Looking at Loki sprawled in the crater like a discarded doll, his regal composure completely shattered, Ben couldn't help but feel a surge of satisfaction.
So satisfying!
Truth be told, Ben had always found Loki to be a fascinating character in the comics and movies. The God of Mischief had charisma, intelligence, and a tragic backstory that made him compelling. But this version—young, arrogant, and drunk on unearned power—desperately needed a reality check.
Sometimes when a spoiled child acts out, a firm hand is exactly what they need to learn proper behavior.
"How dare you..." Loki struggled to his feet, shaking off dust and debris like a wet cat. His voice trembled with rage, and there was a dangerous glint of madness in his eyes as he glared at Ben. "How dare you lay hands on the God King!"
"Do you really think you're a God King, Loki?" Ben sneered, cracking his knuckles with audible pops. The sound echoed across the wasteland like gunshots. "Because from where I'm standing, you look more like a spoiled prince having a tantrum."
The Tetramand genetics flowing through his veins made Ben naturally aggressive in this form. Four Arms was built for combat, designed for overwhelming physical dominance, and every instinct was pushing him toward escalation. Loki alone wasn't nearly enough to satisfy that battle hunger.
In fact, a bold plan was beginning to form in Ben's mind. If he played his cards right, Thor and Loki's genetic material would be just the beginning. There was a way to potentially acquire the DNA of hundreds of different alien species all at once.
But first, he needed to finish this lesson.
Ben launched himself forward with explosive force, his massive fist cutting through the air like a wrecking ball.
BOOM!
The sound of impact was like thunder, and the sheer force of the punch created a shockwave that shattered the air itself. Dust and debris erupted in all directions as Ben's fist connected with Loki's torso, driving the god deep into the earth.
Before Loki could even think about escape, Ben planted one massive foot on each of the Asgardian's hands, pinning him in place. His rock-like body bent down, bringing his glowing yellow eyes level with Loki's face.
The sheer presence was overwhelming—like being stared down by a living mountain. Loki's face went pale with genuine fear.
"Wait, wait—" Loki began, but Ben had heard enough speeches for one day.
His four arms became a blur of motion, hammering down on Loki with the mechanical precision of a pile driver. Each punch landed with the force of an industrial press, fast enough that the individual strikes merged into a continuous thunderclap.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Ben's fists moved so rapidly they left red afterimages in the air. The speed of his assault created its own weather system—hurricane-force winds radiating outward from the point of impact. Each blow hit with the devastating power of a cruise missile, sending shockwaves racing across the desert for miles in every direction.
The small town fifty miles away felt the tremors, with residents looking up from their daily routines in confusion. Car alarms went off, windows rattled, and more than a few people wondered if they were experiencing an earthquake.
Anyone still near the SHIELD facility was immediately blown away by the hurricane-force winds, tumbling across the desert like leaves in a storm.
Thor desperately wanted to help his brother, but he was powerless—literally. Even shouting would have been useless; his voice was completely swallowed by the roaring wind generated by Ben's relentless assault. He struggled to move forward but was like a man trying to walk through a tornado, pushed back with every step.
The helplessness was crushing. For the first time in his long life, Thor understood what true powerlessness felt like.
After several minutes of sustained pummeling, Ben finally slowed his assault. The ground beneath his feet had collapsed several meters, creating a crater within the existing crater. Where Mjolnir's impact site had been impressive, Ben's impromptu geology lesson had carved out something that looked like a small canyon.
At the bottom of this newly-excavated pit, Loki lay motionless.
He wasn't dead, of course. Asgardians were notoriously difficult to kill, and even though Loki was technically a Frost Giant, his godly status made him incredibly resilient. The guy could survive being thrown around by the Hulk—a few minutes of Four Arms treatment wouldn't finish him off.
Still, Ben had been careful not to deliver any potentially lethal blows. The last thing he needed was to actually kill Loki and have Odin wake up from his scheduled nap to seek revenge.
Odin in his prime had conquered the Nine Realms, and even in his advanced age, the All-Father's power continued to grow. The Asgardian royal family had this annoying trait of becoming stronger as they aged, and their treasure vault contained artifacts that could challenge cosmic-level entities. The Destroyer armor alone was supposedly capable of standing toe-to-toe with Celestials.
If Odin decided to personally pilot the Destroyer down to Midgard for a revenge mission, Ben's current arsenal might not be sufficient to handle that level of threat. Unless the Omnitrix had some serious surprises in store, a direct confrontation with the All-Father would be... inadvisable.
Ben stepped back and looked down at his handiwork. Loki had lost every trace of his earlier arrogance. During the beating, he'd managed to conjure his ceremonial armor—probably hoping the godly metalwork would provide some protection. Instead, the once-pristine outfit was now cracked and dented, with one of the distinctive horns on his helmet snapped clean off.
Seeing Ben pause in his assault, Loki didn't waste time on dignity or threats. He immediately cast an illusion spell with his remaining strength and teleported away in a panic, leaving only a shimmering afterimage behind.
Ben didn't bother pursuing him. The fleeing god had served his purpose perfectly.
First, Loki had been bleeding freely during the fight, which meant Ben's Omnitrix had undoubtedly collected enough genetic material to unlock Frost Giant DNA. That was a valuable addition to his growing collection.
Second, and more importantly, Loki's retreat was exactly what Ben needed for the next phase of his plan. After all, if Loki didn't run back to Asgard in a rage, how would he deploy the Destroyer?
If Odin himself decided to pilot the Destroyer armor, Ben would immediately retreat to Kamar-Taj and beg the Ancient One to hide him.
But if Loki just sent the Destroyer as an unmanned weapon? Well, as far as Ben was concerned, that was simply a free upgrade falling from the sky. Finders keepers, as they say.
What's that, Odin? You want your armor back? Sorry, but this thing doesn't seem to have an off switch. Also, it's surprisingly effective as a blunt instrument. Want to test that theory personally?
Of course, Ben wasn't entirely certain he could actually defeat the Destroyer, even without Odin controlling it. But Odin had mellowed considerably in his old age, and there was a decent chance he wouldn't care enough about one missing artifact to escalate the situation.
With Loki's dramatic exit, the battlefield fell silent. Ben took one last look around, then calmly walked away from the scene of destruction.
When Coulson finally realized the fight had ended, he cautiously lifted his head. Fine red sand had settled over everything like a burial shroud, including himself. He looked like an archaeologist who'd just been excavated from his own dig site.
Standing up slowly, he brushed the worst of the sand from his suit and coughed several times to clear the grit from his throat. Then he surveyed the remains of their temporary facility.
The entire structure had been buried under tons of displaced earth. What hadn't been buried had been twisted into abstract metal sculptures by the hurricane-force winds. It would take a full construction crew weeks to clean up this mess.
After a moment, Coulson remembered that Captain America had been thrown clear of the area and still hadn't returned.
Steve was actually fine, relatively speaking. The enhanced metabolism that made him nearly impossible to poison also meant he recovered from injuries much faster than normal humans. The stab wound in his back was already beginning to heal, though it still hurt like hell.
The main problem was that his shield had been blown away during the chaos, and he'd hit his head hard enough during his landing to leave him disoriented. Then the shockwaves from Ben's assault had made it impossible to move in a straight line, let alone return to help.
Now he sat in the sand, one hand pressed to his wounded side, breathing heavily as he tried to process what he'd just witnessed.
"The world has changed so much," he said quietly, more to himself than anyone else.
Coulson, finally locating his missing captain, could only nod in agreement. The world had indeed become a much stranger place.
Meanwhile, in a small town fifty miles east of the impact crater, Ben was enjoying a well-deserved meal. He'd purchased the largest burger and drink the local restaurant had to offer, and was now wolfing down his food with the appetite of someone who'd just burned several thousand calories beating up a god.
The locals were still buzzing about the "earthquake" that had rattled their windows and set off car alarms. Most assumed it was another military test—the government was always bombing something out in the desert.
Ben quickly finished his burger, drained his supersized cola, and moved to a secluded alley behind the restaurant. Privacy was essential for what came next.
He activated the Omnitrix interface, watching as the familiar holographic display materialized around his wrist. The device's dial twisted and shifted, cycling through various symbols before settling on a distinctive yellow configuration.
[CAPTURE MODE ACTIVATED]
The synthetic voice echoed in the narrow alley, confirming that Ben's hunt was about to begin in earnest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Support me at [email protected]/goldengaruda and check out more chapter of this or more early access chapter of my other fanfic translation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~