Kevin stood alone in the dimly lit warehouse, the glow from his workstation casting long shadows across the room. Well, not exactly alone. Squealer, a former member of the Merchants, had taken refuge here too. Her reason being the merchants knew her apartment and were gonna capture her again.

She was currently asleep in one of the makeshift beds he had set up. The stillness of the night was punctuated only by the soft hum of his tools and the occasional snore from Squealer.

He was currently working on his latest invention, a hard light gauntlet. Normally, he only worked on stuffs outside of cars, when there were no spectators or mostly at night. Currently, he was just finishing the circuit. Suddenly, he felt it—a presence, an unsettling shift in the air and in his sense. It was quite odd. His eyes darted sideways to Squealer's sprawled figure. She was still asleep, he realised.

Electricity crackled in his hands as he spun around swiftly, ready to defend himself. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw a man standing mere millimeters away from the crackling energy, unfazed. The man wore a white lab coat, khaki pants, and had a pair of goggles hanging around his neck. There was something unnervingly calm about him, an aura that set Kevin on edge.

"Quite the fast reaction," the man commented with a smile, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

Kevin narrowed his eyes, not lowering his hands. "Who the hell are you, and how did you get past my sensors?"

The man took a thoughtful pose, tapping his chin as if considering the question deeply. "You may call me Professor Paradox. Most versions of you do."

Kevin snorted, his hands still crackling with electricity. "Professor Paradox? What kind of name is that? Sounds like something out of a bad sci-fi flick."

Paradox chuckled, seemingly unbothered by Kevin's snark. "It's a name that suits my... peculiar situation."

"Alright, Professor," Kevin said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "What do you want? You here to buy a tricked-out car or just to spook people in the middle of the night?"

Paradox smiled, a glint of mischief in his eyes. "Neither, actually. I'm here to offer you some... guidance."

"Guidance?" Kevin scoffed. "I'm not exactly in the market for a life coach." What did the man think of him? He was better alone. He didn't need guidance. He was pretty sane now.

Paradox's smile didn't waver. "I understand your skepticism. But I assure you, I'm here to help. Your presence in this dimension is... significant."

Kevin's eyes narrowed further. Noone knew that he was from another world. How did the man even knew it? The man was no telepath afterall he hadn't felt anything. But how did he even garnered that? "What do you know about me?"

"I know you're not from around here," Paradox replied, his tone gentle but firm. "I know you've faced unimaginable challenges, and you're trying to carve out a new life. I also know that you're destined for greater things than fixing cars and bikes."

Kevin lowered his hands slightly, curiosity piqued despite himself. He could still fire the electricity. But something told that it won't certainly affect the man. There was something odd about him. For one, he couldn't pick any sort of brain activity from the man ahead of him. It was like, he was resistant to telepathy or didn't have a brain or nervous system. Or more possibly dead. Or maybe, it was simply a hologram. "Destined for what, exactly?"

Paradox's expression grew serious, before it turned to a jolly look again. "I won't say it. But I believe, you shall find the answers yourself."

Kevin snorted again. "Yeah, and what if I'm not interested in playing the hero?" He could understand the underlying message. He knew what the man meant by finding it later.

Paradox's eyes lightened up as if it was something only he knew. "It's not about being a hero, Kevin. There's more to it. However, my time here shortens. I am a time walker. I won't explain what it means, considering your powers of a Galvan and Cerebrocrustacean are automatically telling everything. Quite an intelligent combination for sure. Just remember, that you're here for a purpose. Also, I had had the liberty to change the history of this world a little. You will find that the cartoon you witnessed 'Ben 10', no longer exists now. Neither in the minds of people, nor in any sort of data. And that's my cue. Won't want to trigger him by my extended stay. Already we are breaking the limits. Bye... Use Kevin Levin, it sounds better than Kevin Fox."

Kevin watched as the man spoke and spoke, each word baffling him more. His mind had already supplied him with the answers. The man possibly had a power that allowed him to alter and interfere in the space time continuum. An extremely dangerous power, one that was in the hands of a crazy man. As the man finished, he wave childishly and disappeared immediately. There were no flashes, nor any sort of sound or smoke. It was like, he was there one moment and suddenly he wasn't. Wait! What did he meant by triggering him? Whom was he wary of?

The thought was terrifying. If a man with the power of space time continuum was worried, then the threat might be certainly real. He let out a snort of amusement. The man said that Kevin Levin was cooler than Kevin Fox. Yes, it absolutely was.

Kevin turned back to the table, his mind still buzzing from his bizarre encounter with Professor Paradox. His eyes widened in disbelief as he saw the twin gauntlets sitting there, fully completed and operational. His heart raced. Only moments ago, the first gauntlet had been barely more than half-finished. Now, two perfect gauntlets gleamed under the dim light.

"What the hell?" he muttered, stepping closer. How had Paradox done this? No. Why had he done this?

His gaze then fell on a small, neatly wrapped box that had appeared on the table. Something which he was sure not there, before Paradox had arrived. He picked up the note beneath it, his hands trembling slightly with a mix of excitement and apprehension. The scribbled writing read, "A very Happy Birthday to you. Hope you find them useful."

Kevin's confusion deepened. "Birthday? Huh, didn't even realize it." He chuckled dryly, shaking his head. It was quite strange. He had never really realised that it was his birthday. He scanned the room, half expecting Paradox to reappear out of nowhere with more cryptic comments.

With a sense of cautious curiosity, he turned his attention back to the box. Running his fingers over it, he tried to sense what was inside. Two metals he recognized immediately, but the third one puzzled him. Carefully, he unwrapped the box and opened it. Inside were three metals: a dark metal, Kormite, and a crystal that gleamed with an unusual brilliance.

He picked up the crystal, his breath catching in his throat. "If what I read from the note is correct, then this third one must be a Polymorphic Crystal, and the first one was Infinitum," he thought with a frown. It was quite a gift. He knew Polymorphic Crystal was a powerful material, particularly useful for energy generation and manipulation, similar to Kormite and Taydenite. The Infinitum and the Polymorphic Crystal were indeed welcome additions, considering he already had samples of Taydenite and Kormite at his disposal. Infinitum was one of the strongest alloys afterall.

Turning the note over, he noticed a final line he hadn't seen before: "The Kormite was changed into polymorphic crystal inside the gauntlets. I didn't want you accidentally opening dimensional breaches if anything happened to them."

Kevin's irritation flared up. "Damn it. That fucker." His frustration was mixed with a grudging appreciation for the foresight Paradox had shown. How had he known? Moreover, Why had he cared? Besides, it was true. Kormite had tendency to emanate inter dimensional energies when something wrong happened in the machine where they were used. It was quite a foresight, something he hadn't cared much for.

He picked up one of the gauntlets, slipping it onto his hand. It fit perfectly, almost as if it had been tailored specifically for him. He flexed his fingers, feeling the power thrumming through the device. The hard light projections activated seamlessly, forming a shimmering kite shield around his hand. It was the basic setting which he had programmed. With a neural interface, he could easily project different shapes than this. Kevin couldn't help but be impressed by the craftsmanship—his own and, evidently, Paradox's touch. The gauntlets weren't that heavy too. But then again, he had always been stronger than a normal human.

Sitting back down, he let out a long breath. His emotions were a whirlwind: amazement at the completed gauntlets, irritation at being outmaneuvered, and a deep, underlying curiosity about Paradox's motives. Why help him? What did he stand to gain?

Looking at the gauntlets, Kevin felt a strange mix of empowerment and annoyance. He could have finished them sooner. If he had used every alien's power in his disposal, it wouldn't have taken more than minutes to complete it. However, since he needed to pass his time, he had been working at a normal pace for a human. Wishing for the gauntlet to take up his entire night. Paradox had certainly foiled his plans for night. With no distraction now, he was going to get a lot of weird thoughts now.

He hadn't slept these days. He was far wary to do that. He had been running without sleep, since he arrived there. Going with simply absorbing energy. It won't do good for long run, however his wariness wasn't going to ebb away this easily. And he wasn't to stop it, not unless, he was fully fine with everything. Something, which needed more time.

He couldn't trust anyone yet. The workers he had got were fine. There were others who wanted to work but were spies. Kevin had politely refused them, simply setting on honest people. Squealer was a surprise. The woman had joined them by her own admission. He reflected on her words of this afternoon. Where she had decided to join them.

'I will be tinkering better here. Besides, you wanted me to stay out of the drugs too.' The woman had said.

Kevin couldn't begrudge her. While he had changed some of the thought processes. Addiction was still a real thing. He needed to give her in between electrical shocks to stop those impulses of needing drugs. He had given her three of them yet. And it wasn't even a full day since she was here. Hardly twelve hours.

He took a look at her sleeping figure. Even he had to admit that the woman was quite busty. Her ass had him staring for more than five seconds at her even in her sleep. He signed, realising his line of thoughts. He really needed to cool his mind a little.

He really needed to stop staring at her ass. Well, one thing was sure. He perfectly knew why Skidmark had tolerated Squealer as his girlfriend.

It was around 3 in the morning, and Kevin strolled through the deserted streets of Brockton Bay, whistling a light, carefree tune. The silence of the night was occasionally broken by the distant sounds of cars or the murmurs of gang members huddled in alleyways. Whenever he encountered these groups, he subtly used his powers to manipulate their minds, making them believe he was invisible. This ability was one of his best-kept secrets, a tool he intended to keep that way. Why get into fights, when you could simply avoid it.

Turning down the next street, Kevin was surprised to see a lone figure in a hoodie, moving cautiously with hands buried in her pockets. She appeared nervous, her movements erratic and jittery. Curious. No-one of the normal folk should be roaming around like this time. Kevin scanned her mind, revealing some intriguing details. She was a girl. More surprisingly, she was Panacea, the world-renowned healer of Brockton Bay and the daughter of Marquis.

Kevin's mind raced. He had pieced together this information during his research upon arriving in this world. New Wave, the hero team she was part of, had been no exception to his scrutiny. His worker, Mike, the man had been in Marquis' service. He had inadvertently confirmed Kevin's suspicions when Kevin had probed into his past loyalties. The connection between Panacea and Marquis was a well-guarded secret, but the adoption by New Wave and the stark difference in appearance between Panacea and her adopted family were telling signs. He wandered why no-one had even bothered to look at it.

Deciding to approach her, Kevin quickened his pace slightly, making his footsteps audible. The girl could certainly be a valuable asset to form partnership with. Panacea's head immediately snapped up, her eyes wide with fear. Kevin raised his hands in a non-threatening gesture.

"Hey, easy there. I'm not here to cause trouble," he said softly, his voice calm and reassuring.

Panacea's eyes narrowed, and she took a step back. "Who are you?" she demanded, her voice trembling slightly but laced with a certain defiance. "If you try anything funny, New Wave will make sure you regret it."

Kevin chuckled softly. "Relax. I'm Kevin. Kevin Fox. I'm not looking for a fight. Just... interested, I guess."

Her eyes darted around, clearly looking for an escape route. "Why should I trust you?" she asked, her tone still wary.

Kevin shrugged. "You shouldn't, honestly. But I promise I mean no harm."

"I know who you are, Panacea," Kevin said, watching her carefully for a reaction. "And I know what you can do. I think it's pretty amazing, actually. Besides, if I tried anything funny, I don't think, I will survive the wrath of your father." Kevin joked. He had thrown the bait now. It was for the girl to grab it now.

Panacea's face hardened instantly. "You don't know anything about me. And you're right. If you try anything funny. My family New Wave shall decimate you." she replied in a completely defensive voice.

"Wait! New Wave. Ahh, you think I was talking about your adoptive father. Can't blame you though." Kevin replied, feigning surprise as he took a step back. Now, it was just pure acting.

"Bye then, world famous healer. Don't want to be tossed around by your sister." He joked as he turned around.

"Wait! You know about my family. . . . . My real family?" Kevin smirked from his back at her. This was it. She had taken the bait for sure.

He didn't say anything and took a step towards the other side of the street. "Hey! Wait!" He heard footsteps approaching. He turned around and saw her.

Her eyes were wider than before and there was a new resolve in them. Her face was filled with hope and desperateness now.

"Please tell me... Please, I want to meet them. I will provide life-long healing for you and your family. Please, just let me see them or tell me about them." Panacea begged with tears in her eyes. Her brown eyes were just wild now.

Kevin was suprised by the breakdown of the girl. He hadn't realised that the girl's mental status was such feeble. He was surely hoping for a reaction. But this strong. He had never realised it.

"Ummm. . . . Okay." Kevin replied. Perhaps, he could talk to her. Manipulations or not. Atleast the girl deserved to know more about her family. No matter who they were.

"It's better if we sit and talk." Kevin offered with a soft smile. He levitated her and him calmly to the roof top and took a seat at one of the railing on the roof.

"How did you do that?" Panacea asked curiously as she looked baffled at the way they had floated to the roof. One thing was clear. The boy infront of her was a cape for sure. A powerful one at that.

"Levitation. Telekinesis." Kevin replied with a smirk.

"Fine. What happened to my parents?" Panacea asked directly coming to the point. She couldn't control herself. All her life, she had yearned for her parents. And to think, that the boy infront of her knew all the answers to that.

"Too impatient. Can't blame you though. I don't know about your mother. But your father is alive for sure." Kevin replied giving her a sad smile.

"Wait. Alive? Then where the hell's he? Why amn't I with him?" Amy asked instantly with a frown. It didn't make sense to her. Why would her father not be with her? Did he not wanted her? The thought instantly depressed and saddened her.

"Your father's quite a special scenario. He's in birdcage." Kevin replied with a sad smile to the startled girl. The girl had surely not thought about it in even her wildest dreams.

At her silent admission, he slowly continued. "His name was Marquis. . . . Your mother's name, I don't know sadly. However, I have heard rumours that she was dying of cancer and gave you to him. He was elated when he had you. Practically adored her according to the members of his gang."

Amy took a sharp breath. "Marquis..," she softly murmured. She remembered the name. He was a crime lord before New Wave had sent him to birdcage.

"Your father was a crime boss. Though he was an odd one. Had his own special code of conduct. Apparently, he never hurted women or children. The men were not so lucky though. He never lost a fight, not until the one where he was captured." Kevin said with a soft voice.

Amy's brow furrowed. "How was he captured?" From what she had heard, Marquis was a dreaded cape, she didn't think it would have been that easy for the New Wave.

"New Wave was then known as Brockton Bay Brigade. There were no unwritten rules then. The Brigade attacked him in his home. He hid you in a cupboard and engaged them. Your mother's blast was accidentally going to hit the cupboard. He immediately panicked and took the blast head on to save you. Ofcourse, he decided to save you rather than himself. Once the heroes found you, they adopted you." Kevin replied slowly.

He looked at Panacea, who had an angry frown marring her face now. Her thoughts were extremely chaotic and terrifying at the moment. She was angry enough to kill people at the moment. Her minds were strangely focused on the cupboard repeatedly. Kevin immediately realised that she was having visions of the cupboard. Perhaps she had been dreaming about it.

"You know. I won't have known, if I hadn't investigated it. But all things done and happened. There's not much we can do to change the past, we have to accept it and move on. It's best that you remember your father's sacrifice for you."

"He was a villain." Amy feebly protested after some seconds of silence. Kevin immediately knew why she said that. The girl was thinking that it was some sort of recruitment attempt for a gang, and to make her leave New Wave.

"Who's debating it even? Your father was ruthless. No one's debating it. However, he also gave up everything to save you. Believe me, this is not a recruitment pitch. It's just a friendly advice to not burn yourself out and ultimately end up making a disaster of yourself." Kevin replied with a sad smile at her. The girl was really overworked. If he had been in place of her, he won't be dishing out his powers for free, for sure.

"I won't do that. It will never happen." Panacea stiffened momentarily and snarked back. Her mind was worried though. No-one knew of the tiredness and none had even talked about it. He was the first one to talk to her so openly about it.

"It will happen dear. And it won't be because of you. Your power will do it automatically." Kevin said with a wink to the girl. Granted, the girl was lesbian. He could flirt freely with her due to it. She wasn't going to be affected by it. Besides, it will only make him more normal infront of her eyes.

Panacea rolled her eyes at his wink. Though, she controlled her blush with every fibre of her being.

"Believe me Panacea, powers have a mind of their own. The Three Blasphemies are a prime example of it. Imagine it. . . . . . . A group of tinkers, all who suddenly get a spark of inspiration, dig up the resources and start building. Each one of them builds something almost perfectly identical. Here's the thing. They're each in a different country. A few thousand miles apart, in one case. No contact. They weren't even very similar tinkers. Yet they somehow formed three identical beings. If that's not the prime example of it. I don't know what is. . . . . . . . The more attuned you are to your power, the less strain it will be for you. You keep your power happy, they keep you happy in turn." Kevin explained with a smirk. It was quite scary all thing considered. To think that they had a mind of their own.

"Tell me, haven't you started feeling tired and bored. Doing same thing over and over again. It's not even giving joy to you anymore. Sure you love to help people. But you feel dead and angry inside. You want to get away with everything and simply want to be at peace." He commented with a frown.

Her face immediately turned to one of surprise and bafflement. She hadn't thought that Kevin could directly come to the exact thing and how she felt about it. Maybe, he was a thinker. That could explain the whole thing.

"How the fuck do you know that? I have never told anyone that." Amy asked baffled before she slowly and softly whispered with a shocked face.

"That's your powers at play. If you branch out and add some things to your usual schedule, you will feel much better than ever. Don't start with breaking your rules. But there's more stuff which could be done." Kevin replied with a knowing look.

"C'mon it's late. I have things to do. You should go to your house. You still attend school afterall." Kevin continued, never letting her speak. She wasn't even trying to. There was a look of intense concentration on her face now.

"You're right." Amy finally whispered. She was looking at him with a weird, scrunched up expression now.

Kevin nodded and looked at the screen on his gauntlet. "This may feel a little odd." He picked the location and clicked it.

"Wha..." Panacea was just to finish it when a bright light enveloped them. Panacea felt a little wobbly. When she looked around, she was surprised to see that they were not on the roof anymore. Instead, they were in front of her home.

"How?" She asked, turning her head swiftly towards him.

"Teleportation." Kevin replied with a smirk. It was the only thing he could say before a bright light enveloped him again and he was no more infront of her.

Panacea looked at the empty space which he was standing on. Fucking capes and their bullshit powers! She swore inwardly. She carefully made her way towards her room.

She had many things to consider for tonight. One didn't dropped revelations and not expecting something to happen. Whatever, the boy's motives might have been. Panacea was going to found out them herself.