Author's Note: Hey again! Welcome to the final chapter of Ben 10: Origins. Be sure to stick around for the Epilogue and Post-Credits scenes! They'll give you a look at what comes next for Danger Watch. Enjoy!
Chapter 10
By noon the next day, the rustbucket had managed to hobble and roll its way to the rendezvous that Max's friend Phil had set for them. The old man was on high alert as he slowly brought the behemoth of a machine to a halt, in a grove of trees near the Rushmore site. A warm breeze blew through the open window, and Max sighed as he put the R.V. in park. He glanced at the gas gauge. Empty.
"You know, it was originally called Six Grandfathers, before the colonizers came and carved the dollar bill guy into it," came Gwen's voice.
Max checked the rear-view mirror. Until now, he had let the kid's sleep. The events of the previous day had been exhausting for them, he knew, and he would let them rest as much as they needed. Gwen, of course, was the early riser of the two, and was now curiously taking in her surroundings. Max gave her a tired smile.
"Well, look who's up," he said. "We made it."
"I figured," she said, causing Max to quirk an eyebrow and then laugh good-naturedly.
"I bet you did," he said.
"Shut up, Gwen…" Ben muttered, still half-asleep in a reclined seat.
"Ben, we're here," Max said.
Ben groaned, pulling his blanket up to cover his face, and curled up into an even tighter ball. The green glow of the watch shone through the fabric. Max shook his head ruefully, and decided to try a different tactic.
"Your watch is green," he said.
There was a singular second of pause, and then Ben pulled the blanket away from his face, revealing his intense bed head and puffy eyes. He yawned, stretched, and then sat up, looking down at the watch, which promptly beeped and popped out it's dial. He began to fiddle with the controls as Gwen and Grandpa Max shared a knowing look.
Then, a sleek, black, sedan suddenly rolled into view, driving up along side Max. They were the only two parked in this little grove of trees, and looking down at the car, Max suddenly got a little giddy. With speed in spite of his age, he got out of the R.V., and went to greet the driver of the car with a sturdy handshake.
"Billings!"
"Tennyson!"
Phil Billings was a shorter, wiry man with graying brown hair and a face full of creases. He wore a white suit, a blue tie, and a fancy watch, and he was beaming at Max. The two old men gave each other a quick hug, and then pulled back to size each other up.
"God, how long has it been?" Max said.
"Thirty years," Phil said. They both shook their head in disbelief. "Time flies."
"You're tellin' me, pal," Max said, jerking a thumb at the R.V. "I've got my grandkids on board."
"Woah," Phil said, as if hit with a small wave of vertigo. "Grandkids? Man, we're old."
They both laughed at that, and clapped each other on the shoulder. Then, all too suddenly, they both became somber, and it was all business.
"The base isn't far from here," Phil said. "Nora insisted that we keep it out of the way, even though we could have put it directly behind Roosevelt's-"
"Wait, Nora is here?" Max cut him off a little too eagerly. Phil grinned.
"Oh, yeah," he said, "that's right. You two were-"
"We weren't anything," Max said, stopping him there, trying to seem neutral. He knew that sly look that Phil got when it came to Max and Nora Wakeman. It always meant trouble. "Even if we had been, that was a long time ago."
"Thirty years," Phil reiterated. "That's a long time to hold it in, pal. Are you sure you don't just wanna-?"
"Enough, Billings, I'm not in a joking mood. We had a helluva night. How do we get to the base?"
Phil shrugged.
"Like I said, its not far. I'll take you, just follow me."
Phil went to get back into his car, but Max caught him by the shoulder as he went, with a thankful smile.
"Thanks, again, Phil," he said. Phil shot him an easy smile in return.
"Hey, don't sweat it," he said. "Wait till you see what Wakeman's got cooking up in the lab. You're gonna like it."
With that, they both got back into their vehicles, and Phil led the way down a discreet dirt road, which winded down into an out-of-the-way valley. Nestled in that valley was a large complex, complete with S.U.V.'s, 5-point tents, and a main building that was stylish, modern, and bore an enormous 'H' on the front. They parked close to the entrance, and Phil waited for them at the door of the building. As Max approached, Phil got his first glance at the kids, and shook his head.
"You're kidding me," he said. "They're huge!"
"What is this place?" Ben said, looking around in awe. "Some kinda secret military base?"
"Not quite," Phil said, taking note of the strange device latched onto the boy's wrist. His gaze lingered on it for a few, long moments, before he shook his head. "Alright, well, c'mon. I'll show you the inside, and then we'll see what Wakeman has to say about that fancy bracelet of yours."
He swiped a keycard at the door, and, with a buzz, it unlocked. Phil held it open for the little entourage to enter, and then quickly followed and took up the lead. The man bulk of the interior was like a large warehouse, with a grate-metal second tier build around the edges of the walls. Across the main floor there were dozens of people, all of them clad in white uniforms. The uniforms varied, some of them seemed paramilitary, others, clearly scientists. Still others seemed to just be clerical, secretaries or assistants or the like.
Gwen and Ben stared, wide-eyed, at all of the strange technology that was on display. Workers carted around huge, energy producing engines, wheelbarrows of scrap metal, among other fantastical technology. The most impressive were the strange gauntlets that several of the men and women in white wore. As Ben watched, one such person used the gauntlet to produce, fully, a forklift, after a few moments of consistently firing what looked like computer data out of the wrist-mounted cannon.
Phil led them past the main floor, to a secluded doorway. The door bore a metal nameplate, that read: DOCTOR WAKEMAN. Phil stopped, smiling back at the little party, before knocking at the door.
"Hey, Wakeman," he said. "Got a surprise for you."
There was the sound of a chair scraping, and then a few pairs of footsteps, before an older woman's voice responded.
"It's not a surprise when I saw you coming. I've been watching you since you tripped the perimeter. Unlike you, I actually run a tight ship around here."
The door opened, and there stood a short woman with cropped white hair. She wore a long, yellow coat, and had a pair of reflective goggles mounted on her forehead. She looked between the group of visitors with crows-footed eyes. Gwen she disregarded, Ben she lingered on due to the strange watch, but her gaze finally rested on Max. She crossed her arms upon looking at his face, and a wry smile split across her visage.
"Hey, Max," she said.
"Hey, Nora," Max said.
Gwen and Ben exchanged looks that said: gross.
"So, this is what it takes to get you to call, huh?" Wakeman said, wasting no time as she strode forward and seized Ben by the arm, causing him to start. She pulled down her goggles and began to inspect the watch. "Hmm…"
Then, there was the sound of loud, mechanical footsteps, as the door to Wakeman's office was closed.
"Wah!" Ben shouted, yanking his arm away from Wakeman as he caught sight of what had just appeared.
Standing in front of the doorway was a 6 foot tall robot. She looked like she had been crafted to resemble some kind of humanoid, with eyes, a mouth, legs, and so on. She was, however, made out of a shining white metal, with blue and silver highlights. She looked at Ben with a strangely human curiosity, and it set him on edge. He immediately went to put his hand on the watch, but Max put a steadying hand on his shoulder. Ben glanced up, confused, but Max gave him a level stare, which calmed the boy down.
"Uh, sorry," the robot said, her voice coming out like that of a teenage girl. It, like the rest of her, was jarringly human. She glanced to Wakeman, and then to Ben. "Did I startle you?"
"XJ-9, at ease," Wakeman said, snorting at Ben's antics. The boy went a little pink in the face as he realized he was the only one startled. However, he gave himself some slack, as he had just been attacked. Several times. By aliens. Wakeman, seeing this, decided to give him some reassuring words. "Relax. We're all on the same side here. In fact… I'm pretty sure I have an idea as to who has been after that watch of yours."