[22] Familiar Shadows

Chapter 22: Familiar Shadows

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My life has changed a great lot compared to before. A few weeks ago, who could have thought I'd be encountering space bounty hunters gunning for my head?

Yet, despite all the shocking incidents I was experiencing on a daily basis, our summer vacation had to continue.

The Rust Bucket's tires hummed against the asphalt as we cruised down Interstate 81. Three days had passed since then, and my body still ached in places I didn't know could ache. The hoverboard Tetrax had "gifted" me sat on the table, partially disassembled under my curious fingers.

Only the news anchor's voice broke my concentration.

"—continuing our coverage of the incident at Culver University in Virginia," the news announced. "The military maintains that the event was a training exercise gone wrong, but eyewitness accounts describe what they're calling a 'green behemoth' engaged in battle with armed forces."

My head snapped up so fast I nearly gave myself whiplash.

Holy shit.

My eyes narrowed at the screen.

It's him. The Hulk.

Grainy cell phone footage played across the screen. It showed a massive green figure leaping between buildings, military vehicles flipped like toys, and General Ross's forces firing what looked like sonic cannons. I'd recognize that particular disaster anywhere.

Bruce Banner's transformation at Culver University, one of the early Hulk incidents from the MCU. From the looks of it, the green titan looked like his counterpart from the very first MCU movie.

"See kids, the government and media lies to you all the time. That's no training exercise," Grandpa Max muttered from the driver's seat as he eyed the screen. "Those energy signatures... reminds me of gamma radiation experiments from my Plumber days."

I kept my expression in check, showing some basic interest that'd be expected from Ben Tennyson, pretending this was all new information. "Gamma radiation? Dweeb, what does that mean?"

“You're not serious, are you, Ben?” Gwen replied from the couch where she'd been practicing with her telekinesis charm. A pencil hovered shakily above her open notebook as she looked at me in disbelief. “You're going to be a Senior soon! How do you not know what Gamma radiation is?”

"Alright, alright, don't fight. Well, Ben, if I have to explain in simple terms, it's just a dangerous type of energy that can kill people." Grandpa replied grimly. "But it's also very unpredictable. I think what we see in the news is an experiment of unpredictability. The military has no business deploying that kind of technology in a civilian area."

"Look at those soldiers," Gwen pointed at the screen. "They seem a bit too prepared, like they knew what they were looking for."

She wasn't wrong.

Ross had been hunting Banner for years in the timeline I remembered, it shouldn't be any different here.

I turned back to the hoverboard, trying to look casual while my mind raced. This was a major moment… The MCU was beginning to unfold around us.

Banner would be on the run, eventually making his way toward New York where he'd face the Abomination. That battle would level Harlem if it went the same way as in the films.

Could… I even make a difference there?

If I recall correctly, dozens of people died there, caught in the battle. Including civilians who were just going by their lives.

The Omnitrix felt suddenly heavy on my wrist. I'd mentioned this before, but I was far from a heroic figure in my previous life. But now…

With the right alien, maybe I could help contain the Hulk's rampage or evacuate civilians before the worst happened.

What reason did I have not to help people?

When I knew people would die there, and when I knew I could stop that just by being present there, why shouldn't I?

"Ben, what are you doing to that thing?" Grandpa's voice pulled me from my thoughts.

I breathed out.

I just had to convince grandpa. But… I wasn't sure if he'd allow me to mess into this. This was a military situation, after all, not somewhere a vigilante should be.

I had to think of something…

“Ben?”

Having already made the decision, I gestured to the hoverboard's exposed circuitry to answer grandpa. "Just checking for tracking devices or other surprises. The diamond-face dude didn't harm us, but I can't really just trust him either."

"Smart thinking." Grandpa nodded approvingly. “But I suggest instead of messing with it yourself, use your Galvan form, uh, it's the frog-like alien.”

“Yes, that's the plan now.” I said and then twisted the Omnitrix dial, slamming it down. Green light flashed, and seconds later, I sat in Grey Matter's diminutive form.

"Grey Matter! Now let's really see what makes this baby tick." I rubbed my hande.

My enhanced Galvan intelligence immediately identified several components that didn't belong in a simple transportation device. Jumping onto the circuit board, I traced the connections with my tiny fingers.

"Interesting... not just a tracking beacon, but a sophisticated two-way communication array. And this component here—some kind of remote override system." I disconnected several wires. "Not today, crystal-face. This board is officially jailbroken."

Gwen rolled her eyes, though I caught the hint of a smile. "Can't believe I'm saying this, but nerd."

"Says the girl levitating school supplies," I shot back.

The pencil dropped as her concentration broke. "I'm preparing for when school starts again. Unlike some people, I actually plan ahead."

"—and we're now looking at additional footage from Culver University," the news anchor continued. "Military forces pursued the unidentified subject into the surrounding forests before losing track near the Virginia-Tennessee border."

The footage shifted to aerial shots of damaged military vehicles and flattened trees. As the camera panned across a crowd of onlookers, something caught Grandpa Max's eye.

"Wait." He leaned forward, squinting at the screen. "Can they rewind that?"

As if on cue, the broadcast replayed the clip, showing bystanders gawking at the military cordon. And there, at the edge of the frame, stood a tall figure in dark robes, face painted like a skull.

"Hex!" Gwen and I exclaimed simultaneously.

Indeed, Hex, the magician from whom I stole Gwen's charms for her, was standing among the crowd. He was just a dot in the screen, but he was staring at Hulk, no doubt about it.

Grandpa Max's expression darkened. "What in the world is he doing there?"

I hopped off the hoverboard, slapping the Omnitrix symbol on my back to revert to human form. He didn't just seem to be a bystander there…

This changed everything.

Hex hadn't been part of the original Hulk storyline—this was a deviation from what I remembered.

"Maybe he's trying to harness the Hulk's power somehow?" I suggested quickly, deliberately making an issue.

"The what?" Gwen asked.

"Uh, the green guy," I backpedaled quickly. "He looked like something straight out of a comic book, right? Hulking green monster."

Grandpa Max's eyes remained fixed on the screen. "Hex should be behind the bars by now, but it seems he escaped. From the single encounter we had with him, I can tell he must be after something powerful if he's hovering around a military operation. This can't be coincidence."

Gwen clutched her charms, her expression growing serious. "If Hex is involved, it means there's a magical element to this. Something powerful enough to draw his attention."

"Or he's causing it," I added, my mind racing with possibilities.

Maybe Hex somehow influenced Banner's transformation or planned to harness the Hulk's power? Anyhow, the consequences could be catastrophic.

The original Harlem battle had been bad enough—but what if Hulk was enhanced by magical energy? That would make the Abomination look like a minor nuisance.

"We should check this out, grandpa," I said directly, finally having a solid reason to push. "If Hex is involved, this is partly our responsibility. He's only free because we interrupted his museum heist."

Grandpa Max frowned. "It's dangerous, Ben. Military operations, an unknown entity with incredible destructive power, and now Hex? This isn't like fighting individual bounty hunters."

"Which is exactly why we need to be there," I argued. "I've got the Omnitrix, Gwen has her magic, and you've got... whatever alien bazooka you pulled out last time. We're probably better equipped to handle this than the military."

"He's right, Grandpa," Gwen added, surprising me with her support. "If Hex is trying to tap into whatever power this green creature has, we can't let that happen. Plus, I might learn more about how my charms work by observing him."

Grandpa Max sighed, recognizing he was outnumbered. "Reconnaissance only," he insisted. "We observe, gather information, and only intervene if absolutely necessary. Is that clear?"

"Crystal clear," I agreed, while mentally adding, Unless the two gamma monsters are about to flatten someone… then all bets are off.

Grandpa adjusted our course, heading east toward the Virginia border. "Last reported sighting was near Bristol. We should be there by nightfall."

I smiled. Nice. Now I could be present during the Harlem incident.

Then I glanced down at the Omnitrix as I wondered which alien would be most effective for this situation. Diamondhead for durability? Four Arms for strength? Or maybe something entirely unexpected, like Ghostfreak to possess and calm Banner from within?

"Penny for your thoughts?" Gwen asked quietly.

I looked up, smiling a little. "Just thinking about how much easier this hero gig would be if these super-powered incidents would space themselves out a bit more. First Hex, then alien bounty hunters, now this? A guy could use a vacation from his vacation."

Although I said that, I was enjoying this. The fun of transformation, the thrill of fights, and the fruit of saving people.

But at the same time, I knew the truth. Things were about to get a lot more complicated than either Gwen or Grandpa could possibly imagine.

If the MCU timeline was progressing as I thought, we were driving straight toward one of the defining moments of Hulk’s story.

And I had front-row tickets to the show.

****

The atmosphere was dark. The forest floor lay torn asunder beneath the mage, Charmcaster's boots. It was evidence of something massive and angry having passed through hours earlier.

Uprooted trees created jagged wounds in the once-pristine woodland, their exposed roots reaching skyward like grasping fingers. Massive footprints, each easily the size of a car tire, punched deep into the soft earth, forming a chaotic trail of destruction that stretched into the distance.

Charmcaster inhaled deeply, tasting the lingering tang of ozone and something else, something… primal and raw that tickled her magical senses.

Not quite magic, but not entirely mundane either. Something new.

"Fascinating," she murmured, kneeling to examine one of the footprints. The energy signature it left behind pulsed with an otherworldly green luminescence visible only to those attuned to magical forces. "Whatever this creature is, it's practically hemorrhaging power."

Such glorious, untamed power.

The kind that could reshape mountains and level cities if properly harnessed.

The kind that could make her name feared throughout the magical realms. The kind that could finally allow her to step out of her uncle's shadow.

Speaking of whom...

"Hurry up, Hope." Hex commanded in his raspy voice from the clearing ahead, a tingle of barely controlled desperation hidden in his tone. "The trail grows colder with every passing minute!"

Charmcaster shrugged, rising gracefully to her feet. "Coming, Uncle."

She brushed dirt from her knee-high boots, taking her time despite his urgency. Let him wait. His impatience would only cloud his judgment further.

She watched her uncle from the treeline, studying his frantic movements as he arranged crystals and herbs in a precise geometric pattern. His skeletal face paint seemed to have faded slightly, giving him a disheveled appearance that matched his current state of mind.

Without his charms, those powerful magical artifacts stolen by some weird mutant, Hex was reduced to increasingly desperate measures.

Charmcaster found it pathetic.

"Amateur hour," she whispered to herself, observing his sloppy technique. Raw force where finesse was needed. Brute magical strength where subtlety would yield better results. This was precisely why she'd insisted on accompanying him on this fool's errand—to ensure his desperation didn't ruin what could be an unprecedented opportunity.

After all, one didn't encounter a being of such pure primal energy every day.

Charmcaster entered the clearing, her charm bag swinging gently at her hip. "Uncle, the energy signature is strongest here," she announced, interrupting Hex's muttering. "The creature passed through approximately three hours ago, heading northeast."

Hex barely acknowledged her, continuing to place smoking herbs and crushed gems at cardinal points around the ritual circle. "The Gamma Locus Stone will reveal more than mere direction," he said, his voice reverent despite his frenzied state. "It will attune itself to the behemoth's unique energy signature, allowing us to track it no matter where it hides."

If they could find it. The Gamma Locus Stone wasn't so much a physical artifact as it was a magical construct—one that formed at the intersection of mystical energies and certain rare forms of radiation.

Charmcaster had theorized its possible existence after studying ancient texts that described similar phenomena occurring around sites of great natural disasters.

This "green behemoth" the humans were so frantically pursuing was no natural disaster, but the energy it left in its wake... that was something else entirely. Something that might be capable of catalyzing the stone's formation.

"...You know this won't restore your abilities," she reminded him, removing several items from her charm bag—a vial of quicksilver, three crystallized salamander eyes, and a small pouch of powdered meteorite. "Even if we succeed, you'll still lack your original artifacts."

Hex didn't show a reaction. "I am well aware of my current limitations, such is why I brought you here," he said. "But this creature's power... if properly channeled..." His eyes glazed slightly, lost in visions of what such energy might accomplish.

Charmcaster concealed a smile.

Her uncle saw only the immediate gain. A magical battery, a source of raw power to replace what he'd lost. He lacked vision. What she envisioned was so much more ambitious.

With the energy signature of this creature properly mapped and understood, she could potentially create a spell matrix that would allow her to tap directly into the source of its power. Not merely borrowing or stealing its strength, but replicating the transformation itself—controlled, directed, and enhanced by her magical expertise.

She would become unstoppable.

"Come here, girl. The ritual components are prepared," Hex announced, interrupting her thoughts. "We begin now."

Charmcaster took her position opposite her uncle, raising her hands to mirror his. The magical circle between them began to glow with a sickly purple light, tendrils of energy weaving through the air like living smoke.

"Revelatio Energium Gamma," Hex intoned, his voice deepening with power. "Manifestus Locus Petra!"

Charmcaster joined her voice with his, adding her own precise modulations that shaped and directed the raw magical force her uncle summoned.

This was her true talent, a talent that was far more impressive than her uncle’s. The delicate manipulation of magical energies, turning crude power into precise spellcraft.

"Through chaos and order, through power unbound," she chanted, watching as the quicksilver began to rise from its vial, forming a perfect sphere that hovered at the center of their ritual. "Reveal the bridge between worlds, the stone that binds the unnatural force to natural law!"

The air around them grew heavy with potential, sparks of green electricity crackling between the ritual components. The crushed gems glowed with internal fire, melting into luminous pools that began to flow inward toward the hovering quicksilver sphere.

She noticed Hex's labored breathing, his concentration faltering as he poured more and more of his diminished reserves into the work.

Without his charms to focus and amplify his abilities, he was burning through his personal energy at an alarming rate.

…Oh well. Charmcaster subtly adjusted her own contributions, compensating for her uncle's weaknesses without making it obvious she was carrying the bulk of the ritual. His pride would never accept the truth—that without her, he would fail entirely.

The quicksilver sphere began to pulse, its surface rippling as it absorbed the melted gemstones and the crushed meteorite dust that now swirled around it.

Green and purple energies twisted together, fighting for dominance before gradually merging into a unified whole.

"It's forming… how incredible." Hex whispered, awe temporarily replacing desperation in his voice. "The Gamma Locus Stone manifests!"

With a final surge of power and a sound like distant thunder, the sphere collapsed inward, compressing into a translucent crystalline structure that pulsed with an internal green light…

The exact sickly hue Charmcaster had observed in the creature's footprints.

The stone hovered between them, no larger than a golf ball but radiating power that made her magical senses sing.

This was no ordinary magical artifact. This was something new, something born from the collision of mystical arts and scientific aberration.

As the ritual energies settled, the stone rotated slowly, then abruptly jerked to point northeast—the direction the creature had been heading. Pulses of light flowed through it, quickening as if responding to a distant heartbeat.

"It works!" Hex exclaimed, reaching for the stone with trembling fingers. "The behemoth cannot hide from us now."

Charmcaster allowed herself a small, satisfied smile as she watched her uncle cradle the Gamma Locus Stone. He saw only the next step—tracking the creature. She saw so much more.

This was merely the beginning.

With this stone, she could study the creature's unique energy signature in detail, mapping its properties and understanding its nature. Once understood, such power could be replicated, enhanced, and controlled.

Perhaps she'd even let her uncle enjoy a small taste of that power—after all, family was family. But the true potential of this discovery would be hers alone to exploit.

The green glow of the stone illuminated Hex's skull-painted features, casting eerie shadows across the clearing as he clutched it possessively.

"Soon," he whispered to the stone. "Soon we will have enough power to reclaim what was taken from us, and more besides."

Charmcaster said nothing, just inwardly completed the thought.

Soon I will have power beyond anything you ever wielded, dear uncle—even with all your precious charms.

[Image Here]

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