The midday sun was a physical weight, turning the desert highway into a shimmering steamer. Beside the road, the Rustbucket sat parked in the shade of a crumbling, abandoned military training base.
"Grandpa, seriously," Gwen said, sipping an iced tea under the RV's awning. "Those two are going to get heatstroke. Look at them."
Max wiped his brow with a cold towel, a look of pride on his face. "This is a rare opportunity, Gwen. An abandoned obstacle course is the perfect playground for two boys with the power of the universe on their wrists."
In the distance, two shimmering figures raced through a gauntlet of rusted steel and concrete. Ben, as Diamondhead, was panting heavily, struggling to clear a high wall. Tyler, as The Crystal Shard, moved with the grace of a predatory cat, his jagged obsidian limbs finding purchase effortlessly.
"Training with you is a nightmare, Tyler!" Ben groaned as they finished the lap. "You're better at target practice, you're faster on the ropes, and don't even get me started on the sparring!"
Tyler, whose glitched Petrosapien form was covered in sharp, crystalline spikes, shrugged. "Don't compare yourself to me, Ben. Compare yourself to the kid you were ten minutes ago. You're already faster."
Ben smiled, his frustration melting into mischief. He aimed a crystalline finger toward Gwen's drink. "It's also way easier to prank the Bookworm like this."
"Leave her alone, Ben," Tyler said, his voice a low, rocky rumble. "She didn't even turn on the air conditioning in the RV just so she could stay out here and support us."
Ben paused, looking back at the awning. "Huh. I didn't notice. Fine, I'll give her a pass."
With a flash of green light, Ben reverted to human form. Tyler followed suit, the blood-red light fading to reveal the boy beneath. Ben shivered as Tyler patted his shoulder. Even out of transformation, the "Error" hero had an aura that gave Ben the creeps if he stared too long.
The Hunters Descend
High above the training ground, a golden robotic crab descended on jets of fire. Kraab scanned the dust-choked arena with a bloodthirsty mechanical eye.
"Kraab, control your hunger," a stoic voice crackled over the comms. Tetrax Shard drifted down on his hoverboard, his eyes narrowing as he spotted a discarded crystal fragment. "The signal is moving. They haven't disappeared."
"The Omnitrix signal is splitting! I'm tired of waiting for the droids," Kraab hissed. His four legs began to spin at high velocity, lifting him into the air like a lethal helicopter. He roared off toward the highway.
Tetrax watched him go, then turned to the armored figure landing behind him. SixSix let out a series of clicking, guttural sounds, his twin submachine guns vibrating with anticipation.
"He's right, SixSix," Tetrax said. "The 'Error' wielder has a longer active duration and far more combat experience than we anticipated. We move with caution."
Upgrade: The Technophage
Back in the Rustbucket, Tyler was restlessly scrolling through the Carnitrix icons. "It's too quiet. I feel like we're being watched."
"Relax, Tyler! Let me help you pick a cool one for later," Ben said, leaning over.
Suddenly, Ben's face went pale. He pointed a shaking finger at the rear window. "Tyler! Behind us!!"
Tyler spun around. Through the grimy glass, a golden shape was rapidly expanding. Kraab was closing the gap at terrifying speed, his massive pincers snapping in the wind.
"Bounty hunter!" Tyler shouted. "Grandpa, floor it!!"
"Seatbelts!" Max bellowed, slamming his foot onto the accelerator. The Rustbucket groaned as it surged forward, the desert scenery turning into a blur. In the chaos, Tyler—the only one not buckled in—was tossed across the bunk. His chest slammed into a cabinet door, right on top of the Carnitrix dial.
FLASH!
A terrifying, blood-red light filled the cabin. Kraab, seeing the red glow, cackled. "Don't think you can hide, little mouse!"
As the light cleared, a tall, spindly figure filled the space. It looked like a living circuit board, but unlike Ben's Upgrade, this one had a single, pulsating red eye and a mouth filled with jagged, gleaming white fangs.
The Technophage (Upgrade Variant) had arrived.
"Imo Form?" Ben whispered, cowering in his seat.
Tyler looked at his liquid-metal limbs, then at Kraab. A dark plan formed. "Grandpa, let me take the wheel!"
"Tyler, now is NOT the time for driving lessons!" Max yelled.
SPLAT.
Tyler's body dissolved into a pool of black-and-red mercury, seeping into the dashboard, the floor, and the engine. Instantly, the Rustbucket's interior turned a predatory charcoal black, laced with glowing red circuitry. The exterior donned a sleek, armored skin that looked less like an RV and more like an intergalactic tank.
"Change the color all you want," Kraab roared, closing in. "You're still going to die!"
The armored RV suddenly screeched to a halt, spinning 180 degrees. Tyler didn't run; he faced Kraab head-on. The front grill shifted, forming a massive, reinforced plow.
VROOM!!
The Technophage-RV accelerated wildly. Kraab, fearless and arrogant, charged right back. "I'll rip this tin can open!!"
CRUNCH.
The two collided. The RV didn't budge. Kraab's pincers slammed into the armored front, but the RV's mass was now absolute.
"That's it?" Kraab sneered, his pincers trembling. "You think a little weight can stop—"
Suddenly, a section of the RV's hood extended over Kraab's head. A massive, toothy maw opened from the metal plates.
CRACK!
The Technophage bit down with bone-shattering force. Most of Kraab's reinforced head plating was ripped away in a single chomp. Blue sparks showered the highway as the bounty hunter let out a mechanical scream, fleeing into the desert. "Why does a Galvanic Mechamorph have TEETH?!"
The RV's grill twisted into a smirk, the white fangs glinting in the sun. "In a Carnitrix world, the teeth are the main course."
[Ding! Host has repelled the bounty hunter Kraab using The Technophage. Progress: +1%]