Phantom Pain

Author's Note: I fixed some typos, but the one spelling error that I refuse to change is how I spelled Manna, I do believe it's one N in the captions, but "Manna" is a word in the Bible and I like how it's spelled, means bread from Heaven, so I'm keeping my spelling the same. Everything else, I use the Ben 10 wiki spellings so I don't know if those are actually correct.

Kevin watched as Ben and Gwen both worked furiously at their computers.

Kevin inadvertently fell asleep. His dreams were a jumble of images, memories of his life, from his childhood to a time before he'd been reunited with Ben and Gwen.

Kevin was in a room filled with a fiery pit, it terrified him, he couldn't understand what was going on. Someone pushed him into it, the searing burning, but then something happened…memories…were returning to him at an astonishing speed, and he understood everything that had happened to him…even his own murder. He let out a desperate scream as he gasped for air.

Another man's voice bellowed in his ears.

"A deceitful child has spurned her father…! …AND CURSED YOUR SOUL!"

"Talia…" Kevin murmured in his sleep.

Gwen started and stared at him in surprise. Who was Talia? She'd never heard him say the name before. Was it a girlfriend? She couldn't tell. What kind of dream was he having anyway?

"Kevin, Kevin wake up," Gwen nudged his shoulders.

"Oh hi," he looked at her.

"Who is Talia?" Gwen asked.

"It doesn't matter anymore," was his reply. He didn't say anything more about it. They were intending to investigate who was behind the plot to put something in the Bellwood water supply, but they got sidetracked by Dr. Animo.

It had been a busy day, they had battled Dr. Animo again and even though they had beaten him, they had all gotten their clothes torn; Gwen had to get a new pair of pants after they'd gotten ripped up badly, and Ben had torn his elbows open while avoiding an attack. Kevin had to get himself another shirt after his had been disintegrated.

Ben saw his friend walking by the mirror as he moved to get himself another shirt to replace his torn up one. He thought he saw a long scar on Kevin's neck, between his neck and his shoulder blade. It was as if something had sliced him there. It was probably from one of Kevin's fights in the Null Void.

It must have been a very deep wound, as Osmosians were pretty tough and could take a lot when it came to beatings. Whatever happened, it must have been a brutal fight.

"Where'd you get the scar Kevin?" Ben asked.

"Which one?" Kevin was unsure of which scar he meant, he had a few from the Null Void and some from his adventures before his reunion with the Tennysons.

"The one on your neck," Ben pointed.

"I was fighting with someone, he was preventing me from killing a guy I hated," Kevin replied. His mind seemed elsewhere.

"I suppose that's a good thing," Ben smiled. "Who was it?"

"That's a secret," Kevin smiled. "One I'm not going to tell you."

"Aw, come on!" Ben exclaimed. "I've told you tons of my stories, now I want some of yours!"

"Maybe some other time, I heard a rumor about those chemicals, and something about the pier amusement park, I'll go check it out. You have to go investigate the new drug that everyone's been getting into; you thought it was similar to what's going to happen with the water supply."

"Fine, I'll go, but you owe me your story, okay?" Ben turned and left.

"Yeah, I'll tell you later, I promise," Kevin drove off. It was time for him to do a lot of work.

Gwen had been investigating possible meeting places for the drop off of the mysterious chemical. So far, nothing had come up and she was just about to go home. She heard them shouting about chemicals and had to wonder if they worked for the so far unnamed mystery man who wanted to poison the Bellwood reservoirs.

She heard panicked shouts and screaming. "Forget the chemicals!" one of them shouted. "Let's just get out of here before he—"

Gwen saw the man drop dead, hit by a sniper shot. The other men with him started running, but they fell dead too. Gwen took cover, searching for the skilled sniper, but couldn't see anyone, she couldn't see inside, but she could sense someone was in there, and they were waiting for her.

She made her way in cautiously. "You murdered my best leads!" she shouted to the air.

"They wouldn't have done you any good, they're just the leg breakers, dumb earners, they have no idea what they're moving."

"Why would you care?" Gwen asked.

"It's not particularly interesting," the man's voice said, he pointed a finger up at her.

"But I've always wanted to meet you!" a voice exclaimed. Gwen looked over and saw a man, sitting on a stool, his hands steepled, calmly looking at her. He was dressed in leather, wearing a black jacket and a gray shirt and gray pants and wore steel-toed boots. She could see he had guns and a strange knife at his side. She couldn't see his face, because it was covered by a round red helmet, his eyes were covered by white lenses and he seemed to be scrutinizing her.

"Who are you?" Gwen demanded.

"Call me the Red Hood, at least that's what they called me back in Gotham City."

"I've heard about you, you're the guy who tore up the criminal underworld and went after Black Mask," Gwen kept her voice even. This was not her day. But she could have sworn the vigilante calling himself the Red Hood hadn't been active for years. But why would he come to Bellwood?

Red Hood crossed his arms and she heard him chuckle. "You're a smart girl. Not a whole lot of people know about me. If you were really smart you'd get outta my way."

"That's not going to happen!" Gwen informed him as she prepared to fight him. She was going to stop him; that was a fact.

Gwen took the offensive, launching herself straight at the helmeted vigilante.

Red Hood jumped up from his seat and blocked her blows and struck back. Gwen managed to duck, avoiding the punches aimed at her face.

She saw him kicking at her, but she anticipated his moves and used kicks of her own to counter him.

Gwen concentrated, using her powers to form shuriken that she slid between her fingers and used to slash at Red Hood's mask, she was surprised when she actually scratched the mask, leaving three long gashes that looked like claw marks.

"Good…nice…" Red Hood complimented. "I'm actually having fun with you."

"This isn't funny!" Gwen retorted.

"Don't make me shoot you!" Gwen warned, she'd removed her Plumber standard issue firearm and aimed it at him.

"Lotsa people try to shoot me baby, but they aren't able to," Red Hood smirked.

"They're not me," Gwen said evenly.

"You seem like a nice girl, you're not the type to kill people," he commented.

"Who said I'm going to kill you, I can incapacitate you, and I'm turning you over to the police."

Red Hood opened fire; Gwen took cover and returned it. She kept aiming at him and he kept running away, she'd barely miss him, but she was an excellent marksman and it showed. The Red Hood actually seemed worried. She wasn't one of those criminals who believed that you could kill something by pumping out as many bullets as possible at it.

"I can keep this up as long as you can!" she shouted at him.

"Only until you're out of power before it overheats," he looked at her.

"Or I put one in your eye!" Gwen aimed for his masked eyes; he managed to avoid the shot.

"No. You're not going to do that. You're going to keep shooting those lasers at me but avoid every killing wound," he said as Gwen launched more Manna at him, while firing her gun with one hand.

Red Hood cut down her energy blasts with his Kris, the strangely curved blade he carried.

"You know how easy this is when you limit your options. You're working with the same thirty-three. Thirty-three angles, points—thirty-three shots. None of which, will be a fatal shot."

Gwen kept coming for him. He kept cutting down her energy blasts. "And when that gun is empty, you know I'm going to come for you!"

Gwen was running towards the Red Hood when she suddenly felt something hit her and pull her forward. She shot towards her opponent and felt her body slam into his fist. She fell on her back hard, it shattered the Manna platform they had been fighting on and they both began to fall, but she managed to make another platform, he'd almost fallen off but flipped himself back onto it.

"Clotheslining, works every time," he smirked. Gwen saw the grapple gun, so that was what hit her.

Gwen saw him aim his guns at her and she ran for cover. She had been going for her gun when she saw that he'd shot it so it wouldn't work anymore.

"Now let's move on," Red Hood seemed almost conversational with her. "Yeah I know…snazzy right?" I'm a pretty good shot. Got real good with guns to piss off the old boss."

Gwen aimed her powers toward the sprinklers and set them off. Red Hood was startled and he dropped his guns.

"Here," the masked vigilante told her, "I want to keep this fight interesting."

Gwen saw a katana land near her feet as he threw it into the ground. "Now, pick that up."

"I was hoping you'd go for the sprinklers. I was wondering how much training you've done with swords. In the rain."

"Plenty," Gwen told him. This would be interesting, if only he wasn't trying to kill her.

"Baby, I gotta tell you...I really wish I could be watching this one ringside as well as fighting it...'cause it's gonna be good."

Blades met with fury. Each blow they exchanged was fierce and they were both trying to overpower the other.

"Am I going to get a lecture from you about how I'm the bad guy?" he taunted.

"No. No lectures." She ducked low to the floor and avoided a slash as she rose up and hacked the vigilante's masked face again.

"You missed. Either that or you weren't going for the throat," Red Hood pointed at his damaged mask. "That's the problem with all of you, limits."

Gwen rose up and stabbed the sword through his leather jacket. "Your problem is…you don't know when to stop!"

"You're pretty smart kid!" Red Hood head-butted her in the face. She fell back toward a shelf full of chemicals.

Gwen braced her feet on a nearby shelf and used her momentum to flip Red Hood across the room. She ran into the adjoining room.

Gwen contacted Kevin's Plumber badge. "Kevin, I could really use your help now! I think I found our vigilante."

"Sorry, sweetheart can't make it," Kevin replied. "I'm getting the crap kicked out of me!"

"I'll come get you," she told him. "As soon as I'm done with him."

"Miss me, baby?" Red Hood asked as he smashed through the wall.

She managed to drop kick him and sent him flying back as she caught his sword. Gwen moved to stand over him, holding the swords in the shape of an X so that if she moved, she could decapitate him if she wanted to.

"I have your weapon Red Hood, it's over, I'm the one who will stop you." she held the sword against his neck.

"Just what are you?" He queried with interest.

"Hero, Plumber, high school student…and the girl who has two swords at your throat…Now let's talk about limits…"

Gwen wondered what the expression on his face was. His demeanor seemed to be that of a puppy, eagerly awaiting a treat as a reward from their master for doing a good job, he actually seemed happy that she'd beaten him.

"Nice and slow…lose the guns, the belt, the jacket and the helmet," Gwen ordered.

"That's what she said!" Red Hood smirked.

Gwen gave him a glare. She wondered if he flinched under the helmet.

"Aw c'mon, you and me fight with a few pig stickers and I'm goin' away in cuffs?" Red Hood asked, the girl was very good, but he figured it was about time he left. He had other things to do tonight, but Gwen did give him a good time, he had to admit that.

"No, I know this is exactly how you're going down," Gwen gave him a stern look. He just seemed to be even more amused.

"Think kid…I picked this place to fight you…got Ben 10 across town…Hell…Do you think I always just carry a katana in my back pocket?"

She heard a hissing sound and saw smoke spewing from the hilt of the katana.

"Crap," Gwen's eyes widened. She did what any smart person does with a smoking weapon; she threw it across the room into the wall.

Red Hood was already moving, "I'd do a lot more than throw that thing away! And I'd do it fast!"

Gwen dove out of the laboratory door just as the building exploded. She began running after the Red Hood who had hopped on a red motorcycle and was speeding away.

She let loose a volley of concentrated Manna blasts, but she watched as he avoided all of them.

"Damn. She is resilient girl, isn't she? Well, there's always next time!"

Gwen was about to go after the Red Hood when her phone rang.

"Hey Gwen, where are you?" Kevin asked.

"I'm down at the now blown up chemical lab; I'm on my way to help."

"It blew up! Are you okay?" he asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm coming to help you."

"All right, it's getting pretty hairy down here by the amusement park. Still getting the crap kicked out of me."

Gwen hopped on the top of a truck and used various cars to get to where Kevin was.

Kevin looked relieved to see her, he'd been battling more of the clown masked goons, he had done a good job holding his own and she leapt in to assist him. Together they knocked out the rest of the thugs and tied them all up. She hoped that they actually knew something and that the Red Hood wouldn't show up to shot all of them.

"Now, talk!" Kevin shouted. "Tell us what's going on!"

"Actually, we don't need to do that," Ben, having turned into Rath came lumbering up to them with a goon over his shoulder. "I told them, "Let me tell you somethin' Clownies, Rath hates clowns and if you don't talk to me, Rath'll rip your face off!" So the goons talked and told me what's going on."

"So, what did you find?" Gwen asked. She had a feeling she wasn't going to like the answer.

Ben hit the Ultimatrix and reverted back to his human form. "The stuff's already on the street. It's mixed with Ecstasy and they call it Chuckles."

That wasn't good at all, Gwen was worried.

"Is it the same stuff that's going in the water?" she asked.

"It's a variation, but they said the big boss didn't like it because it took his killer gas and made it a joke. Said he wants to make an example of Bellwood because it's popular with the teens here. They don't know when it's going to happen, but they know it's soon. They also said they know their boss as Jack White. I have heard that name before, I don't know where though."

"This can't get any worse!" Gwen groaned.

Kevin sighed; he knew it could get a whole lot worse.