Multiply by 3

"Multiply by 3" is the first episode in the series Variable X.

Plot
Chris believes an alien impersonator is among his fellow teammates at The Forge of Creation.

Story
As the Taco Mobile sped down the highway, Chris shouted in delight. The wind in his hair, the smell of tacos... it was wonderful.

It was until the sound of a brutal trumpet had woken Chris from his awesome taco dream. He rolled out of bed, and sat up quickly, instantly alert. Chris was still getting used to being on The Forge of Creation. As much as he missed home, Unetta had confirmed that time goes EXTREMELY slow in the other universes when compared to The Forge of Creation. So if Chris was gone for, say a whole year, fulfilling his spot as #3 out of 49 total soldiers down at The Forge of Creation, barely a second would pass in his universe.

Chris put a hand on his bed, assisting himself up off the floor. Joe rustled on the top bunk, peering down at Chris's sudden activity.

"Mornin'," Joe greeted.

"Good morning, Joe." Chris replied. As he said this, Joe inched back onto the top bunk, and Chris heard his snoring resume. The other campers, however, made their way down to the mess hall. The whole building was constructed only by thin metal sheets for walls, and and fabric for a roof. The mess hall was the only sturdy part of the building.

As the remaining campers left the room, Chris pulled on his socks. Stump suddenly bounced on the bed next to him.

"You coming to breakfast?" Stump asked. He continued to jump, careful not to jump too high and hit his head on the bunk overhead.

"Yeah, I'll be down in a second," Chris told Stump. Stump nodded and left the soldier's quarters. Joe's snoring continued. Chris figured that he'd wake Joe before he left.

Standing in front of the mirror and pulling on his orange jacket, Chris prepared to leave. But then, something caught his eye. He peered into the mirror intently, studying his eyes. Last time he checked, Chris was sure his eyes were brown, not red. Come to think of it, there were never any mirros in the soldier's quarters... only windows.

Suddenly, Chris's form in the mirror changed into some sort of grey-colored goo with two red eyes. It darted away. Chris was right. That was no mirror. He pressed his face to the glass, peering into the room adjacent to the soldier's quarters. It was empty. Whatever he saw, it must've had the ability to phase through things, or slip under small cracks in the flimsy metal walls. Then again, Chris could too.

Activating his Omeagtrix, Chris scrolled through the holographic playlist of his alien transformations. He kept scrolling until he reached a holographic image of Upgrade. The screen of the Omegatrix slid back, revealing a dial. As soon as Chris pressed that dial, he'd be an alien. But who presses it? Slamming it down would be more cool. So he did that. In a bright flash of light, Upgrade stood where Chris had been standing.

"Alright, let's see who that really was!" Upgrade hummed. As Upgrade's humanoid shape slipped into the form of a liquid puddle, he slipped under the wall crack.

"...Wha?" Joe asked, peeking out from under the covers just as Upgrade disappeared into the next room.

TO BE CONTINUED