Upon arrival at the research station, the group began to plan their approach.
"Alright, what's the plan this time? Split up again?" Rainbow asked.
"Actually, according to the map, there's really only one path for us to take," Ratchet pointed out. "Unless that pod over there is running."
Rushing over, Twilight checked it out, only to shake her head afterward.
"It's not. We probably need to throw a switch somewhere to turn it on. Once we do, it's locked in autopilot to that defunct ship out there."
"It would seem that we are sticking together, then," Clank concluded.
"Alright, let's go!" Hilda said.
The family of heroes proceeded down the single, straightforward path, leaping over the toxic gas that sprayed from broken vents on their way. When they first encountered a swarm of what looked like mutated frogs, they dealt with them quickly. Ratchet and Rainbow utilized the Pyrocitor, while Twilight and Rarity used their telekinetically controlled wrenches to 'pinball' whole swaths of them.
"Oh, I do so love a functional accessory!" Rarity giggled.
The Blasters proved useful in dealing with flame-wielding Blargian thugs who occasionally blocked their path, Ben twirling his stylishly before blowing the smoke from the barrel.
None of the obstacles proved too much of a problem thanks to the teamwork of the group of ten. Eventually, however, they encountered a few of the mutant creatures they had seen in the Infobot's video.
"Um, excuse me, I know you're upset about being caged but if you'd be so kind as to-" Fluttershy began, only for one of the mutants to try and take a bite out of her.
Fortunately, it wouldn't get the chance as Ben decapitated it with his Screwsaber. Fluttershy was deeply saddened that she couldn't tame the beasts but Hilda scooped her up in a comforting hug to reassure her.
"Maybe the next monster will be easier to tame."
"Okay..."
"Hey Twilight, think you could try inventing some fancy gloves that can let me use The Force?" Ben asked after putting away his Screwsaber. "I can only mimic the Darth Vader aesthetic with just the Screwsaber for so long."
Twilight smiled. "Don't worry, Daddy, I'll figure something out once the adventure is over."
Eventually, the gang came across a much larger specimen of the mutant aliens they had been fighting. As it approached, Twilight tried to use her telekinesis to grab its head but found herself unable to, Rarity was in a similar boat.
"What in tarnation is going on?!" Applejack wondered.
"I can't seem to get a grip!" Rarity said.
"It's got some kind of innate telepathic ability that's shielding it from our magic!" Twilight pointed out.
"How does that even work?" Ratchet demanded.
"It is likely a queen specimen of a rudimentary hive mind," Clank postulated. "Since Twilight and Rarity's magic is shaped by thought, the high concentration of thought energy likely disrupts the energy fields they generate as they form them. I believe limiting ourselves to weapon attacks would be best."
"Fine by me!" Hilda grinned as she took out her Titan Wrench. "Leave this to Mama!"
Hilda began wailing on the creature with her wrench, dodging it nimbly despite her bulky size. Clank's postulation was also proven right when the queen summoned creatures of each mutant type to try and distract Hilda, only for the others to take them out themselves.
"GET READY TO FEEL THE THUNDER!" Hilda shouted as she leaped into the air before slamming down on the queen's head with her massive butt, crushing its skull and finishing it off. "Whooo! That felt great!"
Ben couldn't help but whistle at how flawlessly Hilda took out the beast, a small blush on his face as Pinkie climbed on his shoulder.
"When are you gonna ask Mommy to marry you, Daddy?"
"PINKIE!" He hissed. "We're 16! We're not old enough for marriage!"
"Doesn't stop that practice in some galaxies, Bro," Ratchet smirked as he elbowed his best friend.
With the queen dead, a new path was opened. Before long, they encountered a scientist being harried by a pair of the small frog-like mutants. Pinkie made short work of them with her Party Cannon, blowing them up with bursts of confetti and frosting.
"Leave that poor man alone, you meanies!"
"Whew!" the scientist said, wiping his brow. "I thought I was a goner this time! Some nano-wit in genetics must have left the cages open again."
"You can come down now," Ratchet informed him, gesturing to the stool the scientist was standing on.
"Honestly!" the scientist proclaimed, hopping down. "A Gadget Engineer deserves a bit more respect if you ask me!"
"Are you okay, sir?" Twilight asked.
The scientist gasped. "By the Makers! Twilight Sparkle?!"
"O-Oh, you've heard of me?"
"Who hasn't? You're the rising child prodigy of Gadgetron!" The scientist beamed before taking out a pair of red boots. "D-do you think you could take a look at these Grindboots I developed? Do you think they'd be good enough for Gadgetron? I think I'd like to change employers to work somewhere safer."
Twilight took a look at the boots for a while, inspecting every part of them before nodding.
"Hmm...tell you what. Sign here-" She held out her Gadgetron uplink as a form appeared, "-and I'll have my product tester give your Grindboots a work-over. Then we'll write a review of the product and send it in to Gadgetron. If it works well, we'll also include a recommendation that you be hired."
"Oh thank you!" The scientist replied happily, eagerly signing the form and handing over the boots. "Well, I'm gonna get out of here while I still can."
As the scientist left for the escape shuttle to take him safely away, everyone inspected the Grindboots. There was only one pair but Twilight smiled as she duplicated them so that Ratchet, Ben, and Hilda each had a pair.
"Let's try these babies out for a spin!" Hilda smirked as she noticed a nearby shaft.
"Just don't go dropping us now!" Applejack said as she hitched a ride on Ben's back, Rarity doing the same with Hilda while Pinkie was carried by Rainbow as she, Fluttershy, and Twilight used their wings.
At the end of the rail, back in the initial chamber, they found that the pod was still not activated.
"What do we need to do to turn this on?" Twilight demanded.
"This appears to be an airlock. If you open it with your Trespasser, Ratchet, I believe I can explore outside the station." Clank informed them.
Ratchet nodded and after bypassing the Invinco-Lock, Clank walked through.
"Be safe, Clank!" Fluttershy said worriedly.
Nodding, Clank stepped out into the elevator. As everyone waited, Pinkie reached into her hair before pulling out a whole board game,
"Wanna play some Monopoly?"
"No way, Rarity always wins!" Ben huffed.
"Well, don't blame me for being the most business-savvy lady around."
"Which kinda freaks me out since you're only 6," Hilda muttered.
"Call it a... inherent skill."
Eventually, Clank returned, Rarity having once more won a round of Monopoly as Ben and Rainbow were close to flipping the board.
"Everyone, I have returned." The robot said as he reached inside his chest compartment. "And I have found a useful gadget, and activated the pod."
"Alright, now we can investigate that ship!" Rainbow cheered as Clank pulled out a Hydrodisplacer, handing it to Ratchet.
"Indeed, according to my database, it is a shuttle designed to transport Drek's high-value experiments."
"Well, you gotta give him credit, he keeps busy," Hilda said. "Let's go see what he's been working on!"
The group proceeded to explore the shuttle, taking out the Blarg troops and experiments that had been stationed there. Eventually, they came across an Infobot which no doubt could help them find a new planet to explore.
"UNAUTHORIZED INFOBOT REMOVAL DETECTED. SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE INITIATED."
"All this for an Infobot?!" Ben gawked. "These guys are paranoid!"
"No use wondering about the schematics, we gotta move!" Ratchet urgently said.
Fortunately, the family was able to make it back to the pod and fly back to the station, watching out the window as the warship exploded in a brilliant display of flames.
"Alright, let's see what's on this Infobot," Hilda said as everyone watched what it had to show.
"This is Darla Gratch reporting live from Blackwater City. We've just learned that Captain Qwark will be presenting the grand prize at the Intergalactic Hoverboard Championship, which will be held here over the next few days." The robotic newswoman said as fighting between robotic pest controllers and strange green blob creatures was going on behind her. "In related news, this planet has recently been suffering from an infestation of strange amoeboid creatures. The city's administration has assured this reporter that every step has been taken to eradicate these nuisances. Darla Gratch, Channel 2 News.
As she said this, one of the Amoeboids snuck up behind her and after briefly waving to the camera, prepared to devour her just as the camera cut off.
"Did you see that?" Rainbow excitedly asked.
"Yes. I hope the poor woman is alright." Clank said worriedly.
"Don't worry about Darla Gratch. She always gets out of whatever situations she finds herself in unscathed." Pinkie said.
"Yeah, and if we can help clean up the Amoeboids, we can participate in the Hoverboard Races and I can finally try out that new hoverboard Skidd gave me!" Rainbow beamed. "And Qwark will be there to give out the award! We gotta win!"
Next chapter will cover Planet Rilgar and similar to Tatsurou's fic, I'll also be doing my best to better humanize Qwark, even before his redemption in post-Up Your Arsenal. After all, I'm still using quite a few elements from the 2016 reimagining for the first game arc.