Upon arriving at the Museum of Natural History, Ben picked up a massive feather near the entrance, confirming her suspicions.
Just then, Dr.
Animo spun around, glaring at the group in pure frustration.
“Copycats!
Parasites!
I absolutely despise meddling pests!”
Ben pointed a finger right at him and shouted, “Your twisted little plot is officially busted, Dr.
Animo!”
Dr.
Animo completely ignored her, muttering to himself in a manic daze, “The real show is about to begin…” He threw his arms wide.
“I am mere moments away from completing Phase Two of my work – The De-Extinction Project!”
Unfortunately, the pseudo-scientific jargon went entirely over Ben’s head.
“Can you speak English, please?” she scoffed.
One would expect a mad scientist to lose his temper, but Dr.
Animo actually looked delighted to boast about his breakthrough.
“I can bring dead animals back to life and bend them entirely to my will!” He sneered, “Watch and learn!”
With a theatrical flourish, Dr.
Animo twisted the dial on his chest piece.
A beam of concentrated laser energy shot out, striking a taxidermy woolly mammoth.
Miraculously, the beast shuddered, letting out a deafening trumpet as it roared back to life.
“Witness the unmatched genius of Dr.
Animo!”
“This is bad,” Ben said, quickly raising her wrist and slamming down on the faceplate.
She glanced back at Grandpa Max and Blake.
“You guys go after Animo!
I’ll handle the oversized elephant!”
A brilliant flash of green light later, Ben transformed into a towering, muscle-bound behemoth.
True to the name she had picked out for him, Four Arms boasted four heavily muscled limbs and unparalleled raw strength.
As if to immediately prove her point, Four Arms lunged forward, grabbed the massive woolly mammoth by its tusks, and cleanly flipped the prehistoric beast onto its back.
With the mammoth tied down, Grandpa Max and Blake sprinted deeper into the museum to pursue Dr.
Animo.
Predictably, the giant mutant parrot swooped down from the skylight to block their path.
Blake reached for his watch, preparing to transform, but Gwen beat him to the punch.
Grabbing a display spear from a nearby exhibit, she swung it with flawless execution, landing a series of sharp strikes that sent the overgrown bird screeching back into the rafters.
Blake and Grandpa Max stared at her, completely dumbfounded.
“Ben isn’t the only one in this family with hidden talents,” Gwen said with a smug grin.
With the path cleared, they hurried into the main hall, only to run dead into a fully resurrected, colossal Tyrannosaurus rex.
Dr.
Animo scrambled onto the predator’s back, preparing to ride it out of the museum to claim the Vertigo Award he believed was rightfully his.
“Not so fast!”
Blake skipped the small talk entirely, smacking his palm down onto his watch to transform.
A crimson flash filled the room, and he turned into Stinkfly.
(Shoot!
I hit the dial way too hard again.)
Realizing he had triggered a randomized selection and ended up as Stinkfly, Blake knew he couldn’t take a T-rex in a head-on brawl.
Instead, he took to the air, buzzing around the dinosaur’s head to act as a distraction.
Seeing the oversized insect spitting sticky green slime to disrupt his grand escape, Dr.
Animo cursed loudly, “Not you again, you miserable little pest!”
Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse.
While Gwen was watching the battle from the sidelines, the giant mutant parrot executed a stealthy dive-bomb, snapping its talons around her waist and dragging her high into the air.
Seeing his granddaughter airborne, Grandpa Max panicked.
“Ben!”
Four Arms heard the shout from the adjacent hall.
Charging into the room, she took a massive leap, launching herself off an exhibit and landing squarely on the giant parrot’s back.
“You’re not getting away with her!”
However, the Omnitrix chose the worst possible second to give out.
The hourglass symbol began flashing an ominous red, signaling the end of her transformation.
Four Arms’ grip slipped, and mid-fall, she reverted right back into a regular twelve-year-old girl.
“Oh, crap!”
Finding herself in a terminal free fall, Ben squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for impact.
“Ben!”
Thankfully, Blake caught sight of her mid-air while grappling with Dr.
Animo.
Breaking away from the T-rex, he pushed his wings to the absolute limit, executing a steep dive and catching her securely in his arms just stories above the hard marble floor.
After a long moment of weightlessness without a crash, Ben cautiously blinked one eye open.
Realizing she was gliding safely through the air, her stomach did a nervous flip.
She swallowed hard against a sudden wave of vertigo and quickly squeezed her eyes shut again.
Blake noticed her shivering.
He found it a little puzzling , originally, Ben Tennyson wasn’t supposed to be this afraid of heights.
But then he reasoned that since she was biologically female in this universe, certain fears might simply manifest differently or feel a bit more intense.
Either way, Blake didn’t have the luxury of time to analyze it.
With his own Omnitrix rapidly blinking red, he carefully angled his descent and gently set Ben down onto the museum floor.
The moment her feet touched the ground, a flash of red light returned him to his human form.
“You’re safe now, Ben.”
Hearing his voice, Ben slowly opened her eyes, only to find Blake leaning over her, his dark eyes filled with gentle, undivided concern.
The sheer proximity sent a jolt through her system.
She scrambled backward to her feet, shaking her head frantically while waving her hands in a flustered blur.
“Th-Thank you!
I’m completely fine!
We-We need to go save Gwen right now!”
She spun on her heel, preparing to bolt toward the exit where the Rust Bucket was parked, but Blake’s voice called her to a sudden halt.
“Hold on a second, Ben.”
Before she could process the words, Blake stepped closer and reached out, his fingers gently brushing through her hair to pluck out a stray twig.
“You’ve got some debris in your hair.”
Standing at point-blank range, Ben found herself staring straight into his face.
It felt as though the entire world had ground to a sudden halt.
In that exact moment, Blake could swear he saw actual steam beginning to rise from the top of her head.
However, his attention was completely fixed on making sure her hair was clean, leaving him entirely oblivious to the fact that her face had turned a spectacular shade of crimson.
As soon as he pulled his hand back, Ben tore herself away, frantically smoothing down her hair with both hands as she ran out the doors and scrambled into the safety of the Rust Bucket.
Following her out to the vehicle, Blake couldn’t help but wonder why Ben had been avoiding his gaze since that afternoon.
Every single time he tried to make eye contact, she would instantly jerk her head away.
(Don’t tell me…) Blake thought, a sudden sinking feeling hitting his chest.
(Does she actually hate me now?)
The mere thought of being actively detested by the literal protagonist of this world left Blake feeling like his survival prospects had just plummeted to zero.