In this chapter, we're going to be introduced to Albert's dad. He happens to work at the Center like his son. We're also going to be introduced to a colleague of his. I believe I already mentioned his name.
And we're going to be introduced to yet another character. Her name is Kate. Like Albert, she's an only chi.d.
Chapter 6: The Center Agent
Albert was in his room, when suddenly his father began to knock on his door.
"Hello?" asked Albert.
Albert opened the door for his father. It's the polite thing to do.
His name was Leonardo Benton. He resembled his son somewhat, but he happened to have a mustache.
"Good morning son!" exclaimed Dad.
"Good morning, Dad!" answered back Albert.
Leonardo had a smile on his face.
"Today we're going to be visiting a friend of mine." answered Leonardo.
"Who is that?" inquired Albert.
"His name is Victor Mutagen." explained Albert's father.
"Victor Mutagen..." said Leonardo's son. Hadn't he heard his name before?
"He's one of the best Center agents out there! He's caught many monsters!" exclaimed Leonardo. About as many as he had caught, to be precise. What a coincidence.
"That's really impressive...I've only caught one and he wasn't exactly a fighter..." noted Albert. He preferred running away than fighting. Apparently, that was the reason why he was assigned that monster on account on him being a rookie.
"You'll catch more eventually." answered the man. When he first started out, he was only allowed to catch harmless monsters that wouldn't swallow him whole. Nowadays, he was after monsters that threatened to destroy entire cities. It was hard to erase the memories of everyone that had witnessed the monster when that happened.
Albert nodded. That was something that he looked forward to. Maybe he could get Victor Mutagen's autograph.
At that very moment, Sylvia approached them.
"If you want you can bring your robot girl with you...why did you build her again?" inquired Leonardo.
"I'm kind of a lonely guy...of course, there's you, but you tend to go on missions for the Center." noted Albert. At least his mother was usually there.
"I see..." nodded Albert's dad. He would love to spend more time with his son, but when there were monsters on the loose, he couldn't let just stand by and let them wreak havoc.
His wife had said the same thing about him, actually. However, he was willing to take the day off for her when needed, so she didn't complain too much.
"Should we bring Stella as well?" inquired Sylvia.
"I don't know, she seems to break everything she touches judging from how she interacts whenever she's in M.O.M's office..." stated Albert.
"She'd probably get along with his daughter though. Her name is Kate." said Leonardo.
"So, Victor Mutagen is married?" inquired Albert.
"Well, he was. He said his wife left him three years ago...incidentally, that was around the time that he caught his most famous monster, the dreaded Arachnia." stated the man.
"Arachnia? I hear that she's the stuff of nightmares...she laid so many spider eggs that it was difficult to contain them all..." answered Albert.
"Yes...luckily, Victor Mutagen took care of her." said Leonardo. He had managed to save the day.
"So...where does Victor live?" inquired Albert. He would like to meet him in the flesh.
"He lives in Ethyl Town." explained the adult.
"Ethyl Town? I heard that it's been a sight of many unexplained disappearances over the years..." stated the teenage boy. He had read about it in a newspaper. He wondered what was happening in that town.
"We won't be visiting him for too long. Besides, if there's a monster invading Ethyl Town, you know that you can count on him." answered Leonardo.
"If you say so." nodded Albert.
Albert decided to send Stella a message. For some strange reason, she received messages using owls. Personally he would rather use pigeons but apparently that was just how the world of magic worked.
She poofed in a short while later.
"You can teleport?" asked Albert.
"Well, I can if I'm focused...though I'm not usually focused..." noted Stella.
"I see..." nodded the boy. Personally he would just use the portals at the Center. They were rather convenient. A lot of Center agents used them.
"So...we're visiting a friend of your father?" inquired the witch.
"My dad figured it would be fun...he happens to have a daughter." answered Albert. She wasn't his age though.
"OK!" exclaimed Stella.
Leonardo opened up a portal which led to Ethyl Town. Like MOM, he was capable of opening up portals.
The four of them stepped through it.
He then knocked on Victor's door.
"Hello?" asked Leonardo.
Victor answered the door.
"Leonardo! Good to see you again!" exclaimed Victor. Victor had black hair and had a beard, and he wore glasses like Leonardo. He had green eyes.
Victor shook Leonardo's hand.
"So...you're Leonardo's son? Maybe I should introduce you to my daughter Kate..." said Victor.
"Hello!" exclaimed Kate. It looked like she was excited that someone had come to visit her and her dad.
Kate was rather adorable, to say the very least. She had brown hair and was wearing a yellow dress. Also, she had big eyes.
She also happened to have a dog. His name was Spot. Naturally, he was a Dalmatian.
As soon as Spot saw Albert, he began to bark.
"Hi..." said Albert.
It seemed that Kate was an only child, just as Albert was. Though in her case, she had a dog to keep her company.
Spot licked Albert in the face. Luckily, he was a friendly dog, even if Albert was a stranger to him.
"So...how's working at the Center? I'm kind of...new." said Stella.
"Pretty good...unfortunately, my wife thought I spent too much time at my job..." answered Victor.
"I miss Mom..." remarked Kate.
"Ruff!" exclaimed Spot.
"I'm sure you'll see her again someday." answered Stella.
"Still, my dad's working to keep the world safe, so that's good!" exclaimed Kate.
"I bet it is." agreed Albert.
Sylvia nodded her head in agreement.
"I think I'll become a Center agent when I grow up!" shouted the girl. She would love to follow in her dad's footsteps. Although, her father would probably worry about her safety.
"Gotta admire your enthusiasm." noted Stella.
Curious, she noticed that there was a locked door nearby.
She decided to ask Victor Mutagen about it.
"What's with the locked door?" inquired the teenage girl.
"Oh, that's where I keep my Center equipment. You know, for catching monsters and the like. No reason for you to go down there." said Victor.
"OK then?" questioned Stella.
Curious, she noticed a picture of him along with his wife and his daughter.
"What happened to your wife?" asked the witch.
"She left me...she said that I spent too much time on my work and not enough time at home..." answered Victor Mutagen.
"How sad..." answered Stella.
Considering how MOM reacted when Stella broke her stuff, perhaps it would be best if she didn't go down there.
Suddenly, Victor received a message from his U-Watch.
It looked like it was time for him to go another mission.
"Well, duty calls." said Victor.
He opened up a portal and went to the Himalayas. It seemed that there was an abominable snowman on the loose.
Kate sighed.
"What's the matter?" inquired Albert.
"It's kind of lonely with my dad gone...he tends to leave the house a lot." noted Kate.
"I see..." nodded the boy. His dad tended to leave the house a lot as well.
"At least I have Spot to keep me company." answered the girl.
"Ruff!" exclaimed Spot.
"Yeah, that's nice. So what do you want to do?" inquired Albert.
"Hmm..." thought Kate.
Kate began to think.
Eventually, she came up with an idea.
"We can play hide and seek!" exclaimed the girl.
"Sure." nodded Albert. That sounded like fun.
Kate immediately went to hide.
It looked like he was going to be playing the role of the seeker.
"I wonder where she went..." thought the teenage boy.
He decided to go looking for her.
He eventually found her hiding underneath the couch.
"There you are!" exclaimed Albert.
"That was fun!" shouted Kate.
Albert nodded. It certainly was fun. Kate was a good hider.
"Do you want to play again?" asked the girl.
"That would be entertaining..." acknowledged Albert.
"If you want me to I can use my scanners to locate her..." pointed out Sylvia. They were capable of detecting body heat. Finding her would be easy.
"I don't see how that would be fun..." pointed out Albert. That seemed like cheating if you asked him.
Sylvia noted that she had difficulty understanding human emotions on account on being a robot. Albert had given her a robotic brain so she was a smart robot, but still.
"Maybe we can play tag next..." said Kate.
"We should probably do that outdoors." noted Albert. Wouldn't want to knock things over. Her dad would be mad.
Kate nodded. Nothing like some nice fresh air. It was nice and sunny out today.
Kate went outside and Albert began to chase after her.
However, he fell down.
"Oof!" exclaimed Albert.
"You OK?" asked Kate.
"I'm fine, thanks." answered the boy.
"I have to admit, it's kind of lonely being an only child." stated the girl.
"True..." nodded Albert. On the other hand, Martin and Diana always seemed to get each on each other's nerves. They didn't have too many things in common other than their love of mysteries.
Meanwhile...
Victor Mutagen chased after the abominable snowman.
He was rather aggressive, to say the very least. The Eskimos would need to have their memories erased after this. Although...the monster might end up in their folklore. Sometimes they couldn't erase all their memories.
As soon as the monster saw him, he beat his chest like a gorilla. Was he some sort of primate? Then again, it was a lot bigger than a human.
He kept rolling snowballs towards him.
Victor Mutagen pulled out his U-Watch, and selected the net.
He then tossed it at the creature.
The creature thrashed around in the net, but it seemed that the fibers in the net were stronger than steel.
How exactly did The Center make such a net anyway?
Victor Mutagen then followed with a tranquilizer dart.
The monster fell asleep and began to snore.
Shortly afterwards, he received a message from MOM.
"Good work, Victor Mutagen. That's the third monster you've caught this month." stated MOM.
Victor Mutagen smiled. Once again he was receiving fame and fortune. He simply loved it. At this rate he was going to be a millionaire.
Well, it was time to head back home. Nothing beat going back to your residence after a long day of work.
Immediately, he opened a portal back to his house.
Meanwhile, Kate was watching TV. She was watching the news.
What she saw was somewhat alarming.
She smiled when she noticed her father.
"Hey there, daddy...why do people keep disappearing from our town?" asked Kate. On the news there was a report of another disappearance.
This time it was a young man about thirty years old.
Where could he have possibly gone?
"I'm not sure." answered Victor Mutagen. The police had tried to investigate, but so far they had come up with nothing. The Center were considering investigating the matter themselves.
"I sure hope that the Center does something about this." answered the girl. What if it was one of her friends at school next?
"I'm sure they will." stated the man, petting Kate on the head.
"Hey, Mr. Mutagen! Now that you're back, can I ask you something?" asked Albert.
"Yes!" exclaimed Mr. Mutagen.
"What was the first monster that you ever caught?" inquired the boy. He wanted to know.
Victor Mutagen pulled out a picture.
It was of what appeared to be a spider lady.
"Wow! She looks horrifying!" exclaimed Albert. She looked like she had come out of his nightmares.
"She certainly was." answered Victor Mutagen. Luckily, he had managed to capture her before anyone could get hurt.
"Now that I thought of it, wasn't that the most famous monster you ever caught? Arachnia?" inquired the boy.
"Yes...the Center was really proud of me for that...I rose through the ranks pretty quickly." noted Victor Mutagen.
"Cool!" exclaimed Albert.
"I have pictures of all the other monsters I caught if you're interested." stated the man.
"Sure! Go ahead and show them to me!" shouted the boy. He would love to see Victor's work.
However, it seemed that Victor had been contacted by the Center once again.
"Whoops! Look at the time! I've got to go catch another monster! It seems it's rampaging in London..." answered Victor.
"Aww..." said Kate and Albert in unison.
Victor Mutagen left.
At that very moment, Stella approached them.
"What's going on?" asked Stella.
"I'm just admiring some of Victor Mutagen's work..." answered Albert.
"Can we play outside?" asked Kate.
"Sure..." nodded the boy.
Albert and Kate went inside.
Curious, Stella decided to look at the picture.
"Dang! He's captured some monstrosities over the years, hasn't he?" asked Stella.
Suddenly, Stella noticed something odd.
For some strange reason, the monster was wearing a ring on her finger.
"Huh?" asked Stella.
Curious, she seemed to recall seeing that ring before.
However, she wasn't quite sure where.
Perhaps she would find out if she went to the Center to check out the monster.
She also decided to take one of the pictures of Kate, Victor, and his wife, Francine.
Those pictures were simply too cute. She would return it later.
Well, off to the Center she went.
"See you later!" exclaimed Stella.
"Bye!" answered Albert.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. So, what do you think of Victor Mutagen? He sure is doing wonderful work for the Center, isn't he?
However, Stella noticed something strange about one of the monsters that he had captured. Why exactly does she have a ring on her finger? You'll find out in the next chapter.
Mind you, it's going to be spooky!