Cassius Locke walked calmly through the streets of Kuoh Town, hands tucked casually into his pockets.
To any passerby, he looked like just a normal teenager out for a leisurely stroll. And that was partially true. But beneath the surface, his mind was anything but relaxed.
He was studying the city.
If he was going to live here for the foreseeable future, then he needed to familiarize himself with its layout — every alley, every landmark, every possible escape route. Most importantly, he needed to find a secure location where he could transform without risk.
There was no telling what kind of powers or advanced tech the other Hero Candidates might possess. If any of them were already in Kuoh and had the means to track energy signatures or transformations, then transforming in his own home would be nothing short of suicidal. He had no intention of painting a target on his back that easily.
Besides, he had the Omnitrix's scan function. With a little luck, it might help him identify other Candidates before they noticed him.
If none of them were in Kuoh? Even better.
But if they were… well, he already had a contingency plan brewing.
Still, something else was bothering him.
Why is everyone staring?
For some time, Cassius had noticed the people have been giving him strange looks. Sure, it wasn't often one would see a foreigner in Kuoh Town but their stares were definitely not subtle.
He kept walking, pretending not to notice the lingering glances and quiet whispers trailing in his wake. A few students passed him, muttering under their breath, flicking their eyes toward his face and more specifically, toward his wrist.
Cassius resisted the urge to sigh.
Don't tell me…
Subtly, he glanced down at the Omnitrix.
It was in standby mode, but it was definitely eye catching. Normally, it wasn't supposed to stand out this much. But in a world like this, where devils, exorcists, and other supernatural entities were practically walking the streets, even "ordinary" technology could draw attention if it gave off an unusual presence, let alone one of high-advanced technology.
Is the Omnitrix leaking energy?Or maybe… it's reacting to the ambient dimensional field of this world?
No, it's not supposed to leak any form of energy in rest mode. Perhaps the design is too foreign. As expected, I should have worn something with longer sleeves. How annoying.
He turned a corner and ducked into a quieter side street, pressing his back against the wall and taking a moment to breathe.
"…Alright," he muttered under his breath. "Let's try this."
Lifting his wrist, he tapped the Omnitrix's interface, switching to scan mode. The dial glowed faintly, and a soft hum vibrated through his bones. His vision blurred for a moment, and then a faint HUD-like interface overlaid his vision, highlighting nearby signatures with colored outlines.
Most of the signals were normal. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Seconds passed. Then minutes. He waited… and waited, but nothing extraordinary appeared on the scan.
Cassius frowned.
I'm not picking up any abnormal readings. Could it be that the others aren't in Kuoh Town?
Thinking it over, it made sense. It would be illogical and far too convenient for all the Hero Candidates to spawn in the exact same place. Especially in a world like this, where supernatural factions already occupied the stage.
If his guess about the Game Master was right, then that twisted bastard wouldn't make things easy for them. No, someone like that would enjoy the chaos — dragging out the tension, spreading the candidates across the world like pieces on a grand chessboard. Stirring the pot, letting drama and suffering slowly simmer until it boiled over.
That meant he had time to prepare and adapt.
If he played it right… then maybe, he had a real chance at surviving this game.
And maybe even winning it.
But first,
"Even if those guys aren't here, I still want to take this bad boy for a test run," Cassius muttered, barely containing his excitement. "I mean, it's the freaking Omnitrix. Who wouldn't want to go hero?"
It felt surreal like a childhood dream come to life. He was giddy, like a fan meeting their favorite superhero in the flesh. But now he was the superhero… or at least, had the potential to become one.
The only question was which alien should he pick first?
After a moment of thought, he raised his wrist and gently tapped the Omnitrix's faceplate.
With a soft click, the faceplate slid back smoothly, revealing the glowing core. A second later, a circular holographic interface flickered into view, rotating slowly in midair around the core. One by one, silhouettes of alien forms appeared.
Cassius grinned.
"Let's see what you've got for me."
He scrolled through the alien silhouettes by tapping and rotating the circular hologram, watching them phase in and out of view. There were some he immediately recognized and a few newer aliens didn't recognize, likely sourced from future versions of the Omnitrix database he had never seen in the original shows.
Of course, he was tempted to try out a few new aliens. But for now, he decided to go with something reliable.
"Let's keep it simple and go with one of the old classic," he muttered as his eyes locked onto the familiar facial silhouette of XLR8.
He pressed down on the dial and twisted it until the icon locked in with a click. The faceplate snapped down, and the core glowed brilliantly.
Cassius inhaled sharply.
"Time to go hero."
He slammed his hand down on the Omnitrix.
VREEEEM!
In a brilliant flash of light, Cassius' body twisted, reshaped, and reformed in an instant. Black and blue plating slid over his body like armor, his feet split into wheels, his limbs elongated into razor-sharp streamlines, and his helmet-like head clicked into place with a piercing whir.
The transformation completed in under a second.
Cassius — now XLR8 — looked down at his clawed hands and sleek, aerodynamic form.
"…Holy shit. It really worked! Oh wow, even my voice has changed. Sweet!"
Suddenly, the world slowed down.
Or rather, he had sped up.
The ambient sounds of the street warped and deepened, like a record player grinding to a halt. A single leaf drifting through the air seemed frozen mid-fall. Even the dust motes hung motionless in the golden shafts of sunlight between the buildings.
Cassius moved a single step and covered several meters in an instant.
He laughed. A short, high-pitched burst of exhilaration.
"Mm-mm. That's what I'm talking about. I could totally get used to this."
He zipped up a wall, ran sideways along it, flipped down, and skidded to a stop in a blur of motion, leaving nothing but a faint blue streak behind him.
He came to a sudden halt atop the roof of a convenience store, his clawed feet kicking up a gust of wind as he stopped. From this vantage point, Cassius had a panoramic view of Kuoh Town, the tiled rooftops, the school in the distance, the streets bustling with unaware civilians. All of it felt... smaller now. Slower. As if the world had been reduced to a quiet painting and he was the only one moving through it.
He crouched down, letting his alien eyes adjust to the environment.
"Alright," he muttered, voice still layered with a metallic undertone. "Time to see just how much this baby can do."
With a flick of his leg, he was gone again.
He raced across rooftops, weaving around chimneys, leaping over power lines, parkouring across the townscape like a living bolt of lightning. In seconds, he'd already mapped out half the district. Even when he paused, his mind was still racing with the buzz of adrenaline and unfamiliar instincts — XLR8's instincts. His enhanced perception picked up subtle vibrations in the air, the flicker of heat from electrical boxes, and even the faint static hum of residual energy.
It was as though he had become the speed!
As he sprinted along the edge of a canal, something flickered in Cassius's peripheral vision. Slowing down just enough to register it, he turned his head and spotted a group of alleyway thugs surrounding someone in a narrow backstreet.
A quick visual scan told him everything he needed to know.
The victim was a young man, who looked thin, clearly underfed, and wearing glasses far too big for his face. His shoulders were hunched, and he looked like a stiff breeze could knock him over. Definitely not the kind of guy who could take on one thug, let alone five of them.
Cassius narrowed his eyes.
"Seriously? Middle of the day, and they're pulling this crap?"
He stopped atop a rooftop, crouching low as he assessed the scene from above. The thugs hadn't noticed him yet. They were too busy jeering and closing in, like jackals circling a wounded animal.
He exhaled slowly.
This wasn't what he'd planned for today.
But he couldn't ignore it.
Not when he had the power to do something about it.
Not when he could reach them in a fraction of a second.
"Guess it's time for a little field test."
Cassius tightened his stance.
Then, in a burst of blue lightning, he vanished from the rooftop.
The world blurred.
In less than the time it took to blink, Cassius was on the ground. The thugs didn't even hear him coming. One moment, they were circling their target, laughing and tossing threats around like candy wrappers. The next, the world exploded into motion.
CRACK!
A fist connected with the first thug's jaw, sending him spiraling backward into a wall with a thud. Before he even hit the ground, Cassius spun and delivered a low sweep-kick to the legs of the second, sending him face-first into the concrete.
The third managed to turn his head, just barely, before Cassius zipped behind him in a blur and tapped him lightly on the back of the neck. The "light" tap felt more like a piledriver, and the guy slumped forward, unconscious before he hit the pavement.
The fourth raised a metal pipe with his eyes widened in horror.
"What the—"
Cassius snatched the pipe from his hands in a blink, crushed it into a crumpled heap, and flung it away.
The thug's jaw dropped.
"What the hell are y—!"
Cassius jabbed forward with two fingers, a shockwave of speed knocking the wind out of the guy. He folded over and collapsed with a wheeze.
The fifth and final thug froze.
A monster was right in front of him.
"I wouldn't," Cassius said, voice distorted with XLR8's digital cadence.
The thug bolted so fast that he seemed like a chicken.
"Thought so."
With a blur, Cassius zipped ahead, appeared in front of him, and tapped his forehead. The thug dropped like a puppet with its strings cut.
Silence settled over the alley. The only sound was the hum of distant traffic and the gentle rustling of leaves.
Cassius clicked his tongue.
"Well, that was a disaster. I thought I could finish this in a second before they even notice but I messed up. I guess I need more practice, huh?"
He then turned back toward the victim, who was still frozen in place, eyes wide behind his crooked glasses.
"Hey, you okay back there?"
The young man nodded shakily, looking like he had just witnessed divine intervention.
"Y-yeah. I think so. That was… what even was that? You—you just—"
"Fast reflexes," Cassius replied smoothly. "Call it good cardio."
The guy blinked.
"That… was not cardio."
Cassius chuckled, the sound carrying an artificial reverb.
"Let's just say you're lucky I was out for a run. Gonna run now, so bye bye..."
He turned, preparing to sprint off before the guy could ask more questions.
"W-wait! Who are..."
Before the young man could finish that sentence, he was already gone. A blue streak vanished down the alley, leaving behind only the rustle of wind and five unconscious thugs strewn like ragdolls in his wake.
"... you?"