Chapter 177: Why Can't I Beat You?
The rusted exterior of the abandoned puppet factory loomed against the overcast sky.
"Do I really have to go in there?" JT stammered, his feet planted firmly in the dirt. He stared at the decaying warehouse doors, visibly trembling. "Cash is... he's terrifying right now. If he finds out I brought you guys here..."
A cold sweat broke out across JT's forehead. The mere thought of that mechanical gauntlet—and the searing red laser it fired—piercing straight through his chest made his knees knock together.
Klein didn't even bother looking at him. He just waved a hand dismissively, gesturing for the coward to get lost.
"Let's go, Kevin," Klein said, his voice flat and unbothered. "Let's go meet our guy."
Without waiting for a response, Klein strode up to the heavy iron doors. He didn't bother with the handle. A casual, heavy kick sent the rusted metal groaning inward, the hinges snapping under the force. He stepped into the gloom, Kevin trailing right behind him.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The interior of the factory was a graveyard of forgotten toys and rusted machinery. It was eerily quiet, the heavy silence broken only by the crunch of debris beneath their boots. Shadows clung to the rafters, hiding whatever lurked in the corners.
"Cash! Get your ass out here!" Kevin's voice echoed through the cavernous space, bouncing off the corrugated metal walls. He cracked his knuckles, his expression dark. "You smashed my ride!"
A metallic scrape sounded from the far corner.
"Kevin. That was just an accident."
Cash's voice drifted out from the deepest patch of shadows. It sounded distorted, layered with a strange, synthetic hum that hadn't been there before.
Kevin let out a harsh, barking laugh. "Oh, an accident? Right. Because people just accidentally total a muscle car. Who the hell is going to believe that?"
The shadows remained silent. Cash clearly realized the futility of his excuse.
After a long, tense pause, Cash spoke again. The synthetic edge in his voice was sharper this time. "Klein. I don't want to provoke you. Why can't you just let this go? Let me walk away."
Klein shoved his hands into his pockets, tilting his head. A dry, mocking smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Why do you care what I want? What if I just feel like not letting you go?"
"Damn it!" Metal groaned in the dark as Cash shifted, his temper flaring. "Don't push your luck, Klein!"
"So what if I push it? So what if I bully you a little?" Klein retorted, his tone dripping with casual disdain. He didn't humor the guy for a second. "Isn't that exactly how you act when you're shoving other people into lockers? If you've actually grown a spine to match that toy on your arm, come out here and fight me."
"Damn you! Haaah!"
A roar tore through the factory. Cash exploded from the shadows, the ground cracking beneath his boots. He lunged straight for Klein, pulling back a massive, armored fist.
As he hit the light, his new form was fully revealed. The mechanical gauntlet hadn't just stayed on his arm—it had aggressively expanded, consuming his entire body like a parasitic combat mech. Plating of gunmetal gray and glowing red circuitry encased him completely. Only the upper left half of his human face remained exposed, twisted in a snarl of rage.
"Like hell I'm letting you at the boss right away."
Kevin stepped smoothly in front of Klein. He dropped into a crouch, slamming his bare hand against the concrete floor. A grayish-white hue instantly raced up his arm, spreading across his skin as he absorbed the material. In a heartbeat, Kevin was a walking statue of solid concrete.
He planted his feet and threw a brutal right hook directly into the path of Cash's incoming strike.
Concrete met alien alloy.
The collision rang out like a cannon shot. A violent shockwave ripped through the aisle, blasting a dozen decaying puppet husks into the air in a cloud of dust and splinters.
Klein didn't even blink. He just stood there, hands still in his pockets, calmly watching the brawl unfold.
Kevin didn't let up. He yanked his fist back, pivoted on his heel, and whipped a heavy, stone-coated high kick straight into Cash's armored chest.
The impact forced the mech-suit back two heavy steps.
Sensing blood, Kevin roared and charged forward, winding up for another devastating punch.
But Cash recovered faster than a normal human could. He raised his right arm, the palm of the gauntlet glowing with a blinding crimson light. A thick laser beam erupted from the repulsor.
It slammed squarely into Kevin's chest.
Kevin grunted in pain, the sheer kinetic force of the beam lifting him off his feet and throwing him backward.
Cash didn't hesitate. Seizing the opening, he launched himself into the air. He clasped both armored hands together into a massive double-fist and brought them crashing down onto Kevin's chest the moment the Osmosian hit the ground.
The concrete floor gave way instantly.
With a deafening crunch of rebar and cement, the ground shattered. Kevin plummeted through the gaping hole, crashing heavily into the basement level below in a shower of debris.
Dust billowed up from the crater. Cash stood at the edge, looking down into the darkness before slowly turning his half-human face toward Klein.
"Hehehe... Hahahaha!" A cruel, distorted laugh echoed from the armor's speakers. Cash flexed his mechanical fingers, the servos whining with raw power. "I am invincible now! It's your turn, Klein. I'm going to make you regret ever pissing me off!"
Klein looked at the gaping hole in the floor. Then he looked at Cash. He let out a slow, quiet sigh, his shoulders slumping slightly. He looked utterly bored. He lacked even a single ounce of motivation.
To Cash, that casual indifference was the ultimate insult.
"That expression..." Cash's exposed eye twitched, his face flushing dark red. "That infuriating expression again! Stop looking down on me! You arrogant bastard!"
Klein remained silent for a moment. He slowly pulled his right hand from his pocket, hovering it over the faceplate of the Another Omnitrix on his left wrist.
"I'm not looking down on you," Klein said softly.
He slammed his palm down.
A brilliant, quiet blue light washed over the dim factory, banishing the shadows. The sound of shifting crystal and expanding mass filled the air. When the light faded, a towering figure of jagged, pale-green tadenite stood in Klein's place.
Diamondhead.
"I wasn't even looking at you at all."
Without a wasted motion, Diamondhead raised his crystalline arm. The sharp facets of his hand glowed, refracting ambient light before unleashing a blinding, prismatic wave of solid energy.
The blast hit Cash with the force of a freight train.
The mech-suit didn't even have time to brace. Cash was launched backward, tearing through the air and smashing straight through the factory's exterior wall. Brick, mortar, and steel beams exploded outward as he was sent flying hundreds of meters into the distance.
Diamondhead lowered his arm, shards of crystal clinking softly against each other. He walked toward the massive, jagged hole he had just created in the building's side.
Stepping to the edge, he peered out into the wasteland beyond the factory. Far in the distance, a fresh plume of dirt and smoke marked where Cash had crash-landed, carving a deep trench into the earth.
Diamondhead bent his knees, the crystalline joints groaning under the immense pressure.
Then, he jumped.
He launched himself like a missile, soaring dozens of meters into the gray sky. The wind howled past his sharp edges before he plummeted back down, landing with a ground-shaking thud just a few paces away from the crater.
"You want my respect?" Diamondhead's deep, resonant voice cut through the settling dust. He began a slow, deliberate march toward the crater. "Then struggle. Fight back to your heart's content. Let me see exactly what this borrowed toy of yours can achieve."
Inside the crater, Cash scrambled onto his back. Seeing the towering crystal alien approaching, panic flared in his remaining human eye. He threw his right arm up.
A searing red laser blasted from his palm, striking Diamondhead dead center in the chest.
Diamondhead didn't dodge. He didn't even flinch. He just kept walking. The intense heat of the beam hit the tadenite armor and harmlessly refracted, scattering into a dozen harmless beams of light that scorched the dirt around him.
The attack didn't slow his pace for a single second.
"Damn it!" Cash gritted his teeth, the servos in his legs whining as he forced himself up from the dirt.
By the time he was on his feet, Diamondhead was already standing right in front of him, casting a long, imposing shadow.
Driven by pure desperation, Cash pulled back his right arm and threw a desperate, full-power haymaker at the alien's face.
Diamondhead casually raised his left hand.
He caught the armored fist effortlessly in his open palm. The kinetic force of the blow died instantly, absorbed by the unbreakable crystal.
Cash froze, staring at his trapped fist.
Diamondhead slowly clenched his own right hand into a solid, jagged mallet.
Then, he swung.
Diamondhead punched Cash squarely in the face.
Cash's head snapped back violently. His exposed eye rolled up, instantly losing focus as his legs turned to jelly.
If it weren't for the advanced alien plating encasing his skull, the sheer blunt force would have taken his head clean off his shoulders. Even with the armor, the concussive shockwave rattled his brain against his skull, completely short-circuiting his consciousness for a split second.
He stumbled backward, arms hanging limply at his sides.
Diamondhead didn't give him a chance to recover. He pivoted, planting his left leg, and unleashed a devastating roundhouse kick directly into Cash's armored abdomen.
The metal caved slightly under the blow. Cash folded in half like a cooked shrimp, the air violently expelled from his lungs. He was launched backward once again, skipping across the dirt like a skipped stone before plowing into the earth, carving out a second, even deeper crater.
When the dust finally settled, Cash was sprawled on his back. His exposed eye was rolled back into his head, and a thin line of white foam bubbled at the corner of his mouth.
"Cash!"
A voice rang out from the edge of the battlefield. JT had finally crept out of hiding, standing a safe distance away. He cupped his hands around his mouth, screaming at the top of his lungs. "Cash! Don't lose to him!"
Don't let the gauntlet control you! Fight the programming! That was what JT actually meant. He wanted his friend to snap out of the alien tech's aggressive override.
But through the haze of a severe concussion and the suit's adrenaline stims, Cash heard something entirely different.
That's right! Cash's foggy mind latched onto the shout. I'm JT's big brother! I'm the leader! I can't look weak in front of him!
A fresh surge of irrational fury flooded his veins.
"Don't underestimate me!" Cash roared, his voice cracking as he forced his battered body off the ground. "You bastard!"
Seeing Cash stand up, JT's face lit up with hope. "Yes! That's it! Control it! Don't fight any—"
"I'm going to destroy you!!!" Cash howled, completely cutting JT off. He lowered his shoulder and charged blindly at Diamondhead like a rabid bull.
JT's jaw dropped. "No! That's not what I meant! Come back, Cash! He's going to beat you to death!" he shrieked, waving his arms frantically.
But Cash was too far gone. Lost in his own delusional, shonen-protagonist fantasy of a last-minute power burst, his brain simply filtered out anything he didn't want to hear.
JT slapped a hand over his face, a deep sense of helplessness washing over him.
Forget it. It's hopeless, JT thought, watching his friend sprint toward certain doom. Cash is dead for sure.
His survival instincts immediately kicked in. If Cash was going to get himself pulverized, JT was going to need a new boss to protect him at school. He glanced toward the factory, wondering if Klein was currently accepting applications for new lackeys.
"Carrying JT's trust!" Cash screamed, throwing everything he had into a final, desperate punch. "I cannot lose!!!"
Diamondhead didn't even shift his stance. He just reached out and caught the incoming fist with one hand.
The momentum stopped dead.
Before Cash could even process the failure, Diamondhead yanked the trapped arm forward, pulling Cash violently off balance. As the armored teen stumbled downward, Diamondhead brought his solid tadenite knee up in a brutal, rising strike.
The knee connected perfectly with the armored faceplate. Cash's newly forged, burning resolve shattered instantly, his consciousness winking out like a blown lightbulb.
Diamondhead casually opened his hand. Cash's limp body crumpled to the dirt like a puppet with its strings cut.
Without a word, Diamondhead lifted his heavy crystalline boot and planted it firmly on the side of Cash's head, pinning him to the earth.
It took a long minute for the ringing in Cash's ears to fade. His consciousness slowly swam back to the surface.
"I... I still can't lose..." he mumbled into the dirt, his fingers twitching as he tried to push himself up. "I have a reason... I absolutely cannot lose!"
It was a valiant speech, but utterly useless. The harder he struggled, the more weight Diamondhead applied. The heavy boot pressed down relentlessly, grinding Cash's face deeper into the soil.
Even then, fueled by sheer stubbornness, Cash refused to give up. He gritted his teeth, preparing to push his body past its limits.
Then, his one free eye—the one not currently eating dirt—swiveled to the side.
Through the settling dust, he spotted JT.
JT wasn't cheering for him. JT wasn't crying over his fallen brother. JT was standing next to Kevin, who had apparently climbed out of the basement, and the two of them were chatting amiably.
Thanks to the suit's enhanced audio sensors, Cash could hear their conversation with crystal clarity.
"So, how exactly did you become Klein's subordinate?" JT was asking, looking up at the dust-covered Osmosian with genuine curiosity. "Does he still need more guys? Do you think I've got what it takes to join the crew?"
You absolute traitor!!!
The sheer betrayal hit Cash harder than the tadenite knee. His blood pressure spiked so violently he actually forgot to breathe, nearly passing out from sheer, unadulterated rage.
Diamondhead finally removed his foot, only to casually punt Cash in the ribs.
The kick sent Cash tumbling a dozen meters across the dirt. The rough landing jolted him out of his near-fainting spell.
He lay there, staring up at the gray sky, his spirit completely and utterly broken.
"Why..." Cash's voice cracked. Tears welled up in his exposed eye, spilling over the bridge of his nose. "Why can't I win against you?!!!"
He began to sob, the sound pathetic and hollow. As his will to fight completely evaporated, the alien armor sensed the lack of hostility. The gunmetal plating hissed, unlocking from his skin and rapidly contracting. Piece by piece, the suit retreated down his arm, finally shrinking back into the inert, bulky mechanical gauntlet on his right hand.
"Why?" Diamondhead stopped a few feet away, looking down at the crying bully. "Because you're really weak."
A quiet blue light flashed across the wasteland. The towering crystal alien vanished, leaving Klein standing in his place, his hands already slipping back into his pockets.
Klein walked over, squatted down next to the sobbing teen, and effortlessly unlatched the mechanical gauntlet from Cash's arm.
"Cash! Cash, are you alright?!"
Footsteps crunched against the dirt as JT and Kevin jogged over from the sidelines. JT immediately dropped to his knees, grabbing Cash's arm and hauling him into a sitting position. He let out a loud, exaggerated sigh of relief, clearly thrilled he wouldn't actually have to go through the awkward process of finding a new boss.
"JT, you fing..." Cash weakly cursed, glaring daggers at his supposed best friend as JT awkwardly helped him to his feet and supported his weight.
Klein ignored the bickering duo. He stood up and casually tossed the heavy mechanical gauntlet over his shoulder.
Kevin caught the alien tech with one hand, a satisfied smirk crossing his face.
"Let's go too," Klein said, turning his back on the scene.
Without another word, the two pairs—the battered bully and his opportunistic lackey, and the overpowered anomaly and his stone-fisted subordinate—limped and walked away in completely opposite directions.
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