[A/N: Yes.I am from SA. Still leave there]
"Here we are, folks, Washington DC! Our next stop is Mega Mart," Max announced as he drove.
"Although the tech I used to make this nanotech bracelet, which is basically a whole wardrobe, is still lacking in some areas. I hope to get some useful tech there," Fred remarked, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
"You really love technology, huh?" Gwen said, causing Ben to look at her for a moment.
"Aren't you the same?" he retorted.
"What would a dweeb like you know?" she snapped back.
While driving, they noticed a fiery building up ahead. "Ah yeah, it's hero time," Ben said, activating the dial of his watch and transforming into Heatblast. Max stopped by an unpopulated street as Ben rushed out towards the building.
"Huh," Fred noticed. "Guys, look," he pointed as a car sped by with people wearing balaclavas.
"Could it be that those people caused the fire? And that bag the person in the passenger seat is holding so tightly—maybe this was a robbery," Gwen deduced.
"Sharp eyes, kiddos. We better go warn Ben," Max said.
"No, let him deal with the fire. I'll handle them," Fred said with a smile, turning into XLR8 and bolting after the suspected robbers.
"Let's go after Ben," Max said as they drove off to the burning building. Fred, speeding after the robbers, caught up to them in no time. 'Knock. Knock. Knock.' He tapped the window of their car. Alarmed by the sound, the robbers looked towards the passenger window.
"Haaa!" they screamed, seeing what they thought was a monster running alongside their speeding car. The driver lost control, and as the car nearly swerved and crashed, Fred turned into Lodestar and used magnetokinesis to halt the car. The force of the abrupt stop caused the two robbers to pass out. Fred turned back to normal.
"Now I just have to deal with the witnesses," he thought. After turning back, a few eyes were on him, having seen his transformations. Fred used a memory spell to erase this event from their minds. "I think I'll have to use that spell a lot more often," Fred mused. His thoughts wandered to how Hex and Charmcaster would react to his magic.
"Fred! Are you alright?" The Rust Bucket rushed by and stopped, with Max voicing his concern.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Fred assured them. Max already trusted Fred, being the child of two Plumbers and already above normal human standards, but Max was still a little concerned. Fred got on as they called the police and left the scene, retreating for the night.
The day to go to Mega Mart arrived, and the bunch was happy as they browsed around. "Can I go over to that aisle?" Fred requested.
"Sure, but be careful not to get lost. This place is pretty big," Max said. "Now, the rest of you can come with me, unless you also want to explore."
"I want to go find Sumo Slammer cards," Ben interjected as he strutted off.
"I'll go watch over him," Gwen said, following him, leaving Max to shop by himself.
"Now, where can I find some live octopus?" he muttered as he pushed the trolley.
Fred filled two whole trolleys with PC parts and other tech items, not only to upgrade his nanotech wardrobe but also to create a few more gadgets. Like any tech geek with enough money, Fred always bought more than he initially planned when shopping for parts. Meanwhile, Gwen was having her hands full with Ben, who was on a mission to find the golden Sumo Slammers card. After making a mess in the cereal aisle, a worker caught them and charged them for the boxes they opened.
As they stood in line to pay, Max was speechless at the pile of cereal boxes and the heaps of PC parts Fred had just finished paying for. "Didn't you say you wanted a few things?" Max asked, eyeing Fred's findings.
"Yes, I did. This is actually less since I'm on a tight budget right now," Fred replied, causing Max to let out a lengthy sigh.
All of a sudden, the Mega Mart building shook. "What in the—" Max responded as people started rushing away, screaming about a giant frog.
"Ben?" Max and Gwen questioned briefly.
"I'll go check," Gwen said, rushing off. Fred, without changing his form, used Avos' powers to store his purchases in a dimensional space. "I'll go help," Fred said, zooming forward using XLR8, leaving Max with a question mark on how he did that.
Ben, on the other hand, was dealing with Animo's mutated hamster. "You again? I'll not spare you a second time, kid," Animo said as Ben confronted him.
"Man! What's the deal with this guy?" Ben clicked his tongue in frustration.
"Ben!" Gwen arrived at the commotion, seeing the giant frog, hamster, and bird beside Animo, with Ben facing them while his watch was on timeout.
"Think fast," Fred grabbed both of them as the frog tried to tongue-whip them, placing them safely to the side. "Who's the pet groomer?" Fred asked as he let them down.
"I don't know. He just suddenly barged in here, started stealing things, and made those mutated freakazoids," Ben replied.
"And you wouldn't be in this mess if you hadn't used your watch for useless things," Gwen scolded him.
"Okay. Wait here," Fred dashed towards the charging mutated animals. He used his speed to avoid all their attacks, then jumped up, changing into Buzzshock. He short-circuited Animo's transmodulator device, shattering it to pieces. The level of electricity caused Animo to pass out, and the mutation effect wore off on the animals, reverting them to normal.
"There," Fred said as he changed back to normal, landing right next to Ben and Gwen.
The security guards arrived and restrained Animo as they waited for the cops to come. "Did I miss anything?" Max asked as he arrived at the scene.
"Nothing much. Ben misused his watch, and Fred saved the day," Gwen said.
"Hey, I wasn't misusing it. It was just bad timing," Ben defended himself as the two squabbled.
"Ahem. Thank you for trying to save this place. Although I didn't see the other person who helped us, I'd like to show you our gratitude," the manager said as he approached them.
"Woah. Really? Then c—" Ben began, eager to request the golden Sumo Slammers card.
"We appreciate your kindness, but we didn't do anything noteworthy. Now, if you would excuse us," Max said, dragging Ben away and stopping him from asking for the card.
"What was that about, Grandpa? I finally could've gotten a golden Sumo Slammers card," Ben complained as they entered the Rust Bucket.
"Heroes don't demand rewards. Besides, this was also a team effort," Max said, buckling his seatbelt. "You've got to learn more about humility, Ben."
"Come on, Grandpa. It's not like I don't deserve it. Besides, I know those two wouldn't have asked for anything to begin with," Ben said, trying to defend himself.
Max continued to lecture Ben on virtues for the rest of their drive, emphasizing the importance of humility and teamwork.