"You have to prepare… Adrian…"David swallowed, his body trembling as he struggled to stay conscious. "They are… coming."
Adrian's heart skipped.
"Who…?" he whispered, his voice cracking. "Who's coming?!"
Before David could answer, something horrifying happened.
His body twisted unnaturally. The bones in his back cracked and shifted. His spine extended as a long, dark tail burst out, ripping through the fabric of his clothes. His eyes lost their familiar warmth and were replaced with a cold, predatory glow.
Adrian stumbled backward.
In front of him stood a human-like creature, smiling — but it wasn't his father anymore.
The creature moved faster than Adrian could react.
Its hand shot forward and grabbed him by the throat, lifting him slightly off the ground.
Its smile widened.
"Planet Beetle."
Meanwhile in Jake's House…
Everything was calm.
Quiet.
Almost too quiet.
Jake was sitting lazily on the couch, scrolling through his phone, barely paying attention to what he was watching. It felt like a normal day — boring, peaceful, safe.
He set his phone aside and stood up, walking toward the kitchen counter. He grabbed a bottle and poured juice into a glass, the sound of liquid filling the cup echoing softly in the silent room.
Just as he raised the glass to his lips—
Slice.
The bottle split in half.
Perfectly.
Cleanly.
The top half slid off and crashed onto the floor.
Jake froze.
His breath caught in his throat. Slowly, he set the glass down and raised his hands, his instincts screaming danger.
From the shadows, an elderly voice spoke calmly:
"No need to be so scared. I'm not going to hurt you."
Jake's body remained tense.
"Who are you?" he demanded. "Why are you here?"
Footsteps echoed.
Out of the darkness stepped an old man holding a katana.
"My name is Kenji," he said. "And I am here to take you."
Jake took a step back, fear crawling into his chest.
"Take me where?"
"No time for questions."
In a single instant, Kenji grabbed Jake by the collar and shot straight into the air through the open roof.
The wind roared in Jake's ears as Kenji began Flash Stepping through the sky, appearing and disappearing in rapid bursts of motion — something so difficult, even skilled heroes could barely do it once.
"LET ME GO!" Jake yelled, swinging his fists wildly, but he couldn't reach him.
After several minutes, they landed near a hidden building — cold, silent, and protected.
Kenji released him.
"Listen carefully," Kenji said. "Creatures from space are attacking. They're from a place called Planet Beetle. I'm here to keep you safe."
Jake shook his head.
"Why me?"
Kenji's expression hardened.
"Because of your father. Mr. Hang. He's rich. Powerful. Important. And I was ordered to protect you."
Before Jake could respond—
BOOM.
A distant explosion shook the air.
Kenji turned toward the sound.
"It's them. Stay here."
And in a blur, he vanished.
Meanwhile in a Nearby City…
Chaos.
Fire.
Screams.
Gigantic, insect-like beings — the Beetles — crawled through the streets, tearing through buildings with their claws and blasting structures apart using strange, glowing abilities.
Heroes arrived, landing among the destruction.
"What do you want?!" one demanded. "Why are you attacking this planet?!"
One of the strongest Beetles stepped forward, its mandibles twitching.
"We are the Beetles. And we are here to kill all humans on Earth."
A hero clenched his fists.
"Why?!"
The Beetle tilted its head.
"No reason."
In the next instant, they attacked.
Weaker heroes were torn apart before they could even scream. Even seasoned fighters struggled — barely managing to injure a single Beetle.
The battlefield turned into a one-sided massacre.
One Beetle laughed.
"Don't you humans understand? One Beetle… is as strong as fifty aliens."
Silence.
Fear spread through the heroes.
Many of them lost hope.
Many stopped fighting.
Then —
A Light of Justice arrived.
A tall, dark-skinned muscular man, wearing glasses, stepped calmly onto the battlefield.
He looked around at the burning city, the fallen heroes, and the endless army of Beetles.
He clicked his tongue.
"…Seems I'm late."
He adjusted his glasses and sighed.
"Guess I'm getting home late tonight, too."