Happy New Year!
Hope realized something was wrong immediately.
Being the ruler of Legerdomain and thus the virtual controller of all magic gave her a better grasp on what she could do. And teleportation had never been hard for her.
So, when she arrived at Bellwood, in front of the hotel they had been staying, she realized something was terribly wrong. Beyond the tall buildings, she saw smoke, helicopters, sirens. Not many people could be seen on the streets. Even though she was disguised as Ben's cousin, she drew no attention.
She took it from the ground, wanting to get a better view if there was something she could assist Ben with. Bellwood was a big city, of course. Still, the hotel was close enough to the docks that she could watch perfectly as two gigantic purple and grey beings much like the Way Big transformation from the Omnitrix clashed together, while a massive red and orange spaceship fired at one of those beings.
Was one of them Ben? No, Way Big was white and red. It was too far to notice if there was an Omnitrix on any of those beings' chests or green eyes, but she didn't care.
All that was on her mind was Ben; she needed him to be safe.
...
Ben knew what he was facing, and he didn't fear it. Not anymore. The trauma with Malware was something long gone in his mind, with Feedback under his control. And Servantis... he wasn't that formidable of an enemy, in combat. And Kevin also didn't have problems or trauma with the guy, so, by all accounts, they should have this in the bag. Especially if the rest of the group deals with the remaining Way Bads.
The Rustbucket 3 looked as magnificent as ever, even if Kevin had abandoned the green painting – just like with his car – but now he fully embraced what made this a Rustbucket. The ship was fast enough that they were soon gliding above the occupied Plumber station like the thing was a helicopter. Ben loved it when it did that.
"We should land a bit farther from here," Manny said. Ben had wanted to bring him – even if they had their differences – because the guy was a skilled fighter. It would also make Kevin's life a lot easier since he mostly engaged in hand-to-hand combat.
And while Lucy was also powerful, Ben had mostly brought her to keep the mood light in this grim situation.
"It won't be needed." Ben shot Kevin a look that the older man knew all too well, and the hero received a smile in return. The doors to the Rustbucket 3 opened, letting heavy wind in, and Ben ran to the outside, diving in the direction of the ground. He quickly pressed the Omnitrix, pressing it not too far from the ground below.
And soon after, he glided down graciously and transformed into Heatblast. The asphalt below melted slightly from the flames he shot so he wouldn't outright get splattered across the floor, and he faced the otherwise mundane Plumber base in front of him. Just down the road, Kevin landed the ship, and Ben was soon joined by the rest of the group, but they weren't alone for long.
The doors to the station were abruptly opened by a massive beige form, and Ben knew that was Phil. Or at least what was once Phil. He was accompanied by the silent soldier, Leander. Apart from the two, two others
"Don't hurt Leander too much," Ben said to the group, more specifically at Manny. "I can reverse the mind control from Servantis."
Manny grunted but wasn't outright hostile. Good.
"Hello, Ben," Phil said, a creepy smile on his Terroranchulan face. "We'd hope you would have enjoyed the show."
"The only thing I would enjoy right now is to burn you both to a crisp." Heatblast's eyes burned. "Unless you play nice... and surrender."
"Well..." Phil trailed off, his smile only growing further as Ben noticed a shadow growing above them. "That's not happening."
Another Way Bad. Great. This was the one on California, which Ben had defeated earlier. Khyber (or Servantis) was making these things run, wasn't he? There was no way.
"I beat that one before," Ben said. "Do you really think it will be a challenge?"
"That's what we'll see," Phil said, growling and attacking them. Ben quickly flew up, noticing the others were already engaged as well, with Kevin having absorbed the asphalt. Ben needed to make the Way Bad focus on him, or... things would get messy. They were in an area where the buildings weren't too tall, so it made things easier. He really hoped people had been evacuated indeed.
He shot fire at the Way Bad, who deflected it quite easily with his arm. This wasn't good. Unless Ben – again – turned into Way Big, he really couldn't match this thing. And Servantis probably knew it. Ben had to dodge various attacks from the Way Bad, but couldn't evade a punch that threw him into a building just around the block, shattering a window. It was devoid of people, and it looked like an office. Good.
He flew outside, the Way Bad coming in his direction. From here, Ben could see that one of the techadon bots had fallen, but the other was still standing, albeit with a hand. Phil and Leander stood strong as ever, fighting Kevin, Manny, and Lucy. Ben narrowed his eyes down, thinking of what he should do. The crimson-eyed beast was closing in, and he didn't have much time.
But right as he decided to once more turn into Way Big... a massive pink form launched itself at the Way Bad from the skies. Ben widened his eyes, the purple monsters falling to the street, while the... dragon... the dragon clawed and maimed the Way Bad, who, even under mind control, still screamed in pain.
Just then, Ben noticed why this being seemed familiar. He jumped from the building, flying to where the Way Bad had fallen.
"Hope?!" Ben called. The dragon didn't stop attacking, for a moment, but it soon looked at him briefly, holding the Way Bad in place.
"Hi." Even with her immense strength, it was clear Hope couldn't hold the Way Bad for long. "I'm angry at you." The Way Bad finally released himself, kicking her away. While Ben was obviously worried, Hope was soon back at her feet.
"Why?" Ben asked, joining at her side.
"Because you didn't tell me this was happening," Hope said. "That you were in mortal danger."
"I don't even know how to call you!" Ben protested.
The dragon huffed. "Fine. We'll talk about it later. Do you need me to hold this thing?"
"No!" He spoke. "You can't fight it on its own!"
"It's fine." She readied herself for the Way Bad, who was seemingly getting ready to charge at them. "Go to wherever you need to go. Don't die."
"You too." Ben begrudgingly conceded, but inside he could only hope Hope was up to the challenge. He didn't know if she heard him, since she clashed with the Way Bad at that moment, sending a shockwave across the street. Even if she was smaller, it didn't make Hope any less formidable, and she could go toe to toe with the larger foe. Ben took the opportunity to fly back into the base, where the three on their side still fought Phil, Leander, and the Techadon, who looked like it couldn't last for much longer. Bolting across them, Ben entered the Plumber station, closing the doors behind him.
He took a moment to breathe, hearing the massive noises resembling thunder outside. Ben needed to hurry up. So, he changed into Diamondhead. Reliable enough to take head on any surprise attacks, but who was even left to attack him?
Khyber. And Malware. He needed to keep an eye out. But he could always match Khyber on a one-to-one, the Nemetrix had always been the problem. Malware was trickier. But now, he needed to.
He tried to remember where the control room was in the Plumber stations. They were all built the same for standardization purposes... and he had rested in them long enough to know where to go.
Following two halls and a staircase upwards, Ben was faced with twin doors. He took a deep breath and sliced through them with his hands turning into blades.
Inside, there they were. It was weird to see these three foes in such an ordinary room where Plumbers would heat their lunch, talk, drink water, and take breaks. But now, it was infected by their presence. Khyber stood with a device on his head, his eyes closed. The green figure wasn't showing signs of pain, but a drop of sweat ran over his forehead.
The only sign Malware was present was that the Plumbers computer was completely taken over by red and black lines. Ben noticed the device on Khyber's head was linked to the computer. Ben knew his old enemy was looking at him, signified by the mecamorph's eye in the center of the computer.
Last, Servantis stood with his hands behind his back, wearing a smirk. Like he always was.
"You took long." The hybrid said. "Even with your unexpected allies and deception... it's still remarkable how much you struggled."
"It doesn't matter at the end." Diamondhead's deep voice reverberated across the room. "I will be beating you three. And the rest of you will be dealt with too."
Servantis chuckled, bringing anger to Ben's otherwise emotionless face. "Always have to be dealing with things, don't you? It's remarkable, how much I was correct. And seeing that alternative version of you-"
"Where is he?" Ben asked, panic growing at the thought of what could have happened to Benjamin.
"I had no use for him," Servantis said. "He didn't pose a threat, without an Omnitrix. Besides... I learned enough from him. He's away, probably back at that hotel, if it is still standing." The Rooter chuckled again. "But you're here now."
"And I can't say I'm impressed." Diamondhead looked towards the computer. "You never were the quiet type, Malware."
"I am here for the show, Ben Tennyson." The mecamorph said, his mechanical voice menacing as ever. "Helping Khyber here, so he can focus on the To'kustars... it is enough. We will have time to get you too."
"I don't feel jealous, trust me." He looked back to Servantis. "But hiring a techadon army seems out of hand when you have so many Way Bads."
"We couldn't recruit anymore, could we?" Servantis paced around. "Khyber suggested that former Galvan, now a clone of you. Other candidates were arrested, missing, or..." He trailed off. "Had other plans."
"I hope you're happy that I hired Vilgax." He couldn't keep a smile away from his face.
"Vilgax is a mighty foe... but if we deal with you fast enough... what is binding you together?"
"Fear," Ben answered. "And fear is good enough to keep him in line. He also wouldn't let anyone but him kill me."
"Love and hate," Servantis commented, turning to face Malware. The Mecamorph disassembled from the computer, and Khyber let out a moan of pain before taking the device from his head. The hunter opened his red eyes, looking at Ben with hate, while Malware looked just like he saw in that transmission.
"I liked you better when you were crazy," Ben said. Khyber only narrowed his eyes.
"I will love you when you're finally held high as the trophy you were always meant to be."
"That's old news, Khyber." Ben turned his hand into a blade once more. "Find new material."
The hunter didn't bother responding, only advancing towards Ben, his own blade already drawn. They clashed, but in the corner of his eye, Ben saw a red charge and dodged just in time to avoid a blast from Malware. Turning his other hand into a pointy blade, Diamondhead launched himself at Khyber, trying to disarm the hunter.
He couldn't not remember his conversations with Hope about not killing his enemies. Khyber knew he couldn't really wound Ben in his current form, but he could wear him out. And with Malware supporting from a distance, that plan didn't seem all too crazy. Ben gritted his teeth, still hearing the heavy thuds and clashes outside.
Hope was still standing. Good. He needed to be better than just evading Khyber's strikes, the hunter wouldn't hesitate to mortally wound Ben. He didn't want to go further than he deemed acceptable, but...
He shut off his mind for a second. And let his body speak for him. Diamondhead bumped into Khyber, his solid form making the hunter dizzy, and he sliced his hand off with a single strike.
The hunter widened his eyes, seemingly more shocked than anything, though he did hiss in pain, clinging on to where his hand used to be, blood already pouring from the wound. Ben, still feeling his mind numb, kicked Khyber in the chest, knocking him down. But the fight was far from over. Malware quickly took Khyber's place, and while the mecamorph was a lot less skilled in close combat, he took advantage of his strikes from afar.
"Becoming brutal, Tennyson?" Malware taunted as he shot another blast at Ben. "Of course, it suits you. What remorse did you have before killing me."
"We both knew you could be revived!" Diamondhead shot crystals at Malware, who grunted to avoid being pierced. "And don't pretend like it wasn't justified. Azmuth would have done worse."
"I know what he would have done." Malware coldly answered. "But you're no different. That alternate version of you... I can see he is a killer. Or at least was. And you are no different. This violence proves that." He waved his hand at Khyber, who was trying to treat his wound with whatever he could find near the sink. "Servantis is right about you. How could a boy like you wield that kind of weapon?!"
Ben only stared at Malware; eyes completely locked on the mecamorph. "I asked that question a lot. But I find an answer for it every day!"
And he jumped towards Malware, almost beheading him, if he could even be wounded that way. This species was confusing at times, and it would most likely just pass through him. Even so, Ben managed to corner the mecamorph, swinging his arms at the retreating red and black figure.
Just when he had the advantage, the wall was broken by a large figure. It was Phil, in his mutated form, looking terrible and battered. Ben grimly thought if something happened to Kevin, but... no, that seemed unlikely. Or at least he hoped so. The monster looked around, locking gazes with Servantis, who gave him a small nod.
Phil took Khyber by the shoulder, carrying the wounded hunter, who groaned in pain. Malware looked at the scene and morphed into a slimy form, slithering away like the snake he was. Ben tried to engage in pursuit, but he was knocked backward by Servantis's lightning.
Getting up, he realized it was just him and Servantis. The red-eyed figure possessed his usual smile, though it seemed distant.
"Getting you exactly where you needed to be was a challenge, Tennyson." Servantis pressed a button on the computer, and a beeping sound began to ring around the room. "And setting up a trap like this... it cost a lot, like the techadons. But nothing the Plumbers won't cover, right?" A wider smile appeared on Servantis' face.
"You..." Ben looked around. This beeping resembled. "You're insane. You can't expect to escape-"
"I don't need to." The rooter answered. "Dealing with a storm requires sacrifices. Ones I'm willing to make."
Diamondhead widened his eyes, his mind scrambling, thinking of what alien he could turn to escape. But his reaction time wasn't fast enough. Just as his hand was closing in on the Omnitrix, the entire room was lit on fire, a booming noise shattering Ben's ears.
The last thing the hero felt before his conscience abandoned him was a monumental heat and so much pain.
He wasn't able to hear the roar that followed the explosion just moments later.