Later, the Rust Bucket pulled up beside a dumpster, and Ben was already stepping out from behind it with a grin, clearly pleased with himself. The door opened right after, with Gwen and Max following him out.
Before any of them could say a word, a sharp voice cut through the air.
"Freeze!"
Lt. Steel stood there with his soldiers spread out around them, all of their blasters raised and aimed in every direction. The whole group had been boxed in before they even had a chance to react.
"One move and you're all Swiss cheese."
Ben blinked. "What is this? What did we do?"
Lt. Steel didn't lower his weapon. If anything, he looked even more suspicious now that he was standing this close. "You have two choices. Either tell me what you have to do with these aliens, or get ready to be measured for your prison uniforms."
Ben frowned. "What are you talking about?"
Steel ignored the question and stepped closer, grabbing Ben's left arm and lifting it a little, his eyes locking onto the Omnitrix. "It has something to do with this watch, doesn't it?" he asked. "Is it some sort of signal? A way to call the aliens to your location?"
He pressed in even further, his voice getting sharper. "Quick, tell me. Where are those aliens?"
"You really need to chill out."
Everyone turned at once.
Sitting on top of the Rust Bucket with his legs hanging over the edge was Fasttrack, looking completely unbothered by the armed standoff happening underneath him.
"I believe my friends already told you about the current situation," Fasttrack said, then casually jumped down from the RV.
The second his feet hit the ground, a blue blur shot through the group of soldiers. In the blink of an eye, every weapon was out of their hands and neatly pushed aside before anyone could even think about firing.
The soldiers stared, stunned. Fasttrack reappeared right in front of Lt. Steel.
"I know you want to protect this planet and keep everyone safe," He said, looking directly at Steel. "I understand that."
He grabbed Steel's wrist and gently but firmly pulled his hand off Ben's arm.
"But sometimes, it's better if some information stays hidden until the right time."
He let go and stepped back.
"Knowing too much can be dangerous," Fasttrack continued. "Not just for you, but for your people, and everyone else too. You saw what my friends and I can do. You know we were trying to help as best we could. Not all aliens are bad. Same way not all humans are good."
Steel stayed quiet for a moment, clearly thinking it over.
Before he could answer, one of the soldiers called out, "Sir! We have reports of that crystal alien attacking the Golden Gate Bridge. It looks like it might bring down the whole bridge if it isn't stopped."
Lt. Steel's gaze shifted from Fasttrack back to the Tennysons. He looked like he wanted to keep pressing the issue, but the report forced his attention elsewhere.
He reached for his communicator, switched it on, and gave a quick command. "Falcon One, move to my twenty. We're not done with you five."
A helicopter came in overhead almost immediately. A rope line dropped down, and Steel grabbed it without wasting another second. Before going, he looked at Fasttrack one more time, saying nothing, but clearly not finished with the situation.
Then he was lifted away toward the Golden Gate Bridge.
As soon as he left, Ben let out a breath. "Those guys don't stand a chance against Kevin!"
"We have to stop him," Gwen said, already looking worried.
Max nodded once. He'd been quiet through most of it, but now his expression was serious. He knew they didn't have time to waste.
Fasttrack crossed his arms and tapped one foot against the ground. "So, are you going to deal with your best friend, or are you going to make sure those guys make it out alive?"
Ben hesitated. His eyes shifted in the direction of the helicopter, then back to his Omnitrix. For once, he didn't rush into an answer.
"This happened because of me," he said finally. "I messed up back then, and now he's like this."
He exhaled once, steadying himself. "So I'll deal with Kevin."
He looked up, more certain now. "I'm not running from that."
Fasttrack watched him for a second, then gave a small nod.
"Alright," he said simply.
...
At the bridge, Kevin, still transformed as Diamondhead, fired off a volley of crystals at the support cables. Several of them snapped clean through, and the broken lengths came crashing down onto the cars below, crushing a few of them outright and sending glass and metal scattering across the roadway.
The Falcon One helicopter swooped in overhead, trying to get a clearer shot at the situation. Diamondhead immediately snapped his arm up and fired more crystals at it. The attack struck the tail fin and tore it apart, forcing the helicopter to jerk hard to the side before it pulled away and vanished from view.
"Oh yeah!" Kevin shouted, sounding way too pleased with himself.
Lt. Steel looked up at the damage, then pulled out his knife and cut his line free before dropping down onto the bridge. He landed in a crouch, rose to his feet, and faced the alien directly.
"Lt. Steel," Kevin said, his voice carrying a smug edge. "So nice to see you again."
Down below, the Rust Bucket pulled up near the bridge as the Tennysons saw the mess waiting for them.
Ben stepped out first and looked over the scene with a groan. "Great. Just one more thing I'm gonna get blamed for."
The bridge was already filling up with panicked civilians stuck in traffic, trapped by the damaged roadway and the debris blocking their path. People were shouting, doors were opening, and cars were trying to back up wherever they could still fit. It was fast becoming a disaster.
Then a blue blur shot through the crowd.
Fasttrack was already moving at full speed, weaving between stalled vehicles and panicking civilians with practiced ease. In one pass, he pulled a stranded driver out of a damaged car. In another, he guided a pair of people around a section of broken roadway before helping them reach the safer side of the bridge.
Another civilian was trapped near a crumpled bumper, and Fasttrack was there in an instant, getting them out before another crystal shard could fall nearby. He kept moving from person to person, using every second he had to make sure as many people as possible got clear in case the bridge gave and fell apart.
Meanwhile, Lt. Steel was getting thoroughly beaten down, groaning as he realized just how badly this had gone for him. Kevin, still transformed into Diamondhead, had him right where he wanted him.
Then Kevin raised one hand and sharpened it into a blade.
Lt. Steel looked up just in time to realize the alien was about to cut his head off.
Before the strike could land, a voice came from behind Kevin.
"Let him go, Kevin."
Kevin paused and turned.
Ben stood there in Four Arms' form, cracking his knuckles as he glared at him.
"This is between you and me."
Kevin's expression twisted into a grin. "Sounds good to me."
Then he grabbed Lt. Steel and tossed him right off the top of the bridge.
Down below, Fasttrack saw the whole thing happen.
He was about to take off after the falling man when he noticed something else.
Multiple large metal cables were breaking loose and falling with him.
One crashed into a car on the bridge and sent it flying sideways. Another slammed down hard enough to trap a smaller vehicle beneath a pile of twisted steel. More cables were coming loose by the second, and if he didn't move now, people were going to get hurt.
Fasttrack tapped his Omnitrix dial, and three spikes spread out from it as a yellow glow washed over his body.
His legs shifted first, growing longer and stronger, taking on more feline-like proportions. The fur around his feet and up to his knees turned white, while the rest of his body became more built for speed and balance. His hands changed next, claws forming at the tips of his fingers, and the spikes on his arms stretched outward, sharper and more pronounced. A blue cat-like tail unfolded from behind him and swayed once as he crouched low.
"Super Fasttrack!"
The transformation barely finished before he launched forward.
He hit the ground running and moved so fast the world around him seemed to slow down. The bridge, the cars, the falling cables, even the panicked people all seemed to freeze in place for a few seconds as he tore through the scene.
He ran straight through the Golden Gate Bridge, grabbing civilians out of danger and relocating them to safety at either end before they even had time to fully process what had happened. One second they were trapped in the middle of a collapsing bridge, and the next they were suddenly back at the far side, far away from the wreckage.
Lt. Steel was still falling when Fasttrack caught up to him. In one smooth motion, he grabbed the man and carried him clear before setting him down on solid ground.
Steel stumbled a little when he landed, looking around in total confusion. A second ago he had been falling off a bridge, and now he was standing on the other side of it.
He turned his head. People kept appearing around him one after another, each one safely moved out of the danger zone.
By the time he looked back, the bridge had been cleared down to only the three aliens left in the middle.
Fasttrack came to a stop on top of one of the large metal towers, balancing there and looking across to the other side.
That was when he saw Kevin again. And this time, he was changing.
His entire body had already begun mutating in ways that no normal transformation should have been able to do. He had bulked up massively, his body covered in ugly, shifting growths as alien traits collided and layered over each other without any order.
His left arm had taken on Heatblast's rocky, molten texture.
His legs had changed into Four Arms' powerful shape, but the lower part had XLR8's wheel-like feet attached to them. His tail had also changed, stretching out behind him with Stinkfly's stinger at the end. His torso had grown huge and muscular, with his shirt ripping apart as his skin turned red.
Stinkfly's wings spread out from his back.
His left arm was Heatblast's.
His right arm had become Diamondhead's.
Two of Wildmutt's arms had grown beneath the others.
One eye had become Grey Matter's large single eye, while the other had split into Four Arms' two eyes.
The whole thing looked painful, unstable, and completely wrong.
Kevin let out a horrific scream as his body kept changing, growing more twisted and more unrecognizable by the second.
Four Arms stared at him in horror.
Kevin finally stumbled upright, his torso now marked with Ghostfreak-like streaks, Wildmutt's sonar gills sitting along his waist. His back was hunched, Upgrade's metallic alloy had spread over parts of his body, and Ripjaws' angler and gills had taken over his forehead and throat. His jaw had fused into something even uglier, with Wildmutt's incisors and Ripjaws' fangs jammed together in a mess of teeth.
He clutched at his head, trying to focus.
Then his face twisted.
"I… I can't change back!" he yelled. "I'm stuck like this! Look what you've done!"
"Oh, man!" Four Arms said. "Is there anything I'm not gonna get blamed for today?"
Kevin roared and charged him.
He slammed all four fists into Four Arms at once, hitting him with pure rage. The force sent Four Arms flying backward off the bridge, but he managed to catch the edge before he fell.
Kevin advanced immediately, stepping up and planting his foot on Four Arms' hand to keep him from climbing back up.
"You'll never beat me," he snarled. "Because you're one of the good guys. And good guys never have the guts to finish guys like me."
"But I do."
Fasttrack appeared right in front of Kevin before he could react.
His knee crashed directly into Kevin's jaw with enough force to snap his head back.
Kevin stumbled back a few steps, just enough to regain his balance.
Fasttrack landed on the top of the tower a moment later, closing the distance so quickly it barely felt like a gap had existed at all.
His gaze stayed locked on Kevin.
"You again?" Kevin muttered when he saw the golden Omnitrix dial on Fasttrack's chest. Then his mouth curled into a smirk. "Do you really think I'm the only one who's dissatisfied with you?"
Fasttrack narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"
Before Kevin could answer, a heavy sound came from behind him.
It sounded like something large and fast dropping from the sky.
Fasttrack reacted instantly, pulling off a quick backflip out of instinct more than anything else. Whatever had come crashing down hit the exact spot he had just been standing on, sending sparks, debris, and a burst of smoke across the top of the tower.
That impact was enough to shake Four Arms loose.
He lost his grip on the bridge and fell out of sight, leaving Fasttrack alone at the top of the structure.
The smoke began to clear.
Then another figure stepped forward from it.
"This is what I mean!" Kevin said.
Fasttrack's expression changed the moment he saw who it was.
"Vilgax?" he said in disbelief. "How the hell are you still alive?"
The last time they had fought, Vilgax had been in bad shape. Bad enough that he had been running with his tail between his legs, and then his ship had exploded with him inside it.
So seeing him standing there now was not exactly something Fasttrack had prepared for.
Vilgax said nothing. Kevin, however, looked way too pleased with himself as he decided to explain it.
"I ran into this guy while I was tearing things up to frame Benji," he said. "He thought I was him and started asking for something called the Omnitrix. I'm guessing that's your guys' watches. Since both of us have a reason to hate you and Ben, we figured we might as well work together."
Fasttrack clicked his tongue and glanced between the two of them.
Kevin stood in front of him. Vilgax stood behind him.
And together, they had managed to corner him from both directions.
Fasttrack did not look worried for long.
He tapped his Omnitrix dial and, in a flash of gold, dropped out of his super form and back into his base state.
Vilgax noticed immediately. That told him what he needed to know from their last fight. The Another Omnitrix must be running low.
Vilgax stepped forward first, heavy and deliberate. "Today," he said, voice low and certain, "I will reclaim my Omnitrix."
The wind picked up around the bridge, tugging at loose cables, whistling through broken supports. Below, distant sirens echoed, but up here it felt strangely cut off, like the three of them were standing outside everything else.
Fasttrack looked from one to the other, then gave a small, almost unimpressed exhale.
"Two on one, huh?" he muttered, almost to himself.
Then he looked between them again, and something in his expression shifted, his glowing golden eyes just grew... colder.
"Good," he said. "Now I can kill you both at once."
That made everyone pause.
Kevin blinked once. Vilgax stared. Even the air around them seemed to go still for a second.
For a brief moment, none of them were sure who was actually supposed to be the villain anymore.