Chapter 57: Way Big VS Enhanced Mechanical Giant Squid
The dark, crushing depths of the ocean offered no comfort. Ripjaws—the Ben iteration—floated with his webbed claws raised, his glowing eyes darting frantically through the murky water. Beside him, the second Ripjaws hovered in absolute, unnatural stillness. Klein didn't even bother to raise his guard.
The colossal mechanical squid cared nothing for their differing postures. Its metallic chassis groaned under the water pressure, leaking thick streams of black oil from the joints Klein had nearly dismantled moments prior. Its singular, glowing optic locked onto the two strange fish. It wanted nothing more than to tear them into bloody chum.
Massive, steel-plated tentacles whipped through the water, churning the sea into a chaotic vortex. Ben bared his razor-sharp teeth. Without a second thought, he kicked his powerful tail, preparing to launch himself headfirst into the mechanical meat grinder. Win or lose, he was going to bite something.
He narrowly twisted past the first sweeping strike, but his momentum died instantly. A harsh, high-pitched beeping echoed through the water. The Omnitrix dial on his chest flashed a glaring, warning red.
"You useless piece of junk!" Ben's garbled, underwater voice bubbled with pure frustration. "Whose side are you even on?!" He thrashed his tail, nearly driven mad by the watch's notoriously terrible timing.
"Ben. Get out of here." Klein's voice cut through the water, calm and entirely devoid of panic.
Ben whipped his head around, his luminescent eyes wide. "What about you? Come with me! We can swim up and figure out a plan to trash this oversized calamari later!"
"No." Klein shook his head slowly, his expression flat. "I'm dealing with this right now."
Ben's aquatic face contorted with sudden, overwhelming emotion. In his mind, a tragic, heroic score swelled. His cousin was staying behind to hold off the monster. He was sacrificing himself for the greater good.
"Cousin!" Ben shouted, bubbles erupting from his gills. "Don't do this! You don't have to face an unwinnable battle just to save me!"
Klein blinked. He stared at his younger cousin, utterly baffled by the sudden melodrama. He had no idea what kind of tragic movie script Ben was writing in his head. He just wanted to scrap the stupid squid because it had annoyed him.
"Unwinnable?" Klein muttered, his tone dripping with dry confusion. "What are you even talking about?"
Ben dramatically wiped at his eyes—though whether a Ripjaws could actually cry underwater was highly debatable—and gave one last, solemn nod. Knowing his transformation was seconds away from expiring, he turned his powerful tail and shot upward toward the distant, shimmering surface. If he stayed, he would only be dead weight.
Klein watched him go, shaking his head at the sheer theatricality of the kid. He shrugged his scaled shoulders indifferently, then slowly turned his gaze back to the towering mechanical monstrosity looming in the depths.
He raised his webbed hand and slammed it directly onto the faceplate of the Another Omnitrix.
"Way Big!"
A blinding, silent flash of azure light erupted, illuminating the pitch-black ocean floor. The water displaced violently, sending massive shockwaves rippling outward. Where a human-sized fish once floated, a colossal, fifty-meter-tall titan now stood.
Way Big planted his massive, armored feet into the seabed, kicking up clouds of silt. Yet, even at his towering height, the mechanical squid dwarfed him. Its sprawling, metallic tentacles stretched for hundreds of meters, casting long, menacing shadows across the ocean floor.
The machine wasted no time. A massive tentacle lashed out, cutting through the water like a steel whip aimed directly at the titan's chest.
Way Big didn't even flinch. He casually raised his left hand, catching the incoming strike with a deafening metallic clang. The water around them boiled from the sheer kinetic impact. With his right hand flattened into a rigid blade, he brought it down in a brutal, sweeping chop.
The thick steel snapped like a dry twig. The severed appendage drifted away, bleeding a thick, murky cloud of black oil into the surrounding currents.
Standing amidst the crushed, scattered ruins of the underwater resort, Way Big leaned forward. He kicked off the ocean floor, his massive frame displacing thousands of tons of water as he charged. The squid retaliated, sending a flurry of mechanical limbs forward, but Klein was faster. He closed the distance in an instant, his giant hands shooting out to seize the thrashing metal cables.
A strange, primal satisfaction washed over him. Ever since snapping that first limb, a deep, almost obsessive urge had taken root in his mind: he wanted to rip every single one of those annoying tentacles straight out of their sockets. It was an itch that desperately needed scratching.
Way Big gripped a thick tentacle in each hand. He planted his feet, locked his shoulders, and pulled. The metal shrieked in protest before violently tearing away from the main chassis, sending shockwaves of displaced water crashing against the seabed.
Enraged, the mechanical beast surged forward. Its remaining tentacles lashed out like angry vipers, coiling tightly around Way Big's arms and legs. Using the titan's own body as use, the squid reeled itself in, dragging its massive, grinding mouthparts directly toward Klein's chest. The spinning, razor-sharp gears gnashed furiously against his armored skin.
Sparks flew wildly underwater, but the grinding metal failed to leave even a single scratch on the cosmic titan's hide.
However, the sheer volume of the squid's limbs created a frustrating problem. With every remaining tentacle completely wrapped around his limbs, the two giants became a tangled knot of flesh and metal. Every time Way Big moved, he dragged the entire dead weight of the colossal machine with him.
Suspended in the water column, the squid had no anchor to the ground. Its sprawling limbs were far longer than Way Big's arms, completely neutralizing his use. He couldn't push the beast away, nor could he get a proper angle to rip the remaining cables free.
The grinding gears continued to spark uselessly against his chest. Neither side could deal any real damage. The chaotic underwater brawl had devolved into a highly annoying, high-stakes wrestling match.
But Klein was never one to tolerate an annoyance for long.
After a few experimental tugs yielded no results, he changed his tactics. Instead of fighting the entanglement, Way Big simply let himself fall. He tipped his massive frame sideways, using his own immense gravity to drag the mechanical squid crashing down toward the ocean floor.
The seabed shuddered violently upon impact, kicking up a massive storm of sand and debris. Pinning the squid's main chassis into the dirt with his left hand, Way Big freed up his right arm. He began rotating his wrist, deliberately coiling the slack of the metal tentacles around his own forearm like a spool of thread.
Once the steel cables were pulled taut, he braced his knee against the machine's body and yanked upward with terrifying, explosive force. The ocean groaned as the remaining tentacles wrapped around his arm were violently ripped from their sockets in one brutal motion.
With the beast firmly anchored beneath him, the rest was simple dismantling. Way Big systematically went to work, grabbing the flailing metal limbs and tearing them off one by one, tossing the mangled scrap metal aside like discarded toys.
He didn't stop until the very last tentacle was severed. Stripped of its weapons, the once-fearsome mechanical giant squid was reduced to a helpless, sparking metal cylinder, completely immobilized in the mud.
Way Big rose to his full height. He lifted his massive foot and planted it firmly onto the lower half of the squid's elongated, cylindrical chassis, pinning it securely to the seabed.
Looking down at the ruined machine with cold indifference, he slowly raised his arms. He crossed his wrists in front of his chest, locking his hands into a precise, rigid cross. Energy began to gather, illuminating the dark ocean with a blinding, ethereal glow. He aimed directly at the upper half of the squid's head.
A devastating cosmic ray erupted from his forearms. The concentrated beam of pure blue energy instantly vaporized the water in its path, punching clean through the machine's heavy armor. The blast didn't just obliterate the squid's head—it carved a massive, glowing, bottomless crater straight into the bedrock of the ocean floor.
...
Meanwhile, on the surface.
The ocean swells were eerily calm. Grandpa Max stood at the edge of a motorized lifeboat, his eyes scanning the dark, rolling waves with deep concern. The surviving guests huddled behind him.
Suddenly, a faint red glow illuminated the water below. A second later, a small figure broke the surface. It was Ben, back in his human form.
"Quick, get him out of there!" Max barked, gesturing for the crew to help hoist the boy aboard.
Strong hands grabbed Ben's arms and hauled him over the rubber siding. He collapsed onto the deck, dropping to his hands and knees as he violently coughed up seawater, his chest heaving as he gasped for air.
Max immediately dropped to a crouch, placing a comforting hand on his grandson's back to help him up. Ben spun around and grabbed Max's shirt, his face pale and his voice cracking with genuine anguish. "Grandpa! It's Klein... Cousin, he... he stayed behind!"
"What exactly is wrong with me?"
A dry, familiar voice echoed across the deck. Klein casually strolled out from the interior cabin of the lifeboat, looking completely dry and thoroughly bored.
Ben froze. His teary eyes widened as he stared at the cabin door. "You stayed behind to... Wait, huh?! Cousin! You're alive!"
The sheer emotional whiplash hit him instantly. Forgetting his exhaustion, Ben scrambled to his feet and launched himself forward, tackling Klein in a massive, soaking-wet hug.
Klein immediately grimaced, peeling the dripping wet ten-year-old off his shirt with absolute disgust. He raised a hand and mercilessly flicked Ben right on the forehead. "Are you trying to curse me to death, Dweeb?"
In truth, Klein had been rather confused himself when he surfaced a few minutes ago and found no sign of his cousin. He certainly hadn't expected to beat the mechanical squid, swim all the way up, and board the lifeboat before Ben even broke the surface.
He had honestly assumed the idiot had timed out halfway up and drowned. He had been just about to dive back in to drag his lifeless body up when Ben finally popped out of the water.
Klein couldn't help but mentally critique the original Omnitrix. That warning light really flashed for an obnoxiously long time before actually timing out.
Max let out a long sigh of relief, watching the two cousins bicker. He turned to Donovan Grand Smith, the wealthy resort owner, who was slowly walking over with a dazed expression.
"How about that?" Max offered a gentle smile. "I told you, Donovan. Kids have a magical way of overcoming difficulties."
Donovan nodded, though his eyes were glazed over, staring blankly at the spot where his underwater empire used to be. "Hmm... yes. But my two billion dollars... completely gone. Sunk to the bottom of the sea."
His grandson, Edwin, stepped up and gently patted the billionaire's arm. "Look on the bright side, Grandpa. You still have fifteen other massive hotels, don't you?"
The reminder seemed to snap Donovan out of his depressive stupor. He pulled the boy into a tight, emotional embrace. "Edwin!"
Edwin hugged him back, though he muttered softly against his shoulder, "Grandpa, please just call me Ed."
Pulling away, Donovan looked much more like his usual, boisterous self. He turned back to Max with a renewed grin. "Max, next time, I'm personally inviting you to visit one of my terrestrial hotels. On the house!"
Max chuckled, quickly waving his hands in refusal. "I appreciate the offer, Donovan, but I'll have to pass. I only brought them along this time because the kids really wanted to see an underwater resort." He glanced over at Ben, who was currently rubbing his flicked forehead while Klein glared at his wet shirt. "After today? I have a feeling they won't be too interested in another hotel trip anytime soon."
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