"Kevin! You're hurting my arm, let me go!" Gwen forced the iron cast grip off of her wrist as she was shoved into the mattress of Kevin's bed. "Damn it what the hell is it? I needed to stay in there with Gorg!" she snapped, only to be silenced as Kevin glared at her before standing before her, hands on either side of her hips.
"Did you see that whole, 'bloody tears' thing going on just then?" he barked out, only to have the red head stare at him with a questioned gaze.
"Bloody… what? Who was crying? Gorg? Sure there was bl-"
"No! From that Druce kid! Did you see the blood and hear him talking? What the hell is going on anyway?" he snapped as he stood, holding his side as he paced with a slight wince. Gwen only sat up as she flattened the frizz in her hair from all the stress leading up to that day.
"Kevin... you've lost your mind. Flat out. Not me. You." she pointed between them for a few seconds as she spoke before standing. "I need to get back to Gorg." she took a few steps forward and reached for the door.
A crystallized bullet shot an inch above her hand and she jumped back, turning to hear Kevin scream as he held his sides tightly, knees slamming to the ground.
"... Kevin?..." she muttered in a whisper as she stepped toward him, hand extended lightly.
"Get out already!" he shouted, his voice scratching again as the muscles along his back twitched and rippled downward. Gwen shivered gently as she stood in place for another minute, listening to the panting and groaning coming from Kevin's throat as his skin began to turn a deep shade of red.
"Kevin... are you ok?" she reached her hand out again, grabbing his shoulder gently, only to have it pushed away and her sleeve burnt as he swatted her arm off with his now fire ridden left arm. His right was slowly being encased in crystal as he tried to stand.
"Hurry up and get out..." he muttered, still clutching his side.
"Kevin..." the red head stood in her spot, watching Kevin's spine retracted and expand as he screamed in agony, fighting back a transformation he'd been close to several times. She felt her body freeze.
Her mind began to race, her head spinning as her eyes filled with tears, listening to his screams of agony as her feet glued themselves to the floor and her brain screamed to run away and never come back.
'He... he was never able to control it... How did I forget him...' her mind whispered as her feet moved forward slowly, the water in her eyes fogging her vision.
"Gwen... please get out..." the last bits of his voice faltered through and began to crack.
"I'm not leaving you!" she shouted out, remembering what she'd forgotten after her parents finally divorced. She had shoved their separation years into the very back of her mind with therapy and help from her grandmother, and the memory of her only New York friend with it.
She quickly ran to her once best friend and threw her arms around his neck as he screamed in agony. "I promised you I wouldn't ever leave when I came back... and I did before but now I'm here!" she cried out as the diamonds on his hands cut into her arms, blood dripping slowly onto the floor as his changing skin burned or cut her.
"What promise? Just leave already!" he shouted, looking as if he was on the verge of tears himself as his eyes turned a sharp green. She only shook her head, holding onto him.
"The parents who were arguing in the store were mine! When you saved me from that stupid jerk when we first met. God Kevin, I remember all of it." she winced slightly, her grip loosening as the pain escalated and blood poured from her arms.
With a loud bang though the door flew in, the red head named Kitten came running over to them both with a bottle in her hand. A sudden wash of heaviness hit the 18 year old woman as she felt like her insides were swaying.
Slowly she felt her grip loosen on Kevin's neck, all the blood lose she'd ever gotten was finally catching up to her. The entire time she was on this ship she'd been low on blood and knew she needed to rest or she'd need a transfusion again.
Too late.
"Gwen?"
"Hey... Grandpa... have you seen Eddie?" Ben finally asked as the older man put his coat on, the tropical flowers near the end pretending to sway.
"Edwin? No, not since his visit last week. Why?" Max asked as he buttoned the front of his coat. Ben sat up and rubbed his arm, the I.V. finally out of his skin. All tubes had been removed because of Beny and Tamy being… extremely good at nursing.
"Oh... just wondering. Kind of miss having the company of someone my own age I guess..." he said as he looked away, feeling the lump in his throat swell tighter. He hadn't yelled at him, he hadn't shunned him either.
Instead he'd just made some smart ass remark after their kiss, and Edwin was his only outside source looking for Gwen since Grandpa Max refused to leave more than 20 minutes at a time.
"I'll go get the Rust bucket… you wait here." Max said as he left the room and walked away. Ben stood slowly, rushing to the window and looking for any sign or his best friend being there, but he got nothing but rainy weather again and frowned.
He let his forehead thunk to the glass as he felt like crying. "God Ben! Why are you always such an ass?" he nearly chocked out, holding his wrist as he fought back tears.
"You're not always an ass," Tamy's voice called from the doorway as Ben turned to her, "You've even got a last minute visitor. Walked here in the rain." she moved aside, showing Edwin standing there, and he was soaked to the bone as he stepped into the room.
"I'll leave you two alone to talk…" she said with a smirk as she closed the door.
Ben stood still, letting the tears pour for once as he bit his lip. Edwin only crossed his arms and smiled at him. "Can't do anything without me can you?" he asked the brunette as he took a step forward.
"I'm scared." Ben whispered as he looked straight at his friend. "Scared I'll never find Gwen, scared I'm not fully healed, scared you hate me-" he was cut off as Edwin ran to him and threw his arms around him, holding the back of his head and neck as he kissed him.
There were a few moments of silence before Ben threw his arms around Edwin as well, their lips finally parting.
"I don't hate you. You just drive me insane." Edwin said as he wiped tears off Ben's face.
".. You're soaked..." Ben said with a chuckle as he rubbed his nose and let out a sniffle. Edwin only laughed as he shook his head, splattering Ben with water.
"I know. Isn't it great? Never walked that far in the rain... pissed my old man off, but I don't care." he said as he let his head rest on Ben's shoulder. "... He finally found out I'm gay…" he said with a nervous laugh.
"Is that why you had to walk here in the rain? Cuz' he thought we were having se-"
"I ran here. And if you finish that sentence I'll kick you in the ribs." Edwin said as he gave a small glare.
Ben only chuckled as he kissed his friends forehead. "You're not tall enough." He muttered back.
"Same height as you!" the black haired boy barked as he pulled his head back, only to have Ben kiss him with a coy smirk. Edwin pushed him back, a blush across his face. "I talked to Tamy... I have things to talk to you about..." he leaned into Ben's chest again then, resting his head on his shoulder.
"Come home with me. I'm not letting you out of my sight for the next three days. Because three is a funny number. So ju-Ummf!" Edwin had rolled his eyes and pushed Ben into the hospital bed, and as he took a step forward to pounce him, Beny walked in with a wheel chair.
"Sorry boys, no sex in my hospital." she said simply, wheeling the chair over to the bed as Edwin's face flushed. The brunette only laughed as he stood, ruffling Edwin's hair and sitting in the wheel chair.
"Can he sit with me?" the hero asked, pointing to Edwin.
"How much do you weigh?" the monotone nurse asked before smirking at the glare the boy gave her. "Hop on, if I get in trouble I'm blaming you… and let me get you a towel, your soaked." the woman let go of the chair and turned toward the cabinets, unlocking them and handing the black haired boy a warmed towel. He immediately started to dry his hair, sitting with Ben as the other boy helped him dry off.
After a long fluff of towel parts and sit in an elevator, Ben wrapped his arms around Edwin's waist, causing the boy to blush and pry his hands away.
"What if someone see?" he whispered.
"Let them. I'm happy for once. Just... let it last a little longer." Ben said with a soft sigh, wrapping his arms back around his friends waist. Edwin could only blush brighter as the black haired woman stopped the wheel chair outside and under the coverage as it poured.
Her cell phone went off quickly to an odd tune, and she flipped it open. "Baby?" she said softly, starting to walk away from the men. "What's up sweetie, you sound miserable."
"Look, I can see the rust bucket." Edwin quickly stood from his friends lap and pushed the chair forward.
"I can walk you know..." he said as he placed his hand to his chin. Edwin only chuckled.
"I know. I also don't care." he said as he looked back at the nurse.
A strong, warm hand squeezed hers as she felt cold air hitting her face repeatedly. With a groan she lifted her hand, pulling off an oxygen mask as another warm hand cupped her face.
"It'll be our secret friendship code or something." an all too familiar voice whispered as she felt something thick and cool press into her hand. She slowly let her eyes open, Kevin was sitting on the long stretcher bed beside her in his bedroom.
"Where... how long have I... been asleep?" she hissed, grabbing her arm and dropping the cool object as Kevin helped her sit up and pulled her back to his chest.
"Forget it. I'm taking you back to Earth... I don't have enough medical supplies to keep treating your ass. I'm dropping you off at the nearest hospital and we're leaving!" he barked, hiding his face behind his hair.
Gwen just rolled her eyes before leaning back. 'What was I remembering earlier... it seemed so important... God, my head is killing me! What the hell is going on?'
"Why now? Why not when I kept begging you huh?" Kevin pushed her back to the bed gently before standing and walking toward the door.
"Kevin! Answer me!" she shouted as he slammed the door to the room shut with his exit. She brought the pillow to her face and screamed into it, falling back into the bed. She inhaled deeply before screaming again, gripping the pillow tightly over her head; she felt like sobbing. The door reopened, but she kept the pillow over her face.
"Go. Away... Now." she said flatly through the cotton of the pillow fluff. Soft footsteps sounded, not like Kevin's bulky thumps he made with his shoes.
"Mm... G-Gwen..." the soft stutter of the boy named Druce filled her ears and she moved the pillow to her chest, eyeing him softly.
"Yeah, hun?" she asked, tired and hungry suddenly.
"P-Please... d-don't b-be mad at... K-Kevin..." he looked to the side, his fingers to his lips. "I... I know I c-can't really... s-say a... anything to butt in... b-but..." he shivered slightly and Gwen sat up.
"I-I... 'm going... through a b-bit... of trouble myself w-with... my... my..." his faced flushed brightly and Gwen smiled.
"Come sit, it'll be easier on you." she said, taking a liking to the adorable boy before her. He blushed a brighter shade of red and walked to the stretcher beside her, hoisting himself onto the seat and pulling a pillow into his lap.
"Now, tell me what's on your mind." she said, holding her own pillow similar to how he was.
"B-But I c-came in to m-make you feel b-better!" he said with a slightly frown. Gwen only giggled before leaning forward, brushing hair from his face.
"Don't worry about me. I'm not mad at Kevin." 'I just want to blast him into the sun's orbit a few thousand times.'
Druce smiled before blushing again. "H-He's... a b-boy... t-the one I l-like... I think I l-like him at least. I d-don't know t-though... this is so embarrassing..." he face was now a rival to any red heads as he blushed and let his hair fall in front of his eyes.
"Oh, hun," Gwen lifted the boys chin, kissing his forehead, "what's the first thing you think of when you think of the person you like?" she asked him. He smiled, his blush staying.
"... H... his voice..." he said gently, his fingers twisting tightly together. "No m-matter how scared I'd get, or h-how much I-I'd stutter, j... just listening to him t-talk to me... it... it always made me feel... so..." the blush grew bright across he pail cheeks. Gwen smiled, it was refreshing it see something so innocent be so serious.
"Perfect?" Gwen asked gently, feeling oddly better with this small boy around. He nodded, his face flushed brilliantly.
"Y-Yes!" he squeaked out, clamping a hand over his mouth.
"Calm down, calm down, deep breaths." she reached out and felt his forehead. A loud heart beat sounded in her ears once, as if it were pulsing through her skull. She quickly pulled her hand back.
"Oh no? I-I must have a fever! I-I'll go tell Kitten! Y-You g-get some rest Ms. G-Gwen!" the boy quickly stumbled up from his seat, heading toward the door in a run.
'What... was that noise...just now?' Gwen thought to herself as she held the side of her head. As Druce reached for the door, it swung open, the red head he was looking for stood there, her face drained of its color.
"Kitten?" the woman stumbled in, falling to her knees as the boy quickly grabbed her by her shoulders. "Sis!" the girl groaned, clutching her stomach.
"What's going on?" Gwen quickly began pulling the medical devices off her, healing what little she could as fast as she could.
"Dr… Druce... look at you..." the girl in his arms was sobbing hysterically. "Still... so much... time for you..." she smiled as Gwen stood from the bed, her legs felt like rubber.
"D-Don't fall asleep!" Druce sobbed, clinging to his sister. "I... I can't loose you... p-please... d-don't fall a-asleep." he began to have tears fall from his eyes.
"What's going on?" Gwen finally shouted, her temper rising as Kevin walked into the doorway.
"Get back in bed." he barked, arms crossed. "There's no hope for them. Either of them. Now stop wasting energy and get in bed." he repeated the bark, his face coming into view.
"Tell me what's going on Kevin!" she shouted, walking toward the two children.
"Get back in bed!" he repeated.
"J-Just tell her!" Druce shouted. "S-She has a r-right to k-know!" the boy was sobbing hysterically still as his sister shivered and coughed, keeping her hand to her mouth.
"Kevin! Please, what's-"
"They're our kids!" he shouted, slamming his fist into the doorway. Gwen sighed and helped Druce bring Kitten over the stretcher she had been on.
"Stop playing games with my head, Kevin. I'm tired of this." the red head snapped as she looked down at the girl, running her hand over her chest, only to have her magic shot back into her hand as she shrieked and held it to her chest.
"If I wanted to play games I'd have left you for the bastard to rape when we were younger damn it Gwen. They're OURS. Look at them, both of them. How can you not see it? They look like us because WE had them!" Kevin was now shouting and fuming, walking into the room.
Gwen looked back at Druce, who was nothing more than a younger, brighter colored haired version of Kevin wit a different personality. She shifted her gaze to Kitten.
She looked just like she had when she was 10, only the black hair stripe, her breathing coming out in chocking gasps. Gwen glared back at him. "Age gap you idiot! They can't be ours!" she yelled.
"Momma p-please stop fighting with him!" Druce screamed over both of them.
"Time travel, Gwen. It's not that hard!" Kevin shouted back. The 18 year old froze. Time travel.
'They're... mine... no... ours? How the... but... I'd never... not with Kevin... ours?' she held her head again with a groan wobbling forward as Kevin caught her.
She refused to look up at him, her head spinning drastically. "I... I'm a mom?"
"If y-you two keep f-fighting Kitten's g-gonna die! The m-more you f-fight, the less c-chance she ever h-has of being born!" Druce sobbed, clutching his sisters hand. "I-I don't w-wanna loose m-my sister!" he continued to cry, leaned over the stretcher. "I-I w-wish... he was h-here... s-so much." he whispered.
Gwen broke from Kevin's grasp and ran to the child that might one day be hers, hugging him to her chest as he let go of his sisters hand and sobbed into her shoulder.
"Shhhh, it's ok baby... It's ok." she looked back at Kevin, their eyes locking as she comforted the boy. He sighed, walking toward the girl on the stretcher, rubbing her arm.
"Hey… hang in there ok?" he said in an awkward tone, holding the girls hand as she looked back up at him, half lidded eyes as she nodded.
'Why does everything have to be so fucked up all the time?' Kevin and Gwen both thought at once.