Night fell, the bright moon hanging high as countless stars dotted the sky. Everything was calm and serene.
The Rustbucket slowly rolled in, its headlights lighting up the surrounding trees and pushing back the darkness before gradually coming to a stop.
Everyone got out of the car and stood in the silent forest.
As Lucian scanned the area, a strong sense of familiarity washed over him. This was the scene from the very first episode. It was in this forest that he had once obtained the most powerful weapon in the universe, the Omnitrix.
Lucian wasn't the only one who felt it. Ben did too.
Ben's eyes widened as he looked around, turning his head from side to side.
"Th-this place is…"
"Alright, kids. We'll camp here tonight. The weather's great," Grandpa Max said with a chuckle, looking up at the clear sky.
After that, he turned back toward the Rustbucket and began preparing the food for the evening.
On the grass, Gwen smiled brightly and spun around in place, clearly excited.
"Awesome! I love this kind of atmosphere! Cuz, later let's set up a campfire and grill some fish together!"
"Sure," Lucian replied with a faint smile, though his mind was elsewhere.
According to the original timeline, the Omnitrix was about to fall. Probably within the next ten minutes. He had to reach the impact site before the meteor landed.
"I get it now!"
Ben suddenly shouted and rushed forward, wrapping his arms around the startled Gwen.
"Hahaha! So that's what's going on! I must've traveled back in time! No wonder none of you know about the Omnitrix!"
Gwen's eyes flew open. She clenched her teeth and shoved Ben away angrily.
"What are you doing, doofus?! That's gross! Did you take the wrong medicine today or something?!"
Even after being pushed away, Ben didn't seem bothered at all.
"If I've gone back in time, then the Omnitrix is definitely going to fall soon. As long as I get to the meteor crater in time, I can get it back!"
The more he talked, the more excited he became. Without another word, Ben sprinted straight into the depths of the forest, not even looking back.
"This is bad," Lucian muttered, his eyes sharpening. If Ben got there first, Lucian would be completely out of luck.
With that thought, he took off as well.
"Cuz! Let's hurry up and build the campfire together! It'll be super fun!" Gwen's excited voice called out from behind.
"No. You and Grandpa go ahead," Lucian replied. "I'll go keep an eye on Ben so he doesn't run around too much."
Leaving those words behind, Lucian ran off at full speed, his figure quickly swallowed by the dark forest.
Gwen puffed out her cheeks.
"Fine then. Cuz has been acting kind of weird today too…"
With that, she turned back to stacking firewood on her own, already preparing for what she imagined would be a grand barbecue feast.
...
Deep in the forest, the surroundings were lonely and eerie. Insects chirped and birds called as shadows of nocturnal creatures occasionally flashed by, hunting in the dark.
Following the route etched into his memory, Lucian quickly reached his destination.
But Ben was nowhere to be seen. Had he gotten lost?
Forget it. Getting the Omnitrix came first. Before long, robots would be showing up.
Lucian was standing right where the meteor crater was supposed to be.
The dark trees around him swayed and rustled in the night wind, branches creaking endlessly like reveling demons, unsettling the mind and stirring a faint sense of fear.
Whoosh!
A sharp, rushing sound suddenly came from above. To Lucian's ears, it sounded almost like heavenly music.
"It's here!" Lucian looked up, momentarily frozen.
Against the pitch-black sky, a fiery red trail streaked past. Judging by his memories, that was definitely the Omnitrix.
But… it wasn't heading this way.
The blazing meteor shot straight over Lucian's head, dragging a terrifying wave of heat as it flew toward the rear.
"That direction… the Rustbucket!" Lucian's heart jolted as he immediately turned and sprinted back.
According to his original plan, as long as he reached the crater before Gwen and Ben, he could secure the Omnitrix first. He never expected the Omnitrix to completely ignore him and change course.
While running, Lucian ran into Ben, who was also chasing after the meteor overhead.
"Ben, what are you doing here?" Lucian asked.
"Oh, man. I got lost earlier and couldn't find where the Omnitrix landed before," Ben panted. "Then I saw the meteor fly past the sky and chased after it."
Ben was breathing hard. He had to get the Omnitrix. Otherwise, how was he supposed to be a great hero?
Lucian didn't say anything else and picked up his speed, racing toward the campsite.
...
When Lucian returned to the campsite, the sight before him made him freeze.
The once-flat grassland now held a massive crater, wisps of heat rising from it along with constant sizzling sounds.
The metal sphere inside the crater had already opened. A slender figure stood nearby, staggering as she struggled to pull something off her wrist.
"Gwen?" Lucian hurried forward and saw clearly what was happening.
"Cuz, help me! I can't pull it off!" Gwen cried in panic, tugging desperately at the watch.
Lucian looked down.
!
At some point, the Omnitrix had already latched onto Gwen's wrist, stuck fast as if glued in place.
Lucian shook his head with a helpless sigh. He had planned for everything, except for the Omnitrix choosing to land right on Gwen.
It seemed this was unavoidable. Gwen was destined to obtain the Omnitrix.
"Oh no!" Ben rushed over from behind, clutching his head.
He stared at the watch on Gwen's wrist, eyes wide.
"Why? Why didn't I get the Omnitrix? I'm obviously the real hero…"
Not far away, Grandpa Max ran over from the Rustbucket. Hearing the massive explosion, he'd worried something had happened to Gwen and had rushed over, even dropping the spicy beetle he'd been holding.
Seeing the enormous crater shocked him, but when he realized everyone was unharmed, he finally relaxed.
At this moment, Ben was desperately pleading with Gwen, hoping she would give the watch back.
"The Omnitrix is an extremely sophisticated piece of alien technology! Only a great hero like me can control it properly. Give it back to me…" Ben clung to Gwen like a piece of gum.
Gwen snorted and turned her head away.
"Doofus, I don't believe you."
After that, she began examining the cool alien watch, curious about what it could do.
"Please, Gwen, I really need it!" Ben wailed, looking utterly miserable.
"You're too small. It'd be loose on you," Gwen said, sticking out her tongue.
"That's not true!" Ben lunged forward, trying to grab the Omnitrix.
Gwen held Ben's head back with one hand, keeping him out of reach while he flailed helplessly.
"Little guy, you have to say it properly. Say 'I'm begging you~'"
Seeing this, Lucian couldn't help but laugh.
Even though Gwen was his cousin, she'd grown faster and was quite a bit taller than Ben, making it easy for her to toy with him.
"I'm begging you!" Ben shouted.
"But I really can't take it off," Gwen said, spreading her hands helplessly and making Ben grind his teeth in frustration.
Beep! Beep!
The Omnitrix on Gwen's wrist suddenly emitted a strange sound, its screen flipping open with an eerie green glow.
"Huh? What's this?" Gwen looked down at the mysterious display.
As soon as she spoke, she reached out and pressed it.
Thump!
A burst of green light flashed, lighting up the dark forest around them. The blinding glow forced everyone to shut their eyes.
When the light finally faded, Lucian was able to see clearly again.
As expected, Gwen was gone. In her place stood a slender, fiery figure.
Tall and well-proportioned, her skin was lava-red and crisscrossed with fine cracks, radiating intense heat. Flames danced atop her head.
"It's Heatblast!" Ben shouted in shock.
Compared to the male Heatblast, Gwen's transformed form was noticeably taller and clearly feminine, though a bit on the slender side.
Staring at her glowing hands, Heatblast paused for a moment before breaking into a smile.
"Cool. I really love this watch…"