The Tennyson's screamed and yelled in delight as they slid down the tall grassy hill on giant blocks of ice – Ben going down on his front and spreading his arms out like he was pretending to fly. Trixie wasn't sure why this was a family activity that Max and Gwen agreed to, nor where they got three giant blocks of ice in the middle of summer, but they seemed to be having fun at least. Trixie, on the other hand, was content with watching from afar, sitting comfortably on a bench of her laptop.
The Tennysons were laughing all the way to the bottom of the hill when they finally came to a stop.
"Oh man, that was awesome!" Ben cheered. "You sure you don't want in on this action, Trix."
"No thanks," Trixie politely declined. "I'd rather not get frostbite on my butt."
"Your loss," Ben snickered, rounding to his cousin and grandfather. "Let's try the bigger hill this time."
"I think sitting on that ice gave you brain freeze," said Gwen after seeing the larger hill that Ben pointed out. "It's gonna take you forever to carry that block up there."
"Don't you ever get tired of being wrong?" Ben grinned knowingly.
Gwen should have expected as much when her cousin started fiddling with the Omnitrix, cycling through the option, and slamming the facedown, exploding in a burst of green light.
Fasttrack picked up the ice block and zoomed back his cousin and grandfather, kicking grass in their face. He reached the top of the biggest hill in less than a second, striking a pose like showman.
"Presenting Fasttrack on ice!" he announced grandiosely.
The speedy feline planted his butt on the ice block and used his arms to propel himself down the hill. But due to his alien strength, the Citrakayah shot off like a bullet leaving the chamber, zooming down as a black-and-blue blur. He barely had enough time to yell at his family to get out of the way as Gwen and Max dived in either direction. Trixie yelped when she noticed the sliding alien was coming her way, closed her laptop, and leapt to safety before Fasttrack barreled through the bench like a bulldozer.
And he just kept going and going with no signs of stopping. He gasped as he started making his way to an area crowded with picnic-goers. He used his left hand to steer the ice block away, narrowly dodging the people in time – and yet found the opportunity to snag a hot dog from an innocent, and confused, bystander.
"Thanks!" Fasttrack shouted back, taking a bit of the hot dog.
The Citrakayah hero yelped as he approached another hill and went sailing through air, tossing the hot dog and holding on to the ice block beneath him. Fasttrack managed to land safely on the ground, but the impact combined with the friction of the sledding event caused the ice to break down and gradually melt away. Fasttrack eventually came to a stop as the last of the ice melted underneath his butt; his grand adventure ending in front of a mother and son staring down at the speedy feline in bewilderment.
"Mommy, why did that big kitty wet himself?" the boy asked innocently.
Fasttrack looked down and revealed that his butt and the grass beneath his was soaking wet, giving him a very bad impression. The speedy alien groaned and covered his face in shame.
After more wacky adventures involving a charity basketball game with the Harlem Globetrotters, a two-minute invasion of ant-sized aliens, a trip to the cretaceous period with a time traveling caveman, and a crossover event with a half-ghost boy and a teenage robot girl from another universe, it was finally sundown.
Trixie was coming back from the weekly phone call with Kevin. She was proud to hear that he was on better terms with his mom and learning how to use his powers properly, though he was still on the outs with his step-father. Trixie stepped into the Rust Bucket and the first thing she saw was Max washing the dishes from tonight's dinner. Gwen must have been in the bathroom (those spicy bung beetles did not agree with her) and Ben was on her laptop.
Trixie scowled; Ben knew he wasn't allowed on her laptop.
"What do you think you're doing?" Trixie questioned him, crossing her arms.
"Hmm, is this some kind of trick question?" Ben smirked amusingly. "I'm gonna go online and check out the new Sumo Slammer blog."
"Not without asking permission," said Trixie firmly. "That laptop has all of my notes and research on it. Literally everything I've even built in my three months of life (as a human) in on that computer."
"Okay, may I please use your computer?" Ben asked sarcastically.
"And let you contaminate it with a virus or something – not happening!" said Trixie firmly.
"See, that's why I didn't ask first," said Ben knowingly.
Ben tapped the keyboard a few times…when the screen suddenly went black without explanation. His eyes blew wide, biting his bottom lip nervously. He glanced between the blank screen and Trixie, who noticed how he had suddenly gone quiet.
"Benjamin, what're you – "
To Ben's sweet relief, a loud groaning noise from the bathroom distracted everyone in the RV. It sounded like Gwen was still on the toilet, and she was in excruciating pain.
"Oof, maybe I should've help back on those Indian spices," Max winced sympathetically.
Ben closed the laptop and carried it outside while Trixie wasn't looking. He sat down on the road, leaning against the Rust Bucket, opening the laptop and hoping it was just a bad dream. But no matter how many times he pushed the power button, the screen still remained blank.
"Oh man, oh man, oh man," Ben groaned.
"Benjamin, what are you doing?" Trixie questioned, stepping out the door to find him.
"Nothing!" Ben yelped, slamming the laptop shut.
"Benjamin, give me back my computer," Trixie demanded. "I've got some very important files I need to send to the Test Twins tonight."
"Uh, I just uh…I need a minute," Ben stuttered fearfully, standing up while hiding the laptop behind his back.
"Ben, you need to be more respectful of people's property," Max scolded his grandson, leaning out the door with a roll of toilet paper in hand.
"Uh – uh – Hey, I've got an idea!" Ben suddenly yelled, taking them aback. "Let's all go out and do something as a family!" Trixie crossed her arms, brow quirked suspiciously. "You could even pick this time, Trixie. Anything you want!"
"…Okay, I'm definitely suspicious," said Trixie bluntly. "But if you're saying I can choose anything…."
Two hours later, Ben was massively regretting all his life choice.
He should have known that Trixie's big idea of a "fun, family outing" would be going to the nearby university and listening to some old guy lecture on and on another boring science stuff. Even worse was that his grandfather seemed to enjoy it as well, even had hushed discussions with Trixie during the whole thing. The only upside was that he wasn't the only one suffering; Gwen couldn't sit down for more than five minutes before her stomach made a horrible gurgling noise and she dashed off to the nearest bathroom. She had been running back and forth all night; she had pretty much done an entire month's worth of cardio in one sitting.
Ben thanked whatever higher force in the universe that the lecture ended and finally free.
"That was amazing!" said Trixie cheerfully. "Professor Utonium's theory on fourth-dimensional waveform was truly eye-opening. I think I now have a better understand of how Chronosapien and Chronian powers function. What did you think, Benjamin?"
"Two words: Bor-ing," Ben complained.
"Apparently we need to work on math and grammar," Trixie ridiculed.
Ben rolled his eyes and walked away with a groan, leaving Trixie behind (Max was waiting for Gwen to get out of the bathroom.) We walked by the university community board when something in the corner of his eye drew his attention and turned around. The entire right sided of the community board was taken up by a large poster of two robots fight each other.
"'Jersey City's First Annual Giant Robot Rumble,'" Ben read aloud. "'Think you got what it takes to beat the best bots on the planet? Prove it in the ring and win ten thousand Earth dollars. Sponsored by very normal humans who are not Glorft.'"
That last bit was a little suspicious, but Ben didn't care. The universe had literally handed him the perfect opportunity to correct his mistake and win Trixie a new computer. Not that it would get back all his probably-deleted files and research and such, but it was the thought that count!
Trixie, Max, and a deathly-pale Gwen were walking his way when Ben let out a loud, theatrical yawn.
"Well, it's getting late," said Ben, rubbing his eye and pretending to act tired. "We better get back and get to bed."
"Really?" asked Max. "They have a great old sawmill near here. I was hoping we could check it out."
"I'm actually inclined to agree with Benjamin," said Trixie, to Ben's relief. "I don't think Gwendolyn will survive another trip tonight."
"Hmm, I suppose your right," Max agreed, grabbing Gwen's shoulder to stabilize his wobbling granddaughter. "We oughta get her to bed. Maybe I can cook up and old homemade remedy for her stomach."
"Or could try not killing her by getting some bismuth subsalicylate," Trixie suggested.
"Yeah, yeah, come on, let's go," said Ben, pushing his family in the direction of the parking lot.
Ben waited until close to midnight before enacting his plan. He made sure that Everyone was asleep where they were supposed to be. Gwen was tucked in on the top bunk, having gotten some proper medicine and finally calmed down. Trixie was and Max were lying fast asleep in their respective sleeping arrangements; Max's loud snores were the best indicator.
Ben slowly and silently slid out of bed, still fully clothed, and slipped on his shoes before sneaking outside, quietly closing the door behind him. He ran to the opposite end of the parking lot before activating the Omnitrix.
"Okay, Jersey City's a couple towns away," Ben muttered to himself. "I'll go Fasttrack, win the prize, and come straight back. Easy-peasy."
He slammed down the faceplate, transforming into the Citrakayah hero, and zoomed down the road with a trail of dust in his wake.
Find the arena was not as difficult as it should have been. A thirty square mile wrestling ring was literally erected in the middle of Jersey City where the body looked like it was made from junk from a scrapyard and the ropes were made out of bridge cables. Ben had been to a lot of weird places over the course of his summer – from Townsville where teenage superheroes were the norm, to the middle of Nowhere where creepy stuff happened on a daily basis. But Jersey City was on different level of weird because not only were there giant robots fighting in the middle of the city, thousands of peoples were sitting on benches on top of skyscrapers cheering like it was a regular sporting event.
There were a dozen robots lingering around the ring by the time Ben showed up and two of them were already in the ring. One looked like a red and yellow Gundam running up to a spherical robot twice. The smaller robot punched the large machine three times with no apparent damage being done. The spherical machine glanced down momentarily, then lifted its flat hands and clapped them together on the smaller robot's head, crushing its mechanical skull like a tin can. The headless robot collapsed on the ground and the sound of a bell ringing blared from the surrounding speakers.
"Another victory goes to the Invici-Bot!"
On the northern side of the ring was an object that looked like a giant metal tower. On top of that tower was a table where the announcers broadcasted their play-by-play…. Only the announcers were in no way humans in any shape or form. For one thing, they had squid heads that were somehow even uglier than Vilgax. Not to mention the cybernetic enhancements like the full body armor and robot arms. But somehow, they thought they could fool everyone…with a couple of fake handlebar mustaches and glasses.
"That makes three consecutive wins in a row!" announced one of the squid-faced aliens. "For those of you just tuning in, welcome to the first annual Giant Robot Rumble! I'm your host, Bob…uh…Notglorft!"
"And I'm Steve…uh…Notglorft!" the other squid-faced announcer followed lamely. "Looks like the Invici-Bot is on its way to challenging the local champion! It looks like no one can take it down!"
"We'll see about that," said Ben, smirking confidently. He activated the Omnitrix and snuck away quietly behind the nearest building….
Meanwhile, a single robot on the south side of the ring stood out not only because of its tacky trucker decals and hotrod flames, but also because it's "head" was red sports car that was comedically disproportionate to the rest of the body. In the driver's seat of the "car" was a an overweight spiky hair blonde man with an equally spiky goatee, scarfing down every type of "sports food" imaginable from hots dogs, to popcorn, to burgers, and everything in between without even stopping to breathe. The dark-haired slacker in the passenger's seat sipped his soda unnecessarily noisily because he knew it would irritated the redheaded woman in the back seat. Said redheaded woman leaned against the front seat, resting her head in her hand with a bored gaze. She reeled back quickly as their rotund driver pumped his fists into the air and cheered.
"WHOO! Yeah! Go, Invici-Bot! You the bot!" Harold "Coop" Cooplowski whooped like a child on Christmas. "Man, this is so awesome! Best Giant Robot Rumble ever!"
"It's the only Giant Robot Rumble," said Jamie lazily.
"Details," Coop waved him off.
"You do realize this is a trap by the Glorft right?" said Kiva Andru, not even bothering to get worked up, knowing how this will all play out.
"What? No way!" said Coop in disbelief. "The poster said it's run by normal humans who are not Glorft. And posters don't lie, Kiva."
"That's literally Gorrath and his commander in disguise," said Kiva insistently, pointing at the 'announcers.'
"No, that's Bob and Steve Notglorft," Coop dismissed her again. "Girl, you're so paranoid."
"But – "
"Give it up, Kiva," said Jamie listlessly, taking another loud sip of his soda. "He'll figure it out…hopefully."
"That's 'hopefully' is what I'm afraid of," Kiva lamented, but reluctantly sat back down and watched the rest of the match.
The Invici-Bot was making its run around the ring, soaking in the adulation of the audience, when the ground suddenly trembled and a thunderous thud boomed behind it. The spherical robot turned and discovered Way Big standing on the opposite side of the ring with his fists raised ready to fight.
"Hold on a tic, folk!" Bob Notglorft announced. "It looks like we've got another challenger in the ring! And who do are you supposed to be, challenger?"
"They call me…Way Big!" Way Big announced dramatically.
"Wait…is that even a robot?" questioned Steve Notglorft. "This is a robot-only tournament."
"Uh, of course I'm a robot," said Way Big as he literally started doing 'the robot.' "Beep-boop-boop-boop-beep!"
"That's not a robot," said Kiva bluntly.
"Totally not a robot," Jamie agreed.
"Are you guys crazy?" said Coop in disbelief. "It just went 'Beep-boop-boop-boop-beep.' Classic robot noises."
Kiva and Jamie exchanged looks and shook their heads exasperatedly.
Bob Notglorft stared down Way Big critically for a long minute, humming thoughtfully…, then shrugged and said, "Good enough for me! Fight!"
As the bell rang over the loudspeakers, the Invici-Bot hobbled over and threw out its flat hands to palm strike the To'kustar. Way Big almost casually sidestepped the attack, clasping his hands together over his head and bringing it down on the machine's back, driving them into the floor. He then grabbed the Invici-Bot by its flat head and tossed it across the ring like a baseball, throwing them into the cable-ropes. The cables groaned as they were stretched out, nearly hitting the buildings, but then slingshot the Invici-Bot back toward Way Big. The To'kustar hero reeled back and punch his fist through the Invici-Bot's center, coming out the other side. He grabbed the edges of the hole with his other hand and ripped the robot in half with a victorious roar.
"Incredible!" shouted Bob Notglorft excited. "The Invinci-Bot is destroyed! The winner is…Big Guy!"
"That's Way Big!" Way Big corrected.
"Whatever," said Bob Notglorft dismissively.
The To'kustar raised his fists in celebration as literally thousands of people cheered him on in surround sound. He felt like he was on top of the world (which probably had something to do with being eighty feet tall.) Way Big stomped over towards the commentators and leaned over cable-rope to speak to them directly.
"So, where's my prize money?" he asked.
"Prize money?" said Steve Notglorft.
"Didn't you read the rules?" Bob Notglorft sneered. "This is an elimination competition. You have to destroy – I mean, kill – I mean, rip limb-from-limb – "
"You have to beat the other contestants to get the money," Steve Notglorft interjected. "That's ten – maybe fifteen – matches."
"That'll take all night!" Way Big complained. "It's already past my bed time!"
"Did he just say bedtime?" asked Kiva; the To'kustar was loud enough for everyone to hear.
"What is he, a kid?" Jamie scoffed.
"Hey, sleep is super important," said Coop defensively. "It's, like, my third favorite activity."
"After what? Eating and playing video games?" asked Kiva sarcastically.
"Yes," Coop answered unabashedly.
"Should've known," Kiva, running a hand down her face.
Way Big wanted to argue that he didn't have all night to get the prize money, especially when there was every opportunity for Trixie or his family to wake up and realize he was missing. But before he could get a word in, the emblem on his chest buzzed red, signaling that his time was up.
"Uh-oh!" Way Big muttered to himself.
The To'kustar pivoted and ran to the opposite end of the arena, hopping over the rope-cable, and thundering down the street. He managed to make it six city blocks and flatted himself against a tall skyscraper that barely managed to conceal him (shattering thousands of windows in the process) just in time for the Omnitrix's countdown to finish. The giant To'Kustar exploded in a burst of red light and puny four-foot Ben Tennyson stood in his place, surrounded by glass shards.
"Oh man, ten-to-fifteen matches," Ben complained. "That'll take forever. And with the watch needing to recharge every ten minutes, it'll take even longer. Grr, I hate fine print."
"Hey, kid!"
"BWAH!" Ben screamed, jumping back with a frighten as Coop came around the corner with a friendly wave. "Oh man, don't do that! You almost gave me a heart attack!"
"Sorry, sorry," Coop apologized, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "Hey, have you seen a giant red-and-white robot that looks like a Japanese superhero. Can believe anyone could lose someone that big."
"Uh, yeah, he left for a while, but he'll be back," Ben reassured him.
"Oh, that's great," said Coop, sounding relieved. "I was worried he ran off before we had a chance to go one-on-one."
"You're competing, too?" asked Ben curiously.
"Oh, shoosh, yeah!" said Coop. "Not to brag or anything, but I got the coolest robot in the whole galaxy. Been kicking all kinds of robot butt for years."
"Is that right?" Ben questioned suspiciously.
"Yeah, it's nothing," said Coop, waving it off. "So, how do you know that big guy?"
"Uh…he just kinda came outta nowhere one night," answered Ben.
The rest of the night went on in a montage fashion.
When the Cooldown Mode ended, Ben slapped the Omnitrix and transformed into Way Big again. He would then go in and defeat several crazy giant robots in the ring in under ten minutes, then leave before the timer ran out. Then he would wait ten minutes for Cooldown Mode to end and repeat the cycle over and over again. Ben was honestly amazed that he managed to get Way Big each time. Knowing his luck, he expected to turn into Grey Matter or Pesky Dust, but it seemed like the Omnitrix was finally cooperating with him for a change. If he didn't know better, he would think the watch wanted him to win the money to fix Trixie's laptop, too.
Not that matches themselves were any easier.
In the second round, Way Big went up a crab-legged robot with a humanoid torso and one giant pincer. The creepy crustacean scuttled around just out of his reach and managed to land a solid blow in the back of Way Big's head, disorienting the To'kustar. The giant crab-bot then jumped on his back, clamping his legs around Way Big's waist, and closed his pincer on Way Big's frill, causing him great pain. Way Big gritted his teeth and grabbed the pincer, forcing it to open until he snapped the claw into pieces. He then jumped in the air and fell on his back, crushing the crab-bot underneath his weight.
But Way Big wasn't the only one flying through the round.
In the following match, Coop squared off in his giant robot car called the Megas against a giant cyclops robot that shot lasers from its eyes. Using his…unqiue system controls, Cooper crossed the Megas' arms to block the lasers, forming a hexagonal barrier. He stepped closer in-between blasts until he was standing in front of the cy-bot. The Megas reeled back its fist and swung a heavy haymaker across the robot's face, tearing the cy-bots's head from its body and sending it flying through the air. Bob and Steve Notglorft screamed like little girls and ran away before the cy-bot's head could crush them. The totally human commentators yelled at Coop, who grinned sheepishly.
Several rounds later, Ben transformed into Way Big again and fought against a giant robot that looked like a giant blue porcupine. When the bell rang, the porcu-bot curled into a ball, its spikes sticking out, and shot at Way Big like a cannonball. Way Big attempted to block with his hand, but that only ended with his palm getting cut up by the spikes before he took a blow to chest. The To'kustar fell on his back with a thunderous crash, wincing. He looked up and saw the porcu-bot flying into the air and dropping down from above in his curled form. Way Big pulled back is legs and kicked out at the porcu-bot. the collision between both forced caused the purcu-bot's to crumple inwards on impact and literally fell to pieces all over the ring.
And in a later round, Megas cautiously backed away from a robot with a gator-like head mounded on a hulking body. Coop activated the Megas' rocket punch attack, but the gator-bots clamped its jaw down on the flying fist, chewing its several times until it was reduced to a crumple ball of metal and spat it out. A spare hand popped out of the Megas' arm as the gator-bot charge. The Megas grabbed both ends of the gator-bot's jaw before it could clamp down on the car. It was managing to hold the gator-bot's jaw in place, but the Megas was slowly starting to buckle under the pressure. While Jamie screamed in the passenger's seat like a little girl, Coop pressed a sequence of buttons on his gaming controller, which activated a hidden laser cannon in the Megas' chest. The cannon shot a blinding-white laser beam that incinerated the Gator-Bot's body, leaving only its legs and head. The Megas raised its arm victoriously to the cheering crowd and punted the gator-bot's head into the next state.
Ben rubbed his eyes and stifled a loud yawn as he walked through the street filled with stalls and food trucks for the event. He had just come back from fighting a robot hamster and his body was sore. Fighting back-to-back matches was a lot more grueling than Ben had anticipated, especially since he was fighting so late into the night. He looked up at the electric clock above the bank and realized it was past four A.M. This was the latest he's ever been up, not counting the time he was brainwashed into robbing a mall.
"Okay, Ben, you got this," said Ben, smacking his face a couple of times to keep himself awake. "Just one more match, then you can use that money to buy Trixie a new computer, and maybe she won't fry my butt. You can totally do this."
Ben pivoted on his foot, maybe thinking of getting something to perk him awake like chocolate or something spicy, and nearly ran into someone. Ben took several steps back before they could collide and looked up at Kiva, taking notice of her futuristic-looking bodysuit. Kiva was staring down at Ben, scowling with her arms crossed. The wielder of the Omnitrix twitched nervously under her steely gaze.
"Uh…can I help you?" asked Ben.
"Where did you find a To'kustar, let alone manage one?" Kiva asked seriously.
"Uh…what?" said Ben, momentarily confused. He briefly remembered Trixie saying that was the name of Way Big's species. And if this woman knew that, there was a possibility his cover might be blown. "Uh, I have no idea what you're talking about. I manage the guy who pilots the robot – "
"I know for a fact that To'kustar is not a robot," said Kiva firmly. "It's a rare species of alien that normally live alone on the edge of the galaxy. How you got one to come to Earth, alone participate in a wrestling match, is unheard of."
"Aliens?" Ben brushed her off, laughing nervously. "That's crazy talk."
Kiva scowled, then her eyes lowered towards the Omnitrix on his left arm, which was still in Cooldown Mode.
"…That watch," Kiva spoke up; Ben stiffened. "It's the same symbol as the one on the To'kustar's chest…. Now that I think about it, back before the Glorft invaded Earth in my time, there were a bunch of ancient historical documents that talked about an ancient warrior with the power to transform into different aliens."
"Heh, you – you've been reading too many comics, lady," Ben giggled anxiously.
"…You know what, never mind," Kiva sighed. "Listen, whether it's alien or robot, it doesn't matter. You just tell your friend to skip the next match."
"Wait, what?" asked Ben incredulously.
"Don't come to the next match," Kiva repeated. "This whole thing is set-up to capture a...reluctant acquaintance of mine, and take the Megas, which is the only thing that can defeat the Glorft. I can't convince Coop to drop out, so I need your guys to not show up so the Glorft can't spring their trap."
"…Oh, I see how it is," said Ben, glaring. "You're just trying to trick me so you can keep the money for yourself."
"Kid, did you not hear me – "
"Oh, I heard you just fine," said Ben. "And Way Big is gonna kick your guy's butt six ways to Sunday. Just you watch."
"That not what I – oh, great," Kiva groaned as Ben ran off, disappearing into the crowd. She ran a hand down her face. "Why are people from the past so unbelievably bullheaded? Now what am I going to do…?"
The woman from the future hummed, stroking her chin thoughtfully, when she noticed something up ahead. It was Bob and Steve Notglorft, looking around suspiciously before moving into a dark alleyway. Kiva narrowed her eyes suspiciously. She ran up to the corner, peeked in cautiously, then ran inside. She took cover behind a dumpster (pinching her nose to block out the putrid smell) and peered around the clearly alien warmongers deep in discussion.
" – thing in place?" asked Bob Notglorft.
"All the men are in position for the final phase," answered Steve Notglorft.
"Excellent," said Bob Notglorft with an insidious smile. "I don't know if this 'Way Big' can defeat that wretched overweight Earth primate, but it doesn't matter. All it needs to do is weaken the Megas enough for our men to move in and capture it. Then, once we have the war machine back in our possession, there will be nothing to stop us from conquering the galaxy!"
CRASH!
"What was that?" yelled Bob Notglorft, spinning around.
Kiva cursed her luck. A cat had just crawled out of the dumpster, which caused a bottle to fall out and smash on the ground, giving away her location. The woman from the future grimaced as she met eye-to-eye with the squid-faced warmonger.
"It's the red-haired monkey!" yelled Bob Notglorft. "Capture her!"
Kiva jumped up and sprinted towards the end of the alley. But before she could get too far, Steve Notglorft held out his cybernetic arm and shot a glowing yellow beam net from his wrist. The net snagged around Kiva, closing in on itself, and forced Kiva to crumple into a ball on the ground. Kiva fruitlessly tried to pull at the laser net to free herself to no avail. Bob and Steve Notglorft walked over and stood menacingly over her.
"What do we do with her, sir?" asked Steve Notglorft. "Should we kill her?"
"No," said Bob Notglorft, a cruel smile stretching on his rubbery lips. "Let's take her with us. As insurance."
Twenty minutes later….
"Attention pathetic human troglodytes!" Bob Notglorft announced. "The final match is about to begin! Two machines will enter the ring, but only one will come out alive – "
"He means that metaphorically, of course!" Steve Notglorft interjected.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, right," Bob Notglorft grumbled. "Entering the ring, the most disgusting, fat, dimwitted, most unbearable thorn in my side – "
"Megas!" Steve Notglorft finished, much to Bob Notglorft's annoyance.
Spotlights on the ground flashed on, swinging around the buildings dramatically before stopping at the top of the tallest skyscraper. The Megas stood on the roof (which was cracking under the Megas' weight) with a double rocker sign. The blue war machine jumped off the building (which finally broken underneath) and landed in the center of the ring with a thunderous boom. The fans whooped and screamed for their hometown hero; Coop smiled and waved proudly at his fans, while Jamie soaked up the adoration in the passenger's seat like it was meant for him.
"Hey, where's Kiva?" asked Coop, looking at the empty backseat.
"Who cares?" Jamie scoffed. "Probably doing something super uncool like…painting her nails or something."
"Girls do like painting their nails," Coop nodded sagely.
"And his opponent!" shouted Bob Notglorft. "The only thing on this vile planet that doesn't make me want to vomit! Way Big!"
The To'kustar came around a skyscraper when his name was called, ran up to the ring, and jumped over the cable-ropes. He raised his fists and spun around as the fans cheered him on. After the applause subsided, the Megas and Way Big met in the center of the ring; the To'kustar leered into the windshield of the comically small car head.
"Too bad for you," said Way Big. "Sending that redhead to scare me by off didn't work. We're having our match – right here, right now.
"Kiva tried to stop the fight?" said Coop, surprised. "That's super uncool!"
"Told ya," said Jamie superiorly.
"Let the chaos and dismemberment – begin!" shouted Bob Notglorft, ringing the bell.
The Megas was much quicker than Way Big had expected. The moment the bell rang, the giant robot car grabbed Way Big's shoulders, dropped on its back, and flipped the To'kustar to the opposite end of the ring, bouncing off the cable-ropes and fall flat on his face. Before Way Big had a chance to reorient himself, the Megas moved in and elbow dropped on Way Big's spine, flatting him on the floor. Coop then directed the robot to grab Way Big's left arm, pulling it behind his back, while shoving the To'kustar's face into the floor for a pin.
"What the flarg is that?" Bob Notglorft complained. "Get your miserable behind in gear, you overgrown Earth toy!"
Way Big gritted his teeth before he threw his head back, stabbing his head frill against into the hood of the Megas' car head. Coop and Jamie yelped as the car rattled, causing Coop to lose his controller and accidentally releasing the To'kustar. Way Big bound to his feet with a roar, spun around, and wrapped his arms around the Megas in a bear hug, binding the machine's arms at its side. Then, with a grunt of effort, the To'kustar suplexed the Megas headfirst into the floor behind him.
Coop and Jamie were thrown around in the car, disoriented, leaving the Meags inert on the ground. Way Big seized the chance press his knee down on the robot's chest, holding its left arm while pulled its left leg up for a pin. Bob Notglorft eagerly started to count down (and a little fast, in Way Big's opinion) until Coop managed to get his controlled back. He piloted the Megas to point its free arm at Way Big and launched a rocket punch to the To'kustar's face before Bob Notglorft finished his countdown. And while Way Big staggered, the Megas jumped up, grabbed the To'kustar's arm, then spun him around three times before launching him across the ring.
Way Big slammed into the corner, bending the giant metal support pole, and rubbed his head with a dazed groan. He perked up when he heard the thunderous footfalls behind him and quickly sidestepped, letting the Megas run into the pole. Way Big quickly moved behind the giant robot car, and slammed him one – twice – thrice – four times into the pole, causing it to bend more and more. As Way Big attempted to slam him for a fifth time, the Megas raised his hands to stop himself, then twist around with a sharp elbow to Way Big's face. The To'kustar staggered to the center of the ring, wiping a droplet of blood from his lip.
"All right, no more mister nice giant," said Way Big.
"Took the words right outta my mouth," said Coop, grinning excitedly.
Way Big and the Megas charged simultaneously, grappling hands together and tried to push the other back. After a full minute of neither side, Way Big broke the lock and tried to give the Megas a right hook. Coop quickly input a sequence in his controller and his onboard screen flash "J. Cage Punch." The Megas dropped down into a perfect split, causing Way Big's punch to miss, and then launched its fist up directly between Way Big's legs.
Jamie, the commentators, and the audience winced and hissed sympathetically…. Except for Way Big, who just blinked cluelessly.
"Uh, Coop," Jamie spoke. "I don't think he has any junk down there."
"Oh…well…this is awkward," said Coop uncomfortably.
Way Big quickly snapped himself out of his confused daze and folded his hands together overhead, bring them down on top of the Megas. The blue robot slammed into the floor on its back and Way Big quickly straddled its chest, pinning the Megas' arms under his legs. The To'kustar began raining down punches on the Megas; Bob Notglorft was jumping and cheering with manic enthusiasm. Jamie screamed in the passenger's seat as the giant's fists were getting dangerously closer to the car.
"Coop, do something!" he wailed.
Coop gritted his teeth and pressed several buttons at once. As Way pulled back for the next punch, the Megas' chest opened up with a giant laser cannon charging up to fire. Way Big swiftly jammed his fist inside the cannon before it could fire, creating a small explosion inside the Megas' chest. Way Big then grabbed the edges of the cannon and ripped it out of the Megas' chest with a grunt of effort, throwing the scrap across the ring. In doing so, Way Big unknowingly moved his leg off the Megas' left arm, giving Coop a chance to pull out and throw another rocket punch in Way Big's face.
The To'kustar recoiled until the Megas bounced up and grabbed Way Big by his frill, throwing him against the cable-ropes. Way Big bounced off and was heading into the Megas' clothesline, but Way Big ducked underneath at the last moment and kept running into cable-ropes on the opposite end. The To'kustar jumped onto the rope and propelled himself backwards towards the Megas like a rocket. However, the Megas quickly flipped the script around, lifting the To'kustar overhead and flinging him out of the ring.
Way Big is flung through a nearby skyscraper (and, by Jersey City's logic, the building was conveniently empty and nobody died) sending debris flying and smoke rising from the destruction. The rising smoke covered up the bright flash of red light inside as Ben woke up in the middle of debris field in human form. The ten-year-old boy groaned and rubbed his sore arm as he got up when he realized that the Omnitrix had timed out on him.
"Aw man…," he whined.
"Hey, what happened to the big guy?" asked Coop, realizing that the To'kustar had suddenly disappeared without a trace.
"Who cares?" Jamie laughed and cheered. "We won, Coop!"
"Grr…," Bob Notglorft growled. "The winner, unfortunately, is the Megas!"
The crowd exploded into cheers, chanting "Megas! Megas! Megas!" over and over again. Coop raised the Megas' arms in a celebratory pose, laughing gleefully at his own well-deserved win…. Until sparks started crackling from the Megas' chest and its left arms suddenly dangled limply at its side. Coop and Jamie looked around the car wildly as it sounded like several systems were shutting down simultaneously. Coop started pushing several buttons as the dashboard computer blared "CRITICAL SYSTEM FAILURE!"
"Uh, Coop, what's happening?" asked Jamie worriedly.
"Shoot, looks like we took some major damage from that fight," said Coop. The dashboard computer showed a blueprint of the Megas, but more than half its body was covered in frightening red lights. "Oof, yeah, that's gonna need some serious repairs. Good thing we won that prize money, huh?"
"Uh, Coop," said Jamie anxiously.
"Hey, Bob, Steve!" Coop leaned out the window and yelled. "Can we get the prize now? Our ride is totally beat up and we're practically defenseless here."
"Coop!" Jamie squealed.
"Defenseless, you say?" Bob Notglorft repeated with a cruel smile.
"Yeah, like, half of this babies functions are kaput," said Coop, patting the car door. "We're basically sitting ducks at this point! I mean, if some seriously bad guys like the Glorft just started attacking us right now, there's no way we'd be able to defend ourselves!"
"Coop, stop talking!" Jamie screamed.
"So can we get that prize now?" asked Coop innocently.
"Oh, you'll get your prize, all right?" Bob Notglorft cackled. He reached under the table and pulled out a small, disk-like device, then shouted. "Men, move in and surround the Megas!"
Several flashes of light exploded in the starry night sky, followed by a small army of giant robots landing in and around the ring, surrounding the Megas. Though most of them were different models, they all had the same green-and-yellow paint job and the squid-faced motif. The audience finally got the sense that they were in danger and started running away in droves. Except for Ben, who weaved through the sea of people to get closer to the ring.
"Oh man, this is definitely not how I thought this would go," said Ben, grimacing.
The Megas did a quick sweep of the surrounding around. That was just a little more than a dozen Glorft war machines. Something that Coop would normally be able to manage, but with the Megas' left arm dangling and its chest sparking erratically, not to mention several systems shutting down one after the other, it was not looking good. But just when he thought it could get any worse, the Megas rounded to Bob and Steve Notglorft's table, the metal tower beneath them suddenly transformed into a giant Glorft war machines a full head and shoulder's taller than the Megas.
Bob Notglorft cackled maliciously and screamed, "Finally, after all these long Earth cycles, the Megas is finally mine, and I will forever be rid of you, you stinking primitive Earth monkey!"
"Bob, how you do this?" Coop gasped in horror. "I thought we were cool!"
"You dimwitted simian!" Bob Notglorft sneered. He then ripped off the glasses and handlebar mustache (wincing and whimpering for a moment, his upper lip burning.) "It's me, Gorrath, the scourge of the galaxy!"
"Gorrath?" Coop gasped. "What did you do with Bob and Steve Notglorft?"
Gorrath and his commander slowly looked at one another with disbelieving stares.
"Uh, Coop, now would be a good time to run," Jamie whimpered, shaking his best friend's shoulder.
"Nah, we can totally take 'em," said Coop confidently.
"Not with all that battle damage you're not," Gorrath sniggered cruelly. "And if, by some miracle, you do manage to survive my army of bloodthirst soldiers, I brought along a little insurance."
The Glorft warmonger reached down and pulled someone into the viewing window. Coop gasped when he saw Kiva, bound in rope and gagged with tape, visibly flailing to get out of Gorrath's grip.
"Oh no, they've got Kiva!" said Coop.
"At least some good came out of this," said Jamie, smirking.
You have humiliated me too many times in the past, earth chimp," Gorrath snarled. "Now it's the time the Glorft take revenge, and conquer this miserable puny planet once and for all. Glorft, destroy the inferior Earth monkey and retrieve the war machines!"
The Glorft machines jumped into the ring and started charging the Megas from all sides. Coop tried to get the Megas' left arm to function, but all he received was the same ""CRITICAL SYSTEM FAILURE!" as before. Coop gritted his teeth in frustration and decided he would have to fight without Megas' arm and most of his weaponry. Even he knew the odds were not in his favor.
The Megas lunged at the first Glorft machine and knocked it flat on its back with a heavy right hook to the head. It managed to grab another war machine coming from the right and tossed them across the ring, but was brought to its knee when a third struck the Megas with a metal rod from behind. A Glorft machine ran up behind the Megas and pulled it into a headlock (or as much as it could with a small car for a head.) Two more Glorft machines jumped on the Megas and started pounding on it. Coop was frantically pressing buttons on his controller while Jamie was (unhelpfully) screaming in the passenger's seat.
"Coop, do something!" Jamie wailed.
"I'm trying! I'm trying!" Coop yelled back.
The overweight pilot furiously pushed several buttons on the dashboard, but was met with repeated instances of "CRITICAL SYSTEM FAILURE!" Coop slammed his fist on the dash in frustration, which somehow did the trick as the words were replace "ELECTRIC FIELD ACTIVATED!" The Megas hummed as a sphere of electrical energy burst out of its body, sending the Glorft robots flying. Coop and Jamie cheered and high-fived…until the dashboard monitor flashed "LOW BATTERY LEVELS!"
The Megas dropped to one knee again, it entire body creaking dangerously. A Glorft war machine came running at the Megas and swung down an energy sword, but Coop twisted the giant robot out of the way. He commanded the Megas to leap into the air and send the robot flying out of the ring with a high kick. Unfortunately, the Megas' leg gave out upon landing, forcing Coop's machine to its hands and knees. The Glorft soldiers wasted no time throwing out energy chains from the four corners of the ring, binding them around the Megas' limbs and stretching them out.
Gorrath cackled victoriously as he watched his archenemy dangle helplessly in the air.
"Finally!" Gorrath gloated. "The Megas is ours! Now finish the fat Earth whelp and his miserable sidekick!"
"Sidekick?" Jamie snapped, insulted.
"Oh man, they're about to get creamed, and it's all my fault!" Ben groaned, hands pulling at his hair anxiously as he watched one of the Glorth machine approaching the Megas with a laser axe. "I gotta do something! I gotta – "
DING!
Ben perked at the familiar noise. He looked at the Omnitrix and realized it had finished recharging five minutes sooner than usual. It must have sensed his distress and accelerated the cooldown.
"Yes, thank you, watch!" Ben celebrated, pumping pumped. He activated the Omnitrix and quickly cycled through the options until he landed Way Big's silhouette. "Time for round two!"
Ben slammed down the faceplate and exploded in a burst of green light. But when the transformation sequence ended, instead of a fifty-meter giant, he got –
"Frankenstrike?" yelled Frankenstrike incredulously. "Stupid watch, what is this alien supposed to do against giant robots?"
Frankenstrike looked up at the Megas apprehensively (the executioner Glorft was taking an unrealistically long time to finish the job.) Then, suddenly, ideas began popping in his head. Though he only saw the Megas' outer appearance, he could tell from the limp arm that the rotator servo was misaligned, the faint humming noise told him that energy levels were running low, and the sparking in its chest from when Way Big ripped out its cannon had caused major electrical damage, particularly with the war machine's wiring.
"Whoa!" said Frankenstrike aloud after everything hit him at once. "This alien is almost as smart as Grey Matter. Who knew?"
Frankenstrike ran ahead and used an electrified charge jump to leap into the ring. Then he did it again to land on the Megas' left shoulder, somehow avoiding the attention of the Glorfts surrounding them. He was fortunate enough to find the latch to the Megas' shoulder plating, removing the exterior armor to reveal the interior parts and wiring. Even with a literal thousand wires chaotically tangled up between the machine's steel skeleton, Frankenstrike's enhanced intelligence allowed him to identify everything in seconds. He took a cursory glance around and quickly honed in on the rotator servo, which, as he anticipated, was dislodged from its bracket.
"There you are, you little stinker," Frankenstrike grumbled. He reached in, grabbed the servo, and tried to force the part to bend back to its original position. "Come on, come on, you stupid….yes!"
He managed to force her servo back in its proper place and was rewarded with a powered-up hum.
Meanwhile, Coop was in the car desperately pushing buttons to make the Megas work.
"Come on, baby, work with me here!" yelled Coop.
"Do something, Coop!" Jamie cried with big fat tears running down his face; he was an ugly crier. "I'M TOO PRETTY TO DIE!"
"Rerouting electricity from unnecessary systems into the motor controls…," Frankenstrike mumbled to himself as he furiously started cutting and tying wires together.
The executioner Glorft machine raised its laser axe at an unbearably slow rate. Gorrath was leaning his head on his hand, tapping his finger impatiently, and Kiva looked like she was about to nod off.
"That should do it," said Frankenstrike after finishing his rewiring. "Now to give it a little juice…."
The patchwork alien hero grabbed the Megas' energy cables and began to discharge a huge surge of electricity through them. Frankenstrike's impromptu patch job took an immediate effect. Coop looked at the dashboard computer as the energy levels went from 2% to 1000% in a few seconds, followed by a simely face with a thumbs-up.
"YES!" Coop cheered, immediately reaching for the gear shift and pulling it forward to "Butt Kicking Mode!"
The Megas roared to life like a monster truck, it's hotrod flames somehow glowing briefly like an anime power-up. The big blue robot pulled all its limbs inwards, effortlessly overpowering the machines holding the chains and causing them to crash into each other overhead. As the Megas landed on its feet, the executioner Glorft finally brought its axe down, but the Megas casually stepped back to dodge, then knocked its head off with a spinning roundhouse.
Gorrath slammed his fist and screamed, "Get in there and destroy him, you worthless ingrates!"
"Bring it, losers!" Coop yelled challengingly.
Coop pulled a lever on the dash, which caused a missile to pop out of the Megas' shoulder, nearly throwing off Frankenstrike. The missile flew into one of the Glorft machines and the resulting explosion decimated two more robots behind it. A Glorft bot tried jumping the robot car from behind until Coop spun the Megas around, grabbed the Glorft by its head, and swung it around, smashing through three robots simultaneously. The Megas immediately bound forward, grabbed another Glorft bot, and powerbombed it into the ground, smashing its upper body into pieces. Three more Glorft machines ran at him, so Coop turned the Megas around and ran into the cable-ropes to slingshot the Megas back into the squid-faced machines and decapitate them with a flying clothesline. The Megas bear hugged the next Glorft bot from behind, rocket punching two more than came from the sides, and crushed the soldier's midsection until the robot was split into two parts. And just when you thought it couldn't get any more absurd, the Megas summoned materialized a flaming eight ball and fired it like a character from Street Fighter.
Gorrath and his commander looked at one another apprehensively. In the span of ten minutes, Coop had completely obliterated his entire army. Just like he always did.
The Glorft leaders cowered as the Megas stomped up to them.
"You're next, Gorrath!" declared Coop.
"W-W-Wait!" Gorranth yelled nervously, pulling Kiva into view. "I-I still have your red-headed friend! You wouldn't attack me while I'm holding her hostage, would you?"
Coop and Jamie looked at each other like they were genuinely considering it. Fortunately (for Kiva), there was another way to resolve the issue.
Frankenstrike (who had been holding on for dear life) climbed on top of the Megas' shoulder and used another electrified super jump to leap to Gorrath's mecha. He smashed through the window, knocking Gorrath and his commander out of their seats, then grabbed Kiva and threw the futuristic woman over his shoulder.
"Who the flarg are you?" Gorrath snarled.
"Just a big fan," said Frankenstrike, smirking. He then jumped back out through the window and shouted, "Take it away, big guy!"
"You got it, Franken-dude!" said Coop.
The Megas clapped its hands together and, somehow, materlized a giant flaming sword that looked like an actual hotrod flame. After striking a couple unnecessary poses, the Megas bound forward at Gorrath's mech. Gorrath's commander squealed and slammed his fist on the eject button before Gorrath could say anything, sending both squid-faced aliens rocketing towards the stars before the Megas slashed through their war machine. The Megas landed behind the Glorft robot and struck a posed with its flame sword as the enemy war machine split in half before exploding.
Frankenstrike, who landed on the ground and was untying Kiva, grinned and said, "Nice."
The sun was starting to rise over the horizon by the time the Omnitrix shut down and returned Ben to normal. He was surprised by how quickly the civilians were going back to their daily lives, like they had nearly been invaded by mecha-riding squid aliens. No one was even batting an eye to the Megas sitting crossed-legged in the middle of the street. Ben was starting to understand why his grandpa chose to avoid this place.
The wielder of the Omnitrix walked up to the Megas. He saw Coop poking his head inside the war machine's arm with a wrench like he was under the hood of a car. Jamie and Kiva were standing off to the side; the former went and grabbed himself another soda and was sipping loudly to annoy the latter. The latter grabbed the cup and threw it on the ground. Both of them glared at each other.
"Hey, you guys okay?" Ben asked, approaching Coop.
"Never better, Kid," Coop smiled, wiping the grease off his hands. "That Frankenstein guy you sent did some good work on my car. Just a few more tweaks, and she'll be good as new."
"Yeah, those guys you manage are something else," said Jamie appreciatively. "How many you got?"
"Mmm…ten and counting," said Ben with a knowing smirk.
"Well, you're really helped us out of a jam," said Kiva with a knowing smirk of her own.
"Yeah, but you guys were almost destroy because of me – I mean, Way Big," Ben corrected himself.
"Nah, it's nothing," said Coop, waving him off. "I'm sure old squid-face would've come up with something else. He's been pulling these sort of stunts for years."
"And you keep falling for them," said Kiva exasperatedly.
"Guess that means there's no prize money, huh," Jamie commented.
"Aw man, I completely forgot!" Ben complained. "I really needed that money to fix Trixie's computer! Now what am I gonna do!"
"Hey, kid, don't worry about it," said Coop, resting a gentle hand on Ben's shoulder. "I'm sure if you explain everything and take responsibility, your friend will forgive you. I mean, Jamie didn't hold it against me when I accidentally set his bed on fire and burned all his magazines – "
"THAT WAS YOU?!" Jamie screamed.
"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you that," said Coop.
Kiva held back Jamie, who was foaming at the mouth reaching for Coop, and told Ben, "Coop's right – for once. I'm sure if you're honest with her, it'll be fine. That's what friends are for, right?
"…Yeah…yeah, I guess you're right," said Ben, a small smile on his lips.
Ben had to wait for the Omnitrix to recharge before transforming into Fasttrack and running back to the Rust Bucket. He depowered just as he arrived at the front door (the Omnitrix was becoming scary intuitive.) He stepped inside and found his grandpa cleaning the dishes while Trixie was sitting at the table. But his cousin was strangely missing.
"Where's Gwen?" asked Ben.
"Bathroom," Trixie answered plainly. Her statement was punctured with a painful moan coming from the toilet. "Spicy beetles still working through her system."
"By the way, where were you, Ben?" asked Max curiously. "You missed breakfast."
"I…have a confession to make," said Ben, hanging his head shamefully. He took a deep breath, then spoke very quickly. "I broke Trixie's laptop when I was playing with it, even though she said not to! So I had to figure out how to get the money to replace it! So I joined a giant robot wrestling tournament as Way Big in Jersey, but it wasn't a real tournament! It was a trap by these squid aliens – different ones from Vilgax – trying to destroy this guy named Coop and his giant robot car! I ended up making things worse and almost got Coop and his friends destroyed! But I turned into Frankenstrike and fixed what I broke! But now I don't have any money to replace Trixie laptop and I'm so sorry!"
"So…you think you broke my computer?" Trixie questioned slowly, trying to piece together what he just said.
"Yeah," said Ben remorsefully. "But I'm really sorry! And I'll make it up to you somehow!" He paused for a moment to think. "I know! I could do all your chores!"
"For the rest of the summer?" said Trixie interestedly.
"Yeah!"
"Word of honor – no take backs?" Ben nodded and they shook hands in agreement. "Great, now that that's settled, I need to e-mail some files to Dexter."
Ben raised a brow and was about to ask how she could do that without her laptop…until Trixie opened her computer and her laptop turned on just fine. The screen showed everything normal; all her files and programs were there!
"Wha – but – how?" Ben sputtered. "I thought I broke it!"
"Oh, did I forget to mention?" said Trixie, smirking cunningly. "I modified my laptop with a retinal scanner, since someone keeps using it without my permission. So now, it only turns on for me."
"You mean…I didn't break it?" Ben gasped.
"Nope," said Trixie. "But it's nice to know you're so responsible. Now, you better get to scrubbing. And remember to clean the pan twice. Maxwell's snail stew gets very crusty if it sits too long."
"Aw man…."
Next time, we're heading back to the future! And this time, there's a new generation of heroes taking the scene. Get ready for the amazing adventures of Devlin, Elpis, and the newest superhero on the block – Ken 10!