Chapter Text
Chapter One: Three's Company
The forest creaked, a slow evening breeze rustling the leaves. Ben kicked the dirt, hands stuffed deep into his pockets as he mourned the summer vacation he had been looking forward to all year. There wasn’t much else to think about, his plans for the summer were totally ruined. He’d have to share a bunk with his freak of a cousin. What was Grandpa thinking, he’d never be friends with Gwen, the idea of it sent shivers up his spine.
“This is gonna be the worst vacation ever,” Ben groaned, startling an owl which fluttered overhead.
Ben looked up, following the bird before noticing something else entirely. Twinkling overhead, faint at first, but growing brighter, a streak of light cutting clean across the sky.
“Whoa, a shooting star!”
Just as the words finished leaving his mouth, the light twisted. A sharp ninety-degree angle, rocketing almost as if straight toward him. Ben stared open-mouthed, realising it didn’t just seem like it. It was really hurtling straight at him. He dived aside as it came colliding only a few metres away, cratering the earth. Ben landed in a heap, gathering himself quickly. The crash would have certainly killed him if he hadn’t dodged it, having flattened a few trees on its vertical descent. A faint humming emitted from the crater, daring Ben to walk closer. He listened, stepping up to the crater’s edge.
“Looks like a satellite or something?” Ben said. He looked back into the forest toward the RV, “Grandpa! Did you see that!?”
No response came, perhaps he had walked further than he realised. The forest surrounding him remained relatively peaceful, despite the recent commotion. The hum stopped as he neared. Ben, having never heard the old saying about curiosity and the cat, scrambled down toward it. It certainly didn’t look like any satellite he had ever seen. It was spherical, and covered in ridges, which as he neared, began to slide together. Opening like Pac-Man, to reveal a faint green glow within.
“A watch?” Ben said, reaching toward it, “What’s a watch doing in outer space?”
The light of the watch grew brighter as he got closer to it, leaping upwards and clamping itself onto his wrist as he hovered inches away. The connection felt like a static shock, sending Ben tumbling back. Clawing at it to try and get it off. He could feel the static sensation rippling up his arm. If he wasn’t panicked before, he certainly was now. Clambering out of the crash site, he took a twig and began trying to pry it underneath the watch. To no avail. There didn’t seem to be any sort of gap at all. It was fused to his skin. Slapping at it angrily, the watch dial sprang up with a loud beep.
The hourglass shape within slid over itself, forming a diamond. The space in the centre now occupied by a strange hunched silhouette.
“Whoa, that’s cool!” Ben admitted, his heart still racing, “But how do I get you off of me?”
Ben fidgeted with it, deciding to push down on the dial, the watch-face clicking back into place. There wasn’t much time to react, the static feeling erupted. The sudden urge to drop on all fours overcame him, as his muscles on his arms and legs rippled and stretched. It didn’t hurt, but it wasn’t like anything he had ever felt in his entire life. He caught a glimpse of orange fur rapidly spreading across his body, his vision turning completely black.
Hunched over in the dark, he could hear his breathing. It was heavy, almost like a dog panting. When he tried to rub at his eyes, he felt a great paw meet with a smooth hairy head… his head. Jumping back in shock, he was propelled further than he imagined, colliding with a tree. The watch, it had turned him into some kind of monster. ‘Oh god, how am I ever gonna play little league this fall’ he thought, as he began to hear things moving in the dark around him. There wasn’t really any explaining it, but he could pinpoint the bugs hovering in the air, and even the owl which had drawn his attention to the sky flying not too far away. It was almost as if he was more aware of the forest now than he ever had been before. With every breath he took, he felt more information flood his senses, plants, the scent of distant animals, they all muddled in his mind and painted a picture that he was steadily becoming more aware of. But faint amid the sea of sounds and smells, he heard a voice he would recognise in a heartbeat. Grandpa.
He took off running, bounding on all fours in the direction of the RV. Narrowly avoiding trees as he found himself hearing the small critters scuttling along their bark. As he ran, he gained speed, feeling a sense of confidence in his surroundings that strangely felt natural.
Back at the RV, Grandpa Max sat by the fire. His back toward the Rustbucket, the name he’d given to his old hunk of junk RV. Gwen was sitting in its entrance, too busy on her laptop to bother enjoying the evening in the wild. Max was hopeful she’d come around, and enjoy the little things life had to offer. She put so much effort into her schooling, it was admirable, but he worried she’d let it burn her up. There was value in learning to relax, a lesson he’d learned in retirement. Max was concerned about Ben for an entirely different reason, he was a good kid and he meant well. But he was brash, and acted before thinking. He reminded him of himself in his younger days, and that’s what worried him most. If Ben had already walked off on day one – he hoped that this trip wouldn’t have the inverse effect of what he wished and drive his grandchildren further apart.
“When Ben gets back, how about we all tell some scary stories?” Max said, roasting a marshmallow over the fire.
“I’d like to Grandpa, but I’m busy studying. I can’t fall behind just because it’s summer.”
“I just hope you can enjoy the break. You’ve earned it.”
“Hardly a break with that dweeb hanging around.”
“C’mon now, I’m sure you two can learn to get along. It might just take some time.”
Gwen mimed throwing up, “Where is he anyway? I thought he was just going for a walk.”
Max looked up, eyeing the treeline. As a matter of fact, Ben had been gone for a while.
“I’ll go look for him, he shouldn’t have got into too much trouble out there,” Max grimaced, “I hope.”
Max hadn’t even left the light of the fire by the time a creature sprinted out of the woods. Gwen let out a deafening scream, almost as loud as the creature’s own roar in response. It leapt up and through the air, crashing into the back of the RV.
“A Vulpimancer!?” Max said curiously, “Gwen get inside! I’ll deal with this.”
“But Grandpa, it’ll eat you!”
Max shut the door of the RV before she could protest. Quickly running toward the front, and smacking his fist against a panel. With a clunk, it slid back, revealing a sleek silver pistol with a long barrel. He took it, twisting a dial on the side to the stun setting.
“This is a non-interference world, under the ‘Sanctuary Statute’ of the Plumbers Galactic Code of Conduct. Come forward peacefully.”
With his pistol outstretched in front of him, he paced slowly. From the back of the Rustbucket, the Vulpimancer seemed to be whining. The orange-furred alien crept steadily around the corner, its head held low. In all his years, Max had never dealt with one that looked so, forlorn. It was gangly and uncoordinated, like a marionette on strings, it didn’t look like a threat, but that didn’t put him at ease. As a common rule of thumb, if something in the galaxy was a surprise to Max, it was dangerous. This could be some kind of unknown infection, perhaps he was looking at the host of a symbiotic parasite, he kept his gun fixed.
“How did you arrive… wait?” Max noticed something on the creature’s upper left shoulder. A greyed-out Plumber’s badge. ‘Is this a Plumber?’ he thought, perhaps they had broadened their scope since he’d left the field.
The Vulpimancer continued to grumble, its roar aimed upwards toward the sky, as if it were trying to communicate something that Max could not understand.
“I mean you no harm, I can assist you off-world.”
The Vulpimancer pawed at the dirt, shaking its head. Maybe it didn’t want to leave. Suddenly, the thought of Ben rocketed into Max’s mind.
“Did you see a boy in the woods!? Is he hurt? Is he safe?”
The Vulpimancer began to nod its head, one of its paws slapping into its chest, and then its head repeatedly.
“I don’t understand what you are trying to tell me, I had my telepathic translator removed at retirement.”
The Vulpimancer’s head tilted sideways, inquisitively. It took a few paces toward the fire, no longer as shaky on its limbs, sniffing at the ground. It started nudging Ben’s handheld game, the menu of ‘Sumo Slammers: Smackdown’ still playing on the small screen. Once it had pushed it to Max’s foot, the Vulpimancer sat politely behind it. Max’s eyes widened with understanding.
“Ben!?”
The Vulpimancer began to nod excitedly.
“But how… I mean. This can’t be possible.”
Max wracked his mind, the type of technology to entirely shift a person’s DNA to another species, it wasn’t just something you stumbled upon in the woods. And the usage of the Plumber’s badge, that symbol was as sacred as the Red Cross. This could only be one device in the entire galaxy. But the last he had heard, it was just an idea far from completion. How it had ended up on Earth, and in the hands of his grandson he didn’t know. It must have travelled through galaxies to arrive here.
While Ben couldn’t see Gwen, he could certainly hear her.
“That’s Ben!?” she shouted. Her face pressed against the glass watching intently.
Her voice almost deafened him. Ben tried to respond, to tell her to be quiet. But all his words came out as growls and roars.
“Don’t worry Ben, it’s not permanent.” Grandpa said, lowering the pistol.
He hoped Grandpa was right. In the meantime, he’d better get used to this whole seeing without his eyes thing.
“Gwen, you can come outside. He’s safe, we all need to stay nice and calm.”
“What if he attacks me?” Gwen said.
“He won’t attack you, it’s Ben.”
“That doesn’t fill me with much confidence.”
She left the RV hesitantly, trying to keep as much distance between herself and Ben. As she neared the campfire, Ben got an idea, swinging one of his giant paws toward her.
She jumped back terrified, stumbling over the dirt and landing on her back.
“Ben! Be kind to your cousin.” Grandpa Max scolded.
Chuckling to himself, Ben heard his laugh coming out as stifled barks. It no longer felt so funny.
The three of them remained around the campfire. Ben scratching an itch with one of his hind legs, while Grandpa inspected the watch on his shoulder. He wished he could explain everything that happened. But the most he could do was nod or shake his head, or worst of all growl.
“So he’s… he’s a monster?” Gwen stuttered, breaking the silence.
“He’s not a monster,” Grandpa said, attempting to twist the dial of the watch, “he’s an alien. A Vulpimancer.”
“A Vulpi-what? Grandpa how do you know?”
“I wasn’t your standard sort of Plumber, it’s complicated. But I guess there’s no getti-”
Before Grandpa Max could continue, Ben felt the surge of static build again. Like a warmth deep in his chest. A ticking sound came from the watch, and with a flash of light. He felt his body swiftly become his own again. Landing, slumped on the floor.
“I’m me again!” Ben shouted, patting himself down and rubbing his eyes.
“Too bad, I liked you more as the dog.” Gwen jeered, pulling a face at him.
Grandpa Max looked at the watch now on Ben’s wrist, with the same studying eye as he had prior.
“It’s red now?” Ben said, “It was green when I found it.”
Grandpa Max looked up at him, his brow furrowed, “Tell me exactly what happened?”
Eager to test out his voice again, Ben answered, “Well when I was walking, this owl shot out from the trees and it made me look up. And as I did, I saw this meteor fall from the sky. It almost crushed me. Except it wasn’t a meteor, or a satellite, but this cool watch thing that jumped right up onto my wrist. When I tried to get it off, I was suddenly really hairy and blind.”
Grandpa clasped a hand under his chin, “It leapt up and attached itself onto you?”
“I swear.”
“I believe you, Ben.” Grandpa said, ending his inspection of the watch.
No longer having to hold his arm out, Ben turned his own attention back to the watch. He wondered if maybe one of these buttons removed it, surely one of them had to. But no matter the input nothing seemed to happen. Maybe there was a colour setting somewhere in there. He much preferred it green to red.
“I still can’t get this thing off,” Ben said.
“I’d be careful Ben, until we know for sure what we are dealing with, I wouldn’t play around with that.”
Begrudgingly, Ben listened, letting his mind drift elsewhere. Primarily to the cool looking pistol his Grandpa now had tucked in his belt.
“What’s with the gun Grandpa?”
“Oh this… it’s just a pea-shooter.”
Curiously, Ben eyed it. He had only been able to read the word ‘stun’, before Grandpa pulled his shirt over the top of it.
“I’m going to go check on the crash site, see if I can learn anything else. You two stay here, and I’m serious Ben, that watch could be something very dangerous. Gwen, keep an eye on him.”
Ben grumbled to himself, pressing his head into his hands. He didn’t know what was worse, not being able to fidget with the watch or having Gwen staring over his shoulder constantly. For the first time in his life, Sumo Slammers wasn’t even enough to distract him, he wanted to know what else the watch could do. And if he could transform back, what would be the harm? But with Gwen staring him down he’d have no chance.
“Look a moose!” Ben shouted, pointing off into the tree line, “You’d better get into the Rustbucket to be safe.”
Gwen groaned, “I’m not that stupid dweeb.”
“But what if there was a moose and you just didn’t know.”
“There aren’t any moose in Yosemite.”
Sighing, Ben looked back down at the watch, “C’mon, don’t tell me you aren’t a little curious what else this thing can do?”
“I’m not. Grandpa said it’s dangerous, and he sounded like he knew what he was talking about.”
“He said it ‘could’ be dangerous. I don’t know, it wasn’t painful or anything.”
“So, what did it feel like, to go all Vupli-‘whatsit’?”
“It was weird, I couldn’t see anything, but I could hear and smell things way better than I can now. It sort of filled in the gaps and I knew where I was. It felt kinda cool.”
“Like echolocation? Is that why you kept growling?”
The watch beeped, the red hourglass turning back to green. Gwen didn’t have time to protest, Ben pressed the button on the watch, popping up again as the hourglass shifted into a diamond.
"Hey look, this is how I did it," Ben said, gesturing to the silhouette. He began twisting the dial, and the silhouettes changed, shifting between several different shapes, "Should I try it again?"
"I wouldn't."
"Of course you wouldn't. Are you sure you're related to me?"
Before he could push down the watch face again, overhead something drew both of their attention upwards. ‘Another one?’ Ben thought. It shot overhead, splitting into three parts. One larger and two smaller. Crashing in the direction of the crater.
“GRANDPA!” they shouted in unison.
The two sped off into the forest, the watch still activated and making a slight whirring sound as they ran. Ben felt oddly familiar with the forest, even now in the dark. Remembering what he had smelt and heard while he was an alien, and knowing to avoid the roots crisscrossing the path. From the bushes ahead, a beam of red light shot out, colliding with the bark of a nearby tree, going up in flames almost at once. Gwen grabbed Ben, pulling him aside as another beam of light struck the ground. The two of them stood taking cover behind the tree, as a barrage of more light beams struck all across the forest. They needed to get to Grandpa fast.
Ben looked at his watch, slamming it down without further thought. Vines began coiling up his arm from the watch, as Gwen became blinded by the light of his transformation. His eyes merged together into one singular ball, as he grew taller, his fingers and arms elongating. Gwen rubbed her eyes blearily, to find Ben no longer Ben at all, but instead a six-foot five walking plant.
Peeking around the tree trunk, he saw Grandpa further ahead. Firing off his pea-shooter at two flying drones. They were rust red, and sporting a dozen or so mechanical arms squirming beneath them as they spun in the air. Their singular red eye releasing the bolts of energy now burning down the forest. One of them, turned, spotting Ben, its body spinning and changing trajectory.
“I need to help Grandpa,” Ben said, catching himself by surprise, “Whoa! I can speak!?”
“One of them is heading this way!” Gwen warned, diving from behind the tree.
Reaching upwards, Ben felt his arms stretching. They extended, finding a branch overhead and curled around it. He hoisted himself upward, pulling on his new limbs and launching into the air. The drone circled around letting off a blast that would have certainly hit him in the chest, if his chest hadn’t moved out of the way.
“That felt weird.” Ben said, snagging something else to cling onto. He pulled himself away from a second blast, though the same couldn’t be said for the tree, which fell, split in two.
Looking down Ben noticed that his legs, which there were plenty of, were innately ensnaring the branches of the tree whenever he landed, stabilising himself. The drone had begun spinning again, soaring straight for him. Letting himself drop, hoping his legs held their grip, he swung like a pendulum and then rocketed in the direction of the drone. They collided, Ben swiftly coiling himself around it, arms and fingers growing rapidly, covering the drone’s eye. It began firing, blasting through Ben’s new form. Scorching holes in his plant-based flesh, that burned, almost causing him to let go. But as he watched, his limbs regrew, thicker and stronger each time. The drone was out of control, flying through the canopy of the forest, all the while on the ground, Gwen did her best to put out the fire.
Feeling his grip tighten, Ben applied the pressure. Tensing every muscle in his plant body, and with a satisfying zap, the drone’s head popped clean off, exploding a few metres from Ben. Plummeting, he stretched out with his arms, which flew ahead of him, finding grip in the trees and guiding him along. Releasing as soon as his downward fall became upward momentum, he repeated the motion, finding branch after branch, propelling himself forwards, toward Grandpa Max.
“I could get used to this!” Ben said, catching more and more air time with each release.
Landing from his final swing into the crater, Ben reached forward. Grabbing some nearby debris with his vines and launching them at the drone. Which didn’t take kindly to the disturbance. It seemed to whir with increased aggression, no longer targeting Grandpa Max with its energy beam, but Ben himself.
“I told you not to fool around with the watch!” Grandpa Max shouted, taking cover.
Ben was too occupied to respond, his body weaving and growing to avoid the barrage of lasers now heading his way. The forest fire around them was getting out of hand, sending up great plumes of smoke, blotting out the stars. Ben needed to end this quickly, he reached out, his arms stretching and wrapping around the drone. It struggled against them, but Ben’s grip was stronger. Unlike earlier, he didn’t propel himself toward it. He whipped his arms up, and then snapped them back down. Releasing at the last possible moment. His arms cracked like a whip, the drone unable to escape in time exploding on collision with the ground. Shards of shrapnel flew out everywhere, lodging themselves into the trees.
Grandpa Max stared at Ben, “On second thought, thanks for the help.”
In the distance, Ben became keenly aware of a commotion deeper in the forest. The drones and the fire had obscured it until now, but a lot of people were screaming not too far away.
“There was another one, larger, it went over this way. Go get Gwen and then follow me!” Grandpa Max took off, moving at a speed Ben had never thought possible for a man in his late fifties.
Ben turned, reaching out and began swinging through the trees once more. Now with the added danger of the raging fire. When he found Gwen, she was stomping at a small flame, but otherwise nearly surrounded by the fire. Without stopping, he sent one of his legs down, wrapping around her arm and then pulling her up behind him.
“Grab on!” he shouted, narrowly weaving them through the burning forest canopy.
Gwen grabbed on, looking down to see the fire engulfing where she had stood only moments prior. The heat was intense, even moving at such speed from tree to tree.
“Okay you can put me down now!” Gwen said, now that they were clear of most of the burning.
“You don’t like it?” Ben said, adding an elaborate flip to his next swing.
Gwen tucked her head into her shoulder, daring not to look. Her grip tightening.
“You won’t keep up without a helping ha-” Ben fell silent, the faint ticking countdown beeping from his chest. With a flash, he was back to his regular self, now plummeting to the ground.
The two of them collided with a dense patch of bushes, the twigs breaking most of their fall. Only leaving them with a few minor cuts and bruises.
“Get off of me!” Gwen shouted, trying to fight her way out of the bushes.
Ben clambered free, Gwen close behind, sprinting off in the direction of the shouting. By the time they reached the campsite, two whole RVs had already become consumed by fire, a third threatening to do the same. One of the cabins was trampled, and everywhere they looked campers were fleeing, abandoning their tents, and evacuating their cabins. All the while standing as tall as the trees around, a robot raged. Unlike the drones, it had two red-lit eyes, firing off the occasional blast into the surrounding area, and two arms which it used to smash through anything it deemed to be in its way. It moved spider-like on three spiked legs, churning the earth with each step. It was focused on something, moving over and crushing an RV, tossing another into the forest, as if it were weightless. Ben gulped.
“Look, Grandpa’s out there!” Gwen said, pointing to the row of RVs now being cleaved through by the robot.
“I’ve got to help him,” Ben said, pressing the button on his watch, but nothing happened. It was still in timeout, “It won’t work.”
“We’re only going to get in Grandpa’s way, we need to help these people, get them clear of the campsite before the entire thing goes up in flames.”
Ben didn’t like feeling helpless. So much of him wanted to run out there anyway, even if it was just to draw the robot’s fire long enough for Grandpa to destroy it. For as much as Gwen was a dweeb, she was right.
“I’ll take the cabins, and you check the tents!” Ben said.
Max was very quickly regretting leaving the RV with only a standard issue pistol. He wasn’t kidding when he called it a pea-shooter. It was a fine weapon for most small-scale threats, but not even a direct hit between the machine’s plating would do any damage. He dove aside, apologising internally to all the RV owners as he ran behind another row of them, the mechanical monster laying siege to them all at once. He hoped it was buying time for everyone to get away, or for Ben to arrive. Though he didn’t like the idea of Ben facing down this robot either. A Florauna would stand no chance. Maybe working together they could think of something. He fired back at the robot, wondering if the forest fire would prevent him from reaching the Rustbucket so he could get some actual firepower on his side.
Gwen ran toward the tents, calling out for everyone to leave. A few people, those who were deeper sleepers, and those too terrified to unzip their doors, heard her words, and finally got the nudge to get out of there. One person wrestled with their tent, having leapt up in such a panic that it had collapsed in on them, trapping them.
“Calm down, let me help you,” Gwen said, trying her best to figure out where to start unzipping.
“All due respect kid, I’m not waiting around!” the man said, now with his head free, but still wrapped snugly in his tent. He began hopping away into the forest.
Gwen thought about arguing, but there was more at stake. She continued running, calling out for everyone to get as far from the campsite as they could. Only once she was certain everyone was clear did she head back toward the chaos.
Meanwhile, Ben went door to door at the cabins, checking the bunks, ensuring no one was hiding under the tables, or in the closets. The fire was only growing more intense nearby. If anyone was choosing this place to be safe, they were in for a rude awakening. He found no one, thankfully, perhaps one of the cabins being crushed so quickly made them all bolt. Running over to the wreckage of the final cabin, he saw its beams layered and collapsed over a sea of debris. Behind him, still weaving through the RVs Grandpa was holding off the robot. ‘Come on watch, we’re running out of time,’ he thought. Suddenly, he heard a noise, a groan from within the cabin ruins. Someone was trapped inside. Hurrying in, he began pulling away the planks of wood burying someone.
“Can you hear me?” Ben asked.
“Yes… I’m stuck under here,” a woman’s voice replied.
Ben moved with haste, digging at the rubble bit by bit. There was no way he could shift the beams, even if he went and got Gwen for help. He would have to make a way down, taking the pieces he could move and making a path for her to crawl free. With the fire inching closer, every second counted. It took everything he had, but soon enough he had uncovered the woman trapped below.
“Are you pinned?” Ben asked.
“No, I can crawl free, just give me a hand,” she replied.
Ben reached down, grabbing her arm. Helping her to clamber free through the passage he’d made in the wreckage. She was up and standing, looking worse for wear, but generally fine.
“Get into the forest, as far from here as you can,” Ben said, his attention already returning to Grandpa Max and the pursuing robot. He wouldn’t be able to dodge its attacks forever.
“What about you, you’re just a kid!?” she said.
His watch beeped, the green light returning, “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine,” Ben said with a smile.
"You're one brave kid!" she said, sprinting away.
As soon as she was out of sight, Ben clicked the button on the watch. He didn’t think vine-guy or the dog would cut it, he cycled through the silhouettes, landing on a figure that looked quite muscular, with four prominent arms.
“Four arms, sweet!” Ben said, slamming down on the watch.
A cool chill began crawling up his skin from the watch, turning slick as it spanned across his body. He felt the same familiar urge to be on all fours, as spikes grew from his back, and his head grew larger. It seemed like he was the same height as before, if not a little shorter. Looking back at his body, it certainly didn’t look like it had four arms, nor was it muscular. It would have to do. He ran forwards, just as a rogue blast from the robot obliterated the already wrecked cabin into ash.
The robot had begun pummelling the earth with its legs, creating a miniature earthquake that knocked Grandpa Max off his feet. Ben moved at a considerable speed, bounding from one step to the other, reaching the legs and swiping with his arm. It bounced right off, causing Ben to wince with pain.
“It’s made of metal!” Gwen said, having just returned to the RVs.
“I know!” Ben shouted back, “Wait I can talk again!?”
As he spoke his breath clouded in front him, it gave him an idea. The robot stopped its earthquake, unharmed but clearly noticing Ben’s feeble attack. Its head spun first, staring him down. Ben ran to the side, taking a deep breath as he went. He exhaled. A great flurry of ice and wind pouring out, freezing the air and locking the machine’s leg in place.
“Ice breath, cool,” Ben said, leaping up onto the now frozen leg.
The machine swiped at him, but he leapt to another leg.
“You keep missing me!” Ben said, with a smirk. Exhaling a cone of ice that shattered into the mechanical head, “You’d think with two eyes you’d have better aim.”
Its eyes began to glow scorchingly hot, obliterating any remaining ice in an instant.
“I hope this works!” Ben said, leaping back to the ground.
The robot aimed a blast at its own leg, melting the ice holding it in place. Turning its attention to Ben, it held out both of its arms, charging up a beam that would certainly destroy anything unfortunate enough to be its target. Ben stood his ground, staring it down, his freezing breath curling up around his face, wisping into the air.
“Ben what are you doing!” Grandpa Max yelled, “Get out of there!”
The robot fired, orange light shooting in solid streaks from its palms. Ben breathed out, solid ice flowing, until a great sheet of it stood between himself and the attack. The blast hit, refracting in the ice, and splintering into several smaller beams, all shooting back at itself. One of its arms was struck directly, severing it and sending it crashing to the ground. Ben took a few well needed deep breaths. This battle wasn’t won yet. The machine’s still remaining arm crashed through the ice wall like butter. It was looking fairly damaged now, with several scorched holes across its robotic body, caused by its own reflected blast. It was a relieving thought to know it could be hurt, though its freshly ignited ferocity dampened the mood. Ben moved, launching the occasional spike of ice over his shoulder, which the machine dispatched swiftly. Grandpa Max continued to open fire, aiming for the damage already done. It seemed to be doing real damage now.
The robot launched into the air, its legs spinning like propeller blades beneath it. Soaring momentarily, and crashing down on top of Ben. He had just enough time to form a dome of ice above himself, absorbing the damage. Shattering just in time for Ben to slip through its cracks.
“Focus on its weak points!” Grandpa Max yelled.
Ben took notice, breathing out in front of himself and creating a rising ramp of ice. It was hard to run and breathe out for such a long time. He turned as he ran, so that the ice ramp encircled the robot completely. As it slammed into the structure, shattering it, Ben vaulted. Landing onto its shoulder.
“Man, you need to chill out!” Ben said, unleashing a flurry of ice into the robot’s now missing arm socket.
The other arm reached over, trying desperately to swat him away. Failing that, it began to charge its eyes. Ben continued breathing, unphased by the imminent threat. Feeling himself growing lightheaded. The ice coursed through the robot’s internal systems, filling every available space. Until, just as its eyes were prepared to fire, ice erupted from every gap in its robotic body. With a sputtering of sparks, the machine tilted, and then collapsed. Ben forming a slide of ice to ease his own descent.
Grandpa Max and Gwen stood back, taking a moment to realise the amount of damage Ben was capable of in such a short time span. Grandpa Max gulped.
In the forest, Ben ran as fast as he could, breathing ice onto the trees and ensuring the fire was fully extinguished. It left a winter wonderland effect that he quite liked. It was only now, surrounded by so much ice, that he felt more at ease in this body. He wondered if this alien’s home world was below freezing, and his ice breath here would just be regular breath back home.
By the time the fire was out, and the police, fire crews and ambulances had arrived, Ben had detransformed. Joining back up with Max and Gwen to help anyone that needed it. The police were going around taking reports, it all seemed strange to say the least, something about an ice lizard fighting a walking mech. They probably wouldn’t have believed them, if it weren’t for the icicles still hanging from the nearby trees, and the 50-metre-tall robot, collapsed in the middle of the campsite.
“Snow in a California summer… I wouldn’t have guessed,” one of the campers said, rubbing his eyes as he leant against an ambulance.
The three of them walked through the now far less chaotic campsite. They felt exhausted, Max most of all. His grandson deserved the credit for their success, but Max had moved more that night than he had in years. He’d really fallen out of shape. Allowing Gwen and Ben to walk ahead, he got near to a chunk of the robot, peeling back a panel from it, and pocketing it. Groaning and bones creaking, he caught up with them. Making their way back through the forest, passing by the crater and reaching the Rustbucket.
“Right where we left you, the ol’ reliable.” Max said, slapping the side of his RV. He unholstered his pea-shooter and placed it back in its no longer so hidden compartment.
Once inside, Ben slumped onto his bed, the action of the night catching up with him. Gwen seemed to share the same sentiment, no longer bickering about who got the top bunk, just being thankful to have anywhere to lay down. Grandpa Max pulled a stool into the middle of the RV, and perched.
“Those drones, they were pursuing the Omnitrix.”
"The Omnitrix?" Ben said.
“The watch. It is a very powerful tool, intended for peace in the right hands, and capable of devastation in the wrong ones. It was only ever a concept as far as I knew, but if it ended up here, something must have gone terribly wrong.”
“How do you know Grandpa? And earlier with the name of the dog… alien-thing?" Gwen asked.
“And one pretty sweet pea-shooter.” Ben added.
Grandpa Max hesitated, “You might not believe it, but my line of work dealt with this sort of thing often. The truth is, before I retired, I was a Plumber, but not the type you're imagining. I was an upholder of intergalactic peace and law. Part of an organisation that reached across five galaxies, with precincts on most civilised worlds. As far as any Earth government was concerned, we didn't exist."
Gwen looked at her Grandpa, intrigued, wondering what other things he knew but had never shared.
“No way!" Ben said, a newfound energy rising up within him, "That's so cool. Why would you ever quit!?”
“Cool is one way to put it, life threatening is another. We were the folks who dealt with the problems no one else could. Anything extraterrestrial, paranormal or otherwise supernatural, we showed up and fixed the leaks. That type of work, it catches up with you. I wish you didn’t have to find out this way. It changes things… but I guess the Omnitrix finding you already did.”
“So does that mean I could be a Plumber too?” Ben asked.
Grandpa Max chuckled, “Maybe when you’re older.”
Ben sighed, “It’s always ‘when I’m older’, I have the Omnitrix, if it’s as powerful as you say it is, doesn’t that let me in?”
“Strictly speaking, if the Plumbers knew you had the Omnitrix, you'd already be in their custody. Possibly off-world, until they figured out how to remove it. Alien technology like that draws a lot of unwanted eyes Earthward, it’s a risk a lot of Plumbers wouldn't take."
"They'd put you in space jail," Gwen said.
Ben knew she was only poking fun, but the idea of it made him hide his new watch under the blanket.
"Don't worry Ben, I'm not going to turn you in," Grandpa Max smiled, "But with a device like that clamped onto you, there's more than the Plumbers to be worried about. Those drones won't be the last, we need to be careful."
Grandpa Max stood up, "We'll be setting off bright and early, and we've had a rough night, so get your rest. You did well out there, both of you. It takes a lot of courage to help people in danger."
Half an hour later, Ben still tossed and turned in bed. Despite how tired he was, he couldn’t settle his mind. He replayed the night over and over. It didn’t feel real.
“I’ve thought of some names,” he said.
“What for?” Gwen asked.
“The aliens, I’m thinking Wildmutt for the dog guy, and Wildvine for the plant guy, and Wil-”
“Let me guess,” Gwen said, cutting Ben off, “Wildice for the ice guy?”
Ben paused, “…no.”
“You looked kind of like a lizard, so why not something like ice-chameleon. Or snow-gecko.”
“Or Arctiguana.” Grandpa Max suggested.
Ben nodded, “Arctiguana, I like that!”
“Now try to get some rest, both of you, we have a busy day tomorrow.”
With the lights of the RV turned off, and his grandchildren finally asleep, Max sat by the table, the scrap of metal laying in front of him. He pushed a button on the table’s underside, and a display emerged, beginning a deep scan of the material. He put on a pair of reading glasses to make out the results on the holographic display. It buzzed in and out of focus from years of disuse. As he read the words, he understood what he had only assumed at the campsite. The machines had originated from the planet Chimera, home to the Chimera Sui Generis. Home to an old enemy.
Max whispered his name, "Vilgax."