Secrets
A news helicopter was following a chase between police cars and a speeding armoured vehicle, even driving past the Star Angel.
"We're live on the scene of a high speed police pursuit of an armoured car stolen earlier today from the federal reserve in Denver." A news reporter said. "It is believed the thieves also have a hostage."
Suddenly, a large crystal grew out from the pavement and destroyed the undercarriage of the armoured car, making it spin into a complete stop.
Police cars surrounded the vehicle before one of the criminals exited with the hostage. The other exited with a large rifle. He aimed it at one of the police cars and the officers inside it ran away in time before it was shot at, exploding and being kicked up in the air.
Behind the criminal appeared Dan as Diamondhead through the smoke, frowning at him.
"Wait, what's this?" The reporter asked as the criminal noticed Dan's presence. He turned and aimed the rifle at him, but Dan slashed so fast that it was only seen as a blur and the rifle fell apart. The criminal ran for it, but Dan narrowed his eyes as he formed a much larger crystal out of the road, trapping the criminal.
"Yes, it looks like we have another alien sighting."
Dan then heard the other criminal with the hostage trying to walk away without him noticing, but he turned and formed a spike out of his right arm, which scared the criminal to surrender and let the hostage go.
"We don't know where these strange creatures come from, but they seem to be here to help."
It turns out that this news broadcast was actually being watched by Vilgax on his ship, who was still in the healing tank.
"The Omnitrix… wasted on pointless heroics!" He snarled.
"Shall I dispatch more drones to retrieve it?" The bioid asked.
"No…." Vilgax replied before the tank opened up. A medical robot crawled out, only to be crushed by a large foot. Vilgax emerged through the smoke, fully healed and now much larger and stronger than he was before. "I will see to this task myself!"
It also turned out that, after stopping those criminals and falling asleep in the Star Angel, Dan woke up screaming as he saw Vilgax in a dream.
The lights turned on and Grant walked up to him.
"Another nightmare?" He asked knowingly.
"It was that Cthulhu lookalike from that vision. But he was bigger and stronger." Dan said, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
"Don't worry, it's just a dream. We'll talk about it in the morning." Grant replied, turning to walk back to the front of the Star Angel.
"It was so real. He even said that he'll be coming after me instead of his drones." Dan told him.
This made Grant freeze and frown worryingly.
"Alright, change of plan, we're hitting the road right now for Mount Rushmore." He then said, surprising Dan, Ash and Kiera, who've woken up.
"But it's 3:00 in the morning." Ash pointed out as Grant sat in the driver's seat.
"Best way to beat the traffic." Grant replied before he started the RV and started driving.
Come daylight, later in the morning, they were now driving down a road past some fields in South Dakota.
"What's with the lead foot?" Kiera asked as she, Dan and Ash sat around the table.
"I want to make it to Mount Rushmore by nightfall." Grant replied, sounding stern and scared all at once, which left the three worried about why he's acting this way.
While Ash was on her laptop and Kiera was messing around with a tennis ball, Dan fiddled with the Omnitrix.
However, this unknowingly drew the attention of Vilgax, as its signal was picked up on his ship.
"The Omnitrix has been activated. Pinpoint its location." Vilgax ordered, the location being shown on screen. "I have you now."
Back on Earth, Dan was still fiddling with the Omnitrix when Grant noticed.
"Dan, don't mess around with that thing! We don't want to attract any attention!" He sternly told him off.
"Whose attention? That alien in my vision?" Dan asked as he deactivated the Omnitrix.
"Never mind." Grant shrugged off, leaving the three all the more worried.
With Vilgax, the signal was lost.
"We have lost the Omnitrix signal." A bioid said.
"No matter. I've narrowed down its location." Vilgax replied, looking at screens that showed images of Dan in his various alien forms fighting crime and helping people. "I know just how to draw this Earthling out."
He then punched a screen that showed Dan as Diamondhead, saving a kitten from being up on a tree.
His ship soon descended and flew over a field full of bison and the hangar on the underside of the ship opened up for a swarm of mechadroids and a large red mace to fly out, though the mace simply fell to the ground. It then led the swarm towards Rapid City, destroying the welcome sign along the way.
In the Star Angel, Dan, Ash and Kiera saw that Rapid City was under attack, as there was large columns of smoke and fire throughout the city.
"What's going on?" Kiera asked, making Grant see what was going on.
"I'm sure the local authorities have the situation well in hand." He shrugged off, making Dan frown.
In the city, people were running in a panic as the droids were firing and destroying cars and whatever else was in their way. The large mace rolled and crashed through two buildings as well.
Eventually, two of the droids fired at a gas station, causing a massive explosion, which can be seen by the Tennants and Kiera.
"Definitely not something the authorities can handle." Dan snarled.
"I don't think you should -"
"I'm not gonna stand aside and let people be hurt!" Dan cut Grant off as he activated the Omnitrix and turned into Magmus.
Grant stopped the Star Angel and Dan exited, propelling himself into the air at high speed towards Rapid City.
The people of the city were still running in a panic from the droids.
Dan soon arrived and shot some fire at some of the droids before he landed in the middle of the street and formed a circle of fire.
"Pick on someone who can fight back!" Dan snarled, knowing that these droids were from the alien in his vision.
He then looked and saw that he was completely surrounded by all the remaining droids.
"Looks like you were expecting me. Probably done all this destruction to get my attention." He spat before he unleashed a huge wave of fire around him, destroying all of them.
He was about to get out of there when an electrical net was fired and pinned him against the wall of a building. He saw the large mace roll towards him until it stopped and opened up.
The inner compartment then opened up to reveal Vilgax, whose appearance was different from how he looked in that vision. Not only was he much taller, but he also wore armour, had large muscular arms, which had cylinders attached, as well on the shoulders and his mouth was covered in a mask.
"About time." Dan spat, now meeting him face to face.
"At last we meet, the being that has caused me so much trouble." Vilgax sneered as he squinted his eyes.
"Who are you?" Dan asked, wanting a name for his enemy.
"I am Vilgax, and I have come for the Omnitrix." Vilgax replied.
"Well, if you think I'm gonna just hand it over to you, you can think again!" Dan snapped before he amplified his own heat to burn the electrical net.
Once he did that, he propelled himself at Vilgax, punching him right in the face, not even phased by it at all. And before he could get away, Vilgax grabbed him and threw him, hurtling through several buildings at a high speed.
Dan found himself underneath a pile of rubble and shook off the pain, burning through the rubble.
"That bastard must have some kind of weakness." He grumbled before he saw Vilgax make a giant leap, causing a minor tremor when he landed nearby.
"I have to slow him down." Dan said before amplifying his heat to melt the road in a fiery tar, making Vilgax trip and fall, now being stuck.
As Dan took a moment to catch his breath, Grant, Ash and Kiera finally arrived in the Star Angel. Grant took one look at Vilgax and his face was steely and stern.
"You again." He snarled.
He parked the RV right in front of Dan and Ash opened the door.
"Get in!" She said.
"No need to tell me twice." Dan said, getting in the RV right as the Omnitrix timed out. Grant then took off as Vilgax got out of the tar and watched them drive away.
"Dan, trust me when I say this: don't pick a fight with Vilgax." Grant said sternly.
"How the hell do you know his name?" Dan sternly asked back.
"Yeah, what secrets are you keeping from us?" Ash asked as well, but Grant didn't answer either of them.
"ANSWER THEIR QUESTIONS, GRANT!" Kiera roared.
But then a couple more droids showed up, attacking the Star Angel from behind, causing the three to be thrown into the back of the RV, where Dan pulled the curtains apart from the back window to see them.
"Two droids incoming!" Dan said.
"Hold on!" Grant said as he started speeding and swerving to avoid the droids' laser blasts.
"We can't keep this up forever, you know!" Ash told Grant.
"Things will get worse if we don't make it to Mount Rushmore." He replied right before he swerved to avoid a laser blast, making Dan and Kiera be thrown off balance.
"What the hell is at Mount Rushmore?" Ash asked Grant.
"There's no time to explain. You just have to trust me." Grant told her.
"Trust is earned, not given." Ash pointed out.
Dan realised that as long as he was with them, Vilgax and his droids will be chasing after them and they may not make it to Mount Rushmore, so he'll have to do what's necessary to give them time, especially seeing that the Omntrix has recharged.
"Ash is right, and you'll have to pay for that mistake, grandpa." He then said, activating the Omnitrix to turn into Stinkbug. "Just get to Mount Rushmore while I keep Vilgax busy."
"NO, WAIT!" Grant shouted, but Dan simply ignored him and exited the Star Angel and took off into the air, right for the droids, dodging their laser beams.
Dan soon landed on one of them, the other attempting to shoot him off, but he ducked to avoid more lasers. Dan then spat some slime to cover the blaster, making it self-destruct.
He then used the end of his tail to drive through the engine of the droid he's on, destroying it.
"These things are such a nuisance." Dan commented as he hovered over the remains.
He was unaware that Vilgax had leapt from a rooftop and tackled him, but he was able to get back in the air, though with Vilgax gripping his tail.
"Give me the Omnitrix." Vilgax demanded.
"NEVER!" Dan shouted, spitting slime right in his face, ripping him off his tail and crashing into the street below.
Vilgax broke free from the slime and leapt at Dan, who dodged him. Vilgax landed right in front of the Star Angel, making Grant hit the brake and make a U-turn.
"WHY ARE WE NOT HELPING DAN?" Ash shrieked in rage at Grant.
"We will, we just need some special help." Grant replied vaguely.
"At Mount Rushmore? You had better give a good explanation for all of this." Kiera glared at Grant.
Vilgax was now chasing after Dan across various rooftops and was soon able to tackle him into a building, causing a massive explosion.
"I grow tired of this!" Vilgax spat as he held Dan by the neck with one one. He then touched the Omnitrix symbol, which ended up turning Dan back to human form.
"HOW DID YOU DO THAT?" Dan roared at Vilgax.
"A child? The Omnitrix is in the hands of a mere child?" Vilgax hissed with fury, having expected a warrior of some kind.
He reached for the Omnitrix, but it emitted a feedback that launched Vilgax into a building, but he recovered instantly.
"It appears the Omnitrix has already merged with your own DNA." He said, walking up to Dan, grabbing him as he was trying to get away.
The mace rolled up to Vilgax, who threw Dan inside before entering and driving the mace away, Dan now being his captive.
Grant, Ash and Kiera eventually arrived at Mount Rushmore and were driving up a road that Ash and Kiera weren't familiar with.
"I'm sure tourists aren't allowed on this road." Kiera said.
"Yeah, well, we're not tourists. We're tenants." Grant replied.
He then stopped in front of a sign that said 'ROAD CLOSED' and then he pressed a button under the dashboard.
The two girls were surprised when the ground beneath them turned out to be an elevator, taking them into a deep underground facility.
The three then travelled through the corridors of the facility, all covered with many compartments.
Grant started opening several of them, all containing what looked like alien devices and seemed to be looking for something.
Soon, Ash and Kiera lost their patience as Grant seemed to have found what he was looking for.
"THAT IS IT! WE ARE NOT TAKING ANOTHER STEP UNTIL YOU START EXPLAINING YOURSELF!" Ash screamed.
"Yeah, why are we not helping Dan? What is this place? And how come you know that alien bastard that's after Dan?" Kiera added as Grant put a piece of equipment on his head, looking like a visor, and then another on his chest.
"It'll take a while to explain but to sum it up for now…" Grant said, pulling out a large and deadly looking weapon. "...I wasn't a normal plumber."
Flying over mountains and fields full of cows was Vilgax's ship as he was looking at a hologram that displayed information about the Omnitrix and Dan, who was affixed to a device that held him by his arms and legs. His left arm and legs were restrained by energy while his right arm was in a cylinder.
"A child. I should have suspected as much. The Omnitrix being used as a play toy." He sneered at Dan.
"I actually use it for good, you idiot!" Dan spat as Vilgax now stood in front of him.
"You hold the key to a power struggle so ancient, so vast, it is beyond your feeble comprehension. Picture an entire army, each in command of an Omnitrix, and all at my command."
Dan did just that, and it was horrible to comprehend: an army of aliens, all from the Omnitrix and VIlgax leading them all to wage war, destruction and chaos throughout the galaxy, if not the universe.
"I will be invincible! I will rule the universe, and the only thing standing between me and my destiny is you!" Vilgax proclaimed as an array of tools rose out of the floor around Dan.
"What you hope for isn't destiny, it's the desire of an egotistical madman!" Dan mocked, not even phased by the tools.
Back at Mount Rushmore, the Star Angel emerged from the elevator to the facility.
"This weapon is keyed into Vilgax's biosignature. I just hope it'll take him down for good this time." Grant explained as he drove off.
"This time?" Ash repeated, looking over to Kiera, sensing some personal history between Grant and Vilgax.
"Ash, you'll find a small red button under the cabinet. Press it." Grant instructed.
Ash found it and pressed it, activating a holographic display.
"It's a GPS assisted tracking system locked onto the Omnitrix's signal. I'll need you and Kiera to navigate." Grant said.
Back on Vilgax's ship, Dan was struggling to try and break himself free.
"Prepare for take off. Once we're in orbit, I will finally have the pleasure of destroying this miserable planet once and for all." Vilgax said, once more sneering at Dan, who stared at him with the uttermost venom and hatred.
Back with Grant, Ash and Kiera, they were approaching Vilgax's ship as it was about to take off.
"We need to get aboard that ship." Grant said.
"And how are we supposed to do that?" Kiera asked.
Grant smirked as he revealed a console that hid underneath the dashboard. He pressed a button that caused the RV's bumpers to extend and spread out.
The RV then accelerated at incredible speed, allowing them to fly right into VIlgax's ship after taking off from a cliff.
On the ship, Vilgax held a large energy blade and walked towards Dan. He was about to use it to slice his right arm off, but the Star Angel crashed through the wall, running two of Vilgax's bioids and slammed Vilgax himself into another wall.
The Star Angel then backed up in reverse as Vilgax slowly got to his feet.
"Warning! Hull breach! Power surge!" A bioid said as Grant got out of the RV with the weapon ready, aiming it at Vilgax. Kiera also got out, absorbing the metal floor to form a metal shell.
"Keep your filthy claws off my grandson, Vilgax!" Grant yelled.
"Grandpa?" Dan said, surprised by the weapon.
"Tennant!" Vilgax spat as his eyes squinted, seeing his old enemy again after all these years.
Grant fired the weapon, sending Vilgax through the wall. Grant then dropped the weapon and both he and Kiera made their way to Dan.
"I see you two had quite the reunion." Dan narrowed his eyes at Grant.
"A long story." Grant replied.
The cylinder holding the Omnitrix started crackling with electricity due to the power surge and Dan ended up turning into Velociraptor.
"What the hell -" He said before he then turned into Diamondhead. " - is going on?"
He then turned into Kanine and roared.
"Grant?" Kiera asked.
"The power surge has to be affecting the Omnitrix." Grant said right as Dan turned into Four Arms.
Dan roared as he used his raw strength to break free, the cylinder shattering apart as he ripped his limbs out of the energy binds.
As all of this was happening, the ship was ascending the sky, heading for outer space.
Ash exited the Star Angel as Dan threw the contraption he was trapped in away. She then noticed droids heading right for them.
"Look out!" She shouted as she ran to the others, dodging laser blasts.
Kiera launched herself at several of them, causing them to explode while Dan blocked a couple of blasts with his forearm. He then swung to punch one of them, but that was when he turned into Wraith and phased through the droid.
"Seriously?" Dan groaned before he turned into Brainiac, being able to latch onto one of the droids, disassembling it before hopping onto another.
Dan then turned into Technomorph and merged with the droid, which caught Ash's attention when a couple of them were about to fire at her.
"Pick on someone your own size." Dan told them before slashing them to bits before doing the same to others while Kiera and Grant dealt with the rest, either smashing them to bits or using pieces of Vilgax's equipment to destroy them.
As all this was happening, the ship was starting to lose altitude.
"I need to get this ship under control." Grant said before running over to the controls.
"Since when can grandpa fly a spaceship?" Dan asked as he dealt with the last remaining droid.
"I don't know, but I'm honestly not surprised by this point." Ash said.
Grant tried to control the ship when Vilgax appeared through some smoke and threw him towards the breach in the hull, stopping just short of the edge and Vilgax was crushing him with his foot.
"GRANDPA/GRANT!" Dan, Ash and Kiera cried out.
"Your weapon won't help, Tennant. As you can see, I'm much stronger than in our last encounter." Vilgax pointed out.
Dan took down the last of the droids and charged at Vilgax.
"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" He roared before tackling him though the breach, the two now falling towards Mount Rushmore.
"DAN!" Grant, Ash and Kiera cried out in worry.
With how lightweight and stretchable Technomorph was, Dan was able to float down towards Mount Rushmore like a parachute while Vilgax crashed to the ground.
But as Dan neared the monument, he suddenly turned into Ripadon and fell, though managing to grab onto Theodore Roosevelt's face with his sharp claws.
"Why can't you work with me here?" Dan groaned at the Omnitrix.
On Vilgax's ship, Grant was doing something to the controls before turning to Ash and Kiera.
"We need to get off this ship!" He said and they all ran to the Star Angel.
Dan started crawling up Roosevelt's face and to the top of the mountain, however, he was very dehydrated, and the heat didn't help.
"Ahh… need water." He panted before he stopped, lying limp on his back. He then saw Vilgax jumping to the top of Mount Rushmore and walked up to Dan.
"You are a slippery little fish, child, but no longer."
He was about to grab Dan, but Dan turned into Velociraptor and sped away from Vilgax.
"I'm not going down without a fight." Dan told him before he sped off so fast it was like he teleported.
"You can't hide from me forever, boy!"" Vilgax shouted.
Dan sped up towards Vilgax from behind, having run around Mount Rushmore.
"I don't run." Dan snarled.
Vilgax realised his presence at the last moment as Dan slammed right into him, causing a puff of smoke to form. When it cleared, Vilgax remained where he was, not even phased while Dan's legs were shaking and groaning.
The cylinders on Vilgax's arms were sparking and soon his arms grew in mass and size, the cylinders receding into them.
Dan managed to dodge his blow, Vilgax smashing the ground so hard that it demolished Roosevelt's head.
Dan then bobbed and weaved around Vilgax's attacks.
"You can't escape me!" He spat.
Dan saw an opportunity to attack Vilgax and took it, but Vilgax grabbed him, spun him and then launched him into a rock face.
Dan then turned into Diamondhead and started firing crystal shards at Vilgax with both arms as he charged at him.
Vilgax blocked the shards and when Dan was close enough, he swiped at him, but Dan dodged in time and then stabbed both of his bladed arms into Vligax's expose legs, causing the large alien to scream in pain as blood started oozing out.
Of course, this made Vilgax's blood boil and grab Dan by the head and then slammed him into the ground, actually cracking his crystal skin.
He was about to smash him for good when Dan turned into Wraith, making Vilgax's arm pass through his chest.
"See ya." Dan said as he phased into the ground.
Vilgax's arms deflated back to normal as he saw his ship pass overhead and crash into the field below.
Inside the ship, Grant was driving the Star Angel at top speed.
"You two had better hold onto something!" He advised Ash and Kiera, who grabbed onto whatever was in front of them.
Soon, Grant broke through several walls, making it to the ship's stern.
"Don't switch on me now." Dan told the Omnitrix as he phased out of the rock. He then saw the ship crashing and fear consumed him as he worried about Grant, Ash and Kiera.
The three made it out of the ship, though the Star Angel took some damage and the three were physically taxed.
"You two alright?" Grant asked Ash and Kiera, who both woke up groaning.
"Let's not do that again." Kiera said.
"I second that." Ash agreed with her.
The three then heard a crash behind them and looked, not noticing Vilgax approaching.
Dan was close to the Star Angel when he heard glass shattering. He flew faster and saw that the RV was completely empty.
He then emerged through the back and saw that Vilgax had Grant, Ash and Kiera in his hands.
"LET THEM GO, YOU MONSTER!" Dan roared right before he turned into Kanine, roaring as loud as he could.
"It's your choice. You or them." Vilgax replied.
There was no question, all that mattered to him was the safety of friends and family.
He surrendered. Seeing this, Vilgax dropped Grant, Ash and Kiera and walked up to Dan, reverting him back to human form.
"How noble." Vilgax sneered before grabbing him and walking back to his ship. The three gained consciousness and Grant's eyes widened.
"Don't go back on the ship, you idiot!" He shouted.
Vilgax didn't listen and once he was onboard, the ship took off.
"Foolish earthling! Why won't I -" An alarm cut Vilgax off, who realised what was going on. "The autodestruct launch sequence has been initiated!"
He dropped Dan and tried to stop the autodestruct, but the console sparked with electricity, making it inoperable.
"TENNANT!" He roared in rage. "You are a thorn in my side."
He then got blasted in the back with wreckage falling on top of him, pinning him to the floor.
The blast came from Dan, who used the weapon Grant brought with him.
"That's what happens when you mess with Earth, moron." Dan smirked before he ran to the breach.
"Commencing self destruct launch." The ship's computer said.
"NOOOOO!" Vilgax screamed.
As Dan ran to the breach in the hull, he used the Omnitrix to turn into Magmus.
As the ship exploded, he flew to the ground on a fireboard and landed nearby.
Grant, Ash and Kiera ran to find him in a smoking crater, back to human form, sitting in the middle of it.
"Impressive." Ash grinned.
"Grandpa, I think it's time for a much needed talk" Dan told Grant before they all looked up at the pieces of Vilgax's ship that fell from the sky.
Well, Dan and Vilgax finally had their first showdown.