"And then, a big boom. No more Vilgax. At least, that's what I thought, until today." Says Max ending his story about the last time he defeated Vilgax, by strapping him to a nuclear bomb and sending him into space.
"Woah! You were a hero?" Said Ben with wide eyes.
"I was just someone doing his job." Max told him.
"Uh, what exactly was that job?" Gwen asked.
Max paused, then spoke.
"We called ourselves the Plumbers. Officially, we didn't exist. We were the guys who fixed the problems no one else could. Aliens. Extrasensory. Extraordinary."
"All this time I've been acting like a hero, really following in your footsteps! I'm a plumber in training!" Ben exclaimed.
"I wouldn't call you a hero. More like a..." Said Hayden before pausing, trying to think of the right name.
"A hotheaded, rather irresponsible child with the illusion of being a hero?" Hope suggested.
"Yes, that." Said Hayden, earning himself a dark look from Ben.
"And you knew about the watches all along?!" Gwen insisted.
"Not really, I've only heard rumors. I was surprised like you when it happened, even more so when I found out there were two of them." Max declared.
"You always told us we could tell you anything, Grandpa. I guess you didn't feel the same way..." Said Gwen, a hint of pain in her voice.
Suddenly, the sound of sirens rang out. Max stopped on the side of the road as several police cars and an ambulance sped past them.
"Good! Maybe this would be a good opportunity for the plumbers to get back to work!" Ben exclaimed.
"Ugh, you should start by unclogging your brain, it must be running out of air. "Mr. Plumber." Gwen sniffed.
"You're just jealous because you're not part of the family business!" Said Ben, sticking out his tongue.
"There is no 'family business'. My hero days are long gone." Max declared.
Ben, being Ben, wasn't listening at all and jumped out of the camper van.
"Well, mine are just beginning! Time to use XLR8!"
He hit the lens and transformed into Ripjaws.
"Oh Ripjaws?! What a scam..."
"Cheh!" Hayden told him.
He noticed an oncoming fire truck and jumped in. Gwen looked at Hayden and Hope.
"Why is she looking at us like that?" Hope asked Hayden.
"She must be saying with her eyes, 'If you don't go after him right now, I'm going to scream,' look." Said Hayden.
"Why should we join Ben?"
"I don't know. She probably wants some competent older people watching him, or something."
Gwen's eyes crinkled.
"Ugh, come on Hope." Hayden sighed.
Hope rolled her eyes and followed him.
Big Chill-Hayden lands in front of a closed hotel, holding Hope.
"Could I hit Ben?" Hope asked.
"Let me know first, so I can look away and pretend I didn't see anything." Said Big Chill-Hayden.
The two entered the hotel to see Ripjaws wrestling with a cat-sized red creature.
"A hero, huh?" Hope sneered.
"Tell me about it." Said Big Chill-Hayden.
The creature fled as Ripjaws pursued. He looked around in the darkness of the hotel, but the creature seemed to have disappeared. He stepped back, then suddenly bumped into someone. He turned abruptly and found himself face to face with an old man wearing a strange suit.
"AHH! Who are you?!" They both shouted at the same time. "Me, who am I?! No, who are you!"
The old man raised a laser rifle and fired at Ripjaws, sending him flying into the room service office, which was ironically advertising fish sticks.
"Looks like today's my lucky day. Two aliens for the price of one." Said the man as he walked over to the desk and pointed the nozzle directly at Ripjaws' face.
Their little scuffle was interrupted by someone clearing their throat. They both looked up to see Hope and Big Chill-Hayden, the little red creature trying to gnaw through the ball of ice she was encased in.
"We've done your job for you, so there's no need to thank us." Hope said to the two.
"And here's your stupid alien hamster." Said Big Chill, rolling the ball towards the man.
They passed Max and Gwen, who had just entered.
"Problem solved. You're welcome." Said Big Chill-Hayden as he and Hope walked past them toward the RV.
Ben was telling Max about the man in the hotel who turned out to be Phill, Max's old partner from his plumbing days.
"I don't get it! How come you didn't tell Phill about the Omnitrix?" asked Ben.
"It's purely on a need-to-know basis, Ben. The less people know, the better," Max declared.
"I guess that's your answer to everything, isn't it, Grandpa?" Said Gwen coldly.
"Hey... Why don't you start the Plumbers again? You, me and Phill! We'd be great alien ass-kickers!" Said Ben.
"Good thing he didn't drag us into this." Hayden murmured, making Hope laugh.
"Ben, I'm flattered you appreciate what I've done, but you can't bring back the past." Max told her.
Suddenly, a screen appeared on the dashboard showing Phill.
"Max! If you're there, I need help! Two Vulpimancers are destroying a meat processing plant on Highway 44!"
"Vulpimancers?" Max repeated, before turning around and starting toward Highway 44.
"All right! The Tennysons are back in the plumbing business!" Ben rejoiced.
The camper stopped in front of the meat processing plant. As they got out, they heard a loud roar coming from inside.
"I don't like that sound." Said Gwen.
They entered the factory and walked through the dark corridors until they found the processing room. And on the floor, surrounded by meat hanging from hooks, was Phill.
"Phill!"
Max ran to his old friend and helped him to his feet.
"Max! Good thing you're here. Those are two pretty pissed-off aliens! We're going to need some of your old magic!" Phill said, sounding a little too excited.
"Don't worry, we'll take care of it!" Ben told him confidently.
Their attention was caught by loud roars. They turned and saw two large orange bipedal beasts coming through the steam.
"Got any family on your watch side, Ben?" Hayden asked, pushing Ben toward the aliens.
"At this point it wouldn't even surprise me if we did. We're more than a quirk away." Hope commented.
The monsters roared and snorted as they drew closer.
"They look like Wildmutt. Maybe I can talk to them!" Ben said, activating the Omnitrix.
"Ben!" Max said, but it was too late. Ben had already slammed the dial and turned into Wildmutt.
"This watch... It's the Omnitrix!" Phill exclaimed.
Wildmutt approached his alien counterparts and let out a few growls. One of the Vulpimancers roared in Wildmutt's direction before getting up on its hind legs and smashing his claws.
"What did you say?" Gwen asked.
"Vulpimancers have never been very fond of small talk, even with their own kind." Said Max as they watched the Vulpimancers charge Wildmutt, who let out a scream and started to run.
One of the Vulpimancers leapt into the air, claws out. Wildmutt sensed the impending attack and grabbed onto one of the chains hanging from the ceiling. The Vulpimancer stumbled and fell straight into a metal crate filled with barrels of liquid and tripe.
"That's disgusting!" Gwen exclaimed.
The other Vulpimancer let out an angry roar and bit into the meat hanging from the chain Wildmutt was suspended from. Wildmutt swung onto a moving conveyor belt as the chain snapped.
The Vulpimancer climbed behind him. Hayden and Hope looked at each other and sighed.
Hayden activated his Omnitrix and transformed into Swampfire.
"A second Omnitrix?!" Phil exclaimed as the Methanosian began to move towards the two struggling Vulpimancers.
"Hey! Big Bad Dog!"
The Vulpimancer looked up at him and growled.
"Down, dogs."
Swampfire threw seeds in the direction of the two Vulpimancers.
Once the seeds hit the ground, plants grew at an impressive speed and immobilized the still conscious Vulpimancer while bringing him towards Swampfire-Hayden.
Meanwhile, Hope had pulled out two stone golems and was pushing the other Vulpimancer to the same spot.
Once the two were right in front of him, Regenerator-Hayden sprayed gas from his palms, putting both aliens to sleep. Even though he knew that for the unconscious one it was useless, he preferred to do it anyway as a precaution.
Phill stepped towards him, holding a high-frequency emitting device he'd taken out just in case.
"I'll take it from here. Good work, kids." Phill said.
"We're not kids." Hope muttered, returning the golems to their previous state before stowing them in her bag.
Max approached his former partner and looked at the device in his hand,
"Lucky for us, you had an ultrasonic whistle with you in case we got into a bad situation." Max said, looking slightly suspicious.
Wildmutt exhaled and reverted to Ben, while Swampfire reverted to Hayden.
"So... all the stories were true. The Omnitrix really does exist. And what's more, there are two of them." Phill said, impressed.
"It was just like old times, wasn't it? Also with the help of your grandchildren and two of their friends." Phill asked, looking at Max and holding out his hand. "I think this is going to be the start of a new partnership."
Max looked down at his hand, a slightly hesitant look on his face.
"It's fate that we all met." Said Phill in his hotel suite.
Ben and Hayden weren't really listening as they were enjoying cocktail shrimp from the large room service tray.
"Wow, a luxurious suite. It must have cost a pretty penny." Max said, looking around.
"Just a little thank you I negotiated for helping the manager solve his alien problem." Phill declared, leaning back against a sofa. "And believe me, that's just the tip of the alien iceberg!"
He turned to Ben and Hayden.
"You know, you'd both make excellent plumbers."
"Would I?" Ben asked, his mouth full of shrimp.
"Thanks for the compliment. But if the opportunity arises I'll pass. Fighting malevolent aliens is fine, but permanently sacrificing true normality for it. Not for me." Hayden declared. "And I don't want to risk breaking a promise."
This last remark made Max react slightly, seeing that Hayden was taking the promise he'd made to them very much to heart. But then he turned his attention back to something that had been bothering him earlier.
"Oh, don't worry about that." Phill laughed. "We'd all make a great team! With your powers, Max's experience and my instinct, we'd be an unstoppable team. What do you think, Max?"
"I think it's a strange coincidence to fall a Havo and two Vulpimancers show up on the same day," Max said.
"Aliens... go figure." Said Phill with a shrug.
"I need some fresh air," said Max as he left the room.
Phill watched him go, scowling slightly.
"Hey kids, order whatever you want from the room service menu."
"Now we're talking!" exclaimed Ben.
Hayden, Hope and Gwen all watched Phill exit after Max.
"There's something going on that Grandpa isn't telling us about." Said Gwen.
"Phill is freeing the aliens they captured years ago and capturing them again for money." Hayden declared nonchalantly.
They all stared at him.
"What? It's so obvious," Hayden said.
"How do you know that?" Asked Gwen.
"It's a recurring trope in fantasy and science fiction: the mentor's old friend who turns out to have fallen on the wrong side in the time between the last and the new meeting." Hayden explained without really lying; he'd seen it in so many films and series.
"But this isn't fiction, it's reality!" Gwen retorted, finding the teenager's reasoning absurd.
"I think that with everything we live or are capable of doing, the boundary between fiction and reality has been blown up with dynamite." Hayden retorted, pointing at the two Omnitrix, then at Hope.
They stormed out of the hotel and saw that the Rust Bucket was gone.
"No, Grandpa."
"And no Phil. Where would they go?"
"I'd say where they were keeping the aliens." Hayden declared.
"Then there's only one place to discover around here." Said Gwen, as Ben transformed into XLR8 before catching it.
"Hey!"
"Hang on! I'm going all out!" He said as he sped away.
Hayden and Hope watched them go.
"Damn it, Ben. It'd kill you to give it the old college try!" Hayden shouted at them before activating his Omnitrix to change to XLR8 as well. "Need a taxi, ma'am?" He said to Hope, holding out his arms.
"With pleasure." She said, letting herself be carried.
At the base of Mount Rushmore, Max entered a dark room with an empty pedestal in the middle.
"It's gone!"
"Looking for this?"
He turned and saw Phill standing in the doorway, holding something.
"The Null Void Projector. I thought all those aliens looked familiar." Max said. "You stole the Null Void Projector to free the ones we caught back then!"
"You were always too smart for your own good, Max. But not wanting to join me was a mistake!"
"Why are you doing all this?!" Max asked.
"Job security! I release an alien, then ask a hotel manager, mayor or whoever to pay me to catch him! Easy money!" Says Phil.
"I'm not going to let you get away with it." Max said angrily.
Phill sighed as he played with the Null Void Projector.
"Yeah, I thought you'd say that. Too bad, we could have made one hell of a team again."
Phill pointed the spotlight at Max and pulled the trigger. Max ducked to avoid a yellow beam from which a portal opened behind him.
A large, ugly green head with sharp teeth emerges from the portal with a shrill roar. Max stepped back as the alien emerged from the portal and growled at him.
"And don't worry, I'll be sure to tell Ben and Hayden that your last words to me were that you wanted them to follow in your footsteps as my partners!" Said Phill.
The monster roared and slid down, but before he could cut Max off, he disappeared in a blue and black blur.
"What the...?!"
XLR8 rushed up behind him, holding Max.
"You're not a plumber! You're nothing but a criminal!"
"Ben! Listen to me, we don't need your grandfather! We could get the plumbers going again! Just you and me!" Said Phill.
"Forget it! And there's nothing you can do to change my mind!" XLR8 hissed.
"...That's too bad." Says Phill.
The Green Monster pulls his claw out of the ground and roars as he begins to stalk them.
"Say hello to an old friend: a Wigzelian Org Beast!"
The beast approached them as they moved away. Phill ran past the monster toward the exit.
"I'd love to stay, but I've got a lot of work to do." He said as he closed the doors behind him, leaving them alone with the beast.
Phill rode the elevator up to her car and discovered that Gwen was watching her.
"You're not going anywhere!"
"Oh, hey, uh... Grace! Your grandfather told me he was just getting a few things together to restart the plumbers' business and get the car started."
"First of all, it's Gwen. Secondly, I'd be a fool to fall for it!" Said Gwen, crossing her arms.
Phill sighed.
"Well, it's worth a try." He pointed the Null Void Projector at Gwen as the yellow light began to charge. "Nothing personal, kid. It's just business."
Suddenly a magenta crystal shot into Phil's arm holding the projector, causing him to drop the weapon and cancel the beam's charge.
Then a whip made of mana caught the projector and brought it towards Hope, who was standing next to StoneSaver, her right arm outstretched towards Phil with a look of pure anger in her eyes.
"I don't think so." He said, continuing to shoot Phil in the shoulder and thigh to make sure he was wounded enough to immobilize him. "You're putting people in danger... you're trying to kill Max and Ben... and you're trying to do the same to her... You've definitely decided to push me too far..." He said, speaking each time he fired.
"Wait... Hayden... please don't kill me..." Phil begged as he lay on the ground, his wetsuit soaked with the blood escaping from his wounds.
"I'm not going to kill you, Phil." he retorted, before becoming human again.
"You didn't listen to me earlier. I made a promise. So as much as I'm dying to settle the score with you, I'm going to let someone else do it instead."
"You mean his friend?" Phil asked, looking at Hope.
"Not anymore." Hope smiled before pointing the spotlight at Phil.
"You see, on the way here, Hope and I talked about the kind of punishment we could inflict on you. And even though hurting you that badly wasn't exactly in the cards..."
"... We thought it would be a good idea to put you in the same prison as the aliens you and Max captured." Hope concluded.
"But how do you know about the projector?" Phil asked, surprised because he was sure they hadn't been in his way before when he left Ben and Max to face the green monster.
"A magician never reveals her secrets." Hope smiled as she loaded the projector, moving her free hand slightly.
"No, wait! Don't do that! In the state you're going to send me, it's as good as killing me." Phil begged, joining hands with the two teenagers.
"Your survival there will depend mostly on your plumbing skills." Hayden retorted, before Hope fired at Max's former partner.
"NO !" Phill shouted as the laser shot out and hit him in the chest before he was absorbed by the projector.
"You were good, kid, real good. But as long as I'm around, you'll always be second best, see?" Said Hayden, imitating Jim Carrey in The Mask.
After recapturing the green monster, Max returned the spotlight to its pedestal.
"And that's the last of them."
"Seriously, Max, they really should improve security here." Hayden declared.
Max looked at his grandchildren as well as Hayden and Hope.
"I'm sorry I had to keep my past a secret for so long. I should have known I could trust you."
"It's okay..." Said Gwen with a smile.
"And for what it's worth, you would have made good plumbers." Max looked at Gwen and Hope." All of you."
"Thanks." Said Hayden with a smile.
"So, what's going to happen to Phill?" Ben asked, looking at the projector.
"I think there are certain things about this job that are best ignored." Max told them.
They took one last look at the projector before leaving the room.
Later that night, Hayden was outside the Rust Bucket while everyone else was asleep. He was stargazing with a telescope he'd found in a trunk.
"Even here, you're still looking for her."
He looked up from the telescope and turned in the direction of the voice to see a light-skinned man with gray eyes and black hair. He was wearing a white smock over a white shirt with a brown vest and black tie, black pants, black shoes, and goggles with green lenses around his neck.
"I was wondering if you were ever going to try to get in touch with me." Hayden told him.
"Oh, I was just waiting for the right moment." Replied the man as he approached him. "I also wanted to see how far you'd go."
"And you've taken all this time for it. All you had to do was see me in the future." Hayden retorted.
"Maybe, but people change over time. If I'd talked to the future version of you, you probably wouldn't be that person who doesn't hesitate, if necessary, to seriously hurt criminals. In fact, you seem to be well on the way to not being that anymore." sneered the man.
"Maybe." Hayden sighed as he folded up the telescope. "What exactly do you want, Professor Paradox? For me to walk away from the Tennysons and let Ben be the only hero in the story?"
"Oh God, no." Paradox replied. "It's not up to me to decide what you're going to do. Your future is up to you."
"If you say so." Hayden sighed, looking away for a moment. "But... can you tell me if even in a different world, I might see her again?"
When he'd finished asking his question, he looked back to where Professor Paradox had been, to see that he'd disappeared.
He sighed before returning to the camper van to lie down.
