The next morning, Evan woke up earlier than usual, the sky still just starting to lighten as the sun crept up over the horizon. The air was quiet, the kind of calm that only lasted before everyone else got up and things started moving again.
Outside, he stood beside the Rust Bucket as Stay Gold got ready to leave. Her motorcycle was still secured on top of the RV, and with a quick tap to the Omnitrix dial on his chest, Evan shifted forms.
SAM carefully lifted the motorcycle, lowering it down in a controlled motion until it settled smoothly beside the Rust Bucket. Once it was on the ground, he tapped the dial again and returned to normal, rolling his shoulders slightly as if shaking off the transformation.
Stay Gold didn't waste time. She adjusted a few things on the bike, checked it over out of habit, then reached for her helmet and put it on, securing it in place before glancing over at Evan.
For a second, she just looked at him, then gave a small smile.
"Oh, right. Max told me to get this for you."
She turned back, reaching behind the bike and opening one of the large side bags. After digging around for a moment, she pulled out a compact, odd-looking device and handed it over.
"Here. Happy early birthday."
Evan took it, turning it over in his hands as he looked it over.
"…Uh, thanks," he said. "What is this?"
"A Proto-Tool," she replied casually, like that explained everything. "You'll figure it out."
Before he could ask anything else, she was already starting the motorcycle. The engine came to life with a low rumble as she settled into position.
"Take care," she added, her tone light. "See you after summer."
She gave him a small wave, then took off, the bike moving quickly down the road and into the early morning light.
And just like that, she was gone.
Like always, she didn't stick around long enough for anything else.
Evan watched her disappear for a moment, then looked back down at the device in his hands. He didn't bother guessing.
Instead, he tapped the Omnitrix again.
A flash later, Brainstorm stood where he had been, already examining the Proto-Tool with a more focused expression. Without wasting time, he turned and headed back into the Rust Bucket, moving to a secured spot.
He pulled the curtain closed around his corner, shutting out the rest of the space, then settled in and started going through the device piece by piece.
...
Early the next morning, Ben groaned in his bed as Max's loud snoring echoed through the Rust Bucket, filling the small space in a way that made it impossible to ignore. He shifted around, trying to get comfortable, then grabbed his pillow and pressed it over his head, hoping it would block out at least some of the noise. It didn't help much.
"Hey, Gwen? You got a mega-sized cork on you?" Ben muttered, his voice muffled as he leaned over the edge of his bunk and looked down at the second one. "Gwen?"
There was no response.
He frowned slightly, pushing the pillow aside and glancing around, but she clearly wasn't inside.
Outside the Rust Bucket, Gwen was already up and moving, standing on a nearby basketball court with a ball in her hands. She dribbled it a few times, getting into a rhythm before taking a shot at the hoop. The ball missed completely, flying off at a bad angle and bouncing away.
It hit the side of the Rust Bucket, then snapped off the antenna, which bent slightly before springing back and sending the ball in a completely different direction. It arced upward, hit a nearby power line, bounced along the metal frame for a moment like it might fall off, then rolled down and dropped cleanly through the hoop.
"Nothing but the bottom of the net again," Gwen said with a small smirk, glancing down as the charm around her neck stopped glowing.
Right then, the door to the Rust Bucket opened, and Ben stepped out, still half-tired until he noticed the ball sitting perfectly in the net. He stared at it for a second, then at Gwen, clearly trying to piece together what he had just seen.
"…Okay, we are definitely not playing Horse," he said as he walked over and picked up the ball.
"Give me that," Gwen said, reaching for it.
Ben pulled it back just enough to keep it out of her reach. "Not until you tell me how you did that."
Gwen just shrugged, clearly pleased with herself. "What can I say? I'm charmed." She lifted the necklace slightly, looking at it with interest. "It's like every time it glows, everything just lines up for me."
Ben looked skeptical but didn't argue, still trying to figure out if what he saw had any normal explanation.
Before he could say anything else, Max stepped out of the Rust Bucket, stretching slightly as he adjusted to the morning air.
"Nothing like a good night's sleep," he said, sounding far more rested than Ben felt. Then he looked around, noticing something missing. "Wait, where's Stay Gold?"
Evan walked out right after him, already awake and alert, the Proto-Tool now neatly attached to his left shoulder like he had already figured out how to make use of it.
"She left," Evan said simply. "Said you're fine walking again, so she went to get milk. Again."
Max paused for a moment, then let out a quiet sigh, shaking his head slightly.
"That sounds like her…" he said, more amused than surprised. He didn't dwell on it long before clapping his hands together once. "Anyway, who wants breakfast?"
Ben and Gwen both froze for a second.
They exchanged a quick look, already knowing exactly what that meant.
Then, almost in sync, both of them swallowed.
Neither of them said yes, but neither of them said no either, which was enough of an answer on its own.
Suddenly, a loud crash echoed from the nearby construction site, cutting through the morning calm. Everyone turned at once as the scaffolding began to give way, metal bars shifting out of place while the entire structure tilted dangerously. The rope holding a suspended platform snapped under the strain, and the workers on it dropped before barely managing to grab onto the poles, their bodies hanging over open air as they struggled to hold on.
"Time to watch a real hero at work," Ben said, already dialing his Omnitrix with a confident grin.
"Yeah… me!" Gwen cut in as her necklace started glowing again, her expression lighting up. "I'll be right back."
Before anyone could stop her, she took off, heading off to who knew where without explaining anything.
Ben blinked once, then shrugged it off like it didn't matter.
"Alright, guess I'll handle it."
He slammed the Omnitrix down, green light bursting outward and surrounding him.
He had aimed for Diamondhead.
Instead, he turned into Wildmutt.
Wildmutt landed with a low growl, shaking his head once before focusing on the chaos ahead.
"Over here! Somebody!" a man shouted, drawing Max's attention to a truck pinned under a fallen beam, the driver trapped inside and unable to move.
Max started moving toward him immediately, but things were already escalating.
From the side, Gwen stepped back into view.
Only she didn't look like herself anymore.
She wore a fitted black catsuit, a short cape tied around her waist, gloves, boots, and a cat-themed masquerade mask that covered part of her face. The charm still hung around her neck, faintly glowing as she stepped forward with confidence.
"Gwen?" Max asked, caught off guard.
"It's Lucky Girl, Grandpa," she replied, already moving toward the construction site.
She scanned the area quickly, her eyes landing on a stack of boards resting unevenly on a loose plank. As her charm began glowing, she ran straight toward it and jumped onto the unstable board.
The impact sent the stacked boards flying forward. They shot through the air and slammed into the crane's windshield, shattering it and knocking the controls loose. The sudden disruption triggered the mechanism, and the wrecking ball dropped, swinging down and smashing directly into the beam pinning the truck, knocking it aside and freeing the trapped driver.
The force of the impact carried through, striking a control panel nearby and activating the construction elevator, which shot upward along its track without warning.
At the same time, Wildmutt had climbed onto the structure, moving quickly along the railing to reach the workers still hanging on.
He got close. Then the rising elevator slammed into him, sending him flying off the structure.
Lucky Girl looked up just in time to see it happen. "Uh-oh."
"Gwen- I mean, Lucky Girl! Move!" Max called out.
She reacted immediately, jumping back as loose planks and debris started falling around her. She ducked into a nearby cement truck for cover, but in the process, her hand hit one of the controls.
The truck jerked into reverse.
The chute swung backward, sliding into position right beneath the hanging workers, giving them something to brace against.
Before it kept moving and struck Wildmutt, who had just managed to grab onto a hanging wire after being launched.
"Why is Gwen's fortune Ben's misfortune?" Evan muttered, already moving as he activated his own Omnitrix.
A golden light burst outward.
A one-winged figure took shape.
"Flame Wingman."
Without wasting a second, he launched himself forward, his single wing spreading wide as he cut through the air and caught Wildmutt mid-fall by the back of the neck. He landed smoothly, setting him down without pause before immediately leaping again.
This time, he went straight for the workers.
Reaching them in one motion, he grabbed both and carried them down, his wing adjusting against the air as he descended. He landed cleanly, setting them on solid ground before stepping back.
The entire rescue took only seconds.
Before anyone could react or say anything, Flame Wingman pushed off the ground again, leaping high into the air. His wing spread once more, catching the wind as he disappeared between the surrounding buildings, gone before anyone could follow.
The chaos settled just as quickly as it had started.
A few moments later, reporters began gathering, cameras already rolling as they moved in, and since Flame Wingman had already left, many of their cameras naturally turned to the last person they saw helping.
"How did you pull off this amazing rescue?" one of them asked, holding a microphone toward Lucky Girl.
She turned toward the camera, adjusting her stance slightly before smiling.
"With style, of course," she said confidently. "Who's your hero!?"
Somewhere nearby, Wildmutt slipped away out of sight, unnoticed as he moved.
"You heard it here first, live," the reporter continued, turning back to the camera as the scene stabilized and the morning slowly returned to normal.
...
As the Rust Bucket cruised down the highway, the steady hum of the engine filling the background, Gwen sat with her laptop open, fully focused as she scrolled through page after page of information. The glow of the screen reflected faintly in her eyes as she cross-checked different sources, clearly deep into whatever she was researching. Standing beside her, Ben leaned in just enough to see the screen, his arms crossed and his expression already annoyed.
"I cross-referenced the Archamada Book of Spells with dark magical charms, and look," Gwen said, turning the screen slightly toward him while holding up the necklace with her other hand. "It's part of a set called the Charms of Bezel. This one's Luck. There are also charms for Fire, Lightning, Telekinesis, and Reincarnation."
Ben blinked, then frowned slightly as it clicked.
"Wait… those are the same charms that freaky sorcerer guy had at the museum," he said. "The one XLR8 took down."
"Exactly," Gwen replied. "That's why he wanted the spellbook. But according to this, all the Charms of Bezel need to be used together for their full power." She leaned back a little, clearly pleased. "Oh well. His loss is my gain."
"I'm afraid it's more like was," Max said from the driver's seat, his tone calm but firm. "We need to turn that charm into the museum."
"No fair!" Ben and Gwen said at the same time, both turning toward the front before glancing at each other.
"Not before I-"
"-try it," Ben finished, already picking up the Lucky Girl mask and spinning it lightly in his hand.
"-use it again!" Gwen corrected, quickly snatching it back. "The world needs someone with the power of Lucky Girl."
"News flash," Ben shot back, straightening up. "Me and my partner are the only ones here with powers."
"Well, you can make that three now," Gwen replied without missing a beat.
"All that stuff you did? That wasn't you, it was the charm," Ben said, pointing at the necklace.
"And it's not you either," Gwen fired back. "It's those watches."
Ben opened his mouth to respond, but she had already dragged Evan into it without hesitation.
"At least we actually help," Ben continued, clearly not letting it go. "You just stayed and got all the attention while we handled the real problem."
He still remembered how things had played out earlier. Sure, the workers ended up safe, and the situation was resolved, but getting there had been messy. Even now, thinking back on it, it didn't sit right with him.
Evan, who had been sitting nearby, let out a quiet sigh before finally speaking.
"Gwen, that charm is a double-edged knife." he said, his tone even as he leaned back slightly.
She glanced at him, her expression shifting just a bit.
"When you used it not long ago, the one suffering all the misfortune from your fortune was Ben." Evan continued.
Gwen didn't respond immediately.
"Remember what I said about the Omnitrix?" Evan went on. "It's just a tool. The one using it decides what kind of hero they are. The same thing applies here."
He tilted his head slightly, his gaze settling on her more directly now.
"The charm is just a tool; if you want to be a hero, then be the hero."
"You got lucky, and the downside this time only affected Ben. Someone who could handle it. But what if the one who suffered wasn't him today?"
That made her hesitate.
"What if next time it's someone else?" he continued. "Someone normal."
The RV stayed quiet as he spoke, his voice steady, not harsh, just clear.
"Think about it. Can you really call yourself a hero if that path you take was built on the misfortune and suffering of others?"
That left Gwen speechless, her grip on the charm tightening slightly as she looked down at it.
Ben didn't say anything for once, but he nodded a little, moving to lean against the seat behind Evan.
Max glanced at them through the mirror before speaking up.
"I agree with Evan on this." he said. "We don't fully understand how that charm works. Trading one person's safety for another's isn't something we should take lightly."
Gwen didn't argue this time.
The mood in the Rust Bucket shifted slightly, quieter, more thoughtful.
Then the radio crackled to life.
"And in today's news of the weird," the announcer said, "reports are coming in that the city's famed Haunted History Mansion has apparently come alive, trapping dozens of visitors inside."
Ben and Gwen both looked up at the same time.
"Grandpa."
Max didn't even hesitate.
"On it," he said, already turning the wheel as the Rust Bucket changed direction, heading straight toward the mansion.