Boom!!
In the vacuum of space, two silent bursts of fire lit up the Sanctuary and the giant battleship respectively.
Just as Nebula broke through the Sanctuary's blockade, the combined form of Thanos and Vilgax shot straight across the cosmic void and crashed down onto the deck of the giant battleship.
"Vilgax?"
The moment Bente saw Vilgax, he couldn't have been more shocked.
The Ancient One had told him that the barriers of the multiverse had grown fragile, and that people from the world of Ben 10 might cross over into this one.
Before this, he had already encountered Dr. Animo and Luhma.
Dr. Animo was dead by his hand, and Luhma had become a member of the Plumbers.
So seeing Vilgax wasn't all that strange. But seeing Vilgax together with Thanos? That was like running into a ghost.
To be honest, the flower-headed freak and the purple yam monster were actually kind of alike.
Both had towering builds and terrifying power. Both rampaged across the universe, making most of its factions tremble in fear.
One coveted his Infinity Stones. The other coveted his Omnitrix.
And just as Thanos had Ebony Maw, Vilgax had Psyphon, a similar advisor-type figure — except Ebony Maw was a double-crosser, whereas Psyphon was far more loyal by comparison.
"Still, I've got no idea how those two ended up teaming up."
Bente frowned slightly.
He didn't think Vilgax was the type to willingly bow to anyone else. And the reverse — that Thanos would submit to Vilgax — was even more preposterous.
Vilgax was the main villain of the first season of Ben 10, and even deep into the later arcs, he could still give Ben Tennyson enormous trouble. But in terms of raw power, he didn't yet qualify to be mentioned in the same breath as Thanos.
Of course, if it were the outline version of Vilgax, that would be a different story.
But one thing was certain: neither Thanos nor Vilgax was an easy opponent to deal with.
"I can't let the giant battleship turn into a battlefield."
Bente made his decision quickly.
The battleship was sturdy, but it wouldn't survive the three of them going all out. Besides, there were still quite a few Plumbers inside, and they were no match for Thanos and Vilgax.
Right now, Bente was the only true high-tier combatant within the battleship.
Originally, Loki could have counted as another, but he had given up Mjolnir and abandoned the Casket of Ancient Winters. His current strength was just average — he couldn't handle Vilgax.
"Loki, you stay on the ship and command the fleet."
"Don't worry." Loki flashed a gesture to show it was no problem.
Then, without hesitation, Bente slammed down the Omnitrix.
This time, he transformed into —
"Ghostfreak!"
At that moment, Thanos and Vilgax had just crashed onto the deck inside the giant battleship.
The battleship itself was equipped with an advanced gravity system. The moment they entered its gravity field, both Thanos and Vilgax found themselves walking across the hull as if on solid ground.
The extreme environment of space had no effect on them whatsoever.
Thanos was just about to blast open the battleship's outer shell when a phantasmal shadow surged up from beneath his feet. Bente's scythe-like claws struck at Thanos in a sudden ambush.
Clang!
Thanos reacted with lightning speed. The Tyrant's Blade was brought up to block with practiced ease, and the moment it met the claws, sparks flew.
The sneak attack had failed, but Bente wasn't annoyed. He simply sneered.
"Hey, Purple Spud and Stinky Squid-Face aren't welcome here."
Vilgax immediately shouted in shock:
"An Ectonurite?!"
The inverted skull, the body riddled with cracks, the single black eye drifting across it — everything about the creature screamed one thing to Vilgax: this was an Ectonurite, a species he knew all too well.
But then, just as quickly, his eyes locked onto the Omnitrix embedded within the fissures of Bente's body.
"The Omnitrix!"
Vilgax's crimson gaze narrowed, and even his voice grew agitated.
Just as he thought!
It really was the Omnitrix!
He clenched his fists. Every muscle fiber in his body writhed and tightened, twisting like tangled tree roots.
Even though the Omnitrix was embedded within Ghostfreak's body, Vilgax recognized it instantly.
His reaction actually surprised Thanos a little.
Even when Vilgax had lost to him, he hadn't lost his composure like this.
The Omnitrix?
What exactly was that thing?
Vilgax had never mentioned the Omnitrix's existence to him. Thanos was tempted to ask, but now was clearly not the time.
Because Bente's attack was already coming again!
Ghostfreak's gaze sharpened, and a beam of icy light erupted from that blood-red eye.
Whoosh!!
The laser shot towards Thanos and Vilgax. Thanos simply gripped his blade and cleaved the beam apart, then leapt forward. The Tyrant's Blade spun like a propeller as he brought it crashing down towards Bente.
Whoosh!!
The blade's flash sliced through the air. In an instant, Ghostfreak was split cleanly in two — yet Thanos felt as though he had cut through nothing but air, with no resistance at all.
When he looked at Bente again, the other seemed entirely unbothered.
"An illusion?"
Thanos was taken aback, thinking the Bente before him was merely a phantasmal image. But the very next moment, Ghostfreak's scythe-claw raked across Thanos's cheek.
Slaaash —
A vivid trail of blood instantly bloomed across Thanos's face.
"Nice reflexes. I was aiming for your head."
Bente's tone was almost complimentary as he addressed Thanos.
Originally, Thanos had been utterly convinced Bente was just a phantom and hadn't even intended to dodge the attack.
But at the last possible moment, as if struck by a premonition of danger, he threw his body backward and avoided a lethal blow.
The pain burning on his cheek told Thanos without a doubt: the Bente before him was real, not an illusion.
"Be careful, Thanos," Vilgax warned at last. "Ectonurites can phase their bodies into an intangible ghost-like state. And…"
His gaze flicked towards the dark expanse of space.
Out here, Ghostfreak's power would be massively amplified.
Vilgax had already realized: this was probably why the bearer of the Omnitrix had chosen to transform into an Ectonurite to face them.
"And —"
Vilgax meant to continue, but in the next instant, Ghostfreak's outer skin suddenly tore open. White-and-purple-striped tentacles crawled out from his hollow torso.
Then came a brutal whip-crack, lashing straight at Vilgax.
Crack!
The tremendous force sent Vilgax flying!
Super Vilgax possessed immense strength and a body that was impervious to blades and bullets. The alien heroes that a ten-year-old Ben could transform into couldn't even make him budge.
Yet now, Ghostfreak had simply flicked his tentacles and sent him hurtling away.
Although the strength of the Omnitrix's alien transformations varied depending on the age of the host, the extent of that variation differed from species to species.
For races like Tetramands or Pyronites, the gap between an adult's power and a child's was enormous.
But Ghostfreak was not among them.
What truly made him this powerful was the infinite, lightless void of space itself — and the strength it granted him!
Right now, his power was absolutely on par with — maybe even surpassing — the original War Gods.
Perhaps only a Four Arms wreathed in Sakaar's lightning could have gotten the better of him.
"You talk too much, Stinky Squid-Face!"
After swatting Vilgax aside, Bente lunged at Thanos again.
Now that Vilgax had warned him, Thanos understood Ghostfreak's unique ability.
Though somewhat surprised, he showed no panic. On the contrary, he remained composed.
Unlike the Ben 10 universe, where every member of a species shared the same abilities, in the Marvel universe, individuals of the same race could possess completely different powers.
Thanos had rampaged across the cosmos for who knew how many centuries and had encountered far too many superpowered beings.
A ghost?
It wasn't as if he'd never destroyed one before.
After all, one of his own sons — Corvus Glaive — could anchor his very soul to his blade.
If you are a soul, then I shall cleave your soul!
Thanos swept the Tyrant's Blade horizontally, and in that instant, a peculiar energy sheathed the blade's edge.
Then, with a sudden burst, the Tyrant's Blade slashed down towards Bente.
This time, Bente could clearly sense that Thanos's attack had become something entirely different.
But he wasn't surprised. Many people who had only watched the movies might assume that aside from his monstrous physical attributes, Thanos had no other superpowers.
But that was far from the truth.
He possessed a formidable intellect and knowledge of many obscure secrets of the universe.
What's more, Thanos was immune to powerful psychic assaults and capable of projecting magical energy, plasma energy, and even cosmic energy.
And most importantly — owing to his connection with Death — he was actually quite well-versed in matters of the soul.
So when he saw Thanos attack again, Bente had no intention of clashing head-on.
Ghostfreak's body darted aside like a slippery fish, nimbly evading the blade. Right after, Vilgax's attack came roaring back.
Although he had been blasted away, his body hadn't suffered a single injury.
BOOM!!!
Vilgax's devastating punch dented a massive section of the battleship's deck.
The tremendous impact radiated outward through the deck's metal, and in the blink of an eye, the incredibly durable, specially forged alloy crumpled like paper.
Missing his mark didn't deter Vilgax. He launched a relentless barrage of attacks at Bente.
"Hand over the Omnitrix, and I'll spare your life!"
At that moment, the steroids embedded in Vilgax's body began a rapid chemical reaction, wracking him with immense pain — but simultaneously, continually boosting his strength.
He grew stronger the more he fought, like an enormous war chariot rolling forward, unstoppable!
But Bente wasn't one to be trifled with either.
With a mere thought, he yanked two wrecked Nova Corps fighters towards him as if they were tethered, smashing them into Vilgax from opposite directions.
BOOM!!
Flames erupted.
Vilgax charged out of the inferno, ribbons of fire trailing across his body — yet leaving not a single mark.
Fire didn't work? Then I'll just carve you open!
Bente's claws swept upward, about to tear Vilgax's body apart.
But a flash of blade-light intervened — Thanos swung his great sword and hacked heavily into Bente's claws.
CLANG!!!
With that single block, Vilgax immediately laughed triumphantly.
"It's useless. You, alone, can't possibly be a match for the two of us."
"Is that so?"
"Thanks for the reminder."
Bente countered softly, then lunged straight at Vilgax.
In the next instant, the twisted, serpentine tentacles that had torn open from within latched onto Vilgax's face like a facehugger.
"Aaaaargh —"
Vilgax howled, desperately reaching up to rip Ghostfreak off his body.
But his hands grasped only empty air. His body stood rigid, frozen in place.
And Bente — had vanished without a trace.
/-\
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