Gwen stared in astonishment as Mr. Greene raised a polished hunting rifle. "I wasn't expecting that." she gasped. "Mr. Greene… is also a retired Plumber?"
Mr. Greene nodded, eyes solemn . The desert wind ruffled the strands of his hair. "That's right. I hung up my Plumber badge decades ago, but the skills never leave you."
Ben whistled. "I'd've never pegged you for a Plumber. Huh."
Mr. Greene guided them into the Desert Heritage Museum, its adobe façade etched with petroglyph patterns. Inside, they paused before a series of ancient paintings depicting grotesque, lupine figures under crescent moons. The brushstrokes captured snouts twisting in snarl, eyes aglow with malice—eerily like the werewolf that ambushed them.
"That," Greene said, finger tracing a snarling figure, "is the Yenaldooshi. It prowls night after night around these ruins. I never thought I'd see one—until that lightning. Now, I intend to bag it."
Fred folded his arms. "But why here?" he asked, glancing at the adobe walls flickering in the setting sun.
Greene leaned in, voice low. "I don't know. The Yenaldooshi is a creature of pure evil, it cannot be left roaming as it please."
Max squared his shoulders. "Count me in."
Ben and Fred chimed in together. "We're coming too."
Kai slipped from the museum's gift shop, wearing hooded buckskins. "Grandpa, let me come!"
Mr. Greene's expression softened, then turned firm. "No, Kai. You know well that only Braves may track spirits. Tradition forbids it."
Gwen opened her mouth to argue, but Max laid a gentle hand on her arm. "Their land, their rules."
Kai's eyes shimmered with tears. She nodded, stepping back inside. Gwen swallowed hard. "It's okay, Kai," she whispered.
Ben leaned over at Gwen as he shot a look at Kai. "She seems bummed."
Ben scratched his neck. "Maybe…I should—"
Gwen smirked. "Since when do you care about what girls think?"
Ben's face went red. "I—I don't!"
Gwen raised an eyebrow. "Hey, stuttering's cute."
Ben's shoulders slumped as Kai watched yearningly as her grandfather prepared to hunt the Yenaldooshi. Then, gulping, Ben turned toward Gwen before he went and join the hunting party. "Gwen…put in a good word for me, okay?"
Gwen rolled her eyes but offered a small grin.
They set out as night settled like a blanket over the desert.
Mr. Greene stopped the crew as they stumbled across the creature in what at first glance looked like a scrapyard. "Finally found you."
Towers of various machine part and twisted metal loomed against the star-speckled sky. A low wind rattled freestanding turret shells. "These parts..." Fred scanned the area.
Fred surveyed the wreckage. "It looks more like it's building something."
Ben transformed into Four Arms, limbs throbbing with muscle. He dropped from the rust bucket and squared off against the looming piles. "Let's dance."
Greene knelt to apply night-vision goggles; Max flicked out a specialized Plumber comm-link. Moonlight traced the scrapyard in silver.
Suddenly—a shuddering roar cracked the night air. The Yenaldooshi burst through a wall of twisted steel, fangs bared, claws chiseling rust. Its feral form was hulking and sinewy, sinew rippling beneath coarse fur.
"Aaargh!" The Yenaldooshi's roar rent the air as it tore through a wall of twisted steel and rusted girders. Its hulking form—muscles rippling beneath coarse, matted fur—crashed into the scrapyard, claws gouging deep gouges in iron and concrete alike.
Four Arms planted all four fists on the ground and surged forward in a blur of red muscle. The were-wolf snatched a heap of scrap metal—broken pipes and dented panels—and hurled it like a battering ram.
The junkpile arced through the moonlit air, sparks spalling off Four Arms' armored torso. Four Arms dove beneath the flurry, arms raised to deflect the crushing impact. He rolled and sprang upright, fists trembling with pent-up power.
Mr. Greene, kneeling on a dune of shattered metal. He calibrated his rifle's scope, finger poised on the trigger. Moonlight glinted off the barrel.
Fred whispered into his comm-link, voice taut with resolve. "Need backup?"
Down below, Four Arms shot a thumb his way. "I got this, Grandpa!" he barked, baring teeth.
The Yenaldooshi snarled, lunging with savage speed. Its claws raked across Four Arms' biceps. Ben bellowed, blocking each slash with his upper arms before launching a pair of lower-arm bone spikes into the creature's flank.
The Omnitrix emblem on Four Arms' bicep glowed as a light green colour. Ben winced. "Ow…"
The beast recoiled, flared its jaws, and unleashed a sonic howl—a guttural wave that tore through the night, hurling Four Arms across the desert floor. He slammed chest-first into a concrete slab, shards spraying like frozen glass.
The Yenaldooshi crouched, fur bristling, ready to pounce—only to be met by an uppercut from Four Arms' right arm. The blow sent it tumbling as it howled, staggering back onto all it feet.
Ben then shifted mid-battle into Wildvine—vines sprouting from his shoulders, his torso elongating into a writhing network of living plant.
Wildvine sprung forward, his vines snapping out like whips, lashing the Yenaldooshi's limbs and wrapping coils around its thick ankles. The creature thrashed, trying to break free, but Wildvine tightened his grip, pulling the were-wolf into the open.
In that moment, a crack echoed above—Greene pulled the trigger. A tranquilizer bullet whistled through the night. But the Yenaldooshi's ears twitched at the shot; with inhuman reflexes, it leapt skyward, sonic shockwave pulsing in mouth.
A towering pile of scraps crashed down where Wildvine had just stood, burying Ben beneath a mountain of twisted metal.
The dust cloud roiled. Then—a muffled groan. Ben's head poked free from the debris. He blinked. "Aww man…" He morphed back to human.
Fred's voice crackled through the comm. "I did offer to help you know" His tone was equal parts teasing and concern.
Ben dusted off soot. "I was perfectly fine."
Fred smirked. "Sure—just remember it next time I'm going solo too."
Mr. Greene lowered his rifle, frustration etched on his face. "It—got away."
Ben glared at the ruined crates. "Umm—Grandpa? Why's the rust bucket landing here?"
Max climbed down the ramp, dusting his coat. "It must've drove itself here with auto-pilot." He narrowed his gaze as the door swung open. Out stepped Gwen and Kai.
Gwen folded her arms, half-smile in place. "Surprise rescue."
Fred stifled a grin. "You used the rust bucket's autopilot to secretly follow us?"
Mr. Greene glanced at Kai. "We must hurry and find the Yenaldooshi before it causes more disasters."
Fred stepped forward as he morphed into a Sotoraggian. "I'll scan around and see if I can find anything." Waves of holographic particles coalesced in his mask, tracing faint trails in the sand.
Ben's glanced at Kai. "I can help too. Wildmut will catch it's scent in no time."
Also, if you enjoy my writing and want to support me, consider subscribing to my Patreon: [patreon.com/Writing_when_bored].