Chapter 3
Caked with alien blood, Ben powers down and morphs into his human form. Claw marks sank into his current of veins, viscous crimson coating the lacerated flesh of his thigh. Crying out in agony, he staggers forward, knees crashing against the asphalt of the industrial parking lot.
"Ben!" Rushing to aid his teammate, Kevin hooks an arm around his chest from behind to prevent him from face planting.
"I think," he hisses through gritted teeth, "that alien's claws had poison on them or — argh! — something."
Frantically digging through his jeans pocket, Kevin snatched up his Plumber's Badge and activated the frequency. "Gwen! Get your butt down here, Ben's hurt!" Met with static, he repeatedly clicked the communicator with increasing urgency, "Come on Gwen! I'm serious!"
"Why isn't she answering?" Ben seethed.
Letting a frustrated sigh escape him, the older teen began to ride his shirt up and off his torso. "Here," thrusting the fabric at the maimed boy, he pocketed his badge. "Don't mind the blood stain. Tie that around your leg. I need to get you to my car."
Ben opened his mouth to retort, but the inferno in Kevin's eyes silenced him completely. All complaints died on his tongue, bitter and tart.
Spotting her silhouette through the window of his car, Kevin rips open the door and settles Ben in the driver's seat. The wielder of the Omnitrix stares at his cousin with half lidded eyes, consciousness seeping from him rapidly.
"Ben!"
By now, Kevin's makeshift gauze was nearly soaked. Scarlet seeped through the bandage and slavered onto the leather seat. Gwen's eyes widened upon seeing the thriving stain. Punctiliously, she began unwrapping the cloth, revealing the grotesque slashes. A soft gasp parted her lips, "What happened to him?"
"If you would have answered your goddamned badge, you would know!"
A low moan distracts her from the harsh emphasis in Kevin's outburst.
"Come on, Ben, stay with me," she pleads. Her desperate eyes illuminate with pink energy identical to the liveliness swirling around her hands. Palms hovering over the outpouring wound, she loses a fragment of her vitality to him.
Suddenly, a harsh grip curls around her wrists and seizes the healing process. "Kevin, what are you—"
"Stop closing off the wound! He's poisoned!"
"What? I can't invade his bloodstream! It's risky and I've never—"
Tightening his hold, he disregards her slight whimper of pain. "I'm not sure if the venom merely sedates or kills him, Gwen. You have to get it out."
Acknowledging the intensity of his gaze, she carefully props Ben's offended leg off the middle compartment, recalling a spell she had bookmarked weeks ago. The mystical incantation fled her lips as renewed energy surged through her cousin's veins. His pallid face bloomed with color as blood from the gash was immediately stoppered.
"Somnus," she breathed, analyzing his expression carefully as the magical word lulled him to sleep.
A clammy hand rested against his flushed cheek as the boy succumbed to his soporific state. Glancing up at her boyfriend through her fringe of lashes, Gwen was unable to gather the reins over her hammering heart.
"So... did it work?"
"Yeah... Yeah, I think so."
"Great." Hooking his hands underneath Ben's armpits, he began to tug him out of the vehicle. "Now let's put him in the back."
"Kevin!" Clasping her arms around Ben's leg, she fervently hauls the boy back in the car. "I don't know what the side effects are to the spell that I used. If he wakes up, he could be in a lot of pain or—"
"He got blood all over my seat and my shirt! Besides, I need to drive him home. Now let me shove his sorry little ass in the back!"
In a livid huff, she releases him and the argument with a cross of her arms. "You are... You're completely... Ugh! You are impossible, Kevin!"
Returning to the front seat, the accused twists on the ignition as the headlights rip through the darkening night. Scoffing, he leaves the vehicle in 'park' and turns towards her. "I'm impossible? You're the one who keeps avoiding me!"
Blinking at his retort, Gwen grips the edge of her seat as a torrent of blood floods her cheeks. "We had a mission, I—"
"Okay, well, mission's over. Talk."
Averting his gaze, she begins to twirl a strand of hair, focusing on the dashboard. "I don't want to upset you."
Piqued by her elusive, riddled responses, he skims a finger under her jaw and forces her gaze to clash with his. Underneath the pigment of her eyes, a war rages. His condition is far worse than the slight contusion on her jaw, yet his concern favors her. "Something happened at school. I saw that guy yell at you back there. He was wearing your prep school uniform."
Fiddling with the hem of her singed sweater, she rips a loose string from the fabric. "Can we please send Ben home, first? I'll tell you about it afterwards."
"Gwen, I—"
"Please," her hands stray from her excuse of a distraction and slip around his hand. Their fingers lace in a familiar gesture as she places a feathery kiss on his knuckles. "I promise I'll tell you after we get Ben home."
Completely flustered with her, Kevin allows himself to relish in the feel of her supple kiss. He sees through her diversion, however, and doesn't allow her advances to phase him.
"No. You've been putting this off for too long. I want to know what's bothering you."
"What if Ben wakes up? I don't want him hearing what I have to say!"
"Why not?" He challenges, tired of her put offs. His grip on her hands turns rough.
"Because he knows some of the people that keep harassing me and I don't want him to do anything he'll regret!" Eyes growing wide, she realizes her mistake. Suddenly, her vision begins to burn, tears threatening to dive off the rims of her eyes. "Kevin... Please..."
Clenching his teeth, they start to chatter out of anger. He had assumed as much, if the bruise on her jaw was any indication. Hearing her vocalize the fact, however, overwhelmed him. Primeval instincts kicked in. His grip on her began to quake. "How long?"
"Kevin, don't make me—"
"How long?" Relinquishing his grip on restraint, he was unable to prevent the harsh edge in his tone from cutting into her conscious.
Flinching, she felt her heart clench in her chest. In a strangled whisper, she had enough pride to forbid the tears from escaping, "Since two weeks ago."
A/N: So, I'll give you a little forewarning. When it comes to my fics, updates may be very frequent or few and far between. Usually, I'll have one-shots to keep you all entertained. Anyways, I hope you guys are still hooked on this.
