Harry didn't leave until after dinner.
Ben had been about to help Aunt May with the dishes, but Peter pulled him into his room.
"What's up?"
"I can't believe I got to see Harry again today. I haven't seen him in ages," Peter said happily. He stretched, having thoroughly enjoyed playing games this afternoon.
"I've almost finished my Battle Suit. I wanted to ask if you wanted one too?" Peter asked. "You might not plan on being a Super Hero like me, but I bet you'd love to try swinging between the skyscrapers of New York. It must be amazing!"
Ben had been about to refuse, but hearing Peter say it like that, it did sound like it might be fun to try.
Who could refuse swinging through the city with webs like Spider-Man?
"Alright, I'll take one then." Ben picked up a piece of scratch paper and tore off a sheet. "This one will do. Remember to change the color; I need to add my own personal touch."
Ben chose the advanced Battle Suit. Besides the classic red and blue color scheme, it looked like it was covered in a layer of bone.
"Okay, give me your watch," Peter nodded and reached out to take Ben's Little Broken Watch.
Ben flinched immediately, quickly pulling his hand away. "What are you doing?"
"I'm going to modify it into a Web Shooter. I don't have any spare watches to modify," Peter said matter-of-factly.
The Web Shooter he was holding had been modified from a discarded watch and looked a bit cheap.
"No need, I'll handle the Web Shooter myself," Ben said, shaking his hand and preparing to return to his room. "By the way—"
"What?"
"I don't think Liz is the right fit for you," Ben said, pointing at the blonde girl on Peter's computer screen.
Ben didn't know where to start complaining about his little buddy's taste.
Liz was indeed good-looking, but she was too snobbish and arrogant. She would never be interested in "the unremarkable Peter."
But from another perspective, at least Peter's taste was normal; he didn't go for "Black Pig Juliet."
Peter's face darkened as he turned off the computer and pushed Ben out of the room.
"Anyway, I'm planning on going out tonight. I wanted to invite you, but unfortunately, your Battle Suit isn't even started yet, so don't blame me."
"Click."
Peter closed the door.
Ben was surprised that Peter's mouth was already so slick even without wearing his Battle Suit. It seemed that Spider-Man's Superpowers had given him a lot of confidence.
There was nothing wrong with that. The usual Peter was too self-conscious. Ben was actually happy to see him change like this.
Night.
Ben, lying on his bed pretending to sleep, heard a faint noise from the room next door.
Then, a dark shadow crawled along the wall.
Peter, filled with excitement and eagerness, glanced into Ben's room. Seeing that Ben seemed to be asleep in bed, he sighed with a little disappointment.
He had planned to show off in front of Ben wearing his Battle Suit!
"Alright, there will be a next time."
"The first day of becoming the Super Hero Spider-Man! I guarantee tonight will be very interesting!" Peter clenched his fist, cheering himself on, then leaped forward, pressing the button on his Web Shooter with two fingers, and shot out!
Not long after he left, Ben, who had been lying under the covers, opened his eyes. He walked to the window and looked at Peter swinging away. Then he looked down at his own watch.
He planned to secretly follow Peter.
On one hand, he was a little worried about Peter's safety. On the other hand, he wanted to verify some things.
"After I transformed into XLR8 last time, my strength seemed to have improved slightly, but I didn't inherit Spider-Sense."
He recalled the details of his last fight with Tony. Spider-Sense hadn't worked when Tony ambushed him, but his spider abilities had enhanced his strength, giving him the ability to pierce the Arc Reactor's shell.
"Spider-Sense is always hit or miss anyway. That one coincidence doesn't prove anything."
If he really wanted to test it, he would have to transform and walk around in front of Peter to see if they would sense each other.
He already had an idea:
"If I'm going to track him, XLR8 or Stinkfly would be best."
He pressed the button on the Little Broken Watch. The watch face popped up, and a twisted, elongated pattern appeared in the square formed by the intersecting triangles.
"Ghostfreak?"
Ben froze. His palm, which had been hovering over the watch face, now hesitated to press down.
Ghostfreak's species was Ectonurite, a creature that resembled a ghost. Although called a creature and possessing DNA, Ghostfreak didn't even have biological Manna, essentially being a deceased life form.
Even more terrifying, the Ghostfreak's DNA in the Little Broken Watch came from Z'Skayr. He had voluntarily given his DNA to Azmuth, but in reality, he had hidden his consciousness within it.
In the original story, it later escaped the Omnitrix's control and became a ferocious villain.
It was precisely because of this that Ben felt a slight hesitation about transforming into Ghostfreak.
"But even if I leave it alone, Ghostfreak might disrupt the Omnitrix and cause trouble," Ben thought, recalling how Ghostfreak had even controlled the Little Broken Watch to some extent in the animation, and felt a little worried. "I'll just use this opportunity to see what its condition is."
With that thought, Ben pressed the watch face.
The next moment, his hands transformed into sharp scythes, and his entire body changed its appearance.
He looked like a floating phantom wrapped in white cloth, with no feet, his body covered in cracks—his single eye terrifyingly darting within those torn fissures.
"This is Ghostfreak—"
His voice became dreadful and sinister.
"This feels pretty good, I'm still myself." Ben looked down at his hands, feeling he had one hundred percent control over this body. This meant he didn't have to worry about Z'Skayr's consciousness acting up, at least for now.
Not only that, but he also felt like he was connected to an infinite energy core, able to draw power endlessly from the darkness without ever feeling tired.
The darker it was, the stronger an Ectonurite became!
"I can at least lift a truck weighing tens of tons!"
The immense strength coursing through his body made Ben feel fantastic!
So much so that he almost wanted to tear off that annoying layer of skin right away and reveal Ghostfreak's true form!
But he knew that wasn't a wise move.
Besides, he wasn't completely at ease yet. Ghostfreak's body had no chains to restrain it, and no one could guarantee absolute safety.
"I'll go find Peter first."
He turned invisible and phased directly through the wall, then drifted towards the direction Peter had left, quickly catching up to him.
At his closest, the distance between him and Peter was less than three meters.
And the two of them didn't sense each other like they had before.
"It seems transforming into an alien clearly diluted the Spider Gene."
Understanding this, Ben felt less inclined to stay near Peter.
All night, Peter had been bothering petty thugs, spouting nonsense that made his head hurt. Following him, Ben's brain was about to explode. He had never seen anyone so talkative in his life.
"I had no idea this kid could talk so much."
Ben covered his head and fled into the night as if escaping.
Let Peter play by himself; he was going to enjoy his own night.
-----------
Translation by: randomtranslator.com
Read 2500+ original & fanfic translations and Translate for Free at: randomtranslator.com