I turned to Hector, still processing."How come I didn't know you were a metahuman? Or are you a mutant?" I glanced at Ava. "And you—how long have you known your dad was the White Tiger?"
Ava looked down, her fingers tightening around mine."Since I was a kid. I wanted to tell you, I really did… but it's a serious family secret. I didn't want to put you in danger just by knowing it."
She looked scared—like she thought I'd be angry.
I softened."Ava… I'm not mad at you. I get it. It was about protecting people. You didn't want to risk my safety, and I respect that. I could never be mad at you for that."
She let out a quiet breath of relief, her shoulders relaxing.
"And just so you know," she added, "he's not a mutant or a metahuman. His powers come from an amulet."
I nodded. I already knew that, of course, but I appreciated her honesty.
Turning back to Hector, I asked the question already forming in my mind."So what now? You didn't come here just to tell me your secret. What's the catch?"
He leaned forward, his face serious."What happens now… is that you stop being a hero."
I blinked. That caught me off guard.
I stood up, my voice rising."Like hell I will. You're not stopping me from being a hero."
Before I could say more, Ava reached up and tugged me back down by the arm."He means for now. Just—let him finish."
Hector didn't flinch."You're not ready, Franklin. You don't have the training. You got lucky tonight. That guy could've blasted civilians if I hadn't stepped in. And that bank job? You rushed in with no plan. What if they had a bomb already set?"
I clenched my fists."That wasn't luck—it was skill. I made sure the hostages were out. And yeah, okay… I did get distracted. I thought I knocked the guy out cold."
"And that's exactly the problem," Hector said sharply. "You thought. You didn't make sure. You should've secured him, tied him up. You left a threat uncontained. I'm not asking you to give this up forever. I'm asking you to train. With me. With Ava."
I blinked. "Wait… what?"
He nodded."One day, I'll pass the amulet down to Ava. I've been training her for years—combat styles, situational thinking, everything. I want to offer you the same. Because whether you realize it or not… you have potential. But raw potential gets people hurt if it isn't sharpened."
I sat in silence for a moment, weighing his words. He had a point. As much as I wanted to argue, he wasn't wrong.
Finally, I nodded."Okay. I'll train with you. I want to do this the right way."
Hector smiled, and Ava did too.
"Good to hear it," Hector said with a nod. "But I am curious—how exactly do your powers work?"
I lifted my hand, revealing the Omnitrix on my wrist.
"This thing right here? It's called the Omnitrix. It lets me transform into aliens with unique powers. There are thousands of different forms stored in it—over 10,000, I think. I've only known a few so far. It was created by a genius alien… from another multiverse."
Both Hector and Ava stared at me in surprise.
"Another multiverse?" Hector asked, raising an eyebrow. "And how do you know all that?"
I held my wrist up toward them. "Omnitrix, play message."
The Omnitrix lit up with a green glow, projecting a hologram into the room. The image was of a weathered alien sitting on a cracked stone chair—Azmuth, looking older and wiser.
"Greetings, to whoever now holds the Omnitrix," the hologram began. "My name is Azmuth. I am the smartest being across five galaxies—but you wouldn't know that, because I come from a different multiverse. Yes, the multiverse theory is real, in case you've heard of it."
Of course, the whole thing was fake—I recorded it myself. I needed a solid backstory to explain why my aliens didn't match anything from this world. Azmuth's image flickered slightly as he continued.
"My universe is… dying. I tried everything to save it, but some things are inevitable. Death makes way for life—it's the natural order. So I created this Omnitrix. It holds the DNA of over one million species, including my own. My hope is that some part of my universe will live on in another… maybe even thrive."
He leaned forward slightly, his voice more serious.
"To ensure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands, I installed a powerful AI. If the Omnitrix chose you, it means you're someone with a good heart. Use it wisely."
Ava and Hector exchanged a glance. Ava smiled, and Hector gave a small approving nod.
"Also, don't bother trying to remove it—it's permanently bonded to you. And no, chopping off your arm won't work either. There are plenty of fail-safes in place to protect both you and the Omnitrix."
The hologram fizzled out as Azmuth said his final words.
"Good luck, wielder. You may be the last hope for countless species."
The message ended, leaving the room in silence for a beat.
"Wow… that's a lot to take in. I wasn't expecting all of this," Hector said, leaning back in his seat.
"Yeah, that was my first reaction too," I replied. "The night I found it, I was just out for a jog. Then, out of nowhere, a small meteor landed near a tree. When I checked it out, it was actually a metal capsule. It opened up, and the Omnitrix was inside. The moment I reached out, it latched onto me. After that, the capsule just… melted away into nothing. I've spent the past couple of months trying to figure out how it works."
"Alright," Hector nodded. "You can show me more tomorrow. We'll meet at my house—"
"I'd rather we meet at my base," I cut in.
They both looked surprised.
"You have a base?" Ava asked.
"Yeah," I nodded. "That's where I test my aliens. I didn't want to risk wrecking anything at home, and it's far enough out that no one will find it."
"Alright then," Hector said. "Send me the location. We'll meet you there tomorrow."
"Sounds good," I replied. "I'll just drive Ava there after school."
"That works. We'll let you eat now—it's about time we grab dinner too," Hector said as he stood up. Then he turned to Ava. "I'll wait in the car. Don't take too long."
He left the room, leaving just me and Ava sitting in the living room. Her hand was still in mine.
At first, we were both just looking at our hands… but then she looked up, right into my eyes.
"You don't know how long I wanted to tell you… but I couldn't," she said softly. "You don't know how much it hurt keeping this secret from you—and from Yolanda."
"Ava… I understand," I said gently. "You did it out of love. Honestly, I was going to keep my hero work a secret from you two as well. I didn't want to risk either of you getting hurt because of me. So yeah, I get it. What you did… it came from the right place. And I would've done the same."
She held my gaze for a moment longer, but I could tell—there was something else she wasn't saying. Something she was holding back.
"Ava," I said carefully, "is there anything else you want to tell me?"
She bit her bottom lip and looked away for a moment, eyes cast downward. Then slowly looked back up at me.
"No… not right now," she said, though her voice didn't sound fully convinced. "I'll see you tomorrow. And… we have to keep this from Yolanda, okay?"
"Understood," I said. "See you tomorrow, Ava."
She gave my hand a light squeeze, then stood and walked out to meet her dad.
The Next Day
I woke up and got ready for school, my mind still racing from last night's conversation with Hector and Ava. I didn't expect to get found out so soon—especially by my best friend's dad—but honestly, this might be a blessing in disguise. Now I get to train under someone with a decade of experience, and I don't have to hide my secret from one of my closest friends anymore.
School was pretty normal. I spent a lot of time talking with Courtney and Cindy, and I finally introduced them to Ava and Yolanda. To my relief, they all seemed to get along just fine. After a bit of chatting, we invited Courtney and Cindy to join our main friend group.
Just like before, they clicked with everyone pretty quickly. Cindy didn't want to be called "Cindy 2," so she told us to just call her Cindy B, using the first letter of her last name. So, we started calling the other Cindy Cindy M to avoid confusion.
It was the end of the day, and Ava and I were on the way to my base. But something was off—she was acting strange. She hadn't said a word the entire ride. No small talk. No music. Just silence.
"Ava, are you okay? You're acting kind of weird," I said, eyes flicking toward her as I drove.
She looked at me, confused. "What do you mean? How have I been acting weird?"
"Come on. Usually, you're talking my ear off or playing one of your loud playlists. Ever since you got in the car, it's just been... nothing. And don't think I forgot about yesterday—yeah, I saw you and Yolanda in the hallway. You both looked angry. What's going on?"
She sighed and looked out the window. "Me and Yolanda were mad, yeah. But mostly at ourselves. It was just a misunderstanding. We worked it out."
"Okay... but what about now? Why the silence?"
She hesitated for a second, then answered, "Because I'm worried about you."
That made me pause. "Worried? About what?"
"My dad," she said. "He takes being a hero very seriously. He's going to test you every step of the way, and his training? It's brutal. He's especially going to be hard on you because... he's kind of disappointed in you."
I frowned. "Disappointed? What—for being a hero too soon? For jumping into things without training?"
Ava shook her head. "No. He's actually proud you want to help people, that your heart's in the right place."
"Then why is he disappointed?" I asked.
She looked at me... then sighed deeply. "Because you're dense."
"...What?" I blinked. "I am not dense."
Ava looked at me with that familiar, soft expression. Equal parts fondness and pity.
"Franklin, I love you. I will always defend you. But you are so, so dense."
I scowled playfully. "Name one time I was dense."
She looked at me. Just looked. Then said, "I could name dozens. And some I can't even explain right now. I just hope one day you figure it out... for both our sakes."
I stared ahead, still confused. I didn't get what she was talking about—but I didn't push her anymore. I just kept driving toward the base, her words echoing in my head the whole way.
We finally arrived at the base. I parked the car where no one could see it, like usual. Ava and I headed inside, descending into the underground entrance… but what I saw completely caught me off guard.
Instead of just concrete and rubble like yesterday, the place looked completely different. There was now a matted sparring area in the center of the floor. A couple folding tables were set up with snacks, bottled water, and a pile of white towels. Several chairs were arranged neatly around the room, and there was even a punching dummy in the corner.
Ava smiled knowingly. Hector, standing in the middle of it all, caught the surprised look on my face.
"Don't look so shocked," he said with a small grin. "You two were at school all day. Of course I had time to fix the place up."
I blinked. "Just wasn't expecting... all this."
"Well, get used to expecting the unexpected," he replied. "Now—show me how that Omnitrix works. Transform."
I activated the Omnitrix, scrolled through the alien list, and once I saw the one I wanted, I slammed the dial.
"Fourarms," I said.
In a flash of green light, my body shifted into a towering, four-armed red-skinned powerhouse. Ava's eyes widened.
"That was fast," she said. "I thought it would take longer, but you just—bam!"
"So you don't need that suit to transform—only the watch?" Hector asked.
"Correct. The suit just helps hide my identity when I'm in human form. The Omnitrix is what actually does the transforming."
He nodded. "Then tell me—why shout their names when you transform? Are those their species?"
Ava chimed in with a smirk. "If that guy's species name is actually 'Fourarms,' that's... kinda lazy."
I chuckled. "No, those aren't their real species names. I made up the names myself. I think it's cool."
Both of them gave me a deadpan look.
"What?" I asked, raising two of my massive arms.
"You named this guy... Fourarms," Ava said, unimpressed.
"Hey, when you find an alien watch from another multiverse, you can name them whatever you want. Until then, this is my system."
Ava rolled her eyes, but she was smiling.
"All right, that's enough show-and-tell," Hector said. "Change back."
I did as he asked and returned to my regular human form.
"The watch gives you amazing powers," Hector said, his voice turning serious. "But when you're not using it, you're vulnerable. So, we're starting with martial arts. You might have some boxing experience, but what I'm going to teach you will push you to your limits."
He began pacing like a seasoned instructor. "I'll also teach you how to think like a hero—how to move through a situation, how to keep hostages safe, how to use your environment to your advantage. Being strong isn't enough. You have to be smart, aware, tactical."
I nodded, focused.
"I won't lie to you, Franklin—this is going to be hard. You will be sore. You will be frustrated. And you might want to quit."
I smiled. "Hey, Mr. H, if this is what it takes to become the kind of hero I want to be, bring it on. I can take it—and give it back twice as hard."
That got a real grin out of him.
"Glad to hear it," he said, cracking his knuckles. "Because I'm not holding back."
"Fine by me," I said. "Let's begin… my training arc."