Monday mornings in Tranquility were usually dull, but Zayden felt the electricity in the air as soon as he walked into the school courtyard. Not the metaphorical kind—actual surges of energy. Small static pulses brushed against his skin like invisible sparks trying to whisper secrets.
He paused mid-step, letting his backpack slide off one shoulder. His green eyes scanned the buildings, the people, the electrical lines humming just a little too loudly. Something was wrong.
"Feels like a storm's building," he muttered.
Behind him, Mikaela strode up, dressed in denim and leather, sunglasses perched on her head like a crown of quiet rebellion. "It's not weather," she said, pulling out her phone. "The Wi-Fi's acting up. Half the school's tech is glitching."
"Decepticon scouting?" Zayden asked.
"Or worse," she said. "A drone already inside."
---
First period was History, ironically, Zayden's best subject—after all, he remembered multiple timelines and had access to literal alien data from millions of years ago.
But today, he could barely focus.
The Omnitrix on his wrist was warm.
Not glowing.
Warming—like it was preparing for something.
The teacher was mid-rant about the Cold War when a nearby projector sparked violently. Lights flickered. Zayden's eyes snapped toward the ceiling just as a black shimmer, almost invisible, darted from one light fixture to another.
Mikaela turned in her seat at the same time. "You saw it?"
"Yeah," Zayden whispered, already rising from his chair. "Time to ditch class."
They slipped out during the flickering chaos, ignoring the confused stares and annoyed teacher yelling after them.
---
Outside, the sky had taken on an odd shade—clouds lingering without movement. As they rounded the corner toward the cafeteria, Zayden saw it.
The shimmer again.
Only now it was forming.
Wires from the school's external power grid were pulling together unnaturally, weaving like webbing into a vaguely humanoid shape. It wasn't a full Decepticon—more like a stealth scout with corrupted camouflage tech.
"Arcee," Zayden muttered into his comm, "we've got trouble at Tranquility High. One of Airachnid's scouts, maybe even her bio-web fragments. Confirmed presence."
Arcee's voice buzzed through. "Hold position. Bumblebee and I are en route."
The creature finished forming—jagged, lean, eyes glowing with purple menace. It turned its head slowly, locking onto Zayden and Mikaela.
Then it lunged.
---
Zayden didn't hesitate.
The Omnitrix flared green. He slapped it mid-run, voice ringing with clarity. "Jetray!"
With a flash, his body morphed—skin turning crimson, wings bursting from his back, and tail forming behind him. He shot upward with a sonic pulse just as the enemy's blade-arm sliced through the ground where he stood seconds earlier.
Jetray-Zayden spiraled above the school, twisting midair as he analyzed the creature's structure.
"Too unstable to be a full Spark," he muttered. "More like a remote puppet."
Below, Mikaela grabbed a fire extinguisher from the hallway and flung it with all her strength at the bot. It connected with a sharp clang, staggering the enemy for a moment.
"Got its attention!" she shouted.
"Try not to get too much of it!" Zayden dived down, eyes glowing. "Neuro-shock blast!"
Twin energy beams lanced from his eyes, hitting the creature's core. It spasmed, circuits sparking erratically—but it didn't fall. Instead, it opened its mouth and screamed—not a sound of pain, but a digital wail that echoed through the frequencies.
Zayden's heart dropped.
"It just called for backup."
---
Tires screeched in the parking lot as Arcee and Bumblebee rolled in, transforming mid-motion.
"Get away from it!" Arcee yelled. "That thing's not just a scout—it's a beacon!"
The creature began to glow violently. Not like energy building for an attack—but like it was collapsing.
Zayden reverted midair, landing beside Mikaela and shielding her as Arcee dashed forward, slicing off the creature's arm before backflipping away.
Too late.
The creature exploded—not outward, but in a reverse vortex of light and code, collapsing into a needle-thin thread that zipped up into the sky, vanishing into the clouds.
"Telemetry lost," Bee beeped.
Ratchet's voice crackled through Arcee's comm. "That wasn't just a scout. It was a probe for Airachnid's net. She's building a grid of anchors across populated zones—trying to collapse her own phase-space into our dimension."
"In English," Mikaela huffed.
"She's making Earth her nest," Zayden said grimly. "Piece by piece."
---
By late evening, the school was locked down under the excuse of a transformer fire. No pun intended.
Zayden stood on the rooftop, overlooking Tranquility as the last rays of sunlight faded.
Arcee joined him quietly, standing in her robot form beside him.
"That thing came here on purpose," he said. "To find me."
"It didn't find you," Arcee said. "It found what's inside you. Your Omnitrix signature is getting louder with every transformation. You're not invisible anymore."
He sighed, clenching his fists. "Then we hit faster. Harder. Find those archive sites before she does."
Arcee placed a hand on his shoulder. "You're not alone, Zayden. We're your allies now. And we're moving."
He looked up at her and smiled faintly. "Thanks."
From a nearby window, Mikaela watched silently. There was something in Zayden's stance—something deeper than bravery. Purpose. Anger. History.
And she realized she wasn't just falling for the guy saving the world.
She was falling for the world he came from.