Author's Note: I own nothing

17 Past Mistakes

It took Jen ten minutes to finish up with the control box and head up to meet Julie who was admiring Kevin as he worked on the lock for the trunk of his car. Gwen was eyeing Julie. Jen snorted.

"Hey Julie! Come on, let's head out." Julie nodded and grinned at Jen as the two girls headed out. Gwen relaxed from her spot in the backseat of Kevin's car, her legs sticking out and went back to the book in her lap. There was silence in the shop for a moment before Kevin spoke.

"So. Who was Feedback?" Gwen froze. She must have been silent for a moment too long because Kevin spoke up again. "I didn't mean to intrude on the moment but Julie was very insistent that she find Jen." Gwen nodded.

"So you were there the whole time." She gently turned the page and frowned. Then she sighed. "I don't remember her ever using Feedback against you, so it makes sense that you wouldn't remember the name." Kevin closed the trunk.

"Wait so Feedback was one of her aliens?" Gwen nodded.

"Yeah back when we were kids." Gwen sighed and closed the book. "Azmuth had an old enemy. A corrupted Galvanic Mechamorph, went by the name Malware." She shrugged as Kevin stepped over to the backseat and leaned against the car frame next to her. "Azmuth's enemies become Jen's rather quickly. Nothing new there. But the last time we fought Malware. It… It ripped Feedback and Jen apart." Kevin's eyes went wide.

"Holy shit. I didn't think that could happen." Gwen nodded.

"Neither did we. I don't think even Azmuth saw that coming. He was there that day, which was why Malware was there in the first place. He was trying to kill Azmuth and wanted to take the Omnitrix to do it. He ripped Feedback and Jen apart and Feedback just dissolved, but it was like for a second she reached out to Jen like she could help. I still have nightmares about the screaming." A large hand reached out and gently laid itself on her shoulder.

"That sounds terrible. What happened to Malware."

"Jen did." Gwen let out a soft humorless laugh. "Something happened to the Omnitrix when Feedback died. Like a reset? I don't understand it. Azmuth didn't say anything about it to me. Maybe he explained it to Jen I don't know. But it stopped Jen from transforming. So she punched Malware."

"She punched a Galvanic Mechamorph, that wanted the Omnitrix. I'm assuming she punched it with the Omnitrix." Gwen nodded at Kevin.

"She did. It… it overloaded Malware, it exploded. We haven't seen it since, but she lost Feedback for good that day. She was one of her favorite Aliens too. She used her all the time. It wasn't too long after that she took off the Omnitrix. She was never the same after though." Gwen looked up at Kevin who nodded.

"She does seem a bit more serious than the kid I met. And about twenty times more paranoid." Gwen nodded.

"I think losing Feedback is part of the reason she took the watch off in the first place. But she never talked about it. She shuts down every time anyone mentions it. Shuts them out, even me and Grandpa." Kevin shrugged.

"Knowing her she blames herself for what happened." Gwen nodded.

"It's been eating at her for five years, I don't want to add what happened to Grandpa to that. I think it might break her."

"I think we just need to be there for her. And let her take the lead on this whole Highbreed thing." Gwen nodded at Kevin.

"You're right." Kevin grinned.

"Can I get that in writing?" Gwen laughed. "I'm gonna grab a soda from the machine outside, you want anything?" Gwen shook her head and Kevin nodded taking the side exit. Gwen flipped her book back open.

"Gwen?" The voice was nervous and looking up she spotted why. It was JT standing in the main garage door of the mechanics shop.

"JT, what do you want?" Gwen wasn't normally hostile. She was the reasonable foil to her cousin's hero complex, she had to be reasonable and willing to listen. But she really didn't like Cash or JT. They picked on Jen and Gwen was fiercely protective of her family. Always had been always would be. A short argument later and she sent JT packing, unknowingly directly into Kevin's hands.

Kevin dropped Gwen off before he went to get his revenge for hurting his car, he was not expecting what he found there though. The Gauntlet was using Cash to reform the Technodrone. He contemplated how much of a problem that was going to be as he lay, bruised and beaten on the floor of the old mannequin factory.

Julie laughed as Jen threw the wrench across the yard. Ship slinked off after it.

"So your parents just believed that he's a dog?"

"Well it took some convincing, but my parents are very relaxed." Julie shrugged.

"I wish my parents' were that chill." Julie raised an eyebrow at Jen.

"They don't know?" Jen shook her head at her friend's question.

"No. My parents are pretty relaxed, they let me do my own thing, but…" Jen paused as Ship slunk back up to her and spat out the wrench before making that same panting noise that meant he was excited. Jen nodded and pulled her phone out of her pocket. She seemed to think for a moment before she tossed the phone to Ship. He swallowed it and the new creation fell to the ground, it shuddered and Ship spat it back at Jen who caught it. "Good boy! Can you mimic it?" Ship seemed to think about it for a moment then folded and shrunk into a phone identical to Jen's. "Good boy!" She picked up the phone and patted it. It turned back into Ship in her arms and nuzzled her. She laughed. Julie grinned.

"He's good at mimicking electronics he's already been. Do you think that means he can become the carnival rides he took over at the Pier?" Jen nodded.

"Possibly, but we should head out of town to try those. What was I saying?" She shook her head and tossed the wrench for Ship again. "Oh yeah. My parents let me do my own thing most of the time but whenever they think I'm in danger they get super overprotective. Dad especially. He didn't want me to go into soccer because when I was a kid I got a concussion playing Softball." Julie let out a soft laugh.

"You got a concussion playing softball?"

"Got hit with the ball, kid at bat had a mean swing." Julie laughed and Jen threw the wrench again for Ship who had been waiting patiently at her feet.