A/N: Well here's the delayed update I promised you. Set in AF prior to "War of the Worlds".

Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own. Quit asking.

He tugged on the door's handle a few more times.

"We're locked out?" asked Ben, voice a bit high with shock. "We're not on a prank show, right? You legitimately forgot your keys?"

Kevin's other hand continued to pat at the pockets that covered his person. Four on his jacket, four on his jeans, none on his shirt... No keys in any of them. "I musta lost 'em when we were runnin' from the Highbreeds."

"Yes, because retreating was such a good idea." Ben stuck his tongue out in his cousin's direction, the girl cocking her head to one side as her jade eyes narrowed in his direction. He hadn't wanted to retreat, but when the Highbreeds had brought out a cannon of some sorts and aimed it at Ben, Gwen had demanded a retreat and neither boy had thought to argue with her. Ben continued, "I easily could've taken them. They're easy with Way B-"

"Yeah, if the Omnitrix even decides to work, Ben." Her words were laced with hot venom, fresh off the cobra's fangs. "When you were ten, it was broken more than it worked. I don't want to put my faith into your stupid watch."

Kevin was frantically trying to find his keys before World War III broke out and his car was trapped in the middle of it. He kept patting pockets, digging around in them, hoping that, by some miracle, the jingling of metal on metal would ring out and he could shove both Tennysons in the car and get them home before they killed each other and him. Or destroyed his car, the worst scenario.

"I could make it work with any alien! I kicked Vilgax's butt before with tons of different aliens! And Greymatter's pretty much useless, but he's gotten us out of more than a few tight spots!"

"We wouldn't be in those spots if you weren't so pigheaded, always jumping into things and worrying about the consequences second!" Her eyes flared up with a familiar green blaze of unadulterated rage. "At least Kevin knows when to think!"

Great. Now his name was in it. Kevin looked to Gwen only to see that she was glaring vehemently at Ben. He looked back to the lock and began to silently beg for the keys to just drop out of the sky.

"You think I'm useless?" Ben unleashed a quipped laugh, short and mocking. His eyes glowed with confidence as he pointed to the Osmosian and said, "Kevin can't even do anything long-range!"

Keys. He had to keep his mind on the keys. Some part of him was begging to punch the brunette Tennyson in his pretty face and knock that mocking grin right off of him. Keys. Car keys. If he dropped them, they could've been along the path they took to get back to the road...

It was Ben's voice that came out next as he continued on. "And you can't blame all our problems on me, Gwen." He had a hand on his hip now and a smart-aleck look on his still-childish face. "Let's reflect."

Keys. They had to be around here somewhere. Keys keys keys. Focus on the keys.

"Vulkanus had a score to settle. We all nearly died. Kevin's fault."

His black eyes were on the ground, kicking around at the dirt in the moonlight, hoping to see a glint of metal from the shafts of silver that fell from the white orb in the middle of the obsidian sky. He didn't see any sign of keys.

"Then there was that time with Simion where he nearly got me killed because he didn't think to come help when we didn't answer."

He kicked a rock. Still no keys. He was about to pace around the car to follow the path they'd come from when Ben's voice rang out in the night again.

"And Morningstar-"

As if on instinct, Kevin's hands were thrown up, his fist connecting nicely with Ben's chin. "Oh man, I can't find my keys." He reached forward to pat the car's roof before swinging his arms back, giving Ben a good backhand across the face. "I'm sorry guys, looks like we're walkin' home." And he swung his arms forward again, lower, and managed to clip Ben's chest, just at the middle of his ribcage.

"You did that on purpose!" said Ben after a few moments of recovery and stunned silence while Kevin moved around the car to search for his keys in the dirt and dust. "Kevin, why did you hit me?"

"It was an accident, Tennyson." He tried to keep his voice innocent and harmless as he gave the jade-eyed boy a pathetic and apologetic look. "I swear."

Ben's lips pursed. His left hand clenched into a tight fist and, with one swift movement, he smashed in the driver's side window of Kevin's car. "There. We're in." There was a alight throbbing feeling at his chin.

Chest tightening, muscles tensing, teeth gritting, Kevin lunged over the hood of the car to grab for the Tennyson boy only to be stopped by a wall of mana suddenly jumping in between them. "Boys," was Gwen's firm tone cutting in. Her fingers politely flicked the lock inside the window and both the doors were unlocked with a click! sound.

"But! He!" Kevin couldn't get more than a word in after Gwen shot him a glare before moving around the car to get in the passenger seat, Ben already sliding into the back. He slammed his head down onto the car's hood. "Aw man…"

A/N: Review?

~Sky