บท 12: And Then There Were 10, Again?
[JEN 10]
Everybody's life is a story. There are the good parts, the bad, the funny and sometimes the very, very scary. But when we tell a story, we never tell it the same way twice. So many ways to tell a story…and that's what makes them so interesting, sometimes you can never predict how they are going to turn out.
So here's one way to tell the story of Ben Tennyson, who one day found himself living a life that seems to catch him by surprise…or at least it would've, had it not been his second time being unceremoniously inserted into another's body in a different reality.
MC'S POV
My eyes flashed open as I woke up on the upper bed on the back of the Rust Bucket.
"Wow!" Was the first thing I said after coming out of that whole Freaky Friday experience. "So it actually happened! The moment which I've been dreading the most has actually come to pass."
Immediately checking my left wrist only to see that my Omnitrix wasn't there, which would've scared me shitless had I not made so many preparations for this precise scenario.
You see, since I had been expecting this mess of an episode to still attempt to get me by surprise, I dedicated countless hours reading through my Book of magic while in my Ultimate Galvan (Grey Matter) form just to figure out a way to bind my own Omnitrix to my very soul. I mean, if the spellcasters of old had found a way to switch bodies, I felt it stood to reason that they would also find it necessary to have their most precious possessions bound to them regardless of the shell they inhabited. After all, Charmcaster did actually feel pretty confident that she would've access to her magic even while outside of her original body.
Having said that, so much could've gone wrong regardless of how many contingencies I prepared, so as I took a leap of faith I mentally ordered for my own watch to come out of its stealth mode, and to my absolute satisfaction the much advanced piece of alien technology immediately obliged.
'Greetings, Master.' I heard Alpha's voice, which after so many improvements no longer sounded artificial and now resembled my own. 'I've just finished scanning the Omnitrix. Everything seems to be working at full capacity.'
"Thanks for the good news, Alpha." I replied, but as I just finished turning the watch invisible again, I noticed several faint glowing marks pulsing down on my right arm. "Luck, Life, Fire, Flight and Energy. Great to see that the Charms have also survived the trip. And since the Archamada book wasn't anything more than Eldritch knowledge I've already memorized, I didn't feel the need to bring anything else along for this ride."
'Master.' I heard Alpha's voice.
"What is it?" I asked while jumping out of the bunk bed which belonged to Lucy in my previous reality, from the looks of it she hasn't joined us this time.
'There's something different with your anatomy.' It warned me.
"Now that you mentioned it…" I said while clenching my hands and flexing my arms. "I can feel that my physical body isn't as strong as it used to be. But that was to be expected, my variant from this reality must be a slacker in regards to sports, not to mention I doubt he has already awakened his magical spark."
'But master…your clothes…' It tried to take it easy on me by slowly giving me the pieces, but by that time I had already reached the bathroom and was about to wash my face on the sink.
"Of course…nothing goes as planned in this accursed world." I said in a cold tone once I noticed that I was now a ginger. Finally paying attention to my clothes, I saw that I was wearing a blue on white raglan shirt, a beige tennis short, soccer's socks and football boots. "Well, at least I'm still a guy. Anyways, thanks for the heads up, Alpha."
Looking through the window outside of the RV, I managed to see that we had just parked next to a gas station close to my home. On top of that, I found a female version of Max, which now resembled Aunt Vera, busy refilling the vehicle's fuel tank while a female version of Ben Tennyson drank some cold drink from a straw.
This version of me had long hair tied in a ponytail and wore a set of cloth similar to what classic Ben always used, albeit with some slight differences. Like the black strip on the white t-shirt, which was now cropped, being horizontal and the cargo pants, which were skinny, barely reaching halfway down her shins.
"So it's a genderbend reality. I suppose I can still work with that." I said after pointing out the obvious. "But does that mean Vilgax will still arrive earlier than he had back in my reality? Wait, don't tell me that he's also a she now. Oh! And me without my camera!"
Just then, as I was readjusting my plans, female robbers with masks came running out of the gas station shop that was now blaring an alarm. One of them, who wore a gorilla mask, barged past 'Female Ben', spilling her drink to the ground.
"Hey! That was a mega-" She tried to argue with the robber, but the one wearing a skull mask turned to face her, in an intimidating manner to which female Ben just gulped.
Right after that, Female Max hooked the petrol pump and rushed over to look at what's happening before shouting. "JEN! RUN!"
Right after that one of the robbers removed her mask as she attempted to rev her motorcycle's throttle.
"It won't start!" The robber said in an exasperated tone.
Finally appearing out of the RV, I positioned myself in front of the motorcycles and said while crossing my arms. "You know, ladies, I'm an ardent follower of true gender equality. So this will be my first and final warning, stand down!"
"Dummy! The kid just saw you!" Another robber criticized the one from before as they all ignored my earlier statement.
"Glenn, get back inside!" I heard Grandma Max calling out.
'So…this was the name of the owner of my current body.' I thought to myself while casually running towards the biker who in return accelerated at my direction with a metal bar outstretched in one hand that was ready to hit me.
As I felt the power of the Luck Charm helping me compensate for my lack of experience with this new body, I pulled one of my best martial art stunts and kicked the female biker right on her chest, easily knocking her down while picking up the metal bar the biker released before it fell to the ground.
"Wow! Glenn has some moves!" I heard the female version of me, which I now knew as Jen, saying.
Everyone was momentarily stunned while watching as the criminal was laid out, landing flat on her back, until my glare turned to the skull-biker, who started her bike and headed for me.
"Look out!" The female version of Max warned me, still believing I was under any semblance of danger.
"Are you kidding me? These girls are a piece of cake... and this hero likes icing!" I said while throwing the metal bar from the first criminal back, hitting a bullseye right on her forehead with enough strength and precision that easily startled her enough to lose control of her bicycle and crash past me.
"Okay…not gonna lie, that was pretty awesome…for a Mr. Know-It-All!" The female version of me said in a mixture of shock and excitement as the second biker struggled to stand up only to fail and drop to the ground groaning. "I can't believe I'm asking this…but can you teach me how to do that?"
Before I could say anything, female Max held us by the shoulder and ushered us away back to the RV. Tires squealed as the Rust Bucket drove off, with the police sirens blaring as cop cars arrived at the scene, the robbers both laying on the tarmac.
"I rather we avoid having to explain ourselves to the police. I'm sure your parents wouldn't appreciate knowing that I allowed you guys to be in danger, especially on the first day of our Summer Trip." She explained, already anticipating any protest we might have, as we both could just nod in agreement.
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High up in space, the Chimerian Hammer of this reality now pursued a smaller blue vessel with several laser fire being exchanged amongst the two, until a hit struck on the large spaceship, inside it, debris began falling from the ceiling.
On the captain's chamber, sitting menacingly on an alien technological throne, was a tall female humanoid creature with a face resembling that of an octopus, she had tentacles dangling in the back of her head that very much resembled hair. Her skin was pale green with yellowish spots on her face and tentacles, not possessing a nose or any visible ear, although her eyes were blood red. She wore a black and red-brownish armored suit, with spikes at the shoulder alongside arm pads and gloves. Most noticeably, she also had green sacs on the sides of her head, with her mouth being attached to these sacs by an advanced respiratory mechanism.
"Hull damage 20%. Losing power, Master." A Bioid Lieutenant announced as it kept working on an alien interface that resembled a bleeding edge supercomputer.
"Find me more! I want that ship destroyed, and the Omnitrix in my possession." A female version of Vilgax ordered with the same menacing presence from her male variant.
As the Chimerian Hammer's cannons shot out a powerful blast in retribution from the strike it suffered earlier on, it successfully blew out the back half of the smaller ship.
"Their propulsion systems are destroyed." Another robot confirmed after checking on their sensors.
"Prepare to board. I want the Omnitrix now!" The female Vilgax demanded.
As the small ship's green circuitry lining the exterior began to glow, the first robot informed. "They initiated self-destruction mode."
The small ship exploded right next to female Vilgax's spaceship as the tip survived, shooting off. Inside the Chimerian Hammer, the Robot Lieutenant lay destroyed on its console, but the female version of Vilgax stood to her feet, having been protected from the blast by her battle drones.
Looking out to the small ship, as it launched the container with the Omnitrix to Earth, she declared while narrowing her crimson eyes. "No one controls the Omnitrix but me!"
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BACK TO MC'S POV
"Glenn, that was really amazing back there." The girl named Jennifer Tennyson told me for the tenth time since we left the gas station. "Grandma told me that you had been taking self defense classes, but that was just on a whole nother level!"
"Yeah, when you've got it, you've got it!" I crossed my arms behind my back while replying to the girl whose high spirit sort of reminded me of Lucy, until I got tired of wasting my time and finally got serious. "Jen, as much as I appreciate the compliments, I need you to pay attention. In all honesty, I'm not your cousin."
"What do you mean?" She asked with a puzzled expression while I made sure Grandma Max wasn't paying attention to our conversation. "Not my cousin? Is the heat getting to your head?"
"No, actually, I'm another you from a different dimension." I decided to be upfront with her from the beginning.
This time Jen even placed her palm to my forehead, to my disappointment, before saying. "Nothing? Maybe you have a heat stroke or something…"
"Enough." I pulled her hand aside as my eyes glowed green for a brief moment and my face momentarily assumed the facial features from my previous body. "My name is Ben, Benjamin if you will, and I'm certain that I've swapped bodies with your cousin."
"That's…" I was about to pull some of my mind tricks to prevent having her making a scene as I dropped the illusion over my face, until her expression immediately brightened up. "Kind of cool! Does that mean in your dimension, girls are boys and boys are girls?"
"Quite clever of you to come up with such a guess." That actually caught me by surprise and left me scratching my head, a bit suspicious about her sudden acceptance of seeing real magic for the first time. "Forgive my surprise, I wasn't expecting that you would connect the dots so quickly."
"Hey, aren't you insulting yourself with that? I mean, aren't we supposed to be the same?" She asked, a bit annoyed.
"Not exactly, each of our variants are unique in their own way, but that's beyond my point." I reasoned while quickly dismissing her pouting. "The important part is that not only have I crossed dimensions, but by arriving on the first day of your road trip I've also time traveled as well. You see, this summer vacation will be the one that changes your life, it certainly did for mine." From how her expression perked up again, it was clear to me that I had her undivided attention and so I began with the most basic information. "It started when an alien device did what it did…"
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JEN'S POV
Driving through a forest, inside the Rust Bucket the other me from a different dimension continued to explain who he was to me as we both were seated by the window.
I swear I managed to startle him a couple of times with some of my outbursts of excitement. I mean, how could you blame me? He just dropped the fact that he was a superhero that battled aliens, wizards and even mythical creatures. How much cooler could he be? Was he really worried that I would be terrified of everything and just pass the opportunity of gaining superpowers for real?
"A Super Heroine that can turn into ten badass aliens? That's pretty freaking awesome!" I just couldn't help myself from shouting, though fortunately for us Grandma Maxine just dismissed it as us two arguing about something again. "Dude, I'm totally in!"
"Eh…alright!" Ben said with raised eyebrows after finally getting over how onboard I was to everything he told me.
"Dude, quit giving me that look as if I'm a silly kid! You aren't all that much older than me." I casually punched his shoulder before finally asking with genuine curiosity. "Can you show me your…hmmm…watch?"
"Sure thing, here you go." He told me while raising his left wrist, which was empty until a weird looking watch appeared out of nowhere.
"Cool! I never saw anything like it!" I gushed over the alien piece of tech. "And you are telling me I will also get one of these, right?"
"Indeed." Ben nodded his head before staring outside through the RV's window. "Yours will be landing close to our next stop."
"Oh man, I'm so excited that I can barely wait." I cheered once again while hyping myself up thinking about all the superhero stuff I will be pulling soon enough.
"Heh." Ben let out a small chuckle, as strange as it might sound, it appeared to me as if my antics were amusing him.
"Okay, what did I say this time?" I pouted at him, a bit worried that he was making fun of me or something.
"It's no big deal." He told me with a smile that made me feel a little awkward. I mean, he currently resembles my cousin Glenn, but I could still recall the face he showed me back when he revealed his secret to me. "It's just that I'm actually glad to have met you, Jennifer."
"Jen." I corrected him without noticing. "Err…My friends call me Jen. Hmm…Well, that's if I had friends."
"It would be my pleasure to be your friend." He said while grasping my hand and I think I felt that my heart skipped a beat just then.
"I-I…Th-thanks!" I stuttered a bit while trying to hide a faint blush on my cheeks. "Man, it's really weird to be this nice to someone who looks like my cousin."
"Sorry about that." He told me while appearing a bit guilty. "It's just that I would rather avoid drawing Grandma's attention."
"I understand, it's not your fault. I mean, I'm definitely interested in learning how you pulled that off in the first place, but that can wait." I shook my head, worried that I might've sent the wrong message. "Anyway, please tell me, how's Glenn in your reality? I just can't picture him as a…girl."
"From where I come from, her name is Gwen. She was a bit bossy at first from our earlier years. Always tried to tell me what to do, but I suppose with time she kind of fell for my charm." He revealed it to me.
"Eww!" I couldn't help myself from making a face of disgust. "I was about to ask if the watch would allow us to prank her all the time, but you are telling me that in your reality you two are on good terms."
Ben merely shrugged. "My cousin Gwen wasn't all that bad. I can't vouch for yours, but mine just assumed that the only way she had to get my attention was to be overly rude to me. After we cleared out that misconception, we started to enjoy each other's company. Not only that, but for all the effort I put into learning magic she was just a natural from the start."
"If you say so, I guess I will have to believe it." This time I was the one shrugging. "But Magic or not I'm gonna keep my distance from that Doofus."
"Suit yourself." Ben replied as I noticed that grandma Maxine was parking the RV, we had finally arrived at the fateful campsite Ben had been telling me about.
As the owls hooted in the distance, the two of us heard Maxine saying. "We're here."
"Aw. It's beautiful, Grandma." Ben told her, totally nailing his act as Glenn.
"Dude, you're really good at mimicking that Geek." I whispered close to him, to which he merely winked back.
"I knew you would like it." Maxine said with a smile. "Hey, Glenn, why don't you help me set up the tent?"
"Sure thing." Ben told her before signaling for me to wait for him.
Once Maxine and Ben were finished laying out one of the tents, Inwatched as he hammered a peg into the dirt. I was lost in my thoughts for a brief moment thinking about how skilled Ben actually was with these camping things until I heard Grandma's voice.
"Huh... We're short one stake. Must be in the back of the RV. Be right back." She said but was immediately stopped by Ben's voice.
"Don't worry, I already got it with me." Ben told her as he finished setting up the tent. "Why don't you rest a bit, me and Jen will stretch our legs and after that we can light a fire and roast some marshmallows."
"Excellent idea, Glenn." Maxine complimented him, probably already feeling tired from driving us all those hours. "Just don't go far. And please, don't let Jen get into trouble."
"Don't worry, I got this." He told her with a thumbs up, for some reason that made me feel as if I was the only kid here, and left the camp with me following right behind.
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MC'S POV
A couple of minutes later as we left a snoring grandma behind, we looked up at the sky and noticed a shooting star, which made me nostalgic of the time I got my own Omnitrix.
"The pod! You were right." Jen pointed it out to me, visibly shaking of excitement.
"Was there any doubt?" I turned to look at her, but she just sheepishly smiled while scratching her head in embarrassment.
Immediately activating my watch, I mentally selected my Kinneceleran (Xrl8) form and transformed, momentarily blinding Jen with the usual green flash of light. Since my Omnitrix was bound to my soul and original DNA, none of my transformations would be at risk of being ginger.
"Dude! That was sick! You completely undersold the awesomeness of it." She said while rubbing her eyes. "But at least give me a heads up next time!"
"Sorry. We can't waste any time here." I told her before picking her up and dashing straight to the crash site, arriving just as the pod had landed.
"What's the name of this hero form?" She asked me as I helped her to stand up again.
"I don't name them. But you will have the chance to name your own transformations once you get that." I told her while lifting my visor and pointing towards the pod which contained the Omnitrix.
"Sweet!" She said and immediately made her way toward the center of the crater.
'Gotta give it to the girl, she definitely has the guts for this hero job.' I thought to myself before turning back to my human form.
As for Jen, she now had a close and full view of the pod as it opened itself before her, and a green light in the shape of an hourglass shined from it, which was attached to a cylindrical watch-like device.
"So this is it, huh? My super heroine's origin story?" Jen asked no one in particular while smiling to herself, stepping closer to the pod she outstretched her arm just as I had previously instructed her. As she did that the Omnitrix leapt from the pod and onto her wrist, latching itself to Jen. "Aaaah!"
"Jen? Is everything alright?" I asked her with slight concern showing in my voice.
"I-I…wasn't scared!" She managed to mutter after awkwardly recomposing herself. "I was just startled!" As I raised my eyebrow in confusion, Jen once again gave me a sheepish smile before moving on to inspect her own Omnitrix. "Man, this thing is tight."
"Well, it needs to. The Omnitrix has merged with your skin and is most likely assimilating your DNA as we speak." I told her with some amusement.
"Uh, you know that sometimes I really forget that you are me and not my cousin Glenn?" Jennifer remarked before going silent for a moment. "But I thank you for the lesson."
"Oh, the lesson hasn't even begun. Come here." I told her with a smug smile and signaled for her to approach me. Once she climbed her way out of the crater, I gestured for her to show me her left wrist, doing so allowed me to easily access this reality's version of the Omnitrix. "As you can see, our watches are very similar, though mine has some features I've unlocked along the way." Sensing that I had her full attention I explained. "For now, all you gotta do is press this button. Then, when the ring pops up, just twist it until you see the species that you want to be. Slam it down, and bammo! It's hero time!"
"That is so cool!" Jen gushed as she looked at her wrist before turning to face me again. "Nice catch phrase by the way, mind if I steal it?"
"Knock yourself out." I shrugged my shoulders and smiled.
"Sweet." She cheered with a fist in the air. "And you were saying that I will start things with ten forms already unlocked?"
"Yup." I nodded and she cheered again. "From now on, any time the watch comes into contact with more sufficiently intelligent DNA that is considerably different from yours, it will glow yellow and you will get yourself a new form."
"So it will be like collectibles? Awesome!" She quickly understood and immediately proceeded to activate the Omnitrix, as she was going through all the silhouettes, Jen asked me. "Which one should I try first?"
"Whichever you want, I'm here just to guide you through the journey, and something tells me that you learn faster by actually experiencing each form than sitting here all day long listening to everything I know." Was my honest answer to her.
"Okay, if you say so." She replied before stopping on a familiar silhouette, the one belonging to the armored velociraptor, she shouted before slamming down the dial. "Let's bet on a race and see who is faster!"
Shielding my eyes for a moment, I waited until the green flash of light was over. However, instead of becoming the female version of my Kinneceleran (XRL8) transformation, what stood before me was a tiny frog-looking gray alien, a Galvan (Grey Matter) with slightly more feminine features than my own form.
"Hey! That's not the speedy guy I was going for!" She told me with her high pitched voice and annoyed expression.
Immediately squatting down before her, while laying my arms over my legs, I stared at her in mild disappointment. "On our way here, didn't I warn you to not slam the watch? It will randomly turn you into another transformation."
"You…did. But..I-I…I was just too excited to try this out." Jen told me with a hint of embarrassment.
"Well, I suppose you would have to turn into this girl sooner or later." I tried to raise her spirits and quickly succeeded in doing so by picking her up.
I had to consider for a moment about how I could better summarize each one of her transformations' uses, but once I realized that I didn't really need to cover every single detail, mostly because prime Ben did just fine by himself, I at least enjoyed the opportunity to mentor a variant of my childhood hero.
"Alright!" Jen motivated herself before better inspecting her new body. "So what can this alien do? Wait, don't tell me that I'm just a frog?"
"Not exactly. Sure, you can jump, climb, swim and even catch flies with your tongue." I saw as she made a face of disgust at my initial words. "But you are a Galvan, the smartest species alive in this and probably in many other galaxies."
"So I'm now a know-it-all? To be honest, I don't feel all that smart." Jen told me while scratching her head.
"Don't you think that makes sense?" I asked her. "After all, intelligence is a complex and multifaceted trait. You didn't magically learn things you never heard about. It's just that your brain can now process information much faster than it ever did, not to mention that you should also possess photographic memory to recall subjects you originally didn't quite understand at first."
"I think you are right, I can recall how ignorant I was in my last school test, struggling to solve such basic mathematical questions feels like I couldn't even write my own name. Oh, I can even list all the cheat codes of my video game from the top of my head." Jen was about to lose herself on a tangent until I spoke up again.
"There you go." I gave her a small pat on her head and placed her back on the ground as we both heard the beeping noise of her Omnitrix badge, once she reverted back to her human form I said. "Other than sneak your way around tight spaces, I think we have covered the basics of that form."
"Ah man, not that I am complaining to not be stuck as Ms. Brainiac, but wasn't that too quick for a time out?" She asked me while noticing that the watch was locked into recharge mode.
"Another reason for you to not slam the dial. Not only do you turn into a random form, but also get a random amount of time." I told her while placing my hand over her watch.
"So, how long will it take to rechar—" Jen was about to ask until she heard the familiar beep, and the watch's dial went from red to green. "Wow, that was quick! What did you do?"
"A little trick I've learned." Jen stared at me, probably thinking that I would share my secret regarding my Anodite aura. "Don't worry, after I help you unlock the master control you won't have to rely on that trick. But let's get you at least acquainted with each transformation before that."
"O-okay. Hmmm…I think I will call the first gal Grey Mind, what do you think?" She asked me, almost guessing the original nickname of this transformation.
"I dig it." Was my answer after pondering about it for a moment.
"Really?" She asked, blushing as my hand lingered for a while over her Omnitrix. After nodding while releasing her wrist, I gestured for her to proceed. "So…if I'm careful enough I might finally get the speedy dinosaur."
"Go for it." I gave her a thumbs up and she pressed the watch more calmly this time.
As the bright flash of light came and went away, I was finally presented to the female variation of my Kinneceleran (XRL8) form, which kind of reminded me of what that variant of Gwen that had her own Omnitrix turned into. I mean, safe for the pink and blue themes on her eyes, Omnitrix badge and bio-suit.
"Wow! I feel as if I have drunk too much coffee!" Jen admitted in her raspy voice before running all around me in small bursts of speed. "Check it out! Heh! It feels like you are stuck into slow motion."
"Haha. Very funny, Jen." I told her in a sarcastic way with my arms crossed, not long after I mentally commanded my omnitrix to turn me into my Kinneceleran (XRL8) form and continued saying despite the sudden change of voice. "This time I will say less and let you get the hang of things on your own. Follow me."
As I finished saying that, my visor closed shut and I zoomed out of there.
"Hey, not fair! You didn't make a countdown!" I heard Jen complaining as she tried to keep up.
Occasionally I had to slow down a little because the forest near our camp wasn't the easiest terrain to traverse, much less in super speed. Jen tripped once or twice but to her credit she quickly recovered and regained her pace without crashing into anything.
As skilled and experienced as I was in this form, it is undeniably impressive how naturally fast this species really was. Even after running over a nearby lake, Jen didn't hesitate before following me, at first she almost lost her balance, but just like original Ben did she pulled it off on her first try.
Frankly, sometimes I could've sworn that Jen almost caught up with me, though I suspected she only got this close because I feared that going faster would've been dangerous for someone still learning her way around the wheels on each of her feet.
By the time Jen tripped a bit harder than usual, I quickly reversed my direction and caught her before she injured herself.
"You know, Jen, you are natural at this." I told her as my visor lifted and revealed my face.
"Ah…uh, thanks. I'm you…heh, remember?" She struggled a bit to reply, apparently the trip left her dazed for a moment. "It's just that…I-I…I thought I could go faster."
I chuckled at her antics. "Heh. Jen, look around you."
"Uh? What do you mea—" She was about to question until she noticed how visibly slower the world around us was going. "Wow! Dude, that's crazy! I'm totally naming this form Deadtime! You know, from Dead on Time!"
However, that time dilation soon ended since we slowed down our pace considerably while standing still.
As I was about to suggest a better name for her form before moving on to explain a bit more about the species we had turned into, I felt Jen's arms tightening around my shoulders and pulling me closer. Since I could keep my hyper speed even without running, I managed to notice that the girl was actually pulling me up for a kiss.
Instead of overreacting, I just dropped her down flat on her ass.
"Ouch!" Jen shouted, more in shock than in actual pain. "What was that for?"
"I'm the one who should be asking that." I quickly replied while crossing my arms. "Were you really trying to give me a kiss of thanks for catching you after you tripped?"
"I— don't be ridiculous! I was…I was…" She rebutted, but once she stopped to contemplate what she was about to do, her face betrayed a mixture of both confusion and embarrassment. "Dude, I'm so sorry! I have no idea what got into me."
I stared at her for a brief moment, this alien brat before me seemed genuinely startled by what she almost did, to the point her visor instinctively closed to hide her face.
Using my magical aura to get a read on her superficial thoughts and emotions I got proof of her confusion and embarrassment. But since my perception had been greatly boosted by my current transformation, I also managed to get something entirely different during that brief moment where I was almost kissed by my female variant.
It was…lust? Coming from this 10 years old kid? Wait FBI!! I'm sure there must be a logical reason for that!
Come to think about it, I could kind of sense something similar in me, though thanks to my excellent control over my emotions, it was much more faint than what I sensed from Jen. For a fraction of a second, that girl actually wanted to get busy with me. But just as quickly as that instinct came, it vanished.
"Please say something, Gle— I mean, Ben." Jen brought me out of my thoughts, although I could clearly hear the embarrassment in her voice.
"Don't worry, Jen, I'm not doubting you. I really believe it was not your fault." I said while walking towards her as she was still sitting on the ground, offering her my hand I continued. "Apologies for the silence, I was busy thinking about what actually happened."
"I should be the one apologizing, dude." She accepted my hand still a bit meekly as I helped her up and pressed the badge on her chest, reverting her back to her human form. "Any ideas?"
"Plenty of theories, but nothing solid for now. If something similar happens, please do tell me." I said while looking at the sky, almost cursing once I recalled that we had a meeting scheduled with a certain squid-face, so I decided to speed things up a little. "We should proceed."
"Sure." Was the answer Jen gave me, still visibly uncomfortable from what just happened. "Who should I pick nex— oh, right, is my choice." She looked through the silhouettes on the watch, eventually stopping on the one with wings.
As she pressed the button and turned into her Lepidopterran (Stinkfly) form, I could immediately tell the differences between her transformation and mine. For starters, she was at least twice as big as my base form, with thicker limbs and abdomen. Secondly, I could see that instead of the sharp-edged wings my transformation boasted, hers was larger and rounder, resembling the wings of a butterfly. Lastly, her exoskeleton was a tone of green lighter than mine and her scent, albeit nowhere near what I would describe as pleasant, was still more tolerable than mine.
"Am I a giant bug?" Jen questioned with her altered voice as she circled around to better see herself. "Okay, these aliens really must have something with our planet, it's the third that resembles something that we know from here."
"Again, that's not a bad guess." I told Jen, being a bit proud of her for making that connection. "Granted, for all we know that might as well be the case. But keep in mind that we have no frame of reference in regards to these species. Perhaps it's just a weird coincidence."
"Makes sense." She acknowledged. "I guess it's not as if it really matters in the end. So, what can I do?"
"Basically, you have flight, improved vision and can spit either flammable or sticky slime from both your mouth and eyes." I briefly summarized for her as I reverted back to my human form and proceeded to suddenly climb over her back.
"W-what are you doing?" Jen asked me a bit startled, probably still sensitive from what had happened a while ago. "Won't you turn into the same alien?"
"And miss the experience? No thanks." I casually dismissed it and ignored any other complaints she might have, other than wanting to enjoy the ride I was also exploring a theory of mine. "Now, try moving your wings, it might be a bit hard to synchronize them on your first time, but once you get it right you will be making it without breaking a sweat."
"Okay, got it." Jen replied with her high pitched voice. "This Puke Queen is taking off!"
After a brief moment for her to bat her wings fast enough to produce a breeze, she finally lifted herself off the ground and almost immediately spinned around due to one set of wings being slightly faster than the other.
By the time we began flying over the treetops, Jen's time was almost halfway over, so I quickly began giving her some tricks I picked up from experiencing this transformation. Soon enough we were basically recreating that Test Drive scene from How To Train Your Dragon, safe for the part where the protagonist almost died.
Having timed Jen's transformation from the beginning, I knew exactly when she would eventually time out. After we landed safely and Jen reverted back to her human form, she complained a bit about how weird it was to no longer have extra limbs and wings.
As I immediately aided her by recharging her Omnitrix much faster than it would've by itself, she immediately proceeded to select her next transformation.
"Hmmm…eenie meenie miney mo." Jen said before finally pressing the dial as it displayed the silhouette of an aquatic humanoid creature, the usual green light flashed over my closed eyes and when I opened them back again in Jen's place stood a female version of my Piscciss Volann (Ripjaws) transformation.
One of the main differences on Jen's form from mine, other than the more feminine aspects, was that hers had two fins on the sides of her more rounded face that resembled ears and another set that was bigger on each side of her hips. Not only that, but she also had long and voluminous green hair that reminded me of seaweed.
"Uh, dope, I'm a fish stick now. Though it's a real pity I got legs instead of a fishtail, it would've been neat to act like a mermaid." Jen said with her deep voice while checking herself out and placing her hair behind her ear-fins, until suddenly she began grasping her neck with a slight discomfort in her breathing. "Is it just me or did the air just become dryer?"
"I was hoping that your Omnitrix would have that problem fixed from the start." I told her while dragging her by the hand to a nearby lake. "You see, the species you've turned into is called Piscciss Volann and they have a hard time breathing outside of water."
"So…this…form…is…lite—rally…a…fish…out…of…water. Wait…you…said—" Jen struggled to speak as she began to hyperventilate, before she was about to keep forcing herself to speak I interrupted her.
"Shhh, you can talk later. For now you need to take a dip." I told her as we reached a small cliff next to a lake and I threw her onto it without much warning.
"Hey!" Jen protested as she was caught by surprise and fell into the cold body of water, but once she refreshed herself and emerged back her tone was much happier. "Ahhh! I really needed that! Thanks!"
"You are welcome." I said while squatting down on the small cliff next to the lake and smiling at her. "Did you notice something different?"
"What do you mean? Should I?" She asked, confused. "I mean, I can breathe now. That's definitely a major improvement."
"Take a look down below." I almost facepalmed as I pointed out the obvious difference in Jen's alien body.
"Down below? What do you—oh!" She was about to assume that I was messing with her until she noticed her legs had morphed into a long fishtail which considerably boosted her mobility in bodies of water. "I'm a complete mermaid now! That's pretty freaking awesome!"
"Glad you like it!" I smiled at her celebration, thinking that if not for her dangerously sharp teeth and claws Jen could've been described as cute. "You might not be naturally adapted to breathing out of water, but at least you can switch between legs and this tail."
"Well, I suppose beggars can't be choosers." Jen shrugged as her attention was still directed at her tail. "What else can I do?"
Standing up properly and making my way around the border of the lake, I began listing out the basic details of that transformation. "You have teeth and a powerful jaw that lets you munch through the toughest of metals, thick skin that can easily shrug off blades and most types of bullets, enhanced underwater senses and that angler on your forehead lets you produce bioluminescent light."
"Sweet!" Jen grinned as she rested her head over her crossed arms which hung over the lake's edge. "But what about my need to breathe out of water? You said you expected that my watch would have it fixed from the start, does that mean you've managed to fix it?"
"Always the clever girl, huh?" I winked at her and signaled for her to leave the water and approach me.
"Wait, I think I still have some time before timing out." She argued but I just dismissed it.
"Don't worry, I won't put you through that experience again." I assured her and she eventually trusted me enough to crawl out of the lake. Before she had the chance to dry up, I pressed the badge on her shoulder and reverted her back to human form.
"Wow! How did you do that?" She asked me, genuinely surprised that I successfully bypassed the time duration of her transformation.
"I just pressed it. Heh." I told her with a chuckle. "You need to keep that badge locked down while in action, otherwise you will be a bump away from turning back to your human form."
"Thanks for the warning, I guess." Was Jen reply before she recalled why she had approached me in the first place. "So, about fixing that transformation of mine…"
"Don't worry, just extend your left wrist and I will get it fixed in no time." I assured her and as she complied I linked our Omnitrixes together and left the job for Alpha. "Next time you turn into…"
I was about to call the transformation by the name of the species, but decided to let Jen name it herself.
"Oh, uh, how about…Sea Maiden?" She told me with an expectant smile.
"Sea Maiden? Hmm…" I pondered for a moment, repeating that name a couple of times in my head until I spoke up again. "I like it."
"You do?" She blushed for a moment before recomposing herself and smiled again. "I mean, of course you do, we both have amazing taste."
"If you say so, heh." I nodded with an amused chuckle before continuing with my previous comment. "Next time you turn into Sea Maiden, your watch will give you breathing tanks over your gills."
"I'm sure that will come in handy." Jen said with a smile.
"I sure hope so." I agreed and added. "Not only that, I helped you with some other two of your forms."
"Wait, more incomplete transformations?" Jen groaned in disbelief. "Dude, who built this thing. I mean, don't get me wrong, the Omnitrix is amazing, but these sorts of things shouldn't have been a problem to begin with. Did he or she never hear of patches before?"
"Heh, you got a point there. But the watch as it is is just a prototype, so I wouldn't put all the blame on its creator." I told her just in case she ever comes across this reality's version of Azimuth.
"Still." Jen scratched her head before changing subjects. "Should we continue with those two other transformations you've mentioned?"
"Sure." I disconnected our watch, personally activated her Omnitrix and began twisting her dial. "First one is basically a machine."
Pressing the dial once I found the silhouette of a Galvanic Mechamorph (Upgrade), I instinctively covered my eyes before the green light flashed and by the time I uncovered them I was presented with the image of what a female Galvanic Mechamorph (Upgrade) would look like, which disappointingly was identical to its male variant.
'Huh, inorganic life form, should've seen that coming.' I thought to myself.
"Oh man, I'm really a machine?" I heard Jen's voice, which was more robotic than mine was during my first time as this species.
"Actually, you are at least a billion tiny robots." I told her and saw that she focused her singular circular eye to better inspect her skin.
"That's so sick!" She gushed again. "So, what can I do?"
"Basically you can fuse with technology and improve it, to the point where even a basic machine can easily become a weapon in your hands." I told her while handing her the MP3 I got back from the RV.
As she picked it up, the small piece of tech alongside its headphones were absorbed into her palm and Jen's body began shifting around to manifest speakers.
"Heh, Glenn will be so mad once he hears that I ate his precious MP3." Jen said a bit concerned before poking the speakers on her arms.
"Don't worry, usually the tech you improve will revert back once you release it." I said while looking around her body, looking for the place where the MP3 might've been stored, until suddenly I punched a hole inside her stomach and retrieved it back.
"Hey! You really need to start giving me some warnings." Jen complained, her tone a bit softer than her words implied. "I mean, at least now I know that Update here doesn't feel pain from being punched, but still."
"Sorry." I smiled apologetically before showing her that the MP3 was intact. "But as you can see, despite no longer being merged with it, the blueprints have remained on your transformation. As you get to scan more technology you will continue to add it to your arsenal."
"Alright, that's incredible. You think I can get myself a tank or a fighter jet? Or better yet, a SPACESHIP!" She cheered and blasted a loud sound from her speakers, if not for my magical barrier I might've gotten my eardrums burst. "S-sorry! It didn't mean to do that!"
"Don't worry, I'm not that easily hurt." I told her with a dismissive smile before getting a bit more serious. "But you will need to be careful, the Omnitrix might've been created for a different reason, but it's regarded as the most powerful weapon of the universe for a reason. You will come across some war machines such as tanks, fighter jets, submarines and even alien spaceships, but I urge you to take this as a serious responsibility."
"I-I…I understand." Jen eventually replied with a nod. "I won't abuse my powers. You will see, I will make you proud."
That caught me by surprise. Sure, I wasn't a stranger to the idea that girls mature faster than boys, but to have me as a mentor figure who's worthy of being made proud wasn't part of my plans. Guess it just adds to the sense of responsibility I was starting to develop towards this girl.
"Glad to hear it." I nodded before suddenly poking the Omnitrix badge on her chest and consequently reverting her back to her human form.
"I totally forgot you could do that." She replied with a facepalm. "Next time please teach me how to lock it properly."
"Sure thing." I said as I quickly selected the next transformation on her watch's dial. "Sorry for rushing things for you, it's just that we are running out of time."
"It's that bad guy you mentioned before?" Jen asked me while referring to what I told her about Vilgax, to which I merely nodded in agreement. "Don't worry, I'm already learning lots of stuff from a pro such as you."
"I really hope that's indeed the case." I said before pressing the watch and activating her next transformation. "This one for instance will be one headache that you won't be having."
"What do you mean?" She asked as she noticed her voice now resembled two people speaking, one that spoke in a whispering tone while the other spoke while gasping. "Dude, don't tell me I can also turn into a ghoooost!"
"Alright, I won't tell you." I replied with a provocative grin, although Jen was a bit too occupied checking herself out.
From my perspective, her Ectonurite (Ghostfreak) form resembled an undead bride, with a veil that possessed the same black slit which opened up for her singular pink eye, long hanging sleeves which almost hid her bony hands and a long skirt, all of these pieces being tattered especially on their edges, not to mention her tail coming down from her creepy gown.
"Let me guess, I can speak with the dead?" Was Jen's first assumption after getting used to her new body.
"You know, I've never actually tried it." I admitted as my hand grasped my chin. "If you manage that feat, I would like to hear about it."
"Sure thing." Jen said, her voice almost succeeding to send chills down my spine. "But you mentioned having some sort of trouble with this transformation."
"Let's just say that this race can exist even in the smallest pieces of its DNA and that the original donor of this transformation wasn't exactly pleased to be controlled each time I turned into it." I revealed only the essential information about the demon that was Zs'Skayr before giving her a brief explanation of what I managed to achieve after spending some hours as my Ultimate Galvan (Grey Matter) form. "I wasn't sure that it would be the same for you, but since your Omnitrix also had that problem with making a breathing apparatus for your Sea Maiden form, I cleansed everything that didn't belong to the base Ectonurite species just to be safe."
"I see." Jen replied while staring at me with her singular sinister eye. "Thanks for taking care of me."
"Like always, you are welcome." I nodded back and placed my hands over my waist. "So, what are you waiting for? Go for a test drive, for now focus on getting invisible and to phase past some rocks and trees."
"Got it!" She told me before flying away like an apparition.
As she explored her ghostly powers, I took the opportunity to test how my Anodite powers fared in comparison to an Ectonurite (Ghostfreak). Since she didn't possess any life energy, it was considerably harder to locate her, and as Morningstar had learned from dueling one, neither did it had any mana to be absorbed. But that didn't mean that Ectonurites were immune to magic like that turtle species, it's just a matter of being well versed in some necromancy, the best part though was that I could conjure these spells even as an alien ghost.
Recalling most of the spells I've learned from the Archamada book, I started with Detect Dead and eventually managed to pinpoint Jen's location as her protoplasm appeared to me like a cloud of blue glowing particles. I also sensed some wildlife that was recently killed by some predator, and even sensed some fait energy which I assumed to be a human body buried for who knows how long.
A couple of minutes later, I sensed Jen's ectoplasm getting near me from behind.
"So, are you having fun?" I casually asked, startling her before she could attempt to scare me.
"Ah, man." Jen groaned as she became visible once again. "Has anyone ever told you that sometimes you're no fun?"
"Once or twice." I said jokingly before standing up and placing my hand over her Omnitrix badge and twisted to the side. "Just so you know, this is how you locked it."
"Oh…Thanks." That apparently took her by surprise, again. As I twisted it back again and pressed it in order to reverse her back to her human form, she asked. "So, now that I'm done with Poltergeist, who's next?"
"You have four more other transformations to go." I told her before once again assuming control of her Omnitrix and twisting the dial in order to show her each silhouette. "Fire, Muscles, Crystal and Beast."
"Hmmm…" Jen pondered for a brief moment before telling me with a smug expression. "You know me, I'm always ready to pump up the heat!"
"Alright…brace yourself then." I warned her and selected the Pyronite transformation in her watch and pressed the dial, which immediately prompted me to step back a little as Jen literally caught fire.
"Oh my God, Oh my God!" Jen almost screamed, but soon recalled that it wasn't supposed to hurt her, so once she was sure that the burning sensation would never come, she began laughing rather menacingly. "Heheheh! Check me out, Ben! I'm totally hot!" But she stuttered for a moment as she realized what she just said. "I-I mean…not in that way, I mean, sure, I'm the best…but look!" She showed me her hands made out of blazing plasma. "This is soooooo freaking cool!"
Looking at her blazing figure, I noticed that despite the fact that Pyronites were not exactly organic beings there was still some dimorphism between our transformations, which included a skinnier figure, wider hips alongside thinner waist and shoulder width. Another curious thing was that her Omnitrix had seen as necessary to grant her a biosuit which resembled a one piece swimsuit that was white on the right half and black on the left half. Though I wasn't sure how those clothes would affect her ability to dissemble into a cloud of smoke.
"I'm glad that you are still having fun." I told her with a smile while keeping some distance from her, just by standing this close I could feel the air being dried and heated up to uncomfortable levels. "There is always some danger in playing with fire, especially for those around you."
"You are right." She said while trying to burn less intensively. "Sorry! Sorry!"
"You are good." I assured her before starting to give her a crash course in regards to her burning physiology. "As you can see, not only do your own flames not hurt you, but you will eventually find out that even dangerous explosions won't be enough to tickle you. As for what you get on top of that, think of your run-of-the-mill fire control and dial it up to an eleven. You got the whole package, fireballs, firebreath and even flight through fire propulsion."
"Oh yeah! This form rocks!" She fist bumped the air and accidentally shot a blast of fire upwards which exploded like fireworks once it was high enough. "S-sorry! I didn't mean to do that! B-but…I'm sort of glad that I did. I just want to blast some stuff and release some steam."
"I would advise you against that idea." I warned her and noticed how easily I threw off her excitement. "Not because you shouldn't play with your powers from time to time, that definitely helps you improve your skills in a more natural way. But more specifically because this forest seems a bit drier than usual, so any spark could easily escalate into a massive fire."
"That…actually makes sense." Jen eventually agreed to my suggestion, though her excitement had waned considerably from earlier.
"As for your previous comment…" I tried to come up with something to lighten up her mood. "…this form indeed rocks. Quite literally given how you can also reshape stone as your flames envelope it."
"You're serious?" She asked while staring at me with her flaming skull. "I mean, not that I doubt you, but it's just…it's just…"
"Unbelievable?" I offered her a word to complete her sentence, still finding her excitement for basically anything I presented her to be very amusing.
"Y-yeah!" Jen accepted my suggestion while understanding the risks of trying anything at that moment. "I gotta test this Blaze Caster whenever I'm out of this forest."
"You will have plenty of opportunities." I assured her before gesturing for her to time out intentionally.
"Oh, right! Right! Bad guy will be here soon." She acknowledged my rush before taping over her Omnitrix badge and reverting herself back to her human form. "You know, I think I'm getting the hang of this."
"I'm glad to hear it. The reason I'm asking you to go through each and every single one of your current transformations is to give you a head start on mastering your newfound powers." I complimented her before taking control of her Omnitrix again. "But I would urge you to think less about merely out punching your opponents and more about outsmarting them. Consider each one of your forms, memorize their strengths and weaknesses, not only to avoid getting caught by surprise but also to avoid putting others into unnecessary harm."
Jen remained silent for a moment, worrying me that I had finally managed to get on her nerves, until she finally replied with a thoughtful expression. "So it's kinda like that Sumo Slammers card game? Each warrior has its combat specialty and favored terrain. Ishiyama is by far the strongest one, but if your opponent has the perfect combo to counter him then he won't stand a chance."
I raised an eyebrow at her comparison, having almost forgotten that this franchise must've continued to remain relevant in other realities other than mine, which didn't go unnoticed by Jen.
"Wait, don't tell me you don't have Sumo Slammers in your reality?" She asked, almost shouting to my face.
"Meh. I recall being into it when I was younger." I teased her. "But I no longer see the appeal. I'm more into Guardians of the Universe, their lore is deep and their latest video game is just an instant classic."
"Really? Hard to believe there's something cooler than Sumo Slammers." Jen told me with an expression of disbelief before pouting. "Wish I could visit your universe and see it for myself."
"Who knows, if I learn more about what brought me here in the first place I might get some ideas on how to have you as my guest next time." I told her the truth. "Besides, I would certainly appreciate your help from time to time."
"Sweet! Count me in!" Jen agreed to my suggestion before pressing the dial of her Omnitrix, accepting my choice for her next transformation without batting an eye.
As her Omnitrix entered her body and the usual green light flashed everywhere, I was finally presented to her Petrosapien (Diamondhead) form. Which was a shade lighter than my own original form's pale green and had a slimmer figure.
"Oh, isn't she pretty?" Were the first words I got from Jen as she saw her own reflection in her Crystal-like skin. "Am I literally made out of diamonds? Man, I'm filthy rich!"
"You might indeed be." I pondered for a moment, having once found it stupid how the creators of the show came out of their way to state that Diamondhead's crystals had no value. "I mean, the mineral you are made of certainly is rare, given how this species is basically extinct, also I can definitely attest to its durability and sharpness. As for commercial value, if you can convince them that it is pretty, since that's mostly on the eye of the beholder, I bet you will get everyone's attention once you show them this trick."
As I picked a small flashlight from my pocket, I light it up against her crystalline skin and we both witnessed as the light refracted through her body, producing a mesmerizing visual spectacle.
"Wow! Shiny!" Jen exclaimed in awe as she stared at her semi-translucent arm. "I'm totally calling this girl Crystal Shine! Badass isn't it?" She apparently still expected my approval of her choice of names, instead of speaking against it I just nodded and she proceeded with her line of thought. "Buuuut…what's her powers anyway? I mean, besides looking pretty."
So in those still remaining minutes before she timed out, I gave her a brief crash course about both Crystal and Photokinesis. She was especially hyped for the idea of shedding off some of her defenses in order to resemble a ninja, that and the ability of materializing her own near-indestructible razor-sharp weapons.
Similar to what I've been doing up to that point, I also dropped a couple of hints in regards to what I knew about her transformations' species and that she might come across one of them in her heroic adventures. Probably a bit less subtle this time since I wasn't completely sure if Tetrax would still appear for her later on her summer trip.
"Now that's what I call a heroic tribute!" Jen declared after she succeeded in sculpting a crystal statue of her current appearance. By the time she received my thumbs up of approval we both heard the beeping noise of her Omnitrix badge. "Wow, I wasn't sure if it would remain here after I turned back to my human form. How long do you think it will stay as it is?"
Shrugging my shoulders I casually replied what I knew. "It's not ice, so don't expect it to melt off anytime soon. And from one of my encounters with a time manipulator I don't think it ages either. If not for its weakness to high frequency attacks I might say that it would still be here by the time you are acknowledged as the biggest heroine of this reality. That is if no exploration group finds it by accident first, in that case you might expect to hear about it everywhere on the news."
"Yeah, so you're saying that it's better for me to just get rid of it?" Jen asked with a disappointed expression.
"Not necessarily." I told her after looking around the forest and finding a nearby mountain. "Let's at least find somewhere to hide it properly."
"All the way up there?" Jen asked, struggling to see past the night's dark sky, before turning to face her crystal statue. "Do you have any idea how heavy this stuff must be?"
"I bet it's heavier than it looks." I told her with a smile while stretching my hand and she instinctively offered me her Omnitrix. "Let's go with muscles this time."
As I picked and pressed the silhouette which had four arms, I quickly stepped back and shielded my eyes from the green flash of light. Fortunately, once the glow faded and I was able to see Jen's Tetramand (Four Arms) form, I was glad to see that despite being a muscular giantess with four arms, the Omnitrix apparently knew better than to just giver the classic Sheeva's v-shaped attire.
Don't get me wrong, her clothes were still somewhat revealing, with a x-shaped bra that did nothing to conceal her ripped abs and a loincloth that certainly accentuated both her thin waist and wide hips. But other than that, the main difference from my own base transformation is that her skin was of a darker shade and she actually had similar hair to her human form.
"Dude! What is this!" Jen exclaimed in a manner that was a bit hard for me to initially grasp if she disapproved of her wardrobe or the prospect of being a literal red giantess was a bit too much for her. But that confusion quickly faded once I saw a smug grin on her face and she began making some bodybuilding poses. "Yeah Baby! That's what I'm talking about! I'm totally calling this one Handiva!"
"Glad you are enjoying yourself up there." I said while stretching my head upwards in order to look her in the eyes, all four of them, before pointing towards the crystal statue from before. "How about putting those muscles to use?"
"Oh, right! I got this!" Jen replied with her deep voice and slightly embarrassed demeanor. And as she walked her way towards it, I got a better understanding of how massive and heavy this species was. It was one thing to be the big guy in the room, everything looks smaller and lighter than usual, but to feel the ground and nearby trees slightly shake with a single step of hers was something I had to experience to really understand.
Not long after I watched as Jen lifted, with only a single set of her arms mind you, the really heavy statue as if it was made of cardboard paper.
"So, do you want a ride again?" She asked as she puffed her chest and rested the statue over her shoulder.
"Not this time." I said and mentally ordered my Omnitrix to turn me into my own base Tetramand (Four Arms) transformation. I had another theory I also needed to check, and since I still hadn't totally figured out what was the reason for Jen's weird behavior earlier on, I went for the 'Two Birds, One Stone' approach.
"Wow! For a hot minute I've totally forgotten that you could also turn yourself into an alien." Jen told me a bit embarrassed before quickly getting over it and unceremoniously invading my personal space, which in return allowed me to notice that she towered over me even if by a little. "But I must tell you, I'm all for this form of yours. Really big and red, with those arms and legs."
"Ahhh…thanks, I guess." Was my reply as Jen touched my shoulder. "Is everything alright?"
"Hey…I've never felt better, Hunkules." She told me while staring back at me with sweet eyes. "You know something, I'm so glad to be able to meet you…even if you are me…you get what I'm saying, right?"
"Yeah, sure. That's what I've told you before." I replied as she began caressing my arms.
"Yeah, yeah. I really appreciate knowing that you also feel this way." She added while dropping the crystal statue to the ground without any care for it.
"Ah…Jen, I think I've solved the mystery from before. Let me turn back to my human form just to be sure." I told her while faking that I needed to physically press my Omnitrix badge on my shoulder in order to turn back again.
And just as expected, Jen quickly stopped me from doing so by grabbing my wrist. "Hey, what's the matter? We are totally chill aren't we? I mean, I need to learn more about this transformation if I want to be a better heroine, right?"
"Jen, that's not my point." I told her as I kept my own emotional tension under control. "This intense 'attraction' that you are feeling must be a glitch caused by the fact that we share the same DNA and that our Omnitrixes have turned us into the prime version of this species."
"Did I forget to mention that you look so hot every time you say something smart?" She gave me a grin as if she was ready to devour me and attempted to restrain each one of my arms, looking at how she was starting to hyperventilate I knew things had escalated much quicker than I had initially anticipated. "How about we spar a little, eh? The winner gets to choose the prize."
Man, was I in hot waters right now. I mean, despite the fact that regular female Tetramands were supposed to be stronger than the males, Prime Ben seems to be more than a match for Princess Looma probably because the prime male of the species was on a whole nother level. The thing is, Jen had also become a prime example of her species, only thing being that her female anatomy gave her more room for improvement, to the point that I was actually feeling the pressure around my wrists.
"If you insist." In face of her domineering presence I gave her a confident smirk, to which she seemed to like even more. "Fear not, I will take it easy on you."
Instead of resorting to either going ultimate or activating my Omni armor, I had another trick up my sleeve that I've been meaning to try against a tough opponent.
Mana Enhancement.
I felt my heart beat much faster as it pumped my body with larger doses of my Magical energy, boosting my muscles and bones to achieve power levels that almost compared to my ultimate version. From outside, the first aspect that could be noticed was that my eyes were green and steaming with energy, followed by my bulging muscles and blood vessels that almost ripped my omnisuit. From the first and last time I attempted this new technique, I felt it made me resemble the World Breaker Hulk, safe for the red skin and the extra set of arms.
At that moment, I found enough strength to casually force my arms apart, despite Jen's attempts to shackle me in place, until I brought all my hands together into a mighty thunderclap that blasted her half a mile back through countless trees and stones. Such was the shockwave's explosive power that I created a small crater beneath my feet and shook everything within a considerable radius. Had this form of mine possessed actual ears, I've no doubt that they would be bleeding by now.
Quickly recovering from that output of energy, I soon pursued Jen with a massive leap as she was still being carried away by the momentum of my recent attack. By the time I landed all the way near her, I watched as she struggled to grab onto something in order to anchor herself in place, incidentally carving large trenches for a considerable distance.
By then I was beginning to get worried that I might have overdone it a little, until I witnessed that despite her messed up hair and several superficial cuts on her thick skin, her grin of excitement still remained. As the red giantess took a brief moment to wipe a bit of blood from her mouth and tie most of her hair into a ponytail.
"Is that the best you've got?" I heard Jen provoking me with a teasing smile before sprinting towards my direction. "Now it's my turn!"
As she bulldozed her way through what remained of the environment, I prepared myself to strike at the most opportune moment. Once she was at arm's length and ready to squash me with all four of her upper limbs, I merely sidestepped her first assault before immediately sneaking a precise yet explosive uppercut past her defenses.
Seeing how she stumbled a bit after my punch connected with her chin, I imagine it might've stung a bit. Despite that, from her fierce stare I knew Jen still wanted to fight back, nonetheless it was still easy for me to block her blind jab and counter with a cross to the left cheek. Still not giving up while still dazed, she attempted two wild swinging punches, thrown with her full weight behind it and probably with the intent to send me into the middle of next week. Unfortunately for her I easily negated her effort with a double elbow block followed by two opportunistic body shots that probably cracked something.
The girl still had an ocean of fighting spirit inside her, so I had to deal with two feral left punches that weren't all that easy to block. I made her pay for that by weakening her jaw with horizontal and a reverse elbow strikes, although I could I decided against fracturing or dislocating it. However I still kept going on her ribs and solar plexus, until I thought she'd had enough and finished with a heel kick to the diaphragm that sent her tumbling all the way back where my first attack had sent her.
Jumping just after I landed my last kick, I managed to land right on top of her and pinned her to the ground with my feet. Resting my arms over my knee, I teased her with a confident smile. "Still trying to tickle me?"
Destroying any worries I might've had that she wouldn't be able to withstand the punishment I rained down upon her, Jen spit a bit more blood and gave me a coughing laughter as if she was having the time of her life. "Hehehehe. Yeah!"
"Eyes up here, kid!" I warned her once I noticed her attention wasn't entirely on our fight.
"R-right! Focus, Jen!" That answer of hers was the first sign of the real Jen underneath all that explosion of emotion boiling up inside her. As she attempted to place her feet against my belly and launch me far away similar to how I did to her, I grabbed one of them and ragdolled her against the ground a couple of times, kinda like how the Hulk humiliated Loki that one time, before spinning her around and launching her up in the air.
Once she landed and was unable to move a muscle, I knew it was about time for us to hear the telltale sign of her timing out, and since I would rather not see how all that beating would translate to the body of a ten years old girl, I immediately deactivated my mana enhancement mode and reached for her with one of my massive arms, channeling the magic of my Charm of Resurrection to boost my healing spell.
By the time the bright green flash of light enveloped her body and changed her back to human, what was left before me was a visibly tired Jen that was physically unharmed. And I was more than glad to have this whole 'Cindy Moon and Peter Parker' debacle over.
"Hmmmmm." I heard Jen groaning while still lying against the ground, though by the time I saw how red her face was becoming and almost worried that some Tetramand DNA might've somehow remained inside her, I received her embarrassed request. "Please, let's…just…forget that this ever happened, okay?"
Offering her my hand, I just gave her my friendliest smile and said. "What happened?"
She immediately nodded and gave me a faint smile before accepting my hand and standing up again.
"So, should we get done with this and go for my last transformation?" Jen asked me while not making eye contact.
"Since the last one remaining is a wild blind beast with heightened senses and powerful instincts, I think it's better you try it out once I'm back to my dimension." I suggested, not really trying to provoke anything, quite the contrary, but I still got a weak punch on the shoulder from Jen.
I usually have a policy about girls keeping their hands to themselves, especially for Gwen back when she was in her tsundere phase, but after I landed more than a few hits on her I was enough of a good sport to not dodge from that last one.
"So…what should we do now?" Jen asked, still a bit shaken from recent events.
"Let's just find a place to hide that statue of yours and I will seal it with a Notice-me-not enchantment." I told Jen while signaling for her to climb over my shoulders.
Instead of trying to avoid making contact with me at all cost, she actually accepted my hand once again and sat next to my head. As I held her in place with one hand, I leapt all the way where we left the crystal statue, once I picked it up with my arms on the other side and jumped once again.
Took me less than a couple of minutes to find a cave that would suit our needs, as I placed it in place I heard Jen asking me about this enchantment I totally copied from my memories of Harry Potter.
"Oh, in basic terms I'm using magic to hide this place's presence from the surroundings and convince any other rational brain that comes near it that its existence is not information worth retaining." I told her just as I finished drawing up the necessary arcane glyphs in the air before moving on towards the cave's exit.
"Not gonna lie, Magic seems a bit cooler than I've given it credit before." Jen told me with an expectant look. "Say…if I was to consider learning a few magical tricks here and there, what would it take me?"
"Hmmm." I pretended to have to think about it for a moment before finally replying. "You might have to spend a couple of hours meditating and probably researching through some ancient books in order to expand your understanding of the arcane arts."
"Um-hum…" She almost cringed at my previous recommendation. "Yeah, I think I will stick to the all powerful alien watch business for now."
"As you wish." I nodded back and just then we both witnessed a red beam of light crashing farther away into the forest we've been practicing just a few minutes ago. "Speaking of said business…ready to face the second in command before facing the big boss?"
Jen stared at the distance while placing one hand over her Omnitrix, finally realizing that it was all fun and games until she had to face real bad guys who would stop at nothing until they got their hands on the watch stuck around her wrist. Although, to her credit I didn't even need to give her some pep talk or anything for her to quickly reply with a confident smile. "It's hero time!"
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JEN'S POV
'Alright, it's okay, don't panic Jennifer Tennyson, you totally got this.' I immediately thought to myself as the situation finally dawned on me. 'You've got the most powerful weapon in the universe that you've already learned the basics of and another me from a different reality that's already a pro hero ready to step in if the worst case scenario comes up.'
As I flew towards the sounds of destruction as my Puke Queen (Stinkfly) form, I knew I wanted to prove that I was worthy of the power and knowledge that had been given to me in the last hour or two. Although Ben assured me he would interfere if the situation really went south, he also respected the fact that this was my reality and this was my debut as a super heroine, so he for now would mostly make sure that no one else would get hurt due to my lack of experience.
Still, the fact that he preferred to do so from the sidelines and without showing himself almost made me think that he was still a bit cautious about getting too close while also in his alien forms.
'Grrrr…I can't believe all of that really happened. I totally made a fool out of myself…just hope he doesn't tell it to anyone else.' I lost my focus for a moment right before arriving at my destination. 'No, he said he wouldn't…I trust him. And for that reason I must show that he can totally trust me with this metal head.'
As I glided over the campsite and took a better look at the giant robot that had been terrorizing the people, I finally brought my head back to the mission and immediately pictured my Crystal Shine (Diamondhead) transformation. Just as it had happened the first time I made such a mental command, the Omnitrix's badge beep for a moment before it flashed green and I instantly assumed another one of my transformations.
Ben told me he had unlocked the Master Control or something on my Omnitrix. Which was so cool of him to give me, but that wasn't all that important right now.
Free falling my way towards the giant robot, as it was about to pick up a forest ranger that had been providing first aid to a civilian despite all the chaos surrounding them, I assumed a pose that would allow me to tackle it like an arrow.
Not only did I fall on it with such force that I managed to easily pierce its thick metal armor Ben had mentioned earlier on, but I totally overshot past it and dug myself deep into the ground below once I came out from its other side.
Slicing and dicing at its finest.
Though I might've overestimated my initial strike, given how I was barely able to dig myself out of the ground before I had to momentarily turn into my Deadtime (Xrl8) transformation in order to avoid a barrage of laser blasts being shot down at me.
Staring back at it I noticed that, despite having a massive hole that took one of its arms and legs each, this guy simply won't go down that easily.
But neither would I.
Turning now into my Blaze Caster (Heatblast) form shooting back at it with several magma-like shurikens, I aimed to blind the giant robot before it got lucky and hit me first, only to immediately regret doing so by how it immediately started to shoot blindly at all of its surroundings, exploding some RVs that were abandoned by the fleeing civilians.
"Oops, my bad." I said to no one in particular before picturing in my mind another transformation, this time I thought I could use some technological superiority and instantly assumed my Update (Upgrade) form.
But as I was about to rush towards the blind giant piece of metal in order to merge with it, it released one large disk from its still remaining shoulder that quickly expanded into another type of combat droid, though this time this one could fly.
Taking control over the alien technology, I worked fast to repair most of the damage I made on it and immediately engaged with the smaller robot. Despite having improved visual and weaponry in comparison to the base version of the giant robot, I was still having trouble pinning down the quick bastard who kept shooting lasers at me.
Until I recalled what Ben told me about this transformation of mine being able to memorize every technology that I came into contact, so before I was forced to abandon ship I spawned several speakers all throughout my giant metal body and emitted power sound blast that pushed everything a couple of meters next to me with tremendous force that it easily clipped the wings of that pesky pest.
Once the smaller drone crashed into the ground I morphed my two arms together and produced a huge cannon that completely vaporized it. Once, since the last one remaining was the giant robot that I had under my control, I pulled something I didn't really know I was capable of, which was dismantling every single piece of this second-in-command minion.
Dropping back to the ground as an amorphous metallic blob, I tried my best to assume a more humanoid shape before proudly placing both hands beside my waist and declaring. "Since there is no one else around causing a fuss, it seems my job here is done."
To my surprise, I was greeted by the Rust Bucket right before me as I faced its main entrance. Once the door opened I saw Ben reaching out for me while saying. "Great job, Jen. I knew you could do it. Now, get inside before the authorities arrive."
As I turned to my human form and accepted his hand to get inside, I saw Grandma Maxine staring at me with a look of relief. "So glad you are safe, Jen. But…well, Glenn did tell me about what happened while you two were away, but I still think we need to have a talk."
I was about to gulp in concern but was immediately calmed by Ben's expression of 'everything is going to be ok'.
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Back inside the Chimerian Hammer which was still in orbit, right after Jen's last battle ended, a terminal had finally finished informing the result of said battle before it was suddenly destroyed by an angry punch from the female version of Vilgax.
"My drones are all destroyed!" The intergalactic conqueror shouted furiously before her voice assumed a cold yet still angry demeanor. "Whoever has the Omnitrix possesses great power, but now…they will have to deal with me."
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MC'S POV
I must admit, despite this day not going at all the way how I had first anticipated it would, it was nonetheless a fun ride for sure. I've hijacked someone else's body, met a cute variant of my childhood hero and even got to relive the most significant moment in my second life that was the arrival of the Omnitrix on earth.
Though I would have to pass the chance of kicking Vilgax's but another time, even if I was really curious about how his female variant would look like, I'm not completely sure I won't just end up murdering the warlord for a second time.
Even if I ignore the fact that everyone's gender has been swapped, this reality still has plenty of differences from my own. I mean, for starters Jen would have to face her nemesis much earlier than I did, and don't let me get started on which version of Kevin Levin she would come across during her stay in New York.
I really want to let Jen take care of things her and make her own choices her, but besides giving her early access to the Master Control of her Omnitrix what I couldn't resist was pulling some mind tricks on Grandma Maxine and have her come clean about her Plumber past, probably since it always irked me that the Max of my dimension withheld it from me and the girls despite how dangerous it was.
Anyways, it's not as if I was being coherent with the fact that I also wanted to keep my visit to this dimension as a secret between both me and Jen by making Maxine believe I was still her grandchild Glenn.
Now, after I spent a minute as my Ultimate Galvan (Grey Matter) form double checking everything that I knew about the Transfera Identica spell and managed to trace the trail of energy from my home world, I was finally ready to say my goodbyes.
"What do you mean you will be missing my fight with the big boss?" Jen's distressed voice hit me almost as fast as she jumped to hug me.
"Don't you worry about it kid, I'm sure you will ace this opponent just as you did with the previous guy." I tried first to calm her, but seeing how she was about to ask more questions I immediately added. "Besides, I'm starting to worry about my family who must be missing me, also I'm not sure how your Glenn might be doing without anyone there to explain things for him."
Apparently Jen still wanted to protest, but even she couldn't dispute my reasoning. Though that didn't stop her from still feeling depressed that I was planning to go back to my reality.
"Hey, don't be sad." I raised her chin and stared straight into her emerald eyes. "You've got this, Jennifer Tennyson. I know you will become an amazing heroine. You've got the makings of greatness in you, but you gotta take charge and chart your own course! Stick to it, no matter the hardship! And when the time comes, you'll get the chance to really prove your worth and show what you're made of! And...well, I hope I'm there, catching some of the light coming off you that day." Her lips seemed to finally curl into a faint smile as she touched my hand. "One more thing, I've managed to install a communication between our Omnitrixes, here's hoping that you would be able to contact me in case you needed my help for a tough situation."
That seemed to be enough to bring the old Jen back from her miserable state, placing her right hand over her watch she said. "You better send a message that you've arrived safely back home."
"I will try my best." I said before activating the magical ritual and a green aura lifted me a few feet over the ground, as I gave her one last smile I also told her about another solution I've found for her. "Oh, and don't worry about having to explain what happened to your cousin, I'm leaving some fake memories for him to believe that he had never left in the first place."
"Thanks, Ben!" She nodded back before my vision blurred out completely.
This time however, I could actually sense and perceive the pathway my soul was taking towards my original dimension as Ben Tennyson, and I gotta tell ya, it really reminds me of the Null Void. An orange and amber-colored void with a bunch of island-like rocks floating in it, though for some reason I got the impression that I was much much farther than what was ever explored in the original series.
Before I could come across any other sign of life native to this place, I was pushed into one near imperceptible portal that blurred my vision once again. When my eyes flashed open another time, I found myself waking up on the same upper bed on the back of the Rust Bucket.
At first I was worried that my ritual had gone awry somehow and sent me into another variant dimension, granted I wasn't in the mood to fall into the Operation Phoenix trope from that Rick and Morty cartoon, until I heard a familiar voice getting closer to me.
"Oh, good, you've finally awakened." I heard Lucy's voice as she effortlessly climbed into the bed I was staying in and placed her hand over my forehead. "How are you feeling, Ben? Your fever seemed to have gone away."
"Hey, Lucy. I've really missed you." I gave her a friendly smile and hugged her, almost as if I hadn't actually believed that I would be able to travel back to this reality.
"Oh…hey, I-I…" She immediately stuttered awkwardly with our sudden proximity, to the point that it actually reminded me of Jen, until Lucy recovered herself and hugged me back. "Must've been quite the nightmare for you to behave like this. It's okay, Ben, I also don't like having those."
'Wait, nightmare, fever? What's she talking about?' I thought to myself for a moment, though once I stared over her shoulder and saw Gwen approaching us, the smug wink she gave me told me she had done me a solid. "Ah, yes, I'm not sure what sort of cold that I caught, but I'm glad it's over now."
"You sure? You can still rest on my bed if you want to." Lucy told me as I ended our hug.
"Nah, as much as I appreciate the kindness, I feel more comfortable in the passenger's seat." I carefully dismissed her offer and casually jumped out of her bed. As I approached Gwen, who was trying to hide a grin from growing on her face, I asked her with a tone that wouldn't draw too much attention to us. "So, has anything happened while I was away?"
"Not too much, I quickly realized you weren't feeling yourself and put the newcomer to sleep just as quickly before he caused a fuss around here." Gwen told me, showing me how far she had come after the brief teachings I gave her of the Arcane secrets. "But how about you? You were away for almost an entire day, I had to come up with an excuse for you. Even Kate was starting to suspect something, so I had to keep her busy with something."
Looking toward the front of the RV, I saw Grandpa Max teaching Kate the basics of driving a vehicle, and told Gwen. "You know, that's another great idea you had this day, Gwen."
"T-thanks." As she said that, I didn't fail to notice how my cute cousin blushed a little. "Oh, I was almost forgetting…the other you said someone's name."
I raised one of my eyebrows at that.
"Who's Jen?" Gwen asked me with a clear expression of curiosity.
"Oh, right." I chuckled a bit at the realization before placing it over her shoulder. "Just let me first speak a little with both Grandpa and Kate, they might still be worried about my sudden illness. After that, I will tell you what I've been up to while I was away. And just let me prepare you, it has been such a wild ride to the point you might not believe me at first."
"Ah, now I totally wanna hear that story, Ben." She groaned while hurrying me to go speak to the others and come back quickly. "We still have plenty of time before our next stop."
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(29/12/2023)
(17/02/2024)
*Hey there! Thanks for reading my work! I hope this chapter is of your liking.
Any ideas for powers, adventure arcs and girls are more than welcomed. I might not use anything, but you will have my gratitude for trying.
If this chapter is a mess of grammatical errors, please wait, I'll promptly try to fix it. But for that I need your feedback.
Thanks as always for your time, hope you have a fantastic day and please stay safe.
Bye.
**So, I really hope this chapter doesn't feel like a bore to read through with all the dialogue and basically reprise of my second chapter, neither had I tried to rush the plot all that much. Hopefully I manage to find a balance in between those extremes. 😁
Sorry to not include the final battle with Vilgax, I really wanted to include it, but after rewatching the Gwen 10 episode several times I found it not all that special in comparison to their showdown during the first season finale. Not only that but I also recalled that I still wanted to have Jen be the only one aware that the MC had visited their dimension, so I ended up scratching that part in favor of having the original Glenn have some role in aiding Jen.
Anything else I forget to mention or address, feel free to point it out to me in the comments and I will reply as soon as possible. 😉👍
***Oh, I almost forgot to congratulate you all that have found your special ones! Happy Valentine's Day! ❤️ As for those like me who are still maidenless, don't give up folks! Our time will definitely come one day! That is, assuming you are actually looking for that sort of relationship. 😅
****I've been using pictures to better illustrate my OC female variant, until now I really didn't knew where they came from, but now I know. 😁 The amazing artist behind this awesome work is named "YKerem_Ozer". You should totally check her work out, who knows, you might have a commission you would be interested for her to make for you (and I'm totally assuming the artist is a girl, sorry if I'm mistaken 😅).
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