"I have no idea what you're talking about."
Ben, still gripping his controller, kept playing his game as if nothing had happened.
"Oh, sure. Just like you didn't leave empty soda bottles in the fridge, didn't clog the toilet, and definitely didn't sneak out at midnight to steal my secret stash of chocolate bars. You never do anything wrong, right?"
Gwen's chest heaved as all her pent-up frustration came pouring out at once.
"Game Over!"
Crimson letters flashed across the screen, declaring his defeat.
"What are you even talking about, Miss Know-It-All?!" Ben slammed the controller down, clearly irritated. "I went to the bathroom and came straight back! I didn't go anywhere else!"
"Ben, didn't you say you were coming back to find us?" Lucian asked, frowning slightly.
"Well... that was the plan," Ben said, scratching his head with a guilty look. "But on my way back, I found a game cartridge lying on the ground. When I saw it was Sumo Slammers 2.1, I couldn't wait to try it out. Then... I kind of forgot to come back for you guys."
Gwen clearly wasn't buying it. She leaned forward, narrowing her eyes suspiciously at her clueless cousin.
"Don't try to lie your way out of this. Other than Lucian, you're the only one around who can turn into Four Arms—and you just happen to be obsessed with game cartridges. No matter how you look at it, you're the biggest suspect." Gwen's calm deduction made her look like a modern-day Sherlock Holmes.
"What Four Arms? I have no idea what you're talking about!" Ben looked completely confused. "Hey, nerd, stop being so paranoid, okay?"
"As this century's greatest hero, what's wrong with relaxing and playing games once in a while? Even if you're jealous that I've got the Omnitrix, you don't have to make up some lame story to frame me!"
"Jealous? You doofus, I'm trying to help you!" Gwen snapped through gritted teeth. "Lieutenant Steel's already targeting Four Arms. If you don't get your act together, next time you might end up roasted like an alien barbecue!"
"Gwen's right." Grandpa Max stepped in, his expression stern. "Ben, you really went too far today. Not only did you injure San Francisco law enforcement, but you also fought your cousin. I think it's time we cut down your game time."
Ben blinked in disbelief, completely lost.
Injured law enforcement? Fought his cousin?
What was going on? All he'd done was play a game, and now he was being accused of all this?
Just then, the screen at the front of the Rustbucket lit up.
"Breaking news: Thirty minutes ago, a suspected alien creature appeared on 24th Street in San Francisco. It caused major chaos at a game sales booth, injuring multiple security officers in the process. Its behavior was described as extremely violent!"
On-screen, a massive Four Arms lifted a kiosk over his head, swinging it wildly before hurling it aside. He then charged forward, battling waves of blue-uniformed guards.
In the corner, a young female reporter held a microphone, explaining the events with a professional smile.
"Oh my god... no way," Ben muttered, frozen in place, staring at the broadcast in disbelief.
The footage shifted again, showing the same Four Arms clashing with Swampfire, followed by the arrival of Lieutenant Steel.
"Got nothing to say now, huh?" Gwen crossed her arms, shooting Ben a sharp look.
"That's not me!" Ben shot back immediately, both furious and stunned.
The creature on the screen looked exactly like Four Arms. Was it an enemy? A copy? What was its goal?
"So what, it's another alien monster?" Gwen said sarcastically, half mocking but half giving him an excuse.
"It's not impossible," Ben said with a shrug. "Remember Tetrax? He and Diamondhead are the same species. The aliens in the Omnitrix all exist out there somewhere."
"Hmm, that does make sense," Grandpa nodded thoughtfully, then added, "But I don't think it's that simple. Something about this feels off."
Watching the destructive Four Arms on the screen, Ben clenched his fists, anger flashing in his eyes.
"No one gets to ruin my aliens' reputation—except me!"
With that, he threw open the Rustbucket's door and sprinted toward the scene, determined to hunt down the impostor and clear his name.
…
San Francisco, 24th Street.
The ground was a wreck—cracked, scorched, and riddled with bullet holes. Several nearby houses had been obliterated by some overwhelming force, now lying in heaps of rubble, silent and lifeless.
The recent attack had terrified the locals. People were frantically packing their belongings, stuffing them into car trunks in a panic, desperate to flee before the monsters returned.
Dozens of security officers had already arrived, marking off the area and gathering evidence, searching for any clues that could reveal where the aliens had come from.
Ben stood amid the devastation, crouching to pick up a broken piece of brick. His brow furrowed tightly.
"This doesn't look good," he muttered, an uneasy feeling tightening his chest.
Lucian and the others came up behind him.
Gwen stepped forward, glancing at Ben, who was lost in thought. "You know, criminals usually come back to the scene to admire their handiwork."
"I already said it wasn't me." Ben tossed the brick aside and scanned the area for any other clues.
"Ben, what's your plan?" Grandpa Max asked.
"No clue. I'll figure it out as I go," Ben replied without looking back, eyes still darting across the ruined street.
Grandpa Max sighed quietly, then turned to Lucian. "Lucian, you fought that Four Arms. Did you notice anything unusual?"
Lucian paused, then shook his head. "Not really. I think it might've been Kevin, but last time we saw him, his body was possessed by Ghostfreak. If it really was him, the Four Arms shouldn't have looked so... normal."
People possessed by Ghostfreak usually had purple eyes, with black cracks spreading from the corners—an eerie, unmistakable sight.
But the Four Arms that Swampfire had fought showed none of that. He'd looked completely normal and lacked that dark, sinister aura Ghostfreak always gave off.
"Then this might be even more complicated than we thought…" Grandpa Max murmured, rubbing his chin as he thought.
Ben, meanwhile, paced slowly over the broken road, eyes sharp, determined to find whoever was behind this.
Clang!
A dull metallic sound echoed from a nearby alley.
Ben's head snapped toward the noise, his eyes widening.
In the shadowy alleyway, the towering, beastlike figure of Four Arms stood in plain sight. At his feet was an overturned trash can—the source of the sound.
"There he is!" Ben shouted, immediately sprinting toward the alley.
Four Arms turned sharply and bolted in the opposite direction, moving with astonishing speed.
Hearing Ben's shout, the others rushed after him, charging into the alley all at once.
But when they caught up, only Ben's back was visible. He lifted his Omnitrix replica and slammed it down with force.
Thud!
A flash of emerald light enveloped him for an instant before fading away.
XLR8 lowered his visor and turned his head slightly. "I'll go chase down that loser. You guys catch up."
Before anyone could respond, his feet slid against the ground like oiled steel. In the next second, he was gone—a streak of blue lightning cutting through the city as he raced into pursuit...
...
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