Chapter 40: Mokana Appears and Lodestar Debuts
The morning sun beat down on the sprawling plaza outside the city's grand art museum.
Ben sat perched atop a giant, abstract art installation shaped vaguely like a massive human foot. He flipped through the glossy pages of his newly bought comic book, swinging his legs in sheer boredom.
Inside the air-conditioned halls, Klein was accompanying Gwen, pretending to admire the abstract paintings and ancient sculptures. Grandpa Max was somewhere in the building too, wandering off on his own to inspect the museum's bizarre culinary exhibit.
"Man, today is so boring," Ben groaned.
He snapped the comic book shut, staring up at the cloudless sky with a heavy sigh. Hopping down from the giant stone foot, he landed lightly on the pavement. Digging into his pocket, he pulled out a crumpled chocolate bar, peeled back the foil, and took a lazy bite as he strolled down the street.
Boom!
A deafening roar shattered the peaceful morning. The ground trembled violently beneath Ben's sneakers. He whipped his head around just in time to see a sleek, metallic spaceship tear through the atmosphere and crash-land onto the asphalt a few blocks away, kicking up a massive cloud of dust and debris.
A wide grin spread across Ben's face. "Looks like today won't be as boring as I thought."
He tossed the rest of the chocolate into his mouth and sprinted straight toward the crash site.
By the time Ben arrived, the dust was just beginning to settle. The spaceship's heavy hydraulic hatch hissed open, lowering into a ramp.
Two figures stepped out into the sunlight. The first was a familiar sight: a heavily modified, cybernetic crustacean alien with mechanical legs and a massive pincer. Kraab.
Beside him stood a hulking, heavily armored alien powerhouse. His metallic armor gleamed menacingly, and his facial structure bore a striking, uncomfortable resemblance to Vilgax.
Ben blinked, staring at Kraab in genuine surprise.
Before Ben could process the bounty hunter's return, the armored giant stepped forward, his voice booming over the panicked whispers of the civilian crowd.
"Earthlings! Hand over the Bassinium alloy immediately!"
Silence stretched across the street. A few pedestrians blinked in utter confusion. Nobody ran. Nobody screamed. Mostly because absolutely no one present had the faintest clue what 'Bassinium alloy' was.
Realizing his grand threat had fallen completely flat, the armored giant scowled and gestured sharply to Kraab, signaling the cyborg to open fire.
Back at the museum, the sudden tremor had sent Klein, Gwen, and Max hurrying out the front doors.
Max scanned the relatively calm plaza, his brow furrowing. "Where's Ben?"
Klein didn't even bother looking around. He simply raised a hand and pointed down the street. "I think he's probably over there."
Max and Gwen followed his finger. A massive, thick plume of black smoke was currently billowing into the sky, accompanied by the distant sounds of screaming and shattering glass.
The street was a war zone. Smashed cars littered the cracked asphalt, and several severed fire hydrants spewed high-pressure water into the air. Terrified civilians scrambled for cover.
Having found a secluded alleyway to slap his Omnitrix, Ben charged back into the chaos as Four Arms. His first priority was the civilians. He grabbed the bumper of an overturned taxi, effortlessly flipping it upright with two hands while using his other two to pull a trapped family to safety.
A searing red laser suddenly cut through the air, aimed straight for his broad back.
Already on high alert, Four Arms pivoted on his heel, sidestepping the lethal beam just in time. The laser scorched the pavement where he had been standing a second ago.
Kraab scuttled forward, his mechanical legs clicking against the asphalt. This was the same bounty hunter Klein had previously frozen into a solid block of ice—a block of ice that should have been his tomb.
"How are you even here?" Four Arms grunted, flexing all four of his massive biceps. "Weren't you supposed to be frozen solid by my cousin?"
Despite the genuine question, Four Arms had zero intention of waiting for an answer.
Kraab, realizing his sneak attack had failed miserably, immediately calculated his odds and prepared to scuttle away. But hearing Four Arms' booming voice made the cyborg pause. His mechanical optics whirred, analyzing the Tetramand. He recognized that brash, arrogant tone. It was the same Earth kid who had turned into Diamondhead and thoroughly thrashed him back then.
Kraab spun around, his massive pincer snapping in anger.
The moment he turned, a massive, red, four-fingered fist filled his entire field of vision.
Bang!
The sheer kinetic force of the punch lifted Kraab off his mechanical legs. The cyborg bounty hunter went flying backward like a cannonball, crashing straight through the brick wall of a nearby building. The structure groaned before collapsing inward, burying Kraab under a mountain of rubble.
Four Arms cracked his knuckles, looking rather proud of himself. He had definitely picked up a few tricks from watching Klein fight. Even his seemingly confused question about Kraab surviving the ice had just been a deliberate taunt to draw the cyborg's attention and keep him from running.
"You hateful little brat!"
Bricks shifted and shattered as Kraab violently dug himself out of the debris. His four mechanical legs blurred into motion, propelling him forward in a furious charge.
Kraab lunged, snapping his massive mechanical pincer directly around Four Arms' thick neck.
Four Arms grunted, his lower two hands immediately flying up to grip the cold metal of the pincer, straining to pry the crushing jaws apart. Simultaneously, his upper two fists rained down like piledrivers, repeatedly hammering into Kraab's armored carapace.
Kraab had spent far too long trapped in a block of ice, and his internal systems were still sluggish. He was absolutely no match for Ben's constantly improving combat instincts. With his pincer locked onto the Tetramand's neck, Kraab was tethered in place, unable to dodge the relentless, bone-rattling blows.
Metallic shrieks and sparks filled the air as Four Arms pounded the cyborg mercilessly.
Desperate, Kraab triggered a hidden weapon. A glowing red aperture opened right in the inner joint of his nearly pried-open pincer.
A point-blank laser blasted outward.
Caught completely off guard, Four Arms took the searing blast straight to the face. He roared in pain, his grip failing instinctively as he stumbled backward, clutching his eyes.
Freed from the beating, Kraab scrambled backward to put distance between them.
Four Arms shook off the burn, his vision clearing. He roared, lowering his shoulder to charge at Kraab again—only to be blindsided by a massive, armored shoulder check.
The impact sent the heavy Tetramand skidding across the asphalt.
The hulking alien who had accompanied Kraab stepped into the fray. Mokana. Up close, his metallic armor looked even thicker, and his Vilgax-like facial features twisted into a sneer.
"I didn't expect that even without that ice demon around, this Earth kid would still be so troublesome," Mokana rumbled, his voice grinding like metal plates.
Kraab scuttled over, taking shelter behind Mokana's massive frame.
"Hey! Are you looking for me?"
A calm, dry voice echoed across the ruined street.
A blur of blue and black kinetic energy zipped through the wreckage, coming to a dead stop right next to the recovering Four Arms. The afterimage solidified into Fasttrack.
"It's you!" Kraab shrieked, his mechanical optics flaring in absolute terror. He didn't hesitate for a single second. He spun around and immediately prepared to bolt.
"I didn't haul your frozen carcass out of the ice just for you to run away!" Mokana roared, grabbing Kraab by the shoulder plating. "And if you run now, don't expect to see a single credit of your pay!"
Kraab froze. His mechanical legs twitched. He weighed the terrifying prospect of fighting the ice demon against the equally terrifying prospect of being broke. Greed won out. He turned back around, his pincer snapping nervously as he locked his sights on Four Arms, clearly deciding to pick the easier target.
Watching Kraab and Four Arms immediately lock back into a brutal melee, Fasttrack simply sighed. He raised a hand and slapped the faceplate of the Another Omnitrix resting on his chest.
A brilliant, quiet blue flash engulfed his body.
When the light faded, a completely different entity floated above the cracked asphalt. His body was a striking mix of yellow and black plating. He had no neck; instead, a metallic, heavily armored head levitated freely between two massive, clamp-like shoulders. His hands ended in sharp, magnetic pincers.
Lodestar.
Lodestar raised a single pincer. A deep, resonant hum vibrated through the air as invisible magnetic fields warped and twisted at his command.
He locked his focus entirely on Mokana's heavy metal armor.
Mokana, who had just started charging toward Lodestar with his fists raised, suddenly felt his limbs grow incredibly heavy. He gritted his teeth, straining against an invisible force, but his movements slowed to a crawl. Within seconds, his boots locked firmly against the pavement. He was completely paralyzed.
Lodestar casually flicked his wrist upward.
Mokana's massive, armored body was violently yanked off the ground, suspended helplessly in mid-air by the overwhelming magnetic grip.
The hulking alien roared, thrashing and kicking wildly, but his brute strength was entirely useless against the fundamental forces of physics. He couldn't break free.
Bang!
Lodestar flicked his wrist down. Mokana plummeted, slamming face-first into the concrete with bone-shattering force.
Bang! Bang!
Up and down. Left and right. Lodestar orchestrated the beating with casual, effortless precision, repeatedly smashing the heavily armored alien into the ruined street.
"Help... me...!" Mokana groaned through a mouthful of broken pavement, desperately trying to call out to his partner.
Kraab, who was currently busy getting his metallic shell dented by Four Arms, heard Mokana's pathetic plea. He risked a quick glance over his shoulder.
Seeing the massive Mokana being tossed around like a ragdoll by an invisible force completely broke Kraab's remaining courage. Terrified out of his mind, the cyborg spun around and scrambled away as fast as his mechanical legs could carry him.
Four Arms snorted, bending his knees to leap after the fleeing bounty hunter. He wasn't about to let Kraab escape again.
But before Four Arms could even launch himself, Kraab suddenly shrieked as his metallic body was violently jerked off the ground, floating helplessly into the air.
Four Arms blinked, looking back over his shoulder.
Lodestar had simply raised his other pincer, aiming it directly at the fleeing cyborg.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
With both hands raised, Lodestar controlled the two metal-clad bounty hunters simultaneously. He slammed them into the ground, lifted them up, and smashed them down again in perfect, brutal synchronization. The street echoed with the rhythmic crunch of metal and concrete.
However, Kraab and Mokana were veteran mercenaries who had wandered the dangerous underbelly of the universe for years. They knew when they were hopelessly outmatched.
After realizing that resisting the magnetic field was completely impossible, they both struggled weakly for a few more seconds, groaned dramatically, and then went completely limp, deciding that playing dead was their absolute best chance of survival.
Lodestar dropped them onto the cracked asphalt with a heavy thud. Neither alien twitched.
Not long after the two bounty hunters committed to their theatrical performance of playing dead, the familiar screech of tires announced the arrival of the Rustbucket.
Grandpa Max and Gwen threw open the doors and rushed out of the RV, taking in the ruined street and the two unconscious aliens.
Before either of them could ask what had happened, the sky above them hummed with energy.
Three blinding beams of blue light shot down from the atmosphere, striking the pavement just a few yards away.
As the light dissipated, three distinct alien figures stepped forward, all wearing matching, specialized uniforms.
The first had dark gray skin and a heavily muscled physique. He wore a striking yellow and white uniform that heavily resembled a classic Earth superhero's attire. His eyes were stark white, surrounded by deep black circles.
The second was a floating, octopus-like entity. Its head was entirely transparent, proudly displaying its pulsing, highly advanced brain. It wore a tight-fitting version of the yellow and white uniform, tailored specifically to fit its dangling tentacles, and its face held the cold, calculating expression of an electronic organism.
The third was a female Tetramand. Her towering, four-armed physique was every bit as muscular and intimidating as Four Arms. She wore a yellow and white uniform styled like an ancient Roman gladiator's battle skirt, projecting an aura of absolute warrior pride.
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