It was still daylight — a perfect time to sleep in.
Ethen rubbed his eyes, his expression complicated.
"Why did I dream about Vilgax again? I give up..."
Before he could take another nap, Ben suddenly rolled off the bed with a scream.
Oh, great. No sleep for me.
Ethen, Grandpa Max, and Gwen all looked over in concern.
Gwen, however, seemed more like she was watching a comedy.
"I–I dreamed of something weird!" Ben said, jumping up.
"It was Vilgax! The one Diamondhead mentioned! He said he was coming to kill me!"
Ethen blinked. "Actually... I dreamed about him too. And he looked like a weird guy with a flower-patterned face."
"Ah? Then there's no time to waste!" Ben shouted, eyes wide.
"We've gotta head to Mount Rushmore right now! The Plumbers' sub-base is there — we can grab weapons!"
Grandpa Max immediately sat up, fully awake.
"That's right. Let's move!"
"Grandpa, honestly," Gwen said with confidence, looking at Ethen. "Even the ruler of the Milky Way couldn't beat Ethen!"
"Well..." Max hesitated.
He knew Ethen was strong — unbelievably strong — but Vilgax… that name still sent a chill through him.
The memory of Vilgax's crushing aura lingered in his mind.
"Still," Max said firmly, "it never hurts to be prepared."
He slid into the driver's seat, and the rusted old RV rumbled to life.
Everyone else got up, washed, and quickly grabbed breakfast.
After eating, Ethen lifted his upgraded Omnitrix — a sleek, full-faced version — and began chatting with Gwen and Ben about the different watch models.
Time passed quickly as they talked, and the old Rustbucket rumbled along winding mountain roads toward Mount Rushmore.
Then, suddenly —
Through the dusty window, smoke was rising from the distant city skyline.
"Ethen... it looks like there's an attack!" Ben exclaimed, wide-eyed.
Gwen frowned. "That's too much of a coincidence. It has to be a trap — Vilgax wants us to show up!"
"Grandpa…"
Ethen's eyes narrowed. "We should go check it out. If it's Vilgax, I want to see for myself."
"But we're not prepared..."
Max gripped the steering wheel tighter, staring into the smoke.
"When you're a Plumber, there's no such thing as being fully prepared," Ethen said, his tone firm.
"If we waited until we were ready, countless lives would be lost."
For a moment, Max looked at him with pride. His eyes grew wet.
He's a true Plumber now.
"So be it," Max said with resolve. "Apprentice Plumber, and two non-staff recruits — gear up! We're saving those people!"
In the City
The streets were chaos.
Small combat drones swarmed the air, firing lasers that tore through cars and buildings.
Flames spread across the roads — a living hell.
An elderly woman stumbled through the smoke, clutching the hand of a terrified little boy. Behind them, a burning wall of fire closed in.
A laser beam ripped through the air, aiming right at them—
Whoosh!
A crimson blur flashed past. A gust of wind carried the two to safety down another street.
Standing tall, cloaked in a blood-red robe and holding a glowing staff, Gwen lowered her hood. "Hurry — get out of here!"
"Thank you, young lady!"
"You're a real hero!" the old woman cried as she and the boy ran off.
Hearing that, Gwen's heart warmed — just for a second.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The sound of engines — more drones flying straight toward her!
Gwen gripped her staff, eyes sharp.
"Hey, nerd! You just got called a hero — don't hog all the glory!"
A booming, fiery voice echoed overhead.
Heatblast soared through the sky on a blazing trail, flames billowing behind him.
He swooped down, hovering over the drones, his fiery tail wrapping around them like a whip.
"Flame..."
"BURST!!"
With a clenched fist, Heatblast ignited a chain reaction — BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Dozens of drones exploded in waves of fire.
"Not bad, dumbfire," Gwen said, smirking.
"I train with Ethen every day!" Heatblast said proudly, folding his arms.
Then a robotic voice echoed around them:
"Omnitrix signal detected... Omnitrix signal detected..."
Dozens more drones appeared from the alleys, surrounding the two!
They raised their cannons, locking on target.
"That's… a lot," Heatblast muttered.
Gwen lifted her pendant. "Don't worry. I've got my Lucky Charm. It'll protect us!"
But then—
"Omnitrix signal detected again!"
The drones suddenly turned their sensors toward the end of the street.
BOOM—BOOM!
A massive, reddish-brown sphere crashed into the ground, dust exploding around it.
The sphere unfolded, revealing a creature made of solid rock with glowing red energy in his chest and massive arms that looked like they could crush tanks.
"Gravattack!" Heatblast blurted out.
Ethen had arrived.
Ding!
Mission detected: "Vilgax's Mechanical Army Attack."
Objective: Destroy more than twenty enemy drones.
Reward: 10 Points.
The Gravattack smirked, "Here to give me free points again?"
The drones' cannons charged up — but before they could fire—
The Gravattack raised his claws, deep purple energy swirling between them.
Gravity pulsed outward like ripples in a pond.
"Gravity Field!"
In an instant, the entire street bent under crushing force.
The drones twisted midair, slamming into the ground like tin cans!
He flicked his claws. "Gravity... Bumper Cars!"
The drones shot up again, smashing into each other in a spectacular chain of explosions.
One move — and they were gone.
Heatblast stared, jaw dropping.
"Ethen's… insane. I've still got a long way to go."
Ding! Mission Complete!
Reward: 10 Points!
The Gravattack lowered his arms slowly, eyes scanning the burning city.
"So, Vilgax... where are you? Come out already!"
High above, nearly a thousand meters in the air, a massive spherical ship floated silently.
A soldier turned to his master. "Lord Vilgax… are you sure?"
Vilgax stood at the open hatch, his tendrils drifting in the wind.
"I'll go down myself. Wait here for my victory."
With that, he leapt from the ship — plunging toward the city below like a meteor.
"Two Omnitrixes..."
"I'll take them both!"