Chapter 51 - Eruption
Author Notes:
- I had a case of déjà vu when writing this chapter. I'm not sure if the comedic situation towards the end was already used previously.
"Kyle! Hey, man. Sorry to keep ya waiting. I hope you don't if I brought a friend."
Ben had arrived just outside the park that surrounded Mojo Jojo's volcano. Behind him was a tall, black-haired teen dressed in a gray long sleeve with a black short sleeve overlaying it and blue jeans. He had a muscular build and his stature presented himself as intimidating to Kyle.
"Nice to meet ya." the boy greeted Kyle with a smirk. "So you're the guy Ben's been sneaking off with? If he wasn't dating Julie, I'd probably be calling you his boyfriend!"
"Kevin!"
"Oh yeah. I'm Kevin by the way. As long as you don't mess with me, I think we'll get along just fine."
"Likewise." Kyle replied with a grin.
"Heh. Don't push it." he teased.
"Alright," Ben began, "Gwen said you needed help finding another totem, right?"
"It somewhere in this park," Kyle replied, "but since it's being used as a containment cell by Mojo, I don't think I'd be able to get in easily."
"So Gwen wants us to get you inside?" Kevin asked. "Easy enough."
"Wait," Ben said, "Mojo Jojo's a genius supervillain. He's probably got some advanced defense system set up."
Kevin gave a small laugh. "The monkey may be a genius evil mastermind by this planet's standards, but he's got nothing on us."
"He still gonna be pretty upset about this..."
"C'mon, Ben. Technically, this is public property."
"Actually observing the law now...?"
"Hey, this one's actually helping me for once."
"...Alright, let's go."
The park was originally at surface level, but certain events eventually lead to the property being sunk and encased with a protective glass barrier. Not long after the beginning of the war, Mojo Jojo began using it to contain captured monsters for his research. Only medium-sized and not overly powered creatures were kept inside as the glass was sturdy not enough to withstand the combined force of large powerful monsters.
Kevin led the group to one of the southeast elevators. There were two of these machines at each corner of the park. They basically looked like giant mechanical engines the size of two-story buildings that powered a small platform which would descend into the park. Right now, Mojo Jojo had reconfigured all of them to produce an electric energy shield to prevent monsters from escaping, particularly the avian varieties. Kevin propped open the elevator's control panel and immediately got to work. He seemed very knowledgeable about technology as it didn't take long for him to create a small opening within the shield that would allow the elevator to descend.
"That was easy enough." Kevin remarked. "C'mon. This hole will close once we go through."
One by one they boarded the elevator and descended below. Not many monsters were nearby so few noticed their arrival. Kyle was quick to take them out with his rifle before they could alert any others.
"Nice shot, kid." Kevin said impressed. "With any luck, we'll only run into small groups that'll go down quickly."
"Did Gwen say where specifically the totem is?" Ben asked.
"No," Kyle replied, "but I remember stumbling upon a weird rock back when I played here as a kid. If I hadn't tripped the way I did, I probably would've gotten my ankle stabbed... Anyway, it should be around the eastern end of the park."
The group searched for the strange rock going only by Kyle's vague memory. As they progressed further, it was inevitable that they encountered groups of monsters and were forced to fight. Kevin soon revealed to Kyle that he wielded special powers as well. By simply touching a surface, he was able to absorb energy from it and make it his own. Here, he was only able to utilize the trees. His entire body became composed out of wood as his strength was intensified.
"Kevin's half-Osmosian." Ben informed Kyle as they were back-to-back. "They can practically absorb any kind of matter. Though Kevin normally uses metal, but I guess wood will have to do for now."
Ben activated the Ultimatrix and transformed into Big Chill. The temperature cooled around him as he let out an icy breath that encased monsters within blocks of ice. Kyle and Kevin easily followed it up by smashing them to pieces. Eventually, the monsters ran off after seeing a majority of their allies decimated.
"While I'm Big Chill," Ben said, "I might as well scout ahead."
Utilizing another alien power, Ben's body glowed bright blue as it became transparent. He was still visible but solid objects would pass through his now intangible body. Ben then flew off while the others followed.
"So," Kevin awkwardly began, "you half-alien too?"
"I don't...think so..." Kyle never gave much thought to it. After all, knowledge of life on other planets wasn't as widespread when he was a kid. He never considered the possibility of having alien heritage. "Mom seemed pretty human and I never met my dad so I don't really have an answer..."
"Oh, uh... Sorry about that. Didn't mean to pull those strings..."
"It's alright. Anyway, my powers are demonic... Didn't Ben tell you that?"
"Yeah, but there's no telling when he's just messing with me... And what's with the black n' white hair thing?"
"White's natural. Black's the "old me", but it's when he shows up."
"Hm... Yeah, definitely not any kind of alien I know of..."
Ben soon returned having apparently found what they were searching. He took them to a small clearing where a pointed rock was sticking out the ground. Kyle stepped forward and touched the surface. He felt a strange force that seemed to be drawing him towards it, but unlike the previous totem this one didn't automatically drain his life energy.
"I think this is it."
"Then we'll have to dig it up." Ben said. "Leave it to me!"
Ben touched the Ultimatrix symbol on his chest and was enveloped in the green light. He soon reemerged and was transformed into a large alien wearing yellow armor. This alien looked like a robot that took the form of a an armadillo.
"Armodrillo!" Ben exclaimed. Using his mechanized jackhammer-like arms, Ben began borrow into the ground around the totem. Within a few minutes, it would fully be excavated.
"No doubt Ben's racket will draw some attention." Kevin informed Kyle. "Keep an eye out." He was about to absorb a nearby tree when Kyle stopped him and held out his rifle.
"Custom-made Dexlabs armor?" Kyle asked with a devious expression.
Kevin grinned and gladly accepted. "I like the way you think, kid." Once absorbed, his body was coated in Dexlabs plating as he morphed his hand into a large mace head for a weapon.
Ben's drilling didn't take long to draw unwanted attention. A pack of Sickle Simians burst through the treetops from all directions. Kyle and Kevin agreed to work together seeing as how agile these creatures were. Kyle mainly clipped their wings with his rifle while Kevin mercilessly pounded them into oblivion. The few that managed to make it to Ben were either knocked aside or crushed by his jackhammers. Even if they did land a blow, Armodrillo's armor was left unscathed. The numbers soon proved a little too much for Kyle to handle as one monster managed to sink their burning teeth into his shoulder. Kevin was protected by his armor so he took over rifle duty while Kyle retreated to mend his wound. Riyos was able to quickly heal it, but the aching pain still remained.
The Sickle Simians were relentless as some got past Kevin's defense. Using his remaining good arm, Kyle drew his sword and quickly rushed over to Ben. There wasn't enough time get a clean hit so Kyle parried their attacks and sent them back. Afterward, Kevin was able to shoot them down and smash their head with his mace-hand. The attack pursued, but luckily the monsters' numbers were greatly reduced and posed little threat despite Kyle's handicap. It didn't take long for Ben to finish drilling and join in eliminating the remaining monsters.
"You all right, man?" Ben asked Kyle.
"I'm fine. Let's just get this over with..."
Kyle jumped into the pit Ben had dug. Standing in the center was the totem in its full glory. Slowly he touched the surface and felt an energy surge just like before. This time it was milder, but it was still excruciating on his body. Riyos took over halfway so Kyle would still be conscious and able to fight when the process was finished. Once filled, the totem released the Riyos-controlled Kyle from its hold and began glowing with a blue-red aura (Though when Kyle squinted, he could also see traces of green).
Ben hurried down to assist Riyos. Kevin merely stared down in awe, but he was quick to regain his composure as Kyle returned to normal though he was a little dazed.
"Man, that looked intense." Kevin remarked. "You sure that didn't take a number on you?"
"I told you. I'm fine... Just a little tired now is all..."
"Alright then. Let's just get out of here. The smell of monkey feces is really starting to get to me..."
The group headed back to the elevator where they first arrived. Kyle stayed back and kept watch while Ben and Kevin eliminated the aggressive monsters that happened to get in the way. Once safely back, Kevin went to hack the elevator's mainframe once again. This time it was taking much longer than before. After a few minutes, Kyle and Ben looked at each other, both thinking something strange was happening.
"Kevin?" Ben asked first. "Something wrong?"
"...Yup. Somebody's messin' with us..."
"What do you mean?"
"The backdoor I used earlier isn't there anymore. And there's all this security stuff that wasn't there last time. It's still easy to crack, but it's constantly switching configurations before I even touch it."
"And that means...?"
"Someone else is controlling the elevators from somewhere else."
"Dang it. I guess Mojo caught us with security cameras or something..."
"Can't you just use Big Chill to phase us out?" Kyle suggested.
"I used too much power with all those transformations. The Ultimatrix needs to recharge. I think that totem also helped drain it too. I should've still had enough juice for another transformation or two... Maybe when I scraped the totem as Armadrillo..."
"Hold on a minute." Kevin said. "If Mojo did catch us, he'd probably be lecturing us right now over the speakers with some long redundant speech to get out. I think someone else is behind this."
"Can't we just save it for later? Kyle's worn down and the Ultimatrix needs to recharge. Not everyone can get an energy boost anytime they want like you."
"Hey, you owe me! I've had to cover your butt from the times you've ditched the Commander for those little adventures of yours."
"Sigh. Fine, fine. Sorry, Kyle. You can still move right?"
"Yeah." Kyle replied. "I'll just shoot for now."
"Okay. C'mon, guys! Let's head for that Fusion Portal!"
"Wait, what?" Kevin quickly asked.
"Oh, I found a Fusion Portal when I was scouting for the totem as Big Chill."
"And you didn't tell us about it?" he asked in an annoyed tone.
"I thought the mission came first!"
"One of the few times where something big and unrelated to mission comes up and you don't go after it!"
"Geez, sorry. What matters is that I found it, right? So let's get going!"
Ben lead the way as they headed towards the base of the volcano which was now surrounded by a metal ring-like platform. There had been a small moat directly below it, but it was eventually removed when it no longer served any useful purpose. For Mojo Jojo, it only attracted unwanted company in the form of children wanting to go for a swim and wasted valuable time to maintain it.
The Fusion Portal was tucked away in a cracked portion of a platform, just large enough to fit. Kevin kneeled beside the debris and determined the cause to be from a high-tech weapon judging by the edged burn marks since here were no monsters capable of creating explosions within the park. Without a word, Kevin touched the metal plating and absorbed it before finally proceeding inside. Kyle and Ben immediately followed afterward.
The inside of this lair was completely different from the others. Kyle and Ben began sweating from the intense heat once they reemerged. The latter seemed more desperate than ever for the Ultimatrix to transform him into Big Chill or another ice-themed alien. Kevin seemed unaffected though, or at least he didn't show it. The portal had taken the boys inside the volcano itself.
"Holy cow..." Ben groaned. "What of person would set up a lair in volcano?"
"Uh...Vulkanus?" Kevin replied sarcastically.
"You know what I mean! Can Fusions even survive this heat for long?"
"We'll find out soon enough."
The group followed the only pathway out of there, a narrow archway over the bubbling lava. They each went individually, careful as to not mess up. Ben and Kevin made it easily, but Kyle looked at it with difficulty. Ben was about suggest they turn back, but Kyle summoned one of his Nanos to set up a recall point at the other side and teleport him there.
"Why didn't I think of that?" Ben wondered aloud.
"I only have limited uses." Kyle informed him. "I can't keep on using it on you guys with how I am now."
The group continued into a slightly cooler tunnel that ascended the volcano. Occasional openings blocked by stalagmites and stalactites alike were the only indication of how far everyone had climbed. The tunnel spiraled around the conduit about three times before revealing another opening to a cliffside that hugged the wall until it reached the opposite end.
"Ugh... Where can the guy be?" Ben groaned as he removed his jacket. He felt like an idiot for not removing it earlier. Kyle did the same thing as well. "Any much longer and I'll probably be down to my underwear."
"Trust me." Kevin told him. "No one wants to see that."
"Hmph! And what about you? You sure you're not a walking swimming pool in that armor of yours now?"
Kyle thought about using his new found magic. Ice would definitely help in a place like this, but his zero experience with it discouraged him. He tried seeking advice from Riyos, but the demon could only offer some pointers. Every magic user had their own way of controlling their powers. Kyle would just have to experiment, and right now didn't seem like the best situation.
"Hold up." Kevin ordered. "I think I hear someone."
Kyle and Ben listened more closely and definitely heard the sound of a man yelling at someone. Up ahead, the group quickly passed through another tunnel that spiraled around the conduit. At the end, they found Mojo Jojo tied up and currently demanding his freedom.
"I demand that you release me, Mojo Jojo, of these ropes that currently restrain my movements so that I may tear you limb from limb! If you don't comply with my requests, my Monkey Minions will surely rescue me and together we will put an end to your plan!"
"Oh shut up!" his captor shouted angrily. Fusion Edd ordered one of his Sickle Simians at hit Mojo Jojo a few times with the blunt side of its blade. "This is what? The hundredth time you demanded me to free you? Won't a simple 'Let me go!' do? Jeez, if I wrote a book about you, ninety-nine percent would be dialogue..."
The Fusion still hadn't noticed boys as he went back to work on a large machine he was building with the help of his minions. It seemed to be some sort of large cannon by the looks of it and it was directly aimed at the underside of Mojo's residence.
"What's the plan?" Kyle asked.
Ben look at his wrist and grinned with delight. "The Ultimatrix is raring to go!"
"Then you take on the monsters." Kevin told him. "I'll take on the Fusion."
Ben nodded and transformed into Jetray. He quickly soared into the conduit blasting multiple Sickle Simians with his neuroshock blasts from his eyes. The monsters were caught off guard and were forced to retreat, but their agility helped to regroup and launch a counterattack. Ben quickly flew up and circled the area overhead while a horde of Sickle Simians were closely tailing him. He continued to fly as he fired more neuroshock blasts from his tail. The Sickle Simians were tricky when it came to striking them individually, but acting as a massive swarm together practically removed concern for this. One by one or sometimes even multiple at once, the Sickle Simians dropped out of the sky and plummeted into the lava below. Technically it didn't do much, but it was still a long climb to where everyone was and lava-soaked wings strangely didn't help.
Meanwhile, Kevin charged forward, having absorbed Kyle's rifle again, ready to strike Fusion Edd when he suddenly turned around with a strange gun in his hands. The Fusion fired a powerful blast that was enough to send Kevin flying. Kyle panicked as the boy slid towards the edge, but luckily Kevin didn't fall. Examining the injury more closely, Kyle was surprised to see Kevin's armor shattered, exposing his lower abdomen.
"Seems like this beauty works like a charm!" the Fusion Edd happily exclaimed. "Took you guys long enough! And if it isn't my old friend from Peach Creek! I heard you've been starting to mess up our plans all over the place now. What's next? You're gonna take on Lord Fuse himself? Ha!"
"Nice weapon." Kevin remarked, changing the subject. His slammed his fists together before morphing them into a mace again. "Mind if I take it when I finish pounding you?"
"Be my guest! I've been itching for someone to take out my frustration on after my embarrassment in Peach Creek! Blossom's been constantly shoving it in my face!"
Fusion Edd fired again as Kevin blocked with one of his hands. He was more prepared this time, but he still suffered the loss of a weapon when the shot shattered it. Kyle observed that the weapon required some time to recharge and immediately fired his rifle. Fusion Edd was prepared for this too however and raised a device that produced a bubbleshield around him. He laughed as Kevin attempted to force his way inside by beating the shield. Once his weapon was charged, he fired again, shattering the last of Kevin's weapons and forcing him to return to his normal form.
"What are you fools doing!" Mojo Jojo exclaimed. "He is only stalling for time!"
"We've got it!" Kevin angrily answered. He absorbed the rock below him and charge for another round of attacks.
"Oh, please." Fusion Edd whined. "Are you really that hard-headed...? Not literally of course..."
"Kyle! Get Mojo!"
Kyle nodded as he ran over to the hostage monkey and untied his ropes. Mojo didn't offer any thanks and immediately ordered Kyle to follow him to a nearby elevator that lead to his laboratory above.
"Hmph, whatever." Fusion Edd said. "I'm actually glad you're taking him away from me! Now where were we...? Oh yeah, trying out what did baby does at full power!"
Fusion Edd increased the shield's power to withstand Kevin's barrage and steadily aimed his gun. Once charged, he fired one more powerful blast. This time it was enough to shatter Kevin's armor completely as it started tearing away from Kevin's body. Knowing he would be obliterated if this continued, Kyle raised a Nano shield in front of Kevin and pulled him out of the Fusion's firing range. The Nano shield didn't last long either as it quickly dispersed a few seconds after Kyle and Kevin were safe. Not even type advantage against the Fusion couldn't help withstand the blast.
"Oh, poo..." Fusion Edd groaned. "That wasn't the kind of blast of was hoping for. Looks like I'll need his help after all..."
"You okay?" Kyle asked Kevin as he and Mojo assisted him to the elevator.
"Yeah... I just...need something...a bit more...sturdier..."
"Don't even bother." Mojo told him. "Any more blasts like that, even a minor one, and you'll collapse."
"...Kyle, can't you use your powers?"
"I don't even know how to use magic yet." he replied. "And two totems in a row quickly drained Riyos. He's been directing recovery to me rather than himself ever since..."
"Ugh! Then we'll just have to go with Plan B." Kevin looked up to see Ben still fighting the Sickle Simians. Their numbers numbers were drastically reduced now and Ben was currently dealing with the scattered remnants. "Ben! We're getting out here! You know what to do!"
"Alright! Go!"
Kyle helped Kevin inside the elevator while Mojo pushed the button that would take them up to his laboratory. Once there, the door opened to revealed a wrecked workspace. It seemed Mojo had been in an intense struggle in his own home before being captured.
"Curses, I really hate to do this," Mojo muttered, "but I'll have to abandon my research..."
Mojo ordered Kyle and Kevin to board one of his giant robots. There wasn't much space, but they were able to squeeze. Mojo activate the control panel as the robot burst through the roof and landed with a powerful shockwave just outside the park's boundaries.
"Uh, what exactly was the point of all that?" Kevin asked.
"...That machine was programmed to reawaken the volcano. There was no stopping it once that Fusion activated it..."
"But Ben still have his ice powers." Kyle pointed out. "Can't he just freeze it?"
"A machine of that caliber? I'm no expert on the capabilities of alien lifeforms, but I believe that is impossible."
"But will he get out in time?" he asked Kevin.
"Big Chill's got intangibility. He should be fine...as long as the watch didn't time out on him..."
It didn't take long for the ground to start shaking. Almost immediately Mojo's laboratory was consumed in a plume of lava. Flaming rocks followed as they began raining down upon the surface. Fortunately, any actual buildings were well out of range. Only the protective barrier was shattered, releasing most of the flying monsters who weren't already covered in molten lava. As the volcano was erupting, vog quickly began to cloud the sky and the city was soon plunged into darkness.
"Is there anything we can do?" Kyle asked.
"The city should be safe from the lava." Mojo replied. "My containment area should be enough to hold the lava, but if this continues the whole city will stay like this for weeks!"
Kevin stepped forward to examine the volcano more closely. "The Fusion was gonna sacrifice himself to activate that machine, right?"
"Yes. He intended to take my superior intellect with him!"
He grinned. "Big mistake..."
In a few seconds, a veil of what seemed like fire began shrouding the entire park. It was coming from directly above the volcano's mouth. Kyle assumed this was another effect of Fusion Edd's machine, but his body had another feeling. As the fire descended upon the park, everything it touched was immediately consumed in ice. Kyle and Mojo stared in awe as the volcano and everything else around it was trapped within an icy prison.
"What just happened?" Mojo wondered aloud.
"Ben happened." Kevin replied confidently.
"I thought you said Big Chill couldn't stop this?" Kyle pointed out.
"Mojo said it, not me. And yeah, I guess he was right. Big Chill might not be able to stop an active volcano, but..."
Kevin looked up to see a newer version of Big Chill land in front of him. His physical shape was still the same, but the color scheme was altered. Instead of black and blue, he was now black and red. His wings and antennae also has a more flaming appearance.
"You guys okay?" Ben asked with a more deeper tone of voice.
"We're fine." Kevin replied. "I was just worried you didn't have enough to go Ultimate."
"You and me both..." he said with relief as he transformed back to his human self. Ben then looked towards Mojo. "Uh, sorry about covering your place in ice."
Mojo surprisingly retained a calm expression. Kyle had expected him fall into a raging state once he saw his laboratory destroyed.
"I can...always rebuild... But how long until the ice thaws?"
"Give me some time. I can melt it, but we're gonna have a massive swimming pool on your hands... Or we could skip that part and make it rain on Townsville."
"Bubbles can take care of that detail... I must admit, Tennyson. You surpassed my expectations."
"Don't underestimate us." Kevin said with a smug look. "Anyway, Ben, I need your car keys."
Ben voice suddenly turned defensive. "What! No way! Last time I did that, you got me a ticket! My parents are still bugging me about that!"
"Not fault you left an ID Mask in your glove compartment..."
"Wait... You found-...! I knew you were going through my stuff!"
"Just give me the keys. I don't think Kyle can walk back to his house and my ride's back in Nebula... Unless you want to make him?"
"...Sigh, fine..." Ben reluctantly tossed his car keys to Kevin. "But this time I'm coming after you if you're not back in half an hour!"
Unknown location
Fusion Edd slowly dragged himself upon the shores of a Fusion Matter-contaminated sea. His battle with Ben had left him heavily injured and barely able to move. As he struggled to move out of the water, he was stopped by another figure. Fusion Blossom merely stared down at him on the verge of cracking up.
"Not my fault!" Fusion Edd angrily exclaimed. "Nobody told me of Tennyson's ability to upgrade himself!"
"Whoops!" Fusion Blossom exclaimed trying to look innocent. "Did I forget to you?"
"...You did this just to spite me..."
She shrugged. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't... So how did you escape anyway?"
"I had a backup portal. Barely outran the lava..."
"Huh... But you still destroyed Mojo Jojo's laboratory, right?"
"Yes, but our 'friend' rescued Mojo before I could eliminate him..."
"That guy again? How did he know about us this time?"
"Actually...they all found us by accident..."
"Explain."
"I wasn't paying too much attention, but I caught him and his friends breaking into the containment zone. They were searching for something. I don't know what it was, but it required one of them to excavate it. Afterward, it looked like they were finished and attempted to leave. Unfortunately, breaking inside activated my little program. I intended for it to trap any unwanted visitors who caught wind of our plan, but it just had to be those three..."
"Searching for something, huh?"
"Yes, now will you take me back already? I don't exactly want to crawl through miles of wasteland..."
"Sigh... Fine, grab on..."
