[40] Primal Instincts

Chapter 40: Primal Instincts

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The desert at night was a different world. Gwen followed Kai through a maze of stone and shadow, her charms providing just enough light to navigate by. They'd been walking for an hour in tense silence, the only sounds their footsteps and the distant howl of coyotes.

"So," Kai finally said, her tone conversational as she led them down a steep incline. "How long have you been in love with him?"

Gwen stumbled, catching herself with telekinesis before she could fall. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Please." Kai didn't even look back. "I saw how you watched us earlier. How you've been watching us all day. It's not exactly subtle."

"He's my cousin, Miss," Gwen said stiffly.

"So?" Kai navigated a narrow ledge with practiced ease. "My grandfather and grandmother are first cousins. It was common back then. Some places, it still is."

"That's—we're not—it's not like that!"

"Isn't it?" Now Kai did turn, her expression unreadable in the charm-light. "You're protective of him in a way that goes beyond family. You get jealous when other girls show interest. And the way you look at him when you think no one's watching..."

Gwen's face burned. "You don't know anything about us."

"I know enough." Kai resumed walking. "I know he's special. Not just the watch or the powers, but him. The way he thinks, the way he sees solutions where others see problems. The way he throws himself into danger to protect people. Isn’t that so attractive?"

They entered a narrow canyon, walls pressing close on either side. The temperature dropped noticeably.

"I also know," Kai continued, "that you're probably the only person who really understands him. Who's been there for all of it. That kind of bond... it's rare."

Her observation bothered Gwen greatly, and she didn't trust herself to speak. They walked in silence for a while, navigating increasingly treacherous terrain. Finally, they reached a dead end. It was a sheer cliff face with no obvious way forward.

"Great," Gwen muttered. "Now what?"

Kai studied the wall, running her hands over the stone. "There's a ledge about fifteen feet up. Think your magic can get us there?"

Gwen nodded, wrapping telekinetic energy around them both. They rose smoothly, landing on a ledge barely wide enough for one person. They had to press close together, backs against the stone.

"This is insane," Gwen took in a breath.

"This is Tuesday in the canyons," Kai replied. "Come on, it opens up ahead."

They sidled along the ledge, inches from a fatal fall. Halfway across, Kai spoke again.

"For what it's worth, I'm not trying to steal him from you."

Gwen almost lost her concentration. "What?"

"Ben. I like him, yes. He's brave and clever and those eyes..." She shook her head. "But I'm not blind, and I don’t think he and I are a good match. Plus, earlier I saw he was sending his wolf selfies to a girl. His girlfriend?"

“That must be Jessica. He claims she’s not his girlfriend, but they spent nights together,” Gwen explained.

“So he’s popular with ladies. Not surprising,” Kai said softly. They reached a wider section, both breathing easier. Ahead, the canyon opened into a small valley, moonlight illuminating scattered vegetation.

"There," Kai pointed to a cluster of unusual cacti near the far wall. "Árbol del Matrimonio. The Marriage Trees."

They approached carefully. The cacti were strange, twisted things, their branches intertwining like embracing lovers. In the moonlight, their flowers seemed to glow faintly.

"How do we extract the juice?" Gwen asked.

"Carefully," Kai said, producing a knife. "The spines are mildly poisonous. One prick and—"

"YEOW!" Gwen jerked backward, having sat directly on one of the smaller cacti. She jumped up, telekinetically plucking spines from her posterior. "Son of a—"

Kai bit her lip, clearly trying not to laugh. "I was going to say one prick and you'll have an embarrassing rash."

"Now you tell me," Gwen grumbled, her dignity thoroughly shredded.

But as Kai carefully extracted the precious juice into a vial, both women relaxed and were smiling. Perhaps it was the shared danger of the cliff or the ridiculousness of the situation, but it had broken down some barrier between them.

"You don’t need to worry about me," Gwen said quietly. "Ben and I are not like that. He’s just a brat, after all."

Kai stoppered the vial, tucking it safely away. She stared at Gwen for a bit and then smiled. "I’m glad my observation was wrong, then. Thank you for not throwing me off the cliff when you had the chance. Now I won’t feel guilty talking to him."

“...I thought you said you two aren’t a good match, and you’ll back off since he has a girl already?” Gwen held back a frown, making Kai shrug.

“We can mend each other and become good matches. As for the other girl, isn’t it natural for a fine man to attract multiple possible partners? I just have to win in the competition,” Kai grinned. “Well, all this is considering we meet again in the future.”

Gwen stared at her for a moment, but didn’t say anything. Then she turned around. "Let’s go and find them. Night's still young.”

A howl split the night air. Not a coyote but something deeper, more primal. Both women froze.

"Ben," they said in unison.

Without another word, they ran.

****

Miles away, Ben Tennyson was losing himself.

The transformation had accelerated the moment they'd left the reservation. Unlike the usual transformations, his human form felt like a distant memory now, replaced by something caught between man and beast. He loped on all fours when the terrain demanded it, his enhanced senses painting the world in impossible detail.

He could smell everything, not as good as Wildmutt but not that far off. Max's determination tinged with fear. Wes's calm acceptance layered over old grief. The Yenaldooshi's trail was like a neon sign pointing west, alien metal and corrupted flesh and purpose.

"Ben!" Max called from behind. "Slow down! We need to stick together!"

But Ben couldn't slow down. The hunt sang in his blood, an imperative older than thought. His prey was out there, another predator in his territory. The human part of him knew this was wrong, dangerous, but it was drowning under waves of instinct.

He crested a ridge and saw it—the NASA satellite station, a collection of dishes and buildings that looked quite fragile under the stars. And there, working at the base of the largest dish, was the Yenaldooshi.

It had connected its beacon to the satellite systems, alien technology merged with human in a configuration that hurt to perceive. Symbols crawled across the dish's surface like living things, purple energy crackling between connection points.

Ben didn't think. He howled high. It was a sound that shattered the desert silence and announced his challenge to the world.

“Grghh...?” The Yenaldooshi's head snapped up, those impossible eyes meeting his across the distance. It abandoned its work, dropping to all fours in mirror of Ben's stance.

They charged.

The collision was thunderous.

Two monsters of fang and claw and primal fury clashed with incredible power and beastly growls, neither giving ground. Ben wasn’t fully transformed yet, but even at 80% he was stronger thanks to the Omnitrix making him the Prime of any species. But the Yenaldooshi had experience, centuries of hunt and kill encoded in its movements.

They rolled across the desert floor, tearing gouges in the earth. Ben's claws raked across alien flesh that bled light instead of blood. The Yenaldooshi's teeth found his shoulder, injecting something that burned like acid.

"Ben!" Max and Wes had arrived, the old Plumber raising an energy weapon. "Get clear!"

But Ben couldn't hear him over the roar of blood in his ears. He drove his knee into the Yenaldooshi's stomach, following up with a haymaker that sent it flying. It hit a boulder with a crack that split stone.

The creature rose, shaking its head. Then it did something unexpected. It spoke.

"New... pup," it growled, the words distorted but understandable. "You... don't... understand. Must... complete... mission. Masters... demand…!!"

"Don't care," Ben snarled back, surprised he could form words. "This is... my territory. My people. Get. Out."

They clashed again, but this time Max's weapon spoke. Blue energy wrapped around the Yenaldooshi's leg, sending it stumbling. Ben pressed the advantage, driving it back, but he suddenly felt a little weak. The partial transformation was unstable, his human DNA fighting the alien influence.

Just as the Yenaldooshi prepared a desperate counterattack, two figures appeared on the ridge.

"Now!" Gwen shouted.

Wes moved with surprising speed for his age, the silver pendant glowing with Kai's cactus juice. He pressed it against the Yenaldooshi's chest as it reeled from Ben's assault.

Nothing happened.

The creature laughed, a sound like grinding metal. "Superstition," it spat. "Your... magic... means... nothing!!"

It backhanded Wes, sending the old man flying. The pendant clattered across the ground, useless. “Grandfather!” Kai roared in worry, and that seemed to resonate Ben’s rage. He roared in fury but the Yenaldooshi didn’t look scared.

The Yenaldooshi advanced, victory in its alien eyes.

And then Ben's muscles expanded in with a surge of green light.

The partial transformation expanded into something more perfect, replaced by something pure and powerful. Ben felt his consciousness expand as the Omnitrix finally activated. Yes! The new DNA sample was fully integrated.

When the light faded, Blitzwolfer stood in the desert.

He was magnificent and terrible. Ten feet of muscle and fur and predatory grace, silver-white in the moonlight. The Omnitrix symbol gleamed on a belt around his waist, proclaiming this as a chosen form, not a curse.

"AROOOOOOO!" The sonic howl that erupted from Ben's throat was weapon and declaration combined. It hit the Yenaldooshi like a physical force, sending it tumbling across the ground.

"It's not a spirit," Wes whispered from where Max was helping him stand. "It's a star-walker! He's become an alien."

“Hell yeah!” Ben reveled in the form, now stabilized by the Omnitrix. Every sense was heightened beyond even the partial transformation. He could hear heartbeats from a hundred yards away, smell emotions like colors on the wind. But more than that, he was in control. This wasn't a curse or corruption unlike the others thought. This was power, directed by will.

The Yenaldooshi rose, fear now mixing with its determination. It tried to howl back, to match Ben's sonic assault, but Ben had already moved.

He used the howl strategically, shattering the ground beneath his opponent's feet. When it stumbled, he was there, claws raking across its beacon device. The alien technology sparked and died.

"No!" the creature wailed. "The masters... the invasion..."

"Not happening," Ben growled, his voice carrying harmonics that made reality shiver.

They fought across the satellite station, but it wasn't really a contest anymore. Ben was faster, stronger, and most importantly, smarter. He used sonic blasts to create barriers, to disorient, to control the battlefield. When the Yenaldooshi tried to flee, he howled it into submission.

How could an Alien of the space spices defeat Ben Tennyson?

Finally, he stood over his defeated foe, one clawed foot on its chest. The Yenaldooshi looked up at him with those impossible eyes, and Ben saw something unexpected. The creature had respect in its eyes.

"You... are... true alpha," it wheezed. "I... yield."

Max approached with weird Plumber energy restraints, binding the creature's hands and feet. "Nice work, Ben. You okay in there?"

“Absolutely perfect, grandpa!” Ben nodded, then tilted his head back and howled victory to the stars. The sound echoed across the desert, primal and pure.

The Omnitrix flashed green, and he returned to his human form now that the battle was done. He stood there in torn clothes, human again but the wild was part of him now, and everyone could see it. For there was a little change.

No, not little.

“Whoa, look at this!” Ben checked out his bulging biceps. Although all the fur was gone, Ben was taller now, stronger, with muscles filling his shirt. The Omnitrix had decided to keep the human-body enhancing part of Blitzwolfer’s DNA, perhaps because Ben messed with it recently, or because this Omnitrix was just like that.

Regardless, Ben towered over Max now!

When he looked down, Kai was standing there.

She stared up at him with an expression he'd never seen before. Her eyes were wide, pupils dilated, chest rising and falling with quick breaths. The careful control she always maintained had shattered completely.

"That," she said, her voice husky with something that made Ben's new instincts sing, "was the most incredible thing I have ever seen."

Before anyone could react, she reached up—stretching to her full height—and pulled his face to her level. The kiss was fierce, hungry, full of adrenaline and odd primal attraction. Ben's arms came around her automatically, lifting her off the ground as he kissed her back.

For a moment, the desert held its breath. A girl and an odd boy with the shadows of eleven monsters under his feet, silhouetted against the stars, locked in an embrace that defied logic but made perfect sense.

A few steps behind everyone, Gwen scowled while her hands clenched into fists. The charms on her necklace flickered with an odd feeling as she questioned if she was really sane or not.

Max and Wes exchanged glances, the universal look of adults realizing they were witnessing something beyond their control.

"Young people," Wes said finally.

"Tell me about it," Max replied.

The kiss finally ended, Kai's feet touching ground again. She looked dazed but satisfied, like she'd confirmed something vital about the universe.

That she’s a crazy freaky furry? Ben thought internally.

**

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