Miracle Watch Chapter 2 (Patreon)
Content
Ben 10/Miraculous parody : Patreon Reward
Chapter 2 Grandpa Max Finds Out – Road Trip
Finding the other Kwami was proving harder and harder. It was possible some of the rumored vigilante’s were also kwami holders, but how would he contact them? There were strange rumors of creatures, heroes, and villains all over the net.
Ben did his best to try and find answers for Pollen. Earth was a big place, and the universe was even bigger. Pollen wasn’t too worried, he appreciated Ben’s efforts. He was juggling a lot, magic training, school life, home life, sports, and hero work, all while doing research and finding time for fun.
His parents were unique, his mom was a big health nut, something Ben didn’t inherit when it came to food, but he took up yoga and meditation to keep his body healthy. His dad pushed him into sports, believing it was important for young people to have exercise and social activity. Ben chose Soccer, he tried baseball but he wasn’t the best at it.
Thankfully they trusted their son and didn’t ask a lot of questions, so Ben was able to keep his secret identity from them. Despite being magic, Ben still had to deal with a lot of typical teenager things, like homework and bullies.
Cash and JT, they were jerks, sadly Ben and JT used to be friends, and then he started running with Cash and getting into trouble. Cash had issues, but instead of talking about his problems he lashed out at the world. He wanted to make everyone else suffer, just because his life was a mess.
The two did typical bully crap, Cash picking on those smaller or weaker than him, and he wasn’t opposed to playing dirty. He was a lot, and sadly Ben was his favorite target.
Ben had magic powers and he still had to put up with this jerk. This thought crossed Tennyson’s mind as he was pushed into his locker. “Later loser!” Slam!
Pollen came out. “Want me to sting them?” He cut stun them or hex them, either way, Pollen didn’t like how these two messed with his king.
Tennyson just rolled his eyes. “No…maybe…” He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. When he was younger he used his magic to dish out payback now and then. “No!” He shook his head. As he gained more power he felt he should be more responsible.
Cash and JT were jerks but they weren’t criminals or villains. They needed to grow up, but oh Ben was tempted. Thanks to training with Pollen his magic skills were top notch, he wouldn’t even need to transform to deal with those two. He did use his magic if the two were going too far on other people, but when it was aimed at him he just let it happen, to a point.
He stayed in his locker for a few minutes, the walls shifting to be more comfortable for him. It expanded to the size of a closet, he conjured a small chair to sit in. A quick tap, and a tray appeared with chili fries and smoothies. The two snacked as Ben used this time to do some research. On his phone he was checking the feed for any new signs of heroes, villains, or any strange phenomenon in the area. Bellwood was pretty quiet, there was some stuff about him which didn’t help but was kinda cool in Pollen’s opinion. He loved to see people sing his praises. It was the internet so not all of it was positive but Pollen could be too innocent for words.
A certain news article caught his eye. “What’s this? A strange creature is attacking a meat plant?” The local food plant was attacked, their machines damaged and unprocessed food was raided. People could steal if they were hungry, but raw meats that were to go in a grinder?
The plant was already working on replacing the equipment and got a fresh order in as to not delay production.
It could be a kwami, just as Pollen had an obsession for spicy foods his siblings had their own unique tastes. “Looks like we’ll be going on patrol tonight!”
Pollen bowed. “Yes my king!” They finished their snacks and Pollen hid.
Ben twirled his finger, causing the dial on his locker to spin, in seconds the door was unlocked and Ben left his locker, the space returning to normal as he left. ‘Man I love magic.’ Mana manipulation alone was a great thing to learn, as mana existed in all things, and through that manipulation principle gave the very foundation of magic.
It was almost summer vacation anyway, he wouldn’t have to see the two for months.
-x-
It was late when Ben went out on patrol with Pollen, since this was a possible kwami situation he had Pollen out. They made it to the plant. “Do you sense anything?”
Pollen concentrated. “Mmm, I don’t sense my siblings, but whatever did this was not of this world.”
Ben blinked. “What does that mean?”
Clatter…
The two whipped around. “Pollen...Transform Me!” A golden flash was seen as Ben transformed into a bee themed hero. It was hero time!
Something was here, Ben could feel it, but what unnerved him was that...it didn’t feel human.
Smash smash grrr…
‘Is it some kind of animal?’ He found some destroyed tankers, whatever hit the plant last night, also hit it today. Ben created an orb of mana to give him some light.
Something was approaching, from the shadows a large paw came out, step, step, step, it stepped into the light and Ben’s eyes widened. ‘What the heck is that?’
A large beast with no eyes, it was large, orange, a big mouth and long tongue, and a long tail. It slobbered and snarled. “Oh man!” It lunged at Ben, and he managed to dodge, only to be struck with his tail. “Gah!”
He got smacked into some equipment. The beast charged at him and Ben had to dodge out of the way. “Venom!” He drew on Pollen’s power, taking a fighting stance. ‘It’s got no eyes how can he see me?’ The two seemed at a stand off, circling each other.
It had no eyes but it had its own unique way of detecting Ben, by both smell and sound. Ben was close enough to hear his heart beat. From science class, Ben knew that animals without sight either relied on sound or smell. ‘Let’s find out which.’
He ran and the creature gave chase, he slammed into machines as if they weren’t there. His claws ripped through the metal with ease. Ben hit a machine as he passed, and the creature avoided it. ‘Sound check…’
Ben found a pipe on the floor. ‘Alright then…’ He “tripped” falling back. “Owww!” He faked a pained groan.
The beast growled and lunged, thinking it was going after defenseless prey. Ben stung him and paralyzed him instantly. He slipped out from under him. “Pollen Buzz Off…” He de-transformed and gave Pollen some spicy chips. “What is this?” It could be a mutant beast, some kind of twisted experiment.
Pollen munched on some chips to recover their energy. He flew over and touched the creature. “This is a Vulpimancer, from the Planet Vulpin.” Ben’s eyes widened.
All the years Ben and Pollen spent together, the subject of aliens didn’t come up. Of course the domain of magic was a vast thing to discuss. To be fair to them both had Ben asked if aliens were real Pollen would have answered it honestly. Learning that magic was real was a world altering experience in itself. So aliens were real...Ben had to sit down to process that. “Pollen...be real with me, could your siblings be on other planets?”
He nodded. “That is entirely possible yes.” Finding the kwami just got a whole lot harder. “If it helps my king, if we find some others on Earth the kwami song can reach out into space to call my siblings home if they are able.” That did help.
Ben sighed. “Okay what else can you tell me about this guy?”
Pollen used magic to understand and give info on the Vulpimancers. They were animalistic aliens that hunted by sound and scent. The Vulpimancers did have their own language and were highly intelligent species, but their language was too difficult for most universal translators to understand. “Vulpimancers are a pack animal, and will even be aggressive with other Vulpimancers outside of their pack.”
Ben’s eyes widen. “Wait...what was that part…”
Growls were heard, as two more Vulpimancers showed up. “Oh no…” There was a lot of meat eaten, more than one creature to eat alone. One didn’t have a tail so it was probably the child of the two bigger ones.
Ben manifested a mana barrier as the larger beastie pounced. It clawed at Ben’s barrier, and Tennyson had to pour a ton of mana to keep up the field.
The smaller one went after Pollen. “My King, I’ll use my power!”
Ben shook his head. “Don’t do it Pollen, if you stun them they’ll be frozen forever.” They were just hungry, probably lost and hungry.
“Get off him!” Boom!
A laser hit the big Vulpimancer off Ben. As soon as he was free. “Pollen Buzz on!” They transformed and used Venom to stun the little guy and the big momma(probably). “Whoo...that was close…”
“Ben?”
The hero turned around to see who had saved him. “Grandpa Max?!” The man was dressed in his plumber outfit.
Ben was about to get another shock. His grandfather was a member of the Plumbers, a group of Intergalactic Police that dealt with all kinds of conflicts across the universe. Max was mostly retired, because of Vilgax’s interest in this area of the universe he was still needed.
Earth itself wasn’t a high priority planet, there was a handful of Plumbers in charge of the area, including Earth.
Earth did have a lot of resources that some aliens would find...profitable. Since it was a “back water world” it was a perfect place to do illegal deals on the down low.
The Plumbers didn’t deal with local threats, the government recognized the Plumber’s authority with all things alien. Local crime, wars, even super villains wasn’t something the Plumbers dealt with, unless they came from off world.
Max got a call that a pack of Vulpimancers got loose in his neck of the woods. They were a predator species so were dangerous enough to warrant action. He kept this life secret from his family, or tried to. Even Ben thought he was just a plumber, fixing pipes and plumbing plumber.
He saw Ben transform when the mana barrier went down. Max had heard about the new hero in town but he had no idea it was his own grandson. “I guess...keeping secrets runs in the family huh…” he chuckled. “Please don’t tell mom and dad!”
“Ben...we need to talk…” Max met Pollen, and Ben explained what’s been happening. The old man felt awful, as he should have seen the signs but he was so busy with his own secrets he hadn’t made time for the kids. He showed up on holidays of course but he was missing out on a lot. They hadn’t done a Tennyson family trip in years.
“About that Grandpa, I was thinking…” Ben had an idea.
This was the perfect chance to find Pollen’s siblings, a Road Trip! If they travel across the country, Ben and Pollen could search for the other kwami, do some hero time, and spend time with family.
Max agreed to keep Ben’s secret, since he was being responsible with his powers and using them for good. ‘This is gonna be the best summer ever!’ Ben thought, but when he got on the Rustbucket he wasn’t expecting to see his cousin Gwen.
To be continued…And Then There Were 10 + Monkey Mischief