A/N: Good grief! This took entirely too long to get out. I'll be sure to try better! Now then, onward!
Episode 4: The Tennysons Go Hollywood!
It was a warm evening that graced Hollywood, yet a cool breeze blew through Lot 14 of Planetary Studios. The man walking onto the set still found it too warm to wear his coat, but it was part of his work outfit. Same thing with his boots, sunglasses… and two oversized metal gauntlets with dials on the back of each hand.
As he took another look around for witnesses and found none, he reached into his belt to pull out a cell phone that looked faintly like a Nokia 6233, or at least a good knockoff. In an amazing show of dexterity, he pressed the number for a speed dial call, answering just as it connected. "I'm here," was all he said.
"Excellent!" a modified voice replied on the other end. "Then it is time to get to work, Temblor."
The man, Temblor, smirked as he gingerly tapped the speaker of the phone. "Hello? Is this thing on?"
The disguised boss sighed theatrically. "Yes, yes. Your payment, in full, has been transferred." Sure enough, Temblor's screen lit up with a text alert of an external transfer into his account.
Temblor chuckled, a deep rumbling sound in his throat. "Pleasure doing business with ya, boss." Hanging up, he put the phone away, then turned the dials on either of his gloves until they gave off a loud humming. "Let's rock," the man said as he pulled his sunglasses down over his eyes, before he slammed both hands down on the ground, the impact of which sent shockwaves through the ground, breaking apart the concrete, and demolishing half of the lot!
As the mercenary looked at his work with pride, he noticed movement in the corner of his eye and raised a gauntlet to block the oncoming attack… of large green thorns. As they clattered to the ground, Temblor looked up to see, what was enough to raise an eyebrow, a plant standing on its own roots! The creature had one eye, flytrap-like flaps that stood up like a popped collar, five root-like legs, and black pods growing on its back. "Geez, this city is full of weirdos," Temblor muttered loud enough for the plant to hear.
"Hey! I am not a weirdo!" the plant retorted. "I am a hero!"
"Well, hero," Temblor snickered. "Name's Temblor. Let's shake!" With that quip, he slammed his gloves down, sending an explosion of the fractured lot at the interloper. The plant creature reacted quickly, stretching his arm and grabbing a crane hanging above the area, and raising himself above the attack. He swung around the area and let go of the crane hook just as he launched himself into an overhead kick on Temblor, who blocked the strike with his arms and pushed the being backward. "Nice moves… for an amateur," the gruff man commented.
"Thank you," the plant said earnestly. "I still have a lot to learn. Can I... ask you to not destroy this place?"
"Sure. For a million dollars."
The plant froze as he tried to count to a million. "Million…? How much does Grandpa have – Ahh!" But his calculations were cut off when Temblor rushed forward and grabbed him by the chest, lifting him off the ground. Before either side could make a move, sirens sounded from not too far away and coming closer.
"Hmph. Hate doing a job halfway," Temblor snorted, before smirking at his opponent. "Guess I'll prune you later, Weedman."
"Actually, the name is Wildv-!" However he was going to introduce himself was cut off when Temblor took one more parting shot, using his gloves to blast the creature into a stack of prop crates. "...vine. Owww."
Temblor then slammed both hands on the ground, launching the mercenary up and over the partially demolished warehouse just as the police arrived. While they were unable to chase Temblor, they did notice Wildvine crawling out of the debris pile. "Freeze!" As the officers raised their sidearms, the red hourglass on Wildvine's chest began to glow and beep.
"Sorry, but I have to go," Wildvine said. "Do not worry. I will catch the bad guy. Have a nice day!" Before the police could respond, the plant dove into the ground, digging fast enough to vanish in an instant. The police could only look down the half-collapsed hole he had created on his exit before trading looks of disbelief.
A little bit away, Ben, Gwen, and Max waited outside the Rustbucket for Xavier's return. "Come on, where is he?" Ben muttered as he paced a hole in the grass. "It's almost been 10 minutes, where are you, X?" His pacing came to an abrupt halt when he tripped on a sudden bulge in the ground.
As he fell over and certainly did not scream, Wildvine's head popped out of the ground, only for it to turn into Xavier's head in a flash of red light. After spitting out some dirt, X looked at the group with a pleading look. "Could I have some help, please?"
As the RV cruised down Sunset Blvd, the radio blared out the news, specifically about last night. "...police are giving no comments to the extreme case of vandalism that took place at Planetary Studios last night. As eyewitnesses place another of the strange creatures that had been popping up across the United States in the past week, we reached out to Lt. Steel of…" Whatever else was said on the broadcast was missed as Xavier sighed loud enough to drown it out.
"You alright back there, sport?" Max asked as Gwen looked back from the front in similar worry.
"I cannot believe I lost him," With his head down on the table, Xavier was harder to hear, yet was heard all the same. "He was right there!"
"Yeah, a hero's first loss is rough," Ben said as he patted X's head. "Remember what I told you before?"
X looked up from his prone position. "Keep your guard up?"
"Exactly!" Ben cheered. "Besides, it's not over yet! He didn't finish wrecking that place yet, so we can just go back and find him!"
"It might not be that simple, Ben" Grandpa pointed out. "We don't know why this 'Tumbler' guy was attacking Planetary Studios. And just because he didn't finish doesn't mean he'll be back immediately."
"Well, that just means we can't be distracted," Ben said with a grin. "A real hero should always stay focu…" He trailed off as the Rustbucket stopped in front of an enormous billboard. The advertisement had some kid leaping through the air wearing a brown unitard with a stylized KC on his chest. "Oh my gosh, no way!" Ben plastered himself to the window as he looked at the poster. "Kangaroo Commando is coming out with a movie!? Awesome!"
"Kangaroo Commando?" the rest of the RV asked.
"He's like my favorite hero ever! It's this awesome TV show where he fought bad guys with wicked awesome gadgets!" Ben lit up the cabin with his smile. "And they're making an origin movie about him!" At the comment of 'favorite hero,' Xavier felt a twinge of something in his chest. Hiding a frown, he pushed the feeling away.
Gwen rolled her eyes at her cousin, before glancing at the ad. "Honestly, doofus. Didn't you just say we can't be…" Gwen's words died in her throat as she read the name of the star of the hero movie. "No...way! Michael Morningstar is in this!?" Gwen then made a noise Xavier didn't quite know how to describe; later, Ben would tell him it was a squeal, a sound girls make when they want to destroy a boy's eardrums.
"Micah whoza wasza?" Ben asked. "Who's that?"
"Who is he!? Only the hottest actor in Hollywood right now! He's our age, but he's already got three Academy Awards! His best movie, Always Say Never, was even dedicated to all his fans!" Gwen sighed. "And he's so passionate and honest in all his interviews! I have always wanted to meet him!"
Xavier and Ben blinked at Gwen's behavior. Finally, Ben said, "I… don't think I've ever seen her act like that. She's usually dweeby, but not… girly."
Gwen flashed Ben an irritated glare. "Well, I am a girl! I can be girly if I want!"
For his part, Max looked over at the billboard. "Looks like Planetary Studios is where it's being filmed. Some movies do allow fans to spectate from the sidelines. Might be the in we need."
Xavier nodded. "Ok, then let's head to Planetary Studios to-"
"See Michael/Kangaroo Commando!" Gwen and Ben called out at once… only for Max to give them a flat look. "And stop the Tumbler, too, yeah," they added with less enthusiasm.
As soon as they drove onto the studio lot, it was painfully obvious where the movie was being filmed; the gaggle of fans, both boys and girls, with posters for either Commando or Morningstar were all gathering in the same area. After parking, the Tennysons went over as well, X taking in all the oddities of the world around him. From all around him, there were props, costumes, and set pieces being pushed or carried from one lot to the other. Xavier blinked as he saw a man in a diving suit having a conversation with a guy wearing a tuxedo and a fish head. When he heard the crowd of fans scream and gasp, his attention snapped toward it; from a building, a small body had fallen off, heading right for the ground. The alien boy was about to race forward when Grandpa Max grabbed his shoulder. "Grandpa! Why-?"
"Xavier, hold on. Just watch." Max pointed over at the scene just as the person fell… right onto a blue pillowy object, cushioning his fall. "First rule of Hollywood, Xavier. Nothing in this town is what it appears to be," the elderly man explained.
As the figure rose, the crowd roared and applauded the stunt; the cheering from the girls' side only got louder when the kid took off the mask. Underneath the helm was a kid around 10 or 11, with sapphire-blue eyes, a clear complexion, and golden-yellow hair that didn't look a thing like it was pressed underneath a mask. "Oh my gosh!" Gwen squealed with the other girls. "It's Michael!"
As if saying his name was too much for them to bear, a few girls actually seemed to faint; Xavier blinked at the reaction while Ben muttered, "Girls…" His muttering came to a halt when he saw something that made him literally jump up and down. "No way! It is him!"
"Him? Who?" Xavier followed Ben's gaze to see a portly man with thinning black hair flecked with white discussing something with a dark-haired gentleman.
"Abel North – the original Kangaroo Commando!" Ben leaned over the barrier, Max's hand the only thing stopping him from toppling over it.
As half of their group freaked out, the dark-haired man went over to Michael with a deep frown. "Michael, this scene was written for a stunt double," the man spoke in a clear British accent. "Why on Earth would you put yourself at such risk?"
Michael shrugged off the man's worry. "Lay off, Arthur. The people are eating it up! And we could use some outstanding publicity since this is the second time we've had to change lots." Ignoring the older man's expression at that jab, Michael shoved the cowl into Arthur's hands and walked over to the crowd. "Hello, my wonderful fans! Looking spirited and beautiful as ever, I see." This only got more of the girls to cheer, to the point Xavier wondered if his head would split open from the din.
As Michael came up to the barrier, he touched one girl's hand. "Morning. What's your name, cutie?" The girl didn't answer; she fainted too quickly to respond. Michael repeated this with another girl, and she too was on her knees before she could speak, almost appearing dazed or starstruck from the greeting. When he reached Gwen the took her hand and kissed it before meeting her awestruck gaze. "And what's your name, beautiful?"
Gwen's face reddened under the attention, and it felt like her heart had stopped for a minute. Shaking it off, she finally stated, "G-gwen Tennyson. It's… so cool to meet you!"
Michael looked at the redhead perplexed, his hand never letting go of hers; the silence made Gwen a little nervous, but he finally said, with a calm smile, "You… there's something special about you." Michael's thumb rubbed circles on Gwen's hand; while several in the audience either swooned or glared at Gwen in envy, Max gave the kid a critical look at the prolonged contact. Next to him, Xavier felt that pang in his chest again, at the way Gwen and Michael looked at each other. Frowning at the particular pull, he averted his eyes.
Coughing slightly, Max caught Michael's attention. "Excuse me, young man. But don't you think you have something to get back to."
Seemingly becoming aware of the hand-holding, Michael let go quickly before giving the group an easy-going smile. Before he could speak, Arthur had come over. "Michael, we are already behind schedule. Get back to your dressing room-oh." Noticing the Tennysons, he looked at all of them before settling on Gwen's burning blush. "My apologies. Michael is… passionate, as you can tell."
"I understand," Max said, his tone not warm but not cold or aloof either. "Sometimes children can be a handful."
"Especially this one, I promise you," the man said, trying to appear less confrontational, as he extended a hand. "Arthur Galahad. Michael's agent and… handler, is that what you called me?" Michael rolled his eyes before looking away from Arthur, not deigning to respond.
Grandpa met the man's olive branch, shaking the extended limb. "Max Tennyson, and my grandkids – Ben, Gwen, and Xavier."
Arthur looked at the indicated children… but only counted two. "Which one is Ben, may I ask?" All three of the group looked around to find the wiry boy, Max being the most surprised as he was sure he was holding onto Ben.
When Michael had come over, Ben used the distraction to sneak out from behind the barricade. As he snuck behind or under objects, his main goal was the rack of movie props. When he finally arrived at his goal, he looked at it in wonder and awe. It appeared to be a brown firearm with multiple barrels. For a targeting reticle, it had kangaroo ears, and the hammer was of course a tail. "The Kanga-Cannon~" Ben hummed and most certainly did not squeal. "The main weapon in Kangaroo Commando's arsenal each barrel with its own hidden trick!"
"Oh really?" an amused voice spoke up behind the enthralled ten-year-old. "And what are all these tricks?"
Ben counted the gadgets off on his fingers. "Well, there were smoke bombs, tripwires, a grapple in case his Super Jump Boots aren't enough, and a fire extinguishing foam! But, I don't remember this one."
Ben squinted at the extra barrel before the man standing next to him reached over to take the Kanga-Cannon off the rack. Ben looked over to the man… and gasped when he realized it was Abel North! "That's because this one isn't mine. A taser dart for incapacitating enemies. An idea of Mr. Producer. Said it was a good idea to 'modernize.'" North spat out the word like old chewing gum, but Ben was too busy looking up at his childhood hero in wonder. "You know, kid, it's not often I meet fans that even think of the fire foam pellets as part of my gadgets."
Ben looked offended at that. "Ugh, I know! Just because it's not as utilized as the others doesn't make it any less useful!"
North chuckled at that. "You got a good head on your shoulders, kid. What's your name again?"
"Ben!" Ben tensed as Max called over. As he arrived, Xavier and the others followed right behind. "You know better than to go sneaking off like that. Sorry about my wandering grandson, Mister…?"
"Abel North, and think nothing of it," the old actor said as he shook Max's hand. "This grandson of yours is more a fan than anybody I've come across in the last few weeks of this production. You know, I could use a gopher to give me a hand. These old legs ain't what they used to be, and I think the boy's spirit is just the kind of thing we could use around here. A fresh perspective." North emphasized his point with a small glare at Arthur, unnoticed by the serious man.
Instead, Arthur shook his head in the negative. "North, we really can't afford to hire any assistants right now…"
"I can volunteer!" Ben said quickly. Eager not to lose this opportunity, he went on, "For, like… community service and stuff." Trying to imitate Gwen, and not screw up his face in disgust as he did so, Ben added, "It's for college credit?"
Max, a spark in his eye, jumped at the opening. "Ah – Yes! This is our summer vacation and all, and how many times can kids be lucky enough to get an inside look at how Hollywood does things?"
Arthur frowned in thought at the robust man's point. "Well… we can't just let anybody on the set. It's a highly active area, and sometimes people just try to weasel in to sneak pictures. It's also a huge distraction to Michael-"
"Arthur, stop being such a stick in the mud!" Michael cut in. "The recent accidents have dwindled the help on set, and besides, these people don't look like paparazzi." Giving Gwen a critical eye, he said, "Some of them are too pretty to be from those gossip rags." Gwen blushed and gave an uncharacteristically girlish girl at the 'subtle' compliment.
"Wonderful!" North clapped his hands, not even waiting to hear Arthur's full opinion on the matter. "In that case, come on… Ben, right? How'd you like to see the Commando Chopper?"
As Ben grinned from ear to ear, Michael took Gwen's hand and kissed it again. "And of course, until you need me, I can give Gwen the five-star tour. Shall we?"
"Not a bad idea," Max said. "Divide and conquer for today and we'll meet up at about a quarter to one for lunch." In a quick aside, Max whispered to Xavier, "And while we divide and conquer, you keep an eye out and see what you can find very quietly."
Glancing at Ben's goofy excited expression, and Gwen's constant focus on Michael, Xavier pushed that twinging feeling down again. "Grandpa, are you sure about this?" Maybe it was because this would be his first time doing anything without any of the family around, but the unearthly boy was nervous about splitting up.
Almost as if reading his mind, Max smiled gently and knelt to his eye level, placing a hand on the child's shoulder. "Xavier, I completely trust you to handle yourself. Just like Ben and Gwen. If you don't think you can do this, let me know and we'll come up with something else."
Max's compassion eased Xavier a little, his shoulders loosening up. He looked back at the two – Ben, starry-eyed as his idol showed him more props, and Gwen, her cheeks a warm color as she stood next to Michael – swallowed the tingling in his throat and nodded. "No… finding Tumbler is important. Divide and conquer… is a good idea."
Max smiled at Xavier and patted his shoulder, before standing up. "So, Mr. Galahad. I'm a bit parched. Anywhere I cool off?"
Arthur, who had been talking to one of the crew, looked back and shooed them away. "Oh, er, yes. My office has the best air conditioning. Made sure of that personally. But first, Michael…"
Said star rolled his eyes, but responded calmly, "I know, practice my lines, right? Don't worry, I won't slack off. Much." That last part was whispered just loud enough to Gwen, who blushed profusely again.
As the two of them walked off toward the dressing rooms, North and Ben followed the two older men, leaving Xavier to conduct his own investigation. As the poor boy looked around, nobody to ask for advice or direction, he scratched his chin as he considered what that could look like...
In a rundown motel in West Hollywood, Tobias Jones grimaced as he performed his usual maintenance. The technology he worked with was very state of the art, and he'd be a fool to fall behind on it after every job. Sadly, a middle school education can only get you so far with mechanical engineering. As Tobias did a systems check, he found himself asking how had life led him to this path.
Tobias had tried to live modestly in his youth; go to school, listen to his parents, and keep his nose clean. These three tenets were all he knew of life and they served him pretty well. Right up until his father walked out of their lives and never looked back. Suddenly, a mother with no skills outside of housekeeping needed to make enough to keep the roof over their head and feed a growing boy.
Tobias had hated seeing her like that, wasting away as she tolled to the bone. It only took so long before the final rip of their safety net gave out, and Tobias was not one to wait until the last minute. Dropping out of school against his sickly mother's protests, Tobias took any job that would accept him. (Being taller than your age had many advantages.)
With hindsight now, he realized that maybe he'd really been running away. Running from his classmates and teachers, whispering and pitying Tobias' living situation. Running from the breakdown of his family's tenets. By the time he looked up, he had even run from his mother's untimely passing, from her aging stressed heart. With that, he had another reason to run…
As he looked up from his work of re-calibration, his eyes landed on a photo; a picture that brought a small, rough smile to his face. He may never learn why his old man left so long ago, he thought often, but he'd never do it – now or ever. Even if he could never be in their life, he'd make sure they never doubted he'd be there. A ring on his work phone wiped the smile from his face as he reached over and answered. "Jones Demolition. We knock down, you pay up."
"Hello, Mr. Temblor," the distorted voice of his current employer spoke from the other end. "I can't help but notice you failed to finish the job I paid you for."
"Couldn't be helped," Jones gruffly replied. "I was stalled. Guy dressed as a plant attacked me, then police showed up-"
"I didn't ask for excuses! I want results!" The voice took some time to calm its breathing before talking again. "If you want the rest of your payment, you will be at Lot 14 at 1pm."
Jones frowned. "The other half? We agreed-"
"Did you think I was a fool!? I shouldn't pay you at all with such shoddy workmanship!" the voice said. "So, I altered the terms of the deal. Pray I do not alter them further."
"You agreed to my rules before hiring me," Jones argued. "I don't go out in the day, I don't attack bystanders, and I always get payment in full!"
"Now now, Temblor," the voice said in a condescending manner. "I'm a man of my word. I will gladly pay you the rest of your fee after an entire lot is caved into itself. For working on your off hours, I'll even add 25 percent on it when it's done. Also, if it's any consolation, the lot will be empty. Not a single bystander in the area around 1pm. Just attack the building from the outside, and you'll never have to do anything for me ever again. Understand?"
Jones liked this person less and less. He was clearly shady, and Jones had to hold back a snort when he called himself a 'man of his word.' However, as Jones glanced at the photo again, the disguised voice was right. He was short this month (Some idiot hired him to break out some guy named Jonah Merville, and didn't bother to mention from prison until the last minute! Maybe it was mostly Jones' fault, but socking that short-sighted fool was cathartic.), and this job would put him over the top.
Sighing, he said, "It better be empty, or I will find you, boss." Hanging up immediately after that, Temblor picked up the gauntlet he'd been working on, checking to see if any more nicks from last night were present. Satisfied with the repair, he got up to grab the other glove. "Alright, time to rock and roll out."
Gwen looked around Michael's trailer in wonder; actually, the word trailer was underselling it - the place was massive! There was a widescreen TV, the hottest game system of the year, and so many clothes and scarves! 'This has to be his personal RV,' Gwen thought. 'I knew being a star paid well, but this is insane!'
Speaking of said star, the young man came out of his dressing room, no longer dressed in his protective gear. Instead, he was wearing a brown blazer over a black turtleneck, white pants, polished black shoes, and an orange scarf to complete the ensemble. As he entered the room, he looked at his personal cell phone with annoyance written all over his face. "M-michael, is something wrong?" Gwen said, kicking herself for the stutter, but trying to distance herself from it by not acknowledging it.
Michael looked up at her, his suave expression slipping on like an old glove. "Oh, nothing really. I was… calling my exotic animal guy."
"Exotic animals?" Gwen asked.
Michael adopted a forlorn expression. "Yeah, I… find parrots in ravaged areas and have them relocated. When I heard about what they have to go through with deforestation, my heart just went out to them." Sniffing slightly, he turned away from Gwen a bit to wipe at his face, a single tear rolling down his cheek.
The rational side of Gwen wanted to know how relocating parrots from their home would help fight deforestation. It was hard to hear that thought over Gwen's heart melting as she saw how sensitive Michael was to the plight of poor, suffering animals. "That's so amazing! You're just like a humanitarian!"
"Yeah, that's me. Michael Morningstar, lover of all birds." Michael posed at that before gesturing toward Gwen. "But today, I want to learn more about this lovely dove that has flown into my life."
Again, rational Gwen thought that was very cheesy, but could say nothing as Gwen just giggled and blushed at the compliment. To be fair, no one, not even her parents or Grandpa, called her lovely, and she was kind of into being flattered. Coughing to swallow her flustered emotions, she picked up a script from the table near her and used it as both a change of topic and a shield to cover her blushing mess of a face. "A-anyway, didn't Mr. Galahad say you should rehearse your lines?"
Michael reached for the script, but only to pull it down and gaze into Gwen's eyes. "I've read it eleven times. I know how this movie's going to go from start to finish. What I don't know is where have you been all my life?"
Gwen knew her blush had spread to her toes the moment he smoldered at her like that. Breaking eye contact for fear of falling into that deep gaze, she glanced back at the table. For the first time since coming into the trailer, she noticed a single framed picture. It showed Arthur Galahad standing next to a woman with hair as blonde as Michael's. "Uh, h-hey! Who's that in the picture with your agent? They seem close…"
Michael reflexively looked at the picture… and right before Gwen's eyes, his entire vibe changed. His baby blues became as cold and hard as diamonds, his enticing smile gave way to a sneer. "Yeah… suppose they were close."
Shocked by the sudden change, Gwen said, "I'm… sorry if it's a sore subject. Is… that your mother or someone close to you?"
Huffing and stepping back from Gwen, Michael picked up the picture and placed it face down. "Yeah. Her name was Lily. She was...she was amazing."
Gwen glanced at the dejected look on the boy's face, a pang of sympathy in her chest. "I shouldn't have brought it up, it seems like a sore subject."
"No, it's fine," Michael said, waving off her kindness. "I don't mind talking about her. I just… not many people ask me about her is all." He walked over to his couch, Gwen sitting right beside him. "Lily Plain was acting royalty back in the day. You probably never heard of-"
"Lily Plain was your mother!?" Gwen gasped, startling Michael. "She was in Iron Poppies, that's like me and my mom's favorite movie!"
"Really?" Michael asked Gwen, answering with a rapid head nod.
"It was inspiring! A woman moves to a new city to become a dressmaker, and with a group of like-minded women, she comes into her own and becomes comfortable with herself!? We practically wore out the tape! I'm hoping it comes out on DVD so I can surprise my mother with it…" Gwen paused, realized she was rambling and covered her face in embarrassment. "And I'm gushing about it like some clingy fan. Geez, I hope Ben never learns about this…"
Michael looked at the girl bemused before gaining her attention again. "Hey, Gwen. It's all right. I'm… glad you found so much joy in that movie. My mom brought joy to a lot of people. It's refreshing to meet someone who knows of her."
"Yeah, she was amazing, but no one knows what happened to her. She just disappeared like 10 years… ago…" In a flash, a random bit of information came to Gwen's head. As she said back in the RV, Michael had become famous at about the same age as Ben and Gwen herself. He was around 10 years old. "Michael… is she…"
Michael looked down at his lap, his face was clouded. "I don't know. I wish I did." So silently, Gwen almost didn't hear him, but Michael added reflexively, "I wish he'd tell me."
Ben was having the best day ever! (Ok, second best! Meeting X and learning aliens were real were hard to beat.) He'd met his childhood idol, and was being let in on how he pulled off all his tricks!
...Well, after he finished loading up from craft services and bringing it over to North's dressing room. As North said, "Genius requires fuel and lots of it!"
"Maybe I should write down a few rules for X," Ben mused. "Things he needs to know about being a hero and all." As Ben finally got back to the dressing room, he reached for the door, only to hear a heated discussion inside.
"You can't keep doing this!" A voice yelled from inside. "You need to stop!"
"Mr. North?" Ben muttered as he leaned in and listened through the door.
"I won't stop!" the same voice yelled. "Not until you give me what I'm owed!"
Ben blinked at that. Was...was Abel North arguing? With himself?
"You had your chance! And you wasted it! Stop chasing after my shadow and leave me alone!"
"Mark my words! This is the last time I'm asking nicely! You're gonna pay for this, Abel! I promise you that!"
"I said get out!"
With that scream, a door opened and closed. Wondering if North left, Ben knocked on the door. "Mr. North! Are you in there?"
Between the fourth and fifth rapping, the door opened suddenly, Abel North catching Ben before he fell through the open portal. "Whoa, easy there, sport! You could hurt yourself like that."
"Sorry, sir," Ben said as he reoriented himself. "I heard the door close and thought I missed you."
North hummed noncommittally. "Oh, that? That was… just a stunt man. Asking for some tips from a pro. You know, back in the day, I use to do my own stunts! Created my own gadgets, too!"
"That is so cool!" Ben said as he put the food down on the table.
North's eyes were focused on the food, but not the reason one would think. "Er, young man?"
"Hm?" Ben said around a mouthful of a honey bun.
"Did you… carry all of that here?" North wasn't much for quick math, but considering how tall the pile he'd brought was, it must be at least Ben's body weight! "Isn't craft services an entire movie lot away from here?"
"Yeah, it was!" Ben chirped up, as he cracked open a juice bottle. "It was great training!"
"Training?" North chuckled at the boy's casual attitude. "To be young and in shape again… what exactly are you training for?"
Ben paused mid-swallow. Well, he couldn't say 'I'm training to be a hero so I can fight alongside a shape-shifting alien amnesiac,' now could he? "As he swallowed his beverage, he said, "I… am… training to be… a-a stuntman! Yeah, a stuntman!"
"That so?" North chuckled. "Well, then, do you know the first rule of being a stuntman?" When Ben shook his head, eyes wide as he readied to take in such knowledge, and cheeks full of chips, North continued, "The first rule is knowing how to fall. Here, let me give you some pointers…"
When Max had asked for a place to cool down, it wasn't a complete fabrication; as he was coming up on his 6th decade, all the bumps and bruises earned in his youth had begun to catch up with him. Even though he was still very fit for someone in his age group, it didn't take away from the fact he woke up some mornings with aches with no clue where they came from. To summarize, getting old sucked.
As he sat down in Galahad's office, he took comfort in the rich upholstery that furnished the room. The other noticeable décor was the oak office desk… and the wall of masks that made up an entire wall! "Well, you sure like to collect, I see," Max said.
As Galahad brought him some water, he sipped on his own as he looked over to the ornaments. "Ah, yes, it is a passion of mine. I find masks to be such a fascinating thing. Everyone wears one, I think, but do we really ever know if we are?" The Englishman chuckled to himself. "Forgive me. I get so few guests here that aren't trying to pitch me the 'next big thing,'" Galahad spread his arms out like he was presenting something for emphasis, before relaxing them. "It's nice to have someone here who's just looking for respite."
"I take what I can get," Max mused before noting a picture on the desk. In the frame were Arthur and Michael, both stoic as if the picture was painted rather than photographed. "You're pretty close with Michael, huh?"
Arthur looked over at the picture, his pleasant mood slightly dampened. "As close as one can be to his nephew."
"Nephew?"
"Ah, yes. I recall he referred to me as his 'handler,' right?" Arthur shook his head as he sat down at the desk, lifting the picture up to look at it better. "True, I have been taking care of him for quite some time. Practically since he was a baby."
Max nodded grimly, all too familiar with that kind of grief even if in passing. "It's not easy raising kids. My own sons were quite the handful."
"You'll forgive me for trying to seem more miserable when I say that Michael is… a special case," Arthur said as he replaced the photograph. "And now, on the cusp of releasing his tenth film, all this sabotage nonsense has slowed production to a crawl."
"Oh, I heard about that," Max grinned internally at the in the change of conversation had created. "Is everything all right?"
Arthur laughed lightly before answering. "Of course everything's fine! This is just a minor inconvenience."
'A guy brings down half a lot, and he calls that minor?' Max thought to himself, before saying, "Are you sure? I mean, this hardly seems a safe place for a child."
Arthur disregarded Max's concern with a hand wave. "Like I said, Michael's not what you would call normal. Besides, all this adds up to is very good publicity for the movie. Kangaroo Commando the Movie, despite many trying events, leaped into theaters, and propelled Michael Morningstar into the zeitgeist of the next age of movies!" Arthur finished his water before speaking again. "I promise you this, Maxwell Tennyson, come Hell or high water, this movie will be completed, and the very fame which Michael will garner will make up for everything."
Xavier had promised to look high and low for clues on Tumbler, and even though he didn't have anyone by his side, he was still determined to follow through! There was just one issue: everything in Hollywood scared him. When they first entered the city, Ben had warned Xavier that a lot of places in Hollywood looked real, but were just painted backdrops. While this did help Xavier understand why he was looking at a sunset when it was only 12:30 in the afternoon, among the bustling crowd of a movie studio, the poor kid had no time to discern what was real or not!
When he tried asking a man with a big head if he'd seen someone like Tumbler, he had responded, "Did he do this?" before the creature's neck extended straight up and began to spin! Shocked, Xavier jumped back and stumbled into a clown. Actually, to be more accurate, it might have been a clown once, but now it was a weird rubbery skin hanging from a hook on a rack! Terrified, Xavier ran off and nearly crashed headlong into a man in a police uniform. Just when the young alien breathe a sigh of relief, the man had been called over to his casting gig in something called a musical!
(While Ben had mentioned set designs and backdrops, he failed to explain costumes. After this escapade, Gwen practically twisted Ben's arm to remember to explain such foreign concepts to the young man better in the future.)
At this point, Xavier was so overwhelmed, he didn't even notice he was standing in the path of a distracted cart driver until he was literally picked up out of the way as he passed. "Look up from that PDA and pay attention, ya mook!" The man yelled at the driver before checking on the still-dazed child. "Hey, kid! You all right? You gotta be more careful." Seeing that Xavier was not very responsive, the older man walked him over to a bench for him to rest.
After a minute, Xavier finally pulled himself together; he looked over to see the man who had helped him. He was dressed as a handyman, fiddling with some sort of hinge-like machine. "I… thank you for your help. I fear this place is not for me."
The handyman grunted, not looking up from his project. "It's Hollywood, kid. It's not for everyone. Shouldn't you be with someone? Little dangerous to be out on your own. You should have a guide or something."
Xavier, whose attention was drawn back in on the device, looked back up at the man with a conflicted gaze. "I… usually do have one. But they… we decided to cover more ground this way."
The overall-wearing man snorted. "Ditched for a little glitz and glam? We've all been there, kid. Trust me on that one."
"I do not know what is wrong," the boy wondered to himself. "They are getting to spend time with others they like, but… I feel strange. My chest and my stomach feel… I just feel strange all over."
At the sound of his confused, watery tone, the man stopped his tinkering to glance at Xavier. The alien boy grasped his chest, looking down at the ground with a heart-wrenching expression on his face. Sighing, the man tapped the boy's shoulder slightly for his attention. "Listen, kid. If you don't like your family doing something, don't keep it to yourself. If you don't tell them you feel a certain way, they won't know."
"Tell them… how I feel?" Xavier looked a little worried at that. "But, I wouldn't want to hurt them. What if… I ruin their fun? Ben seemed so happy to be with his… favorite hero. And Gwen…"
"Kid, if they're really your family, telling them how you feel shouldn't be rocket science." While Xavier didn't understand the meaning, he had no chance to ask about it as the man continued, his gaze now distant. "Trust me. If you can't talk to your family, who can you talk to?" The man sat there a moment more before he shook off the gray atmosphere and stood up. "Well, I better get going. Things to do, lots of equipment to inspect. Remember what I said, kid."
As the repairman left, Xavier did not move from the bench; staring off in the distance at the distant letters sitting on the high ground overlooking the area, Xavier tried to fathom this new idea. If he told the Tennysons his thoughts, he may hurt their feelings. If he kept it to himself, he'd just continue to mope silently about the whole day. "What is… the right thing I am supposed to do?"
"Places, people!" the director roared as he clapped his hands, rushing the staff. "It's five to 1, we're losing daylight, and I still don't have my pastrami! Get it together, everybody!"
As the studio lot sped about in a frenzy, Max stood next to Gwen, his head on a swivel. "I thought we agreed to meet here. Where are those two boys? Ben I get being late, but where's Xavier?"
"I'm sure they're fine," Gwen assured Max. "Xavier's probably just a little lost, and maybe Ben got cast as a chimp or something." At Max's gaze, Gwen shrugged. "I can dream, can't I? More importantly, is it really a good idea to film at the lot that was attacked last night?" Gwen pointed over to a cordoned-off area, police tape crisscrossing to form a yellow barrier of denial.
"Maybe not, but I'm not sure Galahad's concerned," Max muttered as he looked over toward the producer as he was talking to the director. "He seems very focused on getting this movie shot, regardless of the consequences. What about Michael? Did you check him out?"
"Yeah, I did~" Gwen got a goofy look on her face before she blushed and fixed her expression. "I-I mean yes! He's great! Totally great! Soooo great…"
Max hummed, eyebrow raised. "Followup question: why are you wearing that scarf?" Gwen's face went from red to scarlet as she grabbed her accessory and tightened it, hiding Michael's real 'gift' from her very protective grandfather.
On the other side of Lot 14, Ben was holding a tray of water bottles, carrying them to a table near Michael's dressing room. As he set them down, Michael came out of the room dressed in the movie's hero costume. As he did so, Michael turned his head at the animal pen near his room and wrinkled his nose in disgust. Prancing around the pen were a few peacocks and peahens. "Uh… tichoo!" Michael sneezed.
"You alright, man?" Ben asked as Michael wiped his nose on a napkin from the food table.
"Yeah… 'm fine," Michael sniffed. "I've got a sensitive nose. Darn overstuffed feather dusters!" the blond looked Ben over. "Wait, didn't we meet this morning?"
"Yeah, name's Ben," Ben supplied. "I was standing next to the dweeb drooling on your shoes."
"Ah, yes! Lovely Gwen…" Ben tried to not wrinkle his own nose at how creepy that had sounded. Coming back from his small daydream, Michael said, "You were the one who North said wanted to be a stuntman, right? Where-ever did he disappear to?" he muttered to himself.
"Uh, yeah!" Ben said, selling the lie as hard as he could. "It's pretty cool, doing crazy stuff and getting paid!" To be fair, he wasn't completely lying; since this summer began, he'd been doing lots of crazy stuff, just somehow missed getting paid.
"Well…" Michael looked around for his uncle before leaning in conspiratorially and whispering, "How'd you like to be one a little sooner, with your own spot in the movie?"
While Ben had to try and be a good role model for Xavier, it should be noted that A) a ten-year-old like Ben can only go so long without getting a little mischievous, and B) Xavier was nowhere to be found, so if Ben acted out a little, he'd never know! Matching Michael's smirk, Ben rubbed his hands together. "Depends. Whadda ya got in mind?"
"Alright, places! Everybody to your marks!" the director yelled out into his megaphone. "And where is that short stuntman!? We need him for the tightrope scene!" As if on cue, the stuntman came, his costume looking a little baggy than usual, but near enough to Michael's height as they needed. "There you are! What, did you fall in when doing your business!? Get to your mark!" The stuntman saluted silently and began running over to the tightrope.
Just outside Lot 14, in a dark corner, Temblor sulked about, collar turned up to obscure his face more. His gut was telling him this was a bad idea, with too many factors to worry about. But his heart… knew he had no choice; he had responsibilities to meet, and may he be flayed alive before he breaks them! With that in mind, he sighed and pulled his goggles down over his eyes…
As the "stuntman" stood at his position on the platform a good 20 ft from the ground, the director was barking orders. "Alright, ya thrill seeker! This scene is supposed to show how little time Commando has to save the day! So, you need to cross that rope molto presto, got it! Good!" Not waiting for the person's understanding, the rushing man sat in his seat and prepared to start directing.
As he did, the stuntman goofed off on the platform, making funny poses that cracked up the crowd. The director took some offense to the closing around, as his yelling made it quite clear. Laughing at the display as well, Gwen said, "I didn't know Michael had such a goofy sense of humor!"
Max looked at his granddaughter in confusion. "Michael?"
"Well," Gwen began as she fidgeted with the scarf, "Michael told me he lied about finding another stuntman. He said he was ready to do all the stunts since he didn't want anyone to get hurt with all the sabotage going on. He's got such a noble heart!" Gwen sighed before she looked over and saw her noble-hearted idol crouched behind some stage props, heading for the exit. "M-michael!?"
Said boy was startled by Gwen's exclamation; he tried to motion for her to keep quiet, but Galahad had already heard and went over. "Michael, what are you doing on here? You should be getting ready for some city scenes."
Michael stood up as Max and Gwen came over as well. "Ah, h-hey, Arthur! I was… well-"
"And I thought you were going to be up there, doing your own stunts?" Gwen asked, a guarded expression on her face.
Michael scratched the back of his head nervously and looked away bashfully. "Well… it's your cousin. He was really invested in becoming a stuntman, I think he wants to impress Mr. North."
"That does sound like Ben," Max said with a measure of skepticism.
"Ignoring the fact you shouldn't be doing any stunts," Galahad pinched the bridge of his nose to fight off a growing migraine, "why were you trying to leave, Michael?"
"Before he got the suit on, Ben begged me to get Mr. North," Michael explained. "He said he wanted his idol to see him following in his footsteps. Said please and everything. I couldn't, for the good of my conscience let my own peers down! I have an image to maintain!" While Galahad seemed to consider his words, Gwen and Max both traded skeptical looks. To them, something about Michael's story didn't add up…
Speaking of Ben, the director had finally gotten him to settle down and the over-stressed man took a few deep breaths to calm his nerves. "Alright… no more shake-ups, okay? Now, quiet on the set-" The words had barely left his lips when the sound stage began to shake. "I said quiet!" the man snapped at his wit's end. "Who the heck is doing a disaster movie in this economy!?"
As the shaking only increased, it became abundantly clear something else was afoot besides poor scheduling of shootings. The walls creaked dangerously, the floor began to crack up, and lights began to fall from the ceiling! When the reality of the situation finally hit everyone, many of them began running for the exits… right up until parts of the room collapsed, blocking most of them.
As some electrical wiring got loose overhead of Gwen, Max, and the others, it came crashing down, but not before they scattered; Gwen and Michael jumped into a corner, where the live wires cut them off from any exits. "Gwen!" Max called out in worry as the kids tried to squeeze into the corner as much as possible.
On the tightrope platform, Ben wasn't having better luck; he was barely hanging on to the wobbling high-rise, and the chunks falling from the ceiling were not helping! When a really large chuck of aluminum siding came tumbling down, Ben made a judgment call and jumped onto the high wire. As he fell, he grabbed onto the thin line, holding on for dear life. 'Xavier, where the heck are you!?'
Xavier had not moved from his position on the bench; he had been sitting still for so long, a loose parrot had landed on his shoulder, pecking him on the head for treats. A deep sigh ruffled the bird into hopping onto his other shoulder. "To tell them… or to not to tell them? That is the question."
"Alas! Alas!" the parrot crowed, his talon out as if expecting a tip or crackers for its commentary. Xavier's musings were interrupted when the ground under his feet shook. Looking around, the young alien watched as people ran from the direction of the damaged lot from last night. "Peril! Egress!" The colorful guest flew off with the crowd leaving Xavier to gaze in the direction the mob was coming.
"Oh no…" Running toward the danger, he put his doubts aside and followed where the tremors got stronger.
As he reached the sound stage, he saw Temblor outside of it with his hands on the walls. "Hmph. It's always so much harder when it's gotta be controlled like this…"
"The Tumbler's back!" Xavier gasped, hiding behind the corner. Activating the Watch, he quickly changed the image to his yeti form. "I think it is time to 'go Shocksquash,' as Ben would say." As he raised his hand to slam down the dial, a particularly bad shake caused the boy to stumble. As he leaned on the wall to stabilize, he failed to notice the dial shifted to the right, changing the chosen form. His hand came down before he even noticed.
As the red light of the Watch's activation covered him, his skin became rocky, and his body temperature skyrocketed until he was literally on fire. On his hands with metal gloves built to maintain his temperature, and on his chest was the familiar hourglass symbol. "Huh? Heatblast? That was not what I was expecting…" Another quake dissuaded Heatblast from further griping; running around the corner, he used one of Ben's pre-written one-liners. "Hey! Hope you got some ice because things are going to get hot!"
Temblor turned to look at this new distraction and rolled his eyes. "Another one you meddling weirdos. Beat it, matchstick, before I blow out your candle."
"No way," Heatbalst bit back. "I never look away from evil. And anyway I see it, you are a bad guy!" With that declaration, he jumped and, blasting fire from his hands, practically flew over the distance to deliver an actual flying knee! Temblor blocked the hit, but the speed with which he'd been hit took them both through the wall of the studio and crashed into the set!
The vibrations of a wall falling inward only made things more precarious; more live wires had fallen around the crowd, and Ben's grip had completely given up. He fell with a scream… that was cut short by the netting underneath the high wire. "Huh? There was a net this whole time!?" Ben's disbelief gave way to fear quickly as the net's support gave out, and sent the shaken ten-year-old rolling down the slanted net and right into the peafowl paddock. The poor birds, scared to death by all the mayhem around them, attacked Ben on sight, with pecks and scratches. The only thing stopping them from drawing blood was the material of the Kangaroo Commando costume. "Ahhhh! Hey, stop that! Get off!"
At the same time as Ben's fall, a chunk of the wall from Heatblast's explosive strike flew at frightening speed toward Gwen. The girl froze, having nowhere to go being trapped by the active loose wires around her, and tried to brace for the impact. She closed her eyes and tried to get as small as possible to avoid the most damage. When she heard the masonry hit someone with a thud and earned a groan, she wondered why it didn't feel like her. Opening her eyes a little, she blinked as she saw Michael standing before her, front-facing her. Behind him, the chunk of wall that was about to hit her was on the ground, as Michael grabbed his shoulder and winced. "Michael… did you-"
"Heh, don't… worry," Michael waved off her worry even though he did look a little punch drunk. "This isn't the hardest hit I've taken." Despite that bravado, he still fell forward, Gwen catching him and balancing him as best she could given the circumstances.
Max grounded his teeth; unable to move anywhere because of all the wires, he could only watch as his grandchildren were put into dangerous situations. By the time Gwen just narrowly avoided a kiss with debris, he'd had enough! Screw secrets, his family was in danger! "Heatblast!" Said alien looked over from his fight with Temblor, looking ready to drop what he was doing at his say-so. This did not go unnoticed by Galahad, who blinked at the exchange and watched quietly between the two. "You've got to shut off the power and get these people to safety! Tumbler isn't the priority right now!"
The fiery hero looked between Temblor, who was grumbling about getting his name wrong, and the terrified bystanders trapped in the caving building. Even more than that, he saw Gwen, afraid and surrounded by danger on all sides. Setting his jaw, Heatblast knew what he needed to focus on. "How do I stop the wires?"
Both Max and Heatblast looked to Galahad, who pointed to the catwalks above. "Emergency shut-off's up there. Silver box." Heatblast had already jumped using fire blasts to send him up higher. Wasting no time, when he reached the apex, he chucked a fireball at the first silver box he saw. It struck point blank, destroying the box in a controlled explosion. Heatblast landed on the catwalk, but that proved a mistake as it broke off, sending the alien spiraling down, piles of catwalks landing on him as well.
While the hero was dazed, the power had been shut off by his stunt! With nothing stopping him, Max ran over and pulled Ben out of the reach of his fowl attackers, but not before one more nip at his backside. "Ben! Are you alright?"
Despite the costume being in tatters, Ben looked okay, even if trembling. "N-not a p-problem, Grandpa! T-the helmet k-kept them from my e-eyes… I j-just watched as they t-tried. I-it's cool!"
Gwen, worried about Michael tried to shake him to keep him awake. "Michael! You have to stay up! You could have a concussion!" When a tall shadow fell over Gwen, the redhead looked up to see Temblor, looking around at the creaking foundation around him before looking down at the kids.
"...Move." Gwen didn't need to be told twice as she moved out of the way, just as Temblor pushed out with his gloves at max level, and blew out the debris blocking the exit. Reaching back, he grabbed both kids and dragged them out, even as everyone in the studio followed.
Ben struggled against Max as he carried him to the exit. "Wait! What about X!?"
"We can't even touch him like that!" Max argued. "He'll be fine, so let's go!" The portly man left the structure just in time, as it finally gave up the ghost and fell into itself, no more a building than a pile of steel and glass.
As the dust settled, Temblor dropped the children and walked away from them. Confused at the conflicting actions, Gwen opened her mouth to say something, but Temblor beat her to it. "If that campfire crawls out of this, tell him evil ain't a thing. Just people that get things done, and they get a little lost sometimes." Not looking to see if the girl even caught his request, he slammed his hands on the ground and leaped off, just as emergency services drove up to the scene.
"This is terrible! Look at this!" Abel North pulled at what was left of his hair as he surveyed the destruction. "This movie's already over budget! There's no way we can finish this in time for the release date!"
Galahad, who seemed largely unplugged from the conversation and still covered in dust from the near-death experience, gave North an appraising look. "...where were you?"
Abel blinked at the change of topic. "Why does that matter?"
"Someone… was trying to sabotage this movie for some time," Galahad spoke as if speaking to a young child. "We were attacked, the studio coming down around our ears. The only person who knew we were all here and wasn't there themselves was you. So, where were you?"
Abel shifted nervously but held his ground. "I was… caught up in some… private affairs. Lost track of time."
Galahad looked at him for what felt like hours as if trying to discern if he was lying or not. Finally turning away, he said, "I'm thinking we should shut down production until further notice."
"What!? Why!?" Abel exploded. "You of all people fought like crazy to keep this movie afloat! This was going to be a huge deal for not just old fans of Kangaroo Commando, but a strong way to bring in new fans! Why the sudden change!?"
Galahad didn't look at Abel's purple face of rage; instead, across the way, he looked at Michael, laid out on a stretcher being rolled away toward an ambulance. He looked half-conscious, an oxygen mask on his face helping with his labored breathing. "I'm beginning to think… this isn't a safe place… for a child."
As Michael was about to be loaded up, Gwen ran up, her own share of surface-level scrapes and bruises. "Wait! Can I please say something to him?"
The EMT sighed as if he'd heard the request before. "Look, girl. I'm not allowed to let anyone except family of the injured ride in the ambulance…"
"It's… alright," Michael gasped out around the mask. "She's not like others… Give us two minutes, would you?"
The EMT looked a little wary of the request, but finally just shook his head. "Alright, but be quick." He stepped back and went to help another person caught up in today's excitement.
After he left, Gwen looked at Michael with a worried expression. "Michael… if you hadn't jumped in the way… I-"
"Think nothing of it… my lovely Gwen," Michael rasped around his mask. "I'm… tougher than I look. This might be a good time... for a little R&R. I can't imagine the movie's... gonna be up and running… anytime soon."
"Well, if I don't see you again..."Gwen shifted nervously from foot to foot. Finally, she just leaned in and kissed the boy on the cheek. The sudden action was enough to color both their cheeks red. "It was… really nice talking with you… I had a blast. Get well soon."
Michael, despite the mask, was still able to give the girl a million-watt smile. "Gwen, a kiss from you is all I need to feel better."
Sitting on the curb, Ben watched the pile of rubble as firefighters and police looked it over for anyone trapped in there. Of course, there was only one person, and he hadn't come out in the hour first responders had been here to patch up the wounded and shaken. As Max came over, he sat down on the curb next to Ben. "Hey. You feeling alright?"
Ben sniffed and rubbed at his eyes (which were just itchy, and he was certainly not crying, shut up!). "Xavier's fine… He can only be an alien for 10 minutes, but he must have found a way to survive that. He's way tougher than he looks!" With watery eyes, Ben looked right at his grandfather, looking very much like a lot of people Max had seen in his life: haunted, horrified by the loss of someone so close to them. "So… he's fine. Right, Grandpa?"
A/N: Surprise, it's a two-parter! I know, it's weird to have been working on it this long and this plot's only half done!? Well, I don't want to overload you guys with walls of texts, so yeah, I broke it up. I think it adds flare to the writing. Plus, I think it gives it a comic-book feel, like an old radio serial that leaves you hanging until...