Not long ago, back on Earth...
In order to resolve the escalating conflicts between Maltruant and the countless Ben Tennyson variants scattered across parallel universes, Ben had assembled a strike team of his most powerful allies.
Especially Wanda Maximoff, who wielded the devastating combination of Chaos Magic and Mana. Charmcaster, who had awakened her connection to the Phoenix Force and commanded reality-warping sorcery. And Eunice., who possessed the Cosmic Cube and controlled all six Infinity Stones through her synthetic consciousness.
It could be said without exaggeration that these three individuals were combatants comparable to Alien X itself in terms of raw power output. Reality-warpers of the highest caliber.
They were far, far stronger than the team Ben currently led into battle at the TVA.
But after they departed from their universe aboard the dimensional shuttle, Professor Paradox had finally made contact with Ben and appeared before them with urgent information.
This mysterious figure's true origins remained unknown even to Ben, shrouded in temporal paradoxes and contradictions. Yet Ben unexpectedly trusted him completely, his instincts recognizing something fundamental about Paradox's nature. Ben even followed the time-walker's suggestion to redirect his most powerful assets—Wanda, Charmcaster, and Eunice.—to an entirely different battlefield.
The Beyond Realm. To fight against the legendary Beyonders themselves.
The three of them were already approaching omnipotent power levels within their own universe, but that impressive strength merely represented the baseline requirement for engaging those who existed beyond normal reality. The minimum entry fee for survival.
Having lost these three overwhelmingly powerful allies, Ben had no choice but to contact Benzarro and the zombie universe survivors he'd encountered during previous crises, requesting their immediate assistance despite the risks.
Then, using the tracking signal embedded in the wireless receiver that Mad Ben had stolen, they successfully located the Time Variance Authority's hidden temporal coordinates.
But the TVA wasn't proving easy to infiltrate or overcome.
So many Ben Tennyson variants. Countless temporal duplicates spawned by Eon's abilities. And the ever-present threat of Nega Ben's Alien X manifestation from among the assembled evil variants...
"At this rate, we'll be worn down through sheer attrition before we can accomplish anything," Steve grunted, driving his elbow into another of Eon's temporal duplicates with bone-crushing force. The soldier's featureless mask cracked and fell away, revealing Ben Tennyson's face beneath—numb, vacant, completely devoid of personality.
If the person behind that mask were actually Ben Parker himself, Steve might have been happier. At least that would confirm they were fighting genuine threats rather than mind-controlled puppets.
"I've completely exhausted my missile reserves as well," Tony announced grimly from Steve's six, staying close for mutual protection. He could only attack with his palm repulsors now, twin beams of energy lancing out to hold back the pressing tide of purple-uniformed soldiers. "At this rate, the armor's power core will eventually drain to nothing."
His HUD flashed warning after warning about depleting energy reserves.
"How much longer are those two going to maintain their meditation stance?" Tony's frustration bled through his voice filters.
He'd barely finished speaking when he witnessed Alien X finally move.
Within that consciousness space, Ben and Enara had first worked together to persuade Ouyana to abandon her compassionate, diplomatic thoughts about peaceful resolution. It had taken considerable debate, but they'd eventually convinced her that Nega Ben's Alien X posed too great a threat to approach with anything less than overwhelming force.
Then, recognizing Enara's superior understanding of Celestialsapien combat mechanics, Ben took a symbolic step backward and handed over direct piloting authority of Alien X to the more aggressive personality.
The white-starfield consciousness instantly conjured a giant mecha cockpit within the shared mental space, her excitement palpable as she dropped into the pilot's seat with barely contained glee.
However, what materialized before her wasn't sophisticated flight controls or neural interface systems, but rather an arcade-style joystick and four large buttons designed for executing special attack combinations.
"I've wanted to pilot this thing solo for ages!" Enara's voice bubbled with childlike enthusiasm.
Alien X simply threw a punch at Nega Ben's Alien X, an attack with almost no special effects whatsoever. No reality distortion ripples. No shockwaves tearing through dimensional barriers. Just a fist moving through space.
In an instant, Nega Ben's Alien X also sprang into responsive action, arms crossing like stars aligning to block the incoming strike with precision timing.
The two Celestialsapiens engaged in combat that appeared extraordinarily weak by any conventional standard. So much so that amid the dense, chaotic battlefield filled with energy blasts and temporal distortions, these two reality-warping gods somehow seemed like the weakest combatants present. Even Steve's shield throws generated more impressive visual effects than their exchange.
"You're really just using your fists like that?" Ben and Ouyana watched Enara frantically mashing buttons in the mental cockpit, their shared helplessness practically tangible.
"What else would I use?" Enara responded without looking away from her controls.
"I assumed you'd at least hurl a star at the opponent, or maybe create a galaxy-sized cosmic black hole or something..." Ben unleashed his imagination, thinking of appropriately dramatic reality-warping attacks.
But Enara scoffed dismissively at such theatrical nonsense. "What's the point of that?"
Whether stars, black holes, or even entire universes themselves—none of it had any meaningful effect on Celestialsapiens. All those fancy special effects and cosmic-scale destruction were completely useless against Alien X's fundamental nature.
For beings that could simply decide "that didn't happen" and rewrite causality itself, flashy attacks were meaningless.
As for appearing weak without impressive visual effects, that concern was utterly irrelevant to actual combat effectiveness. Anyone who genuinely believed Alien X's punch couldn't kill them was welcome to volunteer their head for demonstration purposes.
Alien X had finally engaged in battle.
But Steve and his team quickly realized this development didn't significantly change the overall course of the conflict.
Because Nega Ben's Alien X completely counterbalanced Ben's own transformation.
For Celestialsapiens, there existed virtually no meaningful difference in combat power between individual specimens. The only genuine limitation they faced was the speed at which their multiple personalities could reach consensus and authorize actions.
Now that neither Alien X needed to pass formal motions to take offensive measures, it became functionally impossible to determine a victor between them. They were perfectly matched, each capable of undoing whatever the other accomplished.
But during that brief window of distraction, the Annihilarrgh had already passed from Albedo's rocky grasp into Maltruant's metallic fingers.
The Chronosapien commander had no immediate rivals capable of contending with him directly, so he strode confidently toward the deepest chambers of the Time Variance Authority complex. His goal burned with singular purpose—use the TVA's accumulated temporal energy reserves to modify the Annihilarrgh into his ultimate weapon.
"We have to stop him before he reaches the temporal core!" Steve bellowed across the battlefield, but his warning came too late.
He was instantly engulfed by a massive wave of Eon's temporal duplicates, purple uniforms swarming from all directions like a locust plague.
Tony attempted to fly over the melee and intercept Maltruant directly, but multiple duplicates grabbed his ankles mid-flight and dragged him back down to the ground with combined strength.
Everyone else already had their hands full with individual opponents.
Felicia's Kryptonian battle suit granted her tremendous power, but even her enhanced strength felt increasingly inadequate against the endless waves of temporal clones. She was strong, but not infinite.
And now she also needed to provide support for Peter's desperate battle.
Eon's ability to kill alien transformations with temporal decay beams represented too perfect a counter to Peter's combat style. Every transformation Peter attempted risked being aged into dust.
"There's no viable solution unless we also have access to an army capable of infinite reinforcement," Tony said with mounting despair coloring his voice. His tactical algorithms ran scenarios and found no path to victory.
Just then, a voice he normally found extremely irritating echoed from seemingly nowhere: "Well, as it happens, we do have exactly that."
Immediately afterward, a massive dimensional rift suddenly tore open in mid-air above the Time Variance Authority's central chamber. A figure wearing flowing green robes with distinctive curved horns protruding from his helmet led an entire army of warriors who leaped down through the portal with coordinated precision.
"Loki?!" Tony had never appreciated Loki's presence as much as he did in this exact moment. So much so that he could genuinely forgive Loki for everything the trickster had done to him back on Sakaar. All past grievances evaporated in an instant.
Loki stomped down on Eon's head mid-descent, driving the temporal warlord's face into the floor with savage satisfaction. Then he spread his arms wide in a theatrical gesture, arriving like a prophesied savior descending from the heavens.
"Surprise!" His grin practically radiated smug superiority.
"Did anyone miss me terribly?"
Behind him, dozens upon dozens of Loki variants brandished daggers and immediately joined the chaotic melee with practiced efficiency.
Kid Loki stabbed a temporal duplicate through the chest with a single precise thrust, then glanced back at his prime counterpart with mild exasperation. "Alright, now's really not the appropriate time for your theatrical performances. Quickly establish connections to additional multiversal branches and summon more Loki variants!"
Large numbers of Lokis poured into the battle from multiple dimensional rifts. Old Loki deployed intricate illusions that confused and misdirected enemies. Several variants wielded the Casket of Ancient Winters, unleashing devastating ice magic.
Meanwhile, the Loki from Ben's home universe gripped Mjolnir—Thor's hammer that he'd discovered abandoned in the Void—and swung it with devastating force into clusters of temporal duplicates. Thunder cracked with each impact.
Their sudden arrival made the overall battle situation dramatically easier in an instant, fresh reinforcements turning the tide of attrition warfare.
But there were still far too many temporal clones for even this expanded force to handle comfortably.
However, Tony came up with an additional solution, his genius mind working overtime.
He shouted across the battlefield toward Peter, "Spider-Man! I heard you people have some kind of Spider-Society organization?"
Peter, who had just successfully switched opponents with Felicia to avoid another temporal decay beam, immediately understood the implication and made rapid gestures on his Omnitrix interface. "Wait just a moment, I'll contact Miguel right away..."
Seeing this development, Tony attempted making a communication call back to his own.
Perhaps it was because Ben's departure had temporarily weakened the normally impenetrable cosmic barriers protecting their reality, but Tony successfully established contact with Norman back on Earth.
"What's wrong, Tony?" Norman's voice crackled through the dimensional interference. "You sound stressed."
Tony wasted no time on pleasantries. "Listen very carefully, Norman. It's time to mobilize every single Plumber agent and affiliated superhero in the entire universe. We need everyone."