Ben 10: Saver of the Universe

Chapter 9

Kevin's POV:

Gwen lay on a shelf of rock, yards below me, her limbs splayed out awkwardly. Her foot was pointing the wrong way.

"Gwen!" I called out. She didn't answer. She must've been unconscious. Panic led to adrenaline as I began to climb down after her. The rough, jagged rock cut into my hands before I had the sense to absorb some of it. As I searched for the next foothold, I slipped, and crashed down near Gwen, hitting the rock hard. The breath rushed out of me. I groaned and got up, looking myself over and trying to get air back into my lungs. My armor of rock had protected me from the fall. I was way better off than Gwen was.

Going to her side, I could better see her injuries: the gashes on her body, the blood on her forehead, the grotesque twisting of her foot.

"Oh Gwen," I whispered. Feeling her neck for a pulse, I was relieved when I finally found it, thumping underneath my fingers.

"Kevin," she moaned, grimacing.

"Gwen?" I sighed happily as her half-open eyes lifted to meet his gaze.

"Wait... Kevin? Are you... gonna try to take my power again?" Her eyes suddenly wide, she slid her body away from me, gritting her teeth as she did so. I hadn't thought about her Mana since she fell, the undeniable worry I had for her smothering any excess thoughts. But now that she mentioned it, the greed was back, flooding through my mind like a tidal wave.

"I wasn't," I growled, frustrated,"until you brought it up!"

"Gwen!" A voice yelled, echoing through the caves. We must've been close to the exit. I pondered leaving right now, following the voice to the opening and leaving for good. But a part of me was still concerned for Gwen. Another part wanted to drain her of her Mana.

"Here!" Gwen called out, her voice breaking. I snarled at her in annoyance. "I'm here!"

"Shut it!" I hissed through my teeth, fighting the urge to hurt her. I shouldn't want to do that to her. Vilgax got me like this. He needed to pay.

"So, what are you going to do, Kevin?" Her voice was weak.

"I don't know!" I searched frantically for another exit, but found nothing. There was nowhere to go, except up, to where the voice's shoes slapped against stone as they ran down the numerous hallways.

"Gwen!" The voice was much closer now.

"Ben," she croaked, looking up. Sure enough, he was up there, staring down at us.

"Gwen! Are you okay?"

"Not really. But I'm alive."

"Hold on, I'm coming." Ben transformed into a flying alien- Jetray- and flew down to us, standing between Gwen and me.

"Kevin," he said in distaste.

"Tennyson," I said in a similar tone.

"Did he hurt you?" He asked her, glaring at me. I glared back.

"It's okay, Ben. You don't have to hurt him."

"Oh, really?" He asked rhetorically. "You think he's still in there, Gwen, but I disagree!" He turned to look at her. "We have to deal with him!" I took his distraction as an advantage, and began scaling the wall. I'd gotten to the top by the time he noticed.

"Kevin!" He yelled as I began running. Soon, I was able to hear his wings flapping behind me. "You can't get away from me, Kevin!" He shot a neuroshock blast at me, but I dodged it, the blast hitting the wall instead. I laughed, but then it occurred to me that I still didn't know where the exit was. My escape seemed a little less feasible. I turned the corner. "You won't get away!" He shot at me again, and this time managed to knick my shoulder. I groaned, but kept moving.

Turning another corner, I was surprised to run straight into rock. It was a dead end. Tennyson hit me in the back with the neuroshock blasts as I panicked. He'd cornered me. Pain sliced through my body. It seemed hopeless, and I groaned in weakness. I sunk to my knees, unable to move, being hit over and over. Shockingly, Ben stopped shooting, and flew closer hesitantly. In one last attempt at freedom, I punched him in the face, then grabbed his feet and swung him into the wall. He groaned, and blasted me as I hit him, again and again. Anger coursed through me.

Eventually the blasts became too painful, and I fell to the ground, my limbs betraying me. But he kept shooting. Black swallowed the edges of my vision, then moved inwards. My eyes became heavy, and my body began to feel numb. The last thing I heard was the voice of a girl yelling. Then, I closed my eyes.

-

I woke up to see the hazy forms of several people. I couldn't focus on anything. My body protested with every movement I made. For some reason, I was standing. I tried to move my arms and legs, but I was trapped in some weird device. As my vision finally cleared, I realized that I was in one of that kid Cooper's inventions. The one that took away all my energy last time I had gotten like this. I struggled in desperation, but I wasn't strong. I couldn't get out.

"Hey, Kevin," Gwen said softly, coming towards me on crutches. Her skin was cut and bruised, and her foot was in a cast. "How are you-"

"Get me out of here," I interrupted, furious. I noticed that Tennyson was watching me from the other side of the room.

"I can't, Kevin. We're doing this to help you. Cooper will be here any moment now and-"

"If you really loved me, then you wouldn't do this," I stated, trying to pull my arms free.

"It's the exact opposite, Kevin," she said, touching my cheek briefly. "I'm doing this because I love you."

"No."

"Yes."

"No!"

"Hey, guys," said a blonde guy that I knew all too well. "Hi, Gwen..."

"Hi, Cooper," she greeted in reply. He smiled as he made eye contact with her, and I wanted to punch him. His crush on her was aggravating.

"You lookin' at my girl, Cooper?" I growled, and he glanced away, embarrassed.

"Gwen, don't do this," I warned, and she turned her attention back to me.

"I'll just get the machine working," Cooper mumbled. Ben, who hadn't said anything, went to stand next to him. Soon, I could hear the electric hum of the machine.

Gwen's green eyes stayed focused on me, unwavering.