[GRUDGE MATCH]
MC'S POV
Oh boy, visiting new realities was indeed amazing and all but I can assure you that nothing beats being back at your own home world with your own family. I know, I know, not to sound too much like Vin Diesel, but family really makes that much of a difference to me.
"Wait just a moment, Ben! I will bring you some hot tea in no time!" Lucy nearly shouted after she wrapped a blanket around me and rushed to the front of the RV. "Kate, help me out please with the chicken-noodle soup!"
"Hey! When did you learn how to cook, mud brain?" Kate protested back as she was dragged away to help.
"Thanks, Lucy. Much appreciated." I replied back while dismissing Gwen's teasing sneer.
In all honesty, Lucy's clinginess certainly was the first thing I didn't know I would miss all that much after going less than a day without it. Mind you that Gwen's stark behavior shift towards me and Kate's tomboyishness were also great contenders for the podium.
In any case, after Grandpa Max had finished checking my health as the responsible adult that he was just to see if I was better, I had to work my way around to assure him that I was back in full health before he felt confident that we could resume our journey.
Finally, now that I have some alone time to speak with my ginger cousin, I had the pleasure to watch her reaction as I gave her an abridged version of my latest adventure. I was halfway through my story and for the most part I was actually glad that she didn't interrupted me a single time, until I realized that I had already lost her right from the basic premise.
"WAIT! WAIT! Hold on! You met who?" Gwen asked me with a shocked expression. "You are joking, right?"
"Come on Gwen, what part of 'a female version of me' you didn't get?" I couldn't help but sigh at that.
She kept blinking her cute emerald eyes at me with clear disbelief before asking. "Do you even hear yourself, Ben?"
"Hello?" I asked while raising my left wrist and showing her my Omnitrix. "After this fell from the sky nothing has been normal. Even us. Especially us. I taught you some magic tricks, we met Kate with her awesome powers, Lucy and Grandpa weren't what we always thought of them. And don't let me get started with every weird thing that we've encountered ever since we left Bellwood."
"Hmmmm…yeah, point taken…Ugh, the idea of a multiverse really makes my head hurt." Gwen groaned while pinching the bridge of her nose before taking a deep breath. "So… you really saw yourself in skirts and with a ponytail? Hah. Any chance you brought some pictures?"
"Not quite." I smiled at her amusement.
"But why didn't you say anything while both Lucy and Kate were here? I'm sure they would love to hear this story." Gwen asked with a raised eyebrow and arms crossed, but I could sense from her aura that she was glad that I picked her alone to keep some of my secrets.
Shrugging my shoulders I casually remarked. "Mainly out of convenience. Jennifer, my variant, just got her hands on her own Omnitrix and hasn't met Kate's variant yet, not to mention that I'm sure Lucy would feel bad to learn that we haven't grown up as cousins in that reality. Perhaps in the future, when I find a way of visiting this new dimension without having to swap bodies, I will tell them both all about it."
"Yeah, Kate definitely wouldn't understand something as complicated as this and Lucy always gets emotional for the smallest things." Gwen admitted before thinking about the possibilities of my recent stunt. "But does that mean you can now explore dimensions as you please? I mean, if there's one reality different from ours, who's to say there aren't many more out there? I certainly wouldn't mind finding one where I rule the earth."
"Heh, I bet you wouldn't." I told her with a chuckle, nearly forgetting that Gwen was supposed to be the super nerd out of us two. "And you're absolutely right about the possibilities. It's just that for now, this time was a special case that I was actually lucky to find my way back."
To my surprise she grasped my hand tight just as I finished my sentence and told me. "Then I'm really glad to have you back, Ben. And I'm sure everyone else would feel the same if they knew."
"Thanks, cuz, it really means a lot. I'm also glad to be back." I replied with a friendly smile that would've been enough to make her blush had I not startled her with a quick question. "Would you like to greet the other me?"
"Other…you? B-but you said…" Gwen furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, until the light of my watch's dial blinked and we heard a different kind of beep.
"I said it was a special case and that I couldn't freely travel across dimensions. At least not yet." Raising my wrist, I mentally made my first interdimensional call as a holographic screen spanned from my Omnitrix. Seeing it working out just as I had designed it left me unable to help myself from mentally gloating. 'Hmpf…was there any doubt that I wasn't going to wait until Alien Force to get this feature on my Omnitrix? Holographic display for the win, baby!'
"Hello? Ben?" A familiar voice asked a few seconds later as Jennifer's face came into focus. "Heh, Hii…I'm so glad to see you again. Took your time to call me, didn't you? If it wasn't for my cousin Glenn being back to his usual self like you said he would, I would've been totally worried that you didn't make it back to your home."
"Hey, Jen!" I greeted her back, genuinely glad to see her again. "Sorry to keep you waiting, but you know me, I would've really hated to interrupt your showdown against your own nemesis."
"True, true, she was a tough opponent. Heh." Jen admitted with a chuckle. "But she was no match for me with an extra pair of arms. Even Grandma lended a hand in the end with her super-duper secret agent gadgets!"
"She? Grandma? Don't tell me…" Gwen asked while making herself known.
"Yup, our Grandpa and good old Vilgax have their own twin sisters on Jen's dimension. As do you with her cousin Glenn." I gave Gwen a smirk before clearing my throat. "Well, allow me to introduce you two. Gwen, this is my friend, Jennifer, also known as my other self. Jennifer, this is our cousin, Gwen."
"Wow! So there really is a female version of my cousin." Jennifer exclaimed as I shifted my watch's dial and her hologram turned to face Gwen.
"Took the words right out of my mouth, cuz." Gwen said while smiling back. "A pleasure to meet you."
"Yeah, right." Jen casually dismissed her before speaking back to me. "Ben, didn't you say it would be best to keep this a secret between the two of us?"
Almost laughing at Gwen's scowling face, I explained my reasons to Jen. "Well, I've been lecturing our cousin here with magic, thanks to that she helped me keep things here under control while I was away. Not to mention there's no one better than her to help me study the multiverse."
"If you say so." Jen shrugged, not knowing that Gwen was sticking her tongue out at her from behind. "Wait, does this mean I can contact you again anytime in the future? That would be so cool!"
"Well…anytime? No. For emergencies? Sure." I explained it to her. "And I will also try not to call you when you are busy."
"Okay. That's also fine." She seemed a bit disappointed.
Looking through the window, I noticed we were getting close to our next stop and began saying my goodbye. "Jen, it was good to hear your voice again, but I got to go."
"R-really? You did—" Jen managed to mutter in excitment before I ended our call, leaving me facing a very annoyed Gwen.
"Don't know why, but she reminds me more of Lucy than you." She said with a raised eyebrow. "Are you sure you two have the same age?
"She's a good kid." I smiled at her before moving on with our day. "Come on, let's take a look at those windmills."
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Meanwhile, a spaceship large enough to match the scale of the fictional Star Destroyer just came out of hyperspace and began orbiting over the Earth's atmosphere, hidden from almost all human radars thanks to its cutting edge camoflauge field, all of its highly advanced surveillance systems were suddenly commanded to thoroughly scan the blue looking planet's surface. Its attention was all set on tracking down the prize it came out of its usual route to collect.
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Later on, down back at the Rust Bucket as it was parked over next to the road by an isolated wind power farm, Max was buy leading the kids through another one of his basic Plumber drills. This time the retired agent had set the girls on a 3v1 against Ben, who seemed to have no trouble matching their teamwork's effort despite still getting used to his new transformation.
"Come on girls! You won't beat Ben in a straight fight! Remember to think. Don't just try to muscle it." Max attempted to warn them just as a loud impact was heard. "You need to combine your own powers and cover your own openings!"
Right then, Kate was blasted into one of the windmills while resembling Ben's crystal rock alien and leaving a huge carved path in the grass moments before Lucy soon joined her side, this time however the mud girl easily bounced back to her feet and offered Kate some aid to stand upback again.
Both girls then looked up and glared as Ben, who had actually been transformed into his Chimera Sui Generis (Vilgax's species) form for the purpose of assuming the role of a villain, suddenly tossed Gwen towards Kate and Lucy while he still grasped her personal spellbook on his other hand.
"Oh, no you don't!" Lucy shouted as she shot her hands out and elongated them alongside her fingers before quickly wrapping them around Gwen's waist before she pulled her while still in mid air to safety.
"Is that all the guardians of this insignificant planet got?" Ben spat dramatically as his three opponents kept glaring back at his towering height. He now displayed the same menacingly muscular complexion as his nemesis once did while still maintaining the cybernetic augmentations the fallen warlord had used after almost dying when trying to get his hand in the Omnitrix.
"Geez, you're really getting into this whole villainous act, aren't you, Ben?" Gwen groaned while still recovering from their previous clash.
"He's taking this exercise seriously! So should you all!" Max spoke from a certain distance as Lucy finally set Gwen down on the ground and Kate began fiddling with her special belt.
"I will rule the universe, and the only thing standing between me and my destiny…is you!" Ben kept his cold unsettling stare while casually releasing Gwen's spellbook as it magically rushed back to her possession. "So try at least to make this defiance less pathetic."
"Diss us all you want, Tennyson!" Kate said defiantly as she released her Petrosapien's (Diamondhead) powers before assuming a favorite fusion of hers between a classic duo of Ben's aliens, becoming this time instead her Red Flash (Four Arms + XRL8) transformation. "At the end of the day, I'm still better than you. I have all your powers, plus my own! I'm Kate 11!"
"Really? That's the best you came up with?" Gwen questioned her with a cringing expression, but as she noticed Kate readying her posture to a misdjudged dash she immediately tried to warn her headstrong friend. "Wait, don't rush…"
However it was too late for her advice to be heard, just then Kate had closed the distance between her and Ben in a blink of an eye before dispensing a barrage of punches that actually succeeded to push him back to the point it even stunned him a little, at least until he stuck his hand out and caught all of her six limbs once he shifted his own arm into several tentacles.
"H-how? I should be much faster than you can handle!" Kate said with a shell shocked expression while failing to break free of his grip.
"Underestimating me is a grave mistake, the last you'll ever make!" Ben declared coldly to the still struggling Kate, as he exuded a bit of green energy from his pores and expanded the muscles on his other limb, before quite literally burying her deep into the ground with a single punch, with the tremors of that impact being felt throughout the grass field that even the farthest windmills began shaken by it.
However, due to the fact that Kate had completely mimicked the natural endurance of the Tetramand (Four Arms) and quick recovery from the Kineceleran (XRL8) species, Kate managed to survive the devastating strike despite being unable to quickly resume their fight.
"Oooh…I'm gonna feel that tomorrow." Kate groaned from the crater she had been blasted into as the dust finally cleared.
"For you…" Ben couldn't help himself from letting that opportunity pass, and as he displayed Alpha's nanotech support throughout his Omni Armor feature which materialized a highly advanced laser sword, he declared. "…There is no tomorrow!"
As expected, the other two girls eventually reached them and stepped in just in time to help Kate, with Lucy shooting out a blast of sludge goop from her hands and splashing against Ben's face as he halted his dramatic 'final blow'. Capitalizing on that opening, Gwen quickly flipped through her book's pages and cast a spell which transmuted the rocky ground underneath Ben into a sticky liquid substance similar to tar.
"Excellent thinking girls!" Max complimented them as the two aided Kate out of the ground that had loosen up.
Even Ben had to admit being impressed by their teamwork, however he still had a role to play in that exercise.
"No one escapes me that easily!" Ben declared while enhancing himself with his mana, visibly outmuscling his way out of that magical trap, and clearing Lucy's sludge from his face with his Bezel charm of telekinesis.
Kate then activated her belt again and added another sample of DNA into her fused transformation, this time she got a Lepidopterran's (Stinkfly) set of wings and flew both Gwen and Lucy away from Ben's rising figure.
"Finally thinking it through, huh? About time." Gwen complimented her, recalling how adamant Kate had been up to that point about facing Ben head on. "And what about that silly name you announced before?"
"What about it?" Kate rebutted while focusing all of her four protruding eyes on Gwen. "I was going with the 'dialing up to an eleven' stuff, with my name and all, you know."
"Well, I suppose it is way better than going with something even sillier like Vampire or Absorbing Girl." Gwen granted as the wind kept rushing past them.
"Yeah, I'm still stuck between Lady Clay and Mud Girl. Hey, I got an idea! What do you say about Copyka…" Lucy tried to help out but was immediatly interrupted.
"Wait! Where did Ben go?" Gwen asked them as she had just lost Ben from her sight.
As the three girls worked together to track Ben's location down on the grass field, he caught them all by surprise once he crash landed over them from above, mainly tackling and tossing Kate into a windmill, sending it crashing to the ground over her.
Fortunately Gwen managed to summon her hoverboard right in time, allowing Lucy to stand upside down underneath it just by morphing her feet into sticking to its surface.
As Kate eventually recovered from the forced landing, she immediately grasped the blades of the fallen windmill and threw them at Ben, who easily sliced through each one of them with his Omni armor sword but was once again target by Gwen sneaking behind while casting a spell which prompted roots on the ground to wrap themselves all around his body in an attempt to bind him.
Unfortunately for the girls, Ben just burst out of the roots with a look of contempt at his cousin as both Kate and Lucy walked over ready for more action, the three girls instantly charged towards him from multiple angles... right before a red beam of light shined down on the four of them and they all instantly vanished from sight.
Moments later a very confused Max arrived at the location they were just in while driving the Rust Bucket, only to find that the kids were nowhere in sight.
"Ben? Gwen? Kate? Lucy?" Max asked out loud, nearly panicking as he found none of them.
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KATE'S POV
I sensed the red light was still shining upwards just as I threw out my punch, only to find that I missed my target by a lot given how I was suddenly in a black void, which startled me for a moment until a spotlight finally shined down on me.
"Wha-what happened? Where am I?" I asked no one in particular until I heard a voice echoing from every direction.
"Presenting our newest challengers from Planet Earth!" The voice said, as if there was a crowd listening to its announcement. "Everyone pay attention to our newest celebrity guests!"
Suddenly, all the other lights immediately turned on in the area revealing that I was in a massive technologically advanced arena that was surrounded from all sides with a crowd of holographic aliens cheering on from the rafters.
"Challengers?" I asked while raising a metaphorical eyebrow.
Suddenly, a metallic rolling ball rolled up to me and revealed itself to be a robotic gladiator with blades for hands.
"You look upset." I mocked the robot without showing fear before preparing myself for combat. "How about I leave you looking like a pile of scraps?"
The robot unsheathed its blades and swiped at me, but I easily avoided them before catching their blunt sides in each of my upper set of hands. Surprisingly, the robot revealed two more blades from its shoulders and it brought them down on me, only for me to easily disengage from it by doing a quick backflip with my super speed.
Alright, I admit that the cheers from the holographic crowd were pushing me into playing a little more with this guy than I was supposed to.
'I'm sure Ben would disapprove of me messing around...' I thought with a little concern until I heard the crowd cheer once again after I ripped one of its robotic arms just with my brute force, leaving a grin covering my face from ear to ear as a result. 'But man… this just feels so awesome!'
I switched tactics once the crowd seemed tired of my teasing and added another transformation into the already convoluted fusion I had turned into, this time I forfeited my insect-like wings and eyes in exchange to turning my four arms into living crystal, releasing a flurry of shards from my hands that easily pierced through the robot's poor attempt to deflected them off with its last arm.
Running up to it at a high velocity, I conjured into one of my hands a sick ass blade and cut off the robot's last remaining arm.
"Okay, it's about time to play the can opener!" I said while conjuring more swords for all of my other arms and sliced the robot's legs off, instantly causing it to fall over, unable to continue, before putting it out of its misery by impaling it against the ground.
Suddenly, as I witnessed the arena shifting around me, more gladiator robots were deployed as water began pouring inside it, probably aimed to nerf my super speed a little.
"You want a piece of me!?" I asked defiantly while exchanging blows with the closest robotic foe which appeared to be adapted to aquatic environments. "I eat wimps like you for breakfast!"
Granted, I was being more overconfident than usual, having just then switched Ben's Crystal statue (Diamondhead) transformation out of my fusion in order to pick his monstrous merman dude one (Ripjaws).
Rushing onto the next robot that attempted to take me on, I forcefully kept its arms apart before I opened my maw and ripped its head off with my powerful jaw. The robot momentarily sunk downwards into the arena's floor before carrying on with its momentum as I spit its head out.
"You want some more?!" I asked with a wicked smile filled with rows of sharp teeth.
The robot tried to swipe at me, but I avoided it with my adaptable fishtail boosted by super speed and enhanced muscles, only to casually rip its arm off before charging at it again and severing it in two with another predatorial bite. I then threw the ripped out arm into the still-moving lower segment before I stomped over the still-crawling upper segment, destroying the robot entirely in a moderate bubbling explosion as the water level had finally reached my waist.
The crowd cheered at me as I smiled and celebrated my victory, loving every minute of the attention as the arena shifted once again and the water started to get drained away.
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As the image shifted outwards of Kate's arena, it revealed that both Ben and the other girls were in similar arenas of their own.
Lucy in particular had engaged against her own share of battle droids as she avoided several freezing and scorching rays.
"Sludge and extreme temperatures, never a good combination." She joked as she conjured a wave of mud from her feet that the robot freezed in place before blasting it with fire.
Lucy then ducked her head to avoid her foe's shots as she glared and placed her hands on the robot front shell's gap, flooding its metallic insides with enough pressure to explode it into several pieces. The crowd cheered for her too as she stood there, ready for more but still visibly lost to where she was and to how she got there.
Meanwhile in Gwen's arena, the one who seemed to have already been used to covering her face with a mask whenever engaging in serious battle, she was blasting powerful gusts of wind at her own robot foe.
Finally glaring upwards as she noticed the sun shining in through the massive windows of the ship and smiled realizing the opportunity to siphon its primal energy source as she picked a bud from her pocket which opened into its flower form and through magical incantations it unleashed a solar beam from it, instantly reducing a couple of her opponent droids into smoldering husks while in return visibly exhausting the spellcaster girl.
Unbeknownst to the group of Earthlings, their battles were being broadcasted for the entertainment of a powerful underworld organization.
The crowd kept erupting into cheers at each of their victories, with Kate in particular smiling and bowing to them all, while Ben's dark silhouette was left standing over a burning pile of broken robots.
He then suddenly sensed his cousin's distress before unceremoniously leaping over the wall's level, casually crashing past several energy barriers placed there in order to prevent any gladiator from achieving what he just did, only to land on the arena next to his and witness Gwen's plight.
As his cousin still required some time to recover herself, she desperately dodged away from the blades of the last robot through the use of some basic level illusions, convinced she was doomed once the last of her mirages was sliced in half her opponent suddenly had a fist burst through its chest. She then looked to see Ben there while still in his Chimera Sui Generis (Vilgax) transformation before lifting the robot over its head and using his other hand to rip it apart completely.
"If anyone touches a hair on my family's head, theirs comes off!" He shouted with a voice eerily reminiscent of the fallen Intergalactic Conqueror.
The crowd remained silent for a moment at his threat before eventually cheering at the two, Ben merely turned to his cousin.
"Thanks for the save. But why didn't you help me before?" She groaned a bit annoyed at the stressful situation.
"Had my own battle to deal with back there." He said before picking her up with one hand and placing her over his shoulder. "Let's help Lucy and Kate before figuring a way out of here."
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SLIX VIGMA'S POV
Inside the watch tower in the center of the ship, a robotic looking being with six eyes observed the group of heroes on his monitors.
"Sadistic, inventive and clearly crowd pleasers. True gladiator material. These extras are indeed spirited, I'll make a handsome profit off of them." The mysterious figure said, watching Kate and the other girls every move with cold amusement before focusing his entire attention towards the reason why it came out of its way to visit this unimportant planet in this forgettable sector. "The wielder seems to live up to all the myth surrounding the Omnitrix. Wearing the face of his last big opponent no less."
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MC'S POV
Once I had finally gathered all the girls, the walls of the other arenas suddenly crumbled, revealing that the other competitors gathered here hadn't fared all that well in their own battles against these gladiator robots.
"Hey, Tennyson…" Kate asked me while still a bit annoyed I had activated the timeout function of her belt in order to bring her out of her WrestleMania mindset. "…I was wiping the floor with these losers! If you had just let—"
"Ben, where are we? And how did we get here?" Lucy casually ignored Kate's outburst and asked me as if I always knew everything, which I did but that doesn't really matter.
Pointing upwards I led them to look out the window of the ship and noticed the stars in a dark void as they passed by the moon and saw the Earth in the distance.
"Hmm…From the view those windows are giving, I believe we are in space onboard what appears to be a gladiator arena." I told them while taking care of Gwen, who despite her innate mana reserves being several times larger than mine, she still wasted a lot of it all at once. "As for the how…I believe it's safe to assume we were teleported by that red beam back on Earth. But I believe the important question is: Why were we brought here?"
"Why?" Lucy repeated my words in concern as I turned back to human form in my Omni suit.
"Isn't it obvious, guys?" Kate finally calmed down enough to join in our discussion, and told us with a serious expression. "Someone wants to see us fighting!"
As the girls and I were about to investigate it further, the same red beam of light from before shined down again on our group and teleported us away, only for us to show up in a different section on the massive ship with considerably more advanced security guards.
"Okay, I definitely do not like that." Lucy groaned while appearing to be a bit nauseous at the unrequested teleportation.
We then noticed four samurai drones using their staffs to knock us on our feet and they placed a badge-like device on each of our chests. Even Lucy, with her liquid nature, wasn't able to easily slip it off of herself.
"Hey! Hands off!" Both Kate and Lucy shouted as they ran in to attack them.
One of the robots retaliated by pressing a button on its gauntlet and projected a mental shackle in each of our joints, causing the two girls jumping into action to freeze in place and grind their teeth in annoyance from the mind-controlling technology as the robots left the room.
"Calm down everyone." I ordered the girls, admittedly being somewhat oncerned by how different things were from canon even before my meddling, finally I turned ahead and asked the one I knew was in control of everything. "Who are you? And what do you want from us?"
"Oh, so there really exists a civilized Earthling after all. Well, I am Slix Vigma." The figure responsible for bringing us here revealed itself. "And this is my Megacruiser. Everything on this ship belongs to me, including you four."
"I don't belong to nobody, Slick, you sark! You—-" Kate rebutted until her ability to speak was taken from her.
"I speak, you listen. Be sure to understand that these eyes see everything on this ship and these hands control everything and everyone on it." Slix Vigma raised one finger as if signaling for Kate to be quiet before scratching his head. "Uh…where was I again? Oh, right! The reason I brought you all here… well, is to have you as part of my… 'what appears to be a gladiator arena'. Hehe! I must admit that I appreciate your insightful determination, true main lead material, just what I was hoping for." The ruler of this ship said with a mirthful tone I wasn't expecting, probably due to some device messing up the translation of our conversation, but the alien before me clearly seemed to be aware of the Omnitrix that was in my possession. "And it just happens that you and your associates are the stars of my whole show now!"
"Wha-what is that…thing?" Gwen asked, having finally regained her breath.
"Huh? Is my communicator broken? Hello, Slix Vigma here, your primetime tyrannical intergalactic alien entertainment producer who thrives from the spectacle I orchestrate myself." The robotic creature gleefully replied, resembling just in appearance the Slix Vigma I recalled watching from the classic series. "My greatest hit? Putting all sorts of alien beings I've extracted from everywhere on all known galaxies through overly complicated death traps and epic showdowns to entertain my clientele composed of the most wealthiest and influential mob bosses that influence several sectors of the intergalactic society. Let's just say that this 'Indentured Audience' of mine really enjoys betting on iconic celebrities I've personally crafted through life and death."
As we all had a better understanding of what was really happening to us, I couldn't help but to overthink about how much different things were going from canon. Especially with this wannabe-mojo from the X-men still calling himself as Slix Vigma.
"Actually, just between you and me, it's been a horrible decline of quality since my golden era…the red dots have been trying their best to pull the plug on all of my operations…that's why I needed to possess you…" Slix Vigma approached us while stretching his right arm in order to point at me. "The latest and hottest topic in all of the extranet will definitely help me put those heights of engagement in the past, everyone is thirsty for the next big thing. That's why I took the effort to drag all of my business into this insignificant system, only so that I could personally assure you'd be brought aboard my Megacruiser. A place even the likes of you would have no hopes of ever escaping."
As the alien kidnapper was about to be as bold as to touch me with its finger, probably picturing it as a proper way to show its dominance over me, I'm sure it came as a shock to its mechanical brain once I grabbed it by the wrist and held it in place thanks to my mana enhancing my physical body.
"Wha-what? But how? The Psy-Compliance chip should prevent you from moving at all." Slix Vigma protested while struggling to break free from my slowly tightening grasp.
"Oh, now you are so screwed!" Kate grinned proudly as I picked up the mind controlling chip and assimilated it thanks to the technological pattern spawning from my Omnitrix, unlocking her ability to talk again. "Shouldn't have underestimated us!"
"You mean, Ben, right?" Lucy pointed out with a cute yet provoking smile.
"You used your mana?" Gwen asked me, trying herself to break free like I did from the mind controlling alien tech.
"Didn't need to. But you are welcome to try it." I casually told her, thinking that despite having been aided by Alpha who quickly hacked the alien device as soon as it was pressed against my Omni suit's chest, Gwen's control over mana should be more than enough to regain control of her own body.
"Grrrrr! You little human meat bag! I've never been this humiliated before!" To my surprise, before I could have Alpha hack Slix Vigma completely to shut him off, the cunning robot detached its own arm that was stuck in my grasp and immediately summoned the red beam from before, which teleported us four away.
This time however, the arena we were all brought to was a huge white room that immediately reminded me of the Combat Experimental Room from One Punch Man's House of the Evolution organization.
"Ah, I almost got it!" Gwen announced, having finally freed the upper segment of her body.
"A little help here, Tennyson!" Kate asked, still stuck in place on the same pose she assumed before trying to attack the security guards.
"Please, Ben!" Lucy added, her face a bit embarrassed at the awkward position she had been frozen into.
"Sure thing, hold still." I joked before casually removing each one of their chips as if picking a small bug, by then Gwen had also overpowered her chip completely through the use of her mana.
"Now what?" Gwen asked, a bit annoyed by the bright white surrounding us from every direction. "Is this supposed to be a prison for…"
However, just as she was about to finish her sentence, the four of us witnessed as our environment shifted to resemble some abandoned alien city that appeared to have just gone through a messy war, with strange overgrown plants spawning every now and then despite all the remaining wreckage.
"Wow, it not only looks realistic…" I remarked while touching the grass beneath my feet. "…must be the work of some nanotechnology to produce actual solid structures. Must also help with all sorts of sick content that is produced and broadcasted here."
"Yeah, don't want to even think about it. For now, I'm more impressed by the fact that you are impressed." Gwen pointed out. "You are usually so collected about everything. Even with the strangest things that we had come across up until now."
"I've got my moments." I smiled at them with a shrug before thinking to myself. 'This certainly is not what I was expecting for my first time in space. Not that I expected things were ever going to be the same after I met Kate.'
"Hehehe! I wouldn't lower my guard if I were you four!" Slix Vigma suddenly materialized as a hologram before us four with clear malicious intent. "For not only are you Live for my wealthiest of wealthiest audience, but also because you are all participants in my never ending Reality Series of Last Gladiator Standing."
As this was going on, the camera revealed that the highly advanced arena was being projected on the screens throughout the galaxy by some cameras in the area as the audience could see everything going on, causing them to go insane with anticipation.
"I told you: these eyes see everything. And so will everybody else. Let's call this the opening act!" Our captor announced.
We suddenly heard a rumbling as the alien I could only assume was Technorg fell from the sky just a few meters ahead of us. He had orange skin along with a large jaw that boasted its teeth merged with the lips, wore armor that released steam from the joints and his left hand was replaced with a large mace.
"My reigning champion! The Immortal Technorg!" The image of Slix Vigma explained. "You four would be wise to start running now."
'Immortal?' I raised my eyebrow at that title while dismissing Slix's taunts. 'Since when?'
"There can only be one champion! Me!" Technorg shouted while letting loose some steam from his armor and began rushing towards us as if he had no fear for his own safety.
"Hey, tough guy!" I shouted while standing before the girls who had assumed their own fighting stances. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size and stay away from my family?"
I mentally dialed my Omnitrix and transformed into my Tetramand (Four Arms) transformation, giving him an uppercut to the head as Gwen simultaneously had her hands glowing with energy and raised a magical barrier in order to shield them from the shockwave of my attack.
However, to my actual surprise, this version of Technorg was so absurdly powerful that he simply shrugged off my punch and kept his momentum aiming to tackle me against Gwen's barrier. If not for my previous experience with facing Jennifer and her stronger Tetramand (Four Arms) transformation, I barely reacted in time to sidestep him and drag this orange hulk away from the girls.
While my group had clear looks of shock on their faces, I could already see that Technorg was already recovering from being thrown against a nearby building, leaving behind a deep indenture into it.
"Not bad, right?" I heard Slix Vigma once taunting me from over my shoulder. "This overgrown Detrovite certainly is a cut above its original species." Its holographic image teleported next to the recovering champion. "Come on, Big Guy! Your audience is turning against you! Can't you hear their Boos?"
That seemed to enrage the Orange giant. "Boos? No one boos Technorg! Technorg is the absolute champion!"
"Tennyson, let's turn into our speedy lizard transformation and keep our distance from that thing!" Kate shouted as she began fidgeting with her belt, finally understanding the concept of battle strategy.
"Not this time, Kate." I spoke with my deep and booming voice while staring at the rising figure of Technorg. 'I took it easy on Jennifer by just enhancing myself with mana, but since you carry the moniker of Immortal…I really want to put you to the test.'
As those thoughts went past my mind, I mentally commanded my Omnitrix to go ultimate, as the badge on my shoulders gained four gray spikes and a green wave of energy washed out from it, leaving me as a much bulkier version of my Tetramand (Four Arms) transformation.
"Ben?" Gwen exclaimed, a bit shocked due to having never seen my bluish and only two handed ultimate transformation. "Who is this?"
"Same guy, I just evolved into a more badass version." I told her, with my voice so deep that it shook the ground underneath us. "It's a new feature I've unlocked. Check this out!"
Just as I finished talking we all noticed how adamant Technorg was about annihilating us as the orange giant bulldozed his way towards us like an unstoppable force. However, just by flexing my right arm and reading it for a punch, the result of our inevitable clash was clear to me.
A disturbing mixture of sickening bloodbath and devastating air blast, with Technorg's guts and pieces being shot at least hundreds of meters back, was the result of me throwing just a casual punch of mine at the Gladiator Champion.
"EWW!" I heard both Gwen and Lucy expressing their disgust at the pieces of our opponent that managed to rain over them, thanks to the fact that the shockwave of my previous punch was enough to shatter Gwen's barrier.
"Dude! That was one mean punch!" Kate cheered with excitement. "This new function absolutely rocks!"
"Thanks, Kate. And sorry, girls, clearly I've overestimated my opponent's durability." I told them while inspecting my own terrifying strength. "Not so immortal after all, huh?"
"What an incredible turn of events! Respected audience, allow me to present to you your new champion!" The announcer from before said over the loudspeaker and the crowd went wild over the flawless victory, their cheers and praises echoing from everywhere.
"What is this form, human?" I heard Slix Vigma's voice, showing more curiosity than anger towards the one that defeated its champion, but seeing I wasn't willing to comply with his demands, the ruler of the Megacruiser spat. "Doesn't matter in the end. The ratings of my audience have finally gone through the roof! Just in a few minutes you've completely shattered Technorg's record. Prepare for galactic hyper jump. I need to recruit some new blood worthy of my new champion. The ones remaining will have to do it for now."
"What?!" The girls all gasped and turned to me. "What are we going to do?"
Despite their worries, I was more focused on how the nanotechnological environment began collecting what remained of the previous champion, right then I knew something else was going on.
"Not so fast!" I spoke with my thundering voice and mentally ordered the Omnitrix to switch my current ultimate form for another. Quickly morphing back to my base Tetramand form and then switching for my Galvanic Mechamorph (Upgrade), as the green wave of energy washed over and evolved all of my nanites, I stood there as a literal God of technology.
At my command the entire environment simulation halted, not only I could control every single circuit of this massive white room, but I've also extended my consciousness throughout the entire Megacruiser.
"Okay, I must also admit that this new version of your alien is also dope!" Kate told me, clearly wondering when I was going to let her play a bit with my new toys.
"Thanks." I replied with my robotic voice while spawning a holographic window to display the control I had over everything on this massive ship. "I've already turned our transmission off and canceled the galactic hyper jump, we won't be going anywhere."
"Whew, that's quite the good news." Lucy expressed her relief. "I'm sure Grandpa Max is already worried about our disappearance."
"What happened to that sly guy that kidnapped us?" Gwen asked, still worried that things might still go south for us.
"Oh…right!" I faked having forgotten about it and dramatically snapped my fingers, prompting for the same red beam that brought us here to flesh before us and teleported Slix Vigma himself, frozen in place under my control. "In the flesh…or should I say, in the metal. Big mistake telling us that you were the control console of the ship."
"Th—this…isn't part of the show..." Slix said as his cybernetic body started giving out sparks until he eventually shut off. "I've got to... got to... stop... stop... stop..."
"Oh, I'm so gonna blow this guy to pieces!" Kate declared while activating her belt and twisting its central piece, once she selected the silhouette of her blazing inferno (Heatblast) transformation she unknowingly made a breakthrough with her Osmosian powers. This time she remained looking like a human, but flames rose out of her skin. "Wow! I'm still me! I didn't know I could do this!"
"It seems your Osmosian nature has finally evolved to the point where you have a much more sophisticated output of each species' abilities." I told her with my robotic voice while feigning ignorance, already aware of how the evolved DNA of a prime Osmosian species was merging into Kate. "I imagine you can now juggle a larger number of my transformations at a single time."
Given how quickly Kate began displaying her fire powers while smoke dashing around us, with pieces of molten rock appearing and disappearing on her skin depending on the output of power, it was clear she got most of the picture of what I told her. "Oh man, I really need to destroy something. This Vigma loser couldn't have come at a better time."
"Kate…wait!" Gwen spoke out, looking at me in belief that it wasn't what we should do. "We could still…"
"Still do what, Gwen?" I interrupted her with my cold and robotic voice. "Take him to the police? And even if there's a space patrol that will take him into custody? Tetrax took those bounty hunters with him that time in the desert, but what if those guys escape only to seek revenge on us?"
"You might have a point…but…" Gwen remarked before trying to come up with another justification, only for me to break her concentration by mentally dragging the still frozen and floating body of Slix Vigma closer to us.
"Is this guy any different than those Vilgax kept sending after us? Or the living creature that was kidnapping old people back in Aunt Vera's home?" I added, not trying to be aggressive, just thinking that it was about time I got the girls onboard with some of my beliefs. "Did you forget the gladiator robots you've burned to crisps yourself?"
Gwen turned to Lucy, who she thought would back her on this conversation, but the Lenopan girl gave her a serious look instead.
"Gwen, I understand why you are not okay with just finishing this guy…I totally get it…and I believe Ben does as well." Lucy reasoned. "You heard what it said to us, how it bragged about abducting people from any planet it believes it can get away with. Forcing those same innocents to fight to the death against one another."
"I-I…" Gwen stuttered with her words, her reluctance being beyond the prospect of logic, but even on the emotional level she was having a hard time finding any reason why they should let the sentient robot live.
"Perhaps we should include into our discussion someone who had suffered much longer under Slix Vigma's control." I suggested, having just read through thousands of files from the Megacruiser's database in less than a second and come to an understanding of why they called Technorg Immortal.
Hand-waving across the bloody remains of the previous Gladiator Champion, I ordered the billions of nanites next to it to gather it all into one place. Apparently Technorg was a special kind of Cyborg experiment, one that could be reassembled back to life, though with the interesting side effect of becoming stronger than it was before death.
Technorg appeared to possess what seemed to me to be a variant of DC Doomsday's power, or perhaps more similar to Allan the Alien from Invincible who had a similar color palette.
"Ben, you've already learned Necromancy?" Gwen questioned in utter amazement while staring at the same image of the orange giant that I had defeated just minutes ago.
"Wrong again, cuz. It's not a spell, you see. Technorg here was made to be brought back after each death." I gave her an abridged version of what I've learned, noticing how this time the Orange Goliath had both hands thanks to how much I've upgraded this entire process, I proudly greeted him. "Welcome back to the world of the living, brave warrior."
"Hmmmm…Technorg feels…calm. The voice…telling me to fight…I can't hear it anymore." Were the first words we got from Technorg once I turned off the Psy-Compliance chip merged with his cells. The poor guy was enslaved since conception, and from the records, this wasn't anywhere near the first gruesome demise he had met.
"Hey, orange head!" Kate called for him while grasping Slix Vigma's neck. "This bastard here kept you as his personal lapdog! Forcing you to fight and die, only to rise again and keep fighting until you no longer can. What do you say about putting a stop to its crimes?"
We all thought it would take some time to make Technorg understand it, but the orange giant answered with a resolute. "Yes!"
That immediately earned a grin from Kate, turning towards me as if waiting for my final word, however my attention was right then captured by the alien gladiator who immediately bowed down before me. "You've bested the best, then freed me from this life…I have nowhere to go. My life belongs to you."
As the freed Detrovite remained with his head bowed and I had the girls looking at me with expecting expressions, I couldn't help myself from feeling satisfied with how things ended up for me today. As much as I might've enjoyed having such a powerful specimen serving as my bodyguard, there was no one that was a match for him that would be a problem for me. Not only that but with how efficiently I've been mastering my Omnitrix at the same time I've been successfully developing new features such as the Ultimate transformations, my time was better invested on strengthening my female followers.
"Please, you don't have to bow down, neither should you call me master. You can just call me Omni-boy instead." I told him with my best benevolent attitude, helping him to his feet before adding. "I can't possibly accept that you will throw away your freedom moments after you get it. I just did what I judged to be the right thing to do. You must forgive me for not holding back with that last punch."
"No! I have nothing to forgive you from." He turned to look at the girls who were still watching us. "You were just protecting those that are precious to you."
As I mentally thanked him for playing so well his part in this brief exchange, I subtly scanned his Detrovite DNA in order to make good use of his self-evolution mutation, almost losing my mind at the possibility of combining it with my Ultimate transformations.
"In any case, Kate, I will leave it to you. Technorg, stay here with her, I will teleport you two once I need your help." I finally declared, prompting a smile of satisfaction on the flaming skull of my half osmosian friend, before turning to my ginger cousin. "Gwen, if you want to show mercy on someone, come with me and Lucy to help us take all the current inhabitants of this ship to the escape pods. The least I can do is return them to their homes."
Thankfully this time she seemed to have finally been swayed about my decision, nodding with a more positive attitude Gwen approached me and Lucy before I teleported us away.
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GWEN'S POV
As the three of us were teleported to the section where most of the prisoners were supposed to be held, we immediately looked around and saw several alien prisoners of different kinds and shapes looking absolutely miserable in whichever position they were in. They each had the same mind control device on their chests Slix Vigma had attempted to use on me and my family.
"Greetings everyone!" Ben suddenly spoke to everyone through his robotic voice, which probably explained why the prisoners that had been enslaved by Slix Vigma were immediately frightened by him, but as expected he quickly understood that. "Fear not! For I'm not the tyrant robot responsible for kidnapping you all from your native worlds and forcing you all to fight for your lives just to entertain some sadistic audience."
As I saw how Ben's words dawned on the alien prisoners, I witnessed how their misery was quickly replaced by a spark of hope once each of their mind devices short circuited and a massive door opened.
"This way everyone, I will lead you to the emergency escape pods." Lucy took the initiative, quickly morphing each time she greeted a different species of alien, appealing to their sense of familiarity. "We still have plenty more to rescue, so please hurry!"
As the last prisoner of that chamber we've first arrived finally left the containment cell and I was left alone with Ben, I couldn't hold it inside me anymore. "Ben…sorry…you know…earlier I was just…"
"Gwen…" Ben interrupted me, though this time I could actually feel some comfort in his robotic voice as he patted me on the head. "…reluctance to take a life is not a weakness, neither does I see it as a disrespect towards me." I raised my head and looked him in the eye, the singular glowing one he had in this form. "I don't expect you to agree with every decision I make, just as you shouldn't expect me to do the same for you. But I need you to understand that as the wielder of the Omnitrix, I can't just claim to be the protector of Earth and do nothing when that claim gets challenged."
I don't know what got into me, but I suddenly hugged him and felt my face pressed against his cold and metallic skin, thankfully he hugged me back otherwise I wouldn't know how to face him ever again after this awkward moment.
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LUCY'S POV
It has been a while since I last forced myself to divide into so many copies of me, with each having to shapeshift independently to better interact with the freed aliens, but I was surprised to find it much easier to handle.
"Okay, everybody. Take the escape pods back to your home planets!" I ordered throughout my clones as the gladiators all complied and ran to the escape pods before they all shot out of the Megacruiser. Having already done and repeated it a couple more times inside this massive spaceship, I was finally glad to hear from Ben that this was finally the last one. "You know, It's actually shocking how many we've managed to free in such a short amount of time. Now that's what I call being a wonderful superhero!"
"Agreed, thanks for the help Lucy!" Ben told me as he patted me on the head. "Your mastery over your abilities has really made it far easier for us to finish this quickly."
"Yeah, don't worry. Heh. I'm just glad to be able to help." I said while trying to hide my momentary embarrassment. Now finally noticing how quieter Gwen had become since we began freeing the prisoners, I immediately recalled their recent conversations I managed to eavesdrop on.
Don't get me wrong, I'm really glad Ben and Gwen are getting along, and I'm happy we've become a family for Kate, but it's a bit weird no longer being the only one close to him. I totally get that Ben tries his best to share his time with all of us, we still play, talk and train together most of the time. It's just that I miss the time when I had him just for me.
"You are frowning. Is anything wrong?" Ben asked me, having read me like a book just as he always does.
"N-no! It's nothing!" I stuttered a little, giving him an awkward smile while trying to think about something. "I-I was just thinking that we shouldn't keep Grandpa waiting much longer. H-he must be really worried about us."
"You are right. I will just teleport both Kate and Technorg here and—" Fortunately Ben bought my excuse, but just as he was about to finish his sentence, he suddenly lost focus and turned back to his human form. "No way!"
"What? Is everything ok, Ben?" Gwen finally spoke up, going on full alert in case we had to deal with some unexpected foe. "Something happened to Kate?"
"Uh? Oh, she and Technorg I are fine. It's just that I received a warning that we have visitors." Ben casually dismissed her worries before teleporting us away to somewhere else without warning.
As our surroundings shifted and I took some quick glances around, I noticed we were brought to what appeared to be some Sci-fi looking hangar with a force field shielding the outer space.
"Wow! Check out those machines!" I suddenly heard Kate's voice as she rushed past me and went to inspect the nearest spacecraft the size of Grandpa's RV.
"Mast— I mean, Omni-boy, the girl has completed the task you gave her." Technorg soon approached us three and bowed down before Ben, who casually dismissed it without taking his attention away from the Hangar's window. "What shall we do next?"
"I was planning to send you somewhere you can be free of this floating prison. But right now you must forgive me, because since I've now claimed this Megacruiser as mine, I need to welcome my first guests." Ben told us just as a spaceship emerged from the cold vacuum of space.
"Who are they?" I couldn't help myself from asking Ben, but before he could share any information he had on the spaceship facing us from outside the hangar's gate barrier, three alien figures materialized before us in a beam of blue light.
The first was very muscular in build, had dark blue skin and a bald head with a lantern jaw. His eyes appeared to be covered with what appeared to be a black domino mask that reveals pure light blue eyes and has four fingered hands. His uniform is a simple black and white one-piece jumpsuit with a red dot on the chest and a white cape with red buckles.
The second was a female version of Ben's four armed alien form. She was buff and bulky, had red skin with spikes on her arms and long flowing black hair. She had two front toes on each foot and an additional set of smaller pectoral muscles below their primary set to help move her second set of arms. She wore an outfit like a traditional gladiator outfit that had a white headpiece, a white suit of armor and a skirt on the bottom of similar color, like the previous alien she had a red dot symbol though in her case it was on her belt's buckle.
The final figure looked like a floating octopus with black and white tentacles, a head that looked like three bluish-green brains in a bowl covered by a face that appeared to be projected from somewhere.
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MC'S POV
[GALACTIC ENFORCERS]
'No way!' I kept telling myself as I was finally sure who these three beings were.
"Greetings." The first alien, who I recognized as their leader, said. "I am Ultimos, the Specimen Prime of my people. This is Magister Synaptak and Queen Tini. We are part of the Galactic Enforcers!" Once he finished declaring their group's name and identifying his colleagues, they all struck a pose, leaving me and the girls to cringe a little. "As per the Galactic Code of Conduct, we hereby officially request clearance to operate in your quadrant." Ultimos requested us.
"If you three don't bear hostility towards us, my permission is granted." I said more out of formality than actual concern.
"Excellent. Then we have much to discuss with you." The wannabe Superman said with clear excitement before one of his crewmates stepped forward and approached me while levitating himself.
"So, it is true." The octopus alien said as a matter of factly. "The Omnitrix is in possession of an Earthling. I've heard your species has a somewhat limited mental capacity, but given what we saw from the broadcast of your fight before it was cut, you've certainly mastered the Omnitrix to a certain extent."
"Uh, thanks. I do what I can." I told him while subtly activating my DNA scan.
"Apologies for asking this, but I hope that I've been misinformed. One of our integrants was sent to investigate the whereabouts of the Omnitrix. From the reports that I received this investigation was intercepted from the start by the infamous warlord…" Synaptak inquired while inspecting my Omnitrix. "…so, since not only have we lost contact with our member but you have publicly declared Vilgax's defeat, I must ask just to be sure. Did you happen to know anything about another Galactic Enforcer named Xylene?"
Just as I heard the name of one of Grandpa Max's many girlfriends, the visor on my Omnisuit informed me of what transformation I've unlocked from Synaptak. 'Another Uxorite? Is he a cyborg just like Kraab? Regardless, I guess it explains the similar powers.'
Thankfully I've managed to keep my body language under control and not give away my surprise with all this extra unexpected change of the canon, but my momentary silence prompted Synaptak to conjure up a mental image of the green alien I recalled appreciating Max's cooking skills.
"Unfortunately not." I told the floating bowl stuffed with brains. "But from my brief encounter with Vilgax, he had just fully recovered from a near-death injury. Perhaps your friend was the one responsible."
"It definitely sounds like the sort of stuff she would pull." Synaptak muttered with a bit of pride in his voice as he dismissed the holographic image until it gave way to a more somber comment addressed at no one nearby. "Dammit Xy, why did you go alone?"
"If she is really dead, I'm sorry for your loss." I told him, not willing to risk revealing what I knew just yet, to which I merely received a nod.
"Ahem…" Ultimos cleared his throat and assumed the lead once again. "…indeed, we shall mourn her after we know better. As I was about to say before that subject was brought up, hero of Earth, in the name of the Galactic Enforcer, I would like to thank you about the service you did by putting an end to this criminal facility. The cretin known as Slix Vigma had avoided incarceration from the many crimes he had committed against the galactic society."
"Well, about that?" Kate suddenly spoke up, scratching her head in embarrassment. "Let's just say that you won't be able to handcuff this Slix guy."
To Ultimos' credit, despite the way he talked, he quickly understood what Kate was trying to say. "Oh, I wouldn't worry about it. As the ones responsible for policing this quadrant, the Galactic Code of Conduct dictates that it befalls to you the decision of how better to punish the criminal. Especially given how you are all victims of his crimes." He continued while displaying a bit of righteous fury. "The audacity to broadcast such atrocities, we've only failed in intercepting this ship up until now due to its highly advanced Hyperspace system."
"By the way…" Tini finally spoke up, though just like it had happened in cannon she smiled and winked her left set of eyes at me in a flirty gesture. Flexing her muscles while having a hard time acknowledging my personal space, meanwhile Synaptak wore a very annoyed expression. "…we've seen your special breed of Tetramand and I must say…really impressive."
She was considerably larger and more voluptuous than Jennifer as her Handiva (Four Arms) transformation, nearly the same height as I was in my ultimate Tetramand form, but what drew my attention more was the fact that Ultimos addressed her as Queen. Wasn't Looma a princess amongst the species of these four armed giants? Does that mean they are mother and daughter?
"Hey Lady, if you don't mind…" Lucy and Gwen were about to come to my aid before I raised my arm and calmed them down.
"It's okay, girls. I got this." I told them with a friendly smile before turning back to the hulking woman staring at me with hungry eyes. "I thank your highness for the compliment, but I must say that I've yet to be impressed. Though unlike it is to your people, might alone doesn't mean all that much to us. Perhaps if my homeworld ever gets threatened, such an opportunity might present itself."
While everyone else took this sentence of mine as me rejecting Tini's advances, from the way she smirked while nodding her head, I was assured she understood my conditions.
Suddenly I heard Synaptak's voice coming from closer to Technorg's position. "Hum… What do we have here? Another Detrovite! Though this one is of a different color than your species, Boss."
'Oh sure! Why does it not surprise me that squid-brain and Sheeva here weren't the only ones with their lore changed.' I thought while turning to face Ultimos.
As Synaptak kept scanning the confused Technorg, he said. "Limited mental capabilities, not unlike Appoplexians; all brawn, no brains. You know the type."
"I've studied your files. Never had I considered that you had anything to do with project Vulkanus." Ultimos spoke with a sentimental tone before looking at me from over his shoulder. "Omni-Boy, I thank you in the name of my people for freeing one of us."
Technorg was clearly confused with all of what Ultimos was saying, apparently he had no memory of his homeworld, and from the files I got after hacking into the Megacruiser's database neither was Slix Vigma the one responsible for capturing him, but in all honesty this killed two birds with one stone for me.
Ignoring Ultimos words I addressed the one who's loyalty I knew I had earned regardless if he called me master or not. "Technorg, I know nothing of what your homeworld is like and nor can I assure you that you will be happy there, but I can at very least help you reject them if that's what you desire."
This seemed to have caught the leader of these Galactic Enforcers by surprise, but before he could mutter any sort of assurance that they were a group dedicated to doing good, Technorg himself spoke up with a decisive tone. "I'm very thankful for your consideration, Omni-Boy. But I believe I must at least give a chance to this new path of life presented for me."
The orange goliath approached me and knelt once again, despite my request for him not having to do so. "Once again I thank you for freeing me."
"Be safe, big guy." I told him with a friendly tone before turning back to Ultimos. "As much as I appreciate the time to talk with other professional heroes, I must ask you three to take your leave. Me and my allies must return to our planet."
"What about the Megacruiser?" Synaptak asked with clear second intentions.
"I will keep it for myself." I said while going straight to the point.
"Are you sure? It is a bit too advanced for Earth standards. I believe your kind has yet to surpass level 3 of technology." Synaptak tried to convince me to give it.
But despite me not needing her help, Kate stepped forward and argued back with a small chuckle. "Heh, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that alien watch of a considerably higher level? I believe we can handle this floating arena just fine."
Synaptak clearly wasn't satisfied, but before we wasted any more time on this discussion, Ultimos declared while leading Technorg towards their ship. "Since it has been part of criminal activity in your jurisdiction, we can't possibly force you to give it up to us. I can only hope you make good use of it and put it to a better use than its previous owner Oh, almost forgot about it…you and your group's unorthodox methods are just what we need to defeat this new breed of criminals!" Ultimos said as he handed Tini four badges. "By the provision set forward by the Galactic Code of Conduct, we officially extend to you full commissions in the Galactic Enforcers."
"Good idea!/Bad idea!" Tini and Synaptak said at the same time, the former holding one badge in each of her hands.
"It would seem that I am the deciding vote to formalize this petition. And I say you four would all be welcome to join us." Ultimos declared while signaling for Tini to proceed.
"I hope that we meet again soon." Tini said while handing me my own badge
"Likewise." I casually said while inspecting the badge and ordering Alpha to make sure it was safe, it almost went past me unnoticed how Tini began hyperventilating with my words. 'Geez, these Tetramand women can barely keep it in their pants.'
The Queen of the Tetramands smiled and walked over to her partners and their new passenger.
"Galactic Enforcers, away!" Ultimos declared just as I finished scanning his mutation, making me really glad that I didn't miss on those sweet sweet Kryptonian powers, even if they are still far from the real deal I still believe it will suit me well after evolving them.
They then teleported back to their spaceship, leaving their new friends behind.
"This summer continues to surprise me." I said with a sigh.
"You've said it." Kate agreed while looking around the hangar of the Megacruiser, with both Lucy and Gwen concurring alongside her.
Soon after, we were all teleported down in the exact same windmill farm that we had previously been having a mock battle under Grandpa Max training.
"Guys!" Max said as he saw us in the grass. "Are you alright? I've been looking all over for you four. Where have you been?"
"Long story." I told him. "But I'm pretty sure you're not going to believe us."
"Try me." Max said with a smile, his previous concern at our absence was slowly going away now that he saw us all being safe and sound.
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(11/06/2024)
*Hey there! Thanks for reading my work! I hope this chapter is of your liking.
Any ideas for powers, adventure arcs and girls are more than welcomed. I might not use anything, but you will have my gratitude for trying.
If this chapter is a mess of grammatical errors, please wait, I'll promptly try to fix it. But for that I need your feedback.
Thanks as always for your time, hope you have a fantastic day and please stay safe.
Bye.
*I really hope that all of this alternative universe stuff that I've been pulling on this fic isn't ruining it for you guys. 😅 I really dig all of this ideas.
As you can see I've merged two chapters into one. In my defense I would like to point out how stupid the Galactic Enforcers's episode plot is, I mean, do you really want me to believe that you can build a bomb capable of blowing up a solar system by simply combining two minerals? And even if I was to believe it was somehow possible, couldn't you have picked better villains to represent this threat?
As for the change with Slix Vigma, a C-tier villain at best despite my love for the classic series, I openly mentioned my inspiration on Mojo from the X-Men. Those who have read or watched Yu Yu Hakusho might've seen some similarities with how I depicted the audience of this episode's Gladiator Arena. I mean, at least I hope it resembled the Black Black club where the richest and most depraved watched atrocities for their own entertainment. Sure, I could've gone much darker than I did, but honestly I'm satisfied with what I ended up with.
What else? Oh, right! Technorg is basically Allan the Alien from Invencible, with he and Ultimos sharing a race. Gotta tell you, the lack of specific species name of said specimen prime's wiki page was all it took for me to create this connection.
Similarly was what I did with Synaptak. There were just too many Squid-like aliens, so I had to tie him to an already existing species, thankfully there was one with telekinetic powers on Xylene. The comparison I've made with Kraab was mostly because he also had most of his biological parts substituted with cybernetics.
As for Tini, I just like the idea of comparing her to Wonderwoman/Aquaman, two monarchs who joined a league of superheroes. Her original character was just so bland and had literally no other connection to the story other than Ultimos' shadow and Synaptak's love interest. This way I can at least have her interact with Looma and her father.
Though in Tini's own personality, I've yet to actually flesh her out but I'm really interested in making her similar to Ambessa Medarda from Arcane. I know I've gone on record claiming that I wasn't much of a fan of Tomboyish girls, which was a bit ignorant of me (sorry), but I must say that this whole muscular and tall female stuff really pleases me. Hopefully it's not that much of a turn off for you, especially since I don't plan to make my MC submissive in any shape or form.
Final topics…Megacruiser will serve a similar purpose to the Justice League's Watchtower, I really don't plan to use Vulkanus other than his name for the special project which created Ultimos and Technorg, I plan to finish season 2 on the next two chapters.
** I AM REALLY SORRY FOR THE DELAY! THIS CHAPTER WAS SUPPOSED TO COME OUT LAST WEEK! BUT FOR SOME REASON I COULD NOT GET IT TO APPEAR ON THE PLATFORM!