The gladiator holding cells erupted into chaos as the thunderous impacts from above shook the entire structure. Dust and debris rained down from the ceiling while prisoners pressed against the bars, desperate to witness the unprecedented battle unfolding in the arena.
The commotion stirred Beta Ray Bill from his recuperation. Still nursing his wounds from previous fights, he slowly made his way to the cell's viewing gap, one hand pressed against his bandaged ribs.
"What's happening up there?" he asked, his alien features creased with concern.
Miek immediately made room, his face practically glowing with excitement. "We actually have a chance to win!" he chittered, clenching his small fists as if he were the one fighting instead of Ben.
Bill peered through the gap, and what he saw made his blood run cold. Two red-skinned figures moved across the battlefield like forces of nature, their impacts creating shockwaves that rattled the building's foundation.
"There are two Red Wind Queens?" he whispered, his voice filled with despair. He could barely handle one—facing two would be certain death.
"No, no!" Korg exclaimed, his rocky features animated with enthusiasm as he grabbed Bill's arm. "The stronger one is the newcomer!"
Bill stared in disbelief, struggling to reconcile the small human who had comforted him yesterday with the four-armed powerhouse currently trading devastating blows with the Red Wind Queen.
"You should have seen the transformation!" Hiroim added. "One moment he was just standing there, and then—he became this incredible warrior!"
Despite knowing that Ben's victory wouldn't automatically free any of them, despite understanding that their own fates remained unchanged, the prisoners couldn't help but feel a surge of hope. For the first time since their capture, they were witnessing proof that the arena's champions weren't truly invincible.
Meanwhile, in the arena itself, Ben was getting a brutal education in Tetramand physiology. The difference in strength between male and female members of Tetramand wasn't just significant—it was like comparing an average human man to a female gorilla. But what made it even more challenging was that female Tetramand compensated for their increased power with greater agility. Where Ben's Four Arms transformation typically sacrificed speed for raw strength, Looma moved like a dancer while hitting like a wrecking ball.
She demonstrated this perfectly by landing a lightning-fast punch to his midsection, folding him in half, then following up with a double-fisted hammer blow aimed at the back of his skull.
BOOM!
The arena floor cracked and sank several feet, but Ben had managed to cross his arms above his head in an X-formation, absorbing the devastating impact. Pain shot through his forearms, but he immediately countered by extending his lower pair of arms, wrapping them around Looma's slender waist and lifting her off the ground.
Then, in a move that would have made any wrestling fan proud, he executed a perfect suplex, driving her head-first into the shattered arena floor like he was planting a tree.
CRASH!
The impact sent another shockwave through the stadium, and even the royal viewing platform swayed from the force.
"Does he have some kind of personal vendetta against Looma?" Caiera wondered aloud, her brow furrowed with concern. She'd initially assumed that Ben and Looma's shared heritage would lead to a more restrained fight, perhaps even an alliance. Instead, both seemed determined to pound each other into dust.
The Red King seized on this observation, a calculating smile spreading across his features. "Perhaps they were enemies from the beginning," he mused, his confidence returning. "That would explain why Princess Looma got here in the first place."
His mind began working overtime, seeing opportunity in the apparent animosity. If he could help Looma defeat this challenger, she might finally view him as a worthy ally—or even something more. His fingers found the remote control device hidden in his robes, thumb hovering over the activation button.
But he forced himself to wait. Looma was still clearly enjoying the battle, her warrior's pride engaged in a way he'd rarely seen. He would need to time his intervention perfectly—wait until she showed signs of real weakness, then swoop in as her savior.
Down on the battlefield, Looma pulled herself from the crater Ben had created, her skull proving to be harder than reinforced steel. Far from being discouraged by the brutal treatment, her eyes sparkled with pure joy.
"This is the first time I've met a Tetramand strong as you!" she declared, her voice ringing with genuine delight. The fight had awakened something in her that had been dormant for years—the thrill of facing a true challenge.
Back on her homeworld, she had systematically defeated every male warrior, then proceeded to best all the females as well. She'd begun to believe that no member of her species could provide her with a real test of skill. Finding Ben here, on this remote gladiator world, felt like destiny.
"I love this planet!" she continued, her enthusiasm infectious despite the violence of their clash. "Once I defeat you, I'll call my army here and we'll claim this world as our new stronghold. And you—" She pointed directly at Ben with one of her four arms. "You're going to be my husband!"
From Looma's perspective, Ben had already proven himself to be the most formidable male Tetramand she'd ever encountered. If she was going to choose a mate—something her position as princess would eventually require—no other candidate could possibly measure up to this warrior.
"Princess Looma," Ben replied with as much diplomacy as he could muster while dodging another devastating punch, "I'm not even an adult yet."
He had no intention of being forced into an alien marriage, regardless of how attractive or powerful Looma might be. While he could appreciate the beauty and strength of other species, humans were ultimately his preference when it came to romantic partnerships.
"Once I beat you, your preferences won't matter!" Looma shot back with a laugh that was equal parts threatening and playful. "Among our people, strength determines everything!"
To emphasize her point, she clapped all four hands together, generating a massive shockwave that ripped across the arena like a visible wave of destruction. The air itself seemed to twist and writhe as the attack approached Ben, and the already damaged floor began to disintegrate completely.
Ben responded in kind, creating his own shockwave that met Looma's attack head-on. When the two forces collided, the center of the arena simply ceased to exist, reduced to fine powder that was swept away by the hurricane-force winds their battle had generated.
The entire stadium shook like it was caught in an earthquake. Spectators in the lower sections were thrown from their seats, while those higher up watched in terror as cracks appeared in the supposedly unbreakable walls.
Caiera's expression shifted from concern to alarm as she felt the building's structural integrity beginning to fail. Blue energy crackled around her body as she tapped into her Old Power, creating a stabilizing field that prevented the viewing platform from collapsing.
"Activate the energy shields immediately!" she commanded, her voice cutting through the chaos with absolute authority.
The arena's emergency systems responded instantly, raising a honeycomb pattern of brilliant blue energy barriers that contained the worst of the destruction. Only then did the hurricane winds begin to subside, though the air still thrummed with residual power.
The Red King had been forced to grip his throne's armrests with white knuckles to avoid being thrown to the floor, and the experience left him with a bone-deep chill. The sheer power on display was unlike anything he'd ever witnessed.
This thing represented a threat to everything the Red King had built. Such power couldn't be controlled through normal means, and that made him incredibly dangerous.
But for now, the Red King held his position, watching and waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
The battle continued with renewed intensity, both Tetramand pushing themselves to their absolute limits.
Ben's haymaker caught Looma squarely in the head, shattering the left horn of her helmet and sending fragments flying like shrapnel. She immediately countered with an elbow strike that obliterated his chest armor, leaving his torso exposed.
Neither warrior seemed to care about the damage. Their natural skin was far more durable than most metals anyway, and the armor served more as decoration than protection.
Thunder seemed to roll continuously across the arena as their battle raged from one end to the other. They'd created a trench nearly three feet deep just from the impacts of their footsteps, but still neither could claim a decisive advantage.
The audience had fallen completely silent, afraid that even breathing too loudly might cause them to miss some crucial moment. They watched the two red figures blur from position to position, their movements almost too fast for normal eyes to follow.
In the holding cells below, Beta Ray Bill watched through the viewing gap with wonder and disbelief warring across his alien features.
"Is he actually going to win?" he whispered, his voice filled with something that might have been hope.
But Ben wasn't thinking about winning anymore. From the moment he'd recognized Looma, his goals had shifted. He needed to defeat her, yes, but more importantly, he needed to turn her against the Red King. Making her an ally would be far more valuable than simply proving his strength.
As the battle neared its climax, Ben and Looma found themselves standing less than arm's length apart, both breathing heavily but still ready to continue. Her eyes had taken on an unmistakable gleam of admiration and attraction.
She knew she was losing—could feel her strength beginning to slip while his seemed to grow stronger—but strangely, she didn't mind. She'd found something more valuable than victory: a worthy partner.
Still, her warrior's pride demanded that she fight until she literally couldn't stand.
Eight eyes met across the narrow space between them, and both fighters saw the same burning desire for combat reflected back.
Looma drew a deep breath and released a piercing war cry that echoed off the arena walls. Then her four arms began moving like pistons, launching a barrage of punches so fast they seemed to blur together. Each strike carried enough force to shatter stone, and she maintained the assault with machine-like precision.
Ben met her attack with his own flurry of punches, and where their fists collided, the air itself seemed to explode. The few remaining patches of intact flooring cracked and crumbled, until they were fighting on nothing but a narrow pillar of rock surrounded by a crater dozens of feet deep.
Their armor had been completely destroyed by now, the fragments scattered like bullets against the energy shields. Ben's knuckles were numb from the constant impacts, pain shooting up his arms with every punch, but somehow the discomfort only fueled his determination.
He could feel his heart pounding like a war drum, pumping Tetramand blood enhanced by the Omnitrix's genetic optimization through his veins. The device had taken the natural capabilities of Looma's species and refined them to their absolute peak, and now that superiority was beginning to show.
While Looma started to slow, her movements becoming slightly less precise, Ben felt like he was just hitting his stride. His strength seemed to increase with every exchange, his reflexes sharpening to superhuman levels.
With a roar of triumph, he overwhelmed Looma's defenses through sheer power, his final punch smashing through her guard and creating an explosion that made the energy shields flicker and spark with dangerous overload.
"That impact must have been equivalent to dozens of death-fire bombs," Caiera observed, her voice tight with concern.
If even she was worried, the Red King was practically paralyzed with fear. Watching Looma begin to falter, he knew he couldn't wait any longer. His fingers found the remote control in his robes, hovering over the activation button that would flood Ben's system with paralytic shock.
But before he could press it, Ben suddenly convulsed and collapsed to the arena floor, his body twitching as if he'd been struck by lightning.
The Red King stared in confusion. What just happened?
Ben's collapse was so sudden and unexpected that Looma, who had been preparing to receive his finishing blow, couldn't stop her own attack in time. Her punch caught him squarely and sent him flying across the arena to crash into the far wall.
The entire stadium fell silent.
Everyone with half a brain could see what had supposedly happened. Ben had been dominating the fight, clearly on the verge of victory, when he'd suddenly been disabled by some external force. The implication was obvious, and the prisoners who had experienced the Red King's collar firsthand knew exactly what they were looking at.
Beta Ray Bill slammed his fist against the cell wall in frustration. The others were quieter, but their disappointment was palpable. They'd grown accustomed to such betrayals, but that didn't make them any less bitter.
"He can defeat the Red Wind Queen," one prisoner muttered, "but he can't defeat the Red King's treachery."
On the arena floor, Looma immediately realized something was wrong. She leaped down from their impromptu rock pillar and rushed to Ben's side, her eyes filled with concern and growing anger.
"Let me help you," she said, reaching out to assist him.
But Ben slapped her hand away with surprising vehemence.
"Don't touch me, you treacherous woman," he snarled, putting as much disgust into his voice as he could manage. Silently, he apologized to Looma for what he was about to do, then continued his performance. "You've dishonored the proud traditions of our people! You've tainted this duel and spat on everything it means to be a warrior!"
"What? No, I would never—" Looma stumbled backward as if she'd been physically struck, her face a mask of pain and confusion.
But Ben wasn't finished. He pressed one hand on his chest and continued his accusation. "Don't you feel any shame? Winning through such cowardly methods?"
"No! I didn't do anything! It wasn't me!" Looma protested, her voice breaking slightly.
But even as she denied involvement, her mind was working. If she hadn't caused Ben's sudden collapse, then someone else must have. And there was only one person in the arena with both the means and motivation to interfere.
Her head snapped up toward the royal viewing platform, and her eyes locked onto the Red King with murderous intensity.
"Just wait," she called down to Ben, her voice carrying clearly across the arena. "This match doesn't count. I'll demand a completely fair rematch, I swear it!"
Then she launched herself upward, covering the hundreds of feet to the viewing platform in a single bound. Her feet hit the deck with enough force to crack the reinforced metal, and she strode toward the Red King with obvious hostile intent.
"Angmo-Asan!" she roared, using the Red King's true name like a curse. "How dare you interfere in my battle! How dare you bring shame to the name of Princess Looma Red Winf!"
"Wait, that wasn't me!" Angmo-Asan protested, scrambling backward in his throne. He'd wanted to interfere, had been about to activate Ben's collar, but the man had collapsed on his own before he could act. Now he had no idea how to explain that he was innocent of this particular crime.
When he looked back toward the arena, he saw Ben grinning up at him with obvious satisfaction, clearly unaffected by whatever had supposedly disabled him.
Oh no, the Red King realized with growing horror. He played me. This whole thing was a setup, and now he's turned Looma against me!
But there was no time to explain the truth. Looma was advancing on him with murder in her eyes, and he had only one defender left.
Caiera stepped between them, her body crackling with Old Power energy. "Calm yourself, Princess Looma!"
"Get out of my way, Caiera!" Looma snapped. "I need to clear my name and restore my honor!"
Caiera actually sympathized with Looma's position—she'd grown tired of the Red King's underhanded tactics—but her duty as his liutenant took precedence over her personal feelings.
"This match violated arena protocols from the beginning," she said firmly. "His Majesty was within his rights to stop it."
The Red King wanted to protest that he hadn't actually done anything, but he quickly realized that claiming credit for Ben's collapse might be his only way out of this situation. He was caught between admitting his innocence and facing Looma's wrath, or accepting blame for something he didn't do but probably should have.
"Caiera is correct," he said finally, trying to project more confidence than he felt. "The match was unauthorized. The challenger must win one more match before he can face you officially."
"Fine!" Looma agreed, though her tone made it clear she was anything but calm. "But I want his collar removed immediately. And from now on, he stays with me to ensure you don't try any more of your cowardly tricks!"
The Red King felt his face flush with a mixture of rage and humiliation. Not only had he been outmaneuvered by a supposed slave, but now Looma wanted to live with the man—which raised all sorts of uncomfortable implications about her intentions.
But with Looma's blazing eyes fixed on him and Caiera's uncertain loyalty hanging in the balance, he had little choice but to agree.
"Very well," he said through gritted teeth. "The collar will be removed, and he may reside in the royal quarters under your... supervision."
As the words left his mouth, the Red King couldn't help but feel that his carefully constructed empire was beginning to crumble around him. And somehow, it was all because of one supposedly powerless human who had turned out to be anything but helpless.
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