The battle continues as the tide turns against the Plumbers and the hybrid scours through Bellwood in search of Hope. Read on…
Chapter 11 - Kevin's Plan
Like a well-trained military unit, the creations of the hybrid circled back around to aid those already battling Way Big and those trying to pin Helen down. Seeing them targeting his girlfriend from afar, Manny screamed in rage and went all out, unleashing an array of blaster fire on his opponents. Kevin also tried to fight his way through as hundreds of the stone golems started to swarm around Way Big, numerous amounts of them leaping up to tackle a bare patch of his skin. Way Big made an effort to grab and pull them off and kick at those remaining on the ground away from him, but in the end it was a numbers game, like fleas to a dog. The golems attacked, climbed and crowded up around him until the entire surface of his body up to his shoulders were covered by brown and grey stone.
The energy beings saw their chance as the alien was distracted by their rocky brethren, marching forward and commenced shooting volleys of mana projectiles at him.
Upon feeling the brunt of their assault, Way Big turned his attention to them and kicked. The energy beings ignored his retaliation, using the multiple detonations their destruction resulted in to injure his foot further. For the second that Way Big's leg hung in midair twitching from the pain, a lone energy being took aim and fired a single shot.
Its beam hit Way Big in the eye.
Way Big recoiled, losing the balance he held on one foot and fell precariously on his back, sending a minor shockwave throughout the area. Sensing both weakness in him and excitement at their impending victory, the golems and energy beings charged in with the hope of containing him.
As they jumped upon Way Big's body though, some of them were surprised to meet the ground instead. It took them a few seconds to realise Way Big had vanished from underneath them. It took another few to be confused as to how and why it happened.
One second later, they got their answer.
A large black-and-yellow orb burst out from beneath, sending several of their number flying. The orb came to land in the space it had created, stilling in movement. The golems and energy beings stood around it, edging in cautiously, unsure of what it was. Then, unexpectedly, the orb whirled vertically, rolling across the ground at breakneck speed. The soldiers of the hybrid flailed in panic as it raced at them and they scattered away from their new adversary.
:*:
"Not another traffic jam!" Carl bellowed, slamming his hand on top of the steering wheel and curling it into a fist. This jam had to be the fifth one he, Sandra and Hope had encountered on their way to get to Hex's house.
"Honey, everybody's trying to get out of town," Sandra consoled his temper. "We're the only ones trying to get in."
Carl grumbled in reply. "Then it's times like these I wish people would take one road out of town to keep one of the others clear."
In the backseat, Hope rolled her eyes and wore a wry smile on her face. She had forgotten during her years on the throne and fighting Adwaita just how amusing Earthlings reacted to some problems, such as the way Carl was wishing for all humans to act in the same uniform way when even at the best times that mankind was united, everyone still acted differently from one another. Difference and individuality, for good or bad, was a basic fact of life.
Eventually making peace with the knowledge they had met yet another block, Carl reversed the car back down the road before the chance they could get boxed in occurred and turned a corner on an angle to go on to another intersection.
And met two of the stone golems facing them.
"Uh-oh," Carl stated.
Sandra and Hope's responses were those of action. Rolling down their respective windows, the two leaned outward; Hope ready with her magic, Sandra armed with her husband's rifle. The creatures were gone in separate flashes of mana and blaster fire.
Instinct kicked into Hope as, after hearing a sound, she glanced over her shoulder. Four more of the golems, alerted to the plight and fate of their brethren, were bounding towards the rear of the car in fury. Sending another blast of mana their way, she exclaimed, "Carl, go!". The car sped off, with the survivors of Hope's attack running after them and communicating with the others inside Bellwood, informing them of Hope's location. Their brethren answered, planning to intercept. Sure that their prey would soon be caught, the same message was sent to their creator.
:*:
With the fall of Way Big and frightened by the sudden, seemingly demonic rampage of Cannonbolt, some of the hybrid's army fell back on their original mandate of breaking through the enemy's defensive line and securing access to Bellwood, attacking the Plumbers in full again. When the first Plumber fell and was taken by a medical crew to the aid station, the energy beings discerned that something like that had not happened during the battle up to that point. Judging it as a defined form of success, they shared the information with the golems. Emboldened, more of their number came against the Plumbers.
Max recognised the change of combat in the opposing side. Without Way Big and his terrific height and long reach to hold them in check and Cannonbolt lacking in those advantages, the golems and energy beings were free to assault the line relentlessly. As the enemy rushed towards them, he spared a look on both sides to the others fighting with him. Nearly all had the same fearless expression; a resolute answer to the question he was silently posing.
Was it time to switch tactics?
The answer was yes. They would be sitting ducks if they stayed on defence when the barrage met them. It was time to go on the offensive.
Max sighed, emptying the spent ammunition cartridge from his pistol and sliding a new one in. Nodding to his compatriots, he jumped, running ahead to counter the enemy's charge and firing freely at whatever target. The Plumbers followed their leader with a chorusing and inspired cry, racing across the open space of land between them and the hybrid's army. They collided with their foes and turned their run into a powerful shove as they forced themselves into the throng.
As was expected from a Plumber of his years of his experience, Max fought the hardest of all. The first to charge at the oncoming wave of stone and mana was also the first to break through his enemies' ranks, ignoring them as they endeavoured to trap him. All of his blaster bolts hit dead on target, bringing golem and energy being down in plenty, until his pistol ran dry and he had exhausted all his ammunition packs. Max dropped the pistol to the ground and continued to battle on with his fists alone.
Like they had with Way Big, the hybrid's soldiers started to target Max more than the other Plumbers, gauging him as the greatest threat they faced in securing their objective. Volley upon volley of mana blasts were fired on him by the energy beings, most of which burned out and left black scorch marks on the surface of his armour.
A golem charged at him. Max negated its attack, meeting it head-on with a single, solid punch. Cowed, the golem moaned in agony and took shelter back amongst its brothers.
The energy beings continued in their barrage, aiming to keep Max still as more of their comrades surrounded him. Max bravely stood against it all, striving to knock countless more of them down. But sadly, nothing was made to last. The further Max progressed in battle, the more blows his armour had to withstand in protecting him from decidedly anything lethal. Oblivious to its weakening state, Max went up against an energy being, trading blow for blast with it.
The energy being landed the first successful strike in their fight, melting a hole through Max's chestplate.
Unaware, Max returned the strike, repeatedly pummelling his fists into the energy being's body.
The energy being wheeled around and leaped away from Max. Gaining distance, it saw the weakness it had opened up in the armour. It took its opportunity and shot a projectile of mana through the hole straight into Max's chest.
Winded and stunned, Max tried to defend himself from further attack. The energy being issued word to its companions. They attacked Max from all sides; the energy beings with a merciless amount of mana, the golems throwing themselves forward to tackle the Plumber into submission. With great difficulty, due to the heavy numbers of his adversaries, Max sought to evade their onslaught.
It was not enough.
By the time he fell to the ground, his armour was charred and fighting to hold itself together after it bore the brunt of being continuously slammed into by the golems and getting shot at by the energy beings. The enemy approached him, watching cautiously to see if he would recover quickly and assault them again. It soon occurred to them that when he did not get up that they had him, and they prepared to jump in and capture him.
Two Plumbers came to the rescue, breaking through the cordon and firing their blasters left and right in a fury. Caught by the suddenness of the new attack, the hybrid's creations hurriedly backed away from Max, allowing the two rescuers to reach their fallen leader. One of them got on his knees, his hand flying to Max's throat. Hoping to feel the vibrating rhythm of a pulse, the Plumber sighed with relief as Max's heartbeat answered.
"We've got to get him to the aid station," he turned, calling up to his partner. The fellow Plumber nodded, abandoning his attack, and kneeled down to help. Together they hoisted Max up between them, catching his arms loosely around their shoulders and then, keeping their firearms ready in their free hands, they began the arduous path to the aid station.
:*:
It was a belief of the hybrid's that once it got inside Bellwood, tracking Charmcaster would be an easy task. For a time it was. Following the reports of its soldiers already within the town, the hybrid had stalked its prey, hungering for the inevitable confrontation and for the deliciousness of victory, but its excitement gradually wore down to sour disappointment as it received word of Charmcaster and the Tennysons striking back, wiping out many of its spies and largely preventing them from informing it about their location.
That was not the only setback the hybrid was forced to endure either. Despite it leaving the humans to their panicked attempts to evacuate, some of them had clearly found a form of bravery and let their authorities know where it was. The hybrid did not worry or care; there was nothing Earth's conventional weapons could do to harm it, and any that could it would just destroy or divert them away from it. But their relentless feeble attempts against it had become a frustrating hindrance. Time and again it was met by the police force, whom repetitively had the impressive gall to call it to stand down and accept their arrest of it for its crimes.
On the first encounter, the hybrid deigned to ignore them, electing to move on. Their response was to fire with their sidearms and shotguns. The hybrid returned the aggression, sending them running for cover. All the following it had suffered since had been about the same, which was why it had little idea that the next one it would happen across once it turned the corner ahead of it had orders to fire upon sighting it.
The first bullet fired struck on contact with its shoulder. The hybrid flinched. The single shot was followed quickly by a wide variety of pistol fire and shotgun pellets. The hybrid grimaced as it grew accustomed to the fury of the barrage; now that the surprise was gone, there was nothing left in it to make it halt. And yet the hybrid remained still, hovering in morbid silence as the lead projectiles pinged harmlessly off of it, waiting for the predictable finish of the assault.
The police cordon's ammunition wound down, running dry without any of the officers paying heed to the fact that they were not causing any damage to the hybrid. As soon as their guns were empty, the reality finally became clear to them. They looked up, shocked awe on their faces and sparks of horror lighting up in their eyes. The hybrid looked back at them with a bored expression, crossing its arms as it regarded each one in turn.
"Are you all through?" it asked in a voice that dangerously sounded like it was an adult admonishing them for throwing a childish tantrum at it. Not one of them replied. The hybrid took their silence as an answer. "Good."
Swiftly unfurling its arms, it retaliated, throwing down magic attack after magic attack upon the cordon. The detective in charge, realising their reckless usage of their weapons had left them all defenceless, roared out the command to withdraw. His fellow officers obeyed immediately, turned around and ran for their lives, searching desperately for a hiding place to take cover in or to hurry as fast as they could and escape from the hybrid.
Uninterested in pursuing them further, the hybrid ceased its barrage and watched coldly as they fled far from its attack range.
"Hmmm," it simmered aloud in anger. "Perhaps I should have my army deal with those accursed police. That way, I might be able to hunt Charmcaster in peace."
Creator?
The hybrid paused, tuned its powers toward a mental transmission and honed in on the signal being sent to it. "This had better be good news, soldier."
"We have located Charmcaster and the Tennysons. Do you wish us to attack them?"
"No, break off from any offence against them. Give me their trajectory."
Its minion responded, sending it a vision of the Tennyson car speeding along a road. The hybrid analysed the environment surrounding the car and its occupants, trying to discern the area they were travelling through with Ghostfreak's knowledge of Bellwood. When that failed, it switched to Gwen's mind, sifting through her memories and picking apart any information it could use.
The first item of relevance it found was Ben's house. In its mind, the hybrid saw how much of a natural choice it would be if the Tennysons sought out their own domicile as sanctuary. Humans had a very canny knack for picturing their home as the first place they would be safe from harm. Well, if that was where they were heading, then they were going to find it would not be safe enough to deter him.
Whatever plans the hybrid had begun to imagine were crushed immediately. Ben's neighbourhood did not match the one in the vision. Frowning, it latched onto a second thought. Maybe they were going to Gwen's home, thinking that Gwen would not think to look for them there. A sound idea, Ghostfreak thought, if Gwendolyn was in any form of control.
Its assumption led it nowhere as the surroundings of the two locations did not match either. The second failure triggered impatience from Ghostfreak; he knew that the longer it took to obtain the answer, the more chance his quarry had of escaping and reaching their destination. The hybrid rifled faster through Gwen's mind, barely blinking as it was met with the potential ideas of where the Tennysons could take Charmcaster.
In its rapid search, it almost missed the solution. Almost.
Backing up through the cycle, it returned to Hex's house. To Ghostfreak's shock, the surroundings matched. That was where they were going. Ghostfreak growled, calling himself out for not thinking of it sooner. He had foolishly spent precious time questioning where the Tennysons would choose to go and never thinking Charmcaster would have an input into the decision.
In deathly quiet, the hybrid gave a new set of orders to its creations. "To all those inside Bellwood, cease tracking Charmcaster. I have a new task for you. Take down any barrier the humans have put up to deter me. My path to Charmcaster must remain clear."
:*:
The battle outside of Bellwood progressed to being fought on a total of three fronts. With Max out of commission at the aid station, the Plumbers were without a leader to mastermind their defence and counter the enemy. Kevin, realising this and knowing Ben was much too far in the thick of the conflict to do it himself, quickly assumed command and reorganised the Plumbers back into a line to hold off the hybrid's army as best as was possible with a constant blaster barrage. As he got that underway, he located the other two fronts of the battle.
Alan, Manny and Helen were pinned into a circle by the enemy soldiers. Aside from that, Kevin saw very little aggression from the creatures. It rapidly occurred to him that that was exactly the goal after Helen tried to break through, only for the enemy to push her back roughly. He surmised that the three were safe enough as long as they didn't try anything too stupid.
Ben managing his own front was a different matter. Although he was holding up well as Cannonbolt smashing into and steamrolling over the golems and energy beings, it was plain in Kevin's eyes that the magic-infused creatures once again recognised Ben to be their biggest threat as they were marching the majority of their forces on him, attacking him in droves.
Instinctively, Kevin moved a step forward, prepared to jump back in and help his friend; then he froze, reconsidering his position. The Plumbers needed a leader to stick with them. Ben was caught up in the midst of battle. Gwen was the host body of their enemy leader. Max was recovering at the aid station. Azmuth was behind the lines, working on calibrating his shielding technology to accept those with human DNA. Julie and Kai were nearly as far into the enemy as Ben was. There was noone else who could take over if he left. Responsibility called for him to stay put. Reluctantly, he obeyed it.
It did not take long for him to be shown the consequences of his hard decision. Cannonbolt bravely fought on, seemingly without care that he was being surrounded, until six of the energy beings took it upon themselves to collectively stand together and step into his path. Channelling all of their power between each other, their bodies glowing intensely with a white light that eclipsed all of their laser pink energy from view, they detonated at once. The shockwave knocked Cannonbolt up into the air; the alien hero showed his surprise, uncurling back to his bipedal shape as his body met the ground.
The golems rushed to restrain him.
Cannonbolt disappeared in a green flash. In his place was the plasma-like alien known as Goop.
The hybrid's army was on him again, determined to keep him grounded. Four of the golems leaped in to take him. Goop stood ready. His enemies drew back hesitantly as they witnessed his assailants get absorbed into his gelatinous body one by one. When nothing else happened to their comrades, they resumed their attack, intending to fulfill their master's wishes. As six of their fellows had done just moments before to help bring Cannonbolt down, three of the energy beings readied their self-destruct capability and lunged inwards.
Goop absorbed them all. Just as they had anticipated. The ensuing explosion ripped Goop apart, splattering droplets of green slime everywhere.
Grimly watching, Kevin turned his gaze to the enemy. Counting those that were still standing was no difficult task; despite the number of creatures they had taken down together, the Plumbers and their friends were still greatly outnumbered. To make matters worse, their resources were stretched thinly.
He fished out his communicator, activating it as he brought it up to his mouth. "Azmuth, how's that shield coming?"
"I've still got a few kinks to work out," the Galvan answered. "Honestly though, I'm surprised we've been lasting this long."
"We might not have much more time to last," Kevin said. "They're really going hard at Ben and he's transformed three times already."
"You think I don't know that!" Azmuth exclaimed, causing a slight crackle in the transmission. "I told you kids before I know whenever Ben uses the Omnitrix. If I had known exactly what we were all getting into, I'd have disabled the Master Control. Too late now we're in the muck of it."
"You couldn't have made some kind of remote control for that," Kevin grumbled.
"Oh sure. Hey Vilgax, I've made some control device that will allow you to empower or limit the Omnitrix at the push of a button. Really great idea," Azmuth remarked sarcastically.
"Okay, okay, I'm just trying to figure out what to do!"
"Well, why don't you leave that to Max and get back to fighting?"
"He's at the aid station!" Kevin roared.
The audio of his communicator went quiet, leaving only the noise of battle for Kevin to hear. Then Azmuth spoke again. "Max is down?"
"Yeah," Kevin replied. "I've been trying to command things at the line since then, but this was more Gwen's kind of thing. Ben would probably have a better chance at this than me, but I'm all we've got."
There was yet another pause before Azmuth spoke to him again, indicating to Kevin that the alien scientist had been mulling things over. "Listen, Kevin. I live my life by straightforward logic and scientific fact. The way I run things back on Galvan is no different. Max has his own style of command; careful deliberation of tactics and an aggressive but strategic defence. Both these views have their advantages but they also have weaknesses, the biggest of which is the style may not fit with another commander. You like making an offence and often follow your gut instinct."
"What are you saying?" Kevin questioned.
"I'm telling you to stop imitating what Max does and play to your own strengths."
Kevin gazed back at the battle and surveyed the entire frontline. The words from Azmuth striking a chord within him, he let go all ideas that Max would have thought up as commander and placed his judgement on the instincts he had been ignoring. It would not be long before Goop would gather himself back together glob by glob and reform his body, after which Ben was likely to look in selecting another hero to put up a better fight and strain the Omnitrix further in the process. Alan, Manny and Helen, he also figured, would gradually wear themselves out with just being three fighters against hundreds. And then there was the defence line; the battered Plumbers fighting beside him had not seen combat for some time, leading to a number of them already forced to and past the point of exhaustion.
Compiling all this together, Kevin brought himself to one conclusion. The enemy's numbers needed to be cut down significantly, but without the guarantee that the Omnitrix would allow Ben to transform into an alien as destructive as Way Big or Cannonbolt had been, there was no clear means of accomplishing that than what he was planning in his mind. He sighed, knowing what had to be done, and returned his attention to the communicator.
"Helen, come in."
"A little busy right here, Kevin," the Kineceleran replied.
"You're about to get even busier. Alan, Manny, do you copy?"
"Yeah, Kev," Alan responded.
"This better be good," Manny grunted.
"I've got a plan, and I need Helen's help to get it done," Kevin continued. "Once I've done my part, the enemy's going to be distracted. I need you two to clear a path for Helen to reach me."
"Sure."
"You got it."
"Okay, Kevin. What do I have to do?"
Kevin regarded her question as he looked towards the mass that was the hybrid's army with a stony expression. "Recover me and get me to the aid station. If I survive."
:*:
For a reason unknown to any of them, none of the golems or energy beings surrounding the spot where Goop had been standing celebrated their success in defeating Ben Tennyson. Many a strange gaze was passed between them, questioning each other why they were not reacting at all to their victory. Had they somehow disobeyed their creator's orders? Had they gone too far and broken the agreement their master had made in the presence of the Halo by killing Ben?
No, they eventually decided. If that had been the case, they would have sensed a change in who had control of them, namely that there would be two masters vying over the other to take charge rather than one with the sole ability to command them. But then why was there no feeling whatsoever to be had?
As they pondered on the mysterious absence of satisfaction, they were left unaware to the tiny splashes of goo starting to move on their own and slithering along the ground to the fallen anti-gravity device responsible for keeping Goop's shape in position. The first hint the creatures got that Ben was neither dead or beaten was when they heard the device reactivate, its mechanisms whirring electronically as it rose back into the air and summoned more of Goop's form to it. The globules answered swiftly, changing from their snail-like pace to flinging themselves at their brethren already rebuilding the body from the base up. Before long, Goop was fully restored and glaring at his opponents through his blank eyes.
"That does it. Now I'm mad," he gargled at them. The green flash of the Omnitrix being used again blared into life, blinding the creatures closest to Ben before it vanished, revealing an upright, bipedal, orange-and-black striped tiger in Goop's place. The tiger bammed his knuckles together, gnashing his fangs as he did so. "Now Rath's gonna getcha."
The golems and energy beings glanced between themselves, agreeing that none of them were impressed by the new alien's bravado. They attacked him in unison.
Rath howled back at them and threw himself into their advance. For five minutes he fought out his stand, grabbing at any golem that got within arms' reach of him and chucked it into another one hard enough to reduce the both of them to rubble. The energy beings presented more of a problem; being made of mana, they were not as easy to deal with as the golems were due to them being more agile and nimble and not requiring close-range combat. But, as Rath discovered when his adrenaline began to wane, relying entirely on brute strength in relatively one position while fighting a force that overwhelmingly outnumbered you was a poor choice of combat.
A projectile fired by an energy being hit him in the chest, throwing him back a metre. One of the golems lunged, taking advantage of the blow the energy being made, and butted its head into the airborne were-tiger. Rath sprawled hard to the ground.
The were-tiger glared at the two furiously, roaring as they stepped in to finish the fight. "So you think you've beaten me soft, huh? Okay! Let's see how you handle Diamondhead!"
The Omnitrix activated again, its blazing green light obscuring Ben from view. Taking his claim as the truth, the hybrid's army researched in their hivemind all the information Ghostfreak and Gwen's separate minds held of Diamondhead, singling out any weaknesses that the two halves that made up their master knew about. When the light dimmed, they readied their attack as the creature appeared to them. In the next passing moment, they stopped still. The alien lifeform standing before them was definitely crystalline in shape and biology, but that was the only similarity that matched the one they were expecting.
Ben was surprised too. "Chromastone! I didn't - - -," he exclaimed in the Crystalsapien's raspy voice, before he started to think about the options that the unexpected result offered. A sly grin curled in his crystal-rimmed lips. Freaked by the change in his mood, the hybrid's army herded themselves back.
"Where do you think you're going?" he smirked at them. "Afraid I'll meet energy with energy?" He raised his arms up, balling his hands into fists and pointed them at the two that had taken him down when he was Rath. "Too bad!"
Twin laser beams shot forward from the confines of his fists, striking the monsters without mercy. The golem moaned as the shaft of energy ripped through its form, causing it to slowly crumble to pieces. The energy being was gone in an instant explosion, accidentally taking out a few of its own with the shockwave of its death throes.
Realising he had the upper hand again, Ben leered at the hybrid's soldiers menacingly. Intimidated into fear, a nervous energy being threw a mana projectile at him in hope it would inflict damage.
It bounced harmlessly off of Chromastone's hardened surface. Nervousness turned into panic as the failure of the attack registered to the creatures the formidability of their opponent. Chromastone showed them further proof as he commenced his assault.
:*:
The appearance of Chromastone changed the nature of the battle completely. Deeming Ben as the primary threat yet again, those of the hybrid's army combating Kevin and the Plumbers broke away from their strong-armed effort to penetrate the new defence line and hurried to aid the brethren who were swiftly being devastated by the Crystalsapien. Nursing a chest wound he received from an energy being that had scratched through the steely exterior of his body, Kevin watched as they grouped together, forming into a massed bulk against Chromastone. Quickly, he cast his eyes over to look in Helen's direction; although she and the others remained boxed in, some of the number of monsters that had them surrounded had also moved off to fight with Ben.
He believed he was not going to get another chance like the one laid out in front of him. It was time to enact his plan.
"Alan, Manny," he spoke through the communicator. "Go!"
From his vantage point on the line, he saw the Pyronite and the Tetramand rail harder against the enemy with Helen supporting them. Kevin took a slow breath, knowing that even if the trio succeeded in bursting their way out, that success would only be minorly helpful if he did not carry out his part. He exhaled quietly, readying himself, and turned to the remaining Plumbers standing by him.
"If this goes right," he told them. "Hit the enemy hard. If it doesn't, keep up the defences."
After he uttered what could possibly be his final command, Kevin faced the enemy resolutely and charged against them with a primal scream. Terrified and startled by his ferocity, the hybrid's army unwittingly let him pass through their first few lines before they got over their shocked confusion and began to close in around him. In response, Kevin switched from charging to fighting, slashing and stabbing at stone and mana and forcing his way further into the midst of their army.
Such an assault did not come without consequences. The golems slammed their fists and heads into him as he went, battering the metallic surface of his body until dents started to show in his form. The energy beings added in their own damage, scorching the platinum grey black with their projectiles. But Kevin did not go down easily; on and on he struggled, pushing as the numbers surrounding him grew denser in concentration. He managed to penetrate at least a mile into enemy lands, by which point the injuries he endured were beginning to sap away his stamina. Panting for breath, Kevin looked up and turned round, ensuring he had a view of his friends from where he stood.
To his relief, he found that Alan and Manny had done their job. Helen was free to operate in battle again and was tearing through the enemy with her blinding turbulent speed. A second look over towards Ben close by held similar positivity; Chromastone was still making his stand with none of the creatures leaving a mark on him. A smile of triumph gradually coming to his face, Kevin singled out one of the energy beings near him.
"Ben, get down!" he called out to his friend. Chromastone, having heard him, turned his way and looked on as Kevin leaped at his target, grabbing it by the arm. Within seconds the solid metal surface that covered Kevin's body was gone, replaced by the vibrant pink and white of mana energy. Only then did it strike Ben what he was going to do.
"KEVIN, DON'T!"
Kevin pretended to ignore Ben. Looking deep into the new genetic makeup he had attained, he located the instinct that caused the energy beings to self-destruct upon death. Having discovered what he was searching for, he applied his adaptive powers to it, changing it from its locked-in activation prerogative to it being in his complete control. He followed on from that by willing all the energy upwards to the outer surface of his body, making the white heat outlining his form burn brighter as it glowed to a furore with the gathering power.
All this was felt by Kevin to take some time to put into place. In reality, it took no longer than ten seconds. The metamorphosis had been so sudden, so fast, that the hybrid's soldiers encircled around him stood rooted to the spot in wonder. The energy beings were far more astounded than the golems, with many asking themselves if they too had the same sort of potential that was being displayed before them. Their interest taking hold, they grouped closer together, observing the adaptation in a careful yet curious stance and watched out for any aggression that could come from it.
Kevin opened his eyes. His work was completed. Gazing at the mostly still battlefield around him, he sensed the power inside him stretching to the breaking point, begging to be released from the confines of his body. Before he could surrender and let it go though, he wanted to be sure Ben was safely ducking down for cover. A pointed glance in Chromastone's direction gave him displeasure as he saw Ben was trying to fight his way toward him. Kevin grimaced; there was nothing for it then. If Ben was not going to listen and continue running in blindly to stop him without ever realising that the process had already gone beyond the point of no return, then all he could do was detonate now and hope that only the shockwave would affect Ben.
In that instant, he let the energy go.
The blast flew out from him in all directions. Those that had the unfortunate position of being to close to him were obliterated by the heat alone. It was about the tenth or eleventh line when the creatures interpreted the danger to them and turned to run. The unleashed energy was faster, incinerating more of their master's army. Chromastone ground to a halt as he saw it come his way. Without thinking, he dove to the safety of the ground, allowing it to brush over the surface of his back.
As the original blast began to fade out, it was reignited in places where it had claimed untold groups of energy beings. Their self-explosions added to the fury as it swathed through the hybrid's forces, destroying hundreds and scattering those that were fleeing for their lives into smaller divisions. But even altogether, those additional explosions were by themselves minor compared to the incredible amount of power Kevin produced on his own and by a certain time, the energy beings recognised their losses were aiding it in its expansion. Some went diving for the ground as Chromastone had. Others used their powers to strengthen their speed to outrun the deadly explosion, which continued in its terrifying reign until at last it weakened. The destructive wave lessened in its blazing glory, slowly dying and fading away so much that the air itself felt empty without its strong presence.
A single energy being came to the conclusion that the assault was over. As it was one of the ones that elected to go for cover, it stood up and assessed the damage done. More than three-quarters of its own kind had been decimated in the blast; the remainder were spread out across the field, all of them confused and vulnerable by what had nearly destroyed them.
The golems were less lucky. None of those in range of the explosion had survived, leaving only the ones that were engaging Alan and Manny and the Plumbers' line, as well as those inside Bellwood.
Unsure of its actions, the energy being counted on the free will granted to it by its master. It made a bold decision. Standing tall, it assumed command and called for all the survivors to regroup. The time to think about threats like Ben Tennyson and his friends had ended. A final and brutal push against the Plumbers with the ironclad intention of breaking them permanently had become necessary.
As Kevin had instructed her once things had quietened down and the hybrid's army was distracted with the reformation of their ranks, Helen made a dash towards ground zero of the explosion. Reaching the site, she slowed to a halt. In front of her, kneeling on the ground, was Chromastone as he collected an unresponsive Kevin into his arms. Helen froze at the sombre look in the hero's crystalline eyes.
"Is he?" she tried to say but failed to bring the question out in full as Ben glared at her.
"Did you know?" he asked icily.
Helen found it difficult to answer him. "Yes," was her almost quiet reply.
Chromastone shuddered, trembling in anger. "Then why didn't you stop him?"
"We tried to, Ben," Helen replied, approaching him softly. "But he was insistent. You know how stubborn he gets when he sticks to a plan." She heard a small quaking noise rumble in his chest the closer she got. Suspicion led her to assume that Chromastone had just growled. "Ben, if he's still alive, we need to get him to the aid station. Give him to me."
She held her arms out, waiting. Chromastone's first instinct was to ignore her and begin to pull away in the other direction. His second, wiser one told him to understand the logic and reasons behind Kevin's decision and actions. The third and most resolute aided the second, calling for him to listen to Helen. With sad reluctance, Chromastone sighed in defeat and carefully bundled Kevin into her arms. Helen nodded to him, turned, and sped off.
Chromastone watched her depart until she and Kevin were a blur in the distance and then he turned to examine the battlefield. A lone energy being seemed to be leading what was left of its fellow creations; already it had marshalled them into a united group, with it now doubtlessly acting to inspire them to take on one last bout for their master. Alan, Manny, Julie and Kai had retreated to the Plumbers' line, anticipating that the enemy was regathering to assault them there. Ben took that idea into consideration; he realised it was the only choice left to them. That was not the only revelation to hit him then either as with Kevin out of commission and he himself currently unoccupied, he was the one in command.
He hated being in command.
"Grandpa, where are you?"
As the two armies regather their forces to meet for the final clash in the next chapter, the battle where true victory will be determined lies elsewhere.
