This is my very first story, so please comment. Criticism makes a better writer, and therefor me smile! :)
Kevin Levin.
A person who's past has been extremely tampered with. His future had once been planned; one that would have been sure to never happen as long as he received help. But even if the path of time has been tampered with, one choice could either reveal hidden diamonds or destroy the foundation of his life.
In many ways, he was much like the mine he and his allies were camping outside of.
Ben was sitting on on the hood of a Green Camero, trying hard not to laugh. After he and his team decided to camp out that night (seeing as the nearest city would be hours away), he suggested they play a game, where they act old enemies. Not for competition of best impression, but merely for the reason of mocking them. Ben's cousin, Gwen, hated these games, so instead she decided not to play, and instead read a book.
After Ben's accurate impression of an alien Ben had battled years ago, Kevin was in the process of mocking their most recent foe, Michael Morningstar. After experimenting with elements, he found that the damaged sign outside the mine was made of mock-gold (because if it were real gold, someone would have stolen it by now). After absorbing its matter, he took a proud stance and said in a fairly snobbish accent;
"I'm MIKE MORNINGSTAR! I sparkle so much, that girls can't help but give me all their power!"
Ben gave up, and laughed so hard that he nearly fell off the car. Gwen chuckled a little, until she caught Kevin making kiss-y faces in her direction.
She bookmarked her page and stood up. "You're just jealous of him," she said, fairly annoyed.
"Why should I be?" Kevin retorted. "I won, didn't I?"
"Not sure. You don't act like it sometimes."
"Oh really?"
"Yes, really."
Both are inches away from each other. Gwen's heart raced as she realized how close together they were. Kevin inched slightly closer, and both are only millimeters away, when -
-A flash of light appears. Embarrassed, the two move apart. In the place of the flash was a man, who was truly ageless.
Ben, who was relieved by the distraction, smiled and walked towards the man in the doctors coat, simply exclaiming his name. "Paradox!"
Paradox smiled back and said "Benjamin, what a surprise to find you here."
Ben wondered why Paradox would be here in the first place, but decided it would be rude to ask about his affairs. "Yeah. Long time no see! How have you been?"
Paradox sighed happily and responded, "I'm doing grandly. I'm just back from seeing Halley's comet… Its so lovely, even after seeing it five times."
Kevin quickly grew tired of the small talk, and tugged Gwen away as Paradox began explaining the phenomenon. Kevin pulled her under a tree and smiled a knavish smile. "Mind continuing what we started?" he asked, as he closed in on her, one hand on her shoulder, the other on the tree she was leaning against.
Gwen smirked and collected mana. "I hope you mean that fight from the other day. I would have won if my parents hadn't called me and you know it."
Kevin's smile tightened. Believe it or not, that was exactly what he was thinking. He loved how she was always able to read his mind "I'll give you a head start, love."
Gwen only smiled back. "No need." And the brawl began.
The fight was nasty, yet choreographed. Gwen threw mana with precise aim, and defended herself at the right moments. Kevin, although he absorbed grass (a material he would never use in battle against a real enemy), was able to fight back with correct accordance to Gwen's movements. Strangely, they were not flawless fighters. In reality, they just knew each other well enough to know what they would do next. As they continued, it seemed that the battle was far from a melee. To some, it could even be considered a dance.
As both Kevin and Gwen began tumbling, Paradox slightly tilted his head and bit his lip.
Ben, who was also watching the fight, said to their guest, "Can you stay? We're about to make dinner."
Paradox shook his head. "Oh no, I haven't eaten for a few thousand centuries…" He looks back at the brawl, this time, focusing all of his attention directly on Kevin. He looked at Ben, and slowly said, "Actually, I wanted to speak with Kevin for a moment."
Ben placed his hand at his mouth and yelled (moreso at the skirmish than at Kevin in particular), "KEVIN, stop beating up your girlfriend and come over here! Paradox wants to talk to you."
They immediately stop fighting and start walking back. Kevin looked directly at Ben, wearing a grimace that clearly said, 'She's not my girlfriend'. Ben put his hands up, as if to say, 'Okay, you're right. Please don't kill me'. Kevin smiled again, and walked up to Paradox.
Ben turned around to find an angry Gwen staring at him. He smiled hesitantly. "I wasn't serious about Kevin winning. You were totally kicking his butt." Gwen smiled lightly, but punched his shoulder. Hard. Ben fell to the ground, shrived up from the pain. Kevin, who was watching from a few feet away, laughed, unceasing, until he turned around.
Paradox stared back at him gravely. His eyes turned to stone, his face creasing so much that every shadow etched in seemed to grow until it resembled darkness.
"What?" Kevin asked. "Is there something in my teeth?" Kevin comedically picked at his teeth, but stopped after seeing that the man's face didn't changed.
"I need you to pay attention, Kevin," he responded soberly. "Very soon, you'll be making a decision that decides the not only the fate of your team, but also the fate of the world. You must make the smarter-and more harmful-decision."
Kevin tilted his head, hoping for explanation. When it never came, he asked, "Hold on. What decision?" No reply. "Can't you tell me the answer, or what the decision even is?"
Paradox shook his head. "I can't. I've done so much already to change the path of your future."
"I don't follow," Kevin replied, superbly oblivious.
Paradox sighed, and simplistically said, "I guess I'll have to show you then."
And with that, a blinding light surrounded the two. After milliseconds of being trapped in a vacuum, the setting returned. Only, to a different place. Both stood in the middle of an old warehouse late in the evening.
"Wait, I know this place…" Kevin trailed off as he turned around and saw a Null Void Projector.
"Yes, I believe you do," Paradox said behind him. "This is where you escaped from the Null Void. First time trying, too. Weren't you ever suspicious about how that's possible?"
Just as Paradox was about to go into detail, he was interrupted by a blinding flash. Another, and more previous copy of Paradox, appeared at that moment. Paradox grabbed Kevin and pulled him behind a large pile of cargo.
And then, the Null Void Generator suddenly turned on, and a hand reached out from inside of the Null Void. A young boy, who had shaggy black hair and silver eyes, climbed out of the entrance. Kevin's eyes widened when he realized that the boy, who looked strangely familiar, was actually him.
A fourteen year old Kevin was nearly out of the void when a Null Guardian flew behind him and grabbed his legs. The beast pulled Kevin back with all of its might, forcing the young boy to scream. Kevin's ears shattered, and he was convinced this scene would haunt him forever.
When all hope seemed to be lost, the previous copy of Paradox shot the Guardian, who cried out and retreated back into the portal. The young Kevin didn't see the attack, and was surprised at the Guardian's choice of letting him go. None the less, he took advantage of the opportunity and jumped out.
The teenage Kevin laid on the ground. He panted heavily, almost to a point of passing out. He was exhausted, sickly, and starving, but he was free.
Yes, he was free.
Before even thinking twice, the boy jumped up and ran out of the building, afraid the machine would change its mind and pull him back.
Paradox and Kevin stood up. As Paradox brushed dust off of the trimmings of his coat, Kevin looked at his shoes.
After a long while, Kevin asked, "You… saved me?"
"You're welcome," the time traveler replied.
Kevin suddenly realized that it all made sense. 'What kind of person leaves the Null Void on their first try?' he thought. 'Unless they had help on the outside…' Kevin said nothing.
Paradox practically read his mind. "Personally, I'm surprised you couldn't figure this out on your own. I guess it gave you an ego to match… Making you believe that you're unstoppable."
Kevin was slightly ashamed, but continued asking questions. "I don't understand. Why did you help me out then?"
"Because I knew that you would find a way out eventually." Paradox replied simplistically. "The earlier you escaped, the less you would want to take revenge on Ben, and the better the outcome.
"So why save me at all? Couldn't you just keep me in the Void forever?"
Paradox smiled. "Believe it or not, I've already tried… If there's something I've learned, its that a caged animal will never stop as long as he knows he can be free."
"I see…" But Kevin still didn't understand. "That's it? So what if you pulled me out early. Like that'll really change how my life was supposed to turn out."
Paradox spoke slowly. "Do you really want to see how your life almost turned out?"
Kevin nodded.
"Very well." And with that, they appeared in a substitute future.
And it looked dismal. The skies are burned forever with the ashes of foes and their homes. The dirt roads were covered in soot and bones of the less fortunate. Those who were safe enough to be alive were shackled, carrying gold, stones, and other solid substances to a fortress at the top of a hill.
Kevin looked around, and found a statue of his future self. "Well, well, well," he said smugly. "Look who really cleaned up the place." Kevin immediately stopped when he saw Paradox's jaw clench. "Hey, just kidding. Calm down."
"You think this is a game?" Paradox retorted. "The world is in utter chaos, and you're proud?! It's that kind of joking around that will cost you your future!"
Kevin was about to beg for Paradox to explain, when he saw a man who was tall, muscular, and had with shaggy brown hair. The only thing missing was a green watch…
"Ben!" Kevin shouted as he ran up behind him.
The man turned around startled. As soon as he caught eye contact with Kevin, he stared back firmly. "Who are you," he demanded, not in a questioning tone
"It's me; Kevin."
Ben stopped. Before Kevin could try to take him away, Ben ran. He raced into a large crowd of serfs, trying to brush Kevin away. Which, of course he succeeded in. Kevin gave up after ten minutes of searching through the throng, and walked back to where he had left Paradox.
"What's his damage?" he asked once he returned.
Paradox explained. "Remember? If you had left the Void later on, Ben would have never met you during your teenage years. Of course he doesn't recognize you - because technically, he never actually met you."
For once, Kevin understood.
Before Kevin could ask anything else, there was yet another flash.
A fight was commencing. Kevin Eleven Thousand, as he was called at that time, had just escaped from the Null Void for his final time. Ben turned into at least four different aliens in two minutes, and bashed against the repulsive figure. Gwen casted charms at him, and Max was bombarding the enemy with handfuls of Plumber Gadgets every second. But no matter what, this Kevin was unstoppable.
As the battle dramatically closed, the Corrupted Kevin towered over Ben. Kevin watched in horror, and screamed at himself, telling him to stop. His voice was never heard, however, and he found himself trapped in a nightmare.
"Are you ready to die?" the antagonist asked in a voice sharp as daggers.
"No. Please, Kevin."
Corrupted Kevin turned around, to see Gwen, back on her feet, reaching her arm towards him. "Shut up!" he screeched at her. "He's imprisoned me in the Null Void for too long! It's time I take my revenge on him once and for all."
Gwen's eyes began to water. "You don't have to end it this way. It's not too late. You can still… change."
"And loose my only chance at revenge?" he asked violently. He smiled. "Not a chance."
Kevin was scared for her. Even when He was ready to kill, she was still trying to convert him into thinking righteous thoughts.
To his horror, she changed her stance (very unsteadily) into one begging for a rematch.
Ben noticed. "Gwen! NO!"
Kevin's smile only grew. "On second thought…" he stated, without intent of finishing the sentence. He lumbered over to the frail girl, disregarding attacks from her cousin and her grandfather. Kevin towered over her, nothing stopping him from ending just another life.
He kneeled down to eye level, and whispered into her ear.
"Bye, kitten."
And that was all.
Kevin's screams covered everything else. All colors blend together, and nothing seemed to be in order. Kevin couldn't stop looking at her face, now covered in red. Beautiful, all the same, proving she was a gorgeous marauder.
A blinding light, and Kevin was standing on a cliff. Paradox put his hand on Kevin's shoulder. Kevin shrugged it off, yelled, and ran at the large wall of rock behind him.
Without absorbing any element, he punched the wall with all of his might, and with every ounce of force he could bring up. The wall never dented, but his hands bled excessively. He didn't mind the pain. He knew no matter what, he couldn't block out the torture he just witnessed.
The voice of reason finally spoke up. "Kevin, calm down." Paradox commanded. "You're bleeding."
"I DON'T CARE!" Kevin shouted back. But he did slow down. When he finally stopped, he gasped for air, in an attempt to keep himself from crying "I killed her," he said in a broken voice. "I killed Gwen."
Paradox walked up behind Kevin, and turned him around. "No, you didn't. That person you saw is what I prevented. That is what you almost became… And if you're not careful, what you could become."
A flash. Both Kevin and Paradox appeared back at their site. Everything seemed to be exactly where they left it, however. Ben picked himself off the floor and rubbed the shoulder Gwen had just shattered.
"Some conversation," he mumbled. "That didn't even last fifty seconds…"
Gwen stared at Kevin's knuckles. "Whoa, what happened to your hands?"
She grabbed his hands gingerly. Never before has he felt anything as amazing.
He hugs her, and holds her close. "I missed you," he whispered truthfully in her ear."
"Are you alright?"
"I am now."
They both held each other for the longest time, outside the mine that had been abandoned years ago. A mine that was, like Kevin, heavily misjudged.
As the sun rose the next morning and the three friends drove away, gravel flew from under the wheels of the car. Just underneath the tire tracks Kevin had left behind was a stray diamond, glittering in the still rising sun.
Thank you for reading!