Chapter 230: The Highbreed Army: Facing the Final Boss at the Starting Line
Los Soledad was a ghost town, an abandoned stretch of desert nowhere that looked entirely forgotten by the outside world.
Dust blew across empty streets as Klein and his group stepped past the rusted welcome sign. Kevin hadn't brought a massive cavalry for this raid. His backup consisted of exactly two people: Alan, the Pyronite-human hybrid they affectionately dubbed the 'Flaming Little Black', and Cooper, the blonde 'Mechanical Nerd Fatty'.
It wasn't that Kevin lacked social skills—okay, maybe a little—but the vast majority of the super-powered individuals they knew were currently serving hard time in the Null Void. Scraping together two reliable allies on short notice was a miracle in itself. Not that it mattered much. This strike team was only here for crowd control, sweeping up the small fries while the heavy hitters did the real work.
With an absolute powerhouse like Klein leading the charge, the rest of them could theoretically set up lawn chairs, crack open some sodas, and cheer from the sidelines while victory secured itself. Even if they somehow failed to dismantle the enemy's teleportation device, it wouldn't change the endgame. They just needed to find a safe bunker and watch the cinematic cutscene unfold. The great Atomix would inevitably step onto the stage and vaporize all their problems.
Perched comfortably atop a massive, two-story mech he had built from scratch, Cooper tapped away at a handheld detector, analyzing the shimmering energy field enveloping Los Soledad.
Ben and the rest of the crew recognized the frequency immediately. The Highbreed and their DNAlien foot soldiers deployed these cloaking fields whenever they set up shop, a standard-issue camouflage meant to keep wandering tourists and nosy heroes from stumbling into their operations.
Fortunately, the barrier was a one-trick pony. It projected a flawless optical illusion to the outside world, but it offered zero physical resistance. It couldn't actually stop anyone from walking right through it. Case in point: Klein and his vanguard simply stepped through the shimmering veil without breaking stride.
The moment they crossed the threshold, the temperature plummeted. A localized blizzard raged across the abandoned town, thick flurries of snow whipped up by a massive weather-altering machine humming in the distance. It was an open secret that the Highbreed despised Earth's warmth and preferred sub-zero climates.
Peering through the howling whiteout, Ben squinted at the towering, hundred-meter-tall teleportation gate dominating the skyline. A flicker of genuine worry crossed his face.
"Alright, let's move!" Ben called out over the howling wind. "We clear out these DNAliens, smash that teleportation gate to scrap, and stop the Highbreed from turning Earth into their personal freezer!"
As his declaration rang out, two blinding flashes of light—one a brilliant emerald green, the other a ghostly, ominous blue—pierced the blizzard.
"Cannonbolt!" Ben shouted, his voice dropping into a deep, resonant rumble as he took on his bulky, armor-plated form.
"Echo Echo!" Klein announced, his voice synthesized and echoing through the cold air.
Gwen hovered slightly off the ground, her eyes widening with genuine surprise as she looked at her cousin's hulking, yellow-and-white form. "Cannonbolt? Wow, it's been years since I've seen you use that one."
Cannonbolt crossed his massive, clawed arms, his wide mouth curving into a nostalgic grin. "What can I say? I am a deeply sentimental guy."
The brilliant flashes of transformation energy acted like a flare in the dark, instantly drawing the attention of the DNAlien patrols swarming the perimeter. Guttural shrieks echoed through the snow as the hideous, mutated creatures charged their position.
Kevin didn't even blink. He slammed his foot on the gas pedal. "You can explain that to my insurance!"
His beloved muscle car had undergone some serious upgrades. He slammed his palm onto a glowing red button on the dashboard. The chassis groaned as the four tires expanded, thickening into massive, snow-gripping treads. The front bumper extended outward, shifting into a sharp, menacing plow, while two heavy-duty energy turrets smoothly deployed from the hood.
With an engine roar like a starved beast, Kevin floored it, plowing directly through a dozen charging DNAliens and sending their flailing bodies flying into the snowbanks.
"Paradox!"
Paradox, transformed into a sleek, heavily armed spaceship, streaked across the stormy sky. The vessel banked sharply, unleashing a torrential rain of heavy suppressive fire that tore through the ranks of the DNAliens rushing towards them from below.
Gwen ascended higher into the blizzard, her hands glowing with vibrant pink Anodite energy. She hurled explosive spheres of pure Mana into the encroaching horde, blasting craters into the frozen earth while weaving protective shields around her advancing allies.
Meanwhile, Azmuth and Zenith stood perched on Professor Paradox's shoulders, looking remarkably like a pair of ancient toad sages observing a chaotic mortal battlefield. Professor Paradox simply smiled, clicking his complex pocket watch. He stepped effortlessly through the frozen pockets of time, strolling casually among the frozen DNAliens. Every so often, he would raise the small, sleek pistol Kevin had loaned him, firing precise, calculated shots into the enemy ranks before time resumed its flow.
True to his word, the sentimental hero hadn't lost a single step. Despite years of neglecting the form, Ben wielded Cannonbolt's unique physiology with devastating precision. He curled his massive, armored body into a tight, impenetrable sphere. With a thunderous boom, the yellow cannonball launched forward, ricocheting off ruined buildings and crushing a brutal path straight through the center of the DNAlien horde.
"Echo Echo... Echo Echo..."
Klein's synthesized voice multiplied. His small, silicone-based body split smoothly into two, then four, then eight. Within seconds, an entire army of Echo Echos blanketed the snow-covered street, their numbers easily matching the overwhelming wave of DNAliens that had tried to flank them. The clones opened their mouths in perfect synchronization, unleashing a devastating wall of ultrasonic sound. The sheer acoustic force shattered the ice around them, sending the DNAliens dropping to their knees, clutching their heads in absolute agony as they struggled just to survive the sonic onslaught.
High above the chaotic battlefield, inside the towering spire that served as the Highbreed's front-line command center, the atmosphere was tense.
"What do you mean they breached the perimeter?! Klein brought an assault team and charged straight in?!"
The Highbreed Commander loomed over the trembling DNAlien messenger, his pale, plant-like face twisting into a scowl of genuine surprise. Their full-scale invasion of this miserable mudball hadn't even officially commenced yet. Why was the enemy launching a preemptive strike right at their doorstep?
He quickly composed himself, smoothing his aristocratic posture. It was fine. This minor inconvenience fell well within their acceptable margins of error. The grand teleportation gate was already fully constructed and primed. As long as they activated the device and summoned the glorious Highbreed armada, their grand design would proceed without a hitch.
However, the groveling minion's next words violently shattered his arrogant complacency. "But Commander... the outer defenses are collapsing. We cannot hold them off much longer."
The two subordinate Highbreed officers stationed at the control consoles exchanged uneasy glances, their usual racial superiority wavering. "That anomaly's raw power is simply too immense," one muttered, his voice tight with apprehension. "Even if we successfully conquer this planet, the casualties he inflicts will ensure we pay an astronomical price."
"Do we truly have to proceed with the invasion of Earth?" the other asked, his tone bordering on insubordination.
Although they were pure-blooded Highbreed, their military rank was significantly lower than the Commander's. They were entirely oblivious to the dark, closely guarded secrets rotting at the very core of their dying race.
"Fools! Once the gears of war are set into motion, they cannot simply be halted!" The Highbreed Commander snarled, violently rebuking his subordinates' naive cowardice. "We are the final generation! The absolute last batch of our pure lineage! Our entire species is staring down the abyss of extinction, and you stand there suggesting we retreat?!"
The sheer venom in his voice left the two subordinate officers completely speechless. They lowered their heads in submission.
Seeing the brief spark of dissent thoroughly extinguished, the Commander turned his back to them and swept his arm toward the glowing consoles. "Activate the teleportation gate! Now!"
"Yes, Commander!" they replied in unison.
The two officers scrambled to the main control panel, their long fingers dancing across the alien interfaces as they relayed the activation codes to the gate's power relays.
The Commander watched the energy meters spike, nodding with grim satisfaction. He then shifted his cold gaze back down to the kneeling DNAlien. "You mentioned that this pathetic assault team was charging our position. Where exactly are they currently located?"
The DNAlien swallowed hard, pointing a trembling claw at the floor. "Uh... they are right downstairs, Commander."
The very second the words left the minion's mouth, the reinforced steel doors of the command room violently detonated inward with an ear-splitting boom. Smoke and jagged shrapnel flooded the pristine chamber.
"Are you kidding me right now?" a dry, familiar voice echoed from the dust cloud. "Do you have any idea how expensive a door like that is?"
"My bad, my bad!" a deeper, rumbling voice apologized. "It's been years since I used this guy. I'm a little rusty on the braking distance!"
Ben, still in his bulky Cannonbolt form, uncurled from his wrecking-ball stance. He awkwardly scratched the back of his armored neck, offering a sheepish, simple-minded apology to the stunned room.
Klein, who had already dropped his Echo Echo transformation and reverted to his human form, let out a long sigh. He casually reached up and smacked the back of Cannonbolt's head, a silent reminder that they were currently standing in the middle of an enemy stronghold, not a comedy club.
The Highbreed Commander stepped forward, his towering frame casting a long shadow as he drew the intruders' attention. "Heh. So, the vermin have finally breached the inner sanctum. Then allow me to—"
"You're just trying to stall for time, aren't you?" Klein interrupted, his tone laced with absolute boredom.
When the Commander failed to produce an immediate comeback, his silence practically confirming the accusation, Klein lazily shifted his gaze past the giant alien. He stared directly at the two officers frantically typing away at the main control console.
Realizing his bluff had been called, the Highbreed Commander roared in fury. He lunged forward with explosive speed, his massive right hand forming a lethal, razor-sharp claw as he aimed a decapitating strike straight at Klein's neck.
He never even got close.
Cannonbolt dropped into a sphere instantly, revving his armored shell against the floor tiles before launching himself like a point-blank missile. The yellow blur slammed directly into the Commander's chest with the force of a freight train. The sheer kinetic impact shattered the reinforced glass window behind them, sending both the rolling alien hero and the screaming Highbreed Commander plummeting out of the high tower and into the raging blizzard below.
Klein casually glanced through the massive, jagged hole in the wall, watching his cousin and the enemy commander shrink into the snowy abyss. Unbothered, he turned his attention back to the room, his boots crunching over the shattered debris as he slowly approached the two Highbreed officers at the control panel.
He didn't break into a sprint. He didn't shout for them to stop. He simply walked, utterly relaxed, because he knew that whatever desperate button-mashing they were doing was ultimately a complete waste of effort.
Outside the shattered window, the sky tore open. The hundred-meter-tall teleportation gate hummed with catastrophic power, its center spiraling into a blinding vortex of hyperspace energy. The portal fully stabilized, and from the swirling abyss, the true nightmare emerged.
Countless interstellar battleships drifted through the rift, their massive, jagged hulls blotting out the storm clouds. This was the main vanguard of the Highbreed armada. Each dreadnought was hundreds of meters long, bristling with enough planetary-siege weaponry to glass a continent. In the span of a mere thirty seconds, no less than fifty of these colossal warships had breached the atmosphere, casting terrifying, city-sized shadows over the ruins of Los Soledad.
Klein paused, glancing out the window at the apocalyptic armada blotting out the sky. He let out a soft, amused exhale, completely ignoring the two terrified Highbreed officers cowering by the console.
He slowly raised his left arm, the faceplate of the Another Omnitrix glowing with a sinister, ghostly blue light. With a swift, practiced motion, he slammed his palm down onto the core.
"Upchuck!"
A blinding pillar of ghostly blue energy erupted through the command center, tearing the ceiling wide open. When the light faded, an absolute titan stood amidst the ruins. It was a grotesque, impressive fusion—the colossal, skyscraper-dwarfing physique of Way Big smoothly merged with the wide, cavernous maw and endless stomach of Upchuck.
The sheer mass of his newly formed body instantly shattered the upper levels of the high tower, sending tons of steel and concrete cascading into the snow. The colossal Way Big-Upchuck fusion didn't even flinch. He casually reached down, grabbed the entire reinforced roof of the command center, and unhinged his massive jaw.
He stuffed the thousands of tons of metal and rubble directly into his mouth, chewing once before swallowing it whole. His gargantuan stomach glowed with volatile, radioactive energy. Leaning back, the titan opened his maw and spat out a devastating, hyper-dense sphere of explosive plasma. The energy ball tore through the atmosphere, slamming directly into the hull of a distant Highbreed dreadnought and instantly vaporizing the massive warship in a spectacular, sky-shaking explosion.
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