Chapter 7: Deadly Decibels of Doom
Back and forth. Back and forth. Lucario continued to watch the green ball move from side to side across the stadium. Ben had recently invited Lucario to come with him, since it would be the final match of a tennis tournament, and one of the two players was Ben's girlfriend, Julie Yamamoto. She was a girl about Ben's age with black hair pulled back into a ponytail and brown eyes. Currently, she was wearing entirely white attire: white t-shirt, white skirt, white shoes, and white wristbands. Still, Lucario found himself rather bored. He had grown up with Sir Aaron watching jousting and archery. The sports were not just entertaining, they were great at preparing opponents for combat. He always found the accuracy and patience of archers or the tension and anticipation that came with jousting to be more thrilling. Here, everything moved so fast, and the scoring simply confused him more.
"Lucario? Are you OK?" Ben asked in concern. He had been accommodating and gracious, but Lucario simply struggled to get into the sport.
"I'm sorry, Ben. Perhaps it's simply me being from a different era, but I have trouble enjoying this," Lucario admitted. "I honestly find myself my fascinated more by the delicacies of the arena than the sport itself."
"You know you didn't have to come, right? I never said you needed to be with me," Ben tried to assure.
"I suppose, but I felt it would be better to meet the final member of your team right now when I could. At least I should be polite and show some interest in her hobbies," Lucario told Ben.
"Yeah. I suppose you're right. Still, trust me, she's friendlier than she looks right now. She just gets competitive, and she loves tennis," Indeed, with the gritted teeth, tense stance, and narrowed eyes, Lucario would be dead on arrival if looks could kill. With a small cry, she tossed the ball in the air before hitting it with her racquet. Her blonde opponent countered with a forehand, and sent the ball flying towards Julie again. However, Julie anticipated this and sent it back at her opponent in such a way that it was difficult for her to react. One bounce. Her opponent tried to dive towards it to send it back. Two bounces. The crowd cheered, Ben amongst them.
"Advantage! Julie!" The announcer cried out. Lucario was at least impressed by the speed and reflexes that came with tennis, but the sheer speed of the tennis ball made it hard for him to see what was going on.
"Come on, Julie! You can do this! I believe in you!" Ben cheered, his teeth grit in anticipation. Julie had been training hard and dreaming of winning her first official tournament, and it was a boyfriend's job to support their girlfriend in their hobbies. Of course, it wasn't always easy to have a relationship between a blossoming professional tennis player and a superhero, but the two had made it work.
It was now down to one final play. If Julie won this, she would be winning her first professional tennis championship. Taking a deep breath, she served the little green ball, turning it into a blur. Her opponent responded with speed and strength, sending it hurtling back towards her. Again, the stalemate continued, with neither opponent holding back nor giving an inch to the enemy. However, Julie managed to hit the ball far enough away from the other side of her opponent that it bounced twice.
"AND WITH THAT AMAZING FINAL PASS, JULIE WINS THE CHAMPIONSHIP!" the announcer cried out, earning the cheers of Ben, loudly congratulating her on her victory. Turning to her opponent, they shook hands and complimented each other for a good game.
"Julie! You were amazing in that game!" Ben cried in joy, hugging his girlfriend tightly. Now, Julie was wearing a pink hoodie, black t-shirt underneath, and white shorts that went to her knees. Her hair wasn't tied up into a ponytail, but instead, twin pigtails that hung down the back of her head.
"Thanks, Ben. I know it's not easy for you to be a hero and a boyfriend, so I really appreciate you coming," Julie said gratefully.
"Hey. We've gone through stopping an alien god, being hunted by an egotistical poacher, the attempted revival of space vampires, and an attempt to reset the entire universe. I think staying true to one another would be easy afterwards," Ben said jokingly. He did mean it, however. They very nearly broke up after Ben, in a fit of game-induced anger, talked fairly poorly towards her, and it wasn't until Gwen told Ben what he had said to Julie that he realized what he had done. He called her back, made a sincere apology, and attended her next three tennis games. However, it still hurt Julie very badly, and they chose to not be together until things had simmered down. Afterwards, Ben made himself promise that he would not do anything to jeopardize their relationship, having nearly lost the one girl who was interested in Ben the boy, not Ben the celebrity.
"You're thinking about that day again, aren't you? It's been over a year, and I already accepted your apology," Julie replied.
"Yeah. It still upsets me that I acted that way, but you're right. I can't keep dwelling on it, or it's just gonna drive me nuts. Anyway, I think Gwen and Kevin may have mentioned it, but I have a new friend to help out in my hero business!" Ben explained.
"You did? Oh, right! Lucario! I'm guessing he's the one who was sitting next to you?"
"Yeah. Let me call for him! LUCARIO!" Ben called out. In a few minutes, Lucario had quickly made his way to the couple. However, around his neck lay a certain Galvanic Mechamorph. Like all of his kind, he was mostly black, but had green circuitry patterns covering his body, and where his face was lay a single green circle, representing his eye. Julie giggled at the display: it was cute to see Ship immediately bonding with a new friend so quickly, and with his cries of "Ship!", it made it seem like he enjoyed his new friend as well.
"Yes, Ben? This creature seemed to make friends with me quickly, and I struggle to see why," Lucario asked with a completely serious expression on his face.
"Probably because you have Ben's scent from all the time you spend with him," Julie explained. "He's my pet, a Galvanic Mechamorph symbiote named Ship,"
"Ship? Odd name, but I suppose it is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Yamamoto," Lucario answered, holding his right paw out.
"Wow. You're actually pretty formal. Not something we see a lot of today. But you don't need to call me Miss Yamamoto. Just call me Julie If Ben trusts you, Lucario, then I will as well," Julie then took his paw and shook it, causing Lucario to smile.
"Good to see you all getting along nicely. Julie, I wanna ask. What do you want to do after your first championship victory?" Ben asked.
"You do remember what we bought? Hope you didn't, because I was looking forward to...Dust It Off!" Julie answered, sweeping her shoulders as if there was dust on them.
"Oh right. DJ Duster. Honestly would have preferred a Shag Carpeting concert. Grandpa really helped me get into back when I was 10. They're not bad for a bunch of fossils," Ben replied jokingly.
"Preference or not, we both agreed to attend his newest concert tomorrow, so please. Can you come just this once?" Julie's tone was a bit more pleading, and Ben felt himself getting licked behind the ears. Ship had jumped off Lucario and had begun to pepper him in symbiote kisses.
"All right! All right! I promise we'll be there. But we'll need to get a ticket for Lucario, then," Ben answered after a few moments of kisses in ticklish areas.
"Aww! Thanks, Ben!" Julie said. This was followed by a quick but sweet peck on the cheek. "And don't worry about that. You do tend to lose things in the thick of battles, so I bought an extra ticket just in case."
"You really know me well, don't ya? Either way, that works for me! See you tomorrow!" Ben called out, taking Lucario with him back to their house.
"Is everything ready for our appearance tomorrow? No self respecting musician has a debut that is anything other than memorable, boys!" A strange voice called out. It was warbled, as if undergoing continuous autotune and put through a speaker. Within the dark warehouse, two strange men approached her. One was tall and lanky with pale skin, and his attire consisted of a helmet exposing his mouth with a star-shaped visor with pink digital eyes, pink shoes and suit, a purple tie, and an indigo collared shirt underneath. His partner was short and fat with darker skin, but had a similar helmet with instead a much simpler visor yet identically eyes, and his attire was opposite that of his partner except for the shirt: a pink tie and purple shoes and suit.
"Don't worry, man. The mobile sound system's ready, and your instrument of chaos is ready when you are!" The lanky one said in a slight Brooklyn accent, pulling out a mean looking bass guitar. Strumming it for a bit, his face soon bore a rabid grin, and he began to play wildly. The sheer intensity of the resulting sound waves begin to cause glasses to topple over shattering once they landed on the ground. However, it seemed to also be causing a strange set of speakers and keyboard to vibrate.
"BASS! QUIT THAT RACKET, MAN! REMEMBER THAT BOSS SAID HIS SOUND SYSTEM WAS VERY DELICATE!" the shorter man cried out, though the cry was dampened from the loud music. However, that stopped once another wave of sound blasted him in the back, causing him to land in a messy heap.
"You should have listened to Treble, Bass. I wouldn't have needed to do that to you otherwise. My baby is incredibly delicate. Had you destroyed it, it would have set our plans back months. L.Y.R.A., what do you suggest we do to him? Concert of his life? Give him a swan song?" the warbled voice muttered. Finally appearing out of the shadows, he was revealed. Thanks to the helmet completely concealing his face and the hood further cloaking it in shadows, it was impossible to make out any facial features, apart from a pair of pink dots for eyes, similar to the sneering eyes on Bass and Treble's visors. His full attire consisted of a grey cloak and hood, silver gauntlets, a black shirt, grey pants, and black boots.
"Now, now. Let us all calm down and take a deep breath. Every singer needs its back-up, right? He's just getting antsy thinking about our big payday, so let him have a little fun. It's not damaged, so let's be thankful for that," A lilting female voice with a British accent offered. Strangely, it seemed to come from the leader itself.
"You're right. Be thankful you hadn't damaged it, or I don't think L.Y.R.A. wouldn't be holding me back. You would have cost yourselves a massive payday otherwise!" the leader ranted
"Right. Sorry, boss. But are you sure they'll be able to heed our demands? It is quite a lot of cash, you know, and people don't carry that much in their wallets, you know," the newly named Bass replied.
"Don't worry about that. That's the point of the five minute intermission at the end before the finale. Anyway, we'll make an impact. They'll know we're not playing hyperbole when they see what happens. We'll be remembered forever as patrons of chaos while making a tidy profit on the side," the leader said. "Yes. I can see the Top Ten charts now! 'Newest Music Sensation Pay 100 Million Dollars in Cash, Or We'll Turn the Stadium into Trash!' I, Lord Decibel, shall be the greatest criminal musician in the history of the world!" As Lord Decibel spiraled further into his crazy dreams, he broke into maniacal laughter, with his lackeys following suit.
The Next Day
As Ben, Julie, Lucario, and Ship made their way towards Bellwood Music Stadium. Opened about half a year ago after Ben and his team had experienced the creation of a new universe, it was a common place for musicians of all types to hold performances. The Concert Hall was quite important historically, but it was fairly limited, as it only worked for plays, operas, and orchestras. With all of them having tickets and Ship coating Julie's purse, the four entered the arena. Immediately, Lucario felt out of place. He'd never felt much in place due to his origins, but he really felt like an outsider in this massive crowd. While he took solace in Ben and Julie remaining in their regular attire, everyone else wore shirts saying "Dust It Off!" or had images of a tanned young man wearing a yellow baseball cap, sunglasses, and yellow hoodie. Even more confusingly for Lucario, some of them wore headbands with yellow ears similar to those of an Azumarill. When he asked Julie, she stated that DJ Duster's admirers, or "fans" as she called them, called themselves "DJ Dust Bunnies". A ridiculous name, but Lucario was not one to judge. Smoke billowed out, making Lucario worry a fire had broken out, and had tried to rush onto the stage.
"Calm down, Lucario, nothing's on fire right now. That's just how they make their entrance. At this point, I think the MC should be coming out," Ben said, grabbing Lucario's left arm before he could rush onto the stage. Relieved, Lucario sheepishly returned to his original position. As he did so, a new man came out from the smoke. He was a dark skinned individual, wearing black sunglasses, and wearing a neat white ensemble, made of a t-shirt and torn pants.
"And now! Ladies, gentleman, boys, girls, and everyone in between, put your hands up in the air! Get ready, because like a feather duster, he'll sweep the dust offof you, and he'll sweep you off your feet! Introducing DJ DUSTER!" Immediately following, the stadium erupted into cheers.
"Who was that?" Lucario asked.
"That's the Master of Cermonies, or MC. He's pumping up the crowd for the actual performance," Julie explained. As he left the stage, a man similar to that on some of the shirts walked on stage.
"YO DUST BUNNIES! HOW YA DOIN'?" Cries of "OK!", "WE LOVE YOU!", and more rang throughout the arena. Lucario swore that even Exploud would wince at the intensity of the cheers ringing through the stadium.
"Alright! Then it's time we get you cleaned up with my latest hit! Ready yourselves for 'Giant Feather Duster'!" DJ Duster pulled out a laptop and plugged it into an outlet within a web of wires. Lucario didn't know what to expect, but he didn't anticipate listening to whatever came out of the speakers. It was not bad, but compared to the more authentic instrumentation, it felt weird hearing what a machine made. However, the beat and rhythm began to take hold. Even if it wasn't that good, Lucario couldn't deny that the music made him want to dance. He soon found himself tapping his foot to the beat.
"So, Lucario, what do you think? Pretty cool right?" Julie asked.
"I will admit, the beat is quite interesting, but I suppose it feels a little soulless," Lucario admitted.
"Soulless? Is it because he's not actually playing an instrument and you feel it lacks a human element?" Ben figured.
"Yes. Remember I grew up in a much less advanced time period," Lucario replied.
"Well, it should be ending soon. There'll be an intermission for you to get some clarity soon enough. Just be patient," Julie assured, Ship chirping in agreement. The music continued, but thankfully, it wasn't a concerto. It was less than a few minutes, not 15. Afterwards, the stadium burst into uproarious applause as he left the stadium.
15 Minutes Later
"Boss?" Treble called out.
"What is it, Treble?" Lord Decibel asked.
"The concert's over, and Bass is in position. We've seen enough of his concerts to plan this out, right?" Treble asked.
"Oh yes. Indeed, we should be seeing him coming in 3...2...1," As if on cue, Bass arrived carrying an unconscious and bound DJ Duster on his shoulder. Dumping him unceremoniously, Bass smiled, happy things were looking good.
"OK. I've got him. So what do we do with him, boss?" Bass asked.
"Just leave him. Someone'll find him. Eventually," Lord Decibel answered uncaringly. "You two get in there and hype me up. I'll make my entrance soon enough,"
"Alright, boss. We're goin' in," Bass obeyed, with him and Treble entering through the backdoor. However, had they stayed, they would have seen Lord Decibel pull out a photo, looking at the picture of a blonde middle aged woman, giving a grin. Briefly removing his hood, his domed head quickly formed the pink visage of an angry face.
"Mother. You said my love of music and science was folly, and that I should be getting a life as an athlete or laborer, that my brainpower was absolutely nothing. Well, this kid's outgrown you, and once I've got the money, I'll make sure you learn a valuable lesson once everyone knows what really lay underneath that smile!" he ranted, practically roaring in fury as he tore the picture in half.
However long an intermission was supposed to last, it clearly wasn't half an hour. At least, that was what Lucario assumed when he overhead the conversations erupting from the crowd. Worried murmurs and cries of concern resonated throughout the stadium.
"Should we start investigating? This is clearly irregular and something off is occurring," Lucario asked. However, at that moment, Bass and Treble sauntered in.
"Yo, wassup mah homies! Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I'm afraid that DJ Duster won't be performing tonight," Treble answered. Shock washed over the crowd like the tide over the shore of a beach.
"What?!"
"How?"
"My god, was he kidnapped?!"
"Oh my god, someone call the police!"
"HELP!"
"I didn't pay for this!"
"What have you done to him?!"
"DJ DUSTER BUSTER!"
"TELL US WHERE HE IS!"
These cries and more resonated through the stadium. Panic had erupted, and the crowd was screeching louder than a flock of parrots. At that moment, though, a high pitched whinny erupted, and the crowd settled down. Not that there was much choice as the intensity of the sound caused them to wince and crouch in pain, Lucario, Ben and Julie included.
"Whoa, dudes! We haven't done nothin'. We're just saying it as it is! Don't shoot the messenger!" Bass stated. "DJ Duster isn't hurt. He's just tied up in contractual business. Very sudden business," Lucario didn't need Aura to know that he was lying.
"Seriously?! 'Tied up in sudden business?' Even a braindead Slowpoke could tell a better falsehood!" Lucario thought to himself, slamming his right fist against his forehead. From the unamused looks on Ben and Julie, they weren't convinced either.
"In the meantime, ya'll got front row seats to the debut album of the newest music sensation. I'm Treble, and my partner's Bass! We're the backup to the Sultan of Soundwaves! The Baron of Beats! The Mandarin of Music! Strap yourselves in for the introduction of Lord Decibel!"
Coming from the top of the Stadium came the ugly mug of Lord Decibel. His sound system hovered in the air via sonic thrusters at the bottom, and these let off pink sound waves.
"Hello, my attendees! I'm so honored that you've come to my show! Sure, I may be riding on the coattails of DJ Duster, but I'm so touched either way!" Lord Decibel said in a faux-grateful tone. Ben and Lucario knew this couldn't be good. And with someone outright stating they had stolen DJ Duster's audience for himself, anger quickly followed. Boos and jeers erupted from the stadium.
"Get off the stage, jerk head! You don't deserve to ride DJ Duster's coattails!"
"Screw this racket. I'm outta here,"
It seemed Lord Decibel heard that, and very quickly took on a more serious tone. "Oh. But I insist. Every musician does love a captive audience!" With that, a pink energy field suddenly appeared, encompassing the entire stadium. Everyone gasped at this. Lowering his hood and revealing his smirking 'face', Lord Decibel droned on. "Now. Here's a little prelude," Pressing his fingers onto the keyboard, what could only be described as auditory agony assaulted everyone's eardrums. Blaring, whinnying music screeched throughout the stadium. There was no beat, no rhythm, no musicality; it was just screechy, meaningless noise.
"AGH!"
"MY EARS!"
"NO! MAKE IT STOP!"
"HELP!"
"MY HEAD!"
"Whoops! Sorry. Just a mic check. My bad," With the cat-like grin and upturned "eyebrow", Lord Decibel made it clear it wasn't a mic check. "Time for the true prelude," This was far better, even if it felt overly synthesized. However, the volume was far more than before.
"OK. That's a little better. A little loud, but I can tolerate it."
"Yeah. Maybe this guy's got some talent."
"Hmmm. He's not as good as DJ Duster, but it could be worse."
"Yeah. This concert isn't a total waste."
"HOW ARE PEOPLE ACCEPTING THIS?!" Lucario thought. Lord Decibel certainly wasn't bad at music, but, perhaps it was just a gut feeling, Lucario felt something would be going wrong.
"AHHH! So you do like my music. See? You may be a captive audience, but you aren't being submitted to terrible music, so it's not a total loss, right?" Lord Decibel commented. Lucario saw several people give small nods to this. "So now onto the main event! Bass! Treble! Hype them up!"
"You got it boss!" Bass said. "So now that you've got a taste of what the D-Man can do, do you want more?" Small cheers came from the audience.
"You wanna make history by hearing Lord Decibel's true debut song?" Treble asked. Cheers came along, far more eagerly than before.
"Well done, you two. And for my first song, I'd like to tell you the title of it! It's called Pay 100 Million Dollars in Cash, Or We'll Turn the Stadium into Trash!" Gasps broke out, and eyes widened across the stadium. Lord Decibel's face was now replaced by a pink dollar sign. "That's right! I'm hungry for the money! So here's how this works! Hand over all your valuables to Bass and Treble, and then give them your banking info. If you don't, I'll turn this arena into rubble and trust me! My music can very literally bring the house down on all of you! Like so!" Pressing a few keys on his keyboard, wires connected to nearby speakers, and blaring noise exploded from them. Lucario gazed in shock as the sound waves began to create fissures within the stadium, and no one could stand up, the ground vibrating more than a terrified baby. "Like I said, you had best cough up the cash if you want to live!"
"I should have known something was going to happen, and yet I did nothing! What is wrong with me?" Lucario asked.
"Hey. Had we acted then and there, who knows what might have happened? But enough on the what ifs. We need to try and get into the stadium now! Julie! Ship! You know what we need!" Ben explained.
"Right! Ready Ship?" Julie asked her pet. Giving little chirps of acknowledgement, Ship began to morph, and engulfed her body. Soon enough, he had formed a powerful battle suit for his owner. A T-shaped, green-tinted visor exposed her eyes, nose, and mouth, and her body and Ship's "eye" lay on the helmet's forehead. Fin-like structures emerged from her shoulders and forearms, and green circuitry patterns coated the mostly black body. "Ready to go! Lord Decibel shouldn't be too hard to handle on his own, so me and Lucario will handle his hype men. You go kick him off the stage!"
"Alright! Good luck you two!" Ben called out. Running towards center stage, Ben began dialing up for XLR8 but while doing so, he felt like he was crashing into a brick wall. "OW! What the-"
"AH! So even the great Ben Tennyson is here! I'm honored! But I wonder how much attention will come if my music becomes your swan song! Oh, and do you really think I'd be leaving myself completely undefended? I've set up a sonic dome to protect me! So don't bother trying to phase through it, and I've made sure that your Sonorosian screams will do nothing to it!" Lord Decibel bragged.
"Darn it! It can never be easy can it! Why don't we test that theory, shall we?" Switching the dial to Ghostfreak, Ben transformed into his Ectonurite form.
"I doubt that you really can stop me from going through! But I'll indulge you on that offer!" Letting out a raspy chuckle, Ghostfreak turned intangible and attempted to phase through the sonic barrier. As did so, he felt like he was being ripped apart, like a thousand hands clawing at his flesh. Letting out a scream in agony, he quickly turned away. His ears were ringing and Lord Decibel, noticing his dizzied state, roared in laughter.
"Come on, people! We don't have all day, ya know! Give us your jewels and wallets and bank info, and you get to live! It ain't that difficult, is it?" Bass ordered, smiling maliciously. Feeling a tap on his shoulder, he turned to find his jaw politely introduced to Lucario's fist. Reeling in pain, Bass growled, not helped by seeing Treble getting tossed like a rag doll by Julie.
"Shoot! Now we gots ta deal with these bozos! Lord Decibel did give us those cool suits! Why not take em for a spin, eh Bass!" Treble asked.
"Now dere's an idea I'm behind!" Bass replied. Twisting the dial-like attachments on their helmets, the helmets quickly began coating their users in armor. Treble's armor was, fittingly bulky, with speakers attached to the hands, forearms, and feet, and much like its user, the chest plate was pink with a purple rectangle in the upper chest. Meanwhile, Bass's armor was more streamlined, though it had openings with each knuckle and on his feet, as well as two small thrusters in the back. "Time to melt your faces off! You'll be sorry you messed with us!"
Lucario and Julie assumed fighting stances and Lucario let out a warning. "We shall see about that!" The two sides charged towards one another. Lucario put his paws together and charged up an Aura Sphere, while Julie had Ship turn her right arm into an energy blaster. The hype men, however, weren't about to take it lying down and launched an attack. Treble thrusted his right palm out and unleashed a powerful sonic blast, creating a small explosion where they had been previously. They had managed to dodge it, but the suits clearly were far more advanced than they thought! Lucario himself was reminded of numerous sound attacks, especially used by the Whismur line. Having stored the charged aura within himself, Lucario quickly resumed his charging position and unleashed the energy sphere at Treble. Gasping, Treble quickly activated his forearm speaker and constructed a small sonic shield. It absorbed the attack, but the Aura Sphere still pushed him backwards.
"Alright. So youse got a bit more fight in ya than I thought! That ain't gonna change nothin', ya here me!" Treble exclaimed. Amused by the use of a double negative, Lucario could only raise an eyebrow at the attempted bravado. Did he really think that such a manner of speaking was intimidating? It only made him look ridiculous! Still, this kind of sound power was still something to be reckoned with. Readying himself for a Double Team, Lucario breathed in and out, readying himself for a confusing 360 degree attack. Treble found himself shocked when he found himself seeing 7 Lucario circle around him. They all circled around him, and he felt Lucario's fists collide from him in multiple areas. It didn't hurt hm that badly, but he had become dizzy from all the vibrations in the armor due to the punches. Gritting his teeth, he activated the speakers on his feet, thrusting him up into the air and when he landed, he slammed his left palm into the ground, releasing a powerful shockwave of sound that ripped through the ground. Jumping up, the illusionary copies vanished, revealing the real Lucario. Not that it phased him much. Now having a target, he created a sonic shield from his left forearm and activated the speakers on his feet. Lucario was at the height of his jump and had no way to real dodge the attack, and felt like he was being slammed into a brick wall. Sent flying, he crashed into the top of the dome, and while he wasn't unconscious, he struggled to try and recover. Landing on the ground in a heap, and his vision began to blur. Struggling to see what was happening, he could only make out the sneering pink eyes of his opponent. However, a high pitched screech and evil laughter got his brain reorienting itself. Shaking off some of the dizziness, he could only wonder how Ben angered Lord Decibel.
Meanwhile, Bass and Julie had begun their duel around the same time. Charging up sonic energy, he created blades of sonic energy coming from the openings on his knuckles similar to knife blades, and blades much like those on ice skates appeared on his feet. Activating the thrusters on his back, he charged at Julie, ready to slice at her with his sound claws. Turning her arm into a multi-barreled blaster, she released an onslaught of energy bullets, which he proceeded to slice with ease. Holding his arms at either side, he made a mad dash to her, intent on clotheslining her with his blades.
Seeing this, Julie had Ship unleash a flurry of missiles out of her back. Whistling through the air, they locked onto Bass and flew right at him. However, Bass was able to slice through the missiles like butter, and continued his charge. While Julie couldn't make out his mouth, his eyes were narrowed in concentration and he moved with speed and purpose, that purpose being to slice her like a peeled banana.
"You ain't too bad, chick! Why not ditch your lame-o hero boyfriend and join a real musician?" Bass flirted, even giving her a wink. "A musician and an athlete! Ain't no way you can go wrong there!"
"Oh yeah, I'll join you!" Julie said, deciding to play along.
"Really?" Bass replied, clearly surprised, if the giant pink circles forming his eyes didn't make it obvious.
"Yeah! In about 150 years! I love Ben, and we've gone through a lot together. Yeah, we needed a bit of time apart for a while, but I'll never leave his side," Julie firmly stated. They had needed some time apart after Ben unwittingly insulted her, and it led to them separating, but she knew that Ben never meant to hurt her.
"Oh, so that's how you wanna play it! Well, fine then! No more Mr. Nice-Guy!" Bass said furiously. Letting out a battle cry, he charged at her, claws raised to strike. Readying herself for a melee attack, Julie had Ship transform her right arm. An energy claymore soon replaced her hand, and she managed to block the attack cleanly. The two grunted, but neither one was ready to give in. However, Bass soon chuckled, something that concerned Julie.
"What's so funny?" Julie asked, worried that her fears would be realized.
"I think we'll get along fine. As soon as we have a heart to heart! You know, really open up!" Bass joked, and soon, his chest armor opened up, revealing another speaker within his chest! A powerful sonic blast soon erupted from it, and it sent Julie flying back, and with Ship taking the brunt of the noise, he collapsed of her in a dizzy blob. Seizing an opportunity, Bass turned his sonic claws into a group of sonic whips, and tied Julie within them, squeezing her. "Well, now. You look like you're a bit tied up! But since I'm a nice guy, I'll let you go on one condition. When I let you go, you gimme a kiss! I'm much better than that lame hero boyfriend you have!"
Julie was outraged that he thought so little of her feelings for Ben, but that was replaced with worry when a massive sonic blast washed over the field. "Be careful, Ben." She silently hoped.
Dazed from the sonic dome responding to his attempt to phase through it, Ghostfreak had attempted more physical attacks. Pulling his chest open, he unleashed several tentacles that quickly grabbed portions of the ground and ripped them out. With a grunt, he heaved them up and swung them right into the dome. No sell there: it held firm like the giant rocks had been tiny pebbles on a brick wall. Realizing this was going nowhere, he hit the Omnitrix symbol and turned into Echo Echo. Creating 7 other copies, the Sonorosians unleashed powerful sonic screams. As the sonic attacks clashed with one another, small openings began to appear where the screams were hitting the wall.
"You sure those headphones attached to your skull haven't left you completely deaf? I literally just said that you can't break this dome with your screams! Speaking of screams!" Chortling madly, Lord Decibel pressed keys yet again, and unleashed another powerful wave of sound. As the ground split apart yet again, screams of fear agony rung throughout the arena. "Yes! I love this scream-phony! It truly is the most wonderful sound in the world!"
"No! It's not! That has to be some of the worst music I've heard! Not only is it just outright destructive, but it's just so bad I'd rather hear Vilgax attempt karaoke than hear more of your noise." Lord Decibel paid no mind to this, only letting out another laugh, albeit with severe autotuning. "And stop laughing!"
"What is it with villains and laughter? 'Ha ha ha! I'm ruining everyone's day! I'm an absolute riot!'" Ben thought to himself. However, an idea sprung to mind. Perhaps the wall could handle the scream of a normal Sonorosian. But what about an evolved Sonorosian? "Hey! Lord Decibel! Are you sure your sonic dome can handle anything?"
"Oh yes it can!" Lord Decibel's display showed a cocky expression.
"Then how about something like THIS!" Smirking, Echo Echo twisted the dial on his chest and slammed it down. As spikes once again formed across the Omnitrix symbol, he let the green energy wash over him yet again. Now evolved, Echo Echo was radically different. Instead of white, his containment suit was blue, and black stripes formed across his body. His body was more round, but it was also far more humanoid and taller. On his back were markings resembling a cassette tape, and across his body were a number of speakers. One lay on his forehead, two lay where ears would be, each shoulder had a speaker, the back and palms of his hands each had a speaker, two speakers lay on his chest, and two lay where his shins would be on each leg.
"ULTIMATE ECHO ECHO!" the new being cried out, leaving Lord Decibel to create an "(O_O)" expression.
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Codon Stream Entry: Ultimate Echo Echo
Species: Evolved Sonorosian
Home World: Sonorosia
Due to the prey of Sonorosia gradually becoming more independent, stronger, and deafer, Sonorosians were forced to evolve to help catch them. They retain the ability to scream at high frequnecies, but have far more powerful sound abilities. Their echolocation is improved, and they can manipulate ambient sound waves to help them fly at supersonic speeds. Their containment suits are far more durable, and the speakers on their bodies, or "Sonic Disks", are capable of self replicating, and can unleash sounds with dangerous effects. They can play any sound a Sonorosian hears to help them lure in prey or confuse predators, and can move in a multitude of formations, including barriers, cages, and more.
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"WHAT?! HOW DID YOU-" Lord Decibel sputtered in confusion.
"Hope you're ready Lord Decibel! Cause I'm about to make some waves!" Detaching the sonic disks on his shoulders, he had them replicate 3 times each, creating a total of 8 sonic disks. "Some major sound waves, you might say!" Snapping his fingers, he had his sonic disks activate, releasing powerful sound blasts. The wall didn't stand a chance, and an opening appeared, one big enough for him to get through. Seizing the opportunity, he charged through, reattaching the 2 original sonic disks. That didn't Lord Decibel, and after pressing some buttons, his platform rose up, revealing that his sound system was doubling as a hovercraft!
"Hmmm. Well, that was certainly unexpected, but I'm nothing if not creative. I'm sure I can find a way to improvise a new swan song for you," Lord Decibel boasted.
"You're ready to try!" Ultimate Echo Echo replied. Manipulating the air around him with subtle sound waves, he began to float, and soon enough began to fly. With a mighty yell, he charged at the mad musician. However, he was shocked to see the pink sound energy of the wall quickly react in an extraordinarily strange way. It looked like hands were coming out of the walls! However, these proved to act more like Gwen's mana than Echo Echo's normal sonic attacks, as they soon grabbed Echo Echo and began to squeeze him like a vice. However, Ultimate Echo Echo wasn't weak like that, and unleashed a powerful burst of sound from all around him, disintegrating the hands into nothing.
"I see you're a little confused on how this works. Allow me to explain. My sound system does more than just play sound: it also manipulates the air as well. With enough tinkering with the sound frequency and air density, I can create solid sound, which functions exactly like regular energy constructs!" Lord Decibel revealed.
"Fascinating. But I'm not about that! I'd rather get to the finale, where you are your little cronies are hauled back to jail where you belong," Ultimate Echo Echo retorted.
Charging straight ahead, he prepared for battle. Noticing this, Lord Decibel worked his technological magic, and created, of all things, 6 snakes made of his solid sound! The snakes hissed and charged ahead, ready to tear into the evolved Sonorosian. However, Ultimate Echo Echo, with some difficulty, managed to dodge all of them. This frustrated Lord Decibel, and his display showed an angry expression, before it shifted into a lightbulb, and then an evil smirk. Pressing a few buttons and fiddling with a few switches on his system, he soon managed to trap Ben in a small ball, and created pinball bumpers on the ground. Chuckling at this comical display, he had the snakes start whacking the ball at will, and whenever it got close to the ground, the bumpers quickly managed to send Ultimate Echo Echo skyward.
"I don't know about you, but I'm having a ball of a time facing you! I was expecting you'd be better, but you're not even near my level!" Lord Decibel bragged.
"Perhaps you should be more careful, though, my master. He may be readying something as we speak," L.Y.R.A. warned.
"Oh, come on, L.Y.R.A.. Surely I'm entitled to some fun, aren't I?" Lord Decibel asked. L.Y.R.A.'s warnings soon proved correct when a blast of sonic energy erupted from the ball, vaporizing it into nothingness. Sending out a slew of sonic disks, Ultimate Echo Echo destroyed not only the bumpers, but all the snakes. His display showing a shocked face, Lord Decibel quickly began to fly away, no longer feeling confident.
"Hey! Get back here you!" Ultimate Echo Echo ordered. Sending out the sonic disks after Lord Decibel, the speakers quickly surrounded the musical villain. His display now showing panic, Lord Decibel created a small sound sphere in an attempt to shield himself. "SONIC! DOOM!" Ultimate Echo Echo cried out. A spread of sonic waves erupted and surrounded the mad musician. His display began to crack, and not only did he seem to scream in pain, autotuned of course, his hoverboard began to spark and smoke.
"WHAT?! HOW THE HELL DID THAT TWERP MANAGE TO BEAT THE GREAT LORD DECIBEL?!" Treble cried in absolute shock. By this point, all of the civilians, seeing the dome recede after Lord Decibel's system was destroyed, had safely evacuated, leaving it empty except for Ben, Lord Decibel, Julie, Lucario, Ship, Bass and Treble. His attention turned away from Lucario, the Aura Pokémon seized the opportunity to retaliate. Charging Aura into his palms, he readied yet another Aura Sphere. However, before he did so, he decided to make sure that the Aura Sphere would finish off Treble. Turning to Double Team, he disappeared and began to assault Treble with a flurry of punches, scratches, and kicks. As the henchman struggled to fight back against the more agile opponent, his focus was further broken when Lucario unleashed a powerful wave of darkness, imbued with hateful and horrible thoughts.
"Stop it! Stop just dodging and taking potshots and fight me like a man!" Treble screamed in frustration, deciding to use his sonic drop punch yet again. Activating the thrusters on his feet, he took a great leap into the sky and created another sonic shock wave, rippling and fracturing the ground. However, Lucario managed to dodge out of the splash radius. Screaming, he unleashed a pair of sonic blasts from his palms, firing straight at Lucario. The sonic energy concentrated into a single point and created a massive sonic explosion. "You think you scare me, you stupid freaky mutt?! I ain't scared of a coward like you!"
"You talk too much. There's a difference between being a coward, and being smart. Not that a fool like you would understand the difference," Lucario retorted, his voice coming from behind. Showing a cocky smirk, Lucario began to run towards him. Desperately trying to hold him off, Treble began to try lifting and throwing chunks of rock at the Aura Pokémon. However, for the more agile Pokémon, it wasn't a struggle to avoid the slow attacks, and it only served to increase Treble's panic. Activating his forearm-mounted speakers, Treble made a last ditch attempt to protect himself and erected a sonic shield. The two fighters clashed, sparks and sonic energy flying around. However, Lucario proceeded to sweep kick Treble's legs. As Treble tripped, Lucario then grabbed him and threw him down into the ground behind him.
"NO! This can't be!" Treble screamed as he went into the air. Seizing the opportunity, Lucario launched the Aura Sphere into Treble, and now fully charged and landing straight into the armor's chestplate, the suit shattered, leaving him completely exposed and revealing his short black buzzcut. Crashing to the ground without armor, Treble proved to be a bit more durable, only ending up unconscious, but he certainly wouldn't be getting up for a while.
"Huh-WHAT?! That twerp managed to stop Lord Decibel? How can that be possible?" Bass asked in shock and concern.
"That's what I love about Ben. He always manages to find a way to overcome the odds! Something your boss will never be able to do!" Julie exclaimed in confidence.
"Oh, shut up about that brat! Like I said, all you have to do to make me let you go is promise to give you a kiss!" Bass claimed pervertedly. Julie groaned in disgust. However, it was then she heard Ship chirping, and an idea popped into her head.
"Ship! Why don't you give his suit an upgrade?" Julie suggested. Ship tilted his head in slight confusion, but once it clicked, he turned to Bass and narrowed his "eye". Slithering towards the lanky hype man, he quickly augmented himself to the suit and began coating it with his pattern.
"HEY! WHAT THE-! GET OFF!" Treble cried in shock. He tried to pull Ship off like he was gum on his shoe, but it was a worthless endeavor. Once Galvanic Mechamorphs stuck to technology, the nanotechnology that made them up was nearly impossible to pull off. Soon enough, the entire suit was now consisting of Ship's color scheme, and he quickly deactivated the sonic whips that were holding Julie in Treble's grasp, and she quickly landed on the ground. Continuing his augmentation, Ship deactivated the suit, turning it back into a goofy-looking helmet. After doing so, he detached from the helmet and rejoined Julie. Who was not looking too happy about the man trying to perv on her.
"Now what were you saying about me giving you a kiss?"Julie asked, her eyes practically burning with anger.
"No-Nothing..." Bass meekly replied. Julie thought if this was an anime, she'd be seeing a sweat drop coming down his forehead. Seizing her opportunity, she ran towards him and as she arrived, Bass realized what exactly her plan was. "No! No please! Anything but-"
"My gift to you!" Julie said as she proceeded to raise her leg behind her. Time seemed to slow for Bass as her leg made her way towards his groin. As soon as her leg made impact, he screamed in pain, and clutched his groin, whimpering pitifully. "If you're smart, you'll stay down. Understand?"
"Yes, ma'am," he answered in a more high pitched voice.
"Sorry about the mess. I know it's always a hassle to clean up after a concert," Ultimate Echo Echo replied. The hoverboard had crashed onto the stage, leaving Lord Decibel stuck in a mess of tangled wires, metal, and speaker components. When Lord Decibel came out of the rubble, his cloak was torn, but more importantly, his dome was cracked.
"No! No! This can't be happening! My concert was supposed to bring such chaos and fear upon the world, but you had to meddle in my affairs!" "she?" ranted. The voice was clearly feminine, and Ben felt like slapping himself for not thinking that it could have been a girl within the suit. If the voice was being autotuned, why wouldn't it have been changed by the same system?
"I didn't intend to do so, but you had to know that even if I wasn't here, I would have been coming over as soon as you televised it, man! Or should I say, woman? Who are you really?" Ultimate Echo Echo told the female musician.
"Fine. I'll show you my face, heck I'll even tell you why I'm doing this, but I've still got one more trick up my sleeve as soon as I finish things!" she ranted. Taking off her helmet, Lord, or rather, Lady Decibel was revealed to be a college student probably about 2 years older than Ben. Her skin was pale, black make-up surrounded her green eyes, and her ears seemed to be pierced with metal spikes. Her longish hair could be kindly described as a mess of color: splotches of neon blue and pink were splashed across her hair, and there were only a few streaks of black in the mess of color.
"I've seen a lot of things in my time, but you have got to be one of the weirder entries on my list of baddies, and that's including a homeless dude that controls insects and wanted to nuke a city when his old house fell apart," Ultimate Echo Echo told her. "Still. I have to know. Who are you and why are you doing this?"
"Fine. My real name is Christine Nocturne, and as for why, I'll let L.Y.R.A. explain. Hit it," Lady Decibel, now Christine, said.
"Wait, before you do, I have a question. Are you related to Jenifer Nocturne?" Ultimate Echo Echo asked.
"Heh. Yeah. First cousins if you wanna know. Our moms are sisters," Christine explained. "L.Y.R.A., you can start it up now,"
"As you wish, milady," L.Y.R.A.'s lyrical voice called out. "Christine was a smart cookie when she was young, especially when it came to music and engineering. She's the one who invented the solid sound system you've seen right now. Unfortunately, her mother didn't think her career was worthwhile. She and her sister, Jennifer Nocturne's own mother, had been born into poverty. Wanting to make sure that she would be able to get some support in school, she pushed Christine to become an athlete to get an athletic scholarship, but disregarded any other means of scholarship, mainly the academic scholarship. She didn't support Christine in her engineering endeavors, and outright called her a 'musical misfit'. Initially, Christine didn't mind having no support from her mother: she had a scholarship as a valedictorian in high school, so her finances were at least okay as long as her grades stayed good,"
"Okay if I make a small guess? I've heard college is quite a bit harder than high school, so I'm guessing her grades started to slip?" Ultimate Echo Echo asked.
"Yes, quite. Christine struggled to juggle her interests and her studies, and the difficulty spike was immense. She ended up losing her scholarship, and was forced to fall back on her mother, and she was less than kind," L.Y.R.A. continued. "Want to see how bad she was? Here's a recording of their last conversation."
A little bit of static came along, but soon enough, a conversation began to play.
"But mom! Please! I'm begging you! Let me stay with you for just one semester!" Christine pleaded.
"NO! I knew this was going to happen! Had you decided to take up a sports scholarship, it wouldn't have really mattered!" a gruff, angry voice yelled.
"But I told you, I don't want to be an athlete. I don't have the body strength to even handle getting into little league, so why did you keep pushing me into sports even when I said no? Besides, at least my scholarship would have taken me through the whole of my studies, while the sports scholarship would need continuous renewal," Christine said.
"Oh, stop whining! You want me to help you get back into college?" Christine's mother stated.
"YES! PLEASE! I'M BEGGING YOU! HELP ME!" Christine wailed.
"Then change from musical misfit to a woman with a JOB!" Christine's mother shouted at her. "And since you don't have one yet now, get outta my sight!"
"But I-"
"GET OUT!" Sobs followed as a door opened, footsteps were heard, and the door was closed.
"And that is how things went for Christine. Soon enough, she broke down, and she actually shared the recording with me when she decided to make a real name for herself," L.Y.R.A. stated.
"HOW?! How could she just do that?" Christine screamed. She yelled and screeched like a banshee, trying to wrap her head around how cruel her mother had been to her.
"She just threw me to the curb just because I didn't want to follow her path of being a muscly girl! WHY? Why couldn't she support me?" she wailed pathetically.
"Even in college, however, it wasn't much better! I just did average and since I tried to focus on studies more than social life, I'm just some outcast, a nobody. I'm just absolutely pathetic!" she sobbed.
"But my music. I don't like music when it's all the same. I love it when it's wild and erratic. Untamed and unchained! Where intensity overcomes all! That is where I thrive!" Her sobs, however, began to change. They slowed in intensity.
"But I won't thrive in this ordered society. I'll just be some lunatic. Some simple mad genius! Not just a genius! I don't want to be known as mad! I want to be known as a trend setter! Once all the rules are gone, everyone will be free to carve their own path and make their music!" As she began to rant, little giggles began to come out.
"And then I'll show my foolish mother just how much a "musical misfit" can impact the world! She won't be bullying me for my interests ever again!" Ending that statement was more and more maniacal giggling, before it soon erupted into maddened laughter, her sanity broken due to her controlling mother and stress.
"Huh. I guess I kinda get where you're coming from. But why the need to disguise yourself? And how'd you even find Bass and Treble?" Ultimate Echo Echo asked when the second recording finished.
"Cause I'd rather not deal with a legion of admirers hounding my house. As for Bass and Treble, they were just some lazy dropouts waiting to make a quick buck. All I had to do was offer my tech and the promise of a buttload of cash and they were all onboard. Now then, Ben! It's time for then grand finale of your life!" Christine stated. Tapping a few buttons on her right gauntlet, a massive speaker grew out of the armor covering her back, and she quickly pulled out a hot pink electric guitar. "Time to melt your face off!" She claimed as her back speaker lifted her into the air.
"Bring it!" Ultimate Echo Echo challenged. However, the familiar beeping of the Omnitrix rung in the stadium. "Oh no! Not no!" In two flashes of emerald light, Ben had returned to normal.
"Well then! That makes my job a lot easier! Time to make some noise!" She began to wail on the guitar, and the high intensity sounds left Ben's eardrums in agony. He fell to the ground screaming in pain, and it felt like his bones were rattling within his flesh. "Like that? There's more that-GAH!" her boasting was cut short when a green energy beam cut through her speaker jetpack sending her crashing to the ground. As she landed with little grace, she dropped her guitar, and in a flash, Lucario was holding it by the neck.
"No more of your noise!" He yelled out. Raising it above his head, the Aura Pokémon slammed it into the ground, causing it to shatter into several bits, much to Christine's shock.
"NO! My concert! You've ruined everything for me!" she screamed. Ben, tired of her talking, quickly ran to her and punched her in the face, knocking her unconscious.
"Your guitar was smashed. Pretty sure that means you're not performing anymore," Ben quipped.
"And that's what happened in a nutshell," Ben finished his statement to the officers who had finally managed to arrive after the sonic dome surrounding the stadium was deactivated.
"Well then! You did a good job Ben taking care of them. A little destructive, but I see you mean well," the Sheriff of Bellwood complimented. Ever since he had gotten hit by the Evolution Beam when Dr. Animo tried to take over the world with mutant chickens, he'd changed to a far more competent law enforcer, and one of Ben's allies. "And you sure we don't have to worry about them in a regular cell?"
"Not really. They relied on their tech to be a threat, so as long as you keep them away from any machinery, they should be under control," Lucario explained to the Sheriff.
"I see. I'm not sure about you, pal, but if Ben's putting his faith in you, then I guess I should as well," the Sheriff stated. Watching the Sheriff drive away with the three criminals handcuffed and stripped of their technology, Lucario decided to have a bit more serious talk.
"I see why you and Ben deserve each other. You are far more than a pretty face: you're a brave fighter too, Julie," Lucario gave his thoughts about Ben's girlfriend.
"Heh. Thanks. You're not too bad yourself. You're a little odd to be sure, but you seem like a good creature at heart," Julie replied back.
"Good to see you two doing so well. Why don't we just spend some time at my place. I think we could use the relaxation, am I right?" Ben happily said. Julie and Lucario smiled, as Julie clasped Ben's hand and let her lead the four of them to his house.
Voice Cast:
Ben Tennyson - Yuri Lowenthal
Lucario - Sean Schemmel
Tennis Announcer - Xander Mobus
Julie Yamamoto - Vyvan Pham
"Lord" Decibel - David Kaye
Bass - Clancy Brown
Treble - Phil LaMarr
L.Y.R.A. - Jessica Straus
MC - Kevin Michael Richardson
DJ Duster - Nicolas Roye
Ghostfreak - Steve Blum
Echo Echo - Dee Bradley Baker
Ultimate Echo Echo - Dee Bradley Baker
Lady Decibel/Christine Nocturne - Tara Strong
Christine's Mom - Kathleen Barr
Sheriff of Bellwood - Dwight Schultz
Author's Notes:
Now that all the main characters of this story are revealed, I think it's fair to say that you can start expecting more genuine action with Ben and Lucario. But before I reveal the next chapter summary, I think I should talk about the elephant in the room: the presence of a reboot villain.
I feel the reboot has genuine potential to be a good show. I mean, it's not as good as the classic continuity (gripes with Omniverse aside), but I feel there's more genuine effort in it than, say, the Powerpuff Girls reboot or "Teen Titans Go!" (shudders). Some of the villains could do quite well in the original series.
So about Lord Decibel or rather, Lady Decibel. I wanted to play around more with his rock motif, but thought it would be interesting to make him a bit more complex since I feel that's the biggest flaw of the reboot: any new villains are introduced with no real motivation or background, unlike most other villains in the classic continuity where we get more of an origin story. As for inspirations for Lady Decibel, two of the bigger initial influences were Iron Man from the MCU and Sonia Strumm/Harp Note from Mega Man Star Force. However, I later ended up also incorporating aspects of Ember McLain from Danny Phantom and Ibuki Mioda from Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair. As for her mother, well that was fairly easy: since she was a woman who valued brute strength and a pretty bad mother, Kathleen Barr, who played Mama Robotnik in The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and Blasto Woman in Mega Man: Fully Charged, became an obvious choice.
I have to apologize, though. I had a lot of trouble making this a bit more action packed, and a bad case of writer's block didn't help matters. However, hopefully this next chapter should be coming sooner rather than later. Anyway, like I said on previous chapters, feel free to favorite, follow, and review.
Next Time: Vive L'évolution!
Called upon to defend the A.R.C. Project MK. II, Ben, Rook, and Lucario find themselves under assault by an elite squad of mutant farm animals, all while struggling with brand new transformations. Things only worsen once the ring leader of this posse, Dr. Animo, manages to capture Lucario. Can Ben stop Dr. Animo from incorporating Lucario's DNA into his experiments, or will the mad scientist crack the secrets of Aura?
