Kevin's body shifts uncomfortably as Gwen stares him down in his study. The two have been sitting for a few minutes. The room was silent and the air was thick with anticipation as he gets his story together. His palms are sweaty and his throat feels dry, but he is a man of his word. Gwen should know the truth about Kevin's condition. He was the one asking her to fix his own mistake. She should have all the information about it. Kevin had decided fairly recently that Gwen could decide if she truly wants to help him or not.

Kevin takes a deep breath, looks up at Gwen, and begins.


Kevin was eleven and Ben was ten. They were only a year apart and the two had grown up together. Running around the same castle, playing the same games, as if the world around them, wasn't screaming for change.

Kevin doesn't remember a time before Ben. He vaguely remembers crying when he was around four because he didn't understand why Ben and him weren't brothers. He always had Ben, they were a duo, that's just how they worked.

Well, it was until Kevin ruined it.

Kevin's father, Devin, was Osmosian and had ruled over the land as his father before him. Kevin would too in time. The Osmosian line was new and had reformed the kingdom to integrate aliens into a very human land. Kevin's grandfather had come from his own kingdom that was hidden beneath. Undertown, a world filled with aliens who had escaped from their own war ridden plants to find a new home.

The citizens of Undertown were expanding though, they needed more room to thrive and truly live, but human beings were a different issue all together. Aliens had migrated underground in fear of the humans. Human beings were a species that couldn't even cooperate with each other, much less another species entirely. Kevin's grandfather, with the help of the Plumbers organization, lead them out from the dark ages of fearing aliens. The Plumbers at the time were made up of only humans, so for them to collaborate with aliens changed the kingdom forever.

The Plumbers and Kevin's grandfather agreed on mixing their political powers. The Osmosian blood line could continue to rule as they had been, but the Plumbers were to be a part of parliament and be equally as integrated with how they ran the kingdom. That included the Plumber who wielded the Omnitrix being the king's right hand advisor and knight.

That man was a much younger Max Tennyson. He held the Omnitrix through Kevin's grandfather's reign and Devin's.

Kevin's dad was fierce in his longing to unite the division between aliens and humans. Maybe he was so invested because he fell in love with a human woman. No one really knows, but his reign was one of many changes. It also normalized human and alien relationships, and the children who came from it.

Devin was working with the Plumbers day and night to integrate businesses, living units, and cities to be alien friendly. He did so without compromising what human culture was already thriving. He would spend days or weeks in any given town or city, just working with the locals. His heart was kind, and his leadership was ferocious.

When Kevin was eleven, his parents left for a diplomatic meeting in a town on the outskirts of the kingdom's boarders.

The meeting was a setup by the Forever Knights, a rouge group of Plumbers and other humans who were against the alien integration and the new reign of peace. They were ambushed and without Max being there to aid Devin, they were murdered. Threats came from the Forever Knights to the Plumbers about destroying them next.

Max was much older at this point; he knew his time was short. So, he pushed for the coronation of Kevin, which in turn is also Ben's coronation for being the next wielder of the Omnitrix.

The coronation was where it all went wrong.

Kevin was a child, he didn't understand. He couldn't make the connection that he couldn't have the Omnitrix. He was jealous that Ben would get the Omnitrix and be able to turn into all of these cool aliens. Kevin wanted to do that too. Kevin didn't want to just use his powers; he could just absorb energy and absorb materials. He wanted to be just as cool as Ben was going to be. Kevin didn't even like his powers.

Kevin was also trying to understand the concept that his parents weren't coming back. They were dead. When they told him that, he obviously knew what being dead meant. It was the aftermath that solidified what death truly meant. When he cried out at night from a nightmare, no one would come. Not his mother who used to smooth his hair down and tell me silly stories to go back to bed. When he ran around and scraped his knee, his dad wasn't there to tell him that scraps just make you stronger. It was the most clear when he ate dinner and shared the table alone.

He had spent the month before the coronation hiding away in his own room or act out in aggression. He wouldn't talk to Ben or play with him anymore. Ben was also learning about the Omnitrix from his grandpa. When Kevin did see Ben, all he wanted to do was talk about the Omnitrix and all of the aliens inside. It only made Kevin bitter and angry.

That's all Kevin had been feeling, anger. He was angry at Ben for getting the Omnitrix. He was angry at Max for not leaving with his parents to help protect them. He was angry at his parents for leaving him. He was angry at the world that was left to him. Most of all, he was angry at himself. He didn't know what to do, his dad hadn't told him what came when Kevin rules the kingdom. His dad had wanted Kevin to be a child and be with Ben.

So, on the day of his coronation, Kevin finally snapped. He watched Ben receive the Omnitrix, watched it cling onto Ben's wrist like it was a part of him. Kevin's rage had finally boiled over, jealously consuming him. He grabbed onto Ben's wrist, trying to rip the Omnitrix off him. He just wanted to know what having the Omnitrix felt like, if only for a day.

Kevin was so young; his father hadn't spent enough time with him to focus on Kevin's Osmosian powers. Kevin's powers were still underdeveloped and new to him, he would constantly have explosive episodes from his own energy and how he absorbs it.

He wanted the Omnitrix so badly, he accidentally absorbed energy from it. Kevin never knew how to stop absorbing; he would easily take more than he needed. That was easy with the Omnitrix, he took more, more than his small body could ever need. The Omnitrix was this endless sea of alien DNA and it was all at Kevin's fingertips.

When Ben finally maneuvered himself out of Kevin's grasp, it was too late.

Kevin's body was over exerted. He was in blind pain, his body contorting into something it wasn't meant to be. He writhed on the ground for an unknown amount of time. The pain he felt that day was immeasurable.

When Kevin could finally see again, and move somewhat, his body wasn't his anymore. It had turned into an amalgamation of ten of Ben's aliens. Aliens Ben hadn't even transformed into yet.

Kevin's small and lanky body had almost tripled in size, his main torso and legs being Tetramand. He had grown an extra set of arms, two being identical to that of a Vulpimancer, one from a Pyronite, and one from a Petrosapien. Kevin also had grown a tail now, from a Kineceleran. His back was made up from a Galvanic Mechamorph with the wings from a Lepidopterran.

He had transformed into something he never wanted. He was what the humans had feared of, a monster.

Kevin looked around him scared of what happened, Plumbers were facing him, ready to attack. Kevin looked back at Ben, who was staring up at his friend in shock and fear.

Kevin used his new wings and flew away, frightened of what he had done and still overcome with anger and grief.


When Kevin finished talking, he couldn't look at Gwen. His head was down, staring at his feet.

He was met with silence that seemed to drag on for much longer than he wanted. He just needed her to say something, anything.

His mind started spiraling like it always did when he thought about his coronation day. He tries not to think or even speak about it, it sends him in a never ending loop of what ifs.

He knew she would be frightened. How could someone not be? Or disgusted by him and his selfish actions.

He could feel one of his legs start to shake aggressively as he waited for her to respond to him, his anxiety ate away at him.

She wouldn't stay, there's no way she would, not after that story. The story of a child who was too jealous to control himself. He was disgusted by himself there was no way Gwen wouldn't be too.

Especially after telling her he absorbs energy. He wasn't any better than Mike Morningstar. He wonders if he could still absorb energy as freely as he used to, if he would turn into the same monster as Morningstar. Sucking dry anyone or anything. He didn't want to, but how would he know? He hasn't done that in so long, for so much fear was instilled in him. He was still always simmering to the surface anger that tasted like sulfur in his mouth.

He was mad at himself now, more than anything now. He hated what he had done, he despised every aspect of his character. He was selfish, crude, and rude. He was being selfish now, hoping against everything that Gwen would still want to help him. That she would still like being around him.

He didn't realize Gwen was talking to him until she gently grasped one of his hands.

He jerked his head up at looked at her, her eyes were soft as she looked at him.

"Kevin, "she says him name so softly, her voice cradles it like she's afraid to break him. It wrecks his heart, no one has treated him like he could crumble since he was a small child. He's so worried about what Gwen thinks right now, he doesn't know if he can handle rejection from her.

"You know that none of this was your fault?" She holds his hand tighter; her voice is breaking a little as she speaks to him. "It was an accident, you were eleven. You just found out your parents had died, and you had no one to help you cope with that trauma."

Kevin can't look at her in the eyes, her voice is thick, and she sounds so saddened by his story. He doesn't deserve sympathy.

"Stop, I did this-" Kevin gargles out, his own voice is shaking now as he chokes on his own words.

Gwen softly puts her hand on his face, it's very intimate. This is the closest he's ever been to someone that he wasn't fighting. She forces him to look at her.

"Kevin, look at me please." He shifts his gaze slowly to her; her eyes are blazing. He feels the determination rolling off her.

"Kevin you were a child. You deserve to make mistakes. All kids do, it's apart of being one. What matters is how you are now, in this moment. Are you the same eleven-year-old kid?" Gwen asks him.

Kevin shakes his head, no. He doesn't know if he can speak anymore. He feels the sting of what could be bile in the back of his throat.

"Exactly. Kevin you are ruling the kingdom your father left you. You are doing it the best you can, and the Plumbers respect you. God, don't even get me started on how much Ben respects you." Gwen rolls her eyes slightly. He knows she's trying to lighten the mood.

"I asked and begged him to tell me anything about you and all he said was it wasn't his place." she says, "He was right too. It means so much more to me that you did tell me, even if it was because you kept a promise. Thank you."

Kevin can't hold it back anymore, he starts crying. It shakes his whole body, and he leans into Gwen slightly. He knows he's too heavy for her to hold up. He needs some support though. He can't handle the emotions that are wracking through his body right now.

He hasn't cried since he was a child, he thinks. He hasn't allowed himself too. He hasn't even told that story from his perspective.

He thanks whatever force in the universe that brought Gwen to him in this moment. He didn't realize how much he needed this.

Her reassurance and sympathy are a gift that no one else could provide him. She listened to him, and that was all Kevin could ask for in that moment.

Kevin doesn't know how long he sits there crying into Gwen, but she gracefully lets him.