We caught up to the massive robots fast, their thunderous steps shaking the ground like rolling earthquakes.
"You're sure you don't need backup?" Carol called, already banking toward the Gamma unit.
I smirked. "Appreciate it, Cap, but I've got these three. You just keep glow-boy busy."
"Fine, just don't get yourself killed. Be safe, Omni." She peeled off toward her target.
I slammed the dial. "Big Chill!"
My body iced over, wings spreading as I went ghostly and cold. The fire unit roared, flames spilling from its vents, but I phased straight into its chest. Inside, the blazing core pulsed like a miniature sun. Perfect.
I opened my jaws and unleashed a freezing gale. Frost raced across the molten sphere, heat fighting me for a few seconds before the core solidified. In moments the whole robot froze stiff, its body locked in ice. I phased back out just in time to watch the towering machine collapse, now nothing more than a frozen monument.
"One down."
No time to waste. I slapped the dial again. "Heatblast!"
Flames burst across my body. The ice unit spotted me instantly, hurling a storm of frozen blasts. I kicked fire from my hands and feet, weaving through the barrage as the energy robot joined in with searing beams of light.
"Man, for supposed 'protectors,' your aim is garbage," I called out, darting past another blast. "Guess that's on the geniuses who built you."
I rocketed forward, hovering right in front of the ice unit's chest. My arms glowed white-hot, and I unleashed a concentrated stream of fire that tore clean through its torso. Flames erupted out the back, sparks showering everywhere as the machine sputtered, systems dying.
The giant staggered, lights flickering, before crashing to the ground with a deafening boom.
I lowered my blazing hands, scanning the battlefield. "And then there was one."
The energy unit raised both of its cannon-like arms and unleashed a storm of blasts. I dodged and weaved between them, closing the distance fast.
Third Person POV
"Holy shit, he just took those two down like they were nothing!" Supergirl exclaimed.
"Language," Captain America cut in, steady and stern as he guided civilians out of the kill zone.
He wasn't alone Iron Man, Supergirl, and Green Lantern were all focused on evacuation duty, pulling soldiers and bystanders clear of the battlefield.
"Sorry, sir, but you have to admit, that was awesome," Supergirl grinned.
"Gotta agree with the Superkid here," Iron Man said. "That was pretty amazing."
"It's Supergirl, Buckethead. I'm sixteen."
"Not exactly helping your case," Tony smirked.
Supergirl rolled her eyes, muttering under her breath.
"Hey GL, why isn't he part of the Justice League yet? With that kind of power, he fits right in," she asked.
Green Lantern shook his head. "It's complicated. Let's just say… our relationship with him isn't the most stable right now."
"Oh, I heard about that. Batman's fault, right?" Iron Man chimed in.
"What?! Batman? He's Batman. What could he possibly do to piss Omni off?" Supergirl asked, genuinely shocked.
"Long story. I'll explain later."
Tony raised a brow. "Two hundred bucks says I can guess what Bat-guy did."
"Tony, focus on evacuation," Cap barked.
"Fine, fine. But we're circling back to this," Stark muttered.
Franklin's POV
This energy robot was tough, but I finally got close enough.
"Feedback!" I said.
I landed right on its chest, locking my hands onto its armor. Instantly, energy surged into me, hot and overwhelming, but I held steady. The robot tried swatting me off, but I blasted its arms back with one hand while siphoning its core with the other.
Its systems screamed, sparks bursting, servos grinding, as I drained it dry. The massive frame began to stagger. I jumped clear just before it collapsed, releasing a controlled burst of the absorbed power from my palms to steady my landing.
I revert it back to my regular form, I tapped my comm.
"Hey guys, I'm all done here. Scrap metal now."
"Good job, Omni," Cap's voice answered. "Captain Marvel's almost finished absorbing the Gamma unit."
"She need backup?"
"Negative," Carol's voice came through, strained but composed. "Captain Atom's covering me."
I smirked. "Copy that. But are you sure you don't want actual backup?"
"HEY!" Atom barked.
"Relax, I'm joking… kinda," I mumbled.
I activated the Omnitrix, and I slammed down the dial.
"FastTrack!"
In a blur of speed, I zipped through the chaos, pulling civilians out of danger and clearing soldiers from the blast zone. Within a minute the streets were empty, safe—just as Captain Marvel and Captain Atom finished bringing the Gamma unit crashing to the ground.
We regrouped near the wreckage, everyone catching their breath.
"Well," I said, stretching my arms, "that was… an interesting day. Didn't think I'd be scrapping three giant robots before dinner—but hey, that's the life of a superhero."
"Tell me about it," Iron Man replied. "Just last week me and Ant-Man took down some evil scientist."
"That's pretty cool. Let me guess—wanted to take over the world with science?"
"Yep."
"Had a leader who thought he was the smartest man alive, until he wasn't?"
"Yep."
"Had a mental breakdown, tried to blow up the world?"
"Yep."
"And then you two kicked his ass, now he's rotting in a cell?"
Tony chuckled. "Pretty much right on the money, Omni. Speaking of money—help me settle a bet with these guys."
Supergirl frowned. "Pretty sure no one agreed to be in your bet."
"Yeah, whatever. I get three guesses at how Batman pissed you off. You just tell me if I'm right."
I smirked. "Alright, sounds fun."
"First guess—he planted a tracker on you."
"Nope."
"Hacked into your systems or armor?"
"No. And even if he tried, he wouldn't get far."
Tony snapped his fingers. "Knew it. Last guess—he tried to find out your identity."
"Correct."
"YES!" Tony threw his arms up like he'd just won a touchdown.
Carol pinched the bridge of her nose. "Congratulations, Stark. You just won nothing, because no one agreed to the bet."
"Still counts," Tony muttered.
"Whatever. Let's head back to the ship. I'm ready to go home," Captain Marvel said.
But before anyone could take a step, the ground shook beneath us.
BOOM.
Another. BOOM.
And another—each one heavier, closer, rattling the ruins around us.
We all turned toward the treeline as a massive shadow cut through the smoke. Sparks danced across the dark sky, thunder growling with each step.
The last Brimstone unit emerged—its entire body glowing with crackling lightning, arcs of raw power snaking off its armor.
"…and there's our final boss," I muttered, bracing for the fight.
Iron Man groaned. "Oh come on, I thought we were done with these guys."
"Guess not ," Cap said grimly, shield at the ready, "Whoever behind this is clearly not over."
"Don't know why, I can just turn into feedback and absorb the core like I did the last one."
Before anyone could respond, the robot's chest split open. Its core pulsed brighter and brighter until it was glowing like a miniature star, the energy vibrating through the ground beneath our feet.
My stomach dropped. "…Okay. Pretty sure I just jinxed us. Question—how bad would it be if that thing blows?"
Iron Man's HUD lit up in warning. "Not enough to level the country… but big enough to wipe out everything in a thirty-kilometer radius."
My eyes widened. "And the civilians we just evacuated?"
He shook his head. "They're still way too close."
"We need to stop it. Now!" Cap barked.
Captain Marvel and Captain Atom shot into the sky, streaking toward the core—
—but before they even reached it, the reactor detonated.
The world went white as a tidal wave of energy tore outward, expanding faster than any of us could move.
I slammed the dial.
In an instant, my form shifted—skin blazing pink, hair burning like living flame, robes flowing like a magician's mantle, my whole body pulsing with raw energy.
I rocketed upward, planting myself above the expanding firestorm, and thrust my arms wide. A dome of radiant pink energy burst from my hands, snapping around the explosion like a cage.
The blast slammed against my barrier, shaking it violently, the heat searing even through my alien form. Every second felt like holding back a collapsing sun.
"Come on… come on…" I gritted my teeth, forcing the shield tighter, compressing the blast back in on itself.
Ten seconds felt like an eternity. One minute nearly broke me. At two whole minutes, the energy finally sputtered out, the core's fury burned empty.
I slowly let the barrier dissolve, releasing only a wave of residual heat into the sky above—far enough that none of the others were touched.
I lowered myself back to the ground, exhausted but standing. "...Okay. That was way too close."
The others rushed over to me.
"Dang, that was quick. Thanks for the save, Omni. Who's this guy? Never seen him before."
I smirked. "Oh, this form? He's called Voidflare. Don't usually get the chance to use him, but I know he's got high potential for magic. Too bad I don't have any magical teachers lying around."
"Magic, huh? Well… whatever this guy's power is, it came in handy," Iron Man said.
I gave him a weird look.
"What?" he asked, defensive.
"So you're fine with aliens, mutants, Inhumans, multiverse travel, space cops with glowing rings, monsters, killer robots, evil scientists, and alien invasions—which happen like, what, three times a year?—but magic is where you draw the line?" I asked.
"Yes," he said flatly.
"…Why?" I asked again.
"Because magic is just science we don't understand yet. Don't buy into whatever Dr. Fate preaches."
I just shook my head. "Okay, you keep believing that. I'm going home."
I reverted back to my regular form, and turned away. A green portal shimmered open in front of me, I walked straight through it.
Hank Pym POV
The lab was quiet except for the low hum of servers and the rhythmic beep of the neural scanner. My eyes burned from three sleepless days, but I couldn't stop. Not when I was so close.
This project would eclipse everything I'd built before—even the Pym Particles. Ultron. My first true AI.
On the main display, the progress bar crept past 80% as the machine mapped the neural lattice of my personality. Months of work distilled into lines of code. My mind, my decisions, my instincts—all copied into his framework. Soon he would be ready.
I was so focused I didn't hear Janet come in until she spoke.
"Seriously, Hank—you've been up almost three days. You need rest."
I nearly jumped, then shook my head. "I can't. I'm almost finished. You don't understand—this project is everything. I'm not just building another machine. I'm building something better than Stark's AI. Something that will change the world."
She walked up behind me, wrapping her arms around my shoulders. "Change the world, huh? And how exactly is your AI supposed to do that?"
"I'm uploading my neural scan right now," I explained, still watching the readouts. "And I already have Stark's brain patterns integrated."
Her grip tightened. "You what? Hank—how? And why?"
"Long story. Let's just say an evil scientist tried to burn the world down, and we salvaged what we could. But think about it—my reasoning, Tony's problem-solving… combined. Once Ultron is online and connected to the internet, he'll have the tools to solve anything—war, famine, energy crises. With that much intelligence, peace isn't just possible, it's inevitable."
Janet circled to face me, arms crossed. "On paper, it's brilliant. But dumping a copy of you and Tony Stark onto the internet in a walking supercomputer? That sounds like Skynet waiting to happen."
I met her gaze. "Don't worry. I've hardcoded a single directive: peace in our time. Ultron's only mission will be to protect the world. He won't go rogue."
"You'd better be right." She sighed, softening. "When you're finished saving the world, come to dinner. I made your favorite."
I gave a small smile, but my eyes were already back on the display as she left.
The scanner ticked past 82%. Almost done. Almost ready.
Unknown to Hank
What Hank Pym was building in his lab would not just be another invention. Ultron would become the spark that changed New York—and the entire world—forever.
Franklin POV
A few days later
I have to say, telling my friends my secret might've been the best decision I've ever made. Now, whenever I need to go hero, I don't have to come up with some dumb excuse about running errands or needing "alone time." I can just… do my thing. No lies, no cover-ups.
Turns out I was right about Beth too, she is a mutant. She finally admitted it after I came back from that little adventure with the giant robots. She was nervous as hell, practically shaking when she told us. That's probably why she was so quiet while everyone else was asking me questions about the Omnitrix and my Justice League mission.
But the second Yolanda told her she was a mutant too, and that we all accepted her without hesitation, you could see the weight lift off her shoulders. For the first time, Beth actually looked like she belonged.
Right now, I'm deep in the base, running upgrades with the help of all fifty of my clones. Yeah, you heard that right, fifty. I've got a whole squad of myself scattered around: multiple Jerryrigs, a few Brainstorms, a handful of Gray Matters, some Upgrade bodies, a couple of Armodrillos, and even one clone running around in Kryptonian form and a mew form.
The place looks insane. Wires everywhere, machines humming, and the sound of drills echoing nonstop. The Kryptonian me is phasing in and out of the Stargate, that's what I've decided to call the teleporter now. He's been jumping back and forth into space, bringing home the good stuff. And by "good stuff," I mean vibranium.
How am I getting it? Simple. My Brain Squad built a specialized scanner, like a metal detector on steroids, designed specifically to locate vibranium deposits inside asteroids. It didn't take long before the thing pinged jackpot. Now I've got at least five boulders of the strongest metal on (and apparently off) Earth stacked in my base.
I'm about to roll out so many upgrades for the suits in my base it's insane. I've got my Brain Squad, that's the Brainstorms and Gray Matters,handling the design, calculations, and all the genius-level stuff. Then there's the Builder Squad, Jerryrigs, Upgrades, and Armodrillos, actually putting the designs together and building what we need.
And I know what you're wondering: what's the deal with the new form? I call it Mew. Its whole purpose is to link all my clones together, like a mental network. We can pass information instantly through the link, no wasted time. Pretty cool, right?
image here
The vibranium haul opens even more possibilities. Sure, I'll use it for armor and weapons, but I've also got some… unconventional ideas. Back in Wakanda's history, vibranium interacted with plants and created mutations, the Heart-Shaped Herb being the most famous. I want to see if I can recreate that effect, but in a controlled environment here in my base. So far it's just endless rounds of testing and, yeah, a lot of failing. But failure only means data. And data means progress.
Sooner or later, I'll figure out what vibranium can really do when pushed to its limits.