Avery Nightingale died in the dumbest possible way.
There were no explosions. No epic final words. Just a tired college student, walking home from his third shift in one day, clutching a warm plastic bag of lo mien noodles and praying his rent check wouldn't bounce.
Then came the headlights. The horn.
And black.
He woke in a place that felt like a dream.
No floor. No ceiling. Just floating starlight and strange symbols dancing through the air. Like space had decided to take an acid trip.
Then came the voice.
"Boring death, huh? Don't worry. I've got plans for you."
Avery turned toward the sound—but all he saw was a glitchy humanoid figure composed of static and cosmic dust.
"You died. You're dead. All done. But I'm feeling generous, soooo: welcome to my 'Isekai Roulette'!"
"…What?"
"One wish, kiddo. Anything. One chance. Choose wisely~"
Avery stared. "You're serious?"
"Dead serious. Literally. Time's ticking."
Avery thought for a moment. He could ask for peace. Power. Money. Revenge. A clean slate.
Instead, he smiled faintly.
"I want the Omnitrix."
The ROB let out a slow, dramatic gasp.
"Ooh-ho-ho, spicy pick! Alien DNA chaos—love that energy. Let's go!"
"Now, enjoy your dramatic entrance!"
______________________________________________________________________
Somewhere beneath Gotham City
Lightning split the stone ceiling as ancient candles flickered around a cracked obsidian altar. The Justice League surrounded a summoning circle etched in molten silver—Superman hovered above, Diana's lasso glowed, and Zatanna chanted protective runes under her breath.
At the center of it all stood Morvalla, cloaked in violet shadow, her hands dripping with arcane energy.
"You're too late!" she snarled. "The veil is torn! My herald comes!"
Zatanna fired a blast of magic at the circle.
BOOM.
The ritual stone shattered. Energy exploded outward—sigils collapsed, lights went out.
Then…
A tear in reality ripped open. And from it—
Not a demon.
Not a monster.
But a pale-blue spectral figure with massive wings fell from the sky, icy mist trailing behind it.
Big Chill.
The room went completely still.
"What in the hell…?" Batman murmured.
Avery, mid-fall, twisted in the air and instinctively spread his wings, stopping inches before he hit the ground. The air around him froze—candles snuffed out, the floor frosted over.
He looked around.
A circle of gods, legends, and capes stared back.
Okay, he thought, this is fine.
Morvalla screamed. "He took it! The body meant for me!"
She launched a bolt of magic.
Avery reacted on instinct—phasing through the attack, then gliding up into the air.
"Okay. We're doing this!"
She summoned stone golems from broken statues. Avery swooped between them, phasing through rubble and slashing with ghostly claws.
He dodged a flurry of enchanted daggers mid-flight, then blasted one golem with a stream of subzero breath—freezing it solid mid-leap.
The League moved in. Wonder Woman tackled Morvalla; Batman disabled magical artifacts. Superman tried to assist, but the summoning backlash weakened him.
Meanwhile, Avery dueled the last two golems in the air—one clipped his wing. He spun out, rolled mid-air, and came back swinging.
Crack.
He shattered one into frozen chunks, then turned to the second—
BEEP-BEEP.
He looked down.
Omnitrix blinking red.
"No, no—just a few more seconds!"
The golem charged.
Avery took a deep breath and dove. Wings tucked. He hit it from above in a flash-freeze dive, and the creature collapsed, coated in crystal.
BEEP-BEEP-BEEP.
Mid-air, Avery started glowing—
"No—nonono—!"
FLASH.
The transformation ended mid-flight.
Avery dropped like a stone.
He hit the cold cathedral floor hard, rolling once before groaning and pushing himself upright.
The room went still. The League turned to face him, weapons raised, powers primed.
But what they saw wasn't a monster.
It was a person—but not one who looked like they belonged here.
Avery's skin was a haunting, almost luminescent pale white, like moonlight on snow. His hair spilled down past his shoulders in soft, silken waves, a radiant platinum blonde that caught the flickering remnants of the ritual light. His eyes glowed faintly golden-yellow, like molten sunlight trapped behind glass—unsettling, intense, and inhuman.
His frame was slim but not frail—androgynous, in that strange, otherworldly way that made it impossible to pin down boy or girl at first glance. Dried frost clung to the edges of his clothes, and his breath still misted faintly in the cold air around him.
If someone had painted an angel who'd fallen halfway through the canvas… it might have looked like him.
He blinked slowly, dazed. Then rubbed the back of his head and muttered,
"...Did anyone get the license plate of that ritual?"
Superman landed beside him with a heavy thud. Batman was already moving forward, methodical and silent. Diana's lasso glowed faintly as it hovered in her hand.
"Who are you?" Batman asked.
Avery raised his hands in surrender, trying to smile through the exhaustion.
"Not a demon, if that helps…"
And somewhere above it all, the ROB clapped like a delighted game show host.
"You look like the final boss, Avery, I'm obsessed. This is gonna be so fun."