Anti Ben 10 Ch 5: Hunted
High above the earth was a ship, beyond human technology and invisible to any form of detection by the primitive systems of the planet below. The ship belonged to Commander Vilgax, decorated and highly respected officer to the Galactic Alliance, his ship now repaired from its previous attack but he himself was still seriously hurt. He had to run the ship from deep within, in a cellular regeneration tank in the ships medical bay.
His mission was still the retrieval and security of the Omnitrix, possibly the most powerful and dangerous weapon in the universe. His previous attempt met with failure, he'd sent one of the most powerful robots on the ship to retrieve it but unfortunately a human had found it, figured out how use it and had managed to destroy the robot. Over the next few days Vilgax and his crew had tracked the progress of the watch, seeing it used time after time for destruction and theft. But now Vilgax was ready to retrieve the Omnitrix, now he had what he needed to locate, retrieve and secure it before it could be used for evil any more. As the large ship floated in orbit three pods shot from it and down to the planet, just waiting for the Omnitrix to be activated.
..**..
Down on earth the Tennyson's had parked in the dessert, taking a break from the long drive across country. This empty, out of the way, wasteland had been chosen deliberately. Max had been outside for a good hour setting up a complex obstacle course complete with rope pulleys, swings, moving targets and climbing walls that would help train Ben. Gwen had been sunbathing on top of the Rust Bucket in a bathing suit Max wasn't really comfortable seeing his teen niece in.
Tying the last piece of rope Max cleaned the sweat from his head and face, he smiled at his handy work and remembered his younger days, this thing wasn't one-tenth the level of toughness he used to deal with, but for Ben it would suffice "Gwen, go wake Ben and grab me some water would you?" Max shouted as he sat down and pulled out one of his seemingly endless supply of Cuban cigars, after all that work it was going to feel as good the first one he ever had.
Sighing to herself Gwen got off her towel and leapt from the R.V, landing spryly as if the distance was just a simple step. Entering the R.V she pulled the curtain back, which separated the beds from the rest of the vehicle, there snoring softly, was Ben still in his clothes and draped over the small bed. "Got to admit, he deserves a rest." Gwen thought to herself as she watched Ben sleep, the last robbery he did had exhausted him, as Four-Arms he walked into a bank with a sack, ripped the vault door off its hinges and proceeded to empty all the safety deposit boxes into the sack. By time he left the vault police, firemen and even the National Guard had surrounded the bank! He had one hell of a fight to leave. The firemen stopped him by blasting him with several hose pipes on full power, pinning him down while the police and swat threw tear-gas at him and the national guard fired what seemed like every bullet on the eastern seaboard. It was after this Max realised Ben relied too much on physical strength and not all the abilities of the aliens, hence the training.
"After all that it's be just cruel to wake him." Smiling evilly to herself Gwen raised her leg straight up, being a cheerleader and a practitioner of karate she was very limber, and brought it straight down into Ben's stomach. He gasped, trying to cry out but the air was driven out of his lungs. His eyes bulged in their sockets and his face turned an interesting shade of pink. Then his throat opened again and he took a deep, and blessedly refreshing, breath.
"Wake up dweeb, grandpa's finished." Gwen laughed, watching as Ben grabbed his stomach and rolled out of bed, slamming into the floor. "Just how I like my men." She said to herself as she placed a foot on Ben's head and kept him pinned down.
"You bitch" Ben gasped for air, he felt the foot add more pressure to his head "An alarm clock wouldn't work?"
"Maybe. But it wouldn't have been as much fun." Gwen rubbed the heel of her foot into Ben's cheek to make sure he knew she was in charge "Now say it or I start taking pictures."
Deciding on his options Ben clenched his fists as he spoke through clenched teeth "I Wuv You"
"You're my Bitch till the day you die" Gwen laughed, taking her foot of Ben's face and leaving, remembering the water Max had asked for.
As Ben stepped out of the R.V he saw the course Max had set up, he had to admit he was impressed. "You sure I need this?" He asked.
"You can't always rely on brute strength." Max replied, "Any idiot can go into a bank and shoot someone. Or in your case, punch someone. But they usually make mistakes and get caught. To be really great, you've got to think, plan two moves ahead and make a strategy for every contingency."
"Not exactly Ben's strong suit" Gwen said to herself as she rubbed more sun block into her thighs.
"Let's just get this started" Ben ignored her, activating the watch and slamming the screen down, after the green glow had faded Diamondhead stood in his place.
"Okay Ben, remember to think out there." Max stepped into the small control centre he'd made for himself while Ben stood in the middle of the course "Might isn't always right."
"I know" Ben said in the deep voice that came with the alien form "But it sure as hell is fun!" His hands turned into sharp points, showing he was ready.
Pulling a lever as hard as he could some empty soda cans were launched into the air, spinning around Ben barely gave himself time to aim as he shot out small shards from his jagged arm and hit all six cans. Max pulled another lever and a rope above his head dropping two targets behind Ben. He leapt and spun around again and fired groups of crystal shards from both arms and hit the targets. The target boards were peppered with the shards but only one shard on each target hit the red bull's-eye.
Taking a few steps back Ben noticed more flying cans out of the corner of his eye, shooting from behind his back he hit them dead on, shooting to his left he shot hole after hole into a cactus that had a face drawn on and a sign hung around it which had *Alien* written on it until it collapsed in on itself.
On top of a rock four long planks of wood shot up as Ben dived and rolled, rising to one knee he shot at the planks, barely hitting three and only one shard hit the painted target at the top at all.
As Ben stood up Gwen shook her head as she placed the sun block on a small table "His aim is getting worse," she thought to herself as she rubbed the sun block onto her arms "doesn't even give himself time to aim properly"
"Focus Ben!" Max shouted, annoyed with how bad Ben was doing "Think then shoot!"
"No problems grandpa." Ben shouted back, waving a hand and dismissing the last comment, he didn't see Max pull another rope which released some empty paint cans straight at him, ducking just in time Ben stood back up and shot a few shards over his shoulder, he didn't notice the large tyre on a large swing arc coming towards him until the last second before it hit him hard, sending him flying backwards and shooting random shards everywhere.
Max dived behind the controls, the shards digging into the wood. A huge shard knocked the lotion bottle out of Gwen's hand, pining into the side of the rust bucket. The thick white lotion dripped out of the holes in the sides. An inch higher and that would have been her hand, six inches to the left and it would have been her shoulder. Twelve inches and it would have been her heart.
"Hey doofus, you missed! You can't even fuck up right!" Gwen shouted at Ben as the sun block ran out the side of the bottle
Ben chuckled to himself weakly as Max gave him an angry look "My bad?"
..**..
Several hours later, after Ben had turned human again, and after Max made him take down the training course by himself, the Rust Bucket drove down the road. Gwen had put on some of her more normal clothes and had Ben's head smashed against the table with his arm twisted behind his back. "I said I was sorry, what more do you want?"
"What we want is for you to take that thing on your wrist more seriously" Max puffed angrily on his cigar, the fact that he'd let Gwen keep Ben pinned for so long showed how angry his was "Its not a toy, you've got to think when you use it."
"I know but come on, you've seen me in action" Ben felt Gwen ease up a little, but still held a firm enough grip to stop him escaping "I've stolen tons of stuff and kicked so much alien butt my feet hurt, I'm the Baddest Ben in town"
Gwen redoubled her effort, slamming Ben's head back down on the table with a loud thud "One of these days you're going to go alien, get your ass handed to you and I'm going to be there to enjoy every second of it! Until then you're my bitch and you say what?"
"I wuv you." Ben growled angrily, feeling Gwen finally let him go.
Suddenly the R.V started jerking and backfiring, Ben to stumbled over, landing hard on the floor and being thrown around as Max fought with the wheel to keep the vehicle under control. Gwen, somehow, managed to stay on her feet.
"That doesn't sound good" Max said to himself as he pulled to the side of the road
Back where the training course had been, three large pods landed on the ground. As the doors opened each one revealed a different person/alien/creature.
One wore a deep purple suit with black boots, gauntlets, shoulders and helmet. The second was slightly bigger and weirder, it had one large crab like claw and four pointed legs, its armour looked copper colour but was obviously made of stronger stuff.
The third wore a grey and black suit, which covered him completely, as they stepped out of their pods the one in the black/grey suit took out a small circular device that beeped quickly and steadily "The Omnitrix was last activated in this location" He spoke in a deep voice.
As the other two left the pods the one in the purple armour spoke some weird alien words with a few croaks mixed in, before activating a jet pack and taking to the air to follow tracks in the sand.
"You can say that again" The second one said to himself. "Tech of that level could throw this planet into chaos."
As all three looked around the area they saw evidence of the training course, the purple one found a can with a crystal shard in it, picking it up he shouted a few alien words then threw it to the alien in the black/grey suit. "Obviously they were training, which ever human has the Omnitrix must be training hard to master its abilities." He said.
"Well that just means we got to find the primitive even quicker" Said the copper one. "From those tracks it must be using a land based transport, they can't have gone too far."
Leaping into the air his lower half started spinning so fast it became a blue. When he landed he started drilling into the ground. The one in the purple suit spoke a few unintelligible words before blasting off into the sky. The one in the black/grey suit pulled out a black rectangle, which stretched out into a green board that floated on the air. Using it he flew off into the distance, dropping the can but taking the shard with him.
Max was able to get the Rust Bucket off the road and onto the edge of an old abandoned mining town before it finally gave out.
"Where are we? Looks like no one's home" Ben said as he stepped off the R.V
"Not for a long time, this place is Sladerville, incorporated in 1857 after the discovery of silver, it went bust in the late 50's when the silver finally ran out. People had no choice but to pack up and move on." Gwen told him as she put her phone in her pocket
"Do you always have an answer?" Ben asked, hearing Max check the engine
"Yes, 'cause I was born with a brain" Gwen smirked
"I think I found the problem" Max said as he pulled his head out of the engine and bringing the fuel line with him, it had a small crystal shard sticking through it
"Er, lucky shot?" Ben risked, earning a slap around the back of the head from Gwen and an even more annoyed look from Max, who didn't like anyone messing with his Rust Bucket
"I should be able to patch it up" Max sighed, taking a deep breath to calm himself and pulled the shard out
"Sorry grandpa, let me help." bringing up the watch he twisted the screen "Maybe Four-Arms, no wait, Upgrade."
"I think you've done enough Ben" Max snapped, as Gwen hit Ben around the back of the head again "I'll handle this."
"Ok" Ben sighed as he lowered the watch, Gwen keeping her arm raised in case he did or said something stupid, which he nearly always did. "Guess I'll just check this place out."
As Ben walked away Max looked at Gwen and she knew what he was thinking, keep an eye on Ben and make sure doesn't do something too stupid. Nodding Gwen took off after Ben, just catching his back as he turned into an old building. Following him in she rounded the corner but Ben wasn't in sight "Ben, get your ass out here now!" She yelled into the abandoned room, her voice echoing through it. As she expected she got no reply. Stepping into the building she could hear the old wood creak around her, the shadows allowing for plenty of hiding spots for Ben "I swear to god Ben if you try and scare me I'll punch you in the throat." Looking around old wooden crates she still couldn't find Ben.
Suddenly she felt a cold bolt run through her body, it felt like someone had covered her heart in ice and she was finding it harder and harder to breath.
"What's the matter Gwen?" A whispering voice asked, suddenly the cold was gone and she could breath again. As she panted for air she could see vapour as she breathed out, in front of her Ben became visable and he was in one of his alien forms "you look like you seen a Ghost... Freak" Ben laughed as Gwen panted for breath, her fist shot out and hit him in his large purple eye making him scream out in pain as he floated backwards
"Get over yourself duufus." Gwen cracked her knuckles as she regained her composer "I've had wet dreams scarier than you."
Suddenly the ground started shaking, the building trembled around them. The floor rose, wood splintered and dirt piled high as if something was pushing it up from underneath. Grabbing Gwen Ben floated them up and away from the moving ground, a cloud of dirt and dust burst open where they'd been just a second ago. Ben and Gwen looked down and saw a bronze coloured thing with a large claw and four spider legs standing over a hole it'd made, as it stepped forwards its head raised to reveal something resembling a face, looking up it saw Ben and Gwen "Let me guess, he's the wet dream you had last night" Ben said to Gwen, who had to resist the urge to punch him in the stomach
"Put the human down and surrender the Omnitrix peacefully." The metal creature said
"Dream on Claw boy, I've never surrendered anything in my life" Ben shouted in his raspy whispering voice, then he whispered to Gwen, "what's he talking about?"
"Why else would an alien track you down? It wants the watch dumbass!" Gwen snapped, she didn't particularly like being held up in the air by anything, let alone her cousin
"You don't have to get snotty about it Miss Know-it-all" below them Ben heard the creature snap his giant claw several times "Looks like you get to play your favourite roll of meat shield again." Ben laughed "he's not attacking."
"I repeat, put down the human and hand over the Omnitrix, Now!" it said again.
"Sorry crabby, but the watch and I are kind of attached" He followed Ben as Ghostfreak floated slowly around, never taking his eyes off him.
"Don't worry, we've got ways to get it off, and it's not crabby, it's Kraab"
"Well Kraab, you got no idea who you're messing with"
Suddenly Ben dived straight down, as Gwen screamed he turned invisible, pulling up and straightening out at the last second he let her go. She fell to the ground, landing roughly on her backside Gwen looked at Kraab who ignored her completely.
Looking around Kraab couldn't find a trace of Ben, who slowly rose out of the floor behind him and, still invisible, floated towards him.
Suddenly Kraab's face spun around and faced him "as arrogant as you are dimwitted" Through his eyes Kraab could see Ben's outline and, surprisingly enough, a heat coming from the middle of Ben's chest, more than Kraab needed to see where Ben was. Spinning his body around Kraab opened his claw, a thick sludge like liquid shot out of the barrel hidden in the base. The noxious substance splattered onto Ben's body, forcing him back into visibility. He felt like his body was becoming harder, it was becoming tougher to move.
"What's... Happening?" Ben asked as he tried to wipe the gunk off himself.
"Your protoplasm is now solidified. Making it easier to do This!" He pulled his fist back and slammed it into Ben's 'face' sending him flying backwards into a crate.
Slamming onto the floor Ben shook his head to try and clear it as he pushed himself up. Hearing Kraab approaching he looked up in time to see one of his legs raised, rolling to the right Ben managed to dodge to leg. It stabbed deep into the ground.
Leaping after him Kraab slammed his large claw into Ben and sent him flying across the room, hitting the far wall
"Who is this guy?" Ben asked himself as he felt someone pull him up, looking up he saw Gwen.
"Remember when I said I was going to enjoy every second you get your ass handed to you?" Gwen asked, Ben nodding "well I am, but now's not the time to gloat." Hearing Kraab stamp across the room Ben and Gwen looked at him "First we've got to deal with this guy, we need a plan"
"Forget that!" Ben growled as he flew straight at Kraab, dodging as he swung the giant claw "you'd better keep your claws to yourself."
Opening his claw the barrel extended, this time an energy blast shot forwards and hit Ben, sending him flying backward again into a wall.
Behind Kraab Gwen looked around for something to use against him. She noticed the ground was raised and a control box and lever next to it.
"Hardly worth the hunt, I don't understand why we've had so much trouble stopping you.'
Kraab said as he opened his claw and the barrel extended again
"Ben!" Gwen shouted "The lever!"
Looking to his right Ben saw what she was talking about, hoping it still had power Ben's hand shot out and pulled the lever down as hard and fast as he could. Kraab suddenly shot up; the noise of the lift rang out through the room as Kraab rose higher and higher until he slammed into the main beam of the ceiling.
Hearing the recognisable beep and flashing of red light Ben turned back to normal and collapsed onto his knees, a pain coming from his face. "Ben, you alive?" Gwen asked as she ran upto him.
"Oh man, I'm glad I don't have bones as Ghostfreak" Looking up, he saw a surprised look on Gwen's face then she burst out laughing "What? What's so funny?" He asked, a pain coming from his cheek as he spoke.
"Your body might not have bones" Gwen pulled out her phone and took a picture of Bens face "But it looks like your head does." Passing Ben the phone he saw his own face, half swollen from when he'd been punched and blasted, a black eye was forming already.
"Aw man" Ben groaned as he touched his swollen cheek, he really did look pathetic
"I'll save the jokes till later." Snatching her phone back she dragged Ben to his feet, "Right now we gotta get out of her before crab cakes wakes up."
Half running and half being dragged Ben ran with Gwen, unknown to them they were being watched, in the corner the creature in the black and grey suit hovered on his board as they ran away.
..**..
Max wiped his hands of motor oil and grease as Ben and Gwen ran up to him, instantly noticing Ben's swollen face and black eye "What happened? Did you go over the top Gwen?" Max demanded.
"Sorry to say it wasn't me who did that to the dweeb, it was some jumbo sized metallic crustacean that jumped out of the ground. It attacked Ben and handed his man parts to him on a silver platter" Gwen smirked as she told Max, Ben just sulked.
"I won didn't I?" Ben grumbled as he got slap around the back of the head
"With my help! It said it wanted the watch." she turned to Max "Only, it kept calling it the Omnitrix"
"Just let me go Four-Arms and I'll turn him into a sea food special" Ben smiled as he raised his wrist, he was about to activate it, or at least try to as it was still red, but Max stopped him
"No time, repairs are done and we're out of here" pulling a cigar out Max entered the Rust Bucket
"But... Grandpa" Ben tried to argue, only to have his shirt grabbed and pulled into the R.V after Max.
As the R.V pulled back onto the road Ben and Gwen sat down at the table, Gwen looked out the window and watched the town slowly shrink from view "No sign of crab-guy yet." she sighed in relief and sat back in her seat, still keeping an eye out of the window
"He'd better not show up if he knows what's good for him" putting his feet on the table Ben raised the Omnitrix, which was still red.
Something land heavily on the roof, the Rust Bucket shook slightly. A high-pitched screeching, grinding noise stabbed their ears. Spars fell down as a circular saw started slicing into the rust buckets aluminium roof.
"I think we just caught a hitch-hiker!"
A pair of hands ripped back the thin metal sheets to reveal a tall being in a deep purple and back suit, it said something in a garbled electronic speech neither Ben or Gwen understood, then reached in and tried to grab Ben "Friend of yours?" Gwen asked as it tried to grab her cousin again. He ducked out of the way of the long metal arm.
"I don't have friends, remember!" Ben shouted as he lay flat on his seat, dodging the hand again.
Seeing what was happening in the rear-view mirror Max slammed on the brakes, Gwen pressed into her seat but Ben fell free, rolling onto the floor and into the metal pole that held up the table. On the roof, the intruder flew off the top of the R.V, flipping and flailing in the air before slamming into the ground.
Groaning slightly it picked itself up and heard the screech of tyres as Max slammed his foot down on the gas peddle, a satisfied smiled on his face as he felt the R.V run over him. He didn't get far before he had to stop the Rust Bucket, something felt wrong.
Cautiously exiting the R.V Max saw long spikes sticking out of his rear wheels, which had gone flat. A few feet away the attacker was getting to his feet, looking dizzy but unharmed
"In there!" Max shouted to Gwen and Ben, pointing to an old mineshaft.
The three of them ran for the mine the road started to shake. Leaping out of the ground Kraab landed next to the other alien.
"Where you been Sixsix?" He shouted at him, getting garbled noises and sounds "You leave my mother out of this." grabbing Sixsix's arm with his claw he threw him aside and chased after the small group.
Running into the mine Max, Ben and Gwen rounded a corner and pressed themselves against the wall. Waiting a few seconds Ben eased his head out and looked around. "The coast is clear." Ben sighed, leaning against the wall. Hearing a rumble Kraab burst out of the ground a few feet away.
"Don't you get tired of being wrong all the time?" Gwen yelled furiously slapping Ben across the head
"The Omnitrix, Now!" Kraab demanded walking as fast as he could towards them.
"This guy's like a broken record." Ben muttered.
Grabbing a large piece of metal from the ground Max threw it as hard as he could, Kraab grabbed it with his claw and effortlessly smashed it. Running as quickly as they could the Tennyson's turned as many corners as they could find, trying their best to lose the pursuer "Come on you piece of crap!" Ben thought to himself as he tried to activate the Omnitrix, the screen staying red. As the three of them turned another corner Kraab flew past them at shocking speed, slamming into a wall and causing it to collapse. Tonnes of rubble fell to the ground, filling the tunnel and blocking their path.
Coming to a halt Max, Ben and Gwen stood in front of the mound of stone and earth. There was still a slight opening at the top but the other side was unreachable unless they could fly.
"Back!" Max yelled. They hurried back the way they came, toward the entrance of the mine.
Pulling himself free from the wall Kraab gave chase as the Tennyson's made it outside, who were blinded for a second after the dark interior of the cave they were left staggering for a second too long. The large Kraab reached them before their eyes adjusted.
"What a pathetic escape attempt" Kraab said. He saw Sixsix fly across the sky and dived towards the Tennyson's and shooting warning shots in a ring around them. They grouped together, standing close to each other for protection.
"We need a plan" Max panted, he REALLY needed to start training again. Beside him Ben continued to madly press the button of the Omnitrix, until eventually it turned green and the screen popped up.
"Who needs a plan, when you've got the watch?" Ben laughed successfully, slamming the screen down and said "I'll take care of this!" After the green glow in Ben's place stood Diamondhead.
"Ben No, that's just what they want!" Max shouted as Ben turned his right hand into a sharp point. Not listening Ben leapt up and grabbed Sixsix as he passed over them, causing Sixsix to fly out of control and sending them both crashing into ground hard. Sixsix's rockets still firing and they pushed the two of them along the ground, sending up clouds of dust swirling around them as they rolled and fought each other for dominance, first Sixsix was pinned down and then he managed to roll Ben onto his back and dragged him along the dessert terrain. They vanished in the haze of dust and dirt and only the roar of the rockets and the noise of their fighting even gave a clue where they were.
"Ben!" Max shouted after them. He coughed as the dust cloud drifted over them. He could hear the noise of fighting but no longer the sound of the burning rockets.
After what seemed like an eternity the dust was staring to clear and they caught sight of figures in the fog. Sixsix leapt high, twisted and turned in the air and slammed square in Ben's crystal chest. It succeeding in slamming them both into a wall but Ben taking the brunt of the force. Sixsix leapt back, flipping and landing on his feet. Ben, stunned, fell to his knees. Even the solid body of Diamondhead had felt that.
"Ben, come on!" Max demanded.
"Hold your horses." Ben panted as he stood up, the few cracks on his body fixing themselves. "I'm just getting warmed up. I'm gonna put some dents into this flying dildo"
Ben charged and swung his spiked arm, which Sixsix easily dodged but was unable to dodge a punch to his stomach, or at least where the stomach would be on a human, driving him down to his knee, as Ben reared back his spiked fist something gabbed and stopped him. Kraab had gripped his arm with his giant claw. With a wide twist of his robotic body Ben was yanked off his feet like a rag doll and slammed the wall again. This time hard enough for chunks of stone to come falling own on top of him.
Ben shook off the fuzzy dizziness in his head and pushing himself up to his feet. "Two-on-one? Heh, just means more fun for me!" Ben yelled as he charged at the two aliens, swinging his spiked arm. Sparks flew as both blocked his attack. Punching Sixsix in the gut again drove him back giving Ben the chance to block Kraab's claw and punch him in the face, but he didn't notice Sixsix behind him and got hit in the back knocking Ben off balance and into Kraab's swinging claw sending him back to Sixsix who hit him in the back again. Kraab's claw grab Ben around his head, picking him up Kraab slammed Ben into the ground, head first. Ben collapsed onto the floor limply and didn't move when Kraab released him.
"Ben!" Gwen yelled fearfully. She'd stopped enjoying seeing him get beaten up somewhere around the time Kraab had joined in to hammer him into the ground. There was a chance she could lose her cousin here. More importantly they could lose the watch. That thing was making them a fortune and she'd rather see it in Ben's clumsy hands than taken from them altogether.
Sixsix took a step forward but was stopped by Kraab "hold on, I'm bringing this one in"
Sixsix replied with his usual noises, beeps and even a grunt.
"You're bringing that up now?"
A shadow appeared overhead, Gwen and Max ran back to take cover as a third alien landed among the group. He was a black and grey suit which covered his whole body. "Success?" He asked in his deep voice.
"Ready to be taken in chief." Kraab said.
Ben shook his head, trying to clear the stars from his vision. "Chief?" He muttered. "You gotta be kidding, I got kicked by minions?"
"It just further proves your unworthiness to possess the Omnitrix." The chief said bitterly.
"Well like I told your buddies, this thing doesn't come off." Ben growled as he tried to stand up. He'd barely got to his knees before he heard a hum of powerful weapons being pointed at his head. As indestructible as Diamondhead was he didn't want to take two blasts from lasers at point blank range. "I've tried." He finished bitterly, staying on his knees while the guns were touching his temples.
"Of course it doesn't!" The alien stepped up to Ben, although Ben couldn't see his face he got the distinct impression he was being glared at. "Its power utilises Alien DNA, which binds to the hosts own genetic structure." Turning the alien took a few steps; behind him Ben's arm became a spike again. "It cannot be removed simply. But we have the means."
Ben leapt up at the leader. The alien spun so fast he was a dark blur. Ben was grabbed by the throat, flipped up and slammed down into the ground before he could figure out what happened.
"Truly disappointing." The chief said. "Your choice of warriors is based entirely on brute strength, without regard to any sort of strategy."
He watched as Ben struggled to pull himself out of the tight grip around his neck. "The Omnitrix is not some toy for your amusement, it is the most powerful weapon in the galaxy, it is the key to an epic battle between good and evil."
"Well find yourself a new key, this one's mine now" Ben yelled furiously "I found it, I know how to use it. I'm the baddest of the bad and I'm taking you all down" Slamming his feet into the leaders chest he was able to push him off. Rolling backwards Ben grabbed Sixsix's arm and re-aimed him at Kraab before he fired, sending the blast into his chest. Slamming his knee into Sixsix's gut he forced the alien to bend over and it gave Ben a perfect angle to punch Sixsix in the side of the head. Sixsix collapsed to the floor, stunned.
Something hard slammed into his back, Ben shouted in pain and collapsed onto his knees, his arms grabbed and pulled back and something put pressure on his back, stopping Ben from moving at all.
"A useless effort." The chief said as Ben looked over his shoulder the best he could, who ever this guy is he was strong and knew exactly where to hit him.
"Says you… asshole" Ben growled "aliens, robots, kids with BB guns. I always win… eventually."
Adding more pressure the chief pulled Ben's arms back harder "It's disturbing how little you know of this aliens strengths and weaknesses, you've barely scratched the surface of its potential, if you were a true threat you would have freed yourself by now"
"Yeah? What makes you such an expert." Ben panted as he fought against the strain in his arms to get onto one knee. He watched as the helmet of the aliens suit opened and collapsed into itself, revealing another crystal alien like Ben's, exactly like Ben's. They were the same being! "You're... Me."
"Wrong! I am Tertax, a noble warrior and soldier serving in the United Galactic Forces while you are an annoyance. Surrender. Now." Tetrax demanded.
"I. Don't. Surrender" Ben focused as much as he could on his foot, quicky growing a large crystal. Throwing himself and Tetrax backwards and giving him a chance to break free. Standing up shakily and panting hard Ben formed both his arms into spikes and faced Tetrax. "You surrender. Now!"
Hearing a loud beep and a bright flash of red light and Ben was back to normal, Tetrax, even at a distance, towered over Ben who had his fists clenched at him "ah shit" Ben said to himself right before something that felt like a taser hit him in the back. Screaming out in pain Ben collapsed to the floor, behind him Kraab had his claw raised and the barrel extended. He struggled to his feet as he had a big hole in his chest and several of the wires and circuitry were damaged.
"Don't worry chief" he panted "Stun setting only."
..**..
"Grandpa we've got to do something" Gwen said as she grabbed Max's shirt "they're going to get the watch"
Max looked around him, there was practically no cover to get to Ben, the aliens would see them coming a mile away and easily stop them. They had no weapons with them and the only thing they could use a decent weapon was an ancient piece rail track, if they could pull some of it up. Realising something Max looked over his shoulder an old mine cart for carryig ore and such was behind them at the top of the slope and still looked in good condition. It wasn't a brilliant plan but it was the best he could come up with in the circumstances. Grabbing Gwen he charged up with slope as fast as he could "Grandpa what are you doing? Ben's the other way." she shouted.
"No time to explain" Max panted as he reached the cart, throwing Gwen in he got behind it and pushed as hard as he could. Even with no ore it still weighed a lot but he slowly got it going. As it picked up speed he jumped in the back.
"Grandpa, are you going to do what I think you're doing?" Gwen sounded worried, she didn't like the plan she thought Max had put in motion and hated it more with each passing second.
"Just hold on tight Gwen" Max said as he stood up and leant over the edge slightly, his weight adding to the growing speed. The leader of the aliens had pulled out a strange gun with a cube on it and was pointing it at Ben.
As the cart travelled faster and got closer he saw them approaching. Tetrax leapt aside, tackled Kraab out of the way. As they passed, Max leant over the edge as much as he could and grabbed the unconscious Ben. He overbalanced and nearly fell out, thanks to a timely save from Gwen, grabbing his leg and pulling as hard as she could both of them landed safely into the cart as it sped down into a tunnel.
As they exited the tunnel Max pulled on the lever to slow the cart and eventually came to a screeching, sparking, halt, it had taken a few minutes but they were on the other side of the hill. Just outside the small ghost town. A few buildings still stood though they were in terrible condition as nature and time had taken their toll.
"Ok Gwen, we need to find cover" Max climbed out of the cart and looked at Ben, his shirt had been burned through at two points and had a nasty burn on his back where he'd been hit. Scooping him up Max headed for the nearest building which looked like an old saloon, Gwen followed closely and even though she was shaky on her feet she easily covered the small distance. "How quick do you think they'll find us?" Gwen asked as they entered the building.
"I'm not sure, that tunnel is practically a straight line and they all seem to move quickly" Max put Ben down on top of a clear, although dusty, table. "We can't stay here too long, we've got to wake Ben up, find a way back to the Rust Bucket and then we can make a proper plan."
Gwen walked up to Ben and, grabbing his shirt she raised him up, and slapped him as hard as she could on his swollen cheek. Luckily it had the desired effect, Ben woke up in pain and swearing as Gwen let him go. He fell heavily against the table. "One problem down, now how do we get back to the R.V? It's on the other side of the mine."
"Wait what?" Ben asked as he gingerly touched his tender cheek "We're running away?"
"We've no choice right now Ben we're out gunned, over powered and not to mention the leader of that little group beat you without breaking a sweat." Max pulled up a chair and a cigar, lighting it with a match.
"He's made of crystal, he doesn't sweat" Jumping down from the table Ben felt pain shoot over his back. Max just stared at him.
"It's my job to look after you and Gwen. I never thought that would mean I'd be running away from alien soldiers, but so be it. You can't even beat them one-on-one, never mind three-on-one, and that leader is the best of all of them, you could barely touch him" Max puffed away at his cigar as Ben slammed a fist on the table.
"I am not running away! I can beat them all and anyone else who tries to take the watch. I go Four-Arms and I'll be strong enough to knock them out in one punch" Ben growled, this time it was Max's turn to slam his fist on to the table, doing so the same time Gwen hit Ben around the back of the head
"It's not about if you're strong enough of not." Gwen shouted "They've been playing you since they first met you, you dumb shit."
"What are you taking about?" Ben asked
"Attacking in the building, then on the road, one at a time. They were testing what we were capable of, they played it smart instead of rushing in like you do" Gwen poked Ben in the chest as she spoke "I bet they can even track the watch, it's probably how they found us in the first place. If you're not gonna help us think of a way out of this then sit down. Shut up. And don't use the watch!"
Stumbling back onto a chair Ben was speechless, he'd seen Gwen angry before but now she was down right pissed off, he looked to Max for some advice, for anything. "Now's the time for brain, not brawn" he simply said as he sat down again.
Suddenly they heard a low rumbling that signified Kraab's digging, a roar over them that was Sixsix's jet and even though they couldn't hear him all three knew without a doubt Tetrax was with them somewhere. Carefully looking out the window they could just see Kraab near the end of the street "Great, so much for making a plan." Gwen half whispered, unsure if they'd be able to hear her or not
"Lets see if this place has a back door" stubbing out his cigar on the tabe Max turned and moved more quickly and silently than a man of his age and size should be able to. Gwen quickly followed.
"Ben, come on." She ordered, but Ben kept looking out of the window. Before she could grab and drag him Ben made a break for the door, running outside before either Max of Gwen could stop him.
As soon as he was outside Ben saw Kraab at the end of the street. The alien saw him and started firing, but thankfully the distance between them gave Ben a slight advantage as he ran straight across the street. Hearing the rockets get closer Ben dived and rolled in time as Sixsix flew past him, trying to grab him "You want me? Let's see what you got." Ben shouted as he charged across the dirt road, seeing Tetrax fly over the small buildings on his board Ben rammed his shoulder into the old door, breaking it open, the old wood splintering into huge splinters and sawdust. Slamming the door shut Ben dived behind counter of the old store and activated the Omnitrix "Final Round." he mutter to himself as he turned the screen, selecting his alien "Sudden Death." he slammed the screen down.
..**..
"Cover the front, I'll handle the back" Tetrax ordered, flying over the building as Kraab and Sixsix moved to the front of the store
"You head in, I'll cover you" Kraab said as he pointed his claw at the door, Sixsix responded with his usual noises and screeches. "Fine I'll go in you cry baby, but if you blow me up I'm going to be pissed"
Ripping the door off its hinges Kraab stepped into the old building, everything covered in a thick layer of dust and dirt, including the floor which gave him a clear indication where Ben had run to "Give it up kid, we've got you surrounded" Kraab stomped his legs intentionally hard to add a spook factor, heading for the counter Ben had dived behind "you ain't good enough to beat us" smashing the counter with his claw Kraab expected to see another alien, or at least a human but there was nothing there "The hell?" he said to himself as e searched through the smashed wood. He felt something land on his head and it said in a small high voice
"Surprise cock-fag!"
It started to crawl down his head, avoiding his swipes to knock it off; as it climbed down to the hole in his chest he caught a quick glimpse of a small grey foot. "Lets see, if we take this nerve cluster, mix in a little juice from the weapon relays and tie it together with the life support...This will happen."
Kraab yelled out in pain as his body went out of control, his legs started moving erratically and his arms swinging wildly, his claw opening and closing randomly as the barrel slid back and forth before firing a shot, then two as it smashed through the large glass window.
Sixsix moved quickly to avoid Kraab's swinging claw and crazy legs, Ben leapt out of the dancing machine without being noticed, Kraab creating a big enough distraction for him to get close enough to jump onto Sixsix's leg. Only then did he notice Ben as he climbed up him "let's see what happens when I do this, and mix it with these" Ben smiled as he pressed two buttons and pulled a lever on the jet pack, causing Sixsix to shoot off into the sky just as Tetrax smashed through the building "and now for the fun part." Ben said to himself as he smashed a button with his foot and twisted the lever, causing Sixsix to twist in the air and head straight for Tetrax. Without warning all of Sixsix's weapons fired everything from small but powerful rockets, lasers and some weird energy blades.
All hit Tetrax on target, the explosion as huge enough to demolish the remains of the old store and make the ground shake. As the dust cloud cleared though they seamed to have done little damage.
Greymatter simply smiled, "and now the coup de grace" Twisting a small dial and hitting a couple of buttons Ben leapt off Sixsix just before the out of control alien rammed into Tetrax. And thanks to the excessive energy build up Ben had just caused in the jet pack, a large explosion happened.
As Ben landed a bright red light flashed and he was back to his normal human body, as he walked over to the small crater Tetrax dragged himself out of it, his face was cracked badly and his armour was badly damaged, unable to keep himself upright he fell to his hands and knees "You told me you were a warrior, and all warriors have a code, right?" Ben stopped in front of Tetrax who panted as he looked at him. "I just beat you and your men by myself, in my smallest form. This is my absolute victory, and an utter humiliation for you." He grinned superior manner. "Now, you can take your men and drag your sorry asses back to whoever your boss is, and you tell him from me that whether its three, thirty or three hundred he sends after me I will always win." He gave Tetrax a dark look. "Or you can try and take me down again." He held his arms open in a Come-At-Me-Bro! Pose.
Panting and struggling to get to his feet Tetrax looked down at Ben, who glared back at him "Very well human, you won this battle. But the war has just begun. You will be hounded day and night for the Omnitrix, it cannot and will not stay in the hands of people like you, and when you least accept it, you will lose it"
"Just get the fuck off my planet" turning Ben walked away, noticing the board hovering in place he grabbed it and headed for the saloon where Gwen and Max was still hiding "I'm keeping this"
..**..
As Ben entered the saloon he was instantly greeted with a punch to the face from Gwen, knocking him on to his ass "What was that for?" he shouted
"For nearly giving grandpa a heart attack when you ran off by yourself" Gwen yelled back "here we are risking our necks to save you and you just run off to your death."
"I had a plan" Ben climbed back onto his feet as Gwen raised her fist again
"I doubt that" she growled
"I won didn't I?"
Gwen was about to throw her fist again when Max stopped her, who simply shook his head "Where'd you get that from anyway?" she asked
"Spoils of war" Ben smiled grabbing the board again, it automatically collapsing down to a small square
"Why do you get all the cool alien stuff?" She shouted back at Ben, as if blaming him for her bad luck
"Fits my style" Ben smirked, earning a kick to the stomach
"You don't have any style" Gwen growled, tempted to steal the board from him
"You could... Use your style, to get alien tech" Ben gasped as he struggled to take in air "sleep with a few aliens and I'm sure they'll give you what you want. You know, because you're a whore."
This earned Ben his second black eye.
End.