Chapter 155: Putting On the Omnitrix Again
Shadows clung to the interior of the Rustbucket. Ben, Gwen, and Klein stood in tense silence, their eyes scanning the dim corners of the vehicle. Klein looked entirely unbothered, his posture relaxed, while Ben and Gwen trusted his judgment enough to remain on high alert, their muscles coiled for action.
A piercing, guttural shriek suddenly shattered the quiet. A grotesque creature lunged from the darkness of the cabin. It was a nightmare of mutated anatomy—a bizarre half-beast with yellowish-brown skin stretched tight over unnatural musculature. Its arms dragged far lower than its stubby legs, and a pulsing, exposed brain-like mass crowned its head.
Before the beast could even close the distance, Gwen reacted. Her hands flared with brilliant pink mana. With a sharp thrust of her palms, a surge of celestial energy slammed into the creature mid-charge. The beast shrieked again as the kinetic force launched it straight out the open door of the Rustbucket, sending it crashing heavily into the trunk of a massive tree outside.
"I can't let you hinder the boss," Kevin sneered, stepping out of the RV with a dangerous glint in his eyes. "Otherwise, I'd be a terrible subordinate."
He casually slapped his palm against the exterior paneling of the Rustbucket. A metallic sheen rippled up his arm, rapidly consuming his flesh and clothes until his entire body transformed into solid, impenetrable steel. He cracked his metallic knuckles, stepping forward to deal with the downed half-beast.
With Kevin handling the trash outside, Klein turned his attention back to the interior, confidently continuing his search. He casually rummaged through the cabinets, tossing a wrench aside.
"That thing was definitely looking for something specific," Klein muttered. He glanced at Ben and Gwen, his expression laced with mild confusion. "Do you guys know where Grandpa Max usually hides his secret stash?"
Gwen tapped her chin, her brow furrowing in thought, before shaking her head.
Ben, however, did not say a word. He walked straight to the driver's seat, slid into the worn leather chair, and reached under the dashboard. His fingers danced over a sequence of hidden buttons near the steering column. A soft click echoed through the cabin. The digital alarm clock mounted near the console suddenly popped open, revealing a hidden compartment. Inside sat a sleek, disc-shaped projector.
Klein stepped forward, plucking the device from its resting place. "Well, look at that. Come over here and look at this."
Ben and Gwen hurried over at his words, peering over his shoulder. Klein pressed the activation switch. A beam of blue light shot upward, flickering for a fraction of a second before resolving into a crisp holographic projection of Grandpa Max.
"Hello, Ben," the miniature Max spoke, his tone serious but steady. "I left this message where only you could find it. I'm in a bit of a situation right now, but I can handle it. You don't need to worry about me at all. Aliens are causing trouble again, and I'm investigating. Oh, and you don't need to worry about the Omnitrix either; it's very safe right now and absolutely cannot fall into their hands."
The hologram paused, offering a faint, knowing smile. "By the way, please say hello to your cousin and your other cousin. And tell your cousin not to play too wildly. Max out."
The blue light collapsed, plunging the cabin back into dimness.
Ben stared at the empty space, his eyes wide with shock. "The Omnitrix is with Grandpa?!"
Klein stared at him. He let out a long, exhausted sigh, looking at Ben as if he were a particularly slow toddler. "Ben, why are you still so incredibly dense?"
Gwen rolled her eyes, stepping in to translate for her oblivious cousin. "Grandpa said that on purpose, Dweeb. In case this message fell into the wrong hands. He is speaking in code."
"Exactly," Gwen continued. "And he specifically asked you to say hello to both of us. That is his way of saying you have permission to ask us for help."
Klein tossed the disc projector into Ben's hands, crossing his arms with a look of deep offense. "What I want to know is what he meant by me not playing too wildly. I have always been a paragon of restraint and sensibility, okay?"
He scoffed internally. It was true. If a situation only required the total suppression of a single planet, he would never go out of his way to subjugate the entire galaxy. That was just basic efficiency.
Hearing this, Ben offered an awkward, sheepish laugh, scratching the back of his head. "Right... well, I plan to go home and check on the Omnitrix first. Just to be sure."
Klein gave a slight, dismissive nod. "Go ahead. If you need anything, you know how to find us."
Ben did not waste a second. He hopped onto his bicycle and pedaled laboriously through the suburban streets, his lungs burning by the time he reached his front door. He burst inside, completely ignoring the house rules as he sprinted up the stairs without even bothering to take off his dirty shoes.
"Ben Tennyson, do not run in the house!" his mother's voice echoed from the kitchen.
"Got it, Mom!" he shouted back, already sliding into his bedroom.
He threw open his wardrobe drawer, tossing aside folded shirts and old junk until his fingers brushed against a familiar, heavy metal box. He popped the latch.
"Sure enough," Ben whispered, a massive wave of relief washing over him. "The Omnitrix is right here with me."
He stared down at the bulky, alien watch resting quietly in its padded casing. The green hourglass symbol seemed to stare back at him. He swallowed hard.
"But... should I put it on?"
Night had fully fallen by the time they regrouped at a quiet, secluded park. The atmosphere was incredibly relaxed, a stark contrast to the alien attack earlier.
Gwen sat comfortably on a wooden park bench. Klein lay flat on his back across the slats, his head resting peacefully on Gwen's smooth, black-stockinged legs. Gwen's slender, long fingers moved gently through his hair, massaging his scalp with a practiced, soothing rhythm.
A few yards away, Kevin leaned heavily against the trunk of a large tree. His arms were crossed, and his eyes were squeezed tightly shut. He was not exactly resting; he just actively refused to open his eyes and subject himself to the overwhelming public display of affection radiating from the bench. Being force-fed dog food by his boss and his boss's girlfriend was not on his agenda for the evening.
Tap-tap-tap...
The crunch of footsteps approaching on the gravel broke the silence. Klein gently fluttered his eyes open.
"Cousin, I need some advice," Ben said, stepping into the dim glow of the streetlamp. He extended his hand. Resting in his palm was the Omnitrix.
Klein did not move from his comfortable spot. He just looked up at Ben's conflicted face. "You have already made up your mind, haven't you?"
The rhetorical question hit Ben like a physical blow, causing him to freeze in place.
"The mere fact that you came all the way out here to ask this question means you have already made a choice in your heart," Klein said, his voice calm and measured. "You are just worried about choosing wrong. You want to hear someone else validate it, or you want someone to give you that final push."
Klein finally sat up, leaving the comfort of Gwen's lap to look Ben dead in the eye. His expression shifted into something entirely serious. "Just go with what you think is right."
Ben stood frozen for a long moment. Then, the uncertainty in his gaze melted away, replaced by a hardened, unyielding resolve.
But just before he could move...
"The Omnitrix does not belong to you. Hand it over."
A gravelly voice cut through the shadows. A tall man stepped out from the tree line. He wore a heavy trench coat and a wide-brimmed hat pulled low, completely obscuring his facial features in the darkness.
Klein's eyes narrowed, a flash of pure displeasure crossing his face. "Who the hell are you?!" he demanded, his tone dripping with disdain. "Who in the entire universe does not know that I bought this Omnitrix at a perfectly normal toy store?! And you have the nerve to tell us to hand it over?! If you do not give me a very good explanation right now, you are going to die right here!"
As he spoke, Klein casually raised his left arm. The faceplate of Another Omnitrix gleamed dangerously under the moonlight, his fingers hovering over the activation dial, fully prepared to transform and obliterate the stranger.
Hearing such absurdly arrogant words, the man in the trench coat immediately connected the dots. He recognized the sheer audacity. "...You are Klein. So, that means he is Ben Tennyson?"
Klein and Ben exchanged a quick, confused glance before nodding at the stranger.
"I am a designated Magister of the Plumbers," the man explained, raising his hands in a placating gesture. "Are you looking for Max? He was helping me with a case, and now he is missing. We can look for your grandpa together."
The Plumber reached up and tapped his collar. The holographic fake mask flickered and vanished from his face, revealing his true extraterrestrial form. He wore a sleek, white-and-red Plumber uniform that resembled a high-tech spacesuit. Above the collar sat a bulbous, blue head that looked somewhat like an octopus, complete with dangling tentacles and deep, aquatic eyes.
The alien had dropped his disguise so quickly for one simple reason: he had read the files. He absolutely did not want to provoke Klein, that troublesome anomaly, and there was simply no need to risk a fight.
Klein thought for a moment, weighing his options. Finally, the annoyance faded from his face. He stepped forward and firmly shook the Plumber's webbed hand.
The consensus was reached. They would solve the case and find Grandpa Max together.
Ben glanced at the Plumber, then looked down at the Omnitrix in his hand once more. Klein's earlier words echoed loudly in his mind.
Gwen leaned forward, her voice soft with concern. "Are you sure about this?"
Ben's jaw tightened. His eyes were completely firm now. The hesitation was gone.
Just as the dramatic tension reached its peak, a deeply irritated voice shattered the mood.
"Stop dilly-dallying already!" Klein groaned, waving his hand impatiently. "If you want to wear it, wear it. If not, give it back to me right now so I can sell it secondhand at the toy store and make a quick buck."
Ben's serious expression cracked. He offered an awkward, strained laugh, scratching his head. "Uh-huh. Right. I'm wearing it, I'm wearing it, I'm wearing it."
Ben slapped the Omnitrix onto his left wrist. The metallic bands instantly unspooled, wrapping tightly around his skin with a familiar, mechanical hiss as it automatically attached itself to his DNA once more.
Later that night, under a starless sky, the group crouched in the shadows outside a massive, industrial factory complex.
Klein peered around the corner of a rusted shipping container, his eyes scanning the heavily guarded perimeter. He frowned, a strange sense of deja vu washing over him.
'Hiss... why does this place look so incredibly familiar?' Klein thought, his brow furrowing in genuine confusion.
Just then, he felt a sharp tug on his jacket sleeve. Klein turned his head back to see Kevin crouching right behind him.
Kevin leaned in close, keeping his voice to a barely audible whisper. "Boss... isn't this the exact delivery location for our last underground business deal?"
Klein froze. The gears in his head ground to a halt as the realization hit him like a freight train.
'I knew it looked familiar! So the mysterious criminal mastermind I am supposed to be intercepting here is me?! Am I the villain of this plotline now?!'
Klein's face flushed with a rare wave of intense embarrassment. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. He genuinely had no idea how to explain this to the Plumber or Ben.
After all, he had never claimed to be some perfectly righteous, law-abiding young man. Over the years, he had run plenty of lucrative side businesses in the alien underworld—as long as they did not cross his personal bottom line. But getting busted by his own cousin's superhero team? That was just bad luck.
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