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.
…Before Its Ever Even...
Chapter Twenty-One: A Mr. Miyagi of Magic
Devlin held another AA battery between his thumb and forefinger. Hesitated. Then absorbed the energy from it.
It was his third battery of the day. The first he absorbed right after breakfast with his mother. The second during passing periods between classes. Now it was lunch time and Kenny pulled a pack out of his pocket. Something cheap he got from the student store. He slid them across the lunch table to the Osmosian, insisting he keep up with his absorption practice and control.
So there he was, absorbing a third battery for the day, then a fourth immediately after.
Devlin still felt uneasy about absorbing things. But those misgivings would vanish the moment he felt the energy hit his brain.
It would start like a prickling inside his hand. Warm little needles poking gently at his fingers and palm. The sensation would climb up his arm and over his shoulder, travel up the jugular vein in his neck. Tiny little pricks piggybacking on his circulation, all the way up into his brain where the sensation settled. Morphed. Transforming from uncomfortable little needle pricks to a warm fuzzy feeling. Like being wrapped in a blanket and given a mug of hot chocolate. It was nice. Comforting. Made him feel like everything was okay. There was nothing wrong with absorbing energy. Why was he even worried in the first place?
Kenny watched his cousin with a curious, almost critical eye. Halfway between studying and examining. "What's it like, absorbing energy?"
"It feels good." The Osmosian answered without hesitation. There was no need to pause and think about it. Absorbing energy made him feel good. Fueled so that he didn't need to eat, and pleased so that he might not even need to take his meds later. Devlin tapped the side of his head. "It feels good up here."
"Well, that's good. It would really suck if doing the thing that will eventually give you mana felt bad." Kenny smiled.
This comment, however, seemed to deflate the Osmosian's artificially elated mood. The pleasure absorbing energy gave him draining out to be replaced by the realization that his cousin and best friend didn't understand why absorbing energy might not actually be a good idea for him. Or any Osmosian for that matter.
"Kenny, you remember what my dad was like when you first met him, right?" He asked. "You remember Kevin 11,000."
"He tried to kill me." The younger boy recalled. "I don't think I'll ever forget."
"Well, the reason he was like that back then was because he had too much energy in his body." Explained the Osmosian. "He absorbed too much energy. We need to be carful with having me absorb stuff, otherwise I could end up just like him.I need to be carful with absorbing stuff. I don't wanna turn out like another version of my father."
"Right." Kenny agreed, visibly deflating. He didn't want his friend to turn into a 'Devlin 11,000' either. One insane Osmosian trying to kill him was enough for one lifetime, thank you.
Except Devlin couldn't possibly be at the same risk as Kevin was. After all, he spent just short of nine months steeped in Aunt Gwendolyn's mana. He was grown in a well-spring of energy more powerful than any battery on Earth. Devlin's baseline and breaking-point could not possibly be the same as Kevin's. Besides, in the future he was wielding mana and power like he was born to it! And having come from Aunt Gwendolyn's body, he might as well have beenborn to it.
"But," he began slowly, "but we both saw you in the future. You were casting spells and throwing mana around like it was nothing. And you sure as hell didn't seem insane to me. So, maybe, you won't go crazy like your dad. Or, maybe it takes a lot more to make you crazy than it does your dad. Or, maybe the fact that you can use mana somehow protects you from going crazy like your dad."
Devlin would be lying if he didn't admit that he liked Kenny's suggestions. That he was somehow immune or more tolerant than his father. That he was betterthan his father.
But, as nice as it sounded, as an Osmosian, it was a risk Devlin couldn't take until he was sure. He did not want to become the next great terror of the universe by trying to help save it.
Reaching into his messenger bag, Devlin took out the Duel Monsters card Bezel gave him. 'Absorb Spell'. It was the old man's idea that he absorb raw mana instead of learning to use culturally specific talismans and fetishes. Perhaps he'd have more insight. "I'll go to Friedkin after school today and ask someone I know there."
"Don't you have therapy today?" Kenny asked.
"I'll call Dr. Borges and let her know something came up." The Osmosian replied, unconcerned. "I'm allowed to miss an appointment or two."
…
This time Devlin had to actually look for Bezel.
He wasn't out in the quad raking leaves. Nor was he in the library dusting shelves.
The Osmosian had to explore almost the whole campus to find the old man. Every now and again, he would be stopped by a concerned looking student or faculty member asking if he was lost, or if he was supposed to be with an adult. To all these well-meaning concerns Devlin thanked them, then informed them that the High Magus was his mother and watched they eyes go wide with shock. He rather liked startling naive collage big-kids. Maybe he would consider enrolling in Friedkin after high school. If for no other reason than to shock the faculty as much as the students.
Finally, he found Bezel. The old man was emptying the waste bins from classrooms.
He watched the old man take a paper out of a garbage, scrutinize it for a comment, then toss it back in the waste bag with a judgey scoff. Apparently, he didn't think much of the magic that was being taught these days. Devlin cleared his throat to get the older man's attention. Bezel looked up. Noting that it was, once again, Gwendolyn's son bothering him at work, he gave the Osmosian a similar judgey scoff.
"Don't tell me you're back again because you still don't know what you're doing?" He finished emptying the classroom's waste can into the larger janitorial garbage bucket and tried to wheel his cart out the door. "I see you take more after that frustratingly endearing man-child that sired you, than you do Gwendolyn."
Devlin chose not to comment on the fact that Bezel tried to insult his father by calling him a 'man-child' in the very same sentence in which he also called the man 'endearing'. Instead, he just blocked the door so the sorcerer couldn't leave. Casually leaning against the frame. Not being aggressive or threatening, but still managing to block enough of the passage to prevent the old man from getting his bulky cart through.
"Outta the way, sonny." Bezel commanded.
The Osmosian didn't budge. Instead, he reached into his messenger bag and pulled out the Duel Monsters card had given him days before. 'Absorb Spell'.
"You're the one who gave me this." He said. "You were the one to suggest I absorb raw mana instead of study totems and fetishes, I feel like you should take some responsibility for that suggestion and actually teachme." A pause and a bating smirk. "Or is cryptic statements and bad advice all you're good for?"
Bezel just frowned at him. "You're not as good at manipulating people as you think you are, sonny."
He tried to push past Devlin again, but Osmosians were remarkably hard to move when they didn't want to be moved and Bezel remained trapped in the classroom, the only exit blocked by Devlin seemingly innocent and unassuming body. Bezel huffed and glared at the boy.
"You and I both know I could make you move. Very easily." He tilted his head down and glared over to the rim of his glasses at the boy. Making eye-contact. Reminding Devlin that he was more than what he appeared. He was not the simple janitor he liked to masquerade as.
As if the Osmosian needed reminding. That was the very reason he came to Bezel in the first place. Because he wasn't what he seemed. Because he was more than just a simple menial worker. Because he was the greatest magician that ever lived. Devlin smirked, he was also kinda starting to enjoy bating the old man. "Then do it."
There was a beat of silence in which Devlin just raised his chin challengingly.
Bezel took the opportunity to listen for footfalls in the corridor outside that might indicate someone passing by. When he heard no one, the old man gave a weary sigh. Then raised a single hand. "Namala."
Cords of mana slithered out from Bezel's raised hand and wrapped themselves about Devlin. The Osmosian struggled, but his arms were bound tight to his sides, and his legs were wound so close together. All his struggling succeeded in doing was causing the boy to fall over. The Osmosian clattered to the ground. No longer able to confront the old man, but still blocking the damn door.
The sorcerer heaved another weary sigh. These Tennysons, or Osmosians, or whatever Devlin was, were all so annoying."Adepto vestri piger ascendere."
With that second spell, Devlin was levitated up off the ground and over Bezel's head so that the old man could finally wheel his janitorial cart through the door. The moment he was past the Osmosian, Bezel looked back at the boy floating in the air. All he really had to do to get free was absorb the mana effecting him, but it looked like the thought didn't even occur to the boy. He had a lot to learn if he wanted to be any version of a magic user -especially a combat sorcerer.
"Solve fasciculos."
At the magician's words, the Osmosian fell back to the ground none too gently. Impacting the factory-generic tile floor with a soft thudand a loud 'oof!'.
"You're about as far from being a sorcerer as I am from being Director of the FBI." Bezel scoffed, looking down at the boy from over his shoulder.
Groaning, Devlin picked himself up off the floor. "I know. That's why I'm here. I need someone to teach me. Someone who's not gonna shelter me or keep me behind a desk studying books for the rest of my life like my mother will. You already stuck your nose in, so I'm nominating you."
"Lucky me..." Muttered the old man.
Smirking, Devlin rested a hand on his hip. "That's right, I'm Bad Luck."
If the boy was trying to make a pun or similar word play, it didn't come off as very clever. Then again, it also sounded like he was refrencing something that only he would understand. With a shrug Bezel turned his back to the boy and began wheeling his custodial cart down the corridor.
The Osmosian watched him leave. Disappointed.
After several steps Bezel turned to look back at the boy. "Well?"
"'Well', what?" Devlin blinked back at him.
"Are you coming or not?" Snaped Bezel with impatience. "Here are the ground rules, sonny, you don't call me 'Master', and I won't nickname after some damn insect. You do what I tell you in a reasonable timeframe from when I tell you. You don't talk back to me with any of that sass you got from both your parents, and when you're in need of discipline, you take the time to analyze what you did wrong and discipline yourself. For it is written, 'I can't be having with none of that shit.'Do we have an understanding?"
"Yes, sir!" The boy nodded enthusiastically and sprinted to catch up to the old man.
"Good." Bezel nodded.
He lead them through the corridors and out the back of the building, to the incinerator. A gigantic iron bin with a single heavy door and a tall, black chimney that climbed up into the air, all kinds of circles, intersecting lines, and symbols etched into the metal.
"Open that up for me." Bezel commanded. "Its heady and I'm old."
Obediently, Devlin moved forward to open the incinerator door for his teacher. Indeed, it was heavy. Even with Devlin's Osmosian strength, a trite that made him disproportionately strong for his size, the boy had trouble getting the door open. There was loud creaking and the sound of straining hinges. Finally, the door swung open and clanged loudly when it banged on its other side.
Bezel came up and dumped the large garbage can from his custodial cart into the incinerator. "Hm. Guess you're not useless." He muttered, as if still assessing whether or not he'd made a bad deal in agreeing to teach the Osmosian. "Adolebitque ea usque ad futuis."
The contents of the incinerator went up in a blaze of fire that was the star sapphire color of mana at first, then shifted to an uncomfortable blue, then green, before finally settling on normal smoldering amber.
"Close the lid, sonny." The old man ordered. "We don't want none of that shit getting out."
Still wanting to impress his teacher, Devlin was quick to swing the heavy iron door shut again, with a loud clang. Locking it in place with a similarly heavy and hard to budge iron latch. No sooner had the Osmosian done this, than something large-sounding banged against the furnace door. It banged again, then a third time. Just a bit concerned, Devlin chanced a glance sideways at Bezel. But the old man looked more impatient than concerned, almost board, even. Well, if the greatest magician that ever lived wasn't bothered by something living and presumably very large trying to get out of the burning inferno, then Devlin wasn't going to worry either.
The incinerator rumbled, the chamber shaking slightly. A tremor traveling up from the main burn pile into the chimney. The circles and symbols etched onto the shaft glowed star sapphire with power. The light traveling up the chimney in a single wave, keeping pace with whatever it was that was making the incinerator shake. Until, finally, a tiny little puff of smoke was coughed out of the chimney. It fell over the lip of the cylinder and drifted down. Devlin tried to catch it in his hands.
A tiny little clump of mist and ash shaped vaguely like a worm with wings. The smallest gust of air disintegrated it, and in the time it took the Osmosian to blink soot out of his eyes, the little ash creature was gone. Reduced to nothing more than dust on the wind.
"What was that?" He asked, looking to Bezel for an explanation.
"Rejected summoning assignment." The old man scoffed. "These young kids and their dumb teachers have no problem throwing their half-baked magical ideas in the classroom trashcan, without a single thought as to what might happen to it from there. Do you know what happens when your burn a piece of paper with a demon's name on it?" He did not pause to see if Devlin did know. "The demon appears! That's what! Except if its just a paper with the bastard's name and no actual incantation or spell, then there's nothing to actually bindthe damn thing! Binding is literally the most important part of any spell! But the binding goes at the end, so its also the part that gets left out the most, because these dumb kids don't know how to finish the things they start, and these damn brain-dead teachers never give 'em the time to finish anything in the first place!"
Devlin just blinked at his teacher. He was pretty sure Bezel had not intended for that explanation to swing off into a rant.
Bezel blinked back. He hadn't intended for that rant to have an audience. He was usually alone when he did this.
"Anyway..." The old man shrugged. "Come on, we've got a lot of work to do."
He grabbed his custodial cart and started wheeling it away, once again expecting Devlin to follow him.
Devlin did follow him. He followed Bezel through every classroom, in every hall, in every building on campus. Emptying waste bins, sweeping floors, wiping windows. Occasionally they made a trip back to the incinerator to dispose of another round of garbage. The chamber didn't always shake, and the chimney didn't always glow. Only when there was a spell that was activated by fire. That's what all those circles -sigils- and symbols were supposed to be. Wards and seals that nullified other spells or trapped monsters, preventing them from getting out to the rest of the school, and banishing them back to wherever they came from. Devlin would be lying if he didn't admit that he kinda enjoyed it when there was an incomplete spell or summoning in the incinerator. It made things interesting.
But emptying trashcans and burning half-assed homework was not what the Osmosian came for.
"How long are we gonna keep doing this?" He demanded.
"Not long." Bezel assured him. "We're almost done."
And, indeed, soon after that they finished cleaning every classroom on campus.
But Bezel did not begin Devlin's magical training then. Once the classrooms were clean they had to start on the libraries. Gwendolyn's wasn't the only library on campus. Friedkin boasted a total of seven libraries. All of them filled with old books that shed particles, and -occasionally- students with skin conditions that alsoshed. There was a great deal of dusting and sweeping to be done.
Needless to say, Devlin got really impatient and fed up really quick. They didn't even get through the first library before the Osmosian was throwing his feather duster down in frustration.
"This is so stupid!" He snarled. The statement punctuated by his antique duster clattering on the floor loudly. Several people lifted their heads from their reading to shoot several dirty looks at the High Magus' son whom was developing a reputation for making scenes and causing distractions in libraries.
The antique feather duster picked itself up off the ground, made a sharp swivel motion with its head as if to give he Osmosian an offended little 'hmph!'and sauntered away -moving on its feathers, swishing from side to side as if it were a skirt.
Bezel watched the disgruntled little duster drift away until it turned a corner and disappeared behind a shelf. Once it was well and gone, no chance of coming back so their work could continue, the old man turned his eyes back to the boy. "Well, you'll never learn magic if you can't learn patience."
Devlin only scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest. He waited eleven years to finally learn the name of his mother and meet her. He waited another three months after that to actually start living with her. He waited patiently for weeks while Mom and Ben told him the story of how his father went evil and kidnapped him, a story that was told at the most agonizingly slow pace that a story could be told. Currently, he was waiting for his mother to decide that his father was sane, stable, and trustworthy enough to be allowed around Devlin again. The young Osmosian thought he was plenty patient! He just didn't want his new powers to be something he had to wit a long time for.
After the pause dragged on a bit and the boy still didn't reply, just continued to glare at Bezel with arms crossed the old man scoffed. "If you're trying to stare me down, it ain't gonna work, sonny. I have survived gods and demons. A little teen angst isn't very intimidating."
"Are you even actually gonna teach me anything? Or was this just a ploy to get some free labor to help you with this place?" Demanded the Osmosian. As an afterthought he considered also asking why Bezel seemed to be the only custodian for the entire campus, but thought better of it. He didn't want the old man to get side tracked.
For the briefest of moments, an expression of annoyance passed across Bezel's face. But it was there and gone in less than a moment.
"You can't get something for nothing, sonny." The old man said finally. "You want a magic teacher who's not gonna keep you locked in safe book work, then you gotta be willing to offer something in return. I'd think you already knew that, with that little broker buisnessyou're running at your own shool. Exchange service for service. You sweep, dust, and rake, and I'll teach you to cast, charm, and bewitch."
Well, when the old man put it like that, it sounded so reasonable and fair, and the Osmosian felt like an asshole for getting impatient and throwing what his father would consider a 'tantrum'. Work for lessons was a reasonable arrangement. And besides, that wasn't all that different from some of the the other places Devlin had livied in his life. On Zabin, Reds and Blues both exchanged work for his father for protection. They would do jobs for Kevin (whom, at the time, was going by the title 'Armorer of the Divide') and in return the Osmosian arms dealer would give them safe haven from whichever side of the conflict they were running from. When that chapter in their lives closed, Kevin exchanged his skills as a mechanic for passage to the next place he and Devlin would call 'home'. Exchange service for service was common practice. The Osmosian didn't know why he didn't realize that that was what was happening here sooner.
"Besides," added the old man, "you might pick up a few things while you work. Like in the Karate Kid. You know, 'wax on, wax off'."
Devlin raised an eyebrow, unconsciously pulling away. "I don't need any help waxing off."
Now it was Bezel's turn to raise an eyebrow.
"I'm twelve. I know what waxing off is." The young Osmosian informed him. "And I don't see what that movie with Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith has to do with anything. It wasn't even karate, what they were practicing was clearly kung fu."
"What?"Blinked Bezel. "No. I ment the original Karate Kid with Pat Morita and Ralph Macchio. I'm not claiming to be any Mr. Miyagi or anything, but I'll do alright."
At that point Devlin had no idea what the old man was talking about anymore, but he was willing to get back to work. Trade service for service. Work for training. Unfortunetly, that was also the moment his phone began to ring. Loudly. People in the library looked up from their books or their notes to shoot him dirty looks. Devlin fumbled with the phone, in a rush to answer and put an end to the noise, he failed to note the called ID.
"Hello?" He asked.
"Where the hell are you!?" His mother's voice demanded over the line. "Dr. Borges said you never showed up for your appointment today, and you sure as hell didn't tell me where you were going! So, where are you, and what's going on?"Visibly, Devlin cinged. He should have predicted this would happen. His mother was absurdly protective of him. Of course she would be scared and angry upon learning that he never arrived at his therapist's office, and of course she would be angry and disappointed when she realized he didn't call to tell her he wasn't going to his appointment. Of course she would panic when she didn't know where he was. She was probably tracking his mana this very moment. He better answer fast before she flew through the library doors like a demon from hell.
"I'm at Friedken." He informed her truthfully.
"What are you doing at Friedken?" Was her obvious follow-up question.
Bezel waved his arms wildly and mouthed the words 'leave me out of this'. He did say before that he didn't want to get between a mother and her young. He and Gwendolyn did seem like friends, but that didn't mean he wanted to step on her parenting toes and risk incurring her wrath. Bezel said he'd survived gods and demons, but what was an Anodite to him? Something more terrible and fearsome, apparently.
"I wanted to get a new book." Devlin supplied a perfectly reasonable explanation, seamlessly and without pause.
Bezel visibly relaxed.
"Oh." Gwendolyn seemed to accept it easily enough. "Okay. Well, I'm coming to pick you up."
Of course she wouldn't just leave him be. After giving her a scare, she would want to see her son. She would need to be reassured that he was, indeed, as fine as he claimed to be, and want him back home where she could be more secure and confident in his safety.
Devlin sighed. There was just no arguing with her when she was like this. "I'm at your library."
"Good. I'll meet youthere." She clicked off.
Slipping his phone back in his pocket, the Osmosian looked at the old man.
Bezel was giving him a curious look. "This Dr. Borges, what kind of doctor is he? You sick or something?"
"She." Devlin corrected. "And, no. She's a head doctor."
Crossing his arms over his chest, the old man seemed to consider something. Then, finally nodded, as if giving some kind of silent approval. "Head medicine is still relatively new." –For someone who claimed to be centuries old, that was probably true.- "But its important. I have seen first hand what happens when those who need it go without it. I used to have this friend, Ivan, he- well, never mind what he did. Okay. Here's the plan! I won't do anything for you on days when you seen the head-doctor. We'll meet after your regular school or on weekends. You'll come here. We'll clean for an hour, then we'll train for an hour. Agreed?"
That seemed so reasonable, Devlin just stared at him.
"Well, sonny?" Bezel pressed.
"Uh, uh, yeah. Sure!" the Osmosian blinked.
The two men shook on it, sealing the bargain.
"Well, I'm gonna get out of here." Bezel collected his wntering dusters. "I hope you don't think less of me, but worried mothers scare the living daylights out of me. So I'm just gonna take off."
He left.
Devlin was left standing there to reflect on what he'd just agreed to. But more importantly, what he knew he'd get out of it.