Ben decided that he needed to investigate the situation himself, so he transformed into Zoroark and used this form's illusion powers to sneak into the police station. Zoroark could not only cast powerful illusions but also transform into other people, making him far more useful during missions like this because of his capability for perfect camouflage. It was one of the best forms Ben had for infiltration, especially when he wanted to avoid unnecessary fights and simply gather information without anyone realizing he had ever been there.
In the darkness of the night, Ben jumped over the fences and sneaked around the area with surprising ease. Thanks to Zoroark, he got past the guards and even the guard dogs by trapping them inside convincing illusions, making them believe nothing unusual was happening. However, the security cameras were still a big problem, as Zoroark's illusions couldn't affect them. They would still record everything exactly as it happened, making them the biggest obstacle in his path.
Ben thought about using Gengar or one of his other Ghost-type forms, but after thinking about it for a moment, he realized that it would be useless. While the cameras wouldn't detect him because of his invisibility, he could still end up creating a scandal if people suddenly saw files moving around on their own or computers randomly activating without anyone touching them. That would only raise even more questions, and the last thing he wanted was to alert the entire police department that something supernatural had broken into their station.
No, as fun as that prank would have been, he still needed a much better approach—one that would completely hide his existence while also allowing him to complete the task at hand, which was to gather as much information as possible without leaving behind even the smallest clue that someone had accessed their files.
Then it clicked for him.
Zoroark pressed the Monotrix symbol on his chest, and with a flash of golden light, Ben transformed once again.
Ben's size decreased as he became much smaller. Soon, when the golden light faded away, he had transformed into a small orange creature with translucent white ectoplasm-like skin. This form was called Rotom. It was basically a Ghost that could take control of technology itself, allowing Ben to move through electrical systems and possess machines with incredible ease.
"Now let's go and see what this serial killer is all about!"
Rotom said as he entered the electrical circuits as pure energy before uploading his consciousness directly into the police station's computer system. Within moments, he began scrolling through the countless reports, documents, photographs, and investigation files that had been gathered over the years.
"Man, Rotom is so cool! It's almost like Upgrade, but sadly, outside of taking over technology, it can't improve it like Upgrade can."
Rotom said to himself, still missing his favorite alien. Upgrade was just so versatile and overpowered if used correctly. Whether it was improving machines, repairing damaged technology, or creating entirely new functions, Upgrade could do almost anything. That didn't mean Rotom was any less fun, though. Rotom was incredibly versatile in its own right, especially when it came to computers, electronics, and information gathering. If Upgrade was the perfect engineer, then Rotom was the perfect hacker.
"Now let's see... killer, killer... where is this killer... Oh, there it is!"
Ben quickly located the investigation files and immediately started reading through them. So what Sheriff Jack had been saying earlier was actually true. There wasn't a single clear image of the killer. Not even a blurry photograph or a proper silhouette existed. Every description of its appearance was based entirely on eyewitness testimonies, all claiming that it was some kind of giant humanoid figure covered in unnatural darkness.
Now maybe they simply couldn't see the killer properly because it was too dark outside. Yes, that could definitely be a possibility. But not even getting a glimpse of a creature that was supposedly abnormally tall didn't sit right with Ben. If someone that large was standing nearby, somebody should have seen something more than just darkness. There had to be something else going on here.
The next thing Ben noticed was the complete lack of evidence.
There were no solid clues of... well... anything.
If it wasn't for the fact that all of those victims had genuinely gone missing, along with multiple eyewitness accounts confirming strange incidents, nobody would have believed these were murders at all. There were no bodies, no blood, no broken furniture, no signs of forced entry, no fingerprints, no footprints, absolutely nothing. It was as if the killer simply appeared, took someone away, and then vanished without leaving behind even the smallest trace that it had ever been there.
"How is that even possible?"
Rotom wondered to himself as he continued reading file after file. The more reports he went through, the stranger everything became.
"You've got a killer who has been active for many decades, but back then the number of victims was low enough to convince the townspeople that it was just some dangerous animal. Then, over the past few years, it suddenly started killing almost every week, and now people are saying it's a Skinwalker or a Wendigo or something."
That wasn't the only strange part.
The creature was also supposedly abnormally tall according to every witness.
"...Yeah... this case is definitely weird."
Ben continued going through the remaining investigation files, hoping to find something that everyone else had overlooked, but there was nothing useful. No fingerprints, no DNA, no photographs, no recordings, and no real evidence that could identify what this thing actually was.
The only pattern Ben managed to notice was hidden within the victims themselves.
It seemed to target children far more often than adults.
Its victims varied in both age and gender. Sometimes it kidnapped men, sometimes women, and occasionally entire adults disappeared without explanation. However, the majority of the missing person reports involved children.
Meaning its primary target happened to be children... maybe because it preferred them, or maybe because they were simply easier prey. Either way, that single detail stood out more than anything else Ben had read so far, and it was the one clue that made him pause and think much more seriously about what he was dealing with.
"Well, I guess there's nothing else. I should take my leave now."
Rotom said as he made his exit the same way he had entered in the first place, by traveling through the electrical channels. Soon, Rotom emerged from a nearby lamp post outside of the police station and quickly de-transformed back into his human form.
Ben looked around carefully and saw that everything was clear. There were no officers nearby, no civilians walking through the streets, and no one paying attention to him. Satisfied that he hadn't been noticed, he quietly made his way back toward his hotel. As he walked through the silent streets, Ben started to recount everything he had learned so far, trying to piece together the mystery inside his own head.
"Ok, so the killer is an unknown person or entity. No identity is known, we don't even know what it looks like, it can evade the police and commit crimes without leaving a single trace, showing that it is intelligent for just an animal... and it could most likely be some form of alien...."
The more Ben thought about it, the more confusing everything became. None of the evidence fit together properly. Every answer only seemed to create even more questions. If it really was an alien, then why had it stayed hidden for decades before suddenly becoming so active? If it was just a serial killer, then how did it continue kidnapping people without leaving behind even the slightest piece of evidence? The entire case was beginning to give Ben a headache.
"Ok, you know what... the best course of action would be to patrol the town for the time being."
Ben came to what he believed was the best conclusion. If this threat wasn't actually that serious, then there was no reason for him to transform into one of his more powerful forms. He had plenty of transformations that were more than capable of dealing with ordinary criminals or even dangerous aliens. If it turned out to be a genuinely serious threat, however, then there was always Giratina.
Just as Ben was making his way back toward his hotel to finally get some rest, he didn't realize that the police were already on the move again, responding to yet another report somewhere in town. By that point, however, Ben was already long gone and completely unaware of it. Entering his hotel room, the very first thing he did was throw himself onto the bed and fall asleep almost immediately. After everything that had happened tonight, he would need all the rest he could get, especially since he planned on patrolling the entire town throughout the night tomorrow.
Next Morning...
Ben slowly woke up and stretched before getting out of bed. After that, he went through his usual morning rituals. He washed up, brushed his teeth, changed into a fresh set of clothes, and generally got himself ready for the day. After getting a good night's sleep, Ben felt refreshed, and with a clear mind, he was confident that he would be able to patrol the town properly tonight. If the killer took too long to reveal itself, then he would simply have to start using some of his stronger transformations to solve this mystery once and for all.
Now, the reason Ben didn't immediately use his strongest transformations was because doing so would be the equivalent of stopping a school fight with a tank. It was simply complete overkill. There was no reason to unleash that kind of power against an enemy he didn't even understand yet, especially when there was still the possibility that this was nothing more than a particularly clever serial killer.
Besides, Ben still had a lot to learn about many of those transformations.
For example, Yveltal was basically a God of Destruction. It constantly absorbed the life force around it passively, meaning that every living being within many miles could potentially be killed simply because Ben transformed into it. That wasn't something he could casually use whenever he wanted. Until he completely mastered those overwhelming powers, Ben intentionally avoided relying on them. Otherwise, he might accidentally destroy the very world he was trying to protect.
Like the saying goes, "With great power comes great responsibility."
He Doesn't know why but whenever ben says this he feels like a old uncle.
As much as Ben would have liked to use his strongest transformations more often simply because they were incredibly fun, he knew he had to be careful. Power without control was dangerous, and the last thing he wanted was to hurt innocent people because of his own carelessness. Protecting others had always come before satisfying his own curiosity.
Ben quickly finished getting ready before deciding to head outside and gather more information about the infamous killer.
Last night's investigation hadn't been particularly satisfying, considering he had been unable to gather any truly useful information about the mysterious entity itself. Most of what he had found were reports on the various victims and eyewitness accounts describing how family members had been taken right in front of them by this unknown creature without anyone being able to stop it.
Which was why Ben wanted to speak with those people personally, or at the very least gather information directly from the survivors. Maybe someone remembered a small detail that had been overlooked, or perhaps someone had seen something they hadn't mentioned in the official reports. Anything could end up being useful.
Ben still had a strong suspicion that this entity was some form of alien lifeform that had been living around this area for many decades. However, he couldn't completely rule out the possibility that it was simply an exceptionally intelligent human killer instead. Either way, regardless of what the truth turned out to be, Ben was determined to uncover it and stop this thing before anyone else got hurt.
Ben soon went out wandering around the town by himself. Rather than immediately looking for clues, he decided to simply observe the town and its people first. Sometimes the best way to learn about a place was to quietly watch how everyone behaved. If something unusual had happened, surely the townspeople would show it without even realizing.
As Ben walked through the streets, he noticed that people were once again whispering among themselves. Small groups had gathered outside shops and houses, speaking in hushed voices while constantly glancing over their shoulders. Some looked frightened, others looked exhausted, and a few simply hurried past without stopping to talk to anyone.
Ben frowned.
The atmosphere somehow felt even heavier than it had yesterday.
Now this was getting confusing.
Did something happen?
Children who had been playing outside yesterday were nowhere to be seen. Parents kept their sons and daughters close, while several shopkeepers stood outside their stores talking quietly with one another. Even the usual sounds of a busy town felt strangely absent, replaced by an uneasy silence that seemed to hang over the entire place.
Ben continued walking until he reached the same shop where he had bought some of his essential supplies yesterday. It was also the same shop whose owner had warned him about the Skinwalker supposedly roaming around the town.
As soon as Ben stepped inside, the small bell above the door rang softly.
The shop owner looked up from behind the counter. The moment he recognized Ben, he gave him a tired nod before returning his attention to the newspaper lying in front of him.
Ben walked over to the counter without wasting any time.
"Did something happen? Why is everyone looking so nervous?"
The shop owner slowly folded the newspaper and looked at Ben with a grim expression. His face lacked the annoyance from yesterday and instead looked genuinely troubled.
"They're all worried because another incident of the Skinwalker has just occurred."
Ben's expression immediately became serious.
"Oh no..."
_______ x _______
Ok guys another chapter and i am extremely sorry for this short chapter even though i promised you guys i would atleast try to write a chapter around 4k+ words but i couldn't. Its simple because this entire week i have been extremely busy to the point i didn't get the time so i hope you guys don't mind.