New York was different here.
The buildings were taller, cleaner, and lit with strange neon signs. People moved through the streets like everything was normal—even though Jason had just come through a portal from another world. And then there was the man in red.

“I’m Power House,” the hero said, his voice steady but curious. “Second-strongest hero in this dimension. Who are you two?”

Jason hesitated before replying, “I’m Atomic Man. I just… want to get home.”

Power House studied him for a moment, then gave a short nod. “I know someone who can help with that.”

He led Jason and Adrianna to an enormous glass tower that seemed to hum with energy. Inside, they met a tall man with streaks of silver in his hair, wearing a suit that looked like something from a science museum’s future exhibit.

“This,” Power House said with respect, “is Takion. Number one hero. And the greatest scientist alive.”

Takion’s eyes lit up the moment he saw them. “Incredible… you came through a portal. You’ve confirmed it—the multiverse exists!” His voice was shaking with excitement. “I must get to work immediately.”

While Takion began constructing a device to send them home, trouble was brewing elsewhere in the city.

Two masked figures, twins with a dangerous glint in their eyes, burst into a downtown bank. They were known as Mirror and Echo, infamous for their ability to copy and multiply powers. The police scrambled to contain them, but every attempt was met with the twins matching their moves perfectly.

When the news hit Takion’s lab, Jason stepped forward immediately. “Let me help,” he said. “I’ll go with Power House.”

They arrived at the scene just as Mirror and Echo were draining energy from the vault’s security system. Jason moved in fast, but the twins locked eyes on him.

“This one’s interesting,” Echo said.

In seconds, they were mirroring Jason’s own atomic abilities—fists glowing, air crackling. But something went wrong. While copying his powers, they also triggered a dormant failsafe hidden deep in Jason’s energy signature. It was called a spread bomb—a rare and unstable effect that transferred a fraction of his power to nearby targets.

Two homeless people, Kim and Alex, had been standing just outside the bank when it happened. Light flared across their bodies, and suddenly, they were floating uncontrollably into the air.

The twins laughed—right before Power House slammed them into the pavement and knocked them out.

Jason ignored the fleeing crowd and flew up to Kim and Alex, steadying them. “Relax. I’ve got you.” Slowly, he guided them back to the ground.

They were stunned. Their hands glowed faintly with energy, sparks jumping between their fingertips.

Back at Takion’s lab, Jason explained what had happened. “You could use these powers to fight evil,” he told them.

But Kim’s eyes hardened. “Why should we? All our lives we’ve been rejected, treated like trash. Why should we protect a world that never protected us?”

Jason stepped closer, his voice soft but firm. “Because heroes don’t fight for the world as it is. They fight for the world it could be. And if we give up, it never changes.”

Kim and Alex exchanged a look. For the first time, there was something in their expressions other than bitterness.

While they were speaking, somewhere across the city, another figure was watching.

Brain Storm. The smartest villain in this dimension. He had been keeping tabs on Takion’s projects for years, but never cared enough to interfere—until now. He had seen Jason and Adrianna step through that portal, and in an instant, he understood. The multiverse was real. And if they could travel between worlds… so could he.

Days passed. Takion worked tirelessly, calibrating the portal. Jason and Adrianna spent most of their time together, walking the streets of this strange city. They laughed. They talked about what they had lost—and what they had found in each other.

“I love you,” Jason said one night.

“I love you too,” Adrianna replied without hesitation.

By the third day, Takion’s portal was ready. “It should be stable for a few minutes,” he warned. “Enough for you to get through.”

Jason and Adrianna stepped toward the glowing ring. Kim and Alex were waiting nearby. “We’re coming,” Kim said. “There’s nothing for us here.”

Jason smiled faintly and nodded.

But they weren’t the only ones who had made that decision.

Brain Storm appeared at the edge of the room, his expression calm and calculating. “I know all your identities,” he told the heroes gathered there. “Every weakness. Every secret. I’ve known for years. But I never cared. Now… I care.”

Without another word, he stepped into the portal.

Power House lunged to follow him, but Brain Storm’s personal teleportation device activated, blinking him five hundred meters away before he could be caught.

The heroes had no choice. Jason, Adrianna, Kim, Alex—and Brain Storm—were now in Jason’s world.

And in Jason’s dimension, the multiverse was nothing more than theory.

Which meant Power House was stuck there too.