Queens – Morning Routine
The city was waking up.
Buses hissed along wet pavement, coffee carts rolled into corners, and pigeons swarmed like wind across rooftops. Kai cycled down the same route he always did—his delivery bag strapped tight, hoodie pulled over his head, humming a tune only half in key.
This was peace.
And Kai liked peace.
After the HYDRA incident and the underground base in Serbia, Tony hadn't called in over a week. The Omnitrix had remained quiet, no new alerts or flares. His dreams were finally his own again, not filled with monsters or shattered glass.
But something was off.
It started small.
He was locking his bike outside Mrs. Gonzalez's building when it happened.
The Omnitrix pulsed once—a soft, warbling hum, like static through a radio.
Kai paused. "That's… new."
He lifted his wrist. The dial glowed faint green, then orange, then flickered out.
No warning message. No transformation prompt.
Just static.
The strange hum passed through him like a chill.
"Was that a signal?" he muttered.
Later That Day – Stark Text
His phone buzzed as he handed off a box of herbal tea to Ms. Lee.
Tony Stark:
"Picking up faint sub-spatial disturbances on our end. Could be cosmic. Could be atmospheric noise. Could be Thor. You'd know what that feels like, right?"
Kai blinked.
He texted back:
"Thor?"
Tony: "Long story. Blonde, muscular, not a fan of shirts. Says he's a god. Big hammer. Meteor impact. Might have brought a thunderstorm to New Mexico."
"...Is he friendly?"
Tony:"Not if you insult his cape."
Kai chuckled.
But deep down, the flicker on the Omnitrix still haunted him. He'd felt alien tech before, both here and in his old universe. But this wasn't tech.
This was… presence.
---
That Night – The Dream
Kai drifted into sleep like slipping beneath dark water.
At first, there was nothing but silence.
Then… he was standing in a golden hall. Vast. Endless. The floor gleamed like sunlight trapped in ice. Runes floated in the air, humming softly with otherworldly music.
A voice whispered from the far end.
Not threatening.
Not human.
Just ancient.
"You do not belong… and yet you are bound."
He turned—but the space around him folded in impossible directions.
"Two lights have touched this world. One forged by stars. One born of infinite echoes."
"One wears the watch."
"The other… holds the storm."
Suddenly, lightning arced across the golden sky—and Kai awoke, gasping, bathed in sweat.
---
The Omnitrix Reacts
It was glowing again.
But differently this time.
No alarms.
No countdowns.
Just a quiet shimmer, like a ripple on a calm lake.
He stared at it in the dark.
"You're warning me… about him, aren't you?" he whispered.
The Omnitrix blinked once.
Confirmation.
Kai leaned back against the wall. "Great. First gamma monsters. Now thunder gods."
Elsewhere – SHIELD HQ
In a silent room buried beneath the surface of SHIELD's East Coast operations, agents monitored pulse data.
Agent Hill reviewed the file Stark had sent earlier—Kai's alias marked "Unregistered Asset."
Fury stood nearby, arms crossed.
"Anything new?" he asked.
Hill's brow furrowed. "Doubt it. We've been watching Kai. He's avoiding detection. But that watch of his?".
Fury stared at the holographic image of Kai delivering groceries on a bike.
"Keep an eye on him," he said.
"But don't spook him."
---
Morning After – Rooftop Talks
Kai sat on the rooftop with a can of warm soda and a half-eaten breakfast sandwich. The sun hadn't risen yet, and the sky was a gradient of pale purple and soft grey.
He spoke aloud—not to anyone in particular.
"I thought I came here for a reason. To help. Maybe even to stop people like HYDRA from using alien stuff they don't understand."
The Omnitrix didn't respond.
"But now it's like this world's waking up to something bigger. And I'm just… riding alongside it."
He took another bite.
"You ever get that feeling? Like fate's lining you up for something huge—and you don't know if you're ready?"
The Omnitrix pulsed faintly again. A low, harmonic tone.
Kai sighed.
"Yeah. Me too."
Elsewhere – Jane and Thor
Far from New York, in the quiet town of Puente Antiguo, Thor sat on the roof of Jane Foster's lab, looking at the stars.
She joined him, notebook in hand.
"You still think you'll get your hammer back?" she asked.
"I know I will," he said.
"But… not yet."
Jane paused, then asked softly, "Do you ever wonder why you were sent here?"
Thor turned to her.
"Yes. And I wonder more who else was sent with me."
She frowned. "You mean… others?"
"There are forces stirring. Far older than even I. I feel them. Moving through the air like stormwinds."
He looked skyward, solemn.
"Someone is watching the Earth. Someone… with a different kind of power."
Back in Queens – Unaware, but Not for Long
Kai passed a newspaper stand later that day. The headline read:
"Desert Storm God? Local Woman Claims Lightning Man Saved Her"
He bought the paper, tucking it under his arm.
And deep down, he knew… their paths would cross soon.
Because something ancient was stirring.
And the world wasn't going to stay normal for much longer.