Ben X Chapter 32
Abominatrix Arc
DED Site One
The newly reformed Team Gamma sat in uncomfortable silence as their ship rocketed towards Azmuth's mysterious dumping ground for his failed experiments. DED Site One he called it. The Great Thinker told them that the site would be perilous even without Eon's interference. But for most of the group, their minds did not lay on their destination, but what they left behind. Many of them agreed with Manny's assessment of Ben, that he was not in his right frame of mind. But they also wondered if it could have been handled better. After all Ben was a friend to them. He had reunited Pierce with Manny and Helen, if only briefly. He had helped them all before. Was it right for them to abandon him like that? The question hung unspoken in the air. Manny did his best to ignore everyone's stares, instead focusing on polishing and prepping his pistols. Alan stood gazing out at the passing stars and nebulas. Cooper similarly was hunched over prepping some device or another with his powers while Lucy sat awkwardly next to him. Helen was trying to sit silently but her natural affinity for fidgeting betrayed her. Her leg bounced up and down at inhuman speeds while she played with her thumbs. All in all, the atmosphere of the shuttle was tense, for more reasons than one. The obvious reason for their apprehension was that of Eon, a foe so powerful that even Ben had trouble defeating him. But Ben's condition was also on their minds. Feeling restless, Helen decided to speak up.
"Are we not gonna talk about strategy?" She asked.
"We show up, we kick his butt, we save the sword. What's there to discuss?" Manny grunted. Helen rolled her eyes in exasperation.
"Come on Manny! You're always like this. You know it won't be that simple." Helen responded.
"Why not?" Manny shot back.
"Even Ben had difficulty fighting him!" Helen argued. But Manny only scoffed.
"How many times do we gotta go over this. Ben wasn't in his right frame of mind. He's compromised. That's why he lost. That's all there is to it. With all of us working together there's no way Eon will stand a chance." Manny said emphatically.
"I don't know Manny," Lucy spoke up. "You weren't there. From what I saw Ben was trying his best. I've known my cousin for a long time and I've never seen him fight that hard before, at least up until Eon started playing his mind games." She admitted. Manny glanced over at her, looking her up and down.
"How exactly are you related to Ben again?" He asked.
"He's my second cousin-in-law once removed." She replied simply. Manny and the rest of the group stared at her blankly.
"Right… well I still think you're biased cuz he's family." Manny said gesturing to her. Lucy pouted and was about to retort again before Cooper's voice cut through the air, uncharacteristically rough.
"Enough." He called out. "Manny, I agree with you, Ben wasn't himself and I think he needs time to get his head on straight. But at the same time we should come up with a strategy to take on Eon. He's not an opponent that will go down easily." Cooper said.
"I agree with Coop." Alan finally spoke up. "I came on this mission because I was asked for my help but I was ready to put the Plumber life behind me. I'm not just gonna rush in blindly and risk getting myself killed. All I really want to do is go back and help my mom on the farm, live a normal life." He said.
"Yeah? Well at least you've got that option. You can still pass for human, but me and Helen, we're stuck looking like this. We don't have a choice." Manny said angrily.
"Manny…" Helen tried to quell him.
"You can always use ID masks?" Cooper tried to suggest helpfully.
"Yeah, and look how well that worked out for Pierce." Manny muttered. But the room stilled as Helen stood up and smacked Manny across the face. He looked up and stared at her. She was on the brink of tears and her hand shifted from a striking position to a gentle caress on his cheek. She moved in closer to him and whispered against his ear.
"Manny please. You know I don't care what you look like. It's what's on the inside that counts. So long as we're together, that's what's important." She said gently. Manny couldn't help but sigh.
"You're right, as usual. I'm sorry Helen." He said putting a hand over hers. But his attention was drawn as he saw the rest of their group smirking knowingly at them. Manny coughed awkwardly, breaking the tension. "You guys know I'm no good at the tactical stuff. I'll leave that to Helen." He finished with a blush on his already red skin. Helen smiled at him one last time before standing up and making her way over to the ship's main console.
"First we'll have to take a look at the schematics of the DED site." She said bringing up a holographic display of the station's blue prints. The DED site was a large spherical sattellite with several long antenna spokes arrayed around its circumference. As Helen manipulated the holograph they saw many different chambers and hallways that were labelled and sealed off. The center of the station held a blinking light that indicated their target.
"First we'll have to navigate through the station, inputting security codes as we go. Otherwise the station's defenses will activate. Then once we reach the central chamber where the sword is being held, we'll set up a defensive position around it." Helen explained. "Once we set up our base of operations we can tap into the site's defensive array and prepare for Eon's arrival. The key thing will be holding him off from accessing Ascalon." Helen elaborated.
"What if he's there before us?" Alan asked with a somber tone. The room fell quiet as they contemplated that implication.
"Then we just have to stop him from leaving and take back the sword." Helen responded.
"In other words, back to my plan." Manny said proudly.
"But hopefully we can make our way to Ascalon long before Eon." Helen reiterated.
"Where exactly is the sword located?" Lucy asked reviewing the schematics.
"The core of the DED site. Why?" Helen responded. Lucy examined the holograph in front of her before glancing upwards. Her face paled as she took in the sight in front of her.
"Because I don't think getting there will be as easy as you think." She said quietly. The group of Plumbers turned their attention to the central view screen as an absolutely massive space station came into view. A large cloak dissipated as they came within range of the site. Like the hologram it was spherical with several large spires extending out into space. Large exhaust ports were placed around the structure allowing for the possibility of thrust. In the depths of space it glowed with several blinking lights. Despite Azmuth's express permission for them to be here, the group could not help but feel like they were intruding in a place that they didn't belong. But the thing which grabbed their attention the most were the several turrets on the surface which swiveled to their ship. They began powering up charged beams of energy and shooting at their ship. The first projectile to hit rattled the ship and jarred them into action.
"Transmit the pass codes!" Cooper yelled above the blaring of alarms. Helen raced to the console and began inputting the codes in at a rapid speed. Meanwhile Manny grabbed the steering column and twisted it, desperately trying to out maneuver the turret fire. As Helen finished her work the lights flashed green on the console. Suddenly the turrets powered down. Team Gamma breathed a collective sigh of relief.
"Man, Azmuth wasn't kidding about this place being dangerous." Alan observed absentmindedly as Manny steered them into a landing dock.
"It makes me think. What does he have hidden away in here that he's so desperate to protect?" Lucy commented. "A site this big is overkill for just Ascalon. What other dangerous devices do you think are inside?" She asked. The group was quiet as they contemplated the question.
"I guess we're gonna find out." Manny replied as he completed the final landing procedures.
The group of Plumbers exited the craft onto the landing dock. The hangar was small, clearly intended for only one ship at a time. But despite this, the overall structure of the place was still large and imposing. The group made their way into the bowels of the DED site, climbing stairs, traversing passages, and rounding corners. All the while they followed the holographic map leading them further and further into the compound. Finally they emerged into a large and long hallway filled with many large secure doors. Each of the doors were labelled with a combination of letters and numbers that decreased sequentially down the hallway. They gazed around at the impressive archways and vault doors that lined the halls. But while the majority of the group were either astounded or confused by the layout of the compound and it's many doors, Cooper felt a distinct uneasiness settle in his heart. His fear did not go unnoticed by Lucy.
"Coop? Are you alright?" She asked putting a hand to his shoulder. Cooper shook his head.
"This place feels… wrong, dangerous. I can sense a lot of machines here. It's almost like they're calling out? But they all feel dangerous and powerful. We should be on our guard here. Try not to touch anything that isn't related to Ascalon." Cooper warned them. The group exchanged glances before nodding.
"If that's the case we should get busy inputting the security codes." Alan said as he walked over to a console jutting out from the wall. He began punching in numbers into the keyboard. The remainder of Gamma Team stayed close by, knowing that the station's security would activate if they tried to advance any further. But it was only a few minutes into the procedure when a loud crash rocked the station.
"Alan!?" Manny chastised.
"I didn't do it I swear!" Alan said raising his hands defensively.
"No! Look!" Helen shouted pointing upwards. An array of display screens floated in the air above them depicting various camera angles. Outside the station a red and black blur flew between laser turret fire, shooting back at the turrets in retaliation. It crashed into the side of the station, puncturing a hole through the thick steel walls like a bullet. The view changed to the interior of the station where the pile of red, black, and yellow goo slowly reformed into the visage of Malware, the abominatrix symbol worn squarely where Malware's eye would be. Immediately, Malware-Eon thrust his techno-organic fist into the nearest console, his infectious protoplasm spreading through the systems. He laughed maniacally as he used Albedo's knowledge of DED site one to disable it's defenses instantly. Suddenly he detached himself from the console and turned his vision upwards directly into the camera.
"I know you're here…" He whispered menacingly. "I wonder, which of us will reach the sword first?" He said before bringing a hand up to palm the abominatrix symbol. In a flash of sickly violet light he transformed into Aggregor. "See you at the finish line. Or not. Hahahaha!" He laughed and began to race down the corridor.
"We've got to stop him!" Manny shouted intent on racing off.
"But the defenses are still up for us! We'll never be able to reach the central chamber before him!" Lucy noted.
"Cooper can't you just use your powers and shut everything down?" Alan asked desperately. Cooper's face steeled with resolve as he approached the console. He placed his hand on the touch pad and closed his eyes to focus. A spark of blue and white electricity raced over his palm and he grimaced in pain. Suddenly the console shot up in sparks and Cooper was forced to withdraw his hand.
"It's no good. This place is too large. It would take me too long to override everything all at once. Not to mention that Eon has already screwed with some of the circuitry." He explained nursing his wounded hand.
"Then we don't have a choice, we'll have to split up." Helen said decisively.
"What?" Manny asked.
"Alan and I are the fastest members of our team. With any luck we can run by the defenses and make it to the central chamber before Eon. Then we just need to hold him off until you guys arrive behind us." Helen explained her plan. But Manny shook his head.
"No way it's too dangerous." Manny insisted.
"Manny we don't have time to argue." Helen pleaded. "Cooper can shut things down as you guys go along. Maybe we can still salvage the situation." She said.
"I've already got the system mainframe pulled up here." Cooper said gesturing to his wrist mounted data device. Manny's jaw set. He didn't like this plan. But Helen was right, they didn't have any other choice. He released a sigh before placing a hand on Helen's shoulder.
"Go, but be safe." He said. Helen smiled back at him and nodded before she ran off in the direction of the central chamber. A moment later Alan fired up and took off after her, spewing rocket like flames from his hands and feet. The pair raced off down the long corridor.
"Follow my lead Alan!" Helen shouted with barely a glance over her shoulder as she ran. Alan nodded even though he knew her attention was focused on what laid in front of them. Almost immediately a large number of turrets sprouted from the walls and floors ahead of them. But with their powers the projectiles and energy blasts were easily dodged. Cooper, Lucy, and Manny watched them race off with worried expressions as the turrets and weapons turned their targets towards them.
The trio of plumbers raced down a side corridor, narrowly avoiding the laser fire from the turrets. They would have to take a more circuitous path to the center of the DED site. They hoped to avoid much of the site's defenses as they did so. They climbed down stairwells, ducked into hallways, and descended elevator shafts as they slowly made their way into the heart of the base. All the while Cooper was desperately trying to breach firewalls and hack into the mainframe to shut down the defenses that laid in their path. It felt like every second was time wasted. They had no way of knowing if Eon had already reached the core and stolen the sword. And while they could track Alan and Helen through their plumber badges, the base was still enormous, and their progress was impeded by defenses. Finally as they were sneaking past another group of drone guards, a call from Cooper split the air.
"Wait! Guys I think I got it!" Cooper yelled triumphantly. Smiles lit up the faces of Lucy and Manny. They no longer had to slink around corners, and instead could head straight for their destination. Manny led them back into a main corridor and they proceeded to hightail it for the core. It seemed as though Cooper was truly successful. The defense drones and turrets began to deactivate at their approach.
However, they soon stopped short as they realized something was wrong. Ahead of them one of the large doors on the left of the corridor began to open. It let out a mechanical hiss and puff of air as the doors slid to the side. The group watched in apprehension as an enormous orange translucent blob emerged from within the chamber. It oozed out, it's bottom undulating forward much like the way a snail moves. Viscous bubbles were held in suspension within the gelatin like body of the creature. It had no defined features to it, no obvious limbs or extremities. But despite this, the trio could not help feeling worried as the top of the massive goo creature turned to them, like its head was examining them.
"Uh, Cooper? What is that thing buddy?" Manny asked concerned and leveling his pistols at the creature.
"More importantly, how did it get out?" Lucy asked adopting a stance that was ready to fight or flee at a moment's notice. Cooper, panicked, looked down at his wrist computer, wildly scrolling through walls of code at superhuman speeds. Trying to figure out where he went wrong. Each minute that passed by though meant that the orange blob grew closer and closer to them.
"I – I – I don't know. The logs only refer to it by an experiment number? It seems like it might be some kind of biological cleaning agent?" He tried to supply helpfully.
"What kind of place needs a maid that big?" Manny asked incredulously as the blob continued to advance at them, picking up speed and bending closer to inspect them.
"Okay, still don't understand how it got out?" Lucy began to ask in a panicked tone.
"I think, when I shut down the security systems, it also unlocked the doors?" Cooper guessed.
"Hey back off!" Manny shouted as the blob came within arms reach. He fired a short burst into the creature. The blob recoiled instantly and vibrated with a curdled scream that was surprisingly sharp and loud.
"Great now you've pissed it off!" Cooper yelled.
"At least I wasn't the one who let it out!" Manny yelled back.
"Guys focus!" Lucy called as the blob began rearing back. The bubble like particles held in it's body began to vibrate and multiply. It shot forward a glob of thick viscous amber goo that narrowly missed them and splattered across the ground. The group watched in awe and horror as the material began to liquefy and turned to an acid which dissolved the metal ground.
Manny didn't wait. He raised his pistols again and fired off volleys into the creature. The beast squirmed under the intense shots before surging forward towards them. It began leaving trails of acid in its wake which corroded the metal walls and floors. Manny was about to fire again before a hand grabbed him by one of his wrists and twisted him, pulling him along. The trio soon found themselves running from the acidic blob monster, away from their initial destination. They hoped to outrun the creature but it was suprisingly swift. Its enormous size meant it was easily able to keep up with them.
"Anyone else have any bright ideas?" Lucy asked sarcastically as they ran from it.
"Can't you like talk to it or something?" Manny asked. Lucy was immediately offended and she scowled at Manny even as they ran for their lives.
"Oh what? You think just because we might look similar that means I can communicate with this thing?" Lucy asked insulted.
"I don't know? Maybe?" Manny responded, firing off another few shots behind him.
"Oh we are absolutely going to have a talk after this is finished." Lucy threatened.
"Guys I think I might have an idea how to beat it." Cooper said breaking through the argument.
"We're all ears babe!" Lucy said.
"We have to lure him to a specific chamber. There's something in there I think might be able to beat it." Cooper said.
"You think?" Manny asked back sarcastically.
"Hey if you've got a better plan then let's hear it." Cooper shot back. But Manny only shook his head and deferred to the technopath. "But first we'll need to slow it down some. I'll need time to work on the device." Cooper said breathlessly.
"Go ahead, I'll try to hold him off." Lucy said as she turned back to the monster.
"Lucy…" Cooper spoke with concern but Lucy reassured him with a simple smile and squeeze of the hand. Cooper and Manny ran off ahead while Lucy stayed behind, staring the giant ooze creature down.
Lucy began to liquefy, her human form starting to turn to sludge at her elbows. She raised her arms and shot forth a torrent of sludge at the walls and floor. Thick piles of the gunk began to collect on the once spotless metal floor. She hoped that the extra material would slow down the creature's advance. As she completed her task she stood back and watched as the creature approached the six foot wide puddle of her sludge. Initially she was hopeful as the ooze monster paused just before the barrier. But her hopes were dashed as the creature moved forward unperturbed. At first the sludge did appear to slow the creature down, but soon the edges of the sludge in contact with the monster began to burn away. The acid soaked into the sludge and broke it down. Lucy couldn't help but grimace as she imagined that happening to her own body.
She raised her arms again and threw a glob of sludge at the creature. The ball of muck sailed right into what would be the creature's head. The weight of the gunk caused it's head to roll backwards slightly while also continuing to slow it down. But the ooze was relentless, it continued to steam roll over the sludge and liquefy whatever was in it's path. Lucy could see the creature actually absorbing the sludge into it's body. The purple globs of her floated among the tangerine colored goo of the monster. She watched in sick fascination as the goo dissolved her sludge and absorbed it. She realized that the ooze monster was nearly through her barrier. She needed to buy Cooper more time. She ran ahead of the monster creating more barriers of sludge across the ground while simultaneously tossing sludge bombs at the creature's main body.
The ooze monster sped up, almost as though it was adapting to the sludge. Lucy continued to try her best to hold the creature back. However it was quickly becoming apparent that her obstacles were no longer hindering the beast. She backed up in the direction of Manny and Cooper, still determined to try and hold the beast off. However the ooze monster began to retaliate by slinging its own globs. The ooze splattered across the ground at Lucy's feet and immediately began to corrode the steel. Knowing she was outgunned, Lucy made a tactical retreat. She sprinted in the direction of Cooper and Manny, spreading a few more puddles of sludge as she went for good measure, but knowing that it was ultimately futile.
"Have you guys got it working? Because big orange and ugly is coming this way fast." Lucy said panting.
"Almost done, just need a few more minutes." Cooper said as his hands flew over a large cylindrical device. Numbers and letters scrolled across his eyes as he concentrated. Manny stood by at the door as Lucy came in. He gripped his pistols grimly and looked at the approaching monster.
"Coop, this thing is getting real close." He said in warning.
"I'm going as fast as I can. You just need to stall it for a few more seconds." Cooper replied.
"I don't know how we're going to manage that. It adapted to the sludge I was throwing down. I think it'll bowl right through whatever we throw at it." Lucy said tiredly. But Manny, unperturbed headed to the side of the chamber.
"We don't have to stop it completely, we've just gotta slow it down." He said before grabbing a large crate with two of his impressive arms. He tossed the crate at the creature where it burst on impact and slowed it down for just a minute. While it was still stunned Manny opened fire with his pistols. Lucy followed suit and opened fire as well. The creature rippled with pain but continued to advance. Manny headed back inside before emerging with another set of crates. He tossed them at the monster again. By this point the creature had nearly reached the doors to the chamber. Lucy and Manny retreated back inside just as Cooper called that he was finished.
The orange blob continued to slide its way across the floor. It ducked down into the chamber and began to spread out. The inside of the chamber was dark and cold. With it's limited senses the blob could not anticipate what was about to happen next. The large cylinder that was in the center of the room began to rotate, generating an electrical charge. The room lit up with flashes of blue white light as the electricity sparked off the spinning dynamo. Suddenly the electricity shot forth like a lightning bolt at the creature. It trembled violently as the electricity coursed through its body. Finally the ooze creature collapsed into a puddle of burnt brown organic material. The trio of heroes took a second to catch their breath. The beast was defeated, finally. They turned to each other with satisfied but unsure smiles.
"Man, I really hate this place." Cooper announced tiredly.
"Come on, we've still gotta catch up with Helen and Alan." Manny announced before sprinting out of the room, followed shortly by Lucy and Cooper.
Alan panted heavily, bent over with arms on his knees. His flame was nearly extinguished, his energy reserves nearly used up from flying down the halls of the immense complex they were in. Yet still they had not reached the core where Ascalon lie. He glanced over at Helen who appeared none worse for wear. They had paused to allow him a breather after defeating a large security sentry. The robotic giant laid in a smoking pile behind them, servos sparking and burning. Alan breathed deeply, trying to stoke the fires within him. The delay from the robot was not something they needed. It had taken them too long to beat the machine, which meant even more time for Eon to gain a lead on them. Now with him taking the time to recover that gap seemed to be growing ever larger. The race to Ascalon was quickly shaping up to be one they would lose.
"You should – go ahead of me – just leave me – here." Alan voiced his thoughts through gulps of air. Helen looked at him shocked and incredulous before shaking her head.
"No way. I'm not leaving you." She insisted. She came over and went to place a reassuring hand on the shoulder but thought better of it seeing the flames coursing over his skin.
"Helen, I'm only going to slow you down." Alan tried to persuade her.
"We don't know what else we're going to run into on the way there. I'm not gonna leave you alone to face them." She responded.
"Just forget about me okay! Eon and the sword are more important." He said.
"It's okay Alan. With our speed we've got the advantage over Eon. We can afford to take a minute for you to catch your breath." Helen said, rebuking his earlier assumption. Alan sighed.
"If I had actually kept up practicing with my powers like you and Manny we wouldn't be in this position right now." Alan lamented. Helen frowned and stood next to him, leaning back against the wall to rest.
"Alan, it's not a bad thing that you chose to try and live a normal life. That doesn't mean you aren't a valued friend and member of this team. I'm glad that at least one of us had the opportunity to do it." Helen said quietly. Alan looked at her with a curious expression. "You know Manny and I have thought about leaving the force to live normally, or at least as normally as possible. We all know how confusing that can be with our situation. I don't think any less of you for wanting that Alan. And I know Manny feels the same way. Us three have to stick together, we're the only ones that know what we've gone through. But the point is that we trust you with our lives, and we'd never abandon you." She finished. Alan started at her amazed. He never realized that Helen felt that way. The speedster turned back to Alan with a smile on her face.
"Now come on. Let's go beat Eon to the sword. We've just got one more push. I know you can do it." She encouraged him. Alan smiled back and breathed deeply before erupting into fire. The pair nodded to each other before taking off down the hallway. The duo raced forward at incredible speed that only they could achieve. As they sped through the corridors the complex's many defenses started to activate. Many of them they were able to speed past with no issue. However a few turrets and lasers popped up in front of them, forcing them to adopt evasive maneuvers while making their way forwards. Alan tossed fireballs ahead of them, causing the machines to explode in a burst of sparks and scrap metal. Helen burst through the clouds of debris at frightening speeds, a blur of blue and black.
At last they reached the core of DED site 1. They struggled to slow themselves down in time to safely stop. Helen quickly sealed the chamber doors shut behind them, inputting the proper security codes as she did so. The doors sealed shut a second later. They had done it. They had beaten Eon to the core. Alan and Helen smiled at each other and high fived over their success. With a moment to breathe they finally took in their surroundings. The chamber they were in was large and circular with curved walls and banks of computers and controls against the walls. The entire room was lit by an orange glow coming from the backside of the chamber. On the far wall, inset behind a pane of thick glass was the sword Ascalon. The silvery steel blade, although deactivated, still commanded presence in the overly large chamber.
Helen instantly went over to the control panels, inputting commands at lightning quick speeds. Displays lit up along the walls showing different maps and schematics of the station as well as status bars and energy readouts. Two blinking dots appeared on the map of the DED site, each of them rapidly approaching the core. The red dot clearly representing Eon and the green dot their friends. Helen frowned as she studied the schematics. At the rate Eon was moving he would reach the core much sooner than the rest of their team. That meant that she and Alan would have to hold him off long enough for them to arrive for backup. Alan and Helen frantically began trying to activate the DED site's defenses from the core and prepare for Eon's arrival. They watched Eon through the numerous security cameras helplessly. Despite the large size of the facility, Azmuth's DED site was not as well defended as they hoped. They could only watch as Eon in the form of Ghostfreak phased through most of the turret fire. They stood ready, watching the sealed doors with bated breath, ready for Eon to emerge at any minute.
They didn't have to wait long. Ghostfreak-Eon phased through the thick steel doors easily. Alan immediately tossed a fireball in his direction, but the Ectonurite form was able to avoid it easily. He floated above them tauntingly as they fired plasma shots and flame bursts ineffectively at him. Eon laughed, the sound coming out harsh and haunting through Ghostfreak's voice. Ghostfreak-Eon floated over to the sword hung from the wall. His single eye widened in delight as he approached. His long talon fingers reached out for the sword, finger tips about to brush its cold steel. Suddenly a searing burning pain caused him to recoil. He turned to the side to see Alan hovering near the sword and burning brightly like a sun. Ghostfreak-Eon hissed and backed up. His twisted mouth grinned wickedly as he palmed the Abominatrix symbol. In a flash of purple light he transformed into Vilgax, dropping to the ground with a loud crash.
Vilgax-Eon glanced back up at Alan and fired twin rays of energy from his eyes. The laser beams impacted Alan and blasted him backwards. Vilgax-Eon smiled through his tentacles and moved to claim his prize, but he was interrupted by a blur impacting into his chest. He stumbled backwards half a step as his eyes caught onto Helen. Now with a solid target Helen was able to attack her opponent with lightning speed. She ran circles around him, taunting him by pausing just long enough for Eon to try and swipe at her before effortlessly darting away. In between each swipe of Vilgax's powerful arms Helen landed strikes of her own. She alternated between punches, kicks, and pistol blasts. Each successive attack seemed to only enrage Vilgax-Eon more. That was her desired effect though. Helen knew that she didn't have room to build up enough speed to land a solid hit. She could only hope to distract him long enough for the others to get here for back-up. But alas her plan would not last. In a fit of fury Vilgax-Eon screamed aloud, his muscular arms breaking apart into several tentacles which lashed out in all directions. Helen was going too fast to stop herself and ran straight into one of the undulating appendages. The tentacle instantly curled around her and Vilgax-Eon soon had her caught in his crushing grip. Helen squirmed and cried out painfully as her middle section was squeezed relentlessly.
Vilgax-Eon smiled wickedly down at her. But before he could finish her off a burst of flame impacted the side of his head. He reflexively lost his grip on the smaller woman and shielded himself from a pummeling barrage of fireballs. Alan flew fiercely into Vilgax-Eon's chest, abandoning his fireballs to aim punches straight at his torso. His hands burned fiercely, scorching Vilgax's flesh and causing the villain to cry out in pain. He swiped at the pyronite hybrid and slammed him into the ground. Helen raced to Alan's rescue, moving him away from a follow up strike before launching a counter attack of her own. Alan and Helen then began fighting Eon in earnest. They alternated attacks, trying to keep the maniac off balance and avoid his superior strength. But eventually even their attacks succumbed to his powerful strikes. Vilgax caught them both by their feet before slamming them into the ground where they laid painfully and tired.
Vilgax-Eon huffed a breath and took another step towards the sword before he was interrupted yet again by a round of laser fire from behind him. He turned around just in time to see Manny flying towards him through the air. With a wicked double cross, Manny punched Vilgax-Eon square in the face sending him stumbling backwards. He tried to counter but found his feet stuck to the floor by a puddle of sludge. He glanced upwards to see Lucy had transformed her fist into a large mace which swung straight into his torso. He grunted as the attack impacted him. Cooper followed up with a barrage of laser fire from a makeshift exoskeleton with robotic gauntlets. Vilgax-Eon grunted as he took the attacks, dropping to a single knee as both Helen and Alan recovered and rejoined the fight. Together they fought Eon with everything they had. Alan and Cooper alternated fire and lasers to burn at Vilgax-Eon's skin. Manny continued to pummel his exposed backside, causing him to cry out painfully. Lucy shot fountains of sludge to restrain his limbs and weigh him down even as he struggled to get away. He fired lasers from his eyes but with so many targets it was hard to aim. But the coup de grace came as Helen came speeding down the hallway, having built up enough speed to turn her kick into a rocket delivered square to his face. Vilgax-Eon was knocked backwards and he groaned as he regained his senses. When he looked up he saw all five of the plumbers standing over him threateningly with weapons at the ready.
Vilgax-Eon paused as he took in the sight before him. He closed his eyes and chuckled to himself. "You all think you've won don't you?" Eon spoke through Vilgax's tired voice. The group didn't respond to his taunt, continuing to watch him attentively. "But this fight has just begun!" He shouted before slamming on the Abominatrix symbol. In an instant he had transformed into the smaller form of Aggregor. Before any of them could react he twisted the Abominatrix symbol on his chest and another flash of light exploded outwards. The team paused as they took in the new form that stood before them. "Did you really think I wouldn't include Albedo's Ultimatrix function in my own designs?" Asked Eon now in the form of Ultimate Aggregor.
The team leaped into action but the hybrid alien acted faster. The chest plates on his torso opened up and a strong gust of wind blew the plumbers tumbling backwards. Before any of them had a chance to recover Ultimate Aggregor slammed his fist into the ground eliciting a quake which caused cracks to spread along the steel floor and dislodged much of the structures and devices in the room. The group desperately dodged to avoid the falling debris. But in their distraction they didn't notice as Ultimate Aggregor began attacking them with bursts of his elemental abilities. He shot a fountain of water at Lucy, which caused her to be rolled backwards and lose her stability as she struggled to maintain her cohesiveness. A bolt of electricity shot out towards Cooper, short circuiting his exoskeleton and causing him to convulse painfully as hundreds of volts passed through his body. He collapsed unconsciously to the ground as Lucy reached out to him, dripping parts of her skin to the floor. From his eyes a beam of nuclear heat scorched Manny and Helen causing them both to scream in agony as their skin burned and blistered. Alan screamed in fury as he tried to save his closest friends by intercepting the heat ray. But Ultimate Aggregor grinned savagely and switched to a gout of water, immediately extinguishing the fiery human. Alan struggled to his feet and desperately tried to re-ignite before he was kicked squarely in the chest. He collided with the far wall and slumped to the ground unconscious. Ultimate Aggregor turned to both Manny and Helen who were still attempting to fight. He slammed a heavy foot onto Helen's legs, causing her to cry out in agony as she felt her bones break. Manny roared in anger and grasped the leg, lifting it off her, only to be backhanded to the floor. Undeterred Manny shot to his feet only to be grasped by Ultimate Aggregor and feel a surge of electricity flow through his body, causing him to go unconscious.
With all his opponents either unconscious or incapacitated Eon finally turned to the far wall. He smiled ecstatically as he grasped the sword. He examined the inert steel blade. Despite the sword having been deactivated he could still sense Dagon's soul trapped within the offending object. He sheathed the sword on his back and stepped over the defeated plumbers, making his way to the exit. Team Gamma remained motionless on the floor for at least a half an hour before they regained their wits and gathered themselves. They huddled together, attending their wounds and commiserating together. They were silent for a long while as they realized that Eon had soundly defeated them and escaped with the sword. Their mission had failed and they were all too injured to go after Eon in pursuit of the sword. Silently, they picked each other up and all limped back to their starship, their defeat stinging worse than their wounds.
A/N: I want to take a moment to thank reviewer BenG0j2oo8 for their very flattering review. It means a whole lot to me, and honestly I've toyed with the idea of an original story for a while, but that's still far in the future. I do have some unfortunate news though for this story going forward. I've tried my best to update this story weekly but with my buffer of chapters nearly empty I've decided to switch the update schedule to every 2 weeks. I figured that this would be better than an outright hiatus while I work on the rest of the story. Like I said we're still kind of at the halfway point and there is much more story to tell. Thanks for all your understanding.