[Ding! Congratulations, Host! Sign-in successful!
Reward: White-tier enhancement — Alien form strength increased by 5%.]
"Continue strengthening Four Arms."
A warm surge flowed through Four Arms' entire body again. His already overwhelming strength subtly increased.
Compared to when he first transformed, he was noticeably stronger now.
If Dr. Animo really upgrades his machine and creates prehistoric monsters…
Four Arms' eyes gleamed.
That might not be such a bad thing.
Stronger enemies meant stronger rewards.
Stronger rewards meant being more prepared to face Vilgax.
"That lunatic is finally gone," Grandpa Max said, wiping sweat from his forehead.
Ben and Gwen slowly stepped out from behind the shelves and approached Four Arms.
This was their first time standing directly in front of one of Aiden's alien forms.
Up close—
He was huge.
And honestly?
A little scary.
Ben's fear quickly turned into excitement.
"He's got four arms…" Ben said, throwing playful punches in the air. "We should call him Four Arms!"
Gwen raised an eyebrow.
Four Arms chuckled. "Four Arms? I like it."
Ben grinned widely. "Yes! I named an alien!"
Gwen crossed her arms thoughtfully. "Do you have any smart aliens? Or are they all giant muscle heads?"
"Maybe," Four Arms replied mysteriously. "You'll see."
At that moment, the supermarket staff slowly emerged from hiding.
The manager, dressed in a suit, walked forward gratefully.
"Thank you," he said sincerely. "If it weren't for you, the damage would've been far worse."
Four Arms shrugged casually. "Just doing what needed to be done."
"If there's anything you need, please tell us. We'd like to repay you."
Four Arms instinctively started to refuse—
But his eyes landed on a display of Sumo chips.
He paused.
Then he raised one finger, pointed at the chips—
—and then at Ben.
"I have one small request," Four Arms said. "Could you give that kid a Sumo gold card?"
Ben froze.
"…Huh?"
The manager smiled immediately. "Of course."
Within minutes, a staff member returned from the back office holding a shiny Sumo gold card.
They handed it directly to Ben.
Ben stared at it like it was the greatest treasure in the world.
Meanwhile, the Omnitrix symbol on Four Arms' chest began flashing.
Beep. Beep.
"Uh oh."
He quickly stepped behind a nearby wall—
Flash!
Green light faded.
Aiden walked back out, adjusting his sleeve as if nothing had happened.
Ben rushed up to him, clutching the gold card tightly.
"Thank you, Aiden!" he said earnestly. "This is the best gift I've ever gotten!"
Aiden smiled warmly. "That's what friends do."
Ben slung an arm over Aiden's shoulder.
"Yeah. We're good friends."
Aiden's expression softened.
Sorry, Ben, he thought quietly. For taking the Omnitrix in this timeline. Let this make up for it.
Nearby, the manager and staff looked confused.
"Where did that big alien go?" one of them whispered.
Grandpa Max cleared his throat and shifted attention back to their cart.
"The registers are destroyed," he said awkwardly. "How are we supposed to pay?"
The manager waved his hand generously.
"You helped stop that madman earlier. Your groceries are on the house."
Ben and Gwen cheered in unison.
"Yes!"
Grandpa Max hesitated. "Are you sure?"
"No problem at all."
Just then, Gwen grabbed a large bag of parrot feed from a nearby shelf.
"That too," she added innocently.
The manager blinked—then nodded. "That's fine."
Aiden leaned closer. "Gwen, what do you need parrot feed for?"
She winked mysteriously. "You'll see."
Twenty minutes later, they finished loading everything into the Rustbucket.
Grandpa Max sat in the driver's seat and fastened his seatbelt.
Aiden and Gwen exchanged a knowing glance.
They could tell.
Grandpa wasn't done yet.
"We can't let Dr. Animo keep creating dangerous mutants," Max said seriously. "We need to track him down."
"But we don't know where he went," Aiden replied, looking out the window.
Ben suddenly snapped his fingers.
"He said something about prehistoric creatures! Remember? He threatened to bring ancient monsters to fight you!"
"Prehistoric…" Aiden murmured.
His eyes sharpened.
"Does anyone have a laptop?" he asked quickly. "I need to see a map of the city."
If Animo wanted prehistoric DNA—
There were only a few places he'd go.
And Aiden intended to be there first.