After moving several of the pods farther away from the alien ship, Max finally straightened up and exhaled deeply. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand and took a moment to catch his breath. Even for someone with his experience, hauling unconscious people inside heavy alien pods across a cavern floor was tiring work.
His gaze shifted to the side.
Nearby, Fasttrack was moving so quickly that he appeared as little more than a blue blur. The alien speedster dashed back and forth across the chamber, each pass leaving behind a growing pile of dismantled alien parts and components he had salvaged from the ship.
Max narrowed his eyes slightly when he noticed the materials.
He walked closer and picked up one of the metallic components, turning it over in his hand. The craftsmanship was alien, but even he could tell the material quality wasn't particularly impressive. Functional, yes, but nothing extraordinary.
He sighed lightly.
"Evan," Max called out.
Fasttrack skidded to a halt beside him, the friction leaving faint marks across the dusty stone floor.
"Shouldn't we be focusing on getting these people somewhere safer?" Max asked, gesturing toward the rows of pods.
Fasttrack glanced at the materials for a moment before nodding.
"I'm on it."
In the next instant, he vanished again. Within seconds, he had already begun relocating the pods even farther away from the spacecraft, carrying them carefully despite the incredible speed he was moving at.
Then suddenly two familiar voices echoed through the cavern.
"Grandpa! Evan!"
Both Max and Fasttrack turned. Running down one of the tunnels toward them were Ben and Gwen.
But they weren't alone. Behind them came a small group of the town's elderly residents, led by Aunt Vera.
Her expression twisted into an angry scowl the moment she saw Fasttrack carrying the pods.
"You Citrakayah!" she roared furiously. "Stop that!"
The rest of the seniors moved with her, advancing quickly.
Max and the kids instinctively turned toward them.
Fasttrack didn't hesitate.
In a single flash of motion, he rushed forward and struck first. His fist slammed into Vera's face with a sharp crack before he pivoted and drove his knee straight into the stomach of another approaching senior. Spinning around, he followed through with a powerful kick that caught a third one directly across the head.
The three figures were sent flying backward across the cavern floor.
Despite the brutal hits, they recovered far too quickly.
Their bodies shuddered. Then their forms twisted and collapsed into something completely different. Their human disguises melted away, revealing their true shapes.
Green, semi-transparent amoeba-like creatures with visible internal organs writhed where the old people had been standing only moments earlier. The alien beings let out piercing shrieks as their bodies stretched and shifted.
"Physical attacks don't work," Fasttrack muttered quietly, tilting his head as he observed them.
He glanced toward Ben. "Ready to go hero, Ben? Physical attacks won't stop them."
One of the creatures shrieked angrily. "They found out!"
"We can't let them escape," another Limax hissed.
"Get the pods back onto the ship," a third one growled. "They've been marinating long enough."
Ben cracked his knuckles. "You guys really burn me up."
He slammed down on his watch.
A burst of green light exploded outward as the Omnitrix activated.
His body transformed rapidly as brown-orange rock plates formed across his skin, spreading down his arms and torso. Cracks glowed faintly between the plates as the transformation completed. Flames suddenly erupted from the top of his head, shaping themselves into a blazing crown.
When the light faded, Heatblast stood where Ben had been.
The Limax hesitated, instinctively backing away from the towering figure of living fire.
Heatblast raised both arms. "Now I'm returning the favor."
A blazing fireball launched from his palms, slamming into the Limax and blasting them backward. The aliens quickly leapt together, merging into a massive writhing mass of green slime.
The giant creature rose up, its voice echoing from several mouths at once.
"Whatever you are, you've made a terrible mistake," it snarled. "We Limax live for heat. Why do you think we came to the desert in the middle of summer?"
Its tentacles lashed out toward the pods.
But Heatblast and Fasttrack stepped in front of them at the same time.
Flames and high-speed strikes forced the tentacles back repeatedly.
"Got a plan, partner?" Heatblast asked as he stood beside Fasttrack.
"Let's switch forms." Fasttrack tapped the dial on his chest. Golden light burst outward.
"Feedback."
When the glow faded, Feedback stood there, his single golden eye fixed on the massive Limax.
Heatblast stared. "Wow. How do you do that?"
Feedback casually reached over and tapped the Omnitrix on Heatblast's chest.
And nothing happened.
"Hm. I should have expected that," he muttered. "Different watch, different system."
"Aw man!" Heatblast groaned in disappointment. The two immediately turned back toward the Limax.
Fireballs and electric blasts slammed into the massive creature while its tentacles whipped across the cavern, smashing against the walls and floor as it tried to overpower both aliens.
During the fight, two small globs separated from the Limax and slithered toward Max and Gwen, who were protecting and moving the pods.
Gwen tried to lift another pod out of the way when one of the slime creatures suddenly lunged forward and slashed open her backpack.
Books and supplies spilled out. The Limax paused when it noticed the water gun inside. It hissed and instinctively backed away.
Gwen blinked. Then realization struck.
She grabbed the water gun and sprayed it directly at the creature.
The moment the water touched it, the alien shrieked as its body began melting.
"They hate water!" Gwen shouted toward the others. "Aunt Vera reacted the same way earlier in the kitchen!"
"Or Marty when I was on that golf cart," Heatblast muttered as the memory clicked.
Both aliens looked upward. A large water pipeline ran along the cavern ceiling.
Heatblast launched a precise fireball toward it, causing the pipe to burst instantly.
Water sprayed down in a powerful stream, soaking the giant Limax. The creature roared in agony as its massive body began dissolving.
Feedback and Heatblast quickly retreated.
"See you later, slime ball," Heatblast said.
The Limax screamed as its body melted apart.
"Sorry! No drive-thru service here!" Max added as the remaining slime desperately retreated back toward the ship.
Moments later, the alien spacecraft roared to life.
The four stepped back as the ship blasted upward through the cavern ceiling and shot into space, it framed somewhat shaking, leaving behind a massive crater where it had exited.
Feedback looked down at the scattered alien components he had collected earlier.
"Hm… hope I didn't remove anything too important," he muttered.
"Good riddance," Heatblast said.
Max turned toward the pods. "We should return everyone to their homes so they think they never left."
Gwen groaned. "That could take hours."
"Give us a few minutes," Heatblast replied. "I'll see if XLR8 can help."
Max glanced toward Evan. Or at least toward the place where Evan should have been.
Feedback had already changed back to Fasttrack and was staring thoughtfully at the pile of alien materials on the ground.
Noticing the gaze, Fasttrack gave a thumb up, scooped up the parts with his arms, and then ran off down one of the tunnels at full speed.
Max: "..."
Maybe that message hadn't been clear enough.
He sighed.
If he didn't say things directly, Evan would probably misunderstand the instructions in ways that conveniently aligned with whatever he wanted to do.
Before Gwen or Heatblast could question why Fasttrack had suddenly taken off, Max spoke up.
"Forget it," he said calmly. "He's probably exhausted. He told me he spent the entire night searching those tunnels to find this place. It's better to let him rest."
The two nodded.
After all, when they woke up that morning, Evan had already disappeared. At the time, they had both assumed he had simply gone out early with Max. They have only managed to find this place so quickly thanks to Wildmutt's strong senses.
The next morning arrived quietly, as if the strange events of the night before had never happened at all. The small desert town looked peaceful under the bright sunlight, and the streets were calm once again.
Outside Aunt Vera's house, Vera stood by the driveway, warmly hugging her brother and the kids goodbye.
"Don't be strangers," Vera told her brother with a bright smile.
Max chuckled as he adjusted his hat and walked toward the driver's seat of the Rust Bucket.
"We won't," he promised before climbing inside.
Nearby, Gwen stepped forward to say her goodbye.
"Bye, Aunt Vera," Gwen said politely.
"Bye, dear," Vera replied warmly. Then she suddenly remembered something and reached back into the house. "Oh, and this is for the road."
She returned holding a large green gelatin mold on a plate and handed it to Gwen.
"Ben told me how much you loved my gelatin mold," Vera said proudly. "This one's lime flavored with chunks of grouper and chickpeas."
Gwen froze for a second while holding the dish. Behind her, Ben quietly snickered to himself.
"Uh… thanks," Gwen said carefully before walking toward the Rust Bucket, trying very hard not to stare too closely at what was inside the gelatin.
Vera then turned her attention to Ben and stepped closer.
"I'm sorry if there wasn't enough excitement for you two while you were visiting," she said kindly. "I hope you weren't bored to tears."
Ben scratched the back of his head before grinning.
"Actually, it turned out way better than we expected," he admitted. "There was more excitement than you could possibly imagine."
"I'm glad to hear that," Vera said happily as she pulled him into a hug. "Have fun on the road."
"Don't worry," Ben replied confidently. "We will."
He jogged over toward the Rust Bucket. Just before he climbed in, Vera called out again.
"Oh, and Ben?" He turned back toward her.
"Yes?"
Vera smiled knowingly. "Keep up the good work dealing with all those aliens you were telling us about."
Ben blinked in confusion. "…You're kidding, right?"
Vera simply laughed.
"Of course, dears," she said playfully before giving them a wink.
A few minutes later, the Rust Bucket rumbled back onto the highway and began driving away from the quiet little town.
Inside the RV, Gwen and Ben sat across from each other at the small table while Max focused on driving.
In the living area behind them, Evan quietly organized the alien materials he had taken from the underground ship the night before. He carefully placed the salvaged components into a small container before sliding it into a storage compartment.
After making sure everything was secured, he stretched slightly and laid down on one side of the couch.
Within moments, he was already asleep. Meanwhile, Ben leaned back in his seat and sighed.
"Well… that vacation turned out way less boring than I expected."
Gwen glanced at the container Evan had stored away and shook her head slightly.
"With us around," she said, "things never stay boring for long."
The Rust Bucket continued down the highway, carrying them toward whatever strange adventure would come next.
...
High above Earth's orbit, far beyond the reach of satellites and human detection, a massive warship drifted silently through space.
Its dark metallic hull reflected the distant glow of the planet below like a predator watching its prey from the shadows.
Inside the command chamber of the vessel, Vilgax looks through the viewing screen. Though his body still bore the damage from previous battles, the warlord had already begun recovering, and his cold, calculating gaze remained as sharp as ever.
On the screen below him, a large training arena inside the ship had been prepared.
Five figures stood within it.
Bright spotlights shone down from the ceiling, each one illuminating a different bounty hunter.
The first was a tall armored warrior clad in purple combat plating. Thick pads protected his central joints while an alien utility belt wrapped around his waist. His helmet was smooth and featureless except for four narrow lines that outlined where his face would be beneath the mask.
This hunter was known as Six-Six.
Standing beside him was a far more unusual figure.
A crab-like alien encased in goldish-brown armor shifted its weight across four scythe-like legs. Its sideways mouth clicked quietly as its massive left pincer flexed. Built directly into the claw was a combined weapon system capable of firing both energy blasts and chemical sprays.
This was Kraab.
The third bounty hunter stood nearly seven feet tall. Its body was covered in reptilian skin, and long dreadlock-like tendrils hung from the back of its head. The creature's face featured a pair of arthropod-like mandibles that flexed slowly while a metal mask partially concealed its features. Heavy armor protected its torso, and twin wrist blades extended from each forearm.
The alien hunter was a member of the species known as Yautja, commonly nicknamed the Predator.
Next stood a humanoid figure clad in sleek deep-red power armor. A golden helmet and chestplate protected the front of the suit, while a bright pink visor concealed the wearer's face entirely. Her left arm was equipped with a large integrated energy cannon that hummed faintly as it powered up.
She was the famed bounty hunter Samus Aran.
Finally, the fifth figure stood calmly at the far end of the arena. He wore a smooth grey armored suit with black plating and a helmet marked by a glowing teal triangle. Matching teal energy lines ran along his shoulder pads and visor, giving the armor a faint futuristic glow.
He was known simply by the codename Hoverboard.
After a moment of silence, Vilgax's deep voice echoed through the arena over the ship's intercom.
"Begin the audition."
The hunters immediately moved.
Six-Six launched forward first as his jetpack ignited, lifting him high into the air. Mechanical ports opened along the arena walls as dozens of combat drones emerged and surrounded him.
A small socket opened in Six-Six's armor. He reached inside and pulled out a compact blaster, firing rapidly as he weaved through the incoming drones. Several exploded instantly under his precise shots.
The remaining drones returned fire, sending bright energy bolts streaking through the air. Six-Six rolled aside mid-flight, narrowly avoiding the blasts before activating a wrist-mounted rocket launcher. A missile streaked across the arena and detonated among a cluster of drones.
More machines rushed toward him.
Without hesitation, Six-Six retrieved a grenade from another armor compartment and tossed it into their formation. The explosion ripped through several drones at once, scattering burning fragments across the arena floor.
Meanwhile, Kraab dropped down from the elevated platform with a heavy thud.
The crab-like hunter charged straight into the swarm of drones. One mechanical unit flew directly at him, but Kraab grabbed it mid-air with his massive pincer and hurled it into another machine, destroying both in a violent collision.
Another drone tried to attack from the side.
Kraab crushed it effortlessly with his claw before slicing another drone in half with the razor edge of his right limb.
Across the arena, the Yautja hunter remained perfectly still for a brief moment, silently observing his targets.
Then his wrist blades extended with a metallic snap.
The Predator darted forward with incredible speed, ducking beneath incoming laser fire as he slashed through drone after drone. Sparks flew as his blades tore through their metal bodies.
A drone attempted to retreat upward.
The Predator raised his gauntlet and fired a small missile directly into its path, destroying it in a fiery explosion. He turned his head slightly afterward, letting out a low, aggressive snarl as he glanced toward the other bounty hunters.
Not far away, Samus Aran stood firm as the cannon on her left arm began firing.
Bright energy blasts from her Power Beam streaked across the arena, striking drones with precise accuracy. Some shots were rapid bursts while others were powerful charged blasts that destroyed multiple targets at once.
One drone attempted to escape overhead.
Samus fired her Grapple Beam upward, the glowing cable latching onto the machine. Using the tension, she vaulted into the air in a smooth backflip and landed atop the drone for a split second before launching a missile directly into another drone flying nearby.
Both machines exploded in mid-air.
Just then, a much larger drone descended into the arena from above. It resembled the powerful combat unit that had once attacked the campground on Earth.
Hoverboard stepped forward.
With a flick of his wrist, a sleek hovering board unfolded beneath his feet. He jumped onto it and shot upward toward the giant drone.
The machine fired a powerful laser that struck him directly.
For a moment, smoke filled the air.
When it cleared, Hoverboard was still standing unharmed, his armor having absorbed the blast.
He launched himself upward and drove his fist straight through the drone's core. The machine short-circuited instantly and exploded as its body collapsed around him.
Hoverboard landed smoothly as his board floated back to him. He folded it neatly and stored it away just as the arena lights dimmed.
Above them, Vilgax's projection appeared on the massive screen.
"Impressive," the warlord said calmly. "You are all hired."
The five bounty hunters looked up toward him.
"Your objective is simple," Vilgax continued. "Retrieve the Omnitrixes. The one who succeeds will claim the reward."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"Do not disappoint me."
Without another word, the bounty hunters turned and walked toward the escape pods waiting inside the hangar bay.
One by one, they entered their pods. Moments later, the launch system activated.
The pods were jettisoned from the massive warship and streaked toward Earth like falling stars.