Hidden inheritance

Chapter 26: A Fresh Start For Lone Kids

"You don't know anything, do you? Ben's gone! Ben was kidnapped by Vilgax and taken into space, he's gone."

A stunned silence placed itself between both kids. Kevin's hands shook.

'No, it can't be! He can't be gone like this! She's just pulling my leg, that's it!'

"But he's coming back, right?"

She sent him a mixture of a shocked and disgusted look. Was he seriously asking her if Ben would come back so he'd beat him up?!

"I don't know! He's never been gone for this long, okay?! In fact, he might even be-" She stopped herself, frowning as she angrily wiped tears off her eyes.

"That can't be real! Tennyson wouldn't give up this easily, even against a squidface like him!"

"I don't know what to say, Kevin! I- wait, hold on, squidface?" she realized. "You... you met Vilgax?"

Kevin huffed. "I might've asked for his help once. He just stole the alien powers I got from your cousin and brought me back to being a normal kind of freak."

"So you know him. Do you have any idea how to contact Vilgax or at least track down where he went?"

"Hell if I know! Last time I checked, he was at Niagara Falls before I ran off. I don't have any clue where your cousin would be if it's not in whatever underwater cavern that fish face lives in."

"That's not how- oh never mind, why am I talking to you?" she sighed. "You got a beef with Ben, you wouldn't be of any help. What took you so long to come after us anyway? We've been in town ever since summer was over."

"I had my own stuff to take care of first."

"Like what?"

A young boy wearing an orange shirt with a fire sign on it ran up to Kevin, a boy she didn't think she'd seen before. Kevin was traveling with someone? And they didn't look related either.

"Kev', I think I got a clue but, you're not gonna like it. That Ben guy you're looking for, he's..." Alan paused noticing the girl Kevin was talking to. He never saw her before, did he? And they looked busy before he came. "Oh, I'm sorry. Didn't know you were meeting up with your girlfriend."

Outraged noises escaped both pre-teens as they blushed bright, letting a few curses out before mustering the right words.

"She/I'm not my/his girlfriend!" they both shouted, earning a laugh from Alan.

"You sure? Your superpowers look the same though."

Gwen realized she was making a few pink sparks with her hands, having clenched her fists hearing the kid's dumb joke. Did she always have to hang around idiots with lousy humor?

"I don't absorb energy like Kevin does." said Gwen. "Unlike him, I know when to pick my battles."

"That's not much with Kevin." he said, making the boy in question groan.

"Alan, can you like, give us some space. And not that way!" he precised once he saw the smug smirk the younger boy gave him. "Anyway, what are you even doing here out at night? It's not even the weekend yet."

"Avoiding my parents so they won't lecture me about... you know..." she crossed her arms, looking away. "And you? Are you really back for another fight?"

"I told you, I came here to talk with your cousin." said Kevin. "But, I guess that'll have to wait..."

They stayed silent for a few minutes, not finding anything else to say. Alan on his part wished he had something to munch on, this sounded like some cheesy soap opera. With sci-fi, mutants, aliens and runaway kids. He wished he knew what else they talked about before he came back, seemed he missed the best part.