Chapter 2 - And then there were 3.
Deep within outer space, a battle was going on in the asteroid belt. There was a small gray ship with twin fins and green spheres on the edges, and it was blasted with red lasers. The lasers came from another vessel known as The Chimera Wrath. The green ship flew to the side and fired two green lasers back at it, causing some damage to the hull. Inside the Chimera Wrath, two humanoid robots were at the controls. They were orange with a black faceplate with four orange dots and spikes on the shoulders.
Robot #3: "Hull damage 20%, but the system is still operational." It reported.
The captain of the ship was a light green squid-like alien with a red armored suit and gauntlets and tentacles for a beard, and piercing red eyes. This was the alien warlord known as Vilgax.
One of his other robots was still keeping track of the Mobian energy that came from Earth and decided to go and ask the captain what they should do about it.
Robot #1: "What should we do about the mobile energy we discovered?" It asked.
Vilgax found this opportunity rather enthusiastic; not only would he get the most powerful device in the universe, but he would also have the power of the fastest being. But he couldn't go after the Mobian now, not when the Omnitrix was within his grasp.
Vilgax: "I have come too far to be denied!" He declared.
The ships exited the asteroid belt as the smaller ship evaded the Chimera Wrath's lasers.
Vilgax: "Send a drone to Earth to find that Mobian and capture it. and don't let that ship escape, The Mobian's energy and The Omnitrix shall be mine, and there is not a being in the galaxy that dares stand in my way!" He stated
The robot did as it was ordered and sent it.
On planet Earth, we are now with Ben; he wore a white shirt with a black collar that went slightly down to the side. He also wore green pants with extra pockets at the side and black and white sneakers. This is the first half of our unlikely trio.
Ben is in his class folding down a paper airplane; he tosses the paper airplane that hits the teacher on the back of the head. The teacher put a glare on her face, and he panicked and ducked under his book.
About 15 minutes later, Ben looked up at the clock, begging for the class to end as the seconds ticked.
Ben: "Come on! Come on!" He said impatiently.
: "I just want to remind you all that I'm teaching summer school this year, and it's not too late to sign up." She announced
Ben: "Yeah, right." He said as the bell rang once the clock struck 3:00 pm.
Ben: "Yes! I'm out of here!" He boasted to himself.
The students then stood up from their desks and left the room.
: "Have a good vacation, and I hope to see you all again in the fall. Oh, and Benjamin." She called
Ben halted where he stood and turned to face the teacher.
: "Could I speak with you before you go?" She asked as she held up the paper airplane.
Ben groaned in embarrassment before walking to the desk.
Meanwhile, at the same time, Iris, the second half of our heroic trio, stared up at the clock with a nervous twitch in her eyebrow as she kicked her foot up and down, and looked like she was about to burst from the class at any moment.
Iris: "Come on, you stupid clock. Ben's probably waiting for me at any moment now." She thought to herself as she looked at the clock and let out a sigh of boredom.
Iris: "I need a vacation." She thought.
The teacher: "Okay, class, I hope you have a good summer, and I hope to see you again soon." He announced.
That was when the bell ranged. Everyone jumped out of their seats, especially Iris, who grabbed her backpack and practically bolted for the door as she rolled her fist in celebration.
Iris: "Woo-hoo! Now to find Ben." She said ecstatically.
Outside, a kid with black hair, a white shirt, a blue jacket, and glasses backed up against a tree as two bullies smiled mischievously.
These two bullies were Cash and his lackey JT. He was also known as Stretch and four eyes.
Cash: "Normally, we'd take your money and beat you up. But since it's the last day of school, we'll give you a break; now, fork over the cash so we can get out of here!" He ordered.
Ben: "Leave him alone!" He demanded.
JT: "Back off, shrimp!" He snapped.
Ben: "I said leave him alone!" He said again.
Cash: "Oh, looks like we got ourselves a hero; suppose we don't want to back off." He mocked.
The two walked over to him as Ben motioned his left hand to the kid to escape. The kid didn't need to be told twice as he got up from the tree, grabbed his backpack, and mouthed to Ben thanks before he ran away, leaving Ben alone with the bullies.
Cash: "What are you gonna do about it, Tennyson?" He asked.
The three glared at each other before Ben shouted at them.
At that exact moment, Iris had walked outside and took a deep breath of fresh air, and exhaled invitingly.
Iris: "It feels good to be out of school finally." She said in complete relief.
Iris: "Okay, before I find Ben, I might as well go over the list Mom and Dad told me to read and memorize. Before I go on a road trip with Ben and Max." She thought.
But before she could read over the list, she saw out of the corner of her eye that Ben was getting bullied by Cash and JT.
Iris: (Sigh) "How does he keep getting into these situations? Oh well. That's what friends are for." She said with a shrug.
She then angrily stomped her way over to them with bangs over their eyes.
About a minute later, Ben was lying on the ground on his back with his face covered in bruises while JT and Cash picked up the money they took from Ben.
JT: "Look at the dough." He said with a smile.
Iris: "Ahem." She said in slight anger.
The two bullies gasped as they heard an all-too-familiar feminine voice behind them. They turned around to see the last person they ever wanted to see. Iris impatiently tapped her foot with her hands on her hips as she glared at them.
JT: "Oh, heh..heh, hey, Iris. What are you doing here?." He said nervously while rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.
Cash: "(Oh crude, she's still here.)" He thought, feeling terrified.
Iris: "Cash, JT. Am I hallucinating, or am I seeing you two bullying my friend?" She asked with a stern look on her face.
Cash: "What? No! We're just having a pleasant conversation." He said nervously.
Ben: "They were bullying a kid for his lunch money, and I tried to help, but they just laughed and proceeded to do the same thing to me. He said with a smug grin.
Iris: "What!?" She said furiously. As her eyes went pupilless as she began to crack her knuckles, but after a moment, she began to calm down slowly.
Iris: "Luckily for you two, I'm in a good mood today because it's the last of school, and I'm going on a road trip, so I'm going to give you two knuckleheads one chance to give Ben back his money right now!" She said aggressively.
The boys panicked as they quickly gave Ben back his money and ran away as their lives depended on it.
Iris smiled and laughed as she watched the two boys run away.
Iris: "(laughing) I didn't think I scared them that bad." She said, sounding surprised.
Ben: "Well, ever since you beat them up a couple of weeks ago, they have been afraid of you." He stated.
Iris: "Well, you can blame my uncle for that; he said that if I or a friend are getting picked on by any bully, I should show them that I'm not afraid." She said back as she helped Ben back on his feet. But then Ben hugged her.
Ben: "Thanks for having my back, Iris."
Iris: "What are friends for." She said they heard a honking, and a yellowish-gray RV called the Rust Bucket pulled up to the corner. The driver was a man in his late 50s with white hair and a red Hawaiian shirt, blue pants, and brown boots. This was Ben's grandfather, Maxwell "Max" Tennyson.
Max: "Come on, kids. We're burning daylight! I want to get to the campsite by nightfall!" He yelled.
Ben: "Grandpa!" He said in delight as he ran to the car and hugged his grandfather.
Iris: "Max!" She said happily. She ran after Ben, who was hugging his grandpa.
After a moment, they entered the Rust Bucket.
Ben: "You have no idea how much Iris and I have been looking forward to this." He said, very excited.
But then the duel turned to see a girl sitting by the window seat.
Ben: "Oh no!" he said with dread.
Iris smiled at the sight of her other friend.
She was a 10-year-old girl with red hair in a pixie cut and wore a long-sleeved blue shirt with lighter blue in the center and a cat icon at the chest, and wore a blue hairpin. She also wore white pants and white shoes. This was our hero's friend/cousin, Gwendolyn "Gwen" Tennyson.
Ben: "What are you doing here? What is she doing here?!" He asked in a shout.
Gwen: "Take it easy, dweeb. This wasn't my idea; someone convinced my Mom that camping for the summer would be a good experience for me." She said with a sigh.
Ben: "Grandpa, please. Tell me you didn't!" He begged.
Max: "I thought it would be fun if your cousin came with us for the summer. Is that a problem?" He asked.
Iris: "Not at all, hey Gwen." Iris smiled at her and gave her a friendly hug.
Gwen: "Well, I may have to go with the worst cousin ever, but at least I also get to spend it with my best friend forever to balance it out," She said happily.
Ben: "Iris, I can never understand how you can hang out with or possibly respect this nerd?" He asked as Iris sighed.
Iris: "Because she's my friend." She said back.
Meanwhile, back in Bellwood.
We're now with Sonic, the third and last member of our trio, he went out for some fresh air, and that's when he saw one Drone on the ground in the forest near his hideout, and he hid.
Sonic: "Ok, don't freak out...you played some baseball, got a little upset, lightning shot out of your entire body, and now they're coming for you!" He told himself as he ran back to his hideout.
Sonic: "Ok, the earth isn't safe anymore; time for plan B, mushroom planet. I have to pack my stuff! Ok, essential items only. Toothbrush, toothpaste, hair gel, and nightlight. Oh! And my scented candle. My entire comic book collection. Bean bag chair. Can a bean bag chair fit in a backpack? No, no, no, of course not, that's stupid. He debated with himself before remembering the two most important items, his rings.
Before he threw it, he remembered Tank; he grabbed the tortoise and headed toward the nearest lake.
Sonic: "Ok, buddy, time to head into the lake." He told his tortoise as he set him down. However, Tank looked up at him.
Sonic sighed and kneeled.
Sonic: "Listen….it's hard to explain…but I have to leave, and I can't take you with me… It's nothing but mushrooms there." He explained as he petted his tortoise friend.
Sonic: "If I come back…I'll find you, I promise." He added as Tank started heading towards the water.
Sonic smiled a bit but then looked down.
Sonic: "Ok…mushroom planet…here I come." He says as he prepares to throw the ring.
But then he heard a laser being shot; on reflex, he ducked out of the way of the laser. He turned around to see that ground drone from earlier on a tree and was about to start shooting at him again; he narrowly dodged the lasers and hid behind one of the trees to think of a plan.
Sonic: "Okay, I have to come up with a plan so I can take that robot out of the picture before more of them show up, but what can I do?" he told himself.
He didn't have enough time to devise a plan because the droid found him and almost stabbed him, but he jumped out of the way just in time. The drone was about to give chase, but its arm was stuck in the tree, and it was trying to get its arm free. Sonic noticed this and came up with an idea and hoped it would work. Sonic grabbed a big rock and threw it with all his might, and it broke the drone's arm; the drone went flying a few feet before getting back on its feet and getting ready to charge at the hedgehog. Sonic was ready, and this time, he's got a plan, and he hopes it works. As soon as it attacked him, Sonic was already on top of its head; it took the drone a few moments to realize where the hedgehog was and tried to shake him off, but Sonic wasn't budging as he held on to the drone with an iron grip, He rode it like an angry bull. But then the drone had enough and tried to use its other arm to try and stab the hedgehog, but Sonic jumped out of the way, making it penetrate itself clean through its circuitry and stabbing its brain. Sonic watched as it collapsed to the ground.
Sonic: "I-I did it; I beat the robot." He said, slowly getting excited at the Realization.
Sonic: "Oh, hoo yeah. Thank you, Mr. Incredible, Sonic One Robot Zero," He said in absolute delight.
But he then realized that if that drone was around, there were probably more on the way.
Sonic: "I got to go somewhere far away from here to use one of my rings." He said as he ran entirely out of town.
But not without taking one last look at the place he called home.
Sonic: "Goodbye, Bellwood." he said sadly
And without a second thought he continued running but little did he know, that was just the start of what will soon be a fantastic adventure.
Meanwhile, back at the rustbucket.
Ben sat across from Iris and Gwen, who had been typing on her laptop while Iris stared out the window. After a while, Iris decided to start a conversation with Gwen and catch up on things with her.
Iris: "So, Gwen, how was your school year?" She asked.
Gwen: "Oh, you know, same old, same old." She said with a sigh
Iris: "Same here." She said back.
Ben: "I can't believe it, I waited all school year to go on this trip, and now the Queen of cooties is along for the ride. Uh, no offense, Iris. Ben Said in realization.
Iris: "I don't mind." She replied.
Gwen: " Hey, I had my summer vacation planned out, too, you know! She said as she pulled out a schedule.
Gwen: "Each activity is color-coated, so I never did the same thing two days in a row. But now stuck camping with my geekazoid cousin for three months. But at least I have Iris here with me." She said while looking at her friend.
Ben: "Geek." He mocked.
Gwen: "Jerk." She shot back.
Max: "Something tells me it will be a long summer." He said as they went onto the highway.
But then Max realized that he almost forgot something.
Max: "Iris, I brought your bags from home. Also, someone is waiting for you in the bedroom." He told her.
Out of curiosity, she walked to the bedroom door and opened it, only to be pounced on by her dog. Iris lets out a yelp before her dog proceeds to lick her in the face. Iris laughed at the kisses she was getting from her dog. Gwen and Ben were startled at first but then realized that her dog Sparky was licking her to death.
Sparky is a golden retriever, well, that is what he shape-shifted into; he's an enhanced species, ten times smarter than a regular dog, and can shapeshift into any canine it wants to be. Plus, he's super strong, super durable, and he can communicate with others through telepathy.
Iris: (laughing) "Down, boy, down." She said between laughs as she finally got her dog to stop licking her.
She wrapped her arms around Sparky's neck and hugged him.
Iris: "I can't believe my folks let him come along. Were they okay with this?" She asked in concern.
Max: "Don't worry, I worked things out with them; they're okay as long as we keep an eye on him." He stated.
Iris: "Awesome." She said as she sat back down on the table.
Sparky just lay down on the floor beside Iris.
Gwen and Ben smiled at the sight of the dog because sometimes one of them would have to watch the canine while Iris and her parents would go on trips, and they couldn't bring the dog with them cause some of the hotels they go to don't accept pets, especially dogs. It almost made Ben forget that Gwen was going with him and Iris on their camping trip, almost. In a few seconds, he went back to pouting. Iris sighed and decided to try and reason with Ben on how Gwen being with them wasn't that bad.
Iris: "Ben, come on, I know you don't like her, but she's your cousin whether you like it or not. She doesn't want to be here, but it's out of our control now. So why make the situation worse by fighting with her, Ben? I want you to promise me that you'll at least try to get along while we're on this trip. Please." She asked.
Ben: "Okay, Iris, I'll try." He said with a sigh.
Iris: "Good, but just wait, she can be pretty good company." She declared.
That night at the campsite, the kids sat at the picnic table preparing for dinner as Iris read through a few comics while she was waiting. And Sparky sat on the ground patiently as he waited for his food.
Gwen looked at the cover of the comic Iris was reading, and the Title said The Legend of Korra; she raised an eyebrow and smiled at her friend.
Gwen: "You know I'm more of a Raven, Zatanna, Scarlet witch, and X-men fan and Avatar seems like the type of cartoon I would watch on the weekends; I still don't get how you're so fixated on reading Avatar more than superhero comics you like to reading?" She asked.
Iris: "Because benders are pretty interesting." She said with a shrug.
Iris: ("Truth be told, when I was first introduced to Avatar, I didn't know whether to be intrigued or feel somewhat connected with Aang and Korra in a unique way.") She thought.
Soon enough, Max came out carrying a bowl.
Max: "Chow time!" He told the kids.
After he gave Sparky his food, he placed the bowl down; the two recoiled in disgust as the bowl was squirming with still-alive worms.
Iris just looked at the bowl in curiosity.
Iris: ("Hmmm, I wonder what they taste like.") She thought.
Ben: "Okay. I give up, what is it?" He asked.
Max: "Marinated mealworms, hard to find fresh in the States. You know, they are considered a delicacy in some countries." He said.
Gwen: "And gross in others." She stated
One of the worms squirmed out of the bowl and slithered away.
Iris: "They'll probably eat this in Asia, but let's face it. They'll eat anything in Asia. But you live only once, so it can't be that bad." She said, a little nervous.
Ben and Gwen looked at Iris in surprise.
Ben: "Iris, you can not be serious." He said in shock.
Gwen: "You're going to eat that? Iris, it's worms; I gotta agree with Ben. " She asked in disgust.
Iris: "Well, I'm gonna try some of it cause there's got to be a reason they eat this stuff." She said like it was no big deal.
Iris: ("When it's Mom's turn to cook at home, she'd always cook weird food. Cause from the world we're from, they eat all kinds of species, well almost any type.") She thought.
Iris eats some of the worms and stops moving for a second.
Gwen threw up in her mouth a little bit.
Ben just looked at Iris in shock.
Ben: ("Can't believe she just did that; she ate a few worms.")
After a few seconds, she swallowed the worms and stuck her tongue out in disgust.
Iris: "They don't taste too good unless cooked." She said in disgust.
Max: "Well, I got smoked sheep's tongue in the fridge." He said.
Ben: "Ugh, couldn't we just have a burger or something?" He asked.
Max: "Nonsense! This summer's going to be an adventure for your taste buds. I'll grab the tongue." He said before he went into the RV.
Gwen, Iris, and Ben looked at each other.
Iris: "Okay. I was looking forward to this trip, but if I knew the food would be like this, I would've just stayed home," She stated.
Ben: "I still can't believe you ate a few worms." He said back.
Iris: "Hey, my Mom said I should be open to trying new things, especially new foods, no matter how gross they look." She shot back.
Gwen: "So if grandpa brings out that sheep tongue, you would try it?" She said with a disgusted expression.
Iris made a gagging expression in response to that.
Iris: "No! That is where I draw the line; there's no way I'm eating a tongue or any tongue." She exclaimed.
Ben: "I've got a half-eaten bag of corn chips and a candy bar in my backpack; what do you have, Gwen?" He asked.
Gwen: "Some rice cakes and hard candy. And you, Iris?" She asked.
Iris: "A bag of pretzels and some gummy bears." She answered.
Ben: "Think we can make them last the whole summer." He asked.
The kids groaned disappointedly.
Back in space.
The battle continued as the chimera wrath blasted lasers at the smaller ship and eventually hit the back of it, destroying the engine.
Robot#5: "Their propulsion systems have been destroyed; prepare to board!" The pilot reported to Vilgax.
Vilgax: "I want the Omnitrix now!" He stated.
However, in a last effort of defense, the smaller ship fired a green laser from the top fin, and it blasted the upper area of the chimera wrath, which caused a massive explosion that destroyed the pilot and severely injured Vilgax. But not before the Chimera wrath fired one last laser, which destroyed the ship, and nothing was left but the front. The ship sent out a space capsule just before it was damaged ma g, ed and it separated to send out a pod that was hurtling down to Earth to find its destination
Back at the campsite.
Ben was playing on his game system while Iris was reading about Spiderman while Gwen was on her laptop, and Sparky was napping beside Gwen, who decided to pet the sleeping dog.
Max approached them, holding a bag of marshmallows as they continued their activities.
Max: "Who wants to roast marshmallows?" He asked.
Ben and Gwen just ignored him and continued.
Iris walked up to Max as he gave her two marshmallows, and she whistled as she tossed one to Sparky, who caught it with his mouth and devoured it and went back to sleep. Iris took her marshmallow, put it on a stick, and roasted it over the fire.
Max: "Well, at least those two aren't ignoring me." He thought.
Max: "Okay, how about some scary stories?" He announced.
Ben: "Scarier than spending the whole summer with your reek of a cousin?" He laughed.
Iris: "Ben! Not cool, man." She scolded.
Gwen glared at him and turned back to her laptop.
Gwen: "I'd like to, Grandpa, but I'm busy looking up cures for extreme doofuses! Nothing yet, Ben, but let's not give up hope!" She mocked.
Sparky whimpered a little out of annoyance from Ben and Gwen's constant bickering.
Sparky: "Iris, these two just can't go one day without mocking each other, can they?" He stared at Iris.
Iris: "Well, at least they're not going at each other like earlier, so who knows, maybe they'll finally get along Sparky." She shrugged.
Sparky: "Ugh, I hope so." Falling back to sleep.
Max: "Come on, you two. We're all in this together; either you can mope around all summer, or we can have some fun!" He encouraged.
Iris: "I vote for fun." She said, hopefully.
Sparky: "Ditto" He wagged his tail.
Gwen: "I vote for moping." She said, frowning.
Ben: "I'm going for a walk, smell you around. Gwen!" He said as he got up, left his game, and entered the woods.
Iris sighs as she puts down her comic.
Iris: "I'm gonna go with him; someone gotta make sure he doesn't get lost." She stated.
Gwen: "Go for it." She said back.
Iris: "Ben, wait up!" She shouted as she ran to catch up with him.
Max turned to Gwen and smirked.
Max: "I think you're starting to grow on each other." He said
Gwen: "As if." She sighed and went back on her laptop, and started to scratch Sparky behind the ears, and the dog was enjoying every second of it.
In the woods.
Ben: "Oh, man! This is going to be the worst vacation ever! I might as well have gone to summer school!" He complained as Iris came running up to him.
Iris: "Ben, come on, you must get along with Gwen." She said, trying to be reasonable.
Ben: "Why?" He asked.
Iris: "Well, let's go over the three reasons why. One, she's my friend, and I would like it if both my besties also became friends. Two, she's family. And three, if you don't, you're going to ruin this summer for all four of us, well, five if you include Sparky. She stated.
Without warning, the two saw a shooting star with a pink streak soaring across the sky.
Ben: "Woah, a shooting star!" He said, surprised.
Iris just watched as the shooting star passed, but then, the 'shooting star' changed directions and started heading straight for them.
Iris: "Uh oh! Run!" She yelled
The kids then turned direction and ran. But before they could get far enough, they were thrown by the force of the impact and landed in the dirt.
The comet landed and created a massive crater in the ground as the pair dusted themselves off, walked the hole's edge, and looked at it.
Iris: "That's not a shooting star." She clarified.
Ben: "It looks like a satellite or something." He questioned.
The satellite was the space pod from earlier, as it cooled off from the heat of re-entry. Then, the ground the kids were standing on suddenly gave way, and the kids came tumbling down and found themselves facing the pod.
The pair looked nervously at the space pod, which opened up to reveal the Omnitrix.
Ben: "A watch? What's a watch doing in space?" He asked.
He then got a mischievous grin; he was about to reach his left arm into the pod when Iris grabbed his arm and looked concerned.
Iris: "I know that look, Ben; I don't think we should touch it yet." She implied.
Ben: "And why not?" He asked, slightly annoyed at Iris's antics.
Iris let out an annoyed sigh as she shook her head a little.
Iris: "You remember what happened on Avatar when Zuko touched that golden egg? I'm just a little skeptical about touching something that came from space." She said nervously.
Ben just shrugged it off as he went ahead and stuck his hand in the pod when suddenly the watch launched onto Ben's left wrist.
Ben: "Ahhh!" He yelled.
On reflection, Iris jumped away from Ben once she saw the watch launch onto Ben's wrist. She watched as Ben tried to shake the watch off of him; after a few moments, she calmed down and went to help Ben, the duo struggled with the device as they both pulled and pulled in opposite directions, but it just wouldn't budge. They both climbed out of the crater and ran into the woods.
Ben: "Grandpa!" He yelled.
Thirty seconds later.
Ben stuck a stick under the watch and tried to pry it off, but it wouldn't budge. Then the post snapped off, and he groaned. Iris shook her head and placed her right hand on her head.
Iris: "Forget it, Benny. We tried everything, and let's face it, it's not coming off." She said.
Ben never really liked that name cause it sounds like a baby name, so he was a little peeved when she called him that.
Ben: "Easy for you to say; you're not the one with the watch stuck on your wrist, Azula." said back.
Iris's eyebrow twitched a little at that name but immediately calmed down, and then she saw a strange green button.
Iris: "What does that button do?" She asked Ben to look at the watch in curiosity.
Ben: "I haven't tried it yet." He said as he saw the button and pressed it, which caused the watch's hourglass to turn up, and a strange silhouette appeared.
Ben: "Ok, now that's cool. He said as he pressed the hourglass and was surrounded by green light, causing Iris to cover her eyes.
When the light died down, in Ben's place was a monster that looked like it was made from living magma. The visible innards were made from yellow lava while the surface was covered in red rocks, and the creature's hands and head were made out of fire. Above everything else, the watch's symbol appears on his chest.
Iris couldn't believe what she was seeing, the watch on Ben's wrist had turned him into an alien and she knew precisely what alien it was.
Iris: "I can't believe it; he turned into a Pyronite; what else can that watch turn him into?" She thought with a slight smile.
For a moment, Ben was quiet until he screamed.
Ben: "Ahh! I'm on fire; I'm on fire, I'm on fire!" He screamed and ran around in circles as Iris backed up, trying not to let Ben burn her.
He continued to run around until he realized something obvious.
Ben: "Hey, I'm on fire… and ok. Iris, can you believe this?" He asked
Iris: "Anyone else would find it hard to believe that a watch turned you into that, but not me 'cause I just witnessed it." She stated.
Ben gave her a nod in agreement as he turned to a dead tree.
Ben: "Oh yeah, here goes." He said, getting excited.
Ben then threw his hand out and tossed a fireball, which shot a tree branch off.
Ben: "That's what I'm talking about. He said.
Iris: "Ben, be careful; I've got a bad feeling about this." she said in concern.
Ben: "Don't worry, Iris, everything's gonna be fine." He said back.
He put his hands together and pulled them apart to form an enormous fireball.
Ben: "Check this out." He told her.
He shot the fireball through a series of trees like they were made of paper; he started to feel proud of himself… until he realized that his star exploded and spread to the other trees faster than expected. In no time at all, Ben and Iris were facing off a massive forest fire that was jumping from tree to tree every second. Ben yelped and flailed his arms in panic.
Ben: "No, Wait, Stop!" He shouted at the fire as if expecting it to obey him.
Iris: "We're doomed" She screamed as she tried to escape the fire.
Ben: "Not yet, we're not." He said as he attempted to stomp out the smaller flames on the ground, which only made them stronger.
Ben: "I'm so gonna get busted for this." He predicted.
Iris: "There has to be some way to put out these flames." She said with worry.
Ben: "This would be so cool if it weren't so… not cool." He stated
Without Ben nor Iris noticing, not too far from them was Gwen, with a fire extinguisher, putting out the flames. The 10-year-old girl was doing a pretty good job until she hit something or someone with her back. Thinking it was a tree, Gwen turned around and sprayed it with the extinguisher, but then the "tree" faced her, and what she saw caused her to scream.
Ben: "Ok, I know this looks bad, but-" Ben didn't get a chance to explain because Gwen hit him with the extinguisher, sending him crashing into a tree and respraying him, causing him to cough up foam.
Gwen: "I don't know what you are, but you'll stay down there if you know what's good for you." She warned.
Ben focused and summoned a small flame to appear on her shoe.
Gwen: "Ow!" She yelped in pain.
She jumped back, causing Ben to giggle at her reaction, before putting out the flame, holding her foot up in pain. She then held up the fire extinguisher.
Gwen: "I warned you." She informed.
Ben: "Don't even think about it, freak." He warned.
That caused her to stop and realize that there's only one person she knows who would ever call her that.
Gwen: "Ben, is that you? What happened?" She asked.
Ben: "Well, see, this meteor fell from the sky and almost smudged Iris and me, except it wasn't a meteor or a satellite but this cool watch which launched itself and got stuck on my wrist and then-"
Ben stopped his explanation when he remembered Iris.
Ben: "Oh, no! Iris! She's still in the forest! Iris, where are you?!" He yelled.
A few moments earlier.
Iris was trying to put out the flames with her water powers, but every time she tried to concentrate, she couldn't produce any water.
Iris: (Sigh) "I was afraid that this would happen, there isn't any water in the air with all of this fire everywhere, and I can't produce any water of my own cause I've been in the heat for too long, and I'm dehydrated." She thought as she took several steps away from the fire.
Iris: "What am I gonna do?" She asked herself.
As she backed, she backed up right into Max, who had an extinguisher in his hand.
Max: "Iris, glad to see you're okay; where's Ben?" He asked.
Iris pointed into the forest
Max: "Can you explain to me how this happened? He asked
Iris: "Ben and I will explain after we take care of this. Less talking, more extinguishing!" She said as she let Max extinguish more of the fire to clear a path for them. They ran deeper into the woods to meet with Ben and Gwen, as Ben just came to her.
Ben: "Iris, where are you?!" he yelled.
Iris: "I'm right here."
Gwen and Ben turned around in surprise to see Iris, and she had Max with her.
Max: "Gwen! Are you al-What in the blazes?" He asked when he saw a fire guy next to his granddaughter.
Gwen: "Hey, Grandpa, guess who." She said and pointed at her cousin.
Ben: "It's me, Grandpa." He said.
Max: "Ben, what happened to you?" He asked.
Ben: "Well, while I was walking-" He started but was interrupted by Gwen.
Gwen: "Excuse me, but there's a major forest fire we have to deal with." She reminded them.
Ben: What do we do?" He asked
Iris thought about it using her comic book knowledge, but then she remembered one with a particular fire user that her Dad watches. And a smirk formed on her face.
Iris: "Hey, Ben." She called.
Ben: "Huh?"
Iris: "Try to inhale and see what happens." she asked.
Ben tilted his head in confusion while Gwen and Max raised an eyebrow at the request. But with a shrug, Ben decided to try it and see what happens.
Gwen: "Iris, how will that help us with the forest fire?" She asked.
Iris smirked, brought her hand out, and gave Gwen a little gesture telling her to calm down.
Iris: "Watch and learn." She said calmly.
Ben stepped forward and inhaled, and after a few seconds, the flames got absorbed, leaving burnt trees everywhere and around the group.
Ben: "I didn't know I could do that." He stated.
Gwen looked back at Iris in surprise.
Gwen: "How did you know that would work?" She asked
Iris: "My Dad has me watching an anime series with him, I wasn't sure it would work, but I wanted to see if Ben could consume fire." She said like it's no big deal.
Gwen: "So you guessed it would work and weren't even sure if it would?" She asked.
Iris: (Nervous chuckle) "Yes." She said nervously.
Gwen pinched the bridge of her nose and just shook her head.
Gwen: "Sometimes, I just can't with you, Iris." She sighed.
Max: "Let's get out of here before the forest ranger comes." He said
Gwen: "Yeah, it'll be difficult to explain how Ben became a fire creature and started a forest fire." She said as she, Ben, Max, and Iris returned to their campsite.
Back in space.
The chimera Wrath, one of the pilot robots, was reporting to Vilgax, who was inside a tank.
Vilgax: "What do you mean it's not there, this battle nearly cost me my life, and you say the Omnitrixes are no longer on board the transport. And what's this I hear about the Mobian got away and hasn't been found yet?!" He asked angrily.
Vilgax rose from inside the tank, and we were treated to a genuinely horrible site. His entire body was mutilated from the explosion from earlier. His whole left side was destroyed, with the bones sticking out. His right arm and leg were tattered, and he was strapped to a breathing apparatus to keep himself alive while his body regenerated.
The pilot: "Sensors indicate a probe was jettisoned from the ship just before boarding. It landed on the planet below there. And as for the Mobian, our droid was destroyed by it." The pilot reported.
Vilgax: "Bring them both to me." He growled and turned to his robot scouts.
The robot complied and left the room.
Back at the campsite.
When they got there, Ben, Gwen, and Iris sat near the campfire while Max went to get some marshmallows. And after he returned, he had Sparky with him, who walked towards Iris and sat beside Iris.
Sparky: "Uh, Iris, why are you sitting beside a Pyronite, and how is one even on ears, and where's Ben?" He moved his head towards Iris.
Iris: "That Pyronite is Ben, don't worry, we're about to explain everything, so you'll get your answers." She pets his head in reassurance.
Max: "Which of you are going to explain what happened?" He asked.
Iris: "I'll do it; I'll start from the beginning." She stated.
A few minutes later.
Max: "And you say this watch just clamped up on Ben's wrist?" He asked, just to be specific.
Gwen tossed the two marshmallows, and Just before Iris could grab it, Sparky caught it with his mouth and ate it. Iris glared at her dog until she saw Gwen toss her another one. She caught it and decided to roast it over the campfire.
Ben: "Hey, this time, it wasn't my fault! I swear!" He said as he tossed it into his mouth.
Iris: "It's true!" She informed
Max: "I believe you two, kids." He stated.
Gwen: "I'm worried about Ben." She said.
Max: "Don't worry, we'll find a solution." He said as he joined the kids and sat down.
Ben: "Hey, I don't wanna be a fire guy for the rest of my life. How will I play the little league if I charcoal the ball whenever I touch it." He said
Iris: "Heat blast." She said.
Ben: "Huh?" He asked.
Iris: "That should be this creature's name; what do you think?" She asked
Ben pondered over it for a moment.
Ben: "Hmm, Heatblast, huh, I like it. Not a bad name Iris." He thanked her.
Iris: "Anytime, Ben." She said as she was about to pat him on the back but stopped herself before she did that and put her hand in her pocket.
Gwen: "Is he gonna stay a fire monster forever?" She asked, worried.
Max: "He's not a monster; he's an alien." He said. He is causing Ben, Gwen, Iris, and Sparky to look at him strangely.
Max: "I… I mean, look at him. What else could he be?" He clarified.
Ben: "Just when I thought this summer would be normal." He said
Iris: "Let's hope it's only temporary." She said hopefully.
Max: "We'll try to figure something out, Ben. Don't worry." He reassured his grandson.
Sparky: "Iris, how did Max know that Ben is an alien and not a monster? I think he's hiding something." He eyeballed Max for a little bit.
Iris: "He probably knows something, but I think we should just leave it be for right now, okay, Sparky?" She sighed as she patted her dog's back.
Sparky: "Alright then, but if Ben is a pyronite is temporary. All we can do is hope you were right." He looks towards Ben.
Just as Sparky finished communicating telepathically with Iris, The hourglass on Ben's chest beeps and blinks red, and after a few seconds, Ben is surrounded by a bright red light, causing Iris, Sparky, Gwen, and Max to cover their eyes. When the light died down, everyone saw Ben back in human form.
Ben: "Hey, I'm me again. He said happily.
Max: "It looks like Iris was right." He said as Ben continued his struggle to get the Omnitrix off to him.
Max: "I better go check out where the watch crashed. You guys stay here and don't mess with that thing until we figure out what exactly it is." He said as he stood up and went into the forest.
Back with Sonic.
Sonic had run deep into the forest, but little did he know he was at a campsite near where the space pod carrying the Omnitrix crash landed.
Sonic: "Ok…you made it…it will take fifteen minutes for them to find me." He assured himself as he looked around the forest to ensure no one was around before grabbing a ring.
Sonic: "Ok, it didn't work out on Earth, but that's ok. You're going to a safe place filled with mushrooms, mushrooms that'll be your only friends… That doesn't sound very good. I can't do this, you have to do it. There's no other option." He rants to himself.
He then calms himself down by taking a deep breath and looks at the ring, getting ready to throw it. When he sees an orange pod crash landed not too far from where he is, he decides to put the ring back in his bag and see what crashed landed. When he made it to the crash site, Sonic noticed the crater in the woods and stared at it in surprise.
Sonic: "What could've done damage like this?" He wondered.
Sonic walked towards the crater and saw debris of whatever was in the cavity everywhere.
Sonic: "Well, whatever it was, it looks like it's been destroyed
Sonic: "Alright, time to get out of here." He said to himself as he was about to throw the ring.
Max: "Alright, let's see what we-" Max stopped what he told himself because he froze when he saw Sonic holding the ring.
Sonic: "Uh…meow? He replied. He was trying to pass as a cat.
Max reacted instinctively and pulled out a laser gun from one of his pants pockets; he pulled the trigger and shot Sonic, he sent Sonic flying into a tree.
Sonic: "Ow!" He exclaimed.
Sonic then thought about an annoying song Iris and her Mom used to sing. It was called I would like to go anywhere in America, before dropping the ring.
Max saw it roll on the ground before it became a portal. It didn't show where it would go, so it just showed a blue swirling vortex, Sonic looked at Max, and while he was distracted, he prepared to jump through the portal, but he was hit on the head by a big tree branch that fell from a tree, dropping his bag of rings into the portal. Max was confused, but he couldn't help but find it familiar to him for some reason.
Sonic: "No…" He tried to cry out before he fell unconscious, and the portal closed.
Leaving a confused Max in shock and couldn't help but have a sense of familiarity with the portal and the creature. So he decided to take the alien back to the RV after checking the crash site Ben and Iris told him about.
Back at the campsite.
Ben and Iris were behind the RV, with Ben trying to figure out how to use the watch.
Iris: "Why don't you press that button like last time?" She asked, which caused Ben to facepalm.
Ben: "Why didn't I think of that?" He asked himself.
Gwen: "Gotcha!" She shouted as she laughed, which caused Iris to jump in freight and hit the ground with a thud.
Gwen: "You're so busted." She said.
Iris let out an annoyed grunt as she got up from the ground.
Ben: "Haha, real funny, like your face." He shot back as he went back to the campsite.
HIris and Gwen followed him himtincontinuednuethey d to mess with the watch.
Gwen: "Didn't Grandpa told you not to mess with this thing." She asked, worried Ben might do something crazy.
Iris: "Come on, Gwen, aren't you the least bit curious about what else this thing can do?" She asked.
Gwen sighed in defeat.
Gwen: "Alright, I am.
Ben looked in surprise as Iris looked at Ben and gave him a look that said, "I told you."
Ben: "Look, guys, if I can figure out how to use it, I can help people. I mean, help them, not make things worse." He said as he pressed the green button down.
Gwen: "Are you sure you want to do that?" She asked.
Ben: "Definitely." He said as he cycled the watch.
He then twisted the dial three times to show a silhouette of an insectoid alien, a humanoid reptile alien, and a canine alien, in that order. He slammed his core down, initiating the transformation sequence. The watch sank into his wrist, causing his veins to pulse and expand rapidly until they reached his eye, which he clenched shut. When he opened them again, they were entirely orange. Afterward, orange fur sprouted all over his body, his teeth turned to fangs, and he grew three gills on each side of his collar. He stretched his three-fingered paw out, and it sprouted black claws. The watch's symbol was on his shoulder pad, and he let out a roar as the transformation ended.
Gwen: "Ew! This thing is grosser than you normally are! Bow wow! Put a flea collar on this mutt!" She groaned while looking over Ben's new form as he drooled involuntarily.
Ben roared angrily at her remark.
As for Iris, she was checking out the form Ben took in amazement and was surprised that the watch made her friend turn into a Vulpimancer.
Iris: " A Vulpimancer." "Wow, I didn't think he would turn into an oversized canine; I don't know about you, Gwen, but I find this very interesting if you ask me." She said as she examined the alien Ben turned into.
Gwen: "Aren't you giving Ben too much credit here? I mean, look at it, no eyes. What good is this one? It can't even see." She then looked at the stick she held with the marshmallow and got an idea.
Iris: "I wouldn't do that, Gwen; this canine might have some other advantage even if it can't see." She warned.
Iris: "And funny thing about Vulpimancer, they can't see, but they can sense your body heat like a thermograph." She thought.
Gwen ignored Iris's warning with a shrug as she spits on her hands to secure a grip on the stick before winding up the bar and striking.
Suddenly Ben's gills reacted to this and sensed Gwen's body heat, and she was about to hit him. He jumped out of the way and landed on top of the RV, causing Gwen to fall over, and he grinned.
Iris: "I tried to warn you." She said Smugly.
Gwen: "Okay, maybe it's not a total loser." She said admittedly.
Ben then front-flipped back towards her, and Iris got onto the RV.
Gwen and Iris pinched their noses at the smell of Ben's foul breath odor.
Iris: "Hoowee." She said with disgust.
Gwen: "Two words: breath mints." She commented.
Ben then kicked some dirt in his cousin's face before running into the woods as Iris watched him leave.
Iris: "Just where the heck is he off to?" She thought.
Gwen: "Ben, get back here, Ben! I'm telling Grandpa that you turned into some freaky animal monster and swung around the forest after he told you not to." She said, starting to realize this day is anything but typical.
Gwen: "This day has been one majorly weird day." She declared.
Iris: "I think that alien was pretty cool." She said as She approached Gwen and placed a hand on her shoulder.
Iris: "Well, look on the bright side Gwen; at least he won't cause another forest fire."
Gwen rolled her eyes a bit as she gave Iris a nod in agreement.
Ben went swinging through the trees. It was surprising how the branches could support his weight in this form.
When he heard a laser being shot, he sensed its presence before jumping out of the way before it blasted the tree branch. He then started swinging from the trees again, avoiding its laser blasts as it destroyed the trees.
The robot searched unthinkingly but couldn't find Ben due to the smoke before giving up and floating away to explore another area.
As the robot was searching, Ben suddenly leaped from a tree and grabbed the robot, and bit its claws off. The robot tried to shake him off by flying away, but he held on tightly, clawing away at its circuitry, and tore the head part off before the symbol started beeping. He jumped off before he was engulfed in the explosion and turned back to his default form.
He stood up, a few leaves in his hair, and looked back towards the small fire on the cliffside.
Ben: "Yes!" He cheered.
But then he was spotted by the other drone and saw it aiming its laser at him.
Ben: "Uh oh, not good." He said.
But before the robot could do anything, a shovel smashed into it. Ben opened his eyes and saw Iris breaking the droid with the shovel as soon as the droid hit the ground. She hit it with the shovel three times to ensure it was destroyed.
Iris: "Take that, jerkbot, nobody messes with Ben except for Me and Gwen!" She shouted, angrily before she calmed down by taking deep breaths.
Ben: "Thanks… Hey!" He shouted.
Back at the RV.
When Iris and Ben made it back to the RV, they were met with a shocked Gwen and a silent Max, who is currently carrying an unconscious blue creature.
Max told the kids that he'll explain inside the RV.
Once they were inside Max had put the unconscious creature into Sparky's dog cage. Sparky stared at the creature in surprise.
Sparky: "I never thought I would see a mobian, up close and unconscious. Judging by the shoes and gloves it has on, it's been on earth for a while." He continued to stare.
Gwen started poking Sonic with a stick.
Ben: Grampa, what is that thing and how did you find it?" He asked.
Iris: "A Mobian, an actual Mobian, and it's a hedgehog, a blue one in fac- wait a minute." She thought.
Iris took a good look at the hedgehog and noticed Sonic's quills.
Max: "I found it at the crash site, where you found that watch-" He stopped what he was about to say when he saw Iris quickly got up from her seat and grabbed her backpack.
Gwen: "Iris, what are you doing?" She asked.
Iris: "I just want to check something, that's all." She answered.
Iris grabbed the quill she had in her backpack, walked up to the unconscious hedgehog, and compared its quills to the one she had.
Iris: "It was you…" she said, realizing the similarities.
Ben got up from his seat and took the quill from Iris's hand, and realized the similarities and who this was.
Ben: "The blue devil? He's real?"He thought as he was trying to process this.
Sparky: (?)He stared at them in confusion.
Gwen: "Guys, can you explain what's happening and where you got the quill?" She asked.
Iris: "Well, to make it short, I found this in my backyard and made Ben promise not to tell anyone." She explained.
Max: "How long have you had that with you?" He asked.
Iris: "Well, three weeks now." She answered.
Ben: "Well, at least we know where that quill came fr-" He stopped what he was saying and jumped in shock and bumped into Gwen when he looked back at the cage and saw Sonic waking up, opening the cell, and limping out.
While Max and Iris were talking about the quill, Gwen grunted as she turned around, wondering why Ben bumped into her like that. She looked back at the cage, and when Sonic got out of the cell, she froze at the sight of the hedgehog.
Gwen: Uh… Grampa?" She said in shock.
Max looked at Ben and Gwen, but then he saw Sonic standing aside the cage.
Sonic: "Comic gamer, Sports gal, and Hermione?" He asked.
But everyone was only shocked except for Max, Iris, and Sparky.
Ben: "You can talk?" He asked in surprise.
Gwen: "Wait….You're not here to kill us, are you?" She asked.
It is causing Sparky to raise an eyebrow at Gwen for asking that.
Sonic: "Kill you? Hey, he abducted me!" He said, pointing to Max.
Iris: "Fair point." She admitted.
Iris: "Then, what were you doing in the forest?" She asked.
Sonic: "I needed to go somewhere safe and far away from Bellwood, and I just kept running until I knew I was safe, Sports gal."
Iris: "Why do you keep calling Sports gal?" She asked.
Sonic: "Cuz you're on top of your game in sports and gymnastics, and Comic gamer over here, likes- wait a minute, where are the mushrooms? Am I still on earth?" He asked as he looked around the RV.
Sonic: "Oh no! I lost my rings!" He exclaimed
Iris: "What!?" She questioned what he meant.
"Mayday! Mayday!" A ranger from the radio reported. "We're under attack by some kind of- I know you're not going to believe me- but a robot!"
"They're looking for me! Wait, they're looking for you!?" Sonic and Ben said in unison.
Ben: "They're after me for the watch; why are they after you?" He asked.
Gwen: "This is not happening, this is so, not happening right now." She said in worry.
Sonic: "You think you're worried? I'm not even wearing pants!" He argues.
Max: "Hold on, we know why they might be after Ben, but why would they be after you?" He asked, pointing to Sonic.
Sonic: "I can't explain right now, but the point is, that robot is probably after me, and I don't know why they would be after Comic Gamer for his watch, but I have to get rid of that robot before anyone else gets hurt." He declared.
Ben: "You won't have to do it by yourself cause we're both going to get rid of that robot together." He said
Gwen: "You? What are you going to do about it, Tennyson?" She asked.
Iris: "Um, you're Tennyson too, doofus." She said.
Gwen: "...Dang it." She said, admitting defeat.
Ben looked at his watch and smirked.
Outside near the robot attack, Ben, Gwen Max, Iris, Sparky, and Sonic reached a clearing as the watch beeped, and Ben looked to Max, who nodded in approval.
Sonic crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow as he watched Ben dial his watch.
Sonic: "I fail to see why Ben needs approval to fiddle around with his cool-looking watch." He stated.
Iris placed her right hand on top of Sonic's head carefully so she wouldn't get pricked by the quills on his head. Sonic was slightly surprised by the contact but looked up and was introduced to a smiling Iris.
Iris: "Trust me, you're about to discover why." She informed him.
Ben cycled through several aliens before making his choice and slammed the hourglass down, and was surrounded by green light. When the light died down, in Ben's place stood an alien whose body was composed of durable pale green crystals. He sported four crystal shards on his back and had a sharp head. It wore a black harm hack on the right half and white on the left, with a black patch on the left shoulder where the Omnitrix symbol was.
Iris: (He turned into a Petrosapien, they look a little more intimidating in person than I thought.) She thought while staring at him in amazement.
Gwen: "And what can this one do?" She asked, worried for her cousin.
Ben: "I don't know, but I bet it's gonna be cool."
Sonic stared at Ben in complete shock.
Sonic: "So that's why they're after him; that watch can turn him into any alien he picks, now that is cool." He thought.
Sonic: "Only one way to find out, come on, let's go." He said as he ran ahead of the group at a breakneck speed leaving everyone behind.
Ben, Iris, and Gwen, except for Max, stared in shock at the speed Sonic ran ahead of them.
Gwen: "Whoa." She said in surprise.
Iris: "At least we know why they're after him too." She stated.
Ben: "True, but that was unexpected from the little fella to move that fast, which is pretty cool if you ask me." He said to Iris.
Max: "Well, come on, kids, we better catch up with him." He said.
The kids gave him a nod and followed Max.
The robot destroyed the RVs in the trailer park with its lasers, prompting the campers to run away in fear as the Tennysons, Iris, and Sonic gazed in awe at the sheer size of the robot compared to the drones.
Ben: "Looks like papa robot this time." He said.
Sonic: "We'll get Gear Head's attention. You guys get the campers to safety." He ordered.
Max, Gwen, and Iris complied and ran off to help.
The duel gave each other a nod and ran off to fight the robot.
As the campers ran away, one tripped, and a ranger tried to help him get up. But before he could do anything, the robot grabbed him, and he screamed.
"Leave him alone!" A voice commanded, catching the robot's attention, and it turned its head to see the two aliens. It scanned the two of them before catching sight of the watch symbol, and after catching sight of the mobian, it beeped in confirmation. It had found what it was looking for.
Sonic: "Looking for us?" He shouted.
Ben: "You want somebody to pick on? Try us on for size!" He shouted.
The robot let the ranger go and dropped him onto his van before firing a laser at Ben, sending him flying into an RV before firing another laser to blow it up.
Sonic: "B-uh….Diamondhead!" He shouted, trying not to reveal who Ben was.
The robot then turned to Sonic and readied its laser wrist.
Sonic: (Gasp) "Ah!" He yelled as he quickly jumped out of the way of the laser beam.
Sonic: "Phew, that was close." He said to himself.
A green crystal blade came out of the wreckage of the RV, and Ben pulled himself out, revealing the edge to be formed from his arm.
Ben: "Cool." He said as the arm grew crystal spikes.
Before Ben attacked the robot, he wanted to ask Sonic a question.
Ben: "What did you call me after the RV exploded?" He asked.
Sonic: "Diamondhead, why?" He asked back.
Ben: "Hm, Diamondhead." "Not a bad name." He muttered to Sonic, who gave Ben a thumbs up.
Ben and Sonic ran for the robot; Ben tried to slice it while Sonic tried to hit hard enough but realized he was not physically strong enough to do any damage.
Sonic: "There's got to be some way for me to hit this thing." He thought.
He thought about it for a few moments until he saw the robot jump up and spin its legs around like a helicopter, but before it could land on top of them. Ben, now called Diamondhead, grabbed Sonic by the head and threw Sonic out of the way. Sonic then landed in a bush with a thud.
The robot then landed right on top of Diamondhead.
Diamondhead: "Uh-oh. I think I'm in trouble." He figured.
Sonic saw what happened to Ben, and he doesn't know how he can help get that robot off of Diamondhead. But then, he suddenly started to get flashbacks and started glowing.
He looked at himself and began to panic.
Sonic: "Oh, no, no, no, no! Not again!" He said in a panic.
Sonic: "Come on, think, Sonic, think." He thought.
After a moment, he devised an idea he hoped would work.
Meanwhile, Gwen, Max, and Iris helped the ranger off his van as the rest of the campers got to cover.
The ranger: "What's going on here?" He asked.
Gwen: "Trust me, you wouldn't believe me if we told you." "Now, come on." She ordered.
The two ran off, back with Sonic, he got down to his hands and knees, getting ready to run straight at the robot. After a moment, Sonic ran towards the robot, but then Sonic tripped over a rock and curled into a spiky glowing blue ball. Once he hits the ground, he starts to spin at incredible speeds while dashing straight towards the robot.
Once Sonic collides with the robot, the bot tipped over with sparks of blue static covering all over it. It was enough to free Ben, and the robot hit the ground with a thud.
Diamondhead: "Woah, now that was cool." He admitted.
After the smoke cleared, Sonic uncurled out of his ball-shaped form and felt dizziness aching his head. He slowly gets back up to his feet, trying to balance himself.
Sonic: "Ugh, Argh. Guess I had a bonus life." He groaned.
He didn't get a chance to clear his head because the robot got up off the ground, grabbed Sonic, and threw him right into the ranger's van! Fortunately, he ducked in time and ran away from the scene as Ben recovered and exited the van's wreckage.
The two dodged the robot's lasers left and right until it eventually blasted a tree. From everyone's perspective, it only looked like a few minutes, but from Sonics' perspective, time slowed down for him, giving him enough time to move some campers away from the fight to a safe enough distance. He turned his head and noticed a tree was about to fall on Gwen. Worried, Sonic rushed over to save her.
Sonic pushed Gwen away from the tree and placed her beside Iris, and went back to Diamondhead before time sped back up.
Diamondhead: "Where did you go?" He asked, but Sonic only snickered.
Sonic: "I just took a few precautions. Now we can fight that robot with-" "Lookout!" He exclaimed as he ran to a tree, jumped off it and pushed Diamondhead out of the way, and ducked from a laser beam from the robot.
The robot went to Diamondhead and grabbed him, it attempted to rip him apart with its other arm, but as it grabbed Ben's arm, Ben commanded it into its spiked blade form, obliterating the robot's left hand. The robot blasted Ben away with the laser on its wrist, and Ben landed in a crater.
Max: "Ben!" He shouted. As Sonic ran away, he jumped to another tree, jumped off of it, and hit the robot on its side, also knocking it off its legs again.
Sonic safely landed on the ground and looked at the robot with a smirk.
Sonic: "Is that all you got, big guy? I was just getting started." He yelled.
In response, the robot used the lasers on his wrist to try and shoot the hedgehog, but Sonic was too quick.
Sonic: "Heh, looks like you can't keep up with the blue blur, huh?" He said in a cocky tone.
Gwen: "...Blue blur?" She asked, deadpan.
Iris: "I like it. It works for how fast he is." She said with a smirk.
Gwen: "Well, at least we know why those robots are after our blue acquaintance." She said with a suspicious tone.
Iris: "Yeah, but it may also mean he might need our help." She said back.
Max: "Don't worry, you two. I'll figure out what to do with him tomorrow." "But for right, let's just hope they figure out how to beat that thing." He informed them.
Ben got out of the crater and formed his arms into mirror shields; as Sonic ran past Diamondhead, the robot fired another beam. The beam deflected off of his security and went in another direction.
That gave the duo an idea as they looked at each and nodded.
Diamondhead: "Come on!" Put one in here." He said as Sonic ran past him, curled into a ball, and hit the robot enough to stun it.
Max: "Get out of there!" He shouted.
Gwen: "Hang on, I think they're onto something." She said to Max.
In retaliation, the robot tried shooting Sonic with a laser beam. Still, Sonic was expecting this, so he ran and got in front of Diamondhead before the robot fired the beam. Sonic jumped out of the way, and as the robot fired, Diamondhead held out his hands and deflected the shaft, his crystal body acting like a mirror.
The campers came up to watch the spectacle.
Diamondhead: "What goes around comes around." He said
Sonic: "Let's see how you like it, you techno freak!" He shouted as Diamondhead deflected the laser. It hit the robot, destroying it.
"Oh, yeah." Gwen and Max said in unison.
Iris: "Way to go, Diamondhead and Blue Blur." She roared.
Diamondhead then walked up to Sonic and smiled.
Diamondhead: "Pound it." He said as they pounded their fists.
They then looked at the guys watching them.
Sonic: "So, should we get out of here?" He asked.
Diamondhead: "Yeah, I….Think our work here is done, Blue." He said as the two ran away from the scene.
Diamondhead: "Say, that name has a nice ring, Blue blur." He said to Sonic as they ran away.
Sonic: "I say, we name your forms; we must call them something. He said back.
Diamondhead: "You took the words right out of my mouth." He said back.
Gwen, Max, and Iris left the scene, confusing the campers.
Male camper: "Who were those two?" He asked.
The others shrugged their shoulders in confusion.
Back up in space.
The drones were making repairs to the Chimera Wrath, Vilgax received the information regarding his scout robot's destruction.
Vilgax: "Failure!? Unbelievable!" He shouted.
Vilgax: "The human being who is keeping the Omnitrix away from me and The Mobian who thinks it can run from me will soon hang from my trophy wall!" He declared
Back at the campsite.
Early in the morning, he woke up to find out he was outside the RV and was met with Gwen, Ben, and Iris.
Gwen: "Ok, buddy, start talking; who are you? What are you?" She asked.
Sonic sighed.
Sonic: "I'm a hedgehog, I feel that's obvious." He explained.
Gwen: "No way, hedgehogs are small and brown, you're big and blue." She snapped back.
Sonic: "Well yeah, I'm a hedgehog….and I'm in big trouble." He explained.
Ben: "Oh, you're in trouble; you're not the one with a watch on your wrist that can turn you into ten different aliens." "Not to mention, it won't come off no matter how hard I try." He told him, to which Sonic got a little mad.
Sonic: "Oh, you think you have problems?" "I lost my rings!" He exclaimed.
Iris: "Rings? What are you talking about?" She asked.
Sonic: "Ok, advanced life 101, rings are how some advanced species travel, and now mine are somewhere in this country because I thought about that annoying song that Iris and her Mom sing called I would go anywhere in America." He explained.
Iris: "Hey, that song my Mom made up helped me memorize all the states in America!" She exclaimed.
Sonic: "Well, the bottom line is, I need to get to Washington, DC, to check if my rings are there so I can use them to go to the mushroom planet." He added, to which Gwen felt like he was making this up.
Gwen looked weird as she took a few steps away from Sonic.
Iris: "Uh, Gwen, are you okay?" She asked as she placed a hand on Gwen's shoulder.
Gwen: "Mushroom planet ... .giant blue hedgehog who needs rings to get to the mushroom planet, and, my cousin has a watch that can turn him into ten aliens." "The next thing I'm gonna find out is Sparky can talk." She said Ironically.
Iris let out a convincing laugh.
Gwen: "I must be dreaming." She told herself as she sat on the bench, trying to ensure she wasn't sleeping.
Iris: "Maybe it's best not to tell her that me and Sparky are aliens, at least for right now." She thought.
Ben, who had been quiet the whole time, contemplated everything he heard from the blue hedgehog.
Ben: "Hmmm, he could come with us; I don't see why he shouldn't." He thought.
Gwen got up from the bench and went to talk to Sonic.
Sonic was contemplating whether his rings were in Washington, or somewhere in New York, or are they in Louisiana. That was until he noticed Gwen coming towards him.
Gwen: "Ok, you need to leave." She ordered.
Sonic: "I'm sorry, what?"
Gwen: "Look, things right now are complicated enough, you needed help with the robot, so we helped you. So please go find your rings and your mushroom land. Hopefully, I will wake up in my room and pretend this was all some messed up dream, ok? So goodbye." She said.
Sonic: "Ok, goodbye." He said as he got up from the ground and stood silently.
Gwen starts to give him a look.
Gwen: "Why are you still here?!" She asked.
Sonic: "I don't know where Washington DC is!" He replies, annoyed.
Gwen: "It's north."
Sonic: "North?" He asked.
Gwen: "Yeah, straight shot. You can't miss it." She said.
Sonic: "Fine. That's cool. I'm so cool saying goodbye now." After he says that, he runs off at high speeds while Gwen, Iris, and Ben look in disbelief.
Ben: "Whoa." He jolted.
Iris: "How long do you think it will take him to get there?" She asked
Gwen thought about it for a moment and was about to answer, but she didn't get to say anything because, in a couple of seconds Son, it came back with his fur all wet, a few seaweed all around him, and a fish on top of his head. And he does not look happy.
Gwen starred in complete surprise, Ben starred in shock, and Iris tried her hardest not to laugh at Sonic's appearance.
Iris: "L-look at y-you, w-what happened." She said, trying her best not to laugh.
Sonic: "Heh, I'm glad you asked." He said with an annoyed smile.
Sonic: "So, as I crashed into the cold, dark water of the Pacific. I realized a few things. (1. I have no idea where I'm going. (2. Salt water stings. (3. I'm not even supposed to be on this planet right now, but I am. Why? Cause your grandpa somehow knocked me out!." He said.
Gwen: "Good point."
Sonic: "HE KNOCKED ME OUT! He yelled dramatically.
Gwen: "Ok! I get it already, you don't have to rub it in." She yelled back before she calmed down and sighed slightly.
Sonic: "I'm wet, cold, and a fish on my head! And I'm not gonna be able to do this on my own. He begged.
Iris placed a hand on Gwen's shoulder.
Iris: "Ben, can you get Sonic cleaned while I talk to Gwen? She asked.
Ben can tell that Iris can reason with Gwen enough to convince her to let Sonic stay with them, so he allows the girls to chat.
Ben gave her a nod as he walked past the two and had Sonic follow him.
Ben: "Come on, bud, let's get all that stuff off you." He said as he got the fish off Sonic's head and tossed it to Sparky, who caught it with his mouth.
Sonic smiled as he gave Ben a thumbs up.
Sonic: "Lead the way, Comic gamer." He said, complying.
Ben: "I have a name, you know, it-
Sonic: "I know your real name, Ben Tennyson." He said, cutting Ben off and leaving him surprised.
Ben: "Do you know their names?" He said, pointing to Iris and Gwen.
Sonic: "Yeah, that's your cousin Gwen Tennyson and Iris Briar, your best friend since pre-k." He answered.
Ben: "Your just full of surprises, aren't, uh-
Sonic: "Sonic, my name's Sonic." He answered Ben's question.
Ben: "Sonic, huh, Sonic. I'm not surprised that that's your name after seeing what you can do. By the way, how do you know our names?" He asked.
Sonic: "How about I tell you right after we settle things between me and your cousin." He asked.
Ben thought about it and thought that would be the best idea.
Ben: "How about after Grandpa decides what to do with you? How's that sound." He asked.
Sonic: "Sounds good to me." He answered.
Ben: "Good, let's get this stuff off you." He said as he and Sonic got the seaweed off his body.
Meanwhile.
Gwen and Iris sit on different sides of the bench while Sparky eats what is left of the fish Ben gave him.
Gwen: "You want to help him? Are you serious, Iris?" She asked.
Iris: "Gwen, be reasonable; I mean, come on, he made it clear he has no idea where he's going, and I think he's better off staying with us than going off on his own." She said reasonably.
Gwen looked away from Iris to process what her friend told her; she looked back at Iris. She took a moment to think about this. And she did that having the blue hedgehog around wouldn't be so bad.
Gwen sighed and gave Iris a nod, much to Iris's delight.
Gwen: "Alright, I guess we can help him out." She tells her.
Iris: "Awesome." She said as she did a fist pump.
Gwen let out a little giggle.
Gwen: "Do you always do that?" She said as she chuckled a little.
Iris: "Only when I succeed at something." She said as she laughed too.
The next day.
Gwen, Iris, Ben, Max, and Sonic were having breakfast, and once everyone was seated, Max thought that now would be the best time to tell them his decision.
Max: "I decided what we should do about our blue friend here. He is addressing Sonic.
Sonic looked a little nervous and hoped he would help him.
Max: "We're going to help him find his rings." He said with a smile.
Sonic: "Really, you're going to help me?" He asked excitedly.
Max: "It is kinda my fault that all of this has happened to you." He admits.
Sonic: "Not kinda, entirely, it is entirely your fault. " He corrected him
This made Ben, Iris, and Gwen chuckle.
Max: "Okay, it's entirely my fault. Do you accept my offer?" He asked.
Sonic: "Yes." He said as he quickly finished his food and grabbed his duffle bag from the other room.
Sonic: "Road trip! Woohoo!" he exclaimed as Iris and Ben giggled.
Gwen just placed a hand under her chin, wondering how she got into this mess.
Iris smiled, knowing she and her family weren't the only extraterrestrials on Earth.
An hour later.
After breakfast, Max, Gwen, and Iris pack their sleeping bags and other luggage back into the Rust Bucket.
Max then noticed two certain someones we were missing.
Max: "Where's Ben and Sonic?" He asked.
Gwen: "I haven't seen them since breakfast." She stated.
Soon, a dust cloud came speeding up, which appeared to be none other than Sonic, and Ben, in a new alien form that resembled a semi-armored Velociraptor. It had wheels on its feet; It had a blue face, green eyes, black lips, and stripes above and on the right side of its eyes. It wore the Omnitrix symbol on its chest. It had five blue lines on its tail.
Max: "Ben?" He wondered.
Sonic: "Yep." he answered.
Ben: "Hey, check this out. " A visor came down his face, and with incredible speed, he and Sonic put everything in the RV.
Ben: "XLR8 is pretty fast, don't you think?"
Sonic: "But he's nowhere as fast as me." He said in a cocky manner.
XLR8 was about to say something, but just then, the watch timed out, and Ben was back to being human.
Ben: "I think this will be the best summer ever." He said in excitement.
Max: "It would appear so." he agreed.
Gwen: "It's certainly going to be interesting." She admitted.
Iris: "So, where did you two go anyway?" she asked.
As soon as she asked them, Sonic just stood there and chuckled.
Ben: "Let's just say we had to run a few errands before the trip." He answered innocently.
Meanwhile, back in Bellwood, JT, and Cash, we're hanging from a tree by their underwear.
JT: "Dude, the blue devil cared for us before we could even do anything." He started.
Cash: "He snuck up on us, but we'll catch him next time." He declared
Cash: "Hey, somebody. Anybody need a little help up here, please?" He shouted, trying to bring the attention of the passing cars.