Leg Breakers

Four Years Ago…

Kevin looked at Talia. "I didn't lose my nerve."

"I never assumed you would," her reply was confident.

"I just couldn't let him…get off so easy," Kevin looked out straight ahead of him. "He'd never know what happened. He'd never know why. He'd never know it was me."

Kevin gathered his thoughts. "I want…I'm going to face him. Him and me."

His eyes blazed with burning black hatred. "I'm going to kill him. With my own hands. He's going to be looking me in the eyes when he dies. When I take him from this world."

Kevin turned back to the only person who had ever cared about him in his life.

"Will you help me do that?" Kevin turned back to her. They would make him pay.

"Of course," Talia replied.

Her inner thoughts were much different. "My father is right…I have unleashed a curse upon this world."

Kevin's mind returned to the present day. They'd been searching for drug dealers who specialized in distributing Chuckles, the mysterious designer drug that was the hot item among the city's teens.

Ben had heard about a guy named Afie "Fredo" Tisner who sold drugs on the south side of town, he decided to pay him a visit. Kevin said he was going to look into the shipping yard for any suspicious cargo. Gwen knew some of the rough crowd hung around her private school, hoping to mooch off the rich kids that went there, she decided to look into that.

Gwen Tennyson saw a street tough Davis MicCullen lurking around her school. She knew he sold drugs, but she'd never actually been able to catch him in the act.

She couldn't exactly proposition him for them, everyone knew she was a straight laced kid, but maybe she could fool him into thinking she wanted some. She'd been able to trick Vulkanus into revealing that he'd put out a hit on Ben, tricking him with ease and impressing Argit.

Davis saw the girl coming toward him. He was surprised. Gwen Tennyson was a pretty.

"Hello beautiful!" he gave her an accommodating smile. "What can I do you for?"

Gwen got his innuendo and resisted the urge to smirk. "So tell me, what's it take to get a hold of some Chuckles?"

"Ah, Chuckles, it is a little hard to get, because it's popular, but I've got a shipment coming in, I'll get you some, $100 bucks for a bag, and that's cheap."

"I don't have that kind of money on me," Gwen shifted, shoving her hands in her pocket.

"Cutie, looking at you, I'd give you a good deal if…you'd give me a good time," Davie smiled. Gwen knew what he was getting at, but she didn't let it show on her face.

"I have a boyfriend so I can't do that."

"He doesn't have to know."

"He'd know, and I'd know."

"Well, if you get that hundred dollars, come find me again," Davis walked off.

Gwen walked away, hoping this lead would pay off, still, the sick pervert creeped her out. How many girls had he gotten with that trick? Just the thought of it was squicky. That was how girls got into prostitution most of the time, to feed their drug habits. Davis McCullen was heading back to his meth lab when suddenly he spotted a figure blocking is path.

"Oh crap!" he exclaimed. "The Red Hood!"

"Hello Davis, I can see you're doing well," Red Hood looked at him with disdain and hatred.

"You—you blew up my lab in Gotham City, can't you just leave me alone?"

"No, you tried to sell drugs to a high school student, a very stellar student. You probably pressured her into buying them didn't you?"

"L—Listen man, that girl came to me wanting some, I never offered her anything."

"Ah, I see," the masked vigilante seemed to come to a realization. "You give her what she wants, but if you solicit her for sex again, you're dead. Are we clear?"

"As crystal," Davis told him, swallowing hard.

"Nice to see you understand," Red Hood turned and walked off. "Pull out your gun in your pants and I'll kill you."

Davis shuddered.

It didn't really matter to the Red Hood, he had plans for Davis McCullen, but not until the girl was done with what she needed, after all, he was an enemy of all the bad guys. Might as well give the girl a hand somehow.

Her attempt to get Chuckles from Davis McCullen was only half successful. She still needed a hundred bucks, but there was no way she was using her own money for it, and alerting her parents to what she was doing was out of the question. She'd have to figure out another way to get money.

She was smart and she'd figure out a way to get the money, maybe Kevin could help her since he knew how to get money from various aliens and she could get it converted to U.S. dollars.

Gwen decided to pay Kevin a visit, he'd help her with her plan and he would understand why she needed it.

She made her way over to Kevin's house. His mother met her at the door. She let Gwen in and she began wandering around the house.

Gwen saw a stack of letters on the desk in Kevin's room; she wondered what they were and couldn't resist a peek at one of them. She picked it up and read:

My dearest Kevin,

If you are reading this, then we have succeeded. Centuries ago, my father discovered these pools, these fountains of youth, for their ability to rejuvenate; they were dubbed the Lazarus Pits. Since taking possession of them, he and he alone has bathed in their waters.

He is arguably immortal, and for that reason, he took great interest in you. But I had other reasons. Despite my search for answers, you remain a mystery.

You were dead, Kevin. Murdered. Buried. And mourned. But you returned to this world. A miracle. And you wandered into my view.

Fate is commanding your life in a way I can barely fathom. I judge what I have done as not so much intervening on fate's behalf, but as stepping out of its way. Only time will tell what that is.

But you should know, more than any other reason—I have done this for love. And I hope that will guide you into what you will become.

The letter was unsigned, but apparently, Kevin knew who the writer was. Gwen was visibly shaking, Kevin had died? Murdered? It was impossible, if Kevin had actually died, they would have heard something, he'd seemed perfectly fine when they'd seen him again, and he'd not acted like a zombie at all. He'd not once mentioned being killed, let alone murdered.

She was trying to come to grips with this revelation. Gwen contemplated confronting Kevin with it, but he would probably deny it, she could show him the letter, but he could say it was from a crazy person.

There was only one solution; she'd have to find undeniable proof of Kevin's death. His death certificate, he probably didn't keep it on him, she'd have to search for it herself. And these Lazarus Pits, she had heard about them, in a mythology and folklore elective she'd been taking.

She had never heard of them actually being used. Who was this woman and how did she have access to something that didn't exist? She could tell the writing was that of a woman because she could sense all the emotion behind the words, and their sincerity.

Gwen heard Kevin open the door and she slipped the letter back into where it had been and walked out of his room.

"Kevin," she smiled, kissing him on the lips.

He returned it and gave her a hug. "Mom told me you were here, what do you want?"

"Uh, do you have a hundred dollars?" Gwen asked.

"Yes, what do you need it for?" Kevin looked at her.

"I need it to get some Chuckles from Davis McCullen. I need it as a part of the investigation. You understand don't you?"

"Yes, but I don't have hundred bucks on me or I'd give it to you, I wish I could help you." Kevin seemed disappointed. "This could be our big break in this case."

Gwen sighed, "I guess I'll have to find some other way." She turned and left.

Kevin went about his business. He had been busy gathering leads and like Gwen, he was about to get a breakthrough. He walked out and drove to his mechanic shop; he had some things to fix before he went out to investigate more.

Ben Tennyson headed to the side of town. He was tracking down Alfie "Fredo" Tisner. He had heard of the drug dealer and he'd been able to spy on him for awhile. He'd been let off school to investigate.

After following Afie around for a few hours, he left him and decided to meet Gwen.

Gwen was at school and since classes were over, she went over to her locker and pulled out her backpack to put her textbooks away.

Gwen stared into her backpack in shock. Inside was a hundred dollars exactly. It was the amount that she needed to buy the drugs from Davis MacCullen. How had she gotten this money? She didn't know, but she saw a note near the cash.

"I know what you're doing and I know why, use the money, courtesy of me," –Red Hood

"How does he know what I needed?" Gwen asked herself. "I never even told him my name!"

She was going to meet Ben and Kevin later that evening. Ben and Gwen were standing next to each other when a man landed on the car across the street from them. Kevin had been on the other side of town, making contact with old acquaintances to gather clues about the mysterious Jack White.

"Hello you two!" the voice greeted. It almost sounded friendly.

"It's him!" Gwen growled, glaring at him.

"You must be the Red Hood," Ben said sternly. "I'm not going to let you run around and do whatever you want."

"That's strange coming from the guy who has threatened to kill his enemies. I'm a lot like you, but the difference is I do what you can't, because you've never actually killed somebody have you?"

Ben visibly flinched. It was true; he had never actually killed any of his enemies before.

"They call you the Savior of the Universe, I wonder if you can save yourself from me," Red Hood aimed his guns at Ben, but stopped after a moment.

"That won't work on you will it?" Red Hood asked. He holstered his guns. He removed the Kris he carried and flourished it. "Let's have some fun!"

"Not this time Red Hood!" Gwen moved to attack him.

"Sorry baby, but you'll have to sit this one out!" Red Hood threw up a grapple hook and tied her around her midsection so she couldn't move.

"Get this off me!" she shouted.

Red Hood attacked Ben, the teenage hero. Ben kicked the man and executed a flurry of punches. The Red Hood was impressed. The boy's fighting style was different from the others, he didn't practice or train in any particular martial arts, but he was a competent hand to hand combatant.

Free form combat that was something he hadn't encountered in awhile.

Ben kicked and punched with a force and fury that surprised the Red Hood. He transformed into Rath and began screaming.

"Let me tell you somethin' Hoodie, I'm gonna take that silly helmet and flatten it into my own personal Frisbee! Your silly little knife is gonna be my toothpick!"

Rath slammed the Red Hood into the nearest wall, the man flipped back and landed on his feet. Gwen tried to break her bonds but she could not.

Rath ran towards him and picked up a car and threw it at him, Red Hood managed to jump through the car and somersaulted, slamming his booted feet into Rath's face.

"You shouldn't have done that Hoodie, now Rath is angry, and it hasn't been my day today anyway!"

Rath charged forward and slashed at Red Hood, he cried out in pain as Rath managed to rip through the body armor and into his skin.

"That actually hurt Ben 10," he congratulated. "I'm having fun here, hopefully you can keep up."

"I'm just stalling, when Kevin gets here, you will be stopped!" Ben snarled.

"Oho! That sounds fun!" Red Hood chuckled. "I look forward to fighting him too!" He head-butted Ben Tennyson and the teenager staggered back as he tried to regain his senses, but the hubris of the blow made him dizzy.

It was a hard battle, but Red Hood seemed to be enjoying himself. He couldn't believe that they could fight like this, he'd made a good decision picking a fight with them, it was so much fun, and they both had game, and he too enjoyed games, but he was having the best time playing with both of them.

He knew what was going on in the town and he'd take care of business very soon, but for now, toying with the local heroes was enough for him. He'd fought both of them and they'd both been competent, it was well worth his time to fight them, but he'd dragged out the fight long enough and he knew their friend was coming and he had somewhere else to be.

Ben transformed into Swampfire and shot out a stream of fire at him. The vigilante looked around as alien disappeared. Suddenly, vines shot up from the ground and grabbed a hold of him.

"Now I've got you!" Swampfire exclaimed.

"No, not really," Red Hood cut the vines with his knife. The pieces fell at his feet.

Ben transformed into Big Chill and it sprayed him with a stream of ice.

"You're kind of like Mr. Freeze, fighting you is really fun," Red Hood complimented. "Let's see how you handle this?"

Ben saw the man throw a flash bang grenade at him. Big Chill quickly used his power to become transparent and it passed through him. The grenade was ridiculously loud and bright, he could barely see.

"I can see your heat signature, even if you're invisible!" the man shouted.

Red Hood began to punch and kicked him across the face. Ben transformed into Goop and sunk down into the ground and sloshed toward the murderous vigilante. He seeped between his body armor and tried to restrain him.

"You're good Ben 10, but don't think I haven't figured out that your Anti-Gravity Projector that keeps your shape!"

Ben was stunned how did he know about the anti-gravity projector? This guy had apparently studied him; this wasn't going to be easy.

"Cannnonbolt!" Ben changed again, he barreled into Red Hood; the man flew back into the nearest wall. He attacked again and his enemy somersaulted and used complicated acrobatics to continually avoid Cannnonbolt only to be slugged in the face by Ben in his human form.

Ben began to reach for the masked face.

"You don't get to peek behind the curtain just yet," Red Hood scrambled to his feet, punching Ben hard. He saw that the Ultimatrix had run out of charge, leaving him in his human form. He'd been fighting for ten minutes and he was already exhausted.

"Kevin, get over here! I need your help, Red Hood showed up."

"I'll be there in ten minutes!" Kevin shouted on the phone.

"Just get here soon!" Ben shouted. He avoided a kick by ducking down.

The vigilante pulled out his guns and fired them at Ben, but he managed to push the gun aside. The gun rang loudly in his ears like thunder and he began elbowing him in his masked face.

Ben managed to crack the mask and he thought he could see the man's face, but he couldn't see who it was.

Red Hood didn't want his identity revealed and he decided that he needed to run away and get out of there before Ben discovered who he was.

The fight continued as the vigilante took off running and climbed up a fire escape.

They continued to fight; Ben managed to perform a judo throw on Red Hood who moved quickly and punched him in the midsection. The blade in his hand moved quickly as he slashed at Ben, tearing up his shirt, leaving superficial wounds that stung horribly.

Ben remembered one of his cousin's moves and performed a high back kick. He hit the man in the head and he staggered back. Ben tackled the man and they both fell off the roof.

Red Hood drove his Kris into the wall, slowing his fall as Ben saw the Ultimatrix had recharged and turned into Goop so he could hit the pavement and not die.

Ben used his power to grip the man and pull him off of the wall.

"You know, for a guy who doesn't practice martial arts, you're not half bad!" Red Hood said. "And I've not been going easy on you."

"You'll be more impressed when I stop you!" Ben retorted.

"Why don't you just say "kill me"? It's not like you haven't made this threat before."

"I'm not like you; I don't like killing bad guys!"

"But it is an option," Red Hood replied.

"Not one that I want to have."

"You don't have what it takes to stop what's going to happen to this city, but I do. Death will come to those who deserve death. Keep that in mind when everything goes to Hell."

"You know what's going on? Tell me everything now!"

"Sorry, that's not up to you."

Ben transformed into Humungousaur and began slamming his opponent into the wall. The large alien head-butted him and threw him through it and he hit the ground hard.

Ben tried to reach for the mask again, but he failed to grab it as the Red Hood moved so he couldn't grab the mask.

"You're just like your cousin, and you're just as fun as she is!" the man threw out a smoke grenade, "But I have other things to do tonight!"

He disappeared into thin air, Ben vainly searched for him.

Ben heard Kevin pull his car up nearby and Ben turned around.

"Ben!" Kevin shouted, looking concerned for his friend. "You're bleeding man!"

"It's superficial, Gwen's tied up over there, get it off her will you? I have to catch my breath," he was breathing heavily and leaning over with his hands on his knees.

"Gwen, are you all right?" Kevin asked.

"How could he get the drop on me?" Gwen berated herself. "Next time I'll be able to fight."

"Don't worry about it; I'm glad you're safe."

"Kevin, Red Hood said he knows what's going on," Ben told his friend. "We have to catch him so he can tell us what he knows."

"I'm sure we'll get answers soon," Kevin told them. "I heard that Davis McCullen does have some Chuckles, at least, that's what my old contacts say; I still haven't found who his supplier is."

"I'm trying to get some drugs from him, a…a concerned citizen said he would give me money for it."

"Who is it?" Kevin demanded.

"The Red Hood," she replied.

"Why would he give you money?" Ben asked.

"He's the only lead I've got and I refuse to use my own money."

"Just use it, at least it's not your money," Kevin told her. "Maybe this will be the lead that will give us a break in this case." Things weren't looking good, but maybe they'd get lucky.