Chapter 38: Klein's Coliseum
A flash of crimson light, and both Kevin and Ben were unceremoniously dumped into the same chamber Klein had just occupied.
"Hey! You bastards! What do you think you're—Gah!"
Before Kevin could finish his tirade, robotic samurai swarmed them. One slapped a triangular emblem onto his chest, and a painful jolt of electricity shot through his body, making him seize up. Another was clamped onto Ben. Heavy energy shackles materialized around their ankles, linked by a shimmering tether that bound them together.
Kevin strained against his restraints, but another vicious shock from the emblem on his chest forced him to his knees.
"Take them away."
The distorted, synthesized voice echoed from behind the shimmering red energy barrier before them. Another flash of red light, and Ben and Kevin vanished.
Behind the barrier, the colossal, octopus-like form possessed by Upgrade let out a low, electronic chuckle of pure amusement.
"We have to get out of here!" Ben said, scrambling to his feet and looking at Kevin, who had been teleported right beside him.
"There's no way out. We've all tried. It's impossible."
Before Kevin could even snarl a reply, a weary voice came from a nearby group of aliens. A creature with four tired-looking eyes gestured vaguely at their surroundings.
"This is all your fault!" Kevin roared, turning and throwing a punch at Ben.
"Why is it my fault again?!" Ben yelped, rolling to the side to dodge the blow.
"I don't know, it just is!" Kevin shot back, winding up for another swing just as a mechanical chime echoed through the hall.
"Dinner time. Dinner time."
As if on cue, the diverse group of alien prisoners sat down neatly at a long table. In front of each of them was a plain, white rectangular tray. A conveyor system whirred to life overhead, and with a series of wet plops, purplish-black lumps that looked disturbingly like animal droppings were ejected onto each tray.
Ben and Kevin found themselves shunted into chairs, staring down at the nauseating meal.
"Ugh… Thanks, but I'm not hungry," Ben said, forcing a stiff smile as a fellow captive gestured for him to eat.
The alien who had offered wasn't surprised. "You'd be wise to eat up before Technorg gets here," he advised with a sigh.
"Technorg? Who's that?" Ben asked, confused.
"The previous champion," the alien replied patiently. "I suggest you show him some respect when you meet him."
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Heavy, rhythmic footsteps echoed from a nearby passageway. A hulking figure emerged from the shadows—a powerfully built alien with orange skin, a chin covered in sharp spikes, and one arm that ended in a massive meteor hammer.
At the sight of him, every alien in the room, except for Ben and Kevin, immediately knelt.
Technorg ignored them, stomping down the line and grabbing the food from each tray, shoving the disgusting lumps into his mouth one after another. When he reached Ben's tray, Kevin smirked. With a flick of his mutated tail, he scooped up Ben's tray and flung its contents squarely into Technorg's face.
"Oh, look," Kevin jeered. "Someone's being disrespectful."
"It wasn't me!" Ben yelped, trying to distance himself.
Steam hissed from circular vents on Technorg's shoulders, a clear sign of his mounting fury. He lunged, his massive hand reaching for Ben, who scrambled out of the way.
"You want a fight? Then pick on someone your own size!" Ben shouted, slapping the face of the Omnitrix. A flash of brilliant green light erupted, and the towering, four-armed form of Four Arms stood in his place.
With a roar, Four Arms drove a powerful fist into Technorg's gut, sending the champion flying across the room.
Technorg hit the far wall with a crash, but quickly stood up, shaking his head to clear it. He let out a bellow of rage and charged again. Just as he was about to collide with Four Arms, a red light engulfed them both, along with Kevin, who was cackling with delight from the sidelines.
"Gah! Not again!" Four Arms grunted, having just dodged a swing from Technorg's mace-arm only to find himself teleported to yet another unknown location.
"WOOOOHOOO!"
A deafening roar erupted from all around them.
"Alright," Four Arms muttered, taking in the sight of a massive gladiatorial arena packed with cheering spectators. "At least I know where we are now."
A guttural snarl echoed from the arena gates. A horde of monstrous beasts with glistening carapaces and spindly spider-legs swarmed onto the sand, their eyes fixed on the three combatants.
High above in a private viewing box, the Upgrade-possessed figure lounged in a hovering throne, watching the spectacle below with detached interest.
The spider-beasts pounced. Four Arms and Technorg were forced into a temporary, unspoken truce, punching and smashing the creatures away. But for every one they knocked down, two more seemed to take its place. They were an endless, chittering tide.
To make matters worse, Ben and Kevin still had to deal with Technorg, who saw them as the primary threat.
Just as Four Arms braced for another impact, the familiar, dreaded sound chimed from his chest. A flash of red light, and he shrank back down into Ben Tennyson.
"Gah, you stupid watch!" Ben raged impotently at the Omnitrix. "Whose side are you on, anyway?!"
Seeing his chance, Technorg loomed over the now-vulnerable Ben, raising his mace-arm for a final, crushing blow. At that moment, the figure in the skybox casually tapped a button on a transparent console.
"Aaargh!"
The triangular emblem on Technorg's chest erupted with electricity. The hulking alien clutched his chest, crying out in agony as he collapsed to his knees.
High above, Klein smirked beneath his metallic shell. A little fun was one thing, but he wasn't about to let his cousin actually get killed.
Kevin saw an opening and tried to rush the incapacitated Technorg, but the champion scrambled back to his feet with surprising speed and threw a wild punch. The blow sent Kevin flying, dragging Ben along with him due to the shackle.
"Ow! Kevin, we have to work together," Ben said, rubbing his head as he got up.
"Why should I cooperate with you?!" Kevin snarled, his face a mask of fury.
"Because of them!" Ben yelled, pointing at the regrouping horde of beasts and the recovering Technorg.
Kevin's eyes flickered from the snarling monsters to the hulking champion, then back to Ben. He let out a frustrated growl.
"If you dare hold me back, I'll kill you myself!" he spat.
Without waiting for another word, Ben scrambled onto Kevin's back, hooking his legs around his shoulders. "This way I won't get in your way!"
Kevin charged into the fray, lashing out with his mutated limbs while Ben acted as a spotter, calling out threats. But even together, they were being overwhelmed.
Suddenly, Ben noticed something. A glob of slime Kevin had spat at a beast moments earlier had just been ignited by a stray spark from his flame-wreathed hand.
"Kevin! Hit them with Stinkfly's slime, then light it up with Heatblast's fire!" Ben shouted excitedly, pointing out his discovery.
"Why should I listen to you?!" Kevin shot back, annoyed at being ordered around.
"Trust me!" Ben insisted, his voice dead serious.
Kevin hesitated for a fraction of a second before complying. He unleashed a torrent of thick, sticky goo, covering the nearest beasts and Technorg. Then, he unleashed a jet of intense flame from his palm.
BOOM!
A massive fireball engulfed half the arena, the shockwave tearing through the sand. When the smoke cleared, only a few twitching, crippled beasts remained. Technorg was on one knee, scorched and battered by the explosion.
"Wicked!" Kevin exclaimed, a wide grin spreading across his face as he stared at his still-flaming hand, clearly impressed with his own power.
"That's not all!" Ben said, his mind racing. "What if you combine Four Arms' strength with Fasttrack's speed and Diamondhead's indestructible body?"
Kevin's grin widened. "Super Mighty Fist!"
He became a blur, accelerating instantly and charging the staggering Technorg. He slammed into the champion with the force of a freight train, knocking him out cold with a single, devastating punch.
"WOOOOHOOO!"
The crowd's cheers were even louder than before.
"Who's the baddest of them all?!" Kevin roared, raising both arms to the sky in triumph. Ben yelped as he tumbled unceremoniously from Kevin's shoulder, landing in the sand with a thud. Lost in the roar of the crowd, Kevin didn't even notice.
"Agh!"
A pained cry cut through the noise. Kevin turned to see one of the last surviving beasts had pounced on the defenseless Ben.
Without a second thought, Kevin spun around and drove his fist through the creature's head, sending it flying into the arena wall where it collapsed into a heap.
"Kevin… you saved me," Ben said, looking up at him in disbelief.
Kevin just snorted and turned his head away. Ben had helped him, after all, and he was in a great mood. He turned back to the crowd, ready to soak in more of their adoration.
But to his disappointment, the cheering had stopped. Frowning, Kevin stomped over to the unconscious Technorg. If he finished the champion off, he thought, that would surely get them roaring again.
Ben saw his intention and scrambled to his feet. Grandpa Max's lessons wouldn't let him just stand by and watch.
Just as Kevin lunged, Ben yanked hard on the energy shackle connecting their ankles. Kevin's feet went out from under him, and he crashed face-first into the dirt.
He had saved Technorg, but he had also reignited Kevin's fury.
"ENOUGH!" Kevin roared, pushing himself up and glaring at Ben with murder in his eyes.
But before he could make a move, a familiar red light enveloped him, Ben, and the unconscious form of Technorg, and the three of them vanished from the arena.
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