Monster High and Ben 10 do not belong to me.
This is a work of fiction.
Any resemblance to people, organizations, religions, and places is just a coincidence.
Possible grammar problems.
Chapter 13: JUST A NORMAL RAINY DAY
"Please, just a few questions!" a blonde-haired woman with red highlights and glasses was following the Salem city sheriff and two police officers insistently. "Are you still looking for the suspects? Is there any connection between them and the strange vehicle that was stolen from the police headquarters? Has this lack of communication between human units and RADs been the cause of all this? People want to know!"
Finding herself ignored, the journalist decided it was her moment to pounce with a heavier weapon.
"What do you think about Salem police being accused of excessive force against RADs?"
Hearing that the sheriff stopped and turned to look at her with a very annoyed expression.
The journalist knew she struck a nerve and took two steps back when the man approached her, but she was not intimidated.
"What about the reports that human police units were attacking RADs?" the reporter did not hesitate to place a tape recorder in front of her as if it were a microphone.
"Listen, if you or anyone else thinks we're dropping this, just like that, you're wrong! Those two monsters aren't going to run away and you're in for a surprise when we catch them." The man narrowed his eyes as he watched the girl's hair light up a bit, perhaps frightened at his outburst. "Now beat it. I don't have time for interviews."
The young woman could only watch in frustration as her news item walked through a couple of doors and disappeared from sight.
"And now who do I interview? There has to be someone who wants to say something."
"I have something. You should stop asking those questions. Then we put up with the Sheriff." The reporter turned her face and saw a policeman with an apathetic expression sitting nearby.
She arched an eyebrow at that interaction and returned her gaze to those doors through which the sheriff left. She would not give up.
"You should give up."
"And where do you expect me to get the news from..." she said in a polite voice before frowning and shouting into the phone. "Mr. Editor in Chief!?"
Angrily, the journalist hung up the call and opened the umbrella she had with her. It was a rainy night, and as someone who preferred warmth to humidity, it was not the kind of night she liked.
She walked through the streets of the city, where there was almost no one, just a few people doing chores that they had to do. Or some fools who thought the weather was ideal to go out drinking.
When was the last time she had a drink?
Her journey took her to Riverfront Park and she stopped for a few moments there and looked at the scenery.
It was strange. Not because the park itself was abnormal, but because it was like new.
A few days ago the park miraculously appeared repaired overnight. No one had an explanation as to how that was possible. Although it was a benefit in a way, they would not have to spend money on repairs. Although embezzlement would do its thing anyway.
"This isn't even news. At this rate I'll have to go back to my parents' house." She grunted, not wishing that for her future.
She advanced a little further into the park. The rain had let up a bit so she could stay there a little longer, and along with the total lack of people that place was ideal.
But as in everything, fate may have some wild cards in store.
As she was walking, he crossed near the carousel in the park. Three men were gathered there, smoking and talking to each other. The reporter did not notice that when she crossed in front of them they stared at her.
Perhaps it was not very smart of her to be alone in those places in the middle of a stormy night.
Maybe he should have ordered an Uber or a cab to avoid the hassle.
On the bright side, though, at least this was news.
"P-Please don't shoot!" the journalist exclaimed in fear.
Her umbrella was on the ground several steps away from her and around her were three thugs with balaclavas on their faces and one of them was pointing a gun at her.
She had been cornered and taken to a nearby alley, no one was around the area so no one would see her or come to her aid.
"Ta-Take my purse or my wallet."
One of the robbers already had his bag and was checking inside, while the third just had his hands in his pockets.
She fell to her knees on the ground with the thief's weapon on her forehead, pressed rather roughly. Not knowing what else to do she could only hug herself.
It was humiliating. For several reasons, among them, the damn rain weakened it a lot, otherwise, those three idiots would be charcoal.
"She doesn't have much." Commented the thief going through the bag.
"What are you waiting for then? Check her!" ordered the one with the gun.
"Always me..." he mumbled in annoyance. "At least it's prettier than the last one."
She watched in fear as those hands approached her. Out of sheer inertia, she moved one of her legs and threw a kick at the thug. Her heeled shoe hit the thug in the stomach, who recoiled in pain.
"Bitch!" in response the guy threw a punch at her that sent her crashing to the floor. "Fuck! You almost castrated me!"
"It's not like you'd use it." Commented the one with his hands in his pockets accompanied by a chuckle.
"Tough girl. I know how to fix that."
The gunman approached the journalist and once again pointed his pistol straight at her. The young woman could only open her eyes, watching as the barrel of the gun glowed in the night.
"Hang on." The crook felt someone tap his shoulder twice as if to get his attention, and before he could turn around, he was flung through the air until he hit the ground several feet away
His two companions tried to process what was happening but were quickly and accurately attacked. Only a blue, black, and green blur could be seen moving between the two.
A hook, a kick, followed by a high kick and yet another thug was on the ground.
The last one was able to react a little more than his two companions and tried to attack the mysterious hero when his back was turned, but to his surprise, he leaned forward to avoid the blow. He saw how he turned his body and with the inertia of the movement, he punched him in the stomach.
The journalist looked with wide eyes at her mysterious savior. He was thin, appeared to be of average height, and had a pair of cat-like dark circles under his eyes. His body was almost all black except for his chest and scarf which were green.
The gun-wielding robber managed to rejoin shortly after his second companion had fallen to the ground and pointed his gun at the humanoid cat and fired.
The feline moved to the side, avoiding the shot. Then came another, which it avoided by moving to the left, and a third which it avoided by spinning on the ground. After that last shot things got stranger.
The young woman could swear she could see a trail form behind her mysterious rescuer, who approached at inhuman speeds to the thief and with a leaping kick managed to knock him back down.
The feline humanoid looked at the three, who groaned in pain on the ground and with one foot kicked away the gun and shook his hands as if they were dusty.
"Alright."
The reporter watched as her rescuer turned toward her. She could see a glimpse of his face shrouded in darkness. A pair of green glasses hid his eyes. She couldn't tell for sure, but he seemed to be looking at her as well.
For a few moments they remained like that, but when some people began to be heard approaching the place, the feline ran towards the wall. The reporter's eyes widened when she saw it jump, take two steps and run along the structure until it reached the chasm and was lost from sight.
Frankie awoke to the sound of her alarm and like any other day, she systematically performed every action as usual.
More or less.
It had been a pretty stressful week and she just wanted to speed up the days.
The talk explaining to her parents why the heck a six-foot alien was hiding in their house was... It didn't go the way she would have liked. A lot of things went wrong that only got worse after she was grounded. She spent a week without her ICoffin and no internet connection at all. Torture for any teenager.
Her parents had grounded her for running away, to her surprise they didn't mention Upgrade, or at least they didn't want to at first. When it came down to it, it was... strange, it wasn't how she thought it would be.
Her parents seemed uncomfortable talking about the alien. Did they know something she didn't?
And it had been a week since she saw Upgrade. She wouldn't deny that she was worried about him. He was an alien, who knows what he could do to people if provoked? She was no longer afraid that he might get hurt, rather the opposite, she was worried that someone would get hurt by him. He proved to be capable of doing great harm if he set his mind to it.
Just thinking about that and not being able to visit Facebook or Instagram to find out if somewhere a six-foot alien decided to blow something up.
Maybe this was what they called anxiety. A strange feeling and one that she had never experienced before. Or maybe she had? The bad thing about being a little less than a year old was that everything was new almost all the time. The definition she herself received was "inexperienced".
A clap of thunder echoed in the distance, causing her to turn her face toward her bedroom window. She saw a cloudy sky and how her window was incessantly bombarded by water droplets.
She still remembered the first time she saw the rain. It was exciting for her, too exciting. Her parents almost had a heart attack when they saw her barefoot in the middle of the garden looking at the sky and the rain soaking her.
She was scolded for doing that.
With some difficulty, the girl climbed down from her bed accompanied by drowsiness and went to her closet and from there pulled out a pair of black and red jumper cables. With these in her hands, she went to her bed and pulled out from under it something resembling a car battery and connected both wires to it and then to the bolts on her neck.
She waited a few moments with her eyes closed. Forcing herself to keep them closed while her body received the energy it needed to stay active. She failed miserably to stay that way.
With a sigh that carried with it the girl's frustrations, she merely removed those things from her neck and dropped to the bed once more.
"Without music it's not the same."
With little encouragement she got up again and went to her closet to get a change of clothes, even if she wanted to be in pajamas all day, it was not the best thing to do. She looked for an outfit that was something homey. A sporty outfit, since she wasn't going out, she didn't need to look extravagant. With a yawn, she opened the door with a towel in her hand and headed for the bathroom.
In the hallway, he passed his sleepy father and the two said good morning to each other as usual.
"I need coffee." She heard him mutter.
Once in the bathroom, she turned on the faucet and gathered some water in her hands. For a moment as she brought them up to her face, she saw her reflection before wetting her face to wash away the spider webs and any traces of sleepiness.
After drying herself with her towel and putting toothpaste on her toothbrush she began to brush her teeth. In the mirror once again was her reflection. She looked at herself for a few moments, she had a little foam escaping from the corner of her lips.
With delicacy and precision, she used a comb to smooth her hair, she didn't need to make it perfect, no one would see her inside her own house anyway. When she finished she turned her head a little to the left and then to the right. Her hair was perfect.
"Good morning." She greeted as she walked into the kitchen, the place where mother was, and sat down at the table.
"Good morning Frankie." Replied her mother, who while waiting for the coffee to be ready pulled a couple of mugs from the cupboard.
The woman put one cup for her husband and one for herself and began to pour the coffee.
Just as she was about to add some cream to her cup, her husband entered the kitchen carrying a laundry basket.
"Viv, where's the soap?"
"In the same place where you always leave it." She added.
"I already looked there."
"Go and check again."
"That won't make it magically appear." Was his reply as he turned to leave again.
Frankie just silently watched that interaction as she took a bite of toast with jam.
"I found it!" she heard her dad shout.
"And where was I?" questioned her mom, but the silence was her answer, getting her to let out a laugh.
After a normal breakfast, Frankie was sitting in the living room. Her eyes preferred to look at the weird and wonderful ceiling above her head rather than the program being shown on TV.
Although she would have preferred to focus on the program, the sound was drowned out by the sound of a vacuum cleaner. She turned her head to see that near her was her mother. The woman was vacuuming the carpet.
Frankie looked at her, thought and thought until she decided to speak.
"Hey, Mom."
"Yes, Frankie?"
For a few moments Frankie hesitated, she didn't know whether or not she should try, but she was already at her limit.
"It's been a week, can I get my ICoffin back?"
Suddenly the sound of the vacuum cleaner stopped and Frankie swallowed. There was that look, the look her mother would give her when things weren't going her way.
The seconds passed in silence, with only the sound of the TV playing, and for every second, Frankie regretted opening her mouth. She only hoped that her punishment did not extend any further.
"Frankie, I know that for teenagers to be without their social media and stuff is hard, but you made a very big mistake. Not only did you lie, you also ran away and..." the woman paused, Frankie knew the reason and it was that same reason that made everything so difficult. "Lying is bad, Frankie, it's something that damages trust between people."
"I know... it's just… I..." the girl lowered her gaze in embarrassment.
The woman approached and took a seat next to her daughter.
"Look, I know the world still makes you curious, but what we are trying to do is to protect you."
"I know..."
Viveka looked at her, to see her daughter was to see herself reflected when she was younger and inexperienced, besides, it wasn't as if she had never broken the rules.
"Listen, if you want my trust back, you're going to have to be completely honest with me from now on." Hearing that made Frankie look at her mother with some hope. "I'll lift the punishment, but only if you promise to keep your word and prove to me that I can trust you."
"I promise!" she hastened to say.
"Not so fast little lady. This doesn't mean that from now on you can get away with every time you make a mistake. Actions have consequences and you will have to hold yourself accountable." Frankie nodded once again.
"I promise, Mom." The girl hugged her mother tightly, who looked a little surprised at the gesture but returned the hug. "I'll never lie to you again. I swear."
"I hope so, because I'll be paying close attention to how you behave." The girl nodded. "Good. Now, I want us to have a frank conversation. Why did you run away that night?"
That question provoked different reactions in Frankie. Nervousness: How was she going to tell her mother that she went for a boy? Discomfort - she had never talked to her mother about anything like that! And fear. How would her mother react to knowing she went for a human?
She looked at her mother, who was patiently waiting for an answer. Would she choose to lie? No, she couldn't do that, she was being put to the test.
Looking away again, he chose to tell the truth.
"It was because of... a boy." With some trepidation, she turned her eyes to look at her mother. She was impassive, waiting for her to continue talking. She still wasn't exploding that was good. "He... he goes to Monster High. I met him recently and..." she didn't know whether to continue or not.
Her mother noticed her daughter's discomfort and resting a hand on her shoulder she spoke to her calmly and understandingly.
"Frankie, I know what you are going through. I'm here to help you whenever you need my support or to talk. If you are having problems or are in a situation where you feel you have to lie, I want you to come to me and let's talk. okay?"
"Yes mom, I understand."
"So. A boy, huh?" The woman gave a sly look before continuing. "Have I to give you "the talk"?" she questioned managing to make her daughter blush. Viveka on her side began to giggle.
"Mom!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I thought that little joke would help you relax." Frankie merely pouted in the face of her mother's laughter. "You're a teenager, honey. We all go through something like that."
"Even you?" she questioned. To her her mother was always the representation of perfection and eloquence, she didn't think someone like her would ever do things like that.
"Even me. When I was your age I met a boy too."
"A boy? Anyone besides Dad?"
"That's right. He was someone strange. Quite strange, the short time I knew him he talked things about wanting to change the world, help us monsters. I'm ashamed to admit it, but that silly me fell in love with him."
Frankie processed those words. Never before had she and her mother conversed like that, it was strange but refreshing and she could learn more about her. It was then that she realized something, her mother didn't refer to that other boy as a monster.
"Mom. That boy, was he a monster?" she questioned.
"Not at all. He was a human." Surprise dawned on Frankie - had her mother fallen in love with a human, too?
"And what happened to him?" he questioned with increased interest.
Viveka changed her expression a bit and took the opportunity to settle further into the couch. Remembering times past was not always something she enjoyed doing.
"You could say he just disappeared. I fell so much in love with his words. I convinced myself of so many things, in the end..." The woman was silent, her face changed and Frankie noticed. It seemed strange as if something was missing, but soon the woman came to her senses and continued. "What matters is that I understand you and I know that doing things like this seems worth it, but they're not always worth it."
"I understand. I won't do it again." For a few moments she said nothing and neither did her mother.
The silence was not awkward, just strange and Viveka knew her daughter was waiting for the signal to run to retrieve her ICoffin.
With a sigh, the woman merely nodded.
Frankie threw herself at her in a quick hug and then ran for the stairs.
"And don't run up the stairs!"
When her daughter disappeared up the stairs, the woman allowed herself to smile. Her daughter was growing up, perhaps faster than she or her husband would like, but soon her expression became more serious and she touched her forehead. Something strange happened to her for an instant. Had she forgotten something?
Thunder could be heard in the cloudy skies. The absolute gray and rain continued all day. For almost a week now the weather had shown no signs of improvement, occasionally stopping the rain, but the last two days it had not stopped raining.
Ignoring the unfavorable weather, Frankie Stein was thinking. The girl was alone in her room looking out the window and counting the drops that hit the glass. Having regained her connection with the world turned out not to be what she expected. It only increased her uncertainty and anxiety.
Her room was almost completely dark, except for her laptop screen, which had a group chat with her friends open.
Clawdeen and Draculaura were chatting with each other, while Cleo occasionally sent a message that turned Clawdeen against her and Draculaura acted as a mediator. Although Frankie loved chatting with her friends, she didn't feel like being an active part of the conversation.
Too many things haunted her mind, too many mixed feelings in her heart that she tried to ignore for days.
"It's been a week already. Where will he be?" she questioned almost whispering as he looked out the window.
Despite the time that had passed since the incident with that other alien, people did not forget it. Everything was crazy, people didn't know what caused all that mess, and videos of both aliens had been leaked on the net including parts of their fight. All thanks to a gossip post, the owner of the post seemed to have gotten very close when the fight was happening, managing to record more than anyone else.
She even recorded the appearance of a third party in the fray. A monster made of crystals took over from Upgrade and continued the fight until the fight was interrupted when the ground opened up and the evil alien was swallowed by the earth into the catacombs hidden beneath the city. The other one escaped.
Since then she has had no sign of Upgrade, she couldn't contact him either, and the translator she used to call him was confiscated by her parents, along with everything in the garage. A place she was forbidden to visit.
As quickly as he appeared he disappeared from her life.
Well, not quite.
Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at her nightstand. The top drawer to be precise. There she had hidden the only two things she kept from the alien. A cell phone and a bottle with a portion of Upgrade.
That was her little secret.
Or a time bomb waiting to explode.
Although she had promised her mother to be completely honest and no longer lie, this didn't count as a lie. Or did it? It was her secret, something she kept and if she was honest she forgot it was there for a few days.
She couldn't say for sure, but maybe the alien would come back looking for her things and she wanted to ask him some questions.
He had many questions. For example, what was that thing her mother threw at him when he was pretending to be a human? His mother wasn't going to tell him. Or why he was impersonating a human in a situation that required so much of him as an alien.
She thought maybe it was because it was his costume, it made sense. She saw some movies about aliens, but they never ended well for those extra planetary visitors. Locked up and suffering experiments. Maybe hiding was for the best.
And more importantly, why had another of their kind shown up and wreaked so much havoc?
A shiver ran down her spine. That day was cold and wet because of the rain.
She decided he would combat that the best way she knew how. Some hot chocolate and some cookies. A treat that, although unnecessary for her body, she wasn't going to refuse to enjoy.
It might also lift her spirits a bit, so it was a win-win.
She left her room and walked downstairs, passing through the living room. There she saw her father reading some notes with the TV on making some noise, and nearby she noticed the Upgrade translator, she was probably trying to study that device.
She passed by silently, not wanting to interrupt her. Her barefoot footsteps were muffled by the carpet as the anchorman on the TV gave the news.
"These are the images obtained after the unfortunate incident that occurred at Riverfront Park in Salem, Oregon."
Frankie heard that and turned her head curiously. The TV was showing a recording made with some phone or Icoffin that could barely hold steady because of all the chaos.
She saw a blurred green and a blurred red image and knew who it was.
"Sources report that the event occurred during the night hours, unexpectedly an unknown monster began to attack the city, making its way through several streets and attacking police and civilians alike. A second monster appeared and began a fierce fight against the first."
The person recording was running away, she couldn't make out much of what was going on, but she could see the chaos.
"According to police sources, the identity of the monsters remains unknown. As well as the reason behind the attack remains a mystery and due to the mysterious reconstruction of Riverfront Park, all leads that could have led to those responsible have disappeared. Civilians are asked to cooperate, if you see one of these monsters you should immediately call the police. They are classified as highly dangerous and approaching them is discouraged."
"Thank you Clarence. As you may recall after the unfortunate incident ten years ago, when the monsters ceased to be a secret and became public knowledge, many people were injured and as many lost their lives, this has kept human-monster relations on tenterhooks, following the sudden appearance of another unidentified monster and who to this day is on the run. Let's hope that all those responsible for this mayhem are brought to justice as soon as possible."
She resumed her initial objective after hearing that and went to the kitchen and prepared her hot chocolate.
The empty cup rested on the plate with crumbs of what were once chocolate chip cookies, and the same was on Frankie's nightstand.
The young woman was lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling and with headphones in her ears.
Her mind just wandered as she listened from her ICoffin to a live feed from a girl, she could tell because of the voice, just from that since the person behind the feed was not using a webcam.
"What's up, my weirdos, this is NewSalem! Tonight I'm going to talk about what's been happening in town lately. Our beloved Salem. We have to end this. we have to accept that we're on this rock together! RADs are treated like criminals just because! When most are just like everyone else! Especially the youth! We're all looking for our ways to express ourselves! But this city keeps marginalizing them. I've gotten messages from my RADs followers who have gone through that. I throw a question at you: are they really a real danger to the community? Don't be shy! I'm going to read them."
Frankie listened to this with attention. It was a live transmission being broadcasted by a human girl. She discovered the transmission by pure chance and she couldn't help but listen to secretly from everyone, she doubted that her friends, especially Cleo or Clawdeen, would find it funny that she was doing that. But she still likes to listen to it.
"Well said NewSalem." she muttered, quite agreeing with what that girl was saying.
"We have our first comment here! I'm not going to read that name, do you think I'm dumb69? Our questionably named friend tells us. "I'm a long-time follower of yours and I love listening to you while I study!" I like that, studying and forming an opinion is important! "But you're an idiot." And that's how you earn a BAN. "What about those monsters that attacked the city?" I knew someone was going to say something about that."
Frankie rolled her eyes at her Icoffin. Was she going to talk about Upgrade? She didn't know whether to be envious or worried about it.
"Guys, we're here to talk about real issues. I mean, yeah, that's a problem, a really fucked up one, but why did it happen in the first place, huh? I have it on good authority that two cops used their guns to threaten one of these monsters, and it didn't end there, the second and the third one too, even though the second one approached with no hostile intent. If you were attacked first, wouldn't you respond? That's where I leave it. What is beyond doubt is the excessive attention that this large-scale fight has received. Shit! It was like a movie. The police have been so focused on it that they haven't stepped forward to respond to other allegations. Cops who, we must remember, are the main cause of civilian RADs feeling unsafe."
The young woman behind that direction continued to talk. Commenting and reading the messages that were sent to her. Frankie listened, while his mind remembered everything that happened.
Frankie just listened, thinking her own opinions about everything she heard, "My parents don't want me to have RADs friends", and "Those fools blew the tires off my truck!". There was a little bit of everything in that broadcast. Even the anchorwoman took the opportunity to throw out a snitch about a clothing store. Frankie made a mental note of it, maybe a visit to the human side of town wouldn't be a bad idea. When she was no longer grounded. Maybe if she called Jackson they could go together.
"Jackson..." she whispered. That name hurt her. She had wanted to talk to him when she saw him throughout the whole disastrous Friday night, but her parents had prevented her from doing so. It didn't help at all that she hadn't asked for his number. And speaking of numbers, Holt never answered her messages. Was it all fake, a one-night stand?
It was a crossroads, she liked both boys, but couldn't decide on one.
"If I think about it, at one point I thought the world was going to change again. But we're back to business as usual. Especially after the park was like new again. It was like Puff and go. Ya'll call me crazy, but what if it was...ya' know, them?" Said the announcer in an unsure voice. "I mean, I saw it myself, I saw a broken vase being rebuilt in front of my eyes. I'm not sure what that was, but it happened at the same time as the mysterious reconstruction of the park. I don't want to affirm or disprove anything, but what if those 'gods' were responsible?"
Frankie found that plausible, strange, but plausible. Gods, like monsters, existed in that world, they were just, for lack of better words, hard to find. They were known to exist by some monsters who interacted with them. Mostly describing them as not very nice people.
"SnakeyeS tells us, "Yo!, I hear ya'! I saw wilted flowers blooming again! I was about to throw those flowers away when suddenly they started to look better and better! I told my mom, but she didn't believe me." Mothers, you should pay more attention to what your children say! We have more brain cells than you think. I'm telling you."
"I couldn't agree with you more NewSalem." the young Stein said aloud. For a few moments, she was silent and then let out a deep sigh. "I don't even know who I'm talking to."
"And what are we going to do? Raid City Hall? Boycott the cops? Maybe start a search by land, sea and sky? Actually, I have no idea, but believe me, I'll bring all the information I can get. And for you, Ghostly Gossip, if you're listening to this or anyone can get in touch with her, I'd love an interview with you. I'd love an interview with ya'! Ya' had the courage to record everything that happens! Maybe you saw or heard something that could shed more light on the whole monster thing. Ya' are the voice of the RADs sister, don't let it be forgotten."
"Sis! How much longer are you going to take!"
"Uh... oh... as I was saying... we have to... ahg... I can't wait to move out of the house... I told you Melody! Do not to interrupt me!"
"Mom is back and she wants you to come down for dinner right now!"
"Mom's a boomer! Uhg... I'll be right down... Where was I? Oh, right. Let's storm city hall!"
The live broadcast lasted a little longer before it ended. Frankie looked at her phone at the time, it was five-fifty in the afternoon. She looked up at her window and saw that it was still raining and just let out a much deeper sigh.
That was not the way to start the summer vacation she had envisioned, but she did not give up hope that it would get better as the days went by. At least she was no longer grounded.
"Frankie!" her father's voice rang out overhead and the monster girl took off her headphones. "Come downstairs and help me make some dinner!"
"I'm coming dad!"
She got up from her bed, leaving her Icoffin and headphones on the bed, and then headed downstairs, taking the plate and cup with her.
Arriving in the kitchen he found his father, the man was wearing an apron and was peeling some potatoes. Frankie walked past him and left the plate and cup in the sink to be washed later and stood next to her father.
She watched him perform that mundane action with some fascination. Her father, like her and her mother, had a super brain, for lack of a better description. Watching him concentrate was a sight to behold. Each cut was quick and efficient, and then he dumped the potatoes into a colander to clean them under running tap water and finally run them across a wooden board and cut them into perfect little cubes. Every action had pinpoint accuracy.
"What are we having for dinner?" questioned Frankie.
"A stew." Replied her father as he took some onions and cut them in half. "Help me cut the onions, like I taught you."
The young woman nodded and rolled up the sleeves of her outfit. She washed her hands and picked up the knife.
"Remember to be careful."
"I know dad."
In perfect synchrony, the father and daughter sliced the onions horizontally and then separated them in a separate bowl.
As they worked, the sound of rain pattering against the kitchen window could be heard. The storm was still raging and seemed about to intensify, but in there everything was warm and cozy.
"Where's mom?" she questioned.
"It's in her study." he replied vaguely. "Pass me the salt."
Frankie complied and handed him the salt shaker. The man poured a pinch into the pit where he was preparing dinner and then stirred with a wooden spoon.
"How's it coming along?" the girl asked and her father stepped back a little so she could see.
"Perfect, like everything we do." He replied with an arrogant smile that made his daughter laugh. "We just have to let it cook a little longer and everything will be ready."
The little father-daughter moment was interrupted when the front door began to bang. Along with this, the rain began to fall harder.
Frankie looked at her father, noting his expression of confusion and some wariness.
"Were you expecting someone for dinner?" she questioned. It was not uncommon for her father or mother to have guests and she had to be present. And in the case of human guests who were unaware of the real nature of her family, she had to endure not only boring talk but also dense and uncomfortable make-up.
"No." Was her father's simple reply.
That was strange, if her parents had no visitors, who were knocking on the door? There was no way it was one of her friends, they wouldn't go out in a storm, well, maybe Lagoona, but she would have sent her a message.
The door again received three knocks.
Viktor walked toward the door, and his daughter followed behind him. The man approached the fisheye and tried to see out, but before he could do so, a green light filtered in from under the door. Which caused both he and his daughter to back away.
Suddenly, a green substance began to seep through the openings in the door. Underneath, through the hole through which they received their mail, through the key slot. Liters and liters of a lime-green substance seeped out.
That strange thing splashed around the room and spread unevenly.
The aroma of that substance possessed made Frankie's nose tingle, reminding her of a bit of lime-scented liquid detergent.
Then the liquid stopped flowing in. Father and daughter stared in confusion at the substance. What was it? Did someone throw it into their house? Was it some kind of bad joke?
"Dad..." Frankie wanted to say something, but a sound caught her attention. She looked toward the card slot. Something was tapping that spot.
Her father, confused and somewhat annoyed, did not hesitate to go to the door and open it, hoping to find the culprit, but he almost fell backward when a strange device pushed him out of the way and into the house.
The device was shaped like a small UFO, there was no better description than that. It flew over the living room. It circled around Frankie and positioned itself above the green liquid.
In front of both monsters, a humanoid figure was created. Or maybe it already existed before and was only in liquid form.
The humanoid creature was no taller than Frankie and possessed a physical structure comparable to that of a human being and at the same time that of an amoeba. Yellow eyes opened in his head and above his head floated that small UFO, as if it was the one that kept him in his current physical state.
"I had forgotten how nice this house was." The creature spoke as it looked around the surroundings. Its voice was nasal and overly high-pitched and seemed to come out of the small UFO hovering above its head.
When she focused her attention on Frankie she couldn't help but see a parallel to a certain monster in space that could not be defined as either a liquid or a solid.
Was this another member of the Upgrade species? Why was he different? And what was that device over his head?
"Frankie! Will you let me sleep in your garage?" she heard him ask.
She blinked. She looked at her father, who in turn had a puzzled expression at what he was seeing.
The new alien noticed the confusion on the girl's face, turned to see the same expression on the adult's face, and understood that perhaps he wasn't making the best entrance.
He brought a hand to his head and slapped the top of the small UFO, covering his body in a green light that filled the place for a second.
"How about now, Can I stay here?"
With a smiling face and a rather wet white sweatshirt, there in front of Frankie and his father stood Ben Tennyson.
The boy stood expectantly for an answer, but it did not come. Which made him impatient.
"Hey, that smells good, can I have some?" he asked pointing towards the kitchen.
Viktor, Viveka, and their daughter, Frankie Stein were in the kitchen of their home. The three of them were on one side of the table where they usually sat to eat.
The atmosphere was filled with the sounds of rain and the clinking of silverware clattering and scraping on a plate, along with the sounds of satisfaction emitted by a human teenager in a black T-shirt.
"this is finger-licking good!" he exclaimed, caring little for manners when it came to eating. "I'd kill for another plate!"
The family looked at him and he looked back at them with a blotchy face.
"Can I have more? I've been eating wild potatoes for a week now and I've had enough." Even though he was doing his best not to look like a weirdo, Ben was failing to do so and it was clear in the family's expressions. "What?"
Viktor merely served him more food and the boy attacked again. Gorging himself as if his life depended on it, Ben ate.
"So, Ben, what... are you doing here again?" questioned Viktor with some uncertainty.
His response was slow in coming; Ben preferred to eat and then respond, even though he hadn't finished swallowing.
"Well, after the park I was looking for that idiot, Malware, you know, red and black asshole. I went down into the sewers and it turns out there's a whole cave system down there! Lousy architecture if you ask me." With that said he returned to his scramble to finish his plate.
"That's not what we mean." Viveka said. "Why are you back in our house?"
The boy stopped eating and watched the family with unusual seriousness. Frankie noticed this and also noticed how her parents took a firmer stance. The body language of the three of them gave him clear signs that the conversation was going to take on a more serious tone.
"As I told you, I am far from home." The boy began. "That means I don't have a place to stay and so my options were to come back here or live in the woods. Spoiler alert, I tried to build a campfire and some plants try to eat me."
"So you decided to come back here. Why shouldn't we call the police?" Viktor questioned.
Hearing that, Frankie's eyes widened and she looked at her father. Would he really do something like that?
The boy merely pushed aside his plate of food.
"I have nowhere else to go and you guys are all I know here." With a weary sigh, the young man lowered his gaze, choosing to look at his clasped hands rather than the family. "Listen, I wouldn't do this if I had other options. I don't normally take this long on these things. Usually, by this time I would be at home, lying on my bed and eating fries, but this doesn't seem to be the case."
Frankie listened to his words with interest and some empathy, although she didn't quite understand something.
"Upgrade..." the girl spoke, getting the boy to look at her for a few moments. "Why when you came you were..."
"Oh! That? His name is Goop. It's one of my transformations."
"Transformations?" she questioned, but her mother interrupted.
"So you were telling the truth?" she questioned. "You can transform?"
"I told them I could do it."
"Wait, you already knew he could transform?" questioned Frankie looking at her parents.
"We thought he was lying." Replied her father.
"That offends me, I don't lie." Added the boy. "And what's with all this? I went to save the city, I deserve a little more trust."
The table was once again silent. The pair of monsters looked at the human and he looked back at them, unafraid. Frankie could only feel his bolts threatening to start sparking. Why was everything so tense?
She didn't know how she should act at times like this, it was a tense situation, but she remembered that she made a promise to the alien. She would help him as long as she could. Maybe he was strange and mysterious, but he proved to be someone good and she wanted to return the favor of saving her and her friends already a week ago.
"Mom..." Frankie tugged at her mother's clothes, getting her to turn to look at her. "Mom, can we... can we help him?"
"Frankie, listen. This isn't that simple." Her father tried to find the right words, but the boy interrupted.
"Isn't it? I can sleep inside the car if I need to. I just need a roof over my head and maybe use the bathroom. You won't notice I'm around."
"For someone in your situation, you're pretty calm." Viktor commented with an arched eyebrow.
"I told you, this happens to me a lot."
The adult couple looked at each other, unsure how to respond to the call for help. The boy was a literal ticking time bomb. After everything he told them, alternate universes or that he was a hero. How much was true and what assured them that he wouldn't just take advantage of the situation?
Of course, her daughter did not think of such possibilities, her innocence and ignorance of the world made her act out of pure desire and her heart only wanted to help.
"I want to help him." To the couple's surprise, their daughter spoke up. Ben looked at her with a cocked eyebrow, she seemed to be looking at him too much. "Mom, he went to the park and saved us. I know it may be strange, but he's obviously not someone bad."
"That was a compliment?" questioned the young man, but he was ignored.
"Frankie, look, this isn't like simply allowing one of your friends to sleep over. We're talking about..." her mother was silent. As far as she knew, her daughter wasn't aware of the boy's whole background and he himself didn't mention it so she didn't know whether or not she should mention it.
"But you let Hoodude stay for a while." Counter attacked the young girl. "And he was a little weird."
"What is a Hoodude?" questioned the young human, but again he was ignored.
"It's still not the same." Viktor added. "It's... much more complicated than that." Ben felt a shiver run up his spine as the girl's father's eyes focused on him. What on earth was that guy thinking?
"Mom, Dad, I know right now you don't trust him. Mom you told me, if I wanted to regain your trust then I had to prove to you that I deserved to." The girl looked at the boy for a moment and he looked at her, interested in what she was about to say. "I trust him and I know that, if you give him a chance, you can too."
"This is not about simple trust."
"No? He's been here for a week and has helped me whenever I've asked, even if it wasn't his responsibility." The girl added.
"And we already know how that all ended." Added the boy. "By the way, how is everyone? There's been some chaos because of what I did and I didn't have time to see if everyone was okay."
"You see? He's not someone bad, he's weird."
"Hey!"
"And so are we. Please, he just needs a place to stay."
Viveka tried to refute what her daughter said, but as she looked into her daughter's eyes, she saw something familiar. It was like a spark, a fire burning in her eyes that she once had when she was younger.
The woman looked at her husband once again, he looked at her as well. They had both noticed their daughter's decision, they knew that even if they told her no, she was likely to help him and since the young man claimed to be a Swiss Army knife of transformations, nothing prevented him from being in the house without them knowing. Proof enough was how long it took them to notice him.
The best, or at least the option that would cause the least problems in the long run would be to accept the request for help. The boy was an unknown entity with uncertain intentions and that made them subconsciously afraid, but if they saw him and kept an eye on him then they could find a way to get him under control.
That was their most viable option.
"Ah, you're growing up too fast for my liking." Viveka commented with a defeated expression. "Frankie, before we decide anything. You remember what I told you, don't you? Your decisions have consequences, and him." She pointed at Ben. "He's much more than just a doll animated by you, he's a living being with a mind and personality of his own. You saw what he's capable of. Do you really trust him?"
The girl nodded without hesitation. Despite everything, despite the doubts she might have had about Upgrade, she chose to trust. Why? Because that strange alien had helped her when she asked. He had helped Draculaura when she was hurt in the forest. He hadn't hesitated to step up to protect Lagoona. And he faced that other alien to protect the people.
She could trust him.
Viveka took a deep breath and looked at the young human, who seemed to be expectant of the answer the girl will receive from her parents.
"It's okay. You'll be able to stay here. My daughter trusts you, so for the time being, we'll do that too." Viveka said.
"Oh Yeah!" he exclaimed pumping his fist to the sky. "I won't have to go back to that stupid forest!"
"Don't make us regret it." Sentenced the woman.
"There will be rules, understood?" said Viktor. "We know that you are seventeen, and that you may have certain thoughts that..."
"wo, wo, wo, wo, wo! Ssssssstop!" the boy interrupted. "I don't, I mean yes, I mean no. I mean." Seeing both adults arch an eyebrow he decided he should put an end to that conversation. "I don't plan on doing any of that."
"For your own sake, let's hope so." Viktor warned. "And just so we're even clearer."
Ben watched in confusion as the man walked over to the cooler and took something from in there, then returned to where he was before and showed him his hand.
There were two walnuts. This confused him and made him question what he was trying to tell him, but his answer came when those nuts were crushed by Viktor's huge hand.
The young man watched in awe as the fragments of the nuts fell on the table.
"Was I clear enough?" Ben looked at the man and began to nod quickly. "Perfect."
Viveka for her part shook her head at her husband's childish actions.
"Well, how about we do some introductions first?" the young man asked, which got Frankie's attention. "With everything that's happened we got off to a bad start."
"But, we already know you." She said, confused at that unusual proposal.
"Not quite, Frankie. My real name is not Upgrade, I'm Ben Tennyson. And for the record. I'm a superhero." The young girl blinked in confusion. What did he mean, he was Ben Tennyson?
She thought about it for a moment.
Ben Tennyson? That Ben Tennyson? The same one Upgrade was looking for. Wait, why was he looking for himself? If her memory served, he never claimed he was, he had only asked for him.
The more I thought, the more the pieces fell into place, each one now fitting together. Ben Tennyson, Upgrade, the phone.
"You're Ben Tennyson!" she questioned perplexed.
"That was I just said."
"That Ben Tennyson? The one in the picture! Wait, that... I thought... So all this time you..."
"That's right." He replied with some amusement at the young woman's reaction.
"If you're Ben Tennyson, who's the girl in the picture?"
"What picture?" questioned Viveka.
"Wait, did you check my phone?"
"What Phone?" questioned Viktor.
"Of course not! It had a blocking pattern..."
"You went through my phone! Oh god. You didn't see Kai's pictures did you? If she finds out anyone else saw them she's going to kill me..." worry dawned on the boy and he looked away muttering about what he could do.
The pair of woman and monster man looked at each other, they were officially out of that conversation. Well, sort of.
"Frankie, what phone are you talking about?" questioned Viveka. The young Stein was petrified and avoided making eye contact with her mother, who frowned. "Francine Stein, you kept more things from us?!"
With a new tenant in her home and the opportunity to ask the young man many questions, Frankie's day was over.
The young woman could never foresee the changes that would come into her life because of the intervention of a young man as strange as only he could be.
"Wait, wait, your name is... "Francine"? And I thought Ethan was a weird name." said Ben.
Advancing down the road in a northerly direction was a black car of the BMW brand. Inside was a beautiful woman with black hair and smooth white skin, perhaps too white, so much so that it appeared to be iridescent if the right light was shining on it. That woman was none other than the agent surnamed Smith.
The rain continued to fall, soaking the road and the windshield of the car, but she didn't care, she had more important things on her mind.
Things that had brought her to Salem on orders from her superiors. Her job always had her on the go, she wanted a little time to herself, a vacation perhaps. Oh yes, that would be splendid. But first, she had a lot of work to do.
In her vision, a little blurred by the rain, a sign indicating that she was leaving the city of Salem appeared. Mentally she was grateful to see that, she had had enough of that city and this job. At last, she could have some free time and...
Her thoughts of happiness were cut short when her phone began to ring. A low growl came out of her mouth and making use of a hands-free phone she answered the call.
"Miss S." began the voice on the other end in an elegant, sober tone. "I was calling to confirm that you are back. Your report arrived in my hands a few minutes ago, outstanding, as always."
"Thank you, sir." Was her reply.
"Even if your report confirms it, I prefer to hear it firsthand since you took longer than we had planned. Miss S, has the job hit any snags?"
The woman swallowed saliva, even if she did not have that person in front of her, she could still feel the pressure on her shoulders and his gaze fixed on her.
"None, sir, I have used the perfume and no one has been notice about me. As I said in my report, I was late due to things...getting out of control."
"I understand. It must have been difficult to approach one of them while they were fighting, you did well. Not to raise suspicion on the most important thing. As for the ship..."
"I couldn't get it back, it was stolen, I gather one of them was responsible. There was no contact either sir and it was definitely not as you described. "
"What do you mean?"
"If I may make a guess, it wasn't them." The line was silent for a few moments, at which the woman bit her lower lip impatiently. "I mean they weren't the ones you anticipated, sir. In my report I attached the videos and..."
"I have seen them. I also suspect it wasn't them. Thirteen hundred years is a long time and descriptions can get lost... Maybe there's just need more time. Anything else I should know?"
"I didn't put it in the report, sir, but I recovered some samples." She looked over to the co-pilot's seat, there was a black briefcase with a lock on it. "It all suddenly disappeared, I couldn't get much, the humans were rather untimely." Again the call went silent. The woman did not know whether or not her superior is unhappy with her. Nerves got the better of her and she spoke again. "Sir, I swear I tried my best."
"And I believe you. I was just thinking about your next job." The woman thought some curses upon hearing that. "You know Academia Di Mostro?"
"I do, sir." She replied, albeit confused. "It's a very famous school for monsters in Italy."
"We want you to go and mess things up a bit there."
"Excuse me?" she questioned perplexed. "With all due respect, sir, isn't our goal to rise up against humanity? Why is a school of monsters important?"
"I would appreciate it if you would not question the president's choices." Hostility was present in those words and Miss S knew it. "The current generations do not wish to see the truth, they are satisfied with no longer being hidden, we must show them that we are superior to humans. Your gift will be useful for this. We have enough with Monster High, another school like that one will be a problem."
"I understand, sir."
"You will be sent to Italy in a few days, better rest Miss S. Cheer up, you will be able to return home." The woman thought about it, visiting her homeland once again, even though it was for work... No, she was not attracted to the idea. "Oh, and another thing, Miss S. Don't fool around."
The woman's eyes widened and she slammed on the brakes.
"Sir I don't...!"
"The mission was to make contact and get them on our side, not to go on TV or go to police headquarters. If you expose us, you're on your own." The woman could only swallow her words. No matter what excuse she gave, she was expendable if she pissed off her superiors.
"I-I had no choice. I wanted to avoid all that, but...!"
"You may be elite here, but you are still expendable. No more unnecessary risks. Is that clear?" the woman swallowed saliva at that warning. "I said, is that clear?" a flash of lightning broke through the sky ominously accompanying those words.
"It is, sir." She replied submissively.
The call was then cut off, there was no goodbye, it was sudden.
The woman leaned her head against the steering wheel of the car and closed her eyes. She was exhausted from all that work, but she had no other options, she let herself be used in order to move towards her own goals.
Her eyes turned to her phone when it began to vibrate, it was a message from a private number. She knew this was her new assignment.
Without much energy, he reached over with his left hand and picked it up. She saw the contents and could only sigh.
Sitting up once again, she started the vehicle and continued on her journey, she still had to deliver the samples she got.
Tired of the disguise she still wore, she brought a hand to her head and removed the black wig she was wearing, revealing her real hair. The long hair of a peculiar shade of crimson red.
"I hope I can take a real Italian Bellini when I get there." Accompanied by those words, she removed the black glasses she wore, revealing a pair of green eyes with a slitted pupil like that of a reptile.
A different chapter, don't you think?
I honestly had something written, which focused a lot on Eon, but in the end, I switched to this other chapter. It tends to happen. I think I'll leave that Eon thing for later, it would fit well to explain certain things.
Well, I don't have much to say. New villains are on the horizon. The mysterious Miss S. A strange reunion. And to top it off, Ben makes an interesting entrance at the beginning, don't you think?
I wonder who is going to generate the most chaos. The teenage version or the adult version.
By the way, Francine is a very popular French name from the 40s and '50s, I thought it would fit well for Frankie, Frankie sounds more like a diminutive, something like Ben and Benjamin. In Spanish, the name is Francisca, strange, but I liked it.
Anyway, this was a strange and special chapter. Because from here I could do something I wanted to do in the previous version and I didn't do it because... well, I discarded it, but now I do.
I hope you forgive the delay, since the last chapter I uploaded I had exams and stuff. Then I got Sekiro Shadows Die Twice and Jedi Fallen Order and let's say I finished it with the ending Abandonment of Immortality in about 40 hours of gameplay and the other one I haven't finished yet, and I still want to get the other three endings of Sekiro.
One lesson he left me with... if you fall, wait until your enemy turns around to stand up and stab him in the back.
Anyway, I hope you had a happy holiday season and that you start this year with good luck.
And the next chapter will have a very important time jump. You'll see what I mean.