ZET-MAN! (Re-Imagined)

~ Carter's Pov, 1 month later ~

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I snapped my eyes open, the familiar disorienting rush of adrenaline surging through my veins as I took in my surroundings. Not surprising—this place looked like a war zone. Rusted metal panels, scorched walls, and the stench of burnt ozone hung thick in the air. I ran my hand through my hair, pulling out the tangles of dust and sweat that had accumulated from yet another long day in the trenches.

"Another day, another alien infested craphole," I muttered under my breath, pushing myself up from the floor and brushing off the grime. Why do they always have to mess with tech in the worst possible places?

I adjusted the harness on my back, feeling the weight of my gear settle in. The Omni-Tool, which I'd attached to my wrist, blinked a few times as it calibrated to my internal bio-signals. Its sleek metallic surface caught the dim light from the flickering overhead lights, but the real magic wasn't in the design—it was in the functionality.

Alien tech was... something else. It was always almost intuitive, but with just enough quirks that you had to pay attention. For example, the scanner in my Omni-Tool. It could track energy signatures, identify specific alien alloys, or pick up on subtle quantum disturbances in the local atmosphere—like, say, the familiar hum of cloaked enemies. Right now, it was tracking a bunch of heat signatures, but they were far enough out that they weren't immediately a problem.

At least not yet.

I shifted my stance, letting my fingers hover over the hilt of my plasma blade, the weapon humming softly in its sheathe. You wouldn't think it, but it was one of the most efficient pieces of tech I'd ever come across—Galvan-designed, maybe; but still pretty damn effective for slicing through just about anything with near molecular precision.

"Alright, Carter," I readied myself, tapping the scanner on my wrist. "You're getting distracted. Focus."

The hallway stretched ahead, narrow and claustrophobic, with exposed pipes running along the ceiling and a crumbling floor beneath my boots. The walls had that strange sheen to them—some kind of self-healing polymer. I could tell by the way the surface pulsed faintly, constantly fixing microfractures like it was still alive. Honestly, this facility's tech was a nightmare. They'd patched it up over the years with scavenged parts, but no matter how many times I rewired the systems, the place always felt... unfinished. Half-baked.

Then again, I guess that's par for the course when you're working with alien tech you barely understand. The fact that the stuff even works half the time is a miracle.

"Right, let's make this quick."

I pulled up a holographic display on my Omni-Tool, scanning the nearby energy signatures. I didn't need to be told what I was up against. The little fluctuation in the far left corner? That's the telltale sign of cloaked Zerg'nak fighters—pretty typical. And that red-tinged burst of radiation? Oh, that's the signature of a Draxan flux-cannon. I could already hear the low thrum of it powering up somewhere in the distance.

"Perfect," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "Just what I need: a few dozen Draxans with high-powered rifles. Oh, and can we throw in a few more of those invisible assholes while we're at it?"

I clicked my tongue, trying to suppress the growing irritation. These aliens had no respect for anything. The Draxans? Overzealous and brazen, but deadly in their own right. Their tech was brutal: laser-weave shields, explosive rounds that were a pain to dodge, and their flux-cannons could turn anything into vapor if one wasn't careful. I'd been through too many firefights with them to count, but I wasn't about to make the rookie mistake of underestimating them...

I slid my plasma blade from its sheath, feeling the weight in my hands as the blade's energy crackled to life. My fingers twitched as the electromagnetic pulses flowed through the weapon, the core cooling down just enough for optimal cutting power. The plasma edge wasn't sharp in the traditional sense, but it didn't need to be—it could slice through metals, alloys, and even dense biological matter with ease. Perfect tool for dealing with problems that need a quick, precise resolution.

"Alright, let's dance."

I moved through the facility with calculated precision, scanning every corner, every shadow. The flicker of broken lights didn't help—making it harder to trust my instincts, but I knew better than to rely solely on sight. That's when the unexpected things get you.

I rounded a corner, and that's when I saw it. The door to the main lab—busted wide open. No surprise there. The Zer'tak tech in that room was supposed to be locked down tighter than a Sphinx's jaw, but when has that ever stopped anyone?

Idiots.

The door slid open, and a low hum vibrated the air—a telltale sign of active Zer'tak energy converters. Definitely not a good sign. These aliens had been trying to harness the energy from these reactors for centuries, and the results were always the same: instability, explosions, and generally bad outcomes for anyone unlucky enough to be standing nearby.

I crept toward the reactor core. "Don't blow up, don't blow up," I muttered to myself as I moved in closer, fingers tingling with the sensation of unstable alien power all around me.

Then—there it was—a flash of red light and a deep whoosh as something sped past me, nearly knocking me off my feet. I rolled instinctively, drawing my gun and flicking the safety off as I trained it on the source. The Zerg'nak fighter had just revealed itself. It was cloaked, but not completely—I could see the outline of its form as it adjusted its energy signature.

"You're not slick, pal," I growled, aiming at the spot where its silhouette flickered. With a quick pull of the trigger, a burst of energy shot out from my gun, the blast hitting its mark and creating a visible shockwave. The thing staggered back, momentarily stunned, before shifting its weight and raising its plasma rifle.

I didn't hesitate. I lunged forward, spinning my blade in a fluid arc. With a hiss, the plasma blade met its target, cutting clean through the fighter's armor and decimating the internal components of its weapon. The alien staggered back, clutching its chest as it let out a gurgling screech.

"That's one," I muttered, watching it collapse. But I wasn't done.

Another hiss sounded to my left. There were more—no surprise there. Besides this, all I've been getting, is nothing but a bad vibe...

"Still, back to work."

~ Omniscient Pov, A few hours Later ~

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Carter leaned in the doorway, arms crossed, watching Alex with a mix of disbelief and admiration. The kid was relentless. He had the body of a teenager, sure, but the mind—that mind—it was a whole different story. It was like talking to someone with the wisdom of an ancient strategist, all wrapped up in a lean frame a little past than Carter's shoulders.

Carter watched as Alex paused mid-punch, sweat slicking his forehead as he wiped it with his sleeve. Even through the exhaustion, there was a sharp intensity in his eyes. It wasn't just training. It never was with Alex. Everything had a purpose, even if Carter couldn't always figure it out.

'I'm getting way too old for this...' He thought absently, his years were catching up with him and fast too. He knew he didn't have much time left, maybe a few more years tops in this kind of business.

Alex on the other hand took a deep breath and then spoke with that same seriousness. "I'm preparing for whatever comes next."

"Yeah, and you're doing a great job of it kiddo. Still, I wish you could break sometimes..."

Alex didn't look up. His hands still worked through the routine, his focus unwavering. "No one knows what's coming," he said, his voice steady. "But that doesn't mean I can't be ready."

Carter couldn't help but grin. "I mean, you're not wrong there. It's not like we've got a lot of time before things get... messy again."

Alex stopped mid-motion, his right arm still raised in a block. He glanced up at Carter with a look that could only be described as 'knowing'. A smirk tugged at his lips, but it wasn't playful. It was the smirk of someone who had seen something that the rest of them hadn't quite grasped yet.

"You still have no idea what you're dealing with, do you?"

Carter's grin faltered as Alex's words hit him like a brick. "What do you mean by that?" he asked, his curiosity piqued.

Alex took a slow, deliberate breath and finally lowered his arm. His gaze drifted toward the corner of the room, his mind clearly turning over pieces of a puzzle Carter could barely begin to understand. "The aliens you keep running into?" Alex's voice had gone quieter, more thoughtful now. "They're not just wandering aimlessly. They're likely part of a much bigger, much more complicated set of things happening all around the areas you keep chasing them to."

Carter blinked, pushing off the doorframe. "What are you talking about?"

Alex's eyes flickered to the maps Carter had pinned to the walls. Alex had seen them all, the scattered locations of the alien sightings. Carter had assumed they were random, a series of isolated events that were strung together by the aliens' shifting motives.

But Alex wasn't so sure about that little detail...

"Doesn't hat concern you? That they're all too... ordered," Alex said, pushing off from the floor, his movements still fluid despite the obvious strain on his muscles. "Those so-called hideouts? They're almost exactly the same distance from each other. All 30 x 30, to a 50 x 50-mile radius." He paused, looking over at Carter with a raised eyebrow. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say they're up to something. It's not random, Carter. Nothing about this is."

The words sank in.

Carter stood there, dumbstruck for a second, before his eyes snapped back to the maps on the wall. His gut twisted. That line of thought hadn't even crossed his mind. In all the time he'd been hunting these aliens, he'd assumed their appearances were just coincidences—just different pieces of the chaotic puzzle that had fallen in their laps. But now...

Was Alex right?

"Hold on," Carter said, narrowing his eyes. "You're saying these locations are... connected? There's a pattern?"

Alex shrugged slightly, his smirk fading into something more contemplative. "I'm saying there's a pattern. And that pattern doesn't look like an accident. You've seen what the aliens can do. Some of them, at least. If they're organizing themselves, it means something bigger is coming. A purpose."

Carter felt a chill creep up his spine. He stepped forward, his brain spinning, through the endless hours spent hunting down alien after alien, never once thinking about the larger picture. Had he been missing something crucial this entire time? Had they all been so focused on stopping the individual threats that they hadn't seen the real danger growing behind the scenes?

'Still, aliens that come here don't typically work together, they were all here for either the planet, or the humans residing on it, so why now? And why so many different species?' Carter thought. It just didn't happen on a scale like this.

He leaned forward, eyes fixed on Alex. "How do you know all this, kid? You're—what? Thirteen? near fourteen?" Carter's voice softened, awe mixed in with his disbelief. "How-how the hell did you figure all this out?"

Alex shrugged again, the motion nonchalant, but his gaze never left Carter. "I just... understand things, plus I read a lot in between my rests... That's all. Doesn't matter if it's maps or aliens or anything else. I look at it, I break it down, and I can see their patterns. What might come next. What's probably going to happen."

"Are you sure about this?" Carter asked, his voice heavy with skepticism. "This could be some wild coincidence kid. Or you're just looking too deeply into it."

Alex stared at him for a moment. Then, his eyes flickered with a hint of something dangerous—a knowing, a certainty. "If I'm right, Carter, we all could be facing something much bigger than just the aliens you've been chasing. And when it comes for us, all of us, you'll wish you'd listened sooner."

Carter felt a tight knot form in his stomach. He wasn't sure whether to feel afraid or impressed by the kid's certainty. But one thing was clear: Alex had just given him a serious wake-up call, a glimpse of something much worse, and much more dangerous than he or his team could have imagined.

And Carter wasn't sure if he was ready for it, but, he had to warn them before time.

Still, he was concerned. Alex had been brought up likely not having anybody to rely on. Much less kids his own age, but Carter wondered how that would even play out at this point. The boy was far too intelligent, and the rate he was growing was alarming too...

For once in a long while Carter let out a massive sigh, 'I need to figure this out, but now I've got to deal with this alien mess we're potentially in too.'

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END