Kevin softly adjusted the wiring on the interdimensional projector. The faint hum of the machine reverberated through the emptiness around him. He stepped back to inspect it. This contraption was the culmination of years of ingenuity and sheer survival instinct. It shouldn't have taken this long to construct, but the Rooters had remained a persistent nuisance, sabotaging his efforts every step of the way. They had destroyed more than ten parts that he had painstakingly crafted, forcing him to rely on the old-fashioned trial and error method.
Kevin wasn't like the other souls trapped in the Null Void. To them, it was a prison of despair with no escape. To him, it was a playground ripe with opportunities. His Osmosian heritage had provided him with an advantage—he didn't need an Omnitrix to wield alien powers; his DNA was a living archive of potential.
Once upon a time, Servantis had tried to turn him into a weapon for the Rooters. He had been raised to serve, stripped of his identity, and treated as nothing more than a pawn. But Kevin had always been craftier than anyone had given him credit for. As Servantis plotted, Kevin observed and learned. And when Ben Tennyson brought the Rooters down, he seized his chance.
The memory still brought a bitter smile to Kevin's face. Servantis had been so smug, so sure of his own invincibility. Kevin had returned to the Null Void with one goal in mind: vengeance. Killing Servantis had been more than just retribution for the heinous act of turning children into mutants with alien DNA; it had been his ticket to freedom. He couldn't truly be free until Servantis was dead.
His other rooters were a problem though. The ones alied with Servantis. They had managed to get a Kill order on him as he had killed Servantis, who in the eyes of the organisation was nothing but an honourable Plumber of highest order. Getting kill order in Nullvoid meant that he was free to be hunted. Once they learnt that he wasn't easy to be destroyed, the remaining rooters started to destroy his plan on leaving Nullvoid. They tried to stop him from obtaining the parts at first, but immediately resorted to destroy the parts when it became evident that he was unstoppable now.
But now, he was finally free.
Kevin stood alone in the dimly lit Null Void, the last pieces of his escape plan falling into place. The projector emitted a soft glow as the circuits connected, and the outline of the portal shimmered in the stale air. He tightened one last bolt, feeling the warmth of the metal beneath his fingertips, and stepped back.
"Finally," he murmured, his voice low but sharp in the silence. "Time to leave this dump behind."
The portal roared to life, swirling with a kaleidoscope of colors that stood out starkly against the bleak gray of the Null Void. For a moment, Kevin just stared at it. Freedom was within his grasp—real freedom, not the fleeting kind he'd always known. This was about more than just escaping the Null Void; it was about reclaiming his life, his power, his destiny.
As he approached the portal, memories flooded his mind: the experiments, the hybridization, the ways Servantis had attempted to break his spirit. But in doing so, Servantis had inadvertently unlocked Kevin's true potential.
Kevin wasn't just any Osmosian with absorption abilities. He was something much more powerful.
A living, breathing Omnitrix unto himself.
"Thanks for the lesson, old man," Kevin muttered, his lips curling into a smug smirk. "But I'm done playing your game."
He took a deep breath and stepped through the portal. The swirling energy enveloped him, and for a brief instant, the Null Void disappeared from view.
His mind raced with possibilities, with plans, and a faint whisper of vengeance.
Wherever the portal was leading him, Kevin Levin wasn't arriving empty-handed.
_____
Kevin blinked as he emerged from the swirling portal into the dim light of the alley. The air was damp and carried a faint smell of pollution, something he hadn't encountered in a very long time. He looked down at his ragged jeans and torn T-shirt, which clung to his frame. He looked like a mess. His frown deepened as he observed the mass of people outside the alley moving in a strange, eerie unison. Their faces were blank, their eyes glazed over, and they shuffled along like puppets controlled by unseen hands. Something wasn't right.
Kevin felt a peculiar pressure against the back of his neck, an unfamiliar energy that was almost hypnotic. He realized that it was trying to invade his mind, but as his Osmosian DNA kicked in, it absorbed and neutralized the energy, causing it to fizzle out harmlessly. He rubbed his neck and stepped closer to the edge of the alley.
The source of the energy was a young woman in her twenties, standing in the center of the street. A faint red glow enveloped her, pulsing in time with the waves of energy that spread out from her. Her expression was calm and focused, but there was an intensity in her gaze as she watched the crowd disperse.
Kevin narrowed his eyes, studying her with the same caution one might reserve for a dangerous animal. He wasn't sure if she was a well-intentioned hero like Tennyson or something more sinister. The people she was "helping" certainly didn't look thrilled with the situation.
He took a step forward and looked at her. The glow around her flickered as she turned to look at him, her gaze locking onto him with purpose.
"You gonna stop trying to mess with my head, or do we have a problem?" Kevin called out, his voice casual despite the underlying challenge.
The woman's eyebrow arched. "I wasn't trying to 'mess with your head'," she replied, her tone clipped. "I'm evacuating civilians. Orders."
"Orders?" Kevin echoed, smirking. "And let me guess, you're the big boss around here? Or just the lackey?"
Her eyes narrowed, and the red aura around her intensified slightly. "I don't know who you think you are," she said coolly, "but if you'd rather stand there making comments instead of getting to safety, that's your problem. I'm not here to argue with you. I've got orders to follow."
Kevin remained unfazed by her tone. "Safety from what, exactly? You're clearing people out like the apocalypse just rolled into town," he quipped, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Her expression shifted from irritation to disbelief. "You don't know?" she questioned, her voice tight.
"Would I be asking if I did?" Kevin retorted, his voice filled with sarcasm.
The woman took a deep breath, obviously contemplating whether or not she should bother explaining. "Ultron," she said finally, her tone curt. "He's going to attack here. We need to get the civilians out of the area immediately."
Kevin's smirk faltered for a brief moment. "Ultron," he murmured, tasting the word like it was unpleasant. "What the hell is an Ultron?"
The girl's brows furrowed, and she stared at him with a mix of confusion and annoyance. "Where have you been?" she exclaimed.
Kevin didn't answer. He just stared at her, his expression unreadable. The tension between them grew thick, neither willing to back down.
Suddenly, the sound of boots hitting concrete echoed through the alley. They both turned to see a man in a tactical suit approaching them, a quiver over his shoulder and a bow in his hand. His gaze went straight to Kevin, and he frowned deeply.
"Are we going to get this over with or not?" the man barked at the girl. "Use your magic, come on! We don't have time to waste!"
The girl hesitated, looking uncomfortable. "It's not that simple," she protested. "It doesn't work on him."
The man's gaze sharpened, and he took a protective stance beside her, eyeing Kevin warily. "Friend or foe?" he demanded.
Kevin's smirk grew wider, and he leaned his head to the side. "That depends," he drawled. "You guys looking to throw down, or are you just going to walk away?"
The man's expression remained neutral, his gaze assessing Kevin. "I don't know who you are," he said, his voice even, "but we're here to stop something much bigger than you. If you're not here to help, you're free to leave. We've got more pressing issues to deal with right now."
Kevin's chest puffed out a bit, his cockiness palpable. "Smart move, buddy," he said, his tone filled with arrogance. "Guess you're not a complete idiot after all."
Ignoring the jab, the man remained focused. "We're here to stop something much bigger than any of us. If you're not planning to help, you're free to go. We've got enough to handle as it is," he said firmly.
Kevin held his gaze for a moment, then shrugged and turned to leave, his bare feet scuffing against the pavement. "Whatever," he mumbled.
The man and the girl exchanged glances but said nothing as Kevin walked away. He had barely moved two steps when the ground began to rumble violently. A crack echoed through the air as the pavement split open beneath them. Buildings around them quivered, and debris rained down from their facades. The trio stumbled, thrown off balance by the sudden earthquake.
"What the hell was that?" Kevin muttered, catching himself against the alley wall.
The man and the girl said nothing, their eyes searching the area for the source of the tremor. The girl's red aura grew brighter, a clear sign of her fear. The man gripped his bow, his eyes scanning their surroundings.
Kevin's bravado faded to genuine concern. The tremors grew stronger, and he realized that the ground wasn't just shaking—it was being torn apart. The way the earth moved suggested something was lifting it from below.
Before anyone could speak, the ground heaved again, and a robotic hand burst from the fissure, wrapping around Kevin's ankle.
"Damn it!" Kevin yelled, trying to shake it off. His foot connected with something solid, and he stumbled back.
Looking down, he saw a sleek, humanoid robot emerging from the ground. It had a cold, mechanical grip on him.
The man loosed an arrow, which struck the robot in the head. However, the robot remained unfazed.
Kevin's irritation grew as he watched the man. "Looks like I've got to handle this myself," he said, his voice thick with sarcasm.
With a flick of his wrist, he activated his telekinesis. The robot froze, its body contorted under the invisible pressure. Kevin's smirk grew as he clenched his fist, crushing the robot into a tiny metal cube.
More robots were emerging from the ground, their movements eerily fluid despite being made of metal.
"Alright, let's keep this short," Kevin announced, extending his arms.
The girl and the man watched as his magnetic powers flared. The robots jolted and were drawn toward him with a disturbing precision. One by one, Kevin crushed them in midair, reducing them to scrap metal.
The man's expression remained unchanged, but the girl's eyes widened in astonishment.
Kevin tossed the last crumpled robot to the ground. "And that's how you handle a situation like this," he said, his tone smug.
The ground beneath them lurched again, and more robots emerged from the cracks, their red eyes fixing on the three of them.
Kevin smirked. Earth had really changed a lot in his absence. Deadly humanoid robots, this was certainly new!