It happened fast. Stupid fast.
One moment we were prepping for combat—Starlight glowing like a nuclear goddess, Lyra pacing like a beast, Illyana grinning like this was foreplay.
And then he appeared.
Just appeared, like he was spat out of a wormhole made of trash and bad decisions.
A green-and-yellow blur dropped from the ceiling in a puff of cheap teleportation smoke. He looked like a clown got rejected from the circus, with a swirling cape, a high collar, and a ridiculous gold helmet shaped like a fishbowl.
"BEHOLD! I AM… TURNER D. CENTURY!"
Everyone just blinked.
"…Who the hell is Turner D. Century?" I asked.
He sneered. "A forgotten genius. A champion of tradition. And now… your executioner!"
I took one step forward and opened my mouth to laugh.
He vaporized me.
No warning. No monologue. No beam charge-up. Just flash—a swirling vortex of chrono-energy hit me dead center, and I was gone. No pain. Just… white.
When I woke up, it was to the sound of a microwave beeping and a neighbor yelling through paper-thin walls.
I shot upright on a ratty couch in a cluttered apartment.
Flannel blankets. Stained ceiling. The smell of coffee and instant noodles. Earth gravity. Earth air.
I looked down.
I had hands. Regular hands.
Human hands.
"What the hell…?"
I stumbled to the mirror. I was… me. But different. No alien musculature. No void-scarred soul energy. Just a lean guy in sweatpants with bedhead.
Then my hand twitched. And a glowing shape started forming in the air.
A cube of blue energy, hovering above my palm.
I concentrated.
It solidified. Became glass.
I focused harder.
It became metal. Then wood. Then… vibranium?
"What the—? Okay. Okay. Deep breaths."
I looked around the apartment.
No high-tech gear. No swords. Just a TV, a crusty toaster, and a "RENT DUE" notice pinned to the fridge with a smiley face magnet.
And then something clicked in my head. A whisper of something bigger.
I remembered Turner D. Century.
I remembered the blast.
And I remembered… someone else watching. A feeling in the air. A presence.
Someone wanted me here.
Reborn.
New body. New life. Same cosmic weirdness under the surface.
And a power that let me build anything I could imagine—and reshape it however I wanted.
I grinned.
"Alright. Round two. Let's see how long I last this time."