[center][img]https://preview.redd.it/omniverse-fanart-by-ethanpierceart-insta-v0-hc0vd4rnmz1b1.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=1e17e51b9653de9bbc5d60d1d2ff751acd582d1c[/img][/center] [b]|| Somewhere on the road to Bellwood, Earth[/b] The Rustbucket rolled into the gas station forecourt with a tired groan, as if the engine itself was complaining about the long drive. Max climbed out with a grunt, stretching his back before grabbing the fuel nozzle. Ben and Gwen followed him out of the RV, both wanting fresh air. [color=indianred]“You would think with all the Plumber tech in this thing, it would run on something other than unleaded.”[/color] He waited for a reaction before frowning when neither of them said a word. Not even an eye roll from Gwen. The tension hanging between them had been growing since New Orleans. The last few hours everyone had been sat in silence. Years ago he would have said something blunt to break it. Now he simply gave Ben a pointed look, the kind that clearly meant: you made this mess, you fix it. Ben swallowed and tried. [color=springgreen]“Look, I was not trying to ruin your whole magic school thing.”[/color] Gwen did not turn. [color=7ea7d8]“You did not ruin it.”[/color] She finally spoke, inspecting one of her nails as she did so. [color=7ea7d8]”You just made it very clear you did not want to be there.”[/color] Ben shifted, uncomfortable. He wanted to say he did want to be there. He wanted to say he just did not want her leaving. The words refused to come out. [color=springgreen]“I was not trying to be a jerk. I just…”[/color] A scream cut through the air from across the street. Then another. Then the sound of shattering glass. Ben exhaled sharply. [color=springgreen]“Perfect timing.”[/color] he breathed, his hand moving to his watch by instinct. [center][img]https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/4b78ab0c-640e-4ab8-9bac-a19afa7dec78/djm1oxc-a9cfc534-55a8-486a-955f-79a26d401830.png/v1/fill/w_1280,h_835/xlr8_png_by_masterofau_djm1oxc-fullview.png?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9ODM1IiwicGF0aCI6Ii9mLzRiNzhhYjBjLTY0MGUtNGFiOC05YmFjLWExOWFmYTdkZWM3OC9kam0xb3hjLWE5Y2ZjNTM0LTU1YTgtNDg2YS05NTVmLTc5YTI2ZDQwMTgzMC5wbmciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9MTI4MCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.MZy2y6f-kH4xqFof5JbC7_X7dRywVhDWP8FzGhFIkqM[/img][/center] After a quick spin of the dial, his body shifted. He grew leaner and darker, as XLR8 crouched down before them all. As he flexed his spindly legs and wheeled the balls of his feet, the visor snapped down over his eyes. Gwen glared at him. [color=7ea7d8]“We are not done talking about this.”[/color] She informed him as she too began to prepare herself. Her hands moving towards the spellbook pouch on her hip. Ben did not answer, trying to distract himself with whatever it was he was about to face. He did not want to argue with Gwen. He did not want to make things worse. And he definitely did not want to admit why he had acted the way he had. He ran, a streak of blue and black shooting across the road. [hr] XLR8 skidded to a stop outside a small auto garage. The front shutter had been peeled upward like a tin lid. Sparks flickered inside. Tool racks lay overturned. A car on a lift hung half dismantled, its wiring torn out in long, sparking strands. Something big was inside. A humanoid shape hunched over an engine block, tearing out components with jerky, unnatural movements. Its body was a patchwork of mismatched metal plates. One arm was bulkier than the other, built for lifting. Exposed wiring pulsed with blue light. A single glowing eye flickered as it scanned the room. Ben barely had a moment to take it all in before the robot’s head snapped toward him. Its eye brightened. XLR8 darted sideways, circling it in a blur and landing rapid swipes across its flank. Sparks flew where his claws scraped the metal plating. The android barely reacted. Instead all he heard was a loud whirring as the robots eye continued to look in on him. Then it finally moved. It was faster than it had been previously, it’s servos moving quicker than Ben ever believed they could. One second it was the centre of the auto garage, the next it was next to him, knocking him back with its arm. He was launched backward into a stack of tires. They toppled over him in an avalanche of rubber as pain rippled through his body. He groaned and pushed himself up. Clearly XLR8 was not the right call. He slapped the insignia on his chest, engulfing himself in green. [center][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/019d7375-1e0d-750e-96ce-0db53d8a2fc0.webp[/img][/center] Heatblast rose from the light, flames rolling across his shoulders as the temperature in the garage spiked. He planted his feet and hurled a fireball that burst against the android’s torso in a shower of molten sparks. The machine staggered backwards from the blast, finally beginning to look worse for wear. Yet it didn’t faulted. Instead its eye flickered and once more that low whirring began inside its chest. A rising mechanical trill like a scanner locking onto a target. He frowned. [color=springgreen]“Huh?”[/color] The android’s plating shifted as vents opened along its spine. An orange glow began to build within them. Then fire erupted across its body, wild and unstable, licking up its arms in jagged bursts. Heatblast stared. [color=springgreen]“What the flark?!”[/color] It had copied him. The robot lunged through the flames. Heatblast tried to block with a wall of fire, but the machine merely punched through it. The android’s burning fist slammed into his chest, threatening to break the jagged rocks that made up his abdomen. Heatblast flew backward, crashed through a workbench, and rolled across the floor, flames sputtering. Ben hissed through his teeth. That had hurt. A lot. [color=springgreen]“Alright. Smaller. Faster.”[/color] He nodded to himself, before slapping his core again. [center][img]https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/ben10fanfiction/images/d/df/Buzzshock2.png/revision/latest?cb=20151116205903[/img][/center] Buzzshock burst into existence like a firework. A tiny, jittering gremlin of power, shaped like a small angular battery. His eyes glowed white and his limbs twitched with static electricity as sparks danced across his teeth every time he grinned. He zipped forward in a zigzag of lightning, leaving thin trails of crackle in the air. The plan was simple; short circuit it before it could copy him again. Buzzshock shot under the android’s arm, scrambled up its back, and unleashed a rapid series of electrical jabs into exposed wiring. Each strike popped with bright yellow sparks. The machine jerked violently, servos stuttering. For a moment, it looked like Ben’s plan might work. Then the sound began. A sharp, insect like buzz that vibrated the air and made Buzzshock’s own electricity flicker. [color=springgreen]“No no no. Not now.”[/color] Ben begged as he tried moving faster but it was too late. The android’s plating split along its arms. Blue electricity crawled across its frame. Its eye brightened to a blinding white point. The buzz peaked into a shrill electronic screech. Then the copied energy erupted outward. The blast hit Buzzshock full force. His tiny body spasmed, overloaded, and the form collapsed in a burst of sparks. Ben hit the Omnitrix mid fall. [center][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/019e9edf-256f-70d3-9e50-7c6859cca2ef.webp[/img][/center] A man made of rubble rose, towering and broad. Chunks of rough grey rock locked into place across his body. His shoulders sagged slightly, the rapid transformations finally catching up to him. Dust rolled off him with each breath. He lifted one heavy hand in a slow, tired wave. [color=springgreen]“Hi there.”[/color] The New Zealand accent was a big contract to the bulky nature of the form. He exhaled, a gravelly rumble. The android charged, electricity still dancing across its limbs. Cobblestone met it head on. His punch connected with the machine’s head, sending a shockwave through the floor. The copied electricity sputtered and the machine reeled back. Cobblestone followed with a heavy swing to the torso, denting the plating and sending sparks flying. The android recalibrated, eye flickering rapidly. The whirring began again, but thankfully it was interrupted as a violet blast struck it from behind. The robot lurched forward, electricity guttering out. Gwen sprinted into view, magical energy glowing around her hands. Max followed close behind, weapon raised. The robot turned, saw all three of them together, and froze. The whirring cut off. It bolted toward the back of the garage, smashed through the rear wall, and vanished into the drainage ditch beyond. Cobblestone lumbered after it, ducking through the hole. Behind him, Gwen exhaled sharply. [color=7ea7d8]“What the heck was that?”[/color]