Chapter 109: Klein
When Klein and the others finally made their way back to the Space Center, the atmosphere remained oppressively heavy. Above them, thick, bruised clouds choked the sky, refusing to disperse despite the passing hours. The unnatural darkness cast long, eerie shadows across the concrete pathways.
Ben kicked a loose pebble across the asphalt, his shoulders slumped. He looked up at his grandfather's solemn face. "Grandpa, are we going back to the Rustbucket now? I'm starving, and this place gives me the creeps."
Grandpa Max shook his head, his expression tight with unresolved suspicion. "No, Ben. We need to investigate Dr. Viktor's intentions a bit further. If we retrace his steps, perhaps we can uncover the identity of this 'boss' he mentioned earlier."
With a silent gesture, Grandpa Max took the lead, guiding the group back toward the security sector where they had previously reviewed the surveillance footage. The corridors were quiet, the usual hum of the facility muffled by the strange weather outside.
Just as Grandpa Max led them stealthily past a wide fork in the hallway, a voice echoed from around the corner, freezing them all in their tracks.
"Dr. Viktor, your new thruster design has been approved by the board."
The Tennyson family exchanged immediate, wide-eyed glances. The sheer impossibility of the statement hung in the air.
Ben rubbed his ears, his face twisting into a grimace. "Okay, how is that possible? I think I must have eaten way too many of those expired cornflakes this morning. I am officially hallucinating."
He nodded slowly, thoroughly convinced by his own flawless logic.
Gwen shot him a deadpan look, her lips pressing into a thin line. "Dweeb, as much as I wish that were true, I didn't touch your gross stash of expired cornflakes, and I heard it too."
Grandpa Max furrowed his brow, the creases on his forehead deepening. "Dr. Viktor shouldn't be walking around freely..."
Slowly, Grandpa Max turned his head to look at Klein, who was leaning casually against the wall with his hands stuffed in his pockets. "Klein... I don't suppose you have, uh, any plans to adopt another pet, do you?"
Hearing the accusation, Klein rolled his eyes and shrugged with exaggerated helplessness. "Grandpa, you can insult my cousin all you want, but you absolutely cannot insult my taste. I have zero intention of adopting that oversized Frankenstein knockoff."
Grandpa Max rubbed his chin, pondering the situation. If Klein had no intention of keeping Dr. Viktor as one of his mind-controlled lackeys, was it possible the boy had simply let the villain go? No, that made no sense. Releasing a dangerous alien operative offered no benefit. Could Klein really just be that bored?
Pushing the thought aside, Grandpa Max motioned forward. "Let's go take a look. Quietly."
The group crept down the corridor, following the fading echoes of the conversation. Peeking around the edge of an intersection, their eyes widened.
"It really is the big doctor!" Ben whispered loudly, his jaw dropping.
Grandpa Max and Gwen tensed, their postures shifting into defensive stances. Standing right there in the open, surrounded by ordinary human scientists, was Dr. Viktor.
Klein merely blinked, his face a mask of absolute calm.
Dr. Viktor offered a stiff nod to his colleagues, his glowing eyes briefly flicking in Ben's direction before he turned and walked away with the group of scientists, disappearing down an adjacent hallway.
Only when the heavy footsteps faded completely did Ben finally explode. "It really is him! How the heck did he escape?! Didn't the alien werewolf and the mummy take him down?!"
Gwen nodded slowly, her eyes tracking the empty hallway. "I thought so too. We saw them corner him."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go after him and kick his butt!" Ben slammed a fist into his palm, already taking a step toward the intersection.
Grandpa Max shot out a hand, grabbing Ben's shoulder and pulling him back. "Wait, Ben. Dr. Viktor is surrounded by his colleagues right now. We can't just attack him in the open; he might use them as human shields or hurt them in the crossfire. We need to figure out his actual objective first, then find a clean opportunity to take him down."
Ben and Gwen exchanged a frustrated look, but the logic was sound. They both turned back to Grandpa Max and nodded in agreement.
Through all of this, Klein remained entirely expressionless, watching the family strategize with detached amusement. The scene felt incredibly bizarre. Grandpa Max, Ben, and Gwen looked like intense players in a high-stakes mystery game, piecing together clues. Klein, on the other hand, looked less like a player and more like a bored staff member supervising an escape room.
To understand this strange dynamic, one had to rewind the clock by about ten minutes.
On their way back to the Space Center, Klein had suddenly faked a yawn and made a flimsy excuse to step away from the group. His actual plan was to go check on Blackie and the mummy, and then take care of a little unspeakable business off the books.
As long as he didn't vanish for too long, Ben and the others wouldn't suspect a thing. After all, how much trouble could someone cause in just a few minutes?
Of course, with the Another Omnitrix granting him access to Clockwork, the concept of taking 'too long' was entirely subjective. Time was just another toy in his arsenal.
Meanwhile, deep within the shadows of the abandoned aerospace station.
Snare-oh and Blitzwolfer had Dr. Viktor dead to rights. They were fully prepared to tear their former associate apart.
But they severely underestimated Dr. Viktor's cunning. The hulking alien suddenly launched into a desperate, emotional tirade. He spun a web of nonsense, playing the sympathy card, talking about their shared history, their struggles, and the grand vision they once shared.
The two alien pets, not exactly possessing the sharpest intellects in the galaxy, tilted their heads in confusion. The emotional manipulation scrambled their simple directives, and in their hesitation, they actually stepped aside, letting Dr. Viktor pass.
Dr. Viktor rolled his massive shoulders, stretching his stiff limbs. A cruel smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth as he prepared to make his escape.
Then, a lazy, familiar voice drifted through the stagnant air.
"And just where do you think you're going, big doctor?"
Footsteps echoed against the metal grating. Klein walked slowly out of the shadows, his hands resting casually in his pockets, his gaze locked onto the towering alien.
Hearing Klein's voice snap through the air, Snare-oh and Blitzwolfer instantly snapped out of their confusion. Realizing they had been tricked, they snarled and lunged forward to take Dr. Viktor down again.
But Dr. Viktor was faster. Knowing that the human boy was the one pulling the strings, he ignored the two beasts and launched his massive frame directly at Klein, his fists crackling with raw purple electricity.
Klein didn't even flinch. He calmly raised his wrist and activated the Another Omnitrix.
A blinding, ghostly blue light erupted in the dim station, washing over the walls and casting monstrous shadows.
When the brilliant flash faded, Dr. Viktor was no longer charging. He stood perfectly still, his arms hanging limply at his sides, staring blankly ahead. Standing before him was Whampire.
Slapped directly onto the center of Dr. Viktor's forehead was a small, screeching bat-like creature.
The Corruptura.
With the parasitic bat sinking its mind-control tethers into his nervous system, Dr. Viktor finally understood exactly why his former allies were acting like obedient dogs. The realization crashed over his suppressed consciousness. If he could have spoken freely, he would have only asked one question: Does the boss need another lackey?
Whampire, fully aware that Dr. Viktor possessed zero capacity to resist the mind control, casually retracted the Corruptura. The bat dissolved into energy, but the absolute dominance remained imprinted on Viktor's mind.
Whampire turned his back on the towering alien and glided toward a massive, discarded generator. Dr. Viktor followed silently, his heavy boots clanking against the floor in perfect rhythm with his new master's steps.
Behind them, Snare-oh and Blitzwolfer glared daggers at Dr. Viktor. They had nearly been killed by this traitorous former colleague just moments ago. Worse, they had let him trick them. If they didn't perform perfectly from now on, the new master's punishment would be unimaginable.
Whampire hopped up and seated himself comfortably on the edge of the discarded generator, crossing one leg over the other. Dr. Viktor looked around, spotted a sturdy metal crate nearby, and moved to sit down as well.
"Did I give you permission to sit?"
Whampire's voice was soft, cold, and dripping with aristocratic malice. His glowing eyes locked onto the cyborg.
"Stand."
Dr. Viktor snapped to attention so fast his joints popped. Cold sweat beaded on his gray forehead, his mechanical parts whirring in distress as sheer terror gripped his artificial heart.
Whampire rested his chin on his knuckles, his tone entirely indifferent. "Now. Who is this 'boss' you mentioned earlier?"
"An Ectonurite from the Anur System! His name is Zs'Skayr!"
Dr. Viktor spat the words out with desperate speed, delivering the fastest and most articulate sentence of his entire life.
Whampire raised a pale eyebrow, genuinely amused. "Who did you say?"
"Z-Zs'Skayr, sir! Did I say something wrong?" Dr. Viktor stammered, his massive frame trembling. He was terrified that a single mispronounced syllable might cost him his life.
Whampire tilted his head, feigning curiosity. "Isn't he already dead?"
Dr. Viktor swallowed hard, quickly explaining, "Ectonurites are incredibly difficult to kill completely. Even a single strand of his genetic material can allow his consciousness to survive in the darkness."
"So, your grand master plan was to resurrect him?" Whampire asked, already piecing the puzzle together.
Hearing this, Dr. Viktor hesitated for a fraction of a second, but the oppressive aura radiating from the vampire forced his mouth open. He spilled every single detail of the master plan.
He confessed his intention to resurrect Zs'Skayr fully. Once the Ectonurite lord returned, they would launch a specialized spacecraft into orbit. This ship was equipped with a massive Corrodium projector. Using the Corrodium stones they had gathered, the ship would blanket the entire Earth in Corrodium rays, forcibly mutating every living organism on the planet into monstrous, obedient thralls.
As the words left his mouth, Dr. Viktor felt a deep, sinking despair. He had just confessed to a plot to destroy Earth... to an Earthling. His life expectancy had surely just dropped to zero.
But he didn't dare lie. If he confessed, there was a microscopic gamble he might survive. If he lied, this terrifying boy would rip him apart without a second thought. Hiding parts of the plan wasn't an option either; the machinery was already built, the launch was prepped, and the evidence was everywhere. If Whampire found out he held back, death would be a mercy.
Whampire sat in silence for a long moment, the ambient hum of the abandoned station filling the void. He looked down at the trembling giant.
Slowly, a wicked, chaotic smile stretched across Whampire's pale face, revealing his sharp fangs.
"Continue with your plan."
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