The silence after the battle was unnerving.
Zayden sat with his back against the steel wall of a hollowed-out tower, his breath still catching from the fight. The Decepticon's smoldering body lay a dozen meters away, half-buried in the rubble. No alarms had gone off. No seekers swarmed in. For now, the city—what was left of it—remained still.
He looked down at the device on his wrist. The Omnitrix pulsed faintly, like a resting heart. It looked at home there, fused to his skin as if it had always belonged. This was no toy. No replica. It was the real thing—recalibrated, personalized, and utterly alien.
"…Alright," he muttered. "Let's figure out what you can really do."
Zayden reached over with his other hand and tapped the edge of the dial. The circular interface spun once, and a green holographic projection flared up above it. A rotating ring of alien silhouettes hovered, each one radiating a distinct aura of power. He recognized some from memory—old favorites like Humungousaur and Jetray. But there were others he didn't know. New ones.
The interface responded to his thoughts, narrowing the selection as he focused. Each icon brought up data: species, name, abilities, even planet of origin. But when he tried to access the full list, a soft tone buzzed and a text line appeared:
> "Access Limited. Upgrade modules required. Train, evolve, unlock."
"Of course," Zayden smirked. "Gamified. Classic."
But that wasn't a problem. If anything, it made it more exciting.
He selected a random form labeled "Chronoblade", and the interface shimmered again. No transformation yet. Just a preview. This form was tall, armored in reflective crystal plating, with glowing silver eyes and energy blades folded along its arms. According to the Omnitrix, it could bend time in short bursts—acceleration, slow-motion reflexes, and even memory locks.
Broken, he thought. I love it.
Still, he'd only just scratched the surface. He scrolled through others:
Flaretitan – molten plasma giant.
Phantomshift – intangible stealth alien.
Stormgeist – a winged atmospheric entity with weather control.
Synapse Howler – telepathic werewolf.
So many forms. So many possibilities. And only he could use it.
As he turned the dial again, the Omnitrix chirped and a soft green light pulsed into the air, projecting a 3D hologram of a small mechanical assistant. A floating eye with tiny drone wings.
Zayden blinked. "You've got a helper now?"
> "Omnitrix assistant online," the drone replied. "Designation: NEX. Welcome, Primary User. Your synchronization is at 99.8% completion. Nanite neural tether forming. Learning protocol active."
"Cool," he muttered. "So what do you do, NEX?"
> "Monitor power levels. Track alien DNA compatibility. Alert to external tampering. Advise user in combat. And quote statistics you didn't ask for."
Zayden raised a brow. "Sassy."
> "Recalibrated personality matrix designed to match user sarcasm level."
"Perfect."
He leaned back and closed his eyes. For the first time since his arrival, he allowed himself to breathe. It was real. The power on his wrist wasn't going anywhere. The knowledge in his mind—of the coming Autobot-Decepticon war, of Unicron, of humanity's role in everything—was his to keep. His body was stronger than it had ever been, and even with just a sliver of the Omnitrix unlocked, he was already a force to be reckoned with.
But he couldn't rely on brute strength. Not here. This wasn't a cartoon anymore. If he messed up, he wouldn't just respawn or retry. He could die. The people he loved—the ones he'd meet—could die too.
He clenched his fists. That wouldn't happen. Not on his watch.
He stood and opened a small control panel on his Omnitrix. A 3D map appeared—Cybertron's ancient grid, riddled with war zones, decommissioned towers, hidden bunkers. One dot pulsed brighter than the rest, deep beneath the surface.
"What's that?" he asked.
> "Subterranean Vault 8X-09. Abandoned Autobot research hub. Currently inactive. Possible energy reserves still present."
"A hidden Autobot lab?" Zayden grinned. "Sounds like a place to start."
---
Hours passed as he moved through the decaying city. The skyline stretched like jagged teeth above him, split open by decades of war. He kept a low profile—using Phantomshift form once to pass through a crumbling barricade and avoid a Decepticon patrol. The Omnitrix was efficient with its charge. He could feel when it neared its cooldown limit, but so far, it recharged fast—quicker than expected.
At last, he reached the entrance. A circular hatch buried beneath a mound of rubble and old Energon cables.
Zayden knelt and examined it.
> "Vault 8X-09. Sealed. Retinal and code lock required. No standard override possible."
He grinned. "Good thing I don't do standard."
He tapped the Omnitrix. This time, he selected an alien labeled "Glitchbyte"—a silicon-based lifeform of pure data, with the ability to hack and manipulate tech through physical contact.
In a swirl of green light, his body transformed—arms thinning into fiber-optic whips, eyes flickering with blue code, skin shifting into a smooth metallic finish. He touched the lock and felt his consciousness flood into the circuitry. Security layers crumbled before him like wet paper.
Ten seconds later, the hatch hissed open.
He stepped inside, returning to his human form as the lights inside the vault flickered on—ancient Autobot tech surrounding him.
A single console pulsed softly in the room's center.
Zayden smiled.
"Time to build my future."