"Roar!"
Wildmutt's fur stood on end as he sprang hard to the side.
Boom!
The vicious gourd came down like a meteor, packed with terrifying momentum, and smashed into the mud.
A ring of white air burst outward from the impact.
The once-flat ground caved in, forming a deep crater about ten meters wide and exposing dark, soft soil.
The thick-bodied gourd squatted right in the center of the pit.
It had no limbs, yet its glare was vicious, like a mountain bandit sizing Wildmutt up, ready to snatch whatever "treasure" he was carrying.
Its first strike missed.
The gourd's "brows" twitched, and it launched itself again, throwing its whole weight into another slam at Wildmutt.
A round, black shadow swallowed the space above him.
Wildmutt roared, yellow claws flashing up as if some ancient beast had been provoked, and he struck straight into the air.
A tiny gourd thought it could challenge him?
Suicidal.
Bang!
The gourd was smashed apart in an instant. Its body burst into chunks, sticky liquid spraying out and splattering down over Wildmutt like rain.
Wildmutt shook himself hard, flinging off the green slime.
Then two bright red cherries rolled to a stop by his feet.
They were joined together, with four watery, shining eyes, looking harmless enough.
Wildmutt didn't have eyes, but his instincts screamed danger, sending a chill through his whole body.
If he didn't get out of here now, he might actually die.
After two quick steps, Wildmutt sprang onto the tall excavator nearby.
On the ground, the cherries' gaze turned vicious in an instant, brimming with malice.
Their bodies swelled rapidly, puffing up like hot-air balloons.
And it still wasn't over.
As they expanded, the two cherries rolled together until they were directly beneath the excavator.
"Roar!"
Wildmutt immediately jumped away, putting distance between himself and the abandoned machine.
The next second, a blast like thunder detonated in every direction!
The hulking excavator, beastlike in its bulk, vanished into a storm of fire and violent fragmentation, breaking apart and exploding outward.
Countless metal parts sprayed everywhere as thick smoke rolled up in waves.
Some of the shrapnel even sheared through nearby trees, proof of just how terrifying the explosion was.
After a long moment, Wildmutt emerged slowly from the dark woods.
He sniffed twice. Only after confirming there was no danger did he approach the wreckage.
In the red glow of thermal vision, the excavator was gone.
All that remained was scattered debris, twisted metal shards, and scorched trees and soil.
Wildmutt let out a breath. Good thing he'd been fast.
He was tough enough that he wouldn't be blown to pieces like the excavator, but it would've hurt like hell, and he could've been badly injured.
Cherry Bomb… just how many mutated plants are there now…?
Wildmutt shook his head and forced the thought aside.
Right now, the priority was getting Grandpa back.
Rat-a-tat-tat!
A hail of green "bullets" ripped through the air like a machine gun on full auto, spraying toward Wildmutt's back.
His reaction was lightning-fast. It was like he had eyes on his spine. He launched himself into the air in an instant, slipping past the raging stream of shots.
He twisted his head, and the thermal outline snapped into focus.
That was a Peashooter… no, not anymore.
This one was a Machine Gun Shooter.
It looked like a Peashooter, but it wore a hat, like some kind of special forces soldier.
And its mouth had become a Gatling-style barrel cluster, packed tight like a real gun muzzle, aiming at Wildmutt again.
Rustle, rustle…
From the dark forest behind the Machine Gun Shooter, more mutated plants stepped out one after another.
Chompers, gourds, Wall-nuts, Blovers… Fume-shrooms, corn cannons, ice shooters, Mushroom Zombies…
They closed in from all sides, surrounding Wildmutt so tightly there wasn't a gap to slip through.
Wildmutt snorted, then slapped the Omnitrix on his chest as eerie green light erupted...
...
On the other side, at the camp restaurant.
Inside the bedroom, Ben couldn't sit still. He scratched his head and paced back and forth.
"Ugh, this sucks! I really wanna go out there and help Cuz beat up those veggie freaks!" Ben grumbled, clenching his fists.
Gwen was about to snap at him, but after a second, she let out a slow breath instead.
"Ben, listen to Cuz. If he told you to stay, he has a reason. We can't cause more trouble right now."
There was no room for stubbornness.
Grandpa was missing, his life or death unknown. There were younger kids with them. And outside, countless mutated plants were lurking...
Ben sighed and went back to guarding the bedroom door.
Gwen stood by the window, keeping watch in case any plants tried to sneak in.
For once, the two of them set aside their usual bickering and worked together to protect the small room.
Gilbert sat on the bed, his round belly stretching his shirt tight.
His freckled face couldn't hide the fear in his eyes. They darted around constantly, terrified that a Chomper might suddenly burst in and swallow him whole.
Andy and Mandy huddled together in the corner of the bed, trembling.
Their little faces were filled with worry and fear.
Tears shimmered in their eyes like pearls.
They pressed their lips together, forcing themselves not to cry.
Suddenly, the ground began to shake violently.
A massive white spore burst up through the tiled floor, dirt spraying everywhere as it shot upward at incredible speed.
First came the swollen spore head, then a towering stem, growing like a giant tree.
With overwhelming force, it smashed straight through the restaurant's roof.
The entire elegant building collapsed in an instant, reduced to rubble.
Ben and the others were buried beneath the debris.
Boom!
A massive meteor hammer smashed through the ground. With terrifying force, it swept aside broken chunks of rubble as its owner strode forward.
Golden eyes. A beast-like physique. A meteor hammer embedded in its left hand. Every step left deep cracks in the ground.
Technorg!
Back at the Interstellar Colosseum, Lucian had defeated Shadow Death Guard, Blood Shadow Tiger, and Technorg, collecting their DNA.
Ben had collected it as well.
Technorg swung the enormous hammer, easily clearing the debris blocking the way.
Behind him, Gwen raised a blue water shield, covering the children as they followed closely, slowly making their way out of the ruins.
Technorg turned and stared up at the towering spore, fists clenching.
"These freaks have really ticked me off!"
"What is that thing?" Mandy tilted her head, staring innocently at the swollen spore head above.
"That's a mutated plant spore…" Gilbert stepped forward. "Once it matures, it'll release billions of spores. They'll travel through the atmosphere and spread across the entire country… maybe even the whole world…"
All around them, more and more Spore Pods burst from underground, shooting skyward at an astonishing speed.
Tap… tap… tap…
A chaotic wave of footsteps thundered out of the dark forest, growing louder by the second, like an army charging in.
Chompers, Doom-shrooms, Tangle Kelp, Snow Peas, Hypno-shrooms, Jalapenos, Choy…
Hundreds of Mutated Plants rushed forward, baring their fangs and shrieking wildly as they surrounded the group from all sides.