27 Chapter 25 : Grandpa's Lore (final)

[ 3rd person POV ]

"Even with other organizations sharing the pressure, the fight remained incredibly arduous," resonated Mr. Max's steady and expressive voice within the confines of the RV. "As time went on, the enemies grew more attuned to the battlefield, while we were gradually losing our home field advantage. Moreover, training a proper Plumber was no easy feat; not everyone carrying an energy blaster could be deemed a Plumber , while Many aliens, upon reaching maturity, were as potent as war machines. But everything changed when 'they' appeared."

He paused, creating a pregnant pause before continuing, "The secret weapon of the Plumbers, Earth's mightiest warriors at that time, those who propelled the Plumbers to true greatness.

These individuals possessed formidable abilities, combined with Earth's most advanced equipment, each capable of rivaling an entire battalion. They were known as Osmosians."

A bright smile graced his lips now, his gaze directed toward the horizon, as both Ben and Gwen remained silent, avoiding interrupting the grandeur of his reminisce.

"It was a tremendous honor for me to fight alongside them. Thanks to those 47 individuals, we managed to turn the entire tide of the conflict. They brought a beacon of hope to all humanity."

"I remember each of them vividly: Marcus Morningstar, Melinda Allen, Jamie Daniel... And finally, the one who will solve all your queries, Devin Levin, Kevin's father."

Glancing at the mirror and seeing the astonished expressions on his grandchildren's faces, Max felt immensely satisfied. Opportunities to have them quietly seated and listening to his stories were rare, so every moment was precious.

"He was an exceptional warrior. Like Kevin, Devin was like a sponge for energy. It made him the bane of most energy-based opponents; energy blasts were merely emergency charges for him. And any energy-dependent alien might became an easy prey. I wish you could see the faces of the Nosedeenians whenever they saw Devin appearing." He chuckled at the memory before gradually quieting down.

"He's gone, hasn't he?" Gwen asked.

"Sadly, yes. At that time, I had left the Plumbers for a few years, so the exact reason isn't clear, only that it happened during a space mission. Kevin couldn't have been more than 5 years old then."

The atmosphere inside the vehicle fell into silence. Finally, it was Gwen who broke it, saying, "That still doesn't clarify how he found the Plumbers' secret base."

Max didn't immediately respond. Instead, he opened a drawer and pulled out a Plumber badge, holding it up for his two grandchildren to see. "This is a Plumber badge. It serves various purposes, including tracking and communication. After a Plumber dies, their badge is returned to the family. With the Galvan intellect and the abilities of a Galvanic Mechamorph, it's not surprising someone could use Devin's badge to track to Mount Rushmore."

"Gavin... what?" Ben asked, puzzled.

"Oh, I forgot that you don't have knowledge about this aspect. They're the species of two aliens you know as Greymatter and Upgrade," Max explained.

.....

-----

The conversation was lively, but little did they know, far away, there was another listener following Max's story.

On board the Chimera Hammer, Kevin leaned back in an oversized chair, legs propped up on the console table,, eyes closed behind his headphones. To an observer, it might seem like he was dozing off. However, within those earbuds wasn't lullabies or melodies but rather the conversation between the Tennyson family.

In her innocence, Gwen wasn't aware of how cruel life could be, like there are many things that others may easily offer you, but you shouldn't just accept them casually, and Kevin's gift was one of them. The phone he handed her was a surveillance tool, recording and transmitting 24/7 data back to Kevin's device, ensuring he was always informed of their situation. As a professional stalker, his professional ethics forbade his targets from leaving his sight.

Poor Gwen, he couldn't give this gift to Ben; it would be too suspicious. Can't find a reason for Max, and there wasn't an appropriate gift for him anyway. "Just hope Kitten won't make it a habit to take her phone to the bathroom," he muttered as he slowly opened his eyes.

"Indeed, a true hero, right Kick?" With his call, a bulge shifted in his sleeveless shirt, and a large centipede emerged, looping around his neck, then raising its head to look at its master as if to ask, "What are you talking about?"

The sight of that face, enough to plunge countless into nightmares, made Kevin chuckle. Kick, a giant Centipede beetle, half a meter long, with 46 legs spanning wide enough to wrap around Kevin's arm, its outer shell a deep crimson hue that exuded an aura of malevolent determination. It was one of the insects Kevin had captured early on, inheriting Clancy's abilities and immediately summoning it for training—its name, straightforward yet not complex, was Kick.

"Throughout the entire story, he never... not even once boasted about his accomplishments. Is this modesty or does he genuinely not consider his achievements worth mentioning?"

Having said this, his gaze turned toward a screen before him, displaying a very familiar figure—Max Tennyson. Yet, this version of Max was much younger, his hair not yet turned silver, his stomach not as rounded. Surrounding him were countless extraterrestrial characters, and despite having learned alien languages not too long ago, Kevin could still comprehend them.

This was a dossier Vilgax had compiled in the past, showcasing the extraterrestrial assessment of Max during The Great Onslaught period. Summarized as follows:

Name: Maxwell "Max" Tennyson

Race: Human

Age: 37 (Earth years)

Role: Magister of the Plumbers.

REWARD: A Dwarfstar and 20,000,000 Tayden if alive; 15,000,000 Tayden if deceased.

....

In an era where the golden generation—those with god-like powers—existed, the most feared, revered, and detested was just an ordinary human. "Hard to believe, isn't it?" The centipede again looked puzzled under its owner's gaze, not quite grasping what he was referring to.

Kevin didn't need Kick to respond; he only needed someone to listen. "Even more unbelievable is a mighty figure like that retiring at 45. It's laughable that the higher-ups even agreed. Even if by the standard of those politicians, this is downright brainless." After its soul and leader depart, the Plumbers unsurprisingly fell into decline. Within a few years, as the last member of the golden generation left, the organization completely disintegrated.

An organiziation that had lasted for centuries, triumphed in a colossal war, reaching the pinnacle of fame and power, only to crumble within less than a decade. To say that there was no force behind the scenes manipulating all this, even in his demise, he couldn't believe it. The question at this moment wasn't about whether there was or not, but how many? How many hands were involved in this story?

As he closed his eyes, his mind raced through various suspicious factions, yet swiftly stopped. Not because there weren't viable suspects, but because there were too many — extraterrestrial factions, Forever Knight, .... even governments held suspicion.

Thinking so deeply wasn't due to idleness leading to whimsical thoughts. It was because anyone who contributed to the Plumbers' downfall had a part in his father's death, Devin Levin. Kevin had many commendable qualities, but unfortunately, forgiveness wasn't one of them.

[End POV]