Without wasting another second, he slammed the Omnitrix. A flash of green light burst across his body as he transformed directly from Big Chill into XLR8.
Before Gwen could even ask anything, Jack grabbed her and in the next instant a powerful gust of wind rushed past her. When she blinked again, they were already outside the underground lab. One after another, the people who had been turned back from lizard men began appearing beside her until everyone had been safely evacuated.
"... you did it." Gwen let out a sigh of relief as Jack set down the last group.
"Wait here. I'm going back one last time to make sure no one is still inside." Before Gwen could stop him, Jack disappeared in a blue blur.
Her heart instantly tightened. She clenched her fists as the countdown echoed through her mind. Three... Two... One...
BOOM! BOOM!
A massive explosion erupted beneath the ground, shaking the surrounding area. Gwen's face instantly turned pale.
"Jack!" she called through her suit's communicator.
Just as she was about to rush toward the burning ruins, a familiar blue blur stopped beside her.
"I made it."
Seeing him safe, the fear in Gwen's eyes immediately turned into anger.
"Idiot!" She punched him hard in the shoulder. "Don't ever pull something like that again! Do you know how worried I was?"
Jack rubbed his shoulder with an awkward smile. "Sorry. I went back to make sure no one was left behind, but I couldn't find the scientist or Dr. Connors."
Gwen let out a long breath. She wanted to stay angry, but seeing Jack standing safely in front of her, she couldn't. "Just... don't scare me like that again." She quietly grabbed his hand before letting go a moment later. "We need to find those two before they attack other people."
Just then, Red Queen sent a message. "Master, after Emma and Morgan helped Peter move the rescued hostages to safety, they spotted the scientist and the lizard man escaping from another route. They're fighting them now."
Hearing that, Jack and Gwen immediately rushed toward the location Red Queen had marked.
When they arrived, Emma was still in her Four Arms form, fighting the lizard man while Peter supported her from the side. Grabbing the lizard man by the tail, Emma swung him through the air before slamming him heavily into the ground with a loud boom. On the other side, Morgan was exchanging attacks with the scientist, steadily forcing him back.
Just as Jack rushed over to help, the scientist noticed him. His calm expression instantly changed.
"No...!"
Without any hesitation, he pressed a small device hidden in his sleeve. A blue light instantly engulfed his body, and before anyone could stop him, the scientist vanished without a trace.
"He teleported!" Morgan shouted.
"Damn it..." Jack frowned as he stared at the empty spot where the scientist had just been standing. This guy really isn't easy to catch. No wonder he managed to escape even the Ancient One.
"How's that? Did I handle that perfectly or what?" Emma asked proudly, still in her Four Arms form.
"Yeah." Jack smiled lightly. He wasn't surprised Emma could defeat the lizard man, but he hadn't expected Morgan to push the scientist that far on her own.
"Wow... you never told me you had an organization. And Gwen, you joined it too? You have no idea how surprised I was when I found out." Peter complained, looking between Omnix, Gwen, and the giant red alien. Hearing that, Jack and Gwen immediately guessed Emma had accidentally said something she shouldn't have.
Seeing the restrained lizard man lying on the ground, Jack walked over to restore his DNA, but just then the lizard man slowly opened his eyes. Emma immediately tightened the technological restraints around him, preventing him from breaking free.
The lizard man looked around, and after realizing the scientist had already escaped, he suddenly burst into laughter.
"Hahaha... losers."
Hearing the mockery, Jack paused. "What were the two of you planning? Creating a lizard army?"
"I don't know what that human was really planning," the lizard man sneered. "Creating a lizard army was my idea. If he had listened to me, all of New York would've become my kind by now." He glared in the direction the scientist had escaped. "If he hadn't improved the Lizard Serum and restored my intelligence — while promising to create an even better version — I would've never cooperated with him. But that human was far more dangerous than I ever was. Whatever he was really planning... it was much bigger than just my dream."
A cruel smile appeared on his face. "You people are going to lose to him."
Hearing that, Jack understood that even Dr. Connors didn't know where the scientist had gone or what his real objective was. Without wasting any more time, Jack activated the Omnitrix.
A green light enveloped the lizard man. "NO!" He suddenly let out a painful roar. "I don't want to become a weak human!"
His body trembled violently as the Omnitrix repaired his DNA. Green light covered his entire body while his scales slowly disappeared, his claws shrank, and his massive lizard form gradually returned to human. The transformation lasted only a few seconds, but the pain was enough to make him collapse. Moments later, Dr. Connors lay where the lizard man had been, the intense pain having already knocked him unconscious.
"Dr. Connors..." Peter stared in disbelief. He had never imagined that the Lizard they had been searching for all this time was actually his own mentor. Remembering everything that had happened, Peter slowly lowered his head. "I should've realized it sooner..."
Gwen gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't blame yourself. He's alive now. That's what matters."
Peter looked at the unconscious Dr. Connors for a long moment before giving a small nod. "I'll take Dr. Connors and the rescued civilians to the hospital. I'll leave the scientist to you, Omnix."
"Leave them to you." Jack nodded.
After Peter left with Dr. Connors, Jack turned to Red Queen. "Red Queen, search for any clues about the scientist. Anything at all."
"Understood, Master."
"We need to find him before he escapes this timeline." Hearing that, both Emma and Morgan nodded, but Gwen looked confused.
"What are you guys talking about?"
Jack briefly explained everything the Ancient One had told him — the future multiverse war, the escaped time criminal, and why he had come to this era. After listening quietly, Gwen frowned. "If that's true... then what's stopping him from simply leaving this timeline? Why is he still here?"
Just then, Red Queen spoke again. "Master, I may have found the answer." Several holographic windows appeared as she reviewed all the data she had copied from the laboratory during the self-destruct sequence. "Master, I found several search records and stolen files from the laboratory's computers. They show what the scientist was searching for."
"What did he search for?"
"He repeatedly searched for high-output energy sources capable of sustaining a temporal device. His targets included Stark Industries' Arc Reactor technology, several S.H.I.E.L.D. energy facilities, experimental power grids, and multiple nuclear power stations."
"He was looking for enough energy to power his time machine..." Jack muttered as everyone looked toward the holographic screen.
"Master, an emergency alert has just been issued. A nearby nuclear power station is reporting a massive unexplained energy drain."
Morgan's eyes immediately lit up. "So that's it. He isn't staying here because he wants to — he doesn't have enough energy to activate his time machine."
Jack immediately understood. "That has to be him."
Using their XLR8 forms, Jack and Emma quickly reached the nuclear power station while Morgan carried Gwen. Within seconds, all four arrived at the underground reactor room.
The moment they entered, they found the scientist standing beside a strange machine. Thick cables connected it directly to the reactor as enormous amounts of nuclear energy flowed into the device, and the machine hummed violently as if it were being forcefully recharged.
Seeing Jack arrive, the scientist's expression immediately changed. "No..."
"Stop!" Jack shouted as he charged forward.
The scientist immediately slammed his hand onto the control panel. The machine roared to life, blue energy burst from its core, and a transparent barrier instantly surrounded both the machine and the scientist.
"Hahaha! You're too late! You can't stop me now!"
"Surrender! You can't escape!" Jack shouted. "Shut that machine down!"
Jack punched the barrier hard, but it didn't even shake. Without hesitation, he transformed. "Four Arms!" His heavy punch struck the barrier again — yet it remained completely intact.
"No use, Daddy," Emma said as she studied the machine carefully. "This is an old-model time machine. That barrier uses almost all of its remaining energy as a defensive shield. Unless it runs out of power, we can't break through it."
The scientist laughed proudly. "Exactly. You're already too late... leader of the Plumber Organization."
Seeing he couldn't stop the machine right now, Jack forced himself to calm down. "Who are you? Why did you come to this timeline? What are you really planning?"
The scientist's face twisted with hatred. "You think I wanted to come here? If your Plumber Organization hadn't hunted me across the future, I would've never abandoned everything and escaped to the past!"
Morgan crossed her arms. "If they're hunting you, then you must've done something to deserve it."
The scientist glared at her. "Deserve it? For science, a few sacrifices are inevitable. Those fools were nothing more than stepping stones." He laughed bitterly. "I only wanted a place where the Plumbers couldn't find me. I was going to disappear into history... then build everything again from scratch and make them regret ever chasing me." He glared at Jack with pure hatred. "But now even the leader of the Plumber Organization has come after me."
A crazed smile slowly spread across his face. "Fine. I'll remember this. Next time, I'll make all of you regret it."
Suddenly — the machine emitted a sharp metallic screech.
BEEEEEEP!
The scientist's smile froze. "W-What...?" The control panel instantly filled with red warning lights. "Impossible... the reactor output is exceeding the machine's tolerance!"
Jack's instincts immediately screamed. "Everyone, get back!"
Before anyone could react, the blue barrier rapidly expanded, swallowing the entire room. "No!" The scientist's face turned pale. "This isn't supposed to happen!"
The machine erupted with blinding blue light. The entire chamber twisted as space itself began to distort. Jack instinctively grabbed Gwen. "Emma! Morgan!"
Before anyone could reach each other, the raging blue light engulfed the entire chamber. Space distorted. Time itself seemed to shatter.
The next instant, everyone vanished without a trace.
Silence returned to the underground chamber, leaving only the humming reactor behind.
A/N: The Patreon version is already updated with 20 advanced chapters. If you'd like to read ahead of the public release schedule, you can join here:
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