Sensing the immediate danger, Ben reacted instantly.
She scooped Blake up into her arms and zipped through the air, depositing him safely behind a thick concrete pillar.
A split second later, the warehouse floor exploded violently.
A mechanical crab-like creature clawed its way out from the subterranean dirt.
Technically, it only resembled a crab; in reality, it was a sleek, formidable combat droid.
The machine boasted four powerful, multi-jointed legs capable of spinning at high velocities, granting it both a burrowing mechanism and the ability to maintain a short-term hover.
To make matters worse, its massive dual pincers snapped with enough force to crush solid steel.
Seeing the threat, Blake instinctively reached for his sleeve, ready to slam the Omnitrix dial and transform.
However, Ben firmly believed she could handle a minor skirmish like this on her own.
She quickly raised a hand, blocking his watch.
“Don’t worry about it, Blake.
Let me take care of this rust bucket.”
With that, Ghostfreak floated directly in front of the massive mechanical crab, drifting up and down as she critically evaluated the machine.
“Oh, wow.
I’ve gotta say, buddy, you are tracking at an all-time high on the ugly meter.”
The mechanical dreadnought completely ignored her taunt, its internal speakers crackling to life with a cold, synthetic drone.
“Hand over the Omnitrix.
Do so, and I guarantee your death will be swift and painless.”
To emphasize the point, the droid snapped its massive pincers together with a vicious metallic clang.
“In your dreams, crab-boy,” Ben shot back.
She glanced over her shoulder at Blake, a sudden realization hitting her.
“Wait, what exactly did he ask me to hand over?”
Seeing that she had confidently rejected a demand without even understanding what the villain wanted, Blake couldn’t help but deadpan, “Did you seriously think he climbed out of the dirt just to play tag?
He’s after your watch!”
Hearing this, Ben turned back to the giant machine, pointing a translucent finger at its chassis.
“Sorry, little crab.
My watch and I are officially joined at the hip.” She narrowed her eye.
“You’d better back off.
I’m not someone you want to mess with.”
The combat droid let out a harsh, mechanical scoff.
“I was just about to say the exact same thing to you.”
Ben simply stared him down, entirely unimpressed.
“Oh, yeah?
Can you do this?”
She crossed her arms and smirked.
“Now you see me…
now you don’t!”
With a faint shimmer, Ghostfreak completely dissolved into thin air, vanishing from sight.
Left behind in the open, Blake offered a thoroughly awkward wave to the empty space before turning on his heel and sprinting toward a safer corner.
Unfortunately, the invisibility trick was utterly useless against this opponent.
The droid’s advanced optical sensors were equipped with high-tech thermal imaging, tracking Ghostfreak’s heat signature with absolute ease.
“Arrogant, low-functioning meat-sack,” the droid synthesized.
A localized energy pulse erupted from its chest cavity, instantly solidifying the invisible, ectoplasmic mucus layer coating Ghostfreak’s body.
Her camouflage shattered, leaving her entirely visible and vulnerable.
“Now, you are significantly easier to crush,” the droid stated.
Before Ben could react, a heavy mechanical fist slammed into her chest, launching Ghostfreak across the warehouse and pinning her violently against the brick wall.
Seeing that Ben was completely outmatched, Blake ducked into a shadow-drenched alcove.
He rapidly spun his dial and slammed it down, shifting into Four Arms.
He had initially considered using XLR8, but given the circumstances, a heavy hitter like Four Arms seemed far better suited for turning this overgrown crustacean into scrap metal.
Stepping out of the shadows, Blake planted his massive frame directly between the droid and the recovering Ben.
He cracked his four fists, glaring at the machine.
“If you’re looking for a real fight, try picking on someone who can actually hit back.”
The mechanical crab paused, its optical lenses widening as they locked onto the distinct green-and-black symbol stamped onto Four Arms’ shoulder.
“A second Omnitrix?!” the droid synthesized in sheer disbelief.
“He never mentioned a second one in the briefing!”
But as the golden rule goes: villains always fail because they talk too much.
Blake didn’t give the machine another second to ramble.
He surged forward, unleashing a devastating, four-punch combo that sent the giant robot flying across the warehouse floor.
“Villains always talk too much.
Didn’t you get the memo?” Blake muttered.
Right as the words left his mouth, the distinct, ominous beep of a draining Omnitrix echoed from behind him.
Blake snapped his head around, spotting a flashing red light on Ben’s chest.
He turned back to face the droid, shouting, “Ben, get out of here!
Head back to your grandpa, I’ll dismantle this thing!”
Ben opened her mouth to argue, but she knew her human form would only be a liability in a high-tier brawl.
Staying behind would just turn her into a target.
“Don’t get yourself killed!” she yelled, spinning around and sprinting back toward the Rust Bucket.
Pounding across the dirt roads, Ben burst through the doors of the RV, frantically explaining the situation to Grandpa Max and Gwen.
“If my watch just finishes recharging so I can turn into Four Arms, I’ll turn that mechanical freak into a seafood buffet!” she insisted, pacing the floorboards.
Realizing the sheer scale of the danger they were in, Grandpa Max stopped her, his expression grim.
“Absolutely not.
The fuel line is patched.
We need to leave this town immediately.”
Hearing his command, a fierce wave of anxiety washed over Ben.
“But…
what about Blake?!
He’s still out there fighting that giant crab monster all by himself!”
Grandpa Max fired up the engine, calmly meeting her worried gaze.
He knew Blake’s true capabilities, and he knew the boy possessed tactical awareness far beyond his years.
In this critical moment, protecting Ben had to remain his top priority.
“You need to learn to trust him, Ben,” Max said softly but firmly.
“Blake is far more resourceful than you think.
He can handle himself.”
Ultimately, Ben couldn’t overrule her grandfather’s authority.
She slumped into her seat, staring anxiously out the window as the Rust Bucket roared to life and sped away from the warehouse.
However, before Ben’s watch could even finish its recharge cycle, her secret plan to sneak back and rescue Blake was violently derailed.
A second alien bounty hunter dropped from the sky, slamming onto the roof of the moving RV.
“Looks like someone’s trying to hitch a free ride,” the warrior hissed, reaching through the skylight to grab Ben.
Seeing the attacker, Grandpa Max didn’t panic.
He slammed on the brakes with all his might, sending the alien warrior flying off the roof and crashing onto the dirt road ahead.
Without missing a beat, Max floored the accelerator, running the assassin over with the heavy chassis of the Rust Bucket.
The impact was severe, but it came with a painful cost.
A sickening pop echoed beneath the vehicle as one of the specialized tires blew out entirely.
With the RV disabled, Max had no choice but to guide them into a nearby abandoned silver mine, seeking refuge within the dark, subterranean tunnels.
Meanwhile, back at the warehouse, Blake was locked in a brutal, back-and-forth stalemate with the mechanical crab.
Because the droid could instantly burrow into the earth and resurface at will, its agility and unpredictable movement parameters were giving Four Arms a massive headache.
“Alright, that’s it,” Blake growled, dodging another underground ambush.
“I am completely done playing whack-a-mole with you.”
Recognizing that brute force wasn’t working against an enemy that refused to stay above ground, Blake reached for the Omnitrix symbol on his shoulder.
He gave the dial a precise twist, shifting his form down into a miniature, hyper-intelligent galvan.
(Let’s see if Grey Matter can provide a little intellectual inspiration here.)
Within a fraction of a second, Grey Matter’s super-computation brain analyzed the droid’s structural blueprint, calculating its exact mechanical flaws.
The moment the mechanical crab’s head emerged from the dirt to scan for Four Arms, Grey Matter executed a flawless leap, landing squarely on the machine’s upper carapace.
Moving with blinding speed, Blake ripped open a maintenance panel, exposing the core wiring harness.
With a few precise tugs, he systematically cross-wired the main circuits, causing a catastrophic internal short.
The giant combat droid sparked violently, its optical lenses going dark as it collapsed into a useless, unmoving heap of scrap metal.
Landing gracefully on the dirt floor, Grey Matter casually brushed his hands together, wiping the dust off his nose.
“Problem solved.”
Knowing he couldn’t afford to waste time, Blake reached behind his back to tap the Omnitrix symbol, instantly shifting into XLR8.
“Time to go find Ben and the others.”
But just as he prepared to sprint out the doors, a heavy, resounding thud echoed through the warehouse.
Blake skidded to a halt, spinning around to face the entrance.
Standing in the doorway was a tall, imposing figure clad in a sleek suite of obsidian-black armor.
Every muscle in Blake’s alien body tensed.
He dropped into a low, defensive combat stance, his visor snapping down.
“Seriously?
You guys just keep coming, don’t you?
First the underlings, then the elite, and now the boss?”
To his utter surprise, the black-armored warrior made no move to draw a weapon.
Instead, he simply observed Blake, his voice deep and remarkably calm.
“It appears the Omnitrix has selected a thoroughly worthy wielder.”
Having quietly watched the entire sequence of Blake’s battle against the crab droid from the shadows, the bounty hunter had realized that this boy’s tactical mastery over the watch was unparalleled.
“Perhaps,” the armored warrior murmured, “the device is significantly safer in your hands than anywhere else.”
Hearing the cryptic, philosophical statement from a supposed enemy, Blake raised an eyebrow beneath his visor.
“Who exactly are you supposed to be?”
Before the warrior could reply, a loud beep echoed from Blake’s chest.
The transformation reached its limit, and a flash of red light reverted him right back into a regular human kid.
Blake blinked, looking down at his ordinary hands, then looked back up at the imposing warrior.
“Uh…
look, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.
I’m really not the type to force a conversation.”
Fortunately, the mysterious warrior harbored no ill intent.
He stepped onto a sleek, hovering presentation board, tossing a small, high-tech tracking device onto the dirt at Blake’s feet.
“Your companions are currently inside the old silver mine.
If you move now, you will reach them before the final hunter does.”
With a soft hum of anti-gravity propulsion, the black-armored warrior soared out of the warehouse, disappearing into the sky.
Watching the hoverboard vanish into the clouds, Blake threw his hands up in exasperation, shouting toward the sky, “Hey!
Seriously?!
You couldn’t have given me a lift first?!
I would have paid for gas!”