Upgrade's active taunting made Kraab's optical sensors flash with fury. The cybernetic mercenary lifted his four scythe-like legs with deliberate menace, striding toward the amorphous alien with mechanical precision. "I'm afraid this pathetic creature has no combat ability whatsoever!"
"Really? My fist can crush you." Upgrade's voice carried casual confidence as he raised his liquid-metal fists, swaying from side to side like a boxer entering the ring.
"Hm?" Kraab paused, his cautious nature overriding his anger.
His data scanners immediately locked onto Upgrade's raised fists, analyzing threat levels with ruthless efficiency. After being defeated repeatedly by Asher's alien transformations due to underestimation, the bounty hunter had learned his lesson the hard way. He'd gone from an arrogant mercenary to a cautious one, and that vigilance had kept him alive across a hundred battlefields.
The data display showed pitiful results. Upgrade's physical power registered as laughably weak compared to combat-grade specifications.
Kraab's synthesized voice erupted with triumphant mockery. "You idiot! You just chose the weakest alien in the entire Omnitrix!"
He accelerated instantly, closing the distance in three powerful strides. His massive pincer claw opened wide like a predator's jaws, snapping toward Upgrade's waist with crushing force!
"Just try it! I'll show you if I'm the weakest alien hero!" The circle representing Upgrade's eye contracted slightly. His body bent forward, completely ignoring the incoming attack as both hands shot out and latched onto Kraab's metallic shoulders!
SPLOOSH!
In the next instant, something impossible happened.
Upgrade's solid form suddenly transformed into liquid, his entire body flowing like mercury as it splashed across Kraab's metallic chassis! The cybernetic mercenary's deadly pincer passed harmlessly through empty space where Upgrade's torso should have been!
"What?!" Kraab's head jerked in confusion.
His threat assessment systems detected no danger from the spreading liquid metal. Naturally, he dismissed the transformation as irrelevant.
SSSHHHHK!
However, he regretted that assumption within seconds.
As Upgrade's liquid form enveloped Kraab's body, the pincer sliced cleanly through Upgrade's distributed mass, severing what appeared to be upper and lower body sections, yet the attack accomplished nothing!
Upgrade had transformed into a second skin that covered every centimeter of Kraab's metallic body, bonding with the technology like an epic-tier equipment upgrade!
Even the optical sensors on Kraab's head were overlaid with a large circular pattern representing Upgrade's eye. The distinctive symbol glowed bright green against the dark metal!
The entire cybernetic body now featured Upgrade's characteristic circuitry texture, as if the two beings had merged into a single hybrid entity!
Then everything went silent.
Kraab's body stood motionless. Upgrade's voice had vanished. To outside observers, it appeared both combatants had somehow destroyed each other in mutual annihilation.
"What happened?" Ben stared at the frozen figure in the distance, his heart pounding.
"Why isn't the shapeshifting alien making any sound?" Gwen's voice trembled with worry.
"Asher should have used Four Arms to smash both of them together!" Ben protested anxiously.
Max and the others watched the silent battlefield, their anxiety mounting with each passing second. They knew Asher possessed incredible power. They'd seen him defeat vicious monsters through sheer combat ability.
But this was a brutal fight with no room for error! Vilgax's mercenaries could lose countless times and return for revenge. If Asher lost even once, he would die!
They couldn't help but worry.
"What's going on with that kid?" Even Tetrax raised his crystalline eyebrows, an uneasy feeling settling over him. This unnatural silence made the veteran mercenary deeply uncomfortable.
Inside Kraab's motionless body, an invisible war raged!
The central processing unit, equivalent to the cybernetic mercenary's brain, burst with desperate resistance! This core consciousness was the only difference between Kraab and the mindless drones that populated factories across the galaxy. It was what made him sentient, capable of independent thought and survival instinct.
Now that consciousness fought for its existence with everything it had.
"It's useless. When you met me, your fate was sealed." Inside the central processing unit, a miniaturized version of Upgrade competed against electromagnetic waves and defensive protocols, his voice calm and absolute.
The threat was nearly invisible, yet utterly overwhelming.
Kraab's consciousness recoiled in primal terror, resisting with desperate fury! He'd never dreamed that Upgrade possessed such a vicious method of attack. For robots, this was the ultimate nightmare scenario.
"Unexpectedly strong. Worthy of being a dedicated bounty hunter, a cosmic mercenary." Even Upgrade found the resistance troublesome. If he couldn't overcome Kraab's consciousness, he couldn't assume complete control of the cybernetic body.
Realizing he still had a chance, Kraab's consciousness rallied for one final desperate attempt. His hysterical electronic voice synthesized inside the contested processing unit. "You can't defeat me, brat! Neither of us can win! As long as the time runs out, you'll surely die!"
Shame colored his words even as he spoke them.
Relying on such underhanded tactics to defeat this terrifying child felt pathetic. But survival outweighed pride.
"You don't actually think I came unprepared, do you?" Upgrade's voice carried a mysterious confidence.
Then he activated something deep within the merged system.
Battle Mode!
When Upgrade triggered the mechanism, the entire cybernetic body seemed to awaken from dormancy. All the green circuitry lines running across Kraab's frame shifted to brilliant crimson red!
Upgrade's arms reconfigured themselves into a pair of dual turrets, instantly targeting the central processing unit where Kraab's consciousness made its final stand.
Electromagnetic waves meant nothing to these weapons. Defensive protocols were completely bypassed!
SHRREEE!!
As both turrets flickered with muzzle fire, two miniaturized shells shot forward through the digital architecture.
Kraab's consciousness felt absolute despair wash over his awareness. He had just enough time for one bitter final transmission.
"I hate this planet and everyone on it!!"
If given another chance, he would never have come to Earth. He wouldn't have pursued this cursed mission. He wouldn't be dying in this miserable backwater world!
But regret changed nothing.
The shells struck home, and Kraab's consciousness shattered into digital fragments that dissolved into meaningless static.
Outside the hybrid body, time continued to pass. The battle situation remained frozen in apparent stalemate.
SixSix didn't dare make a rash move. If he accidentally damaged Kraab in a misguided rescue attempt, his fellow mercenary would probably turn hostile immediately.
WHIRRRR!
Suddenly, something changed.
The circuitry pattern covering the merged body transformed from green to vivid red, dazzling and eye-catching. Unlike Heatblast's natural fire-red coloring, this crimson had a distinctly electronic, mechanical quality that radiated controlled power!
"Why did it turn red?!" Ben's eyes widened with shock.
"What happened?" Gwen stared at the transformed figure, searching for any clue.
Every observer focused intently on what they all thought was still Kraab's body.
Then the head slowly lifted.
The circular eye, now blazing red instead of green, focused directly on SixSix hovering in the air. The corner of the mouth twisted into a predatory grin. "Your turn now, you elusive fly."
That voice was unmistakably Upgrade's!
SixSix's expression shifted to stunned disbelief visible even through his helmet. He stared at the transformed mercenary below him. "Why did you change like that? Your voice became that brat's voice!"
"Let me explain briefly." Upgrade's synthesized voice carried casual satisfaction as he stood in Kraab's hijacked body. "I possessed this guy and erased his central processing unit, which is essentially his consciousness. Now this body is just an empty shell. The consciousness controlling it is me!"
Max lowered his arms from their crossed position, relief washing over his weathered features. "That kid pulled it off."
Upgrade now commanded both Kraab's superior mechanical body specifications and his own technological manipulation abilities simultaneously. It was the perfect fusion of raw power and adaptive intelligence!
"Erase? He erased it?!" Tetrax sucked in a sharp breath of disbelief.
Why was this alien's ability so devastatingly effective? He could directly eliminate a robot's central processing unit and occupy the body wholesale! This wasn't just technology manipulation. This was a robot's worst nightmare made manifest!
SixSix's mind reeled with the implications.
They'd assumed Upgrade was a weak alien unsuited for direct combat. However, Asher had demonstrated once again that his mastery of the Omnitrix's transformations went far beyond surface-level understanding.
There were no weak aliens in the Omnitrix. Only weak users who failed to unlock their true potential!
"So then." Upgrade's voice dropped to a menacing growl as he spoke through Kraab's audio systems. All four mechanical legs bent simultaneously in preparation. "Are you ready to die?"
WHOOSH!
Between one heartbeat and the next, the hijacked body launched skyward like a rocket! Upgrade cleared the distance to SixSix in an impossible leap that defied the mercenary's aerial advantage!
CLANG!
Kraab's massive pincer claw opened wide and snapped shut with mechanical precision, catching SixSix around the waist from both sides with crushing force!
Just like a crab seizing its prey!
The entire sequence happened so suddenly that SixSix barely had time to process the threat. His mind remained locked in a dazed state of disbelief as the metal jaws closed around his armored torso with inexorable strength!