2 Dust Bowl Brawl

10:23 AM

"Wake up Tennyson," a voice said.

"No Mom. I don't want to go to school today. I just want to stay home and bake cookies with you.

"Ugh… Benjamin K. Tennyson, you wake up this instant!" it yelled in annoyance.

"Aaaah." Ben woke up instantly to the yell.

"Finally," it said in relief.

It appeared that Ben was in the shade of a large plateau somewhere in a desert. Ben looked around for the source of the voice but found none. "Who said that?"

"I did," the voice replied back.

Ben looked at the Omnitrix in confusion. "What?" Suddenly, the faceplate opened up and projected a hologram of a small frog-like being.

"I've been trying to wake you for about an hour now." It sighed in relief.

Ben raised an eyebrow. "Azmuth? What are you doing here?"

"I'm not actually Azmuth. I'm the AI that runs the Omnitrix. Azmuth 10. Who do you think says all those indications to you?"

Ben just blinked. "I'm surprised about seeing an AI besides Eunice."

Azmuth 10 decided to explain. "The Omnitrix uses quantum computing to analyze all the DNA stored within along with monitoring the various functions. Azmuth couldn't trust any AI except one he made himself."

"So, why are you here now? You haven't shown up before."

"I was given this feature with the latest update you received. Whenever you lost connection to Primus, things tend to go poorly, so he allowed me to speak to you in such cases."

"Well, that's good because I happen to be in a bit of a pickle."

Azmuth sighed in annoyance. "What happened this time?"

Ben relayed the events prior to his arrival here.

"So you're one of the Sonosarian clones. Interesting."

"Interesting? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Remember when you split yourself using the Sonosarian DNA a while back."

"Yeah. I ended up causing trouble because of the different personalities."

"After you told me that, I was programmed to reduce mental side effects. At the moment, your mental state should be about equal to the originals. "

"Well, that sounds good. If we're able to get back home, do you think that we could recombine."

"I'm not so sure about that"

"Why?"

"Do you know how Sonosarians reproduce?"

Ben thought about Echo Echo. "Isn't the species just living sound in a suit?"

"Exactly. When Sonosarian clones are separated for long periods of time, their brain waves come out of sync. The clone becomes its own distinct consciousness. That's how they reproduce."

"So if I don't get home soon, I won't be able to recombine as one Ben."

Azmuth nodded "That is correct."

Ben sighed in relief. "That's not too bad. I'm alive. He's alive. Not the worse thing to happen."

Azmuth smirked at the response. "I'm glad to see such optimism in our current situation."

Ben shrugged. "Since we're pretty much stuck here with no way back, we should probably look for civilization."

"Indeed. I may be able to help you in that regard. Raise the Omnitrix above your head."

Ben did as requested. The hologram turned off, and energy emitted. Confused, Ben asked, "What was that?"

Azmuth began to explain. "I used a small pulse to locate large concentrations of sentient life. From where we are right now, there is a large city due west, but there are a few structures much closer. Due to the current environment, I highly recommend finding your bearings as well as some water and food."

Ben nodded. "Thanks for the help."

"I also report small traces of gamma radiation in the area"

"Radiation?! I'm not gonna grow another arm or get cancer am I?"

"There's no need to get worried, Ben. We are too far from the actual source for it to cause any damage."

"That's a relief, I guess."

"It's what I was made to do. If radiation levels become hazardous, safety protocols will be engaged. Call me again if you need further assistance."

"No problem." Azmuth closed the hologram function. 'Since I'm in the middle of nowhere, and it's still hours till nightfall, I better take the express path."

He scrolled through the watch and pressed the core. In a green flash, he became a yellow-armored alien. His head is similar to a Greek Corinthian helmet with two ears on it giving him the appearance of an armadillo. The most prominent features are the pistons in both arms.

"Armodrillo!" 'I hope this place has smoothies. It will be a long dig…' "Engage Lifeform lock."

"Lifeform Lock Engaged"

'Let's go.' Armodrillo jumps and begins digging his way across the wasteland.

Near the Las Vegas Strip (1 Hour After Arrival)

The occasional car passed the dusty road leading to Sin City. However, the average driver and passengers paid no attention to the yellow creature bursting from the ground. "Ah, nothing like feeling the sun after crawling through the darkness." Seeing the road, he moved behind some large boulders and reverted to normal.

Azmuth's hologram projected from the Omnitrix. "If you had followed my directions, we would have made it here in less than thirty minutes."

"You know what they say, Azmuth. It's all about the journey rather than the destination."

"Yes, but if that destination has the necessary supplies to survive, it will be best to get there quickly."

Ben nodded. "Point taken. I could go for some food."

"I highly recommend that you find your bearings."

Ben raised a brow at the nearby sign with an amused smile. "Would you look at that?"

"What?"

"We're on Earth and in Las Vegas. Sin City. The place of rags to riches and sometimes the other way around too."

"I take it that you've been here before?"

"Yeah. Back home, Kevin and I came here after my eighteenth birthday. I'm glad that they lowered the gambling age. We made a killing, figuratively speaking."

"Do you have a plan for acquiring funds for residence?"

"Yup. Right after we stop by to 'take care' of our paperwork, I'll take care of our starting money and work our way from there."

"Should I ask where this starting money is coming from?"

"I'd rather not describe it, but I will say that I'm gonna need some popcorn. Good thing I always keep cash on hand. Hopefully, this Earth has the same presidents."

Two Days Later at Mirage Hotel and Casino

A silver-haired woman sat at the poker machines, tapping away. Sadly, luck just wasn't on her side. A few feet away from her, a young man played, and the device paid out. It happened numerous times before she took an interest. "Looks like you got a loose one." She got up and slid into the seat next to him.

Ben looked up and smiled. "In this case, there's no such thing," he said.

She raised an amused brow. "What do you mean?"

"These machines run on random number generators." Ben tapped at his temple. "No brain, no bias. Technically, they are the best odds in the house though."

A wry smile appeared on her face. "I always thought Craps had the best odds," she said.

Ben slowly nodded before he focused on the machine in front of him. "True, poker odds are slightly worse at .7%, but if you apply simple strategy and mathematics and always draw for the royal flush, you can push those odds to 2%."

"Look at you, Mr. Highroller," she complimented. "How did you learn all that?"

"A friend of mine was interested in beating the house in the least inconspicuous way possible. He was trying to earn quick money for his girlfriend's anniversary. By the way, I never caught your name?"

"Pardon my manners. I'm Silver, Silver Sablinova." She held out her gloved hand pointed downward.

"A pleasure, Miss Sablinova." He held her hand gently and gave it a light kiss. "I'm Ben, Ben Tennyson."

"A man with manners is certainly hard to find these days. You've certainly caught my interest."

Meanwhile at Army Command

"Report, soldier," ordered General Ross.

The lackey replied, "Local police reported that a man fitting the description was sighted. They pursued but lost him."

The general's eyes narrowed. "It's him. The Hulk is in Vegas. Radio Samson at the Cube. Tell him to get a containment cell ready."

"Uh, General Ross, sir," another soldier called. "Why would Dr. Banner come here? He's stayed away from populated places for months now. He's stayed out of the country. Why come back now?"

Ross shook his head. "Right now, I don't know, and I don't care. We can get all the answers we want when he's locked away."

Highway 99 (1 Day Later)

A crimson Nissan 370Z sped down the open road. "See, Azmuth. I told you that Vegas was a good idea."

Azmuth's hologram on the dashboard rolled his eyes. "I never doubted that you would achieve your goal. Although, I must ask. Where are you headed?"

"I'm considering making a little road trip before settling somewhere on the east coast."

"I see. Also, I'm surprised that you picked up that hitchhiker about an hour ago."

"What can I say? The guy looked so thin and ragged. When he said that he needed a ride to a diner up the road, it seemed harmless. Besides-" Ben was cut off by silver and green behemoths jumping in front of his car. He narrowly braked and slid out of the way before they jumped off again. Taking a minute to breathe, Ben asked, "What the heck was that?"

"I'm not sure, but one thing is certain. The two are generating large amounts of Gamma radiation."

Ben sighed. "Looks like we're taking a detour."

Monument Valley (10 Minutes Later)

"HB-1 to Command. Target is in sight. It's touching down in Monument Valley. We are en route."

Two beings flew through the air as the green one smacked the silver one with the Las Vega sign. They crashed into the ground leaving a large crater behind. The silver man turned back into flesh, but he began absorbing the desert sand. To stabilize himself, he raced for the metal sign, becoming metallic blue. Immediately after, the green Hulk sent a fist right into his gut, leaving a fist indentation. He quickly repaired the damage. "Everything they said about you in the Cube was true. You've gone soft. " The metallic man proceeded to knock the Hulk around. "Is that it? Are you trying to be some kind of hero? Is that why you took us out here, to protect people? Well, I've got news for you, Hulk. Those people you're protecting, they think you're more of a monster than me!"

The Absorbing Man sent another fist only for the Hulk to catch and crush it. The Hulk then headbutted him several meters. Finally, he launched the blue being into the air with a seismic stomp and sucked punched him into the nearby plateau.

The Absorbing Man got back to his feet, standing in front of the Hulk. "Idiot monster. I can absorb anything, even rock." His body changed to the surrounding sandstone.

The Hulk only grinned before he blew his left arm into rubble. His opponent cowered in fear. "Hulk smash rock, Einstein."

Backing into the plateau, Absorbing Man pleaded, "Wait! Wait! You can't do this!"

Hulk grabbed him by the face. He slammed the rock man into the ground. "Watch me." Suddenly a strange beeping led their eyes to a missile headed right for them. An explosion rocked the entire area, launching both parties away. The Hulk was relatively okay, nothing severe. The Absorbing Man, however, was left as just a rock head.

As the Hulk stood up, another figure jumped onto the scene and looked at the Hulk. "I finally made it. Now, what the heck is going on here?"

Hulk looked away from the reptilian man and glared at the oncoming machines. "Ross..."

"Ross? Who the heck is Ross? You're not a bad guy are you?"

Hulk scoffed. "Don't know you, but long story short, the army general takes people like us and turns them into weapons."

"Ah…" Humungousaur glared at the oncoming army. 'Just like that scientist on Malacor.' Humungousaur's eyes drifted and widened at the severed head. "Please tell me you didn't kill that guy?"

Hulk raised a brow. "Him? Nah. He'll live. He can regenerate back to normal."

In turn, the head responded. "Don't just stand there! Help me up, you ass!"

"That's good, I guess." 'He kinda reminds me of Kevin, but I don't think Kevin can grow back limbs.' The two remaining giants looked at the oncoming tanks. "Any biosignatures there?" he whispered.

"Scans come up negative for all except the one in the rear," replied Azmuth from the Omnitrix

Humungousaur chuckled. "Good news, big green. The infantry are just empty robots. By the way, the name's Humungousaur."

"Hulk. It's time I let loose," he said while cracking his knuckles.

Inside the command center, Ross ordered, "All Hulkbuster units, open fire!"

Several artillery shells fired at Hulk and Humungousaur, and the two dodged or deflected them in return. One of the drone choppers shot down the Hulk while he was airborne. Machine gun fire rained down on both of them, creating a small dust storm, but they weren't strong enough to pierce either of their skins. The two drones stopped firing only to have the Hulk jump through the dust cloud and rip a cannon from its frame. Humungousaur launched several boulders at the second one, sending it crashing to the cliffside. Hulk climbed out of a crater and began to fire rockets at the ground forces. When he ran out of ammo, Hulk threw the cannon at another stray air drone. Meanwhile, Humungousaur started fighting off several Bulk-busters. He grabbed one by the barrel and began swinging it around like a Warhammer.

Back inside the command vehicle, Ross ordered, "Keep firing. Don't let him get away."

Suddenly, a strange voice comes over the speakers. "General Ross, withdraw your men now."

"This is a secure channel! Who is this?"

Hundreds of meters in the air, the ruby-haired spy responded. "Your superior, tovarich. Now back off."

"Time to target: two minutes. We have eyes on the target along with one unknown. Think you can handle it?" the pilot called over the loudspeaker.

Meanwhile, one of the soldiers in the ship readied a bow. "We've had worse."

The two goliaths below continued to decimate the robotic forces. Hulk looked straight at the command vehicles. "Don't think I forgot about you."

Humungousaur just finished off another H-buster and called out to his green ally. "Good job, man. We got all of 'em."

Hulk was still wary of the dino-man before him, but he seemed trustworthy for now. "Yeah…"

"Now we have to speak to this Ross character you mentioned. Civilly, of course."

"Only if he feels the same way…" muttered Hulk as the two walked toward Ross.

After only a few steps, a large ship casts a shadow over them. "Now, who are these guys?" asked Humungousaur. Hulk simply growled.

An arrow with cable is fired at the ground in front of them followed by two bolts to both of their chests. From the ship, an archer in purple rides to the ground while his female companion drops. Facing the two beasts, he smirks. "Tick, tick, boom." The arrows sound before exploding in both of their faces. Fire and smoke engulf Hulk and Humungousaur. To the agents' disappointment, they were completely unharmed.

Hulk glared at the two. "You should both run now, 'cause you just made me angry."

Humungousaur crossed his arms. "Yeah, and you won't like us when we're angry."

While Black Widow adjusted her gauntlets, Hawkeye continued the banter. "Really? 'Cause from where I'm standing, you look more beat up than angry." He slung another arrow from his quiver.

Hulk was about to charge in before Humungousaur held him back. "If we're going to do this, we take them down, not out, Hulk. I may be helping you, but we're not murdering government agents. That only proves their point about us being monsters."

"I know," he replied.

Hawkeye fired an explosive arrowhead on, and Black Widow dove in, After dodging his fists, she shot her stingers at Hulk's bareback. Hulk tried to hit her, but she was too agile.

Humungousaur went after Hawkeye, as he kept firing arrows at the Hulk. Neither reinforced nets, electricity, or ice could stop him. Hulk managed to catch another arrow only for it to explode in his face.

"Remember Hawkeye, Hulk is the main priority," Widow called.

The archer attempted to evade Humungousaurs attacks. "I know, but a giant lizard man makes things a lot more difficult." Before he could fire another shot, a tail whips the breath out of him.

Humungousaur glared at the downed archer. "Stop this attack now, and no one needs to get hurt. More than they are now anyway. Leave the guy alone."

"Not gonna happen." Hawkeye dodged another punch. "We got orders to get you monsters on lockdown."

In the agent's comms, Ross exclaimed, "I told Fury to stay out of this! I've been chasing the Hulk since day one!"

"The chase is over, General," replied Black Widow. She fired another array of stingers at the Hulk. "Sit back and let us do your job for you."

On the other line, Ross gruffed. He turned to his subordinate. "Open fire on the Hulk."

The soldier hesitated. "But, sir, the SHIELD agents- they're right there. That's friendly fire."

The general glared at the defiance. "That's a direct order, soldier. They knew what they were getting into when they took the job. We need results now! Fire!"

The soldier reluctantly began the launch sequence.

Back on the battlefield, Black Widow noticed the movements of the command vehicle. "No. Ross, you are ordered to stand down! Do you hear me? Stand down!"

"That you for your service, agents," Ross simply replied.

Hulk grabbed Hawkeye by the face while Black Widow backed from Ross in slight fear. Humungousaur followed her eyes to see a missile launch straight for them. In a desperate move to save them, he rushed forward in an attempt to tank the blast; however, he underestimated its characteristics.

Luckily, someone did. Time slowed to a crawl. The Azmuth hologram materialized and began to assess the situation. Both Humungousaur and the missile were in mid-air and close to impact. "It's never a dull moment with you, Tennyson." He sighed. "Let's see what we have here." With a wave of his hands, he digitally disassembled the payload. "Interesting, this contains numerous gamma attributes with high potency in a limited blast radius. This Earth has reached level four technology, both commendable yet concerning." He looked back at Humungousaur for a second. "Ben will survive, and he will contain the initial blast. However, the ionizing gamma radiation will go right through him and damage any human tissue nearby." He shook his head. "No. No. This form won't do at all. Initiate DNA override. Activate Ultimate protocol." With that, his hologram disappeared.

Finally, the two objects collided and resulted in a burst of blue and green energy. The giant flew out of the smoke, but he looked much different. He became more buff and muscular than before with a green hide. Several armor pieces and spines covered his body. Even his tail looked like a mace. Ultimate Humungousaur crashed and lodged into a nearby rock plateau.

Seeing the structure's instability, Hawkeye shouted in concern to his friend. "Morse, move out of there now!"

His warning came too late as the plateau toppled over and damaged the ship's aerial stabilizers. Morse tried to regain control, but it came to no avail. "I'm comin' down!"

Hulk noticed that everyone had eyes either on Humungousaur or the ship. His mind told him that this was his chance to leave; however, a small part of him knew what he had to do.

Hawkeye and Blackwidow watched helplessly as their friend began crashing down. Morse closed her eyes and braced for impact, only it never came. Slowly opening her eyes, she saw the Hulk holding the entire ship from its nose. The next thing she saw was the green dinosaur drop from the rock wall.

"I'm back," Ultimate Humungousaur bellowed. "Nice save, Hulk." Ultimate Humungousaur got into position and caught the other end of the ship. The two giant lowered the jet to the ground. "Okay. Easy, does it." He peered through the windshield "Hey, you okay in there?"

She looked back at the giant green bipedal dinosaur through her window. "Uh. Yeah. Thanks. I guess."

Ross narrowed his eyes at the now green Humungousaur on his monitor. "We've got another gamma beast!"

Hulk closed his eyes to take a breath only to be blasted by another stinger at the base of his neck. He collapsed to the ground and reverted to Bruce Banner.

Ultimate Humungousaur turned in shock at his new friend. "Hulk!" He ran to his body to check his vitals, but the two agents blocked him. "What the heck, man. We saved you guys and your friend, and this is how you treat us in return."

"We're following SHIELD orders for his capture," stated lack Widow.

"Yeah… so stand down, gamma beast or else."

"Gamma beast? What the heck are you guys talking about?"

Before they could answer, Bruce spoke. "You need to go… now. I'll be fine. Save yourself."

"I'm not just gonna leave you with these guys."

"You have to. At this point, it's the only way I can get my answers about the Cube."

'Cube?' "But…" Ben didn't understand why he wanted this.

"Don't worry. No prison can hold me for long. Go! Be free!" At that, he passed out.

While Black Widow secured Bruce, Hawkeye targeted Humungousaur. "You're not going anywhere, freak of nature."

'I can't just leave Hulk to these guys, but he wants to go with them, now. If that's the case, there's only one thing I can do.' "Look over there, a distraction."

The two agents blinked at the attempt. "Did you think that we would fall for that?"

Ben shrugged "Eh, it was worth a shot." He then extended both arms out in a flashy manner. "Alakazam!" In a flash of green light, he disappeared.

Then everyone nearby blinked at the scene before Hawkeye spoke up. "Please tell me that didn't happen."

"That the dino-man was a wizard and teleported away?" asked Morse from the jet.

Hawkeye scoured the distance but found nothing. "Damn… we lost him!"

Black Widow shook her head before she lifted Banner onto her back. "Forget it, Clint. We've got Banner, and that's all that matters."

"Fine. Let's get this over with." On the way to the jet, Clint looked at the unconscious Banner and couldn't help but have questions about the Hulk. He was supposed to be a monster, but he willingly saved Morse. 'This day gets weirder and weirder.

Soon, all military personnel began to vacate the area. If the agents had a microscope, they would have noticed that the unknown creature never left. From behind a small stone, a metallic insectoid flew up and grew a few inches. 'Looks like it's time for me to play spy for a change.' With that, Nanomech flew in the direction of the SHIELD convoy.

Omnitrix DNA Entry:

Name: Armodrillo

Species: Talpaedan

Home World: Terraexcava

Powers and Abilities:

Armodrillo has incredible digging capabilities and enhanced strength, and, due to his armor, Armodrillo has incredible durability. Armodrillo can create destructive earthquakes by placing his hands on the ground and pumping the jackhammer pistons on his elbows. Armodrillo is able to create fissures in the ground. Armodrillo can turn his hands into drills. Using his jackhammer arms, he can create shock waves and can launch objects he is holding

Name: Humungousaur

Species: Vaxasaurian

Home World: Terradino

Powers and Abilities:

Vaxasaurians possess incredible strength and a thick layer of armor-like skin which provides vast resistance to injury and damage. According to Eugene, Vaxasaurians are strong enough to lift To'kustars. Vaxasaurians have the power to increase their body size and mass, which increases their strength and durability further. They can also grow Stegosaur-like plates on their back, a crest on their forehead and spikes on their tail. Vaxasaurians can survive in space for a few minutes. Vaxasaurians are quite agile for their size.

Name: Nanomech

Species: Human, Nanochip

Home World: Unknown

Powers and Abilities:

Nanomech can reduce his size at will, even to microscopic scales. He can return to his original size, but cannot grow any larger. Nanomech can launch green bioelectrical energy from his hands and eye, ranging in forms from beams to orbs. Nanomech can adapt to his opponents very fast, such as sprouting energy tentacles after encountering the Decoy Queen.