Hope and Gwen arrive at the bustling police precinct, where they were invited in by a detective. Once inside, they saw how crazy things had gotten within the fatal hour. Staff and officers were running around like chickens with their heads cut off. The place was packed with eye-witnesses as well to give a statement to what happened. Hope was astonished at the little worker ants, but Gwen couldn't care less about the current situation.

The detective was making small talk as he led them through the station. Gwen shut him down and demanded that they saw Zombozo. The investigator was hesitant considering the criminal was in the midst of interrogation. But he complied nonetheless, he didn't want to upset Gwendolyn Tennyson. The detective led them into a back hallway where a series of doors stood. He pointed to the first one at the end of the hall and wished them luck with whatever they were doing.

"Oh yeah by the way, one of our officers saw a big guy near the park today fighting the shooters. She described him as red and tall with four arms and brandishing long guns. When she called out to him, he ran away. You gals know anyone like that-"

"Doesn't ring a bell," Gwen quickly states as she walks away from the officer.

Hope gives the man a shrug and follows her friend. Gwen's behavior is slightly out of the ordinary. Sure she was mad, but even then she was always polite and willing to cooperate. An officer, at the door, steps in front of the approaching redhead.

"Aye, you can't go in there, miss."

Gwen snaps, "Do you know who I am?"

The guard looks her up and down, "You got a cute face but no," he comments.

Gwen narrows her eyes at the snarky comment. She wasn't in the mood at the moment.

"You have ten seconds to open that door."

"Listen lady, I can't let you in on account of me losing my freaking job."

Hope could see the nasty death stare Gwen gave the man, and it doesn't seem like either one is backing down.

"I suggest you open that door or call someone who can because I can't hold her back," Hope recommends innocently.

The guard stood his ground for a moment before mistakenly looking into Gwen's vicious eyes again. He shuffled his feet a bit and sucked his teeth. The officer turned around, keys in hand, to unlock the door. He pulled it open enough to peek his head in.

"Aye detective Leo, I got some girl looking to talk to you."

"'Some girl'? Tell her I'm busy and I'll get back to her later." Leo's voice from inside announces.

"Okay, I'll tell her-"

Gwen throws the man out of the way and rips the door open. She stomps inside to see a young black-haired man sitting at a window.

"You didn't tell me that it was Gwen Tennyson," he says nonchalantly.

"Where's Zombozo?" Gwen demands.

"Why would I tell you that when you just assaulted one of my officers?" Leo insisted.

"Because I'm capable of doing a lot worse to you."

"Threatening a law official. Hm."

"Listen, just tell her what she wants to know and make everyone's life easier," Hope says quickly.

Leo gives the women a suspecting look before sighing in surrender. He points to the large one-way glass in the middle of the room.

"He's on the other side of this glass. The mic you see there allows you to talk to him."

"Let me speak to him,"Gwen demands sternly.

"How did I know you were gonna say that?" he groans, whilst stepping out of the way.

Gwen moves over to the glass and pushes the button underneath the built-in mic. She doesn't speak, only listening. The redhead hears silence for a moment, then a slow exhale.

"Gwendolyn, it is a pleasure to meet you," he speaks, his voice thick with malice.

"Why did you do it?" Gwen spat angrily.

"Gwen, Gwen, Gwen," he taunts. "What's the rush? Got somewhere to be?"

Gwen slams her hand on the glass. Hope raises an eyebrow at the small cracks that emerged from the impact.

"Don't play games with me," she growls.

"Well if you really wanna know…" he starts. "I did it. For fun."

At that moment the blast-proof window they were talking through shattered into a thousand pieces. Glass shards shot out in every direction. Hope went to put up a shield for the detective and herself when a blood red bubble appeared around them. Hope was now looking at the redhead in awe; she could feel the anger dripping off her aura. A thick blanket of fury that was suffocating the woman.

Gwen grabbed the handcuffed clown by his shirt and lifted him into the air.

"What do you think-" Leo started.

Charmcaster raised her hand to cut him off. She wasn't sure of the situation they were in at the moment, so it would be best to stay quiet.

"I'll ask you again; why did you do it?" Gwen asks slowly, every last word dripping with venom.

"Aw, does the girl scout have a naughty side?" Zombozo croaks. "What happened to being a hero?"

Gwen slams the zombie clown against the wall; the entire building seemingly shook from the impact.

"Is it so impossible to believe I did it because I wanted to? After everything I've done in the past? Maybe you should ask that little cousin of yours."

Gwen was processing what he said in her head, before releasing the man. She turns around to leave without saying a word. Zombozo laughs as he hits the ground, cackling as he rolls around on the floor.

"Poor Gwendolyn, no Ben, no city, and no people," he mocks relentlessly.

Gwen stops in her tracks.

"I won't stop, you know? I won't stop until everything you've worked so hard for is ashes. I will follow you until the end of the universe, my sweet Gwen," Zombozo taunts. "If nobody can have-"

Zombozo is suddenly interrupted; he sees that Gwen is now facing him but something is wrong. Why is she upside down? His last thought as the clown's severed head hits the ground. Zombozo's body follows swiftly after, crumbling to the floor in a heap. The movement was so fast that Hope couldn't even gather what happened until she saw the clown's decapitated body hit the floor. Blood leaked from the corpse like melting ice cream.

"What-" Hope starts.

"What did you do?" Leo shouts at the woman, interrupting Hope.

Gwen stares down at the severed head. Zombozo's face crafted a smile. He was laughing at her, at the fact that he pushed her so far. Zombozo would eternally be laughing at the sorceress. Rage still flowed through her veins for the dead man before her. Hatred, even. A lustful fury that kissed her soul, staining it with an inky darkness. She's never felt such negative emotions in her life. Seeing Hope half-dead didn't even compare to this. An absolute feeling of resentment flowed through her. It was uncontrollable.

"I said what the fuck did you do?" Leo says, grabbing the woman's arm.

In a blur of movement, Leo found Hope in between him and the redhead; Gwen's hand inches away from his head. He stepped back in surprise. The detective glanced into Gwen's eyes for a moment and pissed himself. Literally. He felt the warm liquid running down his leg. The fear he felt had him in a chokehold. It was like he was face to face with a bear or a lion, even a great white shark. An animal that knew nothing but violence for the prey in front of them. He was meat; a meal that existed only to be consumed by a savage. It was pure, unadulterated bloodlust.

Hope was struggling to hold off this simple attack. If she was a second, no, a fraction of a second. If she was a nanosecond later then this man would have been killed. No doubt in her mind. She felt the scaly armor shift around her hand that was holding Gwen's arm; the witch hadn't even realized she transformed. It was instinctual, a literal life or death moment. Hope gazes in the expressionless eyes of Gwen; she could feel the animosity oozing from them. Charmcaster was struggling to hold this demon back.

"G-get out of here," she groans to the man behind her.

It was already too late. The man was paralyzed in fear; a deer in headlights. Hope cursed underneath her breath. If she lost focus on Gwen for even a second; they'd both be dead. She could feel the redhead pushing against her.

"Gwen! Snap out of it!"

Hope winces as she's forced to take a step back.

"Gwen, you need to control yourself. NOW!" Hope scolds.

Thankfully the officer, guarding the door from earlier, steps in after hearing the noise.

"Take him away from here!" Hope commands.

The guard wastes no time grabbing his brother in arms and leaving the room. Hope sighs in relief. At least the risk of someone else dying has lowered. Now she can keep her attention on Gwen. Gwen was emitting an unbelievable gravity-like pressure. How could she be holding something like this back? Hope asked herself.

"Gwen!" she calls out again. "Stop!"

Hope could feel scales crawl up her hand as her fingers turn into razor-sharp talons. If this form was struggling against Gwen then the redhead's power was beyond her imagination. She couldn't go easy on the woman, not that she was anyway. Hope mutters a spell under her breath; a large chain erupts from the ground and wraps around Gwen's waist. It wasn't a second before the chain dissipated into nothing. Gwen grabs Hope by the throat in an instant and slams her against the wall. It was never a fair fight from the start. Hope grips her friend's arm tightly, and pulls with all her might. It was enough for a small amount of space to form, and stop the redhead from immediately choking her.

"Snap out of it!"

It was getting harder and harder to hold her back.

"It's me, Hope!"

Nothing seemed to work. Hope was running out of options. And time.

"What would your parents think?" she groans.

Gwen had replaced the hold on her throat.

"What would Ben-" she chokes.

"What are you doing? She'll kill you! Fight back," Drak yells inside the witch's mind.

"If I could then I would," Hope argues back.

"Move aside then, I'll kill her."

"No!"

"No?"

"She's my friend!"

"Then die."

Hope's vision was beginning to darken quickly. She was seeing little white spots dancing in her view. She won't betray Gwen. Friends don't do that to other friends.

"-Max," she croaks on her last breath.

Charmcaster reawakens on the cold tile floor of the interrogation room. She slowly lifts her head to see Gwen sitting across the room, with her arms wrapped around her knees and head sunk to her chest. The slight whimpering gave away that she was crying. Hope struggles to her feet, using the wall as support. She begins to shuffle toward the redhead.

"I should be the one crying," Hope chuckles.

"Get away from me," she cries, not lifting her head. "Please," she sniffles. "I'm a monster."

By this time Hope had already made her way across the room, and slid down the wall beside Gwen.

"You're not a monster."

"Yes, I am! I killed him and I almost-"

"Shh," Hope cuts her off. "It's okay."

Gwen plants her face onto Hope's chest. The older sorceress held the woman tightly as she sobbed into her arms.

"You're not a monster," Hope assures.

"I'm sorry…" Gwen whimpers.

"I know."

**PAGE BREAK**

Ben stood in an empty alleyway several blocks away from the park, out of breath. Why did he run like that? He would never know. He wasn't the type to run from a fight, but here he was hiding like a weakling. It was disgraceful, it was disgusting. What if people had seen him running away. What if Max saw him? It was a joke, he was a joke. Ben balls his fist up and slams it down on the brick wall he was leaning against. He wants to be better. But he needed help just like Hope said. Hope.

He hadn't seen her this morning. The chances of her being at the park was high. Maybe even the rest of his friends were there. And Gwen was definitely there. He sucked his teeth. No more running. No more hiding. Ben needs help and he won't get it constantly hiding in the dark. He needs to find Gwen and let her know where her path would inevitably end. There was no way he was finding her in this chaos. Or maybe it wouldn't be so hard. Chances were she was amidst the fighting in the park. The place he ran from.

So he started heading in that very direction. The roads were eerily quiet near the town square. Emergency vehicles were scattered in random points on the road and police officials directed people to safety. The clouds finally had enough; it began to rain again. Ben could hear thunder in the distance. The sky is crying for all the lives lost today. The worst part about a disaster like this is waiting around, not knowing if your loved ones were safe. Nobody had answers, not even the cops. Bellwood was thrown into complete confusion.

Ben passed a familiar large building with marble columns out front, and he recognized it as the town hall that Gwen was standing in front of this morning on TV. He wonders if she was possibly in there. One glance over tells him that he wouldn't be able to find out. A row of armed policemen were lined up in front of the town hall doors. Ben presumes they were protecting the town officials there.

Tennyson would have to try his luck somewhere else. He prowls the streets with his head lowered, to avoid recognition. By now the rain had turned into a steady downpour, and Ben's clothes were soaked. God did he hate wearing wet clothing. The way it clung to him made his skin crawl. He hated the extra weight the water adds to his jeans. The rain only added insult to injury.

"Hey did you hear they caught the guy responsible."

Ben stopped in his tracks; his ears perked up at the voice. Two officers were chatting underneath the cover of a store's overhang. They sip their hot coffee as they watch over the streets.

"Really? Who the hell was it?"

"That clown freak Ben 10 was always fighting. What was his name?"

"Zombie? Zomber?"

"Zombozo."

"That's the one. God, you remember when Ben 10 used to take care of shit like this for us?"

The other cop was about to answer when their radios went off, calling for extra units at the precinct. Reports of a meta-human fight in progress.

"It never ends."

"You got that right."

A green flash from a nearby alleyway interrupts their conversation and when they investigate, nobody was there. Ben was already halfway to the police station. He flew through buildings as Ghostfreak at breakneck speeds. He couldn't believe Zombozo was behind this slaughterfest. Nothing about what happened earlier relates to his usual motives. If he was truly behind this, where were his usual circus henchmen? Zombozo would never work with a bunch of random dirtbags. Sure, Zombozo was a soul collecting clown freak, but he wasn't the type to kill without reason. So many questions were left unanswered and it was making the man uneasy. Something was wrong.

The police station came into view and he saw responding units scattered outside of the building. They seem to be in a hurry. Ben was willing to bet his last dollar that Zombozo had taken someone hostage inside of the police department. Ghostfreak was able to slip inside, unnoticed. The main lobby was packed with officers trying to make heads or tails of the situation. Ben continued his search for the villain; he scanned the empty hallways and rooms, there was no sign of anyone.

Ghostfreak notices an ajar doorway at the end of one particular corridor. He presumes his target had barricaded himself in there somehow. So he decided to use his intangibility to float through the walls to enter through the back of the room. Ben pops his head inside the room, and comes face to face with a decapitated body laying in a pool of their own blood on the floor. He could tell this just happened; the red liquid was still fresh. But what surprised him most was who the corpse was. Zombozo's bloody head was only a few feet away from his body, but it was easy for the man to identify him.

Ben peers closer to the body. A clean cut, so perfect it was hard to believe a blade did it. In fact, it looked as if his head popped off like a Barbie doll. Who could have done this? He asks himself. Whoever it was must be some kind of-

"You're not a monster."

Hm? Ben looks beyond the body to see two figures cuddling along the wall; Hope and Gwen. From Ben's point of view, it seemed like the silver haired witch was comforting his cousin. Ben's eyes widened at the realization. No…

Ben continued to watch the duo until Gwen lifted her head and stared directly at Ben. Ghostfreak slowly floats back into the wall in fear of being noticed. But he moved closer upon realizing she was looking at the corpse and not him. Ben had millions of thoughts rushing through his head. The first question was: did Gwen cross that line? The dreaded look in her eyes answered that question for him. And the most important question being why? It didn't take a genius to comprehend that one thing led to another and this was the end result. But if someone had spent one minute with his cousin; they'd understand that such reasoning was also illogical.

After all Ben would be the first to admit that every heroistic trait he had, Gwen had molded it into an even higher standard as her own. Now he stared speechless at the horror scene before him. The blood that was splattered across her face. He could tell it wasn't hers. And the corpse that laid in the room. The silence spoke volumes to Ben Tennyson.

It reminded him of the first time he ended a life. He had no choice; they had left him no choice. Sending ten year old Kevin to the Nullvoid haunted him for years to come. He claimed he was a hero but he couldn't even save one child. Though Kevin had survived being sent there, Ben didn't know that. He was told the Nullvoid was a surefire death sentence, only meant for the worse of the worse threats. That doesn't take away from the fact that Kevin spent a good part of his adolescence surrounded by criminals and delinquents, hardening him into a miscreant. Kevin needed help and Ben threw him away like trash. That will be forever one of the hardest choices of Ben's life.

No person should be forced to confront these feelings alone. And if anything, he will be the good cousin that Gwen deserves. That duty to his family supersedes any gripe he has with being a hero. Ben floats fully into the room to where the broken Gwen sat. He sighs before slapping the watch face on his chest. A green flash fills the room and when it recedes, Ben is standing there with a faint smile.

"Hey, cuz."