Ben's father frantically rattled the damaged key in the lock, hoping for something to slide back into place. The fog outside, becoming more dense by the minute.
"It's completely stuck!" He shouted over the chorus of noise from the Kryl. "I can't even get the key back out!"
"No time!" Replied Ben. "Lets try the back door."
They crashed through the downstairs bedroom door, running to the back door which led out into the garden and trying desperately to get it open.
"Its no use!." Said Ben's father. "We're locked in.
"Damn it!". Sarah, I know we just had the house rebuilt, but we've got to get out some how. Sorry."
Breaking into a run, he left the kitchen. Seconds later, there was a bright flash of green light, followed by the sound of shattering glass and concrete which echoed through the entire building. The three family members in the kitchen followed. When they arrived at the porch, Will being the first to reach it, he found no porch, only a large gaping hole in the side of the house. The wall around it, so hot it was glowing.
"Come on!" Shouted Ben. "They're gaining on us!".
Eventually the rest of his family found their feet, starting to follow Ben out across the grass to the garage, where to old AG's stood, freshly painted, looking as they did the day they were built.
"Remind me again why we didn't use these before?" Asked Ben, sarcastically.
"Because someone could spot us?" Replied his father.
"Yea, but still, its better than driving…" Said Ben, climbing into the pilot seat of his own, redesigned AG. "Sorry I couldn't upgrade yours," He said, apologetically. "It took weeks just to rebuild one. While in the air, we'll have to communicate by radio. Its an open channel. To start the transceiver, tap the blue section on the panel beside the Plasma Injector controls.
"Never mind," Replied his father. "Like you said, its better than driving. Eh, provided the Kryl can't fly." He corrected himself.
Within a few minutes, Ben, Will, his mother Judy, and his father, John were on their way to the city, where they hoped they'd find Max. They watched as their recently reconstructed home faded to nothing, along with the presence of thousands of Kryl.
"Any word yet on Gwen?" Asked Ben hopefully, over the sound of the AG's engines. Although he hated to admit it, he really needed her help.
"Yes, actually." Replied John. "She's due to be back tomorrow night. Don't know what she'll do when she finds the house in it's current condition. Not to mention all the Kryl back there."
"She'll be fine." Replied Ben, in a reassuring manner. "I don't think she's looked up from that book of hers once in the past month."
As the AG craft ripped through the city, people occasionally looking up in mild curiosity of what was attacking next seemed confused. The sky was completely clear by the time they lifted their heads.
"You've all got your modifiers?" Asked Ben.
"Check." They said together.
"Great, someone send me one through the transport pod, I've got an idea."
Will watched with interest over the monitor, as Ben carefully engaged the AG's swarm logic, disassembled the modifier and set to work.
Within the hour, he had finished upgrading each of the Omni-modifiers, leaving the other members of his family stunned at how extensively his craft had been upgraded. They simply couldn't grasp the theory behind smart auto-pilot.
"Its all in the A.I." Said Ben proudly. "With a Mechnomorph, programming a sentient A.I. is as simple as pressing a button."