"No… No!! I've become stronger! I won't lose again!!"
Kevin screamed in denial, lightning bursting wildly from his hands and slamming into Metalman.
But the golden Metalman didn't even bother to dodge.
Instead, he absorbed every volt of energy Kevin unleashed—drinking it in like a bottomless pit.
Not only did he resemble his alien namesake… his body also began to grow—bulking up into a colossal, metallic form.
He looked even more terrifying than the original Metalman!
"Huff… huff… huff…"
A few minutes later, Kevin stood frozen, gasping for breath, his face pale with exhaustion.
"How… how is he this strong?" he muttered in disbelief.
"Kevin."
The towering Metalman grinned, his voice deep and metallic. "You're going to prison this time. Guess that means Prison. You ready for that?"
Boom!!
He extended his massive hand, grabbed Kevin like a toy, and squeezed lightly.
Kevin's body trembled violently as pain flooded every nerve—he couldn't even move.
[Ding! Mission complete!]
[Reward: 30 system points earned!]
Metalman smiled faintly.
"System, how many points do I have now?"
[Host currently possesses 210 reward points.]
Ethen sighed contentedly and loosened his grip.
Kevin collapsed onto the ground, trembling.
The Metalman turned and walked away without even looking back.
Kevin clenched his fists as tears welled in his eyes—humiliated and broken.
"Ethen… remember this…"
"Next time, I won't lose! I'll become a hundred times stronger!!"
He swore silently through gritted teeth.
Outside the power plant, Metalman encountered Steve, who looked both nervous and relieved.
"Commander Ethen," Steve said respectfully, lowering his head.
"I'm sorry I slowed down the rescue operation. I'll take full responsibility and contact the Plumbers to transfer Kevin to Prison."
"I'll leave that to you," Metalman replied simply, then walked toward the RV.
He reverted to human form, stepped inside, and sat down calmly.
After rescuing everyone, XLR8 returned to the vehicle as well.
The team quietly left the scene, keeping their heroics hidden.
Steve watched the RV disappear down the road, his eyes thoughtful.
"They say Plumbers are different," he murmured. "But you really can't judge a hero by appearance."
Later That Night
Time flew by, and soon it was midnight again.
[Ding! The Elemental Template duration has expired. Would you like to permanently store it in your ability pool?]
Ethen responded instantly, "No."
The elemental Metalman was powerful, but it was too balanced—no true broken ability like Alien X or Error X.
At this point, what Ethen lacked most… was a watch worth playing with.
"Draw today's template."
[Ding! Congratulations, host! You've received a new Omnitrix template…]
[Template acquired: Watchless Ben Template!]
Watchless Ben Template:
The origin of all Bens—believed to be the ancestor of every Ben 10 variant.
The source of all transformations and the embodiment of chaos.
Temporarily grants the host the powers of Watchless Ben.
Ethen blinked. "Wait—'Watchless'? What do you mean? Where's the Omnitrix?"
[Ding! It's the Watchless Ben template. No Omnitrix included.]
Ethen stared blankly, then chuckled helplessly.
"Ha… ha… very funny, System. A Ben 10 without a watch? That's your sense of humor, huh?"
[Ding! Confirmed.]
Ethen groaned, rubbing his forehead. "Fine, I'll take the 'Love the Watch' upgrade again!"
[Ding! Congratulations, host! You've successfully reacquired the Omnitrix Template.]
A familiar green glow appeared on his wrist once more.
Ethen smiled faintly. "Alright. Time to train again."
As he leaned back in his seat, he wondered:
Was this Watchless Ben Universe the main universe now?
Was this where the next chapter of his story would begin?
With those thoughts swirling in his head, Ethen slowly drifted into sleep.
Meanwhile… Somewhere Else in the Multiverse
A vast, barren wasteland stretched endlessly across the horizon.
Dr. Paradox stood silently, his cane in hand, expression grave.
"Ben 10 of this universe… has vanished."
He traced a glowing circle in the air with his cane, opening a swirling time portal—
and stepped through.
He began traveling across countless universes.
Albedo Universe
In Albedo's private lab, Paradox looked around, frowning deeply.
"Albedo's gone too."
Negative Ben Universe
Empty.
Evil Ben Universe
Crowds of aliens were celebrating victory—then suddenly vanished into thin air.
Hidden in the shadows, Dr. Paradox observed silently.
Zombie Ben Universe…
Everywhere he looked, the same result—each version of Ben had disappeared.
Finally, he arrived in a distorted dimensional space.
"Five versions of Ben… all gone," he muttered. "And they were all corrupted versions."
His tone hardened.
"This isn't coincidence. It's Eon. He's moving again."
He walked further into the void—until he reached the edge of a familiar reality.
Ripples formed in the air before him.
"Something's wrong with this universe," Paradox murmured as he stepped through.
"It's not corrupted… it's been invaded."
He recognized it instantly—Bellwood, Ethen's universe.
"If Eon's leading all the evil Bens here…"
He tightened his grip on his cane. "Then this could spark a Multiverse War."
"I need a capable person to investigate."
Three figures came to his mind—
Ben Prime, the hero of the main universe.
Ben Fusion, wielder of the Fusion Omnitrix.
And lastly… Ethen, the unpredictable powerhouse.
Paradox frowned. "Ben Prime's busy. Fusion Ben's stretched thin… but Ethen…"
He hesitated. "If Eon's gathering every dark version, I might have no choice."
After all—when it came to raw power—
no one rivaled Ethen.
Back in Ethen's Universe
Morning sunlight streamed through the RV window.
Ethen yawned, stretched, and stumbled into the bathroom to wash up.
After a moment, he opened the door to get some air—
"Morning, Ethen."
Leaning casually against the RV was Dr. Paradox, his usual smirk in place.
"Holy—!" Ethen jumped, nearly tripping. "Dr. Paradox! Ever heard of knocking?!"
"The situation's urgent," Paradox said seriously. "I need you for something big."
Ethen raised an eyebrow. "How big?"
Paradox looked him dead in the eye.
"Multiverse-level big."
He paused dramatically.
"I need you to investigate and stop a possible Multiverse Disaster—right now!"
...
Author's Note – New Patreon Tier: Story Seeker (18+)
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