NOVEL NEXT Chapter 12: The “genius” duo…
A bolt of green lightning shot through the night sky, leaping from one conductive surface to another. The emerald energy darted between parked cars and startled pedestrians' smartphones, causing devices to flicker and buzz as it passed. Nearby security cameras pivoted abruptly, their lenses briefly glowing green as the electricity coursed through.
The electric entity finally found its destination: a corner phone booth. As the green bolt entered, the booth's metal door swung shut. A brilliant emerald flash erupted from within, and moments later, Ben Tennyson stepped out, looking slightly dazed with disheveled hair from the residual electricity.
'Buzzshock might be simultaneously the most useful and the most vulnerable of my alien forms.' He smoothed his hair as the last traces of electricity dissipated. 'Without a container and an energy source, my life could quickly fade away. Yet I feel an uncontrollable urge to spend all my energy no matter what.'
The sound of a distant bank alarm had caught his attention earlier, prompting his transformation. While Ben had no intention of becoming a full-time crime fighter, he recognized the need to master his abilities. Stopping crimes would serve as excellent training.
As he walked through the quiet streets, he couldn't help but reflect on the irony of the situation. This latest incident was the first and only crime he had thwarted. If any city was truly plagued by rampant criminal activity, it would become a ghost town by now — and of course, he couldn't be everywhere at once, nor hear about everything in time to act.
However, it wasn't that he was stupid… but currently he hadn't thought of using Brainstorm to tune into police radio frequencies. If he had, he would have heard that two bank robbers were dead from an explosion and that some kind of clown was seen escaping the scene.
Ben's emerald eyes scanned the area, observing the tranquility of the neighborhood.
'No crimes, no deserted areas nearby, and the forest is crawling with cops.' He thought with a hint of amusement, 'Good luck finding clues to track down the famous non-existent Fire Circle eco-terrorist group, morons.'
As he continued his stroll, Ben's mind wandered to other potential training methods. 'I should focus on the non-destructive aspects of my transformations back in the hotel room.'
The hotel where Ben, his cousin Gwen, and his grandfather Max were staying came into view. Looking towards the parking lot, Ben expected to see their damaged RV, the trusty Rust Bucket. Instead, an ice cream truck occupied its usual spot, its white paint gleaming under the lampposts. Ben blinked and rubbed his eyes, but the truck remained.
Curiosity piqued, Ben jogged over to the truck. A window panel declared "Closed" in bold letters and below it, the opening hours were listed: 24h00 to 28h64. He nodded absently.
'I guess Grandpa managed to move the van to repair it out of sight of the police.' He mused as he turned towards the hotel. 'I'll ask him about it later.'
He had taken several steps when his brain finally processed what he'd seen. Ben froze mid-stride, his eyes widening. Slowly, he pivoted on his heel and stared at the panel again.
'24h00 to 28h64?!' His mind screamed. 'What kind of hours are those?!'
"You noticed?" A familiar voice chuckled inside. "At least you're paying more attention to your surroundings. Come in."
The truck's door creaked open. As Ben stepped forward, the seemingly empty interior transformed before his eyes. Max sat at a small table near the door, happily munching on a skewer of grilled insects while more skewers waited on his plate. From the front of the vehicle came the sound of two bickering voices and occasional sparks.
Ben's eyes lit up with excitement, he barely contained his enthusiasm. "Was that a hologram? How it works?"
Max nodded, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "Yes, it was. And for me, higher technology just works. As long as I know what they do and if they are dangerous, I won't bother to know more."
"Too cool!" Ben smiled, then furrowed his brow. "But why is the sign wrong?"
His grandfather shrugged with fond exasperation. "I've been asking about that for years. They just say I can't understand their genius. But honestly, they probably couldn't be bothered to check human hours and made the panel in a hurry. The camouflage itself works well enough." He paused, then added with a chuckle, "Though don't ask me why they got the truck's appearance right."
Ben navigated towards the front of the vehicle. Near the dashboard, he noticed an open panel to the right of the steering wheel, its cover on the floor. He leaned in for a closer look inside.
"I told you, you have to insert this wire here, maggot head!" A high-pitched voice emanated from the open panel, followed by the windshield wipers activating at full speed.
"Maggots? Where? I'm a little hungry." A second voice responded, slightly deeper but no less odd. "And don't touch that! It could electrocute you… I think."
"As if it—" The first voice began, but was cut off by a loud zap, and a small thud was heard soon after.
"Told you." He inserted another wire and the vehicle's headlights blazed to life. "…What are we supposed to do again?"
Max palmed his forehead as Ben peered into the hole. "I don't know if your Saga has shown them, but in any case, Ben, this is Blukic and Driba. We've known each other for over 40 years."
"Yes, they were present…" Ben spotted two small gray humanoid beings in the machinery. One was slightly charred, wisps of smoke rising from his body. The other stared at the RV's ceiling, as if pondering the mysteries of the universe.
"Er… Hello. When are you going to finish?"
The standing alien — Blukic — shifted his vacant stare from the ceiling to Ben.
"An Earth hour at most… I think?" His tone suggested he was as likely to sprout wings as to actually complete the repairs in that timeframe.
Ben exchanged a look with his grandfather, both silently acknowledging the long night ahead. The Rust Bucket's interior lights flickered ominously, as if in agreement.
'Should I scan them?' Ben considered, but dismissed the idea. 'Brainstorm should be enough, having Grey Matter would be overlapping for no reason — they're both super-intelligent aliens anyway.'
Additionally, he wanted to avoid an awkward day where he would need to turn the dial dozens of times just to select the right alien for the job.
He sat down opposite his grandfather and picked up a skewer of grilled insects.
"You want to try?!" Max widened his eyes. All his children, grandchildren, nephews and grandnephews had always looked at his food choices with disgust, never even trying them.
Ben shrugged. "It's only been a few days since the start of the holidays, and I've already had a lot of unforgettable experiences. Now that I know my life can end at any time by any other participant or the potential outcome of the war if control wins, I don't see why I should deprive myself of experiences. That's freedom… I guess."
He squinted his eyes and took his first bite, then opened them wide.
"So?" Max asked.
"Not my favorite food, but it's actually kinda good. I like how it's crispy and meaty." Ben took another bite. "Sorry about the refusals… well, I still think that snails are inedible, so don't try to make me eat those."
"Haha! You need to try them, Ben. They are delicious!"
"As if!" Ben shook his skewer at his grandfather in annoyance. By accident, one of the roasted insects flew off, but Blukic, who was standing nearby on the ground, intercepted it with his stretched tongue.
"...What are you doing here?" Ben blinked.
The alien scratched his head as he munched. "…I think I got lost."
"…How?" Ben's mouth hung open in disbelief.
As Ben stared at Blukic in confusion, Max pondered, '…will they be able to remove Ben's Omnitrix with the tools at Mt. Rushmore?'
From the start, Max had never wanted Ben to possess nor use the watch, but he was practical enough to know forbidding a teenager from using something bonded to them would be pointless. Whatever Ben did today, Max couldn't care less — his priority was getting the Omnitrix removed as soon as possible from Ben.