"Fusion complete!"
The system's mechanical voice echoed in Asher's mind as Wildmutt's transformation finished. But something felt off. He expected to sense some change, enhanced perception, heightened awareness, something tangible to indicate the spider-sense had successfully integrated with his alien form.
Instead... nothing.
His massive orange head neither ached nor tingled with newfound power. His already extraordinary senses felt no different than before. The gill-like nostrils on either side of his neck continued picking up scents as they always had.
'System, did you make a mistake?' Wildmutt's consciousness questioned internally, unable to speak the words aloud due to his alien form's lack of vocal cords. 'I don't feel any change at all.'
"Fusion complete!" the system repeated coldly, offering no further explanation.
'Forget it. It's useless to ask you.' Wildmutt shook his massive head in frustration, abandoning his internal interrogation of the unhelpful system.
"Wildmutt, why did you stop?"
Ben's concerned voice broke through his thoughts from somewhere near Wildmutt's left shoulder.
"GRROOWL!" Wildmutt responded with a guttural sound, his species' equivalent of reassurance. Without eyes to see his surroundings, he relied entirely on his extraordinary olfactory and auditory senses, which painted the world in three-dimensional maps of scent and sound.
He could sense Ben and Gwen's positions perfectly as he crouched low, allowing them to climb onto his broad, muscular shoulders. Once they were securely seated, gripping fistfuls of his coarse orange fur, Wildmutt launched forward on all fours.
His powerful legs propelled him through the underground tunnels at tremendous speed, easily matching a cheetah's sprint. The wind created by his passage whipped past them like a gale!
When he reached a junction where multiple passages branched in different directions, Wildmutt skidded to a halt, his claws scraping against stone.
He had no idea which way to go.
'There are so many tunnels. Which one leads to the shapeshifters' nest? Which one will take us to Grandpa Max?' The question had barely formed in Wildmutt's mind when something extraordinary happened.
A powerful, undeniable connection bloomed in his consciousness. His enhanced perception suddenly locked onto the leftmost passage with absolute certainty, as though an invisible thread connected him directly to Max's location.
That way!
WHOOSH!
Wildmutt instinctively leaped toward the left tunnel without hesitation, his body reacting before his mind fully processed the decision. He bounded down the sloping passage at breakneck speed, his claws finding perfect purchase on the descending stone.
"Asher, are you sure we should take this route?" Gwen called out, her voice bouncing and echoing as she clung tightly to his fur. "There are so many passages here! What if you're wrong?"
"GRROOWL!" Wildmutt growled confidently in response, though he knew the human language barrier made communication frustratingly difficult.
But he knew. The certainty in his core was absolute.
He couldn't explain how, but his perception had become something beyond natural senses. He could feel Max's presence through the maze of tunnels, not just smell him or hear him, but sense his location with perfect clarity, like some form of telepathy!
It was extraordinary. Almost unbelievable.
As Wildmutt continued his rapid descent through the underground network, the sensation in his consciousness grew stronger and clearer with each passing second. He was definitely getting closer to Grandpa Max!
At every subsequent intersection, he identified the correct path with flawless accuracy, never hesitating, never second-guessing. His body moved with absolute confidence through the labyrinthine passages.
"Who's there?!"
"No, that's not a human, it's some kind of massive beast!"
"And two humans are riding on it!"
Three mechanical voices echoed through the tunnel ahead. Shadowy figures materialized in the distance, their forms becoming clearer as Wildmutt approached. Several shapeshifters had been stationed at this section of the underground base!
Rather than feeling worried, Wildmutt's lips pulled back in what might have been a grin if his alien face could properly express one. The shapeshifters' presence confirmed his instincts had been correct. He was definitely heading the right way!
He just didn't know how much farther they needed to go.
"There are people ahead! Asher, be careful!" Gwen warned, patting his muscular shoulder urgently.
"GRROOWL!"
Wildmutt responded with a low, warning growl. His footsteps gradually slowed as momentum carried him forward for several dozen more meters before he came to a complete stop.
The distance between them and the three shapeshifters had closed significantly. Their appearances became crystal clear in Wildmutt's sensory perception, grotesque mockeries of familiar faces!
Aunt Vera's stolen features. Uncle Frank's hijacked appearance. And Grandpa Max's face, worn by an imposter like a mask.
These three creatures had simply copied the forms of their relatives!
"Grandpa!!"
"That's not Grandpa anymore... not the real one. We can't save him."
Ben and Gwen's voices cracked with emotion as they recognized Max's face among the shapeshifters. Neither could hold back the pain in their voices, though they fought to keep from crying. Their hearts ached with the terrible realization that they might be too late.
They didn't yet know the truth, that the real Max was still alive, imprisoned somewhere deeper in the underground base! These imposters were merely replacements left behind after capturing the genuine article!
"GRROOWWWL!!"
Wildmutt adopted an aggressive stance, every muscle in his powerful body coiling like a spring. He roared fiercely at the three shapeshifters, his challenge echoing through the stone passages. Through his extraordinary senses, he could detect the truth, the familiar scent and presence emanating from the Max-imposter wasn't genuine! The real Grandpa Max was still deeper in the base!!
The so-called "captured humans" were nothing more than a collection of replacements left behind after the shapeshifters had stolen their identities!
"It's just an oversized dog, nothing to fear!"
"Let's teach this beast a lesson!"
The three shapeshifters, wearing Asher's relatives' stolen faces, displayed cold, emotionless expressions completely at odds with the warmth those features should have conveyed. They advanced menacingly toward Wildmutt, their movements synchronized and predatory.
Suddenly, every hair on Wildmutt's body stood on end. A powerful sensation, like electricity, shot through his alien nervous system!
SHHHWING! SHHHWING! SHHHWING!
The Max-imposter launched forward with superhuman speed. The Vera-imposter's hands extended impossibly, her arms stretching like rubber. The Frank-imposter's entire body contorted and compressed, preparing to slam into Wildmutt like a living battering ram!
But Wildmutt's body moved before conscious thought could form.
His powerful legs launched him upward at the perfect angle, his claws finding purchase on a jagged outcropping near the tunnel ceiling. He clung to the raised rock formations overhead, completely avoiding the three-pronged attack below!
Wildmutt himself felt stunned by what just happened!!
This perception, this ability to react without thinking, was beyond anything he'd experienced before during combat! It was as though his body possessed an entirely separate consciousness that detected threats and responded automatically!
It reminded him of something from another world, another story, like the Autonomous Ultra Instinct technique from Dragon Ball, where the body moved independently of the mind, reacting to danger with perfect efficiency!
Even if Wildmutt were asleep, he suspected he could dodge attacks effortlessly with this new ability!
"It dodged?!"
"No, that's impossible!!"
The three shapeshifters displayed identical expressions of shocked disbelief, their stolen faces contorting with confusion. They continued their assault, their body parts stretching, twisting, and lashing out in increasingly complex patterns!
THOOM! CRASH! BOOM!
Their attacks struck the stone walls and floor one after another, leaving deep gouges and craters in the tunnel surfaces. But none of them could touch Wildmutt's massive, agile form!
"GRROOWWWL!!" Wildmutt snarled from his elevated position. His roar carried the weight of righteous fury. The tremendous sound waves physically rippled across the shapeshifters' malleable bodies!
WHOOOOSH!
Without warning, Wildmutt released his grip on the ceiling and dove toward them, all four paws extended, claws gleaming!
In less than a heartbeat, he was upon them!
No hesitation. No mercy.
Wildmutt's massive paws struck each shapeshifter with devastating force. His enhanced strength, combined with momentum and perfect precision, created impacts that would have shattered concrete. The three alien creatures were hammered from their humanoid shapes into flattened masses, like putty pressed under a hydraulic press!
CRRRRUUUNCH!!
The ground beneath them gave way completely, collapsing into a massive crater from the force of Wildmutt's assault!
The entire battle lasted less than thirty seconds from start to finish. The three shapeshifters were completely obliterated, their threat neutralized before Ben or Gwen could even process what had happened!
The speed at which the fight concluded was so incredible that Ben and Gwen were still catching up mentally, their minds struggling to accept how effortlessly Wildmutt had dispatched the creatures.
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