The tall, dark-haired boy shoved past the stunned crowd. He grabbed one man by the collar and shoved him toward the sidewalk, then kicked another bystander's shin to snap him out of his daze. "This isn't a livestream, genius-run!"
Finally jolted into reality most civilians scattered down the street though a few still clutched their phones, filming over their shoulders as they fled.
Gwen lowered her hand as the pink glow of her shield faded into sparks. Her eyes scanned the ruined statue, her expression grim. "To think the Plumber's distress signal would lead us here… Metro City of all places."
Kevin rejoined them, brushing dust from his jacket. He pressed his palm to the hood of their car, and his body shimmered as his skin transformed into the same glossy green metal. His other arm warped into a jagged steel hammer, he smirked. "And with DNAliens crawling around, looks like it wasn't a false alarm."
From the smoke, more DNAliens staggered forward, mottled gray bodies twitching unnaturally, claws dragging against broken asphalt. Their distorted faces locked on the three teenagers with feral madness.
Ben smirked. "Doesn't matter. We still need to save the Plumber who sent that signal." He twisted the Omnitrix's dial, locked onto a form and slammed it down.
K-CHUNK!
A burst of emerald light erupted, engulfing him. When it faded, Ben was gone replaced by a towering alien composed of glowing magma veins and volcanic rock. Fire leaked from cracks along his body, his eyes burning like molten gold.
"Alright, ugly," Heatblast growled, hurling a fireball that slammed into the nearest DNAlien, blasting it through a car window. "Let's turn up the heat!"
The street erupted into chaos. Gwen swept her hands outward, glyphs sparking to life, bolts of pink energy hammering into a DNAlien's chest. Kevin charged straight through the fray, his hammer-arm smashing one creature against the pavement with bone-cracking force.
"Careful!" Gwen shouted, throwing up another shield just as two DNAliens lunged at Kevin's blind side. They slammed into the barrier, hissing, before Kevin spun and flattened them with a wide swing.
"Ha! You think I need babysitting?" he barked, grinning as shards of concrete rained from the impact. "But seriously, where are these freaks even coming from?!"
Heatblast landed near the rubble of the statue, sweeping an arc of flame across three more DNAliens. Their bodies hissed as fire seared through them, leaving them writhing on the ground. "Don't care as long as they're between us and that distress signal, they're toast!"
The shrieks of DNAliens echoed—
And then, a new sound cut through the chaos.
WHRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.
The three froze, looking upward as seven dark silhouettes descended from the smoke above. They slammed onto the pavement with metallic weight, their red optics flaring like beacons.
Sentries.
They scanned the street in silence, movements sharp and deliberate. The DNAliens hissed but didn't attack, circling warily like predators sensing something new.
One Sentry stepped forward, its mechanical voice booming flat and cold:
"You three are ordered to remain where you are. Do not interfere, once containment is complete you will accompany us."
"Yeah," Heatblast muttered, cracking fire in his palms. His molten eyes narrowed as his stance shifting, preparing to launch a firebal. "I don't think so."
But before he could, Gwen quickly stepped in front of him, her arm raised. "Ben, Stop."
The fire crackled in his palms, but his molten eyes flicked toward her. "What? They just threatened us, Gwen!"
She look at him and said. "You do know those are GDN units, right? The Global Defense Network. And last time I checked—humans with powers stepping in where we're not authorized is restricted by law."
Ben hesitated, flames flickering lower. "…So what, we just let them get torn apart?"
Kevin grunted, his hammer-arm resting against his shoulder as he watched the Sentries form ranks. "Kinda sounds like her plan."
The lead Sentry raised its arm, red optics flashing as it addressed the DNAliens.
"Beings from afar. You stand upon the land of Earth. You will cease hostility and respec—"
SSSHHHLLLKKK!
A DNAlien spat twin streams of corrosive bile. The sizzling green liquid splattered across the Sentry's faceplate and chest. The alloy groaned, corroding in seconds. Sparks shot out as the machine staggered, its words garbling—
"Sys… tem… fail—"
CRASH!!
It collapsed in a heap, its chest eaten through. The DNAliens burst into mocking laughter.
"Pathetic tin shells."
"Is this what humans call warriors?"
The remaining six Sentries locked their arms forward. Their palms split open, charging with light.
FWOOOOOM!!
Concentrated energy blasts roared out, vaporizing a cluster of DNAliens in a fiery eruption. Charred bodies crumpled, and the air sizzled with ozone.
But the horde didn't falter.
One DNAlien lunged, claws scraping against a Sentry's leg. Another leapt onto its back, biting into its shoulder. The Sentry twisted violently, grabbed the alien with both hands, and hurled it into the ground so hard the asphalt cratered.
Another Sentry swung its massive fist like a hammer, smashing two DNAliens against a wall. It followed up with an arm-cannon shot, blasting a third into the rubble.
But the aliens swarmed like a tide.
A spitter arced a glob of acid at a Sentry's knee joint—KZZZZZT! Metal melted away and the bot stumbled. Another alien pounced, tearing out a bundle of sparking wires with its claws.
The machine screeched, then dropped to its knees before being dragged down under snapping jaws.
Two down.
"Useless metal men!" one DNAlien cackled, wiping ichor from its chin.
Ben clenched his fists, fire rising again. "This is insane—we can't just—"
But Gwen stopped him again, her voice carrying a thin smirk. "Let them be, Ben. They wanted the spotlight, remember? So let's see if they can handle it."
Kevin chuckled under his breath. "Cold but I like it."
The five remaining Sentries stood shoulder-to-shoulder, their bodies scorched and dented, optics burning brighter as their core reactors flared. They raised their arms in unison—
FWOOOOOM! FWOOOOOM!
Twin energy beams carved through the mob, shredding DNAliens by the dozens. Explosions rocked the street, fire and rubble flying as bodies were incinerated.
For a moment, the tide seemed to turn.
Then the next wave came twice as many. Crawling on all fours, scuttling over broken cars, sprinting across rooftops, an entire swarm descending on the Sentries.
The bots met them head-on. One caught a lunging alien midair, crushing its skull in its grip before swinging the corpse into three more. Another charged straight through the crowd, smashing DNAliens aside like ragdolls, its red optics blazing as it tore a spitter in half.
But numbers won over precision.
A pack of DNAliens swarmed one Sentry, clawing and spitting until its chestplate gave way, wires dangling. Another was tackled from behind, its optical feed sparking as its head was twisted and torn off, rolling across the street.
Sparks rained, two more down.
Now only three Sentries remained, dented and scarred, fighting tooth and nail against an unending tide. Their fists slammed, their beams roared, their frames smoked and sparked—
—but even their mechanical resolve couldn't hold forever.
And as the Sentries were dragged further into the chaos, some of the aliens finally turned their glowing eyes toward the three humans standing just beyond the fight.
"Those tin cans can't hold out forever," Kevin muttered. "Guess we're up."
"No kidding." Heatblast grinned, flames licking across his body.
Gwen clenched her fists, mana sparking between her palms. "Alright, keep them off the civilians."
The three surged forward.
Heatblast hurled a stream of fire, engulfing two DNAliens in a blazing inferno. They shrieked, writhing before crumbling into ash. Kevin barreled through another, his hammer-arm smashing it into a parked car with a sickening crunch. Gwen's hands glowed pink as she unleashed concussive blasts, knocking back two aliens before they could pounce on Heatblast's flank.
But for every one they knocked down, three more replaced it.
The Sentries fought alongside them for a moment, one grabbing a DNAlien mid-leap and slamming it into the concrete—but the swarm kept overwhelming. A spitter melted through another Sentry's shoulder joint, the machine collapsing under its own weight.
"They're too many!" Gwen shouted, throwing up a shield just in time as acid splattered against it, sizzling violently.
Heatblast gritted his teeth, flames building in his chest. "Then we burn them all!"
But before he could unleash another blast—
"Ben!" Gwen's head snapped toward the crowd.
Ben turned, and his blood ran cold. Past the chaos, a smaller pack of DNAliens—doglike, with elongated jaws and spindly limbs, skulked low, weaving past the frontline. They were fast… too fast.
And they weren't going for them.
They were going for the civilians.
The bystanders still recording on their phones screamed as the creatures sprinted at them, saliva hissing as it dripped from their fangs.
"Shit… Gwen!!" Ben barked, panic lacing his voice.
Gwen whipped around, mana flaring as she sprinted toward them. But she was too far. The DNAliens were already leaping fangs bared, claws outstretched, one about to bite down on a screaming man—
WHOOSH!!
A blur of red and white tore through the street like a lightning bolt.
SMASH!!
A gauntleted fist slammed into the lunging alien's skull, sending it flying across the pavement in a spray of sparks and ichor. The crowd gasped as the blur skidded to a stop, dust kicking up.
A figure stood tall in gleaming white-and-red armor, angular and sleek with alien circuitry glowing across its frame. Red energy pulsed in the visor of his helmet.
The civilians froze, phones still pointed recording every frame.
Even the DNAliens hesitated, hissing as their heads tilted at the newcomer.
Ben, Gwen, and Kevin stared too, caught off guard.
The armored figure rolled his shoulders, his voice distorted through the helmet, cool and sharp:
"Mind if I join the fun?"
_______
[A/N]: I'd like to clear up the two questions I've seen asked the most.
First: How can Dexter use an Ultralink if he doesn't have Turbo Energy?
It seems there's been a bit of misunderstanding about how Ultralinks work. Ultralinks are nanotech-based alien parasites created by Makino essentially a living liquid-metal computers with their own AI. They can bond with almost any host, whether organic or mechanical just like the monsters in the series, rewriting biology or programming to grant new abilities. To power themselves, they draw from the host's bioelectricity or surrounding energy sources. Turbo Energy isn't required for an Ultralink to function but when present it amplifies their power exponentially.
Second: Why include the Marvel universe when Dexter's world already has parodies of Marvel characters?
Simply put I just enjoy the idea. It's fun imagining scenarios like Hulk meeting Krunk and other crossovers and even though this is an AU, I based my Marvel inclusion on the Phineas and Ferb: Mission Marvel crossover, while adjusting the tone to be less goofy and fit the story's style.