Gwens 10 Episode 12: Side Effects (Patreon)

It was a warm summer day, the sky was clear and the sun was bright. The day would be perfect if some back robbers wasn't speeding through the streets at that very moment, money flying from their bags like candy. The Rust Bucket was completely outmatched in terms of speed, but one black and blue blur could catch up. That blur was a motorcycle, one with no human rider, upgraded by Upgrade.

They controlled the motorcycle as they chased after the robbers, weaving through the traffic like a nimble little bug. Upgrade were easily able to catch up to them, blasting the robbers with a pair of eye lasers. Their truck blew up, allowing them to easily get caught by the cops. The day was saved once again, this time by Upgrade.

"Awesome!" The slimy form of Upgrade leapt out of the motorcycle, the two halves hi-fiving each other for a job well done. It looked a lot more like a clap though, a result of being in the same body.

"That energy blade I did back there was incredible."

"Yeah, but the way I maneuvered us under the cars was cooler!"

"No way, I was much cooler there!"

"I personally wouldn't say so..."

A glimmer of red caught their eyes, the bright shine of a popsicle delivery truck in the traffic. It was incredibly hot after all, and the two were just craving something sweet to munch on.

"Maybe we should get ourselves a reward for our good deeds."

By the time Grandpa Max and Ben arrived, the Gwens had already eaten through quite a few boxes of popsicles. They were shivering within the cold truck, practically freezing as snot dripped out of their noses.

"As I thought, it's a summer flu." Once inside the RV, Grandpa Max was quickly able to diagnose the girls. "It's because the two of you were in the cold for far too long."

"Does that mean we'll have to rest while the two of you explore Chinatown?" Gwen had been passionate about going to Chinatown for a few days now, so to be left behind thanks to a flu would be horrible.

"You guys should at least bring back a dumpling or something," Gwen said.

"The dweebs aren't coming to Chinatown with us?" Ben seemed a bit excited. "That means I won't have to listen to their arguing this whole trip!"

"No need to worry," Grandpa Max said. "My famous San Ju Yen Pien remedy can fix you back up in a jiffy. Luckily the ingredients can be found here in Chinatown."

Ben groaned. This was going to be annoying.

Chinatown was a busy sight at this time of year. The Tennysons visited a myriad of shops and markets to get the items they needed, Grandpa Max's bag growing more and more full by the second.

"You... ah... ah... you doofus!" In the middle of their trip the two Gwens had gotten angry at each other, seemingly about to fight again. Their noses still dripped, tingling like they were going to sneeze at any moment, but no noise seemed to come out.

They attempted to shove each other to the ground, wrapping their fingers around each other and pushing as hard as they could. Their arms didn't budge, pushing each other with completely equal strength, neither able to overpower each other.

"Oh?" Gwen smiled as she pushed. "You're clearly much weaker than before."

"So are you," Gwen said. "I can easily overpower you now!"

"Then why don't you try?"

"I'll show you!"

The two seemingly strained harder, not gaining even a bit more ground against each other. Ben just sighed as he saw them, turning his attention to the parade going on in the center of town. That parade was fifty time more interesting than watching his duplicated cousins fight for the fiftieth time, at least in his eyes. Even the flies seemed to be enjoying the parade, bopping from side to side next to the performers like they were part of the parade as well.

The flies then flew up above the parade, pooling together into a large black cloud of insects. The pool grew larger and larger, becoming a thick black orb in the sky until it seemed to crack open like a cocoon. At this point everyone's eyes were glued to the structure of flies in the sky, and a man who emerged from the inside like he was birthed from them.

The man was so pale his skin looked blue, with raggedy clothes and hair that made the flies seem natural around him. He grinned for a moment, showing off broken and ragged teeth that a few larger insects buzzed out of. More and more insects flew into the "cloud", expanding it to the size of an insectoid dragon.

"Some girl here was trying to tear down my apartment earlier today." His voice was just as ugly as his face, gargling a bit as if he were ill. "Councilwoman Liang, I'm sure you remember the name Clancy, don't you?"

In the crowd, one could see a woman in a business suit shudder upon hearing that.

"I told you my apartment was a sanctuary to insects everywhere, yet you refused to listen. You still sent those men to tear my building down. Want to know what I did with those guys Councilwoman Liang? I'll show you, IN PERSON!"

An absolute storm of flies descended upon them, tearing through the entire parade. Wasps poured through the scene, stabbing as many people as they could with their stingers. Councilwoman Liang tried to run, only to find herself lifted in the air by hundreds of flies grabbing her jacket. Flies were stronger than they looked, bringing her closer to Clancy every second.

"This is probably a good place to go hero," Ben said.

"We're already on it." The Gwens turned the dial, their eyes starting to tear up from the dust in the air. So many flying insects kicked up dirt and sand everywhere, and they felt a sneeze coming up. They couldn't see the aliens they were picking that well, but they looked tough. It was probably better to transform sooner rather than later.

"Ah.. ah..." Their noses started to tingle as they lifted their hands in the air. "ACHOO!"

The two transformed into... what did they become? They usually looked at their hands to figure out what the transformation was, but for whatever reason they seemed blind. Considering the stance and the fact each of them felt a single arm completely numb, they probably transformed into Wildmutts.

That meant they had to run, use their newfound agility to catch the Councilwoman before she could be lifted away, but they found their heads banging against a wall.

Wait, was that wall even there? They didn't notice it. In fact, they couldn't tell what was around them. It was like trying to look for something within the thickest layers of fog, all they could tell was they were at least still on the ground.

One more step and they tripped down the stairs.

"What's wrong with them?" Ben just pointed at the two as they stumbled about, tugging each other and bumping their heads into everywhere and everything. "It's like they can't see."

"I've always wondered about that," Grandpa Max said. "I mean, I've never seen their eyes, I wonder if they even have eyes."

"But if they don't have eyes, how do they see?"

"They are like dogs, what if they can sense where they are through smell?"

A sudden realization washed over Ben. "But if that's the case, wouldn't their noses be blocked right now thanks to the sickness!?"

"That'd explain how they're acting."

The Wildmutts were wobbling and tumbling, pulling each other and tugging a bit with their wild flailing. They couldn't see, everything was dark, what was even going on? The experience was scary, like reality itself was completely cut off from them, swinging their arms around them in fear.

The two felt slashes fall over their faces, shrieking from the sudden pain. They swung more and more, feeling more slashes fall over them as a result, flailing and attacking more and more. Neither realized they were attacking each other, hearing the other's screams and just believing they were after the same opponent. And so they slashed more at each other.

"Gwens! Snap out of it!" They could at least hear Ben's voice, not really picking up what he said though. It was likely just him being worried about them, which made sense because the opponent this time was tough.

They reached forward, hoping to get a good grasp of the opponent their facing, only to get surprised by two things. First was that whatever they ended up grabbing was rounder and softer than what they imagined. Second was that their opponent also reached out to them, with each feeling one of their breasts getting squeezed.

The two screamed, figuring Clancy was groping the both of them, not realizing the two of them were truthfully doing it to each other. They screamed and pulled and squeezed each other's breasts, struggling and flailing about more and more...

The Omnitrix flashed red and made the two turn back, the Gwens finally able to see their surroundings. They looked down to their chests, following their arms to each other, finally realizing what happened.

"W-What are you doing!?" Gwen's face was bright red. "I thought we were fighting the bug guy!"

"That's what I was doing!" Gwen seemed just as shocked and embarrassed. "You're the one who grabbed my breast!"

"Gwens!" Grandpa Max pulled them aside, dragging them towards the RV. "What's more important here is that your sickness is affecting your alien forms! You need to get some rest and medicine so you can quickly get to hero work."

"But what about the bug guy!?"

"Ben will look for his location on the internet. What you need to do is sit back and have some of my special San Ju Yen Pien remedy!"

The two were thrown into their bed, too weak to get up. Ben did as he was told and did a bit of research, finding a few things about a rickety bug-filled apartment nearby. The Gwens were certain they could've found it in half the time, but Grandpa Max wouldn't let them move. He was busy mixing the various ingredients he bought in a blender, pouring them in cups for the two to take from.

"Just drink this and you'll be cured in no time!" The San Ju Yen Pien remedy Grandpa Max seemed to trust so much looked more like poison than a cure. It smelled like something dying, the grayish white color looked like concrete, it occasionally bubbled up like something toxic was within it, bits and pieces that didn't look edible seemed to become visible every once in a while, there were so many things wrong with this creation.

"Want to have mine?" Gwen tried to hand her cup over to her double. "I'm not that hungry."

"No no, you should eat." Gwen tried to hand her cup over to her double. "In fact, take mine."

"We're here." The trip was so fast it was like they never moved at all, the Gwens not having realized they had. The destination was an old apartment building, and just like Ben said it looked like it was seconds away from crumbling to pieces.

"Councilwoman Liang has apparently been advocating for a city-wide renovation program for a while now," Ben said as they stepped inside. Every step made the wooden floor creak like it was about to give way. "That promise included destroying old buildings like this one to make way for new apartments."

"I can see why." The Gwens shivered as they were forced to wade through spider webs, occasionally feeling the sticky strings touch their faces despite not seeing a single thing. It felt like it was impossible to take a step without scaring a cockroach, and the constant buzzing of flies alongside the creaking of the floor filled their ears.

"Wait a minute?" Grandpa Max stopped in his tracks, his eyes darting around the room. "Do you hear that?"

"If you're talking about all the flies and the creaky floor..." The Gwens shivered. "Then yeah."

"No, listen closer. It sounds like that Clancy guy."

It was faint but it was certainly there. The raspy voice of the bug guy that was in the crowd was certainly there, accompanied by a female voice they had never heard before. Judging from circumstances it was likely the Councilwoman Clancy kidnapped earlier, and she seemed to be pleading and begging with him right now. The words couldn't be easily made out, but it was clear Clancy was threatening her.

"I think it's coming from above," Ben said. "And he said something about poisonous spiders!"

"We have to help her, quickly!" The Gwens slammed their hands down on the Omnitrix, transforming once more into a different form. With two heads and four breasts, but most importantly four arms, they grabbed Grandpa Max and Ben before leaping through the ceiling and into the floors above. There they find themselves between Clancy, laughing maniacally, and Chairwoman Liang, whose body was currently covered in dozens of black widow spiders. The Four Arms knew on sight that one bite could be the death of her.

"Don't make a move!" Clancy laughed and cackled with delight, not showing any confusion to the two-headed red aliens that burst through the floor. "You guys are here for the Councilwoman aren't you? Well if you take a single step those Black Widows will all place their fangs in her skin, killing her in less than a second.

The Four Arms stayed as still as possible, mentally begging each other to do the same. This wasn't a problem that they could just punch away, they were completely helpless here.

A cold chill shook their noses. Something felt like it was trying to come out. They covered their noses, feeling like a big sneeze could potentially blow their cover completely. Yet the urge would just grow greater and greater and greater...

"ACHOO!" They just couldn't help it but sneeze, blasting waves of green snot out of their noses like they were hoses.

The two froze up, a cold sweat covering their shared body. Was this it? Did they just kill the Councilwoman? Their eyes opened in horror, expecting to see the dead body of a political figure in front of them, only to see her alive and well.

"Amazing," Ben said, looking round and round her body. "Your super boogers killed all those spiders."

"An unorthodox method of heroism," the Councilwoman said. "But thanks."

"My comrades!" Clancy rushed to the spiders side and fell to his knees, trembling and shaking and slightly tearing up. "How dare you do something like this to them!?"

"I mean they're just bugs," Four Arms said.

"They aren't that hard to kill," Four Arms said.

Clancy just trembled silently, clutching his chest like it was stabbed. His face contorted in a way a human face shouldn't be able to, a mix of anguish and anger that looked inhuman. Wasps and bees circled around him, forming a vortex of black and yellow insects.

"Look out!" Grandpa Max tackled Ben and the Councilwoman to the ground before they could get swarmed by a sudden rush of bugs. They moved in unison, like a limb extending from Clancy's body, "punching" the Four Arms and smashing them through the wall. Their arms felt weaker than usual, barely able to ward off this attack and future ones and Clancy continued to send insects their way.

"JUST BUGS!? EASY TO KILL!? WHERE ARE YOUR TAUNTS NOW!?" Clancy cackled as he continued to throw mountains and mountains of bugs their way, tossing their large body through the various pillars and walls of the apartment. They tried to strike back, repeatedly sending punches the bugs' way, but their fists would barely send them back an inch.

"Are you not trying!?" Four Arms yelled at her double. "Our punches are even weaker than usual thanks to you!"

"Don't pin the blame on me!" Four Arms yelled at her double. "If anything, you're probably the one holding back!"

In reality it was neither of them. The sickness was just taking its toll on the Four Arms too, the weakness and lethargy bringing their strength closer to a normal human's. They were still strong, most definitely stronger than the average person, but Clancy's bugs were stronger.

They pulled up planks from the creaky floor below them, using it as a makeshift shield as the bugs rushed them. They then threw it like a frisbee towards Clancy, only for a swarm of flies to grab it like a giant black hand. Termites instantly broke it down to pieces, leaving it a pile of dust.

Another "punch" of bees made it way to the Four Arms, and they tried to block it yet again with a piece of the floor. Unfortunately the insects had adapted, breaking the formation and wrapping around the board just to strike the conjoined aliens behind it. The attack blasted them down to a lower floor, breaking through at least two layers of the apartment.

"Are you serious!?" Four Arms snapped at her conjoined double. "What was that performance back there!?"

"Like you're one to talk!?" Four Arms snapped at her conjoined double. "We've just been on the receiving end of attacks thanks to you!"

With their topmost arms they yanked each other's heads down by the hair, smashing them into the ground as they fell. Their heads broke through the floor boards, smashing the ground beneath and sending them to a lower floor. Over and over again they fell, until they ended up at the bottom floor.

Grandpa Max and Ben were on that floor, guiding the Councilwoman outside. Before anyone could say anything Clancy burst through the ceiling, riding a legion of flies onto the ground.

"Now you realize these aren't just weak bugs right!?" A maniacal fanged grin spread across Clancy's face, right before he burst into laughter. "The creatures you call vermin have lives and power that you poor humans just refuse to acknowledge! Now witness their power!"

A swarm of bees were sent towards the Four Arms, ready to destroy them with a single attack.

But then the apartment complex creaked. One board fell from the ceiling. And another. And another. The apartment that was already on its last legs was starting to fall apart. The Four Arms went to block the Tennysons and the Councilwoman, while Clancy covered himself in a wave of cockroaches. It felt like an earthquake was impacting the area, and the two groups held tight and braced for impact.

When the chaos stopped the two groups looked up to see devastation around them. There wasn't even evidence an apartment complex used to lay around them, just boards and planks of wood covering the ground. Dust flew through the air like a fog, concealing the face of the villainous Clancy, who seemed more distraught than before.

"My comrades!" Clancy's eyes were wide with shock as he looked down at the damage, the bloodied bodies of spiders lining the wood. "This building has served as a save haven for bugs for so long, and yet..."

Sadness immediately became anger, so much so it felt like he could kill them with a glare alone. Flies started to fly around him from all over the city, forming angel wings around him that lifted him above the ground.

"YOU INFERIOR LIFEFORMS!" Tears seemed to well up in his eyes as he yelled at the group. "I BET YOU REALLY LOVED DESTROYING THEIR HOME, HUH!? WELL YOU WON'T BE LAUGHING WHEN I DESTROY YOUR HOMES!"

He then flew off, disappearing into the horizon.

"Regardless of what he said," the Councilwoman began. "Thanks for saving me you two-headed four-armed... um..."

"Aliens," the Four Arms said. "We're aliens.

"We can't dwell on that," Grandpa Max said. "That Clancy fellow was talking about destroying our homes, we can't let him get out of our sights."

"Now that I think about it," the Councilwoman continued. "In that direction is a nuclear power plant. An explosion from there could turn the city to dust."

"Then it looks like we'll have to get there first!"

The Tennysons went back to the RV and immediately gave chase, driving at top speeds to meet with Clancy.

"Gwens," Grandpa Max said, keeping his eyes on the road. "It's becoming more obvious that you're still sick, and we don't know how it will affect your other alien forms. Luckily I made some extra of my San Ju Yen Pien remedy just in case, it's in the fridge. Take some before we get inside."

"Sure..." The Gwens had no intention of taking any.

"You probably need it more than me," Gwen whispered to her double. "You held us back two times already."
"You mean you held us back," Gwen whispered to her double. "Take a sip before you hold us back again."

"We're here." Once again it was like no time passed at all, Grandpa Max bringing the group to the nuclear power plant in less than a minute. They stepped inside carefully, not wanting to trigger anything that could make the process happen even a bit faster.

The inside was a lot more empty than any of them expected a dangerous power plant to be. Maybe people were there before but Clancy had gotten to them first. The thought was chilling, so none of them thought too much about it. The walls were made of a cold, stainless metal, but the temperature was rather hot. The deeper they went inside, the warmer and warmer things felt, until they found the source. The nuclear reactor in the center was red hot, and right by it was Clancy smashing the control board.

"You're too late!" Clancy laughed maniacally before turning to face the Tennysons. "The reactor is set to reach critical temperatures and meltdown in only a matter of minutes!"

"You idiot!" Ben was the one to shout at him. "If this thing explodes you'll be dead too!"

"Not unless I do this!" With a snap of his fingers hundreds and thousands of cockroaches covered Clancy from head to toe. Not a single bit of his human skin could be seen from under the creepy crawlies. "Cockroaches are some of the only creatures capable of surviving intense nuclear radiation, with these covering me I'll be unstoppable!"

"Fortunately," Gwen said. "Like many other bugs cockroaches are susceptible to fire!"

"Get the reactor under control you two," Gwen said. "We'll exterminate this guy!"

The Gwens were feeling rather confident. A bit of their strength was coming back, and their noses weren't as runny, maybe they could do this.

A slam of the Omnitrix's dial transformed them once more, making them a rocky and  flaming form. They transformed into Heatblasts, but something was immediately wrong with them. For one, their flames were a pale blue instead of the bright orange they usually were. And secondly, they were completely freezing. Their hands felt like they were made of ice with how cold they were.

"I guess the aliens are still affected by how sick you are." The Heatblasts glared at each other for a moment before a moment before facing the Cockroach-covered Clancy once again. "We'll just have to deal with that later!"

They threw a blue fireball towards the writhing mass of cockroaches, only for nothing to happen. It hit the cockroaches, it certainly made contact, but the bugs didn't burn or even spark a bit. They seemed completely unaffected.

"Was that supposed to burn me!?" Clancy laughed and cackled as if this was the funniest thing in the world. "Even your weak four-armed friends did more than that! I wonder where they even are? Who cares, take THIS!"

Hundreds of cockroaches piled up to the left hand, forming a wrecking ball at the end of his arm. When he punched his arm almost seemed to stretch, likely achieved by placing extending the arm with a number of cockroaches, launching the wrecking ball right their way.

The Heatblasts were hit head on, burst through the wall from the sheer force of the attack. Such strength would not mean he was slow, speeding behind them before they could notice thanks to dragonflies forming the feet. One more punch sent them to the ceiling, leaving a Heatblasts-shaped imprint in the metal.

"This is your fault!" Heatblast snapped at her double. "I told you to take the remedy back in the RV!"

"This is your body too!" Heatblast snapped at her double. "Your sickness is affecting it more than me!"

A large swath of cockroaches seemed to pick them up from the ceiling, lifting them down until they were face to face with Clancy. His face couldn't be seen behind the many many cockroaches, but they could imagine how happy his face would be.

The Heatblasts tried to struggle against the cockroaches, but it was like a hand with a grip of steel was clamping down on them. Spiders emerged from between the individual bugs, crawling over the Heatblasts and covering them in their webs. They were tied all over with thick white ropes that started to resemble bondage gear, completely unable to move when Clancy eventually dropped them.

The Heatblasts were furious, but mostly at each other. Neither refused to accept any possibility it could be her fault, so it had to be the other's fault. Webs blocked their mouths so their screaming at each other was muffled, but it still communicated what they wanted it too.

The two rubbed their legs together, a rope made of spider silk starting to dig into their shared pussy. It was rough and solid, barely moved by such a structure, yet still pleasured and aroused all the same. With hands and legs tied behind their back this was all they could do, so they at least wanted to make it at uncomfortable for each other as they could.

Clancy laughed as he watched the two squirm about on the ground, rolling about angrily as there was nothing else they could do. They pushed the rope deeper into their pussy, it dug further inside like it was trying to burrow for diamond. Their body shook and shivered, the flames growing greater and greater from their emotions, before the webs suddenly broke off.

Clancy was shocked, and so were the Heatblasts. They didn't do anything, they were barely even attempting, the webs just snapped randomly. The web shreds seemed to maintain their shape after being snapped, less like they were strings and more like they were made of glass or something. A touch revealed them to be rather cold, were they frozen?

"How'd you break out of my webs!?" Clancy's voice sounded furious. "Regardless, you won't get away with this!"

He sent another cockroach wrecking ball their way, only for the Heatblasts to counter it with a stream of flames. Those flames didn't burn the cockroaches though, the cockroaches started to freeze from how cold the Heatblasts were. The ice spread all over Clancy's bug armor, freezing it over and over until he was just a mere statue of ice.

"We... did it?" The Heatblasts fell to their knees, shocked that their illness could actually be used for good. Was it the same for the other aliens? Were those aliens actually made weaker from the sickness and they just happened to get lucky here, or did the others also gain new powers that they simply weren't able to take advantage of? Whatever it was, they decided to question it later. Grandpa Max and Ben probably needed their help.

A nuclear reactor about to meltdown was no longer a problem when you're as cold as ice. A quick blast was able to save the day, allowing the Tennysons to go back on their merry way. The Gwens were finally starting to feel better, and everything was all fine. Nothing would be wrong if a few too many ants weren't crawling near Ben.

The RV grinded to a halt, filling to the brim with flies and ants and other insects. The door was ripped open, and Clancy floated inside on a board of flies. Somehow his face looked even angrier than he had ever looked before, an inhuman anger that gods would likely believe to be impossible.

"You guys are getting on my final nerves." Despite the anger on his face the voice that came out seemed eerily calm. "I'm going to use your carcasses as bug feed before turning this world into a bug utopia. You should feel honored."

The Gwens were frozen in fear. The Omnitrix was still in recharge, and there was nothing they could do against all of these insects. But if they didn't do something soon, they were about to become bug food...

...wait, bug food, that was it! With a glance the two knew they had the same plan, running to the fridge and grabbing the spare San Ju Yen Pien remedies Grandpa Max made. The bugs seemed to perk up just from the sight, which meant their plan was perfect.

"The only one who's going to be bug food is you!" They tossed the remedy right at Clancy, millions of flies and ants following suit. The guy was buried by the bugs he loved, never to be seen again.

The Tennysons drove off, the day saved once again.