Xenocite

Xenocytes are alien "leeches" artificially manufactured by the Highbreed. They are mass produced and attached to hosts, which create what are commonly known as DNAliens.

Appearance
Xenocytes are small purple creatures with a singular eye with a red pupil, a small black slit iris and green sclera. They have six tentacles, a visible brain and a black line which runs down the center, around their eye and mouth.

History
As they attach to their host, they take over the personalities of the people they possess and control them (hacking their DNA). Within hours, the Xenocyte will completely cover the host's body transforming him into a DNAlien. Xenocyte eggs are created from an egg-laying machine. The eggs hatch underwater in large artificial green rivers. After hatching, the Xenocytes are stored in boxes filled with DNAlien slime. The Xenocyte eggs were going to ship out all throughout the country, but they failed.

It is revealed in the video game Ben 10: Alien Force that Xenocytes can turn other alien species into DNAliens; not just humans. These examples include DNAliens of Pyronites, Vulpimancers, Florauna, Osmosians and Null Guardians. However, they seem incapable of turning silicon based lifeforms like Crystalsapiens into DNAliens.

In Ben 10: Ultimate Alien episode Simian Says, Arachnichimp bounty hunter Simian brought a Xenocyte home and sold it to a crime lord named Mizaru. When Mizaru released the Xenocyte, it infected him and began spreading more Xenocytes throughout all of Aranhaschimmia. Eunice, with the help of Simian and Ben's team, were able to reverse the effect and cure all the Arachnachimps, and destroy the Xenocyte that started it all.

Toys

 * 4 inch Alien Collection DNAlien.
 * 4 inch Alien Collection 3-pack - includes: DNAlien (clear), Swampfire & Alan as Heatblast.

Etymology
Xenocyte is made of two words: "Xeno", meaning foreigner or stranger, and "cyte" meaning cell.

Trivia

 * It has been confirmed that Xenocyte DNA was in the Codon Stream, it was sampled in Max Out, but the Codon Stream noticed that they are non-sapient, so it deleted the DNA.
 * Xenocytes are a reference to Starro's parasitic clones in DC Comics.
 * Xenocytes are also similar to the Illithid monster from Dungeons & Dragons and the Flood from the Halo Games. All three are tentacle-faced creatures that take a humanoid form by altering an existing being.
 * Xenocytes have the same concept as Yeerks from the Animorphs books. Both are parasites that infest the mind of a sentient being and control their body against their will, but the Yeerks are sentient.
 * The Brain Parasites from Lego Hero Factory are similar to the Xenocytes except that they can fuse to Silicon based life forms.
 * It resembles a headcrab creature from the Half Life series. it takes over a host and transforms it into something that is not human-like.