The moment Ronan unleashed the full might of the Power Stone, a volley of emerald-green lasers rained down from the sky, colliding with the violent purple energy in a series of blinding explosions.
The sudden intervention startled Ronan. He immediately redirected his assault, launching a barrage of power toward the heavens.
Peter had never seen a living stingray up close, let alone one that could fly, but he recognized the newcomer in an instant. The green-and-black Omnitrix symbol embedded in the creature's chest was unmistakable. It was Ben.
"You have a pet flying fish?" Star-Lord asked, turning to Peter with genuine curiosity. Hearing Peter shout Ben's name, he'd naturally assumed the alien was his companion's property.
Peter shot him a withering glare. "You better pray he didn't hear you say that."
Inside Peter's mind, Venom was practically purring with malevolent glee. This Star-Lord character was an infuriating, reckless buffoon. Venom desperately wanted to harm him, but Peter's conscience was a frustrating obstacle; the most it could do was telepathically suggest ways for Star-Lord to trip over his own feet.
But Ben was different. Ben didn't share Peter's moral restraint. If this oaf provoked Ben, there was a very real chance he would be beaten into a bloody pulp. An idea, devious and delightful, formed in the symbiote's consciousness.
It projected a friendly, encouraging thought directly into Star-Lord's mind. "Don't listen to Parker, he's just being stingy. We have plenty of aliens like that. If you really like it, you should go ask the guy—his name is Ben—about it later. I bet he'd be happy to talk to you."
"Really?" Star-Lord's eyes lit up, the allure of a new cosmic pet momentarily overshadowing their imminent demise.
"Of course," Venom purred. "We're comrades, aren't we? No need to be selfish."
"Alright, let's move out!" Peter interjected, having just received Felicia's retreat signal on his comms. With Ben here, there was no reason for them to stick around. Peter had absolute, unshakable confidence in his cousin.
"But the orb…" Star-Lord whined, his dreams of the four-billion-unit bounty dying a slow, painful death.
Peter slapped him on the back of the helmet. "Do you honestly think we can still get involved in a fight like that?" he snapped.
Star-Lord glanced hesitantly at the battle raging in the distance. The aftermath alone was apocalyptic. Beams of purple energy that missed their target crashed into the sea, throwing up columns of water tens of meters high that fell back down as torrential rain. The neuroshock lasers from Ben's form cut through the ocean's surface like diamond-edged blades. One stray beam shot over Star-Lord's head, and the searing heat of its passage was enough to singe his hair.
Venom recoiled from the intense energy, its irritation growing. "Come with us, or stay here and die!" it snarled in Quill's mind. "Or better yet, stay here so I can come back and eat your brain!"
That finally did it. Star-Lord swallowed hard, his bravado evaporating. "Okay, okay! Retreat!" he squeaked. A cosmic artifact wasn't worth much if you were a cloud of vaporized particles.
Peter sighed in relief. He couldn't bring himself to kill Star-Lord, but he had been terrified the man would blunder back into the fight and get Ben killed. He and the symbiote quickly boarded Star-Lord's ship, the Milano, since the small sub he'd arrived in was now buried under a mountain of rubble on the seafloor.
High above, Ben was oblivious to their exchange, his focus entirely on Ronan. There were many debates on which Infinity Stone was the most dangerous, but the Power Stone was inarguably the most direct. Its very name was a testament to its function: raw, unadulterated might. The power of the stone amplified its wielder, and its current bearer was already a formidable warrior. At this moment, Ben knew, Ronan probably possessed the strength to challenge Thanos himself.
Facing such an enemy, even Ben couldn't afford to be careless. As Jetray, he was a crimson blur against the stormy sky, weaving through Ronan's attacks like lightning. It was a ferocious aerial duel. The sky was filled with a rain of energy so dense it seemed impossible to navigate, yet Ben slipped through every gap. He was a one-man air force, a highly maneuverable fighter whose eyes and tail spat lasers with pinpoint accuracy.
"Ronan, hand over the Power Stone!" Ben's voice boomed across the waves as he banked hard to avoid another blast.
To Ronan, it must have felt like a battle of attrition. He could make a thousand mistakes; Ben could only make one. But to Ben, a mistake was impossible. From his hyperspeed perspective, Ronan's energy bolts seemed to crawl through the air like snails. A normal person couldn't get hit by a snail.
The problem was, his own attacks were having minimal effect. The Power Stone was fortifying Ronan's body, making him virtually invulnerable. Jetray's neuroshock lasers, powerful enough to stop a falling fighter jet, simply dissipated against the purple aura surrounding the Kree. In terms of pure energy output, not even Four Arms or Humungousaur could compare to the Power Stone.
Seeing his attacks were ineffective, Ronan laughed, a triumphant, ugly sound. "You think you can take an Infinity Stone from me?!" he roared. "Fool! No matter who you are, the only outcome for those who challenge me is death!"
He poured even more of his will into the stone. The gem on his Universal Weapon flared, its light intensifying as web-like veins of purple energy crawled up the hammer and onto Ronan's arm. The Accuser cried out in pain. Even with the weapon as a conduit, the feedback from wielding such immense power was agonizing. But he could endure it. This pain was a small price to pay for divinity.
"Aaargh!" Ronan screamed again, channeling his agony into his attack.
But this time, it wasn't just a simple blast of energy. The Power Stone gave him mastery over all forms of physical energy. Gravity, electromagnetism, repulsion—all were his to command. He swung the hammer behind him and made a claw with his left hand, grabbing at the air where Ben was.
In that instant, Ben felt it—a crushing gravitational force, like that of a black hole, locking onto him. Every cell in his body felt like it was being pulled apart, dragging him inexorably toward Ronan. The very space around the Accuser began to warp and distort. The raging sea was drawn upward, forming a massive waterspout that swirled around him.
"You cannot escape my control!" Ronan bellowed. "Surrender to the power of the Infinite!"
Ben felt like he was trapped in a vat of cosmic tar. Jetray was capable of faster-than-light travel, but only in the vacuum of space. In Morag's atmosphere, against a force that was bending space-time itself, a direct struggle was suicide; the opposing forces would tear him apart.
This isn't working, he thought. Jetray can't overpower an Infinity Stone.
With a spark of insight, Ben simply gave up the fight. He stopped resisting the pull, letting his body go limp and allowing the gravity to yank him toward Ronan like a kite with a snapped string.
Ronan's hand shot out, grabbing Ben by the throat and lifting him into the air. He reveled in his victory, his arrogance magnified by the stone's power. "I have you now, creature!"
But Ronan saw no fear on the red alien's face. Instead, he saw a smirk.
"I haven't given up yet, Ronan."
The Omnitrix core on Ben's chest glowed. The next second, Ronan felt the creature in his grasp dissolve, becoming intangible, a phantom slipping through his fingers. What followed was a sudden, biting cold.
He looked up. Ben was there, but he had changed. A new form, cowled in black and blue robes, hovered before him. He stood on the surface of the sea, and as he did, the massive waterspout around them flash-froze, becoming a twisted spiral tower of solid ice. He looked like a wizard of absolute zero.
Ben preferred to slap the watch, but the voice-command feature he'd unlocked was useful in a pinch. He knew he needed a form that could counter gravity. He needed a ghost.
Ronan stared, momentarily stunned. The red monster he'd just captured had vanished and been replaced by this spectral being. The gravity that could tear apart an asteroid had no effect on it. That moment of surprise was all the opening Ben needed.
As Big Chill, Ben exhaled a stream of super-cooled air directly at Ronan's arm. A thick layer of frost instantly bloomed on the Kree's skin, a frigid burn that made him cry out. The cold spread with impossible speed, crawling up his arm and encasing his entire body in a tomb of ice before he could react.
It was over in a flash. Ronan was powerful, but the gem was an external tool, and he was reliant on his hammer to use it. This gave him an obvious weakness. Ben didn't need to defeat Ronan; he just needed to take the stone.
After freezing him solid, Ben reached out unhesitatingly, his hand going for the Power Stone on the Universal Weapon. He wasn't sure if Big Chill's body could withstand the energy feedback, but he had no time to worry. The ice holding Ronan was already cracking. He had to act now.
But just as his fingers were about to close around the rough-hewn gem, he stopped.
An idea—a new, audacious plan—flashed through his mind. Taking the stone would be easy. But with Ronan's pride, he would never submit to Thanos, especially after tasting this level of power. His next target was obvious: Xandar. The Nova Corps had no way to stop him.
A city-state under siege. A galactic power on the brink of annihilation. A crisis that would create a massive power vacuum. It was a perfect opportunity for a new, powerful organization to step in as saviors.
A cold, calculating smile spread across Ben's face. He could bring the entire Nova Corps—and Xandar itself—under the control of the Plumbers.
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