The next day at noon.
A desolate grassland highway stretched into the distance, lined on both sides with towering white wind turbines. They spun endlessly, like silent white giants standing guard over the land.
The road, once perfectly intact, was now scorched black and riddled with cracks, as if a fierce battle had just swept through. The Rustbucket lay overturned nearby, every tire blown out, looking like an exhausted old man collapsed where he fell.
Grandpa Max stood beside it, staring at the heavily damaged vehicle before letting out a helpless sigh.
"Sigh… my old buddy. Looks like I'll have to take you to the doctor again."
At the edge of the road, Gwen stood perfectly still, her attention locked on the battle unfolding across the grassland.
Three massive figures flickered back and forth, slamming into each other with violent force. Deafening booms rang out one after another, and the ground trembled within a hundred-meter radius.
Two of them were Lucian and Ben. The third was Kevin.
Kevin had appeared out of nowhere earlier, ambushing the moving Rustbucket and flipping it over. Lucian and Ben transformed immediately and engaged him without hesitation.
Lucian was the first to act. He transformed into Cannonbolt, curled into a steel sphere, and smashed straight into Kevin, blasting him away and forcing the fight deeper into the open grasslands.
Ben followed soon after, transforming into Diamondhead and joining Cannonbolt to take Kevin head-on.
Boom!
Kevin threw a heavy punch that sent Diamondhead flying. He slammed hard into a wind turbine tower, leaving a clear, human-shaped dent in its surface.
"Ben Tennyson, you're still just as pathetic," Kevin sneered, his face twisted with mockery.
Diamondhead snorted coldly.
"And you think you're in any position to talk? Look at yourself. You're a complete freak now. You're ugly beyond belief."
"You're the one who did this to me!" Kevin roared, clenching his fists. "I'll make you pay!"
"You chose to absorb the Omnitrix's energy," Diamondhead shot back. "If you want someone to blame, blame yourself."
Kevin burst into wild laughter.
"I've got the powers of ten aliens at once now! I'm Kevin 11! You're not even in my league anymore!"
"Too bad," a voice replied calmly, "each one only comes with one-tenth of its strength."
A yellow sphere rolled in from the side, unfolding back into Cannonbolt as he stopped beside Diamondhead.
"Die!" Kevin shouted.
His crystal-covered right arm stretched forward, forming a long spear that gleamed with icy light as it shot toward them.
Diamondhead caught the spear barehanded and crushed it instantly. The crystal shattered into countless fragments, raining down onto the grass below.
Kevin 11 opened his mouth and spat out thick green slime. A foul stench filled the air as it splashed across Diamondhead's face.
"Now's my chance!"
Kevin 11 kicked off the ground, launching himself like a living cannonball straight at Diamondhead. As he charged, he beat his sharp wings hard, piling on speed and power, clearly intent on tearing him apart.
"Don't celebrate too soon."
Cannonbolt curled back into a ball, spinning violently as he rocketed forward with brutal force.
Kevin was still midair and had no time to dodge. The yellow metal sphere slammed into him head-on, sending him flying. He smashed through several wind turbine towers in a row before crashing awkwardly to the ground, his body covered in white debris.
Ignoring the pain, Kevin forced himself up and leapt away from where he had fallen.
Boom!
A split second later, the yellow iron ball came crashing down at that very spot, the impact blasting a massive crater into the earth.
Missing his target, Cannonbolt rebounded and returned to his humanoid form.
"Kevin," he said with a grin, "haven't seen you in a few days. Looks like you've gotten faster at running away."
"You… damn it!" Kevin bellowed, rage boiling over. "Lucian, if you've got the guts, fight me one-on-one!"
Before Cannonbolt could respond, Diamondhead charged forward.
"Kevin, you actually dared to spit on me?" he snarled. "I'm not letting this go today!"
Diamondhead's arms reshaped into sharp crystal spikes, gleaming as he rushed straight at Kevin.
Kevin didn't flinch. He roared back,
"Then come on! Tennyson!"
At the same time, Cannonbolt curled into a sphere once more, spinning at top speed and kicking up violent shockwaves as he slammed toward Kevin.
Just as all three were about to collide—
A strange red light suddenly descended from the sky, enveloping everyone in its glow and pulling them upward in an instant.
"Oh my god, what's going on?" Gwen cried out, staring into the sky, only to find nothing there at all.
...
In outer space, a blood-red spaceship drifted slowly through the void.
It traveled between countless planets, releasing a crimson beam at regular intervals that projected down onto a chosen world before repeating the cycle again and again.
The people who had just been swallowed by that red light now found themselves inside this very ship.
This place was the Interstellar Arena.
Powerful aliens from across the cosmos were transported here against their will, then forced into combat for the entertainment of spectators beyond the battlefield. Arenas of all sizes were scattered throughout the ship, where brutal, bloody fights played out without pause. Those brought here had no choice in the matter.
If they wanted to survive, they had to defeat the opponent standing before them, then brace themselves for the next match.
If they lost, what awaited them was total annihilation.
When Cannonbolt finally came to his senses, he realized he was standing at the center of an arena. Beyond the barriers, a sea of crazed spectators filled the stands, packed shoulder to shoulder, their shrill screams erupting again and again.
"Please give a warm welcome to Earth's challenger!"
A cold, mechanical voice echoed from above.
Whoosh!
The crowd exploded into cheers, even more frenzied than before. The deafening roar nearly split Cannonbolt's eardrums.
Clank. Clank.
Across from him, a towering robot strode forward.
Its mechanical eyes glowed blood-red as it gripped a pair of silver battle axes. Each step was heavy and deliberate as it closed the distance.
"Battle begins!" the voice announced once more.
Cannonbolt let out a cold snort as he watched the robot advance.
This kind of opponent wasn't worth worrying about.
The robot raised its axes high, then swung them down with brutal force, aiming to cleave Cannonbolt straight in half.
[Ding~ Triggered Alien Hacker Mission]
[Defeat the Battle Axe Robot before you]
[May obtain random enhancement effects]
A string of notifications echoed inside Cannonbolt's mind.
"In that case," he said calmly, "I guess you're just unlucky."
As the axe came crashing down, Cannonbolt didn't dodge. He simply raised both arms and blocked above his head.
Clang!
A sharp metallic crash rang out as the blade slammed into the back of his hand, sending sparks flying in all directions.
Cannonbolt stood completely unharmed.
The robot's axe, on the other hand, now bore a deep, glaring notch that stood out at a glance.
A flicker passed through the robot's gaze as it began frantically gathering crimson energy. The next moment, two scarlet laser beams burst forth from its cold, mechanical eyes…