"This guy's gotta go," Cannonbolt said, still getting used to standing upright.
Then, without really thinking it through, he tried to move, only for his body to react on instinct. His armored plates shifted and locked into place as he curled up tightly, forming a solid, rounded ball.
A second later, he tipped forward. And rolled.
"Hey!" he started, but by then he was already picking up speed, rolling straight down the hill toward the meteor crash site.
Gwen watched him go. "Don't you mean gotta roll?"
Max shook his head slightly but didn't waste time. "Look on the bright side," he said as he started moving after him. "You're heading in the right direction."
Stitch dropped down onto all six limbs and immediately took off after Cannonbolt, moving far faster than his small size would suggest. His movements were quick and controlled, easily keeping up as the rolling ball bounced and sped ahead.
Max and Gwen followed behind, not quite as fast but still keeping pace as best they could.
It didn't take long before Cannonbolt reached the crash site.
He slowed as the terrain evened out, eventually unrolling and popping back into his upright form just at the edge of the crater. Stitch skidded to a stop beside him, standing back up on two legs, and looked over the impact site.
The crater was massive.
Gwen and Max caught up a few seconds later, both stopping at the edge.
"Whoa," Cannonbolt said, looking down. "That's… way bigger than I expected."
Before anyone could say anything else, the ground started to shake.
A low rumble spread outward from the center of the crater, the earth trembling under their feet. Cannonbolt lost his balance again and tipped over, landing on his back with a thud.
"…And it's moving," Gwen added, her tone shifting.
The meteor wasn't just a rock. It started to crack open.
The outer shell split apart slowly at first, then more violently, pieces breaking away as something inside pushed outward. The cracks widened, glowing faintly from within as the structure gave way.
Then something burst through. Six long legs punched out from the shell, spreading wide and digging into the ground. The group didn't stick around to watch it fully emerge.
"Run!" Max called.
They pulled back immediately. Cannonbolt rolled again, this time intentionally, while Stitch dropped low and moved alongside him, keeping up without any trouble.
Behind them, the meteor fully broke apart.
Fragments rained down across the area as the creature inside forced its way out, unfolding into its full size.
Once they had some distance, they stopped and turned back to look.
The creature stood there, towering over the crater.
It looked like a massive tick, its body covered in a thick pink and red shell, with large blue, eye-like pores lining its sides. Six dark blue legs supported it, each one digging deep into the ground to stabilize its weight. From its mouth, long tendrils extended downward.
Then it legs drove deeper into the earth, anchoring it in place. The tendrils stabbed into the ground, and a low, suction-like sound followed as it began to draw something up from below.
At the same time, the pores along its shell released a cloud of green gas that spread outward into the air.
The group instinctively stepped back as the gas drifted toward them.
A few seconds later, the smell reached them.
"Ugh," Max said, waving a hand in front of his face. "And aromatic."
"I thought that was Ben not showering for three days," Gwen said, stepping back further.
"Four," Cannonbolt corrected from inside his normal form. "And counting."
Stitch looked between them, then back at the creature. "I don't think that's something to be proud of."
Suddenly, a large needle-like spaceship appeared in the sky, and it did not go unnoticed by the heroes below. The craft hovered for a moment overhead before the hatch opened, and three aliens emerged from inside.
The first was tall and pale-skinned, with six tentacle-like feet and a posture that made him look like he was naturally used to being listened to. The second was shorter, had yellow skin, and six arms that moved almost constantly. The last one was of medium height, had four eyestalks, and carried a large axe like it was part of his uniform.
"Rejoice," the tall alien announced. "He's arrived in all of his glorious glory."
"Another alien invasion?" Stitch muttered under his breath.
The three aliens descended on hoverboard-like devices and moved toward the tick. The short one flew closest, leaning in and pressing his ear against the creature as if he was trying to hear something no one else could.
"I await his proclamation," he said.
Max frowned. "Who are you guys?"
"Relax," the tall alien said. "We come in peace."
Gwen narrowed her eyes immediately. "That's what the bad aliens always say. Right before they blow you to bits."
"Hm. An earthling with attitude," the middle alien said as he drifted by. "I heard they existed here in large numbers. Or should I say did."
He then looked toward Cannonbolt and gave a slow nod.
"And an Arburian Pelarota to boot."
His gaze shifted to Stitch.
"And… a dog?"
Stitch's ears twitched. "I'm not a dog."
The tall alien ignored that completely and spread his arms a little wider.
"His presence here must be a sign," he said, sounding almost pleased with himself. "Provided by the Great One. Is he not tremendous?"
"Tremendous," his companions echoed.
"All hail the Tremendous One," they all chanted together.
The middle alien floated a little closer to Cannonbolt, studying him with casual interest.
"But you're a little far from home, aren't you?"
"Actually," Cannonbolt said, "closer than you think."
The reply only earned a blink.
"Unfortunately, there's nothing to go back to," the alien said. "We purified your planet last week."
"Shh!" the short alien suddenly interrupted, waving one of his arms sharply. "Everyone quiet down. He's speaking to me."
The others went quiet and listened.
For a few seconds, nothing happened.
"I don't hear anything," Gwen said.
"Only I speak his language," the short alien said, as though that explained everything. Then he turned back to the tick and nodded solemnly. "The Great One says… your planet will be purified before the next moon. You are quite lucky."
As the tick continued feeding, a dark energy spread from its tendrils across the ground. It crept outward slowly at first, then kept going, moving from the dirt to the nearby plants and trees without stopping.
Max's expression hardened. "I don't think so."
"Actually, it's quite an experience," the tall alien said. "Let me show you."
"Not the audio-visual thing again!" the middle alien complained.
The tall one ignored him and pressed a button on his helmet.
A pink light flashed into the air, projecting a series of moving images above them. The others looked up as the first image showed the Great One traveling from world to world, leaving devastation behind him. Then the next image appeared, showing his legs buried deep into the ground of a planet like roots.
"We followed the Great One from planet to planet, galaxy to galaxy," the tall alien said proudly, "after he paid a visit to each and every one of ours."
He pointed at the image as it changed again.
"Notice his technique. The deep burrowing of the appendages into the core of the planet. Rotting it from the inside and then… ingesting it."
The final projection showed the planet exploding, and the heroes all stared in horror.
"That's what he's going to do here?" Gwen asked.
"Of course," the tall alien said, as if it were obvious. "Your cities will be laid to waste. Your oceans will dry up. Your mountains will crumble."
"It will be the end of your world as you know it," the middle alien added.
"Rejoice! Rejoice! Rejoice!" they all chanted.
"I don't think so!" Cannonbolt shouted, and rolled straight toward them.
The middle alien reacted fast enough to step in and smack him aside with his axe. Cannonbolt flew off course and crashed into the shrubbery with a thud.
"Ben!" Gwen and Max shouted at the same time, both running over toward him.
"That's better," the middle alien said, already turning back toward the tick with the others, as if nothing important had happened at all.
Meanwhile, everyone had forgotten about Stitch, who was still staring at the massive creature as it dug into the ground and tried to suck the life out of the planet.
His expression slowly changed as he watched it. The usual casual look was gone, replaced by something colder and sharper.
After a second, he dug his small hands into the ground and pulled out three loose rocks. The three aliens were still focused on the Great One, so Stitch took the opening and tossed the rocks at them before any of them noticed.
The stones flew with surprising speed. They hit each of the aliens square in the head, knocking the smaller one and the taller one clean off their hoverboard-like devices. The larger one managed to stay upright, but only barely, as he stumbled and turned back to glare at Stitch.
The larger alien flew at him at once, battle axe raised high. He swung it and sent a purple energy slash straight toward Stitch.
Stitch backflipped away from the attack with ease, then immediately spotted four more energy slashes coming at him in quick succession.
He avoided the first three by moving faster than the others could keep up with, then leaped onto the Great One's hard shell body. His claws dug in as he climbed, leaving long scratches across the surface with almost no effort.
"You filthy creature! Get off him!" the tall alien shouted.
He pressed a button on his helmet and fired a laser beam directly at Stitch.
The beam hit him head-on.
It did nothing.
Stitch didn't even slow down. He kicked off the Great One's shell and launched himself toward the larger alien, who was still hovering on his device. The larger one swung his axe down at him, aiming to cut him in half, but Stitch caught the edge of the blade with both small hands.
The alien's eyes widened.
Stitch simply held on to the axe as if it weighed nothing, with not a single cut on his body. Then he twisted his body, yanked the weapon free, and threw the larger alien off balance before sending him crashing down to the ground.
Now he had both the axe and the hoverboard-like device.
Stitch turned, then shot straight back down toward the others. The tall alien kept firing laser blasts in desperation, but Stitch just tanked them one after another, the shots doing nothing to stop him as he kept coming.
He slammed down right between the three of them like a meteor, kicking up a thick cloud of dust and dirt.
When the dust settled, Stitch was standing there with the axe in one hand and the hoverboard-like device in the other.
He swung the axe first, using the flat side rather than the blade, and struck the smaller alien hard enough to send him flying. The shorter alien crashed straight into the Great One's massive shell and dropped out of sight for a moment.
Then Stitch turned and brought the hoverboard-like device down on the larger alien's head. The device shattered on impact, and the alien dropped to the ground with a heavy thud.
The tall alien was the last one still standing.
He fired another laser beam at Stitch, this time looking more desperate than confident.
Stitch caught the beam in both palms.
The energy burst against his hands, but he held firm, then shoved his arms forward and sent the blast right back at the tall alien. It struck him in the face, destroying his device and knocking him backward into his two unconscious companions.
All three of them landed in a heap and didn't move.
Stitch watched them for a moment, then started walking toward them, dragging the alien battle axe along the ground with one hand.
"Evan, stop! That's enough!" Max called out, upon seeing his grandson had no intention to stop, even if they were down.
It did not take a genius to figure out why Evan was acting like this.
As long as someone threatened his family and loved ones, he stopped holding back and was even ready to take a life. That was just how he was.
"We need to deal with that thing first before it destroys Earth!" Max shouted, trying to pull his attention back to the actual threat.
Stitch stopped in front of the three aliens and raised two small hands.
Then, without any device or tool, he jumped up to tear through the air itself. A yellow rift opened instantly, forming a portal.
Max's eyes widened. "The Null Void…"
Stitch didn't explain. He simply dropped the axe, grabbed the three aliens in each hand, and threw them into the portal before closing it just as quickly.
Max stared for a beat, then shook his head.
Max let out a breath. "Evan, since when can you-" He stopped himself. "Never mind. We need to deal with this thing first before it deals with Earth."
He turned his attention back to the Great One.
"Let's go Four Arms," Ben said, already reaching for his Omnitrix. "We can smash this thing together."
"That won't do," Stitch said, turning toward him.
Ben paused. "Huh?"
"You turn into Ghostfreak to get inside it," Stitch explained. "Then transform into Cannonbolt and smash it from the inside; the inside should be softer than the outside."
Ben blinked. "Who is Cannonbolt?"
Then it clicked. "Oh, you mean that new guy! Sick name. Cannonbolt it is!"
Gwen frowned. "Couldn't you go inside it instead of Ben? He can't switch between aliens like you."
"I don't have an alien with intangibility like Ghostfreak," Stitch replied.
Ben smile activate his Omnitrix, and searches for Ghostfreak.
Gwen thought for a moment, then snapped her fingers. "Wait. Then couldn't you go Noir to take over it? You'd control its body and let Ben get inside without going Ghostfreak."
The three of them looked at her. For once, nobody said anything immediately.
Then Stitch nodded. "That's not a bad idea."
He tapped his Omnitrix dial.
A golden flash burst around him, and the small blue alien vanished.
In his place stood a humanoid figure made entirely of black substance. His only bright features were his sharp golden eyes, the row of sharp white teeth that made up his grin, and the golden Omnitrix dial on his chest.
"Noir."
"Wow, that's a new look," Ben said.
"I pick up a few new tricks after merging with enough beings," Noir replied.
Then he turned and placed both hands on the Great One.
Slowly, his body began merging with it.
The Great One shuddered as Noir sank into it, taking control from the outside while forcing it to react against him. Its legs and tendrils shifted awkwardly as Noir pulled them free from the Earth's soil. Then its mouth opened wide.
Ben didn't hesitate.
"Okay, here goes nothing."
He activated the Omnitrix and transformed into Cannonbolt.
He curled into a ball and launched himself straight into the Great One's open mouth.
Noir then separated from the creature's body just so he won't have to experience having his inside being smash apart, the Great One started screaming and shaking violently as Cannonbolt tore through it from the inside.
Max stood there, watching the whole thing with narrowed eyes, and then looked at Noir.
He was about to ask how he had just opened a Null Void portal with one hand when Noir beat him to it.
"I'll explain later."
Then Noir looked toward the remains of the hoverboard-like devices, the alien battle axe, and the spaceship still hovering in the distance.
He tapped his Omnitrix dial again. Another golden flash.
"Brainstorm."
He turned toward Max and Gwen.
"Grandpa, while Benjamin is busy finishing that abomination off, I'll take care of that ship."
Without waiting for a response, Brainstorm moved toward the broken hoverboard-like devices. He climbed onto one that wasn't damaged and used his electrical telekinesis to lift the pieces up around him, then shot toward the alien spaceship.
Once he reached it, he tapped the Omnitrix dial again.
Three spikes emerged from his body as his shell darkened to black. His head doubled in size, his legs hardened and stretched out, and his claws spread wider and grew stronger.
"Super Brainstorm."
The shell on his head opened, exposing his massive brain. A powerful wave of electrical telekinesis swept through the entire spaceship.
From the ground, Max and Gwen stared in disbelief as the ship slowly began to descend. Its frame twisted and groaned under an invisible pressure, as if something was pulling it inward from every direction at once.
The two watched as the alien ship sank lower and lower until it disappeared beyond the treeline.
Then a cracking sound came from behind them. Max and Gwen turned back just in time to see the Great One's body splitting apart.
The Great One was starting to split apart.
"Run!" Max called. They moved, but not fast enough.
Cannonbolt had already done the job from the inside, and the creature burst apart with a loud crack, sending thick, foul-smelling goop everywhere.
"Ugh! The ultimate yuck!" Gwen shouted, wiping the mess off herself as best she could.
Max looked equally displeased. "That is going to take some cleaning."
Cannonbolt brushed some of the goop off his own body. "Okay. Now I need a shower."