Grey Matter was a genius, a goddamned genius.
In as little as a couple of hours, the program the frog-like alien made during the fugue was already doing quite a bit of work, extracting information from several of the world's databases and governments. From names, locations of interest, and even records were all in his hands. Using several discarded computers, laptops, and other devices at the landfill, he was able to make something truly ingenious. Not only that, but it was a supercomputer on wheels, too. All for the extra mobility.
However, said supercomputer on wheels was literally made out what was left of parts of several refrigerators, a beat-up taco truck, and several satellite dishes used for television. Still, the computer got the job done, capable of performing nearly any task Lyon would need to accomplish, given the timeframe. And if he was lucky, he would be able to further improve upon it once he established a proper laboratory. One such as the Mauler Twins' would do very nicely, or perhaps even Angstrom's when he would go full brain-mode.
Satisfied, Lyon glanced at the vehicle before him in the warehouse. It was a crude, messy thing, but it was what Grey Matter had to work with. But at least it was far more reliable than what Jury Rigg could create. Although Lyon had to admit, if he had Jury Rigg, he would've loved to Mad Max this bad boy up with all sorts of gadgets and upgrades. But alas, he had to work with what he had, not like he could complain, however.
Shutting the hood of the vehicle, Lyon gave a smile, and hopped into the driver's seat, starting it up. And with an immediate roar of the engine following soon after, the door of the warehouse began to raise slowly. No longer did he have to squat at some dirty, old warehouse. Instead, he could hit the road, and travel along it, until reaching his destination. And if he was lucky, he could hopefully get into contact with Cecil, despite knowing the older man was... paranoid, for one. But he did mean well, in a pragmatic sort of way.
"Always wanted to have a road trip to D.C, let's go make ourselves right at home." Lyon declared with a grin spreading across his face. "I think Spawn might also be lurkin' 'round over there. But there's also that bastard Billy Kincaid there, too. Fuck 'em, I'm gonna kill 'em. Well, that's if he's still alive." He said to himself, reminding himself of that horrid monster in human skin, and he wasn't talking about Spawn. "No. Best not to think about that right now. Focus on getting some actually good employment instead of bummin' around. Might as well do a little while I'm doin' the hero work.." Lyon hummed in thought before shaking his head.
There were so many things on his mind right now. Ranging from all the potential run-ins with various Image Comics heroes and villains, to his own very survival. It was entirely possible that things wouldn't go to plan at all. There was even the possibility of him being 'yeeted' into some corner of other universe as well, courtesy to Angstrom if he ever made an enemy out of him. From DC to even Marvel being somehow being connected to Angstrom's dimensional travel, perhaps even other places as well. Nevertheless, Lyon had made up his mind, and was prepared for the worst.
After all, he did possess an Omnitrix on him. Well, one that did used to belong to Albedo, but was fixed up my Azmuth in a hurry, but it still counted. All he needed to do was learn how to use it to its fullest like what Ben could do and it should be a smooth ride. Plus he didn't need to hide his identity, nor would it be all that strange for alien tech to be in human hands. After all, Tech Jacket exists, and nobody had tried to take his suit away from him.
Still, he did admit, it was weird that Azmuth let him use this Omnitrix, probably as an apology of some sorts for stranding him there in the first place. Whether or not that was the case was up for debate.
Yet, the thought of Tech Jacket made Lyon wonder just how powerful it would be if he were to go Upgrade and merge with it. Yet, the thought of not having his favorite alien in his starting roster made him feel a tad depressed. A thought of which made him all the more eager to try and start unlocking more aliens. Despite this, he still couldn't shake the feeling the was something... more in his Omnitrix. He didn't transform into a regular Galvan, he transformed directly into Albedo's Galvan form. And Lyon didn't know what exactly that meant, he just knew it wouldn't be good for him later down the line.
With all of his current thoughts clearer up, Lyon floored the gas of his new steed, tires squealing as the cumbersome, heavy vehicle drove forth onto the nearest street. Setting his GPS tracker onto New York itself, Lyon prepared the surveillance equipment using another switch on the truck's dashboard, already receiving a variety of calls, texts, and alerts courtesy to Grey Matter's supercomputer. And beside him in the passenger seat, was the egg-shaped drone Azmuth dispatched.
However, instead of its silvery smooth surface like before, it was now completely vandalized by none other than Lyon himself. Using markers and some permanent Sharpie, he decided to paint a cartoonish, monstrous face on the topmost portion of the drone. Simply out of a combination of boredom and Grey Matter's fugue state. Lyon didn't exactly know why he did it, but he shrugged it off. Not like he broke it our anything.
Best to save that sort of thinking for when he made it to New York and figured out things from there.
Lyon had been on the road for a few hours now. Between driving and trying to maintain the supercomputer in the back of the moving vehicle, his hands were tied completely. However, instead of feeling frustrated, Lyon instead used the Omnitrix to help him out in this situation. After stopping by a convenience store for some much-needed supplies for the road, he had switched to an alien he had been wanting to try out for a long while: Echo-Echo.
Immediatley, Lyon was set at work, dividing himself into four individual forms. His true self, the original, was currently in the back, monitoring the supercomputer. The others, however, were doing a variety of tasks. Ranging from keeping things organized, to driving down the highway. With two clones taking the wheel, one steering the lumbering taco truck and another below him, manning the breaks and gas pedal.
"Okay, guys! Everything looks clear from here! We're getting a lot of intel from this road trip." Lyon announced, fiddling with the supercomputer currently taking up nearly a third of the space originally meant for cooking equipment. "Hacked into the satellite network above, and we're getting a lot of stuff. Lots of coordinates for some secret bases and all that. Don't think that'll be too important." He said, glancing over towards his clones currently taking up the driver's seat of the vehicle.
The second clone merely shrugged. "So long as we keep gathering stuff and using it. We just have to make a good first impression. Well, less 'we' and more 'I'. Weird thinking about it." Lyon Clone #2 said with a slight sigh in his scratchy voice.
Echo-Echo's powers were... weird, to say the least. The sound-based powers were pretty obvious, with Lyon nearly destroying the taco truck when 'War Pigs' played on the radio. Only being stopped when one of the four clones sacrificed themselves to essentially plug the hole. Each Echo-Echo clone not only had their own sentience, but it was also connected to a 'main' host of the consciousness. If said host died, then the role would be passed on to another of the clones, essentially making Echo-Echo a hivemind of sorts. And if he kept one clone separate from the others, and hidden, then there wouldn't be any risk of death or injury.
Huh, that line of thought reminded him of Dupli-Kate in a strange way. A future member of the Guardians of the Globe and Immortal's future flame. Of course, there is that little thing with Rex Splode she had, it didn't really last long so it's relatively unimportant. All that matters is finding the Guardians of the Globe, introducing himself to both them and Cecil, and things would go from there. At least, that's what he hoped would happen.
"Okay, guys, time for a switch. I take the wheel, you take the computer. Just don't break it!" Lyon announced, the six or so clones inside the vehicle swapping places, with Lyon himself taking the driver's seat alongside the pedal-manning clone, and the previous clone manning the computer. "So! Now that we've got time for some conversation, what do you all hope we get to do here? Meet Spider-Man? New aliens? I kinda wanna see if we can become a Klyntar. Imagine that." The original Lyon asked the group of clones.
"Look, so long as we can get some new transformations along the line, that's all that matters." Lyon Clone #3 replied, shaking his head slightly. "Look, a Klyntar would be cool and all, the the people we could merge with would be fun, but c'mon. That involves actually having to scan one. Which involves, you know, being isekai'd again to Marvel." The clone stated matter-of-factly.
However, the other clone shrugged. "Say what you want, but a Venomized Invincible or Omni-Man would be both terrifying and cool as all hell. Doesn't hurt to like the idea." Lyon Clone #2 argued with a slight smirk on his wide lips. "But what I wanna see is Rath going up against Battle Beast. That'll be quite the sight! Talk about a catfight!" The clone barked out with a synthesized laugh.
The clone had a point. With Rath and Battle Beast both being similar in strength and form, it would prove to be an interesting sort of fight. Of course, since Lyon is the only one capable of transforming into Rath's species in this world, it meant he was going to be the one to fight Battle Beast, a prospect which frankly terrified him. Battle Beast was ancient, an undefeated champion of his people and the galaxy. Capable of beating and even killing Viltrumites.
Lyon shook that thought away, focusing on the road ahead of him.
A lot of his future would depend on luck and how good he was at communicating. Sure, the Omnitrix was a pretty big tool he could use, but he was the one in control of it. He was the master of his own destiny, and the device on his wrist was only one part in a whole that would let him see himself live into the future. Heck, if Ben could do it, so could he. Lyon still just needed a few years to be on his level, though. And maybe a bit of help from the allies he'd make along the way. That's how Ben usually got out of trouble.
Then, abruptly from nowhere, a familiar ping echoed across the interior of the vehicle. Knowing that this was fresh new information, the clone in charge of the computer immediatley moved towards the hastily installed printer machine beside the computer. With the sound of tearing paper and motors revving, the printer did its job, dispensing a sheet of paper for the clone to see. The clone glanced at the paper, and grinned widely, waving the paper around.
"Guys! We got it! The location for the Grayson household! And the city they're located in! We hit the jackpot!" Lyon Clone #2 announced excitedly, flashing the paper around for the other clones to see. "Look! Reginald Vel Johnson High School, and not too far from it is the Grayson house. Very close by New York, that's for sure. And there's also reports of the Teen Team in the area. So that's a start!" The clone announced joyously.
"That's good and all, but how are we going to 'blend in' with the neighborhood? Not like we could just pay Omni-Man and his family a visit. The Omnitrix is probably going to immediatley try and scan his DNA." Lyon Clone #3 argued, his feet still working the pedals, his actions directed through their mental link.
"Dude, you're forgetting the fact we've got the Omniverse Omnitrix. Not the Ultimatrix. As badass as the design was, I don't think it does the weird yellow-scan-ray thing. It does it a bit more stealthily than that. As seen with Whampire." Lyon himself stated, raising a finger as he had his remaining hand on the wheel. "While I don't think it can be totally silent, it's better than having something that looks like a weapon being pointed at his face." He added with a shrug. "Okay, guys. Break time. I'm gonna park on the side of the road so we can revert back to us. Use this time to take a leak." Lyon announced.
At this verdict, the trio of clones all nodded their heads, putting away their things and jumping back into the original's body. And less than a few seconds later, Lyon slapped the Omnitrix on his chest, reverting back to his human self. He let out a small shiver, sill feeling relatively uncomfortable with his brain processing the new memories he had from different eyes.
Lyon had to admit, it was a weird feeling recombining with himself and getting the memories from multiple sets of eyes. Maybe this was how Angstrom felt when he tried to absorb the memories of multiple versions of himself across hundreds of timelines? For once, Lyon gave the future villain a pang of sympathy, hanging his head as he then parked the truck upon a dirt patch beside the road.
Releasing a shallow breath, Lyon pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling quite tired after the long road trip. For a moment, he leaned back into his seat, and simply stared at the ceiling above him. He glanced at the Omnitrix for a bit, his eyes lingering on it for a second longer than normal. Reaching out towards it, Lyon narrowed his eyes.
"Guess I've got some big shoes to fill, huh? Still, I won't let things go the way they did. There's a better path. I know it.