High above Earth, aboard his personal ship the 'Chimeran Hammer', Vilgax observed the three figures on the screen in front of him. SixSix, a mutated Sotoroggian decked out in highly advanced purple/black armour bristling with enough hidden weapons to level a small city. Kraab, a half humanoid-half crustacean cyborg with a menacing pincer in place of his left arm. And finally Tetrax, clad entirely in an intimidating suit of bulky, grey armour.
They were three of the greatest bounty hunters in the galaxy, having just proved their skills against a small army of his Mechadroids. He felt confident they would retrieve the Chaquetrix from whatever primitive had dared use it for their base urges…and yet.
"So you hired us to find you some strippers?" Tetrax asked, head swivelling between his fellow hunters and the screen displaying his employer.
SixSix snorted "(alien gibberish)"
"So not strippers but a mobile brothel?" Kraab amended sarcastically.
"That may be what 'lesser' minds would use the device for" Vilgax replied, barely containing his rage at their insolence "But it has the potential to be the greatest weapon in the known universe, in MY hands"
"Sooo….You're gonna build a battle harem?" Kraab joked as Vilgax stared flatly at him through the screen.
"You'll be the first to die." he promised quietly.
"What?"
"The reward will go to the first to claim my prize." Vilgax said louder "Do NOT fail me"
As the hunters boarded the drops pods and began their descent, Vilgax signalled for one of the Bioids attending him.
"Make a note for when I retrieve the Chaquetrix. Those three will be the test run for my new hybrid army" he growled, cursing his need to rely on such fools.
"Of course my lord"
Meanwhile on Earth, just off a lonely desert road, Max was putting the finishing touches on an elaborate, and jury rigged, shooting range. As he secured the last ropes, Ben turned to his cousin who was attempting to relax on a sunlounger.
"You ever wonder how grandpa knows how to do all this stuff?" he asked, Gwen shrugging lazily.
"I stopped questioning things on this trip weeks ago." she replied.
"Alright she's good to go. You ready Ben?"
Smirking, Ben slammed the dial down on his selected 'hero'. The light fading to reveal Crystal Knight. As the shining alien took in the scene, specifically the ropes and spring boards, Gwen could have sworn she was blushing.
"Oh my…I didn't know you were into this." she murmured "I didn't expect a set up this elaborate either"
"Grandpa is always going on about how we need to use our heads more, so I asked him to help out" Ben explained, oblivious to the 'hero's' spiralling imagination "So all you need to do is shoot the targets and not get hit. You ready to show off?"
Upon realising the true situation the alien gave a curious head tilt, before shrugging and making her way to the centre of the range "If that's what you want, just sit back and 'enjoy' the show" she said, making sure to sway her hips as she went.
At Ben's thumbs up, and Gwen's eye roll, Max pulled the first lever and the training began in earnest. Crystal Knight set to work shooting down soda cans, pop up targets and dodging swinging tires in an impressive display of accuracy and acrobatics.
Max would admit that while her skills were remarkable, he did find other things equally…distracting"
"Hah….Ooh…Umph"
With every jump or twist she felt the need to 'vocalise' her efforts. With the desert sun glinting off her crystal skin only drawing attention to her form, Max was ashamed to admit he was glad the controls he built covered his waist. As Max struggled to keep his mind out of the gutter, Ben enthusiastically cheered from the sidelines.
Gwen however noticed that everytime he called out, Crystal Knight's focus wavered as she put more effort into impressing Ben than actually focusing on the course. Her shots became steadily more erratic as a result.
"Hey dweeb, maybe tone it down a bit before she accidentally turns one of us into a pincushion" Gwen warned, Ben snorting dismissively in reply.
"Oh calm down. Crystal Knight can handle this no problem, isn't that right?" he called out.
"Oh I can 'handle' a lot more than this~" she replied, giving him a wink that Ben returned with a thumbs up much to her delight.
"See? Totally nothing to-" Ben began before noticing a tire swinging right towards her "LOOK OUT!"
Crystal Knight turned too late and was struck in the side of the head and knocked her to the floor. Her arm swinging up and reflexively firing a volley of crystals, the wild shot heading towards the two kids. As Ben and Gwen managed to hit the deck in time for the crystals to stab into the Rust Bucket, Crystals Knight chuckled nervously.
"Eh-heh….my bad?"
After the watch timed out and the Tennysons were back on the road, Ben and Gwen were still arguing over the incident.
"She said she was sorry, what more do you want?" he asked in frustration.
"No, she said 'my bad' and then spent 5 minutes fussing over you while barely acknowledging me or grandpa" Gwen retorted, angrily smacking the table.
Max decided to cut in before things could escalate any further "Ben, I know you get…excited at seeing them in action, but you can't treat this like a game. They need to stay focused on the task at hand, not on showing off"
"Oh come on. They've handled everything fine so far" Ben scoffed, Gwen fixing him with a hard stare.
"You mean they got lucky and brute forced their way through nearly every fight?" she countered.
As Ben went to reply, the R.V began to sputter as its speed dropped to a slow crawl. "Oh what now?" Max thought.
A little ways back behind them, at the target range, the three hunters were observing the area.
"This is where the Chaquetrix was last activated" Tetrax commented, putting away his scanner.
"What kinda BDSM looking set up is this?" Kraab asked, taking in the ropes, hanging tires and spring boards "This earthling's a bit of a freak eh?"
"(amused alien gibberish)" SixSix replied, extending a metal tendril from his suit to pick up a crystal shard.
"Careful you don't know where that's been" Kraab joked before Tetrax ripped it out of SixSix's grasp.
As SixSix activated a hidden missile launcher on his arm, Tetrax's hand fell to his blaster. After a few tense moments SixSix huffed and deactivated his weapons "(mocking alien gibberish)"
"Whoa! Got a mouth on you" Kraab said in shock before a loud series of beeps rang out.
As the trio checked their scanner, they saw the Chaquetrix had just activated "Looks like our target is trying for round two already" Kraab snorted before burrowing into the earth and tunnelling away.
As SixSix took off with his jetpack, Tetrax waited for a few seconds to make sure they were gone before hurriedly pocketing the shard. He then activated his hoverboard and set off to rejoin the hunt.
-A few moments earlier-
The Rust Bucket had finally come to a stop outside of Slaterville, a long abandoned silver mining town. As Max stepped away from the engine he turned to his grandkids.
"Well I've found the problem" he announced, holding up a rubber tube pierced through by a crystal shard "Leaky fuel line"
Ben chuckled awkwardly "Heh, lucky shot? Don't worry grandpa I'll use the watch and get this fixed in no time" he offered.
"Actually Ben I can handle this" Max replied "And it'll go faster without any…distractions" he finished lamely, looking away as Gwen huffed in disapproval at his admission.
Ben however, was still too surprised by his grandfather's blunt refusal to notice any of that "Oh. Ok, I guess I'll just…explore a bit" he said, his mood slowly picking back up.
As Ben ran off, Max turned to Gwen "Maybe you could…?" he began.
"Keep an eye on him so he doesn't tear the place down with the watch? (sigh) Fine" she agreed reluctantly.
Her search for Ben didn't take long, as when she passed by an old vehicle repair shop a familiar flash of purple shone out from the doors. Taking a calming breath, she slipped inside making her way past shelves filled with old scrap metal.
"Ben? Hey calling all dweebs, get your butt out here!" she called out, unaware of someone sneaking up behind her.
As a chilling feeling shot through her she reflexively curled up slightly for warmth, wondering just where that breeze had come from. Her thoughts were interrupted as a purple eye appeared out of nowhere directly in front of her, jumping back with a muffled squeak she soon realised what was going on.
"Seriously Ben, again?" she snapped as an amused Ben, and smug Scream Queen, slowly faded into view.
"Gwendolyn, I see you're here to spoil our 'fun' together, as usual." Scream Queen said, her tone dripping with barely disguised annoyance as her tail coiled around Ben's arm.
Gwen glowered back. Despite her opinions on the others about their less than subtle invitations aimed at her cousin, she did admit they didn't really attempt to act on them without his (unintentional) permission. The ghostly 'hero' before her however set her on edge, her words and actions a tad 'too' possessive for her liking.
Ignoring the 'hero's' comment for now, she turned to her still smirking cousin "I'm not scared of your ghost girlfriend doofus" she said, taking a small amount of satisfaction at his face going red in shock.
Whatever denial he had planned to say, she never heard as the ground began to tremble beneath them. As the earth began to bulge and crack Scream Queen pulled Ben and (reluctantly) Gwen out of the way as Kraab burst free from the ground.
"But I might be scared of him" she gulped, eyes drawn to his menacing looking claw.
Kraab's head swivelled between the three of them, focusing on Scream Queen "An Ectonurite? Never seen one look so 'full' of life" he commented, gesturing at her figure with a snicker as her eye shone in outrage.
He then turned his attention to Ben "Huh, so the runt is one holding the leash" he mused "Alright, hand over the Chaquetrix and I promise you won't get hurt…much" he threatened.
"Chaquetrix?" Ben whispered to Gwen questioningly. Rolling her eyes she pointed at the watch "What else could he mean doofus" she whispered back snarkily.
Sticking his tongue out at her Ben held up the device defiantly at the alien mercenary "Sorry 'crabby' but we're kind attached"
"That's right" Scream Queen cut in "Our bond cannot be severed by the likes of you" hovering protectively over her 'partner'.
As Ben mumbled to himself ("I meant it's stuck on, but sure I guess..") Kraab began laughing uproariously "Seriously, you're going to try and fight me?"
"What do you mean? She's a superhero, I thought you knew about the watch" Ben replied in confusion.
"Superhero? What kinda weird roleplay are you int-" Kraab mocking was cut short as a white gloved fist struck him in the face "Gah! What the-Argh!"
As Ben and Gwen watched in a mix of awe and a little fear, Scream Queen relentlessly beat the metallic hunter "You dare insult him in front of me?! I'll tear out your flippant voice modulator!"
"Get…Off!" Kraab roared, slapping her away with his claw. Glaring hatefully at him, Scream Queen vanished from sight.
As she attempted to sneak up behind him his head pulled a 180 before aiming his claw at her. From its inbuilt cannon came a stream of orange sludge, the strange substance ignoring her intangibility and forcing her back into sight.
"Wha-what is this?" she grunted, attempting to phase it off of herself.
"Not used to being the one to get hard? I just solidified your protoplasm." Kraab explained "It means I can now do this!" driving his right fist into her gut, she let out a pained gasp as she was launched into the far wall.
As Kraab advanced on the downed 'hero', Gwen spotted a switch on the wall just behind the pair. Following where the wires led to she quickly whispering her plan to Ben.
As she crept her way behind the shelves Ben stepped out of cover, Chaquetrix held high.
"Alright you can have the watch just don't hurt her, please" he yelled, doing his best not to flinch as the merc's head spun around to face him.
"You really think I'm going to stop just because you said please?" Kraab laughed, claw aimed at Scream Queen's prone form.
Seeing Gwen had made it to the switch Ben smirked, much to Kraab's confusion "Then how about we 'switch' things up?" he said as an exasperated Gwen pulled the switch.
"Why are you saying it like th-Hey what the…HMMPH!" As the car lift he was standing on jerked into life, the cybernetic hunter was quickly pinned against the roof.
With Kraab temporarily taken care of, the two kids rushed over to check on Scream Queen. "You okay there?" Ben asked "Wait, is she crying?" he thought, noticing her sniffles.
"To be left in such as state by another man…how disgusting" she said bitterly "I'm sorry you had to step in and risk yourself for me"
"Hey we're partners right?" he replied, missing the innuendo as he wiped some of the sludge off of her and causing her to blush furiously. Not that anyone, even Gwen, could tell thanks to her hood.
As she vanished in a flash or red, Ben belatedly realised the watch had been chiming during their conversation. "I notice she didn't worry about me risking myself in the fight" Gwen commented dryly.
As Ben went to reply he heard the sound of scraping metal coming from above. As he and Gwen cast a glance at the trapped merc, they noticed the platform begin to shake.
"But let's save that argument for the drive" Gwen continued hurriedly, dragging Ben along as they sprinted back towards the Rust Bucket.
When they made it back to the R.V Max was just closing the hood, taking notice of their approach he smiled "Good timing! The repairs should hold until we get to a real town." as they came to a stop to catch their breath Max realised how panicked they looked "What happened?"
"Oh you know, robotic crab-men bursting out of the ground to steal Ben's watch. The usual." Gwen sarcastically explained "Except he kept calling it the Chaquetrix"
As Max had a minor heart attack, Ben pulled his arm free from Gwen and held the watch up defiantly "Who cares what he calls it. Just give me a minute to recharge and we'll take care of him."
"Not this time Ben." Max replied, ushering them into the R.V "Let's just get out of here"
Max wasted no time in speeding away, with the trio quickly making it to the outskirts of Slaterville. Inside, Gwen glanced out of the window before leaning back into the couch in relief. "No sign of 'crab guy' yet"
"He got lucky last time" Ben said crossing his arms "I'd like to see him try again."
As if in reply a red energy tipped buzzsaw tore through the roof of the Rust Bucket. As the kids screamed the saw retracted before a pair of hands punched through to force the hole open. As SixSix glared through the breach and Ben flinched away from the armoured hunter attempting to grab him, Max slammed the brakes on.
At the sudden stop SixSix was thrown forward and smacked face first onto the road, not giving him time to recover, Max then drove forward. A heavy 'thunk' signalling the hunter being run over brought a grim smirk to Max's face, unfortunately it didn't last long as a pair of sharp 'pops' rang out as the Rust Bucket began to shake and list to the right.
Having no choice but to stop, Max exited the R.V to find the rear right tires having been pierced by several metal spikes. To make matters worse, SixSix was slowly getting back to his feet, with Max able to 'feel' the hateful glare behind his mask. Help then came from an unlikely source, as Kraab burst from the ground behind SixSix and grabbed the stunned hunter with his claw.
"Back off gear-head, that reward is mine!" with a yell the crustacean slammed him back into the ground.
As the two continue their brawl Max noticed a mine entrance in a nearby rock face. Idly realising this must have been the old silvermine, he urged the kids to follow as they sprinted for safety inside.
As they made their way through the crumbling tunnels, they eventually ducked around a corner before stopping to catch their breath,
"Maybe" Ben began, leaning against the wall for support "Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll take care of each other"
As if to make a point on what the universe thought of their luck, Kraab barged through the wall behind them "No more games, give me the Chaquetrix!"
Dodging his lunge the trio took off running once more, barely keeping ahead of their enemy as his claw snapped forward. As they rounded another corner one of Kraab's legs caught on a twisted bit of cart tracks, sending the hunter tumbling into the opposite wall and burying him under a pile of loose rocks. As they reached an exit to the mineshaft, they found themselves facing a large chasm, a series of cable cars criss crossing the divide.
Ordering them to hop into the nearest car, Max barely had time to pull the lever and hop onboard before Kraab barged out the mineshaft behind them. As they made their way over the chasm, they looked back to see Kraab reach out with his claw to sever the cable. Once again they were saved from an unlikely source as SixSix soared over the mine, lasers firing from dozens of inbuilt weapons as he forced Kraab to stagger back into cover, they had no time to relax however as SixSix soon turned his attention (and aim) onto them.
As they hunkered down inside the car, hoping the sturdy metal would hold, Ben noticed the Chaquerix had recharged. Smirking he quickly scrolled through the icons before slamming it down, the flash forcing SixSix to pull back as Crystal Knight appeared in the car.
As she held onto the side to keep her balance as the car shook with the new weight, she spotted SixSix preparing to charge again.
"Wait. That doesn't look like the guy Scream Queen mentioned" she said shifting her arm to fire back a volley of shards.
"Scream Queen? Wait, you can talk to each other?" Gwen asked, flinching more lasers struck the car.
"I'll explain later. Right now I'm going to teach this guy some manners" the 'hero' said, standing tall before grabbing onto the flying merc as he made a pass.
The unexpected passenger (and the feeling of certain…features being pressed against him) caused SixSix to lose control, the pair zooming around the chasm before crashing into the wall ahead of the car. As the two aliens got back to their feet, the Tennysons car passed just overhead as it made its way into another mineshaft, Crystal Knight heard Max and Gwen cry out causing her to look up.
Doing so she had enough time to react as Ben dropped from the car, catching him bridal style, as Max called out to them.
"Ben! Get back up here, it's not safe!"
"Don't worry grandpa, we've got this besides" he said flashing the 'hero' a confident grin that made her shiver in delight "Can't leave my partner behind right?"
As Max and Gwen continued to be carried further away, the jump now too great to make, Crystal Knight set Ben down as she moved to confront the now recovered SixSix. Changing one of her arms into a blade she dashed forward, only for Kraab to tunnel up behind her and grab her with his claw.
"Hey careful, you could put someone's eye out with that" he joked, before his gaze drifted to a certain part of her chest "Or with those" he muttered distractedly.
Taking advantage of his distraction (while also furious at his actions) Crystal Knight pulled her arm back, causing him to stumble forward as she swung her free arm up. The uppercut forced him to let go as she prepared to follow up the attack, she never got the chance as SixSix used his jet back to dash forward and deliver a kick to the back of her left leg.
As she buckled Kraab took the opportunity to draw the sword on his back, swinging down it was blocked by the 'hero's' blade arm as she threw her other arm back in a wild punch catching SixSix between the legs.
Ben and Kraab winced as SixSix let out a pained squark, taking a few steps back as he tried to steady himself. As she forced Kraab back he retaliated with his claw laser, knocking her away to where Ben had taken cover. As Ben called out to the staggered 'hero', the two hunters watched each other warily.
"Guess you should have asked her to be gentle" Kraab quipped, causing SixSix to aim one of his blasters at him.
"(angry alien gibberish)" SixSix snapped, gesturing below the belt at Kraab.
"Hey there's no need to get personal!" Kraab replied defensively, shifting his claw over his waist.
Their argument was cut short as a metal sphere bounced across the ground in front of them, as everyone blinked in surprise the sphere suddenly released a cloud of gas that quickly engulfed the two hunters.
Unable to activate their armour's filters in time the pair dropped to the floor, leaving Ben and Crystal Knight to turn to where the attack had come from.
Behind them standing atop a green hoverboard was Tetrax, tossing the weapon in his hand aside he then urged the board forwards, the two heroes having no time to react as he grabbed them by their arms and flying off into the mines.
The duo struggled in his grasp as he emerged back into Slaterville, Tetrax coming to a halt before gently letting go of Crystal Knight while keeping a firm grip on Ben.
"Billions of beings on this planet and the Chaquetrix ends up in the hands of a child" he said in annoyance "You have no idea what your actions could have cost m-the galaxy" he amended quickly.
Turning to face the crystalline 'hero' his tone softened "Are you alri-" his question was answered by a crystal fist smashing into his faceplate.
The unexpected attack caused him to drop Ben as the force of the blow knocked him from his board. As Tetrax quickly staggered back to his feet, he found himself face to face with a furious Crystal Knight.
"Who do you think you are talking down to him like that?" she asked as Ben moved to stand beside her "And calling him a child? Real mature, making fun of his height!"
"I don't…what…but he is…" Tetrax stuttered out, realising he was losing control of the situation "What exactly do you think is happening here?" he finally settled on.
"Uh duh, you're some alien bad guy who's after the watch to stop me from calling in the superheroes" Ben answered, shaking his head at the 'villain's' question.
"Superheroes…?" Tetrax replied, sounding utterly lost "But that's not…"
"My 'partner' has already told you. If he says I'm a superhero, then I shall be a superhero" Crystal Knight confirmed, smiling at Ben's look of admiration.
"The Chaqetrix is meant to safeguard the future of all species in the galaxy" Tetrax finally snapped "Granted it was designed to do so in a rather unorthodox way…"
"What's weird about it?" Ben asked in confusion "The watch summons heroes and they keep people safe, it seems pretty simple to me"
"They're not meant to fight! You were lucky she wasn't killed trying to brute force her way through that battle" he angrily replied.
"Hey it was two on one!" Ben said defensively "Besides she could take you"
"I wish she would." Tetrax muttered quietly, much to Ben's confusion and Crystal Knight's disgust. "Wait! I didn't…"
As the 'hero' prepared to reply, she froze as a familiar chime rang out before she vanished in a flash of red. Ben, now standing alone against the hulking figure, backed up slowly as Tetrax let out a heavy sigh.
Folding his helmet back into his armour, Ben was shocked to see Tetrax was actually…
"You're a guy version of Crystal Knight?"
"That is a terrible name" Tetrax replied bluntly "Look let's start over. My name is Tetrax Shard and while, yes I am a bounty hunter, I'm not a 'bad guy'" he explained, more than a little condescendingly.
"I'm here to make sure the Chaquetrix doesn't fall into the wrong hands. Honestly I thought the worst would be some wannabe ganglord pimp wanting to exploit it, not try and use it as a weapon" he continued "And you clearly have no idea what to do with them-IT. So I'll be taking you with me to find a way to remove it so I can-Where is my board?" he trailed off suddenly.
"Looking for this?" a voice called out mockingly from behind them.
As they turned they spotted Kraab holding up the deactivated hoverboard "You're not going anywhere, and just to make sure" he gestured behind him a SixSix appeared, holding Max and Gwen at gunpoint "See we've decided we're going to split the reward, and you, in half!"
With that, Kraab aimed his claw at the young hero and opened fire, Tetrax stepping in the way and easily tanking the hit before scooping up the boy and sprinting into one of the abandoned houses for cover.
Setting Ben down, Tetrax simply stood by as Kraab's attacks deflected harmlessly off his body.
"Here's the plan. I'm going to recover my board, then we're going to escape off world to find a way to remove the Chaquetrix" he said, Ben galring back in response.
"No way! I'm not abandoning my family, or letting those creeps get away. That's not what heroes do" Ben said defiantly.
"You need to stop playing hero and actually 'think' about the situation!" Tetrax snapped, any further words cut off a pair of metallic wire wrapped around his waist "Oh son of a-"
As Tetrax was yanked outside he was met with SixSix using his jetpack to charge forward and deliver a lariat. As Tetrax was spiked into the ground, SixSix's shoulder pads opened up to reveal two smaller hands holding blasters as she opened fire on his down foe. Ignoring the shots, Tetrax slammed his hand onto the floor, causing a crystal spike to shoot up and launch the mutant into the air. Grabbing him by the ankle, Tetrax then threw him at a stunned Kraab, as the crustacean merc was knocked off his feet Max and Gwen took the chance to run for cover.
As Tetrax rushed towards his opponents, Ben watched from inside the partially wrecked home, the watch chiming to signal a recharge. Wasting no time he activated the dial and prepared to select Armizon, when his Grandfather's (intended) and Tetrax's (misinterpreted) words came back to him.
"Think things through" he muttered, scrolling along he came to Cerebra's icon and slammed the dial down. As the diminutive 'hero' appeared on his shoulder he noticed her taking in the scene.
"It appears that armoured brute is busy elsewhere" she commented, the distant sounds of blasters and heavy punches echoing throughout the town "What do you need me to do?"
"You know about him? Wait Crystal Knight kinda knew what was going on too" Ben said, recalling her reaction to SixSix.
"Indeed, it is a recent development that I'd be happy to explain to you" she replied before the sound of a steadily growing scream caught their attention. The pair peering out the ruined doorway to see Kraab fall out of the sky and hit the ground in a heap just outside their hiding spot "But later, right now we need to deal with our pursuers"
"Just taking them head on wasn't working, we need to think it through" Ben replied "And you're just the hero we need"
While standing proud at the praise she noticed Kraab begin to stir, glancing up at the rafters overhead she quickly put together a plan before passing it on to her 'partner'.
"I'm sorry that you need to be in danger for this" she said, genuinely ashamed at putting him at risk "You must let me 'make it up' to you later" she added with a grin.
"Hey don't worry about that, this is part of being a hero" he replied carelessly before noting her disappointed look "But we can always celebrate later"
"Ah yes, Ripjaws and Heart's Fire have been rather smug over their 'rewards' recently" she commented "But I shall look forward to that, right now we need to act"
Nodding, Ben carefully threw her into the air, allowing her to grab onto the beam overhead. As she gave him a thumbs up, Kraab fully recovered, and quickly spotted Ben standing in the house. Scuttling forward, he quickly advanced on the young hero, knocking aside the table Ben attempted to hide behind.
"Ok, that's it!" He growled "No more running! No more hiding behind your weirdly aggressive showgirls! I'm taking the Chaquetrix, even if I need to take your whole arm with it!"
Unfortunately for Kraab, he was so blinded by his anger he never noticed the small figure dropping down on him until it was too late. Easily slipping into the gap between his neck and the armoured torso, Cerebra set about her plan.
"Let's see there should be a nerve cluster right…about…here!" she called out, holding the bundle up triumphantly.
"Wait!" Kraab yelled out panickedly, as he felt her pause he pleaded "Be gentle?"
"No"
Ruthlessly ripping the cord away, Kraab let out a pained scream as his body began to spark and twitch erratically. Staggering out of the house, he felt her rip out another bundle before his body went limp, falling heavily to the floor.
As Ben rushed out to check on her, they took note of the brawl occurring down the street, Tetrax and SixSix continuing to trade shots as Max and Gwen hid behind an old mine cart.
Thinking for a moment Cerebra whispered a new plan to Ben, as she set to work rewiring Kraab's nerve clusters Ben returned to the house and grabbed one of the broken table's legs.
Using it to help lift Kraab's claw arm he grunted as he struggled to keep it steady.
"Any…time..now"
"Don't worry big boy, just waiting for the right pattern" she replied, carefully watching SixSix's flight pattern "Now!" reconnecting a certain nerve Kraab's claw fired, an orange lance of energy shooting out and striking SixSix directly in the jetpack.
Smoke billowing, SixSix flailed helplessly as he sailed erratically through the sky, taking out one of the legs on a nearby water tower. SixSix's flight came to an end as he crashed into the ground, a trench carved as he came to a stop next to Kraab.
As Cerebra hopped into Ben's waiting hand, he quickly sprinted to safety as the water town buckled and fell towards the two immobilised hunters.
"I hate this planet" Kraab groaned just before it collapsed, burying them underneath its rotting bulk.
As Max, Gwen and Tetrax approached, Ben shot the alien hunter a smug look as Cerebra posed on his shoulder "Still think we're 'playing' at being heroes?" he asked.
Taking a moment to check that SixSix and Kraab were indeed out for the count, Tetrax used a strange device from his belt to trap the pair inside a size shifting energy cube. Returning it to his belt, he turned his attention back to an expectant Ben.
"Fine…perhaps I was too…hasty in my dismissal of their abilities" he conceded.
"So does that mean you're not going to try to take the watch?" Ben asked, prompting Max to move protectively in front of him.
"Well, I don't actually have a way to remove it from you…yet. And it does seem to be in good hands" he replied, looking thoughtful "I'll admit, I don't think anyone else would have thought to use the Chaquetrix the way you have. Maybe it can be more than just…never mind"
Shaking his head, Tetrax spotted his hoverboard amongst the wreckage, picking it up he paused for a moment before passing it to a stunned Ben as Cerebra timed out.
"Wait…really?!" he asked excitedly, before pausing in thought "Hold on, I thought you need this to leave Earth. It's why you stayed to fight"
"Selective disinformation" Terax replied with a small smirk.
"What?" Ben asked, turning to Gwen, "He lied." she answered, rolling her eyes.
Quickly putting the pieces together, Ben smiled as he turned back to the hunter "I guess you're not such a bad guy after all"
"You mind telling that to…Crystal Knight was it?" he asked, looking strangely hopeful.
As Gwen let out an annoyed "Really?" Ben nodded "Uh sure, I guess so" he agreed.
Seemingly satisfied, Tetrax let his helmet unfold once more before activating another device on his belt, teleporting away.
As the trio made their way back to the Rust Bucket Ben looked deep in thought, taking notice of Ben's unusually quiet attitude Max asked what was up.
"Oh it's just something Tetrax said" Ben admitted "Hey grandpa…"
With a bad feeling Max hesitantly asked "Yes Ben?"
"What's a pimp, you think it's some alien thing?" he asked innocently.
As Max once again choked in surprise, high up in orbit, Vilgax observed Tetrax's departure from the planet.
"To have defeated two hunters while driving off the third…perhaps whatever being that has the Chaquetrix also realises it's true potential" Vilgax mused, before wondering why he suddenly felt as if he was the butt of some joke.
-Canon Omake-
Inside of the Chaquetrix, as the nine 'heroes' waited for Cerebra to return, Crystal Knight mused about this new addition to their "home".
Cerebra had hypothesised that this was a sort of "mental plane" within the watch, to allow them to better prepare each other between the mas-Ben's summons. Why it looked like an expanded version of the human's R.V was unknown but, again, she hypothesised that it was simply based on a shared memory for a location they were all familiar with.
A flash of red from above signalled that Cerebra had returned. As the Galvan hopped onto the table, the others eagerly crowded around.
"What happened, is Ben ok?" Heart's Fire asked frantically.
"Did you deal with that despicable 'crab'?" Scream Queen asked, her tone dripping with distain.
"Is that armoured creep gone?" Crystal Knight asked flatly.
"In order; Ben is fine, the crustacean has been dealt with and the 'creep' has agreed to leave us be" Cerebra replied "Now if you excuse me, I need to rest up. Ben wants to summon me back to celebrate our victory later" she added smugly.
The others tensed up, recalling the other times they'd been called to celebrate. Ben had previously taken Ripjaws, Ultra-T and Heart's Fire on "dates" as thanks for their efforts.
"What! No fair, I helped out too!" Crystal Knight yelled, glaring at the tiny alien.
"If any of us deserves a date for what happened today, it should be me!" Scream Queen hissed, eyes glowing ominously.
As the three fell into an argument over who deserved it more, Armizon felt relieved that this 'realm' hadn't existed a week ago. She hated to think how they'd react to knowing she was the first to see him shirtless.