Chapter 47: The Tennysons Who Made the Forever Knights Homeless
Under the scorching midday sun, the familiar, desolate wilderness stretched out in every direction. Heat waves shimmered above the cracked asphalt, and the occasional tumbleweed rolled lazily across the barren landscape.
The Rustbucket sat parked on the shoulder of the lonely highway, its air conditioning fighting a losing battle against the desert heat. Inside, the Tennyson family was gathered around the dining table for lunch.
Ben and Grandpa Max occupied one side of the booth, while Gwen and Klein sat opposite them. Placed squarely in front of each person was a steaming bowl of unidentifiable green mush, dotted with suspicious, hard-looking lumps.
Ben poked at his bowl with a spoon, lifting a scoop to his mouth. He chewed once, paused, and frowned. "What's crunchy?"
"Dung beetles," Max replied cheerfully, not missing a beat.
Ben and Gwen froze. All the color drained from their faces simultaneously, their expressions twisting into masks of pure nausea. They looked like they were seconds away from throwing up all over the table.
Klein let out a quiet sigh and carefully set his spoon down. "Sorry, Grandpa. I've eaten actual, normal food in my life. I can't go back to the dark ages."
Max looked at his grandchildren's abandoned spoons, his brow furrowing in genuine confusion. "What's wrong? Is it too spicy? Don't worry, your tastebuds will get used to the kick."
Just as Klein was trying to formulate a polite excuse to throw the entire pot out the window, the Rustbucket's proximity alarm blared. The monitor mounted on the dashboard flickered to life, displaying a rotating 3D scan of an ancient, grotesque tribal mask. Klein took one look at it and immediately decided he wasn't a fan of the aesthetic.
"The Mask of Ah Puch!" Max exclaimed, his eyes widening in shock as he stared at the screen.
Ben blinked, still trying to keep his lunch down. "What is that?"
"It's a ceremonial mask forged by the ancient Mayans," Max explained, his tone dropping into a dead serious register. "Legend has it that it acts as a compass to find the mythical Sword of Ekchuah."
Gwen leaned forward, her curiosity overriding her disgust. "The Sword of Ekchuah?"
"A legendary artifact of immense power," Max said grimly. "It's said that a single swing of that blade can level an entire city."
Klein merely raised a skeptical eyebrow. Destroy a city? Please. He could do the exact same thing just by transforming into Atomix, and frankly, a localized nuclear meltdown would be a lot more thorough.
Ben, however, practically vibrated with excitement. "That sounds like the strongest... uh, wait, the second strongest sword a guy deserves to own!"
"Ben, this isn't a toy," Max reprimanded sharply. "The Plumbers have been hunting for that sword for over forty years. I never expected a lead to pop up today, right in our laps. We have to secure the Mask of Ah Puch first, lest it fall into the wrong hands."
Max slid out of the booth and marched straight for the driver's seat. "Get ready, kids. Lunch break is over."
"Alright!" Ben cheered, thrilled at the excuse to abandon the dung beetle stew.
A short drive later, the Rustbucket pulled up near an active construction site. The skeleton of a massive, half-finished high-rise loomed over the dirt lot.
"The Mask of Ah Puch should be hidden somewhere in that structure," Max said, rolling down the window to survey the area. He turned back to the boys, his expression tight. "Ben, Klein. I need you two to transform and sneak in. Find a way to open the doors for us from the inside."
Klein and the others stared at Max in mild shock. It wasn't every day their grandfather actively encouraged them to use the watches, especially considering how often he lectured them about keeping a low profile.
"Why the stealth routine?" Ben asked, tilting his head. "Wouldn't it be faster if we just barged in and wrecked the place?"
Max frowned, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. "I don't have the time to explain the gravity of this situation right now. Are you two going or not?"
Klein turned his head slowly, locking eyes with Ben. "Well, it's decided. I choose you, Dweeb. After all, what's the point of having a cousin if not to handle the manual labor I don't want to do?"
Ben let out a loud, exaggerated groan. "Fine, fine. I'll go."
Klein nodded in satisfaction, fully intending to take a nap, until he felt a heavy gaze on him. He glanced back to see Max staring him down with an uncompromising, authoritative glare.
Klein sighed, throwing his hands up in defeat. "Alright, alright. I'm coming."
Slipping out of the RV and creeping up to the side of the building, Ben slammed his hand down on the Omnitrix dial. In a flash of emerald light, he shrank down into Grey Matter. Without missing a beat, the tiny Galvan scurried up the concrete wall and squeezed himself through an exposed ventilation pipe.
Grey Matter tumbled out the other end of the duct, landing with a soft thud on a tiled floor. He dusted himself off and looked around. It was a half-finished restroom.
A low, menacing growl echoed through the room.
Grey Matter froze. Slowly turning his head, he found himself staring down two massive, rabid-looking guard dogs.
"Who keeps dogs in a bathroom?!" Grey Matter shrieked at the top of his tiny lungs.
The dogs lunged. Grey Matter scrambled backward, his little legs moving in a blur as he desperately tried to find an exit. He darted behind a stack of tiles, but the dogs cornered him, snapping their jaws inches from his face.
Just as he braced for the worst, a chilling, hollow laugh echoed through the room.
"Heh... heh... heh..."
A pale, spectral hand phased straight through the concrete floor and clamped down on Grey Matter's shoulder. The shadows in the room twisted as a terrifying variant of Ghostfreak materialized. Its spectral body was a sickly, bone-white, marred by jagged black fissures. Heavy, rusted iron chains bound its neck and wrists, and a single, unblinking eye stared out from the center of its face. An eerie, phantom-blue Omnitrix badge gleamed on its chest.
Grey Matter gasped in relief. "Cousin!"
The two guard dogs took one look at the chained, demonic apparition, tucked their tails between their legs, and bolted out the door, yelping in absolute terror. "Woof! Whimper...!"
Click.
The heavy steel security door at the back of the building swung open. Ghostfreak floated in the doorway, holding it wide as Max and Gwen hurried inside.
"You took too long," Max grunted, clearly on edge.
Ghostfreak tilted his single eye, looking between Gwen and the tiny Galvan on his shoulder. "What's his problem? It's literally been two minutes."
Gwen and Grey Matter both shook their heads, equally baffled by Max's uncharacteristic impatience.
Max didn't wait for an answer, already jogging down the dimly lit corridor. The group hurried to keep up.
As they moved, Klein tapped his badge, reverting to his human form in a flash of blue light. He casually brought a plastic cup to his lips, taking a long sip of an iced beverage.
Gwen blinked, staring at the cup. "Cousin, where did you get that?"
Klein took another sip, the ice rattling. "I borrowed it from the security room on the way here. Figured since it was completely full, nobody wanted it. Or, you know, they just hadn't had the time to drink it yet. Either way, finders keepers. Want some?"
Gwen stared at the condensation dripping down the plastic cup. Her cousin's lips had just been on that straw. A faint, rosy flush crept up her cheeks, but the sweltering heat won out. She reached out, taking the cup with a shy smile. "Thank you, Cousin." She took a small, hesitant sip.
Ben, having just timed out and returned to normal, watched the exchange with a deeply sour expression. He crossed his arms and muttered under his breath, "Thank you, Cousin. Tsk. Unbelievable."
A few minutes later, Max halted in front of a reinforced steel safe embedded in the wall of a makeshift office. "The Mask of Ah Puch should be locked inside this."
Max turned to look at Klein. No words were needed. Klein stepped up, casually slapping the dial of the Another Omnitrix.
An eerie, phantom-blue light illuminated the dusty room, and Four Arms stood in Klein's place.
The Tetramand cracked his knuckles, stepped up to the safe, and grabbed the heavy rotary dial with two of his massive hands. He planted his feet, gave a casual, brutal yank, and ripped the entire steel door clean off its hinges with a screech of tearing metal. He tossed the heavy door aside like a piece of cardboard.
In another flash of blue light, Klein stood there, reaching into the exposed safe. He pulled out the ancient artifact, turning it over in his hands. "So this is the Mask of Ah Puch? Hmm... gotta be honest, it's pretty ugly."
He stepped aside, tossing it lightly to Max. The older man caught it with reverent hands, staring down at the grotesque carvings. "The Plumbers searched for over forty years... and today, it's finally in our hands."
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Slow, deliberate applause echoed from the shadows behind them.
Klein and the others spun around. "You guys again!" Ben yelled.
Stepping out from the darkness of the corridor was a squad of heavily armed figures wearing medieval metal masks and dark, sweeping cloaks. The Forever Knights.
At the front of the pack stood their leader, his golden helmet gleaming in the dim light. Enoch.
"Max Tennyson. Or rather, Mr. Plumber," Enoch sneered, extending a gauntleted hand. "Hand over the mask."
Max narrowed his eyes, stepping in front of the kids. "You know who we are?"
Enoch let out a cold, bitter laugh. "How could I possibly forget the Tennysons? The very family who made the Forever Knights homeless?"
"Homeless?!" Ben bristled, his fists clenching at the accusation. "What does that have to do with us?! We didn't do anything!"
Klein casually looked up at the ceiling, whistling a silent tune. Yeah, totally unwarranted. It's not like we blew up their entire castle a few weeks ago or anything.
Enoch's grip tightened on his sword hilt, his fury boiling over at the blatant denial. "You hypocrites! Hand over the mask, now!"
"You want a fight?! Fine, I'll give you a fight to the end!" Ben shouted. He slammed his hand down on the Omnitrix.
A brilliant flash of emerald green erupted, and XLR8 stood in his place, his visor snapping down over his face.
"Grandpa, get out of here!" XLR8 yelled, his voice carrying a metallic edge.
Max didn't hesitate. He tucked the mask under his arm and sprinted past the Knights, with Gwen and Klein right on his heels.
"Don't let them escape! Secure the mask!" Enoch roared, lunging forward.
"You're staying right here!" XLR8 shot forward, transforming into a blinding blue-and-black blur.
The kinetic force of his speed shattered the concrete beneath his feet. The afterimage whipped through the ranks of the Forever Knights like a hurricane. Before a single sword could be swung, every Knight in the room was swept off their feet, crashing into the walls and floor in a tangled heap of groaning metal.
With the room cleared, XLR8 zipped out the door, leaving the battered Knights behind.
Enoch was the first to stagger to his feet. He shook his head, his golden helmet dented, and screamed at the few Knights who were still conscious. "Get up! Chase them!"
Outside, XLR8 practically carried Max and the others the rest of the way to the Rustbucket.
Max threw himself into the driver's seat, cranked the ignition, and slammed his foot on the gas. The heavy RV's tires squealed against the dirt, kicking up a massive cloud of dust as it peeled out onto the highway.
In the back, Klein was casually tossing the Mask of Ah Puch in the air and catching it. "So, how exactly do you use this thing? Does it come with a user manual, or do we just ask it nicely?"
Max opened his mouth to warn his grandson not to drop the priceless artifact, but the words died in his throat. His eyes darted to the rearview mirror.
A sleek, heavily armored stretched limousine had just burst out of the construction site, its engine roaring as it tore down the highway directly toward them.
Max gripped the wheel, his knuckles turning white. "Hold on! They're catching up!"
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