A/N: Still on my own, but working hard!

So I recently found out that Kevin's car is not a Camero like I thought it was, but a Dodge Challenger. But just for simplicity, I'm going to keep referring to it as the Camero. I was so sure though that it was a Camero…

I guess we all make mistakes. Sorry for the mix up.


CHAPTER THIRTEEN: DESPERATE MEASURES

The Camero sped down the highway as missiles followed closely after it. Kevin cursed to himself and twisted the steering wheel hard. The Camero launched itself off the road, and Kevin straightened out the wheel, sending the car over the bumpy desert road. Tena gasped and held on tightly to the hand holds within the car. She wished desperately that she could 'Go Hero' and get them out of there…but that was impossible.

Owen gritted his teeth, "I'll hold them off."

"What the fuck are you going to do?" Kevin swore,

"I was blasted away before the Omnitrix finished changing my DNA. I still have some of my Necrofriggian powers." Owen replied, removing his seatbelt.

"No!" Tena snapped, turning around to look at the boy, "Its too dangerous!"

A missile hit the back of the Camero, sending them spinning out of control. Kevin bit his lip as he fought to regain control over his precious wheels. He did not have time to complain about the damage it did to his car. He finally got it in a straight line, the tires hitting some rocks, sending the car into the air. It landed with a thud. Kevin thought bitterly, this can't be good for the suspension…

"We don't have much of a choice!" Owen snapped,

"Don't hurt them." Tena ordered,

Owen nodded, "I'll just disable them."

Tena watched helplessly as Owen's body went intangible and slipped through the back of the car. She buried her head into her hands and cried out loud. Kevin cast her a brief glance before stepping on the gas, twisting the wheel to send the car off the sand, and onto a rocky plane. With something for the tires to grip onto, Kevin floored the gas pedal, and raced off into the sun set.

Owen landed gently on the ground behind the car. He saw Helen zoom by him, and he shot a beam of ice just in time to hit her before she was out of reach. Helen gasped as her legs froze up and she was forced to a halt. He stayed intangible as the Rustbucket soared over him, jumping into the air and becoming tangible once again, only once he was safely inside of it.

Gwen gasped and turned around, she shot an energy beam at the boy. He went intangible right before it hit him, and launched a beam of ice in return. She raised a force field, blocking Owen's attack.

Manny came at him from behind, and Owen just barely managed to avoid his attack, stepping aside as the giant Tetramand stumbled stupidly into the table. Owen went intangible once more as Cooper shot some sort of mechanical device at him. It went through him easily, hitting Manny behind him. He smirked as Manny cried out as the device shocked him. He jumped over Manny's unconscious body and quickly launched a ball of ice at Gwen, freezing her from the waist down. He quickly froze her hands and ran to the control panel.

Grandpa Max turned from the steering wheel and reached under his seat, pulling out a device that he had stolen from a bounty hunter after Ben all those years ago. He held it out and shot it at Owen. The boy gasped as his body solidified.

"Solidifying your protoplasm." Grandpa Max said smugly. Before the boy could move, he reached over and punched him in the side of the head, sending him sprawling into the passenger seat. Owen quickly turned around and sprayed ice across the dashboard, freezing the controls, and ultimately freezing the engine. The Rustbucket rolled to a stop.

Ben and Allen came from the back of the RV. Owen pulled himself up just as Allen sent a fire ball at him. Owen screamed as the flames hit his skin, blasting him out of the RV. He hit the ground and rolled behind them.

"Careful!" Gwen screamed, "He's human now…"

"Who cares?" Allen grunted, hopping out of the RV as well, landing on the ground in front of the boy.

"Ben!" Gwen gasped, "Do something."

Ben reached down for the Omnitrix, "Allen can take care of Owen. I'll deal with the Camero."

"B-Ben!" Gwen cried,

"Don't worry…I'm not going to hurt them. Kevin is still our friend." Ben nodded, slamming down the dial of the Omnitrix. A green light blasted from the Omnitrix, engulfing Ben completely.

Gwen smiled as the Green light faded, and a giant pterodactyl alien stood in front of her. Ben outstretched his wings and yelled, "JET RAY!"

Jet Ray launched a beam at Gwen, blasting apart the ice, before opening up the door of the Rustbucket, and flying out of it. Gwen ran to the door and looked out. Allen and Owen were just dots in the background. She clenched her jaw and ran after them. Grandpa Max swore and went to work trying to get the RV started again.

Gwen ran back just as Allen launched another fireball at Owen. The boy raised his hand and countered with ice, but the ice was melted almost immediately with Owen's weakened powers. He screamed as the fire engulfed him.

"Owen!" Gwen screamed, "Allen! Don't kill him!"

Allen smiled and stopped the fire, allowing Owen to fall to the ground, "I won't. But that doesn't mean I'll let him get away either."

Owen forced himself to his knees, his clothing burnt and falling off in places. He looked up and launched ice at Allen.

The ice again melted as it came in contact with the Pyronite. He gasped as the water soaked him. Allen roared, "That's it!" He reached out both his hands and attacked Owen.

Owen fell backwards as the fire engulfed him. Gwen gasped and quickly raised a force field around him.

"Gwen!" Allen snapped,

"Leave him alone! You defeated him!" She ran over to the boy's side, pulling his head onto her lap.

"But he's the enemy!" Allen complained,

"He's a child!" Gwen snapped, "A deluded child."

Cooper walked up behind them, "Well, chain him up. We can keep him hostage."

Gwen nodded, allowing Cooper to walk over and tie the boy up. She then watched helplessly as Manny picked him up and threw him into the Rustbucket.

Owen screamed as he hit the floor of the RV. He struggled against his confines, he looked up at Gwen with fear, but she just looked away. Rubbing her arms in worry.

~ * ~

Kevin looked into the rearview mirror as they raced down the barren road, "We've got company…"

Before Tena could answer, something hit the top of the car. Kevin swore and rolled down the window, "WATCH THE FUCKING PAINT!"

"I think your paint job is the least of our problems." Tena complained, looking out the window, "The imposter…he found us!"

"Kinda busy Tennyson!" Kevin snapped, wrenching the wheel to avoid Jet Ray's attacks.

Tena looked down at the bump in her stomach, and then down at her Omnitrix. Why couldn't she get it to work? And even if she could, this pregnant self couldn't fight…she had no idea what aliens were like when they were pregnant. It could hurt the baby.

"Give me the wheel." Tena ordered,

"What?" Kevin asked, turning his head momentarily to look at her,

"You can fight the Impostor." Tena said,

Kevin shook his head, "No. That would mean leaving you unprotected. And even though I've been an insensitive jerk all these years, I'm not a jerk enough to do that."

Jet Ray hit them with another ray, it hit the back of the car, bursting into flame. Kevin struggled to keep the car going in a straight line. Tena screamed as Jet Ray launched another beam into them. Kevin looked around. There was not much more damage his baby could take. He had to think fast…

There. Straight ahead. He quickly looked at Tena, "Hold on tight."

Tena looked confused, "W-what?"

"Just do it!" He yelled.

Tena looked ahead. There was nothing straight ahead. Well, nothing except for a large gorge…

"Kevin…your not serious…" Tena gasped.

Kevin did not respond, he just floored the car. The broken Camero raced towards the gorge, Jet Ray launched another beam, hitting it in the front of the car, blasting open the hood, and knocking out the headlights. Kevin swore and kept the pedal down. It just had to hold out until…

Tena felt the ground give way underneath him. It was a sharp decline down into the gorge, and the car rolled down it fiercely, hitting every rock and dip on the way. Tena screamed and held on as tight as she could to whatever she could find. Kevin gasped as the car slammed into the side of a tree, catching onto the door and ripping it off. He reached over Tena and grabbed a handle on the other side of the car, keeping his arm protectively in front of her. The other he kept on the steering wheel, trying to give their wreck some control as it careened down the hillside.

Finally they hit a drop, the car sped down it and landed front-first into the ground. The front of the car crunched into itself before falling backwards in a crumbled heap. The two were panting heavily.

Kevin looked over at Tena, and before she could say a word, he scooped her up and out of the car, carrying her over to a rock formation a little ways from the car. He placed his hand on the rocks and allowed it to cover their bodies. The two pressed themselves as close to the rocks as they could, remaining completely silent.

Jet Ray landed on the hood of the car. He turned back into Ben and the young man jumped down. He hurriedly peeked inside the car, "K-Kevin?" After seeing no one in the wreck, he moved away, looking frantic, "Kevin! Kevin!"

A sly smile stretched across his face, "Oh well. One less problem to worry about. I'll just say it was an accident. Gwen will believe me."

Tena could feel Kevin's grip tighten on her arm. She gently held him back as Ben transformed back into Jet Ray, and flew away. They waited a little bit before finally sighing in relief.

"Come on. Old Max and crew will be here soon." Kevin grunted,

"Kevin." Tena whispered, using his arm to help her to her feet, "W-why are you doing this?"

Kevin turned around to look at her in confusion, "Doing what?"

"Helping me. Going against Gwen, going back to a life of running?" She sounded on the verge of tears as she spoke.

Kevin pushed a lock of her hair from her face with a smile, "Are you stupid or something?"

She tilted her head. But no words would come to her mouth.

Kevin stepped back from her and his smile disappeared, "Tena…your more important to me then anyone else in the world!"

"Really?" Tena replied sarcastically, folding her arms.

Kevin nodded, "Back when we were kids, I asked if you wanted to be my friend. I was just going to use you, but you honestly wanted to be my friend. You wanted to help me."

He turned around, "No one in my life besides Ravin has ever done that. No one has ever wanted to be my friend without expecting something in return, no one has ever wanted to save me from my life." He couldn't look at her, "When you disappeared, I realized something. If it wasn't for you, I'd probably be dead now."

Tena walked around Kevin and looked up into his dirty face. She wanted to reach up to him, but the look on his face told her not to move.

"I felt like a failed…you, you're my best friend Tena." Kevin shook his head, "No, you're more then that. You're like a brother. And when…we got you back, that guilt just would not go away. The moment I saw that Impostor, I knew that wasn't you, it just did not feel right. I just…"

He shook his head and grabbed her gently by the shoulders, "If you ever tell anyone about this, your dead Tennyson."

Tena smiled and gave him a light hug, "I doubt we'll live long enough to tell anything with the entire Plumbers force after us."

He sighed and pulled himself away from her before walking back to his wreck, "And there…goes my car. DAMMIT!" He kicked a piece of metal away. He continued cursing and swearing as he went digging through the wreckage, pulling out a backpack full of stuff…all his positions actually, he couldn't keep them in the garage because then the owners would know he's been living in there.

He turned back to Tena, "Come on, they'll be here soon."

Tena nodded, "Right."

The two headed off down the gorge, walking side-by-side silently. Neither one of them could find any words to say. The sun set and the night started to grow cold. Tena started to shiver, she rubbed her arms mechanically against the cold.

"Ready to find a spot for the night?" Kevin shivered,

"I am getting pretty tired." Tena agreed.

Kevin walked over to the edge of the gorge. He pulled a rock over and made a little hideaway, "This'll hide us for the night."

Tena walked over, "Good. Now where are you going to sleep?"

"Nice try." Kevin smirked, "I only have one blanket."

"Are you serious?" Tena blushed,

Kevin nodded, "Uh, yeah. What's the problem?"

Tena blushed and looked away, "We can't share a bed!"

Kevin looked at her with confusion, "Why not?" He smiled, "Awe Benji, your not thinking perverted thoughts are you?"

"NO!" Tena gasped, "I mean, keep dreaming."

Kevin laughed and pointed down at her bump, "Trust me, with that, you'd be lucky if anyone was interested. Now stop being a baby and get over here."

Tena rubbed and arm and slowly walked over towards Kevin. He pulled out a blanket and curled up on the ground. Tena lay next to him, facing the other way. Kevin laughed and threw the blanket over her.

As night grew later in the desert, the temperature dropped further. Tena shivered, and without meaning too, she curled up next to Kevin for warmth. He sighed and rolled over, curling up to her for warmth as well. By the time morning came, they were probably the only warm things in the gorge. Tena rose as the sun went up, shaking the frost off of the blanket. She shook Kevin awake, "Come on, before they find us."

Kevin grunted and leaned up, "Yeah…alright…ok…"

He yawned and folded the blanket back up, stuffing it into the backpack and pulling it onto his back. "You do realize its going to take weeks now to reach New York."

"Then lets start by climbing this gorge." Tena sighed. Kevin repeated her mockingly.

The two finally reached the top of the gorge, only to be met by a familiar face.

"Well then, how was your trip?" Ana smiled, helping to pull Tena up from the hillside, "And yet, its still fall."

"Very funny." Kevin complained, "I thought you were going to Demetrious."

"I was going to, but then I changed my mind." Ana shrugged, "I'll bring you with me when I go. That way, you can have the fun of destroying Mei along with me."

Tena smirked at the idea, "When I'm back to normal…I'd love to help."

"So, why are you here?" Kevin replied, dusting himself off,

"I came for the money you owe me." Ana smirked, folding her arms.

Tena and Kevin exchanged glances. Ana's smirk burst into a full fledged smile, "So, where is it?"

"About that…" Kevin sighed, "Its in a crumpled heap at the bottom of a gorge. Blame Tena's grandfather and his crew for that."

"Hey!" Tena snapped.

Ana sighed and looked down at her fingers, "That's not good. Nope, I can't let you have my services for free now can I? Even if you're family, I'm still charging."

Kevin bit his lip, this was probably the only time Tena would ever see him beg, "Please Ana! Give us some more time! I - I mean we - don't have it, but we will get it!"

"Oh don't try that." Ana replied. She put her hands on her hips, "You're just going to have to pay me back through services."

"What do you want me to do?" Kevin asked,

"Well, until I get a new partner, I don't have a manager." She said, "And that means I can't take any more work until I get a new one."

Kevin was about to say something, but Ana cut him off, "Which means I'm going to need a new partner to accompany me to Xenon, and do whatever they want until I'm done my business." She stared at them slyly. They stared back at her in confusion. Ana dropped her arms, "Are you two idiots of something? I need YOU to accompany ME to XENON, Azumuth's home world, the guy who created the Omnitrix and probably knows what's going on with it, while I do my work?"

Tena finally clued in. She smiled, "And this will pay you back?"

"Completely." Ana nodded, "And it won't even take a month this time. I'd give it…come on Tena, you know…"

"Four days" Tena nodded merrily, [A/N: See Footer]

"So, how are we getting there?" Kevin asked, "Are we taking the Anodite's ship?"

"Oh no, that thing was much too slow. I sold it and bought myself an even better ship." Ana gestured at them to follow her.

Kevin and Tena did not argue. They followed Ana down the rocky plane and around a steep rock face…

…where a beautiful red convertible mustang sat.

Kevin's face lit up, "Oh wow!"

"And, also, to help pay off your debt." Ana added, "You have to be my personal driver." She threw the keys at Kevin, who happily took them.

"Oh dear." Tena sighed, climbing into the back seat, as Ana sat up in the passenger.

Kevin put the car into gear and it took off down the road, "Wow! She handles so smoothly…corners perfectly."

Tena rolled her eyes, "Great."

Ana laughed.

Kevin cheered and laughed, "I LOVE THIS CAR!"

"Good. Now hurry up, we're heading to my hanger. It's not to far from here, turn left and go straight."

"And then?" Kevin asked,

"Off to Xenon." Ana finished.


Oh, and by the way, I watched Secrets of the Omnitrix recently, it only took them like, two or three days to find Azumuth, so I'm going to stick with that timing again this time. This time line seems even more ridiculous then mine, but whatever, I'm going to stick with it.