Chapter 60: The Daily Life of Ben Tennyson (2)
[Bellowed – Mr. Smoothies]
It was around midnight, The streets of Bellwood, which are usually bustling with life, were in dead silence at this hour of the night.
Of course, it wasn't simply because of the time, but also because strange occurrences involving aliens and Awakened in general usually happened during this hour, which meant that anyone in their right mind would avoid going out after dark.
In this dead silence, the soft flapping of wings could be heard from afar. Moments later, a humanoid, moth-like alien creature landed—or, to be more accurate, crash-landed—on the sidewalk.
Groaning, the blue alien looked around, trying to identify the place.
"Finally… this should be the place…" the creature said in a deep voice as he scanned the area he was in.
The creature was, of course, none other than Hugo, who had spent an entire hour flying around Bellwood in circles trying to find the right meeting place Kevin had sent him.
Not only was he unused to Big Chill's form of flight, but there was also the fact that everywhere in this town looked the same causing him a severe headache.
Hugo's Omnitrix timed out, reverting him to Ben's form as he approached the parking lot of Mr. Smoothies.
'Next time I'll definitely use the Proto-Truck…'
Hugo had always wanted to drive a PTV before he got sent to the forgotten shore, but he never got the chance, so a truck was the next best thing...
Well, he did drive a divine ship but that did not really count.
Letting go of his jolly thoughts, Hugo scanned the area, looking for Kevin's iconic green car.
'Huh?'
Hugo raised an eyebrow as he walked through the parking lot.
Kevin's car wasn't anywhere to be seen. Neither was the man himself… or Gwen for that matter.
'He wouldn't be late if he himself had called… right?'
Surely a Master who conquered the Second Nightmare wouldn't be this incompetent…
Hugo pulled out his phone, checking the message again.
It was only then that he realized something important.
The message had been sent to his phone, not his Plumber's badge.
The same badge that all plumbers used for communication...
Just as he realized that, Hugo heard a sound, and at that moment, a net of red energy was suddenly launched at him at incredible speed.
Without hesitation, Hugo summoned [Nothing], transforming it into a wall of mist that stopped the mist.
SCREECH
The net struck it, slowed, then dispersed uselessly against the transcendant memory. Hugo swept his arm, tearing the remaining energy apart, and at the same time the mist condensed into a spear in his grip.
'Bad timing… the Omnitrix is recharging…'
Ben Tennyson's Omnitrix, just like Hugo's Aspect, functioned on an energy rather then a set amount of time.
That energy, strangely enough, wasn't from soul essence, Rather it was omni-energy.
The reason for this was likely due to the fact that the Omnitrix was not a normal relic that could be sustained with soul essence like Memories and other artifacts from the ancient past. It was a divine relic after all.
although Hugo still did not understand the full mechanisms behind it just yet...
Regardless, it meant that he couldn't access his transformations for about ten minutes.
Usually, that wouldn't be a problem, but depending on who his attackers are, this could prove fatal.
Looking around, Hugo found nothing...
It was as if the energy nethad come from nowhere.
'The attack was launched from nearby, I'm sure of it.'
After all, the sound of the energy net being launched came from a rather close range, which meant his attacker was currently concealing themselves somehow.
Thankfully, Hugo had ways to see what couldn't be seen.
He summoned [Emerald Spyglass] and [Polymorphic Crystal], then he inserted the crystal inside the spyglass upgrading the dormant Memory to Awakened rank.
The [Emerald Spyglass] had an enchantment that allowed it to see through illusions, and now that it was upgraded by the [Polymorphic Crystal], it allowed Hugo to see his attackers.
Looking through it, Hugo saw four armored figures crouching nearby, holding blasters and various equipments that seemed to be a modern version of the weapons a knight would usually carry.
"You do realize that I can see you, right? Please get up, you look ridiculous" Hugo said to the group of four, finding their stance rather comical.
Hearing his words, they hesitated for a moment before deactivating whatever ability or device that allowed them to become invisible.
The group was, of course, none other than the Forever Knights.
two are Awakened and the other two were Ascended.
"As expected from the great Ben Tennyson, finding us without even using that watch of yours," said the leader of the group, clapping his hands with a pleasant voice.
'Good... Please keep monologuing… If I can stall for a few more minutes, I'll be able to crush them.'
Hugo shrugged nonchalantly, assuming the ben Tennyson persona.
"Of course I would. I'm Ben Tennyson after all,the hero of heroes, the savior of the galaxy, and all that. It Comes with the job"
He flashed them an arrogant smile.
"Although it was quite foolish of me to fall for this trap… hacking my phone huh? That's a bit rude, don't you think?"
The Knight leading the group chuckled, taking a step forward. "Indeed. Although we hope that you'll forgive us for using such underhanded methods. I assure you, we mean you no harm whatsoever. We were assigned to capture you so you may meet one of our kings who is in dire need of your assistance... If you come without resistance, rest assured that no harm will come to you."
Hugo suddenly burst into laughter startling the knights.
"You? Harm me? In what dimension?" He shook his head, grinning wildly. "You bozos wouldn't even be able to scratch my jacket, let alone harm me. Maybe if a Saint was here, then that would be a different story entirely but you minions aren't nearly enough to handle me."
The three Forever Knights stiffened, but their leader remained composed looking at Hugo for a while before saying:
"You're stalling..."
Hugo's arrogant expression faltered for a moment.
'Shit'
Getting his confirmation, the knight gestured to his team to move.
"Capture him alive, all is permitted as long as he's intact."
Despite his nervousness, Hugo didn't back down
"…I was really hoping you wouldn't say that."
With that, Hugo summoned [Proto-Tool], the gun like device materialized in seconds, then he inserted the [Polymorphic Crystal] into it and raising its rank to Transcendent.
All of this took around four seconds for him to do.
Then, without hesitation, Hugo started blasting.
BAM!
BAM!
BAM!
The knights, possessing stellar reflexes, summoned their energy shields, which seemed to be of high rank considering they managed to block the Transcendent blasts with ease.
Hugo however, kept firing at them nonchalantly as his soul essence reserves capable of handling about a hundred more shots.
Although around the tenth blast, he realized that his tactic wasn't really working and so Hugo changed strategies.
Hugo shifted his grip, holding the [Proto-tool] with two hands and activated [Net Caster] enchantment.
Orange energy burst forward, spreading wide before forming an oversized net. The net struck, slipped past the shields and wrapped tight around the two Awakened Knights, pinning them to the ground without much resistance.
However, Hugo made a slight miscalculation.
The moment he stopped firing and used the net, the two Ascended Knights closed the distance at an inhuman speed.
And In the blink of an eye, Hugo found a red energy sword swinging down at him.
Reacting instantly, he raised [Nothing] to block the first Ascended, then transformed [Proto-Tool] into an energy shield. The technological Memory shifted in the blink of an eye, becoming a graceful modern shield.
Thanks to the long reach of the [Nothing] spear—and its superiority over most swords—Hugo managed to land several blows on his second attacker while bashing the first one with his shield.
The clash went on for several moments, with the two Ascended warriors moving at speeds Hugo couldn't fully react to, but Thankfully, due to his training in [Stone Saint] form, he wasn't entirely inferior to them in terms of skill.
The spear and shield style was different from the usual two spears style that Hugo practiced but it was much safer in his current situation.
'Even in terms of raw strength, I'm not weaker than them, considering I'm an Awakened Terror and they are Ascended Beasts…'
In truth, it was unfair to call human Awakened mere "beasts," considering their unique powers and biology made them stronger than all noble creatures of the same class and rank and even among Divine Aspect wielders, having more cores did not necessarily make one superior to an Awakened of the next rank.
However, having more cores did increase the amount of soul essence he could use to saturate his body with.
Sensing the battle turning dangerous, Hugo activated the [Envy] enchantment of the [Polymorphic Crystal], fused with the [Proto-Tool], caused the shield to unleash a powerful kinetic blast.
The attack struck the Ascended Knight, sending him flying into a nearby wall.
Now with the advantage, Hugo used [Nothing] shifting nature to his advantage to attack the other ascended fighting him from a longer reach.
With extreme focus, he parried the blade using the shield, then thrust from the side with the longer spear, grazing the Forever Knight's armor and sending him flying as well, although the armor made it impossible the spear to Pierce the flesh.
'An armor capable of blocking a transcendant memory... Just where are they getting all of this spelltech...'
Despite his confusion, Hugo made sure to keep his guard up.
Unlike his counterpart, the Ascended leader recovered quickly, rising and staring at Hugo menacingly—or at least, that's what Hugo assumed he was doing beneath the helmet.
"The reports never mentioned that Ben Tennyson was this skilled in combat in his human form..." he muttered. "It seems we may be forced to use [that] after all—"
Before he could finish, Hugo had already turned [Proto-Tool] back into blaster form and fired at him.
The Master blocked the shots effortlessly, then summoned a gray gun Memory and fired back at Hugo.
BAM!
Hugo eyes widened as he felt the energy blast pass through his shoulder and send him ragdolling across the street before crashing into a car.
'Shit!... '
The energy blast was clearly of the transcendant rank, not giving Hugo any chance to react to it and it also hit like a truck, forcing blood from Hugo's mouth.
His jacket was also burning from the blast causing him to discard it.
'Damnation…'
The second Ascended had recovered and joined his commander, both advancing toward the injured Hugo.
"Hey now… uh, I changed my mind. I'll come peacefully. " Hugo said, raising his hands.
The approaching Ascended Knights paused.
"Really?"
"Of course. I'm surrounded and injured. Why wouldn't I?" He smiled weakly. "You can even knock me out if you want."
He groaned, clutching his shoulder, showing his pain.
They exchanged glances before nodding.
"Alright then. Don't move and keep your hands in the air where I can see them..." the Forever Knight said as he approached with electric cuffs.
Hugo complied without resistance, exaggerating his injury.
At that moment—just as the Ascended was a foot away—something suddenly manifested from nowhere, appearing in a shower of white sparks.
A blur of blue and red slammed into the knight instantly Knocking him off his feets.
That blur was none other than Hugo's newest Echo, [Zed].
The wolf-like blue alien tackled the Ascended, pinning him down and tearing at his armor with it's sharp claws.
Of course, an Echo—even one of Ascended rank—couldn't keep a Master occupied for long, especially with a second Master lining up a shot at Hugo.
But Hugo was never relying on [Zed] to win.
She was merely a distraction.
The Omnitrix suddenly glowed with a dangerous green light and at the same time, a wicked smile spread across Hugo's face.
Both Masters paled beneath their helmets as they realized what was happening...The one with the blaster fired dozens of shots in panic, forgetting his own orders.
But it was already too late.
Hugo had already slammed down on the Omnitrix.
The green light had already consumed the injured youth and when it Finally faded, Ben Tennyson was no longer standing on the sidewalk.
In his place stood a semi-humanoid twelve-foot-tall dinosaur-like alien with long arms and short legs, looming over the two knights with his shadow swallowing them entirely as if it was stopping all escape.
The same smile remained on his bestial faceas Hugo whispered a single word that froze them in terror.
"Humungousaur."