Evan, Gwen, and Max sat around the small camping setup beside the Rust Bucket, slowly working through dinner while chatting idly. The forest around them was quiet except for the occasional rustle of leaves and the distant chorus of crickets.
After a while, Max glanced toward the dark treeline where Ben had disappeared earlier.
"Ben has been gone for quite a while," Max said, his voice carrying a hint of concern. "Why hasn't he returned yet?"
Gwen looked in the same direction, resting her chin on her hand as she thought for a moment.
"Maybe he was eaten by a bear…" she said casually before noticing Max's expression darken slightly. She immediately raised both hands in surrender. "I'm just kidding! It's best to dream."
Max sighed, clearly not amused by that particular joke.
Evan swallowed the last of the mealworms he had picked up and brushed his hands together lightly. "I'm sure he'll be fine," he said calmly. "But if you're really worried, I can go look for him."
In truth, Evan already knew Ben would be fine. If anything, this was probably the moment when Ben was discovering the Omnitrix somewhere out there in the woods. Still, it didn't hurt to help out a little during this summer trip.
Max nodded after a moment. "Then I'll trouble you, Evan."
His eyes briefly lingered on the golden watch resting on Evan's wrist. Max had noticed the symbol on it earlier, and although he had his suspicions about what it might be, he couldn't confirm anything yet. For now, he simply kept those thoughts to himself.
Before Evan could stand up, something unexpected caught their attention.
At the edge of the forest, a flicker of orange light suddenly appeared between the trees. Within seconds, the glow grew brighter as flames began to spread across a patch of dry undergrowth.
All three of them stood up immediately.
"That's not good," Max muttered.
Without wasting time, they hurried toward the fire to see what was happening.
"Grandpa! Dweeb!"
The sudden shout stopped them mid-step.
The voice was unfamiliar, and yet strangely recognizable.
They turned toward the sound, and the moment Gwen saw the figure approaching them, she froze for half a second before letting out a startled scream.
"Gwen?!" Max said, startled by her reaction as he followed her gaze. "What happened, what in blazes?"
Standing a short distance away from them was what looked like a humanoid figure made entirely of burning rock. His body was composed of cracked, charcoal-like stone with bright flames flickering through the gaps, and his head burned like a living torch.
Gwen reacted quickly. Without hesitation, she grabbed the fire extinguisher from their supplies and held it out in front of her like a weapon.
"I'm warning you, you… whatever you are!" she said, trying to sound brave despite the situation. "One more step closer and I'm putting you out like a candle!"
The fiery figure stopped and glared at her.
"Yeah, don't even think about it, freak."
The insult came out in a tone that was far too familiar.
Gwen blinked, her expression shifting from alarm to confusion.
"…Ben?" she said slowly. "Is that you?!"
Max stepped forward slightly, staring at the flaming figure with disbelief.
"Ben?!"
The fiery creature raised a hand and waved casually.
"Yeah, it's me, you two."
Both Max and Gwen stared at him in stunned silence.
"What happened to you?!" Max asked as they moved a little closer, though they still kept their distance since Ben was literally on fire.
Ben rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, small sparks drifting off his flaming body.
"Well, I was walking through the forest when this meteor suddenly fell out of the sky and almost smushed me," he explained quickly. "Actually, it looked more like a satellite or something, and when it cracked open there was this weird watch inside! Then it jumped onto my wrist, and when I tried to take it off, boom! I turned into this!"
Evan gave him a blank look.
"…Peak explanation, dude," he said flatly while giving Ben a thumbs-up. "I'm sure we all understood everything perfectly."
Gwen ignored Evan's comment and focused on Ben, still looking worried.
"Are you sure you're okay, Ben?" she asked, gesturing uncertainly at his flaming body.
Ben huffed and planted his hands on his hips.
"Of course I am, dweeb! That stupid watch just jumped onto me, and when I tried to get it off I turned into this! Geez, did you even listen to what I said, or did you just fail to understand it?"
"Hey, it's not my fault your pea-sized brain is terrible at explaining things, genius!"
"Of course I'm a genius. You're just stupid!"
"Oh yeah? Want to compare report cards?!"
"Oh of course you'd bring up school, you nerd!"
"Alright, alright, calm down, you two!" Max stepped between them before the argument could escalate any further. "This isn't the time to start fighting. Let's focus on putting out that fire first, and then we can sit down and let Ben explain everything calmly. Alright?"
The cousins glared at each other for another moment before both of them scoffed.
"Fine, Grandpa."
With that settled, the three of them quickly moved to deal with the spreading flames before the fire could grow any larger. Buckets of water and the extinguisher were put to use as they worked together to contain the burning patch of forest.
Meanwhile, Ben remained sitting off to the side.
Since he still had no idea how to control whatever power he currently had, running around would only make things worse by spreading more fire everywhere. So he simply watched the others handle the situation while small flames continued flickering across his rocky body.
Once the fire had finally been put out, the group returned to their small campsite and gathered around the campfire again. The night had settled back into its earlier calm, though the faint smell of smoke still lingered in the air.
Sitting around the fire, Max leaned forward slightly and looked at his grandson.
"And you're saying this watch just jumped up and clamped onto your wrist?" he asked.
Before Ben could answer, Gwen casually tossed a marshmallow toward him. The moment it landed in his flaming hand, it roasted instantly.
"Hey! This time it wasn't my fault! I swear!" Ben said hurriedly.
Gwen rolled her eyes.
"Oh really? Said the living campfire who insists he didn't start the fire."
Ben snapped back immediately. "Hey! This was an accident!"
Seeing the two of them slipping into another argument, Max sighed.
"That's enough, you two. Now isn't the time to be arguing."
"Hmph!"
The cousins both huffed and turned away from each other in opposite directions.
After a moment, Gwen suddenly realized something.
"By the way, Grandpa… do you think Ben is going to stay a monster forever?"
Max sighed again, though this time his gaze briefly shifted toward Evan. The boy was still sitting calmly beside the fire with the same indifferent expression he had worn since the beginning, as if the entire situation wasn't particularly surprising to him.
"He's not a monster," Max said at last. "He's an alien."
That answer immediately caused Ben and Gwen to stare at him.
Max coughed lightly under their looks.
"I-I mean, just look at him. What else could he be? You said the watch came from space, right?"
Ben nodded slowly.
"Yeah… but I don't want to be Fire Guy forever. How am I supposed to play basketball this fall if I char the ball every time I catch it?"
"Hm… maybe Gold Ship was also an alien…" Evan murmured quietly to himself.
Max raised a brow slightly when he heard that comment, but he didn't press further. Instead, he turned his attention back to the two cousins.
"Don't worry," he said reassuringly. "We'll figure this thing out."
Just as he finished speaking, a sharp beeping sound suddenly came from Ben's watch. The noise grew faster, and with one final beep a bright red light flashed out from it, forcing Max, Gwen, and Evan to cover their eyes.
When the light faded, they lowered their hands and saw Ben standing there again in his normal human form.
"I'm me again!" Ben shouted happily as he jumped to his feet.
He immediately grabbed the watch and started trying to pull it off.
"I still can't get this thing off," he groaned after a moment. "It's stuck like glue."
Max stood up and picked up a flashlight.
"Better not fool with it anymore until we know exactly what we're dealing with," he said. "I'm going to check out that crash site. You kids stay here until I get back."
With that, he headed off into the woods.
For a moment, the campsite returned to quiet again.
Gwen picked up another marshmallow and held it over the fire.
"So how did it feel?" she asked curiously. "Like… did it feel weird suddenly becoming an alien?"
Ben shrugged.
"Not really. It just kind of happened. It was like being yourself, but with a totally different body."
Gwen nodded slowly. "So you mean you just changed out of nowhere? Without feeling anything?"
"Yeah," Ben said, shaking his hand a little. "It was instant."
The two of them continued chatting while sitting around the campfire. Meanwhile, Evan mostly remained silent, simply listening to their conversation while staring into the flames. His quiet personality made him seem almost invisible at times.
Then suddenly, Ben's watch shifted from red to green, drawing their attention.
"Whoa… does this mean I can use it again?" Ben said excitedly.
Gwen leaned closer to examine it, curiosity shining in her eyes.
"I guess so. Maybe the beeping earlier meant it was recharging or something."
"I think you're right," Evan finally said.
His strange background and knowledge about this world made him more cautious than usual when speaking. He was always worried he might accidentally say something he shouldn't and create an entirely new problem.
Neither Gwen nor Ben paid much attention to his comment anyway, because Ben had already started messing around with the watch again.
After tapping it randomly for a few seconds, he accidentally pressed the button on its face. The device suddenly came to life, and the dial popped up.
"Cool! I wonder what kind of awesome aliens I can turn into now!" Ben said excitedly while fiddling with it.
Gwen immediately frowned.
"Ben, at least be careful with it. Don't treat that thing the same way you treat your socks, because I've seen what kind of condition those are usually in."
Ben shrugged, barely listening.
"Alright, geez. Stop complaining so much."
"And besides," Gwen added, "who said you're allowed to use that? Grandpa told us to stay here and wait for him, not to mess around with alien technology."
"Yeah? So what's your point?" Ben replied casually.
Gwen's eyelid twitched slightly.
"Did your parents drop you when you were a baby?"
"Come on," Ben said, turning the dial. "You can't tell me you're not at least a little curious about what else this thing can do."
"Not in the least," Gwen replied coldly.
Ben raised a brow.
"Oh really? Because a minute ago you were asking a hundred questions about it."
"That's different! That was discussion. This is experimentation. Totally different."
Ben stared at her. "You sure you're related to me?"
Then his tone softened slightly.
"Look… if I can figure this thing out, maybe I can help people. I mean really help them, not just mess things up."
Evan watched him quietly.
For someone who had just received what might be the most powerful device in the universe, Ben's first thought wasn't domination or power. Instead, it was how he could use it to help people.
Even if he acted like a jerk sometimes, that didn't change the fact that the kid had a genuinely good heart.
Compared to someone like Evan, who simply wanted to live his new life quietly and avoid unnecessary trouble, Ben was far more suited to being called a hero.
"But now that we know how it works," Ben said excitedly as he rotated the dial, "should we try it again? Just once?"
Gwen looked reluctant.
"I wouldn't."
"No, duh. You wouldn't," Ben replied flatly before smacking the Omnitrix dial.
A bright green flash erupted.
When the light faded, an orange beast stood where Ben had been.
"Graaar!"