[38] Ancient Hunts? Or Alien Ones?

Chapter 38: Ancient Hunts? Or Alien Ones?

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Twenty minutes later, I followed Grandpa and Wes into the darkening desert, leaving the warm lights of the cultural center behind. The change was rapid, with civilization falling away like a discarded coat, leaving only the ancient bones of the earth.

Wes moved like a ghost, his footsteps purposeful and silent. He'd stop occasionally, examining signs invisible to normal eyes. A bent branch here, a disturbed stone there. His weathered hands would trace patterns in the air, and I'd catch fragments of old prayers, words in Navajo that predated European contact.

Grandpa Max provided a stark contrast, a Plumber on his hand scanner casting blue light across the landscape in measured sweeps. 

Data scrolled across the screen. Energy signatures, atmospheric anomalies, traces of non-terrestrial elements. Where Wes read the old signs, Max read the new ones, and somehow they both led us in the same direction.

"Fascinating," Max murmured, showing Wes the scanner. "The energy trail matches the residue from the tracks. I don't think it's as simple as you think it is, Wes. There might be something of alien origin here. Almost like it's been here long enough to partially adapt to Earth's—"

"The spirits wear many faces," Wes interrupted calmly. "Sky beings, star walkers, those who change their skin. My grandfather's grandfather spoke of lights in the desert, of creatures that were not of this world yet walked among us."

I pretended to stumble over a rock, playing the part of the nervous teenager while my mind raced ahead. They were doing great, following the trail exactly where it needed to go. The volcanic vents weren't far now. Another mile, maybe two.

"You're very calm," Wes observed, those sharp eyes studying me in the scanner's glow. "Most young men would be frightened, hunting a legend in the dark."

"I trust you guys," I said, which was true enough. Worst case scenario, I could use Wildmutt to track myself. "Plus, you know, alien watch. Kind of evens the odds."

"Confidence and power," Wes mused. "Dangerous combination in the young. Often leads to—" He stopped suddenly, holding up a fist.

We froze. In the distance, something howled.

Not a coyote. Not a wolf. The sound was wrong, carrying harmonics that made my teeth ache and the Omnitrix pulse with sympathetic vibration. It was the cry of something between worlds, neither fully beast nor fully other.

"Two clicks northwest," Max whispered, checking his scanner. "Energy readings are off the charts."

We moved with new urgency now, Wes leading us through a maze of rocks and narrow passages I never would've found on my own. The stars wheeled overhead, cold and distant, offering just enough light to navigate by.

Then we found the first piece of evidence that made even my future knowledge feel inadequate.

Metal shards, embedded in solid rock like shrapnel from an explosion. But these weren't normal metal. They gleamed with an oily iridescence, and where they touched the stone, the rock had turned to glass. Max ran his scanner over them, frowning at the results.

"This alloy... it's not in any Plumber database. The molecular structure is unlike anything I've seen. Huh, it might not be an alien after all."

Because it's not from any nearby Solar System under the Plumbers, I thought but didn't say. The Yenaldooshi's species were from the horror-themed worlds of Anur System in the cartoon, but here? Who knew what changes the Marvel universe had brought to their biology. Maybe they were from the dark dimension or something?

More evidence appeared as we climbed higher. Claw marks that had vitrified stone. Patches of ground where the sand had been fused into glass. The air itself felt charged, like the moment before lightning strikes.

Finally, we reached the volcanic vents. Steam rose from cracks in the earth, carrying the sulfur stench of the planet's depths. And there, partially hidden behind a cluster of basalt columns, was exactly what I'd expected.

A cavern. Small, barely visible unless you knew where to look. Orange light flickered from within. It was not fire, but something artificial.

"I've got this," I said, already reaching for the Omnitrix.

"Ben, wait—" Grandpa started, but I was already scrolling through the selection dial.

Four Arms. Perfect for tight spaces and raw power. I slammed down on the watch face, feeling the familiar rush of transformation. Muscles exploded outward, bones restructured, and suddenly I stood seven feet tall with crimson skin and enough strength to bench press a bus.

"FOUR ARMS!" The battle cry echoed off the canyon walls.

"Take it easy, Ben."

"Yes, Grandpa." I squeezed into the cavern, having to duck and twist to fit my bulk through the entrance. Inside, the space opened up into a rough chamber carved by ancient lava flows. And there, just as I'd known it would be, stood the beacon.

Cylindrical, about four feet tall, covered in alien script that hurt to look at directly. It hummed with malevolent purpose, orange light pulsing from its core. And hunched over its control panel, typing with clawed fingers...

The Yenaldooshi.

An alien species called Loboans.

It looked wrong. Not like the cartoon version at all. This thing was leaner, hungrier, with patchy fur that revealed scarred flesh beneath. Its limbs were too long, joints bending in ways that made my brain hurt. When it turned at my entrance, its face was the worst part—wolf features stretched over a skull that wasn't quite the right shape, eyes that reflected light in colors that didn't exist.

We stared at each other for a heartbeat. Then it moved.

Fast. Faster than anything that size had a right to be. It bounced off the cavern wall, using the confined space to its advantage. I swung with my upper right fist, but hit only air. Claws raked across my back, drawing sparks but no blood. Four Arms was built tough.

I spun, all four arms spread wide to catch it, but the thing was already moving. It bounced off the ceiling, the floor, always just out of reach. This wasn't how the fight went in the show. There, Ben had used Wildvine, which I hadn't unlocked yet. Here, the creature fought as if it had studied me, as if it knew my limitations.

"Hold still!" I roared, frustration mounting.

My fist connected with a stalagmite, shattering it into powder. Another swing caught the wall, leaving a crater. The werewolf used my destruction, riding the shockwaves, letting my own force carry it clear of danger.

Then it made its move.

Not toward me, but toward the beacon. Of course. It didn't need to beat me, just finish whatever it was doing. I lunged to intercept, all four arms reaching to grab the creature.

It twisted in midair, impossible flexibility letting it slide between my grasping hands. But it couldn't avoid me entirely. One claw, desperate and wild, raked across my arm as it passed.

Across the Omnitrix symbol.

The effect was instantaneous. The watch sparked, green light stuttering like a dying fluorescent. The white tubes that ran along its edge flickered and turned a sick, corrupted orange. Energy washed over me, through me, rewriting something fundamental.

The transformation didn't fade… it shattered. One second I was Four Arms, the next I was on my hands and knees, human again, gasping as reality reasserted itself. The momentum that should've carried a nine-foot alien forward sent me sprawling instead.

This was not good, my human form would get turned into paste by this creature.

But… at the same time, I was excited.

I planned to defeat the alien and brush its skin against the Omnitrix on my own, but it had done the work for me. The Omnitrix pulsed on my wrist, orange light slowly fading back to green. I could feel it. 

New data have been integrated, and a fresh DNA sample has been added to the collection. Benwolf. Or Blitzwolfer. Whatever I wanted to call it.

The Yenaldooshi stared at me for a long moment, those impossible eyes narrowing. Then footsteps came from behind. It clicked its tongue and turned, grabbing the beacon with haste, and leaped for the cavern entrance with the device.

"Ben!" Grandpa Max rushed in, weapon raised, with Wes right behind him. They stopped short, seeing me human and kneeling, and the werewolf's figure retracting with the beacon in the distance.

"Looks like it's fleeing. Are you alright?" Grandpa's voice was tight with concern, already moving to check me for injuries.

"I'm fine," I said, letting him fuss while hiding my satisfaction. "But that thing fled with that beacon. That seems important. We should probably go after it."

"Too late. Given its speed, it'll be pointless to chase it. We'll have to look for it again later. But what could the Yenaldooshi want with an odd technology like that?" Wes asked, and even I didn't know what.

Oh, wait. I suddenly remembered an important detail. The reason why the Werewolf was sent to Earth. The werewolf, the mummy, and the Frankenstein monster—these three, in the original, worked for Ghostfreak, who had escaped the Omnitrix. 

Ghostfreak, aka Zs'Skayr, sent them to Earth to install a satellite dish as part of a larger invasion plan involving ghost signals and transdimensional portals.

However, if Zs'Skayr existed in this world, he hadn't come out of Ghostfreak since I still had the transformation available to me, and I'd never had those weird dreams that the original Ben had. So what was going on…?"

"I'm starting to have a bad feeling about this," Grandpa said, and I couldn't help but agree. "We have to find the creature soon, that device can't be anything good."

Whatever the case, we didn't have the answer. So we made our way out of the cavern in silence, each lost in our own thoughts. Grandpa kept shooting me concerned looks, probably wondering about the Omnitrix's light show. Wes moved like a man processing the collision of ancient tradition and alien reality.

As for me? I flexed my fingers, deciding to worry about this later, and instead feeling the new option humming in the watch's DNA. Soon, I'd have my own werewolf form. The thought should've been scarier than it was.

But all I could think about was how cool it'd feel to become a werewolf, and how Gwen and Kai would react when they found out.

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Author Note: Weeee we're Top 3!! Eating good. Keep voting them stones for more!