Inside House's second-floor study, Tyler sat at the desk. He used his claws to gingerly navigate the mouse, booting up the PC. A password prompt immediately flickered onto the screen.
"Manageable," Tyler grunted. He dialed the Carnitrix.
With a surge of red light, The Glitch-Worm—a mass of black-and-red liquid circuitry—slithered out and enveloped the entire computer tower and monitor. The machine's fans roared like a jet engine as the Glitch-Worm bypassed the security protocols with a brute-force hardware override.
Windows popped up in a chaotic blur as the hard drive was stripped for data. Through the neural link, Tyler absorbed the information. Most of it was useless—games, junk files, videos—but then, a hidden partition opened.
Extraterrestrials. The Forever Knights. Submarine Fortress.
The data revealed that House was an obsessed alien enthusiast who had been selling "specimens" to an underground organization called The Forever Knights. They were based in a fortified facility in the outskirts of the city.
"If I remember correctly, those guys are bad news," Tyler muttered, detaching from the PC and reverting to his human form. "I need to get to that fortress and find Ben!"
The Forever Knight Fortress looked more like a military black-site than a fan club. Warriors in heavy, medieval-style high-tech armor patrolled the perimeter with laser lances.
Inside the lab, House was rubbing his hands together with a fawning grin. "I delivered the ghost-alien just like I promised. Where's my payment?"
The Knight Commander, clad in gold-trimmed plate armor, looked down at him coldly. "Payment? The specimen you brought us is practically dead. You should be paying us for the medical supplies we're wasting on it."
"What?! You're ripping me off!" House yelled, but he was promptly seized by two armored guards and tossed out of the laboratory.
The Commander turned back to the operating table, where the limp form of Ghostfreak was restrained by heavy tungsten chains. He picked up a high-frequency surgical laser. "Let's see what makes this 'shadow' tick. This outer skin... it's not organic. It's a protective layer."
WHOOSH!!
A massive, purple-veined tentacle erupted from the "skin," swatting the Commander across the room. The other knights raised their rifles, but the operating table was already empty.
"Hehehe..."
A chilling, gravelly laugh echoed from the rafters. Tentacles snaked down, coiling around the knights' throats like executioner's nooses. They were hoisted into the air, gasping for breath as their armor crumpled under the pressure.
"I've recovered," a voice rasped. Zs'Skayr peeled back his outer layer, revealing his true, terrifying form—an upside-down skull with a singular, bloody eye and a torso made of dark, writhing shadows. "It's time for a massacre."
"Kill it!" the Commander ordered, firing his laser.
Zs'Skayr vanished into the floor, playing a sadistic game of guerrilla warfare. He didn't just kill them; he cast dark illusions, causing the knights to fire on each other in a blind panic.
"Everyone, fall back to the main courtyard!" the Commander shouted. "Gather the full garrison!"
"Fall back?" Zs'Skayr hissed, drifting through a wall. "You don't have enough life left to reach the door."
Outside, House was watching the chaos with a manic grin until a shadow fell over him. "Kid," Zs'Skayr's voice whispered in his ear. "You're the one who sold me. You go first."
Outside the fortress, the survivors of the inner lab scrambled out, covered in soot and blood. The guards outside leveled their weapons at the door, expecting the ghost.
Instead, the roar of a beat-up engine filled the air. The Rustbucket drifted into the courtyard and slammed to a halt.
CLICK.
Inside, Tyler's Carnitrix screen popped up automatically. He didn't even look at the icon—he trusted the Predatory Targeting System. He slammed the dial.
The Knight Commander and his men aimed their lasers at the red light emanating from the RV. But as the door opened, their hands began to shake.
Out stepped a giant.
He was a mountain of crimson muscle, his four arms so massive they looked like they could crush boulders into dust. His skin was scarred and thick, and his eyes burned with an orange, predatory light.
The Quad-Sunderer.
"The Quad-Sunderer is even bigger than before!" Gwen gasped from the window. "He's terrifying!"
"I hope he's enough," Max whispered. "Ben's Omnitrix is so glitchy... if only it were as stable as Tyler's, we wouldn't be in this mess."
Tyler took a heavy step forward, the concrete cracking under his feet. "I only have one question," his voice boomed like thunder. "Where is Ben?"
"FIRE!!" the Commander screamed.
A hail of laser fire slammed into Tyler, obscured by a thick cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared, Tyler was still walking. Not a single burn marked his skin. His muscle density had reached a level where ordinary thermal weapons were nothing more than a warm breeze.
Tyler raised his four massive palms and slammed them together in a "Great Clap."
RUMBLE!!
A localized hurricane of kinetic force exploded outward, blowing the Knights off their feet and scattering them across the courtyard like dry leaves. The massive iron doors of the fortress were bent inward from the sheer air pressure.
"Clear," Tyler grunted, preparing to enter.
[Ding! Host defeated the Forever Knight Garrison and altered the timeline, allowing Zs'Skayr to manifest early. Progress +1%]
[Template Mastery: 22/100. DNA Unlocked: Advanced Plumber Physique!]
So I caused the ghost to wake up early, Tyler thought, cracking his four knuckles. Fine. I'll just hit him twice as hard.
The Quad-Sunderer (Four Arms Variant)
Traits: Dark crimson skin, excessive muscle mass, and biological "brass knuckles" made of protruding bone on all eight knuckles.Ability:Tectonic Shockwave. His physical strength is so high that his strikes create shockwaves that bypass armor.