"The amount of black tech in this Iron Man suit is insane!"
In another abandoned factory on the outskirts of New York City, Ben, transformed into Greymatter, had practically unscrewed every bolt of the armor.
Laid out before him were various circuit boards, and within Greymatter's large, intelligent pupils, he could decipher about seventy to eighty percent of how they functioned.
"The neural interface unit in the helmet connects directly to the wearer's armor, allowing for more intuitive control."
There was no way Tony Stark could move such a heavy suit relying on his own physical strength alone. But inputting every minor movement to J.A.R.V.I.S. would be far too cumbersome. Not to mention, suits like War Machine weren't even equipped with an AI like J.A.R.V.I.S., yet they could still operate.
"Still some parts I don't fully understand... my physics knowledge is lacking," Ben sighed, hopping down from the dismantled armor.
The knowledge was all in his head, but his brain was like a storage drive—it held the information but hadn't yet learned to apply it fully. With his Greymatter transformation time not yet over, he decided to do some more reading.
After about another half hour, Ben finally felt the Omnitrix disable its safe mode.
He pressed the button. The core popped up and spun, the dial stopping on a bulky, wide-bodied silhouette. Ben slammed the core down. Black skin began to cover him, green circuit-like patterns etching themselves across his body!
"Upgrade!"
The Galvanic Mechamorph was a sentient silicon-based life form created by Azmuth on Galvan B, the moon of Galvan Prime. Their life form resembled a shapeshifting amoeba, capable of merging with and controlling mechanical objects, even adding new functions to them, achieving modifications that defied conventional logic.
Right now, Ben intended to use Upgrade to try and get this powerless suit of armor moving again.
Upgrade stood over two meters tall. They typically maintained a bear-like upright posture, but could also liquefy their body into a fluid state.
"This feels... really weird," Ben muttered to himself, the circular pattern on his head flashing as he spoke.
"Alright, let's see just how much Upgrade can enhance the Mark III." Ben placed his large, molten hand on the armor's chest, where the core should be. In the next instant, his body seemed to melt into a liquid state, his black and green form spreading over the armor like sentient tar.
In almost a single moment, the original red-and-gold armor was recast in a black base, covered in pulsating green circuitry.
Simultaneously, the Omnitrix symbol filled the empty space where the Arc Reactor should be. More importantly, at this moment, Ben felt as if the suit had come to life—or rather, he was the suit!
He attempted to stand up from the ground, the movement accompanied by the sound of shifting metal and mechanics.
"I've merged with the armor!" Ben looked down at his hands in awe.
It was different from just being Upgrade. After possessing the armor, it was like he gained all its auxiliary functions. His whole body felt immensely more durable.
He tested basic movements like jumping and found it felt almost no different from using his own body.
The armor possessed by Upgrade didn't change much in its basic shape, but if Ben willed it, he could make it completely different!
For instance, he could transform the entire arm of the suit into a thruster or an energy cannon emitter. It was almost like instantly upgrading the Mark III to the nanotech level seen during the Infinity War.
Of course, this didn't mean the armor truly possessed nanotechnology; it was simply a manifestation of the Mechamorph's inherent life characteristics.
"Let's test the weapon systems." He struck a ready pose. In the next moment, weapon systems on the arms, shoulders—every hardpoint—deployed simultaneously, rows of miniature missiles sliding neatly into place!
"These munitions were originally limited consumables. But now, Upgrade's properties allow them to replicate infinitely."
"I'm like a walking armory!" Ben grew more and more excited. If he weren't worried about being detected, he'd have blasted through the factory roof for a test flight.
After about half an hour of merged fun with the suit, the Omnitrix started flashing red, a sharp alarm echoing through the factory.
Ben was forcibly separated from the armor, reverting to his human form. At the same time, the suit, which moments before had moved like a living being, collapsed into a heap of disconnected parts like a tower of blocks missing its keystone.
Looking at the components scattered across the floor, Ben dusted himself off. "Too bad. Once Upgrade separates from a possessed object, all modifications to it are completely undone."
This meant it was practically impossible for Ben to use Upgrade to possess the Iron Man armor for combat. He couldn't very well carry this pile of heavy, bulky parts everywhere. It was inconvenient and ran the high risk of the real owner, Tony, discovering it.
"If only Upgrade was like Malware, able to consume technological creations."
Malware was a Galvanic Mechamorph with a genetic defect. Visually, Malware's body patterns and core were red, as if perpetually on the uncontrollable edge of a rampage, like a program corrupted by a virus.
But Malware's abilities far surpassed Upgrade's. It could consume technology, integrate it into its own body, and replicate and upgrade it infinitely. It had even managed to replicate the Omnitrix core itself.
If Ben were Malware, he could simply "consume" the Mark III and then transform into the Iron Man armor anytime, anywhere.
"Never mind. I don't want the Omnitrix getting corrupted."
For the rest of the day, Ben cycled through waiting for the Omnitrix to recharge and testing other alien forms, continuing until the sky began to darken...
——
Night in New York was not safe.
Walking the streets alone after dark, getting mugged was practically a routine occurrence.
It was especially difficult when someone had to traverse twelve blocks after getting off work at 9 PM to catch a near-empty subway train.
May Parker shivered in the cold wind.
Years of constant toil had left her looking somewhat frail, her graying hair hanging dry and limp.
She peered anxiously down the street, every passing shadow making her nervous.
Her nephew had promised to meet her after school today, but she had been standing in the cold for hours with no sign of Peter.
She could have left earlier, but she was afraid Peter was just running late. If she left, he might miss her.
But now...
"Could something have happened to Peter?"
The long wait was deeply worrying. Peter was never like this; he wouldn't leave her waiting alone for so long. Furthermore, he probably hadn't gone home either, because if he had, he would have realized he'd forgotten his Aunt May.
The longer she waited, the more May worried.
If Peter had simply forgotten about her for a moment, that was one thing. What she truly feared was that he might be in trouble.
Right now, she desperately wanted to get home to confirm whether her nephew was safe.
But just as she prepared to leave, a dark figure suddenly rushed out from the end of the street.
May instinctively tightened her grip on her purse.
/-\
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