Florida.
The sky was dim and overcast, bleak and lonely.
The dense swamp forest was veiled in mist, thick with the stench of swamp gas. Everything looked gray and murky, as though hidden beneath some unknown fog.
From time to time, an armored-looking back slipped through the muddy swamp, like an innocent piece of driftwood drifting along the water.
The bushes by the swamp rustled softly, as if something were about to dart out.
The calls of insects and birds echoed nonstop through the desolate forest.
A tall old RV was parked not far from the swamp.
The moment Gwen stepped out of the vehicle, she frowned and covered her nose and mouth. "Grandpa, are you sure this is the place?"
She looked around, but there was nothing except filthy swamp water and endless trees.
And the swamp gas hanging in the air was almost too much for Gwen to bear.
Grandpa Max stretched lazily. "Relax, Gwen. We didn't come to the wrong place. By tomorrow, this whole area will be packed with tourists for the Crocodile Fair."
Lucian stood nearby and gave a faint nod.
The annual Crocodile Fair was about to be held in this swampy forest. During that time, huge numbers of tourists would gather here, along with plenty of merchants eager to cash in.
Those tourists came for one reason only: to see the fierce swamp crocodiles.
At that moment, Ben quietly slipped behind the Rustbucket.
"Heh, let's see what other aliens are waiting for me to unlock..."
With his tongue sticking out in concentration, Ben held a screwdriver and kept prying at the Omnitrix casing.
A sudden idea had popped into his head. Since Cuz's Omnitrix had accidentally unlocked so many aliens, then surely he could do it too.
Like Big Chill, Swampfire, Sandbox...
The more he thought about it, the more excited he got. Ben immediately got to work, using all his strength to pry at the Omnitrix, determined to dig out a few new aliens.
"Ben!"
A familiar voice suddenly came from behind him.
Ben's body stiffened. He slowly turned around, hands behind his back, looking a little guilty. "Uh, hehe... Gwen, it's late. Why aren't you asleep yet?"
"Hey, doofus, what were you just doing? Don't tell me you were messing with that little watch again?" Gwen looked him up and down suspiciously.
"I wasn't! Don't go making stuff up!" Ben flatly denied it, then argued, "Hey, Miss Know-It-All, did your brain get soaked broken by seawater last time or something? You're actually accusing a great hero like me?"
Gwen was just about to blow up at that.
"All right, Ben, stop it. Both of you." Grandpa Max walked over, frowning slightly. "Lucian's already back in the RV resting. You two should get to bed too. Don't keep arguing all the time and disturb other people trying to sleep."
"And Ben, no messing around with the Omnitrix. Who knows what kind of consequences that could cause. Understood?"
Ben stuck out his tongue. "Got it, Grandpa..."
But as soon as Gwen and Grandpa Max went back inside, Ben pulled out the screwdriver again and resumed his "excavation" for the alien he wanted.
Clang!
The Omnitrix casing suddenly popped off and flew into the nearby bushes, glowing with a faint green light.
Ben cried out in alarm and stared wide-eyed at the Omnitrix on his wrist.
With the casing gone, the black-and-green inner mechanism was exposed, flickering violently and looking extremely unstable.
Boom!
A blinding green flash suddenly erupted from the Omnitrix's core.
Centered on Ben's replica Omnitrix, an electromagnetic pulse spread across a two-kilometer radius like a green ring, sweeping in every direction.
The intense electromagnetic pulse went straight through the Rustbucket and struck Lucian's Omnitrix Calibration Edition.
A faint electric current shot through Lucian's wrist at once.
Lucian jolted awake. A sharp pain ran through his arm, and he immediately looked down.
His Omnitrix Calibration Edition had automatically popped up an alien hologram, and it was switching wildly from one form to another.
The green hologram flickered and warped like a TV with a bad signal.
"What the hell is going on?"
Lucian froze, instantly wide awake.
But soon, the Omnitrix Calibration Edition returned to normal and stopped ejecting the hologram on its own.
Lucian tried pressing the Omnitrix.
Beep, beep!
The Omnitrix Calibration Edition projected a stable green hologram of an alien.
Only then did Lucian let out a sigh of relief and lie back down to sleep.
Outside the RV, Ben snapped out of his panic, hurried over to the bushes, and retrieved the Omnitrix casing.
Then he carefully opened the door and slipped back inside like a slick little eel.
...
Early the next morning.
The morning sunlight was soft and warm, like a sheet of golden gauze draped across the swamp forest.
Not far from the Rustbucket, the Crocodile Fair had officially opened.
The swamp shore was lined with stalls of all sizes, selling barbecue, drinks, crocodile exhibits, and just about everything else imaginable.
The place was packed wall to wall with people, noisy and bustling.
One by one, everyone woke up, washed up quickly, stepped out of the Rustbucket, and joined the crowd at the Crocodile Fair.
Ben trailed at the very back, spat out the gum in his mouth, and stretched it into a long strand.
Then he stuck the Omnitrix casing back onto the core, making it look perfectly seamless.
The bustling fair was full of shouting vendors, and all kinds of delicious smells filled the air.
Stinky tofu, barbecue, spicy hot pot... wave after wave of tempting aromas tugged at everyone's appetite like a hook.
"Wow, that smells amazing! Grandpa, I want barbecue!" Ben said, taking a huge sniff.
Grandpa Max smiled kindly. "Ben, we'll come back and eat later. Let's go look at the baby crocodiles first. I just heard someone say they're about to hatch."
"Okay." Ben nodded.
Grandpa Max paused, surprised.
Since when had Ben gotten this obedient?
Usually, when Ben acted like this, it meant one of two things: either he'd done something he shouldn't have, or he'd broken something.
With that in mind, Grandpa Max raised an eyebrow and stared straight into Ben's eyes. "Ben, are you hiding something from me?"
Ben's whole body tensed. His throat tightened, and his eyes darted around. "N-no! Grandpa, let's go see the crocodiles already! If we're late, we'll miss it!"
As he spoke, Ben grabbed Grandpa Max and ran off without another word.
"This idiot! Wait for me!" Gwen shouted.
Lucian could only shake his head helplessly before following after them.
...
Before long, the group arrived at the crocodiles' nest.
On an open patch of muddy ground by the swamp, three snow-white crocodile eggs sat side by side.
Crack... crack...