Mother's Cooking
Sandra Tennyson pulled a steaming casserole from the oven. She placed the casserole on the kitchen table. She never observed her son wincing.
"This is a new recipe I've wanted to try out. It's tofu and wheat grass extract with a hint of natto," said Sandra.
She spooned a heap onto Ben's plate. She did the same for Rook.
"It looks like an amazing recipe, Mrs. Tennyson," said Rook. He licked his lips.
"Speak for yourself," muttered Ben beneath his breath. "This looks like road kill that was putrefied in a sewer for a week and smells twice as bad," he thought. He cringed as he observed Rook consuming the substance with gusto. "How can you eat that?" he whispered once his mother's back was turned.
"Because it is delicious," Rook said until he happily consumed more food.
Ben shook his head. "Your taste buds must be in backwards," he muttered. He sighed before he frowned. He leaned his head on his palm.
"No elbows on the table," Sandra scolded.
Ben sighed again. He dreaded trying some of the food on his plate. He refused to imagine what it tasted like since it smelled so horrible. He viewed Rook finishing his meal. He pushed the plate across the table.
"Seconds?" he whispered while viewing his mother's turned back.
"Certainly," Rook said.
Ben quickly pushed the food off his plate onto Rook's. Rook consumed the second helping. Ben sat back in his seat and sighed with relief. He leaned forward when the Omnitrix beeped an incoming message. Magister Patelliday's voice came through after he pressed the button.
"Ben, we have an escaped prisoner," he warned.
"Who got out this time?" Ben asked.
"It's Doctor Animo," said Magister Patelliday.
Ben jumped at the chance of escaping the dinner table. "We're on it, Magister Patelliday! Come on, Rook."
Rook hurried and finished his meal before politely pushing in his chair. "Thank you for the meal, Mrs. Tennyson. As always, it was delicious."
"You boys should take some leftovers in case you get hungry. I know how hard the both of you work," said Sandra. She prepared a plastic container with leftover food.
"Rook!" Ben whined beneath his breath. He cringed harder. Now they were forced to carry the stinky substance with them. "Gee, thanks, Mom."
She handed Ben the container. He handed it to Rook. Rook smiled until he placed it in a pouch for safety. They hurried out the door and into the streets of Bellwood in search of Doctor Animo.
"He might have gone to a local department store to obtain supplies for his mutation devices. Or to the local pet shop to acquire minions," Rook suggested.
"Doctor Animo isn't very subtle," Ben noted. "He'll probably inform us of his location through eventual public mayhem."
Two police cars drove by with their lights flashing and sirens blaring.
"We'd better follow them," Ben said. He used the Omnitrix to transform into XLR8. "Last one there is a rotten egg!" He vanished down the street in a blur.
XLR8 followed the police cars until he saw a department store building with broken windows and a large hole in the wall. He ran ahead of them into the building. He came to a stop and glanced around.
"I know you're in here, Doc," said XLR8. "Give it up. You're going back to jail."
Rook tapped him on the shoulder. XLR8's eyes widened until he gasped.
"How did you get here BEFORE me?"
"Actually, I got here at the same time. I was on your back. You were moving so fast that you did not notice me hitching a ride," said Rook before he smirked.
"I thought I smelled something as bad as my mom's cooking. I thought I was just burning rubber," XLR8 muttered. "I still arrived first since Rook was on my back. He came in last," Ben thought until he snickered.
"I'll never go back to a cell, Ben Tennyson," Doctor Animo's voice ranted from beyond a short wall. "But you and your friend will go to the grave." He laughed menacingly until the wall broke and revealed his newest mutations.
Doctor Animo rode on a mutated monitor lizard. Ben glared at the creature's scaly hide, thick arms, long tongue, large claws, so on. Beside the monitor lizard was a mutant Chilean Rose Hair tarantula and Zebra Finch.
"Yawn. Heard that line years before and I'm still here," Ben spoke as he hit the Omnitrix. He became Water Hazard until he sighed. "I meant to do that." He wished for Swampfire.
"Destroy them, my pets!" Doctor Animo ordered.
The tarantula and finch began to attack Rook and Water Hazard. Doctor Animo observed his mutants battling his enemies. He grinned until he rode the monitor lizard out of the hole in the building.
"Doctor Animo is escaping again," Rook noted before the finch hit him with one of its large wings and knocked him down. "It appears he prepared this ambush for us so we would become distracted!"
Water Hazard groaned as he was pinned beneath the tarantula's many hairy legs. He dodged its large fangs and multiple bites.
"Doctor Animo won't slither his way out of this fight," Water Hazard vowed.
He punched the tarantula off his body. It hid the wall. It flailed its legs before it righted itself. It advanced at Rook instead. Rook was facing away. He never saw the approaching mutant.
"Rook, watch out!" Water Hazard warned his partner.
Rook dodged as the mutant tarantula's fangs struck his pouch and punctured the plastic container within. Some of the food spilled onto its legs. The tarantula backed away. It struggled to wipe off the nasty substance. The finch flew in another direction until it hit the wall. It placed a wing over its eyes. They were watering.
"My mom's cooking is so rank, it's making a great distraction," Water Hazard muttered.
While the two creatures were stunned by the awful food, he and Rook incapacitated them and tied them up.
"Now to capture Animo and his lizard," Ben said after he transformed back into his normal self. He transformed into Astrodactyl and flew while screeching. "Now see if you can keep up with me!" He used his wings and jetpack to fly away at incredible speed.
Several minutes later, he spotted Doctor Animo terrorizing the downtown populace as he rode his mutant monitor lizard through the streets. Astrodactyl descended on the rooftop of a building until he noticed a line hanging from his foot.
"Hey! No hitchhikers!"
Rook's Proto-Tool grapple was around his foot. Rook grinned as he landed on the roof before Ben.
"I made it here first." He removed the grapple. It retracted into his modified weapon.
Astrodactyl landed on the roof. He shook his fist. "You cheater! How do you keep doing that without me noticing?"
"You have tunnel vision sometimes," Rook said as he shrugged.
Astrodactyl sighed. "Let's just get Animo." He revealed his green energy whips until he flew into the air. "Do you have my mom's barf casserole?"
"I believe it was tofu and wheat grass extract with a hint of natto," said Rook.
"Barf casserole describes it much better," Astrodactyl insisted.
"That's right, flee in terror!" Doctor Animo shouted. His lizard climbed a large stairway in front of a library. It opened its mouth and spit out an acid substance that burned a concrete pillar until it cracked. "You'll all become my guinea pigs soon enough."
"I don't think so, you third rate mad scientist," Astrodactyl yelled before cracking whips at the mutant lizard's face.
"Ben Tennyson!" Doctor Animo snarled and shook his fist. His mutant roared and snapped at the enemy. "So you defeated my other pets? No matter. You'll make a quick meal for this one."
The mutant lizard spit acid at Astrodactyl as he dodged multiple times.
"Speaking of meals," Astrodactyl said. "Hope you're hungry!"
Rook swung down on his grapple and threw the open container of leftovers into Doctor Animo's face. Doctor Animo cried out and flailed his arms. He was currently blinded. He tried to wipe the slimy concoction from his face. His lizard reared up and dumped him onto the ground before running away in a panic. Rook chased after the giant lizard until he subdued it. Doctor Animo rolled on the ground while clutching his face. He frantically wiped at the disgusting mess.
"Aaaah! I can't breathe! What is this horrible substance!" He coughed several times before he used his shirt to wipe the putrid smelling food from his face.
"It's called health food," said Astrodactyl. He laughed until he assumed human form. "I guess my mom's cooking is good after all. As a weapon!"
The End