"Transformation" Post #6 by Misery Loves Fanfics

Team Artichokey-Pokey Post #6!

Technically, it is the tomorrow of the 21st. Which means it's the 22nd. Which means I can post this and not feel guilty.

I apologize in advance for the immense drama you are about to read.

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Tires screeched in protest against the shifting asphalt as Kevin hit the brakes. The car turned full circle before it stopped, and only then could he see what had happened.

Destruction. Where his skid marks began, a giant crater dented the road, cracks spreading out from it to the sidewalks like the threads of a giant spider web. Two other cars were overturned, their owners clambering out of them, shaken. An old building collapsed, its wooden frame too weak to stand up to the cracks in the ground below it. At the center of all, standing in an untouched area of the street, was Alien X.

Kevin jumped out of the car, cursing loudly. His fears had been confirmed.

'Damn it, Ben, why didn't you listen to me?!'

Beside the silent figure of Alien X, another small structure, this one made of stone, crumbled into dust, marking the end of the damage. Then the alien disappeared, leaving Ben in its place. The young hero wobbled on his feet; unsteady, weakened.

He began to collapse.

"Ben!"

People began to gather around the scene. Someone called an ambulance. Horrified gasps erupted, but no one dared to get near the cracked road.

Kevin had no time for them. He ran towards Ben, reaching him just as the other boy hit the ground. Kevin's heart was pounding like a battle drum, but he kept his hands steady, turning Ben over onto his back, checking for injuries.

The strange thing was that Ben had no injuries. And yet his body was cold, and getting colder…and he wasn't breathing.

He wasn't breathing.

"Shit! No!" One hand flew to the vein at Ben's throat, searching out a pulse. He needed to know how much time he had—and it wasn't long. The gentle throb of the vein was slowing down quickly. If Kevin couldn't get Ben breathing again soon, his heartbeat would stop altogether.

The movements of his hands and of his eyes grew panicked. His fingers stumbled over each other as he ripped open Ben's shirt, eliminating even that little constriction of the clothing on his chest. His small, unmoving chest—Kevin tried to do compressions, but he was suddenly afraid something would break. Had Ben always been this skinny?

'It's no use…I'll have to…'

Kevin tilted Ben's head back, took a huge gulp of air, and sealed his lips over the fading hero's. He chanted a willful hope in his head—'Come on, Ben, breathe!'—as he exhaled, long and deep, into Ben's lungs. Twice he did this before going back to the careful compressions. And then again—he was getting lightheaded but Ben's pulse was still slowing, and his chest showed no movement.

"Damn it, Ben! Just breathe!" One more deep inhale, and he went down. This time was no different.

Kevin moved to do compressions again, but then froze.

Ben's heart stopped beneath his fingers.

"No…no way…this isn't happening…" His eyes flew to the Omnitrix. "Maybe…maybe this thing can do something…" He reached for it. "There's…there's no way it can just let him die…" As his fingers closed around Ben's limp wrist, the Omnitrix lit up and released a powerful shock. Ben's small body jolted, and the shock stopped.

Kevin heard a cough. And then, "K…Kevin…?" He let out a sigh of relief.

"Shit… don't scare me like that."

Sirens wailed a short distance away. Kevin turned around and watched an ambulance and two police cars pull up. Then he turned again and looked around him at all the damage…and then finally he looked down at his half-conscious friend.

How the hell was he going to get out of this?

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I'm sorry everyone...I just really wanted Kevin to do CPR for some reason. ^^; That was my ONLY reason for writing all this drama.

Good luck, RoseRosa!