Morning – Somewhere in New York
The city buzzed with the usual morning hum. Vendors opened their stalls. Cyclists rushed past stoplights. Pigeons fought over a single dropped fry. And above it all, somewhere on a mid-rise rooftop, sat a figure in a faded brown hoodie, swinging his legs over the ledge.
Kai.
He stared at the horizon as sunlight spilled over the buildings, reflecting off glass and metal.
"It's already been a year," he thought.
Twelve months since he'd crash-landed into this strange universe. Since desert fires, scrap metal suits, Norse gods, secret agents, green giants, and, of course… that ticking alien watch on his wrist.
The Omnitrix blinked softly.
A lot had happened.
But lately?
Not much.
Most days were the same now: deliveries across the city, dodging traffic, helping a few lost cats, and occasionally using the Omnitrix when things got mildly dramatic.
Like last week.
A group of petty thieves had cornered a tourist near Times Square. Kai, rolling down the sidewalk with a grocery crate on his back, noticed the scuffle.
He ducked into an alley, tapped the Omnitrix, and muttered, "Let's go spooky."
The green light flashed.
Seconds later, Ghostfreak slid out of the shadows.
The thieves ran screaming after just one look at his glowing single eye and terrifying whisper-laugh.
Kai had been proud of that one.
But it wasn't enough.
As he zipped through traffic later that morning on his delivery bike, he muttered, "Come on, SHIELD, give me something."
He'd already made a deal with them—ten million dollars if a threat arose big enough to require his alien transformations. Ten. Million.
He imagined Tony's face when he bragged about it.
But so far?
Nothing.
Not even a courtesy "we might need you soon" text.
"Guess I'm too overpowered for this world's schedule," he said to himself with a smirk.
By late evening, Kai only had one drop left.
An unfamiliar building on the outskirts of the city. Quiet. Dimly lit. Empty sidewalks.
He parked his bike and stepped into the narrow alley beside the building, bag slung over his shoulder. It was oddly silent.
Too silent.
"Weird," he muttered.
He rang the buzzer.
Nothing.
Knocked on the steel door.
Still nothing.
As he turned to leave—
WHOOSH!
A sudden gust of wind and a shimmering ripple in the air engulfed him.
Kai's eyes widened.
"Wha—?"
Before he could even reach for the Omnitrix, the world tilted. The alley twisted into shadow. A violent pull yanked him backward, like falling into a bottomless pit.
His delivery bag fell, scattering cans and bread on the ground.
When he opened his eyes, it was pitch black.
A space without light.
A void.
He blinked rapidly, adjusting.
The Omnitrix still glowed faintly—but provided no real light.
His breath fogged slightly in the cold air.
"Where… am I?"
A hum echoed in the distance.
Not mechanical. Not natural.
Something… alien.
He took a cautious step forward. The floor felt hard, metal-like. But the space around him was eerily quiet.
Then, behind him, a voice—distorted and layered.
"You… are finally separated from their eyes."
Kai froze.
"Who's there?"
No answer.
Only the hum.
Then a whisper.
A familiar whisper.
Almost like…
"…Kai…"
He turned, heart thudding.
No one.
Just the echo.
The darkness shifted.
And then—
A flash of green light flickered across the void, illuminating strange symbols on unseen walls.
Alien symbols.
Some matched those on the Omnitrix.
Kai stepped back, hand hovering over the dial.
"Okay," he whispered. "This is definitely not on my route."