(Gwen's POV)
The RV hummed steadily as we drove down the highway, the monotonous sound almost lulling me to sleep. In the back, Ben was lying flat across the sofa seat, snoring lightly with his mouth open like he always did.
-Typical.-
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rio fidgeting. That was never a good sign. He thought he was so slick with his "secret plans," but I always noticed when he was up to something.
"Hey, Gwen," he whispered, suddenly way too close behind me. "Can I borrow your phone? Need to check something."
I turned slowly, giving him my best skeptical look. "Why not use yours?"
"Mine's dead, I just need to check something" He shrugged with that infuriating casualness. "I will return it in Five minutes. I promise."
I hesitated. Rio never just "checked something." There was always an angle.
But with a sigh, I handed it over anyway, adding a warning: "If you do anything to it, I'm gonna tell Grandpa."
That smirk of his told me I'd regret this. As soon as I turned back around, I heard the faint rustle of him grabbing something from storage before slipping into the bathroom.
Then came the sounds. First the Omnitrix's signature beeping, then that weird blue flash under the door. I rolled my eyes. Could he be any more obvious?
We've been stuck together since childhood - first as reluctant playmates, then as competitive classmates, and now as cousins on this weird road trip. Over all these years, I couldn't help but notice that he carries himself differently from other kids our age.
It wasn't just the casual style he always shows - though even that was different too, with that loose-limbed confidence like he knows what he is doing and nothing could go wrong.
No, what really got under my skin was how he'd get this look in his eyes whenever anything critical happened, as if he was mentally running through some checklist the rest of us couldn't see.
That time at the county fair when Ben got lost? While I was panicking, Grandpa was alerting security.
As for Rio?
He vanished and found Ben twenty minutes later by the tilt-a-whirl with cotton candy in both hands, no explanation, no sweat. Just that infuriating shrug "What? It was obvious." Like he just knew a sugar-crazy ape would surely be near that ride.
And the martial arts thing? Ugh. Every few months it was some new style - Krav Maga posters in his room, then Brazilian jiu-jitsu manuals, then those weird throwing stars he swore were "just for show."
At first, I thought he was having fun... until I noticed the pattern. Practicing fighting when bully rumors spread and the Parkour videos right before that hiking trip where Ben nearly fell off a cliff.
But the worst part was: that despite all those hours he wasted flipping, kicking, and playing games and studying half the study time I did, he always beat my test scores by exactly two points.
Not THREE. Not ONE. It was always TWO DAMN POINTS. Like he was deliberately rubbing on me. My jaw involuntarily clenches whenever I think of it.
The worst was how he'd insert himself into every crisis. Car accident on Main Street? Rio's already directing traffic. Lost dog posters? Guess who organized the search party.
That time Old Man Jenkins fell off his roof? There's Rio, scaling the drainpipe like Spider-Man before the ambulance even arrived. Always with that same infuriating half-smile, like daring the universe to prove him wrong.
I counted the minutes, listening to the strange tinkering sounds coming from the bathroom. Whatever he was doing in there, it definitely wasn't just "checking something" on my phone. Typical Rio - always on to something.
Ever since that stupid watch appeared on his wrist two days ago, his behavior went from annoying to pathological. Going on Late-night "walks" where he'd come back full of dust. And now this - hijacking my phone for who-knows-what secret project, like I wouldn't notice.
I leaned my head against the hot window glass, watching telephone poles blur past. The really frustrating part?
Part of me admired it. Against all logic, when things went sideways, I'd find myself looking for Rio in the crowd. And there he'd be - already moving two steps ahead, already knowing whatever disaster was coming next.
Like all the training he did his whole life was for this.
And here's the truth I'll never admit aloud: Rio isn't learning skills. He is collecting them. Like he's building some insane survival kit for a disaster only he can see coming.
After what felt like forever (but was probably five to ten minutes), he emerged looking way too pleased with himself. He slid the box behind Grandpa's seat with exaggerated casualness before handing me back my phone.
"All good?" I asked, giving it a quick once-over.
"Perfect condition," he said, that smirk still in place.
I narrowed my eyes but let it go. For now. Whatever scheme he was cooking up would reveal itself eventually. Like they always did.
-still, I need to check that box and examine it later.-
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(Rio's POV)
As Gwen turned around I smirked and pocketed the phone. Quietly grabbing a box from the storage compartment, I slipped into the RV's cramped bathroom.
Beep-beep-beep.
Inside, I rotated the dial on the Omnitrix and pressed it down.
Beep-boop. A flash of blue light flashed in the bathroom.
The Omnitrix sank down into my arm, and from where it sank, my skin started turning gray. Fingers fused together, leaving only one thumb and three slender fingers on each hand. My bones compressed, and my body shrank violently as the world around me seemed to stretch upward. I clenched my jaw—only for it to push outward, reshaping my face into a toad's.
A sharp itch burned behind my eyes, forcing me to shut them. When I opened them again, my pupils split into vertical slits, and my vision became hyper-detailed. Colors became more vibrant, and movements slowed to my perception.
By the time it ended, I stood barely a foot tall. My clothes had tightened into a sleek black jumpsuit, the white stripe from my shirt preserved down the center, the Omnitrix emblem now glowing on my back.
When the light faded, I stood—as Grey Matter, the Galvan genius form.
Picking up the materials, my tiny alien fingers jumped across Gwen's phone, and soon, her smartphone lay disassembled.
Fascinating. Human technology was so... quaint.
From a Galvan mind's perspective, it was like watching a child's crude drawings, as compared to the masterpiece plan that I could envision.
Looking at the exposed circuitry, I had already come up with various plans to truly upgrade it, but I decided against it.
I don't have that much material and a partial upgrade was enough for basic safety.
After analyzing the circuitry and making plans for what to do with it, my enhanced Galvan mind and hands worked quickly, processing multiple tasks simultaneously—my left hand worked on microscopic connections to bypass the phone's security protocols while my right adjusted the quantum alignment of the GPS chip.
Soon after, reassembling and adjusting the old look, the phone's screen flared up again. With a satisfied smile, I watched streams of data beginning to flow into the phone, as I connected it to my AI's encrypted servers.
Now this would show me the location of Gwen, it is also installed with an emergency protocol that the AI automatically does when it deems that Gwen is in danger.
Now that Gwen is done it's time for Ben.
Thinking so I turned to the Box, taking out some parts that looked like they were from a kid's scooter.
Again, the scooter parts lay in the same situation as Gwen's phone, their inner circuitry on display. My superb brain immediately identified more than seventeen improvement points.
But considering the materials I currently possessed I could not fully work on all the points.
Still taking into consideration what I have I began my work on the scooter's handle. First, I installed a small LED screen and calibrated its neural link to sync with my AI.
Then I worked on the navigation system, I realigned its atomic lattice to receive quantum positioning signals, and a direct satellite signal transmitter so it wouldn't stop working in restricted zones.
After this, I worked on the scooter's wheels and motor.
Using scavenged capacitors, I rewound the copper coils into fractal patterns that doubled torque while running the cooler.
For the tires, I used nanocomposite from the Robot parts, then I added a retractable stabilizer folded into the chassis and extra materials to strengthen the body of the scooter.
For the battery's lithium cells, I restructured their ion channels to prevent degradation.
The battery now lasted twice as long, and the tires could cling to vertical surfaces—useful for quick escapes.
Finishing my work, I waited some time for the transformation to wear off.
-Now slowly Ben can start fighting too, as for Gwen… it's still up to the magical charms-
Returning to my human self, I quickly packed everything and came out of the bathroom.
After confirming that no one noticed me, I quietly placed the box behind the driver's seat and went to Gwen to return her phone.
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*Guys I am extremely sorry for not uploading a chapter yesterday. I was hospitalized for the whole day, with no access to my computer or mobile, so I couldn't upload the chapter.
Again I am extremely sorry for what happened. hope you won't be angry.*
Hey there! Thanks for reading my work! I hope this chapter is to your liking. Sorry if you expected more details. Also sorry if you felt it was still too much detail.
If these chapters are a mess of grammatical errors, please point it out and I will try to fix it.
Thanks as always for your time, hope you have a fantastic day and please stay safe.