Chapter 238: Let Me Show You How It's Done
"Up, down, down, left... Watch this! Raging Strike! Oh, come on! Are you kidding me? Why is your combo always faster than mine, Cousin?"
Inside the pitch-black bedroom, the only illumination came from thin slivers of morning sunlight bleeding through the drawn curtains and the frantic, flashing glow of the television screen.
Ben threw his game controller onto the mattress with a heavy groan of pure frustration. He stared at the glowing "GAME OVER" text, completely unable to comprehend the situation. He had dedicated years of his life to mastering Sumo Slammers. He knew every frame, every hidden mechanic, and every cheap exploit. Yet, somehow, he was still losing to his older cousin.
Could this be the legendary gap in natural talent?
But didn't the old saying claim that passion was the greatest talent of all? Ben Tennyson was absolutely certain that his love for the Sumo Slammers franchise was second to none in the entire universe.
Then again, a dark memory resurfaced in his mind. Something exactly like this had happened before. Back when Gwen had picked up a Sumo Slammers controller for the very first time, she had also managed to beat him into the ground without breaking a sweat.
Thinking about that humiliating defeat made Ben's already sour mood plummet even further.
Klein casually tossed his own controller aside, his expression completely indifferent. He offered a dry, barely comforting piece of advice. "I already warned you. The character Ishiyama Yokozuna doesn't have fast attack frames. He specializes in heavy, punishing brick throws. You telegraphed that last move from a mile away."
"But Ishiyama Yokozuna's skill set is just so cool, don't you think?" Ben leaped to his feet, his frustration instantly replaced by excitement as he began throwing imaginary punches in the air. "That raw feeling of power, being able to smash an opponent flat against the mat with one single punch, it is just..."
Before Ben could finish his martial arts demonstration, the bulky green Plumber phone resting on the nightstand suddenly erupted into a shrill series of electronic beeps.
Ben paused mid-punch and exchanged a quick glance with Klein. He reached over and snatched the receiver. "It's Grandpa Max."
A short while later.
A sleek, black and green muscle car tore down the asphalt, its engine roaring like a caged beast as it headed straight toward an abandoned mining pit situated just outside the city limits of Bellwood.
"Grandpa told us to hurry up and check out the situation." Ben leaned forward in the passenger seat, tapping his fingers against the dashboard. "Step on it, Kevin."
In the back seat, Gwen was slumped heavily against Klein's shoulder. Her eyes were shut tight, her breathing slow and rhythmic as if she had fallen into an impossibly deep sleep. To be this exhausted so early in the morning, anyone would assume she had stayed up the entire night studying for an exam.
However, sleeping peacefully inside Kevin's violently swerving car was a tall order. A closer look revealed Gwen's long eyelashes trembling every time the tires hit a pothole, her consciousness hovering right on the edge of waking up.
"Those of you who aren't driving need to sit back, shut up, and enjoy the ride." Kevin rolled his eyes, keeping his grip tight on the steering wheel. "It is going to take us at least another half hour to get out there."
"Half an hour?!" Ben threw his hands up in exasperation. "By the time we get there, whatever is happening will be over! We might as well just turn around, buy a few chili cheese slushies, and tell Grandpa Max we checked the place out and found nothing."
Ben crossed his arms over his chest, sinking into his seat and glaring out the window at the passing clouds.
"Don't get your shorts in a twist, Dweeb." Kevin smirked, his eyes flicking to the rearview mirror. "It isn't impossible to shave some time off this trip. I just need to fire up the propulsion engine."
"Propulsion engine? You actually installed that hazard into this thing?"
Throughout their bickering, both boys had been deliberately keeping their voices hushed, trying their best not to disturb the sleeping girl in the back.
Unfortunately for them, as a half-blood Anodite, Gwen's physical senses were far sharper than an ordinary human's. Even while buried in exhaustion, the muffled sounds of their argument filtered into her mind.
The noise disturbed her rest, causing her to shift uncomfortably against Klein. Her lips parted slightly as a soft, unconscious murmur slipped out. "...wait... don't... mm..."
The interior of the car instantly went dead silent. Ben and Kevin froze.
The two boys slowly turned their heads, exchanging a highly communicative look. Neither of them looked particularly surprised. In fact, they had already guessed the exact reason behind Gwen's severe morning drowsiness.
Were they supposed to be blind? There had been plenty of times recently when they had to drop Gwen and Klein off at Klein's house late at night. They knew exactly why she was too tired to keep her eyes open.
However, survival instincts kicked in immediately. Both Ben and Kevin silently agreed that it was infinitely better to pretend they had heard absolutely nothing. Acknowledging the subtext of that sleep-talking would likely result in them being murdered by their overpowered cousin.
Clearing his throat loudly, Ben aggressively changed the subject. "But trying to blast down a public road with a propulsion engine is a terrible idea. The highway traffic police will pull us over before we even cross the county line."
Kevin scoffed, entirely unbothered by the threat of law enforcement. "Relax. If I want to get somewhere fast, I have my ways. Let me introduce you to the newest feature I installed on my baby."
Kevin reached out and flicked a hidden toggle switch on the center console. Instantly, a shimmering, transparent energy film washed over the entire exterior of the black and green muscle car, bending the light around the chassis.
With the optic-camouflage engaged, Kevin slammed his foot down on the accelerator. The invisible car shot forward like a fired bullet, leaving nothing but a gust of wind in its wake.
A few miles down the highway, a lone police cruiser sat parked on the dusty shoulder. Because this particular stretch of road was notoriously empty during the morning hours, the officer inside had reclined his seat and was snoring loudly with the window rolled down.
Suddenly, an invisible force blasted past the cruiser, accompanied by the deafening roar of a high-octane engine.
The radar gun mounted on the dashboard went absolutely crazy, emitting a frantic string of high-pitched alarms. The bewildered traffic cop jolted awake, his hat falling over his eyes. He scrambled to look at the radar display, staring in shock at the impossible red numbers flashing on the screen. He whipped his head toward the highway, but the road was completely empty. Not a single vehicle was in sight.
He rubbed his eyes, genuinely wondering if he had just been haunted by a speeding ghost.
Thanks to Kevin treating the accelerator like a floorboard, the grueling drive took barely ten minutes. The invisible car screeched to a halt at the edge of the destination.
The optic-camouflage deactivated as the doors popped open. Kevin stepped out, stretching his arms and taking a deep breath of the dusty, metallic air. "Alright, so what exactly did Grandpa Max want us to look at out in this dump?"
Ben stepped up beside him, raising an eyebrow before pointing down into the massive crater. "Isn't it obvious?"
Following the direction of Ben's finger, Kevin peered over the edge. The bottom of the sprawling mine shaft was swarming with massive, grotesque creatures. They possessed the thick, armored bulk of rhinoceroses, but their snouts were elongated, sporting the massive, curved incisors of rodents. They were significantly larger than any normal animal, and they were currently treating the heavy excavation equipment like an all-you-can-eat buffet.
"Where the heck did those ugly things come from?" Kevin muttered, crossing his arms. "Are we dealing with another batch of alien pests?"
At that moment, Klein walked up to the edge of the cliff, accompanied by a groggy but awake Gwen.
"I have no idea what they are," Klein said, his tone entirely unbothered as he surveyed the destruction below. "But I definitely haven't seen them at the local petting zoo."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Ben turned his head and stared directly at Klein. The expectation in his eyes was obvious.
"Alright, fine." Klein sighed, rolling his shoulders. "Let's go quiet down these oversized rats before they eat the rest of the machinery."
He glanced down at the massive steel excavators that had been chewed into jagged scraps of metal. He sincerely hoped the civilian miners had evacuated the area before the swarm arrived, because human bones were definitely not harder than industrial steel.
Ben, who had already reached for his own wrist to join the fight, paused and looked back. "What is the plan, Cousin?"
Klein offered a faint, mysterious smirk. "Watch closely. I am going to show you a neat little trick."
Without waiting for a response, Klein raised his hand and slammed the dial of the Another Omnitrix.
A brilliant flash of quiet blue light erupted on the cliffside. When the illumination faded, the small, silicone-based alien known as Echo Echo stood in Klein's place.
Gwen and Kevin, who had been listening to the exchange, stepped closer, watching the small alien with mild curiosity.
Down below, Echo Echo opened his mouth. A strange, vibrating frequency filled the air as he activated his duplication ability. One alien split into two. Two became four. Four became eight. Within seconds, dozens of identical Echo Echos crowded the edge of the mine pit.
Ben frowned. He obviously knew that Echo Echo could clone himself, but how was a sonic attack going to stop a horde of armor-plated rock-eaters?
What happened next nearly made Ben's jaw detach from his skull.
In perfect synchronization, the dozens of Echo Echos raised their hands and slapped the Another Omnitrix symbols resting on their chests.
Dozens of blinding, quiet blue lights flashed simultaneously. The glare forced the others to shield their eyes. When the light cleared, the clones had not vanished. Instead, dozens of human Kleins were now standing shoulder to shoulder on the cliffside.
Before anyone could even begin to process the sheer absurdity of the situation, the army of Kleins reached for their respective dials and pressed down once more.
Another massive wave of blue light illuminated the quarry. Dozens of Spidermonkeys hit the dirt, chattering wildly. Moving with terrifying coordination, the horde of arachnid-simians leaped off the cliff and descended upon the beasts below. They spat thick, unbreakable webs, spinning them into heavy lassos. Like a squad of deranged alien cowboys, the Spidermonkeys landed squarely on the backs of the rhino-rodents, pulling the web-reins tight and wrestling the massive creatures into submission.
"This is... this has to be a joke, right?" Kevin stared down at the rodeo, his face completely slack with disbelief.
"So many Cousins..." Gwen murmured. Her pretty face suddenly flushed a brilliant shade of crimson as her mind wandered to a very specific, very dangerous train of thought regarding those clones.
Refusing to be outshined by his older cousin's ridiculous display of power, Ben eagerly slapped his own Omnitrix, ready to jump into the fray.
A dull, pathetic fizzle echoed from his wrist.
Nothing happened. Ben remained entirely human. He slammed the dial again, but the device remained dead. The Omnitrix was completely jammed, a direct and highly inconvenient consequence of him and Kevin trying to hack into its core programming a few days prior.
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