"Class is over. The next class starts in five minutes," announced our homeroom teacher.
I sighed with relief, slouching in my chair.
"RJ!" My best friend nudged me. "The teacher's gone! Let's go before the next one comes in!"
I grinned and stood up. "Is it finally happening?"
"Yes, man! Let's go!"
Me and my three friends quickly got up from our bench, trying to make as little noise as possible. But as we made our way to the door, our classmates started noticing us.
"Faster, guys! Or we'll miss the movie," I whispered urgently.
Yes, we were bunking class. For what, you ask? A movie. Not just any movie—Marvel's Avengers: Endgame.
Today was the day. The culmination of ten years of Marvel movies. Getting tickets was next to impossible, especially here in India, where Infinity War made Marvel explode in popularity. But somehow, we managed it.
"Man, that movie was incredible," my friend said as we exited the theater.
"Incredible? It was a blockbuster!" I replied. "That snap...it broke me."
"Yeah, bro," my other friend chimed in, still wiping his eyes. "But what's next? Iron Man's gone. Who's going to take his place?"
"Maybe his daughter?" I suggested. "Who knows? Anyway, I'm grabbing my bike. Bring something to eat. I'll wait outside."
As I stood by my bike, I saw a truck speeding toward me. For a moment, I froze. The driver was yelling something weird:
"Yam ha ham! Yam ha ham!"
What the heck? Was he cosplaying as a god? He had horns on his head and everything.
"Is this guy for real?" I muttered.
Before I could react, the truck hit me.
When I opened my eyes, everything around me was red. Pools of lava bubbled everywhere, and the heat was suffocating.
"Hey, mortal!" a voice boomed.
I whipped my head left and right, trying to find the source.
"Up here, idiot!"
I looked up and saw him—the guy who had slammed a truck into me. He was lounging on a floating chair, sipping something through a straw, with a pair of goggles on his eyes.
"You!" I shouted, still in shock.
He waved dismissively. "Shut your mouth, or something might fly into it."
"Why did you kill me? Was my time up?" I blurted, my brain struggling to process everything.
"Eh, not really," he said casually. "It was your friend's time, actually. But I came a bit early and hit you by mistake. You were just supposed to end up in the hospital."
I stared at him blankly.
"Is my friend safe?" I asked, hoping for good news.
The so-called god shrugged. "Nope. After I realized my mistake, I took a U-turn and hit him, too. Can't have a bad record, you know."
"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!"
"Yep. It happens," he said nonchalantly.
"So…where is he now?"
"Already on his way to the next life."
"And me? What's going to happen to me?"
"Well, since it was my mistake, I'll compensate you."
"Compensate? Does that mean I'll go back?"
"Nah, that's impossible."
I groaned. "Then what?"
"I'll throw you into reincarnation," he said. "You'll retain your memories, starting from age 15. As a bonus, I'll let you pick one artifact from the multiverse. Any artifact you want."
I blinked. "Wait...there's a multiverse?"
"Obviously. Now hurry up and pick. I don't have all day."
My mind raced. Any artifact from the multiverse? The possibilities were endless. But there was one thing—one legendary object—that popped into my head.
"The Omnitrix," I blurted out.
"Done," he said instantly.
"Wait, what do you mean 'done'?!"
Before I could argue, everything went black.