"Then what are you going to do?!" Kevin demanded, his charade shattered. Viciousness flooded back into his expression, replacing the false humility in an instant. "Kill me? Good luck with that, you'll be wanted for murder! They'll hunt you down!"
"You really are troublesome to deal with," Asher admitted from within his Buzzshock form.
Kevin Levin presented a complicated moral problem. In the original timeline, Kevin had committed heinous crimes, attempted murder, terrorism, reckless endangerment of hundreds of lives. If Asher "accidentally" killed him now, no one who knew that future would blame him.
But this Kevin hadn't done any of those things yet. He was still just an eleven-year-old street kid with dangerous powers and a warped worldview. If Asher killed him here and now, how could he possibly justify it? Who would believe this boy was destined to become a monster?
"Let me go, and we can still work together to conquer the world!" Kevin tried a different tactic, spreading his hands in what was meant to be a magnanimous gesture. His voice took on that deceptively earnest tone again, the one that had fooled Ben in the original timeline. "You and I joining forces, no one could stop us! Think about it, Asher! We could have everything!"
He was more cunning than many adult criminals Asher had faced. More manipulative, more opportunistic, more willing to say anything to survive.
"Okay?" Kevin added, flashing what he probably thought was a winning smile.
At that moment, something strange happened.
The purple current crackling around Asher's small form began silently blending with the blue electricity still flickering weakly around Kevin's body. The two energies intertwined like serpents, purple tendrils reaching out to caress the blue.
Slowly, almost imperceptibly, Kevin's electrical energy started flowing into Asher. Just a trickle at first, a gentle current so subtle that Kevin didn't even notice it happening beneath his awareness.
That meant something incredible:
Asher had the power to absorb Kevin's ability entirely!
'This could work,' Asher realized, his mind racing through the implications. 'I can solve this problem permanently without killing him.'
"Kevin," Asher said aloud, his voice carrying absolute finality, "your superpower is the root cause of your corrupted personality. It's a bomb waiting to explode at any moment. I can't leave something that dangerous in your hands."
He extended one small purple hand and seized Kevin's wrist in a grip that crackled with overwhelming electrical energy!
"What?!" Kevin's expression transformed into genuine terror.
He looked down and watched in horror as the blue electrical aura surrounding his arm began flowing away like water circling a drain. The energy drained from his body in visible waves, disappearing into the purple creature holding him. His connection to the power he'd possessed since birth, the power that had defined his entire existence, grew weaker and weaker with each passing second!
His ability was being stolen!
Only then did Kevin understand the depth of his mistake. Only then did true fear grip his heart. His superpower had been everything to him, his means of survival, his path to greatness, his weapon against a world that had rejected him. Without it, he was nothing!
"No, no, please!" Kevin begged, his voice cracking with desperation. All pretense of manipulation vanished, replaced by raw panic. "Please, Asher, don't do this! I need it! I'll die without it! PLEASE!"
Asher ignored the pleading completely.
The purple aura surrounding his Buzzshock form intensified dramatically, crackling with ever-greater power. He could feel Kevin's electrical essence flowing into him, becoming part of his own abilities. The original strength of his Buzzshock transformation was increasing, not temporarily, but permanently!
The sensation was intoxicating. Pure power, distilled and absorbed.
"AHHHHHHH!" Kevin's scream tore through the alley.
The last traces of blue electricity flickered out around his body like dying embers. The purple current from Asher's hand shocked him one final time, and Kevin collapsed to the ground, writhing and rolling in agony!
"It's done," Asher said quietly, retracting his hand. He took a deep breath, feeling the settled weight of his enhanced power. "I've completely absorbed it."
Kevin's superpower, his curse and his crutch, had helped Buzzshock grow significantly stronger. More importantly, it had given Asher greater confidence to face future threats.
(TL: I know what most of you guys are gonna say: Kevin is an Osmosian, his ability is absorption of Matter and Energy. All I gotta say is that, I'm only an Editor, not the Author 😅)
Especially Vilgax and his endless robot army.
"You... you took it from me!" Kevin gasped between sobs. He clawed at the dirty alley ground with both hands, his fingernails scraping against gravel and grime. His voice came out in a piercing wail of loss and rage, "Give it back! Give it back to me! It's MINE!"
He sounded less like a person and more like a wounded animal, a beast that had lost everything it valued.
"Wait here," Asher commanded, his tone allowing no argument.
He gave Kevin one last cold glance before transforming back to his human form in a flash of green light. Then, running with incredible speed, he vanished from sight entirely.
Two minutes later,
Kevin was still on the ground, cursing under his breath, his words too quiet to make out clearly. His hands trembled as they clutched at nothing, at the absence of power he'd never recover.
Then Asher returned.
There was something in his hands this time, a wad of cash, several hundred dollars at least. Without ceremony, he tossed the bills down in front of Kevin.
The money fluttered to the ground, some bills landing on the dirty pavement, others settling near Kevin's knees.
"What, what is this?" Kevin stammered, his expression shifting to shocked confusion. His hands shook as he reached for the nearest bill, hardly daring to believe what he was seeing. "Money? You're... you're giving me money?!"
He'd expected punishment. Expected abandonment. Expected Asher to just leave him powerless and alone to rot in the streets.
He never expected this.
"That money is compensation for the ability I took from you," Asher explained, his voice firm but not unkind. "I won't let you die, Kevin. You can take that cash and start somewhere new, or you can use it to survive until you find legitimate work."
He paused, meeting Kevin's eyes directly.
"Return to a normal life, Kevin. Live like a regular person. That's the best thing you can do."
Asher gave him no chance to respond. In another burst of speed, he disappeared into the evening air, leaving only the fading echo of displaced wind behind him.
Kevin was left kneeling in the alley, surrounded by scattered bills, with only the faintest trace of electricity still flickering weakly in his body, far too little to be useful, barely enough to power a light bulb. His superpower was functionally gone.
He'd become ordinary.
When Asher returned to the hotel, his expression carried a complicated mix of emotions.
'That was the best ending I could give him,' he thought, still questioning whether he'd made the right choice. 'At least, I think it was.'
Of course, there was a high probability Kevin would burn through that money eventually. Maybe in weeks, maybe in months. And once it was gone, he'd most likely end up in a juvenile detention center for one petty crime or another.
But at least that would be a normal life. A human life, with human consequences. Better than the alternative, better than letting him keep spiraling into true monstrosity, better than the path that would have ended with Kevin as a dangerous mutant amalgamation of stolen powers.
Better than what would have happened if Asher had done nothing at all.
"God," Asher muttered to himself, shaking his head with a wry smile, "I've dealt with so many aliens and weirdos that sending someone to juvie seems completely normal to me now. What does that say about my summer vacation?"
His standards for "handling problems" had certainly shifted since finding the Omnitrix.
"Asher, you're back!" Ben's cheerful voice called out from across the hotel's buffet restaurant. He was still working through another plateful of food, balancing a tower of selections that defied structural logic. When he spotted Asher, he waved enthusiastically.
"Ben, you're still eating?" Asher asked, walking over with raised eyebrows. Then his stomach rumbled, reminding him he hadn't eaten anything since the encounter with Kevin. "Actually, forget it, I'm starving too!"
He grabbed his own plate and threw himself into the simple happiness of good food.
The hotel buffet was genuinely excellent, a spread worthy of the luxury establishment they were staying in. Rich flavors, diverse options, and unlimited portions. It was exactly what Asher needed to clear his head.
That afternoon, Gwen organized a swimming activity in the hotel's impressive pool facility. Ben and Asher spent the time relaxing in the luxurious, air-conditioned private entertainment room, alternating between watching TV and playing video games.
Following Ben's example, forgetting the unpleasantness and enjoying summer, allowed Asher to have a very full and genuinely happy afternoon. No aliens, no fights, no moral dilemmas.
Just normal summer vacation fun.
When night fell, Max insisted on taking all three of them out for a trip to the nearby supermarket. They needed to stock up on "food supplies" and other essentials before continuing their journey.
"Haha, I hope that when we get to the supermarket this time, there won't be some weird guy riding a giant frog waiting for us," Asher joked as they walked down the street. The cool evening breeze felt refreshing after the hotel's air conditioning. "That would be a nice change of pace."
"Without anyone helping him, Donkey Face is probably never getting out of that mental institution," Max replied with undisguised satisfaction. He clearly didn't like criminals very much, especially ones who endangered his grandchildren. "That guy made his bed. Now he's stuck in it."
The group chatted casually as they made their way toward the supermarket, enjoying the peaceful evening.
None of them noticed what was happening far above.
Seven or eight small robots had broken through Earth's atmosphere, descending through the darkening sky like mechanical shooting stars. Their advanced scanners locked onto something specific in the crowd below, zooming in, focusing with mechanical precision, then magnifying the image even further.
The target: the Omnitrix on Asher's wrist.
The scanners processed the visual data, cross-referencing it with their programming. Identification protocols activated. Confirmation algorithms ran their course.
"Target confirmed," one robot transmitted to the others. "Omnitrix located."
It was a small, combat-type reconnaissance drone. After confirming its target, weapon systems deployed automatically, turret arrays clicking into position. Its body shifted configuration, taking on the disc-like appearance of a flying saucer, and it accelerated rapidly toward Asher's position!
Another wave of Vilgax's machine army had arrived.
And they were coming fast.
"Hmm?" Asher's instincts flared a warning. He heard the high-pitched whine of something cutting through air at high speed. Spinning around, he caught sight of exactly what he'd feared, a small combat robot that looked painfully familiar against the night sky!
And it wasn't alone. More were coming, densely packed formations, moving like a swarm of mechanical locusts descending on their location!
"Oh, wonderful," Gwen said with heavy sarcasm, covering her face with both hands. "It's this particular ugly mug again. I was really hoping we were done with these things."
"Honestly, Asher," Ben added, his expression caught somewhere between serious and joking, "if I didn't know for certain that Vilgax was after the watch on your wrist, I'd swear these robots had developed a crush on you! They just keep coming back!"
"Of all our enemies," Asher muttered, already moving into action, "Vilgax is definitely the most annoying!"
With that declaration, he broke into a sprint. Max and the others provided cover and defensive positioning, giving him the space he needed. Asher dove skillfully into a narrow side alley, vanishing from the robots' direct line of sight.
The drones lost their visual lock. They swarmed around the area like headless flies, scanning frantically, their targeting systems struggling to reacquire him in the maze of urban architecture.
"If I want to deal with you mechanical pests," Asher said to himself in the shadowy alley, "I need to choose the perfect counter."
His hand went to the Omnitrix. He cycled through the available transformations, considering his options carefully. Then he smiled, this situation called for going back to where it all began. Back to the very first transformation he'd ever used.
The alien that had started this entire journey.
He pressed down on the Omnitrix's activation core with decisive confidence.
HEATBLAST!
WHOOOOSH!
The entire dark alley was suddenly illuminated by fierce, brilliant flames!
Fire erupted from Asher's transforming body, casting dancing shadows on the walls and bathing everything in warm, orange-red light. His human form was consumed by the transformation, replaced by the plasma-based life form covered in volcanic rock plating.
Seven feet of living magma and controlled fire stood ready for battle.
"Alright, Vilgax," Heatblast said, his voice carrying the crackling undertone of burning embers, "let's see how your robots handle this."
He stepped out of the alley, fists already beginning to glow with building heat.
The real fight was about to begin.