Chapter 23: Professor Paradox, I'm Going to Change Your Art Style
Late at night. The air around the suburban lake hung heavy and still. Klein quietly slipped out of the Rustbucket, his footsteps making no sound against the damp grass. He walked alone along the water's edge, the moonlight reflecting off the calm surface.
Suddenly, his boots stopped crunching against the dirt. He did not turn around. "Come out."
"Your senses are still as sharp as ever." A swirling blue portal tore through the quiet night directly behind him. A man wearing a crisp white researcher's lab coat stepped out, his posture relaxed.
Klein turned, his expression flat. He had not actually known who was there, only that the distinct, prickling sensation of being watched had kept him awake for hours. He had stepped outside with the sole intention of ensuring whoever was ruining his sleep would suffer a similar fate.
"But I came anyway," the man in the white coat said, a polite smile resting on his face. He maintained a calm demeanor, but upon noticing the dangerous narrowing of Klein's eyes, he spoke a bit faster. "You said it. Or rather, the future you said it. You told me, 'Come to me anytime if you need anything.'"
The man knew better than to drag out the conversation. Given his deep understanding of Klein's personality, stalling would only invite a world of petty, agonizing retaliation. And knowing Klein, the boy was entirely capable of making a time traveler regret his life choices.
Klein blinked, the irritation fading into mild surprise. He looked the strange man up and down, offering a slight tilt of his chin to signal him to continue.
The man in the lab coat possessed a sharp intellect. Catching the silent cue, he offered a brief bow. "I do not quite remember my original name, but you may call me Professor Paradox."
Without missing a beat, Professor Paradox laid out his purpose. "I am here to ask for your assistance. I am about to stir up a rather significant amount of trouble shortly, and I need you to clean up the mess for me."
Klein crossed his arms. He possessed absolute confidence in his ability to crush any problem that came his way, but this self-proclaimed Professor Paradox piqued his interest. The mention of a future self added a layer of amusement to the situation.
As for whether the man was lying? Klein's gut told him otherwise. He always trusted his instincts. In matters like this, his intuition had never steered him wrong.
"Alright," Klein gave a shallow nod. "But you have to give me a reason."
"Why you? Why do I believe you will help me? Or why did I specifically mention the future you?" Paradox mused aloud, taking a few measured steps toward Klein. "Because only you can help me. And now that your curiosity is hooked, you will absolutely follow through."
Paradox stopped a few paces away. "I can travel between various timelines. However, the task I must complete can only be done in this specific timeline. While I am well acquainted with the future you, the future you already knows what I am going to do and refuses to help. Therefore, only the present you can assist me."
"What about Ben?" Klein raised his left arm, shaking his wrist to display the Another Omnitrix. "My abilities come from this. Ben has the exact same hardware."
"The Omnitrix? It is indeed a marvel of the universe," Professor Paradox said, his eyes lingering on the device. "But Ben Tennyson is not you. He cannot do this. No matter which version of Ben Tennyson across the multiverse, he lacks what you possess."
The corners of Klein's lips tugged upward into a faint smirk. He was thoroughly invested now. "Let's go."
Professor Paradox raised a hand, opening another swirling blue portal. He stepped through, and Klein followed close behind. They emerged into a boundless expanse. It possessed the stunning beauty of the deep cosmos, yet it looked like an infinite canvas painted with swirling, impossible colors.
They stood on a pitch-black floor, the material cold and entirely unrecognizable.
"Where are we?" Klein asked, taking a moment to admire the surreal, shifting nebulae above them.
"The Forge of Creation," Professor Paradox replied, his tone entirely conversational.
"The Forge of Creation?" Klein rolled the name around in his head. "Sounds a bit familiar."
"This is the home of the Celestialsapiens," Professor Paradox said, casually dropping a cosmic bombshell.
Klein froze. The ambient wonder of the dimension vanished, replaced by a sudden, sinking feeling. "The trouble you're causing couldn't possibly be..." He snapped his head toward Paradox, his eyes wide with disbelief.
"Oh, it is nothing major. Just a few dozen Celestialsapiens. Perhaps more?" Paradox showed absolutely no signs of panic. It was entirely possible the man had forgotten how to feel fear.
Paradox reached out and patted Klein's shoulder. "I am quite sure you can handle it."
"You are messing with me!" Klein slapped the time traveler's hand away. "Celestialsapiens! Dozens of them! What are you going to do, assault their princess?!" For someone who rarely swore or lost his cool, Klein found his restraint slipping.
"It is nothing of the sort," Paradox said with a dismissive shrug. "I merely need to extract a sample of their DNA. Besides, you can easily deal with them by transforming into Alien X."
Before Klein could protest, Paradox offered a rapid explanation. "They are all-powerful, capable of achieving anything they can conceive. But they are not omniscient. They can foresee the future by viewing timelines, but unless they actively look, they remain blind to immediate surprises. also, their unique temporal nature makes it difficult for them to be constrained by standard time, rendering foresight useless in their own domain."
Paradox adjusted his coat. "Knowing your unique nature, I took advantage of a certain Celestialsapien being locked in a severe personality dispute. I used specialized means to extract their DNA. Naturally, I immediately shifted the blame onto you. I told them, 'This is my boss. My boss has my back. If you have any complaints, take it up with him.'"
"Heh!" Klein let out a cold, sharp sneer. "You really think highly of me. But you got one thing right. I am going to transform into Alien X, and then I am going to leave! And before I go, I am going to permanently change your art style!"
Professor Paradox acted as though he heard nothing but the wind. "Then I shall take my leave first." He opened a portal and stepped inside, vanishing from the dimension.
"Already?!" Klein stood there, genuinely dumbfounded for the first time in a long while.
A moment later, the space a short distance away distorted. A massive black portal flickering with starlight tore open. Dozens of towering, humanoid silhouettes filled with the cosmos emerged, floating silently above the black floor.
"An accomplice of the Time Walker?" the leading Celestialsapien spoke, its voice echoing with the weight of a thousand overlapping tones.
Klein gritted his teeth. He slammed his hand down on the watch face. A blinding flash of faint blue light erupted, washing over the black floor. When the light faded, Alien X stood in his place.
The instant the transformation completed, dozens of Celestialsapiens vanished simultaneously. Teleportation activated. The battle commenced.
A massive, star-filled fist materialized directly in front of Alien X, carrying enough force to shatter planets.
'Alien X, counterattack. Agree. Motion passed!'
Moving with a speed that defied the very concept of time, Alien X threw a punch to meet the incoming strike. The collision did not create a shockwave. Instead, the sheer, concentrated cosmic force erased the space in front of his fist—an area roughly the size of half a universe—turning it into absolute, hollow nothingness.
Operating with a decision-making speed that completely eclipsed the rest of the species, Alien X systematically suppressed the dozens of Celestialsapiens.
While the enemy entities remained frozen in place, locked in endless internal debates over whether to defend, dodge, or attack, Alien X had already unleashed over a dozen reality-bending abilities, knocking them back like bowling pins.
It was only upon entering this all-powerful form that the cosmic awareness flooded Klein's mind, allowing him to truly understand the mechanics of his own existence.
He was an anomaly. An existence originating from entirely outside this multiverse. Even if his biology perfectly mirrored a human, his soul was an absolute singularity. He was a unique, irreplaceable entity existing only in this specific universe, on this specific timeline. Aside from his own past, present, and future iterations, there were no parallel counterparts. No alternate Kleins.
A comic book could not spontaneously generate living, breathing cells in the real world. Similarly, this universe lacked the capacity to overwrite or replicate an existence that did not belong to its native framework.
Because of this absolute uniqueness, the alien DNA housed within the Another Omnitrix could never develop an independent consciousness to challenge him. There would be no rogue ghost attempting to possess him. Additionally, the biological quirks of the aliens could not bleed into his human form. The transformations were entirely one-way. He influenced the watch; the watch could never influence him.
This special status elevated his transformations. The alien heroes he became possessed attributes far exceeding the baseline limits of their own species. Alien X was the ultimate proof of this.
The fatal flaw of the Celestialsapiens was their absolute adherence to unanimous consent. Every single action required the agreement of all internal personalities. The faster the decision, the stronger the power, but achieving that harmony took an eternity. If they fought among themselves, a single skirmish could last billions of years.
But Alien X operated differently. Klein's unique soul acted as the ultimate tiebreaker. He did not need unanimous consent. He operated on a simple majority rule.
'Are you angry?'Klein asked within the mental void.'Furious,'Bellicus rumbled.'Fight or not?'Klein pressed.'Fight!' Bellicus roared.
That was all it took. By finding any trivial reason to convince just one of the internal voices, Klein bypassed the paralysis that plagued Ben's version of the alien.
Alien X effortlessly dominated the group of cosmic gods, treating beings who spent ninety percent of their existence standing completely still like mere training dummies.
After a one-sided thrashing, the leading Celestialsapien finally managed to pass a motion to halt. The towering entity backed away, gathering the remaining clan members. Before departing, the leader issued a stern, echoing warning. "If you or the Time Walker appear within five hundred light-years of the Celestialsapiens, you will be hunted down by the entire species!"
Alien X merely floated there, entirely unbothered. It was a hilarious threat. He could easily handle a group of cosmic beings whose primary combat strategy involved standing still and arguing with themselves.
With a mere thought, Alien X warped space and teleported away from the Forge of Creation.
As a final consequence of the night's events, for a very long time afterward, Professor Paradox found himself suffering from a highly unusual, completely different visual art style compared to the rest of the universe.
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