At the ranger house, the ranger pulled up in his Jeep and went inside, unaware that something had been watching him from a distance.
As soon as his back was turned, the damaged droid emerged from the nearby bushes and immediately began extending its mechanical tendrils toward the Jeep.
The tendrils wrapped around the vehicle, and before long, the machine began tearing the Jeep apart piece by piece, absorbing the parts into itself as it prepared to upgrade once again.
...
Back with the group, everyone was doing their best to repair the Rust Bucket.
Orfevre, however, had been given a slightly different job. She was holding Evan back.
More specifically, she was trying to stop her brother from dismantling the Rust Bucket even further.
Evan had already been holding himself back for far too long. After seeing the state the Rust Bucket was in, his instincts were starting to get the better of him. To him, the damaged vehicle was practically begging to be taken apart.
Unfortunately, his family wasn't willing to let him do that.
Orfevre currently had Evan caught in a rather impressive helicopter armlock, one arm wrapped around his body while keeping his Another Omnitrix out of reach.
Evan's free hand continued reaching toward the Rust Bucket anyway.
"Stop trying to take it apart!"
"You can't stop me forever, sis!"
"You don't need to do this! You already have enough upgrades!"
"There is no such thing as enough upgrades!"
"Ever!"
He continued reaching despite Orfevre's legs firmly wrapped around his neck and arm, completely ignoring the fact that she was doing everything she could to keep him from getting anywhere near the vehicle.
Meanwhile, Gold Ship carried the Rust Bucket's door over with Perry resting comfortably on top of her head, while Max worked on screwing the headlights back into place.
"I guess that mecha droid was the same one that fell to Earth with you," Max theorized as he tightened one of the screws.
"And it seems to be doing that mechanical merging thing, like the one that merged with Rojo," Gwen added as Xylene used her telekinesis to move several pieces of the Rust Bucket back into place.
"Apparently, they gained the ability to amalgamate mechanical devices in order to fulfill their programming," Xylene explained. "Retrieving the Omnitrixes."
She walked over toward Ben, who had transformed into Diamondhead and was busy repairing the inside of the Rust Bucket.
"You are sure the mecha droid was destroyed?"
Diamondhead stopped what he was doing and looked at her.
"Yes. Do you see any pieces of it still moving?"
His tone was noticeably more annoyed than before.
Xylene simply glared at him.
Nearby, Evan and Orfevre continued rolling around on the ground as the latter tried to keep her brother under control, while everyone else continued working on the Rust Bucket.
"If you wanted to be truly helpful, a Galvanic Mechamorph would've been a more appropriate choice."
Diamondhead stared blankly at her.
"She means Upgrade," Max explained.
"Yeah, well, you're not the boss of me, lady," Diamondhead replied, sounding even more annoyed.
"Come on, Ben," Max said. "Xylene probably knows a thing or two about the Omnitrix. Maybe you should listen to her."
"You're taking her side?!" Diamondhead asked.
"You're being irrational!" Xylene shot back.
"Oh, yeah? Well, if I'm being such a mess-up..." Diamondhead pointed toward himself before spreading his arms wide. "Then why'd you send the watch to me in the first place?!"
"I didn't send you the Omnitrix," Xylene replied. "You found the Omnitrix before it reached its intended recipient."
"What?"
"The pod containing the Omnitrix veered slightly off its intended course."
Diamondhead went silent.
The information clearly took him by surprise, and after a moment, he let out a sharp breath as the realization began to sink in.
The others stopped what they were doing as well.
Gwen immediately walked over to her cousin, noticing the look on his face.
"...I got the Omnitrix by mistake?" Diamondhead asked.
As if to make the moment even worse, the Omnitrix timed out, transforming him back into his human form.
"Of course, child," Xylene said. "You didn't really believe that I would purposely send the most powerful weapon in the universe to a child, did you? I was sending it to Max. It was merely bad luck that the pod ended up somewhere else."
"I guess that would make more sense," Gwen said quietly. "Grandpa being a Plumber and all."
"That's not helping," Gold Ship whispered, smart enough to realize that her cousin wasn't taking the news well.
Perry gave a low growl.
"Grrrr."
"Oh, well, that's just great!" Ben suddenly shouted.
He turned toward Xylene and Max, his frustration clearly boiling over.
"Just take them back! Then you and Grandpa can cruise around the universe like you were planning before! See if I care!"
Before anyone could stop him, Ben turned around and ran off.
"Ben!" Max shouted, watching his grandson disappear into the distance.
He quickly looked toward the others.
"You four, go after him."
Gwen immediately ran after her cousin.
Orfevre and Gold Ship exchanged a quick glance before turning toward Max and Xylene. Neither of them said anything as they followed after Ben.
Evan, however, remained where he was. He simply stared at Max and Xylene with a disappointed expression.
Xylene noticed his gaze.
"Did I say something wrong?"
"Pathetic."
Xylene blinked.
Evan slowly brushed the dirt from his clothes.
"For someone who was supposed to deliver the Omnitrix to its chosen wielder, you can't even understand its original purpose."
His voice wasn't angry. If anything, that made his words feel even more pointed.
Evan raised his left arm, looking at the Another Omnitrix attached to his wrist.
"If the Omnitrix can only be viewed as a weapon, then what does that make me?"
He looked directly at Xylene.
"Someone who is one with the Another Omnitrix."
With those words, Evan lowered his arm and turned away.
He didn't wait for a response.
Instead, he followed after the others in the direction Ben had run.
...
The girls found Ben sitting down on the edge of a cliff, deep in thought as he stared up at the stars.
"Leave me alone," Ben sighed, seeing the three girls standing right behind him.
"Okay, so maybe the watch wasn't meant for you. So what? You've done a pretty good job with it so far."
"Yeah, you did your best." Gold Ship nodded, trying to cheer him up.
"Don't let her words get to you." Orfevre added, walking alongside Gold Ship and Gwen.
Perry: "Grrrr!"
"Guys, that's not why I'm upset," Ben told them, his head turning back to face them. "I can live with the fact that the watch wasn't meant for me. What I'm upset about is that Xylene wants Grandpa to go away with her just like before. Only this time... there's nothing keeping him here..."
His gaze shifted back toward the stars.
"He got a point." Evan said, appearing behind them. "Grandpa hasn't been with Grandma for a long time; he had more of a reason to leave rather than stay."
The other didn't say anything as Evan walked forward, sitting down beside Ben. The other also followed, sitting on the cliff as they all looked toward the stars together.
...
"I'm sorry, Max," Xylene said as she and her old friend continued working on the Rust Bucket. "I must admit, these human offspring are still a mystery to me. On my planet, Ringa Morr, once you hatch, you're on your own."
Before Max could respond, they suddenly heard a familiar mechanical whirring sound.
Both of them stopped and looked toward the road. A familiar machine drove into view, its mechanical body glaring at them through its visor.
Max and Xylene immediately recognized it.
"The Mecha Droid!" Xylene shouted.
The machine suddenly accelerated toward them.
Xylene quickly pushed Max out of the way just before one of its wheel-covered tendrils swung toward her. The attack caught her and sent her flying through the trees.
"Xylene!"
Max barely had time to recover before the droid turned toward him.
Back at the cliff, the kids heard the commotion coming from the direction of the campsite.
"What was that?" Gwen asked.
They didn't wait for an answer. Everyone immediately got up and ran back toward the Rust Bucket.
Back at the campsite, Max was already fighting for his life.
He moved as quickly as he could, dodging the droid's mechanical tendrils as they swung and slashed through the air around him. Xylene was lying nearby, struggling to stay conscious after being thrown through the trees.
Max glanced toward her.
"Xylene!"
He rushed over to check on her.
Several tendrils shot out from the drone toward Max and wrapped around him before he could react. They latched onto his Plumber suit, absorbing the technology into the droid's body as it began upgrading itself once again.
"Grandpa!"
The kids arrived just in time to see Max being pulled toward the front of the machine.
"No!" Ben shouted.
Evan immediately rushed past him. He leaped into the air, his hand already moving toward the Another Omnitrix.
But the droid reacted first. One of its tendrils grabbed Max's wrist and forced his arm upward.
The Plumber's wrist blaster fired. A laser shot directly toward Evan's face.
Golden light exploded around Evan as the blast struck him and sent him flying backward.
He crashed through several trees before disappearing into the forest.
"Big Bro!"
The droid paused for a moment, watching the golden light fade. The transformation had still gone through.
Its target was alive.
Without wasting another second, the droid extended its mechanical legs and drilled itself straight into the ground, dragging Max along with it as it disappeared beneath the soil.
"Grandpa!" everyone shouted.
Orfevre and Gold Ship immediately turned and ran toward the direction where Evan had crashed.
They soon found him.
Flame Wingman was already pushing a broken tree off his back when golden light suddenly erupted from his body, returning him to his human form.
Orfevre and Gold Ship froze.
Evan's face was badly injured.
The left side of his lip had been split open, with blood running down his chin and several teeth visible through the wound.
"I'm gonna tear that piece of scrap metal apart."
His voice was cold and angry. He didn't even seem to notice the blood running down his face.
Xylene eventually recovered and made her way over to the group just as everyone started arguing.
"You two said you trashed that thing!" Gwen glared at Ben.
"It's not their fault, Gwen," Orfevre snapped back.
She stepped aside, finally allowing Gwen and Ben to see Evan's face properly.
Both cousins immediately froze. The sight brought back memories of the earlier incident with the sword.
Xylene noticed their reactions.
"We all thought it was destroyed," she said. "It doesn't matter now."
"It doesn't?" Ben asked, his worried gaze shifting toward Evan.
The older boy seemed completely unconcerned about the open wound on his face.
"Wait," Gwen said, shifting her gaze away from Evan as she tried to focus back on the main issue. "If that thing only wants the Omnitrixes, then why did it kidnap Grandpa?"
"Because it knows we'll go after him," Evan answered. His voice remained cold and steady.
"It's a trap!" Ben realized.
"Exactly," Xylene said. "That's why-"
"Look, I know you're just going to give me the 'the Omnitrix is more important than any single being' lecture," Ben interrupted.
"Well, it is," Xylene replied. "But-"
"But there's no way we're letting that living junkyard hurt our grandfather!" Ben snapped.
"I agree that-"
"So you can either help us or get out of our way, because-"
Xylene finally lost patience. Her eyes glowed purple. Ben was suddenly lifted into the air by her telekinesis and carried straight over to a nearby tree, where she held him against the trunk.
"Be quiet and listen to me for a change," Xylene said. "You're not the only one who cares about Max. If we work together, we can save him."
She lowered her hand, releasing Ben from her telekinesis. Then she held out her hand.
"Truce?"
Gwen, Gold Ship, and Orfevre stepped forward and placed their hands over hers. Golshi even placed Perry's little palm on top.
They all nodded before looking toward Ben.
Ben hesitated for a moment.
He clearly wasn't happy about it, but after looking at his grandfather's empty spot, he finally placed his hand on top of theirs.
Their attention then shifted toward Evan.
He was standing a short distance away, staring down at the hole where the mecha droid had disappeared with Max.
"Big Bro?" Gold Ship asked.
There was something different about him. She could feel it. His presence had changed, and it worried her.
"It doesn't matter," Evan said quietly. "I'll save him."
His eyes remained fixed on the hole. Then he suddenly leaped toward it.
Purple energy immediately surrounded his body. Xylene had caught him with her telekinesis and pulled him back.
"Look, I know you worry about your Grampa, but running headfirst into that thing isn't going to help," she snapped.
She couldn't help but feel a strange sense of deja vu. Evan was acting almost exactly like Stay Gold had back then. Even Max was in danger, and that girl completely ignored her own well-being to try and save him.
Evan's gaze shifted toward Xylene. He was silent for a moment before finally speaking.
"Omnitrix. Transformation... PowerPlant."
The Another Omnitrix activated.
Golden light burst outward.
A massive white humanoid alien appeared where Evan had been standing.
The sudden transformation caused Xylene's telekinetic grip shattered immediately, forcing her to take a step back from the backlash.
PowerPlant stood before them, his four eyes staring down at the group. Then he turned around, only for a broken tree log to suddenly slam into his face. The massive alien stumbled backward before looking up in surprise. Orfevre stood in his way, still holding the broken log she had just used to hit him.
"Snap out of it, Ever!" Her voice was firm. "Even if you don't care about yourself, we do!"
PowerPlant stared at her.
Orfevre already knew her brother didn't value his own safety nearly as much as everyone else's. Most of the time, his plans were so carefully calculated that everyone else would make it through safely.
But Ever Gold himself was often the exception.
She dropped the log to the ground. Her fists clenched tightly enough that her palms began to bleed.
"I know you always have everyone's safety in mind, and I know how deeply you care about all of us," Orfevre said, her voice beginning to shake. "I know you can do things better alone than you can as part of a team."
Her eyes began to fill with tears.
"But... do you really think we could still smile... Seeing you throwing your life away like this!?"
PowerPlant didn't answer as Orfevre's voice became quieter.
"I should've noticed sooner." She looked down for a moment, guilt weighing heavily on her expression. "If I had... maybe you wouldn't have let yourself become like this."
Silence settled over the group.
PowerPlant slowly lowered his head. After a long moment, he reached up and tapped the Omnitrix dial.
Golden light erupted around him.
When it faded, Evan was standing there again.
"I'm sorry..." he said quietly. "I... never thought about it that way."
His hand slowly moved toward his face.
He touched the open wound on his lip for the first time, finally acknowledging the sharp sting of the injury he had been ignoring.
Orfevre walked toward him. Then she suddenly pulled her brother into a hug. Her bloody palm pressed against his back. Evan remained still for a moment before returning the hug.
Nobody else interrupted them. Everyone understood that this was something between the twins. Something they haven't quite understood yet.
After a moment, the two finally separated.
Xylene looked between them before speaking.
"Time is of the essence. Right now, the mecha droid is collecting more and more machinery, making itself stronger for its final battle with us."
She looked toward the hole in the ground.
"So where would it have access to the largest amount of mechanical equipment in this area?"
"St. Louis is the largest river port in the United States," Gwen answered.
Gold Ship suddenly looked up.
"The docks!"
Everyone turned toward her. She pointed in the direction of the city.
"If it's looking for machinery, that's where it'll go."