Chapter 2
Gwen slowly began waking up. As she opened her eyes, she gazed around the room she was in. She looked down at her feet and saw that some kind of metal clamp was holding her legs together. She tried to wiggle her arms, but realized that the same thing that was on her legs must be on her arms too.
At least all the pain is gone. Now, where am I? And where's Charmcaster?
Gwen studied her surroundings. She was in some kind of underground cave, and there were computers and alien tech everywhere, and she was captured in some kind of energy bubble, but it didn't matter since she couldn't even stand up. Well, at least the cloth was gone from her mouth. She started debating on what to do when she heard that annoying laugh again.
Gwen's gaze fell to the corner of the room as she said, "You know, I'm kinda tired of hearing you laugh." She was then shoved into the opposite wall of the energy bubble when Charmcaster's manna disc hit Gwen.
As Charmcaster turned on the lights with a snap of her fingers, she said, "I'd watch what you say Gwen, you're at my mercy now. I was going to take the binds off your arms and legs, but I guess you still need to be bound."
Gwen looked down at the binds, "What are these anyways?"
As Charmcaster once again laughed, she answered in a sweet voice, "Why, don't you know an energy bond when you see one?"
Gwen looked up with a puzzled face, "Energy bond?"
As Charmcaster walked over to her sack, she sighed and said, "Yes, they are special bonds that I made, just for you. They can detect any kind of energy or manna, so if you were to use your powers, you'd be zapped by electricity. Too bad you haven't tried to escape; I would have loved to see you suffer as bolts of electricity coursed through your body."
Gwen was glad Charmcaster had revealed that information, now she knew not to use any kind of manna. But still, why was she here?
Gwen scooted as close as she could to Charmcaster and said, "Where am I? Why am I here?"
As Charmcaster began to take things out of her sack, she said, "Well, I hate to spoil the surprise, but I think you'll love my masterful plan. We are in my secret lab, which is an underground cave not far from your house. And as for your second question, well, isn't it obvious Gwen?"
Charmcaster turned around, facing Gwen. "I've been watching you, and your friends, but I knew I had to get you first. The one with the powers which I seek. And then there's your cousin, and the other boy…… but back to you. I've been planning, and I've been patient. I knew that I had to strike at the perfect moment, and I had to do it when you were alone."
Charmcaster then pulled out and old book and stroked its cover. "While I was planning my revenge, I came across this valuable book. Do you know what this is Gwen?"
Gwen pressed her face against the bubble, trying to get a better look at the book. "Is it some kind of spell book?"
Charmcaster smiled as she answered, "I knew you were a clever girl, but it's not just a spell book. This book was created by the greatest wizard there ever was, and now it's mine. After I had read the spells in this book, I knew that I wouldn't fail in capturing you and your friends."
Gwen's eyes widened as she listened to Charmcaster. "My friends? But…..they don't even know I'm gone! And when they do, they'll come for me!"
She watched as Charmcaster's smile grew wider as she pulled one last thing out of her sack. Gwen gasped as she saw the item Charmcaster held.
"My Plumber's badge!"
Charmcaster began laughing again, "Yes, it is your badge. I made my plan fool-proof, and stealing your badge was part of it." Charmcaster then pressed down the top of the badge, making the badge beep.
Gwen just smirked and said, "That was a mistake! Ben and Kevin can track me by using that badge! They'll be here before the day is over!"
But Gwen's smile faded as Charmcaster said, "I know, I'm planning on it."
Kevin looked up into Gwen's room, her window was still open. He grabbed Ben's arm and said, "Come on, we gotta check out Gwen's room and see if there are any clues as to where Charmcaster took Gwen."
Together they ran to Gwen's window. Kevin looked up, and then looked at Ben.
"Well? You gonna stare in it all night or are you gonna turn into something to fly us up there?"
Trying to ignore Kevin, he used his omnitrix to transform into Jetray. Ben then picked up Kevin and flew them into Gwen's room. While Ben transformed back, Kevin started searching Gwen's room.
After searching for almost an hour, Ben looked over at Kevin. He knew Kevin was starting to get real worried, Ben was worried too, but he didn't know what they would do if they didn't find a clue. Ben sighed as he heard commotion going on in the kitchen.
"Kevin, I gotta talk to my aunt and uncle. They need to know what happened."
Kevin didn't reply, he just kept on searching, unwilling to accept that they couldn't find anything to help Gwen. Ben, deciding that now was the best time, started heading to the kitchen to deliver the bad news to his family.
The more Kevin searched, the more panicked he felt. There was nothing, no clues, scraps, papers, notes, nothing! He stopped and dropped his head in his hands. He had to do something! Gwen had never given up on him, and had always defended him, saying that he was changed. And he was, and he knew it was because of her. He knew that he probably wouldn't have joined Ben if Gwen hadn't have been there. She had always talked him through times when he was mad and he would have done something stupid.
He roughly rubbed his hand down his face as he heard a woman sobbing. He knew Gwen's parents must be worried, and Ben. He watched as Ben entered Gwen's room again, this time sadness aging his face. He watched as Ben looked into his eyes, then quickly looked away. Ben walked over to Gwen's bed and sat down, his head hanging in defeat.
Kevin got up and joined him, unsure of what to do. He didn't know how to comfort anyone, and how could he comfort Ben when he felt sad and scared too? Kevin placed a hand on Ben's shoulder, but before he could say anything, he heard something beeping.
Ben's head shot up as he also heard the beeping. As if on cue, they simultaneously pulled out their Plumber's badges. Kevin shot up from the bed and turned around to face Ben.
"Our badges, they're receiving some kind of distress signal! I bet it's from Gwen! Now all we have to do is follow it, find Gwen, save Gwen, pound the evil witch that took Gwen, and then send her to the Null Void!"
Ben stood up and threw his hand out in between himself and Kevin.
Ben glanced up at Kevin with hope in his eyes as he said, "For Gwen."
Kevin locked eyes with Ben as he nodded and threw in his hand on top of Ben's.
"For Gwen."
