"Are you okay?" I asked gently.
Yolanda didn't answer right away. She just stared at the ceiling, her arms still crossed like she was holding herself together.
"Not really," she finally muttered. "Me and Ava got into a fight."
That caught me off guard.
Those two are like sisters. I couldn't even remember the last time they had a real fight—sure, they bicker over little things, but this felt… serious.
"What happened?" I asked, concern creeping into my voice. "What'd you guys argue about?"
She sighed and kept her gaze fixed on the ceiling.
"It was about a boy. Apparently… we both like him."
I blinked. Seriously?
"You two are fighting over a boy? You guys have been friends since childhood. No guy is worth throwing that kind of history away," I said, a little sharper than I meant to.
"It's not that simple," she said quietly. "It's more complicated than that."
I turned toward her and gently reached out, taking her hand. She looked at me—eyes a little softer now, a little less guarded.
"Look," I said, "I have no idea who this guy is. But chances are, he's not worthy of either of you. You and Ava? You're both amazing. Smart, strong, loyal. If some dude is putting a wedge between you, then maybe he's the problem. You don't throw away a lifetime of friendship over someone who might not even make it past the second date."
She stared at me for a second, then let out a soft laugh and smiled.
"You're right," she said. "We can't let something like this ruin everything. I'll talk to her later… but for now, I'd like to hang out with you. If that's okay?"
I smiled back. "I don't mind at all. I was just watching TV anyway."
I grabbed the remote and turned it on. She leaned into me as we sat back on the couch, eventually resting her head against my shoulder.
It wasn't weird or anything. We always did this. She did the same with Ava too—it was just how we were. Comfortable. Close.
And right now, I was grateful for it.
A couple of hours had passed.
Yolanda had fallen asleep, curled up against me on the couch. I didn't move. Just sat there, flipping through channels, lost in thought. Eventually, I stopped on the news.
And what I saw made my eyes widen.
Live footage. San Francisco.A monster—massive, armored, grotesque—was being fought in the open ocean, just off the coast. The water around it churned with waves and energy.
The Justice League was there.
Superman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, and Shazam were all in the fight. From the looks of it, they'd been going at it for hours. The creature looked injured but still dangerously strong. The League members were visibly worn down—breathing hard, armor scratched, clothes ripped.
The camera zoomed in as Wonder Woman's lasso wrapped around the beast's arm. Shazam flew in with a thunderous uppercut, while Green Lantern tried to hold it in place with a construct. Superman darted in and out with heat vision and strikes… but it wasn't enough.
Then, out of nowhere—a massive lightning strike split the sky.
BOOM.
The monster let out one last roar before it was hit dead-on, the ocean lit up with blinding white light. The creature convulsed, fried instantly… and then collapsed into the water, dead.
The camera cut to the source of the lightning.
Standing in the sky, cape fluttering, hammer in hand—
Thor.
Not the DC one.Marvel's Thor.
I just sat there, blinking. "This is all… way too bizarre."
I mean, yeah, I knew the worlds were merged now. I'd spent the last few hours reading up on it. But actually seeing Superman and Wonder Woman fight alongside Thor?
Still surreal.
I glanced at the clock. It was getting late.
Yolanda's mom was definitely the type to worry if she wasn't home by now.
I nudged her gently. "Hey… Yo. Time to wake up."
She stirred a little, then yawned and looked up at me, still half-asleep.
"You gotta get home. Your mom's probably having a panic attack by now."
She blinked, stretched, and nodded groggily. "Right… yeah. Sorry."
"No worries," I said with a grin. "You can crash here anytime."
She smiled sleepily and stood up. "Thanks, Franklin. I needed this."
"Anytime."
As she left, I glanced back at the screen. The news anchor was still rambling about the mysterious appearance of Thor and the ongoing threat of interdimensional creatures.
Yeah… this world was wild.
And I had a feeling it was only going to get crazier from here.
The next day.
I woke up feeling refreshed.
I got out of bed, stretched, and walked over to my computer. I turned the system on, activated the Omnitrix, and spoke up.
"Omnitrix," I said, "scan and hack into companies that are corrupt—criminal fronts, tax fraud havens, illegal operations. Take everything they've got. I want it all moved into an untraceable offshore account. And make sure there's zero trail leading back to me."
"Confirmed," the Omnitrix replied.
Within seconds, I saw the data stream begin.
Encrypted codes, false identities, firewalls bypassed like wet paper. The Omnitrix moved like a ghost through the digital world. Every transfer was clean. Silent. Invisible.
And when it was done…
Billions.Not millions. Billions.Sitting in a secure offshore account tied to a shell company under an alias I'd never even heard of until a few minutes ago.
Just like that, I was a billionaire.
Gotta love advanced alien tech.
And yeah… part of me thought about feeling guilty.
But then I looked at the names of the companies.Drug cartels with fake corporate fronts. Slavery-funded conglomerates. Tech firms that tested on people. Arms dealers hiding behind media companies. Monsters in boardrooms.
So nah—I didn't feel bad.I just took their blood money and recycled it.
After locking down my shiny new bank account, I gave the Omnitrix another command.
"Omnitrix, hack into the NYPD database. I want full access—live police scanner feeds, open case files, reported meta incidents… the works. If I'm going to be a hero, I need eyes everywhere."
"Confirmed," it responded instantly.
Within seconds, I had a silent, invisible tap into the city's law enforcement network. All clean, all untraceable. Any crime, disturbance, or incident would ping straight to me. Just like that, I had my own early warning system.
Next on the list: a secret base.
I needed somewhere completely off the radar. A place no one would ever think to look—especially not someone like Batman or Fury.
Warehouses? Too obvious.
Old buildings in park cities? Maybe.
Then my mind went left field.
What about the sewer system?
I mean… if the Ninja Turtles could make it work, why couldn't I? Besides, being underground made it easier to stay hidden from drones, satellites, and casual foot traffic.
I spent a couple hours scanning maps, layouts, and city blueprints using the Omnitrix's advanced systems.
That's when I struck gold.
It wasn't a sewer.
It was an old Underground Railroad tunnel—forgotten, unregistered, and completely off-grid. No activity. No records. It had space, structure, and history. And most importantly: it was mine now.
I threw on some clothes, grabbed my keys, and headed out.
It didn't take long to reach the location. The surface entrance was hidden beneath an old, half-finished building that looked like it had been abandoned during construction—brick, concrete, and scaffolding swallowed by time.
Perfect.
I made my way inside and found the entrance that led underground. The moment I stepped into the tunnel, I stopped and just… looked around.
It was massive. Long, wide stone corridors with old iron supports, branching alcoves, and even remnants of rail tracks. The air was stale, but the structure was solid.
No cameras. No footprints. No signs of life.
Perfect for my needs.
Now that I'd found my base, I knew what came next: supplies.And a lot of them.
Tech, tools, generators, furniture, security systems, wiring, computers—basically everything I'd need to turn an ancient underground tunnel into a state-of-the-art headquarters.
But I couldn't exactly have all that stuff shipped directly to my secret lair. That would defeat the whole purpose of it being, y'know… secret.
So I headed back home, sat down at my computer, and got to work.
I made sure I wasn't using anything tied to my real identity.Everything was done under a carefully constructed alias—fake name, fake ID, fake credit accounts (funded by my very real offshore billions).
The shipping address?Not my apartment.And definitely not the Underground Railroad site.
Instead, I had it all sent to a warehouse I now legally own—one I purchased through a fake shell company using the Omnitrix to handle the paperwork. It's located in a low-traffic industrial zone with no cameras, no security, and no neighbors asking questions.
I even "bought" a delivery truck and registered it under the alias too—just in case I need to move things myself when everything arrives.
According to the delivery estimates, it'll all come in over the next couple of days.
Which meant, for now… I had to be patient.
Something I was terrible at.
I was just about to head back to the base when I heard something.
A quiet ping from the Omnitrix.
I glanced down.Still connected to the police network.
"—bank robbery in progress. Hostages involved. Repeat: hostages involved. Need backup—now!"
My stomach tightened.
The logical choice? Ignore it.There are tons of heroes in New York. The city's practically crawling with them. Someone else could handle it.
But…
What if they weren't connected to the police feed like I was?What if they were off-world? Off-duty? Or too late?
I stood there for a second, frozen between two truths.
I haven't revealed myself yet. No one knows who I am.Stepping in now—especially with an alien form—means risking exposure.And I haven't even tested everything yet.
But…
Could I really sleep tonight if someone died?
No.
I want to be a hero.
That's the whole point of all of this.
Without another thought, I tapped the Omnitrix. My suit shimmered into existence—sleek, black, and green, fitting around me like a second skin.
Then I opened the interface and scrolled fast.
I didn't need strength right now. I didn't need firepower.
I found the alien I needed. Slammed the dial.
The transformation hit like a whisper of wind—fast, quiet, cold.
"Ghostfreak…" I breathed.
I looked down at my hands—transparent, shadowy, clawed.
This was it. My first step into the spotlight.
Time to save some lives.
I turned invisible and phased through the wall of my apartment.Didn't need anyone seeing me take off—not my neighbors, not some random security cam. That's why I chose Ghostfreak. Silent. Invisible. Untouchable.
Once I was far enough away, I dropped into a shadowed alleyway with no cameras and no eyes.
I hit the Omnitrix again.
"XLR8."
I ran.
The city blurred around me. Cars looked like statues. I moved like a ghost through time. Within seconds, I was standing on a rooftop, overlooking the scene.
A full police barricade surrounded the bank. News vans were parked everywhere. Crowds gathered behind tape. The usual chaos.
I zoomed into a back alley, then into the bank—still a blur, undetected.
Inside, time crawled.
Eight robbers. Weird masks. Automatic weapons.They didn't even notice me.
In less than a second, I'd disarmed all of them, tied them up, and dropped them in a corner like a stack of trash.
Then I turned to the hostages—maybe a dozen of them. Terrified, shaking.
I moved them out one by one. Quiet. Fast. Clean.
Once everyone was safe, I returned to the robbers and let time catch up.
Everything snapped back into motion.
They looked around, panicked.
No hostages. No guns.
And only one figure standing in front of them—a tall, blue, lizard-like blur with glowing green eyes.
"What the hell are you?" one of them barked.
I tilted my head."If you want a name… I don't have one yet," I said. "Actually… yeah, I do. Call me Omni. And this form?"
I flexed my claws."This is XLR8."
"Fuck you and your name!" he shouted, pulling a pistol from his boot.
Damn. Should've checked for backup weapons.
Time slowed again.
I zipped forward, snatched the gun from his hand, then swept through the rest. A few more backup weapons—nothing I couldn't handle. I tossed them into a pile with the rest and knocked them out cold.
One tap each. No blood. No mess. Just lights out.
Then time snapped back to normal.
"Freeze!"
I turned.
A squad of police had finally entered, weapons raised.They looked stunned. And more than a little scared.
"Sorry," I said, holding up my hands. "But I've got places to be."
And in a blur, I was gone.