"Impossible!" Vilgax's eyes widened in shock, his facial tentacles bristling with agitation. "This technique is stronger than the last one?!"
His gaze fixed on XLR8's eager expression, and a cold realization struck him like a physical blow.
This kid has even more devastating moves in his arsenal.
"Well then, Vilgax," XLR8's voice carried across the battlefield, vibrating with confidence. "Let's try the fifth form of Wind God Leg..."
The Kineceleran's legs tensed, muscles coiling like compressed springs. Blue-white energy crackled around his body as wind began to spiral outward from his frame, lifting debris and dust into a growing vortex.
"An even stronger technique?!"
Panic flashed across Vilgax's face. The warlord abandoned all pretense of tactical planning and charged, his massive frame eating up the distance between them in desperate lunges. If he could interrupt the attack before it launched,
Wind Sweeping Building!
XLR8's body became a blur of rotation, spinning like a high-speed drill. The whirlwind around him intensified into a howling storm, dirt and gravel caught in the violent updraft. Faster. Faster. His velocity reached critical mass, the rotation so extreme he appeared as nothing more than a streak of electric blue light!
His right leg, empowered by the full momentum of his spin, rocketed toward Vilgax's incoming form!
CRACK!
The sound of air shattering echoed across the highway like a thunderclap. The sheer power behind this kick rivaled Four Arms' devastating Eight Extremes Collapse, except delivered at speeds that made it nearly impossible to track!
WHAM!
XLR8's heel connected with Vilgax's abdomen in an explosion of kinetic force. Green sparks erupted from the impact point as the warlord's armor shrieked in protest. The strike sent Vilgax hurtling backward, his mouth gaping open as viscous green fluid sprayed from his lips.
The Chimera Sui Generis flew through the air like a missile, covering over thirty feet before slamming into the highway pavement with earth-shaking force!
He didn't rise immediately. Instead, Vilgax lay there, coughing violently, his entire body wracked with pain from the devastating blow.
"My leg!" XLR8's triumphant expression twisted into a grimace of agony. The moment his right foot touched solid ground, white-hot pain lanced through the limb. His face contorted, teeth clenched so hard his jaw ached. "Damn, that hurts!"
Don't be fooled by how spectacular Wind Sweeping Building looked, the technique's recoil was equally extreme. Even with a Kineceleran's enhanced durability, XLR8's body was reaching its limits. His muscles screamed in protest, his bones vibrating from the strain.
Still, the results spoke for themselves. This attack had definitely caused Vilgax some serious damage!
If XLR8 had used the sixth and final form, Divine Wind Howling, it might have torn them both apart from the sheer destructive force. Better to save that ultimate technique for when he had no other choice.
"That... doesn't hurt at all." After several seconds, Vilgax pushed himself upright, his movements stiff and labored. Pain flickered across his features, but his voice carried forced arrogance. "Just a minor inconvenience."
"If it doesn't hurt, why'd you go flying?" XLR8 lifted his visor, revealing a contemptuous smirk. He pressed his right foot against the ground despite the searing pain shooting through it. "That move wasn't even my strongest technique. So tell me, Vilgax, do you want to experience my final form?"
"A final technique?" Vilgax's expression darkened, uncertainty creeping into his eyes. He stared at the Kineceleran, searching for any sign of weakness or bluffing.
But XLR8's posture remained relaxed, confident, as if that devastating kick hadn't taxed him at all. The speedster refused to show any vulnerability to his enemy, no matter how much his leg throbbed with agony.
"Impressive. Truly remarkable." After a tense moment, Vilgax raised his massive hands and began to clap, the sound echoing across the destroyed highway. His expression had shifted from rage to something more calculated. "Asher Tennyson... I've underestimated you time and time again. It seems I must finally recognize you as a genuine threat."
"A threat?" XLR8's confident expression faltered. Wait. Did he just give himself a chance to recover by pretending to praise me?
The Kineceleran's eyes widened in realization. I just buried myself in a trap!
"Enough games!" Vilgax's fist shot skyward like a general commanding his army, and his voice erupted in a thunderous roar. "ATTACK AS ONE! NOW!"
Shhhhhhhhhh!
The response was immediate and overwhelming.
From behind trees, from beneath piles of rubble, from hidden positions across the destroyed landscape, Mechadroids emerged. One after another, they rose into the air like a swarm of mechanical locusts. Over twenty combat drones materialized, their weapons systems already locked and loaded, forming a terrifying mechanical army.
"Oh, come on!" XLR8 breathed.
Every single turret rotated toward the Kineceleran simultaneously. Red targeting lasers converged on his position, overlapping until they created a deep crimson spotlight that bathed him in threatening light, painting him as the perfect target.
XLR8's expression became truly spectacular, a mixture of disbelief, frustration, and dawning horror.
Damn it. He's ruthless!
"While I could still defeat you in single combat," Vilgax admitted, his tone carrying cold pragmatism, "I have no desire to sustain serious injuries fighting a mere Earth child. Let my robots handle the rest."
He clenched both hands together into a massive hammer-fist, genuine regret crossing his features.
Vilgax had genuinely wanted to capture Asher with his own two hands, to personally tear the Omnitrix from the boy's wrist as proof of his superiority. But tactical wisdom outweighed pride. One more exchange like that last kick, and even he might suffer damage that required extended recovery time.
Miscalculation. Complete miscalculation.
XLR8's face fell, genuine pain replacing his cocky demeanor.
If only he hadn't tried to "scare" Vilgax with threats of an even stronger technique! Now the enemy count had exploded from one to over twenty!
"Shhhhhhhhh!"
WHOOOOOM!
From three hundred and sixty degrees, left, right, above, every angle without a single blind spot, crimson energy beams erupted in a devastating crossfire. The lasers tore through the air like lightning, each one trailing bright afterimages as they converged on XLR8's position, their combined light bright enough to hurt the eyes!
When ants gather in sufficient numbers, they can take down an elephant. And these definitely weren't ants, each combat drone packed serious firepower!
"Not good!" XLR8's body tensed instantly.
His eyes darted everywhere at once, pupils tracking movement with superhuman precision. Blue veins bulged near his eye sockets as he pushed his Kineceleran dynamic vision to absolute limits. Every trajectory, every attack vector, every incoming beam, all of it registered in his enhanced perception simultaneously.
Nothing escaped his notice.
Shhhhh!
His body launched skyward.
XLR8 became a blue streak weaving through the deadly laser grid, twisting his frame with serpentine grace. His body contorted at impossible angles, bending and flexing to thread through gaps between the energy beams. Each dodge came within millimeters of catastrophic impact!
Every successful evasion was accompanied by explosions from the ground below as missed shots detonated against pavement!
After dodging the first devastating barrage, XLR8 landed on the highway entrance ramp twenty or thirty feet away. But his injured right leg betrayed him, the moment it touched down, pain flared white-hot through the limb. Instead of landing cleanly, he collapsed into a half-crouch, one knee pressed against the concrete.
"Get up, get up, GET UP!" XLR8 hissed through gritted teeth, fighting to push himself upright.
SHHHHHHH.
Suddenly, the ground before him darkened.
A massive shadow fell across his crouched form, swallowing him in shade. The temperature around him seemed to drop as something enormous blocked out the light.
XLR8 didn't hesitate for even a fraction of a second. He abandoned his attempt to stand and instead kicked both feet hard against the ground, launching his body forward in a desperate horizontal dive!
THOOM!!
Vilgax's enormous form crashed down exactly where XLR8 had been kneeling a heartbeat before. The warlord bent low, one massive hand sweeping through empty air where it should have closed around the Kineceleran's body. His fingers grasped nothing but atmosphere!
"The tail!" Vilgax's eyes locked onto the prehensile appendage that XLR8 hadn't had time to retract. His hand shot out with surprising speed, fingers wrapping around the blue-striped tail and clamping down like a vise!
SLAM!!
XLR8, who'd been flying forward through the air, suddenly felt an irresistible force yank him backward. His trajectory reversed violently, and he crashed into the pavement face-first, the impact driving the air from his lungs!
His tail felt like it was trapped beneath a mountain, no amount of pulling could free it from Vilgax's iron grip!
"Now," Vilgax's voice rumbled with dark satisfaction, "you cannot escape."
His other hand descended like a falling meteor, fingers spreading wide to engulf XLR8's entire body. The massive palm closed around the Kineceleran, leaving only his neck and head exposed above the crushing grip!
"Ghhk!" XLR8's eyes bulged as pressure squeezed his ribcage from all sides. His chest compressed, making it impossible to draw a full breath. Every bone in his body felt like it was being crushed in a hydraulic press! "Can't... breathe...!"
"Hmph." Vilgax lifted XLR8's captured form, raising the Kineceleran to eye level. His burning red eyes bored into his prisoner with predatory satisfaction. "I'm taking you back to my ship immediately. And then... I'm removing that Omnitrix from your wrist."
His grip tightened another increment, just to emphasize his complete control.
XLR8's consciousness began to waver, black spots dancing across his vision as oxygen deprivation set in. His struggles grew weaker, more desperate.
This was it.
He'd been caught in Vilgax's clutches.