The gentle sunlight cast a golden film over the exhibits of the modern art museum. Ben leaned against a marble pedestal, flipping through a comic book. "Ugh, the last few days have been a total snore-fest."
"Ben, be grateful. In our world, quiet is a luxury," Tyler said, resting on the grass nearby. For once, they didn't have a "Slaughter Protocol" to worry about or homework to finish. The American summer vacation was long, and for Ben, that meant a boredom so deep it was almost painful.
"I thought adventure followed us everywhere," Ben grinned.
"Shut your mouth, Blockhead!" Gwen scoffed. "Do you want us to be a magnet for trouble?"
WHOOSH!!
As if on cue, a medium-sized starship streaked across the sky, banking hard toward the city center.
CLICK.
The Carnitrix dial hissed and popped up, displaying the silhouette of a multi-armed creature. [TARGET IDENTIFIED: ARACHNO-SIMIAN. CALCULATING PREY-DRIVE.]
"Looks like I'm playing Spider-Man today," Tyler muttered, standing up. "Ben, we've got work!"
"Finally!" Ben jumped up, shoving his comic into Gwen's hands. "Take care of this, Gwen! You can scold me all you want for the rest of the day, I won't even talk back!"
"Deal!" Gwen smiled, clutching the book.
BOOM!!
The starship slammed into the street, crushing the asphalt. The hatch hissed open, and a two-meter-tall warrior in heavy, high-tech alloy armor stepped out. Vulkanus (Magma) looked around domineeringly. "Earthlings! Hand over the sub-energy alloys or perish!"
Beside him, Sixsix let out a series of clicking, digital shrieks.
"What? You told me not to be ostentatious?" Vulkanus sneered. "Earth is a backwater. What are the odds we run into a Transformer? Even if we do, we'll strip him for parts!"
"You two geeks! Stop right there!"
Ben, as Wildvine, swung into view using his vines like spider-silk.
"That's the normal one! The other one is close!" Sixsix shrieked in his alien tongue, his sensors spiking with terror.
"You handle the weed," Vulkanus dismissed him. "I'll take the one who gave you 'psychological trauma'!"
Sixsix didn't wait; he ignited his jetpack and engaged Ben. Meanwhile, a blue, furred blur swung from a distant skyscraper.
The creature had a full six arms, a terrifying arachnid head with eight glowing crimson eyes, and fangs that couldn't fit inside its mouth. This was The Arachno-Slayer. Unlike the nimble monkey of the original timeline, this was a giant, predatory spider.
"Arachno-Slayer! He's all yours!" Ben shouted while pinning Sixsix down.
Tyler's six arms flexed as he swung directly at Vulkanus.
BANG!!
Vulkanus raised his heavy armored arms just in time to block Tyler's pass. His feet skidded back ten feet. "Such a tiny body... how is his momentum this high?!"
Tyler didn't stop. He became a blur, swinging back and forth, attacking from every angle. He was a precise jungle hunter, his movements fueled by the Carnitrix's predatory logic. Vulkanus could barely keep up, relying entirely on his thick plating to survive the barrage.
"You can't get through my armor!" Vulkanus roared.
"I don't need to," Tyler's voice rasped from his spider-maw. He landed on a nearby building and smiled.
"Why can't I move?!" Vulkanus struggled, only to realize he was pinned against a massive, invisible web made of high-tensile silk. While Tyler was "attacking," he was actually weaving a trap.
Tyler crawled along the web, his eight eyes fixed on the "prey." "Once the fly falls into the web, the hunt is over."
"Sixsix! SAVE ME!" Vulkanus screamed as Tyler leaned in, his serrated fangs cracking the alloy of Vulkanus's neck armor.
Sixsix, desperate, threw a sonic grenade to push Ben back, then piloted the starship directly into the building, forcing Tyler to leap away. The hatch opened just enough for Vulkanus to scramble inside, and the ship tore into the sky at escape velocity.
"Cowards," Tyler hissed, de-transforming.
Suddenly, streaks of blue light descended from the clouds. Three figures in heroic, high-tech uniforms materialized.
"Are they here to help?" Tyler asked, hoping for a break.
"Galactic Enforcers," a blue-skinned man with a floating brain shield—Synaptak—declared. He raised a tentacle, pointing it directly at the red, glowing Carnitrix on Tyler's wrist.
"The bio-signature is a match," Synaptak stated coldly. "Subject identified as a Grade-S Universal Threat. Tyler Levison, you are under arrest for the possession of a Forbidden Bio-Weapon."
Tyler stared at them, dumbfounded. "Me? A threat? I just saved the city!"
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