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Chapter Two: Hero Time
The meeting was to take place at an old train station on the outskirts of the city. By the time we arrived, using the cover of night, we stood on a nearby hill and waited for them to arrive. "What kind of meeting is this anyway?" I asked.
"It's an arms deal." Labrid replied. "Between an unknown group who we believe to be related to the alien activity and the Forever Knights, they're..."
"A highly xenophobic secret society that ironically deals in stolen alien tech." I interrupted "I know. We've gone up against them before.
"This was the last piece of information I received from your grandfather before he went dark."
"In other words, this could lead to more information on my grandpa. So how much longer do you think they'll be?"
"They should be here any minute now."
"More like any second." Gwen said as she pointed out a delivery truck arriving, a second truck followed shortly after, and alone muscle car, mint green with black racing stripes was the last to arrive. Never been the biggest car aficionado but I have to admit it was a good looking vehicle. The driver, however, left something to be desired. One by one each driver or passenger got out of the vehicles the last being the driver of the green car. My eyes widened as I saw him and I could feel Gwen's do the same. He looked a lot different from the last time I saw him but there was no mistaking that face. "Is that…" Gwen began to ask.
"Kevin Levin…" I confirmed
It could have just been my imagination but it seemed like Labrid's eyes seemed to widen a bit at hearing Kevin's last name as if he recognized it. But yes, that was indeed Kevin Levin, sometimes referred to as Kevin 11. When I said Vilgax was perhaps my greatest enemy I wasn't speaking lightly but if there was anyone that could potentially rival that claim it was him. The battles we had were legendary. Hell, there's some part of me that might even respect his tenacity but at the time the overwhelming part of me felt nothing but anger and disgust as I remembered all the times he tried to kill not only me but Gwen too.
"When did he get out of the Null Void?" Gwen whispered to me.
"I don't know…" I whispered back.
"I take it you two have a past with him?"
"You could say that." I replied.
"It looks like he's brokering the deal." Labrid observed.
"Of course he is. Criminal activity and Kevin go together like chili and fries." I replied.
"Best keep our voices down." Gwen suggested.
"Yes, we don't want to give our position away just yet." Labrid agreed.
"Inside voices, got it." I whispered.
As much as I wanted to go over there and sock him in the face I knew I had to play it safe. Funny thing is ten-year-old me wouldn't have hesitated in the slightest. He would have just gone in half-cocked and hoped for the best. But there was another reason why I didn't want to attack him right away. The look in his eyes. Not what was currently there but rather what wasn't. The look of someone who'd stop at nothing to get what he wanted no matter how many innocent people got hurt. The look of someone who derived pleasure from the suffering of others because it made him feel alive. The look of a psychopath. Looking at him now it's hard to believe that he was once just a scrawny street punk that also happened to have the power to absorb energy. He certainly wasn't scrawny anymore. A tight short-sleeved black t-shirt and a tight grey long-sleeved undershirt concealed his broad chest and ripped arms. Not really the kind of guy you'd challenge to an arm-wrestling contest. Completing his basic ensemble was a pair of blue jeans and black combat shoes. He'd also grown quite a bit since I last saw him...Well, the last time I saw him in a human form anyway. I'd say roughly 6'2 maybe 6'3. Yeah, when push comes to shove he was a pretty intimidating looking guy. Not that I'd ever say that to his face. Two men from each truck stepped out and approached Kevin. The first two were dressed in crimson cloaks. One was holding a briefcase. The other two surprisingly looked like your average run of the mil pedestrians. We decided our best choice of action for the moment was to listen in on their conversation.
"Welcome Gentlemen, I'll be your middleman for the evening."
The two cloaked men looked at each other and nodded before handing the briefcase to Kevin. Kevin opened the briefcase to reveal several stacks of money.
"Looks it's all here." Kevin said before turning to the second truck and snapping his fingers. The back of the truck opened up. Three unassuming men stood inside along with several metal crates. A single stack of the crates was wheeled out to Kevin who proceeded to open one and take something out. I noticed a worried look on Labrid's face as he observed what was in Kevin's hand. It appeared to be some sort of rifle-like weapon. "As per the agreement, four dozen factory new laser lances. Tissim alloy, ether point energy module, antennae focus emitter. It's good for thirty-five minutes of continuous fire at point six terawatts. Is that good?" Kevin asked rhetorically as he fired at a laser beam at a nearby train cart which after just a second of impact exploded reducing it nothing but a few pieces of scrap metal. "You tell me."
"That's level five technology! This planet's only cleared for level two!" Labrid suddenly exclaimed before sliding down the hill to confront the criminals.
"So much for inside voices." I said as Gwen and I followed behind him.
"Hands above your head airbreathers! By the authority of the Plumbers, You are all busted!" Labrid exclaimed as he brandished his laser pistol while showing his Plumbers badge.
"Yeah, what he said." I added.
The five unassuming men just simply stared blankly at us before seemingly taking their faces off to reveal five Brainguts.
"Ugh, that is so disgusting." Gwen remarked.
"I know right." I agreed.
Using some quick judgment Labrid shot at the ground near the Brainguts creating a line of fire between us and them.
"What now?" I asked.
"A standoff." he replied.
"I don't think so." Gwen said as she pointed at the five forever Knights behind us. Who had all switched to their combat gear. Basically suits of medieval-style armor with a bit of a modern twist. "Ben I think it's time to…"
"On it." I replied as I popped up the display on the Omnitrix but for some reason, there was nothing on the display. No hero's to choose from. 'Oh well, I'll just slam it down and hope for the best.' I thought "It's hero time!" I slammed my right hand down and...nothing. The display blink with flashing blue light but other than that absolutely nothing. "Aw, man…" The Brainguts seemed very trepa...trapa...Hold on give me a second. The Brainguts seemed very trepidatious at going past the fire, which I found odd given how resilient these things seemed to be, but they eventually found a way to quell the fire by shooting a weird yellow waxy mucus-like substance at the fire suppressing it. The wax itself seemed to dissolve after a few seconds. Why they didn't just walk around it I'll never know. Maybe they weren't the sharpest tools in the shed.
"Ben, any time now…" Gwen said as both sides began to approach.
"I'm working on it." I replied as I continued to fiddle with the watch. "Damn, this is a really bad time for a reboot…I got nothing."
"Maybe I do." Gwen replied as she replied she knocked the oncoming Forever Knights away with two energy blasts.
But that didn't keep them down for long. They quickly regrouped and began firing quick shots at us with their laser lances. Fortunately, Gwen was able to block them with her energy shield but the Brainguts began to make their move as well. One came swinging wildly at me but I countered with a block while using a low sweeping kick to take it's leg out from underneath it which stung a bit. If I haven't mentioned it yet, hitting one of these things is close to hitting a brick wall.
"No way you learned that from watching martial arts films. Gwen, still blocking the Forever Knights laser lances, said to me as observed the technique I used.
"So I may have fibbed a little."
Well, I'd say it's more like a half-truth, really. I do enjoy quite a few kung fu flicks but I also took up Silat. I just recently received my third belt so I'm nowhere near Gwen's level compared to her Karate, but it's enough to help out in a situation where I can't use the Omnitrix. Like right now for example.
"This is getting pretty bad!" Gwen shouted.
"It probably can't get any worse right?" I replied.
And then it got worse. I know me and my big mouth right. The Brainguts began firing that same mucus from earlier at us one of which hit Labrid on the shoulder. Thankfully, before another one could hit Gwen put at a dome of energy up around us.
"Thanks, Gwen." I said.
"Don't mention it. We need to think of something fast because I can't keep this up for long."
"I know."
"Oh no, I'm fine don't worry about me." Labrid said with copious amounts of sarcasm.
"Sorry." I sincerely apologized. Are you alright?"
"Yeah. It doesn't appear to be anything corrosive just very sticky…"
As the Forever Knights and Brainguts continued to fire at us I could only think of one thing to do at the time.
"Gwen making an opening in the shield for me."
"But Ben…"
"Just do it." I replied with a respectful but confident tone.
"Alright."
Gwen opened a small area of the shield that wasn't being fired at quickly closing it behind just as I ran out.
"Come and get me!" I shouted as I began fiddling with the Omnitrix again. A couple of the Brainguts along with a couple of the Foreverknights gave chase letting up some of the assault on Gwen's barrier. "Come on what is wrong with you!?" I shouted at the watch. It had given me some problems in the past but not like this. They continued their pursuit I looked around for anything I could use to my advantage. I noticed a large pallet of crates near a small stack of PVC pipes so I grabbed a pipe and used it to get some leverage and toppled the crates over creating a temporary wall between them and me. I was hoping to at least take out one of them with that but no such luck. It did however temporarily block their path allowing more time to inspect the Omnitrix end. "Seriously buddy, what is wrong with you? I could really use your help right now." But still nothing, and slowly but surely they began to remove the crates. Eventually, I could see the butt ugly eye of a Brainguts peeking through. "Anytime you wanna work would be great…" I said hoping for some sort of reaction and a reaction is what I got when I heard a female voice come from the Omnitrix. "Recalibration complete." was all it said but then something totally awesome happened. The Omnitrix began to shine with a blinding green light as it unclamped itself from my wrist and began floating in the air. I could barely make it out but it was changing shape. When the light cleared it looked like a completely new device. It was slimmer, sleeker with more of an actual watch-like shape to it. It now had a green wristband with a metallic grey faceplate that had a tiny knob on each side that the wristband wasn't attached to. The green hourglass on the display was still present but there wasn't any grey just black surrounding it. After the recalibration, it quickly reclamped itself to my wrist. "Cool." I quickly popped up the display revealing a green silhouette of a humanoid alien that seemed to have crystals stick out of its shoulders and head. In all my time using the Omnitrix I'd never seen it before. "I don't recognize any of these." I said as I cycled through a few more before stopping on a specific one. "You like you'll do something cool." I slammed my hand down on the display causing me to instantly transform into the new alien. Although, the transformation feels a lot longer in my head, and I swear I hear music every time it happens. The new transformation was a humanoid plant-like creature. Its body, the chest of which displayed the Omnitrix's symbol, was mostly a moss-like green with black on the sides, traps, and face. Little red spikes were sticking out of its shoulders, and its head resembled roaring flames while its feet were like tree roots. "Oh man, what is that smell? ...Oh, It's me. Maybe I can stink them to death." I said as I extended my right arm forward causing a fireball to shoot forth from my hand taking out the remaining crates and knocking back all four baddies. "Now that's that hot." I went to make another move on them as they began to recover but stopped dead in my tracks when I suddenly heard Gwen scream
"Ben!"
"Gwen!" I shouted in a panic as I ran past the still recovering enemies. When I got to Gwen and Labrid I saw Gwen's shield was down. They were covered up to their necks in that weird mucus. "Get away from her you dicks!" I shouted in anger. I attempted to make a move but before I could even flinch my left arm was shot off from behind me by one of the forever knights all of which had gathered behind me. "Funny, I thought losing an arm would kinda hurt." But it didn't. Maybe a slight tingle but that's about it and then, as if on a subconscious command, a small tendril sprouted from my where my arm used to be and attached itself to my severed arm pulling it back and reattaching it to my body. A smirk broke out on my face as I realized just what this thing was capable of. "Oh...You're in trouble now!" I shouted confidently as I stretch my arm to grab a long thin piece of wood a few feet away from me. I lit it on fire and began to spin it around a bit before pointing it at the Brainguts and then the Forever Knights. The Brianguts were the first to flee none of them even bothering to acknowledge one another. The Forever Knights all gave each other a nod to confirm with each other before fleeing as well. "Man, I forgot how fun this! Hey!" I shouted before it fully registered that Brainguts were getting away. Get back here! I want answers!" 'One of those things was there at Grandpa Max's RV. They have to know something.' I thought as I chased them. These suckers were surprisingly fast, however. And to make matters worse I was interrupted by a certain someone. Apparently, in all the chaos, he had managed to lay low. How he managed to slip my mind was beyond me.
"Kevin…" I said bitterly.
"Tennyson…" he replied with equal bitterness.
"Move! You're letting them get away!" I shouted.
"Nah. I don't feel like it." he replied casually, but I could see the anger in his eyes. "I'm thinkin' I feel like gettin' a little payback for trapping me in the Null Void all those years."
"You tried to kill me! Several times!"
"That place was a fate worse than death…" he replied not angrily but rather somberly. "Forget them. It's just me and you. Mano e mano like old times. I also picked up a neat new trick. Wanna see?" he asked as he placed his hands on the nearby railroad tracks. His body, and even his clothes, were quickly covered in steel as if he absorbed the very material itself.
"Whoa, That is new." I replied. As much as I wanted to keep chasing the Brainguts the man who had caused me so much grief...so much pain was standing in front of me, and I'm not too proud to admit. I let my emotions get the better of me. "Fine! You want a fight! Bring it on!"
"That's the spirit, Tennyson!" Kevin shouted as he ran at me hitting me in the face with a few jabs and ramming his fist straight through my stomach.
"Oh no!" I exclaimed in a fake panic but quickly put on a smirk as Kevin realized he couldn't pull his fist back out. "Psych!" I shot a quick burst of fire from the tips of my right index and middle fingers stunning him. Immediately followed up with an elbow to his chrome dome knocking him back into a wall, but he rebounded before I could make another move. He picked a large wooden cargo container and chucked it me.
"Heads up!" he quipped as the cargo container landed on top of me. "Come on, Tennyson. I know that ain't you got." he said as he approached the container. "Or maybe I'm wrong. Maybe these past years have softened you, and now you're all bark and no bite."
'Oh, I got the perfect comeback for that.' I thought as I came up through a crack in the ground behind him. I tapped him on the shoulder causing him to spin around to confront me. "Woof." I simply replied before delivering an uppercut that knocked back quite a but the stubborn bastard still refused to stay down as he got back and picked up an entire freight car. I could see his strength starting to fade as he struggled to hold up the container so I shot a large explosive fire blast with both my hands at the container the force of which knocked it away. Kevin tried one last time to stand up but all he could do was manage to lift his head before passing out causing him to revert back to normal as I let a sigh of relief. By the time the fight was finished both the Brainguts and Forever Knights were long gone. Leaving the unconscious oaf in front of me, myself, And… "Gwen!" shouted as I ran to check on her. Oh, and Labrid too of course. "Gwen, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Just get me out of this stuff." She replied failing to hide the disgusted look on her face.
"Alright, but um quick question. How do I go about doing that?"
"Yeah, that is a good question."
"I'm fine too by the way. Thanks for asking." Labrid chimed in.
"Oh, sorry." I sincerely apologized again. "Are you feeling alright?" I asked.
"Oh, I'm just great." he replied sarcastically. "Of course not! This is absolutely disgusting think of something quick." he said hurriedly.
I could practically see the wheels in Gwen's head turning as she came up with an idea.
"I take it you got something?" I asked.
"Yeah. Think so. Those things seemed to be pretty hesitant around fire, and this stuff seemed to melt away when used to put out the flames so maybe heat could dissolve this stuff."
"Alright, here goes nothing."
I formed a ball of heat in my right hand began to run over the mucus around Gwen and just like she suggested it began to dissolve and before long they were both freed.
"Thank you." Labrid simply said.
"Thanks, Ben." Gwen said graciously as she went hug me but stopped pretty fast as the smell reached her nose. "Oh god, what is that?"
"It's me. This one's got sweet abilities but one hell of a drawback."
"So what are you going to name that one anyway?" Gwen asked.
"Hmm, good question. I'm thinking...Swampfire!"
"I like it." Gwen replied with smile that would have set my heart on fire greater than Swampfire' flames ever could under different circumstances, but Gwen's smile faded as she noticed the increasing worry on my face. "Ben, what's wrong?" she asked before it seems she also realized what I concerned about. "...Oh."
"We just lost the best lead we had on finding Grandpa."
"We'll find your Grandpa, kid." Labrid assured me. "And you shouldn't worry too much. I've known, Max for quite some time. I was the one who brought him into the plumbers. Helped train him myself."
"You trained him?" I replied. "Just how old are you?"
"I'm still a strapping young one hundred and seventy-five."
"Really? You don't look a day over One Fifty." I jokingly replied.
That actually got a little laugh at of Labrid.
"My point is. If there's anyone who can get themselves out of a tough spot it's your Grandfather. He's one of the craftiest men I've known."
"Thanks." I replied. His words managed to calm my nerves if ever so slightly.
"Now, there's another matter we must attend to." Labrid continued. "Those weapons can not be allowed to stay on Earth. Possession is a class B intergalactic felony. We just need to find out their location."
"I think I know someone who may be able to help with that." I replied with some reluctance. "Wakey, wakey, rotten eggs and bakey."
"Aw man...What the…" Kevin said as he slowly opened his eyes to see us staring up at him just as I happened to transform back into my dashing self. "I think I liked you better the other way."
"And I think I'd like you better locked up." I retorted.
"Listen, Kevin." Gwen said, sternly. I could tell she also had a hard time getting past the things we went through with him but maybe not to such a harsh degree. She was always more trusting and quicker to forgive than me. It was one of the traits I admired most about her.
"Dang Gwen, when did you get so hot?" he said with a smirk that I would have loved to just smack off his face.
"Watch it." I replied trying hard not show any sign of jealousy.
Gwen seemed to ignore his comment and continued.
"We need your help to find the Forever Knights. We figured since you brokered the deal, you would know where they are."
"And why would I help you?" he replied as he stared directly at me. There was still a tinge of hatred in his eyes but for some reason, it wasn't as intense as I expected it to be.
"Because if you don't I will arrest you here on the spot." Labrid chimed in.
"Oh, I'm so scared. Judging by the red on his Omnitrix. Digging the new look by the way real snazzy. I'd say it's gonna be a minute before he can transform again. Now I'm no fool. A highly trained Plumber and Miss Lucky here aren't great odds for me but…" Kevin took a piece of a golden metal out of his pocket and absorbed it. "This is a piece of Flectunt metal. It's pretty weak but it's highly reflective. So…" Kevin took a small flashlight out of his other pocket. "All I got to do turn this and everyone but yours truly will be temporarily blinded. It's really good for a quick getaway."
"Kevin, please." Gwen pleaded.
"No way. The Forever Knights were paid clients, and I don't sell out my clients. I got a code to keep."
'That's rich.' I thought as I chuckled internally. 'A con man and a thief with a code of honor.'
"So I'm thinkin' it's about to for me to collect my money and…"
I couldn't help but smirk as I came to the same realization as Kevin.
"Those bastards took off with the money. That means I ain't got my cut."
"And that means they aren't paid clients." I added.
And that was all it took to convince him. After a brief moment of contemplation, he put the metal and flashlight back in his pockets and powered down. "Fine, but I'm driving."
And so we set out for the Forever Knights base. What happened there is something I'll never forget. An unexpected loss, and the gain of an unexpected ally.
A/N
And that's all for this chapter. I hope you liked all the little changes. I wanted to give a bit more tension between Ben and Kevin. I also wanted to give a bit more depth and personality to Magister Labrid to make his last scene a bit more impactful. I changed up the watch transformation to try and a bit more spectacular, and I made the AI voice female because I have plans for that later. I chose to have Ben know a more specific form of Martial Arts because I have some plans for that later. I also plan to have some payoff for that as well. I have quite the long term plan for this story truth be told. I also hope liked the little running gag of Ben being so concerned with Gwen that he keeps accidentally forgetting about Labrid. Cya.