Storms Pt. 3
Addictive
By Invader-Hime
The more Gwen observed her guest, the more she realized how problematic he was. Kevin made no effort to move himself from his place in her living room. The mutant had dragged himself there once they had managed to get him through the door. Afterwards, he made no move to go any further. It wasn't like he could even if he wanted to. He was far too large to navigate either the stairway upstairs or the one down to the basement.
Gwen had retrieved the large beach towels from the summer closet, as well as a first aid kit from under the sink in the bathroom. After drying herself off, she had patted the monstrous thing in her living room dry. The girl had attempted to get the older boy to speak with her, but he seemed to have fallen asleep...or passed out...or he was just faking. Either way, he was unresponsive to both her verbal inquiries and her occasional jab with a finger.
Nothing.
Gwen frowned. Well, at least he wasn't destroying her house. Things could be a lot worse. He had barely scratched the doorframe upon entering. Gwen was beginning to think it really was a colossal accident that he had ended up with her at all. He had certainly looked surprised when she had appeared standing over him. At least it looked like a surprised expression. It was hard to read his bizarre face. That last thought caused Gwen to pause. She took a step back from the mutant.
Still nothing.
Gwen looked him over and realized she felt terribly sorry for him. She could see now what she couldn't see as a ten year old child. Where a child had seen a monster and a troublemaker, the new, slightly older Gwen saw a pitiful, misshapen thing. Evil? No. Troubled, disturbed and prone to super powered temper tantrums? Yes.
It looked so hard just to live, being like that. Being so different...from everything and everyone and...not having anyone to help. Gwen had family...and friends...people who could help her with anything if she ever needed help. This thing...this boy..had nothing. It was something she couldn't really understand as a ten year old child, but as a teenager who had had a difficult time just switching to a new middle school, She had never felt so alone or so judged on her appearance as she did when she had first walked down the halls of her new school for the first time. It was a small, silly comparison, but it worked. Even then, she came home to a loving family who supported her. It seemed to terrible to have absolutely nothing to come home to. How empty and lonely everything must be. Gwen reasoned that she wouldn't be the most balanced person if her life was anything like that. Still...he did seem slightly less insane...or at least less likely to be violent. She couldn't help but wonder how and why he had not moved against her...why he simply lay on the floor and had actually not said a word about revenge or how it was all Ben's fault he was what he was. The mutant seemed apathetic and almost melancholy. He had actually done as she said. In Gwen's world, that was unheard of. Something was definitely going on that she did not know about.
Kevin lay on the carpet and forced his eyes shut. He didn't want to look at the surreal landscape of Gwen's living room. He couldn't remember the last time he had been inside a normal house. This normal house was too much for his peculiar mental state to take. Ever since he had escaped the Null Void, he had been wondering what exactly he was going to do. For years, his singular goal had been to simply "get out". Any place was better than that interstellar hellhole. However, now that he was out, he realized that he had no idea what he was going to do now...and her house..the inside of her house made him sick. It was so normal...with photos on the wall, shoes by the door and all manner of perfectly normal...perfectly maddening artifacts surrounded him. It made him realize that, even though he had escaped, even though he was back on Earth away from things that snapped and bit and clawed, he still could not find a place to rest. Seeing his bizarre body next to the trappings of everyday living just reminded him of how he didn't belong anywhere. He clenched his eyes shut and tried to ignore the girl's numerous attempts to draw a response from her oversized house guest.
It wasn't fair. Why was it always him? Why did he always have to suffer? Everyone else had wonderful lives with wonderful families and wonderful homes to go back to. He, on the other hand, was the universe's whipping boy. Even now, his bones throbbed with pain. It was never easy. Nothing was easy for him. He had to scrape and scream and tear his way through everything. It was exhausting.
The whole experience was mentally and physically exhausting.
He wanted it to stop.
But he didn't want to die. Even he realized that he was a coward.
He'd been beaten within an inch of his life while in the Null Void...several times, actually, but the manic fear of what unknown darkness the next world might hold for him pulled him back from the brink. He hated surprises. The unknown made him afraid and being afraid made him angry, But that was hardly relevant now, as he lay on the carpet in Gwen Tennyson's living room.
Now Kevin had no idea what he was going to do.
So he lay there, waiting to see what his awkward mind managed to piece together from the little bits and pieces of his current situation.
The numb pain was there, still, It made his bones pulse and his joints ache. Kevin felt sick in the pit of his stomach.
Time was running out.
A savage, jagged lightning bolt flashed outside the window and the following thunder resonated in Kevin's bones. It was horrible moment of foreboding. The dull throb of pain increased and he suddenly regretted coming in.
Gwen picked up on it.
She saw that the mutant was far too tense to be unconscious, His muscles were taut and his eyes were clenched tightly shut. He seemed to also be...emitting, for the lack of a better word, tense and...fearful?..vibes? Energy? Something.
"You can cut it out. I know you are awake," Gwen stated.
He had to get out.
He had to get out of here, right now.
Kevin's eyes shot open with a fiery determination in them. He tried to get up, but his feet slipped on the wet floor and he came crashing down unceremoniously again. This time, he managed to fall on his broken arm and he shrieked in agony at it.
"What was that?" Gwen asked, her voice sharp with pending criticism.
"Don't," was all Kevin managed to gasp out.
"Don't what?" Gwen asked.
"Don't come near me! I don't want..."
Gwen scowled and cut him off.
"What? Help? Going to sit there and whine about it and how no one will help you? I just offered and you've already decided to crap out on me!" Gwen rolled her eyes.
She sat down next to him.
"Look, I'm sorry, but you are extremely frustrating to be around. I'll still help you, if you want," Gwen smiled and put a hand on his knee.
Her touch seemed to numb his pain. Kevin blinked stupidly as he tried to understand what was happening. He physically hurt less when she touched him. Carefully, he put hi oversized right hand around hers and nodded, unsure if words would stop the eerie connection between them.
Her hands were warm, they made the dull ache in his bones go away. However, when she removed them, the pain seemed to triple in an instant. He snarled and twisted in agony. He'd been deceived again. That touch, that terrible little touch had only sped things up. He'd been numbed only to have whatever she was doing accelerate his pending further mutation. His face burned, the red rage of insanity seared coherent thought. However, a pair of soft, warm little hands pressed against his cheeks. He heard her voice and the terrible pain was taken away.
No...he had to get her to let go...he had to pull away. He could hear her voice, drowned out by the throbbing pain in his head and the crashing thunder outside the house. He couldn't make out what she was asking him. He didn't care at the moment, he just wanted her to let go. He had to get her to let go.
But he couldn't.
He was helpless against that numb, comforting touch.
Knowing what hideous fate would befall him, he allowed her to maintain her contact, It felt comforting and gentle, it promised that everything would be alright. He was certain it was a lie. Things could never be alright,...but still, he allowed her contact to continue.
Outside, the storm raged on.
