The quiet hum of the Stark Mansion's evening systems was interrupted by the rapid clicking of Tony's fingers across a holographic keyboard. Kai sat nearby on a workbench, sipping from a glass bottle of root beer while the Omnitrix rested silently on his wrist.
They were reviewing footage from the Mojave drone attack — slowed, enhanced, dissected frame by frame.
"There," Tony said, pausing the hologram. He zoomed in on one of the drone's microchips. "That symbol."
Kai leaned forward. It was faint — almost like a watermark etched into the chip's alloy. A skull overlaid with tentacles, buried deep inside the architecture.
Kai frowned. "That's not Stark tech."
Tony's jaw tightened. "No. It's not. That's HYDRA."
Kai blinked. "HYDRA? Like the Nazi science division?"
"Not just Nazis. Think cockroaches. They survived the war, went underground. SHIELD thought they wiped most of them out, but these guys are like a virus — always mutating."
Kai stood, tension growing in his chest. "So they hacked your tech?"
"More like they recreated it. Illegally, and very sloppily. But the fact they knew where to hit means they've got intel. Deep intel."
JARVIS chimed in. "Sir, a secure file has been breached from a dormant Stark Industries archive. Coordinates have been embedded in the corrupted data stream. Transmission traces back to Eastern Europe. Sokovia."
Tony exhaled. "They're calling us out."
Kai clenched his fists. "Then let's answer."
---
Eastern Europe – Outskirts of Sokovia
The Quinjet hovered low as night fell across a battered countryside. Snow dusted the ground. Stark piloted while Kai sat suited up in stealth gear, hood pulled over his head.
"HYDRA's been moving quietly for years," Tony said. "If they're resurfacing now, it's for a reason. And if they're interested in your watch, we've got a problem."
Kai nodded. "It can rewrite DNA, store alien blueprints — if it fell into the wrong hands..."
"They'd have the ultimate weapon," Tony finished grimly.
The Quinjet landed in the shadow of a derelict facility — half-buried in the earth, surrounded by crumbling fences and rusting turrets.
JARVIS spoke. "Life signs detected inside. Minimal power, but extensive data servers still active."
Tony and Kai moved in quietly. The inside smelled of metal and mold. Flickering emergency lights lit the halls in an eerie red.
"This place gives me Resident Evil vibes," Kai muttered.
"Don't say that," Tony whispered. "I don't need zombie robots tonight."
They reached a central chamber filled with servers and old HYDRA tech. Tony began pulling data using a portable interface.
Kai paced. His fingers hovered over the Omnitrix dial. The green glow was stronger now — warmer.
"There's something down here," Kai said. "It's reacting."
"Wait—" Tony started.
Too late.
A mechanical hiss echoed through the chamber. A panel in the wall exploded outward — and from the shadows stepped HYDRA troopers, clad in advanced combat armor, wielding hybrid weaponry.
"Intruders!" barked a commander. "Target the watch! The boy has the device!"
Kai activated the Omnitrix — XLR8 emerged in a blur of blue and silver, vanishing instantly in a gust of wind.
Tony's repulsors lit the room as he launched into the air, firing controlled bursts that knocked two soldiers flying. "JARVIS, give me a perimeter lockdown!"
Kai zipped around the room, dodging plasma blasts and disarming troops with dizzying speed. But then — WHAM! — a shock blast caught him mid-dash, sending him tumbling into a wall.
One trooper approached with a high-frequency disruptor. "We were promised a god in a watch," he growled. "And you're just a kid."
Kai's eyes narrowed. "Bad call."
He slammed the Omnitrix again — this time transforming into Big Chill, the spectral moth-like alien.
Frost spread instantly from his wings, encasing the disruptor and the soldier's arm in solid ice. With a sweep, Kai froze the corridor entrance and turned back toward Tony.
Tony was locked in a duel with a towering HYDRA enforcer in exo-armor. The enemy blocked each repulsor blast with a reinforced arm shield.
"Tony, get down!" Kai shouted.
Tony hit the floor, and Big Chill soared above, exhaling a wave of ice that slowed the enforcer's hydraulics. Tony took the opening and fired a blast straight into the suit's chest, blowing it apart.
Alarms blared.
"Sir," JARVIS said, "HYDRA data is uploading to an external server. Attempting to intercept."
Kai looked at the main console. A small satellite uplink was blinking furiously. He dove for it and fired a frost beam, freezing it solid just as it powered down.
"Got it," he called out.
Tony landed beside him. "That was close."
Kai, still in Big Chill form, looked around. "Why were they after me?"
Tony checked the data on his interface. "They've been tracking alien anomalies. The Omnitrix's energy signature showed up on their radar the second you used it in L.A."
Kai's wings folded in. "So… I'm a target now."
"Yeah," Tony said grimly. "And they're just the beginning."
---
Later – Aboard the Quinjet
As the Quinjet soared back toward the West, Kai sat quietly near the cargo bay door, watching the moonlit clouds pass below. Tony walked over and sat beside him, holding a tablet.
"They had files on the Omnitrix," Tony said. "Not much, but enough to know they're building something. Genetic hybrid experiments. They've been trying to replicate alien DNA."
Kai looked at his wrist. "They want to copy it."
Tony nodded. "Or control it. Maybe worse."
Kai's voice was soft. "What if I wasn't here? What if they got it first?"
Tony gave him a sideways glance. "But you are here. You made a choice back there — not just to fight, but to protect. That's what makes the difference."
Kai looked at him. "So what now?"
"We prepare," Tony replied. "Train harder. Move smarter. I'll work on a counter-signal to block HYDRA tracking. You focus on mastering those transformations."
Kai smirked slightly. "Like a hero team?"
Tony raised a brow. "Don't push it, kid."
They shared a quiet chuckle as the stars rolled by, both aware that this mission was just the beginning.