dweeb,” Gwen commented.
Hazel found a vacant lawn chair and occupied it. It was a sunny day, so she figured that she would just watch the clouds float by. She never noticed just how beautiful the earth could be until she looked around and saw the campsite. There were woods surrounding the camping spot, and the noon sun shined with a golden glow through the leaves. The sky was a crystal blue and everything seemed to glitter. There were only a few clouds appearing, but none of them showed even the slightest hint of rain. Birds chirped, squirrels chattered, and other small animals made their own unique sound. It was like a song. The song of the forest, Hazel thought. She sighed with awe and envy of beauty.
“Hello? Anybody home?” a voice asked.
She turned her head and saw Kevin standing beside her sitting figure. She jumped at his presence since he had surprised her, but smiled after only a few moments. Blushing, she pulled a strand of loose hair behind her ear. “Oh, hi Kevin,” she muttered. She was too embarrassed to look directly at him. Normally she wouldn’t care, but she felt so weird after freaking out. She hoped that she hadn’t offended him.
“’Sup?” he asked in his normal tone. Hazel shrugged and stared down at her sneakers. He seemed to notice her quietness and knew immediately that something was wrong. But before he could even ask what was wrong, she was already spilling all of her feelings out in one big rush.
“Kevin, I feel so horrible and like an outcast or something. I know I normally don’t feel like that, but Ben and his family just seem like they don’t need anybody else here with them. I feel like I don’t belong,” she stated.
“Look, you have done so much for them. You’ve helped them fight battles, whether if it was with villains or amongst themselves. You even seem like one of them. You argue with them and laugh with them. I think you’re just fine and need to think some things through,” Kevin said.
Hazel nodded in reply and closed her eyes.
“Come on, let’s walk to that little town that’s nearby. I bet they have some cool things to check out,” he offered. Hazel nodded yet again and grabbed onto Kevin’s hand as he helped her up. It seemed like only yesterday that she had met him, but it also seemed like she had known him all of her life. He had come so far from being the stubborn, rebellious teen that he had been when the two first met. Hazel smiled in appreciation and her hopes were suddenly raised. As they walked, she felt as if she were on a cloud. Everything seemed like a dream.
Within a few minutes, they arrived in the small tourist trap of a town. “Well, let’s get started,” Hazel said as she headed towards a small music store. Kevin walked in and said “Déjà vu.” Hazel sort of laughed and flipped through CD’s. The scene was almost like a repeat of a time they had spent together before. It had been at a music store, only in a different place. They had flipped through CD’s and Hazel had even sung a song. Kevin wondered what CD she could possibly want now. She had talked about her music collection back at her home and it sounded to him like she owned every CD known to man. But he shook his head and headed toward her.
“Having fun?” he asked.
“As always,” she replied happily.
As Hazel scanned through the list of artists and music genres, a loud cracking noise occurred. Hazel stared blankly at Kevin. “What? Don’t look at me!” he blurted out. But then the roof started to lift up and the ground beneath them shook dangerously. “What’s…going…on?!” Hazel asked while yelling. She tried to hold on to the CD holders that stood in front of her. Kevin did the same, but kept coming close to losing grip completely. Hazel screamed. A large tornado-like vortex popped up in the middle of the store. Screams came from other customers in the store. One of the clerks jumped onto the cash register before the money in it could fly out and be lost for good.
Hazel rubbed her collar and turned into a falcon. She tried flying upward to see what was causing the strange occurrence, but the wind started to pull her into the center of the monstrous tornado. She rubbed her collar yet again and turned into a leopard. She grabbed onto the nearest wall with her claws and the claws dug in firmly. Kevin lost grip and flew up towards the sky. But Hazel caught him just in time. She pulled him closer to the wall. “Are you okay?” she yelled. There was so much raucous in the small area that barely anything was audible. Kevin nodded quickly and clung onto the wall as best as he could. There’s no way to escape this thing, Hazel thought. She suddenly realized that she would have to try to stop it herself. She wondered if there was a way to possibly stop or even slow down a tornado; much less a vicious one like this. But then she remembered something. “Hold on tight!” she yelled to Kevin. “What?!” he yelled, but she let go and flew off into the heart of the storm. “Oh my god! Hazel!” Kevin yelled. Please let her be okay, just please, he thought.
Hazel thrust forward and up into the air. She turned into a small bird and flew off towards the RV. She figured that she could have Ben use his Omnitrix to turn into a speed alien; XLR8. If he could run in the reverse order of the tornado, then that should be able to slow it down. I hope he’s not mad at me or something, because then he definitely won’t help me, she thought. But then she remembered how much of a glory hog he was and knew that he would do anything to be the hero and get all of the attention. She arrived to the area of the RV and landed as human Hazel. She sprinted frantically to the RV and ran in. “Ben! You’ve got to help me! Please!” she yelled, out of breath.
“Ok, ok I will. Calm down,” he said, staring at her ruffled attire.
“Thank you so much! We have to try to save Kevin and all of the other people in the music store that was in that small town we passed while driving to this park!” she instructed. She filled him in on the rest of the plan and he nodded in agreement. He activated the Omnitrix and chose XLR8. He waited as his face turned blue, he grew a tail, and as his body underwent other various changes. Within seconds, Hazel and Ben raced off to get to the store in time.
Ben zoomed into the heart of the tornado and a blue streak appeared around the bottom of it. “Go XLR8!” Hazel yelled. She found Kevin still clinging to the wall and she picked him up. She flew him off and set him down on the ground outside of the building. People had now filled the street and they questioned what was going on. Hazel ran into the crowd and tried to calm them down and tell them that everything was under control. They all finally left, and she sighed with relief. Ben suddenly ran out of the building.
“All taken care of,” he assured.
“Thanks so much, Ben,” she said. She gave him a hug and squealed with delight.
“Ah! Get it off! It’s attacking me with all of its cooties!” Ben joked. Hazel playfully pushed him and laughed. They left the scene before anyone came out to inspect the aftermath of the storm. But Ben and Hazel walked in silence, for they were questioning where the strange tornado had come from. It was no ordinary one, and they assumed someone, or something, was behind it. And it irked them that they didn’t know who or what.
Hazel laughed a little as she remembered the look on Kevin’s face when she had left him. Sure, it was sad-looking, but his eyes had been wide and the whole thing was hilarious to her.
“What?” Ben asked.
“Oh, nothing,” she said. But then she stopped dead in her tracks. Standing right before them, was a strange girl.
“Awesome!” exclaimed the teenage girl known as Hazel Felina. She twirled around in place towards the center of the rusty camper RV that she currently inhabited. But just then, a 10-year-old named Ben Tennyson walked by and knocked her over. He seemed not to notice as Hazel landed with a loud thud. “Hey fathead, watch where you’re going!” she yelled after him. She tried to get back up, but toppled over in the process. Ben seemed to ignore her though as he sat down and opened up a packet of cookies. Grr, Hazel thought. But then an evil smile consumed her frown. She reached for the blue collar around her neck and rubbed it. She closed her eyes and slowly started to become invisible.
Ben took a bite off of a cookie and hummed a familiar tune that regularly played on his favorite video game; Sumo Slammers. Hazel crept up behind him and she was surprised that he didn’t notice her presence. Then again, she had always thought that he had a brain the size of a cookie crumb. She had always known him to love his video games, but she couldn’t remember where the cookie obsession had derived from. She figured that it was just a phase. At least, she hoped it was just a phase. She continued with her plan and snatched one of the cookies from the foil wrapping. Ben seemed oblivious to her actions and kept on humming. The cookie seemed to be floating on its own as it passed right under Ben’s nose. His expression became blank and his eyes widened. “Cookie,” he said, as if hypnotized. Hazel stifled a snicker as she moved it around in front of his face. His eyes followed every movement, not blinking. She suddenly threw the cookie out of the window with all of her might. But to her surprise, Ben actually followed it. In the process however, he became hopelessly stuck in the window. Hazel couldn’t take it any longer and fell to the ground with laughter.
“Ha! I can’t believe you actually fell for it! You are such a dim-witted doofus!” she gasped between breaths.
Ben struggled to get out of the window, but finally gave up. He glared down in defeat. “So, do you want to try that again?” Hazel asked from behind him. He shook his head solemnly and sighed. I’m sorry, he thought, sorry that you’re such a rude freak that can’t even control your own strength. But at least Kevin finds you attractive. I guess somebody has to though. Hazel gasped. She was able to read minds and heard every last word that Ben thought. “You…are...” her voice began to rise, “Unbelievable!” She huffed and stomped off. She sat down quickly and the seat beneath her made a ‘chht’ sound. She couldn’t believe the brat. He had always annoyed her, but never this much. She wanted…revenge.
“Um, a little help here?” Ben asked, starting to get a little worried that he would never be free from the metal clutches.
“Pssh, yeah right,” Hazel retorted.
“Come on, please,” he begged. But Hazel turned away from him and crossed her arms.
Ben’s cousin, Gwen, walked in at that moment. She observed her surroundings and she raised an eyebrow. “Okay Ben, what did you do this time?” she sighed.
“Nothing! I swear!” he yelled. His voice had been loud and the RV seemed awkward from the silence that followed the yelling. Hazel grunted and started to get up. “Wait,” Ben said, now with a serious tone. But she walked out of the camper and slammed the door.
“Nice going dweeb,” Gwen commented.
Hazel found a vacant lawn chair and occupied it. It was a sunny day, so she figured that she would just watch the clouds float by. She never noticed just how beautiful the earth could be until she looked around and saw the campsite. There were woods surrounding the camping spot, and the noon sun shined with a golden glow through the leaves. The sky was a crystal blue and everything seemed to glitter. There were only a few clouds appearing, but none of them showed even the slightest hint of rain. Birds chirped, squirrels chattered, and other small animals made their own unique sound. It was like a song. The song of the forest, Hazel thought. She sighed with awe and envy of beauty.
“Hello? Anybody home?” a voice asked.
She turned her head and saw Kevin standing beside her sitting figure. She jumped at his presence since he had surprised her, but smiled after only a few moments. Blushing, she pulled a strand of loose hair behind her ear. “Oh, hi Kevin,” she muttered. She was too embarrassed to look directly at him. Normally she wouldn’t care, but she felt so weird after freaking out. She hoped that she hadn’t offended him.
“’Sup?” he asked in his normal tone. Hazel shrugged and stared down at her sneakers. He seemed to notice her quietness and knew immediately that something was wrong. But before he could even ask what was wrong, she was already spilling all of her feelings out in one big rush.
“Kevin, I feel so horrible and like an outcast or something. I know I normally don’t feel like that, but Ben and his family just seem like they don’t need anybody else here with them. I feel like I don’t belong,” she stated.
“Look, you have done so much for them. You’ve helped them fight battles, whether if it was with villains or amongst themselves. You even seem like one of them. You argue with them and laugh with them. I think you’re just fine and need to think some things through,” Kevin said.
Hazel nodded in reply and closed her eyes.
“Come on, let’s walk to that little town that’s nearby. I bet they have some cool things to check out,” he offered. Hazel nodded yet again and grabbed onto Kevin’s hand as he helped her up. It seemed like only yesterday that she had met him, but it also seemed like she had known him all of her life. He had come so far from being the stubborn, rebellious teen that he had been when the two first met. Hazel smiled in appreciation and her hopes were suddenly raised. As they walked, she felt as if she were on a cloud. Everything seemed like a dream.
Within a few minutes, they arrived in the small tourist trap of a town. “Well, let’s get started,” Hazel said as she headed towards a small music store. Kevin walked in and said “Déjà vu.” Hazel sort of laughed and flipped through CD’s. The scene was almost like a repeat of a time they had spent together before. It had been at a music store, only in a different place. They had flipped through CD’s and Hazel had even sung a song. Kevin wondered what CD she could possibly want now. She had talked about her music collection back at her home and it sounded to him like she owned every CD known to man. But he shook his head and headed toward her.
“Having fun?” he asked.
“As always,” she replied happily.
As Hazel scanned through the list of artists and music genres, a loud cracking noise occurred. Hazel stared blankly at Kevin. “What? Don’t look at me!” he blurted out. But then the roof started to lift up and the ground beneath them shook dangerously. “What’s…going…on?!” Hazel asked while yelling. She tried to hold on to the CD holders that stood in front of her. Kevin did the same, but kept coming close to losing grip completely. Hazel screamed. A large tornado-like vortex popped up in the middle of the store. Screams came from other customers in the store. One of the clerks jumped onto the cash register before the money in it could fly out and be lost for good.
Hazel rubbed her collar and turned into a falcon. She tried flying upward to see what was causing the strange occurrence, but the wind started to pull her into the center of the monstrous tornado. She rubbed her collar yet again and turned into a leopard. She grabbed onto the nearest wall with her claws and the claws dug in firmly. Kevin lost grip and flew up towards the sky. But Hazel caught him just in time. She pulled him closer to the wall. “Are you okay?” she yelled. There was so much raucous in the small area that barely anything was audible. Kevin nodded quickly and clung onto the wall as best as he could. There’s no way to escape this thing, Hazel thought. She suddenly realized that she would have to try to stop it herself. She wondered if there was a way to possibly stop or even slow down a tornado; much less a vicious one like this. But then she remembered something. “Hold on tight!” she yelled to Kevin. “What?!” he yelled, but she let go and flew off into the heart of the storm. “Oh my god! Hazel!” Kevin yelled. Please let her be okay, just please, he thought.
Hazel thrust forward and up into the air. She turned into a small bird and flew off towards the RV. She figured that she could have Ben use his Omnitrix to turn into a speed alien; XLR8. If he could run in the reverse order of the tornado, then that should be able to slow it down. I hope he’s not mad at me or something, because then he definitely won’t help me, she thought. But then she remembered how much of a glory hog he was and knew that he would do anything to be the hero and get all of the attention. She arrived to the area of the RV and landed as human Hazel. She sprinted frantically to the RV and ran in. “Ben! You’ve got to help me! Please!” she yelled, out of breath.
“Ok, ok I will. Calm down,” he said, staring at her ruffled attire.
“Thank you so much! We have to try to save Kevin and all of the other people in the music store that was in that small town we passed while driving to this park!” she instructed. She filled him in on the rest of the plan and he nodded in agreement. He activated the Omnitrix and chose XLR8. He waited as his face turned blue, he grew a tail, and as his body underwent other various changes. Within seconds, Hazel and Ben raced off to get to the store in time.
Ben zoomed into the heart of the tornado and a blue streak appeared around the bottom of it. “Go XLR8!” Hazel yelled. She found Kevin still clinging to the wall and she picked him up. She flew him off and set him down on the ground outside of the building. People had now filled the street and they questioned what was going on. Hazel ran into the crowd and tried to calm them down and tell them that everything was under control. They all finally left, and she sighed with relief. Ben suddenly ran out of the building.
“All taken care of,” he assured.
“Thanks so much, Ben,” she said. She gave him a hug and squealed with delight.
“Ah! Get it off! It’s attacking me with all of its cooties!” Ben joked. Hazel playfully pushed him and laughed. They left the scene before anyone came out to inspect the aftermath of the storm. But Ben and Hazel walked in silence, for they were questioning where the strange tornado had come from. It was no ordinary one, and they assumed someone, or something, was behind it. And it irked them that they didn’t know who or what.
Hazel laughed a little as she remembered the look on Kevin’s face when she had left him. Sure, it was sad-looking, but his eyes had been wide and the whole thing was hilarious to her.
“What?” Ben asked.
“Oh, nothing,” she said. But then she stopped dead in her tracks. Standing right before them, was a strange girl.
Wow, amazing chapter, I really liked it!;D