For several seconds, nobody spoke.
The Kree fleet was gone.
Not damaged.
Not regrouping.
Gone.
The sky above Manhattan was suddenly almost empty.
Smoke drifted between the buildings.
Sirens echoed through the streets.
Broken glass covered the roads.
People were slowly coming out of hiding.
And in the middle of all of it stood Ben.
Staring at the Omnitrix.
Peter walked over.
"Ben?"
No response.
Peter waved a hand in front of his face.
"Earth to Ben."
Ben blinked.
"Sorry."
"You okay?"
Ben looked down at his hands.
"I don't know."
Peter frowned.
"That isn't an answer."
"I know."
Ben looked toward the sky.
"The Kree were scared."
Carol crossed her arms.
"They've been scared of something before."
Ben turned toward her.
"Something like this?"
Carol shook her head.
"No."
Tony walked over.
His armor was damaged in several places.
He looked at the remains of the street.
"Can someone explain why the alien army that was threatening to destroy New York suddenly ran away?"
Nobody answered.
Tony looked around.
"Seriously?"
Clark landed beside him.
"We don't know."
Tony looked at him.
"And you are?"
"Clark Kent."
Tony stared.
"Reporter?"
"Yes."
Tony looked at Ben.
"Is everyone in this city secretly something?"
Ben shrugged.
"Pretty much."
Tony sighed.
"Fantastic."
Peter looked at Ben.
"So what now?"
Ben looked toward the damaged buildings.
"First, we help."
Peter nodded.
"That I can do."
Tony pointed toward the city.
"Already called emergency services."
Ben looked at him.
"You did?"
Tony shrugged.
"I'm not completely irresponsible."
Peter whispered:
"Debatable."
Tony's head turned.
"I heard that."
Peter froze.
Ben smiled.
"Spider-hearing?"
Peter immediately looked away.
Tony stared at him.
Then at Ben.
Then back at Peter.
"Interesting."
Peter swallowed.
"Very."
Tony smiled slightly.
"I'll remember that."
Peter looked at Ben.
"We need to leave."
Ben nodded.
"Definitely."
An Hour Later
The fighting had stopped.
Emergency crews had arrived.
The Avengers hadn't officially formed yet, but several people were already coordinating rescue operations.
Ben stood on a rooftop with Peter.
Below them, firefighters moved through the streets.
Peter pulled his mask off.
"I hate alien invasions."
Ben laughed.
"You've only experienced one."
"Exactly."
Peter sat down.
Ben joined him.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Peter looked at him.
"You were scared."
Ben glanced over.
"What?"
"During the fight."
Ben looked away.
"Yeah."
Peter nodded.
"You usually don't show it."
"I was trying not to."
Peter smiled.
"You don't have to hide it from me."
Ben looked at him.
"I know."
A quiet moment passed.
Peter looked toward the damaged skyline.
"What happens now?"
Ben leaned back.
"I don't know."
"That bothers you."
"A lot."
Peter nodded.
"You always have a plan."
"Not this time."
Peter smiled.
"Maybe that's okay."
Ben looked at him.
"Since when are you the wise one?"
"Since five minutes ago."
Ben laughed.
"Fair."
The Private Dimension
Later that night, everyone gathered inside Ben's private dimension.
Eli sat on one of the couches.
Marcus was standing near the window.
Carol had changed into civilian clothes.
Peter was eating.
A lot.
Tony stood near the laboratory entrance.
Clark was beside him.
Ben looked around.
"This is getting crowded."
Peter swallowed.
"That's your fault."
"I know."
Tony looked around.
"So…"
He pointed toward the enormous laboratory.
"This is your place?"
Ben nodded.
"Yeah."
Tony stared at the equipment.
"How much of this did you build?"
"Most of it."
Tony smiled.
"Interesting."
Ben immediately knew that look.
"No."
Tony frowned.
"I didn't even ask anything."
"You were going to."
"I was going to ask if I could look around."
"No."
Tony smiled.
"Definitely interesting."
Peter looked at Ben.
"You realize he's not going to stop."
"I know."
Tony walked toward one of the consoles.
Ben stepped in front of him.
Tony stopped.
"You're protective."
"Yes."
"Of the equipment?"
"Of everything."
Tony nodded.
"That I understand."
For a brief moment, the two simply looked at each other.
Two geniuses.
Two very different personalities.
Neither backed down.
Peter quietly whispered to Clark.
"Is this normal?"
Clark smiled.
"I have no idea."
Carol placed a cup on the table.
"We need to talk about the Kree."
Ben nodded.
Everyone became quiet.
Carol looked at him.
"What happened tonight wasn't normal."
Ben leaned forward.
"Tell us."
Carol took a breath.
"The Kree don't retreat easily."
Tony crossed his arms.
"Yet they ran."
"Exactly."
Clark asked:
"Why?"
Carol looked at Ben.
"Because they were afraid."
Ben frowned.
"Of what?"
Carol shook her head.
"I don't know."
Ben stared at her.
"You must have some idea."
"I have theories."
"Tell us."
Carol hesitated.
"The Kree have enemies."
Tony raised an eyebrow.
"Obviously."
"I'm not talking about normal enemies."
Carol looked toward the window.
"There are things out there that even the Kree don't understand."
Ben's expression hardened.
"Like what?"
"I don't know their names."
"Then what do you know?"
Carol looked at him.
"They're old."
"How old?"
"Older than civilizations."
The room became quiet.
Tony's expression changed.
"That sounds reassuring."
Carol ignored him.
"The Kree call them different things depending on the region and the time period."
Ben leaned forward.
"What's the most common name?"
Carol looked directly at him.
"The Devourers."
Peter stopped eating.
"That's… not ominous at all."
Marcus nodded.
"Definitely a friendly name."
Ben ignored them.
"What do they do?"
Carol answered quietly.
"They consume energy."
Ben's expression changed.
"Energy?"
"Stars."
Tony frowned.
"Stars?"
Carol nodded.
"Planets. Artificial energy sources. Sometimes entire systems."
Eli looked nervous.
"Then why come to Earth?"
Carol looked at him.
"Because something here attracted them."
Everyone looked at Ben.
Ben sighed.
"Of course."
Tony pointed toward him.
"Is this where you tell us that your alien watch is basically a giant cosmic dinner bell?"
Ben looked at the Omnitrix.
"I really hope not."
The Laboratory
Lyra appeared beside Ben.
She looked at the gathered group.
"You have acquired several new visitors."
Tony looked at her.
"Who is she?"
Ben answered.
"Lyra."
Tony nodded.
"Employee?"
"No."
"AI?"
"No."
"Alien?"
"No."
Tony frowned.
"Then what?"
Lyra smiled.
"Complicated."
Tony looked at Ben.
"Everyone around you uses that word."
Ben shrugged.
"It works."
Lyra turned toward the main screen.
"I have analyzed the dimensional disturbance."
Ben walked over.
"What did you find?"
"The Kree portal was not an invasion gateway."
Ben frowned.
"Then what was it?"
"A warning."
The room became quiet.
Ben stared at the screen.
"From whom?"
Lyra enlarged the energy pattern.
"The same entity that contacted the Omnitrix."
Tony stepped closer.
"You've identified it?"
"Partially."
Ben looked at the data.
"What does partially mean?"
"It means I know what it isn't."
Ben sighed.
"Fantastic."
Lyra continued.
"It is not Kree."
"Obviously."
"It is not human."
"Also obvious."
"It is not from outside this universe."
Ben stopped.
"What?"
Lyra looked at him.
"The energy signature originates from within Earth-616."
Ben stared.
"So the thing is already here."
"Yes."
Carol's expression became serious.
"Where?"
Lyra shook her head.
"I cannot determine its exact location."
Tony frowned.
"Then what can you determine?"
Lyra brought up a map.
Three locations appeared.
New York.
The Pacific Ocean.
And—
India.
Ben stared.
"India again."
Peter looked at him.
"That's the second time."
Ben nodded.
"Yeah."
Tony looked at the map.
"What's in India?"
Ben shook his head.
"Not sure."
Carol looked at the signal.
"The energy pattern."
She pointed.
"That's not random."
Ben examined it.
"What do you mean?"
"It resembles something."
"What?"
Carol hesitated.
"Kree technology."
Ben looked at her.
"You're saying there's Kree technology in India?"
"Not exactly."
Carol pointed toward the signal.
"I'm saying whatever is there has interacted with Kree technology before."
Ben's expression changed.
"So they've been here."
"Possibly."
Peter looked at Ben.
"Then we have a lead."
Ben nodded.
"We do."
Marcus stepped forward.
"Are we going?"
Ben looked at him.
"Not tonight."
Marcus frowned.
"Why?"
"Because we don't know what we're walking into."
Peter smiled.
"Responsible Ben."
Ben looked at him.
"Don't ruin it."
The Next Morning
Ben woke up in his room.
For once, there was no emergency.
No alien attack.
No explosions.
No mysterious signals.
He stared at the ceiling.
"Finally."
His phone rang.
Ben reached for it.
Peter.
He answered.
"What?"
Peter's voice came through.
"School."
Ben closed his eyes.
"Oh."
"You forgot?"
"No."
"You definitely forgot."
Ben sat up.
"I've had a busy week."
"You fought aliens."
"Exactly."
"You still have homework."
Ben stared at the wall.
"That's worse."
Peter laughed.
"Get ready."
Midtown High
The school looked almost normal.
Almost.
Students were talking about the attack.
Phones were out everywhere.
Videos of the Kree ships were already circulating online.
Some were fake.
Some were real.
Ben walked through the hallway beside Peter.
Ned approached them.
"Guys!"
Peter smiled.
"Hey, Ned."
"Did you see the news?"
Ben nodded.
"Yeah."
"They're saying aliens attacked New York!"
Peter looked at Ben.
Ben looked at Peter.
Ned continued.
"And apparently some flying guy saved a bunch of people."
Peter tried not to react.
Ned pointed at the screen.
"Look!"
Ben glanced at it.
A blurry image of Clark appeared on someone's phone.
Ned stared.
"Who is that?"
Ben shrugged.
"Don't know."
Peter coughed.
"Definitely don't know."
Ned looked suspicious.
"You two are acting weird."
Ben smiled.
"We're always weird."
Ned considered that.
"Fair."
The bell rang.
Students began moving toward class.
Peter stopped.
"Wait."
Ben turned.
"What?"
Peter looked toward the end of the hallway.
A student was standing there.
Watching them.
He looked normal.
Brown hair.
School uniform.
Backpack.
Nothing unusual.
Then the student smiled.
Ben's Omnitrix gave a quiet beep.
Ben froze.
Peter noticed.
"What?"
Ben looked at the student again.
The boy turned and walked away.
Ben's expression became serious.
"That's him."
Peter frowned.
"Who?"
Ben looked at the Omnitrix.
The display showed a single line.
UNKNOWN ENERGY SIGNATURE
PROXIMITY: 18 METERS
Ben looked toward the disappearing student.
The thing they had been searching for...
wasn't hiding in space.
Wasn't hiding in another dimension.
Wasn't hiding in some distant galaxy.
It was walking the same school halls as them.
Ben grabbed Peter's arm.
"Don't follow him."
Peter stared.
"Why?"
Ben looked at the crowded hallway.
"Because if I'm right…"
The Omnitrix beeped again.
Ben's face hardened.
"…he already knows we're here."
At the end of the hallway, the student stopped.
Without turning around, he spoke quietly.
"Ben Stuart."
Ben froze.
The boy continued walking.
"See you after school."
Peter stared at Ben.
"Okay."
He swallowed.
"That is officially creepy."
Ben watched the boy disappear around the corner.
For the first time, Ben realized something.
The enemy wasn't coming.
It had already arrived.