"Scanning…"
"Alien genetic signature detected. Total trash—no redeeming value, not worth keeping. Recommendation: convert directly into energy."
"Warning! In one minute and thirty seconds, the alien genes will enter a decay phase. Eliminate them ASAP."
Jovian looked at the pack of bargain-bin green aliens in front of him and laughed. He had to move fast—because if he didn't, in another ninety seconds these aliens—who clearly hadn't adjusted to this dimension's "jet lag"—were going to drop dead right in front of him.
"Who is that…?"
The Teen Team stared up at the golden-glowing man overhead, frozen in place.
"Jovian…"
Mark had noticed too. Seeing Jovian descend like some kind of god, he blurted his name without thinking.
"Man, that showoff floating up there is this rookie's brother?" Rex said, looking from Mark in the crater to Jovian in the sky. "What, their whole family has powers or something?!"
Rex—wearing that red skin-tight suit that made him look less like a superhero and more like a guy doing sewer maintenance—couldn't stop running his mouth.
"Say a little less, Rex," Atom Eve snapped, unable to hold back. She wore a pink suit, her pale orange hair flowing down her back. "If you don't talk, nobody's going to mistake you for a mute."
"Pew pew pew—!"
In the split second they were bickering, a storm of lasers rained up and slammed into Jovian midair.
"Jovian!" Mark's heart jolted. He yelled, terrified.
"Damn—he got hit by that many lasers," Rex kept going, staring at the smoke and explosions swallowing Jovian. "I'd bet he's already in pieces. See? Flying isn't that impressive. Not everyone's Omni-Man."
"Rex!" Eve shot him a look sharp enough to cut.
She wanted to chew him out properly, but this wasn't the time.
"Robot, hold the shield for me," Eve said quickly, turning to him. "I'm going up to check."
"Understood," Robot replied, shifting to take her place and keep the barrier stable.
Eve nodded and lifted into the air.
"Rex, you really should speak less," Robot added, glancing back over his shoulder at him.
"Yeah, yeah, fine," Rex said with a dismissive shrug, offering an apology like it physically pained him.
"Phew."
Up in the sky, Jovian gave a casual blow, scattering the smoke around him like it was fog. Those lasers hadn't even scuffed his skin.
As for why Mark had gotten beaten into the ground earlier?
Come on—before he got powers, Mark had spent a huge chunk of his life glued to a computer and other stuff. Jovian, on the other hand, had been grinding his body nonstop.
"Hey," Eve called, floating closer, taking in the fact that Jovian didn't have a scratch on him. "You okay?"
"You're good," Jovian said after watching her for a moment, then gave a small nod. "Use what you've got to save as many people as you can."
He could tell she had serious potential—too bad she was currently stuck with the wrong guy.
Then Jovian's tone sharpened.
"Mark—take that old man to the hospital."
"Teen Team—rescues are on you. These aliens are mine."
He spoke like he belonged in command, crisp and organized, giving orders to Mark and the other teenage heroes like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"Now it's my turn."
Jovian became a streak of lightning and ripped straight toward the alien crowd.
He hit them like a speeding armored truck. Any alien unlucky enough to be in his path crumpled like cardboard—one touch and they burst into chunks across the pavement.
The moment Jovian entered the fight, the pressure on the Teen Team vanished. The aliens immediately redirected their fire, concentrating everything they had on him.
"Oh, come on!" Rex shouted, watching Jovian carve through them. "What does he think we are—his sidekicks? Or does he think he's the leader of the Teen Team?!"
"Rex, we should do what he said," Robot replied, watching Jovian's back as electronic light flickered in his eyes. He'd already reached the obvious conclusion: they weren't needed for the fighting anymore.
"He's like Omni-Man…" Eve murmured, using her powers to clear debris and pull civilians out of danger—yet unable to stop glancing at Jovian's silhouette.
"Omni-Man? Give me a break," Rex scoffed immediately. "He's just some guy with powers throwing his weight around. If I had his powers, I could do that too!"
"…Rex, how can you say that?" Eve snapped, glaring at him. "He just saved us."
Then she turned away and kept working, focused on rescue.
"Hey! Eve!" Rex raised his eyebrows, stunned she was actually mad. "No way—are you seriously mad at me because of some guy cosplaying Omni-Man?"
Eve didn't respond. She just kept rescuing people.
"Man… she's really mad," Rex muttered, deflated.
"Rex, you should control your mouth," Robot reminded him again.
Meanwhile, while everyone else was busy with rescue work, Jovian was having the time of his life.
"Let me show you this!"
He yanked a streetlight out of the ground and started whipping it around—a massive pole over thirty feet long—swinging it like a complete maniac.
BOOM!
A sonic crack ripped through the air. Rows of aliens got smashed like they were made of wet paper.
Apparently not satisfied, Jovian ditched the streetlight mid-fight and grabbed a road sign instead, swatting aliens like they were flies.
The aliens collapsed into total chaos in front of him—no formation, no counterattack, nothing.
Until a glowing tank round slammed into the middle of Jovian's back.
…
Jovian—mid-rampage—slowly turned his head.
He locked eyes with a tank driver whose face had gone pure horror.
Perfect.
They'd successfully gotten Jovian's attention.
"Another one!"
Jovian lifted the alien tank with one hand, not caring whether there was a driver inside.
With an almost graceful throwing motion, he hurled it.
The tank plowed through hundreds of armed aliens, grinding them into pieces, then rolled straight into the shimmering time portal behind them and detonated inside it.
BOOM!
Jovian listened to the roar and smiled.
What a beautiful sound.
"Reminder: thirty seconds until alien cells enter the weakened phase."
Seeing the system prompt, Jovian decided to get serious.
"Alright. Let's go."
He became a flash of light—then, in an instant, countless aliens were launched into the sky and tank after tank exploded into scrap.
"Blah-blah-blah! Blah-blah-blah!"
One alien—its eyes ruined, wild with rage—screamed at the scene unfolding. It knew the operation was over with Jovian here, so it turned and started opening the time portal to retreat.
"Trying to run?!"
Jovian crushed the remaining tanks together like kneading dough, compressing them into a gigantic ball of twisted metal, and threw it straight into the portal.
"Take your trash with you, you idiots!"
Jovian didn't know if they could understand him or not. He just raised a nice, universal gesture at the retreating portal while telling them to haul their garbage away.
When everything settled, Jovian crossed his arms and looked over the ruined street with satisfaction.
Yeah. He'd done a great job.