Ding!
"Sign-in Object Detected: Large numbers of mutated cockroaches and rats created by Dr. Animo's genetic manipulation!"
"Host must transform into Arctiguana to complete check-in!"
So that was it.
The system notification told Asher everything he needed to know about what was happening, even before he could process it himself.
"Created large numbers of mutated cockroaches and rats..."
His eyes narrowed as the implications sank in. Those two hadn't escaped Earth at all. They'd stayed behind, hiding in the shadows, creating more mutant creatures. And they had to be nearby, probably not far from this very street.
The number of mutants must be enormous, too. Otherwise, the system wouldn't have triggered a sign-in task at all.
The only silver lining? This quest was specifically designed to strengthen Arctiguana, his ice-breathing transformation. That was a bonus he'd gladly accept.
"Asher, what's wrong?" Gwen's concerned voice cut through his thoughts. "Your expression just went all dark. Did that lunatic Dr. Animo hurt you when he attacked earlier?"
"No, I'm fine," Asher said quickly, shaking his head. He turned to face Max, Ben, and Gwen with a grim expression. "Listen carefully, Dr. Animo and Clancy are still nearby. You three need to stay hidden. Grandpa, warn everyone inside the buildings not to come out. Let me, Ben, and Gwen handle this."
All three stared at him in stunned silence.
They looked around at the calm, empty street. Nothing seemed out of place. The humid Florida air hung still and heavy. No movement. No sound. Nothing.
"Asher, I'm not doubting you..." Max said carefully, his eyes sweeping the street again. "But there's really nothing here. Are you sure you're not seeing things? Maybe that explosion earlier rattled you more than you think."
"Do you believe in something called a sixth sense?" Asher replied, his tone urgent and unwavering. "After taking that gene-enhancing serum, I developed one. It acts like an early warning system. And right now, it's screaming at me that danger is coming!"
It was a flimsy excuse, full of holes if anyone pressed him, but the look on Asher's face was absolutely resolute.
Max studied his grandson's expression for a long moment, then nodded slowly.
"Alright. I trust you."
Without another word, Max turned and jogged back toward the crowd of onlookers who'd gathered after Dr. Animo's earlier attack, waving his arms and shouting warnings to get everyone back inside.
Asher, Ben, and Gwen sprinted back onto the messy street where the earlier battle had taken place. Debris from shattered pavement littered the ground. Scorch marks blackened the asphalt. But otherwise, everything looked eerily quiet.
The humid air barely stirred, carrying with it the faint smell of sulfur and burnt rubber.
"I don't see anything," Ben muttered, scanning the area with suspicious eyes. "Are you sure they're here?"
"They don't seem to be around here," Gwen added, her hand hovering near the fire charm pendant hanging around her neck. She glanced at Asher. "Should we rest for a bit and regroup? Maybe they moved farther away?"
"No." Asher shook his head firmly. "They're nearby. It's just... they're somewhere we can't see with the naked eye."
He paused, his mind racing through possibilities.
Wait.
The system mentioned cockroaches and rats, right?
"Gwen, Ben, where in a city would you find the most cockroaches and rats?" Asher asked suddenly. "And I mean somewhere we'd never see them from the street?"
Ben perked up immediately. "Oh, that's easy! The sewers, obviously. There's tons of them down there."
Asher's eyes lit up with realization.
Of course! The sewers!
His gaze snapped to a manhole cover sitting innocuously about thirty feet away on the far side of the street.
"Gwen!" he barked. "Hit that manhole cover with a fire spell! Ben, activate your repulsors and blast it off!"
"Wait, what?" Ben blinked. "You think they're in the sewers? No way. They're scientists! How could they be so... I dunno, shameless as to hide down there, "
BOOM!
The manhole cover exploded upward with tremendous force, spinning through the air like a deadly frisbee. It sailed more than thirty feet before crashing into the pavement with a deafening CLANG, landing twisted and dented.
Asher's entire body tensed, adrenaline surging through his veins. He shouted at the other two, snapping them out of their shock.
"Get ready! Transform, now!"
His fingers flew to the Omnitrix dial, spinning it rapidly.
Almost there... almost there... come on, Arctiguana...
Shhhhhhhhh!
A sound like a thousand tiny wings beating in unison filled the air.
From the open manhole, a swarm of mutated cockroaches erupted into the daylight, dozens of them, each one smaller than the giant mutant they'd fought earlier, but far more numerous. They poured out of the sewer entrance like a living black tide, their chitinous bodies glinting in the sunlight.
Fifty. A hundred. More.
They kept coming.
Then,
CRASH!
The ground around the manhole buckled and split as massive clawed feet burst through the pavement from below!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
More sections of street exploded outward as enormous creatures forced their way up from the sewers, tearing holes in the asphalt like tissue paper.
Seven or eight gigantic mutant rats clambered out of the newly-formed craters, each one easily three to four meters long, roughly the size of a compact car. Their bloated, muscular bodies rippled with unnatural strength. Sharp, yellowed teeth jutted from their jaws. Their eyes glowed a hellish ruby-red, filled with carnivorous hunger.
The swarm of mutated cockroaches spread outward like a living blanket, darkening the sky above.
The rats surrounded the street, cutting off all escape routes.
"Oh my god..." Gwen whispered, her face pale with shock. She clutched the levitation charm and luck charm tightly, her hands trembling as she prepared a defensive stance.
Ben's palm repulsors hummed to life, golden energy crackling at his fingertips, but the sheer number of targets overwhelmed him. Which one should he shoot first? If he attacked just one, wouldn't the rest swarm them instantly?
His confidence from earlier evaporated like morning mist.
"Hahaha! Aren't you shocked by all my mutant creatures?" Dr. Animo's triumphant voice rang out from above.
The mad scientist floated into view on a small hovering platform, his mechanical gorilla arms gleaming in the sunlight. Red goggles covered his eyes, giving him an even more deranged appearance.
Clancy hovered beside him on a second platform, his insect-like features twisted into a hungry grin.
They looked down at the three young heroes like predators eyeing trapped prey.
"You two brats can't handle this many!" Dr. Animo sneered, his voice dripping with malice. "They're all my masterpieces! My beautiful creations!"
Ben and Gwen tensed, but their eyes kept darting toward Asher.
The real threat wasn't Dr. Animo or Clancy, it was Asher, who hadn't made a move yet!
"Finally found you!!" Asher's voice cut through the tension like a blade.
His fingers stopped on the Omnitrix dial, landing precisely on the Arctiguana icon. His hand trembled slightly, not from fear, but from excitement.
With a sharp exhale, he slammed his palm down on the faceplate!
FLASH!
Brilliant green light erupted from the Omnitrix, enveloping Asher's entire body in a cocoon of luminous energy. His DNA began restructuring, alien genetic code flooding through every cell.
A wave of frigid air rolled outward from his transforming form, so cold that frost began crystallizing on the debris-covered street.
"That's great! With Asher's help, I feel way better now," Gwen breathed, relief washing over her face. Confidence returned to her posture.
"Yeah! Fry them with Four Arms, or roast them into barbecue cockroaches with Heatblast!" Ben pumped his fist excitedly, a huge grin spreading across his face.
Four Arms? Heatblast?
Clancy looked utterly confused. He'd only ever encountered that irritating little purple alien before, what were these other names supposed to mean?
Dr. Animo, however, frowned slightly when he heard "Four Arms." He still remembered the devastating power of that four-armed brute. Even now, the memory made him uneasy.
But even Four Arms couldn't stand against this many mutants!
The quantity alone would overwhelm any single opponent!
The green light began to fade.
But when it dissipated completely, the transformation standing before them wasn't the towering, muscular Four Arms.
It wasn't the flaming, rock-bodied Heatblast either.
Instead, a lean, reptilian figure stood in Asher's place.
Blue scales covered his body. Three dorsal fins ran down his spine. Gill-like structures lined his neck. His face was angular and spiked, with cold, calculating eyes. The Omnitrix symbol gleamed from his chest.
Cold vapor puffed from his jaws with every breath.
It was Arctiguana, the Polar Manzardill.
Dr. Animo's eyes widened. His lips curled into a victorious sneer.
"Is that... it? That's your secret weapon?!" He threw his head back and laughed. "I was expecting something terrifying! Instead, you give me... a lizard?!"
Clancy's mandibles clicked together in what might have been insectoid laughter.
The mutant rats growled, their glowing red eyes fixed hungrily on the blue reptile.
The cockroach swarm buzzed ominously overhead, ready to descend at any moment.
Arctiguana tilted his head slightly, frost forming on the ground beneath his clawed feet.
Then, in a voice distorted by cold and layered with icy menace, he spoke:
"You have no idea what you're dealing with."