Permanent Retirement

Permanent Retirement is the fourth episode of Ben 10.

Plot
The episode starts out at an ice cream shop located in the middle of the desert. We first meet Grandpa Max outside the building, getting some money from an ATM. A large man then comes up behind him and pushes him to the ground, claiming that he needs to make a withdrawal. It also seems that the man has a partner with him nearby. Meanwhile, inside the ice cream shop, Ben and Gwen are looking through the flavors available. Gwen asks if they have non-fat and low sugar ice cream, but the clerk answers with an interesting no. As he turns to Ben to ask what he wants, Ben notices what’s going on outside, and readies his Omnitrix.

The large man stabs a hook into the machine. The line has been attached to his truck, which his partner maneuvers. He then orders him to put on the gas. For some reason, it does not cooperate with the man, and Upgrade reveals the cause of the situation, he merged with the truck. Upgrade then tosses the man out of the truck, and Upgrade returns to his original body form. The larger man notices Upgrade, and he attempts to attack with the hook, although ending up being slammed onto a nearby telephone pole after Upgrade catches the hook. He tries to get up, but Grandpa Max was able to stop him just in time. Upgrade is excited by his victory, and asks what they will do next. Grandpa Max says that they are going to visit Aunt Vera for the weekend, immediately dampening his excitement.

Inside the RV, Gwen comments about Aunt Vera’s choice of residence, saying that she meant to move away from everything. Ben then continues to complain about Grandpa Max’s decision, saying that the visit does not relate to anything fun. Gwen, however, loves to be with Aunt Vera, but Ben just makes it worse by negatively commenting on her claim.

At the retirement community, Aunt Vera is already excited about her nephew and niece coming back to visit her again. She invites her next door neighbor, Marty, to drop by and greet them. He says that he would like to and goes back inside his house. When he sits down to watch TV and eat some snacks, a shadow of a blob appears to be attacking his head.

Ben, Gwen, and Grandpa Max finally arrive at their area. As they drive down the street, Ben still continues to complain about Aunt Vera. He looks out the window, and he notices an old man trying to reach the satellite on the top of the roof. He slides down the roof, and was about to fall down to the ground. But instead of expecting him to lay flat on the ground, he back flips from his roof, and lands feet-first, showing no signs of either minor nor major injuries. Ben tells Gwen what he just saw, but she comments that the heat must be getting on to his head.

They arrive at Aunt Vera’s house, and Ben continues to complain why people have to live at a place where it is so hot. They head to the front door, and Gwen squirts him with a water gun, laughs, and runs right past him. Ben then notices Marty staring out the window, and growls at Ben, cracks his neck, and closes the blinds behind him. Ben thinks that he is just unfriendly. They continue to walk up to her house, and Grandpa Max warns Ben that Aunt Vera loves to pinch cheeks. Sure enough, Ben and Gwen get their cheeks pinched, and tell them to come inside. Marty is then shown still staring from the blinds as they enter Aunt Vera’s home.

Ben still continues to comment, and this time he complains why old people live in smelly houses. For lunch, Aunt Vera had already made a gelatin mold containing pork chops and cauliflower. Grandpa Max finds it to be very appetizing, yet Ben and Gwen find it the opposite way. As they eat, Aunt Vera asks what they have been up to so far this summer. Ben immediately replies by saying that he has been busy fighting aliens and bad guys. Aunt Vera laughs for what she thinks is just Ben’s imagination. Gwen then notices a shelf nearby, and spots a particular item in her interest. It was a stuffed North-American chickadee, and Aunt Vera and Gwen discuss to each other about the bird. Ben, however, has the opportunity to move his food onto Gwen’s plate. As Ben claims to be stuffed, Aunt Vera comes to offer him some candy. Ben reaches for some, but spits it back out, finding it to be revolting. He complains that he doesn’t like coffee, and runs off to the bathroom.

In the bathroom, Ben decides to have some fun in the area. He turns into Ghostfreak, a phantom-like alien who has the ability to become invisible and phase through solid. He sneaks out of the house, but in doing so, Gwen is handed a large shell. She listens to it, and hears a greeting from Ghostfreak nearby. Ghostfreak comes out of the house and travels around the neighborhood, hoping to find something fun to do. He sees a golf cart, and decides to drive it. Residents nearby are puzzled to see a golf cart shown to drive itself. Ghostfreak then smells something in the air, which catches his attention. He follows the trail to find an apple pie, but notices an old lady trying to swat a fly before touching it. She then jumps up to the ceiling, and eats it, making Ghostfreak completely shocked by what’s happened. Marty then is shown to be driving a golf cart, carrying something in what appears to be a large, red carpet. The sprinkler on the lawn then starts, and Marty immediately reacts to dodge the water. Ghostfreak then decides to see what he is up to.

Marty arrives at a dump for the community, along with Ghostfreak following him. Marty grabs the carpet and walks to the gate. His legs grew long, and walked over the gate, instead of opening it. Marty then comes to a dumpster, where it reveals a trap door underneath it. Marty opens the trap door, and Ghostfreak turns back into Ben. Marty finds Ben to be following him, and Ben was able to get away with the golf cart, however, Marty stretches his arms out reaching for the cart, and tries to pull it back. Ben grabs one of the clubs and chops his hand off, but Marty jumps on top of the cart after. The two battle for the control of the vehicle, until Ben crashes near the front gate. The sprinkler then comes on, and scares him away, leaving Ben with even more questions.

At Aunt Vera’s house, Ben recaps his experience outside with strange old people to Gwen and Grandpa Max. Aunt Vera is asleep at the time, and Gwen points out that she was hurt emotionally when he snuck out of the house. Ben however isn’t concerned about her and continues to talk. He then suggests that he should turn into Fourarms and try to check out Marty’s place. Grandpa Max agrees, but says that he should just stay as a human, and comments about old people are not forgetful all the time.

They enter Marty’s home, and the trio finds nothing. Ben does notice the spot where the rug should have been, but finds no other clue. They head back to Aunt Vera’s house, and Grandpa Max tells Ben and Gwen to get some sleep, promising to Ben that they will continue their investigation on the situation more tomorrow. Meanwhile, as Aunt Vera sleeps, she has been attacked by the same kind of blob that attacked Marty earlier.

The next morning, Ben goes through the refrigerator, only to find bottles of prune juice. As Ben complains, Aunt Vera comes in the kitchen. She asked how they slept, and comes to Ben only to pinch him on the cheeks. Gwen offers her some coffee, and accidentally drops it on the floor. Aunt Vera immediately freaks out, jumps off the floor and braces her legs on the wall to avoid the mess. She orders Gwen to clean it up, and Aunt Vera asks where Grandpa Max has gone to. Gwen explains that he has gone out for an early walk. She then excuses herself and she tells the kids to behave. Once she leaves, Ben accuses her as one of the strange aliens.

Ben and Gwen decide to go sneaking about in the neighborhood. Ben is taking her to the dump where the trapdoor is. Meanwhile, Aunt Vera and Marty are in an alleyway discussing some kind of preparations. They mention pods, which have been marinating the residents of the area. Marty clarifies that the kids may know too much, but Aunt Vera doesn’t seem to be bothered much by it.

Ben and Gwen continue to head for the trap door, and as they walk, they pass by two old women seemingly playing shuffleboard. They see the kids, and the old women hit shuffleboard pieces at them. They avoid the pieces coming right at them, and run, only to find Grandpa Max around a nearby corner. They eventually find out that he is one of them as they try to explain what just happened. He chases them, and they find more old people carrying a car. They toss it to Ben and Gwen, but it misses and hits Grandpa Max instead. Gwen becomes worried, but a greenish blob slides out from under the rubble and reforms back to Grandpa Max’s image, except with one eye replace with a larger green eye.

Ben and Gwen finally arrive at the dump where the trapdoor is located. Gwen attempts to move the dumpster, and Ben transforms into Wildmutt. In this form, he was able to move the dumpster, and tossed it at the aliens pursuing them. They quickly reform back to their figure, but Gwen was able to open the door in time. Wildmutt then picks her up and jumps in.

At the bottom of the trapdoor, Wildmutt and Gwen find a series of underground pathways. They are still being chased by the aliens, so Gwen urges Wildmutt to hurry up. Wildmutt runs farther into the cave, but finds Grandpa Max already ahead of them at the fork of the tunnels. Grandpa Max and Wildmutt battle each other, and Wildmutt was able to win over him. As he was about to finish him, the alien pretends to be Grandpa Max. Wildmutt was caught off-guard and Grandpa Max knocks him away. Gwen then reminds him that he is not their grandfather. He eventually was able to finish him off. Gwen then climbs on his back, and Wildmutt sprints through a slime-covered wall, and reverts back to normal after.

Ben and Gwen find an alien ship with hundreds of green pods surrounding it. Inside the pods are the real residents of the neighborhood, along with their Grandpa Max. Ben goes to Grandpa Max’s pod and frees him. He's released, confused of the current situation. Gwen prepares to free the others, but the aliens catch up to them, telling them to stay away. The aliens unmask their true forms, appearing as tall, greenish blobs, with a pinkish core, and yellow eyes. They are known as the Limax. They come closer to Ben, Gwen and Grandpa Max, and Gwen backs onto a wall, activating a hidden door. Inside their ship, they find many more pods in it. This worries the aliens, and tries to stop them. The Omnitrix has finally recharged. Ben decides to transform into Heatblast, however, his choice was a mistake. He attacks the aliens, making them merge into one large alien. The heat was the reason for them being there in the first place.

Heatblast’s powers are useless against the Limax, and his mistake has made him a dummy for them to throw around. While Heatblast fights, Gwen and Grandpa Max get busy to unload the pods off their ship. The Limax spot what they are doing, and they attack Gwen first. They knock off the backpack she was carrying, and revealed the water gun she used earlier. They back away with fear, revealing their weakness to Gwen. She sprayed them with water once, and a part of them dissolved. Gwen alerts Heatblast for what she learned, and Heatblast shoots a fireball to rupture an overhead water pipe. The water above them was dissolving the giant Limax, and before the water harmed them any further, they sneak into their ship and left the planet. This indicated a victory for Heatblast. Grandpa Max then suggests putting back the residents back to where they belong, but Gwen states it could take quite an amount of time. Heatblast gives an idea of transforming into XLR8 to speed up the process.

The next day, the Tennyson family gives their goodbye to Aunt Vera. Gwen receives a gelatin mold containing ingredients that are just as odd as the first mold. Ben was the one who gave the idea. She then finally says goodbye to Ben, and hoped that his visit wasn’t too boring. In fact, Ben says that it was the best. When he heads for the RV, she tells him to keep up the good work when fighting aliens. Ben wasn’t quite sure if she’s bluffing, but her laugh reassures him. They leave, and she smiles, hoping for them to come for another visit next time.

They drive down the desert road, and pass by the crater left by the Limax ship. Within the cave, a Limax is seen sneaking around. The episode ends, leaving the mystery unsolved.

Major Events

 * Ben transforms into Upgrade and Ghostfreak for the first time.

Omnitrix alien debuts

 * Upgrade
 * Ghostfreak

Characters

 * Ben
 * Gwen
 * Grandpa Max
 * Vera Tennyson
 * Senior citizens

Villains

 * Limax
 * Zs'Skayr (breifly)

Aliens used

 * Upgrade (first appearance)
 * Ghostfreak (first appearance)
 * Wildmutt
 * Heatblast

Quotes

 * Grandpa Max: (referring to the old people) We should put them all back in their condos so they think they never left.
 * Gwen: (complaining) But that could take hours.
 * Heatblast: Give me a few minutes, I'll see if XLR8 can help out.


 * Ghostfreak: (sees an old lady jump onto the ceiling and eat a fly) Yuck! No way. Ninja old people.


 * Ben: (to the Limax) You guys really burn me up... (transforms into Heatblast)
 * Heatblast: Now, I'm going to return the favor.


 * Grandpa Max: Great work, Ben.
 * Upgrade: Oh, yeah! I'm ready for anything! Bring it on! What's next?
 * Grandpa Max: We're heading off to see your Aunt Vera for the weekend.
 * Upgrade: Aw, boring old Aunt Vera? N-O-O-O-O-O-O!!!!

Trivia

 * When Ghostfreak sees Marty stealing the golf-cart, he didn't even touch the fire hydrant, it sprays by itself.
 * The Limax imitating Grandpa Max survived because it was buried under rocks when the others were defeated.
 * limax somehow survived and being able to escape on the ship.
 * When the Limax throws a car at Ben and Gwen, there's a part where Ben doesn't have the Omnitrix on. It's the first scene after the commercial break.
 * Upgrade's color scheme being visible on the objects he merges with similarities to Overload from the Teen Titans series. When Overload possessed a car in "Car Trouble," the car was colored the same as his disk head.