A/N: I decided as I was typing this that this portion takes part just a week or two after episode 4. You know; trying to fit this stuff in neatly really sucks. Maybe I'll just be like BAH humbug, forget the actually timelines and just go with mine for now. Actually, I like that. Do that.
A/N 2.0: So I detested this chapter with a PASSION of a million dieing suns so I rewrote it. Also I typed this during the Ben 10 marathon. –SQWOOT! - Oh life is so good. So I hope that the Gweniness of it all worked out as an inspiration.
Disclaimer: I TOTALLY FORGOT TO DO THIS IN THE LAST CHAPTER! Oo Ben 10 is not owned by me, myself, or I. But I'm not so sure aboot you. You might own it… -shifty eyes-
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Stage 2: Temperance
Definition: moderation or self-restraint in action, statement, etc.; self-control.
"Finish each day before you begin the next, and interpose a solid wall of sleep between the two. This you cannot do without temperance." Ralph Waldo Emerson
Last Time On the 7 Virtues:
Slowly he walked out of the alley he was standing on the edge of and looked around. Suddenly something burst inside and he couldn't take it anymore. He began to run again. This time not from anger, or hate, but from joy. Joy at a second chance. Just a second chance many years to late.
Remember our deal. A passing happy thought seemed to giggle in his mind as he rushed off into the night.
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1 Year Later
Nighttime in the country is vastly different from that of the city. Cities, well, there's a reason they say the city never sleeps. Comparatively, there seem to be no similarities between the wide-open lands and the asphalt jungles. Compared to the countryside at night, the city is like some poor insomniac, occasionally falling relatively quiet before shooting awake a few hours later. In the summer, the difference is even more startling. The black, twinkling nights of the country is usually set to the soothing soundtrack of chirping crickets and the buzz of fireflies.
A tall, dark haired young man stood with his hands in his pockets as he looked around at the quiet field around him. He shivered slightly at the silence. It was so quiet. The young man looked up at the stars and pondered the silence. After living his whole life with the background noise of honking cars, shouting people, and the rumble of the subway the apparent stillness made him feel unnerved, anxious, almost twitchy. Not that he was actually in the country. The small town of Bellwood was more of a cross between suburbia and Hicksville, USA. It was only about a twenty minuets drive from the nearest big city, but at the same time it was surrounded by acres of farm and forest.
In comparison to what the young man had grown up to though, it felt as if he had crash-landed in a scene from some demonic farm-based horror/science fiction flick.
"Why am I even here." Kevin groaned, his raven hair falling away from his face as he tilted his head even farther back, trying to see the whole dome like sky above him. It was still strange to see the pinpricks of lights seemingly hovering in the sky. Some quite literally hovering. As the boy watched he saw one glowing pinprick begin to move slowly, before suddenly disappearing into the night.
"Well, looks like we'll have something else to check out." Kevin muttered, rubbing his hands together for warmth. Despite the fact that he had a thick lamb leather jacket, along with two shirts of differentiating shades of grey, and a tight pair of jeans he was still freezing. What he wouldn't give right now to be in his nice, warm, well-furnished apartment on Main Street of the nearby city. To be curled up in his alpaca comforter with some nice, soothing rock music blaring from the surround sound speakers. To be able to sleep till 4 p.m. because of the tinted windows that kept the blinding sun at bay. Hey, spending a year being a true blue-blooded con does have its perks. If he really had the drive the kid could probably send himself to college. And bribe the deans to let him in without a proper education.
That was just an example of course though.
"When will that bastard get here?" He shifted nervously from foot to foot as he looked down from the stars to the land around him. In the distance he spotted an old barn, with peeling paint that showed the rusting metal underside. The corn plants in the field stood towering over his head. The young man just expected some evil demon to leap out and attempt to devour him.
Finally down the road the con spotted the glimmering lights of another car driving in his direction. Kevin pushed himself off the green camaro that had been supporting his body and stood beside the road. Slowly an old, rusty, smoking heap of junk rolled jumpily to a stop right in front of him. The windows were tinted, including the windshield.
The silence of the country was interrupted by the hacking cough of the engine, and the sound made Kevin wince. There was a sudden urge deep within his stomach to grab the box of tools stashed in his trunk and just have a go at that moving ozone killer.
The tinted window slowly rolled down and a pointed, ratty face stuck out of the window. Now, when ratty is used as an adjective it is not generally taken literally. In this case… take it as literally as wanted. Dark grey fur lined the mutants face, and his nose twitched as he looked up at the towering teen.
"Kev my man." Rat-face said, bumping his fists with the boy. "I heard somewhere that you were going cold turkey on me. Now that can't be true can it?"
"Why would you be here if I did that, Argit." Kevin smirked. "Now, you got the goods?"
Argit snorted. "Yeah, yeah. Sometimes I feel like you only talk to me because of my connections."
Kevin shrugged, his smirk still in place. "What can I say, you're a hard man to get a hold of. Now, where's the gun?"
Argit held up his fuzzy, clawed paws. "Hold your horses, its right here." He patted the package sitting in the seat besides him. "I haven't gotten an order like this in a while though. I was surprised when I heard your message."
"Let me see it."
Rat-face gingerly picked up the box and opened it, holding it so that the dark hair youth could see the gun lying in a thick pile of newspapers. "And I never expected you of all people to be ordering a stun gun." He practically spat the words with strong distaste. "Not going soft are you?"
"Shut up." Kevin snapped, taking the box and tossing a large wad of cash into the car. "And go fix up that piece of crap you have there. Really. It's killing me just looking at it."
Argit waved off the comment as if it didn't faze him. "Everyone says that. But I figure, might as well milk this baby for all its worth." He grinned evilly, "Ain't that your theory to Kevvy? I saw you with that one red head chick. How long do you think this one will last before you get bored of her? Or she just snaps like the last one?"
The young man froze as he walked to his car. Jerkily he lowered his foot and smoothly spun around and paced back to the car. He slammed his hands against the car and felt the cold, chilling sensation as a metal casing covered his flesh. Grabbing the rat's neck he pulled the thing out of the truck. For a moment nothing moved as the two mutants looked on at each other, one with a boiling hatred and one in fear.
"If. You. Ever. Mention her. To. Anybody." Kevin finally spat, "You. Will. Die."
And with that he shoved the furry rodent person back into his seat and stormed off to the camaro, slamming the door as he climbed back in. He paused to glare as Argit fumbled with his keys and then sped off in the opposite direction. When he was finally alone again he let the metal slide off of him, it felt almost like water running off of his body.
Taking a deep breath Kevin picked up the box again and removed the gun. Swiftly he ran his finger over it and clucked his tongue. Of course it looked good, but any professional would notice how the trigger wasn't quiet up to snuff with the amount of shooting most people would be using it for. Oh well, he would have to work on that.
There was slight tap on the window, making the mutant jump and whip around to look frantically outside, his hand steadily gripping the unready to be used weapon. But as soon as he saw who was staring down at him, a slight frown on her lips, he loosened his hold on the weapon completely. He carefully tossed it into the backseat before turning again to face the frowning fury.
Beautiful green eyes glared down at him as he slowly unrolled his window. The red head's arms were crossed, and her long hair was littered with little pieces of field debris. As if she had been standing in a cornfield for an hour… oh shit.
"Uh, he-hey Gwen." Kevin tried to put his signature smirk on his face but just couldn't seem to muster the strength for it against this furious hybrid. "Didn't expect to see you out here." He gave a watery chuckle and then almost slapped himself. Could he sound any stupider if he tried?
Her eyebrow cocked, "Didn't expect to see you here either. I guess for once Ben had a good idea."
"What?"
Her glare intensified, "He said that I should follow you tonight. Just to make sure you got home, because you were acting weird all day. We wanted to make sure nothing was up. I had been hoping he was wrong. Obviously, he wasn't." From her tone Kevin could practically feel his blood boil under her gaze, and with a shock, realized a blush was creeping into his cheeks. What was this? Kevin Levin never blushed.
Ah shut up. He thought to himself sourly, you know your crazy about her. Stop denying it.
"Listen, Gwen," He tried so start before he was cut off.
"No, you listen." She snapped. "What are you doing out here swapping alien tech?"
Kevin sighed and rubbed his temples. "Will you just get in the car? It's complicated. I'll explain it on the road." He looked up and gave her a weak glare. He had found that despite hardly knowing her the young man could never seem to gather enough resentment to be angry with her. She had even spied on him and he still wasn't angry!
Finally the girl tore herself away from the window and stormed to the car, dropping into the seat with a thump, before slamming the door so hard the whole automobile shook. Kevin winced slightly. What with all the slamming the car was taking it would probably take a few good buffering to keep any dents from showing up.
He started the car and they began to drive in silence for a few good minuets. Every couple of seconds Gwen would open her mouth as if to say something, shut it, shake her head and return to looking out the window.
Finally the silence was unbearable for him, he could feel a twitch coming on. "Gwen, I can completely explain everything."
There was an almost audible snap as Gwen's face suddenly filled with fury. She whipped around, straining against the seatbelt as she grabbed the gun he had so carefully dropped. "Explain this jack ass!" She screamed in his ear waving it in his face.
"Whoa! Whoa! I can't see the road Gwen!" Kevin cried, shoving her hand and the gun out of his face. "And I can! I swear to whatever is up there that I can! Just calm down!"
A growl seemed to reverberate from the girl's throat and Kevin's eyes widened in shock. "Did you just honestly growl at me?" He asked amazed.
"You've got thirty seconds to answer my questions. Now, spill punk." Gwen's eyes narrowed.
Kevin took a deep breath before opening his mouth and letting everything flow out at a rate that even he was surprised of. "Its not really a gun, it's a stunner. I had a little, well a lot, of extra cash lying around and I really don't like the idea of you just relying on your powers to keep you safe. I mean, its small enough for you to hang at your belt or to keep in a bag, and I-I could teach how to use it and everything. I swear Gwen, that's all it was!"
Silence filled the car once again. All that could be heard was the gentle purr of the motor as they sped off to seemingly nowhere.
"Really?" Gwen whispered. "You got this, this thing for me?" She looked down at the offending little object.
"Well, um, it's a stun gun. I knew that you wouldn't like a real one. And like I said, I don't like you going around without more protection." He mumbled the last part under his breath but from her huge grin he could tell she heard him.
The silence fell again. And yet Kevin was relieved to find that it was no longer the awkward, fuming angry silence it had been a moment ago. And then of course, right when the ex-con was beginning to feel comfortable, everything just had to go upside down.
Ello there poppet! An annoyingly cheery voice, that was most certainly not his, intruded the boy's thoughts.
"Holy shit!" He screamed, slamming his foot down on the brakes at the same time, making the car swerve. "What was that?"
Gwen shot up in her seat and looked around anxiously at the dark road ahead. "What?" She asked, "What did you – " A sudden sigh escaped her throat as the girl slumped against the window, seemingly out cold.
"Gwen," Kevin asked anxiously. He reached over to shake her shoulder, "Gwen, hey come on! This isn't funny!"
No point in shaking her, sonny boy. The jarringly familiar voice spoke again. She's out like a light. I don't want her intruding in our, ah, personal lives after all? I mean, honestly. You can't expect me to let such a little angel get in on our deal do you?
"Francesca." The boy was surprised to find the name fly instantly from his memory to his tongue. "Where are you? What did you do to Gwen?"
Nothing what so ever. But you know what, this whole talking to you and only being able to see the inside of your oh so cheerful mind is causing me problems. This is a problem that must be fixed. Kevin was surprised that sarcasm even could exist in such a happy tone. His stomach rebelled against it slightly. There we go! Much better. Now we can see each other.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Look up.
Kevin glanced up at the rear view mirror and jumped about a feet in his seat. There in the back seat where his team member Ben usually sat, was the achingly familiar face of the strange being he could see. He squinted his eyes, had the girl-like creature aged? He had always imagined her as some inter-dimensional being who never aged.
"Crap! Where did you come from? And what did you do to Gwen?" He gasped.
I am not hampered by foolish things like dimensions. She snickered. And don't you worry about your girlfriend. She is completely fine. At the moment her conscious mind has been 'shut down' in layman's terms. Once you and I are done she will 'reboot' more or less. She'll feel momentously better when she wakes. Kevin winced at the 'girlfriend' comment; he didn't like her that much. But he was extremely worried about the 'feel momentously better' comment.
But, that's not the point of this little visit. Francesca smiled warmly at the boy in the mirror. I decided it was about time that I came by and checked on my favorite depressed little mutant. After all, I don't want you to forget our little deal ay? Wanted to make sure you remembered our, ah, conditions?
The smile instantly transformed into the most distorted grimace Kevin had ever seen in his life. Correction, he had seen it once before. He felt a snap inside his body and suddenly everything began to swell. His skin began to redden and harden.
"No, no!" Kevin gasped and pulled him hands from the steering wheel and began to scratch at his arms, as if trying to strip off his own skin. "I know the conditions! I know what they are! You just haven't given me anything else to do since I last saw you." As soon as he said those things he could feel himself almost deflating. His shirt lost its tightness and hung loosely around his frame.
"S-so wh-what do you have for me to do this time?" It was so hard for him to catch his breath after that experience. It was even harder to remain calm.
The being didn't respond, instead she reached forward and began rustling around in the red head's purse on the girl's lap.
"Hey, hey!" Kevin yelled, "Don't you dare take anything from there!"
Don't worry lover boy. His cheeks enflamed at this. I'm just looking for one… particular… thing, ah ha! Found it! She withdrew from the purse a packet of paper. Kevin wasn't sure how the red head had been able to cram the huge stack into her purse but he definitely wasn't going to bring it up now. On the front page read the words "The Time for Temperance. When to Much is TO Much!"
You know, I hate to admit it, but of all the human's that I've had the pleasure of meeting, this one's mind is by far the most fascinating. She seems to view the universe so… cynically underneath it all. And yet, she refuses to show it. Just like her grandmother. Pity. She patted Gwen's
"What on earth are you talking about?"
Francesca grinned happily. Her voice seemed even more jovial as it laughed into his head. Oh, nothing. But I would like to talk about your new task. I've decided that you've had enough of a break after the first one, so, here I am! And believe me, you will be seeing a lot more of me.
Kevin groaned. Finally he realized that they had been sitting in the middle of the road unmoving. The car roared to life and they began to drive again. "So what do you want with me?"
I think that this, she waved the text in front of his face, Should tell you enough. You know Kevvy my boy, a chuckle escaped from her lips, the first noise that he had actually ever heard her make. I do believe that it is time you move out of that comfy pad of yours. I have an apartment for you already. You are to be moved in by the time the sun sets for the second day. Oh, and I would look up the meaning of this word. I have a feeling you might need to.
"Wait, what does that mean?" Kevin glanced up into the rearview and groaned again. The being was gone, only the thick text sitting on the seat revealing that she had ever been there. Looking over at the girl besides him, the sixteen year-old smiled warmly. The red head was curled up in the green seat with her cheek squished against the window.
With a small chuckle he reached over to brush hair out of her face and noticed as he did so that something was in his hand. A card. Pulling back his hand Kevin glanced at the words printed neatly on the front. In neatly, curlicue handwriting it read, 'Temperance. Learn it. Live it. Love it. 543 Cassidy Way'.
"This… is going to be very difficult to explain..." Kevin groaned, stowing the card into his pocket.
Stage 1 Temperance: Partially Complete
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A/N: So, I am sorry that it's so long. And also how it's just like, MEH. And I realized that it was so long that I was like, sheesh. I better split this into two chapters! I hope you enjoyed it! Please R&R!
A/N 2.0: So I took out the possession part and I think that this is better personally. I plan that if Gwen ever IS possessed it will be in an insanely creepy manner. XD