After meeting up with Gwen and Grandpa Max. Ben goes to the rustbucket to grab some snacks,
Walking back toward the warm glow of the campfire, Ben's mind buzzed with excitement—and a hint of nervousness. He kept turning his wrist under the starlight, the alien device gleaming faintly. *How am I gonna tell them without sounding totally weird?* he wondered. The fire crackled in the distance as laughter and the scent of roasting marshmallows drifted through the forest air.
When Ben stepped back into the clearing, Gwen and Grandpa Max were already sitting around the fire. Gwen wrinkled her nose as soon as she spotted his new accessory.
"Hey, doofus, Trying to dress up abit ? News flash you forgot a squeaky red nose... But seriously, when did you get such an ugly watch?" she teased, poking her stick into the flames.
Her words instantly drew Grandpa Max's attention. His eyes widened as they landed on the strange green-and-black device wrapped around Ben's wrist.
Ben smirked, lifting his arm like he was showing off some rare treasure. "A meteor crashed right in front of me earlier," he said casually. "I checked it out and found this—looked like some kind of high-tech pod. And this bad boy was inside."
Gwen rolled her eyes. "Right. A meteor. And you just *happened* to pick up alien tech. Come on, Ben, at least try to come up with a new joke."
Ignoring her sarcasm, Ben started turning the dial on the watch, curiosity gleaming in his eyes. Grandpa Max frowned.
"Ben, I wouldn't mess around with something like that if I were you," he warned. "You don't know what it's capable of."
Ben just grinned. "Relax, Grandpa. I've got this." He twisted the dial until a small holographic figure appeared—one he instantly recognized from his childhood memories. *Time for the big show,* he thought.
Taking a deep breath, he pressed the dial down gently. "Last time, Ben broke the Omnitrix because he smacked it too hard. Not making that mistake," he murmured to himself.
Gwen groaned, tossing her marshmallow back into the fire. "Seriously, sometimes I wonder if we're even related. Maybe aunt Sandra and Uncle Carl picked you up from a UFO crash."
Ben chuckled under his breath. *If only you knew I actually was adopted…*
Before he could finish the thought, a blinding red light engulfed him. His body began to change—dark, molten cracks spread across his skin as if his flesh was being replaced by hardened charcoal. The heat roared, yet he felt nothing but energy surging through him. Flames burst from within, illuminating the entire clearing.
When the light faded, a fiery being stood where Ben once was.
"AAAAH! BEN!" Gwen screamed, stumbling backward.
Grandpa Max blinked, frozen in shock and awe. "Good heavens…"
Ben looked down at himself, his blazing hands, his glowing eyes, and shouted dramatically, "I'm on fire! Somebody help me!" He dropped to the ground, rolling around in mock panic. *Man, I deserve an Oscar for this performance,* he joked inwardly.
Gwen, reacting on instinct, sprinted to the Rust Bucket and came back with a fire extinguisher. She sprayed him from head to toe, coating him in white foam—but the fire quickly reignited.
"Wait, Ben—stop!" Grandpa Max shouted, stepping forward. "You're not on fire… you *are* fire!"
Ben froze, blinking. He looked at his hands again. The flames danced harmlessly across his fingers. "Huh. You're right. It doesn't hurt at all."
Gwen gawked, her voice trembling. "Y-you're a monster!"
Grandpa Max shook his head. "No, Gwen. Not a monster… he's an alien."
Ben tilted his head at both of them, still astonished. Gwen and Ben both then towards Max surprised, Grandpa max rubs the back of his neck sheepishly, " I mean look at him " .
Ben chuckled inwardly, " Oh Grandpa you're not very good at this lying__ business "
Before he let Max keep pretending.
Later, after things calmed down, Ben—still in his fiery alien form—sat beside the campfire, his glow reflecting off the surrounding trees. Gwen sat nearby, roasting a marshmallow using his back as her personal heat source.
"Seriously?" Ben grumbled. "You know I could toast your eyebrows off, right?"
Gwen smirked, not even looking up. "Try it, fire boy." She held up the extinguisher with a smug grin. "I'm locked and loaded."
Ben laughed. "So, how you holding up? You know… with all this?"
She glanced at him for a moment, her usual teasing bravado softening. "Still weird hearing your voice come out of a walking bonfire," she admitted. "But you're still the same doofus inside that thing, so no, I'm not scared."
Ben's grin widened, though he noticed the slight tremor in her legs. *She's putting on a brave face. Classic Gwen.*
"So," she asked, "how does it feel? Being… that?"
"I'm calling it Heatblast," Ben declared proudly.
Gwen groaned, pinching her nose. "Of course you are. You couldn't come up with anything less obvious?"
"Hey, if it fits, it fits," Ben shot back with a grin. "It's weird, though—it doesn't even feel hot. When I changed, it was like stretching muscles I didn't know I had. Everything else just… flowed."
Before he could say more, the red symbol on his chest began flashing yellow. Energy rippled through his body, and a bright red light enveloped him once again. When it faded, Ben was human once more—wide-eyed and amazed.
"Huh," he murmured, staring at the Omnitrix now glowing red. "That's new. In the show, green meant fully charged, red meant empty. Guess this universe's got its own rules."
Gwen frowned. "Show? What show?"
Ben quickly waved it off. "Uh, never mind!" He forced an awkward laugh. *Parallel universe? Butterfly effect? Guess I'll figure it out later.*
Before either could continue, a deep rumble echoed from the forest near the crash site—followed by several booming explosions.
"Grandpa Max!" they both shouted in panic, jumping to their feet as the night erupted in sound and light.
***