Chapter 54: Bloody Bandages

I kind of wished that I didn't have to skip the Simian episode because there's this one scene that just makes me laugh every time I see it. After Kevin takes out those robots at the station, he checks in with Ben to tell him he's okay. Since Ben can't answer, Kevin just starts chewing bubblegum. I kind of expected him to get out a cigarette or do something manly, so I always laugh when I see that. XD

On with the chapter!

While Isaac and the Pride were trying to protect the key, Cordelia had been helping Tyler locate his family. He had been missing for months, presumed dead by the Evansdale authorities. His family had just about given up hope of him ever coming back.

And then he showed up on his parents doorsteps, smiling. He had bags under his eyes and he was much thinner than they remembered, but he was their son and he was alive. Cordelia had to hang back while Tyler and his parents reunited.

When the emotions died down somewhat Cordelia had walked up and explained the situation, taking out any instances of alien invasions and anything else that could be considered otherworldly. It went without saying that Tyler could never talk to his folks about the last few months-not without lying anyway- so Cordelia had him set up with a therapist she knew so he could hash everything out.

She had left Tyler and his parents feeling somewhat happy. The young adult could get his life back together and not worry about the invasion. The Slayers were already on it. But Cordelia's happy mood went dangerously south when Isaac told her the news.

By the time the call ended, she was speeding out of Evansdale and heading straight for the Valentine Hospital.

Sam was unconscious, lying on a stretcher in the cavern. Unlike Evan, she couldn't smell the sickly sweet stench of burnt corpses or see the scorch marks she inflicted all over the stone floor. She wouldn't even wake up for quite some time.

Evan hobbled over to the other stretcher, using his crutches. His wounded leg had been bandaged and the painkillers still hadn't kicked in, so every step Evan was forced to take sent a jolt of agony through his body. Nevertheless he made his way over to Isaac, who was kneeling over his granddaughter's body.

Isaac had removed Carter's mask, revealing the sweaty, translucent skin underneath. Her breathing was ragged, every inhale a laborious task. She had a single glowing hand over her neck, right where the wound was.

"Can she even heal herself like that?" Evan asked when he finally made his way over. His voice was tiny in the gloom.

"She's certainly trying to," Isaac told him without looking up. He gingerly took Carter's hand and removed it from her neck. She gave a whimper but didn't open her eyes or say anything.

Evan recoiled at the sight. Her neck looked like it had been cut into ribbons and sewn back together by a madman. Pink muscle showed through the damage, and blood oozed out of the wounds.

Isaac sighed in relief. "Good; Carter fixed the worst of it." Evan stared at him. While he agreed that that was a good thing overall, the girl's ripped apart throat still looked worse for wear.

"Is she going to need surgery?" Evan dared to ask, the words heavy in the air.

Isaac sighed. "I don't think so, but there's no way the healing pods can fix this. We may have to use other methods."

"What other methods do we have?"

"Lots, but we never use them unless it's an extreme case," Isaac said. He put Carter's hand back on her throat. It immediately began to glow. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that." He finally looked up and started barking orders at the paramedics who were finishing up down there.

"Bring a teleporter pad quickly! We may not have enough time!" A few people did just that after they finished up patching up the engineers.

Evan let go a giant breath of air, his shoulders sagging. He stared dully at Carter, who was still breathing heavily as she tried to heal herself. He then took a look where the oscillator key once was.

The DNAliens had found their haven, their impenetrable domain. And they found it right under their noses. The Slayers weren't as perfect as they thought they were. It was an incredibly depressing thought, especially after all the damage inflicted.

The key was gone. The engineers were injured. Sam was unconscious. Evan had a hurt leg. And Carter was barely hanging in there.

Evan had to wonder: would things have turned out differently if Ben were here?

Meanwhile...

So Ben, what have we learned? Ventus drawled inside the teen's head.

Don't trust people at face value, no matter how plausible their story may sound.

And always check your facts. Seriously, this entire moon mission could have been avoided if you'd just looked up the Arachna royal line.

Ben groaned inwardly. I know, I know. I'm just glad things turned out for the best. Ventus didn't have a response to that. V? You there?

You need to go to the hospital tomorrow, Ventus said seriously. It was so far removed from his usual facetious manner that Ben had to sit up in his bed and take more interest in the conversation.

Why? Who's injured?

Who isn't injured? If the god could roll his eyes, he would. Bring Gwen and Kevin to the Valentine Hospital tomorrow after school. Whatever the Pride did on their last mission left them seriously injured.

But they're going to be okay, right? Ben asked hopefully. Right?

…I don't know a lot right now. I'll tell you when I know more.

Ben blinked and immediately went to his phone, speed dialing Carter's number. It went straight to voicemail. He then called Evan and Sam, but their phones were off too.

What the hell was going on?

The next day, after school

"What do you mean none of them were at school?" Gwen asked as they walked into the hospital.

"I mean none of them were in school," Ben parroted back irritably. "They wouldn't answer their phones either."

"This isn't like that Beck thing is it?" Kevin asked as they made their way over to the receptionist.

"Man I hope not," Ben muttered under his breath. To the receptionist, he said, "Hi, we're looking for Carter Valentine."

The receptionist quickly typed in the name. "I'm sorry he's not able to see visitors right now."

"Uh, Carter's a girl," Kevin corrected her.

She blinked. "Oh. Well, she can't see anybody."

"How about Evan Force?" Ben asked.

The receptionist typed in the name and scanned the screen. "You can visit him in room 725 on the fifth floor. Here are your visitor passes and the elevator is just to your left."

After taking the passes and going up the crowded elevator, they walked down the hall to see Sam right in front of room 725, holding cups of coffee in her hands.

She wasn't dressed like she usually was, instead opting for a red hoodie and jeans and old sneakers. Her skin was pasty, and she looked like she hadn't slept in a few days. But what was most concerning was that her hair didn't have the usual vibrant red, orange, and yellow colors that were associated with the DuBaer clan. Instead it was a dull, lifeless brown, like all the life had been sucked out of it.

"Sam?" Gwen asked tentatively, walking up to her. Sam turned to them, her copper brown eyes darker than usual. She cracked a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"Figured you find us here," she said. "Come on in." She pushed the door open-it had been left slightly ajar-leading them all inside the room. It was pretty nice for a hospital room: there was a bookshelf with actual books and a small TV on one of the shelves, the walls were a mellow blue color, and there was a big window with a nice view of town at the end of the room.

Evan was propped up on the bed, reading a book. His bandaged leg was out for all to see, and crutches were leaning against the bed frame. He was wearing a sleeveless green shirt and cargo shorts and his hair was out of its signature ponytail, hanging loose past his shoulders. Like Sam his skin was pasty and he looked like he hadn't slept recently.

Evan closed his book and gave them a smile. "Sup!" And again, like Sam, his forest green eyes were dull and lifeless. There wasn't a hint of his usual good humor in them.

"Just what happened last night?" Gwen asked looking at Evan's wounded leg.

"It was pretty crazy," Sam said lightly giving Evan his coffee. "But first tell us about your mission last night. Who wanted to meet you?"

"It was a set up from some DNAliens," Ben said flippantly.

"And we got saved from what Ben here thought was an Arachnichimp prince," Kevin said, giving the younger boy a look.

Sam raised an eyebrow as she sat down on Evan's bed. "Didn't you ask for proof?"

"…No," Ben admitted.

Evan set down his cup and face palmed. "Dude, seriously, check your facts. It would have saved you a lot of time."

"What did he want anyway?" Sam asked curiously.

"He wanted to steal a crystal that he said was the symbol of his monarchy," he explained. "Turns out it was the power source for the communications center on the moon."

"You mean the only one Earth has," Evan stated.

"If that gets taken out, Earth can't ask for help when the High Breed invade," Sam pointed out putting her drink away.

Ben made a dismissive motion with his hand. "Don't worry; I tricked him into taking an acid dispenser. The crystal's back on the moon where it should be."

"And the entire mess could have been avoided if you just checked the monarchy on Arachna," Evan muttered.

"I messed up, I get it!" Ben said exasperatedly. "The point is I fixed it and stopped the bad guy before he could doom Earth. Now, are you going to tell us what happened last night?"

Evan and Sam looked at each other before holding hands. And then they stared at Ben fearfully, like they were afraid of his reaction. That worried-no, scared him. Ben wasn't someone who would get angry without good reason. Just happened to them last night?

"We were supposed to move the oscillator key off planet last night," Sam said finally. "Isaac told Azmuth what was going on so we were going to give it to him for safe keeping."

"He also told him that we'd tamper with it so in the likely event the High Breed stole it back they'd have a hard time using it," Evan said. "It's not much, but it might buy us some time."

"Smart," Kevin congratulated him.

"What do you mean, in the likely event?" Gwen questioned, her eyes widening.

Evan and Sam's hands tightened around each other, their knuckles turning white. "They found our headquarters," Sam spat out.

"O…kay?" Kevin said slowly, not getting it.

"Slayer HQ is hundreds of feet underground with thousands of tunnels leading to and away from it," Evan explained. "You'd either die or go mad before you found it. And the last time someone found our headquarters was back during World War II, and the American government basically just bullied their way into the Washington branch."

"But the DNAliens found the Bellwood branch," Sam said sullenly. "And they did it right under our noses. They were searching for weeks and no one knew," she added with a hiss. The others looked at each other.

"So they found where you hid the oscillator key," Ben stated. "And?"

Evan and Sam looked at each other before looking back at him. "They wiped out eighty percent of our defenses before taking it," Sam stated.

"Eighty percent?" Ben repeated as everyone's eyes widened in horror.

"I took out the ones in the cavern where we hid the key, but in the end it was too late." Sam closed her eyes and turned her head away, disgusted with herself.

"Don't put yourself down," Evan told her soothingly. "You obliterated a good chunk of their defenses. And you did it as Kirche, that's always a plus."

"Kirche?" Gwen had to ask.

"The goddess inside her head," Ben quickly explained. He turned back to Sam. "You obliterated them?"

"When Kirche takes over, I have no control over what she does," Sam hurriedly explained. "And when she's angry, there's no reasoning with her. And there was no way to talk to her after what they did to…" she trailed off, her voice failing her.

They all turned to Evan, hoping for an explanation. He looked at them with the saddest expression on his face. "They injured most of our men. The only ones without any physical injuries were Sam and Isaac."

"But your fine," Gwen pointed out suddenly. "Sure, you need crutches, but it's only a minor wound, right?"

"They shot my leg, Gwen," Evan said seriously. "They almost hit a bone. I was lucky that I twisted my leg before they could do any further damage. And I'm lucky that I can leave the hospital in a few hours."

"What about Carter?" Ben asked. "They said she couldn't see anybody, but it can't be that bad."

Evan and Sam wouldn't look at him.

"Guys?"

Evan closed his eyes. Sam pulled him in for a hug. Her bottom lip trembled.

"Answer me!"

"They tore her throat out."

Five words left Evan's mouth. It took only five words to devastate the greatest heroes in the universe.

"They cut the skin to shreds," Evan continued in a monotone. "She healed the worst of the damage herself, but we haven't been able to see her. We don't know if the surgery was enough."

It took a while for Kevin to form the words. "What do you mean?"

"They didn't get her vocal cords, so she should be able to talk," Sam said in a small voice. "But there's probably going to be some heavy muscle scarring and she lost so much blood…"

Ben couldn't hear anything, not the sounds of the people milling in the hallway, not the last of Sam's words, not even his cousin saying his name in a horrified whisper. It was as if his head was underwater, muffling everything.

"What room is she in?" he finally said sharply.

"They wouldn't tell us," Evan answered. Ben made his way for the door. Kevin put a hand on his shoulder.

"Calm down, Ben."

"Let go Kevin!"

"Not until you calm down!"

His eyes flashed blue, his teeth turned into needle sharp fangs; he quickly turned his head around-

The door opened and Cordelia walked in. She was dressed in her standard black suit with her lab coat around her shoulders. In her hand was a clipboard; the first page had her granddaughter's name on it.

Ben calmed down long enough for his eyes to turn green. "How is she?"

Cordelia closed the door and said, "You should really check out your eyes. It's a pretty weird look for you."

Kevin turned Ben around so he could see the thin slash marks that were his pupils. He grimaced and let go of Ben just as they started to turn round again.

"Oh, and Carter's fine," Cordelia finally said. Everyone let out a breath. "But only family can see her."

"What?" Sam squawked.

Cordelia held up a hand. "Carter's still weak from the surgery and she's on some pretty strong medication. She's in no condition to see you."

"When can we see her?" Ben asked hopefully.

"We'll call you when she's ready."

"Cordelia, what exactly did you do to her?" Evan asked suddenly. Everyone looked at him. "Isaac told me last night you might need to use extreme measures because the healing pods wouldn't work on her."

"Luckily we didn't really have to use other measures," Cordelia said. "Carter actually did most of the work for us. Tissue scarring is minimal, and the most we had to do was stitch the skin back together and do a blood transfusion. Any visible scarring should be fixable in the healing pods." She put a hand on Ben's head and patted it. "She'll be fine," she repeated.

"Is there anything else you can tell us?" Gwen asked suddenly. "Like how your headquarters is doing or what you're going to do now that the key is back with the High Breed."

"I'll tell you later when I'm less busy," Cordelia told her primly. She gave a soft smile and pointed to the bed. "Besides, I don't want to wake our two Sleeping Beauties." Everyone turned around to see Evan and Sam asleep, Evan with his head thrown back against the pillows and Sam curled up at the end of the bed.

"Come on, you should leave," Cordelia said ushering them out of the room. "And no Ben, I'm not going to tell you what room Carter's in."

Ben's face flushed. "I wasn't going to ask that!"

Later that day

"So, of course, you're going to ask me to hack the files," Gwen asked sardonically over the phone.

"I wouldn't be asking you this unless I had to," Ben said as he went through the secondhand store. He quickly went past the clothes racks and went to the side where all the old jewelry was.

"You know, you could ask Evan and Sam later. I'm sure they'll find out eventually," Gwen reasoned.

"You saw them earlier. They're going to be asleep for hours. I need to know now."

"Okay, okay," Gwen said in defeat. Ben could hear typing on the other line. "She's in room 832 on the sixth floor."

"Just how many rooms are there in that hospital?"

"Around a thousand. Is that all you needed?"

"Yes, you're a lifesaver, Gwen." Ben quickly disconnected the call and went further in his search. He already had one shopping bag in his hand; he just needed to buy one more thing before his plan could start. But he'd been in three stores already, he was tired and his parents were expecting him home soon. He really, really didn't want to go home defeated, but at this rate…

Finally, he saw it. Ben quickly snatched it off the jewelry rack and held it closer for inspection. It was a thick choker that looked almost like a belt. It was black and leathery with a single buckle clasp. He held it close to his own throat and figured that it would hide most of his neck.

Ben smiled.

11:00 PM

Carter turned on the lamp next to her bed. She closed her eyes and waited for the searing pain to diminish. She then slowly blinked her eyes open.

Her hospital room looked different than in the morning. There wasn't a window, so it was like she was in a tiny blue box. No doubt Evan had been in a room nearly identical to hers earlier. According to Cordelia, Evan had received a nasty gunshot wound to the leg and had to stay overnight. He and Sam were at their homes now, or they should be. Carter had still been hopped up on painkillers when she received the news, so she couldn't be sure.

With a heavy arm Carter grabbed the water bottle on the stand next to her and downed half of it. It was difficult thanks to the bandages around her neck; they itched and dug into her skin, making it raw. And with each gulp of water she could feel the stitches stretching. God, she couldn't wait until they were out!

Carter grimaced as she got out her phone. It was roughly eleven at night and she couldn't fall asleep. She didn't have any books to keep her occupied; she could turn on the TV, but there would be nothing decent on at this time of night. If there was, no doubt the hospital wouldn't have that program.

Carter went through the pictures on her phone since she had nothing better to do. She had taken quite a few recently: there was the evidence of Big Chill's destruction at the Burger Boy restaurant while he was pregnant; there were photos of Kevin acting like his car was his child; there were photos of Sam, Gwen, and Evan splayed over on the couch or hanging out somewhere in Ben's house; and there were quite a few pictures of Ben napping on Carter's couch with his hair stuck on end and his mouth parted open slightly. Those pictures she secretly claimed she had taken for blackmail purposes, but in reality she took them because she thought Ben looked adorable.

There was a sudden dripping sound in her hospital room. Carter snapped her phone shut (she really didn't want other people to see her photo collection) and looked at the air vent close to her bed. Something was oozing out of it, dripping slowly to the floor. Even though she felt incredibly sluggish Carter willed ice to form around her fingers to create sharp claws. She slowly got out of bed, her bones creaking in protest, her bare feet touching the cold floor.

The drippy thing that forced itself out of the air vent was completely in her room now. By the lamp's light Carter could make out its acidic green color. The glob slowly moved upwards, forming a humanoid shape. A familiar UFO-like device hovered above the mess.

"Nice pajamas," Goop said teasingly. Carter gave an annoyed sigh and forced the ice claws away, crossing her arms over her chest. Cordelia and Isaac had allowed her to wear the clothing she wore to bed, so instead of a skimpy hospital gown she was wearing cotton black pants that reached to her ankles and a long sleeved button up black shirt with a gravestone print on both pieces. They were fairly old and childish; they weren't exactly something she wanted friends to see her wear.

Goop quickly turned back into Ben. He held up a shopping bag and said, "I figured you'd be feeling awful so I-GAH!" He suddenly jumped back, recoiling at the sight of her bedraggled state. "You look horrible," he added tactlessly.

Carter glared at him. "I was just in surgery. How did you think I was going to look?" Her voice came out small and hoarse, the stitching on her neck protesting against the sudden movement. The bandages were scratching her as well, making the experience of simply breathing irritating.

"I figured you'd look bad, but not that bad," Ben said quickly, digging himself deeper. Carter rolled her eyes and marched to the bathroom. The second she turned on the light and looked in the mirror, she gave a gasp of fright and visibly winced.

She looked half-dead. Her normally pale skin had a grayish tint to it. Her black hair was rat's nest. Her eyes looked dull and lifeless and seemed too big for her face. The bandages around her neck made her look like a Dracula victim after the king of vampires himself tore her throat out and left her for dead.

Phantom pains suddenly sprang out from the wound. She could feel sharp claws tearing through the soft flesh of her neck, stabbing through the pink muscles on the inside, and cutting around her vocal cords. She could feel the monsters leaving her for dead, the pain blinding her vision, her blood stretching out across the cavern floor…

Carter quickly splashed water on her face and blinked. She turned off the faucet and looked at herself in the mirror. She still looked like a dead person, only this time wet. With a grimace she dried herself off and left the bathroom, flicking off the light.

She staggered out and said, "I see what you mean." Ben, apparently deciding to get over the initial shock, handed her the shopping bag.

"I thought about getting you flowers, but then your grandparents would know someone visited you when you weren't supposed to have visitors, so I got you something you can hide under your pillow in a moment's notice," Ben rambled, trying to gauge Carter's reaction.

Carter took her hand out of the bag to reveal the stuffed animal he got her. It was a black cat with beady red eyes and a black vampire cape tied to its neck. White fangs protruded out of its mouth, the tips of which were painted blood red.

"It's so cute!" Carter gushed, immediately cuddling it. "I will love you and pet you and call you Count Fluffula!" Ben gave an audible snort. She looked up, her cheeks suddenly red.

"There's one more thing in there," Ben suddenly said. Carter obediently went to fishing it out. "Cordelia said that any lingering scars would fade in the healing pods, but I figured that just in case you should have something to hide them."

Carter got out the simple black choker with the buckle and looked at Ben. With an arched eyebrow she asked, "You got me a collar?"

Ben stared at her, then at the collar, and then he started spluttering. "No, that's not what I meant! It's supposed to be a choker!"

Carter's mouth stretched into a smirk. "I know, Tennyson." Her face suddenly grew solemn. "Why did you really give these?"

Ben looked at her incredulously. "Because you were injured and this is what boyfriends do."

"But there's more to it than that."

"There isn't-!"

"I know you, Ben," Carter told him. "Now tell me what's really bothering you."

Ben gave her a look before sighing. "Do you know what I was doing while you were…?" He gestured to her neck.

"No, what were you doing?"

"I was helping this Arachnichimp prince," he said bitterly. "Only he wasn't really a prince, just some thief working for the High Breed. And no, I didn't check my facts or look up the royal line of Arachna," he added quickly. "I just took the guy's story at face value and believed him."

Carter thought for a moment. "He was really a thief right? What did he try to steal?"

"The High Breed wanted the power source of the moon's communications tower," Ben quickly explained.

"So you stopped the bad guy from taking the power source," Carter said, simplifying it. "That's something you should be congratulating yourself over."

"No it isn't. Well, okay, when you think about it, yeah, but that's not the point." Ben shook his head. "If I didn't take Simian's word for it, I would have stopped him quicker and maybe I could have gone to help you. You wouldn't have gotten hurt, you wouldn't have needed surgery…" he trailed off, not looking at her.

Carter blinked, trying to comprehend everything he said. Her brow furrowed. "Ben, do you know where Slayer HQ is?"

Ben turned his head towards her. "…No."

"Then how would you have found me?"

"Well, I-that is to say…"

"Ben, we didn't contact you because of what happened to me," Carter said. "You're the one who has to lead the charge against the High Breed invasion. You're the one people will remember when all this is over. Everyone else, including me, is expendable. That's just how it is," she added she added a shrug. The bandages made that slightly difficult.

"You're not expendable," Ben insisted. "None of you are."

"Yeah, but no one will bother to remember us after all this is over," Carter said with an eye roll. "And if you get injured in any way before the invasion, the High Breed has a much bigger chance of winning. You're just too important to lose."

"You're important too," Ben said bashfully. "Don't call yourself expendable, okay? 'Cause you're not-!"

Was his voice breaking? Carter couldn't tell because he suddenly turned away again, a hand over his eyes. Wait a minute, was he crying? Ben Tennyson didn't cry, he wasn't supposed to. All Carter did was told him the truth. It was supposed to reassure him, remind him that she was fine with getting seriously injured. That was how she'd been trained after all.

He wasn't supposed to get emotional over her. No one was supposed to worry about her. That was just the way it was.

But for some reason, it felt good having someone worry about her. Evan and Sam did, for sure, but that was because they were inseparable. The three of them couldn't live without the others. If Isaac and Cordelia cared about her well-being, they didn't show it much. To see someone else visibly and honestly worried about her was…strange, but in a good way.

Carter quickly wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her face into his back until he stopped shaking. "Thank you for everything," she said quietly into his ear. "And stop beating yourself up. One of the best things I like about you is that you give everybody a chance no matter what. So stop crying, okay? I'll be fine."

She let go of him, letting him turn around. His eyes were unusually bright and his face was screwed up slightly with grief. He quickly hugged her, holding her close, burrowing his face in her hair as he started shaking again. Carter rubbed his back, murmuring quiet reassurances until he could face her.

When he finally looked her straight in the eye, the first thing he said was, "Are you not wearing a bra?"

The solemn moment shattering, Carter's face turned bright red. She gave a shriek and pushed him away, crossing her arms over her chest. Ben staggered back, pressing a hand to his mouth to keep from laughing.

When the nurses dressed Carter in her pajamas, Cordelia had given them explicit instructions not to put a bra on her. They could be uncomfortable, especially if they were on for too long, and since Carter didn't sleep with one on anyway, it was the perfect arrangement. At least until now, when Carter tried hugging Ben. Then it became a mortifying predicament.

Ben stretched his arms out toward her. "I want another hug."

"No!"

"Please?" he pleaded giving her the puppy dog eyes. When that didn't work he grabbed the stuffed cat and held its mouth near his ear. "What's that Count Fluffula? You want Carter to give me another hug? And you want to suck my blood? Well, I can only promise you one of those two things happening." Ben looked at her hopefully.

Carter took a look at the stuffed animal and at the collar-choker- in her hand. Ben did come out of his way to buy her those gifts, and he did risk getting caught after hours just to see her…And he nearly cried over her, so another hug like that couldn't hurt.

"…Fine. But only one."

"Yay!" Ben immediately enveloped her in another hug, pressing her hard against him.

"Ben, you're crushing me," Carter said irritated.

"They're so soft." He drawled out the last syllable as long as possible.

"Ben, if you don't stop crushing me, I'm going to hit your-"

"You wouldn't."

"I would."

"But they're so-OW! That was my foot!"

"I warned you."

A bit of mood whiplash at the end, but it was a pretty depressing chapter, so I regret nothing.

So, thoughts anyone?