"Ben, come with us. It's dangerous here!"
Gwen grabbed Ben's arm, panic written all over her face.
Ben was completely baffled. He shook her off at once. "Hey, nerd, I'm still gaming here. Go bother someone else."
Then he went right back to playing.
"Sumo Slammers! Haha, this is awesome!"
On the screen, Ishiyama Yokai had just hoisted a wrestler up and slammed him hard into the ground with a Tombstone Piledriver.
"Ben, come with us now!" Lucian grabbed Ben and tried to pull him away.
Suddenly, the Rustbucket opened, and three figures rushed out.
They were Grandpa Max, Lucian, and Gwen.
The moment they saw the three people beside Ben, their expressions changed. They instantly turned vicious and charged forward, tackling the other three to the ground.
The six of them rolled all over the grass, grappling and brawling like mad.
The huge commotion finally caught Ben's attention.
He turned around, saw the three identical pairs of people, and went pale with shock.
"Okay, somebody explain this clearly. What the heck is going on?"
"Ben, they're fake! Impostors!"
"Ben, I'm the real one!"
"He's not!! I'm the real one!"
"Ben, you have to believe us!"
Both sides insisted they were the real ones, and Ben's head was starting to spin.
One of the Lucians chose to transform.
Boom.
"Humungousaur!"
The other Lucian transformed too.
"Evolved Human!"
Tall and imposing, with snow-white skin and two pairs of flame-like wings on his back, he had four eye-like markings carved across his chest. A large purple patch covered his abdomen, laced with red patterns.
Evolved Human's head was purple, studded with numerous green eyes. Sharp spikes ringed his head, making him look like a Venus flytrap.
The Omnitrix sat in the center of his chest.
Most notably, Evolved Human's arms were absurdly long, hanging all the way down to his calves.
His limbs were lean, yet packed with explosive power.
His hands and feet were black as ink, tipped with razor-sharp claws.
Evolved Human possessed even greater strength than Humungousaur, along with incredible flight speed.
Not only that, he could launch ranged attacks by firing off his black claws, which would regenerate on their own.
High intelligence, blazing flight speed, and terrifying close-combat ability.
That overwhelming stat line was exactly why, in the later stages of Ben 10, Evolved Human would be hired by the Cosmic Court as a Cosmic Marshal.
"Roar!"
Humungousaur bellowed and charged straight at Evolved Human with his massive body.
Evolved Human sidestepped Humungousaur's punch and struck back with a single slap, instantly knocking him flat with terrifying force.
"A fake is still a fake!"
Evolved Human hoisted Humungousaur up and hurled him into a nearby house.
Humungousaur's clumsy body smashed the house to pieces. Buried in endless debris, he looked dazed and dizzy, his tongue hanging out.
"My God, which one is the real Cuz?" Ben was completely stunned.
"Obviously me."
Evolved Human grabbed Ben, then took Grandpa and Gwen with him, rushed into the Rustbucket, and sped away.
The other impostors were left behind.
...
The Rustbucket raced across the wide, desolate plain.
"What is going on? Why are there two Grandpas, two Gwens, and two Cuzes?" Ben clawed at his head. He just couldn't make sense of it.
Grandpa Max gripped the steering wheel, his face grim. "They're fake. Impostors. They came here to keep watch on you."
Gwen folded her arms. "It all started when you were ambushed by the Forever Knights..."
Ben looked unimpressed. "Yeah, right. If the Forever Knights had kidnapped me, I'd remember it!"
"Ben, you wouldn't remember, because they put..." Lucian hadn't finished speaking.
"Watch out!"
A black SUV came roaring in from the side at breakneck speed.
At that distance, there was no time to turn away.
Crash.
The speeding SUV was like a black beast. It tore straight through the Rustbucket and split it in two.
Rustbucket wreckage was scattered all over the ground. Thick smoke billowed into the air, carrying a sharp, acrid smell.
After smashing through the Rustbucket, the SUV stopped not far away, and several armed men jumped out.
Leading them was a man with short blond hair, a vicious scar across his cheek, and a black combat uniform.
"Captain Steel?" Ben held his head and barely managed to make out who it was.
"Seal off the area! Move, move, move!"
Captain Steel barked the order.
The armed men raised their rifles and surrounded the Rustbucket at once.
"Captain Steel, what are you doing?" Ben's eyes went wide.
"I'm protecting you."
Captain Steel yanked Ben behind him, then aimed his pistol at Grandpa Max and the others.
"They're not your family. They're Phantom Ghosts. Alien shapeshifters working for Vilgax."
"Vilgax?" Ben was completely dumbstruck.
"I think... you're the Phantom Ghost," Lucian said with a cold laugh, standing where he was. "What proof do you have that we're Phantom Ghosts?"
Just then, a massive warship, wreathed in red matter, appeared overhead and blotted out the sky.
"You may have stopped my underlings, but you cannot stop me!"
The hatch opened, and a crimson streak shot out, slamming heavily into the ground.
A tall figure emerged from the hazy smoke.
A green octopus-like head. Tentacles hanging from the sides of its mouth. A body packed with bulging muscles. And those tiny green eyes radiated murderous intent.
"Vilgax!" Ben cried out in alarm.
"Ben Tennyson, I'm going to kill you!"
Vilgax clenched his iron fists until they cracked, then charged forward with unstoppable force.
Ben immediately hit the Omnitrix and transformed into Four Arms.
"You stinking squid!"
Four Arms kicked off the ground, blasting out a ring of white shockwaves beneath his feet. The earth shattered as he shot straight toward Vilgax.
Boom.
The two clashed like prehistoric monsters, trading blow after blow in a thunderous melee.
Before long, Vilgax lost to Four Arms and was hurled back near the Rustbucket.
Four Arms strode forward, ready to finish him off.
Suddenly, Vilgax pulled out a gun and pointed it at Four Arms.
Countless strands of green energy gathered at the muzzle.
Four Arms stiffened. "The Null Void Projector?"
"Now I'm sending you there, to suffer a fate worse than death. Just like me!"
Vilgax spoke as he moved to pull the trigger.
Four Arms lashed out with a flying kick, knocking Vilgax to the ground. Then he snatched the Null Void Projector out of the air and aimed it at Vilgax.
"See you around, stinking squid."
Four Arms pulled the trigger, firing a green blast.
The green blast shot past Vilgax and instantly expanded into a huge ring of light behind him. The pull was overwhelming, and Vilgax was sucked right in.
"No!!" Vilgax roared in fury.
A moment later, the ring closed.
The area fell quiet again.
Captain Steel stepped forward and said to Four Arms, "All right, Ben. Now send these Phantom Ghosts into the Null Void too, and we can wrap this up."
"Uh..." Four Arms hesitated.
"Ben, don't believe him. They're the impostors!" Grandpa Max shouted.
"Ben, if you keep refusing to listen, Cuz is gonna beat you up." Lucian was already preparing to transform.
"Oh, forget it, Cuz. Ben's just a brainless, blind, stinking idiot!" Gwen snapped angrily. "It never even occurred to him that the real Vilgax would take the Omnitrix first, then throw him into the Null Void."
Hearing that, Four Arms seemed to realize something. He stopped hesitating.
"Your one-way ticket to suffering is here, little Phantom Ghosts!"
Four Arms activated the Null Void Projector, and a golden ring instantly opened behind several of the soldiers.
Caught completely off guard, the soldiers were sucked straight in.
Grandpa Max and the others were about to get pulled in too, but Four Arms shut the ring in time.
"I knew I was right about you, Ben." The corner of Lucian's mouth lifted slightly.
Ever since Gwen had chewed Ben out, a subtle shift had appeared in Ben's expression, and Lucian caught it immediately.
Because only the real Gwen would call Ben an idiot.
"What are you doing?" Captain Steel glared furiously at Four Arms.
Four Arms grabbed Captain Steel. "She was right. You're all fake! You were playing me!"
Captain Steel let out a cold laugh, and his face began to blur.
The next second, he turned into Enoch.
A golden mask. Black armor covering his entire body. Hollow eyes that sent a chill down the spine.
"You really are... far too clever..."