Chapter 6
„Permanent Retirement – Part 2"
[Aunt Vera house, Night.]
Ben let out a yawn as he goes up. He woke up Gwen, who initially wanted to brush him off, but eventually got up. They saw Max sitting on a couch, watching an old movie. He noticed his grandkids and smiled.
„Guess it's my time to get some shut-eye." -Max as he got up. He patted Ben on the back and went to his room.
„Well… might as well watch some movie." -Ben said and Gwen nodded.
As Max lay down on his bed, he let out a long yawn. He could finally rest after a long day of driving around. He couldn't help but think about what Ben said earlier. Were aliens really in here, in the middle of nowhere? Why would they come here? They're only old people in here.
Then it hit him. There was a race that was known for eating old people. The climaxes. They were semi-humanoid blobs, mostly green in color with dirty pink colored organs. They eat humans to survive. And having the ability to shapeshift was very beneficial to them.
Suddenly, something slimy covered his head, making it hard for Max to breathe. He was trying to get rid of it, but he was quickly losing consciousness. Before he knew it, the darkness consumed him.
„Did you hear something?" -Ben asked, glancing at Gwen who was trying her best not to fall asleep.
„No, it was probably the TV. Why Can't We have one normal day for a change?" -Gwen groaned as she stretched her arms.
„Sorry for that…" -Ben said while looking away.
„It's not your fault, Ben." -Gwen assured her cousin."We just have to deal with what We have."
„I guess…" -Ben said as he let out a sigh. With nothing interesting going on the TV, Ben began turning the dial of his watch in random directions.
„What are you doing?" -Gwen asked, noticing Ben screwing with the watch."I don't know if it's a good idea to be messing with it."
„Maybe, but I don't know what to do." -Ben said as he continued to turn the dial."The signal here is so bad that I can't even watch youtube…" -Suddenly, the watch flashed green and a hologram appeared on the dial. It was a different alien from the other ten."Well… that's a new one."
„You're joking, right? Did you unlock a new alien just by turning the dial?" -Gwen said in astonishment. She got closer to take a better look at the alien. It looked like it was made of fire judging from the burning head. Its body was also covered by rocks."I thought that there were only ten…"
„Same. I wonder how many more there are in this thing." -Ben said with a smile."Gotta try every possible combination. Now I know what I'm gonna do in my free time!"
„Don't be so hasty, Ben. You still haven't mastered the other aliens." -Gwen reminded while crossing her arms.
„You're no fun…" -Ben said and rolled his eyes. Then they both heard something. It was coming from the kitchen."I think We have a guest."
When they got up, the two went to the kitchen quietly. They noticed a shadow in the kitchen. Ben looked at Gwen, who nodded back. Gwen flipped the switch and the lights came in. To their relief, it was just Aunt Vera.
„What are you doing up so late?" -She asked in a blank tone.
„Ah, We can't sleep so We're watching a movie." -Gwen replied with a sheepish smile.
„I see… Still, you should go back to bed." -Vera said with a somewhat stern tone.
„Why are you in the kitchen without lights?" -Ben asked, and Vera glanced at him. He felt like she was staring into his soul.
„Oh? I just came to get some… water." -Vera said with an uneasy tone. She took a glass from a counter and walked up to the sink. Her hands were shaking as the water poured into the glass.
„Are you okay, Aunt Vera?" -Gwen asked, noticing her hands.
„Yes, dear…" -Vera said as her glass was half full. She turned to them and gave them the blank stare again."Now please, get back to bed. You're going to be tired in the morning."
„Sure thing, Aunt Vera." -Gwen said, and Ben nodded. They both left the kitchen, not noticing that Vera poured the water into the sink."Yeah, something is off about Aunt Vera…"
„Maybe We should wake up Grandpa?" -Ben offered, and Gwen rubbed her chin.
„Yeah, but I wanna check something." -Gwen said, and Ben raised his eyebrow.
As they open den the doors to Max's doors, they checked if he was asleep.
„Grandpa, are you sleeping?" -Gwen asked. Max opened his eyes and got up.
„Um, no, do you need anything?" -Max asked, giving them a familiar blank stare.
„Oh, it's nothing. We just wanted to bring a glass of water." -Ben said as he showed Max a glass of water. Max gulped and looked scared.
„No, I don't need it!" -Max said quickly. Ben and Gwen glanced at each other."I'm quite alright."
„Well, okay Grandpa." -Ben said with a shrug."I think We'll go back to sleep."
„Yeah, it's the middle of the night. Go back to sleep." -Max said and laid back on the bed.
After they left, Ben and Gwen went back to the room they shared. They sat down on their beds and looked at each other. They both nodded in agreement. Vera and Max were replaced.
„Now what?" -Gwen asked quietly."We have no idea where grandpa is…"
„We've got to find him." -Ben said with a determined voice you might as well go to that dumpster where that Fake Marty wanted to get into. Let's get dressed."
Ten minutes later, They were outside Vera's house. Ben noticed that the golf cart was gone. He cursed under his breath.
„Great… Guess We have to go on foot." -Ben said with a sigh. Then he noticed that Gwen was jiggling keys in front of his face."Wait, are those to Rust Bucket? When did you pick it up?"
„Before We left, and this golf club." -She said while showing her golf club."It's not much but whatever…"
„So, who's driving?" -Ben asked, hoping that Gwen would give him the keys. Instead, she gave him a look."Alright, you got them so you drive."
„Let's get in." -Gwen said and they both entered the RV."This is different from Dad's car, but I'll manage."
„They will probably hear the engine, so you'll have to floor it." -Ben said, and Gwen nodded in agreement."On the count of 3… 1… 2… 3!"
As soon as the engine went off, two figures crashed through the windows of Vera's house. It was Vera and Max, but their looks changed. Their skin was paler, their teeth were extremely sharp and their eyes were pure red. They screeched to signalize other aliens in the neighborhood. They also crashed through the windows and began going after Ben and Gwen.
„Floor it!" -Ben exclaimed, and Gwen smashed the pedal.
Gwen managed hit a few aliens on their way to the dumpster. Fortunately, none of them grabbed onto the Rust Bucket. As soon as they stopped by the dumpster and got out, they both gasped in shock. At least fifty aliens were surrounding them.
„I don't think this golf club will be enough…" -Gwen said while glancing at her club.
„Go for the middle dumpster. There is a hatch beneath it." -Ben said and activated his watch. As the dial popped up, he turned it and slammed the dial down. In a flash of green, Ben turned into a new alien.
Ben turned into a small, white humanoid made of silicon. One of his most noticeable features was a square appendage resembling an MP3 player behind his back with a port on it, decorated with a 10 symbol and what looks like cassette tapes on his lower legs.
„Echo Echo!" -Echo Echo announced. Then, he split into a dozen of copies of himself. Two split from the group and came to Gwen."We got you covered! We'll keep them off you!"
Echo surrounded the gate and looked at each other. They smiled and turned their heads toward the aliens. After taking a long and deep breath, Echo Echo let an ultrasonic scream at the aliens. Some of them were blown away, while others stood their ground. But their bodies began slowly morphing into their natural form.
'Man I hope I won't have a soar throat after that." -Echo Echo thought as he was trying to maintain his ultrasonic scream.
Gwen and the two Echo Echo's on the other hand finally managed to push the dumpster away. One of the Echo Echo's blasted the trap door away and then looked at the original Echo Echo.
„We're done! Come on!" -Echo Echo called. The other Echo Echos stopped and rejoined with the original.
Echo dashed toward Gwen and his clones. He stared down and saw how deep the hole was. The other clones rejoined the original Echo Echo, who looked up to Gwen.
„Pick me up! I have an idea!" -Echo Echo said as he turned his back to Gwen.
„Don't tell me you want me to jump!" -Gwen exclaimed, as she looked down at the deep hole.
„Trust me! Jump!" -Echo Echo said, and with small hesitation, Gwen jumped down screaming."Okay! Sorry if I'll burst your eardrums!"
Echo let out his ultrasonic scream to try and slow down their descent. It was working, though. They were slowing down and eventually landed on the ground. Gwen threw Echo Echo to the ground and rubbed her ears. In a flash of red, Echo Echo turned back to Ben.
„My ears! Why couldn't you just switch to Big Chill!?" -Gwen demanded angrily.
„Because it shortens my transformation." -Ben explained and dusted himself off."And I did say I'm sorry."
„Aw, man! I can barely hear you now!" -Gwen said with annoyance."Seriously, next time remind me to buy some earplugs."
„Dully noted." -Ben said with a shrug. He glanced around and noticed that they were in a tunnel."This is some kind of tunnel… I wonder where it leads to."
„I think We should hurry, Ben!" -Gwen said as she looked up. She saw Vera, Max, and Marty lookalikes scrawling down toward them.
They began to run, hoping that they would lose the aliens in the tunnels. After running for what appeared ages, Ben and Gwen managed to lose the aliens. They took a moment to catch their breath.
„I think We've escaped them…" -Ben huffed, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
„I hope…" -Gwen said, finally steadying her breath. Then she began hearing a light buzz near their location."Do you hear that?"
„I think you might still be recovering from my sonic scream." -Ben replied while waving her off. But then he started hearing the sound as well."Wait… I think I'm hearing it as well."
Young Tennysons decided to follow until they reached a large clearing. They saw a large green spaceship surrounded by large green eggs. There are at least a hundred of them.
„Holy shit…" -Gwen muttered.
„Holy Shit, indeed." -Ben agreed and they both carefully got down. They walked to the eggs and spotted three familiar faces."Gwen! Grandpa, Aunt Vera, and Mr. Marty are here!"
After a few moments, young Tennysons managed to find a way to open the eggs. As they did that, Max, Vera, and Marty slummed down to the ground and let out a yawn. They blinked a few times before fully opening their eyes. Max slowly got up as the other two found it hard to move.
„What… What happened?" -Max asked with a sore voice. While Gwen tended to the others, Ben helped Max get up on his feet."Where are We?"
„Deep underground. We're next to the alien's spaceship." -Ben said and pointed to the big green ship."We have to get you out of here. The Aliens are gonna be here soon."
„Wait… Are those… No…" -Max as he noticed the egg next to them."God… No…"
„Grandpa? Are you okay?" -Ben asked while allowing Max to stand on his own.
„They're…" -Max trailed as the laugh echoed through the cave.
„Foolish humans!" -Said a deep voice. Everyone turned to the source of the voice and saw a group of elderly people. Among them were fake Max, Vera, and Marty."Why can't you just stay in the dark? You're too curious for your good."
„You're not going to get away with this!" -Ben yelled as he activated the watch.
„Ha! I think We already have!" -The alien said as he and the others transformed into their original forms. They transformed into semi-humanoid blobs, mostly green in color with dirty pink colored organs and multiple eyes.
„What are you talking about?" -Gwen demanded while helping Vera and Marty up.
„They're gone…All of them." -Max said, and both Ben and Gwen glanced at Max.
„Let me ask you a question, human." -One of them said."What do you do after you hunt your prey? You prepared it to eat for later, of course."
„Wait, you're not telling me…" -Vera said, her voice shaky. She stared at neighbors encased in eggs."Ahhhhh!"
Ben clenched his fist and gritted his teeth. He activated his watch and without looking at which alien was picked, he slammed the dial and the green flash consumed him. As the green flash ended, Ben transformed into his completely new alien.
„This is new…" -Max pointed out.
„This isn't a time for a new guy…" -Ben muttered to himself. Looking at himself, he thought of a name for this one."At least I think I have a name for this guy… Heatblast!" -He called as he shot fireballs at the aliens.
But instead of taking damage, the aliens absorb the attack. It also caused them to grow in size a bit.
„Shit… This is bad." -Heatblast muttered to himself.
„Ben! Limaxes love the heat! They thrive in!" -Max warned, which confused their grandkids.
„Wait, how do you…?" -Gwen trailed as she noticed that the aliens began to move."Ben! Look out!"
Their bodies began to morph together and grow in size. They were almost as big as the cave itself.
„This is where you die, pathetic humans!" -They screeched, launching their tentacles at Heatblast.
„Ben! Look out!" -Max, Gwen, and Vera cried out.
But it was too late. The Massive Limax grabbed Heatblast and pulled him toward themself. Heatblast tried to touch the dial on his chest, but the combined strength of climaxes was stronger. Heatblast was struggling to get out, but unless he switched the alien, there was no way for him to get out of this situation.
Suddenly, Heatblast was consumed by the aliens.
„No!" -Everyone cried.
„HA! This heat! It feels amazing!" -Limaxes exclaimed as they began to grow in size."We are unstoppable!"
When everything seemed to be doomed, Gwen and Max noticed a faint glow within the giant climax.
„What…this…? So… cold!" -Limax cried as its body began to freeze. Within seconds, it became a giant frozen statue. Then, Big Chill came out it and looked at his work.
„Good riddance…" -Big Chill said in a low tone. He floated down and landed before the group. In a flash of red, Big Chill turned back to Ben."I'm not sure if this gonna hold them…"
„It will… Limax's hate water and the cold doesn't do them any good either." -Max explained as he examined the frozen statue.
„How… How do you know that?" -Gwen asked, causing Max to let out a sigh. Suddenly, Vera walked up to Max and stare at him with anger."Aunt Vera…?"
Then, she slapped Max across the cheek, shocking young Tennyson. They would never believe that Vera was capable of doing something like that.
„You promised, Max! You promised to keep me out of this shit!" -Vera yelled as tears went down her cheeks."You and Gordon were supposed to leave that life behind! Why did you allow this?!"
„Vera…I…" -Max didn't know what to say. His sister never slapped him before.
„Save it! I don't wanna hear your stupid excuses!" -Vera snapped, ready to slap her brother again."Do you know how many friends I made since moving here?! And now I learn that they're all dead! Do you have any idea what that feels like?!"
„Aunt Vera… What are you talking about? How is this Grandpa's fault?" -Gwen asked, and Vera turned to her and then back to Max.
„Why am I not surprised… You didn't tell them anything. Just like his own children…" -Vera snorted."I'm not, or ever will be, part of this… This is your business, so deal with it yourself. I don't want to have anything to do with you anymore! Just leave me alone…" -With those last words, Vera stormed off and went to check on Marty. He was standing all by himself, staring at his surrounding, not knowing what to do.
„Grandpa… What is Aunt Vera talking about?" -Ben asked, still shocked from what just happened. Max had troubled look on his face."Grandpa…?"
„I need a second, Ben." -Max said as he walked off and picked up his phone. After a few beeps, Max took a deep breath.
[…Max? Is that you? I don't believe this a friendly call from you…]
„You're right." -Max agreed and glanced at his sister. She was trying her best to comfort Marty."I need a favor from you…"
[Dawn, by Aunt Vera's house.]
It was a quiet morning. Not even the birds were chirping. Tennyson's were waiting by the Rust Bucket when they saw incoming military vehicles. One of them parked behind the Rust Bucket. A single man came out of the vehicle.
He was a tall, well-built man. He had black hair and a mustache. He also wore a green army uniform and cap, with badges on his shirt. He eyed Tennyson and walked up to Max and they both shook hands.
„It's been a while, Colonel Rozum." -Max said and Rozum nodded.
„True… and here I thought that you were on retirement." -Rozum said while glancing at the neighborhood."It's sick thinking that so many elderly people went down like that. I can only pray that they didn't suffer…"
„I hope so too…" -Max said while looking down."Will you be able to cover this?"
„It won't be easy, but I already informed the government." -Rozum replied and glanced at Gwen and Ben. He noticed the watch on Ben's wrist."Don't tell me your grandkid is a Plumber?"
„No, he's not. It's complicated." -Max replied.
„Will you finally explain what's going on?!" -Ben demanded."How did you know about the aliens? How do you know this person?"
„Seems like you have some explaining to do, Tennyson." -Rozum said as he crossed his arms.
„That I have… Ben, once We're done here, I will explain everything. And I mean everything." -Max promised."Colonel, my sister, and her friend will also need a new place to live."
„Already done… I'll go and talk with her." -Rozum replied and began walking to Vera's house. Once he reached the doors, he stopped and turned to Max."Wish We'd met under different circumstances, Max…."
„Likewise, Colonel." -Max replied with a sad look. Rozum nodded and then disappeared behind the doors."There is nothing more that We can do… Let's get on the road and I'll explain everything…"
