Chapter Two: Veritas
There was something interesting about his new prosthetic body, he had enhanced strength and speed and inhuman stamina. He could change the sensitivity of his skin and enhance his vision. He could also link with another person's brain and communicate with them. Technology on Earth now rivaled that of many other planets, in fact aliens were doing their best to just keep up with Earth technology these days. It was funny that he had once considered his planet to be backward compared to all the things he'd seen. It was strange how things changed.
Kevin Levin was happy with his new body. He was overjoyed that he was back to normal. Well as normal as being a Cyborg could be. He'd adjusted rather well, but recovery and relearning everything had been Hell. Still, he was bound and determined to return to a somewhat normal life.
The training Section 9 recruits went through was grueling. But he was very impressed. Even in his prosthetic body he still had to push himself just accomplishing the rigorous training they went through. He'd even managed to pass the test of being able to track the Major, no small feat there.
Although he hadn't been issued a gun or permitted to go out in the field with them, he still used his vast knowledge of alien technology to help them with cases. He thought it was rather boring, but it was better than being locked away.
"Ishikawa is there anything you need me for?" he asked dully. "I'm gonna take a smoking break."
Kevin went outside and lit up a cigarette. The nicotine was nice, what was even better was the fact that with his prosthetic body, he wouldn't be able to get lung cancer and that was a relief.
"Taking a break I see," Major Kusanagi observed. "We need your help. Get a gun. But don't even think about running."
"Yes Ma'am!" he replied. They were finally going to let him do something besides stare at a computer screen and gather data.
"Batou, Togusa, Saito, Kevin, come with me. We've got a bunch of crazy Knights on our hands."
"Knights, are you serious? Like Medieval period and all that crap," Batou asked, skeptical.
"The Forever Knights are a group that uses both Earth and Alien technology to battle dragons, actually alien life forms that resemble dragons. They also deal in black market alien tech," Motoko told them. "At least, that's what we've been able to gather on them."
"Just how good is this tech they sell?" Togusa queried.
"Good enough that if it were used in a war, the other side would definitely be screwed," she replied. "We're going to need Kevin's dubious attributes to set up a meeting with the leaders of this group, and then we'll capture them all. They've been arming anarchist groups around Japan and it's not a good thing."
"So all I get to do is talk? Where's the fun in that?" Kevin asked. "I won't even get to use my gun."
"You might have to. But don't worry; we'll be with you, completely invisible to them. You just act as you would normally, since you've sold a lot to them, they trust you; just make up a believable story. Knowing you, that shouldn't be too hard."
Kevin had to wonder what would happen if this mission went off without a hitch, maybe he'd be respected as an official member of Section 9 and not just the criminal who got lucky enough to "work" in law enforcement. He'd heard stories about the others, the Major, Batou, Saito, Pazu, Borma and Togusa, getting into some really interesting situations that made for great stories.
Not that he didn't have great stories but no one ever asked him about his hero days. Not that anyone remembered that he had been a hero for a short time. Besides, memories of Gwen brought back pain he didn't want to think about, he'd just go drink more alcohol and smoke.
Kevin had reconciled with his mother, he still didn't like Harvey but chose to ignore him. He'd managed to get all his old things from his house. He stared down at a photograph of him and Gwen. The thought that she was dead seemed surreal, he always expected to turn around and see her frowning or scolding him.
"What's that?" Batou asked curiously, Kevin didn't seem like the type to keep pictures. He'd become something like Pazu, something of a player and ladies man. Not that Kevin was like Pazu with his "never sleep with the same woman twice" thing, but Kevin did seem to enjoy sex in his new body. Still he never kept pictures of his dates in his wallet, and judging by the age of the photo, it was really old.
"Just a photo, it's nothing," Kevin tried to shoo the big man away.
"Then you won't mind if I looked at it," Batou said as he swapped it out of Kevin's hand before he could protest.
"Give it back!" Kevin growled.
"She's pretty, never seen you with a redhead. What's her name?" Batou was amused. There was something nice about that girl. She seemed too nice for him.
"Her name was Gwen. She's dead now, give it back."
"She was special to you, huh?" Batou smiled. He handed the photo back. "Don't get distracted, we gotta work now."
Kevin put the photo down on his desk. He walked out of the room. The Major passed by the desk and stopped, unsure of why, she picked up the photo.
Gwen Tennyson, Prom 2010. It was supposed to be her. But it didn't register in her mind. For some reason, all the memories of anything before the crash were inaccessible to her. Not even her superb hacking skills could unlock her own past.
Motoko Kusanagi was her life now; still the girl in the picture was the identity her cousin had told her she had been. If that was true, then why hadn't her memories returned, why didn't anything that Ben associated with her triggered the memories yet.
She put the photo away and walked out to the van.
It was an abandoned storage unit; the team had arrived using their active camouflage upon arrival; except for Kevin who had told them he had some new tech for them to buy.
"Kevin Levin," a voice greeted him. It was Patrick, the Forever King. He looked very frail and seemed very feeble, but his voice was still commanding.
"What have you brought us today?" he asked.
"I'm surprised you showed up," Kevin admitted, he hadn't expected him to come, he expected to see Conner.
"You always provided us with excellent merchandise. I see you have a full prosthetic body. Apparently you found your cure."
"Not exactly, this is temporary; I need more money to pay for research. That's why I'm selling you this," Kevin ushered to a large box. "Factory-made laser lances, and with all the tweaks and upgrades I added, it should blow away anyone trying to stop you."
"That's good to know," Patrick said, "I'll test it…on you! That prosthetic body is way too expensive, even for you to afford. Besides, the fact that you showed up here proves that we were right to be suspicious of this deal, rumors had been circulating you'd been caught by the government. Whatever deal you made with them is going to cost you your life!"
"Oh, I don't think so, if you want to worry about someone's life then worry about your own!" Motoko said, becoming visible, the active camouflage was something he'd have to try sooner or later. He hadn't even seen where she was.
Motoko fired off three shots; they unexpectedly missed because two Forever Knights stepped forward and used their shields to block the bullets. Whatever they were made out of made them pretty tough and they were ready for a fight.
Immediately, she gave the order for Batou, Saito and Togusa to open fire. Kevin drew his gun and joined in. A few Knights dropped dead as Saito's bullet's found their marks; he'd noticed weak spots in the armor between where the helmets met the neckline.
She was moving, removing a small knife, she stabbed the Knight in the neck and he dropped dead. She moved quickly and fired at Patrick as he tried to flee, Aramaki said that she could kill the leader if necessary, but should try to bring him in for questioning. She aimed at his legs and fired. He hit the floor and she moved over him as he tried to get to his feet.
"Chief, we have the Forever King in custody," she said, suddenly a Knight burst into the room.
"You'll pay for this!" he screamed, and began charging, she took aim, but before she could get off a shot, she saw a bullet enter his head. She looked over and saw Kevin holding his gun and the smoke emanating from the barrel.
"Not a bad shot, Kevin," she congratulated. "But I had him."
"Just watching your back, Major," he said. "I didn't think it'd be this easy to take down Conner though."
"Let's get him out of here, hopefully, that's the last we'll see of them." They hauled Patrick away.
"Maybe we'll bring you on more field missions, you're starting to earn your keep here," Motoko said. Kevin frowned, unsure of what to think.
"She likes you, or she wouldn't have said that," Batou told him. "Seems like you'll fit in just fine."
Motoko was on her way out after filling out paperwork when she saw Ben waiting for her.
"Would you mind following me? There's something I want to show you." He led her to a very nice looking suburban American style house in the middle of Nihama.
"Motoko…Gwen, won't you go on in?" Ben asked.
"Where am I?" she inquired.
"This, is an exact replica of your old house, I have a lot of money now so I had it built, hoping that it might help trigger something. Why don't you look around? Maybe it will help you remember."
She began to wander around, touching various objects in the house. She wandered through the kitchen and made her way to the master bedroom. She saw pictures of a happy family, but nothing seemed to help her.
Wandering into Ken's room, she saw photos of college and childhood pictures. Still nothing.
"Ben, this isn't working," she told him flatly. "I really have to go back to work."
"You haven't gone into your room yet. If nothing happens once you go in, then you can go back to work."
"Fine," she walked into the room. Something clicked in her mind. Everything felt familiar here, old clothes that she suddenly remembered wearing, old music CDs from bands that she'd enjoyed. She moved carefully over to a small framed picture and picked it up.
It was her. And Kevin Levin. The memories flooded her mind like a torrent. Gwen put down the photo and sat down.
"Gwen, are you alright?" he asked, he noted the expression on her face and knew she remembered some things. He was unsure of how to tell her about what happened to Lilli, Frank and Ken.
"Ben, what happened to Mom, Dad, and Ken?" she asked.
"They're dead Gwen; they died in the plane crash that put you in that prosthetic body."
Gwen buried her face in her hands, she didn't cry, she'd become used to hiding her emotions. Still, the shock of losing her entire family was a lot for her to take in.
"For once, I'm glad that I didn't know any of this when I first woke up. I don't think I could have handled it."
"You're very strong Gwen, one of the strongest people I know. What are you going to do now?"
"I'm going to take some time off. I need to be by myself for awhile I think. I have my vacation."
"What about Kevin?" Ben asked.
"What about him? I may have liked him a long time ago, but I know how he is, and it's not like I matter to him now anyways. You've heard what he likes to do in his off time."
"You have that side business, so you don't have any right to judge him."
"Heh, figures you'd say something like that."
"I think he does it because he misses you. He thinks you're dead."
"Not that it matters, would it really make a difference? If he finds out I'm alive, he won't change. I always hoped he would and that I could help him, but look what happened. We fixed him once, but then he couldn't control the cravings for energy. He nearly killed me. I gave up trying to help him. I always believed that he could be better. That he'd do what's right. Funny, I used to believe in doing the right thing and justice like Togusa does. But too much has happened and the world isn't so black and white and simple anymore."
"Togusa is a good man, he thinks like you used to, before the accident. I was at his trial. I'm shocked you hacked his brain in front of everyone."
"What can I say, I have my talents."
"So are you going to tell Kevin the truth or not?"
"I don't know. I'm unsure of what to do. I'll tell him when I think I'm ready. I'm going to call the Chief and request some time off."
"Gwen," Ben said, smiling.
"What Ben?" she asked.
"I'm glad you're back. You'll be needing this," Ben tossed his cousin her old Plumbers Badge.
She took it and put it in a pocket.
"Where are they buried?" Gwen asked.
"In the Nihama Cemetery," Ben replied. "I thought they should be buried where you are so you could visit them."
"Thanks Ben, I'll see you later."
Gwen walked out of the house and got into her car.
"Chief," Gwen said, linking to her boss through her cyberbrain.
"Yes, Major," he replied.
"Chief, my memories have all come back and…I need some time off, to sort my thoughts and grieve. I lost my brother and parents. You understand."
"Of course, Major," Aramaki told her. Ben had informed him about his cousin's background. He'd told him about Gwen and had requested that she be put in Section 9 to make good use of her talents. Not that he needed to request anything because Aramaki had served with her and knew that he needed a good commanding officer who could get the job done.
"Take all the time you need, come back when you feel you're at full capacity," Daisuke nodded. Gwen cut her connection to him and headed off to a flower shop to buy some to put on her family's grave.
Walking into Nihama Cemetery, she asked the caretaker where the Tennysons were buried. She was led to their graves and knelt down in front of their tombstones. She'd brought an offering for all of them, their favorite foods, as was Japanese culture. She'd become used to the cultural differences and enjoyed life in Japan.
"Mom, Dad, Ken, I'm sorry I couldn't save you, I barely managed to survive that plane crash and it's not fair that you're all gone and I'm alone."
"Hello Major," a voice said behind her.
"Hello Batou," Gwen said quietly. "The Chief tell you where I was?"
"Yeah, said you got your memory back. Your real name is Gwen, huh? So you are the girl in Kevin's photo."
"Yes, but while we're at work just address me as usual. Kevin kept a picture of me. Didn't think he cared."
"I think I like the name Motoko better," Batou gave her a smile. "I'm sorry about your loss. As for Kevin, you have strange tastes in men."
"Thanks," she smiled. "I'll be back to work in a few days."
"Are you sure you'll be all right?"
"I'll be fine in no time at all," she heard him turn and leave. She stayed for a few moments, and then left the graves. She returned to her house and sat down quietly.
Kevin Levin, what was she going to do about him? She'd been attracted to him, but that was ages ago. The silly crush she'd had on him had been reciprocated, but when he'd turned into a monster again she'd tried to help him revert back. Mike had come up with a plan to revert Kevin using her as the bait, it had worked and he'd been cured, but eventually, he lost control and reverted back to a misshapen monster. Trying to find a way to talk sense into him, she'd nearly died. Ben had told her to put away her Plumber's badge and that she was far too nice for the job and her desire that no one be hurt had hurt her instead.
Wanting to cheer her up, her parents had planned a trip to Japan, Ken was getting a very nice job over there, and he wanted to look for a place to live, so they'd decided to make a vacation of it, wanting to distract her. She felt it was an odd choice for a vacation, she wasn't an anime fan and that sort of thing didn't appeal to her, but she did know that Japan was very beautiful so she'd enjoyed the trip. It was on her way home that the plane had crashed and since the nearest hospital was in Japan, she'd been taken there.
It was strange that Kevin had eagerly accepted the option of a prosthetic body, but then again, she couldn't blame him. Being a horrible monster wasn't something he'd wanted to do; he'd done it to stop Aggregor. He had been returned to normal but eventually, his lust for energy had overtaken his sanity and it had all gotten worse from there.
Her emotions regarding Kevin were much different than before. Had she been her old self she would have been glad that Kevin was back to normal. Now she didn't care either way and the black market deals he conducted were of no consequence to her either, but she knew that the Chief had forced him to stop selling due to the fact that he tended to sell them to less than scrupulous people.
Since her emotions regarding Kevin were rather dormant she decided not to tell him anything. It wasn't his business to know about what happened, he had just believed Ben and never even gave her a second thought.
She heard someone knock on her door and opened it quietly. A smile crossed her face at the sight of the man in front of her.
"Grandpa!" she let him in. Max Tennyson walked in and found a comfortable place to sit.
"Hi Pumpkin, I'm glad to see you remembered me. I know that it's been hard for you, not remembering everything, and it must be hard now that you do. Ben told me that you got your memory back."
"I know you're going through a lot, but let's go fishing, just like we used to," Max suggested.
"You still have poles?" she asked.
"Yep, I have them in the back of the truck."
They drove to a nice fishing spot Max said had a good view and plenty of fish. They got out and began fishing. They hadn't caught anything when someone walked up to them.
"Major, is that you?" Togusa asked. He'd been taking a walk outside and found a very nice pond that he liked to visit. He could see a woman, clearly the Major, sitting next to an elderly gentlemen. They were both fishing and even though his boss didn't smile, she appeared to be enjoying herself. He'd heard from Batou that she'd asked for some time off.
"Togusa, what brings you here?"
"I'm out for a walk, and who is this?"
"My grandfather, Max Tennyson."
"Hello there," Max greeted him. "So you work with my granddaughter?"
"Yes, I do sir, she's a very strict and professional boss," Togusa said.
"Your last name is Tennyson, as in Ben Tennyson? The hero?"
"Yes, that's me, Gwen is his cousin."
"That's your real name Major? Gwen Tennyson?"
"Yes, but don't tell Kevin about me."
"You have history with Levin? He doesn't seem like your type," Togusa laughed.
"Back when I knew him a long time ago, I wanted to help him. He seemed to be better when he spent time with Ben and me, but then things happened and he became a monster again, I tried my best, but he wanted power more than he wanted me. Then my parents and brother died in a plane crash and I ended up in this body with no memory of anything. Ben always did say I was too nice for Plumber's business."
"That's the intergalactic law enforcement agency isn't it? They keep coming up in Levin's reports."
"Yes, I was a Plumber myself for awhile, but I haven't been active. At least if any alien related things come up, I'll have the authority to make use of the team."
"Wouldn't the Chief object?"
"All governments in the world recognize the Plumber's badge, so even the Japanese government will recognize us," Max explained to the Public Security member. 'We have the authority to do what we need to regarding extraterrestrials."
"I see, well, I'll be getting back to work. Enjoy your time off, Major."
Spending the rest of the afternoon fishing with Grandpa Max had helped her relax. Ben called her and told her that Julie wanted to take them out for dinner to catch up and she gladly went with them.
They brought her ten year old nephew, Kenny Tennyson, named for her older brother, she'd been happy to see him. They brought with them an eleven year old, and it surprised her. The boy resembled Kevin Levin. Then she remembered.
"Devlin?" she asked.
"Who are you?" he countered, unsure of who she was and how she knew his name.
"Devlin, this is your mother Gwen," Ben said calmly. Devlin hid away from the stern face that was scrutinizing him.
Gwen stopped, her expression softened, "Who raised him all this time? I was going to, and I remember I left him with grandpa, I didn't think he'd like the plane ride over there."
"We did, he's been a part of this family."
"Son, I'm sorry," she patted him on the head.
Devlin seemed to understand, "Mom, you didn't remember me, and why would they say, "here, raise this kid, he's yours," if you didn't know? Besides, even though I miss you, it's not your fault."
"Still, you should have told me Ben, I would have done it, even though I didn't remember."
"I think we made a good decision raising him. It would have been hard on you."
"Listen Ben, I'll get the legal papers drawn up and I'll get custody of him, so he can live with me."
"But what about your side business?" Ben asked. Gwen's side business was a very interesting sort, not one that a kid should know about.
"Don't worry about it," she assured him. Devlin frowned, but had no idea what they were talking about.
Devlin and Ken were talking about things that kids normally talk about, movies, the latest toys and videogames. That sort of thing.
She told them about some of the work she'd been in, they were enthralled by her stories and Ben said he was almost jealous, and half tempted to retire from hero work to join Section 9.
"Believe me, Ben, your work as a hero is definitely a good thing, and you're definitely needed. Leave the crazy stuff to me, okay."
"Yeah, when I heard you'd been killed, I really thought you were dead, how did you survive getting sniped in the head?"
"Wait a second; Mom got her head shot off?" Devlin asked.
"Not so loud, we're in public. I remotely controlled my prosthetic body, and transferred my consciousness to the Net before I was shot. It wasn't easy, but I made it back to my body."
"You're really amazing, you know that Gwen?" Julie asked.
"We've always been special, all of us, but it's still strange that I can't use my Manna anymore, must be because my body's no longer organic."
"You got some artificial food from the menu, I won't try it, I heard it's horrible for normal people."
"Yeah, but it's fine for me. Don't worry about it; I'll pay for the meal. All of it. Get whatever desert you want."
"Gwen, we can't let you do that!" Julie protested.
"Don't worry about it, I've got plenty of money, and I rarely spend it anyway."
"In that case, I'll get some champagne, to celebrate this momentous occasion. And a slice of that legendary key lime pie!"
"Ben, now you're just taking advantage of her!" his wife scolded.
"She said she'd pay for it," he said smugly.
Gwen felt herself give a small smile. Typical Ben.
Finishing their meal, she paid for it with her card. Ben's eyes when wide. "Platinum. What do they pay you anyway?"
"A lot," she replied. Devlin didn't know his mother had tons of money.
"Devlin, you can't tell anyone what your mother does for work, if they ask, just say it's a boring government desk job," Ben instructed his nephew, "No one can know your mother does special work."
"Aw man, Mom has the coolest job and I can't tell anybody," Devlin groaned.
"Devlin, I'm going to do what I can to adopt you so you can come and live with me. You might not see me a lot because of my work but I'll spend as much time with you as I can."
"Really, I'll be able to live with you?" Devlin was overjoyed. He'd heard so many stories about his mother from Uncle Ben, and now he'd be able to live with her, and she'd be there for him. Gwen's accident had occurred when he was just born, so he'd never seen her before, except in pictures and old video. He knew about his father, but he didn't like to talk about him. The fact that he was never around made him angry, but his mother's reasons he could understand. His father just didn't care.
They parted ways and she went home. A few more days and she'd be ready to go back to work.
"So, what have we got this time?" Motoko asked, Kevin decided to give her a straight answer.
"We had the TV broadcast interrupted awhile ago playing this message." He hit the play button.
"We are the members of Veritas, we intend to expose the secrets of the corrupt government and reveal the truth to the entire world, about the aliens, and all the secrets that the government has hidden, using alien technology to further their war. We will use said alien technology to stage an attack on the Prime Minister."
"Oh, brother," Batou frowned, "Another loony group. This shouldn't even warrant our attention."
Daisuke Aramaki nodded.
"We would pass off something like this as utterly ridiculous. But it's true, the government does use alien tech from time to time. But they are dangerous; they've been known to attack government workers and buildings. And seeing that we do have an alien tech expert amongst us, we'll ask you Kevin. How credible are these claims?"
"They're pretty credible, if you know how to gather information, you can find the alien tech black market," Kevin explained. "Have what they want; they'll sell it to you, that includes information."
"I see, what do you want us to do Chief?" she asked her boss. Only he had the authority to authorize an investigation.
"Check into these strange claims, and since this is apparently involving extraterrestrials, contact the Plumbers."
"The Plumbers, but we don't need our bathrooms fixed," Batou frowned.
"Actually Chief, there's no need for us to contact them, you see, I'm already a Plumber," Motoko removed a familiar badge from her pocket. Kevin stared, how had she gotten a Plumber's badge?
"I see, I remember your cousin Ben told me that you used to help him before your accident."
"I'll get started right away Chief, and I want to take my team, any questions asked I'll just say they are a part of my team and as Plumber, I have the authority to use government assets."
"I see, report back on anything you can find, and keep tabs on the Prime Minister," Aramaki finished. He turned and left.
"Since you're staring at me Kevin, yes, it's just as you suspect," Motoko said, she paused for a moment and spoke again. "I've been here the entire time."
Kevin stared, the voice that now came from the Major was that of Gwen Tennyson, she'd been alive all that time and he hadn't known.
"Why the Hell didn't you tell me?" he demanded angrily.
"Because it was none of your damn business what happened to me. Not like you cared anyway. This conversation's over, get back to work!"
Kevin walked away, too confused and angry to say anything, he'd confront her about this later, but he just had to keep his mind on his job until later.
"Damn, Levin, what'd you do to piss her off?" Batou asked.
"She's my ex-girlfriend," he admitted.
"Sucks to be you."
"You don't know the half of it."