When we walked into the hanger, four large machines had been set up in the center of the empty space within. I recognized them easily since I'd designed them. Well, Jury Rigg, Tony, and Fitz had designed them. If you could call throwing scrap at Jury Rigg and seeing what he made 'designing'. Victoria came in and looked us over. “Dial, you know how these machines work better than anyone besides Stark and Fitz. What do you suggest?”

I thought about that for a moment. “Take it in pairs. One person holds the machine, the other hits it,” I flashed back to boxing with Creel. “And of course, the people would have to be within the same realm of strength. So...” I looked over the group before just outsourcing it. “Davida, you know you girls best. Who should match with who?”

“Well, I already know we make a good match,” Davida said suggestively. I sighed in annoyance as She-Hulk gave me an intrigued look while Helen and Melissa chuckled, Marian giggling. “But... I should pair with Thor. Marian with Hulk. Helen with... the green... lady?” Davida looked at Jennifer in befuddlement before shrugging it off. “And Melissa with you.”

Made sense. Of the group, Melissa and I were the closest to natural humans. She was only about at physically powerful as a Centipede soldier, which, though it was a lot more badass than I was, was closer to the realm of human than the others were. Besides, I wasn't planning to be human.

“Okay, go ahead,” Victoria nodded towards the machines.

“What exactly are we doing?” Helen asked, the tall blonde looking at Thor.

“We're punching big things,” I said simply, moving to a machine in the center. Melissa followed me, the others joining.

I tapped the front of the machine, which was just a massive plate of flat gray metal. The center of the machine was attached with giant screws to the ground, the whole thing a big pillar of metal with a blue light glowing within. The back of the machine was built with grooves for a body of varying sizes, from Four Arms to Songbird in size. “Tony designed most of it. It's called the ‘Hit Calculator’. One person punches this end. The other holds the machine from the back. The machine should be able to take forces up to a little over one million tons thanks to all the stuff we put in to make it work and will give calculations even if it does end up destroyed. I based it off something from Dragonball Z.”

“Dragon-what?” Helen asked.

Apparently, everyone else was just as lost to the reference. Philistines, the lot of them.

“Anyway, hit the plate, hold the back, and so on,” I turned and walked towards the one on the end, leaving the other pairs to pick their own hit calculator. Thor and Davida took the one further left, then Hulk and Marian, She-Hulk and Helen, Melissa and I.

“So, uh, who goes first?” Melissa asked me.

“You,” I said, flipping through the Omnitrix menu. “Since you and I aren't superhuman, technically anyway, we don't really have to spot each other, so I'll just merge with the machine and let you take shots at me,” with that, I pressed down on the watch.

“Upgrade!”

“Merge?” Melissa blinked up at me before smiling. “Oh, I like this one! He's cuter than the Frankenstein one.”

My central eye blinked at her, my robotic voice coming out a moment later. “Uh... thanks? Anyway...”

I flowed into the hit calculator and filled the gaps within it, focusing on precision. Once done, a tendril holding my head rose up to look at her. “Okay! Give me your best shot!”

She stared at me, her smile fading. “Oh. Yeah, it's not as cute anymore.”

“What? What did I do wrong?”

“I mean, seeing you go all goopy like that was kind of gross,” Melissa said, her nose scrunching in disgust. “Uh, no offense.”

“All the offense,” I said, not knowing why exactly I was so hurt. “Look, just hit me already.”

“Fine, fine,” Melissa pulled a fist back and unleashed a devastating blow to the center of the plate.

1845 pounds of force. Daaaaayum.

“Was that your best?” I asked curiously, kind of in awe in how much raw power her tiny form had.

She frowned at me, apparently misinterpreting things. “What, you challenging me!?”

“What? No, I just-”

“You got it! Ya!”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Melissa was apparently the sort of person to get fired up really quickly, because she started unleashing a hail of punches. If this were an anime, I'd have a sweatdrop on my robotic forehead at the sight of her hitting 'my' pressure plate as fast and hard as she could. Well, she was certainly eager.

------

Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk

“She's really going for it,” She-Hulk noted. She was standing next to Helen, watching as the petite peroxide blonde on the machine next to theirs continued to punch and yell with an almost melodious tone in time with each hit. “She's kind of... singing?”

“Yeah, Melissa has always been like that,” Helen looked up at the taller woman. “It's why we named her 'Songbird',” her voice became fond and soft for a moment. “Always singing in the middle of a fight without meaning to,” Helen clapped her hands as though scaring off errant thoughts. “So, who goes first?”

She-Hulk smirked. “How about you go ahead and start hitting it? You'll want me tired when I go.”

The blonde narrowed her eyes, a dangerous smile on her lips. “Is that so? I would want to hurt you.”

“Sweetie, I'm a Hulk,” She-Hulk smirked. “That comes with a couple of perks... beyond the obvious ones,” Jennifer said, thrusting her chest out with a smug smile.

“Oh I know,” Helen turned and walked over to the machine. “Come on. Let's see what it takes to deflate that ego of yours, honey.”

She-Hulk took a spot behind the machine, her hands wrapping to support it. The blonde and green haired superhumans shared challenging looks before Helen hit the machine.

And Jennifer blinked in surprise at the incredible impact she felt on her shoulders, feet digging slightly into concrete. Helen smirked. “Too much?”

She-Hulk rallied, a bright and cheery look on her face even as her eyes narrowed. “As long as you start actually hitting me, rather than fitting into the dumb blonde stereotype.”

Helen hit it again, She-Hulk gritting her teeth.

“What, you straining?” Helen said, hitting the machine again.

“Babe, you really need to stop worrying about breaking your nails.”

For about one minute, Helen kept hitting the machine as She-Hulk supported it. By the end, both women were beginning to sweat. Then they switched places, the ground quaking within the warehouse as She-Hulk's massively powerful blows joined those of the others in the room.

And all throughout, the two women continued to needle each other, very similar looks of challenge on their faces.

------

Marian Pouncy/Poundcake

“You hit good,” Hulk complement Marian as the shorter but still massive superhuman 'boxed' with the machine they were both working on.

“Thank you,” Marian said politely, blushing.

The two giants had yet to switch. Hulk had been holding the machine for Marian to hit for a little while, supporting it as she left dents in the machine. Which was impressive, considering the material the machine was made of was specifically built to withstand the Hulk. Granted, it hadn't been tested against him yet, but it said something about Marian's power.

Marian did another blow, a scientist behind her stumbling when the ground shook, before looking at the Hulk.

“I didn't know you could... you know, talk.”

“Hulk learned. Banner let Hulk out and Hulk learn. Speaking is hard,”Hulk admitted. “Hulk always angry. Can't think sometimes. Always want to hit and fight everything. But Hulk learn.”

Marian frowned, confused. “What does that mean, Banner 'let you out'? I thought you were Bruce Banner, and Hulk was your code...name...” Marian stopped hitting the machine in favor of staring at Hulk as his grip on the machine began to leave grooves in the metal.

Hulk stared at her, his eyes filled with glimmering shades of green anger. His mouth was twisted into an ugly grimace. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, clearly trying to calm.

“Hulk and Banner different. Banner scientist. Hulk fighter. Work together, but same,” Hulk still seemed angry, but he was clearly trying to keep from lashing out.

Marian swallowed. “W-Well, that's fine. I was just confused.”

“Bruce say same, in Hulk head,” Hulk tried to soften his voice. “Hulk... I'm sorry. I just get so mad. People say Hulk and Bruce same, but...”

“It's okay,” Marian seemed at a loss as to what to say. “Do you uh, do you want a turn to hit this thing, let off some steam?”

“Hulk try,” Hulk let go of the machine and moved around, Marian moving to grab it. He got into a rough fighting stance with instruction from Bruce. He unleashed a blow, and his fist left an imprint on the machine. Marian winced while her feet cracked the concrete, but she and the machine held. If anything, Marian seemed to find a bit of joy at the sudden realization that she was having trouble with the weight of Hulk's blows. After more powerful hits began to strain her muscles, Marian spoke.

“You know, you should tell people that,” Marian said hesitantly. “I mean, I have a lot of trouble talking to people, but Davida helped me keep doing it when I was in high school so I could help teach the younger kids to learn how to wrestle and so I could make friends. If you tell people, maybe they'll know how to treat you?”

Hulk hit the machine again, frowning in thought. After a moment though, he shrugged it off. Instead, he pulled back his fist, focusing before throwing another powerful hit, the machine buckling slightly with the blow and Marian struggling to hold it down. Hulk threw another blow and another.

------

Thor Odinson/God of Thunder

“Fuck,” Davida mumbled at the sight of Hulk's power, stopping her own punches. She shook her head. “Maybe I should have done that instead of letting Marian take over...”

“I don't believe your friend would like that,” Thor noted. He looked at Davida, who had shifted into her larger form, standing about the size of Marian now. “If I may ask, how is that you and your friends became so close?”

Davida looked at the Asgardian with a frown. “Is this really the time for my life story?”

“I find that it is always a good time for the right story,” Thor responded. “But if you don't want to tell me, I won't be offended,” he said with a charismatic smile.

“...Okay, just hold the machine for me first.”

Thor politely dropped Mjolnir behind the machine, then placed his shoulder to it. Davida unleashed an experimental blow, which Thor took with ease. Satisfied, she began to drum the machine with blows as she spoke.

“We all went to the same school back in the day,” Davida explained. “Joined the wrestling team together, and got pretty close. But one day, on our way to a wrestling meet, a car smashed into the bus. Drunk guy with a Humvee and no sense. The four of us got lucky, got sent to the right experimental facility. The rest of our team died that night, but we went into a coma,” Davida looked over at Helen, who was currently arguing good-naturedly with Jennifer. Davida smiled. “Helen was the first of us to wake up. According to her, the second she realized she had superpowers, she went into mercenary work to fund our surgeries. When I woke up, I helped her. We saved money for a place, since our families were either dead or worthless, and made sure that when Mimi and Marian woke up, they'd have a home to go to. When they woke up, well,” Davida kicked the machine, Thor easily supporting it against the impact. “We stuck together. I mean, we aren't exactly good people. But we have each others backs, always.”

Thor gave her a look Davida didn't know how to respond to. “That is quite a story. And as a mercenary, you fought in many battles?”

“A few,” Davida spun to smash her elbow into the pressure plate. “We tried to keep under the radar, make sure our powers were kept secret, but we ended up clashing with other supers over the years on one mission or another. There was this guy in China I had to fight with before some blind guy teleported him out.”

“I'd love to hear about that sometime,” Thor told her, smiling.

------

Mahmoud Schahed/Dial

Melissa stopped punching the machine and rested her hand on her knees, bending to grin at me as I separated from the object she'd been beating on. “There! How did that feel?”

“Impressive,” I admitted, not willing to anger the tiny songstress. I tapped the Omnitrix on my chest and changed to my human form to save power. “You're absolutely stronger than I am as a human.”

She grinned in response, looking me up and down before frowning. “Oh. You're not that strong, are you?”

“Not compared to all the super-soldiers running around these days,” I looked over at the machine. “But even then, you're above most of the worlds strongest recorded weightlifters, that's for sure. I guess we should trade partners around now, though.”

“Why's that?” Melissa asked, crossing her arms and looking up at me.

“Well, I'm planning to switch over to Rath to get his strength rating, so-”

“Rath!” Melissa gave me a smile I didn't like. “Got it, one second!”

She turned and rushed off, ignoring the guards in the hangar watching her in favor of running past everyone to get to Davida and Thor, calling to the Grappler's leader. Melissa spoke with her for a while, then Davida looked up at me and smiled, Thor looking intrigued.

The three walked up to join me as I groaned in annoyance. Yeah, should have expected this.

“So I hear you're changing into my fiancee,” Davida said as soon as she got close. In her larger form she towered over everyone except Hulk and Jennifer, and since the only person shorter than me in our group was Melissa, the effect was especially pronounced as she leaned over to look down at me.

“I'm changing into the guy who beat you like a rented drum after you mind-controlled him, yes,” I said, having planned out my response as Davida had walked over.

She winced, then shrugged. “Yeah, okay. That's fair. I guess I'll spot you.”

“Please do,” I said tersely. No, I was not still made about being mind controlled and proposing, whatever do you mean?

With a twirl of the Omnitrix, I pushed down on the dial and grew a fresh coat of orange and black hair.

“Rath!”

I cracked my knuckles and looked over at Davida. “Let me tell ya something Titania of the Grapplers! You better be ready, because Rath is going to hit this machine so hard that other machines will cheer! AND THEN WE SHOULD GET MARRIED!” I paused. “Wait, Rath doesn't want to get married! Why did Rath say that?!”

“Are you broken?” Melissa asked, sounding as though she had no idea what to think. Davida, standing behind the hit calculator, blinked at me, her eyes very clearly not red.

“Rath doesn't know! Rath might have unspoken romantic issues,” honestly befuddled, I decided to discard the complications and just-

Bam!

Oh hey, I hit the machine before I finished thinking.

I hit it again and again, my claws and fists contacting metal with loud clanging noises. Davida took the blows on her shoulder, gritting her teeth as I put my hips into it.

Thor, in the meantime, looked over at Melissa. “I don't understand. Mind control? Davida can control people?” Thor seemed disturbed by that. No wonder, if he'd ended up in conflict with Enchantress in this universe he would have a good idea of what we were talking about.

“It's more like she makes people fall in love with her?” Melissa explained hesitantly. At the darkening expression on Thor's face, Melissa rubbed the back of her head. “If it helps, she doesn't use the power anymore?”

“I should hope not,” Thor said. “It's not a very honorable way to fight.”

“Rath agrees!” I shouted, grinning at the embarrassed look on Davida's face. “A fight should be with fists and muscles, and sometimes kicking! One on one, until one person is beaten down in the dirt and eats it like they like it! THAT'S THE ONLY WAY A FIGHT SHOULD GO!” I finished my statement with my fist claw extended and stabbing into the Hit Calculator like a hot knife through butter before ripping a decent chunk out.

Yeah, self-control was hard as Rath. Honestly, I don’t think Appoplexians had a word for self-control.

“Well said!” Thor cheered, punching my shoulder with a loud boom as we laughed boisterously together. “I love this form!”

“Rath likes you too, Thor Odinson, God-of-Thunder-with-blonde-hair!”

“Now there's two of them,” Davida mumbled. “Great.”

------

After that, we were going to switch around once Rath's score had been raised, but we were interrupted when Victoria called Thor and I aside, bringing us to a room deeper in the hanger we'd been working in. It was just a spartan room with nothing but a crappy wooden desk, though the way Victoria was leaning against it, the thing might as well have been a throne.

“We're ready,” Victoria said as soon as I walked in. “While the others will be testing with the Graveyard survivors, we've set up an area in the desert to test your Asgardian form. Will you need time to recharge?”

I nodded my head. “Yeah, so you should give me around ten minutes before we start. So what will this entail?”

Victoria pointed outside a window. “We have some satellites and cameras set up to record everything that will happen around you for a mile radius, as well as check on weather patterns and energy reading. We've taken all the precautions we could, and emptied out the desert for miles around.”

“That may be for the best,” Thor said. “I have no idea what I'm doing.”

“Same,” I agreed.

Victoria looked between us, opening and closing her mouth. After a bit of that, she sighed, closed her eyes, and rubbed her forehead muttering to herself. “God help me, Coulson is so much better at this... Please go and start the test.”

“Sure thing,” I said, hiding my amusement at Victoria's annoyance.

------

A while later, Thor and I alone stood in the middle of the wasteland, waiting for the flares firing off that would signal the test starting. So we passed the time doing something I'd always wanted to try.

“Ugh!” I tugged, hard. Nothing. I did it again, but it was as though the thing weighed a million pounds! It didn't even budge. I laughed, stepping away from Mjolnir. “Yeah, I figured.”

Thor gave me a cocky look and stepped forward to easily lift the hammer off of the desert floor. “Don't feel bad. Even the greatest warriors can't lift it. Though I am curious to see if changing forms will change your worthiness.”

“Probably not. My mind is still the same. Or my soul, or pride, or whatever Mjolnir reads,” I thought for a moment. Well, maybe the more robotic forms like Upgrade or Clockwork could do it? Did inanimate objects or robotic creatures count? But Vision and Ultron had never been able to lift the hammer in the comics. Wait, had they? In some comic I hadn't read yet? Damn it, I wish I had the Marvel Wikia on hand...

“Mahmoud,” Thor said hesitantly, getting my attention. “I need to tell you that I am not sure how this may go. Asgardians... The meaning of our existence is strange to describe. My father might have some idea of how this will go but I don't.”

I blinked. “Okay. So you're saying...”

“Be ready for anything,” Thor said simply. He hesitated. “Mahmoud. What do you believe most represents you? When you think of yourself, your actions, who are you, at your core?”

That threw me even more. “Wait, are you saying that you think I'll change based on my personality?”

“As I said, I'm not sure,” Thor shook his head. “We are, unfortunately, in uncharted waters.”

Damn it, I hadn't even changed and the Asgardian form had already made me bewildered to all hell.

The flares went off then. We shared a look before I lifted up the Omnitrix and hesitantly flipped through the menu. On reaching the Asgardian form, I stopped to think about the possibilities before me. Then I pressed down on the dial.

And the change began. In that timeless instant, I felt the changes come. It was by far the weirdest transformation so far.

I felt my height rise until I had an inch on Thor, my muscles filling until I was only slightly less bulky then he was. Then my muscles felt as though they began to get filled with lead, becoming heavier and heavier as the dried out wasteland earth beneath me shifted at the increase in my density. I felt something within me shift. I couldn't explain it. It was like a new organ grew in my chest, one somehow connected to the world around me. My clothes changed in the flash of green light, my normal shirt being replaced by a white metal on my upper chest and a black shirt beneath the armor that felt as though it was made of a smooth and cool liquid. A long red piece of cloth that wrapped around my waist with one end going down along my right leg was matched by the one wrapped around my shoulders, the cloth going down my back. My pants were like some combination of Thor's and something Aladdin would have worn, black scale on top of white cloth, with boots the exact same as Thor's. A pair of black gauntlets rested on each of my forearms, the Omnitrix glowing brightly on my left arm.

“Asgarditen!”

Wait, really? That was what I could come up with on short notice? Damn, need to come up with a better name than that. I'd brainstorm later. Even Ben had to rename a couple after all.

I felt so strange. Like I was me, but more. It was an unnerving feeling, being in my body but better.

I looked down at myself, rubbing at the carvings on my new white chestplate. “Thor, are these... Arabic?”

“Some of it,” Thor stepped forward, looking intrigued. “But the rest is all different languages. Including my own,” he tapped the lower part of the armor, where my ribs ended. “There, that's, old. I have no idea what that means. But I've seen it once.”

I frowned, then tried to move around a bit. Arms, legs, neck, everything was working. Except it felt a thousand times stronger. All the little aches and pains that came with being human were gone, replaced with the incredible strength of this new form.

“So, uh, what should I do?” I asked.

“Hmm,” Thor rubbed his bearded chin. Then he put Mjolnir down and walked towards me. “Well, let's see how strong you are.”

Then Thor, the God of Thunder, punched me in the face. A shockwave followed the impact, and I staggered back with a pained shout. For a moment, I blinked at the feeling coming from my jaw.

Something within me roared to the forefront. Anger that felt like some combination of the rage I could feel as Rath and Four Arms. The sheer power that Rath's anger could rise too, combined with the code of honor in my DNA when I changed into Four Arms. Righteous anger, burning in my soul.

So I punched Thor in the face, sending another shockwave outward and staggering Thor.

“Oh shit!” I shouted, shocked at my own action as the founding Avenger blinked in surprise. “Thor, I am so sorry, my friend, I simply lost control of myself. Are you well?”

I blinked. “Wait, has my method of speech changed? Or...” I focused on my speech. “Okay, no, that's the placebo effect. Seriously, are you okay, dude?”

Thor laughed, rubbing his chin. “Yes, I'm fine. Well, you are quite strong,” Thor winced. “Actually, more than I expected. Like I was just hit by Volstagg.”

I felt a bit of pride at that, being compared to arguably the strongest of the Warriors Three. A tightness in my chest seemed to ease as I thought about that comparison and saw Thor's pride in me.

“Okay, let's see what else you've got,” Thor stepped forward and swung his fist again. I blocked it on my arm, working on some instinct deep within me to follow with a counter-punch Thor parried. He kicked me in the chest, sending me flying into a thorny bush. The thorns snapped against my tough skin. I rolled through the bush and down a rocky hill before rising to press my booted feet against the light brown earth. Thor was in mid-leap with a punch aimed at my face. I dodged to the side, letting him crater the earth behind me, then grabbed his shoulders and spun around to throw him at a boulder, which shattered.

“Come on!” I shouted, the power getting to my head a bit.

“Yes!” Thor cheered, ignoring the boulder he'd turned to gravel, speeding forward and smashing into my waist, his massive arms squeezing. “Show me what you can really do!”

“Yaagh!” I lifted my arms and dropped my fists into Thor's back. He shouted, then lifted me up and German suplexed me into the ground, cratering it.

I barely felt it. I wasn't as strong as Four Arms, but I was damn powerful, enough that Thor, despite hurting me, was only giving me an average bruising.

I twisted around and punched Thor in the chest, the ground nearby splitting apart as the sand around us rose. Thor grabbed my shoulders and headbutted me, thunder sounding out in the distance before lightning struck.

“Damn!” I scowled, my nose stinging from his blow. Something inside me reveled in the pain, a strange burning sense of anger within me. I ducked the next one and uppercut him back, more sand from the wasteland around us shaking, filling the air with dust that I could somehow see through.

“Well done!” Thor cheered, grinning as he stepped in and blocked my next blow, backhanding me away. “Come, Mahmoud! Show me what you really have!”

He punched me again, and I growled before kicking him back, the world quaking with the hit.

Above us, a storm gathered, hot wind and sand flying around us as we battled. Something within felt that was appropriate for a fight between Dial and Thor.

------

Victoria Hand/Vice-Director of SHI-BRIDGE

Victoria stared at a screen before her with the image of the section of desert that Dial and Thor were 'sparring' in, her eyes wide.

On the screen, two massive swirling vortexes like localized storms were clashing. The helpful computer program measuring things identified them as unusual weather patterns. One was identified as the kind Thor had created a few times. The other, however, was new, because the wind surrounding it seemed a symptom of the power behind it.

“Make sure to update the weather warnings,” Victoria said to one of the scientists in the room, looking at a window nearby as rain and sand bounced off the glass. “We don't want people in one of the nearby towns freaking out.”

------

Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk

“This is because of Thor?!” She-Hulk shouted at Hulk, who only nodded seriously.

The two were standing in the hanger, watching as the world outside seemed to go insane. As they stood there watching lightning cross the gray clouds above and felt the ground shake, a Quinjet landed nearby and opened the back. Creel and Steve came out of the jet in their 'costumes' quickly running over to join them when hail began to fall and hot desert winds picked up tumbleweed to send it flying across the tarmac.

“What is this?!” Steve yelled as soon as he was close, holding his shield over his head to let the ice falling from the sky bounce off. “We were supposed to help with the Graveyard survivors when the weather went nuts?!”

“Thor was supposed to train Dial in his Asgardian form!” She-Hulk yelled.

“You think Dial got his powers?!” Creel shouted over the storm around them, the man switching to a steel form so he could ignore the granules of sand hitting everything.

“No,” Hulk declared, the tall green giant said, his eyes on the storm above. “Different... New.”

“Since when are you insightful?” Creel mumbled to himself, watching as the Quinjet that had brought them began to shake under the winds assaulting it.

------

Name Forgotten

Far away, in a nursing home called Shady Acres, an elderly man's eyes snapped open, gazing on the sky above New York City. Within him, something snapped into focus.

Then it faded away. Whatever clarity that had suddenly filled him slowly left, only embers remaining. A small smile rose on the man's face as his mind was once again taken from him.

But the tiniest of cracks had appeared, far earlier than it would have before.

Sadly, a crack which anyone could take advantage of.

The shadows of the world felt change rise and were changed in return as the wind picked up.

------

Mahmoud Schahed/Dial

Thor lifted me up and slammed my back onto the floor. I gasped out, spittle flying out of my mouth.

Something was wrong. I could feel it inside me. Like a secret I knew was being kept from me, something about the world calling out to it. I tried to reach for it as I rose unsteadily to my feet, my fingers digging into the wasteland beneath me, dirt crumbling in my fingers.

“Are you alright?” Thor asked, his eyes worried.

“T-There's something,” I coughed, clenching my fists. “I can feel a power inside me, something more. But it isn't coming to me.”

I couldn't understand it. Before now, every alien had come with an instinctual ability with their powers. They may not have come with a manual, but a combination of instinct and an excellent children's cartoon franchise to guide me allowed me to easily use every alien I'd gained.

It was frustrating, feeling something within me and not even having a clue what it was.

“Maybe you have my powers?” Thor suggested as he frowned thoughtfully. “How does this feel?” he raised a hand and Mjolnir flew into his palm, lightning surrounding the badass weapon. He held out in front of me, electricity flowing from it. “Anything?”

I pulled my head back, squinting my eyes against the blinding white light. “I feel like you're threatening to electrocute me, does that help?”

“Ah, sorry,” Thor embarrassed put Mjolnir away at his waist. “Well... damn it, I wish my father was here,” Thor sighed, looking as though he was half-tempted to do something before dismissing the idea. “What calls out to you then? What makes you-”

His next words were drowned out by the wind. I waved at some of the dust rising in the air. On instinct, I took a deep breath, reaching within.

The sand flying around us drifted away with the wave of my hand. I blinked dumbly. Thor stopped talking.

Hesitantly, I waved my hand again. More sand rose from the rocky wasteland with my hand motion.

I gritted my teeth, reaching within myself, and clenched a hand. Sand rose up from the ground, swirling upward in a tiny swirling tornado, barely as high as my chest.

“Sand?” Thor said, eyes wide. “That... I've never seen that happen before.”

“Cooool,” I said with a grin. I mentally reached out to the sand, the tightness in my chest fading as I gathered it to come around my feet, gathering underneath my boots.

Sand powers. Seems simple, on the surface, until you see what a person with the ability with the power to control sand can really do. And while I couldn't think of any Ben 10 alien with the powers I apparently had, I'd watched Avatar: The Last Airbender, Naruto, and One Piece, and had read Spider-Man. I certainly had plenty of sand-using characters to use as inspiration.

So I created a platform of sand and rose up into the sky on a shifting wave of grains that I later heard had gotten to over 110 feet high, letting me soar above the desert with a dumb grin on my face. Thor spun Mjolnir around and launched after me.

“WOOOO!” I shouted, standing with my arms spread on the wave of sand and shooting across the desert on the platform I'd created. The tightness in my chest was gone entirely, relaxed from finally using my powers. I twisted my hands and suddenly I was inside the wave. I laughed with joy as I surfed inside a tube of brown grains, boots sliding across the dirt. Thor flew by, the storm above us dropping lightning around us as he searched for me.

“Mahmoud!” He called out to me.

“This is awesome!” I yelled to him. “Hold on, I wanna try something!”

I reached out to the sand. Gaara had been able to do some cool stuff in Naruto, including making statues. I reached out to the sand with my mind, trying to mold it. The desert shook as I reached for the grains and forced them to move, ignoring the tight pain in my chest-

The loud sound of the Omnitrix's beeping was followed by the watch timing out. Just like that, I was in my normal human form, and the wave of sand fell apart, leaving me to fall out of the sky. My catom armor surrounded me the instant the AI registered a possibly lethal fall, but that still left me spinning through the air.

“Yaaaaaa-oof!” a large arm wrapped around my stomach, saving me from a painful hit to the ground.

“I've got you!” Thor said, bring us down for a landing.

We came to a landing as the tan waves of brown came down. The wasteland, once a place of dried stone cracked from the immense heat, now had a large dune right in the middle of it. I stared up at it as the rain above us continued to fall, wind picking up granules and blowing them away.

I was feeling pretty jazzed. I mean, that was insanely awesome! Asgardian's are supposed to be strong after all, and this form was epic, man! “Aw, man! That was so freaking cool! Weird I timed out so fast though, especially when I made sure to wait so it was charged. Should I just wait to try again?”

“No.”

I blinked, looking at Thor. He looked contemplative. “We need to wait for my father. I don't know what to do with sand,” he blinked. “Why is it even sand? No Asgardian has dealt with sand as far as I know.”

“Can't blame them,” I said, seeing my chance and taking it. “It's coarse and rough and it gets everywhere.”

Thor frowned. “Is that a reference? I think Steve mentioned something about that.”

Captain America had watched the prequels. It truly was the darkest timeline.