"Artificial respiration? With that nerd? Zack, you're seriously messed up."
Ben looked at Gwen with exaggerated disgust, then turned back to Zack.
Zack just smiled and replied, "Hey! Not only was I going to give her artificial respiration… I was thinking of transforming into an alien to do it. Bigger lungs. Might wake her up faster…"
"Ugh! I'm awake!"
Gwen suddenly opened her eyes, still visibly shaken. She looked at Zack with lingering fear. "You've… already changed back, right? Please don't come near me in that terrifying form again."
"I knew you were faking it," Zack rolled his eyes.
He had only said that to scare her.
Gwen had been pretending to be unconscious—too afraid to open her eyes in case that Carnitrix alien was still standing there.
"That terrifying alien… it's just way too creepy," Gwen muttered, her face red with embarrassment.
She'd completely lost face in front of Ben just now.
"Tch." For once, Ben didn't mock her. Instead, he nodded solemnly.
"I'm with the Bookworm on this one."
"Alright… Zack, Ben, let's not get careless," Grandpa Max said, pulling the conversation back to reality with a serious tone. "I've got a feeling those mechanical freaks are after your watches. And if that's true, this probably won't be the last time something like this happens."
Zack took a deep breath, clenching his fists. "Don't worry, Grandpa. Ben and I will make the most of these watches."
"If those metal freaks show up again, I'll beat 'em down myself!" Ben puffed out his chest. "No matter how scary they are—there's no way they're scarier than Zack's alien form."
"…What kind of logic is that…"
Grandpa Max gave Ben a helpless look, then stood up."Anyway, it's time to prep dinner. You're in for a real nutritious feast!"
A moment later, he returned—carrying a basin filled with pale, squirming live worms, wriggling like oversized maggots.
"This… this is dinner?!"
"Zack, tell me we packed real food this time!"
Ben and Gwen huddled behind Zack in horror, speaking in hushed panic.
"Relax. Watch the master at work."
Zack calmly stepped toward the Rustbucket, pulled open a side compartment, and took out a baking pan.
Zack placed a handful of worms onto the baking pan, then set it over the campfire—actually roasting worm meat.
He even drizzled some dipping sauce over the sizzling worms~
Almost instantly, the air filled with the mouthwatering aroma of grilled meat.
"This… this smells amazing!!" Ben's nose twitched wildly as he leaned in closer.
Gwen swallowed hard, clearly tempted. "Zack, I didn't think anyone could make worms smell this good!"
"Anything can be roasted," Zack said casually. He knew his Grandpa's antics from the plot, so he had secretly watched Indonesian cooking videos before coming.
He picked up his utensils with satisfaction and was the first to dig in. The others quickly followed, scrambling to grab their share.
Hey—this technically counted as another plot change, too~
A short while later, the group had devoured their roasted worm feast, put out the fire, and returned the plates and utensils to the Rustbucket once they'd cooled.
Grandpa Max washed up the cookware, getting ready to call it a night.
Zack sat beside the RV's radio, listening to the faint, static-filled signals coming through.
He muttered to himself, "In the original show… there should be a distress signal around this point, right?"
He couldn't recall the entire plot of Ben 10, but the first episode was still fresh in his mind.
"Um…"
Gwen stood by the open RV door, suddenly pointing into the distance.
"Why is there smoke over there?"
"What's going on?"
Zack quickly walked over to Gwen and looked in the direction she was pointing.
Just beyond the forest, thick black smoke was billowing into the sky.
"Looks like something's happened. Everyone, in the RV—seatbelts on!"
Grandpa Max tossed the still-unwashed utensils aside and jumped into the driver's seat without hesitation.
"Yeah! Hero time!"
Ben shouted excitedly as the Rustbucket roared to life, speeding out of the forest campsite and weaving quickly down the narrow dirt paths.
...
At a large roadside campsite—Boom!
A massive robot stomped through the burning wreckage.
It stood over ten meters tall, its orange-red armor glowing from the heat yet completely unaffected by the flames beneath its feet.
From time to time, it raised one of its mechanical claws—BZZZT!
The laser cannon embedded in it unleashed a terrifying energy blast, blowing apart cars and structures one after another!
And on the far side of the destruction—
A second giant robot was rampaging wildly, tearing through everything in its path without restraint.
The terrifying rampage of the two giant robots… Had left almost no one alive at the campsite.
Unlike in the original plot, no one even managed to send out a distress signal over the radio.
"When will this nightmare end…"
"It's over."
The few survivors stared blankly, pale and trembling.
Whoosh!!
The Rustbucket skidded to a stop not far from the chaos.
Grandpa Max gripped the steering wheel tightly, fury etched into his face. He stared out the window at the two massive machines.
"Vilgax… to get the watch, he's willing to do anything."
"Ben, let's go."
Zack gave Ben a firm pat on the shoulder. The younger boy was still frozen in a mix of shock and rage.
Without hesitation, both of them stood and stepped out of the RV.
The cold night wind struck their faces, clearing Ben's head almost instantly.
He turned to Zack, eyes filled with determination.
"Zack, how are we supposed to take down two of those monsters?"
"With this guy… I'll crush them."
Zack raised the Carnitrix on his wrist. On its glowing screen, the silhouette of a Petrosapien flickered into motion.
His tone was cold, sharp.
Two walking heaps of scrap… and they still dared to act so arrogantly?
"Then... Hero Time!!"
Ben's voice lacked its usual playfulness—this time, it was edged with deadly seriousness.
Both boys slammed down on their watch screens—A flash of red and green light erupted at the same time, colliding briefly before dispersing into the night.
Ben transformed into the familiar form from the original series: A muscular Petrosapien in a black-and-white battle suit, the Omnitrix symbol glowing clearly on his chest—clean, streamlined, classic.
Zack, on the other hand, looked far more intimidating.
His Petrosapien form bore sharp, predatory fangs. His face was dominated by sunken deep red eye sockets, with golden pupils glowing ominously within.
His body was heavily muscled, layered in sharp, jagged spikes like a walking hedgehog of living crystal.
And notably, his color tone was darker than Ben's, and he stood slightly taller as well.
[Image]
"As expected…"
After the System enhanced my physical stats, all of my Carnitrix aliens became stronger—maybe even stronger than their original Omnitrix versions!
Zack clenched his fists, feeling the raw, surging power coursing through his crystalized body.
If this was just the surface…
Then in actual combat, he might be even more terrifying.
"Mine's called Diamondhead," Ben declared proudly. "Yours… let's call him Diamond Devil!!"
(P.S.: If anyone has a better name suggestion, reply to this chapter—I might consider updating it!)
With the names sorted, Ben turned to inform Grandpa Max and the others.
Then, side by side, the two transformed heroes began walking toward the raging inferno of the destroyed campsite.
"Energy signatures detected… high energy readings!"
The giant robots suddenly froze.
The scanning lights on their heads blinked erratically as they turned their attention to the two advancing figures.
And between the two, the majority of their focus locked onto Diamond Devil.
Meanwhile, the remaining humans at the scene—briefly filled with hope when they saw Zack approaching—Were quickly overtaken by dread.
"Oh god… the real Demon King is here…!!"
Their legs gave out beneath them as they stared at Zack's terrifying alien face—shaking, pale, some even half-believing they were about to be eaten alive.