So, I'm not dead...

I was going to upload this earlier, but I forgot about several things as well as several of my stories. I know, irresponsible of me.

I am also going to share some news about one of my stories that seem to be getting a lot of attention soon, but I will get to that one when I write it out. I like to make sure my grammar doesn't suck as well as the spelling.

This chapter seems to be cookie-cutter. The reason is that I'm not the biggest fan of this episode, and I am excited about the episode after this. I spent too much on the last chapter so this is gonna make up for the next chapter.

I also want to correct something from my earlier chapters. Soul was and still is intended to be an adult. For some reason, I put him as a teen before his transformation in my first chapter. How I didn't see that? Don't know, but I will have to make it a plot point later. He was always intended to be around 22 before becoming a kid. Well, my hindsight is s #$ so whatever.

I want to iterate that for future chapters since I had plans for that, and I don't want to have comments about his age when I reach later with this fic. Anyways enjoy the chapter. Ciao!

I don't own anything except the OC.

Soul, Jen, and Gwen were standing in front of the ice cream parlor. Soul was getting bored as he had already chosen his ice cream which was a mint chocolate chip. Jen and Gwen were having a rough time choosing while Max was at the ATM.

"What do you have that's nonfat with less than three percent sugar?" Gwen asked the old grouchy man at the counter.

"Napkins," He said sarcastically looking from a now frowning Gwen to Jen. "What about you kid?"

Jen was about to answer when they heard something that made them turn their head. They saw someone approaching the ATM with a hook that was chained to a truck, making it obvious what was about to happen. "I'm about to go Rocky Road." She quipped, making her order before running out there, and activating the watch.

Soul rolled his eyes as Gwen sighed in exasperation with that pun. "I'll take vanilla then," Gwen said to the cashier. "Aren't you gonna write her up for another pun?" Gwen asked Soul.

Soul groaned at that. His "Pun Counter" was founded by Jen of all people and got annoyed with him. He managed to pacify her by promising her to let her name more of his aliens, but he still managed to tell everybody. Honestly, it seems like it was made into a competition.

Even Max and Gwen were getting into it!

Soul turned toward Max and Jen as Upgrade. She honestly didn't seem that different from regular Upgrade.

"She seems to be getting better with the watch," Soul mused as she seemed to be planning a bit more than usual.

"Yeah, well with you around, she wants to stand out," Gwen said. Soul looked confused.

"Huh, why? I barely transform due to the size of my transformation as well as the amount of collateral damage," Soul said. It was honestly true to what he said. Many times when Jen needed to transform, Soul wasn't able to since many of his transformations were too big to help nor were they helpful to the situation. He honestly only remembers transforming at the lake since then. "She's been doing more hero work than I have."

"Yeah, but your transformation stands out more than Jen," Gwen countered, which Soul can't exactly argue.

They exited the ice cream parlor with Soul holding Jen's ice cream as they saw Max and Upgrade finish with the thieves.

"Good work, Jen," Max said as he finished tying them up.

"Oh yeah, I'm ready for anything! Bring it on," Upgrade gloated as her voice sounded like a robot. "What's next?"

"We're heading off to see your Aunt Vera for the weekend," Max said, and Soul could just see the anticipation fade away with Upgrade becoming a ripple.

"Boring old Aunt Vera?!" Upgrade asked in disbelief. "Nooo!"

The watch seemed to have timed out, right as she did that while Soul raised a brow.

"Jen, shouldn't you be glad that you are meeting your family again?" Soul asked.

"You don't know how it is to have an-..." Jen started to argue before she stopped as she saw Soul's flat look toward her. Gwen and Max were making hand signals to stop.

Right… She forgot that Soul doesn't have any memory of his family, and they still couldn't find anybody that was his relative.

She should shut her mouth. Thank goodness that nobody decided to make it more-.

"Jen, I'm pretty sure that was offensive when considering the inability of Soul's memory of his family," Neme stated. Soul looked a little more peeved as Gwen and Max facepalm.

Stupid AI!

"Heh heh… Sorry Soul," Jen apologized awkwardly. Soul sighs and hands her ice cream.

"Let's just move on from this. You should finish your ice cream before it melts." Soul just wanted to move on and went inside the Rust Bucket. Jen wanted to say something, but both Max and Gwen shook their heads to stop her from talking anymore.

'Soul, are you all right? Your mind seems to reflect some…,' Neme asked in his mind.

Soul sighed and interrupted Neme. 'It's fine. No need to worry about it. No use to feel sad about something you don't have.'

"Wow," Gwen said. "When Aunt Vera said she wanted to move away from it all, she really meant it."

"Oh man," Jen groaned. "This summer was supposed to be about F-U-N. Not hanging out at some old lady's house."

"I like Aunt Vera," Gwen commented, making Jen roll her eyes.

"Duh, that's because you act like you're a hundred years old."

"You should appreciate seeing your family Jen," Soul said as he looked toward the desert. He remembered what these aliens were about, though the names were lost on him.

They were shape-shifting aliens with the weakness of water. Kinda stupid in hindsight when the planet is 70% water.

'Hey, Neme, do I have any predators that can deal with them permanently?' Soul asked.

'Yes, but I would advise against this,' Neme replied. Soul looked confused, mentally at least.

'Why not? It would make our lives easier,' Soul said.

'That's because the majority of the predators may cause a huge amount of collateral, and if you remembered correctly, we will have to fight in an enclosed space, with civilians on the premise. The available predators for the enclosed space would not be useful either due to the Limax's elastic body,' Neme said curtly. Soul groaned. He is starting to wonder if the Nemetrix was useful if he has to constantly worry about the collateral damage.

Well, worse than Jen's though that's kinda a low bar.

"Well, I would appreciate it if it was less boring," Jen commented.

"Well, I'm glad that it would be a little boring," Gwen said with her arms crossed. "No aliens, robots, or any other weird creatures."

Soul shrugged at that, knowing Gwen was going to be annoyed that she wasn't going to have a normal day.

Deciding to put it in the back of his mind, Soul laid his head on the table as Gwen was on her laptop while Jen was still pouting a bit.

"This is going to be so boring," Jen muttered to them just now reaching the neighborhood. "Their idea of excitement in this place is probably watching the grass grow or something."

Jen looked out the window just in time to see an elderly fall from the roof but ended up doing a backflip landing perfectly.

"Whoa! Did you guys see that?!"

"Hmm," Gwen turned toward the window to see nothing strange. Soul knew what was happening, but he opted to ignore her for a little bit.

"See what? The heat must be frying that pea-sized brain of yours."

"You two need to get along," Soul commented.

Once they reached Vera's house, Jen stepped out and was blinded for a few seconds by the hot sun.

"Seriously," Jen said as her hand covered her face. "Why do old people have to live where it's so hot!?"

Gwen then smirked mischievously and sprayed Jen with her water gun.

"Hey!" she shouted.

Gwen then laughed and ran up ahead. Jen was trying to chase after her. Soul hung back as he was observing his surrounding. Jen was right though about the heat. He then spotted the old man creaking his neck and snarling before he closed the blinds.

"Man, that was disturbing," Soul muttered. In the cartoon, it didn't seem that bad, but it was creepy in reality.

Reminds him of old ghost movies or tv shows.

"Just watch your cheeks. Vera is a pincher," Max warned with a chuckle right. The door opened to show Vera Tennyson, an elderly woman in a purple shirt and shorts.

"Max," Vera called out in joy with Max having a smile on his face.

"Vera." The two siblings exchanged a hug with some chuckles.

"I can't believe you're finally here and look at these two," Vera said letting go of Max to hug Gwen before pinching her cheeks. "So grown up."

"Ow," Gwen muttered while Vera did the same to Jen who winced, repeating what her cousin said.

After that Vera noticed Soul who relaxed his shoulder. He honestly didn't mind the pinches. "Oh, who's this?" She asked curiously.

"This is Soul. He's a friend of Jen and Gwen's." Max said reaching back to push Soul forward a bit.

"Hello, miss Tennysons," Soul said as he waved his hands. He figured he doesn't have to be so stiff with traditions here.

"Aw he's so adorable," Vera began pinching Soul's cheeks as he slightly winced.

Okay, so Gwen and Jen weren't exaggerating about the pinches.

"Well, come on in! I can't wait to chew the fat with all of you," Vera said with a smile, leading them into her home. "You arrived just in time for dinner."

Soul shrugged as he entered the house. It looked like it was 2 in the afternoon, but, hey, it was free food.

"Ugh," Jen covered her nose. "Why do old people's houses always smell like somebody is cooking socks or something?"

Soul elbowed her. "Ix-nay of the rude-nay." Jen looked at him as if he was dumb, and he just facepalmed.

"Yeah Jen, Aunt Vera could hear you." Gwen scolded her. At least Gwen got her.

"Man, you both team up on me," Jen complained with her hands behind her head. "You can't tell me this is fun."

"Yes, I can," Gwen said with zero hesitation.

"I have no frame of reference except for the pinch. Besides, aren't you glad to see your family?" Soul said.

Jen looked like she was gonna say something snarky, but she saw Gwen putting an X mark behind Soul's back. Jen might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but she does understand to not push people's buttons. Especially since she already did it before. So she kept quiet as Soul quirked his eyebrows with the lack of answers.

Moments later they were eating dinner. Mostly Soul, Max, and Vera were eating. Gwen and Jen were only looking at theirs. "So what's this brown stuff in the mold?"Max asked curiously.

"Pork Chops and the white parts are cauliflower," Vera said proudly with both Gwen and Jen making a face. They turned to see if Soul was eating, but all they see was an empty plate and Soul patting his stomach.

'I didn't realize that food can be jellified in this form,' Neme said to Soul's mind.

'Well, it's not that bad,' Soul replied.

"Oh my. Aren't you a hungry boy?" Vera said as she saw Soul with his plate cleaned.

"It was delicious mam," Soul said. It was actually slightly bland, but he didn't want to be rude.

"Well, I will have to gift you some before you leave them," Vera said brightly. Soul accepted since it was still food. Gwen and Jen squirmed in their seats, disgusted at how Soul could possibly eat anything.

"So Jen, what have you been doing so far this summer?" Vera asked curiously as she turned to Jen.

Jen just put down her spoon. "Dealing with alien life forms." She said clearly.

Vera began to chuckle. "Oh, you."

Gwen decided to ask Vera about the red bird as Jen tries to sneakily put her food on Soul's plate. Soul didn't really care, so he decided to finish it.

"Well, I'm stuffed," Jen said. Vera came by with a bowl of coffee candy. Soul looked interested since he wanted a bag to himself since he enjoys coffee candy.

Jen decided to rush to the bathroom as Soul was asking Vera for a bag of coffee candy.

Vera was still showing Gwen her impressive collections as Soul was looking over her collection. It sure was interesting to see what was going on.

Soul then sees a green flash underneath the bathroom door. Soul sighed, knowing he might need to bail Jen out.

He turned to see a faint shadow of Ghostfreak pranking Gwen which is weird because Ghostfreak was supposed to be invisible. He wonders if time in the void allowed him to see Spectral beings in a limited setting.

That or he is just imagining the shade since he saw the cartoon.

Soul turned to Vera and gave an excuse that he and Jen were going to play outside for a bit with Max and Gwen giving him a slight look (a sign meaning that Jen was doing something foolish), but Vera smiled at him and said to have fun.

Soul then chased after Ghostfreak which he can still see. Funny enough that Ghostfreak didn't really change from the original appearance. He wonders if it was the Zs'Skayr's influence.

"Hey, Jen! Where are you?" Soul yelled out loud, pretending not to see her.

"Huh, Soul? What are you doing out here?" Ghostfreak asked in the same voice as the show… Surprisingly.

The Zs'Skayr theory is starting to look more and more prominent to his dismay.

"Keeping an eye on you, Jen," Soul replied. Ghostfreak pouted, which was a hell lot scarier than he expected.

God, Ghostfreak was such a fitting name for this alien. So creepy. He seriously hoped that his predator ain't that creepy.

'Prepare to be disappointed,' Nem replied in his head.

Great.

"Come on, let's do something fun!" Ghostfreak then spotted the golf cart and pitched her idea.

Soon, people were staring at Soul while the cart was driving on its own. Soul looked sheepish as he was passing by.

All of a sudden, the cart stopped before Soul smelled apples and cinnamon, making him look to see Ghostfreak taking form right in front of some apple pie setting in the window.

"Jen," Soul groaned. He was going to get up before Ghostfreak formed in front of him, looking freaked out. "Yo, what happened?"

"I'm not stealing pies from Ninja Old People," Ghostfreak said.

"Huh?" Soul knows what she was talking about, but it was still weird for a ghost to be weirded out by "Ninja Old People."

Ghostfreak was about to turn the vehicle around before they saw the creepy neighbor driving. Then the sprinkler came on, and he let out a shriek and nearly crashed til he swerved around it with a scared look.

"Huh, that was strange," Ghostfreak commented. "This coming from the shape-shifting hero?" Soul retorted with a raised brow. "We gonna follow the old man?"

"Oh yeah, want to see what that old man is up to." Soul sighed, knowing that Jen was too curious for her own good.

They were following him while keeping some distance from him. They saw that he stopped near the dumpster and were shocked that the creepy neighbor stretch his legs to get over it. Well, at least Ghostfreak was. Soul had look shocked to show that he didn't know anything.

"Stay here, I'll go check it out," Ghostfreak told him as she took off.

"Jen, stop! You could turn back!" Soul tried to warn her, but it fell on deaf ears. He sighed as he shifts himself into the driver's seat.

"3… 2… 1…" The red flash went off according to his countdown, and he sees Jen running toward the cart, screaming for her life as the old man roars trying to catch up to them.

The old man was not afraid to slow down, but two could play that game. Jen dived toward the cart, and Soul stomped on the gas. Jen was surprised that Soul was able to drive.

"How are you driving?!" Jen shouted as they were running from a madman.

"Is this really the time!? Try to find something to slow him down! This isn't a sports car!" Soul ordered Jen as he was giving her all she got. The old man managed to get a grasp on the cart. "Oi, get your own ride!"

"What kind of vitamins are these freaky old people taking?!" Jen asked, grabbing a Golf Ball from the bag and throwing it. She managed to nail the guy in the eye, but he didn't even flinch.

"I doubt there are any vitamins that allow old people to stretch!" Soul shouted as he was swerving left and right. "Jen, use the club!"

Jen found the club and started swinging at the old man. "Why couldn't we have done something normal and not followed a creepy old man!? We could do sports or anything!"

Jen stopped for a moment. "Can you play soccer?"

"Is now the time to ask that!?" The old man then jumped on the hood. "Can't you go alien or something!?"

"Can't, the watch has to charge!" Jen said. "Why can't you transform!?"

"Because the whole neighborhood can see it as well as the possibility of injuring you severely if Soul were to transform in your current situation," Neme stated as if this was a normal situation.

"Man, you are kinda useless," Jen threw a barb toward them with Soul feeling that jab pretty hard.

Kids were seriously brutal with their honesty.

Soul then spotted the sprinkler system that was currently on. "Hang on! I have a plan!" Soul then steered toward the sprinkler.

The old man saw what Soul was doing and scream as he let go of the cart and ran away in a different direction as Soul and Jen got soaked. He seems to leave a bit of green ooze while he ran away.

Jen saw what had happened and was confused. "What just happened?"

"He doesn't like water. It's what happened when the old man tried to avoid the sprinklers first," Soul replied.

"Huh, so you're not useless. Let's go warn Max and Gwen," Jen said as she was running toward Vera's house.

"Thanks, I-," Soul realized Jen was talking about her. "Hey! Come back here! I'll show you useless!"

They ran back to the house when the sun was starting to set. "Gramps! Gwen!" Jen shouted, surprising them.

"Ssh, your Aunt Vera is in bed." Max hushed her.

Jen looked confused. "Seriously? There is still daylight out."

"Yeah, that's great and all, but that's not important," Soul interrupted Jen. "We have a problem with a neighbor being some kind of ooze monster or alien that makes perfect replicas," Soul said.

"They appear to be Limax. They seem to be here for the elderly. I would watch yourself, Mr. Tennyson. You are the prime age for being eaten," Neme stated as she popped from the Nemetrix.

Max blinked as the children got a bit scared. "Wait, they eat people!?" Gwen quietly shouted.

"You, Jen, and Soul will not have to worry. The Limax would prefer old people due to them being more tender," Neme said.

"Yeah, that's giving me comfort," Jen said with sarcasm.

"How do you know that?" Max asked. He recalled the Limaxes. The nasty creatures they were. Neme responded with a logical answer.

"I contain many predators inside the Predatrix. The Predators have to prey on certain aliens. Argo, if I know the predator, I know the prey," Neme said in a good explanation.

"Wait, why don't you transform into this super predator of these Lima-thingies and kick their butts!?" Jen said.

"Because the predators for the Limaxes are unsuitable here in this environment. Also, they may destroy several of the neighborhood as well," Neme said. Jen got downcasted that their easy way is gone.

Gwen looked exasperated after that statement. "Really? Can't we get a normal day in?"

"You did jinx yourself that we wouldn't have to deal with something ridiculous earlier today." Soul then got a death glare from Gwen.

"Hey, let me go Four Arm on that creep when we check his apartment," Jen said as she smirked.

"Or instead of making huge collateral damage, we pack some water to better prepare against the Limax. It seems to be their core weakness," Neme suggested.

"Gwen, get your water gun filled with water to protect yourself," Max asked as he said it like a caring grandpa to ensure the kids are safe.

"Alright, Gramps," Gwen said as she was getting ready. "You aren't getting one though."

Jen pouted at that, but Soul blinked. "Wait, why am I not getting one?"

"I'm not the one who can transform, and Soul can't transform here, remember?" Gwen stated. Jen just looked irritated toward Gwen and stick out her tongue.

Gwen passed another water gun to Soul. He then had a thought.

"Hey, won't Terroranchula work? He has electrical abilities, and he is relatively small," Soul asked.

"Unfortunately, the Limax, from what I can tell from my data after analyzing them, are immune to electricity due to their structures. And we already know that physical attacks don't do that well in their bodies, so that doesn't leave us with many options currently. Or any at all," Neme said.

'Damn it,' Soul thought. It would have been so much easier if he could deal with them.

"I want you guys to be careful," Max said. "Neme, is there anything we should look out for?" He knows what the Limax does, but he can't reveal that he is a Plumber back in the game.

"Well, I'm not sure due to them being able to transform into anybody," Neme said. "The only advice I can give is that they will avoid water. I would be more concerned about you, Mr. Tennysons."

"Oh, don't worry about me, I can take care of myself," Max said.

After searching the neighbor's place, and finding nothing that seemed obvious, everybody went to sleep. Soul woke up to see Gwen making coffee and Jen rummaging in the fridge.

"Prune Juice, prune Juice, and oh look more prune juice," Jen commented as Soul decided to sit down for breakfast. "What's with old people and prune juice?"

Soul just ate his breakfast since he was hungry. He then spotted the disguised 'Vera' coming into the kitchen like a robot.

Again, with the obvious signs. He got his water gun ready in his pocket.

"Morning Aunt Vera," Gwen said. "How'd you sleep?"

"Just… Fine," 'Vera' said in a monotone voice. "How about you?"

Jen wasn't able to respond due to 'Vera' pulling her cheeks too hard.

"I made you some coffee," Gwen said as she approached 'Vera' with a cup of water and coffee. She then tripped, which shattered the cups that contained the contents that spilled toward Vera, who shout in panic.

"Clean it up! Clean it up now-!" 'Vera' was panicking so badly that she didn't notice how Soul got out his water gun and shot it right at her.

"Soul what are you-!?" Gwen didn't finish her sentences since she saw that 'Vera' was shifting her form.

"Gwen, we got a Limax here right now! Use the nozzle from the sink!" Soul shouted as he was running low on water.

The Limax tried to attack Soul, but Gwen got the nozzle to spray the Limax. It shrieked and melted into a puddle afterward.

"Well, I'm getting the Wizard of Oz vibe here," Soul muttered.

"What happened to Aunt Vera?" Gwen asked in worry.

"Honestly, I'm more worry about Mr. Tennyson," Soul said as he decided to fill his water gun with water. "Does anybody know where he went?"

"I think he said he was gonna go on a morning walk," Jen answered. "You think he got taken or eaten by these things?" Jen was worried that these Limaxs ate her grandpa.

"Not to worry," Neme said as she popped out. "We will have some time before they are eaten. They would need to be marinated for them to eat."

"Then let's go and save grandpa!" Jen said.

The three of them went out after they got a supply of water bottles and other stuff. They decided to go to the trapdoor underneath the dumpster that the old man stopped by before.

"Robots, mutated animals, slimy aliens," Gwen muttered. "Why is it that weird things keep happening ever since you found that watch and we found Soul?"

"I didn't exactly ask to be in the middle of nowhere," Soul said.

"Yeah, besides, don't you find this fun?" Jen said.

"Okay, I wouldn't say that, Jen," Soul said before Gwen was about to explode. "Aren't you worried about Aunt Vera?"

"Don't worry, we will get her back," Jen said with confidence. Gwen rolled her eyes, and they continued on with their walk.

"Guys? What's going on?" The three turned to see Max walking towards them.

"Hey, Grandpa! You're alive!" Jen said as she was walking forward, but Soul frowned at that.

"Jen, hold it," Soul said with one of his hands on her shoulder while the other has the water gun. "How do we know you're the real one?" Gwen picked up on that with her own water gun pointing at 'Max.'

Jen hesitated and that was when 'Max' struck the kids. Soul and Gwen fired their water gun, melting the arm of the Limax.

"Hands off you creep!" Gwen shouted while Jen glared at him with her watch getting ready.

The screams then attracted more of the Limaxes, and the others were looking worried. Soul grimaced as he got ready with his Predatrix around his neck.

"Soul, the predators will not be effective in this situation," Neme said through the Predatrix.

"Well, it's better than nothing," Soul said as he soon transformed into Buglizard. He roared as he unleashes a thick green fog as he grabbed both Gwen and Jen and ran toward the dumpster.

"Hey, you didn't yell out a hero name!" Jen whined.

"Is this really the time!?" Gwen yelled. "Also, how long are you going to be like that? You stink worse than Stinkfly!"

"Well, the Buglizard is the predator for Lepidopterrans so that is supposed to be expected," Neme said, showing herself on Buglizard's head.

"Come on, that's not gonna hold them for long, so let's get going," Buglizard said.

They got to the dumpster where Jen and Soul saw the old man the last time, and Buglizard smack the dumpster away.

"Are you not afraid that you caused property damage?" Gwen asked.

"I'll worry about that when we finally found everybody," Buglizard responds. Gwen wanted to say more, but all of them heard the Limaxes coming closer and coming in hot.

"Okay, though we had more time… Hopefully, this will slow them down just a bit." Buglizard was covered in a red flash and what replaced him was Terroranchula. "You guys get the lock! I will hold them down!" Terroranchula then made an electro web to trap them.

"Why did I have to get dragged into this crazy road trip?" Gwen said as she and Jen were tinkering with the lock.

"Hey, it makes it less boring," She said as she decided to go with the watch. She turned the dial into Diamondhead to crack the lock. "It's Hero Time!" She slammed and turn into Wildmutt, whining in her disappointment.

"How about you stop slamming so you can get the right alien!?" Terroranchula said as he made more electro web when these old people are crawling and shifting through the web.

Wildmutt growled and turn to the lock as Gwen backed up. She broke the lock with her brute strength and grabbed Gwen and jumped in.

"Hey, wait for me!" Terroranchula yelled as he went toward the hole and spread the electro web everywhere in the hole to stall for a little bit.

He looked up at his handy work, but he got disappointed when it barely hampered them at all. He decided to find Jen and Gwen before anything else happens.

He managed to catch up with them by using his senses as he saw Wildmutt fighting the fake Max with Gwen on top of her back. He turned back into a human and got his water gun aiming at the Limax.

He fired the shot as the Limax was about to hit Wildmutt. The arm melts again as the Limax screech. Wildmutt swung her arm at the fake Max, making the Limax hit the wall and have the cave collapse on him.

"Thanks for waiting for me," Soul said dryly. Wildmutt makes a grunt and grabbed Soul onto her back and ran off in a certain direction. They were running toward the wall.

"Brake, brake, brake!" Soul said as he buckled his leg onto Wildmutt, but it didn't slow her down. They crashed into the wall with the Omnitrix powering down.

"Hey, freakshow!" Gwen shouted, irritated that they had to crash into the wall. "What do we look like, a pair of crash dummies!?"

Jen frowned as she looked around. "Before I changed back, I picked up on a scent." She also turned to Soul. "Also, don't do that. That hurts, you know." She said as she rubbed the side of her body.

"Maybe when you decided to not crash us into something," Soul deadpanned toward Jen with Gwen snickering. "Also, if you want the right alien, then stop slamming it."

"Alright, alright," Jen said as they continue on the path.

They went deeper into the cave when they found a bunch of green pods with a mother ship in the middle of the clearing.

"Woah, it seems like everybody from Retirement got locked up in here," Gwen said as she inspect the pods. Jen was looking around and spotted her grandpa.

"Grandpa!" She and the others rushed toward the pod that contain Max Tennyson. Soul brought out the knife that he carries and made a cut for the old man to pop out.

"W-what?" Max muttered tiredly pushing himself to his knees. "I-I was out for a walk and… What happened?"

"The long summary is that you got kidnapped by these Limaxs so they can eat you," Soul said quickly.

"Wait, what's the short version?" Gwen asked as Max was shaking his head to restore his vision clearly.

"Our usual adventure," Soul said. Gwen facepalmed while Max put up a weak smile. Jen was giggling at the joke as she was getting ready to open another pod.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," They all turned to see Marty with several Limaxes behind him. "I knew you two kids would be troublesome the moment you followed me to the dumpster yesterday."

"Well, you aren't me," Jen said as they backed up with Jen getting ready with her watch while Gwen and Soul got their water gun ready.

"Then, let's fix that, shall we?" The fake Marty said as he and the other Limaxs changed into their true form.

"As disoriented as I am, I think I can wait for you kids to fill me in," Max said the four of them back up to the ship. Gwen touched the wall which open the spaceship and saw where Aunt Vera was.

"Guys, look!" Gwen said as she pointed to where Aunt Vera was. "There's Aunt Vera!"

"The ship!" Max exclaimed.

"They found it!" One of the Limax said. "We can't let them out!" The ship then activated

"Get the pods on board!" The other Limax said. "They have been marinating long enough!"

"Okay, ew," Soul said. He knows already that they eat people, but still, that's disgusting.

"Gwen, Soul. Let's get the other pods from the ship," Max said as he was bringing in pods from the ship. Soul decided to help while Gwen was aiming the water gun for any stragglers in case.

Jen then turned the dial on her watch. "Well, if you're hungry, then let me light up the barbeque!" She then press down on the alien she wanted which was Heatblast.

"Wait, Jen!" Soul tried to warn Jen, but it was too late. She transformed into Heatblast.

She fired at them with a stream of fire, but it did nothing to them.

"We, Limaxs, live for the heat! Why did you think we came to the desert?" The Limax said. They then merge together to make themselves big.

"Jen, we have been hitting them with water! It should be obvious that they are immune to fire!" Soul shouted.

"Well, then, it's a good thing I thought of a plan B!" Heatblast yelled as she shot a fireball at the pipes which unleash a bunch of water on top of the Limax.

The water was raining down on the Limaxs which shrieked and melted away. Soul was impressed that she thought of that.

"Huh, I didn't think you have the brain cells to think of a decent plan," Gwen said, looking surprised that Jen thought of a decent plan. "Yeah, same," Soul said.

"Well, that's because I'm the greatest!" Heatblast said in her cocky voice.

"Well, we just need to take these people out of the ship and take them back home," Max said.

"Just give me a moment so I can see what XLR8 can do about it," Heatblast said.

Eventually, all of them went back to the safety of their home, and none of them remember a thing about being in pods. We decided to leave the ship alone due to being hidden, and Jen blocking the entrance with her powers.

Jen, Gwen, and Max were saying goodbye to Vera while Soul was hanging back.

"Now don't be strangers Max," Vera said with a smile. "And stay safe on the road."

"I will," Max promised with a chuckle before Gwen walked forward, hugging Vera.

"Bye Aunt Vera," Gwen said with Vera giving a laugh and returning the hug, not pinching her cheeks for once. "It was nice seeing you."

"Same to you Gwen, have fun with the rest of your Summer," Vera said turning to Jen who had her hands in her pocket. "I'm sorry there wasn't any excitement for you Jen, you must've been bored to tears."

"Actually I had a lot of fun," Jen said with a smile. "And it's nice to see family, especially when we don't see you that much."

Soul smiled at the scene. He wished he can get his memories back.

Vera smiled as she hugged Jen, "Aww. It's nice that you are growing so quickly."

"Have fun on the road and good luck dealing with those aliens you were telling me about," Vera said releasing Jen who blinked, not expecting that.

"You're… kidding, right?" She asked hesitantly.

Vera just gave a slight chuckle. "Of course." She said watching Jen enter the RV with Gwen and Max while Soul was still outside.

"It was nice to meet you, ma'am," Soul said.

"You can call me Vera, sweetie," Vera said.

"Yes miss Vera."

Vera giggled. "Oh, before I forget, here is a bag of coffee candy as well as some more of my special gelatin." She said as she handed a bag full of candy as well as a platter of gelatin. "I hope you find your memories sweetie."

Soul tensed a little. "Max told you about my condition didn't he?" She nodded as he was about to get on.

"Oh, take care of Jen and the others, won't you?"

Soul paused and looked back with a confused look. He thought that Vera knew more than she seems but shook his head as he went inside.

"Are you seriously going to eat that?" Gwen said as she and Jen saw Soul put the gelatin in the fridge.

"And did you have to bring that cursed candy!?" Jen shouted as she saw the bag of coffee candy.

"Hey, it's food, and I happen to enjoy coffee candy," Soul said as he went to the bench to relax.

Gwen shrugged as she was paying attention to her laptop while Jen decided to play some games on her controller.

He decided to nod off before he gets himself ready for the next adventure.

Okay, so I didn't introduce any new predators because really, these guys are kind of a one-off. We were teased to get them back, but it never happened. I also want to address that most of the predators don't fit here anyways. The majority of the aliens that I have are way too big here as the story already explained.

Don't worry, I am gonna show a bunch of the new predators in the next chapter. Just hope I don't take ages.

Well, that's a lie, I'm swamped with so much stuff in college and my personal life.

Anyways, I gonna get working on the next Chapter, so Ci-!

…

..

.

The Limax, or rather the small amount of what was left, slithers back to the ship. They are not dead, even when the pipe burst, but they don't have enough to collect the elders again.

They decided to return to their planet and collect more of their people to collect all of the elders of their world.

Then they will get back for the Omnitrix brat and his families and friends.

The ship then launched into space, intending to go far in its journey.

Unfortunately, things were never in their favor.

Soon the ship rumbled and shake, and it was being pulled into a ship that the Limaxs peeked and paled.

They would recognize the ship anywhere. It was the Chimeran Hammer. They were frantic to leave immediately, but the pull was too strong.

Soon they were pulled into the port, and Limax saw that their doors were forcibly open, with small minions coming in and shoving the Limax in a container.

The container was brought to Vilgax himself. He starts to speak to them.

"You vile slime! I know you were near the Omnitrix and another device that seems to emit an energy source. You will tell me what this device is!" Vilgax demands.

The Limax shiver in fear, even if Vilgax is severely damaged in front of them. They proceed to speak. "T-the o-other device seems t-to be similar to the O-Omnitrix. They proceed to t-transform into an L-Lepidocertilia and a T-Terroranchulas." The Limax container still shakes in fear.

Vilgax ponders on what the Limaxs said. It seems that this other device seems to function similarly to the Omnitrix, but with predatory species rather than sentient species. If he could harness both of these devices, then he could rule the Universe with ease.

After some thought, he turned his attention back to the Limax. "Since you have provided me vital information, I shall gift you mercy." The Limax soon relaxed, but then water was poured into them.

The Limax was now screeching in pain. "I cannot release you now that you know my current state so I shall gift you mercy that you won't be in my future when I rule this universe." They soon melted away. "Throw that trash away and get me a list of bounty hunters! We will need more than what I expected."