The Tennysons find themselves stuck inside an inescapable funhouse constructed by Zombozo; Ben goes alien and fights for escape, ultimately proving that behind every illusion, there's a disappointing secret.
Plot[]
As Team Tennyson drive through a desert in the Rustbucket, Gwen spots a billboard advertising a magic show. Ben reveals he is just as excited about it as her, and shows her his favorite magician, Dr. Weird, on their tablet. Gwen tells him he doesn't perform real magic, and opts to show Ben her favorite magician, a daredevil named Derek Payne. Ben is unimpressed, but Max breaks up their argument by telling them that every illusion has a formula. Max agrees to take them to the nearby magic show up on a hilltop.
Max and Ben in the room
As they reach the top, Ben and Gwen notice everyone standing around, emotionless. Max asks them how they are to no response, which the three shrug off as being socially awkward. They enter the castle, only to find a darkened room with a painting of a bearded lady. They notice she's pointing up, and look at the ceiling to find a hypnotic spiral. Suddenly, the three find themselves inside a room with curtained walls and checkered flooring. Ben denies the authenticity of the trick, when he is grabbed by someone behind the curtains. Max, meanwhile, fails to open the door out, and realizes he's grabbing Ben from the other side of the room.
The men performing
Gwen urges the two to follow her behind the other curtains, where they find two long-haired suited men on a stage, performing card tricks and music. Dust fills the area, the room quakes, and the Tennysons are strapped to their seats. They are flung onto a boat floating in a pink void, where one of the performers tries to get into Ben's head, causing him to turn into an ever-shifting amalgam of his transformations. Gwen encourages Ben to fight back, causing him to transform into Heatblast. He blasts the man-turned-monster with fire, causing him to grow exponentially in size. The monster dives at them, causing them to fall. They notice each other becoming realistic, when they suddenly land on a ballon, landing in a maze of mirrors.
Ben struggling to maintain form
After an hour of walking around, the three realize they're going in circles. A voice mocks them, and Ben decides to use XLR8 to find an exit. XLR8 runs through the maze, but times out without finding an escape. A bust of Zombozo laughs at him. He reveals that he studied their cross-country route, and he hypnotized the entire town so he could lay his trap. Ben transforms into Cannonbolt and begins smashing his way through the maze. Some time after, Max and Gwen find his trail of destruction. They find Ben yelling at the Omnitrix to time in, when more curtains open to reveal the stage. The performers melt, and transform into a giant version of Zombozo's head. Ben transforms into Omni-Kix Heatblast and fires at him, but it doesn't work. They continue to go at it, until Zombozo traps him in a hurricane of purple smoke. Omni-Kix Heatblast shifts between more of his transformations, and Max tries to remind him that it's an illusion. Ben manages to concentrate, and reverts back to Omni-Kix Heatblast. He tries to evaporate the hurricane, but is left in a void with a bunch of Zombozo's heads. He realizes that they never left the room, and aims at the spiral still above them.
Outside, the townspeople break free of Zombozo's hypnotism. Max congratulates Ben, though Ben is disappointed in the truth of the attraction. Meanwhile, Zombozo tries to escape, but he is confronted by the angry townspeople. Later, at a restaurant, Max prepares himself for some chili. While he drinks it (and realizes how hot it is), Ben tries to show Gwen a card trick. She tells him she has a trick, and bats the cards out of his hands.
Henchman: You have arrived. Ten, ten, ten. Always ten. A time that never ends. Max: Ben, don't let him get in your head.
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Gwen: We'd better hurry. Grandpa's getting hangry. Ben: Okay, okay, just stop panicking, everyone. I'll go XLR8 to speed to the end and find a way out. If I don't come back in five seconds, assume the worst. Bury me with my collection of Sumo Slammers stuff, and tell Kevin he smells like old-man socks.
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Gwen: What's happening? Max: It seems Zombozo's trapped Ben in some sort of giant rotating cheesburger. Gwen: What? Max: I'm hungry.
The beginning of the illusion where the Tennysons are put on a raft seems to be an homage to the boat scene in the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.
Trivia[]
At the end of the episode, Ben's comment "This stopped being fun, like, 11 minutes ago!" can be seen as leaning on the fourth wall, since 11 minutes is the average length of each episode of the reboot.
This article belongs to the Reboot Continuity
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