The Outcast: Earth-727
My most vivid memories are when my life changed. I remember coming to Earth, feeling the sun on my face for the first time. Hearing the voices of my parents. My human parents, specifically. My mother called me their greatest surprise, and boy were there lots of them. Most of which rubbed them the wrong way. When I was 9, I considered running away. However, I immediately changed my mind once my baby sister was born. I stayed because I knew I'd be kept a secret from her. Perhaps I was selfish. Perhaps I wasn't. That choice determined my path. Protecting her and surviving anything thrown my way. To do so, I had to become someone else. I had to be something else. I became The Outcast.
Harrison James Wells wandered the streets of Chicago, Illinois. For two years, he had been living on the streets with his sister. They had to avoid the authorities, because there was always the chance of being deported. They didn't exactly come to America by legal means, after all. The only people Harrison and his sister could trust were each other, but each day their relationship was strained.
His sister, Madison, wanted to go back home because she missed her parents. However, Harrison refused to let them because he remembered how horrid their parents were. While they didn't physically abuse Madison, they did force her to watch as Harrison was beaten by their father. That was almost if not just as bad as hitting her too.
Right now, Harrison was searching for anything he and his sister could use. Whether it be tech he could reconfigure, money to spend, or food to eat. It didn't matter which he managed to get, but he knew his sister needed a way to feel like a normal kid again. She hated being a street kid, but she wasn't about to abandon her beloved brother. She needed him just as he needed her.
"Ben, watch out!" shouted a teenage girl's voice from up ahead.
Suddenly, a big red thing with four arms crashed onto the street nearby. Harrison widened his eyes as the creature got to its feet and leaped into the air with two fists cocked back. The crater that the being left behind was pretty deep, so that meant its inertia was very intense. Either by being struck by something extremely strong, or it was just really heavy.
His curiosity took the best of him, and he rushed past several scared humans who were running the opposite direction. He came to a stop once his line of sight was no longer blocked by people. What he saw made him slack-jawed and wide-eyed. It was a HUGE robotic dragon and it had drills for teeth, scythes for claws, and jet wings for… well… wings. It's tail happened to be a ginormous mechanical arm with what looked like a turret on the end.
"I don't think red's gonna cut it, Tennyson!" shouted an eighteen-year-old covered entirely in the same crimson allow as the robotic dragon.
"Yeah, yeah," said the big four-armed thing as it slapped an arm on its chest. "I know"
Harrison had to cover his eyes as the kid was enveloped in an emerald flash of light. Once it ebbed, he was replaced by a gigantic dino-like monster with a humanoid face and long muscled arms. He had hilariously short legs, however. Yet, the hilarity of the short legs didn't take away the dino's intimidating appearance.
"HUMUNGOUSAUR!" the dino shouted before it rushed the red dragon.
Now, he was big enough to grab the dragon's head and keep it from chomping down. As the dino kept the dragon's head occupied, the metallic teen ran toward the dragon's belly and formed a blade out of his hand. He jumped onto a pink energy platform that launched him upward. As his arm-blade stabbed the dragon, the dino began twisting and pulling on the head.
"Great job, guys," said the feminine voice. "The forever knights are defeated for good now."
Harrison looked toward the voice's source and saw an extremely beautiful girl. She had rare green eyes and long ginger hair, which she unfortunately kept in a ponytail. She wore a scarlet v-neck long sleeve shirt over a white button-up shirt, a short grey skirt, stockings, and hiking heels.
"They better be," said the metallic teen as the metal disappeared. He now had on a black t-shirt over a grey long sleeve shirt, blue jeans, and work boots. "I'm sick of these guys attacking us for no reason."
"Same here, Kevin," said the dino before he vanished in a bigger flash of emerald light.
The dino was now replaced by a brunette teen with green eyes like the girl's. His outfit was a black t-shirt under a green leather jacket with a 10 on the left pectoral muscle, blue jeans, and running shoes. He also had an odd white watch on his left wrist.
"Looks like we have an audience," Kevin said, noticing Harrison.
"Crap," Ben complained.
"I can wipe his mind, if you like," the girl offered.
"No," Ben sighed as he looked toward Harrison. "Let's try talking to him. Maybe convince him not to stick around when there's-"
Harrison had already bolted. He knew the streets of chicago better than even the natives. That allowed him to run confusing paths, to be certain they couldn't follow. Once he had gone several blocks away, he entered the sewer. He hated traveling through sewers, but it was the best way of losing any tails you may or may not have. It was also the fastest way to traverse the city. Well, if you were homeless.
Four years later…
It was a Tuesday on October the 24th, and Harrison James Wells had just reached 20 years of age the previous month. For the past year Harrison had been hanging around Gwen a lot more frequently. Not for any romantic reasons… at least in the beginning.
Ever since Vilgax returned, the world inevitably became a warzone. Earth was only one of the thousands of planets Vilgax managed to conquer. Unfortunately, Vilgax had begun his Tyrannical rule of Earth by killing Ben Tennyson publicly. As the year progressed Harrison and Gwen had formed a resistance alongside Kevin E. Levin, Tetrax Shard, and Asmuth.
The resistance mainly consisted of the humans that wanted to retake their home. None of them had stood a chance as Vilgax had become even more dangerous. The day he killed Ben, he took Ben's final Omnitrix which was white. Azmuth and Harrison knew that the resistance didn't stand a chance against a Vilgax that wielded an Omnitrix. In fact, nobody did. That's why Asmuth had reluctantly agreed to create another Omnitrix. Though, he did allow Harrison to give his input concerning the new Omnitrix.
This Omnitrix was designed to be a weapon, which was the reverse of what he originally intended for the Omnitrix. That is what prompted Azmuth to let Harrison name it. As it was stronger and better than the previous model, Harrison named it Megatrix. The Megatrix's recharge time was a minute instead of five minutes like Ben's white Omnitrix had. It also had the evolutionary feature in it that the Ultimatrix had. The only thing it shared was the appearance though it was matte gold.
The resistance fought for as long as they could, but unfortunately they were on the losing side. Their success rate had gotten so low that Harrison, Gwen, Kevin, and Tetrax had to come up with a plan. This time should they fail… there would be no second chances. They either won this battle, or they lost. Basically, it was a suicide mission.
Four years ago…
Harrison sat down at his workbench in the abandoned warehouse he and his sister called home. There was no way those strange teens could find him, so he felt confident enough that they could stay. That allowed him to resume tinkering on his gadget. He enjoyed inventing, because it calmed him down. Of course, he never intended to patent any of his inventions.
Tech like his… would be highly sought after by governments. They would seize his tech and give him only two choices. Stop inventing or invent for them. That's part of why he prefers life on the streets. Nobody to steal his stuff, and nobody to tell him what to do. However, the main reason is because he's nowhere near the abusive family that found him and his pod.
"Did you find anything, Jimmy?" asked his sister as she walked into Harrison's workshop part of the warehouse.
"Sorry, Maddie," Harrison said, regrettably. "There was no food, tech, or money that I could swipe from people."
"I miss showering," his sister said, unhappily, as she brushed her oily hair out of her face. "And brushing my teeth."
Harrison didn't respond, because he had gotten used to her complaining about what she lost. Not the abusive parents, but everything else. For some reason, Harrison never really cared about that stuff. He just cared about surviving and protecting his little sister. Of course, she didn't like that he ignored her. So, she took one of his candy bars he had stored on a crate.
"Maddie," Harrison said, warningly, without looking at her. "If you eat that, your teeth WILL fall out."
"You ignored me," Madison said, grumpily, as she placed it back. "I hate being ignored."
"Then say something I don't know already," Harrison said, dryly.
"There's a tiny thing on your shoulder," Madison pointed.
Harrison looked toward it and widened his eyes. It was an extremely small mechanical bug, but it had something similar. An emerald hourglass just like… oh no! The strange teens found him! At that moment, Harrison was yanked into the air by his chair which was surrounded by glowing pink energy. He couldn't move out of fear of falling to the floor.
"Let me pummel him, Gwen!" said a male voice as the chair moved around some crates. Harrison recognized the voice. It was the metallic teen.
"No, Kevin," replied a feminine voice. "We can't assume he's a bad guy just because he ran."
"You like to suck the joy out of everything," Kevin said, bitterly. "And not in the good way, either."
"Gross," Gwen responded, disgustedly.
The chair lowered as soon as Harrison was a foot away from the unnatural teens. The tiny creature flew off his shoulder and turned into Ben with an emerald flash. They looked at Harrison with a mixture of caution, revulsion, and curiosity. Kevin, however, also had a look which indicated he hoped Harrison would attack. Harrison was not going to give him the satisfaction by doing so.
"Why did you run?" Gwen asked patiently.
"Oh, I don't know," Harrison said, sarcastically. "Maybe because you freaks clearly didn't want an audience. I know what happens to street kids that see shite they shouldn't."
"You live on the street?" Gwen asked, shocked.
"Do you really think I'd be here if I had a house?" Harrison asked, dryly.
"No, I suppose you wouldn't," Gwen nodded.
"I have a question," Kevin said, bluntly. "How come you're not in the U.K? I mean, that accent of yours isn't American and it's pretty far from Spanish."
"Piss off," Harrison grunted as he looked away.
"Sore topic?" Ben guessed.
Harrison didn't bother replying. Besides, his attention was grabbed by motion behind him. He saw Madison peeking her head around a crate. Unfortunately, he wasn't the only one that noticed. Gwen had seen her as well.
"It's okay," Gwen smiled, kindly. "You can come out. We don't bite. Well, Kevin might."
"Hey!" Kevin exclaimed, offendedly.
Madison couldn't help but giggle a little at his reaction, but she stayed put. She wasn't certain they were friendly or not. They did do something unnatural to bring her brother to this part of the warehouse.
"Tell you what," Ben said, suddenly. "You two can come and stay at my house for a while. At least, until you're old enough to find a home of your own and have a job."
Harrison was about to decline, because he didn't trust these people one bit. However, Madison hurried from her hiding spot and looked at him pleadingly. He could never resist that stare. So, he reluctantly nodded and Gwen let the pink energy vanish. Harrison wasn't thrilled about staying at a stranger's home, but he'd give it a shot for Madison at the very least. He wasn't about to leave his tech behind, however.
Back in the present…
The leaders of the resistance stood around a table in a makeshift HQ. Their current HQ had been fashioned from an abandoned missile silo complex in Cheyenne Mountain. Harrison wore an unzipped black leather jacket with a red t-shirt underneath, a pair of blue jeans, and black sneakers. On his left wrist was the Megatrix. He had blue eyes, shaggy dark brown hair and some stubble on his face.
Gwen was to his right. She wore battle scarred plumber's armor that had darkened due to heat from laser blasts. Her hair had become ragged as haircuts were no longer a priority. Whenever she did cut her hair, she used scissors to cut it. Today, her hair was short and kinda sticky-uppey. Naturally, it retained its beautiful red color.
Kevin had shaggy hair too. He wore his usual black t-shirt over a grey long sleeve shirt, blue jeans, and shoes. However, their color had faded away and were covered in patchwork. Tetrax Shard looked as pristine as ever, but his bounty hunter armor was as battle worn as Gwen's. Fortunately, it still made him a force to be reckoned with.
The only one of the Resistance leaders that wasn't there was Azmuth. He had died not long after he helped Harrison construct the Megatrix. He had sacrificed himself to help them destroy Vilgax's flagship. While the flagship was indeed obliterated, Vilgax wasn't onboard. They had gone under the assumption that Vilgax was, but they were proven wrong when Vilgax destroyed yet another human town. They knew it was a message to them, because that town was full of humans who submitted to Vilgax's will.
"We can't continue the way we're going," Kevin said, sternly, as he looked at his friends and colleagues. "The men are demoralized. Each time we fail, their depression deepens."
"I concur," Gwen nodded, as she looked at him. "but what can we do? Vilgax was a force to be reckoned with before he had an Omnitrix, but now? There is absolutely no way we can win a full-on assault! We have to do this in a way that keeps our people alive."
The war had split Kevin and Gwen up even though they did their best to remain together. Their compatibility had been changed entirely because of the war. The last time they argued, they had tried to kill each other. It took the combined efforts of Harrison and Tetrax to prevent them from doing so. However, that was what started the downward spiral of the resistance's luck and began the demoralization of the resistance.
"If it gets rid of Vilgax," Kevin argued, coldly. "then who cares? The men would gladly die if that enabled us to kill Vilgax."
"How can you be so callous?!" Gwen exclaimed, angrily.
"How can you be so soft-hearted?!" Kevin retorted, as he rolled his eyes. "Especially in a world like this!"
"If we become as uncaring and ruthless as Vilgax," Gwen said angrily as she clenched her fists. "we'd be no better than him! In a world without humanity, we have to hold onto the ideals that keep us human!"
"I'm not human, Gwen!" Kevin nearly shouted. "I'm Osmosian, so my ideals are pretty much different to yours!"
"You're right," Gwen snarled as her eyes glowed. "You're not human. You're a monster!"
"You both have a point," Tetrax finally said. "We have to keep hold onto who we are, but… we may have to make some sacrifices. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."
"Did you really just quote Leonard Nimoy?" Harrison raised an eyebrow. He couldn't help but to find amusement in that.
"Who's that?" Tetrax asked, confused.
"Nevermind," Harrison sighed, shaking his head.
Harrison just sat there as he thought on the best course of action. Fortunately, he had become able to ignore people as they argued. So, they didn't even derail his trains of thoughts. However, he was too exhausted to put up with listening to the three argue. Eventually, he came to a decision just as Kevin and Gwen activated their powers.
"Quiet!" Harrison shouted, irritatedly. He looked at them each in turn to make sure they didn't resume their argument. "And calm the fuck down. Both of you!"
As Gwen and Kevin sat down, their powers deactivated. All three of them looked at him, expectantly. They knew from experience that, because Harrison had shut them up, he had come up with a plan. Now all they had to do was wait for his input.
"All three of you have a point," Harrison said, slowly. "We do have to make some sacrifices in order to win. However, we also have to hold on to who we are. So, in order to do that… we have to take the fight to Vilgax."
"What about-" began Gwen.
"That said," Harrison continued, sternly. "We won't be taking an army. Especially after the last time we tried that. This'll be a three-man job."
"Three?" they asked in unison.
"Yes," Harrison nodded. "One of us will have to remain behind to lead the human survivors into a new world."
"Guess that means Gwen's staying," Kevin sneered. "she's too much of a pussy to do what needs to be done."
"Kevin!" Gwen and Harrison yelled in unison.
As Gwen's eyes glowed pink, Harrison placed a hand on her shoulder calmingly. Reluctantly, she forced herself to calm down. Kevin nearly paled at the expression Harrison had aimed his way.
"Zip your mouth shut," Harrison growled, threateningly. "Or I'll do it for you."
Kevin opened his mouth to respond, but then shut it and looked away. As much as he wanted to retort, Harrison terrified him. Kevin would never admit it to anybody, of course. Harrison sighed as he massaged his temples before he looked at the three of them.
"As much of a dick as Kevin is being right now," Harrison said, slowly. "He's right. Gwen is the one that has to stay behind."
"What?!" Gwen exclaimed, incredulously. "Why am I the one that has to stay behind?! If anyone, it should be you!"
"Gwen," Harrison said, looking at her sternly yet kindly. "You are the most empathetic of us all. You care so much about the well-being of the men. You are the perfect leader for peace-time. If Kevin led them, he'd become a dictator."
"Hey!" exclaimed Kevin, indignantly.
"Tetrax is an alien that doesn't look human," Harrison continued as if Kevin hadn't spoken. "and I… well, I'm not human either."
"Neither am I," Gwen said, quietly. "I'm half Anodite."
"Are you?" Harrison asked, just as quietly.
"Huh?" Gwen asked, confusedly.
"Megatrix," Harrison said into his watch. "Scan for Anodite DNA in Gwendolyn Tennyson."
"Scanning," the watch said in a mechanical version of Harrison's voice. Scan in progress. Please stand by."
"Damn this is slow," Harrison groaned.
He had always hated the fact the scans took forever, but there was nothing he could do about it.
"No Anodite DNA detected," the watch finally said. "Gwendolin Tennyson's DNA is 100% Terran."
"How?" Gwen asked, confusedly.
"That bioweapon Vilgax used on us last time we fought him," Harrison explained. "It was designed to destroy any alien lifeforms that would pose a threat. However, as you're half human… you survived."
"But I can still use my powers," Gwen countered.
"Magic and alien abilities aren't the same thing," Harrison said. "From what you told me, you always had an affinity for the mystical. Hell, one of your possible futures was becoming a sorceress. Also, I think some of the Anodite abilities stuck around for a bit. They're just getting weaker. I'm sure you've noticed by now."
"Well, what about you?" Gwen asked as she processed what he told her.
"I don't have any powers," Harrison replied. "All I can do is regenerate, which isn't a combat ability. Useful for being practically immortal, but I'm vulnerable when regenerating. In theory, at least. I'm still on my first incarnation. Without the regenerations, all I'd have is a very long lifespan. However, that's a passive ability. Not violent in any way, and I can still be killed."
Gwen didn't say anything for a bit as she processed some more. She thought back to all the times Harrison had fought alongside her and Ben. He never showed any signs of being anything but human. Well, except for his high intellect, high stamina, and the fact he was slightly stronger than most humans.
"I… see," Gwen said, realizing Harrison was right.
"Kevin, Tetrax, and I shall leave this evening," Harrison declared as he stood up. "That way, we can have the advantage of stealth. Now, I suggest to all that are going to take a long nap. We have to be at full strength for the mission. Meeting adjourned."
With that, Harrison left the war room and headed for his room so he could rest. However, he did make some rounds seeing how the men were fairing first. Once he reached his room, he didn't even bother to undress and just plopped onto his bed to attempt to sleep. However, before he could, he heard the door close behind him. He rolled over onto his back to see who it was. It was Gwen, and she wasn't happy. However, she wasn't entirely pissed either.
"Just spit it out," Harrison sighed as he pushed himself into a sitting position.
"You benched me because you didn't want to risk me dying," Gwen stated as she walked toward him.
Harrison remained silent as he figured she wasn't finished. Besides, he didn't really know what to say. He gave a very logical reason in the meeting. He figured she'd accept what he said, but evidently he was wrong.
"You let your feelings for me get in the way of your decision-making," Gwen said as she looked down at him.
"You're wrong," Harrison said, bluntly.
Gwen narrowed her eyes at him, because she had expected him to say that. However, she could see honesty in his eyes. Naturally, she refused to believe it.
"Quit lying!" Gwen demanded, slightly angry. "Just tell me the fucking truth!"
Suddenly, Harrison got up and pulled her into an embrace. She widened her eyes as she looked at him. She could feel her heart beating faster. She didn't know if she was afraid or feeling desire. All she knew was that she wanted her heartbeat to normalize again.
"You want the truth?" Harrison asked as he stared at her in the eyes.
Gwen just nodded.
"I benched you…" Harrison explained as he kissed her neck. "Because of the reasons I said in the meeting. However, the fact that I had no desire for you to face such danger may have factored into that… especially since you're pregnant."
He then stopped kissing her neck and backed off much to Gwen's dismay. However, she quickly composed herself after her brain caught up to what he said. She widened her eyes, because she had no idea how he found out.
"How did you know?" Gwen asked, quietly.
"I found this in the trash," Harrison answered as he held up a ziploc bag with a used first response pregnancy test inside. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"With everything going on, I didn't think it was the right time," Gwen replied, as she looked away.
"I'm not mad at you, Gwen," Harrison said kindly as he turned her face to his. "I'm just mad at myself for focusing so much on defeating Vilgax instead of you."
"Don't be," Gwen said as she placed her hand on his. "Vilgax is the priority. I shouldn't be."
"You ARE my priority," Harrison said as he pulled her into a hug again. "You and the baby."
Gwen didn't say anything as she returned the embrace. They stayed like that for what felt like minutes, but Gwen had a thought that scared her. She leaned away from him and looked into his eyes.
"Promise me something, Jimmy," Gwen said, softly and seriously. "Come back to me."
"I can't make that promise, Gwen," Harrison said just as softly. "There's no telling how this mission will end. However, I will promise to try and come back safely."
Gwen nodded understandingly and then kissed him hard. He returned the kiss, and pretty soon they were ripping each other's clothes off. She pushed him onto the bed and tied his wrists to the headboard with a green ribbon and did the same with his ankles. After he was blindfolded, he felt something wet and warm surround his flesh rod. A few minutes later, he was freed from the ribbons and they cuddled as they fell asleep.
Four years ago, a day later…
Kevin's emerald muscle car slowed to a stop outside a house in Bellwood, Illinois. Harrison didn't exit immediately, but his sister did. Clearly with a desire to clean herself, Harrison bolted from the car like a cheetah on the hunt. Once Harrison noticed Kevin giving him the stink-eye, he got out and walked toward the house. He didn't really want to be here, but he had no choice if he was to continue protecting Harrison.
"I know you don't trust us yet," Ben said from behind Harrison. "But give it time. You'll see that we're not the bad guys some day."
Harrison just grunted as he entered the building. He heard the sound of water splashing in the kitchen. Curious, he headed toward the sound and found a young asian teen in a pink hoodie. At that moment, she turned around and widened her eyes in shock. Harrison was clearly NOT the person she was expecting.
"Who are you?" the girl asked, cautiously.
"Harrison Wells," Harrison replied.
"What brings you to America?" the girl asked, noticing his Liverpudlian accent.
"None of your business," Harrison growled as he turned around abruptly. Before he could walk off, he noticed a small goopy thing with a green glowing circle on its… face?
"What the hell is that?" Harrison asked, calmly.
"None of your business," the girl responded, rudely.
Harrison grunted once as he walked around the strange creature toward the bathroom. Unfortunately, there was only one bathroom in the house. His sister happened to be using it, and knowing her… it'd be occupied for almost all day. She had a need to smell, look, and be pretty. Living as a street kid only enhanced that need, so of course she wouldn't stop until she no longer felt like a filthy mongrel.
Back in the present, in a floating city…
Vilgax sat on his throne as he looked at several holographic recordings. They were of Gwen Tennyson, Kevin Levin, Tetrax, and Madison Wells. They each used their respective powers, and he was pissed. Not only did somebody else have an omnitrix, it looked to be much stronger than his. He so desperately wanted it, but he knew it'd be next to impossible to get this one. At least, in a straight-out fight.
"Excuse me, lord Vilgax," said an armored man with a purple cape.
"Spit it out, Eon," Vilgax said with a bored tone.
"If you want to acquire that new omnitrix," the armored man, called Eon, suggested. "Then you should acquire it while they sleep."
"If I knew where the Resistance was," Vilgax said, irritatedly. "I'd have destroyed them and taken the new omnitrix already."
"You do know that omnitrixes can find each other, right?" Eon said, raising an eyebrow.
Vilgax widened his emerald eyes as he looked at the time walker. He immediately activated his omnitrix and ordered it to locate it's successor. As the omnitrix scanned, Vilgax watched Eon through his peripheral vision. Eon had proven useful in the past, bit the Tyrannical squid knew better than to trust him. Eon always had ulterior motives in the past, but they usually involved destroying Tennyson. Unfortunately, Tennyson was dead so there would be no logical reason for Eon to get involved.
In the evening, with Harrison and Gwen…
Harrison and Gwen woke up to the sound of alarms. They bolted to their feet and dressed themselves. They hurried through the HQ for the command center for two reasons. The main reason was to find out what set off the alarms. The second reason was to gather their soldiers together. After Azmuth's sacrifice, Harrison, Gwen, and Tetrax had looked for a place to retreat to. None of them wanted to abandon the Earth, but all of them realized that they may have to for their survival.
So, they had managed to find a portal of sorts. It was a huge ring with odd alien symbols on them. Not even the Megatrix recognized the symbols, and it could translate anything. That is part of why they made the Cheyenne Mountain Complex their HQ. The other reason was it was the most hidden and defendable location on Earth. Tetrax had gone through the portal several times. He had found uninhabitable planets, extremely dangerous planets, and planets that were safe enough. Unfortunately, most of the safe planets had primitive cultures and civilizations. Most of which weren't very progressive.
"What's going on?" Harrison asked as soon as he and Gwen arrived at the control room.
"Vilgax found us," said Tetrax Shard, grimly.
"How?" Gwen asked, shocked.
"He must have realized that omnitrixes could locate each other," Tetrax replied as he looked straight at Harrison.
"They can?!" Harrison exclaimed shocked.
"You didn't know?" Tetrax frowned.
"Course not!" Harrison said, indignantly. "I didn't build the damn thing!"
"Doesn't matter now," Gwen stated, sternly. "What does matter is that we get our people through the portal onto Site B."
"Agreed," Tetrax nodded as he returned his attention to the screen.
Harrison and Gwen followed his gaze. What they saw made their eyes widen. Vilgax was transformed into Spider-Monkey. However, this one was more like an arachnid than a monkey. The only monkey aspects it had was the head sculpture. Harrison visibly shuddered, and Gwen's face went green.
"What are we going to do now," Gwen asked, weakly.
"You are going to do as I said earlier," Harrison said, turning to her.
"There's no way you'll survive this," Gwen said, unhappy.
"It doesn't matter if I survive!" Harrison said, sternly. "All that matters is the survival of the resistance! Much more than that, you and our unborn child must live!"
"It matters to me!" Gwen said, loudly. "I can't lose another person that I love to Vilgax!"
"You took the words out of my mouth," Harrison said before he pulled her into a kiss.
She melted into his arms and kissed him back. However, the kiss didn't last long as he pinched the right pressure points on her neck. As she fell, Harrison picked her up and carried her down to the portal room. There he found Julie, Ben Tennyson's girlfriend, helping the wounded. She looked up shocked as Harrison placed her onto a stretcher.
"What happened?" Julie asked, worriedly.
"I rendered her unconscious," Harrison replied as he brushed the hair out of Gwen's face.
"Why?" Julie asked, narrowing her eyes.
"To save her and our child," Harrison answered, bluntly, as he looked up at the woman.
"Oh," Julie said, her eyes softening.
Both Harrison and Julie had lost so much. Yes, Gwen had lost equally as much. However, Gwen had always been full of hope and optimism. She never lost faith regardless of how many times they'd been defeated. Julie and Harrison were the opposite. They couldn't feel hope or much optimism, because of how many times they failed. Julie understood that if Gwen was to stay, she'd fight and die. At that point, Harrison would give up because he'd no longer have a reason to live.
"I'll see to it that she makes in through the portal first," Julie promised.
Harrison smiled gratefully before he rushed for the armory. While he had the Megatrix at his disposal, he knew he wouldn't be able to fight with just the watch. During the minute it had to recharge, he would have to fend off Vilgax and his goons. For that, he needed an old friend.
Once he arrived, he slid past several ex-plumbers and volunteer soldiers toward the back. There was a case next to a hooded suit of matte gold leather. He opened the case and picked up a handle. With a press of a button, it turned into a hard light bow. He turned toward the golden suit and grabbed it out of the case.
Four years ago, a week later…
Harrison woke up with a start and looked around wildly. For a few seconds, he didn't recognize where he was. However, he quickly remembered the events of the past week and relaxed a little. He had started to hate being in this house less, but he was nowhere near ready to start trusting the Tennysons. Maybe one day he would, but not anytime soon. For now, he was just willing to put up with them for Madison's sake.
Madison, however, was different. She had always been full of love and hope. She had lost that after they ran away from home. Harrison couldn't deny that this was great for Madison. She was beginning to act like her old self. She even had a smile on her face every day. Even more so when Harrison picked her up from school Roosevelt Middle School.
Today was going to be different for Madison because the school was going on a field trip. Harrison didn't understand the concept, so he had asked Gwen about it. She had explained, but Harrison was still confused. He had thought the point of schools was to teach things. Not to have students leave the school and fool around. He had voiced his confusion, and she explained that field trips were both breaks from school and a more engaging method of teaching. At least, that's what he gathered from her explanation.
"Shit," Harrison said, quietly. "I'm going to be late."
He quickly got dressed in his Broadview True Value Hardware uniform and grabbed his car keys. While he wanted to see Madison off to school, he had to go to work for an early morning shift. All because a colleague had decided to go on vacation. Annoyingly, that colleague is the only one that is allowed to go on vacations whenever. Harrison had asked another colleague why, and apparently the manager was shagging her.
"You're up early," Ben said from the kitchen table as he drank a smoothie.
"Yeah," Harrison said, grumpily. "Have to do an early morning shift along with my normal shift."
"I'll drive you," Ben offered. "You look like you're barely awake."
"Then how am I to get home?" Harrison asked, raising an eyebrow. "You don't exactly have cabbies in Bellwood, Illinois…"
"Suit yourself," Ben shrugged as he drained his smoothie.
Harrison inhaled once as he grabbed his coat and umbrella. He wasn't looking forward to today, but since his boss was going to be on vacation with his colleague… he was at least able to nick some of the stuff from storage. Not enough to be noticed, but enough to be of use. Besides, what he intended to steal was no longer allowed to be sold anywhere. Entirely because nobody ever bought them and so they became a waste of money and resources.
Later, at Broadview True Value Hardware…
Harrison sighed as he looked at the huge pile of items he had to put on shelves. It seemed he had been left with the majority of work as most of his colleagues had been given the day off. It was as if the manager hated his guts. Knowing he had no choice but to do the task assigned to him, he got straight to it. Occasionally, he met up with colleagues who were also forced to do an increased amount of work. Unfortunately, none of them had any time for chatting or lunch.
"Shit," Harrison said as he got to a heavier item. There was no way he could lift this onto the topmost shelf alone.
"Can anyone help me with this engine?" Harrison asked into his walkie-talkie.
At that moment, he heard a loud crashing sound. With an irritated expression, he rushed to see the cause. When he saw it, he groaned with irritation. A huge hulking alien stood up and roared angrily. While he had gotten used to the concept of aliens, thanks to the Tennysons, he hated when they interrupted his day. Especially, while he was hard at work.
"Oh, heya Harrison!" called out the voice of Diamondhead, who happened to be one of Ben's transformations. "I didn't realize you worked here!"
"Where did you think I worked?!" exclaimed Harrison, irritatedly. "Sears 'n' Farts?!"
"I thought you worked at McDonald's or a different fast food joint," Diamondhead replied, honestly.
"My uniform says 'Broadview True Value" NOT 'McDonald's!'" Harrison exclaimed, incredulously.
"Huh," Diamondhead said as if that hadn't occurred to him. "Good point."
"You know what," Harrison said, irritated. "You are cleaning this up, ya idiot. I'm not going to be held responsible for this meshiver!"
With that said, he turned around and walked off. However, he quickly came to realize that Ben would end up destroying the entire store before he beat that alien. To mitigate the damage, he had no choice but to help the idiotic shapeshifter. With that thought in mind, he hurried through the store until he found his locker. He rifled through it until he found the tech he was secretly working on.
"A little bit of this," Harrison muttered to himself as he added pieces to it. "A little of that."
"And bob's your uncle!" Harrison grinned as he held up a device unlike any other.
This invention, unlike the deluminator, was intended more for offense and defensive than stealth. He had a feeling he'd be encountering aliens the longer he stuck with the Tennysons. So, he had to create some way to defend Madison should he have to take up arms against alien threats.
Harrison rushed back through the store, and sure enough, Ben was still fighting the beast. Harrison placed the device onto his chest and pressed a button. Metal seemed to grow from the machine and surrounded him. Fully armored, he ran toward the alien and leapt just as Diamondhead swept its legs. Diamondhead watched, wide-eyed as two metal blades extended from the armor's arms and stabbed down into the alien's head.
"The hell did you do that for?!" exclaimed Diamondhead, angrily.
"You should be thanking me," Harrison said, coldly, with his voice modulated.
"Like that'll ever happen," Diamondhead said, sarcastically as he turned back to Ben. "You killed him!"
"I did what I had to do," Harrison said, darkly, as he retracted the blades.
"You didn't have to kill him!" Ben shouted, angrily. "You could've just let me knock him out and arrest him!"
"And then he would've returned to attack those you care about," Harrison said, bluntly. "If you want to live the life of a self-righteous idiot, go ahead. I don't care."
"Who the hell are you?!" Ben exclaimed, angrily, as Harrison turned away.
Instead of responding, Harrison vanished from sight and hurried away. However, Ben had transformed into Wildmutt and pounced on him. The impact forced Harrison to the ground, but he used the momentum to his advantage. He sent Wildmutt flying into several shelves. He winced at the damage, but couldn't focus on that right now.
"You want to fight, Fido?" Harrison said as he balled his fists. "Then, come at me!"
Wildmutt leaped into the air and seamlessly transformed into Four-Arms just before reaching Harrison. Harrison dodged the two fists and activated the tasers in his hands and thrust his arms forward. The electricity coursed around Four-Arms, and Harrison used that to his advantage. He punched repeatedly with his right fist and then kicked Four-Arms in the groin.
"You done yet, Tennyson?" Harrison asked calmly as the alien hero fell to his knees.
"Nope," Four-Arms growled as he grabbed Harrison with three of his arms and delivered a strong uppercut with the fourth.
The punch sent Harrison flying through the air until a big blue moth grabbed him. The moth threw him toward the ground and exhaled a freezing blast of arctic wind. Unable to do anything as his armor froze, Harrison laid motionless on the floor. Big Chill, however, punched down onto Harrison's faceplate until it cracked. Harrison cursed at himself for failing at figuring out the icy problem.
"Harrison?!" Big Chill exclaimed, angrily and shocked, before he turned back to Ben.
"Piss off," Harrison grunted.
"What the hell happened to make you into a murderer?!" Ben demanded as Harrison turned away. "And what's with the supersuit?"
When Harrison didn't respond, Ben sighed and turned into Diamondhead for a few seconds. Once Harrison was freed of his metal coffin, he turned back to normal. However, Harrison was already walking off. Ben had no desire to let this go, so he grabbed Harrison's arm.
"Answer my question, Harrison," Ben said, sternly.
"Look up Gallifrey!" Harrison growled angrily without looking at him.
With that said, he stomped off leaving Ben alone with the alien corpse. Harrison had work to finish, and he wanted to be away from the naive "hero" at the moment. The Time Lords of Gallifrey became extinct, because they had been stubbornly merciful as they protected the timeline from time pirates and other time travelers seeking to change history. They barely knew how to fight when the Time War began, and were still instinctively merciful toward the end of the war. As to how Harrison knows this is a story for another day.
Back with Vilgax, in the present…
Vilgax transformed back into his normal form and looked down at his omnitrix. Fortunately, the faceplate wasn't red. That meant it could still transform a few more times before having to recharge. He looked around as his robot army destroyed everything in their way. He was unimpressed by the base the resistance had called their home for who knows how long. Of course, that's to be expected of an intergalactic despot that is surrounded by alien tech twenty-four/seven.
"No no no no!" screamed a human soldier as it was dragged to the squid-like alien.
"Don't fear, human," Vilgax said, coldly, as he looked down at the blubbering mess. "I won't kill you… immediately. Instead, I'll torture you until you tell me where the user of the newer omnitrix is."
Suddenly, a desk rammed right into him. As the desk's debris fell to the floor, he looked up to see the Osmosian. He had turned himself into steel. With a growl, Vilgax pointed toward the Osmosian. Immediately, the robots blasted at him. With the Osmosian distracted, Vilgax returned his attention to the pathetic human on the floor.
"You're lucky that I don't have time to torture you," Vilgax stated as he dialed to a specific alien.
"Instead," Vilgax continued as he pressed down on the watch. "I'll have to do this the boring way."
An emerald flash enveloped Vilgax and when it ebbed, a hideous short being with dragonfly wings took its place. It was a combination of a lizard, a fish, and a bug. It sneezed and mucus splattered the human in the face. Suddenly, the human fell down and Vilgax flew into his head.
Meanwhile, with Madison Wells…
Harrison fired golden hardlight arrows into any robot he came across. He could use the Megatrix, but he wanted to reserve its energy until he confronted Vilgax. Fortunately, he wasn't rusty as one would normally get after a couple of years neglecting archery. Of course, that didn't mean he remembered to use the advanced arrows. In fact, he forgot about how to summon them with his quiver.
"Blake," said Tetrax through the Megatrix. "Kevin is in trouble. He's surrounded by robots and Vilgax has just used a mutated alien to enter the mind of a human. He's undoubtedly searching for you."
"Where are they?" Harrison asked as he fired three arrows into two robots.
"Not too far from your position," Tetrax replied. "Just keep walking."
As the robots fell, the humans they attacked bolted away. After he glanced around to see if there were any more humans that needed to be saved, he advanced past the fallen droids. As he walked, he saved another few humans with his hard light arrows. Eventually, he heard the sounds of metal on metal up ahead. There was only one thing that could be. Kevin in the middle of a battle.
When he got to the room Kevin fought in, Harrison saw a robot preparing to stab into him with a hard light blade. Immediately, Harrison fired an arrow through its head. Kevin whirled around as it collapsed and saw Harrison standing there. He raised an eyebrow at Harrison's golden clothing, but he didn't remark on it. He knew how useful it was. Highly durable and yet allowed Harrison to remain agile as well.
"So," Harrison said, as he turned his attention to the unconscious human. "Vilgax is in there?"
"I think I saw him enter the dude's head," Kevin shrugged as he turned his hand into a mace.
"Stand guard," Harrison ordered as he deactivated his hard light bow and put the handle into its sheath. "Protect the human."
"I'm going in," Harrison said as he scrolled through transformations on his Megatrix.
He pushed down on the watch and a golden light enveloped him. Once it ebbed, an emerald alien stood in his place. It was clad in black and red "X" on the torso. He also had a blue cape and blue boots. He had golden eyes, and the golden omnitrix symbol was positioned on the red "X". Kevin watched as Harrison knelt down and placed his hands onto the man's head. As his golden eyes glowed, he seemed to cease moving entirely. Kevin didn't know which alien this was, but he didn't care.
Back with Harrison, four years ago…
It's been a couple of days since Harrison had killed the alien brute at the store. Ever since then, Ben had kept an eye on him as if Harrison was another alien threat. However, he didn't outright say it. He did look up Gallifrey and found out what happened to the planet. Unfortunately, that didn't lessen the distrust he had for Harrison.
Today, Harrison was hard at work creating some defensive technology to give his sister. Of course, his last technological wonder had failed as far as protection was concerned. However, he forced himself to think of every conceivable scenario to properly keep her safe. She was the one thing that kept him this side of nice. If he lost her… he didn't know what he'd do. He only knew that it wouldn't be good.
"Of course," Harrison muttered after a few seconds.
Ben looked up from where he sat on the couch with his girlfriend, but didn't say anything. He knew Harrison wouldn't intentionally create anything that could be used for evil. Especially, since Harrison's only goal was keeping Madison safe. Of course, if somebody like Vilgax had abducted her to force Harrison to create monstrous tech… he suspected Harrison would do it without a second thought. With that in mind, Ben had every intention of taking down should the need arise.
"I'm home!" called Madison as she entered the front door.
Harrison looked up and couldn't help but smile. She had a happy expression, and it always warmed his heart. However, his smile vanished again once he flashed back to the not-so-golden years in Liverpool. He put the finishing touches on the new device before he headed right for her. As she placed her bag in the closet, he placed the device onto her back. Suddenly, it latched on akin to the blue beetle and metallic plates covered her in an instant.
"Jimmy," Madison complained, with a slightly modified voice. "What did you do to me?"
"I've given you something that will protect you against everything," Harrison explained as the metal plates receded into the device. "Now I won't have to worry about you as much."
"Can I take it off now?" Madison asked, hopefully.
"I'm sorry, Maddie," Harrison said, honestly. "It's permanent. The good news is that it's waterproof so you can clean yourself."
"People at school will-" countered Madison just before a loud boom shook the house.
Ben and Harrison immediately went to check what it was. What they saw made their eyes widen. Almost all of Bellwood had been replaced by a ginormous crater. All that remained was their half of the neighborhood. They looked up and saw a huge ship entering the atmosphere, and Ben growled in recognition.
"Vilgax," Ben said angrily.
"What's a Vilgax?" Harrison asked, narrowing his eyes.
"The most evil alien I have ever fought," Ben replied, darkly. "He has returned to try and take the Omnitrix repeatedly. At every turn I've somehow managed to stop him."
"Think you can do it again?" Harrison asked.
"I don't know," Ben admitted. "With Gwen in college and Kevin staying with her…"
"Take Ship with you, Ben," said Julie from the doorway as she looked up at the ship fearfully.
As Ben turned to Julie, Harrison hurried inside. He had no desire to play hero, but he knew Madison's best chance was him fighting alongside Ben. He burst into the basement and rifled through his abandoned projects. He immediately took parts off and reconfigured them as he combined them to half-finished projects. Pretty soon, he had created an energy shield emitter, an energy sword, energy rifle, etc. Basically, anything necessary for surviving an invasion.
However, he didn't make those for himself. No. what he made for himself was better, and more his speed. He pulled a cloth down revealing a hooded matte gold leather outfit. He immediately put it on and grabbed the tech right next to it. One of them was strapped to his back, and the others were strapped to his leg. He placed the hi-tech weaponry into a duffle bag and hurried back to Ben and Julie.
"Harrison," Ben said as soon as Harrison came to a stop. "I know what you're thinking. However, the best way to protect your sister is to stay down here. I'll deal with Vilgax, but should I not return… do something for me."
"What?" Harrison asked.
"Keep Julie safe," Ben said as he dialed through his aliens. "
"Fine," Harrison reluctantly agreed.
Ben turned and gave him a mischievous smile before he slapped down on the faceplate. He was enveloped by emerald light and was replaced by Diamondhead. Immediately, Diamondhead placed a hand on the ground and a diamond pillar grew with him on top. It didn't stop until it had reached the ship, and then crumbled once he arrived.
In the present, with Harrison…
Harrison's eyes stopped glowing and he jumped away from the unconscious man. Just in time too, as Vilgax exploded out of his head and transformed back into his villainous bipedal squid self. Vilgax stood up and snarled as Harrison clenched his fists. Kevin immediately hurried to Harrison's side and returned the snarl.
"You are a pest, Blake!" Vilgax said, angrily, as the pistons in his forearms jerked inside.
"And I will squash you!" Vilgax roared as he charged at them.
Kevin jumped to intercept him, but got batted aside. Harrison merely crossed his arms and went intangible just as Vilgax reached him. Shocked, Vilgax skidded to a stop behind Harrison. He whirled around to attack again, but Harrison had swung first. Vilgax stumbled back due to the blow of Harrison's attack, and kept being forced back as Harrison continued punching.
Eventually, Vilgax grabbed Harrison's fist and jerked the Martian toward him. Quickly, Harrison became intangible again and flew through Vilgax. As soon as he was tangible again, he grabbed the evil squid and threw him into a wall. With a sneer, Harrison followed Vilgax through the hole. He fully intended on phasing his hand through Vilgax's chest to crush his heart. Unfortunately, that was not to be.
Harrison screamed with excruciating pain as he was blasted by a torrent of flames. Vilgax was now a troll-esque version of Heatwave. Vilgax lowered a hand as the roasting form of Harrison fell. With a victorious smirk, Vilgax stepped forward and reached for the Megatrix emblem. However, Harrison was enveloped in golden light. As soon as it ebbed, Harrison was gone.
"Where are you, Blake?" Vilgax snarled.
"Behind you," said a nasally voice.
Vilgax whirled around to see a sentient plant with a head shaped like a flame. The Megatrix symbol was in the middle of his chest and his eyes were golden. Vilgax blasted a torrent of flame again, and widened his eyes as Harrison remained unaffected.
"Sorry to disappoint you, jackass," Swampfire sneered. "This guy loves the heat."
Vilgax snarled again and punched down at him, but Swampfire leaped through his legs. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he slapped the Megatrix symbol. After another golden flash, he had transformed into a red alien with four golden eyes and four arms. Vilgax turned back toward him and narrowed his eyes.
Four-Arms leaped at Vilgax with two fists cocked back. He fully intended to deliver a pair of crippling right hooks. Unfortunately, Vilgax quickly grabbed Harrison by the chest. The despot immediately punched him away. Vilgax followed up with releasing a combined torrent of flame from both hands. The attack sent Harrison flying through several walls.
"Damn," Four-Arms said, irritatedly, as he pushed himself to his feet. "This guy is tough."
"Unfortunately, for him," Four-Arms said, cockily, as he turned toward the hole. "I'm tougher."
"I'm going to roast you alive, Blake!" Vilgax shouted as he flew toward Harrison.
"Give it your best shot, squidface!" Four-Arms yelled as he balled his fists.
Vilgax didn't reply. Instead, Vilgax transformed back to normal and delivered a strong dual punch. As Four-Arms flew back from the punch, Vilgax dialed his omnitrix again and slapped down on the faceplate. An emerald flare enveloped him. When it had ebbed, a gigantic dino-like alien was in his place. /like all of Vilgax's transformations, it was extremely disgusting. It looked like a t-rex and an octopus had a really aggressive hate-fucking session and produced a grotesque baby.
"You're fugly," Four-Arms said as he climbed through yet another hole.
"You won't win against me," sneered Vilgax as he stood straighter. Naturally, that meant he had burst through the next floor upward.
"We'll see about that," Four-Arms said before he slapped his Megatrix symbol. After a fourth golden flash enveloped him, four spikes protruded from the emblem as he grew taller. His arms got more muscled, his skin changed to a dark blue color, and bones protruded from his knuckles, elbows, shoulders, knees, and feet. He was basically a giant blue hybrid of Doomsday and Four-Arms.
"Ultimate Four-Arms!" Harrison roared.
He charged at Vilgax with two fists cocked back. Vilgax tried to fight back, but he was too big for the base's interior. As soon as UFA reached him, Vilgax smashed down on him. To his surprise, UFA successfully held up Vilgax's hand. Fortunately, that allowed Vilgax to grab him and throw him. He used his full strength, so UFA was sent outside and into more open space. As soon as UFA fell, he realized he was surrounded by Vilgax's droids. Naturally, he smashed them all.
UFA heard a roar, and looked up. Vilgax was above him with an arm cocked back. The tentacle-like bulges on his arm wriggled excitedly. It nearly made UFA vomit, but he was able to resist the Vilgax's dino form got close enough, UFA punched upward with two arms. As soon as their attacks met, a shockwave blasted from them and UFA was forced back a few steps. Vilgax immediately grabbed him and slammed UFA down into the Earth repeatedly. He wouldn't stop no matter what.
"You're finished, Blake," Vilgax said, victoriously as he released UFA.
Vilgax turned toward the mountain and returned to normal. As he spoke some orders into his omnitrix, UFA twitched a finger. He tried to push himself up, but a purple blast of energy forced him down. He looked to see who did that, and saw Eon. Ben Tennyson's most dangerous enemy. Well, other than Vilgax at is.
"Your resistance has lost the war, Madison Wells," Eon said as he knelt next to him. "But that doesn't mean you'll lose the war."
"What are you talking about?" UFA said, weakly.
"Vilgax has beaten you," Eon said, simply.
"As long as there are those who fight," UFA said, with defiance. "The resistance will thrive!"
"Vilgax will exterminate them," Eon stated. "I have seen it."
"However," Eon said, slowly. "There is still a way for them to survive."
"How?" UFA asked, skeptically.
"You have a transformation stronger than any other," Eon said, bluntly. "If you use that, you can end this war with a wave of your hand."
"No," UFA shook his head as he propped himself up with his elbows. "Alien-X is unreliable."
"Then there is nothing you can do," Eon smirked as he formed a purple ball of energy.
"However, that doesn't mean I can't do anything!" Eon shouted as he threw blast after blast of purple time energy at Vilgax.
Vilgax cried out as he fell to his knees. He turned toward Eon and snarled. However, his snarl quickly turned into a sneer. He pulled out a rod and pressed a red button. Eon widened his eyes in realization. He focused on trying to stop the bomb Vilgax had snuck into his armor.
"I knew you'd turn against me, time walker," Vilgax said, evilly. "So, I decided to have you ingest some micro-explosives."
"You son of a bi-" Eon shouted just before he exploded.
UFA quickly shut his eyes as body parts, blood, guts, and clothing pieces flew everywhere.
"I will not be defeated!" Vilgax declared as he stood up.
However, his leg suddenly gave out and he dropped to a kneel. He growled angrily, because Eon had managed to weaken him. Vilgax had aged significantly due to the time blasts, but he was still strong and smart enough to win. Well, that's what he thought. UFA elected to take advantage of Vilgax's newfound weakness. He slapped the Megatrix symbol once again.
"No!" Vilgax shouted as a fifth golden light enveloped UFA.
As soon as the light ebbed, UFa was replaced by a man clothed in the blur outfit from Smallville Season 9. The only difference to the outfit was the golden Megatrix symbol which had become his belt buckle. His wounds glowed and healed thanks to the yellow sunlight. Vilgax hurriedly dialed and slapped down on the faceplate again. Unfortunately, it flashed red. That meant his chances of taking out Blake had passed.
"The last of the Resistance went through the portal," Tetrax said through the Megatrix symbol.
"Activate the self-destruct," Madison Wells said as he stood up. "And then escape through the portal with Kevin."
"What about you?" Tetrax asked, worriedly.
"I'll do what I must," Harrison said as he balled his fists.
"You will try!" Vilgax snarled, hatefully, as the pistons in his arm jerked back in again.
Harrison sped toward Vilgax and leaped them high into the sky. Vilgax punched down on his back, but Harrison ignored the attacks. He was set on taking vilgax down with him. He could hear the base's self-destruct timer counting down, and he knew he'd get there just in time for the explosion. Well, he hoped that'd be the case. If they arrived sooner, then Vilgax may find his way to the portal and escape through it.
They crashed through the mountain and landed in the portal room. The timer had almost reached one and Vilgax hurried for the portal. He didn't care about Harrison anymore. All that mattered to him was his survival. However, Harrison would NOT allow him to escape. He sped until he was in front of Vilgax and punched. He watched as Vilgax flew backward.
"Jimmy!" screamed a familiar voice behind him.
He turned to see Gwen standing there. She had an urgent look on her face. She beckoned him forward, and he looked between her and Vilgax. The latter was already standing up, and Harrison knew what he had to do. He sped toward her and kissed her on the mouth hard. He immediately stepped back and pushed her through the portal. He turned back around and saw Vilgax charge toward the portal.
"What are you doing?!" Vilgax screamed, panicked, when Harrison intercepted him. "You'll kill us both!"
"I know!" Harrison replied as he pushed Vilgax back.
"We'll become forgotten!" Vilgax tried again. "Our might will be turned into a joke!"
"What's so wrong with that?" Harrison asked just as the timer reached one.
Vilgax screamed and Harrison closed his eyes as the nuke under the portal room went off. He did remember to send the message he had recorded when he fell for Gwen, however.
I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise and survive, but know that I will always be there in your heart. As long as you remember me, my soul lives on. Keep me alive that way, and stay kind no matter how hard things get. Remember that I love you Gwen. Live long and prosper.
As soon as his message was sent, his Megatrix timed out and both and Vilgax were sent flying upward. He thought he'd be afraid the day he died, but it was oddly peaceful. In fact, it felt as if he was laying on a grassy field somewhere. Wait, that wasn't right. He opened his eyes and looked around. What he saw made him go slack-jawed. He realized that he wasn't dead. He was somehow teleported into a city he didn't recognize. Partially, because he forgot what cities looked like before Vilgax attacked.
"Where the hell am I?" Harrison asked, confusedly, as he stood up. "And how am I still alive?"
Suddenly, He looked up and widened his eyes. He saw what looked like a woman flying through the sky. Suddenly, his Megatrix beeped which indicated he had a message. He looked down and pressed the hourglass symbol and a hologram appeared. Harrison widened his eyes when he saw who it was. It was Professor Paradox!
"I'm pretty sure you're wondering where you are right now," Professor Paradox's message said. "Well, to be honest I have no idea. I shouldn't have done so, but you're so young. You have much more life to live, and so much more good you can accomplish. According to the timeline, you died taking Vilgax along with you. You became a hero equal to Ben Tennyson in the world's eyes. Gwen Tennyson becomes her own legend and leads humanity in a way that honors the both of you. Your daughter even becomes important, but mostly on the science aspect of being famous. Your old life in this reality may be over, but the one you're in now… well it's just beginning. Make friends, fall in love, and in general? Live a good life. Good bye."
Harrison's eye twitched a few times as the hologram flickered away before he breathed in deeply.
"PARADOX!" Harrison yelled angrily, "YOU SON OF A BITCH!"
Realizing he had no choice in the matter, Harrison hurried into an alley and tossed his matte gold leather outfit into a trash bin. After that, he tossed his hard light technology into it and set them ablaze. He had nobody to protect, so he had no reason to keep that stuff. In nothing but some clothes he had stolen as Big Chill, he now could go unnoticed. He couldn't find a way to live if he stood out, which is why he stole the clothes and destroyed his stuff.
"What next, Maddie?" Harrison asked nobody in particular as he exited the alley.
With a deep breath, he headed down the sidewalk alongside several other passersby. Nobody looked at him which was exactly what he hoped for. It's a good thing that people of this Earth focus so much on their phones, MP3s, and Zunes. Otherwise, they'd be able to notice things like somebody cutting in front of them.
originally intended to be the pilot of a series, but I changed my mind.