[41] Natural Wonders

Chapter 41: Natural Wonders

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Kai's lips still burned against mine four days later. Not literally, though with the way she'd kissed me after the whole werewolf thing, I wouldn't have been surprised if she'd left permanent marks. No, this was the kind of burn that sat in your chest and could make a lesser man check his phone every five minutes like some lovesick teenager.

Which I didn’t do, of course. No matter how childish I loved to act at times, I still had memories of a past life rattling around in my skull. Regardless, my phone often captured my attention whenever I was free, as I had to juggle two DMs at the same time.

"Stop being a bum," Gwen said from across the Rust Bucket, not even looking up from her spellbook. "You've been on that phone for the last hour."

"I'm not being a bum," I protested, watching Jessica type. "I'm chilling with my friends."

"Girlfriends,” she said, as if it were an insult. “You should be ashamed, Ben! Does poor Jesica know you’ve been cheating on her?! You should contemplate how whipped you are."

"Says the girl who spent three hours organizing her charm collection alphabetically, then by color, then by magical resonance frequency."

She finally looked up, green eyes narrowing. "That's called being thorough. Unlike some people who kiss random girls in the desert and then pine after them for days."

"First of all, she kissed me. Second, it's been four days, not 'days.' And third, she’s the one who—" My phone buzzed as a message came. It was from Kai.

Kai: Logging off for the day, will be a bit busy. Grandpa sends his regards. Don't forget your promise.

Ah, yes, the promise. After the adrenaline wore off and we'd handed the Yenaldooshi over to the Plumbers, Kai had cornered me before we left. Made me swear I'd visit her at NYU when summer ended, and said she had "archaeological finds" she wanted to show me….

Me: Wouldn't miss it. Try not to get attacked by any more alien werewolves before then.

Kai: Can't promise that. Trouble seems to follow us Plumber families. Speaking of which, stay out of lakes. Heard something about some lake monster near your route.

I smiled despite myself. Of course she'd heard about that. News traveled fast in the cryptid-hunting community, and a giant lake monster protecting her eggs from poachers was exactly the kind of story that spread like wildfire.

That had been day two of our journey from Arizona to Yellowstone. What started as me pranking Gwen by pretending to be a lake monster as Four Arms (when I tried to transform into Ripjaws instead) turned into an actual monster dragging me underwater. Of course, I was prepared for that from watching the show.

The Krakken was just a mom trying to protect her babies from some asshole poacher named Jonah. I'd managed to reunite her with her eggs, left Jonah tied up for the cops, and even tried to scan her DNA with the Omnitrix. No dice though. Either Krakkens were already in the database somewhere, or they weren't alien enough to register.

The same thing happened with the Megawhatts in Sparksville on day three. Those little electric gremlins had turned the world's largest rubber band ball into a weapon of mass pranking. I'd eventually trapped them in a giant fishbowl as Heatblast, and even learned to fly properly in that form, which was pretty sweet. But when I'd tried to scan their DNA? Nothing. The Nosedeenians were already in the Omnitrix somewhere, as it was shown in Omniverse, just locked away like half the other aliens I knew existed.

"We're here!" Grandpa Max announced, pulling into Yellowstone's entrance. I put the phone away. "America's first national park! Two million acres of pristine wilderness, geothermal wonders, and—"

"Bears that will eat our faces," I finished. "Can't wait."

"Don't be such a downer," Gwen said, but there was less bite to it than usual. She'd been weird since Arizona. Not quite cold shoulder territory, but different. Watching me more. Getting quiet whenever I mentioned Kai.

I wasn't blind. I knew what jealousy looked like. What I didn't know was why my cousin was feeling it. We'd been trading barbs and saving each other's lives all summer, but somewhere along the way, something had shifted. The teasing felt different now. Odd. And the way she'd hugged me before the Yenaldooshi hunt...

What was I supposed to do with that?

"Look at this beauty!" Grandpa gestured at the landscape rolling past our windows. Pine forests stretched to the horizon, broken by meadows where actual buffalo grazed. Steam rose from random spots in the ground, as if the Earth were venting its frustration. "We're going to see Old Faithful, the Grand Prismatic Spring, maybe even spot some wolves!"

"I've had enough wolves for one vacation," I muttered, but I had to admit that the place was pretty incredible. Even through my forced teenage apathy, I could appreciate the raw, untamed beauty of it all.

"Actually," Gwen perked up, "I've been reading about Yellowstone's energy convergence points. The geothermal activity creates natural ley lines that could amplify magical resonance. If I can tap into that—"

"You could turn into an even bigger nerd?" I suggested, trying to get a reaction from her. She threw her pencil at me. I grinned and caught it without looking, because my reflexes were enhanced slightly after my body’s sudden growth.

"I'm thinking more like supercharging my spells. Imagine what I could do with that kind of power boost."

"Probably blow something up," I said. "You've been getting pretty trigger-happy with those charms lately."

"Says the guy who turns into a giant moth and crashes into buildings."

"That was one time! And Stinkfly isn't a moth, he's a– you know what? Never mind." I stood up, stretching muscles that were still getting used to being bigger. The incident with the Blitzwolfer transformation had left me with an extra six inches of height, leaving me at 6’2”, and enough muscle mass that none of my shirts fit right anymore.

We were soon outside, breathing the fresh air of Yellowstone. Nature truly was beautiful. We roamed the grass for five minutes, and then my stomach rumbled.

“Guys, I’m hungry,” I said, beginning to fiddle with my watch. "I'm going XLR8 and getting some burgers from Casper. I’m not eating whatever nightmare fuel Grandpa's about to cook up."

"Burgers? Why?" Grandpa had already found his first Yellowstone delicacy—a fat grub wriggling under some bark. He popped it in his mouth with a crunch that made my soul leave my body. "We can live right off the wild! Mix it with some sun-warmed tomato paste, and—"

"Two cheeseburgers, extra pickles, side of onion rings," Gwen said quickly, quick to abandon her cold shoulder act in the face of Grandpa's cuisine. "And a chocolate shake. Large."

I looked at her. "Thought you were mad at me."

"I'm hungry. There's a difference. Just hurry back."

"XLR8 delivery service, coming right up." I raised the Omnitrix, already scrolling to my speed demon form. Casper was only about a hundred miles away. I could make the run in minutes, grab food, and be back before Grandpa found anything else disgusting to eat.

I gently clicked down on the watch face, already annoyed with the recent series of mistransformation, and felt the familiar rush. But instead of the sleek, aerodynamic form of XLR8, my limbs retracted, my spine crunching downward as my entire body compressed in on itself. Skin hardened into thick, ivory-colored armor with black stripes, and my muscles coiled tight like springs.

I felt my bones restructure — not stretch, but lock — reshaping me into something compact, durable, and… spherical. Then came the final click, like a seatbelt snapping into place, and I knew what I was.

"CANNONBOLT!"

I was round. Like a giant yellow bowling ball with arms and legs, covered in armored plates that probably weighed more than a small car.

"Hell yeah!" I looked down at my new form with excitement, but still tried to process what I was seeing. This wasn't in my mental catalog of available aliens. When did the Omnitrix unlock this?

Cannbolt was special. It was one of the only known aliens, I think, who were actually extinct. Meaning, he serves the purpose of the Omnitrix the best. The purpose of revisiting extinct species.

Speaking of extinction, I remember!

Yellowstone, right. I didn't know all the names of places when I watched the show so it skipped me, but Yellowstone was the place where Cannonbolt first appeared! I think it was because the creature that killed off Cannonbolt’s entire planet was present nearby, so the Omnitrix locked in?

Wait, doesn't that mean it's here too? What was its name again… the Big Tick?

I felt a little worried recalling how the monster had turned Yellowstone into a wasteland in mere hours.

"Ooh, new alien!" Gwen immediately had her phone out, recording. "What does this one do? Please tell me it's something embarrassing."

"I don't—" I took a step forward and immediately tripped over my own stubby legs. The weight distribution was all wrong by my human standards, with the center of gravity somewhere around my knees. I windmilled my arms, trying to regain balance, and only succeeded in tipping backward.

The moment my back hit the ground, instinct kicked in. I tucked into a ball, armor plates sliding together like the world's most overengineered pill bug.

And then I was rolling. Fast. Really fast.

“Ben!” Grandpa shouted in worry.

"WHOA WHOA WHOA—"

Trees blurred past as I pinballed through the forest, completely out of control. I was surprised that I could still ‘see’ while rolling somehow, but that didn’t mean I could control myself. I bounced off boulders, carved trenches through meadows, and I'm pretty sure I gave a buffalo the fright of its life. Every impact just added more momentum, turning me into a runaway wrecking ball.

"P-Professor!" A young voice shrieked somewhere ahead. "There's a weird monster here!"

Oh great. Civilians. Just what I needed.

I tried to uncurl, to brake, to do literally anything besides barrel toward innocent bystanders like a discount Sonic the Hedgehog. No luck. Cannonbolt was reallyyy fast, yep. But right now only one direction—wherever physics decided to throw me.

I burst through a line of trees into a clearing where a group of teenagers stood frozen in shock. My brain registered details in slow motion. There was camping gear, educational materials, that particular "field trip" energy of a school group. And leading them, red hair catching the sunlight, was—

Oh, you've got to be kidding me.

Jean Grey dove to the side as I thundered past, missing her by inches. I hit a rock formation at just the right angle to launch skyward, giving me a perfect view of my impending doom. Old Faithful, preparing for its hourly show, with dozens of tourists gathered around.

This was going to make the news in all the wrong ways.

At the last second, I managed to shift my weight, changing trajectory just enough to crash into a nearby hill instead of the geyser. The impact finally killed my momentum, leaving me dizzy and disoriented as I uncurled back to humanoid form.

"Ow," I groaned, trying to remember which way was up.

"Ben Tennyson…?" Jean's voice, closer now. Cautious but not hostile. "Is that you?"

I managed to focus on her face. She looked different from our last encounter, less put-together, more casual in hiking gear and a Xavier Institute t-shirt. Behind her, I could see other familiar faces approaching. I ignored them for now.

"Hey, Jean." I tried for casual, like I hadn't just played demolition derby with a national park. "Fancy meeting you here."

She helped me to my feet, surprisingly strong for someone without super strength. Her head snapped to the side, and worry flashed. "Magister Tennyson, Ms. Tennyson," she called over her shoulder. "I'm so sorry about this. We were just– I mean, we didn't do this and—"

"It's fine, dear," Grandpa said, appearing with Gwen in tow. He had his 'public face' on, the one that made him seem like just another harmless grandfather instead of an intergalactic police officer. "No harm done. Ben transformed into a new Hero and lost control."

“Oh…” Jean's posture straightened, and I could practically see her shifting into diplomat mode. "That aside, I wanted to apologize again for Philadelphia, sir. What we did, what… I did was truly inexcusable. I’ve had some argument with Professor Xavier about telepathic ethics because of that incident."

"Water under the bridge," Grandpa said, though his eyes remained sharp. "Just remember, power isn’t just for show. Not when you claim to be from a team of Superheroes."

"It comes with responsibility, yes," Jean finished. "Yes, sir. We're trying to do better."

"Trying," I muttered, still dizzy from my pinball adventure. "That's reassuring."

Jean turned to me, and I saw something flicker in her eyes. Not anger at my rudeness, but... curiosity? "You feel different," she said quietly. "Your transformation. There's something changed about you since last time."

"Yeah, it's a different body," I shot back. "Maybe get your eyes checked?"

"Ben," Grandpa warned.

"What? She's the one who tried to mind-read me without permission," I said, crossing my Cannonbolt arms. "I don't owe her politeness."

"It's fine," Jean said, holding up a hand. "He's right to be upset. Trust takes time to rebuild."

Behind her, the rest of her group had finally caught up. I recognized Kitty Pryde immediately, who still looked guilty about Philadelphia. There was also Bobby “Iceman” Drake, who was eyeing me with a complicated look. There were more.

"Whoa, what is that thing?" A younger Asian girl with yellow sunglasses pushed forward, popping a bubble with her gum. "It's like a giant armadillo had a baby with a beach ball."

"That's the Ben Tennyson I told you about," Kitty explained, keeping a safe distance. "He... transforms. Into stuff."

"Jubilee, Roberto," Jean gestured to the bubblegum girl and a dark-haired Latino kid with an intense stare, "this is Magister Tennyson and his grandchildren."

"And I'm Kurt!" A blue-furred teenager with a tail and pointed ears suddenly appeared beside me in a puff of sulfur-smelling smoke. He had a thick German accent and an even thicker grin. "Kurt Wagner, but in the Munich circus, I was known as the Incredible Night—"

"Yeah, yeah, we get it, Blue," Bobby cut him off. "You've told that story fifty times already."

I hit the Omnitrix symbol on my chest, returning to human form in a flash of green light. The X-Men teens stepped back in surprise, except for Kurt who just looked fascinated.

"Cool!" he exclaimed. "Can you turn into anything else? Maybe something with a tail?"

"Recently got one with a massive tail, yep," I said, straightening my shirt that was now stretched tight across my broader shoulders. "This one was new too. Still figuring out how to drive it."

"We noticed," Bobby said dryly. "You nearly flattened half the forest."

Gwen stepped forward, eyes narrowed. "And what exactly are the X-Men doing in Yellowstone? Bit far from Westchester, isn't it?"

"Educational trip," Jean answered smoothly. "Geology, biology, and well..." her eyes flicked to Gwen's charm necklace, "natural energy sources. The Professor thought it would be good for the students to see some of America's natural wonders."

"And to get away from the mansion after recent events," Kitty added quietly. "Things have been... tense since Philadelphia."

The awkward silence that followed could have suffocated a whale. Grandpa Max, bless his Hawaiian-shirt-wearing heart, stepped in to save the moment.

"Well, this park is certainly big enough for all of us," he said cheerfully. "In fact, I was just about to prepare lunch. We've got plenty if you'd like to join us."

Horror must have shown on my face because Jean actually laughed. "That's very kind, but we've got our own supplies," she said. "Though perhaps we could—"

The ground beneath us suddenly rumbled, a low vibration that sent birds fleeing from nearby trees. Jean winced, pressing fingers to her temples like she'd been struck with an instant migraine.

"What was that?" Kitty asked, already phasing slightly in preparation for danger.

"Old Faithful getting ready to blow?" I suggested, but the timing was wrong. We were still twenty minutes from the scheduled eruption according to Grandpa's guidebook.

Another tremor, stronger this time. A nearby pond rippled, concentric circles spreading outward like something massive was moving underground. Jean gasped, dropping to one knee.

"Professor?" Jubilee rushed to her side. "What's wrong?"

"Something's..." Jean struggled to find words, her face pale. "Something's waking up. Underground. It's... hungry. Ancient. Wrong."

I could only curse in my head. So I was right! Although I wondered why it was underground. In the cartoon, the Big Tick fell from the sky.

What changed in this amalgamated world?

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