Tourist Trap
Dan sat at the table in the Star Angel, trying his best to ignore the boy in the car driving next to the RV, who was making all kinds of odd and funny faces at him.
"Doesn't that brat have anything better to do?" Dan asked Ash, who was watching this.
"I don't know. But you know how immature kids are at that age. Remember what we were like?" Ash pointed out, to which Dan shrugged.
He looked out the window again to see that the boy was eating his burger and then showed its chewed up remains to Dan, who was disgusted.
"Urgh! That's it, time to make him stop." He said before he hid from view and turned into Stinkbug, making horrifying sounds and faces, slobbering as well.
This scared the boy so much that he screamed, causing his father to look, making him scream as well and then drove ahead of the Star Angel.
Dan found it to be so funny that he fell on the floor and laughed hysterically.
"I think you might've gone overboard with that joke." Ash said hesitantly.
"Who cares? That kid wouldn't leave me alone." Dan said through his laughter. "Besides, funny is funny."
"Uh, Dan, you better get up here." Grant then said before he screeched the RV to a halt, causing Dan to slide up to the front.
"I see you're all ready to go." He said as Dan got up. "There's trouble up ahead."
Dan saw that a propane truck was overturned from crashing into another truck with fire spreading just outside it with the driver stuck inside.
"Help!" The driver cried as he was slamming against the door.
"The door's stuck! He can't get out!" A driver told some of the onlookers. The fire then got closer to the door.
"HELP!" The driver cried out again.
"If the propane he was hauling catches fire, he'll end up being rocketed straight to the moon." Grant told Dan.
Dan then flew out of the RV and right up the trucks as Grant joined the crowd.
Dan landed and examined to see if there was a way to get the man out of there as the fire's intensity increased, which made him back up.
"Come on, folks, just give the bug a chance to figure this out." Grant told everyone.
"Come on, think, Dan, think…. Remember what dad said." Dan said to himself, thinking back to how Tetrax told him he needed to use his aliens to their full potential.
That's when it hit him.
He hovered up in the air and shot slime from his eyes at the flame, extinguishing it.
Now that he could safely reach the driver, he landed on top of the truck and used the sharp end of his tail to tear the metal off the roof. He then used his hands to make the hole big enough to pull the truck driver.
"Don't worry, I'm here to help." Dan reassured the driver right before he grabbed him and flew away from the truck, dropping him in front of the crowd.
"Who'd have thought loogies saves lives." Dan then remarked.
Then the kid that Dan scared earlier screamed upon seeing him earlier.
"That's the monster that ate that teenager." He told his father.
"Don't believe every single thing you see, kid. Gotta fly." Dan replied before he took off.
Later in the day, the Tennants were driving down a road out in the middle of the desert and Ash noticed some signs.
"'You'll have a ball with IT!'?" She read the first sign in confusion. "'Next exit'?"
"Can't you at least give us a hint of what 'it' is?" Dan asked Grant.
"No hints, sport. It's something I've planned since before the summer." Grant replied with a mischievous grin, leaving both Dan and Ash baffled.
They soon reached their destination and Grant was the first to exit the RV, needing to take care of a few things before he opened the door of the RV.
"I want you two to close your eyes." Grant requested from his grandchildren.
The two did just that before exiting the Star Angel.
"Alright, you can open them now." Grant said and the two cousins opened their eyes to see a large billboard that looked like it was out of a western. "Welcome to Sparksville!"
The two looked at each other before glancing over at the rather quiet and mundane town with its various attractions and stores, a lot of which totally confused them.
The ones that stuck to Dan were the sideways motel and the large jackalope statue behind it.
"So, what do you think?" Grant eagerly asked him and Ash.
"Honestly, I'm just utterly bewildered why or how anyone could enjoy this." Dan shrugged.
"Oh, come on. It's not everyday you get to see the world's largest fishbowl." Grant replied, making everyone look up at said fishbowl.
"I can easily think of many other things that are more exciting than that." Ash pointed out.
"As the mayor of Sparksville, I welcome you, as seekers of wonder." A monotone voice said and they looked to see it was from a man who wore a suit that looked like it was ripped out of the 50's.
"I'm sure you guys are intrigued to see 'it', so I'll go check us in." Grant told Dan and Ash, handing them a couple of tickets before he headed off to the sideways motel.
The two made their way to the exhibit for the jackalope and Dan rang the bell, leading to the mayor showing up as the ticket collector.
"Tickets, please."
"Aren't you supposed to be the mayor?" Dan asked as he handed the tickets.
"He who wears the crown is burdened by many hats, son." The mayor replied as he ripped the tickets.
As the two entered, the mayor warned them "Mind the signs."
The two ended up taking various pictures of their time in Sparksville.
The first three was them standing in front of a jackalope statue. Dan looked very bored while Ash looked baffled. Then they were laughing as Dan was making a joke, then they were standing outside and were sideways, imitating the motel.
Then they put their heads through an American Gothic painting cutout.
The next few showed them in the planetarium with the sun being completely out and then Dan made Ash laugh as someone was working to make the sun work.
Then they were standing in front of a large sized house of cards.
They were then enjoying some hot dogs, Dan especially devouring a bacon wrapped hot dog with ketchup and grilled onions.
The two then posed in front of the giftshop. Dan wore shades and jackalope horns while Ash wore googly eye glasses.
Then they pretended to be fish as they stood in front of the world's largest fishbowl.
They then sat on a bench. Ash was munching on some snacks while Dan was sipping on some soda.
The two then looked at a sign that said "'IT' is this way."
Finally they approached a barn that had 'IT's here' bannered on the top with the mayor waiting for them.
"Through these doors lies the weirdest, wildest thing ever to find its way to Sparksville."
The large doors opened and the two cousins entered into pitch darkness.
"All this build up… it's gonna be a disappointment, I just know it." Dan told Ash a moment before neon signs showed up and they read them aloud.
"Do not touch it."
"Do not photograph it."
"Do not use batteries or electrical equipment anywhere near it."
The light soon returned and there was a large sign that read 'THIS IS IT'.
The sign soon lifted off the ground to reveal… a large rubber-band ball.
"Seriously, this is 'it'?" Dan asked in disbelief.
"It's just a stupid and ordinary rubber-band ball." Ash added as the mayor walked up behind them.
"And who knows what secrets lie within." The mayor said.
"More rubber-bands?" Dan said, very unimpressed.
"Stay as long as you like. Mind the signs." The mayor replied before he left the barn.
"Honestly, this place is nothing but weird and full of it. We've been punked." Dan told Ash.
"Yeah, it's just so lame, how he could be excited about this place is beyond me." Ash agreed.
"Well, there's one way to prevent boredom." Dan said as he walked behind the large ball and a blue flash of light formed right before the ball was lifted off the ground, revealing Four Arms behind it, using his top two arms.
"One good prank deserves another." He told Ash, who nodded in agreement.
"Anything special in mind?" She asked.
"The world's largest underpants, perhaps?" Dan suggested, making Ash laugh at the idea.
Dan then started to juggle the large ball, which was easy with his super strength.
"Careful, big guy, you might end up dropping it." Ash then said.
"Calm down, I can easily hold this thing with just one hand." Dan reassured her.
However, as he held with his one hand, he lost balance and it bounced out.
"LOOK OUT!" Dan shouted and Ash jumped out of the way as the large ball bounced and crashed through the ceiling.
"Crap." Dan cursed.
The rubber-band ball destroyed a food cart and then bounced off a statue, heading right for Dan, who came out to try and stop it.
He caught it, but the force of it caused him to slide right into a building, making lose his grip as the ball bounced off of him and crashed through the house of cards, which actually made it stop.
Ash ran up to him and then slapped the back of his head.
"OW!" He yelled. "What did you do that for?"
"For causing this damage, that's what!" Ash scolded him.
"Calm down, I'll make sure to put everything back the way it was and tidy up." Dan replied, knowing he didn't have much time left before the Omnitrix timed out.
So, within a matter of minutes, Dan first put the house of cards back up, exactly as it was, moved the remains of the food cart out of sight and then rolled the ball back into the barn.
And just in time, too, as the Omnitrix finally timed out.
"Never thought I'd be that tired tidying up." Dan said as he took some deep breaths, leaning his hand against the ball.
He didn't notice, however, that a small charge from the Omnitrix was drawn into the ball.
The two cousins then made it to the motel.
"What do we tell grandpa if he finds out what happened?" Ash asked as they stood outside.
"As much as I hate to say it, but nothing." Dan replied. "We'll just act like nothing happened and that we haven't done a thing."
"That may be hard for me." Ash confessed.
They then opened a door that was sideways and entered into a room that was entirely on its side, including the beds.
"Hey, you two." Grant greeted them. "Quite a change in scenery, isn't it?"
The charge from the Omnitrix had now spread all over the ball and an electric bolt shot out and circled the power lines and exhibits before putting a hole through the welcome sign. This bolt then turned into a yellow and black creature that looked like a living, sentient battery.
It looked up at the sign, which now read 'WE COME TO SPARKSVILLE', which made the creature laugh hysterically at it, electricity washing out from its yellow eyes.
The following morning, both Dan and Ash were sound asleep in their beds.
"What the hell happened out here?" Grant's voice said from outside, waking the two up in a way that made them fall out of their beds.
"He must've figured out what happened. We're in deep trouble." Ash said. "We have to confess."
"There's nothing that connects us to what happened. And unless there's no other choice, we won't say a word, got it?" Dan replied.
"Daniel, Ashley, get out here now." Grant sternly called, leaving the two terrified. If he;s using their full first names, then they had to be in trouble.
They made their way outside and were shocked to see that the whole place was trashed. They knew that this wasn't their fault.
"What did this?" Dan asked.
"I have no idea. It looks as though a tornado tore through here overnight, yet there wasn't one." Grant replied.
"I think it's pretty clear who;s responsible for these juvenile acts." The mayor said as he approached the trio.
"Well, I know it can't be these two…" Grant pointed at Dan and Ash. "...they're responsible. So who did this?"
A jolt of electricity formed out of nowhere and circled around Dan, revealing to be the electrical creature, peeking around him and Ash with silly faces and poses.
It then blew a raspberry at Ash before pulling her purple shirt over her head.
It then tapped Dan's shoulder, making him look and see it making some more faces before it zapped away.
"What was that?" Dan asked.
"Megawhatt." The mayor replied.
"Huh?" Dan scrunched his face, having never heard of it before.
"It's normally wrapped up tight inside it - that is, until last night." The mayor explained, making Dan glance over at Ash with guilt, seeing it was their fault. "Some say it might be a ball of lightning come alive. Others think it's a static cling run amok. Tough to say."
"Actually, I'm pretty sure it's an alien." Ash replied, which Dan agreed on, since it looked very much like one.
"Alien? That's just plain kooky talk." The mayor replied, making Dan roll his eyes.
The Megawhatt then entered a soda machine, making it shake and tremble.
"Uh, what is it doing?" Dan asked with concern.
"It eats electricity. The more it gobbles, the more powerful it gets." The mayor explained.
The soda machine then started firing soda cans, making the Tennants bob and weave and duck to avoid being hit.
"It's also got a dangerous sense of humour." The mayor explained more before he and the Tennants ran for cover behind a turned over car.
"You seriously kept that thing inside a large rubber-band ball this whole time?" Grant said in disbelief. "That's just all kinds of dangerous."
"Not so long as people minded the signs." The mayor pointed out before he glanced over at Dan and Ash.
"Fine, we accidentally let out, you happy now, Mr Keeps A Big Secret?" Dan glared at the mayor.
"We're gonna have a talk about this later, you two." Grant frowned sternly at him and Ash. "But right now, how do we stop this thing?" He asked the mayor.
"Whatcha mean 'we'?" He said, sitting on a bench and pulled out a straw to chew on. "You let it out, you catch it."
Once the chaos died down, the Tennants got up and searched through Sparksville to find the Megawhatt, keeping their eyes and ears open for the troublemaker.
"Do you think we should lure it out with some batteries?" Ash asked.
The Megawhatt zipped across an electricity cable over them until it snuck up behind Grant and zipped up through his jeans.
It then lifted him up in the air by means of a rather nasty looking wedgie.
"THIS IS NOT FUNNY!" Grant raged.
"Well it's a good thing I know a certain alien that can handle all things electric." Dan said as he activated the Omnitrix and slammed the dial on Technomorph's outline.
His skin turned black with green circuitry spreading throughout. All human traits vanished and his green circular eye formed.
"Are you sure it's wise to turn into Technomorph?" Ash asked.
"Do you know any other aliens at my disposal that can handle electricity?" Dan retorted with a frown on his circular eye while the Megawhatt let go of Grant upon seeing Dan in his new form.
"Fair point." Ash said.
The Megawhatt then continued wreaking havoc by making the world's largest bottle of ketchup overflow and for the lid to shoot directly at the large statue of a chicken, slicing its head off.
It laughed as someone ran and screamed away from the head of the chicken, but stopped when he saw Dan roll up on the large rubber-band ball.
"You need to go back to your rubber prison, you maniac." Dan told it.
But then pieces of rubber-bands were sent flying in many directions, causing some more damage, making people run for cover.
"Hey, I don't think it's a good idea to use that thing!" Ash called out to him.
"Is it just me, or is there a lot of excitement today?" The mayor calmly asked a boy sitting next to him as he ate a handful of popcorn.
Dan stopped rolling the ball and looked around for the Megawhatt, which appeared above him in the air, laughing at and mocking him for the damage he caused.
This made Dan so angry that he ended up shooting a laser from his eye, which the Megawhatt dodged, having learned he can do this shortly after Tetrax left Earth.
"Not so funny now, is it, punk?" Dan snarled, though the Megawhatt continued laughing before it took off, Dan followed after it, trying to catch it, but it just kept swerving out of the way and making all kinds of moves to keep the chase going.
Eventually, Dan caught the annoying little menace, but he got shocked and was thrown back.
"Remember to never touch the electric fella when I'm made of living metal." Dan scolded himself.
"Just how are we gonna ground that electric menace and stop him from causing more damage?" Grant asked, not having a clue on what to do, but Ash did.
"Grandpa, you can be an unknowing genius." She said before she headed off.
"I am? How so?" He asked, confused, as he followed after her.
The Megawhatt kept messing with Dan in a wild goose chase to the point that he was fed up.
"THAT IS IT! I have had enough of your pranks!" Dan snapped as he grabbed a sewer lid and threw it at the Megawhatt. "CATCH THIS, SPARKY!"
It sliced the Megawhat vertically down the middle, but much to Dan's surprise, not only did it regenerate, it did so twice, making there now be two Megawhatts, who laughed at each other.
"Great, I just made things worse." Dan moaned in defeat as the Omnitrix timed out.
The Megawhatts now started to attack Dan, who dodged their attacks as he heard a horn honking.
He turned to see that Grant was driving a truck that carried what had to be the world's largest thermometer. The passenger door opened and Ash leaned out with her arm out, grabbing Dan, who closed the door as he got in while Grant continued driving.
"What's the plan now?" He asked.
"Giving sparky and his new pal a science lesson they won't soon forget." Grant replied as he floored it while the Megawhatts chased after them.
"Eat this, you megafreaks!" Ash spat as she shifted gears, which caused the thermometer to be released vertically into the ground, which the Megawhatts crashed into, getting grounded.
As they parked, the Tennants got out and looked at the thermometer.
"What just happened?" Dan asked.
"We just used the thermometer as a lightning rod." Ash replied.
"Of course, the ground is basically just one big conductor." The mayor pointed out, which made both Dan and Ash look at each other in horror, realising that the Megawhatts are now zipping underground to find a way back to the surface.
Various telephones now started ringing.
"They're now in the underground phone lines." Grant was wide eyed with horror right before many more Megawhatts showed up, all of them zipping through anything that had electricity in it, including vehicles, which they flat tired, and the power lines.
A Megawhatt formed after it caused the water pump to unleash water.
"Uh oh. Now they really did it." A woman said casually in the crowd, which included the mayor on a bench and the Tennants.
"Don't bother saying it, I feel the responsibility eating me up." Ash told Dan, who gave her a certain look.
"You're not the only one." Dan replied as a nearby explosion happened.
All of the Megawhatts then sat on the giant hot dog, all laughing at once, producing a sonic scream, which made everyone except the mayor cover their ears.
This scream also broke the glass jar that held the world's largest toothpicks, which all fell towards the crowd, which was noticed by Grant.
"MOVE!" He shouted and everyone scattered. Except for the mayor, who still sat on the bench as the toothpicks all landed around him.
"There goes the world's largest toothpicks. Oh, the humanity." He said as he grabbed some popcorn.
The Megawhatts all laughed before they scattered.
"They're idea of fun is gonna end up making us all swiss cheese and pancakes unless they're stopped." Grant frowned.
"Dan, some alien help would be nice." Ash said worriedly.
"It's still recharging, you know!" Dan snapped, showing that the Omntrix was currently red and not blue.
Suddenly, one of the Megawhatts stood on the jackalope statue and communicated to the rest in their language, like it was giving orders, before they all zipped away at once.
"Where did they all go?" Dan asked, knowing that they didn't just leave.
"Wherever they are, they're still up to no good." Grant replied.
An explosion made them turn to see that the Megawhatts have now taken over the planetarium exhibit, now giving it a humanoid shape, sparkling with electricity. It looked down at the Tennants before it started walking away.
"Well, there's something you don't see everyday." The woman from earlier said. "They brought that planetarium exhibit to life."
"Come on, we'll follow them in the -" Grant said before he cut himself off when looking at what the Megawhatts did to the Star Angel: not only have they removed all the tires, but also drew smiley faces on it, especially on the silhouette of the alien woman, and wrote the words 'U AM LAME' on the side.
"Oh, those bastards are gonna pay for what they did to you, beautiful." Grant said with sorrow.
"Seriously? U AM LAME? That's just so weak and pathetic." Dan frowned.
"Especially with the grammar and the spelling." Ash added.
"I reckon they'll head for the big hydroelectric dam to power up. After that, they'll just wipe out the next town, and so on and so on." The mayor explained. "They think it's funny. Yup, Megawhatt's got a real twisted sense of humour."
Ash looked around Sparksville as he spoke until her eyes laid on the world's largest fishbowl. Dan noticed this and looked up at it. The two cousins then looked at each other and grinned, both coming up with a plan to stop the Megawhatts.
"Time to beat those pranksters at their own game." Dan said as he noticed the Omnitrix had finally recharged.
At the hydroelectric dam, the humanoid planetarium was busy as it was trying to smash through it. It was then about to throw another punch when a large column of fire engulfed it.
It looked up to see Dan as Magmus looking down at it.
"This is your last warning." He said. "Stop all of this funny business, or I'll fry your sparkling butts."
The planetarium instead hit the dam much harder than it did previously, causing it to crack and leak water.
The tremor from this action made Dan run down the dam until he created a flaming fireboard and jumped onto it, anothering thing he learned he could shortly after Tetrax left Earth.
He used it to safely land at the bottom before he sealed the cracks in the dam.
As he did this, the planetarium was some distance away from him, spotting turbines, which it planned to absorb energy from. Though it didn't notice that something large and spherical was covered by a tarp nearby.
However, before it could absorb the turbines, Dan arrived on another fireboard and landed right in front of it.
"You'll have to get past me if you want more energy, megalosers!" Dan mocked, causing the planetarium to swing at him, but he jumped back and shot a fireball right at the head, making it stumble back.
"Oi, you want to see something funny?" Ash said as she stood by its feet with a fire hose. "You're all wet!"
She sprayed water, annoying it before she ran away to avoid it stomping her in.
"HEY!" Dan shouted for its attention, now holding a really large fireball. "You guys really don't know how to take a joke!"
He threw the fireball at the planetarium, obliterating it apart, causing the Megawhatts to appear and zip out of it.
"You got really burned up on that one, just quit while you're behind." Dan mocked, making the Megawhatts zip right at him, but he disappeared behind a cloud of smoke and reappeared right next to the tarped up object.
"Over here, doofus." Dan mocked them again, even giving them the raspberry before making funny faces to make them more angry.
This worked as they zipped their way to him as he went under the tarp and they zipped through it.
Both Grant and Ash show up.
"Nicely done, Dan." Grant grinned as he removed the tarp to reveal the Megawhatts inside the world's largest fishbowl.
Dan stood next to him and breathed fire like a dragon to melt the top of the bowl, sealing them inside with no way out.
Dan then taunted the Megawhatts by blowing raspberries at them
"Nice touch with the fishbowl." Grant told Dan and Ash, the former now sticking his tongue out at the Megawhatts. "With the nonconductive glass sealed up tightly, they won't be going anywhere."
"That's what happens when you blend science fact and fiction together." Ash proudly stated as Magmus timed out and Dan turned back to normal.
"A healthy mix of both makes everything better." Dan remarked.
Back at Sparksville, workers were busy getting everything back to how they were, the Star Angel was cleaned up and back to normal and the Tennants stood with the mayor next to something covered by a tarp.
"You folks done right by us." The mayor thanked them.
"Will all of this be a huge setback for Sparksville?" Grant asked.
"More like a giant step forward." The mayor shrugged. "What with our new attraction, soon we'll be raking them in."
He pulled the tarp off and revealed an extremely large and bright lightbulb.
"Biggest lightbulb. It'll be a humdinger."
It turns out that it was once the fishbowl with all the trapped Megawhatts acting as the source of light, all wishing they could escape.
"So long as folks mind the signs." The mayor then said right into Dan's face before he walked away, which revealed a sign that read 'IN CASE OF EMERGENCY, DO NOT BREAK GLASS'.
The Tennants turned to the Star Angel, ready to leave.
"Well, this whole experience has told me that I don't want pranks in my life from this point forward." Dan said, noticing a bucket on top of the door into the Star Angel.
"There's always a time and a place for a practical joke." Grant replied. Dan looked at him blankly as he opened the door, making the bucket fall to the floor, spilling water in the process.
"You won't get me. I've been the victim of every major prank in the book." Dan replied to a disappointed Grant before entering the RV with him and Ash following him.
They then took off from Sparksville, ready for whatever insane thing will happen next on their road trip.
Had to make sure that Dan started learning how to use his aliens in more creative ways, as well as start to unlock their potential.
Now the next chapter will introduce a genderbent character. Some of you may not like it, but this is not the prime Ben 10 universe, remember? This is just a far offshoot, so there will be some major differences.