Captive

Summary: Gwendolyn Tennyson Levin was captured by a dangerous band of alien tech black market smugglers known as "Marketmaker". She is brought before their leader, her husband Kevin Levin.

Gwendolyn Tennyson Levin returned fire from where she'd taken cover. The air was thick with smoke and dust. She was outnumbered, Marketmaker was a dangerous smuggling group, she'd been sent with a squad of rookies and despite her experience, they'd all been gunned down. Now she was the only one left.

Gwendolyn sighed. Things had been so hard for her since Kevin Left, many of the old guard were retiring, there were few honest Plumbers left, many of them were taking bribes to let crime slide.

Ben was constantly busy, he worked so hard, and yet so little seemed to change.

Her superiors had sent her to take down Marketmaker, a dangerous smuggling ring that had slain scores of amateur Plumbers. Gwen had protested, saying she needed more people than what they were giving her.

She wasn't a young, spry teenager or even college-age anymore.

Her age had slowed her down, the alien tech was more powerful and even her mana shields couldn't protect her from the guns they had.

The blaster fire surrounded her as she tried to find cover again.

"There she is, we got her now!" one of them shouted.

Gwen conjured a spell that blocked the blast but it wasn't strong enough to fully protect her. She was knocked off her feet, the wind pushed out of her lungs.

She climbed to her feet, she had one last resort, she needed to teleport out of there and get away.

She managed to teleport, but her calculations were off and she appeared right in front of another squad of Marketmaker smugglers.

They tackled her to the floor, one of them, slammed his closed fists into her gut. Gwendolyn wheezed, coughing.

They forced her onto her belly, restraining her arms and legs.

"She's pretty one, ain't she boys?" one of them chuckled.

"You know what the boss says, we don't do anything to the women," another replied.

"The boss is weak, if we have our way with her, then we off her, it'll put a good scare into those Plumbers," the first one sneered.

"Don't. Touch. Me." Gwen's eyes began glowing.

"Oh baby, you don't get to have a say in this—"

The man's voice was cut off by the sound of a muffled scream.

"Boss," the other man stared in horror.

Kevin Levin gripped the man by his head, "There's a reason for that little rule, and it is the Plumbers, I've always been able to stay one step ahead of them because they can't get anything on me, the last thing I need attached to my operations is rape and murder!"

"You're weak old man, it's about time someone showed you what a real man is!" his subordinate gagged.

"Weak? You called me weak? Well, I'll show you just what this weakling can do!"

Kevin absorbed his energy. The other men stared in horror as his victim screamed and begged for mercy. Then the screaming stopped and everything was silent.

Kevin placed the body down on the ground. "Get rid of him."

Kevin glanced down at Gwen. "We fight Plumbers but they expect to die in the line of duty. So who came after me today?"

"Just her and a squad, all her squadmates are dead, but we didn't know what we should do with her," the other man who had protested his dead subordinate's actions replied.

Kevin was startled, his wife glanced up at him, he saw the surprised expression her face.

"Hello, lovely Gwen," Kevin said in a voice that was low and calming.

"Boss, you know her?" one of his men asked.

"She's my ex-wife, haven't seen her in years," Kevin let his lips curve into a smile. "Still as beautiful as ever."

"Since she's your ex—" one of them began.

"No, my rule regarding women still stands; it's a surefire way to set them off on a quest for revenge. Besides, there are some lines I don't cross, I remind you of what just happened to our associate over there."

He looked to his men, "Pull her to her feet and take her to the cell, put this bracelet on her wrist and then chain her up. No one's going to see her but me. Are we clear?"

"As crystal boss," the men replied.

They dragged her off to the room and placed the bracelet around her wrist. They chained her to the wall and left the room.

Kevin Levin entered the room, glancing at her. She was chained at the wrists, her legs were still free, but he could always chain them to prevent her from kicking him if he wanted to.

They were alone at last; Gwen looked at him, nervously. Her body trembled, but she managed to raise her head and look at him.

"Are you trembling with fear or desire, sweetheart, we haven't been together in a long time," Kevin laughed, his voice mocked her.

"It's cold in this room, Kevin!" Gwen snapped angrily. "You don't even want me anymore!"

"But you want me, I remember what you're like when we're alone Baby, but there's things that I have to do and you're getting in my way," Kevin replied, his voice was deep and cold.

"Kevin, now's not the time to talk about—" Gwen began.

"Did you know this was my group? Is that why you're here, to "get me"?" Kevin asked, gesturing to himself.

"I am here to arrest you, but as you can see, Kev, they took my weapons, my powers are sealed and I'm tied up!"

"Yes, you're completely at my mercy," Kevin glanced at her.

"Your men, they won't—" Gwen began.

"No, we already get in enough trouble, I won't let them rape you, they know you're mine, and they know not to take anything that's mine."

"They had no such restraint when you weren't there!" Gwen spoke to him, her voice cold and angry.

"I took care of that, didn't I? You didn't protest when I murdered him for wanting to rape you. You're mine you know."

"That's funny considering our relationship now!" Gwen stared at him.

"The sad look on your face when the test comes back negative isn't worth the pleasure," Kevin sighed. "You want to try, but it never works out. I sent you divorce papers."

"I never signed that paper Kevin," Gwen told him simply. "We're still married—"

"On paper," Kevin finished.

Kevin moved in closer to her, "Gwendolyn, who sent you here?"

"I won't talk, you know how this works, you were a Plumber after all. Are you going to torture me for information?"

"No, you're too stubborn, you won't talk. We went through basic training together," Kevin gazed at her.

Gwen stared at his face, trying to read him.

"You enjoy having me stare at you, reminds you of the old days, when we'd spend time together, "Kevin slowly, gently moved her leg to slip around his clothed hip, he wrapped them both about his hips.

To his surprise, she did protest or try to squirm out of position.

"You enjoy tormenting me this way, you don't want me, or you wouldn't have sent me divorce papers!"

"I might not want you, but I always did like teasing you," Kevin chuckled. He brushed her cheek with his hand.

Gwen leaned into his touch.

Kevin did not pull away from her, "Since when are you touch starved?"

"Since you left me," Gwen looked down at the floor.

"Should've signed those papers, married a nice guy, like Cooper Daniels, you should stop pining over me. All we do is hurt each other."

"And what are we doing now?" Gwen asked, her chained hands restrained, her legs wrapped around his clothed hips.

Kevin's eye glanced at her and she couldn't read him.

"Baby, you're not getting what you want, you'll just be disappointed," Kevin sighed. "We tried a lot, you know that. I can't give you want you want."

"I'm not the one who wrapped my legs around your waist," Gwen told him.

"But you aren't telling me to stop," he countered.

"Kevin…" Gwen began, she bit her lip, biting back something.

Kevin's mind raced, she was biting back a groan, she wanted him.

Baby, you're gonna cause me to make a big mistake, Kevin thought.

Kevin moved her legs so they'd drop to the floor. "You wouldn't let any other guy do that to you, unless you wanted it."

"I don't want any other guy, I want you."

"I can't bring myself to hurt you, and you're not going to talk. I'll bring you some food later. I won't let my men near you, all you're going to see is me."

Kevin turned away from her. He began walking away.

"Hope you're not expecting a goodbye kiss," Kevin smirked.

"If I wanted to kiss you, I would have done it already," Gwen said softly.

"Goodbye Gwendolyn," Kevin's stiff voice said, he closed and locked the door.

Kevin Levin walked down the hall, letting out a deep breath.

He had restrained himself from kissing her, from holding her, from wanting to tease her more by moving his clothed hips. He hid how much he wanted her and restrained himself, no, he couldn't have her again, not when it would lead to nothing but a sad expression on her face when she couldn't get pregnant, something she wanted so much.

He needed to stay away from her, just for a little while until he calmed down.

She wanted me, she admitted that she wanted me, Kevin thought, he needed to clear his head and think. He needed to get a grasp on his situation.

Kevin Levin wondered what kind of coincidence would bring Gwendolyn back into his life, but maybe it wasn't a coincidence, and he wondered just why she was the one the Plumbers sent to bring him down in the first place.

Gwendolyn Tennyson Levin watched her husband leave the room and she heard the door lock. The notorious band of smugglers known as "Marketmaker" had their hands in smuggling all sorts of illegal tech all over the universe.

The feel of his hands on her skin evoked memories that at one time had brought her joy. Now they only reminded her of pain.

Their marriage had been happy at first, but then they had tried to start a family. But she could never get pregnant. They had tried so hard, it had strained their marriage.

He left one day, saying that he had something important to take care of, and he had never come back. She had received divorce papers in the mail, but she had never signed them.

Everything had gone so wrong when she couldn't get pregnant, Kevin blamed himself for failing her, she'd always told him that they could adopt, that she'd be fine, but then he'd left, and she had to readjust to being alone.

After five years, there he was again. They had been so close but yet so far apart.

Gwendolyn sighed, she was captured and his prisoner, and her feelings for him were still so strong. Nothing good would come of this, she told herself. Or tried to anyway. Gwendolyn Levin sighed.

Gwen listened; she could hear men outside her cell talking.

"Boss' room is just across the hallway. You'd think a guy that good-looking would have a girl in his bed every few nights."

"Nah, the boss is practically a monk, never seen him with a girl. Says they get nosey, trying to learn secrets."

"He ain't wrong, but plenty of the boys have mistresses and wives."

"That Plumber was his wife, by the stars, she's hot!" one of them said loud enough for her to hear.

"You hear their conversation, I was expecting them to go at it," the first man laughed.

"Yeah, can't believe the boss didn't, they may not get along, but at least one night wouldn't hurt the guy. He's too uptight you know."

"I wonder what'd that be like," the first man laughed.

"We might find out, the way they are, that bed of his is gonna be occupied."

"The look on his face said otherwise," the second man laughed.

"Nah, he wanted her real bad," the first replied. "Wonder why they're not together."

"Not our business, so let's go."

The men left as they changed the subject. Gwen waited silently, she half expected Kevin to take a woman to his bed. She knew he'd had girlfriends before they were in a relationship, but so far, his room was quiet.

Five years and he hadn't taken a lover, not even a one-night stand. He had become obsessed with his criminal empire, that was all he cared about. He didn't care about her.

She didn't want to think, she'd try to sleep.

Kevin entered his office and saw a familiar face waiting for him.

"Argit," Kevin nodded to the reformed con-man.

"I'm not here on business Kev, I heard your ex went missing, your guys grab her? Heard she'd been sent after Marketmaker."

"That's part of their job to go after guys like me, this isn't news to me," Kevin told Argit.

"Kev, the Plumbers have become corrupt, they're trying to get rid of the old guard."

Kevin clenched his fist, "What?"

"The higher-ups were hoping Red would get murdered by your men," Argit told him. "Or something else…so they'd have an excuse to bring you in since they can't catch you."

Kevin's entire frame shook with rage, "They've fallen that far, have they? I have one rule, and I'd never break that, especially her, I'd never rape her. I…"

"You're still crazy about her," Argit said quietly.

Kevin looked at his friend, "Being with me only causes her pain. We tried so hard to have a kid, it never happened, all her sadness and disappointment. It's my fault, we both went to doctors, it wasn't her fault she couldn't conceive. It was me."

"Why'd you start Marketmaker, you said you, "Had something to do, something important." What's going on, Kev?"

"It's something big, that's all you need to know," Kevin nodded. "I don't like this, someone's setting up something. It's far too convenient."

"What is, Kev?" Argit asked.

"That my wife is sent to bring me down, whoever they are, they know my connection to her. They could have sent anyone and they sent her."

"If this is a setup, it's very elaborate, what do they want?" Argit asked.

"That's what I'd like to know," Kevin glanced at the photo of the two of them on his desk. "Someone's playing a game with me and I want to know who it is."

Argit noticed Kevin's pale face, "Something happen?"

Kevin sighed, "Gwen let me be close to her, she let me wrap her legs around my hips, she wanted me to be close to her. She wanted me. After all these years."

Kevin ran his fingers through his hair.

"I need to stay away from her, I won't be able to control myself," Kevin whispered.

Brannigan stood watching the Marketmaker headquarters, he smiled.

"I haven't forgotten how you people humiliated us in basic training. Still, the fact that you two still have feelings for each other is something we can use against you, Gwendolyn."

Zorian glanced at the Alpha Squad leader, "So you're saying you want them to get back together?"

"It's so much easier to accuse Gwendolyn of corruption when she's sleeping with a notorious criminal leader. I knew Kevin Levin was the leader of Marketmaker, it's why I sent her. His crews are comprised of scumbags, I was hoping they'd kill her but it seems they didn't feel like killing a Plumber today. She's pretty enough I was hoping they'd have their way with her before they'd off her, it'd be the perfect charge to get them on, they keep slipping past us."

"Listen, we were just gonna get her killed, not get her raped and killed!" Zorian stared at him, astonished.

"It would have made her a sympathetic martyr and the excuse we need to bring them in. But this turn of events still works out, we'll have a reason to get rid of her and bring down Marketmaker."

Brannigan smiled, "We'll let the two loverbirds kiss and make up, we'll be rid of Gwendolyn Levin soon enough and all the old guard of the Plumbers will be gone."

"But what about Ben 10,000?" Zorian asked.

"We'll kill him soon enough," Brannigan replied. "Let's go!"

The two Plumbers turned and left. Everything was going according to plan.