[21] Desperate Measures

Chapter 21: Desperate Measures

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"Run!"

The words barely left my mouth before another barrage of energy blasts tore through what remained of the saloon's back wall. I grabbed Gwen's arm and yanked her behind an overturned table as splinters rained down around us.

"Where exactly are we supposed to run to?" Gwen hissed, dust settling in her copper hair. "In case you haven't noticed, we're pretty much surrounded!"

She had a point. SixSix hovered outside the front entrance, his armor bristling with enough firepower to level the entire ghost town. The saloon's back wall now featured a hole roughly the size of a pickup truck, giving us a lovely view of absolutely nowhere to hide.

I checked the Omnitrix again. Still red. Still useless.

"Grandpa, please tell me you've got some super-secret Plumber tech hidden in your sock or something!" I called over to where Max crouched behind the remnants of the bar.

Grandpa's expression was grim as he peered over his cover. "Kids, I need you to keep him busy for two minutes. I've got something that might help, but I need to get to the Rust Bucket."

"Two minutes?" Gwen's voice cracked. "We'll be lucky to last two seconds against that thing!"

SixSix's mechanical chittering filtered through the haze of dust and smoke as he advanced, the sound sending chills down my spine. Even knowing what to expect from the cartoon didn't prepare me for how utterly terrifying he was in person – a seven-foot-tall walking arsenal with mandibles that could probably crush steel.

"We've got this," I assured Gwen with more confidence than I felt. "Your magic, my... uh, quick thinking. We're basically unstoppable."

"Your quick thinking is what got us into this mess!" She glared at me, but her hands were already glowing with magical energy. The charms around her neck pulsed brightly, responding to the danger.

Grandpa Max crept toward the back exit. "On my signal, create a distraction. Then get to cover and stay there. Don't try to be heroes."

"Too late for that," I muttered, positioning myself beside Gwen.

Grandpa counted down with his fingers. Three. Two. One.

"Now!"

Gwen thrust both hands forward, telekinetically hurling every piece of broken furniture in the room toward the front entrance. Tables, chairs, shattered glass – all became projectiles in her magical assault.

SixSix unleashed a barrage of return fire, his arm-mounted blasters reducing most of the projectiles to splinters before they reached him. But the distraction worked – Grandpa sprinted through the back hole, disappearing into the dusty street beyond.

"Hey ugly!" I shouted, throwing an empty bottle for good measure. "Nice outfit! What, was the purple power ranger costume shop all out of your size?"

His masked face turned toward me, sensors glowing an eerie red.

"Maybe not the best time to antagonize the alien death machine, dweeb!" Gwen suggested through gritted teeth, struggling to maintain a telekinetic shield as SixSix fired a series of razor-sharp discs in our direction.

One sliced through her barrier, narrowly missing my ear before embedding itself in the wall behind us.

"Noted!" I ducked lower, pulling Gwen down with me as more projectiles whistled overhead. This was no joke, we could lose our lives here. "Any chance those charms can conjure up a tank or something?"

"I'm open to suggestions!" She fired back, sweat beading on her forehead as she reinforced the shield. "This thing's way stronger than Kraab!"

That's because SixSix is a professional bounty hunter, not just some hired gun, I thought, though I kept that knowledge to myself. He's supposed to be the second toughest of the three hunters.

The telekinetic shield flickered as SixSix switched tactics, deploying some kind of sonic weapon that made the air vibrate painfully around us. Gwen cried out, her concentration breaking. Blood trickled from her nose.

"Gwen!" I lunged forward, catching her as she swayed.

"I'm okay," she whispered, though she clearly wasn't. "Just... dizzy."

SixSix advanced through the ruined entrance, his armored boots crushing debris underfoot. Various weapons extended from his suit, all trained on us. He chittered something in his alien language – and kindly translated a moment later when he realized we couldn’t understand him. "Game over, kids."

Come on, Grandpa, where are you? I positioned myself between SixSix and Gwen, my useless Omnitrix still stubbornly red. SixSix pointed his weapons at Gwen.

Dammit.

"You want this watch?" I called, trying to distract him by raising my wrist. "You'll have to take it from me, bug face!"

SixSix responded by deploying what looked like a miniature cannon from his shoulder. It hummed as it charged, the barrel glowing with deadly energy.

I stared at the light, feeling my throat go dry. That looks deadly. I might really die from that… Fuck, not exactly how I pictured my summer vacation going.

Just as SixSix prepared to fire, a brilliant blue beam cut through the saloon wall, striking him squarely in the back. The impact sent him crashing forward, his armor smoking from a direct hit.

I whipped around to see Grandpa Max standing in the back entrance, wielding what could only be described as a massive alien rifle. It hummed with energy as he expertly adjusted some setting on its side. Gone was the affable, easygoing grandfather – in his place stood a hardened warrior, his stance and expression those of someone who'd faced much worse than SixSix.

"Get away from my grandkids," he growled, firing again.

The second shot caught SixSix in his leg joint, causing his armor to spark and stutter. He spun toward this new threat, chittering furiously.

"GRANDPA?!" Gwen and I exclaimed in unison, our jaws practically hitting the floor.

"Stay down!" he ordered, rolling to a new position as SixSix returned fire. The exchange of energy blasts lit up the dim saloon like some deadly light show.

"Where the hell did he get that?!" Gwen whispered, her eyes wide with awe.

"Hidden compartment in the Rust Bucket, I'm guessing," I replied. Grandpa Max's secret past, his extensive knowledge of alien technology, his combat training – he’d informed us about some of it. But seeing it firsthand was something else entirely.

Max fired a third shot, this one striking SixSix's helmet and cracking it. The bounty hunter staggered back, momentarily stunned. Exposed circuitry sparked beneath his damaged armor.

"Whoa," I breathed. "Remind me never to raid Grandpa's cookie jar without permission."

The excitement was short-lived. SixSix recovered quickly, analyzing the situation with cold efficiency. “Annoying old human!” With frightening speed, he deployed multiple weapons simultaneously – blasters, discs, and something that looked disturbingly like a miniature missile launcher.

"GRANDPA, LOOK OUT!" Gwen screamed.

Max dove behind a support beam as the saloon erupted in chaos. Energy blasts tore through wood and plaster, missiles demolished what remained of the bar, and the air filled with deadly projectiles.

The building wouldn't hold much longer under this assault. Parts of the ceiling began to collapse, forcing us to scramble for new cover.

"Omnitrix, seriously, now would be a really good time," I muttered desperately, glaring at the device.

As if answering my plea, the faceplate finally shifted from red to green with its characteristic activation beep.

About damn time!

I didn't waste a second. "Hero Time!" I quickly pushed a finger down on the dial, the interface already on an alien. Green light flooded the crumbling saloon as my body dissolved and reconfigured into the liquid metal form of Upgrade. Perfect.

"Upgrade!" I shouted, launching myself toward SixSix before he could target Grandpa again.

My amorphous form wrapped around the bounty hunter like a living shadow. He thrashed wildly, attempting to dislodge me, but I had already begun merging with his battle suit. My consciousness spread through his systems, accessing circuitry, weapons platforms, and mobility enhancements.

"Surprise, asshole!" I said, my voice echoing from SixSix's own helmet speakers. "Two for two on the body-snatching today!"

SixSix chittered frantically as I seized control of his suit's functions one by one. Unlike Kraab, whose technology had been relatively straightforward, SixSix's armor was a sophisticated work of alien engineering – multiple redundant systems, fail-safes, and countermeasures against tampering.

But he hadn't counted on facing a Galvanic Mechamorph.

"Let's see what buttons I shouldn't press," I said cheerfully, accessing his weapons systems and overriding safety protocols. "Oops, my bad."

His missile launchers misfired, sending projectiles harmlessly into the sky. His jet pack sputtered and died. His communication array shorted out in a shower of sparks.

"System corruption at eighty percent," I announced. "And climbing. Any last words? No? That's cool."

I saved his life support systems for last, shutting them down just long enough to render him unconscious before reactivating them. No sense in killing the guy, he was just doing his job, after all. Mercenary or not, he technically wasn't even a villain in the original timeline, just a hired gun.

As SixSix slumped to the ground, I detached from his armor and reformed into Upgrade's standard shape. The Omnitrix symbol on my chest remained green, indicating I still had a few minutes before transforming back.

"Is everyone okay?" I called, scanning the ruined saloon for Gwen and Grandpa.

Gwen emerged from behind a fallen beam, dust coating her clothes and hair. Despite the ordeal, she managed a shaky thumbs-up. "That was... actually kind of awesome," she admitted.

Grandpa Max approached cautiously, his weapon still trained on SixSix's motionless form. "Good work, Ben. Is he...?"

"Just unconscious," I assured him. Another reason I didn’t go for the kill. "Figured keeping him alive might be useful. You know, for questioning or whatever."

Max nodded approvingly, lowering his rifle slightly. "Smart thinking."

"So," I gestured to the massive alien weapon in his hands, "you told us about your ex-job, but were you planning on telling us about your secret armory anytime soon? Or was that going to be a surprise birthday present?"

Before Grandpa could answer, a cool voice interrupted from behind us.

"I thought the Omnitrix fell to someone who could only hide behind ladies and the elderly, but it seems I was wrong."

We spun around to find a tall, crystalline figure hovering at the edge of the saloon's ruined wall. He stood on what looked like a high-tech surfboard, his body composed entirely of diamond-like material that caught the fading sunlight. His face was impassive, unreadable.

Tetrax Shard, I thought, recognizing the Petrosapien bounty hunter instantly. The third hunter – and secretly, the good guy.

"Diamondhead…? Who the hell are you supposed to be?" I demanded, playing dumb. "I'm running out of bounty hunters to beat up today." Though internally, I calculated the threat level. Tetrax was supposed to be an ally in the original timeline, but this was a merged universe. Things didn't always follow the script I remembered.

Tetrax regarded me with what might have been amusement, though his crystalline features made it hard to tell.

"My name is Tetrax Shard," he stated simply. "And unlike these two," he gestured toward the fallen forms of Kraab and SixSix, "I'm not here to take the Omnitrix from you. Well, not anymore.”

Grandpa Max stepped forward, positioning himself protectively between us and Tetrax. "Then why are you here?" he asked, his weapon still ready.

"I came to observe," Tetrax replied. His gaze fixed on me. "The Omnitrix is the most powerful device in the galaxy. I wanted to see if its current wielder was worthy of its power."

"And?" I prompted, crossing my Upgrade arms. "Do I pass your little test?"

"You show... some potential." He jumped off his hoverboard, landing with surprising grace for someone made of living crystal. "You defeated two experienced bounty hunters with minimal experience. Impressive. And were also kind enough not to murder mindlessly."

"...What can I say? I'm a natural." I shrugged.

Gwen stepped up beside me, her charms glowing defensively. "So you're not working for this Vilgax person?"

Tetrax's posture stiffened at the name. "He did hire me, but no, I don’t work for him. In fact, I'm actively working against him. Vilgax must never obtain the Omnitrix."

"On that, we agree," Grandpa Max said, though he didn't lower his weapon. "But that doesn't explain why you're here now. You should leave."

Tetrax studied us for a moment longer, then reached behind his back. Grandpa tensed, but Tetrax simply produced a sleek, compact device that expanded into a duplicate of his hoverboard.

"Consider it a gift," he said, sliding it toward me. "You'll need the mobility in the days to come. Vilgax won't stop sending hunters."

I picked up the hoverboard cautiously. It was surprisingly lightweight, its surface smooth and cool beneath my Upgrade fingers. Part of me was thrilled – this was the iconic hoverboard from the show, a cool piece of tech. Another part remained suspicious.

"Thanks... I think," I said. "But what's the catch? This thing got tracking devices? Self-destruct mechanisms? Mind control chips?"

Tetrax's crystalline lips twitched in what might have been a smile. "Smart boy. No catch. Use your Galvan DNA to check it later on. Consider it... an investment for the future."

Yeah, right. Even in the original timeline, he was here on an agenda. This thing's definitely got some kind of tracker or monitoring device built in.

"I'll be going now," Tetrax said, his hoverboard lowering just enough for him to pick up the unconscious SixSix.

"Really?" Gwen asked. "Well, good luck then. I’m glad we didn’t have to fight a Diamondhead.”

Tetrax tapped a device on his wrist. A swirling portal of energy appeared behind him. "We'll meet again, Ben Tennyson," he said, stepping backward into the portal. "Sooner than you think."

With that, he vanished with SixSix, the portal collapsing in on itself with a soft whoosh.

A heavy silence fell over the ruined saloon as we processed what had just happened. Two unconscious bounty hunters, a mysterious alien ally, a sweet new hoverboard, and Grandpa's secret weaponry – all in the span of about fifteen minutes.

The Omnitrix flashed red, and I returned to human. "So," I said finally, breaking the silence, "what’s for dinner tonight?"

I was getting a bit too used to these incidents.

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