[A/N This chapter has been slightly altered from the original]
Max POV
We finally arrived at the building that was attacked. While there, I heard that someone was already inside trying to catch the little invader.
It took a while to finally get inside, but when we did, we saw Ben was back to normal running after a small alien. Something I caught when I was young is a hyper weasel.
I grabbed the closest box I could find and caught the little bugger. Ben, meanwhile, just reached us out of breath and looked sore all over.
"Ben, are you alright?" I asked worriedly.
"I'm fine. There was just this crazy guy that shot me with a blaster," Ben informed us.
I take a look and see someone I haven't seen since my PLUMBER days. Phil Billings, my old partner who helped me fight off Vilgax the first time he ever showed up to earth just to steal nukes.
"Phil? Is that you?" I asked, unsure if my eyes were playing tricks on me.
"Max," Phil said, looking genuinely happy to see me. "Is that really you? You look great."
Ben, though happy for my reunion, seemed somewhat uncomfortable with Phil around. So we went out of the building and carried the alien to get rid of it.
"Well, I guess I should get this little guy out of here," Phil said as he put the boxed hyper weasel in the trunk of his car. Turning to my grandkids, he offered a chance to work as PLUMBERS with him. "Huh, cool watch. Looks familiar."
"Uh, yeah," Ben looked unsure as he answered. I was ready to step in when, "And look at the time. We gotta go."
As we entered the Rust Bucket, Gwen seemed weirded out by how Ben acted to get us away from Phil.
"Okay, what was that," she asked. "I thought you wanted to join that guy. Why didn't you tell him that was the Omnitrix."
This time, I spoke, "Gwen, it's actually a good thing he didn't. The fewer people know, the better. Although Phil was a good partner, he was dangerous."
"That's not all," Ben said as he started to fiddle with the Omnitrix. "He felt wrong. And I don't mean like he's sick or has dark thoughts haunting him."
"Then what do you mean, lame brain?"
"It was like he wanted more. Like he was covered in the sin of greed and still wanted to have more for himself."
STATIC HISS
The radio stopped our talk as we heard Phil calling for help. It sounded urgent, but after what Ben said, I wasn't sure how real his distress signal was.
Arriving at the location he told us about, I and the kids decided to keep our eyes peeled and guards up. I wasn't sure what it could have been what Phil was fighting, but the fact he needed help doesn't paint a good picture.
Turning a corner, I found the barrel of a cannon pointed at my face. "Max! Thank God you're here," Phil said as he put the gun down.
"We came as soon as we got your signal," I informed him. "What's the emergency?"
CRASH
Turning around again, I saw large quadruped aliens. Just like Ben's transformation of Wildmutt, only differences were that they were larger and had tails.
"Are those Wildmutt?" asked Ben, surprised by their sudden appearance.
"Vulpimancers," Phil said as he prepared his cannon again. "They aren't friendly either."
"I'll try to talk to them," Ben said as he backed away from the group and turned into Wildmutt.
"The 'Omnitrix'. I thought that watch looked familiar," Phil said as he watched.
Roar Growl
SNARL ROAR
Ben had to back away from the wild aliens after their short conversation.
"Wild vulpimancer are very territorial and aren't quite kind to younger ones," I said as Ben got closer to us.
With all that, we had to fight off these things as best as we could. 'I really should have grabbed some of my gear.'
Some time later, Gwen managed to knock one out with a forklift while Ben helped us knock the last one out by pushing it under some cargo that Phil and I brought down on it.
"I can't thank you enough for the help again, Max," Phil said as he chained the vulpimancers to a cargo extension he had for his car. "Why don't I invite you over for dinner. For old times' sake, at least."
I was tempted to refuse with all the red flags I've been seeing, and Ben was against going to his house, too. But I needed more information.
~~~Line break~~~
Ben POV
Grandpa took us to Phil's home, and all I can say is 'he is hiding something'. To live in an expensive hotel while working as the alien version of the 'Ghostbusters' is suspicious.
"Grandpa, something isn't right," I try to tell him, making sure there is some space between us and Phil. "What he's working on shouldn't be able to pay for all this. Maybe a small warehouse, but not a mansion."
Grandpa just nods and walks around, possibly to look for anything he could. Meanwhile, Phil was trying to get close to me to convince me to work with him.
"Come on, kid. With the Omnitrix, you could be world famous, get whatever you want. You can even be paid for doing favors for politicians," With every word, Phil takes a step closer.
"Hm," I just responded as I took steps to keep a distance from him and to walk circles around him. He is persistent but doesn't seem to realize the circles I'm making him walk on.
"Trust me, kid. You could be rich enough to buy whatever you want," he said, still trying to convince me.
"I don't do what I do for fame or money," I decided to answer. As I spoke, I remember the famous line written by the great Stan Lee and then taken as the best lesson given by a great uncle 'with great power comes great responsibility'. "I do what I do because it's the right thing to do. My mom raised me to always help people around me, and my dad made sure I'm smart enough to do that. Grandpa Max helped by giving me the morality to always do what's right."
I made sure to face him, causing him to stop, and stared straight into his eyes. I wanted to make it clear what I wanted to say.
"If I was given the trolley problem, I would always say I would save everyone. Not because I'm a dreamer or I'm idealistic, but because there is always a way to save everyone."
I could tell he didn't like that. With the glare he was giving me and the feelings of malice he was emitting, I knew for certain he was planning something.
"What if you can't do it?" he asked pointedly. "What if you can't save everyone? What if you fail?"
"Then at least I know I tried. There is also the fact that I won't stop fighting to make sure I protect everyone."
Having said that, I lifted my arm, showing the Omnitrix to his face. "This power is to protect the world from all evil, not to cause more pain and suffering."
Having said my piece, I walked away trying to find something like Grandpa was doing. Phil just watched on as I walked around his room. But from the corner of my eye, I could see the proud look that Grandpa had for what I said.
"I need to go out for a walk," Grandpa Max said as he went to the door.
I think he figured out something, so I pulled Gwen to the side and got us something to eat. She was hesitant at first, thinking we should be with Grandpa or try to find more clues to see if Phil really is bad news.
We then heard the door and noticed Phil was also gone. When we went outside the hotel, we saw that both Phil's car and the Rust Bucket were gone.
Turning the dial, I transformed into XLR8 and took Gwen with me to the only place I could think of, Mount Rushmore. Making our way to the base, I left Gwen by the cars and told her to try and stop Phil if he managed to get out.
~~~Line break~~~
Gwen POV
It only took a few minutes for Phil to get to his car and start driving away from the base. Little did he know I was with him, waiting for a chance to stop him.
As he drove away, I noticed the weird space gun he left on the passenger seat. As I was waiting for a second, I heard a bit of static in my ear.
HISS
"Gwen…"
HISS
"Can you -"
It was Ben's voice I was hearing. I gave it a moment, hoping I wasn't going crazy.
HISS
"Gwen, can you hear me?" Ben asked, but out of fear, I stayed quiet. "Listen, I know you want to freak out, but don't. I just placed an earbud that can receive and transmit much like a phone. I made it during the time I fixed up the RV."
I checked my ear and did, in fact, feel a small earbud in it.
"Now listen carefully. Grandpa and I need you to take the gun Phil has with him."
I was confused about that. I would have voiced my confusion, but Phil was practically next to me.
"I know it's confusing, but let me tell you, that's not a gun. It's a portable prison called the Null Void projector that grandpa used to imprison aliens, and now Phil is using it to free aliens so he can catch and make himself out to be some kind of hero."
With that, I went ahead and reached out for the projector. If it's as dangerous as Ben makes it out to be, then I got to get rid of it.
"I don't think so, little girl," Phil said as he gripped my wrist while I held onto the Null Void projector.
A small fight almost got us to crash into a truck that was in front of us. I then dropped the gun when Phil suddenly hit the brakes to prevent me from throwing it out of the car.
AUTOPILOT ENGAGED
He unbuckled his seat belt and went for the projector while I was fighting to keep it away from him. It was only a matter of time before Murphy's law finally showed up with the projector shooting out a beam and releasing a strange worm like alien with wings and many long tails.
"Good idea," Phil said in a condescending tone. "We could use a distraction."
Our struggle continued until Ben came in his Gray Matter form riding on the alien we released. He crashed it into the front window and got us to crash to the edge of a bridge.
"Come on, kid. It didn't have to be this way," Phil said as he was hanging off the edge with Ben in front of him. "We could have made one heck of a team."
"No way," Ben said as he stared down Phil.
"Just like I said, I'm not in this for money,"
I took a look around and saw the rear view mirror that came off in the crash right next to me.
"Well then, I guess you'll be very busy," Phil said as he aimed the Null Void projector at him.
I threw the mirror at Ben, and he used it to redirect the beam back to Phil. "Sorry, but I'm on summer vacation."
And with that, Phil was gone. Just in time, too, Grandpa Max finally caught up to us, ready to help and to get every single alien back to the Null Void.
~~~Line break~~~
Max POV
With the last alien that Phil released sent back to the Null Void, I took the kids back to the RV. It's honestly been a long day, and I can't wait to get in that new bed Ben made.
"Hey, listen," I started unsure of what to say. I'm sorry for not trusting you two enough with all this."
"It's okay, Grandpa, we get it," Gwen said as she entered the Rust Bucket.
"For the record, you would have made great PLUMBERS. Both of you," I decided to tell them honestly.
"Really?" Ben asked, looking rather starry-eyed. "Cause I would actually like to do more training if that's alright. I mean, if I'm this good, just imagine how good I'll be with more training."
'Am I glad that this didn't change Ben too much,' I thought as I playfully messed with his hair. He doesn't like it but seems to let it slide. 'This might be the best summer of my life.'