Cold Sand Town, Massachusetts.
The blazing sun hung high in the sky, sending down wave after wave of heat that made the air shimmer.
The streets were nearly deserted.
Grandpa Max and the others were standing outside a clothing store.
They were dressed in loose black coats and tall pointed hats, looking exactly like Puritans.
Just then, Ben walked out and looked down at his strange outfit with an odd expression.
"Oh, come on, I look like a total doofus in this, okay?" Ben complained.
"Has it occurred to you that maybe you already are a doofus?" Gwen asked with a smile.
"Alright, Ben. We finally made it to Cold Sand Town in Massachusetts, so try to blend in and get a feel for what it's like to be a Puritan," Grandpa said earnestly.
Sweat beaded on Lucian's forehead. In the middle of summer, wearing a coat like this was stifling.
"Grandpa, when can I change back?" Ben really couldn't take it anymore. It was ugly and hot.
Boom.
Suddenly, the building next door exploded, bursting with blinding fire and rolling smoke.
Windows shattered, and chunks of broken glass and rubble rained down.
Everyone froze for a split second, then snapped back to attention.
"You can change now," Grandpa Max said, looking at Ben.
Ben grinned. "Haha, finally. Time for the hero to make his entrance."
A flash of eerie green light swept past as Ben's body rapidly changed.
"Arctiguana!"
A blue lizard wreathed in cold air appeared right there on the street.
Whoosh.
Arctiguana opened his mouth and blasted out a stream of freezing breath, instantly putting out the raging flames and leaving behind only wisps of white smoke.
"Ben Tennyson, long time no see."
A graceful purple figure descended from above.
She had white hair, violet eyes, a lovely face, and a slender figure, dressed in a purple robe that looked almost like a Halloween costume.
"Charmcaster!" Everyone recognized her at once.
Last time, she and Hex had been defeated by Lucian and thrown in prison. It seemed she had successfully escaped.
Arctiguana let out a cold snort. "Charmcaster, it's way too hot today. How about I treat you to a popsicle?"
Charmcaster covered her mouth and giggled. "Sure. I'd love that."
Arctiguana exhaled another blast of freezing air, carrying biting frost and snow with it, freezing the ground along the way as it shot straight at her.
Charmcaster leaped into the air and avoided the attack.
At that moment, a pale ghost appeared behind Charmcaster.
"Hehe. Popsicles aren't that good. How about I treat you to some boneless chicken feet instead?"
Ghostfreak let out a hoarse laugh and shot out his ghastly white claws, grabbing Charmcaster in a flash.
"Cuz, nice one!" Arctiguana shouted.
Ghostfreak was just about to respond when a sudden burst of scorching heat shot through his hand, making him yank it back at once.
A strong purple glow was radiating from Charmcaster's body, burning so hot that Ghostfreak couldn't get near her.
At that moment, she floated in midair and began chanting softly.
In an instant, a purple sphere of light wrapped around her body.
At the same time, another sphere formed in front of her.
"Go!"
The strange orb shot toward Ghostfreak in the air at astonishing speed.
Ghostfreak's violet eyes flashed, and he immediately turned intangible, avoiding the orb.
He had no idea what it was, but he could tell this purple orb was no ordinary spell.
When it missed, Charmcaster redirected it toward Arctiguana instead.
This was the Mind Swap Magic she had been researching for a long time. Her original plan had been to swap bodies with Lucian and take his Omnitrix, which would let her control all the Alien Heroes.
But Charmcaster knew Lucian wasn't easy to catch, so swapping bodies with Ben Tennyson wasn't unacceptable either.
After all, Ben Tennyson had an Omnitrix too.
"Weirdo, that kind of attack won't work on me."
Seeing the orb flying at him, Arctiguana stayed completely calm and spat out a sharp stream of freezing breath, trying to break the bubble apart.
But the purple orb ignored the cold completely and slipped right over Arctiguana.
Arctiguana was startled and began struggling desperately, but it was no use at all.
The purple bubble was as flexible as cotton candy. The harder Arctiguana struggled, the bigger it stretched. The moment he relaxed, it tightened again.
It was incredibly tricky.
The moment the purple orb trapped Arctiguana, Charmcaster's face lit up with delight, and she burst into laughter. "Your body is mine!"
As she spoke, a beam of purple light shot from Charmcaster's hand, linking the sphere around her to the one trapping Arctiguana.
At the same time, Arctiguana slowly began drifting toward Charmcaster, as if he were about to merge with her.
Arctiguana's eyes widened. He didn't dare imagine what would happen if he got close to Charmcaster.
"Ben~"
Ghostfreak appeared again, trying to stop Charmcaster.
But his claws did nothing at all.
A ruthless look flashed through Ghostfreak's eyes. He tore open the slit in his chest and unleashed a thick beam of purple light that blasted straight into the orb.
At last, cracks began spreading across the purple sphere with sharp cracking sounds.
But there was no longer enough time.
At the critical moment, a carriage suddenly came charging in from the side. The horse had been spooked, and Gwen came barreling over with it.
"Ahhh! Help!" Gwen clung tightly to the carriage, terrified of falling off.
But just then, the horse slammed to a sudden stop and skidded hard, throwing Gwen straight out and sending her crashing into the orb.
Arctiguana, trapped inside the purple orb, was instantly knocked out of it, leaving Gwen alone flying toward Charmcaster.
"No!!" Charmcaster screamed.
...
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