"Hello, please store your brain here. Azmuth will perform an upgrade."
"This is the sign-in area. Please check in to receive your Omnitrix Template."
"Handsome men and beautiful women, check-in spot."
In the heart of Bellwood, on a busy pedestrian street, a burly old man in a Hawaiian shirt sat on a bench, staring at the data on his handheld computer with a stunned expression.
"Ethen, 12 years old, apprentice Plumber…"
Even if Ethen's parents had been excellent Plumbers, this was still outrageous!
Grandpa Max rubbed his temples. As a legendary Plumber himself, he had never heard of anything so absurd.
"Twelve years old… a Plumber?" he muttered in disbelief.
"Grandpa Max."
A familiar voice came from behind.
A young man with short black hair and a clean fade hairstyle walked over. He wore an oversized T-shirt, his face calm yet strikingly handsome — enough to draw glances from passing girls.
"Ethen… how on earth did you become an apprentice Plumber?!"
Max couldn't help but stare at the silver badge pinned to the boy's chest — the official symbol of a Plumber apprentice.
Ethen smiled faintly.
"Grandpa Max, we're going to be together for two months, right? You'll find out soon enough."
Max sighed with a wry smile.
"Your Plumber evaluation and my grandkids' summer trip just happened to line up. Guess I'll be your examiner for the next two months."
A spark of excitement flashed in Ethen's dark eyes.
The story was finally about to begin.
Ethen was a transmigrator, someone who had crossed into the world of Ben 10.
The good news: his parents had once been Plumbers in the Bellwood branch.
The bad news: they died shortly after he was born, leaving him to grow up in an orphanage.
Over the years, Grandpa Max had often visited him, treating him like family.
Earlier that year, when Ethen became a Plumber apprentice, he finally left the orphanage — and now, Max was tasked with evaluating whether he could be promoted to a full-fledged Plumber.
"Just how strong is this kid, anyway…" Max muttered, sizing him up.
Suddenly—
Whoosh!!
From down the road, a school bus roared past, engine screaming as terrified voices filled the air!
The driver looked panicked, stomping the brakes to no effect. The bus was completely out of control!
"Brake failure?!" Max's eyes widened. "Ethen, don't just stand there — we've got to act!"
But Ethen didn't move.
Instead, he calmly said in his mind,
"System, claim today's Omnitrix Template."
Ding!
"Congratulations, Host. You have successfully claimed the Omnitrix Template: Original Omnitrix — Max Level Edition!"
"Original Omnitrix Max Level Edition: Contains tens of thousands of DNA samples, unlimited transformation time, and can freely switch forms at will."
This was Ethen's Daily Sign-In System — every day, a random Omnitrix template.
A bright green glow burst from his left wrist as a sleek Omnitrix materialized.
Max's jaw dropped.
"Omnitrix… and spatial manifestation?!"
Ethen tapped the dial with a click, turned the core, and locked onto a familiar silhouette—
Whoosh!!
Countless DNA particles swirled around him, reshaping his body in a flash of green light!
Standing in Ethen's place was a slim, blue alien with a sleek helmet and roller-like feet.
"A Kineceleran… XLR8!" Max exclaimed.
"I'll handle this!"
XLR8's mask snapped shut as he shot forward like a blue lightning bolt, chasing the speeding bus.
In seconds, he was at its front bumper, matching speed, pressing both hands against it with inhuman strength.
"Is that an alien?!" the driver screamed.
"Wait — that's the alien hero from Bellwood!" shouted one student.
"Can he really stop it?"
XLR8's legs blurred as he ran backward at incredible speed, sparks flying beneath his feet.
The heavy bus began to slow… inch by inch… until finally—
SCREEEEECH!!
It came to a complete stop.
Cheers erupted from the onlookers!
But just as they relaxed—
Click!
The bus suddenly rolled backward a few feet.
"Ah, sorry about that," XLR8 said sheepishly, steadying it again.
The sunlight reflected off his visor as he grinned at the crowd.
"Guess I kicked a little too hard."
"Ahhh! Alien Hero! Sign my notebook!"
"He's so cool!!"
Girls screamed, and even the boys couldn't hold back their excitement.
Max watched from a distance, shaking his head in awe.
"Calling him an apprentice Plumber feels like an understatement."
When the bus was safely stopped and the crowd dispersed, XLR8 returned to Max's side and reverted to human form.
"Grandpa Max, it's handled."
Max smiled.
"Just call me Grandpa. And how long have you had that watch?"
Ethen shrugged vaguely.
"About half a year."
In truth, his system had appeared six months ago — granting him a new Omnitrix every day. By now, he had mastered countless alien forms.
Max chuckled.
"Looks like this summer's going to be an interesting one. Come on — time to meet Ben and Gwen."
He patted Ethen's shoulder as they walked off together.
Later that day, Ethen met Ben and Gwen for the first time.
Ben, with messy brown hair and his usual grin, scratched his head awkwardly.
"You know, Ethen, when we first met, I was stuck in that tree because… uh… I'm an environmentalist. I was observing trees!"
Gwen folded her arms and smirked.
"You were trying to play hero and got yourself stuck. Maybe if you ate fewer snacks, you'd save the environment faster."
"Do you have to embarrass me in front of my new friend?!" Ben shot back.
Ethen chuckled softly, watching the two bicker — just like in the show he used to watch as a kid.
This summer was going to be fun.
"By the way, Ethen, that watch looks awesome. Where'd you buy it?" Ben asked eagerly.
Ethen smirked.
"Found it. Maybe you'll find one too."
"Yeah, right," Ben scoffed, unconvinced.
As night fell, Grandpa Max's rusty old RV rolled to a stop at a forest campsite.
Ben wandered off for a stroll — just like in the original story.
And at that moment, the gears of fate began to turn.