Welcome back to the next chapter of the Ultra 10 Chronicles! There is some graphic mention of blood in this chapter at the very end. You should be able to tell when it is going to happen. (Squirrel!)

Little updates for anyone interested. Last week I ended up visiting the chiropractor for my arm, and got it adjusted. So I am back to work, and back to typing!

This chapter's theme music is Crawling by Linkin Park You can listen to the song on YouTube. YouTube com/watch?v=TnDC0JAcYp0.

Don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts about the story so far! They are what keeps pushing me to get a chapter out every week, sometimes twice a week! Enjoy the chapter!

The Ultra 10 Chronicles: Volume 1: The Beginnings of Ultra 10

Chapter 15: A Creature of the Night

Gwen's house

Gwen made her way into her bedroom, and immediately changed into her Lucky Girl uniform. As she uttered her magic word, her clothes faded away, being replaced with her black leotard and cat mask. She was just about to head out, when she remembered her suggestion potions that she had "cooking" on her window sill.

"Can't forget those!" She said to herself, as she turned back, and grabbed them from the sill. "They should have had enough time to soak up the moonlight." She slipped them in-between her sash and her leotard. With that, she slid open her window, and snuck out. She pressed the button on her bluetooth, calling Team Ultra.

"Hey, Lucky Girl!" Julie answered, her voice distorted from Cooper's security server. "What's up?"

"Hey! I wanted to meet up with the team," Lucky Girl said. "I finished the suggestion potion, or as much as I could from my end. There is one more step that only the user can do."

"Cool! Meet Ultra 10 up at Ross Park. He'll have to get Lukas's and mine's potions from you there. I'll let Ultra know that you'll meet him there."

"Thanks!" Lucky Girl said, as she ended the call. She started to make her way to Ross Park, knowing that Ultra 10 was going to beat her there. He did have a super speedy form. True to her assumption, Ultra 10 was already waiting for her when she got to their usual clearing in the park's miniature forest.

"I hear you got something for me?" Ultra 10 asked her when she got close.

"Yeah," she said, as she tossed him one of the four vials.

"Is this it?" He asked. "Just drink it?"

"Almost," Lucky Girl said. "It needs to be customized to you. That's just the base potion."

"Ok, then. How do I customize it?" He shook the vial a little bit, almost like he was expecting something to happen.

"It's kinda gross," Lucky Girl said. "You've gotta spit into it, before you drink it." Ultra 10 looked at her, a mixture of confusion and disgust on his face. Gwen raised her hands defensively. "Hey, I don't make up the magical rules! I just made the potion! I think that it's absolutely gross!"

"So… have you…" Ultra indicated the potion.

"Oh no!" She said quickly. "That's the base potion, so no saliva yet!" She pulled out her own vial out from her sash. She pulled off the cork, and Ultra 10 did the same. He made a spitting sound, as he dripped some saliva into the vial. Gwen felt grossed out, as she did the same to her own.

"Well, better get this over with!" Ultra said, as he swirled the potion around. It turned a sickly green color.

"On three," Lucky Girl suggested, and Ultra 10 agreed. "One… Two… Three!" The two of them tipped the vials into their mouths, chugging the liquid. The vile liquid was thick like syrup, which only slowed its way down their throats.

"Ack!" Gwen coughed, trying to resist the urge to throw up. Ultra wasn't doing much better, looking like he was coughing out a lung.

"Ugh!" Ultra moaned, finally done coughing. "That was the worse thing I've ever tasted, and I've had my fair share of disgusting food!" Thoughts of Grandpa Max's cooking floating through his mind.

"Me too!" Lucky Girl too thought of Grandpa Max's cooking over their summer trip. "I'd rather eat marinated mealworms for an entire summer!" Ben thought that was a very odd choice of food, but he shrugged.

"Oh yeah? Well I'd rather eat smoked sheep's tongue for an entire year, rather than try that again!" The two of them shuddered at the thought of it.

"Well, is it working?" He asked Lucky Girl.

"I don't know?" She replied. "I don't feel any different, but it could also take a while to start working."

"Or it could already have started…" Ultra supplied. "Do you have the potion for Julie and Lukas?"

"Yeah, I do," Lucky Girl said, reaching into her pouch and pulling out the two vials of the clear liquid. "I was going to drop them off at Julie's apartment after patrol tonight." Ultra 10 nodded his agreement.

"Well I don't know about you," he said. "But I could really go for a smoothie. You know, to get that disgusting taste out of my mouth." Lucky Girl smiled.

"Ultra, are you asking me on a date to Mr. Smoothie's?" What little she could see of Ultra 10's face immediately started to blush.

"Uh, no! I am going to buy my own smoothie! But if you want to tag along with me, you could!" He stumbled over his words.

"Alright, I accept!" Lucky Girl said. "I'll race you there!"

"Too easy!" Ultra held up the Omnitrix.

"No Accelerate!" Lucky Girl added. "And I'm not teleporting. Anything else is fair game!"

"You're on!" Ultra activated the Omnitrix, the face plate popping up. "On your mark!"

"Get set!" Lucky Girl said, her hands glowing blue with mana.

"Go!" They said together. Ben slammed down on the watch, disappearing in a flash of green light. "Upgrade!" He shouted. "Hey! I think that's the one!"

"Vadera expectorium perpetuon!" Gwen shouted, as a cyclone of wind swirled around her, lifting her up into the air.

"Hey! No fair!" Upgrade shouted.

"It's not teleportation!" Lucky Girl shouted back. "It's completely legal!" She rose higher, before changing the direction of the wind, propelling her forwards.

"I guess that I'll have to adapt!" Upgrade stretched his legs out, trying to make them longer in order to go faster. In a few bounds, he was out of the forest. Gwen, however, was getting farther and farther away.

"What to use, what to use?" Upgrade looked around, seeing a motorcycle parked in a nearby stall. "That'll do!" He stretched out his hands, melting himself into the motorcycle. In a moment, he morphed the bike into a super-fast hot rod.

"Now we're talking!" He said, as he revved his engine, and took off down the road. In a moment, he was fast catching up to Lucky Girl.

"Hey! No fair!" She shouted.

"It's not Accelerate!" He shouted. "Completely legal!"

"Hazardus!" She shouted, and blue magic shot from her hand. Suddenly, the road in front of Ben grew very bumpy and uneven, slowing him down. They continued their game, weaving through town until Ben, at long last, saw the Mr. Smoothie's up ahead.

He pushed his throttle even harder, urging the engine to speed a little faster. Lucky Girl seemed to notice, as she looked up ahead. Seeing the smoothie stand, she also sped up, leaving Ultra 10 behind in the dust. She beat him there, landing just as Ultra 10 pulled up, throwing himself out of the motorcycle, landing in a puddle on the concrete. He assumed his humanoid shape, and hit the Omnitrix badge, returning him to his human form.

"Ha!" Lucky Girl cheered. "Fast, but not fast enough! So… What's my prize for winning?"

"Yeah yeah, gloat all you want! That's your prize." He was still having a rush from the high-speed race.

"Oh but gloating's just the benefit of winning!" She said. "Not the prize. Hmm…" Lucky Girl feigned thinking for a moment. "Oh I got it! You buy me a smoothie!"

"But I already said that I'm buying myself one!" Ultra 10 complained. "And you could buy your own!"

"That was before we decided to race," Lucky Girl replied. "And besides, I don't bring my wallet with me in my suit!"

"Fine!" Ultra 10 relented. "Your prize is me buy you a smoothie, but I decide the flavor!"

"Deal!" She said. With that, he went up to the window to order the smoothies. Lucky Girl looked around, finding a nice bench to sit down at and wait for him. In short time, he came back, holding two smoothies.

"Here's your's!" He said, handing her one. He sat down opposite of her on the bench.

"Thanks!" She said, taking the smoothie gratefully. "What flavor did you get me?" She took a big gulp from the smoothie.

"Kiwi-Oatmeal," Ultra 10 said, as Lucky Girl coughed and sputtered the smoothie.

"That's disgusting!" She said.

"You don't like it?" Ultra 10 asked, confused. "Its one of my favorite! I thought it was delicious!"

"No, Kiwi-Mango would be delicious! Kiwi-Oatmeal is disgusting! Let me have a taste of yours!" She reached over and took his smoothie, taking a big sip from his straw before sputtering that out as well.

"What is in yours?" She all but demanded.

"Purple-Power. So Lavender-Grape," He said, as if it was the most normal flavor in the world.

"That's it, it's official. You have the strangest taste in smoothies!" She said, standing up. "Next time, I am taking you to Burger Shack, so that we can have some normal food!" She tossed her smoothie into the garbage can, unable to finish it.

"You ready to finish up the patrol?" She asked, as Ultra 10 finished his smoothie, and tossed it into the garbage can.

"You mean start it?" He corrected her. "We never really did start it."

"Eh, tomato, tomahto!" She said.

"Potato, Pototo!" Ultra 10 finished. Lucky Girl gave him an odd look.

"It's supposed to be 'Potato, potahto.' Not Pototo."

"No one actually calls it 'potahto' though."

"No one calls it 'pototo' either."

"I do," Ultra affirmed.

"Alright, one person calls them 'pototoes.' And only one person." The two of them burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. Ultra 10's Omnitrix flashed green, signifying that it was ready to be activated again.

"I guess that's our cue!" Ultra said, as he activated the Omnitrix. "What part of town are you going to patrol?"

"I was going to take the uptown section tonight," Lucky Girl responded.

"Sounds good to me. If you need me, call." Ben rotated the watch face, before slamming it down. "Accelerate!" He shouted as he sped off. Gwen just scoffed, as she took off herself towards the uptown part of Bellwood.

Ben raced through the city, zooming through the alleyways that the surveillance system couldn't reach. He'd done this dozens of times by now, and he was able to do it rather quickly. In one alley, he came across a mugging. Taking only seconds, Ben zoomed up to the thug and punched him, knocking him to the ground. Grabbing the purse from him, he gave it back to the woman.

"There you go!" He said. "Now try not to let that get stolen again!" He then picked up the thug, and ran him down to the police station, as he usually did with the criminals he caught on patrol. Then he raced back, eager to finish the patrol.

Uptown Bellwood, Gwen's patrol

Gwen made her way through the streets of the city, checking the usual problem places. Bars, warehouses, the likes. Finding nothing, she decided to wrap up, and make her way towards Julie's apartment. She called up over her bluetooth.

"Lucky Girl!" Julie pleasantly answered. "What do I owe the pleasure?"

"Hey Julie!" She said. I've got a suggestion potion for you and Lukas too," she explained. "To protect your identities as well as Ultra 10's and mine."

"Cool!" She said. "Come on in!" With that, Lucky Girl headed up into Julie's apartment. Coming inside, Lucky Girl produced the two vials filled with clear liquid.

"Here they are," she said, handing them to Julie. "A couple of things first. It is really gross, but before you take it, you need to spit into it, to allow it to be customized to you. It should turn green, that's how you'll know that it's customized to you."

"Is that it?" Julie asked.

"Yeah, after it turns green, it is ready to be taken. However it tastes really nasty," Lucky Girl warned. "Like seriously gross. But it should do the trick to keep your identity hidden."

"Thanks for the heads-up!" Julie placed one potion in her fridge. "I'll be sure to let Lukas know about it when I give him his."

"Well that's really all that I came over for then," Lucky Girl said. "I'd better get back to my patrol, and head home." She waived goodbye to Julie, and let herself out of the apartment, making her way down the street.

Later, Ultra 10's Patrol in Downtown Bellwood

Ben continued making his rounds throughout the downtown area. Aside from the mugger from earlier, he hadn't seen any crimes going on, or even any really shady people prowling about. He crossed into the old town part of Bellwood, down close to the docks. He zoomed through, not seeing anything off. However, just when he was about to leave to patrol the next part of town, he heard something. It sounded like a scream.

"What was that?" He asked himself, wondering if he was hearing things, just hoping for some action. Deciding that he had better at least check out the area again, he circled back for another pass.

As he was passing through the old town area again, he heard the scream again, followed by a growl. Confused, and thinking that it was some sort of an animal attack, Ben raced towards where he had heard the sounds.

Accelerate pulled up to the old downtown park. He didn't see anyone in the dark night. Not wanting to attract whatever animal had attacked the woman, Ben resolved to comb through the park at super fast speed, to try to find the lady who had screamed. He zoomed through the park, checking around trees, bushes, benches and the playground. However, he saw no one.

"I know that I heard that scream!" Ben chided himself. "Where is she?" Just then, he heard another growl. Thinking that it was the animal, Accelerate zoomed towards where he'd heard the sound, coming upon a small alley, next to the park. Down the alley, he saw a man hunched over, a woman in his arms. The man growled like an animal, as the woman lain motionless in his arms.

"Hey, you!" Accelerate shouted. "Put the woman down!"

"It is unwise, to come between an animal and his meal." The man said back, in a hoarse voice. "I encourage you to leave with the same caution as if you'd come across a predator feeding."

"Sorry, no can do!" Ben replied. "Kinda in the hero business, and that woman needs some saving. So this is your last warning before I get physical. Drop the woman, and leave her alone!"

"I was finished anyway," the man said. He dropped the woman, just letting her fall towards the ground. Accelerate, acting fast, zoomed forward, catching her right before she hit the ground. Picking her up, he rushed her towards the nearest park bench, laying her down across it. He turned around to rush back, but was startled to see the man standing there.

He was a short man, standing only about five feet tall. He had pale white skin, and a greasy bald head. His ears ended in points, looking something like what Ben thought looked like elf ears. He wore a long black trench coat, a white button-up shirt, black slacks and shoes. His shirt was partially unbuttoned, leaving a portion of his chest bare, the skin just as pale white as his face and hands.

"I see that you can move deceptively quickly," the old man said, something very unsettling in his voice. He sounded like he was sizing up Ben, looking for his strengths and weaknesses. Almost like a predator picking out which prey he would eventually pursue.

"I could say the same," Ben shot back. "But that's not my only trick."

"Oh, I'm sure of that!" The man said. "A fascinating creature indeed."

"Who are you?" Ben asked. "And what are you doing out here?"

"My business is my own," the man said coldly. "As is my name. But you may call me Vlad Sclzensk."

"Well Vlad, My name is Ultra 10, and I protect this city. So I'm going to have you come down to the police station with me," Ben said, crackling his knuckles. "We can go the easy way, or the hard way, whichever you prefer."

"Thank you for the invitation," Vlad Sclzensk said. "However I have further business appointments to make tonight, so I must decline."

"The hard way it is, then!" Accelerate rushed forward, preparing to deliver a well-placed kick, enough to send the old man against the closest building, and to knock him out. However, to his amazement, the man reached forward and grabbed Accelerate's foot, tossing him with surprising force into the building.

"Ha ha ha!" Vlad laughed. "Excellent speed! I haven't had to move so fast in such a long time! This will be great practice for me!" Ben's badge flashed red, transforming him back into his human form. The watch was red on his wrist, it needing to recharge for a moment.

"Ah! You're human!" Vlad exclaimed. "Excellent!" Ben picked himself up from the heap of broken bricks he had created. He was going to have to stall for time.

"So Vlad, where are you from?" He asked, stalling. "You don't sound like you're from here?"

"Right you are!" Vlad said. "My name is Vlad Sclzensk, Lord Dracul. Hailing from the ancient Wallachia!" He took a bow as he introduced himself. "Unfortunately, now that you know my name, you will have to die!" With that, Vlad stood strait up, his bones popping and snapping in a sickening way as he did so. Rather than the short stature he had before, Ben saw that he now stood close to eight feet tall, an impossible height for he previous stature. His clothes, not designed for someone so tall, tore, eventually revealing his muscled chest. Like the Incredible Hulk, only Vlad's legs were covered with the scraps of clothing that he had been wearing.

His head looked more animalistic, his greasy bald head now glistening in the moonlight, as his ears seemed to grow in size, with their pointed tips jutting out unto the sky. He almost looked like…

"A vampire!" Ben exclaimed in shock and disbelief.

"Please, do not insult me! I am a dhampir! A noble hybrid of vampire and human!" Vlad said. "And any minute, my latest minion shall join me!" Ben spun around to look at the park bench where he'd laid the woman. To his shock, she wasn't there. Turning around again, he saw the woman at Vlad's side.

"This is not happening!" Ben blurted out. Vampires are the things of fable! They aren't real!"

"Oh I can very much assure you that this is real," Vlad said. "However you shall not have too long to worry about that! Attack him!" At his beckon, the woman rushed at Ben, clawing at him with her fingers, her nails somehow already grown into sharp claws. Ben ducked away from her, trying to avoid getting his throat slashed out.

"Woah!" He said as he dodged another slash. His Omnitrix beeped, letting him know that it was recharged. "About time!" He quickly activated and slammed down on it.

"FourArms!" He shouted, as he took a swing at the vampire woman. She caught his fist with surprising strength, stopping his fist in mid-air. Then she caught his other fist in her other hand. She smiled at his shock. However, she hadn't remembered that FourArms had four arms. His third arm came in from the side, striking a blow to the woman. Finally, his fourth fist caught her on her head, sending her to the ground unconscious.

"You'll have to try harder than one woman to stop me!" FourArms addressed Vlad.

"My thoughts exactly!" He replied, stretching his arms around, prompting Ben to look around. All around, there were dozens of vampires. Men, women, even children, all with their eyes glowing in the moonlight. "Meet my children!"

"Oh yeah?" FourArms replied. "If they fight like the woman, then I still have nothing to worry about!"

"We'll see about that!" Vlad said, stepping back into the darkness. "Attack!" On command, all of the vampires rushed at Ben, slashing their claws, and growling and hissing like animals.

The first one got close, and FourArms swatted him away, sending him into another vampire. Another one lunged towards his neck, but FourArms grabbed him, tossing him away. A third one slashed at him, drawing blood from his upper arm.

"Ouch!" He shouted. He kicked the vampire away, but it was as useless as fighting a hydra. As soon as he beat one vampire off, there were two more. He was starting to get overwhelmed. Ben barreled forward, literally stepping over the vampires in his way. He ran to get away from them, but was disappointed to see that they too were immensely fast. Not as fast as Vlad was, but faster than FourArms for sure.

Ben backed up against a tree, simply trying to keep his back covered. Above him, a vampire woman climbed down the tree, face first towards Ben. It leaped at him, Ben just barely seeing it out of the corner of his eye. He reached up, the vampire landing on his shoulders. The hideous thing snarled as it clawed at FourArms' throat.

Ben shouted in pain, reaching up, and pulling off the creature, and hurling it away. However in so doing, he stepped away from the tree, and several other vampires seized on the opportunity, jumping at him. Ben reached up with two arms and ripped one away from around his head, and with his other arms, he punched one away, and threw another. However, one was just a bit too fast for him.

"Yah!" Ben shouted, as he ripped the vampire clinging to his arm away. Ben reached up into the tree, grabbing a hold of a large limb. He yanked down, breaking the limb off, turning it into a sharp stake.

"Alright! Who want's the sharp stake first?" He shouted, moving the tree limb in a circle, keeping the vampires at bay.

"That's enough!" Vlad spoke from the shadows. He emerged, still the hideous pale creature he was. All of the vampires started to shrink away. "This is not the last time that we shall meet, Ultra 10," he said menacingly. As if on queue, Vlad turned into a mist of smoke, floating up into the night. His "children" did the same, turning into bats and flying away.

"Come back and fight!" Ben shouted after them, but they didn't pay him any mind. His badge started to flash, changing him back into his human form. Ben looked at his arm, which was starting to really irritate him. The cut was starting to burn and itch. I'd better head to Julie's and see if she can treat this. He changed into Accelerate, and took off. Within a short while, he had gotten to her apartment, and was now having her look at it.

"Hmm… It appears to me to simply be a bite mark. Doesn't look like "fangs" or anything like that." Julie said, inspecting the bite mark on Ben's arm. "Still, I'll get some iodine for it, and some triple antibiotic." Julie got up and headed down the hallway for her first-aid kit.

"Man, that entire situation was bizarre!" Ben commented. "It was like they were actual vampires or something."

"You know that those only exist in fairytales, right?" Julie said.

"Yeah, but I still don't know how they turned into bats?"

You said that they disappeared in a mist. Then the bats appeared, and flew off," Julie said.

"Yeah, I did."

"Well they must have run off in the mist, and used animatronics or some optical illusion for the bats."

"I'm just saying that it was really strange," Ben said again. Julie applied the triple antibiotic, and wrapped his arm up in a bandage.

"There ya go," she said. "It should be fine by morning." Ben stood up and made for the door.

"Thanks, Julie." Ben said. "I'll keep you in the know on how it is." He left the apartment and activated his Omnitrix.

"Accelerate!" He shouted, as he emerged from the flash of green light. He sped off into the night towards his house. He sped around back, and detransformed, before sneaking into his bedroom. He quickly got changed into his pajamas, and went to bed.

Several Hours Later

Ben woke up immediately. He looked around his room, confused why the light was on. He sat up and looked over to his alarm clock, which read 3:45 am. Ben reached over to turn off the light. However, he was confused to realize that the light was still turned off. Confused even more, he shrugged, turned over, and tried to get back to sleep. But he was not tired at all. Not in the least bit.

"What is going on?" He asked out loud. He finally sat up, trying to figure out why he would suddenly wake up. He got an idea, and checked his arm. He pulled the bandage off, and looked it over. To his amazement, there wasn't any bite marks.

"How could that be?" He wondered. "I gotta clear my head." Ben grabbed his suit off of his bedside table and opened it up, his suit expanding to cover him from head to toe. He opened his window and slipped outside into the night. Walking down the street, he could see as easily as if it were midday. And the smells that he could smell, they were more vivd than anything he had ever experienced before. He could smell everything around. The grimy rubber of the tires of parked cars, the smell of gasoline in their tanks, the smell of the dew on the grass. All of it was as if it were in High Definition.

Ben started to run, trying to clear his head, but was surprised at how fast he could move. He could easily run twice as fast as he normally could, and probably faster if he pushed himself. It was almost as if everything else moved slower. And the power in his muscles, it felt that he could lift a car!

As he was jogging, he felt a pain in his gut, a terrible, gnawing pain. A hunger. Ben slowed to a stop, as the hunger continued to grow stronger and stronger. To the point that he almost couldn't think of anything else, but to find some food. A hot, juicy steak, cooked extra rare. The thought was giving Ben shivers.

He turned back home, trying his best to resist all of the intoxicating smells that seemed to be hitting him from every direction, all the time now. He finally made his way home, arriving at about the time he usually would wake up. He followed his usual morning routine, but found himself unable to stomach down much of the breakfast that his mom made. The sausage just smelt rotten, and he was amazed that his mom and dad both didn't seem to notice the putrid smell.

Arriving at school, he was again hit with all of the hundreds of smells. It seemed to be even more over whelming than when he was transformed as WildMutt. He was finding it very hard indeed to not think about food. The tardy bell rang, and Ben made his way into Ms. Bennett's class for homeroom. He trudged over to his desk and sat down, resting his head on the desk. Aside from the annoying hunger, the lights in the room was giving him a headache.

"Hey, Ben!" Sam greeted him, when he saw Ben sit down. "Tough night, huh?"

"You have no idea," Ben muttered. "I feel like absolute crap."

"Maybe you should go visit the school nurse?" Sam asked.

"Maybe," Ben relented. "I might go later." It was then that Lukas sat down at his desk next to Ben's.

"Hey, guys!" He greeted Sam and Ben. "Hey Ben, you don't look like you slept at all last night."

"Yeah, and I look better than I feel," Ben remarked, burying his head into his arms.

"Did anything happen last night?" Lukas asked, trying to ask about Ben's patrol, but weary of saying too much, especially in front of Sam. Ben nodded his head.

"Yeah. Do you mind if I come over after school to study?" Ben asked, that being their code for 'can we talk about hero work?'

"Sure, absolutely," Lukas responded. Their conversation was cut short by Ms. Bennett starting the assignments for the day. Lunch was especially concerning. The pizza smelt disgusting, and Ben felt like throwing up when he tried to force himself to eat some. After Lunch, Ben finally decided to visit the school nurse. However, Ben wasn't showing any other symptoms of any disease. He was sent back to class, resolving to suffer through the day. Finally, class got out, and Ben met up with Lukas on their walk to Lukas's house.

"So, what was it you were wanting to talk about?" Lukas asked. Ben pulled the hood of his jacket closer around his face, trying to block out any sunlight.

"Have you talked to Julie since yesterday?" He asked.

"No, is there something that I need to talk to her about?"

"Last night I ran into some guy," Ben started. "The whole encounter was very strange, but I am thinking more and more that he was a vampire." A sarcastic chuckle burst from Lukas's lips.

"A Vampire? Really? What makes you think that?" Lukas challenged.

"Well I didn't fight him, but I did fight all of these goons he referred to as his 'children.' Then he vanished in a puff of smoke, and all of his goons looked like they vanished into bats and flew away."

"So he used magic as an illusion," Lukas said. "Perhaps even real magic, like Lucky Girl."

"That's what Julie thought," Ben said. "But I was bitten by one of his goons. And now look at me! The sunlight burns! And I cannot stand to eat anything! And I can smell everything!"

"Ok, so you're going through puberty early," Lukas said. "Who knows how your watch is affecting you."

"It's not just the eating. I can run much faster than is normal, and I feel stronger too. And I can hear and smell everything!" Ben exclaimed. "I can hear your heartbeat, and your blood pumping through your veins!"

"OK, dude, that's a little creepy, not gonna lie," Lukas said. "Especially if you are turning into a vampire. I don't want you checking out my neck." He looked over at his friend, who was getting a bloodshot look in his eyes. A primal, animalistic look.

"I can smell your anxiety," He halfway said, halfway mumbled. "It smells delicious…" He stopped walking, instead standing there on the sidewalk, staring strait ahead in some sort of a daze.

"Hey, dude, you're kinda freaking me out," Lukas said. He glanced around, looking to see if anyone was near. Seeing no one around, he reached over to Ben's shoulder, to face him.

"Ben, you alright, dude?" He looked at Ben in the face. What he saw shocked him. Ben's face was pale and pain-stricken. He was shaking, trying to resist some base urge. He reached out to Lukas, grasping him by the shoulders. He opened his mouth, his teeth looking sharp, like a dog's.

"I… I just… need to… eat…" Ben mumbled reluctantly. Lukas squirmed his way out from Ben's grasp. He backed up away from him, until he was backed up to a tree.

"Dude, you can fight this," he said. "You can resist this." Ben shivered, his mind screaming at his body to resist, but his body pleading to give in. Lukas reached down and grabbed a tree branch.

"Just… one… bite…" Ben walked towards Lukas. He bore his teeth, hissing as he approached.

"I'm sorry about this," Lukas mumbled, as he swung the branch at Ben, blind sighting him. The branches and dead leaves struck Ben on the face, knocking him to the ground. However, the bark scratched Lukas's hand, drawing blood.

Ben, now on the ground, hissed at Lukas, smelling the fresh blood. With inhuman speed, he stood up and rushed forward, knocking Lukas to the ground and pinning him down.

"Just a little taste!" Ben gasped, as he bent down to bite him.

"Ben, man! Don't do this!" Lukas shouted. "You can fight this, I know you can!" Ben shuddered, stopping his coming closer to Lukas's hand.

"Ben, you are better than this!" Lukas said. "Fight it!" Ben shuddered again, suddenly lurching up and falling onto his back. He withered on the grass. Lukas stood up, and leaned over Ben.

"C'mon, Ben!" He said. "You can do it!"

"Take me out!" Ben gasped. "I can't fight it! Kill me before I kill you!"

"I don't believe you!" Lukas said. "You can fight it!" Ben shuddered again, screaming in agony. Out of the corner of his eye, Lukas saw a squirrel scurry up a tree.

"Ben! There's a squirrel! You can bite that!" In an instant, Ben leapt up and ran over to the tree, grabbing the squirrel in his hands and bitting into it. Blood dripped down Ben's chin, as he looked to be in temporary bliss. Finally done, he dropped the animal, as he also dropped to the ground.

"Ahh… Ahh…" Ben sighed with relief. Lukas cautiously approached him.

"Ben? How do you feel?" He asked. Ben nodded, seemingly exhausted or relieved.

"I'm feeling better now. The hunger is enough for me to control."

"You sure?" Lukas asked again. Ben nodded.

"Yeah, I can withhold myself," he said. "Lukas, I'm really sorry. I was trying so very hard to fight it. I was so close to killing you…"

"But you didn't," Lukas said. "You didn't bit me, and you did resist."

"Just until you saw the squirrel. What if next time there isn't a squirrel?"

"Well I think that we first had better buy you some fresh meat to keep that from happening." Lukas said. "And in the meantime, you have got to find this vampire guy that you fought. We've got to find a way to reverse this." Ben nodded his agreement.

"I'm going to get changed into my suit in the next alley, you keep watch." Lukas nodded, and they both headed for the nearest alleyway. Ben activated the suit, and Lukas's communicator.

"Alright, you head off in the same area that you met this vampire the first time. I'll contact Lucky Girl and have her tail you, just in case you get a bloodlust again. She can still subdue you." Ben, now Ultra 10, nodded, and activated the Omnitrix.

"Accelerate!" He shouted, as he raced off.

A/N:

That is where I'm going to leave it this time. What are your guys' thoughts about the chapter? How about Ultra 10 and Lucky Girl's first unofficial date? What did you think of Vlad Sclzensk, Lord Dracul? He is this Alternate Universe's version of Count Dracula. I created him halfway thinking of the classic Count Dracula, and halfway Lord Transyl, from Omniverse. Vlad is a Dhampir, meaning that he is a hybred between vampires and humans. That will have significance later down the line. Anyway, what were your opinions of the chapter? I'm always up for tips, critiques, or just excitement from you! Also, if you have a good idea for a subplot, let me know, and I may add a version of it into the story! (If I do, I'll be sure to tell whom the arc was inspired by.) This is your way of altering Ben and the Team's story!

Anyway, thanks for reading, and have an awesome day or night, whenever you read this!

Review Responses:

uchihaNaruto247: I like how your changing up some things from the norm. Grandpa Max's side of the family is the reason Gwen has such an aptitude for magic? That's a first. Now I'm curious about if Verdona also has a genetic influence on our genius Gwen or not. Why do I have a feeling that we might see that dagger again? I think Gwen might've made a mistake throwing it away, but I'll find out in the future. As for your answer about Sam... umm... you kinda gave me sweating bullets over here.

Uchiha, thanks for the review! (Do you prefer Uchiha, or uchihaNaruto247?) I'm glad that you're enjoying some of the plot points that are making this story different! Honestly, having Verdona be the only reason that Gwen has magic has been explored too much to be very exciting of a plot point by itself. So I decided early on to expand on that, and add some lore to the Tennyson family line. Verdona is a witch in this AU, so she does have something to do with Gwen's magic. But it is more than just leaving her the journal. As for the dagger, I had originally thought of just an ordinary knife, but retconned it to be a magical dagger because this is Hex we're talking about. I think that it is actually an interesting idea, the properties for the dagger, so we'll have to see if and how it comes back into the story.

Haha, sorry about making you sweat over my answer about Sam. I was feeling particularly mysterious when I wrote that. (Mwahaha!) You will eventually see him as a part of the team, but what I said stands. There will be a price to pay, but not for a couple of years, in-story. So you can be worry-free for the next little while. (Quite a while, actually, if the pacing has anything to say.)