Chapter 52

Ed POV

I opened my eyes and found myself lying on a couch. Everything was quiet… too quiet—until—

"Look at that, you're finally awake. About time," Zabrie said with a smirk.

I sat up slowly, glancing around. My siblings were all sitting at a table nearby, looking relaxed, too relaxed.

"How long was I out this time?" I asked, stretching my arms and cracking my neck.

"Oh, not long," Crystal replied, waving her hand dismissively. "Just three hours."

"Oh, cool, new record," I said with a grin, getting to my feet and walking toward them.

Zabrie leaned back in his chair, feet propped up. "Man, I gotta say, this was fun. Wish it didn't have to end so soon."

"What are you talking about? I've been here for ninety-four years, and we still have a couple more to go," I reminded him, raising an eyebrow.

He gave me a look. "Like I said before, we gods experience time differently, and you can't afford to wait any longer. Your world is in danger."

That made me stop. "What?"

Crystal snapped her fingers. A shimmering, portal-like window formed in midair, revealing the chaos outside. Monsters, destruction, people screaming… the world was falling apart without me.

"It's time for you to go, little brother," Thaldris said firmly, stepping beside the portal. "Your world needs you."

"But first," Crystal added, snapping her fingers, "let's clean you up."

In an instant, I was back in my regular form fresh, clean, and wearing the same outfit I had when I first entered the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.

"Oh, and before you leave," Zabrie said, "you've got 25 points now. Use them wisely after this whole crisis is over. But… I suggest spending one right now."

I raised an eyebrow but followed his advice. "System, use one point."

Activating Gacha...

Duplicate power (Invincible)

My eyes widened. A massive grin spread across my face.

"Oh… hell yeah."

"Good luck, and go kick some ass out there," Zabrie called out behind me.

I nodded and began walking out of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. But just before I reached the exit, I stopped. Couldn't leave like that.

I turned around and walked back to them. One by one, I hugged each of my siblings, Crystal, Zabrie, and finally Thaldris. She placed her hand on my head and gently ruffled my hair.

"Thank you for this. You really opened my eyes," I said quietly.

"No problem, little brother. I'm just glad I did it," Thaldris said with a warm smile. "Because your world's only going to get more dangerous from here. You'll need to grow your strength faster, not just you alone, but your allies too. And you need to find more of them."

I gave her one last squeeze before breaking the hug. "You got it. Thanks for the advice."

Then I actually left.

In a flash, I teleported to the Vanguard meeting room, and immediately blinked in surprise. Sage was there, standing beside Peggy, typing something on a floating screen.

She usually stuck to the city, but now? She looked like she'd been deep in strategy mode.

"Hey, someone catch me up," I said.

They both turned to me. Peggy looked visibly relieved. Sage? Classic neutral face, as always.

"Ed, thank God you're finally here," Peggy said. "Monsters have been popping up all over the globe. We deployed everyone, but it's not enough."

"Any clues who sent them?" I asked, walking over.

"None at all. Sage has been helping me with Overwatch, getting heroes where they're needed. We haven't had time to track the source," Peggy said.

I looked over at Sage.

"Thanks for helping her out."

"No problem," Sage replied. "But it's not just me."

I tilted my head. "What do you mean?"

Peggy chimed in, "She means Killer Croc and Pamela. They're both out there fighting. Koro Sensei, too, but he's focused on rescue only."

"Wait, Pamela is out there? And Koro?" I blinked.

"Yeah," Peggy nodded. "Koro's not much of a brawler, but he's fast and he's saving a lot of people."

"Right… forgot his body's not built for brute force. I should've fixed that ages ago." I took a deep breath. "Okay. I'm putting an end to this. Right now."

"Ed, even with your top speed, you can't take them all out," Peggy warned.

"Maybe that was true a few hours ago," I smirked. "But I've got new tricks now."

I held up my hand and, bam, clones. Ten of me stood beside me in the blink of an eye. Peggy's eyes widened. Even Sage raised a brow.

Then, just to show off, I absorbed all ten clones back into myself.

"See? New tricks."

They said nothing, but they didn't have to. The air around me felt different now. They knew I wasn't bluffing.

I teleported to the lab and picked up a sleek black watch resting on the counter. Why the watch? Because this baby was special. I twisted the dial, and in a shimmer of nanotech, my full hero suit wrapped around me like a second skin.

Nanotech. Time to test it in the field.

I teleported high above New York. The city looked like a war zone, with monsters everywhere. Without hesitation, I made ten clones, each one nodding to me before splitting off toward a different city.

"Let's save the world," I said, and dove straight into the chaos.

Stratos POV

Bang! Bang!

I was firing off powerful energy blasts at the monsters, one after another. They were going down fast, vaporized or knocked flying, but somehow, one slipped through.

I turned just in time to see a huge one swinging at me, too close, too fast.

Then shhhk!, a red, flaming strand of hair shot straight through its chest. The monster let out a screech before collapsing, burning from the inside out.

I saw who it was.

My mom.

She stood there in a battle suit, cloaked in a sleek black hood and a small domino mask, but I didn't need to see her face to know.

She. Was. Pissed.

"You are going to be grounded forever," she said sharply.

I tried to smile. "Can I just be grounded until I go to college?"

"NO!" she snapped.

Before I could respond, two more monsters leapt out of a nearby alley, but she didn't even flinch. Her hair extended like living fire, slicing through them with a single graceful motion. Both collapsed to the ground, their corpses erupting in flames.

"…Whoa," I muttered, eyes wide.

Yeah… I was definitely in trouble. But also? My mom was badass.

BOOM!

Out of nowhere, I heard a sonic boom tear through the sky. I turned toward the sound, then bam!, there he was.

Dad.

In a flash, he was tearing through the monsters like they were nothing. One hit, one blast, one blink, gone. He didn't even stop to say hi, just blurred past us and wiped out every single monster in the area like it was light work.

"...Man, that was cool," I whispered, completely starstruck.

"It was," Mom agreed, watching him go. "Your father is amazing. But don't think you're off the hook, young man."

I blinked, snapping out of it. "But Mom, I saved some people!"

She knelt down, her voice soft but firm. "I noticed. And part of me is proud. But another part of me is screaming because my nine-year-old son put himself in danger… and could have died."

"...But I didn't. Focus on that part, the good part," I said, flashing a hopeful smile, praying I wouldn't get grounded until I had a beard.

Mom sighed and wrapped her fiery hair around me in a hug, thankfully without setting me on fire.

"Go back to the building," she said. "And when I'm done here, we're going to have a very long talk."

And in that moment, all I could think was:

...Someone send a hero to save me. Please.

Barry Allen POV

I was running full speed toward the police station. Joe and Iris had called, they were there—and I had to make sure they were safe. But getting there? That was the problem.

Monsters. Everywhere.

The streets were in chaos. I'd been running nonstop since it all began. Whatever that lightning did to me… my body's never felt like this before. Stronger. Faster. Clearer. But still—I wasn't invincible. Even I had to stop to catch my breath, ducking behind a slab of broken concrete to regroup.

That's when I heard her.

A little girl, alone, crying. I looked over and saw a monster, huge and snarling, towering above her. It raised a massive claw, ready to crush her. My heart jumped, my muscles tensed, and then—

CRACK.

It felt like lightning surged through me. My veins lit up, and the world slowed. Literally slowed. Everything around me moved in slow motion.

Before I could think, I ran. One moment I was behind cover, the next I was in front of her. I grabbed the girl and zipped away just before that claw could hit.

Everything snapped back to real time.

I knelt beside her. "Are you okay?" I asked, breathing heavy.

She didn't answer, just screamed and pointed behind me.

I turned.

The monster I just outran? Frozen solid. Then, a beam of light shot straight through it, shattering it into pieces.

I looked up and saw two people walking toward me—one with long hair and a strange uniform, the other in a sleek hero suit, hands still glowing with energy.

"Get her to safety. Now," the long-haired man said.

I just nodded, scooped the girl up, and ran.

I didn't know who those guys were. I didn't know what was happening to me.

But I knew one thing for sure:

I just saved a life. And after this whole mess is over?

I'm going to figure out what the hell I've become.

Young Woman POV

"Jessie, do you think we'll be safe up here?" Robbie asked, his voice shaking, that familiar Indian accent of his more timid than usual.

I tried to smile for him. "Don't worry, Robbie. I think we will. A lot of heroes have been showing up, I believe this crisis will be over soon," I said, though my hands were clenched tighter than I wanted anyone to see.

"I hope so because this is crazy scary," Luke muttered from the window, freckles scrunched together in worry as he peeked through the blinds.

"Luke, please, step away from the window. We don't want the monsters seeing there are people alive in here," I said, motioning him back.

He sighed and joined the others on the couch.

It was just me, Bertram, and the kids Robbie, Luke, Emma, and Zuri. I'd been their nanny for years now, and we've gone through some wild stuff together… but this? This is another level.

I glanced at our ever-dramatic butler, who stood stiffly near the kitchen.

"Bertram, can you please grab the kids some water?" I asked gently.

Bertram narrowed his eyes. "Me. Alone. In the kitchen. During a monster apocalypse. If one of those creatures breaks in and tries to eat me, I swear I will haunt you."

"I'll take that chance," I replied, dryly.

Emma tugged my sleeve, her voice soft. "Jessie… do you think our parents are okay?"

I gave her a reassuring nod. "They're fine, sweetie. Before all this started, they were already on a plane. They've been texting non-stop to check in on us. I just got a message a few minutes ago, they're flying back to New York and trying to figure out how to get us out of here."

"If we have to leave this place, I'm taking all my stuffed animals," Zuri announced. "We can't let the monsters destroy them!"

"Sorry, Zuri… maybe just one or two," I said.

"Nooooo!" she wailed, flopping dramatically to the floor like her soul had left her body.

"Zuri, stop being a baby," Luke said, rolling his eyes.

Bertram came back in with a tray of water bottles balanced impressively in his arms. "Hydration, children. Because nothing says apocalypse like parched throats," he muttered.

That's when we heard it.

ROOOAAARRR!A thunderous thump shook the entire penthouse.

My heart dropped as I turned toward the balcony. The screen doors exploded inward, and standing there, drool dripping from its fangs, was a monster. It barreled forward with rage in its eyes.

The kids and Bertram screamed behind me, but I didn't back down.

I stepped in front of them. My heart pounded, but I focused—on the energy I could feel deep in my core. I'd only tapped into it once before... but now I had no choice.

Crack!

Green lightning surged from my hands, blasting into the creature's chest. It flew backward, crashing through the balcony with a scream, falling several stories to what I really, really hope was its death.

Silence.

I turned slowly.

The kids and Bertram were all staring at me, wide-eyed.

"…Okay," I said, blinking. "So maybe I forgot to mention I have powers."

Zuri raised a hand. "Can your powers save all my stuffed animals now?"

I gave a shaky laugh. "We'll talk about it later. Right now, we're on lockdown."

(AN: I couldn't resist, they are in the Ultimate Spider-Man universe anyway and I thought it would be funny. Also can you guess why I gave her those powers)

Ed POV

I've been wiping out monsters across the globe like a blur, moving faster than the eye could follow. Thanks to the Vanguard, the Web Warriors, and everyone else busting their butts, there weren't many left now. The crisis was nearly over and with me cranking out more clones, we were speeding that process up.

Thirty of me. Thirty.

All scattered across the world, cleaning up monsters like a swarm of angry wasps with nanotech suits.

But the main me? I was in Canada, because Superman needed help. And from what the reports were saying, he wasn't having a great time.

I finally arrived on the scene and immediately understood why.

There it was: a hulking monster, twice my height and built like a tank, with a massive chunk of Kryptonite embedded right in its chest. Superman was on his knees, struggling to even lift his head.

image here

Without hesitation, I zoomed in, my fist cocked back, and BLASTED the monster several feet away with a thunderous punch.

It stumbled, skidding across the ground like a giant rock skipping across a lake.

I turned back and knelt beside Superman, grabbing him under the arm and helping him up.

"Hey, Superman. Rough day?"

He gave a strained smile. "Definitely had better ones. Where the hell have you been? This has been happening all day."

"Alternate dimension," I replied casually. "Just got out a couple hours ago. But don't worry, I've been making clones to help out the rest of the Earth."

"You have a cloning power now?"

"Yep. Surprise. But we can geek out about it later, right now, we've got a Kryptonite-spitting abomination to punch in the face."

Suddenly—

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

A loud, distorted laugh echoed around us. Superman and I both tensed, our heads turning in unison.

The sound wasn't from the monster. It was from above.

A massive floating ship decloaked in the sky, its engines humming like thunder. Then a hologram flickered into existence—a grotesque, enlarged face sneering down at us from the clouds.

"Finally. Both of you. Together. Now I can finally kill you both."

That voice.

That greasy little gremlin voice.

I narrowed my eyes.

"MODOK."

Of course it was MODOK.