A bright moon is lighting up the foggy forest below. A large lake, surrounded by trees and mist, stays undisturbed. The Tennysons have decided to enjoy some well-spent peace and have some fun. Max grills some kind of purple-ish red meat as Gwen and Ben are having fun just swimming around in the lake.
"Ahh, what a peaceful evening. Can't wait for these kids to try these burgers, it's gonna be great." Max said to himself, flipping a patty over, revealing the more darker violet well-done side of the piece of meat.
Ben and Gwen splashed around and simply enjoyed being kids. Though, at some point, Gwen felt something rub against her ankles, something cold, scaly and big. Without warning, she swam as fast as she could to shore, shrieking as she wrapped herself in a towel.
"Ok, I guess peace time is over. That didn't last as long as I thought it would." Ben remarked.
"Something rubbed against me! It felt like a big fat snake!" Gwen screeched, shaking as she constantly checked for any kind of oddity on her feet.
Ben swam to shore and dried himself off, shaking his messy brown hair as water scatters everywhere. "We dealt with mutated animals, crazy magic scientists and robots. How are you still scared of some average snakes?" Ben questioned.
Gwen leered in her cousin's direction, until Max came over with a tray of those odd-looking burgers on buns. "Hope you kids are in the mood for seafood! Grilled to perfection!" Max announced.
Ben eyed the burgers, uncertain if the shades of purple were anything good to go by. "Grandpa, what's in these?" Ben asked, cautiously picking one of them up.
Max grabbed one and topped it off with ketchup and soy sauce, proceeding to take a huge bite of it. "They're your standard beef burgers, Ben, but with a Max Tennyson spin to keep it interesting. Ground up squid, octopus, and for an extra bit of kick, jellyfish." Max swallowed down his bite and continued to eat. Gwen grimaced and loaded on the ketchup as she ate. Ben, on the other-hand, loaded on the soy sauce. Surprisingly manageable and not horrible, albeit for the occasional chunk of tentacle.
After the Tennysons ate what they could manage, it was time to turn in. At least, it would've been a good time to turn in, if Ben didn't see a big boat out on the lake, one that wasn't there before, and certainly didn't just show up out of nowhere. Ben didn't know why, but he knew at that moment, it was hero time.
On said boat, several individuals in these gray-ish blue onesies, tinted glass masks, and tanks on their backs, were essentially about to go down into the murky depths of the lake. Unbeknownst to them, a very humanoid-esque creature was watching from the shadows, letting things play out.
Soon enough, the divers went into the lake, swimming downwards as they looked for something. A few of them rummaged around in the junk that was at the bottom of the lake, until one of them pointed over to his location. The divers swam over, noticing a strange sickly bright yellow-ish spherical object. It had some kind of strange fish-like creature with whiskers resting within it, but this seemed to be exactly what the divers were after. Before they could reach out for it, the sound of something blitzing through the waters caught their attention.
One by one, each diver got beat and sent back up to the surface, leaving just one individual, armed with a harpoon gun. He looked around, trying to find whatever took down his allies, until he came face to face with it.
The creature was very human-shaped, standing at about six and a half feet in height, its body was colored in a desaturated blue-gray, while it wore some kind of wetsuit. The top half of it was segmented in half. One half being white, the other being this dark blue. It had these black shoulder pads, and dark blue pants, with black and white boots. It had a long tail jutting out from its head, leading to a set of fins. The Omnitrix's badge was on his left pectoral. The creature stared the man down, its green eyes piercing the murkiness of the water.
"You look like you're snooping around. Specifically, you look like you're trying to take something that doesn't belong to you," the creature got closer, walking casually on the lake floor as the man scrambled to back away. The creature let a smirk form on its face. "Unless, you're looking for trouble?"
It was clear that the man was terrified, but he tried to fire his harpoon at the creature, only for it to not work in the slightest. The harpoon didn't even have time to pierce the creature, it just caught it before it could hit.
"Yeah, you're looking for trouble, no one carries a harpoon with them unless they were preparing for confrontation. You're either very lucky, or very unlucky, because you didn't find trouble... trouble found you. Allow me to leave you with a name to be wary of. I'm Slipstream, and you're lucky I'm letting you off with a warning." Slipstream gravely stated, immediately punching the man in the face.
The next day, Max decides to try and take the kids fishing, but it's clear that Ben had been made curious about that egg he kept safe from those divers, and told his grandfather and cousin about what happened after they turned in for the night.
"Grandpa, you gotta believe me! These guys were equipped with harpoon guns, and that egg didn't look normal. You can't honestly say you don't believe me, not after what we already faced?" Ben said.
"It's not that we don't believe you, heck, I'm more inclined to believe you after being abducted by a giant bat," Gwen turned to face her cousin. "But, how do I know this isn't another one of your lame pranks? Get physical proof, and I'll give you the benefit of the doubt."
"Ben, it's possible you might've misread the scene. You say there were divers, but why would they be in a more localized and safe part of the area, especially with people nearby?" Max asked.
Ben furrowed his brow, obviously understanding the point, but the fact that they were equipped to fight something, ala, a harpoon gun, that didn't set right with the boy. "Ben, if there's a speck of truth to what you saw last night, then I'm sure they had a valid reason for investigating the egg anyhow." Max stated.
"Besides, what makes you such a fish expert? The only fish you know, is the kind that's broiled, grilled, sautéed, or served with french-fries and a shake." Gwen snarked.
Ben opened his mouth to say something, but could only let a groan escape him. "You're lucky I don't have a comeback for that." Ben retorted, a sour expression on his face.
Max stopped and set his fishing equipment down, sliding on a white vest and a blue fishing cap. "On the topic of fishing, which one of you wants to go with me? We'll need to stock up on fish before we get back on the road tomorrow morning, it'll also help us save on money. Any takers?" Max asked.
Ben stepped forward, smiling as he grabbed one of the fishing poles. Gwen, on the other-hand, looked very green in the face. She shuddered and stepped back, cautiously smiling a fair bit. "Sorry Grandpa, I'm not one for fishing... or touching worms. You two go on without me, I'll stay on land." Gwen stated, quickly running down to the shore.
"Not much for the sea, is she?" A man stated. Ben and Max turned around, seeing a man standing behind them, effortlessly holding a couple electric eels in the palms of his bare hands. "Never gonna understand the youth nowadays. Back then, I saw a few lasses her age achin' to do some fishin'."
The man was pale in his complexion, he had dark greyish-green hair on both the sides of his head, as well as sideburns. His chin was covered in stubble, with a slightly botched soul patch resting below his bottom lip. He wore a dirty red baseball cap with a faded yellow rectangle on it, as well as a regular navy fisher jacket, big black fisherman's boots and tan pants.
The man looked Max up and down for a couple seconds, then a wry smirk formed on his face. "Hello, ya must be the Tennyson feller, right?" The man asked.
Max sighed, seeming annoyed. "And you must be Captain Shaw. Nice to meet you," Max reached out his hand for a handshake, only for Shaw to eagerly toss the eels in his hands into a cooler, then shake his hand. "I'm Max Tennyson, to be specific, the girl you saw run off was my granddaughter, and this is my grandson, Ben. We chartered your boat today for a fishing trip." Max introduced.
"Well that's fantastic. Just so you know though, while we will be doing your average fishing routine, catching what we can and such, we'll also be on the hunt." Shaw stated.
Max raised his eyebrow, curious as to what Shaw was going on about. Ben, however, had an idea. "Is it about whatever laid that big shining egg in the swimming hole?" Ben asked.
Shaw looked back at the kid, then at Max. Shaw's smirk got even wider. "Exactly... but, have you ever seen the beast what laid such an egg? The Mighty Zapfish?" Shaw inquired.
Ben's attention was hooked, though Max seemed uninterested, maybe even regretful. "The Zapfish showed up some years ago out of the blue. No one has a clue as to its origins. Some say it's an alien, while others say it's some kind of demon, a monster of some kind. But, one thing's for sure, they're a unique and powerful species of sea-life," Shaw pulled out a poorly drawn sketch of what the 'Zapfish' looks like. A giant fat-lipped catfish with an eel-like tail. "The Zapfish is a real fierce and monstrous creature, you have to be ready for anything when trying to wrangle in such a beastly beast."
"Well, we appreciate the idea of a monster hunt, but we'll be keeping an eye out for the fish that's easier to catch. Won't we, Ben?" Max said, grinning as he gestured for Ben to get in the boat.
Ben raised an eyebrow at his grandfather's behavior, but decided to just hop on the boat. As Ben got out of ear-shot, Max's grin turned to a scowl, he stared Shaw down and pulled him close by the collar of his shirt.
"Listen here, Shaw," Max whispered. "My grandson needs a normal day. Can you make that happen, or will we be finding another boat for the day?" Max inquired.
Shaw seemed unfazed. He grabbed Max's wrist and got him to let go, yet his smirk never faltered. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a small black circle, with a completely red interior, it almost looked like a badge of some kind. "Relax, as far as the boy's concerned, this is just a normal fishing trip, nothing more." Shaw responded.
Max's face paled at the sight of the badge, to which Shaw pocketed it. "How did you get one of those, how do you know about the-"
"Ixnay on the ecretssay, ya never know who could be listenin' in," Shaw interrupted. Max lost his words, while Shaw seemed pretty cooperative. "To make a long story short, I was elected to join by some piranha-looking creature with glasses, happened back in my more youthful days, all because I got him out of a fishing net and didn't attempt to kill the sucker. I'll assume yer kids don't know the truth?" Shaw asked.
Max looked at Ben, then looked in the distance to see Gwen relaxing by the sidewalk. "Neither of them know, but my granddaughter is definitely more... skeptical, if that's the right word for it." Max responded.
"Hey, grandpa!" Max and Shaw turned to see Ben, already equipped in a life-jacket. "We still going on this fishing trip, or what?" Ben called out.
"Guess we better get this started, otherwise we might raise some suspicion from the boy." Shaw remarked.
Max sighed and felt a cold shiver travel down his spine, but he persisted, stepping onto the boat, with Shaw making his way to the wheel. The ship sets off, down the lake, unbeknownst to them, that something big is following behind them beneath the waves.
As they slowly ride into the lake, Ben stares down at the water, watching several fish swim by, with even one of them splashing water up towards him. Though Ben does sense that his grandfather is a bit less excited for fishing than he was just mere moments ago.
Ben shrugged and continued to stare into the water, trying to get a glimpse of another one of those strange eggs he saw last night. Max, on the other hand, seems very uncertain.
"So, anything... interesting out there to catch today?" Max asked.
Shaw scratched his face and cracked his neck. "More than you can imagine, if you can believe it," Shaw sees Ben, with his head over the end of the boat. "Looks like your boy's using his breakfast as chum. Not an effective method, but a recognizable one."
Max walked over to Ben, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Ben, you feeling okay?" Max asked.
Ben looks back at his grandfather, looking completely fine. "Yeah, I'm okay Grandpa, just keeping an eye out for another one of those Zapfish eggs. Then again, wherever those eggs are, those 'divers' will be there too." Ben remarked.
Shaw raised his head, catching word of the mention of divers looking for eggs. "Did these divers have harpoons?" Shaw asked, his voice shifting to a serious tone.
Max did hear Ben mention they were equipped with harpoons, but was just assuming they were a couple of conservationists, testing out equipment. Ben turned to Shaw and cleared his throat. "Yeah, I saw one of those alien heroes fight them off, looked like a mermaid mixed with a dolphin, or a shark of some-kind. They wanted that egg, but that Slipstream guy kept them from taking it." Ben explained.
Max stepped in-front of Ben and faced Shaw. "But, it could just be a rumor, or a misunderstanding. It's possible they were just conservationists testing out equipment." Max stated.
Shaw frowned and pulled out a picture, revealing something that looked reminiscent of the 'Loch Ness Monster' photo. The shadow in the fog looked to be this huge bulging creature, but Max didn't seem that interested by the photo, let alone even worrying about its validity. Ben, however, was very interested.
"How long have you known about it, Captain?" Ben asked.
Shaw smiled, confidently pointing forward. "It's my business to know about it, I've known about it for a good few years, though. Try to keep this a secret, kid, but this is important. Sightings go back hundreds of years, on this very lake," Shaw took his hat off and let the sun beam down on his head. "I've been on it's tail for years. Though some folks say my rudder's not right."
'Gee, why doesn't that surprise me?' Max thought to himself, an unconvinced look forming on his face.
"If you want, I could take you to a spot where I personally laid eyes upon the beast," Shaw looked down at Ben, smiling. "That is, if you've got the stomach for some real adventure!"
Ben looked up at Max, who definitely seemed very off-put by the idea of going on some monster hunt, but Ben was itching to see if this guy's stories were true. Max could recognize the look in his grandson's eyes, and while he didn't want to, he did want his grandson to act like a kid. Constantly focusing on responsibility can be a bit much, especially to a kid his age.
Max sighed, a small smile forming on his face. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt." Max responded.
Ben smiled and pumped his fist into the air. "Yes! Alright!" Ben cheered.
"Then let's get this hunt underway!" Shaw exclaimed, increasing the speed of the boat as it moved forward.
As the boat speeds along the water, Shaw opens up a wooden panel, showing some serious high-tech machines beeping and whirring. It even shows a screen with some kind of active radar.
"Huh, is that like some kind of tracker?" Ben asked.
"Sonar, high-def video setup, ultrasound. I got it all," Shaw gets up, moving to the wheel. "And I will find that Zapfish. Mark my words, it can't hide forever."
Max begins to notice that they're getting further and further away from shore, to the point where it's difficult to see the dock. Now concerned, Max pulls Ben aside to talk to him. "Ben, I don't want you to put too much stock in what mister Shaw says, okay?" Max asks.
"Why not, Grandpa?" Ben questioned. "He saw the thing that laid the egg I saw last night, the egg I saved from what could've been dangerous people."
"I know that, and hearing him talk about it, in-comparison to your story about last night, maybe you were right," Max looks back at Shaw, who seems to be checking the sonar. "But, I don't think he has both oars in the water, if you know what I mean."
Ben frowned and walked away to the back-side of the boat, looking down at the water.
Max sighs and goes back to Shaw. "Hey, how much longer till we reach this supposed 'Sighting' you were talking about?" Max asked.
"Shouldn't be but another couple minutes or so- oh!" Shaw quickly brought his boat to a sudden stop, rocking some of the equipment from side to side, as well as causing Ben to stumble a fair bit.
The boat rested in place, with Shaw looking up ahead in disbelief. Red tape attached to several buoys, surrounding the entire way. "'Do not enter'? What's going on?"
Max examines the tape, and definitely recognizes the authentic feel of the tape. "Looks and feels official, maybe we should turn back." Max suggested.
"Malarkey!" Shaw exclaims. "I've been in and out of this spot several times today, and for the past few years in my career! I'll go where ever I-"
"Attention Fishing Vessel! Stop where you are." A loud echoing voice called out.
From beside the boat, a much larger one stops right beside Shaw's. From onboard this larger vessel, a tall man onboard waves and smiles friendlily. They had a tanned skin tone with a hawk-like nose, as well as short, reddish-brown hair and a spiky goatee. He has a stern-like face, having tear troughs and dark lining around his eyes, giving him an almost tired look, despite the friendly disposition. They were dressed in some kind of cyan outfit with black accents and boots.
"Oh, hell on the high-rising tide," Shaw looked under his tarp, almost as if he was looking for something. "Not those floundering fish-kissers again."
Max raised an eyebrow as the man made himself known. "Hi there, I'm Jonah Melville, the founder of 'Friends of Fish', unfortunately we've closed off this section of the lake for an environmental study. You'll have to turn your boat around." Jonah introduced, explaining the situation.
Shaw got up and waved a wrench at Jonah. "'Suppose you make me, fish-hugger? Things won't go like you think they will. Not this time." Shaw warned gravely.
Ben sulked. "Aw man, and here I was hoping to see that Zapfish." Ben uttered in disappointment.
Jonah couldn't help but snicker and have a few laughs at the mention of the creature. Ben got up and watched the man chuckle and laugh, and wanted to tell him off, but Ben held his tongue and looked at the boat. Ben couldn't tell why, but he thought he saw that boat from somewhere. Suddenly, Ben looked at the Omnitrix, then back at the boat, and it clicked.
Jonah finally stopped laughing and looked at the kid. "Zapfish? Don't tell me this old timer has been telling you about some dumb legend? Look, I'm a marine biologist, kid. Anyone who tells you they've seen a monster in this lake, is casting without a hook." Jonah stated.
Ben glared at Jonah. "At least I didn't get my butt kicked by an alien superhero! Guess that shows what you know, doesn't it?" Ben asked.
Jonah went silent, looking at the kid as if he didn't hear that right. A look of shock and nervousness was clearly read on his face as Ben stared him down. "I saw your boat out in the swimming hole last night, sounds to me like you were somewhere you shouldn't have been. Saw the whole thing from dry land, too." Ben remarked, a smug grin on his face. "Who are you to assume we're casting without hooks, when you're equipped with a harpoon gun, in a swimming hole? Do you really suck at fishing that bad?" Ben sarcastically asked.
Jonah didn't know what to say to that, but the shock and confusion on his face said it all. It was clear by his reaction, that Max was second-guessing his assumption about Ben's story, and Shaw was just happy he didn't have to say anything. Without another word, Jonah began to lead Shaw's ship back to shore.
'That boy is going to get me in some serious trouble, I just know it.' Max thought to himself.
As Shaw's boat travels back to the docks, trailing behind the 'Friends of Fish' boat, the ship's sonar suddenly pings, alerting Shaw. "The sonar! We've found something!" Shaw exclaimed.
Ben looks out to the water, suddenly seeing a faint yellow glow in the water, and it was beginning to get closer to the ship. "Uh, more like something's found us! Look!" Ben called out.
Shaw looked out to the water, seeing the glow dissipate. But, a few large whiskers spring up from the water and move back into the depths. "'The Zapfish'!" Shaw exclaims.
The whiskers pass underneath Shaw's boat, revealing it's true size, and rocking the boat excessively. It then becomes dreadfully clear as to where the creature's going.
Shaw quickly makes his way to the wheel. "It's heading for the docks!" Shaw calls out in a panic.
Ben and Max look towards the direction of the shore. "Gwen!" They shout in unison.
Back at the shore, The Zapfish's whiskers begin to glow and spark, rushing towards the docks at a high speed, unbeknownst to Gwen, sitting at the end of the pier rocking her feet.
Gwen takes a deep breath and sighs as a smile forms on her face. "Ah, finally a little sun, and with my doofus cousin nowhere in sight, I can just lay back and relax..." Gwen remarks.
Before Gwen can get too comfy however, The Zapfish rushes towards land, while Captain Shaw tries to warn the dock-goers by ringing the ship's bell. As the sound of the bell attracts her attention, she notices the glowing and the whiskers in the water heading for the shore.
'Oh great, my doofus cousin is trying to use his alien powers to prank me. If I didn't give him the benefit of the doubt for that story he told earlier, does he think I'm that easy to fool?' Gwen thought to herself.
Before Gwen could comprehend what happened next, The Zapfish rears out of the water, slumping back down and crushing the pier to pieces with its tail, sending the people standing on it into the water. Gwen pops back up to the surface and gasps. "Okay, that's not Ben." She stated, trying to swim away.
Back with the boats, the 'Friends for Fish' individuals were in a panic, while Shaw was gloating. "Ya see, I told ya!- It's real! The Zapfish is real!" Shaw remarked, making several gestures towards Jonah with a smug grin.
Max cleared his throat and got Shaw's attention. "Sail now, gloat later," Shaw nodded and got to the wheel, increasing speed as the boat sped past the 'Friends for Fish' vessel. Max pats Ben's back as he points to the Omnitrix. "Ben, I think you need to call in some assistance." Max instructed.
"What exactly do you think the boy's gonna do?" Shaw asked in confusion.
Ben primed the Omnitrix and twisted the dial to the alien he wanted. He quickly jumped off the side of the boat, slamming down on the Omnitrix as a bright flash of green light enveloped him. From the green light, emerged Bravefeather, who flew downwards in the direction of the shore.
The Zapfish dives, heading towards Gwen and the other civilians trapped in the water. Bravefeather flaps his wings and keeps trying to fly faster, sometimes even attempting to run in mid-flight to gain some extra speed. Soon enough, Bravefeather manages to get to the people in time, as well as snatching Gwen out of the way in his teeth as the Zapfish keeps moving. Bravefeather sets Gwen onto land, as well as the various people he saved.
"You okay?" The pegasus asked.
Gwen coughed up a little water, but managed to get nearly all of it out of her system. "I think so, thanks for the save." Gwen said.
Bravefeather nodded, and rushes to take the other people in need back to land with Gwen. Meanwhile, Jonah and his crew are panicking.
"Get us out of here!" Jonah screamed.
Jonah's crewmate, 'Duane' sails the boat away, with the Zapfish taking notice and going after it, rearing up against it and rocking the boat greatly.
"Whoa!" Jonah tried to keep himself steady, but the rocking of the boat was getting harder to manage.
The Zapfish rushes towards it again, its whiskers crackling with electricity, but is stopped by Bravefeather ramming either his body, or his hindlegs into the Zapfish's sides, scaring it back. Bravefeather jumps onto the boat. The Zapfish swims to the front of the boat and tries to grab a crate off of it using its whiskers.
"Oh no you don't!" Jonah cried out.
Jonah leaps, hanging onto the crate to stop it from being taken. Bravefeather decides to help by stamping on one of the Zapfish's whiskers and dragging it backwards to prevent the crate from being moved. The monster knocks Bravefeather backwards and tries again to get the box, but Bravefeather lunges forward and props himself on the ship's ground, and uses his strong hindlegs to kick the Zapfish's jaw as it comes towards the ship. After being kicked in the underjaw, the Zapfish reals backwards, roaring as it knocks the crate into the water and retreats.
"No, not that! Anything but that!" Jonah cried out.
Bravefeather raised an eyebrow. "What's so important about that crate?" Bravefeather inquired.
Jonah flinched at that question, but just sputtered out the first thing on his mind. "Uh... Our rations! We take a crate of rations out on our expeditions, just to ensure we don't go hungry." Jonah explained.
Bravefeather furrowed his brow as a scowl formed on his face. Something seemed fishy, and it wasn't the Zapfish.
Jonah could tell that by the look on the pegasus' face, that something didn't seem right. "Your lunch..." The pegasus began. Jonah smiled nervously. The pegasus trotted forwards, getting closer to Jonah, to the point where Jonah backed up to the other side of his boat. "You mean to tell me, that you risked your tail ends for a couple of stupid sandwiches? Are you kidding me?!" Bravefeather questioned.
Jonah shrugged his shoulders. Soon enough, the Omnitrix begins to flash red and beep, signifying that it was time for the pegasus to leave. Bravefeather quickly took to the skies and flew off in one direction, all while Jonah formed a scowl on his face.
Bravefeather flies right towards Shaw's ship. "Almost there... I think I'm gonna- aah!" Ben times out, transforming back into a human, still moving with Bravefeather's momentum and getting skidded across the water's surface like a stone, landing right behind the ship, getting spotted by Max. "- make it." Ben groans.
Max quickly pulls Ben onto the boat, all while Shaw stops aiming a harpoon at the Zapfish, letting it escape.
Back on dry-land, Campers and dock-goers are all packing up and leaving as it gets dark. Ben, Gwen, and Max sit by a campfire, waiting as Ben dries off. Shaw is back at his boat, listening in on some old CB-Radio.
"See, I told you so, that Zapfish was the same thing that laid the egg I saw last night. Captain Shaw and I were right, and I figured out who tried to snag that egg, too." Ben stated.
Max sighed. "Ben, just because he was right about the Zapfish doesn't mean I was wrong about him. I want you to stay away from that guy. He's trouble, more than he's worth." Max stated. "Besides, this was supposed to be a normal day for you, to just unwind and have fun, or just do something that won't rely on you becoming an alien in public."
Ben groans. "You're just being stubborn." Ben remarked.
Gwen shot him a look. "Yeah, don't you hate people like that?" Gwen sarcastically said.
Ben looked at his grandfather, only to see a serious expression on his face. "We'll leave this to the experts Ben, like those 'Friends of Fish' guys." Max said.
Ben frowned. "But that's just it- They were the ones I kept from getting that egg at the swimming hole! How can someone be a 'Friend of Fish' if they've armed themselves with a harpoon? What were they expecting to see?! The Zapfish, that's what!" Ben argued. "Besides, you're giving them too much credit calling them 'experts', Grandpa. Besides, who better to snag a lake-monster than the guy with the monster-buster on his wrist?" Ben stated.
Max frowned and stood up, looking rather irritated. "Then this is the one that got away, Benjamin. End of discussion." Max sternly said, walking back to the Rust Bucket. Gwen was a bit surprised by her grandfather's change in attitude, but eventually followed suite.
Ben was left there, in his wet clothes, by a roaring fire, when suddenly, Shaw comes up. He's in quite the aggravated state, to the point to where he looks red in the face.
"...low-down no good fish kissing pansy ass enviro-punks!" Shaw furiously exclaimed.
Ben got up and set the towel aside. "Captain Shaw, what's going on?" Ben asked.
Shaw turned towards Ben, obviously still angry. "The nerve of those hooligans! They shut down the entire lake! Nobody tells me where to sail, and nobody's gonna keep me away from reeling in the catch of the damn century. Nobody!" Shaw marched back to his boat, only to stop and look back at Ben. "You coming? I saw ya change yer shape into that... flying-pony thing, so I could use the extra hand, if needed." Shaw offered.
Ben looked back at the Rust Bucket, seeing Gwen and Max getting ready to turn in for the night. Ben furrowed his brow and let a smirk form on his face. He turned back to Shaw and nodded. "Let's go catch a Zapfish." Ben responded.
Ben keeps himself dressed in the clothes he wore for the day, and pretends to have gone to the bathroom. Before Max or Gwen could ever wake up to notice, he had already left to get on Shaw's boat.
As Ben dusts off his clothes and runs towards Shaw's boat. Ben straps on a life-jacket and makes sure he's prepared before the boat begins to run. Shaw gets to the wheel and moves the boat fast. As the boat sails across the lake, the Rust Bucket sits nearby the pier. As the ship gets further and further out of sight, both Gwen and Max are are standing near the bathroom door.
Expecting him to eventually come out, Gwen starts to get impatient, knocking at the bathroom door as hard as she can. "Come on Ben! What did you do- fall in?" Gwen yelled out. No response.
Max grabbed the doorknob and tried to get Ben's attention. "Ben, if you're still mad about letting the Zapfish get away, we can always go after it tomorrow before we leave. How's that sound?" Max asked. No response.
Max looked back at Gwen, then turned the knob and opened the door, only to reveal that Ben wasn't there. Max was surprised, but Gwen looked as if she expected this. "Well, can't say I didn't expect this. It's Ben, of course he wasn't gonna listen," Max looked down at Gwen, obviously unamused by the situation. "What? Nothing we can do now, he's sea monster chow." Gwen said.
As she was about to lay down, Max immediately pulled her out of bed. She knew she wasn't getting out of this that easily, so, of course she had to go help her doofus cousin out of trouble.
Capt. Shaw sails the boat, but hears cluttering behind him coming from under a tarp. Shaw lifts up the tarp, only to find Ben, rummaging around the equipment. "Sorry for the noise, just looking for a spare dive suit." Ben explains.
Shaw sighs and pulls Ben towards the wheel, pointing towards the buoys and red tape. "Look alive, first mate. If I were a bettin' man, she's probably been chased deep, likely by our 'fishy friends', and there's only one way to flush her out." Shaw explained.
"And that way is what, exactly?" Ben asked.
Shaw smirked as he grabbed a dive suit of his own. "...with a little live bait." Shaw stated.
Ben looked around and found a spare dark blue dive-suit, managing to slip into it easily. "Maybe I should go with you, just in case." Ben suggested.
Shaw held his hand out, stopping Ben in his tracks. "No need, I already got my dive buddy, right here," Shaw gestures to some kind of harpoon gun. While it didn't look like the same gun Ben saw the other night, it was kind of similar. "Wish me luck. Only come down if it's important." Shaw instructed, jumping into the water.
Captain Shaw dives through the ocean. He gets startled, but reaches the Zapfish's nest without incident. From behind him, a figure approaches. On instinct, Shaw fires his harpoon at the individual, only for Ben to narrowly avoid getting pierced. Though despite the relief, Shaw dives back up to the surface, seeing another boat alongside his. As he climbs up he's grabbed by a masked figure.
The masked figure looks Shaw square in the face. "Don't you know night diving is dangerous, old timer? Unless of course, you went with a friend." The figure asked.
Shaw spat on the figure's mask, causing them to groan out of sheer frustration. "I work alone, ya skeevy drifter. I ain't got no friends." Shaw remarked.
The masked figure chuckled. "...and with a sparkling personality like yours? Coulda fooled me." The figure retorted. Ben slowly came up to the surface, spectating the confrontation.
"I haven't anything worth stealing, either. So if it's something of monetary value ya want, I got jack diddly squat for you to take." Shaw affirmed.
The masked figure chuckled again, seeming amused by this exchange. "Ah, but you have us all wrong. All we want is information. Like, what did you see down there, or if you even saw anything out of the ordinary?" the masked figure inquired.
Shaw grit his teeth and smacked his forehead against the masked figure's facial area, causing them to stumble backwards a fair bit. "I saw nothin'. Same as always. Now, how's about you take that ridiculous mask off and look me in the eyes like a man, you fishy face-sucking punk?" Shaw demanded.
The masked figure didn't laugh this time, but sighed out of irritation. They pulled their mask off, revealing themselves to be Jonah Melville. Jonah balled his hand into a fist and punches Shaw to the ground, knocking him out. "Clever geezer, but not clever enough. Might as well make sure he's telling the truth, though." Jonah stated.
Ben sees this, and looks to the Omnitrix to see if it's possible to transform. He's met with the device not working, and assumes it was still timed out. "Come on, work!" Ben whispered.
Jonah looks down at the unconscious Shaw. "Take 'Ahab' here with us. Find out if he knows anything back at the Cannery. We'll come back later with a mini-sub to snatch the rest of the eggs." he ordered. Jonah then pulls a tracker from a pocket, activates it and tosses it into the lake. Jonah then begins to prime an explosive, and tosses it over onto Shaw's ship. "In the meantime, I think his boat just got lost at sea."
The ship sails off, leaving Shaw's boat behind as it explodes into pieces. Ben ducks under the water and grits his teeth, dodging the falling debris as he came back up to the surface at a distance. Ben primes his watch, looking at the silhouette of Pesky Dust. "It's hero time." Ben states.
As the F.O.F ship speeds along the water, one of the members, Duane, catches a glimpse of a faint green trail of sparkling dust behind them. "Hey, what's that? Some kind of bird?" he asks.
The other member looks on and comes up with another answer. "I think it might be a bug. Whatchu think, boss?" The man asked Jonah.
Jonah grabs a pair of binoculars, spotting Pesky Dust as it flutters in fast towards them. "First a pegasus, now some kind of pixie? This just keeps getting dumber and dumber! Man the harpoons and treat that thing like a bug, squash it!" Jonah demanded angrily.
"Give it up, boys! You arrrre totally busted!" Pesky Dust yelled, flying in closer.
Jonah's crew fire lasers at Pesky Dust, with him able to dodge, then fire his sleeping dust, incapacitating them. Jonah puts on a gas mask, then unloads explosive barrels from the inside of the ship, some almost hitting Ben, blasting a tree and knocking the pixie out of the sky into the water below.
"Aw man! My wings! Too soft for take-off." Pesky Dust flitters his wings, trying to shake the drops of water off, but is still unable to take off. Suddenly, he's now targeted by Jonah, driving the ship towards him. "Uh oh." Pesky Dust mutters.
Jonah, now with an almost psychotic smile on his face, stares daggers at the pixie. "Let's clip the wings off this fairy, once and for all!" Jonah exclaims.
Pesky Dust, now spotlighted, slowly swims away as Jonah's ship barrels towards him. He reaches a hunk of driftwood and turns his head to see the oncoming threat. He flaps his wings to dry them faster, only to notice Jonah getting closer. "Come on, come on! Dry off already!" Pesky Dust muttered.
Baring closer, one of Jonah's crew stands with a turret, firing toward him. Curious, Pesky Dust looks around him for means of escape, he sees a hanging branch and frantically tries to flutter upwards to the branch, barely managing to grab it in time, keeping himself safe for a little while longer. The driftwood is blasted into bits after being hit by the boat.
Jonah circles the boat and looks around with a spotlight, unable to find Pesky Dust hiding behind the branch, but sees a couple fins in the water. "It's getting too crowded around here, dump the trash overboard." He shined his light, gesturing to the unconscious Shaw.
Captain Shaw's thrown overboard as Jonah and his crew boat away. Pesky Dust, hovering above the water's surface, grabs Shaw before he sinks. He attempts to fly towards land, and gets close enough to see the Rust Bucket on the shore, as well as Max and Gwen waiting for him.
Pesky Dust grimaced a bit, but felt a sense of relief wash over him. "They'rrrre gonna be mad, but it'll be worrrrth it! I'm almost therrre!" Pesky Dust proclaimed.
Soon enough, the Omnitrix began to flash red and beep, signifying that it was about to turn him back to normal. "Aw, no! Not again..." The pixie panicked.
Back on shore, Gwen peers through binoculars, searching for Ben, or any sighting of Shaw's boat. "Find any sign of Ben, or Shaw?" Max asked.
Gwen sighed and tossed the binoculars to her grandpa, indicating she hasn't found anything. "Not a single clue or hint, grandpa. You think they went far?" she asked.
"I'm not entirely sure, you never know when they could just-"
Max was cut off by the sound of beeping. Max and Gwen looked up, seeing Ben's alien form timing out, who soon after transforms back into a human and begins screaming as he and an unconscious Shaw fall. The two land safely in the Rust Bucket's sun-shade.
"-show up." Max finished.
Ben sat up and rubbed his head, all while Shaw slowly regained consciousness. "Ugh, I hate it when that happens." Ben uttered.
From inside the Rust Bucket, Ben talks as Gwen taps keys on her laptop. he explains everything that occurred, even linking to why a boat full of divers would be out at night at the swimming hole, especially if they're equipped with harpoon guns. It was Jonah and his crew, trying to pilfer another egg, before Slipstream up and stopped them. Max and Shaw listen in as Ben explains what happened.
"...and the Zapfish's nest was full of eggs! No wonder she's been attacking everything, Jonah must be stealing her eggs! It's lashing out, and trying to protect its babies!" Ben explained.
"I did a little checking on "Friends of Fish" and found out it's not listed on any environmental website. But, I did find this:" Gwen turns her laptop around, revealing images of Jonah being excessively brutal with wildlife of several kinds. "Jonah Melville isn't a friend to any kind of wildlife, he travels around the world poaching rare animals. then crates them up, and sells them to private collectors," Gwen scrolled down and displayed an image of Jonah, cheering for some kind of weird red-colored pig with dark brown patterns on its body, as it fights some strange deformed yellow rat with black burn marks on its back. "What's even crueler, he has openly expressed support for pitting some of these rare animals in fighting rings, and because his catches are of the much rarer variety, he earns more money from the fights he wins than the catches he ships off to his next paying customer."
"And here I thought he rubbed me the wrong way before, with his fancy words and talkin' about saving animals. He's as cruel as that Phillip lout, who offered me a large sum of cash to take the Zapfish off my hands." Shaw rebuked.
"Call me crazy, but that crate he was willing to risk his life for, back on his ship when the Zapfish attacked? That was probably filled with one of her eggs!" Ben stated.
"Looks like we were both, a little too hard headed," Max looked to Shaw and gestured his hand for a handshake. Shaw smiled and shook Max's hand, pulling out that same badge he had before. "Any chance you'd be willing to lend a hand?" Max asked.
"Maybe not as much as I could've, if my boat hadn't been blown to smithereens." Shaw opened the door and pointed to a smaller boat with a motor attached to the back of it. "But, I still have something a bit more old-fashioned."
"We still need a location, though. Where do you think they went with those eggs, anyway?" Gwen asked.
"They said something about going back to a cannery. Any chance there's one in the area?" Ben questioned.
The four of them run down to the docks, with Shaw untying the boat, and running inside a small wooden shack, as if he's looking for something. Gwen clicks a button on her phone and pockets it, stepping onto the boat. "It'll take a while until the police can get here, so here's to hoping we stop the bad guys till then." Gwen stated.
Ben and Max step into the boat as well, with Shaw following up as well. Shaw was now wearing some kind of gray dive-suit, with some kind of gray helmet with a darkened visor, and black boots. He also had some kind of strange rifle equipped in his hands. Max nodded, activating the motor as the boat speeds away. "Is this like, highly-advanced fishing gear, or something?" Gwen asked.
"Ya could say that, but it's for far more than just simple fishing trips." Shaw answered cryptically, clutching the rifle in his hands.
Underwater, a clamp attaches to Melville's submarine pod, Zapfish egg in tow, pulling him out of the water by a crane mechanism. A crane pulls up the submarine suit holding an egg out of the water, setting the submarine down on the dock. It lowers him onto the cannery dock, as he passes the egg to one of his crewmate.
"Careful! -Or you'll be cleaning up the world's most expensive omelette. It'll also come out of your financial cut on this job!" Jonah ordered. The crewmate dumps the egg in a cylindrical glass container with another, before closing the lid. Jonah cradles the eggs through the container. "After we sell most of these babies to the highest bidder, we'll be kicking back on a beach in the Bahamas."
Underneath the docking area, Ben, Gwen, Shaw, and Max arrive to a ladder entrance of the cannery. Max, Gwen, and Shaw begin to climb.
"Hey, see if you can find the eggs." Ben said.
"And what about you?" Gwen asked.
Ben raised an eyebrow, then raised the Omnitrix into view. "We both know what I'm about to do." Ben remarked.
Gwen nodded, climbing up the ladder as Ben stays behind on the boat. Ben primes the watch, before dialing in Slipstream. He transforms in a flash of green light and dives into the water. A near instant after, the Zapfish shoots up out of the water, knocking the boat Ben stands on aside, going up through the cannery dock flooring and coming face to face with Jonah, its whiskers crackling with electricity.
Jonah smirked. "Well, I'm not necessarily unhappy to see you. The bigger the monster, the bigger the payday." Jonah said, running to his submarine pod.
Jonah's crewmates open fire on the Zapfish, but Slipstream starts making serious work of them, using the fins on his arms to actually cut through their weapons, even their clothes as minor blips of red begin to stain the alien's fins. Slipstream looked at Jonah, scowling as he runs toward him.
One guard runs off inside the building, while another stays, firing shots that lightly pierce the Zapfish's skin. To get to the eggs, the Zapfish smacks aside the gunner, but Jonah snatches the eggs through the crane operated sub before they can be reached. Opening fire, Jonah repositions himself, though stopping his firing, Slipstream leaps into the lake, and propels himself up into the air, and onto Jonah's machine's window, encompassing his view.
"You want to put monsters in cages? Then I'll put you in a cage, then!" Slipstream yelled out aggressively.
Slipstream climbs down to the machine's grapple holding the eggs, Jonah moves to fire point blank, but Slipstream responds by cutting the gunner arm off. The eggs get dropped and Slipstream dives after them. Catching them mid air, Ben gets punches by Jonah, causing the eggs to hit the floor and break out of their containers, landing on the dock below.
Max, Shaw and Gwen sneak inside the cannery, coming to a corner with a Friends of Fish member round it. Max pauses and tries to communicate to Gwen through hand signals. She doesn't get what he's trying to convey, but Shaw seems to get the gist.
Below the cannery, Jonah's crewmate who had opened fire on the Zapfish swims back to the cannery, climbing a ladder and coming up directly in front of Max and Gwen, gun aimed.
Max instinctively gets in-front of Gwen, trying to keep her safe. "All right, buddy. We can do this the easy way, or the hard way." Max stated, staring the man down. The crewmate smiles before walking towards the two menacingly, causing them to back up. Behind him the side wall breaks apart, the Zapfish's tail coming through. "Shaw, go high!" Max yelled.
The crewmate notices Shaw, hanging onto the cannery's hook, sliding at full-force as the floor begins to collapse. "Take this, ya land-legged cowards!" Shaw swings his legs back, and firmly plants his boots into the man's chest, sending him careening down back into the water. Gwen and Max grab the hooks and slide after Shaw. Out the corner runs another crewmate, who is knocked down by Max and Gwen kicking him in succession as they jump off the hooks.
Gwen looked at her grandpa, smiling. "As fun as that was, is this the easy way, or the hard way?" Gwen asked.
Max shrugs and smiles, till Shaw helps them both up. "Yer havin' fun, aren'tcha, more fun than just sittin' on that dock all day?" Shaw asked.
Gwen thought about it, and she did feel a rush when riding on that hook, and helping take down some bad guy was also kinda fun, in a way.
Outside, Jonah and the Zapfish both dives for the eggs, but the Zapfish scoops them up first. Jonah rushes forward, but Slipstream intercepts him with a side-tackle and starts to punch on the glass.
"My eggs!" Jonah screamed.
Slipstream gritted his teeth and elbow-jabbed the glass, letting his fin pierce the glass and nearly cut Jonah's neck. "Those eggs aren't yours!" Slipstream grunted.
As Ben dives into the water with the eggs, Jonah detaches falling directly onto him. Underwater Jonah beats Ben, continually punching him. "Rescuing babies? Very heroic, kid, but not very smart." Jonah remarks.
Jonah tries to punch Ben one more time, but he manages to catch it, and he is mad. "Do me a favor and stop talking! Drown, if you must!" Slipstream punches the glass harder, causing it to crack profusely.
Jonah manages to land one more hit, then scoops the eggs while Ben shakes off the hit. Ben gets back to his senses and shoots towards the escaping Jonah. The two fight, Ben latching onto the suit, while Jonah punches him away. Ben pries the eggs from him and rests them under his arms while fighting him off with kicks. The Zapfish knocks Ben aside, and swims off, as Ben and Jonah race to it.
Jonah lets out a sonic attack, causing the Zapfish to reel and allow him to scoop the eggs. Ben smacks him to the ground, but gets pinned by the throat. Struggling, Ben grabs an anchor off the sea floor, hitting Jonah with it, before being thrown off while slashing at him. Jonah scurries off while Ben looks down at the chained anchor. He grabs the chain and swings it around, sending it flying at Jonah, dropping the eggs and letting Ben scoop them back as the Zapfish follows Ben as Slipstream, still being chased by the Zapfish for the eggs, arrives at an open area along the sea floor.
He places the eggs down in front of it, allowing it to take their eggs back. Jonah speeds towards them, narrowing on the eggs, but is grabbed by the Zapfish's whiskers and has his submarine crushed around him. Now in the open without his machine, Jonah pulls a knife and stabs the Zapfish, but while his knife does pierce the Zapfish's skin, it shocks and electrocutes him heavily, causing him to reel and be left defenseless.
The Zapfish bellows, opening it's jaw as it tries to consume Jonah whole. But before it can eat him, Ben puts himself between the two. The Zapfish seems to understand, and goes back to its eggs. Jonah exchanges a look with Slipstream before shrugging. Slipstream scowls and raises his fins, with Jonah looking scared for his well-being.
On the surface, Jonah and his crew are tied together with some rope and chains, then left to hang on the crane.
"Hang here for a while, until the police find some nice, dry cells for you." Slipstream remarked.
As the sound of sirens begin to get closer, Slipstream dives into the water, making his way back to the boat. Max, Shaw and Gwen look on from the lakeside, as a police boat nears Jonah and his crew.
"Ha, 'good riddance to bad rubbish'. This was quite the adventure, huh, Gwen?" Max asked.
Gwen smiled. "Yeah, I'll admit, I joined a bit late for the climax, but it was still pretty exhilarating." Gwen stated.
"Hah! I think I got one!" Shaw exclaimed.
Shaw reels in his fishing pole, only to suddenly be met with Slipstream, who had the hook stuck in his suit. The Omnitrix beeped and flashed red, turning Ben back into his normal self as he got the hook unstuck from his shirt. "Heheh... Sorry, Captain." Ben said sheepishly.
The next morning, Shaw waves the Tennysons goodbye as the Rust Bucket drives out of view. Ben and Gwen chow down on some fried fish, while Max sips on a cup of coffee, keeping his eyes on the road.
"Well, Ben, I'm sorry I doubted you. Truth be told, deep down I kinda knew that the Zapfish existed, call it a hunch that was proven right, but I was more skeptical about Shaw." Max explained.
"I get what you mean, grandpa," Ben swallowed down what was left of his breakfast and placed his dish in the sink. "Guy seemed a bit sketchy, at first. Kinda wish I knew where he got all that stuff, though. He came prepared for a war." Ben remarked.
"Well, here's to hoping for drier lands." Max cheered, raising his mug up-high.
Gwen raised her mug up-high with a tired smile. "I'll cheers to that. Kinda hoping maybe we head to a mall or something, it'd be nice to wear some much better clothes this summer." Gwen commented.
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
This definitely was longer than I expected, somehow much longer than Witchington BC. But, nevertheless, I had a blast doing this one. As you might've noticed, this episode is called 'The Great Zapfish'. It's an alternate take on 'The Krakken', which centers around a different huge creature that most likely lays eggs, and either it or it's offspring was kidnapped in some manner.
On another note, this is the only new alien that makes its debut in this episode, but I kinda like it. I definitely changed up Shaw's character, from being this slightly nutty and kinda creepy old fisherman, to being essentially a plot relevant character. Try not to think about it too much, because I'm still working hard to make this story not S U C K.
8 - SLIPSTREAM
Species:
Zora
Homeplanet:
Hylan IX
Original Native Franchise:
The Legend of Zelda
So, with all that out of the way, thanks for reading this chapter, and hopefully the next one won't take too long.