Chapter 172: Omnitrix Anomaly
Gwen frowned, her brow furrowing in genuine confusion. "His car was damaged? But why? Ken... he..."
"He doesn't know the first thing about aliens," Ben finished for her, crossing his arms. His own confusion deepened, etching lines of worry onto his face. "So why would they target him?"
"When exactly did this happen?" Kevin muttered, leaning over the exposed hood of the vehicle. He ran his grease-stained fingers along the edges of the internal combustion engine, his eyes narrowing as he hunted for any mechanical clue.
A faint, sickly squelch caught Gwen's attention. She peered closer, spotting a viscous puddle of glowing yellow slime pooled near the engine block.
"Eww... nasty. What is that?" She took two quick steps back, her nose wrinkling in sheer disgust at the pungent, rotting odor wafting from the sludge.
"I don't know," Ben said, stepping forward. "But the Omnitrix definitely doesn't like it."
He extended his left wrist toward the puddle. The dial of the watch immediately flared to life, emitting a harsh, pulsating green light. The closer the watch got to the yellow slime, the more frantic the flashing became, accompanied by a low, warning hum.
Thud. Thud.
A pair of heavy, muffled impacts echoed from behind them.
Ben, Gwen, and Kevin whipped around. There stood Klein, looking entirely unbothered. At his feet lay two unconscious car mechanics. Klein casually flicked his wrist, summoning the gleaming blade of the Aikequwa Divine Sword. The cold steel hummed with lethal intent as he angled the tip downward, fully prepared to end their lives right then and there.
Knowing her older cousin well enough by now, Gwen figured Klein had to have a valid reason for suddenly going on a murderous rampage in a mechanic's shop. Still, she had to ask. "Cousin, why did you just..."
"Oh, these guys? They're DNAliens. Look."
Klein squatted down with a lazy sigh. He reached out, his fingers digging into the edge of one of the mechanic's faces. With a sharp tug, he ripped away what looked like human skin, revealing a synthetic mask.
Instantly, the mechanic's body spasmed. The human disguise melted away, shifting and expanding into the grotesque, bulbous form of a DNAlien.
"DNAliens?" Ben's eyes widened. "Why are they here?"
"No idea," Klein replied, his tone utterly indifferent. He nudged the unconscious alien with his boot. "But... what do we have here?"
He noticed a sturdy iron lockbox clutched in the second DNAlien's grip. Prying the dead alien's claws off the handle, Klein popped the latch. The lid swung open to reveal a thick, bubbling mass of the exact same yellow slime.
"Gross," Klein deadpanned, tilting the box away from himself.
"That's the same slime from the car!" Gwen pointed, looking back and forth between the engine block and the iron box. The puzzle pieces clicked into place. "It was the DNAliens!"
"Okay, but why does the Omnitrix hate them so much?" Ben asked, staring down at his still-flashing wrist.
"I don't know," Klein said, snapping the iron box shut. "But at least we have a solid clue."
'Now that I know who's behind this, you'd better hand the kid over obediently,'Klein thought, a dangerous glint flashing in his eyes.'Don't force me to pay a little visit to your home planet to collect him myself.'
He really wanted to say it out loud, to lay down the absolute law of his authority. But he held his tongue. After all, where was the fun in making empty threats when he could just show up and flex on them in person?
"There's nothing else for us here. Let's move."
Klein dismissed his sword and turned on his heel, striding out the garage door.
As the metal shutter rolled up, the heavy, persistent rain from the darkened sky immediately washed over them.
'Hey, you know what? This actually feels pretty good,' Klein mused, enjoying the cool water against his skin.
He paused just past the threshold. He was fully prepared to strike a cinematic pose—tilting his head up, letting the rain cascade over his face, and leaving a mysterious, undeniably handsome silhouette for Ben and the others to admire from behind.
But right before he could execute his perfect brooding protagonist stance, his peripheral vision locked onto a large, nondescript transport truck parked a short distance away.
Dropping the pose, Klein strolled over to the vehicle. He peered through the rain-slicked window, his sharp eyes scanning the exterior. "The back door isn't locked," he noted aloud.
He grabbed the heavy metal latch and yanked the cargo doors wide open.
Inside, huddled in the dim, damp interior, was another DNAlien. But this one wasn't attacking. It was securely bound with glowing Plumber energy cuffs, its grotesque mouth firmly gagged with a wad of bright fabric.
"Cousin, what's wrong—" Ben started, jogging up behind him with Gwen and Kevin in tow. He stopped short, blinking at the captive alien. "Whoa. Who tied him up?"
"I don't know," Klein replied, shaking his head slightly.
Kevin didn't waste any time. He vaulted up into the back of the truck, grabbed the red cloth gagging the creature, and ripped it out with a harsh yank. "Alright, ugly! Start talking, and speak clearly!"
Speak about what? The DNAlien's union-mandated working hours?
The creature merely glared at Kevin, clearly having zero intention of cooperating.
Ben, meanwhile, snatched the crumpled red cloth from Kevin's hand. He shook it out, his eyes widening as he recognized the garish, unmistakable Hawaiian print. "Wait a second... isn't this Grandpa Max's floral shirt?"
"It is!" Gwen gasped, stepping closer to inspect the fabric. "That's his absolute favorite shirt!"
Kevin scratched the back of his neck, looking between the two cousins. "Who?"
"Our Grandpa!" Gwen snapped.
Pink, crackling Mana flared to life around her right hand. The raw Anodite energy illuminated the dark truck bed as she lunged forward. She clamped her glowing hand around the DNAlien's thick neck and hoisted the heavy creature straight up into the air.
"Speak!" Gwen demanded, her voice dropping to a dangerous, lethal register. "Who tied you up? Tell me right now!"
"Max Tennyson! Max Tennyson!" the DNAlien shrieked, thrashing against her grip.
Turns out, this particular alien was a massive coward. It spilled the beans before Gwen even had the chance to throw a punch. "He's looking for a human child!"
"Where is he?!" Gwen tightened her grip, the pink Mana burning hotter.
"I don't know! I swear! He just cuffed me here and left!"
"Not him!" Gwen growled. "Grandpa Max can take care of himself. I'm talking about the child! Where is my brother?!"
The DNAlien choked, its eyes bulging under the pressure of her magic. "The... the Incubation Plant!"
Meanwhile, miles away.
Deep inside the cold, sterile confines of the Incubation Plant, a harsh fluorescent light beat down on a bleak interrogation room.
Ken was strapped tightly to a metal chair, straining against his restraints. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he shouted, "How many times do I have to say it?! I don't know where my Grandpa is! I don't know anything!"
"I believe you."
...Yeah, right. Like hell they did.
But whether Ken knew anything or not, his captors weren't going to let him go.
Hehehehe...
A low, guttural chuckle echoed in the small room. The DNAlien standing in the shadows across from Ken suddenly broke into a fit of raspy, sinister laughter.
Watching the grotesque creature act like a complete psychopath sent a sharp chill straight down Ken's spine. He swallowed hard, trying to mask his rising panic. "You... what exactly are you?"
"I am so glad you asked, Ken," the DNAlien rasped, stepping into the light.
If he hadn't asked, the dramatic villain monologue it had prepared would have gone entirely to waste.
The creature nodded with a sickening sense of triumph. "I firmly believe that the absolute best way to understand a person... is to become that person. To think exactly like them."
As it spoke, the DNAlien reached toward a familiar iron lockbox resting on a nearby metal table. It plunged its clawed hand into the bubbling yellow slime and pulled out a squirming, nightmarish creature. It had the bulbous, fleshy body of an alien octopus, but its thrashing, multi-jointed legs gave it the distinct, horrifying vibe of a facehugger.
This was a Xenocyte. A parasitic alien organism designed for one single, terrifying purpose: to forcefully mutate human hosts into mindless DNAliens.
"What... what is that?" Ken stammered, his heart hammering against his ribs. A terrible, sinking feeling settled in his gut.
The DNAlien sneered, its grotesque features twisting into a cruel smile. "This... is me."
Without another word, it lunged forward and slammed the screeching Xenocyte directly onto Ken's face.
Back on the outside, Kevin slammed the brakes, bringing his muscle car to a screeching halt just outside the perimeter of the Incubation Plant.
The team piled out into the rain, taking cover behind a ridge to observe the facility. From the outside, the "Incubator" looked like nothing more than an abandoned, run-down chemical plant. Rusting pipes and towering smokestacks painted a dreary, industrial picture.
Locating a blind spot along the perimeter wire fence, Klein didn't bother looking for a gate. He simply summoned the Aikequwa Divine Sword, the blade glowing with intense energy, and carved a massive, glowing hole straight through the reinforced steel mesh.
He stepped through the opening, casually leading the group past a cluster of dilapidated storage buildings until they arrived at the edge of several massive, foul-smelling wastewater ponds.
"So, how do we infiltrate?" Gwen whispered, crouching low beside Klein.
Klein stared thoughtfully at the churning wastewater ponds. He tracked the current, noting how the toxic-looking sludge flowed directly out from beneath the main factory walls. By basic logic, swimming upstream through the drainage pipes would lead them straight inside.
Kevin followed Klein's gaze toward the bubbling, radioactive-looking sewage. His jaw dropped. He desperately wanted to grab Klein by the shoulders and scream, 'Boss, are you kidding me?! Only an absolute lunatic would jump into that mystery sludge for a swim!'
Inside the factory at that exact moment.
The aforementioned "lunatic"—Grandpa Max—broke the surface of the indoor wastewater pool with a quiet splash.
He wiped the foul-smelling grime from his eyes, barely taking a second to catch his breath. As he hauled himself up onto the metal grating, he looked up.
Standing not three feet away was a patrolling DNAlien, staring right down at him.
Their eyes met. For a long, agonizing second, both man and alien completely froze.
The DNAlien was the first to break the stalemate. It let out a startled gargle, spun on its heel, and sprinted down the corridor to sound the alarm.
Max didn't hesitate. Despite his age, the veteran Plumber vaulted out of the pool with explosive speed, his heavy boots slamming against the grating as he gave chase.
Just as the DNAlien reached the heavy steel blast doors, its claws scrabbling for the release lever, Max lunged. He grabbed the creature by its bulbous shoulder and violently yanked it backward.
The DNAlien stumbled, whipping its head around—only to see a massive, calloused fist rapidly expanding in its field of vision.
Crack.
Max's punch landed flush against its jaw, dropping the heavy alien to the floor in a single, brutal strike.
Without missing a beat, Max reached into his tactical satchel and pulled out a sleek, metallic device. He aimed the Null Void Projector at the unconscious creature. A beam of dimensional energy washed over the DNAlien, instantly sucking it into the penal dimension and leaving the hallway completely empty.
Securing the projector, Max pressed forward, moving silently deeper into the labyrinth of the factory.
As he approached a sharp corner, the heavy, squelching footsteps of two more DNAliens echoed down the hall.
Max pressed his back flat against the cold metal wall, peering around the edge. After quickly confirming there were only two guards, he pursed his lips and let out a sharp, piercing whistle.
The two DNAliens paused, exchanging confused glances before lumbering around the corner to investigate the noise.
The moment they stepped past the threshold, Max moved. He didn't even give them time to register his presence.
Bang! Bang!
Two precise, bone-shattering strikes to their nerve clusters sent both towering aliens crashing to the steel floor in a heap of tangled limbs.
Once again, Max drew the Null Void Projector. A flash of light later, the hallway was clear.
Stepping over the spot where the guards had just been, Max approached the heavy security door they had been protecting. He pulled his Plumber's badge from his pocket, pressing the glowing insignia against the electronic keypad. The advanced alien tech easily bypassed the primitive password lock, and the heavy doors hissed open.
Max stepped inside, his eyes immediately locking onto the center of the interrogation room.
There, kneeling on the cold floor in absolute agony, was Ken. But he was no longer just a boy. Half of his body had already mutated, bulging with the grotesque, fleshy tumors of a DNAlien transformation.
"Ken!" Max's heart dropped. He rushed forward, dropping to his knees to support his grandson's trembling weight.
Ken looked up, his face pale and slick with sweat. He gritted his teeth, fighting through the agonizing mutation. "Grandpa... save me..."
"It's alright now, kiddo," Max said softly, his voice thick with emotion. "I've got you."
In his desperate eagerness to comfort the boy, the legendary, battle-hardened Plumber made a fatal mistake. He let his guard down. Or rather, his heart simply refused to view his own flesh and blood as a threat.
He never saw the high-voltage taser hidden in Ken's mutating hand.
BZZZT!
A massive surge of electricity ripped through Max's body. His muscles locked up, his vision flashing white as he collapsed heavily onto the cold floor, completely paralyzed.
As the darkness closed in, Max looked up at Ken's face. The boy's eyes were cold, alien, and entirely devoid of humanity.
Only then did Max realize the horrifying truth: Ken's consciousness was already gone, completely hijacked by the Xenocyte.
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