Chapter 3: When the Rent is Due
The early morning sun cast long shadows as the Tennysons finished packing their luggage. Under Grandpa Max's watchful eye, they loaded the last of their bags into the Rustbucket, ready to set off for their next destination.
"Finally done!" Ben exclaimed, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow. He threw his hands up in triumph. "I am so ready to kick off this awesome summer road trip!"
…
In another part of the city, the same pale yellow sunlight filtered through the grimy windows of a rundown apartment building. A portly, bald man huffed as he reached the top of a flight of stairs, standing before a heavily bolted door.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"Hey, Animo, open up!" the man wheezed, rapping his knuckles against the wood. When no answer came, he grumbled and pulled a key from his pocket.
With a protesting creak, the door swung inward.
The landlord stepped inside, his nose immediately wrinkling in disgust. The apartment was a disaster zone—dilapidated, dim, and damp, with the only light coming from the slivers of sun forcing their way past the grimy panes. The air was thick with the sour, acrid stench of uncleaned animal enclosures. A cacophony of squeaks, croaks, and chirps echoed from the shadows.
"Ugh, what is that smell?" the landlord muttered, clamping a hand over his nose and mouth. "Smells like a zoo in here."
"How did you get in?" a voice rasped from the darkness behind him.
The landlord spun around to see a man with a wild, tangled mane of white hair. His skin, from a long-term lack of sunlight, had a waxy, almost translucent pallor that barely seemed human.
"With a key. I'm your landlord, remember?" the portly man said, his annoyance overriding any fear. He was used to Dr. Animo's unnerving appearance. "You haven't paid rent in six months, Animo."
"All my funds are dedicated to my research!" Animo screeched, his eyes wide with manic energy. "Get out! Do not disturb my experiments!"
"You were already disturbed long before I got here, buddy," the landlord shot back, planting his hands on his hips. "Listen to me, Doctor. Pay the rent, or you and your menagerie are out on the street!"
"Animals?" A strange, twisted smile spread across Animo's face. "Yes… you like animals." He reached for a bizarre, antlered helmet and placed it on his head.
The landlord stared, then let out a snort of derisive laughter. "Pfft! Hahahaha! What is that thing? Are you the president of the weird hat club?"
"This," Animo declared, his voice ringing with theatrical pride, "is my Gene Mutator, the first-stage prototype! It can accelerate the genetic evolution of any animal. Watch closely!"
He snatched a small frog from a nearby terrarium and set it on the floor. Tapping a control on his wrist, he activated the helmet. The antlers crackled to life, arcing with crimson energy that lanced down and struck the frog. The creature began to twitch and swell, its croak deepening into a guttural roar as it expanded at an alarming rate, quickly filling the cramped room.
"Ah—ah—AHHH!" The landlord stumbled back in terror, but it was too late. The giant frog's mouth gaped open and shot forward, engulfing him whole.
"Hahahaha!" Animo cackled, pointing a trembling finger. "Why is your voice so strange? It sounds like you have a frog in your throat! Hahahaha! Or perhaps… the opposite is true!"
SPLAT!
The frog unceremoniously spat the landlord out onto the floor. Drenched in saliva and shaking with fear, the man scrambled to his feet and fled without a second glance.
"Just a few more parts," Animo muttered to himself, his eyes gleaming. "And I will finally be able to reclaim what is rightfully mine!"
Just then, a commercial flickered to life on a dusty television in the corner. An announcer's cheerful voice filled the room: "Here at Mega Mart… you can find everything! Whatever you want, we have it!"
Animo's head snapped toward the screen. "That's it! That's the one!"
…
At the Mega Mart that claimed to have "everything."
Grandpa Max pushed a shopping cart down the aisle, with Klein, Ben, and Gwen trailing behind him. He picked up a can of pickled octopus, a thoughtful look on his face.
"You know, I can only ever seem to find these here," he mused, tossing the can into the cart. "I was beginning to think their slogan was just for show."
"A Sumo Slammers Gold Card!" Ben's eyes lit up as he spotted a special edition cereal box. He immediately broke away from the group, making a beeline for the prize.
"Well, Grandpa, I'm gonna go browse over there," Klein said, already knowing where this was headed. He'd been on enough of these shopping trips to recognize the inevitable detour to the pet food aisle. He had no desire to witness that again.
"Alright, meet us at the checkout counter later," Max said cheerfully. "Come on, Gwen, let's go take a look at the pet section." He steered the cart in the opposite direction.
"Grandpa, I was going to…" Gwen started, intending to follow Klein, but the destination snapped her back to reality. "Wait! Grandpa, you're not thinking of buying tomorrow's breakfast there, are you? Please don't be mad, but can we just eat something normal for once? Not, I don't know, roasted mealworms or something?" She hurried after him, determined to stage an intervention for the sake of their collective palates.
…
"This one? Or this one? No, maybe this one!" Ben grumbled, holding a box of cereal in each hand. "Ugh! Which one of you has the Sumo Slammers Gold Card?!" he shouted at the uncooperative packaging.
A sudden crackle of static drew his attention. He glanced over at the electronics department, where every television screen had simultaneously dissolved into a fizzing black-and-white pattern. Faintly, he could hear the distant sound of screaming.
BOOM!
The entire wall of televisions exploded outward as a giant frog smashed through it. The wild-haired man from the apartment leaped off its back, strode confidently into the electronics aisle, and plucked a component from a shelf.
"Hey! Put that down!" Ben yelled, his hero instincts kicking in. He had a feeling this guy wasn't planning on paying.
"Don't bother me, kid!" Dr. Animo snarled. At his command, the frog's long, sticky tongue shot out at Ben, who barely managed to dive out of the way. Seeing his attack miss, Animo ignored the boy and rode his amphibian steed deeper into the store.
'Damn it! If only I had the watch…' Ben thought, clenching his fists. He had never wanted the Omnitrix more than in that moment. But even without it, he wasn't about to let this lunatic get away. His sense of justice took over, and he broke into a sprint, chasing after the villain.
…
In the pet aisle, Grandpa Max and Gwen were in the middle of a heated debate over the culinary merits of dried squid. The sounds of distant chaos made them both pause.
Suddenly, Dr. Animo rounded the corner on his giant frog. With another flash of red light from his helmet, he zapped a hamster and a parrot in a nearby display, causing them to swell to monstrous proportions. The giant hamster fixed its beady eyes on Max and Gwen and began to lumber toward them.
"Get behind me," Max ordered, pushing his granddaughter behind him as he slowly backed away.
Ben arrived just in time to see the massive rodent cornering his family. He frantically scanned his surroundings for a weapon, anything to help. His eyes landed on a soda machine, and an idea sparked.
Just as the hamster reared up to attack, Ben chucked a can of soda, hitting it squarely on the head. "Hey, you stupid mouse!" he taunted. "Come and get me if you can!"
The hamster roared and changed targets, lumbering after Ben.
What followed was a chaotic chase through the supermarket. Ben weaved through aisles, sending displays of canned goods and toilet paper crashing to the floor. Finally, he scrambled up a tall shelving unit and, using all his body weight, managed to tip it over. The heavy metal cabinet crashed down, pinning the giant hamster beneath it.
"Heh! See?" Ben panted, grinning to himself. "Even without the watch, I can still be a hero." His moment of triumph was cut short as a massive, warty shadow fell over him. He looked up just in time to see the giant frog leaping directly at him. "Uh oh. I'm toast."
FWOOSH!
A thick pillar of fire erupted from the side, engulfing the frog in mid-air. The creature dropped to the ground with a heavy thud, its charred body smoking and emitting the distinct scent of cooked meat. It wasn't getting back up.
"Ben," a voice crackled like burning embers. "Ever had charcoal-grilled bullfrog?"
A figure wreathed in fire, his body a mosaic of crimson, magma-like rock, stood a short distance away. Ben had never seen this alien before, but the glowing blue emblem on its chest was unmistakable. It was his cousin's Omnitrix symbol.
A wave of relief washed over him. "Klein!"
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