The blazing explosion echoed across Knowhere like space thunder, its brilliant flames visible from every district of the skull-city. The detonation sent shockwaves through the mining platforms and commercial sectors, instantly drawing the attention of every criminal, mercenary, and scavenger within the Celestial's head.
"What the hell was that?" demanded a scarred Kree pirate, his hand moving instinctively to his weapon.
Throughout Knowhere's chaotic districts, the various Ravager clans and independent operators began mobilizing. Boots pounded against metal gratings as armed figures emerged from cantinas and repair shops, their weapons gleaming under the skull's internal lighting systems.
"Someone's actually attacking Knowhere?" a Centaurian smuggler asked in disbelief, his red facial fins bristling with indignation.
Such audacity was almost unthinkable. The Land of Nothingness served as the galaxy's premier sanctuary for those operating outside legal boundaries—a neutral zone where even the three great empires maintained only minimal presence. Over the millennia, various military forces had attempted to "pacify" the mining colony, viewing it as a den of criminals that needed elimination. All such efforts had failed spectacularly.
The skull-city's chaotic ecosystem had proven remarkably resilient. Even the major galactic powers had eventually settled for establishing small monitoring posts rather than attempting direct control. The newly ascendant Plumbers from Sakaar held no meaningful influence here whatsoever.
Attacking Knowhere represented an assault on the fundamental freedoms that every space outlaw held sacred—the right to exist beyond the reach of organized authority.
But as the armed crowds converged on the explosion's source, their righteous momentum faltered.
"That direction... isn't that where the Collector lives?" someone asked nervously.
The question hung in the air like a toxic cloud. Every criminal in Knowhere knew better than to antagonize Taneleer Tivan. The Elder of the Universe had survived in this lawless environment for millennia while openly displaying the galaxy's most valuable treasures. Such longevity didn't come from the mercy of hardened criminals.
"Should we... investigate?" a nervous Badoon suggested tentatively.
Most of the mercenaries began reconsidering their involvement. Unless they had specific business with the Collector, Knowhere's residents preferred avoiding his attention entirely. Tivan had a reputation for claiming compensation when visitors "accidentally" damaged his precious specimens—and his definition of fair payment could be quite creative.
Their debate was interrupted when a lance of superheated flame erupted from the skull's eye socket like a crimson laser, painting the surrounding nebula in hellish light. Through the brilliant fire, they witnessed something that defied explanation: a massive reptilian form clinging to Knowhere's exterior like some primordial dragon, its wings spread wide enough to cast shadows across entire districts.
Dragon fire poured from its maw in torrents, the flames so intense they seemed capable of dragging the entire mining colony into an infernal apocalypse.
"What in the void is that thing?!" screamed a Shi'ar trader.
"A fire dragon?" gasped an observer. "Here?"
Meanwhile, inside the Collector's devastated repository, Eunice hovered in the chamber's smoky air, finally understanding why her thermal attacks had proven ineffective against their attacker.
The creature's true nature now stood revealed in all its terrible glory. Jörmungandr stretched nearly fifty meters from snout to tail, its crimson scales gleaming like molten metal. Ancient Nordic runes were carved along its spine, glowing with eldritch power that spoke of its mythological origins. The dragon's wings generated hurricane-force winds as it roared, each breath releasing gouts of flame hot enough to melt spacecraft hulls.
The beast's presence transformed the local atmosphere into a furnace. Even the asteroid fragments floating near Knowhere began glowing cherry-red from the ambient heat radiating from its massive form.
"It shapeshifted into a dragon?" Ben exclaimed, momentarily distracted from his own combat as he witnessed the transformation. "Could it be using a Nemetrix device?"
His spider-sense had detected advanced technology within the creature earlier, though he hadn't spotted the distinctive predator-species controller that Khyber typically employed. Perhaps the device had been surgically implanted or somehow integrated into the dragon's biology.
"If that thing is specifically designed to hunt Omnitrix users, can Eunice handle it?" Ben wondered, genuine concern coloring his thoughts.
"Do you really have time to worry about others?"
Khyber's mocking voice cut through Ben's distraction. The huntsman had closed the distance with inhuman speed, his massive hands clamping around Ben's slender throat before the young hero could react. With casual ease, Khyber lifted Ben's Necrofriggian form high into the air, the alien's feet dangling helplessly.
"This guy is faster than I expected," Ben realized with growing alarm, his compound eyes studying Khyber's imposing form.
But speed wasn't the hunter's only enhanced attribute—his physical strength seemed impossibly amplified. Ben's current transformation incorporated both Necrofriggian abilities and his spider-enhanced genetics, a combination that should have granted him strength sufficient to overpower multiple Lizard-class opponents simultaneously. Yet he couldn't break free from Khyber's iron grip, even as the hunter's fingers tightened with crushing force.
"You cannot escape my grasp, Omnitrix wielder!" Khyber declared coldly, his dark-matter dagger spinning with lethal grace between the fingers of his free hand. The blade moved like a deadly butterfly, dancing through complex patterns before settling into a reverse grip positioned directly over Ben's chest.
The hunter's intent was unmistakable—he planned to carve the Omnitrix directly from Ben's body, regardless of the damage such extraction might cause.
But as Khyber's blade descended, Ben's form became translucent, shifting into Big Chill's intangible state. The dagger passed harmlessly through empty space while Ben phased free from the hunter's grasp, his body reforming several meters away.
"I thought you'd studied Necrofriggian capabilities more thoroughly," Ben commented with dry humor, his tattered wing-membranes spreading like a dark shroud. He exhaled a concentrated stream of sub-zero air that struck Khyber with the force of an arctic blizzard.
In seconds, the huntsman was encased in a thick shell of ice, his form frozen in a combat stance like some macabre sculpture.
Ben knew the victory was temporary—any opponent worth Vilgax's partnership wouldn't be contained by such basic attacks. His assessment proved correct when Khyber's enhanced physiology generated enough internal heat to shatter the ice like glass, fragments cascading to the floor in crystalline waterfalls.
"I should have captured more Necrofriggians for my ship's climate control systems," Khyber mused, brushing ice crystals from his armor with casual disdain.
"Why? Don't you prefer things a bit hotter?"
Ben's reply was accompanied by the distinctive chime of the Omnitrix cycling through its transformation sequence. Green light engulfed his form as Necrofriggian ice gave way to Pyronite flame, his body reshaping into Ultimate Heatblast's magnificent form.
Where Big Chill had been slender and ethereal, Ultimate Heatblast was powerfully built and imposing. Molten rock composed his musculature, veined with channels of liquid fire that pulsed like arterial systems. The volcanic vents along his shoulders and arms released steady streams of flame that wreathed him in a corona of solar fire. Ancient runes—marks of Asgard's Eternal Flame—blazed across his chest and limbs, marking him as something far beyond an ordinary Pyronite.
Without giving Khyber time to adjust his tactics, Ben clasped his hands together, channeling volcanic energies into a concentrated beam of orange-white fire. The attack struck Khyber with the force of an erupting mountain, launching the huntsman across the repository and through several walls before sending him tumbling through Knowhere's exterior like a burning meteorite.
The hunter's trajectory carved a brilliant arc through the space void, his form trailing flame and debris as he disappeared into the darkness between star systems.
From the floor of his devastated collection chamber, Tivan observed the display with a mixture of awe and naked avarice. His attention focused laser-like on the Omnitrix symbol blazing on Ben's chest, clearly visible even through the wreath of flames surrounding the young hero.
"Now that is an extraordinary artifact," the Collector breathed, his eyes gleaming with the fervor of ultimate desire.
But their victory celebration was premature. Behind the group, Gamora's meditation had been interrupted by the psychic turbulence of the battle. One of her eyes blazed with the crimson energy of the Reality Stone while the other glowed with the Soul Stone's golden radiance, creating a disturbing heterochromatic effect.
When she spoke, her voice carried unfamiliar undertones—deeper, more resonant, unmistakably masculine despite emerging from her throat.
Nebula noticed the change and turned to check on her sister, only to find Gamora's blade sweeping toward her with lethal precision.
CRACK.
The pommel strike connected with Nebula's temple, dropping her instantly. Her cybernetic body hit the floor with a metallic clang, systems shutting down as she slipped into unconsciousness.
Gamora stared down at her fallen sister with genuine remorse, her voice now entirely Thanos's as she spoke words of false comfort: "Forgive me, my daughters. This is necessary."
The change in Gamora's demeanor immediately caught Ben's attention. He spun away from tracking Khyber's trajectory, his flaming form casting dancing shadows across the chamber walls.
"What are you doing, Gam—" Ben began, then stopped as he recognized the alien intelligence looking out through Gamora's eyes. "You're Thanos."
The Mad Titan wearing his daughter's face smiled with cold satisfaction. "Perceptive as always, young Parker. But this conversation is concluded."
Before Ben could react, Thanos snapped Gamora's fingers with casual elegance. Reality Stone energy erupted around the possessed form like a crimson hurricane, warping local spacetime as preparation for immediate departure.
"Don't even think about escaping!" Ben roared, jets of flame exploding from his feet to propel him forward like a living rocket. But his charge met only empty air as reality twisted around Thanos's position, depositing the stolen form elsewhere in the space void.
"He actually got away?" Ben snarled in frustration, his flames flickering with impotent rage. He'd underestimated both Thanos's cunning and his willingness to possess his own daughter's body for tactical advantage. Worse, the Mad Titan had demonstrated mastery over Reality Stone applications that Ben hadn't anticipated.
The Space Stone might specialize in transportation, but creative users could achieve similar effects through reality manipulation—turning the concept of distance into mere suggestion, making "here" and "there" become interchangeable states.
Ben couldn't allow Thanos to escape with both the Reality and Soul Stones, but the Mad Titan hadn't finished complicating the situation. Before Ben could determine pursuit options, flames erupted around his position in a controlled vortex, transporting him instantly to Eunice's location high above Knowhere's surface.
The flame-based teleportation was one of Ultimate Heatblast's enhanced abilities, though in this instance, the dramatic repositioning had been purely for tactical positioning rather than speed.
"Eunice, track the Stone's energy signature and follow Thanos," Ben commanded urgently, his voice carrying the authority of absolute command. "But maintain distance and avoid direct confrontation until I arrive. He's got two Stones now and centuries of experience using them. Don't underestimate him."
The warning was crucial—while Eunice possessed considerable power through the Mind Stone and her Extremis enhancements, Thanos had literally spent decades studying Infinity Stone applications. A direct confrontation would likely end with the Mad Titan claiming a third Stone for his collection.
Eunice nodded understanding, producing the Space Stone from her dimensional storage. The cube blazed with azure energy as she tore open a portal to follow the Reality Stone's quantum trail. "Understood. Maintaining pursuit protocol with defensive priority."
She vanished through the dimensional gateway, leaving Ben to handle the immediate threats still plaguing Knowhere.
Deprived of its original target, Jörmungandr turned its ancient fury toward Ben. The dragon's roar shattered crystal formations across Knowhere's exterior as it dove toward Ultimate Heatblast, its massive head alone large enough to swallow Ben's enhanced form whole.
But despite facing a legendary creature capable of contending with Asgardian gods, Ben showed no fear. Instead, he simply raised his palm toward the approaching dragon with calm confidence.
Jörmungandr's flames—fire hot enough to melt Uru metal and scorch divine flesh—suddenly twisted in impossible directions, spiraling into Ben's outstretched hand like obedient servants answering their master's call. The dragon's most fearsome weapon became as docile as candlelight, drawn into Ben's control with effortless ease.
"That should be Jörmungandr, the World-Serpent of Muspelheim," the Collector observed in stunned disbelief from far below. "Who is this fire-being? How can he command flames that even gods respect?"
Tivan's extensive knowledge of space entities left him deeply troubled by what he was witnessing. Jörmungandr ranked among the most dangerous creatures in the Nine Realms, its draconic fire surpassed only by Surtur's own Eternal Flame. The Collector himself would require considerable effort and specialized equipment to subdue such a beast.
Yet this mysterious fire-wielder was treating the dragon's assault like a minor inconvenience, absorbing power that should have reduced him to ash.
"Could this individual possess Skyfather-level abilities?" Tivan wondered nervously. If Ben truly operated at such elevated power levels, all of the Collector's previous scheming would need immediate abandonment. Even Elders of the Universe avoided direct conflict with beings capable of reshaping reality through sheer force.
While immortality protected him from death, spending millennia frozen in space ice or roasted over stellar cores would be decidedly unpleasant experiences.
Jörmungandr paused mid-assault, its primitive intellect recognizing the impossibility of what was occurring. The dragon's flames—extensions of its very life force—were betraying their source, flowing into an enemy's control like water seeking its proper level.
Then the volcanic vents across Ben's shoulders erupted with torrential force, releasing flame output that transformed the local space into a miniature star system. The temperature spike was so dramatic that nearby asteroids began glowing white-hot from thermal radiation alone.
The Collector immediately recognized the source of Ben's power, his expression shifting from confusion to understanding horror. "The Eternal Flame! No wonder even Jörmungandr's dragon-fire couldn't harm him. This being wields Surtur's own cosmic fire—the flame that was prophesied to burn the World Tree itself!"
BOOM!
The conflagration that erupted around Jörmungandr defied description. This wasn't merely fire—it was the conceptual embodiment of endings, the flame destined to consume gods and worlds alike. The dragon's own protective heat became meaningless against such overwhelming force.
Jörmungandr didn't even have time to scream. Its vocal cords carbonized instantly, followed by its nervous system, then its bones, until only a shower of ash remained where the legendary monster had existed moments before.
The Collector watched the destruction with mixed emotions—profound relief at the threat's elimination warring with genuine sorrow over losing such an extraordinary specimen.
Ben dismissed the dragon's fate without sentiment. Jörmungandr had been a tool rather than a true individual, and the Omnitrix could extract whatever genetic information remained from the scattered ashes. His real concern was Khyber's escape during the chaos.
Hovering above Knowhere like an avatar of space destruction, Ben's blazing eyes swept the void for any trace of the huntsman. His enhanced senses detected no obvious hiding spots, but Khyber's intelligence was his most dangerous attribute—not his physical capabilities.
The hunter had recognized their power differential within seconds of Ultimate Heatblast's transformation, using his forced retreat as cover for a tactical withdrawal. Pursuing him through Knowhere's maze-like interior would be both time-consuming and potentially futile.
The Collector's voice called up from far below, offering crucial intelligence that might explain the larger situation. "Concentrate your flames, magnificent one! Though I've never encountered that particular individual, I do recognize the origins of his fire-dragon friend. Jörmungandr belongs to Muspelheim's hierarchy, and recent reports suggest that realm has fallen under Dark Elf occupation. The dark-matter weaponry your opponent wielded also matches Svartalfheim technological signatures. This attack may be connected to larger space conflicts."
Ben gradually condensed his stellar aura, descending through Knowhere's artificial atmosphere until he stood once again within the devastated repository. The information aligned disturbingly well with his existing intelligence regarding Malekith's campaign across the Nine Realms.
"Dark Elf involvement?" Ben mused, processing the implications. "So Khyber and Vilgax have formed alliances beyond their own dimensional refugees."
The web of threats was expanding faster than he'd anticipated, with enemies from multiple realities converging to create unprecedented challenges. But immediate concerns took priority over long-term strategic planning.
Thanos had escaped with two Infinity Stones and Gamora's body as his vehicle. Until that situation was resolved, all other threats remained secondary priorities.
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