The next morning, the town of Sparksville didn't look anything like it had the day before.
Evan stood beside Max near the edge of the street, his eyes slowly scanning the surroundings as he tried to process what he was seeing. Smoke drifted lazily into the air from multiple directions, the remains of buildings still smoldering as faint embers flickered among broken wood and shattered glass. Several cars were overturned or crushed, their frames bent and blackened, while power lines had been torn straight out of the ground, now reduced to charred, twisted poles with loose cables sparking erratically against the pavement.
"I don't remember the street looking like this last night," Evan murmured.
Ben stepped up beside him, looking just as confused as he stared at the destruction.
"Whoa… what happened?"
Max kept his eyes moving, taking in every detail with a more serious expression.
"I don't know," he said. "Looks like a tornado came through overnight."
"Good," Ben said immediately.
Both Max and Evan turned to look at him.
Ben froze for a split second as he realized what he had just said. "I mean- uh, yeah. Good as in… not good. Like, uh, one of those freaky nature things. Right, Gwen?"
Gwen simply nodded.
Before the moment could stretch any further, the mayor approached them from down the street, stepping carefully around debris as he adjusted his suit.
"I believe I know who is responsible for these… juvenile acts."
Max raised an eyebrow.
"Juvenile acts?" he repeated, glancing briefly at his grandchildren, who suddenly looked a lot more alert. "If I didn't know better, I'd say that sounds like-"
"Oh, I'm not referring to these youngsters," the mayor interrupted calmly.
"You're not?" Ben, Gwen, and Max said at once.
Hearing this, Max shifted his gaze back at them. They immediately put on their most innocent smiles.
"Well, if they didn't do it, then who did?" he asked instead.
As if on cue, a streak of yellow electricity suddenly zipped through the air.
Before anyone could react, the lightning-like creature appeared right in front of them and began darting around the group at high speed.
It buzzed past Gwen and stuck its black tongue out at her.
Gwen recoiled slightly. "Okay, that's just rude."
The creature zipped away again, flying over to Ben and yanking his shirt up over his head before he could react.
"Hey!"
Then it darted toward Evan, tapping him lightly on the shoulder.
Evan didn't flinch, only raising an eyebrow as the creature stuck its tongue out at him as well before zipping off into the distance.
Ben pulled his shirt back down. "What was that?"
"Megawatt," the mayor explained.
"Megawhat?" Ben asked again.
"Exactly. Normally kept safely contained inside of 'it.' That is, until last night." The mayor said.
Ben and Gwen exchanged a very brief, very guilty glance.
"Some folks say it's a living ball of lightning," the mayor continued. "Others think it's static electricity gone wild. Hard to say for certain."
"Maybe it's an alien," Gwen suggested.
The mayor waved a hand dismissively. "Alien? Now that's just kooky talk."
As if to prove the point wrong immediately, Megawatt suddenly appeared again near a nearby vending machine. It hovered there for a moment, giggling to itself before shooting straight into the machine.
The vending machine began to shake violently.
Lights flickered across its surface as electricity surged through it.
"What's it doing?" Ben asked.
"It feeds on electricity," the mayor explained calmly. "The more it consumes, the more powerful it becomes."
The vending machine suddenly burst into action, launching soda cans outward at high speed.
The group barely had time to react.
"Duck!"
They all dove for cover as cans shot past them like projectiles, smashing against nearby walls and scattering across the street.
"It's also got a dangerous sense of humor," the mayor added.
They scrambled behind a wrecked car, using it as cover while more cans clattered against the metal frame.
Max glanced back toward the mayor.
"You had that thing wrapped up in a giant rubber band ball this whole time?" he asked. "Isn't that a little dangerous?"
"Not so long as people minded the signs," the mayor replied.
Ben and Gwen stiffened immediately, feeling nervous.
Ben suddenly said. "Alright, we did it! We're guilty!"
Gwen raised an eyebrow. "So much for denying everything."
Max let out a slow breath.
"We're going to talk about this later," he said firmly. "But right now, we've got a bigger problem."
He looked back at the mayor. "How do we stop this thing, Mr. Mayor?"
The mayor simply placed a toothpick in his mouth and shrugged.
"What do you mean 'we?' You let it out. You catch it."
Before anyone could respond, a piece of flaming debris suddenly crashed down nearby, sending sparks flying across the street.
...
"Why are you looking at me for? I didn't let it out," Evan said, crossing his arms as he walked alongside the Tennysons through the damaged streets.
Ben walked backward in front of him, trying to look convincing.
"C'mon, partner, we're a team," he said. "We're in this together, remember?"
Evan gave him a flat look.
He was seriously reconsidering why he had bothered stepping in earlier to convince Tetrax and Samus to leave the Omnitrix with him. At the time it made sense, but right now, watching Ben grin like this in the middle of a crisis caused by him made him question that decision.
Gwen walked beside them, glancing around at the damaged buildings and sparking wires overhead.
"Should we try luring it out with something?" she suggested. "Like batteries or… I don't know, a generator?"
Above them, unnoticed, Megawatt zipped along the power lines as a crackling ball of yellow electricity. It followed the group silently, its small, mischievous chuckle barely audible over the faint buzzing of damaged transformers.
In an instant, it darted down from the lines and shot into a nearby streetlight, then out again, and before anyone realized what was happening, it zipped straight up Max's pant leg.
Max stiffened. A second later, he was yanked upward by his underwear.
"That's not funny!" Max exclaimed as he was lifted slightly off the ground. "Just painful!"
Megawatt struggled a little to keep him suspended, the weight clearly more than it expected, but it still cackled while trying.
Ben immediately raised his wrist.
"Don't worry, Grandpa. I know just the hero for a troublemaker like this."
He reached for the Omnitrix. But before he could activate it, a golden flash erupted beside him.
"Feedback!"
The black-and-yellow alien appeared instantly, already raising his plug-like fingers toward Megawatt. Electricity surged visibly through the air as Feedback pulled the energy straight out of the creature.
Megawatt let out a sharp, panicked screech.
The grip on Max vanished as the creature dropped him and shot away down the street, flickering erratically as it tried to escape.
Feedback didn't hesitate and chased after it immediately.
Ben blinked. "…Hey, that was my moment."
He quickly slammed down on the Omnitrix anyway.
Green light enveloped him as his body shifted, skin turning black and green while glowing lines spread across his form. His features smoothed out, merging into a sleek, liquid-metal shape as a single green eye formed at the center.
"Upgrade?"
Gwen looked at him. "Why go Upgrade?"
Upgrade narrowed his gaze toward her and said confidently. "It's complicated. You wouldn't understand."
Gwen raised an eyebrow. "The watch didn't give you what you wanted, did it?"
"…Shut up."
Ahead of them, Megawatt zipped through the air, trying to create distance, but every time it attempted to disperse into pure electricity, Feedback immediately absorbed part of it, forcing it back into a more solid state with a pained screech.
It was fast. But it couldn't fully escape him.
Seeing an opportunity, Upgrade rolled something massive down the street toward them.
The giant rubber band ball.
"Alright, twinkle toes," Upgrade called out. "Time to go home!"
The ball bounced unevenly as it rolled forward. For a moment, it looked like it might actually work. Then several of the rubber bands snapped.
The structure began to unravel.
Bands shot off in all directions like projectiles, snapping loudly as they whipped through the air. Gwen immediately ducked behind a nearby car to avoid getting hit, while Feedback stepped back, narrowly avoiding one that snapped toward his head.
"Hey, doofus! Whose side are you on?!" Gwen shouted.
From the sidewalk, the mayor casually sat on a bench, watching the chaos unfold while munching on popcorn.
"Is it just me," he said, "or is there a lot of excitement today?"
With Feedback pushed back momentarily, Megawatt seized the chance.
It reappeared directly in front of Upgrade, hovering smugly as it made exaggerated faces and mocking gestures, clearly enjoying itself.
Upgrade glared. His eye began to glow. Without thinking, he fired a beam of green energy straight at it.
Megawatt blinked in confusion and easily dodged to the side.
The beam continued forward, right toward Feedback.
"Why am I not surprised," he muttered as his antennae leaned forward, absorbing the blast effortlessly.
Upgrade straightened. "Whoa! That's new!"
He completely ignored the fact that he had just fired at his own teammate.
"Not so funny now, is it?!" Megawatt just laughed again and zipped away.
Upgrade immediately gave chase, his body flowing forward across the ground, but he couldn't keep up. The creature was simply too fast, darting between wires, lights, and broken electrical sources.
But the moment Feedback got even remotely close, Megawatt would panic and retreat again, clearly wary of him.
The chase continued through the damaged streets, the two aliens working together, but never quite managing to corner it.
Megawatt was careful. It stayed just far enough away from Feedback to avoid being drained, and too fast for them to properly trap.
At one point, Upgrade finally managed to get close enough and lunged forward, wrapping part of his liquid body around Megawatt.
Only for a surge of electricity to explode outward.
Upgrade was blasted back instantly, skidding across the ground before reforming and sitting up with a groan.
"Note to self," he muttered, rubbing his head, "never grab electrical enemies when you're made of liquid metal."
Feedback landed nearby, watching him. "You just figured that out now?"
Upgrade ignored him. Up ahead, Megawatt reappeared again, floating just out of reach, laughing as it circled them playfully.
Feedback narrowed his eyes slightly. He was the perfect counter.
But that didn't matter if he couldn't get close enough to actually grab it.
"How are we supposed to ground that electric devil?" Max asked, watching the chaos unfold as sparks continued to crackle across the street.
Gwen suddenly froze, her eyes widened. Then she snapped her fingers.
"Grandpa, you're a genius!" she said quickly before turning and running off down the street.
Max blinked, caught off guard.
"Well, thank you, Gwen," he called after her. "But why?"
He didn't get an answer.
Back on the street, the situation hadn't improved.
Upgrade was still trying to keep up with Megawatt, but the small lightning creature was clearly enjoying itself at his expense. It zipped around him in tight circles, darted between his limbs, and occasionally flicked sparks at him just to be annoying.
Upgrade twisted his body to follow it, stretching and reshaping as he tried to predict its movements, but it was like trying to grab a bolt of lightning with bare hands.
Meanwhile, Feedback was also trying to catch it, but it kept keeping a good distance away from him.
Each time Megawatt came close, he reached out to absorb it, but the creature always darted away at the last second, keeping just enough distance to stay safe while continuing to taunt them.
Feedback was getting irritated.
"That's it," Upgrade said, his patience finally running out. "I'm pulling the plug on this guy's break."
He bent down and grabbed a heavy sewer lid from the street, lifting it with both hands. The metal scraped loudly against the pavement as he adjusted his grip.
Then he looked up. "Hey, Sparky, catch!"
With a powerful throw, he launched the sewer lid spinning through the air like a giant disc. It cut through the space between them at high speed and struck Megawatt directly in the center.
Then, Megawatt split cleanly into two halves.
Both halves hovered in place for a second, flickering slightly as if unsure what had just happened.
The two halves began to stabilize. Then, instead of collapsing, they reformed.
Into two separate Megawatts.
Upgrade straightened. "…Huh?"
Both of Megawatts turned to look at each other. Then they started laughing.
Upgrade stared. "Okay… so maybe that wasn't a great-"
Before he could finish, Feedback moved.
In a single smooth motion, he stepped forward and planted one foot directly onto Upgrade's head, using him as a springboard. The sudden weight pushed Upgrade slightly into the ground.
"Hey!"
Feedback launched himself upward.
His body arced through the air as his plug-like fingers extended toward one of the two Megawatts.
The creature barely had time to react. Feedback grabbed onto it.
Electricity surged violently for a brief moment as the connection was made.
The yellow glow of the Megawatt dimmed rapidly as its energy was pulled into Feedback's body. The creature let out a high-pitched screech as its form destabilized, shrinking and flickering uncontrollably.
Within seconds, it completely collapsed. The energy vanished, and the first Megawatt was gone.
Feedback landed back on the ground, straightening as the absorbed energy crackled faintly along his body.
He turned his single golden eye toward the remaining Megawatt.
The second one froze. Then it let out a panicked scream.
Without hesitation, it turned and shot away down the street as fast as it could, no longer laughing, no longer playing around.
A red flash burst behind him as Ben reappeared, the glow fading just as quickly as it came. Feedback tilted his head slightly, glancing back over his shoulder at him, then reached up and tapped the Omnitrix dial without hesitation.
"Fasttrack."
The transformation hit instantly.
In a burst of golden light, his body shifted, and before anyone could say another word, his foot stomped on the ground, launched forward, tearing down the street after the fleeing Megawatt.
The electric creature darted ahead, zigzagging between broken streetlights and snapped power lines, but Fasttrack closed the distance quickly, his footsteps barely touching the ground as he accelerated.
Behind Ben, the sound of an engine roared to life.
A large truck came barreling down the road, its cargo rattling loudly in the back. Strapped onto it was the World's Largest Thermometer, swaying slightly with the speed.
Ben turned just in time to see it stop in front of him.
"Whoa!"
The passenger door swung open as Gwen leaned out. "Get in, quick!"
Max was behind the wheel, Ben didn't waste time. He grabbed the door and pulled himself inside in one smooth motion, slamming it shut behind him as the truck kept moving.
"Wait," Max said, glancing briefly at him. "Where's Evan?"
Ben pointed straight ahead. "He turned into Fasttrack and went after Megawatt."
Max nodded once, eyes returning to the road.
"Good. Then let's make sure this ends properly."
Ben looked at him, confused. "Grandpa, what are you doing?"
Max's expression sharpened slightly as he pressed harder on the gas. "Giving this sparkler a science lesson it won't forget."
The truck surged forward.
Up ahead, Fasttrack finally caught up.
He leaned into his speed, then swung a punch straight at Megawatt, connecting cleanly and sending the small lightning creature tumbling through the air. It bounced once across the dirt in a flicker of yellow energy before stabilizing itself again.
It hovered in place for a second. Then it realized something. This wasn't Feedback. And the fear it had before vanished.
A mischievous grin spread across its flickering form as it let out a sharp, crackling laugh.
Instead of running, it rushed back toward Fasttrack, darting around him in tight loops, trying to get close enough to mess with him again now that it knew he couldn't absorb it.
Fasttrack narrowed his eyes slightly as he tracked its movements, his body shifting with quick, precise steps.
"Yeah, I figured you'd try that."
The moment Megawatt lunged in closer, Fasttrack's hand shot up, and his other hand slammed the Omnitrix dial on his chest.
A golden flash exploded outward.
The sudden brightness forced Megawatt to recoil, its small hands raised as it instinctively shielded its eyes.
Out of the fading light, a familiar silhouette emerged.
Feedback's plug-like fingers extended forward, grabbing Megawatt directly. The moment contact was made, Feedback began draining.
Energy surged violently between them as Megawatt let out a loud, panicked scream, its body rapidly destabilizing under the pull. The bright yellow glow dimmed, shrinking and flickering uncontrollably as its power was stripped away.
Within seconds, there was nothing left. The final Megawatt vanished completely.
Feedback straightened, faint traces of electricity crackling along his body as he turned toward the approaching truck.
The vehicle slowed, tires screeching slightly as Max brought it to a controlled stop a short distance away.
Feedback reached up and tapped the Omnitrix again. The transformation reversed in a brief flash, returning him to Evan.
As the glow faded, Evan lowered his arm and walked toward the truck.
The doors opened, and Max, Gwen, and Ben stepped out, all looking relieved now that the chaos had finally been dealt with.
Ben crossed his arms, trying to act casual despite everything.
"Okay," he said, glancing at Evan. "That was pretty cool."
Gwen smirked slightly. "Pretty cool? He basically carries you, doofus."
Ben shot her a look. "Hey, I helped."
Max just smiled, clearly satisfied as he looked between them and then back at the now-quiet street.
"Well," he said, "I'd say that's one crisis taken care of."