Author's Note: I own nothing. I really like the concept of the next episode. I own nothing.
9 Threatened
After stopping Rojo's gang from robbing a train Jen wasn't looking forward to the mass of press and fans that waited when the train pulled up. She was able to avoid the mass of people thanks to Grandpa Max landing the Rustbucket 3 behind the train. They boarded quickly and took off just as fast. Jen raced to the control console.
"Thank you so mu…" She trialed off as she spotted Grandpa Max. His arm was in a sling and Pierce was driving. "What happened?" Pierce looked up at them. There were dark circles under his eyes, a matching set under Grandpa Max's. Max sighed.
"I wanted to keep this from you as long as possible. But now I have no choice." He sighed again rubbing his injured shoulder. Gwen stepped forward her hands glowing. Max sighed as she began to heal him. "Ever since your identity got out your old enemies have been coming out of the woodwork. They've been targeting the people you care about. The ones who can't defend themselves." Jen felt her heart sink and her knees shook. Kevin guided her into a chair.
"Mom and dad! Are they?" Max shook his head.
"They're fine. Between Pierce and I we managed to stop nine attacks over the past week or so. But I realized last night they aren't disorganized like I initially thought. It's actually well planned. I wanted to keep you out of it but that's not really an option anymore." Jen glared.
"You should have told me I could have helped."
"You have too much on your plate as is. But we believe we know who's behind the attacks." Max pushed a button on the console and pulled up a picture of a greyish clown with dirty red hair and a large blue nose. Jen growled under her breath.
"Zombozo! That two bit clown! I will end him!" She leapt up from her seat and started pacing. Kevin frowned he had never seen her this wound before. She kept pacing, fiddling with the Ultimatrix as she did. Gwen seemed to be thinking.
"I don't remember him. He was at Mount Rushmore but I don't remember the first time we fought." Jen nodded to her cousin.
"You wouldn't. You were on a literal emotional high through that whole thing. Basic run down, he's an emotional vampire." Kevin frowned.
"So like Morningstar?" Jen shook her head.
"Not quite. Darkstar feeds on power, literal power. Zombozo feeds on the chemical output in the brain, not the electrical. Happiness is best, I'm betting serotonin tastes great. He likes fear too. But anger that's something he can't stomach." Kevin nodded.
"Then let's give him food poisoning." The rest of the team looked at him, Jen incredulously. Gwen seemed a little disgusted. Pierce shook his head and Max raised an eyebrow. "Ok so it wasn't my best material but let's put down the clown!" Jen nodded but Max spoke up.
"Sandra and Carl's safety has to come first." That was how they ended up splitting after confronting not just Zombozo but Charmcaster and Vulkanus too, and stopping them from killing her father. They trailed Carl to the store and back in case the trio of villains decided to try again. They'd left Pierce guarding her mother. The next day found Gwen accompanying Sandra on her outing for groceries, though this would become quite a bit harder come Monday when two of the team had to head back to school. Though at the moment that was not Gwen's biggest problem. Zombozo had gotten the drop on her and the three villains had made off with Jen's mom. They'd left her behind though, Zombozo and Vulkanus preventing Charmcaster from killing her. So she could deliver the message. Jen was beyond angry and for a moment Gwen was certain she saw her cousin's eyes flash bright green for just a millisecond.
"You lost her! You were supposed to protect her!" Kevin stepped between them.
"It was three against one! Gwen's lucky they didn't kill her." Jen deflated like a popped balloon. Gwen pulled her cousin in close.
"I can't lose anyone else." Jen said it under her breath, like she hadn't meant for anyone to hear her.
"We'll get her back. I can call Pierce, he'll set the Plumbers tracking her, and Gwen can use her powers to track her." Gwen nodded but Jen pulled back and shook her head.
"There's one good thing about Zombozo. He's predictable. There's an abandoned carnival outside of Bellwood, we'll start there." Kevin nodded and Gwen was already on her way to the door. Jen took her car, Gwen hopping in with Kevin. Kevin frowned as Jen peeled out of the driveway and shot down the road at speeds. He got what she was feeling though. When he'd gotten her call that his mom was sitting in her living room looking scared he had felt a moment of pure dread, he could only imagine what he'd be feeling if she'd actually been taken by one of his enemies, much less three. It didn't take them long to arrive at the carnival. They knew they were in the right place when one of the games attacked them. Unfortunately the place was huge. Jen was insistent they split up, she wanted her mom found as fast as possible. Gwen pulled two bracelets out of her bag and handed one to Kevin and one to Jen.
"In case you run into Charmcaster before I do. It won't protect you long but it should protect you for a little bit." Kevin nodded and slipped it on, Jen had already taken off down her chosen path. The two of them frowned after her.
"I'm worried what'll happen if she gets to Zombozo first." Gwen said, she still looked guilty about losing Sandra Tennyson in the first place. Kevin nodded.
"You and me both. Good luck." He pecked her on the cheek and took off down his path. Gwen nodded and raced down the center isle of the games.
Jen was almost disappointed that she got Vulkanus but became more annoyed than anything when he summoned his minions. She went ultimate Big Chill and twirled once, fire spewing from insectoid lips leaving everything it touched frozen solid. Including Vulkanus, she only left his head free, freezing his neck so he was trapped inside his suit. He shuddered.
"Either you tell me where my mother is right now or I lower your temperature until you get hypothermia. Do you know what hypothermia does to a body? I do. It's not pretty." Vulkanus quailed under cold green eyes.
"Zombozo has her in the big top! The silver haired chick is at the roller coaters!"
"Not anymore." Kevin spoke stepping into the hall. He was no longer wearing the bracelet Gwen had given them. "She teleported out when I tricked her into setting one of the rides spinning into her. She's long gone." Big Chill's wings drooped.
"That means!" Kevin realized what that meant as the necrofriggian phased through the ceiling. He smashed his way out of the building and raced after the bright red form of Ultimate Big Chill toward the big top. They were not expecting to find Gwen and Sandra sitting outside, Gwen munching on cotton candy. Jen ran into her mother's arms still the bright red moth. Sandra hugged her daughter as she transformed back to normal.
"You're ok! Where's Zombozo!" Kevin was wondering the exact same thing. Gwen smirked.
"We won't have to worry about him for a while. We… came to an understanding." Jen didn't question it, just happy her mother was unhurt. She drove her mother home, being sure to actually follow the rules of the road this time. Kevin and Gwen stayed at Jen's house that night, Kevin crashed on the couch and Gwen in the spare room. Once Jen was asleep and Kevin was snoring softly on the couch Sandra slipped into her niece's current room. Gwen was sitting on the bed waiting for her.
"Do you want to talk about it dear?" Gwen shrugged and let out a long slow breath.
"Not a whole lot to talk about." That wasn't strictly true. Sandra had gotten to see the full potential Gwen was capable of, a power that scared even her. But a threat that would warn off those wishing to harm her non combatant family. Hopefully it would be enough. Sandra smiled softly at her niece.
"We both know that's not true. But you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. I just wanted to say thank you. I feel a bit better about Jen being a superhero knowing you've got her back you know. You and your ruffian boy." Gwen grinned.
"He's not so bad. He's a big softy under all the walls." Sandra smiled and pulled her niece into a hug.
"Be that as it may I will be leaving the door open and Carl and I are sleeping with ours open. We'll hear any funny business so be warned." Gwen snorted loudly and Kevin grunted on the couch in the next room turning over and settling back down after a moment.
"Don't worry Auntie Sandra I don't plan on waking him up." Sandra nodded and hugged her niece again.
"I may not understand the world you and Jen live in, aliens and magic and all that; but I'm here for both of you if you need me." Gwen hugged her tighter and nodded.
"Thank you Auntie Sandra." Sandra patted her comfortingly on the back and let her sleep. She didn't get much, she could still feel the full Anodite crawling under her skin, wanting to be set loose. It had been so easy to do. Maybe if she could just get it under control. But she was worried what Kevin and Jen would think. They had been so defensive when Grandma Verdona tried to force this on her, not that it hadn't been appreciated. But with that power at her fingertips Gwen was worried she might lose something precious and not even notice it was gone. She lay in the bed for a long time contemplating the nature of humanity and how easy it had been to threaten Zombozo with death and worse for what he'd tried to do to her auntie, to Jen's mother. She rolled over and squeezed her eyes shut trying not to think about it.
