Like a gust of wind, Benjamin, transformed into XLR8, departed.
Gwen, left alone, began to ponder the ins and outs of the situation.
In her memory, after she put on the Tian Xiao Min version of the Omnitrix she bought online, she seemed to have heard something, and then lost consciousness.
When she woke up, she heard Alfred planning to send her to the Gotham Orphanage, and at the same time, she also met her nominal father, Thomas Wayne.
According to Ben's personality in the original work, what he should have been thinking at the time was not to kill himself and let himself be reborn as Gwen, but rather to try to awaken his past life memories from before he transmigrated through the Omnitrix, allowing Tian Xiao Min to be resurrected in another form.
It was similar to some transmigrators who were reborn as infants, who regained their past memories after encountering some change.
It was just that her past life was Tian Xiao Min, and after regaining her memories, her appearance also began to change in the direction of the other person.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have this feeling of being a mixed-race beauty now.
Although, it must be said, if she didn't mention it, probably no one would think of her as mixed-race.
However, something went wrong, and not only did it fail to awaken Gwen, but it also caused her to transmigrate to DC, redeveloping in the form of an infant.
And the most crucial thing in all of this was that she didn't have Tian Xiao Min's memories.
This led to the fact that even though Benjamin told her that she was Tian Xiao Min, Gwen herself felt no reality to it whatsoever.
Even after replaying everything currently happening in her mind, Gwen felt there were no problems with the setting, but she still had no sense of reality.
Just then, a faint sound came from the laboratory door; the turning of the metal lock was exceptionally clear in the silence.
Gwen was stunned, somewhat surprised.
This Ben Tennyson, how efficient! Did he really come back so quickly?
She thought Benjamin had returned, but unexpectedly, an old and kind voice slowly sounded: "Ben, are you there?"
Hearing this voice, Gwen suddenly remembered something and couldn't help but complain about the guy who ran out after answering the phone, letting out a soft sigh: "He just left."
The person outside the door seemed to pause for a moment, and then, his tone filled with surprise: "Gwen?!"
Before Gwen could respond, footsteps had already approached from afar, and the person came looking for her, following the direction of the sound.
Soon, the laboratory door was pushed open, and a sturdy old man wearing a Hawaiian shirt appeared at the doorway.
He was tall, his arms covered in strong muscles, and years had left deep wrinkles on his face, but they could not hide the vigor in his eyes.
When the old man's gaze fell on Gwen on the restraint bed, his entire body instantly froze, his face filled with shock.
He staggered forward a few steps, his voice trembling slightly: "Is it really you? Gwen."
Gwen looked at the old man's excited appearance, a hint of unbearable feeling rising in her heart, but she still sighed again, her expression serious and firm: "Mr. Mark, I'm sorry, I am not the Gwen you know."
Grandpa Max, his original name should be Maxwell Max Tennyson or Mark... Ugh, never mind.
She didn't know if there was really a Tian Xiao Min at work within her, or if her education simply taught her to respect elders and heroes who protected others, but her attitude towards Grandpa Max could definitely be described as respectful.
After all, in the original work, without Grandpa Max, this legendary Plumbers, guiding Ben Tennyson's timeline, situations were more or less bad.
For example, in Quadrant 23, although Ben 23 did not go bad, it was because there were hardly any villains in the entire Universe of Ben 23.
In that situation, the worst thing Ben 23 could do was probably sleep in class, and he probably wouldn't even dare to steal a Sumo Slammer.
And as for Mad Ben, without Grandpa Max's teaching, he was completely a warlord leader.
Facts prove that a person's childhood guidance is still very important.
At least it won't let a hero easily go astray.
Thinking of this, Gwen became a little unsettled.
Speaking of heroes who could easily go astray, there was still one in her own family.
No, three.
If her little Brucey couldn't find her, and thought she had also died, would she completely blacken or something?
When she returned, she didn't want her originally sweet and soft little Brucey to be clutching her neck, not for kinky play, but to interrogate her about where she had been all these years!
And were her brothers and sisters from the Tiangong Society making enough money?
Yan Za and Xiao Qian, don't let them have already divided up the luggage by then.
Meanwhile, Grandpa Max finally reacted.
After a while, he seemed to have thought of something and asked gently, "So Ben's plan succeeded?"
"Probably." Gwen pouted helplessly, "But speaking of which, he received a call and left before he finished speaking, so I still don't know what exactly the plan you mentioned is. Would you mind explaining it?"
Grandpa Max nodded, walked to the restraint bed, and skillfully unlocked the metal shackles binding Gwen.
As her hands and feet were freed, Gwen stretched her numb limbs and stood up from the bed.
"Ben, he…" Grandpa Max pulled a chair over and sat down, his brows tightly furrowed, "made a special Omnitrix himself. As long as it's worn by someone with Gwen's soul characteristics, it can revive Gwen's Anodite part, bringing her back to the way we know her."
"But he must have been a bit too hasty. According to a more mystical explanation, there was a problem with the World where Gwen was reincarnated, and the chaotic energy led to an accident in this Anodite awakening."
"Just as Gwen's reincarnation was about to die, Azmuth activated the self-protection function of that broken watch Ben made, transmitting it to an unknown Universe. Ben, who was present at the time, didn't know if it was another Universe or a parallel quadrant of that World, and he was in limbo until he contacted me."
Gwen rubbed her numb wrists while looking down and straightening her wrinkled clothes, shaking her head with a bitter smile: "It seems I'm that unlucky person."
"Ben has been trying everything to find you these days." Mark quickly defended his grandson, and then pointed to the watch on the table, "And that watch."
Gwen looked at the watch, picked it up, and prepared to check the control panel.
The result, as expected, was that like a wife in a gay film, there was no reaction at all.
After confirming that this broken watch was currently worse than even a digital watch to her, she deflated and placed it back on the table.
Grandpa Max had been closely watching Gwen's every move, and looking at her familiar face, he couldn't help but murmur, "It seems it wasn't a complete success."
But Mark didn't expect Gwen to hear this.
"It's not just that it wasn't a success, it was a complete failure." Gwen crossed her arms, "I was perfectly fine in my own World, and he inexplicably dragged me back by force. I don't have a single memory of Tian Xiao Min. To me, it's like suddenly being pulled into another Universe by a stranger."
A hint of embarrassment flashed across Grandpa Max's face. He scratched his head, his old face full of apology: "Gwen's matter has been a thorn in Ben's heart, and it also left a lot of shadow in mine. The child acted impulsively; I hope you won't take it to heart."
His voice was a little hoarse, and his eyes were full of guilt.
"Please don't say that." Seeing Grandpa Max about to bow and apologize to her, Gwen was startled and quickly went to support the old man.
She dared not accept this bow; it would shorten her life.
"But I really have to go back quickly, otherwise my sister's psychological trauma will be even greater."
"Sister?" Grandpa Max was stunned, his face full of surprise.
Gwen nodded solemnly: "Yes, I also have a sister. She's only eight years old and just lost her parents. If I can't go back, how scared and helpless will she be…"
Although she concealed the fact that her parents were not dead, if she didn't go back soon, the child would be running up to a high platform during a thunderstorm, shouting that she was the Dark Avenger Batman.