MC'S POV
Darkness swallowed Omnitrix City in an instant.
The ever-present hum of energy that had been thrumming beneath my feet disappeared, replaced by a heavy silence. The streetlights, the neon signs, even the distant glow of power cores, all of it winked out, plunging the entire city into an unnatural void.
Then, the screams started.
Panic spread like wildfire as vehicles stalled mid-air before plummeting from their hover lanes only to be stopped by their own security measures. Automated defense turrets that had been aiding us moments ago now sparked uselessly, their power drained. Across the skyline, emergency beacons flickered weakly before snuffing out completely.
The Core was dead.
And standing at the center of the chaos, basking in the dark like some victorious warlord, was Vilgax. His eyes gleamed red as he shot massive beams of crimson energy skyward, slowly releasing his grip on Ben 10,000. The hero of heroes, now forced back into his human form, slumped forward onto one knee, chest heaving.
"Perfect." Vilgax said, stretching his arms outward as if embracing the ruin he had just unleashed.
Right then, my HUD flickered erratically, trying to recalibrate in the absence of the city's network.
No automated support. No reinforcements. No surveillance feeds. That last part was what finally made me comfortable enough to activate my black heart.
"Get your claws off my partner." I ordered Vilgax before he could attempt to finish Ben 10,000 while he was at his weakest.
"Gotta admit, you've got guts, but you are so out of your league." Kevin said with a smirk while crossing his arms as he and Vilgax set their focus on me.
"You really don't know when to quit, do you?" Vilgax added, letting Ben 10,000 drop to the ground unconscious but still alive.
"Quite the opposite." I responded to them both, a wave of miasma washing over me as I assumed my Ultimate Ectonurite form. "I know exactly when to strike."
And then, from the shadows, my undead army arose.
Hundreds of undead oceanic cryptids hovered above ground, undeterred by the lack of water. The cherry on top was witnessing Future Vilgax's reaction as my own undead general, a nightmarish echo of his past self, stepped forward, its lifeless eyes locked onto him.
But my own Vilgax's shadow wasn't alone.
Beside it, Zombozo's wraith lingered like a sickly specter, his ever-present grin now stretched into something far more predatory. He tilted his head, his hollow eyes locking onto Kevin 11,000 with morbid fascination.
"What sort of pathetic trickery is this?" Vilgax's crimson gaze darkened as he growled, tension creeping into his normally controlled tone.
Zombozo answered in my place. His voice, hollow and broken, echoed like a twisted melody.
"Vilgax serves no one." The warlord spat, as he and Kevin got ready for combat.
"Touch a nerve, did I?" I let out a low, ghostly chuckle, my nightmarish form radiating pure malice. The golden-tipped scythe in my hand gleamed hungrily. "Believe me, you haven't seen anything."
The lights were gone, the city was vulnerable and I was the only thing standing between Vilgax, Kevin and total destruction.
"Time to turn the tide." With a sharp gesture, I unleashed my wraiths.
Like a howling storm, they charged forward, a swirling mass of shadows and shrieks, crashing into my enemies with relentless fury. To their credit, Vilgax and Kevin fought back, tearing through my lesser spirits with sheer, overwhelming strength and even dealing with my two generals.
But my Vilgax's shadow fought differently. It anticipated his future self's moves, as considerably more powerful as they were. It countered his tactics before he even fully executed them, and for the first time in his brutal existence, the warlord found himself battling an enemy that thought just like him.
Zombozo, meanwhile, slithered around the battlefield like a creeping dread, his laughter resonating in broken echoes. Every time one of my wraiths was destroyed, he reanimated it with a grotesque twist, corrupting them further with his own nightmarish energy.
Even as Kevin 11,000 crushed one of my oceanic cryptids in his grip, it merely reformed, its body twisting into something even more monstrous before lashing out again.
A third of my forces were obliterated in seconds as I passively expended more dark energy to bring them back. But while Vilgax and Kevin focused on raw power, I moved.
Kevin 11,000 was first. His resilience had impressed me, his adaptability, even more so. But the Ectonurite DNA in his system made him uniquely vulnerable.
I lunged, my claws, wreathed in the Godly essence of Ah Puch, reached for his core.
The moment I made contact, Kevin convulsed. His entire form glitched, destabilizing as his cells instinctively fought back. His body twisted erratically, one second a translucent phasing horror, the next a mass of crackling, shifting energy and alien fusions.
"No…I'm not— I won't—" Kevin declared with a glitching voice, growing distorted as his body kept flickering.
The Osmosian instincts of his body were most likely trying to absorb my essence even as my power attempted to consume him. Lucky for me I also had some highly evolved Osmosian DNA on my side.
For a split second, we were locked in a brutal stalemate, his shifting form flickering between every DNA strain he had ever absorbed, searching for something, anything, that could counteract the pull of Ah Puch's hunger.
But he had never fought death itself and so I tightened my grip.
Inside my Black Heart, Ah Puch's essence flared, filling the gap Kevin's resistance had created. He let out a strangled gasp as his form stilled, frozen in place while the spectral pull intensified.
His strength, his life, his soul. It was all slipping away.
"You think…this makes you better than me? Heh." Kevin asked with a weak laugh, despite the excruciating pain. "You are just a different kind of monster!"
Finally, Kevin's body collapsed, his features contorted in one final moment of defiance before his soul was wrenched free. The air around me shimmered with spectral energy as his essence dissolved into the abyss, leaving behind something…twisted.
His undead shadow hovered where he had fallen, a dark, flickering mimicry of his former self. The raw, shifting power he once wielded was now bound in chains of spectral corruption, his form crackling with an eerie, unnatural glow.
And then, slowly, Kevin 11,000 turned towards Vilgax.
The warlord had barely taken a step forward when his red gaze locked onto the abomination before him. His previous ally and weapon perfectly designed to counter Ben 10,000 was now another eternal servant of mine.
"Unacceptable." His voice rumbled like an oncoming storm, immediately looking for a contingency that could've stopped a base Ectonurite. "I will not be undone by some…cursed ability!"
Kevin's shadow didn't speak, it didn't need to, before I mentally commanded it to lunge.
Vilgax reacted instantly, his colossal arms lashing out, striking with enough force to shatter lesser forms, like my own Vilgax shadow, but Kevin 11,000's wraith didn't flinch. It phased through him like smoke, reappearing at his flank with an unnatural lurch.
A blackened, spectral hand shot forward, aiming for Vilgax's very core.
The warlord roared, his entire body exploding with energy, sending Kevin's wraith skidding backward. The surrounding area crumbled beneath the force of the impact, shockwaves shaking the remnants of Omnitrix City's skyline.
But Kevin was already recovering. So were all my other wraiths as I merely stood back and watched.
Vilgax fought like in the legends of his reputation, his strikes wild but devastating. For every shadow he obliterated, two more took its place, every attempt to charge forward was met with an endless tide of wraiths, clawing, biting, pulling him deeper into their abyss my own form emanated.
For every attempt to charge away from my wraith reach, Zombozo whispered in his ear, twisting his perception, making him second-guess his every move.
Up until now Future Vilgax seemed unstoppable, even against my own Vilgax shadow. Or at least, he should have been. Because the moment Kevin 11,000's wraith grabbed him from behind, everything changed.
A tremor immediately rippled through Vilgax's form. A horrible, strangled growl escaped him as the first Ectonurite tendrils of Kevin slithered into his body.
For a moment, I saw it. The terror.
The warlord staggered, his movements no longer precise but desperate. He lashed out, but his blows were losing their power, his body growing sluggish as his soul began to slip away.
Even a monster like him was not immune to death's embrace.
His resistance was commendable though, he fought even as his limbs trembled, as the light in his eyes began to dim. But this fate was inevitable.
"As you might've already guessed, you are not the first Vilgax that I've defeated." I said while stepping forward, my golden-tipped scythe humming with finality. "Makes me wonder how many of you I will still have to break in the future."
Vilgax turned, barely able to lift his head. His crimson eyes locked onto mine, not with rage, but with realization. And in that final instant, just before the darkness devoured him whole, he understood.
Then, just like Kevin 11,000 did before, Future Vilgax's body collapsed.
The warlord was no more. His wraith rose and was immediately siphoned towards my own Vilgax shadow, who now grew considerably more powerful.
After that, the city became dead silent as my army immediately kneeled around me.
For a moment, I simply stood there, watching the last remnants of battle fade into nothingness. The darkness I casted around me still loomed, wrapping a portion of Omnitrix City in its cold, lifeless grip.
Only then did I let go of my Ultimate Ectonurite form, allowing my body to return to normal. The black heart within me dimmed, its hunger satisfied, for now.
Suddenly, just as I made sure I had disposed of my enemies bodies, I heard a low groan that pulled my attention.
Ben 10,000, the hero of heroes was stirring, his body weak but still alive. He was pushing himself up, breath ragged, trying to regain his bearings.
He had missed everything.
By the time his vision fully cleared, I was already standing before him. Only me. No army. No shadows. No sign of what had happened.
Just a lone figure, clad in my technological hero suit, face hidden, expression unreadable.
I extended a hand. For a moment, future Ben hesitated, still trying to process the devastation around us, still trying to understand why I was the only one left standing.
But in the end, he understood it didn't really matter, so he took my hand. And as I pulled him to his feet, we both stared at Omnitrix City as it remained in total darkness.
A couple of days later…
The sunset over Omnitrix City cast a golden glow over the skyline, reflecting off the newly restored power cores. The city was alive again, lights flickering on, hover lanes whirring back to life, and people moving forward after the chaos.
It had taken days of hard work, but with everyone's combined effort, we had rebuilt.
I hadn't just fought alongside Ben 10,000, I had helped repair collapsed structures, worked with the Plumbers to restore power, and even assisted some of the younger heroes in controlling the lingering damage left by the battles with Future Vilgax and Kevin 11,000.
Seeing the city now, thriving again, it was hard not to feel a sense of pride.
And now, even though time magic would return us to the exact moment we left, it was finally time to go.
Standing on the rooftop of Omnitrix Tower, I took in the sight of the city one last time, committing it to memory. This wasn't my time, my world, but for the past few days, it had actually felt like home.
I glanced at Ben 10,000, who stood beside me, arms crossed as he looked out over the city. There was something different about him now, less weight in his shoulders, less of that ever-present exhaustion in his eyes.
Not only that, but he was actually spending some time in his human form. He had finally taken my advice.
Instead of throwing himself into every battle alone, he had started delegating, trusting others to help protect the world. More importantly, he had carved out time for his family, something he had neglected for far too long.
I let out a long breath, taking in the skyline one last time.
"You know." I said, glancing at Ben 10,000. "For a guy who spent the early hours of our time together acting like a stubborn, overworked loner, you clean up pretty well."
He scoffed, shaking his head. "And for a kid who wasn't even supposed to be here, you have helped deal with an insane amount of trouble."
I smirked. "You're welcome."
Ben 10,000 chuckled, crossing his arms as he stared out at the city.
"I won't lie—having you here changed things. Reminded me of what I was missing. And not just with my family… but with myself." He turned to face me fully, his expression more serious. "I always thought I had to carry everything on my shoulders. But you showed me a different way. Work smart, not hard, right?"
"Well, yeah. That's kind of what little brothers do. We annoy the hell out of you until you finally start listening." I said while scratching the back of my head. "And don't be hard on yourself about Vilgax and Kevin, you are not the first variant of me that I have lent a hand against those two."
"To have met you amongst all the infinite versions of us…" Ben 10,000 let out a rare, genuine laugh before nudging my shoulder. "Guess I should be grateful."
I grinned. "Damn right you should."
For a moment, we just stood there, watching the city glow beneath us, having already spent so many hours talking about our alien transformations and how my reality was different from his.
Until Ben 10,000 clapped a hand on my shoulder. "Come on. The party's not over yet."
Down below, the party was still going strong. Grandpa Max sat in a chair, laughing heartily as he talked to his two sons, Carl and Frank, while Sandra and Natalie sat nearby, watching the celebration with warm smiles. Even Ken, Gwen's older brother, had managed to get the time off from his job to attend.
Apparently, he had a normal life in Omnitrix City, some kind of tech consultant. A far cry from hero work, but even he admitted it was nice to get caught up in the craziness again, even just for a night.
Meanwhile, Kai was chatting with some of the younger heroes, but every now and then, I'd catch her and Ben 10,000 exchanging looks. The kind that held unspoken words, the beginnings of something more.
'So that's how it starts.' I thought with a smirk.
And then there were the Gwens. Turning just in time to catch my Gwen crossing her arms, staring down her older counterpart, I managed to clearly hear their conversation thanks to the Keystone of Bezel amplifying my senses.
"The crisis was never Vilgax or Animo, was it?" My Gwen asked with a firm yet friendly tone. "Your Ben just needed a major attitude adjustment, huh?"
"Yeah. Sorry for the deception." Future Gwen let out a small, sheepish laugh before nodding. "Couldn't have Grandpa celebrate his 80th birthday without him."
"At least I'm glad we were able to help. But next time, just say hello first." My Gwen huffed, probably recalling the jumpscare she got from her older variant as she dragged her to the future, but eventually smiled. "Guess I'll have to keep mine in check before he ends up like that."
"Enjoy it while you can." The older Gwen's expression softened. "This summer road trip? The adventures? One day, you'll both look back and miss them."
That hit harder than expected.
Before I could dwell on it, Carl and Sandra approached my position, followed closely by Frank and Natalie who approached the Gwens.
Carl smiled at me as I made my way down, though there was something else in his expression, nostalgia, maybe, or the surreal feeling of seeing his son before he grew up to become the world's greatest superhero. "You really did a lot for us, son. For the city. I just wanted to say… thanks."
Sandra placed a hand on my shoulder and hugged me. "I guess this is goodbye."
The future version of my father followed her and we all embraced each other.
Meanwhile, Frank gave a small chuckle to my Gwen, shaking his head. "Feels strange. Like saying goodbye to someone who isn't gone yet."
Natalie nudged him. "That's because he's not." Then she turned to my Gwen. "And you—stay out of trouble."
Ken smirked. "Yeah, don't let that dweeb get you into too much danger."
Gwen rolled her eyes. "No promises."
I exhaled, looking between them all as Grandpa Max joined us. This was their future. Their world. We were just visitors in it. But still…It was hard to walk away.
Taking a step back, I stretched out my hand and focused, drawing on the lessons Future Gwen had taught me about time-space magic. A swirling portal formed, shimmering energy casting strange shadows over the rooftop.
I felt a flicker of excitement. 'So this is what it's like to control time magic.'
Ben 10,000 turned to me, stepping forward. "Take care of your world, brother." He extended a hand. "And… if you ever need help, you know where to find me."
I shook his hand, gripping it tightly. "Same goes for you."
With that, my Gwen and I said our final goodbyes and stepped through the portal.
Back to the present in my own reality, Gwen and I landed right where we left, back at the camp near Mt. Rushmore, where we were about to celebrate Grandpa's 60th birthday.
The moment we stepped through the portal, Lucy and Kate were still staring at the space where Future Gwen's portal had been, their wide eyes snapping toward us as soon as we appeared.
"What just happened?" Lucy asked, arms crossed, her expression somewhere between confusion and mild concern.
"You were kidnapped by that woman!" Kate added, her head whipping from Gwen to me, looking utterly baffled. Then she jabbed a finger at my chest, eyes narrowing. "And you—" she practically accused, "—ran straight after her like some action movie cliché and left us behind!"
I dusted myself off and exchanged a glance with Gwen, who was already smirking.
"Soooo." She stretched, rolling her shoulders like she had just woken up from a nap. "Yeah. About that."
Kate's eyes narrowed further. "Wait a minute… How do we know you're really you?"
I blinked. "Excuse me?"
"For all we know, you got swapped out by clones or alternate versions of yourselves in that… that portal thing!" She gestured wildly. "How do I know you're not some weird doppelgängers?!"
I let out a deep sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Kate."
"What?" She replied, her guard still raised as Lucy was left confused about what to think.
I took a slow step toward Kate, raising a single finger and said. "First of…Your middle name is Emily, but you always tell people it's Elizabeth because you think it sounds cooler."
Kate froze. "Wait, what—"
I raised a second finger. "You once cried for two straight hours because you thought you lost your favorite necklace, only to find it on top of your bed."
Lucy snorted.
Kate flushed. "That doesn't prove anything—"
A third finger. "And last week, when we were at the gas station, you tried to act all tough in front of me, but almost caused an explosion with your powers."
Kate's mouth opened. Then closed. Then opened again.
"…Okay, fine. It's you." She finally conceded.
But before she could fully recover, I decided to drive the point home. I extended my hand, focusing just enough to let emerald-green energy flicker to life between my fingers. The air crackled slightly, warping the space around my palm before I let it fade.
Kate said while staring. "What was that?"
"Proof." I said simply, smirking.
"It's definitely them!" Lucy cheered before running to hug me. "But I feel like we missed a lot."
"Oh, you have no idea." Gwen muttered.
I clapped my hands together, knowing we still have some time before Grandpa Max gets back, before activating my Omnitrix to display some of the footage I had managed and was willing to share about my adventure into the future. "Well, sit down, ladies, this is gonna be a looooong story."
————————————————————————
KATE'S POV
I sat cross-legged on the ground, arms resting over my knees, eyes locked onto the Omnitrix's hologram as Ben's voice played over the footage.
At first, I was mostly just impressed.
I mean, come on, fighting alongside a badass future version of yourself? Facing future versions of our villains? That was the kind of high-stakes, sci-fi, time-travel insanity I never thought I'd actually hear about firsthand, let alone witness.
But then… Ben and Gwen started talking about other people aside from their future selves.
Lucy shifted beside me, brows furrowing when Ben finished talking about his parents and uncles, even recalling seeing Eddie and Zak, but never mentioned anything about hers. She didn't say anything, but I could tell she was thinking it.
That in that future, in that reality, she just… didn't matter enough to be involved.
And then, it got worse. Because that's when I heard about me. Or, well, not me. Him.
I barely registered the exact moment my body tensed, but suddenly I was gripping my belt so tightly my fingers turned white.
Somewhere, far off in the background of my mind, Ben's voice kept talking. Saying things about him, the other me.
How he was one of Ben 10,000's worst enemies who hated him with all his being, nearly taking over the entire world on several occasions.
The words didn't make sense. They made less than sense.
My jaw clenched as I was barely even listening anymore, my heartbeat hammering in my ears.
I—he—was supposed to be some kind of villain? Me?
I swallowed, but it felt like trying to choke down a rock.
I knew this whole time-travel, alternate-reality thing was bound to be weird, but I hadn't really thought about what it would mean—what it would be like to hear about a version of me who had the same powers, the same potential, but made all the worst decisions.
Who looked at Ben, my best buddy, not as a friend, but as an enemy.
Why? What could have possibly happened to make him—me—turn out like that? The realization made my stomach turn over in a way I didn't like.
"…Kate?" I heard my name coming up in the discussion.
I blinked, head snapping up as I noticed Ben watching me, alongside Gwen and Lucy. I didn't realize I'd gone silent for so long.
"…So, that's it?" My voice came out tight, sharper than I meant it to. "That's all you know about… him?"
Gwen hesitated. "I mean, yeah. More or less. I didn't exactly have time to sit down and ask for his life story."
I exhaled through my nose.
Right. Of course. That would have been stupid.
But still, the fact that I didn't know, couldn't know, just made everything worse.
"…It's just a different timeline." Gwen spoke up after a pause. "It's not you. Not really."
I let out a dry laugh. "Yeah. Sure. Just some other me who decided world domination was the way to go."
My voice wasn't loud, but it was bitter. Too bitter.
I could feel them watching me, could feel Lucy shifting beside me, like she wanted to say something. But I didn't look at her. I didn't look at any of them.
Instead, I turned my head, staring hard at the ground.
Because the truth was…Even if it wasn't me. Even if it was just some other version of me from a different reality. Even if I told myself it didn't matter.
It still felt like it did.
I barely noticed when Ben moved, but suddenly, he was crouching down in front of me. Not saying anything, just… watching. His expression wasn't pitying, wasn't awkward.
Just calm. Grounded. And then, after a beat, he spoke.
"You know, when we first met, you said something about the both of us being capable of doing whatever we wanted whenever we wanted." As he spoke those words I heard my own voice saying them.
I blinked, caught off guard. "Was that supposed to make me feel better?"
His lips twitched. "Of course."
A small huff of amusement came from Lucy, but I was still too thrown to react.
"Like us, you are still a kid, Kate." Ben's smirk softened. "But before you were alone. Living in the streets, just trying to make it day by day. And look at you now." His voice lowered, steady and sure. "You're not that person anymore. Busting your ass and risking your life daily to save people who you have never seen before."
I swallowed.
"You're not him either." Ben continued. "Whoever he is, whatever he did, or however many versions of you are like him—it doesn't matter. Because you're here. Right now. And you're not him. You never will be."
I clenched my fists, feeling the phantom ache of the way I'd held them too tightly earlier. "But what if—"
Ben cut me off before I could even finish the thought.
"No 'what ifs'. That choice is yours alone." He said firmly. "No alternate realities, no other versions of you. Just you, here, with us." His eyes never wavered from mine. "And you know what I see?"
I didn't answer, but he did anyway.
"I see someone who's survived everything life threw at her and still kept going." His voice was warm now, steady and certain. "Someone who finally has a home, a family who cares about her, and a future she gets to choose."
A lump formed in my throat.
Ben sat back slightly, his smirk returning. "And if you ever do decide to go full supervillain, at least give me a heads-up first, okay?"
I let out a short, breathy laugh, my first real one since this conversation started. "Yeah, sure. I'll send you an evil monologue in advance."
"Appreciate it." Ben said, grinning. "Gotta prepare the hero speech."
Lucy finally nudged me with her elbow, smiling. "See? I knew you weren't evil. Grumpy and untidy perhaps, especially during the mornings, but not evil."
I rolled my eyes, but… it felt lighter this time. Maybe even real.
I wasn't him, I never would be. And that…That was enough.
Before anyone could say anything else, Lucy clapped her hands together. "Alright, now that we've survived that existential crisis, let's get moving."
Gwen blinked. "Moving? Moving where?"
Lucy shot her a look. "Uh, to set up for Grandpa Max's birthday? Duh?"
"Oh crap." My eyes widened, even I had forgotten about that.
"Lucy is right. We are still adjusting our time perception after being away for so long. Worst part was having that sensation I had forgotten the stove on for days." Ben smirked. "I will get the cake."
"I will help you, Ben." I said while dusting myself off before standing up, forcing myself back into the present, into this reality.
Because whatever other versions of me were out there…Right now, this was the one that mattered.
————————————————————————
CHARMCASTER/HOPE'S POV
The comb glided through my silver hair, smoothing every strand into place. The mirror reflected back into my purple eyes the image I had carefully crafted.
Pristine, composed, untouchable.
It was a necessary ritual, a reminder that even in a place like this, surrounded by… them, I was still above it all.
This lair, one of many he had constructed, was an impressive fortress of secrecy. Hidden away from prying eyes, it pulsed with technology and magic woven together in ways that only he could accomplish.
The walls thrummed with unseen energy, the air charged with a presence that lingered even in his absence.
And it was in this sanctuary of his making that I had been left to wait.
I didn't wait for anyone. But for him? Well… he was different.
The door to my quarters slid open with a soft hiss, shattering the quiet.
Scarlet.
She strode in with that cocky, aggressive energy of hers, as if she owned the place. The cybernetic enhancements running through her limbs gleamed under the dim light, veins of red nanotech pulsing like they were alive.
From what I learned from Alpha, she had once been just another brute, a street thug with more brawn than brains, until he remade her into something far deadlier. And now, she thought that meant she could stand in my presence without invitation.
Behind her, blue and yellow followed, or whatever their names were, flanked her like hounds. Their own enhancements, though not as intricate as Scarlet's, still gave them that same unnatural precision, that edge of something no longer entirely human.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't our princess." Scarlet leaned against the wall, arms crossed as she sneered. "Enjoying your royal chambers?"
I didn't look away from my mirror. "Your attempts at wit are as crude as your performance."
Yellow let out a low whistle, while blue chuckled under her breath. Scarlet, however, from the look of her face with white makeup and black lipstick, she didn't look amused.
"You walk around here like you're better than us. Don't help us with our missions nor train with us." She said, pushing off the wall. "Like you belong here more than we do."
I set my comb down with deliberate slowness, finally turning to face her. "I do belong here more than you."
Scarlet's eye twitched. Her fingers flexed, the servos in her hands whirring softly, a telltale sign of barely restrained aggression. "The only reason you're here is because you are a glorified eye-candy, princess."
"And the only reason he tolerates your existence is because you are a thug, but a thug who supposedly follows orders." I countered smoothly while adjusting my gloves. "But if you'd like to test that tolerance, by all means…do something stupid."
Scarlet tensed, and for a moment, I thought she might actually try. Given how her technological body flared, I believe even she didn't know exactly if she was about to.
"Ohhhh, catfight~!" We all heard another voice join us.
The voice slithered out of the vents on the roof into the room like a poorly timed joke, light and playful but edged with something sharp.
Hellequin.
She dangled from the ceiling like a twisted marionette, her unnaturally flexible limbs contorting as she grinned down at us while being upside down.
Her red hair, wild and animated like a nest of serpents, swayed with her movements. The mutation had twisted her, physically and mentally, warping her to become like a child trapped in the body of an adult woman.
She dropped down in a fluid motion, landing on her hands effortlessly before flipping upright with unnatural grace.
"Ohhh, I love the tension in here." She giggled, but from her look I sense she also shared animosity towards me. "So much drama~! It's like watching one of those soap operas, but with more cybernetics and magic."
I sighed. "Do you ever shut up?"
"Not when there's entertainment." Hellequin grinned wider before tilting her head at Scarlet, rushing towards her face while completely ignoring the concept of personal space. "You're all riled up. Jealous? Hmmm?"
Scarlet scoffed. "Of what?"
"Oh, I dunno~" Hellequin sing-songed, twirling on her toes before leaning in close to her. "Maybe of how much he seems to like her company." She shot me a pointed look, mischief twinkling in her eyes. "Bet that stings."
Scarlet's face darkened.
For all her bravado, all her threats, she hated the idea that she wasn't the most valued, the strongest, the most favored among us. And Hellequin? She lived to poke at sore spots.
"I don't need to compete for his attention." I merely smiled while snapping my fingers, releasing some of my magic to prove my point.
"Ooooh, what a power move! But see, that's the thing, princess." Hellequin clutched her chest in mock drama before leaning in, voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "You like it, don't you? The way he looks at you."
I held her gaze, unflinching. "And you don't?"
For the first time, Hellequin's smile faltered. Just slightly. But before she could respond, before Scarlet could unleash whatever rage was bubbling beneath the surface, the lights flickered. The energy in the room shifted.
[WARNING: THE MASTER HAS RETURNED!]
[PROTOCOL SECOND COMING HAS BEEN DEACTIVATED]
We all heard Alpha announce, but it was completely unnecessary.
All of us felt it. A weight, a pulse, a pull…his presence pulling like gravity itself. A silent command, woven into the very air.
The tension in the room didn't disappear, it merely transformed.
Scarlet straightened, masking her anger behind an impassive look. Blue and yellow stepped back slightly, instinctively falling into formation.
And Hellequin? She let out a delighted giggle, twirling once more like a restless pet who was eager to greet her owner as she shivered in delight.
As for me?
I simply smiled, running a hand through my silver hair one last time, placing a portion of it behind my pointy ears.
One by one, we all turned to face the doorway, the others' postures shifting into something more disciplined, more reverent.
Even Scarlet, for all her aggression, straightened her shoulders and lowered her gaze. Hellequin, ever the wildcard, hummed under her breath but made no move to break the silent anticipation.
Then, he stepped into the room.
Ben.
Or at least, that was the name he uses to act as a regular boy. In any case, we all knew, he was something far more.
Draped in a much more advanced tech suit which adjusted slightly as he moved, his mere presence demanded obedience. His expression was unreadable, his green eyes sharp and calculating. And as always, there was an effortless certainty in his stride, as though the entire universe simply aligned itself to his will.
As one, the others all knelt.
Scarlet, Blue and Yellow bowed their heads in submission, while Hellequin, true to her twisted nature, rested her chin on her hands in an exaggerated display of adoration.
But I did not kneel.
Instead, I took a deliberate step forward, my confidence unwavering. Meeting his gaze, for the briefest moment, I let a rare softness slip into my expression.
And then, I did something unthinkable to everyone else.
I closed the distance between us and leaned in, my arms encircling him, my body pressing against his. It wasn't just an embrace; it was a statement. One that said I am different. I am above them.
For a fraction of a second, the entire room seemed to freeze.
Scarlet's eyes widened in disbelief. Her lackeys exchanged startled glances, their systems struggling to process what they were seeing.
Even Hellequin's ever-present grin faltered, her amusement flickering into something more unhinged.
No one touched him. No one dared.
And yet, here I was, pressing myself against him, as if I had all the right in the world.
But then—
"That's enough, Hope." I heard him saying. "Later I will have time to teach you more about magic."
His voice, calm and unwavering, cut through the moment like a blade. Just like that, whatever warmth had been in my gaze shattered.
I pulled back, but only slightly, my arms still resting on his shoulders as if testing his resolve.
"You don't have to be so cold with me." I murmured, my voice laced with something dangerously close to wounded pride.
As I felt his hand linger over my face, for a moment I thought I had taken control over the situation, until he stepped past me.
"Alpha." His command was effortless. "Prepare the prisoners. I finally have the technology I need."
Alpha, always efficient, responded immediately.
[ACKNOWLEDGED, MASTER. INITIATING PREPARATION.]
Barely hearing the acknowledgment over the roaring in my ears. He hadn't even spared me a second glance.
My fingers curled into fists at my sides, my pride warring with the cold realization that for all my power, for all my presence, I had failed to hold his attention.
And the others noticed.
Scarlet smirked, arms crossed over her chest. "Guess you're not as special as you thought."
Hellequin cackled in pure delight, twirling on the spot before throwing her arms around Scarlet in mock imitation. "Oh, but the way she just melted! Such devotion! Such tragedy! The princess thought she had his heart, but alas, no one does."
Immediately shooting her a glare that could've melted steel, but Hellequin only grinned wider.
Ben, meanwhile, had already moved on. He strode toward the reinforced doors of his private laboratory, his domain. A place no one else had the clearance to enter.
Without another word, he stepped inside, and the doors sealed shut behind him with a final, echoing hiss.
And just like that, he was gone.
Left behind, I stood motionless, my lips pressing into a thin line.
Mind spinning, trying to make sense of it.
This wasn't how it was supposed to go. He had let me closer than any of them. He had allowed my presence, tolerated my arrogance, humored my affections.
And yet, in the moment where it should have mattered most, I was brushed aside as if I were no different from the rest.
My fingers trembled before I clenched them once more. I would not let this stand. Not forever.
But for now, I swallowed my pride, turned on my heel, and left, ignoring the quiet laughter that followed in my wake.
————————————————————————
MC'S POV
The door to my lab hissed shut behind me, the hum of security seals engaging as I activated my personal workspace and took a deep breath.
No interruptions. No distractions.
Here, I wasn't bound by ethical concerns or the constraints of time. Here, I had the freedom to push beyond limits, to refine and perfect what the universe had left in chaos.
I stepped past the rows of specialized containment units, some of them occupied, some waiting to be filled. The cool blue glow of holographic interfaces flickered to life in my presence, awaiting my commands.
Tracing a sigil in the air, one I've managed to learn from Future Gwen, my fingers glided through the motions with practiced ease. The air shimmered as the spell took hold, warping the flow of time within the room.
A minute outside would be stretched into days inside. Even so, I still had my work cut out for me.
I exhaled, flexing my fingers. Let's begin.
Project One
The containment pedestal buzzed as I placed Future Dr. Animo's cybernetic head out of my shrinked energy cube containment and onto the scanning dock. It was dented and battle-worn, but the glow of his cybernetic eyes flickered back to life.
I smirked. "Let's see what you've got for me."
Placing the sphere on the scanning pedestal, I activated the neural interface. Tendrils of energy laced around the surface, unraveling the locks, and then, snap! The casing split open like a cracked egg, revealing the grotesque cybernetic remains of Animo's brain.
"Ahhh!" The head groaned as it flickered back to life, one glowing eye after another, both rolled around wildly. "Where…?" His voice was weak, distorted by his damaged vocal processors. Then his gaze locked onto me, face covered by my Omni-suit's mask.
Recognition. Resentment. But most importantly, fear.
"You—" He muttered to me from his speakers.
I didn't have time for dramatics. My Ultimate Osmosian form activated, my mere touch causing an absorption energy to link me to his cybernetic neural core and pathways.
Then came the flood.
It wasn't like absorbing mere intelligence, it was like swallowing decades of unhinged research in an instant. His entire lifetime of discoveries, genetic splicing, technological advancements, biological warfare.
For a moment, I felt myself slipping, fragments of his deranged consciousness bleeding into my own. The endless pursuit of genetic perfection, the disregard for life as mere test subjects, the obsession with evolution… I grit my teeth and forced it all into submission.
I wasn't Animo. I was superior.
My mind filtered through it all, breaking down raw knowledge into usable information, filtering out redundancies and isolating the pieces that mattered.
Hours passed. Maybe more. My head throbbed, my breathing was uneven, but when I finally stepped back, I knew I had done it.
The knowledge settled, my mind filling it into place with near-perfect clarity as Future Animo's eyes flickered, dimming to a dull, lifeless gray.
His secrets were all mine now.
Project Two
I turned to the next containment energy cube. Inside, she was waiting, the woman I had pulled from Jen's dimension. Dr. Animo.
She was strapped down once I retrieved her from her shrinked containment, resisting as she could, her thick goggles reflecting the lab's lighting.
"You'll regret this." She spat with a sneer while still twitching and struggling as mechanical arms restrained her movements, glaring at me through thick-lensed goggles.
I just chuckled. "Doubtful."
Shifting into another form, I allowed the familiar energy of my Ultimate Galvan form to take hold. My body shrank, my mind sharpening to unparalleled levels as I felt my enhanced psychic abilities surge to life.
"Let's make some adjustments, shall we?" I asked rhetorically.
She had the intelligence to be useful but lacked the sheer volume of knowledge that made Future Animo dangerous. That meant she was perfect for repurposing.
"You… you think you can rewrite me?!" She hissed, writhing against the restraints. "I am Dr. Animo! My mind is—"
She stopped. Her breath hitched. A flicker of something crossed her eyes.
I could feel the foundations of her identity crumbling as my smaller yet potent mind latched onto hers, unraveling her thoughts, reshaping memories, reorganizing the synaptic connections in her brain, aligning her thought processes with mine. Her paranoia and defiance were replaced with creativity and loyalty.
The resistance in her expression slowly faded, her breathing steadied, her eyes opened, gleaming with clarity.
When she finally spoke, her voice was eerily calm.
"Master… I see now." She adjusted her glasses, an unsettling smirk forming as my final improvement of her manifested out of her spinal cord. Four extra long appendages, their appearance far too reminiscent of a certain scientist from a Spider-themed universe. "This is far more efficient."
I nodded at her with a smirk while remaining silent, leading her to a section of my lab where I had prepared a few tests to measure how much of her intellect was preserved.
Project Three
After what felt like an entire days of nonstop work, my next project held something… different.
Female Vilgax, who had survived the injuries I caused on her after our last encounter.
Her previous self had been a warlord, a conqueror of her own reality. But after everything I had stored for her? She would be something else.
Her form was already changing, shifting under the genetic restructuring I had set in motion. Gone was her monstrous alien form, what remained was something smaller, almost deceptively innocent. A childlike human figure with octopus-like green hair, sharp red eyes, and a mouth full of fanged teeth.
After a long wait, I observed the readings, nodding in satisfaction once I concluded that the process had been a success. Her genetic structure had been rewritten, adapted to a form more suitable for my purposes.
It was then that her eyes fluttered open, head tilting slightly in confusion. Then, instinct took over. She lunged.
My experiment barely had the opportunity to test her pod's containment field before I froze her in place with my magic.
"Impressive." I mused, watching her struggle. She didn't remember who she was, but her combat instincts were still razor-sharp. Her strength, speed, and reflexes were all intact.
She hissed, her red eyes glowing with an almost feral intensity as she bared her teeth. But there was no rage. No overwhelming hatred. Just raw survival instinct.
A blank slate for me to decide who she would become.
Opening up her pod, I lowered her to the ground. She stayed crouched, staring up at me with wary curiosity before staring at her hands, flexing them as if they weren't hers.
Good. She'd learn who she belonged to soon enough.
Project Four
Finally, Future Vilgax might've been dead. But his body still had some use for me.
I stepped over to another pod, one that contained the most valuable trophy of our battle.
Data.
Torn from his corpse, extracted and reconstructed. The combat knowledge of 10,000 alien forms locked within a secure drive, waiting to be taken.
I placed my hand on the interface. Energy surged, information flooding into me like a torrent. Instincts. Movements. Weaknesses. Counters.
I saw it all.
Every transformation, every battle, every strategy that Vilgax had studied, I now understood.
I let out a slow breath as the process ended.
For the first time, I felt it. It wasn't just knowledge. It was foresight. A near-clairvoyant understanding of every possible combat scenario. And I had barely scratched the surface.
Leaving Kevin 11,000's body for when the time was right, I finally leaned back on my special lab's seat, exhaling as the weight of the past days settled in my mind.
The lab was quiet now, save for the hum of machinery and the steady breathing of my newest creations. I had entered it with a goal, but now… I had surpassed even my own expectations.
"Yes." Smirking as I cracked my knuckles, I said with clear satisfaction. "This was progress."
————————————————————————
[MIDNIGHT MADNESS]
SUBLIMINO'S POV
The theater was silent. Same silence that had followed me for five years.
Sitting in my velvet chair, twirling my pocket watch lazily by its chain. The golden surface caught the dim light of the stage's lone spotlight, flickering hypnotically. A habit, nothing more. There was no audience to dazzle, no eager minds to bend.
Not anymore.
A creak echoed through the empty theater as a door opened. My grip on the watch tightened but I didn't bother to turn my head.
"I don't take walk-ins!" I muttered, voice thick with boredom. "If you're here for a show, you're about five years too late."
Footsteps. Unhurried. Measured. Whoever it was, they weren't scared.
"Oh, but I've already seen your work." A voice low, smooth, confident. "Quite impressive, I must say."
"Flattery? Really?" I sighed before finally turning my gaze towards the figure standing at the edge of the stage. A tall man, face obscured by a mask, draped in a long trench coat. 'Theatrics? Curious.'
"Who are you?" I asked, swinging my legs off the arm of my chair to sit properly. "A journalist? A cop? Or just another fool who thinks they can resist me?"
The masked man chuckled softly. "Neither, Mr. Sublimino. I'm here with an offer."
"An offer? Please. I know how these things go." I scoffed. "You want my talents, and in return, I get a cage just slightly larger than the one I'm already in." I spread my arms, gesturing to the empty theater I was living in. "No deal."
The man took a seat in the front row, casual, relaxed. Like he belonged there.
"You misunderstand." The mysterious figure said. "I represent an organization that values… specialists like yourself. No cages. No strings. Just resources, opportunities, and a chance to rebuild your life back."
That made me pause, tapping a finger against the glass of my sunglasses.
Manipulation.
It was obvious. The controlled cadence of his voice, the careful choice of words, the deliberate way he framed things. Whoever he was, he knew exactly how to push buttons, how to steer the mind where he wanted it to go.
I should have been insulted.
Instead, I was… intrigued.
"What kind of 'organization'?" I finally asked.
The man reached into his coat and placed a small device on the dusty floor. A flickering hologram appeared and showed me some news article I was so familiar with.
[Renowned Clinical Hypnotherapist Disgraced in Scandal—Dr. Sebastian Lemoine Exposed for Hypnotic Manipulation!]
I clenched my jaw.
Dr. Sebastian Lemoine. A name that hadn't been spoken in years.
The article detailed my fall. My shame.
Once, I was respected. My work helped people overcome phobias, addictions, trauma. Until I used my hypnotic skills to nudge the wealthy into generosity. Not for greed. Not for power. For Elise.
My daughter. My beloved Elise.
Since my wife died, she had been all I had left. But her condition…
A rare neurological disorder. Slow, degenerative, merciless. The treatments weren't working. The doctors kept using words like 'experimental' and 'clinical trials' while offering nothing real. And the cost—by god, the cost—it was drowning me.
So I had helped the rich make the right decision. Just a little push. A suggestion here, a whisper there. They never even noticed.
But they noticed when the truth came out.
I lost my license. My reputation. My ability to provide for her.
And Elise?
She was still fighting. But she was getting worse.
The masked man's voice suddenly cut through my thoughts.
"You weren't a con artist. You were a desperate father. The world painted you as a villain when all you did was take what was needed." The mysterious man took a pause. "But now? Now you are a villain. No fortune. No legacy. And soon with no family left." He followed my previous gesture and pointed at the place we found ourselves inside. "Is this really how you want to be remembered? A washed-up trickster in a forgotten theater?"
My fingers curled around my pocket watch, if by anger or sadness I did not know at the time.
"…What exactly are you offering?" My voice was quieter this time.
"A cure." Was the answer I got.
The word hit me harder than I expected.
The man leaned forward slightly, his mask catching the dim light. "There is a scientist within our organization. A genius. He specializes in conditions just like Elise's. He's already working on something far beyond what your doctors can provide."
I swallowed. "And you expect me to believe that?"
The man simply shrugged. "Believe it or not, the offer stands. You work with us, and in return, we give you access to treatments that the rest of the world won't see for decades. The kind of care Elise deserves."
My heart pounded in my chest.
A classic persuasion technique. Push the pain point. Introduce an impossible choice. Make them desperate enough that logic stops mattering.
And yet…
What if it was true? What if this was Elise's only chance?
I stared at the black case he had slid across the floor, hesitating on the latch.
I knew I was being played. I knew it. And I no longer cared.
Slowly, my fingers unfastened the case. I gazed at its contents, my reflection staring back at me in the polished metal.
A slow smile crept onto my lips. "…Tell me more."
————————————————————————
MC'S POV
From the moment we stepped inside Mega-mall-opolis, in Minnesota, it felt less like a shopping mall and more like its own self-sustaining city.
The air was thick with the mingling scents of fresh-baked pretzels, sizzling hibachi, and about a dozen different variations of coffee. Neon signs blinked and flashed in every direction, advertising sales so outrageous they had to be scams.
But hey, who were we to question 'Buy One, Get Seven Free' deals?
"This place has its own zip code." Lucy said, clutching the mall booklet like a survival guide. "That's a bad sign."
"That's an amazing sign!" Gwen countered, already leading the way toward the escalator. "Come on, we have five hundred stores to conquer."
Five hundred stores. Seventy-two restaurants. Forty-eight movie screens. An indoor rollercoaster. And, because the architects clearly had no faith in humanity, its own police force.
We passed a massive LED screen cycling through directory listings, which included important mall features like The Food Court District, The Fashion District, and The Fun Zone. Kate whistled as she scanned the list.
"A Build-A-Bear, a sushi conveyor belt and a store called Swords & Sorcery? That's my entire personality in three stops." Kate beamed.
"It also says there's a waterslide somewhere in here." Gwen pointed out. "Which, in my opinion, raises a lot of health code questions, but we should definitely check it out."
We wandered past an indoor pond where actual koi fish swam lazily beneath a bridge leading to a luxury handbag boutique. An animatronic dragon near the ceiling occasionally breathed bursts of harmless fog, much to the delight of children and to the visible irritation of a Mega-mall-opolis police officer stationed nearby.
"Okay." Gwen said, clapping her hands. "We need a plan. This mall is a labyrinth of capitalism, and if we don't strategize, we'll be lost forever."
Lucy raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you say we were going to 'conquer' it?"
"Yes, but efficiently." Gwen argued back.
Naturally, that was a lie. Within twenty minutes, we were all separated.
Somehow, Max and I ended up on a self-imposed challenge to eat at as many food stalls as possible. We started with Pizza Colossus (home of the GigaSlice™, a single piece of pizza the size of a car tire), then moved on to a place that exclusively served variations of mac and cheese.
Somewhere around our seventh stop, a Brazilian steakhouse where the waiters carved meat directly onto your plate, Max groaned. "I think I'm dying."
I grinned. "Then we die with honor."
Meanwhile Lucy and Kate found their way to Swords & Sorcery, where Kate excitedly examined a wall of medieval weaponry while Lucy sighed dramatically.
"Why does a mall sell broadswords? Who needs a broadsword while shopping for jeans?" She asked.
"Me." Kate lifted a morning star and grinned. "Sucks it is more than I can pay."
They later stumbled across a store called Sock Galaxy, an entire shop dedicated to socks. It should've been a mundane experience, but after Kate discovered a section labeled "Cursed Footwear", they left with three pairs of socks that allegedly granted mystical powers and one that simply whispered unsettling secrets at night.
While everyone else was indulging in food, weapons, and questionable socks, Gwen made the unfortunate mistake of agreeing to ride The Screaming Centrifuge, Mega-mall-opolis's signature indoor roller coaster.
The ride's entrance featured a giant animatronic face that screamed every three minutes.
A sign read: "WARNING: MAY CAUSE TEMPORARY LOSS OF EXISTENCE."
That probably should have been a red flag.
By the time Gwen stumbled off the ride, her equilibrium was permanently compromised, her stomach had ascended into a new plane of reality, and had somehow lost one shoe.
After hours of reckless spending, irresponsible eating, and minor existential crises, we reconvened at the Mega Fountain, a massive centerpiece where synchronized water jets danced to the most aggressively upbeat pop music imaginable.
I was still clutching my stomach, Kate had a "totally legal" dagger tucked into her bag, Lucy was now a believer in sock-based magic, and Gwen was still missing her shoe.
Max grinned as he plopped onto a bench. "So… same time next week?"
Gwen groaned. "Absolutely not."
Kate smirked. "You say that now, but let's see how you feel once we find your shoe."
Lucy flipped open the Mega-mall-opolis booklet, scanning the directory again. "…Actually, this place has a Lost & Found the size of a department store."
Max beamed. "See? This mall has everything."
————————————————————————
[A CHANGE OF FACE]
CHARMCASTER/HOPE'S POV
Desperate times called for desperate measures.
Ben Tennyson was no ordinary mortal. His strength, his intelligence, his raw power, all of it made him unlike anyone I had ever met. He was someone I wanted on my side, someone I needed to impress.
And yet, there was still a distance between us.
That was unacceptable.
So I decided to try a different approach. If Ben wouldn't lower his guard around me as I was besides his own servants…maybe he would be around someone else.
Possession magic was an art, one I had perfected long before mortals even learned to fear it.
Slipping into Gwen Tennyson's body was as easy as breathing, her body a perfect vessel. I settled in, adjusting to the weight of being someone else. The height was a bit different. The stance. Even the heartbeat.
But I was nothing if not adaptable.
The moment the disaster on wheels, or Rust Bucket as my mentor and his family addressed it, rolled into Salem, I felt it.
A shift in the air, like the past was whispering. To anyone else, it was just another stop on their road trip, a town known for witches, tourist traps, and a history of fear. But to me?
To me, it was a graveyard of memories. I have been here before. Centuries ago.
And now, I am here again, inside a body that wasn't even my own.
"Hope?" I almost panicked at hearing my name so suddenly. The voice cut through my thoughts and I barely had time to mask my reaction before I turned to see him.
Ben, who was now staring at me.
I forced a smirk. "That obvious?"
"You really think I wouldn't notice? After everything I've shown you that I was capable of?" Ben folded his arms, unimpressed. "For your sake, I hope you must have a great reason for using possession magic on my cousin."
"It's harmless. She won't even remember." I sighed, rolling my—well, Gwen's—eyes, until his stare made my add with a meek voice. "I just wanted to stretch my legs a little."
Ben's expression didn't change. "Swear to me you're not hurting her."
A flicker of irritation passed through me, but I knew better than to challenge him on this. I raised my hand. "I swear on my own magic, Gwen is completely safe and won't even remember it. No harm, no tampering. Just a… temporary conscious overlap."
A beat passed.
"Fine. But you better act the part." He finally said with a sigh before speaking to himself. "I will have to think about a way to make it up for her later."
"Oh, please." I grinned, thinking about his words to me. "How hard can it be to play the role of a ten year old girl?"
"You have been warned." Ben kept his intimidating gaze before letting it go.
'Must be nice having a family member that cares so much for your own well being.' I thought with a sigh, directing my thoughts at the owner of the body I currently inhabited.
Once we finally set foot on the town, I gotta admit, it hadn't changed much. Granted, the buildings were newer. The streets were paved. But the bones of it? They were the same.
I could still feel the echoes of the past. The fear. The fire. The cries of women who had been accused, judged and condemned.
As we walked through the cobblestone streets, I listened to the tour guide prattle on about the Salem Witch Trials, simplifying a history that was far bloodier than they realized.
"They burned them at the stake." Some idiot tourist whispered.
"No." I muttered, before I could stop myself. "They didn't."
Ben shot me a look. I cleared my throat, forcing myself to sound more like Gwen. "I mean, uh, that's a common myth. The real punishment was hanging. Or being crushed under stones."
The guide nodded approvingly. "That's correct! Ten women and six men were hanged, and one man, Giles Corey, was pressed to death with heavy stones."
I didn't need a history lesson. I had been there. Had seen the fear in their eyes. Had watched the innocent die while the true witches hid in plain sight.
I had survived. But others hadn't.
"Hey… you okay?" I heard the same magnetic voice draw my attention.
I blinked. Ben had fallen back to walk beside me, his voice lower, more private.
"You're acting weird. Which is understandable for a witch that is revisiting such an infamous place in your people's history." Ben continued. "But it's not as if you didn't know about it before switching places with my cousin."
For a moment, I didn't know how to respond. Then, in a rare moment of honesty, I muttered, "This place… holds memories."
Ben studied me. I could tell he wanted to ask more, but instead, he just nodded. "Yeah. History like this… it sticks to a place."
He understood. That caught me off guard more than anything else.
"Come on, you can tell me." Ben told me, his friendly tone almost made me forget how much of a powerful individual he was. "As your teacher, I need your trust in order to help you. Stuff like that can seriously affect your ability to wield magic."
Nodding, I decided to open up a little about my life.
By late afternoon, we found ourselves outside the Witch House, the only remaining structure with direct ties to the trials. A dark, wooden house, standing against time itself.
I placed a hand on the wall, feeling the age beneath my fingers.
"Do you think they were real?" Max asked.
"The witches?" Gwen's blonde cousin, my cousin, for the moment, was munching on some festival popcorn, staring up at the house like it was a haunted mansion.
Ben pondered for a moment. "Depends. Are you asking if magic exists, because we already know it does. Or if the people they accused were actually guilty?"
Max considered, thinking about Ben's point.
I answered before Ben could. "Those people? They weren't witches. With simple magic I can overpower a crowd of angry peasants. They…were just convenient scapegoats."
The tomboyish girl named Kate frowned. "That's messed up."
"That's history." I casually replied.
"Okay, serious question." Kate said as she put bubble gum into her mouth and started chewing on it while speaking. "Say you were a witch back then, and you had to go into hiding. Where would you hide? And you can't say 'leave the country'. You're stuck in Salem!"
I tilted my head, considering. "Caves."
Kate and Lucy both turned to me. "Caves?"
"The forests in this region are dense, and there are plenty of hidden places among the hills and rocks. It's dark, secluded, and most importantly…most people back then were too superstitious to go wandering in them at night."
Kate whistled. "Damn. You actually put thought into this."
Lucy grinned. "She's right, though. That's exactly where the last witch in a horror movie would hide out."
The conversation drifted from there, but I noticed Ben was still watching me. Still noticing things. His gaze flickered toward my hand on the house, and I quickly pulled away, stuffing it into my pocket.
"We should keep moving." I said quickly.
Ben didn't argue. But he also didn't stop watching me.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, the town took on a different feel. Lanterns flickered to life, casting eerie glows over old streets. The oldman's vehicle was parked by a field where some small festival was taking place, tourists and locals alike gathering for food, games, and ghost stories.
Kate pointed at a fortune-teller's tent. "Come on, let's see if they can predict something actually cool."
Lucy smirked. "Like what? That you're going to trip over your own feet again?"
Kate shoved her playfully. "Shut up."
I raised an eyebrow, arms crossed. "If you really want a reading, I could do one for free. Save you the embarrassment of handing your money to a fraud."
Kate blinked. "Wait, seriously? You know how to read fortunes?"
"Of course." I said smoothly. "Palm reading, tarot, bone divination…you name it."
Lucy laughed. "Okay, but what if you actually see something creepy?"
I tilted my head, considering her words. 'What if I did?'
Before I could answer, Ben appeared beside me. "You guys really wanna waste time on that when we could be getting snacks?"
Kate rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine. But Gwen, you owe us a fortune reading later."
I smirked. "We'll see."
As they walked ahead, Ben lingered, his voice quieter. "That was close."
I scoffed. "Please. I had it under control."
He gave me a look, like he wasn't convinced. Then he smirked. "C'mon."
For once, I followed without argument, sitting beside Ben on a wooden bench, watching Max and the others enjoy themselves.
He was quiet for a while, before finally saying. "You know… you could've just asked to come along."
"What?" I turned to him, surprised, before letting out more than I should. "For you to turn you back on me again?"
"Oh, so you are still bummed about that." Ben glanced at me—no, at Gwen—then back at the festival. "You are angry that I didn't aid you with alienating my other underlings? Besides, I told you that I was busy at that moment."
"Oh, right. You were so busy." Against my best judgment I let my feelings get the better of me.
"Yeah. I was." Ben huffed a quiet laugh before placing his hand over mine, touching me like no one has ever done before. "But now I am free, you didn't have to sneak into my cousin's body. If you wanted to spend time with me, you could've just asked."
Something tightened in my chest. A foreign feeling.
He might've been speaking the truth. But that wasn't how I operated. I didn't ask for things. I took them. That was how I had survived. How I had always survived.
And yet, as I looked at him, I wondered…Would he have said yes if I had just asked?
I swallowed down the thought, masking it with a smirk. "Where's the fun in that?"
Ben rolled his eyes, but there was something softer in his expression now. Something knowing.
"Come on." He said, standing up. "I hear there's a stand selling cursed caramel apples."
I raised a brow. "Cursed?"
He grinned. "Okay, maybe just extremely overpriced. But still, I figured you'd appreciate the branding."
I hesitated. Then, slowly, I stood.
As we walked toward the festival, I felt it again, that pull in my chest. That strange, unfamiliar warmth.
Maybe it was just the lingering magic of Salem. Or maybe… it was something else.
————————————————————————
[MERRY CHRISTMAS]
MC'S POV
The sound of the Rustbucket's engine filled the cabin as we cruised down a seemingly endless stretch of highway, nothing but desert stretching out on either side. The sun hung high in the sky, beating down on the asphalt, but for once, we weren't suffering in the heat.
All thanks to me.
I leaned back in my seat, arms crossed behind my head, enjoying the blissful cool air blowing from the vents. The AC purred like a dream, because unlike some people, I actually knew how to fix things properly.
Grandpa Max, however, was once again in full tour guide mode.
"Ah, the open desert!" He said, grinning as he steered the Rust Bucket forward. "There's just something about it, the vastness, the history, the mystery! You know, some folks say there are places out here where time itself acts strange. Whole towns appearing and disappearing without a trace!"
Gwen, this time my real cousin, perked up. "Wait, really?"
"Oh, absolutely!" Max nodded enthusiastically. "There are stories of travelers stumbling across entire villages in the middle of nowhere, places frozen in time, stuck celebrating the same holiday over and over!"
"Meh." Kate gave him a flat look before waving a hand. "Let's just keep going."
Max blinked. "But—"
"I'm sorry Grandpa, but I also agree with Kate." I told him while turning my gaze back out the window. "Besides, didn't you say we were going to meet an old friend of yours all the way down to New Mexico?"
"I-I…" Max tried to argue but with any support from the other girls he couldn't deny the reason behind my statement. He huffed but didn't push it. Instead, he focused back on the road, shaking his head before muttering with a grandfatherly smile. "Kids these days."
Lucy snorted, while Gwen rolled her eyes.
I smirked, letting the moment pass.
I've already studied all the magic I could and ran this desert several times over with my Ultimate Kineceleran (XLR8) form.
So yeah, best to just keep driving. I still had a werewolf to hunt and a girl to meet.
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(04/02/2025)
*Hey there! Thanks for reading my work! I hope this chapter is of your liking.
Any ideas for powers, adventure arcs and girls are more than welcomed. I might not use anything, but you will have my gratitude for trying.
If this chapter is a mess of grammatical errors, please wait, I'll promptly try to fix it. But for that I need your feedback.
Thanks as always for your time, hope you have a fantastic day and please stay safe.
Bye.
**If you guys can't believe how quickly I'm uploading these chapters, just imagine my surprise. Hopefully I'm not sacrificing too much of its quality for that faster pace, but only you guys can tell me.
As you've seen, this chapter was shorter due to not really having all that much interesting stuff for me to explore in these past three episodes I've just covered. Or perhaps that's just my opinion and you will let me know which brilliant opportunity I lost by not properly covering the mess of an episode that was that Christmas themed one.
Fortunately it allowed me to finish the last chapter and even get some opportunity to keep developing the task force of female villains my MC is leading. Especially now that he has new servants. By the way, I'm open for suggestions for naming them.
As for Sublimino's created backstory, sorry for those that found it a little too cliche, but that villain was so one dimensional that I had to make a few adjustments, and by the time I was done I felt he could be a good addition to the Forever Knights. Like if they already have Dr. Animo (the one from my MC's dimension) working on the body, Hex working with the spirit, I feel Sublimino was the perfect candidate to explore the mind.
What else? Oh, right. Please let me know if the Mall segment was a bit too unbearable of a filler, I was literally throwing everything at the wall in hopes something stuck. I mean, I had to describe how ridiculously large that place was even for cartoon standards.
Finally, I hope you guys are interested in seeing how I will portray the next episodes.
I'm more than aware that Kai has her fans, but the majority of comments I get about her aren't what I would call kind by any stretch of the imagination. No, she won't join the crew in the Rust Bucket, it's already very filled, but I also don't plan to add her to the group of villains. As obvious as that last part may sound, I just wanted to let those amongst you who want so badly for it to happen prepared for that disappointment.