And we are back baby!
More Loud 10 is always a good thing and I had a lot of fun writing this chapter since it gives focus to the other big family of the show, The Casagrandes. It also sets up one of my favorite story arcs in Ben 10 so that's a plus.
So I won't keep you here any longer so enjoy the first Loud 10 chapter of the cycle.
Also slightly changed to the name of this chapter since I decided to have it take place in Mexico instead of New Mexico, so just thought I'd bring that up.
Caw! Caw!
The call of a vulture echoed throughout a desert area. Dry ground with cacti and dry clumps of grass and of course rocks, rocks, and more rocks being seen for miles. The only thing sticking out was a single long strip of road as well as a familiar van that drove across it. But this wasn't the van of the Loud family, it was the van of the Casagrande family. Yellow in color and the family name on the side.
In the van we see the eldest Casagrande's in the front with Hector at the driver's seat and Rosa in the passenger seat. Frida, Maria, Carlos, and Bobby were in the seats behind them. Behind the adults were Carl, Carlitos, CJ, and Carlota who had a sleeping Ship in her lap and her phone in her hands texting something. And in the very back was Ronnie Anne with two other people that weren't apart of the family, Lincoln and Wendy.
About two weeks ago Hector and Rosa made an announcement that the family would be taking a trip to Mexico to visit the town where Hector was from, a way of sort of showing the family their roots as well as just having some good vacation fun in the country of Mexico. Everyone was naturally excited and so Ronnie Anne asked her Abuelo if she could possibly invite Lincoln. To which Hector was more than alright with as Lincoln was practically apart of the family.
So Ronnie Anne called up Lincoln to invite him and was excited when he said yes…then grew less excited when Lincoln asked if he could bring Wendy along. His girlfriend. Ronnie Anne had just wanted Lincoln to come along…but was unable to say no to him. So here she was in the back with Lincoln and his tall, strong, pretty Japanese girlfriend.
Hector smiled as he continued to drive forward, seeing a small town in the distant that slowly got closer the more he drove, and opened the window to let in some of the hot outside air before taking a long breath through his noise. "Aaaaahh," Hector sighed in delight after getting a whiff of the air. "It feels good to smell that fresh Mexican aire,"
"Si, si, it feels so good to be casa again." Rosa smiled fondly as she opened her window to. She loved her home in Great Lakes city, but nothing could ever beat her country of origin. Just had that special feeling to it that never failed to make her happy. "Lo he extrañado aquí."
While most of the other people in the van were happy to get a breath of the fresh Mexican air, others weren't due to how hot it was. "Ugh, can you please close the window's Abuelo." Carl asked as he fanned himself with Carlitos mimicking him. "It's starting to feel like a sauna in here,"
"Maybe you shouldn't be wearing a hoodie in the middle of summer, in Mexico," Carlota stated in an obvious tone causing Carl to growl and glare at her. Carlota then smiled a bit as she started scratching Ship's head. "You don't mind the heat though, do ya Ship?"
"Shiiiiip…" Ship purred in its sleep, leaning into Carlota's hand.
"Hey it was really nice of you to let me and Wendy come along Hector," Lincoln told the retired plumber with a grateful smile before turning to Ronnie Anne. Meanwhile Wendy had her face against the window taking in the sights. "And thanks for inviting me Ronnie Anne, I've always been curious to learn more about your guy's culture for a while now."
"Ay, think nothing of it amigo," Hector gave a friendly shrug in response and smiled. "Your practically familia, and far be it from us to separate you from your senorita, hehe."
"Heheh, t-thanks," Lincoln blushed a little in response, the blush growing hotter as Wendy put an arm around him and pulling him close so she could get some snuggling in.
"Grrrr…" Ronnie Anne silently growled in response, that burning feeling in her chest returning. It just…bothered her to see them together. But she tried to snuff that feeling away so she could talk to Lincoln normally. "Anytime lame-o, thought you'd like a break from all the superhero action,"
"And we'll be happy to teach you and Wendy all about Mexican culture," Frida told the two 11-year-olds with a smile on her face. However, she did frown a bit when she saw the look on her sobrina's face. It was a look she had whenever her husband talked to pretty much any girl while they were still in college together. She might need to talk to Ronnie Anne about it later. "You two are gonna love it so much!"
"So how long before we get there anyway?" Bobby asked with an excited grin. Out of all of Hector's nietos, Bobby was probably looking forward to the trip the most. He respected his abuelo a lot and was looking forward to seeing his hometown.
"Were still about a days away Bobby," Hector answered before pointing forward at the town that was coming up. "First we're gonna stop by that town for the night and then we'll leave first thing in the morning and should arrive at my old casa in the afternoon. That's the hometown of an old amigo of mine, one from my old days."
This got the attention of everyone in the van as all of them, sans Rosa, looked towards Hector as they quickly figured out what that meant. CJ being the first one to ask about it. "You mean from when you were an awesome space hero?!" The thirteen-year-old asked in an excited tone.
"Hahah, si CJ," Hector nodded with a hearty chuckle. "We've kept in touch all these years and since his town in on the way for our trip, I thought it would be nice to pay that cabeza hueca a visit."
"Another plumber huh?" Lincoln whispered as he looked at the badge attached to his jacket. Hopefully meeting a new plumber will go better this time.
"Well that should be pretty exciting," Maria commented as she put a finger to her chin. "Not gonna lie ever since we found out about it I've always been curious on what went on during that part of papa's life."
Hector smiled a little bit after hearing this. For the most part he just wanted to keep his life as a Plumber a secret to his entire family. He only told Rosa because he felt like his wife deserved to know, especially since there were moments where they had to cancel plans they made due to a Plumber mission popping up. But once he retired he just wanted to put that part of his life behind him and try his best not to bring it up. But once Lincoln came in with the Omnitrix and then after the whole ordeal with Ship and Carlota, there was no avoiding it.
But after revealing it to his family he felt…good. Like a massive weight had been lifted off his shoulders. And he found that he rather enjoyed telling his niños and nietos some of his old plumber stories. "Um, dad," Carlos spoke up with a bit of a worried tone. "There won't be any…surprised during this visit right?" It's not that Carlos didn't want to visit one of his dads old friends, it's just that…when Plumber and alien stuff get brought up chaos seems to happen and after the whole stuff involving Ship and with his oldest child being a super hero he's had enough stuff to stress about to last the summer.
"Oh relax mijo," Hector waved off his sons concerns, completely expecting them. "This will be a simple visit nothing more. It's a small town, not much happens and we'll be on our way first thing in the morning."
"Well…if you say so," Carlos was still a bit concerned, but let it go for now.
As Hector continued to drive forward, Lincoln leaned closer to Ronnie Anne and whispered into her ear. "So how's the magic stuff going?" Lincoln made sure no one else could hear what he said as so far the only family members that knew Ronnie Anne was dabbling in magic was Carlota.
"Eh," Ronnie Anne made a so-so gesture in response. "It's kind of hard to get down. With the charm it just kinda…did the magic for me. But with the staff I have to use magic that comes from me, which I have no idea how that works. Doesn't help that I don't know any actual spells. Just kind of frustrating I guess."
"Well just keep trying," Lincoln encouraged her as he put a hand on her shoulder. "I know you can do it, you're smart like that,"
The gesture and the words caused Ronnie Anne to blush as she gave a small smile. "Thanks La…Lincoln," Ronnie Anne caught herself and used Lincoln's actual name for this one. However the blush quickly faded as Ronnie Anne looked towards Wendy and was once again reminded that Lincoln was a taken man. "So um…how things going between you…two."
"Oh they're going really well!" Lincoln answered with a big smile as Ronnie Anne simply nodded and forced a smile onto her face so Lincoln wouldn't catch onto her jealousy. "We haven't really been able to have a proper date yet due to, well, all kinds of things really but we've still had some moments to ourselves and it's just…really nice. We've hung out before but it feels like there's just more to it know ya know."
"Yep, yep…" Ronnie Anne bit her lip and just nodded her head more and looked away from Lincoln so he wouldn't see any breaks in her expression. "That's great man just…really…freaking great…"
"Um, thanks?" Lincoln rose a brow at the tone Ronnie Anne used. He wanted to ask about it but if there's anything he's learned from living with so many woman in his life is that you don't asking about their weight, age, or their tone. So he just left it alone.
The rest of the car ride was rather uneventful and the Casagrande's eventually entered the small tone which had house made from clay and stone with wood only being used for the doors and various frames. Stands littered the streets and many people could be seen walking around going about their day. After a few more minutes, Hector was able to find a place to park the van. Once it was parked everyone eagerly got out so they could finally stretch their legs and get off their butts. "Alright gang, mi amigo said he'd be waiting for us outside of a restaurant called El jardín de los diablos, so come on! Vamos! Vamos!" No one argued and followed Hector so they could go meet this old friend of is and officially start their visit to this town.
…Missing a tailed shadowy figure standing on a faraway roof.
It only took the group about 10 minutes to reach the restaurant and along the way Carl, Ronnie Anne, and Lincoln ditched their hoodies and jacket respectively and wrapped it around their waist due to the intense Mexican heat. It wasn't as bad as it could be, especially since it was summer, but it was certainly a scorcher. "This the place?" Wendy asked as she looked up at the sign of the restaurant and sure enough it was El jardín de los diablos like Hector said. Sniffing the air, Wendy smiled as she smelled the food inside. "Oh wow…that smells amazing!"
"Si senorita, you're in for quite the treat." Hector told Wendy as he patted the girls shoulder and pointed into the restaurant. "Get ready for your first taste of true authentic Mexican food!"
"Ahem!" Hector flinched as he looked to see his wife crossing her arms and glaring at him.
"Oooooo, abuelo's in trouble~" CJ said as he pointed at Hector.
"N-N-Not to s-say your, um, cooking i-isn't authentic Rosa, q-quite the opposite!" Hector quickly said in a desperate attempt to save his hide. "I-I-I just m-meant in a resteraunt you know? L-Like th-the way they prepare it, and, um…hey! Where's mi amigo! He should be around here somewhere so where is he!?"
"Right here amigo!"
"AIYEEEEEEE!" Hector suddenly yelled out as someone suddenly snuck behind him, reached for his underwear, and gave him a big wedgie.
"Hahahahahah!" The sight caused pretty much everyone to laugh or at least chuckle.
"Classic!" Ronnie Anne said as she wiped a tear of laughter away.
Rosa simply smirked and crossed her arms. "Hmph, serves you right," She was about to chew him out for his words, but it looked like he got punished enough.
"Hahaha, all these years later and you still fall right into my traps," The man who gave Hector a wedgie laughed as Hector grumbles and started to fix up his under garments. The man who did it was pretty much an exact opposite of Hector appearance-wise. While Hector was short, plump, and lacked hair on his head, this man was tall, thin, and had a full head of gray hair with a few strands of black. His skin tone was similar to Hector's though and he also had a mustache though his was thinner then the elder Casagrande. He wore a dark green shirt along with a dark blue opened up jacket and black jeans along with brown sandals. "Some things never change do they Hector?"
"Jodete, hijo de puta," Hector grumbled after finishing fixing up his underwear and glared at the man. "Just you wait, one day I'm gonna get you good,"
"I doubt it amigo," The man said with a joke smirk as he patted Hector on the shoulder. Hector simply grumbled more, but the man then put on a more friendly smile as he pulled Hector into a one-armed hug. "For real though, it is great to see you again Hector. It's been too long."
"Sí, realmente tiene." After a little bit Hector calmed down and he returned the one-armed hug. He could never stay mad at this knucklehead. "I'm glad we could take the time to visit. And I'd like you to meet mi familia! Everyone, this is my old amigo Juan!"
"Who you call old ya geezer!" Juan smirked as he lightly shoved Hector with Hector chuckling and shoving Juan back.
"Let me introduce you too mi niños, Maria and Carlos, mi hijastra Frida, and all my nietos Carlota, CJ, Carl, and Carlitos on Carlos' side and Ronnie Anne and Bobby on Maria's side!" Hector gestures to each of his family members as he introduced them to Juan. He then gestured to Lincoln and Wendy. "And this here is Lincoln Loud, grandson of Albert Baxter and his novia Wendy!" Lastly Hector gestured to his wife. "And I'm sure you remember my lovely wife Rosa!"
"Si, how could I forget," Juan chuckled as he looked at Rosa and rubbed his left cheek. "I could never forget the time she whacked me with her chancla."
"And as I recall you completely deserved it," Rosa smirked at Juan as she put her hands to her hips as she remembered perfectly the time she did that.
"Won't argue with that," Juan fully admitted before smiling and walking up to Lincoln. "So you're the nieto of ole Baxter huh? Well let me tell ya something niño your Abuelo was really something back in the day,"
"Yeah, believe me I know," Lincoln said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the plumber badge Phil gave him, Lincoln having taken it off his jacket earlier when he took it off. "I've been learning a lot about it,"
At seeing the badge Juan froze as his eyes widened. "Esa insignia..." Juan immediately turned to Hector and pointed at his family. "Do they…"
"Si Juan, they do," Hector confirmed with a nod. "All of them, it's a long story."
"…Hahahaha! Well I can't wait to here it!" With the chance to reminisce about the old days without the worry of keeping it a secret, Juan was even more excited to get some time to spend with his old Plumber buddy and his family and their guest. "Come! Come! Let's eat and then I'll show you all the hotspots around town!"
"Sounds good to me!" Hector laughed as he patted his stomach. "I feel like I could eat a caballo right now."
"Ah so you've had a bit to eat then on the ride here?"
"¡Cállate!"
"Well this should be a fun visit," Maria laughed as everyone else followed the two elderly men inside.
TWO HOURS LATER
And so, after a nice meal at the restaurant and Juan getting to know the family as well as Juan telling them a bit about himself. He had and Hector were pretty much partners from the start when they first joined the plumbers, going on all sorts of missions together both on planet and off, this went on for a decade until Juan had to take an early retirement due to an injury he sustained during an intense war with an alien species known as Sludge Puppies, though Juan eventually made a full recovery he decided not to come back and live the simple life with Hector joining Albert and Phil's team.
After eating Juan showed the Casagrande's around town, showing them some of his favorite stores and stands and eventually showing them a plaza area, which was filled with all sorts of street performers like mariachi, people painting fantastic pieces in just a few minutes, someone performing magic tricks, and someone using cans and buckets as drums and sounding quite good. And there were various stands selling things from food to all sorts of trinkets. And in the center of the entire plaza was a big fountain with water that sparkled in the sunlight.
All of the Casagrande's were spread out and enjoying various parts of the plaza. Carlota had stolen Ronnie Anne and Wendy to go to a cloths store she saw. Frida, Maria, and Carlos were getting a painting of the three of them together done, CJ and Carlos were simply running around and checking everything out with Bobby watching them, and Rosa had taken Carlitos to watch a band of mariachi. All that left was Lincoln with Hector and Juan, the three of them sitting by the fountain and the two telling the Loud boy stories from their days as Plumbers.
"Wow! You two did so much cool stuff together!" Lincoln said as Juan just finished telling Lincoln about how he and Hector took down an entire hoard of Vulpamancers by themselves.
"You better believe we did amigo!" Juan bragged as he gave Lincoln a friendly slap on the back. "Back in the day me and Hector were known as the dos bolas de fuegos!" Juan then pointed at the Omnitrix on Lincoln's wrist and smirked a bit. "And it looks like you're following a bit in your Abuelo's footsteps."
"Hehe, guess I am," Lincoln said as he looked at the alien watch. Honestly it all feels so hard to believe even after all this time. And the summer feels like it's going by both quickly and slowly at the same time. Lincoln wouldn't have it any other way. "Lots of things have changed over the summer and really, I wouldn't change a thing. No matter how insane they get."
"Aye! Now that's the spirit Lincoln!" Hector complimented the boy as he patted his shoulder a few times. "If only the Plumbers still operated on earth, you would have been a great one I know it,"
"Wow, you really think so?" Lincoln blushed sheepishly at the compliments he was receiving. But before he could response…
"Hey Lincoln!" Suddenly Carlota ran up to Lincoln with an eager smile on her face. "I think I found the perfect dresses for Ronnie Anne and Wendy! Tell me what you think?"
Lincoln looked forward and quickly found himself rather stunned by the sight. "H-Hey…" Ronnie Anne blushed as she slowly walked up to Lincoln, feeling a bit self-conscious right now. All for one reason, she was wearing a dress. Something she usually dries to avoid but Carlota just wouldn't let up about it. So here she was, presenting herself to Lincoln wearing a white single layer shoulderless dress with a flora pattern around her chest and the middle of the bottom half of the chest.
"Wow…" Lincoln blinked a few times before giving Ronnie Anne a genuine smile. "You look great!"
Ronnie Anne blinked a few times in surprise and found herself blushing a little bit. "R-Really?" Ronnie Anne was honestly expecting Lincoln to tease her a bit. She's made sure to build up the reputation of a tough tomboy and now here she was wearing something girly in front of one of the only people whose opinion really mattered to her. "You think so?"
"Yeah! Never seen you where a dress before," Lincoln commented, though it wasn't anything to make fun of her at all. "You really make it work."
"Gee…thanks…" Ronnie Anne found a tiny smile coming to her face as her heart started beating a little faster.
"He's right mija," Hector told his granddaughter with a smile. "You look like the perfect joya you are."
"Oh Lincoln~!" Completely taking Lincoln's attention away from Ronnie Anne was the voice of Wendy as she eagerly ran forward wearing her own dress. "How do I look?"
Lincoln took a look at Wendy and immediately found his face going red as he looked at his girlfriend. "U-U-U-Uh…" Lincoln was unable to find words for the sight. Wendy was wearing a shoulderless black dress that was five layers. There were hot pink high lights on each layer that made the main color pop out and, like Ronnie Anne's dress, there were flora patterns on each layer with each flower being a vibrate and bright color that contrasted well with the dress. "You…look…wow…"
"Aw, thank you," Wendy blushed and smiled sheepishly a bit before walking up to her boyfriend and giving him a kiss on the cheek that only made him go even more red with Wendy giggling and Carlota, Hector and Juan chuckling at the sight.
The only one not getting any enjoyment at the sight was Ronnie Anne. "Grrrrrr!" Her face went a bit red with rage as she turned away from the sight, crossed her arms and harshly kicked a nearby rock away. Just when she thought she had Lincoln's attention of course Wendy had to come in and one up her. If that girl wasn't so freakishly strong she would-
Drip!
"Huh?" Ronnie Anne's rage was halted as she felt something drip on her nose. Looking up, she was suddenly hit with another drop of water that fell on her cheek.
Drip! Drip! Drip!
And in a matter of seconds, it started to sprinkle causing everyone to look up and see dark storm clouds suddenly appearing with the rain getting heavier by the second. "Maldita sea." Hector groaned out as he put his hands over his head. "Of course it rained today of all days."
"Strange…" Juan frowned as he held his hand out to feel the rain. "It's the middle of the dry season…there shouldn't be any rain for a while."
BOOM!
"AAAAAAAAHHHH!" Suddenly the sound of lightning striking the ground nearby got everyone's attention followed by the scream of someone who almost hit.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
More lightning struck the ground and caused large clouds of smoke to appear all over the plaza. As nearly everyone started running away, some noticed something strange about this lighting. It was purple. "What's going on!?" Wendy yelled as she covered her head.
As a bolt struck the ground behind Lincoln, the Loud boy flinched and turned around…a saw a figure in the smoke. It looked like a large bidepal wolf with glowing purple eyes that glared right at him. "Why don't you ask him!" The white head let out as he quickly started to back away.
The purple eyes of the wolf creature seemed to glare at everyone. Juan gasped loudly before the wolf turned around and ran away. Before anyone could say or do anything, the ground started shaking as Juan and Hector turned around to see a large wave of water heading their way. "FLASH FLOOD!" Juan yelled out, getting everyone's attention
"EVERYONE CLIMB UP ON THE ROOFS!" Hector yelled as everyone ran off to do just that, not putting up any argument.
"Don't have to tell me twice!" Carlos yelled as he helped Frida, who was tightly carrying Carlitos in her arms, up to one of the roofs of the nearby houses. Bobby quickly grabbed CJ and Carl and, with a bit of struggle, managed to get them to safety as well. Hector and Juan quickly went to Rosa and got the three of them up as well with Lincoln, Wendy, Ronnie Anne, and Carlota quickly running to the closest house and climbing up. Wendy was the last up but before she could make it to the top-
WHOOSH!
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Wendy screamed as she was washed up by the water, quickly submerging in the rushing flash flood.
"WENDY!" Lincoln yelled out for his girlfriend, concern quickly filling his being.
Bubbles appeared at the spot Wendy was as she emerged again, barely able to keep her head above water as she flailed her arms around. "H-HELP!" Wendy yelled out, fear clear in her expression as her head went under again, Wendy doing everything she could to get her head back up and keep herself from sinking. "I-I CAN'T SWIM!"
Oh…that was not something Lincoln knew about her. "HOLD ON! I'M COMING!" More determined then ever to save her after hearing that, Lincoln quickly activated the Omnitrix and started turning it until he found Ampfibian's icon. "It's hero time!" Lincoln then slammed down the core and…
Nothing.
"H-Huh?" Lincoln eye's widened as he tried to slam it a few more times but once again there was nothing. "No! No! No! No! Not now!"
"Don't worry Lincoln! I got her!" Suddenly running and jumping into the water was Carlota who wore a determined expression as she yelled. "Ship! Armor up!"
"Ship! Ship!" After hearing that, Ship leapt out of Carlota's purse and proceeded to jump onto Carlota's head and quickly turn into armor mode and in a matter of seconds Carlota turned into the Techno Tornado.
Landing in the water with a splash, Carlota activated the thrusters on her boots to essentially fly through the water. Looking forward she found Wendy under the water and desperately trying to get back up but no matter what she did the Japanese girl just seemed to sink like a rock, and it was clear she was running out of breath and fast. Boosting over to her, Carlota quickly grabbed Wendy before positioning herself up and flying out of the water. "You ok?" Carlota asked once they were in the air.
Wendy coughed a few times, spitting out some water, and then nodded at Carlota. "Y-Yeah, I'm ok." Wendy coughed a few times before looking at her soaked dress. "Sorry…I think the dress is ruined."
"Hey don't worry about," Carlota said as she started hovering over to where Lincoln and Ronnie Anne were. "We're just glad you're ok."
After landing, Carlota gently laid Wendy down on her back with Lincoln immediately rushing to his girlfriend to see if she was ok. Meanwhile Ronnie Anne just watched the scene while letting out a saddened sigh as Carlota put a hand on her shoulder.
As this was happening, they missed to see the wolf-like creature on top of a nearby satellite tower…stealing the satellite dish.
A COUPLE HOURS LATER
A few hours had passed and thankfully both the raining and the flooding at stopped. Everyone was now dried off as Juan led them to the town's museum. It was all about that creature they saw as the rain and lightning started. "Didn't know you couldn't swim," Lincoln said to Wendy as they walked through the halls of the museum, in the back of their group. "You never learned?"
"Well…I tried to," Wendy explained with a bit of an anxious expression as she hugged herself. "Like I told you I didn't go out much, or well…ever, before coming to Michigan. When we moved here my mom did take me to some swimming lessons so I could learn but…it never really worked out. Whenever I tried to swim I would just sink to the bottom no matter what I did. So my mom just told me to try and avoid the water from now on."
"Well hey, it's ok," Lincoln reassured her as he took her hand into his own. "We all got things we aren't so good at,"
"Hehe, thanks," The gesture managed to make Wendy smile and blush cutely.
Over in the front of the group were Hector, Juan, and Carlota with Ship being on the latters shoulders and being inspected by Juan. "I've seen Galvanic Mechamorphs before but none like this," Juan stated as he scratched under Ships chin, getting a purr from the alien dog. "Heheh, he is a lindo one though,"
"Heheh, you bet he is," Carlota gushed as she started to pet Ship. "He's my precious baby, aren't you Ship~"
"Shiiiiiip." Ship let out, delighted by all the attention he was getting.
Juan chuckled a bit before his face turned more serious. Looking forward, he stopped and gestured to thing he wanted to show the Casagrande's. "And I certainly never expected to see this tonight," The display showed a wooden carving of a large wolf like creature terrorizing a bunch of people, the eyes of the wolf in the display red as opposed to the creature's purple. There were patterns of cactus lining the drawing as well as a large full moon in the background. "The Hombre-lobo…"
"The Hombre-what?" Carl asked with a confused look.
"The Hombre-lobo, the werewolf," Juan explained to the group. "Its presence is a sign of pure evil, there's a legend about this town. It used to be much bigger over 400 years ago, but one day a Hombre-Lobo appeared and struck terror through the town for three entire days, and during that time there were no survivors and the entire town was torn to the ground."
"S-S-S-So, w-wait," Bobby stuttered, fear quickly taking control of him. "T-That things g-gonna back and k-kill us all?!"
Well…s-s-so much f-for a normal t-trip…" Carlos was just as afraid as his sobrino was.
"Not on my watch it won't," Juan said with a determined look and tone as he cracked his knuckles. "I have some supplies back at my house, we'll stop by that, hunt down that lobo, and put an end to him once and for all,"
"Yeah! Let's do it!" CJ yelled out excitedly.
"Oh no, not you CJ," Hector said sternly. Hector rarely put on the stern look and tone, usually Rosa was the one to do that, but during this situation he knew about the dangers that could occur. After all he was part of situations like this many times in the past. "Rosa, Frida, Maria, Carlos, you all head to our motel and take Carlitos, Carl, CJ, Ronnie Anne, and Wendy with you. Make sure they stay there. Lincoln, Bobby, Carlota, you three will come with me and Juan."
"You'll get to see some old plumbers in action," Juan said with a smirk, a bit of excitement rising in him over this. True things were getting serious, but it just made him feel nostalgic.
"Aw come on!" Carl complained with a loud groan. "I wanna help hunt a werewolf too!"
But Rosa was quick to grab Carl's arm in a tight grip. "De ninguna manera Carl!" Rosa yelled out in a tone that showed their was no room for arguments. "It's way to dangerous for you, fin de la historia!"
"But Bobby gets to go!" Carl protested as he gestured to Bobby, who was frozen in place after hearing he would have to go. "I'm way braver than he is,"
"W-Wait, Mr. Casagrande I wanna go too," Wendy said as she stepped up to the two old plumbers. "I promise I can help out!"
"Hmmmm, I don't know," Hector scratched his head, a worried look on his face. He knew what Wendy was capable of as Lincoln as filled him in on his girlfriend's strange abilities. But he was a little worried she might not be in great condition after what happened earlier. "Are you sure you're ok after the flood?"
"Yes." Wendy then reached into her pocket and pulled out her metal rod, quickly turning it into its hammer form and shocking everyone except Lincoln as she effortlessly held it over her shoulder. "I am,"
"…Well I'm convinced," Juan said with a small chuckle. "Alright, let's head to my place then we'll hit the field."
"Y-Y-Yes sir…" Bobby gulped a bit in nervous.
"Hold on! I wanna come to!" Ronnie Anne waved her hand around and ran up to ones who were leaving on the mission. "Let me help!"
"Lo siento Ronnie Anne, I don't think it's a good idea," Juan shook his head with a small frown. He could definitely see the fire in her eyes, but it was too dangerous for her to come along since she didn't have any special abilities like Lincoln and Wendy.
"But-But-But…" Ronnie Anne tried to find an argument to make in her favor.
"Maybe some other time Ronnie Anne," Hector patted her shoulder a few times before he took off with Juan, Lincoln, Carlota, Bobby, and Wendy.
"Come Mija, let us go," Rosa gently told her as the others went to where they would be staying. "They will be ok,"
"Yeah…sure…" But Ronnie Anne eyes narrowed on the wolf hunting group.
Oh, she was going.
Night had now fallen, and Juan, Hector, Lincoln, Bobby, Wendy, and Carlota had set out to the fields surrounding the town. Luck was on their said as they managed to find tracks that the Hombre-lobo left behind. So after stopping by Juans house for some supplies, they were ready to take on the Mexican monster. Hector, Juan, and Bobby all had heavy packs on with all of them having a pouch attached to their belt that held pistols loaded up with silver bullets, Wendy had her hammer, and Carlota was in her Ship suit with the face plate lowered.
As Juan crouched down to the ground to examine some prints, Hector smiled fondly as a memory came back to him. "You know, this reminds me of the time we were up in the Himalayas searching for the yeti." Hector recalled, getting a chuckle out of Juan.
"Si, I also remember you freezing up like a paleta de hielo," Juan said as Hector let out a huff and crossed his arms.
"Wow, you found the Yeti abuelo?" Bobby said in admiration as he looked around with a flashlight. "And Lori said he was fake."
"Hmmmm," Juan hummed before pointing forward. "It went that way,"
Ahead of them was a large canyon, and they would be going right through the middle, "Well, that seems safe," Carlota said before pressing a button on the left side of her helmet and lowering her visor. "So what do we do when we find this thing?"
"Simple," Juan stated as he took out his pistol. "We aim, take fire, and put an end to him for good."
"Simple yet effective." Wendy chirped as the group went forward to explore the canyon. "I like it,"
"Oof!"
"Huh?" Lincoln let out as he and the rest of the group heard someone falling down close behind him. Shining his light on the source of the noise, they saw Ronnie Anne who had tripped on a small rock. "Ronnie Anne? What are you doing here?"
"Um, h-hey guys," Ronnie Anne nervously waved to everyone.
"Ronnie Anne…" Hector frowned, not to happy to see that his nieta had disobeyed orders and followed them out here. "I told you to stay back with the others."
"I know but I can help!" Ronnie Anne told her abuelo with narrowed eyes as she stopped firmly on the ground. "I'm not just some helpless little girl you know!"
"Well, there's nothing we can do about it now. It'd be to dangerous for her to head back on her own," Juan stated, though not happy with the situation either. "Alright, you can come. But stay close and do everything we say, capiche?"
"Si senor," Ronnie Anne nodded as she joined the group…planting herself between Wendy and Lincoln.
"Um, everything ok Ronnie Anne?" Lincoln asked with a confused tone. "You've been acting…weird lately."
"Nope! Everythings fine," Ronnie Anne answered firmly.
But her brother knew better, he knew what was going on with Ronnie Anne the whole time. Call it brothers' intuition. "Hey Ronnie Anne," Bobby spoke up to her brother in a concerned tone. "If you ever need to talk-"
"I said I'm fine, ok?" Ronnie Anne told her brother, giving him a glare that made Bobby flinch a bit. "All I need to do is help you guys find and kill a werewolf."
Needless to say, things were a bit awkward now.
But despite this little hiccup, the group persisted forward and eventually traveled up the canyon. Along the way, they saw sparks of light and heard what sounded like a blowtorch against metal. Growing confused, the group looked around for the source until Carlota pointed downward towards a nearby crevice. "It's coming from over there," She whispered to everyone.
Peaking through the crevice, everyone saw a rather bizarre sight. The hombre-lobo was down there, along with a giant pile of scrap, including the satellite he stole earlier during the flood. "What the…what's going on down there?" Wendy asked with a confused tone. Looking at the Hombre-lobo, they saw it was welding two pieces of machinery together. "Do werewolves normally do this? They never do this in those movies Lori and Leni show me,"
"So the werewolf is a tech nerd, so what," Ronnie Anne said with a shrug. Granted she was a bit weirded out by the sight as well, but it wouldn't matter once the mutt was down. "We just gotta take it down right?"
"Si," Juan whispered and nodded as he took out his pistol and aimed it right at the werewolf's head. "Say buenas noches amigo…"
Juan then switched off the guns safety with an audible clicking sound.
But this sound alerted the wolf of their presence as its ear twitched, and it let out a loud snarl as it dodged the silver bullet and started chasing after the ground on all fours, running up the steep incline. "It's coming!" Juan yelled as Hector took out his pistol and aimed it at the werewolf as well. "Fuego! Fuego!"
"A-AH!" Bobby yelled as he stumbled a bit pulling his gun out and struggled to aim it as Hector and Juan fired at the werewolf, even Carlota started firing blast out of her arm cannon. But the creature was too quick and was able to dodge the projectiles easily and eventually made it's way up to the group where it swiped at all of them causing them all to jump back, losing their footing and falling off the spot they were on and down into the bottom of the canyon.
Carlota was quick to react and formed a jetpack on the back of her suit and flew around to catch both Bobby, Wendy, and Ronnie Anne. With Lincoln, Hector, and Juan still falling Lincoln quickly activated the Omnitrix and switched to Big Chill's silhouette. "Please work this time!" Lincoln yelled as he slammed down the core. Sure enough, it worked…sort of. Instead of turning into Big Chill, "Goop! Aw man!" Deciding to work with what he got, Goop zipped over to Hector and Juan and brought them into his body before forming himself into a ball and-
SPLAT!
Splatting all over the ground with Juan and Hector landing on their butts, Goops body thankfully cushioning the fall. "Well, that could have been worse," Hector said as he rubbed his bum. He then flicked off some orange slime left on his body. "And cleaner as well…"
"True, but it was quite a sight to see the Omnitrix in action," Juan said with a smile as he stood up, helping Hector onto his feet as well. "That was amazing amigo!"
Goops saucer then came in and gathered up all the goo that splattered over the area and formed Goop back into his humanoid form, "Thanks, I try my best," Goop groaned out as he tried to get over his head rush. "You two are ok right?"
"Si Lincoln, we're ok." Hector reassured the transformed boy.
The sound of a jetpack got everyone's attention as they looked to see Carlota landing right in front of them, setting Wendy, Bobby, and Ronnie Anne on the ground. "Where did it go?" Ronnie Anne asked as she looked around.
"There!" Carlota pointed into the distance at the Hombre-lobo climbing a nearby wall. Its shadow was hard to see, but its eyes were clear as day. "I'll go after it!"
"Me too!" Goop said as both he and Carlota took off after the wolf.
"Wait!" Juan tried to call to them, but it was too late, and they were in hot pursuit.
With the Hombre-lobo, it had managed to reach the top of the cliff it just climbed and looked around to see if it had been followed. Suddenly its ears twitched once more as it jumped out of the way of a barrage of green energy blast that rain down from the sky. "Hey!" Growling, the Hombre-lobo looked up to see Carlota descending from the sky, landing a few yards in front of the creature. "We got some unfinished business!"
"Ship! Ship!" Ship chirped up.
The wolf let out a loud snarl as an orange slimy fist emerged from under it and delivering an uppercut that sent it flying back a bit. Goop then reformed back into his humanoid form and stood next to Carlota while glaring at the wolf. "No getting away this time you mutt!" Goop yelled out as the wolf stood on all fours and let out a vicious growl.
"Let's get him!" Carlota yelled as he jumped back and aimed her arm cannon at the Hombre-lobo and fired waves of green energy at the wolf. The wolf showed how fast it could be on all fours and dodged all the attacks, the blast covering the ground with ice as they made connected.
Goop decided to get up close and personal and zipped right up to the Hombre-lobo and slammed his body right into the wolfs, sending him to the ground. The werewolf growled as it slashed its claws at Goop, only for them to go through the Loud boy and leaving orange slime on the wolfs claws. It growled, but soon let out a whine as the slime left over on its claws started to burn, the Hombre-lobo quickly flicking it off before any real damage could be done. "Heh, looks like you can't even touch me!" Goop yelled out before he punched the wolf right in the muzzle before stretching out his other arm and grabbing it by its arm and flinging it in Carlota's direction. "Carlota! Heads up!"
"Right!" Carlota then formed her arm cannon into a gauntlet and when the wolf came into range Carlota punched it in the stomach with full force and sent it back to while turning her gauntlet back into an arm cannon and taking arm as she charged up an attack. "Hold it in place!"
"Got it!" Goop quickly acted and caught the Hombre-lobo as it came back turns him and wrapped his entire body around the wolf and kept it held in place, the hombre-lobo struggling to get out. "Now!"
"Here it comes!" Carlota made sure she was aiming directly at the wolf before firing, sending a large green blast that exploded upon impact that sent the wolf flying and Goop splattering all over the place. "You ok Linc?!"
After a few moments, Goop's saucer collected all the slime and formed him back to his usual form. "A-Ok!" Goop sent a Carlota a thumbs up before a growling sound got his attention. Looking towards the hombre-lobo, Goop saw it standing back up with a vicious glare, the fur on its chest singed black. "What? You want some of this?" Goop rose his fist to challenge the wolf…only to hear a familiar beeping sound as well as the Omnitrix flashing red. "No! No! Not now!"
But in a flash of red, Goop turned back into Lincoln. The Loud boy gulping as the wolf glared down at him. "So…no hard feelings right?" A loud snarl and swipe of the wolfs claws that Lincoln narrowly dodged was the answer he received. "Carlota! Help!"
"I'm coming!" Carlota then activated the thrusters on her boost and tried to fly over to Lincoln, but the hombre-lobo was able to swipe its claws at Carlota's chest and send her away, Ship letting out a welp of pain.
"Uh-oh…" Lincoln looked up as the hombre-lobo raised up its claws again and-
SLASH!
"AAAAAHHHH!" Lincoln let out as the hombre-lobo swiped its claws at Lincoln. The Loud boy rose up his arm at the last second to try and protect himself and it actually words as the hombre-lobo's claws swiped at the Omnitrix instead of Lincoln himself. While this protected Lincoln from getting hurt, it did cause something to happen to the Omnitrix.
It glowed yellow with sparks flying out of it.
"Ugh…" Lincoln groaned as he landed on his back, hearing the growling of the hombre-lobo coming closer as-
"LEAVE HIM ALONE!"
SLAM!
The wolf suddenly let out a loud whelp as, coming to her boyfriend's aid, Wendy suddenly appeared and hit the wolf's head with her hammer as hard as she could, her eyes turning a blazing red as she did so. The hombre-lobo was launched back a great distance and was a bit dazed as it tried to step back up, but was able to react in time as Juan fired his gun at the wolf, leading to the hombre-lobo to retreat once again, leaping off the cliff side. Once it was gone Lincoln's Omnitrix stopped glowing yellow, the Loud boy not noticing at all.
"We were so close!" Juan yelled as he slammed his fist on the ground. A little later, the group had decided to rest up a bit and set up camp. They built a fire as well as put up two tents and were eating some rations they brought with them. "It was right there!"
"Sorry Juan…" Wendy apologized with a lowered head. She blamed herself a bit for letting the hombre-lobo getting away as she just rushed in and yeeted it away without thinking, giving it a chance to escape. "Guess I shouldn't have just ran ahead like that,"
Juan let out a small sigh before giving Wendy a small smile. "No está bien," Juan reassured the young girl. "You were just trying to protect your novio, I'd do the same in your position,"
"Yeah…thanks a lot…for that Wendy…" Lincoln said…while scratching himself. A lot. All over. "Still can't believe I…got out of that…unscatched."
"Uh, you sure?" Ronnie Anne asked as she and most of the others looked at him strangely. "Most fine people don't scratch themselves like monkey's."
"It's probably just the mosquitos eating him alive over there," Bobby stated before reaching into his bag and pulling out a can of bug spray and tossing it to the Loud boy. "I got you bro,"
"Thanks Bobby," Lincoln said as he caught the can in one hand while he kept scratching with the other. Lincoln was quick to spray himself over, causing Wendy to cough and back away from her boyfriend, to hopefully rid himself of any mosquitos that decided to use him as a midnight snack. But even after coating his entire body, the itching never stopped. In fact it seemed to get worse. "Ugh! I still itch like crazy!"
It got to the point where Lincoln ended up taking off his shoes and started scratching his foot…and ended up using his foot to scratch his head like a dog. But that wasn't the only thing happened to him. "U-U-Um…L-Lincoln…" Wendy spoke up as she and everyone starred at Lincoln with shocked expressions. "Somethings…happening to you,"
"What? What do you mean?" Lincoln asked with a confused expression as he finally stopped scratching himself.
"Here, see for yourself," Carlota reached into her pocket and pulled out a pocket mirror and through it to Lincoln.
Opening it up, Lincoln looked at his reflection and gasped loudly. "What the?!" Lincoln was…changing. But not the way he usually does with the Omnitrix. His skin had turned a pure white color, his hair was growing longer and messier with sideburns growing on his face and his eyebrows becoming thicker. His ears were now pointy and more canine-like, same goes for his teeth which were growing sharper. He had claws on his fingers and toes and his eyes changed from their normal green color to red.
"Is this another one of your transformations by any chance?" Bobby asked in a confused tone. He's seen Lincoln's transformations before but they completely change him.
"Oh no…" Juan immediately stood up and walked over to Lincoln, inspecting him. "Lincoln you must tell me, did the hombre-lobo bite or scratch you at all?"
"Um, let me think…" Lincoln hummed a bit as he thought back to the fight he and Carlota had with the werewolf. "It did twice, once when I was Goop and the other time when I turned back. But it didn't even leave any marks on me, and its claws just went right through me as Goop harmlessly."
"Lincoln, this is very serious." Juan explained in a grave tone. "The hombre-lobo has the power to turn others into its image through a bite or a scratch. And when its victims fully turned, they seek out to destroy those close to them."
"Oh…" Lincoln gulped as he quickly felt a pit in his stomach.
"Well is there anyway we can change him back!?" Both Wendy and Ronnie Anne said in unison, looking at each other after the matter with Ronnie Anne quickly turning away and whistling.
"Wait hold on!" Carlota suddenly yelled out with a panicked looked as she held her chest in her hands. "That thing scratched me too! D-Does that m-mean I'm gonna start turning into one too!"
Before Juan could response, Lincoln spoke up. "I don't think so," The Loud boy shook his head as he once again thought back to the fight. "When he scratched you, you were wearing your armor. Ship probably protected."
"Yes," Juan nodded as he looked at the little alien dog. "And I don't believe the curse would work on a techno-organic being like Ship."
Carlota breathed a sigh of relief as she picked up Ship and snuggled him against her face. "Gracias, dulzura," Carlota thanked as Ship snuggled up to the 17-teen-year old.
"And as for you Lincoln, there is a way we can reverse this," Juan then picked up his pistol and loaded more silver bullets into it. "If we can kill the hombre-lobo before the full moon reaches its highest point, then you should turn back."
"Then it means we have no time to lose!" Hector said with a determined look as he picked up his pistol as well. "Come on everyone, no hay tiempo que perder. We need to find that beast as soon as possible, so to better our chances at finding it we're going to split up. Lincoln, Carlota, you will come with me and Juan. We will investigate that area we first found the hombre-lobo at, it's liar could be somewhere nearby. Bobby, you take Ronnie Anne and Wendy around the perimeter of that area incase it's surveying its territory." Hector then reached into his backpack and pulled out a flare gun, handing it to Ronnie Anne. "You spot it, you signal us immediately, bien?"
"Puedes contar conmigo abuelo!" Ronnie Anne gave Hector a salute as she took the flare gun.
Before they split up, Wendy went over to Lincoln and gave him a quick hug. "Be careful ok?" Wendy told him gently before separating and looking over Lincoln before giggling a bit. "Ya know, you're kind of cute like this,"
"I-I am?" Lincoln stuttered with a blush.
"Uh-huh," Wendy nodded her head with a smile. "You look like one of those dog boys from anime!"
"Lincoln! Vamos! Vamos!" Juan called out to the Loud boy.
"R-Right! Sorry!" Lincoln said as he started following after Hector, Juan, and Carlota with the latter already putting on their Ship armor. "Good luck Wendy!" Lincoln then waved to Wendy as both groups set off…both missing the jealous look from Ronnie Anne.
BOBBY'S GROUP
"Alright everyone, keep your eyes out. It could be anywhere," Bobby said as he, Wendy, and Ronnie Anne surveyed the canyon around to look for the hombre-lobo. So far the search was dry, but they needed to make sure and not leave a single spot unsearched. Bobby was acting far braver than usual, most likely driven to save Lincoln after the Loud boy started to transform into an hombre-lobo. "And remember Ronnie Anne, the second we find it you shoot that flare up to signal abuelo and the others."
"I know Bobby," Ronnie Anne said with an eye roll. "Just like the last two times you reminded me,"
"He's just making sure Ronnie Anne," Wendy told the Hispanic girl as she held her hammer over her shoulder, keeping an eye out for the wolf beast. "We need to stay focused, Lincoln's humanity is on the line here,"
"Grrrr…" Ronnie Anne growled a bit in frustration as she turned to glare at Wendy. "Obviously I know that! You don't have to remind me that your boyfriends in trouble string bean!"
"Ronnie Anne!" Bobby scolded his little sister for how she talked to Wendy.
After hearing this Wendy flinched a bit at the harsh words Ronnie Anne used and then proceeded to ask something that's been on her mind for most of the trip. "Did I do something to you?" Wendy asked as she started to narrow her eyes at Ronnie Anne. She considered herself a patient person, but that patience was running thin at this point. "Ever since the start of this trip you've been acting coldly around me. I thought we were friends!"
"It's nothing!" Ronnie Anne yelled back as she turned her back to Wendy. "Just forget about it and let's get this night over with!"
"No!" Suddenly Wendy stomped forward to Ronnie Anne and grabbed her shoulder in a tight grip, causing Ronnie Anne to flinch, and turned her around to face her. "I deserve an answer for this! If I did anything to hurt you I'm sorry!"
"You didn't do anything!" Ronnie Anne yelled back as she tried to escape Wendy's grip. "Just let it go!"
"Why won't you tell me?!" Wendy didn't loosen her grip, making sure Ronnie Anne didn't go anywhere. "Just let me try and make it up to you!"
"YOU CAN'T MAKE UP FOR STEALING HIM FROM ME!" Ronnie Anne suddenly shouted, causing a few birds that were sleeping around the area to wake up and fly away startled.
Everything was silent after that, all except for Ronnie Anne's heavy breathing. "W-What…" Wendy let out after a few moments, Ronnie Anne's words finally catching up with her. "What…What do you mean?"
Ronnie Anne seemed to finally realize what she said and she quickly blushed in embarrassment and turned around, putting her hands in her hoodie pockets. "It's nothing…" Ronnie Anne grumbled as she started to walk forward. "Just…Just forget it,"
"Ronnie Anne," Suddenly Bobby speaks up, stepping in front of his sister. His expression was gentle but firm and his arms were crossed. "She deserves to know,"
"…Ugh! Fine! I liked Lincoln!" Ronnie Anne finally admits it. Despite so long of denying it, she finally admitted her true feelings towards Lincoln. "I liked him for a while now! Ya happy now! So excuse me if I'm not thrilled about spending time with his precious girlfriend!"
"So, you're mad that I'm in a relationship with him then?" Wendy quickly put the pieces together in her head. Now that she knew it was pretty obvious. "Seriously?"
"What do you mean seriously?!" Ronnie Anne only grew angrier with that statement. "I've liked him for a while! But the second I move away and you come to Royal Woods you're just all over him!"
"All over him!?" Wendy yelled out, her teeth starting to grit as her temper rose up. "What's that supposed to mean?!"
"Oh I don't know, how about the fact that the second you meet you join him at the hip and then suddenly lot long after that you two are sucking face!" Ronnie Anne continued to vent out her frustration with Wendy, missing the growing anger of the taller girl. "Seriously, what was even up with that?! Did you just wanna attached yourself to the first boy that even looked at well."
"WELL HE WAS THE FIRST BOY THAT GAVE ME A CHANCE!" Wendy shouted at the top of her lungs, glaring harshly into Ronnie Annes eyes with the Hispanic girl witnessing firsthand how Wendy's eyes changed from blue to red. There was another moment of silence as Wendy continued to stare down at Ronnie Anne as she flinched and backed up from the taller girl. "…You think I don't know how different I am from everyone else. I know…I'm not normal."
"W-What do you mean?" Ronnie Anne asked with a small sutter.
"I know a girl my age shouldn't be as tall as I am. They shouldn't be as strong as I am. Or that their eyes shouldn't change color when they get mad!" Wendy pointed to her eyes in emphasis, completely aware of what color they were at the moment. "When I moved here and was finally able to explore the world…I was afraid that people wouldn't give me a chance. That I wouldn't be able to make friends because they would see me as a freak!"
"…" Ronnie Anne was completely silent as she listened to Wendy. Normally she seemed to like a peppy and sweet girl without a negative thought in her head. Seeing her talking like this was…off.
"But…Lincoln ended up being the first person I met when we first met here," Wendy started to calm down, her eyes going back to normal, as she continued talking. "He…He never judged me like that before. He called me a friend and welcomed me with open arms. And ever since then I've seen the kind of person he is…and just grew to love him…"
"W-Wendy…" Ronnie Anne spoke up after hearing Wendy's story. "I…I'm sorry I didn't-"
BANG!
Suddenly what sounded like a firework went off in the distance. Looking to the source, they saw a flare rise up in the distance meaning only one thing. "They found it," Bobby said as he pointed in the direction of the flare. "Come on, abuelo and the others are gonna need help. We'll settle this later like adults ok?"
"…Ok," Both girls mumbled in unison as they started to follow Bobby.
HECTOR'S GROUP
GROWL!
SLASH!
SLAM!
SNARL!
It was an intense wolf on wolf battle. Lincoln, who know largely resembled the hombre-lobo he was fighting but with white fur covering his body and pure red eyes, was engaging in a power struggling with the hombre-lobo after he and his group managed to find it after going back to the area that had all that scrap metal, a large amount of it being stolen satellite dishes and other stuff similar to it, and finding a cave nearby where the hombre-lobo was, almost like it was waiting for them.
Hector, Juan, and Carlota quickly tried to shoot at the creature but it was able to dodge everything sent at it and charged at the group, Lincoln quickly tackling it and engaging in combat. Luckily he has some experience in fighting, especially in a transformed state. "Lincoln! Hold it down!" Juan said as he and Hector aimed their guns at the hombre-lobo, but didn't shoot since they didn't want to accidentally hit Lincoln. "We need a clear shot!"
"I'm trying!" Lincoln grunted out, his voice much deeper now due to the transformation, as he struggled to one up the wolf beast. "Wait! I may not be able to overpower him, but Four-Arms could!" Lincoln then headbutted the Hombre-Lobo and dazed it and proceeded to reach for the Omnitrix…only to find that it wasn't there. "H-Huh? It's gone!"
With Lincoln confused, this gave the hombre-lobo the chance to strike. But it didn't charge, scratch, or even bite…instead it muzzle suddenly split apart four ways stunning everyone and-
HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWLLLLL!
It let out a howl that released purple sonic waves. Not only was the sound ear piercing, reminding Lincoln of Echo Echo, but it packed way more of a punch as well as it launched the entire group back and into a wall. "Ugh…" Lincoln groaned as he rubbed his head. "Guess his bark is worse than his bite."
"I don't know any werewolf that can do that!" Carlota yelled as suddenly the Ship armor began to melt off her body. "Huh? Ship! Ship what's wrong?"
"Ship…." Ship whined out as he seemed to deflate on the ground, Carlota quickly scooping him up in his arms.
"He must be low on energy." Hector stated as he looked at Ship. Having to go into armor mode so many times today must have been taxing on the little guy and that last attack must have been too much for him. Hector attempted to shoot the hombre-lobo, but quickly realized something. "My guns gone!"
"Mine to!" Juan said as he looked around for where it could be, only to find them in front of the wolf beast. They must have dropped them after that sonic howl struck them. They couldn't even attempt to try and get them back as the hombre-lobo stomped on them, breaking them. Things looked bleak as the hombre-lobo growled and walked towards them and-
BANG!
Suddenly the werewolf let out a puppy-like whelp as it was shot right in the back of the red with a silver bullet. When it fell to the ground, the group saw Bobby with his gun aimed out at the hombre-lobo and Ronnie Anne and Wendy next to him. "Phew…" Bobby let out as he wiped some sweat off his forehead. "That was a close one."
"Haha! Nice shot mijo!" Hector said as his group was able to relax now that the hombre-lobo was down. "I knew you could do it!"
"So…is that it?" Ronnie Anne asked as she picked up a small rock and tossed it at the fallen werewolf. "Is it dead?"
"Well it took a silver bullet right to the head." Juan stated as he looked at the bullet lodged in the hombre-lobo's head. "So I would say yes, it is."
"Then…why am I not changing back yet?" Lincoln asked as he looked at his still wolfy body. "I don't feel like I'm turning back to normal."
"Maybe it just takes some time?" Wendy thought as Ronnie Anne and Bobby flinched at Lincoln's appearance. "It took you a while to transform so maybe it takes a while to turn-"
Grrrrrrrrrrr…
Suddenly a deep growl got everyone's attention and they all watched in fear as the hombre-lobo got up looking angrier then ever. It reached to the back of its head and pulled the silver bullet out and flicked it away, the beast wasn't even bleeding. Before anyone could response, the hombre-lobo got on all fours and leaped over everyone before running away once more.
Once it was gone, Juan went over to the silver bullet and picked it up, looking it over and confirming it was real silver. "I don't understand," Juan growled out as he threw the bullet into the distance. "It was a direct hit to the head, it should be dead."
"Unless…" Carlota put a hand to her chin in thought, holding the tired Ship in her other arm. Since seeing that sonic howl, Carlota started to get suspicious. She was no expert on werewolves, but she was 100% that there was no legend about a werewolf being able to do that. "What if this isn't some sort of hombre-lobo we're dealing with."
"But, it scratched me," Lincoln stated as he looked at his transformed body. "Isn't that why I'm like this? UGH!" Suddenly Lincoln grunted as he crotched down on all fours as his cloths began to change. Replacing what he was wearing was an orange jumpsuit with black stripes, and appearing on his lower stomach was the Omnitrix symbol. "Woah…"
"That's it!" Wendy realized with widened eyes. "You aren't just some werewolf, you're an alien werewolf!"
"That explains why the watch wasn't on my wrist! I was already an alien!" Lincoln realized as he briefed a sigh of relief. Looks like he wouldn't have to worry about permanently becoming a werewolf. "Thank goodness for that, for a bit there I was afraid Lana would try and train me or something. Hey…wait a second. If I turned into him, that must have meant I got his DNA when he scratched the watch, but why did I slowly transform like that? When I fought Vilgax I was just able to turn into Loud-Gax right then and there."
"Hmmmm, when you said you fought Vilgax you said he grabbed the Omnitrix right?" Wendy asked, Lincoln nodding in response. "Well you said the wolf scratched the watch, maybe that was it. It took a while for the DNA to properly process since he didn't outright grab the watch."
"Well, makes as much sense to me as an alien werewolf," Lincoln shrugged, accepting Wendy's theory. The Omnitrix was always acting up one way or the other so it made some sense. "At least I should turn back sooner or later,"
"Yeah your girlfriends right there, you wouldn't believe how long I've had to wait in here,"
'Ra'ad? That you?' Lincoln mentally responsed.
"Well it's either me or a figment of your imagination. But it's nice to know you can hear me now, been trying to talk to you for a while. Sensing a massive electrical signal nearby."
"An electrical signal? Where?" Lincoln asked as he looked around. Juan gave Hector a confused look, wondering what Lincoln was on about, but Hector said he'd explain it later. "Everyone! Follow me! I know where that alien werewolf is hiding!" Lincoln then took off, everyone else following close behind.
With Lincoln now in the lead, everyone followed him into a cave that had the prints of the alien werewolf in it. As they delved deeper into the cave, a certain smell hit the air. "Ugh, what is that?" Carlota asked as she tried to fan the smell away, but it just seemed to get stronger the farther they went into the cave.
"The sulfur smell indicates lava," Juan answered while glancing back at the teenager. "But don't worry, the volcanoes here have been inactive for millions of years."
But right as he said that the cave started to shake as things started heating up. With a loud boom, everyone gasped as they watched a river of lava appear from behind them. "Not as inactive as you think!" Lincoln yelled before taking off, everyone following close behind. "Run!"
"That thing must have reactivated the volcano somehow!" Hector yelled out as he ran faster then he ever had before. "But why?"
"Less talking! More running!" Bobby yelled as he looked back and instantly regretted it. "I don't feel like burning alive tonight!"
Eventually they came across a more open part of the cave, a lake of lava right below them. There was a pathway in front of them, but it had been destroyed. With the river of lava approaching, Lincoln only had one more option. "Alright, let's put this new guy to the test." Lincoln said as he picked up Ronnie Anne and Wendy in one arm and grabbed Carlota and Bobby in his other. "Let's hope this works!" Like the wolf they have been fighting, Lincoln's muzzle split into four and as he jump he unleased a sonic howl that released waves of orange energy. This gave him the extra boost to get all four of them across.
"Whoo! Nice one bro!" Bobby cheered as Lincoln safely set everyone down on their meet. "You're already a natural,"
"Thanks, and ya know, I think I got the perfect name for this guy," Lincoln said as he turned back around and leaped back to the other side of the cave so he could grab Hector and Juan. "Hombrehowler!" Releasing another sonic howl, Hombrehowler successfully jumped them over to the other side. Once he landed, the Omnitrix beeped and flashed red, and in a flash of red Hombrehowler turned back into Lincoln, completely human. "Alright! Back to normal!"
"Yay!" Wendy then scooped Lincoln into her arms and held him close, pressing their cheeks together. "Good to have you back Linky,"
"Heheh, yeah. It's good to be back," Lincoln told Wendy before giving her a kiss on the cheek.
Meanwhile, Ronnie Anne just watched the scene with a sigh, kicking a nearby stone. She then felt a hand on her shoulder and looked to see her brother giving her a comforting smile. "Hey, you ok sis?" Bobby asked with a soft tone.
"…Yeah…" Ronnie Anne answered as she looked to Lincoln and Wendy again. "Just gotta get over it I guess, all I can do," Bobby nodded at his sister and gave her shoulder a few pats. "Come on, I think we've had enough adventure for one night. Let's just head back."
"Sounds good to me, there aren't any tracks anyway," Juan explained as he looked around the ground. There was no where else the hombre-lobo could have gone in this cave, so it's possible it was killed by the lava. "It's best we don't stick around any longer."
After a bit more walking forward, which thankfully had no hiccups, the group managed to find an exit. As they were walking, Ronnie Anne walked up to Wendy and got her attention, "Hey Wendy, I just wanna say, I'm really sorry. For everything." Ronnie Anne apologized with the sincerest tone she could give. "I may like Lincoln but…it's no reason to lash out at you. I really do want to be friends with you. You and Lincoln are a good couple, so I hope you can forgive me,"
Wendy was silent at first until she gave Ronnie Anne a small smile. "It's ok Ronnie Anne, I wished you talked to me about this earlier, but it's ok," Wendy told the Hispanic girl while putting a hand on her shoulder. "I can understand why you were jealous. Lincoln is a really great guy, and I didn't mean to seem like I was stealing him from you. I just really…clicked with him. And I'm positive you'll meet the perfect guy for you someday, I know it."
"Heh, sounds like something from a sappy fairy tail," Ronnie Anne chuckled a bit and nodded at Wendy. "But thanks Wendy, so, we cool?" Ronnie Anne extended a fist out for a bump.
Wendy nodded and made a fist with her heads. "Yeah, we're cool." Wendy then fist bumped Ronnie Anne…causing the Hispanic girl to wince and suck in air quickly. Wendy quickly realized her mistake and put her hands behind her back. "Oops! I'm sorry!"
"It's….ok…" Ronnie Anne put her now throbbing fist into her pocket. "Just gotta walk it off…"
Eventually the group finally made it out of the cave, witnessing the sun coming up as the night came to an end. "Aaaaaah, fresh air," Carlota said, delighted to be out of the lava smelling cave.
"Ship! Ship!" Ship chirped up, jumping out of Carlota's hands and onto her head.
"Ya know this day was pretty exciting," Bobby said with a smile as he put his hands to his hips. "Completely terrifying and I'll probably be afraid of wolves for the rest of my life, but still very exciting."
"Si, I feel like a hombre joven again!" Hector smiled as he cracked his back and looked to Lincoln. "But what were you saying about an electrical signal Lincoln?"
"Well…Ra'ad said there was a signal somewhere in the cave." Lincoln said as he pointed back into the cave they just left. "But…where could it be? There was nothing in there but rocks and lava."
"Hmmm, it could be there was some hidden tunnel somewhere," Juan stated as he rubbed his chin in through. Something told him this wasn't over. "I'll do some investigating, I'll let you all know if I find anything."
"Sounds good, gracias amigo," Hector said as he patted his friend on the back. "Gotta say this really felt like this good old days,"
"Hahah, yes it did. But how about we go get something to eat," Juan suggested, patted his stomach as it let out a growl. "I'm starving!"
"That I can agree on!" Hector then smirked a bit. "Just, uh, one more thing amigo,"
"What's that?"
"Oh nothing, just this!" Hector then grabbed Juan's pants on-
"AIYEEEEEEE!"
"Told you I'd get you someday!"
You better believe things aren't over yet
Like I said I really enjoyed this chapter. A new transformation, some Casagrande focus, and some development with both Ronnie Anne and Wendy that adds some depth to their characters. Pretty proud of myself for this one.
Also about the name Hombrehowler, I knew I didn't want to do something like Lincoln-Wolf for this and the other monster alien transformations and me and Petrus both agreed that Blitzwolfer is just a dumb name. So he came up with Hombrehowler and I really like it.
Also why wasn't there Kai or a Kai equivalent in this chapter? Well the cast was big enough so there was no need for it, Lincoln already had a girlfriend, and Kai...Kai just sucks. She just adds to the list of things I don't like about Omniverse.
But anyway, make sure you fav and follow and leave a review with your thoughts and stay tuned for the next chapter...
"Midnight Madness"
