With the power of the Infinity Stones at his disposal, constructing a new Krypton proved to be a remarkably straightforward endeavor.
After successfully dealing with Thanos's extracted soul, Nebula immediately recruited the somewhat rounder Gamora to assist Ben in selecting suitable planets and stellar objects for the terraforming project.
Once Ben had dragged the chosen celestial body into the dimensional abyss, he began the transformation process immediately.
Faora, Jax-Ur, and Nam-Ek were fortunate enough to witness this magnificent display of space engineering. In their original conception, planetary transformation was nothing more complex than activating the World Engine and reversing a planet's atmospheric composition and gravitational fields through technological means.
But Ben demonstrated what genuine power could accomplish when properly applied.
The moment he assumed his Gravattack form, Ben seized control over gravity itself, one of the four fundamental forces governing the universe. With casual gestures that seemed almost artistic in their precision, he constrained the gravitational fields of both stars and planets, orchestrating everything according to orbital calculations that existed only in his enhanced consciousness.
Then, with another seemingly effortless motion, he compressed atmospheric dust and debris into a moon-sized satellite that immediately began revolving around New Krypton like a dedicated guardian.
Just like that, a new world was born from space debris and raw stellar material.
"This makes me feel like an absolute fool," Jax-Ur muttered as he processed what he had witnessed.
The elderly scientist recalled how he and his compatriots had been fixated on attacking Earth, only to encounter Ben through pure chance. They had exerted every ounce of their military might but couldn't defeat him, and ultimately General Zod had perished without even setting foot on the planet they had planned to conquer. The entire campaign now seemed like an elaborate joke at their expense.
"I've isolated New Krypton from the broader Null Void Realm to prevent the harsh environmental conditions of the Abyss and the imprisoned entities from disturbing your people's development," Ben explained as he cancelled his transformation and secured the Infinity Stones.
Faora genuinely wanted to point out that the harsh environment of the Null Void Realm posed no significant threat to them anymore. After being empowered by yellow solar radiation, their physical capabilities were increasing exponentially, and they were no longer as dependent on precise environmental controls as their ancestors had been.
But she reconsidered, concluding that if the living conditions could be optimized, why wouldn't they take advantage of such luxury?
Besides, the prisoners contained within the Null Void Realm would indeed represent potential complications in the future.
After establishing the isolation barriers that separated New Krypton from the prison dimension's more dangerous elements, Ben transported all three Kryptonians into the planet's atmosphere using the space-time flywheel as a shuttle craft.
At this stage of development, the world's environment remained extraordinarily hostile to most forms of life. Massive crustal activity generated various toxic gases that diffused throughout the atmosphere, while surface temperatures exceeded one hundred degrees Celsius. The sky appeared blood-red through the haze of volcanic activity, and the landscape consisted entirely of scorched earth that resembled the most desolate desert regions imaginable.
A completely lifeless world, devoid of even the most basic organic compounds.
Even though Ben had adjusted the planet's fundamental environmental parameters to conditions that could theoretically support life, it would probably require trillions of years plus numerous chance evolutionary events for the first single-celled organisms to emerge through natural processes.
But with Ben's direct intervention, the timeline became dramatically different.
He withdrew the Reality Stone from his collection.
In the next moment, across this barren wasteland, crimson rivers began flowing through newly carved channels, gleaming cities rose from the bare rock, and within the span of heartbeats an entire urban complex materialized before their eyes.
"This is nothing short of miraculous!" Jax-Ur exclaimed, his eyes widening with scientific amazement.
He had lived for countless centuries and had never witnessed anything comparable to this display. Being able to alter reality through pure thought represented truly divine capabilities.
But just as he was about to reach out and touch those exquisite architectural structures, Ben restrained his hand with a warning gesture.
"These are merely illusions," Ben clarified patiently. "The Reality Stone only distorts your sensory perception, making you believe that everything before you is genuine, but in fact it possesses no substance. If you want to truly modify reality on a permanent basis, you need tremendous energy to support the transformation."
The truth was that Ben could only accomplish this much without transforming into one of his more powerful alien forms.
But if he had been utilizing any of his cosmically-enhanced transformations, he would have been able to channel the gem's power to instantly reshape the reality of the entire planet.
Before the Infinity Stones formed a complete circuit of unlimited power, their effectiveness depended entirely on the strength and capabilities of their wielder.
The energy of the Space Stone bloomed brilliantly at this moment, becoming the power source for the Reality Stone's more substantial effects. The Aether particles suddenly erupted in magnificent light, and matter began decomposing and reorganizing itself according to Ben's will. A genuinely functional city was indeed born from the convergence of space forces.
But that represented the limit of what he was willing to accomplish through direct intervention.
In truth, Ben could have used the gems' combined energy or transformed into Ultimate forms to reshape the entire planet in a single gesture, but he deliberately chose not to pursue that approach. If he arranged everything for the Kryptonians without their participation, it would actually prove detrimental to their civilization's long-term development.
When the new generation of Kryptonians matured and used their own hands to create and modify their world, they would develop a much deeper emotional connection to their homeland.
This philosophy represented Ben's consistent approach to leadership.
He was the King of Sakaar and the Supreme Commander of the Plumbers, but he never arranged every detail of their societies for them.
If he had actually operated that way, then everyone from Primus Technologies on Earth to the Kryptonian remnants to the Plumbers organization and even the Nine Realms would approach him with every minor problem, and he wouldn't have time for anything else.
A technologically advanced city now stood in the middle of the desert wasteland. Such a gleaming metropolis appeared dramatically incongruous within this environment, towering skyscrapers rose in majestic formations, though they were partially obscured by swirling dust and sand. Yet they still radiated the unmistakable light of civilization, like humanity's last hope preserved within a post-apocalyptic wasteland.
Ben also established an energy barrier around the city to isolate it from the harsh environmental conditions that were still undergoing dramatic changes across the rest of the planet.
Now the urban area became clean and habitable.
Then he stored the Infinity Stones, manipulated the Omnitrix interface several times, and transformed into Solarion.
Simultaneously, the Codex that contained the genetic records of all Kryptonian lineages was materialized according to Ben's precise specifications.
"Let's proceed to the life chamber," he announced.
The gestation facility was located within the space-time flywheel itself. Organic structures resembling tangled vines supported fruit-like incubation pods, creating formations that resembled enormous clusters of luminescent grapes. The entire chamber was filled with specialized nutrient solutions, and from a distance the arrangement looked like massive wisteria flowers or grape clusters. In reality, these represented artificial wombs designed to nurture new life.
"The nutrients in this solution expired long ago," Ben observed, gesturing toward the ancient fluid that had been stagnant for tens of thousands of years.
He instructed them to drain the obsolete culture medium completely, then replaced it with fresh solutions that had been prepared on Sakaar using the most advanced biotechnology available. After that process was complete, he ventured alone into the deepest section of the facility and integrated the Codex with every nutrient delivery system that would nourish developing life.
"Now comes the genetic editing phase," he announced.
The new Kryptonians required individual freedom and autonomy, but he still needed to personally program the genetic foundation for the first generation of their species.
Gender, occupation, natural talents... Creating all the components necessary for a complete social structure represented an enormous undertaking, but fortunately the artificial intelligence Azmuth could assist him in completing the portions with standardized genetic sequences. Ben only needed to establish proper distinctions and embed fundamental programming into all genetic templates: loyalty to the Plumbers and loyalty to himself personally.
There was no doubt that natural reproduction would bring tremendous possibilities to New Krypton's future development, encompassing both beneficial and potentially problematic outcomes.
When life possessed strong autonomous will, there would always be some extreme and rebellious individuals who emerged.
Ben wasn't naive enough to believe that every Kryptonian born would automatically become a virtuous person.
"The Kryptonians are too powerful and must have built-in restraints," he concluded pragmatically.
If General Zod could have heard this statement, he would have reacted like a tailed beast being restrained by an overwhelming force. Tell me again, whose power is supposedly too strong?
Ben didn't inform anyone present when he compiled these genetic restrictions, but the three surviving Kryptonians raised no objections to the concept, since they considered such precautions to be absolutely fundamental.
With yellow solar radiation, Kryptonians possessed virtually unlimited potential for growth. One or two individuals would be manageable, but if an entire species of Superman-level beings were established here, it wouldn't be impossible for them to sweep across the universe through sheer force. Moreover, this location existed within the Null Void Realm. If a genuine traitor emerged who could rally countless Kryptonians to repay kindness with betrayal, the consequences would be catastrophic.
No matter how many flaws the original Krypton had possessed, there was one absolutely certain truth: there had never been anyone who truly betrayed their homeworld.
That loyalty needed to be preserved and enhanced.
After completing the fundamental genetic programming, the remainder of the development process could be delegated to Azmuth's oversight. Ben freed himself from these responsibilities and prepared to revive the species of Void Beasts within the Zero Realm. He also copied alien genetic templates from the Omnitrix and prepared to transfer them to his delegate consciousness.
"The alien genetic templates I've copied are essentially blank slates," he mused aloud while examining the data. "Should I add an Ultimate Evolution plugin to increase their combat effectiveness?"
Ben rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he considered the implications.
Replicating a functional Omnitrix within a short timeframe wasn't a simple task, even when focusing only on basic transformation capabilities. Adding the Ultimate Evolution enhancement would make the project significantly more complicated.
But if he didn't include that upgrade, for reasons he couldn't entirely articulate, he felt a persistent sense of unease. His long-dormant spider-sense was generating subtle warnings, not indicating immediate danger, but suggesting that something significant was approaching.
"Could this be related to the multiverse crisis?" he wondered.
Ben had no clear answers for the moment, but in other universes, a brutal hunt had been ongoing for hundreds of years and was intensifying with each passing day.
Because of these multiversal disturbances, the spider totem connected to his essence, which usually remained completely silent, was transmitting subtle signals, attempting to communicate a urgent message: The slaughter has arrived!
Parallel Universe - Earth-65
In the sky above the distinctive architectural landscape of New York City, a slender pink and white figure soared between towering buildings like a graceful fairy, attracting excited attention from countless pedestrians who stopped to watch her aerial ballet.
Behind her, the urgent wailing of police sirens followed in close pursuit.
"Maybe someone has forgotten exactly who I am," Gwen said with amused confidence as she swung through the air with movements that resembled classical ballet choreography.
She recited the classic opening sequence that seemed mandatory for every Spider-Person's story: "Okay, let's try this again." She stepped lightly onto a building's edge, leaped upward with perfect form, and executed a flawless 360-degree rotation in mid-air to avoid the throwing weapons and bullets that emerged from shadowy concealment.
"My name is Gwen Stacy. I was bitten by a radioactive spider, and for the past two years, I've been this dimension's only Spider-Woman. But I failed to save my best friend Peter Parker. I was lost and confused and made a complete mess of everything until I met him."
"A magical boy who brought good fortune into my life."
Gwen bounded up the side of a skyscraper, covering hundreds of meters in just two or three graceful steps like a butterfly dancing on air. She kicked through reinforced glass, swiftly incapacitated several Hand ninjas who had been lying in ambush within the building, then leaped out through the opposite side. With a flick of her wrist, a long pink energy web shot out like a striking serpent, ensnaring the winged figure who was attempting to escape several hundred meters away.
Then she pulled her arm back sharply, using her momentum to reel in the Vulture who had been trying to flee the scene.
Multiple web-lines shot out simultaneously and instantly adhered to the turbines powering the Vulture's mechanical wings. The bound criminal plummeted from the sky toward the street below, where a dozen police cars screeched to simultaneous stops and formed a protective perimeter around the landing zone.
Captain Stacy emerged from his vehicle with service weapon drawn, though his expression showed more paternal exasperation than genuine hostility. Gwen couldn't help but raise her hands in mock surrender, channeling her most innocent tone: "Don't shoot, officer! I'm one of the good guys!"
She contorted her lithe body with exaggerated submission while speaking in a voice so sweet it could have been mistaken for playful flirtation.
"You know I would never actually do that," Captain Stacy sighed with obvious helplessness regarding his uniquely challenging daughter.
But regardless of their personal relationship, the person before him was still legally Spider-Woman, a vigilante operating outside official authority.
"Thank you for your assistance, Spider-Woman," he said with professional courtesy. "Now please transfer custody of the criminal to our department."
"Damn Spider-Woman! You're actually cooperating with the police!" the Vulture cursed, though no one paid attention to his complaints.
After confirming that the Vulture could no longer offer resistance, Captain Stacy holstered his sidearm and approached Gwen to apply restraints, while whispering quietly in her ear: "Are you planning to come home for dinner tonight?"
"No, the band has rehearsal scheduled today," Gwen replied with a shake of her head, delivering a dismissive kick to the Vulture's posterior.
But Captain Stacy wasn't ready to give up. He stuffed the still-cursing criminal into the back of a patrol car, then turned and silently mouthed words to Gwen from a distance. Though he made no sound, she easily understood his lip-reading message: "That's fine. I have to work overtime anyway. See you this evening."
Gwen leaped gracefully and returned to the rooftop level of the surrounding buildings.
Since returning from her interdimensional adventure, Gwen had been encouraged by Ben's advice and had finally decided to reveal the truth about her secret identity to Captain Stacy.
Just as Ben had predicted, after initial shock and concern, her father had ultimately accepted the reality and chosen to trust her judgment.
Because of this breakthrough, she no longer had to treat the police as adversaries while pursuing criminals. Instead, she had established a cooperative relationship with law enforcement that allowed her personal life and superhero career to finally achieve balance. She felt so much better about everything that even her physical development had accelerated noticeably.
"Just like you said, everything would be different after meeting you," Gwen murmured as she watched the police convoy disappear into traffic.
Her heart felt as sweet as if she had consumed pure honey, though there was also a note of melancholy mixed with that sweetness.
Her brow furrowed with concern that hadn't entirely disappeared. Her right hand gripped the pink and white dimensional device on her left wrist, Ben's parting gift, while a hollow ache expanded in her chest.
"But you clearly promised you would come find me, and you haven't appeared for such a long time," she said with mounting sadness.
She sighed heavily, then made a show of clenching her fist and waving it threateningly at the empty air, deciding that if Ben dared to make her wait much longer, she would make him pay the next time they met!
"I'll punish him by making him hold me in his arms all night without moving! And he won't be allowed to look away either!"
She was no longer the small, developing girl she had been during their first meeting. Adolescent young women experienced rapid physical changes.
Just as Gwen was indulging in these vindictive fantasies, the familiar tingling sensation of her spider-sense made every hair on her body stand on end with alarm. She spun around suddenly and saw a glowing dimensional portal opening behind her, with a shadowy figure slowly emerging from the luminous passage.
Gwen's heart immediately leaped with joy, assuming that her beloved had finally come to visit her, so she launched herself forward with excitement. But she quickly realized something was fundamentally wrong about the approaching figure.
"You're not Ben! Who are you?!" she demanded with growing alarm.
"You may call me..." The man who stepped from the portal possessed a tall, imposing frame and wore what appeared to be an expensive suit, though it looked somewhat worn and shabby. His head was encased in yellow metallic material that completely concealed his facial features.
The Inheritors known as Karn raised his energy spear with deadly precision and hurled it directly at Gwen with tremendous force. But her spider-sense seemed to malfunction completely, providing no warning whatsoever of the approaching attack.
The weapon streaked through the air toward her with lethal intent, and Gwen realized with growing horror that she was facing something far more dangerous than any criminal she had ever encountered.