Bang! Bang!
The door swung open without resistance, and two knights stepped through. They moved slowly, methodically, their armor clinking softly as they scanned the alien warehouse with barely concealed fascination.
The technology surrounding them was incredible, artifacts and devices from dozens of civilizations, each one glowing with otherworldly power. But they were professionals. After a moment of awestruck hesitation, they forced their gazes back to the mission at hand, checking each corner, each shadow, each potential hiding spot.
Nothing. Nothing. Nothing,
Asher pressed himself deeper into the corner, his heart hammering against his ribs. His palms were slick with sweat as he flattened himself against the side of a cultivation pod, desperate to stay hidden.
Just stay still. Don't breathe. Don't move.
He tested the display case beside him, pressing his palm against the glass with all his strength. It didn't budge. Not even a millimeter.
Some kind of super-reinforced material. Probably alien-grade bulletproof glass.
His stomach dropped.
He couldn't break through quietly. The moment he made a move, every knight in the building would come running. The Omnitrix was still dark, still recharging, and without it, he was just a regular kid facing down two trained warriors in medieval plate armor.
Think. THINK.
His muscles coiled, preparing to spring. If it came down to a fight, he'd have to strike first and strike hard. One chance to take them both down before they could call for backup.
Just as he shifted his weight, ready to explode into action,
Squeak!
Asher froze.
The sound came from behind him, somewhere near the floor. He turned his head slowly, scanning the wall until his eyes landed on a small hole chewed through the stone foundation.
A mouse hole.
And inside it, staring back at him with beady black eyes, was the biggest rat he'd ever seen. The thing was the size of a small cat, its fur matted and dark, clearly some kind of mutant that had been feeding on whatever scraps the Forever Knights left lying around.
How long has it been since anyone cleaned this place? Asher thought incredulously. There's an actual giant rat living in their alien technology vault?
"That's the last corner," one of the knights announced, his voice echoing off the high ceiling. "If anyone's hiding in here, they're in that cultivation pod section."
"Stay sharp. Even if the target isn't transformed, we can't afford to be careless."
Both knights drew their weapons, energy lances that hummed with barely contained power, and began advancing toward Asher's position. Their footsteps were measured, careful, the trained approach of soldiers who expected danger at any moment.
Asher's breath caught in his throat. Ten meters. Eight. Six,
SQUEAK!
The giant rat burst from the cultivation pod beside him, scrambling across the floor in a panic of chittering terror. It shot between the knights' legs like a furry cannonball, bouncing off walls and equipment as it fled toward the exit.
Both knights jumped back, startled. Their weapons thrust downward reflexively, lance tips stabbing into the floor hard enough to crack the stone, but the rat was too small and too fast. It zigzagged between their attacks and vanished through the door.
The knights stared at each other.
Then, slowly, they lowered their weapons.
"Just... a rat," one of them muttered, sounding almost embarrassed.
"The abnormal sounds must have been it knocking into the display cases," the other agreed. "Triggered the motion sensors."
They grabbed the rat, still squealing in protest, and walked out quickly, clearly eager to put the humiliating encounter behind them.
Outside, Asher heard them report to the waiting patrol.
"Confirmed. Nothing abnormal inside."
"Good. That's one less room to worry about. Don't stay in there any longer than necessary, the Eternal Knight doesn't want anyone lingering near the collection."
The voices faded as the patrol moved on, their footsteps disappearing down the corridor.
Asher waited. One minute. Two. Three.
They shouldn't come back. Not without a very good reason.
He let out a shaky breath and rose from his hiding spot, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. His shirt was soaked through, clinging uncomfortably to his back.
That was way too close.
He reached for his collar, about to loosen it,
CLICK.
The door swung open again.
Two knights stood in the doorway. The same two knights who had just left.
Their eyes met his.
Time stopped.
For a single, frozen moment, nobody moved. Nobody breathed.
This is it, Asher thought, his mind racing through options. Fight or die.
He lunged toward the nearest display case, positioning himself with one hand raised above the glass. "Don't move! Either of you! If you call for backup, I'll smash every piece of alien technology in this room before they get here! You'll be executed for letting me destroy your collection!"
His voice came out ragged, desperate, the wild threat of a cornered animal.
The knights stared at him.
And then... they closed the door behind them.
"Ugh, finally! It's so hot in this armor!"
The voice was feminine. Familiar.
One of the knights removed her helmet, revealing a flushed face framed by orange-red hair.
Gwen.
She started stripping off the armor piece by piece, wrist guards, breastplate, the padded boots that had added several inches to her height. The second knight followed suit, pulling off his helmet to reveal Ben's relieved grin.
"Yes! It worked!" Ben pumped his fist triumphantly.
"Gwen?!" Asher's jaw dropped. "And Ben too? What, how, ?"
Ben opened his mouth, clearly preparing to launch into an elaborate explanation of his own genius, but Gwen cut him off with a sharp look.
"Let me. Short version." She spoke quickly, efficiently. "I found Ben strapped to an operating table. Knocked out the scientist about to dissect him. We freed ourselves, but the whole building was on lockdown. Then two knights came to search the room where we were hiding."
She paused, a small smile crossing her face.
"We ambushed them. Knocked them out. Stole their armor. The Charm of Luck guided us here."
Asher slumped against the display case, all the tension draining from his body at once. His legs felt like jelly.
"I was ready to go down swinging," he admitted weakly. "I thought this was the end."
"The Eternal Knight is going to be so mad when he figures out what happened," Ben said gleefully, looking around at the warehouse full of alien technology. His hand drifted toward a glowing reactor on a nearby pedestal. "Hey, should we just trash all this stuff? Smash everything and leave? That'd really ruin his day!"
The idea had a certain appeal. Asher felt a flash of vindictive satisfaction at the thought of the Eternal Knight returning to find his precious collection reduced to smoking rubble.
But then his mind caught up with his emotions.
"No," he said, pushing himself upright. "Wait. I looked at some of this stuff while I was hiding. Some of these components... they could actually help us."
His eyes swept across the warehouse with new purpose. No longer a desperate fugitive looking for escape, now he was a strategist surveying an opportunity.
"We're not just going to destroy their toys," Asher continued, a grin spreading across his face. "We're going to steal them. Turn their own weapons against them."
"Enhance our strength?" Ben scratched his head, confused. "But none of this stuff matches your watch."
"Not for the Omnitrix." Asher's gaze landed on a specific display case, one containing a crystalline chip that pulsed with soft blue light. His doctoral-level knowledge base (courtesy of Grey Matter's enhanced intellect during previous transformations) immediately recognized its function. "For you."
He crossed the room and pressed his face close to the glass, studying the component with growing excitement.
"This is a super-efficient energy routing chip," he explained, his voice quickening. "It's designed to optimize power distribution in mechanical systems. Originally meant for robotic applications, but the underlying principles..."
He turned to Ben, eyes bright.
"It's compatible with your arc reactor. If I integrate this chip into your suit's power systems, I can dramatically increase your armor's efficiency. Faster response times. Longer operation periods. Maybe even enhanced strength output."
Ben's eyes went wide. "You mean... you can upgrade my suit? Make me stronger?"
"Not just stronger." Asher was already mentally designing the modifications. "Right now, your battle suit is impressive, but it's running on salvaged technology and improvised components. This chip could bring it to the next level. Maybe even..." He trailed off, doing calculations in his head. "Maybe even epic-tier."
The current version of Ben's armor was powerful, sure. It let him lift the Rust Bucket, run at superhuman speeds, and fire repulsor blasts from his palms. But compared to what it could become with proper optimization?
The difference would be staggering.
Ben looked down at the arc reactor glowing softly beneath his borrowed knight armor. Then he looked back at Asher, a slow smile spreading across his face.
"Okay," he said. "Let's do it."
Gwen crossed her arms, glancing between her cousins with a mixture of exasperation and affection. "We're in the middle of enemy territory, surrounded by knights who want to dissect us, and you two are planning a tech upgrade?"
"Best time for it," Asher replied without hesitation. "They think we're still scattered and hiding. They're not going to search this room again, not after those knights just confirmed it was empty. We have a window."
He turned to the display case and began examining the locking mechanism.
"Besides," he added with a fierce grin, "the Eternal Knight spent years collecting all this alien technology. The least we can do is put it to good use."
Gwen sighed, but she was smiling. "Fine. What do you need us to do?"
"Watch the door. Let me work."
Asher's fingers found the case's release mechanism, a surprisingly simple magnetic lock that his enhanced knowledge allowed him to bypass in seconds. The glass slid open, and he carefully lifted the crystalline chip from its mounting.
The component hummed in his palm, warm with contained energy.
This is it, he thought. This is how we turn the tables.
The Forever Knights had captured Ben. They'd knocked out Grandpa Max. They'd hunted Asher and Gwen through the streets like animals.
Now they were going to learn what happened when they backed the Tennysons into a corner.