"Ben?" Diamondhead turned around.
"Hey, Cuz! I'm here to help!" XLR8 pulled back his mask.
"Where's Grandpa and the others?"
"I got them to safety," XLR8 replied, then glanced at Spidermonkey beside him. "Cool! What a stylish monkey! Where'd you find him? Can he do somersaults?"
"My name's Eric," Spidermonkey said, scratching his head.
A spark of inspiration flashed through Diamondhead's mind. He turned to Eric and said, "Use your web to pull Tygon and Red Spikesnake up here."
Spidermonkey's eyes widened. "Are you crazy? If I bring those two up, they'll kill me!"
"It's fine. I know what I'm doing," Diamondhead said calmly, his tone steady and fearless.
"Fine, but if something goes wrong, it's on you," Spidermonkey muttered under his breath.
He fired a thick strand of web from his tail, sticking it to Humungousaur and Red Spikesnake. Pulling hard, he nearly got dragged into the swamp himself.
Diamondhead reacted instantly, grabbing the tough web and hauling it back with force. XLR8 followed his lead, throwing all his strength into pulling alongside them.
Working together, the three of them managed to drag Humungousaur and Red Spikesnake up and fling them onto the pink insect shell.
The moment the two broke free of the muck, fury blazed in their eyes as they lunged straight at Diamondhead and the others.
Startled, Eric leapt aside—he knew he was no match for either of them in a direct fight.
Diamondhead raised his hand, forming a massive crystal hammer in midair, and swung it down with explosive force.
Boom!
The once-fierce Humungousaur took the blow squarely to the head. His strength vanished instantly as he stumbled backward, collapsing face-first onto the insect shell, dazed and dizzy.
Whoosh!
XLR8 became a streak of blue light, speeding toward Red Spikesnake.
"Kineceleran! Another distant species!" Red Spikesnake roared, swinging the spiked fists on his arms in a wild frenzy at XLR8.
He couldn't understand why so many alien species had appeared on this tiny planet called Earth.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
The deadly spikes cut through the air, creating crimson afterimages like a storm of blades that engulfed XLR8.
"Hey! You're way too slow!" XLR8 taunted as he darted around, easily dodging every attack.
"Damn it!" Red Spikesnake snarled as his spikes extended, fusing into two crimson spears that crossed in a vicious strike toward his target.
Ssshhh!
A flash of emerald light sliced across Red Spikesnake's vision.
Both crimson spears shattered in an instant, clanging against the hard surface of the insect shell.
Red Spikesnake turned, his snake-like pupils filled with horror. "You... you—"
Diamondhead snorted coldly, retracting his gleaming crystal blade. He clenched his fist and slammed it into Red Spikesnake's chest.
Caught off guard, Red Spikesnake was sent flying and crashed to the ground. Crystalline chains spread rapidly across his body, locking him tightly against the insect shell.
Beside him, Humungousaur Tygon suffered the same fate, his body completely restrained by Diamondhead's crystal bindings.
With their strength, there was no way they could break free.
Watching the scene unfold, Erik's eyes widened in disbelief, unable to hide the shock rising within him.
"Wow! You're one tough Petrosapien!" Eric swished his tail, eyeing Diamondhead with admiration. "You're way stronger than Big Meatball and Little Wolfdog. Why didn't you transform sooner?"
"Those are Cannonbolt and Blitzwolfer," Diamondhead corrected.
"Same thing," Eric waved it off, then changed the subject. "By the way, why'd you have me pull those two out? Wouldn't it be better to let the Great One's minions sink in the swamp?"
"To collect their DNA samples, of course. No point wasting a good opportunity," Diamondhead said with a grin.
"Collect DNA?" XLR8's eyes brightened with excitement.
"Exactly." Diamondhead stepped up to him, touching a finger to the Omnitrix on Ben's wrist and canceling his transformation.
"Cuz, what do I do? Tell me!" Ben was practically bouncing with excitement, knowing he was about to get a new alien form.
"Follow me."
Diamondhead led Ben to the restrained Humungousaur.
Humungousaur, wrapped in a crystal vest, was firmly locked against the insect shell, unable to move. He roared furiously, "Let me go, you vile invader! The Great One will never forgive you!"
His entire body was bound—limbs stretched wide in a cross shape, sealed tight by crystal shackles that he couldn't break free from no matter how hard he struggled.
Diamondhead raised his hand and released one of the restraints on Humungousaur's arm.
"You're asking for death!" Humungousaur bellowed, swinging a massive fist straight at Diamondhead's face.
Diamondhead caught his wrist with ease, his grip like iron. He then turned his head toward Ben and gestured for him to come closer.
Ben hurried over, eyes wide with anticipation.
"Ah! Petrosapien, let me go!" Tygon struggled violently, trying to break free.
"Stop yelling," Diamondhead said calmly, pressing the alien's wrist toward Ben's watch.
"Damn it! Great One, please avenge me!" Humungousaur cried out, his eyes filling with rage and despair.
As a servant of the Great One, he had once been revered—now he was reduced to a mere specimen, his DNA harvested like livestock in a pen. The humiliation was unbearable.
Rip!
Under Diamondhead's immense strength, Humungousaur's thick claw finally made contact with the Omnitrix.
A strange sound effect chimed as the Omnitrix replica glowed yellow, beginning to absorb his genetic data.
"What an amazing alien watch," Eric murmured, clearly impressed.
Ben's face lit up as he stared at the glowing yellow screen. "Awesome! Now I've got Humungousaur's DNA! Thanks, Cuz!!"
Diamondhead waved dismissively. "There are a few more aliens. Let's get them all."
With his help, Red Spikesnake's and Chamalien's DNA were soon collected as well.
Ben's grin widened. "This is incredible! Way better than getting the latest Sumo Slammers game!"
"One more," Diamondhead said, glancing toward Spidermonkey. "Eric, donate your DNA too."
Although Diamondhead didn't fully understand Eric's motives, he could sense no hostility from him.
"Sure, no problem!" Eric agreed enthusiastically, clearly enjoying himself.
Moments later, Spidermonkey's genetic data was also uploaded into the Omnitrix replica.
Rumble!
Suddenly, the pale ground trembled violently. Cracks spread in every direction, splitting open like a world ending in chaos.
In the distance, trees that had long since rotted into sludge solidified into white fragments, only to be shredded by a raging wind and carried into the air as dust.
"The Great One's draining the planet's energy dry!" Spidermonkey shouted in horror.
"Then let's go. Time to finish off this giant stinkbug!"
Without hesitation, Diamondhead vanished in a flash of light, leaping back into the Great One's body.
Eric scooped up Ben, who was still fiddling with his watch, and bounded after him, diving into the shadowy depths below...
...
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