The vacuum exploded into a million pieces; small shards of vaporized and melted metal pelted the ground. A cloud of smoke rose into the air. When the cloud settled, the machine was gone and left in its place was a pile of metallic dust. Steam Smythe was covered in soot. He sneezed.
“My machine! My beautiful machine! What have you rascals done?” cried the bad guy.
TIME OUT!
BEN TURNED BACK INTO HIMSELF.
Angry steam erupted from Steam Smythe’s ears. He howled like a crazed wolf. “You may have stopped me now, but I’ll be back!” he declared. The villain rose into the air, a jetpack strapped to his back shooting out small flames. The flames burned brightly in the still nearly pitch-black park.
“You haven’t seen the last of me!” shouted the villain, now flying away. “The power to this park may be restored soon, but I will restore the power of the past. Mark my words, you scallywags!”
With his Omnitrix powered down, Ben could do nothing but watch the villain soar off.
In the dark, however, Steam Smythe couldn’t see where he was going. Ben and Gwen could see the flames shooting out from his jetpack when they heard a loud CRUNCH and BANG.
“I think he just flew into the Luminous Light Coaster,” said Gwen.
“I bet he’s steamed,” said Ben, nodding his head. “Get it? Steamed? As in Steam Smythe?” Gwen didn’t say anything and Ben sighed. “Never mind.”
Up above they heard another BANG and a painful “Ow! My head!” followed by another CRUNCH and an “Ow! My back!” Finally, the flames shooting from the jetpack’s bottom grew more and more distant as Steam Smythe drifted far away.
“Good job, kids,” said Grandpa Max, giving Gwen and Ben a big hug. “You saved the park. But without power, this entire place is going to be shut off for a while. We should head back to the Rust Bucket for some shut-eye.”
Soon, the three of them were walking out of the park, across the parking lot toward the Rust Bucket. As they walked, Ben yawned, and the yawn quickly spread to Gwen and then Grandpa Max.
“Sorry, guys,” said Ben. “I know yawns are contagious.”
“We’re all tired,” said Grandpa Max. “I’m looking forward to getting back to the Rust Bucket and catching some sleep.”
Ben nodded. “As soon as we get back to the Rust Bucket, it’s lights out for me.” He laughed. “Get it? Lights out?” No one laughed. Ben shook his head. “I really need better jokes.”
THE END
“WE’RE HERE, KIDS. SALEM TOWN!”
said Grandpa Max from the driver’s seat of the Rust Bucket. “Do we have to go?” asked Ben, frowning.
Gwen threw her cousin a dirty look. “I think it will be fun.”
“You think reading is fun,” groaned Ben.
“It is.” Gwen lifted the big black book she had been holding on her lap. She looked at the title in bright yellow: The History of Salem.
“If you tried reading sometime, you’d think reading was fun, too.”
“I read sometimes,” Ben insisted. “I read the cover of my new video game just last week.” When Gwen threw Ben another dirty look, he added, “It’s summer. You’re not supposed to read during the summer. Everyone knows that.”
With a sigh, Gwen threw her book into a small brown satchel, threw the satchel over her shoulder, and followed Ben and her grandfather out of the Rust Bucket.
“You guys will love this place,” said Grandpa Max as they walked into Salem Town. “I used to come here as a kid. I loved it.”
“Why do they call it Salem Town?” asked Ben.
“Because it’s made to look just like a small American village from the 1600s. A famous town from back then was Salem, Massachusetts.”
“It looks like they haven’t done anything to fix this place since the 1600s,” said Ben.
He looked around at the peeling paint and cracked windows on the old wooden buildings. Dead bushes lined the sides of the houses and a big church. The dirt roads were filled with divots, and the gas lampposts on the side leaned crookedly. Even the sign in front that read SALEM TOWN was chipped and falling over.
Grandpa Max frowned. “I heard this place wasn’t in very great shape anymore.”
A short, plump woman walked toward them, next to a tall man with a big black beard. They reminded Ben of pilgrims. The woman wore a simple grey dress and white apron. The man wore a black coat, short pants with white stockings, and a tall hat with a large gold buckle.
“Good morrow,” said the woman. “My name is Mary. How do thee fare?”
“We fare well, thank you, kind lady,” said Gwen.
“This is going to be a long day,” Ben muttered to himself.
The man took off his hat and bowed. “Welcome, friends. I am John, one of the town’s elders and your humble servant. Pray forgive the appearance of our town.” He frowned and slumped his shoulders. “I regret they are tearing down this park next week to build a new shopping mall.”
“They can’t do that!” exclaimed Grandpa Max.
“. . . Fast enough,” added Ben, watching a shingle fall off the roof of a building.
The bearded man sighed. “I trust you shall enjoy your visit today. Just be careful of falling shingles.” He bowed again. Grandpa Max and Gwen bowed back. Ben rolled his eyes.
“I can’t believe they are tearing this place down,” said a frowning Grandpa Max.
“I can’t believe they didn’t tear this place down years ago,” said Ben.
Gwen opened the book she held. “I agree with Grandpa Max. I think it’s a shame. We can learn a lot from our past. I was reading all about the Salem Witch Trials in this book.”
“Did you say witches?” asked Ben. Salem Town suddenly got a lot more interesting.
“Not real witches,” said Gwen. “Back more than three hundred years ago in Salem, a group of innocent people was accused of being witches and hanged.”
“How do you know they were innocent?” asked Ben. “Maybe they were witches.”
Gwen threw her cousin a big frown. “There are no such things as witches, Ben. Everyone knows that.”
The sound of loud motors and a loud CRASH interrupted their conversation. Two enormous earthmovers and a bulldozer rammed through the entrance gate and drove into the town square.
“Stop! I pray!” cried John, holding his buckled hat as he ran toward the machines.
He waved his arms. “Halt, I say! Halt! You aren’t supposed to be here until next week!”
The man driving one of the earthmovers stared forward. His glazed eyes spun around in circles. The crane of the earthmover he drove dug a mound of dirt and grass out of the lawn and then dumped it on the side. The other earthmover did the same. Its driver’s eyes also spun round and round.
“The drivers look like they are in some sort of trance,” said Gwen.
“Maybe a witch put a spell on them,” said Ben.
Gwen spun her own eyes. “Stop it. There is no such thing as magic, Ben.”
“Stop!” cried John. “What are you doing?”
Meanwhile, the bulldozer rammed into a small shed, knocking it over. The wooden walls crumbled into a heap. The eyes of the driver spun in wild circles, just like the eyes of the other men.
“What’s going on?” asked Gwen.
“Stop! Stop!” shouted John, stomping up and down. But the drivers didn’t pay attention to him. The earthmovers continued removing piles of dirt. The bulldozer demolished a small water fountain.
“It’s like those earthmovers are digging for something,” said Gwen.
A crane scooped a large chunk of earth, revealing a thin wooden box that had been buried deep in the ground. The earthmovers stopped their digging and stood still, their motors idling. The drivers sat in their cabs as if waiting for something.
And that something was here. Above the town square, the evil sorcerer Hex floated down from the sky.
“I thought you said there was no such thing as magic,” Ben said to Gwen.
“I was sort of wrong about that,” Gwen admitted.
The grey-skinned and ancient villain landed softly on the ground. He wore his familiar red-and-black hooded robes. His face was painted to resemble a skull. “Could it be mine at last?” he asked, his voice trembling with excitement.
Hex knelt down and lifted the wooden box from the ground. With shaking hands, he opened the box’s lid and then removed a large, thick book from inside it. Strange bright yellow symbols were drawn on its ancient black leather cover. The magical villain’s eyes glowed.
“Yes, it’s mine!” Hex cried out. He held the book over his head in triumph. “Behold: The Book of Salem! The ancient witch rituals that have been lost for nearly three hundred years are mine at last!”
Ben turned to Gwen and frowned. “That doesn’t sound good, does it?”
“No, not really,” agreed Gwen.
Hex’s mouth twisted into a diabolical smile. “In this book resides the Ancient Salem Curse, a curse that will turn anyone in the world into a mindless zombie who will follow my every command!”
“You need to do something, Ben,” said Grandpa Max.
“I’m on it.” Ben twisted the Omnitrix on his wrist and slapped his palm against it.
TIME IN!
WITH A FLASH, BEN GREW BIGGER, WIDER, AND STRONGER.
In an instant he was the powerful, yellow-armored, white-and-black alien known as Cannonbolt. He glared at Hex.
“You think you’re taking over the world? I’m taking you . . . out!”
Cannonbolt curled himself into the shape of a giant ball. He bounced twice and then spun toward Hex. As he rolled, he went faster and faster, ready to flatten the evil sorcerer.
Hex wasn’t frightened. “My Bolts of Destruction will stop you!”
The villain mumbled an incantation and sparks sputtered from his hand. Lasers flashed and then flew from his fingertips toward Cannonbolt.
POW! BAM! CZZZT!
The laser beams smashed into Cannonbolt, but his armor plating was strong. Very strong. The lasers bounced off the rolling alien, zooming off in every direction. One laser flew and hit a tree, blowing it into a million pieces. Another blast burst through the walls of the town hall, crumbling one side of the building. Another blast zipped through three lampposts. The lights crumbled into tiny shards.
Gwen and Grandpa Max ducked to avoid being hit by more deflected blasts.
Cannonbolt stopped rolling and looked around at the destruction. “Sorry about that. My bad.”
“We need to get that book,” said Grandpa Max to Gwen.
“Leave it to me,” said Gwen.
Hex threw three more blasts at Cannonbolt. The alien lifted his arm, blocking the beams with his armor and sending them straight back toward the villain. Hex dived out of the way. The beams hit a group of trees and shattered them into tiny toothpicks.
Meanwhile, Gwen crept toward the villain. During the confusion, Hex had dropped the Book of Salem. If Gwen could grab it, she could stop the villain’s evil plot.
Cannonbolt curled himself into a ball once more and rumbled toward Hex. The ground shook beneath his powerful roll.
Hex dived out of the way.
But those extra seconds were just what Gwen needed. She snatched the Book of Salem and dashed away, holding the book tightly in her hands.
Hex spotted Gwen running away. When he spoke, his voice roared with anger.
“Who dares mess with Hex? Who dares steal my book!” He pointed his hand toward Gwen. Flames danced from his fingertips.
“Um, Ben? A little help!” cried Gwen.
“I’ve got this,” said Cannonbolt. After a short fizzle—TIME OUT!—
CANNONBOLT TURNED BACK INTO BEN.
Ben frowned. “Never mind,” he groaned.
Hex waved his fingertips. “Foolish mortals,” he cried. “I’ll easily dispose of the likes of you two.” He aimed his sizzling fingers at Gwen.
“Get away from us!” cried Gwen, hurling the only thing she held at Hex: the book.
The black-covered book sailed into the air. Hex laughed.
“Silly girl! That’s all I wanted.”
Hex caught the book and mumbled a series of magic words. In a moment, he had disappeared in a cloud of thick smoke.
Grandpa Max ran over to Gwen and Ben. When he reached them, he gave each of them a big squeeze.
“I’m so happy you kids are okay. That Hex guy gives me the creeps.”
He patted Ben and Gwen on the head. “Gwen, I’m awfully glad you saved us, but why did you throw the book at him? I thought we needed to keep that book away from Hex’s clutches, not give it to him.”
Gwen removed a book from her brown satchel. “The Book of Salem is right here. I threw my history book at him, not this.”
“That was fast thinking, Gwen,” said Grandpa Max.
“But as soon as Hex realizes he has the wrong book, he’ll be back.”
Gwen and Ben nodded. They all knew the evil wizard wouldn’t be gone for very long.
With Hex gone, John and Mary rushed out into the street, hollering with joy. “Huzzah! Huzzah!”
John clapped Ben, Gwen, and Grandpa Max on their backs. “We are forever in your debt.”
“It was nothing,” said Gwen, blushing.
“He’ll be back,” Grandpa Max warned.
“Until then, may we show you our gratitude?” asked John.
“We should probably get ready for Hex,” said Grandpa Max.
“But we’re serving complimentary apple pie and chocolate cake in the dining hall to celebrate,” said John.
“Did you say chocolate cake?” asked Ben, his eyes wide.
“And apple pie?” asked Gwen, licking her lips.
Grandpa Max wagged his finger at Gwen and Ben. “There are more important things than cake and pie.”
“Sure. Such as ice cream,” agreed Ben.
“We have ice cream, too,” said John.
Grandpa Max sighed. “Maybe we have time for a little dessert.” His stomach rumbled loudly. Ben jumped up and high-fived his cousin.
As they followed John to the dining hall, Ben looked over at the construction vehicles. The bulldozer and the earthmovers were still there, their motors purring, but the drivers stared out mindlessly, eyes spinning, waiting for Hex’s next order.
Ben hoped that order would come much later—after pie, cake, and ice cream.
A few minutes later, the Tennysons all sat in the dining hall. The room looked almost like a room built three hundred years ago. The large wooden rafters of the ceiling were rotting, the wooden tables were cracked and chipped, and the wooden floor had dozens of large holes. Ben just hoped the place didn’t collapse while they were still eating inside it.
A half-dozen people sat in the dining hall. They all wore clothes that reminded Ben of pilgrims.
“This food is delicious,” said Grandpa Max between mouthfuls of cake.
“We follow the same recipes as those from hundreds of years ago,” said John. “No preservatives or artificial flavoring.”
“What do you think, guys?” Grandpa Max asked Ben and Gwen.
“MFLLTGPP,” said Ben, his mouth too full to speak, but a big smile on his face.
“MFLLTGPP,” Gwen agreed, her mouth also too full, and also smiling broadly.
“But we should eat quickly,” Grandpa Max warned them. “We don’t know when Hex—”
He never finished his words. He dropped his spoonful of ice cream as he stared at Hex, now floating through the wall of the dining hall
. The sorcerer hovered in the air, glaring around the room. He held Gwen’s book in his hand and flung it across the room. It crashed into the wall.
“Bah! A history book!” he wailed. “Where is that accursed girl? Where is the one who stole my book?” When he spied Gwen, he pointed a long grey finger at her. “You! You have the Book of Salem!”
He cupped his hands together and a bright red cloud rose up from his palms.
“Quick, Ben!” shouted Gwen. “Stop him!”
“No problem,” said Ben. He lifted his hand to tap his Omnitrix. Hex would be no match for an alien! But before Ben could complete his hand slap, Hex mumbled a few words. The cloud hovering in Hex’s hands blew across the room.
SWOOSH!
Ben felt frozen solid. His hand remained in the air hovering above the Omnitrix. No matter how hard he tried, his hand was stuck in the air.
He couldn’t move. No one could.
“A simple freezing spell will ensure I get the Book of Salem without any more delay,” chuckled Hex. The Book of Salem sat inside Gwen’s brown satchel on an empty seat next to her. The evil wizard floated to their table and snatched the Book of Salem out from her bag. He was so close to Ben, Ben could practically touch him. But Ben couldn’t do anything. He couldn’t hit his Omnitrix. He couldn’t punch Hex. He couldn’t scratch a horrible itch on his elbow.
The sorcerer examined the cover of the book. He caressed its leather. He smelled its ancient dust. He opened it and scanned its pages.
“Yes, this is it. This is the Book of Salem. There will be no more trickery. The world will be mine to rule.”
1-2 Punch: Stinkfly and Cannonbolt Page 2