The day quickly passed without incident. After eating and conversing with Winston, Ben decided that the man was someone he could certainly trust in the future. With little else to occupy his time, he eventually chose to return to his room.
It wasn't long before night fell. After eating dinner and making sure Winston had retired for the night, Ben entered his room, locked the door, and exhaled in relief.
Ben approached the window, finally unable to contain his excitement at the thought of trying out his transformations. He'd spent the entire day wondering what each form would feel like. He already knew how addictive Grey Matter's intelligence could be.
He couldn't help but wonder what his other transformations would feel like. Four Arms' strength. Ghostfreak's eerie abilities.
The thought of trying out his current transformations, not to mention the ones he had yet to unlock, made his heart race. A grin slowly spread across his face as anticipation took hold.
He raised his left wrist and focused his thoughts, or, to be more precise, imagined the Omnitrix appearing on his wrist. His earlier practice had proven this to be the most effective method.
A shower of green light coalesced around his wrist, and less than a second later, the Omnitrix rested securely against his wrist, now sporting its 'Alien Force' color scheme. Another function he'd discovered earlier was that he could freely manipulate the Omnitrix's appearance.
He reached for the dial himself, unwilling to simply will the transformation this time. That particular function would probably require more time to fully understand.
He spun the dial, cycling through the available forms before finally settling on Ghostfreak's ghostly silhouette. Without hesitation, he slammed the dial down.
A flash of green light burst forth.
"Ghostfreak~~~" Ben couldn't help himself. He immediately winced internally. "Good thing I'm the only one here," he muttered, glancing around just to be sure.
Finally, he took a moment to feel the changes brought about by the transformation. He was tall and unnaturally thin, with an almost skeletal build covered in pale, grayish-white skin and dark markings.
"This feels strange."
Ben couldn't quite describe the way the form felt. He clenched his fist, focusing on the sensation and trying to grasp it properly. After a few seconds, his silhouette suddenly faded from sight.
The use of his abilities came naturally. After taking a moment to settle into the transformation, he moved toward the window. After a brief moment of hesitation, he stepped forward, his body passing through the glass seamlessly.
Ben shot off in a random direction, quickly leaving the confines of the estate behind. There were no other buildings for miles, with his closest neighbors living more than fifteen miles away.
That meant there was nothing but trees and dense forest where he could safely test his transformations. Even so, that didn't mean he would throw caution to the wind.
After finding a suitable location, Ben, still invisible, glanced around the clearing. His caution held him back from immediately going through with his plan.
He reached for the Omnitrix on his chest and tapped it with a finger. His silhouette flashed green, and where Ghostfreak had stood now stood a lean, aerodynamic body, with feet designed for traction and acceleration and a long tail for balance.
"XLR8…" Ben muttered silently.
For the first few seconds, Ben stood perfectly still, simply taking in the sensation of the transformation. XLR8's form felt exactly as he had imagined.
His body felt light and razor-sharp, every movement seemingly waiting to happen. There was a restless energy coursing through him, as though his entire body had been built for speed which it obviously was.
He lowered himself into a crouch.
"This feels…"
Before he could finish, his body shot forward.
"Whoa!" Ben barely had any time to register what was happening before the clearing blurred around him. In the brief moment of panic, he was already hurtling toward a tree.
Ben's attention sharpened instantly. The world hadn't suddenly slowed down, but his mind seemed to operate without any lag. Thoughts formed almost as soon as he had them, and his body responded just as quickly. He thought left, and his body was already moving before the decision had fully formed.
He approached the tree ahead. His body had already calculated the route around it.
A low branch came into view, and his foot adjusted its angle before he consciously registered the need to move.
Another obstacle appeared in his path, and his body changed direction before he had even finished deciding what to do.
It was as if XLR8's body was constantly anticipating his intentions, turning thoughts into movement almost instantaneously.
Ben barely had time to marvel at it before another tree appeared ahead. His body twisted instinctively in the space of a thought.
He slipped between two trunks with barely an inch to spare, his feet adjusting their angle against the ground as he accelerated.
The forest became a blur of brown and green, but somehow, he could still distinguish everything around him.
It wasn't that XLR8 had slowed the world down.
Instead, his perception and reactions had accelerated to match his speed, though he somehow could tell that would change the faster he went.
He spent the first few minutes adapting to the sensation of moving and reacting in the same microsecond.
His body seemed to understand exactly how to move, when to turn, how much force to apply, and where to place his feet without requiring conscious thought.
Ben's grin widened beneath XLR8's mask.
"This is incredible."
After letting the excitement settle, Ben finally decided to do what he had come here for. He ran a thorough check of the surrounding area, carefully scanning the perimeter to ensure there was no one nearby and, more importantly, no chance of his identity being discovered.
Once he was satisfied that the area was clear, he returned to the clearing. The visor covering his face rose smoothly, revealing his sharp grin.
"Alright. One down, more to go."
Ben tapped the Omnitrix.
Green light flashed.
XLR8 vanished, replaced by a much bulkier form. Four powerful arms emerged from a massive red body, each muscle seeming to carry enough strength to tear through steel.
Ben looked down at himself.
"Four Arms."
He flexed all four hands.
The sheer power packed into the transformation was immediately apparent. Unlike XLR8, whose body seemed almost weightless, Four Arms felt dense. Heavy.
Every movement carried tremendous force, even when he wasn't trying.
Ben glanced toward a nearby tree.
A mischievous grin appeared on his face.
"Let's see how strong you really are."
He walked toward the tree and placed one hand against its trunk. His fingers sank into the wood as though it were nothing more than butter.
He tightened his grip and pulled upward. The roots groaned and strained against the earth for several seconds, resisting the force with surprising stubbornness. But as Ben steadily increased his strength, their resistance quickly gave way.