Hunted

Hunted is the fifth episode of Ben 10.

Plot
The episode starts out in space near Vilgax's ship. Within the ship, spotlights highlight three mercenaries. The first is Sixsix, who wears purple armor covered with many pockets encasing various weapons, and has a jet-pack on his back. Next is Kraab, a crustacean-like hunter with gold armor. He has a sideways mouth, four-scythe-like legs and a large claw for a left hand. Last is Tetrax, who's listed as Hoverboard. He has a suit of seemingly impenetrable gray armor. He carries a rifle, and a green hoverboard. He is the most mysterious of the three. Vilgax's voice comes over in an intercom, announcing the start of their audition. A swarm of robot drones come in to start a fight. First up is Sixsix, he makes the short work of most of the robot drones. Kraab uses his powerful claw to dispose the last of them. Then the same robot droid that Ben had fought before shows up. Tetrax, flying right towards it without thinking about his safety, the robot blasts him, but he's merely affected by it. Tetrax then smashes through the droid in a single blow. With Vilgax impressed, he offers a reward to the hunter that retrieves the Onnitrix. He then sends them to the planet Earth.

In the middle of the desert, Grandpa Max has set up on what seems to be an obstacle course for Ben. He completes the final touches and Ben transforms to Diamondhead. He tells Diamondhead to think before he acts and to use some strategy. Diamondhead is unconcerned and believes that brute force is better and more fun. Max starts up the course and Diamondhead starts with some target practice with various cans and targets that pop out. Meanwhile, Gwen is by the RV, sunbathing and applying sunscreen. She calls Diamondhead a showoff. Max tells Diamondhead to focus carefully. Diamondhead feels overconfident, which led him to one of the traps set up by Max. A tire swing hits him and throws him off balance and causes him to fire diamond shards everywhere. Max and Gwen were nearly hit, but managed to dodge them. Unfortunately for Gwen, a diamond shard hits her sunscreen bottle, causing it to pour on her head. Diamondhead apologizes while laughing.

In the RV, Gwen continues to chide Ben for nearly turning them into swiss cheese with his stray shots. He continues apologizing, wondering what else Max and Gwen want from him. Max eventually answers that Ben should use the Omnitrix more carefully, strategically and more seriously. Ben does point out that he's defeated quite a number of villains, so he must be doing something right. Gwen then claims that he'll screw up one of these times and be beaten, and she hopes to see that to occur. Ben doesn't believe her, of course. Then suddenly, the RV sputters and breaks down.

Back at the obstacle course, the three bounty hunters have traced where the Omnitrix was last activated. They explore the location and Tetrax notices a can with a diamond shard on it. Sixsix flies up and takes it with a retractable hook, only to have it ripped off by Tetrax. They both have a short standoff, eventually resulting with Sixsix backing down and talking in a foreign alien language. He then flies off. Kraab then follows, using his four legs to burrow through the ground. Tetrax then leaves the area, triggering one of Max's traps. In an instant, he fires the targets with his rifle, which also destroyed the whole course as well. He flies off and drops the can with the shard behind.

Ben, Gwen and Max find themselves at an abandoned mining town, called Slaterville. According to Gwen's Intellimap program on her notebook, it was a town incorporated in the year 1857, after the discovery of silver. It was abandoned after the mine ran out roughly a decade later. Back at the RV, Max finds the cause of the breakdown. One of Diamondhead's stray diamond shards hit the fuel line. Ben suggests for his help by going alien, but Max insists on doing it himself. With nothing to do, he decides to check out the town. Max has Gwen follow him so he doesn't get into any trouble.

In town, Ben enters an old, abandoned equipment storage building. Gwen calls out to him. Ben starts by hiding in the shadows, and turns into Ghostfreak. While Gwen searches, Ghostfreak passes through her and makes her chill. Ghostfreak is amused by his prank, getting a good laugh as Gwen says Ghostfreak doesn't scare her. Just then, the ground is pushed up from something burrowing under it. Ghostfreak drags Gwen out of the way, and Kraab shows up. Ghostfreak and Kraab confront each other, and Ghostfreak insults Kraab of his appearance. He ignores the comment and tells Ghostfreak to hand over the Omnitrix. Ghostfreak refuses, and moves his eyes onto his back to ask Gwen what Kraab is talking about. She obviously points out to him that he wants the watch. He explains to Kraab that it's stuck on his wrist, but he doesn't care. He was hit a few times, and Ghostfreak eventually turned invisible.

With Ghostfreak invisible, Kraab seems to be at a great disadvantage. Unfortunately, Krabb can actually see him and hears him, Kraab to spray an orange substance, which made his invisibility and intangibility abilities useless. Kraab continues to thrash Ghostfreak around, and Gwen takes back the comment about wanting to see Ben get his butt kicked. Ghostfreak continues the fight, doing just as badly, and ends up being blasted into a wall, near a car lift. Kraab moves in for the kill, Gwen points out that the lever near him will activate the lift. Ghostfreak activates it and Kraab gets pinned to the ceiling. Ghostfreak then reverts back to Ben. They flee the scene, and Tetrax is seen watching from the rafters.

At the RV, Ben and Gwen detail the short battle against Kraab to Max. Ben still wants to fight back, suggesting that he can turn into Four Arms and turn Krabb into a seafood special, despite the Omnitrix being in Recharge Mode. Max says there's no time, having repaired to the RV. Ben is disappointed as they flee and continue on the road.

On the road, Gwen is on the lookout for Kraab. Ben comments that Kraab won't show up if he knows what's good for him. Kraab doesn't show up, but Sixsix does, cutting a hole in the roof of the RV to get to them. As Sixsix tries to grab Ben, Grandpa Max brakes hard, sending Sixsix flying in front of the RV. Max then tries to run him over. It seems like the attempt works at first, but the RV stops shortly after. They take a quick look outside shows that all the tires have been severely popped. Sixsix is still on the road, uninjured. As Ben, Gwen and Max flee to a nearby mine, Kraab burrows his way to Sixsix and attacks him.

Inside the mine, Kraab once again confronts Ben and demands the Omnitrix from him. As he advanced, Max steps between them and tossed a nearby chunk of metal at Kraab. His powerful pinser stops it. Seeing this, the trio run for their lives with Kraab in pursuit. They eventually end up at the center of the mine. With a large canyon in-between them and safety, Gwen asks what they're going to do. Max finds a nearby lift and puts the kids in it. He then activates it and jumps into it, just barely reaching it. As it takes them across the canyon, Kraab prepares to cut the wire holding it up. He is stopped by Sixsix, who blasts him and then turns on the lift. As Sixsix pursues them, Max comments that they need a plan. With the Omnitrix recharged, Ben decides to forget planning in favor of brute force. Max points out that that's exactly what the hunters want.

Ben transforms into Diamondhead and goes to attack. He plunges off the car and grabs on Sixsix, and the two plummet into the crater below. They then fly back out with Sixsix carrying Krabb. As the lift takes Gwen and Max to safety, Diamondhead stays behind to deal with the hunters. The action does not go as planned, though. Kraab shows up to join the fight, and Diamondhead turns out to be no match for the two experienced hunters. After knocking Diamondhead out, the two begin to argue over who gets the reward. As they do, a metal ball is tossed beside them. As they stare at it, it releases a gas that renders them unconscious. Tetrax then shows up, dragging Diamondhead out of the mine and back into town.

In town, Tetrax tosses Diamondhead into some nearby crates, waking him up. With Diamondhead awake, Tetrax begins to complain about the Omnitrix winding up on a child when there are 6 billion of other people it could have been found by. Diamondhead explains that it won't come off. Tetrax then explains that the Omnitrix uses alien DNA that binds to the genetic structure of the host, which is why it doesn't come off. As he does, Diamondhead tries to attack him. Tetrax easily stops the attack and sends Diamondhead flying. As the two continue to fight, Tetrax berates Diamondhead on his lack of strategy, all the while stopping every attack. According to Tetrax, Diamondhead would have been killed were it not for him, and that an experienced fighter should have defeated the hunters without a problem.

After Diamondhead finally gives up, Tetrax explains that the Omnitrix is the most powerful weapon in the universe and is the key to an epic battle between good and evil. Diamondhead asks what side Tetrax is on, to which he replies by pointing out that Diamondhead isn't dead yet. He then says that his mission is to retrieve the Omnitrix. With it attached to Ben, he simply plans to take him with him so it can be removed. Diamondhead refuses to go, but Tetrax says that he doesn't have a choice. Diamondhead tackles him, saying that he does, and gets tossed off just as quickly. Tetrax then starts to point out Diamondhead's inexperience with his powers, not even realizing the true strengths he possesses. Diamondhead wonders what makes him such an expert. Tetrax says nothing, but instead takes off his helmet, showing that he comes from the same species as Diamondhead. When Diamondhead points this out, Tetrax says that he's a great warrior while Diamondhead is an impulsive annoyance. Diamondhead reverts back to Ben and Tetrax grabs him. As he searches for his hoverboard, Kraab walks up holding it, having heard the whole exchange. Sixsix follows, carrying both Gwen and Grandpa Max.

Outnumbered two to one, Tetrax flees with Ben still in hand. Kraab fires at him, but his blasts are useless. Tetrax runs into a nearby house. Ben wants to help his family, but Tetrax points out that he would be quickly overpowered and captured. He then leaves Ben behind and goes to retrieve his hoverboard. Outside, Tetrax uses a barrage of shards to free Gwen and Max. He then dives at Kraab, taking his hoverboard back. After a quick flight away from the pair, he dives down and lands on Sixsix. Gwen and Max take cover as this happens. As Tetrax and Sixsix fight, Ben finds that the Omnitrix has recharged. Kraab notices this, and follows him inside the house. Hiding behind a table, Ben gets ready to transform. He then hesitates, remembering the advice that Max and Tetrax had given him. He settles on one and transforms. Kraab crushes the table, only to find nothing there. In the rafters, Grey Matter is seen sneaking about. He jumps onto Kraab, searching for a nerve cluster in Krabb's armor. He finds it and rips it out, causing the Krabb's armor to go haywire and shut down.

Elsewhere, Tetrax and Sixsix are still fighting. Sixsix eventually gains the upper hand on Tetrax. Seeing Grey Matter draws Sixsix's attention and he attempts to fire a missile at him. Max hops on his back to stop him. Sixsix throws him off and prepares to slice through his attacker with a energy buzz saw. This provides enough of a distraction for Grey Matter to hop on his back. Tetrax complains about the interference, but Grey Matter ignores him and starts pulling nerve clusters in Sixsix's armor, resulting in the same haywire behavior as Kraab. Sixsix's jet-pack fires and takes the two on a short ride, crashing through the supports for a water tower in the process. Sixsix's armor then shuts down and lands near Kraab, giving Grey Matter enough time to move out of the way of the falling water tower. Kraab comments on his hatred for the planet before getting crushed.

With the hunters defeated, Tetrax takes out a small cube and tosses it at them. The cube expands and covers them, then contracts, shrinking the hunters along with it. Grey Matter reverts back to Ben as Tetrax takes the cube. When Ben points out the Omnitrix, Tetrax says that it's in good hands. He then gives Ben his hoverboard as a gift. Ben is confused, thinking that he needs it to get home. Tetrax says it was selective disinformation, which Gwen translates for Ben saying, "he lied". Tetrax then activates a teleporter and disappears. Once he's gone, Gwen asks Ben why he gets all the cool alien stuff. Ben says it fits his personality with Gwen sarcastically agreeing, and then covers Ben's head in sunscreen, saying that she doesn't want his big head to get sunburned.

On Vilgax's ship, Vilgax watches as Tetrax leaves. He's very annoyed at the betrayal. His subordinate confirms that the mercenaries don't have the Omnitrix. Vilgax figures that whoever possesses the Omnitrix must be as clever as they are fierce, but isn't deterred. He insists that he won't be denied. The episode ends on that note.

Major Events

 * Tetrax, Kraab and Sixsix are introduced.
 * Ben gains his first hoverboard.

Minor Events

 * The Onnitrix is called by its proper name for the first time onscreen.
 * This is the first time an alien is used more than once in an episode.

Characters

 * Ben Tennyson
 * Gwen Tennyson
 * Max Tennyson
 * Tetrax (first appearance)

Villains

 * Sixsix (first appearance)
 * Kraab (first appearance)

Aliens Used

 * Diamondhead (2x)
 * Ghostfreak
 * Grey Matter

Errors

 * When Tetrax told Grey Matter he is smart, his eyes were yellow.
 * In the scene following Max throwing the junk at Kraab, the Omnitrix appears on Ben's right wrist.

Trivia

 * When Vilgax hires a mercenary (three in this case), it's similar to when Darth Vader recruits Bounty Hunters to find the Millenium Falcon in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, but tests them before telling them what to retrieve.
 * This is the first episode to not debut an alien.