Reviews will be answered at the end of the chapter.
When on it's own line ... means a time jump
-()- means scene change
A fiery piece of rubble fell, blocking the path of the clearly terrified boy and mother. It was soon snuffed out by green slime, along with other nearby fires.
A large, gooey eagle-like with a strange symbol on a collar landed on a nearby piece of rubble before asking, "Are you two alright?"
The boy didn't reply, but the mother stiffly nodded.
"You two get out of here, me and Pele will put out the fires," the eagle thing stated, before taking into the air.
A voice then yelled out, "Goowash, focus on getting the innocents out!"
"Understand, Pele!" the eagle-like, Goowash, squawked. It turned towards an exit blocked by flames and quickly smothered them by flicking goo on them. He looked at the mother and motioned his head towards the exit. The mother didn't make any effort to respond to him, but did pick up her child and began moving towards the exit.
Goowash flew above them, putting out other flares before spotting Pele. She was focused on the largest of the fires, not paying much attention to anything else. He snickered before looking around again. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw an odd car at the back of a store, him seeing a sign that looked like a jewelry brand.
Goowash looked at the fire and washed it with a wave of goo before yelling, "Pele, there's robbers at a jewelry store! I'm gonna slow them down!"
Pele shook some of the goo off of her before noticing the fire she was putting out was gone and processing what Goowash said. She then turned away and began to run, looking for where Goowash flew off to. However, she tripped slightly, causing her to stop. Pele sighed before going in a different direction and limping off.
Goowash slammed down onto the vehicle, causing a distressed cry to be let out from one of the robbers. He looked towards them before letting out a caw that sounded like it was mixed with a roar. One of the robbers pointed a gun at him and shot it, but it just went through the gooey eagle like it was nothing. He jumped off the vehicle to the ground in front of the robbers, causing them to turn around and go towards the front.
He took into the air again as police sirens filled the air, but he didn't pay attention to that as he flew to the front of the store. Goowash landed on the ground and looked in through the glass, seeing the robbers. He saw the lights of a police car from a room in the back, causing him to release a beaky grin. The police confronted the robbers, quickly surrounding them.
Goowash looked one of the police in the eyes before nodding and taking into the air. He flew around a bit before seeing a small light by a river and flying down to it.
Pele washed some of the last bits of slime off of her, ignoring her body's protests and the snuffed flame hair revealing the other rocks that made up the being's head. She stopped briefly when Goowash landed on a nearby bench. He lifted a wing and tapped the symbol on the collar, a mechanical voice informing, "Quick-change is disabled. Early timeout is disabled. Three Earthen minutes remaining."
"You ok, Pele?" Goowash asked a few seconds after the voice finished.
"I got slammed with a wave of slime. What do you think?" Pele answered, leaning back into the water. She then randomly added, "My leg still hurts…"
"Not my fault you used Artemis to climb a tree and ended up falling onto the ground," Goowash shrugged.
"I broke my leg when I was still Artemis and it seemed to heal itself when I switched back," Pele corrected, getting the last bits of slime off. "Phantom pains, that's all."
"You haven't switched to Artemis since then, do you think you'll be fine?" Goowash asked, jumping down and walking over to her.
"I will," Pele responded, getting out of the water. "Is Max still at the Rustbucket?"
"Beats me," Goowash answered. "Should we go back?" Pele nodded. "Fine…"
-()-
He picked up the frog from the ground, placing it back in a plastic container. It hopped, bumping into the walls of the container. He turned back to the odd machine in front of him, picking up the helmet of it. He smiled a bit after observing it, putting it next to the frog's container.
The door suddenly, and randomly opened, causing him to look back at the door. "How did you get in?" he hissed at the person walking into his lab.
"Pass-key. I am still your landlord, remember? Maybe not, since your rent is six months pass due," the person replied, readjusting their tie.
He scoffed. "All my funds go into my research. Now get out! You're disturbing me," he replied, turning away from the person and picking up an odd vest.
"Hmm. Looks like you were disturbed long before I got here, pal. Listen, Doc, you and your furry friends are out on a street unless you pony up the green," the person replied, glaring at him as he put on the vest.
"Pony up…" he mused. "Interesting choice of phrases... You must be an animal lover. Then you're gonna love this." He picked up the helmet and put it on, followed by grabbing the frog and putting it on the ground.
The person laughed before saying, "What's that? You a member of the moose lodge or something?"
"This is my Transmodulator. Phase number one: it creates and accelerates mutations at the genetic level," he explained. "Observe." He twisted a dial on the vest, the horns on the helmet lighting up. Energy came from the horns towards the frog, mutating it and making it grow.
When the frog finished growing, the person let out a startled scream, which was quickly silenced by the frog eating them.
"I'm sorry! I can't hear you. It sounds like you have a frog in your throat. Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha! Or is that the other way around?" he hummed, looking at the frog. He laughed as the frog spat the person out, the person passing out once they hit the floor. "So close to having what is rightfully mine. All I need is a few lousy components to finish my work!" he smiled, dropping his laugh.
He finally paid attention to the TV running in the background, a voice finishing, "...So whether you're in need of hair spray or state-of-the-art electronics, you'll find them under one roof at the grand opening of the district's newest Mega Mart!"
"Ahh! Just what the doctor ordered," Animo grinned, looking at the TV.
…
Ben looked at the cockatiel, which squawked while it sat on a perch while Gwen let a hamster sniff her finger and Max stood off to the side. Other customers were around as well, looking at the different animals.
Part of the wall fell, causing them to look towards the giant frog. The people freaked out as the man on the back of the frog exclaimed, "Arise to your full potential, my pets!" Red energy came from the horns, striking some of the animals. The other customers began to flee as the cockatiel and hamster were mutated to be larger and more violent. Max grabbed the two cousins and attempted to get them out of the store. "Behold the genius of Dr Animo. Nothing can stop me from getting what I deserve. Mark my words! Today I will make history, or should I say… prehistory!" the person on the frog added.
Ben and Gwen managed to wingle out of Max's grasp and both nodded to each other. Both watches were activated, the silhouette showing a frog-like humanoid and the hologram showing a vulture-ish bird. They both blinded pressed down on their respective dial.
In a flash of green, she felt her body shrinking. Her skin turned grey and eyes filled with a calm green.
In a flash of red, he felt his neck stretch, legs become more bird-like, and arms form into wings. Purplish feathers began to cover him.
"Athena?" the frog-like blinked, looking at herself. "I guess that's what I get for not looking."
"Fish Snatcher!" the bird roared beside her. Fish Snatcher then promptly grabbed Athena with a foot and took into the air. Animo had fled with his giant frog, leaving the hamster and cockatiel to run wild, but the cockatiel seemed to be looking for something. Fish Snatcher flung Athena into the air, causing her to let out a startled chirp, before catching her with his head.
"What was that for?!" Athena croaked, putting the hand with her watch's symbol above one of the bird-like's eyes.
"For being named after a war goddess, that form isn't all that good at battling," Fish Snatcher cawed before flying after the mutated cockatiel.
"Hey, this form is called Athena due to said deity being the goddess of wisdom!" Athena replied.
"And war," Fish Snatcher added.
Athena sighed before eventually saying, "You fly, I'll keep an eye out." Fish Snatcher didn't make a movement in reply, but did let out an odd, soft squawk.
They didn't make it very far before the hamster tried attacking them. Fish Snatcher screeched at it and stabbed it with his beak, causing the hamster to back up. The hamster roared at them as Fish Snatcher continued to fly after the mutated cockatiel.
"Change of plans, I'll stop the furball," Athena said, looking at the mutated hamster.
"What, wanna prove yourself?" Fish Snatcher chirped.
"Just find out what that Doctor Animo dude is trying to do," Athena replied before jumping onto the bird-like's back.
"Mmm good luck with that," Fish Snatcher commented. Athena jumped off of Fish Snatcher, somewhat managing to land on the hamster's face. The bird flew after the cockatiel as Athena forced the mutated hamster's eyes shut.
The hamster let out a screech that was clearly not meant for a hamster, shaking its head wildly and trying to force the frog-like off of it. Athena gripped onto it, keeping its eyes closed.
She was so focused on keeping its eyes closed she couldn't tell how much time had passed until she was suddenly snatched up by something.
Athena broke out of her single-mindedness, realizing that Fish Snatcher grabbed her and was now shimmying through a hole he seemingly made in the ceiling.
"... May I ask why you did this?" Athena asked.
"Grey-feathers took a bunch of electronics from an electronic store and followed that Doctor Animo dude," Fish Snatcher started before finally getting on the ceiling. "Followed it for a bit, realized where it was going, then went to grab you." He began to fly again.
Athena nodded before managing to grip onto Fish Snatcher's leg and get out of his claw. "Where is the biologist heading?"
"Natural history museum," Fish Snatcher answered before both symbols started to flash. Fish Snatcher did a nose dive towards the ground as they beeped. He shook off Athena before tumbling a few feet away from her before both devices forced them back to normal.
"That was a rough landing…" Ben muttered as the two sat up.
"No kidding," Gwen added. Gwen was silent for a moment before continuing, "That Animo guy did say something about prehistory, so a natural history museum would be where he would most likely be."
"And considering the fact that there's a giant frog standing in front of it," Ben threw out, standing up.
Gwen stood up as well before she asked, "Which direction is it?"
Ben pointed in a direction and replied, "Somewhere that way. There was a lot going on."
"Should we tell grandpa?" Gwen asked, coming up to him.
"He already didn't like how we ran off to take care of that fire," Ben answered. "He'll probably just be angrier than he was before."
A rumbling sound was heard as the two turned to see the yellowish grey vehicle drive towards them. "Speak of the devil," Gwen growled as the vehicle stopped by them.
The vehicle sat there, as if staring at them, for a few seconds before powering off. The door of the vehicle opened, Max standing at the doorway. He looked at the two before saying, "You two need to stop running off."
"And what, let people get hurt?" Ben hissed.
"What, are you against us using the watches to help people?" Gwen added.
"Do you two want to get hurt?" Max questioned.
"Do you want people who can't protect themselves get hurt?" Ben snapped back.
Silence followed. A long, stiff silence.
The silence was broken when Gwen's watch flickered back to green. She turned away from him, lifting up her wrist to activate the watch. Max tried to step forward, but was stopped when Ben stiffly shifted himself to a pre-lunge position. Gwen turned the dial of the faceplate before stopping at the silhouette of a lizard-like creature. She pressed down and changed in a flash of green light. Gwen was now a cyan colored lizard with blank white eyes and a dark cyan helmet. The dark cyan was the same color as her claws and the orbs on her feet, some of the cyan skin showing on her legs, wrists, and tip of her tail. Most of her clothes were the dark cyan color, but there were bits of bright blue, mainly around her neck, near the tip of her tail, the edges near her feet, and her gloves.
She didn't say anything, looking towards Ben. The boy glared at the older man before climbing onto her back. In a blur, she dashed away, leaving Max standing there.
She stopped in an alleyway next to a very large building. Ben got off, noticing his watch was back to red before asking, "You ok, Nike?"
Nike thought for a moment before ranting, "What does Max know? He seemed to know what the watches are but is refusing to tell us. How are we going to save people if he won't just admit it? I doubt these things are legends, there's no legend revolving around a living, mechanical blob or a blue bird that can sense things like sonars. These have to be something else and Max isn't trusting us with the answer. How can we trust him when we've used the powers of the watches to help people for days now and he's refusing to help? He keeps telling us to trust him, but why can't he put that trust in us? Why won't he just spill it and tell us the truth!"
Ben snickered. "Screw Max. If he won't let us help, then we'll do it ourselves," Ben said.
Nike looked at him and smiled. "Well, let's start on our own here, then," she said. She then promptly kicked the wall, making it fall down. Nike rushed inside, followed by Ben.
The mutated cockatiel screeched, quickly noticing them. Animo, who was nearby, looked over to see the two. He raised a brow at seeing Ben, but appeared to dismiss it. "You... are very persistent. I hate persistence," Animo commented.
"What are you trying to do?" Nike growled, bending down. Ben stepped to the side and activated his watch, the red hologram washing over his face as he lifted up his wrist.
Animo smirked like a maniac. "Breathing life back into that which has been long since lifeless. Observe," he said before facing the mammoth display. The mechanical horns activated, red energy washing over the mammoth, giving it flesh and fur.
Ben twisted the dial four times counterclockwise until he got to a hologram of a massive, two headed spider-like. He pressed down, changing in a flash of red. In his place was a massive redish purple creature with six legs, two heads, two mouths, two necks, and 16 eyes. "Hexadeca!" both mouths yelled out as the mammoth seemed to roar.
"Behold!" Animo said, motioning towards the mammoth. He then seemed to notice the giant spider-like and promptly booked it as the mammoth glared at him, alongside the cockatiel.
"You stop Ani-freak, I'll hold off these two," Hexadeca said from both mouths. Nike nodded before dashing the way Animo went.
Hexadeca spat webbing at the cockatiel before it flew off, wrapping up its wings and making it fall to the ground. The mammoth stumbled trying to get off its display, letting Hexadeca jump over to the mutated cockatiel. The cockatiel screeched, trying to peak the webbing, but went stiff when one one of the mouths bit around its neck. The higher high spat webbing at its beak, tying it up as the lower head released the cockatiel. It twitched, legs extremely stiff.
Hexadeca turned towards the mammoth, finally off of the odd display platform. He spat webbing at its face, managing to get it over its eyes. It seemingly roared in distress, but Hexadeca ignored its screeches. He spat more webbing at its legs, wrapping up the two front ones. The mammoth fell onto the floor after trying to run with its tied legs. He lunged towards the mammoth and the lower head bit the mammoth's side. It went silent and began to twitch as well.
Hexadeca stepped back before turning towards a noise. A group of policemen stared at him, each with either startled or scared looks, but it wasn't like he could blame them. A few seconds later, Nike returned and threw Animo to the ground. He promptly spat webbing at the man while a head still observed the police. Their faces changed to warriness, but that was fair. Giant spider and speed reptile taking down two mutated animals and a mad scientist.
"You're welcome," the top Hexadeca head shrugged. Nike rolled towards the hole in the wall, keeping an eye on the police as she did so. Hexadeca followed, but stopped when he realized how big he was.
"That's a problem," Nike hummed.
One of the policemen, strangely the shortest of the group, came somewhat closer to them. The duo looked at the man before he said, "Thank you for appending Aloysius Animo. Is there some way we can help you as thanks?"
"Getting Hexadeca out without causing more damage," Nike suggested, motioning towards the large spider-like. The police looked towards each other.
"Or we could wait for the time limit," one of Hexadeca's heads muttered.
Nike crossed her arms in thought before saying, "Say we stopped them and don't mention our actual forms once our time limit is up."
The police seemed more… for a lack of a better term, open to that idea, most of them nodding. Hexadeca lifted a leg to tap the mouth symbol, a robotic voice chirping, "Quick-change disabled. Early timeout disabled. Seven Earthen minutes remaining."
"Guess we're waiting a bit," Hexadeca's heads hummed at the same time. He lowered himself to the ground, silently deciding to sit there. Nike came up to him and plopped down next to his lower head in a position that blocked her from the police's view.
"Er, can we get your names, please?" one of the policemen asked as they put Animo in cuffs.
Hexadeca's top head looked at the policeman and replied, "I am Hexadeca. She is Nike."
The policeman nodded before turning their attention back to Animo.
…
Ben's watch finally timed out, the green light illuminated the entire room. Most of the police had left before either of them timed out and there was only one left. He stared at the two cousins, clearly processing that two kids stopped a mad scientist. The two looked at each other and shrugged slightly before running out the way they came. They maneuvered through the streets until they found a dark alleyway and sat behind one of the garbage cans. Once they sat down, Ben asked, "You think Max is gonna try and find us?"
"Probably," Gwen shrugged. "We should probably leave before he finds us."
"Where will we head? New York City?" Ben asked.
"Not a bad idea. That place is huge and we can hide a lot better there," Gwen replied.
"Once your watch recharges, you go Nike and head to New York ASAP?" Ben suggested. Gwen nodded.
Ushindi: Thank you! There's a reason why he's in control, but that won't be revealed for a long while.