I stared into the abyss. Specks of color streaked past me, as though I were frozen and the universe was rushing by. They swirled together in a harmony I couldn't understand—vibrant one moment, muted the next—until the cycle blurred into a frantic whirl. Then, without warning, the colors vanished. Black. Silence. Nothing.
I don't know how long I was floating in this now dark abyss. It could have been minutes, maybe days, I couldn't tell you. Finally I saw something besides the blank emptiness surrounding me. It was humanoid in shape, with three horns atop its head. In this nothingness that surrounded us, it looked as if it was shaped from the universe itself. A bright red hourglass symbol on its chest really stood out to me, as if I had seen it before. Crimson eyes were locked onto me, as if I still had a physical form.
"Motion Carried." Its voice was as if three people were talking at the same time. Two of them were male while the third was a soft female voice. One of the voices was a rough voice, as if holding back its rage, it was prominent. The other sounded quite familiar however. It was younger, confident in its decision.
The being finally moved, pointing its palm facing me. A circle of translucent energy bloomed, then shot forward. Terror gripped me as the attack rushed towards me. Once it touched me, pain flooded the senses that I shouldn't even feel. My soul screamed without lungs. It felt as if molten lava was poured directly onto my nerves, then it all went black.
I woke to the night sky. The stars were bright and plentiful, as if someone painted them onto the sky. Beneath me, the cold concrete dug into my back.
"No wonder it's killing me," I muttered with a grimace. I stood up and gave my back a good crack before examining myself. My clothes really caught my eye, brand new jeans, a crisp white T-shirt and a bright red jacket with a stitched '10' on the chest. "Who the hell dressed me like this?" My hand lingered on the jacket. "Not bad."
Then it hit me, "Where the hell am I!" My panic faltered at the view before me. A city, unfamiliar, stretched below me. Lights shimmering in impossible clarity. No haze, no light pollution—just brilliance. Beautiful, but a long way down. And no way down. My pockets turned up only a wallet and a bunch of crumpled bills, "Great." That's when I felt it. A subtle weight on my wrist. I rolled up the sleeve of my jacket to reveal the familiar red hourglass. "Oh. Shit."
The Ultimatrix. A weapon that could transform the wearer into aliens across the galaxy— and it was strapped to me. Powerful, but I shouldn't have it on my wrist, hell I didn't even know if this was even real.
I looked back at the city, then at the watch, I mean I have to get down somehow, right? With my arm lifted and twisted the dial, which caused a red hologram to appear. I instantly recognized the figure, its flaming head and rocky body brought only one name to mind. "Heatblast"
Before I could press the dial a thunderclap of an explosion lit the horizon. I could feel the tremors from it all the way from this building. "What the heck is happening over there?" I looked down at the Ultimatrix and grinned. " Time to test this baby out." Scrolling off of Heatblast and onto other familiar figures, I finally found the one I needed and pressed down.
My skin became a dark red, a long new tail grew out as well. Yellow horns popped out of my head as flaps of skin connected my arm to my torso. A sudden lightness filled out my body as I jumped up and instinctively called out my new name.
"Jetray!" The night air whipped against me, city lights blurring beneath me. I flew through the sky with a familiarity I shouldn't have, straight toward the column of smoke.