RE-EDITED VERSION
She felt the wind blowing harshly against her face. Her raven black hair was flowing behind her back, her grip tight on the handles of her motorcycle. Her eyes were narrowed, determined to survive.
She knew they were close. She knew what they wanted. But there was no way they were going to get her too. She was going to make sure of it.
It was dark and there was no moon. It was just her and her beloved bike, on a lonely dirt road that looked straight out of a scary movie. She wore no helmet. She was already running for her life, what difference would it make?
She could hear a vehicle's motor pulling up behind her. She just kept riding. The motor became louder. She glanced at the rearview mirror. There was a hand that outside of the window on the passenger side. It held a gun.
A really, really large gun. A gun that she had never seen before.
Whatever it was, she was not going down without a fight.
She had gone through hell because of these people and she wasn't about to give up now. She glanced back, little smirk forming on her lips.
It fired.
Gwen, Ben and Kevin were in the underground office at the shop. They were studying files that were spread across the table. There was a single light bulb hanging above them.
"Face it Tennyson. We got nothing. Whatever you saw it's obviously gone. We've been looking since yesterday. And now it's late and I'm hungry." Kevin sighed, leaning back in his chair, propping his feet up.
"Again." Gwen muttered, avoiding Kevin's gaze as he glared at her.
"Guys I know I saw something. I know I did." Ben just shook his head, frustrated. "It just doesn't make any sense."
"What doesn't make sense is you still being here. Even Elena had enough brains to leave, what, 2 hours ago?" Kevin pointed out.
"He got it Kevin." Gwen frowned at him. "Look Ben you saw something. We get that. But whatever you saw isn't showing anymore. It could be gone. And we never saw anything that could be considered harmful. And we haven't heard of anything happening or anyone getting hurt."
"Yeah. What she said." Kevin crossed his arms, wanting to be done with the conversation. Gwen rolled her eyes.
"I guess." Ben sighed and started collecting the papers. "Nothing did show up when we printed the recordings out. It's just that I can't shake that feeling." He looked up at both of them. Gwen was looking at him as Kevin was sneaking glances at his cousin. He chuckled.
"Thanks anyways guys. You guys are my best friends you know that?" He grinned at the two of them. Kevin snorted while Gwen smiled at her cousin.
"Does your list of best friends include Lena?" Kevin asked curiously in a teasing manner. Ben looked away and frowned slightly.
"Not really." Ben muttered. He began to put away all the files into his backpack. The pair became quiet. Gwen shot a look at Kevin. He shrugged.
"So.. Does this mean you guys are over for good?" She asked softly. Ben sighed and nodded slowly as he looked up at them.
"This has been going on too long, you know?" He frowned and bit his lip, deep in thought. "I mean, she said she didn't want a boyfriend right now. This whole game of hers is really getting old. Even when we were together, it never felt like we were together, you know? We agreed earlier to still be friends, because apparently she still wants me in her life." Ben rolled his eyes and just shook his head. "I really don't understand women." Ben sighed tiredly.
"Tell me about it." Kevin muttered, glancing at Gwen with a pensive look on his face. Gwen shot him a look, and then turned to Ben.
"I would say I'm sorry, but I never really thought she was good enough for you." Gwen winked at Ben teasingly, though part of her knew she was telling the truth. "Are you okay though?" She asked, ignoring the look Kevin sent her. Ben paused and thought for a moment.
"Surprisingly… yeah. I honestly don't think I lost that much when it came to that part of our relationship. I'm done with that." Ben shrugged. He momentarily thought of all the guys he knew Elena saw on their 'off' period and even some on their 'on', but he quickly pushed those thoughts away.
Ben dug through his pockets for his keys, ready to go home. "I'm gunna go. Kevin, take Gwen home will ya?" He asked innocently when Kevin glared at him.
"With what Tennyson?" Kevin asked with an edge to his voice reminding him he had no ride. Ben shrugged.
"Take one of the cars from the garage. I'm kinda sick of all the tension around here. You guys seriously need to talk. See you home Gwen." Ben smirked as he noticed Gwen giving Kevin a look when he wasn't looking. Her eyes shot up to her cousin, ready to argue.
"But…" Gwen started.
"See you guys!" Ben called out cheerfully as he walked out the door. Kevin and Gwen both shot him heated glares as he retreated outside. They cautiously glanced at each other, each not knowing how to start the conversation now that Ben was gone.
"Well…" Gwen tried to start again was once again cut off.
"Gwen…" Kevin started as well. He sighed and ran his hand in is hair nervously. Gwen bit her lip, not knowing how to apologize, or even if she should.
"Ben is right though." Gwen crossed her arms and sighed. "We never really got a chance to talk about yesterday…" She trailed off looking at him softly.
"Gwen... You know I'm shit with my feelings." Kevin muttered. Gwen rolled her eyes.
"Ever so eloquent with your words, Kev." She gave him a wry smile. Kevin fidgeted in his chair, not quite meeting her eyes.
"It's just… You know… I got kind of jealous when I saw you with him… And… I… I just don't like that Jim guy!" Kevin finally blurted out, blushing a bit when he realized what he had said.
"His name is Tim Kev." Gwen chuckled as Kevin shrugged sheepishly. She glanced at the boy that made her heart race, and delicately cupped his face with her hand. He closed his eyes for a moment, then looked up at her, his dark brown eyes momentarily completely unguarded. Gwen smiled at him.
"I know you were jealous Kev." She told him softly, stroking her thumb against his cheek, sending shivers down his spine. "But there are things we do need to talk about concerning… Us." She mentioned cautiously, knowing how he felt about the subject. Kevin sighed.
"I know Gwen. But… Could we maybe… Possibly hold it off a little bit longer?" Kevin suggested hopefully. Gwen's smile faltered. Kevin's heart sank as he rushed to finish, "I'm just… I… Care about you Gwen." Kevin licked his lips nervously. Gwen sighed and began to pull away from him, but Kevin grabbed her hand and pulled her closer. He slowly brought her into his lap. Gwen tried smiling at him, but it didn't reach her eyes. Kevin's arms made their way around her waist, pulling her even closer. He brought her face inches from his, his gaze never wavering.
"Never doubt how much I care about you Gwen." His voice was low and urgent. Gwen bit her lip and looked down. "Hey no, Gwen, look at me." Kevin unwrapped one of his arms that was around her waist and cupped her cheek, like she had done earlier.
"God Gwen I…" Kevin took a deep breath before he continued. "You mean a lot to me. I'm just… I'm almost there, okay? I'm just… I don't want to hurt you." He said softly. Gwen opened her mouth to respond but he shook his head. "Let me finish girl." He gave her a small smile. "I'm really scared I'm going to screw up, and I don't want to do that to you. So just… Be patient with me. Okay?"
Kevin looked deep into her eyes. He could tell she was having an internal battle on whether or not to respond like she wanted. Gwen finally sighed and just nodded.
"I hate fighting with you Kev." She finally responded, wrapping her arms around his neck. He shot her a killer smile and leaned his forehead against hers.
"Then let's not fight. I could find lots of better things for you to do with your mouth than scream at me." Kevin joked, smirking as a thought crossed his mind. "Unless you're screaming my name…" He trailed off and Gwen burst out laughing, smacking his chest.
"Shut up Kevin." Gwen rolled her eyes and smiled. He grinned and leaned so close to her their mouths were centimeters apart. Gwen's breath caught in her throat.
"Make me." He whispered against her mouth. Gwen smiled and leaned forward.
Gwen pressed her lips against him, Kevin groaning as she pushed herself up against him.
"It's not nice to tease." Gwen gave him one last kiss before she began to pull away. Kevin shook his head quickly, pulling her back onto his lap.
"Nu uh. We've been fighting for the past day and hell, I've missed you." Kevin tightened his grip on her, as if he were afraid she would try to get up again. Gwen just smiled and leaned into him.
"Besides Gwen, don't I have some making up to do?"
Gwen looked up at him, her face lightening up as she remembered their deal. She smiled wickedly.
"Oh, I'm sure you can find a way to make it all up to me." She squealed as Kevin growled and picked her up bridal style, walking out the door.
"Kevin where are you taking me?" Gwen cried out, holding on to him tightly. Kevin glanced down and winked at her.
"I'm making it all up to you babe." He carried her out to the night, taking her home.
Ben sighed as he drove on the dark, lonely dirt road. He knew Gwen and Kevin would make up. Or make out. Or… Something else.
"I bet that's what they're doing right now." Ben muttered under his breath and shuddered in disgust.
He looked up ahead and frowned at the darkness. All that he could see were lots of trees. It was a moonless night. He hated those.
Suddenly he saw a bright light of orange and yellow and he hear a loud crash and tires screeching. Ben's eyes went wide and he sped up towards the explosion.
A girl waited behind a tree, glancing at the two men who walked around the remains of her bike. She held her breath as they studied their surroundings. Suddenly she heard a car not too far away. And by the sound of it she could tell this was one sweet ride. The men looked towards the direction of the car and then quickly started walking to theirs. They were talking to each other in soft angry tones. They quickly got inside their car and sped away, their tires screeching.
She waited until she was sure they were long gone and came out from behind the tree. She walked to the remains of her motorcycle. She turned into the direction that the guys went angrily.
"You destroyed my life and now my bike." She shook her head disgusted and bent down and picked up a piece of metal. She turned around and threw it. "Assholes!" She yelled furiously, not hearing the car pull up behind her.
"Such language." A voice said behind her, amused. The girl whipped around, startled. She saw a guy about her age leaning against his car. He had light brown hair and he was taller than her, wearing a light green jacket. And he was a little bit cute. Just a little bit. But she frowned anyway.
"What do you want?" She crossed her arms defiantly, glaring at the stranger. He raised his eyebrows, a smirk playing on his lips.
"Attitude much? Maybe I was going to ask if you needed help or something." He walked over to her, glancing around at the metal that was sprayed across the pavement.
"Yeah well, my mom told me once not to trust cute guys that are out in the middle of the night on an empty road." She glanced at him and smirked. She turned around and walked back to the tree she was hiding behind earlier. He followed her and chuckled.
"Yeah, well it looks like to me like you need some help." He waited for her as she walked back, a backpack now in her hand. She sighed.
"Look dude, I don't need your help okay." She shot him a look of exasperation. He pointed towards the remains of the bike.
"They kinda destroyed your ride." He stated, holding back a smug look. She glared at him, then glanced at her. She sighed wistfully.
"Point taken. Alright. Take me to the nearest gas station and I can find my way from there." She looked up at him. She couldn't make out his face because it was so dark.
"Okay." He agreed, motioning to the car, following her as she walked away from him. He had no intention of letting her go that easy. She took one last look at the remains of her bike and hesitated, sighing wistfully. She opened the passengers door slowly and sat down, waiting for the cute boy in the green jacket to come in. She studied the car and smiled. Just as she had thought, it was one nice car.
"Nice ride." She glanced at him as he sat down.
"Yeah. A friend of mine built it." He explained nonchalantly. She raised her eyebrows.
"Wow. He built it for you?" She asked incredulously. He started the car and glanced at her.
"Yeah. But then I kinda destroyed his car so he kinda wants it back soo…" He shrugged sheepishly. She stared at him, unimpressed. She rolled her eyes.
"If I were him, I would kill you." She shot him a look. He grinned.
"Somehow, I don't doubt that." He winked at her. She glared at him again.
"Look, I just gotta warn you those guys might come back and I really don't want you to get hurt." She glanced at the boy sitting next to her, frowning a bit.
"I'm used to stuff like this." He reassured her,
"Really?" She asked doubtfully. He just grinned at her.
"You have no idea. Since I'm basically your chauffeur for the night, don't you think I should know your name?" He drove straight ahead, passing the first gas station for the night.
"You just passed the gas station! There won't be another one for 20 miles!" She cried out, upset. She was facing the window as she turned around and smacked him.
"Hey! Hold the abuse until we've stopped at least! I don't want to crash." He chuckled lightly at the furious look on her face.
"Take me back this instant!" She smacked him again and Ben groaned.
"Hey look little missy, you need to stop that! It's too dangerous to leave you in the outskirts of town. At least let me drop you off in the town. It's safer there. Especially considering you were almost blown up tonight." He sighed in relief when she took her hand back and sat back, crossing her arms.
"So uh, what's your name?" He tried again, hoping she wouldn't slap him for asking.
"I don't know yours." She answered tersely.
"Ben Tennyson at your service, your local hero and stud." He winked at her, causing her to raise her eyebrows in disbelief. A smile tugged at her lips as a feeling of accomplishment washed over Ben as he noticed. He wanted to see her smile.
"Tennyson… Huh. That name sounds familiar." She bit her lip, pausing.
"What your name?" Ben asked, hoping to distract her as he quickly sent a text on his phone.
"Jackie." She didn't offer a last name, and Ben knew enough not to ask.
'Jackie'. He thought to himself. 'Huh. That suits her.'
"Well Jackie. Would you care to tell me who those guys are behind us?" Ben glanced in the rearview mirror and saw a small car advancing in speed. Jackie spun her head around and cursed under her breath.
"Damn." She quickly took off her backpack and started looking for something franticly. Jackie looked up at him as he stared down at her, confused. "Have you ever really tested to see how fast this baby can go?"
"Uh no…"
"Well now's your chance." She pulled out a gun and cocked it. She looked at Ben, who gaped at her.
"Um… You know… I don't think that's such a good idea…." He said uneasily.
"Look Ben. I know these guys. I know how they are." She looked at him determinedly. "Step on the pedal. They're catching up on us." She unbuckled herself and rolled down the window. Ben just sighed and pressed on the gas, wondering what on earth he had gotten himself into.
When he looked in the rearview mirror Ben saw the car pulling up from behind. A hand with a gun was now pointing at them. He glanced at Jackie. She looked angry and Ben could see she knew exactly what she was doing.
Ben glanced at the omnitrix and desperately wanted to use it but he realized it was no use. He had to drive. And if he tried to change now they would crash.
'Damnit. I have this thing to save lives and now I can't even use it.' He thought angrily.
He glanced at Jackie. She turned to him and they locked eyes for a split second, his heart speeding up. Then she looked back and she pointed the gun to the car behind and fired.
The car began to swerve out of control. They quickly fired back and Jackie shrieked as Ben tried to regain control of the car. She quickly fired again and again. Ben groaned as he heard the back window shield crack as the men fired again.
"Thank God Kevin put double glass…" He muttered to himself. Jackie pulled the gun back inside and loaded it with something bigger.
"Umm… Jackie... What is that?" Ben asked cautiously, not knowing if he wanted to know the answer. She looked up at him grimly.
"Something I really wanted to save for later but looks like we're going to have to use it now." She quickly got back out there as there and waited. The car started coming closer and closer.
"Um, Jackie any day now!" Ben called out to her frantically. She ignored him and waited until she knew she was going to hit them.
"Bastards! That's for destroying my bike!" She shouted angrily. She fired, hitting the car dead on. "Ben GO!" She screamed. Ben pushed on the gas just as the car behind exploded. The sky was ignited with fire. Jackie looked back and narrowed her eyes at the scene that was displayed. She turned around and sat down, taking a deep shaky breath.
"Well… That was pretty intense." Ben stated after a moment of silence. Jackie just rolled her eyes and yawned.
"All in a day's work." She quirked. Ben just shook his head, once again wondering what on earth this girl was into.
He began to slow down as he pulled over. "Let me just check the damage." He told her. Jackie nodded.
Ben got out of the car and groaned as he took in the sight of the back of the car.
'Damn. Kevin is going to kill me.'
The glass was cracked and the back of the car was smoking. It was scratched and dented. Ben just shook his head and walked back to the car.
"How bad?" Jackie asked as he sat down. Ben just shrugged. He turned to her and he finally got a good look at the girl who had brought him so much trouble that night.
Jackie had long loose wavy hair that was so black it looked almost blue. She was wearing skinny jeans that were covered with dust and a gray hoodie that looked old and warn. She was also small but fierce. She had no jewelry except for a dark red stone that was on a black string. It looked ancient and valuable. Jackie had long lashes and big brown eyes. But they were angry. Her eyes were filled with anger, and pain.
Ben wondered what had happened to her to make her like that. But nonetheless he took notice how gorgeous she really was, under all the dirt and soot. In fact, she was beautiful. He shook those thoughts from his head.
"You know… you remind me of someone. I just… I just don't know who." He studied her for another moment. Jackie just shrugged.
"Ex-girlfriend?" Jackie suggested. A picture of Elena popped in Ben's mind. Even with all the dirt and soot, she couldn't compare to the girl in front of him.
"Nah. You're way more… " Ben trailed off softly, not finishing the sentence. He cleared his throat as she glanced at him curiously.
"Well anyway, there is no way I'm letting you go anywhere by yourself tonight." He quickly changed the subject.
"What?" Jackie exclaimed, her eyes growing wide with anger.
"Jacks, we were just chased down by two guys who were shooting us for God knows why, and if you think I'm going to drop you off at a gas station you got another thing coming." Ben started the car and got back on the road.
"Jacks." She said flatly. She had said nothing through his mini rampage, ignoring most of what he said.
"Huh? Oh. It just slipped in. Sorry." Ben grinned at her. Jackie narrowed her eyes at him.
"Whatever." She muttered. "Where are we going?" She asked suddenly, realizing that they were no longer out in the country.
"Somewhere safe. I already told them we were coming so you have nothing to worry about." Ben reassured her. She sighed deeply and rubbed her head.
"You don't want to get involved with me." Jackie shot him a look, hoping he would take the hint.
"No." He locked eyes with her. He didn't know what it was, but he wanted to help her. "I'm already involved in this and I already told you, I'm used to this kind of stuff." He told her firmly.
Jackie sighed and leaned back. She decided she was going to make a run for it when they got there and everyone was asleep.
"Don't even think that." Ben smirked at her as she looked at him surprised. "You can't do this alone." He nudged her.
Jackie looked up at him, at his concerned face and a warm feeling spread throughout her body at his words.
And for the first time that night, she smiled.
"This is it." Ben had finally pulled into an old mechanic workshop and gas station. Jackie glanced around as she got out of the car. It was dark except for the small light that was shining for within the store. She grabbed her backpack and waited for Ben at the door.
"Come on. They're waiting for us." Ben grabbed her hand and practically dragged her in the store.
'Us?' She thought warily.
Ben pulled her into the back of the store. He looked down at his hand and realized he was still holding hers. He blushed and dropped it.
"So where are you taking me exactly?" She crossed her arms. Ben just grinned and unlocked a dark green door. When he opened it, an elevator door opened. Jackie raised her eyebrows.
The elevator led them to a huge lab room that held a ton of expensive equipment. Jackie looked around and whistled. This place was loaded.
"Gwen and everyone are right… Hey guys!" Ben called out to a group of people.
Jackie hesitated. She hated meeting new people. She sighed and turned around, her eyes sweeping the room.
There was an old man with a lot of white hair that was combed back, another man who was younger, but still in his middle ages. His eyes were dark and he had… a lack of hair. There was a girl standing near him who looked a bit like him. She had short black hair and looked her age. There was another girl who had red hair pulled up in a ponytail. She looked smart.
She glanced at the boy standing next to the red head and froze, the feeling of immense sadness and complete resentment washing over her all at once. They locked eyes.
"J…Jackie?" His face had gone into complete shock. Jackie narrowed her eyes in response.
"Kevin." She stated coolly crossing her arms.
"What are you doing here?" He asked, his eyes widened with wonder as he was still trying to process that she was standing right in front of him.
"I should ask you the same thing." She said icily. Ben looked between the two with a confused look on his face.
"You know him?" Ben frowned at Kevin, confused and a bit irritated.
"Wow Kevin. You didn't even bother to tell them about me. Shoulda figured." Her voice went cold and hard. She nodded towards Ben. "Know him?" She chuckled bitterly, her gaze never wavering from Kevin.
"Yeah I think I would know him. He's my brother."