A crimson flash swept through the air, and the group reappeared inside the cafeteria.
After dropping them off, the warrior robots withdrew, dissolving into a wash of red light.
Cannonbolt, Diamondhead, and Kevin 11 stood together, scanning their surroundings in confusion.
This was the gladiators' cafeteria, packed with hundreds of powerful aliens.
Funnel-shaped fixtures lined the ceiling in neat rows, constantly pouring a stream of purple liquid onto the trays below. The sludge spiraled as it fell, resembling something utterly filthy, releasing a stench so foul it was hard to describe.
That was their meal for the day.
Calling it food was generous. It was prison rations.
Here, they were treated worse than animals, forced to do the most dangerous work while being fed the lowest-grade garbage.
"Ugh…" Diamondhead's face twisted in disgust. He had no intention of eating that stuff. It looked even worse than Grandpa's cooking.
Cannonbolt grinned, showing rows of sharp little teeth. "Well, we're here now. There's always a way out. But before that, we need a plan."
With a light hop, he jumped onto a chair and sat in line with the other "cellmates."
Diamondhead let out a long sigh. "Man, I really miss my Sumo Slammers cereal and strawberry milkshakes…"
Kevin stared at the filthy surroundings, his expression growing darker by the second as his fists clenched tighter and tighter.
Misshapen aliens, food that looked like sludge, floors so greasy and grimy they seemed untouched for centuries. Step on them once, and you'd probably have to scrub your boots a dozen times to get clean.
"I've had it!" Kevin roared, rage exploding as flames burst from his fists. "I'm getting out of here! I don't care about any Slick crap. It's all bullshit! I'll kill them all, and then I'll escape!"
"Calm down, Kevin," Diamondhead said quickly. "Cuz already said we need a plan. We're all fitted with controllers now. If we try anything, we'll be punished. You don't want that, do you?"
"Shut up, Ben Tennyson!" Kevin shouted. "This is all your fault! You dragged me into this. You're responsible!"
He lunged forward, grabbing Diamondhead by the neck and lifting him off the ground.
In an instant, all the other "cellmates" backed away, clearing a wide space and watching from a distance, eager for entertainment.
"Oh wow, another fight. Who do you think wins this time?"
"Obviously the big guy. He looks rough, but he's huge…"
"I'm betting a full bowl of purple mud paste on the big guy!"
"I'll bet half a bowl on the green crystal!"
Diamondhead struggled in Kevin's grip, eyes wide with shock. He hadn't expected Kevin to turn on him like this.
"I'll kill you first," Kevin snarled, eyes wild, "then I'll go kill that Slix Vigma!"
His grip tightened relentlessly, intent on crushing Diamondhead outright.
Then, in the next instant, a terrifying force slammed into him from behind.
Caught completely off guard, Kevin was blasted face-first into the floor, stars exploding in his vision as he sprawled there in a miserable heap.
"Hah. Did you forget I was here?"
Cannonbolt had reverted to his human form. He brushed the dust from his hands and shot Kevin a look of pure disdain.
Diamondhead collapsed to the floor, still shaken. "Thanks, Cuz… good thing you were here. This Kevin… he's really beyond saving."
Before long, the commotion died down, and the crowd slowly returned to their seats.
Not long after that, Cannonbolt and Diamondhead reverted to their alien forms as well, sitting among the others and casually striking up conversations, their movements seeming relaxed but clearly deliberate.
"Hey, old buddy, how long have you managed to survive here?" Lucian asked, turning his gaze to the alien beside him.
The alien looked a lot like a squid. Its entire body was pink, and countless tentacles extended from beneath it, each lined with suction cups that clung tightly to the chair. Its skin, however, was covered in knife cuts and bruised fist marks, clear signs that it had endured more than a few brutal fights.
Lucian chose his words carefully. He didn't ask when the alien had been captured, only how long it had survived here, hoping to avoid stirring up resentment or hostility.
Sure enough, the squid-like alien froze for a moment, then looked at Lucian and smiled.
"Two years," it said. "You can tell at a glance you're new."
"Yeah, we were just brought in…" Lucian replied. His eyes swept across the room, and once he was sure no one was paying attention, he lowered his voice. "Old buddy, with conditions this bad, haven't you ever thought about escaping?"
The squid man burst out laughing. "Of course we have! Everyone's tried. It's useless. We can't beat those robots, and there are way too many of them."
Ben's heart jumped. He hurriedly glanced around. This squid guy was talking far too loudly, completely unconcerned about who might be listening.
Fortunately, the other aliens were still focused on their food. Only Kevin, seated across from them, shot a brief look their way before letting out a cold snort and going back to his lavish meal.
"It's fine. They're used to it," the squid man said, waving a hand. "New people get dragged in here every day, shouting about escaping. In less than two days, they're beaten into submission. After that, the idea of running doesn't even cross their minds."
With that, he scooped up a spoonful of the purple mud paste and stuffed it into his mouth.
Ben frowned deeply. "Oh, come on… does that mean we really can't get back?"
He stared at the bowl of purple paste in front of him, completely devoid of appetite.
The squid man shrugged and continued shoveling the paste into his mouth. "You'd better eat while you can. Once Technorg shows up, it'll be too late."
"Technorg? Who's that?" Ben asked.
A trace of fear flickered in the squid man's pitch-black eyes. "He's the current champion. The strongest alien here. No one can beat him."
"I'm lucky I haven't run into him in the past two years. Otherwise, I'd have died long ago. There's no way I'd still be alive."
"Technorg?" Lucian raised an eyebrow. The name sounded strangely familiar.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Heavy footsteps suddenly echoed from outside the cafeteria, growing closer by the second. The ground trembled with each step, rattling the trays on the tables, as if some terrifying beast were approaching.
Wherever the sound passed, aliens dropped to the floor, trembling as they prostrated themselves, not daring to show the slightest hint of defiance, as though welcoming their king.
Before long, Lucian got a clear look at the figure.
He was tall and powerfully built, his body packed with bulging muscles. His skin was a deep orange-yellow, and his golden eyes burned with a terrifying killing intent, as though he could destroy everything in front of him. It was an aura forged through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, enough to make anyone shiver.
The most eye-catching thing, though, was the meteor hammer in his left hand. Pitch-black and coldly gleaming, it radiated a chilling menace.
"That's Technorg," the squid man whispered urgently as he knelt on the floor. "If you know what's good for you, show some respect."
As Technorg strode forward, he casually grabbed meal trays from his fellow "inmates" and gulped down the purple paste in a single bite, as if it all belonged to him in the first place.
Every alien except Lucian, Ben, and Kevin was kneeling on the ground, frozen in fear, terrified of provoking Technorg.
Because Kevin was sitting closer to the cafeteria entrance, he quickly caught Technorg's attention.
"You," Technorg said coldly. "Why aren't you kneeling?"
Kevin let out a scornful snort, jumped down from his chair, and pointed at Technorg with a vicious glare. "You freak. Who do you think you are, telling me to kneel?"