"Ben Tennyson, this time I'm going to tear you to pieces!"
Vilgax's eyes burned red, veins bulging on his forehead. The mere thought of being hacked into pieces by Ben Tennyson last time filled him with humiliation and rage.
"Then come on." Diamondhead showed no fear at all. If he could kill Vilgax once, he could kill him a second time.
Vilgax let out a cold snort. "I've analyzed all of your alien forms and had Dr. Animo incorporate them into my new genes. You won't be catching me off guard anymore!"
"Then let's find out." Diamondhead raised both hands, turning them into razor-sharp blades as he charged at Vilgax.
"Roar!" Vilgax bellowed, his tentacles whipping wildly like some beast from hell as he rushed forward to meet him head-on.
Clang! Clang!
Diamondhead slashed at Vilgax in a frenzy with his twin blades, but it was like striking stone with glass. Shards flew everywhere, yet he couldn't even scratch Vilgax.
"Heh. Useless. I'm not the same as I was before!"
Vilgax grabbed Diamondhead by the head, slammed him down, and smashed him hard into the floor.
Diamondhead's face instantly broke apart like a shattered porcelain doll.
Thud.
A flash of green light swept past, and Diamondhead vanished from where he stood.
When he appeared again, he had already turned into XLR8.
His body flickered back and forth as he weaved around countless obstacles, throwing off Vilgax's vision. Then he slipped behind him, trying to land a fatal blow.
Vilgax lowered his head, a sneer curling at his lips.
"That trick won't work on me anymore!"
He spun around and hurled several bombs, cutting off XLR8's charging path.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The ground was blasted full of craters in an instant. XLR8 couldn't avoid them in time, and the wheels under his feet lost balance. He staggered forward helplessly.
Boom!
Vilgax drove a punch straight into XLR8's stomach, sending him flying and crashing onto the cold ground.
"Die!" Vilgax pressed the attack, his heavy footsteps pounding as he brought one foot down at him.
Green light flared around XLR8, and in the blink of an eye he turned into Stinkfly. With a beat of his wings, he dodged the stomp and rose into the air.
Splash!
A stream of thick green slime shot from Stinkfly's mouth straight at Vilgax's face.
Vilgax swatted the slime aside, then thrust out a hand. A cable shot from his armor and wrapped itself around Stinkfly.
"What?!" Stinkfly was startled and tried to break free.
But Vilgax's strength was overwhelming. He yanked hard, and the frail Stinkfly had no power to resist.
As Vilgax's terrifying face drew closer and closer, Stinkfly transformed again.
Thud!
A round yellow iron ball spun at high speed, using the force of Vilgax's pull to plunge downward and slam forward like a cannon shot.
Vilgax narrowed his eyes and immediately dodged to the side.
Cannonbolt crashed into the floor, leaving a deep dent behind.
Seizing the opening, Vilgax clenched his massive left arm, muscles swelling as he put all his strength into a punch. The blow carried a violent gust of wind as it slammed into Cannonbolt.
Boom!
The thunderous blast echoed through the entire basement.
Cannonbolt's body traced a long arc through the air before dropping heavily to the ground, motionless.
Cannonbolt's defense was undeniably powerful. He could even fall from outer space to Earth and still withstand the impact, tougher than a meteor. But Vilgax's strength right now was simply too terrifying.
Though Cannonbolt's shell remained intact, the insides had been rattled beyond endurance by that blow.
"It's over, Ben Tennyson."
Vilgax clenched his massive fist, ready to finish him off.
"Four-Armed Humungousaur!"
A huge red figure charged in from the side.
The monstrous force instantly sent Vilgax flying sideways.
"You're... Cuz?" Cannonbolt lay on the ground, staring at the newcomer in shock.
The body of Four-Armed Humungousaur had four arms and four eyes, with crimson skin all over. But unlike Humungousaur, his legs were not bloated and heavy. Instead, like Four Arms, they were long, powerful, and packed with explosive muscle.
The fusion of two strength-based heroes had made his power even greater, drastically boosted his jumping ability, and discarded Humungousaur's clumsy weakness.
What kind of move is that? Ben 10,000 was deeply shaken. He had never seen anything like it.
"The Omnitrix's fusion function." Four-Armed Humungousaur's voice was deep and booming as he clenched his fists and charged at Vilgax again.
Vilgax felt a jolt of danger and hurriedly raised his arms to block.
But under Four-Armed Humungousaur's brutal assault, he was beaten back step by step, crying out again and again.
"Damn you! Who are you, and why are you helping Ben Tennyson?!" Vilgax's face was already bruised and swollen.
"I'm his Cuz. Of course I'm helping." Four-Armed Humungousaur threw another punch.
"That's impossible! Lucian doesn't even have a watch!" Vilgax refused to believe it.
"But I'm not the current Lucian." Four-Armed Humungousaur smiled, grabbed Vilgax by the leg, and started spinning him around wildly.
Vilgax was spun until he was completely dizzy, unable to tell east from west. His tongue lolled out as the wind battered him, and the humiliation nearly drove him mad.
Boom!
Four-Armed Humungousaur let go, and Vilgax went flying backward before smashing into a wall.
He was wedged in so deep he couldn't even be pulled out.
"Awesome! Cuz, you're incredible!" Ben Tennyson arrived just then. Seeing Vilgax get beaten down by Lucian, he was beyond thrilled.
"Super cool," Ben 10,000 said.
He had thought he was already strong enough, but who would have guessed that his Cuz from another spacetime was even fiercer?
Looks like I'll have to learn a thing or two from Cuz later.
Crack. Crack.
The circular object in the center of the basement split wider and wider, and more and more tentacles pushed out from inside.
The creatures of the Null Void were about to break out!
Ben 10,000 transformed into Humungousaur and charged at Dr. Animo, roaring, "Shut down the Null Void now!"
If the criminals inside escaped, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Dr. Animo, let this hero teach a loser like you a lesson!"
As Ben shouted, he slapped the Omnitrix and transformed into Heatblast.
"The hero has arrived!"
One wreathed in fire, one in draconic might, the two charged at Dr. Animo together.
Dr. Animo grinned, mockery filling his eyes. "Too late."
The moment the words left his mouth, a gigantic figure burst out of the Null Void exit, so huge it seemed to blot out the sky.
"Ben Tennyson, I'm back!" A voice like thunder exploded in everyone's ears.
In an instant, all eyes turned toward the source of the sound.
A hideous monster stood there, flames coiling around its body. It was over ten meters tall. Its right arm was a thick flaming tentacle, its left a massive blood-red arm. Its legs did not even touch the ground. Instead, several green tentacles supported its body, stabbing into the floor like poisonous spikes.
"What the hell is that thing?!"