And welcome back to Infinity! I do not own MCU or Ben 10. Italics are flashbacks, and emphasis (Brackets are telepathy). And for the gripping conclusion of this dre-NIGHTMARE!
Infinity IV
Nightmare
"So in short," Ben remarked, activating the Omnitrix, "It's Hero Time!"
Ben disappeared in a pillar of green light, his form rapidly swelling. The assembled Plumbers took that as the signal to open fire, peppering the remaining amalgams with holes. Several of the monsters returned fire, while others charged to feet their new enemies face to face.
One leaped at Rook Blonko, who slide beneath, his Omnitool's blade opening the monster from sternum to stomach. It collapsed into a twitching heap, while the Magister continued running heading for Kevin who was barely standing his own against Albedo who was striking at him ferally in his Rath form.
"Kevin!" Rook yelled, reaching into one of the pouches of his belt, bringing his hand up and then flinging a small green crystal towards the cornered Osmosian.
Kevin's face lit up with a confident smirk, as he leaped into the air and caught the crystal in his hands. The smirk grew as the crystal coated his skin, cracking the stone as he landed.
"You think that little rock will save you!" Albedo roared, punching Kevin in the face only for searing pain to erupt as his hand broke on contact. The Galvan screamed before transforming back to normal, his mangled hand clutched close to his chest.
"Not just any little rock, Taydenite, " Kevin quipped, a blade growing over his right hand, "So what was that about you cutting off my head again?"
Albedo blanched and began to back away, the black light in his eyes disappearing for several seconds, before coming back as strong as before. The Galvan transformed again, changing into Diamondhead and attacked a snarl etched across his face.
Vilgax roared, cutting down several suicidally brave Plumbers that had gotten to close, before turning to Charmcaster, "Begin the incanta-"
He never finished his sentence as a white metal fist collided with his face, knocking him across the cavern.
"Eyes on me villain!" Atomix yelled, charging after his fallen foe, "Our age-old battle ends this day!"
"Agreed." Vilgax choked, lunging to his feet to catch Ben's incoming punch on the flat of his blade-tendril, "But it will be on my terms! Spellweaver!"
Charmcaster barely nodded before drawing her staff, the head pulsing with black energy. She closed her eyes and began to softly chant, in a language not heard since the dawn of the universe.
"She beckons, and we must follow!" Charmcaster cried, gesturing to the gem, which rattled softly on the surface of the pedestal, "Eldest Infinity, Sister Life, Mother of Dreams, take our gift, the blood of change, the tears of the soul, drink deep and rise!"
The gem suddenly flashed to life with cold, black light as it seemed to drink the blood and glowing mana placed upon the pedestal. The stone juddered slightly and a raspy gasp filled every mind in the room, bringing the fight to a short pause before it was met again with more savagery than before, as Plumber's fought the need to charge in against their superior foe while Ben was consumed with the urge to tear Vilgax's wretched tentacle from him.
The stone then rose into the air, spiraling as black vapor began to pour from it filling the room with a feeling of inescapable, primal cold.
Charmcaster stopped in her work, awe spreading across her face before the stone abruptly let out a pulse of black energy, sending her careening across the ground the Staff of Ages splintering in her grasp.
Gwen, her normally vibrant pink form, dulling slightly under the oppressive light of the Gem, managed to shake free of her stupor, just as Rook, reached her his golden eyes filled with an unusual amount of fear.
"Gwendolyn, are you okay?" Rook asked, nonchalantly firing a bolt into an amalgam that had thought to take him from behind.
Gwen shook her head, pointing towards the gem which was now firing tendrils of black energy into the mass of Plumbers and Amalgams indiscriminately, turning whatever it touched into black vapor that was absorbed into the churning cloud of mist that swirled around it.
"The gem, I know Ben thought it was just a fluke but ever since we got here this oppressive presence has been weighing down on me. It's centered on the gem and it's only growing stronger."
"Would one of your spell's work?" Rook asked, aiming a pot-shot at Albedo, giving Kevin some breathing room as he took care of several amalgams that had joined the fight.
"Possibly but I don't have my…" Gwen was cut off when Rook softly placed her spellbook into her hands.
"Ben told me to come prepared." Rook intoned, with an uncharacteristic smirk, tapping the large bundle tied to his back, "You take care of the Stone, and I will help Kevin and Ben take down their respective combatants."
"Go," Gwen said, already flipping through pages of her tome, looking for something, anything that could contain the rapidly growing cloud of vapor and energy surrounding the cloud. She was startled out of her focus however when a cold hand wrapped around her ankle. Purple fire came within an inch of burning her assailant to a crisp before she realized it was Hope, her eyes no longer clouded with darkness, her other hand clutching the remains of her Uncle's shattered staff.
"Gwen?" Hope asked, staring up at her, her eyes flickering slightly, "I'm...so sorry."
Gwen knelt beside her, as several Plumbers ran to assist, gunning down any amalgams that got too close.
"Don't apologize, it was Vilgax and this thing, it wasn't you," Gwen said comfortingly, cupping her enemy turned grudging friend's cheek, as tears began to pour down face.
"No, it's all my fault, Ledgerdomain, Hex, the Gem," Charmcaster spat, punching the ground angrily with her free hand, "I should have come to you sooner, asked for help but the voices told me not too."
"Voices?" Gwen asked, taken aback, "What are you-"
Charmcaster raised a finger to her lips, silencing her, "That doesn't matter now, what matters is helping you fix my mistakes the only way I can."
Without warning Charmcaster lunged forward, kissing Gwen on the lips. Gwen froze utterly shocked as nearly all of Hope's remaining magical power poured into her.
As they pulled apart, Gwen stared at Hope, floored, while the latter just smiled coyly before pushing the remains of Hex's staff into her hands.
"I've wanted to do that for a while," Charmcaster muttered, her consciousness fading.
Gwen merely stared down at the unconscious mage, before turning to a nearby Plumber, who was looking at her with a fittingly amused look.
"Look after her?" Gwen, choked out, stepping to her feet book and broken staff in hand.
"Of course Miss Tennyson." the Plumber responded.
Gwen nodded her thanks, before marching towards the Gem, the Staff reassembling as she walked, spellbook flickering with a bright golden light.
"Locorum!" Gwen cried, golden energy flying from the staff, forming a sphere around the pitch-black vortex that now encompassed the Gem.
Across the room, Ben and Vilgax were still locked in combat, the former leaking green energy from several cuts while the latter had several new burn marks and bruises marking his body.
"She is coming, Tennyson!" Vilgax roared, his blade cutting a shallow line across Atomix's face, "Nothing will stop her! Not you! Not your pretentious cousin! Not anyone! This is to be your end!"
"Ten years, we have been fighting this fight villain." Ben responded, "And. Not. Once. Have. I. Lost!
He punctuated every blow with a punch, his hands glowing with atomic energy. Instead of crying out Vilgax merely laughed, aggressively shoulder checking Ben away.
"Yet I still stand!" Vilgax intoned, spreading his arms wide, "Every time you tried to end my life, I just came back stronger!"
"And uglier." Ben snarked, a ball of energy forming between his hands, "Ready?"
"Ready for what, you ignorant child?!" Vilgax roared, charging at Ben, who dodged to the side revealing Rook standing on a ledge a Tachyon Cannon in his hands.
"I do not believe he was talking to you." Rook quipped, pulling the trigger on the cannon just as Ben released the energy sphere from his hands. Both projectiles slammed into Vilgax, illuminating the cave for a brief second with a green cascade of light that outshone the gold of Gwen's spell.
"Amazing shooting, friend Rook!" Atomix cried, stepping towards the smoke cloud that had followed their conjoined attack.
"Thank you, that should have-hhck" Rook's comment ended in a hitching breath as Vilgax's bladed appendage shot from the smoke and impaled him through the left side of his abdomen.
"Rook!" Ben cried, watching as his friend slumped to the side clutching his wound, he raced forward only for Vilgax's normal hand to catch him by the neck and slam him to the ground.
"He's just the first Tennyson!" Vilgax laughed, forming a flanged hammer to smash the hero in the face, "After I finish here, I am going to kill everyone you love! Starting with your Grandfather and ending only when every speck of Bellwood and Undertown are whipped off the face of this miserable rock!"
"You bastard!" Ben yelled, a beam of energy firing from his mouth, burning more of Vilgax's green skin to a blistered grey.
He then leaped to his feet and began firing more blasts of atomic energy with his hands, burning away much of Vilgax's remaining armor and his cape. He then shoulder checked the former Warlord into a wall so hard that the ceiling began to crumble.
Ben looked up from his downed enemy to see several medics surrounding Rook, while Kevin dragged a mangled and unconscious Albedo to a corner next to Charmcaster, who he noticed for the first time was slumped unconscious.
"Sir!" one of the medics called, "The Magister's still alive, but he needs critical medical attention."
"Get him out of here then!" Ben yelled back turning to the remaining Plumbers, "Get him-"
"She comes!" Vilgax suddenly yelled, startling everyone as he fired his tendril at the sphere Gwen had created, shattering it into millions of pieces.
"Get out of here!" Ben roared, directing the Plumbers to leave as he tackled Vilgax to the ground.
They took his direction, beams of blue light absorbing the remaining Plumbers as they disappeared. Rook's group was the last to go as they clutched the young Magister between them.
Kevin knelt down next to Charmcaster and Albedo, planning to teleport away from them when a remaining amalgam suddenly took him from behind, slamming him to the ground and shattering the teleporter in the process.
"Damn!" Kevin cried, bisecting the beast in half before getting to his feet, "Guys teleporters gone!"
"Gwen, get us out of here!" Ben yelled, using all his strength to pin Vilgax to the ground, fighting the sudden urge to finally end his mortal enemy with a vicious neck snap.
Gwen didn't respond, her eyes locked on the gem which was slowly but surely being pulled towards her.
"What are you doing?" Kevin cried, forming a shield above Charmcaster and Albedo, as an arc of energy threatened to kill them both.
Gwen opened her mouth to respond, when the Gem suddenly lurched forward, connecting with Gwen's brow. At that moment, everything changed.
Gwen screamed, a terrified, primal sound as black energy suddenly poured from her body encompassing the entire cavern, snaring onto amalgams, villains and heroes alike.
"Gwen!" Ben yelled, horrified when she turned towards him, her eyes glowing with the same black light.
"She beckons." Gwen intoned, "And I follow."
The last thing Ben heard as the world went black as Vilgax's guttural laugh in his ear.
Bronx, New York City, 23:57 EDT
Ben woke up suddenly, his body aching from the cuts leftover from his fight with Vilgax. He was alone completely and utterly alone in a back alley in a city he didn't quite recognize.
Ben painfully got to his feet and looked around.
"Gwen?!" He called fearfully, "Kevin?!"
He raced around a corner and froze as he walked out into a small courtyard. There was Gwen, back in her human form, her head down, long red hair obscuring her face as she looked down at her hands with rapt attention.
"Gwen?" Ben asked, approaching her cautiously, "Thank God I-"
His words died in his throat as Gwen looked up, revealing pitch-black eyes and the stone sitting in the center of her forehead.
"Who-what have you done to my cousin?" Ben asked, stepping back his hand reaching for the Omnitrix.
"She invited me in." Not-Gwen responded, her voice much deeper and sadder then Gwen's had ever been, "But I took too much."
"What?!" Ben snapped, a snarl growing on his lips, "What do you mean?"
"She was an Anodite." the voice continued, as Gwen's skin suddenly peeled away revealing her other form though now its skin was blacker than the void between the stars while her hair and eyes glowed a stark-grey, "All emotions, dreams, perfect host...I didn't mean too."
"What are you?!" Ben yelled, "And where is Gwen?!"
The figure seemed to acknowledge his statement for a moment before suddenly teleporting directly in front of him, before placing a hand to her temple, "Her dreams speak of you, loved like a brother, best friend, family, she's scared. But don't worry she will be safe inside."
"What are you-" he stopped as a finger colder than ice touched his lips.
"You asked what I am." the figure asked, her voice gaining a cutting edge, "Many names I have, Eldest Infinity, Sister Wish, others still but Sisters called me The First. Long time ago, was happy, safe, loved. Dreamt things and they appeared, made wishes true, then they came, beings from my future and your past, came to take us and make us theirs."
She paused, her eyes burrowing into his, and he suddenly felt more lost and sad that he had ever felt in his entire life. He slumped to the ground and watched as the air beside her began to shimmer, as strange blue crystals formed around her feet, and red energy swirled around her body.
"They succeeded." the First spat, the effects around her strengthening with each word, "The Tinker took me, oh the dreams he had, beautiful, his wishes pure. And I was still happy. But then he stole me, The Mad Titan."
The effects around her tripled in power as Ben suddenly found himself suspended on the air, directly in front of The First's face.
"His dreams were awful!" The First cried, tears pouring down her face, "All he wanted was Death! Used me to create monsters, tear the universe apart, and when he was cast down my beloved Tinker locked me away.
Ben watched in horror, as the Omnitrix was suddenly brought before her face, which caused her anger to peak again.
"So much life...trapped away in such a small cage. Just like me. I was a Dream, I was Life!" The First said, holding her arms above her head causing the crystals, the energy, and the strange shimmer to coalesce into a large sphere above her head, "But now I will be a Nightmare the likes of which this Universe has never seen!"
With that, she slammed Ben into a nearby wall before releasing the sphere which floated into the air high above the Bronx, a swirling mix of blue, red, and green that drew the eyes of many late-night drinkers, vagabonds and partiers. It stayed suspended in the air for several seconds before suddenly and aggressively exploding, cascading across the Bronx in an aggressive wave, demolishing buildings, turning asphalt to sand, trees to glass, and releasing a blue vapor through the streets. The wave continued, warping, and changing the landscape around it.
And in the very center of it all lay Ben, unconscious. The First watched him several seconds before disappearing in a flash of dark purple light, a low laugh echoing across the cosmos as she set after her true mission.
The Omnitrix suddenly beeped to life, a Green Hologram of Ben appearing above the faceplate.
"Connection to Primus negated, attempting to repair." the hologram said, speaking to nothing, "Unable to repair, New Primus Protocol initiating, sampling host DNA...error Host DNA has been polluted by unknown genetic anomaly, compensating, clean sample acquired. New Primus Initiative in effect.
The hologram disappeared, the faceplate suddenly opening to reveal a small mosquito-like robot, it's thorax distended with a glowing green liquid. The android took to the air, zipping away from Ben's unconscious body.
The faceplate closed and the hologram popped back to life, revealing a scan of Ben's internal organs and nervous system.
"Genetic Anomaly continues to spread throughout the host's body, major organ failure expected in twenty minutes unless better cohesion is achieved. Reforming, Host Preservation activated.
With that the Omnitrix seemed to melt into Ben's skin, leaving only a faint hourglass mark on the back of his hand.
Stark Mansion, Malibu, California 9:00 PT
"So, we good for the meeting with HBO tomorrow?" Tony asked, looking backward over the coach towards where his assistant Pepper Potts was leaving.
"Yes, but I still don't know why you are so adamant about this," Pepper said with an exhausted smile.
"Look, I'm doing the public a service, getting those two fired." Tony fired back, "Three episodes in and they plan on offing the Night King? Hard pass."
"You are a true hero." Pepper snarked.
"Hey, I do my best." Tony returned, getting up and walking over to her.
She smiled up at him as he walked over, sending parts of him fluttering, that he quickly fought to quell, "Is that all for the night, Sir?"
"No, I thought we'd keep trading witticism's, it's refreshing, Bruce can't keep up." Tony joked.
Pepper grabbed the door frame nervously, "So you want me to stay?"
Tony froze, his mouth forming several words at the same time, only for an Irish lilted voice to cut through the awkward moment.
"So sorry to interrupt you two," Friday said politely, "But something has happened to the Bronx."
"Don't you mean in the Bronx?" Tony asked, partially thankful for the AI's intrusion, and more than a little annoyed with her and himself.
"No," Friday said, pulling up an image that showed a massive red dome of energy spreading across the Bronx area at a terrifying pace, shattering and warping building as it passed over them.
Tony froze for a second, before turning to Pepper, who looked at him lost for words.
"Good night, Ms. Potts." Tony stated, as he turned and raced for the stares
"Good night, Tony." Pepper returned, staring after him nervously, "Be careful!"
"No promises!" he called back, wincing at the flippant remark even after it passed his lips.
"Did you tell Banner?" Tony asked, racing down to the Armory.
"Yes, and he already left," Friday said, a bit of worry entering her, "He said the Big Guy will meet you there."
"Understood."
Tony Stark and Bruce Banner were not the only ones alerted to the events occurring across the Bronx.
Somewhere above the Atlantic Ocean
Nicholas Fury, Director of SHIELD was surprised, and he absolutely despised being caught by surprise.
"Do we know who caused this?" he demanded, glaring at the screens before him showing the Dome, which was slowly grinding to a halt as it passed the Bronx Zoo.
"No, sir." Maria Hill, his second in command responded, "The energy signatures we picked up don't match any known HYDRA or AIM weapon. Nor does it appear to be non-terrestrial."
Nick rubbed the bridge of his nose for a second before responding, "Get Coulson's team on this now. And can someone get this tub moving! I want us there yesterday people, let's move!"
Though the event that people would soon be calling the Bronx Cataclysm, was Nightmare's most visible assault, her actions would be felt across the world.
Prison's weakened, allowing villains of all shapes and sizes to escape their bonds.
The dome of energy flicked above his head as he stumbled on, staring fervently around for something to eat. He was starving...he hadn't eaten in so very, very long.
She had kept him in that cage for four years. Four years! Without a single morsel, a scrap, a nibble, and he knew that if he didn't eat something soon he would die. Simple as that.
A scream cut through his inner thoughts, a female scream. Mustering his strength he raced forward, trying to ignore that gnawing hunger in his gut a little longer. He rounded an alley and found a terrified woman trapped in a car while a strange monster savagely tried to get inside.
It was covered in this strange black-and-red liquid that quivered grotesquely every time it moved. It had one misshapen arm that ended in a two-clawed pincer and long legs ending in warped talons. A single red eye sat above a mouth of sharp fangs that were currently gnashing at the trapped woman.
"Hey!" he yelled, his voice even raspier than before, drawing the creature's attention, "Get away from her!"
The creature turned, letting out a clicking snarl, before charging him, pincer raised to decapitate him. He braced himself, as the creature jumped and then leaped as well, his open palm, clutching the creature face. At first, nothing seemed to happen, until the creature began to spasm and scream, as the twisted energy that kept it going was sucked from it. Cracks began to appear across the creature's body, as he drank more and more, his body slowly but surely becoming strong. Finally, he let the creature fall to the ground dead, though he didn't seem to notice when part of the strange liquid stuck to his hand.
He approached the car and motioned for the woman to step out, though she was clearly frightened by what he had done. She was young, maybe mid-twenties...a little older than her liked, but it would do.
"Th-thank you." the girl muttered, stepping out of the car, though not brave enough to look at his cadaverous face.
"No." he responded, taking her face in his hands, "Thank you."
"What are you-" the girl slumped to the ground almost immediately as he drank in her life force, but unlike the creature, he left her alive.
"Thank you, very much." Michael Morningstar said, his skeletal features beginning to recede as he picked up the girl and walked away with her, deeper into the hellscape he had woken up in.
Being's content to sleep through man's achievements awoke at the sudden change to the world.
In the Marianas Trench, a King, not seen since the Second Great War awoke with a vengeance.
Underneath Scotland, an army long hidden away awoke with a fiery spark.
And on the surface of Mars, a being who had long left Earth behind turned and watched the ensuing chaos, but his eyes didn't seek the dome but instead a tiny pinprick of emerald light, that held within it more life than it had ever thought possible.
Six Days after the Bronx Cataclysm
Dr. Curtis Connors was going to die, he could feel it. He had been staying late at the Reptile House, trying to gain more insight for his experiments when the Wave hit the Zoo, shattering glass, melting bars, and mutating any animals it touched. Conner's had gotten lucky or so he thought, he had barricaded himself in the office, surviving on what little food and water he had managed to scrounge together. But the food was gone, and the larger and more dangerous members of the Reptile House were free, and they too were lacking in food, if the terrifying sounds of fighting, hissing, snarling and tearing of meat was anything to go by. However, that wasn't all he had to fear, his remaining arm, God's little joke he thought, was slowly but surely turning to stone, an effect of Terrigen, that much he knew. A death sentence, plain and simple, no cure, no way out.
"I'll never seem them again." Dr. Connors, muttered, slumping to the ground in despair, tears tracking down his cheeks slowly, "I should have stayed home."
He drew a picture of his wife and child from his pocket, and kissed it softly, before staring at it solemnly, "Goodbye, Martha, Billy. I love you both so very much."
"Why are you crying, Mister?" a voice asked, stunning him out of his despair. He looked up and to his surprise found himself face to face with a ten-year-old girl, with long brown hair, green eyes, and lightly tanned skin, she wore a long green and black dress, a black headband, green leggings that ended above her feet and no shoes.
"What-who-how are you here?" Connor's stammered, taken aback by the girl's sudden appearance, he was even more surprised however when he noticed her companion. Perched on the table next to them was a cat, a cat with blue fur, six limbs, and four eyes.
"I must be hallucinating, lack of food and water is making me delirious," Connors muttered turning away from the girl.
"You're not hallucinating silly." The girl said, resting a hand on his shoulder, "I'm here to help you?"
"Help me how?" Connors asked, turning to look in the girl's eyes which turned a sudden solid green.
"I'm going to fix what's broken," she stated simply, "Make you good as new, hmm maybe even a little better."
Her hand's suddenly shone with bright emerald light that soon bathed his entire body. Nothing happened at first and then he felt his body begin to change growing stronger, larger, his missing arm returned and the stone on the other was replaced with thick tan scaled skin. He was becoming something utterly different, something alien.
Ground Zero, Bronx Cataclysm, June 28th 10:00 EDT
"Sir, we found something!" A SHIELD agent called out, racing into the slapped together base camp Coulson's team had set up.
"What is it?" Coulson asked, looking up from the map on the table.
"We found a man, sir," The Agent said, slightly panicked, "And he's still alive."
"Call Tony," Coulson said, racing out of the tent with the Agent close behind, "They'll want to see this."
And so ends the prologue, hope you liked it. The next chapter which will fully instate Ben in the Marvel Universe will be coming next week, optimistically. So whopper of a chapter I know thought about making it too, but then my brain said FUCK IT, and so this was created. Yes, Charmcaster kissed Gwen...don't ask me why my brain and I sometimes have a conflict of interest, but I felt like Hope's wanted to do that for a very, very long time. Some of you will have figure out who Nightmare is by now, if not well...It's okay, it's kind of confusing to follow. Also, I name-dropped or hinted at a few important characters/enemies that Ben and the Avengers will be fighting or facing in the coming chapters, so get hyped for that. So...is that it, I think so, oh wait, the Girl, is exactly who you think she is, don't forget to leave a review because I absolutely love talking to you folks, hell just message me if you want, VerBeek signing off!