Ten minutes passed.
Asher, Ben, and Gwen crouched in a narrow alley about a hundred meters behind the building that served as the shapeshifters' base. The entrance to the aliens' underground facility was protected by a broken fence gate, and at least twenty to thirty shapeshifters stood guard around the perimeter.
This was where Asher's carefully calculated plan would swing into action.
"Next up," Asher said, pulling out the mobile phone trigger with a flourish, "prepare to witness something incredible."
He opened the address book. The contact was nothing but a string of garbled characters, meaningless to anyone else, but perfectly calibrated to his homemade detonator.
"You two might want to cover your ears."
Asher gave Ben and Gwen a kind warning before making the call.
Gwen immediately pressed her palms over her ears. Ben, however, scoffed and crossed his arms, looking unimpressed. "Come on, how bad could it be? Just make the call already."
Asher glanced at his cousin with sympathy. "Your funeral."
He pressed the dial button.
The connection was instantaneous.
On the warehouse rooftop where they'd placed the time bomb earlier, a rapid alarm suddenly pierced the night air!
JINGLE JINGLE JINGLE!!
The sound was deafening, echoing across the empty streets like an air raid siren.
"There's noise! On the roof!"
"So that's where those three brats have been hiding this whole time!"
"Everyone, move out! We'll drag them down ourselves!"
All the shapeshifters within dozens of meters froze simultaneously. Their heads snapped toward the warehouse roof in perfect unison, like puppets controlled by the same string. Then they charged forward with inhuman speed, teeth bared and claws extended!
Even the distant aliens heard the commotion and abandoned their posts, rushing toward the sound.
Until,
BOOM!!
The time bomb detonated. The explosion wasn't particularly destructive, it barely left a scorch mark on the rooftop tiles, but the sound was apocalyptic. Thick black smoke billowed into the air as the blast reverberated through every street in town. It sounded like a nuclear bomb had just gone off!
Asher had calculated everything perfectly. That specific location amplified sound waves, turning his modest explosive into an ear-shattering symphony of chaos!
"What the hell is happening over there?!"
"Are we under attack? Is it another alien faction?"
"It has to be the human military! They found us! Everyone, prepare for battle!"
Countless shapeshifters abandoned their search patterns. They flooded toward the explosion site like a disturbed ant colony, moving with desperate, panicked urgency.
From a bird's-eye view, the scene would have looked like something from a zombie apocalypse, masses of creatures pouring out from every street, all converging on a single point.
Back in the alley, Ben had collapsed to the ground, his face completely blank with shock.
The guards at the entrance had been startled by the explosion too. After a moment's hesitation, they abandoned their posts entirely and sprinted toward the source of the noise. Not a single one remained behind.
"Ben... I did tell you to cover your ears." Asher reached down and helped his dazed cousin to his feet. "Good thing we kept our distance. If we'd been any closer, your eardrums would've been toast."
"I-I'm fine!" Ben stammered, his face flushing with embarrassment. "I just... lost my balance for a second!"
"Sure you did." Asher grinned. "Come on, we don't have time to waste. The bomb won't keep them distracted forever."
The three of them burst from their hiding spot and sprinted across the open ground. They passed through the shattered fence gate and skidded to a halt at the entrance to the underground facility.
The entrance was covered by a metal hatch with a handle bolted to its surface. Fortunately, the metal wasn't particularly thick, just a thin sheet meant to conceal the base from casual observation.
Asher tried to lift it alone, but it was too heavy. Working together, all three of them managed to heave the hatch aside and prop it against the fence.
Beneath the metal cover was a gaping pit.
Complete darkness stared back at them.
Asher picked up a small stone and dropped it into the hole. He counted the seconds in his head.
One... two... three...
Clatter.
The sound of the stone hitting bottom finally echoed up from the depths.
"This thing goes deep," Ben whispered, peering nervously into the abyss.
"And it's pitch black," Gwen added, her voice tight with anxiety. "How are we supposed to get down there safely?"
Asher looked down at the Omnitrix on his wrist. The charging indicator had turned green, the watch was fully powered and ready for transformation. A confident smile crossed his face.
This was one of those rare moments when the Omnitrix actually came through when he needed it most.
"I bet he's turning into Heatblast, right?" Ben guessed eagerly. "We'll need light down there, so it makes sense!"
"Heatblast?" Asher shook his head as he activated the Omnitrix. The holographic display sprang to life, and he twisted the dial past several alien silhouettes. "No. We need something else. Something that doesn't need light."
The dial stopped on a bestial, quadrupedal figure.
For most aliens, darkness was a handicap. But for this particular transformation, darkness meant absolutely nothing.
SLAM!
Asher brought his hand down on the Omnitrix core.
Brilliant emerald light exploded outward, engulfing his entire body. His form began to shift and change, bones restructuring, muscles rearranging, senses transforming entirely.
At the same moment, the familiar chime of the sign-in system echoed in his mind.
"Ding!"
"Sign-in location detected: Alien Underground Lair!"
"Requirement: Host must use Wildmutt's enhanced perception abilities to safely navigate to the bottom of the facility. Upon completion, sign-in reward will be granted!"
The green light faded.
Where Asher had been standing, a massive orange creature now crouched on all fours. Wildmutt had no eyes, his face was smooth and featureless except for powerful jaws lined with razor-sharp teeth. Six gill-like nostrils lined either side of his neck, flaring as they drank in every scent particle in the air. His body was covered in a layer of coarse fur, and wicked black claws extended from his hands and feet.
Ben and Gwen took an involuntary step back. Even knowing this was Asher, the transformation was always startling.
Wildmutt's head swiveled toward them, and though he had no eyes, they both felt his attention lock onto them.
Then he turned back to the pit.
"Grrrrowl..."
The sound that came from Wildmutt's throat was deep and animalistic, part growl, part purr. He couldn't speak in this form, but the message was clear enough.
Follow me.
Without hesitation, Wildmutt leapt into the darkness.
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