Ways to Say Goodbye

Ways to Say Goodbye is the first episode of Ben 10: Missing Pieces.

Plot
''The scene begins in the principal's office. It is a small-sized room with white brick walls. There is a dark brown desk at the end of the room, opposite the door. A middle-aged African-American woman wearing a blue blouse and black pants is sitting by the desk, her back facing the window. There is a landline phone on the desk, as well as a few papers and a pencil holder. Behind it are a two shelves, one on either side of the window, containing books and picture frames. Three chairs are on the opposite side of the desk, with an 11-year old Kevin sitting on the chair in the middle, his arms crossed with an angry expression. The door creaks open, and Mrs. Levin's face peeks through it.''

'''[Mrs. Levin]''': Principal Brooks?

[Principal Brooks]: Come in.

''The door widens, and Mrs. Levin and Harvey walk in, with Harvey closing the door behind him. Mrs. Levin sits to the left of Kevin, while Harvey sits to his right. Kevin does not acknowledge their presence. Everyone sits in silence for a few seconds, before Principal Brooks clears her throat.''

[Principal Brooks]: Kevin got into a fight with another student today.

Harvey massages his temples in frustration, while Mrs. Levin puts her left hand to her mouth in shock.

'''[Mrs. Levin]''': Again?

[Principal Brooks]: I... I'm afraid so. As you can see, Kevin didn't get hurt, but the other boy, well...

Both Mrs. Levin and Harvey's eyes widen.

[Harvey]: Is he... I mean, how-

[Principal Brooks]: He's conscious, but he's getting treatment at the hospital. He sustained serious burns on his right arm.

'''[Mrs. Levin, turning to face Kevin]''': Kevin!

[Kevin, putting his arms down]: I- I had to! He was hurting me!

[Harvey, turning to face Kevin]: That does not give you the right to hurt him back, especially not like that!

Everyone focuses their attention on Principal Brooks again.

[Principal Brooks]: This isn't the first time something like this has happened. (shakes her head) I've managed to... convince Cody's parents not to get the police involved, but I'll have to expel Kevin. (hangs her head) I'm sorry. I've kept your secret for months now, and it's taken a toll on my conscience. Perhaps this is for the best. Kevin's powers have gotten him in trouble one too many times. He needs to learn to control himself, and he can't do that here.

''Harvey stands up, followed by Mrs. Levin and Kevin. He extends a hand to Principal Brooks, who stands up and shakes his hand.''

[Harvey]: Thank you so much for all your help.

[Principal Brooks]: I'm sorry it had to end this way.

Harvey breaks away from the handshake.

[Principal Brooks]: Best of luck in the future, all of you.

[Kevin]: Good riddance.

'''[Mrs. Levin]''': Kevin! (clears throat) Thank you, Principal Brooks. (sighs) We'll need it.

''Mrs. Levin grabs Kevin by the arm and opens the door, walking out, with Harvey following closely behind. He closes the door behind him.''

[Principal Brooks, sitting down]: Freak.

''The interior of Kevin's house is shown; more specifically, the living room. It is rather small. There is a medium-sized CRT TV against the wall, with a rectangular wooden coffee table between it and a red sofa. There is another door opposite the front door, and there are bookshelves next to it. The camera focuses on the door, before it opens. Harvey walks in, followed by Kevin and then Mrs. Levin, who closes the door behind her. She sighs heavily, putting her left hand to her forehead. Kevin walks towards the back of the living room, to another door.''

'''[Mrs. Levin]''': Kevin, why'd you have to do that?

[Kevin, stopping and turning around]: What? Defend myself?

'''[Mrs. Levin]': (loudly'') That's not what I meant and you know it! (lowering her voice) Why'd you use your powers?

[Kevin]: Like I said, I defended myself! Cody was picking on me and I showed him. He's never going to mess with me again!

[Harvey]: You also got him badly hurt! Cody and his parents know that you have powers. Sure, Principal Brooks said she convinced them not to tell the police, but who's to say they won't do it anyway? If that happens, we'll all get in trouble! We'd be brought in for questioning and you'd be taken to some remote government facility somewhere, never to be seen again. (throws his arms in the air) Don't you understand that your actions have consequences?

Mrs. Levin slowly advances towards Kevin.

'''[Mrs. Levin]''': Kevin, the first time you used your powers at school, you destroyed your school's computer lab. We had to reveal your secret to Principal Brooks and convince her to keep it to herself. Do you know what would've happened if she decided against it? You- You could have been taken away, or worse! And now you got a boy hospitalized! If you keep using your powers irresponsibly...

Now that she's right in front of Kevin, she gets down on her left knee and puts her right hand on his right shoulder.

'''[Mrs. Levin]''': Kevin, more people could get hurt, maybe even worse than Cody did. Do you really want that on your conscience?

''Kevin closes his eyes, turns his head to the left and crosses his arms, lowering his head. He sighs as his eyebrows furrow.''

[Kevin]: So what?

'''[Mrs. Levin]''': Excuse me?

''Kevin opens his eyes and throws his arms in the air. Mrs. Levin gets up and steps back, shocked.''

[Kevin]: So what? So what if people get hurt? I've gotten hurt more times than I can count! Maybe it's time I return the favor! Do you have any idea what it's like to have people picking on me all the time? "Oh, he's too poor to buy lunch", "He's that freak who has no friends". No, I'm finally going to stand up for myself. (balls his right hand into a fist) I'll show them that I'm more than some freak.

[Harvey]: This is not remotely what we meant by standing up to people! (sighs) Maybe it's time we got you professional help. Hurting people the way you did, having anger issues... you have severe behavioural issues, son. It's not good.

He shakes his head.

[Kevin]: (loudly) DON'T CALL ME THAT! I'm not your son, and you're-

'''[Mrs. Levin]': Don't you dare'' take that tone with your father! I don't know what's gotten into you lately, but you're going to stay in line and listen to us.

[Kevin]: No, you listen to me!

'''[Mrs. Levin]': (loudly'') ENOUGH!

''Mrs. Levin slaps Kevin in the face with her right hand, causing him to stumble. He puts his right hand to his left cheek, rubbing it. Harvey walks towards Mrs. Levin and pats her on the back.''

[Harvey]: I think we all just need to calm down.

'''[Mrs. Levin]''': I've had enough of this, Kevin. I know deep down, you lashing out is your way of saying you miss your father, but it doesn't excuse your behaviour at all! Harvey is your father now and he's done nothing but treat you like his own son. He's trying to help you and so am I! (eyes tearing up) Every time I think you're past this, I find you back at square one weeks later. All you ever do is create trouble! You- You know that life is hard for us and we're trying our best to make ends meet. We don't need you to make things worse with your powers!

''Kevin's eyes begin watering. Mrs. Levin wipes her own tears away, exhaling sharply.''

[Harvey]: Kevin, I- I'm sure your mother didn't mean that.

[Kevin]: (loudly) Stop pretending to care about me!

''A small amount of blue energy forms between the index and middle fingers of his right hand as tears stream down his face. Both Mrs. Levin and Harvey notice it.''

'''[Mrs. Levin]''': Kevin?

The amount of energy in his fingers slowly increases, encasing his entire hand.

[Harvey]: Don't do what I think you're going to do, Kevin. Think about this. We're only trying to help you.

[Kevin]: You put Mom up to this, didn't you, Harvey? You made her tell me that all I do is create problems, made her slap me in the face, all while pretending to care about me, just to trick me into leaving this dump of a house! You just want me out of the house so you can have Mom all to yourself!

[Harvey]: That's not true in the slightest!

[Kevin]: Stop lying!

''He fires the energy at Harvey, sending him flying towards the wall next to the front door of the house, creating a sizable dent in it. He falls to the ground, groaning.''

[Kevin]: That's just a taste of what I have in mind for you!

'''[Mrs. Levin, turning to look at Harvey]''': Harvey!

''She runs towards him, kneeling down to hold him. She shakes his shoulders, trying to wake him up, to no avail. She cranes her neck upwards and glares at Kevin.''

'''[Mrs. Levin]': (loudly'') Harvey didn't do anything, Kevin! I chose to say what I said and... (lowering her voice) I meant every word of it. I love you, son, but you this has gone on long enough. You need help.

[Kevin]: So you don't want me here, too?!

''He conjures an energy blast in his right hand and fires it at the TV, creating a few cracks in it and causing it to short out. He kneels on the ground, dropping his arms and closing his eyes as more tears stream down his face.''

[Kevin]: That's what I get for thinking you actually cared about me! Everyone else treats me like dirt, but I thought I was more than just a freak to you! You were the only one I had left!

'''[Mrs. Levin]''': You're not a freak, Kevin. Your powers are just overwhelming you. Don't you see that they're messing with your head? You have to take control!

[Kevin]: (loudly) I'M NOT CRAZY!

He opens his eyes and tries to create another energy blast in his right hand, but it quickly fades away.

[Kevin]: Gah!

''He gets up and walks towards the TV and looks behind it, yanking a few cables out of it. He grips them tightly, eyes glowing blue, before letting them go. Facing his parents, he puts his hands together and creates a blast of blue energy.''

'''[Mrs. Levin]''': You don't want to hurt me, Kevin. (turns her head to look at Harvey for a second) You didn't want to hurt Harvey, either. You think you did, but it's the power. It's corrupting you. You're feeling a rush of different emotions. You're confused and angry and your powers are amplifying those emotions. You just need to calm down.

''The camera focuses on the energy blast for a few seconds, before Kevin fires it right at the ground in front of his mother, creating a sizable crater in the ground with smoke emanating from it. Mrs. Levin puts her right hand to her chest, sighing in relief.''

[Kevin]: You're right. I don't want to hurt you.

Mrs. Levin smiles.

[Kevin]: I'm going to make you wish I did.

''Mrs. Levin's smile fades away, and she opens her mouth to say something, but is interrupted as Kevin shoots multiple energy blasts everywhere, hitting the walls, the roof and a few pieces of furniture. Pieces of the walls and roof chip off, falling to the ground.''

'''[Mrs. Levin]''': Kevin, stop this! You're going to destroy the house!

Ignoring his mother, he steps away from the TV and shoots a large energy blast at the roof above the TV, causing large chunks of of the roof to fall off and crush it.

[Kevin]: Still think it's the power getting to me?! You still think I'm confused?!

He shoots an energy blast the door, blowing it off its hinges.

[Kevin]: (loudly) YOU STILL THINK YOU LOVE ME?!

'''[Mrs. Levin]''': Yes!

[Kevin]: No, you don't! You just think you do! All I am to you is a freak of a son who needs 'help', an embarrassment who can't do anything right! You don't actually care about me! Nobody does, I see that now!

[Female Voice, offscreen]: Geez, what's all that racket?

''Shocked, Kevin fires an energy blast at the roof above where the door used to be. Chunks of it fall off, completely blocking the exit.''

[Female Voice, offscreen]: (muffled) What the- What is this?

''Kevin and Mrs. Levin look at the blocked exit, then at each other. Kevin's expression softens for a few seconds.''

[Kevin]: You were the only one I had left.

[Female Voice, offscreen]: (muffled) I'm calling the cops!

''Kevin's expression returns to a serious one as he takes one last look at his mother, before running out the other door, not bothering to close it. Mrs. Levin looks at the destruction around her, then at Harvey's unconscious body, before tearing up again, putting her right hand to her mouth to muffle her cries as more of the roof begins to collapse around her.''

THE END!

Major Events

 * Kevin runs away from home.

Character Debuts

 * Kevin Levin
 * Principal Haisley Brooks
 * Mrs. Levin
 * Harvey Hackett

Characters

 * Kevin Levin (first appearance)
 * Principal Haisley Brooks (first appearance)
 * Mrs. Levin (first appearance)
 * Harvey Hackett (first appearance)

Trivia

 * This episode premiered exactly eight years after Ulti created his account.
 * This episode was originally meant to be featured as part of a storyline in Season 1 of Protector of the Omniverse that has since been abandoned.
 * This is the only episode of the series not to feature Ben, Gwen and Azmuth.