"Let me go! Chhh. I won't let you get away with this!" Kevin ranted within the rust bucket as it soared through the clouds. He was restrained using energy cuffs from Alien Force that he couldn't absorb.
"We're here," Max announced as the rust bucket landed gently.
"Hey! Where are you taking me? What's going on?" Kevin demanded as they stepped out. His eyes widened, and his voice faltered. "Mom!"
"We spoke on the phone earlier. I'm Max, Max Tennyson," Max introduced himself calmly. "And these are my grandkids."
Kevin's mother rushed to him, tears streaming down her face. She tried to hug him, but he recoiled, avoiding her embrace. "Where have you been? I've missed you," she said, her voice trembling with emotion.
"Get away from me. If you loved me, you wouldn't have gotten with him," Kevin retorted coldly.
"Haaa. I apologize for the trouble my son has caused," Kevin's mother said, her voice filled with sorrow. She didn't want their discussion to continue in front of Max and the kids, so she gently took Kevin aside. "Ever since he lost his father, he just... changed," she explained, her eyes reflecting her pain.
"Here's the remote for the cuffs," Max said, handing it over. Fred stepped forward, handing her a business card. "And although I have no place in your matters, here."
"What's this?" she wondered aloud.
"There's a Nemuina that owns a counseling business near our solar system. He's very good. If you show him a plumber's badge, you'll get sorted out. In fact, they'll even fetch you if you explain things to him," Fred explained. "I know it's hard for plumber kids to cope with certain emotions, especially those from lower civilizations like Earth."
"I'd recommend you keep him like that until he gets to that counselor," Gwen added quietly, but her words were clear.
Kevin's mother took him and left, and the others returned to the rust bucket.
"So what was that about plumber kids?" Gwen asked as the rust bucket took off.
"Exactly as it sounds. There are some children that possess abilities or knowledge they got from their parents who are plumbers," Fred explained. "It can be tricky for some to deal with things because of their unique abilities, and some are treated as hostile aliens by their people. Of course, some just turn out bad."
"So there's more children like us," Gwen remarked, a thoughtful expression on her face.
"I just hope we don't run into those bad ones," Ben said, a hint of worry in his voice.
The rust bucket drove in silence for a while. Gwen was busy with her laptop, Ben was fidgeting with the Omnitrix in the front seat, and Fred was playing his games in the back.
"Ben, I don't think it's a good idea for you to mess with the watch while in the rust bucket," Max advised, glancing at his grandson.
"It's fine. I'm just trying to figure out how that master control works," Ben replied, his determination unwavering.
"By the way, I think it's time we assess your new aliens again, get you to learn how to use them more," Max suggested. "I think sparring with Fred will help you this time," he added.
The next morning arrived, and the air was crisp and filled with anticipation. Fred and Ben stood beside the road, the rust bucket parked nearby.
"How about you try out that one first," Fred suggested with a smile.
Ben grinned, flipping the dial of the Omnitrix. Today was a training day. Max wanted Ben to get better control over his aliens, especially now that he had more transformations.
"What's this alien they keep talking about anyway?" Gwen wondered aloud.
As Ben transformed, the green light faded to reveal a tall, tentacle-bearded alien in front of them.
"V-Vilgax!" Max exclaimed, his face pale with shock.
"Wait, Ben?" Gwen said, noticing the Omnitrix symbol on his chest. He looked exactly like Gax from the reboot. Fred had pulled some strings, using Alien X's abilities to get the Gax DNA transformation.
"Wait, is that true?" Max asked, regaining his composure.
"Aww man, I thought I had you good," Ben laughed, then smiled mischievously. "I wanted to keep Gax a secret to spook you when you weren't expecting it."
"That's a really bad joke," Max sighed, calming down. "Anyway, who would've known you could turn into Vilgax?"
"Well, let's start the session," Fred said, transforming into Four Arms. "Don't think I'll go easy on you," he warned as flames erupted from his body, morphing him into a fusion of Heatblast and Four Arms. "Come at me."
Ben obliged, charging towards Fred. Fred started by firing fireballs, but they did nothing to Ben. Ben ran through the fire and fired lasers from his eyes, but Fred created a whirlwind of fire, making the lasers miss. As the fire cleared, Fred was gone.
Ben looked around, trying to find him, but Fred had turned intangible and invisible. He reappeared behind Ben, then transformed back to Four Arms, delivering two powerful right swings that sent Ben flying.
"No fair!" Ben ranted, getting up from the ground. "That's cheating!"
"Fine then, the next alien I turn into will be the last one," Fred said with a smile, transforming into his half-ghost form. "I'll only use this one."
They sparred, with Fred guiding Ben through his transformations—Cannonbolt, Green Guard, and Hunter. The purpose was for Ben to familiarize himself with these new aliens. Two hours passed, and as they paused to catch their breath, a red beam shot down at them. When it dissipated, Ben and Fred were gone.
"Ben! Fred!" Max and Gwen exclaimed, searching frantically. Max quickly accessed the touch screen on the rust bucket's dashboard and checked the tracker for the Omnitrix.
"That doesn't look right," Max muttered, concerned. "The signal shows Ben is not on Earth."
"What's going on?" Gwen asked, her voice filled with worry.
"This shows that Ben and Fred are off-planet. We can't follow them with the rust bucket," Max explained, his mind racing.
"Can't we take a spaceship and follow after them or something?" Gwen asked, desperation creeping into her voice.
Max's face hardened with determination. "We'll find a way. We have to."
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