Disclaimer: I don't own Ben 10.
Chapter 73: The Lonely God
Omnitrix City; Tennyson Tower; December 24th, 2025; 6:24AM.
It had been a few hours since they'd returned from the Egyptian desert, it was still slightly jarring moving from one time-zone to the next so effortlessly but, they'd gotten used to it for the most part. Gwendolyn stayed by Lucy's side for the following hours, not wanting to leave her alone after what had happened, while she'd stopped crying, she was still in shock, sitting with Gwendolyn in the control-center, fiddling absent mindedly with the diamond engagement ring still stained with Rook's blood.
The Tetramandian Armada arrived in Earth's orbit at sunrise, creating a blockade of massive crimson warships around the planet which kept the Cosmian forces from reasserting their position over the world though, this wouldn't stop large-scale teleportation from passing through but, it would hopefully keep another city from being invaded, at least for the time being.
Deep within Tennyson Tower was it's secured weapons armory with vault-locks worth millions of dollars, and unhackable software worth billions more keeping it's contents secured from villains of all kinds; it was a stale metallic-room with large cases of confiscated technology like Forever Knight laser lances, and the Inspector's weapons, along with those was the solid white hyper-cube left for Ben by the late Ten Million. Collecting dust among the other unused items, it was about the size of the average double-wide trailer on the outside. Albedo, Twenty-Three, and Benji were standing in wait just outside of the cube itself, unaware of the dimensional tech allowing it to occupy an almost infinite amount of space on its interior, as Ben emerged from a door which organically melded into place before their eyes on the exterior.
"The Potis Altaire is secure… for now," Ben stepped down from the advanced ship's platform which formed for him as he walked, approaching the small group of familiar faces as Albedo placed a hand on his shoulder comfortingly.
"It's objectively safer in your possession than anywhere else in the Universe," he reassured, glancing towards the other Bens present, taking his hand back, he gestured to them as he spoke, "Our first objective should be mourning the fallen and resting, unresolved grief will only cloud our judgement."
Benji narrowed his eyes, sighing a long breath, "Agreed," he turned around with his right hand still on the white-tape wrapped-hilt of his blade, he unclasped the sheath of his sword, quickly drawing the Excalitrix with purposeful intent. The others watched as he walked a few steps away, the air crackling with anticipation. With a masterful stroke, Benji swung and cleaved right through the fabric of space, creating a rift that pulsated with white-ethereal energy. The silent swordsmen stepped through the glow without hesitation, he hadn't known the fallen member of their team and it appeared he had plans to take action in his own way, the bottom line being nobody present had it in them to ask where he was going before the wound in space healed over seconds later.
"So, I guess he's gone," Ben muttered, exhaling as he combed his hair back with his right hand, "With the Tetramands holding off Eon's forces, we don't have to worry about an immediate attack but, we should still be prepared for the worst," he rested his hands on his hips, looking between his alternates for a response.
Ben Twenty-Three Thousand was focused on the smartphone in his hand for the last minute or two, appearing to be texting someone, "Yea, you guys do a funeral or whatever, is there a room around here where I could catch some shut-eye?" he said all without looking up from the screen.
"How are you even using that device? It shouldn't be able to connect to anything in this dimension," Albedo pointed out, folding his arms over his chest in disbelief.
Twenty-Three finally looked up from the screen, shaking the phone at them with a confident smile, "Thirty-sixth century network connection, a gift from Paradox to a few of us that he calls on for stuff like this…" he quickly went back to texting.
Ben sighed, he would have rolled his eyes if he had the energy but, despite just getting several hours of rest he already felt exhausted, "Albedo will show you to a room, I need to check on a few things in my office…"
Albedo nodded but, as he heard Ben finish his sentence, he stopped and put a hand on his shoulder once again in passing, "You mean to comfort your grieving cousin in the command-center while assure Sunny is comfortable in her quarters, do you not?" reminding the hero that sometimes it was okay to stop working and take a breath, taking care of his and his families mental-health was also important.
Ben snapped his fingers at him, pointing back at him, "Right, yes, that's exactly what I was gonna do, and you should check on her too… yea," as Albedo smiled and walked off leading Ben Twenty-Three towards the guest area, this left Ben alone for the first time in hours, exhaling loudly at the thought of comforting a manic Lucy. He groaned as his head fell into his hands.
…
Lux Eternia; December 24th, 2025; 6:28AM.
Eon grumbled as he violently threw his helmet against the wall, shattering the glass-visor and sending the silver metallic-lining flying apart; he turned to face his gene-bomb which was in near-complete ruin from the optic-beams Albedo had fired into it at random, he huffed deep heavy breaths as he stared up at its intricate workings, sparks flying across his vision from the damage, "It can be salvaged," he finally stated with deep conviction in his voice, quickly getting close as he began to pull out giant burnt chunks of metal and bouquets of multi-colored wires, discarding the trash to the side as he worked.
From the hall, Queen Natalia was still visibly shaken by the threat she just faced, it was unlike anything she'd ever experienced. In all her centuries-long lifetime she came to only one conclusion, that her people were unstoppable, invincible, gods among fragile carbon-based weaklings, however, the boy she'd just faced… his strength, his speed… it not only matched but exceeded her own. The blade he wielded was also an anomaly to the Queen, she gently reached up and grazed her fingers over the already healing wound on her neck now surging with golden regenerative energy. The way the blade pressed into her skin, it could have taken her head off with ease, it was the very first time the Queen had truly faced her own mortality. She quickly took a deep inhale, letting it out as she turned the corner back into the room, stomping aggravatedly towards her would-be lover, "I don't believe this, who was that retched twerp?!" she shouted, tossing her long black hair over her shoulder with an irritated expression.
Eon didn't feel the need to respond as she continued pacing behind him, when silence filled the room again, she was prompted to continue her rant, "How dare he touch me?! I've never been so insulted in my life!" the shifting of her bladed-armored wings emit a faint metallic whisper with each movement. The razor-sharp edges were a stark contrast to the Queen's otherwise delicate appearance, adding an air of constant danger to her presence.
With each circular turn, she navigates the space with a grace that belies her agitation, her wings unfurling and folding with practiced precision. Her face was masked with frustration, brows furrowed and lips pressed into a thin line. Despite her frustration, there was a captivating beauty to her, an aura of power and strength as she stomped her foot which shook the room violently, "I asked you a question, the least you could do is acknowledge it!" she shouted as Eon caught his balance, turning around with an almost equal amount of frustration.
"He was another variant of Ben Ten Thousand, one of the more powerful ones, he's the one that almost killed you back during that Time-Lord's assassination attempt," Eon turned back around once the shaking had completely ceased, returning to work on his machine, stripping some wire and twisting the leads together with another set of wires.
Natalia scoffed, folding her arms over her chest covering her cleavage, "That was years ago, he looks exactly the same… that doesn't make any sense."
"Time travel, dear; it was years for us but, only about forty-eight hours for them," Eon responded without turning his head, keeping the forefront of his attention on the machine he was reworking, attempting to undo Albedo's reprogramming.
"I cant simply allow some commoner to assault me like that, t-to humiliate me like that!" Natalia once again stomped her foot into the ground, denting the metal-plated flooring with her heel, and vigorously shaking the entire Lux Eternia throwing the villainous Time-Lord off balance.
Growling to himself, Eon stuck out his right-hand summoning a portal of vibrant neon-purple energy, with just a commanding thought the vortex opened to give him a view of his intended target-location, "Here! If you're so pissed off, why don't you take it out on someone who deserves it? Instead of almost knocking us out of orbit and into the Sun with your temper tantrum…" the portal opened a clear view down to Omnitrix City from above and outside the protective-dome, zooming in on Benji who was now sitting calmly with his legs crossed, his sword flat on his lap, he kept his eyes closed awaiting an enemy he could sense was coming for him.
"Fine, once I kill him, I shall return," Natalia approached the portal with an arrogant strut but, before she did she narrowed her eyes at Eon who was busy pulling wire, "What will you be doing?"
Eon stopped suddenly, turning around to face her for the first time, he chuckled a bit before answering, "This machine may still be able to alter the DNA of at least one person, and once I've altered the field-emitter… well, you'll see," he finished ominously, turning around with another chuckle, figuring this would be the perfect subterfuge to distract the already mourning heroes while he worked.
Natalia shrugged her shoulders and stepped through the portal, emerging above the forest surrounding the domed exterior of Omnitrix City, spotting Benji.
…
Omnitrix City; Tennyson Tower; December 24th, 2025; 7:06AM.
Jennifer's eyes snapped open glancing around her room within the tower, it was bare compared to her room in their suburban-house but, the bed was still a queen-sized mattress and the holo-television had all the same channels so, it didn't make much of a difference to her. She rolled out of bed, placing her feet against the cold tile floor, groaning as she ran her fingers through her hair like a comb. She glanced around the dull, quiet room for just a moment before reaching for the silver bedside nightstand and pulling one of the drawers open to reveal a bottle of white-rum.
The last thing she remembered doing was drinking heavily after having a shouting match with her father, recalling how careless he'd been and how frustrated he made her; Jennifer groaned, grabbing the neck of the bottle before uncapping it and staring at the contents. She swirled the clear liquid a few times, smelling the pungent aroma of the alcohol which she actually somehow liked. Tossing her head back, she lifted the bottle straight up, taking a long chug of its contents; the sting in the back of her throat woke her up completely from her slumber, thanking her DNA for her being able to metabolize so quickly.
Jennifer used her super-speed to zip around her room in a blur, brushing her teeth, washing her fact, changing her clothes, freshening up with deodorant, and a spritz of perfume before exiting the room at a hundred miles an hour. She passed through the halls like a blur, from corridor to corridor until she finally entered her destination, the employee-breakroom. Which she was surprised to find was lit-up this early in the morning despite most of the tower's employee's being absent as well as the entire night-crew. Her surprise dwindled when she noticed a certain auburn-haired ten-year-old asleep on the couch facing one of the holoscreen televisions.
After grabbing herself a can of mango-juice from one of the vending machines, Jennifer approached the couch where the past version of her mother was sound asleep; she kicked the edge of the sofa startling the girl awake as she gasped and sat up in place, "What? Why? What time is it?" she asked quickly, re-examining the room, rubbing her eyes as she did.
"Like, seven in the morning, why did you sleep here?" Jennifer asked, popping open the tab to her can of juice.
Gwen glanced up at her and sighed, "I found one of those computer-station things, I spent a long time reading all of the archive data, everything major that's happened in the last twenty years."
Jennifer raised her brow, recalling that the children would have their memories wiped before returning so, she simply sipped her juice before nonchalantly asking, "Yea? Whatdya' think?" she slurred slightly.
"About what?"
Jennifer rolled her eyes, leaning her hip against the couch as she spoke, "You're married to your cousin, my Dad is a total absentee jerk, you never finished your doctorate… take your pick," she took another sip of her juice.
Gwen shook her head, looking down at her hands in her lap, "I wasn't really focused on all the negative stuff but, it's not like my life is over… I'm only thirty here, she still has time to do all types of amazing things."
"And you're cool being married to-"
"Ya know, I've actually been doing this great thing I taught myself, I think I read that it's called suppressing your feelings…" Gwen chuckled nervously, running her fingers through her hair once, "You just cram all of those crazy thoughts and traumatizing emotions way, way down until you never hear from them again," she was breathing slightly heavy as she felt Jennifer's hand on her shoulder.
"That… doesn't sound healthy…"
Gwen snapped out of frustration, "Well, neither does drinking alcohol this early in the morning but, clearly our DNA isn't meant for greatness…" she took a deep inhale and threw her face into her hands out of shame, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that, I could just smell it and I don't know…"
Jennifer glanced around the room before rolling her eyes, "Well, you aren't exactly wrong but, when you're my age, it's called a life-style choice," the teenage argued, placing her chilled can of juice against the girls forehead, leaving some condensation on it which dripped down to her nose.
Gwen once again frustratedly narrowed her eyes at her future-daughter, quickly wiping the condensation from her nose and forehead, "Aren't I technically older than you?" she responded, and she was technically right, chronologically, Jennifer was only eight or nine years-old but, her body had aged biologically to around sixteen-seventeen years old.
The younger Ben had taken to walking aimlessly through the halls of the upper-levels in the tower after returning from their mission hours ago, in a sort of fugue state; some-what looking for the room he and his cousin had taken residence in but, he too was obviously traumatically-scarred from what he'd seen during battle to think straight, still able to see the terror in the Plumber's expression as he faded from life each time he closed his eyes. After nearly three hours, he found himself walking into the breakroom Jennifer had shown them where Gwen was sitting next to Jennier standing over her, watching the holo-screen television but, not paying any attention, the two girls too busy conversing with one-another.
They glanced towards the entrance when the doors slid open revealing her twin cousin, pale as a ghost and looking incredibly lost, "Ben?" she called out, raising a brow as he finally looked over at her, standing in the doorway.
"Oh, hey," he muttered just barely loud enough for them to hear, "I was looking for the bedroom but, I don't think I can find it," he feigned an excuse as well as he could but, she wasn't buying it; she shifted her position, standing up from the cushioned seat.
"Are you okay?" she asked, noticing the obvious redness from the sun on his nose, the sand sprinkled over his shoes, she still wasn't used to seeing him in a black t-shirt instead of white where she could see something dark-red splattered on the white stripe down the torso, "D-Did you go somewhere?" she watched him walk around the seat with a vacant stare, sitting down casually, and leaning back where he looked up at the ceiling.
"Yea…" he muttered, tears welled in his eyes but, his expression never changed, not even a quiver in his lip just, random tears which streamed down his cheeks.
Gwen furrowed her brow, sitting back down next to him, she immediately grabbed his hand, "Why are you crying?" she asked.
Ben raised a brow, sitting up a bit, he brought his hand up to his face where he felt the liquid under his eyes, "I-I dunno, it's nothing…" he pulled his hand back, out of her grip leaving her concerned as he leaned his head once again back to look up at the ceiling.
Jennifer raised her brow at him, something had definitely happened over night that she wasn't aware of though, her attention was fixated on her young-father's condition; he was exhausted and clearly traumatized by something. She placed her hand on the top of his brunette-haired head, her eyes very briefly flickering with blue-light that only Gwen managed to catch, "Reficite," she announced as her hand glimmered with the same energy, which transferred into Ben as she was touching him.
"You can do magic?!" Gwen jumped in her seat, facing Jennifer more now as the teenager backed away, swinging her free hand as if she'd been slightly stung.
Jennifer chuckled, "Only the simple stuff, I just replenished his stamina, he's just a kid so that's not all that hard," she took another long sip of her juice as she glared at the door before continuing, "Now, time to see what everyone else was up to while I was asleep…" she dashed out of the room at hypersonic speed, tossing the can in the trash on her way out.
Gwen glanced over back at Ben who was still staring down at his hands, the paleness had gone away as did the bags under his eyes but, he still seemed incredibly distressed, "What happened?" she slowly put a hand on his right leg trying to prompt his attention but, he simply stood up with a renewed vigor. It was the one thing she'd always admired about him especially over this past summer, he always had this determination in him that, when it came down to it, pushed him to never give up for even a second, these thoughts ceased when she caught herself admiring him.
"I have to go talk to myself," he said, not at all hearing her question, his Master Control instantly transformed him into Ghostfreak, who floated up through the ceiling and directly into the control-center.
Gwen sighed and planted her hand against her forehead, "I cant believe he's my future, what is wrong with me!" she grabbed one of the decorative pillows and began screaming into it.
…
Omnitrix City; Tennyson Tower; December 24th, 2025; 7:14AM.
The doors to the command center slid apart allowing Ben to hear the sobbing sniffles echoing through the room before he stepped in; as he did, he noticed sitting at Cooper's desk was Lucy, her face in her hands, with Gwendolyn standing over her, leaning on the desk with a hand on her cousins upper back. They'd both changed back into their civilian clothes, mostly because it didn't seem like Lucy would be rejoining this war, and Gwendolyn could change her outfit with a snap of her fingers. The mage was dressed in her navy-blue short-sleeved top and black thigh-cut skirt, kept together by a silver belt around her waist with a metallic cat-headed belt-buckle, glancing over at her husband as he entered the room with a remorseful look on his face.
As she heard the heavy steps of his combat-boots, Lucy picked her face up from her hands and took a sharp breath, rushing out of her seat to grab her cousins bare left-wrist, they hadn't seen each other since they'd returned from the mission so she was eager to hear his solution, "Y-You can fix this, right?" she pleaded, leaving him confused at first, glancing up at Gwendolyn for only a second, watching his wife shake her head disparagingly before Lucy pulled on his hand once more, "You can bring him back, turn into Clockwork o-or Alien X, just bring him back…" her voice cracked as tears streamed down from her eyes taking her mascara with them, which, as she tried to wipe them away, smeared across her cheeks.
Ben sighed and grasped her hands gently, pulling them away from him so she would stop visibly begging, "I can't do that, Lucy…" he spoke softly, his eyes filled with palpable remorse.
"B-But, you save people, that's what you do," she chuckled as if he was playing some sick joke on her, or rather, she would prefer to believe that than the alternative of him being serious.
Ben shook his head slowly, looking into her eyes and trying with his expression to portray as much understanding sympathy as physically possible, "Not all the time… I'm sorry…"
Lucy scoffed yanking her hands back roughly, looking back into his emerald eyes through her own tears with a sudden disgust as she backed away, her brows furrowing with anger, "Than what use are you to anyone?" she spat with venom in her tone as she walked passed him, approaching the door as it opened for her, allowing her to stomp off into the hall.
Ben put his head down in shame, giving a long exasperated sigh once the doors shut after her, Gwendolyn got to her feet and walked up to him, placing a hand gently on his shoulder for comfort, "She's just hurting, I'm sure she didn't mean it," she quickly pecked him on the cheek as she backed towards the door, walking out of the room to follow Lucy.
He waited for the doors to close to mutter back to himself, "Maybe she did," he turned his head back around, approaching the circular holodeck in the center of the room, tapping on a few holographic symbols floating above the display. It took a few seconds but, eventually Ben happened to glance upwards, seeing a figure in his peripheral, he looked up to see his younger-self standing in the room staring at him, "Where did you get that shirt?" he referred to the boy's shirt matching his own in a smaller size.
His younger-self didn't respond with an answer to his question, instead the boy narrowed his eyes and pointed out something else, "You lied to her just now…"
This prompted Ben to look up from the holodeck completely, staring at the boy for a moment as he swiped his hand over the console, "Excuse me?"
"Our left eye twitches when we lie, I thought I'd grow out of it but, I guess not," he lowered his head, staring at his feet as his adult self rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "Why did you lie to her?"
Ben sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his index and pointer fingers, "It's complicated."
"No, it's not, you're just scared…" he said with an irritated expression.
Ben gave a light chuckle, "No, it's really just more complicated than your tiny brain could-"
The younger boy scoffed back at himself, folding his arms over his chest, "Lemme guess, there's some super important rule that you can't break that's telling you not to use your powers like that."
Ben blinked in response, "Okay, maybe it's not all that complicated after-all… but, these aren't just some rules Grandpa gave us, these are rules of life and death, literal Gods over-see these rules… I can't just-"
The boy became irritated, flailing his arms back as he shouted up at his older-self, literally arguing with himself, "Yea, well, if Grandpa were here, he'd tell you to find another way! There's always another way!"
"Well, there isn't always another way, not this time," Ben was starting to get agitated with this conversation, trying to explain to a child why he couldn't violate the laws of nature on a whim.
The boy practically stomped his foot, pointing up at the man, "Yes, there is, Grandpa always said that if-"
"Well Grandpa Max is dead!" Ben turned his head and shouted finally in his younger-self's face, prompting the boy to gasp once before narrowing his eyes back up at him.
"Y-You're lying! You're a liar and a coward!" he practically shouted back with tears welling up in his eyes, his head darting up as he said it.
Ben scoffed at first before erupting into a chuckle, smiling sarcastically at his younger-self, as he approached the boy backed away a step or two, "I'm a coward? Heh," he circled the holodeck to get closer to himself, "I have fought in bigger battles than you will ever know, I've seen worse things than you could ever imagine! And when I close my eyes!?" he shouted now, authoritative screams that pushed the ten-year old back a few steps himself, flinching with every emphasized point he made, seeing the emotion on his own older face, "I hear the screams of everyone I've ever lost… everyone I've ever failed," Ben knelt down in front of his younger-self, showing him a closed fist, "And should I tell you what you do with all that pain? Should I tell you where you put it?" he asked rhetorically before answering himself by clutching the fist in the boys face until it shook and his palm turned white, "You hold it tight, till it burns your hand, and you say to yourself 'nobody will ever have to feel this pain, not while I'm here,' and whether true or not, you live by it… like it's the only thing that makes sense in the world."
The younger boy saw the pain in his familiar emerald eyes, even through the tears that were welling in his own, his face contorting into one of shame, he backed away a step or two from Ben's knelt position in front of him, sniffling a bit, "Sometimes to be the hero it means being the lonely god. There isn't always a happy ending…" the man muttered.
The boy's lower lip quivered as he fought the urge to give-in to the tears, to cry his ten-year-old heart out but, he didn't, he swallowed the lump in his throat and responded with the only thing he could think of, "I will never become you," he stated with conviction in his voice before turning and running out of the room, the automatic doors splitting for him as he ran, as it opened he ran passed Cooper and Gwendolyn, the latter of which had returned from keeping Lucy company.
They'd obviously been standing right outside the doors the entire time, hearing every word of his conversation with his younger self, they slowly walked into the room watching as Ben stood up from his knelt position, thinking on what he'd talked about with his own younger self. It wasn't very long ago that Ben was saying those exact words to Ben Ten Million when they first met, 'I will never become you.' After everything that happened that day, it was becoming too much for him, he slowly grazed his fingers over the metallic-panel lining the rim around the hologlass. His frustration got the better of him, taking his aggravation out by slamming his fist down on the holodeck console, shattering the glass interface to pieces which were sent flying.
Gwendolyn gasped slightly when the glass shattered, covering her mouth slowly with both hands as she watched her husband vent his anger in the only way he knew how. He brought his fist down on the metal lining repeatedly, putting a visible dent into it, the force of his strength sent sparks flying from the interior of the circular pedestal, "Agh!" he shouted with his last strike, sending golden sparks out around him, and even causing the lights to flicker slightly above him.
He huffed as his chest rose and fell rapidly, his eyes flooded with bright emerald energy coursing through his pupils for a moment until he shut his eyes tight, keeping the energy in by force. Gwendolyn took a few steps forward which made Cooper feel awkward standing in the doorway by himself, making his way to his desk in the background. Ben felt his wife's dainty, yet firm arms wrap around his torso from behind, lying her head on his shoulder for comfort, his eyes were still closed though her presence made him feel better already.
"It's okay, we'll get through this," she muttered into his ear, her warm breath on the nape of his neck.
He sighed despairingly, "How many more of my friends is Eon going to take from me before I stop him this time?" he pulled away and turned around to face her, looking into her eyes deeply for any solace.
His question fell on deaf ears as neither the mage nor the technopath had the answer to that question nor did they hold any comforting words of wisdom that would spare his feelings. Instead, Cooper did his job, bringing up the holographic screens displaying the security for the massive hard-light energy dome currently surrounding their city.
Just then, Jennifer sped into the room, passing the younger Ben on the way in, stopping in her tracks as she turned around, "How did he get up here so fast?" she scratched her chin before walking back into the room.
She noticed her father was being consoled by her mother, as usual, but she didn't feel like getting into another fight so, she just lingered in the background as they talked.
The technopath quickly stood from his chair so quickly that he accidentally knocked it over in the process, the sound of it clanking against the floor gathered the attention of the other two heroes in the room. Gwendolyn raised a brow, "What's wrong?"
"I… I.. uh, I think…"
Ben took a few steps forward, approaching his desk with narrowed eyes, unable to tell what was happening on the holoscreen while it was still facing the opposite direction, "Spit it out, Coop, what's going on?"
"I'm pretty sure Benji, the you with the sword, is fighting a Cosmian outside the barrier!" they quickly rushed over to view the same battle he was, standing on either side of the technopath to get a better angle. "Should I call for backup? I could send Twenty-Three?" he suggested.
"No, no… I want to see where this goes," Ben insisted, narrowing his eyes at the screen as he focused more intently on it.
…
Omnitrix City; Exterior Shielding; December 24th, 2025; 6:59AM
In the outskirts of Omnitrix City, where the dome cast a protective shadow over the sprawling metropolis, the master-swordsmen Benji, sat peacefully on a grassy-hill just outside the barrier with his legs crossed and his sheathed-blade placed flat across his lap. He sat with his eyes closed for nearly half-an-hour, listening to the wilderness, the wind rustling through the leaves in the surrounding trees, the distant birds chirping. His Earth was far different than this one, the area where wildlife still bloomed like this were scarce in his world where the bright-electrified cities took up the majority of all landmasses. The only forests he knew were of concrete and steel, neon lights and advanced technology, to meditate as he'd been taught to, in a place as connected to the Earth as this, refreshed his soul in the wake of the tragedy he'd witnessed.
It wasn't long before this peace was interrupted, as moments later a bright-purple rift opened in the sky above Benji, who kept his eyes shut despite having noticed the disturbance.
From the rift came a graceful figure, dressed in black and crimson armor which matched her blood-red wings; Natalia, Queen of the Cosmians, looked over the forest area with her bright-red eyes, a sign of her royalty, searching for the boy who'd humiliated her the day prior. It only took her a few seconds to find him sitting peacefully with his blade still in its sheath, noticing his eyes were closed, a devious smile crawled over her face. Assuming he'd die before he even realized she was there; Natalia swung her left-wing forth launching two crimson-bladed feathers down at the boy.
She watched as the blades, moving several magnitudes faster than the speed of sound, got within feet of their target before a flicker of movement intercepted them, within the span of her blinking just once, Benji had drawn his Excalitrix, and swung out in front of him deflecting the projectiles as soon as they got within his swords range; never once opening his eyes nor moving from his position seated comfortably with his legs crossed. The two blood-red bladed projectiles spun through the air, digging sharply into the ground several feet from their intended target.
Natalia gasped slightly before regaining her composure quickly, smiling a bit as she floated down towards the ground to be at eye-level with her opponent, "I see you're not just talk, but I assure you no matter how good you are, you wont be able to cut be down while sitting."
Benji sighed exasperatedly, still keeping his eyes closed, "I suppose you're right; I was just hoping to get as much rest as possible, I assume you're here to try and break through to the city?" he jutted his thumb over his shoulder, pointing back at the protective glass behind him as he stood to his feet slowly.
"I could care less about that," Natalia announced, prompting Benji to raise a brow, slowly opening his eyes now just to gauge her facial expression.
"Wait, are you telling me you're here because I threatened you on Eon's ship?" Benji was slightly confused at first but, was starting to catch on the longer he stared into her eyes, watching her expression change to one of frustration and irritation, "I'm just surprised, on my world, your mother never cared for such things, she understood what war really was…"
Natalia scoffed with an arrogant smirk, "I guess that's why in this world, I had to off her myself… a little night-nectar in her dinner, a blade to the heart while she slept, and just like that, I'm the Queen I was always meant to be," she bragged confidently, her wings shifting as she landed on the ground fifty-feet from her opponent.
"Interesting, I suppose I'll just have to take your head as well…" the sheath in Benji's opposing hand vanished in a flicker of emerald-light as that hand came up to join his other one in gripping the hilt of the blade, his booted-feet shifting into a proper sword-wielding stance.
"Hmph," Natalia's wings shuttered with anticipation as she licked her lips, narrowing her eyes at the boy whose face showed a level of conviction she wasn't expecting from someone his age, "We'll see about that."
In a burst of tremendous speed, the two leapt at one another where their individual blades clashed in light-speed combat sending bright-orange sparks out around them. They engaged in a battle that blurred the lines between martial prowess and cosmic power. Their movements were a symphony of fluid grace and intricate precision, each step calculated, each strike executed with deadly intent. Natalia launched herself towards Benji, her wings slicing through the air with lethal precision as she unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks. But Benji was not to be outdone. With a swift sidestep, he evaded Natalia's onslaught, his movements fluid and effortless as he countered with a series of intricate strikes of his own, slashing against her defense, as she threw her armored wings in front of herself like two blood-red armored shields.
Their combat was a mesmerizing display of skill and finesse, each exchange a delicate balance between offense and defense. The Excalitrix hummed with a glow as it sliced through the air, each swing leaving a trail of shimmering emerald energy in its wake. As their battle unfolded, their strikes colliding with equal force sent shockwaves through the grass and underground causing the city behind them to tremble under the magnitude of their blows, buildings quaked as they unleashed their formidable strength upon each other.
Natalia's wings glinted with deadly intent as she unleashed a series of complex combinations, each strike aimed with deadly precision, however, Benji was a master of his craft, his every reaction a calculated response to Natalia's attacks. Benji huffed with a stoic expression, his eyes illuminated with emerald-light as the Omnitrix dial centered on the hilt began to glow with the same energy.
Each clash between Benji's Excalitrix and Natalia's metallic feathered crimson-wings created a spectacle of golden-sparks flickering with each light-speed connection. Their bodies surrounded by a complex web made of trails of light drawn by the tips of her wings and the edge of his sword, anyone without enhanced senses would be totally lost trying to follow their combat. With a swift flourish, Benji swung the Excalitrix down on Natalia, aiming for her head but being intercepted by her the bladed tips of her wings crossing and catching the blade before it could hit her, sending a burst of air-pressure out around them, stripping the ground beneath their feet of the lush grass they'd been battling on.
She broke their connection by parrying the blade upwards, giving her time to recover, though Benji was much faster than she anticipated. He dashed up into her close quarters, knelt at her feet with the blade's tip against the ground, he jumped sending an upwards slash aimed at bisecting her. Natalia, her wings shimmering with a metallic sheen, met the oncoming strike with a swift movement, deflecting the glowing sword with the razor-sharp blades adorning her wings. The sound of metal meeting metal reverberated through the air, a symphony of clashing energies that echoed across the battlefield. With each exchange, sparks flew as Benji's sword clashed against Natalia's wings, the forces of light and darkness locked in a mesmerizing dance of combat. Natalia's wings moved with an otherworldly grace, each feather armored with lethal precision, as she countered Ben's attacks with swift and calculated movements. But Ben was relentless, his strikes coming fast and furious as he sought to breach Natalia's defenses. With a burst of speed, he unleashed a flurry of strikes, the Excalitrix glowing with an ethereal light as it carved through the air towards Natalia's wings. Yet, Natalia was equally skilled, her movements fluid and precise as she deflected each blow with a grace that seemed to defy the laws of physics.
Their exchange was a testament to their mastery of combat, each strike a calculated move in a deadly game of cosmic chess. And as they clashed, the very fabric of reality seemed to warp and bend under the weight of their power, a testament to the incredible forces at play in their struggle for supremacy.
They both huffed deep breathes, sweat tricking down the Queen's temple as her usually perfectly combed bangs fell in-front of her eyes from all of her quick movements, "It would appear that we're equals, we're just going to have to wait for one of us to make a mistake…" she insisted but, her opponent simply smiled confidently.
"Equals? I don't believe you realize what's happening here," Benji held the Excalitrix up to show her the gleaming-silver broadsword with the pulsating Omnitrix core still inactive on its hilt. He reached up and placed his palm gently over the core, a surge of genetic-emerald energy exploded from between his fingers, passing over the entire blade like a wave. The broadsword thinned out into a long atomic-katana with the blade seemingly made entirely of jade or emerald but, clearly it was alien in nature. Benji gripped his hands over the now porcelain white hilt, the blade pulsated with Omni-Energy which caused the air around it to form jolts of static-electricity which zipped around the swords aura.
He was clearly using the DNA of Atomix to channel large amounts of powerful radiation and Omni-Energy safely through his blade; Natalia was stunned at first, taking a step back into a defensive stance, her wings coming in close to defend her if need be.
Though what she hadn't realized was that the power of the Excalitrix enhanced the physical strength and speed of its wielder, his every muscle pushing him to far beyond superhuman heights. As Benji saw an opening in Natalia's defense, he wasted no time in seizing the opportunity. With a swift and precise burst of movement at thousands of times faster than light, he lunged forward, his sword slicing through the air towards her throat. In a single, fluid motion, his blade connected with her neck, separating her head from her body.
In the blink of an eye, he was crouched behind her, slowly depowering his Excalitrix as he materialized it's sheath from thin-air, slowly slipping it back in. Just as the metal from the sheath made contact with the cross-guard on the hilt, Natalia's head toppled from her shoulders as her body fell to its knees, before collapsing seconds later onto its sides. Her facial expression locked permanently into a state of shock and despair, "We were never equals…"
…
Lux Eternia; December 24th, 2025; 7:28AM.
Eon was a genius in his own right, re-reprogramming what was left of his machine into something useful to him but, he was doing so in a hurried fashion, keen on not allowing his enemies to rest. He'd been assaulting them through time for what was the last two days straight from their perspective, for him it had been decades so, he was more than a patient man but, now he'd abandoned that course. Not taking any time to make his work look presentable, having wires tangled, knotted, and in a place only he could track where they led.
He'd torn the damaged pieces of the gene-bomb out, managing the hardware into smaller capacities but, he still wasn't even near being done; Eon was interrupted with a sensation rippling through time, he stepped back and opened a purple-hued portal with a gesture of his hand. What he saw projected in the misty mauve energy was the death of the Cosmian Queen, her head toppled at Benji's feet, blood spilling from the neck of her corpse, "Damn it all, she was supposed to buy me more time, and after all the effort I went through convincing her I loved her…" he growled as his hand came up to caress his beard in deep thought, "Though, this could work out, the enemy killing their queen will be quite the motivation for her soldiers… my soldiers," he smiled before breaking out into laughter maniacally, his cackles echoing through the empty-ship.
Once he'd refocused and the laughter died down, his eyes fell on his machine, still only half-complete, Eon narrowed his eyes in thought, "I need someone to complete this work without me, and I think I know just who…" he continued to talk to himself as if there was someone else there, proving just how insane he'd become. He walked across the room towards a line of metallic-cabinets against the wall, opening a few of them until he eventually found a black metallic-briefcase, pulling it out and lying it flat on the counter. "I traveled into different timelines and even into the distant future to get this, it was so many years ago I'd forgotten… this war… I can hardly think of anything else." He popped open the lock and flipped open the case to reveal a cylindrical glass container filled with a black-crimson oozing liquid, as well as a futuristic computer-chip of some kind.
Eon pulled a syringe from the case and stabbed the needle into the glass bottle, sucking the liquid into it, and grabbing the chip as he walked away from the case. He approached his machine and inserted the data-chip into one of the many slots in the hardware before stabbing the syringe directly into one of the fiber-optic cables running down the syringe, "Alternate timeline Malware, meet sixty-third century Galvan A.I. security chip; once he's fully installed," Eon watched as the black and crimson liquid over took the machine as it began rebuilding itself slowly, "I'll be able to lead an assault on the city while machine reaches completion, then I can always portal back."
He watched as the sentient Galvanic Mechamorph was enslaved by the Artificial Intelligence security assuring that Malware did only his job and nothing else, with firewalls far too advanced for him to ever consider fighting back.
"Now, let's go put on a show," Eon raised his arms above his head, focusing his temporal abilities and control over reality to summon a massive portal over the Lux Eternia; the deep-violet energy consumed the ship transporting it across space, passed the Tetramandian blockade, being spat out by a vortex opened up only a few thousand feet above the dome, floating over where Benji had just slain the Cosmian Queen, her head still lying in the grass not too far from him.
The warrior looked up into the sky as the Lux Eternia cast a thick shadow over the entire city, glaring at it as he gripped his hand around the hilt of his Excalitrix now sheathed at his side. Benji looked around at the destroyed forest, their battle had stripped the hills of their lush green grass, leaving nothing but stone and dirt. The trees had all but been cut down by the wide-ranged sword slashes, leaving crimson-bladed feather projectiles littered about.
Benji pulled the Excalitrix from its sheath, using his mental-connection to the faceplate embedded onto the hilt to alter the weapon with the DNA of any among one million samples. The thin hilt was encased in black and elongated to several feet as an emerald genetic wave transformed the silver broadsword into a large, yellow-armored, black-trimmed sledgehammer. The influence of Talpaedan genetic energy turned his sharpened blade into a melee weapon of untold blunt power, Benji turned his hips and effortlessly swung the hammer down, slamming the flat-end against the ground causing a precision earthquake under his feet.
The stone beneath him rose in the form of a collum taking Benji about a hundred-feet into the air, overlooking the tree line, he could even see a city in the distance hundreds of miles away; he stomped the blunt-ended hilt of his hammer into the ground as he stood it up beside him, the weapon nearly as tall as himself, glaring up at Eon's ship with a furious emerald-glow in his eyes.
Within the Lux Eternia, Eon grabbed the junction box with the crimson button embedded into it which he had reworked once again after Albedo's interference, "And you're sure they're ready?"
"Affirmative. Cloning Control Sequence Initiated," a deep, monotone electronic voice announced, Malware was in control of the ships administrative systems now as a hyper-intelligent A.I, following all of Eon's orders without question, "Chemical Influence Initiated."
"Good, now send one down as soon as its ready," Eon ordered, turning back to his machine as his cape flapped with his turn, continuing to work on the innards of the handheld junction box, as well as the large apparatus developed by Malware, "When this is done, I will be the perfect being, the Chronian Emperor!" he raved to himself, basking in the sight of what appeared to be a sort of cannon, being aimed at a specific point on the other side of the lab.
"Activating Teleportation Array."
Benji was shocked when only a thousand or so feet away, a massive purple shimmer of light materialized a massive humanoid-being, knelt down before ominously standing slowly reaching nearly a thousand feet in height. The To'kustar stood almost as tall as Mount Rushmore; it suddenly roared up into the sky with a vicious snarl, his voice booming into the atmosphere and across the hemisphere. Something was off though, the eyes were a deep magenta-purple shade, it also seemed skinnier, and his teeth seemed too jagged as saliva dripped from down his chin.
…
Within Tennyson Tower, Ben, Gwendolyn, Jennifer, and Cooper watched on an enlarged holoscreen how Benji decapitated the Cosmian Queen and was now facing a To'kustar just outside of the barrier encasing the entire city. "Cooper, what's wrong with that Way Big?"
After doing a quick scan of it in his head, he rubbed his chin as he explained, "It looks like it was genetically altered to be stronger than your average To'kustar but, that came at the cost of it's intelligence, now its just a feral-animal."
"Probably being controlled by Eon…" Gwendolyn pointed out, folding her arms across her chest, "Do we think he can handle this Way Big… or?" she asked, glancing between Cooper and her husband, still not noticing her daughter standing behind them until she spoke up.
"More like Way-Bad," Jennifer muttered, prompting them all to turn around to face her with slightly shocked expressions, "What?"
Ben shook his head and turned back to the screen, "Jennifer, I'm going to need you to go get Twenty-Three, nap-time's over."
She glared at the back of his head, ready to say something, to ask what had happened while she was asleep, why everyone was so on edge, or why the younger version of him was so traumatized but, Gwendolyn put a hand on her shoulder to get her attention. Pleading with her wordlessly, just looking into her daughters eyes, nudging her head towards the door with a sympathetic but urgent expression, "Fine, fine, I'll go get him…" the mage was very grateful that she'd more-or-less made-up with her daughter, otherwise this would have been a difficult interaction. Jennifer darted off at super-speeds leaving a gust of wind and a trail of black-and-purple in her wake.
They watched as the Way-Bad, as they were now dubbed, snarled at Benji who stood at the ready to defend the domed city behind him; with just a thought, the sledgehammer at his side dematerialized in a flash of emerald-light, instantly reforming into an enormous, thick-handled, camo-green and black trimmed broadsword that was nearly twice Benji's height from hilt to tip, "Ultimate Humungousaur…" he muttered to himself as he swung it out in front of himself, holding it with both hands.
Just then Benji spotted another teleportation shimmer atop the feral To'kustar's right shoulder, Eon appeared beside the massive beast's head obviously controlling it somehow as it stood in wait for his command. He raised his hand up into the air prompting the Way-Bad to raise its arms, crossing its forearms perpendicular to one another as tainted magenta-shaded bolts of cosmic energy surged between the intersection of its arms, charging a beam that could easily vaporize Earth's moon.
Within the command-center, Ben had paused when watching the holoscreen displaying Benji as he prepared to parry one of the most intense releases of energy in the Universe, right up there with gamma-ray bursts and supernovae. Gwendolyn put a hand on his shoulder, trying to snap him out of it, "Do we intercept?"
He didn't respond, sweat dripping down his forehead as he struggled to make his next move, "I-I cant send anyone else out there… I can't risk anyone else dying for this," he slapped his palms heavily on Cooper's desk, tearing his eyes from the screen as he glanced to his feet in shame.
"I just watched one of your teammates sacrifice everything just to give you a fighting chance at this," Ben immediately looked up and turned around in slight surprise, finding his younger-self standing in the doorway with Gwen looking over his shoulder from behind, "I don't really know any of you but, I'm pretty sure everyone still standing here, signed up for this."
Cooper glanced over at Ben as they waited for his response, "You don't understand… you're just a kid," he took a few steps forward, gesturing to him as if he couldn't possibly know what he was talking about but, the boy looked deep into his own older, more experienced emerald eyes and for a moment, both sets flickered with neon-green energy simultaneously.
"Maybe not… maybe…" He looked back over his shoulder at Gwen who gave him a supporting smile, taking a step forward to stand by his side, "Maybe I am just a kid but, when hero-time gets serious, so do I. You were me, are you saying you don't remember, how we really felt that summer?"
Gwendolyn and Cooper were caught in the middle, their eyes darting between the younger and the older Ben Ten Thousand, their discussing feelings and memories only them two could possibly understand. He narrowed his eyes down at himself, folding his arms across his chest, "I remember… I honestly wasn't sure if you'd gotten there yet."
Jennifer, Albedo, and Speedyquick sped into the room at that same moment as the former announced herself, "I got Uncle A. and the other-Dad…" she pointed at the two of them, glancing around at the tense faces, "Did we interrupt something?" she didn't even flinch when the Kinceleran exploded in a flash of blue-light, reverting to normal.
"Guys!" Cooper shouted, manipulating the hologram, and shifting the projection to be displayed in widescreen, large enough for the entire group to watch as the Way-Bad opened fire.
Eon dropped his arm and in the same second and with a mighty roar, the Way-Bad unleashes its dark-purple cosmic beam, sending it hurtling toward its target with incredible speed and force. The beam tore through the air like a celestial javelin, leaving a trail of shimmering energy in its wake. Benji braced his massive blade as the physical mass of the blast struck its edge, his muscles tensed and stance became rigid even whilst he was pushed back. His feet carved into the stone in an attempt to assert himself, finding his stance, Benji screamed a mighty battle-cry as he parried the beam of untold raw power directly upwards, swinging his blade into the sky above his head.
From within the city and behind the barrier, the teams vision saw through the security-feed, behind the projection, and through the clear glass where in the distance a now bright-white beam of energy tore through the atmosphere, clearing the sky of clouds for miles around them. It was only a second or two later that they felt the immense shockwave that shook the entire domed-city with a three-point-five magnitude quake.
"He actually did it…" Gwendolyn muttered to herself, probably not completely expecting him to be capable of such a feat, knowing first-hand just how powerful Way-Big was herself. With barely a thought, her entire outfit shimmered across her person, dressing her in her armored cloak and suit, with the Alpha-Rune embedded in it just above her breasts.
Eon snarled, scratching his beard with almost an impressed expression, "No wonder he was able to kill Natalia, even the Cosmian's would have a difficult time taking a To'kustar's cosmic discharge at such close range, especially after all of the steroids I've pumped into them," he tapped a few glowing symbols on the gauntlet to his suit, activating another teleportation beam, bouncing it off of his ship's satellites. He summoned to his position four massive battle-cruisers to be lined up in the sky above even the Way-Bad, each one opening up from the bottom, releasing something far worse than any bomb.
Benji watched in horror and in awe at the sight of four more rabid-enhanced To'kustars falling from the sky, landing on their feet with loud booming thuds that echoed across the surrounding mountainous area. Their landing upheaved hundreds of tons of stone and dirt but, it made little difference, as each and every one of them began building up the same energy. The energy pulsates with raw power around their forearms, emitting a bright purple-black light that casts ominous shadows over the surrounding area. The Way-Bad's muscles tense with the effort of controlling such immense power, and their stance became more rigid as they channels the energy through their body. Still, Benji raised his blade up to a proper stance, he gripped the hilt tight until his knuckles turned white, his eyes flooded with emerald genetic-energy as the excess power trailed up around his eyes.
"We need to go help him, now!" Ben shouted, turning around to make eye contact briefly with his team but, he found Timeless standing directly behind him when he turned, not wearing his robes any longer just a loose fitting black, two-piece suit under a long brown trench-coat, "Timeless? Where have you-" Ben reached out to grab the time-lord when he intercepted his arm instead, grabbing the hero's bare wrist.
The expression on his face told them all that he wasn't joking at all, leaving them all frozen to wait and see what the Paradox stand-in was going to do next, "There's no time, we're going to have to skip the next few seconds," he quickly slapped his open palm against the center of Ben's torso. They both illuminated with bright-emerald energy before vanishing in the same second.
"What the hell just happened?!" Jennifer shouted.
…
Atop the shoulder of a massive-titan, Eon's gauntlet chimed signaling that his machine was near completion, "It's almost time, now the first stage begins!" pressing down on one of the glowing symbols illuminated on his forearm activated the first step of his refurbished gene-bomb. From the machine Malware was reconstructing within his ship in the upper atmosphere came a yellow-wave of radiation energy passing harmlessly through the atmosphere at astonishing speeds.
Though it didn't effect the blade's current transformation, the wave first passed over Benji and the Excalitrix which caused the hourglass dial embedded on the hilt to flash yellow and spin slowly as if processing something. The wave continued passing effortlessly through the hard-light dome barrier and harmlessly over the entire city, it's effects were completely irrelevant until it passed over Tennyson Tower. Suddenly, every single Omnitrix in the room, including alternate timelines and past versions, also began flashing bright-yellow with the hourglass turning on its own.
Ben Twenty-Three Thousand spoke up first, "Uh-oh," he looked down at the gauntleted Omnitrix over his forearm, watching the dial turn as he sensed out through the Master Control for any issues, finding only one, "I think he just… but he couldn't have…" the variant was confused that the firewalls in his hero-watch could be so easily bypassed.
Jennifer glanced down at her thinner white-amethyst wristwatch Omnitrix, the thin-lines forming the hourglass were flashing yellow and when she swiped her two fingers over the faceplate to summon the selection-ring, there was an exclamation-point caution symbol flashing in the center, "I don't get it, what did he just do to our watches?!" she shouted, hoping someone could answer.
Cooper, who had been analyzing each of their watches with his technopathy since the moment the wave passed over them, stepped forward speaking up, "I think he sent a forced-command to each of your Omnitricies…" the younger-Ben stared at his watch, noticing how it was the same color as when it captured the DNA of the werewolf and the mummy; he and the younger-Gwen weren't sure when or how to contribute so they just waited and listened.
"Yea…" Twenty-Three interrupted, having confirmed it himself by searching telepathically through the playlists of his own Omnitrix, "And that command was control-alt-delete all Cosmian DNA."
Albedo sensed the same thing and chimed in, "It appears true, I can't seem to access the sample but, why do this?"
Gwendolyn folded her arms over her chest, "Well, it's gonna be a hell of a lot easier beating us without like four different 'Supermen' flying around the planet."
Suddenly, startling a few of the heroes present, Timeless reappeared just seconds later with his hand still on Ben's chest, "-been?" he finished his sentence from before which seemed odd to anyone else but for him, they flickered in and out of place instantly. Before anything could continue, the hero grabbed Timeless by the collar of his brown trench-coat, pulling him in close so that he didn't get away, "Where were you?! We needed you out there! A man died!" he shouted in his face, having clearly been keeping this rage pent up since Egypt.
"You couldn't have prevented what was going to happen, just like you can't waste time with me, here," Timeless glanced over Ben's shoulder, gesturing at the holoscreen feed where the enemy prepared to fire once again this time with quadruple the potency.
Ben shoved the time-traveler back a step or two as Gwendolyn put an arm around his gently, calming him down with just her touch, "You and I are going to have a long talk when we finish this, and I'm getting some answers!" the younger-Gwen watched herself do this, and wondered how long it would be before she saw that side of her own cousin.
"Let's go," he announced, he glanced back at the rest of his team once again, nodding as they assured him they were on board; two bright emerald explosions of light followed in the same instant by a flash of amethyst and aqua-blue genetic energy, consuming the entire command-center with multi-colored light. Four Kinceleran speedsters jetted out of the room and out of the building one after the other with Ben in the lead, each of them heading towards the edge of the barrier at ten-times the speed of sound.
Once they were gone, Timeless stuck his hands casually in his trench-coat pockets, "I'm afraid we'll only meet one last time, Ben Tennyson..." holding out his hand, a vortex of emerald-energy opened up beside him
Outside of the dome, Benji was prepared as Eon dropped his arm once again, gesturing for all four of the feral To'kustar's to fire. Their eyes glowed intensely as they focused their energy, and their arms extended outward, palms open, as if gathering cosmic power from the universe itself. As the energy reaches its peak, a dominating beam of cosmic energy materializes between the Way-Bad's outstretched arms; the air crackles with energy as the beams streak towards their target, leaving trails of luminous blue in their wake.
With lightning-fast reflexes, the swordsman raised his thick camo-green buster-sword, attempting to parry the incoming onslaught once again. The first beam strikes the sword with such force that it sends shockwaves rippling through the blade, causing it to shudder. Within the same second, the next two beams follow suit, battering the hero from slightly different angles. Benji's teeth clenched as his jaw tightened, his grip was shaking from the raw-power splitting on his blade's edge. With a resounding boom, the fourth and final cosmic beam crashes into the sword, delivering the decisive blow. The combination of all four beams crossing into one point detonated an explosion of white-hot cackling energy with the enough sheer force to splinter and shatter the entire planet beneath his feet. It was only the Excalitrix parrying the blow in the first place that saved the world but, the sword ran-out of power, reverting back to its regular form as it flew through the air, landing somewhere in the smoke.
With a deafening roar, the dome behind where Benji once stood shattered a massive hole leaving an entire side left with a jagged-glass opening large enough even for the To'kustars roam effortlessly through, exposing the sprawling city within to the looming threat of destruction. Panic ensues as the citizens scramble for safety, realizing that their last line of defense has been destroyed.
That same explosion sent a shockwave that knocked the incoming heroes off balance, tossing them back even as they approached with the momentum of mach-ten, sending them tumbling and disappearing into the smoke and rubble.
…
Extra-long chapter for an extra-long break; I'm back bitches.
yes, i'm a huge Doctor Who fan. Please notice.
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