Hidden inheritance

Chapter 3: Confrontation

"Do you really think this is going to work?" she asked, not really liking the setting of the place they were in.

"If Vilgax wants something, he wouldn't let himself explode while getting it. He'll definitely rush in to stop us. When he does, we'll have to be careful," Max said, seizing the weapon he picked up from earlier, "I know him well enough to know he won't let us get to Ben easily. When we're done, I'll have to enter the countdown disabling command, so we also have to be quick. Then we can look for a way to help Ben."

"I can see someone coming." said Gwen, pointing to the display Max used to track down Vilgax. Two dots on the map were moving in direction of them.

"He has Ben with him. Of course, he can't afford to leave him behind when this ship is about to blow up. Gwen, stay close to me, okay?"

"Grandpa," said Gwen, "how... how do you know Vilgax?" She looked troubled as she spoke. This entire day had been full of revelations, and she didn't even know if Ben had his fair share of it if Vilgax was torturing him. He was thrown in the middle of this (both figuratively and literally) alone, she had to intervene to save him.

"Vilgax is... an old enemy." Max answered. "We fought many times in the past, he's an intergalactic warlord, always looking for conquest, and he definitely came here for Ben."

"You mean, the watch." corrected Gwen.

"Yes," Max answered, realizing he might've slipped up, "He's a cunning, power-hungry and cruel conqueror. He's one of the most feared beings in the universe, so much that no one in the entire galaxy ever wants to work for him, too dangerous for anyone in their right mind to accept."

"What about someone with no mind at all? I mean, Ben has no brain, think he would want to work for him?" she joked.

"I doubt Ben would accept working for someone who tries taking over the universe for a living." Gwen's smile faltered when she realized he was being serious. "If Vilgax would let go of his grudge against me and if I didn't teach Ben the right thing to do, it'd be a possibility. But one thing I know, is that Vilgax never forgets."

"Ugh, space cops, evil alien emperors, and my cousin held hostage? This sounds like Ben's cliched comic books." complained Gwen. "Why is it so hard for people, even if they come from another planet, to get that this kind of thing is overdone and that someone will stop them someday? That's always what history classes taught me, anyway. Did you and the other Plumbers never arrest Vilgax before?"

"We did, except a dangerous criminal like him is used to escaping. It was harder keeping him in check than catching him." Max sighed. "You know, there used to be a time when... Vilgax wasn't as bad as he turned to be. For a while, he helped some of our operations and didn't interfere much with the law. Until he left to go back to his home planet and become king. After that, he kept getting into shady business for many years, until he became the man you saw today."

"Is that thing," she asked, pointing to the high-intensity plasma gun her grandfather held, "really gonna help?"

"I'd be surprised if it didn't. It was made years ago and tested on some petty thieves from Vilgaxia who wanted to mimic their king. Under a low energy setting, it could knock them out for a few weeks. But this time, we can't hold back using it. Vilgax is dangerous, all possible ways to stop him are valid in this situation. Last time I had it, I gave it some modifications of my own. Now it's designed specifically to destroy Vilgax, and this time for good."

"I'm more worried about Ben." Gwen said, crossing her arms. "Knowing him, he would've already made at least some damage to this place. He always likes to break stuff with the watch. What if Vilgax did something to him?"