I rocketed straight toward Solaris.
He fired beams of solar energy at me, blinding, concentrated streams of heat and light.
I didn't dodge.
I ate them.
The energy slammed into me… and vanished. My body absorbed every ounce of it, feeding on it. I felt myself grow, bigger, stronger, faster. Like a star was igniting under my skin.
With that boost, I surged forward even faster and crashed into him.
Hard.
I grabbed onto his surface and started draining him, pulling in every bit of solar radiation he had.
"What are you doing?!" Solaris demanded.
"Having an early dinner," I shot back.
"You think you can stop me, abomination? I am Solaris, the Tyrant Sun!"
His body flared, releasing a massive dome of radiation that expanded outward in every direction.
For a second, space itself looked like it was burning.
Then I absorbed it.
All of it.
The dome collapsed into me like it was never there.
"I will kill your sun," Solaris roared. "Your people will either worship me as a god… or freeze in the dark!"
He unleashed another wave.
I was already over it.
I pulled back my fist and punched.
One of his massive spikes shattered instantly.
"Aaaaaaaaaah!" he screamed, his voice glitching with pain.
I didn't stop.
Another punch. Another spike gone.
And another.
With each piece I destroyed, I felt it, he was getting weaker. His energy output dropped, his attacks losing intensity.
Good.
I drove my fist straight through his outer shell, tearing it open and exposing the glowing circuitry and rotating rings inside.
"Yeah… you're not so tough on the inside," I muttered.
I ripped the opening wider, then made my move.
Green light flashed.
My body liquified and shifted as I transformed into Upgrade, my form turning sleek and black with glowing circuitry.
I slipped inside Solaris.
And took control.
His systems fought back, hard, but it didn't matter. I spread through his network like a virus, overriding protocols, shutting down defenses, rewriting commands.
In seconds…
I wasn't just inside Solaris.
I was Solaris.
The moment I took control of Solaris, Green Lantern, Superman, and Captain Atom flew toward me.
"Man, kid… every time I think you can't surprise me anymore, you go and prove me wrong," John said, shaking his head.
I grinned. "Hey, that's me, full of surprises."
Captain Atom crossed his arms slightly. "So what now? You going to shut him down permanently?"
"That did cross my mind," I admitted. "But I've got something better."
I focused for a few more seconds, finishing the last lines of code. Then I slipped out of Solaris, my body shifting back into Jetray as I hovered in front of the massive construct.
I tilted my head. "Solaris… how are you feeling?"
"I feel… better, boss."
That earned me a smirk, and three very confused heroes behind me.
Superman narrowed his eyes slightly. "What did you just do?"
"Nothing major," I said casually. "I rewrote him. He's not the Tyrant Sun anymore… now he's more like a peaceful one."
They all stared at me.
Yeah… I probably should've expected that reaction.
"So what are his new parameters?" John asked.
I shrugged. "What do you want him to do? I can have him do just about anything."
John thought for a second, then snapped his fingers. "If he can convert his red solar radiation into yellow, I know a planet in my sector that could really use a new sun."
"Say less."
I turned back to Solaris.
"Solaris, convert your radiation output to yellow solar energy. Then follow Green Lantern to the designated planet and stabilize its system."
"Understood, boss."
Almost instantly, Solaris shifted, his massive form glowing from deep red to bright, golden yellow.
John let out a low whistle. "Well… I'll be."
He shot off into space, and Solaris followed right behind him at matching speed.
I leaned back a little, watching them go.
"…Yeah," I said with a satisfied grin. "That was fun."
A Few Minutes Later
After everything with Solaris was handled, I was about to head back to base and check on Cindy, but Superman stopped me.
He said it wouldn't take long.
…Yeah, that was a lie.
Next thing I knew, I was at the Watchtower, and within minutes, heroes just kept showing up.
One after another.
Shaking my hand. Thanking me.
Apparently, the cancer cure hit a lot closer to home than I realized. Family members. Friends. People they couldn't save before… now they had a second chance because of me.
I've been thanked before, by civilians, even a few villains, but…
This felt different.
Heavier.
I couldn't really explain it.
"Hey, partner," a familiar voice said. "Like I told you before, if you ever need me, I'm just a call away."
I looked over at him and smirked a little. "Careful… I might hold you to that. I hear you're pretty good with a guitar."
He grinned. "And singing. Trust me, I can have a whole crowd eating out of the palm of my hand."
I chuckled. "Now that's something I'd like to see."
"You know where to find me," he said, turning to leave.
He was the last one.
The Watchtower finally started to quiet down.
I let out a slow breath, rubbing the back of my neck.
As grateful as I was…
That many "thank yous" in a row?
Yeah.
That was way more exhausting than fighting a sun-eating machine.
"You okay?" Superman asked.
I looked at him and rubbed the back of my neck.
"Yeah… I'm fine. It was just a lot, you know?" I said. "I'm not complaining or anything. It's just… I grew up looking up to all of you. Having you all come up and thank me like that? It's kinda blowing my mind."
Superman gave a small, understanding smile.
"Well, Omni… you did something incredible. Something people thought was impossible in this day and age. You cured cancer, saved countless lives, and you did it without asking for anything in return." He paused. "That says a lot about who you are."
I frowned slightly. "Who I am?"
"A hero," he said simply. "Not just someone who punches bad guys. You have the ability to change the world on a massive scale." He crossed his arms lightly. "And from what I've heard from Aquaman… you're not even done yet."
"Aquaman?" I raised a brow.
"Yes. Tony's been in contact with him," Superman explained. "You're planning to clean the oceans, and Tony wants permission to deploy the technology."
"Oh… yeah, that makes sense," I said with a small nod. "King of the ocean and all."
Superman chuckled. "Well… at least half of it."
I blinked. "Wait, what?"
"It's a long story," he said. "Complicated, too. But in short, there's another ruler, Namor. He controls his own underwater kingdom on the other side of the world."
"…Huh." I scratched my head. "Part of me wants to dig into that, but… I've got something else I need to handle first."
"That's probably a good call," Superman said.
A green portal opened behind me. I stepped toward it, ready to head back—
"Omni, wait."
I stopped and turned around.
To my surprise, it was Captain Atom.
"Look… if you're trying to argue about something, I'm really not in the mood," I said. "I'm riding this good vibe for the rest of the day."
For a second, Captain Atom looked like he might snap back, but instead, he took a breath and steadied himself.
"No," he said. "I'm not here to argue."
That alone caught me off guard.
"I just… wanted to say you did a good job."
…Okay, that I wasn't expecting.
He crossed his arms, his expression still serious, but not as harsh as before.
"I still believe a kid like you shouldn't have a device that powerful," he admitted. "But I can recognize when something incredible's been done." He paused. "I've been lucky enough not to lose anyone to cancer… but that doesn't mean I don't understand what you've done for others."
He looked me straight in the eyes.
"You did good, kid."
I couldn't help the small smile that slipped through.
"Thanks, Captain," I said. "And just so you know… you might not agree with me having the Omnitrix, but it chose me." I tapped my chest lightly. "And I'm gonna prove, every single day, why it made the right call."
He studied me for a moment… then gave a small nod.
"I hope you do."
I nodded back, then turned and stepped through the portal.
I appeared back at my base and headed straight for the medical wing, my armor retracting into the watch as I walked.
Please be okay, Cindy…
I still needed to run more tests on her DNA.
The moment I stepped inside, I saw Cindy and Courtney still there, but now Ava and Yolanda were with them too.
…Uh-oh.
"So," I said, getting their attention. "Should I be worried?"
"No, everything's fine," Yolanda said.
"You mean you forgave Cindy? You're not mad at her anymore?" I asked.
Ava nodded. "We talked. We're still talking… but yeah, we forgave her."
"And Courtney," Yolanda added. "We forgave her too."
I let out a relieved breath. "Wow. This is every guy's dream, his friends and his girlfriends actually getting along."
"Yeah… yeah, friends," Ava muttered under her breath, just barely loud enough for me to catch.
I blinked but decided not to touch that.
"Anyway," Yolanda continued, "we're just catching them up on everything they missed. And we're about to talk about something… kind of private."
I raised my hands slightly. "Say less. I'm not interrupting any healing moments."
I started backing toward the door. "I'll just go hang out with Kamala or something. Maybe play some games."
"Kamala?" Ava said, glancing at Yolanda. "Yeah… we need to talk to her too."
That made me pause for a second.
"…Okay?" I said, confused.
But whatever that was about, I decided not to dig into it right now.
Yeah… future me can deal with that.
I turned and walked out.
Yolanda Montez POV
"I'm so glad he didn't catch on," I said, letting out a quiet breath.
Courtney shifted a little, clearly unsure. "Are you guys sure about this? About… letting us be with Franklin? We just became friends again."
Ava and I exchanged a look before she spoke.
"We've thought about this for months," Ava said. "And we agreed… we're okay with you two dating Franklin."
I nodded. "Even if we didn't exactly like how everything started… we get it now."
Ava crossed her arms, but there was a small smile on her face. "Franklin is just… different. Even as friends, you can feel it, how much he cares. It's not fake, it's not forced. It's just… him."
"He's kind," I added. "Patient. Way more understanding than most people deserve."
Ava let out a soft breath. "So yeah… we understand how you two ended up falling for him."
"Thank you," Cindy said sincerely. "I promise, you won't regret this."
"We better not," Ava replied, though there wasn't much bite behind it.
Courtney, on the other hand, looked like she was about to explode with excitement.
"I can't believe this," she said. "I mean… I've had feelings for Franklin for a while, but I tried to push them down because of you two. And now… I can actually date him?" She grinned. "I can't wait to go on a date."
I smirked a little. "Oh, trust me, they're fun."
Courtney leaned in slightly. "Really?"
"Yeah," I said casually. "Especially movie nights."
She blinked. "What about them?"
I shrugged. "Let's just say… the movie usually isn't what we're paying attention to."
It took a second, then her face turned completely red.
Ava snorted, trying not to laugh, while I just smirked.
Yeah… she was definitely imagining it.
"That's all good and everything, and we can figure the rest out later," Cindy said, crossing her arms slightly. "But… what about Kamala?"
I glanced at Ava before answering.
"Oh, she definitely has a crush on Franklin," I said.
"What?!" Courtney and Cindy said at the same time.
Ava nodded. "Yeah. We started noticing it a while ago. Mostly how she always wants to train with him."
"And the way she acts around him," I added. "It's… not subtle."
Cindy blinked, then let out a small laugh. "Wow. At this point, we should just call ourselves Franklin's harem. I mean, five girls? That's kind of crazy."
Ava immediately shot her a look. "We are not calling it that."
I nodded in agreement. "Yeah, no. Absolutely not."
Ava crossed her arms. "And if you're having second thoughts, you can back ou—"
"I didn't say that!" Cindy cut in quickly.
Ava raised a brow.
Cindy lifted her hands defensively. "I'm just saying… it's a lot, okay? But I'm still in."
I smirked a little. "Yeah… welcome to the chaos."
Courtney, meanwhile, still looked a little stunned. "Five…?"
Ava sighed. "Don't remind me."
_________________________________________________________________________
AN: I'm thinking about cutting the Harem list down back to 10.