A few moments before stepping out into the main cell block, the four Echo Echos had simultaneously tapped the red crests on their white, silicon-based suits.
In four synchronized flashes of bright crimson light, the small alien forms vanished, leaving four identical, white-haired Albedos standing in a small circle within the shadowy corridor.
“Alright, gentlemen,” the original Albedo said, adjusting his collar with a sharp, practiced flick.
“I take it everyone understands their respective operational parameters?”
“Crystal clear,” one of the clones replied with a sly, conspiratorial grin, sharing a look with the other two duplicates.
“You go handle the diplomatic reunion with Tennyson and his colorful little entourage.
As for the three of us…” He paused, his blood-red eyes gleaming with shameless greed.
“…we’re going to secure our private research grant.”
That, in truth, was the entire underlying motive behind Albedo allowing himself to be “captured” by Vilgax’s Biooid horde in the first place.
From a tactical perspective, he knew Vilgax’s flagship was doomed the moment Ben Tennyson agreed to trigger the Omnitrix’s command-level self-destruction sequence.
But a vessel of this scale—a state-of-the-art intergalactic warship—was a walking goldmine of ultra-rare alloys, phase-converters, alien power cells, and high-tier scientific equipment.
Letting all those priceless resources get atomized into space dust was a sin against pure logic.
And as any brilliant scientist in the galaxy knew: cutting-edge research was outrageously expensive.
“Don’t leave a single high-value circuit board behind,” the original Albedo instructed smoothly.
“We have a vessel to upgrade.”
Without another word, the three duplicates raised their left forearms and slapped their Ultimatrix dials in unison.
Red light engulfed the narrow corridor.
“XLR8!”
“Ghostfreak!”
“XLR8!”
In a fraction of a second, the two speedsters accelerated into dark, blurring afterimages, vanishing down opposite ends of the secondary decks to strip the ship’s armories and tech vaults.
Ghostfreak simply dropped his physical density to zero, floating straight down through the deck plating to phase directly into the ship’s main engineering bay.
The original Albedo watched them go with a deeply satisfied smirk.
“Now then…
back to the main stage.”
He turned on his heel, strolled down the hall, and brought himself to the front of Ben, Gwen, and Kevin’s holding cell.
“Alright, you three,” Albedo announced casually, cutting through their argument as he tapped the red interface on his wrist.
“Time is pressing.
Keep the emotional reunions to a minimum, because I assure you, I won’t be listening.”
A brilliant flare of red light swept over him.
“Goop!”
His human form dissolved into a bright lime-green, semi-translucent blob of viscous slime, floating beneath a metallic, saucer-shaped anti-gravity projector.
Goop glided forward, pressing an acidic, green palm directly against the cell’s main security panel.
Szzzzzzzt!
A harsh, acrid cloud of smoke billowed up as the high-grade military wiring inside the terminal instantly dissolved beneath his corrosive secretions.
The circuits shorted out, the primary power relay died, and the glowing red energy barrier sealing the cell sputtered out of existence. This chapter was taken from novelping.com without permission.
A split second later, the ship’s internal security system detected the localized breach, setting off a low, rhythmic siren that bathed the dark hallway in flashing orange light.
Goop completely ignored the alarms.
He floated into the cell, brought his acidic right hand up, shaped his translucent fingers into the crude shape of a pistol, and squirted three concentrated blobs of corrosive slime directly onto the heavy metallic rings pinning Ben, Gwen, and Kevin to the wall.
The heavy alloy hissed, bubbling violently as the acid ate through the structural bolts in seconds.
The restraints snapped, freeing all three teenagers.
A flash of crimson energy swept across the room, and Albedo stood back in his human form, casually brushing a speck of dust off his red jacket.
“Now then,” Albedo said, crossing his arms.
“I suggest we proceed to the command deck and settle our accounts with our mutual friend Vilgax, shall we?”
He expected a quick agreement.
Instead, he was met with dead silence.
The moment her feet hit the deck, Gwen’s hands flared with bright, magenta mana, her eyes narrowed in deep suspicion.
Beside her, Kevin flexed his arms, shifting his stony forearms into two heavy, razor-sharp steel blades, his dark eyes locked squarely onto Albedo’s chest.
Neither of them moved a step toward the door.
Albedo looked between the glowing pink magic and the steel blades, raising an eyebrow.
He didn’t look threatened or angry; instead, a faint, slightly weary smile touched his lips.
“Still holding onto those charming trust issues, I see?”
“Can you blame us, Albedo?” Gwen said coldly, her mana flaring brighter.
“You’ve ambushed us, impersonated Ben, and teamed up with Vilgax.
Breaking us out of a cage doesn’t automatically wipe the slate clean.”
“We’re keeping our eyes on you,” Kevin growled, stepping slightly in front of Gwen, his metal blades glinting in the flashing alarm lights.
“One fake move, and I’m pinning you to the bulkhead.”
Seeing the confrontation brewing, Ben stepped quickly between his friends and the white-haired clone.
He held up his hands, placing one firmly on Gwen’s shoulder and the other on Kevin’s.
“Guys, back down,” Ben said, his voice quiet but resolute.
Gwen glanced at him in disbelief.
“Ben, you can’t be serious!
It’s Albedo!”
“I know who he is, Gwen,” Ben replied, looking both of them straight in the eye with absolute conviction.
“And I’m telling you, I trust him on this.
He gave me the heads-up about Vilgax’s trap, and he just broke us out.
He’s helping us.
Please…
just trust my call on this.”
They both knew Ben’s instincts in the heat of a crisis were rarely wrong, even if his reasoning felt insane.
Kevin let out a heavy, irritated growl, letting his metal hands shift back into normal, stone-covered fingers.
“Fine, Tennyson.
It’s your funeral if he turns on us.”
Gwen’s pink mana faded, though her gaze remained sharp.
“If your gut is wrong this time, Ben, I’m never letting you live it down.”
Ben let out a sigh of relief, offering them a small, genuine smile.
“Thanks, guys.
I appreciate it.”
Leaning lazily against the cell’s doorframe, Albedo rolled his eyes with exaggerated boredom.
“While this heartwarming display of teenage solidarity is truly moving, I must remind you that we are currently on an enemy warship surrounded by automated security.
Time is, in fact, slipping away.”
He turned and began strolling down the corridor, completely unfazed by the flashing sirens overhead.
As Kevin passed him in the doorway, he leaned in close, glaring down at the smaller clone.
“I’m watching every step you take.”
Albedo didn’t even bother looking up, letting out a soft, dismissive click of his tongue.
“Tsk…
as if your supervision carries any weight whatsoever.”
Alien Data Files
Echo Echo
Origin: Taken from the DNA sample of a Sonorosian from the planet Sonorosia.
Anatomy: Echo Echo does not possess a traditional physical body; its true form is composed entirely of living sound waves contained within a specialized, suit-like silicone shell.
Its body is primarily white with a prominent, dark-ringed mouth that functions like an amplified loudspeaker, alongside a headset-like structure built onto its head.
Abilities: Can emit extremely high-decibel, destructive sound waves from its mouth.
It can effortlessly create multiple physical duplicates of itself, allowing it to swarm opponents and launch devastating, multi-directional acoustic attacks.
Goop
Origin: Taken from the DNA sample of a Polymorph from the planet Viscosia.
Anatomy: Its entire body consists of a viscous, shapeshifting gel.
Because it lacks a rigid skeletal structure, it relies on a hovering, UFO-shaped Anti-Gravity Projector positioned above its head to maintain movement and structural coherence in varying gravitational environments.
The Ultimatrix symbol is located on its chest.
Abilities: Can freely alter its physical shape, elasticity, and density.
It can secrete extremely potent acidic slime capable of melting through reinforced metals in seconds, or switch to non-corrosive, highly adhesive slime to trap and immobilize enemies.