Vilgax's luck had finally run out.
The massive warlord sailed clear off the highway and plummeted into a lake below. His cybernetically-enhanced body, already battered from the fight, sank like a stone into the murky depths. Water rushed in to fill the crater his impact had created.
On the highway above, his Mechadroidic drones stood motionless. Without orders from their master, they simply remained in place like dormant sentinels.
"Get in the car! Asher! Gwen! Ben!" Max threw open the Rust Bucket's window and leaned out, urgency sharpening his voice.
"Go!" XLR8 gritted his teeth and forced himself upright despite the searing pain in his right leg. Without hesitation, he scooped up Gwen and carried her toward the RV in a blue blur.
He didn't stop there. Circling back, he found Ben still kneeling on the ground. The power armor had protected him from serious injury, but the impact had knocked the wind out of him. Standing was proving difficult.
"Ben, can you walk? If not, I'll carry you," XLR8 asked, keeping his voice low so Max and Gwen wouldn't overhear.
"Take me," Ben admitted, swallowing his pride. Now wasn't the time for stubbornness.
XLR8 hefted Ben onto his back. The weight of the armor made his injured leg scream in protest, each step sending electric jolts of pain through his body. Cold sweat beaded across his blue scales as he pushed through it, sprinting toward the Rust Bucket.
Thud!
Ben's armored form crashed heavily into the back of the RV.
Clang!
XLR8 grabbed the doorframe to steady himself, barely managing to stay upright. His leg trembled beneath him.
Before he could even catch his breath or close the door, Max floored the accelerator. The Rust Bucket lurched forward, tires squealing as it executed a sharp U-turn and roared off in the opposite direction. Within seconds, they'd vanished into the night.
Back at the lake, violent bubbles erupted across the surface.
Vilgax burst from the water, draped in tangled weeds like some nightmare from the deep. Only his scarlet eyes remained clearly visible through the vegetation, burning with cold fury as they tracked the Rust Bucket's disappearing taillights.
"Max Tennyson... Asher..." Vilgax's voice rumbled like distant thunder. "My two greatest enemies, together in one vehicle. You cannot escape me."
He wasn't concerned about losing track of Asher temporarily. That boy and the Omnitrix would be his.
Nothing else mattered.
With a powerful leap that cracked the lakeshore beneath him, Vilgax launched himself toward the city lights in the distance.
Inside the Rust Bucket, Gwen slammed the door shut and immediately rushed to Asher's side, dropping to her knees. She grabbed his shoulders with both hands, anxiety clear in her voice.
"Asher, why aren't you getting up? Please, wake up!" There was a hitch in her words, emotion threatening to overwhelm her.
"Cough... Gwen, if you keep shaking me like that, you really will kill me," XLR8 said weakly, lifting his mask just enough to reveal half-opened eyes and a tired smile. "Guess I should've known better than to make jokes right now."
"Thank god you're okay." Gwen's shoulders sagged with relief. "How badly are you hurt?"
"Exhausted... need rest," XLR8 managed. His body felt like it weighed a thousand pounds.
This battle had pushed him further than any fight before.
Biu-biu-biu!
The familiar sound of the Omnitrix timing out echoed through the RV. Green light washed over him as XLR8 reverted to Asher, but the exhaustion remained etched on his face. His right sneaker had been torn completely apart, revealing a swollen, reddened foot.
Still, he'd gotten lucky. He was alive.
"Good thing you guys showed up when you did," Asher said, looking between Gwen and Ben with genuine gratitude. "If it wasn't for you two, I'd really be saying goodbye right now."
"Actually, you should thank Ben this time. He reacted incredibly fast," Gwen said, admiration warming her voice as she glanced toward Ben.
Ben had already released his armor transformation and was leaning heavily against the RV's interior wall, looking thoroughly uncomfortable. He perked up slightly at the mention of his name.
"Hey, I said, how long are you two going to ignore my existence?" he complained, trying to sound indignant despite his obvious discomfort.
"Sorry, Ben. Are you alright?" Asher asked with an embarrassed scratch of his head.
"I'm fine, just tired," Ben said, tapping his chest a few times with forced bravado. Then his expression darkened, hands clenching into fists. "But next time that guy Vilgax shows up, we're going to seriously beat him down!"
"He's incredibly strong," Asher admitted, a rare note of wariness entering his voice. "They don't call him a cosmic warlord for nothing."
But next time, things would be different. Next time, he'd use Four Arms.
A single punch from Four Arms matched the power of his third Wind God Leg technique. Using the Eight Extremes Collapse technique with all four fists together would equal the devastating force of his fourth Wind God Leg move. If he coordinated all four arms perfectly...
The potential was staggering.
Of course, Vilgax's displayed strength demanded respect. Even with Four Arms' power, they'd need to work together to stand a chance!
After another period of tense silence...
Asher's energy had recovered enough for him to sit up and look out the window. The landscape had shifted completely, they were driving through empty countryside now, far from any city lights. Everything was eerily calm.
"Vilgax didn't follow us?"
Something felt wrong. What was that warlord planning?
"Vilgax is definitely scheming something," Ben declared with unshakable certainty.
"Grandpa, aren't we going to stop Vilgax? My Omnitrix is almost fully recharged," Asher said, holding up his wrist to display the charging symbol.
He found it strange. Why were they driving away from the city instead of preparing to fight?
"Don't worry," Max said, his voice steady despite the gravity of the situation. He kept his eyes fixed on the dark road ahead. "Vilgax's strength is beyond what any of us imagined. We need to prepare properly before we face him again."
Prepare?
Asher, Ben, and Gwen exchanged glances. Their minds immediately jumped to something Max had mentioned before, the Plumbers.
"Remember what I told you about the Plumbers? I used to be a member," Max continued without prompting, as if reading their thoughts. "Even though I'm retired from active missions, I still have access to some of the organization's high-tech weapons. They're stored in my secret base."
"High-tech weapons? So you're going to get them and help us fight Vilgax together?" Asher asked, leaning forward with sudden interest.
"Exactly," Max confirmed with a firm nod. "My secret base is at Mount Rushmore. Once we get there and retrieve the weapons, we'll be in a much better position to take him on."
"But... will there be enough time?" Gwen's face showed her concern. "If Vilgax isn't chasing us, and instead, " She couldn't bring herself to finish the thought. The implications were too terrible.
Asher understood her fear. His expression grew complicated as he spoke. "You're right to be worried. But if we go up against him again without proper preparation and fail, even more innocent people will die. We have to do everything we can to be ready before we face Vilgax again."
The weight of his words settled over everyone in the Rust Bucket. This wasn't just about them anymore, this was about protecting everyone who couldn't protect themselves.
Both Ben and Gwen straightened up, their earlier exhaustion replaced by renewed determination.
The old RV ate up the miles, racing through the night toward Mount Rushmore.
Meanwhile, Vilgax had already entered the city limits. He moved openly through the streets, no longer bothering with stealth, and came to a stop before the entrance to a biological museum.
His scarlet eyes gleamed with dark purpose as he stared at the building.
Soon, very soon, the Omnitrix would be his.