literature

Are You Challenging Me?

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The evening is cloaked in a fine mist, lending a quiet, unassuming beauty to the otherwise depressing state of the condemned tenements. The buildings are little more than crumbling walls of brick and mortar, the material of ancient relics when compared to the sleek metal that composes most of the modern structures. But there is a certain charm to the ruins, one that the cover of night serves to enhance together with the muted haze permeating the alleys and streets.

One could go so far as to describe the scene as mysterious, almost romantic. Had it not been for the fact this shroud (heavy with smog and thick with traces of chemical refuse) teetered dangerously close to toxic. The faintest whiff is bitter and acrid, the smell so pungent one can practically taste it settling on one’s tongue. It takes a considerable amount of effort not to gag at the noxious stench.

But Gwendolyn greedily gulps down each breath she takes, ignoring the fire in her lungs as they burn in protest at the polluted air. She needs what precious little amount of oxygen she can get to maintain the break-neck pace with which she’s currently running. She has to if she intends to elude the figure chasing her as she speeds through the unlit and long-abandoned neighborhood.

Her footfalls, a rapid staccato echoing in quick succession against the walls, are accompanied by no other sound apart from the skittering of vermin. Her hands, balled so tightly into fists her knuckles are white, grip at an energy blaster. She makes no motion to glance over her shoulder to gauge how far she is from her starting point. She makes no attempt to see whether the distance between her and her pursuer has widened or diminished.

Instead she focuses on maintaining the rhythm of her breathing, on the sensation of her feet pounding against the ground, on the fact that if she falters for even the briefest of moments the truth will become apparent.

What is this truth?

That Gwendolyn Tennyson is on foot as opposed to flying and armed with a Plumber-issued weapon rather than her arsenal of spells and mana out of necessity.

And not by choice.

She tells herself that this is all little more than a minor inconvenience for her. To do so, she takes pride in her athletic prowess. She reminds herself of the level of endurance her body is capable, her high threshold for pain. And more importantly she takes comfort in the fact that this little game of cat and mouse is done on a level playing field.

For the person chasing after her is in the very same boat.

                                                  -----------

“So Cooper, what have you developed now that’s so important you needed us to escort you?” Asked the intergalactic hero known as Ben Ten Thousand. Absently, he punched in a series of numbers onto a panel installed along the doors of a small, transport ship. There is a faint beep, an indication that the code is valid and the doors slide open.

The blonde inventor beamed with pride, affectionately patting the small, metal attaché whose length did not reach beyond his elbow. “It’s still just a prototype but I like to call it the Stalemate Projector.”

“That’s an interesting name,” Gwendolyn remarked as she appeared behind the pair. “And you promise this one’s not liable to explode at the slightest turbulence?”

“Yes,” Cooper frowned, protectively cradling his creation against his body. “Are you going to keep hounding me over that one time?”

“One time?” Ben chuckled, “How about one dozen times?”

“I cannot be held responsible for the volatile nature of my prototypes. That’s why they’re called prototypes and not finished products.” The blonde defensively declares. “Besides, I’m keeping it in the portable stasis field, which I might add I designed as well.”

The three stride into the ship, Ben marching to the driver’s seat to prepare for their departure while Gwendolyn stays close but not too close to Cooper. She’s wary of his invention, but from the casual way she carries herself there is no visible indication of her discomfort. “What is it exactly?”

Cooper brushes away the stray strands of hair from his face before he grins, “I’ll show you when we’ve arrived at Mount Rushmore.”

Little did anyone know, the blonde would be placed in a position to demonstrate his creation’s purpose sooner than expected. And under far less favorable conditions.

The transport ship sped through the highways, flanked on either side by undercover police hovercars. The cousins grew instinctively tense as they neared the biggest hurdle to their mission. They would have to pass through the Industrial Wasteland. Decades ago before alien technology was introduced to Earth, this portion of land had been the site of many chemical processing factories and housings. But the businesses and homes were eventually abandoned due to one too many accidents.

Alien technology had done everything it could to reduce the level of toxicity, but the land needed to fester, it required time to work its own brand of healing before it could be rendered usable. It was livable, to an extent. Destitute and crumbling, the tenements were still used by a small number of individuals, the poor, the runaways, the desperate, those who have fallen from society’s grace.

This route was not the safest to take, but it was the only way the trio could reach the main Plumber base. Everyone hopes that things will be uneventful as they drive through. The last thing they wanted was undue attention, especially considering that there have been several attempts at Cooper’s works and subsequently his life.

Most of the time, the blonde was a recluse, keeping himself and his designs under heavy guard. It was a manner almost identical to that of the Galvan genius Azmuth. But the human proved to be a more accessible target, which was what inspired the blonde to conceptualize his latest invention.

“You seem extra proud of this,” Gwendolyn notes, “It kinda reminds of the time you helped Grandpa Max design the null void egg.”

“That little thing? Please, once I perfect this baby we won’t need the null void at all!” Cooper’s smile is eager, excited, manic in the way a child would be if given free reign in a toy store. Or a candy store. Or both at the same time.

“Oh now you really gotta show us a sneak peek.” Ben declares from the driver’s seat before setting it on auto pilot. Surely he had enough time for a quick look.

It doesn’t take much to convince the blonde. In fact, he was practically flipping the latches open to reveal what appears to be an exact duplicate of a handheld energy blaster. The gleam in Cooper’s blue eyes remind the cousins that looks can be deceiving.

“Behold the Stalemate Projector. It is designed to create a pulse that can render any ability, any gadget or device more potent than your standard run-of-the-mill energy blaster, completely defunct.” His grin widens, “Think of it as the ultimate equalizer. Say Animo has once again concocted a grotesque abomination against nature. All you need to do is point this at said abomination and whatever powers it has been modified to possess is nullified.”

“So if a fire-breathing, half-iguana half-avian beast gets a blast, it can’t breathe fire anymore?” Ben cants his head in thought.

“Yes, but if it could fly it would still be able to as physical paralysis isn’t really what I designed this thing to do. I’m still working out the bugs on how to control the length of time it’s effective as it can range anywhere from two seconds to permanent.”

Gwendolyn frowns, “Tell me you installed a safety on that thing.”

“What do you take me for? A child? Of course all future versions will have one.” Cooper huffs, snapping the lid and the latches shut.

“That’s good to know, at least the chances of it suddenly going off while we’re in range is smaller.” Ben teases before heading back to the wheel. The red-head doesn’t look as convinced, she didn’t miss how Cooper managed to avoid answering her question.

But before she could press him for further information, one of the patrol hovercars explodes. The noxious fumes that shroud the Industrial Wasteland contains pockets of highly flammable gas and it only takes the briefest spark to turn a small act of combustion into a massive explosion.

The blast throws the transport ship into a spin before crashing headlong against one of the many abandoned buildings. The other hovercar swerves away from the wreckage, only to be halted as an enormous mishmash of alien features smashes a flame-infused tentacle onto its roof several times until it is little more than a crumpled wad of metal. The creature’s form shifts, shrinking down to the distinctly imposing figure of Kevin Eleven Thousand.

The cousins waste no time exiting the transport ship’s remains, even if the air of the environment is nausea inducing to lesser men. The charms of Bezel are glowing menacingly along Gwendolyn’s sleeve, her eyes alight with mana. Ben was in his favored Tetramand body, hands balled into fists, all four of them.

A cybernetic armor dons itself upon Cooper almost instantly along with a face-shield that doubles as a data collector and a gasmask. In one hand is the standard Plumber-issued energy blaster, Cooper sees no reason to reject the classics in emergencies such as this. The attaché is secured to the blonde’s body and with the two cousins as his major line of defense, even the threat that was casually strolling towards them would be hard pressed in stealing the prototype.

But Gwendolyn sees the cross-shaped scar tug upwards as Kevin sneers, clearly unimpressed. “I thought you’d have more gnats buzzing about you. I guess this doohickey your crackpot inventor came up with isn’t all that important to defend.”

The cousins feel no stinging barb from his words, Kevin rarely throws personal insults unless it involved the Tennysons or an individual who had slighted him over some prior job. But Cooper feels entitled to defend his talent and his creation, albeit verbally “You’re not getting your hands on my work. You probably don’t even have the mental faculties to operate it.”

The insult is met with a feral grin.

Gwendolyn resists the urge to smack her forehead while Ben resists the urge to smack Cooper. Up until that point, this was merely an arrangement between Kevin and the unknown individual who had hired him to steal the prototype. This had been a job, just business, nothing more nothing less. Unfortunately, with that simple statement the inventor had uttered, this whole thing was now personal.

And when Kevin took things personally, the cousins knew they were going to be dealing with a different creature altogether.

In a burst of speed, Kevin has Cooper by the shoulders and lifts him (armor and all) off the ground. Parts of Kevin extend out from his sides, morphing into talon-tipped hands before clamping down onto the attaché, the sound of metal snapping ensues. The blonde has little time to react but he does, nevertheless and aims his blaster at the criminal. Red-skinned shoulders ram into the dark-haired man, freeing Cooper from his grasp.

Unfortunately, Kevin had damaged the latches and the impact jarred the attaché open, causing the weapon inside to tumble out. Emerald eyes widen and Gwendolyn’s voice takes on a reverberating quality as she chants an invisible force spell.

But the barrier is dispelled as the weapon discharges, catching everyone and everything within a five mile radius in a feedback pulse reminiscent of the Omnitrix’s. The cybernetic armor literally flaked off Cooper as he was thrown back a good distance away. And like many scientists, he was very pleased to discover just how effective his creation was.

Initially.

Reality decided to sink in and remind him that he was in danger of losing his prototype (and possibly his life) while Kevin was in the vicinity. He scrambles to his feet, scanning for any sign of the dark-haired criminal or of the Tennyson cousins.

He spies Ben, completely human, rubbing the back of his head and staring at the Omnitrix in dismay. At his feet was the Stalemate Projector, or it looked like the projector, Cooper isn’t certain from this distance.

Cooper manages to spot the coughing figure that was Gwendolyn, the charms of Bezel have lost their glow. And she too has a prototype-lookalike near her. One of these has to be the original but which one? He mental decides to give his next prototype a more distinct appearance.

If there was a next time.

Of those caught in the discharge, Kevin seemed the most disoriented. The multitude of foreign DNA must be making it harder for him to gather his bearings. The dark-haired criminal didn’t even seem certain what just happened. Cooper takes note of this and inwardly beams at the success of his weapon.

“Cooper! Get to the base, Gwendolyn’ll meet you there with the prototype!” Ben yells, scooping up the device by his feet while Gwendolyn does the same. There was no further exchange of words between the three Plumbers as they split up.

                                                  -----------

Gwendolyn grimaces at the memory of how she ended up in such a state of inconvenience. She winces as the ache in her lungs spread out through her body, coursing through her veins and down to her legs. She feels them quake but growls through grit teeth, Ignore the pain, Gwendolyn. You’ve been through worse. Stop whining and shake Kevin off your trail.

Why he chose to go after her the red-head didn’t know. From the way Ben sounded so sure she had the weapon, Gwendolyn was almost certain she was supposed to be a decoy. But then again, she wasn’t certain the energy blaster in her hand wasn’t the prototype. And the red-head promises herself that the next mission requiring her to escort Cooper, she was placing his invention in a null void egg.

Her ears strain to pick up any indication of Kevin’s presence, wishing she had her powers to make a quick aura-scan. She reminds herself how she had managed to fight back without her powers, and she was just a ten-year-old child then. Surely now, as an experienced Plumber, she should be able to hold her own with no problem.

She rounds a corner and skids to a halt when she feels a gust of wind breeze past her. Her knees threaten to buckle but she plants her feet and braces herself. Her heart pounds wildly, threatening to burst in her chest. She believes this is due more to the adrenaline flowing through her body rather than the imposing figure standing before her.

But her blood chills and this she doesn’t mind attributing to the expression on Kevin’s face. Because he’s smiling at her, a malicious, calculating smile. And she knows he knows what she has been trying to hide from him this whole time.

“You can’t use your powers, can you?” He purrs low, relishing the way she visibly stiffened at his accusation.

Gwendolyn doesn’t answer, but she knows her struggle to regulate her breathing is all the answer Kevin needs. She spins on her heels and makes another mad dash away from him. Only to collide against his muscular, leather-clad chest.

“I’m still faster than you, Gwendolyn.” He murmurs into her ear before nuzzling her neck. The red-head snarls and pushes herself away from him, grateful that her cheeks are already flush from the run. She would be even more grateful for being ignorant of the fact the apples of her cheeks had blossomed to a fuller shade of red at his touch.

Her back is suddenly against a brick wall and her wrists are pinned on either side of her head. Her fingers tighten even more around the energy blaster as Kevin leans close to leer “I’m still stronger than you, Gwendolyn.”

She doesn’t dignify him with any response other than a sharp glare and hissing “What’s your point?”

He chuckles, a deep rumble in his throat, “I thought I’d give you some reasons why you shouldn’t bother resisting and just hand the device over.”

“You seem to forget I don’t scare easily.” She glowers and indeed this is true. Gwendolyn Tennyson is a force to be reckoned with, powers or no powers.

But so is Kevin Levin.

He looks thoughtful for a moment, but his grip around her wrists never go slack. “I’m not trying to scare you, Gwen.” The way he says her name is wan, wistful, almost longing.

And the red-head can almost hear the teenager she had fallen in love with all those years ago.

He frowns when he catches the look of nostalgia in her eyes. “I don’t want to have to hurt you.”

“You think you can hurt me?” She scoffs despite knowing full well he can. And has. Her words are more bitter than they are challenging.

His russet eyes soften briefly before they flicker with madness. “I can rip your arm off if I wanted to, Gwendolyn.”

And the red-head knows she’s listening to the man who broke her heart in the not-so-distant past.

“You also seem to forget I get intimidated even less.” she snaps through grit teeth.

“Does this mean I have to make you want to give me the prototype?” His eyes gleam in wicked delight and Gwendolyn feels her heart flutter.

“What are you-” the rest of her words are silenced when Kevin crushes his mouth against hers. Emerald eyes widen in outrage and she bites down on his lips in response. When he pulls back, the wild, manic grin on his face confuses her long enough for him to pluck the weapon from her hand with ease.

She is speechless at his actions despite the insults and expletives begging to escape. Instead, she stammers incoherently in disbelief. It was only when he smirks and partakes of her lips a second time that her fury reached a level capable of cancelling out the effects of Cooper’s Stalemate Projector. Her knee flies up into his gut, the charms of Bezel lending her incredible strength.

Kevin stumbles back, visibly winded by the unexpected amount of power behind the motion. “Still feisty as ever.” He coughs while grinning, he still has a firm hold on the prototype. “But you won’t be able to get this back from me.”

Gwendolyn’s aura crackles with a surge of mana and magic, she narrows her eyes at Kevin “We’ll just see about that.”

It occurs to Gwendolyn that Kevin could still outrun her should he choose to flee. And yet here he was, blocking and dodging her blows and responding in turn. There had to be a reason behind his decision, why he would want to prolong their interaction. She doesn’t know what he’s thinking, she hasn’t tried to understand him or his actions ever since the dark-haired teen she was once so madly in love with had become the maddened, intergalactic criminal she was now battling with in an almost macabre dance.

Was it pride?

Was it malice?

Or, dare she hope, did he simply wanted to be with her regardless of the circumstance?
Disclaimers: Ben 10 and its respective characters belong to Man of Action. Drabble thingy mine.

Me: Yayzorz! A Gwevin drabble at long last *w* It's dark!Gwevin with some influences to canon!Gwevin though a good chunk of this fic entails remodelling American geography D8 I'm not American! I'm sorry! We don't have US maps lying around the house >_< Also, this is inspired partly by ~invader-hime's Journal Entry as well as the following LJ RP-ers Gwen's account Kevin's account and Ben's account

Yes, I totally follow their RPs and I read their fics. BECAUSE THEY ARE AWESOME! No, I'm not some creepy, psycho, wannabee stalker :< I am offended that you would think I'm a wannabee! Wait what? Sorry, it's 2 am here I'm not really all there 8D

Anyway, this drabble is kind of a different interpretation of the dynamics of a possible reality of future!Gwevin. I'm a sucker for happy endings but I acknowledge that Ken 10 Gwevin is still crack and that Devlin is still some random Saturn lady's baby. I do wish he were Gwen's though and looked exactly like he does except with green eyes. And that they have another kid with Gwen's features but Kevin's eyes. Y HALO THAR I S RAMBLING AGAIN!

So before I continue to make a big idiot of myself, just wanted to give a shout out to the LJ rpers (assuming they even have DA accounts, let alone read my fics HAHAHAHAHA DELUSIONAL ADDY IS DELUSIONAL~) and say you are all awesome while asking "What is a mun?"

And specifically to the one RPing Ben, you totally make me like Ben 8D *because she seriously HATES Ben in Ben 10 and is completely biased against him in Alien Force*
© 2008 - 2024 Warse-no-Miko
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Ooh i could see more chapters coming