Chapter 25: The Chase 2
Max and Gwen arrived at the rust bucket, finding Fred already waiting for them. They quickly jumped in, and soon after, the rust bucket took off. Max activated the tracker that Fred had made. "That's odd," Max said, puzzled. "If Ben went alien, as you said, Gwen, he should have timed out by now."
The tracker, designed similar to the drones used by Vilgax, detected the signal from the Omnitrix when it was activated. It would normally show Ben's last location when he was kidnapped, but the signal was still moving, indicating Ben was still in alien form.
"Then maybe something's wrong with Ben's watch," Gwen suggested, concern lacing her voice.
"But at least that's good for us. Besides, Grey Matter is Ben's smartest al— Never mind," Fred said, cutting himself off.
"I've got it!" Fred exclaimed suddenly. "Since Ben's location has been stationary in that building for a while now, I tried hacking into it. The person who kidnapped Ben contacted an organization called The Forever Knights. They're xenophobic psychos who want to rid the world of aliens but rely heavily on alien tech to do so," Fred explained.
"If Ben is still in his alien form, then..." Gwen said, her face saddening.
"Nothing will happen to him. We're going to make it in time," Max assured her. He looked at Fred, who morphed into a purple Upgrade and merged with the rust bucket.
"Seat belts on," Fred said as seat belts fastened automatically on Max and Gwen. The rust bucket sped up like a rocket, blitzing through the road.
"Ahhhh!" Gwen screamed, holding on tightly. Not long after, the rust bucket came to a screeching halt. Fred demerged with the vehicle.
"Did we make it?" Gwen asked, staggering out and feeling dizzy. She took a deep breath of fresh air. "Remind me to never let you drive again," she muttered.
"Let's not waste any more time," Max said, leading them to the building where Ben was held. He pointed his bracelet at the door; a tiny laser popped out and cut through the doorknob. Max then kicked the door open with unexpected force.
"Whoa, looks like Grandpa's got some skills," Gwen remarked, impressed.
Max signaled Gwen and Fred to follow him. Fred went ghost, making the others invisible and intangible as they moved silently. They heard a cat making noise in the kitchen and went to check it out.
"Ben!" Gwen called out softly.
"Huh, Gwen! Is that you?" Ben responded, looking around but not seeing her. He thought he was hearing things.
"Bad kitty," Fred said, shooting a green beam that encased the cat in an ectoplasm cage.
Max reached out and touched Grey Matter, making him invisible and intangible too. "Ben, we're here to save you," Max said.
Ben sighed in relief, resting on Max's palms. "Am I glad to see you guys," he said.
As they made their way out, the kidnapper returned. "What! What happened?! Noooo!" he screamed, finding only his cat.
"What's happening? Why are you still alien?" Gwen asked once they were back in the rust bucket.
Max didn't waste time, taking off immediately. As the rust bucket sped away, it passed a black-tinted car pulling up to the kidnapper's house.
"It seems we made it in time," Fred said.
"Anyway, let me check it out," Fred said, changing into Grey Matter and hopping on the table where Ben sat. "Oof, what a mess," he muttered, inspecting the Omnitrix. "For now, I'll only stabilize..." he murmured as he fixed the watch. "There," he said, pressing the face of the Omnitrix on Grey Matter's back, turning Ben back to normal.
Fred then returned to his regular form. "Ben, what you did was pretty reckless. I expect you to handle that watch more responsibly," Max admonished.
"I... I know, Grandpa," Ben replied, looking downcast.
"I know he's a kid, but..." Fred thought, shaking his head.
"How did you even let yourself get captured like that? Isn't Grey Matter supposed to be smart?" Gwen asked.
"That guy just popped out of nowhere," Ben protested. "And besides, what's being smart got to do with this?"
"Well, for starters, you gain access to master control much faster as Grey Matter," Fred thought but kept quiet. "What's more concerning is the malfunction. I know it's still incomplete, but this might make it more dangerous," he said.
"Wait, what?" the others asked in unison.
"What?" Fred responded, confused.
"You said incomplete," Gwen and Ben repeated.
"Well, yeah. Although it might not look like it to you, when I was fixing it, I deduced that this is just a prototype, if I may say," Fred explained.
"Whoa, really?" the others exclaimed.
Meanwhile, in a darkened room, a mysterious figure spoke into a tablet. "Howell is useless now. Get rid of him. These four, on the other hand, they might have something to do with our little friend's disappearance. I want you to gather as much information about them as possible. Leave no stone unturned," he commanded, images of Max, Fred, Ben, and Gwen displayed on the screen.
The rust bucket pulled up to a quiet spot, the peaceful surroundings a stark contrast to their recent chaos. As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting a warm glow over the landscape, the gang began preparing to rest for the night.
"Fuwuu, I'm beat," Ben sighed, leaning back into his seat, exhaustion evident in his voice.
Gwen looked over at him, her eyes filled with concern. "It's been a long day, hasn't it?" she said softly.
"Yeah, no kidding," Ben replied, rubbing his eyes. "I never thought being a hero would be this tiring."
Max, patted Ben on the shoulder. "Get some rest, kiddo. Tomorrow's another day, and we'll need all the energy we can get."
The night deepened, and one by one, they drifted off to sleep, their dreams filled with the day's adventures and the challenges yet to come. As the rust bucket stood silent under the starlit sky, a sense of calm finally settled over the team, a brief respite before the next storm.
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