ZET-MAN! (Re-Imagined)

~ Omniscient Pov ~

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"Are you serious!?" Morgan shouted, her tone both sharp and equally incredulous... She leaned back in her chair with exhaustion, one hand rubbing her temples while the other hovered over her keyboard. The glow of the monitor bathed her face in light, partially reflecting the data she'd been poring in for over multiple hours now, "You're telling me these aliens are actually coordinating this well? Like, all of them?"

Carter stood across the room, his arms crossed tightly over his chest. He didn't blame her for the skepticism—it wasn't every day you came across evidence that multiple alien species, usually at each other's throats, were suddenly playing nice... But he couldn't shake the truth of the boy's point. Everything they'd uncovered since that conversation pointed to one conclusion: "Someone or something had united these factions, factions that had no business working together..."

Morgan frowned, her fingers hovering over her keyboard. "You're saying there's a leader? Like a central figure coordinating all this?"

Carter nodded, his expression grim. "Yeah. And that's what worries me the most." In fact, based on his experience... 'Usually, there would be a mutual alliance of some kind, but I just don't see it happening with these specific species. It has to be from a higher power of sorts...' Carter thought.

Riley on the other hand crossed her arms, leaning back against the wall. "Okay, but why? What kind of alien could unite groups like this? These factions barely tolerate each other. What's strong enough—or scary enough—to make them fall in line?"

Carter exhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair. His voice dropped, as if the weight of what he was saying demanded it. "I've seen something like this before. Years ago, when I was still working with the Plumbers. It wasn't as organized as this, but there was a pattern—a force strong enough to unify factions, even ones that hated each other. We called it a... convergence event."

"Convergence?" Javier echoed, his brow furrowing. "You mean like... what? A gathering of some kind?"

"Not just a gathering," Carter clarified. "A convergence happens when multiple alien species rally together, typically behind a single cause or leader. And it's almost never because they suddenly decide they like each other. It's because something bigger is pushing them—My hunch is that something powerful enough must've scared them into cooperating..."

Morgan leaned forward, her hands still on the keyboard. "What kind of 'something bigger' are we talking about here, Carter? A warlord? A weapon?"

"It could be either," Carter admitted. "Could be both. But whatever it is, it's got to be big enough to make species like the Zerg'nak and Draxans put their grudges aside. Those two would rather rip each other apart than share a drink... And now they're sharing resources, tech and territory? Yeah, that doesn't happen without a plausible reason."

The room grew colder with the weight of his words. The implications were staggering. It wasn't just the aliens' unity that was terrifying—it was the question of why they were uniting at all. What kind of threat could command the loyalty—or fear—of an already dangerous species?

Riley broke the silence, her tone sharp. "Alright. Say you're right about all this. Say there's someone leading this. What's their endgame here? What could they possibly want with earth? Lat I checked, we weren't on the pecking order of important planets, much less as a race..."

Carter turned to face her fully, his gaze steady but grim. "Well, if they're anything like the ones I've faced before, they likely want domination. Not just over Earth, but over the galaxy. And this?" He gestured towards the map. "This is probably just the beginning. Earth is likely their staging ground. A test run or sorts. If they can establish a foothold here, they can easily launch operations across the galaxy."

"Why Earth, though?" Morgan asked. "I mean, there are plenty of other planets out there. What makes this ours so special to em'?"

Carter hesitated for a moment, then sighed. "Earth's strategic... We're right on the edge of several major intergalactic routes—trade lanes, resource corridors, you name it. Whoever controls Earth controls a choke point that can cut off movement between dozens of systems."

Javier let out a low whistle, leaning back against the workbench. "So, we're basically sitting on a galactic freeway, and they want in on the toll booth?"

"Pretty much," Carter said. "But it's not just about location. Earth's got resources, too—raw materials, biodiversity, and... well, us."

"Humans?" Morgan asked, her tone skeptical. "What could they want with us?"

Carter's face darkened at the question... "Plenty of species see humans as, useful. We're adaptable, resourceful, and easy to... exploit. Labor, experimentation, even assimilation. I've seen it before... with a specie known as DNA-liens; And if whoever's behind this is planning to use us, they'll make sure we don't even see it coming until it's too late to do so..."

The team exchanged uneasy glances. The weight of Carter's words wasn't lost on any of them. It wasn't just an alien threat they were dealing with—it was a calculated effort to turn Earth into a pawn in a much larger scheme.

Morgan cleared her throat, her fingers moving rapidly over the keyboard. "Alright, then. If there's a leader, there's got to be a way to track them. A comms trail, a supply chain, something. These hubs you mentioned earlier—they've got to be communicating with someone."

Carter nodded. "That's the plan. If we can disrupt their network, we might be able to trace it back to whoever's in charge. But we need to move fast. If they're already this organized, it won't be long before they're ready to strike."

Riley stepped forward, her expression determined. "Then we hit the hubs. Take out their comms, their supplies, anything they're using to coordinate. And while we're at it, we gather intel. If there's a leader, we'll find them eventually."

Javier smirked faintly, though there was no humor in his eyes. "No pressure, huh?"

"None at all," Carter said dryly. He looked around at the team, his voice firm. "This is probably a lot to take in at once... But if we don't stop them now, we might not get another chance to."

His team nodded in unison. However, Riley walked forward, having something else to say...

"I've realized something... It's not all of them," Riley interjected, her voice slightly calmer but no less serious. She stood by the wall, one finger tracing lines on the map Carter had brought with him. "But it's enough. Look at this." She tapped a red-marked point on the map, then another, forming a triangle. "These three locations? They're likely supply caches. Weapons, tech, resources—stuff that different alien groups shouldn't even have access to, let alone share. But they're definitely connected."

Javier leaned forward, his brows knit as he studied the map. "Connected how?"

Morgan, already ahead of him, brought up a series of satellite images on her screen. The grainy pictures showed clusters of alien structures spread out across remote areas, their layouts eerily similar. "These aren't just hideouts," she said, her fingers flying over the keys. "They're staging grounds. Look at the infrastructure. Communications towers, transport hubs, defensive perimeters. This isn't random—it's a network."

"A network for what?" Javier asked, frowning. Already feeling as if they were out of their pay grade for the job...

Carter finally spoke, his voice low but firm. "For an invasion."

The room fell silent right after... That, was the absolute worst case scenario.

However, Riley was the first to break the silence, "Alright, you think they're gearing up to take over Earth?" Her tone was skeptical but still cautious, like she didn't want to dismiss the idea outright.

"Not Earth," Carter said, shaking his head. "Not entirely. Think about it. Most of the alien groups we've dealt with—Draxan mercenaries, Zerg'nak raiders, even the Plumbers' rogue targets—they don't care about conquering Earth. It's not their style. But working together like this? Sharing resources and territory?" He gestured to the map. "They're building something. A foothold. Earth's likely just the starting point."

Morgan's eyes widened slightly as realization dawned. "They're potentially creating a staging ground for intergalactic operations. Use Earth as a resource hub, then branch out to the rest of the galaxy. It's... pretty strategic."

"Exactly." Carter's voice was grim. "And if we're right, then they've already made more progress than we ever realized."

Javier let out a low yet heavy sigh, leaning back against the workbench. "Alright. Let's say that's true. How do we stop it? We're just a single team. Even if we called in the Plumbers, we're talking about coordinated alien forces. That's a hell of a lot bigger than anything we've handled before."

Riley straightened, her gaze hardening. "We don't need to take out the entire network. Not yet. If we disrupt their operations—hit the key locations where they're pooling resources or coordinating their efforts—it could stall them long enough for reinforcements to get involved."

"Assuming we know which locations are key," Javier pointed out.

"We do," Morgan said, her fingers flying over the keyboard again. A new set of images flashed onto the screen: detailed schematics of alien structures and energy signatures overlaid on the map. "I ran the data Carter gave us against satellite scans and old Plumber archives. These three sites," she pointed to the same triangle Riley had identified earlier, "They're the hubs. If we knock those out, we could likely cripple their supply lines and disrupt communications across the grid."

Carter nodded. "Then we prioritize. Morgan, you work on a way to jam their comms—make it harder for them to communicate once we're on the field. Riley, you and Javier scout the perimeter of the nearest hub. Find us a way in and map out their defenses if possible."

"What about you?" Riley asked.

"I'll handle the explosives," Carter replied simply. "If we're going to take these sites down, we'll have to do it right the first time around, plus; Who's better at handling explosives than me?."

"That's... A solid point..." Riley agreed.

"And what happens when we run into resistance?" Javier asked, folding his arms.

Carter's jaw tightened. "We deal with it, spare them if possible if you can't well... You all know what to do. This isn't the kind of fight we can afford to back out of. If we don't stop them now, it's going to get a whole lot worse later."

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END