Chapter 18: Terraspin's Terrible Mugging
The museum was bathed in the flickering, ancient glow of candlelight, casting long, dancing shadows across the polished floors. A stuffy local tour guide was droning on, leading the Tennysons and a dozen other tourists through the dimly lit halls, her voice echoing in the cavernous space.
They stopped before a thick tome resting inside a glass display case. "And here we have the Tome of Archamada," the guide announced, "containing a complete collection of witchcraft and spells from the fifteenth century onward."
"It contains all known European witchcraft and spells from the fifteenth century," Gwen recited at the exact same moment, her eyes glued to the book.
The guide's expression soured. She shot Gwen a withering glare. "I think you should be the guide, little girl." Without another word, she turned on her heel and led the group toward the next exhibit.
Gwen's shoulders slumped, a flicker of disappointment crossing her face.
Ben, who had been goofing off near a suit of armor, immediately noticed and sidled up to her. "Hey, don't let that old fossil get to you," he whispered, nudging her arm. "She's probably older than the book, anyway."
Klein had overheard the exchange. He wasn't one for comforting words; they always felt awkward and clumsy on his tongue. He was, however, a man of action. He saw the genuine fascination in Gwen's eyes as she stared at the spellbook, and a simple, direct solution formed in his mind.
'I'll just steal it for her later.'
Just as he was mentally concocting an excuse to explain to his grandpa how he'd "found" a priceless magical artifact, a series of terrified screams ripped through the museum's quiet atmosphere. A violent whirlwind erupted from the center of the hall, sucking the tour guide and the other tourists into its vortex. In a flash of green light, Ben transformed into a blur of motion—XLR8—and zipped off to rescue the panicked civilians.
"The Tome of Archamada!" a chilling voice rasped. "The boundless power within this book will finally be mine!"
A miasma of black and crimson smoke coalesced into a ghastly figure—a skeletal old man clad in the tattered robes of a sorcerer, his face a deathly mask. It was Hex. He floated toward the display case, muttered a quick incantation, and the protective glass shattered into a thousand pieces, leaving the ancient tome exposed.
"Magic?" Klein's eyes lit up with interest. He slapped the faceplate of the Another Omnitrix.
A quiet blue light pulsed, and in his place stood a towering, tortoise-like alien with powerful, fan-like limbs.
"Terraspin!"
The commotion drew Hex's attention. He turned, his skeletal face contorting in a sneer. "And what is this? A giant turtle? Begone, foul creature, if you value your life!"
"Hand over all the magic items you've got," Terraspin's deep voice rumbled as he extended a three-fingered flipper toward Hex. "Don't make this difficult."
Hex stared for a moment, then threw his head back and let out a dry, cackling laugh. "Hahahaha! What did you say? That is truly the most amusing jest I have heard in centuries! Now, you will die for your insolence!"
He thrust his staff forward, unleashing a torrent of crimson fire. The flames washed over Terraspin's armored shell and simply… fizzled out. Hex's laughter died in his throat. He tried again, summoning a crackling bolt of lightning, then a focused gale of wind. Both spells dissipated harmlessly against the alien's hide.
"How is this possible?!" Hex stammered, involuntarily taking two steps back.
"You'd think an archmage would know his basic xenobiology," Terraspin's voice rumbled, thick with amusement. "Geochelone Aerios are immune to mana. It's like throwing water at a fish, you amateur."
With that, Terraspin retracted his limbs into his shell and began to spin. A ferocious whirlwind erupted from his body, slamming into Hex with overwhelming force. The sorcerer was flung across the room like a ragdoll, crashing into the far wall with enough impact to leave a perfect, human-shaped indentation in the stone.
Terraspin slowly lumbered over to the dazed archmage. True fear now shone in Hex's eyes. He weakly raised a trembling hand. "No! Don't come any closer! Stay away from me!"
Ignoring the pathetic pleas, Terraspin began his work. With considerable effort—flippers not being the most dexterous of appendages—he painstakingly pried each of Hex's magical pendants from his robes. He then snatched the skull-topped staff.
'This thing is hideous,'Terraspin thought, eyeing the staff with disdain.'It even has a bird head on it. I wonder if Gwen would even want this? So tacky.'His gaze then fell upon Hex's robes.'Wizard clothes should have some magic in them, right?'
"No! Don't! These are just ordinary clothes!" Hex shrieked, trying to preserve his last shred of dignity. "At least leave me one piece of clothing! Aren't you a hero? What kind of hero acts like you!"
Terraspin delivered a surprisingly solid slap with his right flipper. "Shut up. I'll know if there's magic in them once I get them off you."
With a few unceremonious tugs, he stripped the archmage naked.
Terraspin then slapped the Omnitrix symbol on his chest. The bulky form was enveloped in blue light, shrinking and shifting into the sleek, glowing form of an Anodite. Klein, now a being of pure energy, picked up the discarded robes. A faint blue light emanated from his hand as he scanned them for mana.
"Eh? There really isn't any magic," he said, his voice laced with disappointment. "Forget it, don't want them." He disdainfully tossed the bundle of cloth back at Hex, who was shivering and huddled in the corner, clutching himself.
Hex quickly scrambled to cover his body with the robes. This action, however, seemed to offend Klein. He stalked over and delivered a swift kick.
"What's with that look?" the Anodite asked, his voice dangerously calm. "Don't look at me like I assaulted you. It's disgusting."
…
According to the official report, the notorious archmage Hex was taken into custody without incident. Eyewitnesses, however, claimed he had voluntarily sprinted into the police car, looking more relieved than any man on his way to prison had a right to be.
Back in the Rustbucket, the family was on the road again.
"Gwen, you want to learn magic?" Klein asked, a sly smile playing on his lips. He decided to dangle the gift a little before presenting it, hoping to reap a wave of adoring gratitude from his little cousin. The thought was just too amusing to pass up.
"Cousin, why do you ask?" Gwen replied, her initial excitement giving way to a wistful sigh. "Of course, I do. Even with my Anodite energy, I can only do simple things with it. It would be amazing if I could use actual magic, too." She propped her face in her hand, lost in thought.
"Funny you should say that," Klein said, reaching behind his seat and pulling out his haul. "I just bought these at the convenience store next door for about five bucks. You like them?"
He presented the Tome of Archamada, Hex's staff, and all the magical pendants.
"This is…!" Gwen's eyes went wide with shock, followed by a surge of overwhelming gratitude. "The Tome of Archamada! And that weirdo's staff and magic charms!" These were gifts from her cousin—incredibly precious magical items.
"Uh, uh, those don't belong to us," Grandpa Max interjected, pouring cold water on the moment. He clearly wasn't buying Klein's "five bucks" nonsense. "We should return them to the museum."
"No! Grandpa!" Gwen pleaded, turning her most powerful weapon on him: the granddaughter puppy-dog eyes.
"Relax, Grandpa," Klein said with a dismissive wave. "Those things will be stolen from the museum sooner or later. We were lucky to be there this time, but what about next time? If not Hex, then some other warlock. If not a warlock, then a zombie. I don't know why, but I have a feeling that warlock guy won't be the last one to try. The book will get stolen eventually anyway. Isn't it better to keep it somewhere safe, like with us?"
His unspoken meaning was crystal clear: Even if you return them, I'll just go steal them again.
Grandpa Max pondered for a moment. He'd been looking after Klein for some time now and had a decent grasp of his grandson's character. While Klein's methods were far from heroic, he wasn't a bad kid at heart, and he hadn't caused any real trouble over the years. Besides, he didn't want to disappoint Gwen.
Seeing his grandpa fall silent, Klein knew the matter was settled. He turned to Gwen with a grin. "Put them away. Grandpa agreed."
"Awesome! Thank you, Cousin! And thank you, Grandpa!" Gwen cheered, overjoyed.
"Alright, this is fine, too," Grandpa Max sighed, accepting defeat. He turned his focus back to the road, the Rustbucket continuing its journey into the night.
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