CHAPTER 3 – BEN 10 UNLEASHED
The RV smelled like gasoline, leather, and dust.
It had been on the road for several hours now.
Ben sat in the passenger seat, arms crossed, staring out the window as the desert highway blurred past.
The vehicle rattled violently every few seconds and the suspension groaned. Metal plates clanged underneath.
Ben glanced around the interior.
Loose wires. Old monitors. Ancient Plumber tech duct-taped to the walls.
He sighed.
“This thing is worse than the Rust Bucket.”
He didn't believe such a thing could be possible.
From the driver’s seat, a tall man with greying hair scoffed.
“Careful, kid. This beauty has outrun alien warships.”
Ben raised an eyebrow.
“Sure it has.”
The driver smirked.
Kai Green leaned against the back wall of the RV with her arms folded, watching Ben quietly. She had once been his crush a year back when he saved her from an alien werewolf, but that was not important at the moment.
Beside her stood her father, Wes Green, adjusting a scanner on the dashboard.
“We’re close,” Wes said.
A holographic projection flickered above the console.
Azmuth appeared again.
Azmuth studied the three of them with his usual impatient expression.
“The signal I detected was traced to this region,” he said.
Ben didn’t look at him.
“So Gwen was taken here.”
“Yes.”
Ben clenched his fist slightly.
Azmuth continued.
“My analysis also detected heavy technological interference.”
Wes frowned.
“That means someone’s hiding something.”
Kai stepped closer to the console.
“Or someone.”
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Ben finally looked over.
His eyes were colder than she remembered.
“You said there were kidnappers,” he said to Azmuth.
“There are.”
Azmuth’s voice lowered.
“And you are not the only ones searching.”
The hologram flickered again.
A new symbol appeared on the screen.
A sword piercing through a shield.
Wes cursed under his breath.
“Great.”
Ben frowned.
“What?”
Kai answered.
“The Forever Knights.”
The words hung heavily in the air.
The Forever Knights were alien hunters and tech collectors.
Fanatics who believed Earth belonged to humans alone.
Ben cracked his neck slowly.
“Good.”
Kai looked at him strangely.
“Good?”
Ben stood up.
“If they’re involved…”
His voice darkened.
“…then they know something.”
The RV suddenly screeched to a halt.
Wes pointed ahead.
“There.”
Half buried in the desert sand stood an old fortress.
Black armored vehicles surrounded it.
Knight symbols painted across the walls.
Ben opened the RV door immediately.
Kai grabbed his arm.
“Hold on. We should plan—”
Ben pulled his arm away almost immediately.
“They took Gwen.”
His voice was flat and cold.
“That’s the plan.”
He stepped out of the RV.
The Omnitrix sat heavy on his wrist.
Silent and unresponsive.
Ben clenched his jaw.
“Don’t start that again…”
Before he could do anything however the fortress gates suddenly exploded open.
Armored soldiers poured out with their laser rifles raised.
A Knight commander shouted.
“Target confirmed! The Omnitrix bearer!”
Blaster fire erupted instantly.
Ben dove behind a rock as laser bolts tore into the sand with strong intensity.
Kai rolled beside him, pulling out a crossbow.
“You walked us straight into an ambush!” She said in a rush as she sends explosive arrows flying from her crossbow.
“Yeah,” Ben muttered.
“I noticed.”
Wes fired a Plumber rifle from the RV door.
Energy bolts slammed into the advancing knights causing them to fall to the ground.
More soldiers emerged from the fortress, pouring endlessly.
Dozens of them.
Ben glanced down at the Omnitrix with cold irritation.
Still dead.
“Come on…”
The dial flickered weakly.
Nothing happened.
Laser blasts exploded nearby.
Kai knocked a knight off his feet with a precise shot.
“Ben!”
“I know!”
Another explosion rocked the battlefield.
Ben looked over the rock at the number of forever knights surging in their direction. "I can't."
Kai pulled him down before a laser blast blew his head off. "What's wrong Ben?"
He looked down at the omnitrix and said. "Everytime I see this, it reminds me of Grampa Max."
Wes tried to cover the enemies fire but almost had his head blown off.
Kai realising the urgency grabbed Ben by the shoulder and shook his violently. "I want you to listen here Ben, I know about what happened to your Grampa but now we have to save Gwen. And you're the only one who can do that."
Ben felt his spirit about crumble from the weight of saving others once more, but one thing shook him free. He was the only one who could save Gwen, and he would not let what happened to Grampa Max repeat itself.
Ben slammed the Omnitrix dial with all his mighty and screamed.
“WORK!”
The device sparked weakly.
Still nothing.
The knights were closing in.
One raised a plasma blade.
Another aimed a heavy cannon at the rock where he and Kai hid behind.
Ben’s breathing slowed for a second.
His anger began to rise.
They had taken Gwen.
They might know something about Max.
And now these armored idiots were standing in his way.
A knight lunged forward.
Ben grabbed the rifle and slammed it into the soldier’s helmet.
The metal dented violently and the soldier collapsed to the ground.
Another knight appeared from behind and tackled him to the ground.
Ben punched him once with all he had.
Then twice.
Hard enough to crack the armor.
Kai shouted from behind him.
“BEN!”
A heavy plasma blast fired directly at him.
At the last second he ducked and felt the plasma send the forever knights flying.
"You damn thing always putting those I care about in danger." Ben screamed as he slammed his first into the watch. "Just work."
Then at the last second—
The Omnitrix beeped.
Green light exploded across the battlefield.
Ben slammed the dial instantly.
“I NEED SPEED.”
The transformation hit like lightning.
His bones compressed.
His muscles tightened.
Blue armor formed across his body.
A sleek visor snapped into place.
His legs reshaped into aerodynamic blades.
XLR8.
But something was different.
Ben didn’t shout the name like he always did.
He didn’t wear his reassuring smile.
He moved.
And the world slowed to a crawl.
Wind roared in his ears.
The battlefield froze around him.
Then Ben ran.
A sonic boom cracked across the desert.
Knights were sent flying before they even understood what happened.
Their armor shattered like glass.
Their weapons exploded.
Vehicles flipped over as XLR8 tore through them like a living missile.
One knight tried to aim a cannon but Ben ripped it apart in less than a second.
Another swung a blade, Ben disarmed him and slammed him through a wall.
Dust exploded everywhere.
Kai watched with wide eyes.
“He’s… not holding back.”
Wes lowered his rifle slightly.
“No.”
Another sonic boom echoed as Ben slammed a knight into the ground hard enough to crater the sand.
“That kid is furious.” Wes said, with fear evident in his voice.
Within seconds the battlefield was silent.
Broken armor littered the ground.
Forever Knights lay unconscious everywhere.
XLR8 stood in the center of the destruction.
Breathing slowly.
The Omnitrix symbol glowed faintly on his chest.
Kai approached cautiously.
“Ben…”
XLR8 turned toward the fortress.
His visor reflected the broken gate.
His voice was cold.
“Someone in there knows where Gwen is.”
He leaned forward.
The wind began to build again.
“And they’re going to tell me.”
Then he vanished in another sonic boom.
Straight into the fortress.
