Ben hammered at his Omnitrix plate, eyes squeezed shut as he willed a transformation—nothing. He tried again, heart pounding, but the dial remained stubbornly dark. Then his skin trembled, shifting into coarse blue fur. His jaw stretched into a lupine muzzle, ears lengthened into sharp points, and his frame swelled with muscle. Before he realized what was happening, he'd become something he never expected.
Gwen gaped. "Uh…is that a new alien?"
Mr. Greene stepped forward, voice tense. "That is no alien. Ben, were you bitten by the Yenaldooshi?"
Ben's new snout curled back. "It just scratched me—why?"
Gwen summoned a hand mirror, the glass shimmering to life. Reflected in it was a snarling wolf-boy. Ben threw back his head and howled, "I'm a werewolf!" A final, echoing "awooo!" cracked the desert night.
Kai blinked at Gwen. "Was that magic just now? This night's full of unexpected twists."
Mr. Greene's brow furrowed. "The Yenaldooshi can spawn copies in its image. Those followers will hunt the people closest to them."
Max rubbed his chin. "Then how do we stop Ben from turning completely?"
Greene's jaw tightened. "By stopping the transformation."
Ben managed a sheepish grin. "Er…silver bullet?"
"That's only in the movies," Greene said. "Here's what we need: dip a silver pendant in the juice of an árbol del matrimonio cactus, press it to the creature's heart—and do it before midnight, or he's stuck like that forever."
From above, Fred's voice rang out. "Found it! I can lead us right to it."
"Good work, Fred," Max called.
Greene tucked the plan away. "I'll grab the pendant."
"You guys wait in the Rust Bucket," Max told the others as he and Greene took off into the night.
Inside the rust bucket, Gwen looked up the cactus. Ben rummaged the fridge, wolfish fangs tearing into sandwiches. Fred, now human again, sat across the table from Gwen.
----
"Wait—so Ben's watch lets him become different heroes, and you somehow copied it?" Kai frowned.
"More or less," Fred admitted. "Some extra steps, but yeah."
Kai shook her head. "I still don't get it."
Ben opened the fridge once more, stuffing leftovers into his mouth. In mid-bite, he shot up another two feet—fur expanding, teeth sharpening—until he looked every inch the Loboan.
Moments later, Max and Greene returned, the silver pendant swinging from Greene's fingers. "We'll leave you two to find the cactus and bring it to us," Greene said. "We need to find the Yenaldooshi."
Gwen and Kai stood, gathering supplies, and headed off in one direction. Fred led the others to the entrance of the cave where the Loboan hid. Mr. Greene leaned down assessing the ground. "Footprints end here," Greene noted, peering into shadow.
Ben twitched, another growth spurt warping him further toward Loboan. Greene checked his phone. "No signal."
Max's grin was grim. "No signal? We improvise."
Greene popped a flare gun and fired; the rocket hissed upward, then bloomed red against starlight.
A grinding tumble of stones answered. From the cave's throat, the Loboan emerged—muscles coiling beneath midnight pelt, eyes burning gold.
Fred cracked his knuckles, stance coiling. "Time for my turn." Fred's Transformation into a fusion of a Kraaho and Four arms.
The beast snarled, claws gouging shallow trenches in scorched earth. Fred's four arms flexed in perfect synchrony—two low, two high—membranes fluttering like a predator poised to pounce. Sand drifted in the tense breeze, dust motes swirling as the two combatants eyed each other.
Amber eyes locked on the wolf's feral gaze. With a thunderous roar, Fred lunged, arms churning in a quadruple-fist barrage. Each strike unleashed concussive shockwaves that rippled across the ground—Earth-Splitter Punch—sending the Loboan rolling in a cloud of grit. But before the wolf could recover, Fred's left-rear hand snaked out, suctioned to its flank. Fingers ground into fur and flesh as slimy pads gripped like living steel.
The wolf burst free, hurling itself at Fred's midsection—teeth bared. Fred twisted aerially, membranes on his arms catching moonlit air to glide backward. Landing with all four limbs absorbing the impact, he launched a Web-Strike Kick from his rear legs, hooking taloned toes under the Loboan's chin and flipping it into the air.
Under the flare's dying glow, Fred crouched in a perfect diamond stance—four muscular arms spread like the spokes of a wheel, webbed membranes stretched between his Kraho-forged limbs glinting in the moon light. The Yenaldooshi snarled, claws gouging the cracked earth as it lunged.
Fred's amber eyes narrowed. He braced for impact, while coiling his upper arms like living rubber bands. He surged forward with a Seismic Smash: both fists pounded the ground in rapid succession, each blow rippling shockwaves outward. The werewolf was driven back through a screen of shattered rock, dust and debris spooling in swirling eddies around him.
The beast leapt atop a fallen rock column, readying a sonic pounce. Fred flexed his arms, stretching each one sky-high in an Elastic Quad-Grip that yanked the column from under the Loboan's paws, sending it crashing into the sand.
As the Yenaldooshi staggered, Fred seized the creature in a tightening bear hug of four kitted biceps while the other four elastic limbs wove a binding knot around its legs. The beast thrashed around, but Fred's enhanced durability simply flexed under each strike.
In the moonlit silence, Fred stood triumphant—a four-armed titan born of amphibian flexibility and unstoppable Plumber strength—his victory etched in every pulse of the desert night.
Above them, Gwen and Kai soared on a mana platform—a glowing carpet of violet light. As the dust settled, Gwen raised a hand: "We found it!"
Mr. Greene sprang forward, catching the cactus. He carefully squeezed the pulp, dribbling bright green sap onto the silver pendant. His voice trembled with urgency: "Stand back!"
He pressed the pendant against Loboan's pelt—once, twice. But nothing. The wolf's eyes burned brighter.
Ben, now fully Loboan, collapsed to his knees, fur receding as human clothes changing. An Omnitrix symbol scorched into his stomach. He stared in horror. "Why…?"
Kai's calm voice rang out: "What if it's not a Yenaldooshi?"
Fred's claws sank into the battle-scarred ground as he held the wolf's head, amber eyes locked on his. "Then it's alien. But what do we do with it?" as it kept squirming under his grip.
He punched the wolf on the snout—thwack!—and snarled, "Cut it out!" The beast stilled, stunned by the impact.
After that he changed into Wildvine—vines snaking from Fred's shoulders, binding the wolf with strong vine. The vines tightened, wrapping around the creature's limbs and torso.
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