The Forest (Reboot)

The Forest is the 14th episode episode of the rebooted series, Brandon 10.

Plot
The stars are seen shining through the dark sky which soon lowers to the street level, where the sun can be seen setting. There are several houses seen next to one another. One of which being Brandon's House. Inside, in Brandon's Lab, several inventions can be seen on display with the entire room clear of anyone aside from Computer, who is stationed exactly where it has always been stationed. Silence fills the laboratory for a moment until a clash is heard and Brandon can be seen tumbling against the floor with a blaster in his hand and an advanced-looking piece of a equipment around his torso. He looks up and slowly gets up from the floor.

Brandon: Computer, did you see him?

Computer: Processing... I'm afraid I'm unable to tell you that, Brandon.

Brandon, looking around: What? Why not?

Computer: Because that would negate the purpose of this exercise.

Brandon, turning to Computer: Come on, you can't even tell me a little?

Computer: Very well. He is right behind you.

Brandon: Thank you... Wait, what?

Brandon quickly turns around but is shot in the chest by a laser, causing the device around his torso to spark up.

Brandon: GAH!

Brandon drops to his knees and looks up, holding his torso as a pair of feet approach him slowly. He looks up more, seeing the feet belong to Coco, holding a blaster and wearing a technical vest as well. Brandon looks surprised.

Theme Song

Coco points his blaster ahead of him, aiming at Brandon.

Coco: Any last words?

Brandon, weakly: Yeah... You- you...

Coco gives him a long and hard stare.

Brandon, weakly: You... totally cheated. Bleh! (closes eyes and sticks tongue out)

Coco: (sigh) Would you get up already? It's not a real laser.

Brandon, opening his eyes: Yeah, I know. Just thought it'd be funny. (chuckles)

He gets up from the floor and takes off his technical-vest.

Brandon: But seriously, you cheated. There's no way you can beat me a laser tag four times in a row.

Coco: What if I told you that I'm secretly a laser tag champion and been hitting the laser tag game at the local arcade for the past two years?

Brandon: Shut up. There's no way.

Coco: True story.

Brandon: Gah, I can't believe you kept that from me.

Coco: Building an actual laser tag thing in the lab was a pretty cool idea though, I'll give you that.

Brandon: Yeah, I mean- I could've just used laser pointers from the convenience store but I figured I'd reuse some of that technology we salvaged from the Conqueror's drones instead.

Coco: Wait, so these are actual lasers?!

Brandon: What? No... I mean, yes but I lowered down their power levels so they're not even that powerful.

Brandon's finger goes off on the trigger, causing a laser to fire out from the blaster and burn through one of the invention displays. Smoke escapes from the blaster's barrel.

Coco: ...Lowered the power levels, you say.

Brandon: Yeah... I should probably work on that.

Coco: (sigh) I'm just glad you're a terrible shot.

Brandon: I'm not... that terrible. Alright so I lower down the power levels even more and then we go for one last round?

Coco: Another round with the crazy lasers? Sure, why not. You kinda remind me of this friend I was had. He would do crazy stuff like that all the time.

Brandon: I didn't know you had a friend who built crazy stuff, or really any other friends.

Coco: Well, he didn't build stuff but he was inventive... and I don't really talk about him that much anymore. Before we met, he was sorta my best friend. We met at school, hung out, went on some pretty fun adventures. He and I would do practically everything together. One time, during science class, he let out all the pets. The school had to be closed down for a week just so they can find them all. Another time, he broke open a water fountain and turned a hallway into a water park.

Brandon: He sounds kinda cool. What happened to you two then? How come you don't hang out anymore?

Coco: Well, when times got rough for me, he wasn't around anymore. In fact, he pretty much disappeared. I had nobody then you decided to show up.

Brandon: Wow. I'm surprised I was able to top whoever that guy was.

Coco: Yeah...

Coco looks as though he's about to say something when an alert is then heard, catching both his and Brandon's attention. Brandon goes to Computer and types at the keyboard.

Brandon: Computer, what is it?

Computer: I've finally completed the scan that you have requested.

Coco: Scan?

Brandon: Oh yeah, right. So, I figured that with our sudden encounters with aliens and technology from outer space, I'd do a scan of the local area and see if there's any energy readings similar to the Omnitrix.

Coco: But why? We already have two of them. (shows off his own Omnitrix)

Brandon: That's so not the point, dude. Imagine if there's more of these kinds of things out there, imagine if someone else gets their hands on it.

Coco: Is that what this is about?

Brandon: Not really. I mean, I'm just curious about what we could find. It could be an alien device or it could be something else entirely. Just not knowing about it makes this already more exciting.

He turns in his chair to face Computer again.

Brandon: Computer, what'd you find?

Computer: The energy readings that I've detected are located within this area.

Computer shows a map of the area on its screen and enhances on a specific part, showing off a green area with a light green dot pinging within it.

Computer: It appears to be within a forested area.

Brandon: Huh, there's something familiar about that forest.

Coco: Well, that's not too far from here. We should be able to get what we need and be back before it gets too late. I still have a life to get back to and the sleepover excuse only works so many times.

Brandon, lingering on his thought: Yeah, I guess that might be it. (regains focus) Uh, alright- let's get going. I'll get some of the gear we might need.

Coco: Gear, really? I thought it was just a walk to the forest?

Brandon: No, man. We have to sample stuff like scientists. We are scientists.

Coco: No, you are scientists. I'm the dude with the blaster. By the way, did you manage to fix my Omnitrix yet?

Brandon: Not yet, sorry. Whatever the Conqueror did to the Omnitrix- it really messed it up. I'm surprised it's even working still.

Coco: Well, you keep building stuff like this (checks out blaster more) and it might not even be a problem anymore.

Coco poses with the blaster as if he's firing it. Brandon shakes his head and gets up from the chair. Later on, outside, the two of them are seen walking along. Brandon is carrying a backpack while Coco carries a flashlight and shines it in front of them.

Brandon: Are you sure this is the right place?

Coco: Are you? There's tons of forests around here, maybe the energy signature is in one of those.

Brandon: Computer's calculations are never wrong... well, almost never wrong, anyways. This has to be it.

The two continue walking through the forest. A small figure is then seen rushing by quickly through some bushes behind them. Coco turns as quick as he can, shining the light at the bushes.

Coco: What was that?

Brandon: What was what?

Coco: Dude, you didn't hear that?

Brandon: I think you're still a little jumpy from make-shift laser tag.

Coco: I'm being serious. And if anything, shouldn't you be the jumpy one? I was the one hunting you down.

Brandon: Oh please, Coco. I am completely over that.

A short alien then jumps out from the bushes behind Brandon and lets out a yell as he grabs onto Brandon's backpack. Almost instantly, he starts freaking out and moves around. Coco pulls out his blaster.

Coco: Hold still, man!

Brandon: Get it off, get it off, get it off!

He takes his backpack off and tosses it to the ground. The short alien crawls onto the top and watches the two of them from there. It's short and humanoid but moves on its four legs. Its skin is scaly and a dark red color while, on his underbelly, its yellow. Brandon takes a breath while Coco shines the light close to it so he can see it better.

Coco: Well, looks like we found the source of those energy readings.

Brandon: What? No- that can't be right.

Coco: I thought you wanted to catch an alien.

Brandon: No, I wanted to check out the area for anything interesting. That's just- a coincidence.

Coco: There's no such thing as coincidences.

Brandon: That's not what you said the other day when someone ordered the same juice flavor as me.

Coco: Oh, that's just a coincidence.

Brandon: You see?

A noise is then heard coming from the backpack, the two of them turn and see the short alien opening its mouth slowly.

Coco: What's it doing?

Brandon: I don't know but hey- the little guy doesn't seem so bad once you get to know him.

The alien then starts spewing out a green liquid from its mouth at the two of them. Brandon and Coco move out of the way as the liquid slashes onto some twigs before them and melt through them.

Coco: Whoa!

Brandon, looking serious: Alright, that's it. No more fooling around. That thing is going down.

Brandon activates his Omnitrix and turns the dial.

Coco: You should go Four Arms or-or Diamondhead.

Brandon: What? Why?

Coco: I mean, that's what I would do. How about Ro-Warasaur then?

Brandon: Nah, this guy wants to play with acid, will I know just the blob that can take it.

Brandon stops at the Aqualad silhouette and smacks the face plate down. He undergoes a transformation sequence. Brandon raises his arm but it starts to liquefy. This effect spreads from his arm to his back; he also starts to look more blue. His legs also sploosh into a puddle but, from the puddle, he grows larger and gains more of a blob-shape physique. His now-skinny arms whip around as he strikes a pose. Within a flash, a new alien stands in the forest. Brandon, as the alien, looks at his arms which have watery stubs at the ends.

New Alien: Whoa! Another alien?

Coco: That's a new one. I didn't know you can do that.

New Alien: Neither did I! I was just going for Slime Shot but instead of slime I got, water boy.

Coco: You're gonna have to come up with something better than Water Boy.

New Alien: Hm...

The short alien vomits out more acidic spit which Brandon dodges by forming his liquid body around it. He then reforms, then curves forwards, getting a better look at himself.

New Alien: I'm like a living ocean or something. This is so cool.

The new alien stretches its arm out and strikes the short alien with a big splash.

New Alien: Oh! How about Moist Man?

Coco: Lame.

Brandon looks at Coco, annoyed. He then splashes over to him and puts his hands on his sides.

New Alien: Do you have anything better?

Coco: Tons but you hate it when I name your aliens.

New Alien: Huh? Oh yeah, I do.

Brandon then looks proud of himself until he gets blasted, leaving a hole in his body which reforms soon afterwards. He turns out and sees a figure firing a plasma rifle from the bushes.

Coco: Who the heck is that?

New Alien: Probably another bad guy that wants some alien technology. Don't worry, I'll take care of him.

Brandon splashes before the person and tries to whip him with his watery arms but the person dodges and throws a grenade at him. The new alien wraps around the grenade and it explodes within him, causing a large bubble of water to form. However, the bubble reforms back into the alien's original shape. He looks at the person, angry.

New Alien: Who do you think you are?

Person: The guy whose going to take you down.

The person whips out a long baton with an electrifying end piece. He strikes the new alien with it and it actually harms him.

New Alien: Gah! That's it!

The new alien then splashes at the person's feet, causing him to trip. He then wraps his body around the person and tosses him aside. The person then tries to get up but Coco points the blaster at him.

Coco: Don't even think about it.

The short alien then sneaks behind the new alien and spits some acid onto him.

New Alien: ARGH!

He swerves around and tries to grab him but the alien is too quick. After a few fails to grab him, Brandon stops for a moment and gathers his thoughts. The short alien is then seen stalking around, sniffing the air. It then walks over to a puddle to lick it but, as it does, the puddle, itself, forms around the alien, trapping it within an aquatic bubble, similar to earlier, the bubble then stretches around into a tube of water which the alien is pushed through. The end of the water tube rests on top of a tree trunk so, when the short alien falls out of the water, is gets stuck within the tree trunk. The alien struggles to get out but, soon after, gets tired and just stays there.

New Alien: That'd ought to keep you grounded. Hmm... I think I got it! How about... Aqualad?

Coco: Has a ring to it.

Person: Wait, say that again.

Coco: It has a ring to it?

Person: No, what you said before.

Coco: I said "Don't even think about it." Seriously, are you new to this or are you just that bad at being a bad guy?

Person: Coco? Is that you?

Coco looks a little surprised. He looks at Aqualad who looks back at him. He shrugs with his watery arms, which make sloshing noises during the process. Coco looks back at the person.

Coco: Who are you? And how do you know who I am?

Person: Dude, it's me-

The person takes off his helmet to reveal a young looking guy with black, drooped down hair and blue eyes.

Person: Andrew.

Coco: Andy?

Aqualad: Andy? You know this guy?

Andrew: I could say the same thing. You work with aliens?

Coco: No- I'm just, out here with my friend when that short alien just attacked me and this other alien showed up.

Andrew: Don't worry about it. Luckily for you, I was in the area. Before you know it, this talking puddle will be evaporated.

Andy picks up his plasma rifle and turns around, aiming it at Aqualad except Aqualad is no longer there.

Andy, lowering his plasma rifle: Aw dang.

A red flash is then seen behind Andy, in the bushes. It catches his attention and he points the plasma rifle at the bushes which start to rustle.

Andy: Come on out, alien...

Brandon then emerges from the bushes, brushing off the leaves. Andy lowers his plasma rifle in disappointment, again.

Brandon: Sorry, I just hid when that alien showed up. Who's this guy?

Coco: This is Andy, he's an old friend of mines.

Brandon: Oh, cool. So, what are you doing here? And why do you have a super blaster gun?

Coco: Yeah, I could ask the same thing.

Andrew: Alright, you caught me. I guess you two have plenty of questions for me, especially you, Coco.

Coco: You just vanished, Andy. I had no idea what happened to you.

Andrew: I was recruited. I was supposed to be heading to High School but I was approached by an organization known as the Alien Capture Team, or A.C.T. They liked my methods, my ingenuity, not to mention my physical capabilities. And what they offered me was better than what anything back here could ever do for me. The best adventure of all. A life of hunting down aliens, capturing them and getting paid from it. I could retire before I hit 30 and finally buy that mountain I always wanted.

Coco: Wait, you hunt down aliens?

Andrew: Right. I keep forgetting how extraordinary that is. I probably shouldn't even be telling you this but I'm like their best agent, they trust me a lot of stuff.

Brandon: Since when did an alien capture team even exist?

Andrew: For a while now. I mean, it's been on the down-low as a secret branch of government or something like that but now it's its own thing. After all those recent alien attacks and robots attacking the city, the A.C.T. has never been more prominent. Now those aliens are popping out of the woodwork, literally, and we can stop them before anyone gets hurt.

Coco: Wow, that sounds-

Brandon: Crazy.

Coco: Cool.

Brandon gives Coco a look.

Andrew: I know right. You pretty much get to do whatever you want. Say, now that we're back together again- how about we tear up the town like in the old days? Hang out, go on some crazy adventures.

Coco: Well... sounds tempting but- I gotta take care of this guy and we did sorta come out here to do something.

Andrew: Oh. Right, I see. Well, I'll be in town for the next few days so I'll keep in touch.

Andy lifts up his plasma rifle and heads off. Before he leaves though, he removes a small pod from his pocket and tosses it at the small alien who tries escaping from the tree trunk once again. The pod knocks away after hitting its head but opens up, soon after. A red flash then escapes the pod, overcoming the creature. Within seconds, the light diminishes back into the pod which closes automatically, leaving no trace of the alien. Brandon watches, surprised yet curious. Andy then turns back and waves before vanishing past the trees and bushes.

Coco: Wow, I can't believe Andy's back.

Brandon: Another coincidence...

Coco: What are you talking about now?

Brandon: Nothing, I just think him showing up out of nowhere is a little weird.

Coco: You're weird.

Brandon: I'm not- ...okay, yeah, I am. But I'm serious, Coco.

Coco: He just has that effect on people. Trust me, you'll get to know him more over the next couple of days.

Brandon: Right... Well, I'm still gonna search the area for any samples. There has to be something else here.

Coco: I still don't know what you're trying to find.

Brandon: I guess I'll know when I see it.

The two walk on with the focus mainly being on the moon in the night sky which soon turns to a sun up in the sky, as the night turns to the day. Back at Brandon's House, Brandon can be seen slouching in his chair. He then awakens and looks around. He runs his hand through his hair which is messy.

Brandon: Computer? Wh-What happened?

Computer: Good morning, Brandon. According to my logs, you and Coco were registered entering the lab at 2:45. You were barely conscious. Fortunately, Coco set you here and went onto his own business outside of the lab. Then you awoken after your rest for several hours.

Brandon: Oh. I guess we really stayed up looking for samples. Computer, did we bring back any samples from the forest?

Computer: You had no visible traces of samples on you when you entered.

Brandon: So we didn't find anything...

Computer: I, for one, thought that something had happened to you. You never usually stay out so late. You might been eaten by a bear, or worse, a tree could've fallen on you.

Brandon: That seems a little over the top, Computer.

Computer: Well, I am a computer. I don't exactly have a vivid imagination.

Brandon lets out a short sigh and scratches the back of his head. He looks down and notices mud on his shoes. He then stops scratching the back of his head and looks at them curiously.

Brandon: Huh... Computer, I need you to run a sample.

Computer: Of course. What would you like me to scan for you?

Brandon: It's a weird one.

Computer: So nothing too unfamiliar then.

Brandon takes off his black and white shoes and holds them up, looking at the mud more carefully; there are traces of a green substance with a low-glow mixed in with the mud.

Brandon: I need you to scan my shoes, Computer.

Computer: Again?

Brandon: It's different this time. I need you to identity the components within the mud on the bottom of my shoes. When I was fighting that alien in the forest as Aqualad, the water must have caused some mud to form and then I brought it back here. There's another substance in there and that might be just what I was looking for.

Brandon places his shoes within a chamber on the other side of computer. The chamber door closes once the shoes are placed inside. Soon after, a projected light scans the shoes over in multiple directions.

Computer: Scanning now.

Brandon waits patiently but watches the shoes being scanned. Upon hearing an alert, he turns his head to the screen and sees a diagram of the shoes being uploaded to Computer's databanks. However, the shoes themselves are given less attention to detail with the mud substances on the bottom of the shoes having the most focus. The screen enhances on the substances and selects three different points to further analyze them. After a brief moment, the results come in.

Computer: There are three identified components within this sample.

Brandon: Alright, let's hear it.

Computer: One is most obviously mud, however the others are far from obvious. The second component identified was a sample of the earth that had undergone volatile amounts of radiation within a brief moment of time.

Brandon: Whoa. And the third?

Computer: The third component was identified but the results are rather inconclusive. The third component is alien DNA, based on the samples already gathered from your experimentation on the Omnitrix.

Brandon: The Omnitrix? Wait, those that mean the aliens that I can turn into are connected to this forest?

Computer: You also have to take into consideration that there must be over one billion lifeforms beyond our planet, alone. Since the origin of the alien genetics is from outer space, we have to speculate that there's a possibility of an alien arriving on Earth that is the same species as one of your many transformations.

Brandon: Yeah, that's a good point, Computer. Hm, I need to investigate more into this. We're close to something, I can feel it.

Brandon hurries over to his olive green backpack that was leaning against the side of Computer's stand. He takes it and throws it on.

Brandon: Computer, send a message to Coco. Let me know that I'll be heading back to that forest to look for more samples. I could really use his help in discovering what scientific discoveries we might find together.

Computer: I'll send the message once it is done composing. And Brandon.

Brandon: Yes?

Computer: Do watch out for tree bears.

Brandon: Heh, I thought you said you didn't have a vivid imagination.

Computer: I'm always improving, Brandon. But I believe the phrase, I do my best, fits well for this occasion.

Brandon: I guess it does. Don't worry, Computer, I'll be back before you know it. Or at least earlier than last time.

Brandon then heads out of the lab. Meanwhile, Coco can be seen walking down the street. He turns the corner and sees Andrew leaning against a wall, he's in casual clothing; a blue shirt with grey sleeves, black pants and military boots.

Coco, caught by surprise: Andy! What are you doing here?

Andrew: I told you I'd keep in touch. So, how'd it go last night? You two get what you needed for the forest?

Coco: Not really.

Andrew: Shame. What is it that you're even trying to do?

Coco: I'm not entirely sure myself. I'm just sorta going with what he's doing.

Andrew: Bet you wished you'd be doing something better. Something more fun.

Coco: Fun like what?

Andrew: Like the old days, man. We can head to the junkyard and ride down a scrap heap in one of those old dumpsters. We could attach firecrackers to our bikes. I could do that thing with the pool again.

Coco: Seriously? (laughs) You made all the swimmers purple for a week.

Andrew: Definitely worth getting all that food coloring. Or maybe we could do some A.C.T. stuff.

Coco: What do you mean?

Andrew: Well, I shouldn't get too into it but, imagine if you were with A.C.T. like me, we could hang out all the time and you could do all of the cool things that I can do. You'd get a real blaster like mine, you'd get these capture pods that we came up with- they send the aliens we capture to a parallel dimension; we call it the Capture Zone.

Coco: Sweet!

Andrew: I know right? And check it- if you join up with me and A.C.T., you could check out all the stuff they have on base. Training facilities, all-access pass to any place you want, gear customization, advanced labs for alien genetics stuff- we pretty much have it all. So, what do you say? You could be living the life of adventure like yours truly. I mean, ain't that what you always wanted?

Coco: I-

Before Coco can go any further, a ping is heard. He checks his mobile phone and sees a text message from Brandon. He reads it while Andy looks at him.

Andy: ...What's up?

Coco: It's Brandon, my friend. I guess we have more things to do in the forest.

Andy: Well, you don't have to go. I'm sure he'll understand if you have other things to do.

Coco: Yeah, I guess- but, I don't know. Maybe we could hang out another time, talk more about it then.

Andy: Oh uh- sure, I get it.

Coco walks off, leaving Andrew alone. His face then contorts into an upset expression. Later, at the forest, Coco can be seen walking up a hill and finding Brandon examining the ground with a magnifying glass.

Coco: So, I take it you found something that I didn't.

Brandon: Something like that...

Brandon looks up and turns to Coco.

Brandon: Oh hey, you're here.

Coco: Of course, where else would I be?

Brandon: I dunno. I probably figured you'd be hanging out with Andy.

Coco: I would have but you asked me to be here.

Brandon: That's a surprise.

Coco: What is your deal? I'm here, aren't I?

Brandon: Look, if you don't want to be here then you don't have to be here!

Brandon gets up and grabs his things.

Brandon: I'm going to go look for more samples.

Coco: Fine, see if I care!

Coco crosses his arms while Brandon vanishes further into the forest. In the forest, Brandon sets his things down and takes a sample of some flowers growing from the ground. He notices that they're slightly mutated, with a green glow emanating from its lower veins. He looks at it with a certain curiosity.

Brandon: Interesting... I mean, this kind of stuff shouldn't be happening but it actually lives off of the radiation, affecting its growth.

He takes a breath and looks around at the trees and just the forest, in general.

Brandon, looking around: What is going on with this forest?

Just then, a rustling noise is heard from the bushes. Brandon's attention is caught by the noise as he turns to look at those particular bushes.

Brandon: Alright, Coco. I know you're there. If you want an apology, you're not getting it.

The rustling continues, getting more intense. Brandon's confidence starts to diminish. From the bushes, a hunched over alien with cracked red skin steps forwards with a magma-like substance oozing from the crevices on his arms. Its face would have large hollow holes for eyes if the substance within it wasn't also in his skull. The creature roars out as fire engulfs its claws, which soon rides up its arms. Brandon, surprised, jumps back, tripping over a tree branch. The creature flings a fire ball at Brandon who barely dodges the blast. Brandon then starts to run but the alien flings yet another fireball at him, which instead hits a tree branch above him. The branch crashes down on Brandon, trapping his leg.

Brandon: Gah!

Brandon tries to push the branch off of him but it's too heavy. He turns as a shadow overcomes him and sees the alien approaching. Just on the outskirts of the forest, Coco can be seen seated at the edge of a hill, watching out, his arms still crossed. He then sniffs the air slightly and looks around confused.

Coco: What the- what's that smell? Smell's like-

He turns behind him, seeing a thick smoke leave the forest.

Coco: Smoke! ...Brandon!

Coco gets up and dashes for the forest. In the forest, Coco can be seen rushing past several fires, holding his shirt up over his mouth. He coughs slightly and looks around until he sees Brandon trying to push a tree branch off of his leg while the alien pounces towards him, roaring still.

Coco: Dang! I have to do something!

Coco searches his pockets and retrieves his laser blaster.

Coco: Oh right, I never gave this back to him. Blasting him away should do the trick.

Coco fires the blaster at the alien but, rather than an explosive laser blast, the blaster only fires a red light at the creature as well as some blasting sound effects. Coco then looks down the barrel of the blaster.

Coco: Wait, seriously?

The alien roars are heard. Coco looks up from the blaster to see that he has captured the attention of the alien creature, who is now charging towards him.

Coco: Ah!

Brandon stops pushing against the tree branch as he notices the creature running away from him. He looks down further and sees Coco in its path.

Brandon: Coco? No, no, no.

Brandon kicks at the tree branch with his other leg but nothing does the trick. He then looks at his Omnitrix and activates it.

Brandon: There's no time!

Brandon smacks down the face plate quickly and a green light flashes over him. Brandon then transforms into Freezefire.

Freezefire: Freezefire!

Freezefire then blasts the branch on his leg with an ice beam then uses a fireball in one hand to strike it and crack it open. He then stands and holds his ankle with a small grimace. Shouts are then heard, catching his attention. His expression turns to an upset one. He then shoots his hands out behind him and shoots out powerful beams of fire which blasts him forwards. Gaining enough speed, mid-air, Freezefire charges up a fiery punch and strikes the alien into a couple of trees. The alien strikes Freezefire who goes flying into another tree, crashing through it. He lays on his hands and pushes himself off from the ground which rumbles slightly. He looks up, seeing the alien approach him again.

Freezefire: Alright, tough guy. You want things to get heated? Then how about we cool it off for ya?

Freezefire, with his hands still against the ground, sends out a wave of ice from his fingertips before him. The ice reaches the alien causing it to slip and slide towards Freezefire who flips over the alien, freezing it in the process. He then sticks the landing and stands before a frozen magma creature. Freezefire then turns his head, seeing the burning forest, and sticks his hand out. He then closes his eyes and absorbs the flames into his hand, putting out all the fires. He opens his eyes and smiles. His smile disappears however when he hears coughing. He turns and sees Coco on the ground, coughing, and goes to him.

Freezefire: Hey, you alright?

Coco: Yeah. I'll be fine. Is he-

Freezefire: I took care of it, yeah. What did you think you were doing? You could have gotten hurt by that thing. You should've stayed out of this, like you wanted.

Coco: And what? Let you get trampled by that thing. Someone's got to have your back.

Freezefire: Well, thanks... I appreciate it. (sigh) Look, I'm sorry for getting on your case. It's just- after hearing about how cool Andy was, I wasn't really sure if I'd be your best friend anymore with him back in the picture.

Coco: Dude, did you really think that after all that stuff we went through- with the droids and bounty hunters and aliens... that I'd just kick you to the curb now that Andy's back? You were there for me when I had no one else, he wasn't. And we've been friends since then. Best friends. It doesn't really matter how much cooler and more fun and more interesting and-

Freezefire: Okay, I get it.

Coco: Heh, what I'm trying to say is: he could be all of those things but he can't be you. That's why we're friends, man.

The Omnitrix then times out and Freezefire turns back into Brandon.

Brandon: Oh. Well, now I just feel stupid.

Coco: Don't be. I'm sorry if I made you feel like I wasn't your friend anymore. It's just when I thought we were gonna hang out for summer vacation, I thought we were going to be doing some awesome stuff, rather than science experiments.

Brandon: I didn't think about that. I mean, I thought this was something awesome but I guess we just have different tastes on some things.

Coco: Well, we shouldn't really let that mess with our friendship. I promise I'll give science a shot every once in a while but only if you do the same for my interests.

Brandon: Of course, dude. Wanna spit shake on it?

Coco: What? No, gross.

Brandon: Ha, I'm just kidding.

The two regular shake on it.

Coco: So, now that that's settled. What about those alien creatures, I mean two of them in the same forest can't be a coincidence.

Brandon: For once, I agree. When I ran the samples back at the lab, I noticed that the forest was affected by some kind of radiation and had traces of Alien DNA.

Coco: Well, no duh. If there are aliens running around the place, that might make them leave their DNA behind.

Brandon: I guess but I think it's something more than that. Something to do with the radiation. I packed a scanner in my bag-

Coco: Don't worry about it, I've got it.

Brandon: Thanks, dude.

Coco reaches into Brandon's backpack and retrieves a scanning device. He presses the button in the middle and it activates.

Coco: Alright, I think I got it. So, what exactly am I scanning for?

Brandon: Any signs of radiation. The scanner should pick up on it once you locate it.

Coco: Ooo-kaay...

Coco waves the device slowly around with both hands over the area. The screen then highlights some of the radiation around the area.

Coco: It looks like most of the radiation is coming from... the ground!

Brandon: Then that just confirms my theory.

Coco, turning to Brandon: What theory?

Brandon: Don't you see, Coco? This isn't just an ordinary forest. This is the forest where it all began.

Coco: Where what began?

Brandon: The Omnitrix. That night when I created the Omnitrix, a DNA rod crashed into the hill side and was giving off growing amounts of radiation. I managed to contain it which, I guess, ended up becoming a watch that can turn me into aliens. I'm guessing the excess radiation must have spread through the ground and affected the forest.

Coco: So those aliens were growing out of the forest?!

Brandon: I don't think so... No, the alien DNA must have also been absorbed by the ground. Which means anyone could take a sample from here and maybe grow their own aliens if they had the resources.

Coco: Resources? Like a lab?

Brandon: What are you getting at?

Coco: No, I didn't mean the lab, I meant- well, Andy talked about the things that A.C.T. has and he mentioned some advanced lab where they study alien genetics. You don't think...

Andrew: Well, I guess you two figure it all out. But you're not the only ones that can learn new things, Coco and Brandon. I should I say the mysterious and allusive alien super hero and his ambitious sidekick. You really should be more private with your conversations, you never know who might be taking a scroll through the forest one day.

Coco: Why? Why would you do this? I thought you hunt aliens.

Andrew: Don't you get it? That's exactly why I did it. It's like you said, Brandon, the droids weren't alien-made. Only half of the attacks on the city are done by aliens, sure they could increase in the upcoming years but I've got a retirement pension with my name on it. Once I reach my quota, it's pay day for me.

Brandon: So you discovered the alien samples in the forest and took them back to the A.C.T.'s base for genetic replication. Then you released the aliens from your pod-things into the wild so you could recapture them again.

Andrew: Guess taking all them samples was good for something, now wasn't it?

Coco: You don't have to do this, Andy. Think about all the good times we had.

Andrew: That's why I came to you, Coco. I meant what I said back there. About you joining the A.C.T., about you joining me. Together we can do so much for the world by getting rid of these aliens, backing sure they never see the light of day again. Not to mention getting paid off of it. Remember the mountain, Coco? We can finally get that mountain with our faces on it.

Brandon: Don't listen to him, Coco.

Andrew: I've had just enough of you butting in, Brandon!

Andy gets out one of his capture pods and flings it at Brandon. It activates, releasing a blue/grey beast-like creature which sparks up every once in a while. Brandon steps back in surprise.

Andrew: Fresh from the Capture Zone, we call it a Shock Beast. It took 10 of our best agents just to capture this one and once it gets distracted from destroying you, I'll capture it and get what I deserve.

The Shock Beast steps forwards and strikes downwards at Brandon who jumps out of the way. He tries to activate the Omnitrix but it's still recharging.

Brandon: Aw man!

Coco watches in horror as the creatures approaches his friend.

Andrew: Come on, Coco. Join me.

Coco, turning back to Andy: Stop this! You're supposed to be my friend.

Andrew: I can't have friends that don't share my interests, Coco. That's why I'm trying to recruit you. Once we're on the same side, you'll see reason and everything will work out for the both of us.

Coco: And do what? Quit school, throw away my life because you did? You might have been a cool guy back then but now you're nothing but a jerkish sell out. No. I don't need you or your group, I already have something worth fighting for.

Andrew: Oh yeah? And what's that?

Coco: Friendship.

Coco pulls out his blaster and aims at Andrew, who only cracks a laugh. Coco's determination remains as it is.

Andrew: I already know that's not a real blaster, Coco. You can't fool me.

Coco: You'd be surprised.

Coco pulls the trigger and shoots the light into Andy's eyes. He covers his face and yells out. The blaster also makes more sound effects which wind up catching the alien's attention. Coco turns, seeing the alien face them, and makes a run for it. Andy shouts, holding his face, then lets go, covering his eyes with his arm.

Andrew: Not cool, Coco! Not cool!

He readies his plasma rifle with his other hand and lowers his arm. He squints as a shadow overcomes him. He then looks more clearly and sees the alien approaching him, letting out a roar. The alien shoots out some lightning from the crystals protruding from its shoulders at him when knocks him back. Andy grabs hold of his rifle and fires it at the alien which does very little to the Shock Beast. Brandon looks awe shock by what just happened then tries to get up form the ground however, a hand reaches out to help him. Coco is the one trying to help, with a weak smile. Brandon then takes his hand and Coco helps him up.

Brandon: Thanks for the hand... and the back up.

Coco: Even without the Omnitrix, I still have my uses. So I'm guessing the plan isn't to let him get eaten by an alien.

Brandon: No, even if he was a jerk, which I knew from the very beginning.

Coco: Alright, smart guy. So what's your plan?

Brandon: I'll distract the Shock Beast, you try to get one of those capturing pods so we can use it on him.

Coco: One of the capture pods from the guy trying to kill us?

Brandon: I've got your back. Trust me.

Coco is about to say something but nods instead. He then rushes ahead, leaving Brandon to try to activate his Omnitrix.

Brandon: Come on, come on...

The Omnitrix then lights up green and activates.

Brandon: Alright!

Brandon smacks down the face plate and, within a bright green flash, transforms into Big Boo.

Big Boo: Just the alien I was going for.

Big Boo then floats over towards the attacking Storm Beast and shrouds it in a cloud of darkness, using the dark energy from underneath his skin. The creature looks around, confused but more so angered, and starts firing lightning in random directions, as if attacking the cloud itself. Andy is about to fire his plasma rifle but notices the dark cloud before him and looks at it confused, lowering his plasma rifle in the process.

Andrew: What the-

Coco: Hey Andy!

Andrew looks and is shoved by Coco. Coco reaches for his utility belt but Andy backs away, kicking Coco back. Andrew then gets up and readies his plasma rifle, aiming it now at Coco.

Andrew: Sorry, man. But you just became a liability. You could have had everything you ever wanted but you refuse it just so you can spend some time with some dorky kid with an alien watch. No. I'm going to destroy you, capture that monster and then I'm going to capture your friend over there. Have the boys at A.C.T. experiment on him next. All because you wanted friendship. Well friendship isn't going to save you now.

Andrew is about to fire at the trigger but the blaster is taken from him and hovers in the air.

Andrew: Huh?!

The plasma rifle is then swung and strikes Andrew back. Before he hits the ground, he levitates and is lifted into the air. Big Boo then becomes visible again and, while holding up Andy, releases a cloud of dark energy from underneath his skin. It wraps around him.

Andrew: What- What are you doing to me?!

Big Boo: Making you see the thing you're most afraid of.

After a moment, Andrew starts freaking out and grabbing his head. While he does that, Big Boo removes his utility belt and drops Andy to the ground where he squirms around. Big Boo then passes the capture tech to Coco, who already got himself up from the ground.

Coco: Well, I guess that takes care of that.

Big Boo: Hang on. We still have some unfinished business.

Big Boo takes one of the capture pods and activates it. He tosses it over at the dissipating cloud of darkness and it sucks up with Shock Beast. Within the flash, the pod shuts close with the alien trapped inside. Coco then picks up the capture pod and looks up at it.

Coco: Cool...

Big Boo: Interesting tech, I'll have to take a look at it back at the lab.

Coco: I can't believe there are people with this kind of stuff. Stuff that sends aliens to parallel dimensions and-

Big Boo: Wait what?

Andrew: Not so fast!

Big Boo and Coco turn to face Andrew, who has a sample in his hand and a capture pod in the other.

Coco: What is that?

Big Boo: Looks like a sample of that alien DNA I was talking about.

Coco: He's also got a capture pod on him.

Andrew: I'm going back to the base with this sample and I'm going to get what I deserve. Not even you two can stop me.

Coco: I thought you gave him that fear stuff.

Big Boo: I did but he must be resisting it. He's clearly not thinking straight.

The capture pod in his hand is sparking up.

Coco: And it looks like that capture pod isn't doing too well either.

Big Boo: It must have gotten blasted by the Shock Beast. (to Andrew) Don't do anything crazy. You're not thinking clearly.

Andrew: I'm perfectly fine, freak. It's things like you that take the good things away from people like me. Well, not anymore. I'm sending you to the Capture Zone, both of you.... forever.

Andrew activates the capture pod and it sparks up even more.

Coco: Andy, NO!

A bright flash then consumes him and, within a moment, he vanishes. The Omnitrix then times out and Big Boo returns to being Brandon.

Brandon: I'm sorry about your friend, Coco.

Coco: I guess he got what he deserved in the end. And he wasn't my friend... not anymore, at least. (sigh)

Coco walks to the edge of the hill and sits. Brandon makes his way over to him and sits besides him. He also lets out a sigh.

Brandon: You asked me what I was looking for earlier. Why I wanted you to come with me to the forest.

Coco: That's not important, man. I mean, it was for the samples, right? You got them, and some crazy capturing tech too.

Brandon: It wasn't just the samples, Coco. I could have gotten that by myself. I wanted you to come with me because, well, I wanted this to be an experience we can have share together as friends. Like one of those awesome summer vacation memories.

Coco: (dry chuckle) You thought hiking up a hill and finding things in a forest would make an awesome summer vacation memory?

Brandon: Well, it was the last time I did it.

They both smile but Coco's smile becomes a more neutral expression when he looks out at the city in the distance.

Coco: I know I said I'd try the whole science thing out but I don't know if it's really my thing.

Brandon: So does that mean the deal's off?

Coco: No. I mean, I'll still give it a shot once in a while but the rest of the time, I think I'll leave it to you.

Brandon: Really? You sure?

Coco: Look, if we spend all of the summer together, we'd probably get sick of seeing each other. Plus imagine all of the stories you get to tell me when we meet up again.

Brandon: Good point. So, back to the lab?

Coco: Not just yet. I think I just- need some time here for now. You can head back though, if you want.

Brandon: I'm not going anywhere, dude.

Coco: (sigh) Thanks, Brandon.

Brandon: What are friends for?

They sit there, watching the city from the edge of the forest. Credits

Major Events

 * Brandon gets a hold of the A.C.T.'s capture technology and gains knowledge about/access to the Capture Zone
 * Coco decides to spend some time away from Brandon whenever he decides to go on certain adventures

Minor Events

 * Coco is reunited with his old friend, Andrew Harrison
 * Andy gets sucked into the Capture Zone

Characters

 * Brandon
 * Coco

Villains

 * Andrew Harrison (First Appearance)
 * Capture Zone Aliens (First Appearance)

Aliens Used

 * Aqualad (First Appearance; Selected Alien was Slime Shot)
 * Freezefire
 * Big Boo

Trivia

 * In the original episode, Coco was able to use his Omnitrix. In the rebooted version, the Omnitrix Mark II was still affected by the events of previous episode.
 * Aqualad makes his debut in this episode.
 * This is the first episode where a character returns to a previous location, aside from Brandon's House/Lab and the Conqueror's Ship.
 * This is also the first episode named after a location.
 * This also is the first episode without any citizens.
 * Unlike the original version, the rebooted version of this episode works off of the previous episode and holds more onto continuity earlier on.
 * In the original version of this episode, a Pyronite attacked Brandon however, in the rebooted version, this is corrected with an alien that simply shoots out fire.
 * While it's not officially named in the episode, the alien's species is a Pyrovil.
 * In the original version, the A.C.T was officially named the A.C.U. for some reason despite being called the Alien Capture Team throughout the episode. This is changed in the reboot for two reasons; one was because it was misnamed and another was because it might have gotten confused for the A.C.U. from Jurassic World.
 * One scene that wasn't added to the episode was them heading back to the lab and Computer claiming that it had calculated several different possibilities that Brandon could end up in danger but a (camp)fire was not one of them. This was, however, cut and replaced by the episode's current ending.
 * Information about the Capture Zone was difficult to add in this episode without retconning the original continuity as the Original Series episodes failed to include details about the Capture Zone's origins which made it hard to determine if it was discovered in this episode or in a later episode by Brandon. However, after a thorough search, it should hopefully line up without any major contradictions.
 * This episode was released for the seventh anniversary of Brandon 10.