Chap 26 Grey Matter's debute
"Huh?! Where'd Rio go?" Ben stared at the empty space in confusion. "What happened to the alien transformation?"
"He probably turned into an invisible alien. That's the only explanation." Gwen said confidently, scanning the room for any sign of such a being.
"I'm right here! Look down!"
A tiny, high-pitched voice called out from somewhere near the floor. It was so faint it was A tiny, high-pitched voice called out from somewhere near the floor. It was so faint it was almost like a mosquito's buzz; if the room hadn't been dead silent, they might not have heard it at all.
"Wait, what?"
"Down there!"
Ben and Gwen both looked toward the floor simultaneously.
The voice had definitely come from there.
Standing on the cold floor was an impossibly tiny alien. He had a frog-like head with large, intelligent eyes, grey skin, and wore a white outfit with black markings. The creature was barely as tall as one of their fingers.
They were completely stupefied as to how a full-sized human could turn into such a small creature. Their reaction was justified; they hadn't seen his Grey Matter form before. Previously, he had only used it in the bathroom to upgrade Ben's scooter and Gwen's phone, or the other time was when he ran back home as XLR8 to upgrade his tech while everyone was asleep.
But to Ben and Gwen it looked like...
He had absolutely zero combat capability.
"No way. No freaking way." Ben dropped to the floor, lying flat on his stomach to get a better look. His pupils dilated as he stared at what was essentially a living action figure. "How is this supposed to fight aliens? You look... well, stomp-able!"
"Tsk! tsk! tsk! you don't know a thing, this is the smartest alien in the Omnitrix," the tiny alien explained, raising his voice so they could hear properly. "I don't win through strength. I win through intellect. Though Ben, if you call me 'stomp-able' again, I will rewire your game console to only play math tutorials."
"Okay, okay! Sheesh," Ben muttered.
"Still you are way too small, and since your skin is gray... let's call you Grey Matter." Ben decided after a moment's thought, the name rolling off his tongue with surprising naturalness.
"Grey Matter works," the small alien agreed with a nod. "Now, I need to use this superior brain to figure out how to formulate a plan that would give us an edge."
Rio—now Grey Matter—sat down cross-legged on the floor, closing his large eyes. His extraordinarily advanced Galvan mind began processing the situation at incredible speed, analyzing every variable, every possibility, every potential strategy.
You ask just how intelligent Grey Matter, this tiny tiny alien is?
To answer that we have to first look at his species, the Galvans, who possess cognitive capabilities that completely surpassed the greatest human geniuses in history. Where human scientists might take years to solve a complex problem, Grey Matter could potentially crack it in minutes.
And.Secondly, we must look at the Omnitrix's function, which according to numerous sources, the alien form it transforms into is the most accurate, powerful, and peak representation of its species. Reaching the limit of its species ceiling.
Although that does not mean he was as smart as Azimuth that made the omnitrix, but he does have the potential to reach his level and even surpass him.
Before this transformation, Rio hasn't really struggled with complex mathematics. He'd attempted after graduation level problems and found himself doing much of it but there were still many things that he found himself thinking so hard on that his brain felt like it might overheat, but that doesn't mean he was not smart, after all, they really were such problems that even scientists would find hard to solve.
Under normal circumstances, with just himself, without his AI, such problems would take over a week to complete, even with AI the time could only be shortened to a few days.
But now, as Grey Matter, the tiny Galvan genius, everything was different.
Those same mathematical problems that once seemed impossible suddenly became child's play. He could solve them instantly, understanding not just the answer but the entire logical framework behind the mathematics. It was like seeing through a fog that had always clouded his perception.
Grey Matter's intellect went beyond simple problem-solving. He could draw inferences from single examples, extrapolating entire mathematical systems from basic principles. The patterns and relationships between numbers appeared as clearly as physical objects.
If he wanted to, Grey Matter could write the most complex mathematical formulas known to humanity on the floor right now, solving equations that would baffle Earth's greatest mathematicians.
That was the terrifying power of this seemingly tiny alien.
But high intelligence didn't automatically mean comprehensive knowledge in every field. Just as scientists couldn't imagine complex formulas and physical principles out of thin air before studying physics and chemistry.
Still combining his existing knowledge and a galvan's mind, it was already a hundred times better than Ben
His immediate objective was to modify Omnitrix power a bit. which Ideally should unlock new alien forms, but at the very least, it would extend his transformation duration.
However, Up until this point, his experience with alien technology was limited, even more so with the omnitrix's advanced technology. he'd only encountered basic robot tech from Vilgax's drones.
His tiny fingers tapped thoughtfully against the floor as he analyzed the situation.
The logic in his mind was sound. If he focused solely on just extending the duration of transformation time rather than attempting high-level modifications, it should be an achievable goal.
"Ben, Gwen, find a mirror. Position it behind me," he commanded. Despite his diminutive size, his tone carried unmistakable authority.
"Okay."
Ben grabbed a small shaving mirror from the bathroom counter and placed it behind Rio.
"What's the mirror for?" Gwen asked.
"You'll see soon enough," Rio chirped.
Grey Matter positioned himself sideways, craning his flexible neck backward at its maximum range to see the Omnitrix symbol on his back through the mirror's reflection.
His tiny hands reached directly for the Omnitrix pattern, pressing down with a soft pressure.
Biu~
Under Rio's touch, it emitted a mechanical sound unlike the usual activation noise.
Then the face plate of the omnitrix on his back popped up, looking at the circuits and the patterns at its side, grey matter rotated the faceplate in specific sequences—sometimes left, sometimes right.
With a sudden Whoosh!!
The Omnitrix burst forth with a brilliant blue light, emitting powerful waves of radiating energy fluctuations.
Ben and Gwen immediately stepped back several paces, shielding their eyes as the entire small room flickered with pulses of illumination. The energy was so intense it felt like static electricity crawling over their skin.
"Rio! Is it supposed to do that?" Gwen shrieked, but her voice was lost.
Even if Rio had tried to respond, the erratic fluctuations of the Omnitrix would have drowned him out. A terrifying light had completely enveloped Grey Matter's tiny form, and there was no way to reverse the process now.
Even though the situation was becoming dangerous, Grey Matter continued rotating and clicking the Omnitrix interface with precision. The light cycled through different colors, reddish, then greenish, then dark blue, as the energy fluctuations shifted with each adjustment!
Several times, the scorching energy made his small body feel genuine pain, the heat almost unbearable!
The Omnitrix was approaching critical overload!
At that crucial moment, Grey Matter's enhanced perception detected the peculiar pattern in the energy signatures. After one final click, he adjusted the settings to an even stronger energy state than before.
BOOM!
Just at that moment Rio threw himself backward, slamming the symbol against the floor. The impact pressed the interface completely down. The brilliant light instantly retracted into his body, and the humming stopped.
The energy storm vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
"What... what just happened?!" Ben gasped, still recovering from the intense light show. "That energy fluctuation felt like the watch was about to explode or something
"It reminded me of uncontrollable energy in science fiction novels," Gwen added, her voice shaky. "That was terrifying!"
Both of them remained frozen, still processing the energy storm they'd just witnessed.
"Uncontrollable energy, you're not entirely wrong," Grey Matter said calmly, his genius mind already organizing the explanation.
"I've only made preliminary adjustments to the Omnitrix's basic settings."
"Adjustments?!"