Disclaimer: I do not own Ben 10 or its sequels, spin-off and related characters. All is the property of Man of Action and Cartoon Network. I'm just borrowing them for some non-profit entertainment.

Thorns

Epilogue: Whole Again

Gwen was fine, she just needed rest.

Kevin laid her down on her bed and tucked her in with care.

All they need to do now was wait.

The four men stood around in her room.

"So…" Ben began, after a prolonged pause that might have been more awkward than the four of them wanted to admit. "I think its Tuesday by now. You kids wanna get ready for school?"

The boys shot Ben identical glares before exchanging a look of agreement between themselves. Then, in unison choired, "No."

"Let them stay home, Tennyson." Kevin assumed that taking the kids' side would endear himself to Devlin a bit and help improve the boy's opinion of him. That, and he never really understood the emphasis people put on school anyway. He never went. "They worked just as hard as we did. I think they've earned a day off. Besides, it'll give Devlin and I some time to work on matter absorption."

"Ya know, on second though," Devlin began, "school is important. We really shouldn't miss it."

Kenny glared at his cousin. "Who are you? What did you do with Dev?"

Kevin was disappointed. He knew Devlin hated him, but he would have thought that the boy might put that loathing aside, at least long enough to learn matter absorption from him. Ya know, before the kid sent him back to the Null Void. Something which Kevin was actually hoping wouldn't happen. Now that he was out again he didn't want to go back. In fact, if it were Ben promising to send him back, Kevin would already be fighting tooth and nail to escape and retain his freedom. But Devlin was another story. Devlin he didn't want to fight.

Ben probably picked up on this. Because he clapped his hands for quiet, drawing everyone's attention to him. "I changed my mind. We're all pretty psyched-up from the fight and could use a cool down. Why don't we take some time to relax. Then we'll revisit the school debate once everyone is in a better state of mind."

…

With no imminent threat to respond to anymore, no one really knew what to do with themselves. Kenny tried to get Devlin to read to him again, but Devlin was suddenly very annoyed with Wormtail's betrayal of his friends and uncommonly upset about Sirius' wrongful imprisonment and so quit the book around the time Snape lead them out of the tree. He replaced the book on the shelf and went and hid under his car.

That was how Kevin found him, not even an hour later when he had worked up the courage to try talking to his son again.

"I'm curios, why'd you reupholster the backseat but not the front?" He asked, hoping the car would be a safe enough topic to ease his way into a conversation with the kid.

"Oh, that's my fault!" Kenny looked up from his hand-held game console. He was sitting on the ground next to Devlin's open toolbox. "Ya see, I spilled my biology homework in the backseat one day and since algae glows under a black light when you add Luminal to it, Devlin thought it would be a good idea to do that while cleaning. Ya know, to make sure he got it all out."

Oh, gosh! Devlin took a backlight to the backseat? Oh, no! Oh, no, no, no, no! Kevin swallowed, knowing what was about to come next in this story even before Kenny said it.

"And, ohmygawd! It looked like the Fourth of July back there!" The boy waved his arms to illustrate. "I mean, like, it was everywhere! Devlin freaked out and ripped everything out. Now, my personal theory, whoever owned this car before him pulled a Pulp Fiction. Ya know that scene where they're driving in the car and Travolta accidentally shoots the guy in the head and it just explodes all over the car? I think that's what happened."

Oh, good. If these kids were naive enough to believe that, sure. He'd go with that. No one ever need know that when Devlin took a blacklight to the car, that he was actually looking at the aftermath of his own conception -and several other rendezvous before and after. Everyone knew their parents had to have sex at some point to make them, but no child should be confronted with that fact in so graphic a context. And then something else Kenny said caught up with Kevin.

"Wait, a minute. No one ever told you who's car this was?"

"Its my car." Devlin growled from the undercarriage. "I pulled her from the back of the hanger, dusted her off and breathed new life into her. She's mine. Kenny, can you hand me the hydrospanner?"

Devlin held a hand out, waiting for the tool, while the other boy looked in the toolbox, examining the alien instruments mixed in with the mundane terrestrial ones. Trying to figure out which one Devlin was asking for. Sighing at just how similar the two boys really were to their fathers, Kevin picked up the correct tool and placed it in his son's waiting hand.

"What are you using the hydropanner for?" He asked, genuinely curious. "The car's a bit small to be installing an airlock."

"None of your business!" Devlin snapped.

While at the exact same time, Kenny supplied, "He wants to take the car into space."

"Shut-up, Ken! He doesn't need to know that!"

Kevin could only smile. His smile broke into a low chuckle of amusement. "Oh, boyo, I cannot even tell you the amount of time I spent under this car trying to make it submersible. And you wanna take it into space! Now that is something I would love to see!"

That got Devlin to actually slide out from under the car and actually look at him. The first eye contact they made since returning with Gwen. "What do you mean you made it submersible?"

"Of course I did." Kevin grinned. "You think I'd let anyone else work on my car?"

"Your car!" If Devlin weren't already laying down, he would have fallen down. The car he spent the past year restoring… the car he drove to and from school every day… the car who's craftsmanship he was so impressed with… the car he loved more than any hypothetical woman… was Kevin's! Devlin dropped the tool in his hand, completely forgetting the task he was just working on. He stood up in a slight daze. "I can't deal with this right now."

He left the hangar.

There was a beat of silence in which Kenny and Kevin just watched him leave.

"Well, I think that went well." Kenny attempted, sounding far perkier than any person had the right to be (in Kevin's opinion).

Kevin ignored him. Picking up the abandoned hydrospanner and slid under the car to examine Devlin's work.

…

Ben was making a smoothie when Devlin stormed into the kitchen. Wearing his perpetually dirty mechanic's jumpsuit and spattered with oil and other engine fluids.

"Want one?" He offered, tossing two banana's in with the milk and ice cream.

Devlin looked at what else was laid out on the counter next to the blender. Strawberries, kale, soy powder, pineapple, mango, and baked chicken. The boy tried not to wrinkle his nose as he said, "No thanks." Then, "Why didn't you tell me my car was Kevin's?"

"Does it matter? That the car was Kevin's, I mean."

The question made Devlin pause for a moment as he thought about his answer. He leaned against the kitchen counter and asked, "He's a lot like me, isn't he?"

"Actually, you're a lot like him." Ben corrected. He threw the strawberries and the kale into the blender next. "And there's a lot you can learn from him, too."

And that was something that was bothering Devlin. Had been bothering him, in fact, since the fight with Cooper. When Kevin covered him with his own absorbed Taydenite armor and promised to teach Devlin how to absorb matter for himself. "Yeah, but… We have to send him back. I can't take lessons from him if he's in the Null Void…"

"Mm. Still instant on sending him back, I see." Ben threw the chicken into the blander, secured the lid over it and hit puree. Neither of them tried to talk over the loud roaring of the blender. When it was done Ben popped the lid and pored the foul smelling concoction into a glass.

"We have to send him back." Devlin insisted, sounding far less sure than he had before. "Its our responsibility as Plumbers. He's a criminal."

Ben was fishing around in the kitchen drawers for a straw. When he found one, he sipped his disgusting smoothy slowly, savoring the sweet yet salty flavor of the meat and fruit blended with idea cream. "Ah, yes. A criminal who's crime was trying to help his son."

He stared pointedly at Devlin.

"I didn't need his help."

"He didn't know that." Ben shrugged. "Something I've learned over my years as Hero of the Universe, Devlin, is that -some times- people's motives are more important than their actions. Now that Kevin knows you'll be just fine, I can guarantee you, he'll never try and absorb a Celestialsapien again. And isn't that why we send criminals to the Null Void in the first place? So that they don't try and commit the same crimes again after they've been stopped the first time."

…

When Gwen awoke, she founder herself in her own bed, in her own room, in her own home at Plumber's Headquarters.

Her first thought was that everything had been one long and horrible dream. Something brought on by the stress of Cooper's proposal and her indecision about it. After all, Cooper was a good man, there was no way in heck he would kidnap her son, steal her manna, and try and kill Kevin. Now that she was awake, she laughed at the sheer absurdity of the idea!

That was when she felt the pain in her back. The shaking of her laugher irritating the wound left my his energy absorption relay. She reached a hand behind her to feel a gauze bandage secured with medical tape. Her wrists were also scrapped where her hands had been shackled. So, it had been real.

But what happened?

The last thing Gwen remembered was being strapped to the chest of a giant robot, put out on display and seeing Ben with Kevin ready for a fight. But that couldn't be right. Kevin was in the Null Void.

Knowing she wouldn't get her answers laying here in bed, Gwen sat up, slipped her feet into some house slippers and put on a robe. She went to the hanger. If Devlin was home that's where he would be, and sure enough, there was a pair of legs clad in black cargo pants sticking out from under the car. So much like his father… Maybe that was it. It wasn't Kevin that Gwen saw at Ben's side during her rescue. It was Devlin. He did look so much like his father, and in her weakened and delirious state it was easy for her mind to mistake one for the other.

"Looks like you're a bit of a hero." She commented, placing her hands on her hips.

"A hero?" That wasn't Devlin's voice. "No one's called me a 'hero' in a very, very long time."

Gwen was struck speechless when she saw who it was that slid out from under the car. Wearing cloths that looked like they used to be Ben's. Shirt strained with engine fluids, the sleeves ripped off. Dark hair a bit longer than the last time she saw him. Square jaw, high cheekbones, a straight nose and dark-dark eyes. Eyes a brown so dark they might as well have been black. Kevin. Her Kevin. It really was him!

"Hey, Babe. Does the hero get the girl in this story?" He asked, grinning suggestively.

She half-jumped half-fell onto him. Her lips colliding with his in a sloppy but passionate and earnest kiss. Her hands tangled in his long hair, her knees scraping on the hanger floor, their bodies pressed together, getting oil and grease and who knew what else all over her nightgown and robe. The kiss lasted sixteen years, but it was over in a matter of seconds. Gwen was the first to pull away.

"It really is you!" She gasped, disbelieving. "But, how?"

"Tennyson let me out."

"Ben did? But why?"

"Obviously he's such a pathetic loser that he couldn't save you on his own. As if Cooper is some great big bad boss. T'ch." And then he changed focus. "How are you feeling? You lost a lot of manna. If Devlin hadn't given you his manna, I don't know what might have happened to you."

Gwen blinked in confusion. "Devlin doesn't have manna. He expelled it all when he was eleven. That's why he's got a human shape now."

"I don't know. The kid didn't really explain." Kevin could only shrug. Then his demeanor turned sober. "Actually, Devlin doesn't really wanna talk to me at all. He, uh, he doesn't like me. Not that I blame him, or anything. Really. He has every right too. I haven't exactly been around and… and, well…" A deep breath. "Gwen, do you feel like I abandoned you? I didn't think I was at the time. But then I just never came home, so…"

She silenced him with another kiss. "It sounds like Devlin has been talking to you after all."

"That doesn't answer my question."

She put a finger to his lips. "Lets not talk about that. You're here right now, and I do not want to waste the opportunity."

"Opportunity?" He blinked.

Gwen flashed him a coy smile. Reaching over Kevin, she opened the door to the back seat. "Opportunity."

"Oh! That opportunity!"

…

It took Ben a couple of minutes to realize what it was exactly that was making Devlin's car rock when he entered the hanger. Devlin was in his room, cogitating on his own internal debate over his father, so he couldn't be making it shake. Kenny was in his room playing video games, so he wasn't playing in the car. Maybe Kevin, except Ben expected to find Kevin under the car, not- Oh. Then he realized what it was exactly that he was seeing.

"Jezus-Kriffiing-Christ!" He exclaimed, picking Gwen's discarded robe up off the hanger floor and throwing it in throughout the open backseat window. "You two! I mean, really! Come on! Gawd! You're like rabbits! Rabbits!"

"B-Ben!" Gwen exclaimed, clawing at her robe in an attempt to spread the fabric over herself and reclaim what little of her dignity there was to be claimed in the backseat of a car with an ex-con.

"Go away, Tennyson." Kevin snarled, not in the least bit bashful or ashamed. He reclined in the backseat on full display and not caring. "I haven't seen my wife in sixteen years and Incarceration doesn't allow conjugal visits."

Ben crossed his arms over his chest, refusing to be intimidated by the other man. "Yeah… about that… Considering that your son is still planning on sending you back to the Null Void, maybe having sex in his car isn't the best decision to make right now. Then again, your decision making skills have never been all that great to begin with."

That got Gwen's attention. "Devlin wants to send him back? Why does Devlin want to send him back?"

"He hates me." Kevin sighed, reaching for his pants. The mood was gone.

While at the exact same time Ben said, "He's convinced its what we have to do. Since Kevin's sentence was for life."

"That's absurd!" Gwen snapped. "Kevin's not a bad guy and its not like he's ever gonna try it again. There's no reason for him to be sent back there! Can't we re-negotiate his sentence? House arrest, maybe? Or, better yet, lets get Argit to give him a Presidential Pardon!"

"I'm sorry, what now?" Kevin blinked at them. "Why and how would my buddy Argit -of all people- be dishing out Presidential Pardons?"

"He's president of Earth." Gwen waved dismissively. "The point is, there's no reason why Kevin has to go back there. Devlin just doesn't know what he's thinking right now. There's to much going on for him to be able to think straight."

"Lets… skip right past the part where you explain how the heck Argit became president of a planet. Devlin seemed pretty adamant about it to me." Kevin groaned. "Face it, Gwen, our kid hates me."

"He doesn't hate you." Gwen insisted. A pause. "And I know exactly how to prove it, too!" Wrapping her robe around herself, Gwen climbed over Kevin and back out of the car. "Ben, go get Devlin. Tell him to meet us in the Null Void chamber because its time to say his final good-bye before we send Kevin back to Incarceration."

"What!?" Both men exclaimed. Wasn't she just saying that they didn't have to send him back. What was she playing at.

"Just do it. I need to get dressed. Kevin, put your clothes back on." She left the hanger.

…

Devlin was in the gym.

He didn't feel like reading any more and he couldn't work on his car -Kevin's car. Not after that revelation. So, he pulled out the tumbling mats and decided to work on a few kata sets and maybe some falls. The movement and activity helped him clear his head and sweat out his frustrations and his conflict. Because, Devlin wasn't really sure how he felt anymore.

Kevin wasn't the evil, maniacal, homicidal, maniac Devlin was lead to believe he was. In fact, he was kinda chill. He reminded Devlin a bit of himself. Older, yes. A bit more jaded. But, really, they were a lot alike. In fact, if they had met under different circumstances Devlin imagined he and Kevin being rather good friends.

But none of that changed the fact that they had to send Kevin back.

His sentence was for life and whatever document Uncle Ben had used to get him out must have been forged -faked. That meant that if they didn't send him back, Uncle Ben would get in trouble too. Aiding and abetting. Kevin had to go back.

Besides, what would he even do if he stayed? Return to his position as a Plumber? Ha! That would never happen. Not after what he did. Resume his under-the-table business of selling contraband alien tech? What would even be the point of that? The moment Uncle Ben found out, Kevin would just be sent right back to the Null Void. If he enjoyed working on cars a lot, Devlin supposed he could open up an auto shop. But could he be trusted to work on strangers' cars for them…? Devlin didn't know.

But on the subject of cars… his car was Kevin's! Holy knifing crap!

Why had no one told him this detail?

What did Kevin think of his modifications. The car couldn't hover when he was sent to Incarceration, Devlin added that feature himself. It allowed him to drive in the city's skylanes, which were way faster than the surface streets. But did Kevin like it? Or did he think it was lame and gimmicky? Like something out of a seventies sci-fi cartoon. What about Devlin's plan to make the car space worthy and take it into the outer atmosphere? What did Kevin think of that? Since Kenny thoughtlessly let it slip, Kevin must have an opinion about it. What did he think? Devlin wanted to know.

Before he was sent back to the Null Void, Devlin wanted to know!

Maybe he could convince Uncle Ben to let Kevin stay for just a little while longer. Not very long, just a little while. Like a day. One whole day with no one to rescue and no one to beat up. One uninterrupted day of getting to know his convict father before they sent him back whee he belongs.

They could talk about the car, swap ideas, compare opinions of parts and/or manufacturers… it would be great! And Kevin would teach him how to absorb matter. That Taydenite armor was great. He didn't feel a thing when his blows connected with Cooper's mobile suit. Usually, if he kicked something that well armored with that much force, he would split his skin, or at the very least, get some nasty guises that made walking uncomfortable. But with the Taydenite armor, he felt nothing. Like he was invincible! He wanted to learn to do it for himself. And the only person who could teach him was Kevin.

Uncle Ben would let him stay. Devlin was sure of it.

After all, Uncle Ben didn't believe Kevin would go back to his evil ways now that Devlin was whole, properly formed, and handsome. The perfect son Kevin dreamed of. There was no motive for him to go on another rampage. In this instance, yes, the motive was more important than the actions. Kevin had no motive to be an evil mass-absorbing kriff-head, so he wouldn't be an evil mass-absorbing kriff-head. So long as Devlin was safe, everything else was safe.

Kevin could stay.

Devlin was sure of it.

Kevin would stay.

Those thoughts in mind, Devlin paused in his routine and dabbed at his face with a towel. He would shower and go find Kevin. They would reconcile and then they would get down to those lessons on matter absorption Devlin so desperately needed. Alright. That was the plan.

Devlin draped the towel over his shoulders and was about to exit the gym. Except Uncle Ben was standing in the doorway.

"Oh, re you done? Is my timing perfect for once?" He asked.

"Is Mom awake yet?" Devlin asked. Because, why else would Uncle Ben be looking for him if it wasn't about his mother?

"Actually, yes." Ben nodded, as if this were a secondary thought. So then, he hadn't come here about Gwen? "She's in the Null Void chamber right now -saying her final good-byes to Kevin. I thought you might have something to say to him, too. So I wanted to find you before I sent him back for good."

"So you are sending him back!?" That was not the vibe Devlin got off his Uncle during their conversation in the kitchen.

Uncle Ben remained tactfully silent to that. He opened his mouth as if about to reply. Changed his mind about what he was going to say and closed it again. "We'll be waiting in the Null Void chamber. But, I won't wait forever. Whatever you want to say to your father, this is your only opportunity, Devlin."

He left.

Devlin didn't bother with showers or freshening up. He found himself dashing through the corridors, catching up with Uncle Ben, and passing him by completely on his way to the Null Void chamber.

Kevin was already there. But he wasn't alone. Devlin saw him locked in an embrace with his mother. Gwen had herself pressed up against him. Lips locked with Kevin's.

Devlin wasn't exactly sure how he was supposed to react to that. He'd seen his mother kiss men before, but never… quite like that. Like Kevin and their kiss was the only thing in the world. Pressing herself against him like they was trying to fuse their bodies, become one with each other. Truth be told, it made him feel awkward and a little uncomfortable. Like he was intruding on them. Devlin averted his eyes. Perhaps if he had been looking, he might have seen his mother's eyes glance at him before breaking the kiss.

"Its not fair!" She exclaimed, sounding as if the words were just meant for Kevin's ears alone, but making sure Devlin could hear them clearly. "I hate this! Ben can't send you back. I love you."

Gwen brushed a strand of long dark hair back behind his ear. Kevin gripped her wrist and began trailing gentle kisses up her arm. "Its not just Tennyson, you know." He muttered. "This is Devlin's decision as well. To put me back with the 'scum of the universe'. He feels its where I belong."

That statement cut Devlin like a knife. It was true, that was how he felt yesterday. But after Kevin helped rescue him mom, shared armor with him, and promised to teach Devlin how to absorb matter for himself, his feelings of the man had changed. Kevin wasn't evil and he didn't deserve to be put back in with the scum of the universe. Devlin cleared his throat conspicuously, drawing their attention to him and interrupting their moment.

Kevin wheeled around as if startled. He met eyes with his son and there was a pregnant pause.

There was a moment of shuffling feet and not knowing what to do with their hands as the two men regarded each other, unspeaking.

Gwen took Kevin's hand, offering comfort or encouragement. "Isn't there something you two would like to say to each other?"

More awkward silence.

"Devlin…" Kevin began, not sure exactly what to say. "I… I'm glad I got to meet you and see what a fine young man you're shaping up to be."

Another pause. Then, a nod. "Thank you. I… I want…" -clearing of the throat- "I want to make sure there are no hard feelings here. Us sending you back. Your release was only tempeeoray, after all, and we can't keep you here. I want to be sure you're not gonna try and resist, or try and escape, or whatever else it is that you do."

Gwen looked so disappointed.

Kevin looked… more so. "I want you to understand something, Devlin." He said. "The only reason I am going quietly is because you are the one sending me back."

"I-!?"

"Oh! You wanna do the honors?" Uncle Ben came up behind him. He offered an encouraging pat on the shoulder. "Alright then. Come over here to the control panel."

"Wait, what?" Devlin froze, mid-step. "You want me to do it?"

They were gonna make him do it? They were gonna make him be the one to send Kevin 11,000 back into the Null Void. That was… that was a bit much. It wasn't like he didn't know how to work the controls. They were pretty straight forward. A ten-year-old could figure out how to do it. It wasn't the actual action of the task that Devlin found daunting. It was the fact that the one he was condemning was his own father.

True, it was the father he'd never known. But if he did this, then, he never would have the chance to get to know him… "Are you sure you want me to do it?"

"You were the one who vowed to personally make sure he ended up where he belongs." Ben reminded him.

That was true and it stung to be reminded of words he'd spoken in the heat of anger. Devlin didn't feel that way anymore. Kevin didn't belong with the scum of the universe and Devlin didn't want to be the one to put him back there. But he had given his word. Sworn that he would. What did that make him if he broke his word? What did it make him if he broke his word? Which would make him the lesser of two evils? For neither option make him particularly heroic.

But then again, the men of the Levin family never really were heroes, were they?

No. The men of the Levin family were the sidekicks of heroes. The support. The the structure and foundation that the hero stood on. Climbing up towards the heaven's but always falling just short of glory. Ben was a hero. Kenny would be a hero. But Kevin was not. Devlin would not. Levins did not do heroic things or make heroic decisions.

Levin's made difficult decisions.

And in a glittering moment of horrified clarity, Devlin understood his father better than he ever imagined he could. It must have been a difficult decision for him. A near impossible decision. His newborn son a monster. His wife unable to fix what he perceived to be a problem. His best friend unable or unwilling to help either. No hope of the boy to live any version of a 'normal life'… Unless Kevin did something crazy. Something so completely out there and insane that it just might work. Absorb the power of a Celestialsapien. Absorb the power of a god and fix the child himself.

Trade one child's life for another.

A difficult decision.

Not unlike the decision that Devlin faced now. They were different on a matter of stakes and scale. It was not the fate of the universe or the life of a child at stake here, but just the freedom of one man. The scale was smaller. The stakes were lower. But the decision was just as difficult. Send Kevin back and condemn his father back to his life sentence in Incarceration, and never see him again. Or refuse. Let Kevin be free, learn matter absorption from him, show him the modifications on the car, discuss future projects…

"Something wrong?" Uncle Ben asked when Devlin didn't move. "I know I've never let you kids work the Null Void controls before, but they're really simple. Here. Let me show you."

Uncle Ben put an arm around Devlin and pulled him over to the control panel.

"Oh, Gwen, bring Kevin over." He called over his shoulder. "Its time for him to go."

Devlin was shaking with a reluctance he did not know he possessed. But Uncle Ben seemed not to notice. The older man guided the boy's hands over the control panel.

"First you press this." He was saying. "Then set the coordinates for his destination in the Null Void. In this case, his would be Incarceration. Once that's done, he's ready to go and you just have to press this big red button here." Ben placed Devlin's hand over the button but did not press down. "Whenever you're ready."

Once again, Devlin stood frozen.

He looked at Uncle Ben, who was standing next to him with a patient look. At his mother, who still held Kevin's hand. At Kevin, who looked… who looked like he couldn't decide whether he wanted to kill something or break down and cry.

His father loved him. Unconditionally. Even before he realized who Devlin was, he was his father's main concern. Demanding to see him, to speak with him, to know that he was okay. Remembering him only as the mister he was born as. Kevin loved him. How could Devlin condemn him back to the Null Void?

He couldn't.

Devlin suddenly realized he couldn't.

"I don't want him to go!" And Devlin was horrified when his voice cracked and tears trickled from his eyes. "I want… I want… I want you to teach me to absorb matter! And I wanna show you the modifications I'm making to my car! I want your opinions on my plans for it. I want… I want…"

He couldn't speak anymore, so Devlin just stood there. Sobbing like a child.

Kevin crossed the space between them, wrapping his arms around the boy. This time, Devlin did not push him away. "Shh, shh. It's okay." He soothed. "I'll stay. Tennyson will let me stay. I'll teach you matter absorption and we'll work on your car together."

Over their shudders, Ben and Gwen locked eyes. It was really a clever plan of hers. To prove to both of them that Devlin not only didn't hate his father, but also loved him too. It was a tad manipulative. Yes. But then, that was a skill she'd learned from a con artist she knew very well.

There was still the matter of fixing it legally so that Kevin never had to go back to the Null Void. But Ben and Gwen would handle that. For now, it was enough to let Kevin and Devlin have their moment. For the first time in almost two decades, the Tennyson-Levin family was whole again.

…

END