Author's Note: Woohoo! I finally managed to update this! Brownie points for me! Yeah, I know, I know. It's been like, two years since I first started this. But what can I say? I'm a licensed procrastinator, and I'm not sugar-coating that. Anyway, yes, I'm back… no, I might not stay back, & sorry to all of you that I've let down. For like the billionth time. If mortified was a name, it would be mine. (Ok, so that made zero sense)

Standard Disclaimer: Do not own, never will, Kevin+shirtless= sex. (Sorry for my inappropriateness, younger readers- I am the ideal example of a tainted person)

Author's POV:

Golden beams of early morning sunlight streamed through the open window to tickle the red-head's skin. Moaning slightly and simultaneously wrinkling her nose, she allowed her eyelids to flutter open as she slowly regained consciousness. The ginger cautiously rolled over onto her back on the bed, fear panging in her chest as she recalled the deep purple bruises she had earned the night before during her training session with Charmcaster.

Nothing. There was simply no pain at all. Curiously, the girl rose to her feet and glided across the room with grace to the antique mirror resting against the opposite wall. Positioning herself in front of its surface, she gently pulled the bottom of her silk, lacey, night shirt up and over her head. She turned her naked back to face the mirror, and gasped at what she saw in front of her. The bruises had completely vanished.

"Amazing, isn't it? How fast you can heal."

The red-head squeaked at the sound of the voice, whipping around to stare wide-eyed at the intrusive Charmcaster who was leaning slyly against the framework of the door. It took another five seconds for her to realize that she was practically naked, and she quickly folded her arms across her chest.

"Calm down, Ginger, we're both girls here." Charmcaster grinned mockingly, tossing clean clothes in her direction for her to change into.

"…Thanks." She muttered, feeling a little uncomfortable as she felt the woman's eyes follow her as she moved. She snatched up the clothing and slipped on the freshly washed, charcoal-black strapless dress that clung to her figure like a second skin and drooped a little too low across her chest for her liking. She arched her eyebrows in surprise as she examined herself in the mirror. "Do I get a pair of nine inch stilettos on the side?"

The silver-haired sorceress chuckled, smirking wryly. "I've always thought that fashion is an important part of the day." She strode slowly across the marble floor, her heels clicking softly like the talons of a beast. Charmcaster's silver stare bore into the girl like shards of ice as she circled her, scrutinizing her body. Her fingertips brushed lightly over the red-head's shoulder, and then paused for a moment. "Yet so is breakfast. Be down in ten, okay?" The woman smiled sweetly before she turned and strutted away, her grin growing dark and malevolent as she placed her hands together. "And then the real fun will begin."

"We've been driving around forever, Kevin. I'm thinking now's a good time to call for back up."

The brunette was curled up in the passenger's seat, his head rested uncomfortably against the hard window as he twiddled anxiously with his thumbs. Inside his skull, his mind was having a near panic attack as it fretted violently over the safety of his cousin. For some miraculous reason, he had managed to maintain a cool façade. He didn't want to upset Kevin any more than he was already.

"I told you Tennyson, I got this." Kevin snarled, his eyes practically smoldering as the car swerved viciously around a sharp corner. "If anyone's going to find Gwen, It's going to be me. I don't want some Plumber newbie to be the one to save her; I want it to be me, okay?" He sighed after a moment, and for the first time Ben noticed how very tired Kevin looked; as if someone had completely drained him of his energy. "I'm sorry I'm so on edge, Ben. I'm just scared out of my mind about her. Like, what if she's…"

"Don't…. say that." Ben furrowed his brow and frowned deeply. "She'll be fine." A slowly growing smile then crept across his lips, and he chuckled softly, leaning back into his seat. "Actually, I'm almost more worried for Charmcaster's safety, now that I think about it."

Graceful.

That's how the scarlet-haired girl felt as she leapt off of the edge of the balcony; letting her body be caressed by the soft embrace of the wind as she plummeted towards the ground. She flashed her teeth as she landed in a perfect crouch, a fiery stream of hair tumbling down over her shoulder. Rising to her feet, she heard faint, gentle footsteps forming behind her.

"You know, you could have just used your mana to get down." Charmcaster said, flipping back her silvery mane. She smirked. "Show off."

The girl had to admit, when Charmcaster first told her that she had powers, she didn't believe her in the slightest. Even thought the woman had taught her how to use them, they still felt so new to her, so unpredictable. Not that she didn't know how to kick ass with them.

"Hey, it's not like I'm going to have indestructible bones and not have fun with it." The ginger grinned widely.

"That's my girl." The sorceress's lips melted into a wicked smile, and she placed her hand on the red-head's arm. "Now follow me. We have terrorizing to do." Charmcaster took off running towards the garage, the green-eyed girl right behind her. The sorceress's hand dove into her bag and retrieved a set of car keys on a silver ring. She jingled them in the air teasingly before picking out a single one; nodding to a shimmering, black vehicle in the corner of the room. "Ferrari Enzo." A massive grin swept across the sorceress's face. "It's Hex's, but I don't think he'll really mind. Much."

Cackling, Charmcaster dove into the driver's seat, the engine roaring to life as the ginger jumped into the seat next to her.

"What I really don't understand," Ben spoke almost unintelligibly, his jaw unhinging like that of a snake as he inhaled the remainder of his giant sandwich. "Is how Charmcaster expects Gwen to 'do her evil bidding' when the girl is as stubborn as an Ox. She'd never agree to be a bad guy. Ever."

"What I really don't understand," The Osmosian spat. "Is how you can eat so much damn food when your cousin has been kidnapped by a crazy, psycho lady who keeps evil rock monsters for pets!" Kevin turned another sharp corner, purposely whipping the car around so that the Omnitrix-wielder would slam into the side of the vehicle.

"Woah, man. Just chill out for a second." The brunette raised his arms up in surrender. "I know we need to find Gwen, but I'm pretty sure that if she were here, she wouldn't want me to starve myself." Ben glanced over in his direction. "And Kev, you're going to break the steering wheel." He added.

Kevin's gaze shot down to his hands for a second, and he sighed. "Right, sorry. I'll calm down." He relaxed his grip.

"Anyway, I'm serious. What do you think Old Charmy's motives are? And why would she want Gwen? I thought she was always just interested in her powers, but it seems like she's trying to make her stronger, like, turn her into the ultimate killing machine…" Ben rubbed his chin in concentration.

The bad boy went rigid in the seat next to him. He gritted his teeth. "Because she wants to kill us. She wants revenge."

Ben nodded grimly. "More than that. She wants to destroy us with our own team mate." Ben's mind trailed off for a second, sifting through all the possibilities. "But that still doesn't explain how she's making Gwen do it."

"I guess we'll find out." Kevin said.

"Come on." The sorceress chuckled mischievously. "Let's go have some fun."

The sports car accelerated down the city street, swerving madly in and out of traffic. Charmcaster glanced back towards a skyscraper, using a spell to cause it to go crashing to the ground in an earth-shattering explosion. A million shards of glass rained down through the shadowed waves of smoke that were rising into the atmosphere. The people behind them began to scream out with terror; frantically racing away from the chaos to get to safety.

"Oh no, you don't!" The malicious woman sneered, sending down another two towering buildings to successfully trap the innocent civilians. Charmcaster laughed maniacally over the screams and wails of sirens, turning to look at the red-head with crazy eyes. "Go on! Let's see you cause some mayhem, my dear Ginger."

The girl grinned widely, manipulating her mana into orbs and hurling them at the vulnerable windows of passing buildings; creating a frightening torrent of broken glass to prey upon the people below.

Charmcaster giggled loudly, exploding an old factory building that erupted into brilliant, dancing flames.

"Charmcaster!"

The sorceress twirled around in her seat, glaring back to glimpse a well-known black and green muscle car. "Ah, Ben Tennyson! You've finally decided to join the party!" She laughed psychotically, her gaze narrowing. "Sadly, you're too late for cake, but why don't you enjoy the entertainment?" Shouting out a spell, the woman conjured up an evil looking creature with ten arms and pale white skin stretched too far across its bones to take the wheel of the vehicle. She swiftly climbed out of the car's window. "Ginger, why don't we go meet our guests?"

The red-head lifted herself out the side of the car, following in Charmcaster's footsteps as she cautiously climbed onto the roof of the vehicle. There were two boys in the car behind them, and she saw their eyes widen in shock as they gazed at her.

"I switched it into autopilot!" The dark-haired one yelled out to his friend as he began to clamber out the car window. "You take care of Charmcaster, I'll get Gwen!"

The girl's body turned to stone as her mind played the name over and over again. Gwen, Gwen, Gwen… Confusion settled into her thoughts, coating them like a layer of dust and refusing to be shaken away. She knew that name, where did she know that name? Her mind began to spin, twirling so quickly that her eyes couldn't see…

She was falling.

Her foot had stumbled on the edge of the car, and she slipped; no time to scream as her back arched back words towards the ground. Suddenly, a hand was grasping hers, an arm was wrapping around her back; pulling her forward, steadying her. Her gaze drifted upwards to peer into dark, onyx eyes; ones that stared intensely back at her, ones that swept gently over her body to check her for injuries, ones that held pure, honest love and devotion as they looked upon her, and for a long moment, the girl couldn't breathe.

"Are you okay?" The boy asked softly, tucking a loose strand of her red hair back behind her ear.

"What… did you call me?" The girl whispered, her mind mesmerized by the intensity of the stranger's stare and her cheeks flushed by the closeness of their lips.

"Gwen."

"My name is..."

"Your name is Gwen."

The red-head closed her eyes, feeling a cold shiver creep along her spine like a spider. Gwen.

She opened her eyes and glanced back up at the boy; realization was flooding his face. "She took- she took your memory, didn't she?"

"Who did what?" Gwen furrowed her eyebrows together in bewilderment.

"Come with us, we'll explain everything to you." He reached out to grab her wrist.

"No." She quickly backed away; the confusion swelling in her brain.

"Trust me! You don't want to stay here with that crazy…" The dark-haired teen trailed off as he glanced back to see Charmcaster bent over a seemingly unconscious Ben.

"Gwen," The boy said more urgently, placed both hands firmly on her arms as he stared seriously down into her face. "There isn't time to discuss this now. Meet me on the top floor of the old apartment building tonight at midnight if you want to know more about who you are." He quickly scribbled down an address on a piece of paper, folded it, and gently pressed it into her hand. Releasing her, the boy leapt onto the other car, taking Charmcaster by surprise and shoving her onto the hood of the Ferrari. He cautiously pulled the injured Ben back into the passenger seat before cranking up the speed and accelerating away in the opposite direction.

That was him. Gwen felt warm realization rain down on her mind. The boy from the flashbacks, that was him.

Slowly and curiously, she unfolded the piece of paper that, up until that moment, her hands had been clutching onto for dear life.

Author's Note Ending:

That is that…. for now. (Insert evil laugh here) I love you guys, don't do drugs, and I'll try and update this ASAP. But don't expect too much- you know how it goes with me. Please review if ya liked (and I seriously hope you liked). Later!