Alien Watch in a Monster School

A New Hero on the Block

Deep in the outskirts of the Japanese countryside, a mysterious bus trudged its way down the long, narrow, empty road as sakura blossoms fell from the nearby trees decorating the route. To anyone who could see the bus, they would have thought it to be your average, everyday school bus. It was yellow in colour with a long green stripe along the side. There was nothing peculiar about the bus itself, however, the bus driver was a different story. He was dressed in a professional bus driver's uniform, which consisted of a blue suit and hat which hid the top half of his face from view. Dust covered the shoulders of the suit making it look as if it had not been washed. The driver was very thin and slouched over the wheel of the vehicle. He sported a thin moustache beneath his nose. A lit cigar stuck out of his mouth. Every so often a puff of smoke would rise from the cigar, only to leave the bus through the driver's open window. Despite being hidden beneath the shadow of his hat, you could tell where his eyes were as they seemed to shine through the dark like orbs of light.

The bus had one lone passenger. He was a fifteen-year-old, Caucasian American who was staring out of the window, observing the passing Japanese countryside. He had short brown hair, brown eyes and average but handsome features. He was skinny but did have some muscle tone from his hard training regimen. He was dressed in a school uniform which consisted of a white, buttoned shirt, a red tie and a green blazer. He also sported a pair of brown trousers and black sneakers. At his side was a grey suitcase. On his wrist was a strange black, mechanical watch with white rims. Its face had a green hourglass symbol.

This boy's name was Christian Hawke.

Christian was a recent graduate of the Plumber Academy. The Plumbers were a secret organisation of intergalactic police officers dealing with the affairs of alien criminals that dared to attack Planet Earth.

As the journey progressed, the new Plumber replayed the events in his head that had led him this situation.                                                                                     _______________________________________________________________________________

Christian stood in the control hub of the underground Plumber headquarters in Bellwood. He had been called upon by Max Tennyson, a magister of the Plumbers, to receive an important mission.

Within a few minutes, Max arrived, coming out of the lift that came down from the secret entrance in an undercover plumbing shop above the surface. However, to Christian's surprise, Max was not alone. Max's grandson and one of Christian's childhood friends, Ben Tennyson, was alongside his grandfather.

Max was a heavyset man with short grey hair. He was always wearing Hawaiian shirts which were normally red with grey and purple flower designs. Ben was one year older than Christian and had a similar build. He had short brown hair and green eyes. He wore a black t-shirt with a green line running down the middle. The number 10 was in the centre of that line. The famous Omnitrix was on his left wrist.

Christian saluted the two of them. "Magister Tennyson," he said as he greeted Max with a handshake before turning and giving Ben a nod, which was returned. "Ben."

Max shook his head and placed his hand on Christian's shoulder gently. "Now Chris, you know you don't need to be so formal. I have known you since you were a toddler and have taken care of you ever since-," Max stopped suddenly looking into the sad eyes of the boy in front of him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" This time it was Christian's turn to stop Max.

"Don't worry, it's fine," he replied, his eyes dropping towards the ground.

An awkward silence filled the control room before it was broken by Ben coughing into his hand. "Grandpa, perhaps we should tell Chris about his mission," he said as he gave Christian a cheeky grin.