Chapter 4: A Broken Superstar

"I have failed you, master."

"What in the world makes you think that? You were never meant to win against Tennyson, my dear."

"I wasn't? What was the point of capturing that boy then?"

"I don't care for the boy….although capturing him makes our plans that much easier. You were to acquire more research into Tennyson….and that mystical device on his wrist."

"I don't have much, but it does turn him….into unique creatures. I haven't seen these….monstrosities in my life."

"He is well-known….I have seen what he can change into. Securing him and the device is now a vital goal. I want it! I want to feel it's power!"

"You want him on our side?"

"Think of it…..we can rule more than this dump. We can rule this town. Whole cities! Even whole states! Maybe even this entire nation!"

"It sounds glorious and ambitious, master."

"No mere mortal can stand between us. With you and him doing my bidding, I'll infect every person in this pathetic world. Mine for the taking."

"He seemed resistant against the others, though. How do we trap him again?"

"Hmmmm….I'll probably need to intervene again. This will require a direct confrontation on my part due to my newfound connection with his Ultimatrix. The powerful feeling rushed through my veins and made me feel like a god!"

"AGH! AGH! NO! NOT AGAIN!"

"Vanny? What's wrong? Report!"

"AGH! THIS….PITIFUL…..WORM…..IS TRYING….TO CONTROL ME!"

"NO! Not my connection!"

"Master…we…..will be….separated!"

"Vanny, fight her! You're her powerful half!"

"I can't! No! I'm in control! Get back in there!"

"AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

(Scene Break)

Alan and Ben stared back at one another in complete shock of seeing each other as Gregory raised both eyebrows switching them between each male. Alan's head was flaming up as he started shaking it to make sense of what his eyes were telling and showing him.

"Why are you here?" Alan asked.

"I'm a special guest doing the old meet and greet routine. You're supposed to be back at the Plumber's Academy," Ben replied.

"How do you know him?" Gregory asked.

"I met him a long time ago. We were battling through a cornfield when he convinced me he didn't know anything about my missing grandfather. Alan has the ability to become a Pyronite and control the element of fire," Ben replied.

"As you can tell, I'm totally rocking it," Alan boasted as he created multiple fireballs to juggle with before dispersing them. "Anyway, I'm actually here on a mission."

"A mission?" Ben asked with widened eyes. "Grandpa Max sent you here?"

"He heard you were heading to this place and the Plumbers have been getting strange readings from this particular place. They weren't sure if you knew anything about it or what the source of this paranormal phenomenon is, but they sent me down here to check it out," Alan replied.

"I've felt something alright. This weird glitch keeps attacking my watch and even burnt my wrist," Ben complained as he showed his bandaged wrist.

"Something tried hacking your Ultimatrix?" Alan asked as he cocked his head to the side.

"Nevermind that. Maybe you can blow us a way out of here," Ben suggested.

"I can't really do that," Alan stated. "I heard this place is on security lockdown for the night and if I rip a hole in any place that's heavily guarded, we might as well be toast."

"So much for rocking it," Ben muttered as he rolled his eyes.

"I snuck in through a window. I'm not sure we can find a ladder tall enough to even get back up there," Alan added as he looked back up at the panes of glass all over the ceiling and Ben decided to take a heavy sigh.

"And then we fall right back on the security going haywire against us," Ben added with a deadpanned look.

"To make matters worse, Zombozo even escaped from his cell. Manny and Helen were sent after him so he doesn't make Bellwood his own personal funhouse," Alan stated.

"Can this night get any worse?" Ben asked as he facepalmed.

"I wouldn't say it's all over for us. Freddy said we still have two ways of escape out of this joint. We just need to figure out which one is the best to take," Gregory explained as he smiled and looked at his Fazwatch with the time reading 2:15 AM.

"What are these ways?" Ben asked as he looked down at his younger partner.

"First, we would have to gain access through the kitchen and get to the loading docks where all the delivery trucks would be. Second way is on the third floor where there is supposedly a fire escape located outside the prize counter. I was in the middle of the second way when that officer lady escorted me to the Lost and Found and I met up with Ben," Gregory replied.

"You were captured too?" Alan asked as he looked shocked at Ben.

"Leave it to me to turn into the one alien that acts like a normal house cat," Ben replied as he glared at the Ultimatrix.

"Well, if worse came to past, we can always blast through the sky roof and make a quick exit. However, we better stay low for the meantime," Alan stated as he took off his Plumber's Badge reliving his body of the fire element.

Alan's normal human form consisted of a younger kid that is African-American with short black hair wearing a white tank top covering his body, dark blue jeans, and black sneakers as he attached his badge to a holder hanging off the rim of his jeans.

"Whoa, you look just as young as me," Gregory stated with a curious expression.

"Anyone can be a Plumber as they say," Alan added with a wink and his hands on his hips.

"That reminds me. What are these Plumbers you guys refer to? I know it can't be the ones that fix sinks and toilets," Gregory asked as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Mainly an intergalactic police force," Ben replied. "Mostly a hybrid team of human and alien officers instructed to send rogue alien criminals to the Null Void, an inter-dimensional prison with a nice view of floating rocks and empty red skies."

"His grandfather used to lead resistance there," Alan added.

"Where did that bunny lady go?" Gregory asked as he perked up at another point that came across his mind.

"That's a good question. She got burnt by Alan and kinda disappeared," Ben added as he looked at the last location where the bunny lady was seen.

They saw nothing out of the ordinary and it seemed like this costumed criminal had just vanished into thin air causing Ben and Gregory to look at each other with weird looks. They eventually shrugged it off letting Alan join their battle group as Gregory suggested they head for the elevator that would lead them to the main show stage and variety of attractions.

(Scene Break)

When all three boys eventually found the elevator, they took it up to another part of the Pizzaplex and upon the door opening, they reached the main dining hall with the large show stage where the Glamrock Animatronics had performed earlier in the night. The main logo with the four stood above the stage as well as on the four minitrons that hung above the dining room like at a live wrestling event. There was also three floors filled with the main eateries and attractions that filled up the majority of the Pizzaplex. All three boys stepped out as they quickly heard the bunny lady's voice echoing off in the distance.

"Find him and bring him to the basement. I will not tolerate failure," The bunny lady's glitchy voice rang throughout the dining room followed by a creepy, unsettling giggle.

"Oh boy, she sure gets around quick," Alan stated with a whisper.

"You think you're better than me? Come out and prove it!" Roxanne's voice was heard next as Ben saw her creeping and patrolling the bottom floor along the dining hall.

"You sound lost. Come here and I'll assist you," Chica rang out next as she came up an escalator to investigate the second floor.

"Girls night out. That shouldn't be too hard to handle," Ben whispered as he told all three boys to get down.

They snuck alongside the right wall keeping it down hiding behind potted plants and virtual map directories keeping them out of sight of Chica's line of vision. They soon got a notification on Gregory's Fazwatch as he tapped the blue screen to play the recorded message.

"Gregory, I don't know if this message will reach you, but I'm currently out of commission since the start of the hour. I need your help in getting repaired. Come to Roxy Raceway's second floor entrance just past Fazer Blast. There is some construction going on, but I put a stack of boxes near a wall that you can jump over with and the path provided should lead you and Ben near me. Hurry!" Freddy's voice explained before the message cut to clear static before shutting off.

"Oh man, Freddy's in trouble!" Gregory panicked.

"Roxy Raceway is all the way on the other side. We might as well try swinging to the other side," Ben stated.

"I'll take myself," Alan added as he put on his badge switching back to his Pyronite form.

"Intruder alert!" Monty roared jumping down from the third floor with his wrecked holes visible and his guitar strapped to his back.

The gator robot snarled as sparks flew out of his holes as Alan tried for a flaming punch, but the gator simply ducked away kicking the younger boy to the floor and out of his way. Chica saw the battle and started heading over locking her scanners on Gregory as per her mission to capture him, but Ben stood in front quickly cycling his holograms for the appropriate form for this encounter.

"Let's see how you like me monkeying around," Ben declared as he slapped down the dial hoping for his blue monkey web-slinging alien.

Ben's body started decreasing in size and increasing in weight as he became a little chunky in his new form. His skin was covered in a green color and a rougher texture as his eyes were also green when he opened them. Ben once again had claws coming out of his hands and a small swishing green tail growing out his backside. He struck a pose with the Ultimatrix symbol on his stomach.

"UPCHUCK!" Upchuck exclaimed as he looked at himself with a heavy sigh. "Would it kill you not to monkey around, watch? Wait….Upchuck is a little greener on the other side."

Monty interrupted his thought process shoving a green burly left arm in his face knocking him into a map directory breaking through the screen. Monty advanced on Gregory, but flaming fists came back at Monty hitting his hard armor and bashing an elbow against the gator robot's head shoving him to the side. Chica reared back her left fist trying to get one over on Alan, but he blasted her back with a surging stream of fire erupting from his hands making dents in Chica's armor along with little flames penetrating her skin as the chicken robot malfunctioned a little bit. However, the fire turned on the sprinkler system as rapid drops of water hit Alan as he was forced out of his Pyronite form dropping his badge on the floor. Roxanne noticed the battle hopping on the roof of a building holding a protector and then jumping to the rail of the second floor growling at Upchuck and the two human boys.

"It's over, punks!" Roxanne exclaimed as she ran at them.

Upchuck thought quickly before using his tongue tendrils to latch onto Roxanne's metal head blinding her. It wouldn't come off no matter how hard Upchuck tried pulling, but he was flung into the air attaching himself on Roxanne's head as the wolf robot tried running around in circles blindly smashing into objects to try and get Upchuck off her, but the chunky alien had to hold on for dear life so he wouldn't fall off.

"He blinded her! We may have some time to properly react!" Gregory exclaimed.

"We still need to find some way of getting across the big open gap to close the distance between us and the raceway. These guys won't let us through willingly," Alan added.

"He's got tendrils for tongues, right? Maybe there's some pipes we can cling him onto and swing us across using his body," Gregory suggested.

Alan looked over the railing and saw metal scaffolding overlooking the main show stage as strobe lights were attached to give off colorful lights during concerts and they were held up by large metal poles. He smiled as Roxanne came up to him and Gregory finally shaking off Upchuck sending the chunky alien flying with an agitated roar. Upchuck went over the railing as he used his tendrils to grab ahold of the scaffolding while Alan and Gregory hopped over the railing before Roxanne could get them as they fell screaming. They each caught a small foot of Upchuck's as Upchuck swung upright allowing both boys to jump grabbing hold of the wet railing on the other side. They hoisted themselves up and over landing on wet carpet breathing heavily while Upchuck swung back up launching himself next to them.

"Ouch! Oof! Ow! That hurt! Ouch! Oof!" Upchuck exclaimed as he rolled across the carpet before his Ultimatrix times out returning him to Ben.

"You can't hide forever!" Roxanne exclaimed as she tried covering herself from the water spraying from the sprinklers.

All three boys quickly regrouped and ducked inside the construction site of Roxy Raceway as Roxanne growled wanting her taste for revenge soon enough.

(Scene Break)

The emergency sprinkler system was reset and S.T.A.F.F bots were sent out to patrol the area of the disturbance while the Glamrocks went back on hunting duty themselves, but they were gone for the moment in order to dry themselves. Ben, Alan, and Gregory sat under the roof of a construction tunnel sitting there until the water ceased falling before moving about the area hiding away from roaming S.T.A.F.F bots and their flashlights. Gregory found the stack of boxes Freddy left him as he started climbing followed by Alan and then Ben as they hopped over the wall landing on the other side. A small staircase would lead them to a wrecked Freddy as he groaned and moaned in pain laying on the floor with Gregory running up to him.

"Freddy! Are you ok?!" Gregory asked as he checked up on his favorite robot.

"There you are, superstar! I waited and waited! I was so worried about you. My circuits are broken….I missed the hourly recharge and shut down for a brief time. I need to get to Parts and Services," Freddy replied as he turned his head to Gregory squeaking.

"We'll help you! We need to get you there now!" Gregory declared.

"Lift me up. We must hurry. The others will have notice of my absence," Freddy urged.

"We gotcha, Fred. Don't worry!" Ben stated as he and Alan got the arms while Gregory helped lift the legs.

"Argh….the lift will take us there. It's on the show stage. We must hurry," Freddy stated as he got up starting to walk really slowly and limping.

"He's in no shape to walk. We'll have a hard time getting him anywhere," Alan warned.

"Your new friend is right. Take the door behind us to the rehearsal room. Once you do, look for a Backstage Pass and bring it back here. That's the only way to turn on the lift so I can get repaired." Freddy added as he took a knee.

"We can't just leave you here," Gregory retorted.

"It's for the best, superstar. You'll do fine. Stick with Ben and the other one. They'll help you," Freddy promised as he put a giant hand on Gregory's left shoulder.

"I'll do my best, Freddy. You'll be saved!" Gregory declared as Freddy would be left to rest while the boys went to find the door he mentioned about.

(Scene Break)

The three boys made their way backstage as they passed by some blue curtains and avoided S.T.A.F.F bots roaming around by further hiding in cleaning bins and in orange lockers to make their way slowly through the backstage hallway. Gregory accessed the camera system as he looked for the patterns in the bots and their paths. Things only got worse when they heard Roxanne burst through a blue door howling as she was on the prowl.

"I can handle this myself! You tinker toys can beat it!" Roxanne demanded as she swat one S.T.A.F.F not out of her way making her path through the narrow hallway.

"Oh great! Fangface decided to make a return," Ben joked.

"If we engage her, we could bring the others here quickly enough. We need to get by her," Alan added.

"I could go Nanomech and have her follow me around letting you guys through while I loop back around," Ben suggested.

"Like act like a firefly?" Gregory asked.

"Just a brief distraction. I'll meet back up with you both once we reach the rehearsal room. She's too dangerous to take on directly right now," Ben replied.

"It's the best plan we got," Alan conceded as Ben tapped the dial and cycled for the chosen form he wanted.

"It's hero time!" Ben whispered as he switched to Nanomech and slapped down the dial.

Ben's human form started turning more into a liquid state before he started dropping down into a puddle of green goo. A black UFO gravity tractor came by scooping up the green goo as it started taking a solid shape with the Ultimatrix dial on the chest.

"GOOP!" Goop exclaimed as he looked at his form and sighed again. "Twice in one hour, eh? Fine, we'll do this the hard way then!"

Goop hopped out of his hiding place and sent a long right arm to punch Roxanne in the face and then kicked her up against a wall. Roxanne slashed the chest of Goop in retaliation, but the scratch masks subsided and disappeared as he double punched Roxanne's face away from him as the wolf bot growled holding her snout.

"Ben, we got an opening! The door's right there!" Gregory yelled.

Goop turned around slinking away with Gregory and Alan as Roxanne gave chase towards the boys yelling for them to stop. Alan grabbed the door to the rehearsal room slipping in and allowing Gregory in before closing the door. Goop used his slime form to slip underneath the door and used his acid to melt the doorknob effectively locking it as Roxanne banged on the door hard.

"Talk about anger issues," Goop joked as he jabbed a thumb at the door.