Chapter 31: I Think New York Is a Bit Too Urban

"You know me?"

Dr. Animo never dreamed that someone would actually call out his name. For a fleeting moment, his eyes lit up as he looked at Ben, his tone becoming joyful and his expression shifting to one of desperate excitement.

He was thin and gaunt, his skin bearing an unnatural bluish pallor that spoke of too many hours spent in dimly lit laboratories. Dark circles shadowed his eyes, and his hands trembled slightly—whether from exhaustion or anticipation, it was impossible to tell.

But at this moment, he gazed at Ben with the raw, desperate hope of a child in kindergarten yearning to be praised by the teacher for a finger painting that only they could see the beauty in.

"Of course I know you!"

Ben thought to himself, his mind racing through everything he knew about this particular threat.

Dr. Animo—whose real name was Aloysius James Animo—had originally been an outstanding veterinarian and scientist. His early work had shown genuine promise, groundbreaking research that could have revolutionized animal medicine. But somewhere along the way, brilliance had twisted into obsession, and obsession had curdled into madness. He'd begun experimenting with reconstructing animal DNA to create what he called "super animals," creatures that existed beyond the natural order.

That single-minded pursuit had ruined his future. He'd missed out on the coveted Verities Award—the recognition he'd craved more than anything else in the world. After five years of bitter silence, licking his wounds in the shadows of the scientific community, he'd returned with his own twisted invention: the Transmodulator.

Ben's gaze fixed on the machine crowning the other man's head, a contraption that looked disturbingly similar to Loki's horned helmet. The device appeared deceptively simple—sleek metal curves housing intricate circuitry—but Ben knew it possessed terrifying power. The ability to mutate any living creature into grotesque parodies of evolution.

"Animo, why are you here?" Ben asked, his voice tight with concern as he tried to process this impossible situation.

Dr. Animo was a classic villain from Ben 10 world, considered by many to be among the most brilliant minds on Earth. His intelligence was matched only by his complete lack of moral restraint. But he shouldn't exist in this universe—this Marvel reality where Spider-Man swung through the streets and the Avengers assembled to face threats.

Moreover, the man standing before him clearly didn't know him, nor did he recognize the Omnitrix on his wrist. The device that had defined so many of their past confrontations was apparently meaningless here.

"Animo?" Dr. Animo's voice suddenly turned glacial, his momentary joy evaporating like morning dew under a harsh sun.

He glared at Ben with wounded pride, placing his palm dramatically over his chest in a gesture reminiscent of a knight receiving a medal of honor. "You insolent child! You should address me as Dr. Animo! I've earned that title through years of dedication to scientific advancement!"

"Okay, Dr. Animo." Ben didn't mind using the formal title—he'd learned that sometimes small concessions could prevent larger conflicts. Compared to these trivial matters of ego, what he desperately needed to understand was how Dr. Animo had appeared in this Marvel Universe in the first place.

"I don't mean to offend you, Dr. Animo," he said, dropping down from his perch on the ceiling with practiced ease. His spider-powers made the movement fluid and natural, though he noticed how the scientist's eyes tracked his motion with analytical interest. "But I really need to know—how did you end up in this world?"

"You mean, this world?" Dr. Animo's expression shifted as understanding dawned, and when he looked at Ben again, there was a glimmer of recognition in his eyes—not of Ben specifically, but of a kindred soul displaced from their proper reality. "Are you not from this world too?"

Before Ben could formulate an answer, Dr. Animo's composure cracked completely. His face contorted with rage and frustration as he threw his hands up in exasperation.

"You ask me? Who should I ask?!" he demanded, his voice rising to a near-shriek that echoed off the laboratory walls. "I was in the middle of executing my masterpiece! I was going to take my beautiful creations back to claim the Verities Award that rightfully belongs to me! The recognition I've deserved for years!"

His pacing became more frantic as the words poured out, years of resentment and disappointment finally finding voice.

"But instead of triumph, I found myself dumped in this place!" He gestured wildly at their surroundings, as if the very existence of this reality was a personal insult. "There is no Verities Award here! No one knows my name! Dr. Animo means nothing to these people!"

His voice cracked with bitter pain. "Those ignorant fools actually treated me like some common vagrant! Me! A man who could reshape the very foundation of life itself!"

Dr. Animo's face flushed with anger, his entire body trembling with the force of his emotions. The dream that had been within his grasp—the coveted Verities Award, the recognition he'd craved for so long—had vanished just as he'd been about to claim it. All his research, all his sacrifices over the past five years, seemingly rendered meaningless by this cosmic joke.

The humiliations he'd endured since arriving in this world only added salt to the wound. But then, as quickly as the storm of rage had built, it began to subside. His clenched fists relaxed, his breathing slowed, and that familiar gleam of manic determination returned to his eyes.

"But you know what?" Dr. Animo's lips curved into a cold smile, the kind of expression that sent chills down spines and made small animals seek shelter. "Perhaps this is actually a blessing in disguise. It doesn't matter which world I'm in—my destiny remains the same. I am meant to restore the glory of prehistoric creatures! To transform this Earth into a paradise for mutant beings!"

"That's completely insane," Ben said, though he recognized the futility of trying to reason with someone so far gone.

"Insane?" Dr. Animo asked, tilting his head with mock curiosity. "Tell me, don't you think New York City is a bit too... urbanized?"

Ben blinked in confusion. "What does that even mean?"

"Oh, come now," Dr. Animo continued, his voice taking on the tone of a professor lecturing a particularly slow student. "Look around you! Concrete and steel as far as the eye can see! Where is the natural beauty? Where is the raw, primal power of the animal kingdom? This city is a monument to humanity's arrogance, a testament to how far we've strayed from our roots!"

Dr. Animo didn't seem to care about Ben's bewildered expression. In fact, he appeared to be warming to his theme, his eyes lighting up with fanatic fervor. He genuinely believed that arriving in this world was the best thing that could have happened to him.

The biotechnology of this reality had provided him with inspiration beyond his wildest dreams.

Dr. Animo pulled out his phone with the reverence of a priest handling a sacred relic, and showed Ben a blurry photograph of the Lizard—Dr. Curt Connors in his transformed state. His voice became breathless with excitement as he spoke.

"Look at this magnificent creature! Such raw power, such perfect adaptation! That strong, scaled body, those razor-sharp claws capable of tearing through steel! If I could transform everyone in this world into beings like this, imagine the possibilities! I could rule over a kingdom of evolved perfection!"

"Beautiful?" Ben couldn't help but grimace at the image. "I think your aesthetic sense could use some serious work. Please tell me you're not the type who thinks those weird monster romance novels are actually good literature."

Ben shook his head in disbelief. "My suggestion? Stay away from the weird corners of the internet. There are some rabbit holes you really don't want to go down."

No matter which world he found himself in, Dr. Animo remained the same obsessed mad scientist.

Dr. Animo's expression soured at the interruption, his lips pressing into a thin line of disapproval. He'd noticed Ben's superhuman abilities from the moment they'd begun talking, though he'd initially misidentified their source.

"That Spider-Man from the news broadcasts—that's you, isn't it?" he asked, his tone carrying the satisfaction of someone who'd solved a particularly challenging puzzle.

"No, you've got the wrong guy. That's my... uh... my friend," Ben said, the lie falling flat even to his own ears.

"Oh, please," Dr. Animo scoffed, waving dismissively. "Everyone knows that when someone says 'I have a friend' or 'I know someone,' they're talking about themselves! It's Psychology 101!"

Dr. Animo studied Ben with what might have been sympathy if it weren't so condescending. "You're fortunate to have obtained animal-based superpowers. It shows you understand, on some level, that animal traits are superior to human limitations. It's a pity that your evolution is so... incomplete."

His gaze swept over Ben's form with clinical detachment. "Your body is still so pitifully human, so weak and limited by your species' inherent flaws. You're stuck in this awkward middle ground between human and animal, never truly achieving the perfection of either."

Dr. Animo's voice dropped to a cold whisper. "Frankly, a failed experiment like you has no place in the new world I'm going to create. You're a reminder of humanity's pathetic attempts to transcend their limitations through technology rather than true biological evolution."

That's when Ben saw the Transmodulator on Dr. Animo's head beginning to glow with an ominous electrical charge.

The next moment, every hair on Ben's body stood on end as an almost subsonic vibration filled the air. Rustling sounds emanated from every shadow, every corner, every dark crevice in the laboratory. In the darkness surrounding them, dozens of pairs of scarlet eyes began to gleam with predatory hunger, reflecting the dim light like demonic stars.

Ben's heart sank as the full scope of his predicament became clear.

He glanced at the Omnitrix on his wrist—still in cooldown mode, its familiar green glow absent. According to his internal clock, it would be at least ten minutes before he could transform again. Ten minutes might as well be an eternity when facing what was emerging from the shadows.

The creatures that began to slink into the light were abominations of science, clear evidence of Dr. Animo's twisted genius. These had once been common laboratory rats, but the Transmodulator had warped them beyond recognition. They now stood nearly four feet tall, their bodies elongated and muscular, covered in mottled scales that seemed to shift color in the dim light. Their limbs had been stretched and reinforced, ending in claws that could probably punch through steel.

Each monster radiated feral intelligence and predatory grace. Their fangs gleamed like ivory daggers, and the way they looked at Ben suggested they understood exactly what he was: prey. The hunger in their eyes was almost human in its intensity, which somehow made it even more disturbing.

"Pathetic creature," Dr. Animo sneered as he began backing away into the shadows, clearly having no intention of getting his hands dirty. "This is where your story ends. Not with glory or recognition, but as food for my beautiful children."

He'd never intended to let Ben leave alive—not for any personal grudge, but because Ben represented an existential threat to his plans. The spider-powered hero had already proven capable of creating serums that could reverse genetic mutations. In Dr. Animo's mind, Ben was the primary obstacle to his grand vision of a mutated world.

As long as Ben existed, someone would always be there to undo his work, to restore his beautiful creatures to their mundane, original forms. That simply couldn't be allowed.

"As for me," Dr. Animo continued, his voice echoing strangely as he retreated deeper into the darkness, "I have more important work to attend to. I need to find that lizard creature from last night's news reports. Dr. Connors, I believe his name was. If I can combine his intelligence with my perfected mutation process, imagine what improvements I could make to the transformation serum!"

His laughter took on a maniacal quality as his form disappeared entirely into the shadows. "After all, why should there be only one species in my glorious prehistoric world? Diversity is the key to a thriving ecosystem! Lizard-men, rat-beasts, perhaps some flying creatures, aquatic variants... the possibilities are endless!"

The mutated rats began to circle Ben with coordinated precision, their movements suggesting a pack intelligence that made them exponentially more dangerous. Their claws scraped against the concrete floor, creating an eerie symphony of anticipation.

Ben crouched low, his mind racing through possible escape routes and strategies. The cooldown on the Omnitrix felt like a death sentence.

The first creature lunged forward with lightning speed, its claws aimed directly at Ben's throat. This was going to be a very long ten minutes.

"This world should be more diverse!" Dr. Animo's voice echoed from somewhere in the darkness, filled with the fevered excitement of a true believer about to witness his vision come to life.

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