If All Else Fails
I don't own Digimon or Ben 10
"I only had enough charge for one ray blast, but I knew I was faster than a Plutonian," Max said as he cooked some burgers on the barbeque.
"Having fun?" Gwen asked Kevin as he placed the cooler onto the table.
"Pros of camping, fresh air and barbeque burgers," he answered. "Cons of campouts, your grandpa's old Plumber stories we've heard ten times before," he finished before walking over to Max and Daisuke. "You said you were going to tell me a story about my dad," he told Max as he reached for a burger when Max hit his hand with the spatula. "Ow!" he shouted holding his hand.
"You know a story is like barbeque squid, you can't rush either one," Max told Kevin.
"Wait, squid? I thought those were hamburgers," Kevin replied as Daisuke leaned in and sniffed.
"That explains the tentacles," she said before the ground beneath them shook making the cups on the table nearly fall over but Ben put his hands on them.
"Earthquake?" he asked, meanwhile below the ground a single Highbreed groaned as the pod surrounding it opened up.
"Awake?" he asked before running towards a terminal, once he arrived at it he began to press buttons. "Station log: My hibernation pod has opened, that can only mean the unthinkable has occurred the war is lost. I must complete my final mission," he said as a button appeared in front of him.
"Zap! One shot took down the three of them," Max said as he handed a burger to Kevin. "Now all I had to worry about was the bomb,"
"This is a regular burger right?" Kevin asked as Daisuke lifted the bun.
"I see eyes and a beak in there, is that okay?" she asked Max who groaned and held his head and slumped over.
"I thought you liked weird food," Kevin said as Max rubbed his forehead.
"The deed is done," the Highbreed said as he pressed the button and Max screamed and he backed up knocking the grill over and he collapsed.
"Uncle Max? Uncle Max!?" Daisuke shouted worried as she and Ben helped Max to his feet and he groaned.
"Are you alright?" Gwen asked him concerned.
"I'm fine. Now let's eat," Max said.
"I can't. You dumped my burger," Kevin told him
"You dumped over the whole grill. Remember Grandpa?" Ben asked him as Max looked behind him.
"That was the last of my ground squid too. I've got some hamburger meat in the freezer though, I guess we can eat that," he said.
"Well, you know. If we're out of the squid then what can we do?" Kevin asked as he walked into the RV while Max picked up the barbeque and the others walked off, Max's face then went blank.
"Drone seeds located and activated. Command and control sequence activated. Commencing command code, self test," he said standing up and he knocked the grill over again as Kevin walked out of the RV.
"Wasn't really hungry anyway," he said.
"Grandpa," Ben said as Max shook his head.
"Huh what?" he asked turning to look at Ben, Gwen and Daisuke.
"It happened again Max. We should get you looked at," Daisuke told him.
"There is no need. I'm fine, look," Max replied but Daisuke, Gwen and Ben looked at him unconvinced. "Tell you what, let's get some sleep. And if I'm still acting goofy in the morning we'll see someone about it," he told them and Daisuke nodded and Ben and Gwen nodded as well. "Goodnight kids," he said as he scratched the back of his head and small purple tendrils emerged from his neck. Later that night once everyone had fallen asleep, Max tossed and turned in his sleeping bag when his eyes opened and he sat up with the right of his face covered in thick purple tendrils. The next morning Kevin yawned and opened his eyes slowly.
"I'll get the chow, the last time Max made us breakfast we had scrambled eggs and eyeballs," he said before he turned around and saw Max and the RV was missing. "Hey, Motomiya, Tennyson, Gwen. We got a situation here wake up," he told said and Daisuke, Ben and Gwen woke up.
"Where's the Rust Bucket?" Ben asked.
"Where's Grandpa Max?" Gwen asked.
"Yeah. Which is why I didn't let you sleep in," Kevin told them.
"Gwen, can you get a fix on him?" Daisuke asked Gwen whose eyes glowed.
"Got him. He's heading west," she answered.
"Then so are we," Daisuke said as she ran towards her motorbike while Gwen and Kevin ran towards Kevin's car.
"No dinner last night, no breakfast this morning. What're we on a diet?" Kevin asked as he drove off and Daisuke followed and Ben flew after them, meanwhile Max pulled up next to four people who had tendrils over their faces and he exited his RV and walked towards them.
"Seedling three reporting present," he said as another man walked up.
"Seedling two reporting present," he said.
"Six of ninety one seedling present, sufficient animal biomass for failsafe activation," Max said and the Highbreed walked away from the terminal.
"Excellent. Activating final stage," he said as he stood in front of five vats of earth, the Highbreed then turned two knobs and five tentacles emerged and they headed up above ground and wrapped around the six people and soon they were encased in what looked a dome made of yellow crystal.
"We go off-road from here," Gwen said as Kevin drove down the road with Daisuke and Ben following them.
"Are you sure?" Kevin asked.
"Very sure," she answered and Kevin pressed a button and his car's tyres grew in size and the car was raised several feet off the ground and it drove off the road and Daisuke followed on her bike as it transformed into a dirt bike and Ben flew above them.
"What is that?" Daisuke asked as she skidded to a stop in front of the dome and she climbed off her bike as Ben landed beside her.
"I don't know. But Grandpa Max is in there," he said as Gwen and Kevin climbed out of the car.
"Not for long," Daisuke replied as she was enveloped in a gold light and she turned into Spidermonkey. "I think I can get this thing open,"
"Come no closer to the seed pod. Inferior filth!" the Highbreed shouted running up with a alien weapon in his hands.
"A Highbreed?" Gwen asked confused.
"Lighten up, the war is over," Kevin told him.
"Perhaps, but our defeat will bring you nothing but sorrow vermin," the Highbreed said.
"I'm getting my Uncle out of there," Spidermonkey said and she jumped at the Highbreed who fired his weapon at her and she was sent flying and she crashed into a boulder.
"You okay?" Gwen asked her and Spidermonkey gave her a thumbs up.
"Nobody smacks her around but me," Kevin said as his right hand turned into a mace and he ran towards the Highbreed ducking under an energy blast and he swung his mace and the Highbreed blocked it with his weapon and he did so again before punching Kevin sending him into a tree.
"So you want to fight? Let's fight!" Ben shouted running towards the Highbreed and he punched him with his four arms and swung his tail at him but the Highbreed caught it and he threw Ben away and he crashed into the ground, Gwen fired a mana blast hitting the Highbreed's weapon out of his hand and wrapped him in mana but the Highbreed broke free sending Gwen to the ground.
"Let's take him out together and not one at a time," Spidermonkey told her team who nodded and they surrounded the Highbreed preparing to attack when the ground started to shake violently and the dome of crystal sunk into the ground, everyone looked at the hole and a massive creature which looked like a giant Highbreed with red eyes and it was covered in trees, soil, and other organic matter. The creature roared as it walked off and Spidermonkey looked at it as did the rest of her team.
"What is that?" Ben asked.
"The end of the human infestation. The end of our war," the Highbreed answered.
"Haven't you heard the news? The war is over," Kevin told him.
"We're friends now," Gwen said.
"Can we go back to the end of the human infestation?" Spidermonkey asked.
"You are doomed," the Highbreed answered.
"Don't think so. You're gonna tell me how to stop it, or I will have to hurt you," Spidermonkey told him.
"I don't have time to toy with an inferior," the Highbreed said as its wings sprouted. "I go now, to watch the destruction of your pitiful species," he said before flying off.
"Come on, we'll follow in my car," Kevin said.
"No. I got a better idea," Spidermonkey said as she was enveloped in a flash of gold light and she turned into Way Big and she ran after the tree monster, the Highbreed flew beside the monster and looked back to see Way Big gaining who noticed the monster was as tall as her. Way Big stopped and she crossed her wrists together, with her right forearm vertical and her left forearm horizontal in front of it and the thumb edges of both her hands facing her body she then fired a powerful gold ray from the outer edge of her right hand and the ray flew and crashed into the tree monster but it continued to walk. "How could it not feel that?" Way Big asked confused.
"Let me try," Ben said flying past and he fired Diamondhead shards from his Diamondhead arm at the face of the monster but they had no effect. "That usually works," he said as Kevin and Gwen drove up to the tree monster.
"Maybe I can get its attention!" Gwen shouted as she made a wall of mana in front of the Highbreed monster but it smashed right through it. "So not my day," she said.
"It just needs a good pruning!" Kevin shouted as he pressed a button and the roof of the car opened and he pressed another button and was sent flying into the air and both his arms turned into metal blades and he started to cut trees from the monster's leg before he hit a branch and fell to the ground and his car stopped. "Usually I'm murder on houseplants," he said as Way Big caught up to them and Ben hovered beside her.
"The problem is that Grandpa Max is in there along with a whole bunch of people and we don't want to hurt any of them," Gwen said.
"That hasn't been a problem so far," Way Big told her before she ran towards the Highbreed monster and she stood in front of it and punched it twice but it wasn't even fazed. "Okay, let's try this," she said and she kicked it in the stomach making it skid back before it grabbed Way Big and slammed her into the ground and stomped over her and continued to walk off as Way Big turned into Daisuke.
"We've tried going easy on it. We've tried going hard, but nothing's worked," Kevin said as he, Gwen and Ben ran up to Daisuke.
"We don't know enough about that thing to stop it," Ben said helping Daisuke up.
"But I think I know someone who does, I'll be back as fast as I can," Daisuke said as she was enveloped in a gold flash of light and she turned into Jetray who flew off as fast as she could.
"Would be nice if you let us in on the plan once in a while," Kevin said as Gwen grabbed him using her mana and she threw him towards the Highbreed monster and his hand turned into a mace and he swung it at the monster but he was thrown down and he hit the ground, Gwen fired mana bolts at the chest of the Highbreed monster before she jumped down to the ground and she made a cushion out of mana and she bounced off it as Ben and Kevin ran up to her and looked at her.
"I was trying something new," she replied as two tanks and two rocket launchers sped past them.
"Oh great. The military has shown up," Ben said sarcastically as a jeep stopped beside them.
"Weapons ready!" the man standing up in the jeep said into a loud speaker.
"Don't! There are people inside that thing," Gwen told him.
"I'm sorry about that but that's Twin Mason Nuclear Plant over there, you understand what happens if we don't stop it?" he asked her. "Fire!" he shouted and the tanks and rocket launchers fired their weapons at the Highbreed monster but they had no effect on it. "Full power, bring that bogey down!" he commanded as the Highbreed landed in front of them.
"Idiotic cattle, you cannot hope to succeed," he told them.
"Suppose we make you tell us how to stop it," Ben said grabbing the Highbreed's arm.
"Unhand me vermin!" he shouted throwing Ben back. "No inferior being can force me to do anything," he said.
"No. But I can," a familiar voice said as everyone saw Ship landed and Rena walked out with Daisuke.
"Who are you?" the Highbreed asked her.
"She is Reinrassic III, seventh daughter of the noble Highbreed house of Dirassa, direct descendant of the pure blooded High Order of Raseckt. And a personal friend of mine," Daisuke answered.
"And I am the Highbreed Supreme," Rena added.
"You? Impossible, you are impure. Look at your hand," the Highbreed said pointing to her Swampfire arm.
"Yes. Look at it," Rena said holding Swampfire hand out to show a mark on it.
"You wear the Imperial Seal," The Highbreed said shocked as it kneeled in front of Rena. "My apologies Highbreed supreme. Then our people have not been exterminated?" he asked.
"Clearly," Rena answered.
"But I was only to be awakened if we lost the war," the Highbreed explained.
"The war has ended. And it has been settled peacefully, thanks to Daisuke Motomiya," Rena said.
"Peace with the humans? Then how was I awakened from my hibernation?" the Highbreed asked her.
"It must have been some sort of accident," Rena answered.
"The earthquake, don't you see?" Gwen asked them.
"Whatever the cause, your orders are clear. Shut down that weapon," Rena ordered.
"Supreme one, I would deactivate it if I could. But once a failsafe sprouts there is no stopping it," the Highbreed replied.
"So that thing has an on switch but no off switch?" Kevin asked.
"What good is a failsafe if you can turn it off," Gwen answered.
"We implanted post-hypnotic seeds into several dozen humans who were our prisoners, those seeds were only to be activated and the failsafe process start on our demise," Rena explained.
"So what? It's gonna stomp us to death?" Ben asked.
"No. The failsafe needs a large power source to prime its destructive energies," the Highbreed answered.
"And when it's primed?" Gwen asked.
"It shall explode and the resulting fallout will destroy your planet within minutes," Rena answered grimly. A few minutes later Ship was flying in front of the failsafe.
"So we're not going to let the brussel sprout that walks like a man nuke us are we?" Kevin asked.
"No. But fighting it head on hasn't worked," Daisuke answered.
"So who said head on? All plants release gases in some way right?" Gwen asked.
"And if we find it we can get inside and take this thing out," Ben said.
"What? We're climbing up its exhaust port?" Kevin asked.
"You're gonna climb, but I'm gonna fly," Daisuke said as she was enveloped in a gold flash of light and she turned into Stinkfly and she flew off, a few minutes later, Kevin, Daisuke, Gwen and Ben were climbing up the exhaust port.
"If you ever tell anyone about this," Kevin said.
"Don't worry. It will be our little secret," Daisuke said.
"What do you think would happen if I lit a match?" Kevin asked.
"If you value your life, don't," Daisuke answered walking off and the others followed her. "These are like veins and we're in its circulatory system," she explained,
"The little ones carry fluids, the large ones exchange carbon dioxide for oxygen," Gwen said.
"Then let's try to get to the heart of brain of this thing and shut it down," Daisuke said.
"I don't think they will let us," Ben said pointing to several headless Highbreed with cords on their backs walking towards them. "We're like germs,"
"So it sent antibodies to stop us," Gwen said as Daisuke was enveloped in a gold flash of light and she turned into Diamondhead and she fired shards at one of the antibodies which stumbled back but otherwise it was unharmed and it shot cables towards her wrapping her up, Kevin punched one antibody and he jumped into the air but he was caught in cables as was Gwen and Ben.
"Oh man!" Ben exclaimed as Diamondhead kicked the antibody holding her away and the cable on its back snapped off and the rest of it crashed to the ground and it evaporated back into one of the humans.
"What did you do?" Ben asked.
"They're connected to the walls by those vines, like umbilical cords," Gwen said.
"Or power cords," Kevin said as he shoulder barged one antibody and the cable snapped and it shrivelled down to a human.
"Cut them," Ben said as he broke out of the cables around him and he cut two more cables and Gwen cut the last one and the four antibodies turned into humans.
"No sign of Max yet," Diamondhead said.
"So let's keep looking," Ben said walking off with the others.
"Is this the right way?" Gwen asked her cousin as they kept walking.
"I'm sure," Ben answered pointing to Max who was attached to several cables. "This thing is using him as its brain,"
"Max," Diamondhead said running towards Max. "Max, it's me. Daisuke," she said but the cables tightened around Max.
"The power of love isn't cutting it," Kevin said.
"Time to do some cutting of our own then," Ben said as his Diamondhead arm turned into a sword and he swung it and cunt several cables but they regrew, Kevin pulled a cable and snapped it but it grew back.
"That's it. When i get a house I'm getting desert landscaping, no plants," Kevin said.
"That's it!" Diamondhead exclaimed as she was enveloped in a flash of gold light and she turned into Swampfire. "We're fighting a giant plant, and I have an alien that can control plants. I don't think I can control all of this but I just might be able to cut the connection to Max," she said and she grabbed the thing connecting Max to the failsafe and she focused and the cables receded and Max stumbled out of the chair.
"And so Devin Levin laid down cover fire while I disabled the bomb, have I told this story before?" Max asked.
"Alright Grandpa," Gwen and Ben cheered as the failsafe began to crumble.
"Oh terrific. With no brain, this thing can't stand anymore," Swampfire said.
"If we're still inside when this thing falls over," Gwen said.
"You have a bigger problem," the Highbreed told them walking into view.
"Here to finish the job?" Kevin asked him.
"That is correct vermin," the Highbreed answered.
"We'll fight you," Swampfire told him.
"You understand nothing. My orders were to destroy you so I unleased this weapon, and now my orders are to stop it and so I shall," the Highbreed said as he connected himself to the failsafe.
"This place is coming apart, if you stay here," Gwen told him.
"All the more reason for you to gather the other humans and leave this place. Go...now!" he shouted and everyone ran off outside with Rena and the soldiers they saw the failsafe stand up and then fall to the side.
"Daisuke Motomiya!" Rena shouted.
"Is just fine and so are we thanks for asking," Kevin said as he and the others along with the other humans appeared in a bubble of mana.
"Are you alright Max?" Daisuke asked him.
"I am. Great work kids," Max told her, Ben, Gwen and Kevin.
"Yes Daisuke Motomiya, you have once again done well," Rena told her.
"Not that well, the other Highbreed was in there. He is the one who saved the power plant," Daisuke replied.
"He was a soldier doing his duty; there is no higher honour for a Highbreed," Rena said with respect in her voice. And soon, Rena, Daisuke, Gwen, Max, Ben and Kevin were walking away from the power plant.
"So, just tell us. Are there any more Highbreed doomsday weapons on Earth?" Gwen asked Rena.
"Absolutely not!" she replied. "Um...I shall check the records," she said.
"Come on Rena, I'll get Ship to give you a ride home," Daisuke told her and she nodded.
"Grandpa are you sure you're alright?" Gwen asked Max.
"I'm fine, but this adventure has really put me off my vegetables," Max answered making the others even Rena gag in disgust.
The end of the chapter
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