Ben and Gwen walked through the door just as gray dawn was breaking. They were both exhausted. It had been a long night, and when combined with two nights of lackluster sleep Ben couldn't even be bothered to kick off his shoes before he flopped down on his couch. He was out like a light within seconds and in what seemed like just a few seconds more his business phone rang. "Fuuuuuuuuuck" Ben bitched, face down into a pillow. He lifted his head and was blinded by a ray of light straight into his eyes. "God damn it, Gwen!" He hated it when she left the curtains open at night! He sat up and cracked his aching neck. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to sleep like that. The shrill ring of the phone played in the background, but he wasn't in any hurry to answer whatever idiot was calling him when he made it clear that he was going on an overnight patrol.
"Are you going to answer that?" Gwen called from her room.
"Fuck off! They can wait!" Ben snapped. He was irritable from both lack of sleep and the pain in his neck and back. She had a point, though, and got up and walked, stretching as he went, to the phone. "What the fuck is wrong now?" Ben grumbled.
"Tennyson. You're being called for a special mission." The bitter voice of the chief of police came through the speaker. What? Whenever he got a call on this line it was some random dispatcher, relaying to him the location and type of crime. He had only met the chief of police three times but they were all memorable. He and Ben fundamentally apposed each other and it showed. Even now he sounded angry and sounded like he wanted to do anything but call Ben.
"So, why are you calling me? Why don't you just have one of your stupid lackeys do it?" Ben said, tauntingly.
There was a long pause on the other end. The chief of police took a deep breath before slowly, and patiently saying, "This is a matter beyond the usual routes of justice."
Well that was interesting. "Alright, I'll bite. What do you want?" Ben said, leaning against the wall.
"I just got a call." He paused again, Ben could hear him taking big gulps of a drink. "My daughter is being held for ransom." Ben didn't know he had a daughter. "They told me that if I didn't pay or if I got the cops involved she'd be killed." His voice broke and he coughed in a poor attempt to hide a sob. "They said they'll mail her body to me, piece by piece." Ben felt his stomach tie in a knot at the imagery.
"What, I don't qualify as a cop?" Ben asked sarcastically.
"No, you don't. As far as the law is concerned you're just a consultant. Besides, you can do what others can't." He said, his tone dead serious.
"Say it then. Say, 'Ben, I so desperately need your help because my little girl is going to be killed if you don't.'" It was petty of Ben, and he was going to do it anyway, but if he could get just a bit of humility out of the old prick then it'd make his week.
He let out a long sigh and sounding like he was choking on the words said, "Ben, I so desperately need your help because my little girl is going to be killed if you don't."
Ben laughed, he couldn't help it. "Alright then. I'll rescue the princess. In exchange I get a nice, under the table bonus and I get to do whatever I feel necessary without you chewing my ass about it."
"Ben?" He said, his tone dark. "Make them pay." Ben closed his eyes and let a wave of satisfaction wash over him. This was going to be fun.
"Meet me at her last known location. Bring a dirty piece of clothing or a stuffed toy she likes." Ben said. He relayed the information and Ben hung up.
"What's going on?" Gwen asked from the entrance of the hallway.
"I got an off the records mission. Wanna join?" Ben said.
"What do you have to do?" Gwen asked.
"Rescue the chief of police's daughter before she's killed." Ben said.
"Oh my God, that's horrible!" Gwen gasped. "Yeah, of course I'll help. Let me just throw on some shoes."
"I need to take a leak," Ben lied. "you reek, change your clothes." Without another word he walked past her, shoulder checking her. He could feel the glare she shot at him but ignored it. He walked into the bathroom, closed the door behind him and had grabbed the bottle of painkillers before he froze. A thought had crossed his mind that made him hesitate where he never had before. "I need a clear head for this." At the same time another thought tried to interrupt, "It may take all day to find her. It may even take more than one day to find her." The thought of having to go all day or longer without a pill was far from pleasant. He took a deep breath, trying to calm down, he could think about this logically. After a few seconds he reached a compromise, he'd pocket two pills and if things got too bad he could take it then. The fact that it took so long to come to a decision put him in a bad mood. He flushed the toilet because knowing Gwen she'd be listening for the sound like the nosy little freak she was. When he opened the door he saw Gwen waiting for him. "You could of waited on the fucking couch." Ben growled, he hated that he was right. She was fucking listening in on him.
"I just wanted to get going as soon as you were ready." Gwen said.
"Keep up then." He said spitefully, selecting XLR8 and slamming it down. Right as he turned around he saw Gwen start to float. He took off and started racing to the meetup site, not caring if he left Gwen behind in his dust. As he ran he saw the city get nicer and nicer, the kinds of places a tourist would come and dick around. He only rarely came here and never on his own volition. It was too nice, it was fake. Besides, most of the police force was focused here so the crime rate in this area was low. Whenever he walked these streets the ordinary people looked at him with fear, he looked just like any other thug and so they avoided him like he had the black death. He came upon a fancy outdoor mall that pretty much only sold high end and expensive items. XLR8 had to slow down to find the ornate water fountain that they agreed to meet at and by the time he found it Gwen had caught up with him.
"Ben." Gwen loudly whispered.
"What?" XLR8 hissed, flipping up his visor to glare at Gwen.
"Everyone is staring at you, I think you're scaring them." Gwen said softly.
XLR8 looked around. Sure enough people all around him had stopped in their tracks to stare at him, some with curiosity in their eyes but most clearly afraid. There was even one woman trying to hide the fact that she was on the phone, half turned away from him with her mouth covered. She glanced at him and yelped when she noticed that she was spotted. She squeezed through the crowd like a coward. He turned back into a human in front of everyone which caused a murmurer to run through the masses. They were so packed together that Ben couldn't even see the fountain. "Get out of my way!" He shouted. The crowd quickly dispersed and he went to the fountain where the chief of police was sitting on the side. As he got closer Ben quickly saw that he looked like shit. He usually kept himself immaculately groomed with his hair slicked back, nails manicured and expensive, pinstripe suit wrinkle free. But now his hair was greasy and looked like it had never even seen a comb. His eyes were bloodshot and had large bags under them. He didn't have on a blazer or a tie and his white button down shirt had a large coffee stain on it. He was rapidly bouncing his leg and kept looking around, almost fearfully. "Is this where you last saw her?" Ben said as he walked up to him.
"Ben, thank God you got here quickly." The Chief of Police said, standing up. Now that they were face to face he could smell whiskey strongly on his breath. He had to be sloshed. Red flags were raising in Ben's head but he didn't know why. "Yes, this is were I last saw her. We had been out all day and she was getting really tired. I still needed to visit one last store. She wanted to stay here to rest her feet. I let her. I trusted her not to go wondering off. It wasn't the first time she had been left alone and nothing bad had ever happened before. I should have just carried her…" He rambled, slurring his words. Then he started mumbling about how awful of a father he was and how he was never going to forgive himself. Ben didn't have time for this nonsense.
"Hey!" Ben snapped, bringing the chief back to reality. "Stop feeling sorry for yourself and tell me how long she has been missing. I need to know how far she could have gotten."
"Oh, right, of course." He said and actually started counting on his fingers, his lips moving silently. "74 hours? Roughly."
"What?" Ben hissed, feeling his stomach drop. "What in the fuck? 74 fucking hours?" He had been confident he could find the little girl after 24 hours but this...his shock turned to rage and he grabbed the chief by his filthy shirt and pulled him in close. "Why in the ever loving name of God did you wait three fucking days to try and find her!?" Ben screamed, surely causing one hell of a scene. "Why didn't you get me involved sooner!?"
The chief shoved him back, stumbling as Ben didn't immediately let go. "You're a loose cannon, Tennyson!" He said, jabbing a finger into Ben's chest. "You're violent, belligerent, bloodthirsty. The only reason I tolerate you're savagery is because it's better to have you on our side than theirs. Personally, I hate you, and I know half of the goddamn force feels the same way."
"Just remember if I find your daughter's corpse, she's dead because you hate me more than you love her." Ben said, only wanting to hurt the chief for some petty satisfaction. Ben was blindsided with a right hook to the side of the head. Ben stumbled, realizing that he had clocked him out of nowhere. There was no build up, there was no posturing, just an accurate shot to the head. Ben retaliated, tackling the chief and sending them both splashing into the fountain. Ben was on top, he put a hand on the chief's chest and used the other to start wailing on his face. He only got three quick hits in before he felt someone lock their elbows under his arms and dragged him away from the chief.
"Ben! That's enough!" Gwen shouted as she dragged him out of the fountain. Ben slammed his head back, headbutting Gwen. She cursed in pain but only tightened her grip, pulling his torso close against hers. The chief stood up, his lip was already swelling up. The sight of him only spurred on his rage and he redoubled his efforts to break free, kicking at Gwen and thrashing in her grip. "If you keep fighting me I'll have no choice but to use the thorns!" she warned. At that threat Ben calmed down, if only enough to stop struggling. "We do not attack the chief of the police." Gwen said, calmly.
"He—"
"Ah! No. Don't give me any excuses. You antagonized him, Ben." She stated and then added, "We do not antagonize the chief of police either." Gwen clearly did not think he was calmed down enough because she kept up the tight grip and after a few moments of the only sounds being the chatter of the customers in the background and Ben's heavy breathing she softly said in his ear, "I know you're angry, Ben. It's okay to be angry, but you cannot just go attacking people. Especially not officials. Okay?"
"Yeah. Sure. Whatever." He scoffed.
"I'm going to let you go now, okay? Keep your head." Gwen said. He nodded in agreement. Gwen let him go and he stepped away and cracked his neck.
"So. What did you bring with her scent on it?" Ben asked. He needed to get on with this investigation. Although he would never admit it, he knew his outburst had cost them precious time.
The chief of police pulled out a small, white, fluffy square of fabric with satin trimming and a white bear's head sewn onto one corner. "This is her favorite toy." He said, misty eyed. "She takes it everywhere. When I found it on the ground next to the fountain I knew something was wrong."
Ben gently took it. It was soaking wet but if she was always playing with it then it should have her scent on it. "Right." Ben said, queuing up Wildmutt. "Don't worry. I'll find her." He said, solemnly. He turned into Wildmutt, the toy transferring to his mouth. He gently placed it on the ground and started sniffing around, just taking in his surroundings with this new way of perceiving things. His gills opened wide as he took a deep sniff. Automatically the scent of fear was heavy in the air, coming from the chief. He smiled, taking satisfaction in scaring the prick. He got a really good hold on the girl's scent and found a faint trail that was almost completely buried in the thousands of other, fresher scents on top of it. He picked up the bear, tossed it to Gwen and started to follow the trail. People ran out of his path, spreading their strong scents all over the place. It was extremely frustrating and it almost made him lose her trail.
Wildmutt felt the pavement change to asphalt under his paws and could smell the nauseating smell of gasoline, and car exhaust filled his senses. He had to get low to the ground, concentrating fully on her scent alone. After a few hundred feet her scent seemingly vanished. It just ended suddenly. No, wait…Wildmutt raised his head, sniffing all around. About a foot above the ground the faint smell of the little girl remained, she must have been put into a car. Now that he was back on track Wildmutt charged off, following her faint scent. Gwen stayed close, flying above him as to not get in his way.
"Look out!" Gwen screamed.
Suddenly he was pushed sideways by a strong force, sending him flying until he crashed into a building. He stood up and winced at the pain that radiated through his front, left shoulder. "What the hell Gwen!?" He growled.
"Ben, you know I can't understand you when you're Wildmutt." Gwen said, annoyed. "You almost got ran over, you need to pay attention to the cars!"
"Do you know how hard it is to tell apart where all the different cars are?" He said, tossing his head back and forth with a snarl.
"I don't know what you said, but I have a feeling it wasn't nice." Gwen replied. Wildmutt ignored her and tried to follow the scent trail without leaving the sidewalk. It was very quickly clear that it wasn't going to be possible. The scent was just too faint and too far away to follow. He could feel cars rush past him, the foul air ruffling his fur.
"You're going to have to help me." Wildmutt said, turning to Gwen. She didn't even try to respond this time, just sighed. "We don't have time for this!" He snarled, charging Gwen and flipping her onto his back. "Hold on and be my eyes!" There was a gap in between the cars and he charged forwards before quickly turning and running along side the other cars. Gwen tightly gripped two fistfuls of fur and sat up. He could feel her shaking but she smelled confident. "Is it safe?" He asked, tossing his head to the right.
"It's not clear, speed up a little and I'll give you a signal." Gwen said, understanding what he was trying to ask. Wildmutt nodded and started speeding up, after a few seconds Gwen pulled on the fur in her right hand. He turned, merging into the next lane smoothly. Infuriatingly after only a few hundred feet Gwen sharply tugged back with both hands, shouting, "Red light!"
"See if I care!" Wildmutt barked, leaping up and landing on the roof of the car in front of him. Both the passengers in the car and Gwen screamed. He paused for a moment, feeling for the air of rushing cars in front of him, when he didn't feel it he leapt again. He slammed into a semi truck, only his front legs were able to land on the roof. He dug his claws into the steel of the truck and scrambled onto the roof. Wildmutt shook off his embarrassment and walked to the edge of the truck.
"How about I tell you what kind of car is next so we don't do that again?" Gwen asked, breathless. Wildmutt nodded. "Okay, there's a traffic light 25 feet in front of you. We're at a 4 way intersection and I don't know what direction you're going." Wildmutt tensed up his muscles and leapt with his hands outstretched to catch the pole of the traffic light. He grabbed it and with the momentum he still had he swung and leapt across the intersection to grab the opposing traffic light. He felt Gwen wrap her legs around him tight, pulling his fur to stop herself from falling. As soon as he grabbed the light he jumped down. "The road is clear in this lane." Wildmutt nodded and took a second to grab hold of her scent again and went racing down the road.
And so it went, through seemingly random twists and turns, through busy interstates and lonely back roads they ran. Eventually the scent trail led out of the city and into a forested back road. Here Wildmutt could follow the scent and still see what was going on around him. He ran at top speed, not willing to wait a second. The trail took a sudden turn and he almost missed it, he turned on a dime using his claws to slow him down enough to make the turn before regaining the speed that he had lost. He tore off running down a path no bigger than a game trail. It made him wonder how a car could drive down such a narrow path. He shook his head, it didn't matter. He took another sharp turn. "I know you can't see it, Ben but we're on the edge of a cliff!" Gwen said, exasperated. "Be careful." He growled in frustration, he could see that there was a sudden drop off to his right. He wasn't useless, now that he was out of the city it was easy for him to see.
After about a mile they came to the end of the trail. The strong scent of blood made the quills on Wildmutt's back stand up which made Gwen jump off his back. He immediately found where it came from, a bush just off the road. He gently grabbed the fabric that was soaked in blood and brought it to the side of the road, dropping it at Gwen's feet. She gasped in horror and went to pick up what he had dropped. She tried to say something but her voice cracked with grief and she just shook her head. Wildmutt heard the soft pitter-patter of teardrops as they hit the dusty ground. He turned back into a human to see it for himself and even he couldn't help a knot from forming in his stomach when he saw the small t-shirt that was crumpled up on the ground. He gingerly picked it up and it was so stuck together that it stayed balled up. He could see that it was originally a bright pink color but now it was all brown from days old dried up blood. He clenched his jaw, his heart racing from his rising temper. He went to the bush he found it in and started looking around, looking for...for anything. Despite looking he couldn't find anything but the shirt. It should have been weird to him but he was so pissed off he couldn't think straight. He started pacing and tearing up the brush around him, looking for any more evidence. "It doesn't make any sense!" He screamed, pulling at a fistful of his hair. "There should be….be more!" He yelled, throwing his arms to the side in frustration at his lack of words. He pulled out one of the pills and tossed it in his mouth. He chomped down on it with a satisfying crunch followed by a bitter taste that stabbed at his taste buds. He swallowed and ran the tip of his tongue against the grooves of his molars to scrape up the paste the crushed pill formed.
"What did you just eat?" Gwen said in an accusatory tone.
"Candy." He spat sarcastically. Gwen glared at him, about to call him out on his bullshit. Before she could start he turned into Wildmutt and looked down the almost sheer cliff face. He snarled at it and turned around. He started climbing down, his claws gripping into the stone. When he got down he started sniffing around, working out in semicircles from the cliff. There wasn't a whiff of her to be found. No blood, no body, no clothes, nothing. He reared up on his back legs and let out a roar. He flexed his fingers and as he fell back to the ground he started ripping at the earth. With each swipe he took out large chunks and sent them flying to either side. His temper tantrum did nothing to help with the rage that was boiling out of control. He let out another roar and sat down hard, panting.
"Are you done now?" Gwen asked from behind him. Wildmutt had been so absorbed in his anger that he didn't sense her coming. Half startled half still very much angry he spun around and swiped at her. He caught her shield but could see her take a stumbling step sideways. Wildmutt wordlessly barked at Gwen and leapt at her. He knew that she wouldn't drop the shield and when he was right he used it as a jumping off point to stick to the wall of the cliff. He quickly climbed back up, the blood in the air boiling his. Shaken up he turned back into a human and started pacing again.
"It makes no sense!" He yelled out. He cursed into the dusty air and closed his eyes. He needed to think. It wasn't adding up. "Why would they just leave a blood soaked shirt here? Why wouldn't they…." He trailed off before another thought started pulling at his lips. "If they killed her why wouldn't they keep true to their threat?" He shook his head, something in his gut pulled at him telling him that she wasn't dead. "Why would they…" He trailed off again and opened his eyes. A thought had come to him and he went up to the shirt again and looked at it again. There was something about this shirt that told Ben that the little girl was still alive. But what was it? He started to pull at the shirt, straightening it again. There it was! On the right shoulder was a large cut made in the shirt and that's where the most blood was. They must of cut her and used the cut to soak her shirt. But with this much blood it had to be a bad wound. No. He couldn't start thinking of that, he had to work under the assumption that she was still alive.
He turned back into Wildmutt and started intently sniffing the shirt. There was something there, something that he could faintly smell under the overwhelming scent of blood. What was it? It was artificial, strong, almost floral or fruity. He raised his head and took a deep breath, flaring his gills to draw all the scents over them. There it was, faint and almost completely buried by the blood, an artificial scent. It had been there the whole time but he never noticed it. He had been too preoccupied by following the girl's scent. He looked at Gwen who had wisely stayed back and just watched him silently this whole time and signaled for her to get on his back. In seconds they were back on the road, tearing down to the main road at top speed. This scent he was tracking was much easier to pick out from the rest and he could fully pay attention to what he was doing and where he was going. For the next hour they ran, tracking the new scent. They got into the next city over and even through the overpowering smells of the city he kept a hold of it. Gwen had to drive him again but they lost no time. "Aren't you starting to get tired?" Gwen asked. They were down a mainly empty road, surrounded on all sides by industrial buildings and warehouses. It was true, he was pushing himself at this point, his heart was pounding with exertion and his powerful muscles ached from the constant strain. However, he wasn't going to stop now. He felt like he was so close. Wildmutt didn't say anything as the scent took another turn.
This place was active, a lot of fresh scents of humans, dogs, cars, drugs, and gunpowder. His gut told him that this was it and after double checking to make sure that no one was presently outside he found a hidden place and turned back into a human. He was crouched behind a concrete wall just barely tall enough to keep them out of sight. "Alright," Ben said in a low whisper. "I'm 99% sure that's where she's being held."
"What's the plan?" Gwen asked, her voice low as well. Ben peaked over the wall to take in the building in front of them. It was an abandoned warehouse, the large front windows had all been shattered and long sense boarded up. Graffiti marred every inch of concrete and wood with signs both large and small. One piece did stand out to him, up near the roof there was a large cross graffitied on with outspread wings attached to it and thorns wrapping around the cross. The reason it stood out was because all around it the space was clear. It was almost like that one piece was respected above all others. He memorized what it looked like and took in the rest of his surroundings. Aside for some cars that were up on blocks there was nothing in the vast parking lot. That meant that there was no other cover to get them closer to the main entrance. He crouched back down and said, "I'm going in alone." He started looking through the Omnitrix for what he needed.
"What? No way!" Gwen whisper yelled.
"Listen!" He snapped, raising his voice slightly. "There is no telling what's waiting in there for us. I can turn invisible and phase through walls with my aliens. I can get in and get out undetected. And with me going in there alone there's less of a chance that something will go wrong." Gwen tried to protest again but he cut her off. "I need you to stay out here and keep watch. If a big batch of guys suddenly show up or if I have to come out there fighting I'm going to need you here to help get a clean get away." He looked her in the eyes and said firmly but nicely, "I need to trust you. Can I?" Gwen nodded, and sat down.
"Good luck." She said softly. Ben nodded before hitting the Omnitrix and turning into Ghostfreak. He turned invisible and drifted through the pot hole ridden parking lot. He figured the best place to start looking was right through the front and so phased through the large, rusted metal doors. Immediately there was an L intersection, he decided to go straight. It was a large hallway with doors only on the right side. Ghostfreak checked each door and found them mostly empty or that they were storage. Out of curiosity he checked the side that had no doors. It was a large room, hundreds of people were in there, most of them sitting at folding tables packaging various drugs. There were at least ten guards armed to the teeth but seemingly not paying very much attention. Oh, this was not good. He had walked straight into a huge drug operation. If he drew too much attention to himself he would be in trouble. He backed out and started searching again. The only problem was that this place was like a maze and most of it was completely abandoned. He found a stairwell and had the choice of going up or down. He peaked his head outside and didn't see anyone. It was a huge risk but he got back into the stairwell and turned into Wildmutt.
He sniffed around and found the perfume scent again. It was definitely going downstairs. "What the fuck is that?" A male voice said from above him. Shit. Wildmutt looked up and there was a large man standing on the landing above him. It looked like he was frozen. The second that Wildmutt took a step towards him he pulled out a gun and shot at him. The bullet grazed his shoulder but the sound of the shot reverberated to a painful degree in the stairwell. Wildmutt had to stop himself from howling from the pain in his sensitive ears but luckily the loud sound also staggered the man who shot him. Wildmutt recovered first and leapt at the man. As he was in the air he was shot again, the bullet thumping into the muscle of his chest but not having enough power to break through his breastbone. He landed heavily on top of the man and without a moments hesitation bit down on his skull. He let out a short scream before he was silenced, his skull giving little resistance to Wildmutt's strong jaws. He let go and stepped back. He really did hate killing as Wildmutt. It brought back a memory that he'd rather forget. He took a second to recover and turned back into Ghostfreak.
He turned invisible and went downstairs. Down there it was dimly lit with many light bulbs being out. The ones that remained flickered dangerously, threatening to go out at any time. It was also a lot more straightforward in the way it was laid out, every hallway eventually leading back to the stairwell. He didn't even need to check every room. Only one room had light spilling out from under the door. He went inside and sure enough there in the middle of the room, tied up with her arms behind the chair was the little girl. She had her head down and was breathing fast. She was wearing an over sized shirt that covered her thighs even though she was sitting down. Her long black hair that covered her face like the grudge was knotted in the back and messy. It would have been simple to rescue her if it wasn't for the 6 guards all crammed into the small room. "I don't think he's coming." A large bald man said.
"Shut up," Another man said, he was shorter than the first one but just as bulky. He had an Asian dragon tattoo coiling around his neck and up the side of his face. "the boss knows what he's doing. We got our orders."
"He don't know shit if you ask me. I've never once even seen the guy." The bald guard said, crossing his arms.
"I'll let him know you said that." The dragon tattooed guard said casually. All the other guys stiffened up, fear clearly on their faces. Whoever their boss was, the threat of him knowing about badmouthing was enough for everyone to get scared.
Suddenly there was a loud, sustained beep and everyone's head snapped up to a speaker on the wall, even Ghostfreak looked up. There was a crackle like someone picking up a microphone and a bored, feminine voice said, "Please be aware that there was a mysterious death reported in stairwell B. Tennyson is here." Oh that wasn't good. In fact, that was very, very bad. He wanted to avoid getting a lot of attention.
Wait. Oh no... Oh no that wasn't good at all.
This was a trap.
All the guards picked up a gun and the one closest to the girl pointed his at her head. For a second he thought about leaving but if he did that the girl was sure to be killed. He closed his eye and built up his resolve. He wasn't going to let her get killed. He was going to save her. He was a hero, dammit. With that thought he opened his eye and possessed the guard holding the gun to the girl's head. He took a deep breath and lowered the gun. "Hey guys, check it out!" His puppet said. Everyone looked at him. "I'm possessed!" He flew up into the air and managed to shoot two of the guards before they could react. He was fatally shot in the head but it had no effect on Ghostfreak. He shot the guard who shot him but missed his target and only got him in the neck. He fell to the ground, bleeding out.
"Stop right there!" A guard said, the tip of his gun against the girl's temple. The girl whimpered with fear. "If you make another move, Tennyson, I swear I'll splatter her brains across the wall.
Ghostfreak put his arms up and floated back down. "Okay, okay, lets talk about this." He said calmly.
"Get out of my friend's body!" The guard demanded. He did so, his puppet crumpling to the ground below him. He showed his ghastly form but kept intangible. The man laughed. "It's true, the rumors about you. You can do anything. Be anything." His hand was shaking, he was clearly unstable. He laughed again. "You killed him." He breathed heavily and shakily, tears welling up in his eyes. "I'll make sure you pay for that." He turned the gun on him and Ghostfreak rushed him as he pulled the trigger. The bullet passed harmlessly through him and he possessed the guard. He turned his weapon on the guard with the dragon tattoo and they fired at the same time.
They both hit their marks. The dragon tattoo was torn apart and the guard went down hard. The girl screamed. Ghostfreak realized with horror that he was unharmed. He looked at the little girl, a hole punched right through her belly. Ghostfreak had his puppet shoot himself in the head and got out of his body. "Shit." He hissed, turning into Diamondhead and cutting her bonds. The girl folded in on herself, clutching her stomach. Even worse he could hear dozens of footsteps stomping loudly down the stairs, he was going to have to fight his way out of here. He put the little girl on his back, between the large blades coming out of his back. It took a lot of focus but he extended his own body to wrap around her, putting her in a cocoon of diamond with only a small hole to breathe. "Do me a favor and keep your eyes closed, its going to be a rough ride."
Just as he said that, the door was kicked in and three people opened up a barrage of gunfire. Diamondhead turned his arms into blades and rushed them. He cut through them easily but as they fell he saw that the whole hallway was crowded with people, each waiting for their turn to take a crack at him. They were willing to sacrifice dozens of lives for the chance to kill him. Diamondhead let out a war cry and went to town. The sound of gunfire and screams were constant and soon the ground was slick with blood. Every step was a fight and every second he could feel bullets ricocheting off of him, some even chipping away at his body. It wasn't enough to put him in danger but each time it happened it stung like all hell. It took two minutes to reach the stairway. He burst open the door to see even more people, all of them lined up so they could all fire on him at the same time. They opened fire and a lucky shot chipped his eye. He screamed in pain and sent large diamonds shooting up out of the ground, impaling at least half of them in one go. His eye healed but it was the first time he had come close to losing his sight. He charged up the stairs, cutting down people left and right and whenever he got up to the next landing he'd impale as many as he could. In a minute he was back up to ground level. He almost didn't want to open the door but he had to. When he did he saw another long hallway full of people. To his left and right there were also rows of people, it was disheartening. He was so done with this bullshit, he had to get this girl to Gwen right away, she was seriously injured.
He turned his arms back into arms, locked his fingers together and turned both arms into one large guillotine blade. He took a deep breath and charged like a bull. He mowed them down with ease and he ignored the pain of his skin chipping off. He almost tripped but caught himself on a guy in front of him, his single bladed arms digging into his collarbone and pulling down. The man screamed in pain and Ben saw that he had cut down through his chest in a way that his front fell away exposing his lungs and heart. It was disturbing even by Ben's standards. He was sure he was going to see that in his nightmares tonight. It didn't matter, he stood back up and kept charging. With every turn he took there were more and more people. It was an absolute bloodbath. For ten minutes he did nothing but mow down anyone who got in his way. He had no time to do anything cleanly or make sure that they were dead, he just had to get out. Finally he turned a corner and could see at the end of the hallway the large metal doors. There were only a handful of people here, they must have been running out of pawns. A large man stepped out, blocking the way. He carried a large tube and Diamondhead didn't recognize it for what it was. The man took a knee, took aim, and fired. Diamondhead only had a second to react, he threw up a thick diamond wall in front of him and braced himself for the impact. A large explosion shook the building and shattered the wall.
"Really!?" Diamondhead shouted out of frustration. "You got a fucking bazooka!?" He started charging again, the other people that were between him and Bazooka man was on the ground, dead or too injured to fight. "That's just cheating!" He said as he had to throw up another wall as another rocket came hurtling towards him. Every time he took a shot he was ready again by the time that Diamondhead started towards him again, making his progress frustratingly slow. He was also hindered by the hoard of people at his back, still shooting at him. The next time he was shot at he just fell to the floor, letting the rocket fly overhead into the large crowd behind him. He was close enough now to send a spike shooting out of the ground, finally impaling Bazooka man. He got up and charged the door, throwing his body weight into the large metal doors. They opened and he was finally out of there, however there was no time to breathe because the people who weren't killed by the rocket were still hot on his tail. He bolted into the parking lot, almost tripping in a pothole. "Run Gwen!" Diamondhead shouted. The first people were charging out of the building, bullets pinged off his back. Gwen bolted out of her hiding place and came running toward him. "Other way you idiot!" Gwen turned on a dime and ran away.
He caught up to her and they ran together. They were almost to the road when Gwen screamed, a bullet had caught her in her back. She stumbled but didn't stop running, instead she summoned a huge wall behind them. Diamondhead looked over his shoulder as she sent the wall hurtling after the mob at high speeds. The result was absolute carnage, people being sent flying or being dragged along the ground and into the people behind them. They rounded a corner and kept running, not daring to slow down even as they took random turns. They ran until Gwen couldn't run anymore. They turned into an alley and hid there. "What happened?" Gwen asked, as she healed herself.
"It was a trap." Diamondhead said, unwrapping the little girl and laying her on the ground. She wasn't doing good. She was unconscious and her skin was pale. She took fast, shallow breaths. "Gwen, she needs help." He said, turning back into a human. Gwen looked over and stopped healing herself, her eyes widening with shock. She rushed over to the girl and put a hand on her belly. Ben noticed that she didn't react at all to the touch even though it must have been painful. She started healing her with a worried expression on her face.
It took her longer than usual and when she pulled her hand away she said in a soft tone, "I stabilized her but she's going to need more help. She has suffered a lot of blood loss and her shoulder is severely infected. The bullet perforated her bowels. I healed the wound but it's likely the contents still leaked out into her abdominal cavity." She picked the girl up and held her in her arms. "You should call the chief and let him know that we got her back but that she's still needs to go to the hospital. She'll likely need to be hospitalized." Ben nodded and reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He called the station and told them what they needed to know including the fact that she still wasn't out of the woods yet. Ben hung up and sat down, resting against the brick wall. "You should also clean yourself up." She said casually.
"What are you talking about?" Ben sighed. He was exhausted and the usually pleasant fog that wrapped around his mind whenever he took a pill was just stifling now.
"Well," She let out an awkward cough, shifting her weight nervously. "you're covered in blood." Ben pulled out his phone and opened his camera to use as a mirror. Sure enough he had blood splattered across his face and neck. He felt his hoodie only to find it wet, the dark and dull color effectively hiding the look of blood. Ben took off his hoodie, flipped it inside out, and used the soft fabric on the inside to clean himself off. It wasn't the best job but he looked quite a lot less gruesome. "I haven't seen you so bloody in a long time." Gwen said, her voice small. She had a thousand yard stare, her brow slightly furrowed.
Ben scoffed, "Yeah, well it's been a long time since I've been in a good fight." He was lying. He didn't think of that as a good fight. It was actually a terrifying fight. What kind of person would just throw hundreds of people into a meat grinder? It had almost broken his will and that was a terrifying thought. He had wanted to just surrender himself, to stop fighting, if it wasn't for the fact that he was rescuing that girl he might of. He pulled his knees into his chest and laid his forehead on his knees. Now that the fight was over the true horror of what had happened really started to sink in. All of those people just throwing their lives away. The feeling of stepping on half alive corpses, how they squirmed under him as their lives faded. The desperate anger on their faces. Oh God their faces, some of them were so young, and Ben had mowed them down. What was left of his soul screamed whenever he killed teenagers or women and he spared their lives whenever possible, even if it meant that they could go on to hurt more people. His heart was racing and trying to beat its way out of his body. He reached a shaking hand into his pocket and ate his second pill. Either Gwen didn't notice this time or she just didn't say anything. He tried clenching his eyes shut but all he could see was the basement hallway full of screaming faces.
They just sat there like that for a while, Gwen holding the chief of police's unconscious daughter and Ben having a silent panic attack, curled up as tight as he could. They were both silent until suddenly the girl gave out a soft groan and shifted. Ben peaked his head up to see the girl's eyes flutter open. "Hey there, baby." Gwen said sweetly, giving her a kind smile. "Don't worry, you'll see your daddy soon." She pulled out her lovey and showed it to her. This made the kid's scared expression turn into a beaming smile. "Say, what's your name?"
"Savannah," She said quietly. "and that's Snowy."
"Savannah is a beautiful name." Gwen said lovingly. "And I think Snowy is the perfect name for your toy."
She smiled and tried to grab the toy but her arm fell back down. "I feel sick." She said weakly, her big brown eyes misting up.
"Yeah baby, you are sick." Gwen said sympathetically. She put the toy on Savannah's chest and guided her arm so she could hug her toy. "Just try to get some rest." Savannah nodded and closed her eyes. Gwen shifted her into a more comfortable position for the both of them and watched as she fell asleep.
"I didn't know you were so good with kids." Ben said softly.
"It comes with my line of work." Gwen replied. "She's not the first hurt and scared kid I've comforted." She looked Ben in the eyes with that line and it made him feel uncomfortable.
"I guess your vacation time is coming to an end. It's been a couple of weeks." Ben said, trying to change the topic. Gwen looked thoughtful or sad, he couldn't tell which. She didn't say anything else and they sat there in silence until the chief came. He found himself nodding off and was jolted awake when a car door slammed. He stood up stiffly, his muscles aching from over working and from sitting on the hard ground for way too long. "I got her. If you have any other questions talk to Gwen." Ben was only half awake and too shook up to get in a fight with someone he had to not kill. He turned into Jetray and took off without another word. Gwen was a big girl, she could find her way back. And speaking of finding her way back Jetray wasn't entirely sure where home was. He was in a completely different city and it had been a long time since he left his city.
He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice that he was dipping and he almost slammed into the ground before he caught himself. "Maybe it's not the best idea to fly while I'm so…." Jetray said but trailed off. He didn't really want to finish that thought. It took him a while but he did eventually find his way back home. When he landed he stumbled, he was so tired that his eyes were only half open. He tried to open his door but found it locked. Had he locked it? He really couldn't remember. He turned human and searched through his pockets, they were empty. He felt where his hoodie pocket should be but only felt his shirt. Ben groaned and thumped his head against his door, he had forgotten his hoodie back in the alley. Gwen had better bring it back with her. He thumped his head again, trying to think of how to get in his house and was contemplating kicking in the door when he remembered that he had aliens that could pass through walls. "I'm such a idiot." He turned into Ghostfreak and melted through the door. He turned back and he had one objective in his mind, get into bed. As he stumbled down the hall he stripped, just dropping his clothes on the floor. He opened up his blissfully dark room and collapsed onto the bed. He wormed his way onto his pillow and he was out within a minute.
A couple hours later Gwen arrived home, Ben's hoodie over her shoulder. She took the key out of her pocket and unlocked the door. One of these days Ben was going to walk into a break in if he didn't lock his doors. "Although that may be why…" Gwen shook her head, it was best not to think about that. Gwen sighed, seeing a trail of bloodstained clothing leading to Ben's room. She needed to soak these before the stains set in too badly. She picked them up and took them to the bathroom. She threw the socks, underwear and shirt into the bathtub and started filling the bath with cold water. While she waited for it to fill she checked Ben's pants pockets.There was nothing in them. She tossed the pants into the tub. The hoodie was still inside out so she flipped it right side in and checked the pockets. She found a handful of tracers and put those on the sink counter. She found some crumpled up receipts and threw them away in the trash. She found his phone and made a mental note to put it in his room. She felt some loose change and dug her finger along the seam and grabbed all the coins, as well as a lot of dirt and lint. She smiled and shook her head, of course Ben never properly cleaned out his hoodie.
She had almost missed it.
Only as she was moving to put the coins on the counter did what she saw register in her brain. She opened her hand back up and picked up a small, round, white pill with a line through the center so that it was easy to cut in half. Gwen closed her eyes and sighed. She wanted to pretend not to know what it was but she knew exactly what it was. She debated on what to do. Should she confront Ben? Should she flush it? Should she just put it on the counter and pretend like this never happened? There was only one option that was both safe and responsible. She stood up and flushed it down the toilet. With that out of the way she double checked the pocket to make sure that it was empty and tossed it into the now half full bathtub. She made sure everything was fully submerged and agitated the water, the water quickly turning a rusty red color. Satisfied that the clothes weren't going to be ruined she dried her hands and forearms on her clothes and grabbed Ben's phone. She tip toed into his room, he hadn't even shut the door. She put his phone down on his dresser and glanced over to Ben who was face down on his bed. Slightly worried for a second Gwen double checked that he was breathing and covered him up. As he turned to lay on his side she thought, "What ever am I going to do with you?"