Disclaimer: I don't own Ben 10 or DC
Outside of Existence
"Motion denied!" Belicus barked down towards the growingly frustrated Ben, floating with his head in his hands, "We already helped you stop this villain once before, its redundant."
A more soothing voice interjected, "Well, septillions of lives are at stake, perhaps we can save them by moving them all to an alternate dimension where they've all perished horribly!"
"That might work…" Belicus pondered.
Ben sighed and took a breath, "Motion denied; we could travel through time, this timeline, and remove Vilgax from existence that way."
Serena hummed, "I'm afraid that would only create a branch timeline where we didn't intervene, time is a tricky subject."
"Forget time then," Ben muttered as he tried his best to find a solution, one they could all agree on.
Belicus perked up, "Motion seconded, conceptual time is useless and should be erased!"
"What? No!" Ben folded his arms, "I didn't even make a motion, you were waiting to say something like that…"
He rolled his hollowed celestial eyes, "Every single time you Tennyson's enter the psyche of Alien X, it's always whining and complaining about saving the Universe or reality or what have you…"
"Other… wait?" Ben stopped, "You've seen other versions of me?"
The two floating masks of almost indescribable size gazed to one another before becoming slightly concerned, "You didn't think you were the only wearer of the Omnitrix to have Alien X, did you?" Serena asked as nicely as possible.
"No, well, I-" he stopped, took a breath and continued, "I didn't think it was the same exact one, I thought there were other versions of you guys too!"
They chuckled loudly, their echoes heard through time and space, "Mortals can be so misguided…" Belicus said condescendingly.
Serena shrank her mask down slightly, appearing to move closer to Ben, "There is only one Alien X, Ben, if another user of the Omnitrix tries to use us while you are, it will malfunction and select randomly."
Belicus chuckled, "And if the DNA of Alien X is ever removed from any Omnitrix, you all lose access to our power," he did the same as Serena with manipulating his size only doing so faster and with more of an aggressive tone.
Ben shook his head, "We need to focus! We don't have all the time in the world, since you've refused to stop time while we delegate."
Belicus turned away, "Every now and then I enjoy the notion of time…"
"You were just ready to wipe it out conceptually!" Ben dug his hands into his hair and took a deep breath, exhaling all types of tension as he turned around looking out into the stars, "Show me his eyes…"
"At least we don't have to debate on that, right?" Serena added as she pulled up a display which was indescribable; different from magic or smoke but, somehow a combination of the two, allowing Ben to see what Alien X can see.
A green hand waving rapidly in front of him nearly startled him.
…
Watchtower; May 16th 2019; 9:45AM
M'gaan chomped down on an apple as she waved her hands in front of Ben's face, his glowing celestial eyes didn't move or, at least she couldn't tell, "I wonder if he sees anything in there? Or hears anything…"
Nightwing was across the room, running data through the massively powerful computer that they now had full access to, "Even with the extra processing power, I can't track Ken's Omnitrix; the signal we originally traced was probably-"
"Fake," M'gaan finished looking into Alien X's eyes and turned around, moving toward the massive console behind him, even from within Ben was completely clueless, "Have we received any sort of contact from Theta?"
Nightwing shook his head, "They went dark twenty-two seconds after entering this 'war-world' place but, if it's the size of North America, who the hell knows what happened to them?"
"Twenty-four hours without contact is too long," M'gaan noted, "We need to send a squad, we need to use the team."
He sighed, things were getting heavy and he knew better than most the trauma that can build when bringing children into matters as dangerous as these but, they had no other option, "Fine, you lead and we need stealth and strength so, take Wonder Girl, Blue Beetle, Impulse, Beast Boy, and Arsenal."
"Arsenal? You mean Roy? Is he even ready for combat?"
"Seeing as how he threw both Red and Green Arrow for a loop less than six hours after coming to, I'd say he's in the best shape of his life… physically."
M'gaan scowled at him, "What?" he answered, "Alright," he surrendered under her gaze, "I know he's a bit unstable and I know about him sabotaging LexFarms but, we desperately need the man-power."
She looked back to her floating lover, "You're telling me," she whispered solemnly.
…
Anur Valdias; May 16th 2019; ?
Sunny materialized them into pure, unadulterated, darkness; an entire planet without a single shred of light for, who-knows-how-many years, until the glowing aura of the two Anodites pierced through the blackness and finally gave way to sight.
To conserve energy, Sunny and Veronica assumed their human forms; the former was so identical to Gwen it was almost disturbing, however; he somehow found her quite beautiful. He shook his head rapidly, even though he assumed Ben Tennyson's body he still had his own mind to work with, and he wasn't going to be tempted by a human… then again, she only appeared human.
Albedo made sure to clear his mind and focus on the task at hand, "My Kryptonian form will slowly lose strength the longer I'm at this distance from the nearest star."
"Yea, yea; we'll speed it along for your sake," Sunny winced at him as she formed a small orb of energy in between her palms, tossing it upwards, it hovered above them like a drone, following their movements and illuminating their surroundings.
A dead city with abandoned and withered buildings that would crumble to dust should someone lean too hard on them surrounded them on all sides, "How are we supposed to find this thing?"
Albedo folded his arms, "Paradox is clever, he would have placed it somewhere so special that no one would dare attempt to retrieve it."
"Except for us, nice…" Veronica sighed as she blew her violet-died bangs out of her eyes.
"We should head towards Vlad's castle…"
"Who?"
"It's been a hundred millennia; I don't think it matters."
…
They spent nearly an entire day, all three beings having near infinite stamina, they weren't hungry or tired in the least bit, however; the tiny dwarf star at its distance from Vladias made Albedo's Kryptonian form quite frail. Walking in silence was beginning to bore them, they'd walked for so many nonstop hours, they were initially worried they were going in circles.
"Illuminatus!" Veronica sighed as she formed her tenth mana-lamp and continued through the darkened catacombs, "It's getting harder and harder to form mana; the energy this place gives off is sapping my life away, I can feel it."
Albedo answered, "When King Vlad was murdered the essence of his undead energy emitted out of his corpse, eliminating all life for two-star-systems. That was nearly half a million years ago in my Universe, so the fact that we're even standing here is a bit perplexing."
Sunny shrugged, "Could be a different timeline…"
"I highly doubt that…" crackled a voice from the shadows.
Obviously, the voice came from the dark but, with so much darkness it was still difficult to locate the source; with the orb of light giving them some sight, they could tell they were in an open room of some sort.
"If we aren't alone," Albedo muttered as a crimson light engulfed the area for just a moment, as a hissing erupted from around them, like an injured animal. He emerged as Negative Fourarms and cracked his sixteen knuckles, "Than I should get a little less comfortable."
"You are in the presence of royalty… you should be on your knees before me!" the voice was raspy, old, and sounded underutilized.
Sunny flipped her raven black hair over her shoulder, "I dunno, what do you look like?" she answered folding her arms.
"Seriously?" Veronica scowled at her coy grin as suddenly it was like all of the animal's senses were focused on her, her light was dimmer than the others, she was weaker but, not too weak, "A sex joke? Now?" His eyes narrowed, scanning her body up and down from above where he was hidden… she could be useful.
From the darkened ceiling, a creature akin to a vampire landed in front of them with black tattered rags covering an otherwise disgusting bulge, and paper white skin wrapped tightly over a skeleton, "I am Vlad, last King of Vladia, or… I was," he flashed them his slick fangs, dripping with saliva, and set his sights on Veronica, staring her down as he licked his lips.
"Do you see what you started? Now, the gross vampire-thing wants to have sex with me!" Her eyes and fists were engulfed in mana as Fourarms stepped out in front, prepared to fight on her behalf.
Sunny gasped, "Look!" she pointed at a spear glistening off of her mana-lantern she'd created. It was stabbed at an angle, as if used to impale someone, into the concrete behind Vlad, "That looks important enough to be the piece!"
Vlad turned back towards the spear that once caused him immense pain but, now it stands as a reminder to himself and to those who knew of the tragedy of the Anur system. He hissed again, glaring back at them, "You will not take it, it is mine!"
"Vladat's are only powerful when they're young…" Fourarms took a few steps closer, "Even with a lifespan like his, it's like fighting an old-man."
"So, why hurt him, let's just take it," Sunny suggested as suddenly something caught Veronica's attention; as they spoke around her she stared passed them towards the cowering creature, his eyes spiraled around and around, she couldn't look away as the red sparkles in his pupils over took her mind.
Soon, her eyes gained the same red twinkle as she went slack jawed, even letting a bit of drool slip out from the corner of her lip; Albedo and Sunny argued behind her, barely noticing as she took several mindless steps towards the vampire.
"I don't see how stretching my legs is a bad thing, besides, its three against… one?" He turned which prompted Sunny to do the same, finding Veronica staring deeply into Vlad's eyes less than a foot away, they prayed while they could that he wouldn't kiss her.
Instead she turned around, standing at attention with his claws on either of her shoulders; she stared blankly out behind Albedo and Sunny, drool slipping down her chin.
Sunny chuckled, "Veronica? Maybe we should do more fighting and less, uhm, fawning…"
Negative Fourarms gulped, "I think we may have a new problem."
"You must obey me!" the creature hissed closely into her ear as Sunny and Albedo got into fighting stances.
"I… must obey you."
Sunny gave a long sigh, "Did you know he could hypnotize people."
Fourarms took a step or two forwards, keeping his hands out in a passive stance, "It might have slipped my mind, gimmie a break!" Sunny could tell the Tetramand DNA was dulling his intelligence as she responded by rolling her eyes.
She announced clearly, "We just want the spear; you don't have to hurt her."
Vlad hissed again at the sound of the spear being taken and pointed his clawed finger at them, "Attack, slave!"
"Yes Master," with a single gesture, Veronica sent a pulse of mana into the Tetramand's chest forcing him back first into the cave wall. The entire mountain shook as the cave destabilized; a flash of crimson exploded as the dust cleared, Negative Swampfire emerged from behind Sunny.
"Any chance you want to step in?" the vine-based alien spoke with a nasally tone as he formed two orbs of fire in either palm.
She floated up off her feet, "Why? A little girl might be too much for you?"
"I meant before I hurt her…" He turned to face the floating Anodite as Veronica fired another beam of mana into Swampfire's shoulder. His tree-based body split apart without any signs of pain but, the concussive force knocked him over, stumbling to gain his balance. He looked over his smoldering shoulder at her as his eyes flashed bright red, "Never mind…"
Sunny giggled as Albedo approached the mentally dominated Anodite; she knew she could likely end the conflict but, Albedo's temper was far too entertaining to pass up.
Negative Swampfire launched two waves of intense flames in Vlad's direction but, Veronica mindlessly threw up a shield to protect him; the light from his fire, however, singed his paper-white skin.
"Protect me, you fool!"
Veronica let another drop of drool slip down her lips, "Yes Master."
Negative Swampfire mentally activated the evolutionary function which slowly sent crimson waves over his body leaving a thicker, larger alien in his place. He was made entirely of petrified wood and bark, three blue gooey shells containing an organic, crimson-colored gel-like solution of napalm on his arms and a large one on his back, that he uses to generate blue colored flames that are about three times the heat his base form could produce.
Negative Ultimate Swampfire didn't hesitate to unleash a wave of blue flames on Vlad, trying his best to avoid Veronica but, she couldn't help but defend the vampire who'd completely subdued her mentally.
"Contigo," she muttered in a zombie-like monotone.
The flames slammed against the mana barrier Veronica summoned with one hand whilst aiming her other at Albedo, "Eradiko," a volley of beams struck Ultimate Swampfire in the chest. The force of this attack sent him skidding back on his heels but, it didn't stun him for very long; he punched the ground with minimal force and as they all waited to see the result, none were expecting a group of thick vines sprouting from beneath Veronica, restraining her arms and legs with roots.
"Atherfo," Veronica spoke before a vine gagged her, her spells weren't even close to their full strength but, it was more than enough. Flowers suddenly sprouted from the vines restraining her before detaching and spinning at dangerous speeds, each flower became razor-sharp projectiles used to dice apart her restraints.
She dropped to her knees and stood, mindlessly facing her shapeshifting opponent; "Finish him!"
"Yes Master," Veronica shed her human skin and revealed her glowing Anodite form; she raised two palms and formed an orb of energy between her palms. Once released, the blast would have the potential to wipe out the entire planet and this caught Sunny's attention rather quickly.
As she aimed her attack, Swampfire exploded with a flash of crimson light, returning as Negative Chromastone; he crossed his arms in defense and preparation to absorb the attack as best he could.
Sunny chuckled, "I think that's enough fun," she snapped her fingers and a flash of blinding light engulfed the room; Albedo was still Chromastone, the energy sphere had dissipated, and Veronica was utterly confused.
"W-What just happened?" she asked looking around at how she was now standing side by side with Vlad.
"Obey me, thrall!"
"In your dreams," she casually right-hooked him in the jaw, sending his frail body tumbling into the dirt.
Sunny and Negative Chromastone approached her as the younger Anodite held her head, "I feel like someone else was thinking my thoughts for me, like I was a backseat driver."
Veronica took a seat on a stone tablet as Sunny put a hand on her shoulder, "You're fine, don't whine; we've got this handled now," she referred to Chromastone trying his best to yank the spear out of its hold.
"Wait," Veronica looked back and sighed, "It's not the spear, it's the blade on the tip," she tried standing but, nearly collapsed into Sunny's arms, "I think his hypnosis is more of a mind link…"
Chromastone left the spear untouched and tore the bladed tip from its staff; it had no corrosion, no rust, no wear or stains at all, it was a perfectly silver blade.
Albedo transformed once again, this time into Big Chill, "Hold on to me and I'll phase us through the walls until you have enough power to teleport," his blue hood stretched out into moth-like wings prepared to leave the disgusting planet.
"I'm afraid I've placed a barrier around this structure; nobody leaves this place until I get what I came for," a deep growling voice, one that bellowed through the caves caught everyone's attention.
"Shit," Negative Big Chill uttered with an exhale of cold air.
Lights were coming in from the entrance they'd come in through as drones filed into the room, lining the circular room and surrounding the group. The entire room was finally illuminated as a massive, hulking, behemoth of a creature entered the room.
"Everyone stay behind me!" Sunny announced looking into the terrifying crimson eyes of Vilgax the Conqueror, here to claim his prize.
"I must thank you, I could never have survived on this planet long enough to locate my relic," he stopped and held his hand out, "Hand over the piece and I will not harm you."
A crimson flash erupted from behind her as she heard ground shaking thuds approaching, "He has technology that will utterly disassemble your molecules," Humungousaur walked passed them both and cracked his knuckles allowing his Ultimatrix to send a crimson glow across his body emerging as a taller, bulkier version of himself armored to the teeth with a massive defensive shell on his back and metallic shielding across his green forearms.
Negative Ultimate Humungousaur approached Vilgax slowly as they stared each other down from across the room; it was a show down, western style. Who was faster? Albedo's gatling launchers or Vilgax's beam vision?
Neither hesitated, Albedo formed his fists into projectile firing weapons and Vilgax charged energy into his eyes; the missiles flew faster than sound but, it was child's play to intercept each one of his missiles with individual blasts of heat.
Ultimate Humungousaur charged forwards but, Vilgax didn't move an inch; as the behemoth threw his first punch, the conqueror had absolutely no trouble sidestepping his advance. He followed up with a massive green uppercut which missed Vilgax's chin by centimeters. Left and right cross punches over and over were dipped away, side to side, avoiding each one without a care.
Vilgax finally made an advance, trying to backhand his opponent but, he only swung through a crimson flash of light; when it faded, he was gone. It only took a few seconds for a hyper-sonic fist to cross Vilgax in the face before vanishing again in a blur of speed.
Sunny and Veronica watched as a black and blue cyclone formed around Vilgax, the former wanted to act but, they were terrified that the drones aiming at them were equipped with the same tech used to kill her cousin and grandmother.
Even moving a thousand times faster than sound, Negative Fasttrack was easily tracked and blasted with a glare from Vilgax's laser vision. He tumbled into the dirt, still smoking from the blast, a crimson light transformed him into Negative Diamondhead.
Vilgax turned his attention to the Anodites still in possession of the spear; he reached out towards them until a structure of diamond formed upwards between the three, cutting the warlord off.
"Your fight is with me," he huffed, still attempting to catch his breath.
"Yes," Vilgax turned, "You."
He turned toward Negative Diamondhead and strutted without worry in his direction, "The traitor who used my secrets to lead these heroes to my spoils."
"I'm not afraid of you, Vilgax."
A sickening smile crept across Vilgax's face, "You should be," with unfathomable speed, he closed the distance between them and forced Diamondhead up against the wall, "If I've never informed you…"
He grabbed Diamondhead by his skull and plunged it deep into the cave walls, "I hate many things…" as Albedo tried to break his monstrous grip, Vilgax took off sprinting through the cave, each of his drones politely moving out of the way as he dragged his crystalline head through the rock for thousands of feet until he pulled him free and round house kicked him across the room.
Diamondhead struggled to his feet, transforming once again, a wave of blue electricity flew from the flash of red that Negative Feedback emerged from. Vilgax used his forearm to block the energy attack without any effort, he slowly closed the distance between them as the electricity did little to no damage.
Vilgax reached out through the blast and grabbed the alien's wrist, snapping them with an aggravated scream through Feedback's teeth. Using his flexible antenna sockets, they reached overhead and plugged into Vilgax's back, shocking him even further.
"Agh!" Vilgax grunted as he used his free arm to backhand Negative Feedback through the room, tumbling into the dirt at Sunny and Veronica's feet. He tried to stand but, the Ruby Ray of Ulo pinned him, burning his skin and forcing him to his back. He ceased his attack and began his approach as Feedback reverted into Albedo, with third degree burns and bruises all across his body.
Sunny got between them and ignited her aura, the entire cave trembled and the energy collecting inside of her was prepared to vaporize her opponent, "Stay away from him!" she opened her palms as Veronica watched her fire a beam of mana so powerful it could wipe out the entire Anur system itself.
Vilgax smiled and opened his gauntlets as if catching a ball with two hands; the energy made contact with his hands and forced him back on his heels, putting distance between them. The ground beneath them cracked from the force, nearly collapsing the entire cave on top of them, however; no detonation occurred.
Every ounce of energy was absorbed into the villain's gauntlets, sending purple sparks across his body as the new addition of mana replenished his energy.
Vilgax rushed her with speed even she couldn't counter, grabbing her by the wrists, she dropped the spear-tip as it clattered on the ground, "Let…go…!"
He gladly released her, gripping her wrist and reeling back as to toss her across the room and into the wall, the entire structure shook again as pieces of debris begun shaking out of place, raining down on them.
Vilgax grabbed the blade as it illuminated bright white, reforming itself into a quarter of an infinity symbol, "Finally…" he turned and faced the exit as he typed away at his gauntlet, "Open fire."
The drones awaiting their commands responded without haste, letting loose a barrage of photon-beams; Veronica formed a dome around them as best she could in her weakened mental state. Clutching her eyes shut, she struggled to keep the shielding up; Albedo, still on the ground, transformed again, this time shifting instantly into Negative Ultimate EchoEcho. He dispatched multiple discs from his body, each one finding a drone target of its own, and with a thought each disc released a sonic-blast so powerful it shattered the drones completely.
Explosion after explosion covered Vilgax's escape; he obviously lifted his barrier as he teleported away, back to his flag ship; any longer and the essence of death surrounding the planet would have consumed him as well.
Ultimate EchoEcho collapsed into Sunny's arms, she'd recovered and caught him just before he hit the ground; he transformed back into his normal form, showing her all his injuries.
"We have to go; another few seconds and his life force will start to-"
Sunny sighed at her defeat, "I know, I know," she watched as Albedo slowly became skin and bones, withering away slowly.
…
Watchtower; May 16th 2019; 7:22PM
Dick and M'gaan had distress written all over their faces but, they powered through to set an example as their younger proteges were in attendance; Wonder Girl, Blue Beetle, Impulse, Beast Boy, and Arsenal were all skeptically waiting to be debriefed.
"Are we going to talk about the floating space-guy in the center of the room?" Impulse chided referring to Alien X still frozen with his legs crossed, floating silently three feet off the ground.
Arsenal scoffed, "They barely let us up here to begin with, you think they're gonna start sharing secrets now?"
Dick scowled, "No… you should be thankful we're desperate enough to let you up here," he responded with an attitude, "An important mission has come up, something I'm afraid cant be dealt with by the adults."
"That's what we're here for," Beetle responded with a smile, "Just give us the scoop."
Cassandra took a quick look around, "Wait," she announced, "Where's Ke- Shifter? He was going to call me a few nights ago but he didn't, and I haven't seen him since."
M'gaan and Nightwing shared looks of concern and hurt, "He's unavailable at the moment, for now, lets focus on the mission at hand."
"Which is?" Jamie asked.
Dick pulled up a holographic mapping of a massive celestial satellite, moving at high speeds through deep space, "Twenty-four hours ago the strongest remaining members of the League made their way here."
"What the hell is that thing…" Roy wondered in awe.
"They call it the War World, for obvious reasons, and theta-squad hasn't been heard from since they arrived," M'gaan explained further, "This is a recon mission, nothing more. We need to find out what happened to them and get them home if you can but, stay on your toes."
Nightwing interjected, "She's right, if you find yourselves in a situation you can't handle, you can always zeta back."
"You can count on us," Cassandra answered enthusiastically.
Suddenly, pink electricity sparked throughout the holo-ring catching their attention immediately, just behind Alien X, a spatial rift opened up dropping Albedo, Sunny, and Veronica into a pile of thuds and groans.
"Close it!" Albedo shouted as Sunny turned and swiped her hand across the opening, sealing it shut in mere seconds.
"That was… unexpected," Beast Boy noted.
Nightwing and M'gaan approached first, prepared for a fight but, only recoiling when they discovered their condition.
Sunny rolled Albedo over onto his back to analyze his injuries, his body had replenished its life force but, he still had burns across his arms and neck, dark-purple bruises running down his left shoulder, and a torn shirt revealing a massive bruise around his ribcage indicating several fractures.
M'gaan scowled, she hated feeling bad for him, "Who did this to him?"
Veronica held her head, still in a daze, everything had happened to quickly, "The vampire had me… my mind is still foggy…"
Veronica and Sunny subconsciously let their human forms consume their glowing bodies again, "He needs help! What are you just staring at us for?!" Sunny shouted, almost tearing up as Impulse ran him to the infirmary and returned within seconds.
"Is he going to be okay?"
M'gaan turned to focus on the team of proteges behind them, turning their attention to their mission and detailing points of interest, trying her best to keep them occupied from the horrors that seemed to be piling up.
"We- We barely escaped…" Veronica fell back on her hands, breathing heavily and still holding her forehead.
"Escaped what?" Nightwing announced with an almost judgmental scowl, "Where even were you?"
"Another planet," Sunny muttered as she stood and faced Nightwing; he'd only ever seen pictures of Gwen but, the resemblance was still uncanny, "Ben sent us to retrieve a piece of the map but, we failed miserably."
"Run me through what ha-"
"Recognized: Superboy, Black Canary, Shazam, Green Arrow."
Unfortunately, they would not be blessed with good news as Oliver Queen toppled through the teleporter, hitting the ground with blood splattering across the floor; his bow and quiver scattered as he fell, "V-Vilgax!"
Canary limped over and helped her husband slowly up onto his feet; Superboy seemed relatively unharmed, however; Shazam was beaten beyond what one would call torture. He has bruises and cuts across his face, blood dripping from his eyes and lips, his left arm was clearly broken, and he too limped into the room.
"We tried to stop him… we tried to keep the piece from him… even Adam-" Billy cut himself off looking away, "Black Adam is dead and Vilgax has the third piece…" He said this as he grabbed Nightwing by the shoulders, looking down into his eyes, "You cant stop him… you can't-" he collapsed into Dick's arms, being the bulky powerhouse he was, he was forced to lower him to his back, face up beside Alien X.
Dick looked over toward Dinah, whom shook her head, "Billy saw some things that I don't think he's going to get over anytime soon…"
Tossing his hood back, Oliver nearly screamed, "Gah!" holding his side, he hobbled over to Nightwing as the three of them formed a group.
Dick narrowed his eyes and removed his domino mask; he sighed and looked around at everyone, "M'gaan, you need to continue with your team."
She nodded, "I understand; team, lets move to a conference room for briefing."
The team couldn't help but, glance back as they moved, horrified by the condition both teams had returned in, their resolve has never been tested as hard as it was watching Green Arrow vomit blood across the tile.
Looking into the eyes of Spiritus, Superboy, Sunny, Oliver, and Dinah with no masks between them, Dick asked very seriously with his best bat-glare imitation, "What in the hell just happened out there?"
"Vilgax made his move, finally," Conner stated
Canary continued, "He went after the pieces of the map just like Ben said he would…"
"If that's the case we have to assume he's going to get all four… and when he does?"
Sunny raised her hand, "I can take us to the Forge, if that's where you're going with that."
"You can do that?" Veronica asked blatantly.
She took a deep breath, exhaling her stress and tension, "I can't teleport through the chronal-randomization barrier but, I can tear through space with a strong enough portal…"
"Of course you can, you also could have gotten the piece from Vlad before Vilgax even got there but, you decided it was more fun to watch him fight for his life…"
"How was I supposed to know he was waiting for us to find it?"
Veronica shoved Sunny backwards, even though she was shorter and far less powerful, she was just about fed up with her nonsense, "You broke Albedo out of his cell without permission and then squandered all of our time for some grudge match all for your own entertainment!"
"Let's take it easy," Dick advised but, was ultimately ignored.
She started by counting off her flaws on her fingers, "You're reckless, selfish, and air-headed; besides telling us about the future, you've done nothing but destroy everything we've tried to accomplish since you arrived!"
Sunny's expression softened as Veronica continued, "Your grandmother would be ashamed of you…" she turned around and walked away, heading for the zeta-tubes and leaving Sunny with the group of heroes.
As everything had become quiet, she simply turned to the group with tears in her eyes, "I'm sorry…" she muttered before teleporting away in a flash of light.
"This drama is total bullshit, we have serious problems to handle," Oliver asserted.
"Well," Dick walked over towards Alien X and waved a palm in front of his eyes, "If Ben is listening to us right now, I'm sure he'll come around and give us some type of lead. Until then, we need to prepare for the worst."
Conner folded his arms across his chest, "What do you need us to do?"
"Get ready to go to the Forge; if Ben doesn't turn up," he looked deep into the dazzling emerald eyes of the celestial in front of him, "We make our last stand there."
…
Center of the Universe; Oa; May 16th 2019.
With the most advanced technology in most galaxies, you'd think that the security for a Green Lantern Corps vault would be tighter, however; this ancient structure buried deep within the planets core only held the oldest and most dangerous relic the Guardians of the Universe ever created.
Within the temple, rows and rows of pillars lined up with the massive shelves, mostly empty, all leading to one single pedestal with a dimly faded Lantern ring, its design was even an older model.
Using Apokoliptan technology, a boom-tube opened up before this pedestal placing Lex Luthor, Deathstroke, and Psimon on the stone-cold ground.
"We have sixty-seconds before someone responds to that boom," Deathstroke muttered, "Grab it and let's go."
Lex pulled a device from his inner-jacket pocket and waved it over the ring, lighting up the scanner like a Christmas tree, "This is it, the very first Green Lantern ring," he marveled at it as he snatched it up to look at in the light, "These extra-dimensional weapons are already impressively useful, however, this one in particular…" he toyed with it until the lantern-symbol popped off clattering on the ground.
The device flashed a bright light as the green-band formed into the final piece of the map, "Is a fake; it was hidden here because it serves an even greater purpose."
Psimon scoffed, "Lanterns are approaching, I can sense it."
"We're leaving," Lex announced as they huddled together and activated the boom-tube; transporting them across space faster than the speed of light.
…
War World; Deep Space; May 16th 2019
Vilgax strutted down a corridor in his new war-ship, which he was very proud of but, more importantly, he was proud of the success he'd had in retrieving the pieces of the map. He turned the corner and entered a rather large room, the same room littered with stasis-carousels used to confine prisoners.
He dragged his claws across the energy field that kept Mongul frozen in place, with a sinister grin he approached a pedestal holding his three pieces of the map, "Soon… the work will be done."
He turned back around to relish at his newest stasis pod holding Power Girl, Red Tornado, Aquaman, whom was missing an arm, and Captain Atom. Each sporting their own severe injuries, it appeared the King of the Seas took the most damage, however; they all had looks of terror frozen across their faces.
"Nothing can stop that now," Vilgax grinned with sinister intent at the sound of a boom tube opening up in the room with him; Lex Luthor, Deathstroke, and Psimon appeared with successful smirks.
Luthor himself approached with the piece in hand, "I believe you ordered the final artifact to attain your divinity, now what?"
"Patience," He noted as he grabbed the object and added it to the rest of the puzzle; all four melding together to form an infinity symbol, "Victory is nearly at hand."
…
Outside of Existence
"I don't understand how you two could be so frivolous with the lives of trillions," Ben huffed as he watched the horrors Vilgax was unleashing through the eyes of a conflicted god, "You both live, aren't you afraid of death?"
Belicus faced Serena for a moment before clearing his nonexistent throat, "The concept has crossed our mind…"
"Well? Think of all the people that Vilgax is going to torment…"
"We understand the value of life, Ben Tennyson," Serena started, "We just view it from a higher perspective; heaven is beautiful, and if they deserve to be damned, well…"
Ben closed his eyes and shook his head, "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that… How about this?"
He gathered their attention as they floated closer, "Motion to experience human emotions."
Suddenly, they were silent.
It had never occurred to them that another perspective could enlighten them, "What could we possibly have to gain from-"
"Trust me, if this doesn't change your mind, I'll transform back and leave you be," Ben turned around and looked through Alien X's eyes, seeing Nightwing waving his hand in front of his face, "Why does everyone do that?"
"I want to find out," Belicus announced, "Motion seconded."
"Agreed!" Serena cheered.
Their eyes shun bright green including Ben's; a flood of emotions poured in from a celestial light above them, anger, rage, love, happiness, sadness, terror… The bond between families and friends, between species and planets, everyone is base of the same cosmic elements, scattered across the Universe billions of years ago. Belicus and Serena were there. It seemed so small to them, they never considered the complexities of how impactful death and destruction could be.
"I could never have imagined," a tear slipped down his astral form, "I would never wish this pain on my worst enemy, what is this?"
"Pain."
Serena plunged her mask into Belicus' with a tearful cry, "We need to do something."
"Agreed."
Ben smiled, wiping a tear of his own from his cheek, "Motion carried, then, I guess it's hero time."
…
Jupiter; Europa Moon; May 17th 2019; 1:19AM
Staring out at the massive storm below was actually quite fascinating, it looked like a giant eye from Earth but, it just looked like angry clouds to Sunny whom kept her arms wrapped around her knees up against her chest.
Time and space tore open and a portal formed out of pink mana, Veronica stepped through spotting Sunny almost immediately.
"How far of a Moon do I have to pick to get away from you people."
Veronica huffed out of frustration, "Look, I'm sorry about what I said, you couldn't possibly have known Vilgax would be capable of following through Anur-"
"You were right…"
"I… wait what?" She stuttered.
Sunny clutched her knees as tears formed in her eyes, "Everything you said was completely true; I'm selfish, reckless, and a total idiot for thinking I could change that."
"Hey," she responded firmly, "I never said that, anybody can change, six months ago Ben was at rock bottom… Now, he's…" she paused and groaned, "Not an alcoholic, and that's progress…"
Sunny folded her arms and chuckled, "I guess using him as an example isn't a really good idea."
"He's been through hell and back, personally," Veronica looked her in the eyes, "I don't think I could have survived what he's been through and yet he's still trying. Trying with M'gaan, with you, with this team."
Sunny looked to up at the rocks floating through zero-gravity around them, "Do you really think I can be a better person? Where do I even start?"
"Well," she paused again, "If you can change and Ben can change, why don't you show Albedo he can change too?"
"You noticed my interest in him? I know it's a bit weird because of the way he looks but, I don't see my cousin when I look at him. I see a totally different person and I think he's struggling to see that person himself," she wiped her tears and stood up, "Do you think if I helped him, it might help me?"
Veronica gave her a warm smile, "It can't hurt to try."
"Thank you, I'm so sorry about earlier…"
Veronica gave a more serious expression, "It's okay, really, but we have work to do."
"Right, is everyone ready to go?"
"Let's hope so."
…
Watchtower; Earth Orbit; May 17th 2019; 2:15AM
Nightwing was fully geared up beside Batgirl and Superboy whom sported elbow and kneepads as well as a facemask over his mouth, standing in front of Alien X and hoping for a sign of some sort.
"I don't think he's gonna make it," Conner noted, "We're running out of time."
Dr. Fate opened a portal in the room only a few feet away from them, with him Zatanna stepped out with an unsuccessful look.
"I'm guessing our mystical option is off the table?"
She folded her gloved hands together, "I must've gone through ten dozen books older than the Tower of Fate itself and there isn't a single thing about stopping a Celestialsapien. Not without another… Celestialsapien," she motioned toward Ben still floating passively in the corner of the holoring.
"Do not disturb me, I am going to gather strength for the coming conflict," Fate was blunt as he floated away.
"Well, Dr. Fate is still a powerhouse, so it's a good thing you're here at least," Nightwing reasoned as Zatanna grabbed his arm.
"How bad was it?"
"Billy and Oliver can't fight, hell, they can't even walk; Power Girl, Aquaman, Red Tornado, and Captain Atom are all MIA," he rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Alien X wont budge and Sunny says she can sense the Map of Infinity has been assembled so we're trying to prep for a mission to a higher dimension…"
She blinked twice, "So, just a regular day in the life of Dick Greyson?"
"I'm starting to think so…"
Suddenly from behind a flash of pink light left Sunny and Veronica standing in front of them, "We need to go, now, Vilgax is already in the forge."
…
Forge of Creation; In Between Dimensions.
Amongst a nebula of stars and gasses, massive figures of untold power floated amongst them; these god-like entities were all frozen in their own inner conflict, so focused a nuclear bomb wouldn't break their concentration.
So, its no surprise that Vilgax could fly at speeds faster than light through the forge without drawing any attention to himself, he approached one of the largest beings, holding its hands out. Within its grasp was a singular sphere glowing with the light of a thousand stars condensed into the size of a truck.
Landing on the hands of god, he activated his gauntlets on either hand, "Finally, the power to reshape infinite realities, will be mine!"
Behind him, Sunny tore open a portal through space, allowing Nightwing, Black Canary, Dr. Fate, Batgirl, Superboy, Sunny, and Spiritus to file out one by one onto the center-palm.
"We can't let you absorb whats in that egg," Superboy shouted.
"You are all insects," he didn't hesitate to turn on his heels, launching a crimson-red disc into the air simultaneously electrocuting them all, pinning them to the ground, "I am about to be a god…"
Spiritus and Sunny were both shocked as well discovering that Apokoliptan weapons can hurt them, even in their energy forms.
Vilgax stepped through the energy barrier, laying eyes on a fragile infant with an entire Universe already growing inside of it; no restrictions, no voices, no debating… just raw power.
"I am truly sorry, child but, I denied my destiny once before and I cannot afford to do so again," he reached out and gripped the child gently by its shoulders.
Nightwing just barely managed to glance up, spotting the surge of energy consuming Vilgax in bright light, the fabric of the multiverse imprinted itself into his very DNA; reality grafted itself to his body, giving him the skin of a Celestialsapien, even over his chin-tendrils.
"I can see everything now!" crimson lightning cackled between his fingertips and across his entire body, "It's all so very clear, every single atom is visible," he reached out and waved his hand through a cloud of molecules only visible to himself, "I can shape existence to my will…"
"Not if I have anything to say about it," Alien X appeared in a burst of green light floating above the newly appointed 'god'; he waved his hand through the air and the attack on his team ceased. They recovered slowly as the celestial levitated down to land next to them, "We've already agreed to end you, Vilgax, even now you are but an equal. A stalemate will destroy the concept of reality as we know it."
The group backed away in terror, the sheer force of their existing was keeping them all on edge, even the powerful Anodite's felt small in comparison.
Vilgax took a step forwards, "If only we were equals but, I have the advantage."
"Don't do this…"
Nightwing and Superboy went wide eyed, giving each other the same look, "We need to go right now!"
"Portal, portal!" Veronica rushed as Sunny mustered the mana necessary for a trip back to Earth, "Hurry!"
Alien X and Vilgax floated upwards, their eye contact alone sent waves of pressure out around them; the portal was open as everyone piled in, they arrived in the watchtower but, the threat was not over.
Nightwing grabbed Veronica and Batgirl and hit the deck, covering his head, the other heroes followed the same protocol as Sunny was utterly confused, "What the hell is the big deal? We're safe!"
"Get down!"
In the span of an attosecond two cosmic entites struck each other simultaneously, the force of such strength sent ripples of distortion through out every reality in the Multiverse; every planet shook, every star quivered, every black hole collapsed into a dwarf-star. Had Alien X not been controlling his own energy, the shockwave alone would have split the entire story in two.
The shaking reached the Watchtower as they all braced themselves, holding their heads from the ringing, and trying not to feel the vibrations in their teeth.
Such inconceivable power colliding with deadly intent, if Alien X loses, all is lost.
…
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