Out by the Rust Bucket, Grandpa Max and Gwen were busy loading up the luggage.
Well, everyone except Ben, who was nowhere to be found.
Noticing her prolonged absence, Grandpa Max looked up from a storage compartment, looking puzzled.
“Where did Ben disappear to?”
Of everyone present, only Blake knew exactly what had happened.
*(Thirty minutes earlier)*
Ben had quietly slipped up to Blake while he was helping pack the gear.
Leaning in close, she murmured, “Hey, what do you say we turn into XLR8 and go dish out a little poetic justice to those school bullies?”
Since Blake remembered this exact part of the plot, he knew she was just itching to get payback on those two jerks from earlier.
He simply shook his head, declining the offer.
“No thanks.
I’d better help your grandpa finish loading up.
If you’re going, just be careful.”
“Fine, suit yourself.”
Without lingering any longer, Ben darted off to find a secluded spot out of sight.
She slammed her hand down on the dial and vanished into thin air at the speed of sound.
In reality, Ben hadn’t actually paid close attention the night before when Blake explained what XLR8 looked like on the interface.
She had just picked a silhouette that looked vaguely fast and smacked it down hard.
Blake had wanted to warn her that slamming the dial too forcefully could trigger a randomized transformation selection.
But to avoid disrupting the natural flow of the timeline, he figured the less meta-knowledge he revealed, the better.
*(Back to thirty minutes later)*
Just as the thought crossed Blake’s mind, a massive plume of dust kicked up in the distance.
An unrecognizable object came tearing through the dirt straight toward the three of them.
Within seconds, the sleek form of XLR8 skidded to a halt right in front of them, and Ben couldn’t wait to start showing off.
“Hey, watch this!”
In the blink of an eye, XLR8 swept up all the remaining luggage scattered on the ground, packed it flawlessly into the back of the Rust Bucket, and zipped right back to her starting position.
The moment she finished the chore, the Omnitrix timed out, flashing red as she reverted back to normal.
Dusting off her clothes, Ben beamed with pure excitement.
“I think this is officially going to be the coolest summer vacation ever!”
Hearing her enthusiasm, Grandpa Max and Blake shared a look, answering in perfect unison: “Coolest ever.”
Gwen sighed, looking at Ben with a look of pure exasperation.
“I’m sure it’ll be plenty interesting.
Where exactly did you just go anyway?”
Ben just offered a slick, innocent grin.
“Oh, nowhere.
Just taking care of a little unfinished business before we kick off our ultra-cool summer road trip.”
A short while later, the group drove into the city, arriving just in time to catch a bank robbery in progress.
The thieves had set a nearby fire to create a diversion, attempting a classic bait-and-switch.
Blake quickly transformed into XLR8 to rescue the residents trapped inside the burning apartment complex, while Ben chose to transform into Heatblast to pursue the fleeing robbers.
As Grandpa Max pushed the Rust Bucket to its absolute limits to chase down the getaway car, a pungent burning smell suddenly filled the cabin.
Max glanced over at the passenger seat, only to find Heatblast’s passive flames scorching the upholstery right down to the cushion.
“I knew I should’ve bought those fireproof asbestos seat covers last time!” Max groaned.
Embarrassed, Ben offered a sheepish apology.
“Sorry, Grandpa!
I’m just a little too hot to handle, I can’t help it!”
Gwen promptly grabbed the vehicle’s fire extinguisher and blasted Heatblast, temporarily smothering the flames, though the embers caught fire again almost immediately.
“There are ten different alien heroes to choose from on that stupid watch, and you just *had* to pick the giant ball of fire!” Gwen complained.
“Jealous much?”
As the Rust Bucket and the getaway car barreled around a sharp turn, Ben hurled a precise fireball that blasted the criminals’ vehicle completely out of control.
“Bullseye!”
The thieves’ car slammed hard into a brick wall.
Heatblast hopped down from the RV, quickly cornering the two dazed criminals against the masonry.
“Unless you guys want to be turned into a couple of human barbecues, put your hands on the wall and don’t move!”
Cowering under Heatblast’s intimidating glare, the two robbers threw their hands up and complied.
Right at that exact second, the watch’s battery ran out, the light fading.
Hearing the sudden silence, the criminals looked back over their shoulders.
The terrifying fire monster had vanished into thin air, leaving nothing but a little girl standing there looking incredibly awkward.
“Hey, she’s just a kid!
Grab the jewels!”
Ben stared at her wrist, completely flustered.
“Uh…
heh…
time flies when you’re having fun, right?” She backed up slowly, putting on a brave face.
“Tell you what, I’m letting you guys off with a warning this time.
You’re free to go!”
Fortunately, the authorities arrived just in time, intercepting the thieves and locking them in the back of a squad car.
One of the officers walked past a mumbling Ben, waving her off dismissively.
“Step back, kid.
This isn’t a playground.”
“A playground?!”
Ben’s face contorted with anger.
She was the one who had stopped them, yet someone else was taking all the credit.
“I’m the one who caught them!” she fumed.
“This is so unfair!
I’m the hero here!”
But nobody paid any attention to her protests.
After all, nobody in their right mind would believe a twelve-year-old girl could take down a crew of armed bank robbers.
“Ugh, so annoying!”
Right then, Blake emerged from the alleyway, dusting his hands off after finishing his rescue mission.
He walked over to the disgruntled Ben and asked, “Did I miss something?”
Meanwhile, across the city, a mad scientist was putting the finishing touches on a terrifying experiment.
This man would eventually become Ben’s second greatest arch-nemesis , a rival she would fight from childhood all the way into adulthood.
The unhinged doctor successfully mutated a regular frog into a hulking, giant amphibian.
He turned his eyes toward a television screen broadcasting a commercial for a massive megastore that claimed to “have absolutely everything.” A sinister smile spread across his face.
“Perfect.
That is exactly what I need.”
A short while later, Blake and the Tennysons arrived at that exact same megastore.
The moment they walked through the entrance, Ben’s eyes locked onto a display of Sumo Slammer cards.
Seizing the opportunity while the others were distracted, she stealthily slipped away from the group.
“Whoa…
a Gold Ultra-Rare Sumo Slammer card!”
An impulsive, mischievous plan began forming in her head, but before she could act on it, a familiar voice cut through her thoughts from behind.
“Ben, what do you think you’re doing?”
Blake was standing right there.
Looking at her raised left hand, he already knew exactly what she was plotting.
Caught red-handed, Ben’s eyes darted frantically around the aisle, her voice pitching up nervously.
“Uh…
I was just…
looking for the bathroom!
Hahaha…”
Blake didn’t buy her excuse for a second.
But then, remembering how this arc served as a crucial turning point for her character, he softened his tone and said, “Ben, those superpowers are meant for saving people, not for hunting down trading cards.”
Ben’s jaw dropped in surprise.
“How did you know…?” She quickly clasped her hands together, looking up at him with wide, pleading eyes.
“Please don’t tell Grandpa!
Just this once, I beg you!”
She looked entirely pitiful.
She had been obsessing over that Gold Ultra-Rare card for months.
Looking down at her desperate face, Blake decided not to lecture her any further.
This was a lesson a true hero had to learn through experience.
He turned around, pretending he hadn’t noticed a thing.
“I didn’t see anything~”
Ben stared after him, completely stunned.
This was the very first time someone had actually indulged her selfish whims instead of just shutting her down.
She had fully expected to be dragged back to Max, and had already planned to sneak back out later.
A sudden, deep sense of gratitude swelled in her chest.
She felt a profound wave of motivation wash over her , she *had* to find that Gold Sumo Slammer card now, if only to make sure Blake’s silence didn’t go to waste!
Blake, walking away, internally facepalmed: *(Holy crap, that is completely NOT what I meant!)*
A few minutes later, Ben activated the watch and transformed into Grey Matter.
Utilizing her tiny stature and vastly amplified intellect, she began tearing through the display cases to search for the card.
Blake hadn’t actually walked far.
He stood a few aisles over, quietly waiting for the timeline to play out – specifically, waiting for Gwen to hear the commotion, march over, and catch Grey Matter in the act.
If he had stopped Ben forcibly back there, she wouldn’t have had to face Dr.
Animo’s giant frog on her own terms.
She would have kept relying purely on the watch’s raw power rather than learning accountability, which would completely defeat the purpose of her growth.
That was why Blake chose not to interfere from the start.
(A hero’s character isn’t built on powers alone, Ben.
It’s built on what you choose to do with them.)
Watching himself constantly monitoring Ben and cleaning up her metaphorical messes, Blake couldn’t help but chuckle.
He felt like he should write a handbook titled *The Ultimate Guide to Raising Ben Tennyson*.
Eventually, the situation escalated into the canon scene where Grandpa Max and Gwen were thoroughly scolding Ben for her recklessness.
Blake stood at the back of the group, listening quietly, when he was suddenly caught in the crossfire.
Grandpa Max gestured toward Blake’s wrist, using him as the golden standard.
“Look at Blake.
He possesses the exact same extraordinary power, but you don’t see him abusing it for his own personal gain.”
Max sighed, looking at his granddaughter.
“You need to grow up and show some maturity, Ben.”
Ben didn’t try to argue back.
Deep down, she knew she was completely in the wrong.
She simply hung her head, her eyes drifting guiltily toward the nearby display case holding the Sumo Slammer cards.