Disclaimer: I do not own Ben 10 or its sequels, spin-off and related characters. All is the property of Man of Action and Cartoon Network. I'm just borrowing them for some non-profit entertainment.
Before the Egg Cracks
Chapter One: Devlin's Start Point
Devlin's first time meeting Gwendolyn was... odd.
The sorceress-Plumber had been off planet at the time of Kevin's escape from the Null Void -an escape facilitated by Devlin himself- and so she missed the obligatory fight and ensuing family drama that occurred immediately after. She never saw how Kevin just threw him aside when he got in the way, neither did she get the chance to way in on the decision to accept Devlin into the family.
Maybe that was the reason Ben had become his legal foster parent, instead of his official adopted father. If Gwendolyn didn't like him... if Gwendolyn didn't want Kevin 11,000's son living with them, would they reject him? Would Ben send him into the system? Or arrange for a different family to take care of him?
Devlin didn't know if this theory -this fear- was supported or dissuaded when Ben stopped Gwendolyn before they could be formally introduced. Grabbing her by the arm, he leaned in close and whispered to Gwendolyn, "Red, he doesn't know you. I don't think Kevin ever told him much about-"
But the sorceress pulled her arm out of the hero's grasp and crossed the room to the apprehensive boy without letting Ben finish -her expression unreadable. Devlin was pretty sure he wasn't meant to hear Ben's warning, Ben probably didn't realize how good the boy's hearing was. It was a trait inherited from Wildemutt, the Vulpimancer DNA sample of the Omnitrix that was passed to Devlin from his father. But even if he hadn't heard the comment, it was clear by how intently she was starting at him with that indecipherable expression, that Gwendolyn Tennyson and his father had some kind of history.
Would she reject him because of it?
His father was evil, so Devlin must be evil too.
Instead, the sorceress did something entirely unexpected. She sank to her knees and pulled the sullen and apprehensive boy into her arms. She wrapped him in a warm and affectionate hug that was much, much tighter than Devlin felt it needed to be. He was so confused. A few short seconds ago, he was sure she was going to reject him. Say he was as bad as his father and tell Ben to get rid of him. Instead, she muttered into his hair. Her voice shaky, as if she were trying to hold back from crying.
"I'm so glad you're here."
All his apprehension and fear was suddenly replaced by awkward discomfort. He had never been hugged that often with Kevin and wasn't really used to receiving affection. "Uh... thanks. Happy to be here."
Devlin patted her ginger and copper poney-tail because he didn't know what else to do.
Her already tight hug tightened just a bit more before she let go of him and stood, taking an awkward step back and wiping her eyes. Yup. She definitely wiped her eyes. The sorceress he was so sure was going to send him packing -not that he really had much to pack- had been crying. Devlin would have liked to know why.
"We should celebrate!" Announced Gwendolyn, clearing her throat. "Lets all go out to dinner. My treat!"
…
Dinner wasn't bad. Still awkward and strange. Devlin had no idea how to act around Ben's cousin whom was -in all honesty- really more like a sister to the Hero of the Universe.
She took them to one of those gimmicky restaurants where there was more emphasis on the décor and ambiance than the actual menu. The booths were made out to look like vintage cars, the menus were round like steering wheels or tires, and the walls were lined with old license plates and car parts. Clearly, the restaurant was designed to cater to a specific niche market -car people. Either car collectors, or custom mechanics. Devlin couldn't decide.
Only he never would have imagined the great and powerful sorceress Gwendolyn Tennyson being a big gear head. She just didn't seem the type. Devlin on the other hand fancied himself an armature mechanic and loved tinkering with machines, engines, and moving parts. He built his own hover board himself. But cars were of a special interest to him and he spent most of the time waiting for their food staring at the parts on the wall and trying to decide what makes and/or models they came from.
Gwendolyn leaned across the table, resting her chin in her hands and asked, "You like cars, Devlin?"
Devlin pulled away slightly. Usually, when an adult looked at him that intently and asked, 'Hey, kid, you like [BLANK]?' it was not an innocent and friendly question. Kevin -for all his many faults and failings- taught him what to do if an adult (especially a stranger) ever showed that much interest in him. But Gwendolyn wasn't really a stranger, right? Devlin didn't actually know her, sure. But she was Ben's cousin. That meant she was alright, right?
He decided to play off his suspicious hesitation as disinterest. "They're okay, I guess."
He didn't know what kind of reaction she was expecting. But he wasn't really expecting her to follow up with another question about his interests.
"What about books, then? Do you like to read?"
That one seemed to come straight out of left field to Devlin. At least the car question made sense given their current surroundings. He failed to see how books might be relevant. Maybe he paused a bit to long before answering this time, because Gwendolyn gave him this odd, hesitant look that was halfway between apologetic and unsure.
"Or... can you read? Kevin wasn't..." A pause. She cleared her throat. "I know your father wasn't the most academic man in the world..."
"I can read!" Devlin snapped, defensive. The eleven-year-old glared challenging at her. "I've even read a chapter book!"
Now it was Devlin's turn to choke at the memory. One of the very few good memories he had of his father. For one of Devlin's birthdays -not long before Kevin was sent into the Null Void- he gave Devlin a chapter book. Old, and beat up. He said it was the book his mother read to him when he was small, and he always planned to read it to his own children. Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles... okay, and maybe a little kissing. But that didn't mean it was a 'kissing book'!
Kevin tried to read it to him at first. But as Gwendolyn just said, his father wasn't really the most academic person in the world, and his reading skills weren't really all that great. He got frustrated easily and gave up. But he left the book with Devlin, and he kept reading it on his own. It was a little above his age-level, but things like that never seemed all that relevant to Devlin. He was very smart and understood a great deal more than the average eleven-year-old.
"That's really great, Devlin!" Gwendolyn was smiling at him. Like, a real smile. Warm and affectionate -and strangely proud, like she somehow took personal pride in the fact that he was an avid reader. (Although, Devlin wasn't sure if he could classify himself as an 'avid reader' when he'd really only read one book.) "Has Ben enrolled you in school yet?"
"N-no." An unsure glance at Ben. The Hero hadn't enrolled him school with Kenny yet because he wanted to make sure the boy was acclimated to a stable home life and understood that he had a firm support structure before he threw him into public school -which was terrible enough without the added stress of not knowing your place in the world.
"Would you like to be enrolled at my old school?" She asked.
He blinked in confusion at her, not understanding what her motivation behind the suggestion could be.
Sitting next to her, Ben placed a hand on her shoulder. "Maybe tone it back a notch, Red." He said. "Remember, Devlin's only just met you and is still getting used to the family."
For some reason, that reminder made her eyes go glassy and Devlin wondered if she was gonna cry again. But those shining eyes quickly turned annoyed and she shoved Ben's hand off her shoulder in irritation instead. "Don't tell me to 'tone it back'!" She snarled at him. "You have no idea how-"
"I was there, Red." Ben cut her off. "I know, okay. I know."
Devlin had no idea what they were talking about. Well, obviously they were talking about him. But not what about him specifically. Was Ben referencing the fight with Kevin? He was there and Gwendolyn wasn't. He saw how Kevin cast him aside and threw him away because he put himself between the Osmosian and the changling. Or was he talking about something else? Something older. It was no secret that Ben 10,000 and Kevin 11,000 had a long history.
Gwendolyn glared at Ben. A look of angry irritation bordering on quiet rage and, the boy wondered if she was going to curse him out, or even punch him. But she did neither. Instead, the sorceress threw her napkin on the table and stood. "Excuse me, I need to use the restroom."
And she stormed away.
Devlin looked down at his food, feeling somehow responsible for her foul mood.
Reaching across the table, Ben placed a comforting hand over Devlin's much smaller one. Devlin looked up at the older man. He still wasn't used to this. All the comfort and emotional support, and easy casual physical affection. Kevin rarely every touched him -not even to hold his hand crossing the street- how did these Tennysons do it? Hold a hand or touch a shoulder without feeling scared or unsure? And hugging! How did people even do that!?
"Its not you she's mad at." Ben told him. "Its just this situation. Kevin... Gwendolyn and Kevin... there's a lot of history there. Just as much as between me and Kevin, only... different."
Devlin assumed as much.
"I've only ever seen Aunt Gwendolyn act like this whenever someone brings up her baby." Kenny volunteered from his seat next to Devlin.
"Her what?" The Osmosian looked at the other boy. He didn't know Gwendolyn Tennyson had any children. If she did, why weren't they here sharing the the family dinner? If it was a baby, Devlin was sure the restaurant would provide a high chair.
"Kenny..." Ben warned from the other side of the table. "Devlin might not be ready to hear this. We have to take things slow."
But slow wasn't Kenny's style and he continued his explanation, ignoring his father's warning. "Yeah. She doesn't really talk about it a lot -it makes her too sad- but a little bit before I was born, Aunt Gwendolyn and her husband had a baby. But something happened to it. It died, or was kidnapped, or she lost it, or something -I don't know. Like I said, she doesn't talk about it. But she's got a nasty scar on her belly from where the doctor had to cut it out of her."
That just raised so many more questions.
Devlin didn't even know Gwendolyn Tennyson was married. Where was her husband? Shouldn't he be here with them? Or did they divorce after she lost the baby? That was a thing that grown-ups did, right? Break-up after a tragedy because one or both of them just couldn't deal. Then he remembered Ben's comment about 'history' between Gwendolyn and Kevin, and an uncomfortable thought occurred to him.
"Did- did my dad... kill them?"
That would certainly explain why neither baby nor husband were present anymore -and why Gwendolyn was so, so, so angry about it still. Years later and here she was, having dinner with the son of the man who killed her family.
"No." Ben assured him very firmly, a gently sympathetic -almost pitting- look on his face. "No, they're both still very much alive, just... Its complicated. I will tell you, but when you're ready."
Gwendolyn eventually returned to the table and the rest of the meal was eaten in an awkward silence. The only other words that were exchanged was when they were brought the bill and Ben offered to cover it.
"No, I wanted to come here. I'll pay." Gwendolyn waved him off, taking out her credit card.
"Then at least let me cover tip." Ben suggested. "I understand this is very emotional for you and-"
"Ben, let me feed him, at least!" The sorceress snapped at the Hero with a venom no one at the table expected. She passed the bill will with the credit card to the server with a strained smile and they hurried away to get her a receipt.
After exiting the restaurant there was another awkward pause. Gwendolyn shifted her weight from foot to foot, arms crossed over her chest. She avoided eye-contact when she asked, "So... I assume Devlin will be staying at Plumbers HQ with you."
"Do you wanna spend the night at Headquarters too?" Ben offered. "You just got back and... I'll understand if you don't want to go home to an empty house."
She cast an odd -almost longing- look at Devlin before turning her attention back to Ben. "Its not an empty house. Zed's there! Besides,I... I think I'd rather be alone right now. I- I'll see you later." The grown ups hugged goodbye -seriously, what was with all the hugging in this family?- and Devlin heard her whisper. "Keep me informed, okay."
"I will." Ben promised, also whispering. "I can't even imagine what you must be going through-"
"Don't!" She pushed him away. "I'll see you again tomorrow. I have to check in at Headquarters tomorrow anyway."
She left.
Devlin was even more confused than he was before.
…
The next day, Kenny went off to school, Ben went off to patrol the city, and Devlin was left in the care of Great-Grandpa Max.
He sat at the breakfast table, contemplating the words 'foster' and 'adopted', and reflecting on their similar but vitally different meanings, and wondered about himself and his place in the Tennyson family.
Great-Grandpa Max set a mug of hot co-co down in front of him -with extra marshmallows. Kenny rarely got hot co-co at the breakfast table, never mind with marshmallows (to much sugar for him, apparently). Devlin looked up at the older man, not understanding a reason behind the sudden special treatment and being suspicious because of it. Grown-up never did nice things unless they wanted something.
"So, I heard you met Gwendolyn yesterday." Max sat down at the kitchen table across from the boy.
"I did." Devlin confirmed, still not understanding.
"What did you think of her?" Asked the old man.
Ah. So it was information he wanted. That was the reason for the special hot co-co. Grown-ups never did anything nice without expecting something in return. The Tennysons just happened to do nice things and expect smaller, lesser, and easier things in return. The Osmosian reached for the mug of co-co and plucked a slightly melted marshmallow off the surface and popped it in his mouth. "She seemed like she wanted to be nice, but... she's also really mad -like, deeply mad- about something."
Devlin thought about mentioning that Kenny already told him about how Gwendolyn lost her husband and baby -and though nobody explicitly said it, Devlin got the distinct feeling that the event was directly connected to his father. Ben said Kevin didn't kill either of them. He was very sure they were both still alive. Maybe they were both pulled into the Null Void with Kevin? If that was the case, why hadn't Ben just pulled them out by now? Taking another sip of his co-co, the Osmosian decided that he didn't really feel like trying to figure it out. Ben said he'd tell Devlin when he was ready. Until then, it was Gwendolyn's problem. Grown-up problems were none of his business.
Max cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable. "She... she's had to accept some unpleasant realities in her life..."
Not knowing what to say to that, Devlin just sipped his hot co-co so that he didn't have to speak.
They lapsed into an uncomfortable silence after that. Neither really knowing what to say to the other.
It drew on up until Devlin had almost drained his co-co. When he put the empty cup down, Max stood and refilled it. Two helpings of hot chocolate! When Kenny rarely ever got one! What was going on here?
Max sat back down.
"Devlin..." The old man began again, drumming the fingers of his artificial hand on the table because he didn't know what else to do with his hands. "Did Kevin ever tell you... Did Kevin talk about your mother ever?"
More interrogation. That was what was going on. This time the subject of the questions was something the boy did not want to think about. Devlin didn't want to invest any more emotion in either his father or his obscure and nameless mother. He stared at his reflection in the co-co. The silence between them was palpable. But Max did expect some kind of answer.
"He told me why we didn't live with her." He finally decided on. ...And for the first time in his life, Devlin found himself actually thinking about the way that was phrased. 'We don't live with her', not 'she doesn't live with us'. That was how Kevin always said it. Devlin never thought about it before.
"Why didn't you live with her?" Max asked the obvious follow-up question, and it was exactly the question Devlin didn't want to invest to much in thinking about.
He avoided eye-contact. Staring once again at his own dark reflection in the co-co. If he had been looking up at the older man, the Osmosian might have seem the expression of calm but sober confirmation of his face that would have told Devlin that Max already knew the answer to his question. He just wanted to know if Devlin knew. Just how much did Devlin know? How much did Kevin tell him and how much did he hold back?
Devlin toon his hands off the ceramic mug and balled them into fists under the table instead.
"He said I was bad for her." The boy snarled. He was glad his fists were already under the table. If the Osmosian had still been holding his mug, he was sure he might have shattered it. "He said that when I was younger I couldn't control my powers and absorbed her and nearly killed her. So he took me away so that I wouldn't be dangerous anymore. Then other things happened, and he went crazy, and ended up in the Null Void, and ended up with 11,000 powers, and... I wonder if he even remembers her anymore."
Max stood a second time. Coming around the table, he put a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder. His artificial hand. Devlin didn't know why, but the cool, impersonal metal was much more comfortable than if he'd used his real hand. The Osmosian was still getting used to casual touched of affection or comfort. A warm hand made him feel anxious, like he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do in return. But a cold metal hand was just that -cold. Devlin understood cold. He patted Max's artificial hand to let the older man know that he appreciated the gesture.
Max gave him one last reassuring squeeze, before letting go and sitting back down. He had raised two children and three grandchildren, he understood when children needed cuddling, and when they needed space.
After a pause, he asked an entirely different question.
"You seem able to control your powers now." He observed. "Would you like to live with your mother?"
So, that was why Ben was only fostering him and hadn't adopted him. They never planned to keep him. They were going to shunt him to the side the first chance they got. Off onto his biological mother. A nameless, faceless woman he had no memories of. Devlin wanted to resent them for it. But try as he might, all he felt was ambivalence. On the one hand, he did legitimately want to know more about his mother. Who she was. Did she love him? What was she like? Did she like some of the things he liked? Etc. But, at the same time, this was a woman loved Kevin Levin -or if not loved him, at least liked him enough to hop in bed with him. A woman who chose to carry Kevin's spawn to term and birth it. A woman who let Kevin take said spawn away, and never tried to find him again. Was that the kind of woman Devlin wanted to know? Was that the kind of woman Devlin wanted to live with.
Did he even have the right to want something different? Or was that just the lot he got and he should learn to live with it.
Devlin didn't know.
But he did know one thing. He didn't know who she was, and the Tennysons couldn't make him live with her if they didn't know who she was either. It was kinda hard to find someone when you didn't even know who it was you were looking for.
"I don't know who she is." Admitted the Osmosian, thinking that would be the end of it.
Max offered him a gentle smile. It was the kind of smile grown-up gave when they thought they were leading a kid to the answer to a question they hadn't asked. Like they were helping the kid figure something out, when all they were really doing was just being frustrating.
"We've known Kevin since he was eleven years old." Max told him. "That's almost all his life. And, all his life, Kevin E. Levin has only ever loved one woman. I know who your mother is, Devlin. But its up to you whether or not you want to know too."
Devlin might have actually considered the offer. Did he really want to, not only meet his mother, but to live with her too? It was something to think about.
But he didn't get the chance to -because at that exact moment, the wall seemed to crumble away. Discoloring, rusting, chipping away in dusty flakes as if it had just simply decomposed. Standing in the gap where the wall used to be was the dark, steely gray form of a Chronosapien, his eyes and jaw-grill both glowing red.
Great-Granpa Max shot to his feet. "Maltruant!"
…
Gwendolyn was on patrol with Ben.
She really didn't have to. True, she was a sworn in officer of the Plumbers, but her actual day job was a High Magus who worked in collaboration with the Plumbers on cases that were magical or supernatural in nature. Since there was no such case open at the moment, Gwendolyn did not need to patrol the city with her cousin. She could sit in her boring office and do boring paperwork -like she usually liked to do.
But today the sorceress wanted to beat something up. She needed the cathartic release of her bare fist colliding with somebody's face. (A trait that had rubbed off on her from her husband.) So, she stuck with Ben on his patrol -because, anyone who knew Ben, knew that he was a magnet for trouble (whether he intended to be or not).
Ben -in the form of Jetray- flew over the city with Gwendolyn -using a flight spell- next to him.
"How could he not know?" She was demanding -not really expecting an answer, just demanding of the universe. "How could Kevin not tell him?"
"I don't know." Jetray informed her even though she already knew that he knew just as little as she did. "I honestly don't even know how present Kevin was that whole time. Kevin might not have ever told him just because they might not have gotten much time to actually talk." A pause. "And you know how hard it is to get Kevin to talk even when he does have the time."
Gwendolyn ignored that last bit, instead focusing in on the first part of her cousin's statement. "What do you mean you don't think Kevin was present in Devlin's life!?"
If his wings weren't attached to his arms, and he weren't using his arms to fly, Jetray might have shrugged. Instead he gave an odd little head-tilt. "Its just... Devlin doesn't seem all that used to being around other people, and if you go to hug him, he tenses up -like he doesn't know whats happening or isn't sure what he's supposed to do. I don't think Kevin held him very much either."
She bit the inside of her cheek at that statement. Gwendolyn also noticed how the boy tensed up when she hugged him last night, his aura spiking with sudden anxiety -almost like he was sacred. At the time, she chalked it up to the fact that she was -essentially- a stranger to him. Being suddenly hugged by a stranger you were just meeting for the first time did tend to make even average, well adjusted people nervous. But Ben was implying that Kevin downright neglected Devlin. Gwendolyn growled low and threatening in her throat. "I swear, the next time I see Kevin, I am going to kill him!"
Ben might have been about to say more, but at that moment both his and Gwendolyn's plumbers badges pinged with an alert. Jetray couldn't look at his without landing, so Gwendolyn pulled her own off her belt and projected the message for both of them.
"Its Maltruant again." She read. "You feel up to fighting a Chronosapien today?"
Jetray gave her an odd look. "Do you feel up to fighting a Chronosapien today?"
The sorceress growled again. "Sure." She shrugged. "Maybe I'll get lucky and he'll fuck-up time so badly that Kevin Levin was never born and I ended up marrying someone decent instead."
Jetray only scoffed at the idea. "With your taste in men, Red, you would have married Michael Morningstar."
"Shut-up, Ben! Nobody asked you!" But that was just surface anger. She wouldn't admit it, but Ben was probably right. With her unrepentantly terrible taste in men, Kevin Ethan Levin really, honestly, actually, and truthfully was the best possible partner for her. (And wasn't that just a tragic commentary.)
They flew off together to find -and presumably stop- the trouble.
Maltruant was attacking the Plumbers Headquarters. As a textbook megalomaniac who wanted to rule over all time and space he would need to remove the one thing standing in his way. Namely, the Hero of the Universe: Ben Tennyson. Easiest way to find Ben Tennyson: Attack Plumbers Headquarters where be both works and lives.
"Things like this are the reason I stopped asking Kai why she spends so much time away." Jetray sighed as he watched the Rouge Chronosapien tear into his home.
Gwendolyn was in a far less reflective mood. "Devlin's in there!"
She dove at Maltruant, knocking him off his feet, but also deeper into the building.
She was glad she did, because only after the Chronosapian was out of the way did she see that he had been right on top of Grandpa Max -and Devlin! His dark eyes went wide at finding himself saved by her. Apparently, the boy wasn't used to being rescued. That was another thing Gwendolyn was going to punch Kevin in the face for!
"Are you hurt?" She demanded of both of them. Devlin was just an inexperienced child and Grandpa Max was to old for this sort of thing.
"You don't have to save me!" The boy shouted back at her with a touch more frustration than Gwendolyn thought was necessary.
After living with an insane Kevin for most of his formative life, she didn't expect Devlin to know how to express gratitude all that well. She did not expect him to be flat out ungrateful.
"Kenny told me how you lost a kid, and Ben says there's a history between you and my dad!" He continued, voice higher than it needed to be. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Kevin's the reason you don't have a kid anymore -and I'm his son. You don't have to be nice to me!"
"Devlin, that's not..." That's not it at all! -She wanted to say.
But at that exact moment, Maltruant recovered from the blow that sent him flying and he aimed a temporal blast at the sorceress. They both saw it at the same time, but Devlin moved faster -with a Kineceleran speed inherited from the Omnitrix passed, through Kevin. He pushed Gwendolyn out of the way just in time, saving the sorceress from the attack.
"Look out!"
But he was so focused on her, that Devlin failed to save himself. Instead of Gwendolyn getting caught in the blast, the Osmosian was.
Gone in a flash of light and temporal distortion. Not even a speck of dust left where he had stood. Just gone.
…
When Devlin awoke, he didn't know where he was.
But that was the least of his problems, because while he might not know his location, he definitely knew who he was with!
Ignoring a dizziness and disorientation that was entirely new to him, the Osmosian cracked his eyes open and the first thing he saw was an X-shaped scar marking a chin that was framed in ebony black hair. Kevin! Kevin was leaning over him!
Devlin didn't think, he just reacted.
"No! I won't got back!" And he kicked -and kicked hard. The heel of his boot connecting with the side of the older man's face somewhere near the eye.
"Arg!" Kevin snarled and staggered backwards, one hand going to his injured face. "What the hell?"
That was when Devlin finally paused. It looked like Kevin, but... something was slightly off. He looked... younger. His forehead didn't have as many scowl lines, his mouth was smoother and absent of the disapproving frown Devlin had come to recognize as the expression his father reserved just for him. And that voice when he spoke. It was Kevin's voice. Deep and low. But it lacked the danger quality the younger Osmosian was used to his father speaking with. In fact, this Kevin sounded almost... indignant.
As if that weren't disorienting enough, drawn by Devlin's outburst and Kevin's snarl, three other people entered the room. A Revonnahgander that Devlin had never seen before, and two other humans -male and female. The man had auburn-brown hair and luminescent -almost unearthly- green eyes. But even without the distinctive eyes, Devlin would have recognized him by the watch on his arm. And older version of the Omnitrix. That meant that the red-headed woman with the short pixie cut and the same luminescent eyes next to him had to be Gwendolyn.
Devlin would have jumped for joy! They were here to rescue him! Except that they were not the version of Ben 10,000 and High Magus Gwendolyn that he was familiar with either. Like the Kevin he'd just kicked, they looked about a decade too young. Gwendolyn's hair was too short. Ben was missing his thick and striking hero-beard.
"What the heck is going on here?" Demanded Gwendolyn, placing her fists on her hips with a huff. A huff! As if Kevin 11,000 not only wasn't a threat to them, but wasn't even their enemy to begin with!
Devlin was struck speechless.
Kevin jabbed an accusatory finger at him. "He kicked me in the face!"
Ben laughed. Laughed! At Kevin 11,000. As if everything was cool. As if the psychotic Osmosian didn't go around attacking people for the slightest perceived insult. As if they were friends! "Well, can you blame him? Waking up to a scary mug like yours."
"Don't start with me, Tennyson!" Growled the Osmosian. The words sounded like a threat. But the tone was closer to banter. Banter! Devlin didn't know how to interpret it.
"Oh alright. Truce." Ben laughed. Laughed again! As if everything was one big giant joke and there was no danger of Kevin flying off the rails and killing everyone in the room. He turned to Gwendolyn. "You wanna take care of your husband before he gets really fussy. Now that the kid's awake, Rook and I can figure out where he came from."
"Sure." Gwendolyn smiled in exasperation and crossed the space between her and Kevin. She took the Osmosian by the hand. "C'mon, you big baby."
That was when Devlin noticed that they were wearing matching rings on the third fingers of their left hands. Wedding rings. Gwendolyn Tennyson was married to Kevin Levin!? Gwendolyn's husband was Kevin! But... that had to mean... unless Kevin... Devlin didn't even know what to think anymore. He fell back onto what he'd been laying on when he first woke up -which looked to be some kind of exam table in a standard issue Plumbers infirmary. He was disoriented and very, very confused.
He cried. Actually cried. Devlin hated to cry -especially in front of people- it was a sign of weakness. But he was so twisted up inside with feelings he couldn't even name -never mind understand- that he just gave into the cathartic release the tears brought. "What's going on!?"
Ben and the one he called Rook exchanged a look.
"We were actually hoping you could tell us that." Admitted the Revonahgander.
…