Early the next morning, in the dim underground garage, the Rustbucket sat parked quietly. Suddenly, a sharp scream broke the silence inside.
"Ah! Don't kill me!"
Ben shot up from his bed, gasping heavily, his eyes filled with terror.
Lucian woke up and asked, "Ben, did you have a nightmare?"
Grandpa Max and Gwen, startled awake, stumbled over sleepily.
"Dweeb cousin, could you not freak us out like that?" Gwen rubbed her sleepy eyes.
"Yeah, this old man's heart can't handle it," Grandpa Max muttered, patting his chest.
Under everyone's confused gazes, Ben's face stayed pale, fear still lingering in his eyes.
"I dreamed of that tentacle guy I saw when I possessed Rojo last time. He said... he's coming for me," Ben murmured, voice low and uneasy.
"What nonsense," Gwen sighed, rolling her eyes.
Grandpa Max's expression hardened instantly, his drowsiness gone. "Change of plans. We're not going to the amusement park today. We're heading straight to Mount Rushmore."
"Got it," Lucian nodded. He knew what that meant—a major threat was approaching.
"Oh, come on~" Ben groaned, burying his head in the pillow. "It's probably just a nightmare. No need to freak out."
"I agree," Gwen said, unusually siding with her dweeb cousin.
"No. Both of you, buckle up. We're leaving now."
Grandpa Max fastened his seatbelt and slammed the accelerator.
Vroom!
The Rustbucket roared like a wild horse breaking free, weaving through traffic before bursting through the toll gate, speeding straight toward the distant mountains.
Watching the grasslands rush past the window, herds of cattle and sheep blurring together, Lucian couldn't help but feel tense. Even with the Omnitrix, he knew the enemy this time—Vilgax, the strongest warlord in the universe—was beyond terrifying. Ordinary attacks wouldn't even scratch him.
"An hour more. Let's hope we make it in time..." Grandpa Max said, eyes fixed on the road ahead.
The highway cut through endless grasslands. Few cars passed by—just open plains stretching to the horizon.
"First time I've seen Grandpa this serious," Gwen murmured, an uneasy feeling creeping into her chest.
"Relax, Gwen. Last time you knocked over Grandpa's mealworms, he had the same face," Ben said carelessly, already over his nightmare.
"Faster... faster!"
Grandpa Max pressed the pedal down hard, as if willing the Rustbucket to sprout wings and take off.
Beep! Beep!
A sharp honk blared from behind.
A huge off-road vehicle loomed closer, roaring like a beast as it chased them. Inside sat two rough-looking men—one bald with sunglasses, the other with a vicious scar across his face.
"Hey, up front! Stop the car and hand over everything you've got, or don't blame me for what happens next!" the bald man shouted, hefting a rocket launcher onto his shoulder and aiming it at the Rustbucket's rear.
"Going Hero!"
Ben slammed his replica Omnitrix, quickly scrolling through aliens. "Class is in session—time for you losers to get schooled!"
Stinkfly!
Ben hit the dial, a burst of green light flaring around him.
"Grey Matter? Oh, come on~" The small blue frog lowered his head, staring at his tiny hands in dismay.
"I'll handle it," Lucian said with a sigh, pressing his Omnitrix.
He'd wanted Ben to fight since the replica Omnitrix couldn't be tracked by radar or controlled by Azmuth. But at this rate, if Lucian didn't step in, they'd be blown apart before Vilgax even arrived.
He raised his calibrated Omnitrix, switched to that light, and slammed it down.
Thud!
A bright green flash filled the Rustbucket as the light appeared within.
"I'll take care of them!" it said, before bursting out of the vehicle as a streak of green lightning.
"Let's hope this doesn't take long," Grandpa Max sighed, eyes still locked on the road as the Rustbucket sped on.
...
Beep beep beep!
In the command and control center of an interstellar warship orbiting Earth, the Omnitrix emblem flickered brightly on the main screen.
"Omnitrix signal detected. Should we deploy immediately?" a robot asked, turning toward the figure above.
"Proceed at once!"
Vilgax took a heavy step forward, his powerful frame striding into a spiked metal sphere. Alongside several enormous figures, he shot out through the launch bay, transforming into blazing fireballs streaking toward the blue planet below.
...
On the grassland highway, a steel-beast-like off-road vehicle thundered across the road, its massive wheels roaring as it chased the Rustbucket relentlessly.
"You think you can just ignore me?"
The bald man, rocket launcher resting on his shoulder, was about to pull the trigger—
When suddenly, a streak of green lightning flashed out from the Rustbucket ahead, striking straight for his face.
"Shut up. Here's a slap for you."
The figure flickered, appearing right before the bald man. Under his stunned gaze, Buzzshock raised one small hand, electric currents crackling between his fingers, and smacked him hard across the face.
"Ah!"
The bald man screamed, his body convulsing violently before collapsing stiffly against the car. The green rocket launcher slipped from his grasp, clattering onto the grassland road.
After shocking the bald man unconscious, the light zapped the scar-faced man as well, knocking him out cold before transforming back into a streak of lightning and darting back into the vehicle.
"Well done, Lucian. Transform back quickly," Grandpa Max called out.
The light tapped the Omnitrix and reverted to Lucian's original form.
Moments later, Grey Matter also reverted back into Ben.
"Only half an hour left to go..." Grandpa Max said, his expression easing slightly.
BOOM!
Across the vast sky, dozens of fiery streaks suddenly appeared, burning through the clouds with terrifying heat as they hurtled toward the earth below...
...
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