Original story by Bernard Ntreh

  ?

  The air hung heavy. Not with smoke… but with silence.

  Even after everything they’d been through — Goku’s fight, Sonic’s battle with Omni-Man — this felt different.

  The energy in the air was colder. Smarter. Perfectly controlled.

  Mark, Sonic, and the others turned toward the cracked sky, where something new had emerged from the multiversal rift.

  Him.

  A tall figure, green-skinned with violet stripes, walked forward with a confidence that felt… ancient. Refined. Unbothered.

  Perfect Cell.

  ?

  THE AWAKENING

  Cell’s smile was calm. Too calm.

  He slowly stepped out of the rift’s edge, claws folded behind his back like a commander surveying a battlefield.

  “So… this is the chaos I’ve been feeling.”

  His voice was smooth. Calculated.

  “Rifts… timelines… universes colliding. I couldn’t have designed a better playground myself.”

  Mark narrowed his eyes. “Who the hell are you?”

  Cell looked at him, tilting his head slightly.

  “Oh? You must be the one Goku humbled earlier. I can still sense his energy all over you.”

  Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

  Mark’s jaw tightened.

  Sonic stepped forward. “Yo, Green Goblin. You want something?”

  Cell raised a clawed finger, pointing lazily toward Sonic.

  “Speedster… annoying. The loud one. Predictable.”

  He turned his gaze slowly across the team.

  “Strong but unfocused,” he said, nodding toward Knuckles.

  “Emotional. Technological. Chaotic. Ah, and a father who’s… barely hiding his rage.”

  Omni-Man’s eyes met Cell’s for the first time.

  No words. Just fire behind his stare.

  ?

  TENSION BEFORE THE STORM

  Cell smirked.

  “Don’t bother. You’re out of your league.”

  Omni-Man finally spoke, voice cold.

  “You’re not from this world.”

  Cell chuckled.

  “Neither are you.”

  Mark stood between them now, fists clenched.

  “Everyone, hold up. We don’t know what this thing is—”

  Cell’s tail whipped.

  In an instant, a chunk of nearby rubble exploded. A crater formed behind the group.

  Not an attack. A message.

  “I don’t want to fight you,” Cell said.

  “Yet.”

  ?

  POWER TEASE – PERFECT CONTROL

  Amy stepped back, eyes wide. “What… is he?”

  Cell raised a hand, slowly forming a glowing green orb.

  The energy inside it pulsed with something far beyond Ki… beyond Chakra… even Chaos Energy.

  “Just a taste,” he said softly.

  He hurled the orb into the sky — it vanished.

  BOOM.

  Seconds later, a shockwave rippled across the area.

  Far above them, a mountain on the horizon… was gone.

  Sonic’s jaw dropped. “Okay. That’s… not good.”

  Knuckles clenched his fists. “I say we take him now.”

  Shadow finally stepped forward, dark eyes locked on Cell.

  “No. He’s baiting us.”

  ?

  THE PERFECT MIND

  Cell floated into the air, hands behind his back again.

  “You’re all so reactive. So emotional. That’s what makes this fun.”

  He looked into the Rift still cracking in the sky behind him.

  “And there’s more coming. Much more.”

  Tails stepped forward. “What do you mean, more?”

  Cell’s smile faded.

  “The rift… is evolving. New players. Stronger ones.”

  He turned back to them with a grin.

  “Enjoy the warm-up. I’ll be watching.”

  With that, his body slowly disassembled into glowing particles — vanishing into the Rift like a phantom.

  ?

  AFTERMATH – STORM ON THE HORIZON

  No one spoke.

  Even Omni-Man stood still, staring into the space where Cell had been.

  Mark breathed out, finally. “What… was that guy?”

  Sonic shook his head. “Someone we don’t want showing up again uninvited.”

  Shadow didn’t turn. “He will.”

  Tails looked at the scanner on his wrist. “The rift’s not closing. It’s expanding again. Something else is coming…”

  ?

  A low rumble echoed across the sky.

  Dark clouds swirled.

  And somewhere, in a place between dimensions — another pair of eyes opened. Watching. Waiting. Planning.

  ?

  TO BE CONTINUED…