Unknown
In a black and empty void, the Time Walker known as Professor Paradox was currently viewing various windows into many alternate worlds with different characters and events transpiring, each of them focusing on the actions of one Ben Tennyson. Worlds where Ben found himself transported to other realities across the multiverse… either by Paradox's intervention or simply circumstance.
Two universes that were both similar but different that had Ben fighting alongside respective superhero teams.
In another world, one where its inhabitants wielded magic, Ben was standing on a hill with a beautiful woman that had long scarlet hair. They were both watching the sunset, gazing at each other lovingly.
Another universe had Ben engaging in a friendly spar with a teen that had blonde spiky hair dressed in orange.
Another had Ben participating in a war between the beings known as the Shinigami and Arrancar.
In the last panel, a green haired boy wielding the Ultimatrix was standing outside a large archway with the words "U.A." emblazoned on top, standing alongside him was what appeared to be a hologram of Ben himself.
But there was one universe that had Paradox's complete attention, a world with the designation OP-3D2Y. The very same world that he had sent Ben and his allies to just recently. Thankfully, a part of him was glad that her had done so before that fellow Thorn got wind of it. The last time that man meddled in the affairs of time and space, it almost ended in disaster. Compared to the other universes, this version of Ben was more well-adjusted compared to his counterparts, the fact that this version did not suffer a traumatic event prior to his journey and that he had his teammates by his side proved fortuitous.
Nevertheless, it didn't mean that Ben would not face difficulties throughout his quest to find the One Piece treasure as Paradox's longtime nemesis, Eon was now involved. The Chronian had been campaigning for unlimited power for the past four thousand years in an effort to free his own people. With every failure, he would go back in time and try again. After every attempt, he got closer and closer to his goal. Eventually, perhaps by the infinite chance of constantly resetting the timeline, the individuals from the many universes that Ben had visited were all roped into this mess. But the combined efforts of Ben Tennyson and these heroes were enough to keep Eon at bay. They all defeated him every time he tried again, without ever realizing they had done before.
But Eon was relentless. He learned with each attempt and only got better at it. After many, many tries, Eon had started to make it past the "Endgame" stage of his goal nearly every time. So, Paradox as well as other deities were forced to step in. But with all of them in one place, reality was no longer able to hold itself together. There cannot be too many deities in one mortal plane for too long. They've done this so many times, that if Paradox even attempts to intervene, it may cause a quantum singularity that will never cease expanding.
Knowing this, Eon waited for the perfect version of the timeline where he had the right advantage. So far, Ben had fought Eon in every timeline and won. But Paradox feared that this timeline would be different. In this attempt to even the scales, Eon has the added assistance of Vilgax and the majority of Ben's greatest enemies. Even going as far as freeing the rogue Chronosapien Maltruant from the time loop Ben and Paradox had previously trapped him in. This was a variable the Time Walker had yet to observe, he was afraid that this would not end like all the others.
All Paradox could hope now was that Ben would be prepared for the coming storm.
Mariejois
"What do you mean, 'Red-Haired' Shanks is trying to make contact with Whitebeard?" One of the five Elder Stars questioned the Marine that had brought them this new information.
"Yes, sir." The Marine kept his eyes on the floor, knowing that the Elder Stars rarely permitted the rank-and-file from looking them in the eyes. "Strange movements have been going on."
"But 'Red-Hair' hasn't done anything himself, correct?" Another Elder Star questioned.
"No, sir, he has sent out envoys, but any contact between 'Red-Hair' and 'Whitebeard' could be catastrophic." The Marine gave them the thoughts of the Fleet Admiral, Admirals, and Vice-Admirals.
"Hmm…that is true." The Elder with the dreadlocks and walking stick muttered, his eyes narrowed.
"Shanks could do a lot of damage. But I don't think his ambitions include world conquest." The Elder with the long mustache and beard combo hummed thoughtfully.
"We should assess the situation thoroughly before making any moves." The Elder with the birthmark on his forehead remarked. His large white mustache moved slightly as he spoke. "There's no sense in provoking either of them if this turns out to be nothing."
"Never mind that." The Elder in the yukata and holding the long katana in his left hand spoke. "We still need to find a new Warlord of the Sea to replace the late Crocodile. We mustn't overlook any valid options."
"The instability of the Three Great Powers would reverberate throughout the world." The youngest of the Five Elder Stars nodded in agreement. "We must restore the Seven Warlords to full strength. The balance of powers must be protected."
"Elders!" Another Marine entered the room and dropped to one knee to kneel before the heads of the World Government. "As ordered, the Seven Warlords of the Sea have been summoned. However, as always, we don't know how many will respond and show up. They are pirates, after all." Not raising his head in the slightest, the Marine continued his report. "The first two Warlords have just arrived, however."
"What a nuisance Crocodile made of himself." The Elder with the wide mustache and birthmark on his forehead muttered as he picked up a couple of wanted posters from the table in front of him. "We should keep an eye on those two fellows that defeated him, Monkey D. Luffy and Ben Tennyson, wasn't it?"
"Which ones have arrived?" The tall and slim, bearded Elder questioned the kneeling Marine.
"Warlord Donquixote Doflamingo and Warlord Bartholomew Kuma, sir." The Marine replied promptly.
"One expected and one unexpected." The Warlord with the sword mentioned of the first two arrivals. Kuma was practically guaranteed. But Doflamingo made little attempts to hide his outright distaste for the World Government and the Celestial Dragons. Not surprising, given his history with them after what the man's father had done.
"We'll begin the meeting at the scheduled time, regardless of how many deign to actually show up." The Elder with the dreadlocks and walking stick told the kneeling Marine.
"Yes, sir." The Marine stood, still not looking at the Five Elder Stars, and backed out of the room respectfully. Once he was out of the room, he turned and rushed towards his Superior Officer to relay the orders of the Five Elders.
No one in Mariejois would expect just how the upcoming meeting would play out.
Later
"Hey! Cut it out!" Vice Admiral Stainless demanded as the hands of another Marine Officer grabbed his throat and began to tighten.
"It's not me! I can't control my hands!" The Officer shook his head, even as his grip tightened against his will.
"Stop! This is no time to be fooling around!" Stainless growled as he began to pry the Officer's fingers from around his neck through raw strength.
"He's right. This is no time for fooling around. Behave." An elderly woman spoke up. She was a tall, thin, old woman with gray hair tied in a bun. Her attire seemed to be less formal than the other high-ranking officers', considering that she left her shirt untucked, with the sleeves rolled up and a colorful tie around her neck, along with calf-length pants. The old woman had earrings made of beads and wore two bracelets on her right wrist. The epaulets on her Marine coat were golden for the outer and purple with two white dots for the inner. This was the veteran Vice Admiral Tsuru, also known as the 'Great Tactician' for her decades of experience and her sharp tactical mind. "Doflamingo, is this your doing?" Tsuru looked like a grandparent scolding a misbehaving child. "Be a good boy and stop that." The tone of her voice left no doubt that she'd make him stop if he didn't.
"Hehehe…be a good boy?" Doflamingo chuckled, his pink feather jacket moving slightly as he laughed. The tall blonde man in the pointed sunglasses sat on the railing of the balcony with a wide smile. "You're something, Tsuru." He raised his right hand into the air and moved his fingers like a puppeteer. "Then why don't we get right down to business…Hehehe…and end this meeting?" The Marine Officer he was controlling drew his sword on Vice Admiral Stainless.
"That's enough, you fool!" Stainless had his hand on his own sword, ready to draw it if necessary.
"Stop!" The Marine Officer cried out as his body moved against his will. "Make him stop!" He raised his sword and Stainless unsheathed the first few centimeters of his own blade.
"Doflamingo." Tsuru narrowed her eyes at the Warlord, stilling the puppeteering hand.
The large doors to the meeting room swinging open caught everyone's attention. But it was the man that stepped through them that ended the situation. One did not fail to recognize the Fleet Admiral of the Marines, Sengoku. He was a tall, fair-skinned, and muscular man with a long, braided goatee and a mustache both matching the black color of his hair. His cap covered his hair, but if one were to remove it, they'd find his hair set in a large afro. The Fleet Admiral wore black-rimmed glasses and a white and gold full Marine Admiral uniform that was adorned with medals from his decades of service. The most distinctive features of his uniform were a life-size seagull on top of his cap, and his oversized Marine coat which he wore like a cape. His coat has the kanji for justice, in blue, emblazoned on the back, and had uniquely colored cuffs, both being white.
"Enough." Sengoku spoke clearly and everyone in the room stopped moving. "Stop your antics. Did you come here to start a war?" He looked boredly at Doflamingo, but the Warlord instantly stopped what he was doing, releasing the Marine Officer without a word.
"Baa." The goat at Sengoku's side bleated and the little bell around its neck jingled. The Fleet Admiral was often seen with his pet accompanying him wherever he went.
"I should at least greet you." Sengoku mentioned, his eyes still locked onto Doflamingo. "Welcome, sea scum."
"Hehehe!" Doflamingo chuckled at the insult. "Oh, that's not nice."
"However, he's right on target." Bartholomew Kuma spoke up from where he was seated on a large couch reading the book in his hand. The other Warlord was an enormous man, being 689 cm tall, and was usually seen carrying what appeared to be a Bible. His overall appearance was reminiscent of a bear. His hat featured a pair of rounded ears, and, along with the grey fabric of his pants, was covered in brown spots. His black jacket had a large white design reminiscent of a target crosshair or a coda sign on it along with several white paw prints lining the bottom hem of the coat. His chin was also rather large and protruding and his eyes appeared to be hidden behind reflective glasses.
"Shall we begin?" Sengoku questioned, moving to his seat for this meeting. "There's no use waiting any longer. I doubt anyone else will show up. Two out of the remaining six is more than I expected."
"No kidding. I wasn't going to come." Doflamingo admitted without a care, both he and Kuma moving towards the large round table. "Business is booming on the island. But I was bored, so here I am." He sat directly on top of the table instead of in one of the many chairs available.
"I see. That's not welcome news." Sengoku replied flatly to the information. "There's nothing worse for us than pirates doing well."
"Hehehehe! You're so mean." Doflamingo gave a mocking laugh. "I thought your nickname was 'Buddha'…Fleet Admiral Sengoku?"
"What's all this squabbling about?" Dracule Mihawk questioned as he strode into the meeting room. His black hat, black coat, and Yoru sheathed on his back made him instantly recognizable to anyone. "Perhaps I came to the wrong place?"
"Sir Dracule 'Hawkeye' Mihawk of the Seven Warlords has arrived!" A Marine announced after catching his breath. The Warlord had easily outpaced the man on the long trek up the various stairs that led to this meeting room.
"The two great powers of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and Marine High Command…but isn't a roundtable meaningless?" His sharp yellow eyes took in the setup for the meeting. A roundtable implied equality among all parties, but the Marines barely tolerated the Seven Warlords and vice versa.
"I didn't think you'd show up." Sengoku admitted, his arms crossed over one another on top of the table.
"Well, well…this is a surprise." Doflamingo chuckled at seeing the World's Strongest Swordsman for the first time in quite a while.
"Hmph. I'm just here as an interested bystander." The wide brim of Mihawk's hat shadowed his hawk-like eyes. "I'm slightly interested about the pirates you'll be discussing. That's all." His gaze locked onto a man that was standing on the windowsill to his right with his hands behind his back. He may try to be sneaky, but Mihawk's gaze was nearly impossible to fool.
"Your senses are as sharp as ever Dracule Mihawk. If you don't mind, may I join this meeting as an interested third party?" The man on the windowsill questioned. Every head in the room, barring Mihawk's, turned to look at the speaker, some visibly shocked, others merely annoyed at the intrusion so deep into the building.
"Who the hell are you?" Sengoku demanded, his voice leaving no room for lies from the unknown man. "How did you get in here?"
"I have my own methods." The man ignored the question as he stepped down from the windowsill. He was a man wearing a purple helmet clad in silver armor and a purple cape. "What an illustrious assemblage." He looked over everyone in the room. "If all goes well, I hope to offer my own input as well." He informed the gathered people before he suddenly appeared at the other side of the room in the blink of an eye, "You can call me Eon."
"Huh?" Doflamingo didn't look amused by the mystery man, a visible sneer on his face.
Kuma remained silent in his seat, but it was clear he felt no need to intervene either.
"Since Sir Crocodile is currently indisposed at the moment, I thought you might be looking for someone to replace him. I've come to recommend someone to be your new Warlord of the Sea. My captain, Vilgax."
"Vilgax?" Sengoku raised an eyebrow at the name.
"Yes, he's the current captain of the Galactic Pirates." Eon explained.
"Never heard of him." Sengoku replied with a shake of his head. "Without a bounty or any notoriety, how can he possibly keep other pirates in check?"
"Understandable." Eon agreed with the Fleet Admiral. "We currently have plans to amend that, give us just a little more time and I promise to deliver results."
"Hehehe…sounds interesting!" Doflamingo chuckled as he dropped from the table and into a free chair. He promptly reclined back on the two back legs and placed his feet on the table without a care. "Let's give it to 'em, Sengoku."
"What we have planned will make you remember the Galactic Pirates for generations to come." Eon promised as his eyes narrowed underneath his helmet.
"If not for the boy's inexperience, I'd have wondered why you weren't considering the one that defeated Crocodile." Mihawk spoke up, making almost everyone turn to face the swordsman curiously.
"Monkey D. Luffy…" Tsuru sighed at the name.
"Wait…Monkey D. Luffy?" Doflamingo's face broke out into a wide grin. "Don't tell me…he's old Garp's grandson?! HAHAHAHAHA!" The man burst into raucous laughter. "The 'Hero of the Marines' Vice Admiral Garp's grandson is a pirate?! That's too funny!" He laughed loudly at the revelation, nearly tipping his chair over in the process.
"Indeed…" Sengoku confirmed, his hands clenching into fists at the trouble Garp's brat had caused already.
"What kind of bounty did you slap him with for taking out Crocodile?" Doflamingo questioned with a wide grin.
"100 million Beri." Mihawk answered before anyone else could. He did what he could to keep up with the going's on in the world and had already seen Luffy's new wanted poster.
"Hahahaha! A Rookie with 100 million on his head?! That's hilarious!" The Heavenly Demon cackled to himself at the situation. "He was in Alabasta, right? The next island after that would be Jaya…I have an underling around there too, perhaps I should pay this newbie a little visit?" His grin made the eyes of every Marine in the room narrow.
"Regardless of Monkey D. Luffy's actions, as 'Hawkeye' has already stated, the boy is a mere Rookie. To invite him to the Warlords, assuming he'd even accept at all, would be foolish." Sengoku waved off the idea. Knowing Garp as well as he did, he doubted the man's grandson would become a Warlord anyway.
'Monkey D. Luffy…' Eon mused over the name for a moment. 'It seems like he is already making a name for himself. That makes things easier for us.' He'd need to leave soon and report to Vilgax that he'd successfully put his name into the consideration for becoming the next Warlord of the Sea.
Long Ring Long Island
With Driscoll's order, Exo-Skull opened fire from his horn with a series of lasers, followed by Animo who did the same as he let the Hybrid-Argost body off its leash, forcing all the Straw Hats to scatter. The mutant cryptid had leapt towards Chopper like a rabid beast, forcing him to run away before transforming into his Heavy Point in an attempt to defend himself.
Zoro and Kevin both ran in separate directions as the Forever Ninja and Dr. Viktor went after them. The Forever Ninja took out its energy sword and clashed its blade against Zoro's, and while he attempted to defend himself, Sanji engaged Kangaroo Kommando in combat with their respective kicks.
Before anyone else got a chance to help their friends; the other villains quickly swarmed the pirates, preventing the crew from covering each other.
Julie flew down toward Gwen in her Ship armor to help up her up. "Gwen, are you alright?" Julie asked.
"Yeah… just a little… Heads up!" Gwen warned Julie just in time as the former threw up her mana barrier to protect both of them from a powerful red energy blast.
"New friend, eh Gwenny?" Rojo teased. "Maybe you'd like to introduce us?"
"So that's Rojo." Julie observed as this was the first time, she ever met her.
"Yep, that's her." Gwen confirmed.
Julie couldn't quite describe it, but the second she laid eyes on Rojo's smirking face, her stomach almost turned. "I really do not like her."
"Ouch, hate at first sight, huh princess?" Rojo said, not particularly offended. She then glanced at Julie's Mechamorph armor. "Nice suit. Not too crazy about the color though."
"Okay?" Julie muttered, not sure what to think.
"That being said, don't you think it's fair I get a little special suit, too?" Rojo smirked before she launched a powerful attack at the duo.
At the same time, Ben and Luffy came face-to-face with Driscoll, who had summoned both a mace and shield made out of energy from his armor. "From our research Tennyson, you seem to have forged a strong dynamic with Monkey D. Luffy here. Let's see that teamwork firsthand."
"So, how do you know this guy?" Luffy asked Ben.
"Long story, I'll explain later." Ben quickly said. "But he's basically the former leader of a group of guys obsessed with alien tech."
"I don't really get it, but we can get to know him after we kick his ass!" Luffy raised his fists as Ben transformed into Diamondhead as the duo engaged the enemy.
Kevin barely dodged a bolt of electricity as Viktor loomed over him, "Kevin Levin, I've been meaning to repay you for our last encounter. Next to my research, tearing things apart was my favorite part of being a mobile entity."
"Yeah well, Not like I'm gonna lose any sleep over it since you're a bad guy and all," Kevin replied, "Though last time I saw you, your body was taken over by that King Xarion creep."
"You can thank my master for that cretin," Viktor sneered, "He entered my imprisoned body, devoured that decrepit human's soul, and freed me. Now I can finally reap my vengeance upon you!"
"Talk about cliche!" Kevin shouted as he absorbed the stone in the ground, his hand forming into a hammer as he charged towards his enemy.
Nami and Usopp looked around the battlefield to see the fights that all their friends were in. "Okay, so Gwen and Julie got that red haired lady, Chopper's got that weird monster thing, and that crazy doctor, Zoro is fighting that knight, Sanji is fighting that guy in brown armor, Robin has got that clown, Tetrax and Rook are fighting the rhino that shoots beams, Ben and Luffy are fighting their leader, Kevin has got his own enemy to deal with…" Nami's eyes widened in dread as a horrible realization came to mind. "That leaves me and Usopp with…"
Usopp' alarming scream was the only warning Nami got as she instinctively ran away from someone that had moved in quickly enough to strike her in the back, knocking Nami down to send her and Usopp rolling across the ground as they got up to see their opponents: Clancy and Logan Frame.
"Of course, we get the ugly looking ones." Nami said with a scowl, Usopp nodded in agreement as he squired away to get some distance and let Nami take out her newly upgraded Clima-Tact.
"Exploding Star!" Usopp said as he went on the attack, lashing out with every type of ammo that he kept in his arsenal. Though each sgot would have been rather effective to any normal enemy, Clancy proved fast and quick enough to avoid each and every attack with minimal effort. It was then that the bug man spat out a sticky honey like substance from his mouth that immobilized the sniper, Clancy then dealt a backhand to Usopp's stomach to send him skidding across the ground. He then proceeded to tackle him and slash the sniper up with his claws.
Nami barely avoided a swipe from Logan as one of the Sludgepuppy's arms formed into a club with spikes on it. The navigator then shot a bolt of lightning from her staff at her opponent, which caused it to screech in pain. But all it did was make it angrier as it lashed out, throwing goo everywhere much to Nami's disgust.
"Okay, you're fat and disgusting." She said charging up her staff before smirking, "And lucky for me slow." She then proceeded to charge the blob.
Meanwhile, Tetrax and Rook shot at Exo-Skull with a dual attack from their respective blasters, but the mutant rhino was able to shield himself with his armored hide before he unleashed another volley of lasers at them, forcing them to scatter. Rook happened to look out of the corner of his eye to see Usopp's struggle against Clancy nearby.
"Usopp is in trouble! Clancy will tear him apart!"
"Then go back him up!" Tetrax stated as his arms formed into blades. "I got this one!"
"Understood, good luck." Rook ran off leaving Tetrax to square off against Exo-Skull one on one.
Elsewhere, Clancy had dealt multiple blows across Usopp's trapped body so quick, he was unable to find an opening to counter, with the final attack being a swipe to his gut, causing him to hack up some blood before he was tossed up into the air to land hard on the ground. However, before Clancy could make a move to finish him, Rook ran at high speeds to unleash his Stone Cutter technique point-blank right at Clancy, a shockwave that was about as large as the mutant insect's whole body. This took Clancy by surprise as he was actually sent skidding across the ground, knocking him out almost instantly.
"Usopp, are you alright?" Rook asked as helped him stand up.
"Yeah…" Usopp muttered as he wiped the blood from his mouth. "Nothing I did was good enough."
Rook didn't know how to respond to that honestly.
At the same time, Chopper backflipped to avoid the crushing fist of the Franken-Argost but didn't get much time to rest as the Loch-Ness Monster head appendage shot a stream of fire at the young reindeer. Though Chopper was able to roll and avoid it, he grunted in anger and frustration.
"This thing, it's nothing but a mindless monster…" Chopper's eyes narrowed in anger as he stared at Dr Animo. "You call yourself a doctor… how can you make something so horrible! So vile!"
Animo only scoffed in response. "What you call vile I call evolution! They mocked me for my work, but no more! And you little one, will become my newest test subject once I'm through with you!
Chopper grunted in pain as he was then knocked into a nearby tree, he was getting demolished here. This time there would be no one to help him.
"Those attacks… they're way too vicious!" Chopper thought as he avoided another attack.
"With how fast he is, I can't find the opportunity to use Brain Point and scan his weakness… I'll have to go at him head on! Heavy Gong!" the reindeer shouted as he cocked back his fist to meet Franken-Argost's own. A mini struggle ensued as the two pushed against each other, before Chopper felt himself being overpowered and launched back.
"No way… even the Heavy Point…"
"That form is powerful, but my pet is even stronger than that!" Animo declared.
"This is bad…. What am I going to do?" Chopper thought desperately. He was running out of options here. If this continues, the chances of him surviving are low…
"I have to run! Or else he'll kill me!" morphing into Walk Point the doctor decided to bolt it, trying to think of an option first. But he won't get the chance.
Chopper's eyes widened as the cryptid hybrid flew straight in at him, lashing out with his fist, tail, and Loch-Ness Monster head, putting Chopper on the defensive.
Chopper gritted his teeth. Even though this monster was completely feral, in battle it was a ferocious fighter. He was truly at a crossroads here.
"I'm so weak… I'm always running away and needing help…" he thought back, back to all those times. It seems like every battle he's been a part of, he could never fight for himself. Whether it was Luffy and Ben back on Drum Island, or Usopp and Rook by his side in Alabasta, or even against the drone a few days before.
"I always had to rely on somebody else… they're always going beyond what they should do to get me some place that I could've done myself…" Chopper thought bitterly "It's no wonder they're never relying on me… I'm somebody that hides behind others… always needing someone to cover me…"
His hooves tightened as he transformed back into Heavy Point.
"Well not anymore… It's time I finally stand up for myself! I'll become a real Pirate today!"
Animo was slightly surprised that the Reindeer charged at his pet, as he was expecting him to run again. He quickly got over it and commanded the Franken Argost to lash out with his fist, only to see that Chopper's grabbed onto its arm.
"I WON'T RUN ANYMORE!"
"Hmph! You can try to resist, but it won't matter!" Animo scoffed as the cryptid hybrid delivered another kick towards the doctor, sending him tumbling away. Chopper scrambled up and hastily morphed into Jump Point and leapt away.
"And just as I thought you had some guts…" Animo sneered, "You will make an excellent test subject!"
"I'm not some experiment for you to abuse! I'm a monster, and I am strong!" Chopper leapt up into the air, morphing into Arm Point. Animo's eyes widened as he witnessed his opponent's biceps swell up and tighten.
"I'll prove myself today! Kokutei… CROSS!"
Both hooves slammed into the Franken-Argost, forming an X-shape as the blow sent him flying backwards crashing right into Animo, before they both landed hard against a hard object, knocking them out.
The battle was over. Chopper fell down in Brain Point again, exhausted but triumphant.
"I…I did it! I'm able to fight for myself now!" he grinned weakly "I've become a real pirate!"
Meanwhile, Driscoll rushed towards Luffy. They charged at each other before clashing fists, the resulting shockwave sent both of them skidding back. This also seemed to leave the Forever King open for Ben, in the form of Cannonbolt, to smash into his gut before rushing up into his chin to knock him down before rolling back and unfolding up next to Luffy.
"Up for a little fastball special, Luffy?" Cannonbolt asked with a smirk.
"Really?! Awesome!" Luffy grinned as he grabbed Cannonbolt like he was a basketball before throwing him at the recovering Driscoll, who quickly blasted a powerful beam of energy from his visor at the incoming Cannonbolt, which actually appeared to slow him down to a crawl, forcing Cannonbolt to a halt as he skidded across the ground before Driscoll hit him with his energy mace to send him crashing into the ground.
"What the hell was that?!" Luffy stated in surprise, which made him vulnerable for Driscoll to deck him.
"My new armor is powered by radiation and a focused amount of it can tear away the inertia from an object in motion." Driscoll explained in a mocking sense. "You'll find that I am not the same man that I was before." He then used his flail to smack Luffy in the chest, causing him to groan in pain. Suddenly, the ground underneath them began to shake as Ben, in the form of Armodrillo shot out from the ground before grabbing Driscoll by the helmet and then slammed him down onto the ground before throwing him away.
"Man… that guy is really pissing me off." Luffy said as he stood up, rubbing his now sore chest.
"Welcome to the 'I-Hate-Driscoll club', we got jackets." Armodrillo joked before taking the form of Heatblast as they re-engaged Driscoll, who was now swinging his flail around before resuming their brawl.
Meanwhile, Gwen ran and flipped to avoid the powerful laser blasts from Rojo in her own custom armor. When Rojo shot another laser at Gwen, she tried to block it with a mana shield, but the blast proved too strong as the resulting explosion sent Gwen flying backwards. Julie tried to fly in and blast Rojo with her lasers, but Rojo quickly avoided it as she flew in for close quarters combat, which included a knee to the gut, and a sweeping kick to the face.
Julie tried to stabilize herself in mid-flight as she attempted to throw a punch, but Rojo caught it with little effort. "Not much of a fighter, are you princess?" Rojo smirked before punching Julie and sending her crashing toward the recovering Gwen.
"That armor… it's stronger than I it looks…" Julie said as she tried to pull herself up.
"And she clearly knows how to use it." Gwen glared as Rojo hovered almost tauntingly over the two girls.
Elsewhere, Robin was currently engaging Zombozo who was juggling three bowling pins.
"Now don't distract me, this requires my utmost concentration." Zombozo stated as he then tosses the bowling pins at Robin who manages to dodge them before they explode on contact with the ground. The clown then threw a rubber chicken, to less than effective results as Robin remained impassive in spite of all this. Zombozo then blows up a balloon and takes out a pin.
"You've been a great audience, drive home safely!" Zombozo then pops the balloon, releasing a pink smoke along with confetti. He then escaped the smoke.
"Seis Fleur: Clutch." Six arms then sprouted around the clown and bent him backwards.
"Hey now! Don't get all handsy on me!" Zombozo laughed, trying not to show that he was currently in agony.
There was a sickening crack and a cry of pain before Zombozo collapsed, now unconscious.
Before Robin could do anything else, a figure quickly appeared in front of her and delivered a punch to her stomach, which was enough to knock the wind out of her as she fell in her attacker's arms.
The battle between the Straw Hats and the group of villains seemed to relatively go in the crew's favor, Sanji had already knocked out Kane North with one kick to head and had already moved to help Kevin out against Viktor, Zoro had easily dealt with his opponent by slashing the Forever Ninja across the chest, severely damaging it, and Nami defeated Logan Frame with a combination of the Cloudy Tempo and Thunderbolt Tempo as the Lenopon was washed away by the rain produced by the small cloud with a dosage of lightning on top of that that swiftly took the Sludgepuppy out of the fight. Luffy and Ben however, with their teamwork was able to gain the upper hand on Driscoll.
"Gum Gum Whip!" Luffy lashed out with a kick into the Forever King's sternum with Ben as Humungousaur then bringing both of his fists down onto his back. Driscoll's armor now had sported many scratches and dents due to the prolonged battle as he was now bent over on one knee.
"Gum Gum Bell!" Luffy then stretch his head and then it shot forward like a slingshot, delivering a headbutt to the center of Driscoll's helmet, causing the right side of it to crack open and crumble away. Revealing what was behind the mask.
Both Ben and Luffy gasped in horror and disgust at what they saw. The exposed half of Driscoll's face was badly disfigured with many scars from surgeries and a robotic left eye which was dark silver in color with a red iris. His head was completely bald and covered with many more scars.
"Well, at least you're now as ugly as your personality," Humungousaur said as the self-repair features quickly mended the damages to Driscoll's suit until it was almost as good as new.
Driscoll only let out a sinister chuckle, "I'd like nothing better to remove your head from your own body... but we've gotten what we've came for. You've already lost Tennyson, and you haven't even realized it yet."
A purple portal then suddenly opened up underneath Driscoll fell in as well as multiple others as the other villains retreated, even the ones who were already defeated fell into a portal too. Much to the Straw Hats' confusion as they all regrouped together.
"Wait, what did he mean when he said, 'We got what we came for'?" Humungousaur pondered.
"I believe he was referring to me." A voice called out.
The crew turned around and they all gaped in surprise as they saw an unfamiliar individual floating in the air holding none other than Robin in their hands. But the Alien Force all recognized him almost immediately. It was none other than Vilgax's most loyal servant.
"Psyphon!" Humungousaur exclaimed in anger.
"Hello Tennyson, it's been quite some time, hasn't it?" Psyphon greeted.
"Put Robin down, now!" Humungousaur demanded.
"Let her go you bastard!" Luffy screamed with an enraged look.
"You really should listen to him, skinny." Kevin advised.
Psyphon looked around. "So, these are the famous Straw Hat pirates, I've heard so much about. How… intriguing."
That took most of the group by surprise. "You've heard of us? How?" Nami questioned.
The grin on Psyphon's face was both cryptic and menacingly. "You'll learn soon enough." He then quickly pressed a button on hist wrist-device causing both him and Robin to disappear in a flash of light.
"No!" Zoro exclaimed as the group tried to rush in but they we're too late. Both Psyphon and Robin we're gone.
"Where are they? Where'd Robin-Chan go?!" Sanji looked around as the group set down on the ground, right as Humungousaur turned back into Ben.
"I don't know! I can't sense them anywhere!" Not even Gwen's mana sense could pick up a trail.
"They must have teleported, most likely back to the main ship." Tetrax assumed.
"Aah!" The group turned around to see Luffy on the ground, on his hands and knees. The captain now was seething with frustration and anger, so much so that he began to pound his fist on the ground repeatedly. "Damn it! Damn it!" He repeated with each punch. One of the members of his crew was just kidnapped, and there wasn't anything he could do about it.
Most of the Straw Hats looked towards Luffy in sympathy, knowing what he was probably thinking. Ben, while also having sympathy toward his comrade, looked up toward the sky in great concern. While Ben and his team didn't fully trust Robin, that didn't mean he wanted to see her in the clutches of his worst enemy.
"Hey, Ben!" The Omnitrix wielder was broken out of his thoughts as he turned to see Luffy now looking at him with narrowed eyes, "That guy said he knew you, what does he want with Robin?! Why did he kidnap her?!"
The rest of the Alien Force then noticed that the other members of the crew were also watching them with a variety of emotions.
"Ugh. I was really hoping we could avoid this." Ben said as he pinched his nose.
"This is none of their concern, Ben." Rook pointed out.
"Uh, I'm pretty sure it is. Or didn't you notice that one of our crew got kidnapped right in front of us?" Ben refuted, "Now this entire world is in trouble because of our mistake. They deserve to know the truth."
Ben then walked right up to Luffy, "Okay, Luffy. I'll tell you everything you need to know. But first, we need to make sure everyone else is okay, that last fight really did a number on us."
There was a bit of a pause before Luffy nodded in response as he ordered the rest of the Straw Hats to head back to the ship.
AN: Done. Yeah, it took a while to get this chapter, considering I've been preoccupied with some personal stuff that I don't want to get into right now. I wanted this fight to go longer but changed my mind since the villains were meant to serve as a distraction to the real threat of this arc.
A special shoutout to Bigby the Bad Wolf as well as some other authors you may recognize. This story was originally his after all, so it seems appropriate to have these crossovers loosely connected in some way. Also, I took some cues from 5 Years Later too. And no, there won't be any more crossovers if that's what you're thinking.
So, it would seem that Psyphon has successfully kidnapped Robin, but for what purpose? What is Vilgax's goal here? Why is Eon recommending Vilgax for the title of Warlord? And how will the Straw Hats react once they find out the whole truth?
What will happen next? Find out with the next chapter coming soon.