It was a peaceful night under the starry sky in the wide-open forest where the only sounds came from the chirping of the wild crickets. A soft mist rolled over the surface of the murky lake, illuminated by the light of the full moon. A true picture of tranquility –
"CANNONBALL!"
And par the course, Ben Tennyson destroyed what little sense of peace this small forest lake had as he slammed into the water, splashing in every direction. He surfaced after a moment, spitting out the water that had spilled into his mouth, feeling very proud of himself.
"And the judges scores," said Ben, imitating a competitive commentator. "Yes! Perfect ten! The crowd loves him!" He even started imitating his own cheer section.
Back on the shore, Gwen looked less than impressed with her cousin.
It had been very late when they arrived at the lake and everyone was very tired from the long journey, especially since they just took down Dr. Animo and his psycho murder pets just yesterday. When they were leaving Washington D.C., they read the news that Dr. Animo had escaped while they were en route to prison, killing two officers in a car crash. Claw marks found on the scene led investigators to believe that one of Animo's mutations had busted him free and now he was on the loose and possibly more dangerous than ever.
Grandpa Max suspected that Animo might come after them for revenge, so he kept driving for hours without stopping until they reached this remote lake close to a no-name port town on the edge of North Carolina. Grandpa Max and Trixie went to sleep immediately; Max because he was tired from driving all day and Trixie because she was just tired of listening to Ben complain all day.
"How can you be so calm?" asked Gwen exasperatedly. "Dr. Animo is out there somewhere and he might be coming after us for revenge, you know. Aren't you the least bit worried?"
"Nah, I can totally kick his butt," said Ben confidently. "C'mon, dive in! The water's great!"
"Please, who knows what nasty, slimy things are slithering around in there," said Gwen, sweeping her flashlight around the lake until she stopped on Ben. "I rest my case."
"What's the point in camping by a lake if you're afraid to get wet?" said Ben, splashing his cousin.
"Hey, knock it off, you midget!" Gwen complained; her favorite (and only) shirt was soaked now.
The redhead Tennyson started walking back to the Rust Bucket when she heard her doofus cousin splashing around frantically.
"Hey," coughed Ben, looking like he was struggling to stay afloat. "What – what gives?"
The shorter of the Tennyson cousins finally went under. Gwen rolled her eyes; obviously he was just trying to pull one of his pranks to rile her up.
"Very funny, Gwen," said Gwen irritably, but nonetheless walked back to the dock. "I'm not falling for it." But after a full minute passed and her dweeby cousin still hadn't come back up for air, Gwen started to get worried. "Ben? Ben, this isn't funny anymore. Get back up here right now, doofus, or I'm telling grandpa."
And something did rise from the depths of the lake, but it most certainly wasn't scrawny little Ben.
The beast that arose stood twice as tall and three times as broad as the Tennyson boy covered from head-to-toe in bundles of moss and other plant-life draped over its hulking form. Gwen screamed with fright and started walking backwards as the lake monster approached her, ungracefully tripping over her own feet and falling on her butt. Her flashlight clattered on the ground and shined its light on the lake monster…and the light reflected off its chest and back into Gwen's eyes.
Okay, that's weird, Gwen thought.
Gwen held her hand up to shield her eyes and narrowed them in concentration, realizing immediately that she had been made a fool of. That was no lake monster – it was Ben transformed into Diamondhead wrapped into seaweed.
"Ben?" said Gwen angrily.
"You should have seen the look on your face," Diamondhead laughed, tearing the seaweed off his head. "Ha! Priceless!"
"You are so busted when I tell Trixie," Gen told him, glaring as she stood up and walked away. "She'll turn you into Pesky Dust for a week."
"Totally worth it," Diamondhead cackled humorously as he pulled off the remainder of the vegetation. "I can't believe she fell for it. A monster in the lake. How dumb can you be?"
It was at that moment Diamondhead heard something bubbling in the water behind him. The Petrosapien turned around; maybe a fish had been attracted to the light glittering off his silicon body. But when the lake surface exploded and the beast rose from the water, Diamondhead was quick to assume that it was no fish – at least not one he had seen before. Diamondhead couldn't see the monster directly because it was too dark, but he could tell that the lake creature effortlessly dwarf him by a good twenty feet and had long, slithery tentacles coming out of what he assumed to be its head.
The lake monster stared him down for a while until the shadowed beast snapped one of its tentacles at Ben, wrapping around his waist and lifting him up out of the lake. Whatever the monster was twirled the Petrosapien around the air through several rotations – Diamondhead felt like he might start puking up gemstones – before it flung him into the deeper parts of the lake with a thunderous splash.
Though still slightly disoriented, Diamondhead managed to scramble his way back to the surface with a desperate gasp of breath. The Petrosapien looked aroundm quickly searching for the lake monster when its tentacle suddenly sprung out of the water behind him, wrapped around his torso, and dragged him down.
Diamondhead struggled in the monster's grip as it pulled him deeper into the lake where the water was darkest. Just when he started to consider cutting his way out, the tentacle spun him around and Diamondhead was suddenly staring into the biggest blue eye he had ever seen in his life – it was just as big as he was. Diamondhead unintentionally gasped, letting out all the air he had been saving.
Now more desperate to escape, Diamondhead expanded several shards from his arms that cut into the monster's tentacle. The lake beast released him with a muffled squeal and Diamondhead used this chance to swim back to the surface.
The Petrosapien breached the water quickly and wasted no time paddling to the shore where the lake monster couldn't reach him. He made a dash for the Rust Bucket, threw open the door, and poked inside, not considering that his shoulder spikers were cutting into the corners of the doorway. Grandpa Max, Gwen, and Trixie had all been asleep, but Diamondhead's roughhousing woke them effectively enough; Gwen glared at her doofus cousin and Trixie would have done the same if not for the raccoon-themed sleep mask she picked up in Washington.
"I…was just attacked…by a giant lake monster," Diamondhead panted; Gwen threw one of her pillows at his face.
"Hello, current events," said Gwen tiredly. "You already got me with that one."
"But I'm not kidding this time!" Diamondhead argued desperately. "I really did see a lake monster!"
"C'mon, champ, jokes over," said Max, stifling a loud yawn.
"But – I – " Diamondhead sputtered.
"Initiate Omnitrix Deactivation sequence – Code 10," Trixie mumbled sleepily. The Omnitrix beeped and Ben flashed back to his normal form. "There. Now please just go to sleep already. Maxwell wants us to get up extra early tomorrow for our fishing trip and this human body requires sleep to function properly."
Ben frowned. Why wouldn't anyone believe him?
They walked into the small fishing town early the next day, just as the sun was starting to peek over the horizon. There wasn't much to look at in terms of tourism; everything was just mostly old wooden buildings and a bay filled with different types of fishing boats docked along the water.
Trixie stifled a yawn with her hands and struggled to keep her eyes open. It seemed that her human body still hadn't fully rested like it should have; perhaps it was attributed to the collective alien sequences she accessed back in Washington. Or it could have been because Ben had kept them up all night trying to convince them of his so-called lake monster.
"No, really, it was humungous with huge eyes," Ben told them for what must have been the hundredth time.
"I'm sure it was just some kind of big fish, that's all," said Max.
"Yeah, so give the mega fish story a rest, will ya, captain dweeb?" said Gwen, rolling her eyes at him.
"You believe me, right?" Ben asked Trixie.
"In a word: no," said Trixie simply.
Ben glowered and trudge along ahead of the rest of his party, reaching the end of the dock where he found a lone bucket sitting out of place near the water's edge. Inside were millions of slimy, pink worms that were still crawling around the sides of the bucket. That gave Ben a sinister idea. Grabbing a handful of the creepy crawlies, he subtly walked back up to Trixie and held the wad of slimy worms directly in her face.
"Breakfast?" asked Ben, cackling wickedly.
From his experience with girls, he knew that they were easily grossed out by bugs and worms. So it was a surprise when Trixie not only failed to react the way he had hoped, but she took the wad of worms out of his hands and stuffed in her mouth. Trixie took her time chewing the worms before she swallowed them down. Both Ben and Gwen, who had been watching, had to slap their hands over their mouths to stop themselves from vomiting.
"Thank you, Benjamin," said Trixie sincerely. "That was very kind of you to offer."
"Ooh, that is so nasty," Ben groaned.
"And I thought grandpa's appetite was disgusting," said Gwen, grimacing. "What's with the bucket of slimies?"
"Bait," Max answered simply.
"Yeah, well, I think I'm going to pass on the fishing things," Gwen announced, spinning on her heel and running as far away from the dock as possible. "I'll stay here and catch some sun instead."
"Okay, but you don't know what you're missing," said Max understandingly.
"I'm pretty sure I do," said Gwen, waving them off.
With the redheaded Tennyson gone, the remaining three continued down towards the end of the dock where Max said a boat was waiting for them. Ben and Trixie were expecting something like and old, wooden fishing boat like the others around the port, so you could imagine how surprised they were to stop in front of a slick, silver and orange painted research vessel. The boat looked like it was equipped with a lot of advanced equipment including a satellite dish and on-board computers. There was a single word painted in black on the side of the vessel: SATURDAYS
When they reached the research vessel, the Tennysons found that there were already three people on board putting the final touches on their boat.
One of them was a tall and well-built African-American man with a streak of white down the middle of his black hair and one of his eyes was blinded with a single scar running down it. On the other side of the boat tinkering with the computers was a tall and attractive looking woman with pale-blonde hair that looked almost white. And sitting in the back of the boat playing with his phone was a boy around Ben and Trixie's age with dark-tan skin and a mess of black hair similar to the older man, but a shock of white-blonde hair like the woman. All three of them were wearing similar uniforms with an orange and black color scheme.
"Doc, old pal, it's been too long!" Max greeted the man. "How've ya been?"
"Well, I don't believe my eye," said the man called Doc, laughing joyfully when he saw Max. He stepped out of the boat and embraced the elderly Tennyson like an old friend. "It has been way too long since we last saw each other, my old friend. What's it been, ten years now?"
"At least," said Max, placing a hand on the children. "This is my grandson, Ben, and this is his uh…friend, Trixie. Ben, Trixie, this is my old friend, Dr. Solomon Saturday."
"You can call me Doc," said Doc. The woman and boy – assumingly his wife and son – walked up next to him. "This is my wife, Drew, and my son, Zak."
"It's a pleasure to finally meet the Max Tennyson," said Drew with a humorous chuckle as she shook hands with the elderly Tennyson. "My husband would stop talking about how great Max Tennyson was ever since we got your call that you would be in the area. I swear, if I didn't have him wrapped around my finger, I'd think he'd go running off with you in a heartbeat."
"Don't say things like that in front of Max, Drew," moaned Doc childishly.
"Exactly how do you two know each other?" asked Trixie suspiciously.
"Um…it's a really long story," Max excused quickly. "Thanks again for letting us borrow your boat to go fishing while you're here doing your research. I hope we don't cause you too much trouble."
"It won't be any trouble at all," said Doc. "Anything to help out an old friend."
"What are you researching?" asked Trixie curiously.
"We're studying the lake-bottom sediments and how it can be affected by climate change and their catchment areas," Drew answered immediately.
"Wow, that sounds so…boring," said Ben grumpily.
"Tell me about it," said Zak in the same bored tone.
"Okay, that's enough, you two," said Doc. "Everybody on board. We're burning daylight and we have a whole lot of water to cover."
Max and Trixie boarded the boat with Doc and Drew, but the two boys hung back for a moment. Ben and Zak shared a similar pathetic look before they sighed in unison and stepped on the boat as well.
In only a few minutes time, the crew of six were sailing into the middle of the wide-open lake. Doc concentrated on steering the boat through the water while Drew monitored the various computers and sonar scanners. Trixie also looked at the equipment in curiosity, being smart enough to realize they wouldn't need this much technology just to collect sediment samples, but Drew kept jumping in the way before she could get a clear view of what they were for. Zak was hanging out in the back of the boat, leaning back and staring aimlessly at the sky while Max hanged out with Doc near the front.
"So, think there's anything…interesting to catch out here, Doc?" asked Max.
"You could say that," said Doc, sounding almost teasing. "There's always something…interesting to be found under the water. But uh…is your grandson okay, Max? He looks like he might start to keel over any moment."
Max looked to his left and realized that his grandson was indeed in an awkward position, leaning over the edge of the boat like he was about to throw up. The elderly Tennyson patted Ben's back soothingly. He didn't think that Ben could get seasick.
"Ben, are you okay?" asked Max in concern.
"Yeah, I'm fine, grandpa," said Ben, coming up and looking perfectly healthy. "I'm just keeping an eye out for the lake monster. That thing's not taking me by surprise this time." Max and Trixie exchanged looks of disbelief behind his back. But at the same time, Ben spotted something getting closer in the distance; it had a wide body and a long neck that Ben had seen before. "There it is!"
Trixie rolled her eyes from her side of the boat, but Zak and Drew reacted unnaturally fast at the moment Ben cried lake monster. The two Saturdays leaned over the edge of the boat on either side of Ben and Max as they approached the shape…only to realize once they were close enough that the "lake monster" was just a tree branch with an empty tub. Drew let out a sigh that sounded almost depressing and went back to her monitors while Zak snickered at Ben.
"Ooh, scary," said Zak tauntingly. "Look out everyone, the big scary Krakken might gobble us up."
"Hey, it was a mistake," Ben retorted. "Anyone could have…. Wait, how do you know what it's called? I never heard anything about a Krakken?"
"Uh…," Zak stammered, looking at a loss for words.
"Zak…," said Doc warningly.
"What's a Krakken?" asked Trixie curiously.
"Oh, it's nothing, just an old sailor's tale," said Drew calmly. "Legend around these parts is that there's a giant monster called the Krakken that lives in these waters. There have been dozens of unconfirmed sights over the past several decades, but no one has ever been able to provide proof that the Krakken actually exists. Of course, the Krakken is only just a myth – there's no such thing as a giant sea creature living in the lake. Right Zak?" she asked him, almost as if telling him to agree with her.
"Yeah, right," said Zak, a little too quickly.
"But everyone always say that aliens aren't real either," said Ben insistently. "But I can prove that – "
"Okay, I think that's enough of that," said Max swiftly. "Now, Ben, this is a fishing trip, not a monster hunt. Let's just enjoy a nice relaxing boat ride and maybe we'll reel in a good haul for lunch."
The young Tennyson boy glowered at his grandfather, stomped to the back of the boat, and took a seat with his arms crossed in a loud huff. Trixie watched the Omnitrix-wielder throw his tantrum until he noticed the look that Drew was throwing at her son. It looked like she was silently scolding him for talking too much. And then there was exchange of concerned expressions between Max and Doc near the front. That all but confirmed what Trixie was thinking: they were hiding something.
The Tennysons and the Saturdays traveled further into the deepest parts of the lake, both sides seeming to be very deflective and defensive since their discussion of whether or not the Krakken existed. Ben continued to argue that the Krakken was real and that he had seen it last night, though it seemed like Max and the Saturdays were trying to block it out. Though whenever Ben mentioned the lake monster, Trixie noticed, the Saturdays seemed to become physically agitated, especially Zak, who looked like he wanted to say something but couldn't. Grandpa Max and Doc Saturday also seemed to be spending a lot of time up front, whispering to each other so the children couldn't eavesdrop on them. It was all so suspicious and the Krakken seemed to be at the center of it, whether it existed or not.
They were reaching the edge of the cove where the lake opened into the ocean when Doc noticed something out of place and stopped the boat. The Tennysons and the Saturdays leaned over the edge of the boat, trying to see why they suddenly stopped moving. A row of buoys tied together with police tape cut off the lake from the outer waters.
"What in the name of Tesla?" said Doc in confusion. "That shouldn't be there. What's going on?"
"It looks official," said Max. "Maybe we should turn back."
"We have permission from the government to examine this lake," argued Drew. "Something else is going on around here?"
"Research vessel, stop where you are!"
The Tennysons and Saturdays looked off to the side as another ship pulled up alongside theirs. It looked similar to the boats used by the coast guard with a giant logo on the side with the initials F.O.F. The three men onboard the ship were in bluish-green jumpsuits with the same logo on their chests and the one at the bow – possibly the leader – had short brown hair with a goatee.
"I am Jonah Melville, the founder of Friends of Fish," said Jonah. "We've closed this section of the lake for an environmental study. You'll have to turn your boat around."
"I'm Doctor Saturday and we've also come to examine the lake for research purposes," said Doc, staring down Jonah suspiciously. "Our research is being authorized by the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Who gave you permission to quarantine the lake?"
"That would be the boys back in Washington," said Jonah with a cocky grin. "If you'd like, I could bring you the paperwork later in the afternoon, but for now you're going to have to turn back."
Doc glared at Jonah, clenching his fist like he wanted to punch him in the face, but quickly calmed down when Drew placed a hand on his broad shoulder. Doc looked to his wife for a moment and sighed in defeat, walking back to the ship controls and starting the engines up again. Zak growled angrily at Jonah and Ben watched the scene in disbelief.
"Wait, that's it? We're just giving up?" Ben complained. "But what about the Krakken?"
"The Krakken?" Jonah repeated with an amused chuckle. "Not that old fish story. Look, I'm a marine biologist, and anybody who tells you they've seen a monster in this lake is casting without a hook."
"Just because you haven't seen it doesn't mean it isn't real!" snapped Zak, much to the amusement of Jonah and his partners when they walked back under the deck. Zak crossed his arms and scowled. "They think they know everything when they don't."
"You believe in the Krakken too?" Ben asked hopefully. "Have you ever seen it?"
"I've…seen a lot of strange things," said Zak, purposely avoiding the topic.
Zak walked to the back of the boat to join up with his parents while Ben and Trixie shared suspicious looks with one another.
With great reluctance, Doc Saturday turned his research vessel around and followed Jonah's boat back towards the harbor. You could visibly see the frustration rolling off of him in waves; Doc was not one who enjoyed being derailed in the middle of his work, nor did any of the Saturdays – Zak in particular looked like he could burn Jonah's boat with a glare. But during their course, something on the Saturday's radar pinged and Drew rushed over to the machine in the blink of an eye. A single dot was flying across the screen at an incredible rate.
"We've got incoming!" shouted Drew.
Ben, Zak, Trixie, and Max leaned over the side of the boat before Drew joined them, staring at the water behind them. A fin breached the surface, cutting a path through the water.
"Is that the Krakken?" asked Ben.
The fin dripped back underneath the murky waters and the Tennysons and Saturdays waited in silence for something to happen. Eventually, the boat rumbled underneath their feet and everyone could see the silhouette of something three times bigger than the Saturday's ship, much too larger to be anything natural. The shadow slipped underneath the research vessel, knocking them around by the residual waves, and moved swiftly towards the inlands.
"It's headed for the docks!" shouted Drew.
"Gwen/Gwendolyn!" Max, Ben, and Trixie said in unison.
Back on the harbor, Gwen Tennyson let out a contented sigh as she swung her legs back and forth over the edge of the docks.
It had been a full thirty minutes since she had to deal with freaky aliens, mutated monsters, or just Ben in general – that must have been a new world record. A small part of Gwen…okay, a large part of Gwen wished she could spend more time away from her dweeby cousin and the freak shows that seemed to follow him. Although, admittedly, her summer wouldn't be half as exciting without him and the Omnitrix, but even she needed some alone time.
"Ah, finally, a little sun" said Gwen, taking a deep relaxing breath. "And with my big-mouthed cousin nowhere in sight, I can just lay back and relax."
She tilted her head back and closed her eyes, taking in the peaceful sounds of the lapping lake waves. Unfortunately, the sweet musical sounds were overwritten by an annoyingly loud horn just off the shore. Gwen grimaced and looked out into the lake, spying two boats coming ashore, one of them belonging to the Saturdays.
"Ugh, again. How many times does that doofus think I'm gonna fall for this?" Gwen complained
Just when she thought her cousin couldn't get any more annoying, the water suddenly rose up and a massive beast emerged from the lake, casting an imposing shadow over the redheaded Tennyson. Gwen had to tilt her head all the way back just to see the beast with its leathery green skin, its mouth of golden teeth, and the two tube-like tentacles coming out of the side of its jaw.
Before Gwen could even find the wits to so much as scream, the Krakken fell forward and smashed the docks underneath its weight. The pedestrians that had been standing on the docks were thrown into the water, including Gwen. The redheaded girl coughed violently when she breached the surface and turned slowly in the water, biting back a panic cry that threatened to leave her lips.
"That not Ben…," muttered Gwen fretfully.
Back on the Saturday's boat, Drew was watching the lake monster through her binoculars as it gave a fearsome roar.
"Looks like we found our Krakken," said Drew, lowering her binoculars. "Doc, see if you can pull us in closer."
"Already on it," said Doc, spinning the boat wheel until they were pointed at the beast.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" asked Trixie.
"We won't be able to help it without getting close to it," answered Zak.
"You wanna help the Krakken?" said Ben aghast. "What about those people?"
"We won't be able to reach them in time," said Doc seriously. "Ben, can you turn into one of those aliens in the Omnitrix before the Krakken turns them into chum?"
"Wait, how'd you know about the Omnitrix?" asked Ben in surprise.
"We'll explain later," said Max, turning his grandson around by the shoulder and looking him straight in the eye. "Right now, someone needs to save those people, and you're the only one that can do it."
Ben wanted to argue with his grandfather and understand just how much the Saturdays knew about the Omnitrix, but the Krakken's roar made him bite his tongue. The young Tennyson boy threw himself over the side of the boat and landed in the water with a splash. Ben activated the Omnitrix and turned the dial until he reached the silhouette of the Polar Manzardill.
"Arctiguana is gonna chill you out!" said Ben confidentially. But when he slapped down the core and exploded into the green light, he found out that he wasn't a Polar Manzardill, but a Citrakayah. "What gives? I said Arctiguana, not Fasttrack! Stupid watch!"
"I keep telling you not to slam down on the core!" yelled Trixie indignantly. "Why don't you ever listen?"
Ben couldn't argue back – not because he couldn't think up an excuse; he was Ben Tennyson for cry out loud. No, he was too busy watching the group of innocent bystanders paddling away from the Krakken, including Gwen.
"Well, here goes nothing," said Fasttrack.
The Citrakayah started paddling as fast as his powerful arms could push him, which was still pretty fast considering he was being slowed down by the current. Fasttrack kept pushing faster and faster without noticing that he was steadily climbing out of the water until he was treading along the surface. When he realized this, Fasttrack nearly lost his balance from the shock, but quickly straightened himself and stayed focused on keeping himself above level. Once he finally got the hang of this water running thing, Fasttrack sped up and zoomed across the lake in record time.
No matter how hard Gwen tried to paddle, the Krakken cut through the water like a knife and was on top of her within seconds. The lake monster reeled its head and snapped its teeth over the redheaded girl, but a blur of blue motion zoomed through at the last second and snatched Gwen out of the water. The first thing Gwen did was take many deep breaths, trying to control her rapidly beating heart, then looked gratefully up at her Citrakayah savior. Everything moved so fast that Gwen only realized Fasttrack had brought her back to the shore when he set her down safely in the sand.
"You okay?" asked Fasttrack.
"I think so," said Gwen, albeit a little shaken. "Thanks for the save." Fasttrack nodded as a response and zoomed back into the water, but not before splattering her with wet sand. So much for gratitude. "Hey, you did that on purpose!"
Fasttrack zipped back and forth through the water; picking up the straggling pedestrians as the Krakken's webbed hands loomed over their heads. The lake monster looked confused when the humans suddenly started disappearing when the blue blurs passed over them, its brain slowly processing that the strange cat-like creature it spotted earlier had something to do with it. But while Ben was zooming around saving lives, Jonah and his Friends of Fish group seemed more interested in self-preservation.
"Get us out of here!" shouted Jonah.
The crewmen pushed their ship to turn at full speed just as the Krakken pulled another boat out of the water. The Krakken noticed Jonah's ship fleeing, emitted an outraged shriek, tossed the boat over the side, and dived down to chase after them.
The Krakken easily caught up to Jonah's boat and emerged in the middle of their escape route. The lake monster slammed one of its tentacles into the water, creating a large wave that nearly knocked their boat over and forced Jonah and his accomplices to cling to the guardrails for dear life. The Krakken approached the Friends of Fish boat and raised one of its webbed hands –
"Hey, Krakken, over here!"
The lake monster turned its head at the noise as the Saturday's research vessel drove between the Krakken at Jonah's boat. Zak stood on the bow of the ship with his mother standing behind him far enough to not intimidate the Krakken, but close enough to be able to jump to Zak's aid if needed. Doc stood back behind the wheel while Grandpa Max pulled Trixie back by the shoulders to keep her away from the monster.
For a moment, Trixie considered using her connection to the Omnitrix to access one of the aliens and freeze or burn the monster to death, especially when it stared Zak directly in the eye. But then Zak retrieved something from his pocket that looked like a hawk's foot.
The skunk-haired kid raised the hawk's foot in the air, mysteriously stretching its talons, and a faint orange glow appeared not only around the claw, but in Zak's eyes as well. Zak and the Krakken exchanged gazes until the same orange glow appeared in the Krakken's eyes as well. Whatever he was doing, it seemed to be calming the lake monster down as its body became noticeably relaxed. When they were no longer under threat of attack, Drew walked up behind her son and asked:
"Do you know what's wrong with her? Why she's suddenly attacking people?"
"She feels…angry…and upset," said Zak with a slight hesitation in his voice like he was reading something difficult. "She's looking for something…she lost something – no, something was taken from her. She's very mad and wants it back."
"And how do you know that?" asked Trixie, looking genuinely horrified. "Are you using…m-m-magic?"
"Shush, I'm trying to concentrate!" Zak retorted, grimacing as his connection with the monster started to weaken. "I think I can see what she wants. It faint…but I think I can make it out. It looks like a – "
But before Zak could get a good look at whatever was inside the Krakken's head, Fasttrack suddenly zoomed in and punched the lake monster cleanly across the face. The Krakken fell back into the water with a thunderous splashed, breaking Zak's connection with the beast, while Fasttrack zipped safely back on the boat. Zak gapped in horror, and then glared at the Citrakayah.
"You idiot! I almost had it!" yelled Zak. "Why'd you have to do that?"
"That's a weird way of saying thanks," said Fasttrack, exchanging glares with Zak.
"Uh, guys!" yelped Trixie, pointing off to the side.
The Krakken emerged on the opposite side behind Jonah's boat and roared even angrier than before (no thanks to Ben's poor sense of timing). The massive water beast leaned in close to the front of the Friends of Fish's ship as its tentacles grabbed either side of a tarp and ripped it apart, revealing a crate marked CANNERY. The Krakken started to drag the crate over the edge of the ship.
"No, you don't!" yelled Jonah.
The founder of Friends of Fish threw himself against the crate and tried to drag the box back into the boat, which seemed very pointless considering the Krakken was at least fifty times stronger than he was.
Seeing that the man was about to be pulled overboard, Fasttrack make a quick trip to the Friends of Fish's boat and zipped up to the Krakken's tentacle. He pounded the lake monster's appendage with a blurred barrage of punches and kicks, doing a surprising amount of damage to the point where the monster's tentacle started to show early signs of bruising. When the numbing pain finally started to kick in, the Krakken released its hold on the crate and pulled back; Jonah and the crate where tossed unceremoniously across the deck.
The Krakken roared with great fury as it dived forward for the boat, but Fasttrack intercepted the lake monster at the bow, striking it with another set of blurred hits in the underside of its jaw. With one final punch to the mouth, the Citrakayah was able to knock the Krakken onto its back and watched it sink into the depths of the lake. Fasttrack watched the bubbles touch the surface until they stopped and the Krakken did not emerge for another attack.
The Citrakayah sigh in relief, flapping his hands. Hitting that Krakken, while impressive, was a very painful experience; it was like trying to punch a solid steel wall with bare knuckles.
"Thanks for the hand, stranger," said Jonah appreciatively as he came up to the alien hero
"What was so important in that crate that you'd risk your life for it?" Fasttrack questioned, glaring at the man.
"Um…our lunch," said Jonah lamely.
"You almost got munched for a few sandwiches?" hissed Fasttrack.
There was no way he was dumb enough to believe such a sad excuse for a story. After just staring down a Krakken – which he now confirmed without a shadow of a doubt was real – he could honestly say that there was something they were trying to keep from him and that the Krakken was somehow involved. But before he could interrogate the men any further, the Krakken's tentacle suddenly jumped out of the water, grabbed the crate, and pulled it into the lake. Fasttrack approached the edge, ready to dive in after them, when he heard the Omnitrix beeping in his ear.
"Uh-oh, sorry, gotta run!" Fasttrack apologized quickly before he took off, leaving behind the stupefied men. He made a direct course for the Saturday's research vessel as the countdown timer beeped faster. "Almost there…. I think I'm gonna make it – "
He didn't. The Omnitrix timed out and Ben returned to his normal human form in a flash of red light while still going at Fasttrack's full speed. The young Tennyson boy bounced across the water surface like a skipping stone until he splashed only a few feet away from the ship. Ben came back up to the surface practically coughing up a lung when a hand reached out to offer assistance. Ben looked up and saw Zak smiling, although it a somewhat teasing sort of way.
"Need a hand, dude?" said Zak.
"Thanks, dude," said Ben appreciatively, accepting the hand and being pulled aboard. Trixie came up behind him and threw a towel over his shoulders, but Ben's mind was more preoccupied with something else. "What happened to the Krakken?"
"It got away," said Doc, watching the water beast slither under the waves through his binoculars. "But I get the feeling that this won't be the last time we see her. She wants something, which means she'll be back."
"And just how do you know all this?" asked Trixie. For the first time since they've known her, the human Omnitrix looked frantic with her eyes bulging and her fingers getting tangled in her hair. "What was that thing? Why is it in the middle of the lake? Why do you three know so much about it? How did Zackery do that – that thing with the claw? Was he using m-m-magic?" Trixie seemed to reach her limit as she screamed at the top of her lungs: "WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?!"
The Saturdays seemed to take Trixie's outburst in stride, like they were accustomed to people reacting like this. Doc shared a look with his wife and son, who seemed clueless on how to proceed, and then turned to Max hoping for an answer. The elderly Tennyson looked solemn as he placed his hands on Ben and Trixie's shoulders, and then slowly nodded. Doc sighed and scratched his head.
"Since you're all involved now," said Doc, "I guess you deserve to know everything."
The Tennysons and the Saturdays had gone back to the Rust Bucket later that day when the sun started to set over the horizon. When they were walking back, they had noticed dozens of packed vehicles taking the road out of the harbor town – it seemed like the Krakken's attack had terrified almost everyone away from the lake, and for good reason.
Inside the Rust Bucket, Trixie was passing around warm beverages (coffee for the grown-ups and hot cocoa for the kids). Ben, Gwen, and Zak were sitting around the table while Max, Drew, and Max sitting in the front of the RV.
"So let me see if I understand this correctly," said Gwen, taking a quick sip of her cocoa. "You three are part of a secret organization of scientists called the Secret Scientists – kind of on the nose, by the way – and you specialize in the area of Cryptozoology?"
"That's right?" Doc nodded.
"And that Krakken thing out in the lake is one of those cryptids you've been studying," Gwen continued. "But now that Krakken lost something and its attacking people trying to look for it."
"Seems like that's the case," said Drew nonchalantly.
"And the reason you know this is because Zak has some freaky magic claw that lets him see into cryptid's heads," said Gwen, looking at the skunk-haired boy.
"That about sums it up," said Zak, looking almost proud of the fact.
"Okay, it's official, you're all completely nuts!" yelled Gwen.
"Now keep an open mind, Gwen," said Max calmly. "I'll admit, I was skeptical at first too."
"How did you even meet these people, Maxwell?" asked Trixie, gesturing to the Saturdays.
"Well…," said Max reminiscently. "It happened way back before any of you were born, during my days as a Plumber. I had just gotten a call to come down to Brownsville, Texas when I met Doc chasing a Chupacabra that had managed to slip past to boarder and was running amok with the local cattle. Well, long story short, Doc and I handled the situation and we've been good friends ever since. So when that Omnitrix got stuck on your arm, I knew I had to make a call to Doc to see if maybe one of his Secret Scientist friends could help."
"We have Dr. Beeman working 'round the clock to figure out just what that thing is," Doc promised, taking a quick glance at the Omnitrix. "But right now, we have more pressing matters to worry about."
"Yeah, like figuring out what's got the Krakken so bent out of shape," said Zak. "I bet you anything that those Friends of Fish guys are somehow involved. I just don't trust them."
"The Krakken did go out of its way to attack their ship specifically," said Drew, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "It even went through all the effort of stealing one of their crates. Something fishy is going around and it's not in the water."
"We'll go back down to the lake and see if we can have Zak bond with the creature again," said Doc. "Maybe if try to communicate with it, we can figure out why it's so upset and work our way from there."
"Aw yeah, I am all over this!" said Ben excitedly.
"No, Ben, you're staying right here," said Max firmly. "We should leave this to the Saturdays. They're the experts here."
"Experts?" Ben scoffed, holding up the Omnitrix into view. "Who better to snag a lake monster than the guy with the monster buster on his wrist?"
"The Krakken isn't a bad cryptid!" said Zak defensively. "She's just trying to protect what's hers!"
"That's enough, Ben," said Max with a tone of finality. "The Saturdays will take care of the Krakken. This will just have to be the one that got away, son."
"That's not fair!" Ben whined.
"Stinks to be you," Zak taunted him.
The wielder of the Omnitrix growled under his breath, almost tempted to go Rath on him and throw him into the lake with his Krakken. But instead, the young Tennyson boy pushed himself out of his seat, stomped into the back of the Rust Bucket, stepped into the bathroom, and slammed the door behind him. Zak leaned back in his seat, looking mighty smug, until he noticed his parents leering at him, and shrank down underneath the table. He really needed to learn to keep his big mouth shut.
Later that night after the Saturdays left the Rust Bucket and started heading down to the lake, the rest of the Tennysons were getting ready to turn in so that they could leave early in the morning. Strangely enough, Trixie realized as she slipped on her sleeping gown, Ben hadn't come out of the bathroom since his tantrum earlier.
The human Omnitrix tilted her head back and peeked into the rest of the Rust Bucket where she found Gwen hammering her fist into the bathroom door repeatedly, looking agitated.
"Come on, Ben!" Gwen complained. "What did you do? Fall in?"
Trixie walked up to the bathroom door next to Gwen, scratching her head briefly before she turned the door handle; Ben forgot to lock it. She threw the door open and realized that the bathroom was completely empty. And on top of that, there were tiny hand and footprints climbing up the wall and out through the small open window. Gwen and Trixie shared a knowing look and groaned in unison – they already knew where he was headed.
The Saturday's research vessel glided silently across the water – one of the many perks of having super genius scientist friends who knew how to operate advance machinery.
They were quickly approached the point where they had seen the Krakken and cryptozoology family scanned the scene with caution. Doc kept his place at the helm, his one eye watching the lapping waves for any sign of movement, while his wife stood on top of the boat roof peeking through a pair of binoculars in every direction. Zak was at the bow of the ship clutching the falcon claw, closing his eyes in concentration and slowly moving the ancient artifact like a divining rod. After several minutes without any reaction from the claw, Zak frowned.
"I'm not sensing her anywhere," Zak informed his parents.
"Well, stay on guard," said Doc. "We mapped out the Krakken's regular hunting patterns via sonar and can determine that it must have a shelter or a roost in this area. We should prepare in case she decides not to be a friendly host. Drew, did you remember to pack my battle glove and your fire sword for the trip?"
"What kind of woman do you take me for?" said Drew teasingly. She jumped down from the roof, landed on deck, and kneeled down to one of the orange crates in the back. "I put them in here before we cast off. We should have any problems with – " she lifted the crate open and her eyes went wide with shock " – uh, Doc, I think we have a problem!"
Hearing the urgency in Drew's voice, Doc and Zak rushed to the back of their research vessel and peeked inside the crate expecting to find some dangerous monster, but instead they found…Ben?
"Uh, first mate Tennyson reporting for duty…sir?" said Ben, waving and chuckling nervously.
"Ben, what are you doing here?" asked Drew, lifting him out of the crate with one hand. "Your grandfather told you not to get involved. This is very dangerous."
"So is wrestling alien predators and punching out T-rexes, but I still do it," said Ben. While Doc and Drew gave him a blank stare, Zak whistled, impressed by Ben's short list of accomplishments. "Look, I'm not trying to get in the way. I just wanna help."
"That's all well and good, Ben," said Doc, not noticing that his wife was digging around through the crate again, "but this isn't a game. We are trained professionals armed with the most advanced combat gear on the planet. We can handle things well enough on our own."
"Uh…maybe not, Doc," said Drew hesitantly, coming back up. "Your Battle Glove and my Tibetan Fire Sword are missing."
"Those things?" Ben piped in. "I left those back on the dock – they were giving me a serious cramp in the back." Doc, Drew, and Zak's mouths all dropped as one, stupefied. "What?"
Doc slapped himself in the face, sliding it down and letting out an exasperated sigh. There was no point in lecturing Ben since they were already this far out in the water, and they didn't have the time to go back to the docks to retrieve their weapons, so the one-eyed man just walked back to the wheel without a word. Doc's silence alone was enough to tip off Ben that the cryptozoologist was none too thrilled with him being here, but Ben wasn't too worried – he'd get over it eventually. Besides, they totally needed his help, they just didn't realize it yet.
After treading along the water, Doc parked the boat directly on the edge of the cove somewhere close to where they first spotted the Krakken. While Doc was checking the many sonars and monitors, Drew was helping secure Zak into an orange scuba suit.
Seriously, what's the deal with these people and orange, Ben wondered. Green is a way more awesome color.
"The Krakken's probably been chased deep into the lake after what happened this morning," said Doc. "Since we don't know what it was that drew her out of her natural habitat in the first place, the best alternative is to confront the Krakken ourselves."
"Great, where's my suit?" asked Ben eagerly.
"Oh no!" snapped Drew, standing at full height and peering down at Ben with an authoritative 'Mom Glare'. "You're still in trouble for stowing away and for removing our gear without permission, so you are going to sit quietly and wait until we're done. And even if you weren't in trouble, Zak is the only one that can go. The Hand of Tsul-Kalu allows Zak to form a mental link with the Krakken, so it's better for everyone if he goes alone as not to startle it."
"I'll tell you how awesome it was," said Zak, laughing.
The youngest Saturday pulled down his mask, put on his rebreather, and fell backwards into the water. Ben frowned in disappointment…which soon turned in a mischievous grin as he tapped the button on the Omnitrix.
Zak waded through the field of seaweed and pushed through a school of fleeing fish, taking in the surrounding waters.
Ever since he was a little boy, his parents had the most unusual method of raising Zak, including teaching him how to scuba dive at the age of five. Zak had been deep sea diving for such a long time that nothing caught him by surprise, not even when a shadowed piece of seaweed floated past his goggles – he only shook his head and pressed on.
He dived deeper into the wreckage of the boats from earlier this afternoon when he noticed something that seemed out of place among the splintered wood and metal. He touched down on the surface of the destroyed boat and eyed the object in wonderment. It looked like a fish egg, only bigger and fleshy looking. Underneath the egg were pieces of what looked to be from a wooden crate…
But while the skunk-haired boy was occupied by the massive egg, something zipped through the shadows behind him. Though he didn't see whatever it was, he could still hear the water shifting around behind him, which made Zak subtly reach for the Hand of Tsul-Kalu tied to his waist. Just as the creature came up behind him, Zak spun around and held out the Hand of Tsul-Kalu with his eyes and the claw glowing orange. The creature jumped back, waving its arm in surrender, and, to Zak's surprise, speaking English.
"Whoa, whoa, easy there," yelped Jetray. "Watch where you're pointing that thing."
"Ben?" said Zak surprised, lowering her talisman. "What're you doing here?"
"There's no way I'm gonna let you have all the fun while I'm in the timeout corner," said Jetray childishly, gliding past Zak and eyeing the egg. "Whoa…you could make a really big omelet with that thing."
"It's a Krakken egg," said Zak knowledgeably. "That must have been why she's been acting out lately; she's trying to protect her eggs."
"Hey, wait a minute," said Jetray, noticing the word CANNERY written on one of the wooden planks underneath the egg. "This was the crate the Krakken took from Jonah's boat. Either that thing took it to make a nest – "
"Or Jonah isn't as friendly to fish as he says he is," Zak concluded in agreement. He touched the side of his mask, which surprisingly came with a built-in radio. "Mom, dad, we found out why the Krakken's been attacking people." But he was met with silence in return. "Mom? Dad? You there?"
But once again, the youngest Saturday only received complete silence from the other side; something was wrong. Zak looked to Jetray for help; the Aerophibian nodded understandingly
He zipped around behind ZAK, grabbed him by the underarms, and zoomed towards the surface faster than what would normally be recommended. They breached the surface within a few seconds (Zak threw off his mask and rebreather) and noticed that there was a second boat parked right next to the Saturday's research vessel. It looked heavily fortified and armed with a mounted turret like a military vehicle. Jetray was about to speak when Zak slapped his hand over the Aerophibian's mouth and pressed a finger against his lips, signaling him to stay quiet; Jetray nodded mutely.
Zak and Jetray silently waded over and pulled themselves up to the edge of the Saturday's boat. Doc and Drew were standing together on the bow with their hands up, glaring furiously across the deck to a group of men in diving gear pointing semi-automatic rifles at them. This time it was Zak that gasped and Jetray that slapped a webbed hand over his mouth and an awkward digit to his lips. While the invaders didn't seem to hear the soft noises, Drew and Doc certainly did. They glanced out of the corner of their eyes subtly as they spotted the kids, but made no move to acknowledge them in fear that these pirates would take notice.
"You really shouldn't have come back here," said the leader. "Don't you know this lake is dangerous?"
"Could have fooled me," said Drew sarcastically.
"What do you want?" Doc questioned them. "We're just researchers. We don't have anything worth stealing."
"Oh, you have us all wrong, doctor," said the leader. "You're exactly the kind of person we need right now. We want all the information you have, including what you saw down there."
"We haven't even put on our dive suits yet," said Drew. "We don't know what's down there."
"But you have a kid with you," said the leader. "Where is he? Did you send him down to look?"
"No," said Doc immediately, trying hard not to look in Zak and Jetray's direction. "We decided it was too dangerous to bring him out on the lake since that monster showed up. We left him back in town."
"Well, that's too bad," said the leader darkly. "I feel sorry for the kid, having to grow up without his parents."
And without a hint of warning, the leader reeled back his fist and pounded Doc across the skull, dropping him instantly on the deck. Drew gasped horrifically, kneeled next to her husband, and tried to shake him awake. One of the goons walked up behind her and knocked her out with the butt of his rifle, draping her over Doc. With both of the Saturdays out for the count, the leader removed his mask and revealed himself as the so-called Friends of Fish's founder, Jonah Melville.
Jetray growled, but was not surprised after they found the crate in the bottom of the lake. The Aerophibian charged up his neuroshock blasts and started to climb out of the water when Zak suddenly pulled him back by his tail and away from the boat. Jetray turned on Zak, leering.
"What are you doing?" hissed Jetray.
"You can't just rush in there," said Zak in a hushed voice. "They have guns. Someone could get hurt."
"I can take them out before they even scratched me," said Jetray confidently.
"What about my parents, huh? Think you can get to them before he puts a bullet in their heads?" Zak challenged the Aerophibian; Jetray wisely closed his wide mouth. "Those are my parents and I want to save them even more than you do, but we can't just go rushing in without a plan. First thing we have to do is figure out where there going – "
"Take the lovely couple with us," said Jonah as his goons started carrying the Saturdays onto their boat. "Find out if they know anything back at the cannery. We'll come back later with a mini-sub for the rest of the eggs."
"Well, that was easy," said Jetray.
"We'll leave a tracker behind so we know where to go," said Jonah, tossing a beeping device into the water and watching it dive into the depths. He stepped back onto his own ship, but not before tossing something that looked dangerously like a detonation device onboard the Saturday's research vessel. "In the meantime, it looks like their boat was lost at sea."
Ending with that remark, Jonah and his crew of assailants drove away just moments before the Saturday's research vessel exploded, sending bits of wood and metal flying into the lake. Jetray quickly jumped on Zak and pulled him into the water (Zak took a deep breath first) as the debris started to fall on top of their heads. Thankfully, the Aerophibian's swift speed got them away from the blast radius in less than two seconds. The unlikely pair steadily climbed up to the lake surface, gliding on top of the water until Jetray pulled them out and they were gliding over the water.
"Okay, what now?" asked Jetray.
"We need to get back to your grandpa and get help," said Zak. "My dad always said that if we ever ran into trouble on the lake, I should go to Max Tennyson."
"Well, we're in luck, we're almost there," said Jetray, spotting the Rust Bucket parker on the shore of the lake. Unfortunately, the Omnitrix started to beep.
"Uh, what's that sound?" asked Zak.
"Aw man, not again," Ben complained.
Back on the shore, Gwen was looking out to the lake with a pair of binoculars as Max and Trixie came back from the woods. They were hoping that they were wrong and that Ben had just gone off somewhere to mope, but that was just wishful thinking.
"Any sign of Ben or the Saturdays," asked Max.
"Not yet," answered Gwen drearily.
They looked about ready to give up hope of finding Ben when the all too familiar buzzing of the Omnitrix's deactivation sequence reached their ears. They looked up just in time to see Jetray carrying Zak, who looked to be wearing a diving suit, when the Omnitrix timed out and Ben reverted back to his human form. Both boys screamed and flailed their arms frantically as they started falling. Luckily, they just happened to fall on top of the Rust Bucket's awning and bounced safely off the canopy onto the ground. Ben had the unfortunate business of being on the bottom of the pair.
"Ugh, I hate it when that happens," groaned Ben.
"That goes double for me," moaned Zak.
After picking themselves up and getting Zak out of his wetsuit, the group of five went back inside the Rust Bucket – Trixie once again passing around mugs of warm chocolate to the boys. Gwen, meanwhile, was busying herself on her laptop the moment they explained Jonah Melville's attack and kidnapping.
"And the Krakken's nest was full of eggs," Ben finished his story. "No wonder she's been attacking everything. Jonah must be stealing her eggs."
"And I think I know who Jonah is," said Gwen, drawing everyone's eyes on her. "I did a little checking on Friends of Fish and found out its not listed on any environmental website, but I did find this." She turned her laptop around, showing a webpage with Jonah's picture plastered on the front "Jonah Melville isn't a friend to any kind of wildlife. He's wanted all over the world for pouching rare animals, crating them up, and selling them to private collectors. The FBI has been after this guy for years."
"And it looks like Krakken eggs have become his next target," said Trixie. "We've got to return those eggs."
"And find my parents," said Zak. "They said something about going back to a cannery."
"Well, there's only one nearby cannery," said Gwen, tapping her computer again. "It's on the other side of the lake. We should call the police to tell them where to find Jonah and his fishy crew." She added, already pulling out her phone – which was really weird considering she broke it in Washington.
"And meanwhile, we need to figure out a plan on how to save Zak's parents without getting them shot," said Max.
"Actually, I might have an idea on that one," said Trixie, smiling confidently. "But it's gonna need a little coordination from everyone."
Over at the cannery, an overhead crane pulled out an autonomic mini-sub from the lake with Jonah sitting behind the controls. The animal poacher held the Krakken egg delicately in the machine's mechanical arms as the crane brought him around to the docks. One of his henchmen was dragging a container with another Krakken egg inside while the third shoved Doc and Drew Saturday – both of them bound him ropes – with the butt of his gun; Doc was really starting to get annoyed with that guy.
Once the mini-sub was close enough to the dock, it handed off the Krakken egg to his minion while Jonah pulled himself out from the back. The henchman nearly toppled over from the sudden weight of the egg.
"Careful, you idiot," said Jonah threateningly, "or you'll be cleaning up the world's most expensive omelet." The minion lurched the egg inside the container to join its twin and closed the lid, sealing them inside. "After we sell these babies to the highest bidder, we'll be kicking back on a beach in the Bahamas."
"Is that before or after you go to jail for life?" said Drew, leering.
"You people are sick," said Doc disgustedly. "What kind of monsters sell off endangered animal infants."
"The filthy rich kind," said Jonah, chuckling at his own joke. "Now pipe down or you'll be sleeping with the fishes – pardon the cliché."
While the poachers were feeling confident in their chances OF get away with it, they were unaware of Zak and the Tennysons stopping underneath the cannery in a spare boat that the Saturdays kept with them. Max parked the boat next to a ladder that led to the building above and started to climb with his granddaughter, but Ben and Zak stayed behind. Trixie, on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen.
"You remember the plan, right?" asked Max.
"You guys look for the eggs and my mom and dad," said Zak. "We'll take care of those Friends of Fish fakers."
"I hope Trixie is ready," said Gwen. "This whole thing relies on her being here."
"Don't sweat it," said Ben confidently, activating the Omnitrix's core. "Let's go kick of bad guy tail."
Ben once again turned the dial to the Polar Manzadill like earlier today, but this time he decided to not slam down on the core like Trixie advised and just pressed down on it gently instead. To his immense satisfaction, it worked. The Omnitrix exploded into a flash of green light and Arctiguana in all his stunted glory appeared next to Zak, giving the skunk-haired boy a thumbs-up.
The Polar Manzadill leaned over the edge of the boat and started to take a deep breath when the water suddenly pushed up from underneath them. Zak and Arctiguana were thrown out of the boat and into the lake – or at least they would have been if Arctiguana hadn't used his breath to make a slab of ice to land on. Both of them barely managed to cling to the slipper surface and looked up to see the Krakken for only a moment before it slammed its head through the underside of the port.
Up above, Jonah and his crew spUn around as the Krakken smashed through the floor and let out a furious roar the moment its eyes fall on its precious eggs. Doc and Drew tried to back away, hoping to escape while everyone was distracted, but the henchmen were more attentive than expected and held them in place with their rifles. Jonah in particular looked very happy to see the lake monster.
"The bigger the Krakken, the bigger the payday," said Jonah.
The head poacher rushed back and climbed into his miniature sub while his henchmen fired off their rifles at the Krakken, only to realize that their bullets couldn't penetrate the beast's leathery skin.
One of the henchmen shoved the Saturdays and fled back inside the cannery while their partner was forced to stay behind. The Krakken pulled its full body through the harbor, slapping the remaining henchman with its tentacle into the water, and reached for its eggs. Jonah suddenly swooped in using the mini-sub's crane, grabbed the egg container, and hoisted himself up out of the Krakken's reach. The Krakken stretched itself out to grab him, but Jonah used the Mini-sub's weapon to drive the Krakken back to the eng of the pier, dangling one of its feet over the edge.
Jonah pressed forward with his attack, his eyes widening madly as the sea beast curled in on itself, when the attached gun suddenly…stopped.
Gapping in shock, Jonah saw that his mini-sub's weapon was suddenly encased inside a thick block of ice. The Krakken noticed Jonah's ceasefire and started to attack when its eyes suddenly glowed orange, becoming unnaturally calm despite the situation.
The crazed poacher blinked in confusion, then looked down and spotted Zak standing in front of the Krakken holding out the Hand of Tsul-Kalu – both of them were glowing with the same orange aura. Before Jonah could even consider his next move, Arctiguana pounced from out of nowhere and latched himself to the front of Jonah's mini-sub, his breath frosting the window
"You wanna mess with a monster?" spat Arctiguana. "Try me on for size."
Arctiguana turned and started climbing along the machine's mechanical arm to reach the Krakken eggs. Jonah turned the other arm around and aimed its other wrist-mounted weapon, only for the Polar Manzadill to flash freeze it with a short breath, much to the poacher's charging. Arctiguana breathed on the joint where the hand and the arm met and had no trouble tearing the two from each other when it was frozen in ice.
Arctiguana jumped after the eggs when they started to fall, but the ever-defiant Jonah smacked him across the face, throwing the Polar Manzadill off course and resulting in the egg container smashing on the floor. The two Krakken eggs rolled out to the edge of the port, resting precariously over the edge.
Inside the cannery, Max and Gwen cautiously peeked around the corner and creeped along the wall – Max was taking a more sensible approach while Gwen looked like she was trying not to step on anything. Max peered around the edge of the door and found the Saturdays being forced into one side of the room by one of Jonah's minions.
"You two stay right there and don't move," said the minion threateningly. He then set aside his semi-automatic and reached for a much larger gun resting on the wall. "Yeah…this oughta do some real damage."
"I hope that Krakken chew you into chum," said Drew belligerently.
"Drew, don't threaten the guy with the big gun pointed at our heads," said Doc, grimacing.
"Looks like we found them," Max whispered to Gwen. "Now it's up to Trixie to do her part."
"Where is she?" groaned Gwen.
"Hey, you!"
Somehow, for an unexplainable reason, the other minion that had been slapped into the lake somehow came up from a trap door in front of Max and Gwen and just happened to be carrying a pistol at the time.
Before Jonah's goon could get the chance to pull the trigger, Max was already on him and ripped the gun out of his hand with a twist of the wrist. Once the minion disarmed, Grandpa Max grabbed the lackey by the collar of his dive suit and flipped him over his shoulder, slamming him down on his back. The minion groaned weakly and passed out. Gwen looked at her grandfather in awe, surprised that he was able to move so fast for his age and take the guy down without even trying. So when the elderly Tennyson man realized his granddaughter was staring, Max rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
"Uh…those aerobic workouts really do the trick, huh?" said Max.
"Don't move!" Max and Gwen spun around; they forgot the other henchman and his really big gun. They both raised their hands in surrender and the minion shoved the Saturdays to stand next to them. "Jonah said he wanted to keep you alive for bait, but he never said all of you. So, which one do I shoot first? The little girl or the old man?"
"Trixie, if you're out there, now would be a really good time to save the day!" yelled Gwen.
The minion laughed at the notion that anyone would come to save them, that was until he felt something around his ankle and looked down. A pair of small hands was clinging on to him…while they were passing through the floor! The next thing anyone knew, the minion was pulled through the floor while his gun clattered on the floor – they heard a muffled splash through the floorboard.
The Tennysons and the Saturdays looked at each other questionably when a small ghostly figure phased through the floor and hovered a few inches off the ground. It was Trixie, except her hair was mixed with shades of black and gray and her eyes were a deep shade of purple with black cracks around the edges. If anyone were to ask, Trixie's current form made her look slightly…psychotic, especially with that creepy grin.
"I think I found a new appreciation for Ectonurites," said Trixie in a faint, whispery voice.
"Are you two all right?" asked Max as he and Gwen untied the Saturdays.
"We've been better," answered Drew.
"Where's Ben and Zak?" Doc asked urgently.
"They're outside calming down the Krakken," said Gwen. At that exact moment, the Krakken's roar rang throughout the cannery. "Doesn't sound like they're doing a good job."
Zak couldn't keep the Krakken under control for long. It had been docile while Arctiguana fought off Jonah, but when its eggs broke free of the container and the mother saw its offspring, it started to fight against the skunk-haired boy. And when both Arctiguana and Jonah started rushing for the eggs, Zak's control completely waned; the lake monster slapped Zak into the water with its tail and chased after its offspring as well.
At first, it seemed like Jonah would be the one to reach the Krakken eggs, but the lake monster's tail swept over, snatched the eggs off the plank, and nestled them securely in its fin.
"My eggs!" yelled Jonah.
Jonah hoisted the crane to charge at the Krakken without realizing that Arctiguana had latched itself onto the back of his mini-sub. The two collided with the Krakken, knocking the cryptid's eggs from out of its fin and dunked them into the water.
"They're not your eggs!" said Arctiguana.
The Polar Manzardill kicked off Jonah's mini-sub, going into a jackknife dive, and snatched the eggs in its large arms before slamming into the water. Jonah growled in frustration as he released the winch and dropped into the lake right on top of Arctiguana just as he started to surface. The Polar Manzardill unwillingly let go of the eggs as Jonah's mechanical arms punched him in the back of the head, pushing him deeper into the water. Ben was thankful that Arctiguana could breathe underwater or he would have been in serious trouble after that first punch.
"Rescuing babies, very heroic," scoffed Jonah, punching Arctiguana back and forth across the face. "But not very smart."
With one final punch straight between the eyes, Arctiguana fell deeper into the lake in a daze while Jonah curved around to collect the Krakken eggs.
Arctiguana blinked, holding his head, and shook the delirium out of his head. He glared up at the fleeing poacher, but knew that his current form wasn't suited for swimming, so he tried the next best thing. The Polar Manzardill turned around so that his back was facing Jonah, took a deep breath, and heaved as hard as he could. Though his breath only came out as bubbles because his freeze breath wasn't as powerful underwater, the pressure behind the breath was enough to send Arctiguana zooming through the water like a torpedo.
Arctiguana caught up to the poacher in no time and latched himself on the back of Jonah's mini-sub. The frustrated poacher tried spinning around to knock him off, but Arctiguana held on and climbed further up the machine's body. The Polar Mazardill climbed over the mini-sub's window, kicked off the glass, and tackled the eggs out of the Jonah's hands. Arctiguana secured the eggs within his own arms and started to take a deep breath when the Krakken suddenly showed up and slapped him away with one of its tentacles, forcing the freeze lizard to drop the eggs.
The mother Krakken grabbed its offspring and started to swim away, but Jonah was quickly on the mother's tail and Arctiguana soon followed behind using his breath to launch himself again.
When Jonah was within range of the Krakken, his miniature sub's arms created a pulse of sound. While the sound was silent to humans, it seemed to cause the Krakken a great deal of pain as it clutched the side of its head, trying to cover its unseen ears. Jonah zoomed in and snatched the creature's eggs from out of its tentacles and took off.
Just when he was finally gonna make a break for it, Arctiguana suddenly appeared and tackled him from the side, catapulting them to the lake bed where they – by pure coincidence – crashed into the remains of the Saturday's sunken research vessel.
Arctiguana had the robot pinned underneath him briefly, but then Jonah suddenly flipped them around and started to choke the life out of the Polar Manzardill. Arctiguana tried to pry the mechanical hand slowly strangling his esophagus, but his current form wasn't suited for hand-to-hand combat.
Luckily, he managed to spot a chain leading to an anchor and wasted no time grabbing it. With a sharp tug, Arctiguana slammed the anchor across the mini-subs window, before wrapping it around the machine's arm and pulled until it was crushed like an empty soda can.
With Jonah's miniature sub permanently disabled, Arctiguana snatched up the eggs and used his breath to propel himself away, just as the mother Krakken appeared and started chasing after him. The Krakken looked positively livid, which was completely understandable given after everything it had been through today, but Arctiguana knew he needed to get the job done.
It took a lot of breath control and lung capacity, but Arctiguana eventually managed to reach the nesting point he and Zak discovered during their deep-sea exploration. The Polar Manzardill touched down on the lakebed just as the Krakken appeared over the ledge and bared its golden teeth on the tiny ice lizard. The mother beast was about to chomp down on Arctiguana's head when the Polar Manzardill did something it had not been expecting: it returned its eggs, gently and safely, inside its nest.
Arctiguana slowly padded away from the eggs, locking eyes with the Krakken. The cryptid stared between its returned offspring and the creature that had brought them back. It was then at that moment that the Krakken knew he was a friend.
Unfortunately, the peace between the alien and the cryptid didn't last as Jonah started zooming in from above. Though both of his mechanical limbs were broken, the poacher seemed dead set on retrieving those Krakken eggs, which would ultimately be his downfall.
The Krakken's eyes swerved on the evil and slammed its tentacles on either side of the miniature sub, holding it in place before ripping the machine apart like it was made of wet paper. Jonah was now alone without any protection, but that didn't seem to stop him. The maddened poacher whipped out a knife strapped to his leg and stabbed the Krakken, but the weapon snapped in half on the cryptid's skin. The poacher realized his mistake too late as the Krakken howled with fury and started to stretch its mouth over the human…until it suddenly pulled back.
Jonah, wondering why he wasn't fish food now, opened his eyes and saw Zak floating between him and the Krakken, both of their eyes glowing and the boy holding out the Hand of Tsul-Kalu.
No one knew what it was that Zak had said to the Krakken, but the lake cryptid became noticeably calm and swam away from Jonah, returning to the security of its eggs. With the Krakken appeased, Zak turned back to Jonah, who smiled nervously and shrugged his shoulders as if trying to say it was no big deal.
Zak glared at the poacher, reeled back his fist and – Lights out.
The police arrived roughly a few minutes after everything that went down at the cannery, where they had found Jonah and his crew floating on the water in a cell made of ice. By that time, the Tennysons and the Saturdays had made themselves scarce.
They were standing on the docks opposite of the cannery, watching the police from a distance as they called in for some ice picks and read the poachers their Miranda Rights.
"Good riddance to bad rubbish," said Max.
"With Jonah Melville and his men locked up, the Krakken should be less aggressive from now on," said Doc, turning to Max to shake his hand. "It was an honor working with you again, Max."
"The honor was all mine," said Max sincerely.
"We should totally do this again," said Zak, bumping fists with Ben.
"Yeah, like a superhero team-up," said Ben excitedly. "My aliens and your cryptid powers, we totally make an awesome team. Don't you think, Trixie?" When the human Omnitrix didn't answer, everyone looked around and realized she wasn't with the group. "Uh, Trixie? Where'd you go?"
The Rust Bucket's door cracked open slightly and the green-haired girl poked her head out, wearing a pot on her head and wielding a soup ladle, pointing her weaponized utensil at Zak.
"You stay as far away from me, you…you…magic thing!" shrieked Trixie.
Trixie zipped back inside and slammed the door behind her. Drew and Doc laughed, Max and Gwen scratched their heads in confusion, and Zak and Ben snickered and fist bumped again – they would make an awesome team.
In my personal headcanon, all of the classic Cartoon Network shows (Dexter's Labratory, Powerpuff Girls, Ed, Edd, n' Eddy. etc.) all live in the same shared universe. And with the Krakken being a cryptid, it was the perfect opportunity to introduce the Secret Saturdays to the Ben 10 universe. This idea was inspired by Red's Akko series, so expect to see many more crossovers in the future
You all might be asking why Zak doesn't have his Claw upgrade. When doing research, I realized that Zak was 11-13 during the Secret Saturdays, but was 16 by the time he appeared in Omniverse, which is the same age as Ben. So by the time of the original Ben 10 series, Zak would be 10 years old, which puts him before the Secret Saturdays series.
I also thought this would be a perfect opportunity to show Trixie's aversion to magic. It's not that she's afraid of magic specifically, but Trixie has a great fear for anything that can't be explained by scientific logic, hence why she avidly tries to avoid people like Zak. This also makes for an interesting development between her and Gwen when she starts learning magic.
Next Episode: Going Nowhere