[Host Assisted in Stopping a Bus Hijack]
[+20 Hero Points]
[Hero Points: 2 → 22]
[Next Alien Unlock: 400 Hero points]
Seeing the points tick up from what felt like minor involvement, Jack was puzzled. Why did I get so many points? He queried the system, but there was no response.
Maybe because I indirectly affected some important people, he thought, and glanced over at Peter, who was buzzing with excitement at having helped save someone.
"Didn't I signal you to just distract him? Rushing him like that could've gotten you killed," the woman said, her voice low but firm.
"Yeah — sorry. We didn't catch that," Peter said quickly, a little out of breath. "We thought he was about to do something, so we just… went for it."
She held his gaze for a second, then let out a quiet breath, not pushing it further.
After the bus slowed to a stop, she stepped off and went straight to the arriving officers, speaking with them as they took the suspect into custody. Peter and Jack were asked to stay back for a moment, giving their statements while the scene settled.
A few minutes later, she walked back over.
"I'm Jean DeWolff. NYPD. I was off duty," she said, offering a brief nod. "Nice to meet you both."
"Hi, ma'am. I'm Peter — and this is my friend, Jack," Peter said. "We're seniors at Midtown High."
"You two did good stepping in when he moved toward that kid," she said. "Not a lot of people would've reacted that fast."
Peter immediately brightened. "I mean — we just didn't want anyone getting hurt. It kind of just… happened, you know?"
She gave a faint, knowing look. "Yeah. It usually does."
The moment she said that — and especially after the praise — Peter lit up a little more than usual.
"Yeah, I mean — it was nothing, really. Just… right place, right time," he said, rubbing the back of his neck, clearly trying to play it cool and not quite succeeding.
Jack glanced at him. Oh, here we go. He almost sighed.
Peter kept going, almost without pause now. "I mean, you handled it way better. The way you stepped in back there — that was, uh… really something."
There was a slight awkward beat as he realized he might be overdoing it.
He cleared his throat. "I mean — not that I'm, like, rating situations or anything. Just — yeah."
Buddy, I get it — getting praised by a beautiful cop is cool, but you're making this awkward for her.
"Alright," she said, stepping back. "Take care of yourselves."
She paused, then added, "And next time? Don't try to play hero."
Peter gave a small, sheepish nod. "Yeah… got it."
That earned a faint smile from her — real, like she couldn't help it after his awkward rambling.
"Yeah," Jack echoed quietly.
She walked away.
"She's beautiful, right?"
"Yeah," Peter said, a little too quickly. "Yeah… let's go."
Since it was getting late and neither of them was in the mood to train, they let Colleen know what had happened and headed home.
At the corner where their paths split, Peter turned to Jack.
"See you tomorrow, man — and don't tell Uncle Ben or Aunt May what happened today."
"Don't worry, buddy." Jack made a zipping gesture across his mouth, then headed off.
Back at the house, after freshening up, Jack closed all the windows and sat down.
For a moment, he didn't move.
The silence felt strange after everything—the shouting, the tension, the sound of the gun hitting the floor.
That could've gone really bad.
He leaned back slightly, exhaling slowly.
Today was bad. A situation I never even thought to prepare for — and it almost went sideways. I need to think of something to handle things like this if it ever happens again. At least it didn't get worse.
With that thought, he looked down at his watch as it began to shift.
A familiar green glow flickered to life, the outer ring rotating slightly as the disguise peeled away, revealing the Omnitrix beneath. Symbols moved rapidly across its surface—almost too fast to follow—before finally slowing and coming to a stop.
A new icon appeared.
Jack studied it for a moment.
"Skrull…"
Seeing a Marvel alien on the Omnitrix felt like something straight out of a fanfic.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at the symbol.
Shape-shifting was a given—but how far would it go? Would it copy abilities too, or just appearances? And how would the Omnitrix version handle it?
"I don't even know what it's going to be like," he murmured.
His finger hovered for a brief moment—
Then he pressed it.
A/N: The Patreon version is already updated with 20 advanced chapters. If you'd like to read ahead of the public release schedule, you can join here:
👉 patreon.com/BenBlazecraft