Max Tennyson put the last wire in place and took a step back. He exhaled slowly and examined the set-up. It had been a lifetime since he had done this. He wasn't sure whether he remembered the entire procedure correctly, but this was done to the best of his ability. It seemed alright.

He hit the code on the keypad and it came to life without making a sound or emitting a light. Max put on the headphones and adjusted the microphone. The last time he had used this device it was the 1970s. It had been a staple part of his weekly conference calls with the other plumbers across the galaxy. He had a hard time feigning excitement when Skype was launched, but had done it convincingly anyways.

"Hello? State your badge number for identification please" came a voice from the other end.

"It's me" said Max simply.

A silence followed this announcement and then the reply came - "One moment Mr. Tennyson. I'll ask Magister Labrid to come to the device."

"That's okay. I'm sure he's expecting my call" said Max. The operator didn't reply.

Soon a second voice appeared on the set. "Hey Max! How are ya, old buddy?"

"Why now?" asked Max.

"What? You got no time for Chitchat? You forget your manners when you retired?"

"I don't have time for this, Labrid. You sent me the Omnitrix. Without a warning call. And you got my co-ods wrong. I told you I was out. I've done my part. You guys need to take over. Pull up your goddamn socks."

"What are socks?"

Max groaned. "Never mind. I need you to deactivate the device. Now."

"See, that's the problem-"

"DO IT NOW!" roared Max.

"Max, we Can't."

"I'm giving you authorization."

"No Max. You aren't listening. We can't shut em off anymore. That's why we sent them out. Something happened to the mainframe here. The kill-switch is bust. It's over. We destroyed the ones still in production. We didn't know what to do with the retired ones. So we sent them to the guys that wore them. No matter how long ago they did."

Max froze. He clenched and un-clenched his fists several times. When he spoke, it was with deliberate slowness "You have got to be kidding me."

"Hey, it worked out well in the end didn't it? I'm looking at the data on your device right now. Genetic code confirmed. Congrats buddy. This device is all yours now. And unlike the last time, no restriction. Yours and your alone. Whatever you want."

"And the others?"

"Sent back to their respective owners in their respective galaxies. Same terms and conditions. The plumbers really trusts it's alumni. Trust me Max. This is for the best. Everyone knows you guys would never screw up."

"We wouldn't, Labrid. But you just did. The code is verified, but it's not me that's wearing the Omnitrix. It's my grandkid."

"Your offspring?"

"My offspring's offspring"

"Holy Divine Entity. You earth folk are pretty complicated you know."

"Not really. And stop invoking a fairytale that doesn't exist Labrid. We wouldn't be in this position if he did."

"Still haven't changed, have ya Max? Anyways, I'm not fussed. How old is this guy?"

"He's not a guy. He's a kid."

"Uh huh."

"He's 10"

"That's pretty old."

"10 human years, Labrid. Our years have only 365 days. And we metabolise and develop slowly. A lot slower than you would think."

"Okay. I'm still not sure why you're so worried Max. He's a good kid. He's got your genes after all."

TO BE CONTINUED