At a gas station somewhere in New Mexico, the heat hung in the air as the Rust Bucket sat parked near the pumps. The place was quiet, just a few cars and a small convenience store nearby.
Ben wandered along the side of the building, one hand clutching his stomach as it growled loudly.
"Man, I'm starved," he groaned.
As he walked, his eyes landed on a neatly stacked display of cookie boxes sitting just outside the store. His expression immediately changed. He licked his lips and reached out, pulling one box from the middle without thinking.
The entire stack shifted. For a second, it held, then it collapsed.
On the other side, Gwen barely had time to react before the boxes came tumbling down on top of her, burying her in a pile of cookies.
"Smooth move, Tennyson," Gwen said flatly as she pushed herself up, boxes sliding off her shoulders and onto the ground.
Ben glanced at the mess, then at her. "Hey, at least now we know they're not glued together."
Inside the store, Evan moved through the aisles at his own pace, picking out whatever caught his interest and tossing it into a basket without much thought. He didn't bother reacting to the noise outside, already used to Ben causing some kind of trouble every few hours.
A few minutes later, the three of them stepped back outside.
Max was by the Rust Bucket, wiping down the dusty windshield. As he cleared away a patch of dirt, a message became visible.
Wash me with a small frowning face drawn next to it.
"Nice artwork, Ben," Max said without looking back.
"You know, makes a statement," Ben replied casually.
Before anyone could say anything else, a sudden blast of energy tore through the air and slammed into a nearby truck, blowing part of it apart in a shower of sparks and debris.
Ben jumped. "Now, that's a statement!"
They all turned at once.
Three biker thugs stood near the edge of the station, each holding a laser cannon. Their helmets were covered in messy graffiti designs, and the one in front, clearly the leader, rested her weapon casually on her shoulder as she looked straight at them.
She jerked her head slightly, signaling the other two.
"Go."
Her lackeys rushed toward the store, heading inside to grab whatever they could, while she stayed behind, watching the Tennysons and Evan with a smirk.
"What are you looking at?" she asked, raising her cannon and charging it.
Max didn't hesitate. "Kids, get down!"
He shoved them aside just as the cannon fired. The blast streaked past, missing them by inches before slamming into a support pillar behind them. The impact made the structure groan as cracks spread along its surface.
"I've got to get Grandpa." Ben said before slamming his hand down on the Omnitrix.
A flash of green light erupted, and Four Arms stood in his place.
At that moment, the two thugs came running back out of the store, bags stuffed with cash in their hands. They barely made it a few steps before a loud whistle caught their attention.
They looked up just in time to see Four Arms leap forward and slam all four fists into the ground.
The impact sent a shockwave through the pavement, knocking both of them off their feet and sending the bags flying.
"Go!" Four Arms shouted to his family.
Max, Gwen, and Evan quickly moved behind the Rust Bucket for cover.
Four Arms turned just in time to see a security guard stumble out from behind the damaged truck, clearly dazed. The man looked up, locking eyes with the towering alien in front of him.
"You okay?" Four Arms asked.
The guard screamed and ran in the opposite direction.
Four Arms blinked. "I'm gonna take that as a no."
A blast hit him from the side.
The leader fired again, sending him crashing into another pillar. Before he could recover, she adjusted her aim and fired at one of the fuel dispensers.
The explosion followed instantly, flames engulfing Four Arms.
"Ben! No!" Max shouted.
The smoke cleared a second later as Four Arms stepped out of it, completely unharmed, his thick skin shrugging off the damage. Without wasting time, he slammed his fists into the ground again, knocking all three thugs backward.
Two of them landed near the broken truck.
Four Arms walked over, grabbing them with his lower arms while using his upper hands to pull off their helmets.
He paused.
"Huh?" he said, staring. "You're all women. I don't want to hurt-"
A laser blast slammed into his back, knocking him off his feet.
The leader lowered her cannon slightly, smirking. "Well, isn't that sweet."
"Clobber her!" Gwen shouted from behind the Rust Bucket.
"That idiot," Evan muttered, already moving.
A golden flash lit up the area.
"Fasttrack!"
A blue blur shot forward, closing the distance in an instant. Rojo barely had time to react before a punch snapped her head to the side, sending her stumbling back.
Fasttrack dashed past her, striking one thug across the face before spinning and driving a kick into the other's stomach, dropping both of them before they could recover.
He came to a stop and turned toward Four Arms, who was just getting back up.
"Now is not the time to fall in love at first sight," Fasttrack said, crossing his arms.
Four Arms frowned. "Dude, I can't hit women."
"Sure you can," Fasttrack replied without missing a beat. "You were doing just fine before you took the helmets off."
Before the argument could go any further, several mechanical drones suddenly flew into view, hovering above the gas station.
They immediately opened fire.
Laser blasts rained down across the area.
Fasttrack moved instantly, weaving through the attacks with ease, each step precise as he avoided every shot.
"Huh, those pieces of junk again," he muttered.
The drones' fire swept across the street, slicing through the gang's truck and tearing it apart. The bags of cash burst open, sending money scattering everywhere.
Rojo turned sharply, grabbing as much of it as she could. "Hey! This is my heist!"
"You can have it!" one of her thugs shouted as she scrambled to her feet and ran, not wanting anything to do with the drones.
The other followed right behind her.
Rojo scowled but didn't chase them. Instead, she turned back toward Four Arms and Fasttrack, raising her cannon again while they were distracted with the drones.
Max saw it happening. Without hesitation, he grabbed a loose tire from the ground and hurled it straight at her.
It hit her squarely, knocking her off balance and sending her to the ground.
"Those drones must be after the Omnitrixes, like at the campground!" Max called out.
Rojo groaned as she pushed herself back up, gripping her cannon tightly. Her expression hardened as she aimed it directly at Max.
"You'll get yours, old man!" She fired.
Max barely managed to duck, but the blast didn't miss everything. The laser struck a nearby gasoline canister, and for a split second there was silence before it erupted into a massive explosion.
The fireball expanded outward instantly, swallowing the pumps and tearing through the station with a deafening roar.
Fasttrack saw it happen and his eyes widened. The moment stretched out as his perception kicked in, everything around him slowing to a crawl while the explosion continued to grow, inching closer to Max and Gwen.
"NOOOO!" he shouted, already moving.
The ground blurred beneath his feet as he sprinted straight into the expanding blast radius. In his view, the flames crept forward slowly, but he knew exactly how fast they were really moving.
He reached Max first.
With a sharp shove, he pushed him clear of the blast, sending him sliding across the ground. Without stopping, he turned and grabbed Gwen, swinging her away and throwing her out of danger as well.
He was just about to pull back when part of the structure gave way.
A chunk of debris, thrown loose by the force of the explosion, came flying straight at him and slammed into the back of his head.
The hit made him flinch for just a second. That was enough for the explosion to catch up to him, completely engulfing him in flames and shockwaves.
The force blasted all three of them away.
Gwen hit the ground hard, rolling across the pavement before finally stopping. Max was thrown back as well, debris crashing down around him as he landed, motionless.
Fasttrack was launched through the air, smashing straight through the already-damaged truck and skidding across the ground on the other side.
For a moment, everything went quiet except for the crackling of fire.
"Grandpa! Evan!" Gwen shouted, scrambling to her feet as she ran toward Max, who was closest to her.
Nearby, Four Arms turned sharply, anger flashing across his face as the drones continued firing. He charged forward, ignoring the blasts as they struck around him, and grabbed two of the machines mid-air.
With a growl, he slammed them together, crushing them before hurling the wreckage straight at Rojo.
The impact knocked her down, leaving her sprawled on the ground.
Four Arms didn't waste a second. He rushed over to Max, quickly pulling the debris off him.
"We have to get them to a hospital," Gwen said, her voice shaking slightly as she pulled out her phone. "I'm calling 911."
"No time," Four Arms said immediately. "The hospital's up the street."
He carefully but quickly picked Max up, then scooped Gwen up as well. His gaze flicked toward the wreckage where Fasttrack had been thrown.
Spotting him, unmoving, Four Arms' panic grew as he rushed over and lifted him with his remaining arm.
Without another word, he turned and leapt away, covering ground in massive bounds as he headed straight for the hospital.
The gas station was left in ruins behind them.
A few seconds passed.
Then Rojo groaned and pushed herself up, shaking off the hit. Her eyes moved across the wreckage, landing on the remains of the destroyed drones scattered around the area.
"…What were you freaks?" she muttered.
She walked over and picked up the head of one of the drones, turning it in her hands as she examined the damaged circuitry.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then its eye flickered.
Before she could react, a mechanical spike shot out from it and jabbed straight into her neck.
Rojo gasped, her body locking up as data began transferring into her. The change was immediate. Her skin shifted into a deeper crimson tone as her muscles expanded, tearing through parts of her sleeves.
Spikes forced their way out from her elbows and fingers. Her eyes glowed red, matching the drone's visor, and additional features formed along her body. Two sensor-like structures emerged from her shoulders, and a second set of eyes opened, scanning independently.
The drone head fell from her hand as the process completed.
She stood there for a moment, breathing heavily, before slowly straightening up.
Police sirens cut through the air.
Two patrol cars pulled up nearby, officers stepping out with their weapons drawn. "Freeze!"
Rojo turned to face them. Her expression shifted into a grin.
"Ha. I already did my time," she said. "It's time you guys paid."
The sensors on her shoulders rose slightly, locking onto their targets.
Twin beams fired instantly.
The patrol cars were hit and destroyed in seconds, forcing the officers to dive for cover as debris scattered across the road.
Rojo lowered her arms, looking at the destruction with clear satisfaction. She walked over and picked up one of the dropped bags of cash, slinging it over her shoulder.
A low chuckle escaped her. "This is gonna be a blast."
...
At the hospital, things had finally slowed down.
The chaos from the gas station felt far away now, replaced by the steady beeping of machines and the quiet movement of nurses in the hallway.
Ben and Gwen stood near the foot of the bed while Max lay unconscious, dressed in a hospital gown. His leg was set in a cast and held up in a sling, and there were bandages along his arms and forehead where the worst of the cuts had been treated.
A doctor stood nearby, looking over a clipboard as she finished going through his condition.
"Your grandfather has suffered a severe concussion," she said. "He'll be out for several more hours. He also has several lacerations and a broken leg."
Ben shifted his weight, his hands tightening slightly at his sides. "He's gonna be okay, right?"
The doctor gave a small nod. "For a man his age, he's remarkably strong. He should recover just fine with some rest."
Ben let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.
The doctor glanced down at her notes again before looking back up at them. "Now, it says on his admittance form that he was knocked unconscious. Did someone bump into him?"
Ben hesitated for a second, then answered honestly, even if it sounded ridiculous. "Actually, he got thrown into the side of a gas station after a robot drone blew up a gas canister."
The doctor paused, then gave a light chuckle, clearly not taking it seriously. She reached out and patted his shoulder.
"Vivid imaginations can be a good coping mechanism in situations like this," she said kindly.
Ben frowned slightly but didn't argue.
The doctor then shifted her attention to the other bed in the room.
Evan was lying there in a hospital gown as well, though he looked a lot more awake. His body was wrapped in bandages in several places, but he didn't seem particularly bothered as he casually ate an apple, like this was just another minor inconvenience.
"As for your friend," the doctor continued, studying him for a moment. "He'll be fine. His body is… unusually durable for someone his age."
Evan took another bite of the apple and shrugged. "Not the first time I hear that."
After some time, the room settled into a quiet rhythm again.
Ben and Gwen stayed by Max's bedside while he rested, the steady sound of the monitor filling the space. Max hadn't moved much, but his breathing was even, and that alone helped ease some of the tension.
Gwen glanced over at Ben, who hadn't really taken his eyes off their grandfather.
"Ben, you heard the doctor. He'll be fine," she said, trying to reassure him.
"I know," Ben replied, but his voice was quieter than usual. "I'm still worried about him."
Gwen gave a small smile, then nudged him lightly. "I'd be more worried about how some girl managed to kick Four Arms' butt."
Ben frowned slightly. "Hey, heroes don't hit girls."
"Yeah, they do," Evan said immediately. "So if a girl tries to destroy the world, a hero should just let it happen?"
He tossed the apple core in his hand toward the trash can across the room. It hit the rim, bounced once, and fell to the floor beside it. Evan glanced at it for a second.
Gwen smirked slightly and jabbed Ben in the arm. "He's got a point."
Ben shot her a look and jabbed her back.
"Hey! I thought you said-"
"I'm not in Hero Mode," Ben cut in.
Gwen clenched her fist and pulled it back, ready to swing, but paused when she saw the look on his face. The usual confidence wasn't there, just frustration and worry.
Ben looked away first and headed toward the door.
Gwen watched him go, then followed after him into the hallway.
"You okay?" she asked. "Normally hitting me would've helped by now."
Ben leaned against the wall, glancing back toward the room. "Maybe if I used Upgrade, I could connect to the machines and fix him or something."
Gwen shook her head. "Ben, that won't work."
"What if I used Ghostfreak? Maybe I could, I don't know, go inside and fix whatever's wrong." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I just want to help him, you know?"
Before Gwen could answer, Evan's voice came from inside the room.
"Ben."
Both of them looked back.
"Come in here for a bit. We need to talk."
Ben hesitated, then pushed himself off the wall and walked back inside, with Gwen following close behind.
Evan shifted slightly in his bed, then tilted his head toward Ben.
"You finally understand what I told you before?" he asked. "About great power comes great responsibility."
Ben lowered his gaze a little. "Yeah… I remember."
Evan then looked toward Max.
"This is what I meant," he said, gesturing slightly toward the bed. "The Omnitrix contains unimaginable power. This is why both grandpa and I wanted you to be more responsible."
He paused for a moment before continuing.
"Neither of us told you to stop having fun with it and your aliens. That wasn't the point. We just expected you to know when to stop and when to take things seriously."
His eyes shifted back to the ceiling.
"If I wasn't there earlier, things could've gone a lot worse."
The room went quiet for a second.
Ben nodded slowly, taking it in. "Yeah… I get it."
Evan didn't press further. "Good."
Ben stood there for another moment, then gave a small nod. "Thanks."
He turned and walked out of the room again, this time without saying anything else.
Gwen watched him go, then glanced back at Evan.
"You're not exactly the comforting type, you know that?" she said.
Evan shrugged slightly. "He doesn't need comforting. He needs to think, learn, and grow."
Out in the hallway, Ben found a seat and sat down, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees as he stared at the floor. The hospital was still busy around him, people walking past, voices echoing faintly, but he barely noticed any of it.