Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan fiction made, by me. Ben 10 is copyrighted to Man of Action and Cartoon Network, Stan Hopkins is a character made by me. All rights reserved for all owners and companies.
Author's note: Welcome to the first chapter of Stan 10 Part 2!
This first chapter gives us more insight into the backstory of Max and the Plumber organization teased at in the first part.
So anyway, Remember to Read, Review and Favourite!
Let's get the hype train rolling! :D
Italics: Thinking.
Previously on Stan 10: Vilgax finally recovered from his injuries and began his invasion of Earth.
He caused chaos in his destructive rampage to lure out Stan Hopkins who at the same time was suffering nightmares regarding the horrific alien himself.
Once Stan was captured by Vilgax, Max revealed his secret in that he was a member of the 'Plumbers' an organization that focused on threats involving aliens.
Ultimately, Max launched a rescue mission with Ben and Gwen helping out significantly that resulted in Stan using all his alien forms in a long duel against Vilgax on Mount Rushmore.
In the aftermath of the duel, Stan won against Vilgax as he seemingly perished on his exploding spaceship.
Following Stan's greatest adventure yet, Max finally informed the kids about his original purpose as Plumber and how it impacted the events yet to come...
Chapter 14: 'Truth.'
(Flashback)
Thirty-five years ago in 1970...
New Mexico...
At the Los Alamos National Laboratory facility...
It was a thick and gloomy night the Los Alamos National Laboratory nuclear missile facility in New Mexico.
Everything was quiet as there three missile silos were not being utilized when...
BUZZ! THUNK! BUZZ! THUNK! BUZZ! THUNK!
A large golden beam of energy blasted over each hatch as the force of the energy caused the missiles to be slowly dragged up to the surface.
Inside the base...
A commander and a nuclear technician wearing 1970s clothing were attempting to delay the missile launch from occurring.
"What?! I didn't authorise a launch! Abort, abort!" The panicking commander yelled in shock.
"We're not launching the nukes, sir. Something is pulling them out of their silos!" The nuclear technician replied.
Turning around, the commander ordered the nuclear technician, "Well don't just stand there! We need to scramble the soldiers and call for help!"
Back outside the base...
As the hatch doors creaked open, six nuclear rockets were dragged up by the energy beam into a smaller version of the Chimerian Hammer that was orbiting above the station.
Once the nuclear rockets were loaded into the spaceship, the golden beam vanished as a smalle blue beam then dropped out of the spaceship.
Back inside the base...
Various soldiers were scrambling around the interior of the missile launch silo when the industrial door of the room exploded.
KA-BOOM!
The industrial door was sent flying to the side as thick grey smoke poured into the silo. as one of Vilgax's probe drones emerged in the room and blasted a soldier.
BEEP! WHOOSH! BLAM!
"ARGH!" The soldier yelled in pain as he slid onto the floor injured as another soldier yelled loudly, "Contacts! Open fire!"
"We have a code black! I repeat code black!" The military commander yelled on the radio from the command centre.
BLAST! THUNK! WHACK! BLAM!
The military soldiers then opened fire before Vilgax's probe drones forced the humans to fall back.
Thunk!
A younger and weaker looking Vilgax then entered the missile launch silo.
The earlier version of Vilgax was essentially identical to his pre-accident counterpart.
Walking ahead further into the silo with a pair of probe droids following him, the galactic tyrant muttered darkly, "Finally, the earthlings are known to have developed useful nuclear technology that I can acquire for my conquest and enhance my forces with."
Noticing a control panel, Vilgax attempted to utilize it when a blue laser beam struck him.
BEEP! WHOOSH! KA-BLAM! BLAST!
The blue laser beam also destroyed Vilgax's probe drones as Vilgax skidded back across the floor before he stopped and noticed two figures emerging from a nearby door.
The figures were wearing thick white armour with a red circle in the centre of it.
The two were also wearing matching black gloves and boots with a black belt to holster equipment on with a thick black helmet covering their faces.
Both of them were also carrying futuristic weaponry, a pulse rifle and a laser pistol.
These are members of the 'Plumbers'.
"You..." Vilgax ranted in anger as he noticed the Plumbers.
"It's over Vilgax!" One of the plumbers yelled as the other one shouted out, "You're going down!"
"Many have tried, but none have succeeded!" Vilgax rasped back in response.
Enraged the plumber carrying the laser pistol then charged forward yelling, "Until now slimeball!"
"Phil wait!" His colleague called out in fear.
Charging towards Vilgax, the galactic tyrant jumped upwards whilst Phil aimed his laser pistol upwards and began firing a series of blue energy beams.
BEEP! WHOOSH! THUNK! BLAM! BOOM!
The blue energy beams blasted off Vilgax's armour as he jumped down and performed a flying kick on Phil.
THUMP! CRACK!
The mask that the Plumber wore went flying off as Vilgax managed to subdue Phil and grab hold of his laser pistol.
Struggling to break free, Vilgax clutched onto Phil's thin black hair whilst one of Vilgax's last probe drones moved to a nearby wall.
BEEP! Whumf!
A large cable then extended from the robot into the wall as it began preparing other nuclear warheads to launch.
"Back away, or watch one of your settlements be destroyed by your weapons..." Vilgax darkly declared to the other Plumber.
There was tension in the room as Vilgax smirked darkly and aimed the pistol towards the young Plumber yelling, "Put the weapon down now!"
Seeing no choice, the other Plumber kneeled and dropped the laser rifle onto the ground.
Thud!
"You can't let him get away!" Phil shouted in shock as the other Plumber replied, "Never said I would kid."
Quickly aiming up his left gloved hand, a small blue energy beam was sent flying over to Vilgax.
BEEP! BLAM! WHOOSH! THUNK!
The energy beam blasted into the laser pistol Vilgax was carrying as it landed on the ground.
"UGH!" Vilgax grunted in shock as Phil saw his opportunity to escape.
Rasing his gloved fist, Phil punched Vilgax's face.
WHAM! CRACK!
Vilgax was sent stumbling back as Phil scrambled to cover near Max.
Regaining his bearings, Vilgax noticed that his probe droid had finished downloading the nuclear launch codes.
"You're both too late. I have secured your nuclear weapons." Vilgax confidently boasted to the Plumbers.
"Wrong, my timing is perfect." The Plumber cockily responded as Vilgax yelled in shock, "What?!
Leaning down, the Plumber quickly grabbed the pulse rifle and rearmed himself before he powered up the weapon.
BEEP! WHOOSH! POP!
A large ball shot out of the rifle before it popped with a huge net of webbing soaring towards Vilgax.
SPLAT! WHAM!
Both Vilgax and his remaining probe droid were sent flying onto the missile.
"Grrrr... Vilgax grunted in rage as he attempted to peel himself off the nuclear missile which began shaking before it took off.
Rumble... THWOOSH!
The nuclear missile blasted out of the hanger as Vilgax's sanity broke again as both Plumbers watched on from below.
"NOOOOOOO! TENNYSON!" Vilgax yelled hatefully to the Plumbers below in the hanger.
"What are you doing?" Phil asked the other Plumber who took off his helmet.
The other Plumber was a younger-looking Max Tennyson.
The younger version of Max was in his early 30s.
He was slimmer and younger with his grey hair being replaced by thick and neat brown hair.
Watching the missile blast out of the hanger, Max confidently stated, "Sending Vilgax out with a bang."
Once the missile left the nuclear silo it blasted upwards until it aimed towards Vilgax's spaceship.
The results were catastrophic.
CRAKA-BOOM!
The smaller version of the Chimerian Hammer exploded as rocky debris and rubble from the ship plunged towards the missile complex.
(Flashback ends)
In the present day inside the Rust Bucket...
"And then kablamo, No more Vilgax or so I thought until today." Max finished explaining his backstory to Stan as Ben and Gwen listened in from the side booth.
Having paid full attention to how Max and Vilgax had a previous encounter, Stan rambled on before asking, "True, I mean me and Vilgax were brawling it out like mad on Mount Rushmore until I won thankfully. Do you think Vilgax will come after me again?"
"I'm not sure, If he does we'll be ready for him." Max pointed out to Stan.
Hoping to move on from Vilgax and forget him, Stan said, "But the idea of you being someone a member of a group that stopped rouge alien activity is cool Max."
"I was just a guy doing his job." Max bluntly replied still focusing on driving the Rust Bucket.
"Excuse me? What exactly was that job?" Gwen then asked Max as Ben shouted out loudly, "Yeah, you seemed like an awesome hero!"
There was silence before Stan awkwardly asked Max, "Did you also visit Area 51 by any chance?"
The silence continued before Max placed his head down and explained the purpose of the Plumbers to the group, "We called ourselves the Plumbers. Officially we didn't exist, we were the guys who fixed the problems that no one else could. Extraterrestrial, Extrasensory, Extraordinary. You name it. We also worked with other organisations at the time like SHIELD which still operates today."
Having listened to Max's explanation, Stan rambled on saying, "I mean I have so many questions, but would that mean I've been following in your footsteps as a Plumber Max?"
"That does sound like the case." Ben suggested to Stan as Gwen asked Max, "And you knew about the watch the whole time?"
"Not really, just rumour and scuttlebutt. I was just as surprised as you guys when the watch showed up on Stan's wrist." Max spoke back still not believing Stan had found the Omnitrix.
"But still, why me that found it? Sometimes things just don't make sense in life." Stan mumbled loudly in confusion.
"It could have been anyone in the world, even I could have been the one to find it," Max suggested to Stan hopefully.
"You always say that you can tell us anything Grandpa, guess you didn't feel the same," Gwen added suggesting her own opinion.
"Hey, If Grandpa told me about the Plumbers, I would have believed him from the start," Ben spoke ending the conservation.
WHOOSH! HONK! HONK! SCREECH!
A series of police cars and emergency vehicles then drove past the Rust Bucket in a convoy as Max then pulled the Rust Bucket to the side of the road.
Smiling happily, Stan undid his seatbelt and prepared to the use the Omnitrix again as Stan had now fully accepted that the Omnitrix was a part of him for the foreseeable future.
"Ah well, back to the front." Stan quoted as he walked to the side door of the Rust Bucket.
"Alright! Could be a chance for the Plumbers to go back to work!" Ben eagerly shouted out in excitement.
"Ugh, you should start by unclogging that hairball from your brain, Mr Plumber," Gwen muttered back in response annoyed by Ben's antics.
"You're just jealous because you are not part of the family business," Ben spoke glaring at Gwen in annoyance.
"That's hypocritical if you ask me," Stan spoke to Ben as he placed his hand on the side door handle.
"There is no family business, my hero days were over a long time ago," Max muttered out loudly to the kids.
Creak...
Opening the Rust Bucket side door, Stan stepped out onto the road and activated the Omnitrix.
BEEP!
Hearing the telltale signs of the Omnitrix activating, Max called out to him, "Stan! Wait!"
Scrolling through to XLR8's silhouette, Stan happily declared, "Time for XLR8!"
And then Stan tapped down the core of the exposed Omnitrix.
FLASH!
A large flash of bright green light covered the area briefly before it faded away.
Flick...
A thick fish like claw then grabbed hold of one of the side mirrors of the Rust Bucket mirror.
"Ripjaws again?! What a rip off!" Ripjaws complained in annoyance.
Sighing, the Piscciss Volann then heard a fire engine rumbling down the road.
HONK! HONK! WHOOSH!
As the fire engine passed the Rust Bucket, Ripjaws ran near the fire engine's ladder and gripped onto it as the fire engine rumbled on down the road.
GRAB! THUNK! WHOOSH!
A few mins later at an old hotel...
The fire engine pulled up outside a large old hotel.
Dozens of police cars and Swat trucks surrounded the building with a security cordon having been placed around the structure.
The hotel manager then noticed the firefighters exiting the truck as one of them asked, "What's the situation?"
Pointing his hand towards the entrance of the hotel, the manager explained nervously, "There's some kind of monster inside tearing up the place."
SPLOSH! SQUIRT!
It then began raining as various water droplets splashed onto the ground getting everyone nearby wet.
Confused, the emergency service crew looked up and noticed Ripjaws using the water hose on the fire engine.
Gulp... SPLASH!
"Ahhh..." Ripjaws sighed happily as the Piscciss Volann drank the water from the hose glugging it down his mouth.
Feeling satisfied and soaked, Ripjaws then tossed the fire hose to the side before stating, to the fire crew, "Sorry, I just needed to moisturise myself."
Leaping off the fire truck, Ripjaws then ran past the police cordon as the emergency services watched on with confusion and intrigue.
WHOOSH! THUMP!
"What are my orders?" One of the police officers asked the commander on duty who replied, "Just wait and don't engage, we'll let this creature handle the situation."
Creak...
Opening the glass doors of the hotel entrance, Ripjaws entered the hotel lobby.
Looking around the lobby with his grey eyes, Ripjaws noticed a large water fountain present in the centre of the lobby along with various suitcases and other debris scattered across the lobby.
Tip... Tap...
Small footsteps were heard tipping across the room as Ripjaws called out, "Hello? Any fellow aliens that are giving us a bad name in here?"
"Grrr..." Something growled behind Ripjaws in response.
Turning around, Ripjaws noticed a small red alien standing behind him growling.
The small red alien was twice the size of Grey Matter and below Ripjaw's feet.
The alien was circular and had bright red skin with the skin being orange in the centre with red dominating its head.
Thick sharp teeth glared from its mouth along with thick black claws on the hands and feet on the alien as thick red eyes glared at Ripjaws.
This is a Havoc Beast. They are small and feral animalistic creatures being slightly sentient like Wildmutt.
Stunned, Ripjaws froze at the Havoc Beast before Ripjaws couldn't contain his laughter anymore.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Ripjaws chuckled loudly as he struggled to keep himself together as he gripped his hands on his chest.
Annoyed, the Havoc Beast leaned down and grabbed a rock from the floor as Ripjaws yelled loudly, "Really?! That's the threat?!"
WHOOSH! CRASH!
The rock slammed into Ripjaw's head's before the Pisciss Volann slammed into the ground dazed.
"HAHAHA!" The Havoc Beast giggled back loudly as Ripjaws groaned muttering, "Oww... I think I damaged my brain."
Slowly standing up from the ground, Ripjaws glared back at the Havoc Beast angrily declaring, "Okay, you picked the wrong alien to mess with."
"Grrrr..." Ripjaws growled slightly to challenge the Havoc Beast.
"ROARR!" The Havoc Beast roared back even louder as Ripjaws chuckled before shouting, "Bring it on!"
Sprinting towards, Ripjaws aimed out his left fist and hurled it to towards the Havoc Beast before it dodged the blow by jumping to the right.
WHOOSH! THUD!
"He's small but fast!" Ripjaws shouted in shock as he quickly recovered.
Looking around, Ripjaws noticed the Havoc Beast cling onto a stone column before it jumped off the column and landed in the water fountain.
WHOOSH! SPLASH!
Chuckling, Ripjaws watched as the Havoc Beast swallowed up some of the water before it faced Ripjaws and opened its mouth.
SPLOSH! SPLASH!
A large bust of freshwater covered Ripjaws who felt his dry skin absorbing the liquid into his body.
"To me, that's just a bit of fresh air. You can keep it coming right?" Ripjaws mockingly asked the Havoc Beast.
SPLOSH! SOAK!
The Havoc Beast blasted Ripjaws with the water again in response.
At the same time outside the hotel...
SCREECH!
The Rust Bucket pulled up outside the hotel as the Tennyson trio exited the large vehicle.
Then, Gwen approached the hotel manager and asked him, "Anyone happen to see a giant talking fish come by here?"
THWACK! Whumf!
"Ooof!" Ripjaws grunted in annoyance as the Havoc Beast managed to slip away from his grip and scramble onto another stone pillar before it vanished.
Frowning, Ripjaws began walking backwards thinking, "Okay, just use your head and..."
Ripjaws bumped into someone.
Bump!
Confused, the Pisciss Volann turned his head around and noticed a male human standing near his face.
He had thick black hair that was steadily greying as he wore a suit of dull white armour along with a pair of black gloves and boots.
He was also carrying a futuristic pulse rifle.
Panicking, both of them stepped back before shouting out together, "AGH! Who are you?! Who am I?! Who are you?!"
Taking no chances, Ripjaws glared and raised his shark-like teeth at the old man.
In response, the old cocked his laser rifle and blasted Ripjaws's gut with a blue laser beam.
BEEP! WHOOSH! BLAM!
Ripjaws barely had time to react before he was sent flying across the lobby before he crashed into a wooden oak.
CRASH! WHAM!
Dust and wood were sent scattering onto the floor as Ripjaws groaned in pain, "Ugh..."
Cocking his laser rifle again, the old man walked to the Pisciss Volann grinning slightly before he muttered loudly, "Looks like today is my lucky day, two aliens for the price of one."
"Finland..." Ripjaws groggily replied.
Rolling his eyes in annoyance, the old man stated, "Just sit tight fish stick, I'll be back in a minute."
Smiling, the old man turned around and heard the Havoc Beast growling at him, "Grrr..."
Taking action, the old man aimed his laser rifle towards the Havoc Beast and opened fire.
BEEP! WHOOSH! BLAM!
A blue energy beam narrowly missed the Havoc Beast which avoided the energy blast as a game of cat and mouse began.
At the same time...
Looking around, Ripjaws slowly recovered and noticed a nearby beaker filled with water.
Leaning over, Ripjaws grabbed the glass container and tipped it over his mouth and began drinking it.
Feeling the water drench his fish-like skin, Ripjaws happily muttered, "Ah... You've got to love room service."
Slowly standing upwards, Ripjaws clambered off the ruined booking desk before...
Creak... WHOOSH! CRASH!
Confused, Ripjaws noticed that the Havoc Beast had managed to knock over a large bookcase from a nearby wall that collided with the old man.
"ROAR!" The Havoc Beast roared in victory as the old man attempted to move from the bookcase.
Thinking quickly, Ripjaws saw a nearby steel crate thinking, "Boom! I'll trap him in this crate!"
Grabbing hold of the steel crate, Ripjaws slowly moved the crate above his head and walked over to the Havoc Beast.
WHOOSH! THUNK!
The steel crate then slammed down onto the Havoc Beast as Ripjaws pinned it down.
"ROAR!" THUNK! Rumble... Shake...
The steel crate shook as the Havoc Beast attempted to break out whilst the old man watched on as Ripjaws confidently boasted, "Not bad for a fish stick huh? See you around!"
Walking away from two, Ripjaw's noticed the Omnitrix symbol on his shoulder beeping red.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Worried, Ripjaws sprinted towards the hotel lobby just as he transformed back to Stan in a flash of red light.
FLASH!
The hotel lobby was briefly illuminated by a flash of red light as Stan appeared once it faded.
Smiling slightly, Stan quickly brushed himself down of dust before he quietly whistled and walked over to the entrance of the hotel lobby whilst the old guy managed to get the bookcase off him.
Creak... WHAM!
Walking to the entrance door, Stan then accidentally bumped into Max.
Bump!
"Oh hey, guys." Stan happily greeted himself as Max asked him, "Stan, are you alright?"
Hugging Max slightly, Stan explained in shock, "Barely, someone wearing a heavy suit nearly roasted Ripjaws."
"Roasted?" Ben asked confused as Gwen explained, "It's an expression."
Before Ben and Gwen could argue again, the old man approached the group as everyone looked at him.
Turning his head around, Max froze in shock before he smiled happily as the other recognised him as well.
"Phil Billings?!" Max exclaimed in shock as Stan stopped hugging him and moved back.
"Max Tennyson?!" Phil Billings shouted before he laughed happily.
Max then ran to each other as Phil Billings followed suit.
Running into each other, both grown adults laughed happily and hugged each other with respect and care.
All of the kids reacted in different ways as Ben said, "You know this person, Grandpa?"
"Well, you could say that. We used to be partners." Phil confidently boasted to the others.
Realizing who Phil was, Stan happily stated, "Oh! You helped Max out when he was a Plumber, Talk about a great reunion!"
As soon as Stan said that, everyone in the room somehow became even happier than before.
Rumble... Shake...
The metal crate then shook slightly before Phil sighed in response with the happiness quickly vanishing.
Everyone in the room then smiled at that comment as the nearby crate shook slightly as Phil sighed.
"What's in the crate?" Max asked Phil who replied, "Long story, Max. Can you give me a hand with this? My car's parked outside."
Nodding, Max walked over to the steel crate and helped Phil lift it out of the hotel lobby.
"What do you two think of him? I think he looks cool." Ben whispered to Gwen and Stan.
"I don't know, I haven't decided yet." Gwen whispered back to Ben as Stan muttered, "Um... He seems alright in my book."
A few mins later...
Creak... Thud!
The group was now outside the hotel as the last police car drove away from the scene whilst Phil walked over to a light blue Peugeot car that was parked near the Rust Bucket.
"Yeah, she's not much to look at. But it's better than that old Rust Bucket of an RV you used to drive." Phil spoke to the group as Max placed his hands around Ben and Gwen's shoulders and briefly touched Stan's shoulder.
"So, how are you?" Max asked Phil who responded eagerly, "Pretty good considering I just bagged a Havoc Beast. Seems like old times."
Closing the boot of the car, he turned around and faced the group before Stan quietly asked Phil, "So uh... How long have you been doing this occupation for?"
Not wanting to get Phil involved again, Max tapped Stan's shoulder before he walked in front of the kids.
"A Havoc Beast huh? I haven't seen one of those since we caught the one terrorizing Denver years ago." Max pondered in confusion.
"Yeah, well good thing I was around, You know once a Plumber, always a Plumber. Do you ever think about getting back in the game Max? You know, reliving the glory days." Phil spoke trying to persuade Max.
Watching the conservation, Stan couldn't help but think, "I wonder… Are the Plumbers the only secret group out there? I mean, they could have worked with Shield or something else..."
"No thanks. I'm retired and so are the Plumbers." Max replied to Phil.
Shrugging, Phil explained to Max, "Yeah, thanks to you. Seems like once you took Vilgax out of the picture, the work just seemed to dry up."
"I was just doing my job." Max bluntly stated back to Phil.
"Anyway, looks like things are picking back up again. I was thinking of starting up my own freelance Plumber business." Phil stated to Max reminding the group of the various alien sightings that had occurred since Stan had found the Omnitrix.
Turning his head, Phil then noticed the Omnitrix on Stan's right arm and stopped talking.
Confused, Stan noticed Phil looking at the bright red watch on his arm before he muttered in wonder, "Wow, cool watch, It looks familiar somehow."
"Uh... I don't how it's familiar to you. It's from Japan like Digimon, a really good manga and anime series I like." Stan replied to Phil pretending to be confused.
"What are you talking about? It's the Omni..." Ben spoked loudly before he was interrupted by Max.
Tapping Ben's shoulder, Max intervened saying, "Oh look at the time. We need to go, nice catching up with you Phil and happy Plumbing."
Walking off with Ben being dragged, Stan and Gwen followed Max.
Shrugging Phil smiled slightly before he climbed into his blue car.
Both vehicles then drove off from the hotel back out onto the road.
Fifteen mins later inside the Rust Bucket...
Gwen was on her laptop writing her latest diary entry pretending not to listen to Ben and Stan arguing from the front alley of the Rust Bucket.
"Ben... What did I tell you about the watch?! We can't tell every person we come across!" Stan shouted at Ben angrily.
"So?! I don't get it. Why didn't you tell Phil about the Omnitrix?!" Ben yelled back in response.
Crossing his arms, Stan bluntly stated out angrily, "Two words. Secret Identity."
"But don't you want people to know about your heroics?!" Ben protested confused by Stan's decision.
"No. I don't. I would prefer to live my life in peace without being harassed by the press and media once they find out who I am, even though initially I did want people to know what I did." Stan fully explained to Ben as he stopped crossing his arms over his chest.
"That's pretty good reasoning for not wanting to be found out," Gwen spoke agreeing with Stan's decision.
"Alright that's enough kids, I'm afraid, Stan is right," Max called out from the driving seat of the Rust Bucket.
"But Grandpa!" Ben shouted out protesting as Max replied, "No, It's a need to know the only basis. The fewer people who know the better."
"Guess that's your answer for everything isn't it Grandpa?" Gwen coldly stated to Max.
There was silence inside the Rust Bucket before Max sighed heavily stating fully, "Stan's right about one main thing. The secret I kept from you all. I'm sorry I never told you any of you, It was the one part of my life I wanted to keep secret in case any harm came to you three from my past."
Silence once again filled the Rust Bucket before Ben smiled loudly and shouted out, "Hey, why don't we join Phil and start up the Plumbers again? With Stan, Grandpa and Phil, we could be super alien ass-kickers!"
"Didn't you just not listen to anything I said?!" Stan ranted to Ben before he facepalmed in annoyance.
"Look, Ben, I appreciate what I did. But you can't bring back the past." Max spoke to Ben becoming tired of the constant mention of the Plumbers.
BEEP! BEEP!
A nearby button then beeped before a small holoscreen connected to the dashboard of the Rust Bucket flicked upwards.
Bzzzt...
The holoscreen flicked with static cropping up as Phil looked panicked on the holoscreen stating, "Max! If you're out there I need help. Two Vulpimancers are tearing up a meat processing plant on Highway 44. Requesting..."
BEEP! BZZZT!
The holoscreen then finally cracked as the holoscreen vanished to static and flicked downwards back to its normal position.
Realizing the emergency, Max quickly turned the Rust Bucket onto the opposite side of the road and pressed his foot down on the accelerator gear.
WHOOSH! SCREECH!
"Vulpimancers?" Max muttered in confusion as Stan replied, "That sounds familiar..."
"Alright! The Tennyson's are back in the Plumbing business!" Ben happily shouted from the front seat.
Max looked at him indifferently whilst Stan sighed and walked over to the side booth.
Sitting down on the opposite seat from Gwen, Stan asked Gwen, "How do you put with Ben when he wants something to happen that no one agrees with?"
"I thought you'd know considering you've known him for just as long as I have," Gwen replied to Stan.
Looking at the recharging Omnitrix on his arm, Stan muttered, "Still, this whole Omnitrix thing can be stressful sometimes because of everyone wanting in on the action. But it can also be fun to use as well."
"Yeah, I remember when I was jealous back in New Orleans when we faced Hex. That was pretty bad for our friendship." Gwen reminded Stan.
"True, I'm glad we've moved on from that." Stan happily replied as he looked out the window starting at the night sky.
Twenty mins later...
The Rust Bucket pulled up outside a large industrial meat processing plant as the full white moon dominated the grey night sky.
Various laser blasts, yells and violent angry deep and thick roars were heard from the inside of the building as the front door was smashed wide open.
"Roar... ROAR! GROWL!" The Vulpimancers howled from inside the warehouse.
"I don't like the sound of that..." Gwen muttered in fear as Stan replied, "Oh boy... Here we go again."
The group then entered the industrial plant.
Inside the building, the sounds of the roars got louder as the group walked down a narrow metallic corridor.
A damp and dingy smell reeked throughout the building as Ben loudly complained, "Ugh, what's that smell?!"
"It's a meat processing plant. They need to clean and disinfect the meat before it goes on the market." Max explained to Ben as Stan pointed out, "Hey, there's the entrance."
Max nodded back to Stan before he opened the curtains to the main part of the plant.
The main part of the processing plant was a large industrial building filled with various conveyor belts with a forklift in the background used to transport goods.
Dozens of parcels and packing dotted the landscape of the plaint along with various processed meat and other food hanging on hooks or being stored on shelves and boxes.
The dimming smell of meat and disinfectant used to clean the building was present in the building along with the smell that the Vulpimancers gave off.
"Urggh..." Phil groaned in pain as the group spotted him struggling to get up from a nearby wall.
"Phil! Are you alright?!" Max shouted out to his friend as he supported him up from the ground.
"Max... Thank god you came. Two aliens, nasty ones at that. We're going to need a little bit of that old magic of yours." Phil explained the situation to Max.
"No worries, we're on it." Ben confidently boasted as Stan calmly stated, "Yeah, we can help."
"Growl..." Something growled in the distance.
Turning around every noticed a pair of Vulpimancer's emerge from the back of the building.
The two Vulpimancer's looked similar to Wildmutt except that they lacked his bright vibrant orange fur.
They seemed paler and skinner suggesting that these Vulpimancer's were a different subspecies.
The Vulplimacer's also possessed long purple tounges with larger teeth and they both had large skinny tails that weaved violently through the air.
"Friends of yours?" Gwen asked Stan who shouted out loudly, "They look like Wildmutt! That's the second time I've seen a species like that I can change into."
"Maybe you can talk to them?" Ben suggested to Stan who agreed to say, "Nice idea! I'm going Wildmutt then."
Carefully, Stan activated the Omnitrix as the core popped up.
BEEP!
Phil watched on in confusion as Stan scrolled through the silhouettes from Ripjaws to Wildmutt.
Smirking slightly, Stan noticed Phil step back as he realized what the watch was.
FLASH!
Stan then tapped down the core of the Omnitrix as thick orange fur covered his right arm as a flash of green light covered Stan.
The green light faded as Stan emerged as Wildmutt who roared out, "ROAR!" in response as he finished transforming.
"That's why I recognised that watch, It's the Omnitrix!" Phil muttered in shock as he watched Wildmutt walking over to the large Vulpimancers.
"Roar... GROWL!" Wildmutt growled to the larger dog aliens.
"ROARRRR!" The large Vulpimancer's roared even louder back before the largest one rose up against his claws and slammed them into the ground near Wildmutt
WHOOSH! CRASH!
"ROAR!" Wildmutt roared back in annoyance and began running away as the other Vulpimancers began to chase him.
"What did he just say?" Gwen asked the others in confusion as Ben pointed out, "I thought that idea would work."
"Vulpimancers never were big on small talk, even with their kind," Max explained to the others.
As Wildmutt ran away, he couldn't help but think, "I swear, Wildmutt is a butt monkey sometimes. Bad things seem to occur whenever I use him. It's like the universe has it out for this species in general."
"ROAR!" Something growled at Wildmutt.
Confused, Wildmutt shook his head and noticed the larger male Vulpimancer jumping into the air and preparing to body slam onto Wildmutt.
WHOOSH! THUD!
Quickly detecting the larger Vulpimancer, Wildmutt narrowly ran to the left as the larger alien crashed into a box of crates.
SLIDE! CRASH!
The box of crates collided as slime and grub from meat fell out and covered the stunned Vulpimancer.
SMASH! SLICK!
"Gross!" Gwen gagged in shock as Wildmutt roared happily, "ROAR!"
Smirking, the young Vulpimancer noticed a chain dangling from the roof.
"I'll use the high ground by climbing on these chains and onto the structure's above." Wildmutt planned in his head referencing a certain Star Wars meme.
Jumping upwards, Wildmutt then used his claws to grip onto the thick industrial chain tightly.
WHOOSH! GRAB!
"GRRRR..." The smaller female Vulpimancer growled at WIldmutt who sheepishly waved his hand back in response.
Growling at her mate being humiliated, the female Vulpimancer grabbed hold of the meat hook and pulled back on the chain with her mouth.
SNAP! CREAK...
Watching on, Wildmutt then noticed the chain snapping as it broke.
CRACK!
The fractured chain plunged to the floor as Wildmutt quickly leapt onto another chain.
WHOOSH! GRAB!
The process was then repeated briefly until Wildmutt landed on the conveyor belt in the factory.
"Rrrr..." Wildmutt sighed in relief not noticing the female Vulpimancer jump onto the belt as well.
WHOOSH! THUMP!
"ROAR!" The female Vuplimancer roared at Wildmutt who carefully held his ground growling slightly. "Grrr..."
The bigger female Vulpimancer then jumped onto Wildmutt.
WHOOSH! THUD! WHACK! SLAM! CRASH!
Both Vulpimancer's attempted to claw each other as Wildmutt and the female alien gained a few clawed grazes.
Struggling to hold off the larger Vulpimancer, Wildmutt noticed a grinding machine ahead of him which was pounding meat into pieces.
WHAM! CRASH! THUD!
"Oh crap! That's not good!" Wildmutt thought to attempt to break free.
SCREECH!
The conveyor belt then screeched to a halt.
"RRRR?!" The female Vulpimancer muttered in confusion before Wildmutt spotted a large chunk of meat attached to a hook fly down and slam into the large Vulpimancer.
WHIRR... WHOOSH! WHAM!
The female Vulpimancer was sent flying across the plant as Wildmutt slowly jumped off the conveyor belt and shook his head panting.
"Urggh..." Wildmutt groaned before he noticed Phil nearby having operated a control panel having saved Wildmutt's life.
"What are partners for?" Phil asked confidently to Wildmutt who roared slightly in approval, "Roar..."
Ben then ran over to the two yellings, "Grandpa says we need to get out now!"
No one protested as Wildmutt ran off with Phil and Ben following him.
Regrouping with Gwen and Max, the group of five ran over to the exit.
WHOOSH! CRASH!
"ROAR!" The male Vulpimancer roared blocking the passageway.
"Back the other way!" Max yelled to the others as Ben shouted back, "Maybe not!"
Turning around, Gwen gasped slightly as the female Vulpimancer cornered the group from the back.
The group was now cornered by a pair of hungry Vulpimancers that were ready to rip them to shreds.
"Don't suppose you ever consider becoming vegetarians?" Gwen muttered under her breath.
Annoyed at being surrounded and with his friend's lives at risk, Wildmutt growled loudly, "ROARRR!"
However, no one noticed Phil smirking before he fumbled around in his pockets and took out a small grey sonic whistle before yelling, "Brace yourselves!"
Flick! RING!
A loud sonic whistle echoed across the room.
The device that Phil was using emitted a highly advanced sonic soundwave that damaged the eardrums of the Vulpimancer's.
One by one each Vulpimancer slowly collapsed onto the floor holding their ears in pain.
"Whirrr..." Wildmutt whimpered in pain struggling to keep the noise out of his ears.
"Sorry Stan, it's the only way to bring down a Vulpimancer." Phil apologised to the young Vulpimancer.
"Lucky for us you had a Sonic Pitch Whistle on you," Max spoke agreeing with Phil as the Omnitrix symbol on Wildmutt's shoulder began flashing red.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
"Howl..." Wildmutt sighed in relief as he transformed back to Stan in a flash of red light.
FLASH!
As the red light faded, Stan slowly stood up from the ground still holding his eardrums in pain as the rining sensation quickly vanished.
"So all the stories and rumours are true, the Omnitrix does exist," Phil muttered in awe and shock.
"Ugh... Yep... ten aliens I can use for the greater good..." Stan groaned before he replied in pain.
Smiling at Stan, Phil praised him saying, "That was some pretty good moves out there Stan, you reminded me of Max back in the day."
"Look, I don't mind praise, but I'm just a regular kid, to be honest," Stan said back to Phil.
Just then, the male Vulpimancer managed to briefly recover and bump into Phil.
"Phil, look out!" Max yelled in shock.
WHOOSH! THWACK!
"Ooof!" Phil grunted in pain as he was knocked over as the sonic whistle crashed onto the ground.
The device shattered and broke into metallic pieces.
Looking around, Max spotted a forklift and ran over to it smirking whilst the kids panicked.
"Oh crap! Run!" Ben screamed as Stan agreed to yell out, "I agree!"
As the kids turned around and began running from the Vulpimancers, Max shouted out loudly, "Hey mutts! Why don't you try picking on someone with more meat on his bones?!"
Stunned, everyone in the room looked on and saw Max driving a nearby industrial forklift right towards the Vulpimancers.
SCREECH! WHOOSH! KA-CRACK!
The force of the impact was so strong that the large Vulpimancer's were stunned as Max then divebombed out of the runaway forklift.
"Ugh!" Max grunted in pain as he slid onto the ground just as the forklift crashed into a nearby meat freezer.
WHOOSH! CRASH! BLAM!
Dust and rubble were sent flying out of the freezer door as the kids helped Phil onto his feet.
"ROAR!" Both Vulpimancer's roared from inside the freezer.
Shocked, Max quickly sprinted to the freezer door and flicked a button on the wall near the switch.
Flick! Whirr...
The industrial shutter of the freezer door sealed the fridge door just as the Vulpimancer's crashed into the door of the fridge.
CLANG!
Inside the fridge, the Vulpimancer's continued to growl and roar trying to break out as Max sighed in relief.
"Phew... That was hard work for someone who's retired." Max muttered under his breath.
Seeing his opportunity, Phil walked over to Max and stated to him, "We'll make that unretired. That was just like old times, I think this is going to be the beginning of a new partnership."
Phil then extended out his hand to Max eagerly.
Looking uncertain, Max pondered over this decision.
Thirty mins later back at the hotel...
Inside the hotel room that Phil had booked, Stan looked around at a large all you can eat buffet on the corner before he spotted some fruit in a nearby bowl.
Smiling, Stan walked over to the buffet near Ben who was eating some fried shrimp from a nearby bowl.
"Hmm..." Gwen muttered in wonder as she continued reading a copy of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.
Looking around, Max couldn't help but be slightly worried about Phil who was chilling out on an expensive chair.
"It's fate that we all met up." Phil confidently declared to the others in the room.
"Huh... Ritzy suite, this must-have cost you a pretty penny." Max replied to Phil.
Shrugging, Phil leaned up from the chair stating back, "Just a little thank you I negotiated with the manager for dealing with his alien problem. And trust me this is just the tip of the old alien iceberg."
CRUNCH!
Chewing on a fresh ripe apple, Stan happily muttered, "Mmm... Apples..."
Turning around, Stan then noticed Phil staring at him happily as Stan asked him, "Uh yeah?"
"You know, Stan. You would make a great Plumber." Phil suggested to Stan confidently.
"I would?" Stan muttered before he stated, "I mean maybe... I just don't know yet."
"Hey, these decisions take time. Besides you seem like a real chip off the whole block. We'd all make a great team." Phil suggested to the group as he stepped out of his chair.
"Care to elaborate?" Gwen inquired to Phil who confidently explained, "Simple, with Stan's powers, Max's experience and my instincts. We'd be an unstoppable team. What do you think?"
Annoyed with Phil's suggestion, Stan crossed his arms and muttered back, "Tch, I remember the last time someone said that to me about teaming up. I didn't end well for a certain someone named Kevin.
"Aliens, go figure." Phil confidently replied before everyone heard Max state, "I uh, need some fresh air."
Max slowly walked out of the hotel room and down the corridor.
Unknown to the kids, Phil frowned slightly before innocently remarking to the kids, "Hey kids, order whatever you like off the room service menu."
Max then slowly walked out of the room before Phil Billings frowned slightly and noticed the kids before stating innocently:
Phil then exited the hotel room following Max as the three kids were left in the room.
"Now we're talking!" Ben happily boasted to Gwen and Stan as he continued to eat the fried shrimp.
"Something is going on that Grandpa isn't telling us about." Gwen muttered to Stan who replied, "When is something not going on these days?"
Deciding to follow Max and Phil, Gwen declared out, "Let's go then."
"What? And pass up free room service? I'm staying here." Ben responded greedily chewing on the fried shrimp.
"Nah, you're right. It's probably just some super-secret Plumber's mission. Better if we just ignore it." Stan suggested to the group knowing Ben's love for adventure.
"Screw that! I'm not getting left behind!" Ben shouted out as he dropped the shrimp bowl on the table.
Running past Stan and Gwen, Ben hightailed it down the corridor as Stan chuckled slightly.
"Nice work convincing him to come with us." Gwen happily beamed to Stan who stopped chuckling and stated, "Eh, it was easy. Now let's move!"
Ben then dropped what he was eating on the table and quickly ran to the door of the room before Stan chuckled slightly whilst Gwen beamed happily as well.
A few mins later outside the hotel...
Creak...
The trio of kids exited the hotel building and noticed that both vehicles that Max and Phil had owned were gone from the car park.
"No Grandpa." Ben stated as Gwen added on, "And no Phil."
"But where would they go?" Stan muttered in confusion.
"If Grandpa thinks those space mutts and that weasel thing are connected, then there is only one place to go around here." Gwen bluntly stated the obvious.
"Of course, they went back to Mount Rushmore! There are all kinds of alien tech being stored there." Ben spoke out in realization.
"Okay, I'll figure out a way to get us there," Stan spoke before he activated the Omnitrix again.
BEEP!
Carefully, scrolling through the silhouettes, Stan casually tapped down the exposed core and transformed.
FLASH!
As per usual, a flash of green light covered Stan before the Kincerlean emerged from the green light smirking at Ben and Gwen.
"Can both of you please get on my back and hold on tightly?" XLR8 asked Ben and Gwen with his voice muffled below his helmet.
"Sure." Ben and Gwen spoke at the same time.
Grinning slightly, XLR8 watched as Ben and Gwen looked at each other before they shrugged in disgust.
Carefully, XLR8 then helped Ben and Gwen climb onto his back before asking the kids, "You both ready?"
"Yep, just don't go too fast." Gwen advised XLR8 as Ben happily shouted, "Okay, pedal to the medal!
Nodding, XLR8 tensed his body before he zoomed away from the hotel and began running back on the road towards Mount Rushmore.
Meanwhile at Mount Rushmore...
All was quiet at Mount Rushmore as the three stone presidential head's stared into the vast landscape still damaged by the destruction caused by Vilgax and Stan's duel.
Underneath the mountain in the Plumber base...
Walking down the storage corridor in the Plumber Base, Max walked past the various cabinets and drawers before he entered a vault sealed at the back of the base.
In the empty vault, a large holding case was present as Max noticed the item in question had been taken from the vault.
"It's gone..." Max muttered in horror.
"Looking for this?" Phil spoke from behind Max's back.
Turning around, Max glared at Phil who smirked back in response.
The rouge Plumber was holding up a small gun that had a large circular glass dome in the centre of the weapon.
"The Null Void Projector... I thought all those aliens were familiar." Max spoke knowing how dangerous the projector was.
"Guess what? You won first prize." Phil mockingly taunted Max who explained, "You stole the Null Void projector to release all the ones we caught back in the old days."
"You always were too smart for your own good Max. But not wanting to join up with me was just plain dumb." Phil disappointedly said to Max.
"Why are you doing all this?" Max angrily asked his old friend turned enemy.
Shrugging his shoulders, and using his arms, Phil stated, "Job security, I release an alien and then get some hotel manager or mayor or whoever to pay me to catch it. Easy money."
Disappointed and ashamed of what Phil had done, Max angrily pointed out, "I'm not going to let you get away with this. You should be ashamed of yourself for tainting what it means to be a Plumber."
Holding the Null Void Projector, Phil sadly stated, "Yeah... I'd figure you might say that. That's too bad, we could have made quite a team again."
No longer talking, Phil aimed the Null Void Projector at Max and pressed the trigger.
Flick! BLAST!
A large yellow beam then fired out the gun towards Max.
"GAH!" Max yelled in surprise as he narrowly ducked down and avoided the yellow beam.
WHOOSH! BZZT!
The yellow beam then froze in mid-air behind Max and formed a large yellow portal that got bigger with each passing moment as Phil watched on with satisfaction.
THUD!
A large green leg from the portal then emerged from behind Max.
Gasping in surprise, Max watched on as a thick green clawed hand followed on-suite before a large grotesque and huge alien emerged from the yellow portal.
BZZT!
Phil then deactivated the Null Void Projector as the yellow portal vanished as the large alien stepped forward cornering Max.
The alien in question had a huge body with four bacteriophages like legs covering the bottom of it whilst it had a frog-like body with three thick black claws on each hand.
It also possessed thick black lips and large crystal spikes on its shoulders.
This is a Wigsillian Org Beast, a very dangerous and aggressive animalistic alien.
"ROARR!" The Wigsillan Org Beast roared to Max.
The Wigsillan Org Beast roared as Max walked back in shock as the giant carnivore alien moved closer.
"Oh and don't worry. I'll be sure to tell Stan and Ben how your last words to me would be how you wanted to them to follow on in your footsteps and to be my partners." Phil confidently boasted to Max.
Gulping in fear, Max nervously stepped back as the Wigisillan Org Beast roared again as green slime spat out of its mouth.
Raising its claws, The Wigisillan Org Beast struck down Max when...
ZIP! WHOOSH!
A blue blur then narrowly ran past Max as the Wigisillan Org Beast slammed the metallic ground.
WHAM!
"Grrr..." The Wigsillan Org Beast growled in anger.
"What the?!" Phil muttered in shock as the blue blur zoomed past him.
Turning around, Phil noticed XLR8 standing near Max protectively.
WHACK!
The Kincerlean's tail lashed the ground angrily as XLR8's mask receded downwards revealing his face.
You're no Plumber, you're nothing but a failure and fraud!" XLR8 shouted enraged by Phil's actions.
"Stan! Listen to me. We don't need Max, we can start the Plumbers back up again, just you and me." Phil pleaded with XLR8.
Outraged by Phil's suggestion, XLR8 darkly replied hissing, "Hiss... Forget it! Do you think that you can convince me to join you after you tried to kill Max?! Big mistake... I'm taking you down for good."
"Sorry to hear that." Phil bluntly responded as the Wigisillan Org Beast then freed itself from the ground and roared, "ROAR!"
Smirking darkly, Phil said to XLR8, "Say hello to an old friend, A Wigsilian Org Beast."
THUD! THUD! THUD!
The Wigisillan Org Beast stomped over to XLR8 and Max as Phil ran by near a shutter door still clutching onto the Null Void Projector.
Flick! Beep!
Opening up the shutter door, Phil shouted out, "I'd love to stay, but I've got lots of work to do."
Vowing to stop Phil's money-making scheme, XLR8 then grabbed hold of Max just as the Wigisillan Org Beast slammed the ground where they were.
WHOOSH! WHAM! ZIP!
Dropping Max away from the predatory alien, XLR8 turned around and zipped back to the Wigisillan Org Beast yelling loudly, "Bring it on!"
"ROAR!" The Wigisillan Org Beast roared back loudly.
Skidding to a halt near the large predatory alien, XLR8 quickly analyzed the alien before thinking, "Looks like the head is the weak spot, I've just got to focus on that!"
No longer thinking, XLR8 narrowly dodged a large downward strike from the predatory alien.
WHOOSH! CRASH!
Zipping away from the alien, XLR8 ran back round before the Kincerlean jumped in the air and aimed his legs to the Wigisllian Org Beast's face.
WHOOSH! KICK! WHAM! CRACK! THWACK!
XLR8 unleashed a series of fast kicks towards the giant alien's face.
Stunned, the Wigisllian Org Beast growled slightly before XLR8 stopped kicking its face and landed back on the ground.
WHOOSH! CRACK! ZIP!
The pattern then occurred again as XLR8 ran off from the duel.
Realizing XLR8's strategy, Max ran off to the side and began looking around in the drawers of the base.
Whumf!
Opening up the first drawer, Max found a medium-sized drill tool.
"No!" Max muttered in annoyance as he placed the weapon back in the drawer and closed it shut.
Whumf!
WHOOSH! KICK! THUD! WHAM!
Opening the next drawer, Max peered inside and closed it mumbling, "No!" as the same process occurred when he looked in the drawer below.
Whumf!
Turning around, Max sprinted off away from the battling aliens before he reached up high and opened another drawer muttering, "Where is it?!"
ZIP!
XLR8 then dodged another punch by the Wigisillan Org Beast before he jumped up and began kicking the alien's face again.
WHOOSH! KICK! WHAM! CRACK! THWACK!
Noticing his plan wasn't working, XLR8 ran back away from the alien before shouting out to Max, "Max! Could you pick up the pace please?!"
THUD!
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Then the Omnitrix symbol on XLR8's chest began flashing just as the Wigisillan Org Beast broke free from the wooden floor and hurtled the board to the Kincerlean.
WHOOSH! WHAM! CRASH!
"URGH!" XLR8 grunted in pain as he skidded onto the ground pinned down by the wooden board before he transformed back to Stan in a flash of red light.
FLASH!
The red light briefly faded just as quick as Stan groaned in pain pinned down by the board, "Because of I sure as hell can't... Ow..."
Whumf!
Fumbling around in the drawer, Max pulled out a grey bomb of some kind before yelling at Stan, "Got it!"
Max then threw the grenade towards the Wigisillan Org Beast.
WHOOSH! BANG! Rumble...
The grenade landed near the Wigisillan Org Beast and exploded as thick green smoke emerged from the grenade.
HISS!
The Wigisillan Org Beast sniffed the gas before it groaned and fell over onto the floor backwards.
WHOOSH! KA-THUD!
Once the Wigisillian Org Beast was knocked out, Max ran over to Stan and pulled the wooden plank off the young hero.
WHUMP! CRACK!
"Ughh... My back..." Stan groaned as Max helped him up off the floor.
"Where's Gwen and Ben?!" Max asked Stan who groggily replied, "I told them both to wait in the Rust Bucket..."
Wondering what Max meant, Stan froze in horror before muttering out, "Uh, oh."
At the entrance to the Mount Rushmore complex...
Ben and Gwen were looking around the Rust Bucket when both kids noticed Phil's blue car.
Whirrr...
Both kids then noticed a lift heading down.
Panicking, Ben quickly turned around and ran back to the Rust Bucket whilst Gwen ended up climbing into Phil's car.
Thud! Whoosh!
The lift then opened up as Phil walked over to his car and entered the driving seat not noticing Ben sneaking back to the Rust Bucket.
Sitting down in the front, Phil placed the Null Void Projector on the front seat before he chuckled muttering darkly, "Ha... Ha... And who says crime doesn't pay?"
Whirrr... THUNK!
Outside the base...
The lift then exited the Plumber base underneath Mount Rushmore before Phil ignited the engine of his blue car and drove away from the base.
SCREECH! WHOOSH!
Little did Phil know that Gwen was lurking in the back of the car as she pulled up a drape she was hiding under before she pulled it back down.
At the same time a few mins later...
Whirrr... THUNK!
The lift zipped up to the surface before it emerged in the moonlight as the impact caused the Rust Bucket to shake slightly.
"Buckle up boys." Max bluntly informed Ben and Stan.
Nodding, Ben ran over to the side booth and strapped himself in whilst an enraged Stan buckled in his seatbelt in the front seat near Max thinking, "No one harms my friends... Especially not Gwen... No one harms her."
Briefly wondering why he was so protective of Gwen more then Ben, Stan shrugged to himself thinking he was just overprotective.
Little did he know as the summer went on, Stan's feelings for Gwen would only continue to grow...
Flick!
On the dashboard below the radio, Max quickly flicked his finger on an invisible blue button.
Beep!
The button beeped and flicked over revealing an emergency plane shaft with various yellow lines on it.
Pulling down the plane shaft, the Rust Bucket shook slightly.
Whirr...
On the roof, the antenna on the Rv rolled up and vanished into the Rust Bucket whilst a pair of rocket engines appeared on the top of the Rv.
Whirrr... Rumble...
The rocket engines glowed red as they extended slightly with plane wings forming above the rocket engine whilst the back of the Rust Bucket followed suit.
WHIRRRR! RUMBLE...
The rocket engines then ignited bellowing out flames from the engines as the Rv blasted off down the road with smoke and dust being ripped off the muddy road.
THWOOSH!
Feeling himself shaking in the Rust Bucket, Stan gripped onto the seat cover tightly as did Ben who was clutching the table in the side booth.
"So... How many aliens did you store in that Null Void device?!" Stan yelled to Max loudly.
"At least a couple hundred, but it's a portal to an alternate dimension. In theory, it could have millions inside of it! Max shouted back to Stan.
"Well, that's just fricken great!" Ben sarcastically yelled from the side booth of the table.
THWOOSH! WHAM!
The Rust Bucket was speeding by so fast that it knocked over a 50 mph sign that was sent flying onto the nearby grass verge.
Further ahead on the road in Phil's car...
Tapping the wheel slightly, Phil continued driving the blue car not noticing Gwen slowly peer her head up from underneath the blanket.
Looking around, Gwen noticed the Null Void Projector and carefully extended her hand to grab the unique weapon.
GRAB!
However, Phil had spotted Gwen from the driving mirror and complained in annoyance, "Oh no you don't!"
Annoyed, Gwen grabbed hold onto the weapon as Phil grabbed hold of the weapon with his right hand and gripped the steering wheel with his left hand.
SCREECH! WHOOSH!
The blue car slowly skidded from one side of the road coming very close to hitting the rocky ledge nearby as it ended up on the right side of the road.
HONK! HONK! HONK!
Stunned, Phil turned his head around and noticed a massive cargo truck heading straight for him.
"Holy Sh..." Phil cursed under his breath as he let go of Gwen's hand and placed both hands on the steering wheel.
WHOOSH! SCREECH!
The blue car narrowly missed being skewered by the cargo truck as Gwen grabbed hold of the Null Void Projector.
Realizing she had a dangerous weapon, Gwen pulled down the window she was near and dangled the gun out of the window.
"Better start thinking about a new line of work, because this thing is going bye-bye." Gwen mocked Phil about his current status.
Feeling annoyed at this setback, Phil then slammed his right foot onto the brake.
SCREECH!
The blue car screeched to a halt as Gwen accidentally dropped the Null Void Projector onto the floor.
Determined to get the Null Void Projector back, Phil tapped the centre of the car's steering wheel.
Flick!
The centre of the steering wheel glowed blue as an automatic voice blared out, "Autopilot mode engaged."
Unstrapping his seat belt, Phil turned around and leaned in the back of the car and grabbed hold of the Null Void Projector just as Gwen grabbed it.
It then became a tug of war as Gwen and Phil pulled the weapon on either side before Phil accidentally pulled the trigger on the Null Void Projector.
WHOOSH! BZZTT!
A large yellow beam then flew out of the gun as a huge yellow portal grew bigger on the outside of the car...
Thinking things couldn't get any worse, Phil froze in shock as he noticed the Rust Bucket chasing after him.
Inside the Rust Bucket, Max angrily glared at his former friend turned enemy whilst Stan just angrily gritted his teeth.
Knowing how dangerous both Max and Stan were, Phil turned his head to Gwen saying, "Good idea, we could use a distraction."
Finally, something emerged from the yellow portal.
It was a large grey flying alien.
Interestingly enough the front face of the alien looked similar to that of a Vulpimancer with thick sharp teeth pointing up from its mouth.
However, this was where the similarities ended.
Thick grey leathery skin dominated the flying alien as a huge mass of slithering grey tentacles replaced its legs.
Finally, two huge bat-like wings popped up from the sides of the alien.
This is a Null Guardian, a huge bat-like alien which is the main flying species within the Null Void.
Flapping its wings loudly, the Null Guardian looked around before hissing loudly, "HISS!"
Inside the Rust Bucket, Stan felt his jaw drop in shock before he shouted out, "Something tells me that's not the state bird of South Dakota!"
"That's a Null Guardian!" Max yelled back to Stan still focused on driving the Rust Bucket.
WHOOSH! FLAP!
The giant Null Guardian hissed and landed on the front windshield of the Rust Bucket.
SLAM! RUMBLE...
"Gah!" Max yelled in shock as he and Stan noticed the Null Guardian's tentacles ensnare the front of the vehicle just as the glass on the Rv broke.
CRASH!
"HISSS!" The Null Guardian growled loudly as it attempted to use its tentacles to ensnare Stan.
Knowing what had to be done, Stan shouted out bravely, "We need some muscle to stop this thing! And I know just the alien for the job!"
BEEP!
The Omnitrix then finished recharging on Stan's right arm as he activated the alien device finishing off, "Four Arms of muscle!"
Stan then tapped down the Omnitrix core and transformed.
FLASH!
A bright green flash of light blinded Max and the front of the Rust Bucket briefly as Grey Matter then appeared from the light.
"Grey Matter?! I said muscle, not miniscule!" Grey Matter angrily complained.
SMASH!
One of the Null Guardian's tentacles then smashed through the window again.
Covering his eyes briefly, Grey Matter sighed in annoyance and ran over to the tentacle.
WHOOSH! THWIP!
Using his suction cups on his hands, The Galvan slowly clambered up the Null Guardian's tentacle before he climbed up to the top and landed on the flying alien's head.
Looking over the Null Guardian's fur, Grey Matter analyzed the bat alien before rambling, "Triggering the correct sequence of synapses should allow me some rudimentary motor control."
No longer rambling, Grey Matter smiled happily before muttering, "Good thing, I know what I'm talking about."
Leaning down, Grey Matter grunted slightly as he pulled up two synapses the Null Guardian had.
"HISS!" The Null Guardian howled in pain as it flew back from the Rust Bucket.
"Hugh... Ha!" Grey Matter shouted out loudly as he changed the direction of the synapses on the alien.
SNAP!
Having no choice but to obey Grey Matter, The Null Guardian flew away from the Rust Bucket upwards into the air.
FLAP! WHOOSH!
Back inside Phil's car at the same time...
"Urgh..." Gwen grunted struggling to hold onto the Null Void Projector as Phil slowly used his strength to beat Gwen.
SNAP!
Snatching the Null Void Projector from Gwen's hands, Phil turned around and noticed the Null Guardian flying towards the windshield of his car.
WHOOSH! FLAP! SLAM!
The massive alien crashed into the windshield as the glass cracked and shook the car.
SHAKE... RUMBLE...
The blue vehicle shuddered slightly as Gwen noticed the centre view mirror fly near her.
On the outside, Phil's car screeched across the road before the vehicle impacted a barrier on a bridge finally coming to a halt.
SCREECH! WHOOSH! CRASH!
"Woah!" Grey Matter screamed as the Galvan was sent flying off the knocked out Null Guardian and onto the damaged gravel near the bridge.
"Ugh!" Grey Matter muttered in pain as he dangled above the bridge below where a large river lurked below him.
Trying not to look down, the car door then opened as Phil tumbled out and crashed against the bridge barrier grunting, "Ooof!" in pain.
Shaking his head, Phil noticed Grey Matter slowly climb back onto the road surface as the young Galvan glared at Phil in anger.
"Back off small fry!" Phil yelled to Grey Matter clutching the Null Void Projector before he explained, "Or, I'll release every alien in this thing!"
"Then you'll be out of a respectable job, you faker." Grey Matter bluntly replied feeling angry against Phil for everything he had caused in the long night as Gwen watched the argument from the car.
Still trying to win Stan over, Phil spoke one last time, "It doesn't have to be this way, we could all work together!"
"No way! After all the trouble, you've caused, your going down for good." Grey Matter shouted back defiantly.
Looking around the car at the same time, Gwen noticed the broken mirror and grabbed hold of it smirking slightly.
Whirrr...
Giving up on Stan, Phil activated the Null Void Projector mocking the Galvan, "Well then, your all going to be very busy!"
"I told you, anyone, who threatens me or my extended family ends up in a bad situation." Grey Matter warned Phil.
No paying attention, Phil carefully placed his finger on the trigger of the Null Void Projector just as Gwen yelled, "Stan! Catch!"
Turning around to Gwen, Grey Matter grabbed hold of the rearview mirror Gwen chucked at him just as Phil fired the laser beam from the Null Void Projector.
WHOOSH! BZZTT!
The yellow beam thankfully reflected off the rearview mirror and blasted into Phil.
ZAP! SPARK!
The yellow energy beam blasted into Phil's body as he began shaking before he yelled out angrily, "NOOOOOOOOO!"
BZZTT! WHOOSH! ZAP!
"Someone people never learn..." Grey Matter thought in his head as Gwen grabbed the Null Void Projector saying, "See ya!"
"And I definitely wouldn't want to be ya." Grey Matter couldn't help but respond to the quote.
Giggling slightly, Gwen looked at Grey Matter and happily asked, "So, who's next?"
Grey Matter couldn't help but feel extremely happy around Gwen as his large brain wondered in confusion, "What was wrong with him when he was around Gwen?"
SCREECH! WHOOSH!
Before Grey Matter could reply, the Rust Bucket then screeched over and arrived on the scene.
Nearly twenty mins later back in the Mount Rushmore base...
"ROAR!" The Wigisillan Org Beast roared out angrily before a yellow energy beam zapped it.
WHOOSH! BZZTT! ZAP!
The Wigisillan Org Beast was then sucked back into the Null Void.
"And that's the last of them." Max sighed in relief standing near the kids as he turned off the Null Void Projector.
Ben was sat next to Max on the left side whilst Stan was standing in between Gwen and Max.
Silence ensured over the group before Max once again remarked, "I'll say it again, I'm sorry I kept my past a secret for so long. I should have known I could trust your kids."
Shrugging to Max, Gwen spoke back, "It's okay, we already went over this earlier."
"Yeah... Well, there goes the Plumber business in the family." Ben sadly replied.
Turning to face Ben, Max confidently spoke to him, "And for what it's worth Ben, I think you have the makings of becoming a great Plumber."
"Really Grandpa?!" Ben shouted to Max in excitement as Stan smiled happily saying, "Maybe we all do..."
"Hey, I and Ben are your grandkids, what would you expect?" Gwen asked Max who smiled back knowing that they would keep his secret.
Walking back to the sealed vault, Stan couldn't help but think about how odd he had been acting in the evening.
For some reason, Gwen had constantly popped up as being more important then Ben, if not even more.
"What's going on? Why did I feel so odd around Gwen tonight? It just doesn't make any sense... I should talk to Max, maybe he knows what's wrong with me." Stan mused in his head as the group entered the vault.
Placing the Null Void Projector back onto the floating pedestal, Max turned around as Gwen asked him, "What about Phil?"
"I think there are some things about this job we're better off not knowing," Max replied.
"Well, it was his fault he ended up in the Null Void, to begin with." Stan reasoned with the others.
Agreeing with Stan, Max looked at the Null Void Projector one last time before the group finally left the vault behind.
Author's note: BOOM! The first chapter of Part 2 is complete!
One thing I wanted to explore in the next few chapters is how Stan's relationship with all the characters will change and get more complex and stronger as the series goes on.
For example, Stan will start to see Max as more of a grandfather figure rather just a grown-up that he cares about as the season goes on.
Stan's friendship with Ben will only get stronger from here on out, as I hope to expand this dynamic.
As for Gwen?
I think you can guess what may end up happening long term. ;)
Until the next chapter! Bye Bye!