Lined up on Vilgax's ship were three alien men. All three were rather strange-looking.
First was Kraab, who looked like a robotic crab-man.
Next, SixSix, a warrior in purple armor with various weapons at his disposal.
And the last is nameless for now, in black armor with a single green light for eyes.
All three are bounty hunters.
They were taking part in an audition organized by Vilgax, whom they heard over an intercom.
"Begin the audition."
In the blink of an eye, the three hunters were attacked by various attack drones. Each showed off his incredible skills. SixSix was proficient with firearms and various gadgets, Kraab with melee (particularly with his giant claw), and the last with apparently both hand-to-hand combat and weapons.
Within minutes, all the drones were left on the ground as metallic sparks.
"Impressive. You're all hired. Your objective is to recover the Omnitrix; the most powerful weapon in the galaxy. Whoever succeeds will receive the reward. Don't disappoint me... " Vilgax says.
In a desert, Max was putting the finishing touches to a small shooting practice ring.
"Are you ready?" he shouted to Ben.
Ben smiled and clicked the watch, transforming into the alien he called Diamondhead.
"Oh yeah." He said.
"Think, Ben, and not just with your muscles. It's not always the strongest who wins."
"I know, but it's always fun!" Said Diamondhead-Ben, sharpening his hands.
Max pulled a lever, activating a catapult and sending six cans flying at Diamondhead-Ben. The crystal alien hurled crystal shards at the can and shot them down, Max kept pushing and pulling the levers, making more and more targets appear and Diamondhead-Ben shot them all down.
Off to the side, Gwen and Hayden watched.
"Show-off." said Gwen, applying sunscreen to her arm.
"Concentrate, Ben, think!" shouted Max.
"Don't worry, Grumpa." Diamondhead-Ben said confidently.
A few cans flew towards him and Diamondhead-Ben bent down to shoot them into his back. He didn't notice the tire swinging towards him. It hit his face and flipped him over, sending crystal flying everywhere and forcing Max, Gwen and Hayden to take cover.
"Oops, my bad."
"You're an idiot, you almost turned me into Swiss cheese!" Said Gwen angrily.
"I said I was sorry, what do you want?" Says Ben.
"What we want is for you to take that thing on your wrist more seriously, Ben. It's not a toy. You need to think when you use it." Max says sternly.
"I know, but come on! You've seen me in action. I'm the meanest Ben in town! I've kicked so much alien ass my feet hurt!" Said Ben, putting his feet up on the table.
"One of these days, you're going to face someone you can't just kill, and your ego's going to take a hit." Hayden declared.
"That's never going to happen. Besides, even if it did, you're my support." Ben said arrogantly.
"We may be a team, but I wouldn't risk so much for you." Hayden retorted.
The Rust Bucket suddenly let out a crackle.
"Uh-oh, that doesn't look good." Max said.
They entered an empty city before coming to a complete stop.
"Huh, doesn't look like anyone's home." Said Ben, looking at the old buildings.
"Not for a while. According to my computer we're in Slatterville, founded in 1857, near a disused silver mine." Gwen explained.
"Why does everything that comes out of your mouth sound like a book report?" Ben sneered as Gwen glared at him.
"Aha!" Max exclaimed as he opened the hood. "I've found the problem."
He held up a dripping tube with a crystal shard running through it.
"Leaking fuel line."
Gwen and Hayden both looked at Ben.
"Why am I not surprised?" Said Hayden.
Ben smiled sheepishly.
"Uh... No luck?"
"I should be able to fix it." Says Max.
"Sorry Grumpa. Let me help! Maybe Quad. No, wait, Biotech!"
"I think you've done enough, Ben. I'll take care of it." Max says, making Ben stop.
"He's right. Besides, we should save the use of the watch for emergencies." Hayden added. "We're stranded in the middle of nowhere. Who knows what we might run into?
" ... Okay, I guess I'll just take a look at this place." Ben said as he walked away.
They watched him go.
"Maybe you two should, uh..." Max said without finding a nice way to phrase the thing.
"Make sure he doesn't blow it up somehow? We'll take care of it." Said Gwen, running after Ben.
"Whether we're there or not, he'll always find a way to blow it up." Hayden stressed, running after her.
They crossed the deserted town.
"Ben?! Beeeen!" Gwen called.
They were passing an empty warehouse when a flash of green light appeared.
"Calling all idiots!" shouted Gwen as they entered the warehouse.
"You're surrounded! Come out with your hands up!" Hayden added.
There was no response, so they went inside and started looking around. They passed a pile of crates when Gwen suddenly shivered.
"What's wrong, Gwen? You look like you've seen a... ghost..." Said Ben as he revealed himself transformed into Ghostfreak in front of his cousin and their friend, laughing at his own stupid joke.
"Stop it, you're not scaring me." Gwen exclaimed.
The ground suddenly began to shake. Something was digging under the earth and heading straight for them. Hayden grabbed Gwen and pulled her away as a giant robot emerged from the ground.
The robot began to rattle toward them with its four metal feet.
"No problem, I'll take care of this guy." Ghostfreak-Ben said as he flew in front of them. "Oh, man... You don't look so good."
"Give me the Omnitrix and I promise you won't suffer... much." Said the robot, biting them with his large metal claw.
"In your dreams, 'Crabby'." Said Ghostfreak-Ben, then moved his eye along the crack in his body to face Gwen and Hayden. "What's he talking about?"
"Really? Why else would an alien be stalking you? He wants the watch, Einstein!" Gwen exclaimed impatiently.
"So if he's only after Ben? That means he doesn't know about mine... we have a strategic advantage, so you shut up about me, got it." Says Hayden.
"Okay, okay... don't make me do all the work." Said Ghostfreak-Ben, bringing his gaze forward. "Sorry crabby, the watch and I are a little... tied up."
"Not for long." Said the Kraab robot, snapping his pincers again.
"You have no idea who you're dealing with." Ghostfreak-Ben hissed.
"I was just about to say the same thing."
"Oh, yeah? You know this one? Now you see me, now you don't!" Said Ghostfreak-Ben as he disappeared, leaving Hayden and Gwen alone.
Hayden pulled Gwen to a safe distance while the robot began to look around.
Suddenly, he turned his head.
"You're as arrogant as you are stupid!"
He opened his claws and projected a strange liquid that hit Ghostfreak-Ben and made him reappear.
"Yuck! What happened?!"
"Your protoplasm is now solidified, which makes THIS easier!" Said the robot before slamming Ghostfreak-Ben against a wall.
"Hayden, looks like Ben could use a little help!" Said Gwen.
"We've got to wait for the right moment... with Ben transformed in front of him, if I attack he c" said Hayden aloud.
The robot advanced on a disoriented Ghostfreak-Ben and grabbed him by the tail before throwing him across the warehouse.
"Hayden!" Said Gwen in a pleading tone.
"We're waiting." Hayden said firmly. "Kraab is a bounty hunter, and Vilgax hired him for the Omnitrix. But he's also a robot, so I need to choose the alien well, while remaining efficient but not too much for Tetrax to reveal himself." He thought.
"Hayden... I really need help here!" Ghostfreak-Ben hissed.
"Damn it... he couldn't just take advantage of his intangibility to get away..." Hayden said, activating his Omnitrix.
The robot advanced towards Ghostfreak-Ben, his gun-claw raised.
"You're not worth hunting..."
"What about me?"
The tentacles wrapped around the robot's legs and knocked him to the ground. He turned his head to see Amphibian-Hayden, with a makeshift suit to hide the Omnitrix symbol, floating above him.
"This might sting a bit."
He sent an electric shock through the robot, frying its circuits. It emitted a low hiss as the light in its eyes faded.
"This is how you defeat an adversary. You walk away to study him and make a plan. Then you beat him." Said Amphibian-Hayden as Ben's watch expired, returning him to his human form.
"I could have taken him. But I let you help me." Said Ben as he dusted off the solidified substance covering his body.
Amphibian-Hayden's eyes crinkled.
"Your arrogance will be your undoing, pal." he hissed before floating to the entrance. "Come on, Max must be waiting for us."
Gwen approached Ben.
"A little thank you wouldn't hurt, you know." She said as she passed him and followed the alien jellyfish.
They returned to the Rust Bucket. Max looked at them.
"What happened?"
"You know, the usual. A giant crustacean jumped out of the ground and attacked Ben. He said he wanted the watch, but he called it Omnitrix." Gwen explained.
"Probably because that's what it's called. We just called it the watch because we didn't know what it really was." Declared Amphibian-Hayden as he pulled back the cloth to look at the watch symbol on his chest, playing ignorant so as not to attract Max's suspicion.
"Just let me change into a Quad, and I'll turn it into a special seafood dish!" Said Ben confidently.
"No time." Says Max as he closes the camper's hood. "The repairs are done. We're leaving."
"But Grumpa..."
Max looked sternly at Ben. They climbed into the Rust Bucket before hitting the road again.
"No sign of Kraab yet," Gwen reported, looking out the window.
"Well, he'd better not show his face if he knows what's good for him!" said Ben.
"You'd better keep quiet if you know what's good for you." Hayden muttered, becoming human again and hiding the Omnitrix under his sleeve. Despite his attachment to the cartoon, he knew even as a child that Ben at that time was too arrogant for his own good.
Suddenly, they heard a muffled "thump" from the roof and a saw blade pierced the metal.
"I think we just picked up a hitchhiker!" Said Gwen as metal claws dug into the crack and tore through the roof, revealing SixSix.
"Who's that?!"
"Probably a colleague of the Crab."
SixSix began to reach out to Ben. Max slammed on the brakes, throwing him off the roof. Then he stepped on the gas pedal and crushed him. He smiled, but his smile quickly faded as the Rust Bucket came to a stop.
He got out to see the tires covered in nails. He saw SixSix slowly stand up and look at them.
"Over there!" Max shouted, pointing to an old mine shaft. They ran inside and hid behind a corner. Ben peeked out to see if SixSix was chasing them.
"Whew! The coast is clear." he said.
As soon as he said this, the ground shook and Kraab emerged from the floor.
"Aren't you tired of being wrong?!" Said Gwen.
"The Omnitrix! Give it to me!" Kraab shouted, heading for them.
They fled into the winding tunnels of the mine shaft, pursued by Kraab. Ben frantically fiddled with his watch.
"Come on, do something. Anything!"
They kept running until the tunnel opened onto a giant chasm.
"What now?!" Said Gwen.
Max looked around and spotted a cable car nearby.
"Let's go for a ride!"
They hurried to the cable car as Kraab emerged from the tunnel. Max pulled the lever as Ben, Gwen and Hayden climbed aboard. The cable car swerved and began to cross the cavern. Max ran and leapt toward them, managing to hang on as they pulled him inside.
"What pathetic prey!" Said Kraab as he raised his claw, ready to snap the cable, but was interrupted when a laser struck him in the side and knocked him to the ground.
SixSix rushed towards the cable car, shooting at it and shaking it wildly on the cable. Gwen watched SixSix fly towards them.
"We've got company, closing fast!"
"We need a plan!" Max said.
Ben looked down at his watch and saw that it had finally turned green again.
"Yes! Who needs a plan, when we've got the watch? I'll get it!"
"No Ben! That's exactly what he wants!" Max exclaimed, but it was too late. Ben struck the watch and turned into Diamondhead.
He jumped out of the cable car and caught SixSix in the air, sending them tumbling into the chasm.
"Ben!"
SixSix reenvolved and hurled Diamondhead against the wall on the other side of the chasm.
"Hayden!" Max said, looking at the teenager.
"Not now, they don't know there are two of them! If he's like the big crab, they're bounty hunters. And if they find out and tell their sponsor about it for a raise, we'll be even more targeted than before!" Says Hayden.
"How do you know he's a bounty hunter?" Asked Gwen.
"Simple logical deduction. Have you seen a lot of people talking about 'hunting' and 'preying' to get something back?" Hayden replied.
The cable car continued on its way through a tunnel.
"Ben, come on!" shouted Max.
"I'll catch up with you. First, I've got to make a few bumps in this walking soda machine!" Diamondhead-Ben and charged toward SixSix.
Hayden looked down at his watch and grunted.
"I'm going to regret this, but what choice do I have?" Hayden muttered as he stepped out of the cable car and pressed his watch.
Meanwhile, back with Diamondhead-Ben, he's currently getting his ass kicked by SixSix and Kraab.
Suddenly, they were both hit by a wave of magenta crystals.
The two robot-like beings stumbled back and began to shield their bodies from the crystals, which mainly hit their joints. Suddenly, a small roller rolled across the floor and began to spew smoke.
SixSix, Kraab and StoneSaver-Hayden, who was once again using tissue to hide the Omnitrix symbol from his opponents, all fell to the ground, when the masked bounty hunter arrived on a hoverboard and grabbed StoneSaver-Hayden and Diamondhead-Ben as well. The masked bounty hunter went through a tunnel and they returned to Slaterville. He tossed Diamondhead into one of the old wagons and stepped off his hoverboard.
"Billions of beings on this planet, and the Omnitrix ends up on the wrist of a reckless youngster."
"Well, like I told your buddies, that thing won't come off. I tried." Diamondhead-Ben retorted.
« Bien sûr que non. Son pouvoir utilise l'ADN extraterrestre, qui se lie à la structure génétique de l'hôte. Il ne peut pas être simplement retiré comme on enlève un chapeau. » Déclara le chasseur de prime masqué.
"Can you stop yourself from using big words? His brain might explode." Says StoneSaver-Hayden.
"Hey, I'm not that stupid!" Says Diamondhead-Ben defensively.
"Oh, yeah? What did he just say?" Asked StoneSaver-Hayden.
"I don't know, something about aliens."
The masked bounty hunter looked at StoneSaver-Hayden...
"And you. What's a Cristalsapien doing on Earth, and why would you protect this child of Earth? Your species is supposed to be extinct." He asked with a hint of... hope?
Hayden knew he'd have this reaction, he knew his past after all.
Before he could answer, Diamondhead-Ben lunged at Hoverboard. He knocked Diamondhead-Ben down easily with his hand holding his hoverboard without.
"Your choice of warriors is based solely on brute force, without any strategy. Do you ever think before you act?"
"No, no, he doesn't. He always throws himself into it." StoneSaver-Hayden declared.
"Hey, I've taken out a lot of aliens!" Diamondhead-Ben said angrily.
"Like those who defeated you in the mine? If your friend hadn't been there, they'd have killed you on the spot."
Diamondhead-Ben rushed at him again, swung his sharp arm, but the masked bounty hunter simply blocked them all with little or no effort.
"Victory should have been swift and effortless. The Omnitrix isn't a toy for fun. It's the most powerful weapon in the galaxy. The key to an epic battle between good and evil."
"So whose side are you on?" Diamondhead-Ben asked.
"You're still alive, aren't you?" Asked the masked bounty hunter.
"Are you a good guy?!"
"My mission is to retrieve the Omnitrix at all costs. Since it's attached to you, I'll bring you back for its removal." Said the masked bounty hunter.
"Oh, no... I'm not going anywhere."
"You don't have a choice."
"It's now...!"
Diamondhead-Ben tackled him to the ground, making him drop his hoverboard. The masked bounty hunter grabbed Diamondhead-Ben's face and threw him to the ground.
"It's disturbing how little you know about this alien's strengths and weaknesses. You've barely scratched the surface of his potential!" he said, rising to his feet.
"Yeah? So what makes you such an expert?"
The masked bounty hunter's helmet opened, revealing his face. Diamondhead's eyes widened.
"You're... me!"
"Wrong. I'm a noble warrior, you're an impulsive novice!" He said as Ben's time expired. "We've wasted enough time."
He grabbed Ben by the arm and lifted him up.
"Hey! Let go of me!"
Hayden let out an exasperated sigh and had to pretend he had a time limit. Both for Ben to learn his lesson from this episode. He hated it, but had no choice if he didn't want to keep watching Ben's back all summer.
The bounty hunter looked at him in amazement.
"How did you do that?!" he asked curtly, probably disappointed by the fact that the Cristalsapians were effectively extinct. Then he saw the watch on Hayden's wrist. "Where did you get that?" He asked, grabbing Hayden's arm for a closer look.
"Just like him, dropped from the sky." Hayden declared.
The bounty hunter looked at him quizzically.
"I'll have to bring you back too for further investigation." He said before searching his hoverboard with his eyes.
"Looking for this?!" Kraab asked as he stepped forward, hoverboard in hand. "I don't know why or how there are two Omnitrix but you're not going with either of them. And just to be sure..."
A metallic face appeared, holding Gwen and Max.
"Don't touch me!"
"Let go of me!"
"You see, we've decided to work together! And to share the reward!" Said Kraab before starting to shoot at them.
The bounty hunter tucked Ben and Hayden under his arms and ran into one of the abandoned buildings.
"What are we waiting for? We've got to save them!" Ben shouted.
Hoverboard lifted him by the shirt.
"Don't be stupid. Keeping the Omnitrix safe is the only priority here."
"Not for me, it isn't. This is my family."
"And they're my friends." Hayden corrected.
"You can't save them. You'd soon be overpowered and captured."
"Ben, I can understand that, but what about me?" Hayden asked, clearly offended.
"Hey I can kick more ass than you in my sleep!" Said Ben eagerly.
"You think so?! You'd have been captured several times by now if I hadn't helped you!" Hayden retorted.
"I could have gotten away with it!"
"Enough!" Hoverboard exclaimed. "The obvious choice is for me to get my hoverboard back so we can get off the planet."
"But..."
"Stay here." He said firmly before running off to face the bounty hunters. Ben and Hayden watched him Hoverboard against Kraab and SixSix at the same time.
Ben looked down at the watch and saw that it was turning green again.
"Perfect! It's hero time!"
Just then, Kraab spotted them and started walking towards them. Hayden grabbed Ben's arm and pulled him inside. They hid behind an overturned table as Kraab entered.
Ben looked at his Omnitrix and saw the Quad icon. Ben was about to snap when he thought about what Max and Hoverboard had told him.
"Don't forget to think, Ben. Don't try to force yourself. Force isn't always right."
"Your choice of warriors is based solely on brute force, without regard to any strategy. Do you ever take the time to reflect on your actions?"
Ben lowered his hand and, for once, really thought. Then he looked at his friend.
"Hayden, I've got a plan. It'll work, but I need your help."
Hayden raised an eyebrow. Kraab was watching the building when he saw a flash of light behind the table. He sulked over to the table, raised his claw and snapped the table in two.
He looked around, but no one was there. Kraab looked around, but didn't notice the piece of gauze moving slowly across the floor.
The bandages suddenly rose and wrapped themselves around Kraab's body. "Get off!" he shouted as the gauze tightened around him.
"Hurry up, Ben!" Snare-oh-Hayden shouted.
Ben, transformed into Grey Matter, jumped off the roof and landed on Kraab's head. He fumbled with his collar and began to look around.
"There should be a nervous group somewhere."
He grabbed a handful of wires and began to pull them, causing sparks to fly. Kraab struggled and almost stumbled out if Snare-oh-Hayden hadn't pulled him in.
Grey Matter-Ben pulled and ripped out the wires. Kraab stopped, turned his head and fell to the ground.
"One down." Grey Matter-Ben said as he left the house to look after SixSix.
And unbeknownst to him, for a second Hayden hesitated to turn into an Amphibian and electrocute Kraab to death. But he thought better of it, lest Ben think himself an accomplice to murder, and so as not to cross that line just yet. He'd have to do it when he had no other choice.
He then left to help his friend settle SixSix's account.
SixSix wrapped his arms around him and launched himself into the air, crushing him to the ground. He looked up to see Grey Matter-Ben and Snare-oh-Hayden. He held out his arm and a compartment full of missiles emerged.
Before he could shoot, Max jumped on him.
"Ben, Hayden! Run!"
SixSix threw him to the ground and grabbed his shirt. He activated his circular saw and raised it above his head.
"No!" Gwen shouted.
Snare-oh-Hayden quickly used his bandages to grab the arm with the circular saw, while Grey Matter-Ben leapt onto SixSix's shoulder.
"Peek-a-boo?"
SixSix approached him but Snare-oh-Hayden grabbed his other arm and forced them tied behind his back.
"I told you both to stay out of my way!" Said the bounty hunter.
"I wonder what would happen if I did that!" Said Grey Matter-Ben as he reached into his collar and pulled out a handful of wires.
SixSixs' jetpack began to crackle and shoot into the air. They watched him fly through the sky and crash into a water tower.
He landed next to Kraab as the water tower began to topple.
"I hate this planet." Kraab said before the water came crashing down on them.
"There's only one way to beat the heat, don't you think?" Said Grey Matter-Ben as he approached them.
"Pretty smart... for humans" Declared the bounty hunter.
He pulled out a small cube and hurled it at the bounty hunters. It grew large enough to contain the two men, then shrank again. He picked it up just as Ben had run out of time.
"I'll be back as soon as I can." He declares.
"What about this?" Ben asked, holding up the Omnitrix.
"It's in good hands until then," he said, stepping up to hand him his hoverboard. "It might come in handy in the meantime."
"Oh, man! Are you serious?! Hold on. You said you needed this to get off the planet." Said Ben.
"Selective misinformation."
"Huh?"
"He lied," said Gwen.
Hoverboard put on his helmet.
"Wait, you said you'd never heard of a second Omnitrix. So where did it come from?!" Snare-oh-Hayden asked, pointing to his Omnitrix symbol on his shoulder.
The bounty hunter looked at him curiously.
"I'd tell you if I really knew. I'll have to investigate that. But something escapes me, why haven't you returned to your original appearance yet?" He said.
Snare-oh-Hayden didn't answer; instead he changed back into StoneSaver and just grinned.
"Ah, I see. I'll keep that information to myself, as well as the existence of the second Omnitrix. And I'll make sure those two keep it to themselves." He said.
"Before you go." Says StoneSaver-Hayden before turning back into Hayden. "Can we have your name? I'm Hayden, they're Ben, Gwen and Max," he says, introducing the rest of the group as well.
"My name is Tetrax. The bounty hunter introduced himself before putting his mask back on and disappearing in a flash of light.
Hayden looked at the Omnitrix on his wrist, then up at the sky.
"Hey, Hayden. Thanks for your help." Ben said.
Hayden looked at him and smiled.
"No worries, buddy." He said, ruffling his hair. "He may still be a little stupid and arrogant. But he already has the potential to be what he's destined to become." He thought as they walked back to the Rust Bucket.
In Vilgax's ship, he was still in his medical tube, watching a beam of light leave Earth and move away.
"Betrayal..." he declared.
"The sensors indicate that the mercenaries do not possess the Omnitrix." declared his servant.
"Whoever possesses the watch is formidably strong and clever... but nothing will stop my quest."