We Are Monsters

by Creaturemaster

Ben somehow arrives in a strange new world where people and actual monsters co-exist (sort of). When he tries to blend himself in with Monster High's skeleton crew, things go horribly wrong! With a darkness lurking just of reach and an absurd amount of ghouls all wanting a piece of him, just how much can Ben take before he'll really "feel like a monster"? Rated T for harems & yuri.

45. Shadow of the Monster

Hello ghouls and man-sters! Creaturemaster in the house!

Now for those of you that read both the last chapter and this chapter, congrats. You have guts. Which is why this story is now M-rated in order to avoid having it taken down.

For those of you who skipped the last chapter, you are in no way a scaredy bat or weak in anyway. Some people have different tastes than others are more comfortable with some things than others might be; this is why I posted two chapters at the same time.

Now, onto business. For those of you are getting rather impatient with me, I apologize. We're All Monsters will be coming to a close before long, so please be patient. I estimate about three more chapters before Ben returns to his own dimension and about ten more chapters after that. For those who have helped me with ideas for this story, please refrain from giving me more. I have nothing against you, but I feel I have drug out this story long enough and should work towards ending it soon; as they say, "All good things must come to an end."

Now onto some other things! It seems that I am now a trend setter, as there have been two new Ben 10/Monster High Xover's posted within the last couple of weeks, both of which are fabulous reads with different takes on the story. Once you're done with this chapter, I recommend you move on over to Ben 10: Clawsome Travels by Morantis and Ben High by MC-Drakers 2.

Also, I would like to say now that updates for this story will start to slow down until mid-June, when things have smoothed out for the ever wonderful Summer Vacation. Until then, enjoy!

As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!

Onwards!

It was in the wee hours of the morning, when the sun was just starting to creep up over the horizon. The air was still chillingly clear from the night's coolness, and a light frost had reclaimed the town of New Salem in the name of winter; icicles hung from tree branches and roof overhangs, the lawns and parks now stained a mint green in color from the frost with the ponds and still waterways frozen over in a thin layer of ice. The birds that had clung on during the winter decided now was the best time to migrate for warmer weather, their parting calls welcoming the distant sun.

While most people were asleep this cool December morning, only a few were out so early; the mailmen, the waste management system, and the early morning joggers to name a few. Others however, were not up to so innocent deeds.

"Is the coast clear?"

"I think so, Micheal. What're we doing again?"

"For crying out loud, Franklin! We're stealin' a car!"

"Geez, Franklin, have you been drinking again?"

"Um, excuse me? Try smelling your breath sometime, Trevor!"

"Guys!" Micheal hissed, pulling his black ski mask down over his face to hide his identity as he loaded his pistol. "Quit actin' like a bunch of girls and get ready! We only got one shot at this." he rasped.

"Yeah, with the police actually cracking down on us humans, we ain't much time." Trevor agreed, copying his partner's movements as Franklin grumbled under his breath and put his gorilla mask on, smacking a crowbar into his palm.

"A Halloween mask?" Seriously?" Trevor groaned.

"It was what I had!" Franklin defended himself.

"Once again, you two are acting like a bunch of girls." Micheal grumbled under his breath. "Now shut the hell up or go home. I'm not the one that needs the money to get to the Bahamas."

"I thought I told you to never bring that up again." Trevor frowned.

"Well it isn't my fault you accidentally shot the governor!" Micheal shot back.

"Now who's being a girl?" Franklin grumbled. "C'mon. Once this is over, we can all be sitting on a nice beach with shrimp cocktails in our hands and some nice ladies at our sides."

"Agreed." Trevor and Micheal nodded in unison as they brandished their weapons and peaked our from behind a parked pickup. Their eyes glanced back and forth across the silent street, waiting patiently as Micheal glanced up at the grand clock tower that sat above the bank: exactly two minutes to four, when the manager would arrive. They hadn't much time.

"Move. Shoot anyone you see. No witnesses." Micheal whispered. His two partners nodded as they snuck out from behind the pick up, carefully glancing about with their shifty eyes for anyone that might notice them as Micheal ran across the street and up to a large, parked Hummer. Taking one last quick glance around, Micheal rammed his elbow into the window of the Hummer and shattered the glass, ignoring the loud car alarm as he reached in and unlocked the doors.

"C'mon! Get in before the fuzz gets here!" Micheal gestured wildly to the car as he yanked the door open and climbed into the driver's seat, slamming the door shut behind him as he quickly hotwired the vehicle; Trevor climbed into the passenger's seat as Franklin dove into the back, rolling down one of the windows as Micheal handed his gun off to him and and stepped on the gas pedal. The Hummer roared, its tires squealing loudly before it shot down the road and ran right over a stop sign before cruising away.

"Geez, Micheal! Where did you learn to drive!?" Trevor cried as he hung onto his seat belt.

"Who cares? We got away easy!" Franklin whooped from the back. "Once we sell this baby on the black market, we'll be filthy stinkin' rich!"

"And be in the Bahamas by Christmas." Micheal grinned. "Can't imagine a better way to spend a holiday."

"Of course, you'll probably have to downsize the price a little, considering the damage. And don't you mean the Boohamas?"

"Trevor? Please tell me that was you." Micheal asked with a fearful voice, stealing a quick glance away from the road to look at his partner.

"No way in hell, dude." Trevor shook his head. "Franklin?"

"Nope. Think the cops planted a device in this thing?" the thug wondered.

"Those bastards? Ha! They couldn't pull this off!" the mysterious voice laughed.

"Okay, whoever is doing this, knock it off or we'll fill you fulla holes!" Micheal threatened.

"I'd like to see you try." the voice said with annoyance; Franklin gave a startled scream as the roof of the Hummer suddenly turned an inky black in color, dark green, circuit like lines snaking their way across the top and down across the doors and windows and onto the seats, the inky blackness following them as they moved up over the dashboard of the Hummer. Micheal yelled as the steering wheel was suddenly jerked out of his hands and molded before his eyes into a more advanced version. The entire Hummer shook and trembled it went under a change, the wheels nearly doubling in size as the engine jammed its way out from under the hood and automatic weapon systems appeared on the roof and mirrors.

What terrified the car jackers the most however, was when a smooth, almost liquid-like object rose up from the dashboard, its single, green ring for an eye pinching downwards into what could only be a frown.

"It's the alien kid!" Trevor screamed.

"No way in hell am I dealin' with this shit!" Franklin yelled. "I'm outta here!" he cried, kicking the door open and jumping out; Micheal and Trevor copied his movements, rolling along the street as the Hummer screeched to a stop overhead, the green and black ooze moving off of the car and coming back together on its roof.

"Aw, are the little Normies scared?" Upgrade wondered.

"Stay back, freak!" Micheal threatened. "Or your Swiss cheese!"

"I highly doubt that, dude." the Galvanic Mechamorph rolled its single eye as the Omnitrix timed out and returned Ben to the world in a flash of green light; the three crooks decided to use this to their advantage the two of them fired off several dozen rounds with their guns. But Ben was too quick as he quickly turned on the Omnitrix and randomly selected an alien before slapping the activation button and letting the green light wash over him. His wrists bloated to the size of basketballs, his fingers reduced to black claws as the blubber from his hands traveled up the length of his arms, expanding and growing and swelling to massive proportions on his shoulders. His belly suddenly exploded outwards, and it would have been funny had he not had bullets shooting straight at him. His legs became short and stubby, his toes becoming bony and sharp, reduced to claws like his fingers had been. Hard plating began to pile itself up on his shoulders and his expanding hips, his entire back becoming covered in the durable armor that could withstand almost anything. His head became round like a beach ball before muscles and skin melted his face into his chest, his neck disappearing altogether. Black stripes and coloring formed over his pure white body, the armor turning yellowing as it formed on the back of his hands and shoulders. The final transformations were the sudden flexibility of his spine and the addition of the Omnitrix on his chest, a little ways below his wide mouth.

"Time to roll out!" Cannonbolt bellowed as he quickly curled up on himself and jumped down from the Hummer and to the road with a loud boom! The bullets harmlessly bounced off his tough shell as he shot forward right at the three car thieves who had wisely decided to start running; the Arburian Pelarota caught up with them regardless and barreled right through them like bowling pins, sending the three of them flying as Cannonbolt made a wide U-turn and came right back at them.

"Run for it! Every man for himself!" Trevor wailed.

"Run from what!? The freak's a gigantic Bowling Ball of Death!" Franklin yelled.

"Will you two just shut up! I am tried of your fu-" Micheal started before Cannonbolt rolled off a parked car like a ramp and came crashing down on him, flattening into the road in a perfect, sphere shaped hole before the Omnitrix timed out and reverted Cannonbolt back into Ben.

"Do the two of you want to surrender now, or do I need to knock some sense into you?" Ben asked, glaring at Franklin and Trevor.

"Die, freak!" Franklin screamed, aiming his gun at Ben.

"Why am I not surprised?" Ben mumbled as he randomly selected an alien and slammed a hand down on the activation button as the green light washed over his body and began to change his DNA. His skin suddenly exploded into patterns of the prime colors, red, blue, and yellow, racing and dancing over his body until it looked like a paint truck had exploded on him. He looked down at his feet to find them completely vanishing into box-shaped toes, rings of cubes and squares racing up his legs with the sound of a thousand clattering LEGO bricks. The rings ran up his body, becoming wider as they reached his chest and arms, his fingers melting together to form three digits on each hand. The blocks raced up his back and neck to envelope his face, making his face cubular and boxy as the Omnitrix appeared on his chest, completing the transformation.

Bloxx quickly shifted his right hand into a rounded shield as Franklin fired off his gun, the bullets ricocheting harmlessly off of his tough exterior as he wanted for the thug to run out of bullets; when he did, the Segmentasapien morphed his shield back into a hand and bounced off of his fists and into the air before slamming them back down into the pavement and knocking the two thieves off of their feet.

"Die, freak!" Franklin screamed again as he jammed another round of bullets into his gun and prepared to pull the trigger; Bloxx was faster however, and jammed a hand over the barrel of the gun as Franklin pulled the trigger, the weapon exploding in his hands as Bloxx grabbed him by the head with his other hand and into another parked car. The car thief groaned and winced at his injuries before looking up just in time for Bloxx to tear a lamp post out of the sidewalk and bash him over the head with it, knocking him unconscious where he lay.

"Ahhhhh!" Trevor screamed as he ran for the Hummer, hoping to make a get away; the Segmentasapien wasn't going to let him as he slapped the Omnitrix disk on his chest, a green light washing over his hulking frame and briefly changing him back to his original form before injecting another set of DNA into him. He felt every last shred of his physical being vanish and become somewhat free, becoming pure energy as the Omnitrix focused his bouncing molecules back into a more stable shape. He watched as simply hands and single-toed feet formed on the end of his limbs. Black braces appeared on his hot, red arms and legs, a belt and pair of shorts attached to black straps materializing on his body. The transformation was only half complete however, as black pieces of metal began to wrap themselves around him, tightening and groaning as they formed moveable pieces for his arms and legs, forming a jar-like containment suit that bent over his head and attached to the front with a lock of sorts. Bolts popped out of the shoulders and hands, metal supports appearing on the lock and a large handle appearing on the tightly sealed lid. Three slits in the grill plate allowed limited vision as the Omnitrix appeared on the lock.

"Not what I was going for, but I think I can work with this." NRG shrugged as he grabbed hold of the lamp post he had graciously ripped out of the ground and threw it at the Hummer, knocking it clear on its side before Trevor could even hope to get in. The Prypiatosian-B then fired off a concentrated beam of radioactive energy that smashed into the side of the Hummer and melted the vehicle into a hot, liquid mess of bubbling metal and burning rubber; Trevor screamed and fell flat on his butt, starring in shock at the destroyed vehicle.

"So. Feel like surrendering now?" NRG asked as he came up behind Trevor and rested a metal hand on his shoulder; the car thief promptly fainted right there on the spot out of sheer fright.

"Oh, come now. I'm not that scary." the Prypiatosian-B rolled his eyes as the sound of police sirens came from behind him, followed by the screeching of tires and the slamming of car doors. And the sound of guns being cocked and loaded.

"Really, officers. I do your job for you and you arrest me?" NRG grumbled.

"We're not here to arrest you, Tennyson." a commanding, feminine voice answered. NRG turned around to see a tall, slender woman standing unprotected in front of the three squad cars and half a dozen officers with their guns all trained on NRG; the woman was a deep red head with long, red hair tied back into a ponytail and with sharp, blue eyes that demanded respect and order. She wore the standard officer uniform, with a tazer and a gun in their respective holsters around her belt and a walkie talkie strapped to her shoulder with a badge clipped to her left breast. What surprised Ben the most however was the fact that she wasn't even human in the first place.

"You're a zombie." Ben stated.

Despite the blunt comment, the woman didn't seem the slightest offended. "Actually, I'm only half zombie. Moan'ica Graves, at your service." she smiled, shaking Ben's hand.

"So, you're a hybrid? Of a zombie and a Normie?" Ben asked, returning the hand shake.

"Exactly," Moan'ica replied. "Don't ask me how my parent's did it, but I'm glad they did."

"So, why are you here?" Ben asked.

Moani'ca's grin broadened as she shook her head. "Always one to get to the point, huh? Very well then. Long story short, I'm Brick's replacement after you put him in the Intensive Care Unit for . . . what is it, ten months?" she mumbled to herself before shrugging. "Either way, I'm in charge while he's gone."

"And your telling me this why?" Ben wondered. "Because, for one of the few times in my life, I don't feel the slightest bit sorry for what I did to him."

"I understand, Mr. Tennyson." Moan'ica nodded as he looked over her shoulder and gestured for the officers to take care of the three unconscious and beaten up car jackers. "Which is why I want you to know that I will be making many changes to the New Salem Police Force. I would like us to be allies."

Ben frowned and thought it over; sure, he despise the police because they only really seemed to care about one side of New Salem, but most of the officers were really harmless drones that did as they were told without a second thought. Here however, this woman was promising change and lots of it, coming from a family that experienced the life styles of both sides of New Salem. "Alright. Call me when you need me." he said after a while.

"Will do, Tennyson." Moan'ica nodded with a smile."And take care of my cousin while you're at it."

"Cousin?"

"I'm sure you've met Ghoulia Yelps? She and I are cousins, and I expect you to protect her like she's your own sister." Moan'ica told him. "Because if you don't, no transformation in that fancy watch of yours will save you from me."

"Understood," Ben nodded. "And let make it clear that if both sides of New Salem are not equally represented and protected, I will not hesitate to tear this town apart until things are set straight."

"I like you, Ben," Moan'ica grinned. "Pleasure doing with business with ya. I'm sure will see each other soon enough." she waved goodbye as the last of the officers climbed into their cars and the last of the car thieves were handcuff and thrown into the back of the vehicles; Moan'ca gave one last wave before the three cars drove off back towards the station.

---

"I'm back!" Ben called as he walked back through the front door of the house and closed it behind him. "Anything happen while I was gone?" he asked as he walked through the living room and into the kitchen and adjoined dining room, numerous ghouls going about their daily business.

"Well, Gigi tried making breakfast without magic," Robecca told him, now dressed in her regular attire as she nursed a cup of ginger tea. "Long story short, the stove no longer works."

"Sorry." Gigi apologized as she snapped her fingers and summoned a plate of pancakes and scrambled eggs with bacon for Ben to eat; the watch wearer gladly took the food and sat down in an empty chair between Frankie and Jane. It then, as he stuffed his face with bacon and fluffy pancakes, that Ben noticed Jane didn't exactly seem to be fully awake as she had a large, blanket wrapped around herself and was nursing a mug of coffee as she rested her head down on the table.

"Jane?" Ben asked with a mouthful of food before swallowing. "Uh, you okay?"

"Mmm." was the reply.

"She's still a little sore from last night, luv." Robecca explained. "We actually had to carry her downstairs."

"Sorry about that." Ben winced.

"Mmm." Jane replied.

"Uh, I didn't quite catch that." said Ben.

"She says it's not your fault," Nefera replied, coming up from behind Ben and wrapping her arms around his chest. "She's just really ticked off at Venus for the moment."

"You got all that from one sentence?" Ben cocked an eyebrow.

"Let's just say that after having Ghoulia come over to our house to help Cleo with her homework has let me pick up on Zombie pretty easily." Nefera explained.

"She's speaking Zombie?" Ben wondered.

"Well, maybe not complete Zombie, but it's pretty darn close." Nefera admitted.

"I'm not saying Venus is totally innocent in what she did, but she was only trying to make Jane's first time as pleasant as she could." Robecca lightly defended her ghoulfriend as she took a sip of her tea. "I will say though, she does know how to make a smashing cup of tea. It has a nice, sweet, almost sugary taste to it. Funny thing is, she said she didn't use any sugar."

Ben cocked an eyebrow as he took a peek into Robecca's mug and noticed it had a sweet, yellowish tinge to it. "Uh, Robecca? You remember what happened when it was Venus's turn last night?" he started.

Robecca glanced into her mug before glancing Venus across the table as she tried to cover a furious, pink blush on her face. "Really, Venus?" Robecca frowned.

"I-I thought you'd like it." Venus said through her hands. "You said it could use a little ginger, so . . ."

"I'm not saying I don't like it, luv, but do try to keep it down to a minimum." Robecca sighed wearily, sipping the last of her strange tea before collecting it and the rest of the clean plates that sat around the table before flying off for the kitchen as Spectra came phasing down through the ceiling with a towel wrapped around her and her hair slightly damp.

"Morning, Ben," she greeted her boyfriend. "Have a nice patrol?"

"Better than usual," Ben admitted. "Ghoulia's hybrid cousin is standing in for the Chief of Police while he's in the hospital."

"For once, I don't feel sorry for him." Frankie stated. "I'm not sure if that makes me bad or-"

"No, it does not," Nefera said firmly. "Someone like him does not deserve to be in charge of everyone's safety. In fact, I'll see to it that he never works for the Justice Department ever again." she added with determination as she pulled out her iCoffin and started to make a few calls as she sauntered off for the quietness of the living room.

"Oh, that reminds me," Spectra spoke up. "Twyla texted me. Said she needed to talk to you."

"Why me?" Ben asked.

"Dunno. Something about being grounded until the next afterlife or something." Spectra mused. "Whatever it is, do you think you can get me all the facts? I'd like to publish a story in the Gory Gazette if it's okay with Twyla."

"Will do." Ben stretched as he got up from his chair. "Where do I meet her?" he asked.

"She said to come over to her house." Spectra answered as she sat down in Robecca's seat and stretched her arms backwards, taunting Ben with her pale cleavage; he quickly decided to leave before he did something he would regret as he quickly turned on the Omnitrix and cycled through the listings before coming across the one he needed and slapping the activation button, the green light washing over him and changing his DNA. His arms became more furry as hundreds upon thousands of yellow colored hairs sprouted all across his body, racing down his legs and over his chest, up his neck to cover his face as his pinky finger was sucked back into his hand, deemed useless for whatever alien he was becoming. His ears became large and fleshy, similar to that of a rodent's as they rotated up towards the top of his head, his face bulging outwards slightly as his nose became flat and primitive looking. His canines became longer and sharper as his teeth became slightly crooked, his skeleton cracking and groaning as it was compressed and shrunken down to a height of roughly four feet tall. Two, long, furry, prehensile tails snaked out from the base of his spine, cracking and whipping themselves around as if they had minds of their own as his feet became bigger and perfect for gripping, his big toe moving into a 45 degree angle that allowed them to be used like extra hands. Black, gauntlet-like coverings materialized on his wrists, allowing his fingers free movement as a suit that greatly exposed his furry chest appeared on his body with green rings on the knees and elbows; the Omnitrix reappeared on a green and white belt around the alien's waist, completing the transformation.

"See you ghouls, later!" Teleportail chattered as he spun his twin tails in a tight circle and tore a hole through the fabric of space, vanishing in a bright flash of light and leaving the half dressed ghouls in the kitchen.

"We really should teach him how to use a door sometime." Clawdeen noted.

"You have to admit though, he does have a flare for dramatic exits." Frankie smiled.

---

Twyla sighed happily as she felt the warm water cascade down over her pale, smokey gray body and down the drain of the shower. The water felt good against her skin, massaging her aching muscles and soothing her pained mind, the loud din of the water rushing and spilling all around her in a curtain of water droplets; after many hours of fretting and panicking over the break in and lifting of all her dad's Boogie Sand, a nice, long, hot shower was just what she needed to calm her jittery nerves before Ben arrived.

Normally, she would have been more cautious when seeking out help for such things, such as actually going to the authorities to report the crime. But then again, they usually weren't much help and often made things worse before they actually got better, if at all. Ben however, never stopped working over something like this until it was dead and buried.

A bright light suddenly filled the bathroom, Twyla hissing with shock against the bright light; while bright lights never were actually enough to kill Boogiemen, it did cause some unpleasant sensations in younger Boogiemen. The light died down as Twyla rubbed her eyes and pushed the curtain open to see what had caused the bright light; she came face to face with large, lemur-like creature with two tails, black and yellow fur, and large eyes that blinked upon seeing her. An ever familiar symbol was plastered onto the creature's chest.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't see that!" Teleportail cried over his shoulder as he quickly rushed out of the bathroom and slammed the door behind him. He ran away so quickly, Twyla didn't even have time to scream and attempt to cover herself up before he left. Muttering obscenities under her breath, Twyla quickly turned off the water of the shower and stepped out and into the bathroom, quickly wrapping a towel over herself before throwing on her bathrobe and walking out of the door at a brisk pace.

"Ben? Ben, where are you?" Twyla called out.

"Yo, Black and Beautiful! I'm up here!"

Twyla tilted her head skyward to see Bullfrag dangling by a single hand from a door that opened up on the ceiling above, a frightening drop for anyone who either was not use to the layout of the house and knew to avoid the certain pathway that led to said door, or had a magic watch at their fingertips; the Incursean was fortunate enough to be the later as he dug his webbed fingers into the door frame.

"You can come down from there," Twyla rolled her eyes, hiding a slight blush on her face. "And please don't call me that."

"Whateva." Bullfrag shrugged before lashing out with his tongue and stabbing the sticky tip onto the door knob. He kept calm and collective in the presence of Twyla as the door snapped shut and dropped him a few feet before he slowly lowered himself down to the ground in front of Twyla, standing a good five feet taller than her as he let go of his tongue and had it snap back in his face, nearly throwing off his green shades. "Whoa! Thath hurth!" he gummed, holding his aching jaw.

"I'm . . . sure it did." Twyla said with uncertainty, not quite sure how to connect with a large, humanoid frog that seemed hellbent on hitting on her whenever the chance might arise. "Um, can we start talking now? I kinda have a limited time schedule."

"Sure, whateva floats ya boat, Beautiful."

"I told you to not call me that," Twyla sighed before beckoning Bullfrag to follow her. "Thanks for coming anyways. I didn't know who else to ask." she started, leading Bullfrag through a broom closet that opened up into the kitchen clear on the other side of the house.

"Sure, sure. No problem." Bullfrag ribbited, forcing his eyes to focus on the back of Twyla's head instead of her small ass that seemed to be taunting him. "So, uh, what'd ya need me for?"

"Someone broke into the Sand Room last night," Twyla explained, a slightly scared edge in her voice as they walked through a door that led onto the ceiling and allowed them to walk on the upper surface. "They took everything but one jar of sand."

"What kind of sand?" the Incursean asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Normie Sand. They took everything else but Normie Sand." Twyla replied. "What's really weird though was what the note said."

"What note?" Bullfrag croaked, not even bothering to try and keep his eyes off of Twyla's ass; he knew it would be futile with the Boogie Girl practically teasing him when she didn't bother to put on any actual clothes in her haste.

"The note said that they were going to make those that had wronged, pay for their sins," Twyla replied as the two of them approached the tall doors of the Sand Room. "This is it." she said as she carefully pushed the doors open to reveal the scene of last night's destruction; the smashed cases had been left untouched, the sea of glass shards still covering the floor in their glittering sharpness. The only thing that had been moved was the jar of Normie Sand that now sat in one of the cases that was left the most intact.

"Didn't leave much behind, did they?" Bullfrag mumbled as he strolled into the room and gazed around, his face a firm and stoic expression despite being completely marveled by the sheer destruction of the room. Funny thing however, was that he had caused far worse damage.

"The note was signed 'S.M.'." Twyla added, disappearing into a shadow near the door and reappearing near the case that held the Normie Sand, a slip of paper in her hands.

"Who the Sphinx is S.M.?" Bullfrag wondered.

No sooner had those words slipped pasted the Incursean's lips did a window to his left suddenly shatter into a million pieces. Bullfrag instinctively jumped over the sea of broken glass and came crashing down on top of Twyla, sheltering her from the jagged shards as they rained down on him like glittering snow; a few seconds of silence passed before Bullfrag deemed it safe enough to get off of Twyla and assess the new damage.

"A rock?" Twyla wondered, bending down to curl her fingers around a large stone with what looked like a note tied around it; Twyla undid the string and read over the note, reading it out loud as Bullfrag looked over her shoulder. "Meet me at Hauntings Boolevard at 10:00 p.m. sharp. All will be revealed. Bring your shadow friend too." Twyla read.

"Where the Sphinx is Hauntings Boolevard?" Bullfrag wondered, just in time for another rock to come sailing in through the broken window and hit him upside the head.

"A map." Twyla stated.

"But mommy, I don't wanna play Catch the Cannonbolt with Vilgax . . ." Bullfrag moaned from the floor.

---

The night air was cool against Ben's skin, a chilly wind picking up and rustling its way through the bare branched trees as winter slowly started to reclaim the land in its eternal war; Twyla was bundled up in a heavy jacket with her hands shoved deep into her pockets and a pair of dark gray earmuffs over her head. Even so, Twyla unconsciously found herself leaning into Ben's frame, walking so close to him that their arms grazed against each other every time they moved; Ben either didn't seem to notice this, or he did and was just being a gentleman and not saying a word about it.

"A parking garage? Why does that not surprise me?" Ben muttered as they came rounded onto Hauntings Boolevard and were taken in by the concrete structure's shadow; the building rose an impressive thirteen stories surrounded by old, brick buildings with inanimate gargoyles that hugged the open ledges and gazed upon passerby down below. Despite the statues supposedly being insentient, Ben could have sworn he saw a few heads turn to look at them as they quietly ducked under the toll booth and into the parking garage.

"It seems our mysterious friend failed to mention which level they would be on." Ben grumbled.

"Thirteenth." Twyla said instantly.

"How'd you know?" Ben asked suspiciously.

"The number was written on the back of the note in invisible ink," Twyla replied. "I checked while you knocked out."

"Remind me to give this guy a piece of my mind once we're done here." Ben muttered under his breath as Twyla stepped towards a nearby shadow and grabbed hold of his hand to drag him along with her; she resisted the urge to hold back a blush as she pulled Ben into the inky, black shadow and instantly warped up onto the thirteenth floor; no matter what her future self said, she would believe someone as brave, heroic, and as outgoing as Ben would fall for someone so insecure, shy, and and antisocial as her. Their friendship was strictly business for the moment.

"One minute to ten." Ben reported, glancing at the Omnitrix.

"Doesn't this seem . . . I dunno, a little suspicious?" Twyla asked fearfully.

"Of course," Ben sighed. "But if this whole thing turns bad, I can always go Wildmutt and track down the creep that broke into your house."

"Why didn't you just do that before?" Twyla asked with a deadpanned expression.

"Because Bullfrag was too busy oggling your sweet ass to even think about it." Ben admitted with disdain.

"Are you sure you weren't the one doing that?" Twyla wondered.

"No, some of my forms have certain personalities to go with them, like when I turn into Rath; my temper flares, my ego grows, and my brain power shrinks. Bullfrag just happens to be a womanizer."

"Does that ever get annoying?"

"You have no idea. Ever hit on an alien princess when she has you at gun point and not knowing what half the stuff coming out of your mouth is?" Ben shuddered.

"I'm . . . pretty sure I have not." said Twyla.

"Ahem."

The two of them instantly stopped their conversation and turned to see a large, tall figure standing under a glitching light that hung from the ceiling, his face hidden from view by a white fedora. He was tall, about two feet more than Ben, and had broad shoulders that made him very imposing. His body and frame were mostly hidden under a thick trench coat with dozens of straps and buckles, a smolder cigar in the man's mouth.

"Really? The Mysterious-Figure-under-the-street-lamp-thing? This night just gets more and more cliche." he mumbled under his breath.

"Say what you want, Tennyson, but I got information you need. You don't wanna hear it, then I'll just be on my way." Trench Coat grumbled, taking his cigar from his lips with two fingers to puff out a cloud of smoke.

"We're listening." Twyla said quickly, interjecting before Ben could say anything else stupid.

"Smart girl." Trench Coat mumbled as he set his cigar back in his mouth and reached inside of his coat to pull out a manilla folder stuffed with papers; he set the envelope on the floor and slid it across the concrete, a loud shushing sound filling the air until it came to a stop at Ben's feet. The wearer of the Omnitrix bent down and picked the envelope up in his fingers, opening it up to reveal a photo of a young man that probably wasn't much older than himself. He had a tan, rounded, slightly angular face with piercing, hazel eyes and light brown hair with orange highlights that just barely draped over his eyes. He was well muscled and had a scar over his left eyebrow, his face twisted into a stern scowl. He wore a charcoal black, long-sleeved T-shirt with a red, cut-off vest and faded blue jeans; a pendant shaped like a skull with emerald eyes inside of a silver octagon was hung around his neck as he starred blankly at Ben and Twyla.

"His name is Seth Mormel." the dark figure spoke. "He and I were mates back in our school years. Well, not so much as mates, more like co-students."

Ben gave the man a suspicious glare.

"Alright, alright, I use to hang him from the flagpole by his underwear before he gave me a black eye." Trench Coat grumbled.

"Why were you so mean to him?" Twyla asked.

"'Cause he was . . . different." Trench Coat said after a while, puffing out a thick cloud of smoke to hide his face even further.

"Different how?" Ben cocked an eyebrow.

"He was a man raised by monsters," Trench Coat puffed on his cigar. "Parents died in a fire when he was three, when a buncha Normies went and robbed the nearby gas station and accidentally set fire to the builin'. Wandered around the streets a while before some kindly old witch took 'im in."

"Natasha Hag." Ben read through the file.

"Whatever," Trench Coat grumbled, setting his cigar back in his mouth before shoving his hands back into his pockets. "Thing is, witch had a buncha other monster spawn with her too-"

"Lupis Wolfman, Willow Whisp, Vladia Fangington, and Clawdina Meow." Twyla rattled off.

"Werewolf, Will-o'-the-Whisp, Vampire, and Were-cat." Trench Coat grumbled. "Either way Seth, was somehow happy for many years with his monster family. Until some Van Hellscream follower went nuts and slaughtered them on a killing spree."

"Remind me to knock some of Hellscream's teeth lose next time I pass by his mansion." Ben said to Twyla.

"Noted," Twyla nodded. "Please continue." she nodded to Trench Coat.

"Polite girl," the mysterious figure nodded. "Long story short, Seth went insane after losing two families in one life time; the nutjob hates Normies, despite the fact he's one of 'em."

"What's wrong with that?" Ben wondered with annoyance. "In my experience, most of them are complete jerks. No offense." he added when Twyla elbowed him in the ribs.

"None taken. In experience, monsters are a lot more cooperative and less greedy than Normies," Trench Coat shook his head sadly. "But back on topic. Seth's gone over the edge, obessing over some way to give the Normies a taste of their own medicine."

Twyla's face got even paler than it usually was upon hearing those as her grip on Ben's shoulder tightened, her knuckles turning snow white. If he was the one that . . . no, no one would that foolish. Would they? Could they? She hoped to Ra that what she was thinking wasn't true.

"Um, Twyla? Your nails are kinda digging into shoulder." Ben winced with a pained voice.

"Sorry." Twyla apologized before turning to Trench Coat. "Thank you for-"

She stopped mid-sentence: Trench Coat was gone, completely vanished as if he had never even existed to begin with. All that remained of him was the manila folder in Ben's hands as a smoldering cigar butt on the concrete floor.

"Okay, that was creepy," Ben shivered. "I mean, you'd think ever since I got the Omnitrix and got launched into a world of monsters I would be use to this kind of thing by now, but that is just creepy."

"Where do you think he went?" Twyla asked. Ben was about to put in his own two cents when a large tremor suddenly shook the ground, knocking them to the floor as a loud roar filled the air.

"Wherever he went, it'll have to wait." Ben declared with a serious tone, shoving the envelope into Twyla's hands. "I've got heroing to do!" he called over his shoulder as he ran down the ramp of the parking garage; Twyla glanced back and forth between the folder in her hands and Ben's disappearing figure before sighing and stepping into one of the shadows created by the blinking light, warping ahead to wherever the explosion had come from.

Had the two of them stuck around for a few more minutes and paid attention to the external design, they would have noticed that one of the gargoyles that guarded the parking garage was missing, having been replaced by a tall figure in a trench coat; the figure watched Ben rush out of the parking garage and down the sidewalk towards an enormous fire just a few blocks away.

"As always, Benjamin, you put others needs before yourself." the figure chuckled, removing the fedora from his head to replace it with a black top hat and pulling a cane from out of folds of his coat, leaning on it as Ben crossed the street and rounded around the corner.

"Thank you for letting me borrow your position, Mr. Stonedge." Hexiciah thanked an old gargoyle with stone, feather wings and curved ram's horns.

"Anytime, Steam." the gargoyle smiled. "Maybe next time you can drop in on less important matters?"

"I looked forward to it," the Time Walker smiled. "Or rather, I will. Have? Oh, you know how time travel works." he chuckled, summoning a swirling blue portal behind him. "I shall see you later, Stonedge. Should you encounter Paradox, please inform him that we have matters to discuss."

"Will do." the gargoyle nodded as the Time Walker gave one last farewell and stepped through the portal, leaving the ledge empty and bare; Stonedge stretched his stone wings before sitting back down in a crouching position, overlooking the road below and silently praying that the pigeons across the way would not decide to pay him a visit.

---

"Ben!"

Ben stumbled to a stop to catch his breath as Moan'ica suddenly appeared through the panick and fray before him; all around him, sirens wailed from fire trucks that were hellbent on destroying the flames as several ambulances treated the injured while numerous police cars kept the general public back. Almost a hundred or so Normies were scattered about outside between the multiple vehicles, their eyes once trained on the burning blaze before them now stuck on Ben as he approached. Not all of them were friendly.

"Monster Lover!" a voice from the crowd called as an empty soda can sailed through the air and smacked into Ben's head; the watch wearer resisted the urge to march right through the crowd and knock some since into the person that had assaulted him.

"What's the situation?" Ben asked, instead deciding to focus his attention on the matter at hand.

"About a dozen or so Normies are still trapped inside," Moan'ica informed him. "The nightclub caught fire around 10:30 p.m., but the cause remains unknown."

"Gotcha." Ben nodded as he turned to the Omnitrix and cycled through the roster before selecting Overflow; surely an alien made entirely out of water would survive the raging furnace that had once been a nightclub for Normies, right? He was about to find out as he slammed his hand down on the activation button, relishing in the amazing feeling that coursed through his body as his DNA began to change into something the world had never seen. His skin began to harden into a smooth covering, little diamonds and crystals racing up his arms and legs to cover him as his bones disappeared altogether and he shot upwards a few feet. Ben felt his jaw line push out a little ways, his teeth fusing together into two, hard plates as his head pinched back into a sharp crest. Two, sharp blades suddenly sprouted from his back as his entire body hardened into a diamond-like substance, a black and green jumpsuit materializing on with the Omnitrix attached to a belt around his waist, completing the transformation.

"You know in hindsight, I probably should've seen this coming." Diamondhead sighed.

"Does this happen often?" Moan'ica asked, cocking an eyebrow as she studied the tall Petrosapien.

"Not really," Diamondhead replied. "But we've got more important issues." That being said, he rushed towards the burning building, using his limited shape-shifting ability to enlarge his hands to gigantic proportions; he planted his hands into the ground and launched himself at the burning building, returning his hands back to a more manageable size as he crashed through the roof and into the middle of the nightclub, though one could hardly tell what it use to be on the inside.

"Hello? Is anyone in here?" he called out into the flames, shifting his left arm into a sharpened blade that he quickly used to cut through some burnt, wooden beams that had fallen from the ceiling.

"Over here!" a voice called out from the fire.

Diamondhead quickly followed the source of the noise, grabbing a bar stool that was still intact using it to beat a wall of rubble before jamming a hand into the ground and forcing up a large collection of diamonds to clear the rest of it away to reveal the trapped customers. The only issue with the rescue however, was the fact that the Petrosapien wasn't rescuing Normies.

Coughing and hacking from the excess amount of smoke in their lungs were a pair of sea monsters. The male had slimy, green scales and pointed fins on either side of his face and on top of his head, a red T-shirt over his chest as the gills on his neck fruitlessly sucked in any moisture that might have been available in the dry air; the female was a bright pink were sharp fins on her arms and legs, a cage of needle-like teeth behind her blood red lips.

"Uh, are you sure you two didn't take a wrong turn?" Diamondhead asked.

"What are you talking about?" the female hacked.

"It's just that . . . Monsters don't normally go to Normie businesses, right?" the Petrosapein wondered.

The two sea monsters froze upon hearing those words and slowly looked down upon themselves with horror before looking at each other with utter disgust and fear in the eyes as they let out earth shattering screams of surprise. The building cracked and groaned around them, threatening to collapse in on itself as the fire grew brighter and hotter; the water monsters were not going to survive much longer in the fire. With this in mind, Diamondhead grabbed each of them around the waist and flung them over his shoulder, charging back out through the red, hot flames and busting right through the blocked doors as the building gave a final shudder and came tumbling down in a gigantic fire ball.

"Everyone okay?" Diamondhead asked.

"Unfortunately no," Moan'ica sighed as she walked up to the Petrosapien with a notepad in hand; the two sea monsters climbed down from Diamondhead's shoulders and awkwardly stood off to the side as the crowd glanced at them with disgust.

"What's the problem?" Diamondhead asked.

"We've still got ten Normies unaccounted for," Moan'ica explained. "On top of that, we've got ten extra bodies to account for, all of which are being questioned on the disappearance of the Normies." Moan'ica pointed towards a group of various monsters in the custody of officers, a centaur, two gargoyles, a naga, a trio of werewolves, a skeleton, and a pair of harpies being among them. "And to make things worse, they call claim to be each of the missing Normies. As if Normies can change into Monsters." Moan'ica scoffed.

"What am I, chopped liver?" Diamondhead rumbled.

"You turn into aliens, not monsters," Moan'ica corrected him. "Either way, things aren't adding up. Ten Normies missing, a destroyed nightclub, and no explanation."

"Actually, I think I might have an idea at what's going on here." Twyla piped up in a quiet voice, coming out from Diamondhead's shadow and giving him a startle as she walked over to Moan'ica and presented her with the file Trench Coat had given her. "There actually is a way for someone to turn a Normie into a monster," she began to explain. "All you need is Boogie Sand, and my house was just robbed of every kind of Boogie Sand we own other than Normie Sand."

"Wait, are you saying that those ten monsters are actually the ten missing Normies?" Diamondhead cocked an eyebrow. "Actually, when I say that out loud, that doesn't sound very farfetched."

"Ask them if they remember being covered in some kind of colorful explosion before the club was set on fire," Twyla suggested to Moan'ica. "Chances are, they're the victims of the guy in this file." she pointed to the envelope.

"Seth Mormel?" Moan'ica raised an eyebrow as she skimmed through the file. "Isn't this guy a bit out of left field or something?"

"At the moment, he's the only suspect me and my partner have." Diamondhead sighed; Twyla's face turned a light pink upon hearing those words, though no one else seemed to notice it. "The only other guy who might try something like this is Van Hellscream, and he's still an ogre. Plus, why would he attack a bunch of Normies and turn them into monsters?"

"You have a point, Ben." Moan'ica nodded. "And to think that your file claimed you to be unintelligent."

"I'm not dumb," the Petrosapien defended himself. "I've just got more important things to take care of than remember than boring old Chemistry. Besides, that's one reason why I have Gutrot. Guy's a genius when it comes to chemicals and stuff."

"You do know your referring to yourself, right?" Twyla asked.

"In a way, I'm not really talking about myself," Diamondhead shrug. "Every time I turn into Gutrot, I feels like I swallowed a Chemistry textbook, and then I don't remember a single thing about it when I turn back. Same thing happens when I go Grey Matter or Brainstorm."

"Enough about your various transformations," Moan'ica sighed, pinching her brow with exasperation. "We got this Mormel guy to find before he causes anymore damage. And here I was hoping to have the evening off." she grumbled under her breath.

"Don't worry. I got this covered." Diamondhead told her as he pressed the Omnitrix disk on his belt and felt a new set of DNA inject itself into his bloodstream. He felt himself taller and much more muscled as gray colored fur sprouted all over his body. His face bulged forward into a pointed muzzle, lined with sharp canine teeth as a black nose formed on the end. Organs sloshed around inside him and bones crunched and ground together as he felt said muzzle split into four ways and his fingers become longer and tipped with razor sharp claws that could easily slice through most objects. His toes melted into two, large talons as a third sprouted from his heel and a long, furry tail grew from the base of his spine. A mane of fur rose from the back of his neck as spikes rose from his elbows and shoulders. A green and black suit appeared on his body with green wrists bans and a collar around his neck with the Omnitrix symbol on it.

"Hand me that note from earlier." Blitzwolfer asked Twyla; the Boogie Girl reached into her pocket and pulled out the slip of paper and set it in the Loboan's claws as he took a deep sniff of the paper, ignoring the ink used and focusing more on the sweaty scent that could only be found on burglars trying to make a hasty exit while trying to leave behind a cryptic clue. Well, that and greatly overweight joggers trying to outrun a pack of angry werewolves.

"I got his scent." the Loboan growled, grabbing Twyla by the back of her dress and hauling her onto his back as the Boogie Girl yelped with surprise. "We'll handle this guy. You see if you can't keep thing under control here."

"It's one guy, Ben." Moan'ica pointed out. "I may be half zombie, but I'm pretty sure you and my team of officers can handle one guy."

"Ever heard of overkill?" Blitzwolfer gave a toothy grin before giving a loud howl at the moon and running away from the burning building on all fours with Twyla hanging on for dear unlife on his back as the crowd parted before them like the Red Sea.

---

"Warehouse. Why is it always a warehouse?" Blitzwolfer snarled under his breath as he slowed to a stalking motion with Twyla easing her tight grip on the Loboan's fur. The air was thick with the smell of sea salt, the distant cry of sea gulls and the gentle lapping of the waves against the docks filling the air with a dull thrum. Flickering streetlights and overhangs were the only source of light available in the warehouse dock district Blitzwolfer had tracked the smell of Seth Mormel to; and was it just him, ot did this man get more and more cliche with every passing moment?

"Ben?" Twyla spoke up after a while, her voice sounding frail and alone in the cold silence of the docks. "I just wanted to say thanks."

"For what?" Blitzwolfer asked, pausing under a street light to sniff the air and secure his bearings.

"For everything I guess," Twyla shrugged. "Most monsters wouldn't have endangered themselves with this kind of this, risking their lives for something as simple as Boogie Sand."

"Trust me, there is nothing simple about Boogie Sand," Blitzwolfer grumbled. "Vilgax is so crazy for the Omnitrix that he'd snap up the chance to steal every last grain of your Boogie Sand if it gave him a means to get the Omnitrix from me. He is literally obsessed with getting the ability to transform at will."

"I still don't see what is so dangerous about Boogie Sand," Twyla shrugged. "I will admit that it's probably risky for someone bad to get their hands on it, but unless they could somehow be able to transform as fast as you can, it's pretty much worthless."

"Then why does your dad use it?" Blitzwolfer asked as he stopped in front of the doors of a large and seemingly random warehouse with rust covering the sides and algae building up on the foundations. The Loboan sucked in a deep breath before his snout split into four flaps and a loud, ultrasonic howl rammed full force into the heavy metal doors, blowing them off of their hinges and sending them skidding into the depths of the warehouse with a loud clatter.

"It's his job to instill fear in Normie and monster minds, and this is unfortunately where most of the monster hate comes from. He doesn't mean to do it, but it's his job to scare Normies monsters with monsters and Normies, even if he's against the whole thing." Twyla replied as Blitzwolfer stalked into the warehouse, his senses reaching out for any kind of surprise attack that might be deployed against them.

"Shhhhhhh." the Loboan silenced Twyla, rearing up onto his hind legs to better listen in to his surroundings; he heard the sound of rats and other small creatures skittering around in the darkness of the warehouse behind stacks of old crates, and he could smell the odor of seagull droppings and rotting fish, a scent that oddly enough did not make him want to puke up his lunch just yet. Then he heard it, the sound of wet sneakers on metal.

With a sudden twist of his head, Blitzwolfer launched a second ultrasonic howl at an area of catwalk above them, tearing the metal slab apart as a hidden figure ran out of the way, just barely missing the attack. Before the Loboan could give chase after him, the figure reached into his pocket and put something to his lips before blowing on it, a loud and shrill noise reaching the Loboan's ears: it was not pleasant in anyway.

"AGH! My sensitive ears!" Blitzwolfer wailed, digging his claws into the fur around his head.

"Ben! What's wrong?" Twyla asked as the large, werewolf-like alien stumbled about in agony.

"Hit the Omnitrix!" Blitzwolfer howled as the noise got louder and louder; Twyla could never hope to hear it with her ears, for it was at a frequency only Loboans, Vulpimancers, and werewolves could hear at. Twyla bit her lip, but edged her fingers towards the powerful device before pressing down on it with her fingers, almost afraid of what Blitzwolfer might be turned into as the green light washed over his muscled form and changed him. His skeleton crunched and twisted, forcing itself out from beneath Ben's skin and to the surface where it proceeded to melt together into a single casing that covered his entire body, leaving only two openings for his eyes. A loud crunching sound filled the air as the bone casing split along his back, chest, and limbs, becoming segmented on his belly and forming a hard shell on his back. His jaw jutted outwards, his skin fusing with the bone as it became serrated like teeth. Spikes formed along his muscled arms, two more spikes jutting out from either side of his massive jaws. A loud and sickening splitting filled the air as a long, forked, horn-like protrusion split out from the top of his skull as his toes fused together into two claws. The Omnitrix appeared on the alien 's chest, completing the transformation.

"Fire in the hole!" Eatle cried as he jogged over to a crate and picked it up in his claws before shoving it between his jaws and crunching it and its contents into splinters while Twyla hung onto the long, forked protrusion on his head; she felt a slight warmth in the horn and yelped with surprise as a ball of green energy formed between the two prongs of the horn and fired at the dark figure, always missing by just a hair.

"Um, how about actually trying to hit the guy?" Twyla suggested.

"What do you think I'm doing!?" Eatle roared as he thrust his claws into the concrete floor on either side of him and ripped out a good sized chunk before stuffing them into his mouth and charging himself up once again and firing off another beam of energy, successfully blasting the wall behind the figure and throwing him off the catwalk and to the floor with several painful thuds.

"Alright, bub, you got two seconds to explain yourself before you're on the menu." Eatle threatened as he lumbered over to the figure and let Twyla climb off of him before the Omnitrix timed out. Looking down at the man, Ben noticed several interesting features about him; he had light brown hair with orange streaks and wore a charcoal black, long-sleeved T-shirt with a red, cut-off vest. When the figure groaned and slowly raised his head to look up at the two of them, Twyla gasped upon seeing a pair of sharp, hazel eyes with an unmistakable scar over his left eye.

"Seth?" she whispered.

"In the living flesh, my beautiful girl." Seth chuckled, pulling himself onto his knees, climbing into a squatting position as Ben turned on the Omnitrix and hovered a hand over the activation button. "Now, now, no need for that." Seth shook his head; Ben didn't move an inch.

"Care to explain yourself?" the watch wearer asked.

"Happily," Seth shrugged. "Tell me, has it ever bothered you that monsters never get the respect they deserve despite obviously being the more dominant race. Or races if you prefer." he added.

"A . . . little, I guess." Ben admitted.

"I mean, you'd think it would be the monsters with their razor sharp claws and fangs, tremendous strength, incredible durability and phasing powers, their ability to manipulate their environment through sheer will that would be ruling the world. But no, it's the dimwitted, weak, and powerless Normies that drive monsters into the shadows and into fear." Seth hissed with disgust. "Only a few Normies such as you and I ever see the light." he said to Ben.

"You and I are nothing alike." Ben frowned.

"Really, Ben? Have you not noticed that we both prefer the company of monsters over people? That we've grown up with monsters close to us at one point in our lives? That we have the ability to change into monsters?" Seth listed off, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"I don't see any Omnitrix on you." Ben's frown deepened.

"I may not have that wonderful device strapped to your wrist, but I have the next best thing," Seth chuckled as he climbed to his feet, standing just a few inches taller than Ben as he reached for his belt and hiked it up slightly for Twyla and Ben to see several pouches tied securely to his belt. "Thank once again for the Boogie Sand, Twyla."

"I never gave it to you." Twyla frowned grimly.

"Why the long face, my sweet, innocent monster? I am about to right all the wrongs your species has had to endure for thousands of years." Seth declared innocently.

"You set the nightclub on fire?" Ben wondered with realization.

"Bombed," Seth corrected. "But not before I tested the many sands of Twyla's. And I must say, they were a wonderful success."

"How is turning Normies into monsters going to get revenge?" Ben asked, his hand edging towards the Omnitrix again.

"It's not about revenge," Seth shook his head. "It is about justice. For far to long, the monsters of this world have suffered under the rule of the Normies. My plan is turn every man, woman, and child in thw world into a monster, and to bring an end to Rein of Normies and begin an Era of Monsters!" Seth cackled madly.

"Dude, that's a little nuts," Ben shook his head. "There's no one you have that much Boogie Sand."

"Which is why I starting with New Salem," Seth smiled wickedly before reaching into his belt and pulling something out and throwing it at his feet, a cloud smoke engulfing the three of them. Ben's eyes started to water as his throat swelled and made it difficult to breath, his body wracked with heavy coughs that made his throat hurt all the more; he could hear Twyla suffering a similar fate next to him.

"So sorry to have to do this to the two of you," Seth apologized. "But I simply can't have you getting in my way. Once I extract the Fear Essence of every Monster-turned-Normie, I will have enough Boogie Sand to conquer a country! Then enough Boogie Sand to conquer a continent! And then the world! And I shall be the King of All Monsters!" he cackled madly.

"I'm off to subjugate the world to my will!" Ben heard Seth call over his shoulder as he seemed to merrily skip away. "Toodles!"

"Great, another Dr. Animo." Ben wheezed as he climbed to his feet and helped Twyla up as well.

"Dr. Who?" Twyla hacked.

"Psycho who turns cute and cuddly animals into horrifying mutants," Ben explained as he wiped his aching eyes. "But we don't have time for that now. We got another psycho to stop."

"We?"

"Sure, why not?" Ben shrugged with a smile. "You and me handled Trench Coat pretty well, we can handle this nutjob." he joked.

"You think so?" Twyla felt herself blushing; not many people generally bothered to acknowledge or even knew of her existence, since she spent so much time in the shadows. Generally, she only ever socialized with Howleen and her family on the norm, and the rest of the Monster High student body when she couldn't avoid it. She didn't know why she was so antisocial, it just seemed that everyone was so . . . mean. Not many had even bothered to talk to her if they could sense her, and this gave her the impression that she just wasn't worthwhile meeting. Ben however, didn't care that she was shy and actively reached out to her, helping her in her time of need. Nobody could really blame her if she felt grateful, to say the least.

"I know so," Ben grinned. "Now lets follow this guy." He quickly turned to the Omnitrix and cycled through his listings before coming across a suitable transformation and slapping the activation button, relishing in the feeling of the green light washing over his body and changing his DNA. He felt his arms swell with small muscles as his skin hardened into rust red plating that raced up his arms and legs and across his chest. His skull was pulled backwards into a sharp crest as his eyebrows wove together and pulled up from above his head, hooked down only by one end as his nose and mouth fused into a large, horny beak. Ben's fingers fused together into three, sharp claws as his toes molded into two long claws and his heel ground into a back toe. A flash of bright green light exploded on his back, a jetpack-like structure formed on his back, a pair of rust red gauntlets appearing on his arms while green, fingerless gloves and feet and a green and black bodysuit materialized on his person; the final transformation was the appearance of the Omnitrix on his left shoulder.

"RAWK! Lets light this candle!" Astrodactyl squawked as he hopped up onto Twyla's shoulders and dug his talons into her shirt and activated his jetpack, blasting up into the air and out through the broken doors of the warehouse and into the open air, Twyla screaming all the way as the wind rushed past her face and chilling her to the bone.

"What's wrong? RAWK!" Astrodactyl asked.

"Flying! Flying too fast!" Twyla cried before coughing loudly and spitting something out from her mouth. "And I think I swallowed a bug!"

"Sorry." Astrodactyl grumbled before something caught his eye. Ignoring Twyla's request to slow down for the time being, the flying alien gave a blast from his jetpack and sped forward even faster, quickly catching up with the swift figure that had caught his attention; he was shimmering, as if not entirely there, and glowed with a mahogany aura as he zipped through the air with rusty, golden chains hanging from manacles around his wrists and ankles.

"Is that who I think it is?" Twyla wondered over the roar of the wind rushing past him.

"Seth!" Astrodactyl cried. "He turned himself into a ghost! RAWK!"

"Do something!" Twyla yelled, spitting out another bug.

"Way ahead of ya! RAWK!" Astrodactyl quickly crossed his arms in front of his face, summoning the hot, star power within him to the gauntlets on his wrists, forming them out into a pair of long energy whips tipped with mace-like growths. He quickly lashed them out towards Seth and succeeded in hooking one of the whips around his legs and yanked back as hard as he could; Seth came flying back at him with a surprised yelp as Astrodactyl drew back a fist and slugged Seth in the face, sending him flying again.

"Oh, ho! Things just got interesting!" Seth grinnedas he recovered and reached for one of the small sacks around his belt and scooped out a small amount of green powder, pouring it on himself and instantly falling to the ground as the sand changed him into a different kind of monster. The green cloud of sand dissipated to reveal a large, hulking Minotaur with a wide rack of horns and dark brown, almost black hair that covered his body, his cloven hooves pressing into the pavement of the road as he cracked his knuckles just be squeezing them.

"Hit me with your best shot, Birdy!" Seth snorted, his golden nose ring fluttering from his hot breath.

"Astrodactyl's not gonna be able to fight that," the alien gulped as he alighted on a nearby roof top and set Twyla down. "But I think I know someone who can! RAWK!" he declared as he slapped the Omnitrix on his shoulder and was engulfed in a bright, green light. Hard, metal plating raced up his back and front, melting together into a single shield. His shoulders became rounded and massive as flexible black tubing covered the skin between his elbow and shoulder. His arm then began to swell, metal plating taking the place of his skin as his fingers turned into sharp, gray claws. A piston formed on each of his elbows as the metallic plating covered his head and changed it into something that resembled a Greek Corinthian helmet. Two small, pointed ears formed on his head his feet turned into hard, metallic claws. The Omnitrix appeared on his broad chest as a short tail popped out from his spine, completing the transformation.

"I was going for Humungousaur, but Armodrillo works too." the Talpaedan sighed before frowning and socking his fist into hand. "Now lets dance, Tubby." he seemed to smile underneath his heavy armor before he leaped down from the roof of the building, his hands fusing together into fine points as his arms began to jackhammer up and down. Seth quickly dove backwards as Armodrillo slammed into the earth in front of him, kicking up a cloud of pavement slabs and dust as he burrowed underneath the ground and suddenly up behind the dazed Minotaur, punching him in the back of the head and knocking him over.

"Impressive," the Minotaur snorted. "Too bad you won't be around long enough to hear more compliments from me."

"I doubt that," Armodrillo rolled his eyes as he reached behind him and yanked a street lamp out of the ground. "En guarde!" he cried, jamming the lamp post out like sword.

"Ooh! Finally someone with some taste!" Seth grinned maliciously, copying the Talpaedan and tearing a street lamp out of the ground as well just in time to block a swing from Armodrillo before pushing up on his street lamp and kicking him in the chest. Armodrillo stumbled backwards, falling to a knee and raising his weapon up just in time to block a swing from Seth, but he was slowly losing the battle of muscle between the Minotaur. He quickly fused his fingers together once more and jammed his hand into the ground, the pistons on the end of his arms jacking up and down at a rapid pace, forcing a wide gap to open in the pavement under Seth's feet; the Minotaur bellowed in surprise as he dropped down into the crevice up to his chest, essentially trapped.

"Surrender?" Armodrillo asked cockily.

"Not even." Seth grinned darkly as he was suddenly engulfed in yet another cloud of sand, this one a sickly yellow in color as it enveloped his bulky frame and changed him into yet another monster. The sand died away after a few moments, a loud hissing filling the air as a long, serpent-like creature launched itself out of the crevice and at Armodrillo, wrapping its thick coils around Armodrillo's arm and flexing the many muscles in his body, swinging the Talpaedan's fist into his own face.

"Why're you hitting yourself? Why're you hitting yourself?" the Naga hissed happily as he hit Armodrillo in the face over and over again with his own fist.

"Get away from him!"

Seth paused in mid-squeeze to glance up just in time to get a crowbar to the face, knocking several fangs lose and splattering a small amount of blood all over his face and Armodrillo's armor; high above, now armed with a rusty soda can, was Twyla with a very annoyed look on her face. With Seth momentarily distracted, Armodrillo managed to grab Seth by the face and tear the Naga off of him and throw him into a parked car, sounding off its alarm as Twyla lobbed the soda can at Seth.

"This is getting tedious." Seth grumbled as he shook his head to clear the dull throbbing in his skull.

"You could always surrender you know." Armodrillo offered.

"And let the Normies go unpunished? Don't patronize me." Seth scoffed as he launched himself at Armodrillo and quickly coiled his entire body around the Talpaedan and squeezed his muscles as tight as he could; loud, metallic screeching began to fill the air as Armodrillo's armor began to condense and wear away.

"Agh! C'mon, give me something useful!" Armodrillo pleaded as he struggled to reach the Omnitrix on his chest and finally managed to slap the disk, becoming engulfed in a flash of green light as his body began to change. He grew upwards by a couple of feet, his skin becoming tough and more resilient as it covered his entire face. He could no longer see anything by light shining through the folds of skin over his eyes before his eyes vanished altogether. His ears moved to the top of his head and grew to a large size, becoming more like flaps on his head rather than small disks. Sharp teeth his mouth as sharp claws grew on the ends of his fingers and his toes burst out of his shoes. Then suddenly, he could see again. At first he just saw Seth licking his chops hungrily. Then he saw Twyla digging around on the roof top for something else to chuck at Seth. Then he saw The distant, blinking lights of the New Salem police off in the distance, rushing to his rescue. Then he could see up, down, left right, forward, behind, and all around until he could see in every possible direction as a pair of black and green shorts appeared below a green belt with the Omnitrix on it, completing the transformation.

"Not what eye had in mind, Omnitrix! But at this point eye'll take anything!" Eye Guy griped as all the eyes on his body glowed an ominous, neon green before firing off beams of bright energy in all directions, blasting Seth off of him and into the air where he came crashing back down into the pavement.

"And now for the eye-cing on the cake!" the Opticoid quipped as the eyes all over his body closed shut while a single, large eye opened up on his chest on the end of several long, thick veins. The gigantic eye blinked once before firing another beam of hot energy at Seth, sending him flying into an abandoned apartment building that was just asking to be demolished. "Well that takes care of that." Eye Guy grinned, dusting off his hands.

The Opticoid spoke too soon however, as the building suddenly was engulfed in red, hot flames ate away at everything like starving wolves. Eye Guy narrowed all of his eyes to peer inside of the building to see a lone figure come staggering towards the hole Seth had made when he crash landed in the wall; red hot flames licked over his faded blue jeans and flaming sneakers, his light brown hair with orange streaks replaced with burning coals. "Time to turn up the heat!" Seth cried, summoning balls of fire into his hands.

"Dude, watch the puns!" Eye Guy cried as he ducked to the ground while the twin balls of flame sailed harmlessly over his head. "Pretty soon, you use up all the eye-conic ones and they just get cornea and cornea!"

"You may have a point." Seth shrugged his burning shoulders. "But what do I care!? I'm a Fire Elemental! WOO-HOO!" he whooped with joy as he fired off a jet of flame at Eye Guy; the Opticoid quickly jumped over the hot beam before firing off several more eye blasts from his wrists.

"Time to fight fire with eye-ce!" Eye Guy cried as all the eyes on his body glowed a bright blue in color before firing off the desired beam and sending freezing cold beams of vapor everywhere, freezing the pavement beneath Eye Guy as ice crystals encased several cars in small glaciers; the beams that were fired off at Seth however, instantly liquified on contact, merely only annoying the Fire Elemental as he flung another ball of fire at Eye Guy.

"Ben! Change into something else!" Twyla cried from the roof as she chucked a wooden board at Seth's head, only to have the plank instantly vaporize. "I'm running out of stuff to throw at him!"

"This is the New Salem Police! Put your hands up or we will not hesitant to fire!" Moan'ica yelled as she shoved the squad car open before the car came to a screeching stop and whipped out her gun before leveling it at Seth; the dozen other police cars all formed a small barrier for their drivers and passengers as they copied their commander's movements.

"If you say so." Seth grinned darkly as he moved his hands above his head before firing off twin jets of flame, aiming them directly at the police officers that ducked behind their vehicles; two cars exploded into fiery mushroom clouds, injuring several officers in the process as Eye Guy fired off more ice beams in the hope of putting Seth out.

"Probably not the best suggestion in the book." Twyla noted as she reappeared behind Moan'ica from the flickering shadows created by the burning cars while several officers groaned around and beneath the wreckage.

"Probably," Moan'ica admitted. "Can you shoot a gun?"

"Probably not." Twyla gulped nervously.

"Music to my ears," said Moan'ica as she dragged an unconscious officer out from underneath a trashed squad car and stole his gun and badge. "I here by deputize you Twyla as a Temporary Officer in Training." the hybrid announced, pinning the badge to Twyla's left breast and shoving the gun into her hands. "Now open fire!" she commanded, squeezing the trigger on her own gun and firing off a few bullets that liquidated upon making contact with Seth's body.

Twyla gulped nervously as she looked at the gun in her shaky hands, glancing back and forth between the weapon and Eye Guy as he danced about to avoid the balls of fire Seth slung at him while the New Salem Police fired off round after round of bullets in the hope of hitting the Fire Elemental before them. The Boogie Girl remembered the letter her alternate, future self had given to her, recalling the photo taped to the back of the letter; she looked so distant and far away, her eyes full of unimaginable amounts of pain. She was even ready to end that pain with the pistol pointed to the side of her head, her finger just itching to pull the trigger and end all the misery that had accumulated in her life. If she pulled the trigger of this gun, would she go down a similar road and suffer a similar fate? Would the picture given to her, the only relic of a horrific future for all, come true? Would she be the one in that picture?

"¡Eye caramba!" Eye Guy cried just as he managed to duck beneath a ball of red hot fire aimed directly at his head. "Some help would be appreciated right now!"

Screw it, Twyla thought. No time like the present! Without much option left, Twyla raised the gun up and pulled the trigger, stumbling back from the recoil a little. She watched as her bullet ricocheted off a car and then off a lamp post before bouncing off the abandoned apartment that had recently caught before racing right at Seth just as Eye Guy managed to get a lucky hit and freeze the Fire Elemental where he stood; as the ice quickly melted around Seth's legs, exposing unprotected skin, the bullet came shooting at the back of Seth's leg and embedded itself into his flesh. Seth cried out in surprise and agony as he fell down to one knee, raising his hand in front of his face just in time to block an eye blast from Eye Guy.

"Eat fire, Blinky!" Seth cried as he slung another ball of flame at the Opticoid and struck him in the chest, sending him flying into a parked truck, crushing the roof as Eye Guy groaned.

"Sorry to have to do this to you, Tennyson," Seth with pity. "But I can't let anyone stand in the way of my goal of making the Normies pay."

"You're . . . crazy, you know that?" Eye Guy groaned as the Omnitrix timed out and returned Ben back to his vulnerable human form.

"I may be crazy, but at least I know what I'm doing is right," Seth huffed, ignoring the bullets as they melted against his crackling flames. "Seriously, how many times have you ever wanted to beat the tar out of a Normie because they can't get it through their heads that what they're doing is wrong?"

"I do," Ben coughed. "But at least I only do it to the bad guys. At least I'm not going to turn millions of perfectly innocent people in monsters. Imagine the chaos that'll ensue!"

"Exactly!" Seth grinned. "Once I've harvested their fear, I can make more Boogie Sand and turn the Planet Earth into Monster Planet!" he cackled, fire sweeping out over the area and melting the surrounding snow into puddles of slush and water.

"You're . . . insane." Ben groaned, his head killing him.

"Been called worse," Seth grinned. "But lets see if you can't call me worse after I melt your face off." he smiled wickedly, summoning a hot ball of fire into his hand and edging it towards Ben's face. Instinctively, Ben turned to the Omnitrix, fearfully glancing back and forth between Seth's crazed smile and the magic watch on his wrist until he finally came across Heatblast and slapped the activation button as hard as he could, the familiar green flash of light washing over his form and changing him into something new. His frame stretched up about half of his original height as his face pushed forward and became a separate disk, the ends curving outwards and then up to firm a pair of horns tipped with small orbs as the rest of his head formed into a round trapezoid figure. Muscles piled themselves onto his arms as his skin hardened into a metallic-like surface with black rings around his arms and thighs with his wrists and ankles black against a dull, lavender shade. Ben's toes all fused together into a single digit as his fingers melted together into three digits that morphed into cubed claws. A triangular dorsal fin of sorts rose up from his back, tipped with a single orb as a green and white belt materialized around Ben's waist with the Omnitrix in the center, completing the transformation.

"Cool! New alien!" the creature grinned before forcing up a hand to block Seth's attack.

"You can change all you want, but it won't save you now!" Seth cackled as he drew back his other flaming fist, letting the energy build up so that he would be able to kill the strange alien before him in one blow. The creature saw it coming however and raised his other head, a loud whine building up in the air as something shot out from the barrel hole at the center of the three digits and smashed into Seth's skull sending him flying; it was a few seconds before he was suddenly consumed in a fiery explosion that rattled the block.

"And Badaboom it is!" the newly named alien cheered as he pulled himself free form the wreckage of the car and dusted himself off.

"That tickles!" Seth laughed as he came charging out of the mushroom cloud at Badaboom, his entire body a raging inferno; the Bombardian narrowed its beady eyes and felt his gun-like arms click and cock before something slid into place between his three digits. Badaboom fired them off and watched as a pair of little creatures with small, black bodies and heads shaped like the classic black ball bombs one would find in Saturday morning cartoons, rushed at Seth on their little, point legs, smoking wicks curling out of the top of their heads as they threw themselves at Seth and hit him in the gut. Badaboom instinctively felt sent a mental command to them and shielded his eyes as the two little creatures suddenly self-detonated, consuming Seth in a fiery explosion double the size of the last one.

"Ooh! Minibooms too!" Badaboom grinned.

"I hate to burst your bubble Ben, but how is this helping?" Twyla asked.

"Think of Seth as like a car engine," Moan'ica grunted as she ducked down behind the police car, her zombie nature allowing her to be completely oblivious to the small cuts in her pale skin. "The more heat you add to it, the powerful becomes. But at the same time, the more unstable it is."

"And when it reaches the breaking point?" Twyla asked.

"Boom." Moan'ica grinned. "And once he's out, we should be able to nail him before he can change again." she added just as a loud explosion rocked the earth; Twyla peeked up over the squad car to see Seth go flying into the abandoned apartment building across the street with Badaboom charging after him, his arms pumping up and down as he fired off another Miniboom to buy himself time to catch up with Seth.

"Now where did he go?" the Bombardian wondered to himself as he crashed through the wall of the burning apartment and looked around the burning scenery. "Huh. Two burning buildings in one day. Must be a new record or something." he mumbled to himself as he cautiously strolled through the fire, careful to avoid the majority of the flames.

"SURPRISE!" Seth cried as he fell from above and landed on Badaboom's shoulders, nearly crushing the Bombardian into the ground under the weight of his new form. He was now a large gargoyle with broad, bat-like wings, ram horns, pointed ears with an earring in the left lobe, large claws, and a spaded dragon's tail with a pair of ragged pants around his waist. "Eat stone, you walking dynamite factory!" he cried as he drove a rock hard fist into Badaboom's face and sent him flying into the back wall. Before the Bombardian could fully recover, Seth flapped his large wings and rushed at him, roughly grabbing him by the shoulders and kneeing him in the stomach before giving him an uppercut to the jaw that sent him crashing up through the ceiling and into the second floor.

"Any last words?" Seth asked as he cracked his stone knuckles and drew back his fist, prepared to kill the Bombardian where he lay as he edged closer and ignored the large flames as they tried to eat away at his concrete body.

"Boom." Badaboom gave a small smirk; his entire body began to flash a bright white in color, the blinking getting more and more intense as the seconds ticked off until one couldn't tell the difference between the individual clicks. A loud whine filled the air as Seth got a worried look as his face and took a few cautious steps back as Badaboom climbed to his feet and stood there, glaring at him as a loud click echoed through the second floor.

The following explosion rattled the earth as the entire building was consumed in gigantic ball of fire, every wooden beam burnt to ash as the concrete base and stone walls were reduced to rumble. The surrounding area shook like an earthquake that was beyond the Richter scale, a blinding light filling the air; Twyla felt her ears pop as she ducked down to the ground, still able to hear the explosion through her hands. After what felt like eons of waiting and hearing nothing but a dull thrum in her ears, the explosion finally died down, the air thick with smoke and ash as Twyla climbed to her feet and peeked over the edge of the police car to see nothing but a pile of smoking rubble where the apartment building had once been.

"Ben!" Twyla cried out frantically, jumping up and sliding over the hood of the car like a professional as she carefully clutched the gun in her fingers while she ran over to the smoldering remains of the apartment building. Amongst the barely intact beams of wood and the mountains of smoking concrete blocks, Twyla just barely made out a moan over the small crackling noises of stray fires. She rushed over to the source of the noise and shoved aside a small pile of rubble with all of her strength, her face bright with the hope that Badaboom was alright.

Except it wasn't Ben.

Seth lay there, completely unconscious with hundreds of dents and cracks in his stone skin; his wings broken off from his body and his tail had severe cracks in several places while he was missing an ear and horn. Despite Seth;s injuries, there was no sign of Ben anywhere. "No." Twyla whispered, falling to her knees as the gun clattered to the ground.

He was gone. In his duty to do what right, Badaboom had given his life for billions of innocent monsters and people, to save them from a mad man hellbent on righting wrongs the wrong way. There wasn't a single trace left of him, nothing but black and lavender shrapnel that lay like scattered poker chips during a brawl at a casino. She felt tears start to form in the corners of her eyes as she screamed at the top of her lungs, smashing her fists into Seth's stone chest as if she had the strength to fully break him in half. She never got the chance to tell Badaboom how she felt about him, how she wished everything in the letter she had received could be true, how she loved him. And now, she would never be able to tell him.

"You okay?"

"N-no." Twyla sniffed, wiping her eyes upon hearing the voice. "I just lost the love of my life."

"Aw, I didn't know you cared." the voice teased jokingly.

Twyla whirled around with watery eyes to see Badaboom standing over her with a cocky grin on his face and gun-like arms crossed over his chest, completely intact and devoid of any injury. "H-how?" Twyla asked as the Omnitrix timed out and immersed the Bombardian in a flash of bright green light while returning Ben to the world.

"It turns out that Badaboom's species can reform after blowing themselves up." Ben grinned sheepishly. "Too bad I found that out the har-" Ben never got to finish his sentence as Twyla threw her arms around him and took his lips in hers, hugging him tight and never letting him go as she squeezed him; it was a few minutes before she felt Ben's arms slither around her waist, returning the friendly gesture. Ben felt a slight sensation at the end of lips. After a few seconds of confusion, he realized it was the very tip of Twyla's tongue, tentatively asking for permission to enter, as if afraid Ben would bite her tongue and rip it out of her mouth if she showed even the slightest bit of control or confidence. Ben mentally smiled and opened his mouth, letting Twyla's small and shy tongue creep over his lips and teeth, exploring until her tongue met his own. Immediately, both of their organs fought a short battle, deepening their soul kiss for a few more seconds before the lovers parted ways to gasp for air. Twyla's face was as red as a tomato as she rested her head on Ben's strong chest, Ben smiling down on her and giving a final kiss to her forehead.

"Thanks. For everyone." Twyla sighed happily.

"No problem," Ben grinned. "Now we just need to find out where this psycho hid the rest of the Boogie Sand so we can turn the Normies back to normal." he said, glancing down at Seth.

---

"Next!"

Ben had to admit: Lilith was really good at convincing people, even if she was now a monster. Then again, refusing to hand over the antidote for being turned into a monster was a pretty good way to get practically anything you wanted, especially when the victims desperately wanted to stop being looked at like they were worse than dirt. And, while Ben was not about to admit it anytime soon, Seth seemed to have least driven part of his point across to the Normies; or at least, a small group of them as they all patiently waited in a line in front of Lilith while casting sympathetic looks at Ben, Twyla, and Liltih as they stood in front of the smoldering remains of the apartment.

"You're pretty good at talking to people." Ben smiled as he came up to Lilith.

"It's not really that hard to do once you understand what people want," Lilith grinned as she poured a small amount of Normie Sand into a centaur's hand and sent them on their merry way as they were engulfed in a cloud of pink dust and were returned to their original form.

"Still," Ben shrugged. "Either way, I think we made some progress here today. We might not have changed the entire population's view on monsters, we at least opened the eyes of a small few."

"And I plan to do much more," Lilith added as she poured another small amount of sand into a skeleton's bony fingers. "I know you and the ghouls have forgiven me for my past mistakes, but I want to make sure I fully pay for them and make the monster community see me for my true self by changing Normie views on monsters. And maybe even helping smooth out the edges of monster rivalries as well." she added.

"You might want to wait on that last one," Ben winced. "I think the school's still a little ticked off about Van Hellscream."

"Understandable," Lilith shrugged as she poured the last needed sand into the talons of a harpy. "Well, we're all done here."

"Not quite," Twyla stopped her. "We still have one Normie to change."

"Who?" Lilith raised an eyebrow.

"You." Ben said with a slight frown. "It's been little over a week, Lilith. The transformation should have worn off by now."

"Come on," Twyla urged the Jersey Devil. "You've earned it. Especially since you helped me locate the rest of the Boogie Sand while the Omnitrix was in recharge mode."

"Who'd have thunk Seth would be foolish enough to hide it in his bathroom cabinet." Ben grinned.

Lilith didn't hear them speak. She was too busy starring at the last amount of pink sand in the jar between her fingers. The sand seemed to beckon to her, tempting her to use it and change back into her Normie self. She could go back to living her normal life, go back to a normal school, and maybe get a normal job and grow up to have a normal family. But she didn't want normal. She couldn't believe she was saying it, but she loved the feeling of not being normal, of never having any day ever be the same, to always feel the rush of adventure and excitement flowing through her veins. She didn't want to be normal again, she didn't want to simply be boring old Lilith anymore.

She wanted to be freaky. She wanted to be fabulous. She wanted to be a monster. But what she wanted most of all, was Ben.

"Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll have to decline," Lilith said with a smile, shoving the jar into Twyla's hands as the Boogie Girl and Ben gave her startled looks. "I don't want to be normal. I've found that I already have everything I could ever want now. Adventure, friends, family. I never want to be normal again." she smiled, pulling Ben into a hug.

"If only all Normies could be persuaded like this." Ben joked, hugging Lilith back and kissing on the forehead as Twyla shrugged and wrapped the both of them in her arms, squeezing the both of them to the best of her abilities. After what seemed to be an eternity, two wandering hearts had finally found happiness.

And there we go!

For those of you who have played GTA V, the three car thieves in the beginning are named after the three main characters of the video game.

Also, I do not own Badaboom. He was created by the ever talented on Norcinu Deviantart, though kjmarch did a wonderful redraw of him. Check out the picture sometime! It's awesome!

As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!

Hasta Luego!