A high-speed chase tore through the streets as a red car weaved between traffic, its driver gripping the wheel tightly while checking the rearview mirror. The Rust Bucket wasn't far behind, sticking out like a giant moving target but somehow keeping pace.
The man smirked as he saw the RV still trailing him. "Oh, they'll never catch me."
Inside the Rust Bucket, Gwen leaned forward in the passenger seat, eyes locked onto the red car ahead. A small smile formed on her face.
"There he is."
Max glanced ahead, then at her. "You sure?"
"Totally."
Before anything else could be said, a motorcycle shot forward from behind them.
Except it wasn't just a motorcycle.
Upgrade was merged with it, his black and green body seamlessly integrated into the machine as he accelerated, quickly closing the distance.
"Look out!" Upgrade shouted as he veered onto the sidewalk, avoiding a cluster of cars. "One side! Coming through!"
Pedestrians jumped back in surprise as he sped past, then he swerved back onto the road, cutting through traffic with precise movements. The red car tried to shake him, darting between lanes, but Upgrade stayed right on him.
The driver gritted his teeth, pushing the car harder, but Upgrade was already planning ahead.
Up ahead, a carrier truck was hauling a ramp.
Upgrade accelerated, lined himself up, then lifted the front wheel and shot up the ramp, launching himself into the air. For a moment, he soared over the traffic before landing cleanly back onto the road, even closer to the red car than before.
The traffic light ahead turned yellow. Then red.
Cars came to a halt as a large truck sped through the intersection from the side.
Upgrade didn't slow. He lowered himself and ducked under the truck just in time, sparks flying as he barely cleared it, then straightened out and kept going like nothing happened.
"Hey!" he shouted.
The driver glanced back just in time to see a green energy blast fire from Upgrade, striking the trunk of the car. The impact popped it open, sending bags of stolen money flying out into the street.
"Some people just can't hang onto their money," Upgrade said, sounding way too satisfied.
He sped up again, his wheel shifting as a sharp spike formed along its edge. With precise timing, he pulled alongside the car and drove the spike straight into the rear tire.
The tire blew instantly.
The car lost control, spinning wildly before crashing hard into a parked vehicle on the side of the road. Steam began rising from the hood as everything finally came to a stop.
The driver sat there for a second, stunned, before slowly turning his head.
What he saw made it worse. A motorcycle with no driver. Just… staring at him.
"…What?"
In the distance, sirens grew louder.
Upgrade revved slightly, then released a burst of thick smoke straight into the man's face before speeding off, disappearing from the scene before anyone could get a clear look.
A few moments later, he slowed down near an ice cream truck parked not far from the crash.
"Well," he muttered to himself, "I did just catch a bad guy."
The motorcycle shifted as he separated from it, returning to his normal form. He glanced at the truck, then grinned.
"Seems fair."
He lifted the back of the truck, revealing boxes filled with frozen treats.
"Now we're talking."
...
Back at the crash site, the police had arrived and were already detaining the driver, who was struggling as he tried to explain.
"I'm telling you, the motorcycle just drove itself! There was no one on it!"
The officers didn't look convinced.
Nearby, the Rust Bucket had pulled over. Max and Gwen stood watching as everything settled down.
"Where's Ben?" Max asked, looking around.
Gwen crossed her arms, thinking for a moment. "Well… he just had a long chase, it's hot out…" She gestured toward the nearby ice cream truck. "I'm thinking…"
Max walked over and lifted the back of the truck.
Inside, Ben sat surrounded by empty wrappers, holding a half-eaten popsicle. He looked terrible. Pale, shivering, eyes watery, and clearly regretting every life decision that led him there.
"You okay?" Max asked.
Ben sniffed, then sneezed hard.
"…I'll take that as a no," Max said.
...
Later, inside the Rust Bucket, Gwen stood by the small stove, stirring a pot of soup while Max sat beside Ben, who was lying down with an ice pack on his head and a thermometer in his mouth.
The thermometer beeped.
Max took it out and checked it. "Well, 101. Sorry, Ben. It's official. You've got a summer cold."
"Maybe next time you'll think twice before eating half an ice cream truck," Gwen said with a smirk.
Ben inhaled sharply like he was about to sneeze, then grabbed the nearest cloth and wiped his nose.
Gwen froze.
"…Hey. That's my new blouse."
Ben blinked, then shrugged slightly. "Maybe next time you'll think twice before leaving your clothes lying around."
Off to the side, Evan sat on his hovered board, keeping a noticeable distance.
Gwen rolled her eyes and turned back to the supplies, pulling items out one by one. "Cold tablets, decongestant, cough suppressant, mask…"
Ben sat up slightly, frowning. "I don't need all that."
"They're not for you, dweeb, they're for me," Gwen replied. "Once a bug like that gets out, there's no stopping it."
"Why don't you just lock me in a closet until I'm better?" Ben muttered.
Gwen immediately looked up. "Can we, Grandpa? Pretty please?"
Max stood up with a small chuckle. "Let's not go that far. All Ben needs is a dose of my San Ju Yen Pien cold remedy."
Ben didn't look reassured.
Max grabbed his hat. "Come on. Chinatown's just down the block."
...
In Chinatown, the streets were packed with people as a celebration was in full swing. Bright decorations hung overhead, drums echoed through the area, and a long dragon danced its way through the parade, weaving between performers as a group in traditional outfits followed behind it.
Off to the side, Max, Gwen, and Ben stepped out of a small drugstore, blending into the edge of the crowd. Max held a small container in his hand, looking at it with mild disappointment.
"You know," he said, turning it slightly, "it's getting harder to find fresh potaigadon root these days. Everything's freeze-dried now."
Ben, looking miserable, coughed into his hand a few times before speaking. "Can I at least get a milkshake or something? My throat's killing me."
Gwen didn't even hesitate. "Last time I checked, frozen stuff is exactly what got you into this mess, dweeb."
"Besides," Max added, handing Ben the container, "the stinkweed honey in this coats your entire esophageal area. That's what you need right now."
Ben slowly unscrewed the cap and took a cautious sniff.
Instant regret.
He pulled back immediately, gagging slightly. "And that's supposed to help?"
"So where did you even learn to make this?" Gwen asked, crossing her arms.
"Picked it up from a monk in Guangdong," Max replied casually.
Both kids gave him a look.
"They have plumbing in China too, you know," Max added, not missing a beat.
Before either of them could respond, a loudspeaker crackled nearby, drawing everyone's attention toward a small stage set up along the street.
Councilwoman Liang stood at the podium, smiling as she addressed the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen, I want to thank all of you for supporting my downtown redevelopment program. It truly is a dream come true."
As she spoke, a few people began looking up.
A low buzzing filled the air.
More and more wasps started flying overhead, forming a growing swarm that quickly caught everyone's attention. The festive mood dropped almost instantly as people stepped back, confused.
Then they saw him.
Clancy hovered above the crowd, standing on a mass of wasps, his eyes glowing faintly green as he looked down at the councilwoman.
"Better make that a nightmare, councilwoman," he said.
The swarm spread out over the area, causing people to panic and scatter.
"Wasps!" Gwen shouted as she swatted a few away, quickly stepping back.
Clancy's focus stayed locked on Liang. "You're not tearing down our apartment building. We're not letting that happen."
"You're that guy who wouldn't leave," she said, recognizing him.
"Nice to know I made an impression," he replied.
With a slight motion, the wasps swarmed around her, lifting her off the ground as she struggled.
"What are you doing!?"
"Just bringing you home for dinner," Clancy said. "You're the main course."
Ben sniffed, wiped his nose, and stepped forward. "This looks like a job for... ah… ah… ah-choo!"
He sneezed hard, then slammed the Omnitrix down.
A flash of green light later, Wildmutt appeared.
But something was off.
His fur looked duller, his breathing uneven, and his movements slightly sluggish. He sniffed the air, then sneezed again.
From his perspective, everything was a mess, blurry, unclear, and barely readable.
Wildmutt growled in confusion and took off running.
Straight into a stand.
He bounced off, turned, and crashed into another one before gagging slightly and shaking his head.
"Has Ben gone rabid or something?" Gwen asked, watching him stumble around.
"His cold's messing with his sense of smell," Max said. "Without that, he can't navigate properly."
"Great," Gwen muttered.
Without thinking twice, she ran forward and jumped onto Wildmutt's back, grabbing onto his shoulders.
"Alright, furball," she said, trying to steady herself. "I'm driving!"
Wildmutt took off again, this time with Gwen hanging on as she tried to guide him.
"Go left! No, your other left!"
Max reached for his walkie-talkie almost immediately, flipping it on as he prepared to call Evan back at the Rust Bucket, his eyes still tracking the chaos in front of him.
Before he could even say a word, something cut across his line of sight.
A rolling mass of fire tore through the street.
It moved fast, low to the ground, flames curling around it as it barreled forward. The heat alone was enough to drop several wasps out of the air, their buzzing cutting off as they fell. The fireball slowed as it approached, then came to a stop right in front of Max.
The flames shifted, then pulled back.
What stood there was a large, weasel-like creature with cream and blue-green fur, flames burning along the back of its head, neck, and lower spine. A golden Omnitrix symbol rested clearly on its left shoulder, and its yellow eyes glowed faintly.
Max lowered the walkie-talkie slightly. "Evan?"
"Yeah, it's me," the creature replied. "I call this one Quilava. Pretty cool, huh?"
Max opened his mouth to respond, but a shout cut through the moment.
"Help!"
Both of them turned at once.
Gwen was pinned under a stack of fireworks crates, struggling to push them off as a fallen banner nearby burned, the flames creeping along the ground toward her. The fire was spreading fast, heading straight for the crates.
Quilava didn't hesitate.
He dropped down and surged forward, his body igniting as he rolled into a controlled wheel of fire, closing the distance quickly. The moment he got close, the flames along his body pulled inward, vanishing just before impact as he flopped forward onto the burning banner.
The fire went out almost instantly.
With no oxygen feeding it, the flames died down completely under him. Quilava pushed himself back up onto all fours, then shifted to stand on his hind legs.
Max was already at Gwen's side, helping push the crates off her.
"Thanks, Evan," Gwen said, letting out a breath as she sat up.
"Nice one," Max added with a small smile.
Quilava gave a slight nod, then turned his attention away from them.
Wildmutt was still running around nearby, crashing into stands and knocking things over without any sense of direction, while the remaining wasps continued to harass the crowd.
"I'll stop him before someone gets hurt," Quilava said.
He stepped forward, flames reigniting along his body as he rolled up again into a spinning ball of fire. Without slowing, he slammed straight into Wildmutt, knocking him onto his back. The alien dog tried to get up, stumbled, then dropped back down again, clearly disoriented.
Quilava paused just long enough to confirm he wasn't getting back up immediately, then lifted his head.
In the distance, he could see a cluster of wasps carrying Clancy and Councilwoman Liang further away, while others still swarmed the area.
He shifted his focus to the immediate threat.
Dropping low, he sprinted forward on all fours before leaping and curling back into a rolling flame, cutting straight through the swarm. The heat and fire made short work of them, wasps dropping out of the air as he moved from one cluster to another.
He didn't stop, rolling across the street, weaving between people and structures, clearing more of them as he went. The crowd could only watch as the moving ball of fire darted around, burning through the swarm without ever slowing down.
One by one, the remaining wasps pulled back.
Realizing they couldn't get close, they flew higher, retreating from the area entirely.
Quilava slowed to a stop, watching them disappear into the distance.
He could've chased them. With Zero-G, keeping up wouldn't have been a problem.
But the crowd was already starting to gather, some pointing, others clapping, attention shifting toward him.
He stood there for a moment, then tapped the Omnitrix.
A bright yellow flash went off, and when it faded, he was gone.
Already switched into Chamalien, turning invisible, and moving away before anyone could track where he went.
...
They regrouped inside the Rust Bucket not long after. Ben lay on the seat with a long groan, shifting around as if every part of his body had decided to complain at once after everything that just happened.
"Ouch… oh man, just when I thought it couldn't get any worse," he muttered, rubbing his shoulder before leaning back and letting his head thump lightly against the cushion.
Max didn't say anything at first, handing a container to his grandson. "Here. This will help."
Ben took it, gave it a quick sniff, and immediately recoiled. "Aw, yuck! Why does it smell like that?"
"Drink it. You won't die. Probably..." Quilava said from the table, standing there with his flames fully retracted so he didn't accidentally set the RV on fire. His tone was casual, like he was commenting on the weather rather than Ben's suffering.
Gwen, who had been watching him for a moment, suddenly leaned closer, eyes lighting up as she reached out and started petting him without warning. "Okay, this has got to be the cutest alien you've turned into so far."
Quilava paused mid-step, then slowly turned his head toward her, clearly not amused as he shook her hand off. He stood up on his hind legs, crossing his small arms. "I'm not a pet, Gwen."
"So cute," she said again, completely ignoring him as she pulled out her phone and snapped a quick picture before he could move away. A second later, she just picked him up and set him on her lap like it was the most normal thing in the world, already turning back to her laptop.
Quilava stared at her for a moment, then let out a quiet sigh, deciding it wasn't worth the effort to argue as long as she didn't squeeze him.
Meanwhile, Max sat down beside Ben, giving him a look as Ben continued to hesitate with the medicine. "Don't worry. It smells worse than it tastes. Or maybe it's the other way around. I always forget."
That didn't help.
Ben made a face, clearly debating his life choices, before finally closing his eyes and taking a quick gulp. The reaction was immediate as he shuddered and leaned forward. "That was so grim."
Max gave a small chuckle. "You'll get used to it. After about ten doses or so."
Ben slowly turned his head toward him. "I don't know what's worse. The cold or the cure."
While that was happening, Gwen was already typing away, one hand absentmindedly resting on Quilava's head while she worked. After a few moments, her eyes lit up. "Got it."
Max stood up and walked over to look at the screen. "Find something?"
"Bug-Eye said something about knocking down his apartment building, right? Well, the only one scheduled for demolition downtown is at 8610 Chester Street." She tapped the screen lightly. "That's probably where he's headed."
Ben, meanwhile, quietly leaned over and slid open the drawer next to his seat. He glanced at Max and Gwen to make sure they weren't looking before carefully placing the bottle of San Ju Yen Pien inside and closing it just as quietly.
"What Grandpa doesn't know won't hurt me," he whispered to himself, looking pretty satisfied with that plan.
There was a short pause.
Then Quilava hopped off Gwen's lap, landed on the ground, and walked over without a word. He pulled the drawer open, revealing the bottle immediately.
"Ben, finish it," he said, completely exposing him.
Ben froze, then slowly looked up, only to meet Max's stare.
There was no escaping that one.
With a defeated sigh, Ben reached back into the drawer, grabbed the bottle again, and lifted it up like it had personally offended him. "You know, one day, I'm gonna get you for this."
"If you don't heal soon, I might have to move to the top of the RV," Quilava replied, already turning away as if the matter was settled.