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Ben sighed. While he wasn’t expecting this to be how his day went, a part of him wasn’t surprised anymore. It was supposed to be simple—reconnaissance, in and out. Figure out why the Forever Knights had such a dangerous liquid in their possession.
But Kevin knocked into a shelf, and Ben shoved Gwen out of the way, Rook leaping away from the falling frame. Except it wasn’t that easy. Unknowingly, Ben put Gwen in more danger as the liquid splashed onto her (and him, but he was more concerned about his cousin).
Almost immediately, Gwen started feeling its effects. The team was quick to retreat to Plumber HQ, but only after the Anodite had thrown up twice. Now, Gwen was in quarantine with an anti-nausea shot injected into her system.
“Someone should stay with Gwendolyn,” Rook had said. “The other two shall go out and find the antidote. Kevin, perhaps you should stay behind.”
“Or I could,” Ben was quick to say. “After all, I’m sure Kevin would like to get revenge for his girlfriend.”
“You know me so well,” Kevin smirked.
“Only if you are sure, Ben,” Rook relented.
And so, the two were off, leaving Ben with Gwen. It took a while for Ben to work up the courage to talk to his cousin, bringing us to the present.
“So, how’s my favourite cousin?” he asked.
“What do you think?!” Gwen growled.
Ben flinched back, and she took a deep breath.
“I’m sorry,” she sighed. “I just wish I wasn’t in here.”
“You know Kevin and Rook won’t stop until they find the cure,” Ben reassured.
“Yeah, I hope they find it soon.”
The seventeen-year-old felt his stomach roll with nausea and silently agreed with a forceful swallow.
“Ben, why are you here?” she questioned.
“To annoy you,” Ben grinned, “as per usual.”
“I’m sure. But why are you here?”
“You heard Rook. Someone should be here with you, just in case.”
“And I remember him offering Kevin.”
“Yes, but I figured you wouldn’t want him here, so I told them I’d stay with you. And so, here I am.”
Gwen rolled her eyes. A shudder ran through her body, and Ben ran to find the nearest trash bin and hand it to her. She took a deep breath before releasing it with a sigh of relief.
“False alarm,” Gwen murmured.
“And you’re sure there aren’t any other symptoms?” Ben asked softly. “No fever, no dizziness, no anything?”
“Just a bit dizzy, but I think that’s what the drug was supposed to do.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, think about it. Let’s say you wanted to capture someone powerful. You know catching them won’t work, but you want them to cooperate. To make them listen, you create a serum that makes that creature’s body attack them. To make it stop, you have to be given an antidote. You don’t want them to die, but you want them to suffer. Hence the drug.”
“Okay, but that doesn’t explain why the Forever Knights have it.”
“Perhaps they aren’t the ones who plan on using it. They could just be a vendor or a middleman.”
“Maybe, but who would want it?”
Gwen raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah, okay,” Ben shrugged. “Let me rephrase. Who would want to have the Forever Knights be the middleman? Or I guess it’d be middlemen?”
Before she could answer, Ben stumbled away from her to cough, hot liquid spilling from his lips. He heard Gwen’s frantic voice call for help before everything went dark.
“So, where do we have to go?”
“I believe the antidote would be in the same place as the toxin, or perhaps it is nearby where it was created. That is why we are at the suspected laboratory while another team of Plumbers is at the base of the Forever Knights we were at this very morning.”
“Uh-huh. Could you simplify that?”
Rook sighed. Even though he enjoyed Kevin’s company, something about the other aggravated him. The ruffian reminded him of Ben, except he was used to Ben’s behaviour. Ben loved to push every button Rook didn’t know he had, and Rook knew Ben only did it to get a reaction. Of course, the seventeen-year-old always knew when he was pushing boundaries and never went too far with his teasing.
(At least, not anymore. In the early days of their partnership, Ben would push things to the brink of too far. Granted, so did Rook, but they learned together.)
Rook knew Kevin was not trying to aggravate him. Maybe it was his mannerisms or how the eighteen-year-old held himself, but Rook could not understand what Gwen saw in him. He recalled how Keven and Ben mentioned that the older boy was a jerk.
“The universe would be gone a few times over, and then wouldn’t I look like a jerk.”
“No more than usual.”
‘Perhaps it is because Kevin is not Ben,’ Rook thought. ‘I am used to Ben acting like Kevin is, not the other way around.’
Just as Rook got to that conclusion, Kevin’s Plumber badge beeped.
“Gwen?” Kevin questioned. “Are you okay?”
“Do you have the antidote yet?” Gwen’s voice replied.
“Uh, not yet. Why? I thought you said you were okay.”
“It’s not me I’m worried about. It’s Ben.”
“Ben? What about him?”
“I think some of the liquid that hit me hit him, too. He passed out shortly after vomiting.”
“Yikes. Why wouldn’t he say anything?!”
“You do know this is Ben we’re talking about, right?”
“Sorry to interrupt, but I believe you told me Ben complains about every little thing?” Rook questioned.
“Only when no one else is in danger. Ben’s gotten pretty good at hiding when seriously sick or injured. He’s also horrible with self-care if left to his own devices.”
“Oh, yeah!” Kevin perked up. “Remember the time when Ben ‘forgot’ to mention he hadn’t slept in three days right before patrol and passed out on us?”
“Ugh, don’t remind me.”
“There’s also the time he hid a concussion from when a soccer ball hit his face. Had a gnarly bruise on his forehead and everything.”
“Admittedly, he did say his head hurt. He just didn’t mention the concussion part.”
“Oh, and there was the time—”
“Apologies, but it appears we are at our destination,” Rook spoke.
“No worries, Rook,” Gwen said. “All I ask is that you guys grab more than one dose.”
“We will be sure to tell the other Plumber team. I hate to ask you, as I know you are unwell, but would you keep watch over Ben?”
“Of course, Rook. He’s my cousin. We might not always see eye to eye, but I do love him. Keep Kevin in line for me?”
“I will do my best,” Rook smiled when Kevin protested with a “Hey!”
“Thank you. Ben and I are counting on you.”
“We will keep in touch.”
With that, Kevin hung up. Silence permeated the vehicle for a moment.
“Ready to kick some butt?” Kevin smirked.
“Always,” Rook answered with an identical smirk on his lips.