WHOOSH!! Inside the cabin of the Rustbucket, a flash of green light died out, followed by a pulse of deep crimson. Tyler leaned back into the passenger seat, his chest heaving with exhaustion. Beside him, Ben collapsed onto the lower bunk, clutching his spine. "My back... ugh... everything hurts."
"That monster... Vilgax," Gwen whispered, her hands trembling as she wiped cold sweat from her brow. Having faced him directly on the highway, his sheer malice was still echoing in her mind. "If he's the one who's been sending those drones... we're in real trouble."
"It's not dark yet," Max said, his knuckles white as he gripped the steering wheel. "We have to reach Mount Rushmore by dawn. We need reinforcements."
"Reinforcements? At a tourist trap?" Tyler asked, feigning ignorance despite his system-given knowledge.
"You'll see when we get there," Max replied grimly.
By 7 PM, the sun was still hanging low. Max didn't dare stop to cook. He swung through a roadside McDonald's, buying a family bucket and tossing it to the kids.
"Oh my god," Ben whispered, tears actually welling in his eyes as he bit into a cheeseburger. "This is the best thing I've ever eaten. Thank you, Tentacle-Head. Because of your pursuit, I finally got to eat junk food instead of Grandpa's 'stink-bug' stew."
As the sun began to peek over the horizon, the Rustbucket tore through the winding mountain passes.
"AHHH!" Ben bolted upright, screaming from a nightmare where Vilgax was peeling the Omnitrix off his arm. The scream startled Tyler and Gwen awake instantly.
There was no more sleep to be had. They washed up and choked down some microwaved leftovers before noticing the silence outside. Gwen was fiddling with the magic pendant on her staff—the Charm of Bezel.
"Gwen? Is the stone cracked?" Tyler asked, noticing her pale face.
"It's the Luck Charm," Gwen whispered, her voice tight. "It's... it's screaming, Tyler. It's restless. Something is locking onto us."
"We aren't transformed," Tyler frowned. "How could he find us?"
"Look up!!" Max yelled.
Through the skylight, they saw it. A massive, black-iron warship the size of a commercial airliner was carving through the clouds, hovering directly above the mountain road.
Inside the Chimerian Hammer, Vilgax sat in the command throne, his eyes fixed on the Rustbucket. "Tennyson... your grandchildren have caused me enough delay. No more fighter jets to distract me. No more games."
"Hold on!" Max shouted, slamming a hidden toggle on the dashboard.
Hydraulic wings hissed out from the Rustbucket's chassis, and dual rocket thrusters ignited at the rear. BOOM! The RV transformed into a high-speed interceptor, drifting around hairpin turns with "god-like" precision.
"Grandpa!" Gwen cried out as they pulled 4Gs. "From the Sludgepuppies to this... what are you hiding?!"
"I'm a Plumber, Gwen! We belong to the Tiangong Association—an intergalactic force that protects Earth from the scum of the universe. Vilgax is our oldest enemy! Mount Rushmore is our regional HQ. If we reach it, we can end this!"
Tyler watched the sky. He knew Vilgax wasn't going to wait.
Sure enough, the hatch of the warship slid open. Vilgax didn't use a drop-pod this time. He leaped into the open air, his massive, augmented body diving toward the Earth like a falling meteor.
"He... he just jumped!" Tyler stared, dumbfounded.
CLICK.
The Carnitrix buzzed.
[THREAT DETECTED: VILGAX. CALCULATING COUNTER-MEASURE...]
"I'll slow him down!" Ben shouted, slamming the Omnitrix. He transformed into The Techno-Parasite (Upgrade), his liquid-metal form spreading over the Rustbucket, reinforcing the engines and armor. The RV surged forward, hitting speeds that blurred the scenery.
BOOM!
Vilgax hit the road behind them, the impact shattering the asphalt into a crater. He was seconds too late.
"Infestation!" Vilgax roared. He plunged his massive hands into the broken road, grunting as his muscles swelled to twice their size. He ripped a multi-ton chunk of concrete out of the ground and hurled it like a shot-put.
The slab hit the road directly in front of the Rustbucket, shattering the path. Ben maxed out the brakes, the RV screeching to a halt just inches from the abyss.
"I'm... I'm drained," Ben gasped, de-transforming and collapsing to the floor.
Tyler pushed the door open. He stood on the broken road, watching the dust cloud where Vilgax was approaching. "It's okay, Ben. Rest."
SLAM!
Tyler struck the Carnitrix. A pillar of blood-red light erupted, so hot it melted the remaining asphalt into glass.
Vilgax stopped ten yards away, dropping into a heavy combat stance. He recognized the energy signature. This wasn't a hero. This was a weapon.
Out of the light stepped a titan in a suit of rusted, spiked lead-iron. He was a walking furnace, his form heavy and immovable. Through the three narrow slits in his "face," a blinding, radioactive orange light pulsed.
Vilgax ripped a boulder from the cliffside and hurled it. Tyler didn't move. A beam of concentrated thermal radiation erupted from the slits in his mask, vaporizing the boulder into ash mid-air.
"A long-range specialist?" Vilgax growled, beginning an arrow-like dash to close the gap.
He expected Tyler to retreat. Instead, the Fallout-Forge charged forward, his heavy iron boots cracking the earth. NRG wasn't just a long-range form—it was the Carnitrix's hand-picked "Executioner" for the Conqueror of Ten Worlds.