"But you have to, Kevin!"

Kevin grunted. Donna didn't understand. None of them understood. They didn't understand what it was like to be taken away from your family. How it felt to be moved from home to home because no one cared enough about you to let you stay. "Why not? They shouldn't have taken me away in the first place!"

"Because your parents couldn't take care of you!" Donna repeated what the adults had told her.

"And the others could?" Kevin was getting more irate. Little did he know, someone else was listening in on their conversation.

"Sounds like he needs a friend who cares," muttered a rusty red bear with a heart on its belly. This was Tenderheart Bear, the unofficial leader of the Care Bears. The Care Bears had a special job; to protect the feelings of love and caring all around the world. And right now, it seemed as though Tenderheart had found two children who were very much in need of a shoulder to cry on.

"I mean, how many times has this happened? Every family I've been with tried and gave up on me! And now they think this one will be the one?" Kevin sighed in exasperation. "I'm so much better off trying to find a family on my own."

"They'll never let you do that-"

"I DON'T CARE WHAT THEY THINK!" Kevin suddenly yelled, startling Donna. He took a deep breath. "They can try and stop me if they like. I'm leaving." He disappeared around the corner.

Donna was left speechless. She didn't notice Tenderheart approaching until he was right beside her. "Who are you?"

"I'm Tenderheart. A Care Bear. I came down here because it looks like you need a friend."

"Yeah... Kevin's really mad. He's being moved to a new family again. Now he thinks that he can find a family on his own. It's really sad."

Tenderheart frowned. This was definitely a job for the Care Bears. "Do you know where he went?"

"Yeah, he went that way," Donna pointed in the direction of the park where Kevin had gone.

"Thank you. Let's go find him," Tenderheart motioned for Donna to follow him. They made their way to the park gates.

…

Kevin had already gone inside the park gates. He was so wrapped up in his own mind that he didn't notice the state of the park. It looked like no one had been taking care of it for quite some time. There was only dry, dead grass and leafless trees as far as the eye could see. What was most mysterious, though, was the frosty rime that covered the ground. It was the middle of summer; there should not have been ice anywhere at this time of year. But in this park, winter seemed to have taken over.

"Stupid grown-ups... thinking that they know best..." Kevin grumbled to himself. "Well, I'll show them! I'm gonna find my family myself! Who cares what they think about it?!"

"Ah, a young man who doesn't care. It's almost enough to melt my own frozen heart~" a raspy voice much like that of a raven's crowed out of nowhere.

Who said that? Kevin snapped out of his thoughts and looked around for the source of the voice.

"Up here."

Kevin's eyes followed the source of the voice. Perched in a tree was a rather unusual-looking man. He was dressed in a deep blue winter coat with frost-like trim, a black-and-white striped scarf, blue pants, and shiny black snow boots. He reminded Kevin of a vampire, what with his pale blue skin, white hair, pointed ears, and long, sharp nose that reminded the boy of a vulture's beak. What was most striking, however, were his eyes; cherry red and faintly glowing like embers from an extinguished fire.

He slid off the branch he was sitting on and stood in front of Kevin. His height alone was terrifying; he was easily six feet tall, possibly taller. He glowered down at Kevin.

"My apologies. I heard you complaining about your family and I just had to interject. My name's Professor Coldheart, but you can just call me Coldheart. I came down here because I understand how you feel."

"You do?"

Coldheart nodded. "My family hated me. My father thought I was a monster. I mean, just look at me. Does this look like the face of a human being?" Coldheart motioned to his goblin-like face.

He continued. "The others were the same. They tried to be nice, but I could see what they really thought of me. People pretend to love and care about each other, but really, they're just out for themselves. I learned that when I was just about your age. I was just some hideous demon to them. They saw what my father was doing, and they did nothing!" Coldheart suddenly shouted. For a second, Kevin swore he could see a tear gathering in one of Coldheart's eyes, but it was gone as soon as it appeared. "But then I learned something. I was very lucky. I had a lot of brains, you see. So I invented weapons. Weapons that gave me enough strength to bring those people to their knees. Because that's how it is. Love and kindness get you nothing, but brains and brute force can get you anything I want. Now I live in a mansion on my own private manor, and all those people who hurt me are long dead. I already have everything. Now I just want to pass it on to someone else. And you are the perfect person for me to give it to."

Kevin paused, trying to process all he'd been told.

"Oh! How rude of me! I never asked you your name!"

"Um... I'm Kevin."

"Kevin. That's a very nice name."

"KEVIN, STOP!"

Kevin and Coldheart jerked their attention to the Care Bear standing near the center of the clearing.

"This isn't how to get what you want!"

"And who might you be?" Coldheart sneered.

"I'm Tenderheart Bear, and I'm here to tell you that you need to stop manipulating Kevin! Telling him that love and kindness are illusions! That he needs to beat people up to get what he wants! What he really needs is a friend who cares!"

"A friend who cares?" Coldheart gave a bemused giggle. "Since when were you ever there for him?"

"Right now, that's when!"

Coldheart was getting weary of these games. He turned to Kevin. "Kevin, which one of us do you believe more? Me or him?"

Kevin thought about how his foster families had all given up on him. He thought about what Coldheart told him about the people who stood by when he was being abused. As much as he hated to admit it, he agreed with Coldheart. He answered, "You."

Coldheart grinned in satisfaction, showcasing his long, frightening canines. "Well, well. Seems as though Kevin agrees with me more. Guess you'll just have to chew on that for a bit." He turned and walked away, guiding Kevin with his hand.

"Oh no you don't!" Tenderheart gave chase, only to fly backwards as an ice bolt hit him in the chest. He was partially encased in a block of ice!

"See, Kevin? That wasn't even a fraction of my full power. This proves how weak they really are."

"Kevin, please listen to me. Brute force isn't the answer. I can help you find the true answer."

But Kevin and the Professor had already left. "I'm gonna need some help for this one." Tenderheart ignited his belly badge and melted the block of ice he was trapped in. He created a cloud car and hopped in, making a beeline straight for Care-A-Lot.