Lucian was dressed in a black T-shirt and loose jeans, the definition of casual.
"Cuz." XLR8 waved at him.
Lucian nodded.
"Gwendolyn, find a chance to send them back," XLR8 said, turning to his cousin. "I'm busy. I don't have time to deal with anything else."
"Got it." Gwendolyn let out a soft sigh.
Of course, that was what she said, but as long as the problem wasn't resolved, she had no intention of sending Lucian and the others back.
Whoosh.
Just then, the elevator beside them opened.
Lucian turned his head, and his pupils shrank slightly.
A middle-aged man stepped out, wearing a white lab coat and square black-framed glasses, with an unmistakably scholarly air about him.
Most importantly, his face looked almost exactly like Lucian's.
"You're... me?" Lucian froze for a moment, unsure what to say.
"Hello." Future Lucian smiled warmly, calm and refined.
"Gwendolyn filled me in on the way. She told me to hurry to headquarters because there was a surprise waiting for me. Hahaha. This definitely counts as a surprise."
"Lucian, it's been a long time." Ben 10,000 stepped forward and patted Future Lucian on the shoulder. "You've been holed up in the lab this whole time. Don't you get bored? I know I would."
"Haha, listen to you. You spend all your time patrolling around the world. Isn't that boring too?" Lucian shot back.
Ben 10,000 was left speechless.
The two of them sighed at the same time. Such was the helplessness of middle age.
"Looks like in another quadrant of spacetime, I'm the protagonist." Lucian smiled faintly as he stared at the Omnitrix on Lucian's wrist.
Lucian noticed it too. Future Lucian wasn't wearing an Omnitrix.
Apparently, he was just a scientist.
"That's not right. Ben has an Omnitrix too." Gwendolyn looked at Ben and pointed at his wrist.
"That is strange. By all logic, there should only be one Omnitrix in each parallel universe." XLR8 rubbed his chin, deep in thought. "Did Azmuth suddenly grow a conscience? Is he making another hero?"
Lucian only smiled and said nothing.
I can't exactly tell you Ben's Omnitrix was copied by the System.
"Forget it. The world is vast, and there are countless parallel universes. One more Omnitrix won't make much difference." XLR8 dropped the matter. It wasn't something he needed to worry about.
All he had to do was maintain order in the quadrant of spacetime he belonged to.
As for the affairs of other quadrants, that was Dr. Paradox's problem.
Lucian looked at Ben 10,000 in front of him, then at Lucian, and understood. They were not his future selves.
To be precise, they were future versions from another parallel universe.
In the original Ben 10 setting, the world was enormous, containing countless quadrants of spacetime, in other words, parallel universes.
In those parallel universes, everyone could have a different life. Ben was the clearest example. In different universes, he had different identities.
Main Universe Ben, Mad Ben, Bad Ben, Ben 23, Benzarro, and so on.
The Ben 10,000 in front of him was not the future Ben of the main universe.
In the original story, Ben later met his real future self. That Ben didn't even need to transform to use the powers of his alien heroes, and in terms of strength, he was no weaker than Ben 10,000.
In other words, the Lucian standing here wasn't Lucian's future either. He was simply a future Lucian from another parallel universe.
Otherwise, the Lucian in front of him would have had the watch too.
At that moment, Lucian's deep black eyes calmly fixed on Lucian.
Was he the real Lucian?
Or was he, like himself, a transmigrator?
As mentioned before, Lucian was not originally from this world. He had transmigrated into it and taken over Lucian's body. But because the original Lucian had been missing for so long, Grandpa Max had never doubted his identity.
System, is his soul the same as mine? Lucian asked inwardly.
[Host, the Future Lucian before you is the real Lucian himself, not your future, nor is he a transmigrator.]
"So that's how it is..."
For some reason, Lucian felt relieved.
Maybe being a transmigrator, with that one unique advantage, was what gave him a sense of security.
"You look more like a scholar. Not like me, all rough around the edges." Lucian smiled slightly.
Of course, Lucian was not actually rough or uncouth. It was just that compared to Lucian, he lacked that literary, refined air.
On the other hand, Lucian had more masculine presence. Combined with his handsome features, it was enough to make hearts race.
Or rather, Lucian carried a stronger, sharper aura. That came from surviving countless life-and-death battles. If he wanted, he could release a terrifying killing intent and use it to intimidate his enemies.
Future Lucian was the exact opposite. He was refined, gentle, and physically weaker, the occupational damage of spending years in research labs.
But beneath that calm exterior, it seemed there was also a... dangerous heart hidden away...
"Oh, come on, haha. You're embarrassing me with all that praise." Lucian pushed up his glasses. "Lucian, stay in my lab for the next few days. I've got something good to show you."
A glint flashed across his lenses.
Lucian's heart skipped a beat. Had this man seen through his soul?
Did he know Lucian was not the real one, and want to silence him for stealing his body?
Come on, it wasn't like he'd done it on purpose. The System had forced it on him.
He had just gone to sleep and woken up as Lucian, okay?
"No thanks. I'm not really into experiments, and I'm allergic to chemicals." Lucian politely refused. It wasn't cowardice. He was just following his instincts.
"Wow, Cuz, are you really a scientist?" Ben trotted up and looked Future Lucian over from head to toe. "Can you make a cheat program for Sumo Slammers? I want one!"
"Sorry, Ben. I could, but that would be illegal." Lucian scratched his head, looking slightly apologetic.
"Besides, that kind of thing is too low-level. I prefer Gundam."
"What, Gundam? You mean the newest game? Or a figure?" Gwen instantly got interested too.
"Nope. A real-life Gundam." Lucian smiled mysteriously.
"Danger warning. 1A Central Sector."
A warning alarm sounded from the giant screen in the control room.
XLR8 gave a cold snort. "More pests causing trouble again. Stay here. I'll be back in a minute."
With that, XLR8 vanished in a blur.
Lucian let out a quiet sound of surprise. "1A Central Sector? Isn't that where the Null Void Projector is?"
"That's right. We need to go check it out." Gwendolyn nodded. This place was even more important than the DNA archive.
"Okay, I'm heading back to the lab first. I'll be back soon." Lucian pressed a button on his tech watch and disappeared.
Ben10000 Headquarters, Level Negative Sixty.
Dr. Animo's face was twisted with malice as he worked the control panel at high speed.
Crack!
A seam opened in the circular object in the center of the room, revealing a mass of hideous tentacles.
Whatever was inside already seemed impatient to break out.
"Dr. Animo. You again." XLR8 appeared and transformed into Diamondhead.
"Hehe, not just me. Your old flame is here too." As Dr. Animo spoke, he turned his head toward the corner.
Thud. Thud.
Accompanied by heavy footsteps, a hulking figure emerged from the darkness.
"Vilgax!"