A/N (IMPORTANT, Please Read): Good morning once again, everybody! Hope everyone's ready for another glorious fall day as well as another chapter of Ben 10/RWBY. But before we begin, I feel I should mention something in regards to the NEXT chapter after this one, because that one's probably going to take a long time to complete. After all, it's gonna be the big finale of the T.G.I.S. arc, so like the finale of "Predators and Prey", it's gonna take a couple extra days to complete. Say around… Halloween. Yep, we're continuing the yearly tradition of having a Halloween update, so keep your eyes peeled there for the next chapter. Now, with that said, let's dive on in because we've got some surprises in store in this one! This is…

Chapter 56: On the Hunt

…..

Over the past hour or so, Gwen had been utterly enraptured by how deep the Saturdays were into their study of the stolen tablet, with herself along for the ride. Of course, it would've helped if they had the ACTUAL tablet to go off of, but thankfully, a holographic model of the relic had been taken shortly after its discovery, so they were going off of that. Still, Doc and Drew left no stone unturned, examining the hologram right down to the finest detail. Be it the ancient language engraved into it or how it was split, Gwen was completely enraptured by how far their study went.

"Good god, I'm in heaven right now." Gwen expressed, catching Drew's attention. "You guys really don't let anything go unchecked, do you?"

Drew smiled at her excitement, complete with a short giggle. "Hmhm, well, when you've been at the game as long as we have, sweetie, you learn to really get in it deep." Her eyes shifted back to the hologram, reaching her hand up to it to move it around. "That and we've had tons of practice when we studied the Kur Stone like this, too."

Doc went up and pointed to a small spot on the tablet's underside, having noticed something. "Drew, look here. It seems like this notch could've been part of another word inscribed on the back."

The two ladies were immediately intrigued, with Drew seeing it as well. "Ooh, you're right, hon, look at the curvature. Definitely seems like part of something else that's on another piece."

"Sounds like something to keep an eye out for should we find out where another one is." Gwen commented.

"Exactly." Doc reached up and pulled his hands in two directions, zooming in on the part in question. "It's details like this that we can't let go unnoticed, since it's likely a key point in how the tablet should be used."

Gwen nodded in agreement. "Hm, right. So, any luck on deciphering the words on the front?"

"A few so far, yes." Doc typed in a command on the console in front of him, actually moving the ancient writing off the tablet so that it was by itself. He pressed another button, showing the progress that the deciphering program had made. "Now keep in mind, the inscription won't be complete until the other for pieces are found. So far, we have "Ishtar, defeater of…", "Beware the return…", and "The armor lies…"."

The Anodite was fascinated especially by that part, though an unexpected quip came from someone who'd been silent for quite a while. "I'm gonna assume that's talkin' about the armor's location and that it's not ACTUALLY lying to people."

Gwen deadpanned and craned her head over to Kevin, who was reclining in a chair. "Gee, Kevin, how could you have guessed that?"

The Osmosian raised his hands. "I calls 'em as I sees 'em."

"Listen, I know you're not in the best mood, but could you maybe take this a bit more seriously?" Gwen asked, her expression one of concern. "We're talking about the location of armor that could very well end the world if the Forever Knights got a hold of it."

Kevin grumbled and shrugged. "Yeah, yeah, I know. It's just… I'm still kinda peeve that Zak thinks it's okay to just let a dangerous wolf Cryptid to just roam the ship."

Drew gave a sigh, her shoulders slumping. "Well, I can't say I disagree with you, Kevin. Maybe we were a bit too hasty with that, even if the Smoke Wolf DID seem really well behaved for Zak… and oddly enough, Ruby, too." She put a finger to her chin in thought. "Our son, I can understand, but between Zon and the wolf, Ruby's got quite the unexpected knack for Cryptid handling so far."

"Maybe it has something to do with her Silver Eyes…" Gwen pondered out loud.

That caught Doc's attention quickly. "Hm, good point. She DOES have a fairly unique trait so perhaps the Cryptids find it fascinating?"

"O-Oh, well, it's not JUST a unique trait." Gwen explained, realizing that she had said that out loud. "I mean, it IS, but it's a lot more unique than you think." Seeing the Saturdays' curiosity peaking, she went on. "You see, Ruby's actually a descendant of a clan of Silver-Eyed Warriors who have special powers in their eyes. These powers are able to kill Grimm with just a look, usually accompanied by a blinding flash of light. We've only seen it once… when Ruby unlocked them. Needless to say, the result was astounding."

Doc and Drew were left gob smacked by that revelation. "So you're telling me…" Drew began, pointing toward the door, "that adorable teenaged girl actually has a MASSIVE amount of power behind her eyes?"

"Yeah, turns out her mother's side was actually packing a punch." Kevin smirked.

"Hah… wow, that's incredible." Doc breathed out before wondering something. "But if that's the case, then why doesn't Yang have them, too?"

"'Cause she and Ruby have different moms." Kevin answered. "They're half-sisters."

Gwen nodded, affirming her boyfriend's words. "Yep, Yang was born first before her mother, Raven, left. Then her dad, Tai, met Ruby's mom, Rose. But then Rose unfortunately died while out on a mission, so they were left with just their dad for a long time before Raven recently came back into their lives and she's currently trying to make up for the years of not being there for her family." By the end of her long-winded explanation, Gwen found herself with her arms crisscrossed, having used her hands excessively during that. Doc and Drew were left dumbfounded as Gwen gave a nervous laugh, pulling her arms back. "Hehe… yeah, theirs is a very complex family dynamic."

Drew muttered; "I can tell." before folding her arms over her chest. "Well, whatever the case, it sounds like Ruby's trying to master her powers, right?"

Kevin sat back down in his chair, leaning back once again. "Well, yeah, but so far there's been no luck in that. Nothin's been able to trigger the Silver Eyes since they first activated."

"And while Ruby's tried to use them, she's gotten nothing but a headache while trying." Gwen furthered.

A hum went past Drew's lips, thinking over all of that. "Hmm… I see. In all honesty, while no doubt her and Zak's powers are different… they also sound very similar. In fact, I think I might have something back at our house that she could maybe use to help her train with those powers."

"You mean like a conduit?" Gwen asked. "Like the Claw that Zak uses?"

Drew snapped her fingers, pointing to the Anodite. "Precisely. Of course, we can't go get it right now, but I'll make sure to get it the next time we're there and then bring it straight to Bellwood." She couldn't help but smile in excitement at the prospect. "Who knows? Maybe Zak and I could help her train."

"Oh, I'm sure she'd welcome the help." Gwen affirmed. "After weeks of not being able to do anything with her powers, I KNOW she'd be ecstatic." Her sights went back to the translated text after that. "But how about for now, we get back on track with the tablet?"

Doc agreed, reaching up for the first couple of lines. "Right, of course. To start out with, I find the first two lines in particular very fascinating, actually. It almost sounds like this tablet's inscription is a message TO Ishtar herself, as if this was made to warn her of something."

"Okay, warn her of what, exactly?" Kevin inquired.

"My guess? Kur." Drew deduced before waving that off. "After all, according to many legends, she was the one to defeat Kur… even though the Kur Stone itself disputes that."

Gwen's eyes widened in surprise. "Wait, really? Huh, Enoch himself actually said that Ishtar WAS the one who beat Kur… who did the Stone say beat him?"

Doc answered the question with a question of his own. "Well, do you know who Gilgamesh is?"

"Yeah, ain't that the dude who's got an epic written about him?" Kevin replied.

Drew nodded to him. "The very same. He was an ancient hero who was said to have traveled all across the ancient world defeating adversaries and beasts of all kinds. And his defeat of Kur is actually mentioned IN the actual epic." Her brow furrowed as she stared at the "Ishtar, defeater of…" line. "But at the same time, there HAVE been conflicting accounts of Ishtar being the one to defeat Kur. Though the popular theory actually combines the two scenarios and says that Ishtar and Gilgamesh actually worked TOGETHER to defeat Kur; the first instance of a mortal and a god combining their strength to do so."

"Of course, that would contradict the OTHER event with Ishtar that also happens in the epic." Doc continued. "Where he rejected her marriage proposal and she sent the Bull of Heaven after him as retribution." His gaze fixated back to the tablet, taking all of this information into consideration. "But still, we can't rule out anything. After all, several pieces of these legends HAVE been lost to time, so we unfortunately don't have the full scope of what truly happened."

Gwen hummed, finding that fact vexing. "Yeah, it's irritating… but also kind of exciting trying to figure out what happened ourselves." She offered the married couple a smile. "I can honestly see why you're in this line of work now."

Drew offered the redhead a wink. "Oh, you got that right. We love a good adventure, and—" BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP! She was suddenly cut off when the console started to go off, almost as if it were ringing. "Ah, hold on, incoming transmission." Drew took a peek at the Caller ID and smiled almost instantly. "Oh, it's Miranda. One second, Gwen…"

After a few button presses, the image on the hologram projector changed to that of a youg woman, who appeared to be about the same age as Drew. She wore a grey uniform with her orange hair pulled back into a tight bun, keeping a serious demeanor as she spoke to Drew in a light British accent. "Ah, Drew! So glad you picked up. Apologies if I'm interrupting…"

"No trouble at all, Miranda, really." Drew assured with a wave of her hand. "Though I'm more surprised you called so soon after our investigation…" She craned her head over to Gwen and Kevin, extending her hand to the screen. "Oh, kids, this is Doctor Miranda Grey. She's one of the Secret Scientists we told you about."

Gwen waved up to the other redhead. "Hi there, Dr. Grey. I'm Gwen."

"'Sup, name's Kevin." the Osmosian saluted.

On the screen, Miranda's eyebrows rose up, recognizing the two. "Oh, I recognize the two of you. You both are part of the Omni-Hunters, yes? Ben 10's cousin and friend, I believe."

Both Kevin and Gwen couldn't help but internally cringe at that. Would they EVER be known as anything other than that? "Er, yeah, that's right." Gwen replied.

"Excellent." Miranda nodded in approval. "Because I just heard of a rather interesting story that is right up your alley. It's actually the whole reason I called, believe it or not. Doc, Drew, I'm assuming you've heard already?" Seeing immediate confusion from the couple, though, Miranda was left surprised. "Oh my… seems not."

"Miranda, we've been dealing with Smoke Wolves and Wampus Poachers today." Doc explained, raising a brow at her. "Along with meeting the Omni-Hunters, our attention has been pretty taken up by other things."

Miranda cleared her throat. "Ahem, o-of course, Doc. My apologies." The redheaded scientist began typing in commands into her own console, intent on sending something to the Saturdays. "Well, in any case, I was scrolling through news stories not too long ago when THESE popped up."

Within moments, the hologram projector began displaying stories from across various news sights, though they were all covering the same subject. "MOTH MAN RETURNS!" "Moth Man Strikes!" "Reemergence of the Moth Man!" "Moth Man fights Mutant Bear" "Glowing Bear vs Giant Moth" "Meteor Strike Awakens Moth Man" and so forth. The four in the room were practically stunned by just how many headlines there were, and at the center of it all was indeed Moth Man… along with a strange phenomenon involving a bear and a meteor.

Needless to say, Drew was stunned. "M-Moth Man?"

"We were JUST talking about Moth Man earlier!" Doc exclaimed, clutching his head in disbelief.

Kevin scratched his head, taking it all in stride compared to everyone else. "Huh, what a strange coincidence."

Gwen meanwhile, was trying to get a closer look at the articles themselves, wanting to know more details. "But what's this about meteors and mutated, glowing bears?"

"That's the odd part; no one knows the relation." Miranda emphasized. "The ones who spotted the event, four teenagers from Point Pleasant, swear that they saw a giant meteor come crashing down, which was accompanied by a radiant, purple glow." She made a motion with her hands, as if she was cracking something open. "But then, it burst open, revealing a purple crystal that was apparently responsible for mutating the bear."

"…Oh no." Just then, the group heard another voice enter the room. They all turned around to see Max coming in, the old man holding Zwei and the wolf pups by their leashes. He had heard the whole thing. "It can't be…"

Doc titled his head to the Plumber. "Max, what do you mean… and where did you get those dogs?"

Max, now wearing a more serious expression, stepped forward. "Never mind that part for now. Gwen, you and I both know exactly what glowing purple crystals mean, correct?"

Gwen pursed her lips at that. She DID know, but the very thought of it made her shake. It was an element that she was hoping she'd never have to encounter again. "I do… it's corrodium, isn't it?"

"Wait, what?!" Kevin snapped his head toward the two Tennysons, immediately in a panic. "You can't be serious… corrodium? On Earth?"

The three Secret Scientists were both confused and a bit on edge as the Plumbers discussed the situation. "Excuse me, good sir, but when in the world is "corrodium", exactly?" Miranda asked.

"It's a very lethal element from the Anur System out in deep space." Max elaborated in a dire tone. "Normally, it's used there as an energy source, being an immensely powerful crystal that's said to form from the darkness of Anur itself. Most of the time, it stays in the Anur System…" He focused on the headlines with an intense gaze. "But there ARE instances where it'll attach to meteors and go flying across the galaxy. And whenever it lands on other planets, it's never good."

Gwen picked things up from there. "Corrodium is highly irradiated. Only unlike uranium where the risk is radiation poisoning, corrodium actually DOES cause the kind of physical mutations that you'd see in comic books. Think the Hulk, only dark and demented."

"Well, that explains the glowing bear." Doc inferred.

"So how do we handle getting RID of it?" Drew asked.

Max nodded over to her. "Don't worry, Drew. Ben has a transformation from the Anur System that can safely handle Corrodium and keep it contained so its affects don't spread." His eyes narrowed at the articles on screen. "We're going to have to hurry, though. Elongated exposure to corrodium can cause the mutations to be permanent, and we don't want either that bear or this Moth Man, if that IS him, to suffer from that."

"Well, if you're going to do it, you'd better do it quickly." Miranda informed with a sigh. "After all, considering the nature of this incident, it sounds like something that Epsilon would be quick to investigate."

The old Plumber scowled at that. "Hm, yes, I've had SEVERAL run-ins with Agent Epsilon before. All of them not very pleasant."

"So have we." Drew mumbled, rolling her eyes. "Used to be a good friend AND a Secret Scientist. Now things are… complicated."

"Well, either way, you all be careful." Miranda gave an encouranging smile. "I hope to hear from you all soon."

Drew smiled back gratefully. "Same to you, Miranda. And thanks again." With that, the screen turned off, ending the transmission as Drew took a deep breath. "Well, we'd better get ready to move out." She moved toward Gwen and Kevin with an apologetic gaze. "Sorry that all of this is cutting into your camping trip, kids, but—"

"Drew, you do NOT need to apologize." Gwen cut the woman off, wearing a small grin. "After all, we're Plumbers. We're kind of made for stuff like this."

Kevin glanced over to the doorway. "Now all that's left to do is tell the others, who by now are probably playin' videogames in Zak's room with Mr. Wolfey."

Doc cleared his throat and pointed down to the dogs near Max's feet. "Ahem, speaking of, I ask again… where did you get those dogs, Max?"

"Oh, haha, sorry about that Solomon." Max leaned forward and gave Zwei a pat on the head, the little corgi barking happily. "These are the kids' pups. This is Zwei…" He gestured down to the two little wolves next. "And these are Romulus and Rema."

"AH!" Drew gave a sudden gasp… which was mixed in with a gleeful cry at the sight of the very adorable wolf puppies. "Oh my goodness, aren't you two just ADORABLE?!" Romulus and Rema immediately started barking happily, bounding up to Drew as she went to sit on her knees in front of them. The woman reached for Rema first, pulling up to her face to boop her nose. "You're both just so precious, I could just cuddle you for HOURS!"

Gwen and Kevin couldn't help but chuckle. That was a typical reaction to the wolf puppies at this point, so it was a bit expected. "Hmhm, well, we'd better go tell the others about what's going on." the redhead said as she and her boyfriend went toward the door.

"Good, and tell Zak to pack some hazard gear." Doc informed. "He'll know what I mean."

"Gotcha!" Gwen called back, with her and Kevin already half-way out the door. Once they were, it only took them a about a minute to find the Zak's bedroom, which thankfully wasn't hard. "Just follow the loud voices and boom, we're here." Gwen quipped.

Kevin deadpanned as he pointed down… to the rear of the Smoke Wolf sticking out of the doorway. "And ya, know, the ass of a giant wolf."

The Anodite smiled as she watched its tail wag. "Well, at least it's happy, Kevin." She leaned over the wolf's back to peek into the room. "Hey guys, we—huh?"

Before she could get a full sentence out, though, the redhead found herself… utterly perplexed by what was happening on the television. The team were gathered around it and watching intently as a young man wearing a black and red duster stood opposite another dude in a blue hoodie, all while a large, metal banana floated over the former's head. The man reached down to his belt… and pulled a lever that resembled a knife, slicing through a banana lock attached to the belt. From there, the banana came down OVER the man's head, coating him in a red and silver body suit. "What the…"

COME ON!

Banana Arms! ~Knight of Spear~!

All at once, the metal banana unfolded, with each tip becoming a shoulder pauldron while the midsection folded down to the chest and back, forming armor for the warrior while revealing his knightly red and silver helmet, which had yellow horns on each side and a blue jewel in the forehead. A large lance then appeared in his hand, one that actually RESEMBLED a peeled banana. "…Again, WHAT?!" Kevin exclaimed.

"Oh, hey guys!" Ruby piped up, with everyone else turning to the duo while Zak paused the show. "Glad you could join us, we just got to episode three of Kamen Rider Gaim!"

Gwen pursed her lips at that. "I should've guessed. Something THIS ridiculous can only come from Tokusatsu."

"Hey, to be fair, it also looks kind of cool." Jaune admitted. "I mean, I'm definitely digging the knight theme going on with him here."

Weiss scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Psh, of course you would… Banana Man."

Her comment elicited several laughs from the rest of the team, with Jaune recoiling with a gasp. "AH! C'mon guys, really?"

The only ones confused were Zak, Fiskerton, Komodo and Zon, the former scratching his head. "Uh… I'm sorry, am I missing some context here?"

"Oh, one of our enemies called him that the other day." Yang answered, waving it off. "Total weak sauce of an insult, though."

Nora bounced up to her feet and rubbed Jaune's head, ruffling up his hair with a bright smile. "Besides, like I said, Jaune's totally more of a Lemon Head than anything."

Jaune was far from amused. "Gee, Nora, that's oh so comforting, really." his voice dripped with sarcasm.

"You're welcome!"

Kevin sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Okay, before we veer too off topic here, we've got a situation…" His gaze moved down to the Smoke Wolf, grumbling before eyeing Zak. "Yo, Cryptid Whisperer. Mind telling your new dog that we need to get in?"

Zak returned an irritated grimace to him before leaning down and patting the Smoke Wolf's head. "Sorry Smokey, gotta move for a minute."

"Oh god, you gave it a name." the Osmosian bemoaned as the Smoke Wolf stood up, backing out of the room so that the couple could come in. Once they were, Kevin took out his phone and started searching up "Moth Man". "Okay, so we got a call from a Miss Miranda Grey just a couple minutes ago…"

This brought Zak's attention back rather quick. "Woah, Dr. Grey? What's up? Did something happen?"

Blake cleared her throat, hoping to get more information. "Um, excuse me, Zak, but is she a friend of yours?"

"A friend of my parents, yeah. She's one of the Secret Scientists we told you about." Zak replied, now sounding a bit more serious. "We usually don't get calls from her or the others unless something important pops up…"

"And that's exactly what's happened here." Gwen informed as she grabbed Kevin's phone and spun it around, earning a small protest from her boyfriend. "See for yourself." The team began crowding up around each other, wanting to see exactly what was going on. Soon enough, they were greeted by the sight of several articles, all talking about the same thing; radioactive meteors, mutated bears… and Moth Man. "Seems the sleepy town of Point Pleasant's been visited by an old resident as of late."

Zak's bafflement could not be understated. "No. Way." When it finally sunk in, however, he lit up in ecstatic excitement as he pumped his fists into the air. "WOO-HOO! YES! We got a Moth Man sighting LAST NIGHT! This is fantastic!"

Ilia peered closer, inspecting the blurred images. Sure enough, there was a tall, imposing figure backed by an eerie purple light in the middle of the night, with massive wings and large, round red eyes that stared right into the camera. "Hah… okay, that's way creepy." Ilia rubbed her arms as her skin became a slight tinge of green, unsettled by the picture. "The fact that isn't a Grimm is astonishing to me."

"I know, right?" Neptune commented as well, biting his lip in apprehension. "Now that I know this thing exists and likely wanders around at night, I don't know if I'll ever sleep again."

"Neptune, we live at least two states away from West Virginia." Gwen reminded. "You'll be fine."

Sun couldn't help but scratch his chin, however, baffled by the mention of the meteor and the bear. "But what about THAT thing?" Sun pointed to another picture, which showed the Moth Man fending off a massive, mutated bear with glowing purple markings and huge claws. "Is that another one of Dr. Animo's experiments or something?"

Gwen shook her head. "No, MUCH worse." She shifted her gaze to her cousin, furrowing her brow as he stared at the picture in disbelief. "Ben… I think you and I both know what that is."

"Don't tell me… corrodium?" Ben answered.

"Couldn't be anything else." Gwen confirmed. "That purple glow's WAY too familiar."

Pyrrha and several others were once again left perplexed. "Corrodium? …Why does that sound familiar?"

Ben faced his team with a grim expression. "You guess remember… when I told you about Zs'Skayr? The alien that used to be my Ghostfreak transformation?"

"Oh yes, that's right! The one who you said escaped the Omnitrix." Pyrrha recalled, snapping her fingers. "I remember, now; you said that he once tried to use corrodium to blot out the Earth's sun in order for him to turn the planet into his own personal kingdom."

"THAT was what caused that?!" Zak blurted out, throwing his hands up in shock. "Dear god, mom and dad tried to figure out what that was about for WEEKS! People were freaking mutated all across the globe because of that… thank god it didn't affect the WHOLE planet at the time."

Rex couldn't help but let out a bemused chuckle at all of this. "Huh, man, and I thought MY Earth had problems…"

Penny put a finger to her cheek. "So, from what I'm gathering with all this information, I can conclude that corrodium is NOT something to be trifled with and we should probably go and get it at once before anyone or anything comes into contact with it again."

The Omnitrix bearer was quick to agree. "That's the basic gist, yeah. Definitely don't wanna know what it'll do to the Moth Man if IT gets mutated by that stuff." Ben placed his hands on his hips, making sure the team had their attention squarely on him. "Alright guys, our mission's pretty clear here; get that corrodium and get it off world before anybody else can find it." He craned his head toward his cousin. "Gwen, do any of those articles say where the meteor landed?"

"Somewhere in the TNT Area, where the Moth Man is said to live." Gwen answered before shaking her head. "But even then, there's no specifics on WHERE in the area it is. We'll have to form some search parties, I think."

"And we've gotta do it fast." Kevin advised. "Or else some dude named Epsilon's gonna show up there before us. At least according to Dr. Grey."

Weiss ushered for them to explain. "And Epsilon is…"

"Not good news." Zak said, with Fiskerton and Komodo giving simultaneous sounds of disgust. "He works for a VERY secret government organization that specializes in covering up the world's most unexplained things. …That and screwing up everything for our family."

Ben also visibly soured at the name. "Oh yeah, I've met Epsilon before, and I've also heard of his "People". They and the Plumbers aren't exactly on good terms with one another. Keep saying that we're "reckless and are endangering the human race" just by being active on Earth." The hero placed his hands behind his head and rolled his eyes. "Psh, can you believe it? Like the Plumbers have EVER been reckless."

Gwen deadpanned at her cousin. "No, but I can name one or two people who might have been…"

"Eh, semantics." Ben shrugged. "Either way, we've got a job to do here, so I say it's time to go collect some corrodium."

Zak smirked and took up his Claw, tossing it up to make it twirl in midair before catching it on the way down. "Yeah, and do some Moth Man hunting at the same time."

Yang raised her hand, inserting herself into the conversation. "Uh, boys, while I'm definitely all for doing BOTH those things, I think you're forgetting something important…" She pointed out the door and asked; "What the hell are we gonna do with Smokey while we're down there?" Zak and Ben both eyed the massive Smoke Wolf, which was tilting its head at them curiously.

"Huh… you know, I don't know." Ben admitted, scratching his head as he glanced to Zak. "Any ideas?"

Zak crossed his arms, thinking briefly before one option did come to his head. "Well, I've got AN idea, but it's pretty bold… and I'll have to ask permission from mom and dad."

"Oh boy, this oughta be good…" Ruby said with a grin.

…..

One Hour Later: Point Pleasant, West Virginia

"I was RIGHT!" Ruby exclaimed, pumping her fists up high at the prospect of actually taking the Smoke Wolf with them, if only to keep an eye on it. Of course, when it was brought up to them, Doc and Drew weren't too keen on leaving the beast on the ship, especially since Max would be the only one to remain behind as both mission control AND to keep an eye on Zwei and the pups. Thankfully, the young man had convinced them to bring Smokey down with them, and now they had a very big, very intimidating guard dog. "Zak, I don't know how you did it, but this is AWESOME!"

Zak scratched his cheek sheepishly, turning slightly red at her compliment. "Heh, well, it's all about knowing the right thing to say, ya know?"

"And you're sure that this is the best idea?" Weiss inquired, pointing over to the wolf. "I mean, sure, he COULD be a good guard dog… but on the other hand, he's also a massive killing machine, so sorry if I feel a bit apprehensive here."

"FINALLY, someone who gets it!" Kevin shouted.

But Zak raised his hands to the duo, in hopes to reassure them. "Guys, guys, relax. No need to get so worked up." He placed a hand over his chest, giving them his best smile. "Trust me, I'm great with Cryptids. I'll be able to handle him incase something goes wrong, 'kay?"

Just then, Doc came up and set a hand to his son's shoulder. "I certainly hope so, Zak. But don't forget, your powers are still limited in what they can do, so don't get too confident about that."

Drew went over to her son as well, making sure their point got across. "Exactly, so don't strain yourself too much, okay? Otherwise, you'll give yourself a migraine again." She gave Zak an expectant look. "And we don't want a repeat of THAT, do we?"

The young man sighed, his shoulders slumping at the reminder. "No, not really. B-But I get it, guys, I'll be sure to be careful."

"Good, now all of you be ready." Drew advised as the airship suddenly lurched downward. "We're landing near Point Pleasant right now…" Within minutes, the airship lowered itself into the middle of a rather expansive field, one that was right near a very large cornfield. Thankfully, there was no one around to see the ship land, so they were in the clear for the moment. Before long, the rear hatch opened up and the team all walked down the ramp, gathering together as the Saturday family took front and center.

"Alright, so here's how things are going to go." Doc pressed a button on his wrist brace, bringing up a holographic map of the area. "We're right here." He pointed to a glowing dot on the map before trailing his finger over to a green dot not too far away. "And this is one of the entrances to TNT Area. Once we get there, we'll be breaking off into two groups to search."

Yang immediately raised her hand. "Okay, so how do we handle that? Do we keep our eyes out for Moth Man or the Corrodium?"

"Both, preferably, but the Corrodium DOES take priority." Doc explained. "With any luck, if we fan out enough, we'll be able to run into both. Still, if anyone finds the Corrodium, they're to call Ben immediately, so he can contain it."

Ben gave a nod at that. "Right, and make sure NOT to go anywhere near it." He pointed to his team. "And I mean that, twenty feet is the MAXIMUM at how close you can get before you start feeling it's affects."

"Hm, of course." Penny's eyes began glowing, making sure that data was burned into her hard drive. "Setting parameters to twenty feet away from the Corrodium. …But wait, would it even affect me?"

"Would you want to risk finding out?" Ruby countered worriedly.

Penny gasped and shook her head. "You're right, Ruby. Better to play things cautiously." She spun around on her heel and saluted to the Saturdays. "Awaiting your next command."

The family were a bit surprised by her behavior, though Doc cleared his throat to move on. "Ahem, yes, of course…" He clapped her hands together and came forward, ready to start putting teams together. "Alright, so here's how this is gonna work; Drew and I will head up one team while Zak and Ben will take the other. Of course, if anyone sees anything, Cryptid or otherwise, report it immediately to the other team so we can regroup. Now, in terms of how it'll be set up…" The man pointed to his choice of team. "Team JNPR, Penny, Ilia, Gwen and Kevin, the eight of you will be with us."

Jaune and his team all stood dutifully, joining Penny in that regard. "Yes, sir! We're ready to rock and roll."

"Grr… lucky. Getting to be on Drew's team." Neptune grumbled, earning him a whack from Sun's tail. "Gah! Would you stop that?!"

"Your own fault." Ilia teased, flicking Neptune on the nose. "Maybe this'll help you try and reign in that horndog behavior."

Zak put his hands to his hips, apparently having not noticed the little interaction. "Well, that leaves Team RWBY, Team SN, and Rex with us." He jerked his thumb over to his Cryptid brothers. "Oh, and of course Fisk and Komodo will be coming along with us, plus Smokey here."

"Ajaha…" Fiskerton eyed "Smokey" with skepticism, watching as the wolf sat obediently. He wasn't exactly too fond of the massive canine coming into his home like he owned the place, so he was going to make sure to keep a close watch on him. And just by Komodo's narrowed gaze, Fiskerton could see that he wasn't exactly too welcoming of the beast either. "Hmph, agabeeobo…"

But then, something unexpected happened. "Um, actually, if I may…" Drew came forward, gesturing over to her son's team. "I'd actually like to go with Zak's group instead. I have a few things I'd like to discuss with Ruby, honestly."

This caught the Hooded Huntress off guard, needless to say. "Wait, with me?" Ruby pointed to herself, completely missing Neptune silently pumping his fists in victory.

"Yes, you, honey." Drew confirmed with a kind smiles. "I was told that you have a rather interesting gift, and I'd like to hear more about that from you."

If Ruby was surprised before, this definitely helped solidified that. Someone must've told Drew about her Silver Eyes, and she had a feeling she knew who. She eyed Gwen and Kevin momentarily, the former giving her a sheepish grin while the Osmosian merely shrugged. "Ah, right…" Ruby trailed off when she saw Zak out the corner of her eye, and she could see that HIS interest had been garnered as well. '…Maybe talking about my powers won't be SO bad. I mean… at least I have someone to relate to.' With a tinge of pink on her cheeks, she returned Drew's smile with her own and nodded to her. "Okay, sounds good!"

Doc pondered on this for a moment. "Hm, well I don't see why not. But I think it'd be best to bring someone over from their team in exchange, just to keep things fair…" The Saturday patriarch scanned the crowd, searching for viable candidates before spotting the perfect one. "Ah, Neptune!"

And just like that, Neptune's good mood was ruined yet again. "…Huh?"

"Come over here, son." Doc ushered welcomingly, all while the Omni-Hunters snickered at the blue-haired boy's devastated face. "I'm sure you'll get along great in this group."

"I-I-I-I…" As much as Neptune wanted to protest, he knew he couldn't. Not with everyone right there and judging him. It pained him to do it… but it needed to be done. With a hefty sigh, Neptune gave a half-hearted salute. "Yes… sir." And from there, he slowly trudged over to the other group… along with an unexpected tagalong.

Zak raised a brow down to the lizard tailing Neptune. "Hm? Komodo, what's—"

Komodo abruptly spun around and hissed out; "GRAAH!" before continuing his way over to Doc, much to Zak's shock.

"O-Oh, um… okay, I won't stop you then." Zak said meekly. 'Yeesh, what's his prob—oh…' The moment his eyes landed on the Smoke Wolf, Zak quickly realized the situation. 'Hm, okay, Komodo, I get it. Play the jealousy card if you want…' He smirked as the Komodo Dragon went up to, of all people, Ilia, and nuzzled her leg, much to her surprise. "But it won't last, I guarantee it."

"Whatcha talkin' about, Zak?" Yang popped in past his shoulder, making him yelp in surprise. "Talking to yourself, or…"

Zak blushed and rubbed the back of his head with a nervous laugh. "O-Oh, haha, i-it's nothing, really. S-So, we ready to go?"

"Well, if all the teams have been decided, then yes, I'd say so." Ben pointed up the road, right in the direction they needed to go. "The entrance to the TNT Area is about a half mile that way, so let's start hoofing it."

Most of the group let out a sigh as they began their trek, with the Saturdays leading the way. "Man, I wish we could've taken the Rustbucket… or ANY of our vehicles, really." Nora grumbled.

"Yeah, but they wouldn't fit on the airship." Ren reminded. "The only one that could would be—"

VRROOOM! VRROOOM! Everyone suddenly let out a yelp as, all of a sudden, a loud engine could be heard permeating through the silence. Just as the airship's ramp started going up, a streak of black and yellow came rushing out and zoomed right off the ramp, rushing through the air briefly before landing. Once it hit the ground, the group could finally see that it was a certain yellow bike, one that rolled up to its owner by itself before skidding to a halt, its kickstand flipping down automatically. With the keys to the bike in her hand, Yang gave a small chuckle and asked; "You were saying?"

"Ah! Yang, no fair!" Weiss shouted in frustration. "You actually brought your bike when you KNOW the rest of us have to walk?!"

"Oh, c'mon, Weiss. It's only half a mile." Yang mounted Bumblebee and started revving its engine, placing on her aviators with a smirk. "And besides, I promised myself that I was gonna take Bumblebee on a MUCH needed spin, and I'm keeping that promise, dammit!" She pulled out a helmet from Bumblebee's rear storage and tossed it over to Ben. "Green Boy, your seat's been kept warm, so hop on!"

The Omnitrix bearer felt a bubbling sensation in his gut. It had been a while since he and Yang had ridden on Bumblebee together, and he had to admit, he missed that feeling a lot. Without hesitation, Ben placed the helmet over his head and called back; "Oh-ho, you know it, Goldie Locks!" In no time, Ben had mounted Bumblebee with the blonde, wrapping his arms around her midsection as he had done so many times. "A quick ride definitely wouldn't hurt."

"Heh, who said it'd be quick?" Yang's smirked increased as her engine revved, ready to peel out toward the road. "We're taking the LONG way around, baby! WOO-HOO!" And just like that, the couple rocketed off, leaving everyone else in the dust.

There was a very long silence after that, only for Zak to sum up what just happened; "They… they ditched us."

"On a REALLY cool motorcycle." Drew added, placing a hand on her hip. "I'm both impressed and insanely jealous."

…..

After Yang and Ben had gone on their little joyride around the backroads of Point Pleasant, they regrouped at the meeting point just as the others had arrived, where they were met with less than impressed faces. Of course, they had expected that, but there wasn't much time to dawdle on that. They had a Moth Man AND a Corrodium crystal to find, so they went off into their two groups to begin the search.

…Though much to the chagrin of everyone, they all needed to wear hazard gear, just in case. "It's lucky for you all that we keep multiples of these." Drew had said, zipping herself up in her own tan-colored hazard suit. "And if you need the helmets, make sure to press the button on the side of the neck, okay?"

"Ugh, I can't believe we have to wear these frumpy things." Weiss muttered, inspecting her figure in the suit. "Well, at least they're form-fitting. Probably won't hinder our combat ability TOO much…" But then, she asked her boyfriend the question that was eating away at her mind. "Rex, does this make my butt look big?"

"Psh, seriously? Of course, it doesn't." Rex waved off. "Weiss, you make ANYTHING look great."

"Aw, Rex!" Weiss leaned in and gave him a peck on the cheek. "You always know what to say." However, she narrowed her eyes at Ben after that. "Though I still don't see why YOU don't have to wear any of this, Ben."

In response, Ben moved his arm up, flashing the Omnitrix. "Sorry, but the Omnitrix provides me with protection from that stuff, even when I'm not an Anur alien. But don't worry, I'll make sure to get that stuff contained as soon as possible. Now, let's head in."

From there, the group went in, and before long, the boys were caught up in their own conversation. "So you're telling me that you actually saw a Chupacabra in your OWN universe, Rex?" Zak reiterated, still trying to comprehend what the EVO just told them. "Wow, who'd have thought Cryptids could live on alternate Earths, too?"

"Yeah, kind of surprised me, too." Rex nodded. "Ran into it while I was down in Mexico one time, and it was BIG." He spread his arms out toward the Smoke Wolf for emphasis. "Like, imagine that perro… but BIGGER, and with mangy brown fur."

This managed to take Zak by surprise, as well as catch Drew's attention. "Wait, really? Huh… that sounds nothing like the Chupacabras on our world." Zak pulled his hands in to describe the beast's size. "Ours are more like oversized, hairless rodents. Here, I'll show you…" Zak pulled out a small tablet and turned it on, scrolling through his Cryptid database before finding the Chupacabra. "Here, see?"

Rex peeked at the image and immediately cringed at the sight. "Oh, ew, that's nasty!"

"Good lord!" Weiss had caught sight of it as well and recoiled. "Ugh, that is SO unnatural! How can that thing be a giant dog on one Earth and… that on this one?"

Drew interjected briefly. "Well, there have been some reports where people describe Chupacabras as being dog-like." She pondered over the whole thing for a moment. "So… perhaps your Earth, Rex, is where THAT type of Chupacabra lives."

"Huh, that's actually kind of weird." Rex admitted.

"You think THAT is weird?" Ben piped up, smirking over his shoulder. "Heh, you're not the only one who's encountered a Cryptid in his past travels, Rex. Hey Zak, Drew, either of you know about the Kraken that lives in Lake Michigan?"

The two Saturdays were surprised at the mention. "Wait, you know about Michelle?"

At that, though, Ben recoiled a bit. "…I'm sorry, "Michelle"?"

"Yes, that's the nickname we use for her." Drew explained. "The Lake Michigan Monster, a.k.a. Michelle. The Secret Scientists reclassified it to avoid confusion with the REAL Kraken."

"Oh yeah, that's a good point…" It took a few seconds for Ben to realize… "Wait, the REAL Kraken?"

Zak let out a laugh. "Hah, yeah, REAL ugly son of a fish. Lives down DEEP in the ocean, you wouldn't wanna run into that thing." Still, he gave Ben a wink. "But yeah, we're familiar with Michelle. She and her babies were actually relocated recently into the Undertown lake, if my memory serves…"

"Okay, I'm just finding out a TON today, apparently." Ben slapped his forehead. "Undertown has a LAKE?!"

The team broke out into a round of laughter at that as they kept moving forward. Before long, though, Sun couldn't help but twitch as he and the others trekked through the overgrown area, keeping his eyes peeled for any signs of Cryptid or mutant. "Man, we're not even a hundred feet into this place and it's already giving me the creeps…"

"I know what you mean, Sun." Blake affirmed, keeping close to her boyfriend as her ears were perked up high, all while her hand securely held onto Gambol Shroud. "This place is almost like one of those abandoned sites you see in horror films where the killer slashes through all of the teenagers one by one…"

"GAH! Blake, could you NOT give me that kind of visual?!" Weiss exclaimed, her hands flying up to cover her ears. "I'm not in the mood for nightmares this soon."

Drew waved her hands, signaling for the girls to relax. "Alright, alright, let's calm down, ladies. Why don't we change the subject, then?" She craned her head over to Ruby curiously. "Namely, I'd like to learn more about those Silver Eyes of yours, Ruby."

"O-Oh, um…" A rather bashful expression took to Ruby's features, lowering her head timidly. "Honestly, I don't really know much myself." Her hand went to her neck, her nerves starting to act up. "Basically, whatever Gwen or Kevin told you is pretty much the gist of what I know, too. Heck, I don't even know how to activate them."

But then, Zak interjected. "Um, not to be a Nosey Parker, Ruby, but… I don't exactly know what these powers are." He titled his head an inquisitive stare. "Do you mind… ya know, filling me in, please?"

"Mmhm, ajajah bagah. Hmmm…" Fiskerton added as he put on a quizzical face of his own.

As she looked at Zak, though, a stray thought entered and exited Ruby's mind in an instant; 'Oh my gosh, he's really cute when he's anxious.' And right at the next second, she wondered; 'Wait, where'd THAT come from?' Ruby shook all of that off before going to answer him. "Oh, y-yeah, that's right, you guys don't know…" She pointed up to her eyes. "Well, you know how my eyes are silver?"

Both Zak and Fiskerton nodded. "Hah, yeah, how can anyone miss that?"

"Well… let's say they're not JUST a super rare trait." Ruby brushed a lock of hair away, making sure that everyone saw her eyes. "You see, in reality, I'm descended from a clan of Silver-Eyed Warriors who used to be EVERYWHERE around Remnant. And from what I hear, they were very powerful and well-respected thanks to the power their Silver Eyes gave them; being able to kill the Grimm with light so bright that it turns them to stone."

Zak, Fiskerton and Drew were very intrigued as Ruby explained, with the boy wearing a very excited smile. "WOAH! And YOU can do that? Can we see it?"

"Yah, yah!" Fiskerton clapped hopefully.

"Uh, hehe… sorry guys, but I can't, remember?" Ruby said disappointedly, bringing things back down a bit. "See, I've only recently unlocked these powers and… well, I haven't been able to use them since." She glanced off to the side. "…And the first time I used them I ended up taking off a bad guy's arm and leaving him with only one eye."

The human and cryptid boys were left flabbergasted by that. "…That's metal." Zak muttered, which made Ruby blush a little.

Drew let out a sigh of her own. "Hah, no kidding… but what exactly triggered your powers activating, if I may ask?"

"Oh, I saw my uncle get stabbed through the stomach." Ruby answered casually, much to Drew, Zak and Fiskerton's shock. "…He got better, just so you know."

The three of them gave a collective sigh. "Oh, phew! Okay, I was kind of worried why you said that like it was no big deal." Zak said, relieved that no one was seriously hurt. "I know if MY uncle got stabbed in the stomach, I'd probably be completely broken up about it."

"Why do you think my eyes exploded like that?" Ruby quipped, nudging Zak's arm. "I love my Uncle Qrow. Also, remember how I said I took off a guy's arm and eye when my eyes activated?"

"Was that the same guy who stabbed your uncle?"

"Yessir!" Ruby winked.

Zak offered a high five, which Ruby reciprocated. "Nice."

Drew, however, was a bit more curious at that. "But wait, didn't you say that your powers only work on Grimm? How'd they affect that one person?"

"Well, I'm not entirely sure myself, honestly." Ruby admitted.

"Though it probably had to do with the fact that he was both a mutant scorpion man AND a complete psychopath." Rex piped up.

Weiss was quick to reaffirm her boyfriend's thoughts. "Yeah, with all of those factors combined, I could see why the Silver Eyes would probably mistake Tyrian for a Grimm."

"Hm, I see…" Drew took everything that he had heard up to that point into consideration, pondering if her idea could work. 'It's like I thought, her power IS considerably different to Zak's… but perhaps a viable conduit COULD still be used to help her channel it.' The Saturday matriarch set her sights down to Ruby once more. "Well Ruby, if you'd like… I could probably help you use those powers."

Ruby did a double take at Drew's words. "D-Drew, I… thank you for the offer, really, but I doubt you'd know how to get my Silver Eyes working."

"Oh, you'd be surprised." Drew winked. "I know that your powers and Zak's have quite the difference between them, but like how Zak uses the Hand of Tsul'Kalu, I think YOUR powers could be harnessed through a conduit of sorts."

"You… really think so?"

It was then that Zak picked up on what his mother was saying. "Oh, yeah! Ruby, back home we've got LOTS of mystical artifacts and talismans that could help you use your power." He paused as a certain one came to mind. "In fact… I think we might have the perfect one."

Ruby was about to speak her piece, but before she could, Yang came in to offer her two cents. "Hey, go for it, Rubes! I think it sounds like a great idea!"

"Yeah, what've you got to lose?" Blake added with a nod. "After all, if it could help you, then there's no harm in taking the offer."

"I… I-I don't know." Ruby twiddled her thumbs, craning her head down again. "I just… I don't want to be a bother or—"

"Nonsense." Drew leaned down so that she and Ruby were eye to eye, taking hold of the younger girl's shoulders in reassurance. "Ruby, I promise that this is NO trouble at all. I honestly and truly want to help you gain control over your powers…" She gave an earnest smile to the Hooded Huntress. "So will you let me?"

Zak went over and nudged Ruby's arm, wearing a determined grin. "Will you let us?"

Ruby couldn't lie to herself; she was could feel something welling up inside of her. These two, who she had only met this morning, where willing to offer their help in gaining control over her powers. She honestly had no idea what to say, so she scanned the faces of her friends to see what they thought. Of course, most of them were very supportive of the idea, especially her teammates. And what's more, Ben decided to vocalize his thoughts; "You know, as someone who doesn't know that much about magical artifacts or talismans… I still think it's a great idea." He gave her a thumbs up. "You should go for it, Ruby."

"I… I-I…" For some reason, Ruby felt herself starting to tear up, which Drew and Zak immediately noticed.

"Ruby! Are you okay, sweetie?" Drew reached up, hoping to wipe the tears away.

But Ruby did that herself, wiping her eyes on her sleeve as she regained her composure. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine. It's just…" She took a deep breath, meeting their eyes again with a bright smile. "I'm just really happy, that's all. I honestly thought I'd never get a hang of these powers… but then you guys just offered me a way and I'm really grateful for that." She bowed to the two graciously. "Thank you both so much."

Zak and Drew both smiled back, bowing to her as well. "You're welcome, Ruby." Zak said with a small salute. "Any time."

"Hm, though this whole thing HAS got me thinking…" Ruby couldn't help but giggle at this thought. "Hehe, wouldn't it be cool if, instead of destroying Grimm, I could control them with my Silver Eyes like how YOU can with your Cryptid powers?"

"Hah, yeah, then they'd REALLY be useful." Zak noted. "But being able to turn them to stone is still pretty cool—" Gggrrrr… All of a sudden, Zak came to a halt when the Smoke Wolf bounded in front of the entire group, the beast taking a defensive stance as its gaze locked onto the nearby tree line. "W-Woah, what's going on, boy? Smell something?" The wolf just kept on growling, and before long, Fisk was starting to do it as well. "Woah, you too, Fisk?"

Blake's ears twitched up, her eyes darting toward the trees. "They're right, something's coming…" At her words, everyone started arming themselves, with Ben even dialing up the Omnitrix. It didn't take the team long to see what was headed their way, though, as through the darkness of the trees, there came a rather eerie purple glow… and it was moving.

The Omni-Hunters gasped and stepped back as the glow became more defined, revealing several dark, four-legged creatures with purple patterns on their fur. They appeared canine in nature, no doubt more wolves, but they were quite demented, appearing more monstrous than anything. What's more, their bodies had been mutated, with their upper torsos much bigger while their hind legs were a lot stronger, as evidenced by them rearing up to stand as they came out of the woods. The pack of fifteen wolves collectively howled, their wails haunting and petrifying.

"W-W-Wah-W-W-Wah—" Weiss was trembling, completely horrified by what she was seeing.

"WEREWOLVES!" Ruby shrieked.

"Don't panic!" Ben held up his hand, not breaking his focus on the mutated beasts for a moment. "They're just under the affects of the corrodium, which probably means that we're very close to it." But then, Ben realized something. "Wait… it's daytime, how are they not—" But the second he moved his head up toward the sky, he quickly found out why. "Oh… it's overcast. No direct sunlight. Dammit."

Yang furrowed her brow, slamming her fists together. "What do we do here, Green Boy?! We need a plan!"

Ben made the Omnitrix core pop up, having made his selection. "And I have one…" The hero pressed the core down and, in a flash of light, he transformed into Bliztwolfer, the Loboan getting onto all fours with the Smoke Wolf. "Keep your attacks non-lethal. These animals aren't in their right mind, so just knock them out so we can wait out the effects of the corrodium."

"Gotcha!" Zak pointed his Claw at one of the wolves and launched its tether at the beast, wrapping its arm up without fail. From there, Zak pulled the line back in, leaping forward to deliver a punch.

Ruby grabbed Crescent Rose and went in as well, though she made sure to keep the blade retracted. "Zak, wait! Don't go in alone!" From there, the werewolves went on the attack, though a few of them were immediately met with a smack by Ruby's bludgeoning weapon.

"Hya! GYAH!" Yang went in and started dishing out several punches, with Blake by her side kicking away any wolf that dared get close to them. "Man, it's like fighting Beowolves back home!" the blonde noted.

"Yeah—hah!" With another kick, Blake jumped off of a wolf's head and then landed on another's back, bringing it to the ground. "Only we've gotta be more careful with these ones."

Sun went in as well, swinging Ryui Jingu Bang around to clear the way and send several wolves flying back into the woods. "Yeah, just don't let 'em tear into our suits! We're gonna need 'em for later!"

Drew went into battle as well, using her Tibetan Fire Sword to fend off the wolves' sharp teeth and claws. However, she had to make sure she kept its fire power under wraps, at least for now. "Gah! How in the world can an element do THIS much to something in just a short amount of time?!"

"GRAH! RAH!" Blitzwolfer roared as he and the Smoke Wolf swiped at their fellow canine adversaries with their own claws, sending them flying before making impact with the ground. "Believe me, I wish I knew! The Anur System is pretty messed up…" It was then, however, that he noticed something. "Rex! On your six!"

"Huh? AH!" Rex brought up his Smack Hands just in time to block a strike from the mutated wolf behind him, though that didn't stop it from leaping over him and coming back down. "Oh no you don't!" Rex whipped around and exchanged a Smack Hand for a Funchuck, successfully bashing the wolf away. "Haha! Not happening, pal—AGH!" Unfortunately, Rex still ended up missing another wolf, which managed to tear through one of the arms of his hazard suit. "Grr, why you…"

Before he could retaliate, though, a glyph suddenly appeared in front of the wolf, trapping its front and rear paws and spinning rapidly. Within seconds, the glyph abruptly stopped and the mutant canine was sent blasting off down the trail, with Weiss glaring at it all the while. "Hmph! Serve you right!" Her attention immediately shifted to Rex, however, dashing over to him to inspect the wound. "Rex! Are you alright?!"

"Y-Yeah, I think I'm good." Rex lifted his arm, bringing his builds down to inspect the damage done to his hazard suit. Sure enough, there were three slashes through the fabric, though thankfully the claws didn't pierce his skin. "Hah, in fact, I managed to get off pretty much scot-free."

Weiss deadpanned at that. "Uh, yeah, but now you're exposed to the corrodium, genius."

But Rex didn't seem all that worried regardless. "Ah, I'm sure it'll be no big. Pretty sure my nanites can protect me from the affects… at least I think." However, this didn't stop Weiss from glaring at him with the utmost seriousness, which made Rex's confidence take a bit of a dive. "…I'll stay away from the corrodium if that makes you happy."

"It does." Weiss gave her boyfriend a hug. "And thank you." Just then, two more wolves tried jumping the couple from either side… only for Rex to raise a single Smack Hand while Weiss summoned her Arma Gigas, knocking both of them away without breaking the embrace.

Meanwhile, Fiskerton was basically going, for the lack of a better term, "cat-ape" as he basically wailed on the wolves, using everything from his fists, his feet, and even his head to do damage. "AYAYAYAOOOGHA!" The Fiskerton Phantom belted out while beating his chest triumphantly, standing over a pile of wolves he had taken down. But just as he celebrated, another one that he missed lunged at him from behind. The mutant roared as it pounced for its prey, causing Fisk to gasp and spin around… just in time to see it get tackled to the ground.

"GRAAAHH!" The Smoke Wolf snarled and roared as it swiped at the mutant, making it cry out in pain before it scampered away. Once it was gone, "Smokey" turned back around toward Fisk and locked eyes with him, which Fiskerton himself seemed stunned by.

"Ooooh…" Fiskerton placed a finger to his chin and nodded to the wolf, who instantly reciprocated. He had just saved his life… maybe he wasn't SO bad after all.

At the same time, however, Zak and the others were quickly finding themselves a bit overwhelmed. No matter how many mutants they knocked back, they seemed to just get right back up and keep coming. They were resilient, and it was starting to get both annoying AND tiring. "Ben, these guys are NOT stopping!" Zak called out.

"We need something to make them run away!" Drew added, smacking another away with the butt of her Fire Sword. "We can't keep this up for long."

Blitzwolfer, after tossing another wolf toward the ground, agreed without hesitation. "You're right… which is why I'm gonna need you all to group up behind me!" Team RWBY, Sun and Rex were quick to do so, with Zak and Drew giving him questioning glances as they followed. "Trust me, I know what I'm doing. …Oh, and make sure you cover your ears." Once he was sure everyone was safe behind him, including Fisk and Smokey, Blitzwolfer's muzzle opened up in all four directions, the Loboan taking a deep breath before…

"AAAAWWRRROOOOOOOO!"

From the alien's maw came probably the loudest howl that either Drew or Zak had ever heard, clenching their teeth as the sound rippled through the air. Blake and Fiskerton seemed to be having the worst time with their enhanced hearing, though the mutant wolves were in an even worse spot than them, the beasts all crying out in agony as the sonic waves pelted them relentlessly. Unable to take it anymore, all of the wolves retreated, bounding off into the woods to get away from the pain.

Once they were gone, Blitzwolfer stopped, giving a small smirk at the victory. "Hmph, and that's how you know who's top dog." He eyed Smokey and added; "No offense." The hero got a small grumble from the Smoke Wolf, who simply looked away.

"Phew! Nice work, Ben!" Sun commended, giving the Loboan a high-five. "Ya really gave those wolves a splitting headache they won't forget!"

"Heh, thanks Sun, I—" But then, Blitzwolfer cut himself off when he heard a bit of growling coming from his left… where he saw one last mutant wolf hiding amongst the bushes. 'I missed one?!' Blitzwolfer snapped his body around, opening his muzzle again swiftly. "Guys, watch out!"

But just as the wolf had leapt up from its hiding place, something unexpected happened. From behind the beast, a shadowy figure suddenly dashed out from the dark woods, bringing something down onto the back of the wolf's neck to knock it down and out. It hit the ground with a THUD, barely moving around a little before it lost consciousness completely. As it happened, the thing that knocked it out… was a metal briefcase, and it was being held my someone very mysterious. "Hmph, and stay down, pest."

The Omni-Hunters were taken by surprise as to who was before them, not expecting anyone else to be out here. Drew and Zak, meanwhile, were quite shocked, and for good reason. "…Oh boy." Zak muttered.

Standing before them was a young man in his late teens with chiseled features, his pale skin contrasting with the dark green of his trench coat. He wore a black glove on his right hand and a metal one on his left, which was the same hand that held the briefcase. He wore a lime green undershirt with a black tie, black pants with matching shoes, as well as black sunglasses with green lenses, which only upped his cool-factor for Team RWBY and the others. His greyish-green hair was styled into an Ivy League crew cut, and overall, his appearance screamed only one thing to the group…

"Woah… Secret Agent Man coming in clutch." Rex commented.

"Hm?" The young man spun around, giving the team his attention. And the first thing he noticed was… "Oh… Tennyson."

"Grr… Francis." Blitzwolfer growled, getting in the agent's personal space. "You and daddy here to butt in on Plumber business AGAIN?!"

Francis lowered his sunglasses, returning the Loboan's glare. "Sorry to disappoint you, Tennyson, but my father is not here at the moment. I've been sent in his stead, namely because SOMEONE has to make sure that your people don't mess this up."

This only made Blitzwolfer growl more, getting into the agent's face. "Seriously?! When the hell was the last time the Plumbers screwed anything up?!"

"Oh, I don't know, how's your track record for this WEEK been?" Francis began counting off on his fingers. "Forever Knight attack, TWO Museum heists, Bellwood nearly being reduced to a crater on ANOTHER two separate occasions, Shark Women breaking into Fort Knox making headlines across the country, and you nearly crashed a spaceship into a city. Forgive me if we wanted to make sure THIS went over smoothly."

"Why you son of a—"

"Woah, woah, WOAH!" Zak rushed in and slid in between the two, holding his hands up to them. "Ben, Francis, hold up just a sec here!"

Both of them did what he asked… mostly because Francis was stunned by Zak's presence. He had completely missed him, namely because Blitzwolfer had blocked his view. "Zak?! Since when did you get here? …Wait a minute." He pointed toward Blitzwolfer, exclaiming; "You mean to tell me you KNOW this reckless cretin?!"

Ben transformed back into his human form, equally surprised. "Zak, you know THIS stick in the mud?!"

Zak's eyes shifted between the two and gave a nervous shrug. "Uh, heh… yeah, kinda."

"Francis." Drew spoke up, revealing herself as well and giving the young man a nod. "It's good to see you again."

"Ah, Mrs. Saturday." Francis put a hand over his chest, bowing his head respectfully. "It's good to see you as well. You're looking radiant as always."

A small grin worked its way to Drew's lips. "Uh-huh, flattery will get you nowhere, bucko." She came up and gave him a light jab on the chest. "How've things been?"

Francis gave a shrug. "Fairly normal, all things considered…" He glanced over to Ben with distaste, which the hero reciprocated. "Other than having to clean up the messes of THIS one, that is…" He nodded to Drew politely. "Father sends his regards, by the way." Francis uttered. "As well as his sincerest apologies… again."

Drew simply crossed her arms in defiance. "Yeah, well, until he's ready to say that to our family in person, consider it not accepted." She narrowed her eyes slightly at him. "Just because we've forgiven you doesn't mean we've forgotten what happened in Paris."

"Understandable." Francis resigned, letting the subject go. It was then that he took notice of the rest of the team as well. "Hm, and these must be the interdimensional interlopers?"

Yang narrowed her eyes at the straightlaced young man, marching straight up to. "Yeah, who wants to know?"

Francis merely raised his hand. "Please, there's no need for hostility."

"Hey, if my boyfriend doesn't like you, then forgive me for being skeptical of ya." Yang leaned her head over past Francis to see said boyfriend. "Ben, who's the Celery Stick here?"

A maniacal grin came to Ben's lips after seeing Francis' reaction to that nickname. Utterly appalled, and he enjoyed every second of it. "Hehe, that my dear, is Francis. He's Epsilon's son, believe it or not."

This caught Yang off guard, her eyes moving up and down Francis in with scrutiny. "…Yeah, I'd believe that. He looks like he was raised by stiffs."

"I beg your pardon?!" Francis exclaimed. "Miss, I have half a mind to—"

"Woah, dude, chill!" Zak moved in front of Francis, keeping his hands raised to deescalate things. "Francis, Yang, Ben, could we PLEASE not start anything? I know the Plumbers have beef with Francis' people, but right now, that should be the LAST thing we need to worry about. There's still exposed corrodium somewhere around here and we need to find it."

The two green-clad boys had a stare-off with one another. As much as they hated to admit it, Zak was right. They couldn't waste any more time over this argument. Francis huffed and moved toward Ben. "Very well…" He extended his hand to the hero. "For now, we will work along side one another, just so long as we don't get in each other's way. Does that sound reasonable, Benjamin?"

Ben pursed his lips in frustration but accepted the handshake nonetheless. "Sure does…" He grinned mischievously as he added one last bit; "…Frank." Francis began twitching as he moved away, which was exactly the reaction Ben had hoped for… and one that sent Yang into uncontrollable laughter.

It was then that Ruby cleared her throat, garnering Francis' attention. "So, um… question; are you supposed to be a good guy or a bad guy?"

"What's brought out THAT question?" Francis returned.

"Because with how many people are angry with you, it's hard to tell."

That got the young man to chuckle a bit, even if it was a dry one. "Hah, well, I suppose that can't be helped. But just for clarification; I'm neither good nor evil." Francis straightened his tie, keeping his head held high. "In my line of work, it's best to remain grey, working for the side that benefits the world most."

"Grey, huh?" Sun pointed to his jacket. "I dunno, you're wearing an awful lot of green." Without missing a beat, everyone stared at the monkey boy incredulously, wondering if he was serious or not. "…What?"

"Oh god, he IS serious." Weiss facepalmed. "Blake, your boyfriend is—"

"A total dork, I know." Blake reached up and gave Sun a light smack on the back of the head. "He means MORALLY grey, Sun. As in, he's right down the middle?"

Sun picked up on the meaning once she explained it to him, thankfully. "Oh, I see! Well he probably should've just specified that in the first place."

At this point, Francis could feel a headache already coming on, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose. 'How did I get stuck in THIS situation?' He shook off the strange moment, hoping to move on from it. "Well, in any case, come this way." He pointed up the hill just through the treelined. "I saw those werewolf creatures come from over that hill. That may be where our corrodium is."

"Good eye, Francis." Drew approved, taking the lead. "Follow me, kids. And Rex, be sure to stay toward the back, okay?"

As Francis started forward, though, Zak went up to him and pulled him by the shoulders. "Dude, walk and talk with me." The young agent followed his friend's lead, the duo hushing their voices to a whisper. "So, how ARE things with your "dad" lately?"

"Hmph…" Francis sighed, expecting that to be the first question. Ever since Zak discovered the truth about his "father", he had made sure to keep tabs every time he and Francis met up. And, as much as Francis wasn't too keen on him prying in on his personal life… it WAS somewhat relieving to have someone to speak with about it. "Things are… amicable between us at the moment, I'll say that much."

"I see." Zak paused, thinking over the answer. "Well, that's good to hear. …Also good to hear your voice finally settled in."

And that made Francis sour very quick. "Oh, are you still on that?"

"Hey, c'mon dude, I will never forget those epic voice cracks you had while your voice was getting deeper."

"Hm! I can say the same about you." Francis cracked a grin. "In fact, if I recall, yours were even worse, and I believe I recorded it. Need I play that right now?"

Zak's eyes widened in pure terror, his features contorting into a threatening grimace. "If you do, Francis, I swear to god I will NOT forgive you."

Satisfied with that answer, Francis chuckled and shook his head. "Hmhm, I thought so…" Soon enough, the group reached the top of the hill, where the land seemed to plateau while the trees became a bit more spaced out. After a brief scan of the area, though, Francis saw something glowing several yards away from their position, off in a small clearing where a group of trees had been blown outward. "There! The impact sight seems to be right over that next ridge."

"Alright, this is where I come in." Ben began dialing the Omnitrix again, ready to select another Anur alien. "Benmum—er, I mean, Snare-Oh should be able to contain the corrodium long enough for us to get back to the airship and put it into a suitable container." He sent a serious gaze his friends and teammates. "I don't think I have to stress how important it is to stay AWAY from this stuff as much as possible, so I—wait, why is the ground shaking?"

Sure enough, the team all felt the same rumbling that Ben was, and right then and there, Zak let out a loud yell and pointed to their left. "AAAGH! Guys! RHINO!"

…No. It couldn't be. But, as much as they didn't want to believe it, once the team turned around, they had to face the truth. Barreling through the trees at breakneck speed with his jets on full blast was none other than Exo-Skull, with Subdora clinging onto his back and laughing as they charged full steam ahead. "BAHAHAH! HERE COMES THE PAIN TRAIN!"

"Dammit! Everyone, scatter!" At Ben's order, the team did as they were told, diving out of the way just as Exo-Skull came charging through.

Francis tuck and rolled into a crouch, seemingly unfazed by the attack. "Hm, so that's one of those mutants…"

"Yeah, buddy…" The agent's eyebrows shot up and he whipped his head around, seeing a massive pig man with a mace in hand staring down at him with his bright purple visor. "An' here's another one of 'em!" Thunderhog brought his mace straight down, intending to crush Francis, only for the young man to roll through his legs just in time. "AH! Hey, that's a no-passing zone, man!"

The team regrouped immediately, still in disbelief over the whole situation. "AND Thunderhog's here too?!" Blake exclaimed, the two mutants rejoining one another as Subdora jumped off her beloved's back. "How in the world did you find us out HERE of all places?!"

Drew, on the other hand, was simply perplexed by what she was seeing. "W-Wait, hold on… are those Bebop and Rocksteady from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?"

The mutant duo did a double facefall at that, groaning in despair. "…Ya know, Skull, while I get we chose these animals BECAUSE we were big TMNT fans, it's kinda come around to shoot us in the foot since EVERYONE keeps pointin' it out." Thunderhog stated.

Exo-Skull scratched his ear sheepishly. "Yeah, well, nothing we can do about it now, Hog. Just gonna have to live with it."

"Oh, don't worry, mio caro." Subdora cooed as she reached up and stroked her boyfriend's chin. "I like you just the way you are." Finishing off with a peck on the cheek, the Merlinisapien thief placed her hands on her hips as she addressed the team; "More to the point, we are here because we heard news of a fairly rare and dark element having fallen from the sky above! And now, we are here to collect…"

Rex laughed at that. "Ha! Yeah okay, YOU three are gonna get the corrodium, sure. And how exactly do you plan on doing that without you mutating into hideous freaks?"

"Funny you should mention that." Skull jerked a thumb over his shoulder toward where the glow was coming from. "Because I think you've forgot… we've ALSO got someone from Anur who can handle the corrodium no problem, an' he's goin' over there now as we speak."

The Omni-Hunters felt their stomachs drop collectively at the revelation. "Oh no… Viktor." Ruby muttered.

Hog guffawed, snorting and squealing between laughs as he hefted up his mace again. "Ding-ding, we have a winner! Now tell 'em what they won!"

"Gladly!" The sound of another voice came ringing out before, from out of nowhere, a powerful laser blast came cutting through the trees, cutting down several while forcing the team to duck to the ground. Rex activated his Smack Hands to cover as many people as he could while Ben transformed quickly into Diamonhead, doing the same with a large shield. Once they were sure the trees had all fallen, the Omni-Hunters peaked up… only to be met with an unfortunate sight.

Before them stood Cinder, Rojo, Emerald, Mercury and Neo, the five of them all appearing quite confident as the barrel of Rojo's blaster wafted out smoke. Cinder gave a sinister chortle, raising her hand up to her mouth while smiling down at the heroes nefariously. "Hello, everyone… enjoying your weekend?" The Fall Maiden's hands lit aflame, adding a dark shadow to her smirking face. "Because I know I am."

…..

A/N (Important, Please Read): For god's sake, Cinder, MUST you try to ruin everything? …What am I saying? It's Cinder, of COURSE she must try to ruin everything. After all, it's a boring Saturday so what ELSE is she gonna do? But yep, the team's come into contact with the Ministry, who're already set on stealing the corrodium as we speak! Ben's going to have to rush to get to Viktor if he wants to stop him, but will it be that easy? Probably not, but when it comes to Ben's enemies, it never is.

That being said though, we got more Secret Saturdays characters making appearances here! One of them being a quick cameo from Dr. Grey, a mention of Agent Epsilon, and finally, a full-on appearance of Francis! And yes, I've made it to where the Plumbers and Epsilon's "People" ARE butting heads, because let's face it, they probably WOULD given that their work would likely overlap A LOT.

As for Francis himself, like Zak, he got a bit of a glow-up as he aged, namely in his hair cut. Never did like the emo-like cut that he had when he was a pre-teen, so you bet I gave him a haircut now that he's seventeen. Also, I imagine him being voiced by someone different now that he's older as well. Not to say that Scott Menville CAN'T do an older-sounding voice, because he can… but considering he's ALSO Jimmy Jones in Ben 10, it feels a bit weird. So, for an older Francis, I honestly see him being voiced by Crispin Freeman. He certainly sounds closer to Epsilon, plus he's got a great monotone.

However, that's not ALL that was seen in this chapter, because not only did we get Ben and Rex recounting their own cryptid experiences, but Ruby also explaining her Silver Eye powers to Drew and Zak, who think they might have something to help her harness those powers. But could mystical talismans truly be the key to helping her master her Silver Eyes? Well, we'll just have to wait and see how that goes.

But for now, our sights are set on Halloween! As NEXT TIME, we catch up on Doc's group and what they've found… before then getting a call from Drew and being told what's going on. Thankfully, they might have found something that could turn the tide… that is, if it can stand up to the hoard of Grimm that Cinder wants to bring through. As all that happens, though, Ben goes toe to toe with Doctor Viktor. Will the corrodium fall into the hands of good… or evil? Only one way to find out, so once again, I'll see you all on Halloween, everybody! Until then, thanks for reading and as always, stay safe out there!