Chapter 6: Mutant Mayhem in the Aisles
—
"Kids," Dr Animo said, and his voice was surprisingly ordinary for someone who'd just crashed through a wall on a mutant frog. "Where's the pet section?"
I reached for the Omnitrix, ready to transform, but Gwen grabbed my wrist.
"T-third aisle on the left," she called out, her voice shaking slightly as she pointed. "Past the cereal."
Animo nodded as if this were a perfectly normal exchange and urged his frog forward with a tap of his heel.
The massive creature bounded away, leaving a trail of crushed merchandise in its wake.
"Are you insane?" I hissed once he was out of earshot. "That's Dr. Animo, he's a mad scientist! I- uh, I read about him in an article a few days ago. He's dangerous!"
"I didn't know that! I just thought we don't have to attack everyone," Gwen whispered back, still gripping my wrist. "Sure, he looked a little eccentric, but he didn't hurt us. He just asked us for directions. Maybe he's not a villain, so I stopped you."
I stared at her in disbelief. "Not a villain? He rode a giant frog through a wall!"
"So? Maybe it's his pet. Maybe he's just... an unusual pet owner. Maybe, uh…" As Gwen trailed off, she seemed to realize she'd made a mistake out of panic.
That man wasn't someone normal.
I shook my head, knowing exactly what Animo was capable of. "You're being naive. He's going to cause trouble, and we're wasting time arguing about it."
"H-hey, I just—"
"Useless, wasting time. Come with me and see then!" I yanked her by the arm, pulling her after Animo's trail of destruction.
We sprinted through the damaged store, ducking behind a toppled display of dog food when we reached the pet section. Animo sat atop his massive frog that had stopped in front of the small animal enclosures.
"Perfect specimens," he muttered, eyeing the frightened hamsters and birds huddled in their cages.
What happened next confirmed my worst fears. Animo raised his bare hand—no technology, no devices—as his fingers twitched and convulsed unnaturally, his knuckles cracking with a sickening pop.
Beneath his pale, sweaty skin, veins blackened and pulsed, crawling up his arms in an unnatural, almost slithering motion. His eyes dilated, bloodshot and unfocused, as if he were in some kind of trance.
Then, the air around his hands began to twist and ripple, like heat waves distorting reality itself. A sickly greenish-red energy seeped from his fingertips—not a clean beam, but an oily, writhing mist, tendrils of it creeping toward the caged animals like living parasites.
As soon as the fog enveloped them, the creatures convulsed violently, their bodies spasming as bones cracked and muscles swelled. Their eyes glowed with unnatural intensity, and their flesh shifted and twisted as if something was rewriting their DNA at a cellular level.
The sound was awful. Bones snapping, flesh stretching, low, strangled screeches that barely resembled the tiny squeaks of the hamsters they had been moments ago. The transformation wasn't smooth—it was raw, grotesque, a forced evolution that made the creatures look like something that shouldn't exist.
Animo gasped and shuddered as if the process had also taken a toll on him. His arms trembled slightly, but the crazed smile stretching his face only grew wider.
A hamster had swelled to the size of a small car, its teeth elongating into savage tusks. A parakeet had expanded until its wingspan stretched across the entire aisle, its beak morphing into something more resembling a prehistoric raptor. They burst through their enclosures.
"Yes! YES!" Animo cackled, his eyes wild with delight. "My faithful subjects! This is it…! Together we shall reclaim this world for its rightful inheritors! I shall revive the age of the dinosaurs, one creature at a time!"
Beside me, Gwen trembled, her eyes wide with horror. I scowled but held myself back from commenting.
The last time I took her, despite her warnings and encounter with the drones, she didn't say, "I told you so," so I bit back my own urge to point out how right I'd been.
"You stay here, I'll take care of him," I activated the Omnitrix, cycling through alien silhouettes as the mutated animals screeched and roared around Animo. But before I could press down on the dial—
"Age of dinosaurs? Nah, that ain't gonna happen," a Southern-accented voice drawled from behind us.
A young woman stepped past our hiding spot, her movements confident and dangerous. Her green eyes were sharp beneath dark lashes as she wore a olive-green mesh top that clung to a black underlayer, metal-studded cuffs and fingerless gloves adding to her edge. A choker framed her throat, her dark long hair streaked with white.
The outfit accentuated every curve of her athletic figure. Dark, gothic makeup emphasized her piercing green eyes as she cocked one hip and stared down Animo with contempt.
Once again, it was someone I recognized from my past life's memories. A comic book character.
It was Rogue from the X-Men. But she didn't look like the heroic version I was familiar with. There was something cold and calculating in her stance—this wasn't someone who fought for justice.
[Image Here]
"You!" Animo took a step back, genuine fear flashing across his face. "H-how did you find me so fast?!"
"Wasn't hard," Rogue replied, flexing her gloved fingers. "We have people who can sense yer DNA pattern from halfway 'cross the country. Why'd you escape, Animo? Magneto had to come personally to take you back. And he's pissed."
My brain worked overtime, processing this new information.
In this amalgamated world, Animo wasn't using technology and yet transformed the animals regardless with his bare hands. And given mutants were after him, he must be… a mutant himself.
A mutant with the ability to alter animal DNA. And he'd escaped from Magneto.
"I'm not going back to that maddened bastard's lair. My baby pets! Attack her!" Animo shrieked, pointing frantically at Rogue.
The mutated hamster and bird lunged toward her, but Rogue merely smiled—a cold, confident smile that sent chills down my spine.
She casually removed one glove and met the charging hamster with a bare-handed punch that sent it flying through the far wall.
The bird screeched and dove, but Rogue leapt into the air. It was much higher than any normal human could, and delivered a kick that broke the mutant bird's wing with a sickening crack.
"Pathetic," she spat, landing gracefully as the creatures whimpered and retreated. She turned her attention back to Animo, slowly walking toward him like a predator. "The boss wants a word with you."
Before Animo could react and order his frog to attack her, Rogue leaped fast. Her fist connected with his jaw, the impact sending him sprawling across the linoleum.
Blood and teeth scattered as he collapsed unconscious. It was kind of brutal.
"No more trouble from you," she muttered, grabbing him by the collar.
With Animo gone, the large frog croaked and jumped away, running from her. She ignored it, not bothering to hunt it.
My mind raced as I pieced everything together. Animo was a mutant who could alter animal DNA. Magneto wanted him. I recalled Magneto's few attempts in comics and movies to transform the entire world into mutants, and with that context… Animo's power would be the perfect catalyst.
It was eerily similar to what Animo had attempted in the cartoon, too, creating a new world order of mutated creatures. Only here, he was working for—or running from—Magneto.
One thing was obvious.
I couldn't let Rogue take him.
"...Gwen, hide." Finding the alien I wanted, I quickly tapped down on the Omnitrix dial.
The familiar green light washed over me as my body expanded, muscles growing and multiplying until I stood nine feet tall, my red skin rippling with power. Four massive arms flexed at my sides as the transformation completed.
"Four Arms!" I announced, stepping into view. "You're not going anywhere!"
Rogue spun around, her eyes narrowing at the sight of me. She dropped Animo's unconscious form and shifted into a defensive stance.
"What the hell are you supposed to be?" she demanded, looking me up and down. "Another one of Charles' student? Or just some ugly mutant playin' hero?"
I didn't answer. Instead, I let out a cry and charged forward, all four arms pulled back for a devastating punch. Rogue stood her ground, meeting my charge head-on.
Our fists connected with a shockwave that shattered every piece of glass within fifty feet.
The impact sent Rogue flying backward through several shelves, giving me just enough time to grab Animo's limp body.
"Gwen?! Call grandpa! We'll take this guy and send him to the police station or something." I shouted, gently placing Animo on the ground behind me.
"You stupid beast!" Rogue's enraged voice echoed through the destroyed store as she emerged from the rubble, not a scratch on her.
She launched herself at me, moving with impossible speed. Her fist connected with my crossed arms, the impact sending me skidding backward despite my massive weight and strength. Pain radiated up my limbs—this wasn't ordinary strength.
This Rogue... she must have absorbed the powers of Captain Marvel like in some comics. Dammit. I realized in worry.
This could get troublesome.
We slammed into each other again, the impact splitting the floor beneath my feet. I staggered back, arms trembling from the force. She was also trembling, but she had a benefit I didn't. This wasn't her strongest state.
She didn't just take down Ms. Marvel; she also took down the Avengers single-handedly when she was allowed to get strong enough.
Shit. My confidence wavered as she jumped back and hovered a few feet off the ground, glaring at me with that cold smirk. If she truly had Captain Marvel–level powers, I wasn't sure I could win this.
This wasn't a street-level opponent, no, she had powers that could level cities.
But… it was too late to back off now as she continued hovering several feet off the ground before diving toward me again.
I wasn't backing down. Four Arms was one of my strongest aliens, and I'd put that fact to good use. I dug my feet into the floor, cracking the tiles, and pulled back all four arms for a counterattack.
"Let's see what you've got!" I roared.
Rogue smirked, her hands tightening into fists. "More than you can handle, big boy."
We collided with the force of a small bomb. The impact created a shockwave that rippled outward, shattering walls, toppling shelves, and blowing out windows.
The ceiling buckled, support beams groaning and snapping as the entire structure began to collapse around us.
The Walmart didn't just break. It exploded.
**
**
**
Author Note: Evil Rogue this time around, since False God had the good naive one. I hope you're enjoying the story so far!