The forest campsite had once been peaceful, but the arrival of an uninvited guest shattered the stillness of the night.
A gigantic mechadroid towered over the area. Its blood-red eyes glowed as it fired laser after laser, bombarding the campsite and sending people into panicked flight, their screams echoing through the darkness.
It had four spider-like limbs, and every time they struck the ground, they punched out terrifying craters with overwhelming force.
At that moment, the mechadroid's gaze locked onto a car, crimson energy rapidly gathering.
"Oh no!" the woman inside screamed as she desperately stomped on the gas pedal. The car didn't move at all, as if it had already broken down.
Just as disaster was about to strike, a clear, confident voice rang out from the side.
"Hey, big guy! If you've got guts, come attack me!"
Diamondhead—no, Diamond Goddess—stood with her hands on her hips, openly taunting the mechadroid and drawing its attention.
Compared to the male Diamondhead, the Diamond Goddess looked slimmer. Her chest and back were smooth, lacking the sharp crystal spikes, giving her less raw dominance but an added sense of elegance.
"Omnitrix detected… Omnitrix detected…"
The mechadroid's crimson eyes quickly locked onto the Omnitrix on Diamond Goddess's chest.
At the same time, the robot's visual feed was transmitted to a spaceship far above.
"This is outrageous! The Omnitrix actually chose an Earthling as its host!" Vilgax's tentacles trembled with fury as he glared viciously at the Diamond Goddess on the screen. "Hurry up. Take the Omnitrix back for me!"
Receiving its orders, the mechadroid immediately raised a mechanical claw, firing a blazing red laser straight at Diamond Goddess.
She couldn't dodge in time and was blasted away, crashing heavily into a large truck.
"Oof… yeah, I remember that hurting like crazy…" Ben covered his eyes, unable to watch.
Lucian shook his head. It was Gwen's first time transforming into Diamondhead, and she clearly didn't know how to use the form yet.
Rip!
From inside the truck, a jade-green spike tore through the metal shell, ripping it open from within.
Diamond Goddess stepped out, staring at her arm, now shaped into a sharp crystal spike.
"Cool! So this alien can change its body."
Just then, the mechadroid launched another attack, firing a torrent of lasers from its eyes.
Diamond Goddess raised both hands and brought them together. They transformed into a calyx-like shape, resembling a blooming crystal flower, blocking the crimson beam head-on.
Thanks to the crystal's refraction, the laser bounced wildly, reflecting again and again as it swept through the surrounding area, cutting down countless trees.
"Gwen, focus the reflection back at it!" Lucian shouted.
Diamond Goddess nodded and controlled the crystal calyx to contract, redirecting the scattered crimson beams straight back at the mechadroid, engulfing it in an instant.
Boom!
A thunderous explosion rang out as the mechadroid shattered completely. Scorched, molten parts rained down, scattering in all directions.
Staring at the screen that had gone dark, Vilgax narrowed his eyes, a cold glint flashing within them.
"Looks like I'll have to do this myself…"
…
Early the next morning, Lucian was jolted awake by a burst of noise. He opened his eyes and stepped out of the tent.
Gwen had stayed up all night researching the watch and was now in the middle of an argument with Ben.
"Doofus, if I hadn't turned into that fish last night and snuck into the lake to catch all those loaches, do you think you'd be eating such fresh wild food right now?"
"That was Ripjaws!" Ben rolled his eyes.
"And then I turned into a liquid alien and merged with my computer, tripling its speed without damaging anything else. What's wrong with that?"
"That was Upgrade…"
"Oh, right, and I even turned into that muscle girl with four arms. She's super strong. One punch can snap a tree in half. Hmm… sounds perfect for teaching a doofus a lesson."
"That's Four Arms!" Ben snapped. That was his favorite alien.
"Call it whatever you want. It doesn't affect how I use it." Gwen lowered her head and went back to studying the watch.
"Nerd, the Omnitrix is an extremely precise piece of high-tech equipment. It's not a toy," Ben warned. "If you keep abusing these powers, something bad is bound to happen sooner or later."
Lucian's mouth twitched slightly. Ben himself had done the exact same thing before, constantly misusing the watch.
Before long, Grandpa Max woke up as well and started preparing breakfast.
As for Lucian and the others, they headed straight for the lake to go fishing. None of them wanted to eat Grandpa's so-called "specialties."
The three of them sat by the shore, each holding a fishing rod and waiting patiently for a bite.
More than an hour passed, but they only managed to catch a few tiny fish, not even enough to fill the gaps between their teeth. All three wore gloomy expressions.
Suddenly, Gwen's eyes lit up.
"I've got it!"
She pressed the Omnitrix, causing the green interface to pop up. She cycled through the aliens and then slapped it down.
Thud!
A faint green glow flashed and vanished in an instant.
In the blink of an eye, Gwen transformed into Ripjaws.
Her figure was slender, her gray-blue skin covered in tough scales. A large chandelier-like lure grew from her head, glowing softly for illumination.
Unlike Ben's Ripjaws, this one wore a blue short skirt. Her upper body wasn't bare either, but covered with a blue wrap that concealed key areas, her chest slightly curved.
"A female Ripjaws…" Lucian narrowed his eyes.
"Wait here for me," Ripjaws said, turning around before diving straight into the lake.
About five minutes later, she burst out of the water, arms full of large fish.
"Mission accomplished!" Ripjaws laughed, tossing the lively catch onto the grass.
"Awesome! No need to eat Grandpa's food for lunch!" Ben cheered.
Just as everyone was celebrating, a deafening roar suddenly echoed from above.
Lucian looked up and his expression changed instantly.
It was Vilgax's spaceship.
"Run!" he shouted, grabbing Ripjaws and Ben as he bolted.
But they hadn't even taken two steps when a massive iron sphere, covered in spikes like a giant hedgehog, fell from the sky. Carrying terrifying momentum, it slammed down right in front of them…
...
(Author's note: I've noticed that many readers don't really like this arc. Honestly, I feel the same way. But since this is a classic part of the story, I still felt it was worth writing, especially since some readers wanted to see it.
That said, don't worry. This arc will be very short, at most one or two more chapters. Characters like Kevin need more time to properly build their personalities, which is why I spent more effort there. This arc takes place in a parallel universe, so it won't be expanded too much. Think of it as a side story.
Also, a small spoiler: the next arc is the Interstellar Prison. Many of you probably remember it. It's similar to a gladiator arena. In the original series, Kevin and Ben were pulled into it, and there's a certain "big boss" inside…
Alright, I won't say more. Hope everyone sticks around!)