As the Rust Bucket cruised down the state highway, it passed countless cars and other vehicles heading in the opposite direction.
Max kept his eyes on the road, both hands firmly on the steering wheel.
Ben and Gwen sat across from each other. Ben had his headphones on, listening to music through his player, while Gwen quietly read through her spell book.
Nearby, Gold Ship was happily putting together the new LEGO set her brother had bought for her in the hopes that it would keep her from causing any more trouble. Beside her, Orfevre was reading The Art of War, while Evan floated in the air as usual, peacefully asleep.
"And be on the lookout on State Highway 818 for a prison bus that was reportedly taken over by the inmates," the radio announcer said.
Almost as if on cue, everyone inside the Rust Bucket felt a violent jolt.
Their heads snapped toward the windows just in time to see a prison bus barreling down the highway with no regard for the cars around it.
The runaway bus slammed into the back corner of the Rust Bucket before scraping along its side as it forced its way past.
The impact threw the kids from their seats.
Ben and Gwen stumbled forward, Orfevre dropped her book, Evan lost his balance and crashed onto the bunk behind him, while Gold Ship's unfinished LEGO creation flew into the air and smashed directly into her brother's head before exploding into hundreds of colorful bricks.
Max quickly steered the Rust Bucket away from the prison bus before skillfully bringing the RV back under control.
"Those cons picked the wrong bridge at the wrong time," Ben said as he climbed back to his feet and activated the Omnitrix.
"Ben," Max called. "This time, I think we should come up with a plan before you go charging in."
"Grandpa's right," Gwen agreed as she picked herself up and reached for the spell book she had dropped.
"Okay, here's the plan." Ben grinned. "You guys sit back and enjoy the hero show!"
He turned the dial until he found the silhouette of Four Arms before confidently slamming it down.
A burst of green light engulfed him.
When it faded...
"WHAT!? I WAS GOING FOR FOUR ARMS! NOT RATH!"
Rath shouted at the top of his lungs as he stared at his clawed hands in disbelief.
Gwen blinked.
"Uh... what exactly is one big angry cat supposed to do against a runaway prison bus that's already halfway down the highway?"
"I'LL JUST JUMP TO IT! NO BIG DEAL!"
Rath immediately turned toward the nearest window.
"Ben, we can help too," Max said before glancing into the rearview mirror toward Evan.
Evan opened his eyes before casually dropping down from the rear bunk.
The moment his feet touched the floor...
Crunch.
He stepped directly onto Gold Ship's scattered LEGOs and immediately collapsed face-first onto the floor.
"Oi! Evan! What's wro-"
Seeing her brother suddenly fall without warning, Orfevre hurriedly jumped down from the bunk as well.
Crunch.
She landed on the exact same pile of LEGOs, and also dropped face-first beside her brother.
Max: "..."
Gwen: "..."
Gold Ship raised both fists into the air.
"Double kill!"
The little rascal looked unbelievably proud of herself, showing absolutely no guilt after accidentally taking out both of her older siblings with her LEGOs.
Meanwhile, Rath had already climbed through the roof and stood on top of the speeding Rust Bucket.
The powerful wind blasted against his body as he focused on the hijacked prison bus speeding ahead.
He crouched low before launching himself with all his strength.
The instant Rath left the roof, reality reminded him that momentum and distance actually mattered.
The prison bus kept moving forward while Rath continued flying toward where it had been moments ago.
His leap came up embarrassingly short.
The force of his takeoff even caused the Rust Bucket to sway violently, forcing Max to tighten his grip on the steering wheel as he fought to keep the RV from veering into another lane.
Everyone watched as Rath completely missed the prison bus.
A few seconds later... He landed face-first on the highway.
Everyone inside the Rust Bucket fell silent.
"Evan." Max calmly turned toward his other grandson.
Evan slowly pushed himself up from the floor, with Orfevre doing the same beside him.
The siblings carefully stepped away from the deadly LEGO minefield.
Gold Ship casually hopped onto Evan's shoulders so she wouldn't have to step on her own LEGOs.
Without saying anything, Evan picked her up and set her down on a clear spot.
"I got it."
He walked over to the open window and activated the Another Omnitrix.
After scrolling to the alien he wanted, he pressed the dial down.
Golden light burst from the watch.
When it faded, Spiderthing stood in his place.
He immediately crawled through the open window before climbing onto the roof of the Rust Bucket.
His long silk scarf fluttered wildly in the wind as his golden eyes locked onto the hijacked prison bus.
Without hesitation, he fired two thick strands of webbing at the back of the bus. The webs stretched tight. Spiderthing pulled hard before leaping forward, using the tension like a slingshot to launch himself through the air.
"Next stop, freedom!" the driver shouted.
A split second later, the back doors exploded inward as Spiderthing landed inside the bus.
"Playtime's over, guys." He slowly stood up, his glowing, eerie golden eyes sweeping across every inmate inside. "It's time to go home."
"What the hell!? What kind of freak is that!?" one prisoner shouted.
Spiderthing didn't waste a second; he fired web after web into the crowd. The sticky strands slammed prisoners into the walls, floor, and seats, pinning them in place before they even had a chance to react.
He calmly walked toward the front of the bus, webbing up anyone who dared get in his way.
One prisoner suddenly swung a hooked chain at him. Spiderthing simply raised his left arm, letting the chain wrap tightly around his wrist.
The prisoner grinned and tried to yank it back.
Instead, Spiderthing pulled.
The man was ripped off his feet and dragged straight toward him. Spiderthing grabbed him by the collar before slamming him into the side of the bus hard enough to knock every bit of air from his lungs, leaving a person-shaped dent in the metal wall.
He casually wrapped the dazed prisoner in webbing before looking toward everyone else.
"So..." Spiderthing tilted his head slightly. "Are you all going to sit nicely now, or do I have to use a little more force?"
His voice was calm, but his monstrous appearance made every word sound unsettling.
The remaining inmates exchanged nervous glances.
Part of them still wanted to fight.
Spiderthing casually rested one clawed hand on the metal frame of a nearby seat. Then, without any effort at all, he slowly clenched his hand. He crushed the thick steel in his grip before tearing it clean off as though it were made of cardboard.
The entire bus fell silent. Every inmate immediately raised their hands. Not a single one wanted to find out whether this monster actually ate people.
The prison bus gradually slowed before finally coming to a stop on the highway.
The Rust Bucket pulled over a short distance behind it.
Max smiled as Spiderthing stepped out of the bus. Every inmate inside had been neatly wrapped up in layers of webbing, not daring to resist.
In the distance, several police helicopters were already approaching.
Seeing them, Spiderthing immediately leaped off the bridge. Golden light flashed around him before he disappeared, vanishing into the river below.
Max turned the Rust Bucket around and drove back the way they had come.
It didn't take long before they found Ben.
The exhausted boy was sprinting down the highway after completely misjudging both the distance and trajectory of his jump. Instead of landing on the prison bus, he had slammed face-first onto the road and been left behind by both the Rust Bucket and the hijacked bus.
Now he was desperately trying to catch up on foot even after turning back into human form.
...
Because State Highway 818 stretched across such a long bridge, and because there were already a number of police helicopters and cars in the area, Fasttrack simply ran across the surface of the water below toward the other end of the bridge, which had been their original destination in the first place.
He did not seem too worried about it either. After all, Max had an Omnitrix tracker on the Rust Bucket, so finding him again would not be a problem.
When he finally reached the other side and waited for the others to catch up, Evan was already walking calmly toward a nearby gas station.
That was when two bright headlights suddenly flashed straight toward him and the nearby blue motorcycle.
"Huh? Are they blind or something? This is still the middle of the day," he muttered, seeing that two black cars were pointing toward him.
"Scrap."
A female voice suddenly rang out from behind him, causing Evan to turn back toward the empty blue motorcycle.
The two black cars charged forward, their tires spinning as they quickly closed in.
Then, in the next moment, the blue motorcycle suddenly came to life, its wheels spinning as it drove straight past the two black cars.
Seeing them rush toward him, Evan immediately dashed forward and leaped over both cars in one clean motion.
Landing back on his feet, he turned around just in time to see the two cars drift sharply, their headlights shifting back toward him.
"Hop on!" the same female voice called out again.
Evan looked over and saw that the blue motorcycle had returned, though there was still no driver in sight.
"Fascinating," he murmured before quickly hopping on with a leap. His legs could not even reach the ground.
The motorcycle took off on its own, with the two black cars giving chase right behind them.
"So, who are those guys chasing after you?" Evan asked casually, tilting his head back to glance at the cars behind them.
The sides of the black cars opened, revealing high-tech laser cannons that immediately fired toward them.
The blue motorcycle reacted at once, swerving smoothly to avoid the blasts.
"Those aren't guys, kid," the motorcycle replied, then paused as she realized something was strange about the boy sitting on her. "Wait, why are you so calm?"
"Oh, nothing," Evan said in the same casual tone, leaning forward until his elbow rested on the motorcycle's gas tank. "Can you tell me why they are chasing after you?"
"That's none of your concern, kid. Are you even alright in the head?" the motorcycle shot back before quickly shifting to avoid another blast.
"Now that's just rude," Evan replied, even though the motorcycle did have a point.
What kind of ten-year-old could stay this calm while being chased by two black cars armed with alien space guns, all while sitting on an unknown self-driving motorcycle?
Before their conversation could continue, the two black cars moved in from both sides, clearly intending to force the motorcycle into a crash.
Evan activated his Another Omnitrix and quickly searched for the alien he wanted before pressing the dial down.
Golden light exploded outward.
And before the three vehicles could even react to where the light had come from, the boy sitting on the motorcycle was gone.
In his place stood a humanoid grasshopper with metallic shells, his long crimson scarf whipping wildly in the wind.
Green Gale grabbed both handles, and with a sharp thud, he pulled up on the motorcycle, lifting the front wheel, then performed a hop before landing it back down in a smooth motion.
The sudden change in control caused the two black cars to slam into each other.
"Hey! What is going on!? What happened to that kid?" the motorcycle shouted, clearly confused by what she had just seen.
How had a ten-year-old boy suddenly turned into an 180-centimeter-tall humanoid grasshopper?
"Ask later, unless you want your boyfriends to catch up," Green Gale replied as he took full control of the motorcycle and drifted sharply, the tires skidding across the road before he sped forward again.
"They aren't my boyfriends!" the motorcycle shouted back, sounding a little offended. "They are Decepticons. They came to Earth to harvest energy sources known as Energon."
"That doesn't sound like something Earth humans would normally know about," Green Gale said before driving off the road, with the two black cars still following close behind.
"That is because humans never knew how to harness Energon in the first place. Not knowing about it is normal," the motorcycle replied as Green Gale made a sharp ninety-degree turn, trying to shake them off.
"Still, what kind of race are you?" the motorcycle asked, sounding genuinely curious about the humanoid grasshopper riding her.
"I'm one of everybody," Green Gale replied, his gaze shifting to the side mirrors as he noticed the two black cars closing in again.
"Look, the Decepticons want total universal domination. While we Autobots want to protect freedom and maintain universal peace," the motorcycle said as Green Gale shifted again to avoid another attempt to slam into them.
"Do you know about the Plumbers?"
"You mean the Plumbers?" the motorcycle asked, sounding a little surprised. "The ones who deal with anything too dangerous or too strange for normal law enforcement? Are you one?"
"Nah. My grandfather is one of them," Green Gale replied, his crimson eyes flicking toward the two cars trying to crash into them.
He clenched his fist, gathering the wind power he had absorbed during the chase into his left arm. Then, with one punch, he sent one of the black cars flying aside, smashing it into the guardrail and throwing it off the road.
Green Gale turned the handle, made a quick turn, and planted one foot on the ground before facing the last black car head-on.
"You don't mind if I take them out now, do you?" he asked, shaking out his wrist as his crimson scarf billowed behind him.
"Not at all," the motorcycle replied.
The Autobots and Decepticons were already locked in a war with each other. Showing mercy to the enemy was no different from pointing a blade at your own allies.
The remaining black car quickly tried to flee.
Green Gale immediately sped forward after it.
The car shot off-road, then transformed into a humanoid robot mid-air. It turned around and aimed its laser blaster at Green Gale and the blue motorcycle before firing several blasts toward them.
The motorcycle shifted at once, transforming into a female humanoid robot to avoid the attack, while Green Gale leaped from the seat.
He twisted his body into position and performed the signature rider kick.
Violent green wind gathered around his leg as he slammed it straight into the robot's chest, crashing it violently to the ground and dragging it across the road before finally bringing it to a stop.
"Let me show you," Green Gale said as he leaned down toward the robot pinned beneath his foot. "Why humans are the apex predators of Earth."
He pulled his fist back, then drove it straight into the robot's chest, tearing out its core in one brutal motion. In an instant, the Decepticon collapsed into a lifeless heap of scrap metal on the ground.
Green Gale brought the torn-out core to his Omnitrix dial, letting it absorb the piece before absorbing the Decepticon's body as well.
[Data Upgrade Detected. Transformation Cogs is now available.]
"Huh. I thought the Plumbers were supposed to imprison galactic criminals?" the female robot asked, looking down at Green Gale.
"I'm not a Plumber. My grandfather and dad are," Green Gale said as he tapped his Omnitrix dial and returned to human form.
"I'm only doing whatever it takes to protect my family," Evan said calmly. "I'm not really the heroic type."
Hearing that, the female robot smiled faintly and placed one hand on her hip.
"Not bad. Although I would prefer you to be a bit more heroic than gray. The name's Arcee."
"Ever Gold," Evan replied.
"Gold, huh?" Arcee murmured. "So you're related to the Golden Journey."
Evan did not know who the Golden Journey was, but he could already guess that it had something to do with his father. After all, Max was called the Greatest Plumber in the Milky Way Galaxy, so the Golden Journey could only be Stay Gold.
Before they could continue talking, the sound of a revving engine caught their attention.
Both of them looked over and saw the remaining damaged Decepticons trying to escape.
"I've gotta go. See you later, Ever Gold," Arcee said before quickly transforming back into motorcycle form and chasing after them.
Evan stood there for a moment before a familiar beeping sound drew his attention.
Turning around, he saw the Rust Bucket slowing to a stop in front of him.
AN: Sorry for the late upload; finally out of the hospital