"Such powerful mystical energy reminds me of an annoying individual," Benzarro observed, his tone suggesting complex emotions beneath the surface decay.
Though his words claimed disgust, his expression somehow didn't match the sentiment—carrying undertones of something resembling nostalgic fondness.
"A garrulous, bookworm sorceress who talks incessantly like an old woman with bound feet rambling about ancient customs!"
Before he could complete the insult, a clear voice emerged from nearby. A woman wrapped in flowing blue robes slowly materialized from the dust raised by recent combat, revealing a tired but excited face.
"You're not talking about me, are you, you doofus?!" she called out.
"And who is she?" Pietro immediately asked, analyzing tactical implications. "Judging from how enthusiastically they're greeting each other, could they be enemies?"
"Oh, what a pleasure to meet you!" Benzarro raised the volume of each syllable dramatically, his questioning tone absolutely dripping with heavy sarcasm.
"Someone apparently thinks we get along wonderfully well. Don't you find that ridiculous, Gwen?" the zombie asked mockingly.
"Yeah, their tiny brains must be overheated from the battle," Gwen responded, her tone shifting from relaxed familiarity to icy fury. "How could I possibly get along well with someone like you—someone who killed my grandfather!"
She suddenly swung her left arm with violent intent.
Beneath the concealing cloak, dozens of ancient talismans flew outward and hovered before her, arranging themselves in a pattern resembling stellar constellations.
I want to kill you!
"That's the Charm of Bezel!" Wanda's eyes widened with genuine shock.
Not some corrupted demonic artifact like those wielded by Chthon's servants, but a genuine mystical focus capable of controlling an entire dimensional realm of magical energy!
"So the master of that alternate mystical dimension I sensed was her!" Wanda realized with sudden clarity.
Before she could fully process the implications, Gwen had already uttered an obscure incantation, connecting the Charm of Bezel with dozens of supplementary talismans to amplify its fundamental power exponentially.
"Binding Spell: Restraint!" Gwen invoked.
Magical radiance blazed like captured sunlight.
"I'll assist!" Wanda rushed forward. "Sprite's Shadow Multiplication!"
She replicated herself countless times, numerous identical Wandas emerging from her original body like cells dividing.
"Ditto's abilities?" Benzarro registered surprise before tens of thousands of Wandas simultaneously raised their hands, unleashing cascading waves of bright crimson energy ribbons.
"Bands of Cyttorak Binding!"
SNAP!
The mystical restraints pulled taut, and within seconds the zombie was wrapped like a dumpling prepared for cooking—completely immobilized.
Even Gwen appeared genuinely surprised by the efficiency.
Years of intensive training and mastery of advanced spellcasting had made her mystical energy reserves stronger than Wanda's baseline capabilities. But she recognized herself as somewhat inferior in spell versatility and creative application.
She'd inherited magical knowledge from multiple sources—the wisdom and incantations of ancient Earth civilizations stretching back millennia. But those teachings paled in comparison to the magic systems of the Nine Realms, the spells of eternal cosmic beings, and the dark sorcery accumulated by countless dimensional demons across infinite realities.
"Ben taught me this particular spell," Wanda explained, noticing Gwen's confusion.
"Ben?" Gwen was momentarily taken aback before quickly realizing the reference wasn't to the hopeless Benzarro before her.
"Your version of Ben is actually competent? I genuinely envy you." She didn't display obvious sadness, but her words carried profound helplessness and regret. "I never expected that idiot would possess such capabilities. I always assumed he deliberately looked down on mystical arts as inferior."
"I don't look down on magic," the bound zombie protested, though his tone remained oddly gentle despite circumstances.
He knew Gwen's comments targeted him specifically, but he merely smiled faintly. "I simply believe the Omnitrix represents superior methodology. Like this!"
Green light flashed brilliantly.
The towering NRG warrior incinerated Cyttorak's mystical bands with scorching nuclear radiation, then shot straight into the atmosphere. His palms spread wide, covering the battlefield below as atomic energy poured forth like solar plasma!
It resembled an entire star falling from the heavens!
"What IS that thing?! Buzz Lightyear's evil twin?!" Peter screamed in genuine terror.
"That's NRG—can't you transform into it yourself?" Gwen had mistaken Peter for Ben from Wanda's universe, assuming identical Omnitrix.
But there was no time for detailed explanations. She rapidly constructed a mystical barrier using pure Mana, while Wanda and E.U.N.I.C.E. immediately channeled their considerable energies to reinforce the shield.
Even combined, the protective energy fell dangerously short of requirements.
"He seems significantly stronger than previous encounters!" Gwen said through gritted teeth, strain evident in every syllable.
The Mana barrier continuously developed spreading fractures—spiderweb cracks threatening imminent catastrophic failure.
"Perhaps because he devoured my Arc Reactor," Tony observed grimly, his expression suggesting he'd just solved an unpleasant equation.
Friday had immediately analyzed NRG's composition. The entity resembled machinery but was actually some form of nuclear-powered life form—a living reactor.
This is all YOUR fault! Pietro's expression communicated clearly before he kicked Tony hard for emphasis.
"It should be manageable—NRG's physical durability is extremely poor. He can't maintain this output indefinitely," Gwen attempted reassurance.
"That was accurate before he consumed the Arc Reactor," Tony said with profound despair coloring his voice.
The current NRG was essentially medically enhanced—combining overwhelming power with previously impossible endurance.
"No wonder his head looks so pointed and phallic," Peter observed with inappropriate timing.
"Can't you DO something useful?!" Pietro demanded as he watched protective barrier layers systematically shatter.
He grabbed Peter by the shoulders, shaking him desperately like an anxious ant on a hot griddle. "Transform into something effective!"
"What exactly do you expect me to accomplish?!"
"Upgrade! Summon your slimy technological slug!" Pietro wanted to fight enhanced aliens with enhanced aliens. "Have him consume our universe's Tony's Arc Reactor technology, then fuse with some kind of infinite-energy transformation to match that thing!"
"Hey!" Tony protested.
"Absolutely not!" Peter shook his head with decisive finality.
"I can't maintain the barrier much longer!" Gwen announced, her eyes clenched tightly shut, every cell straining against impossible forces.
"Quickly transform into Feedback! The electrical absorption alien!"
"Feedback?" Peter repeated uncertainly.
"Or AmpFibian, the electric jellyfish! Anything capable of energy absorption!" Gwen's voice carried desperate urgency. "As long as you can drain his power!"
"I'll try!"
Peter frantically manipulated the Omnitrix, cycling through available transformations at maximum speed.
But time had already run out.
NRG redirected energy output to absolute maximum intensity—sufficient to pierce planetary crusts—and the concentrated beam descended like divine judgment, shattering the Mana barrier like popping a fragile soap bubble.
CRACK!
A silent, crystalline sound of catastrophic failure.
"Finally, this annoying resistance ends—wait, what?" Benzarro's triumphant declaration cut off abruptly.
He suddenly felt that all released energy had completely missed its intended targets. Instead, it seemed as though someone had inserted an extraction tube directly into his power core, continuously draining his output.
"That's... Eatle!!"
Beneath the energy beam, a dark beetle-like creature stood bipedally, its mouth—occupying nearly half its total body mass—stretched impossibly wide, voraciously consuming all incoming radiation.
Simultaneously, crimson energy flashed like warning indicators on the horn protruding from the alien's head.
The immense absorbed power distorted local spacetime and gravity fields.
"HA! HAHA!" Tony laughed with manic relief.
"You wanted him to eat Arc Reactor technology?!"
"Well, our living energy turret is about to fire RIGHT BACK AT YOU!"
Counterattack
The reversal began immediately!
All consumed energy concentrated and reversed, burning like a newborn star between Eatle's rhinoceros-beetle-like horns!
BOOM!!!
The released energy discharge was so tremendous that recoil literally welded Peter's feet into the ground, the Oryctini transformation unable to compensate for physics.
Earth collapsed and compressed beneath high-density energy output, forming terrible impact craters that spread outward in concentric rings.
If their Plumber suits hadn't incorporated Vibranium weaving, the aftershock alone would have pulverized their serum-enhanced internal organs!
The redirected beam struck NRG squarely in the chest almost instantaneously.
CRACK!!
The translucent containment shell shattered with a tremendous fracture, and surging dark purple energy began leaking catastrophically—the zombie's corrupted nuclear radiation manifesting as sickly purplish-black rather than healthy orange.
NRG's massive armored body collapsed backward, the giant form crashing down.
Incredible!
Peter clenched his fist with excitement, adrenaline surging through every nerve.
"If I can absorb unlimited energy and return it at double intensity, what could possibly defeat me?!"
"I'm INVINCIBLE!"
Beyond the raw power, he could also sense the Oryctini's incredible innate strength—physical power resembling an actual rhinoceros beetle, capable of lifting masses many times its own weight with those distinctive horns.
"Strange... why doesn't Ben use such an obviously useful transformation more frequently?" Peter wondered aloud, sudden unease creeping through his excitement.
But Benzarro answered the question through direct demonstration.
"Of course it's because of THIS vulnerability!"
NRG had somehow repositioned directly in front of Peter, and though energy continuously leaked from the chest breach, the damage seemed functionally irrelevant.
The giant radioactive hand descended like divine judgment, cleaving off the horn on Upchuck's head in a single devastating blow!
"KID!" Tony's heart lurched sickeningly, and he immediately attempted using every available weapon to bombard NRG's exposed core.
But the zombie was faster—infinitely faster.
Just like the Jurassic World Indominus Rex crushing a helicopter between its jaws, NRG compressed Tony's entire suit into a crumpled mass of scrap metal!
Immediately afterward, he unleashed another maximum-intensity energy pulse, the radiation instantly engulfing everyone still standing.
Every hero attempting intervention was simultaneously blown away by the shockwave.
"Well, Gwen... speaking technically, I learned my combat techniques from you originally," Benzarro observed with disturbing casualness.
"I didn't teach you how to systematically exterminate humanity," Gwen replied flatly.
She'd fallen to her knees but had managed to teleport everyone behind her protective position during that critical instant.
However, the translocation magic consumed tremendous Mana reserves, and she was already approaching complete exhaustion.
This wasn't the genuine Charm of Bezel's full power, after all—just a fragment of its capabilities.
She glanced at the group behind her. Tony Stark's body was twisted grotesquely, his armor resembling a crushed aluminum can. Peter had deactivated his transformation—his head remained attached, but a massive gash across his forehead suggested his skull had been partially opened. Yet somehow they both clung to consciousness.
We can't win.
Even with another Omnitrix wielder assisting, victory remained impossible...
Gwen felt genuine despair settling into her bones.
At that precise moment, a sharp voice rang out across the battlefield.
"Looks like this isn't quite the opportunity you were anticipating, Gwen Tennyson."
At the crater's edge, the silhouette of a giant mutated frog emerged. An indistinct human figure stood atop the amphibian's back, his laboratory coat fluttering dramatically in the wind.
Peter slapped his forehead in frustration, realized he couldn't actually reach the injury anymore, and immediately surrendered to despair.
"I must be dying from blood loss. Otherwise, how could I possibly be hallucinating Jiraiya from Naruto?!"
The giant frog suddenly leaped hundreds of meters vertically before crash-landing in the crater's center, revealing an elderly, bluish-tinted face with distinctive features.
"Jiraiya? What nonsense are you babbling, you disrespectful brat!" the figure snapped indignantly. "You should address me as Dr. Animo!"
"Wait—YOU?!" Peter gasped, recognizing the dimensional threat.
"Dr. Animo, who wants to transform the entire world into a prehistoric ecosystem?!" His expression suggested circumstances had somehow gotten worse.
"You're remarkably well-informed, young man!" Animo responded smugly, clearly pleased by the recognition.
"But my perfect prehistoric world contains no shambling corpses like these! I refuse to allow such filthy abominations to defile my beloved prehistoric creatures!"
"You're not abandoning your obsession yet, Animo?" Benzarro asked with profound weariness.
If Animo could genuinely develop medicine to cure the zombie virus, that would actually benefit everyone—including the infected Ben himself.
But such achievement was impossible. Even Azmuth couldn't accomplish that miracle.
"I WILL prove my supreme intelligence!" Animo declared. "Not today, obviously."
He gestured casually, and a massive prehistoric bird descended from the sky, its talons gently grasping Gwen, Wanda, and E.U.N.I.C.E. before ascending slowly. Simultaneously, the giant frog extended its tongue, rolling the remaining heroes together before depositing them in its cavernous mouth.
"Right now, I simply intend to evacuate them from this doomed reality."
"You cannot stop me, Tennyson."
Animo had assessed everything accurately: "That core breach in your chest continues leaking radiation. NRG cannot maintain operational status much longer, correct?"
Benzarro glanced at the prehistoric creatures flanking Animo, then looked upward at the approaching alternate Earth, and silently stepped aside—clearing the path.
"What purpose does evacuating them serve?" he asked with genuine curiosity rather than hostility.
"Seven hours remain until both worlds achieve mutual destruction."
"That particular problem doesn't concern you anymore," Animo replied cryptically, already departing with his rescued cargo.
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