As they walked through the museum, Gwen slowed her pace a little, letting her voice drop so it wouldn't carry across the room.
"Hey, Grampa… do you know what Evan actually likes?"
Max didn't answer right away. He kept walking for a few steps, hands behind his back, eyes drifting over the exhibits without really seeing them. When he finally spoke, it was slower than usual, like he was sorting through something that wasn't easy to put into words.
"Hmmm… now that you mention it… I don't know."
Gwen glanced at him, a bit surprised by how quickly that answer came once he decided on it.
Max gave a small shrug, but there was more thought behind it than the gesture showed. "I've been thinking about it, and every time I try to pin something down, it just circles back to the same thing. Tech, upgrades, alien systems… anything he can take apart and improve his Another Omnitrix."
Gwen folded her arms slightly, frowning. "That's not really a hobby though. That's just… what he does."
"Exactly." Max nodded once, his tone staying even. "It's not something he enjoys on the side. It's something he focuses on all the time."
Max knew that Evan really cared for those he considered family, and he knew what he usually did was so that when danger came, he could stand up and protect those he cared about.
They passed another exhibit, Ben visible a short distance away, leaning against a wall with a comic book in hand, completely uninterested in anything around him. Evan hadn't even bothered coming inside, choosing to stay in the Rust Bucket without a second thought.
Gwen looked toward the entrance for a moment before turning back. "So he doesn't like games, doesn't care about stuff like this, doesn't really hang out unless we drag him along…" She paused, then added more quietly, "What does he do when he's not… doing all that?"
Max exhaled lightly. "That's the part I don't have a clear answer for."
He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck, thinking back over the past few weeks. "Most kids your age, even with responsibilities, they still have something they go back to. Ben has his games, you've got your books. Even when things get hectic, you both still act like kids."
Gwen didn't respond, but she knew where this was going.
Max continued, his voice steady but more thoughtful now. "Evan… doesn't really switch off. Even when he's sitting still, he's thinking about something, yet instead of telling us, he keeps it for himself."
Gwen's expression shifted slightly, the frustration from earlier fading into something more uncertain. "That's… not normal, is it?"
"No," Max said honestly. "It isn't."
They walked a bit further before he spoke again. "I'll call Stay Gold and Oriental Art later and ask them. I'm sure as parents, they would at least know what he likes."
Gwen nodded, though her attention wasn't really on the plan. "It just feels… weird."
Max glanced down at her. "Weird how?"
She hesitated, trying to phrase it properly. "He's always there when it matters. He helps, he fights, he protects... he does everything he can to protect us. But outside of that, it's like…" She trailed off, then finished more quietly, "Like there's nothing else."
Max didn't interrupt. He let her finish.
"It makes it hard to… talk to him," Gwen admitted. "Like, what are we even supposed to talk about? If we don't have anything in common, it just turns into awkward silence."
Max gave a small, understanding nod. "That's part of it, yeah."
He looked ahead, his expression softening just a bit. "But bonding isn't always about having the same interests. Sometimes it just takes time. And sometimes it takes figuring out things the other person doesn't even realize about themselves yet."
Gwen let that sit for a moment. "So what do we do?"
Max smiled faintly, not in a joking way, but more like he'd already accepted the situation for what it was. "We don't force it. We keep trying. I'm sure he would open up eventually; this isn't something that's going to change overnight."
Gwen looked toward the entrance again, thinking about Evan sitting alone in the RV by himself.
"…Yeah," she said quietly.
Max gave her shoulder a light pat as they continued walking. "We'll figure it out. He's family. That part's not complicated."
Gwen nodded, but this time there was more weight behind it.
As Ben walked down the stairs and headed away from the museum, he didn't bother looking back. Hands in his pockets, he moved at an easy pace, more focused on finding something actually interesting to do.
Then a sharp whooshing sound cut through the air.
Ben stopped and looked up just in time to see a spaceship streak overhead, flying low into the city before slowing down.
"…Okay, that's new," he said, already turning toward it. A grin spread across his face as he started running. "Maybe this won't be such a boring trip after all."
By the time he reached the street, a crowd had already gathered, people pointing and talking as the ship hovered briefly before lowering itself down. The hatch slid open with a mechanical hiss, and a huge, muscular orange alien stepped out, with two spikes under his chin, and more metal spikes sticking out from his armor.
He landed heavily on the ground, looked around once, unimpressed, then spoke in a flat, demanding tone. "Take me to the Bicenthium alloy."
The crowd just stared at him, confused and unsure how to respond.
The alien's expression shifted slightly, clearly annoyed. Without another word, he slammed his fist into the ground, cracking the pavement and forming a wide crater that sent people stumbling back. That was enough to break whatever curiosity was left, and the crowd scattered in all directions, shouting as they ran.
Ben ducked behind the corner of a nearby building, peeking out as the alien straightened up.
"Well, that was just plain rude," he muttered. "Somebody's got to teach this guy some manners."
He lifted his wrist and slammed down on the Omnitrix.
A green flash burst outward, and Four Arms stepped out from it, already moving.
The orange alien barely had time to react before Four Arms tackled him head-on, wrapping two arms around his neck and locking him into a tight headlock.
"Okay, tough guy," Four Arms said, tightening his grip. "Let's see how you like-"
"A Tetramand?" the alien cut in, his tone shifting to mild disdain. "This planet really is a dump."
Before Four Arms could respond, the alien grabbed him by the face with one hand and forcefully pried himself free, then swung and threw him straight through the front of a jewelry store. Glass shattered as Four Arms crashed inside, sliding across the floor.
The alien dusted his hand off like it was nothing.
A second later, Four Arms burst back out of the store, already charging again. He closed the distance quickly and drove a solid punch into the alien's face, sending him skidding backward across the street.
Before he could follow up, a familiar figure dropped in from above.
Sixsix descended from the top of the ship, his jetpack flaring as he angled straight toward Four Arms.
"Oh man! Not this guy again!"
Four Arms didn't hesitate. He pivoted and sprinted, ducking into a nearby café just as Sixsix raised his arm. Missile ports opened along his gauntlet, and a volley launched, curving sharply as they tracked Four Arms inside.
Inside the cafe, tables and chairs were overturned as Four Arms moved, weaving between obstacles while the missiles chased him, detonating against walls and floors when they missed.
Outside, Gwen and Max took cover behind a corner, watching the chaos unfold.
"Grandpa, the alien with the jetpack," Gwen said, recognizing him immediately.
"It's one of the bounty hunters from the desert," Max replied, eyes narrowing. "Looks like he got out of galactic jail."
Seeing Ben now handling two enemies at once, Max's expression tightened slightly. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his Wacky Tacky.
"I'm calling Evan. Just in case."
Back inside, Four Arms grabbed the incoming missiles mid-flight, then another, spun once to build momentum, and hurled them both back. They streaked toward Sixsix, forcing him to cut his descent short and dodge downward as the missiles exploded against the building behind him.
The orange alien didn't give Four Arms time to breathe. He grabbed a nearby car, lifted it with ease, and threw it straight through the cafe entrance.
The impact sent Four Arms flying backward, crashing into the far wall.
He pushed himself up quickly, shaking it off, only to see Sixsix hovering just outside, arm raised again as another wave of missiles launched directly toward him.
Before they could connect, a golden energy barrier snapped into place in front of Four Arms, absorbing the impact in a controlled ripple instead of an explosion.
"Gentlemen," a calm voice spoke, "how about we even out the battlefield?"
From behind the corner, Brainstorm stepped forward, his claws clicking lightly against the pavement as the shell on his head began to open, faint arcs of electricity dancing across the exposed brain.
"Alright!" Four Arms said with a grin, getting back to his feet.
"A Cerebrocrustacean?" the orange alien noted, watching Brainstorm approach with a more focused look.
Sixsix immediately adjusted, switching weapons and firing a stream of plasma shots toward Brainstorm.
Brainstorm didn't move. The shell opened wider, and a curved energy field formed in front of him, the plasma bolts striking it and dispersing, then bending, redirected by subtle shifts in the field's shape.
With a slight motion of his claw, Brainstorm sent the redirected shots back toward Sixsix.
Sixsix veered off course to avoid them, jetpack flaring as the blasts passed close by.
At the same time, the orange alien charged straight for Brainstorm, only to be intercepted mid-run as Four Arms stepped in and drove another punch into his jaw, knocking him off his feet and sending him crashing into a parked truck.
Sixsix recovered quickly, but before he could counterattack, Brainstorm released a focused electrical kinetic blast that struck him mid-air and slammed him down onto the same truck, denting the metal beneath him.
Four Arms leapt up after him, landing heavily on the truck's surface and moving in.
Sixsix didn't panic. Instead, he activated a device built into his armor. As Four Arms grabbed him, a surge of electricity discharged point-blank into Four Arms' body.
The shock forced Four Arms to seize up, his muscles locking as the current ran through him. He dropped to one knee, then both, unable to maintain his grip.
"Oh, come on," Brainstorm muttered.
He started to raise another attack, but the orange alien had already recovered and swung at him. Brainstorm shifted immediately, converting his offensive charge into a reinforced barrier that blocked the punch cleanly.
"If you don't mind… get lost," Brainstorm said evenly.
The barrier reshaped instantly, splitting into energy restraints that snapped onto the alien's wrists. Before he could react, two more formed around his ankles, lifting him slightly off the ground.
Suspended by all four limbs, the alien struggled, but Brainstorm simply rotated his claws.
The restraints began spinning in place, forcing the restrained alien to rotate with them, disorienting him without causing direct damage.
Brainstorm kept him there, controlled and contained, as his attention shifted back toward Sixsix and the recovering Four Arms.
Just as Sixsix steadied himself and raised his arm to fire again, a beam of blue light suddenly cut through the sky. It wasn't subtle either, it came down fast and bright, forcing everyone on the street to look up.
Three figures materialized where the light touched down, landing right between the fight.
The first one stood out immediately. He was tall and broad-shouldered, with dark blue skin and a solid, muscular build. His face was sharp, with a square jaw, and his eyes glowed light blue beneath what looked like a black mask. He wore a simple yellow suit with a stylized "U" on the chest, and a white cape fastened with gold clasps that barely moved despite the chaos around him.
Next to him was a Tetramand, but not one Ben had seen before. She was just as bulky as Four Arms, with red skin and visible muscle definition, but her build was a bit more balanced. Spikes ran along her arms and head, and her long black hair flowed behind her. Her outfit leaned more toward a gladiator style, with armor pieces, a skirt, and a gold headpiece that made her stand out even more.
The third floated slightly above the ground. His body was a cluster of yellow tentacles, while his head looked like a bluish-green brain encased in a clear dome. His face wasn't physically there, more like it was projected across the surface, shifting as he moved.
Before Sixsix could react, a bluish aura wrapped around him and yanked him sideways, throwing him straight toward his still-dizzy partner.
Four Arms blinked, staring at the sudden change in the situation. "No way!"
Brainstorm clicked his claws together lightly, eyeing the newcomers. "This day continues to escalate in ways I did not account for."
"Yeah, you could say that," Gwen added as she and Max stepped closer, keeping their distance from the main fight.
"Rescue Formation Alpha 9," the blue alien ordered calmly, like this was routine.
The three moved at once.
The orange alien shook his head, forcing himself upright despite the disorientation. Seeing new opponents, he didn't hesitate and jumped right back into the fight, while Sixsix recovered enough to fire again.
The blue alien took to the air, dodging the incoming shots with smooth, controlled movement. In the same motion, his eyes flared, and two red beams shot out, slicing through Sixsix's blaster and disabling it instantly.
The Tetramand didn't waste time. She charged forward and clapped all four hands together, sending out a visible shockwave that hit Sixsix squarely and launched him back into the side of the truck again.
Four Arms watched that, then looked at her. She caught his gaze, smiled, and gave him a quick wink.
He immediately took a step back. "…Okay, that's weird."
Meanwhile, the floating alien engaged the orange one. Every swing thrown at him missed as he hovered just out of reach, adjusting position with minimal effort.
Then his expression sharpened. A blue aura wrapped around his opponent, lifting him clean off the ground. Before the orange alien could break free, the leader closed in mid-air and drove a precise punch into his face, sending him crashing back down to the street, landing right next to Sixsix.
The leader hovered above them, cape barely shifting as he looked down. "By the provision set forward by the Galactic Code of Conduct, I order you to surrender. Will you yield?"
Four Arms walked up beside him, clearly not impressed. "Yield? What is this, a traffic light? You don't ask guys like this nicely, you just finish it before they try something."
Right on cue, Sixsix proved the point.
A flash grenade dropped from his armor and detonated, flooding the area with blinding light. Everyone flinched or shielded their eyes, and by the time the light faded, the two bounty hunters were already moving.
Their ship lifted off quickly, engines roaring as it gained height. As it turned, Sixsix fired two shots from the rear, targeting the museum behind them.
The blasts struck two of the main support pillars, cracking them instantly.
The structure groaned.
Four Arms didn't hesitate. He ran straight for one of the pillars as the Tetramand did the same for the other. Both of them grabbed hold, digging their feet into the ground as the weight shifted.
"Got it!" Four Arms grunted, pushing upward.
The Tetramand matched his effort, her muscles tensing as she forced the pillar back into place.
The floating alien raised his tentacles, focusing. A blue field wrapped around both supports, stabilizing them mid-movement and easing the strain.
"You may release your grip now," he said once everything was aligned properly.
The two Tetramands let go at the same time, stepping back.
The leader descended and used his heat vision to seal the cracks along the damaged sections, reinforcing the structure so it wouldn't collapse again.
Once everything settled, the immediate danger passed.
The Tetramand woman turned back to Four Arms, clearly more relaxed now. "So, what's a big strong alien like you doing on a planet like this? We made a pretty good team back there."
Before he could answer, the Omnitrix beeped.
Four Arms looked down, then up again. "Yes! Saved by the beep."
A red flash followed, and Four Arms disappeared, leaving Ben standing in his place.
The Tetramand blinked. "…Where'd the rest of you go?"
Ben shrugged, rubbing the back of his head. "Uh, sorry. I'm just a kid. I get extra arms sometimes, not all the time."
The floating alien tilted his head slightly. "So it is true. The Omnitrix is in the possession of children. We were informed you might be… of somewhat limited mental capacity."
Ben immediately frowned. "Hey."
"No offense," the alien added without changing tone.
"Don't worry," Gwen said, crossing her arms. "He hears that a lot. Mostly accurate on his side."
"Hey!"
The Tetramand suddenly looked around. "Where did the other one go? The brain one."
Max let out a quiet sigh. "Don't mind him. He's… not big on introductions."
He didn't elaborate further. Back in his Plumber days, Stay Gold had a habit of slipping away before anyone noticed, and Evan seemed to have inherited that pretty cleanly.
Max also kept quiet about the Another Omnitrix. If Evan wasn't going to explain it himself, then he wasn't about to start that conversation for him.
"I see," the leader said with a nod. "Then please pass along our thanks."
He stepped forward slightly. "Greetings. I am Ultimos, the Specimen Prime. This is Synaptak and Tini."
He gestured to the floating alien and the Tetramand beside him.
"We are the Galactic Enforcers."
The three of them struck a coordinated pose.
Gwen and Max didn't react much beyond a glance.
Ben, on the other hand, lit up immediately. "Whoa! The outfits, the poses, the move, this is awesome! You guys are like actual superheroes!"
Ultimos straightened, continuing without missing a beat. "As per the Galactic Code of Conduct, we hereby officially request clearance to operate within your quadrant."
Ben blinked once. "…Uh, sure?"
"Then we have much to discuss."
Ultimos pressed a control on his belt. A beam of blue light formed beneath Ben, Gwen, and Max before they could say anything else, lifting them upward.
"Alright!" Ben shouted, clearly enjoying this part.
Up on a nearby tree branch, Evan watched the whole thing unfold, eyes widening slightly as the three disappeared into the light.
"Heh!?"