Orchid Bay, California, was a picturesque little coastal town that reminded the Tennysons a lot of San Francisco, just quieter and less crowded. The sea breeze carried the smell of saltwater through the air, seagulls flew overhead, and the sound of crashing waves mixed with the distant chatter of tourists and families spending time in the park.
The Rust Bucket was parked near Orchid Bay Park while the family stopped for lunch before continuing their trip north toward San Diego.
Ben, Gwen, Evan, Orfevre, and Gold Ship occupied one of the many picnic tables scattered throughout the park while waiting for Grandpa Max to finish preparing lunch.
Ben was leaned back in his seat, completely absorbed in the newest level of Sumo Slammers Smackdown on his handheld console, his tongue sticking out slightly in concentration while his thumbs mashed buttons at rapid speed.
"Come on, come on, yes! Combo attack!" Ben celebrated quietly before immediately groaning. "Aw, what?! That totally hit him!"
Across from him, Evan and Orfevre were locked in an arm wrestling contest.
Their hands trembled violently in the middle of the table as both siblings pushed harder, refusing to give the other even an inch.
"You're cheating," Orfevre accused while gritting her teeth.
"You say that every time you start losing," Evan replied, also gritting his teeth.
"I'm not losing." Orfevre shot back, tightening her grip.
"You literally are." Evan replied with a smirk.
Gold Ship sat beside them with her legs crossed on the bench, casually twisting a Rubik's Cube while watching the arm wrestling match like it was live entertainment.
"Five bucks on Oru," she said.
"You don't even have five bucks," Evan replied without looking away from the match.
"That's why it's called emotional support gambling."
Meanwhile, Gwen sat at the far end of the table with her spellbook open in front of her. She had been quietly practicing magic ever since their future adventure, clearly taking things more seriously now.
Resting in front of her was a simple glass of water.
Gwen carefully reread the spell instructions three separate times before taking a deep breath and holding her hand toward the glass.
"Diluvium Impetus!"
For a moment, absolutely nothing happened.
Gwen frowned, then suddenly, the water exploded upward like a geyser, the powerful spray blasted across the entire table.
Ben nearly dropped his game system while jerking backward. Evan lost focus long enough for Orfevre to slam his arm into the table in victory. Gold Ship immediately ducked behind Evan like he was a human shield.
"What the heck, Gwen?!" Ben shouted while trying to protect his console from getting soaked.
"My hair!" Orfevre yelled.
"Easy five bucks," Gold Ship added from cover.
Water continued spraying everywhere while Gwen panicked and slapped both hands over the top of the glass. The geyser immediately stopped.
"Oh thank goodness," Gwen sighed in relief. A second later, a thin stream of water suddenly shot sideways through her fingers and smacked her directly in the face.
Gwen sputtered, then quickly grabbed the cup and flipped it upside down onto the table.
Instead of spilling out, the water inside strangely spun in circles like a tiny whirlpool trapped inside the glass.
The table went quiet for a moment.
"Way to go, doofus," Ben said as he shook his head like a soaked dog.
"What was that for?" Evan asked while slicking his soaked hair back.
"At least warn us next time before summoning a tidal wave," Orfevre said while using Evan's jacket to wipe herself dry.
"Hey!" Evan protested. "Use your own clothes!"
"No. You're like a living dryer anyway."
Gold Ship slowly peeked out from behind her brother. "I thought we were under attack."
Gwen crossed her arms defensively. "Magic is hard, okay? It's not like having a magic alien watch that instantly gives you powers whenever you want them."
"Using those powers properly is another issue entirely," Evan pointed out.
"Exactly!" Ben said before pausing. "Wait, whose side are you on?"
Before the argument could continue, Grandpa Max finally approached carrying a large tray filled with steaming bowls.
"All right, enough chaos for one afternoon," Max said warmly. "Lunch is ready."
He began handing bowls out one by one.
Evan accepted his without much concern. At this point, he could probably eat almost anything Max cooked.
Gold Ship looked excited as usual, somewhat intrigued, and wanting to try out her grandpa's dishes.
Orfevre wasn't enthusiastic, but she didn't argue; she wasn't much of a picky eater.
Ben and Gwen, however, immediately looked suspicious. Experience had taught them that whenever Grandpa Max confidently claimed they were "really gonna like this," it usually meant something horrifying was floating inside the bowl.
When Max placed the dishes down in front of everyone, their fears were immediately confirmed. Inside the bowls was a thick brown soup with a large chunk of meat sitting in the center.
Ben stared at it cautiously. The meat stared back somehow.
"…Okay, I give up," Ben said slowly while pointing at his bowl. "What exactly is this supposed to be?"
"Boiled cow tongue soup," Max answered proudly before taking a huge sip. "It's considered a delicacy in Spain."
Ben immediately looked horrified. Gwen poked the meat with her spoon and physically recoiled when it moved slightly in the broth.
"It still looks like it wants to talk," she whispered.
Meanwhile, the Gold siblings were already eating without issue.
"Hm. Not bad," Evan admitted.
"Indeed, the taste is a bit off, but not bad." Orfevre added.
Gold Ship nodded while happily chewing. "Tastes better than the squid eyeball casserole."
Ben looked sick just hearing that sentence.
"There was a squid eyeball casserole?!" Gwen asked in horror.
"You missed it," Orfevre said casually while taking another bite. "Honestly, kinda chewy."
Ben slowly set his spoon down. "I suddenly understand why aliens keep trying to invade Earth."
"Come on, kids," Max said. "It's good for you."
"Grandpa," Ben said carefully, "I'm pretty sure this thing will taste me first."
Gwen forced out a nervous smile. "It looks really... interesting. But I'm actually still full from breakfast, so I think I'll save this for later."
She quickly stood up with the bowl still untouched.
Ben immediately got to his feet too. "You know what? Same. Super full. Extremely full. Might explode if I eat another bite."
The two cousins quickly walked away from the picnic table before Max could convince them otherwise.
As they strolled through the park, Ben let out a relieved sigh. "We barely escaped."
Gwen let out a sigh of relief before agreeing. "Yeah..."
The two continued walking along the pathway near the water while the sounds of the park echoed around them.
That was when the peaceful afternoon was shattered by the sound of an explosion nearby.
A bright yellow magical blast erupted from the upper floor of a nearby building, blowing out several windows as flames burst outward. Civilians screamed in panic and started running away from the area while chunks of concrete and shattered glass rained down onto the streets below.
Smoke quickly began pouring into the sky. Ben immediately shot to his feet, excitement replacing boredom in an instant.
"Sweet!" he said while spinning the Omnitrix dial. "Goodbye zero, hello hero!"
"I'll help too!" Gwen said, already frantically flipping through her spellbook.
Ben slammed the Omnitrix down.
Green light exploded around him.
The large Appoplexian landed heavily on the pavement, cracking the ground beneath his feet as he beat his chest aggressively.
At the same time, Gwen activated a spell circle beneath herself.
Yellow sparkles wrapped around her body as her clothes shifted into her Lucky Girl outfit.
"Let's do this!!" Rath roared loudly enough to make nearby civilians flinch.
The two immediately rushed toward the burning building while emergency sirens echoed somewhere in the distance.
Flames spread across several upper floors as debris continued falling from above.
Then, standing calmly on the rooftop amidst the fire and smoke, a familiar figure slowly stepped out from the shadows.
Hex narrowed his eyes while the flames danced around him. Floating beside him were two ancient spellbooks glowing with magical energy, their pages slowly turning on their own.
His expression immediately soured when he spotted Lucky Girl.
Rath didn't waste a single second.
"LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, HEX!" Rath roared while sprinting straight up the side of the building with terrifying speed. "RATH IS GONNA KICK YOUR MAGICAL BUTT ALL OVER THIS ROOF!"
Hex actually looked mildly caught off guard seeing an orange tiger creature with sharp spikes coming out from his knuckles, charging directly at him up a burning building.
Rath leaped forward with both fists raised.
Hex calmly waved one hand. One of the floating spellbooks suddenly flipped open, its pages rapidly turning by themselves.
A glowing magical barrier instantly appeared in front of Hex.
Rath smashed face-first into it mid-leap. The impact created a shockwave across the rooftop.
"WHAT?!" Rath shouted while flattened against the barrier.
The spellbook pages turned again. A powerful pulse of yellow magic exploded outward.
Rath was launched off the rooftop like a missile.
"RRAAAAHHHH!"
He crashed straight through the wall of the neighboring building, disappearing into a cloud of debris.
Lucky Girl arrived on the rooftop a second later. She quickly opened her spellbook and pointed one hand forward.
"Ignis Iactu!"
A fireball formed in her palm before launching toward Hex. Hex stared at the incoming attack with visible disappointment.
"…That's it?" He flicked his fingers.
The same magical pulse erupted outward again.
The fireball instantly dispersed, and Lucky Girl screamed as she was blasted off the rooftop.
"GWEN!" Rath shouted from inside the destroyed wall.
Lucky Girl tumbled helplessly through the air toward the street below.
Rath immediately burst out of the broken building wall and sprinted across the side of the structure before throwing himself off the edge.
"RATH GOT YOU!"
He caught Gwen midair and tightly wrapped his arms around her. Unfortunately, neither of them had any actual plan for landing.
Lucky Girl looked downward and immediately panicked.
"Ben! BEN!!"
Rath quickly twisted his body around before impact. The two slammed into the pavement hard enough to crack the street beneath them.
Rath took the full force of the landing while Gwen bounced slightly on top of him.
For a few seconds, neither of them moved. Then Rath weakly lifted one clawed hand.
"…Rath… is definitely gonna feel that tomorrow…"
Lucky Girl slowly sat up while wincing. "Ow…"
She looked down at her cousin buried halfway into the cracked pavement. "…Thanks."
"Rath knows," he groaned proudly.
Meanwhile, back on the rooftop, Hex ignored the destruction around him and cautiously scanned the area.
His eyes moved rapidly across the streets below, then the rooftops, the alleys. And even every nearby shadow.
"…Where is he?" Hex muttered under his breath.
Despite overpowering Rath and Lucky Girl without much effort, the sorcerer didn't look relaxed at all. If anything, he looked nervous.
Or more specifically... Paranoid.
His gaze constantly flicked around as if expecting a blue blur to suddenly slam into him at any moment.
Ever since his encounter with Fasttrack, Hex had become painfully aware that speedsters were absolute nightmares to fight against.
After several tense seconds passed without any sign of the blue alien, Hex finally let out a slow breath of relief.
"…Perhaps he isn't here after all." Still, he kept one hand raised cautiously.
The second floating spellbook suddenly opened beside him.
Its glowing pages flipped rapidly as magical energy gathered around Hex's fingers.
"Aperio Portalis."
A circular portal of swirling yellow energy opened beside him.
The flames around the rooftop reflected against the spinning portal while the wind violently whipped his cloak behind him.
Hex gave the street below one last wary glance. Then he immediately stepped through the portal. The gateway snapped shut behind him.
A second later, Rath finally climbed out of the crater in the street while Lucky Girl helped pull him free.
"HEX!" Rath roared while looking upward. "GET BACK HERE SO RATH CAN FINISH PUNCHING YOU!"
Lucky Girl looked up toward the rooftop before groaning. "He escaped…"
Rath crossed his arms angrily. "Coward wizard."
Then suddenly, another section of the burning building gave out with a loud cracking noise. The upper floors partially collapsed inward as burning debris rained down onto the streets below.
Both cousins immediately looked up.
The fire was spreading much faster now, thick black smoke pouring from shattered windows while frightened civilians screamed for help from inside the building.
Some were trapped near the upper floors. Others were stuck behind collapsed hallways and burning debris.
Lucky Girl's expression immediately changed from annoyance to panic. "There are still people inside!"
Rath cracked his knuckles. "Then what are we waiting for?!"
Without another word, both of them charged straight into the burning building.
The inside was complete chaos.
Smoke filled the hallways so heavily that visibility was terrible, alarms blared nonstop, sprinklers malfunctioned overhead, and pieces of the ceiling occasionally crashed down around them.
Lucky Girl quickly covered her mouth with one arm while flipping through her spellbook with the other.
"Okay… okay… water spell, water spell…"
She finally found the page she needed.
"Aqua Iactu!"
A stream of water burst from her hands and slammed into a nearby wall of flames, clearing enough space for several trapped civilians to escape.
"Move! Hurry!" Gwen shouted while waving them toward the exit.
A terrified mother carrying a little boy rushed past her. "Thank you!"
Lucky Girl smiled nervously. "You're welcome!"
A loud crash suddenly echoed from deeper inside the building.
Rath burst through a burning doorway carrying two office workers under one arm while another civilian clung desperately to his back.
"RATH FOUND MORE PEOPLE!"
He sprinted through the collapsing hallway while flames spread across the ceiling above him.
A large beam suddenly snapped loose and started falling toward a trapped civilian. Rath immediately threw himself forward and caught the burning beam with both hands.
"YOU DON'T DROP STUFF ON PEOPLE WHILE RATH IS HERE!"
With a roar, he hurled the beam aside before grabbing the stunned civilian and shoving them toward the exit.
"MOVE YOUR LITTLE HUMAN LEGS!"
Meanwhile, Gwen continued helping guide people out while using smaller water spells to contain parts of the fire. Unfortunately, her magic was still inconsistent. One spell successfully extinguished an entire burning wall.
The next accidentally exploded a water pipe behind her. Lucky Girl yelped as freezing water blasted her directly in the back.
"Okay! Definitely still learning!"
Further down the hallway, Rath smashed through a blocked doorway after hearing cries for help behind it.
Inside were several trapped civilians huddled together in fear. The moment they saw the massive orange tiger alien, they froze.
Rath pointed toward the hallway.
"DON'T JUST STAND THERE! RUN!"
That was enough motivation for all of them to immediately sprint past him. The building groaned loudly again.
Cracks spread across the ceiling.
"Ben!" Lucky Girl shouted from nearby. "The building's getting unstable!"
"RATH KNOWS THAT!"
Another explosion rocked the structure. A nearby staircase partially collapsed, trapping several civilians on the upper floor.
Lucky Girl looked upward in alarm.
"Oh no…"
Before she could react, Rath crouched low.
Then he leaped.
He blasted upward through the damaged staircase levels, smashing through debris while climbing toward the trapped civilians with pure brute force.
Meanwhile, Gwen focused hard and raised both hands.
"Muro Hydro!"
A wave of water erupted outward and temporarily blocked several advancing flames long enough for more civilians to escape.
Sweat rolled down her forehead from the effort. Magic really was exhausting. Especially under pressure.
A few minutes later, Rath finally burst back downstairs carrying multiple civilians at once while another clung to his shoulders.
"LAST GROUP!"
Lucky Girl quickly guided them outside just as another section of the ceiling collapsed behind Rath.
The two cousins barely made it out of the building before the upper floors partially caved in behind them.
Outside, firefighters had finally arrived in force.
Emergency crews rushed around the area while civilians coughed from smoke inhalation and paramedics treated the injured.
Rath set the last civilians down safely while Lucky Girl leaned against a nearby wall, breathing heavily.
"We actually did it…"
The rescued civilians slowly realized everyone had made it out alive. Then cheering started breaking out across the street.
People clapped. Some shouted thanks. Others started recording videos with their phones.
"That tiger guy was awesome!"
"The girl was using magic!"
"They saved everyone!"
Lucky Girl blinked in surprise. For a second, she actually looked proud of herself.
"…Wow."
Unfortunately, that peaceful moment lasted about three seconds.
Because Rath suddenly grabbed Gwen under one arm. "Huh! Hey?!"
"NO TIME!" Rath immediately began sprinting toward a nearby building.
"Wait! Why are we running?!"
"RATH SEES REPORTERS!"
Sure enough, several news vans had already arrived while reporters and cameramen rushed toward the scene.
"Over there! The heroes are leaving!"
"Get the camera ready!"
Rath leaped onto the side of a nearby building and began scaling upward with Gwen still tucked under his arm.
"Ben! Put me down!"
"RATH REFUSES TO BE INTERVIEWED!"
"You literally love attention!"
"RATH HATES QUESTIONS!"
The reporters reached the street just in time to watch Rath leap across another rooftop and disappear into the distance carrying his yelling cousin.
Back near the burning building, one firefighter slowly lowered his helmet visor and stared upward.
"…Did a giant tiger just parkour away with a magician girl?"
Another firefighter shrugged.
"At this point, I'm not even asking anymore."