Chapter 26: The Misguided Plumber
The heavy, worn tires of the Rustbucket crunched against the pristine paved driveway of a sprawling, luxurious hotel, looking entirely out of place as it parked right behind Phil's sleek sedan.
The doors swung open. Klein stepped out into the warm evening air, stretching his shoulders, followed closely by Gwen, Ben, and a very quiet Grandpa Max. They trailed behind Phil as he confidently strode through the gilded glass doors of the lobby.
Once inside the opulent suite, Max crossed his arms. His jaw was set tight, his eyes scanning the extravagant furnishings with clear displeasure. "A presidential suite? You must be doing incredibly well for yourself." He kept his voice level, but the gears in his head were already turning. He had vaguely pieced together the suspicious timing of Phil's arrival and the sudden appearance of those alien monsters.
"Oh, this?" Phil waved a hand dismissively, flashing a wide, practiced smile. "This is just a drop in the bucket, Mark. A little token of appreciation arranged by the owner of the meat processing plant for saving his business. As long as you agree to cooperate with me, you'll have all of this and more, instantly!" Phil stretched his arms out wide, gesturing to the lavish room as if offering Max the world.
Max did not answer. He simply stared at his old partner, his mind turning over the ugly truth.
"What's wrong, Mark?" Phil dropped his arms, his smile faltering as he looked at Max in confusion.
"Nothing." Max took a slow step backward toward the door. "I was just wondering what the exact mathematical chances are of a Vulpimancer and the Null Void Projector appearing on the exact same day." He shot Phil a heavy, loaded glare, leaving the implication hanging in the air before turning on his heel and walking out of the suite.
Phil's eye twitched. He quickly plastered his smile back on and turned to the kids. "Order whatever you want to eat, kids. It's on me," he said hastily, rushing out the door to chase after Max.
"Thanks!" Ben mumbled around a massive mouthful of complimentary room-service pastries, chewing frantically as he grabbed another handful from the silver platter.
Klein stood by the window, his face darkening as he watched the two older men disappear down the hallway. The lazy indifference usually resting in his eyes vanished, replaced by a sharp, calculating gleam.
He turned his head. "Gwen, let's go. We need to follow them." He reached over and smacked the back of Ben's head. "Dweeb, stop eating! Grandpa is in danger!"
Hearing the sheer seriousness in his cousin's voice, Ben's eyes widened. He swallowed the dry mass of pastries in one painful gulp, coughing slightly as he scrambled to his feet to catch up with Klein and Gwen.
They rushed down to the parking lot, only to find empty asphalt.
"The Rustbucket isn't here," Klein noted, his eyes narrowing at the empty parking space.
"Phil's car is gone too," Gwen said, quickly scanning the VIP parking section.
"Where could they have gone?" Ben shifted his weight from foot to foot, a cold knot of anxiety forming in his stomach. Something was very, very wrong.
Klein did not waste breath answering. He simply raised his left wrist and slapped his hand down onto the face of the Another Omnitrix.
A brilliant, faint blue light erupted in the dim parking lot, washing over the concrete. The light receded to reveal Fasttrack, his sleek blue and black fur bristling with static energy.
Without missing a beat, Fasttrack scooped Gwen up into his arms. He turned his masked face toward Ben. "Ben! Follow my lead!"
A sonic boom cracked through the parking lot as the blue speedster vanished into the night.
...
High up on a winding, desolate mountain road, the Rustbucket sat parked near the edge of a steep cliff. Phil's sedan idled just a few yards behind it.
Max stepped out of the RV, the cool mountain wind pulling at his Hawaiian shirt. He stared down Phil, who had just emerged from his own vehicle.
"Phil," Max began, his voice heavy with years of shared history and deep disappointment. "You took the Null Void Projector, didn't you?" He wanted to give his old friend one last chance to turn back, to drop the act before he went completely past the point of no return.
Phil's practiced smile finally shattered. His expression twisted into something ugly and defensive. "Mark, what exactly are you implying?"
"I'm not implying anything." Max took a step forward, refusing to beat around the bush. "You released the Vulpimancer. You used the Null Void Projector to stage these attacks, didn't you?"
The silence stretched between them, broken only by the howling wind.
Phil's face darkened, the last traces of camaraderie vanishing from his eyes. "Mark, you..." He let out a bitter scoff. "I originally wanted to bring you in on this. We could have ruled this business together. But now, it seems I have no choice but to eliminate you. Don't worry, though. I'll be sure to tell Ben your tragic last wishes. I'll tell him how much you wanted him to inherit your legacy, and then he and that watch will team up with me."
Phil reached into his coat and pulled out the heavy, metallic bulk of the Null Void Projector. He aimed it at the empty space right beside Max and pulled the trigger.
A blinding golden portal tore open the fabric of reality. A guttural, terrifying roar echoed from the void before a massive, feral Vulpimancer launched itself out of the rift, its drooling jaws snapping wildly.
"Phil, you..." Max stared in absolute disbelief at the man who had once fought back-to-back with him in the trenches of the galaxy. He barely had time to process the betrayal before he was forced to dive out of the way, the Vulpimancer's claws scraping the asphalt where he had just been standing.
Max rolled to his feet, but age and gravity were cruel masters. His stamina drained rapidly as he ducked another vicious swipe. His chest heaved. The Vulpimancer coiled its muscular legs, ready to pounce and swallow the old Plumber whole.
Suddenly, the wind shrieked.
Two distinct afterimages—one glowing with faint blue energy, the other trailing green—tore up the mountain road. The green blur intercepted the Vulpimancer's trajectory, snatching Max out of the beast's path a fraction of a second before its jaws clamped shut.
Ben, in his own Fasttrack form, skidded to a halt, gently setting his grandfather down by the guardrail. He turned his feline, masked face toward Phil, who was still standing by the portal. "I will never partner with a backstabbing creep like you!"
Phil blinked, genuinely stunned for a moment. Then, his face contorted into a mask of pure rage. He raised the Null Void Projector high. "Is that so? Then you can all just die together!"
He held the trigger down. The golden portal expanded, tearing wider into the night sky. The horrific sounds of snarling and scratching echoed from the depths before more than a dozen Vulpimancers poured out of the rift, a tidal wave of orange fur, razor-sharp teeth, and blind aggression.
Klein's Fasttrack skidded to a halt beside them, dropping Gwen safely to the ground. He took one look at the incoming horde and shouted, "Ben! Keep Grandpa safe!"
Without waiting for a response, Klein reached up and slapped the Another Omnitrix badge resting on his chest.
A flash of faint blue light blinded the encroaching beasts. Where the lean speedster had stood, a massive, four-armed Tetramand now towered over the road.
Four Arms cracked his knuckles, the sound like boulders grinding together. He stepped directly into the path of the first leaping Vulpimancer and threw a devastating right hook. The massive fist connected with a sickening crunch, sending the heavy alien beast flying backward through the air like a discarded ragdoll.
Beside him, Gwen closed her eyes. Her skin shifted, glowing with a brilliant, ethereal pink light as she transformed into her Anodite form. Pure, crackling Mana whipped around her hair and fingertips, blending smoothly with the magical incantations she had been studying.
She thrust her hands forward. A barrage of pink energy blasts and jagged lightning bolts tore through the pack of Vulpimancers. Several of the beasts were thrown off their feet, their pained, echoing cries ringing out across the mountain.
Gwen raised her hand high, summoning a concentrated bolt of magical lightning that struck a charging Vulpimancer dead in the chest. The beast was blasted backward, its orange fur charred completely black. Yet, the thick-skinned monster shook its head, growling low as it forced itself back up onto its four paws.
Gwen did not complain. In fact, a small, thrilled smirk touched her glowing lips. She had always wanted to fight a real battle alongside her older cousin like this. Usually, Ben was the one rushing in to play the loud hero, or Klein simply stepped in and obliterated the threat with such overwhelming force that she did not even need to lift a finger. This was different. This was a real, grounded fight.
Four Arms waded into the pack, his four massive fists moving in a brutal, rhythmic blur. He punched another Vulpimancer out of the air, sending it crashing into the cliffside. He quickly realized that these blind dogs were incredibly durable. Their thick hides absorbed kinetic impact remarkably well.
Which, to Klein's pragmatic mind, just meant they made fantastic punching bags.
Ben paced nervously near the guardrail, his Fasttrack form vibrating with pent-up kinetic energy. He wanted to jump into the fray, but he knew his current form lacked the raw, heavy attack power needed to break through the Vulpimancers' thick defenses. Keeping Grandpa Max safe from any stragglers was the priority.
The battle raged for several minutes until Gwen managed to weave a thick net of pure Mana, binding the final struggling Vulpimancer to the asphalt. Four Arms casually stepped up to the trapped beast, raised two of his fists, and brought them down like sledgehammers, knocking the creature out cold.
A loud horn blared through the night.
The Rustbucket pulled up right next to them, the passenger window rolling down to reveal Max's urgent face. "Get in! We're going after Phil! We have to get that Null Void Projector back!"
Four Arms tapped his chest badge, reverting back to Klein in a flash of blue light. He and Gwen scrambled into the RV, the heavy doors slamming shut as Max slammed his foot on the gas.
...
Further down the winding, treacherous mountain pass, Phil was gripping the steering wheel of his sedan, his knuckles white.
He glanced at the empty road behind him, a sinister, breathless laugh escaping his lips. "They must have been torn to shreds by now. Eaten alive. Hehe! Who told them to get in my way..."
A blinding pair of headlights suddenly flooded his rearview mirror.
Phil's eyes bulged. He stared at the mirror, watching the massive, boxy frame of the Rustbucket barreling down the mountain road right on his tail. "How is this possible?!"
Panic set in. "You're truly stubborn, Mark!" Phil reached over to the passenger seat, his fingers wrapping around the cold handle of the Null Void Projector. He rolled down his window, leaned his upper body out into the rushing wind, and fired a wild shot toward the side of the Rustbucket.
The golden portal tore open mid-air. Another Vulpimancer tumbled out, roaring as it tried to latch onto the RV.
But before it could make contact, a hatch on the Rustbucket's roof slammed open. Stinkfly shot out into the night sky, his four insectoid wings buzzing furiously. Ben tackled the Vulpimancer mid-air, the two of them becoming a chaotic, tumbling ball of limbs and slime above the road.
Phil watched the aerial struggle through his side window, his teeth grinding together. "An Omnitrix? It really is a magnificent weapon. But let's see how it handles this!"
Phil aimed the Projector directly above the Rustbucket's roof and pulled the trigger.
The golden rift expanded once more. This time, it was not a Vulpimancer that emerged. Several bizarre, unknown alien monsters dropped from the void. One was a hulking, green-skinned monstrosity with no eyes and a gaping maw. The other was a terrifying, blue-skinned creature with four jagged, spider-like legs and four glowing eyes that eerily resembled Stinkfly's.
"Hahahaha!" Phil threw his head back and laughed triumphantly as the heavy monsters slammed onto the roof of the Rustbucket, their claws digging into the metal. Mark and those meddling kids were finally doomed.
But the laughter died in his throat.
Through the rearview mirror, Phil witnessed something that made his blood run cold. A ghostly, moth-like figure draped in a dark, tattered cloak phased effortlessly up through the solid metal roof of the Rustbucket.
Big Chill hovered in the air above the speeding RV. He unfolded his massive wings, his glowing blue eyes locking onto the alien monsters. He opened his mouth and exhaled a blinding, roaring stream of absolute zero vapor.
The freezing mist washed over the green and blue monsters. In a fraction of a second, the creatures were frozen completely solid, transformed into lifelike, terrifying ice sculptures. The sheer momentum of the speeding RV sent the heavy ice blocks sliding off the roof. They plummeted onto the asphalt behind the Rustbucket, shattering into thousands of harmless, frozen pieces.
"How is this possible?!" Phil screamed, his mind struggling to comprehend the sheer impossibility of what he was seeing. Then, the memory of the quiet, exquisite-looking boy in the hotel flashed in his mind. "It's him... his watch is an Omnitrix too?! How can there be two of them?!"
Big Chill did not give Phil a single second to recover from his shock.
The spectral alien glided through the air, easily catching up to the speeding sedan. Big Chill hovered directly over the hood of Phil's car and unleashed another devastating wave of icy breath.
The cold air slammed into the vehicle. Frost instantly spider-webbed across the windshield. The engine sputtered, choked, and died as the internal mechanics froze solid. The tires locked up, encased in thick ice, forcing the sedan to skid violently before grinding to a complete halt on the mountain road.
Phil yanked the steering wheel, bracing for impact, but the frozen internal systems meant the airbags completely failed to deploy. His head slammed against the steering wheel.
Despite his age, Phil was a former Plumber. His physical conditioning and pain tolerance were far beyond that of an ordinary man. He groaned, holding his bleeding forehead, and violently shook his head to clear the dizziness.
He grabbed the door handle and shoved, but the metal was frozen completely shut. Gritting his teeth, Phil leaned back and delivered three brutal, consecutive kicks to the door. The extreme cold had made the metal brittle, and on the third kick, the door hinges snapped, sending the door clattering onto the icy road.
The Rustbucket screeched to a halt just a few yards away. Max and Gwen stepped out into the cold night air.
Phil crawled out of his ruined car. His chest heaved. Blood trickled down his face. Without a word of surrender, he raised the Null Void Projector, aiming the barrel directly at Max's chest.
"Phil, give it up!" Max stood his ground, not a trace of panic in his voice, though his brow was furrowed in deep sorrow. "You're completely out of options."
Hearing the calm authority in Max's voice made something inside Phil snap. His anger flared into pure, unadulterated madness. "If it weren't for you, I would still be fine! I would be making my money! And you! Even if you refused to cooperate, Mark, why did you have to come and ruin everything?!"
Phil's finger tightened on the trigger.
Before he could fire, Gwen's eyes flared with brilliant pink light. A whip of pure Mana lashed out from her hand, wrapping tightly around the Null Void Projector. With a sharp flick of her wrist, she ripped the heavy weapon right out of Phil's grasp, sending it clattering safely across the asphalt.
"No!" Phil screamed, his mind completely breaking. Unable to accept his total defeat, he let out a feral roar and charged blindly toward Max and Gwen, his fists raised.
Max did not even flinch. As Phil closed the distance, Max stepped smoothly inside his guard. He delivered two rapid, bone-rattling punches to Phil's ribs, knocking the wind entirely out of his old partner. Before Phil could even register the pain, Max grabbed his collar, pivoted his hips, and launched Phil through the air with a flawless, devastating over-the-shoulder throw.
Phil crashed hard against the asphalt, rolling until his back slammed against the metal guardrail at the edge of the cliff. He groaned, struggling to push himself up on his trembling arms.
High above them, the buzzing of insect wings grew frantic.
Stinkfly was still locked in a chaotic aerial grapple with a bizarre, mutated Vulpimancer variant that had sprouted leathery wings. Stinkfly spat a massive glob of thick, green slime, completely plastering the beast's wings together.
Unable to fly, the winged Vulpimancer shrieked, its trajectory spiraling wildly out of control. It plummeted from the sky like a furry meteor, crashing directly into Phil's chest.
The sheer kinetic force of the heavy beast slamming into the man was too much for the old metal barrier. The guardrail groaned, buckled, and snapped entirely.
"Nooooo!" Phil's terrified scream echoed into the pitch-black night, fading rapidly as he and the tangled beast vanished down the steep, dark ravine.
A moment later, Stinkfly fluttered down, hovering awkwardly over the broken guardrail. He looked down into the darkness, then glanced back at Max, his stalk-eyes blinking nervously. "Uh... did I mess up?"
Max walked slowly to the edge of the cliff. He stared down into the black abyss for a long, silent moment. The wind howled around them, carrying the chill of the night.
Max shook his head, his shoulders slumping slightly as he let out a heavy, tired sigh. "No, Ben. He brought this upon himself."
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