Cold.
That was the first thing Kai felt.
The biting chill gnawed at his skin like a thousand icy needles. He stirred, eyes fluttering open, and blinked into a blinding whiteness.
Snow.
Everywhere.
A frozen wasteland stretched infinitely in all directions. Towering glaciers cracked in the distance, and frost-covered stone pillars jutted from the icy plains like the ribs of some long-dead titan.
But what caught Kai's attention first wasn't the snow.
It was the faint green glow surrounding him.
He sat up quickly. A translucent dome of green energy pulsed around him—thin, cracked, like it had barely held together.
And beyond it…
A sea of monsters.
He stood slowly, boots crunching against the icy ground inside the shield.
Thousands—no, hundreds of thousands of creatures watched from the white beyond. They were unlike the void beasts. These had form and weight. Snow elementals, humanoid yet inhuman. Eyes glowing pale blue. Frozen claws, armored hides, tusks made of ice.
They shifted with an eerie uniformity, never blinking. Never breathing.
Waiting.
Kai rubbed his forehead.
"Seriously? More monsters?"
He took another look around.
The sky was storm-gray, clouds whirling like a vortex above. Frost crackled even in the air, and the terrain had zero color besides blue and white.
He frowned.
"This… doesn't feel like the void."
His gaze turned toward the creatures again.
"Another dimension?"
A heavy sigh left his lips.
"And who keeps dropping me into these places?"
As if in answer, the green energy shield around him flickered and sparked.
Then began to fade.
"Of course."
He glanced down at the Omnitrix.
"...It was you this time, wasn't it?"
The Omnitrix glowed quietly, almost like it was embarrassed.
Kai shook his head, cracking his neck.
"No more resting. No more hiding."
He raised his left arm, fingers already twisting the dial.
"Let's go big."
He selected Humungousaur, the towering dinosaur-like alien with strength to match Hulk's and enough raw power to flatten an army.
The icon locked in. Kai's face hardened.
"Time to squash some snowflakes."
He slammed the dial down.
Transformation initiated.
Green light pulsed through his body, expanding his frame—muscles surging, bones stretching—
But halfway through the process, something changed.
The light flickered.
And then—
FWOOSH!
Flames erupted.
The transformation settled.
But he wasn't Humungousaur.
He was Heatblast.
Lava skin. Flaming head. Burning plasma leaking from his arms.
Kai blinked.
"What? Not again."
He clenched his fists, flames roaring higher from his shoulders.
"Guess you're still calling the shots, Omnitrix."
He turned to face the swarm.
The green shield vanished.
The monsters charged.
The ice cracked beneath their march. Thousands of feet pounding. Claws scraping. The sound was thunderous.
But Kai didn't back down.
He stepped forward, body radiating heat, flames trailing from his footsteps.
The first snow beast leapt into the air, massive axe-like arms raised.
Kai responded with a roaring fireball straight to its chest.
BOOM!
The explosion melted it mid-air. Water vapor hissed as it fell, twitching into slush.
"One down."
Ten more rushed in from the front.
Kai skated forward, sliding on a burst of flame, spinning midair like a burning comet. He slammed his fist into the ground and unleashed a plasma wave, sending a blazing ripple through the snow, incinerating the first line.
From his left, two frost hounds lunged—ice jaws open wide.
He twisted, grabbed one by the snout, and overheated it from the inside out. The creature burst into steam. The second bit down on his arm—only to melt instantly.
"You guys don't learn."
More came.
A swarm of frost wolves surrounded him, circling fast. Above, frost bats rained down shards of frozen energy, aiming to pin him in place.
Kai raised both arms and spun rapidly, unleashing a flame tornado around him. The heat vaporized everything within twenty meters. Ice shattered. Wings melted mid-flight.
The tornado became a pillar of fire reaching into the gray sky, blinding against the storm.
As he rose through it, he spotted something at the horizon.
Which make him more excited than that fight.