On a typical Saturday evening, we see a excited teenager heading out to see a movie with his two friends, Jacob and Alice. Jacob, who is in a relationship with Alice, didn't let that disrupt their friendship; if anything, it made it stronger.
The teen in question is Max Strong, an ordinary 17-year-old high school student. Today, he's wearing a black hoodie with the hood pulled over his head, along with black jeans and some running shoes.
Despite his appearance, Max is just being cautious — it's supposed to rain today, and judging by how the clouds look, he's practically expecting it.
"Max, come on, I told you it's not going to rain for a few hours," Jacob says.
"Yeah, and a little rain never hurt anyone," Alice chimes in.
"Yeah, but I prefer to play it safe, just in case," Max replies. Even though he's dissuaded by his friends, he's always cautious — it's just who he is.
"And Alice, shouldn't you be more worried, especially since you know that guy?" I add. That guy was her ex, a crazy psycho who wouldn't accept that she's moved on. He's been sending her messages threatening to kill her if she didn't break up with Jacob.
"We've got a restraining order on him. He'd be crazy enough to attack us in broad daylight," she says, waving it off. I just mutter that some people are genuinely nuts enough to do that. We head toward the movie theater, where a crowd of people is gathering.
"This is going to take a minute," Jacob says, glancing at his phone. I'm bored out of my mind, until I notice someone approaching — that's when I decide to step down. I know he's got a knife, and he's coming straight for Jacob.
"Die, die, die!" the man yells frantically, rushing at Jacob. Before he can land a blow, Max pushes Jacob back, catches the knife in his chest, then punches him in the face, knocking him out. As he falls, Jacob grabs the knife from the maxs chest, and blood begins to seep out.
"You owe me one," Max says as he collapses, calling an ambulance before everything fades to black.
Meanwhile, outside of space and time, a soul, feeling nothing but negativity, is approached by a divine being. The soul, which took the shape of Max's former body, is granted a second chance at life and the ability to fulfill any wish. The divine being bestows three powers, abilities, or feats of intelligence from any characters the soul desires.
Max, still confused, asks if he can be any character from any universe.
"It's limited; you can't wish to be an all-powerful deity, and characters beyond my power to grant wouldn't be possible," the divine responds.
Max then requests the powers of Yuji Itadori at 80 years old, along with all he has Nearly indestructible immortal body and power, which he believes he can handle easily. He also asks for the knowledge and sensitivities to be automatically implanted in his mind.
The divine agrees, explaining, "Once you arrive wherever you want to go next, all of Yuji's skills and abilities will be yours."
Next, Max asks for all of Gojo's powers — the Six Eyes, Limitless, Purple, Reverse Curse Technique, everything.
The divine nods in agreement.
Finally, Max requests Mahoraga's ability to adapt to anything given enough time. With these powers combined, he believes he can beat anyone he encounters.
"You have your abilities. What world would you like to be sent to?" the divine asks.
"Send me to the Invincible universe, specifically two days before Invincible gets his powers," Max replies confidently.
The divine hesitates, surprised. "With those abilities, I thought you'd want to go somewhere else?"
"Oh, I'll go somewhere else later — just not right now," Max smirks, thinking about Antrum Levy, a guy who can travel across multiverses and visit Marvel and DC worlds. It's going to be a fun chase.
"Alright, that's everything. I'll give you a very brief warning: your body's going to be a little different," the divine says, as a portal opens.
Before he can ask what that means, Max feels himself pulled through the portal and lands deep within a forest.
Two hours later, Max wakes up and looks at his hands. "Do I have white powder on me?" he wonders, noticing his hands are completely white.
No, no, no, he mutters, quickly moving with more speed than expected to find a reflection. Eventually, he spots a stream, and looking into it, he sees that his clothes have changed: his previously baggy clothes are now tight, showing off his muscles. He's grown a few feet and is now 6 feet tall. His eyes, once brown, now shine blue; his skin is completely pale and white, with a welt. His short brown hair has turned white and flows down his back, streaked with pink.
"So that's what they meant by my body changing," he says. Suddenly, a headache hits him — memories flood his mind: techniques, powers, and experiences from the three characters he chose, far beyond normal human limits. The pain becomes intense as he's overwhelmed with over 1,000 years of Mahoraga's battles and experiences, as well as his summoning as a cursed spirit.
"That was a lot," he says finally, clutching his head as the pain subsides. When he lifts his gaze, he notices the sky, which was once bright with sunlight, has turned dark like night.
"Wow, that took a while. I wonder how long I've been here," he muses, rising to his feet.
He uses his Limitless to float in the air, then takes off flying out of the forest, arriving in a large city.
On a rooftop, he looks down at the busy streets, people living their lives unaware of the future awaiting them.
First, he thinks, I should probably meet the Teen Team and join their crew. But how? I don't know where they are — I only know their base. I just can't figure out how to get in.
Suddenly, a massive explosion erupts somewhere in the distance. Watching the chaos, he activates his teleportation, appearing on a nearby building. He sees the Teen Team fighting a four-armed monster, which has a giant horn on its head, multiple eyes, and armored fists.
At first, I wondered why they were struggling with this thing — until it used its mind to pick up a boulder and hurl it at Robot. Luckily, he dodged, and it hit a building behind him.
Dupli-Kate is evacuating civilians, while Adam Eve throws her pink constructs. Rax tries to shoot projectiles, but the monster's telekinesis sends them flying back at him.
I realize that's probably why they're having trouble — it's a telepathic monster with telekinesis. Using its psychic signature, I pinpoint its mind.
"Time to make an entrance — maximum effort." I instantly appear in front of the creature. It tries to punch me, but its fist slows down and stops just short.
I make a classic gesture with my fingers. "Dismantle," I say, smirking. The creature is sliced in half by my ability, continuing its rampage across the city, which thankfully is deserted.
I turn to see the Teen Team staring at me.
"Who the fuck are you?" Rex demands.
"You can call me Sorcerer," I reply, teleporting in front of him.
"Thanks for the assist," Robot says, voice mechanical.
"Yeah, appreciate it," Dupli-Kate adds.
Just as I'm about to say more, a well-dressed man with white hair and a scar on the right side of his face teleports onto the scene. Agents begin clearing the remains of the monster.
"Cecil, good to see you," Robot says.
"Yeah, I know. So, what's your story?" the man asks, eyeing me directly.
"Just a guy passing by who wanted to help," I reply.
Cecil simply nods, realizing they're pretty powerful all on their own — a new face wouldn't hurt.
"Keep a close eye on him for me, Robot," Cecil says before teleporting away.
"Sorcerer, want to come with us to our base?" Robot asks.
"Are you kidding?" Rex scoffs.
"Absolutely, I'd love to," I reply with a smirk, knowing full well that the future's going to be very different from the original timeline.