"Can you not scream first thing in the morning?" groaned Gwen, looking like she hadn't slept a wink.
She squinted at the morning light, hair sticking out everywhere like a complete bird's nest, as she appeared in front of everyone.
Rio asked softly, "Headache?"
She gave a tired nod and an exhausted smile. "I kept dreaming about last night."
"Yeah… me too," whispered Rio, though his gaze darkened as his eyes shifted away.
Something was off. There was a gap in his memories. A chunk of the night was just… gone.
He remembered pulling up to the cannery… then nothing—a total blank. The next thing he knew, he was helping a bandaged Grandpa Max into the RV, doing basic first aid, and getting them out of there.
It was almost like his memory reel had a huge section snipped out.
What actually happened in between?
"Rio?" Gwen's voice pulled him back. She was staring into his eyes with a slight tilt of her head. Though her concern was unspoken, it was undoubtedly clear.
"Hmm?"
"You okay? You spaced out."
"I—" he opened his mouth, then forced a shallow nod. "Yeah. Just didn't sleep right."
Gwen didn't push the talk, but her eyes lingered on him for a moment longer, like she wasn't quite convinced.
But too tired to argue, she gave a soft hum, moving toward the kitchen and rummaging through the fridge for something vaguely breakfast-like.
Ben flopped into one of the RV's side seats with the kind of dramatic sigh only he could pull off. "So what's the plan today?"
Max answered while adjusting the dashboard. "There's a gas station and general store about forty miles out. We gotta get some supplies."
Rio leaned against the counter, stretching his words with arms crossed. "Grraaannndddppaa, you are gonna rest today."
Max turned the key in the ignition, and the RV's engine rumbled to life.
"Don't worry—I'm good for another day."
"Ggrraaannndddppaaa—"
"Sigh… Okay, okay. Here, but be sure to drive safely."
"No worries, Grandpa. We'll get to our destination safely," Rio replied with a smile as he sat in the driver's seat.
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The Rust Bucket was parked at a dusty gas station, baking under the desert sun. While Max was busy at an ATM getting some cash for the road, meanwhile, the three kids had escaped into the blessedly cool convenience store, hunting for ice cream.
Suddenly, a beat-up pickup truck screeched into the lot, kicking up a cloud of dust as it skidded to a stop right next to the ATM.
A big guy in a grimy green hat and black shirt jumped out, looking around. The thug quickly walked up behind Max. Before Max could even react, the thug stormed over, grabbed him by the shoulder, and shoved him aside like a rag doll.
"Out of the way, old man! I've got a major withdrawal to make."
---
Inside the store, the AC was fighting a losing battle against the desert heat, humming weakly like it was about to give up.
The kids were huddled around the ice cream freezer, the cold air feeling like heaven.
Ben was already debating between "Chocolate Explosion" and "Super Strawberry Swirl," but Gwen, of course, was on a mission. "What do you have that's non-fat, with less than 3% sugar?" she asked the clerk.
"Napkins." The clerk, an old man wearing a white shirt and a stained pink apron, didn't even look up to reply with his sleepy eyes.
Gwen's eyebrows twitch, she couldn't comprehend if the old man's age had his brain mush or he was just being grumpy.
Rio stood off to the side, pretending to study the shelves but barely registering anything. His mind felt… staticky. Not tired, but detached, like a radio tuned slightly off-station, picking up nothing but noise and weird fragments.
-Why can't I focus?-
He blinked hard and rubbed his temple.
Something was definitely off.
Just then, Ben snorted and turned towards him, trying to joke around. "What about you, Rio? Gonna get the 'Triple Fudge Cardiac Arrest' or what?"
Before Rio could muster a retort, Ben's grin vanished. His eyes narrowed as he looked toward the window. "Hey… what's that idiot doing?"
Outside, a pickup truck had skidded to a halt by the ATM.
From it, a gruff man wearing a green hat jumped out, looking around as he scanned the area. His eyes locked onto Max.
With a sneer, the thug stormed over and shoved Max aside like a rag doll.
"Grandpa!" Gwen's gasp was sharp. As Rio ran out of the store.
The thug shoved Max out of the way, then stomped back to his truck and dragged out a heavy metal hook chained to the bumper.
He latched it onto the ATM, then gave his buddy in the driver's seat a sharp thumbs-up. "Hit it!"
The other thug gave a thumbs-up in return and started the truck, only for it to not go anywhere after hitting the gas pedal.
Then, right before his eyes, the steering wheel dissolved. The entire front of the truck became a formless black mass with blue data-like patterns swirling across its surface. From the black mass appeared two limbs and a single circle on the front of the head representing an eye.
The creature's eye lit up as it spoke: "Your cash request has been denied!" It announced comically in a digitized version of its voice.
Standing outside, one could see that the creature had taken over the entire truck, as it turned into the same pattern and color as the creature.
Then the whole truck started to slowly dissolve like acid was poured over it.
The seat ejected and the driver was sent flying, smacking hard into a nearby power pole before slumping to the ground, out cold.
The green-hatted thug, seeing his buddy and truck in such a state, was shocked before anger took over him. He ripped the hook free from the ATM, spun it over his head, and hurled it like an improvised weapon at the creature that was rematerializing from the dissolved truck.
In response, the creature just let the chain wrap around its arm, and then, exerting a bit of force, yanked the thug toward the same power-line pole like a yo-yo, knocking him near his buddy.
"Can't believe this worked so well for the second time," the creature—Upgrade—recalled his earlier fight against Vilgax's robots. The upgrade has a weird concept of density and physical strength—heavy, light, solid, goo, whatever he needed he could morph into.
Just then, still dizzy from the hit, the green-hatted thug tried to get up, but Grandpa Max was already there. He planted a firm foot on the man's chest, preventing him from getting up.
"Where do you think you're going?" Max asked in satisfaction before looking at Rio in his alien form. "Good work, Rio."
Gwen and Ben walked out of the convenience store, surprised that everything had ended so quickly.
Rio, now Upgrade, began tying up the thugs using the same chains they used to take the Atm, the thugs regaining their clarity began shouting and struggling just for them to be silenced by a chop on their neck by Rio.
"DUDE! I only saw you coming out a second earlier, and you already sorted the problem before I could take any action."
Apparently, Rio had run out of the store just when he saw the truck park in front of the ATM, whereas Gwen and Ben were still figuring out what was going on from the window.
Hearing Ben's words, he couldn't help but laugh in his weird, robotic voice.
"Haha, what action could you have taken? Offering your ice cream to the thugs?"
"Hey—" Ben was about to retaliate when Max interjected in time, diverting their attention to the thugs.
"We still have to take care of these big boys. What do you guys suggest?"
To Rio that seemed like the most hilarious joke, after all why would adults ask children for their opinion on such things.
Although Rio could understand why Max asked them, he was probably trying to see if the kids mind was able to work in such situations, Ben and Gwen of course were oblivious to the slight scheme their grandfather was playing.
"Let them sit there for some time, Grandpa. My AI has already called the police; they should be on their way," Rio answered before pressing the dial and returning to his human form.
He couldn't be bothered to keep up the façade as the trip continues. As more and more threats continue to enter their life he has to show that he can take care of them.
The all-time quiet Gwen finally asked, "Okay, nice. Since things here are done, where are we going next, Grandpa?"
Puffing out his chest and giving a broad smile, Max replied in a reminiscent tone, "We're heading off to see your Aunt Vera for the weekend."
Both Gwen and Ben grew horrified looks upon their faces, albeit for different reasons.
"Aunt Vera? The one who always pinches our cheeks too hard?"
"NO!" Gwen asked before shouting in terror.
"Hahaha, you two haven't seen her since you were 6 or 7; it'll be nice meeting her." Max laughed at her funny reaction. "I took Rio to visit her a few years back. He'll fill you in."
"Sure thing, Grandpa!" Rio replied, wrapping his arms around Gwen and Ben's shoulders.
"Then, guys, shall we hit the road?" he said, more of a statement than a question, pulling both of them.
soon the group left the station, taking the incident as a small episode in their onward journey.
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Hey there! Thanks for reading my work! I hope this chapter is to your liking. Sorry if you expected more details. Also sorry if you felt it was still too much detail.
If these chapters are a mess of grammatical errors, please point it out and I will try to fix it.
Thanks as always for your time, hope you have a fantastic day and please stay safe.