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.
If It Can't Break Out of It's Shell
Chapter One: Devlin Moves into his New Home
Devlin recognized the house. It was the same one Gwendolyn took him to in the past -when he was thrown backwards in time by an attack from a rouge Chronosapien. Devlin had met a younger version of the sorceress and his father and discovered that they had been married. But the real shocker was not that they'd been married, but that Gwendolyn Tennyson, the High Magus, the sorceress-Plumber was actually his biological mother.
That was the real shocker.
It also explained why Ben never formally adopted him. The Hero of the Universe was just fostering him until his real mother could take him back. Gwendolyn was off planet at the time when he freed Kevin from the Null Void, got the in the way of his father, and was more-or-less accepted into the Tennyson clan. Ben stepped in as his caretaker until Devlin's real mother returned from her mission, and for a little bit longer after that for the boy to come to terms with the truth.
Now he was back with his mother and moving into the home he should have grown up these past eleven years.
It was a nice house. Two stories with a faux wood exterior instead of stucco, and a neatly trimmed front yard. The trim around the windows and the porch was a different color than it was eleven years ago, and it looked like the front door had been replaced completely. But considering the fact that Kevin Levin used to live here, that wasn't really all that surprising.
Gwendolyn threw that door open. "Here we are."
It was much, much better furnished than the last time Devlin saw it. Eleven years ago, Kevin and Gwendolyn were just barely moving in. The only actual furniture in the living room had been a couch. The TV was propped up on the floor, and everything else was in boxes or covered by moving blankets.
Now, there was a glass topped coffee table in front of a very different couch. A charming TV cabinet with folding doors closed over the TV itself. There was a shelf in one corner that was so packed with books there was no space or need for a bookend.
An old Anubian Baskurr came down the stairs, walking slowly and taking care on the steps. Devlin recognized the alien dog almost instantly. She was the same dog that was living in Gwendolyn's house eleven years ago in the past. It was a little jarring to see how old she'd become. But then, he reflected, she was already an adult canine eleven years ago, and the Osmosian had no idea how long Anubian Baskurr were supposed to live anyway. Of course she would eventually get old.
"Zed, say hi to Devlin." Gwendolyn smiled at the dog as she hung her keys on a hook by the door.
The Anubian Baskurr noticed the young Osmosian standing just inside the threshold of her den. Eleven years ago, when a much younger Zed had met the eleven-year-old Devlin, the dog had liked him instantly. Now, however, she growled. Not a hostile or aggressive growl, but a defensive -almost fearful- growl. She backed up a few paces, her back arching up, her lips pulling back.
Zed!" Gwendolyn exclaimed. "This is Devlin! This is my son!"
This reminded didn't seem to sooth the Anubian Baskurr much. She continued backing up until she was in the kitchen. That was when she turned around all together and escaped through a dog-door cut into the kitchen door.
"Jeez. What did I ever do to her?" Devlin asked.
Gwendolyn opened her mouth to answer. Thought better of whatever it was she was going to say, and closed it again. Instead, she cleared her throat and plastered a smile on her face. "Want me to show you your room?"
The Osmosian nodded. The last time he was in this house he ended up crashing on Gwendolyn's mattress -or rather, the mattress she shared with Kevin. It would be nice to sleep in a proper bed that was all his own. A bed that didn't taste like the combined energies of his father -whom he hated- and an Anodite -whom he was only just learning might be his mother. He followed the sorceress up the stairs.
The room she showed him to was just a little smaller than the master bedroom. With a twin mattress in a cherry wood bed-frame. The mattress was bare, two sets of sheets neatly folded on it -presumably so that Devlin could choose which he'd prefer to sleep on. At the foot of the bed was a dresser for his clothes -of which the Osmosian didn't have much. Against an opposite wall was a bookshelf -also empty. Devlin reached into his duffle bag and pulled out the only book he own. A dog-eared copy of the 'Princess Bride', its spine cracking, and placed the book on the shelf.
He then went and flopped down on the mattress, looking at the two different selections of sheets Gwendolyn meant for him to choose from. One dark blue, the other electric green.
"Do you like it?" Gwendolyn sat down on the mattress next to him.
"The sheets?" He asked. They were solid colors, what's not to like?
"Uh, no. The room. The house, too -I guess." She clarified. "You'll be living here now, I hope you like it here."
"Oh." He looked down at his hands. "Its nice."
At least, it was so far. But a nice bedroom with brand new sheets and space for books he didn't have weren't exactly what he wanted. He spent his whole life believing he had to be taken away from his mother because he was a danger to her, that he was a monster and his mother hated him. Then he was thrown back in time and learned that not only was Gwendolyn his mother, but that she always wanted him.
"You still haven't told me the story." He reminded her. "When I went to the past... Dad was snarly and mean, but... he seemed to really care about you. A lot. What happened? What happened between you two and... what happened to me?"
The sorceress heaved a heavy sigh. "Its not a pleasant story, and it doesn't have a happy ending."
"I still want to know." Insisted the Osmosian.
…
Kevin held Gwen's hand as the OBGYN spread gel on her belly for the ultrasound. It was the first official doctors appointment they had since the mysterious boy from the future appeared and Gwen announced -in front of everyone- that she was already pregnant.
Their son from the future was already on his way. They had best get ready.
Kevin nuzzled his wife's ginger head. "I'm so happy right now."
The OBGYN smiled at the happy couple. "You two are gonna be great parents."
…
"Okay, okay, stop." Devlin cut her off mid-narration.
Gwendolyn blinked at the boy. He looked so serious, with Kevin's dark hair and dark eyes. She couldn't see much of herself in him. "What's wrong?"
"I went to the past, remember." He reminded her. "I saw Kevin when he found out you were pregnant. He wasn't happy and he didn't want me. You don't have to lie to make me feel better, Gwendolyn. Just tell it like it is."
The sorceress sighed. She should have known that any child raised by Kevin would be cynical and pessimistic by nature. Of course, he was also her son and even though she hadn't yet had a hand in raising him, he still managed to inherit her analytical and logical reasoning skills. He could tell what was embellished and what was downright fabricated. As much as she wanted to censor the story for his benefit, Gwendolyn realized that, that was just something she wouldn't be able to do.
"Alright. But only if you call me Mom."
...
"I still don't see why I'm here." Kevin growled, arms crossed over his chest as he watched the OBGYN spread gel on her belly.
Both Gwen and doctor glared at him.
The sorceress growled. "You mean aside from the fact that you're the father and you should be here? How about because I want you here."
The Osmosian opened his mouth as if he were to argue, but quickly closed it again. Whatever he was going to say probably wasn't a good idea anyway. Gwen already knew his feelings on the matter just as well as he already knew hers. This was just something they wouldn't agree on. But it was happening anyway. So he better get used to the idea.
"I take it this wasn't planned." Commented the OB. "How long have you two been dating?"
"Oh, we're married." Gwen informed her.
"This still wasn't planned." Kevin added.
The poor OBGYN just stood there for a moment, the sonogram wand held momentarily forgotten in her hand. Usually unplanned and unwanted pregnancies were something that happened to stupid teenagers who's parents never signed the sex-ed permission slips, or adults who were into the fast paced hook-up scene that were more interested in convenient dates and easy sex than actual relationships and personal connections. It was very rare to find a married couple that had conceived an unwanted pregnancy.
Clearing her throat and forcing herself to focus back on the task at hand, the OBGYN gently pressed the wand to Gwen's belly. "Well, lets take a look, shall we?"
She slid the wand around. It coasted over Gwen's skin in slow, smooth motions. The images that appeared on the screen nothing more than gray blotches and blurs. Certainly nothing that looked like it could be a developing fetus. That was, until they heard the heartbeat.
Even Kevin's dark scowl cracked ever so slightly upon hearing the sound of his unborn child's heart. He gaped at the shapeless and indistinct blur on the screen that was fluctuating in time with the heart beat. "Is that...?"
"That's our son." Gwen nodded.
"Oh, its much to soon to be able to tell the sex of the baby." The OB informed her. She turned her eyes back to the screen. "Looking at this, I'd say its only about eight weeks."
The sorceress smiled a pleasant and patient smile. Sometimes it was easier to just stay quiet than try and explain to normal people that she already knew her child was going to be a boy because she was a member of Ben's Team, and when you work closely with Ben Tennyson strange things just sort of happen around you. Strange things in this case being your son from eleven years in the future comes for a visit.
"How long..." Kevin began, awkward and unsure if he was even asking the right question. "How long until we can tell that there's something wrong with it?"
"Him." Gwen corrected her husband. Their child was a 'him' not an 'it'.
"Well, that depends on what you expect there to be wrong." The OB informed him. "Not all abnormalities present themselves at the same time. Some can't even be tested for until after birth. Is there a history of genetic defect in your family? Is there something specific you'd like us to look out for?"
Oh, if she only knew...
Like his wife, the Osmosian had found that, sometimes, it was just easier to not try and explain. "No. Nothing in particular."
"Well, I can tell you that -at this stage- everything looks normal and healthy so far."
"That's great!" Gwen smiled up at her husband. "Isn't that great, Kevin."
The Osmosain crossed his arms back over his chest. He was still not on board with this pregnancy. For one big, and important reason, and it was really bothering him that both his wife and Ben seemed to be willfully ignoring it. That was, when their son inexplicably appeared in Plumbers Headquarters, fresh from the future, he had no idea who Gwen was. He had no idea who his mother was. He had no idea that Gwen should be his mother.
And Kevin seemed to be the only person asking why!?
Why didn't their son from the future know his mother? Not just know his mother, but not even know who his mother was. He sure as hell knew Kevin! How could a child be Kevin's son, grow up with Kevin, and not know Gwen? The Osmosian wasn't interested in being with anyone but her, and he especially wasn't interested in having children with anyone but her. So, how come the boy didn't know his mother?
Seriously. Was no one else bothered by it?
Gwen smacked her husband on the arm.
"Huh? Oh. Yeah. Great."
She was acting like everything was all fine and perfect, and this was some great magical moment that they should rejoice in as a couple. And everyone else was just going along with it. Following her lead. Expecting 'mother' to know best. Well, sorry. But when the mother is an Anodite and the child is an Osmosian, 'mother' does not know best.
All of the scenarios Kevin could imagine -and he could imagine some pretty gruesome ones- to explain why their son didn't know his mother involved the child killing her, and killing her when it was still too young to even remember her. Usually involving some version of eating her, and several of them from the inside out. Gwen could say what she wanted, but as far as Kevin was concerned, this was not 'Great!'. Not great at all.
"Would you like a DVD to take home?" Offered the OBGYN.
"Yes, please." Gwen nodded with enthusiasm. She pulled her shirt back down over her belly and stood from the exam table.
"I'll include it with your prenatal vitamins. Do either of you have any questions."
Gwen collected her purse, smiling. No, glowing -pregnancy glow, not Anodite glow- with optimism, and joy, and excitement, and all those other things women were supposed to feel while they had another organism feeding off their body and growing inside of them. "No, I think we're good right now."
"What's the window for abortion?" Kevin blurted out.
Both woman stared at him in shock.
"Kevin!" Gwen snarled at him.
The poor OB looked like an animal caught in the headlights of an oncoming semi. She didn't know if she should swerve left or bob right. "Oh, well, we, uh, we don't really do that sort of thing here. If that... if that's what you both want, there's a clinic-"
"Its fine." Gwen cut her off. "My husband was just... We're not doing that."
"But-" Kevin began.
He was silence when she grabbed the front of his shirt and -literally- dragged him out of the exam room.
There was an icy silence between them as she picked up her prenatal vitamins and a DVD of the ultrasound from the front desk. Kevin could practically feel her annoyance with him rolling off her in waves. That wasn't poetic imagery. The Anodite was angry enough at him that she was radiating silent rage. So much that the Osmosain could practically tasted it like a salty tang in his mouth.
But she didn't say anything until they were alone in the car. The doors firmly shut and the windows rolled up.
That was when Gwen finally confronted her husband.
"What the fuck is wrong with you!?"
He hadn't even had time to turn over the engine yet.
"What?" Kevin played the ignorance card. It didn't work.
"You know very well 'what'!" Gwen snapped back at him. "How can you still think abortion is an option when you've already met our son!? When you already know that he's a fully formed, living and breathing person, with thoughts, and fears, and an identity all his own."
"Alternate timeline." The Osmosian scoffed. "In his timeline, we kept him, he killed you, and that's why he didn't know who you were when we met him. But in this timeline, we can get rid of it now and save your life."
The sorceress snarled a wordless snarl. Her hands balling into fists. Her arms shaking. She flexed her fingers in a way that made her husband wonder if she was considering strangling him. It would be an interesting change for them, if Gwen tried to kill him for once instead of him going crazy and trying to absorb (read: kill) her. "You're so- You think, just because- Ugh!" She threw her arms up in exasperation. Guess there would be no Kevin killing today. "I want this. I'm having this baby. You can either get with the program, or get the hell out of my house."
"Fine." Kevin finally turned the key to start the engine and drive them home. "We're having this thing. You want this. You're happy about it. But I'm not. Looks like we're just gonna have to get used to disagreeing with each other about this."
It wouldn't be the first time they disagreed on an important topic.
Gwen huffed.
Crossed her arms over her chest.
Sank in her seat.
Sulked.
"So, I guess you don't wanna help me choose a name then."
…
"I already know all this." Devlin huffed. He had chosen what sheets he preferred for his bed -the dark blue ones- and now Gwendolyn -his mother- was teaching him how to make a bed.
"Huh?" Gwendolyn blinked at him, pausing in tucking a corner of the fitted sheet under the mattress.
"I already know that Dad never wanted me." The boy clarified. "I wanna know what happened between the two of you. What went wrong? You seemed fine when I left you in the past. But I grew up with Dad telling me that I'm this horrible monster with an insatiable appetite that tried to eat you and he had to take me away in order to protect you. I wanna hear about that!"
His mother's expression melted into a sympathetic, almost apologetic smile. She leaned over the mattress and offered him a gentle kiss on the forehead. "That didn't happen until much later." She told him. "First you have to understand that everything was fine -before it all went bad."
The boy raised a single dark eyebrow at her, an expression of skepticism that reminded Gwendolyn much more of herself than of Kevin. Devlin might look like his father, he might have Kevin's dark hair and dark eyes, his same high cheekbones, square jaw, and cleft chin. He might have Kevin's same powers. He might look exactly like his father. But every now and again, in a look, or in something he would say, or even just the inflection of his voice, Gwendolyn would see herself. The resemblance wasn't visible, it had to be heard or felt, but it was there.
"Is this gonna be a long story?" He asked.
That, right there, that resembled Ben. Probably something that snuck in from the Omnitrix via Kevin -just like the mutant form Devlin had also inherited.
"Over nine months long." She informed the boy. "Do you still wanna know?"
She was just fine with now telling him. With sheltering the boy from his less than idea infancy. Why did he even have to know anyway?
Because he was her son, and he wanted to know. He felt he had to know.
But why was she even telling him?
Because he was also Kevin's son and she knew he could handle it.
"Yes. I want to know." Devlin gave a grim nod of determination. He wanted to know, and he would know. No matter the cost it had on his already fragile emotional stability.
Gwendolyn finished tucking the fitted sheet around the mattress and threw the top sheet on over it. "Alright. Tomorrow I'll tell you more."
"Tomorrow?"
"Its a long story, Devlin." She reminded him. "We also need to get your uniform for school tomorrow, so you'll need to get some sleep."
That look of skepticism was back on his face again. "You're not just stalling because you hope I'll forget, are you?"
"No." Somehow, she had a feeling this was something he would forget easily. A subject he wasn't going to drop until he learned the truth. He'd probably keep hounding her for answers well into his teens if she didn't tell him the story. "No stalling. Just parenting. Something I don't actually think you got a lot of with Kevin."
Devlin fluffed a pillow, then crawled into the bed just as Gwendolyn threw a comforter over it. He bunched up the blanket around him until he felt comfortable. His face scrunched up in thought. After a prolonged pause he agreed, "No... not anything you or Ben would call 'parenting'."
"Well, you don't have to worry about Kevin hurting you any more." Gwendolyn assured him, and it pained her to have to promise her own child that about her husband. "I won't let him near you again."
She tucked the blankets up around his chin and moved to leave the room.
"Did you love him?" Devlin asked.
"I do love him." She admitted.
"Do?" The boy echoed the present tense. Still? After all these years? After he basically kidnapped her son and abandoned her.
"Always." She admitted and turned off the light.
…
Ben did not throw the Null Grenade that contained Kevin 11,000 back into the Null Void. Kevin was just too good at escaping -even without Devlin's interference that day, the Hero of the Universe was pretty sure Kevin would have gotten out again somehow. So, this time, instead of throwing his long time frienemy back into the Void willy-nilly with no plan or thought, he instead took the Null Granade to the Warden of the Void.
Warden of the Void was a relatively new title and position, and could only be held by a Magister ranked Plumber or higher. It was a job created by the Magistrata shortly after the fiasco with Proctor Servantis and his Rooters all those years ago. The official job description of the Warden of the Void was to maintain order in the Null Void, monitor the movements of its denizens, and submit bi-weekly reports to the Magistrata on noteworthy events, and just the general state of the Null Void and its residents. But, mostly, what the Warden of the Void seemed to spend a great majority of his time doing was just keeping the Rooters in check. Servantis didn't take defeat very well and although it had been over twenty years since Ben and his Team exposed the Proctor for what he was, Servantis was still holding a grudge.
Ben teleported into the Warden's headquarters. A Plumbers base siturated in the Null Void that everyone swore up and down was not the old Rooters base -except that it was patched and refurbished in all the places it would have had to have been in order to repair the damage Ben's battle did to the Rooters base.
The Warden of the Void met him at the teleporter. "It is good to see you again."
"Rook. Long time." The Hero of the Universe replied.
The Revonnahgander leaned in for a hug. But Ben pulled back ever so slightly.
Both men paused.
Turned away from each other.
Cleared their throats.
Ben coughed.
Rook was avoiding eye-contact. "So... what brings you all the way out here?"
"Kevin." The other man answered simply. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the Null Grenade, passing it to Rook so that the Revonnahgander could clearly see the Osmosian still trapped inside it.
"Ah. Yes." Rook nodded. "Sorry about his escape. There was not really anything we could do about it on this time. He was pulled out of the Void by Chamber teleporter on Earth's side. If I read the report correctly, it was the one in your base."
"Yeah. Devlin broke in and pulled him out." Ben informed him.
"Devlin!? Gwendolyn's son? He is alive?"
"And back with Gwendolyn." He nodded. "But now I need to figure out what to do about Kevin."
The Revonnahgander passed the Null Grenade back to his former partner. "Its good that you have not already released him back into the Void."
"Why would I?" Asked the Hero of the Universe. "Even without outside help, Kevin's escaped the Void too manny times. The Null Void can't hold him. I'm actually surprised he managed to stay in the Void as long as he did this last time."
"Ben..." Rook began slowly, as if unsure if he wanted to tell his former partner and Kevin's former friend whatever it was he was going to say next. "Do you know what it is they call him here in the Null Void?"
The Hero of the Universe raised an eyebrow. "Kevin 11,000?"
"Well. Yes. They call him that too." Rook admitted. "But that is a name he gave himself. I mean, do you know what the rest of the Void has decided he is?"
"No." Obviously Ben didn't know.
"You know how I am the Warden of the Void." The Revonnahgander began. "Well, they have taken to called Kevin the 'King in the Void'. I do not if it was by design or if he just absorbed so much power that a small following just amassed around him, but he has followers and allies here in the Void. Enough to cause me concern. I was going to say as much on my next report to the Magistrata."
Ben looked at the Null Grenade containing his former friend. "What should I do?"
If they couldn't release him back into the Void...?
"Is there some way to rehabilitate him?" Rook asked. "Perhaps with the Omnitrix. Pull out all the aliens he has absorbed. Or with Gwendolyn's magic. Bind him, or seal him, or something of that nature."
"I'll look into it." Ben placed Kevin back in his pocket. "Thanks, Rook. It was good seeing you again."
"And it is always good seeing you, too." Nodded the Revonnahgander.
Ben left.
Rook sighed.
…
