Magus hovered midair, his body glowing with cosmic brilliance, a sly smirk curling on his lips.
"Can you keep up with the speed of the stars, Tennyson?"
Ben floated a few meters away, calm and steady, his silhouette glowing with swirling energies that shimmered like stardust. He cracked his knuckles and returned the smirk.
"Well, let's see."
In an instant, the two surged forward—a flash of light, a thunderous crack across the cosmos. Magus led with raw speed, twisting through asteroid belts and solar winds, each motion guided by his cosmic awareness. He could feel the vibrations of the universe itself, reacting faster than thought, predicting each possible future path.
But Ben wasn't far behind.
He didn't just chase—he matched.
Tapping into the mystic senses inherited from Magus, Ben synchronized with the spiritual threads that connected all things. Every flicker of starlight, every whisper of dark matter—it spoke to him now.
Punches were thrown and dodged before they even fully formed. Energy blasts curved and coiled like living things, weaving through the fabric of space in dazzling arcs.
Suddenly, Magus froze mid-swing. His senses flared.
A wormhole… behind me?
He spun just in time, eyes wide.
Ben was there—ready.
A fist crackling with borrowed cosmic energy slammed into Magus's chest, sending him reeling backward through the vacuum, crashing into a shattered moon.
"Nice reflexes," Ben quipped, floating forward, his form aglow with cosmic mastery.
Magus recovered quickly, his aura flaring. He lunged again, and the skies lit up with another round of furious strikes and energy beams. Each attack now felt more synchronized, more connected—as if they weren't just borrowing each other's abilities... they were blending them.
Magus summoned a storm of gravity wells. Ben countered with a spiral of dimensional threads.
Ben launched a temporal echo of himself—Magus shattered it with a blink of dark matter.
Then—a blinding explosion.
A surge of raw, untamed cosmic force erupted between them, hurling both titans through the stars like comets. The shockwave rippled through the constellations, bending light and distorting time for miles.
They eventually slowed, suspended in the glowing silence of the aftermath.
Magus floated, chest heaving, disbelief etched across his face. He studied Ben, now glowing with a refined version of his own power.
"You… you copied my powers," he whispered, half-shocked, half in awe.
"No... you've mastered them."
Ben gave a casual shrug, a wry grin on his face. "I just wanted to try them out."
The battlefield, once roared with the clash of titanic powers, fell into an eerie silence. Dust and starlight floated through the air as the echoes of battle faded.
Across the ruined field, Ben and Magus stood locked in a tense standoff—both drained, but far from finished.
Magus's voice cut through the stillness, filled with fury. "I will reclaim what is mine!" he roared, raising his hands to rip the cosmic energy from Ben's core.
But Ben was ready.
Drawing upon the mystical force of the Anodite, his body shimmered with violet light. "Nice try," Ben said coolly, weaving glowing strands of energy into an ethereal trap. "But if you're offering powers… I'll take them all."
With a sudden pulse, the cosmic energy around Magus reversed direction. Streams of brilliant light were pulled from him, swirling into Ben like a radiant storm.
"What?!" Magus staggered, caught in the vortex. "No—this can't be!"
"You underestimated me," Ben replied, eyes glowing. "Again."
Magus struggled, straining against the trap, but the ethereal bonds tightened. Realizing escape was impossible, he activated his last resort. With a burst of shimmering cosmic energy, he teleported away—disappearing into the void.
Ben closed his eyes, sensing the lingering trail of Magus's power. "Found you," he muttered.
In a flash, he arrived at Magus's hidden sanctuary. A cocoon of energy surrounded the wounded villain, flickering weakly as it tried to heal him.
Without hesitation, Ben summoned a blast of raw power and shattered the cocoon like glass. Magus fell to his knees, vulnerable and defeated.
"You've taken everything!" Magus gasped, his voice trembling. "Why not let me go?"
Ben stepped forward, his form now shifting into Clockwork, time energy pulsing through him.
"There's no running from what you've done," he said, his tone calm but resolute. "It's time you faced the consequences."
Ben channeled the swirling temporal energy around him, time itself seemed to slow. The battlefield faded into a blur of golden light and shifting echoes. Magus, stripped of his cosmic power, stood trembling, grasping at remnants of strength that no longer answered his call.
"You… you plan to erase me from the timeline?" Magus asked, his voice tight with fear, eyes locked on the shimmering clockwork rays spiraling from Ben's hands.
Ben narrowed his gaze. "No. Not erase. Restore."
Magus frowned, confusion knitting his brow. "Restore?"
"I'm sending you back," Ben said, his tone steady, resolute. "Back to the point when you were still Adam Warlock—before the corruption, before the madness."
Magus took a shaky step back. "Why? What purpose does that serve?"
Ben raised his hand, and the air shimmered with the hum of time. "Because you still have a chance. When you're Adam Warlock again, fight to stay that way. Resist becoming Magus. Learn to master your darker impulses. If you can… maybe the universe doesn't have to suffer again."
"And if I fail?" Magus asked, voice barely a whisper.
"Then you'll face me again," Ben said firmly. "And again… and again. I'll keep rewinding the moment until you finally get it right."
The temporal rays flared, wrapping Magus in a cocoon of golden light. His body began to dissolve into streams of energy, pulled backward through time. His form shrank, his aura dimmed, and slowly, the corrupted shell of Magus was replaced by the youthful, uncertain essence of Adam Warlock.
As the last spark of energy faded into the timestream, Ben stood silently, watching the spot where his adversary had vanished.
"Redemption doesn't come easy," he murmured. "But sometimes, you need to confront your past to build a better future."
As the golden shimmer of temporal energy faded, Magus felt a shift deep within. His dark armor cracked and vanished like dust on the wind, revealing the radiant form of Adam Warlock beneath. The chaos that once ruled his mind was gone—replaced with clarity, remorse, and an unfamiliar feeling: peace.
He slowly looked at his hands, then at the faint pulse of the Soul Gem resting on his forehead. "So much pain... so many choices I never should've made," Adam whispered, eyes downcast.
Ben hovered nearby, the last echoes of time energy fading from his fingertips. Adam turned toward him and dropped to one knee, lowering his head in a rare act of humility. "Thank you, Ben. You've not only given me another chance—but saved the entire universe from what I had become."
Ben floated down beside him, placing a steady hand on Adam's shoulder. "It's never too late to make the right choice. Just make sure this time, you don't lose yourself again."
Adam nodded solemnly. "I'll try."
From behind, the Guardians of the Galaxy approached, relief and admiration in their eyes.
"You did it, Ben!" Quasar grinned.
"That was one hell of a move," Star-Lord added, his blasters holstered as he offered a thumbs-up.
Rocket Raccoon gave a satisfied nod. "You even brought back Warlock in one piece. I'm impressed."
Groot stepped forward, extending a gnarled hand and wrapping Ben in a warm, surprisingly emotional hug. His glowing eyes sparkled. "I am Groot."
Ben chuckled and patted his bark-covered shoulder. "I know, buddy. I'll miss you too."
With a wave, Ben swung a leg over his Interstellar Harley. The sleek, chrome cruiser revved to life, its cosmic engine growling like a contained supernova. He glanced back once, smiling beneath his visor.
"Take care of each other," he said. "And keep the galaxy weird."
"Thanks, Ben!" the Guardians called out in unison as the bike roared skyward, trailing streaks of cosmic fire that vanished into the stars.
The team stood in silence for a beat, watching the shrinking spark of Ben's exit. Then Rocket blinked and slapped his forehead.
"Wait a second… I forgot to ask him where he got that bike!"
"I am Groot?" Groot tilted his head.
"Yeah, Groot, I know! That thing was a work of art!" Rocket replied, throwing his arms up.
The team burst into laughter, their tension broken. The galaxy was safe—for now—and the cosmic hero had once again left them with more questions than answers.
But somehow, that felt just right.
---
S.W.O.R.D. Headquarters – Strategic Command Room
The air inside the command room was tense. Ms. Marvel, stood at the head of the table, her presence authoritative yet coiled, like a storm waiting to break.
Abigail Brand pointed at a star map flickering with red warning markers. "We've got Kree signals approaching the solar system. This isn't a scout team. It's an invasion force."
Carol folded her arms. "The Kree don't bluff. If they're coming, they're bringing hell with them."
Henry Gyrich stood beside them, his tone smooth but distant. "Then maybe it's time we remind them Earth isn't undefended."
Carol eyed him, uneasy. Something about Gyrich had felt... wrong lately. Cold. Detached. She stored the suspicion away for later.
But she didn't know that Henry Gyrich was a Skrull in disguise.
Suddenly, the ship shuddered violently—alarms blaring, lights flashing crimson.
BOOM!
An explosion rocked the facility.
"They've bypassed our outer defense grid!" a panicked agent yelled through comms. "A Kree vessel just dropped out of warp—directly above us!"
Carol's eyes flared with energy. "They're not wasting time."
The main screen flickered to life, showing a terrifying sight: a Kree dreadnought, massive and bristling with weapons, casting a shadow over the base. Figures began teleporting in—Ronan the Accuser, Yon-Rogg, Kalum-Lo, and standing front and center, someone Carol had just recently seen.
Mar-Vell. Captain Marvel.