Ava Ayala POV
The next day, after school…
I'm in the base, hitting the punching bag to blow off some steam while Franklin, in one of his alien forms is over in the corner actually building a teleporter. Yeah, I'm pretty sure nothing he does surprises me anymore at this point.
He's using that tiny alien form he calls Gray Matter—small little thing, maybe a foot tall, but according to him, it's the smartest one in the Omnitrix. Honestly, I believe it. Right now, he's inside this giant robot suit he built specifically so he can do things without needing help, since his little frog-lizard body can't exactly lift much.
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And of course, while he's busy building some sci-fi tech like it's a group project, I'm stuck thinking about school stuff. Mainly—Yolanda.
She's getting suspicious. Me and Franklin hanging out nearly every day after school? Yeah, it was bound to raise some questions. I didn't want her to get the wrong idea—we just barely patched things up after our last little fight.
And this? This definitely isn't something I can explain easily without dropping the whole "we're training to be superheroes" bombshell.
I stop punching the bag and glance over at his head—well, the robot head Gray Matter's piloting. That idiot has no idea me and Yolanda are both in love with him. We've been in love with him since we were kids.
I never told Yolanda how I felt back then, and obviously, she never told me either. But one day, when we were hanging out, I finally brought it up—hoping maybe she could help me figure out how to tell Franklin. Yeah… that didn't go well.
We had a huge fight. Said some things we definitely didn't mean. Things that hurt.
Apparently, after that argument, she went straight to Franklin. I still don't know what they talked about—she never told me. But after that visit, she came back and apologized. Then we just... talked.
And when I say we talked, I mean really talked. We talked about Franklin. About how we both fell for him. About what we love about him—his heart, his stubbornness, the way he cares even when he pretends not to.
And then… we talked about the hard part: who he might end up choosing.
It took us a long time to finally decide we could both have him. And when I say a long time, I mean all night. Back and forth, arguing, crying, hugging, more arguing… until we both realized the truth—we loved him too much to let him go, and we'd rather share him than lose him.
But of course, life couldn't just let us have that peace.
The next day at school, we heard a very disturbing rumor: Franklin had a crush on one of the new girls. Safe to say… me and Yolanda were not okay.
Yolanda didn't even try to hide her anger—she straight-up slammed her locker so hard the metal bent. Me? With all the years of training and control drilled into me, I kept it in. But trust me, I was raging inside.
We weren't mad at Franklin. Of course not. He didn't know. Somehow, he still had no clue that we liked him—both of us. So we didn't even have the right to be mad at him. We were mad at ourselves… for wasting time. For fighting over him instead of being with him together from the start.
After that scare, me and Yolanda made a pact. We were going for it—together. And ever since, we've been flirting with him, dropping hints, trying to make it obvious.
But Franklin? That boy is too damn dense.
I swear, sometimes I just wanna smack him upside the head and yell, "Your two best friends are in love with you! How are you not seeing this?"
I was pulled out of my thoughts by Franklin's voice.
"Hey Ava, it's finally done!" he said proudly.
I walked over and looked at the machine. The teleporter was pretty big, shaped like a tall metallic ring. Definitely high-tech. Glowing lights, hums, panels, all that science-y stuff.
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"Okay, I'm a bit impressed," I admitted, raising an eyebrow. "How does it work exactly?"
"Glad you asked!" Franklin beamed. "You see how the gate works—"
"The what?" I interrupted.
"The gate. That's what I'm calling it," he said, like it was obvious.
"Why not just call it the teleporter?"
"Because everything deserves a name, and 'teleporter' is basic as f—" He caught himself and cleared his throat. "It's basic. Very basic."
"...Okay," I said slowly, rolling my eyes with a smirk.
"Anyway," he continued, "the gate works by converting your body into faster-than-light tachyon particles and reassembling you on the other side—wherever I program the coordinates. I even hacked a couple satellites to help with navigation so, y'know, we don't accidentally teleport into a wall or something."
"Wow. I only understood, like… half of that. But cool. I guess you built a teleporter."
"It's called the gate," he repeated, shooting me a look.
"Whatever," I said, smirking.
Just then, the giant robot Franklin had been piloting from the inside opened up. He jumped out and tapped the Omnitrix, shifting back into his regular human form.
Franklin POV
"You're really excited to go on patrol with my dad, huh?" Ava said, watching me bounce on my heels with anticipation.
"Hell yeah, I am! I mean, the first couple times being a hero were amazing—I can't wait to get back into the action," I said with a grin.
"I can see that. You're really cute when you're this excited," Ava said with a playful smirk.
"Oh, thank you," I said, smiling.
"No, really—like really adorable," she added.
"Haha, hey, if you don't stop, I might actually blush. Anyway—I wanted to show you something!" I said, walking over to a nearby table where Hector's White Tiger suit was laid out.
Behind me, I didn't notice Ava slap her forehead in mock exasperation as she followed.
We stopped in front of the suit.
"Okay, check it out—I upgraded your dad's suit again. Now it's resistant to fire, electricity, and even ice. You never know when someone might have ice powers," I explained proudly. "Oh—and I added heat vision, stealth mode, and a tracker."
"Like that armored alien form you used once—what was it called again?" Ava asked.
"Hunter," I said. "That's the one. He's the reason I added those features."
If you're wondering what we're talking about, yeah—I definitely tested out a ton of new aliens during that one-month training.
Hunter is a Yautja, yep, the ones from Alien vs. Predator. Fully armored, all the Predator weapons, even the self-destruct device—though I'm obviously not using that.
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I also have a Cybertronian form—and not just any Cybertronian. A dragon. Yeah, you heard me. Full-on fire-breathing metal dragon, just like Preda king. Naturally, I named the form… Preda king. Look, sometimes the obvious choice is the right one.
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And here's the craziest part: I also have a Kryptonian form now. Yeah, you heard that right. The day I shook Superman's hand? The Omnitrix scanned him. So now, I have a Kryptonian form named Omni-Krypt. Sounds cool, right? Don't judge me—I couldn't think of anything better.
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Anyway, I was mid-daydream about flying dragons and heat vision when my phone started ringing. The contact read "Grandpa Max." I picked it up.
"Hey, Grandpa Max," I answered.
"Hey, kiddo. I've got some news for you. Could be good or bad—depends how you take it," he said.
"…That's not worrying at all. What's the news?" I asked.
"Your cousin is moving in with you."
"Wait—what? Which cousin?"
"It's been a long time since you two last saw each other—you were both babies back then. Her name's Beth. Beth Chapel."
That name hit me like a truck.
Beth Chapel. My cousin. The future Dr. Mid-Nite.
"Okay… but why is she moving in with me exactly?" I asked, still trying to wrap my head around the news.
"Well, you see—her parents' jobs have them moving around a lot," Max said. "They didn't think it was fair to keep uprooting her from school to school, never giving her a real chance to make friends. So, they called me, and I suggested she stay with you for a while. They agreed. She'll be moving in about two weeks."
He paused for a second, then added with a softer tone, "I figured it'd be a good decision for both of you. You could use some family around instead of being by yourself all the time, and Beth can finally settle down, make real connections, and not worry about packing up and leaving every few months."
"Oh… okay. I'd actually love to have some family here. I've got no problem with that," I said with a smile.
"That's good to hear. Just—make her feel welcome, alright? She's a bit shy at first, but she's really energetic and sweet once she opens up."
"No problem. I'll even introduce her to my friends," I said confidently.
"Good to hear. Thanks, kiddo, for being understanding," Max said warmly.
"Always. Bye, Grandpa Max," I said.
The call ended, and I slipped my phone back into my pocket.
So… Beth Chapel is my cousin. She's coming to live with me in two weeks. I haven't seen her since we were babies, and now I'm wondering…
How is she gonna become Dr. Mid-Nite in this universe? Will she still get the goggles? Will she even want to be a hero?
I guess I'll find out soon.
"So… what was that about?" Ava asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, my cousin's coming to live with me," I said casually.
"Say what?" she blinked, clearly surprised.
"Yeah, her parents move around a lot for work and have to take her with them. They didn't think it was fair anymore, so Grandpa Max suggested she live with me. She'll be here in two weeks."
"What's she like? Have you ever met her before?" Ava asked, tilting her head.
"Nope. Apparently, we met when we were kids, but I don't really remember her. Grandpa Max said she's shy at first but really nice and energetic once she opens up."
"Oh… I think I might like her, then," Ava said with a smile.
Hector POV
I was at home, lying on my bed, just staring up at the ceiling, deep in thought.
And honestly… I was thinking about Franklin.
That kid worries me. He's got a device that's easily one of the most powerful things I've ever seen—something that can turn him into insanely strong aliens. And no, I'm not worried he'll use it for evil. He's already proven he's got a good heart. That much I trust.
But I am worried about the kind of trouble that device is going to bring him. If the wrong people find out about it—corrupt governments, crime syndicates, supervillains—you name it, they'll all be coming for that Omnitrix. Hell, I wouldn't even be surprised if some so-called "heroes" tried to take it, thinking it shouldn't be in the hands of a teenager.
And maybe… they're not wrong.
That alien in the hologram said the Omnitrix chose Franklin, but I don't know. He's good, but he's impulsive. He doesn't always think things through. That kind of recklessness, paired with that kind of power? It's a dangerous combination.
I'm scared he's going to run into something one day, without a plan, without thinking… and someone's going to get hurt. Maybe even him.
And I don't want to see that happen.
I'm trying to teach him that he doesn't have to be exactly like me—plenty of heroes find their own style. But what I am trying to teach him is discipline. How to think before he acts. You can't just rely on instinct alone, not in this line of work. Instinct can get you far, sure—but it can also get you killed if you don't have the experience to back it up. I've been in this hero game for a long time, so I'm confident I can teach him that. Still… it doesn't hurt to have a little help.
I got up from my bed and picked up my phone. Scrolling through my contacts, I paused at a name I hadn't seen—or used—in a long time. With a deep breath, I pressed it and waited. Honestly, I wasn't even sure if he'd pick up.
A few seconds passed before I finally heard a familiar voice on the other end.
"Well, color me surprised. I didn't think I'd ever hear from you again, old friend."
"Hi Ted," I said. "I need your help training a new hero… and you're not gonna believe who it is."
"Oh wow, we haven't talked in years and the first thing you do is ask me for help? Come on, Hector. Not even a 'how you been'? At least tell me how my god-niece is doing. Still head-over-heels for that dense idiot?"
I couldn't help but laugh a little. "Yeah... and not just her. Your goddaughter too."
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," Ted groaned. "I feel like I should meet this kid just so I can beat the crap out of him. I don't like anyone messing with my family's feelings. No way he hasn't noticed those two love-sick puppies. Either he's faking it—or he's an idiot."
"Trust me, Ted," I said with a sigh, "he's not playing them. The boy's really that dense. I've seen it with my own eyes. And if you want to meet him, you can. He's the new hero I was calling about."
There was a pause on the line.
"…Oh now I'm interested," Ted said, and I could practically hear the smirk in his voice. "Alright, spill it. Who is this kid? What's his story? And why the hell haven't you brought me in sooner?"