A Monster From Another World

by LittleLagoon

Frankie Stein leads an ordinary and quiet life like any typical teenage monster. But everything changes when she and her friends have an encounter with a being from another world. Her life will soon take a 180-degree turn, dangers that she never believed asked to exist will be present and everything seems to be related to her mysterious and very mischievous space friend.

10. THE COMING STORM

I swear I uploaded this yesterday, or I already went crazy or something happened.

Ben 10 and Monster High belong to their rightful owners

Grammar issues ahead

THE COMING STORM

---

Fear was the predominant emotion in Viveka's heart. She was frightened by what she saw, a creature had separated from her daughter's car, which was instantly reduced to a heap of scrap metal. That strange being was looking at her with its lonely... eye? It seemed to be an eye, it was hard to tell, and its features were nothing compared to typical features. Perhaps it was an entity similar to the cyclops, for that green circle occupied most of its small head, similar to how these monsters had their single eye.

She was not sure if it was because of the fear and surprise she felt, but she heard that being say something in a strange language.

She could be sure that it was like that.

Endless seconds passed for Viveka, who only kept her gaze fixed on that monster and he in turn looked at her. He seemed to be in a state of internal debate, although given his inexpressiveness it was difficult to tell.

Seeing him leaning a little towards her, the monster woman moved her hand unconsciously, in an attempt to grab anything that would serve as a makeshift weapon in case that monster decided to try something against her. A piece of metal from the car had fallen near her, so she was able to grab it.

Filled with courage, and hiding her concern at the apparent disappearance of her daughter, Viveka held the makeshift weapon in both hands and pointed it at him.

"Who are you!?" she demanded to know in a shout.

The response of that strange being was to take a step backward as if to distance himself from the object she was pointing at him. Of course, it was not for that reason, that he noticed that the bolts on the woman's neck were sparking. A bad sign for him.

"What did you do with my daughter!?" she asked again.

Although she tried to keep a firm grip on that piece of metal, her hands were shaking, the last thing she expected was such an encounter, and the silence of that unknown monster only made her more and more nervous. Had he done something to her daughter? Why wasn't he talking? What was he doing in her home? And more importantly, how was it possible that he had emerged from the vehicle?

The seconds passed like that. The silence between them had formed and Viveka had a feeling that if she let her guard down, he would make his move.

"Where is my daughter!?" she demanded to know. Her common sense was on edge and her mother's instinct was ready to make her attack that strange monster. "I swear if you did anything to my daughter I…!"

Upgrade shook his head from side to side and quickly, trying with vague mimicry to make her understand that he did not harm Frankie. Though the woman only frowned even more at the lack of response.

He decided to act passively, his inability to communicate with her, without paper and pencil or a functional translator, was complications enough and the last thing he wanted was to have a fight with her or her husband.

To prevent the woman from becoming more aggressive, he remained in a position of submission, despite having the disadvantage against electrical attacks, he could still subdue her easily, but he did not want that, doing so would only complicate things, although he was aware that he would be victorious, but not without causing much damage. He was not sure what level of force he should use to subdue her, and he did not want to hurt an innocent person who was only concerned about their daughter.

He had to find a way to communicate with her, but all he could do is look at her and hope that electrified hunk of steel didn't come any closer.

Tired of waiting, and taking the alien's indifference as him not taking her threat seriously, Viveka decided to make a risky move and threw a punch. The piece of electrified metal came close to Upgrade who, to the woman's surprise, turned its lower half liquid and dodged to the right. A metallic sound echoed through the garage as Viveka's blow impacted the proto-truck wreckage. Electricity coursed through the metal, forcing Upgrade back even further, accidentally crashing into the wall. Backing himself into a corner with no easy escape.

"I swear I didn't do anything to your daughter!" Upgrade's voice was full of frustration, even though he uttered sounds, the alien tongue was unintelligible to the woman, who tried again to hit him, failing again when he dodged to the right. "Damn it Frankie! Why did you take my badge!?" he complained loudly.

The only word that was distinguishable to her was her daughter's name. Her expression turned to one of surprise and then to one of anger and she spoke in a loud and clearly annoyed voice.

"Stop playing! Tell me right now! What did you do with my daughter!?" her shout unleashed a domino effect, causing her bolts to release more sparks, slightly burning the collar of her attire and scaring the Mechamorph.

Amazement and fear were present. He was amazed at what this woman was capable of doing and was so brave as to confront a being that surpassed her in size and that was unknown to him, and scared because he was that being and did not want to be electrocuted.

In a new attack attempt, the woman launched a downward blow, something easy to avoid for Upgrade, who took advantage when the woman's arms were at the lowest point to catch them with one of her hands and force her to let go of the metal bar.

Having her trapped, Upgrade stared at her, their size difference causing him to curve his neck down. For a few moments, silence reigned, not intentionally, the teenage alien was still trying to devise some way to communicate with her, only his stare caused the woman to panic, believing she would be hurt by him. As an involuntary response, the bolts she possessed in her neck began to release sparks, electrifying her arms trapped in the nanomachines.

"Let me go!" she shouted. The woman struggled but it was useless, the alien's grip was absolute. "I said let me go!"

"Please! Calm down!" in a desperate attempt to free herself from the strange monster's grip, Viveka unconsciously released a large amount of electricity, which coursed through her body as if she were an electric eel.

The reaction of Upgrade's body was instantaneous and violent. The electric shock caused his nanomachines to start to fail and released the woman. She tried to push him away, but he turned out to be heavier than he looked and inadvertently grabbed the strange thing the strange monster had attached to his chest.

Green electrical discharges began to be emitted intermittently by the dial and the green parts began to flicker uncontrollably. The excess electricity emitted by the woman affected the dial trapped in her hand until it began to separate from the alien's chest.

Upgrade was completely electrified when he and the dial separated. His moans of pain echoed through the garage and the green parts of his body lit up as if he was trying to somehow absorb and release the energy, but it was too much. Bubbles formed in his body and as they peaked, they exploded, reducing his nanomachines to a formless mass that melted. In a final, reflexive attempt, he tried to pull away from the woman, pushing her away. The two separated and the alien was thrown backward with its body covered by a strange green glow for less than a second until it stopped.

Viveka on the other hand fell on her hindquarters and held in her hand what appeared to be a white-colored watch. The woman was stunned for several seconds due to the blow and the excessive use of electricity. Gradually she was able to recover, noticing that she was now holding something in her hand, and more importantly, in front of her was an unconscious brown-haired human teenager.

The door opened, revealing a very excited Viktor, who upon seeing his wife rushed over.

"Viveka, are you okay!?" the man asked, confused to see his wife on the ground and in a state of Shock. She looked at him with a horrified and desperate expression, as if she was screaming at him for help, but in complete silence.

Concerned for his wife's well-being, Viktor rushed to her aid, crouched down to her height, leaned over her knee, and carefully held her shoulders.

"Breathe, honey, relax and articulate the words." Viktor stood by his wife, wrapping his arms around her in an attempt to calm the panic attack she was having.

Viveka was in an almost catatonic state, her chest heaving unevenly and sweat trickling down her face. Out of pure instinct, she clutched her husband's clothes, as if that would help her hold on to reality somehow.

"I-I..." She began to her and in a trembling voice. Her desperate gaze met her husband's and she increased her grip on his clothes. "I thought...I thought...Frankie and...and..." for Viktor, seeing his wife so frightened generated in him a feeling of utter worry. "I thought he was going..."

"Viveka, focus on my voice. Breathe, calm down." The woman closed her eyes and tried to calm her breathing, gradually the bolts in her neck stopped releasing sparks and she relaxed her body. Seeing that he managed to calm her down, relief filled Viktor's heart, but it once again turned to worry when his eyes focused on something else that was in that garage. "Viveka, who... who's that human?"

Viveka could not articulate any answer, he was still trying to understand what happened seconds before, or why that strange monster was now a human.

---

A few hours before.

A human figure of average height paced back and forth with an expression filled with insecurity. That person was none other than Jackson Jekyll. It was a little after seven thirty and the boy had been pacing back and forth in the driveway of the large DeNile family home for the past half hour.

"Just...just go inside and look for Frankie. That's what you came for!" he said to himself in an attempt to gather his courage and walk towards the entrance. "Who are you trying to kid? you don't belong here."

Once again the young man walked from left to right, as if that action might help his situation. In a state of utter desperation, Jackson disarranged his hair with both hands and groaned aloud.

"Fine! I'll do it! I'll go in, find Frankie and have a good time!" determined, the teenager headed for the huge doors of the big house.

With each step he took, the sound of the loudspeakers grew louder and louder, and with each step, his vision became more and more blurred.

"What..." the boy brought a hand to his face and held it painfully. A strong migraine was affecting him and suddenly, he could no longer see anything.

The outside of the house momentarily lit up. A sound similar to a flame igniting was heard, along with Jackson's moans.

As soon as that began, it ended.

"Wooo!" exclaimed a young man with blue skin and hair shaped like a red flare. "Huh? Where am I?" he questioned aloud in confusion. "And what the hell are these?" he asked removing the black-rimmed glasses that adorned his face. Unceremoniously, he tossed them over his shoulder and arranged his hair. The young man was none other than Holt Hyde, also known as DJ Hyde.

The boy examined his surroundings for a moment, he wasn't sure what he was doing there, but it was more than obvious that the place was having a party that no one would want to miss, and he definitely wasn't going to miss it.

He brought his hand to the doors and pushed them open, being greeted by disco-like lights and loud music, along with all the young people in there.

He quickly was able to blend in with these young men, although he wasn't sure who they were, he did recognize others, but most of them looked familiar, for some reason.

As the minutes passed he began to get bored, it wasn't that the party itself was boring, but the music wasn't right. He could change that, it was not for nothing that he was nicknamed DJ Hyde. Without wasting time, he looked for the girl in charge of the music at the party, he had already seen her when he entered, she was unmistakable, with pink hair, pale skin, a hottie without a doubt, plus she knew about music, she was definitely his type of girl.

He approached her with a gallant smile and started talking to her, and to his surprise, the girl turned out to be a fan of his, and although he was not yet well known, visits to his songs were given respect, so he was more than willing to oblige when she asked for a photo.

Little by little, and thanks to him, the party was taking a little more life, the RADs began to move more, but they were still shy, he could notice the resistance to the idea of being the first to dance, he needed to solve that if he wanted to encourage even that party. To his good fortune and almost as if it was a divine gift, someone approached him. When he saw her he was spellbound, a young RAD girl with mint green skin and black and white hair, tall and slender, another hottie to add to the list. A list that included the one in charge of the party, Cleo DeNile, but she had a boyfriend and he wasn't going to get involved.

Back to the girl in front of him, she was definitely his type, hot and with an innocent look, she had hit the jackpot, but... why did she look familiar? Did that matter? No, of course, it didn't.

"Hey." He greeted.

"Hey, I'm Frankie." She greeted a little nervously. "Sorry but who are you?"

Since that, their first meeting, some time has passed. How long? Holt didn't know, nor did he care, he was more focused on the girl who accompanied him. How could he even ignore her? And why did he feel he knew her before? Really! It was the first time they had met.

The music playing over the loudspeakers pushed those thoughts away from Holt's head, but they were overshadowed by the sound of festivities, shouts of euphoria, and fun, accompanied by the joyful symphony of songs playing over the loudspeakers that only made the party atmosphere more chaotic with each passing second.

The young monsters, no longer so shy about dancing, filled the main hall of the huge DeNile family home, the place had been completely transformed into a terrifying dance floor that would make anyone's hair stand on end.

The rhythmic movements of feet and hips, the hair shaking to the sound of the music, and the happiness that from that day on it was summer vacation.

Rhythmic movements, hips swaying from side to side, and carefree fun.

The party was a success and Holt couldn't have been more proud of himself, although he was sure Cleo took the credit, that didn't bother him, he had managed to hit it off with that pretty girl and nothing else mattered to him. He didn't mind that every now and then some idiot pushed him while they were dancing with their friends or that apparently all the other couples took advantage of the chaos to sneak off and go somewhere more private. He wasn't going to deny that he liked that idea almost as much as the girl he was with, but he had no idea what she would think.

"This is so much fun!" exclaimed his partner, Frankie Stein, with a big smile adorning her face as she danced along with him. They were both in the middle of the entire dance floor, which was actually the living room of the DeNile family home. "You really got everyone dancing!"

The girl's comment made the young man smile arrogantly and he replied. "Of course I did, I'm DJ Hyde, I'm the best at what I do and what I do is music."

It was a great night, an excellent night and no one was going to ruin it or keep me from getting his number.

Of course, he could not foresee what was going to happen.

Suddenly, all emotion was reduced to zero, confusing the young students. The songs had stopped and now instead of music, there were only whispers expressing confusion. Everyone looked around for an answer or a reason for what was happening. One by one, they all realized that next to the sound system was a beautiful young woman with sea water hair. The young woman, no more than twenty-one years old in appearance, was guarded by two jackal-headed monsters dressed in elegant black suits with dark glasses over their eyes. That beautiful young woman held in her hand the cable that powered the sound system. She was responsible for interrupting the party and given her smug smile, she was very happy to have done so.

Those who didn't know her began with indiscreet murmurs wondering who it could be. Who could dare to interrupt the Monster High princess's party like that?

Those who recognized her, slowly began to use the crowd as a way to camouflage themselves and retreat towards the exit of the mansion, after all, it was too late, wasn't it?

When she realized the party had stopped, Cleo was forced to leave Deuce for a few moments and make sure no one had broken anything, or worse.

"What's going on? Come on, this is the party of the century! Why did you stop?" she questioned, for she did not want this boost to her popularity to end abruptly, although she did not need it as she was already very popular.

"Dear little sister." Cleo froze as she heard a melodious female voice that to her horror she knew all too well. As if she were a robot, little by little Cleo turned her gaze to the source of the voice, passing through all the students until she reached where that young woman stood.

"Nefera?!" questioned Cleo in horror at the sight of her sister. "Yu-You... what are you doing here?!"

Nefera's smile only grew bigger as she saw the fear in her sister's eyes.

"Oh sis, you have no idea how much I'm going to enjoy this." She said, and though Cleo was too far away to hear her, she knew it couldn't be anything good. The cyan-haired young woman looked out at the guests, scanning them all momentarily with her gaze and with an angelic smile, the young woman shouted. "Everybody, get out!"

Her scream was such that even the window panes shook, threatening to shatter.

She did not have to repeat herself. Making use of superhuman speed, all the young people began to flee the place. The conglomeration was such that the main door was filled in a matter of seconds, everyone was pushing and crushing each other in an attempt to flee the place, the most daring began to flee through the windows or in more imaginative ways, but they all shared a single thought, staying was no longer an option.

Seeing everyone fleeing like rampaging bulls, some in a literal sense, they rushed to embrace Frankie, and Holt gluing her to him to prevent her from being swept away by the fleeing crowd. She felt so close to him that she looked up at him, though it was a bit of an odd scene since she was taller than him, still, the close contact made her nervous and her cheeks darkened, it's not like being so close to a cute boy bothered her. Not at all. Not at all. were those abs she felt?

The young monsters did not hesitate to push each other and pass over each other to avoid falling victim to the young mummy that had just appeared, or even worse, to call their parents, so the eviction of the place was quick.

"Hey, Frankie! over here!" The girl looked in the direction of the source of the voice, there stood Clawdeen, the werewolf woman standing next to Lagoona at the entrance to the mansion's huge kitchen and beckoned them towards her. "There's an exit through the kitchen!"

Frankie was about to move but remembered that the boy was still with her, she didn't want to part with him yet, but it would be best to leave.

"Holt! Let's go that way!"

"What!" before the boy could react, she moved in dragging him after her and holding onto his hand. The blue-skinned RAD was perplexed at the strength she was demonstrating, but the perplexity gave way to a goofy grin and inappropriate thoughts.

When Frankie and Holt arrived in the kitchen they hurried to the door, but before they left, Frankie stepped back and shouted to her friend.

"I promise we'll be back to help you clean up tomorrow!" Holt pulled her in shortly after to continue the escape.

In the end, the big party had been reduced to a lot of garbage and stains on the walls and ceiling. Cleo looked at it all wide-eyed and in complete shock. Her sister on the other hand let out a loud laugh and walked past her.

"Daddy's going to kill you, little sister." Was her taunt, then disappearing up the stairs.

Cleo just stood there, she could already hear her father's screams for having wrecked the house. What was she going to do? What could she do?

A hand rested on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her and she turned her face only to see there her boyfriend, Deuce, who had a slightly nervous smile plastered on his face.

"Better start cleaning up."

Cleo said nothing. She could only look at a large amount of garbage she was going to have to clean up. She was going to kill her friends for abandoning her like that.

"I'll call my mom, tell her I'll stay tonight to help you clean up." Hearing those words caused the mummy's expression to become more excited. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

Outside the DeNile family grounds. All the young people who had attended the party were beginning to leave with their respective groups of friends. Some, eager to continue partying, made plans to go to a nightclub and try their luck, perhaps they would be let in. Others, exhausted from the party, set out on their way home.

Meanwhile, the group consisting of Frankie and her friends stood at the gate of the mansion waiting for Clawd and Draculaura to return with Clawd and Clawdeen's parents' van.

Lagoona, who was leaning by the railing next to Clawdeen, had kept quiet when Frankie brought that blue-skinned, red-haired boy with her, although, when they were still at the party she thought it was that guy, Jackson, she dismissed it after getting a better look at him. He wasn't human.

The young Australian-born girl could be considered the most mature person in her group of friends. It was usual for her role to be the voice of reason and she did not hesitate to point out the mistakes her friends made so that they could correct them, she was "the mom of the group" even though she was not the oldest.

This was the reason why he felt some uneasiness when he saw Frankie with that boy.

"Hey, Clawdeen." Whispered the Australian-born girl to her friend, who seemed to be more focused on her nails at the moment. "Who's that guy?"

"No idea." She replied without much beating around the bush.

"I thought Frankie had a date with Jackson." She asked again. This time there was more of a reaction from Clawdeen. The werewolf woman didn't seem happy to hear the human's name and Lagoona noticed.

"Well, he didn't show up, like I said he would." Clawdeen crossed her arms and drummed her fingers, with an unkindly expression. "He better not show up because I'm going to beat him up. Nobody stands up a friend of mine, same goes for Gil!"

Lagoona said nothing, she simply watched the wolf girl with some nervousness as she was aware that her words were accompanied by the truth.

Clawdeen was definitely going to hit them.

Wanting to keep her friend's temper from continuing to redden, Lagoona closed her mouth and looked at Frankie. Her friend was chatting with the boy, covering her mouth as she laughed at some comment the young man made.

Shortly thereafter Clawd appeared driving the van and with Draculaura in the passenger seat.

The werewolf engaged in a short chat with his sister and then with the red-haired boy. Now Lagoona had a name, Holt Hyde, he was a freelance musician. Or so he said.

The boy hit it off with Clawd pretty quickly, both shared a very similar musical taste, besides being sports and basketball fans. In the end, the werewolf offered to give Holt a ride home and the boy gladly accepted, not only because he would avoid the tedium of walking, but also because he could spend more time with Frankie.

The young people got into the van and set off on their journey, although they all still had plenty of energy, it was a beautiful night to go home so early, even though Frankie had a deadline, with Holt by her side, the young woman had forgotten all about it.

As she stared out the window, Clawdeen noticed that many people, humans, and RADs alike were heading in the same direction. If he had to guess, it was about the city park. Riverfront. They were just starting the summer, the higher quality nights were bringing people out of their homes and the city was hosting different cultural events.

"Hey! How about we go to Riverfront?" she suggested loudly, drawing everyone's attention. "I think they've already started preparations for the World Beat Festival."

"I don't know." Was Lagoona's hesitant reply, she looked sideways towards Frankie, she knew about her friend's time limit and didn't think that was a great idea. "I told my aunt I'd be back early."

"Coooome ooon, it's better than being depressed because Gil doesn't answer your messages." The werewolf woman's words had a certain effect on the fish girl. Lagoona momentarily lowered her gaze, her friend was right, besides she was having a great time and most of the night she didn't think about Gil.

"I like the idea!" exclaimed Holt excitedly. "I love fiestaaaaas!" he crooned, getting a chuckle from Frankie.

"It's a festival, Holt."

"Yes, that, it's the same thing."

"What do you think Clawd?" asked the vampire of the group looking at her boyfriend.

"I've been helping my parents all week to borrow the truck and I'm going to use it." He replied with a toothy grin. "Plus I filled up his tank, I want to get my money's worth tonight."

"It's decided! We're going to Riverfront!"

The youngsters were eager to prolong the fun, so much so that they didn't notice the storm clouds covering the horizon, still too far away to worry about, but a factor that could ruin the nights for the fun-loving young monsters.

The atmosphere at Riverfront was cheerful. People and monsters of all kinds were coming and going through the area, all of them carrying boxes, giving directions, or building small stalls.

Although it was only a temporary reality, there was an atmosphere of tranquility.

The young monsters had advanced until they reached an area full of families. Children were running everywhere, followed by their parents, all of them joyful and impatient for one reason only.

"How about we ride the carousel?" asked Clawdeen with childish excitement.

"How old are you? five years?" joked Lagoona as she saw her friend and her friend's brother so excited about the carousel.

"When we were kids, Mom used to bring us here." Was Clawdeen's reply, as her brother shook his head, following the movement of the carousel. "We came all the time."

"You remember Clawdia was afraid to get on." The Wolf siblings shared a chuckle at that shared memory, while Lagoona merely shook her head. "We should go up, what do you say?"

"I want to!" was Draculaura's positive response. "Clawd, will you come up with me?" the young woman made eyes at her boyfriend, who couldn't resist and agreed without opposition.

Frankie, seeing her friend perform such an action, decided to follow her example and turning to Holt, said.

"Holt, do you think you can come up with me? It's my first time." The boy smiled and hugged her around the waist.

"Of course I do, Firecrack. For you, anything."

Lagoona's expression soured at hearing that. She knew how painful it was to have a relationship with lies behind the curtain. That was her reason for believing that what Frankie was doing wasn't right, her date was Jackson, not this boy named Holt.

She had to put a stop to her friend before she did something even more stupid and hurt not just one boy, but two.

"We have to get in line. Quick!" Clawdeen grabbed Draculaura by the wrist and dragged her along, a few steps behind were Clawd, and as Frankie was about to move forward, Lagoona stopped her.

"Frankie, can you join me in the bathroom for a moment?" Frankie nodded without hesitation at her friend's request, in her mind, Frankie thought that maybe she wanted to touch up her makeup and needed help and with Clawdeen and Draculaura so amused at the carousel, she was the only one available to help her.

"I'll be right back Holt."

"I'll be sure to set aside the best spot for you." He replied.

Both girls moved away from the carousel area until Lagoona was sure they could talk quietly without running the risk of one of their friends overhearing them.

She paused and looked at her friend with some hesitation as if thinking carefully about what to say before she began to speak.

"Frankie, don't you think you're getting too close to Holt?" hearing that question confused her. She blinked and carefully processed those words and her silence made Lagoona uncomfortable. "I don't think it's a good idea for you to be so...hooked on him."

"What are you talking about?" She questioned incredulously.

Again, Lagoona thought about what to say, looked around as if trying to find the words there.

Frankie for her part was incredulous, her friend, her best friend was questioning her about Holt. why?

"I know it sounds bad for me to say, but, Frankie, you agreed to go out with Jackson today. If he finds out you blew him off that easy, you're going to hurt him really bad."

Frankie's brow furrowed and in an annoyed voice, she said. "I don't think he's even going to find out, in case you didn't notice, he didn't come."

"Frankie, you can't just change, just like that. Maybe something happened or he couldn't make it, you have to put yourself in Jackson's shoes."

"He wasn't even able to warn me." excused the young woman as she crossed her arms.

"I know. I'm just saying it's not right for you to do this." Replied the saltwater girl. "You could end up hurting Jackson or both of us, and we don't want another Hoodude, do we?"

The mention of the "boyfriend" Frankie had created for her, who then came to life and was too cloying for Frankie's liking, made her frown even more.

"This won't be just like Hoodude!" she said raising her voice. "Besides, Jackson stood me up! I don't want to be depressed like you because that boy didn't show up! Besides, it says in my magazines that crying over a boy is silly, that I should have fun! And Holt is so confident and charming, and yes he's a monster!"

Hearing those words come out of her friend's mouth took Lagoona by surprise, who remained silent and with her mouth slightly ajar. Frankie kept her brow furrowed, though for a few moments she looked away, as if realizing what she had just said, but she didn't take it back.

The sound of the people around them, who were more focused on their night than paying attention to the conversation between two teenagers. The music of the merry-go-round and the screams of children excited and anxious to ride. All the sounds of the park did little to overshadow the oppressive silence between the two girls.

The seconds passed and the tension became more and more palpable.

Frankie opened her mouth in an attempt to say something apologetic. She was still new to all this stuff about emotions and life, sometimes she couldn't control them and said or did things she regretted later.

"Lagoona, I..." the young woman was silenced. Her friend held up her hand as a sign for her to stop.

"I get it, you're mad that Jackson didn't show up, I get you, I'm... frustrated with Gil too, but I don't take it out on my friends for that reason." Frankie looked down, ashamed of herself. Lagoona remained composed, though deep down she was hurt that her friend had said that. "So you don't want to be with Jackson just because he's human?" she questioned with disappointment in her voice.

"I... I think it would be easier that way. Jackson is very cute and cuddly, but I don't know if he really likes me." Frankie played with the folds of her skirt while her gaze was focused on her high heels. She didn't want to look her friend in the face. "I...I want to experience love too. Just like you and Gil or Draculaura and Clawd, and if not with Jackson, maybe it's with Holt. You're one of my best friends, shouldn't you be supportive?"

"Ah..." the saltwater girl sighed. She couldn't believe how whimsical her friend could come to that, though...

Lagoona couldn't blame her. She was capricious with Gil. She was aware of the boy's fear of his parents, and yet she instigated him to tell them about her. For a few seconds, she closed her eyes and tried to think of what to say. Her scales vibrated as she felt a slight cold breeze, and her ears adapted for marine life twitched a little at the sounds around her, but when she opened her eyes, in front of her she had no miraculous answer to this great problem. She only had her inexperienced friend staring at the ground.

In the end, she just let out a sigh and adjusted her hair.

"Frankie, what I want to make you understand is that you should consider Jackson's feelings. He didn't come, yes, but if Holt interests you more than Jackson, then you should make it clear to Jackson that you don't want anything to do with him. weren't you the one who invited him?"

Frankie changed her expression for a few moments. Her friend was right, she was the one who gave Jackson the idea to go out together and now she was with another guy, even though it was because of the human's absence, but she was still with someone else and that wasn't right.

"I guess you're right." Frankie scratched her arm rather sheepishly, her friend's words had brought her out of her rapt attention, and she realized that what she was doing might cause some trouble. "I'm sorry I raised my voice and said those things to you."

"Don't worry, just promise me you'll be honest with Jackson."

"I... I promise."

"Relax, I know you'll find someone perfect for you soon, you don't have to rush." An honest smile formed on Lagoona's lips, and it cheered Frankie up a little. Despite the differences all her friends had, Frankie was always grateful to have met them. "We'd better get back. This being the one who has to make you get your feet on the ground makes me thirsty. What do you say we get the guys to buy some drinks?"

"That would be great." Frankie smiled at her, but for an instant, she hesitated. "Go ahead, I have some to think."

Lagoona nodded. She knew that after that dramatic talk, her friend needed to clear her mind and ideas, so she just withdrew.

When Frankie was left alone in that place, her thoughts returned to Jackson and Holt, radically opposed, but at the same time with something that made her feel attracted.

Defeated, she lowered her head once again, she was going to need help saying between the two boys.

"Why is it so hard?" She questioned quietly.

"Romantic problems?" asked an unfamiliar, female voice. Frankie jumped at the sound and turned quickly.

Behind her was a brown-haired woman whose face was partially covered by her bangs, revealing only her left eye, which was green. She was sitting on the floor and in front of her was a small plastic table with a green tablecloth on it.

Frankie felt surprised to barely notice that this woman was so close to her and a little confused since she had not noticed her before. For her part, the woman smiled in a friendly way as she played with some strange-looking cards, shuffling them with her two hands and placing some on the small table in front of her.

The hypnotic movements were like a dance, both hands moving gracefully and elegantly as they kept the cards from flying in all directions.

When that card dance was over, the woman put the deck of cards on the small table in front of her and looked at Frankie.

"Perhaps you need a little guidance of mystic arts." The woman pointed to the cards in front of her, inviting the young woman closer. Frankie looked doubtful, the woman was giving her a strange feeling, as if she was repelling her, but she didn't understand what the reason behind that would be. "You can be calm, I'm not a bad person." She said as if she was able to read the young woman's thoughts, which took her by surprise. "I can guess from your expression that you don't think I can make a prediction. That's understandable." The young woman was about to withdraw, but when the woman spoke again, she froze in place. "But you need a guide, don't you ... Frankie."

---

"In other news, authorities still continue to be perplexed by events in recent weeks. Reports of strange lights in the sky and a mysterious crash. Conspiracy fanatics claim that..."

"How crazy people are. " Said a white-furred cat woman driving a blue Ford Ka. The woman switched the car radio to another station and continued driving. She wasn't interested in such things, the yellowness present in the news and the conspiracy nuts on the internet was not a good combination and she didn't want to have those strange ideas floating around in her head that night.

She changed and changed radio stations until one finally had pop music playing and she chose to stay on that radio station.

You're from a whole other world.

A different dimension

You open my eyes

And I 'ready to go, lead me into the light

She rhythmically moved her fingers, tapping them against the black leatherette-covered steering wheel. As she came to a red light, the woman stopped and looked in her rearview mirror. She was finely made up in such a way that her natural beauty stood out, she was going on a date that night and wanted to look good, but maybe she could look better. She took a small makeup kit from the glove compartment and began to give herself a few touch-ups until the light turned green again. The car behind her honked its horn, a sign that its driver was impatient. She let out a grunt and stepped lightly on the accelerator.

Even as her car began to move forward, the driver behind her continued to honk, causing her to roll her eyes. She was sure it was a human, what else could be? They were so impatient and strange, not like the werecats, who had more playful and fearless personalities. Maybe if they relaxed a little more they would be better.

As she watched her face in the rearview mirror and carefully used a maroon lipstick that contrasted with her white fur to paint her lips, the woman noticed that strange light was in the sky, it was like a strange aurora borealis. Strange since it should not be possible for an aurora borealis to be over Salem in early summer or any other season for that matter.

From the aurora, almost as if spat out by the aurora, a bright red sphere was ejected at great speed and rushed toward the earth.

The woman opened her eyes when she saw that and before she could process it, there was an impact against the asphalt a few meters away from her. Thanks to her enhanced reflexes being a beast woman she was able to step on the brakes of the car, bringing it to a sudden stop and avoiding receiving the impact of the meteorite.

Despite avoiding being crushed by the fireball, she was not unharmed, her sudden action caused all the cars behind them to collide and a traffic jam ensued. Like pieces of a domino game, one by one they crashed into the bumper of the car in front of them until they reached the last one. At least thirteen vehicles, not counting the motorcycles that managed to avoid being hit, were stopped in the street and the screams and honking of horns were not long in coming.

The woman who caused this rushed out of the vehicle, desperate and frightened, not knowing what to do and seeing that behind her the vehicles had collided because of what she did she became even more worried, but to her relief there did not seem to be any serious injuries, just very upset people.

One particular human, blond-haired driver got out with a really furious expression and headed toward her.

The woman, as well as other people who were in the area, focused their attention on the strange object that had hit the street, it had created a two-meter diameter hole in the asphalt and some fire had spread nearby.

She was about to approach to see what it was all about out of curiosity, but a hand that made her turn abruptly stopped her.

"Hey you stupid ass! Why don't you learn how to drive? Do you have any idea how expensive this car is?" shouted the human in the car behind the monster woman's car. "What are you, an animal, you don't know how to drive?!"

"I'm sorry!" she hastened to reply, in an attempt to calm the human. "I didn't mean to cause an accident! But that thing fell out of the sky and...!"

The woman stopped speaking when her sensitive hearing detected a strange sound and her face turned toward the crater. The human was about to shout at her again, but something in the woman's expression made him look in the same direction.

From the ground, a humanoid figure began to rise. Small spikes were on its back emerging directly from its spine. Long, disproportionate black arms fell down each side of its body covered by asymmetrical lines of red. Finally, a small head formed on its shoulders and the lines of its body glowed a menacing crimson color.

---

The nanomachines in his body activated and for the first time in..., he wasn't really sure. Hours? Days? Months? The important thing was that he could see again. Or was it his first time seeing it? What was seeing?

The world around him saturated his mind, everything was so new and familiar. His nanomachines scanned everything, creating a three-dimensional image of three hundred and sixty degrees around him, it was a complete and perfect view. So much information made him momentarily disconnect from reality.

It was too much and he was just a kid. Was he?

"What is that thing?" the strange entity turned its face as it heard a few times, doing so it could see two bipedal human-like creatures. They were human, what were humans and why did he know them?

Although one of them, the bipedal being that had strange protuberances on its head was different from the other. In more ways than one.

His face tilted like that of a curious child at the sight of the woman with the cat ears. Again, how did he know she was a cat? And why did he feel the strange need to stroke her behind the ears?

"Is it a monster?" questioned the man.

Monster, him? Was he a monster?

The image of a black figure with symmetrical red lines appeared in his mind. He knew that figure. But who was he? And why... why did being called a monster make him feel bad?

"Where the hell did it come from?" questioned the man in an angry voice.

"I think... I think it was what fell from the sky." Was the response of the cat woman, who seemed to be nervous.

"Are you kidding? What do you mean it fell from the sky?" questioned the human to the monster woman. "This is stupid! Hey! Yeah you!"

Malware watched him approach. He had to lower his gaze a little as that human, noisy creature, was shorter than him.

Like a curious child, Malware hunched over to get a better look at it. The noise produced by that opening in his face was annoying, plus it irritated him for some other reason. How did he know what it was to be irritated? Had he been irritated? Irritated... Strange word. Why did he know that strange word? Irritated... What was it that irritated him? He wanted to stop being irritated...

"I'll call my lawyer! I'll take everything away from you! You'll pay for ruining my car!"

That noisy human pulled a small object out of his pocket and brought it close to his hole to make noise and began to... well, make more noise.

"You're going to pay! Did you hear me?!"

"Pa...yyyyyy..." the alien repeated in a guttural, reverberated voice as if it had static. That sound caused dread in the human, who looked at the alien. Seeing the alien's expressionless face, the human felt a shudder but did not retreat in his outburst. But in the back of his mind, a question was brewing. What exactly was that thing?

"Are you threatening me!" the man questioned. "Do you think I'm afraid of you!"

"AAaaf...aaAAffraa...iiiid" Malware reached his hand towards the man and carefully took the phone from him.

Like a curious child, the strange alien brought the object close to his face and analyzed it.

An image appeared in his mind, it was a strange image, why was he seeing that image and the world around him at the same time? And why did that image look like the thing he was holding in his hand?

His one eye focused on the device and examined it carefully. On the screen was a picture, it was that noisy human, next to... a smaller human.

How strange that was.

Why was there a smaller human? She looked weird. It was as if they were father and daughter.

Father and daughter... Father... That word began to repeat in his mind.

"Fa...thEerr..." he growled as he saw the image of the man and his offspring. "FaAa...TheeEerrr..."

As if a small spark of resentment had been awakened within him, the mechamorph smashed the phone, frightening the human man, but the human man soon began to scream once again, furious at the loss of his belongings.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! that phone was ne...!" the man was silenced as the alien's hand imprisoned his head and lifted him off the ground.

Malware looked at him, his mind was rewiring, intermittent fragments of memories were taking shape and he could remember something. He didn't like humans. They were noisy, they were messy, and looked like hairless monkeys.

What was a monkey? What was the hair? ... Did he have hair? It didn't matter, just thinking about it made him furious.

The monster woman watched that scene with wide eyes and when he turned his head toward her, she recoiled, trembling, so much so that she almost tripped, but her instincts warned her of the danger, so she chose to run away rather than be a hero.

"Ple-Please! I beg you..." the man's stifled pleas were heard by him, although he paid no attention and in a quick movement of his arm, the human flew through the air until he landed on a car several meters away, causing a thunderous noise upon impact.

Once rid of the annoying hairless ape, he redirected his attention to other more pressing things. Malware surveyed his surroundings. Everything caught his attention, the bright lights, the people watching him with a terrified expression, and a few others who were filming him with their phones.

Now he could analyze all those objects at the same time, and those plans appeared in his mind as if they were pointing to something he was capable of doing.

Moved by his curiosity, he began to move forward, although there were things in his way, those strange four-wheeled contraptions that had stopped nearby. He was going to have to move them.

He approached the first of these vehicles and looked at it, cocked his head to one side, and reached out his hand to see if he was able to push it.

Upon contact with the machine, a new blueprint appeared in his mind, which was strange. Why did he have these things in his mind?

Playing it down, he tried to push the vehicle to continue on his way. Only his strength was greater than he thought. He managed to move the vehicle, but threw it and causing it to hit a lamppost.

Some shouts of surprise and shock were heard, but the alien paid no attention and was able to continue, he felt he had to find someone, maybe his father. Yes, that was most likely, his father had to keep his promise, and... he had to... He had to... He promised him that... he was going to... cure him.

A strange pain circulated through his body, causing him to wiggle from side to side. What was that? Why was he suddenly in pain? What was the pain? Had he experienced it before? Why... why was he so afraid of pain? He didn't want to feel pain. Pain scared him. Why didn't his father help him stop feeling pain?

"Fa...ther..." He growled as he moved forward. He had an image in his mind, though blurry, he could still make it out, his father, his father was a... What was his father? He wasn't a human, too small and his skin was gray. He was a... frog? Yes! That's what he was! His frog father and he had made him a promise. For that reason, he needed to find his father.

The spectators could only watch with wide eyes as that strange being walked in the direction of Riverfront Park with a hunched posture and with his arms hanging down, almost touching the asphalt of the street. No one dared to approach him after seeing that he was able to move a car without difficulty. Nor were they sure what kind of monster he was, and no one wished to find out.

Some had already called the police, while others, beast-like monsters that had much sharper senses, decided that that was enough action for one night and began to flee the scene.

Their instincts were warning them.

Whatever that thing was, it was better not to be around.

---

Frankie was frozen in place. Just three steps away from her was that woman who guessed the cards. The woman had a smiling, friendly expression, but it was giving Frankie the creeps. Hearing her name come from that woman's lips had surprised her to no end. She had read and seen on TV situations similar to that and they never brought anything good.

Although the teenage monster had her guard up, the woman remained impassive, waiting for the young woman to answer. As she was taking too long, the woman asked again.

"Wouldn't you like to know your future?" elegance and mysticism permeated his words, which further captured the young woman's attention.

"My future?" As a girl raised by scientists, she based her thoughts on logic, not magic or other beliefs. What the woman was saying was not something she found feasible, besides, it seemed very suspicious to her. "I don't believe in such things. Predictions and fortune telling are not scientific things." Her words did not faze the woman, who continued with her smile.

"That's respectable, we don't all have the same thoughts and opinions, but it never hurts to add some mysticism to life. That makes it more interesting, don't you think?" Frankie didn't know what to respond to that statement, yes? no? This woman continued to give him a strange feeling and she didn't know how to act on it. "But, I think you're the kind of girl who would like to know about love. My guesses are pretty accurate, most of the time at least. Your heart is divided, two young men have caught your eye and you don't know what to do. right?"

That aroused the young woman's curiosity. Was she a fortune teller? Could she help her with her dilemma? Her common sense told her, no, to stay away, but she rarely listened to her common sense.

With some hesitation she approached the small table, putting her bag to one side of it, and bent down to observe everything in greater detail. All around her people continued to cross, ignoring both her and the strange woman. For Frankie, the woman's words had piqued her curiosity; could she possibly have an answer to her dilemma?

"You can do that?" She asked slyly.

"I can, but to do it, you must draw the cards." Frankie moved her hand closer to the deck, but before she could draw any cards, the woman cleared her throat, catching her attention, it was then that she saw a small sign that read "I tell fortunes for a dollar." Frankie's expression went flat and she looked at the woman, who kept smiling.

With a sigh, the girl pulled a dollar bill out of her purse and handed it to the woman, who kept it and allowed her to continue the card game.

"Three cards that will represent your destiny, the past, the present and the future are at your mercy, go ahead girl, enlighten yourself with that knowledge." As she said that, the woman moved her hands on the table, it was like some kind of ritual or magical chant, which only caused the young monster to arch an eyebrow.

Frankie found those words too melodramatic, so he deduced that this was the woman's intention, to sound mystical and add to the charm of that little game. She merely rested her hand on the deck and drew her first card.

When he turned the letter over he saw a drawing, a character with its back covered by a garment that hid its figure, leaving only a humanoid silhouette, everything around the character was green, the plants drawn and the trees of the forest through which he, or she, was passing. This vision caused some confusion in Frankie, but he said nothing and looked at the number on the card. Which was zero.

The next card she pulled out of the deck showed her the image of a clock, although instead of twelve notches with numbers, it had thirteen and its hands were stopped at six and nine. The number this time was ten.

The girl did not understand what that could mean, or if it even had anything to do with her next love relationship, or about Holt and Jackson. Frankie shook her head, the doubts were beginning to affect her mind and she felt a little guilty about what happened, so she decided to take the last card and turn it over.

Contrary to the previous two, this letter made her feel uncomfortable. A dark, vaguely human figure with glowing violet eyes, hidden behind a dark mist watched her. The word "Death" was written at the bottom, accompanied by the number thirteen.

Having the three cards turned over, the young woman looked at the woman, who maintained a smiling and affable expression, but something about her was beginning to feel strange and... familiar... for some reason.

"And what does that mean?" she questioned in confusion. The woman looked at the three cards for a few seconds and merely shrugged slightly. "What will be my destiny in love?"

"Well, I can't know exactly, this game doesn't give us a true vision of the future, just a little hint, the fool, the arcane who does well, the wheel of fortune presenting the cyclical time, the back and forth of life, and death, representative of change. I can only tell you that you will go through many things, you will change and you will have to choose whether it is for better or for worse."

Frankie looked at the three cards, curious as it was a bit strange, the "prediction" was not at all clear and more like delusions of a person consuming some illegal substance. But one of those cards was giving her a really strange feeling, death, those violet eyes looking at her expectantly, almost as if it was a real being, eager to come out and catch her in the dark.

As for the madman, that card seemed to be the opposite of death, where one was dark and with black and violet colors predominating, and the other was more vivid, with greens and browns, vibrant colors accompanying that mysterious traveler. The card was the image of warmth and goodness.

"You seem very interested, Miss non-believer." Mockery was present in the woman's voice. "If you want an interpretation, it would be this; Never try to stop the wind. Just flow with it forward. You must take the first step into an unknown future." For some reason, behind those words, Frankie felt that there was a latent threat from the woman, but she could not be sure as she kept that calm way of speaking and her affable smile.

Nervously, she held out her cards to the woman and she took them. Frankie decided it was better to get out of there and go back to her friends, but she was still curious about something and instead of leaving, she decided to ask one more question.

"I have a question, how did you know my name and how did you know I'm trying to decide between two guys?"

A huge smile appeared on the woman's face, which caused the young woman to look at her in confusion.

"You and your friend talk pretty loud. You know that?" the expression on Frankie's face was perfect for a portrait, her mouth open and eyes like saucers. She realized that she was the one who gave all the "predictions" to the strange woman, in other words, she was scammed out of a dollar. The woman did little to hide her amusement at that and began to laugh, then spoke again. "I have taken a liking to you my esteemed "non-believer", would you like one more prediction?"

This time, distrust was plastered on Frankie's face, she no longer knew whether or not she should believe this woman's words, after all, she technically stole a dollar from her.

"It will be something that maybe will help you in your situation. Just choose the one who will be with you, even at the end of the world."

Before she could say anything, the woman began to gather things in her small stall, ready to leave.

"It looks like our time is up. It's been nice talking to you Frankie. Oh! And when you see Ben Tennyson tonight, tell him I said hello. I wish you the best luck of all."

"I... uh... thanks you..." she replied with respect and slight confusion.

The woman gave her a small smile and walked away, leaving her standing there. She was ready to return to her friends, unsure whether or not to tell about the strange encounter that had just occurred, when she realized something, she had never made any mention of Ben Tennyson.

She quickly turned to look for the woman, but she was gone. She looked around, incredulous at the woman's disappearance. The crowds in the park made it easy to blend in and get away, but she should have run away and she was sure she didn't hear a single footstep, it was as if she had vanished into thin air.

A little panicked, Frankie was ready to go back to her friends and let them know that somehow someone else knew about Upgrade, but a thunderous sound filled the room, accompanied by screams of terror and panic.

"What's going on?" she whispered in confusion as she watched people run away from something.

The young woman's eyes caught the moment when a powerful explosion occurred in the park, raising a column of fire and smoke. At the same time, she could see a figure, similar to a human in base appearance, but extremely thin.

That figure walked at a slow pace, emerging like a demon through the flames. Black and red predominated over his body, thin and disproportionate arms hung at his sides and swayed with each step. And a mouth that pretended to be a vicious smile full of pointed teeth glowed maroon on his face.

Frankie froze in the presence. It was a monster, but a strange one in more ways than one, and more importantly, it looked a lot like his friend from space.

"It's an Upgrade..." she whispered, before being forced to cover her ears as that alien let out a roar that shook the night.

---

"Catty Noir's tour will come to an end in the next month, her last performance will take place at the Loto hotel casino in Las Vegas. There have been some rumors about a possible indeterminate break in her singing career, but her agent and representatives have not released further details. Let's go with the weather."

"Thank you John, it's the start of summer and we will welcome it in the most electrifying way possible. All western parts of the country will be affected by a severe thunderstorm tonight, it is recommended that you avoid driving on the roads and..."

The sound of the news on the television echoed in the Stein family's living room. Viktor Stein was pacing back and forth while holding his ICoffin close to his ear, he had been trying for several minutes to contact his daughter, but to no avail. Nearby was his wife, who seemed to be in a trance and crestfallen, as if in deep thought. After several unsuccessful attempts to contact his daughter, Viktor gave up and let out a deep, worried sigh.

"Frankie's not answering... Where is she?" the man's question escaped his lips in a whisper as his eyes drifted to a third figure standing in the family room.

Brown hair was the most prominent part of his person. It was a young human teenager, no older than seventeen, wearing casual attire and surrounded by a rope that held him to the couch.

From an outsider's perspective, an adult couple holding a teenager in handcuffs would definitely be frowned upon, it almost counted as kidnapping, but for Viktor, something didn't add up with that young man and he preferred not to take unnecessary risks.

His wife every now and then turned her eyes towards the human, as if she expected him to wake up at some point.

Viktor was starting to get desperate, his daughter, his beloved little Frankie was missing and he was not answering his ICoffin. A strange monster invaded his home and that same monster transformed into a human after having a confrontation with his wife. How much more unreal could the whole situation become? He just wanted answers and there only seemed to be one person who could give them to him.

"I'm going to wake him up." He said as he made his way towards the unconscious, bound human. On his right hand, his index finger and thumb began to release sparks, as if they were two severed wires.

Seeing what her husband's intention was, Viveka rushed to get in his way and used her hands to stop him.

"Hold it right there Viktor. You're not going to wake him up like that."

"It's not like I'm going to fry it, just a little shock."

"No! If you damage him or worse, it will be a big problem for us and you know it!"

"And what do we do then? Call the police? Hello, police? A monster broke into my house and my wife electrocuted him and he mysteriously turned into a human. Oh yeah, we tied him to a chair too, that sounds pretty cool!"

"Don't raise your voice to me! I'm nervous about all this too!"

"Then let me wake him up! He's got to have answers! Our daughter is missing!"

Viveka kept silent but did not remove her frown from her face. Her husband was right, the answers could only be obtained from this human, but waking him up could cause more problems. She had a theory about what kind of monster it might be, one that had long since gone unrecorded because of its unique abilities. A Doppler, a mimic monster capable of mimicking the appearance of others.

Even with that theory, she could not explain how it was possible for that strange one-eyed Slime to be attached to her daughter's car in the first place. That ability should not be replicated with a simple physical transformation, something else had to be going on.

"Uh... what a headache..." The monster woman's thoughts were interrupted when a third voice, young and male, was heard. She and her husband turned to the one person who would be responsible for such an interruption, the young man they were keeping tied to a chair.

The boy was beginning to come to. Still groggy and dizzy, he could barely make out anything of his surroundings. His ears were ringing and he could barely hear the distant sound of a TV on, but he was sure he heard it.

His eyesight wasn't much better. Blurry, as if seeing through a fogged windshield, silhouettes were all he could make out. Two silhouettes, in particular, were moving, a sign that they were other people.

He tried to bring one of his hands to his head as a reflex action when slight dizziness attacked him but was unable to do so.

With his senses almost fully recovered, he felt extra pressure on his chest and wrists and tried to move to free himself, but the ropes holding him prevented him from doing so.

"Hey, kid." Viktor's voice made him look in his direction, and as if he had seen a nightmarish monster, the boy gave a yelp and staggered backward, falling and hitting his head on the ground.

"Ouch..." a groan of pain was heard shortly after the impact.

His still disoriented mind caused his memory to fail for a few moments, associating the huge monster with electrical powers in front of him with another one he knew who had tried to kill him in the past.

The young man shifted in place, as if trying to stand up on his own, but was unable to do so due to the restraints holding him back. His mind processed this for a few moments, his alien anatomy should not be held back by simple ropes, why couldn't he break free? And why did he feel a stinging on his skin?

It took him a few seconds, but he managed to process the whole situation. He was no longer transformed into an alien, he was once again himself.

At that moment a large hand grasped his attire and lifted him back to his original position.

The boy was not surprised by that show of strength, no, he was still celebrating internally that he was back to his old self, even if he was tied up. Why was he tied up? He reminisced about the last few moments he remembered. Pain, nervousness, and a woman with an electric personality. He was electrocuted and fell unconscious, while his ego was a little bruised from being incapacitated so easily, he was still happy to no longer be an eight-foot-tall black Slime.

"You better start answering, what did you do with our daughter!?" demanded Viktor. The human was surprised at that accusation and why the man raised his voice, his expression frowned, he didn't like how he was treating him.

"You barely wake up and the first thing I see is Terminator and Livewire holding me hostage!" he exclaimed offended and annoyed. "I've been transformed for a week! Untie me or things will get... eh?" the boy, who had slyly brought his right hand up to his left wrist froze. His fingers were trying to grasp something that should have been on his wrist, but it wasn't there, causing the boy to tense up. "Where's the Omnitrix!" he panicked, to the point of desperation. His gaze went from side to side searching for that to which he referred. "Where is it!"

The adult couple looked at him like he was crazy, to them, that boy was stalling, ignoring their questions, and acting in an evasive manner, but Viktor wasn't going to let him off that easy.

The man stamped his foot on the floor, causing the chair the young man was sitting in to move a few inches. The young man in turn kept silent and looked at the man, and let out a sarcastic comment.

"That was an attempt at intimidation? Are you new on this hostage-taking thing?" he questioned arching an eyebrow. "You need to improve your skills. Want a tip?"

"That's enough!" Viktor stepped even closer and looked at his face to face. "You will tell me where you took my daughter or…!" the boy interrupted him.

"I didn't do anything! More importantly, you stole my watch!"

"What watch are you talking about!? How can that possibly be more important than our daughter!?"

"My watch, white and green, it's unmistakable!"

As the two exchanged words, Viveka took the strange watch out of his pocket and looked at it. Why would someone get so desperate over such a mundane object? How important could it be to the boy? Although if he evaluated everything that happened, that dial he held on to had transformed into that watch. Did it have any relation to that power of transformation?

Seeing the device in the woman's hands, the young man opened his eyes and desperately tried to free himself.

"Hey! Give that back!" he exclaimed.

For Viktor, this was an opportunity to get answers. It was clear that the human wanted to get that device back in his wife's hands, this had to be an opportunity to get answers.

"We're not giving you anything until you tell us what you did with our daughter!" said Viktor sternly. "Where is Frankie!?"

"That's not fair! That is mine and I want it back!" was the response they got. The man's bolts began to release a large number of sparks and his hands filled with more electricity, scaring the boy. The human got nervous, usually, he got out of that kind of situation using brute force and not words, but this occasion was different, and he had all the factors against him. "It's okay, it's okay! We don't have to get violent, geez, is everyone in this family like that?" the young man took a deep breath and looked at both monsters seriously. The most seriousness someone like him could muster. "How about we have a civilized conversation? You guys give me back what's mine and I'll tell you the whole truth. Deal?"

The monster couple looked at each other with some doubt, they were not sure they could trust this strange monster, but there seemed to be no other choice.

"I promise you, if you give that back to me, I will tell you where Frankie is." The way he said the name surprised the couple, it didn't sound malicious or cruel, it was as if a friend was saying the name.

Viveka looked somewhat doubtfully at the human, she wasn't sure what to do, but if it was her only lead, then she would accept the condition of returning that object.

She walked past her husband and stopped only two steps away from the teenager, who looked at her with an arched eyebrow.

"Will you tell us where our daughter is?" she asked with distrust and doubt. "You promise?"

"Scout's honor." he replied with gleeful amusement.

Viveka looked for any sign that the young man was lying, but to her surprise, he didn't even find the slightest sign of discomfort, it was as if it was all something he was used to. A normal human would be uncomfortable at the very least in a situation like that. This made her suspicious of the boy.

"Listen, we want to know what's going on. If you promise to tell us everything, we'll release you." The young man seemed to think about it for a few moments before nodding. "All right, I'll untie you."

The monster woman undid the knot in the ropes, they fell to the ground and the young man was able to stand up and rub his sore wrists in an attempt to get the blood circulating again.

"A deal's a deal. I guess..." For a few seconds, his expression changed to a thoughtful one, his mind trying to find the right words to explain himself, and only when he was sure, did he speak. "How about we start at the beginning, have you ever heard of parallel universes?"

"Parallel universes?" questioned Viveka. "What's that got to do with it?"

"You know, parallel worlds, alternate universes, parallel dimensions, whatever they call it here. I come from a parallel universe to this one."

"You said you were going to tell us the whole truth!" Viktor exclaimed angrily, getting the boy to put on a blustering expression. "And you're spouting this nonsense?"

"I knew you were going to say that, they always say that." Despite the unfavorable situation, the young human found amusement in what was going on, more the couple did not, they were too worried about the whereabouts of their daughter and did not have the patience to put up with jokes like that.

"Parallel worlds are just science fiction theories. There is nothing proven." Viveka added. "If you're going to lie, at least don't try to make us believe something so nonsensical."

"You remind me a lot of someone I knew. She told me the same thing." The young man leaned by the armrest of the couch nearby and crossed his arms. "You have to believe me, I'm from another universe. I travel between them all the time." As the young human expected, the couple was skeptical of his claims, he could understand them, the whole idea was very crazy and sounded like science fiction, but it was the reality in which they lived, even if not in all universes it was a known topic.

The adult couple remained silent for a few moments, evaluating the outlandish claim that the young human made, and although they found it outlandish, it made a certain amount of sense. Viveka had interacted with a strange monster, an alien according to that young man, and that same alien had transformed into that same young man. Although there were monsters capable of mimicking or duplicating the appearance of others, they could not replicate the abilities, besides, this young man was one hundred percent human since he did not emit that sensation that the monsters did and that served to find each other when they were disguised. Was it true what he said? For them, it was something unheard of.

"So, you're saying the multiverse is real?" Viveka asked and received a nod in response from the young man. "But I thought... I thought they were just theories. If what you say is true, then it completely changes what we know about quantum physics and the initial singularity."

"Wait, you don't mean this is an eternal inflation system?" Viktor looked at his wife with an expression of disbelief. "Where does so much energy come from? It shouldn't be possible" they both looked toward the human for an answer, but he looked a bit confused. "How is this possible? If what you say is true, then how are you here? Shouldn't quantum fields have prevented you from crossing over? Or maybe you have a machine that reverses refraction for interdimensional travel?"

The young man kept silent, he could only look at them with an expression that betrayed his state of confusion and ignorance about what they were asking. Somewhere in all those scientific and strange words, he was lost, he was a connoisseur of interdimensional travel thanks to comics and series, and from his own experience of course, but he had no idea how they worked.

"Wait!" Viveka interrupted him before he could respond, causing Ben to mentally thank her. "That doesn't explain why you were a strange kind of black Slime or how you were attached to our daughter's car."

"Oh, that. It's the ability of that watch that belongs to me." Once again, confusion gripped the couple. "That watch allows me to transform, but when I arrived it stopped working. It's happened a few times. It doesn't usually end well."

The woman was embarrassed at the memory of it because electrocuting him was more of an accident than something intentional and inwardly she was grateful that he was alive. She thought about what the young man explained to them for a few moments and as she looked at him closely she realized something. Her eyes widened as her mind pieced together some details and she recognized the young man.

"You're the human in the pictures!" she exclaimed in surprise. "You're Ben Tennyson! Our daughter's boyfriend!"

"The one and only." He replied with a swaggering expression. "I'm not her boyfriend, though. She just helped me and I wanted to return the favor."

"This is... too much to take in." Viktor rubbed his scalp and tapped his feet against the floor rhythmically. "So, our daughter doesn't have any human boyfriends?"

"You make it sound like it's a bad thing." He pointed out with some annoyance in his voice. "We're not all xenophobic Dungeons and Dragons fans." The strange final comment confused the pair a bit as the young man said it in a very dismissive way as if he was remembering something he didn't like. "I know you guys didn't have good experiences, that's horrible, but you can't judge us all that way." He crossed his arms as he said that and his brow furrowed slightly, a bit annoyed, not with the couple, but with that world in general.

"Frankie knows that you..." Viveka tried to break the tension with that question, and it resulted in Ben letting out an exhausted sigh and turning his gaze to the television where the evening news was still playing. This did not go unnoticed by the couple.

"No, and I don't know how she or her friends would react." His voice was calm, but the doubt was present in him. After what he learned and what they explained to him themselves he wasn't sure what he was going to tell them. "Things here aren't right from what I've seen."

"To say they're that 'not well' is an understatement." Viktor commented, earning a nudge from his wife. "Ouch..."

Viveka chose not to say anything else, just looked at her husband angrily.

"Since we made it clear that I'm not someone bad." Viktor demonstrated his skepticism on that aside. "Can I have my watch back? I'm supposed to be your guardian and if Azmuth finds out you took it from me so easily he's going to be very angry."

"First of all. Our daughter, where is she?"

"Well, heh, heh, this is the funny part." he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "She went to a party."

Ben didn't need to be a genius to know that his answer was not at all to the couple's liking as their expressions changed the instant he revealed that information. Serious and stern expressions adorned the faces of both adults.

"I'll get the car keys." Viktor said, standing up and walking away from his wife and guest.

Ben looked uncomfortable when he was left alone with Viveka, the woman in turn seemed nervous about his presence, so neither said anything, they just stood at a distance.

The situation made him uncomfortable since he had ratted out his friend and he was not good at handling that kind of situation, so he tactically moved his hand to the TV remote control and turned up the volume.

"Wow, that movie looks good." His comment caught Viveka's attention, she turned her attention to the TV screen and arched an eyebrow.

"How strange, that looks like Riverfront." She commented.

"Riverfront? You mean the park near the bridges?" The woman nodded in response. "What a coincidence."

Ben focused his attention on what he saw. It was a scene recorded from an aerial perspective, perhaps a helicopter. Explosions, fire, and smoke dominated the area, preventing him from seeing what was happening at ground level.

He narrowed his gaze, that didn't look like a movie at all.

"The images you are seeing seem to be straight out of a movie! But I assure you viewers that this is real! Riverfront! Our city park is being attacked by a strange kind of Monster! We don't have clear images, but...AAAAH!" The image was shown with interference after a crimson beam hit the front of the helicopter.

The room was silent. Viveka kept his eyes open as he watched the TV with a dumbfounded expression. The program presenters had the same look on their faces.

"Well, that's can't be a good omen... " Ben whispered.

---

xxx

---

BEAR WITNESS!

I MADE IT, AND AFTER MONTHS, I MADE IT! HAHAHAHAHA!

I made it through the pothole that was holding me back! And I'm back! hahaha!

I just want to say thanks for waiting and well, as you can see, Ben has returned to being Ben in a slightly more bumpy way than the previous version. Which by the way I have been giving a review. I won't get my hopes up, but maybe the discarded ideas from this version will go to that version, but first I need to create myself a little time. Why? Well… after reading it carefully, the old version didn't seem so bad, maybe I'm just too much of a perfectionist, but I have those ideas involving Ever After and I've decided not to apply them here.

Apart from that, as you saw, I try to add some drama and show more personality of the characters, like the Wolf brothers and the carousel, remembering their childhood, although I understand that they are from Brooklyn, I like to think that they came to Salem when they were kids. Or Lagoona, am I the only one who sees her as the mom of the group? She is always the mature girl who gives advice, or so I think... And Frankie is that friend who is missing some brain cells and doing stupid things. Holt, Jackson, bonus characters from the episode, I think I did pretty well.

The narrative changes between each character I don't know if they are well applied, but I think I get something good.

Especially malware. Last time I didn't express it the way I wanted. I imagined him as some kind of newborn monster, but with vague memories of himself. It is no longer a controlled thing, it is him and at the same time not.

On other topics, the World Beat Festival is something that exists and takes place in the middle of June and July, and since it is more or less that time, I decided to make a reference to that. Mixing the real world and the fictional world is fun. (by the way, I wanted to upload this much earlier but you see that it was not like that)

I wonder if they got that subtle spoiler I hid.

Leaving aside all this and the thousands of things that I would like to explain. Yes, my notes are long because it is a way of talking to you.

Some spoke to me privately or by leaving their Reviews. I have to admit, I managed to motivate myself to continue after reading them a few days ago and I read interesting things, like something from a Discord channel, I'm afraid I don't want to do that, for reasons. If you want to talk to me, you can do it, it's very cool to chat with you, I've met very friendly people, and if they read this.

Hey, que tal unos tacos?

Hahaha, stereotypes in Spanish aside. If you want to chat, let's chat! That way they know if I'm still alive or if I'm doing something.

Anyway, I already stretched it too far.

See you later.

PD: the RADIO song is... E.T - Katty Perry