Ben was scared. He would never have admitted it, but he was. He felt so utterly powerless in this form, unable to change like he normally could and still too untrained to fight hand to hand like Rook could.

Fuss's gaze on his skin was lustful and dark and Ben feared what he was planning inside that sick mind of his.

The files they had on Fuss's crimes had been painstakingly detailed as to how he treated those he sexually assaulted and the pictures from the file had all but made Ben sick.

He didn't want to be Fuss's next victim and that made him thrash all the harder as Fuss tied his wrists to the posts on his bed. He tried to claw and kick at his captor, but it was of little use. Fuss was double his size and twice as strong. Ben could only stare in horror as the elder man pulled knives from hidden places around the room and stripped himself of his disguise.

The Revonnahgander markings that Ben would have admired in another situation vanished from his face and were replaced by the features Ben had seen in Fuss's prison records. His original face was scared in several places and devoid of all sympathy or remorse. Only a sharp sadistic grin lit up his features and made them seem even more feral.

"Been a long time since I had someone as pretty as you in my bed. Makes me glad I chose a Revonnahgander form this time. Your people are so very pretty, pretty and weak just like I like em."

Alongside his fear Ben felt a flash of anger he couldn't ignore at Fuss's words.

"Revonnahganders are not weak!" He shouted at the vile man.

Fuss merely picked up a wickedly sharp knife and tested the tip with his finger as he answered.

"If your kind were strong I wouldn't have been able to capture you and your little wannabe mate. Instead of fending off all your suitors he should have just claimed you for himself. Even I don't have any interest in someone whose been claimed by someone else."

Fuss placed the knife he'd been playing with at base of Ben's neckline and trailed it teasingly up his throat, careful not to break the skin.

"But his loss is my gain. By the time I'm through with you even he won't want you."

Ben could only stare up at Fuss wide eyed as the villain cut through the front of Ben's Proto armor like it was butter and left a slim trail of blood in it's wake.

Despite the adrenaline pumping through his veins Rook's hands were unbelievably steady as he focused on removing the barrier that kept him from Ben.

Every section of his mind that wasn't absolutely necessary for cutting the bars and getting to Ben had been shut down and silenced so that the task before him had all his focus.

All of his panic, anger, and fear had been shoved deep down inside of him were it couldn't impair his judgment. This was what the Plumbers had trained him for. To be able to handle unbearable amounts of stress to save those in danger. To save the person he loved.

He hated himself for realizing only now how much Ben meant to him. His dreams should have been enough of a clue to make him realize that he hadn't just wanted Ben for his new body.

All last night his dreams had been filled with visions of Ben's toxic green eyes, the same in either of his forms, and Ben's familiar bright smile aimed right at him. In his dream he had not treated Ben as he would have a Revonnahgander mate but as a human, he realized only then.

It was true he had lovingly traced the Revonnah markings on Ben's face, but the features he imagined had been Ben human ones not his Revonnahgander ones.

He'd dreamed of kissing Ben too, but instead of meeting a forked tongue like his own, he'd encountered the fuller one of a human's. Beneath the lavender coating of his skin and pointed ears, Rook had envisioned a night with a very human Ben Tennyson.

For months he'd had dreams of Ben, but they had been focused on missions, talking and simply being closed to his partner. He'd never imagined it would take just the sight of Ben in the form of an obvious potential mate to make him realize how much he was already in love with the younger male.

Now that he had realized it, now that he knew what his subconscious had been trying to tell him for months, nothing mattered more than getting to Ben and stopping anything that got in his way.

Because if Fuss had harmed one hair on Ben Tennyson's head he was going to be very, very sorry.

Sorry people. Life was very busy the last two days, but I promise to post more frequently.

Hope you all like the update! Please review! The goal is 10!

Yours truly,

Jessica499499