Chapter Text
A mile or two away from Bellwood, USA
It was a quiet day in the outer edges of Bellwood as a Green car sped down the empty streets. It was a cold night, and everyone seemed to have the right decision in mind. Most civilians staying inside means that Kevin could keep up the ID mask disguise with no issue, beat up a couple of bad guys and not have to worry about any weird looks. No issue.
Kevin took in a deep breath, his eyes lowering down to the working radio on his car. He felt stressed, his ID mask blocking his view of his mineral mutation. Today was rather crappy, and not to mention it not being the best week. The entire thing with Charmcaster pulling him around like a puppet on a string didn't help. He turned the car down a corner, spotting an electric discharge off of a light post.
He parked the car and stepped out of it, hand flowing over it in habit. He glanced at it with a sigh, why would he be able to use his powers? He was already a mess of materials that he had absorbed since he met up and joined Ben's team. His footsteps remained light and intent. That's when he spotted the source of the electricity. The sight and sounds reminded him of when he was eleven.
It was an androgynous looking kid, no younger than Ben or Gwen. They tensed up, electricity sparking as if the world was out to get them. Kevin could relate, back around the time he first met Ben, he had felt that way. "Hey, kid." He piped up, tone careful and his hands raising up.
"What do you want?" They responded in a wary tone, their eyes showing a familiar wild look. Kevin frowned when he remembered, he was once like this. But then, he met Kwarrel. That man saved his life, and helped him shed his original Kevin 11 mutation. The one that he got from the original Omnitrix.
"I'm not gonna hurt you..." Kevin fished a snack out of his pocket, laying it down and sliding it over to them. "What's your name, kid?" He asked, a frown pursing his lips, a concerned one.
"Alex... Alex Sampson." They seem to carefully examine the snack bag, before opening and devouring it in a few bites. Alex seemed to slightly relax, the lightning sparks seem to die down. "What's yours?"
"Kevin, Kevin Levin." He replied, leaning back on a wall and ran a hand over the brick wall. "Energy discharge. I... had to deal with that."
"Y-you're like me?" They quirked an eyebrow, he could notice the subtle way their hands almost seemed to uncurl. "I thought I was the only one who could do this."
"Yeah, you're an Osmosian. Like me." Kevin's eyes shared a sense of pain and understanding. One that Alex seemed to resonate with.
"That's what we are? What, is that some kind of mutant?" Alex asked with a notable frown pursing at their lips, the static electricity on their body seemingly vanished. That was good, if Kevin was correct? It meant that Alex wasn't stressed or wary anymore, which was good. It meant they hadn’t absorbed too much energy.
"It's a little more complicated than that," Kevin pulled out a small pad, one that had a simple chart on it. "One of your parents was an alien, an Osmosian to be exact. Osmosians, like us, are a species capable of absorbing matter, energy and DNA."
"That... that explains a lot. Like the lightning blast I used to fight off that weird scientist guy." Alex thumbed at their hand with a look of dawning realization, "I kind of thought I was a part of the X-Men for quite a bit."
“Honestly, that would make my life a lot easier.” Kevin gave a slight smirk, pulling out another snack to nibble on. “You have no idea the amount of times I’ve had to wonder if something was magic or alien technology alone within the past week.”
Alex let out a chuckle as they leaned back on a trashcan, their eyes seeming to show how much they’ve relaxed since he had arrived. “Wait, magic? Lemme guess, you fight people like Doctor Fate or Zatanna?”
“Heh… you’d probably get along with Ben easily. You two have the same taste in fiction.” Kevin replied with a certainty, then after a moment of pondering? He glanced over at Alex with a quirked eyebrow. “Y’know, I could help you. I know how much i sucks to learn about these powers on your own." He offered.
“Wait… seriously? That would be so cool. I mean, Electro is a pretty boring Spider-Man villain, but being a cool electric person? I wouldn’t mind that.” Alex seemed a bit curious, their hand doing a repetitive motion that Kevin had caught Ben or Gwen doing once or twice.
“Well, you could do more than just redirect and absorb energy… but, honestly? Dinky alleyway outside of Bellwood isn’t the safest place to test powers.” Kevin glanced around, this part of town had always made him feel wary, even before meeting Ben and Gwen again.
“Alright, you got a warehouse somewhere nearby or something?” Alex quirked an eyebrow.
“Something like that.” Kevin remarked.
The two Osmosians walked from the alleyway, Kevin unlocking his car before stepping halfway in. “You in?” He asked, feeling the need to be safe rather than sorry.
“Hell yeah.” Alex grinned, opening the passenger seat and sitting down before the car sparked to life. As it drove away, a shadowy lone figure watched the green car speed away towards Bellwood.
A figure watched the two leave, before pulling out a small device. A green opaque portal opened, and the figure walked through before it closed.
Kevin's Garage, Bellwood
The car stopped around a small garage, one that had a sort of green hourglass symbol in front of the door. Kevin stepped out from the car. This was it, this was home. At least had been for the past few days while he was working on a lot of side projects.
“Alright, this is it. My home away from home.” Kevin opened the door, and with a flick of the switch, the busy workshop lit up. There were pieces of tech, human and alien. Along with a softly spoken AI that seemed to greet the both of them.
“Okay, this is kind of cool… so, when do we get to the whole power training? Do we do it… today or tomorrow?” Alex asked with a tad bit of curiosity.
“Well, today is step one. We’re gonna have to put you on a diet.” At Alex’s confused look, Kevin cleared his throat. “Not the nutritional kind. I did a little research, and Osmosians aren’t supposed to carry as much energy as you are now.”
“Wait, so the aching feeling in my stomach isn’t just me missing breakfast for the past few days?” Alex leaned on the door a little bit, adjusting the sleeve of their hoodie. It looked… rather baggy and a little worn.
“Yep, Osmosians that take in as much energy as you… they’re usually on the run, or being hunted.” Kevin walked into the garage, a minifridge by the couch active and having small bits of light coming off it.
Alex walked in, crossing the garage to quickly flop down on the couch. “Okay, this is kind of comfy. You get a pretty good salary working on cars?”
“Something like that.” Kevin opened the minifridge, pulling out a can of soda. “Here…” He tossed it into Alex’s hands, as they managed to catch it. “Soda’s a pretty good substitute for energy, it’ll let you carefully ebb off the craving, and plus… the cherry’s a good flavor.”
Alex popped the can open, beginning to sip down its contents a little bit. “Alright, so… if you’re an Osmosian like me… what else can we do other than using energy?” The first question popped out of their mouth.
“Matter absorption, we can absorb different materials to use as weapons and armor.” Kevin replied, a small snack cake in his hand now. He nibbled on the food. A smirk gracing his lips, he figured that his newfound abilities could carry over should his mutation from the Omnitrix leave once more. “But that’s gonna have to wait for tomorrow… your body’s gonna have to get used to the substitute before you can fully expel the excess energy.”
“Honestly, that sounds cooler than I ever thought of.” Alex seemed to be relaxed, at least from what Kevin could tell. He wondered what they could be hiding from. Couldn’t be the parents, at least he wouldn’t think. Then again, he had once thought his parents utterly hated him a bit before he met Ben and his family. They seemed to hesitate for a moment, a hand running through the more shaved part of their hair.
“You can stay here for the night. I’ve gotta take care of something.” Kevin had to get to the bottom of this, and soon. The faster he finds out what happened to cause them to be on their own, the faster he can ensure a safe environment for the younger Osmosian to train with their powers.
He walked out the door, closing it behind him and plopping down in his car. He pulled out the Plumber’s badge from the center console, activating the communicator functionality. He pinged the first person who’d likely keep the device on them, his girlfriend Gwen. He and her weren’t on perfect terms, but if there’s anyone he could rely on other than Ben? It was her.
“Kevin… what’s up?” Gwen’s concerned voice came through crystal clear. It was definitely a voice that made him feel safe and more secure than he had in those years since escaping the Null Void. The car turned through an alleyway. “It’s late at night, you never usually call this time of night on a Saturday.” She added.
“I may need some help cross referencing something. I found someone like me. An Osmosian.” Kevin admitted after a few seconds, silencing whatever white noise was on the radio with a twist of the dial. The green car sped through the unusually empty streets between Bellwood and where he found Alex. “Search up Alex Sampson, and any missing persons reports in the past five years.”
“Alright…” Gwen let out a hum as she typed away at her computer, the keys barely an echo into the communicator. It was one of her complaints that the Plumber’s badges they were issued as a trio never really came with any good noise suppression capabilities. Kevin could tell it messed with Ben, but definitely to a lesser extent. “Alex Sampson. Born October 17th 1996, they had been a quiet kid that moved into Strawberry Hills with their dad, mom and a cat named Flanners.”
“Alright, so a usual only kid type situation. How did things get bad enough that Alex became a runaway?” Kevin questioned, eyebrow furrowing, the car’s GPS beeping with the coordinates that Gwen had sent him.
“Not much is none, but in 2006, a month or two before me and Ben went on summer vacation… well,” Gwen’s voice went a tad bit quiet and Kevin could notice. It was the same exact way it would when she noticed something off. “There was a call from child protective services right before a missing persons report had been filed for them.”
Kevin’s grip on his steering wheel tightened, he wasn’t liking this situation at all. "Is that all that's been public about them?" He asked as he glanced at the badge for a brief second. He felt a bit of a pit forming in his stomach.
"Unfortuantely? Yes. Alex's life seems to be covered in a strange amount of blanks for a kid their age." Gwen admitted, and that did very little to ease his own building uncertainty.
"Alright... um, thanks babe." Kevin managed to say evenly, his own mind going through with many of the possibilities as to why things could be this way. "I'll see you tomorrow. Love ya." He added after a moment.
"Love you too, Kevin." Gwen replied back before the badge's line went silent, a beep telling him the call ended.
Eventually, the car parked outside of the home listed in the GPS. 1029 Kurash Lane, at Strawberry Hills. He stepped out of his car, and walked up to the door. He took in a deep breath and pressed the doorbell.