Chapter 3: And then there were 10
The sun was shining, birds were chirping, and summer vacation had finally arrived for Ben and Gwen. I've been gearing up for this trip for days now because this is where the real adventure begins. So, for the past few weeks, I've been hitting up the local junkyard with my dad, scavenging for broken old phones, scrap metal, and cables—stuff that could fit into a 60 cm by 60 cm box. My plan? To tinker with all this tech using my Galvanic - Mesomorph form, and hopefully, if everything goes according to plan, make some cool new stuff. But hey, I've got a feeling I might know what kind of universe I'm in.
Meanwhile, in some distant corner of space, a robotic Lieutenant was reporting, "Hull damage: 20 percent, weapons system's still operational." "I have come too far to be denied. The Omnitrix shall be mine, and there is not a being in the galaxy that dares stand in my way!" Said a squid-faced alien Vilgax.
Just as Grandpa swung by to pick me up, I bid farewell to my parents. "Hey, Dad, I whipped up some of my triple chocolate brownies," I whispered to him. He gulped and replied, "Nice work. Your mom and I are gonna be indulging big time. Here's the extra cash you needed." Yep, you heard that right. I basically bribed my old man with brownies. See, I made these once, and they were such a hit that Mom kept pestering Dad to spill the beans on where he got 'em. Little did she know, it was me all along. And let's just say, when those brownies make an appearance, things get real cosy, if you catch my drift. But hey, I don't hand 'em out for free. Nope, those brownies are like gold to me. They might just earn me a sibling, you know? So, I've been doing odd jobs, mowing lawns, washing cars, you name it, to save up some cash for this moment. I've got about 2000 dollars stashed away, which ain't too shabby for a ten-year-old. But man, did I have to work my ass off for it.
As I hopped into Grandpa's RV, I couldn't help but notice something was off. "Hey, Grandpa, where's Gwen?" I asked, scanning the scene. "Ah, Ben, how did you know Gwen was gonna come?" he replied, sounding surprised. "Just a hunch," I shrugged. "Well, okay then. Yeah, we're on our way to pick her up from school," he explained. And with that, we were off. But you know what? Something about this whole situation felt kinda strange, especially since it's supposed to be Gwen waiting for me, not the other way around like in the TV series. Guess we'll just have to see how this plays out.
After Grandpa Max picked me up, we hit the road to pick up Gwen from school. And there she was, being all helpful to this slightly chubby kid with brown hair and glasses. "Okay, I'm almost certain now, but I'm pretty sure that's Jamie, the boy who got a wedgie along with the original Ben. But the difference is that it seems the bully has a crush on Gwen, and it's really funny to see him try to explain himself. LOL."
Just then, Grandpa Max honked the horn, telling Gwen to hurry up 'cause he wanted us to reach camp by nightfall. "Coming, Grandpa," she shouted, giving the boys one last glance before darting into the RV.
"I've been so looking forward to this. Usually, I wouldn't have liked this, but I just need to get away from it all, you get it, Grampa, right?" Gwen said.
"HaHa, yes, Gwen, I understand. No need for expectations from anyone," Grandpa replied.
"Exactly, and I think I deserve a break as I got first in my grade again," Gwen continued before she noticed me. "What are you doing here!? Grandpa! What is he doing here!?"
"Oi, what's wrong with me being here, Gwen? We used to get along so well when we were just a few years younger," I protested.
"Humph, dummy," Gwen whispered under her breath. "Anyway, Gwen, it seems we will be spending summer together, so let's have fun."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever, but I agree, nothing is going to ruin this summer," No!! She just set a Flag Fuck I muttered to myself, internally freaking out.
After a few hours of driving, we finally arrived at the camp and started setting up some of our stuff outside. Gwen was on her laptop, while I went to get Gwen and Max some water with some sleeping pills mixed in. If I'm right about where I am, I'm going to need to change my plans. "Ah, thanks, Ben," they both said as they drank the water.
When it came to supper, I almost puked. The food just looked disgusting with the worms wriggling around. Then Gwen spoke up. "Okay, I give up, what is that?"
I furiously nodded my head because there's no way I'm eating that, no way in hell. "Marinated mealworms. Hard to find them fresh in the States. You know, they're considered a delicacy in some countries?" I secretly whispered to Gwen when Max had turned away. "Okay, I've got a few bags of chips, 5 sodas, 8 sandwiches, and 3 chocolate bars, what about you?"
Okay, so I wasn't really expecting the food to be this disgusting, so I only packed in a little extra, but now I wish I just bought my kitchen. "Some rice cakes and hard candy."
"Think we can make them last the whole summer?" Gwen asked.
After that fun discussion, I could see Max and Gwen yawning. "Phew, that drive must have been longer than I thought. I think we should head to bed now. I'll see you kids in the morning," Max said.
"I agree, Grampa. {Yawn}."
"I'm going for a little walk before coming back to go to bed. Good night, Grampa. Good night, Gwen."
After Grandpa Max and Gwen went into the RV, I sprinted in the direction where the original Ben went for his walk. I was practically vibrating with pure excitement. As I reached a clearing, I slowed down, scanning the area for any sign of Dr. Paradox and Ben. But after some time, I realised they wouldn't be here yet since the Omnitrix hadn't touched Earth. Then, I saw a shooting star and blurted out the iconic lines, "Whoa! A shooting star!"
But when the star changed direction and shot towards me, it got pretty damn scary. I moved back for safety before it landed, and then I cautiously approached it. "It looks like a satellite or something," I muttered, jumping down cautiously as the rocks nearby seemed stable.
Then, the casing of the Omnitrix opened up, and I freaked out. "I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!" I exclaimed as I observed its magenta, dark blue, and light blue appearance. It was a sign that this universe was a Gwen 10 universe, which changed my plans entirely. I had no intention of taking the Omnitrix away from Gwen.
But for now, I needed to get the watch. As I approached it, the Omnitrix jumped and latched onto my left wrist. I felt a slight prick, but otherwise, nothing happened. It didn't budge even when I tried to lift it like the original Ben did. But that was okay; I had a plan. Carefully, I pressed the button on the Omnitrix, and with amazement, I watched the dial pop up. I selected the Kineceleran form and carefully pushed the interface down, transforming into an awe-inspiring figure with a burst of magenta light.
I ran back to the RV to fetch my box of electronic scraps, experiencing an exhilarating feeling I'd never felt before. As I ran, I started getting notifications about acquiring new skills [Ding! Accelerated Thinking Lv1 Acquired, Air Resistance Lv1 Acquired] [Running Lv2 -> Lv3 -> Lv4 -> Lv5 -> Lv6, Air Resistance Lv1 -> Lv2 -> Lv3]. "Well, damn, I'm fast, " I muttered as the boost I just got from my skills being upgraded was immense because before I realised it I'd overshot the campsite by 80 miles and I'm pretty sure I wasn't even going near top speed.
After going back and collecting my junk and heading back to the crash site to collect the pod and other debris such as plastics, glass and some old tires, I quickly hid everything nearby. Using the Omnitrix on my chest, I transformed back into a human. The difference was huge; my new skills allowed me to think explosively fast compared to before like damn, i mean not as fast as when i'm in my XLR8 form but still superhumanly fast.
As I waited for the Vilgax droid to arrive, I let the Omnitrix charge. About 30 minutes later, I saw something heading my way. This time, I turned into my Galvanic-Metamorph form. After transforming, the pod landed, and I flew to it, quickly merging with the droid and shutting it down.
I disconnected the droid from Vilgax's network and disassembled its parts. "Phew, that was actually really scary. This droid was seriously menacing," I said, relieved but still on edge.
After organising everything in the vicinity of where I had disassembled the droid, I took a deep breath. It was time to use my Upgrade form to understand the Omnitrix itself. Look, I knew it wouldn't be as easy as Kevin building the Anti-Trix in his garage from scraps, but I figured I should be able to make something similar. So, I got to work.
Using my Upgrade form, I poured into my Omnitrix and started to understand how it works and why it works. [Robotics Lv1 -> 5, Electro Engineering Lv3 -> Lv7, Biology Lv4 -> Lv6, Science Lv2 -> Lv5] [Ding! Bio Generics Lv1 Acquired, Nanoscience Lv1 Acquired] [Bio Genetics Lv1 -> Lv3, Nanoscience Lv1 -> Lv3, Coding/Programming Lv3 -> Lv7] Notifications started popping up left and right as I absorbed knowledge and skills. From robotics to electro-engineering to biology and more, I was levelling up like crazy. With a ding, I acquired new skills like Bio-Generics and Nanoscience, while existing ones like Coding/Programming skyrocketed in level.
When the timeout feature beeped, I exited the Omnitrix and returned to human form, slightly dazed from the influx of information. After another ten minutes of waiting, the Omnitrix was available again. This time, I transformed into a Galvan and felt a boost in intelligence and understanding.
[Ding! Galvanic Knowledge Lv1, Enhanced Comprehension Lv1 Acquired]. With just all that my understanding to everything i didn't understand started making sense, it was like there was a fire in my mind before which produced a lot of smoke so i couldn't understand but now it was like the was no fire but rather a damn of water as all the knowledge just kept flooding in and just like that All my knowledge-related skills levelled up to Lv10 it was incredible, the knowledge i had learned once i had reached level 10 was like nothing compared to before, it felt like i was on another tier of existence itself.I was swimming in information. It was overpowering, but I had a plan.
"Now, it's time to work," I said to myself, feeling determined. Armed with my new knowledge, I transformed back into a human before immediately turning into a Galvanic Metamorph and collecting all the junk droids and scraps I had gathered.
First things first, I started making as many nanites as I could. Using the power reactor I had created earlier with the help of some of the power source of the droids as well as the old broken phones, I ensured they could generate energy similar to bioelectricity. Then, I created a rudimentary matrix to hold all the DNA samples without mixing them together. Using the remaining power source from the droids, I fashioned something similar to a mini arc reactor from my memories.
From there I started adding basic safety features and an information gene lock so people wouldn't just be able to use my omnitrix if they somehow manage to steal it. After which I transformed back to Greymatter and started coding with the laptop I had created with Upgrade's help. I used quite advanced alien technology with the help of earth technology to make it so it was incredibly advanced and powerful while still looking like a regular old laptop. Uploading protocols and safety features was a breeze, thanks to my enhanced intellect.
With the assembly underway, I found it easier than expected, given that the Thing was practically made of nanites. However, I made mine look like the recalibrated Omnitrix from Alien Force, my favourite design.
But my work wasn't done yet. I needed more materials to make it even better, such as if i had more materials I would make more nanites and add more coding depending on the species and with that for example when i turned into rip jaws above water the nanites would make a breathing apparatus so i don't just dry out. And then Finally, my newly made Omnitrix was complete, but it was empty, without any DNA samples in it. I needed to fix that.
I put its hourglass symbol against Gwen's Omnitrix, and they merged together, with that my omnitrix started downloading the genetic information on the stored alien DNA in her omnitrix and with that i now had myself 10 new Aliens that i could officially call my own. After that I used Greymatter once more to work out something such as a glitch in the prototype to remove Gwen's Omnitrix from my wrist. and After about half an hour of intense thinking, I found a loophole and got it off.
With Gwen's Omnitrix off my wrist I reset it to something life factory reset so it didn't have any of my genetic makeup recorded and popped it back in its restored pod which I had fixed thanks to Upgrade, with that I put on my own and new Omnitrix. A flash of green light, and it was now on my wrist. Sure, I couldn't copy over a universal translation feature or have access to over a million aliens since it wasn't linked with the code-on stream, but it was mine.
"Although it wasn't as easy as it looked in the reboot, I still managed to make my own Omnitrix. It would've taken me ages without my learning cheat, Gwen's Omnitrix to copy the general stuff of the omnitrix, and the aliens granting me overpowered skills. Plus, it literally took all night to make even with the advanced droid and Greymatter's brain power," I reflected as I ensured the area was secure before heading back to the RV for some much-needed rest as even if i practically used all my mana to boost my Galvin Brain so that i could think even more it still took a lot of mental effort off of me and im beat. And just like that i fell fast asleep, but unfortunately i was awakened not long after as i had already been working all night which means i only got like 3 hours of sleep.
I woke up to Gwen shaking me, insisting that we share my food instead of eating more worms with Grandpa. Reluctantly, I got out of bed and joined her for breakfast. As we ate, I suggested we go for a walk since I spotted something like a meteor or smoke in the distance. Gwen's eyes lit up with excitement, and we hurried back to where the crash had occurred.
"Look, Gwen, there's a crater!" I exclaimed, my excitement growing. Gwen rushed to the edge of the crater and stopped abruptly. "It's like a satellite or something," she observed, which made me chuckle.
Suddenly, the ground beneath Gwen gave way, and I rushed over to her. "You okay? Not hurt, are you?" I asked, concerned.
"I'm fine, it's just stupid of me to stand on the edge. But since I'm here, I might as well take a closer look at the satellite," Gwen replied.
"Cool, I'll come down with you," I offered. As Gwen approached the pod, she noticed my watch. "Nice watch," she commented.
"Thanks, I made it myself recently," I replied proudly.
As Gwen reached in the pod to get a closer look it jumped onto her wrist, and I heard her scream. "Get off me! Get off! Ahh, Ben!"
"What's wrong, Gwen? Are you okay?!" I rushed to her side.
"This thing just jumped on my wrist from that pod, and now it won't come off," she explained, panic evident in her voice.
"Let me get a closer look," I said, reaching for her wrist. She grabbed onto my shirt, scared.
"Hmm," I murmured, examining the watch. Before Gwen could finish asking what I was doing, I pressed the dial, and she transformed into a Pyronite.
"Ahh, I'm on fire! I'm on fire! Wait, I'm on fire, and I'm not burning!" Gwen exclaimed, amazed by her newfound abilities. She started shooting fireballs, and although it was cool, seeing a real-life alien was pretty scary. I was always surprised how in the series Ben and Gwen never developed any trauma.
Before long, Gwen accidentally set fire to the forest and began to panic. I quickly instructed her to create a backfire to extinguish the flames by sucking out the oxygen. With a nod of realisation, she did just that.
Afterward, Gwen came up to me, gushing about how cool it was. Just then, Grandpa Max arrived with a fire extinguisher, surprised to see an alien and not realising it was Gwen.
"Grandpa, first off, how do you know that's an alien and not a monster? And second, that is Gwen," I explained, and Gwen briefly recounted how she ended up transformed.
"Am I going to be this hot forever and keep burning things down?" Gwen panicked, but fortunately, the watch timed out, and she returned to normal.
After the ordeal, we headed back to the Rust Bucket and set off for the big lake while Gwen happily fiddled with the watch. I was relieved to see her having fun despite everything.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone