The 12-year-old genius was hunched over his desk, scribbling down calculations on a notepad. His invention—the Safe and Totally Non-Dangerous Matter Transporter 3000—was almost ready for the school science fair. He'd designed it with one goal in mind: to win. And, of course, to impress his teacher, Mr. Park, who had a reputation for only being impressed by "groundbreaking innovations."
Yoonso adjusted his glasses and gave the glowing blue machine one last look. It hummed softly, an orb-like structure made of wires and blinking lights.
"Perfect," Yoonso whispered to himself, not noticing the small wires starting to glow a bit too brightly.
He hit the big red button.
The machine sparked.
For a moment, everything went dark.
Then, with a deafening whoosh, Yoonso felt himself being sucked up into a vortex. He tried to scream, but the air around him was too thick, too fast.
Thwack!
The world flipped, turned inside out, and then, in an instant, Yoonso landed with an uncomfortable thud on a cold, marble floor.
Groaning, he blinked, staring up at the high, intricate ceiling. The sound of murmuring voices echoed in the distance.
Yoonso pushed himself up and looked around, eyes widening.
He wasn't in his room anymore.
He wasn't even in his school.
He was in a giant conference hall, with people in spandex suits, and robots, and flying gadgets zooming overhead. In the center of the room stood a massive table, surrounded by an array of superheroes and villains, all wearing badges that said things like "The League of Heroes" and "Villains United."
For a moment, everyone fell silent. It was like time stopped.
One of the heroes, a man in a bright, shiny suit with a cape that flapped dramatically in the nonexistent wind, leaned forward and squinted at Yoonso.
The necromancer's gaze met Yoonso. The necromancer gravely pointed towards the exit.
"Did we order a sidekick?" he asked, completely serious.
Yoonso froze.
"What?! No. I'm already leaving."
"No. He's already leaving."
Morty said, angry at everyone in the room.
But before he could gather his thoughts, another villain, a woman with purple sharp nails, narrowed her eyes.
"Is this some kind of prank?"
A hero in the back whispered, "I think he's a new recruit."
Yoonso quickly stood up and raised his hands, eyes wide.
"No, no! I'm just… I'm just a kid! I was working on a project, and it kind of exploded!"
The villains and heroes stared at him, still unsure what to make of him.
A grumpy-looking villain in a leather jacket crossed his arms and grunted.
"Another sidekick, huh? What happened to the last one? Did they explode too?"
The same shiny-suited hero gave a dramatic sigh.
"You can never trust these things. First, they're children, then next, they want to overthrow the world."
Yoonso backed up, panicking.
"I—I didn't mean to!"
The hero nodded, looking impressed.
Before Yoonso could explain, a robot butler appeared at his side, offering a glass of sparkling blue juice.
"Welcome to the Annual Hero-Villain Negotiation Conference, young sidekick!" the robot chimed.
Yoonso didn't even know how to respond. A sidekick?!
He had to get out of there.
Minutes passed. The room slowly came back to life, as superheroes and villains began arguing in typical fashion. Yoonso sat in a chair by the side, feeling completely out of place.
A giant monitor on the wall flashed with a new topic:
"Should we continue having battles on weekends, or take Sundays off?"
A villain in a polka-dot suit raised his hand.
"I vote for no battles on Sundays. I have a brunch I can't miss!"
A superhero in a fluorescent green outfit stood up, face serious.
"But what if there's an emergency on Sunday? What if we're needed to stop a meteor crash or something? You can't just skip out!"
Yoonso watched in confusion as they argued over the most ridiculous topics.
"Do we really need monologues before fights?"
"Should villains really destroy coffee shops every week?"
Suddenly, a villain with a black leather mask leaned over to Yoonso.
"Kid, you look smart. Got any ideas for us?"
Yoonso gulped.
"Um… I just wanted to go home. I'm not part of your plans!"
But the villains, being villains, didn't listen. Instead, one of them grinned.
"Join us, kid. You could be the next evil genius!"
Before Yoonso could protest, a hero walked up, smiling.
"We'll train you to fight injustice! Become a sidekick of the League of Heroes!"
Yoonso shook his head.
"No, no! I don't want to join any of you! I just need to get back to my school and—"
"No." Morty said very rudely to the villains
Morty grabs the guy and leaves the room.
Morty called a taxi and paid for a ride home for the young man. Then he went back to the others. Someone is asking him:
"Did you know this boy?"
The necromancer crossed his arms on his chest and said loudly:
"Continue"