Space Arena

For sale"Huh? This is stra... Whoa!!" Ben exclaimed as he narrowly dodged a giant knife swung at him. Although he dodged the attack, he still wondered what was going on. He had taken the form of Green Guard, and after he and Fred were beamed out, he found himself isolated in an arena. He could hear people cheering but couldn't ascertain what was really happening. For now, he focused on defending himself.

"Ben! Ben, can you hear me?" a voice crackled through his head.

"Huh? Fred, is that you?" Ben asked, dodging the attacking robot.

"Yeah, it's me. You fighting a crazy robot too?" Fred inquired.

"Yeah, what the heck is going on here?" Ben asked, frustration in his voice.

"Not sure. It seems we were kidnapped and placed in some sort of alien arena. Don't hold back; defeat your enemy," Fred instructed.

"Got it," Ben replied, summoning vines that grew from the robot's feet, entangling it. The vines spiraled up to its torso, piercing its face and short-circuiting it. The robot collapsed to the ground, and the crowd erupted in cheers. Ben reverted to his normal form, still unsure of his surroundings.

In an adjacent arena, Fred faced a similar robot. Unlike Ben, Fred stood still, conjuring a mana barrier as the robot attacked. His attention was elsewhere. "I better send out a distress signal to the Plumbers and deal with these guys fast," he muttered. He suspected everyone involved in this illegal arena was likely a bad guy.

Fred conjured a small dimensional pocket and disguised his Plumber badge. "Let's see if I can use this robot to hack into the main database of this ship," he mused. But first, he cast a spell. "Ben! Ben, can you hear me?" he whispered.

Soon, Ben's voice came through, and Fred guided him on how to react. "Good, now that that is done," Fred said, canceling the mana barrier. His arm turned blackish-purple, resembling Upgrade. The giant robot swung its blade, but Fred effortlessly caught it. Using his right hand, he began assimilating the robot. As he absorbed its arm, the robot swung its other blade horizontally. Fred jumped, avoiding the strike, and pulled his right hand, causing the robot's hand to come off.

Fred upgraded the arm he took, transforming it into a purple techy laser sword. He charged and dodged the robot's random swings, then sliced it in half, causing it to split apart. The crowd, initially disinterested, erupted in cheers at the unexpected turn of events. The wall on his left moved down, revealing the area beyond, and Fred and Ben were reunited.

"Fred!" Ben exclaimed, noticing Fred's laser hand. "What's going on, and where are we?" Ben fired a series of questions.

Red beams lit up beneath them, and they were teleported again to an unfamiliar place filled with other aliens. "Just follow along for now. We'll soon get out of here," Fred assured him.

An alarm sounded, and the other aliens sat in a line. Ben followed suit as purple goo was presented to them as food. "Uhhh, yeah, I'm good with purple goo," Ben remarked.

"You better eat before Teknorg demands his offerings," an alien warned Ben.

"Tekwho?" Ben wondered. He soon found out as an orange alien with mechanical augmentations entered. The others kneeled as Teknorg ate their food one by one. He stopped at Fred, who was blocking his way.

"Move, or I'll make you move," Teknorg demanded, but Fred stood his ground.

Teknorg swung his ball-club hand with full force, but Fred caught it effortlessly. The other aliens and a worried Ben watched in anticipation. The robot guards moved to press a button, shocking all the aliens.

"Interesting. Bring them to me," a mysterious voice commanded. Ben and Fred were teleported to a dark room.

"Okay, I'm really getting tired of this," Ben said, standing up. "We really are in space. How will we even get home?"

"This is your home now," a mysterious voice echoed. "My name is Slicks Thigma. This is the Mega Cruiser. Everything in this ship belongs to me."

"I've been waiting for this," Fred said, his eyes narrowing.

"Listen when I speak," Slicks commanded, ordering his robots to tag Ben and Fred with electric devices. But Fred used telekinesis to crush them instantly.

"Ben! Turn into Ghostfreak and rescue those alien gladiators! Tell them to head to the escape pods," Fred instructed.

Ben turned his dial, but he transformed into Upgrade instead. "Aww man, really?" Ben complained.

"It's fine, just use those robot guards," Fred said, sending a telekinetic wave that crashed the room, sending him and Slick to the arena below.

"How dare you!" Slicks yelled.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," Fred replied. "Let's get this over with, shall we?" He cast a large magic circle, and suddenly, everyone in the crowd found themselves cuffed. "No one will escape. You're all going to prison," Fred declared, activating his Plumber badge to send a distress signal. He also transmitted incriminating information from the main database to the Plumbers.

Using telekinesis, he pulled Slick towards him, punching him and sending him flying into the wall. He repeated this several times, ensuring Slick was thoroughly incapacitated.

Slicks fell to the ground, his body heavily damaged and unable to move. Fred made sure to keep him alive, ensuring he wouldn't cause any more trouble. "Good," Fred muttered, approaching him. With a finger partially transformed into Upgrade, Fred locked Slicks' link to the ship, rendering him unable to manipulate the robots or the ship itself.

Fred stood up and looked around, his eyes glowing purple as he scanned the area. Once satisfied, he teleported to where Ben was. The captured aliens were already hopping into escape pods and leaving the ship. Only one pod remained, and Teknorg waited alongside Ben as Fred arrived.

"Done. I sent a message to the Plumbers, and they'll arrive here soon," Fred announced.

"That's great, but we only have one pod left," Ben pointed out.

Teknorg kneeled before the two kids, his voice filled with gratitude. "You freed us from our captivity. My life is yours. Take the pod and leave."

"Well, that's something," Fred said, impressed by Teknorg's loyalty.

"He's been like this ever since," Ben muttered, shaking his head.

"We're cool, my guy. We have a means of escaping. Don't be bothered by this," Fred reassured Teknorg. With that, he teleported himself and Ben off the ship.

"I forgot about this," Ben said, marveling as they appeared in one of Fred's ships—the very first one he had claimed and remodeled.

The ship's interior was sleek and advanced, Ben's eyes widened in awe as he took in the sight. "This is something else"

Fred smiled, proud of his work. "I know right. Now let's get back to Earth."

The ship's engines roared to life, and they soared through space, leaving the Mega Cruiser behind.

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