"Gwen, I'm glad you came." Kevin's smile broadened as he opened the door for the redhead. Then he remembered that he shouldn't look so happy now, after all, a child had been kidnapped. "I have some good clues about Hex's whereabouts," he said in a more serious tone and closed the door, not without looking outside first to make sure Gwen came alone.
"What's with all this mystery, Kevin?" Gwen folded her arms.
"Well." Kevin scratched his head. "I just didn't want to see the face of Ben or the Plumbers. I mean, some time ago the Plumbers sent Lucy here to try to spy on me, and Ben... too much bad blood between us. That's why I asked you to come alone. "
Gwen nodded, "Anything that might help find Dawn."
Kevin noticed that even worried and probably not sleeping properly, Gwen still looked beautiful like an angel. His heart thudded harder as he knew he was within minutes of taking her back.
"I made you a snack-"
"Sorry, Kevin, I'm in a hurry. We should get straight to the point," Gwen said.
"We're going after Hex. You have to be strong, and I doubt you're eating properly with all this worry about Dawn in your head. Just eat something while I tell you what I found out," Kevin pointed to a sandwich and juice on the table.
The redhead folded her arms. "Kevin, I appreciate the concern, but stop stalling, please."
Kevin stared at her with a look of shock on his face. "I know what this is. You think I put something in the food. After everything we've been through, you don't trust me..." He turned his back to her. "I can't help you like this."
Gwen came closer to Kevin and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Kevin, listen to me, this is not the time to be paranoid or prideful. I'm your friend and I will always be, but the life of a child is at risk and-"
Kevin turned around abruptly and stabbed her with a syringe. "I'm glad I have a B plan, babe. Love is in the air." He grinned somberly.
Gwen blinked a few times, then said in a confused voice, "Kevin, I ... I should be mad at you, but ..." She touched his face affectionately. "I love you too much to be mad at you. I don't know how Ben could talk me into his bs. Please, Kevin, forgive me!"
Kevin kissed her passionately, and she kissed him back with the same intensity.
"Of course, I forgive you, babe," Kevin said, "Just out of curiosity, would you mind if I kill Ben? He's the real monster here, who wants to keep us apart."
"No way. I'll help you tear apart my idiot cousin," Gwen said with an evil grin, but then her expression softened. "But there's someone innocent in this story, Dawn. We have to save her from Hex. "
"Yeah," Kevin said. "I'm a hero. The plan was never to leave her with Hex. Don't worry about it."
"What do you mean, 'the plan'? Did you help Hex kidnap her?" Gwen asked a little surprised.
Kevin broke out in a cold sweat. "Of course not, babe... Err... I just meant that ..."
"Don't worry, Kevin. I understand. You needed Hex's potion to open my eyes to the truth. You made a lot of sacrifices to get us back together again, things you didn't want to do. Ben's the only one to blame for that." She caressed his cheek again.
"Exactly! I never wanted to do business with Hex, but I had no choice. Since we met again when I was 16, absolutely everything I did was out of love for you," Kevin said, "We take Dawn back and then we run away together. You tell your family that the media pressure on you is insufferable, and you want to disappear. In a few months, I'll kill Ben. I'll let him suffer a little before knowing that you ditched him for me, but I really want to kill him myself. "
"Alright, love. How are you going to talk to Hex?"
"Here!" Kevin pulled out of his pocket a black and red stone. "I just have to drip a drop of my blood on this stone to activate it. But first..." Kevin smirked, "I really need to take you to bed, Gwen."
"No. I'm going to have to take you to bed, handsome." Gwen smirked too, and in a swift motion she stabbed Kevin with her own syringe. "Surprise! I brought one too."
Kevin started to feel extremely sleepy. Struggling to keep his eyes open, Kevin saw Gwen turn into a dark purple gelatinous mass and then into a blonde girl. "Now I got you! Psych! Hahahahaha," Lucy Mann said, before Kevin finally fell on the floor.
Before.
A young man walked into a bar.
"Hey, are you old enough to drink, son?" The bartender asked. "Anyway, we're almost closing and-"
"I'm not here to drink, sir." The young man lifted up his sleeve, exposing the Omnitrix.
"You're that alien hero, Ben Tennyson!"
"I heard that this man used to come here." Ben gave the picture of a Plumber to the bartender. "Is it true?"
"Yes, he's a regular customer," The bartender replied, noting from the serious tone of the hero that he was not there for small talk.
"The last time he was here was...?" Ben asked.
"Yesterday. Someone I've never seen before, a bearded guy wearing a cap, sat down with him and paid for several drinks for them. Then he was so drunk that the other guy had to carry him out. What happened? Do you want me to try and identify the guy wearing a cap? "
"No need. I'll try to see him myself," Ben activated the Omnitrix and turned into Clockwork. The gear in his head, something similar to a clock key, began to spin and shine. The environment took on a light green tone as Clockwork 'rewinded' the events until he saw the man he was looking for.
That man was the Plumber who had opened the tower's defenses, so Hex could kidnap Dawn. He had been infected by the potion of love. Of course, a stranger in a bar who carried him out the night before that was a strong suspect for being involved in the crime.
Clockwork saw the stranger approaching the Plumber. Wearing a cap, bearded, yes, the suspect was trying to disguise himself. But Clockwork took a close look at the suspect's face and... he wanted to say that what he saw shocked him, but it wouldn't be true.
"Kevin..."
Now
Lucy sent a text message to Ben and Gwen telling them everything and opened the front door. A few minutes later, the Tennyson cousins showed up.
"Thanks for the help, Lucy," Ben said.
"A round of applause for Lenopan biology that leaves me immune to the love potion," Lucy replied.
"You took a big risk, Lucy. You should have just eaten what he offered," Gwen said.
"No way! My acting had to be perfect! A Miss Know-It-All- Err… I mean, a very intelligent girl like you would have suspected something was wrong with the food anyway. If I fell right into Kevin's trap, he would be suspicious that something was wrong," Lucy replied, proud of herself.
"Gwen, you know Kevin will not stop, and this is the only way, right?" Ben asked.
"I thought we could avoid those Kevin 11,000 visions you had, Ben, but now I know we can't," Gwen said deeply saddened. "The truth is Kevin's obsessed, and he'd do anything to get us together, from risking his own life heroically fighting off the Highbreed invasion to helping an evil sorcerer kidnap an innocent baby, my little Dawn..." Gwen sighed, "I'll support your decision, Ben, whatever it is."
"He is kind of a good kisser. Handsome on the outside, but rotten to the core," Lucy shrugged, "If you kill Kevin, can I keep all his valuables?"
Gwen took Lucy out, leaving Ben alone with an unconscious Kevin.
Ben let out a deep sigh, "God, forgive me."
Humungousaur stomping on Kevin's neck would be enough to end it. Ben slammed the Omnitrix, hoping to turn into Humungousaur, but he found himself as Eye-Guy instead, "No, not you," the hero said disappointed.
He was about to change again, but then he thought "One last time... Who knows if Kevin's fate can't change?"
Eye-Guy concentrated and felt a familiar itch in one of his eyes start…
After
A red-haired green-eyed boy around 10 years old arrived in the kitchen, followed by a slightly older brown-skinned boy with light brown eyes and long black hair tied up in a ponytail.
"Good morning, Dad, Mom. What are we having for breakfast?" The red-haired boy asked.
A tall, strong bearded man - Ben 10,000 - and a gorgeous redhead - Gwendolyn - stared at the boys with death glares and arms folded.
"Kenneth Maxwell Tennyson and Devlin Green-Levin, what were you guys doing last night?" Ben 10,000 asked angrily.
"Dad, I don't know what you're talking about. Devlin and I stayed here at the Tower all night, playing video games."
"Oh yeah, so explain what this is," Gwendolyn said sarcastically. She pressed a button on the tablet, and a 3D image was projected. It was possible to see a XLR8 and a hybrid creature, an amalgam of several aliens, facing a gang of criminals, "You were filmed yesterday, and it already went viral on the internet!"
"Yippie, cool!" The two boys were thrilled by the news, which intensified the anger in the eyes of Ben 10,000 and Gwendolyn.
"I mean…" The brown-skinned boy - Devlin - broke out in a cold sweat. "We don't know the guys from the video. It seems to be someone who has powers similar to my fath- I mean, to Kevin 11,000, accompanied by some Kineceleran guy."
"We're not idiots!" Ben 10,000 said. "Besides the coincidence of powers with Kevin being too big to ignore, the Kineceleran had the Omnitrix symbol on his chest, and I know it wasn't me. Kenny, Devlin, you're grounded for one month. "
"That's not fair!" The red-haired boy - Kenny – complained. "At our age, you and Mom faced criminals all the time! What's the difference?"
"Do you know how many times we almost died? Do you know how many times I almost lost your mother? It's not because we were irresponsible that you also have to be," Ben 10,000 replied.
"You were the irresponsible one, Ben. I was just tagging along to stop you from being killed," Gwendolyn commented.
"Love, now isn't the time for this." Ben 10,000 gave his wife a half-hearted smile as he scratched his head. "Going back to the subject at hand... Kenny, I gave you an Omnitrix to defend yourself, not to go looking for trouble. And you too, Devlin, for now we're training you just to defend yourselves. In a few years, you two will have the opportunity to be heroes, but not now. "
The two boys lowered their heads.
"Hey!" Gwendolyn put her hands on their shoulders. "We just want to keep you safe because we love the two of you too much."
"Dad, Mom, you don't have to worry," Kenny said. "Devlin protects me, and I protect him! We are the best hero duo in the world!"
Now
Ben turned back to normal and called Gwen and Lucy. "Let's call the Plumbers and turn Kevin over to them."
"I thought you were going to..." Gwen whispered.
"I was, but I changed my mind. I think Kevin still has something good to leave to the world," Ben replied smiling.
Lucy morphed herself into Kevin, and Gwen dripped a drop of blood on the red and black stone.
"Hex, can you hear me?" 'Kevin' asked.
"I'm here, Kevin. What do you want?" Hex said dryly. He clearly wanted to get right to the point.
"I want to sell you the Charms of Bezel. Gwen won't need them anymore."
"Great. Do you have them there? "
"Of course," 'Kevin' lied, "Let's meet. Any place you want. "
"Put this stone on the ground," Hex asked.
Lucy did as Hex asked, and a small portal began to open. Hidden, Ben, Gwen and a team of Plumbers stood by, ready to give the villain a 'warm welcome'.
But the portal did not open more than a few inches. A few gold bars went through it.
"That's half the payment," Hex's voice was heard, "Throw the Charms through the portal, and I'll send the other half.
"Wait, we have to meet in person," 'Kevin' argued.
"No, we do not. If you have the Charms, throw them over. If you don't have them, we have nothing to talk about."
"I'm going to turn into a small alien and enter through the portal," Ben whispered.
"It's too dangerous to go in there alone, Ben, even for you," one of the Plumbers said.
"I have no choice!" Ben ran and turned into Nanomech, but the moment he was about to jump on the portal, it vanished.
"Crap!" Nanomech yelled. "We missed our only chance!"
Gwen fell to her knees and tears rolled from her eyes, "No ... Dawn ..."
Hours later.
Ledgerdomain. In a stone castle, floating in the vast space of mana ...
Dawn wouldn't stop crying.
Hex leaned close to her and said, "Ben and Gwen spoiled you too much, child. I'm going to teach you how to be a real fighter, but not today. Today, I have finally perfected the spell to absorb magic, and I will use your powers to crush my enemies and reign undisputed here in Ledgerdomain and, very soon, on Earth as well. "
Hex placed a finger on Dawn's forehead and began reciting an ancient spell. Dawn's crying only increased, and red threads of magic energy began to flow from Dawn to Hex.
"Wonderful, I can feel all the power flowing to me! Stop resisting, child, I am your father! "
"YOU… NOT... DADDY!" Dawn shouted, "MY ... DAD … IS... BEN!"
Hex was thrown against the wall of the castle, and a portal appeared in the middle of the room.
Ben's Tower.
"We failed as parents." Gwen's eyes welled up with tears as her blurry vision fell on the empty high chair, Dawn's chair.
"Don't say that, Gwen," Ben tried to assure her. He grabbed Gwen a handkerchief. They sat down on the couch. The place seemed quiet, too quiet and somehow much colder than usual. She missed the laughter that used to fill this home. She even missed the Lottie Dottie Chicken show Dawn used to watch. Gwen grabbed a blanket that happened to be sitting on the couch and wrapped it around her shoulders. This little blanket provided some sense of comfort as it belonged to Dawn, but the thought of what was missing only made her cry more. Gwen needed her baby girl more than anything else.
Ben wanted to say something to comfort her, but he knew that the only one who could do that right now was that sweet little girl that was missing from their lives. Ben wanted to say that he knew for certain that they would get her back, but it would be a lie. Dawn was missing from the vision Eye-Guy saw earlier - it could mean nothing, she could simply not be at that place in that particular moment, but it could also mean the worse happened, and Ben didn't want to even think about it. Ben wrapped his arm around Gwen. She leaned into him and cried.
"We only failed as parents if we have given up. I have no intention of doing that," Ben told her barely able to contain his own tears.
They continued to sit in silence until they heard a familiar voice echoing in their heads: Dawn's voice, "My ... Dad ... is ... Ben!"
"Am I going crazy or did you hear that too, Gwen?" Ben asked.
"Yes, I heard!" Gwen confirmed, "Dawn, my dear, where are you?" The redhead yelled.
Suddenly, a portal opened in the middle of the living room. Ben and Gwen didn't think twice before jumping through it.
The young heroes found themselves inside a stone castle floating in a sea of mana. They were in Ledgerdomain. At one end of the room, they saw Hex on the floor starting to rise up and at the other end was little Dawn. She was sweating and seemed to be in pain.
Ben and Gwen ran toward the baby, and Gwen took Dawn in her arms.
"Mommy!" Dawn put her little arms around Gwen's neck.
"Everything is going to be all right, my dear," Gwen ran toward the portal so they could leave. She wanted to crush Hex but returning Dawn to safety was the priority.
But before they could leave, Hex snapped his fingers and the portal closed. "You two will not take my daughter away from me," the villain said with anger.
"You will not take our daughter away from us ever again," Ben said furious, with his hand on the Omnitrix. "I promise."
Hex let out a sinister laugh, and the pupils of his eyes flashed a dark red tone. "On Earth, Dawn already was incredibly powerful. But here, in the realm of magic, her powers are limitless ... And now mine are also, because I absorbed her powers ... You two are already dead. You just haven't realized it yet."
TO BE CONTINUED
Thanks to Aurora Nightstar for beta reading and for helping me write this chapter.
If you want to see how Kenny and Devlin look like, check my Deviantart
www DOT deviantart DOT com/csgt/art/Devlin-and-Kenny-Best-Friends-Forever-776577498