Author's Note: I own nothing.

24 Inspection

Having Gwen insist that they meet up with Julie wasn't how Jen wanted to spend her day, though using XCLR8's speed to beat her at tennis was fun she hadn't fully forgiven Julie for faking a hostage situation with Conduit Edwards. The Technodon ship that landed was even less pleasant. Inspector Thirteen didn't know what he was getting into when he took Jen captive though. She used Upgrade's powers to turn his own ship against him even before Gwen and Kevin arrived to help. She was already beating on the weapon master when they teleported in. Kevin blinked.

"Thought you might need help." He stated steadying Gwen, teleportation was still pretty hard on her though with repetition it seemed to be getting easier.

"Not really. I appreciate it though." She turned back to the weapon master. "Now as I was saying, the Ultimatrix is not a weapon. You will not be getting it off me. If you're smart you'll realize that if you don't give up I will tear your ship apart before it can rebuild itself and turn you over to the Plumbers for attempted mutilation." The weapon master nodded slightly before slumping to the ground unconscious. Jen nodded. She placed a hand on the console and shifted into Upgrade opening the hatch at the bottom of the ship. She leapt back out of the computer console and out the hatch transforming as she went into Big Chill.

"You guys coming?" She asked. Gwen shook her head a smile on her face as she conjured a platform and she and Kevin stepped aboard. They left the Technodon ship behind as it flew off. Kevin frowned.

"Why is it heading downtown?" Big Chill smiled.

"I programed it to pick up the Technodon factory they left in the middle of town, since nothing else can move it." Gwen nodded and the three of them made their way down towards the ground.

"Did you manage to get ahold of Charmcaster?" Big Chill frowned.

"Not yet. It's a bit concerning. She just isn't answering." Gwen frowned at her cousin.

"And we don't have the name to open the Doors To Anywhere anymore." Gwen said as they landed. Jen transformed back to normal and rubbed the back of her neck as Julie made her way up to them.

"That's not entirely true." Kevin raised an eyebrow.

"She essentially gave you a key to Ledgerdomain so you two could keep hooking up?" He was holding back laughter.

"Maybe. How do you think I made it there last time!" Kevin snorted at the blush dusting her cheeks.

"Why didn't you tell me!" Gwen demanded. "That was way before all this Dagon stuff happened." Jen shrugged.

"She asked me not to." Julie frowned.

"Um what's going on?" She was still a bit nervous, stepping on eggshells around her friend after what she'd done with the Flame Keeper's Circle. Jen shrugged.

"Work stuff." She left it at that but Kevin seemed to be feeling more ready to forgive Julie.

"We're talking about Jen's booty call." Julie's eyes went wide. Jen smacked Kevin in the shoulder.

"She's not a booty call! She's a friend." Kevin laughed and bounced his eyebrows as Gwen spotted the Technodon factory taking off from downtown and up through the atmosphere. Gwen frowned.

"You're sure it'll still work?" Jen shrugged.

"It should, unless she changed the name again. I mean she has the Alpha Rune. She could." Gwen nodded.

"Meet me tonight at the runway, we'll head to the doors. I have an errand I need to run." Jen nodded and paused as Julie smiled awkwardly.

"Smoothies are on you this time." The brunette stated and Julie grinned.

"Deal!"

Breaking into Hex's library was surprisingly easy, Gwen had been doing it for a while, borrowing books as she needed them. She should have known she would get caught eventually. But when Hex learned that his niece was ruling Ledgerdomain, with the power of the Alpha Rune he released her.

"You do not know what my niece is truly capable of. My niece has studied long and hard with one purpose in mind. She intends to resurrect my brother, her father." Gwen shook her head, pulling off her Lucky Girl mask, she always wore the disguise when raiding Hex's library it seemed appropriate.

"She can't, magic like that is the darkest kind!" Hex nodded.

"Indeed. I have advised against it for years but I don't think she ever listened to me. If she is ruling Ledgerdomain she can do as she pleases." Gwen shook her head again trying to wrap her head around this. Hex looked down brushing his hood off his head. He was younger than he should have been, maybe in his early twenties but he'd had a prolonged encounter with the Fountain of Youth years ago so it made sense that he wasn't aging like a normal man. "Take whichever book you need. But this may be of the most help to you now." He lifted a hand, a book sailing into it. He let it fall open. Pink runes bloomed on the page. "The name of Ledgerdomain has changed." Gwen nodded tracing the runes.

Gwen made her way to the airfield that evening with the book and her computer in tow. She hoped that Hex was wrong, that the girl that Jen had trusted enough to share something deep and intimate with wasn't the kind of girl who could make a deal that would require death for life. But Gwen wasn't sure if that would be the case or not. She was also hoping that if nothing was wrong in Ledgerdomain the sorceress would be able to help her break the connection between herself and the Dagon. It would be nice to know that she couldn't be controlled like a puppet anymore.

Jen was silent as Kevin flew the Rustbucket Three to the Doors. She was fiddling with the mirror Charmcaster had given her. She kept running her finger over the glass in the pattern of the Rune that would call Charmcaster but the mirror just lit up no response. Kevin frowned.

"Will you quit lighting that thing up?" Jen snapped the mirror shut and frowned.

"Sorry." Kevin shook his head.

"Did it occur to you that maybe she just doesn't want to talk to you. I mean you did break up." Jen frowned.

"The thought crossed my mind but the breakup was mutual and she's… Ok she can be that petty but I genuinely don't believe she would ignore me like this." Kevin glanced over at Jen.

"You know it's comforting that even after everything we've been through you're a bit of an optimist." Jen rolled her eyes flipping him off as Gwen snorted from behind her computer.