"The world is still shaken by the events that took place two days ago, where a seemingly unsuspecting European village was destroyed in an unexplained explosion. According to scientists on the scene, the blast appears to have released billions of microscopic machines, which have since spread throughout the globe. These 'Nanites' as the media is calling them, seemingly have bonded with every living organism on the planet, but have displayed no significant change as of yet. Scientists theorize that the Nanites are currently inactive, but could change at any moment. The United Nations is currently in discussions on how to handle this potential global crisis.
"Up next, the question that has been plaguing everyone's minds for twenty years: Whatever happened to Robot Jones?"
Trixie had been following the Nanite Event intently for the last two days since it first came on the news. While Max only showed minimal concern and Ben and Gwen couldn't care less, Trixie couldn't shake the feeling that this would be important one day. Maybe it was because of her connection to the Omnitrix that she felt these Nanites were a potential threat to be dealt with later. Or maybe she's just trying to distract herself from everything that happened last week between Vilgax and Phil.
It didn't sound like the new reporter was going to be talking about the Nanites anymore if they were going on about an outdated robot that went missing two decades ago. And just in time, too, because she felt someone tapping her shoulder and looked back, taking the headphones off.
"C'mon, Trixie, you need to get some fresh air," said Max encouragingly. "You've been cooped in the RV for days."
"Has it really been that long?" asked Trixie curiously, staring out the window. They appeared to be parked in the middle of a dense forest. "Where are we?"
"The forest outside Sherman, Illinois," answered Max. "I figured after the week we've been having, we could do with a nice, quiet retreat. Come on, Ben and Gwen are already outside."
"I suppose I could step out for a while," Trixie agreed.
Trixie put away the headphones and followed the old Plumber outside.
The Rust Bucket had parked next to a scenic river where nature opened up all round them. The great redwoods towered over them like skyscrapers, making it harder to see the distant city, which was probably what Max was going for. A little ways down the river, Trixie spotted some local fauna drinking from the babbling brook, until they eyes with Trixie and immediately bounced away. Trixie grimaced.
Max took a deep breath through his nose and said, "Ah, nothing like finally relaxing in the peace and quiet of the great outdoors."
"Darn it, darn it! I hate this stupid thing!"
"You're gonna break it, doofus! Let me see it!"
"That didn't last long," Trixie commented blandly.
A short distance to their left, they spied Ben and Gwen fighting over the Omnitrix. It was no surprise that Ben would be trying to tamper with the fragile device, even after that traumatic Gray Matter incident, but Trixie never knew Gwen to be interested in it.
"What're you kids up to?" Max asked his grandchildren suspiciously.
"We figured I'd go Fasttrack and run into the city," Ben explained. "I was hoping we'd et a chance to see the Titan in action, but it looks like we're stuck here."
"The titan?" asked Trixie curiously.
"A giant robot that only ever seems to appear in this town," said Gwen. "It's over a hundred feet tall and It fights off these giant freaky monsters that appear out of nowhere."
"I didn't think you'd be interested in that stuff, Gwen," Max remarked.
"I'm not," said Gwen. "But if he's going into town, the least he could do is pick me up a cheeseburger with chili."
"Which I can appreciate," said Ben, fist bumping his cousin.
"You don't need any of that fast food junk," said Max. He walked over to a fallen log and pushed it aside, revealing a pocket of slimy, wiggling worms. "We can live right off the land. See? Grubworms! Full of protein."
Trixie walks up and snatched one with her fingers, much to the disgust of the Tennyson cousins. They shielded their eyes as the living Omnitrix swallowed it up without hesitation.
"Not bad," Trixie commented. "If we grill them up with some sun-dried tomato paste, they could be – "
"Come on, you stupid watch!" Gwen cried, doubling her efforts to activate the Omnitrix.
"Hey, watch it, you're gonna tear off my arm!" Ben complained.
In the midst of their fiddling, the Omnitrix's faceplate popped up and exploded in a flash of green light. Gwen, who had been closest to the flash, stumbled back and rubbed the colored spots from her eyes. And when she looked back at her cousin, he was…gone!
"Ben!" Max cried.
"Where did he go?!" Trixie yelled in a panic, looking around wildly.
"Oh no, I blew up my doofus cousin!" Gwen screamed shrilly. And to make matters worse, an annoying fly was buzzing around her face, so she tried swatting it away. "Aunt Sandra and Uncle Carl are going to kill me. No, scratch that – mom and dad are going to kill me first!"
"Let's calm down for a moment," said Max, also trying to swat away the annoying fly. "We don't know what happened. Trixie, can't you – I don't know – track it down?"
"You seem to have misconception about my connection to the Omnitrix," said Trixie. She glowered at the fly now buzzing around her head, swatting at it, too. "I share it's ability of genetic metamorphosis and possess full knowledge of the alien DNA stored in the Codon Stream, but I can't tell when it is active or track its location."
"Well, we got to do something; Ben could be hurt or - " said Gwen desperately. She gritted her teeth as the annoying fly came back, buzzing directly in her face. She raised her hands, ready to clap. "Buzz off, you stupid – OW!"
Gwen yelped as the "fly" suddenly blasted her nose with a green electricity, causing it to sting. While irritated by the sting, she was curious how the little insect was able to do that. She leaned in close for a better look and received a huge (or tiny, from your perspective) surprise.
A centimeter-tall little machine was flapping it luminous-green wings and its metallic arms crossed in a pout. It had green circuit patterns trailing across its silicon body with a single green eye in the middle of its head. But the thing that stood out was the Omnitrix symbol stamped on its chest.
"Ben, is that you?" asked Gwen dumbstruck. Max and Trixie were alarmed by her statement and huddled around him, both equally surprised. "What happened to you?"
"What do you think happened?" tiny Ben shouted, his voice high-pitched and squeaky. "I shrunk into a metal bug!"
"In all my years as a plumber, I have never seen an alien like this," said Max, turning to Trixie. "Do you know what it is?"
"It's completely foreign to me," Trixie admitted. "The only explanation I can come up with is that it must be a new addition to the Omnitrix. It must have been collected by the Omnitrix's Capture Mode.
"But we haven't come across any aliens that look like…that," said Gwen, gesturing to micro-Ben.
Trixie touched her chin, thinking long and hard over the various possibilities, until she peered up with an idea and shouted, "The Nanite Event!"
"That thing you've been following on the radio?" asked Max.
"It's the only thing that makes sense," said Trixie. "According to the news, the Nanite are bonding with all organic matter, meaning they must possess some level of sapience. The Omnitrix must have recognized it as an intelligent species and scanned them in the atmosphere, adding their DNA to the Codon Stream. That's why Benjamin is now a nanoscopic machine." She clapped her hands jubilantly. "Ooh, I know! We can call it…Nanomech!"
"That's…actually pretty good," Nanomech squeaked in appreciation.
"I'm quite proud of it," said Trixie, grinning.
"So what does this one do?" asked Gwen amusingly, propping the microscopic hero with her finger. "Buzz bad guys into submission? Super pest powers?"
"Don't underestimate him based on his size," said Max sagely. "You know what they say: big things come in small packages."
"I don't think they were talking microscopic, grandpa," Nanomech buzzed, dodging Gwen's finger in annoyance. "Man, this stinks. I can't believe there's an alien even lamer than Pesky Dust."
"Hey, Pesky Dust is cute!" Trixie argued.
"I'm sure this alien is plenty useful," said Max optimistically. "You just need to put some thought into it."
"That's about as likely as Vilgax handing out milk and cookies," said Gwen sarcastically.
"Don't make me zap you again," Nanomech threatened.
While the Tennyson cousins broke out into another round of squabbling, Trixie's ears caught what sounded like a faint booming noise from above. She turned around and craned her head toward the sky. It was difficult to see through the clouds at first, but that no longer became a problem as a giant flaming meteor tore a path through them. Trixie quickly calculated the trajectory in her head and came to the conclusion…that it was flying their way!
"Incoming!" Trixie shouted.
Nanomech, Gwen, and Max follow Trixie's line of sight and gasp in surprise. Gwen immediately snatches up her cousin without thinking and dives out of the way to the left while Max and Trixie throw themselves to the right. The meteor flies over their heads, smashing through the thick redwoods, before crashing into the ground several meters away, shaking the ground like a miniature quake.
When the danger had passed, Max, Gwen, and Trixie stood back up and inspected the damage; Nanomech slipped out through the gap in Gwen's fingers.
"Is everyone all right?" asked Max in concern.
"We all appear to be relatively unharmed," answered Trixie.
"Relatively' being the operative word," said Gwen. "What was that? A meteor?"
"Knowing our luck, it's probably another 'visitor,'" said Max grimacing.
"You don't think Vilgax is back for round two, do you?" asked Gwen worried.
"Only one way to find out," said Nanomech, before buzzing off in the direction of the meteor landing.
"Ben, wait, don't go off on your own!" Max shouted, chasing after his grandson.
"And I thought he couldn't be any more of a pest," Gwen complained to Trixie before they followed.
Trying to keep track of a centimeter-high cybernetic bug wasn't as easy as it sounded, but luckily Max and the kids were able to follow the loud buzzing of Nanomech's wings and the electric-green glow he gave off. Nanomech swerved through the broen trees until he found the trail that the meteor had carved into the Earth, following it to the final resting place. If Nanomech didn't feel small before, he certainly did now – as did the rest of the Tennyson party when they finally reached him.
Max had assumed correctly that it was no meteor – space rocks weren't made of metal and covered in crimson circuit patterns. It resembled a cocoon at least the size of a skyscraper, its markings pulsing like a heartbeat.
"Whoa, it's huge!" Nanomech squeaked.
The ground suddenly trembles beneath their feet, nearly throwing off the Tennysons. Gwen was the first to notice the large cracks forming on the steel cocoon.
"And alive!" she yelled frantically, pointing to the cracks as dozens more appeared.
"Everyone, take cover!" shouted Max. Of course, he had already scooped Gwen and Trixie under his arms before they could move themselves and made a dash for the tree line; Nanomech grabbed the collar of his ugly shirt at the last second. The managed to take cover behind a broken tree before a piece of the cocoon was thrown off, slamming into the ground just to the right of the Tennyson party. Cautiously, Nanomech peeked around the tree….
A gigantic four-fingered claw had emerged from the cocoon stretching toward the sky before slamming the ground, causing another tremor. The limb seemed to lack skin, exposing pure muscle and sinew, but most of those muscles were replaced by black organic machines. Nanomech must have technological intuition like Grey Matter, because he automatically knew they were cybernetic enhancements.
Another arm burst through the cocoon on the other side, and then two more limbs emerged from the backside, all of them bending backwards. The rest of the cocoon broke away as the main body emerged from its shell, casting a monstrous shadow over the forest.
The beast was a roughly thirty feet in height, but fifty feet in length. It was quadrupedal without a trace of sin covering its body, only pulsating muscle mass with organic cybernetic enhancements covering sixty percent of its body. It had an elongated snout like an alligator with twenty-foot razor-like teeth, a long and barbed tongue that lashed the ground, and six glowing-green eyes (four of which were cybernetic.)
The cyborg beast made a chittering noise, then wheezed and exhaled a foul-looking yellow mist that spreads in every direction, including over the Tennysons. They instinctively covered their mouths and noses. The gas didn't appear poisonous, but the stench definitely was toxic.
"Whoo! I've encountered a lot of foul odors in my time," said Max, nearly brought to tears by the stink. "But this one definitely takes the cake."
"And thought Ben's socks were putrid," Gwen reviled. "Haven't these aliens ever heard of breath mints?"
"Hey, Trix, any idea what we're looking at?" Nanomech squeaked, hovering next to Trixie's ear.
"It's definitely not in the Omnitrix, I can tell you that much," Trixie responded. "It looks like it was originally some organic quadrupedal non-sapient animal, but it's been augmented with multiple enhancements. Military-based, maybe?"
"Well, whatever it is, looks like its on the move," Max announced.
The Behemoth (that's what we're calling it now) turned slowly to the right, its limbs stomping the ground, and causing multiple seismic events. With its back(?) turned to the Tennysons, it began marching north. Based on the direction it was headed, they figured out where it was going -
"It's headed for the city!" cried Trixie.
"We have to stop that thing and fast!" said Max with determination. "Before innocent people get hurt!"
"How? That thing's the size of a building!" said Gwen.
"And I'm small enough to ride horseback on an ant," squeaked Nanomech. "Trixie, isn't there an alien that can take down that walking mountain?"
"Maybe if we had a To'Kustar," said Trixie, grimacing. "But my memory is still foggy, so I don't know how to unlock it with the Omnitrix. Maybe Gwendolyn can use her magic to stop it?"
"It's gonna take more than a little luck to bring that thing down," Gwen shook her head dejectedly. "We need a full-blown miracle."
"Maybe we can head back to Mount Rushmore and – "
"Look, up in the sky!" Max suddenly shouted, pointing towards the distant city. Faintly, they could see the shadow of something huge flying over the skyscrapers towards the Behemoth. "Is it a bird?"
"I think it's a plane," said Gwen, narrowing her eyes to focus.
"Are you both crazy?" asked Trixie bewilderedly. "How could you think it's a bird or a plane. It's obviously a – "
The flying object landed in the Behemoth's path, forcing the gargantuan monster to halt its progress. Even Trixie was awestruck at the sheer size of the monolithic mech that towered over the forest. Its armor was transparent like glass or plastic, exposing the mechanical exoskeleton underneath. Though it had a strangely humanoid face and a helmet oddly similar to the Roman soldiers. But that didn't make the mech any less impressive as it moved into a battle stance, staring down the Behemoth with its glowing yellow eyes.
"It's the Titan!" Nanomech cheered in a high-pitched squeal.
"I have never been more relieved to see a giant robot in my life," said Gwen.
But opposed to his enthusiastic grandchildren, Max hummed thoughtfully while looking over the giant mech – something that Trixie noticed right away.
"Is something on your mind, Maxwell?" asked the green-haired girl.
"It might just be me misremembering things," said Max, "but that robot looks like Galaluna tech."
"Galaluna?" Trixie repeated curiously. "But that's six hundred and twenty-two lightyears away from Earth. How could Galalunian technology get here?"
"Who cares?" squeaked Nanomech; their whispers may as well have been shouts compared to his tiny size. "Kick his butt, Titan!"
"I don't think they can hear you, pipsqueak," Gwen taunted her cousin.
"It's the thought that counts," Nanomech huffed.
Meanwhile, the Behemoth lurched and belched out an enormous cloud of noxious gas, which instantly caused many of the local plant life to wilt. The Titan fabricated a transparent shield similar to its armor seemingly from nothing, hide behind the barrier to deflect the fumes away. Unfortunately, the noxious cloud seemed to be a cover to conceal the Behemoth's movements, which the Titan failed to realize until quadruped beast lunged through the fog tackled the mech to the ground.
As the Titan attempted to raise itself up, the Behemoth wrapped one of its clawed hands around the mech's face and shoved it back down. The Titan tried punching the Behemoth with its left arm, but the beast was quick and grabbed the mech by the wrist, forcing it down. But this left the Behemoth with no way of defending from the right side, in which the Titan fabricated a transparent knife and stabbed the monster in the side. The Behemoth reeled back, hissing in pain, and unconsciously pulled back its claw from the Titan's head. The mech seized the opportunity and headbutted the Behemoth, making it stumble back, then raised its right foot in the monster's face. The titan activated its propulsion rockets and shot the monster backward into the air.
"Wahoo!" Nanomech cheered pumping his tiny fists in the air. "Look at 'em go! Did you see that thing go flying?!"
"Uh, yeah, because it's flying towards us!" screamed Gwen.
Just as Gwen said, the Behemoth was carelessly tossed in the direction of the Tennysons, hitting the ground and sliding through the forest, uprooting hundreds of trees on its approach. Gwen grabbed Nanomech and ran after Max and Trixie, who had gotten a head start. They only just managed to move out of the path of the Behemoth before the gargantuan monster came to a stop. All of them were on the ground on their hands and knees, their breaths heavy and their hearts racing; Max was holding a stitch in his side. Gwen let go of Nanomech, who was thankfully unharmed, then turned back in the direction of the Titan, shaking her fist at it as the mech rose to its feet.
"Hey, watch where you're throwing things, you dumb, giant windup toy!" Gwen shouted furiously.
"I don't think they can hear you, Gwendolyn," said Trixie.
"It's the thought that counts," Gwen huffed.
"Probably a good idea to head back to the Rust Bucket and skedaddle before we become pancakes," suggested Max.
"Fine by me," said Gwen. "Ben, hold on to my…Ben?" She looked around, but couldn't find a certain microscopic pest anywhere. "Ben?! Where did he go?!"
"…He wouldn't…," Trixie grimaced, facing the direction of the Titan.
Oh, but he would. Nanomech wasn't about to miss a front row seat to a live Kaiju battle. The nanoscopic hero buzzed all way up the length of the Titan and plopped himself on the mech's shoulder. Given then enormous size difference, the Titan didn't even notice he was there.
The Behemoth flailed on the ground until it rolled back to its feet, narrowing its six eyes. The monster reeled back its head before lurching forward, stretching its barbed clear across the forest battlefield. The Titan raised its right arm to block and ended up with the Behemoth's tongue coiling around its forearm, scraping the mechs armor with its barbs and creating a shower of sparks. The two giants had a brief tug of war before the Behemoth allowed itself to pulled forward toward the Titan by its tongue.
As the monster flew toward it, the Titan stretched out its free hand and fabricated a transparent sword. The Titan cleaved the tongue from its arm and jumped to the side, allowing the Behemoth to crash land on its face. The Behemoth flailed back to its feet again, spitting furiously at the at the Titan, and took another leap at the mech. But at this point, the Titan was done playing around.
While in the air, the Behemoth exposed its underside, allowing the Titan to stab its blade through the monster's chest, suspending it in midair. Though grievously wounded with oily-black blood oozing out, the Behemoth was swiping its claws at the Titan's head, knocking it around a couple times with thunderous clanging noises that forced Nanomech to cover his ears. After a few more slaps, the Titan finally had enough and roughly ripped its sword upward, sliding the blade up the Behemoth's chest until it cleaved its head straight down the middle.
The Behemoth's carcass dropped lifeless on the forest floor while the Titan stood stalwart over its defeated adversary, the sun glinting off its armor heroically.
"That was sick!" Nanomech cheered. Too excited to sit still, he stretched his wings and flew up in front of the Titan's left eye, though it was unlikely the mech was able to see anything. "Oh man, you are so unbelievably cool! You were all like 'blam' and 'pow' and 'whoosh!' That was the most awesome alien fight in the history of alien fights! I wish I could've gotten a giant alien and kicked that ugly…fleshy…thing, instead of this micro pest. You know what I mean?"
As to be expected, the Titan didn't notice Nanomech. But what wasn't expected was the Titan flashing an explosively bright light, which would have been bad if Nanomech's optic nerve wasn't a cybernetic lens. So the micro hero had a full view of witnessing the Titan not only shrink down to a fraction of its size, but it also broke into three separate parts on the scarred forest floor. Curious, Nanomech zipped back to Earth and found, in place of the Titan, three people huddled together.
One of them was a pale-skinned, freckled teenage girl with platinum-blonde hair that defied the laws of gravity. She dressed in bright and loud pastel colors, giving the impression of an annoying preppy type. The other was a teenage male with long, emo-style black hair and a perma-scowl on his otherwise handsome features. Opposite of his companion, he dressed in dark and simple colors that gave off the impression of a brooding loner. And the third person wasn't even a person at all, but a robot with a transparent shell and an exposed exoskeleton like the Titan.
As Nanomech flew in closer, he could hear the blonde girl talking in a bubbly cheerful voice.
"Oh yeah, did you see how quick we took that Mutraddi down! We are on fire!"
"That is an incorrect statement," said the robot monotonously. "I do not detect any fires within the vicinity. For once."
"It's an Earth expression, Octus," said the blonde girl, rolling her eyes amusingly. "It means we did great."
"Don't you think that was a little too easy?" said the brooder suspiciously. "We've never defeated a Mutraddi that quickly before. It has to be a trap."
"O-o-o-or," the blonde girl sang, "we're just getting better. We've been doing this for almost a year now, Lance. And ever since Octus came back online, the Titan has been stronger than ever. We're learning new skills and our teamwork is improving every day." She patted the boy's shoulder supportively. "You need to lighten up, Lance."
"Excuse me, Ilana," Octus tried to speak up, but was ignored
"I'm not saying we aren't getting better, Ilana," said Lance exasperatedly. "I just don't think we should be complacent is all."
"Could I have a moment, Lance?" Octus tried again, to no avail.
"It's not complacency," Ilana argued. "I'm only expressing how much better we've become as a team – "
"Could I say something?" Octus spoke a third time.
"What, Octus?!" Lance and Ilana shouted impatiently.
"Does anyone else hear that beeping noise?" asked Octus.
Lance and Ilana raised their brows curiously before they realized they could hear a tiny beeping noise nearby; thought they couldn't see where it was coming from. Nanomech hear it too, only because it was coming from his chest. The microscopic hero looked down and realized the Omnitrix symbol was flashin a dangerously familiar red color.
"Uh-oh," Nanomech squeaked before he was consumed in a flash of red light.
The Titan Trio turn with startled yelps when the light exploded behind them. Ben unceremoniously landed on his butt, wincing.
"Oh man I've gotta learn to stick the landing," he groaned. The next moment, he was suddenly lifted into the air by Lance grabbing his collar. "Hey, put me down, you jerk!"
"Where did you come from?!" Lance shouted forcefully. "Who sent you?! Was it the G3?! Answer me!"
"Lance, put him down!" Ilana commanded, pulling on her partner's arm with minimal success. "He's just a boy!"
"He could be a spy!" proclaimed Lance. "You know what Solomon is capable of! He would totally use a kid as a cover!"
"Now you're just being ridiculous!" yelled Ilana irritated.
"Actually, my scanners are picking up an unusually concentrated mass of unidentified energy comin from the deice on his wrist," Octus interjected. "As well as an encrypted wireless signal that my systems aren't able to crack."
"See!" said Lance victoriously.
"You better let me go before I go all alien on your Titan butt," Ben threatened. He was bluffing, of course; the Omnitrix was still in cooldown mode and wouldn't become active for a while.
"What more proof do you need, Ilana?" said Lance, pulling back his fist. "We need to take him out before he tells anybody."
"Lance, don't!" cried Ilana.
Before Lance could take a swing, he was suddenly tackled from the side and slammed into the ground. He had no chance of counteracting before his assailant twisted his arm behind his back and grabbed him by the back of his neck. Lance gritted his teeth furiously as he struggled to break loose, but his opponent had the advantage in size and strength. You could imagine his surprise when he looed over his shoulder and realize that it was Max holding him down.
"Paws off my grandson, punk," said Max intimidatingly.
"Wait, don't hurt him!" cried Ilana, attempting to run over and separate them. But without her notice, the ground suddenly turned into a sheet of ice and the blonde slipped and fell on her butt. She winced and looked up as Gwen and Trixie (in her half Polar Manzardill form) stood in her way.
"Back off, lady," said Gwen, looking ready to throw down. "You want to get to my cousin, you're going to have to go through me."
"And me," said Trixie, a chilling mist escaping her breath.
"No, wait, please, this is all just a huge misunderstanding!" said Ilana, waving her arms frantically.
While the chaos between the two parties was going down, Octus remained unusually inactive. Through his cybernetic eye(?), he did a brief facial scan of Max, creating a 3D model on her server. He then worked through his internal files at lightning speed until he came across one called "Historical Archives." Once again, he sifted through thousands of pages of information in seconds until he came across a picture of a young man in a white and black combat uniform. Octus compared the two images side-by-side and his screen flashed "MATCH" IN bright green letters.
"Pardon my interruption," Octus spoke up. The fighting briefly suspended as all eyes were now on the robot. "But I do believe the older gentleman is Max Tennyson."
"Max Tennyson?" Lance gasped in recognition.
"The Max Tennyson?" said Ilana with sparkles in her eyes. "The same Max Tennyson who fought alongside my father to repel the Incursion Invasion and the hero who destroyed the Doom Ball at the Battle of Encephalonus IV?"
"Despite the obvious aging," said Octus, "Facial recognition shows a perfect match."
"I can't believe we found such a famous intergalactic hero in the middle of the woods," said Ilana excitedly.
"I'm no hero," said Max humbling, letting go of Lance once it was apparent they weren't going to attack. "I was just a man who was doing his job."
"Intergalactic hero?" said Gwen, crossing her arms in a huff. "More secrets, grandpa?"
"Please don't start this again, Gwen," Max sighed exhausted.
"Mr. Tennyson, sir," said Lance, immediately jumping to his feet with the widest smile to ever cross his face. He was totally fanboying right now. "I am a huge fan. I've followed all your exploits while in the Academy. You were my biggest inspiration."
"Well, it's…always nice to meet a fan," said Max awkwardly.
"We are so-o-o sorry we attacked your grandson," said Ilana politely, pulling Lance away from his idol before it made Max uncomfortable. "You have to understand, we've been on this planet for almost a year now and it hasn't all been…pleasant. We're a little on edge as of late."
"Completely understand," said Max as Trixie and his grandkids gathered around. "It's hard to adapt to a new environment. I would know."
"So who are you?" asked Trixie curiously. "Your technology would suggest that you are from Galaluna, which would explain your humanoid appearances. Earth and Galaluna do share a lot of surprising similarities."
"Allow us to introduce ourselves," said Ilana with a polite and regal curtsy. "I am Ilana, princess of Galaluna. This Lance, I suppose you could call him my bodyguard." She elbowed her 'bodyguard' who was waving excitedly at his personal hero, then gestured to their other teammate. "And this is Octus. He's…well, he's Octus. What more can I say?"
"A pleasure to meet you," said Octus kindly.
"You, too," said Max in return. "So, you're Reggie's daughter. I should've guessed by the hair."
"Reggie?" Ilana repeated, quirking her brow. She probably never heard her father referred to in such a familiar manner.
"Well, you already know who I am," said Max, before gesturing to the kids. "And you've already met my grandkids, Ben and Gwen. And Trixie here is a recent addition to our little family."
"So you're, like, alien royalty, right?" Ben said to Ilana. "What're you doing here on Earth? And what's with that monster? And the Titan?"
"I also have a few inquiries," said Octus. "Such as that unusual device on Ben's wrist. It's technology doesn't match anything on Earth or Galaluna. I'm also curious about the mutated Earthling standing next to you." He gestured to Trixie, who was still in her half-Polar Manzardill form.
"Oh, forgot about that," said Trixie before transforming back to full human.
"Fascinating…," Octus hummed interestingly.
"I'm sure we all have a lot of questions," said Max diplomatically. "And we can talk about it back at the RV. I can cook us up a piping hot dish of Fu Fu."
"You know how to make Fu Fu?" Ilana ased excitedly.
"Sure can," said Max proudly. "Can't get enough of that bland tasteless Galalunian cuisine."
"…Thin you can still make a run into town?" GGwen whispered desperately to her cousin.
"We're on our own," Ben frowned, showing the Omnitrix still in cooldown mode.
With everything decided, Max lead his grandkids in the direction of the Rust Bucket with their four offworld friends following close behind, eager to have Galalunian cuisine with their hero.
But as they fled the area, none of them noticed anything out of the ordinary regarding the Behemoth carcass left behind by the Titan. They were unaware of the monster's cybernetic eyes flashing as its mechanical parts glowed with pulsating green light. Threads made from the same organic machinery jumped between the bisected halves and slowly pulled them together….
Some time later at the Rust Bucket, both the Tennysons and the Galalunians had gone back and forth trading stories about their experiences. Ilana and Lance talked about the Mutraddi invasion, their escape to Sherman, and their heroic exploits as the Titan. While the Tennyson shared their adventures during the summer between finding Trixie and the Omnitrix, fighting villains of the day, and their recent battle against Vilgax. All the while, Max made a tasteless dish called Fu Fu that Ilana says was a perfect replication of their home world's food, which was something even they couldn't manage with Earth ingredients. Max, Trixie, and the Galalunian natural enjoyed the meal, but Ben and Gwen secretly slipped their portions in the bushes.
"I can't believe you defeat Vilgax," Lance said to Ben, sounding very impressed. "You're one bad due, kid."
"Aw, it was nothing," said Ben with a hint of smugness.
"You say that after you were nearly beaten to a pulp," Trixie interjected, causing Ben to deflate. "You only won because of the Celestialsapien. And you remember what kind of nightmare it was getting you out."
"You didn't have to put it that way," Ben pouted.
"So, has Vilgax ever invaded Galaluna?" asked Gwen.
"No, but everyone knows about him," said Ilana. "He's like a galactic boogeyman that parents tell their children to make them behave. You know, like… 'do your chores and eat your vegetables, or the evil Vilgax will come take you away.'"
"Having met him, I believe it," said Trixie.
"Still, the kind of stories they tell are a little silly," said Ilana, giggling. "One time, my father told me…."
The princess trailed off midsentence, suddenly looking downcast. Lance shared a sympathetic expression and rested his hand on her shoulder to comfort her. That seemed to brighten Ilana up a little.
"I'm sorry about what happened to your planet, and your father," said Max sincerely. "If there was anything I could do to help –"
"You could come with us!" Ilana shouted, jumping to her feet suddenly and startling everyone. "Back to Galaluna! With your help, we could lead a rebellion against – "
"Sorry, but I'm retired, and well past my prime," Max rejected solemnly. "I don't have what it takes to go running across the galaxy and fighting intergalactic wars. My back is sore enough just sitting here. Plus, I can't just leave my grandkid."
"Oh…of course," Ilana mumbled dejectedly, sitting back down. "I was being selfish. I wasn't even thinking about your situation."
"That's quite all right," said Max kindly. "I might not be able to join your rebellion, but I do have contacts with the galactic Plumbers. I could pull a few strings and have them send help to Galaluna."
"You can do that?" Ilana gasped, brightening up again. "Thank you, Max!"
"The least I can do to help," said Max. "Once we're done with lunch, I'll give old Labrid a call. He should be able to convince the Magistrata to send a squad – "
Suddenly and without warning, the round trembled violently beneath them; both Ben and Octus fell on their backs while everyone else jumped to their feet.
"Is it an earthquake?!" asked Gwen.
"Did the Mutraddi send another monster?" Lance questioned Octus.
"There has been no new activity in the Rift Gate," Octus declared.
Then where is it coming – ?" Trixie started when something burst through the trees, tearing a wide gash in the earth as it moved towards them. There was a flurry of activity: Octus transformed into a transparent bubble, sealing Ilana inside, and rolled out of the way, while Lance grabbed Ben and lunge to safety while Max did the same with Gwen and Trixie. The object rammed into the Rust Bucket and knocked the RV on its side, thankfully only leaving a large dent in the paneling. That was one durable RV….
Upon further inspection, everyone realized the attacking object was a familiar four-fingered claw with a skinless arm attached. Everyone craned their heads, jaws dropped in disbelief, as the elongated head of the Behemoth appeared over the forest canopy. Its six eyes rolled around in its skull until it landed on the Tennysons and the Titan Trio, then it loud out a shrill screech, dousing them with spittle.
"Ew, monster slobber!" Gwen complained as a particularly large goop landed on her head.
The Behemoth raised its arm and slammed it back down again, attempting to squash the heroes like bugs. Fortunately, they were all able to dodge the blow by slipping between its finger, though they were nearly knocked down by the tremor it created.
"Quick, everyone, into the forest!" Max shouted. "We can take cover under the trees!"
No arguments were made from the kids or the Titan Trio as everyone followed the retired Plumber into the thick woodland. The Behemoth followed them with its multiple eyes, but its vision quickly became obscured as the humanoids seemingly vanished under the sea of trees. Emitting a low growl, the Behemoth marched slowly in the direction they traveled, trampling the forest beneath its claws. It was unaware that its targets had quickly doubled back and shuffled in another direction away from the monster, putting them out of its path.
The heroes took shelter at the roots of a large redwood, taking a moment to catch their breaths. Lance cautiously peeked around the trunk, eyes narrowed as he observed the Behemoth heading away from them.
"What's the deal?!" Gwen snapped, slapping Lance's elbow ("Ow…") "I thought you guys killed that thing!"
"We did!" Lance argued back.
"Well, it looked pretty alive to me!" yelled Gwen.
"That does seem strange," said Ilana. "We haven't had any Mutraddi that could recover from a battle since that tar monster. Octus, can you figure this out?" she asked the transparent robot.
"I've already initiated a biometric scan, an electromagnetic scan, and a tachyon scan, just in case the creature possesses some trace of temporal abilities," Octus answered. "It shouldn't take longer than thirty Earth minutes to receive a full analysis."
"And in that time, Godzilla jr. will have leveled the entire forest," said Max. "If he hasn't already decided to take a trip to town."
"Max is right!" said Ilana determined. "We can figure everything out later. Right now we need to stop that creature before anyone gets hurt."
"Don't need to tell me twice," said Lance, punching his fist into his hand eagerly.
"Agreed," said Octus. "Engage: Sym-Bionic Titan!"
The Behemoth grumbled as it paced another several dozen meters, swinging its head left and right with all six eyes searching different directions. It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Out of the corner of it's upper-right eye, it noticed the distant city of Sherman and considered crashing through the buildings to lure out the Titan. But the idea was shoved aside when a powerful flash exploded behind the monster. The Behemoth turned around and, after a time-consuming transformation sequence, the Titan appeared armed with its sword and shield.
Inside the Titan, Lance and Ilana floated back-to-back, garbed in skintight suits that looked straight out of a classic anime, with Octus hovering above them. Though their mouths did not move, they were able to speak to each other through their minds (which honestly seemed like a hue invasion of privacy.)
"Let's make this quick before it can do any more damage," said Lance.
"Be careful," Ilana warned. "We still don't know what it can do."
"Agreed," said Octus. "Perhaps it would be wise to go on the defensive."
"All right, fine," said Lance, knowing he was outnumbered. "Just make sure that thing doesn't get anywhere near Max."
"And the kids," Ilana added.
"It was implied," said Lance shortly.
"Of course it was," said Ilana sarcastically.
The Behemoth stared down the Titan, lurched forward, and once again belched a cloud of noxious gas. But unlike last time, gas cloud seemed to possess acidic properties as it eroded the trees it passed over. The Titan didn't realize this until it ate through their shield and attacked their armor, littering its body with dozens of small holes. The Titan stumbled backward, unconsciously dropping their sword, and doubled over in pain.
"Nngh! What was that?!" Ilana groaned inside the Titan.
"It couldn't do that before!" said Lance.
"It appears the creature has enhanced its abilities since the last time we fought it," said Octus.
"But that was twenty minutes ago," Lance pointed out.
"Yes, it is fascinating how it was able to improve in such a short amount of time," Octus said with a hint of fascination. "Perhaps once the analysis is finished, we might be able to – "
"Whatever you do, make it fast!" said Ilana quickly.
In the Titan's moment of distraction, the Behemoth lunged forward and tackled the mech to the ground, changing the forest landscape again. As the Titan attempted to raise itself up, the Behemoth wrapped one of its clawed hands around the mech's face and shoved it back down. The Titan tried punching the Behemoth with its left arm, but the beast was quick and grabbed the mech by the wrist, forcing it down. But with its right hand free, the Titan stretched its arm until it could grab the handle of its discarded sword. The Titan twisted the blade in its hand and stabbed the Behemoth in its side –
But sword bounced off its skin, creating a noise that sounded like clashing metal.
"What the?!" yelled Lance, stupefied.
"Why didn't it work?" questioned Ilana.
"Inconceivable," said Octus, equally dumbfounded. "The creature has not only improved upon its abilities; it enhanced its own physical form as well."
The Behemoth removed its claw from the Titan's head, slapped the sword out of its hand, and pinned down the mech's arm. Despite their relentless struggling, the Titan couldn't break free of its hold; and with the monster straddling its waist, they couldn't lift their feet to rocket blast the creature in the face like last time. The Behemoth snarled in the Titan's face, splattering it with spittle, then opened its jaw as wide as possible and snapped it shut on the Titan's head like an alligator. The mech sparked dangerous as its helmet was slowly being caved in; Lance, Ilana, and Octus could feel the Titan's damage inside as their own heads were being crushed by a vice.
Back on the ground, The Tennyson's watched helplessly from a distance.
"They're getting pummeled!" Gwen cried.
"We gotta help them!" said Ben. He activated the Omnitrix, which had finished recharging since the Nanomech incident. He sifted through the options until he found Heatblast's silhouette. He raised his hand to slap it down, but Trixie caught his arm at the last second.
"Benjamin, you can't be thinking of involving yourself in that brawl," said Trixie disapprovingly. "That creature is the size of a To'Kustar,, and you don't have anything nearly powerful enough to defeat it."
"I can't just stand here and let them get pounded to scrap metal," said Ben, pulling his arm back. "I've got to help them, even if it's just a little bit."
"But – "
"Might as well give it up, Trixie," said Max. "You know Ben: once he sets his mind to something, you can't change it. Just promise you'll be careful, Ben."
"I will, grandpa," said Ben, raising his hand again. "It's hero time!"
Ben slaps down the Omnitrix's faceplate and explodes in a burst of green light, transforming into the magma hero, Heatblast.
The Pyronite propels himself into the air, flying around the length of the Behemoth's body, and hovers in the air in front of the creature's face. The Behemoth removes its jaws from the Titan's head – much to the relief of those inside – and stares curiously as the tiny flame. Heatblast thought he must look like a firefly to the beast.
"Wait, who's that?" asked Ilana, seeing Heatblast through one of the many monitors.
"I believe that is a magma-based alien called a Pyronite," answered Octus. "They aren't indigious anywhere in this solar system, but based on the emblem imprinted on its chest," he zooms in on the Omnitrix logo, "I assume this must be Ben using the Omnitrix."
"Okay, that's pretty cool," Lance admitted.
"Hey, you ugly Kaiju wannabe!" Heatblast shouted at the Behemoth. "You wanna chew on something?! Then chew on this!"
Heatblast throws both hands forward and unleashes the full brunt of his pyro powers on the Behemoth's face. The monolith monster screeches in surprise, taking a few steps back while covering its face. This gives the Titan the chance to lift their leg and kick the Behemoth's chest, sending it sliding back a good distance. When the Behemoth lowered its arm, it showed no signs of damage other than the black smoke wafting from its skin.
The Titan stood up and Ben landed on their shoulder. The Titan turned its head to him (which was really creepy up close, in Ben's opinion.)
"Thanks for the assist," Lance's voice came out of the Titan appreciatively.
"You really saved out butts, Ben," Ilana acknowledged.
"That's just what we heroes do," said Heatblast, trying to act cool. "It's no big deal."
What none of the heroes understood was that inside the Behemoth's mind, it was scanning an analyzing Heatblast like a compute, its six eyes flashing dimly. When the Behemoth opened its mouth next, what came out wasn't a noxious cloud of gas, but a concentrated beam at sub-zero temperatures. The Titan raised its arms to block, and its limbs were immediately coated in a thick layer of ice. Heatblast was knocked off the Titan by the beam's backdraft, his flames snuffed out, and slammed into the ground with enough force to make a crater.
The Omnitrix chose to time out then, possibly because Heatblast had sustained too much damage. Thankfully, Ben himself was unharmed.
"It can shoot freeze rays now?!" yelled Lance.
"It wasn't able to do that before!" said Ilana.
"I believe the creature may have evolved to compensate for Ben's unexpected attack," said Octus. "If that's the case, then the creature may possess some form of reactive adaptation. That explains why weapons failed. Because it has already evolved to withstand them."
"How do we defeat it?" asked Ilana.
"Based on its techno-organic composition," said Octus, "there must be some machine or computer inside it that is analyzing our abilities and restructuring the physical body to adapt. I'll rearrange my scans to factor in this new information."
"In the meantime, we can't use any more of the Titans powers," said Lance seriously. "Otherwise, it will just adapt and make things worse."
"It'll be difficult, but I know we can do it," said Ilana encouragingly.
Ben crawled out of the crater, grimacing, as his family located him and ran to his side.
"Ben, are you okay?" asked Max, concerned.
"Well, that was a total bust," groaned Ben.
"Did anyone else notice that monster suddenly got freeze powers out of nowhere?" said Gwen. "I don't remember it doing that last time it fought the Titan."
"It seemed to be responding to Benjamin's Pyronite powers," Trixie hummed thoughtfully. "It could be that the creature possesses some ability to adapt to the situation."
"Well, then I'll just have to fight freeze breath with freeze breath!" Ben declared, activating the Omnitrix again and turning the dial until it stopped on Arctiguana's silhouette.
"Weren't you listening, Ben?" Gwen scolded him. "If you fight that thing with another alien, you're just gonna – "
But Ben wasn't listening; as he was prone to doing. He slammed down the Omnitrix and transformed into Arctiguana in a burst of green light. The Polar Manzardill climbed the nearest tree to the top before jumping to the next branch, then to the next, making his way back to the battlefield.
With its new freezing powers, the Titan was forced to go on the defensive and generated a dome-shaped forcefield around itself. But the shield wasn't going to hold forever; the barrier was already starting to show cracks on the surface.
"We can't take much more of this!" said Lance gritting his teeth.
"Octus, isn't there anything we can do?" asked Ilana.
"Further use of the Titans powers would be unadvisable," said Octus. "My scan of the creature is nearly complete. We just need to hold out for five more minutes."
"I'm not sure we'll last that long," said Lance.
"Wait, what's that?" asked Ilana, zooming in on something jumping above the trees.
"Hey, tall, fleshy, and ugly!" Arctiguana shouted, standing directly beneath the Behemoth. The creature stopped lasting the Titan and looking down curiously, crossing all six eyes to focus on him. "You need to chill out!"
The Polar Manzardill heaved up his biggest freeze cloud he had ever produced, barely covering the Behemoth's snout in a thin layer of frost. The Behemoth scratched its snout and shoo it off. And just like with Heatblast, the Behemoth analyzed the tiny blue alien inside its head. So when the next time it opened its mouth, instead of a freeze breath, the Behemoth spewed out a column of fire that turned the trees to cinders. Arctiguana was able to jump out of the way in time and landed on his belly, immediately reverting back to Ben.
The Titan swiftly dashed up to the Behemoth and snapped its jaws forcefully shut before the fire could spread further. Both of them rolled away from Ben's direction as the young boy picked himself up, his eyes steely with determination.
"There's plenty more where that came from!" Ben declared, activating the Omnitrix again.
And for the next ten minutes, Ben transformed into various aliens (somehow without the Omnitrix needing to recharge) that resulted in the Behemoth gaining a new power that only made the situation worse for the Titan.
Rath tried punching it; The Behemoth grew an extra set of limbs.
Jetray tried his neuro-blasts; gave the Behemoth a power to temporarily paralyze the Titan.
Fasttrack tried blitz attacking; the Titan couldn't touch the super speedy Behemoth
Diamondhead – the Behemoth gained a supersonic scream.
Ghostfreak – the monster shoots ectoplasmic goop now.
Buzzshock – The creature has rubber skin.
Pesky Dust – the monster doesn't sleep.
Graymatter – didn't even bother trying.
By the end of it all, Ben was exhausted and the Behemoth was beating the gears out of the Titan with its plethora of new powers.
"Okay, I give up," Ben wheezed, holding a stitch in his side. "That thing's indestructible."
"No, the issue is that you keep making that thing more powerful with every alien you use!" Gwen scolded her cousin. "You should've picked that up the first time, doofus!"
"That creature has gotten way too powerful," said Max, grimacing as he was forced to watch the Titan get pounded repeatedly by the Behemoth's extra limbs. "I'm not sure our friends can handle it."
"I've used almost every alien against it," said Ben, frowning as he stared at the Omnitrix. "Every alien except…"
"Benjamin, no!" Trixie immediately rejected, slapping her hand over the Omnitrix to prevent him from carrying that thought out. "You swore that you would never use that Alien again!"
"What else am I supposed to do?!" Ben shouted desperately.
At that time, the Behemoth landed a particularly strong swing across the Titan's face and knocked the mech off its feet. The Titan fell on its back with an earthshaking crash, its head landing conveniently close to the Tennyson party. The Titan turned its head with an earsplitting creak (sounded like there was some damage done to the neck) and spotted the Tennysons frozen in place.
"You have to run!" Ilana spoke through the Titan. "Get out of here before you get hurt!"
"We can't just leave you!" shouted Gwen earnestly.
"This monster is too powerful," Now it was Lance's voice. "I don't think we can beat it. You have to run. We'll try holding it off as long as we can."
"But – "
"If I may interrupt again – "
"- my scan of the creature is complete," Octus informed his comrades. "And I believe I've identified the source of the creature's reactive adaptation."
"What've you got, Octus?" Ilana asked hopefully.
"Well, despite what we were led to believe," said Octus, "the creature in front of us is not it's real body."
"What do you mean?" questioned Lance.
"It appears the physical body is made up of an amalgam of various creatures stung together by techno-organic wiring – like a puppet," Octus explained. "That's why no matter how many times we damage it, the creature is constantly repairing itself. That also explained how it is able to freely modify itself to counteract all our abilities."
"Okay, so if the body is a puppet," said Ilana, "then who's pulling the strings."
"I've located a single functioning super computer in the creature's brainstem," said Octus. "It must be using the nerve system to send out constant signals to the rest of the body."
"So then we just destroy it – problem solved!" said Lance eagerly.
"It's not that simple, I'm afraid," said Octus. "Analysis shows that the machine is roughly a centimeter in size. Even if we knew where it was located, the likelihood of hitting it, as well as the chances of causing any real damage due to the difference is size, is 88.6 million-to-1 – "
" – we're simply too big," said Octus. The Titan trio had been having their conversation out loud without realizing it. But because of that, Ben looked at the Omnitrix and a lightbulb went off in his head.
"Then I know a hero who is just right," said Ben, activating the Omnitrix one last time.
"Ben, what're you doing?" asked Gwen apprehensively.
"Giving this ugly creep a major migraine," said Ben confidently, and then slapped down the Omnitrix once he found the alien he was looking for.
Gwen, Max, and Trixie shielded their eyes when the green light blasted in their faces. And when they lowered their hands, Ben was nowhere to be seen….
The Titan attempted to sit up, but the damage it had sustained was critical. Every one of its joints sparked dangerous and its armor was riddled with a spiderweb of cracks. The Mech was in no position to continue fighting, which suited the Behemoth just fine. The amalgamated monster flatted itself on top of the Titan, pinning it to the forest floor, while using one set of arms to hold their arms in place. The Behemoth sneered directly in the Titan's face, drooling on the mech's helmet, creating more holes with its new acidic spittle….
Neither of them even remotely noticed the microscopic machine buzzing its way up to the Behemoth's face.
Nanomech perched himself in the middle of the Behemoth's six eyes, completely invisible to the beast due to his size. Just like Octus said, the monster was a patchwork of different parts, which meant there should be seams where the pieces were connected. And as he suspected, there was a massive thread in the middle of the Behemoth's face. The nanite hero took advantage of his diminutive stature and slipped in through the seams (he tried to ignore the fact that he was essentially sandwiched between two pieces of dead meat.)
After a little burrowing, Nanomech came out the other side in the Behemoth's cranial cavity.
"Well, that was uncomfortable," squeaked Nanomech.
Just ahead of him was the Behemoth's brain. Like the rest of it, the organ looked like it had been dead for a while given it's gray and shriveled appearance. But according to Octus, it wasn't the brain that was controlling the beast. Nanomech did a quick flight around to the back of the monster's deceased brain and found the responsible party.
Situated at the base of the stem was a metal ball roughly the same size as Nanomech with half a dozen node flashing neon-blue lights. Every half-second, the machine generated a pulse of electricity that traveled down the brainstem, likely sending signals to the rest of the body.
"Found you, ya microscopic microwave," said Nanohmech. "Time for a little rewiring."
While the Titan fruitlessly flailed underneath it, the Behemoth stretched out its extra arms, grasped the Titan's head from both sides, and started to pull. Lance, Ilana, and Octus could be heard screaming inside the mech as sparks exploded from its neck.
"Hurry up, Ben," Gwen groaned worriedly.
Nanomech flew up to the microscopic computer, grasping it with both hands, and pulled back, flapping his wings furiously. The machine was surprisingly resistant, clinging to the brainstem desperately –
The Behemoth was slowly pulling the Titan's head away, revealing the connecting wire foot-by-foot, all of them threatening to snap –
Nanomech slammed his feet into the brainstem, digging his toes into the dead organ, and used it was leverage to increase the strength of his pull. The machine was gradually being pulled away; one of its wires snapped –
Ilana, Lance, and Octus felt like they could pass out at any moment – the pain the Titan was feeling was too unbearable for words. Once the mech's head was ripped away completely, it would be the end for all of them. Though they fought as hard as they could, they were powerless to stop it –
And then…it stopped.
The Titan Trio were equally surprised when the Behemoth's grip suddenly slackened. The monster's six eyes stared blankly at them before they faded into darkness, resembling the hollow shell it actually was. Then, to their surprise and disgust, the Behemoth fell to pieces – literally. Hundreds of fleshy parts and black cables broke away one after the other, becoming a pile of waste on top of the Titan.
A few of the pieces landed near Gwen, Max, and Trixie; Gwen looked ready to vomit.
"How did this become my life…?" Gwen bemoaned.
"What happened?" questioned Ilana strangely.
"Scans show that the device holding the creature together has become inoperable," Octus explained.
"But how?" Lance asked curiously.
As if in response to his question, the trio felt something knocking against the Titan's right eye. They couldn't see anything at first, but Octus initiated the zoom function of the Titan's vision until it was at a microscopic scale. They honed in on Nanomech, who was waving cheerfully with one hand while holding the Behemoth's broken computer brain under his other arm.
"It's Ben!" shouted Octus in genuine surprise.
"Way to go!" Lance praised. "You saved the day, little man!"
"Emphasis on little," Ilana teased playfully.
"It's like my grandpa said," said Nanohmech proudly. "Big things come in small packages."
Twenty minutes after the battle, the Tennyson family and the Titan Trio were standing in front of the Rust Bucket, which had been righted with the help of the Titan. They help the mountain of Behemoth parts alone, saying that the military or the G3 can clean up after them. It seemed very irresponsible in Trixie's opinion, but who was she to question it?
"Are you sure you don't want to come back to Sherman with us?" asked Ilana. "We could have dinner at our house. It's the least we could offer after you helped us today."
"Thanks for the offer, but we really have to get back on the road," Max rejected, dashing his grandkid's hopes for a normal meal. "We need to make a stop at the old plumber base in Chicago if we want to get word out about Galaluna."
"You know, you were pretty cool out there," Lance complimented, offering his fist. "Keep up the good, little man."
"You too, big guy," said Ben, touching Lance's fist with his own.
"Here, we want you to have this," Octus stepped in, offering something to Trixie. It looked like a watch, but the face appeared to be made from the same material as Octus's shell. "This is a direct link to our private communications. If you ever need assistance, please don't hesitate to ask."
"Thank you for this, Octus," said Trixie. "It's nice to know that there are friends we can count on."
"Well, it's time to hit the road," said Max.
"Bye, you three," said Gwen, waving to the Titan Trio as she entered the Rust Bucket. "Hope to see you again soon."
Ilana, Lance, and Octus waved back as the Tennyson family loaded up into the Rust Bucket and drove off, weaving around the hundreds of trees that had been broken off during the fight. The trio waited until the Rust Bucket was gone before they shared meaningful looks and active their own watches.
Everyone in Sharman looked up to the sky in gratitude as the Titan flew above their heads, knowing their guardian was watching over them….
Just so everyone knows, I have no intention of doing the live action movies. So I used the plotline from Generator Rex to explain Nanomech's inclusion. I think it fits pretty well, don't you?
It's been years since I even thought about Sym-Bionic Titan. Back then, I didn't think much of it compared to Genddy's other work, Samurai Jack, so I had to do a lot of research on the subject. I hope I was able to portray them correctly because this won't be the last time we see them. That item they gave Trixie will come up in the future.
Next episode: Framed