Chapter 1 – Curious Research
Gwen sighed as she closed the cover on her laptop. It had already been two weeks since the battle with Hex and Charmcaster. As far as she could tell, the Keystone of Bezel was still just a piece of rock. She still wore it, on a necklace now, but it just wasn't working.
She had spent all her free time researching the Keystone and the spell that Ben had interrupted. Sometimes, she wished he hadn't, but then Hex and Charmcaster would still be a threat. There didn't seem to be anything she could do for the moment.
"Grandpa..."
"What's the matter Gwen?"
"Nothing... It's just... did the Plumbers ever deal with anything... magical?"
"YAWN!" Ben had been sleeping in the other seat, but awoke at the mention of the Plumbers.
"Why do you ask?"
"Just curious..."
"Well, no. Not really. You see, in the Paranormal Investigations Department of the government, there were three main groups. The Plumbers were in charge of dealing with aliens and other strange creatures. Another group, called Tech Support, dealt with anything ultra-tech, like Dr. Animo's Transmodulator. They also developed most of the weapons the Plumbers used. And finally, the third group, the Bookkeepers, dealt with anything magical. They kept to themselves most of the time though, so I don't know much about them."
"Awesome! That sounds a lot like us. I bet the guys in Tech Support have some really cool gear!" Ben had a wide-eyed grin on his face.
"That's true. The best in fact."
"And what about the Bookkeepers?" Gwen asked hopefully.
"Well, like I said, I don't really know much about them. They were more secretive than the other groups. For example, the Plumbers had their base under Mt. Rushmore and Tech Support had their base at Area 51, although they've probably moved now. The Bookkeepers on the other hand used the magic they collected to hide their base in another dimension, or so I understand."
"Whoa," was all Ben could manage.
"So, why didn't the Bookkeepers deal with Hex and Charmcaster?"
"That's a good question. The Plumbers had a variety of ways to get information about aliens, but often we'd just hear about strange creatures on the news or police radio. Perhaps the Bookkeepers just hadn't had time to track them down."
"It's a good thing I was, OW... err... we were there then." Ben said. "You didn't have to hit me." Gwen just scowled at him.
Surely they would have known, Gwen thought. Why didn't they act?
"Hey kids! We just entered Los Angeles city limits." Ben ran to the front seat to see the city center in the distance. Gwen was still working on her laptop.
Soon they found a place to park so they could plan what to do for the day.
"There's a bookstore near here I want to check out," Gwen said hurriedly.
"Uh, sure. If you're in a hurry, I guess we can go there first."
"Thanks grandpa."
"A bookstore? Boring."
"You might not think so once we get there. Come on," Gwen said as she was opening the door.
At first glance, the bookstore didn't seem too strange. The decoration seemed a little dark but what set it apart were the book titles. It didn't take Max long to realize that this was an occult bookstore. Ben just looked a bit confused.
Gwen was already thumbing through various leather-bound books.
"Excuse me?" she asked the old woman behind the desk.
"Yes?"
"How much... how much do you know about..." she began timidly. She was embarrassed to ask about magic and magical items. Some how it didn't seem real. Was she really going to try to learn magic? Real magic? Hex and Charmcaster were real and they used magic. Why couldn't she? She had made Hex's staff work. It didn't work now because of the backlash from that spell, but she had still kept it, just in case.
The old woman smiled knowingly. "How much do I know about magical artifacts?"
Gwen was surprised. "How did you...?"
"I know you are carrying one around your neck right now. Even though it's exhausted, I can still tell it's there. Most of these books out here are for the usual customers. Really, this place is basically a used bookstore. People buy these books for fun and then bring them back when they've had enough. Come with me to the back."
"Grandpa, are these what I think they are?"
"Yes Ben. This is an occult bookstore. It looks like Gwen intends to learn more about magic after that last run in with Hex."
The back room had several more bookshelves but Gwen could already tell these were different. She began to pick up one of the books near the end but something made her think twice. The old woman walked off among the shelves and soon came back carrying three books. "Here. I think these are what you are looking for. This one is a book for apprentices to learn from. It's a good place to start. This one is all about magic items, including making and recharging them," the old woman said with a wink. "And this one is an empty grimoire for later."
When they got back to the front room, the old lady spoke up again and said, "That'll be $74.88. This is a business after all."
"Please grandpa."
"Are you sure this is a good idea? Well, alright." Max said, taking some money out of his pocket.
Just then they heard sirens and tires squealing outside as a car sped past followed by several cop cars. Ben ran outside and turned the Omnitrix to XLR8. When he activated it thought, he ended up becoming Four Arms instead. "Oh man. How am I supposed to catch them now?" Ben said as he began running in the direction of the sirens.
Gwen ran outside too. Quickly, she flipped through the first book. One of the pages caught her eye. It mentioned bad luck and gave an incantation. Without giving it too much though, she held out a hand towards the criminal's car and read the incantation. She felt a brief surge of energy pass down here arm.
Down the road, the contents of an overfull dumpster settled, causing an old glass bottle to roll out in front of the speeding car. The front tire ran over the bottle, smashing it. Being old and hot from the chase, the glass punctured the tire and the car was sent skidding into another dumpster further down the road. The cops quickly surrounded the car.
Ben was only about half way there and had been loosing ground. There was no point in continuing now, so he turned and headed back. Max was still in the store paying for the books. "She's got a lot of potential," the old woman said as she handed him the change.
"They both do," Max said, with mixed feelings. He had worried when Ben first got the Omnitrix, too. That had worked out all right in the end. He hoped this would too.
