I APOLOGISE FOR THE LATE UPLOAD, I WAS DRAWING. THEREFORE YOU GUYS GET THREE CHAPTERS THIS WEEK! ART TO BE POSTED LATER.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
"You should join our team!" Ben said, moving forward.
"Shouldn't we think about this first before…" Kevin interrupted Ben's hasty decision.
"Get to know this guy a little more?" Kevin questioned.
"What's to know? He's got the powers, the gear," Ben answered, turning around to face Kevin.
"He leaves a damn sparkly trail when he flies. Not useful for the kind of dangerous missions we do. And who says I don't have gear?" Kevin remembered the entrance Mike made and how he left. If Mike was in the same special dimension prison he was in, he would have been turned into the prison's very own disco ball!
"And it's what Grandpa told us to do," Ben answered firmly, the results of binge-watching his Grandfather's holoviewer message on repeat showing.
"And besides, hasn't that ship you stole gone missing or something?" Ben added and turned toward Mike.
'Deep breaths, Kev. I think tonight is a special night for testing my patience. I am just here for Gwen. I am doing a favour to Gwen. Breathe.' Kevin closed his eyes after Ben's statement and took a deep breath. Gwen saw this and covered her mouth to muffle her giggle.
"My grandpa Max was a plumber. He disappeared looking into this big alien conspiracy that's going on against Earth. We are trying to find him so we can stop it," Ben explained the current situation he and his cousin were in as they looked to Mike to find a new ally.
"Want to help?" Ben asked, with an invitation in mind.
Mike smiled and turned to Gwen as if to check in with her, and Gwen simply smiled back.
"I'd love to," Mike answered warmly.
The lights in the mansion flickered after that answer and stabilised a second after, causing Kevin to expand his senses outside the perimeter to check for dangers.
"What's happening?" Kevin asked seriously.
"The electricity has been a bit unreliable lately. But no worries. My backup generator kicked in," the blue-eyed blonde quipped.
"Look at the spike in power usage at the local power substation," Ben noticed the readings on one of the active screens in the room.
"The energy drain is enormous!" Ben called attention to the pie chart on the screen showing just how much power was being used at the moment.
"Looks like you've got yourself a major mutant or alien problem. Someone is definitely gaining a lot from that power drain," Kevin said while pointing at Mike with his eyebrows.
"So it would seem," the blonde answered in a low tone while thinking of ways to get rid of Kevin.
"You said something strange was happening in town. This definitely qualifies," Ben said.
"If you need to check it out, we'll help," Gwen offered, thinking the situation might be dangerous for a lone newbie neighbourhood hero.
"Thanks, we should," Mike accepted the offer and led the others outside. Only Kevin and Gwen were behind. Gwen felt something on her arm and found a star-like tattoo on her forearm.
Kevin caught her shocked expression with a side glance and inspected the mark, noticing a familiar energy… the same energy signature on the girl Mike escorted home.
The group soon arrived at a power grid station to inspect the loss of power like the licensed professionals they were. They could hear the electricity hum as they approached the fence.
Before they were about to approach the fence, Kevin pulled Gwen to his side for a quick conversation which made Mike raise an eyebrow.
"Listen, I might sound crazy but… I think blondie here wants some of your power," Kevin whispered into Gwen's ear.
"What? Are you crazy? What do you mean?" Gwen whispered back.
"You've got to trust me on this. Not all that glitters is gold. That mark on your body… I noticed it on the other girl he flew away with," Kevin said without pointing to the mark but still, Gwen concealed her arm.
"Can you lend me some of your mana?" Kevin asked a confused Gwen.
"Your magic. Can you give me some? I have an idea," Kevin pressed.
"You just got back, I don't want you to go back to being ruthless or go crazy with power again!" Gwen stopped, and it looked like Gwen and Kevin were having a falling out from Ben and Mike's perspective since they were a few feet in front of them.
"Are they… dating?" A concerned look appeared on Mike's face.
"I think so. But it looks like they are already tired of each other," Ben commented with folded arms.
'That works for me. I need her energy, she is different from the other girls and she isn't bad-looking either. Apparently, looks aren't enough for Gwen if Kevin can't even handle her. Amateur,' Mike thought with a smile.
"Do you trust me, Gwen?" Kevin asked, putting both arms on her shoulders.
"I don't know, Kevin. You came back a different Kevin from the one I used to know," Gwen said, and Kevin's hands fell to her elbows.
"I see," Kevin answered.
"But that doesn't mean I don't trust you enough to date you… it's just…" Gwen said and stepped back.
'That's it! You are done, Kevin. Thanks for doing half the work already,' Mike thought and waited for Gwen to catch up with them while he saw Kevin hold his head in pain.
'He must be in agony after losing her. Ha, what a loser,' Mike thought and licked his lips in a suspicious manner that got Ben's attention.
"I forgot my chapstick at home," Mike said, saving himself from his previous actions.
"Looks like they broke up already. That didn't last long at all. Maybe it's better for her," Ben said and marched on.
Ben noticed that the locks at the electric fence were broken.
"Stay sharp, we've got company," Ben instructed as the group steeled themselves.
"Isn't he coming along?" Mike asked Gwen, referring to Kevin who held his head in pain.
"He will come along eventually, just leave him, let's go," Gwen said, trying to hide how she felt about seeing Kevin that way.
'Thank you, Kevin,' Mike thought and led Gwen in after Ben.
"C'mon, Kevin, let's go, we are going in without you!" Ben managed to make his whisper loud enough for Kevin to pick up from where he was since Ben didn't want to alert whoever was behind the fence and used his hands to direct the sound of his voice to Kevin by cupping them at the sides of his mouth.
'Damnit! Accessing some of the fragmented memories and knowledge I got from the philosopher's orb is taxing every time. But now I know how to create proper golems. Man, I finally have my own cheat code. But spending more than twenty seconds in that endless library is so painful. I thought I would have had better resistance by now. Maybe there's something there for the pain?' Kevin thought as he watched the group enter without him.
"Now let's test it."
__________________________________________________________________________________________
What did you think of this chapter? Let me know in the comments.
Support this work on patreon, patreon.com/heavenlyenel.