Trigger warning for this chapter! Mention of suicide, death and depression!
Gwen wiped the surprised expression off her face and replaced it with an angry one, of course Rojo would sell them out for a quick buck. She'll eradicate the bounty hunter from this plane of existence. But she couldn't be too hasty about it. Gwen had no clue what Rick and Rojo talked about beforehand or if they did at all. Killing the huntress on her phone call could complicate things and raise suspicion out of Rick. Gwen would have to wait and see what happens.
"I'm assuming you have information on the progress of Horus' little mission," Rick spoke carefully. "I was in communication with him earlier but he got cut off; I suspect that he was attacked by someone, and since he hasn't called me back then I can only assume that he has died."
"I can confirm Horus died along with the silver haired witch in their fight," Rojo lied.
Gwen couldn't believe Rojo's statement. No way was Hope dead, she couldn't even fathom a possibility of that occurring. Her mind flashed back to the condition she was in when Gwen teleported the witch. Fuck. But she told Cooper to find Charmcaster she remembered, trying to keep some hope of her being okay alive in her head.
"Kraab confirmed that he has the head of the blonde haired woman, but Tetrax Shard isn't anywhere to be found. No sign of your rogue employee either, though Sixsix and his team are tracking him now."
Lucy too? Tears threatened to spill out. Tetrax is missing, Lucy was killed, and Cooper is being tracked down. She couldn't protect any of them; Gwen could barely protect herself in her fight. No she won't believe it, not until she saw their bodies with her own eyes.
"And Gwen Tennyson?" Rick asked.
Gwen stiffened at the mention of her name. A small voice in her mind said to give up. She lost her friends, the plan was ruined, and Ben was surely going to be executed now. What would be the point of resisting? They already lost. Rojo glanced at the scared woman for a moment.
"Dead."
The redhead widened her eyes at Rojo's lie. Why would she lie when they could easily finish her off, then all of the Plumber's problems would disappear.
"Why don't I believe you?" Rick chuckled.
"Well you can come see for yourself."
"This entire situation is a shitshow, Horus disrupted the order of a safezone planet. If the media was to find out the Plumbers were involved then it'd cause political chaos."
"So what now?" Rojo asked.
"You retrieve the bodies and get off that planet, then someone will come to take them once you're away from the commotion."
"And pay?"
Rick laughed, "You'll get your reward when we get our bodies". "And Rojo, you better not be bullshitting me."
"I'm a bounty hunter. I don't do things that'll affect my paycheck."
She tossed the walkie over the edge. Rojo crossed her arms and looked at Gwen.
"Why did you do that? Why did you lie to him?" Gwen adjured.
"I have my reasons and plus who wouldn't want to be owed a favor from Gwen Tennyson?"
Gwen gritted her teeth and growled at the woman's greediness. Of course Rojo wouldn't have done that out of the kindness in her heart; she wanted something from Gwen.
"Pfft then you made a mistake because I'm not doing anything some criminal says," Gwen snapped.
"Still playing girl scout huh? After injuring dozens of innocent people in your little fight tonight?" Rojo accused.
"Don't act like this whole thing doesn't fall on the Plumbers! Nobody would've gotten hurt if they didn't send bounty hunters after us!
"Oh yeah? And what about the countless Plumbers you've gravely injured, or even killed? Are they guilty of the same crimes that Rick committed? They're just soldiers being ordered around and I'm sure you aren't thinking of their family and friends. But whatever it takes to get Ben back, right?"
"I don't have time for this," Gwen grumbled. "I have friends to look for."
"You're willing to start a whole war over someone who betrayed you. It doesn't matter how many cities burn or how many people's lives are ripped away. As long as you get your cousin back, because the end justifies the means right?"
Gwen stayed silent and clenched her fists at the woman's absurd comments. She wasn't gonna let the bounty hunter get to her. Things were already complicated as it was.
"You don't care who dies as long as Ben comes back home, right-"
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Gwen yelled, cutting Rojo off.
The taller woman kept her poker as the enraged Gwen got in her face within a second. Gwen's eyes were bright pink and mana surrounded her closed fists.
"I'm not here to judge you but don't deny the facts, trust me."
Gwen backed up slowly when she realized what she was inches away from doing.
"I-I-I…"
"I will help you get your cousin back but I'm gonna need a small favor in the future. That isn't so bad compared to the other things you had to do, right?"
Rojo stuck out her hand for Gwen and spoke softly, "The end justifies the means".
Gwen hesitated for a moment and shook the woman's hand. They were too deep for them to stop now. The last thing she wanted was for things to be left in vain. That was the responsibility of the leader to make the hard decisions.
"I'll round up my friends," Gwen said.
"I'll be waiting for you here."
Lucy still felt a bit woozy after that whole 'cloning herself' situation, it took a lot of stamina and she was sure that it had negative side effects. The blonde didn't have time to consider any of that. She and Tetrax were wandering the city looking for any sign of their friends. Tetrax was relatively quiet for the majority of their time searching. Security forces were littered around every block and even closed off some streets to pedestrians. Lucy saw plumes of smoke in the air and wondered what happened; nervous that it was the result of a fight that involved one of their teammates.
"I've been thinking the same thing. That we missed a big fight between the others and an unknown enemy. The thought of the black ops team being here frightens me even more," Tetrax solemnly spoke.
Lucy chose to stay silent. She didn't have the courage or confidence to cheer the ex-bounty hunter up. The blonde was just as, if not more, afraid of the near future. Everything changed when she felt a firm hand on her shoulder. Blue eyes met blue eyes and Lucy almost broke down right there. Cooper gave her a goofy smile. Hope stood beside him looking slightly injured. Lucy basically jumped into Cooper's arms and Tetrax smiled at the scene.
"I thought you guys were-"
"We're right here," Cooper assured.
Tetrax saw Hope's expression visibly brighten at something behind him. He glanced to see a tired looking Gwen trudging towards them with a big smile on her face. Hope and Gwen embraced the other in their arms, they were both thinking the same thing. Thank God. Everyone seemed okay with the exception of fatigue and small scratches. Their small moment was cut short when Gwen broke the hug and spoke up.
"The Plumbers know we're here."
Quick glances were shot around the group and one could feel the air noticeably thicken. Their plan felt so fool-proof before they got on-world and now everything was falling apart at the seams. The group knew the consequences of failing at this point, Ben's life was on the line. Cooper glanced around at the sunken faces and decided to speak up.
"They know we're here but they're not here themselves. So we got time to pop smoke and get outta here, I'm sure Gwen already has a backup plan."
Everyone appreciated Cooper's attempt to lighten the mood but they knew such a thing was slim.
"So it's back to the ship, right Gwen?" Cooper asked.
Gwen shook her head and spoke up, "I made a deal".
"I'm shocked you came back," Rojo called out from the door of her vessel.
The team couldn't believe their eyes, the person Gwen made a deal with was a bounty hunter. Rojo felt them glaring daggers at her and she gave a brief laugh at their hostility.
"Relax guys, Gwen and I have a deal."
"A deal that you probably tricked her into!" Lucy shouted back.
"It seems that your subordinates don't trust your judgement," Rojo said to Gwen.
"Guys cool it. This is the only way we get out of this with our objective intact," Gwen demanded.
"This isn't all of you," Rojo claimed as she looked at the group.
"I sent Tetrax and Cooper to our ship so they can follow us."
"Smart. I knew I was making the right choice by siding with you."
Rojo waved the three women inside and brought them to a side bay with body bags in the middle.
"Choose your seat," she smirked as she pointed to the open bags.
Hope and Lucy shot each other concerned looks before glancing at Gwen for her input. The redhead simply sighed and trudged over to a bag, before proceeding to lay inside. Her teammates followed her lead and allowed Rojo's crew mates to zip them up.
Rojo kneeled beside Gwen's bag and said, "Whether you choose to let them drag you onto their ship or kill them here and take their ship is up to you".
Gwen didn't respond to the hunter; she stared into the darkness of her portable tomb. Her earlier conversation with Rojo was still bothering the woman. How could she call herself a hero after what she did today? Gwen caused so much chaos and left those poor people to fend for themselves. And this wasn't the first time people have suffered for this crusade . Her mind flashed back to grandpa Max. Gwen bit her lip to keep the tears away. She hasn't had any time to grieve the loss of the most influential person in her life. The redhead hasn't had a break or a moment to think; she was constantly pushing forward.
Rojo patiently waited in the atmosphere above the planet. She was given instructions from an unknown sender to meet in her current location. There was a tiny piece of her that felt like she was going to be atomized by an orbital cannon any second. Rick was not the most trustworthy person and she knew that his loyalty resided with the Plumbers. He might want to cut off all threads of liability and that included her. The bounty hunter would be lying to herself if she said she wasn't scared.
A small ship zoomed nearby and circled her vehicle before settling down right next to her docking pad. The spaceships started their process to allow others to board without having to enter the dark vacuum of space. Rojo moved over to the door with her guards, she watched the locks and knobs twist on the metal surface. The door opened to reveal a skinny and bald man in a suit and tie on the other side. The man had a crooked smile on his face that gave Rojo the creeps.
"Are you Rose Anton from planet Earth?" he spoke in a raspy voice.
Rojo cringed at the use of her full name and narrowed her eyes at the asshole who used it.
"Just Rojo."
"I believe you have a package for me?"
"Depends. Who the fuck are you?"
"I am Nor, the collector, and a contractor of the Plumbers. I was ordered to pick up some evidence."
"Yeah and I'm the queen of England. We can say names all day but nothing's concrete until I see some ID."
"A tad paranoid, are we?" Nor chuckled as he pulled a card from his pocket.
"Anyone would be if you showed up on their ship talking about 'packages'"
"Fair," he laughed and showed the woman his ID.
Rojo nodded in satisfaction and waved for the man to follow her.
"Wait, aren't you going to show me your ID?"
"I would but my address is detailed on mine and I can't afford another stalker."
"Right…"
Rojo brought Nor to the room with three body bags laying on the floor. She unzipped them to present their "dead" faces to Nor and stood back.
"I know there were two others but there's only so much a lady can do. But there were plenty of other hunters involved, so I'm sure you'll be visiting the others soon."
"One could only assume so," Nor said quietly. "Alive?"
"Dead."
"I really don't like when people lie to me," Nor growled.
"You calling me a liar?"
"I'm saying I've seen enough bodies in my lifetime to tell whether it's dead or not," Nor analyzed.
Rojo pulled out her side arm and showed it to Nor, before stepping over to Lucy and pointing it at the blonde's head. The bounty hunter knew of Lucy's alien background and assumed she could survive the bullet wound, but Nor had other plans at the moment.
"Not her. That one," Nor demanded as he pointed at Hope.
"Why does it matter?"
"If you don't then the deal is off and I'll tell Rick that you planned to betray him."
"You're an ugly little goblin, aren't ya? Fine, then you'll owe me a bullet."
"I'm sure we can come to an agreement."
Rojo readjusted her aim towards Charmcaster and placed her finger on the trigger.
"Do it!" Nor shouted.
Rojo was hesitant to pull the trigger and Nor noticed it quickly.
"You can't be that disheartened about a single bullet."
She pulled the trigger and the shot rang out in the quiet room. None of the bodies moved. Nor smiled at the result and turned to Rojo.
"Thank you for easing my anxiety. Now we can discuss payment."
Rojo and Nor moved out into the main room. He ordered his guards to collect the bodies and place them on their ship. Nor pulled a small box from his jacket presenting it to the tall hunteress. She raised her eyebrows at the tiny object, it looked nothing like 3 million credits. Nor opened it and revealed a black card inside.
"The 3 million credits are on that card ready for immediate use. I know people of your stature usually want to see everything in plain view but this is the future and things are changing."
Rojo narrowed her eyes at the comment and pulled the card out of the box. She gave it a once-over before stuffing it in her pocket.
"Yeah I don't very much like change."
"You don't have a choice. The Plumbers are changing and the Plumbers are the future, and anyone in our way will be crushed," Nor bragged confidently.
Rojo kept quiet and Nor chuckled at the fact that he was able to shut that cocky woman up. Nobody made fun of him and got away with it. He was planning to sell her out anyway to the Plumbers and keep the money for himself. That'll show that dumb bitch.
"What are my idiot guards doing?" he asked himself out loud.
They haven't left that room yet and he hates when his time is wasted. Nor marched over to the door and banged on it like a madman.
"What's taking you, bozos, so long?!" he shouted.
When Nor didn't hear a response, he opened the door with an angry roar.
"I SAID WHAT-"
Nor stopped yelling when he saw the guards laying in a pool of their own blood. Gwen and Lucy stood in the middle of the room. He was about to yell for help when a hand of mana grabbed him by the throat, instantly breaking his windpipe, and slammed him into the wall. Hope stepped into his vision with a regenerating hole in her head. A bullet dropped onto the floor and Charmcaster's forehead had not a scratch on it. He saw red when Rojo moved into view with a smirk on her face.
"Yeah, no, I'd rather go back to the time when everyone got to do what the fuck they wanted," she said.
Rojo called for her guards to tie the choking man up. She wanted Gwen to execute her plan on their ship so she wasn't so directly involved; but it was good to see that little weirdo get his ass handed to him.
"By the way, how'd you do that?" Rojo asked the silver haired witch.
"Magic," Hope replied sarcastically
"Smartass," Rojo chirped with a roll of her eyes.
Lucy was freaking out about how she was almost shot and Hope was explaining to her how she was actually shot. Gwen and Rojo nodded to each other and moved away from the arguing duo.
"I guess this is where we part ways," Rojo started.
"I could really use your help for the final battle."
"I meant what I said about not caring to enter your little spat with the Plumbers. I've done enough interference. You're on your own, princess."
"You also mentioned that you're curious about it," Gwen rebuked.
"I have faith that you'll do the right thing. Although I have one question: what are you going to do if you don't get Ben back?"
"In all seriousness, I've been equipped to deal with the Plumbers without him. But I still feel the need to chase after him; the reason for that has been made painstakingly clear to me, I can't imagine a world without my cousin."
"You're gonna need to learn to find your own path, girly," Rojo quipped.
Gwen and Rojo made their way back to the scene of a tied up Plumber. They couldn't exactly interrogate him- all thanks to Charmcaster, but that didn't mean Gwen didn't have other plans for him. The small man was struggling to breathe in his current condition, his eyes were narrowed at the women who put him there. Lucy walked up to Nor and placed her hand on his head and closed her eyes. She was tired from her previous fight so she needs to focus in order to get this right. A few seconds passed then purple sludge began to ooze from the blonde's skin and form a mould over her body. Within 30 seconds she had completely transformed into an exact copy of Nor.
"How do I look?" Lucy asked in the man's raspy voice.
"Perfect," Gwen said with a smile.
Everything was falling into place for her new plan, or rather a modified version of her original plan. They would change into the armor of the guards and escort Lucy onto the Plumber's transport ship. She was hoping that no one would suspect some random guards. Tetrax and Cooper would lay back and wait for their signal to come pick them up.
"You got what you wanted; no need for him anymore, right?" Rojo questioned.
Gwen approached the man with a frown on her face; she raised her glowing hand to finish the job. She glared at him menacingly, he was by all means a creep that completed Plumber dirty work. Greasy, thinning hair and small beady eyes gave him the look of a storybook villain. He shot Hope. He was working for the Plumbers, the people they were at war with. This is war; things like this are bound to happen. She tried to convince herself that his death was necessary. Keeping him alive would only complicate things in the future. But he, like every other grunt they faced, was just following orders. How could she condemn them with the same viciousness that she showed their superiors? The ones that were truly at fault sat behind thousands of soldiers. Gwen wasn't prepared for the amount of bloodshed she'd encounter on this mission.
Gwen lowered her hand and head in shame, before walking away from the man. She was angry at herself for still being weak after all the horrors she's been through. Hope chased after the sulking woman with a look of concern. Nor smiled widely at the retreating redhead, dried and fresh blood pooled in his mouth. Rojo strolled over to the man with her pistol drawn and put the cold steel to his forehead.
"You look like a dead man to me but one can't be too sure," she spoke coldly.
A single shot rang out in the ship and Gwen felt herself shuddering at the noise. She cursed herself for not being up to the task; Gwen was supposed to be the leader, and now she was showing weakness. Charmcaster wrapped her arm around the redhead's shoulder.
"You must think I'm a weak leader," Gwen stammered.
"Because you couldn't kill someone? Showing mercy isn't weak and should be a trait in every person," Hope rebuked.
"Not just this but the whole mission was a bust. My idiotic idea almost got everyone killed today!"
"Gwen…"
"I dropped the ball and look where it got us, I made a deal with a criminal and now we're executing people. This doesn't feel right at all."
"So you made a mistake, who cares? Nobody could've known that bounty hunters were after us. We were in a shitty situation and you made something out of it, that's what a leader does. Cooper told me how you sent him to check on me, even though you were in your own fight," Hope ranted passionately.
"When I saw you laying there in your own blood, I couldn't do anything but send you away. You got hurt saving me and all I did in return was teleport you to more danger. I really thought… that I lost you, Hope. And I couldn't bear the thought of losing another person."
"So you've shown me examples of mercy, responsibility, selflessness, bravery, and compassion. What was that about you not being a good leader?" the witch reviewed.
Gwen didn't respond and kept her head down.
"Listen-"
"I'm not Ben!" Gwen spurted out quickly.
Hope raised an eyebrow at the sudden mention of the woman's cousin.
"If Ben was there, he'd just change into an alien and beat up all the bad guys. Nobody would've gotten hurt in the first place. He'd dive headfirst into the fight without a second thought to protect someone he cared about. I can't do any of that! I'm just a useless, weak-"
A sharp slap echoed through the hall. A red mark was left across Gwen's cheek, and the redhead had a shocked look on her face. Charmcaster narrowed her eyes at the woman as she lowered her hand.
"Stop it with the damn Ben comparisons! I'm so sick and tired of you putting yourself down in retrospect to your cousin, when you're just as much of a hero as he is! Sure, you don't have an ultra powerful watch attached to your wrist. But he doesn't hold a candle to your intelligence! You think Ben would be able to come up with a plan like this? No, he'd just throw his biggest alien at the problem and hope that it works. That prick has no consideration for anyone around him, he thinks we're all just damsels in distress and he's the knight in shining armor. Ben gave people hope, but you give us the feeling of necessity; you make everyone feel that they're viable to the plan in some way. Everyone was just a liability to him. Ben was just a hero; you're a hero AND a leader."
Gwen couldn't help but smile at the out-of-breath woman that had just ranted in her face. Hope was right, this was no time to sulk into depression. There was too much riding on her being able to lead. Max had told her, Rojo mentioned it, and now Hope was screaming it in her face. Gwen had to find her own niche, she couldn't spend her life chasing after Ben's.
"Are y'all done with your pep talk yet?" Rojo complained as she stepped into view.
Hope looked at Gwen for an answer; the redhead stood up tall and smiled.
"Yeah, now if you excuse us; we got a Plumber transporter to get onto," Gwen commented.
Rojo moved out of the way for the newly confident Gwen as she strided back into the room with Lucy. It was strange seeing a perfectly healthy Nor standing right next to a dead one.
"This'll be a walk in the park," Gwen spoke.
A thud alerted the sorceress to a situation unfolding behind her. Gwen turned to see Hope collapsed on the floor, breathing heavily with beads of sweat dripping down her forehead. The redhead was at Hope's side in an instant, placing the barely conscious girl's head in her lap. Gwen checked her pulse and it was beating slowly. First aid training was one of the things the woman picked up on at a younger age. She placed the back of her hand against the sweating woman's forehead, Hope was burning up. Pale skin, dilated eyes, and fever were classic symptoms of Mana Drain, a dangerous consequence of using too much mana in one sitting. All those magic books she read informed her of magical diseases and she was grateful that she knew how to treat it. Gwen's hand glowed pink with aura and allowed Charmcaster's body to capture some mana. Too much at one time would literally overdose her, so she'd have to keep the amount low.
"Will she be okay?" Lucy asked worriedly.
"Yeah she just needs rest."
"We'll need another person to be a guard."
"N-no, I'm fine I can go," Hope groaned weakly.
"You know I won't allow that in a million years," Gwen scolded back. "We're gonna put you on Tetrax's ship and grab Cooper on the way out."
Lucy nodded and made the move to contact the others to pick them up. Gwen sat Hope up against the wall and kept watch over her. Tetrax didn't take long to arrive and the women carried Hope over to his ship. Tetrax was surprised to see the powerful witch in such a weak condition. He saw the way she fought against the sun goddess and her uncle. It made him wonder what could've put her in this state.
"What happened to her?" Cooper inquired.
"She used too much magic, she'll be out of the fight for a bit."
"Shit, how can we help?" Tetrax quizzed.
"Nothing really. She'll just need rest. I want you to keep an eye on her and Coop you'll be coming with me and Lucy," Gwen commanded.
The men nodded and went to prepare for their respective jobs. Gwen sat on the edge of the bed that Hope laid on. She pushed the hair out of her face and watched her sleep. The witch was in noticeable pain but there was nothing Gwen could do until they came back. That's motivation to get back as quickly as possible. She heard Cooper call for her from the other room and Gwen stood up to leave.
"Be careful... please," Hope croaked softly.
Gwen smiled before speaking, "Don't worry the next time we see each other I'll be with Ben."
The redhead met Cooper and Tetrax in the main room, both of them seemed concerned about Hope.
"She'll be fine. Just keep an eye on her."
"Roger that," Tetrax replied with a thumbs-up.
Cooper was dressed in the Plumber attire and Gwen took hers to the bathroom to change as well. When she came out, Lucy had joined the group as Nor. Everyone knew the plan, it was go time now. Lucy and her guards moved onto the Plumber ship: Cooper took a hold of the pilot's seat, Lucy walked over to the blinking communicator, and Gwen put the body bags down on the floor. The bags had Nor and his guard's bodies inside to keep up the image. Cooper searched through the GPS of the ship to find multiple other ships in it's radar. It would take him a bit to figure out which one held Ben. Lucy answered the communicator after testing out her new voice.
"Hello?" Lucy spoke slowly.
"Why haven't you been answering your radios?" an angry voice responded.
"What? We didn't get any calls. Hm, that stupid bitch must've had jammers on her ship," Lucy quickly improv'd in a raspy tone. "I knew we couldn't trust that bounty hunter! She could've killed me and no one would be the wiser. Next time, send some grunts to do the job."
"What's your ETA back to HQ? Apparently the boss wants to check the bodies himself."
Now Lucy knew she wasn't speaking to anyone important, she'll try to get more information out of him.
"Huh? Who?" Lucy demanded.
"Commander Rick, sir."
"What- does he not trust me anymore after all the years of loyalty I've had for the Plumbers?"
"I don't know but they want you there asap."
"Fine but if we have to fly there in this piece of junk then don't expect us to get there 'asap'."
"There's a prison transport ship nearby that'll be returning to HQ after a dropoff if you want to dock with them; they have FTL capabilities to make it back faster than you ever could," the man suggested.
"Sounds good to me. Let Commander Rick know that we're on our way back but let's keep this docking thing under wraps, eh? I don't think either of us wants to hear a boring lecture about procedure from him," Lucy said confidently.
"Yeah, you're right about that. Safe trip, sir," he laughed.
Lucy gave a thumbs-up to Gwen when she ended the call and Cooper did the same when he found the location of the prison ship handling Ben. The ship claimed to be transporting a D-class criminal, yet it was a massive vessel with several battle-ships following it. Gwen thanked the duo for their continued hard work. From there it was smooth sailing until they got to the transport ship. Gwen made sure to tell Tetrax to keep his distance, so the Plumber's suspicions didn't arise.
After an hour of navigating space a large ship came into view of the trio. Several more weaponized ships were tailing the transporter. Cooper came over the radio to ask for permission to dock their vessel. They couldn't cut corners on this mission; anything they did could cost them everything. The ship bay guards were hesitant about allowing an unscheduled ship to land in their dock, especially since they knew exactly what they were transporting. Lucy used Nor's authority to cancel out any suspicions, claiming that he was ordered by Commander Rick. They didn't ask questions after Rick's name was mentioned.
Gwen internally smiled when they were given permission to land. She and Cooper locked their helmets into place and prepared themselves to serve as Lucy's guards. Cooper landed the ship quickly. The trio nodded at each other as they heard approaching voices. A sharp knocking came from the door before it was unlocked and opened. Several guards appeared on the other side and pointed their weapons at them. A high ranking official waltzed into the room and waved for them to lower their guns.
"Sorry for the sudden hostility, Nor," he said apologetically.
"You wouldn't get this type of service on a D class transporter," Lucy answered sarcastically.
"You can't be too safe these days."
The man's badge read: Magister Peterson, a rather human name for an alien. Lucy assumed he was born on Earth amongst humans; with blue skin and antennas he was far from human.
"It's not everyday you see the Collector asking for rides."
"Well it's not everyday you make a catch like mine," Lucy spoke matter-of-factly.
"I could only imagine, Nor, but procedure still comes first. We'll have to sit you in the holding sector until I've heard word from Commander Rick."
"Do what you must, old chap," Lucy responded.
Magister Peterson was thrown off by how straight-forward and friendly the normally standoffish official was being. Nor wasn't one to take shit from anyone besides Rick, and even violating policies was a walk in the park for him. Peterson watched the man and his guards be taken away, he couldn't help but feel that something was wrong.
Gwen looked for landmarks as they navigated through the endless halls. She looked for shortcuts, exits, control rooms, anything that would help them in the long run. The Plumber had mentioned keeping them in holding and wondered how far off that was from Ben's location. It didn't seem real any of it, all the work they've done was about to pay off. She wondered what she was going to say to Ben when they met. How was he going to react to them saving him; would he be grateful? Angry? Gwen had to take a quick breath. One thing at a time, Gwen. They had to find him first.
The redhead was also looking for potential enemies they'd have to fight on their way out, besides the regular grunts. She doubts that Magister Peterson would be a problem. Gwen was more worried about the black ops soldiers that Rick commanded. Cooper had informed her of Hope's battle, and win, against Horus. The details of their battle shocked her. Cooper described Hope as having bestial features and animalistic attacks, like a predator closing in on its prey. Gwen figured that whatever transformation she went through was too much for her to handle. If a single soldier pushed her to that point then they were truly a force to be reckoned with. Gwen would have to watch out for them, avoiding battle with the soldiers was the best choice.
Gwen's eyes focused on something else. Blonde hair of an approaching woman. She was there during the raid and Grandpa Max's funeral. Ben's partner agent, Carly strided past them in the hallway. Gwen stared her down through the mask, she didn't know if she could trust the agent yet. Both encounters with the blonde were neutral for the most part. Gwen will have to find out in time.
Carly could feel the intense gaze of the passing soldier even though they wore a mask over their face. She didn't think too much of it, the blonde was the center of most conversation on this ship. What shocked her the most was seeing the collector on board. People didn't see him much, he kept to himself most of the time. Agent Jetson heard the man was a total asshole who only followed Captain Rick's orders. She was curious as to why he was here, but she'd rather not speak to the man. Nor usually showed up after big events to tidy up the results and gather any pieces lying around. The man was more important to the organization than his job description made it seem.
Agent Jetson's mind wandered to him being here to retrieve Ben's corpse and the woman hurried back to Ben's holding cell. Her heels clicked through the hallway as she approached the large door. She asked the dangerous-looking guards to open the door and they allowed her access to Ben. Steel blue eyes met with dim green ones as Carly glanced at the man with a sad look. She placed the smoothie she got for him on the table, before sitting in the seat across from him.
"Um? Do you mind?" he asked as his eyes glanced at the cuffs he was detained in.
"Oh. Here," Carly answered apologetically.
The blonde older woman grabbed the blended drink and raised the straw to his lips. Ben was hesitant at first but drank slowly from the cup. The cool drink wet his dry lips and quenched his parched throat. Ben pulled back and Carly placed the cup down.
"Not as good as Mr. Smoothie but eh."
Carly giggled, "that's the least of your problems".
The silence returned and Carly found him staring quite hard at her. It made things awkward for her a bit; she looked down at the table and tucked away a strand of hair.
"You're seriously pretty, you know that?" Ben said nonchalantly.
Carly's eyes widened and she blushed in surprise at the random compliment.
"Where did that come from?" she asked.
"Don't you have a boyfriend or husband waiting for you at home?"
The answer was no and the reason was simple, she put work before her life. Plumbers was all she knew. Carly was two years from the big 3-0 and it felt like yesterday she joined the organization at the crisp age of 19. Times were simpler back then; they gave her a weapon and told her where to point it. Johnathan Jetson taught his little girl to be a tough cookie that talked with her fists, and that debts were paid back in blood. Boys weren't interested in her tom-boy style and assertive attitude, but Carly wasn't interested in them either.
Hunting was their favorite father-daughter pastime. Every weekend they'd go out and spend the day in the woods. Most girls her age thought the forest was filled with bugs and scary animals. But to her the time she spent with him was her entire world. Carly remembered her first kill; a bunny and how proud her dad was of her. Any reasonable person could tell Johnathan wanted a son, but that didn't stop him from projecting his ways onto his only daughter. It wasn't always sunshine and rainbows though, her dad and mom used to argue loudly at night. John used to be a soldier in the US military and sometimes he still thought he was a soldier; he suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Most days he was calm and other days he wasn't. John would complain his pills weren't working and he took to the bottle soon after.
Carly assumed the divorce was what killed him. Annabelle, her mother, came to hate John with a passion. She hated his drinking and his episodes. She wished everything would just go back to normal. Carly could laugh at how impossible that was for her father, no matter how much rehab and therapy he went through. One day mom left and never returned. Carly thinks that day her dad also left; he mentally checked out. Seeing her father fall deeper into the abyss crushed her, but what can a 12 year old child do by herself? Well it wasn't any different from the crying 13 year old that couldn't get the barrel out of her father's mouth.
Carly went in and out of foster homes. Fights were the main reason why she was booted from one program to the next. Jonathan Jetson did raise a tough cookie after all. As soon as she finished high school, she ran away to the Plumbers. Her life on Earth sucked anyway so she'd do anything to get away from her dreaded home planet. Life went on from there, she's seen enough combat to last her a lifetime. Carly's Plumber squad was her new family and they were just as fucked up as she was.
Being a combat medic made her realize who mortal everyone was. What a curse it was to have the ability to save lives. There was a time where she almost ended up like her dad, drunk with a barrel in her mouth. She remembered who talked her out of pulling the trigger. Johnny Winters was a squadmate that made it his duty to check in on her after their return from deployment. He'd always give her some cheesy excuse about family checking in on family whenever he stopped by or called.
Carly didn't know when she fell in love with Winters. It was just a random day when she realized how happy she was being around him. It was laughable how surprised Johnny was when he found her seconds away from killing herself. She's never seen a man yell like that before. He broke down in front of her, begging Carly not to do it. Carly would never think someone would be crying over her, a washed up chick with an attitude problem.
They never had a chance to be a normal couple before being called back onto duty. Another proxy war to fight. She didn't remember much before the moment. It was a typical battlefield, a hail of bullets and explosions. Then everything slowed down and she was kneeling with Johnny's head in her lap. He was a mess: blood on every surface of his skin, his stomach was ripped open and his intestines were hanging out. Hemorrhaging was the main cause of death for a soldier around here and it was about to take another. No goodbyes, no kisses, no 'I love you' exchanged- just Johnny's lifeless eyes staring up at her.
After that, she blocked out everything. Carly simply followed orders and moved up through the ranks. She was offered a position away from the battlefield and the woman would become an agent for the Plumbers instead of a soldier. Carly was about to turn it down until she read the name on the assignment, she would be partnered with Ben Tennyson. She hated that name. World's greatest hero? A guardian of hope? Savior of the universe? Don't make her laugh. Her dad was her universe and nobody saved him. Where was the hero when Johnny was dying in her arms? She didn't believe in that shit, yet she took the assignment.
Ben knocked on the table and pulled Carly out of her trance. He raised an eyebrow at the day-dreaming woman. She shook her head quickly and looked at the concerned man.
Nope. I've never had anybody. I guess I'm not as attractive as you say I am," Carly lied with a smile. "Plus I don't really have time for that."
Ben laughed," yeah I would've probably lied too if somebody asked me that up until recently".
"You got somebody special?"
"I think so. I mean I regret not getting to know her. She probably thinks I'm an arrogant asshole now. Not too far off the mark I suppose. We had something and I blew it."
"I'm sure she doesn't think you're a total asshole," joked the blonde.
"Nah she definitely thinks I'm a dirtbag," Ben laughed wholeheartedly.
"You said it, not me."
The partners laughed at the comment for a few moments and for a second, everything felt normal.
"Do me a favor, partner," Ben started. "Tell her I'm sorry, yeah? It'll be easy to find her when this is over. She has sil-"
Ben was interrupted by the guard banging on the door before opening it up. That signaled that their time was up. Carly looked at her ex-boss and stood up slowly. Ben didn't finish his statement but she would still keep his promise. The blonde leaned over the table and planted a small kiss on the man's cheek. Ben was surprised to say the least.
"Goodbye, hero."
Carly gave Ben one more glance before heading out of the room. Ben Tennyson may not be all that, but he was definitely something.