Chapter 7
„Hunted"
[Space, Vilgax Ship, Mars.]
Vilgax was an intergalactic alien warlord and conqueror who was part of the Chimera Sui Generis specie. He was a humanoid creature with a face resembling that of an octopus. But right now, he was barely held together by his medical unit. While hunting a ship that had Omnitrix on board, his ship sustain a lot of damage. Damage that almost killed him. Fortunately, his will to live was much stronger.
As of now, he was rebuilding with cybernetics to replace what he lost. Because of that, he had no other choice but to get someone to retrieve the Omnitrix for him. He was frustrated that his mech droids were unable to do the job. So he hired bounty hunters, hoping they wouldn't screw up the job.
He watched their performance from the inside of his healing tank. Vilgax was impressed with the bounty hunters. After they were done with destroying his old mechs, Vilgax contacted them via holoprojection.
„Impressive… You are all hired…" -Vilgax said with a raspy voice. Then his image was replaced with that of the Omnitrix."Your objective is to retrieve the Omnitrix… The one who succeeds collects the reward… Do not disappoint me!"
With that, the bounty hunters were sent to earth via pods. The estimated time of the landing was two hours due to the Omnitrix being in constant movement.
[Rust Bucket, Desert, two hours earlier.]
The Rust Bucket was quiet for the past hour. Not even the radio was playing. Ben and Gwen had a lot on their mind. Max told them everything. About his younger day before he became a plumber. And not the plumber who was fixing sinks and whatnot. The Plumber was just a name to hide the fact that they were dealing with aliens on and off Earth.
Max was one of the high-ranking members before he retired. Before his retirement, his last mission was to eliminate a dangerous warlord that was hell-bent on conquering the galaxy. But Max was able to stop and kill Vilgax. After that, Max decided to go on early retirement.
He ended his story by explaining about Ben's watch. Or rather the Omnitrix. It is a high-level device that is considered the most powerful creature in the universe. He also knew the creator, who was currently MIA.
„Kids… You've been quiet." -Max said with a worried tone."You don't hate me, right?"
„What? No! We don't! It's just…" -Gwen trailed off.
„It's hard to take it all in… We don't hate you, Grandpa." -Ben said with a reassuring smile.
„I'm glad. I'm sorry that I haven't told you before." -Max admitted, letting out a sigh."I didn't want to overwhelm you with so much stuff."
„We understand… But please, no more secrets." -Gwen pleaded."That goes for us as well, Ben."
„I know, I know…" -Ben replied. Then, Max suddenly pulled over and parked the Rust Bucket. They stopped next to the abandoned mining town, called Slaterville."Hm? Why did We pull over?"
„There are no living souls in here. Perfect spot for training." -Max said as he got up."Let's set up a training course."
„Really? You want Ben to train with Heatblast, right?" -Gwen asked, and Max asked.
„Pyrite? So you know my alien species?" -Ben asked, suddenly curious to learn more about his the aliens from the Omnitrix.
„I know most of them… Now, let's get started." -Max said with a small smile."It will take us a bit to set everything up."
[One hour later]
The training course was complete. Though it looked complex, it was easy to build. The point of this course was to test Ben's accuracy and agility/reaction. There was one more course, but a much smaller and simpler one. It was a shooting range.
„Why did We set a shooting range." -Gwen asked with crossed arms.
„So that You and Ben can use it." -Max explained as he put the last bottle down.
„But I'm already using the bigger one." -Ben said with a confused tone.
„Ben, you need to learn how to defend yourself when you can't use the Omnitrix." -Max explained and picked two can-like cylinders. He gave them to his grandkids who looked puzzled."See that bottom in the middle? Press it."
Young Tennyson pressed the buttons and the cylinders began to transform into guns. They were shocked that such a small thing could turn into a sci-fi weapon.
„Pretty neat, right? You can have them on you all the time." -Max said, chuckling as his grandkid's jaws dropped."They're yours now… Make sure to always have them on you." -Ben and Gwen nodded and smiled."Alright, let's practice your accuracy."
It was obvious that Gwen was in her element. After all, she was in the archery club for the past three years. While Ben wasn't doing bad, it was clear that this wasn't his thing. His aim was better when he went alien.
„Aw, man… Only five bottles?" -Ben groaned in annoyance.
„It alright, Ben." -Max assured and patted him on the back."Even I wasn't a sharpshooter back when I was your age. So don't let it get to you."
„Yeah, and besides, you have the Omnitrix." -Gwen added with a smile.
„Well, now that you're done here, it's time to move to the main course, Ben." -Max said and pointed to his course. Ben nodded and transformed into Heatblast."Remember to think out there, Ben. Might isn't always right!"
„Got it!" -Heatblast exclaimed and his training began.
Finally, he was in his element. Despite having the Omnitrix for almost two weeks, Ben felt like he found a missing piece in his life. He felt happy, to be honest. Ben wasn't sure if it was right to feel like that about his situation. He just found out about Max's secret that not even his dad knew about. He had the most powerful device in his possession. And there was someone who wanted it. Which is why mastering his alien transformation was crucial.
At last, Heatblast was done and a moment later he became Ben again.
„Good job, Ben." -Max said with a smile."Alright, let's take a break…"
„Can We check out the ghost town?" -Ben asked, pointing at the town behind him.
„Go on ahead. Just be careful and don't try to touch anything. You never know if a roof might fall on you." -Max warned, and Ben nodded.
Gwen followed Ben, who walked down to an abandoned equipment storage building. There was rust everywhere with dust flying around. Pulling her smartphone, Gwen checked if there was a signal. Fortunately, there was, so she checked their location and saw if anything was interesting about it.
„It says here it was a town incorporated in the year 1857, after the discovery of silver. It was abandoned after the mine ran out in the 1950s." -Gwen explained and coughed."Man, there is so much dust here…"
„I don't know why, but this place has a mood." -Ben said as he looked around.
„A mood? What kind of?" -Gwen asked with her eyebrow raised.
„Dunno… I just like it." -Ben shrugged.
He noticed a bench next to him. After dusting it off a little, he sat down and allowed his thoughts to wander. Gwen took a notice of that and, after dusting the bench off, she sat down next to him.
„How are you holding up?" -Gwen asked.
„You mean about all those elderly people?" -Ben replied and Gwen nodded."I just… still can't believe that they are gone. I can't imagine what their families are going to go through…"
„Yeah… We're just too late to help them." -Gwen said with a sigh."But I still can't believe what happened between Grandpa and Aunt Vera. I'd never imagined that she would hit him like that."
„Me too… I hope that they will make up one day." -Ben said, and Gwen nodded. Then, the ground began to shake. Young Tennyson went up and saw that someone was coming from underground. It was a creature that resembled a metallic fiddler crab with a goldish brown-colored armor, a sideways mouth, four scythe-like legs, and a large pincer for a left hand."You gotta be kidding me…"
„I assure you… This is not a joke." -Creature said in a robotic tone."My name is Kraab and I'm here for the Omnitrix. We can do this the easy way or the hard way… Either way, you are going to die."
„How about… NO!" -Ben exclaimed as he activated the Omnitrix and slammed the dial down. In a flash of green, Ben turned into the new alien. He became a humanoid pile of green goo that could take any shape at will. He had bright green eyes and an Anti-Gravity Projector that allows him to be mobile."Goop!"
„Damn Polymorph… I hate Polymorphs!" -Kraab snarled and began shooting plasma bolts from his pincer.
Goop was easily dodging the bolts while flying around Krabi. Then, Goop covered Kraab with his body. Krabi found it difficult to move, but he quickly got an idea. His body began spinning wildly, making it hard for Goop to stick to him. This caused Goop's body to separate into pieces. Now, Goop's anti-gravity projector had to pick up the pieces.
„Oh no you don't!" -Kraab said as he shoot down the projector."Now stay down… I'll collect you and give you to the boss."
Suddenly, his shoulder was shot. There was no damage though. Krabi turned his head to see Gwen who was pointing her gun at him.
„Really? You thought that this is going to work?" -Kraab asked with a chuckle."Cute… Very cute. But this is the end."
[A few minutes later, Rush Bucket]
Max wiped off the sweat from his forehead before closing the hood. He had to be sure that there wouldn't be any surprises from his RV on the road. The old girl liked to break down from time to time, but now Max couldn't allow that to happen. Not now anyway.
After checking their supplies, Max sat down and let out a sigh. He touched his cheek and remembered how his sister slapped him. He felt bad about what happened. It was obvious that this wasn't his fault. But Vera was too blinded by grief to see it. Max hoped that one day, he and Vera could talk again.
Then he heard a familiar beeping. It was his Plumber badge. Once he picked it up, he activated it and saw Frank.
„Frank, this is Max." -Max said.
[…Max! Finally! We couldn't have reached you for the past few hours…]
„What happened? Are you guys okay?" -Max asked with a worried tone.
[….The ship We told you about has sent three pods to Earth. Probably to look for the Omnitrix…]
„Thanks for the heads up." -Max said."Anything else?"
[…Well…]
Then, the hologram of Frank disappeared for a second.
„Frank? What's going on?!" -Max asked, seeing how his friend seemed distressed.
[…We got hit! Dammit! Status report! Now!...]
Max couldn't hear what Frank heard, but from the look on his face, it was bad.
[…Shit! It's the enemy ship! It seems like they finished the repairs. Everyone! To the battle stations, now!...]
„Get out of here! Go and get back up!" -Max demanded.
[…Fuck! I don't think We can get out of this situation! Ma-….]
Max lost contact with Frank. For a minute he stared at his plumber badge, hoping that Frank would call back. But no call came. Max dropped his head and rubbed his eyes. He knew Frank since he was a cadet. He was a good person and he had family back here on Earth.
Feeling dizzy, Max had to get out of the Rust Bucket. He looked around and then noticed a familiar green flash from one of the buildings. He remembered Frank saying that the enemy send three pods to Earth. Feeling the worst, he went back inside the Rv and grabbed his rifle.
[Now.]
Suddenly, Kraab was blasted by a more powerful beam of Energy, sending him flying and crashing through a wall. Gwen blinked in surprise. She turned to see Max who was holding a big rifle.
„Stay away from my Grandkids, asshole!" -Max shouted, and then rushed to Gwen." Are you okay?"
„Yeah, I'm fine." -Gwen replied."Ben, are you okay too?"
„I'm a little dizzy, but I'm fine." -Goop said after his projector collected his body. In a flash of red, he turned back to Ben."Who was that?!"
„Must be a bounty hunter." -Max concluded."C'mon, We have to leave!"
