Marvel’s Omnitrix

Chapter 20: Hunters and Prey

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Kraab lunged forward, his massive pincer snapping the air where my head had been a split second earlier. I rolled to the side, feeling the floorboards vibrate as his mechanical legs struck the wooden surface.

"Ben, move!" Gwen's voice cracked with urgency as she thrust her hands forward.

A shimmering translucent telekinetic barrier materialized between us and the crab-like bounty hunter. His next attack slammed against it, causing cracks to spider-web across its surface. Gwen winced, visibly straining to maintain the shield.

"His joints!" I shouted, scrambling backward on my hands and knees. "Aim for the connection points between the armor plates!"

The red light on the Omnitrix continued to pulse mockingly. Come on, watch. I'd love a faster recharge!

Gwen nodded, beads of sweat forming on her forehead as she concentrated. With her free hand, she gestured toward a pile of broken furniture. Three splintered chair legs rose into the air and shot toward Kraab like javelins.

Two bounced harmlessly off his armored carapace, but the third, guided by the subtle golden glow of her Charm of Luck, wedged perfectly into the joint at his shoulder, causing his arm to seize momentarily.

"Nice!" I grinned, ducking as Kraab roared and swung wildly, his claw smashing through a super old bar counter.

"That was luck," Gwen panted, her telekinetic shield wavering as she struggled to maintain it.

"Well, that's one charm doing its job." I gave her a quick look. "Let's hope the others feel inspired. "The pincer glows for 2.5 seconds before it fires," I whispered. "Next time, aim during that gap. I'll draw him out."

Gwen blinked at me, surprised. "You're a-analyzing his movements? Since when do you pay attention?"

"Yeah," I muttered, shifting to Kraab's blind spot. "I'm not just a dumb kid in a jacket, y'know." Why was she so surprised to see me be competent?

"Well, Ben–"

"Not the time, Gwen. Focus on his right arm!" As much as I loved being young again and joking all the time, this was a life threatening situation. I had to be serious. I checked the Omnitrix again. Still red.

Kraab recovered quickly, his yellow eyes glowing brighter as he assessed us. "Primitive defensive magic," he remarked, his mechanical voice dripping with contempt. "The female shall be eliminated first."

"Over my dead body," I snarled, moving in front of Gwen despite being essentially powerless. It wasn't the wisest thing to do, but I just moved. 

"That can be arranged," Kraab replied, raising his pincer.

The tip began to glow with concentrated energy, and I knew Gwen's shield wouldn't hold against a direct hit. Her face was pale with exertion, her arms trembling as she poured every ounce of her developing powers into the barrier.

"Ben," she whispered, her voice barely audible, "if he breaks through—"

"He won't," I assured her, though I had no idea how to back that up.

Kraab's pincer charged to full capacity, humming with deadly energy. "Submit the Omnitrix, and your deaths will be quick."

"How about option C: you crawl back to whatever space rock you came from?" I said, not because it was funny but because I needed to buy time. "I'm giving you a chance."

The bounty hunter's mechanical laughter echoed through the dilapidated saloon. "Your species' humor escapes me."

He fired.

The energy blast slammed into Gwen's shield like a freight train. I heard her cry out as the purple barrier shattered like glass, the magical fragments dissolving into the dusty air.

The impact knocked her backward, and she collapsed against the wall, dazed but conscious. Her charms still glowed, but dimmer than before.

"Gwen!" I rushed to her side, panic rising in my chest.

"I'm fine," she muttered, though she was clearly not. "Just... need a second." 

I frowned and looked up. I watched the angle of his leg servos. Left side moved first. His arm took half a second longer to reset after each shot. Weaknesses. Exploitable. But we didn't have a second to try any of that. Kraab advanced, his pincer already recharging for another blast. This one wouldn't miss. 

"Your efforts were admirable but futile," he stated coldly. "The Omnitrix belongs to my employer now."

Not today, crab cake.

Because just as Kraab raised his weapon for the killing blow, the Omnitrix emitted its ready chime and flashed brilliant green. Never thought I'd be so happy to hear that annoying beep. I recalled theories suggesting that the Omnitrix recharged faster in mortal danger.

"It's hero time!" I pushed my palm down on the dial without bothering to select an alien. At that moment, any transformation would do.

Green light flooded the saloon as my body dissolved and reconfigured. I felt my consciousness spread, my physical form becoming liquid metal, technologically adaptive and incredibly versatile.

"Upgrade!" I shouted as the transformation completed. There couldn't have been a better alien for this.

Kraab's energy blast passed harmlessly through my newly minted liquid body, striking the wall behind me instead.

"My turn, tin can," I said and launched myself at the bounty hunter.

My amorphous form engulfed his mechanical body, my liquid metal seeping into every joint and circuit. I could feel his systems beneath me—alien technology, advanced but not impenetrable to my Galvanic Mechamorph abilities.

"W-what is happening?" Kraab's voice had lost its smugness, replaced by genuine alarm.

"Having trouble controlling yourself?" I taunted, spreading deeper into his circuitry. "That's what happens when you mess with my family."

It was fascinating how instinctive this felt. Upgrade's ability to merge with and enhance technology was truly remarkable—but in this case, I wasn't enhancing. 

I was sabotaging.

I triggered his auto-repair subroutine, then corrupted the input with junk data. His targeting system looped, flashing red inside his HUD. Let's see you aim now. I didn't stop there. One by one, I located Kraab's weapon systems and overloaded them, causing short circuits throughout his body. His limbs began to twitch erratically as I seized control of his motor functions. 

"Release me immediately!" he demanded, his mechanical voice distorting as I corrupted his speech synthesizers.

"Not a chance," I replied, focusing on his main power core. "You know what they say about seafood—it's best served cooked!"

I forced his energy pincer to overload, redirecting the power back into his own systems. Warning lights flashed throughout his body as critical systems began to fail.

"Self-destruct imminent," I announced in my best robot voice. "Have a nice day!"

I detached from Kraab's body just as his internal systems reached critical mass. The bounty hunter had just enough time to emit a mechanical screech before exploding in a spectacular shower of parts and circuits.

The force of the blast sent metal shrapnel flying in all directions. I quickly transformed into a living shield, stretching my liquid body to protect Gwen from the debris.

When the dust settled, I reformed my standard Upgrade shape and turned to Gwen, who was staring at me with a mixture of relief and amazement.

"That... was actually impressive," she admitted, struggling to her feet.

The Omnitrix symbol on my chest began to flash red. Perfect timing as always.

A few seconds later, I reverted to human form in a flash of red light, stumbling slightly as my body readjusted to its original shape.

"Nice stalling," I managed between heavy breaths, offering her a tired smile. "For a second there, I thought we were done for."

Gwen brushed dust from her clothes, wincing as she straightened. "We would have been if your stupid watch hadn't recharged when it did."

"Yeah, what was up with that?" I couldn't help wondering. "It usually takes way longer to recharge after timing out."

"Maybe the lucky charm works on technology, too?" Gwen suggested, her fingers unconsciously touching the magical artifact around her neck. "Hey, thank me."

"Maybe." Though I couldn't shake the feeling that something else was at play. In the original timeline, the Omnitrix sometimes responded to extreme danger, almost as if it had its own survival instinct. But I kept that thought to myself.

The moment of relief was short-lived. The saloon doors burst open, revealing Grandpa Max, his face grim and a Plumber-grade scanner in his hand.

"Ben! Gwen! What happened?!" His eyes widened as he took in the destruction and the scattered remnants of Kraab. "Piscciss Premann tech... with Chimera Sui Generis modifications. Vilgax isn't messing around."

My blood ran cold at the mention of Vilgax. Even though I knew he would eventually come for the Omnitrix, hearing his name spoken aloud made the threat feel more immediate.

"You know who sent this thing?" Gwen asked, eyebrows raised in surprise.

Grandpa nodded grimly. "I've faced his hunters before. They're sending them this early... which means they know where you are, or at least where the Omnitrix is." He looked at me with concern. "We need to go. Now."

He helped Gwen to her feet, checking her for injuries with the practiced efficiency of someone who'd dealt with battle wounds before.

"I'm fine, Grandpa," she insisted, though she leaned on him slightly. We quickly explained to him the situation that had unfolded.

"You did good, kiddo," he told her softly. "Both of you did. Especially you, Ben. You protected Gwen, stalled him until your moment, and picked the right alien to end it. Great job."

As we turned to leave the ruined saloon, Grandpa's scanner suddenly emitted a high-pitched, urgent alarm. He froze, eyes darting to the screen.

"Wait," he muttered, his expression darkening. "Another energy signature. Powerful. And fast approaching!"

"Another one?" I groaned, looking down at the still-recharging Omnitrix. "This thing needs a faster cooldown period!"

"It's not alone out there, is it?" Gwen asked, her voice small despite her attempt to sound brave.

I shook my head as I looked at Gwen. She was bruised, exhausted, but still standing. It angered me. "Three hunters. That's the pattern," I answered.

"How would you know that?" Grandpa looked at me sharply.

Oh right. "Uh," I backpedaled quickly. "I hijacked the crab-alien's body earlier using my transformation, and I learned some information from his system." That was a solid excuse.

"...Hmm," Before Grandpa could question me further, the light inside the saloon dimmed unnaturally. We rushed to the broken windows to see the sky outside darkening—not with clouds, but with a swirling vortex of energy.

A sleek, menacing spacecraft descended rapidly toward Rodney, its design sharp and aggressive, unlike anything that belonged on Earth.

"Back!" Grandpa shouted, pulling us away from the windows. "That's a Sotoraggian assault vessel!"

The ship hovered above the town's main street, dust and debris swirling beneath it. A hatch opened in its underbelly, and a figure dropped to the ground with predatory grace.

Even from a distance, I recognized the purple-armored form of SixSix, the second of Vilgax's bounty hunters. His helmet concealed his face, but the array of weapons mounted on his armor gleamed menacingly in the fading light.

I didn't say anything. I kept thinking about Gwen slamming into that wall. If I'd been just a second faster, maybe she wouldn't have had to take that hit. Now, there was another enemy here to try to kill us once again. 

Without warning, he raised his arm and fired a barrage of energy bullets toward the saloon.

"Get down!" I shouted, tackling Gwen to the floor as energy blasts tore through what remained of the building's facade.

Wood splintered and glass shattered as the bullets cut a destructive path through the saloon. Grandpa dove behind the bar, narrowly avoiding a blast that would have taken his head off.

"Any bright ideas?" Gwen shouted over the cacophony of destruction.

I checked the Omnitrix again. It was still red.

"Just one," I replied grimly. "Run!"

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Author Note: Given the reaction of the readers and that I felt it was justified, I went back to Chapter 18 and edited the main issues with Ben's behavior. It should be much better now! I hope you enjoyed these two chapters too.

Now let's talk about goals! We've already posted 2 bonus chaps and the week has just started. It's looking good. We're #5 right now, so naturally it's time for real goals that count.

Our goal is Top 3 tomorrow!! If we meet that, I'll post two Chapters.

I'll add more.

If we reach Top 2, I'll post three Chapters tomorrow.

If we reach Top 1...? I'll post four Chapters tomorrow!!

I'll be a bit short on Patreon chaps if we meet the higher goals, but I can manage to write all that since I'm quite free this week. So start voting.