Snap!
A sharp, searing pain shot up from Humungousaur's foot, making him bare his teeth in agony.
"You beast! Those teeth are way too sharp!" he snarled, grabbing Ripjaws and slamming him hard against the ground.
Ripjaws let out a pained wail, nearly passing out from the impact. But he gritted his teeth through the pain and transformed again—this time into a savage, feral creature.
Its body was covered in bristling orange-yellow fur that stood upright like steel needles. It had no eyes, only a mouth lined with razor-sharp fangs.
Wildmutt kicked off the ground, nimbly dodging Humungousaur's massive punch. In a blur of movement, it leapt onto his arm, clawing its way upward toward his head.
With a vicious growl, it raised its claws, sharp and glinting coldly in the rain, and slashed down at him.
Humungousaur swatted it aside with a powerful strike, sending it crashing to the ground.
Taking advantage of the moment, he wrenched a nearby tree from the earth and hurled it like a spear, slamming it toward Wildmutt.
Wildmutt twisted away, narrowly avoiding the massive blow. It bounded up a nearby building, leaping from wall to wall before launching itself back at Humungousaur.
Humungousaur, caught mid-motion, couldn't dodge in time. The wild beast's claws raked across his face, leaving a shallow white mark.
Enraged, Humungousaur reached out with his massive hand, trying to grab the Wildmutt clinging to his head.
Crackle!
In the next instant, wings burst from Wildmutt's back. Its form shimmered and shifted, transforming into a large green insect.
Stinkfly spread its wings and soared upward, dodging Humungousaur's grasp as it took to the night sky.
"Try this instead! Let's see how you like the smell!"
From the eyes on either side of Stinkfly's head, several jets of green slime blasted forth. They streaked through the air with a disgusting stench, aiming straight for Humungousaur's face.
Reacting quickly, Humungousaur grabbed a large rock and raised it as a shield, blocking the incoming sludge.
"You can keep that for yourself, little stinkbug."
He swung his arm powerfully, flinging the rock like a projectile toward Stinkfly.
Stinkfly darted to the side, barely dodging the incoming boulder.
But before he could react again, a massive shadow loomed overhead. Humungousaur lunged forward and slammed his giant palm down, swatting Stinkfly out of the sky and into the ground.
He followed up with a flurry of brutal punches, each strike landing like thunder, the afterimages of his fists flashing through the air as he pounded Stinkfly into the earth.
The ground trembled violently. Dust, stones, and rain swirled together in the chaos.
When Humungousaur finally pulled back his fist, a massive crater—tens of meters wide—had formed before him.
Inside lay Kevin, back in human form, his body covered in wounds and barely clinging to life.
Humungousaur raised one enormous foot, ready to end it.
"Wait, Lucian!"
Grandpa Max's voice rang out as he rushed over, with Ben and Gwen following close behind.
His gray hair was plastered to his head from the rain, his soaked clothes clinging to his weary frame. He looked more weathered than ever.
Humungousaur froze. After a brief pause, he lowered his foot and turned toward Grandpa without a word, waiting for an explanation.
"Grandpa, why are we stopping him?" Ben demanded. "Kevin's evil! He almost killed us just now! Why let him live?"
Grandpa Max gasped for breath, his voice strained. "It wouldn't matter before, but now… I can't."
"Because of his father."
"Huh?" Humungousaur's eyes narrowed. A sudden chill swept through the air.
Crackle!
A purple blur tore through the rain, darting like a venomous serpent straight into Kevin's body—and vanished.
"Damn it, Ghostfreak!" Humungousaur roared, immediately reaching out to grab him.
But in that instant, Kevin's eyes snapped open, glowing an eerie violet. His entire body jolted upward, moving with supernatural speed as he slipped out of Humungousaur's grasp.
Crackle!
A blinding streak of purple light slashed across the stormy sky, illuminating everything below. Kevin's pale face twisted into a grimace, his glowing eyes burning with ghostly light—cold, menacing, and inhuman.
"Let me see if I can turn into myself~" Kevin grinned.
The moment the words left his mouth, his body blurred and dissolved into a translucent ghostly form—a ghastly pale specter drifting in the rain.
"Oh no, this is way too ugly. My original look was way better~"
The ghost tore away its white outer layer, revealing a twisted purple form with an eerie skull-like face inverted atop its neck.
Grandpa Max's face hardened. "Ectonurite! Give that boy's body back!"
"This body's so convenient. Why would I ever give it up~" Ghostfreak sneered, his voice cold and mocking.
"Enough talk—let's fight!" Humungousaur roared, charging straight at the ghostly figure through the downpour.
Suddenly, the Omnitrix on his chest flared, releasing a burst of red light before reverting him back into Lucian.
"Heh…" Ghostfreak pointed at himself, then toward Ben and Lucian. "One, two, three… three perfect hosts. Which one should I pick?"
"Keep dreaming, freak!" Ben snapped, slamming his palm down on the Omnitrix.
Thud!
A burst of emerald light flashed, and Heatblast straightened his back, flames roaring to life as he appeared.
The rain poured down on his molten body, hissing and crackling with steam.
Gwen pressed a hand to her forehead. "You must be completely overheated to think turning into that in the middle of a storm is a good idea…"
Even so, her hands were already glowing with spell energy, magic forming between her fingers.
Heatblast shook his head. "You don't get it, dweeb. When it comes to roasting a ghost, fire's the best weapon there is."
Within moments, Heatblast and Gwen rushed forward, clashing head-on with Ghostfreak in a violent exchange of light and energy.
Grandpa Max drew the silver pistol from his waist—the one that once belonged to SixSix. The ammo was nearly spent.
He took a deep breath, steeling himself, then charged into the battle.
He had to take back Kevin's body. This time, he refused to stand by and regret it later...
...
The heavy rain drenched Lucian to the bone. Staring at the Omnitrix's crimson glow, his thoughts raced.
Then, a sharp glint flickered in his eyes.
When he defeated Kevin earlier, hadn't he unlocked a new alien gene? And if he remembered correctly, the first activation required no charging—he could transform instantly!
"Open Random Alien Gene Chest," Lucian thought silently.
[Chest successfully opened. Acquired Alien Hero: Snare-Oh]
[Note: Each new gene grants one seamless initial transformation. Future transformations will require charging.]
"Snare-Oh?" Lucian blinked. "Not bad… this one's pretty strong."
Beep-beep…
A clear tone rang out as the Omnitrix's calibration screen turned back to green, ready for immediate use.
This time, there was only one form available—the new hero, Snare-Oh.
Lucian pressed the watch, summoning the holographic projection of Snare-Oh before slamming it down.
...
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