"I'm not the one in trouble. It's Gwen. She's been missing for almost a week now."


It hit him so hard and so quickly he almost didn't realize it. Kevin watched Ben blankly as he continued to speak but he didn't quite catch anything he said. Was it possible to feel so much, yet be completely numb? He felt himself sitting on his couch, the rough material scratching against the many callouses on his palms, but his mind was already soaring across the raging plains of his memory. Her perfume, light and intoxicating, drifted across him, just as he swore he felt stray feathers of her flaming hair on his neck and jaw. Reflexively, he reached up and slapped at the sensation.

"What did you say?" Kevin asked quietly. Ben stopped mid-sentence. He frowned perplexedly. His dark eyebrows knitted together as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Gwen is missing." The sound of her name made him inhale sharply. He had to resist the urge to bolt from the room. With a swift movement, he lifted himself off the couch and began to rummage around the tools on his work bench. Behind his calm demeanor, he could not keep his mind from racing. His mouth ran dry. His palms became sweaty. "Kevin, listen-"

"What do you want me to do about it?" Kevin whispered.

"What?" Ben appeared at his side. He still wasn't as tall as Kevin, but he had grown. When Kevin turned, he was nearly looking him in the eye. It took all of his strength to meet Ben's gaze and even more to hold it.

"I'm a Plumber, Tennyson, not a beat cop. Why hasn't mommy and daddy called the police yet?" His tone was even enough, but he knew Ben recognized the venom sizzling beneath it. The younger man tensed visibly. At his sides, Kevin could see his fists clenching.

"They have. You honestly think I'd be here if it was that simple?" Kevin didn't respond. He went back to his tools, looking at each in turn but not really seeing. His eyes, instead, saw random pieces of her as if through a veil. A gentle hand covering his own, rough one. The corner of her mouth when she smiled at a tasteless joke he had just made. The bottom of his stomach dropped as he imagined what could have happened to her. Then his anger, the ever-smoldering flame which had kept him going, came to his rescue. He flung a wrench down on the table and tore his fingers through his hair.

"I don't know."

"Her apartment was locked from the inside. Nothing was gone, broken, or destroyed. Her car keys were left on the table. The car itself was untouched in the parking lot. The only thing missing was her and the clothes she was wearing. Oh, and one more thing." Ben paused and pressed the button on his Plumber's badge. "Badge, repeat the results of the scan of Gwen Tennyson's apartment."

"Scan of Gwendolyn Tennyson's apartment negative for mana signature."

"So she doesn't leave a happy pink glow over all of her shit. What's the point?" But Kevin knew exactly what the point was. Ben knew too. He let his irritation boil over for a moment as he scoffed and pivoted on his heel, walking a few paces away from the bench and crossing his arms over his chest. He kept his back to Kevin and pressed the button on the badge again.

"Scan of Tennyson home negative for mana signature."

"You know what that means. Everything leaves a mana trail, even if its a faint one. The fact that Gwen doesn't have a single trace of any of it in her apartment, in her car, or at her parent's house is too odd not to notice." Ben spat out. "I know that things ended badly between you-"

"You don't know anything, so don't pretend to." Kevin warned flatly. He took a slow breath before walking backwards to fall softly onto the couch. He stared at the ceiling above Ben's head, trying not to notice the wrathful look on his face. "What I want to know is why you came to me. You've got plenty of Plumber friends back at headquarters, not to mention your hero grandfather." At this Ben grew silent. His jaw tightened and he averted his gaze to the cement floor. Kevin's eyebrow quirked at the reaction he got.

"Grandpa is on assignment right now. There's no way to contact him."

"Weren't you supposed to be on assignment with him?" Kevin pressured. Ben glowered.

"Weren't you supposed to be some hot-shot officer, instead of a backwater Plumber playing taxi driver to lost extraterrestrials?" He could have punched the little bastard. For a second, he thought he might. The cords of his muscles strained in his arms as his fists gathered in loose material of his jeans. It would have felt really good, but probably more trouble than it was really worth.

"Yeah, well, at least I'm not on desk duty." He muttered. Ben rolled his eyes, but didn't retort. Instead, he stuffed the badge back into his pocket, and plopped back onto the edge of the Camaro.

"I didn't come here to argue with you. I'll go and look for her myself if I have to. But I was hoping you'd agree to help me, if for nothing more than old time's sake."

"Hate to dash your hopes, Benji, but this is one mission I'm sitting out. Get someone else to help you."

"Why?" Ben pushed. He stood up and glared across the expanse at his former teammate. Kevin closed his eyes. Slowly, he rolled his head back onto the cushiony crest of the couch. He promised himself that he wouldn't get involved with her again, no matter what. This was a tangled web, a heap of trouble. She could do nothing without getting him into some sort of mess. Even now, after all their ties had been severed, after the connection had been lost, she still remained. Kevin rubbed his eyes tiredly, pressing against his lids so hard it hurt. He couldn't begin to imagine what would be worse: Finding her alive and having to watch her walk away again, or finding her dead and having to say goodbye forever.

"Its complicated."

"She's my cousin." Ben implored. He had heard that before. He had heard that when they had first started dating as teenagers, when Ben had been less than pleased with their decision to make it official. He had heard that when Ben caught them making out in the garage. He had heard it still when they had fights and Ben was forced to play mediator. She may have been his cousin, but to Kevin, she was so much more. Or at least she had been. The battle wore on and on inside of his chest as he fought with himself.

Reaching over to a drawer in his workbench, Kevin pulled out a crumpled pack of cigarettes. Ben gave an annoyed sigh as he drew one from the package and lit it, taking a slow, deep drag.

"I got three more appointments for the day. Come back later."

"Kevin-"

"I said come back later, Tennyson. You want my help? You better goddamn listen."


At the end of the day, the beer tasted better than it ever had before. The top popped off with a sultry hiss, the cool air trapped inside dancing out of the bottle like a genie. He took the first sip nice and slow, letting the alcohol roll down his throat and into his stomach. Then, he couldn't help himself. The bottle was empty within a matter of minutes and he was left laying on his creeper completely satisfied.

The old broken down Ford was a waste. The kid couldn't pay to fix it and Kevin wasn't about to do it for free. It sat outside in a heap where the tow truck man had left it. At least it was worth something for scrap, he tried to console Johnny. It didn't help much. The boy left in his mother's shiny sedan looking absolutely miserable and wretched. Kevin almost felt for him. Almost.

It was going on eight easily. The sky was beginning to dark around the edges, the blazing yellow of the sun still clinging to the sky and the clouds. There was no sign of Ben and that both concerned and relieved him simultaneously. He was down to his last cigarette, left over from the last pack he had when he decided to quit. If Ben decided to waltz back up the drive and demand Kevin come with him on this little expedition, he'd need a lot more.

Kevin scoffed to himself. The possibilities were endless. How many enemies had they made as kids? How many enemies did her grandfather have? Any one of them, with the right resources and mind frame, could be responsible for her disappearance. She could be anywhere in the galaxy, or even farther than that. Ben knew what a daunting task he was about to undertake, and so he figured he'd drag Kevin along with him. The older man smiled sardonically. Then again...

He shivered slightly as he remembered the cadence of her voice calling his name. Even after everything she'd put him through, the pain, the humiliation, there was a part of him that would still do anything for her. It was this part he was having the most trouble with. It was the one thing his cynicism and his anger couldn't thwart. And it killed him everyday.

"So, did you decide yet?" Someone kicked at his foot. Ben appeared above him, looking tired and impatient. His gaze was hard. "I'm not expecting much, so let's get this over with. I have a job to do."

"I'll help." The words spilled from his mouth before he even knew they had. Ben paused. His eyebrows rose as Kevin got to his feet. He had pulled his hair out of its band awhile ago, and it hung like a black curtain over his face. It helped to hide him from his one moment of vulnerability. Already the whole thing sounded like a bad idea. But it couldn't be helped. Now that he knew something was wrong, sitting around doing nothing would only drive him crazy. Better to get to the bottom of it all so he could maybe move on with his pathetic excuse for a life...maybe.

"You...will?" Ben asked surprised.

"Yeah. But only for old time's sake." Ben opened his mouth to say something, but stopped. He nodded slowly.

"Alright. Where do we start?" Kevin laughed derisively.

"Geez Benji, for being an officer you sure aren't very resourceful. I am glad you got rid of that awful jacket though. Makes you stand out too much." He said smoothly. Ben glanced down at his clothes questioningly.

"What was wrong with that jacket? It was personalized."

"Yeah, so every bad guy knew exactly who you were. Tonight I'm taking you to a place where you're not going to want to be recognized, Mr. Famous." Kevin threw off his mechanic's shirt and swiped some dirt off the black tank top he had on beneath. Grabbing the keys, he motioned towards the Camaro.

"I thought we were going to -"

"You can't find someone when you have no idea what happened to them. Here, put this on and get in the car." He picked up an old, grimy hooded sweatshirt from the creeper. Ben looked at the material with disgust.

"You want me to put that on? You've been using it as a greasy pillow!"

"All the more better reason to wear it."

"Kevin, where are we going?" Ben inquired somberly. He took the sweatshirt gingerly, but didn't budge. Kevin scratched the side of his head casually, shrugged, then made his way to the driver's door of his car.

"The wrong side of the tracks."