Chapter 32: The Debut of Humungousaur
They returned to the Rustbucket, the heavy silence inside a stark contrast to the chaos they'd just left behind.
"Where's Kevin?" Ben asked, his voice tight.
"He got away," Gwen replied, her shoulders slumping. She couldn't hide the disappointment in her tone; it wasn't often her older cousin asked for her help, and she felt like she'd let him down.
"It's fine," Klein said, his voice calm and even. "We'll just catch him next time." He noticed Gwen's dejected mood, and his hand moved almost on its own, gently patting the top of her head in a simple, comforting gesture.
Gwen went rigid. A jolt shot through her as if she'd been struck by lightning, her entire body stiffening in surprise. A furious blush crept up her neck, painting her cheeks a deep crimson.
From his seat, Ben watched the two of them, a sour expression twisting his face. Kevin's escape was bad enough, but seeing this… this was somehow worse. A knot of irritation tightened in his chest.
"I'm going out for some fresh air," he grumbled, shoving the RV door open and stepping outside.
"Don't move!"
The sharp command cut through the evening air. Ben froze, his eyes widening as he found himself staring down the barrels of a dozen assault rifles. He instinctively threw his hands in the air.
"What's going on?"
The commotion brought the others spilling out of the Rustbucket.
"Nobody move!" a man in a crisp black suit barked, his voice carrying the weight of authority. "Unless you all want to be turned into Swiss cheese!"
It was Captain Steve. Klein's eyes narrowed. A threat? He was half a thought away from teleporting the captain and his entire squad into low orbit. The Another Omnitrix's passive shielding would make their bullets feel like raindrops, but the principle of the matter was irritating.
Grandpa Max moved quickly, placing a restraining hand on Klein's arm before turning to face the soldiers.
"Officer, what's all this about?" Max asked, raising his own hands in a placating gesture while his mind raced. 'Have they found out about Ben's transformations?'
Max wanted to negotiate, to de-escalate the situation peacefully. He could keep Klein in check, but Ben was another story entirely. The younger boy had learned a thing or two from his cousin, and his first instinct when cornered was to go on the offensive.
Just as Ben's left hand started to move towards the Omnitrix, Captain Steve lunged forward, his grip like steel as he clamped down on Ben's wrist.
"You use this watch to contact aliens, don't you!" Steve declared, his eyes burning with conviction. He didn't wait for an answer. "Talk! Now! Where are they!"
Before anyone could respond, one of Steve's agents rushed to his side, whispering urgently. "Captain, we have civilian sightings. An alien monster is destroying the Golden Gate Bridge. If we don't intervene, the whole structure could collapse."
Captain Steve's jaw tightened. He shot a final, piercing glare at the Tennysons. "I'll be keeping a close eye on you," he warned, his voice a low growl.
He then raised a walkie-talkie to his lips. "A-1, requesting immediate extraction."
A moment later, the rhythmic thumping of rotor blades filled the air. A helicopter descended, hovering above them as a rope ladder was dropped. Captain Steve clipped it to his belt with practiced efficiency. As the helicopter ascended, pulling him into the night sky, his remaining team members scrambled into their vehicles and sped away.
Klein watched the dramatic departure with a flicker of amusement. "Putting everything else aside," he commented dryly, "that guy sure knows how to make an exit."
"Cousin, forget about him!" Ben burst out, his earlier frustration replaced by frantic urgency. "They can't handle Kevin! We have to go stop him!"
Klein noted Ben's agitation. He seemed overly concerned with anything involving Kevin. Was it possible he still held a soft spot for his former friend? Kevin rampaged across the country for Ben, and Ben chased after him. What was that called again?
Ah, yes. A two-way street.
Of course, Ben and the others were oblivious to the trollish thoughts running through Klein's mind. At Grandpa Max's urging, they all piled back into the Rustbucket, which peeled out onto the road, racing towards the iconic bridge.
...
The Golden Gate Bridge was a scene of pandemonium.
Perched high on the suspension cables, Kevin, in his crystalline Diamondhead form, cackled as he unleashed a continuous barrage of razor-sharp diamond shards. Each volley severed another of the massive steel cables that held the bridge aloft.
Boom! Crash!
Thick cords of steel snapped and fell, slamming onto the roadway below and sending terrified drivers swerving.
"I just love being bad!" Kevin roared with glee. "Huh?"
His head snapped to the side as he spotted the approaching helicopter with Captain Steve dangling beneath it. With a malicious grin, Kevin raised his right hand. A volley of diamond shards shot through the air, shredding the helicopter's tail rotor and sending it into an uncontrolled spin.
"Gotcha!" Kevin's hand morphed back into a palm. He formed a pistol with his fingers, raised it to his lips, and blew away imaginary smoke.
Seeing the helicopter failing, Captain Steve acted without hesitation. He whipped out a combat knife from his ankle sheath, sliced through the rope, and leaped. He landed with a grunt on one of the bridge's main cables, sliding a few feet before finding his footing, his gaze locking with Kevin's.
...
"The Captain's in trouble!"
"Move, move! We have to save him!"
As the Rustbucket screeched to a halt near the bridge entrance, the frantic shouts of Captain Steve's team members filled the air. Two agents were struggling to set up a massive laser energy cannon. They got it aimed just in time, firing a single, powerful blast that caught Kevin as he was about to finish off the captain.
The beam slammed into Kevin, knocking him off the cable. But as he fell, Captain Steve lost his grip, his hands scrabbling uselessly at the thick steel as he began to slide towards the edge.
"Annoying pests!"
The smoke from the blast cleared, revealing an unharmed Kevin patting dust from his crystalline body as he stood up.
"Kevin!" Ben's voice was a roar of fury. Seeing Kevin turn his attention towards Captain Steve's agents was the last straw. He leaped from the RV, his hand already on the Omnitrix.
'Kevin can copy any of my first ten aliens,'Ben thought, a feral grin spreading across his face.'But there's no way he can copy this!'
He slammed his hand down on the dial.
"Humungousaur!"
A blinding flash of green light erupted. Ben's body swelled and contorted, growing exponentially in seconds. Bones cracked and reformed, skin hardened into a thick, armored hide, and a powerful tail whipped out behind him. When the light faded, a towering, dinosaur-like behemoth stood in his place.
Humungousaur's first act was to bound forward and snatch Captain Steve out of the air just as he fell from the cables. The agent, his face bruised and swollen, stared up in shock at the colossal creature holding him.
"Jeez," Humungousaur rumbled, his voice a deep baritone. "Kevin really doesn't pull his punches."
He gently set the stunned captain down before turning his full attention to his rival. "KEVIN!"
The shout echoed across the bridge. Kevin, who had been stalking towards the agents, paused. He turned, his crystal eyes widening in surprise at the sight of the Vaxasaurian. He'd never seen this alien before, but he knew instantly who it was.
"Kevin! If you've got the guts, come fight me!" Humungousaur challenged, pounding his chest.
"That's exactly what I had in mind!" Diamondhead snarled back.
He raised an arm and fired a volley of diamond shards. They pinged harmlessly off Humungousaur's raised forearm, shattering into dust against the impossibly thick hide.
With a matching roar, the two titans charged.
BANG!
The collision was like a thunderclap. The much lighter Diamondhead was sent flying backward, tumbling across the pavement. Seeing his raw power in action, Humungousaur felt a surge of exhilaration. This was strength!
Diamondhead scrambled to his feet, shaking his head to clear it. His body shimmered and morphed, transforming into the hulking, four-armed form of a Tetramand.
"Again!" Four Arms bellowed.
He launched himself forward, and the two aliens became a whirlwind of fists. The air cracked with the dull thuds of their blows. Humungousaur was stronger, but Four Arms was faster and more agile. For a moment, neither could gain an advantage.
"Captain, the energy cannon is reloaded!" one of the agents reported, rushing to Captain Steve's side.
Steve watched the stalemate, his expression grim. "Aim for the four-armed monster!"
Two agents swiveled the cannon, taking aim at Kevin.
"Fire!"
A thick beam of energy erupted from the weapon, streaking across the bridge. Kevin, his eyes locked solely on Humungousaur, never saw it coming.
"Ben Tennyson! You— Ah!"
The blast hit him square in the back, sending him flying for dozens of meters, carving a trench in the asphalt as he rolled.
Humungousaur looked back at Captain Steve, who gave him a curt, almost imperceptible nod. The arrogant captain was repaying his debt for the rescue.
Ben didn't feel like his victory was cheapened. As his cousin would say, a win is a win. Don't like it? Too bad.
Kevin struggled to his feet, ready to charge again, but his body flickered violently. In a flash of red light, he was forced back into his human form, gasping for breath.
Seeing this, Humungousaur decided the fight was over. He turned to leave.
"Ben Tennyson!" Kevin screamed, his voice raw with fury. "Where are you going?! Come back and fight me!"
Humungousaur paused, glancing over his massive shoulder. "It's not worth it," he rumbled, his voice laced with dismissal. "You're not worthy."
He turned his back again. That final insult was the spark that lit the fuse. Provoked beyond reason, Kevin's body began to twist and contort. His form warped, flesh and bone popping sickeningly as a chaotic energy enveloped him. One arm became the rocky limb of Diamondhead, the other stretched into a vine-like appendage of Wildvine. A Stinkfly's wing sprouted from one shoulder blade, while the other side was covered in the mummy-like bandages of Snare-oh. It was a grotesque, unstable amalgamation of all ten of Ben's original aliens.
He tried to change back, to regain control, but it was useless.
"NO!" Kevin shrieked, his voice a discordant chorus of alien cries.
After a moment of pure, unadulterated rage, the monstrous hybrid's wings vibrated, and he launched himself at the departing Humungousaur. Caught by surprise, the giant alien had no time to react as Kevin's monstrous form tackled him, sending them both crashing to the ground.
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