Disclaimer: I do not own Ben 10 or its sequels, spin-off and related characters. All is the property of Man of Action and Cartoon Network. I'm just borrowing them for some non-profit entertainment.
If It Can't Break Out of It's Shell
Chapter Eleven: His Last Team-up With Rook
Devlin laid in bed for a long time after he woke up. He didn't exactly know what he was supposed to do. True, it was Saturday and he wouldn't be going to school anyway. But since being suspended and required to attend therapy, the young Osmosian didn't know what to expect. He laid in bed, listening to the vintage analogue alarm clock tick.
Finally, he decided he was hiding long enough. Though, the Osmosian wasn't quite sure what he was hiding from. His mother. What he had done yesterday. Or the fact that it made him more like his father than he was comfortable with. Or maybe he was hiding from all three. Unfortunately, only one of those things could actually be hidden from. The other two he couldn't hide from. They would always be there -in his head. Where he couldn't escape them.
If he couldn't escape them, then he might as well go downstairs and enjoy the delicious bacon he could smell.
Mom was standing over the stove when Devlin entered the kitchen. Turning the bacon with one hand and holding her phone to her ear with the other. She slammed the bacon strip she was turning down a bit harder than she should have, grease splattered over the stove.
"I see." She said over the phone. "Well, thank you for your time."
She hung up in frustration and began dialing another number.
Devlin cleared his throat to let her know he was there.
"I sensed your mana when you woke up." She said, not looking up from the bacon. "Nice of you to come down and join me. For a moment, I was afraid you'd also adopted your father's habit of brooding alone until someone came to collect you."
The Osmosian didn't much like being compared to his father. Especially not after yesterday and learning that the view of the world and how things work he was taught as a child was not only incorrect, but also not very common in general. Yesterday he was channeling his father's way of thinking. This morning he was brooding like his father. Devlin hated his father.
"Sit down and eat your breakfast." She put some bacon on a plate with eggs and toast and set the plate on the table. Then turned her attention back to her phone. "Yes. I'm here. Hello. I'd like to schedule an appointment for a new client. Fine. A consultation then. Devlin Levin. I'm his mother, Gwendolyn Tennyson. Yes, Tennyson. He's my cousin. Does that matter? Osmosian. Not its not a type of alien, its a human mutation. Yes, it give him powers. I see. Thank you for your time."
She hung up again.
"Something wrong?" Devlin asked.
Gwendolyn sat down at the table across from him with her own plate of eggs and toast. Her stomach was so knotted up with frustration she didn't think she could handle something as heavy as bacon just now. "Apparently, children that are half-alien or have super-powers are still relatively new enough that common psychology and psychiatry haven't quite caught up with you yet. I'm having trouble finding a therapist willing to take you on for fear of a misdiagnosis."
Or psychiatrist wiling to take him on for the same reason. Only with a psychiatrist a misdiagnosis could be far more dangerous since medications are involved. Never mind the fact that Osmosian was a rare enough mutation that there was no way of knowing if his body would react the way it should to medications or if they would give him unforeseen and harmful side effects. Gwendolyn decided not to mention that little detail to her son. It would make him worry unnecessarily. Osmosians had a tendency to make stupid decisions when they worried. Or, at least, Kevin made stupid decisions when he worried.
"Oh." Devlin looked down at his plate, feeling like he should apologize.
Gwendolyn reached across the table to place a comforting and supportive hand on her son's shoulder. "Don't worry. I figured as much. We'll go to Plumbers HQ today and see if there's some kind of psychological services I can get for you through them. I might be the High Magus, but I'm also a badge carrying Plumber. I do have health benefits through them and those benefits should extend to my son."
That brightened his mood. Not the fact that he might be going to a Plumbers psychologist, but that he'd be going to Plumbers Headquarters where Ben lived -where Kenny lived. "Will I get to see Kenny?"
"He should be off from school today." Mom nodded. "Unless he got himself Saturday school for being a class disruption again. If he's home, then you can go upstairs and play with him while I talk to the benefits department."
Suddenly this idea of going to the Plumbers HQ didn't sound so bad after all. And if Plumbers Headquarters was also where he would have to go to attend his therapy then he might get to see Kenny more often. He shoved one more piece of bacon in his mouth and pushed away from the table. "I'll go get dressed."
"I'll meet you at the car." Gwendolyn nodded. "I have one more call to make."
Devlin waved his hand to indicate he'd heard and disappeared from the kitchen. The sorceress heard him running upstairs and shut his bedroom door. It wasn't until the door was closed that Zed came in through the dog-door. Gwendolyn reached a hand down to scratch the alien dog's head.
"You're still afraid of him, huh." She sighed as the Anubian Baskurr's apologetic whine. Putting her phone away, Gwendolyn reached for her Plumber badge instead. "Rook, hey, I know you have other responsibilities as Warden of the Void, but I can't see Kevin today. Would you be able to look in on him? Make sure he's okay. That he's got enough food, the plumbing still works, that sort of thing. He's doing better than before."
…
Kevin was anxious for Gwendolyn to come back. She stopped so abruptly yesterday, didn't even finish removing the alien she was in the middle of taking out before she fled the library. She didn't even tell him what had happened. She just got a phone call and left. For all the Osmosian knew, her beloved cousin Benji was attacked by another of his -many- 'arch enemies' and this one finally did him in.
For all Kevin knew, Ben was dead -or lay dying somewhere- and the Osmosian didn't actually know how he felt about that. On the one hand, it meant Ben could never harm him again. On the other hand, while Ben was the source of all the problems in the Osmosian's life, he was also Kevin's best friend. He would mourn the obnoxious Hero's loss. Then again, if someone were gonna kill Ben Tennyson, Kevin would have liked to be the one to do it. If another villain had robbed him of that opportunity... the Osmosian swore revenge!
Then again, Gwendolyn did have other things in her life besides her uncomfortably close cousin. She did have an actual brother. A brother who lived out of town with no magical, alien, or super-human abilities what so ever. He could easily be injured or die from mundane, every day accidents. He could have been in a car accident. He could have been mugged. He could have woken up one morning and decided to divorce his husband. Any one of those things might give Gwendolyn reason to leave Kevin and rush off to help. -Of course, she probably would have at least finished the alien she was in the middle of withdrawing from his body. Ken lived in Boston. A few minutes delay in her leaving to be with him in his time of need wouldn't change much.
Maybe it wasn't a family thing at all. Maybe it was a work thing. She was the High Magus. She did have responsibilities. Responsibilities that she must have been neglecting since she'd spent almost every day for the past week with him.
Whatever her reason -or reasons- for running off so suddenly, Kevin was anxious for his wife to return.
But it wasn't Gwendolyn who came down the stairs.
"Rook!" The Osmosian snarled.
"Hello, again." Said the Revonnahgander, one hand on his proto-tool in case the Osmosian was not doing as well as Gwendolyn insisted. In case he decided he'd rather attack and fight then talk. "How are you feel now? Are you... yourself?"
"Who the fuck else would I be!?" The Osmosian snarled. Seriously, what was it with everyone. He didn't have a disassociative personality disorder. He wasn't multiple people in the same head. He was always Kevin! Just... some time he was different 'flavors' of Kevin.
Rook frowned. After Gwendolyn's assurances that he was 'doing better' the Revonnahgander expected, well, better. He sighed. "I see your attitude has not improved. In any case, I am here to see if you need anything. More food, better plumbing," he glanced around the room "help cleaning up?"
"Where's Gwen?" Kevin demanded. She rushed out unexpectedly yesterday and now she wasn't here again today. Now the Osmosian was worried. Did something serious happen? Was Ben really dead? Was Gwendolyn in danger? If he wife was in danger, then Kevin wanted to help. He needed to help. He needed her. Even if they weren't together, he needed her -to exist. To be real. Kevin Levin did not want to live in a world where Gwendolyn Tennyson did not exist. If anything happened to her, he'd- he'd- …well, he supposed he'd follow his regular pattern of insanity and destruction. That's exactly what he would do. "Is she alright?"
With another sigh, Rook pinched the bridge of his nose. Sometimes -most of the time- the Osmosian could have a one-track mind. The name of that track was 'Gwendolyn'.
"She is fine." He assured the other man. "She is fulfilling her commitment as mother and legal guardian of your son." A pause in which Rook shot a pointed look at the Osmosian. "Apparently, your son is in need of a therapist."
Kevin scoffed.
Rook rolled his eyes. Of course Kevin wouldn't care.
The Revonnahgander looked around the room for something to sit on. He hadn't been attacked yet, so chances were he wasn't going to be attacked. He and Kevin could actually talk. Just talk. Like they used to when they were friends. When they collaborated together. Making indestructible cars, or repairing and/or improving the standard issue Plumbers tech that was sent to their little Earthling base. Rook counted the Osmosian as a friend, and he was actually looking a little forward to having his friend back.
He piled two thick boards of broken wood -that might have at one time been the table- on top of each other and sat on that. "I guess I can assume you do not want to talk about your son."
The Osmosian scoffed again.
"How about the current state of the Null Void." Suggested the Revonnahgander. "That is something we are both well informed about and have personal experience with. Those that followed you have shifted to the Rooters. Did you know that?"
For half a second, Kevin actually did look concerned. But he buried it back down quickly. "Bunch of weaklings. Servantis can have them. He can have the whole fucking Void if he wants it!"
Wouldn't that just make Rook's job impossible. What good was a 'Warden of the Void' if said Void was taken over by a mad scientist hell bent on -eventually- escaping, killing Ben Tennyson, and destroying the Omnitrix.
But it seemed Kevin wasn't yet recovered enough to care about that. He cared about his wife, and that was good. But even insane, Kevin still cared for her in a fashion. Rook remembered Gwendolyn telling him about Ultimate Kevin, before Rook came to Earth and met Ben's Team. The Osmosian had sacrificed his sanity to save them from the warlord Aggregor and become Ultimate Kevin. Ultimate Kevin attacked and drained the powers of all their friends, but he tried his hardest to stay away from Gwendolyn. In fact, if Gwendolyn hadn't been the one trying to track him down -and help him- then Ultimate Kevin never would have tried to kill her in the first place.
So, the fact that Kevin worried about Gwendolyn was not an accurate gage of his sanity. When Kevin started to care about other people, Ben, Max, Rook... Hell! Maybe even his own son. Then it could be believed that he was closer to returning to himself. At the moment, he was non-violent. But he wasn't back to being their friend and teammate.
"Alright then. We won't talk about what's going on right now." Rook sighed. "How about the last time we worked together? You remember the last time you and I teamed up?"
…
They teleported into the Void onto an asteroid not far from where the Rooters base used to be before it was confiscated by the Magistrata. Kevin and Rook. Just the two of them. Both clad in their proto-tech armor, blue for Rook, black for Kevin.
The Osmosian looked up at the mottled crimson and scarlet sky with distaste. He hated the Null Void. Ever since Ben trapped him in it when he was only eleven years old. But Kevin pushed the memory from his mind. He'd been to the Null Void and back again several times since. He was no longer a prisoner trapped, but a badge carrying Plumber of rank with the means and permissions to teleport back out again when he wanted.
And he would want to. As soon as he achieved his objective.
He and Rook had come to the Void for a purpose. A personal reason, really. Kevin's personal reason, and Rook was a good enough friend that he was willing to help the Osmosian with it. Ben wanted to help to. But they all agreed that keeping the wielder of the Omnitrix away from former-Proctor Servantis -especially on Sevantis' home turf- was in everyone's best interest. So, Ben stayed on Earth with Gwendolyn, and Kevin and Rook teleported into the Void to retrieve the only person in the universe that could be considered an 'expert' on Osmosians.
Looking down from the hateful red sky, Kevin cast his eyes around -deciding which direction would be the most likely one to follow to find their quarry. Truth be told, neither of them had been back to the Void in many years and there wasn't much intelligence from the Void to help them.
"We really need to get a new base in here." Rook commented at the Osmosian's side.
"Yeah..." He agreed hesitantly. A base in the Void meant reconnaissance and intelligence from the Void. Regular updates on the criminals that lived in it, their movements, their alignments, their weapons and strengths. Information that would ultimately be an invaluable help to the Plumbers. But... this was still the Null Void. Who would even want to be stationed here? Kevin certainly didn't. "But who would they get to staff it?"
The Revonnahgander gave a shrug. "I'm sure some might volunteer."
The Osmosian highly doubted that. "C'mon, Rook, move your ass."
Not knowing which direction to go, one direction was as good as any other. Kevin turned, took a step and kept moving. Either they would find the Rooters and Servantis, or they would be attacked by Way Bads. No matter what happened, they were destined to have an exciting mission.
They walked for about an hour before they reached the edge of the asteroid they were on. A wide expanse of nothing stretched out in front of them. A long drop leading into an abyss one could not see the bottom of. Other rocks and asteroids drifted through the open space. Islands in the Void. But even the closest one was just a little too far for them to jump to. Kevin paced the edge they were standing on, wondering if they should turn back or if it was worth it to try and find a way across. Would Servantis have tried to cross it? Was this sea of empty space her before? The landscape changed in in the Void so easily and so often.
Rook kicked a stone off the edge, and watched it fall. A test of the gravity of the area -another thing that was not quite consistent in the Void.
"The other side of this-" assuming there was an other side "-would be too remote to serve Servantis' purposes." He said. "If his goals are still to kill Ben and destroy the Omnitrix, then he would need to be closer to a point that can be teleported out from. A point that will have a greater population and traffic. Plumbers teleporting in that he could rob, or natives that might be able to provide supplies -food for his supporters or maintenance for his equipment."
Kevin agreed. He gave a nod and turned to backtrack their path.
They got back to the spot they teleported into and the Osmosian found himself releasing a growl of frustration. One would think that Servantis would have found a way to monitor Plumbers teleporations in and out of the Void. If for no other reason than to know their movements, or -if he felt bold- to ambush said Plumbers and steal their personal teleporters and get the hell out of the Void. Kevin wanted Servantis to come to him. He was in no mood to be traipsing around the Null Void looking for the old man that used him as a child, altered his memories, and tried to manipulate him as an adult.
"Hey!" Kevin shouted to the deserted asteroid. "I'm right here! A full grown, mature Osmosian! Come and get me!"
Next to him, Rook winced. This was not going to end well.
No sooner had Kevin shouted this, than they were attacked. Not by Rooters working for Servantis, but by wild Vulpimancers native to the Void.
Rook let out a weary sigh.
Kevin dropped to a crouch, one hand on the ground to absorb the rock of the asteroid they were on, the other clenched in a fist that quickly morphed into a spiked mace as soon as it was covered in stone.
One of the Vulpimancers charged at the duo, but Rook pulled his proto-tool off his shoulder and shot a net at the creature -effectively subduing it without harming it. The other two paused to sniff at their fallen comrade. One of the creatures began scratching at the net to free its packmate, while the other made a charge for Rook.
The Revonnahgander shot another net from his proto-tool, but the beast had already seen that trick. It swerved to the side, the net just missing it, and continued in a zig-zag pattern until it got to Rook. The Vulpimancer lunged at his target, jaws snapping, but Kevin thrust an arm in to protect his companion. The Vulpimancer's jaws closed over stone -one of its teeth chipped. Kevin shook his arm to throw the beast off him. He glared a challenge at all three of the creatures, and snarled a very inhuman snarl. The very intimidating sound of a powerful predator that was not in any mood to be fucked with.
All three Vulpimancers looked up at him -although they didn't have any eyes to actually see him with. They quickly rethought the wisdom of attacking this particular pair and as soon as they freed their packmate trapped in Rook's net, they were gone. Running across the asteroid, fleeing Kevin.
The Osmosian crossed his arms over his chest and lowered his rock armor. That crisis, at least, was over.
They heard a clapping sound somewhere off to their left.
Both Rook and Kevin turned to see that someone had been watching their little tussle with the Vulpimancers. Dressed in black proto-tech armor in a style similar to Kevin's own. Rooters proto-tech armor. And in place of a helmet, his head was covered by a Prypiatosian-B grill plate. Not only was this guy a Rooter, but he was a Rooter they recognized.
"Leander!"
Within moments Rook had his proto-tool back in his hands, and Kevin was back in a crouch, reapplying his stone armor.
Leander held up his arms for peace. Showing that he had no weapons and no intention of fighting. Of course, the fact that he had no weapons did not necessarily mean he had no intention of fighting. Both Kevin and Rook knew very well that the human-Prypiatosian-B hybrid was capable of shooting a beam of highly radioactive energy from the front of his grill plate. Why carry weapons when you were the weapon?
But, Leander was also the most level headed and calm of the Rooters. If he indicated that he didn't want to fight, chances were you weren't going to fight -unless you attacked him, or he got an order from Servantis.
Unfortunately, Leader was also effectively a mute. Kevin couldn't remember if he ever did speak before having his DNA merged with that of an alien. But he certainly hadn't uttered a word since. He pointed a finger at both the Osmosian and the Revonnahgander, then cast his arms in a wide circle to indicate the Null Void, then gave a questioning tilt of the head and shrug of the shoulders. Then waited.
"He wants to know what we're doing here." Rook translated.
"I got that." Kevin bit out tersely. Being around the Rooters again always made him uncomfortable, edgy, and snarly. The Osmosian turned his attention to Leander. "I'm looking for Servantis. Are you still with him? Can you take us to him?" Then, as an afterthought, "We're not here for revenge, or to arrest him, or to kill him -even if he might deserve it- I have a proposition for him he might want to hear."
There was a pause.
Leander seemed to be considering.
Then he gave a shrug and indicated for the two to follow him.
Kevin and Rook exchanged at look. That was way too fucking easy. There should have been at least some sort of obligatory fight. Then again, of Servantis' three main henchmen -Swift, Billings, and Leander- Leander was the most calm and level headed. Which was ironic considering the fact that he shot radioactive blasts from his head.
He lead them in the exact opposite direction they originally chose -much to the annoyance of Kevin. But they weren't traveling nearly as long. Leander lead them to a tall rock formation and shimmied into a gap between two large boulders. He disappeared behind the stone, one hand reaching out to beckon them to follow. Rook took a step towards the gap in the rock, but Kevin put a hand on his shoulder.
"I go first." He growled. "You watch my back."
The Revonnahgander nodded his understanding. If it was stone they were going to be pinned inside, bust to let the one that could turn to stone bear the brunt. Rook would hang back and look out for a double-cross.
Absorbing the rock before he went in, Kevin squeezed between the two boulders. Eyes scanning every shadow, contour, and crevice. Arms ready to morph into weapons at the from of a pin. Muscles poised to spring into defense. Almost immediately after squeezing into the fissure, it widened up again. A wide gap with a rock overhand concealing it from above. The only reason it wouldn't be called a 'cave' was because there was still just enough of a gap between the overhand ceiling and the crevice entrance to give an open and airy feeling. You were boxed in, but Kevin didn't feel boxed in.
Kevin looked to Leander expectantly.
This was the perfect place for a double-cross and an ambush.
But the Rooter just pressed his palm to the seemingly solid rock wall supporting the overhang. The stone face flickers for a second, then disappeared all together. Apparently, it was a hologram. The Magestrata might have confiscated the Rooters' base, but it looked like they had managed to cobble together enough technology to create an at least a somewhat decently secured entrance to their new headquarters. The Osmosian relaxed, but he did not drop his stone skin. He might not be about to be attacked right this second, but like hell was he going to step foot in the Rooters' new base without armor.
"C'mon." Kevin called for Rook to follow him.
The Revonnahgander squeezed in behind Kevin and both Plumbers followed the Rooter through the false rock hologram.
Inside, looked like the Rooters had found a natural cave, and then excavated deeper, making more tunnels and chambers for their use. One could tell when one wall was formed by the natural shifts of the asteroid, and where another had been cut and dug away by tools.
Lights, had been affixed to the ceiling. Round bulbs in crude makeshift fixtures, their wiring exposed for anyone to see. Kevin followed the wires with his eyes. They ran the full length of the corridor they found themselves in, and turned and twisted down two other halls further down. Leander lead them down one such corridor. Off to the side, not far into the cavernous base.
Kevin kept his stone armor up, and Rook kept his hand on his proto-tool as they followed him deeper into the Rooters base.
The chamber Leander lead them to turned out to be a command center of sorts. It was all salvaged equipment. When the Magistrata confiscated the Rooters old base, all they had left was whatever they had on them at the time. That was pretty much just their proto-tech armor, their communicators, and whatever they might carry in their belts. At some point they probably found one of Kevin and Argit's old caches of supplies, because the Osmosian definitely recognized some of the items they had outfited their command center with. The rest was probably bartered or stolen from other natives of the Void. Nothing matched, and one could see where they had to do some creative wiring to get one piece of tech to combine with another piece of tech from a completely different maker.
All of that was just a cursory assessment. Neither Kevin nor Rook spent too much time on the decor. As soon as they entered the command center, their attention snapped to who was there.
Standing in front of a console, typing something on a keyboard that was not designed for human hands, was Servantis.
Next to Rook, Kevin let out a low growl and morphed one of his stone hands into a long pointed blade. But the Revonnahgander placed what he hoped was a calming hand on the Osmosian's shoulder. "Remember: We were going to talk first."
Right. Talk. To Servantis.
Kevin remembered. That didn't mean he had to like it. He didn't like anything about this plan. He didn't like anything about the situation that made this plan the best plan.
Servantis turned. He saw Kevin and smiled.
The Osmosian tensed.
"Kevin..." Servantis crooned. "What an unexpected surprise."
Words rose to Kevin's mind, but they stuck in his throat. He hated Servantis for what the older man did to him. Using him as a child, making him graft alien DNA onto otherwise normal humans with is Osmosian powers. Then, after his and his team's first failure, wiping all their memories and turning them loose to fend for themselves. Not just wiping Kevin's memory, but go so far as to rewrite it all together. Taking out whatever memories he had of his real father -if any- and replacing them with the false idea of 'Devin Levin'. Finally, coming back to ruin his life with Gwen and his relationship with Ben as an adult.
But as much as Kevin hated the man for all that -and justifiably so- he needed Servantis right now. While Kevin was being used, he was also being studied. Servantis had a fascination with Osmosians. Even tried creating an artificial one, the warlord Aggregor. It was such a new and rare mutation, even Kevin didn't understand himself some times. But when Kevin didn't understand himself or what was happening to him, Servantis did. Max Tennyson might be the closest thing Kevin ever had to a 'role model', but Proctor Servantis was the closest thing he had to a 'father figure'.
Rook stepped forward. Since Kevin was too emotionally close to this, he would make the proposition and do the negotiating. "We've come to offer you a deal."
"A deal?" One of his all-red eyes widened asymmetrically -his equivalent to raising an eyebrow. "What kind of a deal?"
…