Ken 10 Universe. Won't really make sense unless you saw that episode. Spoilers for it as well. Rated T for angst, mild language, and psychological torture/physical abuse of children. The Tennyson deal with the consequences of the events of Ken 10.

It has been brought to my attention that tags make it seem like this is a Kenny/Devlin fic. Though it contains both characters, this is NOT a slash, nor does it contain ANY pairing for either of them.

Disclaimer: Ben 10 and its characters are owned by Cartoon Network, and I am using them without permission. Please don't sue.

Consequences

Part 1

"Gran'pa! Ken keeps kicking me!"

"Well spluh, 'cause you keep putting your leg on my side!"

"I'm telling mom!"

"Yeah go whine to mom, you little baby. GWEN IS A BAAABBY, GWEN IS A BAAABY!"

"I hate you!"

"I hate you infinity!"

"You know, no one would blame you for wishing you were still an only child," Max Tennyson joked as he pulled the hover car up to Rushmore Middle School Central. 12-year- old Devlin Tennyson smiled as he reached behind their seats to rescue his backpack from between his new brother and sister. "Nah, they're not so bad. At least, when they're not in the same room as each other. See you guys later!"

"Bye Dev!" came the chorus from the backseat.

"Have a good day, son!" added Max.

The day had started out normal enough.

After Devlin was dropped off at school, Max watched as 11-year-old Ken and 9-year-old Guinevere made their way into the double doors leading into their elementary school. They bickered the whole way.

As acclimated as Devlin was becoming to his new family, he didn't usually join in on the younger two's fights. He also didn't get quite as angry about their personal freedoms, and left Ken and little Gwen to fight for them. Ben and Kai were relentless in their over protectiveness. Ben 10K was a highly visible public figure with numerous enemies. Death threats and stalkers were common occurrences. So the parents tried to employ numerous forces to protect their kids. But Ken and Gwen were both mischievous children who wanted and needed their own space. Compromises became an enormous part of their family life. They were allowed to attend normal school ("The only thing worse than school," claimed Gwen, "is HOME school), but friends' families had to have background checks before the kids could go over their houses. They weren't allowed to ride the bus, but they were left at the curb outside in the mornings instead of being escorted in (which Ken announced was the epitome of "un-shwey").

Devlin, on the other hand, didn't mind losing some control of his life as long as he got to have a family. Freedom meant nothing without stability.

Most people thought that Kevin 11K hated his son. That wasn't true or even really fair, he felt. Truth be told, that would have required him to feel any kind of emotion at all towards Devlin, and he simply didn't. He was just… there. The boy existed, he existed; there wasn't anything more to it than that.

Benji changed all that. Devlin was KEVIN'S, and Benji took him for himself. Ben, who got everything he could possibly ever want. Who was handed his powers on a silver tray, who had fame, fortune, the admiration of billions, but never was satisfied with just that. No, he had to take everything Kevin had as well. Earth's damned golden boy.

He had to be made to suffer, to feel the pain that he inflicted on others.

He had to pay.

It was Devlin who first noticed something was wrong.

It was Tuesday; on Tuesdays after school Ken had karate and Gwen had soccer practice, but Devlin went home straight. Life at the 10K compound was hectic, with family, heroes, and staff constantly running around. Gwendolyn was off-planet, Max was coordinating her mission from the command center, Ben was dealing with one crisis or another, and Kai was… doing whatever it is that Kai did.

In contrast, Devlin's afternoon was fairly calm. He finished his homework early and spent some time playing video games in the simulator. After a while he got bored and, noticing the time, went searching 

for his brother and sister. It was past the time they usually got back. They usually sought him out when they returned, so it was a bit unusual, but he didn't have any reason to be concerned.

Yet.

"Ben?"

"Hey Devlin, I'm in the middle of something, can we talk later?"

"But, I can't find Ken or Gwen!"

"It's Tuesday; they have after school stuff today."

"Yeah, but they should have been home like 2 hours ago!"

Ben Tennyson looked up from the screen he was looking at and switched his gaze to his adopted son. Devlin wasn't prone to overreactions, and the look in his blue eyes told Ben all he needed to know. He felt something in his stomach clench. "What time is it?"

"6 o'clock."

"Ken has karate and Gwen has soccer, right?"

"Yeah."

"Ok, let's start by checking the messages; maybe they called and we missed it. Then we'll call their carpools." Carpools were another "normal life" compromise. "I'm sure they just hit traffic or something." He put his hand on Devlin's shoulder and gave him what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "Cliff, I have to go take care of something. You all right here?"

"Yes sir."

"All right Dev, let's go find them."

"Are you sure?" Kai repeated.

"Completely sure," Mrs. Alderjaon's voice answered over the phone. "Ken never showed up at karate. Chris swears he was at school, but wasn't at practice. We just assumed that one of you picked him up."

"All right. Let me know if you hear anything."

"Kai? I'm sorry. I should have called and let you know right away, but I didn't think anything was wrong-"

"It's ok, Rosa, really. I'll talk to you soon."

The news wasn't good. There were no messages concerning either kid, so Ben called Gwen's carpool and Kai Ken's. Gwen's ride repeated Rosa Alderjaon's story.

"Ok," Ben said, trying to hide his growing concern. "Let's go to the security office. We should be able to locate them through their tracers. Devlin? Go get Grandpa Max, ok?" Devlin nodded before running off.

"No need to worry him," Ben sighed.

"Yet," Kai responded. "This is going to be bad."

"Let's hope not," he said, taking her hand.

"Come on, come on," Max urged as the computer ran the algorithms. "What is taking so long?"

"Sir, we made the tracers small on purpose, to be able to fit into Miss Tennyson's earrings and necklaces, and young Mr. Tennyson's Omnitrix. That means the signals are harder to detect-"

"Stop being technical and find my great-grandchildren!"

"Yes, sir." Devlin would have laughed if the situation had been less serious.

"Signal received. It…" The tech turned and looked at them. "Sirs, the only signals we are receiving are from the jewelry box in the Miss Tennyson's room."

Sitting in a quiet corner seven hours later, Devlin surveyed the chaos around him with a sense of detachment. He felt numb. He had finally gotten the loving family he had always dreamed of, and now the thought of it being shattered.… His brain just shut down. So instead he just watched the scene around him. The common room was packed with Plumbers, family, Galactic Enforcers, and local police. News crews swarmed around outside. Celebrities were news and so were tragedy; celebrities plus tragedy equaled ratings gold. Having a galaxy full of people prying in on his private life was something he was not exactly enjoying, even in his disconnected state.

A warm hand landed on his shoulder. "Don't worry kiddo. We'll find them."

"Gwendolyn? I thought you were gone."

"I teleported back as soon as I could." She moved in front of the boy. "Really, Devlin, it will be ok. We'll find them. We've handled worse; we won't fail Ken or Gwen." Her green eyes and warm smile did indeed calm his nerves somewhat.

"Ben! Ben! This just appeared in the lobby!" Dex, a Splixson who worked in reception, came dashing in, something flapping in his grasp. Ben and Kai strode over and met him half way, with Ben taking the envelope and opening it. Devlin dashed over to their sides. When they froze up, he pulled the man's arms down so he could read the note as well.

Dearest Benji,

Mess with mine, I mess with yours.

-K11

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Author's note:

What is this? It has an original plot, dialogue, new characters, and GASP! CHAPTERS?!

I know, I'm scared too.

(: grin :)

Anyway, this story was quite a long thought process. Originally, it was going to be a drabble, containing just the plot found in this chapter. After I wrote it, I wasn't satisfied with the flow, so I went back, adding details, dialogue, etc. Then I realized it no longer worked as a stand-alone; it needed to a finished product if I wanted to post it. So then it became a challenge; could I finish it?

Well, apparently, yes I could. I have a finished draft on my computer. Which leads to my next point:

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR THOUGHTS, PLEASE SHARE THEM IN A REVIEW. I want to make sure that what I'm writing makes sense, so some feedback would be GREATLY appreciated so I can tweak the later chapters. Also, if you'd like to BETA READ it, I'd love you forever. Plus, you get to read the whole story sooner! 

Lastly, props go out to the RPG I'm in over at livejournal (yes, I am a geek). I play little Gwen, which is partly why she's in this story. She isn't actually my creation; I think she's Benmun's. Anyway, some details have been borrowed from there, as well as the original inspiration, so thanks guys!