Opening File: Michael Morningstar
A renowned child actor with the admiration and love of today's youth, Michael Morningstar has it all: looks, talent and the admiration of his adoring fans. Starring in movies such as the 'The Un-alivers' young Morningstar is without a doubt the most talented of young actors in this century and his celebrity status has made him as rich and famous as other celebrities, including V.V. Argost and having multiple mansions even though his family is never seen. In addition to his talent and good looks Morningstar is a well-mannered child, able to charm almost all he meets with little to no effort at all.
And yet there have been disturbing rumors surrounding him about fans, specifically young girls falling into comas for unspecified reasons but proof of him having any involvement has been impossible to find.
For all appearances, these comas have been seen as unfortunate coincidences.
Close File
Xxx
"Fame, fortune, good looks and the talent to have it all. That's what you need when you live the life of a celebrity. Once people have a taste, they can't get enough. They love you, they want to be you, and they'd do anything for you to see them." TOM said as he closed the file and brought up a picture of V.V. Argost. "Is the shows they appear on that make them famous? Is it a certain quality in their acting skills? Is their appearance or do they have great singing voices?"
TOM leaned back in his chair. "What talents do you have? Do you have dreams of being famous? You willing to work for it? Let me give you some expert advice: it takes a lot of work and it's a lot harder than it looks."
SARA appeared next to him in her holo-form. "Says the robot that was programmed for his job."
"Thanks." TOM said sarcastically before signing off.
Xxx
She knew what she was doing was wrong but she couldn't help it.
She needed to get out.
She needed to leave.
She was tired of being alone.
She didn't want to be alone anymore.
So when she had the chance she left her room, sneaking out of her home with her only book in hand and ran as far as she could, as fast as she could.
"I'm coming…" She looked down at a picture of a boy with blond hair. "Soon we will be together, my beloved."
Xxx
"I still don't get why we had to stop here."
"It's my turn."
"So why here?"
Gwen didn't know why she bothered trying to explain to her cousin that since it was her turn she could pick where they were going for the summer vacation.
It was just too much effort.
"Why do you like this guy so much?" Ben asked, leaning back in his seat.
"I'm allowed to have an idol, aren't I? So I like his movies and want to see what he's like." Gwen shrugged. "Is that so wrong?"
"She's right, Ben. We all have idols we'd like to meet." Max said while driving. "Just let her have this then you'll have your turn."
"Why bother?" Ben sighed, lying down. "It'll probably be ruined again like the few turns I had."
"What's your problem?" Gwen asked, seeing her cousin was…off.
"My problem is that a certain squid has come after me for this stupid watch three times now and they were all on my turns." Ben sat up, pointing at the Omnitrix. "First Orchid Bay, then Beach City and then he sent his goons after us. Face it, Gwen we're going to be spending our summer getting attacked by that maniac."
"You mean Vilgax?" Gwen's look softened and so Max's as he listened. "Come on, Ben. That fight in Beach City would have left him hurting badly. Even if he does send someone else odds are he won't be showing up for a good long while."
"It's true, Ben." Max spoke up. "And don't forget, Vilgax is at the top of the capture list for Huntsmen who know about him. Odds are soon the Stellar Alliance will find out."
"The Stellar Alliance?" Ben and Gwen asked, looking at their grandfather.
"It's an alliance of planets that have come together for mutual defense against threats like Vilgax. They don't often visit Earth anymore since alien activity went down after I stopped Vilgax years ago but after Tetrax turns his goons over to them they'll be keeping a close eye out here. Vilgax is one of the most wanted criminals in the universe and no one has forgotten his crimes." Max explained, taking a turn to the right exit. "Don't be surprised if we get a visit from them."
"And how will they feel about the watch?" Ben asked, holding his arm.
"It's hard to say but I know they won't force you to give it up or try to take it from you. That's now how they operate." Max answered.
"See, Ben." Gwen smiled at her cousin. "Vilgax won't dare try to lay a finger on you when the galactic police come looking for him."
However Ben wasn't so sure. "Maybe."
"All right, we're almost there." Max decided to change the subject. "You said it was right around here, Gwen?"
"Yep. They should be doing their movie right around here." Gwen nodded happily. "We should be seeing a lot of cares by now."
"And then some." Max said, seeing the endless lines of cars being parked on either side of the road now. "We may have to get out and walk for this."
Ben groaned and looked out the window. "Oh man…"
When he looked out the window he could see a desolate rocky terrain which was the setting for new movie being shot. Security had already scoped out the place and made sure there were no Grimm nearby and were constantly checking and re-checking to make sure that did not change.
And yet when Ben looked closer he saw a cloud of dust that was moving with a giant figure inside it, moving at high speed. "Hey, what's that?"
Max and Gwen both looked out the window, seeing the moving cloud and Max pulled out a pair of binoculars to get a better look. "It's…a Grimm!"
"Grimm?!" Ben and Gwen exclaimed.
While traveling across the country the Tennysons had made sure to avoid areas that Grimm were known to frequent. To lower Grimm assaults on the road the government had first hired local Huntsmen and police to guard the roads near each major city but as technology advanced they started using drones and security fences to help better protect important routes.
"A Deathstalker by the looks of it and its chasing someone!"
"It's Hero time!" Ben held up the Omnitrix and slammed his other hand down on it, triggering a transformation.
Xxx
The Deathstalker let out a screech as it chased after its prey that turned out to be a young girl with black hair, brown eyes and wore a black T-shirt with white shorts, brown shoes and a back pack. The girl was running as fast as she could but the Grimm was still almost right behind her, screeching as it chased her with its stringer ready to kill her.
All hope for her seemed lost when it cornered her against a rocky wall.
The girl turned around, facing the Grimm as it screeched triumphantly at its cornering her.
"Picking on little girls?" The Grimm and the girl looked up, seeing a strange insect like creature hovering above them. "How about you take a shot at Stinkfly first?"
Just as he was about to make a move the ground surrounding the Deathstalker exploded with fire.
"Wha?!"
The girl turned around, her eyes seemingly on fire as she smirked and held out her hand, causing the fire to rise higher, cutting the Deathstalker from sight and then snapped her fingers. The flames exploded and the Grimm shrieked as it burned away into nothing.
"Whoa…" Stinkfly looked at the girl as the fire around her eyes vanished. "She was not in danger at all. She was just waiting for the right moment to attack."
Ben had seen some pretty powerful people since putting on the watch, both good and bad but he had never seen anyone conjure fire with a snap of their fingers before.
"Who is this girl?"
Ben wasn't the only one to watch the amazing spectacle.
Nearby, hiding in the shadows of a cliff, two pairs of azure eyes watched on in excitement.
"At long last, we end the journey that was most dire."
"For we have found the Elemental of Fire." They whispered as one as they vanished into the darkness.
The girl looked up and smiled as Stinkfly hovered down in front of her and suddenly changed back into Ben who looked at her with an amazed face. "Cool. You change from an ugly bug and into…a cute kid."
"Cute?" Ben blushed and sputtered, quickly taking a pose. "I'll have you know I am not cute…I am handsome."
The girl giggled. "My mistake."
"So…" Ben looked at the remains of the Grimm, seeing only a giant scorch mark. "How'd you do that? Are you a Huntress?"
"It's…Not exactly." The girl admitted, looking a little awkward now. "It's just something I've always had."
"Always had?"
"It's…hard to explain." The girl answered, looking uncomfortable now.
"Hey, it's okay. The reason I could change into a 'big ugly bug' was because of this." Ben held up his wrist, showing her the Omnitrix. "It allows me to change into aliens."
The girl raised an eyebrow. "Aliens?"
"I know what you are thinking. There's no such thing as aliens and-"
"I believe you."
Ben stopped, looking at the girl. "You what?"
"I said I believe you." The girl shrugged. "I mean, I just saw you change from that bug into a human so it's not that unbelievable."
"Oh, right." Ben chuckled nervously and held out his hand. "I'm Ben, Ben Tennyson."
The girl smiled and shook her hand. "My name is Julie Yamamoto."
"Julie huh? So…you want to come see the movie set with me?" Ben asked, blushing slightly now.
"There's a movie being shot here?" The girl known as Julie asked, apparently having no clue about the nearby movie set.
"Oh yeah! We're here to see the lead actor who is some kid star!" Ben quickly explained. "I am sure it will be fun!"
"Well…" Julie trailed off, seeing the small begging look on Ben's face. "All right. It wouldn't hurt to check it out."
"All right. Here, I'll get us a lift." Ben said, holding his arm and pressing the button on the Omnitrix and turned into… "Grey Matter?! Oh come on!"
Julie looked down at the tiny alien that was kicking the pebbles around him in a fit of anger. "Aw! You are so cute!"
"I'm what?" Grey Matter stopped and Julie picked him up, setting him on her shoulder.
"I think I'll cover us this time." Julie giggled and started walking. "Just tell me where to go."
"Huh…Okay." Grey Matter sat down, allowing Julie to be the one who does the walking back to the Rustbucket.
Xxx
"This way!"
The trek through Andromeda City turned from one simple search mission into a bid for survival as Scotty, Da Samurai and Raven were attacked by robotic drones that had suddenly attacked them. What made them so dangerous was that they were able to adapt to the powers and abilities of the three skilled fighters which made fighting them even more difficult.
Which left them only one choice: running for their lives.
Raven used her powers to lift various objects and threw them at the pursuing drones to buy them just a little more time, even if it wasn't enough.
"How did you two manage to get spotted three more times?!" She shouted while reforming a road into a shield against a barrage of missiles.
"Scotty messed up!" Da Samurai immediately pointed at his larger companion, who stared at him incredulously.
"I messed up?!"
"Did you?!" Raven glared at them over her shoulder.
Scotty Blake stared back for a moment before exhaling and slouching. "Aye, I messed up."
"Important mission he said! Needs my help he said!" Da Samurai cut through a Drone that circled around the side of the barricade. "I had plenty of better things to do!"
"Oh aye, like getting' mauled to death back at that shanty bar of yours with someone stealing the ten cents from your tip jar!" Scotty barked, raising his machine-gun leg and spraying a swarm of smaller drones that tried to crawl over the top. "All because I asked yeh for a weeee solid!"
"No. More. Solids!" Da Samurai back flipped to avoid a spike tipped arm and brought his sword down in a flourishing spin. "Octopus Swing!"
"Fine, no more solids if you stop naming yer moves yah daft fool!" Scotty replied.
"My skills are one of a kind. They deserve to have special names!" Da Samurai retorted.
"Are they? Are they really?"
"Guys." Raven deadpanned. "We're surrounded."
The two men looked up to see that the street was now literally lined with drones either clinging to the structures or floating overhead with weapons locked.
"…on second though. Scotty?" Da Samurai spoke up.
"Aye?"
"Could you do me a solid, man?"
"Aye?"
"I want you to go f-" The road suddenly fell away beneath the trio, sending them plummeting down as well as cutting off the rest of Da Samurai's request.
Xxx
"You found her." Sammael looked extremely pleased as he spoke to I and Am through the Seer hovering before him. "Well done. You both managed to succeed where the others had failed."
"They tried their best." I began.
"But could not pass the test." Am finished.
"Indeed." Sammael agreed. "How soon can you detain her?"
"There is a problem that you might not enjoy." I started nervously.
"She is has been found by the Omnitrix boy." Am finished, just as nervous as his brother.
"The Omnitrix?" Sammael raised an eyebrow. "I see. Do you both doubt your abilities to take her?"
"Certainly not!" I and Am shook their heads.
"We will devise a cunning plan." I said.
"And you will see that we can." Am finished.
"Good. Separate her from the boy long enough so that I can speak with her." Sammael leaned back in his chair. "I will await your next report."
I and Am bowed and their images vanished from the Seer that was immediately dismissed.
"Finally, all four Elementals have been found." Sammael looked up at the ceiling, smiling as he closed his eyes. "Soon, we can begin."
Xxx
"Am I dead? Please, I just really need to know if I am dead."
"I guess that depends on your perspective." Raven's sarcastic voice spoke.
"So I'm dead?!"
"You're not dead." Raven's voice grunted.
"Really? How do you know that?"
"Because I wouldn't be hearing you talking if that was the case."
"Aye. Now your open your eyes, ya tatty!" Scotty said in agreement as Da Samurai opened his eyes. "There, now do you believe us?"
"Oh Glob." Da Samurai groaned, rubbing his head. "I feel like I got by a big truck."
"Trucks are on the road. We fell through a hole in the road." Scotty pointed up to the distant ceiling. "Wee Raven had her powers and I got Gravity Dust in my leg here. How could you not come prepared for something like this?"
"It's not like trap doors were in the brochure!" Da Samurai complained.
"Speaking of trap doors…" Raven looked around. "Where are we now?"
They seemed to be in a large underground city, standing in the remains of what looked to be a chapel with trees and plants growing through the floor and walls. Oddly enough something cast a light through the glass windows that made almost seem like it was actual sunlight.
"Are you sure we're not dead?" Da Samurai questioned.
"You're not dead, Keanu. Just confused as always."
The three spun around, seeing someone in a lab coat standing at the entrance to the chapel that two of them recognized instantly.
"Extor!" Scotty smiled, taking a step forward. "I've been looking all over for ya!"
"I got that distinct impression from all the noise coming from the surface, what with the explosions, the smashing and the loud complaining that probably attracted every drone in the city to you."
Raven took a good look at the man that was the third member of Team SEKR and could tell he was not as much a fighter as he was a scientist. He was medium sized and wore green tinted glasses, a white lab coat and black gloves.
"Still, it is good to see you again." Extor smiled, tilting his head a bit when he saw Raven. "A new member? Or perhaps one of you took on another apprentice?"
"Not exactly." Scotty answered. "Long story short, she has a problem and I needed your help along with dancing boy and fancy hat to help her."
"You are reassembling Team SEKR?" Extor asked, sounding intrigued now. "It would explain why you would come all the way out here but as you can see from the drones on the surface leaving will not be so easy."
"What are those things?" Raven asked.
"Not here. Come with me." Extor gestured for them to follow which they slowly did, following him through the city.
He brought them to a staircase that led them further down the mysterious underworld they had fallen into.
"I am sure you are all familiar with the legend of Andromeda City and the mythical City of Giants it was built over." Extor began as they walked down the stairs. "Well, after we went our separate ways I decided to come here and conduct my own research into the myth. The legends spoke of these giants wielding the same sword as the one wielded by the Emperor who awakened the Grimm and started the first generation of Huntsmen which I saw as no coincidence. I believed it showed the possibility that the Grimm have been around for much longer than previously recorded and these giants were the sign of an ancient civilization that existed in what was likely the Forgotten Age."
"You came here chasing stories?" Da Samurai asked, wondering how long the stairs went.
"Not chase, found." Extor corrected as they made it to the bottom and what they saw surprised them.
Before them was a massive lake with gigantic skeletal limbs poking out of the water in what seemed to go on for miles.
"These remains prove that the giants did exist at one time and even fought against the Grimm, possibly as guardians of the civilization that existed in their time." Extor stated. "This proves the Grimm have been around, even before the Time of Awakening."
"Okay, but does that do anything for us now?" Da Samurai asked. "What does this have to do with them robots on the surface?"
"Everything." Extor pointed to a nearby wall, showing them images of giants facing the Grimm and something else.
It looked to be a giant robot.
"From what I was able to surmise the giants had an enemy, a rival giant that attempted to destroy them. Whether this machine was an ally of the Grimm or not I have yet to discover but it seemingly only existed to bring destruction." Extor explained. "The closest approximate translation that I've managed to dig up while researching this enemy was…Mondo-Bot."
Silence reigned as the trio stared at Extor with varying degrees of incredulity.
"Mondo…Bot?" Raven sounded it out.
"That's the name you found?" Da Samurai demanded. "Man, I thought it would've been like…Destructor! Or Annihilatron!"
"Says the guy who comes up with the most ridiculous name for every attack…even the most basic ones." Extor replied. "Scotty, he still does it, right?"
"Aye."
"Called it."
"I told you before: my techniques are one of a kind!" Da Samurai protested.
"I think I'm beginning to realize why you guys split up in the first place." Raven sighed, pinching her brow to fight down the growing headache.
"What with the fighting over technique names, the wrecking of my inventions to the aimless destruction and law suits and complaints and- ohhhh I feel a headache just thinking back to all of it." Extor rubbed his head. "But anyways: yes, it's called Mondo-Bot. And it's believed to be responsible for sinking the City of Giants…and possibly break Pangea into smaller continents. Who'd of thunk?"
"Was that last part English?" Raven asked.
"Look, much as I'd love to reminisce on old times and talk about land-crackin' giants, we've got a mission that needs the whole team." Scotty interjected. "Extor! You know a way we can get out without tip-toeing past those drones?"
"Why of course!"
"Oh well that's-"
"Dive into the water and swim approximately fifty kilometers underwater. By that point you'll almost certainly be out of the Drones' sensor range and they will cease pursuit once you return to the surface." Extor clapped his hands together. "…I don't suppose you finally passed swimming lessons by any chance, Keanu."
Da Samurai gaped at the scientist and was the first to break the ensuing silence. "MOTHER-"