Stretch Man: Volume 2

It had been three years since the defeat of the Gravemind Core on Graveskull Island. Gravellix still rested in the howling abyss that was the Beneath Realm alongside an overseeing entity. Once released, he’ll for sure bring a reckoning to the world, or maybe even the galaxy.

Xavier, Nicole, Maria, and Jayden were scarred by what they had seen that day, despite how much time had passed. All the damage across the United States that was caused by the island had been fixed by the remaining heroes, alongside the damage from their other past battles. The Nova Squad had climbed the ranks, managing to squeeze all of their way into the top fifty of the entire planet.

Their rankings were now official—

Stretch Man remained number one after all this time.

Voltstride sat at number four for her blitzing backup throughout all her battles.

Steelwolf held number nine for his brute strength and resilience.

Spectral Veil stole number eleven for her unsurpassed tactical mind.

Quantum Shift pulled number thirteen for her broken yet underutilized time abilities.

Storm snatched number sixteen after dropping, since everyone witnessed his storm conjuring during the battle against Vaelzor.

Neon Pulse was at number seventeen thanks to his master-level energy control.

Blazeheart flexed into number eighteen with his super-heated flame powers.

Shockwave was in number twenty-four thanks to hit quickly, powerful, but non-lethal sonic attacks.

Iron Guard stood tall in number twenty-eight despite the underutilization of his magnetic abilities.

Frostbite was number thirty-one, though he felt his ice attacks were underestimated.

Gravitus had number thirty-five on his belt, despite the danger of his gravity powers.

Goozer stayed strong in his number thirty-seven spot.

Arachno sat chill-like in the number forty-four spot as what people called a “rip-off Spider-Man”.

As the heroes strived on planet Earth, Luna remained hundreds of thousands of light-years away within the Silence alongside the Celestial Arbiter. She controlled the tides of every planet harboring life across the universe, while the Arbiter—her cosmic twin in chaos—continued hurling celestial objects into random sectors of the universe, causing mayhem and creating life on a universal scale.

With superhero culture blowing up worldwide, other countries rolled out their teams. Even Vaelzor—who caught the world’s side-eye after getting his evil memories wiped after the battle with the Nova Squad—flipped into being a hero named Hyper Man, now working for the U.S. government as a cordanion bodyguard.

The new top five heroes had become the Earth’s Avengers, especially after teaming up to kill a kaiju terrorizing Australia. The battle was legendary.

Hyper Man—number two in the world—flew down from above, sending a wave of laser fire at the kaiju’s tough exterior.

“Nice one, Hyper!” called a fire hero from below. That was Firelord—number five hero from Australia—firing pillars of flames into the air and splitting clouds like melons.

The creature weaved slowly around the flames, its fat figure nearly scorched by the fire. Stretch Man watched as it weaved, then went straight into action.

He ran straight toward the creature, then wrapped his arm around it—as the creature struggled within his grip, he spun wildly like a disheveled Beyblade. He tossed the creature high into the air, nearly eclipsing the sun.

“My turn,” yelled Voltstride. She ran around in circles, charging her speed for a final attack. After a minute, she canceled her momentum, planting her foot into the red sand. Sand kicked up amongst the battlefield as an explosion had erupted beneath it. She then leaped, firing several kilometers into the sky. She flipped midair, then shot downward with a burst of speed directly into the kaiju.

The creature shrieked as Voltstride pierced through its stomach, spraying blood everywhere like a demented sprinkler. She touched down beside the number three hero in the top five—an elusive swordsman named Dark Samurai.

As the kaiju collapsed to the floor above him, the creature’s shadow encompassed him completely.

“Perfect,” he whispered. He raised his blade behind himself, lowering his body into a slashing stance.

Suddenly, all the shadows surrounding him vanished—but it wasn’t gone.

Dark tendrils formed around Dark Samurai like a shield. They sprawled out around him as he literally absorbed the darkness.

Just as the creature finally hit the ground, he blinked.

Within a nanosecond, the creature was silenced. A massive beam of pure darkness cut through the kaiju like butter. Voltstride, Firelord, and Stretch Man darted out of the way as the two halves of the creature fell in two separate directions, throwing sand miles high into the air.

As the dust settled, a news van sped up behind him, a whole crew gathering for the strongest heroes on the planet.

The camera panned across the battlefield, capturing the moment: five legends standing tall against a burning skyline.

“We are now on site with the top five greatest heroes on Earth!” a familiar reporter, Claire Bennett, hollered, barely holding it together. “Introducing: Stretch Man, the elastic legend himself—#1 hero in the world, saving cities with nothing but flex and fury! Voltstride, the electric speed demon, ran circles around villains faster than they could say ‘help!’ Hyper Man, Earth’s alien guardian—strong enough to snap a skyscraper in half and still have time for a selfie! Dark Samurai, the shadow swordsman, slices through enemies like living nightmares! And Firelord, the blazing king of combat, lighting up the skies and leaving villains burnt, bruised, and begging!”

Xavier shot Nicole a sideways glance and smirked.

“Man, they make us sound like gods or something,” he joked.

Nicole just laughed, adjusting her gloves as the crowd roared in the background.

With the new top five watching Earth’s back, nobody dared step on them. No one could even touch their level.

But while the heroes basked in their glory, the universe itself was starting to crack apart.

A mysterious force was tearing holes in space, teleporting across galaxies, and ripping the fabric of reality to open massive dimensional portals. It appeared to be searching for something—or someone.

Naturally, this cosmic mess caught the attention of the Four Great Deities.

The four gods sat together within a throne room. The walls glistened with the light of trillions of suns, and the floor looked like a void swallowed the room whole. Entire galaxies coated the ground like an abstract painting, and universes were sitting on shelves like rare trinkets.

In the far center of the room sat a table, encrusted in a holy golden frame. Four smaller bright thrones surrounded the table, but at the far end sat a massive one that dwarfed the rest—the throne of the Omniversal God.

“This can’t be happening!” one of the gods shouted, their voice shaking the infinite layers of clouds.

“Calm down, we can still fix this… maybe,” another muttered, clearly lying to themselves.

“Yeah? Why don’t you go close all twenty-seven thousand portals and tell me how easy it is?” a third snapped back.

“Like you could,” rebutted another.

Sitting above the four gods was a fifth one. Towering. Unshakable. He didn’t even look threatening—he just existed in a way that made you feel small.

“Alright, let’s chill, people,” he rumbled, the air bending with his words. “I’m sure if you all combine your powers, we can patch this up.”

The four gods stood at attention.

Omni Lord—the God of Destruction- was created to eliminate threats while causing just enough chaos to balance the outerverse. He commanded the archangels to bring justice throughout the omniverses.

Timeless—the God of Time, strolling through centuries like they were grocery aisles. He did his job alone, though, unlike his siblings.

Visionkeeper—the God of Fate, seeing every choice, every branch, every ending… but allowed to intervene only once every few millennia. Shadow Arcs intervened when he couldn’t, as you’ve seen.

Voidreign—the God of Life and Death, the bringer of divine judgement, cursed to protect the multiverses even when it meant choosing who lived and who didn’t. He commanded the cherubs and angels—cherubs collected souls after death, while angels dealt with the consequences before and after death.

And above them all... the Stickman God.

Not flashy. Not even intimidating.

But undeniably, the second strongest being in existence, commanding the loyalty of the gods alike.

The Omniversal God—known to his compatriots as the Stickman God—leaned forward on his massive throne, scanning through the endless portals ripping the universe apart like a forbidden computer.

“Alright, fellas,” he said, voice calm but carrying enough weight to crush a star, “who’s volunteering to fix this mess?”

Dead silence.

Voidreign awkwardly scratched the back of his head, a motion that somehow caused a small supernova in a distant galaxy.

“Uh, respectfully, father... I’d rather not.”

Timeless pretended to check an invisible watch. “Man, would you look at the time? Gotta, uh, be somewhere… yesterday.”

Visionkeeper sighed, rubbing his temple. “If I fix one portal, a thousand others open. It’s like playing cosmic whack-a-mole.”

Omni Lord just stood there, arms crossed, straight up, looking like he was calculating whether mass extinction was the easier option.

The Stickman God exhaled, the sound alone rearranging a few star systems.

“Fine. I’ll call them.”

The gods froze.

Them?

“You don’t mean...” Omni Lord said, eyes wide.

The Stickman God smiled — not a comforting smile.

“The ‘Chosens’, as the Arbiters call them.”

Across the infinite layers of the omniverses, something stirred.

A few hours after the kaiju battle on Earth, in the middle of a crowded press conference, Xavier suddenly sneezed so hard he almost knocked Jayden off the stage.

Nicole gave him a side-eye. “You good, bro?”

“Yeah,” Xavier said, sniffling. “Someone must be talkin’ ’bout me.”

Jayden picked himself up, brushing ash off his jacket. “Cool, how about covering your nose next time, jackass.”

Back in the Atrium of Origin, Visionkeeper summoned a shimmering orb between his hands. “My godly artifact,” he gloated as it hovered between his arms.

Inside it, images of Xavier and Nicole flickered like static on the ancient orb. The other gods squeezed in hard, watching the heroes at work.

“They may not know it yet,” Visionkeeper said, eyes gleaming, “but they’re about to be sent into the wildest goose chase the universe has ever known.”

He closed his hand, and with a pulse of light, the call went out—across planets, through dimensions, slicing through every layer of reality—reaching the heroes who were unknowingly about to become the outerverse’s last line of defense.

The real war hadn’t even started yet.

Later that night, Xavier was up grabbing a bowl of cereal for himself when a sudden noise snapped him out of his daze. “It’s too late for this,” he told himself, tossing the bowl to the side. As it slid around the table, a little milk spilled onto the counter.

He rushed into Maria’s room, grabbing some heat-seeking glasses from Maria. As he returned to the kitchen, he passed his own room. The empty bed of Davion lingered on him like a curse. He shook off the sadness, returning swiftly.

He entered the kitchen with the goggles, looking around the room for a heat signature. Unfortunately for him, the creature he was facing didn’t have one.

“Dammit,” he whispered. He put down the goggles, but as he did, footsteps erupted from behind him. He quickly got on guard, throwing his head every direction as the footfalls teleported around the room.

He followed the sounds of footsteps as they discreetly led him back to his room. He scanned the area until he realized something he hadn’t seen before.

Nicole wasn’t there.

“This can’t be good…” he thought, adjusting his stance. He tiptoed throughout the dormitory, watching his front, back, and even insides as the sounds of more heroes disappearing filled him with fear. He snuck back into the kitchen, but unfortunately for him, his carelessness got the better of him.

He slipped on a milk puddle, and the shadow arc snatched him up.

Xavier struggled, kicking and thrashing as the creature dragged him into the darkness. His vision blurred, static filling his ears as a swirling black portal opened beneath him.

“Whoa—let me go, dammit!” Xavier shouted, elbowing the arc in the face. It smacked its lips, flicking Xavier on the forehead and knocking him out.

As his unconscious form slumped onto the creature’s shoulder, he was sucked into the portal like dust in a vacuum.

And then—silence.

When Xavier came to, he was lying in the center of an endless sky—no floor, no walls, no ceiling—nothing.

Across from him stood Nicole, Jackson, Jordan, and Naomi.

Nicole blinked at him. “You good, dude?”

Xavier reeled milk out of his shirt. “Not the weirdest thing I’ve woken up to, honestly.”

Xavier lifted himself off the ground, examining the infinite sky. As he slowly looked around, a thunderous voice echoed all around them, rattling their bones—

“YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN.”

Everyone tensed up, instinctively dropping into fighting stances.

From the blinding white light, a massive figure materialized—it was the Stickman God himself.

Stickman God raised a hand. “Relax. If I wanted to vaporize you, you’d be lint in my pocket by now.”

Xavier whispered to Nicole, “Guess we better stay in check.”

Nicole nodded slowly. “Damn right.”

The Stickman God’s smile widened.

“I’ve summoned you here because reality itself is on thin ice. Someone—or something—is tearing the omniverses apart.”

He waved his hand, and dozens of images flashed in the air.

Naomi looked up at the spectacle, writing vigorously into her notebook. Within the images, portals littered the outerverse like gum under school desks.

“You are Earth’s greatest champions. And now, you’re going to be the outerverse’s protectors.”

Xavier scratched the back of his head.

“...Do we get dental with that?”

The Stickman God laughed—a sound so powerful it cracked space like glass for a second.

“You’ll get something better.”

The heroes all exchanged nervous glances.

“And what’s that?” Jackson asked, clearly wanting to leave already.

Stickman God’s eyes gleamed.

“Status beyond anything you’ve ever dreamed of.

...Assuming you survive the training.” Xavier’s eyes rolled. “Status, huh? Sounds cool—but we have that at home.”

Stickman God shot him a glare but continued nonetheless.

“First, you’re gonna need a guide.”

Suddenly, another towering figure entered the void. Visionkeeper, a massive god with a cloak of all-seeing eyes and crystals that contained every moment of the entire omniverse. He spoke, a voice that broke the cosmos.

“Meet my star shadow arc.”

Suddenly, a blot of shadow emerged from the sky beneath them, forming into a humanoid creature. She wore a robe speckled with galactic dust instead of the pure midnight color of other shadow arcs. Her mouth was an infinite void of dark that didn’t match her eyes— pure, bright white eyes matching her pale gray skin.

Suddenly, she spoke.

“My name is Nyxara. ” I’m the leader of the searching division of the shadow arcs, and I’ll guide you all through the omniverses so we can find that treacherous little asshole,” she grimaced, losing her train of thought for a moment.

Nyxara caught herself mid-grimace, straightened up, and cleared her throat.

“Ahem. Anyway.”

She pointed at the group. “Your first job is simple. Survive the Trial of Realms.”

Jordan squinted. “Man, do we ever get a break from trials?”

“For now, no,” Nyxara deadpanned. She snapped her fingers, and the endless sky cracked under their feet like shattered glass.

“The sky is falling!” yelled Nicole as the nonexistent floor beneath her gave way.

In an instant, all the heroes plummeted through swirling colors and screaming winds. Nicole yelled something that was probably supposed to be a battle cry but came out sounding like a dying goat. Xavier flailed next to her, spinning like a drunk Beyblade.

They all slammed onto hard stone, groaning and coughing.

When they looked up, they weren’t in the sky anymore.

They were standing on a massive floating island, drifting through a blood-red sky. Around them, dozens of other floating islands floated—some on fire, some covered in ice, some crackling with pure electricity.

“Welcome—” Nyxara’s voice echoed from the clouds above “—to the Between Realm.”

Xavier staggered to his feet, wiping blood off his lip. “Okay, rude. Could’ve at least given a parachute or something.”

Nyxara ignored him. “Your task is to survive. Each island holds a different trial. Complete them, and you’ll unlock a new ability tailored to your powers. Fail, and… well, you don’t really wanna find out what happens if you fail.”

A roar shook the island. The ground quivered beneath their feet.

Nicole tightened her gloves. “Uh... that sounds like ‘fail’ is gonna eat us.”

“Yup,” Jordan said, already charging a ball of energy in his hand. “Sounds about right.”

“Well, let’s get this over with,” Naomi said, her body shimmering with temporal energy.

Another roar, even louder. This time, the clouds ripped apart to reveal the first challenge.

A hulking creature—a kaiju made of pure molten rock—crash-landed from afar onto their island, steam hissing from its body. Its eyes glowed like two dying suns.

“Meet Trial One,” Nyxara said casually. “The Magmabeast. Enjoy!”

Then her voice poofed from the air, leaving them alone with the 80-foot walking volcano that looked ready to punt them into orbit.

Jackson cursed under his breath. “Stretch Man, you better have some stretchy Hail Mary plan, ’cause I’m not tryna be barbecue today!”

Xavier cracked his knuckles, smirked, and stretched his arms back with a loud snap.

“Aight then,” he said. “Let’s cook.”

Nicole sparked with electric energy beside him. “Literally.”

Jordan and Jackson flanked out to the sides, energy crackling and a steel werewolf howling to life.

Naomi, always vigilant, calmly placed down her notebook with determination gleaming in her eyes.

The Magmabeast charged, the ground splitting under its steps.

And Earth’s heroes, freshly drafted into cosmic war, threw themselves into battle—ready or not.