CH 56: Charm of Luck (E10)

Alistair :"Hey, Jen, what are you in the mood for?"

Jen :"World domination."

Alistair was amused :"Heh, didn't expect that from you."

Jen :"You are my world."

Alistair :"Awwww."

Jen :"..."

Alistair :"... OH!"

--------------------------

With the night still going and nobody in the mood to cook, they decided to go to a restaurant to enjoy some shrimps. Knowing the powers of the charm and to use it as bait for Hex, Alistair had made a special belt to keep it around his waist, along with the other charms that he would get later on.

Sure, Tigris had the same powers as the charm, definitely even stronger since he affected everything regarding his master, which is the reason why Alistair hadn't gotten into any governmental problems and his business had always had a smooth ride.

But he wasn't about to deny even more luck. He was a power hoarder, after all. And even if not for his habits, there was a sense of familiarity and hunger towards the charms that left him agitated when not close.

However, none of that was important right now. None of them were at all problematic right now. What was problematic was the kid running around screaming at the top of his lungs without the parents sitting his goddamn ass down.

Elbows on the table, hands clasped in front of his mouth, he looked ready to lose it all :"If that little shit's parents don't put him down now, I'm going to put them all down permanently."

Shego wasn't any different as she flared her nose :"It's at times like this that I miss being a villain. If I didn't need to watch my behavior right now..."

"Ahahaha..." Max chuckled awkwardly :"Well, that's just how kids are. Believe me, you'll experience it yourself when you have kids."

The two side eyed him simultaneously :"Max/Grandpa Max, you're doing very well on convincing me to never have kids."

As the kid screamed some more, Alistair could feel the veins popping, before he sensed something foreign, yet all too familiar, steer inside of him. Looking down, his eyes widened as the Charm of Luck began to glow, before he heard a pain scream and crying.

They all turned to see the child on the ground after falling down, crying violently in pain. He didn't seem to have broken anything (unfortunately), but the sight of his parents finally cleaning the little bastard up caused Alistair and Shego to grin in satisfaction :"Finally, inner peace."

The satisfaction was in the air. Not just because of them, but from everybody else who had to put up with the loud kid and the irresponsible parents. Eating one of his shrimps, he patted the Charm of Luck as if it was alive :'Good job, little fellow.'

- (Time skip no jutsu!)

Laying on his bed, which he had fitted into the trailer after expanding the space within using science magic, he gazed at the charm with Tigris laying beside him :'This thing really is weird.

Cool kind of weird, that is. Magic, huh? Well, I had definitely planned to learn it. I should ask Ken, maybe he'll teach me some things. But for now, la-la land, here I come.'

Putting the charm aside, he rolled to his side to sleep. But unbeknownst to him, the Charm of Luck began to glow, before a red energy surged through the veins of his wrist guarded by the Nemetrix, before disappearing just as suddenly as it had appeared.

- (Time skip no jutsu again!)

Alistair stirred in his sleep, sweaty and panting as short visions appeared and disappeared in his dreams. But throughout them all, he could hear constant loud screams and explosions.

"AAAHHH, SAVE ME!!"

"A-ATTACK HIM! ATTACK HIM!!!"

"STOP HIM, HE'S TRYING TO KILL US ALL!! STOP HIM!!!"

Gripping his soft blanket harsh enough to nearly make it rip, he heard yet another voice. But this time, it wasn't a scream. It wasn't a shout filled with terror. It was a gentle voice of a man that calmed him down momentarily :"Da#@$¢-"

"Aahhh!!" He woke up with a shout, panting violently. Sitting up while supporting himself with a hand on the bed, he felt just how much his sweat had soaked the bed.

'What... what was that?' He panted, grabbing his head as a violent headache thrashed in his mind :"Ugh, fuck!" As he grabbed his aching head, he felt something nudging him.

"Grr." It was Tigris, who had woken up because of Alistair's shout. But unlike how he would normally be grumpy for being woken up from his beauty sleep, he seemed worried for Alistair.

"It's alright, pal. It's alright." He panted, forehead in hand as he patted Tigris :"I just had a nightmare, that's all. No need to worry."

Tigris nodded, but sat by his side like a guard dog. Alistair smiled at him, and took his time to calm down while petting Tigris. The action helping a lot in calming him down.

When had fully calmed down, he frowned at the heat radiating from his forehead :'Shit, why do I have a fever? Or maybe my body is heated because of that nightmare? What was that anyway?'

He frowned in confusion, but jerked when he heard a loud explosion. Quickly running out, he found everybody already out, before finding the source of the explosion. It was the construction site near them, and they could see two workers about to fall from quite a height.

"Time to report for duty." Ben activated his Omnitrix, but Alistair stopped him :"Forget it, I'll get this over with quickly."

"Al? What's the-" Noticing his weird mood, Ben was about to ask. But before he could finish, he had already transformed and flown away as Hypnotick.

"Over here! Somebody!" They heard a shout from a construction worker. He had been trapped under a nearly crushed truck after a beam landed on it.

"Fourarms!" Ben transformed :"I'll handle this." And as he saved him, Hypnotick got to saving the workers who were hanging on for their dear lives.

"Ahh!! What the hell is that?!" One of them shouted at the alien insect, but Hypnotick, really not in the mood, just grabbed onto them and brought them to the ground.

They thrashed around in panic at first, but stopped when they saw he wasn't harming them. After putting him down, he transformed back with a groan, feeling unusually tired :'I guess even the peak of the species can get sick, huh?'

But his attention was pulled by the camera and news reporter that appeared out of nowhere :"Hello, Mr Aliyev! Can I have a moment of your time?"

He put on a smile :"Uhh, yeah, sure. I got a minute to spare." 'Maybe this will help me ignore the tingling in my head. And besides, I have to make sure Hex catches the bait.'

- (Time skip no jutsu!!!)

At night, while they were on the road, Shego was on her personal super laptop, created by Alistair himself :"Oh, there we go! Boss, I found something."

Alistair leaned over to look as she explained :"I looked into what that rock is after you asked me to and found some things. I cross-referenced the Archamada Book of Spells with dark magical charms, and look.

It's a part of a set called the Charms of Bezel. That charm is "luck". There are also charms for fire, levitation, reincarnation and electricity. That book really was magic, huh?"

"Yeah, I remember that magician wearing the others back at the museum."

"And for a good reason. Look. It says that for the book to be at its full and true power, all the Charms of Bezel are needed."

"Huh, so I should have taken all of the charms instead of just this as a souvenir."

Max frowned :"But I think we need to turn that charm into the museum."

Alistair scoffed lightly, as if instinctively annoyed at the thought of parting with the charm :"Yeah, over my dead body. What are they gonna do? Keep it behind a glass before mister magician comes to take it again? If anything, me keeping it is the safest option."

Ben looked at him in concern :"Al, what's with you today? You've been acting weird all day."

Kevin nodded :"He's right. You're seriously moody today."

Shego :"Did something happen, boss?"

"I..." He sighed :"No, it's nothing. I'm just feeling a bit tired today. But it's the truth. You saw what happened with the Archamada Book of Spells. He'll just go back to steal it again... shit, I think I just jinxed it."

And as if on cue, the radio came to life :"And in the news of the weird, reports are coming in that the city's famed haunted history mansion has come alive, trapping dozens of visitors inside."

"Haaah, I just had to say it." Alistair groaned as the kids turned to Max :"Grandpa!"

-

Exiting the RV, they sprinted towards the mansion filled with screams and people coming running out of it. As they got in, they saw the structure of the inside moving around randomly.

The pillars were getting ripped off of the ground, with the people on the staircase hanging on for dear life to not fall. It was as if the mansion had come to life, but Alistair's danger senses said otherwise.

He turned to glare at Hex who was posing with his Staff of Ages :"I knew you couldn't resist... Predator." And as his staff glowed, the mansion shook again, risking the lives of random citizens.

"I'm afraid of heights!"

"The whole thing is gonna crash down!"

"Please, somebody help!"

"I'm NOT in the mood for your bullshit, pal." Alistair growled :"Shego, save these people as fast as you can! Ben, Kevin, stop this mansion from crushing the people!"

"Got it!" They nodded, with Ben transforming and Kevin absorbing his DNA. But just as they got into action, Hex's Charm of Telekinesis (Levitation) glowed, causing the shaking to get violent to the point that the structures were literally getting ripped apart.

'Alright, I like that one.' Alistair hummed, punching away some wooden stairs that came flying at him :'So let's get all of them!' And he transformed :"(Predator! You've picked the wrong day to fuck with me, asshole!)"

"That creature again." Hex glared, before shooting a bolt of lightning which he dodged :"(If that's all your magic amounts to, then you might as well just give up before you get an even worse beating!)"

"I'll make you regret saying those words!" He growled, before Predator's senses picked up a pillar flying at him. Sensing Max and Gwen behind him, he growled :"(Run, you two!)"

To not let them get crushed, he rammed the pillar with a bear hug and a loud roar :"GRAAR!!!" Gritting his teeth as his scales began to crack. A pillar falling on him wouldn't normally deal too much damage, but the full weight of a giant pillar getting thrown at him harshly was different.

It was the first time his scales while as Predator had gotten that damaged. As he struggled to keep the pillar at bay, his senses went blaring as another came flying at him.

"(Alright, now that's too much!)" He groaned, before smirking :"(Is what you thought I'd say?! I may not be a magician, but I've got a few tricks too!)" Before his tail smacked the Nemetrix symbol around his neck.

The red light began to travel through him from the Nemetrix, causing his body to grow bulkier. His scales gained even more protrusion, whole crystal-like red horns began to appear on elbows and shoulders, with two actual horns sticking out of his head. But most notable changes were the large wings and the spear-like end of his tail. He looked like an actual eyeless dragon.

-

[Evolved Vulpimandor Abilities]

Supernatural Strength

Supernatural Speed

Supernatural Durability

Supernatural Stamina

Supernatural Agility

Supernatural Reflexes

Supernatural Equilibrium

Regenerative Healing Factor

Extra Appendage Generation

Biomass Absorption

Damage Empowerment

Energy Absorption

Projectile Scales

Exploding Scales

Electric Scales

Paralyzing Scales

Vaporizing Scales

Atomic Scales

-

As the pillar came flying, two extra arms appeared from his back to stop it. He turned to Hex, grinning sadistically :"You're in for it now."

(A/N: You know what? From now on, each episode will focus on one of Alistair's transformations, so that all of their ultimate forms will appear as well!)