Alien

All day, Benny's mind had been exceptionally clear. Every piece of knowledge seemed to have a traceable path instead of being a tangled mess. He had completely immersed himself in studying and utterly forgotten about Felicia.

As for after school, something else far more important was obviously waiting for him.

The moment he stepped out of the classroom, he ran into Peter, who was also hurrying out of another classroom.

"Hey, Benny!" Peter was delighted to see him. "Did you change your mind and decide to come with me to see Dr. Connors?"

He had thought Benny was rushing out to catch up with him.

"You're overthinking it, Peter. I told you, I'm not interested in this," Benny said with a shrug.

In truth, he was interested in Connors's biotechnology. The Omnitrix Azmuth had created was closely tied to genetics. But with his current knowledge, he simply could not understand the serum or the formula used to make it. Maybe he could if he transformed into Grey Matter, but he could not openly expose himself in front of Peter and Connors.

After all, just that morning, he had killed someone in front of Tony Stark. XLR8 would definitely be classified as a dangerous target.

Under those circumstances, if any of the other aliens appeared—especially since they all bore the Omnitrix symbol—it would be difficult not to arouse suspicion. Not only the aliens, but Benny himself had to be careful not to let anyone notice the Little Broken Watch on his wrist.

More importantly, there was no need for him to do that. The knowledge of Cross-Species Genetics was in the briefcase Richard Parker had left Peter. What was inside was the real essence of it all.

"I just wanted to remind you that it's fine to see Dr. Connors, but don't forget you still have to pick up Aunt May tonight," Benny said seriously.

Peter nodded reflexively. "Okay—wait, how did you know I was going to pick up Aunt May?"

His face was full of surprise. After all, Benny had not left home with him that morning. Benny had gone out much earlier than he had. How could Benny possibly know that he had promised Aunt May he would pick her up?

"Don't worry about that," Benny said. "And tell Uncle Ben and Aunt May that I'll be home late tonight."

After saying goodbye to Peter, Benny left the school gates and headed toward a convenience store.

Only after buying a large jug of cleaner did Benny, backpack on his shoulders, turn into an unmonitored corner.

"Then—" He pulled up his sleeve, and the Omnitrix core popped up.

"XLR8!"

"XLR8..." Tony rubbed the slightly prickly Little Mustache on his chin and had Jarvis create an entirely new file.

The next moment, a virtual projection of a dragon-like humanoid appeared before Tony.

"He said his name was XLR8. What do you think he actually is? Could dinosaurs from billions of years ago have not gone completely extinct?" Tony asked. Of course, he had not truly expected Jarvis to give him anything useful.

To Tony, Jarvis was more like a convenient butler. He himself was the intelligent brain.

"I do not know, sir. I searched global databases and found neither relevant information nor any reliable evidence of Dinosaur Man sightings," Jarvis said. "However, there is a group that calls themselves the Primitive Lizard Men, though the available information cannot verify the reliability of their claims."

"Forget those incoherent legends," Tony said, carefully studying the image Jarvis had scanned. "He couldn't have appeared out of nowhere. Build a database on him."

"Yes, sir."

Jarvis quickly created a file.

"File name: XLR8..."

"No, call him Dinosaur Baby," Tony insisted. Before him, a data model took shape. Based on the data from that battle, Jarvis had already made a rough analysis of XLR8's abilities.

"His legs have a roller-like structure." Jarvis broke down a video clip frame by frame. "In less than one second, his feet moved sixteen times. Note, sir, this was his normal movement speed, which could reach at least three hundred miles per hour. His later speed was even faster."

"While moving at high speeds, the two toes on those rollers can secrete some kind of lubricant, helping him reduce friction."

Jarvis pulled up another image, slowed down many times over. The surroundings seemed frozen, yet XLR8 was still incredibly fast. At least now he could be seen clearly.

"A roller-like structure..." Tony stared at XLR8's image and thought for a moment. "In that case, he must be more prone to slipping than ordinary people..."

He had almost immediately found XLR8's weakness.

For Tony, with his high intelligence, friction was a concept he had thoroughly understood when he was four or five.

"Looks like next time, I should add some lubricant to the Mark 4 Armor—or the opposite. How about foaming glue?"

Having thought of a way to defeat him, Tony seemed to be in a good mood. But then other questions arose.

"What's that?" He pointed at the Omnitrix symbol core on XLR8's chest. "That doesn't look like a part of his body, but rather..."

It even reminded him of his Arc Reactor.

"What do you think the chances are that he's a modified organism?"

In Tony's eyes, XLR8 did not resemble a naturally evolved creature at all. Setting aside the roller-like toes, the retractable faceplate also felt utterly unnatural.

He was using existing biological concepts to contemplate something from an entirely different worldview, so deviation was inevitable.

"The probability is zero, sir," Jarvis said. "X-ray scans detected no signs of modification inside the target's body. The roller structure in his feet matches the skeletal shape shown by X-ray imaging. It can be judged to be a naturally grown biological structure."

"How is that possible?"

"Though it may sound fantastical, that is reality," Jarvis replied without emotion. "I'm afraid this is a new species never discovered before."

"No new species appears with intelligence comparable to humans, Jarvis. He even spoke English to me," Tony said gravely. "If he isn't a modified organism, then he must have evolved for at least several million years!"

"Monitor every camera in New York at all times. If Dinosaur Baby or any other similar creature is spotted, inform me immediately. Also, investigate the man he killed—"

"Sir, do you believe the target is not a solitary individual, but part of a species?" Jarvis immediately understood Tony's meaning.

"Earth's environment could not naturally evolve a creature like that either. If he isn't an experimental subject that escaped from some laboratory, then he most likely came from the universe," Tony said.

"So create another file for me. Call it 'Alien'!"

I signed the contract today! The contract notification actually arrived on Tuesday, but I kept putting it off until today. I heard this could help with recommendation placement, and it could also let those of you who invested these past few days earn a little more, hehe.

Please keep reading!