(The Rust Bucket drove through Death Valley, California on a very hot day.)
(Everyone inside was sweating profusely from the heat as Becky used a book to fan herself with as they all groaned and Gwen looked at her right arm and clenched her hand back and forth at the power that she now possessed at her fingertips as Jen rifled through her spells as she sighed.)
Jen: "So how did that happen?"
(Jen asked as Gwen lifted up her sleeve to show her new tattoos to the Rust Bucket's inhabitants as Max drove on.)
Becky: "What's with the tattoos, sis?"
(Becky asked as her sister shrugged.)
Ben: "They look like the Charms of Bezel."
(Ben said.)
Gwen: "I don't know exactly."
(Gwen said.)
Gwen: "It was a little present from our friend from the future, Drake. I guess that it's supposed to contain the powers of the Charms. And they can't be removed and my arm can't be cut off either. How am I going to hide this from Mom and Dad?"
Allison: "I don't know."
(Allison said.)
Allison: "What 10-year-old has tattoos?"
Jen: "Perhaps I could help."
(Jen said with a smile as she finally stopped as she smiled.)
Jen: "Hold your arm for me, cuz."
(Gwen then nodded and winced as she stuck her arm out and Jen ran her hand over it as she closed her eyes as her hand glowed pink as she nodded.)
Jen: "Procidat Deceptionem."
(she chanted.)
(That was when a pinkish aura glowed around her arm before fading, leaving the arm seemingly unchanged.)
Ben: "Um, what did you just do, sis?"
(Ben asked.)
Jen: "Just a simple illusion spell."
(Jen said.)
Becky: "Then why can we still see the tattoos?"
(Becky asked as Gwen looked down at her arm.)
Jen: "That's the thing about illusions."
(Jen said.)
Jen: "Once you recognize them for what they are, they instantly fall apart like a house of cards. The spell doesn't work on people who know that the tattoos are there."
Gwen: "Okay."
(Gwen said, still unsure before she groaned outwards as she felt the heat getting to her as Becky sighed before looking outwards to see that the next Rest Stop wouldn't be for another 100 miles.)
Becky: "We are in the middle of the middle of nowhere!"
(she groaned.)
Ben: "Grandpa, can't you turn the A.C. up any higher?"
(Ben asked as Max looked to them.)
Max: "I'm afraid it's at maximum right now."
(he said.)
Max: "We'll stop at the next gas station."
Ben: "We'll be grille cheese by then!"
(Ben, Jen and Gwen all groaned outwards as Jen sighed.)
Jen: "That's it, I'm going Frostblight!"
(she said as she slammed her core down, initiating her transformation.)
(Her skin turned an icy blue and started radiating cold air and her eyes shot open to reveal bright glowing pink eyes with no pupils and her hair shifted into blue spikey hair like ice.)
(Her clothes then shifted to a pink ballerina-like outfit complete with the skirt and flat shoes.)
(Her body then shrank to 3 inches high and a pair of insect-like pixie wings grew out of her back.)
(The watch symbol appeared on the belt of her skirt.)
(Frostblight then instantly flew around the Rust Bucket's interior with a carefree giggle as the others sighed in relief from the chill as Ben smirked.)
Ben: "Feel free to cool us down while I fix the air conditioning."
(Ben said as he slammed his Omnitrix core down and began his own transformation.)
(The Omnitrix sank into Ben's wrist as his hands and feet grew grey-blue and slimy as they secreted mucus from his pores and only had four fingers and three toes.)
(The Omnitrix symbol grew on his back and the blue spread to the rest of his skin as his eyes grew huge and buggy, taking up the entire upper half of his face as the pupils turned sideways and rectangular and his mouth was filled with sharp teeth.)
(His hair and nose vanished as he shrunk to three inches tall.)
(His attire shifted to a green one-piece bodysuit that fit his body with wraps around his feet.)
(He struck a pose as the transformation finished.)
(Grey Matter then growled as he hopped upwards off the walls before landing in the air conditioner and began his work.)
Grey Matter: "Okay."
(he said as the other girls all watched and Frostblight just face-palmed, knowing where this was going to go.)
Grey Matter: "Okay."
(Grey Matter said.)
Grey Matter: "Recalibrate the Freon evaporation cycle, expand the expansion valves and realign these condenser cords."
Becky: "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"
(Becky asked.)
Grey Matter: "One more second and it's ice-cube city!"
(Grey Matter exclaimed... just before a plume of smoke burst out of the air conditioner.)
(Max pulled the R.V. over and the group immediately ran, or in Frostblight's case flew, out onto the dusty ground in a coughing fit.)
Grey Matter: "Okay, that went so much better in my head."
(Grey Matter said.)
(That was when Allison squinted and saw a clearing in the distance.)
Allison: "Guys, look! Is that... a village?"
(she asked.)
Frostblight: "What's that doing in the middle of the desert?"
(Frostblight asked, raising her eyebrow.)
Gwen: "Can we go, Grandpa! Please!"
(Gwen begged.)
Max: "Sure."
(Max chuckled.)
Max: "Don't sweat it."
(The kids could only shrug and glare at that as Becky just shook her head.)
Max: "Sorry."
(he said.)
Max: "I couldn't help myself."
(The group then walked towards the gates as the twins hit their Omnitrix symbols and transformed back into human form as they looked up at the figurines by the gates.)
Gwen: "Toy soldiers?"
(Gwen asked.)
Gwen: "In Death Valley?"
Allison: "Definitely weird."
(Allison said.)
Max: "Hmm..."
(Max wondered.)
Max: "Must be one of those holiday theme parks. They must have packed up and left and forgot this thing."
(After he said that, the six then felt a gush of cold air escape from the concave doors as the kids all beamed up at that.)
Jen: "Did you feel that cold air?"
(Jen asked as they all went inside as Max rolled his eyes and followed them.)
(After he walked for a few minutes, he felt his shoes sink into... snow?)
(As soon as he walked into the light, he immediately noticed that it was snowing and right before their eyes was a complete winter wonderland as they all gasped.)
Allison: "How is this possible?"
(Allison asked.)
Allison: "It's a complete desert wasteland outside and in here, it's a winter wonderland!"
Max: "What is all this?"
(Max asked.)
(Little did they know that a giant nutcracker was behind them and it gazed down upon them.)
(In another area, a figure was looking through the nutcracker by way of a crystal ball.)
(He seemed to be rather interested in Max as he looked down upon him.)
???: "Could it be?"
(he asked.)
???: "Has he finally arrived?"
[To Be Continued...]