Cassandra's POV
I finally arrived at my home. The moment I stepped inside, I went straight to my bedroom, knelt by the bed, and pressed a certain section of the floor. The panel sank slightly, then slid aside with a soft click, revealing a small box.
I dusted myself off and opened it. Inside sat Dial's broken Omnitrix.
Black Canary leaned against the wall. "You know, I still don't get why Omni and your Justice League freak out so much about that thing. Sure, it's supposedly the most powerful device in your universe, but it's completely destroyed. No doubt nobody knows how to fix it except Omni."
"That's what we all thought at first," I said, still staring at it. "But we learned the hard way, never underestimate your enemies. That's why we decided to destroy it. They left the job to me… but I couldn't bring myself to do it."
"This Dial… was he your boyfriend or something?" Canary asked.
I looked at her, slightly confused. "What? Of course not. Dial was way too young for me."
"Sorry, didn't mean to assume. You just… seem like he was really important to you."
"Yes. He was." My gaze drifted back to the Omnitrix. "He was like my son."
That made her eyes widen.
"I was in a dark place before I met him. A bit of a villain myself, actually. But he pulled me out of that when he was just sixteen. He saved me. He gave me a chance to do good. Dial always saw the best in people. Always willing to give someone a chance… and he knew when not to give them another one. That's the kind of man he was."
Black Canary's voice softened. "Sounds like a good man. Wish I'd had the chance to meet him."
"You would've liked him," I said with a small smile. "He could make friends with just about anyone, even some of his enemies."
I smiled, a small, soft smile that didn't quite hide the sadness behind it.
I hesitated. I wasn't sure if I should say what was on my mind, but… screw it. I asked anyway.
"Look, I know you don't really know me, and this might seem out of the blue, but… can I ask you for a favor?"
She tilted her head, a bit confused. "What is it?"
"I know Omni isn't my Dial, he's not John, but… I can't help it. He acts almost exactly like him. When you guys go back home, could you do me a favor and just… look after him? I know he's not part of your Justice League, so technically he's not your problem. But if Omni's anything like John, he's going to get himself into some serious trouble. Sure, there's a good chance he'll get out of it, but… can you at least give him a helping hand once in a while?"
Black Canary's eyes softened. "Omni seems like a good kid. I'll definitely look after him. He's got the makings of a great hero."
I nodded. "Trust me… if he's anything like Dial, he will be a great hero."
Franklin's POV
Right now, I'm in the base, working on fixing the broken Omnitrix that Black Canary and Cassandra brought back. Ever since they returned from that little retrieval mission, those two have been talking a lot. I can't help but wonder what exactly happened out there to make them click so fast.
Anyway, I'm almost done with the repairs. I'm in my Gray Matter form, obviously, you can't fix something like this otherwise.
"Man, you really can stay in a form for however long you want. It's been hours and you're still in Gray Matter," Jester said.
I stopped tinkering for a moment. "Yeah, it comes in handy more than you think. You wouldn't believe how much stuff I've built in my own base."
"I can only imagine. Anything like this place?" he asked, waving his hand at the room around us.
"Not yet," I admitted.
"Well, if you want some blueprints, I can give you a few to help you out."
I blinked. "Wow… I'd actually appreciate that."
"No problem," he said with a grin.
"Hey," I asked, glancing up from my work, "who's gonna wear the Omnitrix once I'm done fixing it?"
"We don't really know," Jester replied. "Honestly, it's up to Lex or Morgan. They're the smartest, and they'd get the most use out of the aliens."
I froze for a second after hearing that name. "…Weird question, but what's Morgan's last name?"
Jester tilted his head. "That is a weird question, but fine—Morgan Stark."
My eyes widened. "No fucking way. Tony Stark's daughter? Tony has a daughter in this universe?"
"Haven't heard the name Tony Stark in a long time," Jester said. "Not since he died."
"Oh. Was he a friend of yours or something?"
He snorted. "Friends? Not a chance in hell. Enemy. But… he died by Morgan's own hands. Messed her up for years. Even though he was a terrible father, he was still her father."
I just stared for a moment, then shook my head. "Wow. No offense, but your guys' universe sucks."
"None taken. It definitely does," Jester said.
I saw Lex and Justice League walk into the base, heading straight for the supercomputer. Every single one of them looked pissed.
I hopped off the table, shifting back into my regular form, and walked over."Judging from those faces, I'm guessing things didn't go well?"
"Not at all," Lex said flatly. "The president released Ultraman and his lackeys."
I blinked. "Why would he do that? I mean, with the Kryptonite and the blueprints I downloaded into this system, you could hold a Kryptonian no problem."
Lex's eyes narrowed. "What blueprints?"
"Oh, right, didn't tell you." I strolled past them, tapped a button on the console, and brought up my designs. "Soon as I got back and saw you guys weren't here—and the Omnitrix wasn't here either—I decided to do some designing and building."
The holograms lit up, one after the other."First up, custom prison cells for each Crime Syndicate member.
Ultraman's cell? Lined with red sun emitters. Kryptonians lose their powers under that light, so he's not going anywhere.
Superwoman? Tougher cell, reinforced to hell and back, but the main thing is the collar I designed—drains her super strength and any other abilities she's packing.
Power Ring easy. Take the ring, lock him up, store the ring in a containment vault he can't access, no matter how much he wills it.
Johnny Quick gets a cell covered in speed dampeners, plus an ankle collar that kills his speed entirely.
And Owlman…" I grinned. "Since he's basically their Batman, I went overboard. Special ankle collar constantly pumping him full of chemicals to keep him weak, plus a neck collar for good measure. His cell will be made of tech so advanced he won't even get the chance to pick a lock. Guards will rotate daily, and they won't speak a single word to him. I'm also working on something that can take away his sight and hearing."
They all just stared at me, unblinking.
"What?" I asked, looking between them.
"Nothing, nothing," The Flash said, though he didn't sound convincing. "It's just… a little worrying you just happened to figure out how to imprison all of our evil counterparts so easily."
I shrugged. "What can I say? My alien's very smart. Thought of it in seconds."
"What else have you created?" Lex asked.
"Well," I started, "I made a better multiverse teleporter gun, and some new arrows for the Green Arrows. Got a nice variety, knockback arrow that sends out a shockwave, sleeping arrow with knockout gas, the nuke arrow, don't really need to explain that one, the super gum arrow, shoots a substance that hardens instantly, the heat-seeking arrow—"
"Wait, wait, roll it back," Green Arrow interrupted.
"The heat-seeking arrow?" I asked.
"No, before that," Green Arrow Two said.
"The gum arrow?" I asked again.
"No, before that," Green Arrow said.
"Oh… you must mean the nuke arrow."
"Yes. That one. You made a nuclear arrow?" Green Arrow stared at me like I'd just said I built a Death Star.
"Yes, I did. Actually made six, three each." I glanced between them. "What? Too far?"
"A bit," Green Arrow Two muttered.
If they think that, I probably shouldn't tell them about the mini black hole Arrow, then.
"Anyway, where's Martian Manhunter?" I asked.
"He's protecting the president's daughter right now," Lex replied.
"Cool. So, what's our next play?"
"We don't know yet," Superman said.
"Alright, while you guys figure that out, I'll finish the Omnitrix."
I headed back to the table where the busted device waited.
Forty minutes later
"I'm done, baby!" I announced in my Gray Matter form.
Everyone started heading my way.
"That's the Omnitrix? Looks a lot different from what it used to be," Plastic Man said.
"That's because I upgraded it. You're now looking at the new and improved Omnitrix, multiple aliens inside, not just the original ten. And you get more time in alien form. Sadly, I couldn't fit the same power source as mine, so no unlimited time. But you can stay transformed longer than ten minutes."
"What, like twenty or forty?" Jester asked.
"Nope, one hour. And I added a failsafe system to keep the wielder alive, plus an instinct function so when you transform, you instantly know how that alien's powers work. Same as mine."
"That's incredible, Omni," Iron Woman said.
"Thank you. Now, who's going to be the new wielder? I'll need to genetically lock the DNA so no one else can use it."
Lex, League exchanged looks, probably some private telepathic chat, before Lex spoke. "Iron Woman will be the new wielder."
"Alright. Put it on, and I'll adjust it to your DNA."
She stepped forward, slipped the Omnitrix on, it looked like the Alien Force model, and held still while I worked. The dial popped up, I pressed it, and a voice confirmed:
"DNA lock completed."
"There you go. Oh, and before I forget, you've got master Control. You can swap between any alien instantly just by thinking about them."
Iron Woman just stared at the Omnitrix on her wrist. A single tear rolled down her cheek.
I frowned. "You okay?"
"Yes… sorry. Just a little emotional." She let out a small breath. "You don't know how many times I asked Dial to let me run tests on the Omnitrix, just to see how it worked. He always said no, afraid I might blow up half the Earth." She gave a soft, bittersweet laugh. "Even so, he'd always let me scan his aliens when they reverted or give me a piece of DNA to study. He never let me touch the Omnitrix itself, but he always made sure I had something new to work on. And now… now I finally have an Omnitrix in my hands, and I could run all the tests I want… but it doesn't feel satisfying at all. Not when he's not here."
The room went quiet.
I stepped forward. "Look… I never met Dial. But I'm sure he'd be happy you're the one wearing an Omnitrix now. I'm sure he'd know you'd use it for the right reasons, to the best of your ability. And yeah, he's not here physically, but remember, this Omnitrix? It still has some of the old pieces in it. So when you're in a fight, just think of him standing beside you. A person's never really gone, not as long as you keep them alive in your heart and memories."
Her hand tightened over the dial, and she gave me a faint, thankful smile.
Everyone was smiling, and a few even gave me approving nods, then suddenly, Batman's voice came out of the computer.
Batman: "Batman to Justice League—report to my location."
I blinked. "Batman… on Earth-2? How the hell did that happen?"
A few minutes later
I was back in my regular form, standing inside Superwoman's hideout. Superwoman was out cold, heavy steel beams wrapped around her like Superman had gone overboard with the Christmas lights.
"You've got to be kidding me," I groaned. "Batman took her out? I wanted to do that!"
Plastic Man smirked. "Sorry, bud."
"No, seriously! I've barely fought since I got here, this is straight-up bull crap."
Before I could keep venting, Batman suddenly shoved Lex against the wall.
"What's so valuable that the Crime Syndicate would attack my Earth, hit the Justice League's base, full of heroes, and abandon two of their own just to get it?"
Lex's voice was tight. "They have it."
"One of her henchmen took it to them minutes ago. Whatever it was." Batman said
Lex exhaled. "It's called the Quantum Trigger. A detonator for the bomb they're building. Without it, we had a fighting chance. But now they have it."
Superman frowned. "Why didn't you just destroy it?"
Lex shook his head. "It's pure energy, it can't be destroyed."
I raised a hand. "Uh… actually? I could've destroyed it."
Everyone turned to stare.
"What?!" Lex
"Yeah, I have an alien that absorbs energy. If you'd just been upfront from the start, I could've absorbed it from existence. Now it's a problem."
Green Lantern leaned forward. "Okay… so they've got it. Worst-case scenario?"
Lex's tone darkened. "They could destroy the entire Earth."
Superwoman chuckled.
We all turned to her.
"You're thinking too small," she sneered.
One minute later
"So, instead of holding the Earth hostage, Owlman's actually going to use the bomb. Not on this Earth, but on Earth Prime, wiping out every Earth in the Multiverse… just because. And you're letting it happen?" I said.
Superwoman smirked. "Yes."
I stared. "Okay, excuse my language, Superman, but, bitch, you crazy."
We were in space, flying toward the Crime Syndicate's base inside Green Lantern's bubble. Superwoman was along for the ride, bound tighter than a Thanksgiving turkey.
"You know," she sneered at me, "I never got the chance to kill my Dial. But now that you're here? I can't wait to rip you apart."
The Flash groaned. "Did we have to bring her?"
Wonder Woman shook her head. "We couldn't risk her escaping and warning the others."
"I want to kill you all," Superwoman hissed.
Wonder Woman casually punched her in the face, knocking her out cold.
"Aw, come on, Wonder Woman!" I said.
"What?" Wonder Woman asks.
"I wanted to do that! I swear, everyone's gotten a hit on her except me."
We finally arrived at the Crime Syndicate base. Lex hacked the doors, and we stepped into the landing bay. Superwoman was still knocked out, slumped in the corner like an angry paperweight. She was basically just here to wait it out at this point.
"Alright, we should win this easy," I said, looking around at our group. "Fifteen of us, five of them, math's on our side. Also, since I didn't get my rematch with Superwoman, I'm calling dibs on Ultraman."
Green Lantern gave me a look. "You think you can take him? He's Kryptonian."
"Trust me," I smirked. "I can take him."
We pushed deeper into the base until we stepped into the main chamber. There it was the bomb. And standing next to it? Ultraman, Power Ring, and Owlman.
They spotted us immediately. Owlman calmly slid something into the bomb's core, and it began to hum with power.
"Q.E.D. is now active. You should surrender." Owlman said
Ultraman voice was cold. "You heard him. The bomb is active. We call the shots now."
I stepped forward. "Yeah, well, you can't detonate it right now, you'd just blow up your own base. There's fifteen of us and only three of—" I paused mid-sentence. "Wait a minute… where's the Speedster?"
A split-second later, WHAM! Superman went flying forward, slammed from behind by an iron beam. We turned, and there they were, Superwoman and Johnny Quick.
Johnny Quick smirked. "Look who I just found in the hangar."
Superwoman grinned at the room. "Miss me?"
I grinned back. "YES!"
Everyone looked at me like I'd lost my mind, including her.
"What?" I said, throwing my hands up. "Because now I finally get my run-back with you! Superman had a go. Batman had a go. Even technically Green Arrow and Black Canary had a go. It's my turn. I'm your final opponent before you go to jail."
Her smirk turned predatory. "Oh, you really think you can hurt me, little boy?"
I stepped forward, hand over my Omnitrix. "Oh, baby… I don't think. I know. It's hero time."
I slammed the dial.
"Conquest!"
Green energy cracked across my rocky armor as my body shifted into a towering figure. My whole frame was jagged stone, glowing fissures pulsing with raw power. One massive eye burned bright in the center of my face, and my long green hair flowed like it was alive.
I pointed at her. "Round two… starts now."
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