Dashing across the battlefield while weaving through the endless barrage of bullets, Symbiote XLR8 moved at incredible speed, rapidly closing the distance between himself and the alien robot.
Blue-green crystals spread from his left hand, quickly covering it in a thick layer of crystal armor.
With the speed of XLR8, the strength of Four Arms, and the durability of Diamondhead's crystals combined into a single strike, he slashed through the alien robot's left leg.
Symbiote XLR8 immediately sprang backward.
As he did, his eyes widened.
The severed metal leg began to bend and twist on its own. Plates shifted into place as fresh metal forced its way outward, repairing the damage within seconds.
"Well... that's just annoying," Symbiote XLR8 muttered.
The robot's massive fist came crashing down where he had been standing only a moment before.
He had barely dodged when a bolt of purple lightning suddenly struck from behind. The symbiote let out a pained scream as the lightning struck him directly.
Although Noir managed to absorb the entire blast and keep XLR8 safe, the intense heat carried by the purple lightning burned him far more than it ever would have hurt his partner.
Using that brief opening, the alien robot spun and drove a heavy kick into Symbiote XLR8. The impact launched him across the room. He smashed into the side of the spacecraft before crashing onto the floor.
A flash of red light burst from the Omnitrix.
Ben's transformation timed out, returning him to his human form.
"Oh, come on! Now is not the time!" Ben groaned, glaring down at the Omnitrix on his wrist.
The sound of spinning barrels pulled his attention back.
The alien robot had already aimed both machine guns straight at him.
Without hesitation, Noir took over.
The symbiote shifted from the shape once fit for XLR8 to flow across Ben's body, growing taller and reshaping him into a lean, muscular form covered in living black armor.
He leaped backward just as the first wave of bullets tore through the air. The robot immediately adjusted its aim, the rotating barrels following Noir wherever he moved.
Noir kicked off the floor and vaulted high into the air. Using Subwolfer's enhanced legs, he twisted his body in midair before digging one clawed hand into the nearby wall.
Without stopping, he swung himself around.
His free hand stretched forward as dozens of blue-green crystal shards shot toward the robot.
The alien machine stepped back just in time, narrowly avoiding the volley.
At that moment, purple lightning erupted around the massive generator.
Electric arcs danced wildly across its surface before the machine roared to life, opening itself toward the endless darkness of space.
Beyond the opening, there was only a silent vacuum. The moon drifted between them and the sun, plunging everything outside into darkness.
Then... A patch of gray ooze floating through space suddenly began reacting to the purple lightning.
Ben's eyes widened.
The ooze slowly drifted together, piece by piece, until it gathered into a familiar shape. One Ben had hoped he would never see again.
"I live!" Zs'Skayr declared, spreading his arms wide.
"Ghostfreak?!" Ben shouted in horror from within Noir.
"Master, all is prepared for your return," Dr. Viktor said with a respectful bow.
"You should be dead!!" Ben yelled.
"Calm down, Ben," Noir said, feeling his partner's heartbeat racing. "Ectonurites can regenerate from even a single strand of DNA. It looks like this slippery bastard managed to leave a piece of himself somewhere safe from the sunlight."
...
The rocket's boosters detached, sending the main body soaring upward toward the nearby space station.
"Don't worry," Max assured the girls. "The worst is over. Come on."
He pushed himself toward the cargo bay's exit and grabbed the large wheel-shaped hatch.
Without gravity holding them down anymore, everyone easily floated after him.
Max reached out and began turning the heavy wheel.
...
"You and I have a score to settle... Ever Gold!" Zs'Skayr said as he turned and stared straight at Noir.
Seeing more enemies pouring into the fight and the battlefield becoming increasingly dangerous, Evan finally stopped treating it like a game.
He had played around enough.
Placing both palms against the metal floor, blue-green crystals rapidly spread beneath his hands. They grew around him, layer after layer, until they formed a solid crystal dome that completely sealed him inside.
Noir tapped the Omnitrix dial.
Golden light erupted.
Ben dropped to one knee as the transformation ended, but before he could even look up, a pale white hand suddenly covered his eyes.
The world blurred. An instant later, they appeared inside another room.
Slender removed his hand and let Ben go.
"What now?" Ben asked as he turned toward his cousin.
"You hide. I'll deal with them."
Before Ben could argue, Slender vanished without a trace.
"We're supposed to work as a team!" Ben shouted, then quickly ran off in search of his cousin.
Although Zs'Skayr hated Ben for trapping him inside the Omnitrix all those years ago, his hatred toward Evan, the one who had nearly erased him completely, ran much deeper.
...
Slender reappeared inside the previous chamber.
The moment he looked around for a way to shut down the portal, a ghostly claw shot out from the floor behind him and pierced straight toward his back.
Golden light exploded outward.
The tall, slender figure instantly transformed into a blocky gorilla-like alien made entirely from colorful bricks.
Zs'Skayr's claws stabbed clean through Bloxx's body, sending dozens of colorful blocks flying everywhere.
Before the ghost alien could pull away, a blocky fist shot out from Bloxx's back and slammed right into his face, sending him flying backward.
Bloxx's feet reshaped into heavy gripping claws that dug into the floor, anchoring him against the powerful vacuum that continued trying to drag everything into space.
A bolt of purple lightning crashed down from above.
Bloxx's body instantly shifted again, building a thick dome around himself.
The alien robot charged forward and smashed the dome apart with one crushing punch, only to realize there was no one inside.
Ampfibian phased out of the floor beneath the robot in his intangible state and floated toward the portal generator.
His four tendrils gathered together, condensing into a ball of electricity before he hurled it toward Zs'Skayr. The ghost alien was sent flying backward and crashed into one of the machines.
The sound of machine gun barrels spinning drew his attention again. Ampfibian turned intangible once more, letting the bullets pass harmlessly through his body.
His gaze shifted toward the enormous portal that opened directly into the vacuum of space. The relentless pull still threatened to drag everything inside the spacecraft out into the darkness beyond.
Because of that, Evan had to choose his transformations carefully. Only a handful of his aliens could survive in space, limiting his options considerably.
His gaze then shifted toward the generators that were releasing the purple electricity keeping the portal open. He was curious about how they worked. More than that, he wondered if he could recreate something like them later with the resources he currently had.
Still, that would have to wait.
Ampfibian shot toward one of the generators, but Dr. Viktor landed in front of him and blocked his path.
"Your next line is: you're not going anywhere near my creation!" Ampfibian suddenly said.
"You're not going anywhere near my crea-" Dr. Viktor began, then stopped in surprise.
His own words had come out exactly as Ampfibian predicted.
"What?!"
Because Ampfibian had gotten too close to one of the generators, the alien robot did not dare fire directly at him. The other two aliens were still somewhere inside the spacecraft, probably struggling against the pull of the vacuum.
Taking advantage of Dr. Viktor's hesitation, Ampfibian surged forward again.
Dr. Viktor quickly recovered. Purple lightning gathered in his hands, and he unleashed another powerful blast.
Ampfibian simply absorbed the electricity, twisted it into an electric net, and hurled it back at him. The net slammed into Dr. Viktor and sent him stumbling backward into the generator, where the impact made the purple lightning flare wildly.
"NOOO!!" Zs'Skayr roared.
The swirling gateway rapidly became unstable before slowly collapsing in on itself.
Seconds later, it shut completely.
The ghost alien immediately rushed toward Ampfibian. His furious scream echoed through the chamber.
One of Ampfibian's tendrils casually reached up and tapped the Omnitrix dial.
Golden light exploded outward.
When it faded, a new alien stood in his place.
Standing in his place was a humanoid alien clad in skin-tight black metal and leather armor.
Sharp spikes jutted from his armor and helmet, while a short, tattered black jacket hung from his shoulders. Three spikes rose from the front of his helmet, and behind the narrow openings, an eerie golden glow shone where his eyes should have been.
Embedded in the center of his chestplate was the golden Omnitrix dial.
The new alien calmly ducked beneath Zs'Skayr's claws, then clenched his fist. Pale golden mist gathered around it before he drove a powerful punch into the ghost alien's face, sending him flying backward.
"Hm. Another ghost-type alien..." he murmured.
He looked at his own hand as the pale golden mist slowly gathered within his palm.
The swirling energy gradually took the shape of a long sword.
He spun it once before letting its tip scrape across the metal floor, leaving a long glowing mark behind.
"Heartless it is."
The name fit perfectly. After all... This alien didn't even possess a heart.
A fireball came flying in from the side. Heartless sidestepped it, then in one smooth motion threw the ghostly blade toward the alien dragon.
The dragon flapped its massive wings and shot upward to avoid the attack.
The blade embedded itself deep into the floor. Dark golden mist immediately poured from it, spreading throughout the room like a living fog. Within seconds, the entire chamber was covered in the thick, ominous haze.
The other aliens looked around in alarm, trying to find Heartless.
They waved their hands through the mist, and even the powerful wind from the dragon's wings could not clear it away.
Zs'Skayr floated silently through the darkness, his lone eye scanning every direction as he searched for Ever Gold.
Then, from within the mist, a golden glow appeared right in front of him.
Before Zs'Skayr could react, Heartless was already there, standing close enough to touch him, holding a sharp ghostly pickaxe.
"I have a pickaxe! And I'll put it through your teeth!" Heartless shouted, swinging the weapon straight toward Zs'Skayr's face.
"AHHHH!"
Zs'Skayr's agonized scream echoed throughout the room as the pickaxe tore through the upper half of his face, ripping away several of his teeth along with it.
Heartless released the weapon and stepped back.
As the ghostly pickaxe struck the floor, the dark golden mist that had just begun to thin suddenly grew dense once more, swallowing the entire chamber in darkness.
Heartless immediately stepped backward into the ghostly mist, his figure disappearing as though he had never been there.
The remaining aliens quickly looked around, trying to find Ever Gold again.
The Triceraton tightened his grip on his oversized alien rifle. Every muscle in his body tensed as his gaze swept from left to right, searching every corner of the thick mist.
The unnatural fog swallowed everything around him.
Heartless had become completely silent. His footsteps made no sound, and even his breathing seemed to disappear into the mist. It wasn't just his presence that had vanished.
The ghostly fog itself carried an unnatural chill. The longer someone remained inside it, the colder it became, the icy air creeping into their bones and dulling their senses.
The Triceraton slowly advanced, refusing to lower his guard. He suddenly bumped into something solid.
The dragon-like alien stood directly in front of him. The Triceraton frowned for a split second, confused about when his ally had gotten so close.
What he failed to notice was the ruined golden crow silently perched on top of the dragon's head. Its once-menacing crimson eyes had turned hollow as it stared lifelessly ahead.
Without warning, the dragon lunged. Its jaws snapped shut around the Triceraton's neck. Sharp fangs tore into his thick hide as the beast violently tried to rip his throat open.
The Triceraton roared in pain and instinctively swung his rifle toward the dragon's chest.
He pulled the trigger.
At that exact moment, Heartless emerged from the clone's head.
The blast punched straight through the Geoform-187 clone, blowing a massive hole through its chest.
The Triceraton's eyes widened at seeing Heartless. The tip of a ghostly golden spear was already inches from his face.
He didn't even have time to react.
In the next instant, red and purple blood splashed across the metal floor. The Triceraton's body went limp before collapsing heavily to the ground.
Without another word, Heartless stepped backward into the thick ghostly mist. His figure faded away once again, leaving only the cold silence behind.
[Two new DNA samples acquired!]
Heartless dropped another ghostly dagger onto the ground.
The moment it touched the metal floor, it slowly sank into the surface before disappearing completely. The golden mist surrounding the area grew thicker once more, swallowing everything around him until Heartless himself vanished from sight.
The Cybertronian moved carefully through the fog, its red optic scanning every direction. But no matter how much it searched, it couldn't locate Ever Gold anywhere.
The mist blocked its vision. The silence blocked its senses.
Then a shadow moved behind it.
Ampfibian silently floated out from the fog in his intangible state, moving like a ghost drifting through the air.
Taking advantage of the confusion created by Heartless' mist, he phased directly into the Cybertronian's body.
The entire machine suddenly began to shake.
Its body sparked violently as electricity surged through its frame, causing its systems to malfunction and short-circuit.
Then, golden light erupted from inside its body.
The Cybertronian's body split apart as Juryrigg, without hesitation, began tearing the machine apart from the inside out. Every component, every wire, every mechanical part that held the Cybertronian together was ripped apart.
Even the alien insect creature attached to its body was not spared.
They had all tried to kill his family.
Because of that, Evan had no reason to show them mercy.
He simply couldn't find any sympathy for enemies who were willing to try and kill his family.
[New DNA sample acquired!]
...
A short while later, the ominous golden mist finally faded away. Juryrigg had already switched into Big Chill, his golden eyes quietly scanning the ruined battlefield.
But there was no sign of Zs'Skayr nor Dr. Viktor.
"Don't tell me they ran off without inviting little old me," Big Chill joked, floating through the empty room as his gaze searched the area.
Then, a massive explosion echoed through the spacecraft. Big Chill immediately turned toward the sound.
More explosions followed, one after another. His eyes widened as a chain reaction began spreading through the ship. Before he could react, the explosions reached him.
The entire area was swallowed by fire and debris.
...
Meanwhile, inside the smaller spaceship that had separated from the main spacecraft and rockets, the Tennysons were already heading toward the massive satellite.
Max sat in the pilot seat, carefully controlling their direction.
Ben had managed to reunite with his family, and Max had also given him a Plumber-issued hazmat badge so he could move around safely.
Although everyone was worried about leaving Evan behind to fight against that group of aliens alone, they trusted him.
They knew Evan was strong enough to survive.
Suddenly, a powerful shockwave slammed into the back of their spaceship. The entire vehicle violently spun out of control. Max gripped the controls tightly, fighting against the rotation as he tried to stabilize the ship.
After several tense moments, he finally managed to get it under control and managed to stop the spiralling spaceship.
Then everyone froze.
Their eyes widened behind their hazmat helmets.
The spacecraft Evan had been fighting inside...
Had been completely destroyed.
The massive structure was torn apart, broken pieces drifting endlessly through space.