Chapter Text
It is often said that some of the most remarkable qualities of heroes are loyalty, integrity, and above all, patience. Lots and lots of patience. And right now, Ben found that patience being tested by some little snotrag in the next car over.
It had been a peaceful drive at first - Max had announced that their next destination was a surprise and refused to say anything else on the matter - but then a car had pulled up alongside them and the child sitting in the back decided to make it his mission to annoy the Tennysons any way he could by making all sorts of odd expressions, all while the parents seemed completely oblivious.
Ben was content to ignore him at first and hoped they’d just pass on by, but for some unknown reason, they remained right by the Rust Bucket’s side. And then the kid took things up a notch by wolfing down a burger and showing off the chewed-up mulch on his tongue.
Retching at the disgusting sight, his gaze turned to his cousin, typing away on her laptop as always - though, if the faint twitching of her eyes were anything to go by, she was quickly reaching her limit too. Not wanting to disturb Max and cause a fuss, the kids could do nothing but sit there and endure the antics of the nuisance outside their window. Ben was so, so very tempted to retaliate in kind, but that would just bring him down to their level. He was better than that.
Sometimes.
“What’re you planning, doofus?” Ben’s attention was drawn to Gwen, who’d flicked her eyes up from her laptop. “You’ve got that look on your face.”
Ben simply let out a small chuckle, holding up the Omnitrix as a devilish grin grew on his face. “I got an idea. Fancy playing along?”
Gwen stared at Ben for a good long moment before mirroring his smirk.
In the next car over, the little brat was starting to get bored. He’d tried everything to annoy that boy and girl in the RV, and while he seemed to score a point with the “seafood special”, they just didn’t even acknowledge him afterward.
And that wasn’t fun at all.
But right as he was about to make one last attempt, which entailed writing a bunch of rude words and a giant butt on a cardboard sign, the boy was suddenly yanked out of sight. He didn’t think much of it at first, but then he noticed the girl's fearful expression.
And then he saw it.
A giant bug monster suddenly loomed over the girl, growling and spewing green slime everywhere, its claws twitching as they grasped her shoulders, and as the creature moved in to devour the girl just as it did the boy, its jaw splitting in two , he screamed in terror. This got the attention of his parents, who both took one look at the bug monster and screamed in fear themselves before their car shot off in a hurry.
Once they’d left the RV in the dust, Stinkfly fell backward on the floor, holding his gut and kicking his legs in the air with absolute mirth, while his cousin barely restrained her laughter.
“What’s so funny back there?” A voice from the front called out.
“Nothing, Grandpa,” Gwen replied, suppressing a few more chuckles. “Just Ben taking a joke and running it off a cliff, as per usual.”
“Hey, funny is funny!” Stinkfly guffawed before two eyestalks faced her. “Besides, hypocrite, you’re laughing too!”
“I’ve no clue what you mean.”
“Well, in any case, you better get up here.” Suddenly, the Rust Bucket shuddered to a halt, the sudden jolt causing Stinkfly to slide up to the front and smack his head on the dashboard. “Oh good, you’re all ready to go. We got trouble up ahead.”
Stinkfly rubbed his head with a pained groan before his eyestalks took in the scene before him. The Rust Bucket had stopped on a bridge, and up ahead, a large box truck had smashed through one of the guard rails and was now dangling precariously over the edge. To make matters worse, the driver was still in the cab.
Without another word, Stinkfly quickly exited the Rust Bucket and zipped over to the truck. By some luck, the guardrail had held together and was currently the one thing keeping both it and the driver from going over, but the loud creaking and groaning told Stinkfly that it wouldn’t hold for long. Picking out a few specific gaps between the truck and the bridge, Stinkfly fired a few globs of slime from his eyestalks, which quickly solidified and stabilized both for the moment, allowing him gently to land on the roof of the cab and tear it open with his stinger.
The surprised trucker took a bit of effort to haul out of the truck, on account of his would-be rescuer looking like something that’d crawled out of a horror movie, but eventually, he pulled it off, and in the nick of time too - the moment Stinkfly took to the air once more, the guardrail finally gave way and the truck plummeted down into the water below. With the driver’s weight causing him to struggle a bit, Stinkfly flew him back over to the bridge and set him down by the gathering crowd, who cheered him on.
“You all good, sir?” Stinkfly asked, but the trucker let out a loud fearful scream and took off faster than the Lepidopterran could blink. “Oookay…”
“Hey!” Stinkfly’s eyestalks turned in the direction of the voice and balked upon seeing the brat from earlier pointing right at him. “That’s the monster that ate those kids!!”
“Oh well, would you just look at the time, gotta fly now, bye!!” Stinkfly quickly took off before he’d outstayed his welcome.
“Well, that could’ve gone better…”
The Tennysons were soon back on the road, now that things were mostly sorted out, and Ben was currently headdesking after realizing his little prank had, for lack of a better term, gone wrong. Gwen drummed her fingers on the desk, and Ben didn’t need to look up to know there was a smug grin on her face.
“Did I, or did I not say that you ran the joke right off the cliff?”
Ben lifted his head, sighing. “You know you fully participated in that prank, right? So why do you assume you’re exempt from cosmic retribution?”
“Because, doofus,” Gwen crossed her arms. “ I’m not the one who, A, can turn into a fumigator’s worst nightmare, and B, came up with the idea to permanently traumatize a kid.”
“Yeah, not exactly my proudest moment,” Ben sighed. “But how the heck was I supposed to know that that guy was gonna cut in front of the truck like that?”
“People tend to do stupid things when scared, doofus. Perhaps you should’ve thought about that.” As always, Gwen has a witty retort, so Ben decided to just end the conversation right there and watch the fields go by as they drove to their destination, Gwen followed a moment later until she spotted a road sign that only fueled her curiosity about their destination more.
“ ‘You’ll have a ball with ‘IT’, ’” she read aloud. “ ‘Next exit.’ ”
“C’mon Grandpa, at least tell us what ‘IT’ is?” Ben pleaded. “A hint, maybe?”
“Ah-ah, no hints,” Max said, his tone giddy and gleeful. “I’ve been planning this stop all summer. You’ll have to wait until we get there.”
The kids stared at each other with a slight hint of frustration but kept quiet and returned their gazes to the window. The dusty fields seemed to go on for ages, until finally, about half an hour later, the Rust Bucket finally trundled to a stop. The old man was practically buzzing with excitement as he hopped out of his seat and made his way to the door, but as the kids got up to follow, Max turned to them with the biggest smile on his face.
“Okay, now I want you both to close your eyes,” Once they did, Max opened the door and stepped out, leading them out and away from the Rust Bucket. “Alright, open ‘em up!”
Their eyes flew open and laid eyes upon the most anticlimactic sight they’d seen so far.
“Welcome to ‘Sparksville’ ,” Gwen read out the large sign above their heads. “‘Home of the ‘World’s Largest Collection of World’s Largest Objects’ ?
“A tourist trap?” Ben turned back to Max. “We drove all the way here for a tourist trap?”
“Oh, c’mon!” Max said, the grin never once fading. “You seem glum now, but I guarantee the pair of you’ll be enjoying yourselves soon!”
Ben raised an eyebrow in doubt, then looked back at the sign. The backdrop of the sign seemed pleasant and sunny as if informing those who read it that they were about to step into a holiday paradise or some kind of extravagant attraction, but looking past that, it was clear the sign was just a front.
The town itself was pretty basic looking at first glance, having such classic small-town locales as a rustic diner, an arcade, and even the ever-popular town hall. Then they noted the giant props bolted onto the roofs of every building, including, but not limited to; a giant hot dog, a giant boxing glove, a giant rabbit head with antlers for some reason, and a giant fishbowl.
In short, everything about the town seemed normal on a surface level, aside from the giant props everywhere, but Ben wasn’t entirely convinced; after all, the last time a town they visited seemed “normal”, they’d ended up in the plot of a sci-fi horror movie. Now, while there seemed to be a lot of younger people around this time, ranging from small children to full adults, there was no way Ben would allow something like that to happen again, so he’d make sure to keep an eye on the old folk, just in case.
Speaking of which, one seemed to be approaching them right now, dressed in a crisp blue suit with swept-back sandy brown hair, and a nametag on his lapel that cheerfully read “Hi! My name is Earl!” This contrasted his blank expression, gazing at the Tennysons with a seemingly boundless supply of boredom and apathy.
“As the mayor of Sparksville, it is my honor to welcome you to our little slice of America, O’ seekers of wonder,” said the mayor in a tone so monotonous that Ben wondered how this man managed to find the will to get out of bed every morning. “Visits to see ‘IT’ begin at two o’clock. Please enjoy your stay.”
And just like that, Earl walked off without so much as a “Take care” or anything.
“...Well, I know you two are super excited to see ‘IT’, so I’ll go check us at the motel. Have a look around in the meantime.” Max handed Ben and Gwen a ticket each and took his leave.
The pair gave one another a shrug before making their way to the empty turnstile that stood below the sign, blocking their access to the town. With no one inside the old booth, Ben rang the bell for service and was met by Earl the Mayor again, who now sported a ratty grey cap on top of his suit.
“Tickets, please.”
Ben blinked in confusion. “...Didn’t you say you were the mayor just now?”
“He who wears the crown is burdened with many hats, son,” Earl took the tickets and partially ripped them, before gesturing with a half-hearted wave for them to pass through. “Go on in, and mind the signs.”
After a quick look at Earl, Ben, and Gwen pushed through the turnstile and entered Sparksville proper. Contrary to their initial thoughts, there were a fair few groups of tourists milling about the area, though, on closer inspection, some looked almost as bored as Earl - Ben surmised these people to be the residents of Sparksville.
Gwen placed her hands on her hips. “So, doofus, where to first?”
“To be honest, I’m not sure,” Ben shrugged. “Maybe we should ask that Earl guy for a map?”
Gwen hummed in agreement, but when they turned back to the ticket booth, Earl was gone, nowhere to be found.
“Oookay, scrap that idea. How about we just wander around this bemusement park and see where the wind takes us until that “IT” thing opens up?” Gwen stared at her cousin, a brow raised, but shrugged.
“Better than nothing, I suppose…”
And so began Ben and Gwen’s jaunt through Sparksville, taking in the sights and generally just trying to pass the time until the much-hyped ‘main event’. They stopped for a quick bite to eat at the diner, home to the “World’s Largest Hot Dog”, which was situated on top of the roof. Non-edible, much to Ben’s disappointment, but otherwise interesting. It was pleasant at first, but then Gwen decided, for some reason, to empty the contents of several condiment bottles on him, which in turn caused Ben to retaliate in kind, before both were asked to leave for inciting a food fight among the other patrons.
Eventually, they ran out of ideas and were now just sitting on a bench in front of a statue of “The World’s Largest Jackalope”, sorting through the various pictures Gwen had taken with a cheap camera she had procured at a nearby gift shop, which surprisingly did not have the “World’s Largest Collection of Knick-Knacks”, though it did have a certain mayor working at the checkout. One that caught her eye was of her and Ben poking their faces through the “World’s Largest American Gothic Cutout” - Max took the pic before taking off to explore on his own - but their heads were little more than the size of a pimple compared to the size of the cut-out hole.
Ben was sitting right next to her, wearing jackalope antlers on a headband, big googly-eye glasses, and a crummy white shirt with just the word “IT” pasted in front in bold red letters, both his items from the gift shop, and replacement for his usual shirt since it was smothered in ketchup, mustard, and all sorts of relishes and condiments, all paid for by Gwen, of course, at his “polite” request.
“So…” He began, sitting back and holding up his fingers. “We’ve visited the “World’s Largest House of Cards”, the “World’s Largest Fishbowl”, the “World’s Largest Mobile Planetarium”, and the “World’s Fifth Largest Collection of Antique China”.” Ben crossed his arms and looked at his cousin. “Is there anything else of interest in this “World’s Largest Snoozefest”, or should we go see “IT”?”
Gwen put her camera in a plastic bag, and leaned back on the bench, staring up at a giant furry chin. “I don’t know. What’s the time on the “World’s Largest Alarm Clock” to say?”
Ben looked down the street to their left at the humongous digital clock sitting on top of the town hall.
“Looks to be about a few minutes to 2. I say we shake a leg and see what all the fuss about “IT” is about.” Ben stood up and stretched his back. “You comin’? I see a sign for it over there.”
“Sure, why not?”
The pair set off on their search for “IT”, until the signs they followed eventually led them to an old, rickety barn near the outskirts of Sparkville. Outside the barn was a velvet rope, and next to that was a ticket booth, with none other than Earl the Mayor/Attendant/Gift Shop Salesman - or whatever he was now - waiting inside. Now he was wearing a sparkly cape around his neck, perhaps in some attempt to seem mystical, though his trademark blue suit and blank look didn’t sell the look.
He exited the booth and stood in front of the entrance to the barn, hands clasped together as if plotting something. “Through these doors lies the weirdest, wildest thing to ever find its way to Sparksville…” Earl’s attempt to sound ominous, if he was even trying at all, was a bit undercut by his empty gaze and monotonous tone.
“So “IT” is inside, right?” Ben asked. His only response was a blank stare from Earl, who unhooked the rope and pushed the barn doors open, which parted with a loud creak into a long dark corridor, illuminated only by candlelight. As Earl led the children through the corridor, they noticed signs across the wall, each reading out messages in big, bold letters.
“Do not touch “IT”,” Ben read one aloud.
“Do not photograph “IT”,” Gwen read another.
“Do not use batteries or electrical equipment anywhere near “IT” ???” The pair read in unison, incredulity slipping into their voices.
Ben faced Earl. “What’s so special about “IT” that no one can even take pictures of it? Isn’t that the whole point of these places?”
Much to his frustration, Earl remained silent as they entered a dark room, again lit only by candles. All that was visible was a pair of purple velvet curtains hiding something from view, and a large plaque hanging from the ceiling that read “THIS IS “IT ””. Stepping to the side, Earl half-heartedly pulled on a large rope, and the plaque rose into the rafters via a set of pulleys, once Ben and Gwen’s anticipation grew to its peak, the curtains drew back agonizingly slow to reveal that the much-hyped “IT” was a far larger anticlimax than Sparksville itself.
Ben’s brow twitched in irritation. “That’s “IT” ?”
“Your ‘weirdest, wildest’ attraction is literally just the ‘World’s Largest Ball of Rubber Bands’?” Gwen asked Earl, who gave her a look as if to say he’d been through this song and dance before.
“Actually, a place in Oregon had the ‘World’s Largest Ball of Rubber Bands’ before it up and mysteriously disappeared. This one ain’t much bigger than that,” He glanced up at “IT” for a moment before adding, “And who knows what secrets lie within …?"
If this whole presentation was meant to mysterize “IT”, it was failing miserably, though the kids couldn’t decide on whether it was due to Earl’s poor delivery, or the fact that their greatest “attraction” was the most anticlimactic thing they’d seen in their lives.
Earl turned to leave. “Stay for as long as you like,” he said before something in his eyes changed. Though his face remained blank, he stared at the kids with a strange intensity that sent a chill down their spines as he uttered a final warning. “ Mind the signs .”
And like that, Earl the Mayor/Ticket Attendant/Gift Shop Salesman/Keeper of “IT” closed the doors behind him, leaving Ben and Gwen alone with “IT”.
Once his footsteps faded out of earshot, Ben finally let loose.
“Are you kidding me?!” He threw his hands in frustration. “These guys are full of “IT”! We got punked!”
“Yeah, it is pretty lame,” Gwen sighed in agreement. “But what’d you expect? This is what places like this do after all.”
“I can’t believe Grandpa was excited about this place,” Ben began walking around the anticlimax that was “IT”, with a strange look on his face. “How much d’ya think they charged him for this?”
“Who knows, doofus? Who knows?” Gwen watched as Ben disappeared behind “IT” for a moment. Then a green flash filled the barn, and four red hands wrapped around “IT” before lifting it high in the air.
“...What’re you doing now?” Gwen asked, grimacing at the devilish expression on the Tetramand’s face.
“Hey, what’s that look for? After these guys ripped Grandpa off, I just think one good prank deserves another, don’t you?” Four Arms grinned widely.
After a moment of considering the possible ramifications, Gwen nodded, a similar expression appearing on her face. “What’d you have in mind? Anything special, perhaps?”
Four Arms squinted his eyes up at “IT”.
“I don’t know… Maybe the “World’s Largest Booger” or something?” He mused, tossing “IT” between one set of arms and the other. Between the antlers and novelty glasses resting on his face, Gwen let out a quick snort at the comical sight.
“Gross, but not a bad idea.” She then gave him a hard look. “Just be careful, don’t drop it or anything.”
“O’ ye of little faith, Gwendolyn,” Four Arms chuckled, though Gwen didn’t seem reassured. “I’ve got four hands and super strength to rival Ishiyama from Sumo Slammers. It’s all in good hands, trust me.”
But right as he said that unbeknownst to either of the kids, a small charge of green electricity produced from the Omnitrix washed over “IT”, and was met in kind by yellow static emanating from “IT” itself.
“OW!” Four Arms yelped in pain, going to rub his shoulder, only to remember a little too late that he was supposed holding a giant ball of rubber bands in his hands. The Tetramand tried to catch it before it fell, but “IT” slipped from his grasp. Gwen gasped and jumped out of the way just as “IT” came down where she once stood, bouncing and smashing right through the roof of the barn.
“Oh no…” He muttered, gaping at the hole in the ceiling.
“Nice job, lamebrain! That thing’s probably headed right for Sparksville,” Gwen snapped. “We gotta go after it, now!”
“Uh, right!” Four Arms lifted Gwen onto his shoulders and leaped through the roof in pursuit of “IT”.
Unfortunately, by the time they arrived in the town center, “IT” had already rampaged through Sparksville, smashing many of the “World’s Largest Objects” the remains of which now scattered across the streets, and “IT” itself was resting in what used to be the “World’s Largest House of Cards”.
Four Arms and Gwen took one good look around at the devastation surrounding them, horrified expressions on their faces.
“Okay, not to worry…” Four Arms said, doubt creeping into his tone. “We can fix this, somehow…”
Then he felt a light tap on his arm and a yelp of pain from Gwen, who clutched her bright red hand, pained tears pricking at the corners of her eyes.
“Did you really just try to slap me? You know I’m packing about 10 tons of muscle, right?”
“What does it matter?” Gwen winced. “I told you not to drop it, and now we’re gonna be criminals because of you!”
“Oh relax, Dweeb, it’s fine,” Four Arms waved off. “As a wise man once said, ‘Anything is legal as long as you don’t get caught’. I’ll just put everything back and hide the rest before anyone notices, alright?”
And then came the dreaded beeping that heralded Ben’s return to his human form, the boy grimacing at “IT”. To make matters even worse, the pair heard a lot of chatter from down the street, indicating the imminent crowd approaching the scene of the crime.
“Okay…” Ben turned to Gwen. “So change of plans, how about instead we just run away and never speak a word of this to anyone?”
Gwen sighed in frustration, taking a moment to slug Ben in the shoulder before turning and wordlessly walked away.
“Okay, yeah, I deserved that…” He muttered to himself and quickly followed after her.
About a half-mile walk later, the pair finally reached the hotel they were staying at and stared in bewilderment at what appeared to be sideways doors. After a glance at one another, they checked in at the front desk and made their way to their room, and following an entire minute of trying to figure out how exactly the door opened, they found Max inside the room, marveling at a pair of king-size beds that looked generally comfortable to sleep in.
Except for the fact that they were bolted sideways onto the wall, as was every other furniture piece - the lamps, the chairs, even the TV were sideways, which seemed like a health hazard. Despite this, Max seemed to have no qualms at all, judging by the wide grin he greeted the kids with.
“Hey, there you are,” He said. “Man, isn’t this place a riot?”
“Uh, yeah! Totally!” Gwen put on the best smile she could muster, but it seemed a little too wide. “Really… really great, this place is…”
Ben lightly jabbed her in the ribs, then gave Max a small smirk of his own. “What she means, Grandpa, is that we had a great day out. “IT” wasn’t all it was cracked up to be, but I guess that’s the point of these places, right?”
Max laughed and clapped their shoulders.
“I figured we could do with a day without any chaos for once, so I’m glad to see you two enjoying yourselves.”
The kids laughed nervously as Max walked off to inspect the room further, leaving them with only their guilt and the lingering but dwindling hope that the bathrooms were, at the very least, somewhat normal.
But while the Tennyson family attempted to settle in for the night, something else was beginning to stir.
Across town, as the citizens of Sparksville were attempting to figure out just how their greatest attraction had ended up in the center of town, a yellow electric current was flowing around “IT”, growing in size until it jumped onto the nearest powerline and snaked down the wires. It zipped about town in patterns and movements that made it seem alive, all unseen by all but a certain mayor, who simply rolled his eyes.
“What the heck happened out here?”
It was the next morning, and the first thing Gwen heard was the one thing she hoped she’d never hear. Surprised, she slipped from her sheets and fell onto the cold, hard “floor”.
“Oh no, he knows everything!” Gwen squeaked in panic. “We have to come clean, tell Grandpa everything!”
A groan pulled her attention to the corner of the room, where Ben had forgone his sideways bed, and had instead repurposed the couch into a makeshift bed.
“Will you give it a rest, dweeb?” Ben grumbled, rolling over. By the sound of his voice, he had a rough night as well. “Never admit to anything until you have no choice. Now go back to sleep, it’s too early to deal with--”
“Benjamin! Gwendolyn! Get out here!” Max’s voice filtered through the open door, and a collective shiver went down their spines at the graveness of his tone.
“ Full names?” Gwen said in a small voice.
Ben sat up, his eyes bloodshot and full of dread. “ We’re screwed .”
Once they were dressed, the pair summoned the courage to join their grandpa outside, only to gawp at the utter devastation that awaited them. Smoking wrecks of cars lay on their roofs and sides, almost every shop window was smashed open, and most of the attractions were either in pieces or coated in what looked to be spray paint.
“Oookay…?” Ben blinked in confusion; this was far worse than the incident with Four Arms and “IT”. “What happened here?”
“I don’t know,” Max said, as the trio passed a couple sobbing over what remained of the “World’s Largest Rubber Chicken”, the head of which was currently lodged upside down inside the “World’s Largest Bottle of Ketchup”. “Looks like a tornado passed through overnight or something.”
“G-guess it was just one of those freaky nature things, right Grandpa?” Gwen said, but the excessive chipperness earned a look of suspicion from Max. Ben nodded along in agreement, his face betraying no emotion aside from a slight twitch of the eye, but that didn’t do much to appease him.
“I think it’s pretty clear who’s responsible for these juvenile acts.” Like a wraith, Earl the Mayor appeared next to them, causing Ben to jump. The Mayor still retained his bored expression, as if his town wasn’t in absolute shambles.
“‘Juvenile’, huh?” Max said, casting a look toward Ben and Gwen, who now looked slightly unnerved. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that sounds like--”
“Oh, I’m not talking about these youngsters here,” Earl cut in, much to everyone’s surprise. Then he pointed down. “I meant this little delinquent here.”
The three followed Earl’s gesture and spotted a strange creature hiding around Max’s leg. It was short, with a black body and stubby little legs, yellow bolt-shaped markings on its front and back, silver bolts on its arms, and both its eyes and a dip on its head glowed a bright yellow. In short, it was like a battery come to life.
Ben and Gwen watched as the creature bounced around with an uncontained glee, first shooting up in Gwen’s face and blowing a raspberry at her, before pulling her shirt over her head. Then it moved to Ben and zipped around his head until it jabbed one of its little fingers into his eye.
“OW!!” Ben yelped in pain while the creature was beside itself with laughter. “You little--!!”
As Ben tried to catch the little miscreant, which kept itself tantalizingly out of reach, giggling at him all the while, Gwen pulled her shirt back down.
“What the heck is that thing?”
Ben jumped to catch it, but the creature zipped out of the way, causing Ben to land right on his face, which it thought was quite hilarious.
“When I catch this thing, it’s gonna be dead , that’s what it is!” Ben growled, right before the creature gave him a kick on the backside, causing him to smack his face on the tarmac again.
“Megawatt,” Earl said, blandly.
“Mega-what?” Gwen repeated.
“Exactly,” Earl nodded. “Normally wrapped up tight inside of “IT”. That is, until last night.” He looked away from Ben tusselling with the Megawatt. “Some say they’re a ball of lightning come alive, others say they’re static cling run amok. Tough to say.”
“Maybe it’s an alien?” Gwen suggested, but Earl fixed her with a strange look as if she were the crazy one.
“Alien? Now that’s just plain kooky talk.”
While they were conversing, the Megawatt dodged another of Ben’s grabs, before it spotted a nearby soda machine out of the corner of its eye, and then a smile was brought to its face as it thought of a rather hilarious idea. The living battery dissolved into pure electricity and shot right into the machine, which started shaking and rattling about, sparks spewing from the neon letters.
“What’s that thing doing now?” Ben grumbled, wiping dust off his shirt.
“They eat electricity,” Earl explained. “The more they gobble up, the more powerful they get.” The soda machine went still for a moment, then suddenly began firing cans in their direction - the cans were slow coming out, but they had high enough velocity that they pretty much exploded their contents everywhere upon impact. “They also have a dangerous sense of humor.”
At that moment, the soda machine went berserk and started rapid-firing cans everywhere like bullets from a gun, and the Tennysons decided to rush for cover, the nearest object being an upturned car. Earl followed, but with more of a casual stroll, as if there weren’t projectiles the sides of rocks being pelted at him. Once he joined them behind cover, he chose to sit down on the nearby bench.
"You left that thing inside a rubber band ball all this time?" Max asked Earl. "Isn't that kind of dangerous?"
"Not so long as people minded the SIGNS ," Earl suddenly spat, a hint of anger showing under all that apathy, before levelling a tired glare towards the kids.
Now under scrutiny from both Earl and their grandpa, Ben fought to keep his cool. He’d been in many a situation like this before, and the best way to cover up his mistakes was to deny all involvement until absolutely necessary. As long as he and Gwen kept their traps shut, everything would surely blow over--
“Okay, we did it! We’re guilty!” Gwen confessed. Ben slowly turned his head toward her, his eyes squinted in annoyance.
“ Dude .”
“Well, I’m sorry for actually feeling guilty about what we did, doofus!”
"We're gonna talk about this later, you two," Max promised, gravely. Then he switched his attention to Earl. "But for now, how do we stop this thing, Mr. Mayor?"
"Whatcha mean, ‘ we ’?" Earl scoffed. “You let them out, you catch ‘em.”
‘This guy’s starting to get on my nerves,’ Ben thought with a grumble. ‘Though, to be fair, I did let that thing out. It’s only fair I fix this.’
Eventually, the bombardment of soda cans stopped, which could only mean it’d either gotten bored and moved on or was waiting to ambush them. Ben stuck his hand out into the open and after a moment of waiting for his hand to get sniped by a soda can travelling at Mach One, he deemed it safe to move out.
A short while later, the three were patrolling the streets of Sparksville, searching high and low for the electric menace, unaware their quarry was already tailing them from above.
“Should we try to lure it out with some batteries or something?” Gwen suggested.
“Could work,” Ben mused. “What’d you think, Grandpa? AA or Lr46?”
Max said nothing, which only sent a pang of guilt right through Ben. This place was an absolute sham, no doubt about it, but Max was still really excited about bringing them here. Would it have killed him to just grin and bear it, even for a day or two?
While Ben stewed through his inner turmoil, the Megawatt danced along the powerlines, watching the trio from above. Its eyes locked onto the eldest, and a giggle escaped its lips. With a hilarious idea for a prank in mind, the Megawatt jumped down to the road, slid across the tarmac, and up Max’s pant leg. Without warning, Max found himself suddenly yanked into the air, the Megawatt holding him by the back of his underwear, giggling madly all the while.
“That’s not funny,” Max wheezed as the kids winced in sympathy. “Just painful.”
“Don’t worry, Grandpa,” Ben said, activating the Omnitrix. “I know just the guy to deal with this prankster!”
After the ensuing flash of green light, Ben was replaced by the amorphous form of Upgrade, whose optic ring somehow managed to pull off a rather annoyed glare.
“Okay, not the one I was going for, but I can work with this,” He muttered. “...I hope.”
Meanwhile, the Megawatt laid eyes upon Upgrade and chittered with joy, dropping the elderly human now it had someone new to mess about with. It was so excited that it morphed into a stream of electricity and warped itself around the World’s Largest Bottle of Ketchup, which caused the liquid inside to bubble up before eventually erupting from the giant bottle, sending the oversized chicken head that was lodged in the neck flying across town from the force. And on top stood the cackling Megawatt, until it looked down and noticed the newcomer had mysteriously vanished.
After a moment of searching for its latest victim, the Megawatt finally spotted Upgrade, half-morphed over “IT” and rolling the giant ball of rubber bands down the street towards it at speed.
“Alright, punk!” The Mechamorph called out. “Time for you to go home!”
But as “IT” thundered through the street, several rubber bands snapped from the stress and shot off in every direction, smashing what little windows remained, totaling the few still-functioning vehicles, and almost taking out a few pedestrians watching the chaos from the sidewalk, Gwen just narrowly dodging one herself.
“Hey, who’s side are you on, doofus?!” She yelled at Upgrade, who said nothing as he rolled past.
The Mechamorph’s optic ring locked onto the Megawatt, then he slid over and in front of “IT” before collecting his mass beneath it, and fired the giant ball of rubber bands at the Megawatt with frightening velocity. The small battery-like creature’s eyes bugged out before it dodged the giant projectile, which ended up smashing through the big glass bottle, sending glass, rubber bands, and what appeared to be red paint everywhere.
Across the street, still sitting on the bench, Earl the Mayor calmly munched on some popcorn as giant shards of glass rained over him.
“Is it just me, or is there a lot of excitement today?” He said to the kid sitting next to him, both staring impassively at the chaos before them as if they weren’t in any danger whatsoever.
As Upgrade gawked at the damage he’d just accidentally caused, the Megawatt zipped up behind him and started cackling, pointing at the Mechamorph and kicking its stubby little legs in the air.
“ That’s it !” Upgrade growled in frustration before his optic ring flashed into an ‘X’ shape. “Let’s see how you like this , you little turbo-punk!!”
To the Megawatt’s shock, a bright green plasma beam exploded from Upgrade’s optic cross and blasted it right in the stomach, sending it flying into the “World’s Largest Jackalope”, wrecking its supports and causing it to topple over onto the building across the street. The Megawatt quickly pulled itself from the wreckage and stared at the Mechamorph, who noted the lack of amusement on its features.
“HA!!” Upgrade barked, hunching over. “Not laughing anymore, are ya, twinkle toes?!!”
Upgrade fired another optic beam at the Megawatt, who managed to dodge it in time, before zipping off down the street. Upgrade slid off in pursuit, ready to deal some payback.
“How are we going ground that electric devil?” Max asked himself. Behind him, Gwen was at a loss for words herself, but then his out-loud thoughts gave her an idea.
“That’s it! You’re a genius, Grandpa!”
“Oh, thanks Gwen,” Max said, slightly confused. “Why?”
When there was no answer, Max turned to see the redhead running down the street, the opposite way from the battle.
Meanwhile, having gotten over its initial surprise from Upgrade’s optic beam, the Megawatt danced around the Mechamorph with glee, dodging his attacks with apparent ease. As Upgrade fired another beam at it, the Megawatt zipped down the street, but when Upgrade made to follow, the Megawatt came about-face and shot right at the Mechamorph for a head-on collision.
But Upgrade was ready. He fired an optic beam, which the Megawatt dodged…right into Upgrade’s open hand, which quickly wrapped around the little creature to prevent escape.
“Got you now, little creep!” Upgrade chuckled, but in response, the Megawatt unleashed an electric burst, breaking free of his hold and sending the Mechamorph flying down the street. “Oof… Okay, do not touch the electric guy when you’re made of living metal.”
Then came the grating laughter that’d long since outstayed its welcome, and Upgrade’s amorphous form undulated with anger, the rounded parts of his body sharpening up.
“Right, I’ve had it! Time to pull the plug on this twerp’s pranks!” Upgrade snarled, reaching down for a manhole cover. Once it was in hand, he willed the nanites composing his body to spin it faster and faster, until the Mechamorph had himself a makeshift buzzsaw. “Hey sparky! Catch!”
Calling upon his teachings from baseball practice, Ben drew his arm back and flung the spinning metal disc right at the Megawatt, who was too busy laughing to dodge the projectile, and was summarily cleaved in two, right down the middle.
For a moment, all was quiet, and Upgrade allowed himself to relax, now that the threat was seemingly over, only for the bisected halves of the Megawatt to squash, stretch, and morph…into two separate entities.
If Upgrade had a jaw, it would’ve been dropped to the floor right that second.
The two Megawatts looked down at themselves, patting their bodies for any sign of injuries, before noticing each other. Then, predictably, they pointed and laughed at one another.
“Of course…” Upgrade muttered, shaking his head. “This just isn’t my day, is it?”
As the Megawatts surrounded themselves with electricity, and Upgrade prepared to fire another optic beam, a truck horn blared from down the street. The three turned to see a large flatbed truck thundered on a crash course for them. The Megawatts backed out of the way, while Upgrade launched himself at the truck, flattening himself across the hood as it sped through.
“Hey, watch where you’re going, maniac!!” Upgrade snapped before he actually saw who was behind the wheel. “Oh, hey Grandpa.”
Momentarily surprised by the sudden intrusion, the Megawatts gave one another a quick look of confusion before taking off in pursuit of the flatbed.
“Uh guys!” Upgrade slithered onto the roof. “I sure hope you’ve got a plan because we’ve got incoming!”
“Don’t you worry, Ben,” Max reassured. “We’ll give those living sparklers a science lesson they won’t forget!”
“What’s that supposed to mean?!”
Max only floored the gas pedal in response. As the Megawatts closed in, and Upgrade prepared another optic beam, he heard Gwen’s voice ring out from inside the truck cab.
“Hey, mega-weirds! Come get us!” Suddenly, the flatbed raised at an angle, and its cargo - which Upgrade only now noticed was the “World’s Largest Thermometer” - slid off and stabbed into the road. The Megawatts, so focused on the Mechamorph that they didn’t see the obstacle until it was too late, smashed head-first into the oversized thermometer.
With the Megawatts dealt with, Max pulled the truck to a stop in front of the town hall, hopped out along with Gwen, and watched as the electric current circling the thermometer slowly dissipated into the ground. Upgrade jumped from the roof and morphed back into his humanoid form, although, from the odd shape his optic ring had shifted into, he didn’t show any form of relief.
He looked almost worried.
“What did you just do ?”
“Used the biggest thermometer as a lightning rod,” Gwen said smugly, completely oblivious to Upgrade’s grave tone. “Who needs alien superheroes when you got good old-fashioned brain power?”
“First, you forget Grey Matter isn’t the only one with smarts,” Upgrade said, tapping his head. “Second, if you used your ‘good old-fashioned brain power’, you’d realize you’ve just made things ten times worse!”
“He’s right, you know,” the trio looked over to see Earl walking toward them. “The ground is essentially one big conductor.”
“Which means, Gwen ?” Upgrade peered at his cousin, who was beginning to realize the colossal mistake she and Grandpa had just made.
“Oh no, it means the Megawatts are just zipping underground until they find some way to get back to the surface.”
“And with all the electricity they’ve eaten, I’ve no doubt those two will be waking up the others.”
The trio froze - did they just hear him right?
“What do you mean ‘the others’ ?” Upgrade rounded on Earl. “Last I checked, there was only one of those things inside of “IT”.”
Earl fixed the Mechamorph with a blank stare. “Hmm, I don’t recall ever saying there was just one in there.”
As soon as the Mayor finished his sentence, a phone down the street began ringing all of a sudden, crackling with electricity. Then another. Then another. Soon, every phone in Sparksville was ringing nonstop, and some even started spewing out electricity, popping tires, melting powerlines, and blowing up power boxes. As the incessant noise carried through the air, a sudden dawning realization sent a shiver through Upgrade’s amorphous body.
“Earl,” He began slowly. “How many Megawatts were stuck inside “IT”?”
Suddenly, the phone boxes exploded in a surge of electricity, spewing out black plumes of smoke into the air.
No, not smoke.
Flying above the town of Sparksville with wide toothy grins and crackling yellow eyes was a giant swarm of Megawatts, grinning down at the residents with thinly veiled malicious intent.
“Oh, just about 99 of them,” Earl said, before giving a side-eye to Upgrade. “Technically 100 , if you count the one you cut in half.”
“Aw man…” At that moment, Upgrade could feel a scathing stare pointed right at the back of his head and turned to face the culprit. “Don’t give me that look, dweeb. You’re just as guilty as I am.”
Gwen crossed her arms, as an entire shopfront exploded down the street.
“I’m saying nothing.”
High above, the enormous cluster of Megawatts let out a series of chuckles before producing a piercing sonic shriek, the soundwaves rippling across the entire town, shattering every last bit of glass, forcing everyone to clap their hands over their ears to block out the cacophony, except for Upgrade, who was merely rendered mildly uncomfortable, and Earl, who’d sat on another bench and was somehow completely unaffected. Eventually, the horrific wailing shattered a large glass jar holding what appeared to be a set of javelins.
“Everybody, move!” Max shouted.
As the trio and the citizens of Sparksville ran for cover, large javelins and shards of glass rained down from above, embedding into the ground and miraculously missing the Mayor, who remained exactly where he was. Upgrade pretty much short-circuited at Earl’s blatant disregard for his safety and well-being.
“There goes the “World’s Largest Toothpicks”,” He bemoaned, though the empty tone made it hard to decipher if he was genuinely saddened or just completely used to it. “Oh, the humanity…”
“Those creeps' idea of a prank is going to have all of us pushing up daisies,” Max grumbled.
“Well, don't just stand there, doofus!” Gwen snapped at Upgrade. “Blast them or something!”
“R-right,” Upgrade looked up and began charging his optic beam again, only to find no trace of the targets. It was like they’d just vanished. “Uhh, where did they go?”
“I don't know,” Max said, eyeing the surrounding area with suspicion. “But I don't think it's good.”
Just then, the ground started rumbling ominously before one of the buildings down the street exploded in a shower of brick and glass, and something stepped through the hole in the wall. When the dust cleared, Upgrade and Gwen recognized the “World’s Fifth Largest Mobile Planetarium” standing atop the rubble, only now it had taken on a more humanoid shape.
The walking planetarium craned its absurdly long neck to stare at the people of Sparksville, a singular off-centered yellow eye on its ringed planetoid head glowing dangerously.
Now with a target in sight, Upgrade charged up and fired off a plasma blast right at the machine, which put up a planet-shaped hand to block the attack, only for the appendage to blow apart into a pile of metal and fiberglass. It stared at its broken arm momentarily before facing the Mechamorph again.
Upgrade readied for a counter-attack, but the planet making up its head split in two, both halves forming some twisted-looking head and jaw. Then it produced a mechanical crackling noise that was either gleeful cackling or enraged roaring.
At first, nothing seemed to happen, but then the nearby flatbed truck suddenly started its engine, the headlights flashing yellow, and immediately rumbled away, with no driver at the wheel . It thundered toward the walking planetarium at speed, where a swarm of cables burst out from the main body and wrapped around the vehicle, before yanking it up and plastering the truck to its torso as a form of body armor.
“What the--” Max began, but a mass clattering sound cut him off.
From all directions came a horde of various appliances, ranging from microwaves and vending machines comically shuffling out of broken windows, to partially damaged cars practically dragging themselves down the road, all glowing yellow and all headed toward the walking planetarium.
Once a toaster oven had hopped within distance, it exploded into a mass of cables and wrapped itself around the giant machine’s leg. A second later, a brown pick-up truck missing two wheels forcibly dismantled into a pile of scrap metal before the various parts fastened themselves across the walking planetarium.
So transfixed he was by the sight of… Whatever the hell was forming before him, Upgrade almost forgot he had a job to do.
The Mechamorph raced right at the still-forming machine, stretched out an arm, and wrapped it around a lamppost to slingshot himself at it, but before he could get close enough to meld with it, the machine unleashed a powerful electric impulse that catapulted Upgrade straight back into the town hall, simultaneously smashing through and splattering all over the brick walls. While Upgrade slowly began pulling himself back together, the machine finally whipped away the smoke with a large arm, revealing its towering form to the people of Sparksville.
Of the planetarium that now apparently formed its skeleton, only the planets that represented its head, left foot, and upper right hand were still visible. The rest of the four-armed, three-legged monstrosity were covered head-to-toe in hijacked appliances and vehicles and wrapped tightly with masses of cables. Its upper arms had been lengthened somewhat, and the hand Upgrade had atomized with his optic beam had been replaced by the “World’s Largest Boxing Glove”, while the lower arms simply had bundles of loose sparking cables in place of actual hands. Its legs were an absolute mess to look at - one was double jointed with the front end of a sedan for a foot, one was backward and wore a vending machine like an oversized slipper, and the third, while relatively normal-looking, ended in a broken fiberglass planet.
The monstrous amalgamation gave a mechanical roar that echoed through the town before lumbering away, its oddly shaped body juddering with each step. And yet, to Gwen’s utter confusion, not a single resident looked the slightest bit concerned.
“Well, that’s something you don’t see every day,” A waitress mused, a thoughtful expression on her face.
“Ye-up, they brought that planetarium exhibit to life,” A cop drawled, lazily sipping a coffee.
A red flash from inside the town hall signified Ben’s reversion to human form, so while Gwen went to assist the boy, Max faced the residents fully.
“I don’t understand how you people are so calm about this,” He scowled at the residents. “That thing could harm lots of innocent people, and none of you sound even the slightest bit worried.”
“Well, this ain’t the first time it’s happened, you know,” Earl stood up, crumpling up his popcorn bag. “Because we get so many tourists that don’t mind the signs and keep taking pictures around “IT”, a couple of Megawatts will escape now and then. They’re social creatures, so after they eat a bit of electricity and cause some mischief, they’ll usually just return to “IT” when they get bored or tired.”
As Gwen approached, a frazzled Ben draped over her shoulders, Earl looked down the street, just able to make out the glowing shape of the amalgamated machine in the distance.
“So, what now?” Max asked, sparing the kids a quick sympathetic glance.
“I reckon they'll head for the big hydroelectric dam to power up,” Earl scratched his chin in thought. “After that, they'll just wipe out the next town, and so on, and so on. They think it's funny. Mhm, Megawatts got a real twisted sense of humour, especially in numbers.”
Max nodded and turned to the kids.
“Come on, you two,” He said, heading for the hotel parking lot. “We'll head it off in the Rust Bucket. No time to waste.”
“...Yeah, I’m fine, Grandpa, thanks for asking…” Ben grumbled.
“Oh really?” Gwen said, before unceremoniously dropping Ben from her shoulders. “Guess you don’t need my help anymore, dweeb!”
As Gwen followed Max, Ben pulled himself up and stumbled after them, muttering all sorts of things under his breath.
Unfortunately, when they got there, it seemed the Megawatts had their fun with the Rust Bucket too - the RV was hopped up on cinderblocks and missing its wheels, which were currently embedded in the front bumper in some strange imitation of a smiley face.
Fair to say, the Rust Bucket wasn’t going anywhere for the time being. But to add insult to injury, the Megawatts even left them a not-so-friendly message on the side.
“ ‘U am lame’ ?” Ben read it out, an eyebrow raised. "Yeesh, that's weak."
"And don't even get me started on the grammar and the spelling," Gwen added. While Max went to check out the extent of the damage, her eyes wandered about the ruins of Sparksville, until they fell upon a rather peculiar sight.
Somehow, despite all the destruction that Megawatt and its pals caused, the “World’s Largest Fish Bowl” was one of the few exhibits that managed to survive completely unscathed. She stared at the oversized glass bowl for a few moments, before an idea suddenly sparked to life.
“Hey doofus,” Ben turned to her.
“Yes, dweeb?” Then he noticed her expression. “What’re you grinning about?”
Gwen’s response was to look back at the “World’s Largest Fish Bowl”, so Ben followed her gaze.
“Ah, I’m picking up what you’re putting down,” Ben grinned widely, quickly figuring out her scheme. “Well then, let’s go beat those pranksters at their own game!”
…
“Uhh, once I time back in, that is… heh…”
Though the Rust Bucket was out of commission, Earl surprisingly lent them his truck - not out of the goodness of his heart, mind you, but because it was the only functioning vehicle for miles - and the trio made good time to the dam.
Even before he stepped out of the truck, Ben could the tremors below his feet. He turned to the other two, pointing to the sheet-covered fish bowl resting on the hitched trailer.
“Right, I’ll keep the Mecha-Watt distracted for as long as I can while you two get yourselves into position,” He said, turning away to activate the Omnitrix. “Just give me the signal when you’re ready.”
“Really, doofus? ‘Mecha-Watt’?” Gwen groaned, averting her eyes from the bright green flash.
“You got anything better?” Heatblast fixed her with half-lidded flaming sockets. “Exactly, didn’t think so. Now get going!”
“On it,” Max nodded and pulled away before Gwen could give any form of retort.
With a small chuckle at the receding sight of Gwen’s red face, Heatblast took a few steps to the edge of the dam, looked down, and found the source of the tremors - the newly dubbed ‘Mecha-Watt’ was pounding the dam wall with considerable force considering its mechanical make-up. Indeed, despite both upper hands being reduced to shards of metal and fiberglass, and shreds of fabric and leather, each punch left sizeable cracks in the concrete structure.
Heatblast charged up a fireball and threw it down at the Mecha-Watt, the flaming projectile exploding against its shoulder and knocking off a few scorched TVs and microwaves with ease. The amalgamated machine stumbled back a few steps and raised its spherical head to face its attacker, only to be met with Heatblast staring down at it, his arms crossed.
“This is your only warning,” the Pyronite growled. "Knock off the funny business or I'll fry your shiny metal butt."
With an electrically charged bellow, the Mecha-Watt rammed its whole body into the wall, the combined weight causing a massive fissure to sprout. It spread up and across the dam, water leaking from various breaches, and the impact made Heatblast lose his footing. As he slid down the dam wall on his back, the water spewing from the cracks began collecting in a large pool below.
Not wanting to be a sitting duck for the awaiting Mecha-Watt, Heatblast through his hands in front of him and fired out intense streams of fire downward, creating a large explosion of steam that caused the Mecha-Watt to back further away. When the steam cleared, not only had the pool completely evaporated, but Heatblast, to his surprise, found himself hovering a few feet over the ground.
“Huh… Haha! I’m flying!! Yes!” He cried with glee, before slowly letting himself down. The Mecha-Watt approached, but Heatblast threw a few more fireballs at it, melting off chunks of its flimsy armour, before one of its legs was struck at the knee, severing the joint which resulted in the machine toppling onto its side. With the machine kept at bay for the moment, Heatblast turned back to the dam and immediately began sealing it up, concentrating his flames like a blowtorch.
But with his attention fully on the dam, he failed to notice the Mecha-Watt pointing one of its arms at him, cables writhing and sparking with electricity. Heatblast had just about managed to finish the repairs when a swarm of cables snagged his ankle and yanked it back, causing the Pyronite to slam his face into the concrete. Before he could fight back, the Mecha-Watt whipped its arm to the side, and Heatblast went flying.
With him out of the way, the Mecha-Watt slowly pulled itself back to its remaining feet, but without the third leg, it became very unstable even when standing still. Its armour was more than weakened, appliances and various machinery dropping off with each shaky step. But it had a new goal, the big prank could wait - right now, it needed more juice. Its yellow eye fixed on the nearby turbines, sensing the electricity flowing through it, and the Mecha-Watt began a slow shamble toward them.
Then a stream of fire completely incinerated one of its arms, the hunk of molten metal and wires quickly falling to pieces as it turned to face the attacker. There stood Heatblast, bouncing a fireball up and down like a baseball.
“Where do you think you’re going?” He drew one arm back as far as he could. “We’re not done yet!”
With a great throw, Heatblast lobbed the fireball right at the Mecha-Watt’s planetoid head. It arched its neck to the side, the projectile instead breaking off the ring that encircled its head. But as the Mecha-Watt reeled from this narrow near-miss, Heatblast rocketed toward the machine at speed, blitzing straight through one of its upper arms and snapping the appendage off.
Before the Mecha-Watt could even react, Heatblast completely reduced its body to absolute ruin, melting off a third arm and most of its armour, shattering the other fiberglass shell of its head, before jetting forward and through its midsection, breaking the amalgamated machine in two. Both halves collapsed, and what remained of the head attempted to glare at the Pyronite, who hovered above it, looking down with a smug grin on his flaming face.
With a roar of pure mechanical rage, the Mecha-Watt launched its remaining arm like a coiled spring forward into Heatblast, sending the Pyronite flying toward the turbines. This time, he managed to catch himself in midair and began slowly hovering backward to a large round object covered in a tarpaulin.
“What’s the matter?” He taunted. “Can’t take a joke? Lousy hypocrites!”
Now the Mecha-Watt was enraged beyond belief but it knew with its body in its current state, it wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. The yellow aura disappeared from the machine, and it finally dropped to the ground with a loud clang. As the yellow eye flickered out and went dark, a large black cloud erupted out from its back, and the swarm of Megawatts glared at Heatblast, their mugs twisted with varying degrees of rage and insanity.
With a cheeky wave, Heatblast lifted a flap and disappeared within. The Megawatt swarm let out a combined shriek of fury and dissolved into bolts of pure electricity, before rushing straight for the Pyronite, following him under the tarpaulin. But as the last of them entered, Max and Gwen appeared from behind the object and pulled it off.
The moment they did, after allowing the Megawatts enough time to realize they’d been punked, Heatblast fired a concentrated stream of flames that melted the glass rim of the “World’s Largest Fishbowl”, trapping the Megawatts inside and ending their short-lived reign of terror before they could do anything about it.
They hammered on the glass, their infuriated shrieking muffled, but the subject of their anger pointedly ignored them, which only served to make them even angrier.
“Nice job using the “World’s Largest Fishbowl”,” Gwen beamed at Max’s praise. “With non-conductive glass sealed up tight, Sparky and his pals won’t be going anywhere for a while.”
“Once again, science saves the day,” Gwen said, proudly.
“WITH a little help from science fiction, mind you,” Added Heatblast, who gave a glance to the trapped Megawatts. “I just hope this is enough to redeem ourselves in the eyes of Sparksville.”
Once they’d carted the Megawatt’s back to Sparksville, the trio were quite surprised to find the townspeople had been working hard in the short time they were away. Most of the windows had already been replaced, the streets were clear of trash and junk, and a good majority of the exhibits had been repaired and put back in their right places.
In the time it took to fix the Rust Bucket, they’d spoken to the townspeople and offered to help with the repairs but were politely declined. Still, before they left, Earl asked them to stick around, as he wanted to show them something.
Soon, the three found themselves waiting in front of a tall object that seemed to be lightly glowing underneath the tarpaulin when Earl finally approached them.
“You folks done right by us,” He said, monotonously as ever.
“Hope this little misadventure wasn't a big setback for Sparksville,” Max apologized.
“More like a giant step forward,” Earl shrugged. “What with our new attraction, soon we'll be raking 'em in.” He pulled off the tarpaulin, revealing what was underneath. “I give you the ”World's Largest lightbulb”. It'll be a humdinger with the tourists."
Mounted on a large cylindrical plinth was the formerly “World’s Largest Fishbowl”, complete with Megawatts within, some still pounding the glass and screeching, while others floated about aimlessly in a sulk, having accepted their fate.
“Just as long as folks mind the signs,” Earl whispered, leaning closer to Ben for no particular reason. He gestured to a plague that stood below the “World’s Largest Lightbulb”.
“In case of emergency, do NOT break glass,” Ben read the sign aloud. Compared to the rest of the sign, the word ‘not’ was pasted in bold, and underlined twice.
“Huh,” Was all Ben had to say.
“One more thing,” Earl said, gesturing for them to follow. Once leaving the Megawatts behind, the Tennysons trailed after Earl until they reached the entrance of Sparksville, where he pointed up at a large billboard. “You were quite instrumental in the making of this one.”
They followed the direction of his finger, but this other new attraction didn’t leave them feeling as cheerful as the “World’s Largest Lightbulb”.
“The “World’s Largest Banned Poster”,” Earl said. The poster in question had all three of their faces pasted for the world to see, and the words ‘BANNED FROM SPARKSVILLE INDEFINITELY’ above in big bold letters.
When they turned back to Earl for an explanation, the Mayor gave them a very uncharacteristic smile. It was small but noticeable, and it sent a chill down their spines just looking at it.
“Considering that you were responsible for recent events, you should feel lucky we’re not charging you for repairs,” Earl pulled out a hat from behind his back, placed it on his head, and tipped the brim. “Now get lost, and have a nice day.”
And just like that, he was gone.
With nothing more to do or say, the trio made their way back to the Rust Bucket, utterly spent.
“I don’t know about you two, but I think I’m pranked out for a while,” Ben said, placing his hands behind his head.
Max placed a hand on his shoulder, “There is a time and a place for a practical joke, Ben,” Ben looked down and nodded in silent agreement. But as he pulled open the door to the Rust Bucket, a cascade of water rained down and drenched him from hair to foot, followed by a metal bucket. “But I have to agree, funny is funny!” Max guffawed. “Especially when it's not on you!”
Ben lifted the upside-down bucket and lightly glared at the two as they laughed at his expense.
The classic ‘bucket of water on the door’ trick. He had to give an internal chuckle - he didn’t expect that.
He’d still get them back, though.
Funny is funny, indeed.