BEEP.
BEEP.
BEEEEEEP.
A hand shot out from the blanket and smacked the alarm clock off the table.
Thud.
Jack groaned.
"Morning again… didn't we just do this yesterday?"
He forced one eye open. Pale sunlight slipped through the apartnt window, painting thin golden lines across the wall.
His body still felt heavy from the previous night's patrol.
Saving people might sound heroic in movies, but in reality it ant very little sleep.
Jack sat up slowly and stretched his arms.
His gaze dropped to the device resting on his wrist.
The Omnitrix glowed faintly.
The mory of last night returned instantly.
The warehouse fight.
The gang.
The hostage.
And finally—
The new alien.
Jack smiled.
"Alright… ti for testing."
He quickly changed clothes and stepped outside.
Queens was already awake.
Early morning joggers moved through the sidewalks. Workers hurried toward bus stops with coffee cups in hand. Street vendors prepared their carts for the day.
Jack started running.
Fresh air filled his lungs as his feet hit the pavent rhythmically.
Running had beco a habit for him. Even before the Omnitrix, he believed staying fit was important.
Now it mattered even more.
After ten minutes, he slowed down near a small convenience shop.
His stomach reminded him that he hadn't eaten since last night.
Jack walked inside.
"Chocolate milk," he said to the cashier.
The man nodded and grabbed a bottle from the fridge.
Jack waited in line when suddenly—
Tap.
Soone tapped his shoulder.
"Hey! Jack! Is that you?"
Jack turned.
For a second he blinked in surprise.
"Chris?"
Standing behind him was a familiar face from middle school.
Chris Powell.
They hadn't seen each other in years.
Chris grinned.
"Man, it's been forever!"
Jack laughed.
"No kidding. I thought you moved away."
"Yeah, different school after middle school," Chris said. "But we moved back recently."
Jack nodded.
"Nice. Good to see you again."
Chris gestured behind him.
"Oh right, let introduce soone."
Two boys stepped forward.
They looked almost identical.
"These are my younger twin brothers," Chris said.
"Jon and Jason."
The twins nodded politely.
"Hi."
Jack shook their hands.
"Nice to et you."
They talked for a few minutes, catching up on small things. Where they lived, what school they went to, normal conversation.
Eventually Chris checked his phone.
"Alright, we gotta run. But we should hang out soti."
Jack nodded.
"Sure."
They exchanged contact numbers.
After saying goodbye, Jack left the shop and continued walking.
But sothing bothered him.
He frowned slightly.
"Chris Powell…"
The na felt strangely familiar.
Like sothing from his past-life mories.
Marvel… comics…
Jack rubbed his chin.
"…Was he a hero?"
Or a villain?
He couldn't rember.
The thought slipped away quickly.
Right now he had sothing more important to do.
Testing.
Nearly thirty minutes later Jack reached the edge of an abandoned industrial zone.
Old buildings.
Broken windows.
Rusting tal fences.
Most people avoided this place.
Which made it perfect.
Jack carefully checked the surroundings.
No pedestrians.
No security caras.
No cars.
"Perfect."
He raised his wrist.
The Omnitrix dial glowed green.
Jack pressed it.
KRR-CHAK!
The dial slamd down.
Green light exploded around his body.
Bones expanded.
Muscles multiplied.
His fra grew wider… heavier… stronger.
The transformation finished with a heavy THUD against the cracked concrete floor.
Standing in the broken building was a massive red alien.
Four muscular arms.
Broad chest.
White markings running across his skin.
Jack looked down at himself.
Then at a shattered mirror leaning against the wall.
"…Nice."
Four Arms flexed.
His muscles bulged like moving stone.
"Still handso," he said proudly.
He struck a heroic pose.
Then another.
"Yeah… alien princesses would definitely fall for ."
He froze.
"…Did I just say that out loud?"
Jack scratched his head.
"Okay that's new."
The alien instincts were definitely doing sothing.
Still—
Ti to test power.
A rusted steel beam lay on the ground nearby.
Jack grabbed it with one hand.
He lifted.
The tal bar rose effortlessly.
"Whoa."
He lifted it higher.
Then with a casual motion—
CRACK.
The steel beam snapped in half.
Jack stared.
"…Okay."
That was stronger than expected.
Next he walked outside where an old abandoned car sat near the building.
Jack grabbed it with two arms.
Lifted.
The car rose off the ground.
All four arms held it easily.
"Holy—"
He tossed the vehicle aside.
It landed twenty feet away with a loud crash.
Jack laughed.
"This is insane!"
Next he punched the ground.
BOOOOM.
Concrete shattered outward in a spiderweb pattern.
Dust filled the air.
Jack stepped back and examined the crater.
"Yeah…"
He nodded slowly.
"I could probably fight the Hulk now."
A pause.
"…Okay maybe not."
Even he wasn't that delusional.
But still—
The strength was ridiculous.
Jack started running.
Imdiately he noticed sothing.
He was slow.
Not human slow.
But compared to XLR8?
Painfully slow.
Four Arms was built for power, not speed.
He tried jumping.
His powerful legs launched him high into the air.
He landed heavily.
The ground cracked again.
Jack nodded.
"So…"
He counted on his fingers.
"XLR8 for speed."
"Four Arms for strength."
"Walkatrout for… embarrassnt."
He sighed.
"Well at least it's durable."
Then Jack noticed sothing strange.
His mood felt different.
More aggressive. More confident. Almost arrogant.
He flexed again.
"Yeah…"
He grinned.
"I look amazing."
Then he stopped.
"…Wait."
He blinked.
"That's not normal."
Jack frowned.
"Is the Omnitrix affecting my emotions?"
The idea made sense.
Each alien species had its own instincts.
That ant their personality traits could leak into the user.
"Great."
He sighed.
"So if I unlock so alien with anger issues…"
He shook his head.
"Future problem."
Suddenly—
The Omnitrix blinked red.
Beep.
Transformation ending.
Green light exploded around him again.
The massive alien body shrank.
Monts later Jack stood there in human form.
He stretched his neck.
"That was fun."
He glanced at the watch.
"Honestly…"
A smile slowly appeared on his face.
"I think I can survive this world now."
Jack turned and walked out of the abandoned building.
The city of New York stretched across the horizon.
Full of danger and opportunity coexist .
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