A hundred meters away, inside a skeletal shack, a blue blur vaulted over the roof. The Velocity Wraith skidded to a halt in front of Max and Gwen, gently setting a dizzy Ben on the ground.
"What's the status, Tyler?" Max asked, his hand instinctively reaching for his hidden Plumber gear.
"A heavy hitter just arrived," Tyler panted as he reverted to human form. "A Petrosapien—same species as Ben's Diamondhead. He's tactical, experienced, and my timer is almost up. We can't win a slugfest right now."
Tyler knew from his memories that Tetrax wasn't necessarily an enemy, but in the brutal world of the Carnitrix, "trust" was a luxury that got you killed.
"He's fast," Ben groaned, rubbing his bruised ribs. "And he hits like a freight train."
Max looked at the horizon, his eyes sharp. "I scouted the maps earlier. There's an abandoned mine a kilometer east. If we can get underground, we can neutralize his hoverboard advantage. Move!"
Tyler didn't waste a second. He hoisted Gwen onto his back despite her protests. "Hang on, Gwen! We're going for a ride!"
"Tyler, I officially hate you and this watch!!" Gwen yelled over the wind as they bolted.
A kilometer away, at the mouth of a gaping mine shaft, Tyler let Max down and felt the Carnitrix go cold.
"Safe for now," Tyler exhaled. "But when this thing recharges, Ben and I are going to double-team that crystal-head."
The four of them descended into the pitch-black tunnels. The sound of scurrying vermin echoed off the damp walls. Gwen subconsciously gripped Tyler's arm, her knuckles white.
"Scared of a few rats, Gwen?" Tyler teased with a smirk. "Look at me—I turn into eldritch nightmares. I'm way scarier than anything in these walls."
Max led the way, muttering about needing a better light source. Deep in the tunnels, they found an old, rusted mine cart. With a few deft movements and the green glow of Ben's watch as a flashlight, Max managed to jump-start the ancient mechanism.
"Grandpa," Tyler said, watching Max work with professional precision. "You're a 'plumber,' right? Since when do plumbers know how to hotwire 19th-century mining equipment?"
Max avoided Tyler's gaze, focusing on the tracks. "I'll teach you the tricks later, Tyler. Right now, I need to make sure we don't derail."
The cart clattered through the dark until it burst into a massive, open-pit quarry surrounded by sheer rock walls. As Tyler's eyes adjusted to the blinding sunlight, his heart sank. "It's a trap."
The only exit was sealed behind a massive wall of jagged, reinforced crystal.
WHOOSH!
Tetrax descended on his hoverboard, hovering effortlessly above the exit. He looked down at them, his arms crossed. "Hiding is a delay, not a solution. No matter where you run, the Omnitrix belongs to the strongest."
Suddenly, dozens of Vilgaxian Drones swarmed over the cliff edges, their turrets humming as they locked onto the group.
BOOM!!
The ground exploded as Kraab burrowed upward, flipping the mine cart like a toy. "Nowhere left to run, rats!" the golden cyborg hissed.
"Tyler, any ideas?" Ben whispered, his back to Tyler's as they were surrounded.
Tyler dialed the Carnitrix, his eyes darting across the icons. "Get back, Ben. Take Grandpa and Gwen and run for the rock wall. I'm going to do something extremely dangerous."
"What are you doing?"
"Trusting the machine," Tyler said, his finger hovering over a new icon.
Kraab unleashed a devastating laser blast. The drones followed suit, a rain of crimson energy converging on Tyler's position. Even Tetrax raised a hand, firing a volley of diamond shards to pin him down.
Tyler slammed the dial.
FLASH!
The desert was swallowed by a blood-red supernova. From the light emerged a tall, obsidian figure. His head bore two jagged antennae, and his fingers and tail ended in thick, industrial-grade copper plugs. His face was a mask of carnage—blood-red skin, black sockets, and fangs that dripped with a terrifying, static-filled saliva.
The Volt-Siphon (Feedback Variant) had arrived.
"What in the galaxy is that?!" Tetrax hissed, nearly falling off his hoverboard as the sheer pressure of the transformation hit him.
Tyler bared his fangs in a monstrous grin. He raised his plugged hands, palms out, as the incoming lasers hit him from all sides. "Thanks for the meal."
The beams of energy didn't explode. They swirled, caught in a gravitational well around Tyler's hands, flowing into his plugs like water down a drain.
"Increase output! Fry him!!" Kraab screamed, his pincers glowing with effort.
It was useless. Tyler let out a low, guttural roar as the energy surged through his veins. His chest swelled, and arcs of violent, red-and-black electricity erupted from his body, coating him in a jagged suit of lightning.
Standing in the center of the quarry, Tyler wasn't just an alien anymore. He was a living conduit of divine wrath.
[New Alien Identified: The Volt-Siphon. Status: Overcharged.]
Tyler looked at Tetrax, his eyes glowing with predatory hunger. "My turn."