Time 21

Time 21 is the thirteenth episode of Tech 10: Star Spirit, and the first episode of the second season.

Episode
[Open to the cell block of Plumber Base UT1. Theo-4, now known as Aeron, is sitting inside his cell, tapping his foot impatiently. After a few moments, a ghost-like alien wearing the InverTrix symbol drifted through the floor, holding both the InverTrix and a small gadget of some sort.]

[???]: (Hands the InverTrix and gadget to Aeron) “Alright, I got everything. Try to get this done before they notice I took out the Anti-Phase Shield.”

[Aeron]: (Turns on the gadget) “Took ya long enough.”

[???]: “It’s not like these machines are easy to find, you know.”

[Aeron]: “Bite me.”

Aeron removed the InverTrix’s dial and took out a DNA Card, plugging it into a small slot on the side of the gadget. The screen displayed a loading icon for a few moments, then switched to a progress bar.

[Aeron]: “I have to hand it to Nullamor. He makes maintenance on his products very simple.”

[???]: “It’s not the only thing in here that’s simple, I can tell you that much.”

[Aeron]: (Glares at the ghostly alien) “Excuse me?”

[???]: “Nothing.”

[Aeron]: (Rolls his eyes and turns back to the gadget) “Phantom Lord wasn’t a good name for you, in hindsight. Should’ve called you Snark Lord.”

[Phantom Lord]: (Shakes his head) “I’m driven by part of your personality, remember? Though Freud’s works have largely been dismissed at this point, I believe it would be fair to state that I’m essentially your Ego.”

[Aeron]: (Looks at Phantom Lord incredulously) “Are we really talking about philosophy right now?”

[Phantom Lord]: “Well, I am. You’re just kinda sitting there.”

[Aeron]: “No duh. Philosophy is fine for monologuing some bullcrap to confuse people, but I’d rather just do something interesting.”

[Phantom Lord]: “Makes sense. You are essentially the Id in this equation, after all.”

[Aeron]: “I seriously do not care.”

[Phantom Lord]: “Of course, the real issue is figuring out what happened to the Superego. I suppose we might actually have that split between us, in retrospect.”

[Aeron]: “Phantom Lord, I swear to god-”

Aeron was interrupted by the gadget making a small ‘ding’. He swiftly pulled the DNA Card out from the device and re-inserted it into the InverTrix, quickly screwing the dial back on.

[Aeron]: “Alright buddy, the philosophy lecture is over!” (Activates the InverTrix dial and begins to scroll through aliens) “Time to raise some hell!”

[Cut to the main hub of Plumber Base UT1, where Alpha is speaking with Theo, Nova, and Pyros.]

[Alpha]: “To be frank, there isn’t much we’ve found out about Theodore’s counterpart other than the fact that he calls himself ‘Aeron’ for whatever reason. He refuses to answer any significant questions beyond that.”

[Theo]: “Who cares? As long as we have him on lockdown, it’s not like it matters.”

[Alpha]: “Because if he ever manages to escape, we need some sort of info to lead off of.”

[Pyros]: “Escape? Ya got this place locked up tighter than my uncle’s beer cabinet, man! He’d have a hell of a time tryin’ to get out!”

Alpha began to respond, but was swiftly interrupted by an alert flashing on the nearby monitor. She swiftly turned to the console and identified the threat.

[Nova]: “What’s going on? Some other superpowered loser we need to knock down a peg?”

[Alpha]: “One of the prison cells has been breached. You three, head down to check it out. I’ll monitor the situation from here.”

[Pyros]: “Ya know, it better not be that Aeron guy, or I’m gonna feel pretty dumb.”

[Cut to the base’s cell block, where Theo, Nova, and Pyros all rush in to find Aeron walking away from his cell.]

[Pyros]: “Dammit!”

[Theo]: “Aeron!”

[Aeron]: (Turns towards the group) “Well well well, if it isn’t the party pooper squad.”

[Theo]: “How did you escape your cell?!”

[Aeron]: “That’s for me to know and you to find out. If you live that long. No promises.”

[Nova]: “Either way, you need to get back in there ASAP, so if you could just move along with that, that’d be great.”

[Aeron]: “Oh, and who’s going to make me? Sorry, but I think I’m going to take my leave.”

[Theo]: “Not a chance!”

Aeron began laughing maniacally.

[Aeron]: “You really think you can stop me? Oh, that’s too precious.”

[Theo]: “And just what makes you think we can’t?”

[Aeron]: “See, when I killed the Ben Tennyson of my timeline, I took a few DNA Samples from the Omnitrix and had my version of Xr. Nullamor make DNA cards out of them. Unfortunately, I overused one in particular and ended up corrupting the data, but I think I’ve been able to work all the bugs out.”

[Theo]: “Not everything needs a dramatic buildup, smart ass.”

[Aeron]: *Shrugs coyly* “Oh, fine, I guess I can just tell you the alien’s name outright.”

Aeron suddenly whipped up the InverTrix. Theo realized what was about to happen and made a lunge for him, but wasn’t able to reach him in time.

[Aeron]: “CLOCKWORK! STOP TIME!”

A stocky, golden alien with a key on his head suddenly manifested from the InverTrix, creating a red wave that grayed-out the surrounding area, stopping time.

The area became deathly silent, with only Aeron’s soft breathing breaking the silence. After a few moments, he began laughing.

[Aeron]: “Oh man, I forgot how good that felt! It took me so long to get that fixed!”

[Clockwork]: “Can we both agree to listen to me when I say you’re overusing the card, please?”

[Aeron]: “Eh, maybe. For now, I have some business to attend to.”

Aeron reached into his coat pocket and pulled out several throwing knives, positioning them all in one hand at different angles.

[Clockwork]: “Where did you get those?”

[Aeron]: “Don’t ask questions you’re not prepared to know the answers to.”

Aeron smirked and swung his arm through the air, tossing knives at Pyros and Theo, positioning them to fly into their throats once time resumed. He turned to throw a knife towards Nova, but noticeably hesitated. After a moment, he simply turned back to throw a second knife at Theo.

[Aeron]: “This part is always hilarious. They don’t even know they’re already dead!”

[Clockwork]: “Eh, humor like that is pretty subjective.”

[Aeron]: “Nobody asked you.”

Aeron walked over to the room’s platform elevator and stepped onto it, turning back to face the others in the room and grinning.

[Aeron]: “Time resumes...now.”

The area suddenly flashed back to its normal appearance, signifying the return of time flowing. The knives Aeron had thrown resumed movement, hitting their targets at high speed and embedding themselves deep in the victim’s necks. Seeing the knives hit their marks, he pressed down on the InverTrix symbol, recalling Clockwork.

[Aeron]: “Well, it’s been fun, but I think I’ll be moving on now. Gotta keep things fresh, you know?”

With that, Aeron activated the platform elevator, taking it up to the surface and leaving behind those in the cell block. Once at the surface, he began walking to the exit of the factory with a smug look on his face.

[Aeron]: “Well, that took longer than I wanted it to, but I guess it worked out in the end.” (Laughs) “Then again, when don’t things work out for me?”

For those of you who have been keeping score, you should know by now that tempting fate, no matter your alignment, is a dumb idea.

[???]: (From behind Aeron) “AERON!”

Aeron swiftly turned around, only to have one of his own knives fly from out of nowhere into his chest. Stumbling back a bit from the initial shock, he looked up to see Theo standing a few feet away with a look that could only be described as the face one might make when cornering that one mosquito that’s been biting you for a few days now.

[Aeron]: (Coughs) “Wh-what the hell?! How did you-?!”

[Theo]: “Nanomachines, ass hat! Something you...” (Points at Aeron) “seem to lack!”

[Aeron]: “Man, you sure have a potty mouth today.”

[Theo]: “You threw a knife into my throat!”

[Aeron]: “Sorry, but I only recall my mother telling me not to cuss. She didn’t say anything about not throwing knives into people’s throats.”

[Theo]: “MOST people would take that as a given!”

[Aeron]: “I’m not most people. For one thing, I’m more attractive.”

[Theo]: “...I can’t really counter that without insulting my own appearance.”

[Aeron]: “See, this is why I’m better at quips than y-”

[Theo]: (Pulls up the StarTrix) “So I’ll just beat the crap out of you instead.”

[Aeron]: (Pulls up the InverTrix) “Wow, rude. Clockwork!”

[Theo]: “Oh no you don’t!”

Aeron’s Clockwork was summoned from the InverTrix as Theo slammed down on the StarTrix symbol, transforming into a tall, gold and purple humanoid alien with an armored, robotic appearance.

[Theo/???]: “Final Countdown!”

[Aeron]: “Too late, moron! Stop time!”

Clockwork sent out a red wave of energy, beginning to freeze time, but was countered by Final Countdown creating a golden wave of energy that forced time to flow normally.

[Aeron]: “...So, that’s how it is. Looks like it’s time to use my secret technique.”

Aeron snapped his fingers, prompting Clockwork to create a warping field that caused him and Aeron to vanish into thin air.

[Final Countdown]: “...Dammit.”

[Cut to a dark warehouse at night. Orion is sitting at a desk, looking through various documents labeled ‘Classified’. After a few moments, there’s a knocking on the warehouse door.]

[Orion]: (Looks up from the documents) “What now?”

There were a few more knocks on the door, followed by a couple moments of silence. Said silence was abruptly interrupted by the door being blown off its hinges by Black Hole Sun. Aeron walked through the broken doors, looking up towards the office Orion was sitting in and flashing a sharp grin.

[Aeron]: “Sorry, but nobody was answering. Just because I have all the time in the world doesn’t mean I’m patient.”

Orion got up from his desk and exited his office, approaching the new arrival. Black Hole Sun flashed and dispersed into thin air

[Orion]: “And what exactly are you doing here?”

[Aeron]: “What? No introductions? Someone has bad manners.”

[Orion]: “We have met before. I believe you chucked me through a wall in our last encounter.”

[Aeron]: (Confused) “Chucked you through a...oh!” (Laughs) “You must be talking about my less impressive counterpart with the stupid purple outfits.”

[Orion]: “Counterpart? I assume you’re speaking in terms of dimensions.”

[Aeron]: “The technical term is ‘timelines’, but yes. Trust me, it’s really very easy to tell us apart once you get that down.”

[Orion]: (Notes Aeron’s very try-hard appearance) “Indeed.”

[Aeron]: “Well, either way, I’d like to get down to business. My name is Aeron, and I’m here for that mask you’re wearing.” (Gestures to Orion’s stone mask) “I think you can figure out why.”

[Orion]: “I believe so. Unfortunately for you, I’m not about to take this mask off, and if you know about the mask itself, you must also know that it cannot be removed by anyone but the user.”

[Aeron]: “Unless they’re dead as a doornail, in which case, it slips off like a banana peel on ice. I want to get going somewhat soon here, so if you just hand it over, you can save both of us a lot of trouble.”

[Orion]: “Is that a threat?”

[Aeron]: (Taps the side of his head) “More of a statement, really. Of course, if you don’t hand it over...” (Grins maniacally) “then I’m perfectly fine with doing this the hard way.”

[Orion]: “And how do you expect to-”

Orion was interrupted by a stocky, robotic alien with a gold color scheme suddenly flashing in and out of existence in front of him. Aeron had seemingly teleported to the side, holding a bent kitchen knife. A small bruise had appeared on Orion’s neck.

[Aeron]: (Disappointed) “Dang, that was my last one. I really need to figure out a more practical solution for this kinda stuff.”

[Orion]: “What was that?”

[Aeron]: “I should be asking you the same question. What are you made of, rock?”

[Orion]: “I’m about half Chimera Sui Generis at this point. You’ll need a lot more than a knife to pierce my skin.”

[Aeron]: “That’s disappointing. Oh well, I guess I’ll just kill you somewhere down the road, then. See ya!”

With that, Aeron summoned Clockwork and warped out of the area, leaving behind a rather irritated Orion.

[Cut to the inside of Plumber Base UT1, where Theo and Nova are discussing recent events with Alpha.]

[Alpha]: “Unfortunately, his ability to move to different parts of the timeline make him difficult to track, much less catch.”

[Nova]: “Why not just use the DNA Tracker?”

[Alpha]: “Because he can move from place to place and time to time with seemingly no limitation. We need to be able to predict where he’s going, otherwise we won’t be able to catch him.”

[Theo]: “Not to mention that we’re not even sure why he’s still in this timeline at this point. That seems odd, right?”

[Alpha]: “Perhaps. It simply means there’s something here he wants.”

[Nova]: “So we just figure out what it is he wants and beat him to it. Sounds simple enough.”

[Alpha]: “You act as if finding out what he wants is going to be easy.”

[Theo]: “...I could do it.”

[Nova]: “Huh?”

[Theo]: “Well, he is an alternate version of me, right? We’re bound to have some of the same ideas about what we’re doing.”

[Alpha]: “Well, it’s better than nothing, I suppose.”

[Nova]: “Guess it’s settled, then. Theo and I will head out right away!”

[Alpha]: “Actually, Nova, I have something else I need you to do.”

[Nova]: “What?”

[Alpha]: “The recent attack by Xenon proved two things: One, the Plumbers are taking their sweet time to give us extra firepower, and two, we need that extra firepower. If Theodore hadn’t shown up when he did, the fatalities would’ve been astronomical.”

[Nova]: “Okay, what does that have to do with me?”

[Alpha]: “You and Theodore have met some powerful people in your time working with the Plumbers. I need you to get in contact with whoever you can think of and bring them here.”

[Nova]: “So we’re assembling a superhero team?”

[Alpha]: “...I suppose if you were to put it in simple terms, yes.”

[Nova]: “Hell yeah! I’m on it!”

Nova swiftly made her way over to the Battle Moped and took the vehicle lift to the surface, with Alpha and Theo staring after her.

[Theo]: “You sure just using random people off the street is a good idea here?”

[Alpha]: “Why not? It’s how i recruited you two.”

[Theo]: “Eh, point taken.”

Theo turned to leave, but was interrupted by the platform elevator suddenly activating. It lowered into the room, bringing a short, orange alien with horns and a lab coat with it.

[Xr. Nullamor]: (Looks around the room) “Well, this is thoroughly unimpressive.”

[Theo]: “Xr. Nullamor?! What are you doing here?”

[Alpha]: (Glares at Nullamor) “Good question.”

[Xr. Nullamor]: “For one thing, I wanted to inform you how ridiculously poorly hidden the entrance is. I mean, a bolt button? Really?”

[Alpha]: “Nullamor-”

[Xr. Nullamor]: “Anyways, I’m sensing some hostility in the room, so I’ll get straight to the point. I’m here because you people have incredibly incompetent tracking equipment, and if you want to catch this ‘Aeron’, you’ll need something a lot better than a DNA Tracker.”

[Theo]: “How do you know about Aeron?”

[Xr. Nullamor]: “Gee, it’s almost as if I’m psychic or something.”

[Theo]: “...Point taken.”

[Xr. Nullamor]: (Pulls a small, blinking device out of his lab coat’s pocket) “This here is the solution to your frankly embarrassing problems.”

Nullamor tossed the device to Theo, who swiftly grabbed it out of the air.

[Xr. Nullamor]: “I call it a Temporal Tracker. Stick it on something and you’ll be able to track it anywhere in any timeline.”

[Theo]: “How?”

[Xr. Nullamor]: (Pulls a USB stick out of his pocket) “That’s where the receiver comes in.” (Tosses it to Alpha) “Just plug this into your computer systems. It installs automatically, has a very user-friendly interface, and comes with Minesweeper and classified government documents if you get bored.”

[Alpha]: “And why should we trust you? You’re a wanted criminal in several sectors.”

[Xr. Nullamor]: (Shrugs) “Because you’re entertaining. When you live as long as I have, at some point, you simply start trying to find ways to pass the time.”

[Alpha]: “I’m older than you by a good six thousand years.”

[Xr. Nullamor]: “Yes, but you’re a synthetic. You don’t have to deal with spiritual or emotional issues like us. Besides, if it wasn’t for some of my interventions, our timeline wouldn’t even be here anymore. I think I’ve overall contributed a net positive to society.”

[Theo]: “What’s he talking about?”

[Alpha]: (Sighs) “It’s a long story, but as much as I hate to say it, he is technically correct. I suppose I’ll allow it.”

[Xr. Nullamor]: “Great! There’s just one more thing I need to-”

Nullamor reached into his coat pocket one more time, pausing as soon as he felt inside it.

[Xr. Nullamor]: “Well, this is embarrassing. I completely forgot it!” (Pauses for another moment) “Come to think of it, it really wouldn’t have fit inside a pocket anyways. I’ll be back in a bit, darlings! Tata!”

With that, Xr. Nullamor made his way back to the platform elevator and took it up to the surface. There were a few moments of silence.

[Theo]: (Holds up tracker) “Well, let’s see if we can get this thing to work.”

[Cut to the inside of the Eldridge household. Napoleon is sitting at a desk filing through paperwork, occasionally taking a puff of a cigarette-like object. After a few moments, Napoleon’s robotic arm begins shaking erratically.]

[Napoleon]: “You gotta be kidding me.”

A faint voice began echoing inside Napoleon’s head.

[Napoleon]: “You should know by now that I won’t let that happen.”

The voice took on a harsh, angry tone.

[Napoleon]: “Well, maybe you should’ve thought of that beforehand.”

The voice continued to drone on, giving Napoleon a slight headache.

[Napoleon]: (Sighs) “I guess I need to up the dosage again.”

He picked up the cigarette-like device and turned a small dial on the middle of it, then took another puff. The voice slowly died down and his arm stopped shaking, leaving him in silence again.

[Napoleon]: (Huffs) “I swear, at some point, I’m just gonna end up eating these meds."

After a few moments of silence, Nova suddenly burst in through the house’s front door.

[Nova]: “Dad, you home?!”

[Napoleon]: “Yeah, I’m just in the living room.”

Nova ran into the living room, skidding to a halt on the carpet.

[Napoleon]: “What’s got you in such a rush?”

[Nova]: “Alpha’s having me build a superhero team!”

[Napoleon]: “What, like the Avengers?”

[Nova]: “More Justice-Leagueish, I think.”

[Napoleon]: “Nice.”

[Nova]: “Anyways, you’ve got insane superpowers, so I figured you’d be perfect for the team!”

[Napoleon]: “True, but I’m a college professor. I can’t just take off whenever.”

[Nova]: (Sheepishly scratches the back of her head) “Oh, right.”

[Napoleon]: “But, on the other hand, I think I know someone who can.”

[Nova]: “Really? Who?”

[Napoleon]: (Grins) “Oh, just an old acquaintance.”

[Cut to the top of a hill somewhere in town. The streets are generally abandoned at the moment, giving off an air of emptiness. A truck pulls up to the side of a curb and parks, with the driver quickly hopping out and entering a nearby house. After a few moments, Aeron and Clockwork warp into existence, with Aeron looking rather annoyed.]

[Aeron]: “Well, this is just fan-tucking-fastic. Now I have to come up with some way to kill that guy.”

[Clockwork]: “Just use Wither, for heaven’s sake.”

[Aeron]: “We already used it once this timeline, and I don’t like the idea of using it any more than that. It makes me seriously uncomfortable.”

[Clockwork]: “You’ve ripped out people’s throats with your bare hands.”

[Aeron]: (Waves him off) “That’s a false equivalency.”

[Clockwork]: “I’m just saying-”

[Aeron]: “Well, don’t!”

Aeron pulled up the InverTrix and turned it off, dispersing Clockwork into thin air.

[Aeron]: (Sighs) “I swear, can’t a sociopathic serial killer catch a break these days?”

Aeron’s question was swiftly answered by a stone fist hitting him in the back of the head. He yelped in pain and whirled around to find a humanoid alien covered in stone armor standing behind him.

[???]: “’Sup”

[Aeron]: “Let me guess. Theodore?”

[???]: “Yep. I call this guy ‘Fatemask’.”

[Aeron]: (Rolls his eyes) “I don’t care. How’d you find me all the way up here?”

[Fatemask]: “Think about the name for a few seconds. In the meantime...”

Fatemask threw another punch towards Aeron, who stumbled back a few steps before regaining balance, shooting a heavy glare at him.

[Aeron]: “I get it, so you’re psychic or whatever. Fine by me.”

Aeron swiftly pulled up the InverTrix dial and used it to summon Clockwork.

[Aeron]: “Just because you know when you’re going to die doesn’t mean you can change it! Stop time!”

Clockwork sent out a red wave of energy, stopping time around them. A split second before the time stop hit Fatemask, however, he seemingly blinked out of existence.

[Aeron]: “...Seriously?”

[Clockwork]: “You’re overusing the card again.”

[Aeron]: “Whatever.”

There were a few moments of empty silence.

[Clockwork]: “I don’t think he’s here at the moment. Perhaps he used some form of teleportation?”

[Aeron]: (Groans) “GOD this guy is annoying. Alright, unfreeze time.”

Clockwork reversed the Time Stop and dissipated into energy. A mere second after this, Fatemask suddenly popped back into existence and punched Aeron square in the face, sending him flying backwards.

[Aeron]: “Son of a-” (Pulls himself off the ground) “The hell was that?!”

[Fatemask]: “This guy can skip forward in time by a few seconds if he needs to. I simply skipped over the moment of time you froze.”

[Aeron]: “God damn, how many time-screwing aliens do you have?!”

[Fatemask]: (Shrugs) “A few. This is the Destroyer set after all. Time is really good at destroying things.”

[Aeron]: “Yeah, I noticed. That’s why I’m the only one who should be able to screw with it!”

[Fatemask]: “Whatever you say”

Fatemask suddenly twisted the StarTrix dial and slammed it down, transforming into a tall, bronze and silver humanoid with what appeared to be large toasters for shoulderpads.

[Fatemask/???]: “Unity Dream!”

[Aeron]: “And what’s this guy supposed to do? Create part of a nutritious breakfast?”

[Unity Dream]: “Very funny. By the way, you might want to look behind you.”

[Aeron]: “And why the hell would I-”

Aeron was swiftly cut off by a sewer plate colliding with his back at high speed, smashing him into the pavement face-first. He got up as swiftly as he could, only to be met by Unity Dream’s fist slamming into his gut and sending him stumbling back a few feet. After a few moments of catching his breath, Aeron shot Unity Dream a nasty look.

[Aeron]: “What the hell was all that?!”

[Unity Dream]: “I scoped out this area with Fatemask’s clairvoyance before actually getting here. I noticed that truck” (Points to the truck from earlier, which is sliding down the road at a fast pace. Fishing wire has been wrapped around its bumper, connecting it to the sewer plate, which is also being dragged away) “didn’t have its brakes on, and would begin sliding down the road at some point. All I had to do from there was attach it to the sewer plate while you weren’t looking and shove you into the right position. From there, it was just a matter of time.”

[Aeron]: “That sure is a convoluted way to hit someone with a sewer plate.”

[Unity Dream]: “But it worked. Unity Dream is too slow to hit you without some sort of distraction, and I’d say that one was pretty good.”

[Aeron]: “Alright wise guy, what about that truck, then? Shouldn’t you stop it from hitting some random civilians?”

[Unity Dream]: “The truck’s tires have a slight left tilt. It’ll veer onto an empty sidewalk and get stopped by a building. No big deal.”

[Aeron]: “Well then, it’s been nice chatting with you, but this was all rather pointless. I think I’m just gonna summon Clockwork and leave.”

Aeron pulled up the InverTrix symbol and attempted to summon Clockwork.

Nothing happened.

[Aeron]: (Angrily smacking the InverTrix) “Come on! The card can’t be broken already!”

After a few seconds of this, Phantom Lord suddenly formed in front of Aeron, looking rather pissed.

[Phantom Lord]: “Sorry, but I’m pulling executive order. I’m not about to let you break the card again.”

[Aeron]: “And just what makes you think you’re in charge here?!”

[Phantom Lord]: “The fact that I have the alien abilities, and you don’t.”

Phantom Lord grabbed Aeron and turned them both intangible, slowly sinking into the pavement.

[Phantom Lord]: “Au revoir, Theodore. Good luck catching us.”

[Unity Dream]: “I don’t need to. Your own pride is gonna bring you right to me.”

[Phantom Lord]: “And what is that supposed to mean?”

[Unity Dream]: “You can see tonight at 7. Find me if you’re man enough.”

[Phantom Lord]: “Sounds like an interesting challenge. It just might be your last.”

Unity Dream simply looked on as Phantom Lord fully slipped away through the road. After a few moments, he transformed back into his human form and smirked.

[Unity Dream/Theo]: “And that right there is how you fuse a tracker to an idiot.”

[Cut to a large, surprisingly well-lit alleyway near the edge of town a few hours later. A small spacecraft has recently landed inside the alley, kicking up a cloud of dust. As the dust settles, the door to the craft opens, revealing a tall, blue, humanoid alien seemingly made of various geometric shapes and wearing a sash of some sort.]

[???]: “A couple minutes early, but whatever. Better early than late.”

After a few moments, a large, green, insect-like humanoid wearing magenta shades suddenly leaped from the roof of a nearby building, using its wings to break its fall somewhat. It landed a few feet from the blue alien and swiftly stood up straight, brushing itself off.

[Insect-like Humanoid]: “Herculian, right?”

[Herculian]: “Actually, it’s just ‘Herc’ nowadays, for simplicity’s sa-” (Freezes for a moment) “Wait a second. A Reduvidai wearing over-the-top shades who apparently knows my name...who did you say you were?”

The Reduvidai was suddenly obscured by a bright white light, reverting it back to Nova.

[Nova]: “My name is-”

[Herc]: (Eyes widen) “Oh god, Napoleon?! When did you turn into a girl?!”

[Nova]: “What?”

[Herc]: “And change your Reduvidai transformation?! And stay the same age...for...twenty-five...years...”

There were a few moments of awkward silence.

[Herc]: “Okay, I’m definitely missing something here.”

Nova began to reply, but was interrupted by the sound of someone walking into the alleyway. She and Herc turned to see Napoleon waking towards them with an amused grin on his face.

[Napoleon]: “Man, I’d say.”

[Herc]: “Napoleon? Is that you?”

[Napoleon]: “Actually, it’s the tooth fairy. Whaddaya think?”

[Herc]: “But you’re...normal.”

[Napoleon]: (Laughs and holds up his robotic arm) “For a given value of the word.”

[Herc]: (Gestures to Nova) “And she’s...?”

[Napoleon]: “This is my daughter, Nova.”

[Nova]: “Nice to meet you!”

[Herc]: “Well, she definitely takes after you in the fashion department.”

[Napoleon]: “Yeah, no kidding. I planned to be here a few minutes earlier, but some kid set off a firecracker near the end of class, so that took a few minutes to take care of.”

[Herc]: (Skeptically) “You’re a teacher?”

[Napoleon]: (Nods) “Professor of Linguistics up at the U.”

[Herc]: (Incredulously) “You’re a university professor?!”

[Napoleon]: “Weird, right?”

[Herc]: (Shakes his head) “I gotta admit, this is not how I expected you of all people to end up.”

[Napoleon]: “I’ll be the first to admit that I wasn’t exactly a model teenager when we were working together.”

[Herc]: “I’ll say. Anyways, you said over the comlink that you have a job for me?”

[Napoleon]: “I don’t personally. It’s a more official deal.”

[Herc]: “What do you mean?”

[Nova]: “Well, see, the Plumber base here is putting together a special team...”

[Cut to the inside of a large basketball court some hours later, where a large number of basketballs are lying abandoned on the waxy floor. Aeron walks through one of the entrances, seeing Theo as Bomb 2 Hell leaning against the wall on the other side of the court. His arms are casually folded across his chest, giving off an air of coolness.]

[Aeron]: “Wow, and I thought I was uncreative. Using whatever random large building is on hand to stage our final battle? You don’t have any appreciation for dramatic buildup.”

[Bomb 2 Hell]: “I can appreciate it, I just don’t particularly like it coming from you. Either way, are you going to fight me or what?”

Aeron smirked and began walking towards him.

[Aeron]: “You must have a screw loose to leave yourself open like this.”

[Bomb 2 Hell]: “Nope. In fact, I’d say that I’m going to have you down and out in about...oh, ten seconds now?”

[Aeron]: (Laughs) “Seriously? What, are you going to use some moronic ‘Ten-Second Technique’?”

[Bomb 2 Hell]: “That’s not a bad name, actually. Say, odd question, possibly unrelated, but do they have the Star Wars movies in your dimension?”

[Aeron]: (Continues walking) “As a matter of fact, yes.”

[Bomb 2 Hell]: “Sweet. Have you seen Return of the Jedi?”

[Aeron]: *Shrugs smugly* “Who hasn’t?”

[Bomb 2 Hell]: “Nice. Saves me the trouble of saying the line.”

[Aeron]: (Pauses near the center of the court) “What are you-”

Bomb 2 Hell let his arms fall to his sides, revealing the timer on his chest to be counting down and swiftly hitting one second from zero. Aeron’s eyes widened, and he swiftly pulled up the InverTrix.

[Aeron]: “Clockwork!”

Clockwork formed in a burst of energy and sent out a red wave, stopping time. Everything around Aeron and Clockwork grayed out a bit as time ground to a halt.

Except Bomb 2 Hell.

[Bomb 2 Hell]: (Waves) “Heyo.”

[Aeron]: (Shocked) “What?! How are you still moving?!”

[Bomb 2 Hell]: “This alien has an ability called ‘State Lock’, which is pretty much what it sounds like. Pretty handy.”

{Narrator}: ''“State Lock, the most powerful ability in a Mikha'el'baia’s arsenal! This amazing power gives them immunity to just about anything while their timer is active, including Time Stops!”''

[Bomb 2 Hell]: “Of course, since you stopped time before the explosions went off, the timer’s frozen along with the objects I’ve transformed into bombs.”

[Aeron]: “So what? I stopped time either way! I can just mosey on out of here without a care in the world! Without your bomb-infusement at hand, you’re powerless to stop me!”

[Bomb 2 Hell]: “You ever hear what they say about assumptions?”

[Aeron]: “...Yes.”

[Bomb 2 Hell]: “Sweet, another line I don’t need to say.”

Bomb 2 Hell grabbed onto the grenades lodged in his arms and walked up to Clockwork, activating their countdown as he went.

[Aeron]: “What do you think you’re doing? If you detonate an explosive at this range, you’ll blow yourself up too!”

[Bomb 2 Hell]: (Shakes head) “Man, this is just not your day. This guy’s immune to explosions.”

[Aeron]: “...Son of a-”

Aeron was interrupted by the grenades exploding, blowing apart Clockwork and causing the flow of time to resume. As such, he had exactly one second to comprehend what was about to happen.

[Aeron]: “Shit.”

The basketballs scatted around the court violently exploded, throwing Aeron around like a ragdoll and creating a few nasty crunching sounds. In the midst of this chaos, Bomb 2 Hell simply stood in the center of the court, completely unfazed and slightly bemused by Aeron being pinballed around by the explosions. After about half a minute of this, the explosions died down, leaving Aeron lying on the ground.

[Aeron]: (Groans) “That...took more than...ten seconds...”

[Bomb 2 Hell]: “I personally counted the ‘defeated’ mark at about the time I blew up Clockwork, but hey, tell yourself whatever you need to feel better.”

Bomb 2 Hell walked up to the battered, barely conscious Aeron and picked him up by the neck of his shirt.

[Bomb 2 Hell]: “Face it. You can’t beat me like this.”

[Aeron]: (Coughs up blood) “Is...that so? Because last I checked, all I have to get is a couple seconds to summon Clockwork when your ‘State Lock’ isn’t on, and I’ll be able to do whatever I want.”

[Bomb 2 Hell]: “Then I’ll have to erase you before that happens.”

A noise similar to a combination of microphone feedback and a snake hissing resounded through the area as Bomb 2 Hell began charging Aeron’s shirt as an explosive.

[Aeron]: “That’s an empty threat if I’ve ever heard one. You’re too weak to handle killing another person.”

[Bomb 2 Hell]: “I’m not. I’m killing you.”

Aeron’s eyes widened as he realized Bomb 2 Hell was serious.

[Aeron]: “CLOCKWO-”

Aeron was interrupted by an explosion consuming his body, which was almost immediately followed by time stopping. Aeron crawled away from Bomb 2 Hell and glanced over at Clockwork, who had appeared just in time.

[Aeron]: “I can’t believe that goody-two shoes had it in him!”

[Clockwork]: “You need to be more careful. If I hadn’t showed up early, we both would’ve died.”

[Aeron]: (Irritated) “Just shut up and rewind my wounds.”

[Clockwork]: “You know, that really is an odd sentence when you think about it.”

[Aeron]: “God damn it, Clockwork!”

[Clockwork]: “Alright, alright.”

Clockwork walked over to Aeron and held out his hands, creating red waves of temporal energy that reversed time on Aeron’s body, restoring his clothes and removing his injuries. Aeron pulled himself up off the ground and glared at the frozen Bomb 2 Hell.

[Aeron]: “I hate to admit it, but he’s right. I walked right into this.”

[Clockwork]: “Are we finally going to leave?”

[Aeron]: “Yes, I think we are. I’d rather not have to worry about this moron for the rest of eternity. Let’s go.”

Clockwork nodded and warped Aeron and himself out of the timeline, allowing the flow of time to resume. Bomb 2 Hell swiftly scanned the area, realizing Aeron had disappeared.

[Bomb 2 Hell]: “...Son of a-”

[Cut to the inside of Plumber Base UT1, where Alpha is speaking with Nova, Herc, F3, Reaper, and Pyros. The platform elevator activates, bringing a frustrated Theo down into the room with it. He steps off the elevator and notices the new arrivals, looking at them in confusion.]

[Theo]: “Is there something going on here I’m not aware of?”

[Nova]: (Notices Theo) “Hey, Theo! These are the people I got for our team!”

[Theo]: “...Seriously? How did you even find half these people?”

[Nova]: “Well, F3 had knocked himself out trying to stop a robbery again, Reaper was brooding in the same warehouse as last time,-”

[Reaper]: “I was not ‘brooding’. I was simply...reflecting.”

[Nova]: “Whatever you wanna call it, sister. Pyros was here, obviously. I just figured he could use something to do.”

[Theo]: “And the blue guy?”

[Nova]: “Oh, his name is Herc. He used to work with my dad.”

[Theo]: “Huh. This is definitely an...interesting crew.”

[Nova]: “I know, right?! Nobody’s gonna be ready to fight a weird team like this!”

[Theo]: “Point taken.”

[Nova]: “Alpha updated me on the Aeron situation. Don’t worry, we’ll get him next time!”

[Theo]: (Grimly) “I hope so.”

[Nova]: “Oh, lighten up! At least you got the tracker on him, right? Now we can track him down no matter where he ends up!”

[Theo]: “I guess...”

Nova was about to reply, but was interrupted by the platform elevator activating again. After a few moments, it brought down Xr. Nullamor, who was holding a blue and black gauntlet with telekinetic energy.

[Xr. Nullamor]: (Looks at Theo) “Hey, convenient! Here, put this on.”

Before Theo could protest, Nullamor fitted the gauntlet onto his left arm, connecting it over the StarTrix.

[Theo]: (Holds up the gauntlet) “Uh...what is this?”

[Xr. Nullamor]: “That there is what I call the Star Driver Gauntlet. I figured the StarTrix was lacking a lot of neat functionality, so I used some of my old SpecTrix blueprints to whip this thing up for it.”

[Theo]: “What does it do?”

[Xr. Nullamor]: “It can fuse and evolve your aliens, it makes the interface more user-friendly, it lengthens your transformation time, it lets you carry five more DNA cards on your roster, all sorts of stuff, really.”

[Theo]: “That sounds...really damn cool, actually. What’s the catch?”

[Xr. Nullamor]: “Not much. I figured since you’re gonna be hopping timelines chasing after this Aeron kid, you’ll probably be coming across a bunch of species we don’t have in our timeline. One of the gauntlet’s functions is a DNA scanner, which will automatically upload new samples to my database. Just get some useful new DNA samples, and I’ll be satisfied. I should even be able to convert that data into new DNA cards for you to use.”

[Theo]: “Sounds good.”

[Xr. Nullamor]: “Oh, right, and I already loaded five additional DNA cards into the gauntlet for you. I think you’ll find them interesting, to say the least.”

[Theo]: “Sweet. Now what?”

[Xr. Nullamor]: “Well, I think that’s up to you now, isn’t it?”

[Theo]: “I guess.”

Theo paused in thought for a few moments, then turned and began walking towards the room’s main console, staring up at the monitor.

[Theo]: (With determination) “Starting tomorrow, I’m going to find Aeron, and take him out once and for all!”

Major Events

 * Aeron escapes Plumber custody and begins hopping timelines.
 * Phantom Lord and Clockwork make their debuts.
 * Final Countdown, Fatemask, and Unity Dream make their debuts.
 * Zelusassin makes its Star Spirit debut.
 * Herculian makes his Star Spirit debut.
 * Nova puts together a temporary Plumber team.
 * Theo receives the Star Driver Gauntlet and five extra transformations.

Protagonists

 * Theodore Logical
 * Nova Eldridge

Antagonists

 * Aeron

Minor

 * Alpha
 * Pyros
 * Orion
 * Xr. Nullamor
 * Napoleon Eldridge
 * Herculian (Star Spirit Debut)
 * F3
 * Reaper

By Theo

 * Final Countdown (Debut)
 * Fatemask (Debut)
 * Unity Dream (Debut)
 * Bomb 2 Hell

By Nova

 * Zelusassin (Star Spirit Debut)

By Aeron

 * Phantom Lord (Debut)
 * Clockwork (Debut; x6)
 * Black Hole Sun