Chapter Two: You Found Me

A special note:

I have an Ashley Johnson acting reference in this chapter. It's one of her live action roles. If any of the readers can get it, I'll give you a shoutout in the next chapter. There's also a song reference and LOST references and a Teen Titans reference in here. I'll tell you the answers in the next chapter too. Have fun figuring it out!

Kevin Levin was trying to stave off sleep while sitting in a large board room utterly bored out of mind. He could hear someone speaking to him about business matters but all he could hear was "Blah, blah, blah, blah", he wasn't really paying attention and was resisting the temptation to check his watch every five minutes.

"Well, Mr. Levin, are you satisfied with the state of things here?" a man asked him.

"Yeah, everything's fine," Kevin said, vaguely remembering that his company had been doing quite well. He was actually making money instead of stealing tech and swapping it; he was dumbing it down from level five tech and reselling it as level two tech, more commonly known as typical technology found on Earth.

Despite his success he wasn't even thinking about work. He just wanted to get up and leave, he was half tempted to stand up and say, "I have something to take care of, finish without me," but then that wouldn't make him look very good in front of these people he'd never met before, but honestly he really wanted to get out of there.

Almost 2:00, only 15 minutes until he could leave and pay Gwen a visit. Her son, Devlin, if he remembered correctly would probably still be at school. That gave him an hour to see Gwen, get answers, try to justify himself if he could and get out of there, all before the kid got back. Besides, Gwen probably didn't want him around anyway.

The meeting couldn't end sooner as he stood up and said, "It was good to meet all of you gentlemen. I'll be back next year to check on things. I have to go. I have things to do."

"See you next year, Mr. Levin," the man told him and then Kevin was gone. He was tired of formality and uptight people, he just wanted to go some place where he could be himself and relax. He headed to the nearest men's room and changed out of his black suit and into a black shirt and blue jeans. He stared at his reflection in the mirror. How nostalgic was this look? He felt like he was sixteen again. He nearly laughed. He headed out to his car. He drove to Gwen's house on First and Amistad and found to his surprise that she was gone. He parked his car so that she wouldn't see it and got out.

Feeling a little mischievous, he walked up to the door and used his powers to absorb some of the metal. He picked the lock with little effort and slipped inside the house, he made sure to lock the door behind him. This was going to be fun; he was looking forward to seeing the surprised look on her face when she saw him.

He felt thirsty, but knew she would kill him if he actually started raiding her refrigerator. So he settled for drinking tap water instead. He searched for a cup and filled it. He drank the water greedily. He set the glass down. He stared at the walls, noticing the pictures of Gwen and Devlin on the walls. There were a few of her and Ben, of her and her parents and even some of Grandpa Max. He noticed she didn't have any of them together. He wasn't surprised. If he were in her shoes he probably wouldn't want to have pictures of himself either.

He thought he heard a car pulling up to the driveway. She had gotten home sooner than he expected. For some reason he felt the urge to mess around with his powers and absorbed some of the metal from the sink. He decided to stand there and wait. He was sure she wouldn't know he had gotten into her house because he had relocked the door.

Gwen Tennyson pulled her car into the garage. She had been at the store buying groceries. She was getting ready to cook dinner. She had just gotten out of her car when she sensed the presence of manna energy coming from inside her house. What in blazes was someone doing inside her house? Suspecting a burglar, she looked around for a weapon. All she found was a crowbar she had been using to open some old storage boxes that had been up in her attic for ages. She still knew her martial arts from her teenage years, not to mention her own powers as an energy being, a term she hated, even after all that time. She began making her way inside, peering around every corner cautiously.

There was a man standing in her kitchen. You didn't just walk into her house, let alone her kitchen. She thought he looked familiar but that was the last thing on her mind at the moment. She charged in stealthily like a ninja. Gwen hauled back and slammed the crowbar into the intruder's head as hard as she could.

WHAM!

Kevin Levin was very thankful that he had absorbed the metal from the sink. His head was ringing as the crowbar made perfect contact with the back of his skull. He staggered forward. Gwen executed a high kick that kept him further off balance. He could tell her who he was, but she was in such a rage at the moment, he didn't think it would make her calm down. Besides, he hadn't had a good fight in ages; he wanted to see if time had made her rusty when it came to her battle skills. All those years he had fought beside her, he had always been curious to see how he would fare against her. This was his perfect chance to find out.

She struck him hard across the face and he ducked, barely managing to avoid the next blow. She swung the crowbar again but he grabbed her wrist and forced her to drop her weapon. She elbowed him hard in the stomach and he lurched back again. He swung his fist and she blocked his punch and shot out an energy beam that sent him flying across the room and into the wall.

Gwen moved closer to the intruder and stared at him. The recognition hit her.

"Kevin? What in the blazes are you doing in my house?! And what do you want?" she demanded. He had to chuckle. It was nice to see some of the old spunky Gwen from so long ago.

"Sweetheart, I have so many answers to that question I don't know where to start. Isn't it obvious? I'm paying you a little visit," he laughed.

"You have a lot of nerve showing up here, after everything you've done to me," she snarled. He had counted on a cool reception; he wasn't surprised; he expected her to be like this. He didn't blame her either.

"I know but—" Kevin began but she interrupted him with an angry roar that surprised him. She used her powers to pick him up and hurl him through the wall of her house. He managed to land on his feet.

Doesn't she know she's tearing apart her own house?! He thought as he avoided another kick. He decided if she wanted a good fight she'd get one from him. She wasn't in the mood to talk. He lashed out, matching her kicks and punches, he knew he was a good fighter, but she'd been trained in martial arts since she was ten.

He blocked one of her blows with his elbow and made a solid connection with the side of her face, not enough to break bones but enough to stun her. He then kicked her back and moved forward, relentlessly striking at her. Gwen didn't say a word; she kept blocking and retaliating when she could.

He struck at her; she grabbed his wrist and blocked it. He whirled around, sweeping his foot out and knocked Gwen off her feet. He then tackled her and made sure she stayed where she was. Suddenly, she slammed her knee up into his stomach and reversed positions so she was on top of him. Kevin couldn't help but laugh as he gripped her wrists, a playful smile on his face.

"Kevin, get off me!" she demanded.

"That'd be kinda hard, Sweetheart, you're the one on top—" he felt pain rocket through his skull as she head butted him. Kevin relinquished his grip on her wrists and stared dazed up at the ceiling. He scrambled to his feet but found himself in the iron clutches of Gwen's powers.

"Shut up, Kevin! Just shut up and. Leave. Me. Alone." With each word, she slammed him into another part of her house. His body knocked pictures off the wall and shattered lamps. She threw him down the hallway. He got to his feet for what seemed like the thousandth time.

"Do you really hate that much Gwen?" he asked, wiping the sweat off his face. She was breathing hard and sweating as well. He figured ten years of pent up anger would wear a person out.

"Yes!" she replied. Gwen's eyes were glowing crimson as she moved closer to him. She unleashed her power in all her raging fury, blasting an enormous hole in the wall, taking out some of the roof with it. Kevin made a dive into her bedroom, relieved she hadn't blasted him to Kingdom Come.

Gwen charged straight into him, striking him repeatedly.

"Why. Did. You. Up. And. Leave. Me?" she asked, leaving no room for excuses or lies. Their eyes met for the first time that day. He could see her anger beginning to falter, if only for a split second.

"I…was afraid." She hit him across the face, slapping him so hard he turned red. She slapped him again.

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard, stop feeding me the lame excuses Kevin, and tell me the truth." She gave him a look that told him she meant business.

"I was afraid that I'd disappoint you. I mean, I'd already messed things up when you got pregnant," Kevin admitted. Gwen raised an eyebrow.

"How do you know about Devlin?" she asked.

"I saw him at Mr. Smoothies," he told her. It's kind of easy to figure out since he has your eyes and my hair. Why didn't you tell me?"

"If you answer my question, then I'll answer yours," she stared out the window, not looking at him.

"I did answer your question. Now answer mine."

"The answer's obvious, right after you took off, I found out I was pregnant. I decided to keep the baby. Devlin, he's a good boy. It's been hard on him, not having a father."

"You should have told me. I would have stayed." Kevin put a hand on her shoulder. She flinched and pulled away. What else was he supposed to do?

"All that should have, could have, would have crap doesn't cut it, Kevin. What were you so afraid of that you couldn't even face me after that night?"

"You're right, you know. I was afraid. I still am, okay? I'm afraid of my feelings. Afraid of attachment, commitment; whatever. I have lots of issues. And plenty of enemies, not all those DNAliens and Highbreed, I've got individuals all over the universe who want me dead, if I get attached to people, who's to say that they won't hurt them to get to me."

"That's a stupid excuse, you spent time with Ben and me for years and we never had that problem," she scoffed.

"Fine, I didn't feel I could stay because I was worried about us. Worried that you'd hate me for what happened, I told you that night was a mistake, I figured you'd blame me if you got pregnant."

"How can you think that? I told you this ten years ago, it was what I wanted, why would I turn around and hate you for that?" Gwen rolled her eyes. "Men…You'll never understand, will you?"

"What's with you all of a sudden? You were the devil himself ten minutes ago, now you're all emotional on me, not to mention you blew up your own house—"

She slapped him again. "Kevin Levin, shut up." She grabbed him and kissed him.

Is her slapping me some kind of twisted sign of affection or something?

Kevin sighed, deciding not to think and let his actions guide him. He'd missed her more than he cared to admit, and he knew despite what she'd said earlier about hating him; they both knew it wasn't true.

Kevin was more than happy to return her affection, he pulled her close to him, promising himself he wouldn't mess this up this time, he'd be there for her. He'd do anything for her; that was certain.

"Holy cow, mom! What happened? Did you blow up the house or something?" a voice asked.

They pulled away. She groaned, "I forgot to fix the house!"

"How could you do that? It'd take an army of maids and construction workers to fix this place," Kevin laughed.

"Watch me," she said, snapping her fingers. There was a blinding flash and Kevin looked around. The house was completely normal again. It didn't even look like she'd thrown him around like a ragdoll.

"Impressive. Guess you learned that from Verdona, huh?" he smiled.

"My Anodite heritage has its quirks." Just then, Devlin rounded the corner. His eyes went wide and he was preparing to absorb the nearest item in order to fight the strange man in his house. Just who was this guy and why was he in his mother's bedroom of all places.

"Mom, who is this guy?" Devlin asked.

"Devlin, what have I told you about your father?" she asked. Devlin seemed surprised by the question.

"You told me that he was a Plumber, you also said he used to fight Uncle Ben a lot before he became a good guy and that he was some kind of tech dealer."

"Devlin, this is your father. Kevin Levin, don't you have anything to say to your son?"

Kevin took in the sight of his son, whose mouth had fallen open. He forced it shut and looked at him.

"Kevin Levin, the Kevin Levin, is my dad," Devlin said. Gwen nodded.

"I knew it! People always said I looked like him. I thought they were joking."

"You're taking this better than I thought kid," Kevin smiled.

"I just can't believe that the legendary Plumber is my dad," Devlin said, in awe. "So where've you been?"

"That's a long story kid, I'll tell you sometime, okay?" Kevin chuckled and ruffled his hair.

"Go on Devlin, get ready for dinner, I'll start right away," Gwen shooed him out.

"Since when was I a legend?" Kevin asked.

"Come on, you've been a legend since we saved the world from the Highbreed. After you retired, you went straight into the history books as one of the greatest heroes there ever was. Everyone's been trying to top you since then."

"Really? And what about you?"

"Same." Gwen moved away from him and began walking out of the bedroom.

"Why?" Kevin asked Gwen. She stopped leaving the room and turned around.

"Why what?"

"Why doesn't he hate me?"

"I told him I still loved you."

"Is that still true?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You said you hated me."

"I was angry; I said some things I didn't mean."

"That's good to know, or I wouldn't be able to do this," he pulled her to him for another kiss. She complied and smiled for the first time in years.

Kevin felt a great weight lift off his shoulders. He finally felt like he was somewhere he belonged. They had finally found each other again, and that was the only thing that mattered.