Collision Course

The week had passed quickly, and not at all the way most would expect for a high school student.

Kal hadn't returned to Forks High after his forced grounding. Not right away. There were more pressing matters — and bigger cities — that called for his attention.

Seattle had been ideal. A forty-five-minute flight when cruising just below the clouds, faster if he pushed it. He'd gone both Monday and Tuesday night, rising above the rain-slicked streets and letting the city speak to him in whispers and sirens. With his senses sharpened, he could pick out a breaking window from miles away, a scream hidden beneath traffic noise, a heartbeat accelerating in fear.

Two crimes on the first night. Four on the second.

He stopped an alley mugging before the attacker could even finish his threat. Pulled a would-be car thief from the driver's seat and left him zip-tied beside the vehicle with the keys neatly resting on the hood. Intervened in a domestic incident so fast the man didn't even realise what had hit him until he woke up face-first in the snow with two broken ribs and a note taped to his back with only two words.

Get help.

Each act had been quiet. Deliberate. Controlled. He had learnt by now to measure his strength — to apply pressure without snapping bone, to leap without cracking pavement. But the people he saved remembered him, if only in flashes. The blur of a dark figure, a hand on their shoulder, a low voice assuring them, "You're safe now."

By Wednesday, he needed a break. Not physically — the sun had more than refilled him — but mentally.

He spent the day seated cross-legged in the upstairs bedroom, eyes closed, the faint hum of the system suppressed as he opened himself to the voice of Jor-El.

His father's teachings were rigorous. Analytical. They sparred with words, debated the ethics of non-intervention, the nuances of Kryptonian history, and the architecture of orbital stations. Jor-El's consciousness taught with precision, neither aware of nor affected by the strange system that pulsed silently within Kal's mind. He couldn't see it, couldn't touch it — and Kal chose not to mention it. Not yet. Maybe not ever. Not until he understood what it truly meant.

Still, Jor-El's lessons grounded him. They made him feel less like a drifting anomaly and more like someone with a future.

On Thursday, the house was quiet, the morning dim with low clouds rolling in. He had just pulled on his boots when the familiar flicker of gold light appeared in the corner of his vision.

[QUEST ASSIGNED: "Collision Course"

A new student at Forks High School is in danger. A serious accident is imminent.

Objective: Prevent the incident and ensure their survival.

Reward: 150 XP]

Kal frowned.

No name. No time. Just today.

"Forks High," he muttered under his breath. "Looks like I'm finally going to class. I promised Principal Neumann I'd show up more than I have anyway."

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kal arrived at Forks High School with seconds to spare, sliding into his first class just as the bell rang.

He kept his head down through the early classes, letting the day pass in a blur. A part of him wished he could say school was a reprieve, but for someone like him — hyper-aware, hypersensitive, playing a part — it was just another stage, another performance. Especially today.

Because today, there was a quest to complete.

The system panel hovered in front of him.

No name. No hint beyond "new student." Which meant he'd have to find out who said student was and then save them himself. That meant observation. Inference. Timing.

He didn't need to be a seer to know he'd stirred curiosity since his arrival. Forks was small. A new student with no past, no parents, no record? People noticed. But he'd kept his head down. Kept to himself — except for Jessica Stanley, who had taken it upon herself to adopt him as her personal mystery project.

Today, he planned to use that.

He sat through first period barely listening to the lecture, his attention divided between watching for someone unfamiliar and letting his enhanced hearing sweep through the hallways and classrooms around him. At break, nothing obvious had turned up. Until second period, when he leaned toward Jessica during a lull in the teacher's monotone.

"Hey," he asked casually. "Did we get a new student this week?"

Jessica blinked, clearly caught off guard. "How'd you know?"

"Heard a rumor," he lied smoothly.

Her eyes narrowed in interest, lips quirking. "Wow, maybe you are psychic. Yeah, we did. Bella Swan. She transferred from Arizona. Her dad's the police chief."

Kal stored the name. Bella Swan. That was something. Jessica wasn't finished.

"You must be glad some of the heat's off you, huh?" she said, nudging his arm with a smirk. "She sits with us at lunch now. You should come today. My friends would love to meet you."

She said it with the kind of enthusiasm that was hard to say no to — and Kal had already anticipated this. Jessica always offered. Today, for the first time, he nodded.

"Sure," he said. "Sounds good."

Jessica blinked. For a second, she just stared at him, like she wasn't sure she'd heard him correctly. Then her face lit up, cheeks pink.

"Oh my god, seriously? Yes. Yes. They're going to freak."

Kal gave a small, polite smile. But his thoughts were elsewhere.

He had a name now. Bella. No details on how or when the danger would strike, but if she was here, he could keep eyes on her. And when something happened — and he was certain it would — he'd be ready.

When lunchtime came, he found Jessica near the cafeteria doors. She beamed when she saw him and pulled him by the wrist toward her table like a prize she'd won at a fair.

"Guys!" she called, practically bouncing. "Kal's sitting with us!"

Five sets of eyes turned toward him with varying degrees of interest and surprise.

"Everyone, this is Kal Kent," Jessica said proudly, like she was unveiling a celebrity. "Kal, this is Eric, Mike, Angela... and Bella."

"Hi. I'm Kal."

Eric Yorkie was the first to speak. "Whoa, the mysterious transfer student actually speaks," he joked, pushing his glasses up his nose.

Kal gave a modest nod. "Only when I have something to say."

Eric grinned, apparently satisfied with that answer.

Mike Newton leaned forward next, offering a hand. "Hey, man. We were starting to think you were, like, a ghost or something."

Kal shook his hand briefly. "Something like that."

Angela Weber gave him a polite smile. "Hi. Nice to finally meet you. Jessica talks about you a lot."

Jessica coughed quickly. "Angela."

"What?" Angela shrugged, amused.

Then Kal turned his attention to the final girl at the table.

Bella.

She looked up at him, meeting his gaze for the first time — wide, deep brown eyes and a faint furrow in her brow, like she wasn't sure what to make of him. Her skin was pale, her long dark hair loose around her shoulders. And for a second, Kal froze.

'She looks like Kristen Stewart', he realised. 

Not just a little, but exactly. Down to the voice when she finally spoke.

"Hi," she said. "Bella."

"Kal," he replied. "Nice to meet you."

He watched her carefully as she nodded and looked away, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. She was nervous. Uncomfortable in the attention. But kind. Sincere.

And more than that — real.

Too real.

Because sitting here, with Jessica looking like Anna Kendrick and Bella like Kristen Stewart, Kal felt something drop in his stomach.

This wasn't just some alternate Earth. This was starting to look like fiction. A movie. Something he shouldn't be in.

But which movie?

Kal had never been a big film guy. The System had torn most of his memories into fragments anyway. But these were actresses. Famous ones.

Something was very, very wrong.

Still, he kept his face neutral, watching Bella from the corner of his eye. Her voice was soft when she spoke, her posture slightly tense, as though she wasn't used to attention.

As the lunch period wound down, Jessica leaned toward him.

"You should sit with us more often," she said, a little too casually. "I mean, we don't bite."

Kal gave a half-smile. "I'll think about it."

But his eyes drifted back to Bella.

And the clock was ticking.

He kept his senses tuned to her for a period. Heart rate steady. Breathing calm. No sudden movements. Nothing that suggested the threat was coming during school hours.

Which meant…

After school.

Of course. 'Collision Course'. It had to be a car crash. Something with a vehicle. Timing would be everything. But at least now he knew who to watch — and when to act.

The final bell rang out through Forks High, and Kal moved with the stream of students flowing out to the lot. Rain slicked the pavement, mist curling up like smoke between rows of parked cars. The afternoon sky had already begun to dim, casting the parking lot in a moody gray haze.

Kal's plan was simple: stay close. Not suspiciously close — just available. Casual.

So he walked beside Jessica, nodding as she rambled on about her plans for the weekend. Bella trailed a little ahead, heading toward her ancient red truck.

Jessica's voice kept going, light and teasing.

"So anyway, Mike keeps trying to sit next to Bella in Biology, it's like, dude, we all see what you're doing."

Kal smiled politely. He was only half-listening. His attention was split — half on Jessica, half on Bella, and part on everything else: the murmur of engines, the creak of damp brakes, the scent of oil on the air.

Suddenly.

A sound.

Rubber screeching. A squeal of tires too fast, too sharp, too late.

Kal's head snapped toward the source — a light blue van fishtailing as it turned too hard onto the wet pavement. Tyler Crowley was at the wheel, and the van was skidding — sliding sideways at speed, out of control.

It careened into the lot, spinning, unstoppable, straight toward Bella.

She turned at the noise, frozen in surprise.

Kal moved.

The distance between them was short. He'd positioned himself for this

He didn't move at super-speed — he was close enough that he didn't need to. He just broke into a run. Quick. Controlled. Human. But precise. Perfectly timed.

No power. No blur. Just legs pounding against the pavement in a sprint. Fast — but human fast.

He closed the distance quickly, one hand instinctively reaching forward.

For a heartbeat he turned his head, checking the van's angle.

It was almost there. Metal grinding. Students screaming.

He'd still make it.

He turned his head back—

And his thoughts froze.

There was someone already there.

A figure crouched in front of Bella, shielding her. Pale skin. Bronze hair. Arms wrapped around her like it had always been planned.

'What—'

No time to process.

He didn't slow. He reached them, planted one foot, and grabbed them both — one arm around Bella's shoulder, the other gripping the stranger's jacket — and yanked them back with all the precision he could afford without drawing attention.

A half-second later.

CRUNCH.

Tyler's van slammed into the side of Bella's truck, the spot where she'd been standing not moments before. The sound was sharp and final — metal collapsing into itself.

Gasps and shouts erupted around them.

Kal kept his expression blank as he steadied them both, already letting go. He didn't look at the stranger — didn't react. He simply stepped back, as if he'd only barely caught up in time.

Rain continued to fall, quiet again now that the moment had passed.

No one seemed to notice anything unusual.

Exactly as planned.

[Quest Complete - "Collision Course"]

[+150XP]

The notification blinked in Kal's mind for less than a second before he dismissed it. His attention snapped back to the scene around him — the aftermath.

The van groaned where it had crushed against the corner of Bella's truck, steam hissing from beneath the crumpled hood. Students were rushing over. Voices rising. Students rushed toward them, surrounding them, checking on Bella.

Jessica came from somewhere.

"Oh my God! Bella! You and Cullen almost died!"

But Kal's attention was elsewhere.

His eyes were locked with the boy in front of him.

The one who hadn't been there before.

The one who'd been crouched, shielding Bella before Kal had even reached them.

The two stood just feet apart, both frozen, staring at each other with narrowed eyes and guarded confusion.

Kal's breath was steady. He'd been watching the whole time. No way had this guy been next to Bella before the van came. And yet… he had been. Somehow. He'd appeared, like a trick of light, crouching in front of her like a ghost.

Edward, for his part, was still holding Bella upright with one arm, but his gaze stayed locked on Kal. His expression was neutral, but his thoughts weren't.

'That human… pulled me? He pulled me?'

He was sure of it. Kal had grabbed them both and dragged them away. Not just Bella. Him. Edward Cullen. A vampire.

It sounded ridiculous just thinking it. No human should've been able to do that.

Was this boy in front of them a vampire?

He listened. His gift stretched out, searching Kal's heartbeat.

Lub-dub.

Lub-dub.

Lub-dub.

No. His heart was beating. Loud in fact. Probably the loudest he had ever heard.

He brushed Bella's shoulder absently and subtly focused on Kal. 

Maybe shapeshifter? 

No. He was certainly warm to the touch, warmer than normal, but not that unnatural heat.

And more importantly, no dog stink. Not a wolf.

In fact, he smelt good, really good. His blood seemed to tempt Edward. Not like Bella's. Where Bella's blood was like a fine wine, promising a sweet taste that could be savoured, this man's seemed to be like a fat, juicy steak. Drinking from him felt like it would make him full and strong. He had to focus hard to push the bloodlust out of his head, not allowing it to take him over.

'It must've been luck,' Edward told himself, still frowning. 

'Stranger things have happened.' thought the literal vampire. 'Some freak vector. The way the boy grabbed us—maybe the angle was just right. A perfect application of leverage and timing. He didn't actually overpower me… he couldn't have.'

Even in his mind, it sounded weak. But it was better than the alternative. Better than admitting what it had felt like.

Like someone had pulled him.

Like he had been the one without control.

He blinked, frustrated, and turned his attention to Bella, checking her over quickly. "Are you hurt?"

Bella shook her head, breathless. "Edward. I— I don't think so…"

Kal barely heard them. His eyes narrowed.

There was something about Edward.

Something oddly…

Familiar.

His gaze tracked Edward's pale skin, angular face, tousled bronze hair—

Then it hit him.

'No way.'

Wide, square jaw, high cheekbones. Edward looked like Robert Pattinson. Paler, more striking — but unmistakable.

His head turned slowly, mechanically, toward Bella.

Wide eyes. Dark hair. Pale face.

Kristen Stewart.

'No… no, no, no.'

A chill clawed down Kal's spine.

This was Twilight.

He was in Twilight.

His gaze snapped back to Edward. If that was true—

He narrowed his focus. Listened.

Bella's heart — frantic, fluttering like a cornered rabbit.

His own — strong, steady, powerful.

Dozens of students — a chorus of thudding, anxious beats.

Then he tried Edward.

He listened harder.

Nothing.

No beat.

No rhythm.

Just… absence.

The silence hit him like plunging into ice water.

He schooled his expression, but inside, his thoughts scattered.

'Twilight. I'm in fucking Twilight.'

People were gathering now. Mr. Banner — the maths teacher — shouting something. A crowd converging. Someone was calling Tyler's name.

Kal stepped back.

No one was looking at him. Bella was the focus.

Perfect.

Without a word, without looking back, Kal turned and walked toward the far side of the lot — steady, controlled, vanishing into the edge of the dispersing crowd.

He didn't run.

But he needed to get out of there.

Now.

—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They watched from the shadows cast by the trees lining the edge of the school parking lot, their golden eyes fixed on the scene with unnerving stillness.

Edward had nearly exposed them.

"What the hell was he thinking?" Rosalie hissed, her golden eyes locked on Edward. "He could've exposed us."

Emmett let out a slow breath through his nose. "He panicked. He reacted."

"Exactly," Rosalie snapped. "Like a newborn. Not like someone who's been doing this for decades."

Jasper's expression was calm, but his voice was steady, attempting to reason with her. "He acted instinctively. He saved her."

"But he didn't!" Rosalie shot back. "She would've been fine even if he hadn't been there. His actions were useless. He was too reckless, too focused on the danger to see anything else. All he did was risk exposing us."

Emmett sighed, clearly frustrated by the ongoing tension. "We've all made mistakes, Rosalie. But it's not the end of the world."

"He should've let her be crushed if it meant risking us," Rosalie growled. "You think the Volturi would care that she survived? That he felt something?"

Alice had remained silent, her gaze distant, her thoughts far away. Her eyes flickered to the space where Kal had stood moments ago, and her lips parted slightly as she stared into the distance. The others noticed her growing tension, her body trembling faintly.

"Alice?" Jasper's voice was soft but concerned as he stepped closer, his eyes narrowing on her trembling form. "What's going on?"

Alice barely seemed to hear him. She shuddered, her hands clasping her arms as if trying to steady herself, but the excitement — and perhaps nerves — were palpable. Her breath quickened as she finally spoke, voice soft but with an edge of awe. 

"It's him. The one I saw."

Her words were hesitant, but there was no mistaking the excitement in her voice. 

"He's the one from my vision."

The other Cullens shared shocked looks between themselves.

"Are you sure?" Emmett asked.

"Yes."

Her body trembled again, and she closed her eyes briefly, trying to calm herself. When she opened them, she looked at her family, her voice trembling with a mix of nerves and anticipation. 

"I haven't been able to see him since that day, you know. It's like… he's not in the future anymore. Every time I focus on him, it's like the sun is shining so brightly that everything else fades away. I can't see anything past that. Just... light."

She took a deep breath and looked at them, her eyes wide with realization. "I know it sounds strange, but I know it's him. The person I saw. He's the one I was supposed to meet."

The others exchanged confused glances, but Alice's excitement couldn't be contained. She almost seemed to glow with the energy of this new discovery, her gaze flickering back to the parking lot.

"Do any of you know who he is?" Alice asked eagerly, her voice filled with a sense of anticipation. "He's the one... the one I've been waiting for."

—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had taken Kal nearly half an hour to jog home after the incident. He kept to a human pace, furtively keeping his senses open to check if he was being followed. He had no idea how good vampire's senses were and if they would detect him using his powers.

He made sure to think hard. He definitely hadn't used any of his powers. He had kept everything strictly to human levels. Surely they shouldn't suspect anything he thought as he entered through the doorway, giving one last scanning glance as he closed the door behind him.

He stopped in the hallway.

'I'm being paranoid. I've been here for nearly three weeks, using my powers, and no vampire's come knocking on my door.'

The thought calmed him down. Jogging here had been unnecessary — the paranoia of a mind still reeling from shock.

"Edward Cullen."

The name had been floating around his head ever since the incident. Edward, Bella had called him. Cullen, Jessica had referred to him by.

Edward Cullen.

Jessica had mentioned the Cullens before, gossipy and half-dismissive — Kal hadn't really listened. He'd been focused on other things. Laying low. Tracking XP gain. Learning how to not punch through walls.

Now he felt stupid for not paying more attention.

"Cullen. Sparkly guy. Watches the girl sleep," Kal muttered under his breath. "That's him, isn't it?"

Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, vampires.

There was only one place this all pointed.

He leaned back slightly, staring up at the ceiling overhead.

"Of all the places in the multiverse," he said, "I end up in the one where vampires sparkle."

He let that sit for a beat.

And then snorted. Quiet, humorless.

He ran a hand through his hair. It felt like a joke the universe was playing on him. From drifting through the void of space like a lost bullet… to waking up in this world of all places. Not Gotham. Not Metropolis. Not even Earth-616.

But Twilight.

Twilight.

"I used to make fun of this crap."

He'd seen a few clips back on Earth. Out of curiosity, mostly. Internet videos roasting the series. Parodies. That infamous forest scene. The painfully awkward dialogue. The slow-motion sparkling.

It had always seemed like the most awkward, boring vampire story imaginable. All teeth and zero bite.

It was vampire romance garbage. That's what he'd called it, more than once, half-laughing with other college guys during dorm movie nights.

And now here he was. In it. Or… next to it, at least.

"I'm not even in the story," he murmured. "I'm not even a side character in a movie I didn't bother to finish."

The thought twisted something in his gut.

A part of him — the rational, skeptical, slightly exhausted part — couldn't help but wonder,

'Is any of this real?'

The System. The world. The people.

What if it was a simulation? Or worse — a story someone else was writing? A plotline he'd been shoved into, without consent or warning.

Was he even himself, anymore?

Kal's jaw clenched. He shook the thought off like rain off his shoulders.

"Doesn't matter," he said aloud, voice firmer now. "It feels real, so I'll treat it like it is."

Because the world did feel real.

The cold. The ache in his bones after long nights in the Trial Zone. The pull of gravity when he tried to fly too hard, too fast. The scared look in that woman's eyes when he'd saved her.

All real.

"And if I'm stuck here, I'm not going to just drift through someone else's script."

Kal stood slowly, brushing his palms against his thighs.

"I'll write my own."

His thoughts shifted back to Edward Cullen.

The only vampire he'd technically "met" so far — and even then, only from across a hallway. No direct contact. Just a name, a face, and a whisper of something deeper beneath the surface.

'Bella trusts him. That means something.' a pause, 'But trust doesn't mean safety.'

He didn't know the full story. Didn't care, honestly. He wasn't here to play backup in someone else's supernatural romance.

But he was here now — and so were the Cullens.

"If Edward Cullen is a vampire," Kal said, "then the whole family probably is."

That much was logical. Jessica had said "the Cullens," plural. A group. Reclusive. Strange. Too strange to just be written off as quirky homeschoolers.

"So the question is — what kind of vampires are they?"

Sparkles didn't matter. What mattered was what they ate. 

If they fed on humans — even discreetly — that made them predators. No matter how tragic, handsome, or misunderstood they were. No matter if the plot wanted him to like them.

"I don't care how tortured their love story is," Kal muttered. "If they kill people, we're not friends."

But he wouldn't go in blind. He wasn't a hunter, kicking down doors.

Not yet.

"I'll watch. See how they move. See how they live."

If they fed on animals, maybe there was hope. If they lived quietly, maybe they were just people — weird, ancient people with severe anemia, but still.

If not… well.

Kal looked up at the ceiling again.

"Then we'll find out if they still sparkle when I blow them to bits."

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The fluorescent lights hummed softly above, casting a sterile glow across the white-washed clinic walls. Bella sat on the examination bed, legs hanging over the side, the paper sheet beneath her crinkling with each subtle tremor. 

A cuff was on her arm, a nurse in scrubs next to her taking her blood pressure manually.

At the far side of the room, the doors flung open as Charlie strode into the room. He sighed in relief when he saw her.

"Bella. You okay?" he said walking to her bed.

As he passed by Tyler's bed he gave him a stare that seemed to promise trouble coming his way once he'd assured his daughter was safe.

"You and I are gonna talk." Charlie said pointing at Tyler, "You alright?" That part was to Bella.

"I'm fine dad, calm down."

"I'm sorry Bella. I tried to stop." Tyler desperately apologised.

"I know. It's okay." Bella assured him with a shake of her head.

"No. It sure as hell is not okay." her father interjected.

"Dad, it wasn't his fault."

"You could've been killed. You understand that?"

"Yes. But I wasn't, so…"

Charlie turned exasperatedly to Tyler. "You can kiss your license goodbye."

The door at the end of the room opened again. A man wearing a white doctor's coat walked in. He looked like a model. Or a movie star. 6'2", honey-blond hair and a well-toned medium frame.

"I heard the Chief's daughter was here." he said simply.

"Dr Cullen," Charlie greeted.

"Charlie." he nodded back approaching the bed and taking over from the nurse, "I got this one, Jackie."

He flipped through her notes.

"Isabella."

"Bella." she corrected. It was just Bella.

"Well, Bella, it looks like you took quite a spill. How do you feel?"

"Good."

Dr Cullen nodded and raised his finger in front of her.

"Look here." he shined a pen-light in her eyes as she focussed in his fingertip, "You might experience some post-traumatic stress or disorientation, but your vitals look good. No signs of any head trauma. I think you'll be just fine."

Here Tyler interjected once more. 

"I'm so sorry Bella I—"

"I put out a notice nearly two weeks ago for everyone to put on winter tires after that family nearly crashed in Port Angeles!" Charlie scolded, "Why haven't you put them on? They may have had some superhero to save them, but you probably won't be so lucky."

With that he pulled the curtains closed with a huff, ending the conversation.

Dr Cullen raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? A superhero? I haven't heard anything about this."

Charlie looked sheepish.

"Oh, uh, it's nothing. That family that nearly crashed last week, they said some guy stopped their car with his hands." he laughed awkwardly, "But if you ask me they must've been seeing things."

"Is that right?" Dr Cullen's eyes gleamed, then it disappeared all at once. "Well, brushes with death have been known to play tricks on even the most robust minds."

As Dr Cullen refocused on his clipboard, Bella decided to chime in.

"You know, Edward was there. He grabbed me when he saw the van coming."

"Edward?" Charlie queried, turning to Dr Cullen, "Your boy?"

"Yeah, it was amazing. I mean, he got to me so fast. He was nowhere near me."

Bella was testing him.

Dr Cullen locked eyes with hers, then he turned away from them.

"Sounds like you were very lucky."

"We both were." Bella said, "If Kal hadn't pulled us out of the way, we would probably both be here. And not in good condition."

Dr Cullen froze in his steps at that.

"Someone, pulled Edward out of the way?" 

His voice was light, but sharp — cutting.

"Mmh." she affirmed with a hum.

Dr Cullen resumed his steps, leaving behind only a single word.

"Interesting."