Bananafishstickers Post #16
So, um, apparently blackmystique sent me a message a week ago to post up the next part, and I missed it.
So, yes, I am the weakest link. D:
-----------x----------
Gwen woke to the smell of bacon and eggs which was, basically, the smell of ambrosia to anyone who had gone to sleep exhausted and woken up ravenous. Considering the amount of healing she'd done for her cousin the previous night, this was perfectly understandable.
Her first thought was to check up on Ben, which she did. He lied stretched out on the bed, wincing every time a muscle twitched. His eyes were still closed, but his dreams were clearly far from restful. She pushed a lock of his hair out of his face, feeling useless. He was still hurting, but she currently didn't have the power to help ease it.
Instead, she resumed her walk to the kitchen, her mouth starting to water. Refueling would help the power situation. She glanced back in the direction of Kevin's room. Immediately, she rejected the thought of waking the brunette. He needed to rest more than anything. She would bring him food when she had to wake him up to resume healing him.
Kevin stood leaning against one of the counters. The muscles of his misshapen body were all tense, and she could hear him moaning as his fingers cracked the counter.
"Kevin!" she called in alarm, running over to him.
She stopped as she saw his skin turn peach and the Vulpimancer arms start to shrink. The Piscciss Volan anglerfish-like lure started to retract as his Lepidopterran wings shriveled.
"That's it," she encouraged. "Keep going. You're getting there."
His body spasmed, and the changes reversed back into his fully-mutated self. He snarled, almost shattering the countertop by pounding his Petrosapien fist against it. "Dammit! Why can't I change back?! I did it before, so why not now?!"
"You're probably still exhausted from your escape. And not even the Omnitrix can manipulate DNA without a lot of energy." She reached out to pat his back. "Get something to eat, rest up, then try again."
The mutant scowled, a highly unpleasant sight. It pushed Gwen's mind back five years to when the amalgamation had pursued her cousin, intending to destroy him. For a moment, old instincts started to kick in. She reached down inside herself, automatically looking for power, as she took a step to place herself between Kevin and the bedroom where Ben slept. Fortunately, she didn't have any power, and her mind reminded her that Kevin--no matter what his form--was on their side now.
Kevin motioned with his pyronite arm at plates heaped with bacon, eggs, and pancakes. "Help yourself."
"Jeez, I know boys eat a lot, but isn't this a bit much?"
"My body needs a little extra to keep going when I'm like this."
Gwen took the hint, dropping the subject and reaching for a slice of bacon.
"So how's he doing?" the mutant asked.
"He looks like he's having nightmares. Considering what got carved into his back..." She shook her head. "I wouldn't be surprised if he had nightmares for years about this." She met two of Kevin's three eyes, the third focused on the door to the bedroom. "Why you two? Were they after the Omnitrix? I'm still a little in the dark."
"Just bad luck. They wanted humans for their customers. Ben and I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."
It didn't take a genius to figure out what these "customers" were after. Her lips twisted in a feral snarl.
If she ever saw anyone from that ship, they were going to wish they were toast.
Kevin seemed to approve of the sentiment. "Ben seemed to match what they were after. Stuck that inhibiter on the Omnitrix and everything."
"Wait. If it was random, why have an inhibiter on hand to stop the Omnitrix?"
Kevin offered a casual shrug. "It's pretty standard alien tech. Mostly used by the Plumbers to stop criminal technology while busting a perp. Unfortunately, not hard to purchase out there."
"Oh."
She felt a little silly, looking for conspiracies where none apparently existed. To distract her hands, she rolled up a fried egg and some bacon in a pancake, eating it like a burrito. A fast glance at the clock showed that she'd missed her test entirely, and she found herself completely unable to care.
"Still..."
Something in Kevin's tone made her tense again.
He had his Vulpimancer arms crossed, his Pyronite arm wrapped around his body as his Petrosapien hand rubbed his chin. His scowl looked concerned. "Why bother with having one on hand? I mean, Earth's weaponry and technology is pretty primative by galactic standards. Too simple for the inhibiters."
"A trap?"
"Maybe, but with the way the queen bitch and her brother acted, they might not even know."
-----------x----------
Pepaa slithered through the corridors, hissing wordlessly to himself. So close. So close...
Fortunately, they'd used his knife as he'd insisted from the beginning. It wouldn't be too hard to find the boy. And, as a delightful surprise and an impressive bonus, he'd have the Omnitrix as well. Even better than he'd hoped for.
-----------x----------
Ben groaned, the only thing preventing him from tossing and turning in his sleep was the dull throb of pain from the markings on his back.
The Omnitrix sat quietly on his wrist, silently monitoring its host. So far, it seemed that the human teen wouldn't suffer too many ill-effects from the experience.
However, the unfamiliar technology now in his bloodstream was probably worth keeping an eye on.
-----------x----------
I am Lamey McLamerson when it comes to names. For the client, I just spelled "Aapep" backwards.
On to you, allegoryredstar !
Edit: Corrected the "eye" thing so it's a "lure" now. Thanks for the input! :)
So, yes, I am the weakest link. D:
-----------x----------
Gwen woke to the smell of bacon and eggs which was, basically, the smell of ambrosia to anyone who had gone to sleep exhausted and woken up ravenous. Considering the amount of healing she'd done for her cousin the previous night, this was perfectly understandable.
Her first thought was to check up on Ben, which she did. He lied stretched out on the bed, wincing every time a muscle twitched. His eyes were still closed, but his dreams were clearly far from restful. She pushed a lock of his hair out of his face, feeling useless. He was still hurting, but she currently didn't have the power to help ease it.
Instead, she resumed her walk to the kitchen, her mouth starting to water. Refueling would help the power situation. She glanced back in the direction of Kevin's room. Immediately, she rejected the thought of waking the brunette. He needed to rest more than anything. She would bring him food when she had to wake him up to resume healing him.
Kevin stood leaning against one of the counters. The muscles of his misshapen body were all tense, and she could hear him moaning as his fingers cracked the counter.
"Kevin!" she called in alarm, running over to him.
She stopped as she saw his skin turn peach and the Vulpimancer arms start to shrink. The Piscciss Volan anglerfish-like lure started to retract as his Lepidopterran wings shriveled.
"That's it," she encouraged. "Keep going. You're getting there."
His body spasmed, and the changes reversed back into his fully-mutated self. He snarled, almost shattering the countertop by pounding his Petrosapien fist against it. "Dammit! Why can't I change back?! I did it before, so why not now?!"
"You're probably still exhausted from your escape. And not even the Omnitrix can manipulate DNA without a lot of energy." She reached out to pat his back. "Get something to eat, rest up, then try again."
The mutant scowled, a highly unpleasant sight. It pushed Gwen's mind back five years to when the amalgamation had pursued her cousin, intending to destroy him. For a moment, old instincts started to kick in. She reached down inside herself, automatically looking for power, as she took a step to place herself between Kevin and the bedroom where Ben slept. Fortunately, she didn't have any power, and her mind reminded her that Kevin--no matter what his form--was on their side now.
Kevin motioned with his pyronite arm at plates heaped with bacon, eggs, and pancakes. "Help yourself."
"Jeez, I know boys eat a lot, but isn't this a bit much?"
"My body needs a little extra to keep going when I'm like this."
Gwen took the hint, dropping the subject and reaching for a slice of bacon.
"So how's he doing?" the mutant asked.
"He looks like he's having nightmares. Considering what got carved into his back..." She shook her head. "I wouldn't be surprised if he had nightmares for years about this." She met two of Kevin's three eyes, the third focused on the door to the bedroom. "Why you two? Were they after the Omnitrix? I'm still a little in the dark."
"Just bad luck. They wanted humans for their customers. Ben and I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."
It didn't take a genius to figure out what these "customers" were after. Her lips twisted in a feral snarl.
If she ever saw anyone from that ship, they were going to wish they were toast.
Kevin seemed to approve of the sentiment. "Ben seemed to match what they were after. Stuck that inhibiter on the Omnitrix and everything."
"Wait. If it was random, why have an inhibiter on hand to stop the Omnitrix?"
Kevin offered a casual shrug. "It's pretty standard alien tech. Mostly used by the Plumbers to stop criminal technology while busting a perp. Unfortunately, not hard to purchase out there."
"Oh."
She felt a little silly, looking for conspiracies where none apparently existed. To distract her hands, she rolled up a fried egg and some bacon in a pancake, eating it like a burrito. A fast glance at the clock showed that she'd missed her test entirely, and she found herself completely unable to care.
"Still..."
Something in Kevin's tone made her tense again.
He had his Vulpimancer arms crossed, his Pyronite arm wrapped around his body as his Petrosapien hand rubbed his chin. His scowl looked concerned. "Why bother with having one on hand? I mean, Earth's weaponry and technology is pretty primative by galactic standards. Too simple for the inhibiters."
"A trap?"
"Maybe, but with the way the queen bitch and her brother acted, they might not even know."
-----------x----------
Pepaa slithered through the corridors, hissing wordlessly to himself. So close. So close...
Fortunately, they'd used his knife as he'd insisted from the beginning. It wouldn't be too hard to find the boy. And, as a delightful surprise and an impressive bonus, he'd have the Omnitrix as well. Even better than he'd hoped for.
-----------x----------
Ben groaned, the only thing preventing him from tossing and turning in his sleep was the dull throb of pain from the markings on his back.
The Omnitrix sat quietly on his wrist, silently monitoring its host. So far, it seemed that the human teen wouldn't suffer too many ill-effects from the experience.
However, the unfamiliar technology now in his bloodstream was probably worth keeping an eye on.
-----------x----------
I am Lamey McLamerson when it comes to names. For the client, I just spelled "Aapep" backwards.
On to you, allegoryredstar !
Edit: Corrected the "eye" thing so it's a "lure" now. Thanks for the input! :)