A long, low whine tore from the rusty hinges as the gate was pushed inward.
"Hello? Marty? Anyone home?" a voice called into the stillness.
It was Max and the group who arrived at Marty's house to investigate.
When no answer came after a long moment, Max turned. He brought a finger to his lips, signaling the kids behind him to be silent.
With a careful shove, the gate swung wide. Max stepped into the property first, his movements cautious and deliberate. Ben crowded close behind, peering over his grandfather's shoulder, while Gwen and Rio filed in last, their eyes scanning the overgrown yard.
They flooded into the dim house, the door groaning as they entered.
The interior was swallowed by darkness, every curtain drawn, with no lights on. And what greeted them was just the persistent, rhythmic click... Click... click... of a mechanical clock from somewhere deeper in the house.
The group inched forward, their eyes trying to figure out the situation inside.
As they moved past a side table, the glass surface of an ornate grandfather clock reflected their own tense, searching faces back at them.
[Gasp!]
The sharp, sudden sound made everyone jump. It was Gwen, who had clapped a hand over her mouth, her wide eyes fixed on a dark, man-like shape looming in the corner.
Before anyone could react, a gust of wind from an open window billowed the curtains and made the shape flutter.
Turns out it was just a long coat hanging on a stand.
A collective, shaky sigh of relief passed through the group.
"Gwen, it's just a coat," said Rio. His hand fumbling along the wall until he found the switch.
Click.
A single, dusty overhead light flickered on, revealing an ordinary place—old furniture, half-read magazines, a few dishes left in the sink.
Grandpa Max finally let his shoulders relax as his gaze finished scanning the whole room. "Well," he declared. "Nothing here seems out of whack."
A reminiscing smile appeared on his face as his eyes continued to wander. He was thinking about his time spent as a plumber, doing these types of infiltration missions.
But his reminisce was soon broken.
"Except for what he rolled up in his rug," Ben interjected from near the sofa. He was pointing down at the floor. "Which was right here."
All eyes followed his finger. The dusty wooden floor showed a perfect, clean rectangle where a rug had clearly been recently removed.
Max's nostalgic smile vanished. His eyes narrowed as he looked from the clean patch to Ben's earnest face.
----
Later, back at Vera's house.
"I'll be in the guest room if you need me,"
"But, Grandpa—!" Ben started, half-rising from the couch.
"Ben." Max's voice was firm, leaving no room for argument. "There's nothing more we can do tonight. I'll take an early walk in the morning, clear my head, and we'll check things out properly in the morning. Once I'm back, then we'll figure out what's going on."
Ben froze mid-protest, his face falling. As his adventurous fire was extinguished, it left him looking smaller somehow.
He sank back onto the floral-patterned sofa, propping his chin glumly in his hands. The hero's journey, it seemed, was being put on hold by something as mundane as bedtime.
"Now," Max said in that final tone parents master, "all of you, get some rest."
He gently but firmly began herding the kids toward the hallway, nudging them in the direction of their rooms.
The argument ended there. Gwen trudged down the hall while Ben followed behind, dragging his feet the whole way, like a prisoner heading to his cell.
-----
The bedroom door clicked shut. Ben immediately flopped onto his bed with a dramatic groan that shook the frame.
"This is so unfair!" he grumbled, staring at the ceiling. "Grandpa's treating us like we're five. A guy out there turns into green goo, and we're supposed to just... go to sleep? As if!"
Rio watched his cousin's dramatics, a slight smile playing on his lips. "He's being cautious. It's what adults do."
"Cautiousness is boring! That... that thing is out there right now, and we're in here wearing pajamas!" Ben sat up, his eyes blazing with reckless energy. "We should be out there! Investigating!"
Rio's voice drops to a conspiratorial whisper. "So, why don't we?"
Ben's complaints died in his throat. He stared at Rio. "What? Sneak out?"
"Why not? We have a head start." Rio moved to the window, peering out into the dark. "We go back to Marty's place, look for clues we might have missed. Then check that dumpster area properly."
A wide, brilliant grin spread across Ben's face. "Now you're talking! Let's go!"
"Hold on," said Rio, holding up a hand. "We're taking Gwen."
Ben's grin vanished, replaced by pure horror. "What? No way! She'll freak out! She'll give us a twenty-point lecture on rules and safety and then immediately tattle to Grandpa! She's a total rules-person!"
"Maybe," conceded Rio. "But if she finds out we're gone and tells Grandpa, we're done for. Better to bring her. No one will know."
Ben opened his mouth to argue, then pictured that future and shuddered. "Fine. But if she yells, I'm blaming you."
A minute later, they were standing outside Gwen's door. Rio gave a soft, quick knock.
The door opened a crack, revealing a sleepy-eyed Gwen in her pajamas. "What do you two wan—"
Before she could finish, Rio's hand was firmly over her mouth as he guided her back into the room. Ben slipped in behind them and closed the door.
Gwen's eyes widened in shock, then flashed with anger. On instinct, she grabbed Rio's wrist, twisted, and tried to use his momentum to throw him.
He didn't budge. He adjusted his balance. With a subtle shift, he broke her leverage and pinned her arm immovably to her side.
"Shhh! It's us," Rio whispered, his face close to her ear. "Just listen."
He slowly removed his hand. Gwen glared, rubbing her wrist. "You're lucky I didn't go for the groin."
"Noted," Rio said, unfazed. "We're sneaking out."
Gwen's eyes nearly popped out of her head. "Are you insane? Grandpa said—"
"Grandpa's asleep," Ben cut in, his cocky grin back. "This is prime adventure time!"
"It's prime 'getting-grounded-for-life' time!" Gwen shot back.
To that, Rio interjected calmly. "But Ben saw something. And that clean spot on the floor? Something is wrong. If we wait, the trail will be cold."
He looked at her, his expression serious. "Aren't you even a little curious?"
Gwen looked from Rio's determined face to Ben's eager one. She sighed internally. From the looks on their faces, she knew they weren't going to stop.
"This is a monumentally bad idea."
Ben's grin was triumphant. "You always say so!"
"Fine," she relented, her voice laced with skepticism. "But I'm in charge of common sense."
She pointed a finger at both of them. "If I say we don't jump in. We. Don't. Jump. In. Anything," she finished, gritting her teeth.
"Done."
"Done."
-----
If Rio wanted, he could end this. Tonight. It wouldn't even be difficult.
He could have this whole retirement community cleansed of its parasites before the sun even thinks about rising.
Bring all the old people out first, then gather all the aliens in the underground space where their spaceship was, flood the entire place, and everything is solved.
It was the most efficient solution. It removed the threat permanently.
So why was he standing in the dark, listening to Ben's reckless, half-formed plan? Why was he nodding along to Gwen's sharp, logical, and utterly terrified objections? Why was he leading the two people he needed to protect most directly toward the danger?
It wasn't for the thrill of the adventure. In fact, Rio had no love for carelessness, especially when it concerns oneself.
His only objective for bringing both Ben and Gwen with him was so they could understand what kind of world they were actually stepping into.
Ben still saw this summer as the ultimate adventure. Gwen viewed these encounters as disruptive anomalies in an otherwise orderly world. They had no inkling of the scale of what was coming.
They don't feel the weight of the future pressing down like Rio does. They haven't seen the countless timelines, the legions of enemies, the world-ending events that threaten the fabric of reality itself. the scale of the chaos that is destined to crash into their lives.
And to prepare Ben and Gwen for this mess of a universe, Rio had been intentionally pushing them, forcing them to train and get ready, and now, to finally introduce them to the mess, these pathetic shapeshifters hiding in stolen skin were perfect for his purpose.
These aliens are dangerous enough to be real, but not so overwhelming that Rio can't intervene if it goes sideways. This is their trial run. Their first real test outside of training, learning how to deal with whatever comes their way in the future.
They need to be ready. And sometimes, the only way to get ready is to get your hands dirty.