Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh.
Ethen, riding his prototype tool hoverboard, flew at the front, scanning the swamp below with sharp eyes.
Behind him, Ben followed on his own hoverboard.
For once, he wasn't showing off.
At the rear, Gwen, clad in her magic robes, floated steadily using levitation magic.
This was the first time the three of them had gone out together without Grandpa Max.
Normally, Ben and Gwen would argue nonstop.
Ethen would crack jokes to stir things up.
This time—
No one joked.
All three wore grim expressions.
"It's crocodile hatching season," Ethen said quietly, eyes locked on the swamp.
"But we've been flying this long, and there's not a single sign of life. I don't believe all the alligators just died from DNA contamination."
The calmer the swamp looked—
The worse it felt.
The unknown was always the most dangerous.
Gurgle… gurgle gurgle!!!
Bubbles suddenly surged across the swamp's surface.
A massive crimson alligator burst out of the water!
It had eight limbs, its body warped and swollen with alien traits.
Its jaws snapped wide, lunging straight for them!
Whoosh!!
Ethen shot upward.
Gwen pulled back instantly.
Ben performed a shaky displacement.
The three narrowly avoided the attack.
The eight-limbed alligator crashed back into the swamp, thrashing angrily.
"…Good," Ethen muttered, actually relaxing a little.
"If there's a top predator like this, it means the other alligators were probably wiped out."
RUMBLE!!
The swamp erupted again.
A giant bullfrog, as large as a small hill, emerged from the depths!
Its mouth split open—
Seven or eight grotesque tongues shot out at once, wrapping tightly around the eight-limbed alligator!
The alligator struggled violently—
But it couldn't break free.
Whoosh!
The bullfrog retracted its tongues, dragging the alligator straight into its mouth.
Gulp.
Its bloated stomach instantly returned to normal.
Then—
It sank back into the swamp.
Silence fell.
"…That wasn't a normal bullfrog," Ethen said grimly.
"A bullfrog fused with Explod-O-Frog."
Now it made sense.
Why the swamp had gone quiet.
Everything else had already been hunted down.
Ben gave a weak smile.
"Great… and I don't even have Explod-O-Frog."
RUMBLE!!
The swamp churned violently again.
The Explod-O-Bullfrog surfaced and attacked, tongues flying toward them!
All three repositioned at once, barely dodging the strikes.
Flap—flap—flap!
The sound of wings filled the air.
A flaming bat, burning fiercely and as tall as an adult, swooped toward them.
Then another.
Then another.
Soon—
More than a dozen flaming bats filled the sky, all clearly locked onto them!
"…This many freaks?" Ben said weakly. "…Is this all my fault?"
"No," Ethen replied immediately, voice sharp and clear.
"These aren't like the people earlier. They're stable hybrids. Something is directing them."
These weren't victims.
They were weapons.
Someone had fused alien DNA with Earth creatures on purpose.
Ethen's thoughts raced.
Dr. Animo…?
Damn it.
That bastard was the most likely culprit.
Bang!
Ethen didn't hesitate.
He opened the Love Watch, rotating the dial.
"I'll engage first," he said calmly.
"You two protect yourselves."
He slammed the screen down.
A flash of light—
XLR8 appeared on the hoverboard.
Right after him, Speedy Woman materialized, startled, and instinctively hugged his waist.
"Speedy Woman, I'm jumping down—"
"If you jump, I jump too," she said quickly, cheeks slightly red.
"No," XLR8 snapped, expression dark.
"I'm handling the bullfrog. You draw the flaming bats away."
"…Got it~" Speedy Woman sighed, disappointed.
"I wanted you to carry me around…"
She dashed off anyway, sprinting effortlessly across the swamp's surface.
The flaming bats immediately gave chase, spitting fireballs that exploded behind her!
XLR8 leaped down as well, sprinting at extreme speed.
BANG!!
The Explod-O-Bullfrog launched itself upward, tongues snapping toward him!
"Too slow!" XLR8 dodged cleanly and slashed—
CRACK!
His claws struck the tongues—
But couldn't tear them.
Of course.
Explod-O-Frog's tongues could restrain energy bodies.
They could survive nuclear-level force.
XLR8 adjusted instantly.
Instead of resisting—
He hooked a tongue with his tail.
The bullfrog retracted.
And that force yanked XLR8 forward!
As they closed the distance, XLR8 jumped—
Landing directly on the bullfrog's body.
CRACK! CRACK!
His claws stabbed down relentlessly.
Wounds opened everywhere.
Its belly collapsed.
All of its limbs dislocated.
The swamp began to pull the bullfrog downward.
Without limbs, it couldn't escape.
"Let nature finish you," XLR8 said coldly.
He turned.
Speedy Woman was still dodging, but every counterattack missed—the flaming bats were too agile.
"Speedy Woman! Together!!"
XLR8 shouted.
Her eyes lit up.
"Okay, Ethen!"
WHOOSH!!
XLR8 sprinted in, grabbing Speedy Woman as they spun together at extreme speed!
The overlapping wind pressure formed a terrifying tornado vortex!
One by one, the flaming bats screamed as they were dragged in and shredded.
A few managed to escape.
"Got you."
Gwen raised her staff.
From her blood-colored robes, magic tentacles shot out, snatching a flaming bat mid-air.
She swung it hard—
Throwing it straight into the swamp.
BANG!!
Ben rushed in on his hoverboard, smashing another flaming bat head-on.
"Oh… uh… It looks like your head hit my hoverboard," he said apologetically.
The bat's eyes went unfocused.
It fell into the swamp.
Silence returned.
Only the thick stench of blood lingered.
Ethen looked ahead.
"To the depths of the swamp."
His voice was firm.
"No matter what's waiting for us. We end this."
...
Author's Note:
The fanfic Ben 10: Daily Check-In System Activated! Part 1 is now fully completed.
The entire story has been uploaded on Patreon as a dedicated collection:
📚 Ben 10 (Chapters 1–132)
Organized into 14 posts, with multiple chapters per post for easy binge reading.
🔥 I also have an Additional 18+ fanfics now available for readers who enjoy exclusive mature stories. 😉
1.Dragon Ball: Oolong's Sex Adventure
2. Elements of Lust – ATLA & Korra Mixed Smut
3. Doraemon: Filtering with Nobi Tamako
4. The Naive Me Who Became Someone's Everyday Secret
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