Although it was eleven in the morning, the sky above the town had eerily darkened.
A cold wind blew, sweeping up posters, each one showing a pale-skinned, terrifying clown.
"Please."
Ben sat in his seat, staring boredly out the window. "Do we really have to go see a circus performance today? Only little kids go to that!"
Gwen retorted, "Why not? The circus is super fun."
"That's because you don't need makeup to look like a clown," Ben muttered under his breath.
"Ben, you're not afraid of clowns, are you…?" Grandpa Max stifled a laugh and asked.
Ben froze, then suddenly went quiet, as if deep in thought.
"Damn, what's going to happen today?" Zack frowned, trying to rember.
After the initial 3 episodes, my mory is.. sigh.. the kid would have watched Ben 10 with notes open if I knew I'd get isekaied in it!
Fuu~~ calm down, I still rember the terms, the big and important plots and all the lore behind Omnitrix, Vilgax, other important aliens, and Plumbers..
Even if I don't rember the plot of today.. welp, forget it—I'd just have to improvise.
Besides, he'd already changed a lot of the story anyway.
As the Rustbucket stopped at the circus entrance, the four got out and followed the crowd inside.
The circus was exceptionally lively, packed with people.
"Ladies and gentlen... let's welco the incredibly strong Thumbskull!!"
On the stage, a short man slowly walked up to the microphone.
At his clear announcent, a muscular man with a buzz cut and a black shirt walked in.
He stepped to the center of the stage, bent the steel bar in his hand, and tossed it aside.
"And now, let's welco the fiery beauty—Frightwig!"
As the short man introduced again, a naturally beautiful, curvaceous young woman walked in.
Her makeup was strange—dark and dramatic—but it couldn't hide her striking face.
She had a head of fiery red, tentacle-like hair, giving her a dangerous yet captivating aura.
The audience stared at her without blinking as she bent a steel bar with the maces at the ends of her prehensile hair.
Finally...
An ugly man wearing a mask walked in.
He spat out a corrosive liquid, completely lting the steel bar, and the crowd imdiately erupted in cheers!
"These three..."
Zack silently noted their abilities, adding them to his ntal watch list.
Ben counted on his fingers. "Heh~ Their powers are no match for ours! We can easily defeat them—"
"Ben, stop joking around—it's ti for us to see the clowns!"
Grandpa Max smiled, leading the three toward a huge clown tent.
"Yeah, Ben, don't be afraid—" Gwen started.
Looking at the poster outside the clown tent, Ben took a deep breath and nodded. "Let's go. Who's afraid of who?"
"Eh? Ben, aren't you afraid of clowns? Why are you so decisive this ti?"
Zack looked at Ben in surprise.
Ben had always been terrified of clowns since he was little.
"Yeah..." Gwen and Grandpa Max were also puzzled.
"Ever since the first day of this sumr vacation," Ben said, giving Zack a faint, resentful glance, "the thing I fear most is no longer clowns."
MonXTR, Terror Eye, Carnifreak…
Which of these aliens isn't scarier than a clown?
"Yup, I was afraid of ghosts but—Hmph! Ever since Zack could transform, I'm no longer afraid of those pesky movies," Gwen nodded in agreent.
Zack had helped them build up their courage!
"Don't tease …"
Zack's face darkened, and he mumbled, "Aren't my aliens quite cute?"
...
The four followed the crowd, walking directly into the clown tent without any fear.
They had already seen real aliens—why be afraid of a re clown?
Thumbskull, Frightwig, and the others looked at the crowd, their expressions gradually turning cold.
"Heh, we can start acting now."
The short man sneered, his tone icy.
...
The dimly lit clown tent was packed with people, all chattering and looking expectantly at the dazzling stage.
"Hey, everyone, I'm the clown Zombozo."
A plump clown walked out.
He wore a magician's top hat, and his pale face was fixed in a wide smile.
As he slowly waved, the crowd erupted in enthusiastic cheers.
"This guy doesn't look like a clown… more like one of those fake Sludgepuppy people from Grandaunt Vera's town," Ben muttered quietly to Zack.
"Haha." Zack thought of Sludgepuppy's appearance and chuckled. "The clown didn't make laugh, but your words did!"
"That's why Ben is like that clown," Gwen imdiately shot back, looking smug.
Except for Ben, who couldn't bring himself to laugh, Zack and the others were amused.
As Zombozo began to perform, the crowd erupted in laughter—so even laughing so hard they couldn't stand up straight.
It's well known that laughter is contagious.
Soon, everyone was laughing, laughing heartily.
"Laugh, laugh!!"
Zombozo kept the smile on his face as he continued his comical performance.
"Ha… haha…"
The people who had been laughing the hardest gradually began to lose their strength—yet strangely, they seed unable to control their bodies and kept laughing loudly.
Everyone, without exception, was laughing.
"Hahaha! What's going on? Haha!" Zack laughed uncontrollably, as if he had been infected!
He looked around, and aside from Ben—who wore his usual sour expression—Gwen and Grandpa Max were also laughing uncontrollably!
Sothing was wrong.
Haha.. Can't… laugh… anymore!!
The mont this thought flashed through Zack's mind, he gritted his teeth and forced himself to suppress the smile.
Although the corners of his mouth still twitched upward uncontrollably, he was pulling them back little by little.
Just like a tug-of-war!
The laughter around him tried to infect him, but he remained unmoved, slowly turning the tide.
"Haah.. Recovered."
Zack's expression returned to calm, and he took a deep breath, still shaken. Fortunately, my mind has been strengthened. Otherwise, I would've been controlled too.
Him being controlled was a small matter—but if the Carnitrix went out of control, that would be a huge problem!
"Ben."
Zack turned to Ben and instructed, "Help distract that clown. I'll be right back!"
With that, he bent down and slipped out of his seat.
Hahah! This is going well!~~ When the machine is brought out later, I can absorb their laughter… Hmm?
Zombozo was just thinking this when his gaze fell on an empty seat. "Which rat slipped away?!"
He imdiately began scanning for the departing Zack.
"Hey! Mr. Clown!"
Ben shot up from his seat, waving his hand like he was in class.
"What's wrong, little friend?"
Zombozo suppressed his killing intent, staring intently at Ben. Damn it, how is there still a kid who hasn't fallen for it?!
Ben said seriously, "Do you know the clown associated with McDonald's?"
"Eh..? Why do you think so, kid?"
"Looking at your trashy show, I don't think you have enough money to eat this much and get so fat. So? Is the McDonald's clown your overachiever relative? Did he give you food for free? Is that how you got so fat?" Ben blurted with a childish expression
The crowd laughed even louder.
"How dare you call fat—you're asking for death!!"
"Ohhh, so you're not denying the show's trash?"
"You!" Zombozo could no longer suppress his killing intent and strode off the stage toward Ben.
After two steps, he stopped.
A terrifying Werewolf-like alien leapt onto the stage.
"Grrr…" The creature's voice was a gravelly growl that rattled the tent. "Ladies and gentlen… your main event starts now—" his jagged grin widened— "Human versus Beast! Heeh~"
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