Chapter 43: Walking Disasters and Sweet Revelations

So I recently saw the Omniverse episode OTTO Motives. It had a Transformers fight.

I DIED FROM HAPPINESS.

(~Transformers, robots in disguise~)

The DNAlien warship was ugly on the inside.

Magenta walls covered in some sort of pulsing goop. Black egg-shaped machines jutting out of the pink sea. Yellow aliens with tentacles for heads strutting around like evil masterminds.

It took indomitable willpower not to hurl.

"What's the plan?" Sam whispered from the shadows.

"Destroy all the escape pods and blow this place sky high," Carter responded tersely. She turned her eyes toward Evan. "You got the thing?"

He held up a blue disk-the instant teleporter. "You mean our ticket out of here? Got it."

"Great," Sam said happily. "Now where are the escape pods?" Evan and Carter looked at each other before shrugging.

"So, in other words, we're just going to randomly kill DNAliens until we find them."

"That's right," Evan said cheerfully.

Sam grinned under her mask. "Sweetness."

"Where are they?" Ben asked Zeke once they were outside Isaac's study. The old man had left suddenly, disappearing into thin air after telling them the Pride was gone. Zeke had ushered them out of the study; Ben took that moment to push the blonde against the wall and slam his fist next to his head in a threatening manner.

Zeke looked at him, not amused. "In the Centaury galaxy, two galaxies away from Earth. Even if you had a ship you wouldn't get there in time to help them."

"Not unless we had a working teleporter pad," Kevin muttered under his breath. He had remembered the reason why they needed Cooper earlier.

"Yeah, and what are the chances of you having one?"

"Zeke," Gwen started. "Is there any way of contacting them?"

Zeke pushed Ben to the side and straightened his posture. "If there was one, I'd know about it. I was the one who scoped out the warship. Trust me, the chances of you getting a frequency to the Centaury system is one in a million."

"Then we can take the chance," Ben said optimistically.

Zeke looked at him like he was stupid. "And if you do get through, you might give them away. Face it, we can't win here."

"For someone who was so concerned about them earlier, you really like to give up," Kevin noted, eyes narrowed.

"I know a hopeless situation when I see one," Zeke pointed out. "And while I wish I could help them out, I can't. And if I can't, there's no way any of you can. Sorry," he said to Gwen, "but that's just how it is."

"Why do you want to help them out?" Ben asked curiously. "They don't like you."

Zeke gave him a bitter smile. "Because they're the people who I wanted to get along with ever since I could remember. But you wouldn't care about that. Everything was handed to you on a silver platter."

"Silver platter?" Ben parroted back. "Do you have any idea how hard I had to work with Phineas to even use my powers? Do you even know how hard it was to accept the fact that I have a guy inside my head talking to me?" His voice was too loud; he might as well have been shouting. When he saw the worried looks on his friends faces he toned it down.

Zeke belted out a rueful laugh. "But you never had to work to be friends with the Pride. You never had to convince people to listen to you. When you wanted respect people gave it to you. You never had to work hard for that, didn't you?" Unlike Ben, his voice didn't rise with emotion. Instead it lowered until it came out as a deadly hiss.

"Do you even know the Slayer hierarchy order? Evan, Sam, and Carter are going to be rulers of a grand empire. They will inherit the right to govern everyone else. Even now their words carry more weight than anyone else. I was supposed to be a part of that. I was groomed to be the vessel of Ventus since I was born. And to have that taken by some schmuck who didn't even know we existed until a few months ago, well, that's worse than a slap to a face."

Zeke walked backwards away from them, arms spread out as he walked down the hall. His grin was huge, but it was demented, full of anger and hate. His voice, still quiet, echoed through the grand hallway.

"I want a part of that glorious world I was promised. And you took away my chance. So go ahead. Go after your so-called friends. They'll just drop you like they did me." And with one last rueful grin he melted into the shadows.

A beat of horror filled silence, and then Kevin said, "Guy's got issues."

"You have no idea," Ben choked out. "I knew he hated me, but not this much. God, this hurts." He leaned against the wall for emphasis.

Gwen put a reassuring arm around his shoulders. "Don't take what he says to heart. He's obviously just bitter and angry about something neither of you could control."

"But can you blame him?" Ben said quietly.

"WHERE THE FUCK ARE THE ESCAPE PODS?!" Sam screamed angrily as the DNAlien she was fighting fell. It was the fifth room, and so far it had been never ending fights and blood and gore. Sam was sick of it, and since she was the vessel of the war goddess, that was saying something.

"I found them!" Carter cried out with relief. She had jammed her scythe into the pulsing pink hole in the wall to make sure it didn't close on her. Through the gap they could see the large, empty port full of purple escape pods. They could also see Evan at one of the many controls, fiddling with the buttons until the entire panel short circuited.

The other six identical panels fizzled with electricity at the same time the first panel went up in flames. For a second there was lightning and smoke in the air. And then Evan appeared through the gap in the wall. He grabbed the scythe and the hole filled itself.

Carter took her scythe back and said, "They've all been destroyed?"

Evan clapped his hands as if to clean them and said, "Destroyed like my stepmom's garden after my tenth birthday."

"We never should have gotten you that chemistry set," Sam noted as the exhaustion began to set in. The three of them were tired; blood and guts were dripping from their bodies for the second time that day. Their arms trembled from holding weapons for too long. Their brains were too frazzled to work properly.

With one final act of bravado, Carter said resolutely, "Let's blow this warship."

"So these are healing pods?" Gwen marveled the scientific machines in the Valentine basement. "And they basically heal anything from holes in guts to broken bones."

"That's what Carter said," Ben said honestly. He had mostly gotten over what Zeke told him earlier-it still bothered him, of course, but he dealt with worse. Like a revenge-bent Vilgax, for example.

"If these can heal people so fast, why don't the Slayers just use them in normal hospitals?" Gwen asked. "It'd save a lot of lives."

"These healing pods are way above Earth tech," Kevin explained. "Bringing them out into the open would advance modern society to the point where it'd destroy itself faster than it was supposed to."

"And how do you know this?" Ben asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I read the Plumber rulebook."

"You read?"

Before Kevin could strangle Ben, the titanium door slid open. Cordelia walked in, clipboard in hand. She was completely engrossed in the readings, so she didn't see the teenagers until she nearly bumped into Kevin.

Regaining her composure, she sighed. "What are you people doing here?"

"Hello to you too," Ben said sarcastically. "We were kind of planning to wait around here for the Pride to come back because we have to talk to them and stuff."

"That reminds me-" Gwen started.

"Yes, yes, you know some bad words and want to use them on me," Cordelia interrupted dismissively. "I've already heard from Isaac. Trust me whatever you say won't affect me. I've heard everything."

"Don't bother, she's five thousand years old," Ben told his cousin. "She literally has heard everything." Gwen glared at Cordelia with utmost hatred. Cordelia just rolled her eyes.

"Seriously, you kids need to leave. It's six in the morning and I doubt you called your parents last night."

"Why do you care?" Gwen asked with hostility.

"Because believe it or not, I am actually a parent who worries about her kids when they've been gone all night."

"You don't care enough to let your kids rest after they've been injured," Kevin pointed out caustically.

"They were sent to destroy a DNAlien warship," Cordelia explained impatiently. "It was about to leave a close by galaxy soon and we couldn't afford to miss this chance."

"And obviously there was no other team available," Ben remarked.

"There's no other team who knows about the DNAlien threat."

"Wait, no one else knows?" Ben asked confused. "I thought the intelligence system-"

"The intelligence system is like the government," Cordelia explained. "They only tell you what you want to hear and deal with all the shady business behind closed doors. We will obviously reveal the entire plot eventually, but right now we can't afford any widespread panic."

"You could have sent us," Gwen pointed out angrily.

"You can't even handle taking down a DNAlien messenger ship," Cordelia snapped. "Do you honestly expect me to send you in a mission you obviously can't handle?"

"But we didn't need medical attention!" Ben snarled, now thoroughly fed up.

"And I didn't personally train you to deal with such missions," Cordelia said through gritted teeth. "I don't have time to deal with you. The Pride will be back soon; you might even see them at school. Now will you please leave?"

Ben looked at the others; they weren't done, not by a long shot. They needed answers that Cordelia might not provide. Only the Pride could supply them, and they had to wait for them. But the pure hostility in Cordelia's voice said that waiting at the Valentine manor wasn't an option.

So they left. Despite how they felt about her, the Immortal was right. They would see the Pride soon enough.

…They weren't at school on Monday.

Ben waited by Carter's locker until the first bell rang. He sat at the lunch table with his soccer buddies, but he didn't see the Pride at their usual table. He tried calling all three of them at different times, but their phones went straight to voicemail. So after school, Ben called Kevin.

"Ben, how do you have my number?"

"Evan told me."

"I'm going to kill him."

"Funny, that's what he said to me after Big Chill went on a rampage."

"You mean after you got pregnant and had all those kids?"

"Don't-! ...I totally set myself up for that," Ben muttered as Kevin roared with laughter over the phone line. "But seriously, go check up on the Pride. I can't get through to any of them."

"Yeah, sure, I'll check up on Sam."

"I meant…I set myself up again, didn't I?"

"You make it so, so easy."

Kevin knocked on the door to the Japanese-styled manor, mulling over what he was going to say.

Hi, Sam, how did the mission go? No, that was too casual.

So, kill anyone lately? Yeah, that was a bad conversation starter.

I get that we have to talk and all, but can I say that I totally understand? That one sounded a bit desperate. Maybe if had more time-

The door opened to reveal Charlie in his punk Goth glory. His beanie was missing though, revealing messy locks the same color as his sister's.

"'Sup, Kevin," he said sleepily. He rubbed at his eyes and yawned.

"Uh, sorry, were you sleeping?" Kevin asked, arching an eyebrow.

"I'm always sleepy on Mondays," he answered. "Sam's inside." He turned away and let Kevin in. "Her room's on the top floor, first door on the right. I'm going to sleep." Charlie walked into the living and fell on top of a couch. His snores filled the room within seconds.

Kevin shook his head and walked up the wooden stairs. He took a moment to marvel at how different the house looked on the inside. It was a paradox.

And then he was in front of Sam's door and the panic set in. He hadn't really thought about what he was going to say, not really. Everything sounded stupid in his head, and he had no one to talk to because Ben was clueless and Evan was MIA-

The door opened and Sam nearly bumped into him. She looked like she just got out of bed: her wavy hair was messy, the blue boxer shorts and red t-shirt that consisted of her pajamas were rumpled, and she was rubbing sleep out of her eyes. But what was really just so off about her appearance were the bandages encircling her arms. They were slightly yellow and a pungent order was wafting from them, a scent not unlike medicinal herbs and ointment.

Something passed over Sam's face: her eyes widened, her face paled, her lips tightened into a line. Something akin to fear was coursing through her. But then her eyes morphed back to their usual half-moons and her face smoothed back into relaxation. She was indifferent like always.

Kevin chuckled weakly, smiling as Sam coolly looked at him. A beat of silence passed then stretched out for too long. Finally he just said, "I never had a problem with what you do. I just had to convince the others."

"…You never had a problem?" Sam hissed. She could remember the look on his face just a few nights ago-it haunted her, that disgusted face when he looked at her. It was only for an instant, but it constantly replayed itself in her mind. She simply couldn't forget it.

"Not really," Kevin said honestly. "We're at war here. Sacrifices have to be made. I guess…it's just hard to picture you at thirteen, doing something like that."

Sam smiled tiredly, tears pricking at her eyes. "I had to be like that. I'm the vessel of the war goddess. I have to enjoy the thrill of murder."

"But you don't," Kevin insisted, worry lacing his voice. "You never did."

"I do," Sam insisted. "Not always, but I do. But I don't-I don't want you to-"

Tears were running down her face now, uncontrollable rivers that she couldn't keep at bay. She was sobbing, body undulating from the sheer force of it.

Sam was gathered in his arms instantly, one hand on her head. "Don't cry," he was saying. "I don't hate you. I never could. I completely understand."

He completely understood. She shouldn't have taken comfort in that. That meant that he knew what it was like to go crazy, to let go of his sanity. But right now she needed it, that feeling that someone understood what she was going through.

And so they stood there, in mutual understanding, long after Sam's tears stopped.

Evan was never one to stroll through the park, no matter how beautiful it was. There was a fountain in the middle, an ornate thing straight out of a romance novel. Couples were around it too, making the allusion even more true. And there were children running about and dog walkers and birds chirping…

It was really a beautiful day. A shame Evan couldn't enjoy it.

He really should have been in bed resting. The hole in his stomach had long since been repaired, but the spot still throbbed occasionally. He should have been at home lazing on his bed, playing violent videogames while he was recuperating. He had a few days off, he deserved it.

But the second he tried to, it was like the walls were closing in on him. It was suffocating him, the lack of air destroying him. So Evan ran out of the house and into the fresh air. He didn't care where he went as long as it wasn't in an enclosed space.

And so his tired feet brought him to the park. Evan was at the fringes, where the cement met the forest. Yes, the forest was a good choice. It was still a part of the city, but he could get lost in there for a while. He could let nature soothe his wrecked nerves in a way Call of Duty never could.

"Evan?"

He froze, the sweet voice reaching out for him. He turned slowly, eyes unnaturally wide. He saw her, she still in her school uniform, the afternoon light shining over her hair like a halo. She was pale, wide green eyes staring at him with a mixture of surprise and determination.

"Evan," Gwen began.

He bolted, running through the trees. He could hear her run after him, but he was faster than a normal human. He had to be. He slapped a palm at a tree and heard it tumble down. It was blocking her path, exactly how he wanted it. He was getting away from her, running faster and faster-

A mana tentacle wrapped itself around his ankle. He fell to the ground flat on his face. Groaning he flipped over on his back to see Gwen walking towards him, her eyes glowing dangerously pink.

His mind overridden with panic, Evan screamed. Vines erupted from the ground; rocks flew at her like bullets. She whipped up a shield to surround herself, but she was being overcome. The plants were surrounding her, wrapping itself around the shield while the rocks blew holes in the energy. Evan scrambled away, his legs failing him. He could get away, he had time-

The vine wrapping exploded; chlorophyll flew everywhere, some of it splattering on Evan. Pebbles pelted the ground, getting on his face. He closed his eyes until the harsh rain subsided. When he opened them, Gwen was standing above him, her eyes normal yet disapproving.

Evan didn't want to speak. His body was shaking, his old wound was throbbing. He needed her to go away or yell at him or something-

"What are you waiting for?" His voice was shrill and animalistic. It wasn't his own. Or was it? "Yell at me! Hurt me! END ME!"

"Why?" Her voice was soft, sad. Her eyes had mellowed out, her lips quivered. Her body was stuck in a defensive position, but it was slacking. From what, he didn't know.

"You hate me, don't you?" His voice was bitter, caustic. "You hate everything I stand for. You saw how I used to be. So do it. Deal out your righteous punishment on the sinner. I won't fight you anymore."

Gwen kneeled beside him, sure arms reaching for him. He backed his head away, eyes filled with fear, body taut with disgust.

"What are you doing? End me already! I deserve it."

"No you don't," she said softly. She held his head in her arms, staring at his grief stricken, angry face. And then she brought him in for a hug. He struggled, trying to get out of the suffocating arms, he couldn't breathe, he wanted out-

"It's okay," Gwen was saying, stroking his hair. What was she talking about, of course he was okay. He was Evan, he was always okay.

"Let it all out."

Evan could taste it, the salty tears running down his face. Why was he crying? He didn't cry or weep or sob or any of those other things. He was a Slayer, god damn it, a leader among his people. He didn't break down and let his emotions run wild in front of this-this-

"I understand. You were made for war. And you can't change."

…How? How did she know?

"You want to be punished for something you can't completely control. I have no right to pass judgment."

Nonononononono-

"But don't beat yourself up, Evan. You'll always be my friend. Always."

A whimper erupted from his throat. He clutched at her, eyes closed as tears streamed down his face. His body was shaking in her arms, and he sobbed, sobbed into her shoulder as he let go all of the anguish and hate in him.

She wasn't supposed to forgive him. She was supposed to force the wrath of heaven on him. Destroy him. But she didn't. She forgave him.

Evan had never been so happy in his life.

Ben glared at his phone like it insulted his mother.

Carter should have called him back by now. He'd been trying to get to her all day, hanging up the phone when it reached her voicemail. Why wasn't she answering?

Ben flew through a cloud, the white fluff unimaginably cold. The water droplets clung to his skin like a wet blanket. He flew out of the cloud as quickly as he could and was greeted by warm sunshine.

He took a look at his phone; it was still working fine even though he went through a makeshift shower. He put it away in his pocket and flipped over so that his front faced the sun. His blue and green wings stretched out, gliding over the thermals as he laid there, hands behind his head.

Ben closed his eyes and cleared his mind, letting all thoughts leave his head. He needed a break from all the thinking and worrying. What he needed was a meditative break, an escape from the world. He let his mind go, flying over the white clouds as the city sounds below him faded from existence.

Then he heard it, the siren voice. It was soft and husky, yet it was the sweetest sound he'd ever heard. Ben's eyes opened in alarm and he nearly fell out of the sky; that was how shocked he was. He flapped his wings as quickly as he could, desperate to stay in the air. Once he was stable, he strained his ears to hear the song again.

"Never know what I've become
The king of all that's said and done
The forgotten son"

She was far away, the person singing. No matter. Ben controlled the air. He would get there soon enough.

Stretching his wings, he swerved downward. The thermal under him pushed against him, using his body like a car on a rollercoaster. Normally he would have enjoyed the hundred-miles-per-hour rush, but the siren voice was calling to him. He had to get there now.

"This city's buried in defeat
I walk along these no-name streets
Wave goodbye to all
As I fall"

The trees of the familiar forest were rushing at him. He flipped over so that he landed on his feet. He fell down with a crash, the familiar sonic boom of his landing alerting his arrival. He retracted his wings and untied his jacket from his waist. He put it on as he walked through the forest.

"At the dead-end I begin
To burn the bridge of innocence
Satisfaction guaranteed
A pillow-weight catastrophe"

The voice was picking up speed; the song was reaching the middle. Ben didn't have a lot of time. He climbed up the hill as quickly as he could (he wished he could go as XLR8, but he no longer had that alien as an option). Twigs were snapping under his feet and branches were getting in his face, but he pushed them all away. He was a man on a mission, after all.

"On a mission nowhere bound
Inhibitions underground
A shallow grave I
Have dug all by myself"

He pushed another branch out of the way. He was at the clearing now. He could see the wild flowers and the beautiful view of the city below. He didn't focus on it for long.

Carter was there in the middle, her black clothing a stark contrast to the happiness of the site. She had stopped her singing. She was staring at him now, her expression stony.

And then she said, "You suck as stealth."

Ben chuckled weakly and rubbed the back of his head. "I'm better in the air, actually."

Carter rolled her eyes. "I know. I could hear you walking from a mile away."

"Your hearing's that good?"

"Isaac taught me that trick. Of course my hearing's that good."

There was silence after that statement. It was stretching out for too long. Carter's gaze softened slightly.

"Don't you have something to tell me?"

Ben thought for a moment, seriously considering his next choice of words. "I don't know. Do I?"

Carter scratched the back of her head. "Aren't you afraid of me again?"

Ben blinked. "Why would I be?"

She glared at him. "You saw Beck and Charlie kill a person. You know I acted like that back when I was thirteen. So why aren't you afraid of me?"

"Okay, I admit I was startled and kind of freaked out," Ben confessed, "but you're not like that. Not anymore."

"How do you know?" Carter said her voice bitter.

"Because I know you."

She blinked; she wasn't expecting that. She brushed some hair behind her ear and thought about her next choice of words. She had to save face.

"Pfft, like you know everything about me," she joked almost meanly.

Ben rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, make fun of the idiot boyfriend. Out of curiosity's sake, what song were you singing?"

"Walking Disaster by Sum 41." Carter shrugged. "It seemed appropriate."

"Do you always come out here alone, just to sing?"

"Sometimes. It's pretty secluded here."

"Could you finish it?" Ben asked hopefully. He sat on the ground. "I really want to hear the rest."

Carter shrugged again and sat down. "Eh, why not?"

"Wait!" He crawled over and plopped his head down on her lap.

"…What are you doing?"

"Shut up and serenade me!"

"Like this?"

"Yes!"

Carter groaned audibly. Ben just closed his eyes and smiled triumphantly. The wind was picking up, forcing Carter to pull her hair behind her ears.

"And now I've been gone for so long
I can't remember who was wrong
All innocence is long gone
I pledge allegiance to a world of disbelief
Where I belong"

Ben was breathing deeply, completely relaxed. Carter was stroking his hair as she sang, affectionately playing with it. That part made him smile slightly.

"A walking disaster
The son of all bastards
You'll regret you made me
It's too late to save me"

Ben and Carter were walking hand in hand when they found the others.

They were all at the Mr. Smoothie parking lot. Sam was dressed normally, the bandages on her arms gone. She and Kevin were also holding hands, though gingerly, since she was still injured. They were by Kevin's car when Evan and Gwen showed up, Evan with red rimmed eyes and Gwen with an arm around his shoulders.

The six stared at each other. No one really knew what to say to each other. What was there to say?

Sam took one look at Evan and said, "What happened to you?"

"I was attacked by Tribbles," he deadpanned.

"Tribbles?"

"Yeah, for something so soft and cuddly they're surprisingly vicious."

Carter rolled her eyes as Ben laughed. "Idiot."

"What's a Tribble?" Gwen asked curiously.

Evan began to explain but was cut off by Kevin. "Are we getting smoothies or what?"

"That depends. Who's paying?" Carter asked.

A beat, and then everyone said, "Ben."

"Oh come on!"

As everyone laughed at him, they all swarmed closer together. It was a natural reaction, something close friends did. They didn't need to talk to each other anymore.

All was right in the world again.

Tell me, is that song Carter was singing ominous or what? XD Meh, I'm just joshing. It's not ominous at all; just take it as you will.

Also, Star Trek. Just because.