Chapter Rating: T for Language (still lol )

Author Note: Here's Chapter 3. As I work on them I think they're just going to end up being longer and longer, even if I try to keep them at the same amount. Hope you enjoy and thank you guys for the reviews! For anybody that reads, don't forget to leave a review when you're done. I'd love to hear from you guys, the last few days have been pretty crappy for me, and hearing from you would make my day. Happy reading!

Disclaimer: Still don't own the show and have no intention of making money off this fic.

3

Freak of Nature

"Told you I heard Bronx," one alien said, shoving his way through the door. "And look, I found the boss." He was tall and lean, a species Gwen hadn't seen before, with aqua tinted skin, half a dozen black eyes and very long, tendril like fingers that were wrapped around a familiar figure: Motte. The alien had to duck into the room to get in, and even then he was almost eight or nine feet in length, with long scrawny limbs and a wide set face. The body shape was humanoid, but blotches of darker blue color swirled below the transparent surface of his skin, reminding her in some ways, of a jelly fish. "Hello, boss."

Another alien stayed outside, likely to block the exit, but the first alien dropped his gaze down to Gwen. All six of his eyes blinked as he tilted his head. He had no mouth to speak of, which made it difficult to determine how he could talk at all, but his eyes were certainly expressive enough to show a bit of amusement as he reached out for her. Once again she felt energy pulse through her body without permission, but Kevin grabbed her shoulder and pulled her backwards, scowling, preventing the mana from manifesting. A shiver climbed up her back, not from the contact, but from how close she came to losing control again.

"Heh, guess you've got it under control," the alien said, his long fingers curling into a ball as his arm fell at his side. He lifted Motte up in his other hand. The necrofriggian was small in comparison. "Finally caught this guy though. Was wondering what to do with him, boss. We've already had a talk, haven't we Motte?"

The necrofriggian gasped as the alien's grip over him tightened, a few sparks of electricity dancing along the long coils of his fingers before he opened his hand and dropped Motte to the floor. Gwen rushed around Kevin, ignoring the other alien as she knelt down to help him to his feet. His wings weren't looking good. They were folded irregularly, as if someone decided to crumple them together like paper, and he grumbled under his breath as she helped him up.

"I told you we should've left," Motte whispered.

"So boss, who is this lovely creature?" The smooth voice of the alien behind them made her uneasy, but he prodded Gwen and the minute he touched her, she whirled on him, eyes aglow.

"Don't," Motte said, grabbing her shoulder with an ice cold grip, desperate.

The alien drew away, his eyes pulling back into thin, amused slits. It looked almost like a smile, right across his face. A predatory smile. "If looks could kill," he said, touching his long fingers to his slim chest as if offended by her. "She's an angry little Anodite, isn't she? I like her."

"Get. Out."

The alien tensed, looking down as Kevin moved in front of her, the coarse quality in his tone demanding everyone's attention. Gwen even saw the alien outside the door straighten up, like a soldier picked out by a commanding officer on the field. But the alien in front of them didn't budge. All of his eyes drew open as he tilted his head to the side, considering. Gwen was trying to forget that he had just touched her. Something about him didn't sit right, and the longer he was in the room, the worse she started to feel about him. Motte's grip on her shoulder grew taut and wary, as if he could sense the same things. There was some small effort the necrofriggian made to pull her away from the front of the room, but the attempt was feeble due to his condition.

"Very well, boss." The alien blinked a few more times, drawing back and curling his fingers up towards his face, mulling the decision over. "I should mention though, before I go, that I recognize our little Anodite. Genix has placed a lovely bounty on her head."

Gwen felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle, but the alien turned to leave, ducking out the doorway in the serpentine way that he came in. Gwen had already pinned down some of his abilities, and watching him duck and slide out the door told her he belonged to an extremely malleable species. He bent over again when he was in the hallway, his eyes drifting to find her, even thought he wasn't talking to her. It was disturbing. "I'm glad I had a chance to see you again, Motte. I hope you learned a valuable lesson today. We mustn't pick fights unless we can finish them."

"But boss!" The Tetramand, Bronx, at the other end of the room held out his arms, disconcerted. "You can't expect us to just-"

"I can handle myself, now get out," Kevin snapped, not even turning to look at him. He kept his eyes trained on the other alien, but Bronx stepped out the same way he came in, through the wall, conflicted but obedient. The other two aliens slunk away too, but Gwen suspected they were close by, even when Kevin walked over and slammed the door shut. Not so much for privacy, not with enormous holes in the wall, but Gwen recognized it was more or less to make a statement to his subordinates outside.

Slouching over her shoulder, Motte hissed out a grim sigh, his green eyes flashing. Gwen shuddered at the cold air that poured from between his teeth as he did so, but she carefully helped him to the corner, where he wanted to sit on top of a smaller crate. He was eyeing the holes in the wall with a kind of admiration until Kevin walked over. Motte's glare hardened.

"We have to go, Tennyson. If we stay any longer we're done for. It's only a matter of time before the rest of Genix finds out you're here, if they haven't already," he added, looking at Kevin.

"Chill," Kevin bit out, causing Gwen to sigh. Now she had to deal with two people who were in a bad mood and in the same room together. The fact that Kevin used to be Motte's boss compounded the problem. She stood up slowly, slightly astonished to feel a similar, rolling ache pass through her shoulders and into her arms. She couldn't let herself use any more energy. She hadn't even done anything a moment ago, but the threat of summoning it up actually left a lingering physical pain. "If I tell them to back off, they do it," Kevin said. "You'll be fine as long as you don't piss me off," he continued, crossing his arms over his chest. He was doing that a lot.

"My hero. Why don't you be more honest, Levin, and tell Gwen why you had to step in back there. Tell her what Loch would have done if he'd been given the chance." He clenched his hands into fists. "He likes energy beings, doesn't he?"

"I think a few weeks away from here made you forget who's in charge," Kevin said, his voice dripping with contempt as he stepped forward. Motte stood up to meet him as he came, and Gwen stepped between them before they could start fighting.

"Would both of you stop for just a minute? We can't afford to waste time with this. If it's as bad as you say Motte, and we need to go, then you have to calm down. I wasn't done explaining things to-"

"I'm not going, Gwen."

She froze, closing her eyes in an attempt to clear his words from her mind. He didn't just say that. "Kevin. Please. You've got to listen to me. There are so many kids that have gone missing. I can't figure out what's going on, and I need somebody to help me. You're the first person I thought of. Ben's not going to be anywhere near home." Now she was falling back into that minor desperation she felt earlier. Only, this was worse. She couldn't bring herself to look at him for fear of what she may or may not see.

Motte stalked away from them both with a shake of his head, perhaps in an attempt to give them some privacy, though she could hear him pacing in the background, furious. Some part of her felt betrayed too, but she wasn't about to show it. "Why would you stay here?" She meant for the question to sound stronger, but when she asked it, it came out as barely more than a whisper. Something clattered to the floor behind them, but it was only Motte, plucking Kevin's badge from the ground and accidentally dropping it. He cursed lightly –probably thought it was Gwen's – and grabbed it again, this time cradling it much more carefully.

Kevin didn't even notice. "Gwen, you shouldn't have come here."

Not again. Damn it all, not this again. Her headache returned as she looked up at him and saw the harsh indifference on his face. His dark eyes were unreadable. "It's a sad story. I'll give you that much," he said flatly, "but it's got nothing to do with me. I'm not a hero anymore Gwen, hell, I never was."

"You kept your badge," she began, but he cut her off.

"I threw it in here with the rest of the junk we don't need anymore! When I found out some of the guys had encountered an Anodite in the building, it was damn obvious who it was. I came in here because I knew you'd probably go looking for that badge and you walked right in, just like I thought you would." He glanced away, shaking his head. "I'm done with it, Gwen. I'm not cut out for it."

"That's not true. Why do you keep saying things like that? You were amazing when you worked with us. You were a good person, you did everything right. You even saved us when we couldn't beat-"

"Gwen." His voice dropped back into that dark tone he reserved for his workers. He didn't need to say anything else, what he wanted to get across was etched into his face, maybe permanently. It was just unsettling to see it.

He was being serious. He wasn't coming with her.

The thin thread that might have connected them once was gone, and the truth hit her particularly hard. Almost as bad as what overexertion had done to her body. Maybe she said something wrong along the way, maybe she did something to make him feel as if he had to stay behind. But what? Hell, could an apology even fix it?

It's not my fault.

Gwen dropped her gaze, unable to keep looking at him as she acknowledged this. It was true. She hadn't done anything wrong. But this was his decision. He picked a side, and it hadn't been hers. "I…" She took a deep breath, reigning in her thoughts carefully before she looked back up at him. "I just wanted to ask. But if that's your decision, fine. You know how to contact me if you get any ideas on how to help, but I won't tell Ben you're here. Whether or not he finds out on his own though, I can't help that." She shook her head, resisting the urge to walk out. It was probably the last time she would get to see him, and as much as she hated his answer, she couldn't forgive herself if she ruined this moment. Even if he chose the wrong side and spent the rest of his life here, she didn't think leaving on a bad note was a good idea. It would weigh too much on her mind if she did.

Had it really been too much to hope for, though? It bothered her, but if he wanted to stay, she wasn't going to hold it against him.

In spite of all the warring emotions and thoughts going on in her head, there was one that managed to slip out. "I'm glad you brought yourself back from what you were before. I was worried."

There was a second where she didn't move, and then one very fast moment where she decided to hug him. He let out a soft grunt when she jumped up to wrap her arms around his neck. He was too shocked to return the gesture in time, and just like that, she fell away from him and back to the ground, smiling. "Just do us both a favor and stay out of trouble." She felt at odds, turning to look at Motte, who was watching her with mild intrigue, Kevin's badge still in his hand. "Time to go."

He nodded. "Good. I'll be right out."

Strangely, that didn't bother her. She opened the door and stepped out into the hall, hesitating just long enough to remember where she was and how to get back to the entrance.

… Shit.

She was the only damn person Kevin knew that did this. Each time he pushed her away she came back. Who in their right mind would have hugged him like that after he said what he said and behaved the way he did? Damn it all to hell, he was trying to keep her away from him and she still treated him as if he hadn't done anything wrong. And that hug. He growled under his breath as the door clicked shut behind her, grinding his teeth in frustration. It was as if the last five years hadn't happened, that's what that hug was.

"You're an idiot."

And she left Motte behind. Or maybe he was just too stupid to follow after her. Either way, the hiss of the necrofriggian's voice grated on his nerves. "If you still want to walk out of here intact, I suggest you go with Gwen." As he said it, he remembered the brief moment of familiarity and warmth that swept over him when she threw her arms around his neck. She was 21 now, and not a damn thing had changed about her. Well, a few things had. He couldn't help but to notice how tired she was. Five years grabbed hold of her too, but she was still the only person in the world he could be a jerk to and she would act that way. Damn it, Gwen.

"I've always wanted to say that," Motte said, breathing out a low laugh and tossing Kevin's badge up into the air, only to catch it and repeat the motion. "I just didn't think I'd ever really get the opportunity. To think you used to be something worthwhile." He paused, the amusement gone. "I've made so many mistakes. I know what it's like to start at the bottom and claw your way up an impossible hill, never getting to the god damn top of it." His fingers clenched over Kevin's badge before he threw it at the wall with a snarl. "Now my only daughter is missing. Gwendolyn Tennyson, the one person in the world who could possibly help me, promises to do the best she can to find her. But she needs help and she goes to the one person in this giant cesspool of a galaxy who I know for a fact is just as fucked up as I am, maybe worse."

"Cute," Kevin growled. He chose to ignore him for the sake of his own temper. His mind kept drifting back to that hug and that pathetic smile on her face. Why couldn't she act like a normal person and yell at him for choosing to do something stupid?

"I told her from the start what your answer would be." The air grew remarkably colder as Motte continued to speak, but Kevin barely noticed the changes. He didn't even care. A lot of hostility started to boil in his blood, and it took a lot of control not to turn around and force Motte to shut his mouth. "But she still wanted to come out here and ask. It was the dumbest thing I'd ever heard. And just now, she still bought into that crap and thought you would come back and help her. You've messed Tennyson up, you know that? She's never going to be able to get over this. What's sad is it's her fault too. She's so naïve." He shook his head. Kevin balled his hand into a fist, waiting for him to finish. "But I admire…" he trailed off, looking away. "I admire her willingness to try. I wish I had someone who could still believe in me like that. Just to be offered a second chance at what you used to have."

"You have no idea what you're talking about," Kevin said, facing him, reaching out to touch the wall. He absorbed the essence of the grey blue, metallic surface into his skin, digging his fingers so deep into his palm as he did so that they started to screech as metal clashed into metal. "If you open your mouth one more time about her, you'll regret it."

"What does it matter to you anymore, Levin? I've given up everything to bring her here. She promised to help me and she hoped you would help her. I had no options when she found me, and now." He laughed, his shoulders shaking. "Threaten me all you like but you know I'm telling the truth. I would kill for someone like her! I don't care about a relationship, but just to have someone that thought I could be something better." He dropped his gaze. "How could you even think of-"

One too many words. That was always Motte's problem. He never learned to quit while he was ahead, and before he could finish the rest of his sentence, Kevin slammed into him. The force knocked the necrofriggian back into a few crates, causing them to splinter and crack as they fell over to the floor, their contents spilling across the ground. Without missing a beat, he grabbed Motte up by his neck and threw him up against the wall. He gave him two seconds to realize what was happening and then pitched him back against it a second time, aware that it would probably make his current injuries worse.

"Then you better take good care of her, you hear me!" It wasn't a question. "I can't take care of her. The last time I was near her, I almost killed her!" He jerked him away from the wall and hurled him towards another stack of junk in the corner. Motte strived to get to his feet in time after he smacked into the wall, but Kevin was across the room again in a second and hauling him back up. "Since you think you could kill somebody for her, you better make damn sure that nothing happens to her." He let his words bleed into a dangerous tone, his brows furrowing. "Because if anything happens to her. If she gets hurt." He brought Motte closer to him, ignoring how his grip was making it difficult for Motte to breathe. "I'll kill you. You're damn right when you say you're just as fucked up as I am. I know what a rat you can be."

Finally, he let him drop to the floor, but he didn't move. Motte spent a few seconds sputtering for air, his ruined wings struggling to unfold as if he planned to escape. "You can tell Ben where I am for all I care. Tell every damn person in the universe if you want. But if you so much as think about letting anything happen to Gwen, I'll come after you. Hide, if it makes you happy, but it won't. Work." He growled, squaring his shoulders. "You should think about that while you're leaving, and make damn sure she gets home safe." He left him there before he could really lose his temper and do something irreversible. Motte couldn't protect her if he was dead.

The only thing he picked up before he left was his badge. A dying emerald light flickered in the center.

The journey back to the ship was slower than it had been coming out to the facility. But none of the aliens bothered to chase them. Apparently, Kevin didn't give them permission to do so, and they just sort of eyed her warily as she left, resuming their work in silence. It made the journey easy, but awkward. Bronx, the Tetramand from earlier, was outside, near the bottom of the cliff where their ship was parked, all four of his arms crossed over his chest until he heard her coming and leered over in her direction.

Motte trudged onward behind her, glaring at the ground, stopping only when she stopped. She had no idea what he talked to Kevin about, but she suspected it was probably a last ditch attempt to get him to help. He refused to talk about it, begrudgingly shoving past her every time it was brought up, and sticking annoyingly close by. The closest she ever got to an answer was, "I'm an idiot." It explained nothing.

Once again, she pulled her attention away from him. Bronx didn't look too happy to see them, but she didn't think he was looking for a fight. Motte barely noticed him at all, just kept mumbling incoherent phrases under his breath.

"I could go up there and destroy that hunk of metal you call a ship," Bronx began, his voice gruff. "But I have to make sure you get on that damn thing and you don't come back instead. At least, I guess that's what the boss wants." He shrugged and let his arms fall to his side, obviously huffy about this development but not willing to question it.

Gwen was beginning to understand the mentality around here: do what you were told, never ask any questions. The lull of a chain of command seemed like a benefit to her right now. She could feel hundreds of problematic thoughts fighting at the back of her mind for her attention, but she wasn't sure of which to focus on first. The first hundred or so of those thoughts were probably related to Kevin, and their emotional strength would backfire on her if she dared to consider them. She just wanted somebody around who could tell her what to do next, and that way, she wouldn't be responsible for the consequences of her actions if it turned out to be a stupid decision.

Funny that she wanted to gain control by losing it.

"Alright. Just sit tight and don't move." Gwen allowed a fraction of mana to channel through her body, even though a small voice at the back of her mind whispered a warning. She created a platform under them, and took the three of them to the top of the cliff face, a little impressed with the fact that she was indifferent to the wasted energy. By the time they got to the top, her fingers seared with pain, as if she had dipped them into a vat of acid, but as they stepped off the platform and onto solid ground, she let the magic ebb away and the sensation slowed to a trickle.

Bronx immediately walked over to the ship and stood below its nose like a faithful guard dog, and Motte slunk past her, his voice so soft she barely heard it. "We have to go. Now."

Right. But for a second she looked down at her fingers, noting the red tint to each them. It was probably a very bad idea to waste any more mana on anything else, but she raised a brow, discerning that she really didn't care. For the first time, she didn't care about anything. She stood there for a second, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose. This was selfish. What Kevin said was selfish too, but what she was doing was stupid. Other people were counting on her for help, including Motte, who was probably trying not to break down and lose his temper again like he did back on Earth. This was her best plan, and now it was shot to hell. But it didn't give her the right to throw everything away and just give up.

It would have been nice if Kevin decided to go along, but the truth was that he didn't.

"Hey. Don't you have somewhere to be?" Bronx snapped, his impatience catching her off guard. He paused though, the contempt on his face thinning when she met his gaze. But she wasn't angry.

"Levin's not worth the effort of damn tears," Motte hissed before he boarded the ship.

Wonderful. No, it didn't feel great to leave Kevin behind, but she desperately wanted to believe that for a second she'd been crying due to an enormous amount of stress and not because of his choice. It took all of two seconds to clear the tears away, but the damage was done. It was best to just go before she really did lose her control completely. "Tell Kevin I meant what I said. He needs to stay out of trouble," she told Bronx, starting up the bridge.

He couldn't bring himself to look at her, but he nodded, and that was a good enough answer. As she got on the ship, the door closed behind her, and she turned to see Motte sitting in one of the chairs at the front, leaning away from the console. "Motte, if you need anything else while we're here, we don't have to leave yet." Something in his attitude had changed, but he shook his head. "Look, I promised you I would help you find your daughter, and it would have been nice to have Kevin's help, but we don't need him to do it."

"No," Motte said, biting out the words. "We won't." One of his wings twitched and she glanced over at the medical bay area on the ship. What was he referring to? His daughter? Or Kevin?

"We should take care of your injuries. I can put the ship on autopilot before we go back and-"

"I'm fine, Tennyson. None of your medicines can help me anyway. I'll heal on my own. But we need to get the hell out of here before any other shit happens that we can't control." He hesitated, inhaling in a long and ragged breath. "I should drive. That way you can get some sleep." Gwen stared at him for a second, concerned as she saw him shiver. Necrofriggian's couldn't get cold.

"Motte, is everything okay?"

"Just fine," he hissed, returning to the console. He punched in a few commands and Gwen walked over to the copilot chair and sat down to take over. "You should go to bed," he said again.

"I'll be fine and I'll get some sleep later, when we're close to home." She knew she needed sleep, but didn't exactly feel like she could rest right now. He fell back against his chair and let her handle everything else. She couldn't peg what his mood was, but there was a definite gloom in the air that made her think back to his little talk with Kevin. As the ship's engines roared alive and they broke from the ground, Gwen saw Bronx leap down from the cliff without a moment's hesitation. She put in the coordinates necessary to get them back to Earth, allowing herself a moment to feel absolutely nothing as they left the moon's atmosphere and started back out on the journey home. If she had honestly thought about it, she was pretty sure her defenses would fall and all of her emotions would come barreling out.

And she really didn't want to deal with that.

They were about an hour into the drive back, and she was wasting time by determining what her next move would be when she got home. The kids were a top priority. She'd probably get back and check on some old friends to see if they learned anything new in her absence. It was a decent start anyway, even if she didn't feel ready to come up with phase two of the master plan that was going to solve all her problems. The ship was eerily quiet, mostly because Motte refused to carry a conversation. He just stared out at the stars through the front of the ship. She almost jumped as he finally moved, his chest heaving as he breathed out a very low sigh. "Fuck this," he whispered. "You can't help me like this."

Well at least he was still himself. But before she could reply, he walked over to her side of the console and put the ship on autopilot. "You're useless if you don't get any sleep, Tennyson. I can watch the ship, it's not like I can stress myself out by sitting in a chair. I know you're probably thinking about what you want to do next, but it can wait. You look exhausted. Everything about you is pitiful." She was beginning to get a little irritated, but she didn't feel like starting up an argument with him. Somehow, Kevin's decision almost seemed like her fault, and she couldn't blame Motte for pointing out the truth so bluntly. "And if you don't get some sleep, you'll just get weaker and weaker."

She rose from her chair slowly, agreeing. Gwen doubted she would actually be able to sleep, but she could definitely think and relax a little better in her own room on the ship. Arguing with him wouldn't help anyway. She could tell from his stiff posture and the tension in his voice that he wasn't willing to compromise. Sadly, everything he said was also true.

"If you see any ships heading our way, let me know. And if you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask. Are you sure you don't want to take care of those injuries now?" It was nice to ask, but he shook his head and as she got up, he sat down in her chair. Instead of checking the scanners or doing anything, Motte ducked his head and glared down at his feet.

When he spoke, his words were soft. "I'm sorry for bringing you out here for nothing, Tennyson. I didn't think you honestly believed Levin would help, but you did. And I'm sorry for that too."

Any other person might have left, but Gwen stayed, uncertain of what to think about his tone. In the time that she had known him, Motte was never truly sorry for anything, and he never spoke so softly. "Motte. What did you and Kevin talk about?" She couldn't ignore it anymore. Something was wrong and he didn't want to tell her about it.

"Does it matter?" He asked, finally looking up. His green eyes rested on her as he half turned in his chair. "Nothing I said changed his mind. Though I gave it a shot." She wanted to inquire as to what exactly happened, but he averted his gaze back to the front of the ship. "I tried, but forget it. I'll keep watch and grab you when I need a break." Again, he returned to the stiff backed body language of before, and she sighed. There was no getting through to him. Maybe that was for the best. Thinking about Kevin wasn't exactly going to help anybody.

She left him then, taking her time as she moved down the narrow passages leading back to her personal room. Technically, this ship was Plumber property and borrowed. They told her she could keep it for as long as she needed it, but what that really translated into was something like: bring it back in one piece, please, and as soon as you possibly can. She reached out to push the door to her room open, thinking that returning the ship should probably be up at the top of her to-do list. She didn't need anybody else harassing her at this point.

"Finally."

She barely had time to think about what was happening. A blue object swept around the doorway and locked around her arm, tugging her into the room with enough force to send her stumbling to the ground. Damn it, she was starting to get really, really tired of falling. But the thought only just managed to register before a very wet sensation started to climb up the same arm. Gwen jerked her gaze up and paled.

"I was wondering when my angry little Anodite would finally come in."