Max was worried about his grandson.
Not Ben, for once, though there was always something to worry about with Ben. No, it was his eldest grandson that had Max concerned. And everything about this was so bizarre, he wasn't sure what to do.
Ken had never been a problem child. Easy going, intelligent, kind, friendly, level-headed, a model older brother, Ken had been about as perfect as a child could get. He'd been the calm in the eye of the storm to Gwen and Ben's hurricanes. Oh, he'd gotten into some mischief, every child does, but Max couldn't recall even a single time Ken had caused any real trouble.
Which is why the sudden call from Frank had been so baffling. He'd almost thought he'd misheard his son when he said he was worried about Ken. Then his mind had jumped to the panicked conclusion that Ken had been kidnapped again, but while Frank had sounded distressed, it hadn't been 'my child's been taken' levels of distress.
Apparently, Ken's friends had contacted his parents out of concern for their friend. They all reported strange changes in his behavior. For one, they said Ken no longer hung out with them. That he didn't hang out with anyone anymore. Social butterfly Ken ditching his friends with no explanation? That alone would have been cause for serious concern, but it got even worse.
They claimed his whole demeanor had changed. They hadn't been able to articulate exactly what had changed but they'd given some examples. Drifting off to stare into space in the middle of conversations. Sudden bizarre shifts in facial expressions. One account of a girl tripping and scrapping her knee, dropping her papers as she did, and Ken reportedly just sat there watching it happen and doing nothing to help. Probably one of the most un-Ken-like things he'd ever heard. If anything, Ken tended to overhelp. Normal Ken would have rushed over, checked her knee, gathered her papers, and probably brought her a plate of cookies afterwards. For him to do nothing was…
It was bad enough that Ken's friends were concerned it was drugs. Drugs! Max couldn't even imagine it, he really couldn't. And his grades hadn't slipped even a little. But if the change was extreme enough that his friends thought it was a possibility, to the point they'd call his parents about it, things must be bad.
Frank and Natalie had tried to uncover what was wrong themselves, but to no success. Ken had denied anything being wrong and acted like everything was fine. So, they'd turned to him, hoping he'd somehow discover the source of Ken's strange behavior.
Max was ashamed to admit he hadn't spent as much time with his eldest grandson as he would have liked in recent years. Ken was off at college, he had his plumber work to do, and Ben required so much attention. He hadn't realized just how long it had been since he'd seen Ken until Frank called. Time just moved so fast.
He'd try to make up for that now though. If his grandson was going through something, he'd do everything in his power to help. Ken was the first grandchild he'd held in his arms. That moment… Watching Ken as he grew up into the fine young man he was today… Max loved him more than he could even put into words. And he'd be damned if he let anything bad happen to him.
Whatever was wrong, Ken was hiding it well. Everything had seemed normal when he first arrived. There had been a moment, so brief he wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't been looking, where Ken's smile had faltered but besides that he'd been his normal friendly self. Max hadn't spent much time with him that day though, letting him catch up with Ben and Gwen.
He'd been on the way to Ken's room to talk to him when he'd caught Ken sneaking back in. Well, not 'sneaking', he hadn't been hiding in any way. Again, it was such a small thing he wouldn't have thought anything of it under different circumstances. Maybe he was overthinking it, seeing things just because he was looking, but his decades of plumber work had given him a sixth sense for when something was off, and Ken had set it buzzing. Had it really just been a nighttime walk? What else would he have been doing?
Today, he'd been able to spend more time with Ken, but he hadn't noticed anything unusual. He'd been the cheery peacemaker Max remembered. The way he was able to handle Ben and Gwen continued to amaze him. It was easier now that the two of them had matured and weren't constantly at each other's throats, but still. And his talk with Ken last night seemed to have encouraged him to ask the questions his inquisitive mind wanted to ask. The engineers and technicians had told Max how impressed they were with how quickly Ken had picked up and understood everything despite his limited human education. He was proud of him. Always had been. Maybe if things had gone differently… but no. Ken had made it clear he didn't want this kind of life.
Max frowned, rubbing his forehead tiredly. Ken was only here for the week; he didn't have much time. Was Ken being more careful now or had he just been fine today? Had Max spooked him last night? As much as he'd love this all to be some big misunderstanding, there was too much evidence against it to be ignored. If only he had some clue as to what might be wrong, he'd have a better idea of how to move forward.
Which was why he was currently monitoring the camera feeds of the plumber base exits. He hated it, spying on his grandson like this. But it was his best lead at the moment. His only lead. If Ken had gone out at night once, he might do it again. Making it a pattern.
It was past midnight now and still no sign of Ken.
Part of him really hoped he wouldn't show.
Those hopes were dashed when the cameras caught Ken exiting the building at 2:20am. Too late for it to be a simple nighttime stroll. Sighing, Max stood up and moved to follow him.
His age had yet to affect his ability to tail someone, he was as spry as ever (with the edition of a few pounds). His healthy diet of alien cuisine helped with that.
The boy's path was… confusing. He didn't seem to be going anywhere, just aimlessly wandering through Bellwood's streets. Twenty minutes later and there still didn't seem to be any destination or goal to it. Ken was just drifting around, not even appearing to pay much attention to the world around him. Max wished he could get a better look at his face for some hint about what was going through his head.
Five minutes later and Ken appeared to start heading back to the base. Max was confused, but relieved at the same time. Maybe he really had just gone out for a walk? But why so late?
Theories and concerns plagued him as he followed his grandson back. Nothing was adding up.
They were about ten minutes out from the base when Ken suddenly turned the corner into an alleyway. Frowning, Max sped up, not wanting to lose him. When he peeked around the corner though, the alley was already empty.
Had Ken sped up? He'd been keeping a fairly slow, casual pace before. And where was he going? This wasn't the way to the base. Max hurried down the alleyway, hoping Ken wasn't out of sight back on the streets yet.
"Grandpa?"
Max startled, whipping around. A confused looking Ken was standing behind him just a couple feet away. How had he gotten behind him? And how had Max not noticed him walking up? They were in the middle of a nearly empty alley, there was nowhere to hide.
"Ken," Max returned, realizing how bad this looked. His brain scrambled for the least offensive excuse he could give.
"Geez, grandpa," Ken sighed, shifting on his feet. "I was worried I was about to get mugged or something. What are you doing out here?" So he'd noticed him then. Despite the situation, Max was impressed. He'd tailed species with far more enhanced senses in the past and not been caught.
Instead of immediately answering, Max asked, "What are you doing out here, Ken?" He kept the words as mild as possible. "It's late."
Ken shook his head, baffled. "I was having trouble sleeping."
That seemed to be an honest answer. At least Max hadn't seen anything to disprove it. He was relieved Ken didn't seem upset yet. "Are you okay?" he asked gently. "Are you feeling sick?"
Calm went out the window in a heartbeat, so sudden it gave Max whiplash. "No!" Ken spat, aggressively defensive. "I'm fine! Why are you out here?" His eyes narrowed in an expression he'd never seen on his grandson's face before. "Were you following me?"
Any doubt he'd had about something being wrong evaporated. Something was very wrong. The shift was deeply unsettling, and his heart twisted painfully.
He held up his hands in a peaceful gesture. "I saw you leave," he explained calmly. "It's late so I was worried something was wrong." That was the truth, though not the full story.
"Liar!" The snarl tore from Ken's lips and the boy took a step forward then immediately took a step back. Agitation was coming off him in waves. But what was causing this? Was it really drugs? Maybe severe stress? Whatever it was, Max ached to help his clearly suffering grandson.
"I'm not lying, Ken," Max soothed, taking a small step forward. He needed Ken to open up. They couldn't fix anything until he knew the problem. His grandson couldn't even keep eye contact at the moment, his eyes darting between him and the shadowy alley walls.
"No," Ken growled, "I-you-" He shook his head frantically, voice growing distressed. "I can't."
"Can't?" Max repeated, mind racing. It was dark and there was only one small light by the end of the alley, but Ken's eyes looked normal. Angry, but not dilated. "Can't what, Ken? Just tell me what's wrong, I can help."
Ken scoffed. "No, no." His head suddenly snapped up to look Max dead in the eye. "Someone must have told you. Who told you?!"
This didn't feel real. This was much worse than Max had anticipated. This was… What could possibly be causing this? Turning his sweet, cheerful grandson into an angry, seemingly paranoid mess. Max wanted to hit something, this couldn't just be Ken, someone had to be at least largely responsible, but he had to stay calm. For Ken.
"Tell me what, Ken?" Max asked, keeping his voice gentle despite his rising desperation. He took another step forward and Ken flinched back.
Shaking his head, Ken squeezed his eyes shut. His lips moved as he mumbled, so quietly Max only caught bits and pieces and it was all disjointed. Like he wasn't saying all the words out loud. "He didn't- I can't- he's my-" Max watched in alarm as Ken slid to his knees, hands going up to clutch at his head. "A way- no."
Max crouched down so they were eye level again and Ken looked up. The anger was gone, desperation the only thing shining in his green eyes.
"You can't take it from me," Ken begged hoarsely. "You-" He shut his eyes again, seeming to shrink in on himself.
"It's alright, Ken, it's alright," Max shushed, reaching out to rub his grandson's shoulder, uncertain if a full-on hug would be welcome. He'd have to hold off on the questions until Ken got ahold of himself. "Calm down, no one's taking anything."
It suddenly became darker, making Ken's face harder to see. Max looked up to see if a cloud had covered the moon only to be confused by a still clear sky.
When he looked back at Ken, a chill ran down his spine. Ken was looking straight at him. It wasn't a friendly look. What if this wasn't-?
He didn't get to finish the thought. Something hit him from behind and the world went black.