"Got him," Ben said confidently after scanning the scene. Down below, the S.A.C.T. members had gathered, weapons pointed at him.
"This way," Ben said through the comms, releasing a small ball that fell to the ground. "See ya," he waved to the bewildered officers below as he flew away. The ball released a small cloud of gas, allowing Ben to escape undetected.
"Damn! We lost it," one of the S.A.C.T. guys cursed, frustration evident in his voice.
Steel, on the other hand, noticed the rust bucket. He couldn't shake his suspicion. "Follow that RV," he commanded, eyes locked on the vehicle.
"It's me. I've done as you said, what now?" Kevin said, holding a phone.
"Lead them to a crowded area and cause some havoc. Once they take the bait, lead them to the special estate we talked about," a mysterious voice replied before the call ended.
"Soon, Tennyson. I'll get my revenge," Kevin muttered darkly. Transformed into Heatblast, he descended into the town square, unleashing fiery chaos. Buildings, cars, and structures burned as people screamed and fled in terror. Many were trapped, and injuries mounted quickly.
"That boy, how could he do something like this?" Max muttered, anger rising as he saw smoke billowing from the city square. Determined, he steered the rust bucket, pressing a button that activated its enhanced speed. The vehicle surged forward, designed for high-speed travel with a clear windshield for visibility. Even Ben, leading the way, struggled to keep up.
They soon arrived, and the scene was worse than imagined. "Oh no, the people," Gwen said, her heart aching for the victims.
"Ben, you handle the others. I'll take care of Kevin," Fred instructed through the comms. "I'll do you a favor once you arrive," he added cryptically.
As they exited the rust bucket, they saw S.A.C.T. vehicles closing in from the corner. "Those guys again," Gwen said, exasperated.
"Not good. I'll teleport us to a different location," Fred said. He swiftly teleported the rust bucket to the opposite side of the square, replacing it with an RV crafted from illusion magic to resemble the rust bucket. The S.A.C.T. team quickly surrounded the fake vehicle, demanding that its occupants come out with their hands up.
To their surprise, an old lady, a girl wearing glasses, and a young boy in a striped shirt emerged. "GranGran, did we do something wrong?" the boy asked fearfully.
"What in the..." Steel muttered, realizing their mistake. They quickly apologized and shifted their focus to saving the people and subduing the rampaging aliens.
At the town square, Ben arrived with the others. Kevin, seeing them, transformed into Ghostfreak and vanished. "What? He got away again?" Gwen exclaimed.
"Don't worry, he's just trying to draw us out," Fred reassured her, walking up to Ben and activating the Omnitrix. "Right now, we should focus on the town," he added.
"We still have to deal with those weird cop guys," Gwen pointed out.
"It'll be fine," Fred said, finally finishing his adjustments. He pressed the Omnitrix symbol on Ben's chest, transforming him into a slender alien in an all-white robe with intricate black engravings and a half halo made of wood with green marks. The alien exuded tranquility as it hovered a few meters off the ground.
"What can this one do?" Ben asked, curious.
"Stick out your arm at that building," Fred instructed. Ben, instinctively holding his arms behind his back, stretched out his left hand. It glowed green, and vines grew from the burning building.
"You can manipulate them as you will and use them to heal people," Fred explained before flying away.
As Ben got used to his abilities, he extinguished fires by using the vines as giant fans. "Hey, long neck, there are people stuck in that building," Gwen shouted, pointing to one of the upper floors.
"Okay, how about this," Ben muttered, flying up to the building. The engravings on his half halo glimmered green as he created a giant vine from the road to the upper floors. "Slide down the giant vine," he instructed the trapped people.
They hesitated but saw no other option. They slid down the vine, relieved to reach safety. Seeing this worked, Ben continued creating vines to rescue the trapped people. It took an hour to save everyone.
Gwen and Max gathered the injured, waiting for Ben to heal them. After minimizing the fires, Ben approached the injured. "Let's see," he said, raising his right hand. The engravings in his half halo lit golden yellow, releasing a golden dust that healed the people's injuries.
Afterwards, Ben fell to his knees, holding his head. "Woah there, you okay?" Max asked, concerned.
"I-I'm fine," Ben replied as the Omnitrix started beeping. He quickly flew out of sight and reverted to his normal form, hidden in the rust bucket.
"The roads are completely blocked. We're boxed in," some of the people said, trying to leave.
"That doesn't sound good," Gwen remarked, her worry evident.
"We better get out of here before those guys catch up," Gwen said, her voice tinged with urgency. The last time they had avoided the S.A.C.T. with Fred's help, but now he wasn't with them.
"Where do you think Fred went, Grandpa?" Gwen asked, concern evident in her eyes.
"Ben might help with that. Let's get back to the rust bucket," Max replied, guiding them swiftly.
Meanwhile, outside the city near a private estate, Kevin stood as XLR8, facing Fred. "I was hoping for Tennyson to take the bait, but whatevs," Kevin said, his tone dismissive.
Fred smirked, his eyes narrowing. "I thought it was odd, but now I'm beginning to see why your actions are more organized this time around," Fred remarked. "You boxed us in the town square, leaving one route leading out, knowing that the first ones to enter would be the S.A.C.T. guys. Which means you wanted to lead us somewhere."
"So what if you figured me out? You still came, and now I'll take care of you and use you as bait for luring Tennyson," Kevin retorted, a sinister grin spreading across his face.
Fred laughed, shaking his head. "You're a lot like Ben, aren't you? But even Ben is smarter than you in this aspect," Fred said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. What he meant was that they both had access to intelligent transformations, and for Kevin, that would have been his biggest weapon against Ben. Seeing that Ben beat him the last time, utilizing an intelligent alien to outsmart him would have actually worked. But Kevin, blinded by his own arrogance, didn't see it.
"Huh, are you out of your mind? Do you think you can handle me?" Kevin scoffed, transforming into Diamondhead.
"You think a Crystalsapien scares me? Let me show you scary," Fred said, his voice low and menacing.
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