[36] Desert Tensions
Chapter 36: Desert Tensions
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The thing about living in a mixed universe is that nothing follows the script you remember.
In the cartoon, after the bug incident with Clancy, Vilgax should've shown up guns blazing, ready to rip the Omnitrix from my wrist. Those two episodes were back to back, unless I'm remembering wrong. But here? Radio silence from the squid-faced conqueror.
Made sense when I thought about it. This wasn't just the Ben 10 universe anymore. This was Marvel too, where Odin still sat on his throne in Asgard, where the Ancient One protected Earth's mystical borders, where cosmic threats had to think twice before making moves. Even someone as powerful as Vilgax would hesitate before attracting that kind of attention.
Still, the lack of alien warlords trying to kill me was a nice change of pace.
The Rust Bucket's engine groaned as we climbed another hill, red dust swirling in our wake. Arizona stretched out before us, all mesas and canyons painted in shades of rust and gold. The air conditioning wheezed its last breath somewhere around Flagstaff, so we had the windows down, hot desert air turning the RV into a mobile oven.
"How's the cold, Ben?" Grandpa called from the driver's seat, navigating a particularly nasty pothole.
"Better," I said, and meant it. My sinuses were mostly clear, though I suspected that had more to do with my enhanced physiology than Grandpa's nightmare remedy. "Think I'll live."
"Told you the san juan yi pian would work!" The old man sounded way too pleased with himself.
Beside me, Gwen sat cross-legged on the dinette bench, completely absorbed in her new toys. The Charms of Bezel caught the afternoon light, all five of them now strung on a silver chain Grandpa had produced from his seemingly endless supply of random useful items. She'd been playing with them for the past hour, testing each one's limits with the focused intensity of a kid with a new video game.
"Oh!" She suddenly exclaimed, holding up one charm I hadn't seen her use before. It looked different from the others, more organic somehow, with veins of gold running through purple stone. "I finally figured out what this one does!"
I leaned over, curious. "The mystery charm speaks?"
"It's the Charm of Resurrection," she said, eyes sparkling with excitement. "Well, that's what it's called in the gromorie, but it's more like... super healing? Watch this."
She grabbed a cactus spine from the windowsill—we'd been collecting them for some reason I'd already forgotten—and jabbed it into her palm. I winced, but before blood could even well up, purple light flowed from the charm. The wound sealed instantly, not even leaving a mark.
"That's incredible," I said, meaning it. That could save her life, and that fact instantly relaxed my shoulders. "My brilliant cousin, master of not one, not two, but five magical artifacts. Should I start calling you Sorceress Supreme?"
She blushed but played along. "Well, I am pretty super amazing. Certainly more amazing than my dweeb cousin who turns into smelly aliens."
"Harsh. And here I thought we were having a moment." I placed a hand over my heart in mock hurt. "What happened to the sweet girl who hugged Grandpa a week ago?"
"She remembered she has to deal with your ego every day," Gwen shot back, but she was smiling. "Besides, someone needs to keep you humble, Mr. No-More-Time-Limits."
"Humble? Me?" I grinned, leaning closer. "I'm the most humble person in this RV. Possibly the world. My humility is legendary!"
"Your delusions are legendary," she corrected, but I noticed she didn't lean away. If anything, she shifted slightly closer, the space between us charged with something that… well, it definitely wasn't cousinly. "But I suppose you're not completely terrible. For a king of dweebs."
"High praise from the queen of nerds," I said softly.
"Now you're making it sound like we're a couple," she raised an eyebrow, and I chuckled. I didn't bother to defend myself, and she scowled playfully.
We held each other's gaze for a moment too long, the desert scenery forgotten. Then Grandpa hit another pothole, jolting us apart.
"We're here!" he announced, completely oblivious to whatever had just happened.
I looked out the window, recognizing the landscape immediately. Twin Falls Reservation spread out before us, a collection of traditional and modern buildings nestled between red rock formations. In my past life's memories, we shouldn't have arrived here for months. Another change, another variable to account for.
We were here to meet Grandpa's old Native American friend, Wes Green.
But I couldn't focus on timeline changes right now, because my enhanced senses had picked up something else. Drumbeats, rhythmic and hypnotic, accompanied by the soft shuffle of feet on packed earth.
As we pulled into the visitor's parking area, I saw her.
A copper-skinned tribal goddess moved in the center of a small circle, performing what I recognized as a traditional Navajo ceremonial dance. Not some touristy performance, but the real thing. It consisted of slow, grounded movements that honored the four directions, her feet keeping time with the drum's steady beat. She wore traditional dress, turquoise and silver catching the late afternoon sun, her long black hair swaying with each measured turn.
Wait, wait, my jaw went slack. That's Kai Green? No way.
She was... damn. The memories from my past life hadn't done her justice. Sun-bronzed skin that glowed in the desert light, dark eyes focused with absolute concentration, moving with the kind of confidence that came from knowing exactly who you were and where you belonged. This wasn't just beauty, this was presence.
[Image Here]
No wonder classic Ben 10,000 folded for her, my future knowledge whispered. Even if their relationship was complicated as hell.
"Close your mouth, Ben. You're catching flies."
Gwen's voice dripped sarcasm, but there was an edge to it I hadn't heard before. When I glanced at her, she was staring straight ahead, jaw tight, fingers drumming against her thigh in a rhythm that had nothing to do with the ceremonial music.
"I'm just appreciating the culture," I said lamely.
"Sure you are." She crossed her arms, the charms on her necklace glowing faintly. "That's definitely cultural appreciation written all over your face. Not drool. Definitely not drool."
Before I could defend myself, Grandpa was already out of the RV, greeting a man I recognized from fuzzy memories. Chief Wes Green, Kai's grandfather, looked exactly like he had in the show—weathered face telling stories of decades in the desert, eyes sharp with intelligence that had nothing to do with formal education.
"Max Tennyson!" The Chief's voice boomed across the space. "Been too long, old friend."
They clasped hands, and I caught the subtle hand signals, old Plumber codes. So Wes was one of Grandpa's contacts, keeping watch for "unusual activities" in the area. I didn't remember everything from the cartoon, but that made sense. The desert had always been a hotspot for weird stuff.
The dance ended, and Kai stepped out of the circle, accepting a water bottle from another performer. She moved with an athlete's grace, every gesture economical and purposeful. When her eyes swept over our group, they lingered on me for exactly half a second before moving on.
No interest. Zero. I might as well have been another rock formation.
Ouch. Maybe I need a few more inches of height.
"Ah, this must be your grandchildren," Chief Green said, his voice carrying the kind of warmth that made you feel instantly welcome. "Ben and Gwen, right? Max talks about you all the time."
"All good things, I hope," I said, trying not to stare as Kai approached our group.
"Mostly," the Chief chuckled. "This is my granddaughter, Kai. She's home from her college in New York for the summer."
Up close, she was even more striking. But it was her eyes that caught me, intelligent, assessing, taking in everything and giving away nothing. She studied our group with the kind of detached interest you'd give to mildly unusual insects.
"Nice to meet you," she said, voice neutral as Switzerland. Her gaze flicked to me again, and I swear the temperature dropped ten degrees. "You have a nice watch. Plumber at such a young age?"
So she mistook the Omnitrix symbol for the Plumber Badge? Makes sense.
"Nah, it's just fashion," I said, trying for charming. "That was an amazing dance. The footwork, especially—"
"It's a sacred tradition," she cut me off, tone suggesting I'd just asked to buy her grandmother's ashes. "Not a performance."
Strike two.
Gwen made a sound that might have been a snicker. When I glanced at her, she was examining her nails with suspicious intensity, but I caught the satisfied smirk playing at her lips.
"I didn't mean—" I started.
"The rain's coming," Kai interrupted again, looking at the sky. Dark clouds were gathering on the horizon, moving way too fast to be natural. The temperature was already dropping, and I could taste copper in the air. "Grandpa, we should get the tourists to shelter."
"Rain?" Gwen looked up, frowning. "In the desert? The forecast said—" She paused, eyes widening slightly. "Oh no. Did you do a rain dance or something?"
Kai's expression could have frozen hell. "Rain dances aren't real. That's movie nonsense."
"I was joking," Gwen said, but she was already fingering her charms nervously.
Because we could all feel it now. This wasn't normal weather. The air pressure was dropping fast enough to make my ears pop, and the Omnitrix had started humming against my wrist, a low vibration that meant it was detecting something.
Thunder rolled across the desert, but it was wrong. Too low, too long, almost like–
"Everyone inside!" Chief Green's voice cut through the growing wind. "Now!"
But it was too late.
The sky opened up like someone had turned on a fire hose. Not normal rain—this came down in sheets, in walls, turning the world gray in seconds. But it was the lightning that made my blood run cold.
Purple lightning.
Oh shit. Right, it's that Episode.
A sound split the night, cutting through the thunder like a hot knife through butter. Part wolf howl, part something else entirely. It wasn't just loud, it was wrong on a fundamental level, carrying harmonics that made my teeth ache and the Omnitrix practically seizure on my wrist.
Car windows shattered. Coyotes went dead silent. Even Gwen's magical charms flickered like dying lightbulbs.
"What the hell was that?" Gwen shouted over the rain. I knew exactly what it was, but before I could answer, someone screamed.
"Not good, flash flood! The arroyo!"
I turned to see water, muddy, fast, and violent, racing through the normally dry riverbed. A group of tourists who'd been taking photos were trapped on what had been high ground thirty seconds ago, now a rapidly shrinking island as the water rose.
"Help!" A woman screamed, clutching two kids as the ground crumbled beneath them.
"Hero Time." I hid behind a building and reached for the Omnitrix, already selecting XLR8 as I went to press the watch. Super speed would let me grab them before—
The watch sparked, green energy crackling wrong. My modifications, the removed time limit, something were interfering. The selection dial spun wildly, and before I could stop it, I pressed down on a form I'd never used.
The transformation hit differently this time. Instead of the usual rush of speed, I felt my body stretching, bones extending, muscles reconfiguring for something aquatic. My skin became scales, tough and hydrodynamic. Gills split open along my neck as my legs fused into a powerful tail.
"RIPJAWS!" I roared, the sound coming out as a watery growl.
[Image Here]
No time to appreciate the new form or wonder what the fuck did I mess up in the Omnitrix. Ripjaws was a great choice for this anyway.
I dove into the raging water, my legs connecting into a tail, my body moving with instinctive grace. The current that would have killed a human was nothing to me now. I could see perfectly in the muddy water, smell the panic pheromones from the trapped tourists, feel every vibration through my lateral line.
I reached the family first, wrapping my arms around all three and powering toward shore. The kids screamed—fair enough since I looked like something from their nightmares—but their mother just clutched them tighter.
"More people!" someone shouted as I deposited them on solid ground. "The viewing platform collapsed!"
Back into the water. An elderly couple clinging to debris. A teenager who'd been swept away trying to save his camera. One by one, I pulled them from the flood's grasp, my super-strong alien body perfectly designed for this exact crisis.
Then I saw her.
Kai had been helping evacuate others when the ground gave way. She hit the water hard, the current immediately pulling her under. Unlike the panicking tourists, she didn't waste energy fighting it, but that wouldn't matter if she couldn't surface.
I powered through the water like a torpedo, reaching her just as her lungs must have been screaming for air. My webbed hands found her waist, and I kicked hard for the surface, breaking through in an explosion of spray.
She gasped, coughing up water, eyes wide with shock as she took in my appearance. Angular features, huge teeth, black and green scales. I looked like the love child of a shark and a frog. "S-stay back!" she shouted in panic, and I couldn't blame her for it.
"It's me," I said quickly as I lifted her onto solid ground, pointed at the Omnitrix symbol, my voice gurgling through razor teeth. "You're safe."
She stared at me still scared as she backed off. I turned to see Gwen helping others now, and realized I wasn't needed anymore. So I clicked the Omnitrix symbol, and a green light flashed. I was back to human now, and looked back at Kai.
"See?" I watched her chest heaving, rain plastering her hair to her face. For a long moment, neither of us moved. Then, slowly, recognition dawned in those dark eyes.
"The watch, the symbol…" she breathed. "You're... you're an alien?!"
"Not really, it's complicated," I shrugged. We stood there in the rain, mud squelching under our feet, just looking at each other. Something had shifted in her expression. The cold disinterest was gone, replaced by something more complex. She finally looked curious.
"Thanks," she said quietly, and her voice carried weight.
"Anytime," I managed.
"Ben!" Gwen's voice cut through the moment. She splashed toward us, charms glowing as she used telekinesis to deflect the worst of the rain. Her eyes darted between Kai and me, and I saw her jaw tighten. "Are you okay? Was that fish thing—"
"That was me, and I'm fine," I assured her, but she was already turning to Kai.
"You're bleeding," Gwen said, and I noticed the cut on Kai's arm for the first time. Without hesitation, Gwen activated the Charm of Resurrection, purple light flowing over the wound.
Kai watched in fascination as her skin knitted back together. "Magic," she said, not a question.
"Something like that," Gwen replied, but her tone was cooler than the healing light had been warm.
The rain was already starting to slack off, the purple lightning fading to memory. But as the water receded, it left something behind.
Paw prints. Massive ones, easily the size of dinner plates. But these weren't normal tracks, they smoked with residual purple energy, the mud around them crystallized into glass.
I knelt beside them, pretending to examine them closely while my future knowledge screamed warnings. The "Yenaldooshi". The alien werewolf that was here to steal satellites. What was it up to really?
"What could make tracks like that?" Kai asked, crouching beside me. Close enough that I could smell her shampoo mixing with rain and desert sage.
"Nothing natural," I said honestly.
She looked at me then, really looked at me. And for the first time since we'd arrived, she smiled. Just a small thing, barely a quirk of her lips, but genuine.
"Good thing we've got someone unnatural to help figure it out," she said.
Gwen made a sound somewhere between a cough and a growl. When I looked up, she was glaring at the tracks like they'd personally offended her, fingers white-knuckled around her charms.
Yeah. This was going to be a complicated few days.
Thunder rumbled in the distance, and somewhere in the desert, something howled again. The hunt was about to begin.
But first, I had to figure out why Gwen looked like she wanted to strangle someone with her newly enhanced magical powers.
Probably me.
Definitely me.
Why me…?
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