Ben 10: Hero and Predator

Chapter 37: The Negative Ten

Y/n and Ciel are watching from the front, disbelieving that the cousins would resort bribery for the tickets.

"Those two are hopeless..." Y/n commented, earning a nod of approval from Ciel who is sitting shotgun. "10 bucks neither of them gets it."

"Triple, for Cooper gave both tickets to them." Ciel taunted.

"That's a bold move."

"Chicken out?"

"Let's make... 35 bucks." Y/n offered.

"Deal."

The two shook hand to seal their bets.

"Y/n, Ciel, take a look at this." Max called.

The two looked to the monitor screen on the cupholder. The monitor showed a security footage from Fort Knox, an army base located in Kentucky. It is well known for being the location of the United States Bullion Depository.

In the footage, the Circus Freaks entered through a melted vault door to the depository safe before Acidbreath destroyed the camera with his distinctive and disgusting ability.

"Ugh, you're right. That guy is disgusting." Ciel covered her mouth.

"Inform Ben and Gwen." Max instructed Y/n.

The boy proceed informed the kids on the dining table as Max drove their way to the Fort Knox. Upon arrival, the place is quiet and there's no security guards around.

"Maybe Cooper should stay here." Max advised.

"I'll keep an eye on him, grandpa." Ben suggested. "He probably wants to see the Omnitrix in action anyway."

"Nope." Y/n interjected. "We never involving civilians, and we're not doing it now just because you wanted to show off to get that stupid ticket."

"He's right, Ben." Max agreed. "Cooper will be saver here than inside."

Ben looked down in defeat while Gwen grinned at him in sneering manners. The team exited the vehicle, leaving Cooper behind with Groot.

"Groot, protect Cooper at all cost." Ciel instructed.

"I am Groot." The walking plant gave her a salute.

The team entered the facility and just like outside, everything is quiet and the guards is nowhere to be found. Once they're in the storage house, Y/n sniffed the air before pinched his nose while groaning.

"Yup, the Freaks were here, alright." Y/n clarified. "And surprisingly, Sublimino, too."

"Sublimino?" Ben gasped. "Since when they're teaming up?"

"Probably when they're in jail." Ciel assumed.

The ventured deeper into the storage house and to confirm Y/n's claim, two armored guards are found acting like a chicken around the the corner of a shipment box.

Ciel approached them and placed her hands on their heads to undo the hypnosis. Once the deed is done, she put them to sleep and rested them on a nearby shipment box.

They continued their investigation until they found the vault door has been melted by none other than Acidbreath himself. Y/n tensed up and looked up to the walkway and found three guards aiming down their weapons at them.

"Incoming!" Y/n alerted out loud.

The team went to hide behind a crate as the hypnotized guards opened fire. Ben was about to transform, but Ciel suddenly sprinted to the open while pulling Gwen along. She deployed a mana barrier to protect her and Gwen as the guards focused their fire on them.