"Of course I didn't forget," Asher replied, stretching his arms overhead and rolling his shoulders. "It's only been an hour since breakfast. Let's give you time to digest before we start throwing punches."
He twisted the Omnitrix dial, cycling through holographic projections until he found what he was looking for, the silhouette of a brand-new alien he'd never transformed into before.
Beside him, Ben's palm hovered over his reactor core, ready to activate his battle suit.
"Hold on, you two." Max stepped between them with a weary sigh. "You're going to transform outside the RV, not inside it. Do you really want to risk burning the Rust Bucket to cinders?"
"Right." Asher shrugged, acknowledging the logic. "Good point, Grandpa."
He and Ben headed out to the open clearing near the Rust Bucket. This area sat on the outskirts of town, mostly empty lots and scattered vegetation. No witnesses. No property damage. Perfect for what they had in mind.
Max followed them out, positioning himself as the makeshift referee. Gwen trailed behind, eager to watch the spectacle unfold.
"Alright, listen up," Max announced, pulling a silver whistle from his pocket with practiced authority. "I'll count down from three. When I blow this whistle, you both transform. And remember, this is a friendly sparring match. No serious injuries. Friendship first, competition second."
He raised the whistle to his lips. "Three... two... one, "
Tweet!
The sharp blast echoed across the clearing.
Asher slammed his palm down on the Omnitrix's faceplate without hesitation!
Green light erupted from the device, enveloping his entire body in a cocoon of luminous energy. His DNA began to unravel and restructure, alien genetic code flooding his cells. Within seconds, the transformation was complete.
A wave of frigid air rolled outward from Asher's new form, dropping the temperature so dramatically that frost began crystallizing on nearby blades of grass. Even under the morning sun's warmth, the chill was unmistakable.
When the green glow faded, a lizard-like creature stood in Asher's place.
His body resembled an iguana's, quadrupedal with lean, sinewy limbs, but his torso and head bore features closer to a fish. Blue scales covered most of his form, and three prominent dorsal fins ran down his spine. Gill-like structures lined the sides of his neck, and small spikes framed his angular face. The Omnitrix symbol gleamed from his left hand.
Every breath he exhaled created visible puffs of cold vapor, as if he were standing in the dead of winter rather than the middle of summer.
Ben froze mid-transformation sequence, his hand still hovering over the reactor. "Whoa... I don't recognize that one at all."
"Yeah, it's like having a walking air conditioner," Gwen added from a safe distance, fanning herself appreciatively despite the sudden drop in temperature.
"Remember what I told you?" Asher's voice emerged slightly distorted through his new alien form. "The Omnitrix contains over a thousand alien DNA samples. Odds are I'll unlock new ones eventually. Looks like today's my lucky day."
His words came out alongside another cloud of icy vapor, condensing instantly in the warm air.
"That's so cool!" Ben's face lit up with inspiration. "How about we call you... Arctiguana!"
Arctiguana. Asher tested the name mentally. Not bad, actually. Simple, descriptive, easy to remember.
"I like it," he rumbled, his reptilian features pulling into something approximating a grin. "Alright, Ben. If you don't transform soon, I'm starting without you."
"Don't get cocky, Arctiguana!" Ben snapped back into focus and slammed his palm against the reactor on his chest.
WHOOOM!
Lightning crackled across Ben's body in branching arcs of electricity! The armor materialized in an instant, sleek red and gold plating spreading from his torso outward until his entire frame was encased in advanced technology. Blue repulsor lights glowed from the palms and chest piece, humming with stored energy.
"Hero time!" Ben struck a dramatic pose, one palm raised toward the sky.
"That suit really does look better than your regular transformations," Gwen commented dryly. "Way cooler than XLR8, at least."
Ben opened his mouth to respond,
FWOOOSH!
A massive torrent of freezing vapor erupted from Arctiguana's open jaws!
The icy breath swept across the ground in a wide cone, instantly coating everything in its path with a thick layer of frost. Where grass had been moments before, now there was only a slick, gleaming road of ice that didn't melt even under direct sunlight.
"Whoa, hey!" Ben threw himself sideways, barely dodging the full blast. But he wasn't fast enough to avoid it entirely. The edge of the frost breath caught his left arm, encasing the entire limb, shoulder to fingertips, in solid ice. "That's not fair, Arctiguana! You didn't wait for me to be ready!"
"When you're facing a real enemy," Arctiguana said evenly, his reptilian eyes fixed on Ben, "they won't give you time to pose. They won't announce their attacks. They won't play by 'hero rules.' If you let your guard down for even a second, you're dead."
His tone was stern but not cruel. This wasn't just about winning, it was about teaching Ben a lesson that could save his life someday.
Ben's expression shifted from indignation to understanding. The ice around his arm crackled and groaned as the suit's internal heating systems kicked in, but it would take time to thaw.
"You're right," Ben admitted, his voice firming with resolve. "I'll give it everything I've got!"
Ding!
A notification chimed in Asher's consciousness.
"Sign-in Object Detected: Ben Tennyson in Lightning Reactor Armor, Going All Out!"
"Defeat him in combat to complete sign-in."
Asher nearly stumbled. The system had actually given him a sign-in opportunity for Ben? That was unexpected. Either Ben's current power level was significant enough to qualify, or Arctiguana wasn't as overwhelmingly strong as some of his other transformations.
Probably both.
Well, that just made this more interesting.
Watching his frozen opponents from the sidelines, Max and Gwen exchanged concerned glances but said nothing. They understood what Asher was doing, this was training, not cruelty.
"Arctiguana," Ben called out, his voice hardening with determination. "An enemy wouldn't give you time to get distracted either!"
The palm-mounted repulsor on his free hand suddenly blazed with golden light!
KRAKOOM!
A concentrated beam of energy lanced across the clearing, trailing arcs of electricity as it streaked toward Arctiguana!
Reacting on pure instinct, Arctiguana opened his jaws wide and unleashed another blast of freezing breath!
Ice and lightning collided mid-air in a spectacular explosion!
Shards of frozen energy sprayed outward like shrapnel. Electric sparks danced across jagged chunks of ice. The two forces pushed against each other, neither willing to give ground, until finally they canceled each other out in a burst of steam and ozone.
But Arctiguana had already moved.
While the energies were still colliding, he'd launched himself forward, not toward Ben, but onto the frozen path he'd created earlier. His clawed feet found purchase on the slick ice, and he used the frictionless surface to propel himself forward at incredible speed, sliding like a professional ice skater.
Within seconds, he'd closed the distance.
Ben's eyes widened behind his helmet's visor. "Wait, "
FWOOSH!
At point-blank range, Arctiguana exhaled another concentrated burst of freezing vapor directly at Ben's right arm!
Crack-crack-crack-CRACK!
Ice spread rapidly across the armor plating, sealing Ben's remaining functional limb in a crystalline prison. The golden glow of the repulsor dimmed and died as frost coated the emitter.
Ben tried to pull back, but his movements were sluggish now, both arms completely immobilized.
Arctiguana didn't hesitate.
He coiled his powerful hind legs beneath him and launched.
His body twisted mid-air, both clawed hands clasping together overhead like a hammer. Momentum and alien strength combined as he brought both fists down in a devastating overhead blow!
WHAM!
The impact drove Ben backward, his armored boots carving twin furrows through the dirt as he skidded several meters before finally losing his balance and toppling over.
He landed flat on his back with a metallic clang, his frozen arms splayed out uselessly to either side.
"Ow..." Ben groaned, staring up at the clear morning sky. "That... really hurt."
Arctiguana stood over him, breathing hard but victorious. "You left yourself wide open when you stopped moving. Never assume an opponent will fight you on your terms."
Despite the pain, Ben managed a weak grin. "Yeah, yeah. I get it. Lesson learned."
The ice around his arms was already beginning to crack as the suit's systems worked overtime to thaw them out.
From the sidelines, Gwen let out a low whistle. "That was brutal. But also kind of impressive?"
Max nodded approvingly. "Asher's right to push him like this. Better to learn these lessons now, in a controlled environment, than when actual lives are on the line."
Arctiguana extended a clawed hand toward Ben, helping pull him back to his feet. The armor's defrosting systems had finally kicked in fully, melting away the last of the ice.
"You did good," Arctiguana rumbled. "Your reaction time was solid. But you need to stay mobile. Don't let yourself get locked down."
"Next time," Ben promised, deactivating his armor with a faint hiss of releasing pressure seals. The red and gold plating retracted back into the reactor core, leaving him standing in his normal clothes once more. "Next time I'll be ready."
Asher tapped the Omnitrix symbol on his hand, triggering the reversion sequence.
Green light flashed once more, and his reptilian body dissolved back into his human form. The oppressive cold vanished immediately, replaced by the comfortable warmth of the summer morning.
"So," Asher said, stretching out the kinks in his newly-restored human muscles, "what did we learn?"
"That you're a jerk who doesn't wait for dramatic poses to finish," Ben grumbled, but there was no real heat in his voice. Just the resigned acceptance of someone who'd gotten exactly the lesson they needed.
Gwen snorted. "You learned that yesterday when Vilgax's robots didn't wait for your quips."
"Fair point."
Ding!
"Sign-in Complete! Congratulations, Host, you have obtained: [Arctiguana, Unlocked Officially in Omnitrix Playlist]!"
"This transformation is now available at will, no longer subject to random selection."
Asher's eyebrows rose slightly. So that's what the reward was, not a new ability or upgrade, but guaranteed access to Arctiguana whenever he needed it. That was actually more useful than it sounded. No more hoping the Omnitrix would give him the right alien at the right time.
He glanced at Ben, who was brushing dirt and frost residue off his clothes. "Ready for round two?"
"What? Already?"
"Best two out of three," Asher said with a grin. "Unless you're too tired?"
Ben's competitive fire reignited immediately. "Oh, you're so going down this time!"
Max sighed deeply and raised his whistle again. "Alright, boys. Let's do this properly..."