The next morning, the Rustbucket was driving along a coastal highway, with cars constantly passing by in both directions.
Gwen lay sprawled on the sofa, her legs slightly raised and gently swaying as she read Five Elements Magic.
It was the spellbook Gwendolyn had given her, filled with all sorts of powerful magic.
Still, a lot of it would take time to fully absorb.
After all, you could not get fat in a single bite.
"Hey, Gwen, how's your magic training going?" Ben asked casually.
"Doofus, what do you want?" Gwen shot him a glance.
He never asked things for no reason. This doofus definitely had something on his mind.
"Nothing, Gwen." Ben let out an awkward laugh. "I just wanted to ask if there's some kind of spell that can make people grow up faster."
"Huh? You want to grow up already?" Gwen looked a little surprised.
"Yeah! Future me is super cool! That's Ben 10000!" Ben burst out laughing.
He was already imagining himself all grown up, becoming the hero of heroes, Ben 10000, and beating up every alien freak out there.
"Growing up isn't necessarily a good thing." Lucian smiled faintly. "A lot of people wish they could grow up when they're kids, but once they do, all they want is to go back to childhood."
"No way. I want to become a great hero!" Ben said firmly.
"Here's an emergency news update. All drivers on Highway 112, please be advised. A prison transport vehicle has lost control and has been hijacked by multiple inmates. All drivers are urged to leave Highway 112 immediately. Repeating..."
The news broadcast sounded through the Rustbucket.
Vroom.
As soon as the announcement ended, a tall silver-and-black prison transport truck sped up from behind and overtook the Rustbucket.
A group of criminals in yellow prison uniforms crouched inside the truck, eyes gleaming with malice like a pack of vicious wolves. They clearly meant to escape and avoid the punishment of the law.
Grandpa Max gripped the steering wheel with both hands, his expression turning grave. "We can't let them get away. If they do, the public will be in serious danger!"
These vicious criminals had already suffered plenty in prison. Once they got out, they would definitely go wild and harm innocent people.
"Heh. Looks like it's time for the hero to make his entrance!"
Ben gave a crooked grin and was just about to transform.
But Lucian was faster.
With a flash of green light, Lucian instantly turned into Fasttrack.
A blue lightning cat shoved open the car door and leaped straight out.
Whoosh.
He became a pale blue blur, weaving past the cars in the way, and in the blink of an eye he was right in front of the prison transport truck.
"Ah! What the hell is that thing?"
"Who cares? Run it over!!"
"Yeah, run it over! Then I'm free!"
"Hahaha! A little kitty dares block our path? What a joke!"
Inside the truck, the prisoners all looked scornful, utterly dismissive of Fasttrack's attempt to stop them.
Fasttrack bared his teeth in a grin and slapped the Omnitrix on his chest.
"Humungousaur!"
A massive earth-brown humanoid dinosaur appeared before them, its eerie green eyes glowing. Its huge, muscular body looked like some ancient beast that had stepped out of prehistory.
"What the fuck!!"
"Oh shit!!"
"Oh my God, what is that thing?!"
"Somebody save us!!!"
"Don't panic. No matter how strong that thing is, there's no way it can stop us!"
"Yeah. It only looks three or four meters tall. At this speed, we could smash through even an elephant!"
"Haha! The ending's still the same!"
But what happened next left them dumbfounded.
Humungousaur's eyes flashed.
He grew bigger.
His body rapidly expanded like an inflating balloon. Hard bony plates jutted out from his back, making him look like an unscalable mountain.
In just a few seconds, he shot up to twenty meters tall.
As tall as a six- or seven-story building.
Boom!
The prison transport truck slammed straight into Humungousaur.
"That didn't even count as a scratch."
Humungousaur grinned and reached out with giant serpent-like arms, lifting the entire truck into the air.
"Don't kill us! We're good people!"
"Yeah, Mr. Dinosaur, have mercy! Please let us go!"
"We didn't mean to hit you!!"
Humungousaur sneered. "If you knew better, you should've thought of that sooner."
If he had not transformed into Humungousaur, getting hit by that huge prison truck would not have killed him, but it definitely would not have felt good either.
Humungousaur roared and grabbed both sides of the truck, then smashed it down onto the highway with all his strength.
Bang!
With terrifying force, the prison transport truck slammed into the road and let out a thunderous crash.
Every prisoner inside was instantly knocked unconscious, sprawled all over the vehicle.
It did not take long for the guards to arrive.
They immediately took control of the transport truck.
As for the prisoners who had hijacked it, even harsher punishment awaited them.
By then, Humungousaur had already turned into XLR8 and sped off in a blur.
...
More than an hour later, the Rustbucket came off the coastal highway and stopped on a small island so they could rest for a bit.
"Cuz, you moved so fast I didn't even get a chance to do anything." Ben spread his hands helplessly.
Lucian smiled faintly. "That situation was dangerous. We were on a coastal highway. If the Rustbucket or any other car had gotten hit, it would've been a huge problem."
"So ending it as quickly as possible was the right call."
"Alright." Ben sounded a little discouraged.
"Don't worry, Ben. You'll get your chance later," Lucian said comfortingly.
"Shh, kids, quiet for a second..." Grandpa Max tilted his head and listened closely.
"Latest update. The launch of the Novan spacecraft has been delayed due to a strange lightning storm."
The Rustbucket's news broadcast rang out again.
Lucian's expression shifted, and he turned to look.
On the screen was a massive spacecraft standing among a barren mountain range. Above it, violent lightning filled the sky, purple flashes blazing as thunder rolled, as if the heavens themselves were being torn apart.
"Purple lightning?" Gwen froze for a moment, as though she had just remembered something. She thought carefully, then said, "Last time, when we ran into Benwolf in the desert, we saw purple lightning too!"
"And when the Snare-Oh showed up, Todd said there was purple lightning back then too!" Ben instantly got excited.
Grandpa Max frowned. "There's definitely some connection."
"Then let's go check it out. We don't know where else to go right now anyway," Lucian suggested.
"Alright, that settles it." Grandpa Max nodded.
"Next stop. Cape Canaveral!"