Chapter 22: Clash of Titans
Grandpa Max moved with a grim purpose, yanking open several cabinets inside the Rustbucket before his hands found what he was looking for. He pulled out a heavy, sophisticated piece of hardware: a high-yield energy cannon, its metal frame gleaming under the dim interior lights.
"This thing is still keyed to Vilgax's genetic signature," he muttered, his voice tight with old frustrations. "Let's hope this time, we can get rid of him for good."
"Grandpa! Who is Vilgax, exactly?" Gwen pressed, her voice sharp with worry as she stood by the door. "What's your history with him? We need to know what Klein is up against!"
"The situation is too urgent for a history lesson," Max said, ushering her back into the driver's cabin. "I'll explain everything after we deal with him." He slammed the Rustbucket into gear, tires spinning as he raced toward the battlefield.
...
On the battlefield, Vilgax charged forward, a living mountain of muscle and malice. Klein, in his current alien form, didn't even flinch. Instead, he calmly slapped the Omnitrix symbol on his chest.
A flash of ethereal blue light washed over him just as Vilgax's fist arrived. The conqueror's punch, meant to obliterate his target, slammed into the crossed arms of the newly transformed Four Arms. The impact sent the hulking red alien flying backward, a scarlet cannonball carving a destructive path through the forest. He smashed through dozens of towering trees, splintering ancient trunks like toothpicks, before his feet finally dug into the earth, gouging two deep furrows in the soil for hundreds of feet.
Four Arms lowered his arms, shaking them out. The impact had sent a powerful tremor up all four of his thick limbs, a stark reminder of the sheer force behind the blow. A wide, predatory grin split his face.
"Heh!" he grunted, the sound a low rumble. Finally, a decent warm-up.
He bent his powerful legs, muscles coiling like immense springs, and launched himself forward. He shot through the air like a crimson missile, closing the distance to the descending Vilgax in an instant.
Thud!
A dull, bone-jarring boom echoed through the forest as Four Arms's upper right fist met Vilgax's counter-punch. The resulting shockwave flattened every tree and shrub within a thirty-foot radius, ripping them from the ground.
Before the shockwave even dissipated, Four Arms's upper left fist shot toward Vilgax's head, but the warlord was fast, catching the punch in his own right hand. Seizing the opening, Four Arms's lower right hand shot out, grabbing Vilgax's captured fist. With a powerful tug, he pulled the conqueror off-balance and slammed his own armored forehead directly into Vilgax's squid-like face.
Vilgax's vision swam, the world dissolving into a constellation of blurry lights as his head rang like a bell. Before he could recover his senses, Four Arms's two lower hands delivered a brutal one-two combination to his stomach. The blows lifted the alien conqueror clean off his feet, suspending him in mid-air for a split second.
Vilgax jackknifed, a strangled gasp escaping his respirator as the punches stole the air from his lungs. Taking full advantage, Four Arms followed up with a vicious kick that sent him tumbling through the air.
The warlord crashed back to earth, plowing through another swathe of forest and carving a hundred-meter-long trench in the ground before finally skidding to a halt. He coughed, propping himself up on one elbow and wiping a smear of dark, purplish-blue blood from the corner of his mouth.
"Hey, you stinky octopus! Try some of this!"
Suddenly, a streak of fire zipped past. Heatblast flew circles around the downed Vilgax, unleashing continuous pillars of searing flame that turned the ground to glass.
Vilgax shielded his face with one massive arm, then lunged with surprising speed. He snatched Heatblast out of the air by his ankle, swung him around once, and hurled him away like a discarded toy.
Ben bounced and skipped across the ground several times, each impact creating a large, smoking crater. He plowed a long trail through the undergrowth before finally embedding himself deep into the rock face of a nearby mountain.
"Ugh!" Heatblast groaned, his fiery hands grabbing the surrounding rock. He used the use to pry himself out of the cliffside, shaking his head to clear it. "That guy is seriously ruthless! I'm gonna be feeling that tomorrow."
"You won't have a tomorrow!"
Heatblast looked up, his flaming eyes widening in alarm. Vilgax's grotesque, tentacled face was suddenly right in front of him. The conqueror was pressing his advantage, intending to eliminate the weaker of the two Omnitrix wielders first.
BOOM!
The moment Ben freed himself, a devastating punch sent him crashing back into the mountain. A web of fractures radiated from the point of impact, spreading across the cliffside like lightning frozen in stone.
Vilgax raised his other hand for the finishing blow, but a powerful grip clamped down on his wrist. In the next instant, Four Arms appeared behind him, heaved him over his shoulder in a brutal throw, and slammed him into the ground. Klein straddled the dazed warlord, all four of his fists raining down in a relentless, pummeling rhythm.
Vilgax saw stars again, his entire body screaming in protest. With a surge of desperate resolve, he abandoned all defense, wrapping his arms around Four Arms and using his raw strength to forcefully throw the Tetramand off him.
Scrambling to his feet, Vilgax lunged. He grabbed the legs of Four Arms, who was still getting up, spun him around like a hammer throw, and launched him into the distance.
But the effort cost him. Vilgax stood panting heavily, his body trembling, the purplish-blue blood now seeping from numerous cuts. Four Arms's fists had taken their toll.
The sound of falling rocks drew his attention. Heatblast was climbing out of the crater again, battered but not broken.
Ignoring his own injuries, Vilgax charged. He was done trying to pry the Omnitrix off Four Arms. He would settle for taking the other one.
Seeing the warlord bearing down on him, Ben ignored the searing pain racking his body. He raised both hands and unleashed a blazing inferno, a wall of fire meant to halt Vilgax's advance.
But Vilgax didn't even slow down. He plowed straight through the flames, intent on grabbing his prize and leaving. If he delayed any longer, he might walk away with nothing.
Realizing his attack was useless, Ben quickly redirected his flames downward, propelling himself into the sky. 'Gotta get away first!'he thought frantically.'Then I'll find my cousin and we can gang up on this guy!'
As Heatblast ascended, Vilgax leaped, his powerful legs launching him into the air in hot pursuit.
The distance between them closed rapidly. Even with his firepower at maximum, Ben couldn't escape. A grim resolve hardened his eyes. If he couldn't run, he would fight this octopus-headed freak to the bitter end.
He adjusted his propulsion, angling his flames to send him hurtling diagonally downward, straight at Vilgax. He became a living meteor, crashing into the conqueror in mid-air and driving him back toward the ground.
BOOM!
Another ten-meter-deep crater scarred the forest floor.
Heatblast landed on top of Vilgax, his fists a fiery blur as he hammered away at the warlord's face. But his advantage was short-lived. With a roar of fury, Vilgax reversed their positions, pinning the smaller alien down and beginning his own brutal assault.
His hand reached for the Omnitrix symbol on Ben's chest. But just as his fingers were about to close around it, a powerful energy blast slammed into his side, sending him flying.
Heatblast quickly turned his head. "Grandpa! And Gwen!" he cried out, a wave of relief washing over him at the sight of the Rustbucket.
The smoke cleared, revealing a scorched but furious Vilgax. "You, Tennyson!" he snarled, his voice dripping with venom. "You've ruined my plans again!"
Just as he was about to charge, he heard a thunderous noise in the distance. Four Arms was on his way back.
"Activate the main cannon!" Vilgax roared into his comm, his rage boiling over. Beaten by a Tetramand and thwarted at every turn, he abandoned all thoughts of capturing the Omnitrixes. "Flatten this entire area!"
Four Arms and the others heard the command and whipped their heads toward the sky. Vilgax's massive warship, hidden in the clouds, was slowly turning its primary weapon toward them.
Looking back, they saw Vilgax clutching a small, mechanical drone, already making his escape.
Four Arms didn't hesitate. He slapped the symbol on his chest, and the ethereal blue light enveloped him once more.
The light faded to reveal a new figure, one so colossal it blotted out the sky.
"Way Big!"
"A Toku'star!" Vilgax gasped from his escape drone, his eyes wide with disbelief. He didn't have time to process it. "Faster!" he yelled, urging the drone onward.
Way Big crossed his arms in a familiar X-shape, aiming at the giant warship.
The battleship's main cannon and Way Big's Cosmic Ray fired at the exact same moment. A massive, orange-red beam of destructive energy met a shimmering, light-blue wave. The two forces crashed together with a deafening roar, and the resulting shockwave vaporized everything for a thousand meters in every direction.
Heatblast, Grandpa Max, and Gwen scrambled for cover, the Rustbucket nearly flipping from the sheer force of the blast.
The two beams of light held each other in a stalemate for less than a second before the light-blue wave asserted its dominance. It crushed through the orange-red beam with overwhelming power, continuing onward to shatter the giant warship into a million pieces of falling debris.
...
"It's a real shame that octopus-head Vilgax still got away in the end!" Ben, now human again and sporting several bandages, recounted the thrilling battle to Grandpa Max and Gwen inside the Rustbucket.
"Alright, Grandpa, no more excuses," Ben said, turning to him with a serious expression. "This time, you have to tell us everything. About Vilgax, about your life when you were younger, all of it."
"Well," Grandpa Max began with a sigh, a faint smile on his face. Though Vilgax had escaped, he was clearly in no condition to return anytime soon. A sense of relief settled over him, and he found himself in the mood to share. "It all started when I was a young man, back when I was a Plumber..."
Klein and Gwen listened quietly as Grandpa Max recounted his glorious past, with Ben interjecting every now and then with an excited question.
The old Rustbucket rumbled on, cruising down the highway once more, heading toward their next destination.
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