Chapter 5: CH 4: Going Predator (E1)
'Ah, music to my ears.' Alistair grinned widely :"It said it again!" Catching the cousins' attention. As he looked through his predator, he indeed saw another new DNA in his collection that had been added right after his Pyronnosaurus DNA. (Changed from Crabdozer) (A/N: I noticed that the species of the Nemetrix predators don't have actual names, and only the name that has been given to the predators was used for their species. So I may or may not give them new news.)
"Seriously? Now you've got this thing too?" Gwen pointed at Wildmutt, conflicted :"Now I really think "the more, the merrier" isn't a good thing here. Like, ew, this thing's even uglier than you are normally, Ben. Are you sure you even want this thing? Wow, put a flea collar on this mutt! And no eyes?"
As Ben groaned in annoyance, Gwen waved her hand in front of his face :"What good is this one? It can't see!" Looking at the stick in her holding the marshmallow, she suddenly got an idea. Smirking mischievously, she went behind the beast as Alistair watched in amusement. She spat in her hands, before swinging the stick, getting ready to smack Wildmutt's butt with it.
But unbeknownst to her, Wildmutt was far from being blind. His gill-like nostrils located on each side of his neck sensed the movements around him, and just as Gwen swung her stick with all her strength, he jumped onto the Rust Bucket, causing Gwen to stumble and fall.
As Ben grinned smugly, Alistair couldn't hold back his laughter. The redhead glared at the laughing noiret as she got up, turning to the beast :"Okay, so maybe it's not a total loser." Wiping the tear in his eye, Alistair walked to stand beside her :"No, I don't think he is.
I guess if he doesn't have eyes, then he must be relying on his other senses to observe the world. And from how those spots on his neck move, I think those are his "eyes". And if that's the case, then he, in fact, technically can see even better than you since his "vision" is 360, letting him "see" everything around him, not just the front."
"Huh, is that so?" Gwen got genuinely surprised. If that was the case, then Alistair was right, it certainly wasn't a loser alien at all. "But that means an even more serious weakness." The noiret continued :"Since he can only rely on a single sense, or two, since he probably can hear too, he'll be screwed if that sense is restrained if there are too many smells to obstruct his sense of smell. So watch out, Ben, alright?"
Ben let out something of a bark, as if in agreement, while Gwen looked at Alistair, impressed :"Wow, Alistair, you're really observant, huh? You figured out his strength and weakness so quickly." He shrugged, smiling :"I guess that's a good thing then, no?"
Letting out a quiet shriek, Ben jumped down. Not without flipping in the air. Standing in front of them, the two were affected by the disgusting smell coming from Wildmutt's mouth. Even Alistair wasn't an exception. He covered his nose and looked away, while Gwen hurriedly waved in front of her to disperse the smell :"Ew! Two words: breath mints!"
Ben turned around, confusing her, before he threw dirt on her with his back legs. Alistair was quick to move away, not wanting his black pants and shirt to get dirty. Right after, Wildmutt started jumping away, while Gwen tried to stop him :"Ben, get back here! Ben! I'm gonna tell grandpa that you turned into some freaky animal monster thing and went swinging around the forest when he told you not to!"
But was Ben seriously one to listen? He was long gone before Gwen even finished her sentence. She groaned in defeat :"This is a majorly weird day." Giggling to himself like an excited child, Alistair activated his own watch :"Can't leave him alone now, can we? Don't worry, I'll go after him!"
And he pushed down the Nemetrix. Gently. He didn't slap it. Just gently pushed it down, before an intense red light illuminated the place, causing Gwen to cover her eyes. As the red light vanished, so did Alistair. And in his place, stood another beast.
This one with no fur, covered in sharp black and red scales from head to tail. While the half of his body was covered in deadly scales, definitely not suitable for petting, the lower half, although covered in scales, didn't have any that protruded to be used as weapons. Behind him swung a tail as well, with a sharp tip, definitely usable as a weapon.
Just like Wildmutt, it didn't possess any eyes, but it most definitely had senses even more potent that mere eyesight. It also had a sharp curved, hook-like horn on its muzzle. Being stabbed with that definitely wouldn't be fun, considering how it would be stuck and the beast would drag the prey away with its remarkable strength.
Alistair felt amazing. Powerful. Indestructible. The scales on his body made him feel invulnerable to any damage, while the strength he felt in every fabric of his body sent his mind into overdrive.
He couldn't see with his eyes, but it was like he could observe the world around him better than ever. He had noticed something now that he had transformed again. The Nemetrix, just like the recalibrated Omnitrix in Alien Force, would automatically send all the abilities of the alien he transformed into his brain.
It was how he knew instantly how to breath ice as Wynter. And how he knew immediately that this alien would use mainly sound, and scent and touch secondly, as the ways to observe the world. Even without that, he could have still guessed it, with how heightened his hearing had instantly become.
He could hear everything. The gentle breeze of the wind, the swaying of the grass, every crackle of even the tiniest wood that was burning, the hurried beating of Gwen's heart, showing she was a bit intimidated and scared, and even the weird noise of something flying towards where he could hear Wildmutt's movements and heartbeat from.
"Ah, Alistair, is that you?" Gwen asked, slightly scared. Ben's beast didn't look that intimidating, considering she knew it was her cousin, which made him a lot less scary. And honestly, it seriously didn't look that intimidating to her anyway, being only big and having just a mouth.
But the beast in front of her sent a shiver down her spine. Unlike her cousin, who she trusted, she didn't know what he would suddenly do. Her eyes subconsciously moved to the sharp fangs and claws, making her gulp nervously. The very instinctual mannerism of movement of his made her mind subconsciously learn, this beast was no puppy or a dog.
It was a hunter. A predator.
It wasn't even intentional on Alistair's part. When he transformed, although his mind stayed the same, it was like his instincts changed. Not completely, but enough to affect his body somewhat. He could feel it too. He wasn't just standing. His body subconsciously moved in a manner like it was ready to hunt, to shred a prey to pieces every second.
He smiled. A hungry, evil one. He wanted to hunt. He wanted to chase something. He wanted to watch as his prey tried everything to escape him. He wanted to feel the high of the hunt.
'I guess even if I don't go mad thanks to the Nemetrix, I will still change somewhat, huh?' He mused, not at all bothered or annoyed. In fact, he liked it. There was bound to be hesitations and mistakes if he had the body of a predator, but the mind and instincts of a human. He needed everything of his predators to truly be able to hunt.
And the urge to hunt was really, really strong.
He heard Gwen gulp, while her heart's beating accelerated. 'Oops, gotta be considerate, Alistair, don't be an asshole when they don't even know you.' He calmed down, but did like his hearing a lot. It was really interesting to experience the world in another way. But he didn't want to be a jerk to those who've been kind to him.
"Gauw." He said gently, patting Gwen on the back with his tail, careful to not hurt her, and smiled friendlier. At least as friendly as his smile could become. But thankfully, Gwen got the memo. At least if her heartbeat calming down indicated anything.
"O-oh, you're good?" She asked, and when he nodded, she sighed in relief :"Thank god, I thought you went feral for a second there after becoming a monster." If he had eyes, he would have rolled them.
Hearing the whirring sound of something flying in the air and rapidly approaching Ben, his hungry smile returned. The chance to hunt came just when he craved the high. Nodding at Gwen, he kicked the ground and ran at an alarming speed.
But thanks to the Nemetrix making him understand everything about his predators' abilities, he had no problem maneuvering between the trees and jumping from one to another.
Alistair heard Gwen's voice from afar rather clearly, like she was right next to him :"Wait, Alistair, not you two! Aw, geez, now I have to babysit not just Ben, but someone else too! Just perfect!" He snickered at her complaining, amused at how she chased after them despite the complaints.
Whatever that had come for Ben came pretty quick. He already knew what they were though, and why they were here. As he ran, his focus was on Ben. He could hear everything so vividly, making him feel like he was watching everything just from beside Ben.
He did complain in his heart about Ben not taking care of the robot attacking him quickly though. Even if inexperienced, he should have still been able to take care of a single robot like that in a matter of seconds. He had to work on Ben's habit of fooling around with his enemies and not taking care of them swiftly.
The loud explosion, final beep of the Omnitrix, and the crackling of the fire that followed let him know that he took care of the robot. He didn't hear anything about him being hurt either. Guess he could hear those too. Just Ben's heart beating rapidly from the adrenaline.
"Yes!" He heard the boy exclaim, before another robot showed up :"Oh, not good!" Fortunately for him, he arrived just in time with a roar. Leaping into the air, his claws were fully unleashed as he stabbed them into the robot, crashing it into the ground and crushing it right there. And despite the fire that it was lit on, his scales didn't let him feel anything.
'And that's how you hunt. Swiftly, without giving it a chance to fight back.' He smirked, growling sadistically. "Uhh... Alistair...?" Ben asked nervously, taking a step back. Alistair pulled his hand and claws out of the robot, before giving an upward nod to Ben :"Gauw."
"Oh, phew, it is you." The brunet sighed in relief, before Alistair's Nemetrix began to beep and flash yellow. With a final and loud beep, he was transformed back into his human form. "Now that's what I call action." He folded his arms smugly.
"Are you two okay?!" Gwen came running :"Oh, phew, I thought you'd both be dead." She put down the shovel she was planning to use in case of emergency. Burying their corpses not being one of them.
"Don't worry, it will take a lot more than that to kill me." Ben smirked, and Gwen rolled her eyes :"You should be glad Alistair came quick. Otherwise, you'd be swiss cheese with all the lasers those things were shooting. Come on, we should go back.
Nodding, they followed her back to the Rust Bucket. All while Alistair couldn't stop grinning at what had just happened, and what would be happening from now on. The thrill of the hunt was addictive, and he knew he was going to get addicted to it hard.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone