In one instance, my team and I were fighting the Brotherhood. Spider-Man and Silk were keeping Sabertooth and Toad busy while Stargirl and Dragon Queen fought Blob. White Tiger was going against Pyro, and Wildcat was trading blows with Avalanche. Meanwhile, I was stuck dealing with Magneto and Polaris at the same time.
I fired blast after blast of ice at them, but their magnetic shields blocked every attack before it could even reach them.
That's when I remembered something.
Magnets become stronger when they get colder.
Yeah… probably not my smartest strategy.
So I slammed down on the Omnitrix and transformed into Diamondhead.
The second I changed, I started launching razor-sharp diamond shards at both of them. They threw up their magnetic barriers again, but unlike metal, crystal wasn't nearly as easy for them to control. Some of the shards slipped through, cutting across their arms and shoulders.
While keeping the pressure on them, I charged forward.
The moment I got close enough, I leapt at Magneto and threw a punch straight at his chest.
He reacted instantly, ripping a manhole cover out of the street to block me, but my fist punched straight through the metal like it was paper before slamming into his chest hard enough to send him flying across the street.
"Dad!" Polaris shouted as she rushed to help him.
I quickly fired several diamond spikes at her, blasting her back before she could reach me. I made sure not to aim anywhere vital. I wasn't trying to kill either of them.
Magneto recovered fast.
With a furious wave of his hand, dozens of cars and trucks around the street suddenly lifted into the air before launching toward me like missiles.
I simply formed massive diamond blades around my arms and started cutting straight through everything in my path, slicing cars in half as I pushed toward him.
Polaris flew beside her father, combining her powers with his, metal twisting and spinning all around me like a storm.
But even working together, they still couldn't stop me.
" I believe you could have been a useful ally," Magneto said coldly. "But like always, humans stand in the way of mutants fighting for their rights."
I slammed another car out of the air before glaring at him.
"You tried to kidnap a kid and attacked a mall full of innocent people," I shot back. "Don't try to dump this on me. This fight is happening because of you."
"We didn't harm any humans," Polaris snapped. "We even allowed Andy's human friend to leave unharmed. We only wanted him. He is one of the keys to helping mutantkind survive."
I pushed through the storm of metal flying at me, crystal armor scraping against steel as I kept walking forward.
"I didn't hear everything you told him earlier," I said, "but I heard enough to know one thing."
I pointed straight at Andy.
"He doesn't want to go with you."
Polaris narrowed her eyes.
"And you were still going to take him by force," I continued. "I don't care if someone's human, mutant, alien, or anything else. If somebody's getting hurt or forced into something against their will, I'm stepping in."
"You don't understand!" Polaris shouted.
Suddenly, the metal around the parking lot began to shake harder.
"You have no idea what it's like to be hated every single day just for existing!"
Cars was lifted into the air. Street signs twisted apart. Metal poles bent around her like snakes.
"We have to take desperate actions because nobody else is going to save us!"
Her voice cracked with anger.
"You get to hide behind your transformations. You get to be a hero. People cheer for you!"
With another wave of her hand, dozens of chunks of metal launched at me all at once.
"But most mutants don't get that luxury!"
I blocked what I could, slicing through cars and debris with my diamond blades, but there was too much coming at once.
"Do you know how many mutants just want a normal life?" Polaris yelled. "Do you know how many get dragged into labs and experimented on like animals?"
Her power surged again.
"Do you know how many dead mutants we've found because humans were scared of them?"
The pressure kept increasing.
"How many secret facilities have we had to break into just to save people?"
A bus slammed into me, forcing me backward across the street.
"And sometimes…" her voice lowered for a second before rising again in rage, "sometimes we don't get there in time!"
The entire parking lot shook.
Metal came at me from every direction now, too fast and too overwhelming for me to destroy all of it.
For the first time in the fight…
I was starting to get pushed back.
"I've seen dead kids," Polaris shouted. "Innocent women and children caught in the crossfire just because humans were afraid of us! Do you know how many friends I've had to bury? How many times have I had to say goodbye to people who never wanted to hurt anybody?"
Her power exploded.
Two semi-trucks suddenly ripped off the ground and slammed into me like missiles, blasting me high into the air. Before I could recover, dozens of cars, poles, pipes, and chunks of metal shot toward me from every direction.
Then everything wrapped around my body.
Layer after layer of steel compressed around me until only my head remained visible. Cars twisted together like a giant metal prison, crushing tighter and tighter with every passing second.
I froze for a moment.
I had no idea Polaris was this strong.
"Good, Lorna," Magneto said calmly as he floated beside her. "Keep him restrained."
He turned to look at me.
"I noticed something during our fight. He always touches that symbol on his chest before transforming. If he can't reach it… he can't do anything."
Honestly?
That was a pretty reasonable conclusion.
Too bad it was wrong.
"That's actually smart," I admitted from inside the mountain of metal. "But you made one mistake."
Without even touching the Omnitrix, green light suddenly flashed across my body.
"Invincible."
The next second, the entire mass of metal around me exploded outward.
With nothing but a flex of my muscles, I tore myself free, sending cars and steel flying across the parking lot like scraps of paper.
The shock on both Magneto's and Polaris's faces was priceless.
I floated there in my Viltrumite form, cracking my neck slightly.
"The whole tapping-thing?" I said with a grin. "I mostly do that to throw enemies off if I ever end up in a situation like that."
Both of them were prepared to continue the fight, metal already starting to rise around us again, but I raised my hand.
"Wait."
They paused.
I slowly floated back down toward the ground, my expression turning serious.
"Look… if I'm being completely honest, you're right about a lot of this," I admitted.
That alone was enough to make both of them hesitate.
"I don't know what it's like to be a mutant," I continued. "I don't know what it feels like to be hated every day because of the way your genes developed."
I landed softly on the cracked street in front of them.
"I don't know what it's like to hide who you are because you're terrified people will find out. I don't know what it's like to be dragged into some lab and experimented on."
My voice lowered slightly.
"And I definitely don't know what it's like to lose friends just because they were born different."
For a moment, nobody said anything.
"So no," I said honestly. "I can't sit here and pretend I understand your pain, because I don't."
The air around us became still.
"But that's exactly why I'm trying so hard to help mutants in the first place."
I looked directly at Magneto.
"What are you doing right now? This isn't helping anybody. All you're doing is making people more afraid of mutants."
"They should fear us," Magneto said without hesitation.
I shook my head immediately.
"No," I said firmly. "They should understand you."
Magneto's expression hardened even more, completely rejecting the idea.
But Polaris…
She looked confused.
Like a part of her wanted to argue.
And another part of her wasn't so sure anymore.
"Fear only lasts for so long," I said calmly. "One day, you're going to die, Magneto. And when that day comes, the fear you built your movement on will disappear with you."
Magneto's expression darkened slightly, but I kept going.
"And when that happens, mutants will be left defenseless all over again."
I pointed toward the city around us.
"Humans keep advancing every single day. We always will. We'll either reach the stars…" I paused for a second. "Or we'll destroy ourselves trying."
I looked him directly in the eyes.
"That's just how humanity is."
I slowly lowered myself back to the ground completely.
"We fear what we don't understand. We lash out at things that are different."
My voice softened.
"But when we finally do understand something… when we realize it's not actually a threat… we protect it. We preserve it."
Polaris stayed silent, listening carefully now.
"If humans truly understood mutants," I continued, "they'd realize people like you and me aren't that different."
I took a step closer to Magneto.
"Please, Erik. Help me help you."
The metal around us slowly stopped shaking.
"Show people you're not some monster or cartoon villain. Show them you're just a man fighting for his people… a father trying to make sure his children can live normal lives without fear."
Then I held my hand out toward him.
"Stop this attack today, and I'll help you however I can. We can expose the Sentinel Services branch together. We can shut them down permanently."
I stared at him seriously.
"And we can do it without taking innocent lives."
For several long seconds, Magneto said nothing.
In the background, the rest of the Brotherhood and my team were still fighting, explosions and shouting echoing throughout the damaged streets.
But right now… none of that mattered.
I was genuinely hoping this could end here.
Finally, Magneto spoke.
"Words," he said quietly. "Just pretty words."
His eyes narrowed.
"I have heard them many times before."
Slowly, I lowered my hand.
"Throughout my entire life, I have learned actions speak louder than words."
I was about to say more when I suddenly heard something in the distance.
A loud mechanical roar.
I turned my head sharply, my enhanced vision zooming in instantly.
Far down the street, five massive robots were rapidly approaching us.
My eyes widened.
"What the hell?" I muttered.
Magneto and Polaris saw them too.
As the robots got closer, one of their arms suddenly shifted into massive Gatling guns before opening fire on all of us.
The parking lot instantly erupted into chaos.
Bullets rained everywhere, forcing everyone to dive for cover. Without thinking, I moved in front of Magneto and Polaris, using my Viltrumite body as a shield while the rounds slammed into me nonstop.
Polaris stared in shock.
"I… I couldn't redirect them," she said. "Not even one bullet."
Magneto's eyes narrowed as he focused on the machines.
"I can't sense any metal inside them," he said grimly. "They were specifically designed to counter our abilities."
Yeah… that definitely didn't sound good.
The five robots suddenly stopped firing and floated silently above the destroyed street.
Then, completely in sync, all of them spoke at once.
"Mutant terrorist, surrender now and willingly be captured or be terminated."
The voice coming from them wasn't robotic.
It was human.
And somehow… familiar.
I blinked.
"Hold on," I said slowly. "I know that voice."
That immediately got everyone's attention, including the robots.
I pointed directly at one of them.
"Agent Turner… is that you controlling these things?"
For a second, there was silence.
Then one of the Sentinels spoke again, its voice dripping with anger.
"Omni."
I immediately pointed at it.
"Yep, that you."
I had run into Agent Turner multiple times over the last few weeks. He was the leader of the first Sentinel raid in New York and always came after mutants with insane aggression.
Honestly, I was pretty sure a mutant hurt someone close to him in the past or something. The guy hated mutants way too personally for it to just be his job.
And he definitely hated me.
Mostly because every single time Sentinel Services tried arresting mutants, I got in the way.
Well… that and the fact I 'accidentally' crushed his hand during one of our fights.
"By any chance," I asked casually, "are you still mad about the whole hand-crushing incident?"
The second I finished speaking, all five Sentinels instantly raised their cannon arms and aimed directly at me.
I slowly nodded.
"Ok," I said. "I'm taking that as a yes."
"Step aside, Omni," Agent Turner said through the Sentinels. "I'm here for the mutant terrorists."
I frowned.
"Look, I'm literally talking to them right now," I said. "I was this close to convincing them to leave peacefully. You showing up with killer robots is not helping."
"Talking time is over," Turner replied coldly. "Magneto is wanted for multiple crimes, including murder. He will be taken into custody and face justice."
I crossed my arms slightly.
"Right…" I said slowly. "And when you say 'taken into custody,' do you mean an actual prison?"
I stared directly at the Sentinels.
"Or Trask Industries?"
For the first time since they arrived, the Sentinels went completely silent.
That pause told me everything I needed to know.
"You see," I continued, "I did a little digging into Sentinel Services."
I pointed toward the robots floating above us.
"And I found files saying captured mutants get transferred to Trask Industries for experimentation. Apparently, all those experiments help improve the anti-mutant weapons you guys have been developing."
I glanced at the Sentinels up and down.
"Honestly? Judging by how these things are built, I'm guessing you've been preparing to take down Magneto for a long time."
"Hacking classified government files is a federal crime," Turner snapped.
I shrugged.
"I'm a vigilante," I replied casually. "I break the law basically every day. What's one more charge gonna do?"
"Omni," Turner said sharply, "step aside. This is your only warning. If you continue interfering, I will consider you an accomplice to Magneto and the Brotherhood."
I blinked.
"Dude," I said, genuinely confused, "I was literally fighting him six minutes ago."
I gestured toward the destroyed parking lot around us.
"I'm all for justice, but I'm not sending mutants off to a place that sounds worse than death."
"Step aside and order your team to do the same," Turner warned. "If you refuse, the Sentinels will be authorized to neutralize you as well."
Everything went quiet for a few seconds.
Then I sighed.
"Okay then," I said calmly. "Guess you leave me no choice."
For some reason, I could practically feel Turner smirking behind those machines, probably thinking I was about to surrender.
Instead, I looked toward my team and raised my voice.
"Omni Warriors!"
Everyone turned toward me.
"Protect the Brotherhood!"
The entire parking lot went dead silent for a couple of seconds; everyone just stared at me in shock.
My team.
The Brotherhood.
Even Magneto himself.
Nobody expected me to say that.
But the moment the Sentinels opened fire again, all hesitation disappeared.
Everything exploded into action.
Spider-Man and Silk immediately webbed up a nearby car and swung it straight into one of the Sentinels, knocking the machine out of the air and it crashing to the ground.
That opening was all Pyro needed.
Flames erupted around the damaged Sentinel, superheating its systems until it exploded in a burst of fire and molten scraps.
At the same time, Stargirl blasted another Sentinel out of the sky with a massive cosmic energy beam, sending it spiraling downward.
"Dragon Queen! Blob! Now!" she shouted.
Blob charged forward while Dragon Queen slammed into the falling machine from above. Between Blob's raw strength and her dragon-enhanced power, they tore the Sentinel apart before it could even recover.
On the other side of the street, White Tiger grabbed Wildcat and literally threw her through the air.
Wildcat spun midair and slashed straight through one of the Sentinel's leg boosters.
The machine lost balance instantly and slammed into the ground with a massive thud.
It tried to stand back up, but Avalanche immediately cracked the street beneath it, trapping both legs deep inside the crater.
"Now!"
Sabertooth, Toad, and White Tiger all rushed it at once.
Claws, kicks, and brute force ripped the Sentinel apart within seconds.
That only left two.
Both remaining Sentinels immediately targeted me.
Before they could fire, Magneto suddenly ripped apart nearby street metal and compressed it into a giant sphere before launching it like a cannonball.
The metal sphere smashed directly into one Sentinel's chest, crushing the entire machine inward like a soda can.
At the same time, I shot toward the last Sentinel at full speed.
I grabbed its head mid-flight.
And ripped it clean off.
Its body collapsed to the ground while I crushed the head in my hands, sparks exploding between my fingers.
"Should've listened to me from the beginning, idiot," I muttered.
Then I turned toward Magneto.
"You said actions speak louder than words," I said. "So tell me… how loud was I today?"
For a few seconds, Magneto stayed silent.
Then, slowly, the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
"Loud enough, young one," he said. "Loud enough."
He turned toward the Brotherhood and raised his hand.
"To me, my Brotherhood!"
Without hesitation, the Brotherhood regrouped around Magneto and Polaris.
Metal from all across the destroyed street suddenly rose into the air, reshaping itself into several floating discs beneath their feet.
Before leaving, Magneto looked back at me one last time.
"It seems you and I are fighting for the same future," he said. "We will speak again. But for today… I retreat."
I smiled slightly and gave him a nod.
Magneto returned it.
Then metal wrapped around the Brotherhood like a protective shell. Right before it fully closed, I noticed Polaris staring at me.
There was respect in her eyes, but there was something else too, something I couldn't fully figure out; the feeling looked strangely familiar. But before I could think about it any longer, the metal sphere sealed completely and shot off into the sky.
A couple of hours later…
After the battle ended, the police, firefighters, and ambulances showed up within minutes. The entire mall area was blocked off, lights flashing everywhere while emergency workers helped injured civilians and cleaned up the destruction left behind by both the Brotherhood and the Sentinels.
Most of the team had already headed back to base.
Well… everyone except Peter, Ned, and me.
The main reason we stayed was because we were worried about Andy.
During the chaos of the fight, he slipped away, and for a while, we had no idea where he went. Thankfully, we eventually found each other again and ended up giving statements to the police together.
Of course… we lied.
There was no way we were telling them what actually happened.
We just said we hid on the opposite side of the parking lot during the attack and didn't see much besides robots, explosions, and people running everywhere.
We included Andy in the lie too.
The police definitely didn't need to know the Brotherhood specifically came here for him.
After they finished taking our statements, the officers moved on to question more witnesses nearby.
Andy looked down for a moment before speaking quietly.
"You guys didn't have to do that for me."
"Yes, we did," Ned immediately replied. "That's what friends do."
Andy looked between all of us carefully.
"So… you guys really don't have a problem with me being a mutant?" he asked nervously.
Peter looked genuinely confused by the question.
"Of course not," he said. "Mutant or human, you're still Andy."
I nodded.
"Nothing about you changed."
After the battle, once we finally regrouped, Andy ended up telling Peter and Ned the truth about being a mutant.
And just like I expected…
They accepted him immediately with open arms.
Andy smiled softly.
"I'm really grateful to have friends like you guys."
The three of us smiled back at him.
"ANDY!"
We all turned toward the familiar voice and saw Caitlin Strucker running toward us alongside Reed Strucker and Lauren.
The second Caitlin reached him, she pulled Andy into a crushing hug and started kissing all over his face like any terrified mother would after nearly losing her child.
"Oh my God, are you okay?! Are you hurt?! Let me see your face!"
"Mom! Mom, I'm fine!" Andy groaned in embarrassment while Lauren laughed beside them.
Honestly… the whole thing was kinda sweet.
Ned leaned closer to us and whispered, "I'm really glad we don't have to deal with that."
I immediately looked at him.
"You just jinxed us."
"What?"
Not even three seconds later.
"PETER!"
"NED!"
"FRANKLIN!"
We slowly turned around and instantly regretted everything.
Grandpa Max, Aunt May, and Ned's mom were sprinting toward us at full speed.
"Oh no," Peter whispered.
Before any of us could escape, they reached us and pulled all three of us into bone-crushing hugs.
Especially Grandpa Max.
I swear that man had alien-level strength.
"G-Grandpa…" I wheezed out. "Can't… breathe…"
I don't think he even heard me.
"I thought I lost you, too," he whispered shakily. "Thank God you're okay."
I looked toward Peter and Ned for help, but they weren't doing any better.
Peter's face was literally turning blue.
"I'm blacking out," I croaked dramatically. "I'll see you guys on the other side…"
That finally made them realize they were squeezing us too hard, and they quickly let go.
All three of us stumbled backward, gasping for air.
"Sorry!" they all said at once.
"It's fine," I said while catching my breath. "Life and death situations twice in a day is healthy. Builds character, at least that's what people say."
Peter immediately pointed at me.
"Literally nobody says that."
"After I heard the mall was attacked and found out you were here, I drove over as fast as I could," Grandpa Max said. "The whole way here, I was thinking the worst. I'm just glad you're okay, Franklin."
I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly.
"It's no problem, Grandpa. Sorry for worrying you," I said with a grin. "But you know me. The second I see danger, I immediately run away."
Grandpa Max burst out laughing.
"Good," he said proudly. "That's exactly what you should do. Leave the dangerous stuff to the professionals. You're still a kid, after all."
Peter and Ned both looked at me, trying not to laugh knowing I had literally fought Magneto and Sentinels less than an hour ago.
Then Ned's mom spoke up.
"Do any of you know why Magneto attacked the mall in the first place?" she asked curiously.
The three of us answered instantly.
"Not a clue."
We all spoke in perfect unison.
Everyone stared at us suspiciously.
Crap.
I quickly cleared my throat and changed the subject before anyone could question us further.
"Mrs. Strucker," I said smoothly, "you're looking beautiful as ever. How have you been?"
Caitlin laughed softly and shook her head.
"Still a flirt, I see," she said. "I've been doing well, Franklin. I'm just glad you and Andy became friends again."
"Again?" I repeated with fake offense. "We were always friends. We just got a little distant."
That made her smile warmly.
"Wait a minute, Strucker," Grandpa Max said, narrowing his eyes a little before a grin spread across his face. "So this young lady is Lauren Strucker? The same girl you had that massive crush on a few years back?"
The second he said that, my eyes widened.
Peter, Ned, and Andy immediately started laughing, and even Laura was trying not to smile.
"I-I wouldn't say massive crush," I said quickly, trying to defend myself.
"Really?" Grandpa asked innocently, even though the smug smile on his face said he knew exactly what he was doing. "So I guess you write poems for every girl you like then?"
Lauren blinked. "Poems?"
"Oh yes," Grandpa Max said proudly. "He used to call me for months asking for help writing them. I'm pretty sure he made about twelve of them." He looked over at Laura with a grin. "Did you ever get any?"
Laura's smile somehow got even bigger as she slowly turned toward me.
"That was you?" she asked.
A couple of years back, when Lauren and Andy were still going to our school, I used to slip those poems into her locker without anyone seeing me. She never knew who they were from because I was way too scared to sign my name on any of them.
"So you did get them," Grandpa Max said with a smile.
"OKAY!" I shouted suddenly, trying to kill this conversation before Grandpa Max exposed anything else.
"This has already been a really long day. A mutant terrorist attack at the mall, hiding under a car, it has been a crazy day. I think it's time to end it here. Let's go."
Before anyone could say another word, I quickly grabbed Peter and Ned and started dragging them toward my car.
"Don't worry, I'll drop these guys off. We'll meet you at home," I said with a forced smile.
The real reason I wanted these two riding with me was simple: I needed to make sure they never told Ava or Yolanda about the poems.
Peter was already trying not to laugh while Ned looked seconds away from snitching for entertainment.
As I walked away, completely focused on threatening those two into silence, I didn't notice Lauren still standing there smiling softly, her cheeks slightly red.