Chapter 5: Chaos
When the gas pump clicked off Kevin put the gas cap back in place and closed the cover over the gas cap and paid at the pump before getting back in the car. "Hang on" he said turning the key and peeling out of the parking lot and down the street. The spots car came to a halt at a four way intersection. Turning down the right street Kevin slowed down as a police car passed by him. Kevin noticed the look Ben was giving him "We don't need to be pulled over right now; I don't want to explain how we took my stepfather's car and why we're speeding to go save someone from a power sucking teenager." He said glancing in the rearview mirror to make sure the police car wasn't turning around to follow them.
Following the map on the badge Kevin looked around the fancy neighborhood and gagged. "I remember this place; this town is where we first met him… which means we're going back to his mansion." Kevin groaned as they turned up another street and pulled up the street slowly trying not to be too noticed by people.
Ben looked out the window of the car as they pulled up a large driveway. "Now Kevin don't rush into anything we don't know what's going on in there" Ben said as the car pulled up the driveway silently. Kevin looked around carefully "I don't see any cameras or any security" he said turning the key off and climbing out of the car, as he walked around the front of the car he absorbed the metal of the car and headed for the front door. As he made it to just beside his own car he felt a jolt of electricity shoot through his body. Kevin felt himself thrown backwards and hit something hard and metal.
Ben groaned at Kevin's pain and laughed softly as he got out of the car and looked at Kevin as he slowly sat up on the hood on the car. "What happened?" he asked offering a hand to his friend. Kevin rolled off the hood and fell onto the ground and rolled back and forth for a moment.
"The car what happened to it?" he asked mumbling as he groaned softly. His body was tingling still. Ben crouched down and clicked his tongue a bit. "Well… um… let's just say that your step father is going to have a coronary for the fact that you just trashed his car." He said chuckling. Kevin rolled onto his back and put his hands over his eyes. "I'm dead…"he groaned out as he curled forward and started to sit up slowly.
Kevin looked at the car and saw the large dent in the side. Getting to his feet Kevin sighed loudly "I'll deal with that later, right now we have to figure out what just happened." He said trying to walk toward his car again, once again he felt the heavy jolt and the feeling that he was flying again. The sickening crunch of a car door under his metal armor made Kevin close his eyes as he got to his feet. "It's some kind of shield keeping us out, this could be a problem." Kevin said looking around. "It's invisible, but it is there…" he added reaching his hand forward till he felt the electricity tingle in his fingers before pulling his hand back.
Ben looked around "Well there has to be a way to turn it off, or we can just sit out here all day and hope that we're noticed." The brunette said looking for some kind of switch to turn the shield off. "Maybe if we could somehow let Gwen know we're here she could look for a way to shut it off."Ben added looking at all the mansion in front of them. He glanced back at Kevin who was looking over the damage done to the car. "Kevin, enough worrying about the car" Ben said.
"I'm so grounded, I'm never getting out of my room after I have done this to his car he's going to ground me till I'm dead" Kevin groaned as he started to bang his head against the roof of the car. Ben walked over to Kevin "It's not that bad, it can be fixed without him noticing it's not like the car blew up or anything." He said trying to help cheer his friend up. Kevin stood up and dropped his armor and looked around.
He looked for anything that could be generating the shield. Looking up on top of the mansion he squinted against the bright sky. "There on the roof, that group of lightning rods on the roof they are what's generating the shield. But the problem is we can't get to them from out here they have to be destroyed before we can get any closer to the mansion.
---------------
Gwen walked toward the fountain in the center of the garden and sat down to look at the flowers. The first thing she thought of was an escape plan. When the blonde walked over she looked away from him. Her first plan of just running out the front door failed Gwen knew that getting away was going to be harder than she thought. As she stood up Gwen noticed that the blonde was standing over by a bush picking a flower.
When he held the flower out to her Gwen didn't want to take the flower at first. What's the harm in taking a flower from him? She thought as she looked at the blonde. "Thank you" Gwen said softly not looking Michael in the eye.
The blonde chuckled softly as he took Gwen's free hand in his. "See, I can be a good guy, you just have to give me a chance since you said it yourself that you gave Kevin a chance." He said leading Gwen to the other side of the garden that was filled with bushes that were covered in raspberries and blueberries. Going over to the raspberries Michael picked a couple and popped them into his mouth and smirked at the taste.
" Try them… they are perfect" he said letting Gwen's hand, Michael watched the red head walk over to the bushes and pick a few deep red raspberries and put them into her mouth. Gwen had planned that if she humored Michael for a little while he might let it slip where she could find a way out her luxurious prison. "Your right they are really good, there are just so many of them" she said using flirting against the blonde hoping to get him to drop his guard.
Michael was taken aback at how quickly Gwen was accepting of her new life with him. He gave an inner smirk. If she really has changed then she won't push me away Michael thought as he closed the gap between himself and Gwen and leaned in pressing his lips against hers. Immediately Gwen put her hands up against Michael's chest to push him away, in the split second her hands came to rest on his chest she realized it would be bad for her plans.
Her fingers twitched slightly as the voice in the back of her mind screamed at her to push the blonde away and look for a way out. Gwen ignored the voice; she tensed slightly as she felt his arms go around her waist. When they finally pulled apart Gwen was speechless. Her heart was beating so loud she was sure that the blonde could hear it.
"It's about time we head inside, I'm sure you want to be getting away from me since you have said it so many times" he said smirking as he taking Gwen's hand and walking her back into the mansion.
Gwen pulled her hand free and looked at the blonde beside her "I just want to be alone right now" she said softly as she walked away from the blonde and into the library. She found a chair that was not covered by stacks of books and a few star charts. The young Anodite sat down and started to look the charts over to see what Michael was studying.
She was looking at the star charts so intensely that she didn't hear Michael slip into the room until he was right behind her and his hand was on her shoulder. "Sorry I didn't mean to make you jump" he apologized as he moved around the couch and sat down on the edge. "I wanted to know if you needed anything before I went back to work in the other room?" he asked looking right at the girl beside him. Gwen felt her heart beat a bit faster, her head felt foggy as she tried not to be swayed by the blonde beside her. "No… I'm fine; I just wanted to be alone for a little while" Gwen said
Michael smirked "You don't seem fine you seem very nervous or excited that I'm here I can't really be sure" he said moving closer and leaning in for another kiss. Just as his lips were about to touch hers something outside caught his eye. Pulling away quickly he stood up and walked over to the window "It seems we have some uninvited guests." Michael remarked as Gwen ran up beside him to look out the window at the two teens standing beside a banged up sports car.
"It seems they have found out the hard way about my security system. But don't worry my dear, they can try and get through as many times as they like they still won't get into this mansion. I'm sure of it, so Levin can sit out there and stew as he tries to think of how to get his car back." Michael said as he watched Gwen's facial expressions, when her lips twitched down slightly he knew he had her questioning Kevin's motives for being there.
She knew Ben was there to save her, they were cousins and he cared about her safety. Gwen knew Kevin liked her but she would never be more than second best to him. His car would be more important to him always, that she would never be that important to him, she knew he cared about her when they were fighting but it was starting to look like just friendship more than ever. Looking out the window Gwen felt her heart get heavy and rise up into her throat a bit as she tried to say something but the words died in her throat. When she felt Michael's arms around her she didn't fight it as he pulled her against his chest.
Gwen couldn't see the triumphant smirk on Michael's face as he looked out the window at Ben and Kevin as they finally saw the two in the window, Gwen being held in his arms. The blonde's smirk grew even wider when he saw the pure anger etched on Kevin's face; he could tell the raven haired teen was livid and ready to try something stupid in the name of love.
It took less time than I expected for her to start questioning Levin's motives and bend to my advances now I just need keep those two busy and out of my way while I win Gwen over even more . Michael thought as he kept Gwen close against his chest. After a moment he pulled back enough to lean down and kiss Gwen again this time with such passion that she actually opened her eyes in shock for a moment and letting out a small surprised squeak before he eyes closed again out of reflex more than anything else.
Michael gave an inner chuckle to himself he could almost feel the anger radiating off of Kevin as he watched from outside as his rival kissed the girl he cared about. When they finally broke apart for air Michael smiled and ignored Kevin outside.
----------------------
Ben looked over at Kevin, and he could tell his friend was mad he was gripping the side fender above the driver's side wheel so tightly that he not only had absorbed the metal but he was crushing the fender like it was made of clay. The omnitrix user held his friend back for as long as he could. "Kevin you're just going to get thrown back out here again and damage your step-father's car even more" Ben remarked looking at the once great looking sports car.
Kevin stopped for a moment "There has to be a way in there, we have to take those lightning rods up there. But like I said before it's near impossible to destroy them from out here" he said sighing. Ben smirked and dialed the Omnitrix for a moment before slamming his hand down.
"Jetray!" the alien exclaimed before taking to the sky and flying over the mansion and floating above the roof until he was in the perfect spot to shoot his rays at the top most part of the shield hoping that he could find a weakness. Jetray concentrated his beams and watched as his beams started to get closer to the rods until they all exploded from the energy. "Excellent" Jetray said as he flew back down to the ground.
When Ben changed back he walked over to Kevin "I think the shield is down… let's get in there and get Gwen back" Ben said as he slowly made his way past Kevin's car safely and up the front steps.
Kevin chuckled and slammed his body against the front door breaking a large hole in the wood door. Not bothering to stop he made his way toward the study and kicked the door open. "Come on Gwen let's go, I want to get my car out of here before Morningstar strips anymore gears on it" he said not noticing the look he was getting from Gwen.
Ben elbowed Kevin in the ribs "We're here to take Gwen home; taking Kevin's car home is just extra." He said trying to get Kevin to realize that wheat he was saying was the wrong thing. He looked at his cousin "Gwen we both want you to come home, you know how Kevin can be he says one thing but he wants you back too. You should have seen him outside before, when we saw Morningstar kiss you he actually damaged his step-father's car he was so jealous." Ben said trying to fix the ugly problem that was in the air.
Michael kept Gwen close and sighed softly. "Well I can see where your mind set is Levin, the first thing out of your mouth was a command to Gwen just so you could save your car from being damaged, and Ben we're supposed to believe that Kevin was really jealous if he was then wouldn't he have come over and tried to hit me by now?" Michael asked with a small chuckle.
" I thought you would never ask" Kevin said moving forward as he threw a punch only to have Michael moved to the side at the last second still keeping Gwen at his side.
"Ah… but the sad thing is that I had to ask just for you to make a move Levin, do you really think that little of Gwen. It seems that having me show her how a real man should act toward a lady is only proving the point even more… that she is making the right choice by not running to you" he said with a smirk.
Kevin growled "that's because you have your arm around her so she can't run off, now hold still while I beat your face into pulp." Kevin said as he stood ready to fight. Ben sighed and looked at his cousin. "Come on Gwen your parents are going to worry when you're not home when they get back from visiting Ken at college." He said hoping he could win Gwen over to coming home.
Gwen looked at her cousin "I'll come home for them; I don't want them to worry about me or for you to worry about me either Ben." She said pulling away from Michael. "Oh and Kevin, I'm not doing this for you at all… I know you're going to say that I was brainwashed or something but I wasn't I was just shown a good time. Michael has been nothing more than a gentleman the entire time I've been here." She added walking past Kevin and Ben and running up the stairs quickly to the bedroom she had been staying in and grabbed her dirty clothes, her broken cell phone and her plumber's badge.
As she walked downstairs Gwen held onto her old clothes and walked out the front door and climbed into the backseat of Kevin's car and waited for Ben and Kevin. Ben looked at the blonde in front of him. "I don't know what you've done but you've done something to Gwen I just know it." He said looking over at Kevin whose face had a mixture of emotions on it. "Come on Kevin we better figure out how to get your step-father's car home and yours." He said grabbing his friend by the forearm and dragging him out of the mansion and over to the two sports cars.
Kevin looked over at the damaged car and sighed at the fact that there was no one else to drive the car, Ben was still fifteen and with no permit yet to speak of, so the car was stuck. He was in a tight mess, it was either let Ben drive his car with no permit and have the chance of getting pulled over or using what money he had left from his last big weapon trade many months ago to pay for a flat bed truck to haul the car back to Bellwood. Kevin groaned and leaned against his car. He had two final options one of which he would rather cut his tongue out before doing the other would probably be as bad.
Standing up Kevin leaned in the car window and looked at Gwen who was facing away from him and looking out the passenger window. "Gwen would you drive my car back home, I know you've had some lessons and you have a learner's permit-." He stopped when the red head turned and looked at him. "No… I'll drive the other car but not this one, I wouldn't want you to worry about it anymore than you have" she said pushing the front seat forward and sending Ben into the dashboard before climbing out and heading for the other car.
She only looked back when she grabbed the keys from Kevin's hand. Her finger tips barely brushed the palm of his hand, he wanted to close his fingers on hers and force her to look at him but he just couldn't close his hand. Gwen was like the soft sand at the beach, so beautiful to look at, touch and even hold, but like the soft sand she had slipped between his fingers. "Be careful." He whispered as he climbed behind the wheel of his car. He ignored the blonde standing on the stoop watching them as they left.
-------------
By the time the trio reached Bellwood it was the middle of the afternoon. Kevin had dropped Ben off at home; when he pulled into his driveway he looked at his step-father's car and realized just how much damage had been done to it. Walking to the driver's side of the car he cringed at the sight of the damage he did to the fender.
Kevin looked around for any sign that Gwen was there waiting for him, the only thing he could find was his set of keys to the sports car sitting on the driver's seat hidden in the corner out of view. Grabbing the keys Kevin sat in the driver's seat and started to plan how he was either going to get the car fixed or explain what happened to the car while getting ground until he turned thirty.
"I deserve it, I guess I better bring this back to the parking garage" he said quietly to himself as he started the car up and drove it to the garage by his step-father's office building. With nothing to do other than go home and lick his proverbial wounds he decided to meet his punishment head on instead of waiting for it to come to him he sat down against a large cement pillar with the level and number stenciled on it.
Time seemed to be moving at a snail's pace, when he heard people walking close to him he heard a familiar voice chatting normally. Then it stopped. Kevin looked up as he saw his step- father gaping at the damage. "What the hell did you do to my car; don't you have your own car to destroy?" The man asked going over to Kevin and reaching down and grabbing him by the front of his shirt.
Not in the mood to argue Kevin just looked over to the side at an oil stain on the concrete floor where another car had once been. "I'll pay to have the damages fixed" he mumbled thinking back to how the car had been damaged in the first place. The middle aged man looked down at his step-son as he pulled him to his feet. "Don't even think you're getting off that easy without punishment. Not only are you grounded for two months for taking the car without my permission but there is no computer, no cell phone, no television, and no friends, not that you seem to have any." Ray said shoving Kevin back hard enough into the pillar behind him.
"Don't start acting like my father, it's not something your good at Ray trust me" Kevin said getting his old attitude back. "You know your right I'm not your father, I actually stick around when there is a problem" he said standing his ground. Kevin wished the man in front of him was just a normal DN Alien so he could pound him into the ground. "Don't you dare talk about him" he said as he looked at the ground, his day was just getting worse, and the girl of his dreams hated him now and was kissing his rival.
Kevin pulled away from his step-father "I'm going home" he said showing past the older man and walking down the stairs and out of the parking garage. By the time he looked up from the street he found himself in front of Gwen's house. Walking up to the front door he knocked loudly. When the door open Kevin came face to face with Gwen, she was still wearing the sun dress that Michael had gotten her. Seeing the half Anodite girl that he only mentally admitted to having feelings for made him forget just how bad his day had been for a moment.
"Can I help you with something? " Gwen asked as she started to cross her arms around her chest, the raven haired teen knew she was still upset with him she only put her arms over her chest when she was upset. Shaking his head Kevin just looked at the girl in front of him; if he said anything it would just ruin everything. Taking a step forward he stopped himself before he did anything and turned around and mumbled a goodbye and took off down the front path and down the sidewalk with his hands in his pockets.