Dandadanx10

That's a Space Alien, Ain't It?!

Momo stared at the boy before her, her expression a mix of disbelief and annoyance. "No. Absolutely not. I refuse to call you Ken Takakura. That name is sacred."

The bespectacled boy fidgeted nervously. "But... that's my name..."

"From now on, you're Okarun," Momo declared firmly, crossing her arms. "I won't have you sullying my favorite actor's name."

Ben couldn't help but chuckle at the exchange, earning him a sharp glare from Momo. "And you," she pointed at him, "need to explain how you can turn into aliens. I saw you become some kind of manta ray thing last night."

"Well..." Ben rubbed the back of his neck, unconsciously touching the alien device on his wrist. "It's called the Omnitrix. I found it when I was ten years old. It fell from space and basically latched onto my wrist. It lets me transform into different alien species."

"That's... actually pretty cool," Momo admitted, then quickly added, "But ghosts are still cooler."

The morning sun was climbing higher in the sky as they stood outside the school. Momo glanced at her watch, then at the two boys. "Look, spirits don't usually show themselves during the day. Why don't you both come to my place until nightfall? Then we can deal with Turbo Granny."

As they approached the traditional-style house, Okarun stepped through the torii gate first – and immediately burst into flames.

"Holy-!" Ben slammed down the Omnitrix dial. "WATER HAZARD!" The crystalline-armored alien immediately shot powerful streams of water at Okarun, dousing the flames.

Momo rushed forward, quickly spotting the source of the problem. "The talisman!" She reached up and removed the paper charm from the gate. "It's meant to ward off evil spirits. I guess since you're cursed by Turbo Granny..."

Okarun stood there, soaking wet and smoking slightly. His previously neat hair had been transformed into what looked like an elderly woman's perm. Momo couldn't contain her laughter.

"It's not funny!" Okarun protested, though his voice cracked with embarrassment.

Ben transformed back to human form, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. "Sorry, man, but it kind of is."

Once inside and changed into dry clothes, Okarun's mood plummeted further as he made an unfortunate discovery. "My... my..." he gestured helplessly at his lower regions.

"Your genitals?" Ben supplied helpfully, trying and failing to keep a straight face. "Well, maybe next time don't go challenging ghost stories, dude. Just saying."

Okarun's eyes welled with tears. "I just... I didn't want to lose the chance to make friends. No one's ever wanted to talk to me before. I was afraid if I didn't prove aliens were real, you'd both think I was weird and leave..."

Momo's expression softened. "Look, your real problem isn't that you're weird. It's that you assume everyone's going to reject you, so you keep yourself isolated. I'm happy to talk about paranormal stuff with you – both aliens AND ghosts."

Okarun sniffled, then suddenly barked, "Whatever, yo!" in a gruff voice, causing Momo to jump back in surprise.

"Did... did you just 'yo' at me?" she demanded incredulously.

Ben burst out laughing. "I think we broke him."

Their amusement was cut short by the sound of a doorbell – but not the normal one. This chime was different, otherworldly.

Momo's face went pale. "That's... that's the spirit chime. We have two different bells – one for humans, one for spirits. But they shouldn't be able to enter because of the..." Her eyes widened in horror. "The talisman! We never put it back!"