Chapter 8: Aching Bad
(Warning: There will be a bit of abuse in this chapter, so this might not be for the very lighthearted)
Reboot Kevin was currently on Khyber's ship doing push-ups until Khyber came in.
"That is more than enough training for today Kevin," Khyber said.
"More like less than enough," Kevin said, "I must train harder if I'm going to give Tennyson what he deserves."
"Your anger is your deadliest weapon, but it is also your deadliest weakness," Khyber said, "You will have your revenge, but you need to contain your rage and let it out as a weapon of carnage when the time is right. Patience is the ally of many deadly warriors."
"Yes Sir," Kevin responded, "I'll get some rest."
Kevin knew that Khyber was to be obeyed. Many of his teachings were helpful in more ways than one. One of these teachings was to obey him or suffer the consequences.
Kevin opened the door to his quarters and went inside. His quarters were a decently sized room with green walls, a yellowish floor, and a green ceiling with a fluorescent light, all metallic looking except the light. There was a window on the wall parallel to the wall with the door. There was a small bed against the corner of the wall with a window, and the wall to the left of the door. There was a dresser parallel to the bed and a desk right next to it with a chair. The dresser had Kevin's phone and a Terroranchula skull on it and a Gimlinopithecus horn crest mounted above it. The desk had a lamp, some papers, and some drawing equipment such as pencils, a protractor, pens, a compass, and a ruler on it, along with a few small machine parts and tools such as a wrench, a screwdriver, and a hammer. A toolbox was right under the desk. There was a smaller drawer next to his bed cross-rail that was slightly taller than it. There was a digital clock and a few books on top of the drawer, and a few books in it. There was a Necrofriggian wing hung on the wall, above the bed. There was a mirror in the corner between the desk and the door.
Kevin got on his bed and laid his head on his pillow with his legs crossed in a comfortable position. He started pondering where he started and where he is now.
Flashback to 5 years ago…
A 6-year-old Kevin is seen playing in his room with a few action figures. He was wearing a white shirt, grey pants, and white socks.
One action figure he was holding looked like a teenage Caucasian boy with shaggy brown hair, wearing a stereotypical superhero costume. He wears frame-less blue goggles with horn-like extensions, a cyan shirt and white pants. He also dons a white cape. This was Ultra Man. (A mentioned congratulations to anyone who catches the reference in the costume)
The other action figure looked like a teenage girl with light purple hair with long twin tails. She wears a purple Japanese female school uniform, a bowtie, a purple ribbon belt, black skirt and top, a cat mask, light purple stockings and dark purple boots. This was Lucky Girl.
"We defeated the bad guys and saved the day," Kevin said, "Another heroic victory for Ultra Man and Lucky Girl."
Suddenly Kevin heard a knock on the door and put his action figures on his desk.
"Come in," Kevin said.
When the door opened there was a Caucasian woman with long, black hair and dark blue eyes. She wore purple jeans and a black, long-sleeved shirt. Her name was Maria Levin, Kevin's mother. She sat down on Kevin's bed and had an expression of sadness and discomfort.
"Hey Mom," Kevin said, "did you enjoy your night out?"
She didn't respond.
"Mom, what's wrong?" Kevin asked only to get no response, "If you're not going to answer then I'll just ask Dad."
"Kevin," Maria said, stopping him, "you can't do that."
"Why?" Kevin asked.
"Well… this… this isn't easy for me to explain to you but…" Maria started tearing up before she could finish what she was saying.
"But what?" Kevin asked.
"Your father is… he's no longer… he's no longer with us," Maria said, still holding back tears.
"He'll come back though right?" Kevin asked.
"Kevin… remember what I told you about Heaven?" Maria asked.
"Yeah," Kevin said.
"Your father's there… I'm sorry to say this but… he… died," Maria finished, still holding back tears.
"What?" Kevin asked, not believing what she said.
"He was killed stopping some muggers… he said he loved you and me… he… he..." Maria couldn't bring herself to finish that sentence.
"Nononononono! He's still here, he can't be dead!" Kevin rushed around the house to find his father, he even used his phone to call him but only got "We're sorry, but the person you are calling has been disconnected or is no longer in service". Kevin knew that he had to accept that his father was dead but he kept denying it and didn't want to believe it. He ran to his mother and hugged her while crying.
Things felt bleak for Kevin after the funeral. His senses were going off like crazy, but he couldn't hear anything. He didn't know if he would get over his father's death.
Fast forward to 4 years after the incident…
Kevin wasn't feeling very emotionally healthy, but he wasn't feeling depressed either. He was currently in the stage where he was accepting his father's death and getting over the trauma. He was playing a Sumo Slammers video game.
Maria knocked on the door, heard Kevin tell her to come in, and came in with an announcement.
"Hey Kevin, I have a little announcement to make," Maria said in a sympathetic and calm tone, "I am dating someone."
Kevin paused for a moment, he didn't know how to react. He was conflicted over being angry at her, or being happy for her. Eventually he decided.
"That's… That's great Mom, glad to see that you're getting out of depression too," Kevin said calmly.
"I think he has the potential to be a good stepfather for you, Sweetie," Maria said.
"What's his name?" Kevin asked.
"His name is Harvey Hackett," Maria said.
After a few more dates, Kevin finally got to meet Harvey for the first time. Harvey was a tall man with pale skin, blue eyes and he is partially bald with black hair on the sides of his head. He wore a white t-shirt under a light blue shirt, black shoes, and light-grey pants with a black belt.
Kevin greeted him with a friendly and somewhat enthusiastic attitude. However, Harvey didn't seem to act as friendly and brushed off the greeting. He didn't even give Kevin a handshake. He just sat on the couch and turned on the TV.
"Kevin, I know that Harvey can be a bit… difficult, but I have faith that he can be a great father for you," Maria said.
Little did Maria know about how wrong she was. Over the course of the years, Harvey was usually a lazy, irresponsible, and rude jerk towards her and Kevin. Maria still held onto hope because she wanted something to work out. We are greeted to a few flashback scenes from Harvey living with Kevin and Maria.
Flashback 1…
Kevin had just arrived home from school on a Friday night. He was hoping Harvey would take him to Adrenaland for the weekend.
"Hey, Harvey," Kevin greeted, "Can you take me to Adrenaland tomorrow? I've been waiting a long time to go and I've been acing my tests so…"
Harvey took a drink from his third beer before saying, "Find someone who cares. I already have plans to go to the bar."
"But Mom has to spend the weekend working, and you alway brush off my requests," Kevin said.
"Don't care. Now leave me to the TV and my beverages," Harvey said.
"Okay," Kevin said in a disappointed tone.
Flashback 2…
Kevin was in his room playing a Sumo Slammers game when suddenly Harvey barged in, surprising Kevin.
"Dude, this is the fourth time you don't knock. I even put up a sign," Kevin said in a slightly angered tone.
"Don't care boy, your privacy ain't worth nothing. Now I know you took my cards, now give them to me!" Harvey said.
"What cards?" Kevin asked.
"Don't play dumb with me I know you took them," Harvey said.
"Let me guess. You misplaced something and you're putting the blame on me as always," Kevin said, "just like when you said I took your wallet, when it was just in your pocket. Or the time you came home from the bar and blamed how you trashed your car and yelled at me about it."
"I'm sick of your excuses Kevin," Harvey yelled.
Harvey then started breaking and throwing things in Kvein's room, in search of his cards. When Kevin retorted, Harvey punched him in the face, offscreen. After the incident, Kevin wore sunglasses.
Maria came home from work and noticed Kevin.
"Kevin, why are you wearing those sunglasses?" Maria asked only to get no response, "Kevin, would you mind removing them?"
Kevin ignored her, so she tried to take them off herself, but Kevin was persistent. Eventually, she took his glasses off, revealing he had a black left eye.
"Kevin! What happened?!" Maria asked in worry.
Kevin noticed Harvey, who was in the other room holding an empty glass bottle like a weapon, and didn't answer.
Flashback 3…
Kevin came home from school and heard Harvey and Maria arguing in the other room. Thankfully, his black eye healed by then. He went up into his room, did his homework, and laid awake in bed.
Flashback 4…
Kevin is currently at school at the cafeteria, eating his homemade lunch. A 9-year-old kid went up to him. He was wearing a white shirt with a black stripe, dark green cargo pants, white socks, and black and white low profile sneakers. His eyes are green, and his hair is brown. This is the Reboot version of a 9-year-old Ben Tennyson.
"Hi there," Ben said, "your Kevin right? Name's Ben, Ben Tennyson."
Ben extended his hand out for a handshake, but Kevin left him hanging.
"Okay, so how's your day?" Ben asked, trying to start a conversation.
Kevin just groaned and pushed him away. Ben got back up and still wanted to befriend him.
"Come on, aren't you at least going to say 'hello'? Maybe introduce yourself?" Ben asked.
Kevin just shoved Ben's face into his own tray. Ben left to wash his face and Kevin kept eating his lunch like nothing happened. After school, Kevin had been sent to the principal's office after what happened earlier. He realized that Ben had reported him and when he got out, he met up with Ben. Ben saw him and looked a bit nervous.
"Look buddy, I'm sorry about being a tattletale. But for the record, I still really want to be friends. I just felt offended earlier. What do you say? How 'bout we just forget about this, let bygones be bygones, and just be friends?" Ben said.
Kevin just pushed Ben before turning his back on him and saying, "If I see you again Loser, don't count on us being friends."
"What's his problem?" Ben thought to himself.
Flashback 5 (takes place before And Then There Were None)…
While traversing the multiverse with Vilgax to collect other evil Ben Tennysons, Albedo(in human form) was working on a little project. He had eleven vials, each containing blood samples of different aliens to his left on his desk. The first sample was red (Tetramand), the second looked like lava (Pyronite), the third was black and light blue and resembled a whirlpool (Kineceleran), the fourth resembled blue crystals (Petrosapien), the fifth was black and yellow (Arburian Pelarota), the sixth looked like plum colored sludge with purple circuitry (Galvanic Mechamorph), the seventh was grey with small orange spots grouped into a few small clusters (Galvan), the eighth looked like water (Cascan), the ninth looked green and plant-like (Florauna), the tenth was orange with light blue, cyan, and blue splotches (Lepidopterran), and the eleventh was red with grey and white spots (Chitancanine).
A twelfth sample in a small jar was on his right on the desk. This sample was a small, gray, rock-like substance, the size of a marble, with a bit of liquid oozing out of it. This liquid was a black sludge-like fluid with red line patterns resembling circuitry. This was a small DNA sample of a corrupted and mutated Galvanic Mechamorph.
Albedo has tested this piece of DNA, and although the donor has lost all sentience due to Ben turning into Feedback, their DNA sample had surprising results on not just technology, but biological organisms as well. Albedo had previously tested this DNA ooze on a shrub, and it turned said shrub into a much deadlier mutated version of itself. It had thorns, stronger branches, and it had venus fly-trap-like heads. Albedo turned into a version of Swampfire with dark reddish-brown skin, pale yellow petals, red eyes, and a red Ultimatrix symbol. He burnt the creature before it could harm him.
Right now, Albedo was working on blueprints for a new Omnitrix. He had all of the parts but he didn't have enough time, he was supposed to get involved in a plan to assassinate an alternate Ben Tennyson from a universe where the Omnitrix doesn't exist. So Albedo came up with an idea to have someone else build it. He used Eon's knowledge of the timelines and dimensions to find a worthy candidate. He teleported all of the necessary parts to their garage, digitized the instructions, and implanted them and the location of the parts in their brain. Albedo then went to get ready for Vilgax and Eon's plan to go into effect.
Meanwhile in Kevin's room…
Kevin was 11 years old. He was tossing and turning in his bed. When he woke up, he had the instructions that Albedo implanted in his mind. He drew down what he saw and went into the garage to build it. He found the DNA samples and a lot of machinery in a drawer and began building. When he finished what he was building, he had created a makeshift replica of the Omnitrix, with the dial symbol turned red and appearing in half, resembling a letter 'K', and with the addition of four metal protrusions ending in red lights. This was the Antitrix and Kevin put it on his left wrist and tested it out he tapped on the dial and turned into Hot Shot.
Transformation Sequence
Kevin's arms(except for his hands) were set ablaze and the rest of his body became very stone-like. When he burst out of the stone, his body was like magma and his head was scorching.
End of Transformation
"AAAH!" Hot Shot screamed when he witnessed his new form, "I'M ON FIRE! I'M ON FIRE! AAAAH!"
Hot Shot stopped screaming when he noticed that he wasn't feeling any pain.
"Hey, I'm on fire… and I'm okay," Hot Shot said, "Check me out, I'm totally Hot."
Hot Shot chuckled after that pun. Hot Shot experiments with his powers and even uses them to spell "Kevin" in the sky with fire. He sets up a few target dummies and blasts fireballs at all of them.
"Huh, this is just like that watch thing that Tennyson punk uses," Hot Shot said before turning back to normal. He went back inside to catch up on sleep.
Summer 10:00 AM…
After eating breakfast, Kevin goes into a forest to test out his other powers. He becomes Crystalfist and sets up crystal dummies. He posed like a cowboy before high-noon, and had a thin crystal shard in his mouth.
"This town ain't big enough for the both of us boys," Crystalfist said to the dummies, "So I suggests you's all skedaddle on out'a here before I sends you on a one way ticket into Hurtville."
After a few seconds, Crystalfist fired crystals at the dummies, destroying them. He created more dummies and turned his hands into blades.
"You chumps want a piece of me? Well then I give you all some! There's plenty of Crystalfist for everybody!"
Crystalfist then proceeds to destroy many of the dummies. He then turns into Quad Smack and tears three trees from the ground and juggles them.
"Man this is fun," Quad Smack said, "I can see why Tennyson likes this."
He turned into Undertow and tested his water abilities by pranking unsuspecting hikers, who apparently were kids at school he didn't like (except for Ben who was on a trip).
After about six hours of playing with his alien powers, Kevin came back home to find Harvey lying on the couch after drinking a bunch of beer.
"Oh hey Harvey," Kevin greeted in a cool and satisfied tone.
"Hey there Loser," Harvey harshly greeted.
Kevin was completely unfazed and asked, "So where's Mom?"
"Don't know, don't care. She's probably at that pathetic medical job of hers," Harvey said, "Said she's helping sick kids. I wouldn't do that. What have sick kids ever done for me?"
"Either way. I was hoping to show her this," Kevin said holding up the Antitrix.
Harvey saw the Antitrix and brushed it off, "Uh-huh. You built a wristwatch. Maybe someone at the dump will pay you a few bucks for it."
"I ain't selling this thing. It's the greatest thing I've ever got. Built it myself," Kevin said.
"If your invention is the best thing you've ever gotten, then that's just sad," Harvey rudely said.
"But check this out," Kevin said before turning into Rush.
"I call this guy Rush. Pretty cool, huh? I can turn into different aliens," Kevin said.
Harvey saw Kevin transform, but he still thought of him as a wuss.
"Oh so you can now transform!? Of course you would keep secrets from me!" Harvey said, "You are a freak regardless of this… thing you can do! You think I came here to be a father?! I came here to just have a roof over my head that didn't belong to my roommate! I can see you as whatever I want! You're still a piece of trash regardless of whether or not you have a tail!"
"But I-" Rush was about to talk back but was hit in the head by a glass bottle by Harvey.
"I've had it up to here with being a dad! Get lost you son of a cad!" Harvey yelled in anger.
Rush had tears in his eyes. Even with powers he could never have the power to enter Harvey's heart and see him as a father.
"Fine," Rush said before speeding off. He gathered all of his things and packed them up before going out of the house with his packed things. He took one last look at home before talking to himself.
"I'm such a problem for him? Fine! I just wanted to see him as a family for once. But I'm not going to stay where I'm not wanted. So… I guess this is it. I should probably leave a note for Mom. At least she will care," Rush said before speeding back in to write a note, leaving it on the counter, and speeding off with his stuff.
An hour later…
Maria had just come back from work.
"Man, what a day," she groggily said.
She hung her medical coat on the rack and went up to her bedroom, but stopped by Kevin's room to knock and tell her where she was.
"Kevin, Honey. If you need me, I'll be in the bed. I had a long day and I need to take a little lie down," She waited for him to answer, but she didn't hear her son, "Kevin?"
She opened the door to find that Kevin wasn't there, and neither was a lot of his stuff. She checked in her room, the living room, the attic, the basement, the bathroom, the guest room, the kitchen, everywhere in the house and in the yard.
"Where could he be?" Maria asked herself, getting worried.
She then came across a note on the counter. She noticed that it was in Kevin's handwriting and decided to read it.
Dear Mom,
Hi, just wanted to let you know that I created something amazing. I don't want to tell you what it is because I would rather have it be a surprise for you. Either way, Harvey said it was garbage. He said I was garbage. I know that you had hope that he could be a great dad, but I don't have that same kind of hope. I'm just glad you two aren't exactly married yet though. Harvey isn't anything that I would call a good father. He never missed an opportunity to make me feel miserable. He insults me, he neglects me, he abuses me, calls me names, gives me cruel punishments for no good reason. I've decided that I should probably stay away from him. But seeing as how telling him to leave is probably not an option, I think I'll be the one leaving. I just want to let you know that I love you. Harvey is a bad father, but you are a great mother. You've always been there when I needed you and you worked so hard to keep a roof over my head, because Harvey wouldn't work a day in his life. You always cared for me and treated me like the center of the world. I know I often get worked up about how you talk down to me and reminisce about when I was little, but I'm glad that you remembered those great, simple times. I just hope that you can live without me, without a reason for Harvey to be such a jerk. I love you very much, and I wish you could have come along with me.
Love,
Kevin Levin
Maria had tears in her eyes after reading the letter. After realizing that her own son had run away because she made the mistake of letting Harvey into their house. She ran outside and screamed for her son.
"KEVIN!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, crying her eyes out.
She knew that it was probably futile because he was probably long gone by now, but she still tried. Her sadness turned to anger however, when she decided to confront the reason for Kevin's departure.
Harvey was sleeping on the couch like the slob he was.
"HARVEY HACKETT!" Maria yelled before hitting him on the head with a book, waking him up.
"GOD! WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM WOMAN!?" Harvey yelled in anger.
"Explain what this is!" Maria asked, holding up the note.
"A note that was probably written by some piece of garbage," Harvey answered.
"Read it, you stain," Maria ordered.
Harvey read the note and realized what it meant.
"Oh so that brat's run away? Well good riddance," Harvey coldly responded before tossing the note away.
"Good riddance? Is that really your reaction?" Maria asked in frustration.
"Yeah. Now that Kevin's gone, I can turn his room into my personal bar. I couldn't be more satisfied with him gone," Harvey blatantly said.
"You made my son run away, and you don't feel even the least bit of guilt for it?" Maria asked in disgust.
"Yep," Harvey said.
"You are going to help me find my son so I can keep him healthy and happy. And you're going to like it," Maria said in anger.
"Or what Dipstick?" Harvey asked.
Clearly you could tell that Harvey had never heard the saying "Heck hath no fury like a women scorned". It wasn't long before Harvey found himself being kicked out of the house along with all his stuff and locked out.
"Maria you open this door or I'll kill you," Harvey yelled.
Maria didn't listen to him and felt both sorrow and anger. She called the police to report that her son was missing and an "abusive, vile, inhumane monster" was outside her house. When the police showed up, Harvey was arrested for child abuse and Maria was talking to a police officer.
"So can you describe your son, Madam?" The officer said.
Maria answered with some tears down her face, "his name is Kevin Ethan Levin. He's eleven years old. He has shoulder-length black hair, fair beige skin, and dark brown eyes. He's an A-B student. I've got a picture of him right here."
Maria held up a picture of Kevin from her wallet and the officer examined the photo.
"I might have to hold onto this photo for a while Ma'am. At least until we can use it to make posters for him," the officer said, "Don't worry, we'll call you when we have a lead. Hopefully he isn't out of town by now."
A few days later there were "missing" posters of Kevin all over the city. Kevin was already out thanks to Rush's speed, and he set off on his adventure. Meanwhile Maria always had her phone handy in case the police had a lead on her son. Unfortunately, whenever she showed up to anywhere the police found evidence of his previous presence, Kevin was nowhere to be found. Maria still didn't want to lose hope. She even tried finding Kevin herself, but with no luck. She still worked as a doctor, but she hoped they would find Kevin, who never left her mind. She would sometimes spend entire days waiting on the front porch for him to come. But he never came. She didn't lose hope, she just wanted to see him again, she wanted to be with her only family again, even if it was just one last time.
Flashback to a certain Episode
Reboot Kevin was walking in a mall seemed big He really had no where to go and had nothing to do but he heard a sudden buzzing sound.
thinking fast he grabbed a pillow and blocked some green goo and leaped back.
"Well well well if it ain't old Loserson" Reboot Kevin says and reveals his Antitrix.
"Another Ommitrix?!" Stinkfly says as Reboot Kevin hits it.
Reboot Kevin began to inflate and became Wrecking Bolt and rolled around
Flashback to after the events of Roundabout: Part 2…
Kevin was swirling in the portal between time and space. He had just knocked Forever Knight into who knows when. Kevin thought he probably wasn't going to see the light of day again. He was trapped in this space between worlds and had his own pride to blame. He started blacking out as he remained trapped for who knows how long.
Kevin was beginning to regain consciousness. The first, and only, thing he was hearing was the sound of a blade being sharpened on something made of stone. When he opened up his eyes, he found himself tied up to a pole in a room that appeared to be the living quarters of a high-tech vessel with a hunter-vibe. It's most notable aspect was how it was decorated in trophies and remains of many different species including a Geochelone Aerio shell, an Appoplexian skeleton with a cracked skull, a Vulpimancer pelt, a Talpaedan arm, a Crabdozer head, a Chronosapien chest plate, a Vaxasaurian skull, an evolved Vaxasaurian helmet, another large helmet, a large sword, a metal hook that appears to be part of an arm, another large skull, a shield, and many other trophies.
Standing in front of him was Khyber, who was turned so that he couldn't see Kevin. Khyber was sharpening his knife on a stone brick. Next to him was his Panuncian, who was currently lying on the ground.
"Ah, so Kevin, you're awake," Khyber said, still not facing him, "I was wondering when you would awaken."
"Who are you and where am I?" Kevin asked.
"Name's Khyber. You are currently aboard my ship," Khyber answered, "And this is my loyal pet Panuncian, Regina. An extremely well-trained, and very loyal pet of mine, unlike a certain Anubian Baskurr."
"So, uh, Khyber, is it? Who knew alien skulls had so many uses?" Kevin said, but got no response from Khyber, who was still sharpening his knife.
"This is usually when you evil dudes spell out your whole "dominate the universe and destroy the hero" plan, which I'm sure that you are just dying to fill me in on," Kevin said.
"Not really," Khyber said, "The trophies, the hunting equipment, I think it's quite self-explanatory. I am the greatest huntsman in the galaxy from the universe I hail from. And perhaps, beyond."
"From the universe that you hail from? Wait, what's going on?" Kevin asked.
"Where are my manners? There's another Ben Tennyson from my universe as well. He is older than yours and much stronger. His Omnitrix arm will be my greatest trophy yet. Hm. Yes. I'm thinking of placing it on my Geochelone Aerios shell mantelpiece, right next to the Appoplexian skeleton, just above the Vulpimancer pelt," Khyber said before throwing his knife near the Appoplexian skeleton's neck.
"Good luck. Creeps like you have been trying to get my Ben's Omnitrix and failing. What makes you think that you can take on an older, more powerful version of him?" Kevin remarked.
Khyber showed Kevin the Nemetrix on the collar that Regina was wearing before explaining, "This device on the collar of Regina is a powerful device called the Nemetrix. It is similar to devices like Ben's Omnitrix or your Antitrix."
"Antitrix? Nice name. I'm using it," Kevin said.
Khyber continued speaking, "However, instead of turning the user into a life form of a degree of sapience, it instead turns them into the natural predators of these aliens. An old associate of mine managed to obtain crucial but flawed design specs for the Omnitrix. He sought the aid of a Cerebrocrustacean, who was able to reverse-engineer a workable facsimile, the Nemetrix. It was only missing a critical element though, predator DNA. So naturally, they sought out the greatest huntsman in the galaxy, me. I hunted down the fiercest and most savage predators in the universe and procured their DNA for the Nemetrix."
We see a few flashbacks of Khyber hunting down these predators. These flashbacks included Khyber on Pyros trapping a Crabdozer in a hole, him on Lepidopterra electrocuting a Buglizard, and him going out to sea on Arburia and battling a mighty Arburian Carcharodon.
Khyber continued explaining, "All we had to do then was find a test subject for the Nemetrix, willing… or otherwise. We tested it on a prisoner from the Null Void, but that test proved to be a failure. Alas, a higher functioning and civilized life form, such as a human being, could not handle the savage, feral nature of the Nemetrix."
"What happened to this human though?" Kevin asked.
"Well… somethings are probably best left unsaid," Khyber said, "However, Regina here, being feral herself, has no higher function than absolute loyalty."
"She'd have to be lacking in higher function to be loyal to you," Kevin sarcastically said.
"You'd be wise to show respect to the greatest huntsman in the galaxy. I could destroy you here and now," Khyber said to Kevin's face, before turning away from him with his knife intentionally behind his back, "but… I would lose my bargaining power with my associates."
"Not such a great hunter wouldn't you say?" Kevin asked, while using Khyber's knife to cut his hands free. Kevin hit the Antitrix and turned into Quad Smack.
"You let your own quarry escape. Bet you didn't count on that," Quad Smack said.
"Actually, I fully intended it. And you may no longer be restrained by your shackles, but you aren't out of the woods yet," Khyber said.
Regina got in front of Khyber to fight Quad Smack, but she was called off by Khyber.
"Leave him alone. He's mine," Khyber said, tossing away his knife before cracking his knuckles.
"Come on Wild-Guy, you don't have the power to beat me," Quad Smack said.
"That remains to be seen," Khyber said, "Attack me!"
"Gladly," Quad Smack responded.
Quad Smack lunged at Khyber, who dodged the attack. Quad Smack delivered a flurry of punches, which Khyber dodged with ease before kicking Quad Smack in the face, knocking him back.
"Harder! Swifter! Show no mercy, and let out the savage beast, residing in your soul, that is your rage!" Khyber ordered.
Quad Smack swung his fists down and tried punching Khyber again. Khyber dodged, and fended off these attacks and took no damage. Khyber dodged attacks and hit Quad Smack in a rhythmic pattern. Quad Smack punched Khyber, who had both his fists up to block the attack, and he was only knocked back and suffered no visible damage.
"Stone Cutter!" Khyber shouted. With that, he then focused his energy into a striking right fist. He ran up to Quad Smack and punched him in the chest, unleashing a powerful, shockwave-inducing punch that sent Quad Smack flying into the wall.
"Neat little trick, isn't it?" Khyber asked, "I don't use it very often, but it is quite useful. Learned it from an old Revonnahgander friend of mine. He was a grandmaster of Revonnah Kai and a very powerful one at best. Unfortunately, he was said to have had a little accident with Blastonium and I haven't heard from him since. Such is life I guess."
Quad Smack managed to get back up from the attack and grabbed Khyber with all four of his hands. He used his lower arms to grab Khyber by the shirt, and his upper arms to grab him by the neck, choking him.
"If you think I'm gonna be beaten by some creep with an affinity for skulls and lame hunter stuff, you've got another thing coming! You hear me!? I won't be beaten by some pathetic little-" Quad Smack yelled before he was cut off when Khyber used his claws to dig into the spaces between Quad Smack's shoulders and neck. When he did this, Quad Smack's entire body went limp and he was paralyzed neck-down before turning back into Kevin.
"Can't… move. What did you do to me?" Kevin asked, still paralyzed.
"Hephaestan Neuro Grip," Khyber answered, "Useful in subduing all manner of prey. Now let me show you to a little place of mine."
Kevin blacked out again and Khyber took him away.
Later…
When Kevin woke up again, he was in some sort of alien jungle-like environment. Kevin looked around and noticed that he probably wasn't on Earth anymore.
"Good to see that you're awake again," Khyber said, coming out of nowhere with Regina, "Welcome to my world. Literally."
"Ego much?" Kevin asked.
"Hm, not at all. This is just a personal hunting reserve of mine I've set up for testing new weapons, torturing old enemies, or just taking some "me" time," Khyber responded, "Now how 'bout we play a little game."
"Wait, don't tell me," Kevin said, "You're a hunter, and I've seen hunters play "games" in movies and TV shows. So let me guess, you hunt me down, and if I survive until sundown, or whatever, you let me go."
"Oh no. Hehe. The hunt just continues until… you cannot," Khyber answered.
Kevin gulped before responding, "Okay, I'll play your stupid game."
"You have no choice in the matter Levin. The hunt begins now. But I'll give you a five minute head start. I may be a ruthless huntsman, but I'm fair towards new prey," Khyber said.
"Whatever. When I leave, you and your tabby cat will search everywhere for me for days. Too bad you can't be in multiple places at once," Kevin said.
"I cannot, but she can," Khyber said before whistling, signaling Regina to split into ten identical copies, "I've placed a tracking device in your Antitrix and another in the Nemetrix. I won't be the one trying to find you. My pet, or in this case pets, are going to just play around with you. I'll just signal to them which predator to turn into."
Kevin gulped again, but he turned into Rush and sped off.
"Fight back all you want. But there is a predator for every prey," Khyber said.
After five minutes, Khyber looked at a timer he set, and noticed that Kevin's head start had just ended.
"Hunt him up," Khyber said to his Panuncians.
The Panuncians ran in different directions to find Kevin. Kevin, who had just turned back, was looking around for anything in the environment that he could use to his advantage. He was also trying to stay alert of Khyber and his Panuncians. Just then, a Panuncian came out from a bush and lunged at Kevin. Kevin turned into Dark Matter, who shot crystallizing flames at her, which she dodged.
The Panuncian changed into a tall, purple prehistoric emu-like species. She is completely covered in ruffled, Byzantium purple feathers with her head sporting the most ruffled feathers. The areas that are bald, being the long neck and the area of the legs under the femur, are a pale shade of wisteria purple and have visible horizontal fissures. Her torso represents that of an emu and has a tuft of feathers under the neck. She has a grayish-blue, long, sharp toothed beak and four red eyes. She wears a red, silver-spiked collar at the base of her neck with the Nemetrix on it. This is Omnivoracious, the natural predator of the Galvans.
Omnivoracious used its claws to attempt to scratch Dark Matter, who dodged and created a crystal battle axe. He swung it at Omnivoracious a few times, but Omnivoracious dodged the attacks and caught the axe in her beak, before chomping down and shattering it. Dark Matter created a sharp crystal blade for each of his hands. Dark Matter fended off Omnivoracious' talons with his blades before she eventually pounced on him with her talons. Dark Matter turned into Hot Shot and blasted Omnivoracious off of him. Omnivoracious turned into Crabdozer, who charged at Hot Shot, knocking him back. Hot Shot blasted his fire breath at Crabdozer, but it did not do anything to harm her. Crabdozer charged at Hot Shot again, who propulsed himself upwards to avoid the attack. Hot Shot turned into Rush and sped off again.
Rush raced off and soon found himself in a swamp-like environment. He was then pounced on by another Panuncian. Rush turned back to normal.
"Get off me you overgrown alley cat," Kevin said.
Kevin kicked her in the stomach and hit his Antitrix. Kevin turned into Undertow and blasted her with water.
The Panuncian transformed into a large, dark red octopus-like creature with a long body and many long tentacles along its stomach. She has a beaked mouth, two large red eyes and brown spots covering its back. She wears a red spiked collar with the Nemetrix on it. This is Vicetopus, the natural predator of Cerebrocrustacean. She was also quite effective against Cascans and Orishans
Vicetopus lashed her enormous tentacles at Undertow. Undertow evaded some of the tentacles aiming towards him, and shot water at the rest. Vicetopus hit Undertow with one of her tentacles and sent him into a tree. Vicetopus grabbed Undertow and dragged him underwater. Undertow propulsed himself out of his grasp. Undertow then created a whirlpool around Vicetopus, but Vicetopus managed to break free, grabbed Undertow again, and slammed him into the bottom of the swampy lake. Vicetopus then buried Undertow under a pile of rocks, but Undertow broke out, attacked Vicetopus with slime whips and underwater air blasts. Vicetopus retaliated by throwing Undertow out of the water and onto dry land and followed him, who turned back to normal.
"All right then, let's get wild," Kevin said before hitting his Antitrix and turning into Bashmouth.
Bashmouth charged at Vicetopus and delivered many punches, kicks, and bites. Vicetopus was starting to feel like she was in pain.
"Had enough?" Bashmouth asked.
But then, Vicetopus transformed again. She turned into a giant four-legged spider with a body of a silverfish. She has four pincers with one claw on each end, and a silver colored exoskeleton, the lower half of her legs and back of her head is covered with olive hair. Her eyes are red with black slits, and her reptile-like head has an open mouth smile. She wears a red spiked collar with the Nemetrix on it. This is Terroranchula, the natural predator of the Insectoids.
Bashmouth charged at Terroranchula, who created a force field web that Bashmouth tried to punch, but he couldn't break it. Terroranchula went through the web, coating himself in it. Bashmouth tried to punch her again, but was electrocuted by physical contact. Terroranchula lunged at Bashmouth, and had him pinned down. She tried to stab him in the head with her pincers, but Bashmouth dodged the attacks with what little mobility he currently had. He kicked Terroranchula, resulting in Terroranchula being knocked off and Bashmouth being electrocuted again. Bashmouth turned into Thornblade and made vines that sprouted out of the ground and subdued Terroranchula. Bashmouth turned back into Rush and sped off again.
Rush soon found himself in a desert-like environment where he was ambushed by another Panuncian. Rush evaded the attack, but the Panuncian transformed.
She was now a fat, grey, rock-skinned alien, with a body that appeared to be similar to a grotesque frog. It has purplish-pink sacks, which contain an organic gel-like substance inside of them. She wears a red spiked collar with the Nemetrix on it. This was Mucilator, the natural predator of Orthopterans.
"Okay then. Let's dance Slimy," Rush said.
Rush charged at Mucilator, but the impact only caused Rush to bounce off of her. He charged at Mucilator again and bounced off again. Mucilator charged at Rush, who dodged the attack and sped around her a bunch of times. After gaining enough velocity, Rush sped towards Mucilator to knock her over. However, Rush sped straight into one of Mucilator's sacks and got stuck in the sticky substance. He tried to get out, but was still stuck in. Rush decided to start vibrating himself in the sack and soon enough, he managed to break free and turn back to normal. Mucilator turned back to normal but looked at Kevin before leaving him.
"Huh? Well that was easier than I thought." Kevin commented, "Come on don't give up too easily."
Kevin then heard growling behind him and saw another Panuncian at least ten meters away from him.
"Oh, you were just playing tag-team," Kevin said before hitting the Antitrix and turning into Crystalfist.
The Panuncian dug a hole and buried herself underground.
"Really? Are all of you scared of me or something? Makes sense though," Kevin commented.
But then, the Panuncian transformed underground, and burst out. She was now a giant worm-like alien with sharp teeth, a wide beak-like mouth, six red eyes, and a tail ending in a pincer-like set of spikes. She possesses a lavender and orange hide, a white underbelly, grey spikes running down her back, and four red insectoid legs on each side near the front. She wears a red spiked collar with the Nemetrix on it. This was a Slammoid called Slamworm, the natural predator of Talpaedens.
"Oh good. For a second there I thought this would be too easy," Crystalfist said.
Slamworm burrows under the sand and moves around Crystalfist, before bursting out of the ground and sending him off balance. Instantly, Crystalfist launches several shards at Slamworm which impact his hide and break upon impact, but still do a certain degree of damage. He turns both his hands into blades and charges at the beast. Slamworm spits balls of acid at Crystalfist, who dodges them and slashes at her, dealing some pain. Crystalfist launches shards at her face and she retaliates by going underground again and bursting back up in a pattern, while circling Crystalfist. She then bursts from the ground and catches Crystalfist in her teeth. Crystalfist holds her mouth open and notices the rotating teeth in her throat, turns his arm into a blade, and jabbed it down there. This causes her to feel great discomfort and launch him twenty meters away. Crystalfist then traps Slamworm in a huge crystal casing. She retaliates by launching more acid blasts at him. Crystalfist creates crystal shields which manage to keep all of the acid from even touching him. Slamworm breaks free and burrows again to deliver a sneak attack when Crystalfist least expects it. Crystalfist is on guard and is prepared for when Slamworm strikes. Slamworm comes out of the ground and grabs Crystalfist in his mouth before going back underground, and flinging him, launching the hybrid Petrosapien very, very far away, Crystalfist screaming the entire way.
Crystalfist crash-landed in an icy, tundra-like environment. When he comes to, he notices his surroundings before the Antitrix times out.
"Really? Now?" Kevin asks his Antitrix, "Hopefully I can at least take a break to catch my breath and rest for a bit. I could probably get a drink from that river over there."
Kevin goes over to the river and cups his hands to scoop the freezing water before drinking it. Kevin liked his water cold, but this was a bit too cold for his tasting.
"Well it's icy water or no water at all," Kevin said, still panting.
Little did he know, a Panuncian was sneaking up on him, ready to ambush. When he heard growling, he turned to see the Panuncian, who transformed again.
She turned into a large insectoid creature resembling a bee or moth. It is purplish-grey in color, has sharp fangs, four legs, two sharp teeth, a dual-stinger on her tail, two antennae on her head, two red eyes, and four wings. She wears a red spiked collar with the Nemetrix on it. This was a Psycholeopterran called Hypnotick, the natural predator of Necrofriggians.
Hypnotick was currently hovering. She released a red mist and rapidly flapped its wings. This created a red colored pattern of concentric and overlapping circles, which possess a hypnotic effect to them. Kevin was hypnotized by this technique before he started seeing himself winning against Ben before everything turned to black.
Later…
Kevin woke up in a room that was completely empty except for the bed he was sleeping on and noticed he was no longer in the hunting reserve, but in a small room. He opened the door and exited the room to find Khyber in the bridge, driving the ship.
"We learn very little from victory, but very much from defeat," Khyber said when Kevin came into the bridge.
Kevin barely lasted long against Khyber's pet and realized that Khyber was not only a good hunter, but a very organized strategist.
"I am aware of what you saw before passing out in my hunting reserve. The Psycholeopterran is a very unique creature, is it not?" Khyber said, "They hunt by luring their prey. The patterns on their wings directly stimulate the reward and pleasure centers of the brain. This causes a sort of hypnosis-like state in its prey, causing them to see whatever they want most when they look at these patterns."
"Okay. So, where are you going with this creep?" Kevin asked, prepared to dial in an alien to attack him.
"I am aware that you saw yourself defeat your Ben Tennyson, when you were hypnotized. I can give you what you want," Khyber said, "I am currently working for two versions of powerful tyrants, and working with a former Galvan. They intend to reshape both our universes into their image."
"And you?" Kevin asked.
"I'm just in it for a bit of revenge against my Ben Tennyson… and I guess a lot of profit too," Khyber said, "As for you. What if I told you that if you join us, you will have your revenge against your Ben Tennyson."
"Yeah, I'm not falling for it," Kevin said, "Last time I got in an alliance, my "superior", Forever Knight, treated me like I was worthless."
Kevin used air quotes at "superior".
"True. But unlike Forever Knight, I don't see you as a Ben Tennyson knockoff. I actually see great potential just by looking at you," Khyber said, "I could show you to someone who can make great improvements to your Antitrix. I could teach you everything there is to know about being a powerful Omnitrix barer. All you need to do is pledge allegiance to me and my employers. So, do we have a deal?"
Kevin paused for a moment. He was aware that Khyber was a dangerous person, but was tempted by the offer for revenge.
"We have a deal Khyber," Kevin responded, extending his hand for a handshake.
"Please. Call me Master Khyber," Khyber said, returning the handshake.
Neither one was crossing their fingers, and both were true to their word.
Two weeks of training, meditation, upgrades to the Antitrix, and hunting dangerous alien monsters passed since then before Kevin went on a mission to pursue both Ben Tennysons.
End of Flashbacks…
Kevin looked at himself in the mirror and looked at a photo of his six-year-old self and Maria. He looked back at the mirror and put the photo in the dresser next to his bed and looked back at his reflection. He decided to change his human appearance to reflect his status.
When Kevin was done with himself, his hair was pulled back in a somewhat spiky ponytail, but there was still some hair not in it that was in a choppy style. He also has eye black under his eyes making a line under each of them, and black eyeliner around them. For his attire, he still wears his padlock necklace and Antitrix, but he now also sports a black armband with silver spikes on his right wrist, dark brown cargo pants that went down to above his ankles, black knee-length shoes with red outer soles, black fingerless gloves, and a black scarf that could be refashioned into a face mask. He also wore a black hooded shirt with an Antitrix symbol on the left pectoral, and the sleeves torn off by the shoulders. He wore white bandages around his right leg, right lower forearm, and left upper arm. He also wears white sports tape on his gloves and on the heels of his shoes. He also had a red tattoo painted onto his right arm, under the bandages.
"Nice look Kevin," Kevin said to his reflection, "You look like a real bad boy now."
"Kevin," Khyber said on the intercom, "something just popped up. Be a good apprentice and come up to the bridge."
At the bridge…
Kevin came up to the bridge in his new attire. Khyber was about to inform him of why he called him, but noticed his appearance.
"Hm. I see you've altered your getup," Khyber said smiling, "I think it looks good on you."
"Glad you like it. I decided to go for a look that made me seem as dangerous as I was feeling," Kevin said.
"Anyway, Albedo has located something near the crash site of your world's Omnitrix. He doesn't have the exact coordinates, but it is a certain addable feature to this world's Omnitrix of which could send a feedback loop to my world's Omnitrix, in turn upgrading both Omnitrices with a function that creates high-tech armor for certain aliens," Khyber explained, "So, the Vilgaxs are ordering you and Albedo to find this Omni-Key so that we can use it to our advantage. Otherwise, both our Bens will find them and use the key to upgrade their Omnitrices, throwing a wrench in our plan."
"They won't find this Omni-Key as long as I'm around," Kevin said.
"If it makes you feel better, I'll blame Albedo for both your failures," Khyber said, "That is… if you fail. Which I doubt will happen, because we already have a head start."
Both Khyber and Reboot Kevin then began laughing menacingly.
To be continued…