Only then did the group get a clear look at the blue figure.
She wore an azure robe and a face veil, revealing only a pair of beautiful emerald eyes. Tall and curvy, she was clearly a woman.
One detail stood out. At her waist was a cat-head emblem that looked strangely familiar.
It looked like... the cat emblem on Gwen's chest.
"Hello, I am..." the woman began in a lovely voice, but before she could finish, a thunderous explosion erupted nearby.
A terrifying force instantly tore Ben's statue apart. It collapsed piece by piece like a melting glacier, crashing down toward the group with overwhelming force.
Everyone's hearts clenched, and their pupils shrank.
"Move." Red Fox Princess scooped up the panicked Gwen, her figure flickering back and forth before vanishing from the statue's range in a heartbeat.
The mysterious woman murmured a spell under her breath, rose into the air again, and raced after Red Fox Princess.
"That's seriously lame. There's no way an attack like that could hurt me."
XLR8 stood there with his arms folded, completely calm.
Only when the falling statue was about to crush him did he blur and disappear from the spot.
Rumble!
The sound of collapsing stone and cracking ground echoed from every direction.
Dust billowed into the sky, and sand and debris flew everywhere.
For a moment, everything was swallowed by a choking cloud, like the middle of a sandstorm, enough to make anyone's heart pound.
Residents all around them screamed and ran in every direction like ants splashed with boiling water, and more than a few people got trampled in the chaos.
"Sandbox!"
A strong, confident voice rang out.
Along with a flash of green light, a humanoid figure descended from the sky.
Its entire body was made of yellow sand, with wisps of dust swirling around it. Several green eyes were set into its head, and two tentacles extended from its sides. It had no legs, only a mass of constantly shifting sand.
In the middle of its neck was a green box marked with the Omnitrix symbol.
An anti-gravity device.
"Take it in!"
The moment Sandbox spoke, his body spun rapidly, turning into a swirling sand vortex like a black hole suspended in space, devouring the surrounding rocks and debris, crushing and absorbing them.
In just a few seconds, every last flying stone had been swallowed up.
Whoosh!
A towering Desert Angel quickly took shape, holding a cross-shaped sword and riding a Western dragon. Majestic and imposing, it soared through the air and looked down coldly at the scene below.
On the ruined ground below, a red mechanical rhinoceros came stomping forward. Its steps were so heavy that the ground trembled with each one.
The red rhino had a sharp horn on its head, the tip chipped open, with faint arcs of electricity flickering around it.
"Looks like Dr. Animo escaped again," Desert Angel said coldly.
"Ben 10000. Die!"
The mechanical rhino slammed its foot down. Its horn crackled as it frantically gathered energy, then fired a thick crimson beam.
The scorching blast surged upward with unstoppable force, shooting straight at Desert Angel and the desert Western dragon in the sky.
Desert Angel snorted and thrust out the cross-sword in his hand.
A torrent of violent sand poured forth like a broken dam, swallowing the crimson laser whole and erasing it completely.
And that scene was witnessed by the group as they arrived.
"That's... Sandbox?" Red Fox Princess said in surprise.
Looks like Ben-ge had already arrived.
And the Sandbox he had transformed into seemed even stronger than hers.
"Whoa! I'm insanely cool! Is that future me?" XLR8 was beside himself with excitement. He was already imagining the future and could not wait to grow up.
"That guy looks absolutely killer," Gwen said blankly, staring at Desert Angel in the distance.
"Roar!"
The mechanical rhino saw its attack fail and flew into a rage.
It swung its hammer-like tail and launched a blue-green fireball, trying to blast Desert Angel apart.
Desert Angel spat once and extinguished the fireball.
Then he leaped down from the Western dragon's back, wrapped in a storm of sand as he rushed toward the savage mechanical rhino.
"Roar!" The mechanical rhino lowered its hard horn and charged head-on.
But in midair, Desert Angel suddenly lit up with a blue glow and transformed into a blue lizard.
"Whoosh!"
The blue lizard opened its huge mouth and breathed out freezing air, instantly turning the mechanical rhino into an ice sculpture.
Its internal reactor shut down on the spot from the extreme cold, and the mechanical body was finished.
The instant the blue lizard landed, it transformed again.
"Hah!"
Four Arms raised his arms high. His crimson skin bulged with muscle as he smashed down hard on the frozen mechanical rhino.
Boom!
The mechanical rhino exploded on the spot.
Parts and screws flew everywhere, trailing wisps of black smoke, marking the end of the battle.
Four Arms crouched, picked up a piece of metal plating, and examined it carefully. "Just as I thought. Dr. Animo's handiwork."
"You're here." A blue figure landed behind Four Arms.
"Hm?" Four Arms turned his head. "It's you."
"And us too!" XLR8 flashed into place in front of Four Arms.
Red Fox Princess and Gwen followed behind.
"Send them back. Now." Four Arms waved dismissively, clearly not welcoming them.
"Hey, I'm you, Ben Tennyson!" XLR8 said excitedly, rushing up to Four Arms and waving his arms all over the place. "Future me is actually this cool and this strong!"
"When are you gonna teach me how to turn into the other 9,990 heroes?"
"Never. How's that?"
With that, Four Arms transformed into Flying Legs and vanished soundlessly between the skyscrapers like a ghost.
"Oh, man, why does he have to act so smug?" Ben puffed out his cheeks, annoyed.
"He wasn't like this before." The blue-robed woman approached again.
Gwen froze as she stared at the slender figure. "Wait... are you... me? Gwen?"
The woman removed her veil, revealing a beautiful face. Orange hair, green eyes. She looked a lot like Gwen, only older, more mature, and more womanly.
"Cool! You really are me!" Gwen could hardly believe it. It felt like a dream.
"After I went to college, I changed my name to Gwendolyn," Gwendolyn said with a smile.
"Did I get into an Ivy League school in the future? Did I earn my black belt in karate?" Gwen's eyes sparkled as she looked at Gwendolyn expectantly.
"Oh, come on, I'm the main character here, okay?" XLR8 protested.
"Doofus, what's wrong with me asking?" Gwen snapped.
"He's right. Ben is the main character." Gwendolyn looked helpless.
"Then why did you bring me here?"
"Well... I remember Ben wasn't very obedient when he was little." A bitter smile tugged at Gwendolyn's lips. "So I had to bring you. That way, he definitely would have followed."
"So why exactly did you bring us here?" Red Fox Princess stepped forward.
"Hello, Cuz." Gwendolyn smiled, and something complicated flashed in her eyes.
"Hm? What is it?" Lucian asked, puzzled.
"Nothing. It's just that you're a little different from the you in this world." Gwendolyn spread her hands. "Maybe more handsome. Or... more masculine."
Lucian touched his nose awkwardly.
Still, the fact that this world also had a future version of him made him curious. If he got the chance, he definitely wanted to meet him.
"All right, but you still haven't answered Cuz's question," Ben said.
Gwendolyn took a deep breath and slowly began.
"Listen. Ben 10000 has already mastered all the secrets of the Omnitrix, but that doesn't mean he's mentally prepared. There's a hidden crisis he can't solve on his own..."