Ben's luck had taken a decidedly unfortunate turn.
He'd sacrificed his dignity by maintaining the Bullfrag disguise, endured Attea's romantic advances, and successfully gained the trust of the Incurseans military hierarchy. The ordinary soldiers wouldn't have dared interfere with someone bearing the title of First Prince Consort.
But he'd had the extreme misfortune of encountering Dr. Psychobos and Ma Vreedle exactly when they arrived for their scheduled rendezvous with Attea. Caught red-handed in the middle of his extraction attempt, the entire operation had been blown wide open.
It had to be said—Ma Vreedle's combat capabilities exceeded his initial projections by a considerable margin. The Vreedle family's power level in the original animated series had always been somewhat ambiguous, but their reputation was well-established: they'd punched Vilgax hard enough to give him pause, kicked Zs'Skayr across entire star systems, and caused absolute chaos during the Highbreed invasion.
In the end, the family matriarch had somehow become best friends with Ben Tennyson's mother, which was... honestly kind of weird when you thought about it too hard.
But based on their brief exchange a few minutes ago, Ma Vreedle operated at maximum statistical output for a non-powered being. She couldn't fire energy blasts or manipulate exotic forces, but among ordinary space-faring species, she could physically dominate the vast majority through raw strength alone.
No technique. No special abilities. Just overwhelming numerical superiority in every physical category.
She probably couldn't actually crush someone like Vilgax—that infamous reputation likely stemmed from psychological trauma Vilgax had suffered during his youth, some childhood encounter that left lasting scars. But beating up a lone Bullfrag warrior? That was well within her capabilities.
"Bullfrag!" Attea's voice cracked with betrayal and fury. "You betrayed me for these two ugly monsters?!"
Her heart was breaking and burning simultaneously. The pain came from believing she'd finally found her frog prince, only to discover he'd been deceiving her all along. The rage stemmed from being rejected in favor of Looma Red Wind—a muscular, four-armed, four-eyed freak from the Red Maple Empire.
Who could accept such humiliation?!
"I'll give you one more chance," Attea said, her voice shaking as she drew her sidearm and hurled it to the floor at Ben's feet. "Kill them both. Right now. Do that, and you can still be the First Prince Consort of the Incurseans Empire!"
She wasn't offering this second chance out of mercy or forgiveness. She wanted proof—definitive, bloody proof—that she was superior to that four-eyed deformed woman. That Ben had simply made a mistake, been confused, temporarily lost his mind.
Of course, this entire mental framework only functioned because Ben was attractive. If he'd been ugly by Incurseans standards, Attea would have shot him immediately without offering any chances whatsoever. The fact that she was still negotiating proved she remained infatuated despite the betrayal.
Dr. Psychobos, observing from the side, sneered and shook his head in contempt. He still hadn't definitively identified Ben's true nature, but he'd certainly confirmed the legendary stupidity of the Incurseans species. Their emotional reasoning was genuinely pathetic.
Attea waited for Ben's answer, her entire body tense with anticipation and dread.
"I'm sorry, Princess Attea," Ben said quietly, looking down at the weapon on the floor. His foot came down, crushing the plasma pistol into sparking fragments. "I have absolutely no interest in becoming the First Prince Consort of the Incurseans Empire."
He didn't elaborate or insult her. Despite everything, Attea was still just Attea—a product of her culture and upbringing, doing what she'd been taught was necessary for survival and power.
"So you choose to die for these strange women," Attea whispered, her voice hollow.
"Wrong." Ben's body suddenly expanded, mass increasing exponentially as his transformation activated. A second pair of arms erupted from his ribcage, and with a casual sweep, he knocked Attea aside like she weighed nothing. "I choose to take my girlfriends away from here."
His Bullfrag disguise shattered completely, revealing his true Four Arms form—twelve feet of crimson-skinned Tetramand power.
"Tetramand?!" Attea stared in shock, her brain struggling to process the transformation.
No, wait. How did my frog prince turn into a red-skinned jock? This doesn't make any sense! Is this even legal?!
"Finally, you reveal your true face, Ben Parker," Dr. Psychobos announced with smug satisfaction. "But I'd already seen through your disguise. Azmuth's parlor tricks are beneath my notice."
The Cerebrocrustacean scientist had been waiting for this moment, eager to demonstrate his superiority. Just as Ben completed his transformation, the shell atop Psychobos's head split open, revealing his hyper-developed brain tissue.
Golden electrical current erupted outward in a devastating discharge.
But against Four Arms' rock-thick hide, the attack registered as little more than static electricity—an minor annoyance at best.
Ben simply picked up Felicia under his left arm and Looma under his right arm, both women still unconscious but protected by their vibranium combat suits. With his remaining two hands free, he launched a devastating double punch directly at Dr. Psychobos.
BOOM!!!
The impact was comparable to dropping a hundred-ton steel sphere from orbital altitude.
Ma Vreedle swung her own fist to intercept, meeting Ben's strike with a collision that shook the entire corridor. The two forces were perfectly matched—neither giving ground.
"Stop interfering! I've already calculated the optimal distance!" Dr. Psychobos snapped, glaring at Ma Vreedle with obvious irritation. Beneath his bucket-like body, several slender crab legs were tap-tap-tapping rapidly, adjusting his position with mechanical precision.
The Cerebrocrustacean brain functioned like a sophisticated supercomputer, allowing its owner to arrange everything with mathematical perfection. Every action was calculated to the absolute limit, optimized for maximum efficiency with minimum wasted effort.
Just moments ago, he'd measured Ben's arm length with perfect accuracy and positioned himself exactly far enough away that even without Ma Vreedle's intervention, the punch would have missed by the narrowest possible margin.
This was true genius—working with such precision that assistance became unnecessary.
But he'd made one critical miscalculation: he'd ignored the wind pressure generated by Four Arms' punch. Or rather, he'd never encountered a Tetramand capable of causing injury through shockwaves alone.
Therefore, after delivering his smug declaration, he immediately backed away to a safer distance, preparing to abandon the dangerous engagement zone and retrieve his masterpiece Waybads from storage.
Ma Vreedle absorbed the full force of Ben's punch and looked genuinely impressed. "So you're the one wielding the Omnitrix. I didn't expect the transformed Tetramand to be even stronger than the Gar Red Wind himself. But compared to me..."
She flexed, muscles bulging. "You're still a little bit lacking!"
"Well done!" Attea called out, rubbing her bruised posterior where she'd hit the wall. "Ma Vreedle, beat him down hard! I want you to capture him alive so I can take him back as my Star Consort!"
She still couldn't bring herself to order his execution. The attachment ran too deep.
Ma Vreedle agreed and was preparing to increase her attack intensity when Ben suddenly spoke.
"You're Ma Vreedle, correct?" His tone shifted, becoming almost conversational. "Then that handsome young man behind you must be your son. He really is quite handsome."
"Boy, you have excellent taste," Ma Vreedle said, her expression transforming instantly into pure maternal pride.
Like every mother in the universe, she maintained a powerful filter regarding her children—specifically regarding her favorite son, the one she actually acknowledged. Her value system was refreshingly simple: If you compliment my son's appearance, then you're basically family.
Ben understood her character intimately and was deliberately exploiting that knowledge.
Though he still had access to the Old Power and could genuinely match Ma Vreedle in sustained combat, he preferred to avoid fighting when other options existed. Violence was a tool, not a first resort.
"Raising him to be such a handsome young man must have required incredible dedication," Ben continued, his voice warm with apparent admiration.
The words struck directly at Ma Vreedle's heart.
"I didn't expect you to understand!" she exclaimed, her hostility evaporating. "Most people don't appreciate the work involved!"
"My mom May is exactly like you," Ben said smoothly. "She took tremendous effort raising me and my cousin. I think you two would have a lot to discuss regarding parenting strategies and techniques."
Ma Vreedle's gaze shifted, reassessing Ben with new interest.
This young warrior was somewhat less attractive than her precious handsome boy—nobody could compete with perfection, after all—but he looked healthy and well-developed. That woman named May had clearly done excellent work.
The Vreedle matriarch was genuinely tempted. She'd been searching for someone suitable to exchange parenting experiences with for years.
"Hey! Ma Vreedle, what are you doing?!" Attea's voice rose to a shriek of disbelief. "Catch him! Now!"
"Don't order me around, you bratty girl!" Ma Vreedle snapped back, her tone venomous. "I'm not afraid of you Incurseans! I work for you because the pay is good, not because I respect your authority!"
She turned back to Ben, her expression softening. "Boy, take me to meet your mom. I've wanted a proper friend to discuss parenting techniques with for longer than you've been alive."
"No problem," Ben agreed immediately, recognizing opportunity when it presented itself.
Without the Vreedle family's support, the Incurseans military was like a bird with clipped wings—still dangerous, but far less capable of coordinated assault.
But Ben had an even more efficient solution in mind.
He simply reached out with one hand and grabbed Attea, lifting the struggling princess off her feet. With his other hand, he twisted a piece of metal conduit into makeshift rope and efficiently hogtied her.
"What are you doing?!" Attea screamed, thrashing uselessly against bonds that could have restrained a raging Tetramand.
"Taking you prisoner, obviously," Ben said, his tone suggesting this was the most natural thing in the world. "You're the new Queen of the Incurseans Empire, Attea. That makes you an extremely valuable hostage."
He'd originally infiltrated the Incurseans flagship solely to rescue Looma and Felicia. But now that he was here, leaving empty-handed would be wasteful. Opportunity cost demanded maximizing returns.
"You dare to tie me up?!" Attea's voice mixed outrage with something that might have been confused arousal—Incurseans psychology was genuinely disturbing sometimes.
"It's just a matter of convenience," Ben said with a shrug, already moving toward the hangar bay with three captives secured.