Ben X Chapter 45
Rescue Arc
Quarry
From atop a high ridge a pair of figures gazed down at a deseret landscape. Rocky plateaus were scattered among the red orange soil of the arid scene. Below them laid a pit of despair both literal and figurative. It was comprised of walls carved into the solid rock and interspersed with a maze of tunnels. From this distance they could make out hundreds of people toiling away under the harsh desert sun. They moved and crawled like ants but it was clear even from such a distance that their labor was forced and not voluntary. The two figures watched the exploits of the enslaved group with anger rising in their hearts. The first, a young man dressed in mixed garbs of flamboyant neon and dark cloth, turned to his compatriot who by comparison was garbed in nothing more than a simple fur tunic.
"You ready to start an uprising pal?" The first asked to the second.
"Me say let's kick butt!" He replied.
Kevin wiped the sweat from his brow tiredly. His eyes glancing around quickly for any of their brutal taskmasters, keen to avoid the strike of their laser whip as punishment for 'slacking off'. He soon hefted his pickaxe up once more and swung down at the hard stone. The sound of his swings soon joined in the chorus and cadence of all the other enslaved miners working feverishly under the mid-day heat of the desert. Beside him he saw his fellow enslaved workers, Rook, Cooper, even Magister Patelliday, the four of them toiling away at the rock and stone. He pulled at the inhibitor collar around his neck, wishing he could absorb the stone onto his skin and pound the little aliens that served as their overwatchers.
He watched one of the pickaxe aliens walk by near them, a minion of his former business partner and current enemy Vulkanus. Near as Kevin could tell, it had been at least a month since the debacle in Ledgerdomain. With his newfound power, Eon had taken over Bellwood and the surrounding areas, and made alliances with any villain unscrupulous enough to bow to him. Of course, Vulkanus would be at the top of that list. Ever since then the Denovite had been working any able bodied soul to the bone in the dry desert outside of Bellwood. Kevin was familiar enough with different minerals to know that they were mostly mining for quartz crystals, although he couldn't fathom why. Especially as Vulkanus seemed to be hoarding the rarer minerals for himself. He supposed it was all part of the deal that he had made with Eon.
Kevin was brought out of his musings by the sound of a sputtering dry cough from his side. He looked over to see Patelliday hunched over, his skin wrinkled and pale. Next to him Cooper held up the fish like alien, concern written over his face. Kevin cast his eyes around nervously, he knew that Patelliday's condition would attract the attention of the slavekeepers. And it wasn't a moment too soon before Kevin saw one of the little freaks crack a whip in Patelliday's direction. Kevin's body moved on its own, intercepting the whip and grasping it in his hand. The energy weapon burned into the skin of his hand but he ignored the pain and stood resolutely between his friend and the slavemaster.
"He needs water." Kevin said firmly. The alien began chittering in a language that was foreign and strange, but Kevin was familiar with it enough to get the gist: work or suffer. Kevin yanked on the whip and stared into the creature's eyes. "He's a Piscciss Volann, they're an aquatic species, if you want him to work you need to give him more water than the rest of us." He said firmly again before tossing the whip away. The taskmaster eyed him with a nasty glare before chittering once more. 'Fine but it comes out of your rations' seemed to be the message, Kevin only nodded. The little creature scampered off to grab more water. When it returned it threw the bucket at the group and Kevin caught it deftly, trying to prevent any of it from spilling. He handed the bucket over to Cooper who began spooning it to Patelliday as the taskmaster walked away.
"How is your hand?" Rook asked from beside him as they watched Patelliday greedily slurp down the precious liquid. Kevin glanced down at the fresh burns on his palm before clenching his fist.
"I've had worse." He replied. "How's the escape plan coming along?" He whispered back. At this Rook's face fell further.
"Not good. Vulkanus discovered the last tunnel we had been working on. Not to mention we still haven't come up with a way to get the collars off." Rook said motioning to the choker wrapped around his own neck. Kevin scowled at the piece of steel. In addition to supressing their powers they also worked as an explosive device. Stray too far from the quarry and you get your head blown off. It was a nasty piece of work, even their resident tech guru Cooper had trouble reliably getting the thing to turn off.
"We'll keep working on it." Kevin said staunchly. Rook shook his head again.
"I still think we should try to sneak in and grab the collar control from Vulkanus, if we are able to start a full riot against him there is no way he can handle us all." Rook said emphatically.
"It's too risky." Kevin shook his head. "We need some kind of distraction. Something to throw his game off." He contemplated.
Just then as if in answer to Kevin's wishes, there was an explosion of fire and heat off to the side. All heads turned to the conflagration. Deep inside its crimson embers a group of the diminutive slave masters thrashed and writhed in pain as they rushed around desperately trying to quench the flames engulfing them. Soon, fireballs began to rain down from the sky. Each landed in a group of the pickaxe aliens and burst into flames. Confusion and panic quickly took over as slave and slavemaster alike ran for cover from the incoming fires. When the barrage of fireballs finally died down Kevin peeked out from behind a boulder and could scarcely believe what he saw.
"Yeeeeeeaaaaaahhhhhh!" A pyronite flew through the air, legs landing in a puff of smoke and ember. Quickly following them was a Vulpimancer. But as strange a sight as these aliens were, there was something even more peculiar about the pair. The Vulpimancer for starters, was much larger and more feral looking than any Kevin had ever seen, with enormous teeth, stripes, and wicked claws. The Pyronite also seemed to have a mohawk made of flames and a body which was more jagged and rough than others of that species. But before Kevin could truly analyze their appearance the pair quickly proved themselves to be on the right side as they started going after the pickaxe aliens holding them all captive. The Vulpimancer pounced on the miniature aliens, swatting them with oversized paws like a cat with a ball of yarn. The Pyronite meanwhile continued to set fire to them, scattering them into a panicked frenzy.
"Right lads! Let's get this party started! Viva la Revolucion!" The Pyronite shouted at them as he turned to the group. It was then that Kevin spied the omnitrix symbol attached to his chest.
"Ben? Is that you?!" Kevin asked incredulously.
"Nah mate, name's Benny, or Ben Punk, or Punk Diez, labels really ain't my thing. That there is me mate Bengar though." The Pyronite gestured to the other alien which was currently shaking one of their captors in its mouth like a chew toy. "More importantly we're here to bust you out. Now are you gonna sit there like cowards or fight fer your freedom?" The fiery alien challenged.
"We need to get these collars off. Vulkanus has got them rigged to explode if we step out of line." Kevin quickly explained.
"What? Ah bugger, lemme see that." The Heatblast leaned in to study Rook's collar while the other alien cringed away from the intense heat. After a moment of study the alien snapped his fingers in inspiration, a spark flying off his thumb. "I think I got just the thing." With a slap of the omnitrix symbol Benny transformed from Heatblast to Jury Rigg. Once again the alien form was familiar yet different from the transformations they were used to, with black leather clothing and a spiked helmet instead of the normal garb. The alien gremlin quickly set to work on the mechanical collar and in a matter of seconds had it sprung from Rook's neck. He then set to work on Kevin, Cooper, and Patelliday. Once free Juryrigg gathered all the collars and began rapidly tinkering with them. In a matter of a few short minutes he had assembled some kind of device from the parts.
"Here! That should deactivate the rest of the collars! Now go free your brothers and sisters! The revolution has begun!" With that the mysterious omnitrix user rushed off to begin altering the mining equipment into weapons to use against the slave masters. Kevin watched him go, still completely uncertain as to this seemingly alternate version of Ben or where he came from. But he knew that they didn't have much time and they couldn't afford to lose this opportunity. He turned to address their group quickly.
"Cooper, you take that doohickey and start freeing as many people as you can." He instructed the Technopath who complied immediately. "Patelliday, you go with him and keep him safe, Rook and I will help with the fight." The fish like alien gave a salute and ran after Cooper while Rook and Kevin ran in the opposite direction towards the fighting.
"Do you know who these other Ben's are?" Rook asked as they raced towards the fighting.
"No idea, but so long as they're on our side I don't care." Kevin replied as he paused by a boulder. In a moment his body transformed into the rocky substance. In another moment he swung a hammer sized fist at a pickaxe alien, knocking the creature to the ground in a daze. Nearby he saw Rook take out several of the aliens with well placed martial arts moves. The diminutive creatures were no match for his deft kicks and punches.
"I wish I had my Proto-Tool." Rook lamented between bouts of combat.
"What'sa matter? Your hand to hand skills get rusty without your favorite toy?" Kevin teased him with a smirk, before knocking back several more enemies with heavy blows.
"No but it would make me more efficient at defeating these enemies." Rook replied confidently.
The battle was quickly becoming chaotic. As more and more people were freed from their bondage some began to join the fight. With pickaxes, hammers, shovels, any tool they could get their hands on. They soon began to rise up against their keepers, who's small size and stature was a clear disadvantage. They did however, outnumber the slaves and so the battle was mostly even. However as more and more of the slaves were freed, the tide rapidly began to shift in their favor. Combined with the efforts of the two omnitrix users, the uprising was quickly gaining ground. But their good luck could not last forever.
"What's going on out here?" Shouted a powerful bellowing voice. The battle seemed to pause as all heads turned to the new voice. Emerging from the shadows of the dark mine was a tall imposing figure clad in metallic armor, with orange skin and a pair of sharp horns protruding from the chin. Vulkanus stepped out into the bright desert sun, shielding his eyes. As he adjusted to the bright light his expression turned to shock as he realized that his slave mining operation had been turned on its head. He quickly surveyed the battle scene and saw the alien newcomers wreaking havoc on his men.
"Tennyson?!" He shouted angrily as he saw the vulpimancer. But then his attention was diverted by the sound of laser fire. He saw a red skinned alien riding a modified drill shooting laser beams at his men. Now even more surprised and confused he looked back and forth between the two aliens before regaining his senses. "There's two of you now? Whatever, it doesn't matter. I'm gonna wipe the floor with both of you!" With that Vulkanus rushed into the battle, the sounds of his heavy footsteps and hydraulics from his mechanical body sounding out across the battlefield.
The sound of Vulkanus' approach reached Bengar's hypersensitive ears long before the alien reached him. The Vulpimancer's senses were finely attuned and Bengar lifted his head in the direction of Vulkanus, snarling as he did so. After dispatching his previous enemy Bengar took off, racing straight towards Vulkanus. The two of them on a straight on collision course with each other. Just as they were about to reach other Bengar leapt through the air, jaws poised to rip Vulkanus' head from his mechanical suit. But Vulkanus had quick reflexes, he delivered a brutal cross punch which collided with the Wildmutt's head and sent Bengar sprawling to the ground.
But Bengar recovered quickly and jumped up once more, intent on using his jaws as weapons. This time Vulkanus could not turn around fast enough and Bengar's jaws sunk deep into the metal of his right arm. Vulkanus tried to shake him off but Wildmutt held firm, now using his claws to find purchase and slash at any other exposed part of his body. When it became clear that Vulkanus would not be able to dislodge the other alien he switched tactics and began to punch Bengar's body relentlessly. The heavy metal fist rained down repeatedly on Bengar's flesh and he winced with each impact. Finally the pain became too much and Bengar had no choice but to involuntarily release the grip of his jaws. As he fell to the ground, Vulkanus kicked him away, his body rolling along the ground until it hit a stone wall. Bengar struggled to regain his feet as Vulkanus stalked over, experimentally flexing his arm, and grimacing as he found some of the mobility was lost.
But before he could reach Bengar he was forced to shield himself from laser fire. Vulkanus turned to the side and found that the other omnitrix user had modified the drill into some kind of primitive mech suit and was moving to intercept him. Juryrigg fired off the makeshift weapons as he closed the gap on Vulkanus, intent on protecting his friend. But the hobbled together mech suit was no match for Vulkanus' sophisticated suit of armor. A single punch ripped one of the arms off the mech, leading Benny to grimace nervously. Vulkanus was about to demolish the rest of the machine but soon found himself off balance as a weight threw itself against his back. Vulkanus turned his head to see Bengar had launched himself once again and was slashing and biting at his back.
"Get off of me you flea bag!" Vulkanus shouted as he began trying to reach behind himself. But Bengar was able to stay just out of reach of the grasping arms. Taking the opportunity, Juryrigg shoved his improvised controls forward. The drill on the center of the mech's chest began to spin rapidly. He advanced quickly and the drill began to dig into Vulkanus' suit. Vulkanus grimaced in pain and frustration as he was attacked from the front and the back. The drill, which was designed to bore through rock and stone, had difficulty against the refined metal of Vulkanus' suit. But the screeching noise and flying sparks indicated that at least some damage was being done. Feeling the pressure, Vulkanus kicked away the drill suit which flew backwards and crashed to the ground. Reaching behind him, he pulled Wildmutt up and over his head, smashing him to the ground as well.
Kevin looked up to see the pair of omnitrix users not faring well against Vulkanus. Instantly he grabbed Rook's attention and the pair of them began running over to join the battle.
"Stay back!" Called a voice. The pair of plumbers looked to see the Juryrigg crawling out from the wreckage of his mech suit. "We got this tosser, you two keep freeing the others. Get them out of here while you can." Punk Ben said to them. Apprehensive, Kevin glanced at Rook who he could tell was seriously considering the idea. Kevin knew that their bodies were exhausted and they weren't fighting at full strength, but the stubborn part of him refused to leave allies behind.
"What about you? We can't just leave you here!" Kevin shouted back pointing at Vulkanus who was quickly approaching. But to his surprise the other Ben just laughed.
"Nah mate! This was just the warm up round. Oi Bengar! Think it's time for a change in tactics mate!" He called out. The vulpimancer got to its feet and nodded his head. A flash of green blinded Kevin's eyes, and when he looked back he saw the pair had adopted new alien forms, equally as familiar and strange to him as the last. The one that had introduced himself as Benny had become a Diamondhead, with a black suit resembling a vest with multiple diamond studs. The one called Bengar had seemed to transform into something he could only describe as an ancestor of a Tetramand. He had the posture of a gorilla, with the top pair of arms holding his torso up while the lower smaller pair of arms hung from the midsection.
"Bengar will smash you!" The Four-Arms alien shouted beating his chest.
"Don't worry bout us mate! Just focus on gettin' as many people to safety as you can!" Punk Ben called out. Kevin looked at the pair of omnitrix users, still baffled and confused. But for a fleeting moment, he was reminded of his own Ben. The unwavering determination, the stubborn insistence on doing everything himself, and the selfless drive to save others. Kevin wanted to join the fight, wanted to help these new heroes, but he knew they were right. So instead, he nodded and turned to gather anyone and everyone he could.
"I don't know what any of you are yapping about because none of you are going anywhere!" Vulkanus bellowed angrily.
"We'll see about that bug face!" Diamonhead responded before shooting a volley of crystal shards in his direction. Vulkanus instinctively raised his forearm to shield his face. When he looked again his eyes widened as he watched an enormous fist collide with his head. Bengar's punch sent him skidding into the dirt. Vulkanus looked up once more to see Bengar about to land a pulverizing double fisted hammer strike to him. He rolled out of the way just in the nick of time as Bengar's landing created a small crater and sent a cloud of dust into the air. But before he could retaliate he was stabbed in the side by a crystal lance jutting from Punk Ben's arm.
Vulkanus quickly turned to swing down on the smaller alien, only for Benny to detach from the lance and jump out of the way. But with his attention now on the Petrosapien, Vulkanus didn't notice Bengar come up from behind him and begin laying into him with savage punches. Vulkanus turned to defend himself, only to open himself up to another diamond spear. From there on the battle became one-sided, as Vulkanus struggled to shield himself from the double onslaught of his powerful opponents. He grabbed the upper arms of the Tetramand, only to leave his mid-section open to attack from the lower arms. Meanwhile Diamondhead continued to slash and stab at him with crystalline blades.
Elsewhere, the rebellion against the slave captors was going well. Nearly all of the people who were outside had been freed from the collars. Kevin surveyed the scene from a hill. Many of the Pickaxe aliens were isolated from their groups and were no match for the average human. But Kevin still had an uneasy feeling. He knew that there was an equal number of people still deep underground in the mines. Kevin wanted to lead the rebellion down into the tunnels, freeing everyone they could. But he also knew that the fight would be more difficult underground. Not to mention that backup for would eventually come to crush their rebellion. Eon's other minions would notice their uprising sooner or later. He knew it was a difficult decision but he would rather take those he'd already saved rather than risk losing it all. Kevin turned his attention back to Vulkanus, who he could see was losing the battle.
The aforementioned alien was now desperately trying to crawl his way to safety. His mech suit was crippled, with a broken leg and a missing arm, and several areas of exposed wiring. But still he was being assaulted by the four armed brute who relentlessly tore at his suit. Finally the suit became unresponsive and Vulkanus struggled uselessly.
"Think you're done for mate." Punk Ben said as he stood imperiously over him.
"This isn't over! We can still stop you." Vulkanus retorted.
"Oh yeah? You and what army?"
"That army." Vulkanus said smugly. The pair of aliens glanced up to see strangely attired figures begin to appear from thin air. Wearing suits of purple with strange robes and archaic markings, the figures began to recapture the escaped slaves. The two omnitrix users looked on in astonishment as more and more of the figures showed up, apprehending anyone not wearing a collar. Punk Ben felt his blood begin to boil but a call from behind took his attention.
"Come on you two! We need to go!" Kevin shouted at them from atop a hill.
"But what about the others?" Benny said gesturing to the rest of their people. Kevin reluctantly shook his head.
"We have to go now while we can still escape. There's no way we can take on all those Esoterica. Come on, there's no time to lose!" He said and began rushing off.
Benny sighed in resignation. He turned to give one last look at Vulkanus who still regarded them smugly, as though he hadn't just gotten his ass handed to him. "This ain't over." Benny said before delivering a swift kick to the Detrovite's head. Then both he and Bengar ran off, following in the footsteps of Kevin Levin. The duo left the quarry behind, still upset at leaving all of those slaves behind. But they quickly rejoined the group of escapees. Many of them were tired and emaciated, but the newfound hope of freedom had them both excited and nervous.
"Thanks for your help." Kevin said shaking the hands of the two alternate Ben's who had finally resumed human form. Now that they were human, he could definitely see their resemblance to his own Ben, although they were very distinctly different. For starters the one known as Bengar looked all the part of a caveman, with massive brow and hunched over posture and a fur skin clothing. Benny on the other hand had even more strange attire, leather and denim with an assortment studs and piercings. But despite their strange appearances, Kevin knew their actions spoke for them.
"Don't mention it mate. Now c'mon, we got to get all these folks to safety. And I know exactly where to go." Benny said proudly.
A/N: So… it's been a while. The reason I had put this and other stories on hiatus was due to a personal tragedy I was dealing with at the time. Between that and the election news in the US I've felt a bit too despondent for writing. Someone I've talked to has said that distracting myself with my hobbies would be a good outlet so I don't continue to think about it. So, Ben X is returning, however I likely will not return to the previous biweekly upload schedule. Chapters will be released as they are written. That also means I'm not certain on a timeline for when the story will be finished. If things go well hopefully it will be finished before this time next year. Thank you for your understanding in this matter.