c1: Comprehensive Evolution, Love Watch
P.S.: The timeline is during the Ultimate Alien era; Ben Tennyson, Gwen Tennyson, and Kevin Levin are all young adults, and the protagonist is over 18 years old.
.....
A bright moon hung in the sky.
Amid the towering urban skyline, four figures darted from rooftop to rooftop, chasing a maniacal clown.
"Ah! Ben, stop chasing me!"
Zombozo, the ghoulish clown, twisted around mid-run, panic flashing across his grotesque face.
Clad in a tattered top hat and crimson-striped pants, Zombozo's corpse-white complexion, yellow teeth, and sunken eyes exuded malevolent energy.
Clutched in his hands was a reinforced containment pod inside floated a human brain, pale pink and submerged in green fluid.
Zombozo was no ordinary criminal; he thrived by consuming people's joy, leaving his victims hollow and depressed.
The ones pursuing him were Ben Tennyson, Gwen Tennyson, Kevin Levin, and a young man named Klein.
"Zombozo, give it up! You're cornered!"
Ben slapped down on his Ultimatrix, summoning its holographic interface to cycle through his unlocked aliens.
Boom!
In a flash of bright green energy, Ben transformed into Lodestar the magnetic alien with a floating metal head and powerful electromagnetism.
Lodestar's form crackled with green and black energy. His magnetic head levitated above his torso, while his crab-like claws glinted under the moonlight.
With a sharp gesture, Lodestar manipulated the nearest rooftop antenna.
Whoosh!
The metallic rod hurled toward Zombozo like a javelin, trailing sparks.
"Hah! That tickled!"
Zombozo cackled, swiping the rod away with unnatural strength.
Despite his lanky frame, his superhuman agility let him vault effortlessly across rooftops.
"Oh, come on!" Lodestar grunted, "I was aiming for Humungousaur!"
Klein, running beside him, chuckled. He wore a white tactical hoodie, matte black pants, and a pink dialed wristwatch unlike Ben's Ultimatrix. His golden hair swayed with the wind as his emerald eyes observed calmly.
"It's 'cause you slammed it wrong, again."
Klein smirked, his voice smooth, his tone mildly teasing.
Ben groaned. "Alright, alright, I'll nail it next time."
"Give up the brain, creep!"
Gwen Tennyson, now a skilled Anodite-magic user, unleashed a barrage of violet mana spheres from her outstretched palm.
They sparkled with mystic energy but Zombozo danced around them with a sneer, evading them all.
"My turn."
Klein spoke coolly, tapping the pink watch on his wrist his Chaquetrix, or "Love Watch."
Fwoosh!
A radiant pink glow enveloped him and from it emerged an alien unlike any seen in the Codon Stream.
Towering and flame-clad, Yan Li materialized. Unlike Pyronites like Heatblast, her form was distinctly feminine curved lines, glowing ember hair, and a confident gait. Her eyes shimmered with deep magenta fire.
"Master!"
Yan Li smiled brightly upon seeing Klein.
"Yan Li, intercept Zombozo."
Klein pointed at the fleeing clown.
Without question, Yan Li nodded. "Yes, Master."
With a snap of her flaming fingers, a Vermilion Phoenix-shaped flame burst beneath her feet. She soared into the night after Zombozo.
"Whoa, cousin, you're so lucky!"
Lodestar turned to Klein, clearly impressed.
Summoning sentient, loyal female aliens? That was next level!
While Ben had to fight hard as any of his aliens, Klein simply issued a command.
"This is ridiculous, I'm not a fan of gendered aliens," Gwen huffed, folding her arms. Her brows furrowed, clearly irritated, though she turned her face away.
Kevin raised an eyebrow and glanced at Gwen, sensing her mood shift.
He was about to say something comforting, but Gwen didn't react.
Her thoughts were elsewhere on Klein.
He wasn't just powerful. He was charming. Elegant. Effortlessly cool.
"Cousin Klein... is just... amazing."
Her mind lingered on him. Compared to Klein, Kevin felt like a bulky, second-string player.
Though Kevin had his fair share of charm, Klein looked like he walked off a runway. Movie-star face, regal posture, those hypnotic green eyes...
Kevin glanced over at Klein. He couldn't help but think: Wish I had that guy's face.
Boom!
Not far ahead, the battle had ended.
Yan Li's fireball collided with Zombozo mid-jump, sending him flying backward like a ragdoll.
The clown hit the rooftop hard, groaning, the brain pod still clutched in his singed gloves.
Klein and the others arrived at the scene.
"Master, mission complete!" Yan Li beamed, skipping toward Klein like an excited apprentice.
She looked up at him with gleaming eyes, waiting for praise.
"Well done, Yan Li."
Klein gave a slight nod.
At his words, Yan Li's flaming eyes exploded with joy. She twirled mid-air, her flaming body glowing brighter.
"Yes! Master praised me! I'm soooo happy!!"
She spun gleefully, overwhelmed with emotion.
[Yan Li Love Value +25, +23, +17...]
Inside Klein's mind, a soft chime echoed his system interface.
It was the Love System a mysterious program that enhanced his bond with summoned aliens based on their affection for him.
By interacting with female aliens, gaining their favor, or sparking emotional reactions like happiness or excitement, Klein could accumulate a unique stat Love Value.
This mysterious point system was deeply linked to the Chaquetrix his personal alien watch, different from the Ultimatrix or Kevin's genetic absorption. Love Value served as a kind of emotional currency, and it could be used to redeem powerful items and upgrades from the internal Love System Store.
At that moment, Gwen Tennyson crossed her arms and looked down at the defeated Zombozo with disgust.
"Tch. Who even robs a brain bank? That's just messed up," she muttered.
Klein glanced at the cracked containment pod on the ground, its contents still suspended in green nutrient fluid.
A brain bank... this world never ceases to surprise me, Klein thought silently.
"Watch me!"
Lodestar Ben's current alien form stepped forward. His floating metal head hovered ominously as he reached out with his claw and pulled the brain pod from Zombozo's twitching grip.
"Nooo! Don't take my brain!"
"I'm gonna lose what's left of my sanity!"
Zombozo screeched like a banshee, writhing on the ground as if his entire being depended on that grotesque brain pod.
Ben reverted to human form with a flash of green and raised a brow.
"Okay seriously why the heck were you even robbing a brain bank at midnight?"
Kevin Levin, arms crossed and standing beside the Tennysons, leaned in with a dry smirk.
Zombozo sneered, still on the ground, "To eat it, duh! Don't ask dumb questions!"
Everyone recoiled slightly, the disgust palpable.
Even Kevin, who'd absorbed DNA from some pretty nasty creatures, wrinkled his nose.
"Gross," Gwen muttered.
"No kidding. Guy's a certified freak show," Ben added.
Zombozo wasn't just some random clown-themed villain he was part of the Circus Freak Trio and had been known to drain emotional energy from victims using advanced tech and dark alien artifacts.
Now, he was being detained with something far more horrific: an appetite for cognitive biomass.
Klein quietly pulled out his sleek custom smartphone and contacted the Bellwood Plumber Base the secret Earth branch of the intergalactic law enforcement unit known as the Plumbers.
Max Tennyson, Ben and Gwen's grandfather and retired Plumber hero, operated from there with a skeleton crew and trusted recruits.
Within minutes, a stealth hover vehicle appeared overhead. Uniformed Plumber agents descended, apprehending Zombozo with high-tensile energy restraints.
The villain's fate was sealed he'd be locked in a high-security off-world containment unit for alien criminals with predatory tendencies.
...
With the Plumbers now gone and the street quiet again, Klein stood near the sidewalk with the others.
Gwen glanced at him, her voice a touch softer. "Klein, I guess this is it. I'm heading out soon."
"You're really leaving Bellwood?" Klein asked gently, a subtle smile on his lips.
"Yeah… Bellwood's got great universities, but… it's not Ivy League."
Her tone faltered.
She looked down, conflicted. The idea of parting from Klein—the person who made her feel something more than just cosmic magic stung more than she expected.
She wanted to grow, to become someone Klein might admire even more.
"Later, nerd," Ben called out casually, waving her off with a grin.
"Dweeb," Gwen replied without venom, smiling as she turned away.
She stepped into Kevin's signature green muscle car, which rumbled as it idled nearby.
Kevin, ever the quiet type, said nothing but it was clear he was going wherever Gwen went.
"Bye," Kevin nodded to Klein and Ben before driving off.
As their taillights disappeared down the road, Ben looked down with a faint sigh.
"Tch… annoying."
Klein chuckled and ruffled Ben's hair.
"Hey, don't look so down. I'm still here, aren't I?"
Ben looked up, eyes regaining their usual spark. "Yeah, yeah, you're right. I don't care anyway!"
Klein tapped his key fob, and a luxurious custom black McLaren 720S rolled up to the curb with a hum of precision engineering.
"We should head back too, Ben."
He stepped into the driver's seat, doors gliding upward like wings, and started the engine with a low, thrilling roar.
VROOM! VROOM!
The sound turned heads all down the street.
"Whoa! Isn't that Klein?!"
"Oh my god, that's him! I didn't think I'd ever see him in person!"
"He's so cool... and even more handsome in real life!"
"That's the guy who debuted as a hero just weeks ago and already outshined Ben Tennyson!"
"What!? No way, that fast?"
A small crowd buzzed in awe.
Klein ignored the whispers, adjusting the mirror with practiced calm.
Ben rolled his eyes and slid into the passenger seat.
"Man, you always have to be so flashy."
With a rev of the engine, the McLaren glided down the moonlit avenue, sleek and silent despite its power.
It vanished into the Bellwood night.
Love Watch, Chaquetrix.
The legend had only just begun.
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