DISTRACTIONS

By Jazzmania Chronicle

PART ONE

He had done it. He was the ultimate predator. He had completed his mission in capturing the "Great" Benjamin Tennyson, proving once and for all that he was the ultimate hunter. He was currently on his ship, polishing one of his favorite hunting knives. His pet, the Anubian Baskurr, was busy chewing on a bone.

It was a comforting silence. That is, before Tennyson regained consciousness and starting jabbering. Usually, this wasn't something he really minded but there was something about Tennyson's voice that made him want to wring his neck. But he made sure to keep his cool.

"So, uh, 'Khyber', is it? Love what you've done with the place. Who knew alien skulls had so many uses…" Ben stated, sarcasm dripping from his every word. He was hanging upside down from the ceiling.

Khyber continued cleaning his knife.

"This is usually when you evil guys spell out your whole 'dominate the universe' plan, which I'm sure you're dying to fill me in on."

Khyber said nothing.

Ben tried again. "Hey, Skull-Face! I'm talking to you!"

Khyber's fist tightened around his blade. The boy was trying to get a rise out of him. He must have a habit of running his mouth off. He so wanted to cut the little shit's tongue out. But his associates wanted the boy to remain unharmed. He had to keep his cool.

"There is nothing to 'fill you in' on," Khyber said slowly, his back to Tennyson. "The hunting equipment, the skulls, the fur skin rugs...it's all pretty self-explanatory."

"So he speaks," Ben replied, a smirk on his face. Khyber growled but kept his composure.

"So you do have a reason for all this, right? Because if you're just doing this for nothing, then you must have a lot of time on your hands."

"Again, self-explanatory," Khyber turned and gestured to himself with his knife. "I am the ultimate predator...You are the ultimate prey."

"You think you're the first big baddie who wanted to hack off my Omnitrix arm? Creeps like you have been trying and failing, by the way, since I was ten," Ben smiled wide. "One dude even had my Omnitrix arm crawling around the Null Void without me."

"You might want to watch that smart mouth of yours, Tennyson," Khyber warned, pointing the knife at the boy. "It would be really unfortunate if you had to lose your tongue."

He threw the knife into the head of his Appoplexian skeleton. Ben visibly gulped. Khyber turned away from him again, examining his other weapons.

"Also, If you are attempting to stall for time so your partner can come swooping in to your rescue, I'm afraid you will be sorely disappointed. We witnessed your little tiff in undertown, including the destruction of your Plumber badge. Your Revonnan friend couldn't track you here even if he wanted to."

Khyber turned towards Ben again, another knife in his hand. "First, your cousin and her Osmosian mate abandon you, and now Rook. You really ought to treat your partners better, Tennyson."

Ben scoffed. "At least I don't make my partners do all the work while I take all the credit. I mean, the mutt is clearly the brains of the operation, right?"

Khyber snarled. "He is not a mutt. He is an extremely well-trained Anubian Baskurr."

"Yeah, wearing a cheap Omnitrix wannabe."

"Yes," Khyber smiled menacingly. "Courtesy of an old friend of yours...Malware."

Ben then lost his smile, eyes widening in surprise and recognition.

"Now that I have your attention, it seemed Malware somehow managed to obtain crucial but flawed design specs for your Omnitrix. He sought the aid of a Cerebrocrustacean, who was able to reverse-engineer a workable facsimile, the Nemetrix," Khyber explained, the sound of his pet's chewing in the background. "It was only missing one critical element...predator DNA. So, naturally, they sought out the greatest huntsman in the galaxy."

"Really?" Ben smirked again. "Who's that?"

"What did I say about your mouth?!" Khyber threw his knife, the blade spinning through the air. It cut through the rope that was tied around Ben's ankles, causing the boy to crash to the ground. Ben groaned as he slowly stood up, his hands still tied behind his back.

"What the hell-!" Before he could throw a retort, Ben was suddenly shoved into the wall. He grunted in pain as Khyber stood over him.

Ben straightened up, a pained smile on his face. "What? Did I hit a ner-Awk?!" His statement was cut short when the hunter suddenly grabbed him by the throat, effortlessly lifting him off of his feet. He struggled for a few seconds before speaking again, taking gulps of air between each word.

"Wow...having...trouble...breathing…" he tried to smile through his anguish. "Cut off...my airway...why don't ya?"

"I'm getting sick of your smart-ass remarks," Khyber hissed, gripping tighter. "If my associates didn't need you, I would already have skinned you alive."

Ben chuckled, darkness beginning to creep into his vision. "Dude...you really ought...to control...that temper…"

Crying out, Ben kicked out with all his might, catching the hunter in the stomach. Khyber staggered back, grunting in pain. Ben then slammed his entire body into him, Khyber falling onto the ground. Ben staggered away from him, taking the time to slip his legs through the space between his arms.

Now that his arms were back in front of his body, he ran over to the table where Khyber's other weapons lie. He grabbed a hunting knife and quickly began to saw through his wrist bindings. Seconds later, his hands were free. He stood up triumphantly, activating his Omnitrix playlist.

"Alright, Ugly," he said, smiling in victory. "Get ready to throw down with Humung-!"

The words died instantly as he was kicked hard in stomach, the impact knocking the wind right out of him. He fell back onto the floor, coughing violently. Before he could recover and get back up, Khyber was suddenly on top of him. He pinned one of the boy's legs with his knee while one of his hands grabbed onto his Omnitrix arm. His other hand held one of his hunting knives and Khyber swung it down in a wide arc. Ben stopped him with his free hand, trying to keep the blade away from his face.

The two struggled like that for a few moments, each one trying to gain the upper hand. Khyber, being bigger and stronger than Ben, was slowly winning. The hunter knew that he would surely lose his bargaining power with his colleagues if he killed Tennyson. But all they really wanted was the Omnitrix so after he killed the boy, he would just saw off the boy's arm and deliver it to them. Everything would work out.

Meanwhile, Ben was slowly starting to panic. The blade was coming closer and closer to his face, and he was quickly losing his grip on Khyber's arm. He really needed a distraction. He gritted his teeth as sweat dripped from his brow. Where the hell was Rook?

As his strength slowly diminished, an idea popped into his head. It was something he really wasn't comfortable with but it was something he had to do. So before his strength completely gave out, he pulled Khyber down by the arm, moving out of the way as the knife embedded itself into the floor. Then without missing a beat, he reached up and captured Khyber's in a firm lip-lock.

Khyber froze. At first, he couldn't comprehend what was happening. He tried to grab hold of his knife but his grip was too loose. His brain trying was sending signals to his body but as if in paralysis, he remained frozen. Ben stayed still as well, eyes closed shut.

Khyber could feel his heart start to a little faster, his face heating up. What was Tennyson doing? In all his time hunting various creatures, Khyber had never once did something like this. He always found satisfaction in the art of the hunt. But right now, he couldn't deny how warm Ben's lips were at this moment. It was almost…comforting.

Suddenly, an explosion resounded from somewhere in the ship. Ben was the one to pull away, a smug smile on his face. "That's my cue."

He then headbutted Khyber in the face, forcing the hunter back. He rolled away and jumped back onto his feet. He once again activated his Omnitrix. "Where was I? Oh yeah...IT'S HERO TIME!"

There was a bright green flash and seconds later, an Appoplexian stood in the spot where Ben Ten once was. It was at that moment when Khyber's pet finally decided to join the fight, viciously barking at the tiger-like alien.

Khyber slowly got to his feet, rubbing his jaw. He had to admit - Tennyson certainly had the wits and guts to outsmart him. He quickly pulled out the knife from the ground and turned towards the fight. He smiled menacingly, his grip on the knife tightening.

He had to make that it never happens again...