Chapter 229: Highbreed: What? Klein and His Men Are Coming to Kill Us?
Gwen's eyes widened, disbelief etching across her features. "They managed to build another jump gate right under our noses?"
The sheer logistics of constructing a massive interstellar teleportation device made it impossible to keep completely hidden. Yet, the Highbreed had somehow pulled it off, and they were only finding out after it was fully operational.
"Where exactly did they build it?" she pressed.
Professor Paradox adjusted his coat, his expression unreadable as he delivered the bombshell. "Los Soledad."
Kevin scoffed, crossing his arms aggressively. "No way. That's impossible. We were there. We watched that place get leveled with our own eyes—"
"And that is exactly why they chose it," Paradox interrupted smoothly. "Because you believed the original gate was destroyed, they knew you wouldn't return to check. It provided the perfect blind spot to construct a second one."
Kevin opened his mouth to argue, then snapped it shut, unable to find a flaw in that twisted logic.
Ben turned his gaze toward his older cousin, a knot of worry tightening in his chest. "Cousin, what's our move?"
Klein leaned against the wall, his posture utterly relaxed. He met Ben's worried gaze with a look of deep indifference. "I originally wanted to string them along and play with them a bit longer," he murmured, his tone casual, as if discussing what to have for dinner. "But since they're in such a rush to ruin the game, we might as well just go kill them."
"Just... go straight to Los Soledad?" Ben asked, blinking.
"Yes. We go directly to their front door and wipe them out."
Neither Ben, Gwen, nor Kevin voiced a single objection. They had long since grown accustomed to Klein's brutally straightforward methods.
Azmuth, however, scowled deeply, his long ears twitching in clear disapproval. "You intend to just march right in? Just like that? Without any tactical preparation or reinforcements, you are marching straight into a slaughter."
"We are severely outmanned. It would be far wiser to gather allies before launching a direct assault," Zenith chimed in, her voice steady as she backed Azmuth's assessment.
While the rumors of Klein's terrifying reputation had echoed across the Milky Way, to the Galvan duo, it was still just hearsay. They, on the other hand, had personally witnessed the apocalyptic might of the Highbreed armada. Galvan Prime boasted the most advanced technological defenses in the known universe, yet the Highbreed had still managed to breach their atmosphere and devastate their home.
Paradox merely smiled, a serene, knowing curve of his lips. "Trust me on this, Azmuth. The Highbreed never had a single chance of winning. Not from the very start."
The First Thinker grumbled under his breath but chose not to argue further.
Ben chewed on his lower lip. Zenith's warning gnawed at him. He turned back to Klein. "Maybe she has a point. We could try to round up some backup before we hit the gate."
"Who?" Kevin snorted, a mocking smirk playing on his lips. "Your little online chatroom buddies?" He never missed an opportunity to jab at Ben's habit of treating internet conspiracy theorists as a legitimate intelligence network.
"Shut up, man. I'm serious," Ben shot back, glaring at the Osmosian. "What about the Plumbers' kids? We know there are other descendants out there."
Gwen nodded slowly, her brow furrowing in thought. "He's right. If we're hitting a fully fortified Highbreed base, we need all the firepower we can get."
Invigorated by his cousin's support, Ben straightened up. "Then let's go track them down right now."
Before Ben could take a single step, Azmuth's sharp voice cut through his momentum. "Leave the recruiting to the others."
Ben blinked, looking down at the tiny Galvan. "Wait, what? Why?"
"Because," Azmuth stated, crossing his arms behind his back, "I have matters to discuss with the wielder of my Omnitrix."
The implication hung heavy in the air. The First Thinker demanded a strictly private audience.
Kevin leaned against a nearby workbench, grinning lazily. "Ooh, secrets. I'm a big fan of secrets." He clearly intended to eavesdrop, but Azmuth simply turned and fixed him with an unblinking, utterly flat stare. After ten agonizing seconds of dead silence, Kevin coughed awkwardly, his grin faltering. "Right. Catch you later."
He turned his attention to Klein. "So, Boss, we heading out?"
"Not just yet," Klein replied, stretching his neck until it popped. "Before I go ruin the Highbreed's day, I have a few errands to run."
Without waiting for a response, he shoved his hands into his pockets and strolled out of the garage.
"I'll go with him," Gwen announced quickly, jogging to catch up with her older cousin's long strides.
Kevin watched them leave, a gloomy expression settling over his features. He gestured vaguely at the empty space around him. "Great. So... anyone coming with me?"
Professor Paradox stepped forward, adjusting his pocket watch. "I shall accompany you to locate the Plumber descendants."
Kevin sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Thanks." It wasn't the company he preferred, but it beat wandering around alone.
Back at the house, Klein pushed open the front door. A massive Loboan bounded up to him, its tail wagging excitedly, but Klein simply sidestepped the alien wolf and headed straight for the living room.
At the sound of the door, the Thep Khufan, who had been sprawled on the couch leisurely watching a sitcom, bolted upright. It scrambled to hit the power button on the remote, standing at rigid attention like a soldier caught slacking by a drill sergeant.
Klein ignored the mummy entirely. His eyes locked onto a small, black-and-green blob resting quietly in the corner. He reached down and casually scooped up Ship, the Galvanic Mechamorph pet, tucking the sleeping creature under his arm.
"Guard the house," Klein ordered the two aliens, not bothering to look back as he walked right back out the door.
Gwen was waiting on the porch. Her eyes lit up as Klein emerged, though her gaze quickly dropped to the slumbering Mechamorph in his grip.
Klein didn't offer an explanation. He simply tossed Ship onto the front lawn.
The Mechamorph's single green eye snapped open. Its liquid metal body rapidly expanded, shifting and reshaping with a series of mechanical clicks and whirs. Under Gwen's astonished gaze, the tiny pet morphed into a sleek, black-and-green interstellar spacecraft, easily large enough to comfortably seat over a dozen passengers.
"Get in," Klein said, striding toward the boarding ramp.
Meanwhile, back at the garage, Azmuth and Ben had relocated to the interior of Kevin's muscle car to ensure absolute privacy.
Sitting on the dashboard, Azmuth finally revealed the true, overarching purpose behind his greatest creation. The Omnitrix was never meant to be a weapon. It was an Ark—a genetic repository for the entire Milky Way Galaxy. As long as the device remained intact, any species driven to extinction could theoretically be resurrected using the DNA samples stored within its core.
Because of this monumental responsibility, Azmuth sternly advised Ben to sit out the upcoming war. He could not risk the destruction of the universe's ultimate backup drive.
Ben, naturally, refused to back down. He leaned forward against the steering wheel, a rebellious spark in his eyes. "Wait a second. Doesn't Klein have an Omnitrix too? Why aren't you benching him?"
Azmuth scoffed, rolling his eyes. As if that monster needs anyone to worry about him, he thought dryly., the device strapped to Klein's wrist wasn't technically his creation. Even if it had been forged by an alternate-universe version of himself, it hadn't been built by his hands. Consequently, Azmuth felt absolutely zero paternal attachment to that specific piece of hardware.
"Fine," Azmuth sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Since you are so stubbornly determined to throw yourself into the line of fire, I suppose I must upgrade your chances of survival. I will grant you access to the device's deeper functions."
The Galvan paused, fixing Ben with a calculating look. "Tell me, boy. Do you have any idea how many genetic samples are currently housed within the Omnitrix?"
Ben scratched his chin, thinking back to his encounter with his future self. "Uh... around ten thousand?"
"Far more than that," Azmuth corrected, a hint of pride bleeding into his tone. "It contains the genetic blueprint of every sentient life form across the entire Milky Way. Roughly one million distinct species."
Ignoring Ben's jaw dropping in sheer disbelief, Azmuth hopped down onto the boy's left wrist, tapping a specific sequence on the dial.
"Omnitrix. Command override. Activate Master Control."
A crisp, synthetic voice chimed from the watch face.
[Master Control activated. All cataloged DNA unlocked.]
Ben stared at his glowing wrist, his heart hammering against his ribs. "Exactly how many aliens are we talking about here?"
[A total of 1,000,912 sentient life form DNA samples are currently stored,] the system replied mechanically.
A massive, giddy grin split Ben's face. Over a million aliens. The sheer scale of power at his fingertips was intoxicating. He pumped his fist, a sudden surge of competitive pride rushing through him. "Oh, man! I bet I can turn into way more aliens than Cousin Klein now, right?"
Azmuth immediately and ruthlessly crushed that fleeting dream.
"Don't be absurd," the Galvan deadpanned, pouring a bucket of proverbial ice water over the teenager's ego. "His Master Control was likely unlocked the moment he strapped the device to his wrist. His administrative privileges supersede standard parameters."
Azmuth turned his gaze toward the garage window, staring out at the vast, glittering expanse of the night sky. A complicated expression crossed his ancient features.
", that cousin of yours treats dimensional barriers like revolving doors. He frequently traverses alternate universes and timelines. The Omnitrix on his wrist likely contains genetic samples of god-like entities that even I have never encountered."
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