A/N: must get bak on trak wit this…… finding it hard 2 remember wut I wrote b4 this… must go bak 2 read where I left off…… GOT IT!!! Here goes nothin'!

Oh, and if I start confusing normal Kevin with rock Kevin (he's still awesome either way), assume it's the ID mask and that I forgot to mention he put it on or took it off! It's a bit complicated to keep my thoughts straight sometimes. Especially with jumping between this and Car Arguments. So srry! I'm workin on it!

Kevin looked over to Ben. "Call your gramps. He's gotta get the other Plumber's kids over here fast."

The brunette stared at his friend for a moment, blinking a few times. Not everyday Kevin got that snappy. Or fell off a roof. It was definitely a bad day for him.

"I mean it, Tennyson! Now!"

Ben jumped to it, pulling out his phone and dialing away only to have it ring ten times before he hung up and tried again. And again. And again. Max wasn't picking up. The boy paced over to a wall on the other side of the room to lean against it and wait for his grandfather's voice to come on the other line.

"You don't have to be so snippy," Gwen muttered, still standing close to Kevin. She put a hand on his chest and leaned into him, making sure he got the point. She had to tell him soon before it was all over for them. "Can't you use gentle words instead, Mr. Pissy?"

"Not when your life is on the line."

His reply made enough sense to get her to back off his bad side. She just breathed for a moment. If you've been told you're going to die, it's easy to forget sometimes. Then mess around. Then be reminded later. The redhead could feel her depression coming on, along with Kevin's. Neither was quite ready to let go yet with so many things unsaid.

"This isn't a joke to me," he breathed, fighting back the tears that magnified the earthy brown colors in his eyes, wishing he could stay like that with her forever. Gwen leaning into him, his arms carefully snaking their way around her waist, so not to hurt her. Her warm heart beating against his chest, just hard enough so he could feel it when she was close enough. She was just… there weren't enough words for the dark teen to describe his moment. He only wanted to savor it and prayed that it would last him the rest of his life to be without her. She was too incredible to lose so soon.

She decided to fight him off. No one goes down without a fight, literal or not. "But most things are."

He sighed. "Can you just accept that this is going to be harder on me?" He was anxious to get this discussion to end now so he could focus more on saving the universe. He didn't want to fight with her. Not when she would leave him forever in possibly the next second. Or hour. Or day. Or week. It was still unpredictable.

"I'm the one dying!" she pointed out. Fighting it was good. It got Kevin to talk more.

"But I'm the one that's stuck living without you for what'll feel like an eternity."

Those were probably the most emotional words he had ever said in forever. Even though there were only fifteen words. It was a start. A start that would end as soon as it began. He would be hurt, broken, slaughtered, destroyed, pummeled, and worst of all, losing everything he'd ever loved and wanted in life. She couldn't believe he'd said something so straightforward and easy.

"Have you ever noticed that I babble like a total idiot when I'm tired?"

Dead stop. Yep, that was it. He'd ruined the moment by saying more than necessary. Gwen closed her eyes wanting to scream at him a thousand words that wouldn't make things any better for either of them. Or the rest of the universe. Kevin was just absolutely, positively impossible to figure out. She could only shake her head and pull away from him. "Whatever."

"Gwen-" He was clueless to what he'd done wrong this time. It was always something with her. Anything to be mad at him.

"Save it," she replied, getting ready to focus on the task at hand again. "Let's just see what Ben's got."

He groaned. So close, but yet so far. Gwen was constantly begging, almost pleading for him sometimes, just for a date. One bad choice of words and it all starts again! She was always being pushy and angsty and pissy. Women are so hard, Kevin thought. Stick to the car and alien tech. Maybe an eternity won't be too awful.

Yeah, right. That hope was dropped into a bottomless abyss of darkness. An eternity without Gwen would be his misery. And the thought that he caused it would drive him to Crazy Town where he would become Mayor and marry George Washington's wife. Whoever she was. There. His future was right in front of him. Only one concern was left to stand. Would his car cross over to Crazy Town too?

"Grandpa's not picking up," Ben answered after his cousin had come over, followed closely by Kevin, who was still looking pale and mad at someone. His chances were to stay out of the way and duck if his friend got vicious. "I've called three or four times. I lost count."

"I'm pretty sure Annie can even count higher than you, Benji." Kevin's smart remark pushed away all the thoughts he was still having about Gwen and his idiocy. He was slowly beginning to feel like himself again. Without sleep and rest and a specific lack of coffee was a bit of a killjoy to that. "Actually, I'm pretty sure a majority of the planet can count higher than you."

Gwen glared over her shoulder. She wanted to say something right back to lash her anger out at someone and she bit it back for a moment. But I bet anyone can count higher than you. And the words came out like a pack of starved wolves before she could stop them. And then the regret and guilt came to wash over her, harder than before. Dumb dumb dumb. Too bad those didn't come out or he'd know how bad she felt.

Kevin didn't feel hurt. He was too numb with what had happened before. He stood there for a second and closed his eyes. Then the words began to sink in and dig a hole in his heart. Not exactly his fault. School wasn't an option when you're a street rat, only trying to live while you're dying on the inside. "Sorry. No education in the Null Void if you remember correctly," he barked fiercely, wanting to bite it back once he said it. It was too late because he was already into his words and wasn't about to stop. "Bet you didn't know that when you threw me in there." He stalked away, into the black shadows that still clung to certain corners of the warehouse before ducking into a room.

"What did I miss?!" Ben asked, staring at Gwen, his eyes a bit disgusted with her. He'd been stifling the remarks since the ex-con joined the team. And Gwen could just give him the bombs whenever she decided? "Did you guys fight again?!"

She had to gulp down the emotions that were overwhelming her. "We can get to him in a second. He said we have to get Grandpa here."

"Guys," Kevin's mom called from across the room. She was standing in the frame of the doorway, looking out into the night at something. Her gaze flickered back to the cousins for an instant. "There's an RV outside. Some old guy's getting out."

"Um… He didn't pick up for me…" Ben said softly. "Did anyone else call him?"

Then Max was at the door, panting. His Hawaiian shirt was rumpled. All the Plumber's kids stood behind him, ready for action. "Kevin… called…" He was breathing out the words slowly, one at a time. "…what's…happening?"

"But he told me to call…" Ben whimpered, suddenly feeling very unimportant to the whole new issue of 'Let's Save The Universe Again!'

Gwen only looked back into the shadows where the dark teen had disappeared. A tug on her heart told her to go after him and make up for what she'd done. The words weren't just a joke. She was dead serious and mad when she'd spoken, but yet they'd hurt him in more ways than one. That was the hard part about having Kevin around. Watching the words they used. A poke at his Null Void experiences and he'd drop you off in the middle of nowhere without a second thought about it. And she'd dug deeper than that. She'd gone into his education issues. She'd gone into his Null Void problems. And further. She'd dug herself into the pit against his family for abandoning him. That was how deeply set she'd put herself. With Kevin, that pit is one with no return.

Max was staring at them for a minute, the confusion flashing across his face in clear colors. "So where is he and what's the problem?" Manny asked with irritation, stepping from behind the old man.

"Long story," Annie said, coming out of the darkness. She had her own way of dealing things and with her brother out of the way, it was much, much easier. "In a shorter sense of things, the entire universe is screwed except for the human race. And me and Kevin and my mom." She deliberately took out the 'our' and put in 'my' in that last part. Her method of working was entirely different. Simple, sweet, jump to the point and don't look back at the past.

Cooper was the next one in the door. "Well that sure sounds like a lot of fun," he snorted, pushing past Manny and Max and further into the main room.

A/N: in the original series, was I the only one who couldn't tell whether Cooper was a guy or a girl? Skinny, long blonde hair, utterly annoying, and PURPLE jersey? I think the hair and the purple threw me off… Just thought I'd throw that out there bcuz I wanted to kno if I was the only one!! PLZ tell me cuz I feel like I'm an idiot for not seeing it the first time… and I did not know he liked Gwen or it would've been wayyyyy more obvious!!

Ben and Gwen pulled Max out of the way so the rest of the rookie team could come inside. They filed in like troops.

"We have to save the universe again?" Max asked, once he had recovered a bit. The run from the Rustbucket to the building had seemed necessary at one point and now seemed meaningless.

"Apparently," Ben sighed. His eyes moved to where Kevin had disappeared. "And this time, we probably won't get to help."

This caught the old Plumber off guard. "Why not?" he asked quietly, still aware of the small girl and woman standing in the room that he hadn't noticed until that moment.

Gwen jumped in. "We'll be dead."

Kevin took this moment to come out, a coffee mug in hand. Caffeine was definitely on the list of must-haves in Crazy Town without Gwen. Life would definitely suck without her and coffee. "When did you guys get here?"

"You called. Remember?" Max asked.

Definitely a very bad day. Kevin racked his brain a bit for an answer. The answer came up as a blank memory, beginning with the roof incident that was only an hour ago or less. And before that, there was something about Gwen's room. It was all a fuzzy blur now. "Um… Not exactly, but okay." His voice was wary at the least. Very confused. And a pinch of annoyed. "So everyone grab a chair and sit. I can explain."

The new team all did as he said, putting them in a demented half-circle around him. Then they waited for him to take the lead and say why the heck they were up in the middle of the night and not fighting something yet.

He had to breath for a second before starting. "There's a bomb. It's going to destroy anything and anyone with alien powers. It'll destroy you all."

Their faces became shocked except for five. His own, Ben, Gwen, and his family.

"I have the blueprints for it, but it's too far away to get to. And the plus factor is that it's indestructible without annihilating it completely. So I set up this entire warehouse with tech and it should protect us from the bomb's effects. But odds are, it won't and you'll all be dead soon. Sorry, but I can't work miracles today." Especially with only twenty minutes of sleep in a car…

Most of them were panicking at that point. Faces turned. Tears welled up in eyes. Few slid down cheeks. Except for the Tennyson cousins and the three in the room who had known for days. Kevin, Annie, and their mom.

His face twisted into a grimace when he saw that they were all just traumatized by the news. Panic, fear, and distress didn't settle well with him. "We can only hope now. And that's not usually enough to fight off explosions stretching throughout the universe."

"The universe?" Max spoke up, his voice choking on the thought. There was a panic in his eyes. It hit Kevin. Verdona… Even she would die from this… Why was the world so cruel? He could only nod in response.

"Can you explain it again?" Helen asked. "Like, more specific."

Puzzled, Kevin asked, "Such as?" Not like 'more specific' was a great question. It wasn't even a question to begin with.

"Why are you immune?"

He paused and thought over a response before replying, "Because I have to stay alive. My DNA is in it and my powers will be sucked away so I'll be human again, but I won't be terminated." That was a good enough answer for her, right?

It was, but Helen went on, her natural curiosity getting the better of her. "Who built it and why did they decide to keep you alive and no one else?"

This was one thing he was hoping to avoid. Avoid very carefully, like stepping around the giant canyon that's threatening to swallow you whole. He couldn't help it now. It was out there and now he had to answer it. Taking a second, he closed his eyes, thinking back to the good days. Mr. Smoothie. Hanging out with Gwen. Kicking Michael Morningstar/Darkstar's butt. Answer time. He breathed again and replied three words. "My step dad."

They all stared at him at that.

Gwen put it together. The conversation in the car with Annie and Kevin's mom. Everything they'd mentioned finally made sense. She realized it and wanted to go and give her friend a big hug to help him remember what it was like to be normal. To be with her. To be happy, in a Kevin way.

"You caused this?" Manny roared, jumping up out of his chair and knocking it forwards. He had been sitting in it backwards. His expression became ferocious. "You're the one who's going to kill us?"

"Guys-" Kevin started, keeping his tone calming and hoping it would help, but Manny wasn't going to stop. He grabbed the chair in front of him with his two top arms and threw it over his head. It hurtled towards the dark teen.

A pink-ish violet shield of mana appeared just in time to keep him safe from harm. The chair smashed against it into a million pieces.

Kevin looked to Gwen and gave her a grateful look. He hoped that she knew she was his savior in more ways than one. The one that kept him out of trouble and on occasions, decided to save his life.

Then the redhead wrapped the Fourarms in a rope of mana, holding him still and silenced. And yet he struggled against her, but still couldn't break free.

Helen watched him with disgust. "And why did he build it?"

"You got me," Kevin answered softly, throwing his hands up in surrender. "I'm his half alien step son that he hates. So you ask him for me. Let me know if he wants me to kill myself this time or not. And if he doesn't, thank him because I don't want to die."

Ben hadn't known Kevin's family issues were that bad. He'd assumed it was the basics. Fights, grounding, chores, mouthing off. Normal stuff. Not death threats and constant violence. His eyes widened a little when the understanding kicked in. Life at home must really suck for him.

"So why is he keeping you alive?" The XLR8 was full of questions.

Kevin felt the need to shove her blue head down a toilet to make her shut up. It was already hard to keep the answers coming without his voice choking or breaking. "To keep my mom and his real daughter around." His eyes shifted to Annie and his mother in a corner of the room, watching him. The young girl's eyes were full of anger. The woman's, pride. So contradictory it made the dark teen's head swim under a thousand gallons of water. "He kills me, he loses their trust."

"But they know about the universe thing…" No duh. Point out the obvious, Benji.

Kevin rolled his eyes, praying this would all be over with soon so he could curl up in another room and let the black colors surround him so he could fit into the darkness. "Brain-wash them. But avoid it on me because no one will believe me. I'll be sent to a loony bin somewhere if I talk about it. I can't kill him because I'll lose the trust of my family. Either way, I know, he knows, and only you guys know. And I can't do a thing about it." His tone had dropped into one of dejection.

This sent everyone into a silence. No more questions were asked.

Now, coffee. And a lot of it. He retreated to the back room once again, knowing this was the eye of the storm. The calm moment that he could keep for a second before it vanished again and he was thrown into the turmoil to live as a delinquent again.

That was the summary of his time with Ben and Gwen. As a team, he was the good guy for once. He was actually helping to achieve something. Now that was ending. The other side of the hurricane that was his life would kick back up again in a moment. Back to the illegal side to skim through with barely enough money to live on. Hardly any food, not enough light in the garage to fix the car, or maybe not enough to keep the car…

The light in the back flickered on and he got himself another mug of coffee. Caffeine had become his addiction in the past week. It was all that kept him awake and working towards the ultimate goal. He was stuck in a rut of lost hope and there was obviously no way out of that. Why not get a little high on coffee? What could it hurt?

He looked up to see a splash of red hair and sparkling green eyes staring at him from across the room with a bit of anger and sadness. Then she started talking quickly, wanting to get the words out before he accused her of more. "Kevin, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking and I wasn't trying to say that. I didn't mean to."

"I didn't mean to be a criminal either. It just came to me. A natural instinct to live. A natural instinct to die. Same old, same old, Gwen. There's no difference anymore."

She didn't get it at first. It struck after a second. He was forgiving her in his own way of confusing her with more words that she didn't understand and he probably didn't get it much either- Her thoughts froze when it felt like the entire room was spinning. Over thinking things, she reminded herself. Take a breath. He's only Kevin, not some kind of hotshot superstar. But of course he thinks he is. Gwen's gaze swept to him.

Tired. Alone. Nervous. Anxious. Scared. His face was partially hidden, but she could read the rest of his body language so clearly. Kevin was tense and slumped over in his chair, still trying to keep awake after days without sleep. Dark circles were dug around his eyes. The darkness was swept up behind him like a black raven's wing, ready to hide his form in a moment's notice. Haunted. That was how he looked. Haunted and hollow. And very, very alone.

He was looking her over too. Worried. Disappointed. Fearful. Depressed. Scared. She was his open book. The only thing he probably could read, but he'd never admit to that. Her hair was that fiery auburn color that he wanted to see every day. The emerald green of her eyes now compared to the electric color that they were when she was younger. Then her smile… It struck him into stupor before and at that moment he would've died for it and a laugh from her. "Be sorry," he replied, giving into her. "That won't change what's going on. We'll never get a chance anymore and it's my fault. You don't have a future anymore. None of you do. All those aliens out there, they get to exist for only a little while longer before their lives are gone forever. I am one of the last survivors of this mess. One of the few that can make it, but there's no hope of me changing this because without you and Ben, I'm just another guy with a car doing illegal stuff."

Gwen wanted to comfort him, but she knew how that had always gone in the past. Pushing her further away. Digging that grave just a little deeper, as if it weren't a mile down already. And she still went forward with it. He loved her when she was sweet and when she was being a pissy jerk. Worst part was that she knew it. It gave her the edge to go on a little further. She took a few steps closer so she was only inches from him. "You are so much more," she breathed, leaning over to place a gentle kiss on his lips.

There was no future, but there was a present and a past and those couldn't be changed because Gwen was kissing Kevin and he was soaking it all in. Every few moments, he had to remind himself to drink in the air, but Gwen… No time for air. Air can come later. More Gwen. More Gwen. He put his hand to the back of her neck, pulling her harder against him. His other arm snaked around her waist. This would last and he would remember it forever.

Her heart was pounding in her chest. She could feel Kevin's warmth against her and the blood pulsing through his veins. He was there. He was with her. They were together. It was all she could think about. Her head was swarmed with the new information, but there would be time to process it later.

A/N: Any questions about the bomb and other stuff that I missed, send them in as a review. I won't post another chapter until I get, like, ten reviews or something. Not all have to be questions or the trivia answer that you'll read in a minute, but I only got 1 review for 'Universal' and that was a little disappointing. I wrote that chapter TWICE! so that's that. Take it or leave it. I really don't care, but I'll be really mad if I can't continue this bcuz u guys decided to quit on me. The angsty parts are coming too and those'll be the best! Now you know what it is. No more waiting or anything. But thanks to the ppl who have been reviewing throughout and to the ones who just put it up whenev.

And a trivia thing: A member of the rookie alien force team doesn't have alien powers. Who? (Hint: It's not Max)

Winner gets... idk. Probably nothing, but maybe I'll post whatever they want in the next chapter or put up another trivia that they pick. idk. they can choose something within my limitations of power.

Just put that for the heck of things and because I wanted to make sure I wasn't wrong. Again, answer in reviews. It's important for later in a sense of things. Lol. Bi nao!

Thanks for the help!

~Sky

P.S. this is the second longest story i have written. 'Theft' in Car Arguments is beating it by, like, less than ten words i think. so be thankful this took me half a day. 'Theft' took three days with full editing and all.