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Chapter 5: Total Disaster
🕑 Added 2025-04-15 08:55:41 +0000 UTCOnce they were out of sight from the group, Jason finally relaxed. The only thing he didn't relax… was that smug little grin stuck on his face.
Just twenty meters past the iron gate sat an abandoned factory. The place was falling apart—cracked concrete everywhere, not a single level spot to walk on.
Tall weeds—almost up to a guy's chest—were growing wild out of the splits in the pavement. The perimeter wall was just as bad: peeling paint, exposed bricks, a few sections completely missing, with lonely stone pillars just sticking out like sad leftovers.
Max pointed ahead and said, "Head that way. Cut through the weeds and the busted wall, you'll hit a small wooded area. Get through that, and you're right at Gotham Port."
Jason raised an eyebrow. "Whoa—nice work, Max! How'd you know this route?"
Max wasn't about to tell him he'd scouted the entire industrial district and port while transformed as Garurumon. He practically had the whole area memorized.
"I've passed through here before," Max shrugged casually. "Figured out the layout. Pretty solid escape route, huh?"
Jason nodded like he understood, but he wasn't buying it. He wasn't dumb. Just look at all those wild weeds around—none of them were bent or broken. No way someone had walked this path recently.
And on their way over, they'd definitely stomped down a bunch of grass, yet he hadn't seen any other tracks. So what was Max really doing here?
Jason was curious, but not enough to press. Instead, he switched gears with a grin.
"Hah! As long as we sell these two tires to that vampire, we're easily looking at five, maybe six hundred bucks. That's a whole week's worth of bread right there!"
"Yep," Max agreed with a grin of his own. Just the thought of food made him happy.
Once he cashed in those tires, Max planned to treat himself to a feast.
Teen boys eat like crazy, and Max was no exception—actually, he might've been worse. His appetite was through the roof lately.
It could be the Omnitrix. Max's DNA was slowly getting optimized behind the scenes, which drained a ton of bio-energy. He was constantly starving, needing a ridiculous amount of food to keep up with the changes.
Two-thirds of the money he'd made over the past few months had gone straight into his stomach—mostly in the form of bread. The rest? Rent.
Jason threw out a suggestion: "Hey bro, how about we hit the streets tonight? See if we can find another score. I know you just got a new place—bet you're strapped for cash."
Clearly, Jason was feeling a little too good after today's haul. He was already thinking about snagging another luxury ride.
Max waved him off. "Nah, I'm good, Jason. I gotta go grab some food. You know me—gotta eat first. Planning to crash early tonight too."
Jason nodded. He knew his buddy's monster appetite. Don't let Max's slim frame fool you—this guy could eat anyone under the table.
One time, they made a bet to see who could eat more bread. Jason watched in horror as Max downed his entire week's worth of rations.
"Alright, cool. I'll hit you up next time."
They pushed through the dense little forest and made it to the familiar Gotham Port.
Back on home turf, Jason Todd took off like an unleashed husky—gone in a flash.
By the time Max reached the shady black market shop, Jason had already sold the tires and was counting the cash with a huge grin.
The greasy shop owner looked up as Max walked in with the second tire slung over his back and laughed loudly.
"Oh ho! You two are freakin' legends. Max, Jason—always full of surprises! Same price—three hundred bucks! Hahaha!"
Max had heard that line too many times. Every time they brought in stolen goods, this guy gave the same fake praise.
And the happier this sleazy dude looked, the more Max knew they were getting ripped off.
The guy's yellowed, crooked teeth were still somehow cleaner than the acne-covered, oil-slick face grinning at them.
He tossed the tire on a storage rack and pulled a few crumpled bills out from a drawer under the counter.
"Here ya go—three hundred big ones. Don't go spending it all in one place, Max!"
Stone-faced, Max snatched the cash, ignoring the guy's awkward smile. He counted every bill right there—wasn't gonna let this vampire short him a single dollar.
Once he confirmed the total, he stuffed the money in his pocket and turned to Jason.
"I'm out, man. Hit me up if something comes up."
Jason grinned. "You got it. If I find another big job, you're the first person I'll call."
...
It was 5:30 in the afternoon when Max got back to his rented room. He walked through the narrow alley and turned left into the building.
This place used to be Catwoman's safehouse—no security cams in the area. That made it perfect for transformations.
He set down the two heavy bags of bread and got to work tuning the Omnitrix on his left wrist.
Max wasn't like the Ben 10 from the cartoons—he wasn't gonna use the Omnitrix like some clumsy nuke that could blow up the whole universe. That'd be stupid.
Besides, this universe didn't have Azmuth, the Omnitrix's creator. If Max somehow triggered the self-destruct mode, he'd be screwed with no one to help him fix it.
So he always used the Omnitrix with extreme care. He watched it closely even during daily life, always worried about damaging it.
Even when trying to mess with its internal commands, he moved the mechanism gently, like defusing a bomb.
A part of him secretly hoped—just maybe—he'd randomly unlock full access to the Omnitrix like in the show. You know, turn the dial just right and boom—God-mode unlocked.
Then? Max would be the ultimate shape-shifter. King of the world.
Dream's over—back to reality.
Before transforming, Max filled a giant tub with water—just in case something went wrong
"Alright... here goes nothing!"
Max slammed his finger down on the Omnitrix. The green dial popped up with a soft mechanical whirr. He twisted the core a few times—random species roulette.
Big inhale.
"Hooo—alright, broken watch, give me something epic this time!"
He slapped the dial down.
"TRANSFORM!"
A flash of bright green light erupted from the Omnitrix, filling the entire room like a nuclear glow stick going off indoors.
When Max opened his eyes again… everything looked huge.
He blinked, confused, and looked down at himself.
"Grwraah~" (…Why are my hands so tiny?!)
He spun around toward the mirror.
"Grrah? Grrahh—" (What the… a little dino?! Are you kidding me?!)
Reflected in the glass was a small, orange-red lizard… with its tail on fire.
After a second of staring, it clicked.
Max knew exactly what he'd become.
One of the classic starter Pokémon. A fan-favorite. High growth potential. A baby beast destined for greatness.
Charmander.
"Grrah… GRRAAAHH!!" (WHAT?! Why not Charizard?! I want the full-power, fire-breathing monster, not this baby version!!)
"Grrah…" (And I can't even talk like a human—dammit! Alright, let's just undo this transformation...)
He paced in little frustrated circles in front of the mirror, then finally spotted it—the Omnitrix logo. It was glowing green, just like before, right there near the base of his tail.
(Which was weird—normally the symbol turns white after transformation, but this one stayed green, like it was locked or something.)
"Grrah?" (Wait, what do I do? My arms are too short—I can't reach it! Am I supposed to… body slam a wall?!)
Charmander-Max's little face twisted into a grimace. He clenched his tiny teeth, narrowed his eyes, and with a little war cry, charged backward.
WHAM!
He hit the wall. The wall gave in.
He did not expect that.
His wide-eyed expression said it all.
"Grraaaah—" (Oh nooo... Aunt Selina is gonna make me pay for that! My secret cash stash—gone! My sweet, beautiful rent money! NOOOOO!)
After five dramatic seconds of wallet mourning, Max calmed himself down, catching his breath.
Then... something shifted.
"Grrah grrah…" (Wait a sec… That emotional spike—it triggered something in my DNA… this is… a move? Like, an actual Pokémon move?!)
It was like a full-powered Charizard had popped into his brain and run a training montage.
Guided by instinct, Max mimicked the motion.
"GRRAAAH!" (Dragon Rush!)
A blazing surge of blue dragon-shaped energy launched across the room like a comet, detonating in the center of the apartment.
For one glorious second—silence.
Then—
BOOM.
Max stood there, jaw on the floor, staring at what was left of his happy little apartment.
Which was... basically nothing.
He'd only lived there for two weeks.
Gone. Just gone.
"GRRRAAAAAH!!!!"
His heartbreaking dinosaur scream echoed through the entire block, sending every animal in the area running for their lives.
Cockroaches, rats, birds—you name it—they all noped out.
