Chapter 204: True and False Ben, Albedo
By the time Kevin slammed the brakes and brought his car to a screeching halt outside the castle grounds, the battle was already over. The courtyard was littered with the groaning, armor-clad bodies of the Forever Knights. Klein, Kevin, and Gwen quickly stepped out of the vehicle, their boots crunching against the debris as they surveyed the aftermath.
Hovering in the chilly night air above the defeated knights was a familiar moth-like alien.
"Ben Tennyson!" Kevin shouted, cupping his hands over his mouth. "What is wrong with you?!"
Hearing his name, Big Chill swooped down from the sky. A flash of emerald light illuminated the courtyard, and the alien transformed back into a teenage boy wearing a familiar green jacket. The boy immediately lunged forward, grabbing Kevin by the shoulders.
"You know Ben Tennyson?" the boy demanded, his voice frantic. "Where is he?!"
Kevin blinked, utterly bewildered. He looked at the hands gripping his jacket, then back at the boy's face. "Ben Tennyson, what the heck are you asking about?"
Klein crossed his arms, his gaze sweeping over the boy with detached precision. "You are not Ben."
Gwen immediately trusted Klein's judgment. She stepped back, her hands glowing with faint pink mana. But that realization brought up a much more pressing issue. "Then where is Ben?"
"We probably left him at the chili fries joint," Klein replied. His tone was perfectly flat, completely devoid of any remorse. As far as he was concerned, if Ben managed to get left behind, it was entirely the Dweeb's own fault.
"Here I come!"
A loud sonic boom echoed through the night sky. Another Big Chill descended with a dramatic flourish, landing heavily on the cobblestones. A brilliant flash of green light washed over the area, revealing the real Ben Tennyson.
He immediately pointed an accusing finger at Klein. "Cousin, you guys actually left me behind!"
"You are Ben Tennyson?!" The first boy's eyes widened. He stared at Ben with an intensity that bordered on creepy, his gaze sweeping up and down Ben's figure.
Ben puffed out his chest, ready to deliver a heroic one-liner about not changing his name or running from a fight, but the words died in his throat. He squinted at the boy standing opposite him. 'Hmm... Besides being exactly as handsome as me, there is nothing special about him. What should I call you?'
The tension in the air was thick. The imposter was clearly hostile, and worse, he had completely monopolized his cousin's attention the moment he arrived. Determined not to lose his spot in the family hierarchy, Ben decided he would trick Klein and the others into stepping back so he could knock this fake out with a single, glorious punch.
"I am Albedo of Galvan Prime," the imposter declared, puffing out his chest.
Hearing that name, Klein raised an eyebrow. He vaguely recalled an innocent little frog-like alien from his multiverse knowledge, but this one was clearly just an alternate-world counterpart. And a male one at that. The realization instantly drained whatever mild interest Klein had in the situation. He decided to just deal with this annoyance quickly so he could go back to lecturing Ben.
"So?" Klein asked, his voice dripping with apathy. "Why are you here?"
"I am the creator of the Omnitrix," Albedo stated, thrusting his right hand toward Ben. "Quickly return the Omnitrix to me."
Kevin let out a harsh bark of laughter. "Do not talk nonsense. Everyone knows my boss bought that watch at a toy store!"
Gwen narrowed her eyes, studying Albedo's familiar features. "You are not some mutant sent to trick us into handing over the Omnitrix, are you?"
"Exactly!" Ben chimed in, waving his hands impatiently. "Stop parading around with my handsome face and trying to deceive people. Change back to yourself right now!"
Albedo's face flushed red with sudden, explosive rage. "I want to change too! But I am stuck in this sticky, stinky, noisy, constantly eating, furry Earthling teenager's body! I am constantly craving chili fries, itching in places I cannot reach, scratching unspeakable areas, and..." He paused, his face twisting in absolute horror. "...and having an inexplicable, overwhelming sense of dependence on this fellow male Earth teenager!"
To emphasize his point, Albedo pointed a trembling finger directly at Klein.
Dead silence fell over the courtyard. Klein, Kevin, and Gwen stared at Albedo, completely dumbfounded. The rant had started off perfectly normal, but that ending...
Gwen slowly turned her head, fixing Ben with a dangerously sharp glare. 'I knew you had weird ideas about my man.'
Ben looked like he was on the verge of tears. He waved his hands frantically, desperate to explain that he absolutely did not swing that way and that it was purely familial admiration. Just admiration!
But the skeptical looks on everyone's faces made it clear they were not buying it. Klein did not say a word. He simply took two quiet, deliberate steps away from Ben.
'Are you serious about those two steps back?' Ben thought, his heart shattering at his cousin's utter betrayal.
Seeing the bizarre misunderstanding unfolding, Albedo gritted his teeth and hastily explained. "Because the Omnitrix has your DNA built-in as a default flaw! When I crossed time and space to synchronize and copy your Omnitrix, I also acquired this genetic flaw."
That explained why Albedo, originally a Galvan, was now trapped looking exactly like a clone of Ben.
"Uh..." Ben scratched his head, his face scrunching up in confusion. "I heard all those words, but I did not understand a single one of them."
Klein let out a long, long sigh. He turned to his cousin, deciding to dumb it down for the Dweeb. "Simply put, the Omnitrix is permanently bound to your DNA. The replica he built copied your watch's DNA registry, and it copied your specific human DNA right along with it. That is why he looks like a cheap knockoff of you."
Ben nodded slowly, the gears turning in his head. "Okay, I get that part. But why did he have to copy my Omnitrix in the first place?"
"Because he does not have access to a genetic database like Primus," Klein answered smoothly, slipping his hands into his pockets. "He cannot possibly collect that many alien DNA samples all by himself, so his only option was to piggyback off yours."
Albedo gasped, his eyes widening to the size of saucers. His pupils trembled as he stared at Klein. "You actually know about Primus?!"
"Uh, Cousin?" Ben blinked. "What is a Primus?"
"That is not important right now. We will talk about it later," Klein said, waving a hand dismissively. He turned his cold gaze back to Albedo. "Let us deal with this kid first. You want the Omnitrix, right?"
"That is right! It is mine!" Albedo yelled, his desperation returning as he reached his hand out again. "Give it back to me right now!"
"Oh, look at your attitude," Klein drawled, his lips curling into a mocking smirk. "You are acting very arrogant, are you not? What if I simply decide not to give it back to you?"
Klein was not actually angry; he was just thoroughly enjoying trolling the fake Ben.
Catching on to his cousin's tone, Ben immediately puffed out his chest and echoed the sentiment. "That is right! The Omnitrix is right here on my wrist, Albedo. If you have the guts, come over here and take it!"
Albedo ground his teeth together so hard they squeaked. "Do not push me too far!"
"Hey, what if we do push you?" Kevin stepped forward, a wicked grin spreading across his face. He shamelessly leaned his chin out, tapping his own cheek. "If you are so tough, come on. Hit me."
Gwen watched the three of them acting like a pack of street thugs and helplessly massaged her temples.
"Damn you all! This is the first time I have ever heard such an idiotic request!" Albedo roared.
He did not hold back. He lunged forward, pulling his arm back, and delivered a vicious punch squarely into Kevin's face.
Caught completely off guard by the fact that the kid actually followed through, Kevin stumbled backward, clutching his jaw.
Seeing the opening, Klein moved. He accelerated in a blur of motion, leaping into the air to deliver a brutal flying kick.
Albedo's instincts kicked in. He threw himself backward into a frantic somersault, narrowly dodging the strike as Klein's foot cut through the empty air.
Klein landed gracefully on the cobblestones, using his momentum to spin around. Without missing a beat, he launched a high roundhouse kick aimed directly at Albedo's head.
Albedo scrambled to his feet just in time to see the leg coming. He threw his head back. He reacted fast, but not quite fast enough. The toe of Klein's shoe grazed his cheek, leaving a stinging red welt.
Panicking, Albedo raised his left wrist, his right hand coming down to slam the dial and transform.
Before his fingers could even touch the faceplate, Klein's left hand shot out like a viper, clamping down on Albedo's wrist with an iron grip.
"Did I say you could transform?" Klein whispered.
Albedo subconsciously looked up, his eyes widening in terror as he saw Klein's fist rapidly enlarging in his vision.
A sickening thud echoed through the courtyard. Albedo was knocked flat on his back by a single, devastating punch.
"Go! Beat him!" Klein commanded.
Kevin did not need to be told twice. He was the first to pounce, throwing his entire body weight onto Albedo and pinning the boy's left arm to the ground to ensure he could not reach the dial.
Klein and Ben immediately closed in, dropping to the ground and unleashing a flurry of uncoordinated but highly enthusiastic punches and kicks on the trapped Galvan.
"Hey, were you not acting super arrogant a second ago?!" Kevin shouted, throwing a wild hook. "Try being arrogant now!"
"You dare complain about my body?!" Ben yelled, delivering a swift kick to Albedo's ribs. "Look at how cocky you are!"
"How dare you punch me in the face?!" Kevin added, landing another blow. "Who the hell do you think you are?!"
The three of them grew more and more excited as the one-sided beatdown continued. Kevin seemed particularly enthusiastic, likely taking out his pent-up frustrations on Albedo simply because the kid looked exactly like Ben.
Standing a few feet away, Gwen watched the chaotic, dusty brawl unfold. She listened to Albedo's muffled groans of pain and the thuggish shouting of her boyfriend and cousins.
She let out a long, exhausted sigh, completely unable to bear watching the miserable scene any longer.
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