How he got back to sleep, he wasn't sure, but the next time Kevin stirred, the sun was already beyond the square of his window. The dusty blinds filtered the light shining outside, keeping the area cool and dark. He moved experimentally beneath the thin top sheet, wincing as he felt the tender area above his belly button tense with his actions. Looking down, he inspected the deep bruise as if inspecting an engine, sizing up the places where it was more sore than others. Satisfied that it wasn't anything he couldn't handle, he flung himself from his mattress and grabbed the towel he had used the previous morning, dumped in a forgotten heap in the middle of his cluttered floor. It was still a little damp, but it didn't really matter to him. His mind was already in a different place.

He walked across the hall to the shower, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and trying to work out all the memories he had previously tried so hard to bury. The hallway and its ghostly remnants haunted him. Guilt began to bubble up inside of his gut, a sinkhole reopened. What was worse than forgetting about the link was not knowing what had transpired there since his last visit. The claw marks on the door chilled him especially. There was no way of knowing when they had been made, or who had made them and why. The only thing he knew of for certain was that they could not have been made by Gwen.

In affirmation, Kevin shook his head firmly. Gwen wouldn't do something like that, no matter how mad she was at him. He pulled the shower curtain far enough aside to reach in and turn on the water. With a squeak, the plastic knob turned and the shower head burst to life, sending cold spray down onto his forearm. He jumped back instinctively, returning to himself with a small shock. It wasn't unusual for him to be a little out of it in the mornings, but today he felt more out of touch than ever before. Even as he stepped into the porcelain tub, he couldn't end his occupation with the previous night's mystery.

And therefore, Kevin could not enjoy the shower like he normally did. Distracted, he went through the motions, shampooing his lengthy hair, soaping up the rough, terry washcloth, until there was nothing left to do but stand beneath the steamy spray and think. She had said it herself. Only they could access the connection. So how had someone else gotten there? Where they the ones who had taken her from her apartment? Was the man Argit had spoken of the one who had left the marks on his door, cleaned her apartment of any trace of her?

With a start, he grabbed the shower curtain and jumped out of the tub, completely forgetting to shut off the water. In a flash, he pulled the towel around himself and rushed back into his bedroom. The silver disc of his Plumber's badge shone like a beacon in the filtered light, partially hidden in the back pocket of a worn pair of jeans. He swiped it smoothly from the pocket and spoke into its green face.

"Badge, call Tennyson, Ben."

Memory was a fickle thing, subject to error and change. It moved like water in a bowl. You could grasp at it all you like, but all you ever came away with was a wet hand, tiny droplets that fell from the skin at the slightest shake. Even the most cherished events and faces, though recallable, were never picture-perfect. They were faded shadows, old movies that jumped and skipped and warped. One memory blended into another until they were inseparable, creating something new but hardly authentic, a falsified representation of a moment lived and utterly lost.

She found it utterly devastating that she could no longer recall her mother's face, nor her voice, nor any other thing about her. It was the same with her father. Floating in the abyss that was once her bed, she struggled to hold onto some semblance of her family, but the more she tried to hold on, the farther they slipped. It was the same with her brother. She loved her brother dearly; she missed him even more. But why? She didn't know why she missed him. Did he leave? Did he move far away? Were they not as close? What happened? There were other family members that she felt the same about, people whom she felt a deep affection for, but could no longer remember why. She had a cousin who was very important, but they too had vanished into the blackness. Nothing remained.

Even more startling was the fact that her own name and likeness had begun to disappear. There were no mirrors in this place. No light fell or shone. For all she knew, she had ceased to exist and she was nothing but a puff of air floating in space. There was nothing to hold her back, nothing to ground her. And the more she tried to figure out why, the less she knew.

But there was something. There were feelings. If nothing else remained of her, the emotions she vividly felt would. Sparks of pain, white-hot like a jolt of electricity. Heavy clouds of despair. Constricting ribbons of anger, wrapped in barbs of hatred. These were not unfamiliar to her, but they were unusual. The restlessness that plagued her, like rolling thunder, made her uneasy. When they first began, she thought she may have been drowning, but that theory had since been disproved. Wherever she was was not underwater. It more than likely wasn't anywhere even remotely terrestrial. And then came the fear, pulsing beneath the surface, making her catch her breath. The fear was the only thing keeping her sane, she was sure of it, the only thing that reminded her that her heart hadn't stopped beating and something of her old self still remained. For how long, it was impossible to tell.

"Please wake up. Somebody wake me up." She heard herself say but the voice wasn't one she recognized.

"You will never awaken again. At least, not as yourself." The reply made her jump. There was no other soul she could see, but she felt the chilled points of claws drag along the expanse of her back. "The sooner you just accept it, the sooner all of this will be over, and you will be at peace."

"No! I want to go back!"

"Back to where? Do you even know what you're asking for?" An ugly cackle filled the oblivion, bouncing off of invisible walls to slam into her, echoing inside of her ears until she had to scream out of frustration. The anger smoldered in the pit of her stomach. The fear began to evaporate. And she ground her teeth together at the delectable idea of finding the owner of that annoying laughter and ripping out their throat.

Gwen's house had always been big to him. His parents were a little more modest with their dwelling than his uncle. Of course, their tastes were much different. Uncle Frank and Aunt Jane were strict classicists, in love with the old Tudor and Victorian town homes scattered throughout the neighborhood. His parents were quite happy in their renovated ranch spread with the spacious backyard. They were also much more free spirited in their décor choices, always opting for the more environmentally friendly choice, even if it wasn't always the best choice aesthetically. But Uncle Frank and Aunt Jane were nothing if not stylistic, and their living room, with its flagstone hearth and mahogany mantle had always been something grand in his mind.

Standing in front of it today, he felt even smaller than he used to. The cathedral ceiling hummed with the whirring of the fan, reminding him of just how high above him the roof was. It must have cost a fortune to run the central air, which he noticed hadn't been turned on, despite the already warm morning. His uncle had been opening windows when he rang the doorbell, letting in the slight breeze circulating through the city blocks. Ben felt it on his exposed arms, absentmindedly rubbing the spot it had kissed him as he perused over the photographs displayed above the fireplace.

The majority of them were of Gwen and her brother, Ken, but he saw his own face peering out at him from one of the farther frames. There were a couple from her high school graduation, a more formal one where she was posed on a tree trunk with her diploma in hand, and another where she and Ben had thrown their caps in the air together. He smiled at the memory. They looked so happy, so carefree.

"Here's your lemonade, son." Ben turned quickly at the sound of Frank's voice. The older man gave him a small smile and proffered the glass. Ben thanked him and took a sip, trying not to let his uncle see him sizing him up. He was thinner, much thinner, and the small streak of gray that had been growing at his temples seemingly had grown over night. When he turned to sit back in one of the sofa seats, he let out such a long, weary sigh, Ben suddenly began worrying if there wasn't something wrong with him physically. Frank had always been a taller, leaner version of his father, but there was a firmness about him that Ben always respected. Now, it seemed that that hardness had given way, like a dam buckling under the pressure of a flood that nothing could contain.

"Thanks. Where's Aunt Jane?" Ben asked as he seated himself.

"Her and Ken are at her mother's house for the week. Jane was an only child, so Gwen was her only granddaughter. As you can imagine, she's taking everything pretty hard." He stared down at the floor, his eyes completely unfocused behind his half-moon spectacles. His jaw set in such a way that Ben could tell there was more to the story, more that he was reluctant to tell.

"I was wondering if I could ask you a couple questions...about everything." He inquired carefully. Never taking his eyes off the plush carpeting, Frank nodded halfheartedly.

"Anything. Anything that might help. God knows the police have been useless." He muttered.

"I don't think this is anything that police can help with, Uncle Frank." Ben revealed grimly. "What had Gwen been up to before she went missing? Was there anything out of the ordinary, as far as you knew?" At Ben's prompting, Frank began to stroke his square chin. For a minute he looked stumped, even a little confused, but finally he nodded, as if suddenly he understood.

"Gwen's been very busy this semester. She just graduated from school, as you know, and she had already been accepted into the graduate program at her university. A week or so before we realized something was wrong, she called to let us know she was coming home the following weekend. She needed to pick up some books she had left behind. When she didn't show, we tried calling her to see if she got held up. We never got an answer. And beyond that, we didn't know much about what she was up to at school when she wasn't studying. Gwen never talked about it. But that'll happen. God knows what Ken did when he was in school..." Frank trailed off in a daze. His eyes finally moved from the carpeting up the mantle where they rested upon the picture of Gwen in her cap and gown. For a moment, Ben could see his bottom lip tremble, but as quickly as the emotion came, it passed. Frank patted his knees resolutely.

"Do you mind if I go up to her room and take a look around? I don't want to intrude-"

"Nonsense. You're family, Ben, and in my view, the only person who has a chance of finding out what happened to her. I knew the minute she showed me her powers that life was never going to be normal for her. I just...I just knew."

If he hadn't felt strange before, he certainly felt that way now. Ben practically tip toed into Gwen's bedroom, half-expecting her to emerge from around the corner and berate him for even thinking about coming through the doorway. The room smelled of apples and cinnamon, emanating from a small air freshener plugged into the outlet beside the doorway. Her cotton curtains were pulled shut. Only the glow of the morning sunshine could come through the two lattice windows. Even in the dimness, he could see that nothing was out of place, probably due more to her mother than Gwen herself.

Below in the living room, Uncle Frank still sat on the couch, his own glass of lemonade forgotten. Ben strained to hear for any noise he might make, but the older man was completely silent. Forgetting him for a moment, he made his way over to the nightstand table where he knew Gwen kept her magic books. The drawer was light as he yanked it open. A few baubles rolled around inside of its wooden frame, but there were no books and no charms. He frowned as he dug further inside but came away with nothing. Had she taken all those things with her?

Reluctantly, he began to search other areas of the room. The dresser yielded nothing (save for an embarrassing moment when Ben came face-to-face with a pair of lacy underwear), and the closet was likewise a failure. There were plenty of clothes, including some old pieces Ben remembered from when they were teenagers, and he even found her Lucky Girl catsuit tucked away inside an old shoebox. He continued to search, checking under her bed, inside the drawers and shelves of her desk. Finally, unwilling to come across anything else he might regret, he retrieved his badge from inside of his pocket.

"Badge, scan for nearest Plumber's badge, active and inactive."

"Scanning. Nearest badge located is Badge #39568-KEL. No others found." Ben narrowed his eyes. That meant that Gwen's old badge wasn't even within the Bellwood city limits. For a moment, he could only stand in the empty expanse in front of her bed and think about the last time they had discussed the item.

"Are you sure about this? Its a big step." His cousin sighed quietly before him, looking up from the disc in her hand with a conflicted expression. Her green eyes slowly came back down to the badge. For a few seconds, she did nothing but softly stroke her thumb over its smooth surface and its green design. Then, with a small laugh, she stood up from the couch and set the object down on the coffee table.

"Yes, Ben. I'm sure. I barely made it through high school. How can I be a Plumber and a college student at the same time?" Gwen argued, but Ben could tell that she wasn't convinced.

"Have you told Kevin?" He asked. At this, Gwen moved her head sharply.

"No. Not yet. I suppose I'll have to sooner rather than later. I've already arranged with HQ to have my badge decommissioned." She murmured. With a heavy plop, she sat down next to him, her shoulders rubbing up against his. Their blazing green eyes met and for an instant, Ben thought he could see a hint of regret.

"You made a great Plumber. You know that right?" He offered. She chuckled a little, then sought the view over across her living room. The window's blinds were pulled open. Outside, in the shining sun of the afternoon, the neighborhood street was busy. The mailman was walking along the sidewalk, leafing through his envelopes. A few cars buzzed down the street, slowing down for the stop sign at the corner. Her eyes began to glow with unshed tears. Ben leaned over to wrap an arm around her shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"No. I'm not going to miss it. But its been a part of my life for so long. Hell, its part of our family history." She inhaled shakily and pressed her face into his arm.

"Do you want me to take it? The badge?"

"No. I want to keep it. Even if it doesn't work anymore, I want to keep it."

It must be in her apartment. Ben turned on his heel, opening his mouth to call for his uncle when suddenly his badge beeped again.

"Incoming call from Levin, Kevin." He started slightly at the name, almost forgetting that he had been in contact with the older boy. He pressed the side button as he side stepped into Gwen's bathroom and shut the door, hoping to keep the conversation as quiet as possible. He wasn't sure how his uncle felt about Kevin, though it had come to him that his aunt no longer felt as charitable about him.

"What's up?"

"We need to visit Gwen's apartment." Ben stopped short, but then smiled.

"I was just thinking the same thing. I'm sure my uncle has the key."

"Do we need a key? Didn't you say you were already there?" Kevin pressured. Ben hissed quietly and moved farther into the bathroom.

"I didn't break in. The badge can scan from outside, remember?"

"Yeah. Whatever. Get it and meet me at the garage in an hour. I need to do a few things before I take off." Ben opened his mouth to reply but before he could, Kevin hung up on him. He growled under his breath, but pocketed the badge with minimal grumbling. He flung open the bathroom door only to step back in surprise. Uncle Frank was standing beside Gwen's bed, looking down at a lone picture frame sitting on her nightstand.

"Uncle Frank -"

"Was that that Levin boy you were talking to?" He didn't sound angry, but he didn't sound very happy either. Ben winced. How could he best explain this without pissing anyone off?

"Uh, yeah, he's...helping me out."

"I always liked that boy." Frank admitted slowly. He dug into the pocket of his pants, revealing a key ring with two sets of keys and a small, pink cat charm. "Jane doesn't really agree with me. But he always made Gwen happy. And he took good care of you two. This is Gwen's. The landlord gave it to me after we paid the rest of her rent for the year. Just in case..." He launched the key ring at Ben, who caught it easily enough. They were warm from being carried around.

"Thanks. I'll do everything I can. I promise."

"I know you will."

I apologize for this way delayed update, but I made it longer to make up for it. There was actually supposed to be more, but I'm running out of steam for the night so here we are! Hopefully, I can squeeze out another chapter before school starts back up again and my life is hell. Thanks for reading, as always, and enjoy!