New York City – 3:42 AM
The smoke was everywhere. Thick. Suffocating. It twisted through the school's narrow corridors like a serpent, licking at walls, curling around Robin's helmet. Visibility was almost zero. But Robin didn't need to see anymore—he knew this building. Every hallway, every room, every exit. He'd walked it a dozen times on community safety visits.
But now it was a furnace.
He pressed one gloved hand to the scorched wall and kept moving. His radio was static. The last thing he heard was that two more kids were missing in the east wing. Kindergarten. Ages five and six. The youngest ones.
Robin moved faster.
His boots splashed through water pooling beneath melted ceiling tiles. The fire suppression system had gone off too late. The sprinklers hissed weakly, doing nothing against the inferno.
He coughed, hard. Black soot hit the inside of his helmet. His arms were trembling—not from fear, but from exhaustion. They'd already pulled out seventeen kids. Half the station was injured. One engine was gone, exploded in the back lot. And still… he was the last one in.
Not because he was the bravest. But because he was the one who couldn't leave.
Then he heard it.
A whimper.
Through a door half-hinged and wrapped in fire.
Robin didn't think.
He ran.
Somewhere Between Worlds
He awoke lying flat on his back.
But he didn't remember falling.
No pain. No heat. No screams. No oxygen mask pressed to his face.
Just… stillness.
Robin blinked slowly, struggling to adjust to the brightness above. The sky looked like an oil painting—soft brushstrokes of twilight blues and purples, studded with distant stars. They didn't twinkle. They just were. Fixed. Watching.
He sat up.
There was grass beneath him. Gentle, cool. The kind you only find in daydreams. It smelled faintly of lavender, with something else—ozone, maybe? Magic?
Across the field stood a single tree. Tall. Its leaves shimmered with every color imaginable, even some that had no names.
Then a voice spoke. Calm. Playful. Familiar in the way a lullaby is familiar, even when you've never heard it before.
"Took you long enough."
Robin turned.
The person standing there wasn't a man or a woman exactly. They looked like… everyone and no one. Tall but not intimidating. Ageless but not unapproachable. They wore jeans, a white hoodie, and had bare feet that left no prints in the grass.
Their eyes were galaxies.
"Are you—" Robin started.
"God? Yeah. Sort of. Enough for this conversation."
Robin blinked. "Am I dead?"
God gave a soft nod. "You died saving thirty-two children. The building collapsed five seconds after you shielded the last two with your body. They're alive. You're not. At least… not anymore."
Robin looked down at his hands. No burns. No soot. No broken ribs. Just… him.
He swallowed hard. "I didn't feel it."
God smiled, a bit sadly. "You earned not having to."
Silence stretched for a moment. Not awkward, but sacred.
Then Robin said, "So, what happens now? Heaven? Hell? Reincarnation? Nothing?"
"Well," God said, rubbing their hands together, "you get a rare offer. You passed a test most people don't even see coming. Selflessness in the moment where it matters most. That's worth something."
Robin raised an eyebrow. "Like… a reward?"
"More like a chance. A new life. In a fictional universe of your choosing. You'll keep your memories. Your soul remains intact. Your essence continues."
Robin stared at them. "You're serious."
God gestured, and the grass around them shifted, blooming with wildflowers. "As a heart attack."
Robin scratched his head. "Okay. But why? Why me?"
"Because you acted without hope of reward. That matters to me. The multiverse has plenty of warriors. What it needs more of… is people with heart."
Robin sat cross-legged in the grass, trying to process.
"So I get to… pick?"
"Not exactly," God said, waving their hand again.
From the horizon, three massive golden wheels rose into the sky, glowing with spinning lights and symbols. Like celestial roulette.
"One for your universe. One for identity. One for your power. Spin all three, and fate will guide the rest."
Robin stood. "This is insane."
"Yep," God said brightly. "Fun, isn't it?"
The Spin of Fate
Robin stepped up to the first wheel. The segments spun fast—DC Universe, Attack on Titan, Witcher, Naruto, Star Wars, My Hero Academia, Marvel Comics…
He grabbed the handle and spun.
The wheel slowed.
Click. Click. Click.
Marvel Universe.
Robin exhaled. "Okay. I can work with that."
God clapped once. "Excellent choice."
Robin stepped to the next wheel—this one marked with names: Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, Venom, Shang-Chi, Doctor Doom, Wolverine…
Spin.
Click. Click.
Wolverine.
"Okay—Logan? As in claws and healing?"
God nodded. "Bingo."
Robin's heart picked up. This was… not bad.
Last wheel. The one labeled with powers. This one spun slower.
Symbiote, Gamma Mutation, Magic, Speed Force, Phoenix Force, Telepathy, Doomsday-style Adaptation…
Spin.
The wheel clicked past terrifyingly powerful entries.
Then stopped.
Adaptation.
Robin felt something in his chest. Not fear. But magnitude.
"Define that one," he said quietly.
God's face turned serious. "You'll evolve in response to threats. Like Doomsday. But less destructive. Your body will adjust to survive. You'll gain resistances. Your healing factor is Logan's—fast, reliable, borderline immortal. Between the two?"
They smiled.
"You won't be easy to kill."
Robin rubbed his face. "This feels… too much."
"I know. But I've hidden you. You won't trigger the cosmic sensors unless you make a spectacle. No Death. No Living Tribunal. Not even Time sees you."
Robin narrowed his eyes. "What about the TVA?"
God hesitated.
"They're a wildcard. You'll have to grow before they notice. But if they do... they'll try to erase you. And unlike me, they don't offer choices."
Robin turned to the golden light forming a door behind him. Seagulls. City noise. His new world waited.
"One last question," he said. "Which Marvel?"
God winked. "MCU. Cinematic only. No mutants yet. You'll be the first and only one."
Robin gave a slow, amazed nod. "Okay."
God extended a hand.
"Make this life yours, Robin. Don't chase power. Live. The rest will follow."
Robin took the hand—and stepped through.
TO BE CONTINUED.....