Here ya guys go! We get an old friend in this chapter and I think you guys we'll be happy to see who it is! Lmao, just a note, there might be A LOT or some grammar and spelling mistakes in this chapter. Sorry, I really wanted to upload it so I didn't edit or check over it. Also, I was too lazy to do today. lol =P

Disclaimer: I do not own Ben 10.

The light was fading, creating new shadows and dark patches throughout the forest. The wind wailed between distorted trunks, carrying the sickly stink of wood rot. The trees stood utterly still, statues in a living museum where no leaf dared to fall. The only sound visible is the soft melody of the crickets.

Deep within the forest, lay a crater. Smoke rose from it, showing that great damage has come to whatever had crashed at the spot. At this very spot, a green/black creature oozed down from the damaged wreck and repaired itself until it took a form. (A/N: I bet you guys already know who I'm talking about, right?)

"S-Ship?" it said as it jumped high from out of the crater. It looked frantically from side to side, as though searching for something. Not knowing what to do, it began to slither forward like a snake. At the end of the forest, it had reached a highway.

"Ship? Ship!" it cried as it saw a bright-red truck coming its way. Instead of moving away from it though, it waited until it was close enough and jumped onto the front, where it blended in. That part where it blended suddenly turned into the same pattern as the creature.

Wherever the truck was going, the creature just hoped that it would lead him to someone who can help.

Gwen shrieked as the laser missed her head by just an inch. "Hey!" she screamed, glaring at the Forever Knight that had shot it at her. "It's cold, and I'm tired! So don't you dare shoot those lasers at me!" The Knight ignored her and only shot again.

"The majesty had requested weapons," he said as Gwen quickly dodged it. "And what the majesty wants, he gets."

"Wanna know what I heard?" Gwen replied nonchalantly. "Blah, blah, blah, something about weapons, blah." The red-head lifted up her hand and said, "Sursum!" As Gwen's hand glowed magenta, she pointed it towards a couple of crates near-by. The crates began to glow the same color and Gwen smirked as they lifted off the ground and she tossed them towards the Knight.

Gwen stuck her tongue out at the Knight as he was crushed by the crates, knocked out. She gasped as she suddenly felt a pair of arms grab her hands, pulling them painfully behind her back. "Kevin!" Gwen shouted. "A little help here!"

"Gottacha princess!" Kevin replied back with a smirk. With his body covered in armor of wood, he sent himself crashing into the Knight, forcing him to let go of the red-head. He then grabbed hold of the Knight and sent him flying into a tree. Kevin turned to Gwen and said, "What would you do without me?"

"Let's find out, shall we?" another Knight said as he pointed a laser-gun at the two. Gwen and Kevin exchanged glances before smirking. They crossed their arms and gave the Knight a skeptical look.

"Are you really gonna fight us?" said Kevin. "Take a look around you. All your buddies are down and you're the only one standing." He slung an arm around Gwen's shoulders and pointed a finger to himself. "Now, either Gwen and me can kick your butt, or you can just give up now. What's it gonna be?"

The Knight shakily looked back and forth between the two before dropping his weapon. Gwen rolled her eyes as he ran away like a scared little girl. She shivered as Kevin removed his arm and snuggled her head deeper into her scarf. Kevin noticed this and asked, "You cold?"

"No, the snow is actually pretty warm," she replied sarcastically.

"No need to be cranky. At least your nose finally matches your hair Rudolf." He laughed before grabbing hold of her forearm. "Come on, hot-chocolate on me." Gwen smiled at the offer and allowed him to drag her through the forest. They came to a stop at the bus-stop by the highway. Gwen suddenly felt as though a pair of eyes were watching her and turned back to the forest. But nothing was there.

She ignored the feeling as the bus came by and stepped inside. Unknown to her, something followed close behind.

The little green/black creature had grown impatient when the truck took too many detours. Finally, it stopped by an abandoned warehouse near the city. It watched as figures dressed as knights began loading crates filled of weapons into the truck.

"Ship!" it said as the truck suddenly shook violently. It looked to the side to see that someone had striked it. A girl with flaming red hair.

She and a boy began to fight against the Knights. The creature carefully observed them, interested at how powerful they were and how easily they defeated the knights. After the battle, they began to walk away. But it didn't want them to walk away, he needed their help.

The creature pulled itself out of the truck and followed closely behind them. As the two reached a highway, the girl suddenly looked behind her and it quickly hid behind a tree. As they stepped inside a bus, it quickly morphed itself onto a piece of the vehicle just as it drove away.

The bus ride was silent at first and Gwen took this as an opportunity to collect her thoughts. She had found out that the blood from the hallway had been that of her Social Studies teacher; who was still missing, along with Jeremy. The investigator had scared her at first, but he had only wanted to ask about the disappearance. Turns out, he was investigating every student.

"As Estella told you," Tom Manning began as he took a seat across from Gwen. "My name is Tom Manning and I'd like to ask you a few questions." Gwen didn't respond and he narrowed his eyes. "You don't have to be nervous. I'm going to question every student in the school. You're nothing special."

That night had been pretty eventful for Kevin as well. He had told Gwen that when he investigated the spot, he found nothing. But, he had gotten a little surprise. His annoying friend Argit had been following him. He had said that he only wanted to see if Kevin was in on a deal without him. To Gwen's pleasure, Kevin took care of him with a little punch.

"Ahhh!" Kevin shrieked as something suddenly popped out from the bushes. When he saw what had scared him, he glared daggers. "Argit! What the hell?" Argit laughed sheepishly while taking slow steps back.

"Ah, hey Kev," he mumbled. "Fancy meeting you here." Kevin expression told Argit that he was in trouble. (A/N: Scared you guys, didn't I? :P Lmao, don't worry, it was only Argit who sneaked up on Kevin in the last chapter.)

What Gwen couldn't get out of her mind was Nicholas's warning. He had said that the disappearances were only the beginning. But…what did he mean by it? And why does it seem like he knows more about it than he was letting on? "Hey, Red?" Kevin asked from beside her, noticing that her mind was a million miles away. "Everything alright?"

It took a moment for Gwen to realize that he had spoken. "Huh?" she blurted out before blushing at the look he was giving her. "Sorry, I just got lost in my thoughts."

Kevin laughed. "I know. You do that a lot."

"Well, if you weren't so boring I wouldn't have to space-out." Gwen crossed her arms with a huff and gave Kevin a teasing eye, making sure he knew she was only kidding.

"That wasn't a funny joke," Kevin smirked. He leaned his head against the wall as the bus made a turn and suddenly thought of an idea. "But, I know a way you can make it up to me."

Gwen raised a delicate eyebrow at the suggestiveness in his eyes. She decided to play along and put on her best poker-face and said, "Oh, really? And what is your amazing suggestion?"

"Well," Kevin began, acting as innocent as possible. "There's this auto-show soon that I'm dying to see and if you get two tickets, I wouldn't mind taking you." Gwen laughed while shaking her head. Kevin didn't know if that was a 'yes' and decided to take a different approach. "Okay, never mind the 'making it up to me' thing. How about you get it for me for Christmas?"

The bus came to a stop and Gwen and Kevin stepped out. As they made their way over to the café, Gwen mentally kicked herself. I can't believe I forgot that next week is Christmas. It's my favorite holiday and I forgot. Well, I know what I'm getting Kevin now. But what about Julie? Wonder what I should get her? Should I get Luke and Scarlet something too?

"You forgot that its Christmas soon, didn't you?" Kevin voiced with a smirk as he held the door open for her. Gwen smiled sheepishly at him. Kevin laughed and said, "I'll get the drinks. You go find us seats."

"Sure," she replied. Gwen looked over to see two empty seats by the window and quickly sat down before some other couple could take them. Wait…did she just say couple? Gwen laughed at herself. Kevin and her were definitely not a couple. I mean, they argued most of the time and when they didn't argue, they were fighting aliens. Besides, she liked Luke.

She smiled as Kevin made his over, two cups of steaming hot-chocolate in hand. He placed one beside her and the other beside him and took a seat. "Miss me?" he teased with a smirk.

"I was dying without you." Gwen rolled her eyes with a smile while taking a sip of her hot-chocolate. She cringed and stuck out her tongue while fanning it. "Ouch! That's hot."

"Obviously!" Kevin laughed. "It's called hot-chocolate for a reason." Gwen glared, but with her tongue hanging out, it didn't look very threatening to Kevin, and only resulted him in laughing harder. She pouted while taking her tongue back inside her mouth. Kevin smiled and took her cup from her hands and began to blow the hot-chocolate until the steam lessened.

Gwen blushed at this and turned her head away. "You didn't have to blow it for me," she mumbled. "I'm not a baby."

"Sometimes I wonder," he replied back while handing her the cup. Gwen took a sip and smiled as the sweetness danced in her mouth. "Better?" She nodded and Kevin took a sip of his own drink. His eyes grew wide as he choked on it and began to fan his own tongue.

"Haha!" Gwen laughed. "Forgot it was hot, did ya?"

"Not funny." Kevin smirked as he grabbed a piece of whip-cream of the hot-chocolate and wiped it onto Gwen's nose. They laughed and two girls that had passed by them glanced their way and smiled.

"What a cute couple," one commented. Gwen heard this and blushed. Kevin raised an eyebrow at her blush, since he hadn't heard what the girl had said. He shrugged it off as nothing and took another sip of his drink, this time blowing on it beforehand.

Unknown to them, a pair of eyes, or eye, stood in hiding, watching them.

Julie's head bobbed up and down to the beat of the music that radiated from her headphones as she continued to scribble down her homework. Because of the headphones, she didn't hear the window creak open as a small green/black creature slithered its way inside. It looked frantically around for a source of technology and was relieved to spot Julie's MP3.

Making sure the girl didn't notice him; it quickly bonded itself with the MP3. "Huh?" Julie voiced as the music suddenly stopped and a strange buzzing noise came from her headphones. She pulled them out and took a look at her MP3.

The screen was blank and it didn't seem to want to turn on. Julie placed it down on the dresser and just shrugged it off as broken. At that moment, Gwen had walked in through the door with a sigh. "Why don't these aliens and bad guys just leave me alone?" she groaned.

"Rough day?" Julie guessed. Gwen nodded and took a seat beside her. "Is this what it was like when you fought aliens with Ben during that summer?"

"Yea, but it's not summer anymore," she replied. "I got school and Kevin to deal with. All these aliens causing trouble just add stress." Gwen sighed. If Ben and Grandpa were here then it would be exactly like it was that summer. But instead, I got Kevin. I still haven't decided if it's a good thing or not, though. Now that I think about it, it's been about four-months since I first agreed to help Kevin. A lot has changed since them. Back them he was just a delinquent that I would never even talk too. Now…he's one of the closest people I got.

"Thinking of Kevin?" Julie said with a smirk, breaking Gwen out of her thoughts. The girls face heated up and that was enough of an answer for Julie. She laughed they suddenly heard a knock on their window. "Speak of the devil," she said as she caught sight of Kevin from the other side.

Gwen quickly went over and opened the window for him. She shivered as a cold rush of air blew in and closed the window. Kevin stood up and rubbed his arms. "I-It's freezing out there! You guys couldn't open the window any faster?" he complained. Gwen glared as he ripped the blanket off her bed and wrapped it around himself.

"You're lucky I even opened it for you," she replied with crossed arms. "Also, you do know that people think you go to school here, right? You could've just walked through the front gate instead of sneaking in."

Kevin smiled roguishly and laughed. Gwen felt her heart clench for some strange reason at the look he was giving her and blushed. "It's more fun this way," he replied.

Gwen laughed and said, "All joking aside, why are you here? I just saw you."

Kevin's face adopted a serious look in it as he got right to the point. "There's been talk around town that people saw something crash into the forest near the highway, something big. I don't know about you, but that sounds really fishy to me, so I thought we should check out the spot where people say they saw the crash."

"I can't go," Gwen frowned. "I got class in…" She checked her phone and continued. "…five minutes. Sorry, can't you go by yourself?"

Kevin shrugged. "Guess I have too."

Gwen placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "Call me if you get into trouble." She smirked and said, "Try not to get into trouble." Kevin laughed and made his way over to the window. "Wait! Use the front-!" Gwen called out, but was too late as Kevin had already jumped out. She sighed and mumbled, "That guy is even weirder than Ben."

Julie laughed, "No doubt."

There was a sudden knock on the door and Gwen went and opened it. As soon as she did, Luke walked in with a large grin on his face. Gwen froze in her spot and gaped. Luke didn't seem to notice and only continued to speak in an ecstatic tone. "Gwen, where is your friend Kevin?" he asked. "The one from the dance. I've been meaning to talk to him about something but I don't really see him around."

Gwen didn't speak and only continued to gap. Julie quickly came to her rescue. "Ah…he's a very active student," she said in a convincing voice. "That guy can never sit down. It's hard for anyone to speak to him, really."

"That's too bad," he replied, then turned to Gwen. "Hey, you okay?"

"Huh?" she blurted out, finally seeming to snap back to reality. "Y-Yea, I just spaced out a bit. So…how've you been doing? I haven't seen you around for a while."

"Yea…I've been busy," he mumbled. Gwen raised an eyebrow at the suggestiveness in his eyes, like he knows something that she doesn't. "Anyway, if he's not here then I'll see you guys around." Julie and Gwen smiled and waved as he made his way out the door, closing it behind him. As soon as it shut, Gwen swiftly turned to Julie.

"Did you notice anything…different about Luke?" she asked hesitantly, wondering if it was all in her mind. She hadn't seen Luke around much for a while and every time she asked Estella or Scarlet where he was, they'd both answer with the same thing; he's not feeling well.

"What'd you mean by 'different'?" Julie replied with a raised eyebrow.

"I mean…I don't know." She shrugged, confused by her own question. "He's just seems more…lively, don't you think? Almost radiant."

Julie laughed. "Radiant? Are you sure it's not just your hormones acting up?"

Gwen blushed and glared. "I'm serious."

Julie considered her words and said, after a moment, "Well…they did say he's been feeling bad for a while. So maybe he's just happy to be better? He did seem a bit different, but nothing really to worry about."

"Since when were you so logical?" Gwen laughed. Julie stuck her tongue out, pretending to be mad. "But I guess you're right," she continued. "I'm probably just paranoid from all those bad guys we've been dealing with." Gwen quickly checked her phone, realizing that they were late for class. "Shit! Let's go Julie!"

As they both exited the room, the creature morphed itself out of the MP3 and quickly followed them out.

"Now students," Estella said, standing high in-front of everyone in the class. Everyone quieted down and turned their attention to her. In light in recent events, you guys are without a History. But not too worry; someone has graciously accepted the job." The class averted their gaze to the door as it opened and a man walked in.

Gwen gaped from her seat in the back. That's the investigator! She realized. Is he our new teacher?

Her question was answered as he spoke up. "I'm Mr. Manning and I will be your new teacher for the time being." His voice intimidated everyone, for it was very threatening, and his monitoring gaze didn't help either. It was as though he was just expecting someone to do something.

"Class, I'd like each of you to treat Mr. Manning with the utmost respect," Estella continued. She smiled at Tom and said, "If they cause any trouble, don't hesitate to call me."

"Thank you, but I think I can handle it," he replied, not sounding grateful at her help at all. Estella left and some students followed her with their eyes, fearful that something would happen as soon as she exited the room. Once the door shut, Tom turned to the class and everyone cringed at the look he was giving them.

"What's this guy's problem?" someone whispered.

"He's scary," another person fearfully whispered back.

"Alright maggots," Tom spoke up in a loud and bitter tone, "let's get one thing straight; I don't like you, and you don't like me." Gwen gaped with a raised eyebrow. Is this guy serious? "Now that the air is clear, I want all of you to open up your text books to page 349." Everyone nervously and quickly took out their textbooks and frantically went to the page.

"Now I want all of you to read about the Cold War," he continued. "And if I hear a peep out of anyone, there's gonna be hell to pay." Nobody spoke and only gaped at him. He glared and bellowed, "DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?"

"YES SIR!" Everyone, besides Gwen, yelled back with nervous and slightly scared faces. Gwen sighed while slowly letting her eyes trail through the words. But they didn't seem to register into her mind and she sighed once again.

"Am I boring you Tennyson?" a voice spoke up. Gwen looked up to see Tom staring her down with a scowl and crossed arms. For some reason, he reminded her of Scarlet, and that thought made a giggle pass through her lips. "Do I look like a clown?" he asked with a fierce glare. Gwen swore she saw his vain throb in his neck. "Am I funny too you?"

Okay…now I'm a little scared, she thought. "A-Ah, no," she replied in a low voice, turning her eyes to the textbook.

"Don't be impolite. Look at me when I'm talking to you," he snarled. She reluctantly met his gaze. Tom looked around and smirked to see that they were too focused, and scared, to look away from their textbooks. Gwen was confused as he suddenly bent down and whispered in her ear, "Don't worry. Max sent me here."

Gwen's eyes widened and before she could speak, he began walking back to his desk. He knows my grandpa? What' the hell? Gwen jumped when she suddenly felt something scrap against her leg. She looked down and gaped, seeing a strange green/black creature. Looking around, nobody seemed to have seen it and she quickly grabbed it.

"Ship?" it said as she swiftly stuffed it into her backpack. She zipped it up and raised her hand.

"What is it Tennyson?" Tom snarled. Everyone around her gasped, wondering how crazy she was too actually ask him a question.

"Can I use the bathroom?" she asked, putting up the best smiled she could. He sighed and nodded. "Thanks!" Gwen quickly grabbed her backpack and exited the room. As soon as she did, the creature jumped out and waged it end while jumped around.

"Ship! Ship!" it cried out.

"Shh!" Gwen said as she grabbed it, stopping it from jumping. "Now, what're you doing here? Did you follow me?" she asked the last question after remembering how she felt as though something had been watching her throughout the day.

"Ship!" it said before breaking out of her grasp and jumping away at full speed.

"Wait!" Gwen quickly followed it. It ran out the door and as Gwen ran outside, it was gone. She panted and looked around, wondering where it could have gone. She sighed and leaned against the wall. "I'm getting to old for this," she groaned to herself.

"Gwen!" someone shouted. The red-head looked over to see Julie coming her way. "I saw you running outside my class and thought something was up," she explained. Julie looked around and raised an eyebrow. "So…is anything up?"

Gwen shook her head. "I don't know. Some little green and black alien followed me into school and made me follow it outside. But I lost sight of it. It was really weird…it looked a lot like…" Gwen ran a hand through her pony-tail as she thought about how much the creature reminded her of Upgrade, just smaller.

"Well, do you think we should look for it?" Julie suggested with a shrug.

"Already ahead of you." Gwen closed her eyes, and when she opened them, they radiated a magenta color. Julie waited and after a minute, the color faded and Gwen frowned. "That's weird," she mumbled, before turning to Julie. "Whatever it was, it has no energy signature, so I can't track it."

Julie nodded. "How about we look for it after class? Maybe then you'll get something."

As the bus came to a stop and the doors opened, Kevin stepped inside. He took a seat beside the window and felt someone else take a seat beside him. He paid no attention to the person, until he spoke up. "What a coincidence," he said. "I've been looking for you."

Kevin looked and was surprised to see Luke smiling at him. He nonchalantly looked back to the window. "What'd you need?" he grumbled.

"Actually, I'd just like to have some coffee and talk."

Kevin raised an eyebrow. "Talk about what?"

Luke's smile faded and his expression turned serious as he said, "Gwen."

Gwen sighed and she and Julie continued to make their way through the town. They had been searching for about an hour now and the shops were already beginning to close down. The streets were nearly empty except for the few people wandering it. Julie shivered and looked up at the darkening sky before looking at Gwen.

"I think we've searched enough," she stated while rubbing her cold arms, cranky that her heavy jacket wasn't enough to keep her warm. "Whatever you saw, it's here. I think we should just head back before it gets too late."

"Yeah, you're right," Gwen nodded. Julie raised an eyebrow as she suddenly squinted her eyes, looking past her shoulder. "What's that?" she spoke.

"What's what?" Julie turned around and saw something in the distance coming towards them. As it got closer, they realized that it was a speeding car…heading straight for them. Gwen's eyes widened as it didn't seem to want to slow down.

"Julie move!" she shouted before grabbing hold of the girl and sent them both onto the ground, just as the car went flashing by. Its screeching tires pierced the air as it made a swift turn and went straight for them again. "Scutum!" As Gwen exclaimed the spell, a wall of magenta came in-front of her and Julie, and the crash went crashing right into it.

Gwen pulled the shield down and she and Julie ran. The car didn't seem to want to give up and only speed up after them. Gwen panted as she continued to run. "Do you think we lost it?" she called out to Julie, but noticed that she got no reply. "Julie?"

"Gwen! Help!" Julie shouted, unable to move. The car had caught up to them and shot out its seatbelts, wrapping them around the girl's body and pulled her inside the car, when it slammed the door shut and began to drive away.

"Julie, no!" Gwen shouted in panic. She ran as fast as she could, but the car began to disappear from her sight. Shit! It's too fast! Gwen came to a halt and quickly pulled out her pocket-sized spell book. She flipped through the pages and smiled as she came to a specific spell. Never done this before, but might as well give it a shot. Just hope that I can do it.

Gwen held out her hands and closed her eyes while saying, "Dabit mihi pennasut nonaltavolant." She looked behind her shoulder to see that nothing happened. "Damn it!" she groaned. She closed her eyes as adrenaline coursed through her veins. "I gotta help Julie!" she said with much more persistence. "Please! Dabit mihi pennasut nonaltavolant!"

Gwen smiled as she felt a flow of mystic energy manifest itself around her. It tangled itself together and in a flash of pink Gwen opened her eyes and looked over her shoulder. "Holy shit!" she exclaimed in a mixer of shock and happiness. "I can't believe I did it!"

Behind her, a pair of giant light-pink wings had sprouted. The wings radiated a beautiful light that Gwen felt as though she could stare at them forever. But at the moment, she had to help Julie. Okay…it's time to fly. I can do it…why doesn't that make me feel better. Gwen closed her eyes, swallowed down her fear and let her feet leap off the ground. She didn't know what she was doing, but when she opened her eyes, she was at least 100 feet high off the ground.

"I-I'm flying?" she choked out before fist-pumping the air. "Yea! I'm…wait...I'm flying?" The realization hit her like a ton of bricks and Gwen screamed. "Ahhh! Somebody get me down!"

"Gwen!" a voice called out into the distance. Gwen stopped her current flailing and listened. "Gwen!" The red-head gasped as she recognized it as Julie's voice.

"Julie! I'm coming!" she shouted back before taking a deep breath. "Okay…I can do this," Gwen whispered to herself. She didn't know how she was doing it, but the next thing she knew, she was speeding off into the direction of Julie's voice. She laughed and said, "As soon as I save her, Julie's gotta see this!"

Gwen stopped in mid-flight when and closed her eyes, sensing for Julie's energy. She snapped them open as she felt it and swiftly went in the direction it went. The trail began to lead her into the forest and Gwen raised an eyebrow. Why would that thing take her into the forest? Gwen squinted her eyes as she saw a figure in the distance. As she got closer, she saw that it was Julie and flew down until she landed beside her.

"Whoa," Julie mumbled, gaping at the sight of Gwen's wings. "When could you do that?"

"Julie," said Gwen as her eyes frantically looked all around for whatever she had to fight. "Are you safe? Where's the car?" Julie laughed and put a hand on her shoulder.

"It's alright," she assured. "I'm safe. And the car, well…isn't exactly a car."

"Huh?" Julie turned around and pointed to the little green/black alien on the ground. "Hey, that's the thing I saw earlier," Gwen realized. She let go of the energy around her and let the wings fade away. She then made her way over to the alien and crouched down on one knee. "What'd you doing here on Earth?" she asked as Julie crouched down beside her. "Did you get lost?"

"Ship! Ship!" it said, jumping in the air with each word. It then went over towards a trail and looked back. "Ship!" it said before making its way down the trail.

"I…think it wants you to follow it," Julie suggested. "Do you think we should?"

"What do I have to lose?" Gwen shrugged before quickly following the little alien, Julie hot on her trail. As they reached the end of the forest, they gaped at the sight. "Wow," Gwen mumbled. "What's this spaceship doing here?"

The spaceship was long and slender with a giant circular orb at the top. It was wrecked and looked like it had crashed down. What Gwen found strange was that the opening of the ship was blocked by a glowing red field. "What's that?" Julie asked as she began to make her way towards it.

Gwen held out her arm, blocking her way. "Get any closer to that energy field and your fried," she warned, causing Julie to quickly retreat.

"Ship," the alien said as it circled itself around Gwen's feet like a puppy.

"Okay," she considered. "So I know your saying 'ship' but…what'd you need me to do?" The little alien looked at her before transforming itself into an image of the exact same ship. Gwen jumped back when it suddenly popped, as though exploding and changed itself back to its original form. Gwen raised an eyebrow and glanced back at the ship.

She took a closer inspection to see a box attached to it. She didn't understand the alien-language, but the way the numbers quickly went by fast gave her an idea of what the little green/black alien was trying to tell her. "It's a countdown!" she realized. "That thing's gonna explode."

"There's someone in there," Julie noted. Sure enough, the exact same green/black alien lay unconscious on the floor past the energy field. It greatly resembled the little alien by Gwen's feet, only a lot taller and it had arms and legs. "We gotta help him."

Gwen nodded and made her way over to the field. She took a deep breath and held out her hand so it hung just close enough to the shield to feel the energy radiating off of it. "This would be a lot easier if Kevin was here," she groaned. "Wait…that's it."

Gwen smirked and said, "Materiaadiuvet." Gwen placed her hands on the ship and her entire body was suddenly cloaked in armor of steel. "Damn I'm good! That's two in a row that worked! Looks like Kevin isn't the only one who can do this," she laughed, thinking about how mad he would be to find out.

"Ah Gwen…can you save your gloating for later?" Julie spoke with crossed arms. "That bomb sounds like it's gonna go off soon."

"Right," she blushed, embarrassed. Gwen placed her arms through the shield and grinded her teeth and the force tried to pull her back. She pushed forward and was inside the ship. "Sursum," she said as she held out her hands towards the control panel. A beam of magenta energy shot out from her hand and wrapped itself around the machine, breaking it off its hinges. As soon as it was detached, the energy field went down.

Julie grabbed onto the little alien as Gwen ran out, machine still hanging in mid-air. She took a deep breath and, with tight fisted hand, spun around in a circular motion, the machine following it. She let out a battle cry and used all her strength to send it flying into the air as high as she could. She then ran to Julie as fast as she could and put a shield around them just as the bomb went off.

The tree shook violently and the little alien clung onto Julie while Gwen held the shield up. When it was over, she put it down and sighed in relief. She was surprised to feel Julie's arm wrap around her, along with the alien. "You're amazing!" she cried out happily.

Gwen smiled and looked over to the unconscious alien in the ship. They made their way toward it just as it began to wake up. "You alright?" Gwen asked as it quickly stood up.

"Yes, ah, well I was saying before I lost consciousness," it said in a snooty manner. He then pointed towards the little version of him. "I extruded this copy, the one you call 'Ship'."

"His name is Ship?" Julie asked, but was ignored.

"And I sent him off to find the nearest plumber," the alien continued. "And I see that you were the first one it found. Bit of bad luck I'd say."

A vain throbbed on Gwen's forehead as she silently growled. Julie saw this and decided to cut in before Gwen had a chance to speak. "So that's why Ship was trying to get Gwen's attention," she stated. "But you know, he could have done that without kidnapping me and stuff."

The alien stubbornly crossed its arms and said, "Well, I need help."

"No duh," Gwen grunted in a low voice.

The alien glared. "Look if you'll excuse me, I have to prepare my warp-drive." The alien turned around and began pressing random buttons on the ship, most likely trying to fix it. Julie took this as an opportunity to elbow Gwen in the stomach.

"What was that for?" she whispered loudly.

"Be nice. You're a plumber, aren't you?" she nagged while Gwen huffed and turned her head away. Julie sighed before putting up a smile and turning to the alien. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

The alien turned around, surprised by her offer. "Well…,yes I suppose."

"Right, well, all done," the alien commented as he turned his ship on, sending it hovering into the air. "Off I go."

"Wait, what about Ship?" Gwen called out.

"He's yours now."

"What?" Gwen said, taken aback. "I can't keep an alien in my room, are you nuts?"

"Hey, you and him have such a lovely bonding experience," the alien replied innocently, but Gwen only glared. "I don't want to break that up. So you can keep him." Without waiting for her answer, he quickly sent his ship flying towards space. Gwen sighed and felt Ship nuzzle into her leg.

"He's cute," Julie commented. "Are you gonna keep him?"

"Guess I have too," she laughed as Julie took Ship in her arms. "At least now I know why I couldn't track him down before; he's made of technology." Gwen smiled as she saw Julie and Ship nuzzle into each other like a puppy would a child. "Looks like we got a new member to our team."

Kevin was laid flat down on his bed, one of his legs hanging limb off the edge. His arms were rested behind his head as his eyes were locked on the ceiling. Even though his eyes saw it, his mind was miles away. But, the only thing that he seemed to be thinking about, was his conversation with Luke earlier in the café.

"What is your relationship with Gwen?" Luke asked from across the table. Kevin almost choked on his coffee and Luke just stared at him with a blank expression. Kevin stared back at him with a raised eyebrow, obviously wanting to know why he would ask. "I need a straight answer Kevin," Luke continued with a serious expression.

"We're friends," Kevin decided to reply. "What's it to you?"

Luke didn't respond and only took another sip of his drink. Kevin waited patiently for him to speak. But as soon as he did, he instantly wished that Luke hadn't said a thing. "I'm going to ask Gwen out," he stated. Kevin didn't respond and only gaped at him, thinking that he was kidding. But the expression on his face told him otherwise.

Kevin looked away and awkwardly ran a hand through his hair. "Why are you telling me this?" he asked in a quiet voice.

"You and her seem to be close," Luke replied with a small smirk. "So I just felt that you should know. Well, now that you do, are you sure you're okay with it?"

"Why would I care if you asked her out?" Kevin growled, not knowing why a sudden rage began to fill up in the pit of his stomach. Luke gazed at him for a moment before scoffing. "What're you scoffing at?" Kevin glared.

"It's just…it's so obvious," Luke said with a light chuckle.

"What's obvious?"

"Your feelings for Gwen." Kevin froze and took a moment to let his words sink in. Kevin felt uncomfortable under Luke's gaze, as though the boy could see right through him.

Finally he turned away and said, "I don't have any feelings for her. She's just a friend." He then scowled. "Actually we're not even really friends. I couldn't care less about her."

Luke smiled. "Good to know."

Kevin sighed as he sat upright on the bed and pulled out his cellphone from his pocket. He opened it up and the screen was black before his wallpaper came up. It was a picture of Gwen and him that Julie had taken for them. Gwen's smiling face brightened up the entire shot while Kevin's face held a small smile of his own. His arm was wrapped comfortably around his shoulders while Gwen's arms were snaked around his neck.

…I couldn't care less about her…

Kevin's grip on his phone tightened and the next words to escape his mouth seemed to linger in the air around him. "I'm an idiot."

So...who wants to go jump Kevin? Anyone? Lmao, I'm pissed at him too so don't worry! xDDDD