The argument started quietly, but it didn't stay that way for long.
Ben had been looking out of the bus window for most of the ride, not really paying attention to anything around him. The road kept moving, the sky looked calm, and everything felt normal on the outside. But inside, he was already frustrated.
"I'm tired of this," Ben finally said.
Gwen turned toward him. "Tired of what?"
"Of everything," Ben replied. "Every time something happens, I have to fix it. Every fight, every problem… it always comes back to me. I don't get to live a normal life."
Max listened carefully before speaking. "Ben, helping people isn't something you should see as a burden."
"It doesn't feel like help anymore," Ben said. "It feels like I don't have a choice. I just want one normal day where I don't have to be the hero."
Gwen looked at him seriously. "And what about everyone else? What happens to them if you stop?"
Ben didn't answer right away. He didn't have one.
The bus slowed down near the side of the road, and without thinking too much, Ben stood up.
"I need some air," he said, already moving.
"Ben, wait," Gwen called, but he didn't stop.
He stepped out of the bus, and the doors closed behind him as it drove away.
At first, everything outside felt normal.
The air was calm, and the sky still held the soft light of the evening. Ben took a deep breath and walked a few steps forward, trying to clear his mind.
"I just needed space," he said quietly to himself.
For a moment, it actually helped.
But then something changed.
The wind became colder than before, and the air felt heavier, almost like the world itself had slowed down. Ben stopped walking and looked around, trying to understand what was happening.
"This feels… wrong."
When he looked up, the sky was no longer the same.
Dark clouds were gathering far too quickly, covering the light in seconds. The calm evening was gone, replaced by something heavy and unnatural. The color of the sky slowly shifted until it became a deep red that didn't look like any sunset he had ever seen.
Ben felt uneasy as he stared at it.
"This isn't normal."
He looked down at the Omnitrix on his wrist, and that's when he noticed it had already activated on its own. It was glowing green at first, but the light started to flicker before suddenly turning red.
A small message appeared on the screen.
Half of life… ending.
Ben stared at it, confused. "What does that even mean?"
Before he could think more about it, he heard someone shouting nearby.
"Help me!"
Ben turned quickly and saw a man standing a short distance away. The man looked terrified as he stared at his own hands, which were slowly breaking apart into dust.
Ben ran toward him, trying to help, but he wasn't fast enough.
The man disappeared before Ben could even reach him.
Ben stopped, unable to understand what he had just seen.
"No… that's not possible."
Then it started happening everywhere.
People began disappearing one after another. Some of them shouted for help, while others didn't even realize what was happening until it was too late. Cars stopped in the middle of the road, and everything around him slowly became quiet.
There was no explosion, no warning, no clear reason.
Just people… gone.
"This can't be real," Ben said as he stepped back.
Then suddenly he remembered.
The bus.
Gwen and Max were still inside.
Without wasting another second, Ben turned and ran back toward it.
By the time he reached the bus, panic had already spread inside.
People were shouting, confused and scared, asking for help from anyone who could hear them. When Ben stepped in, several people looked at him as if he could fix everything.
He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out.
For the first time, he didn't have an answer.
"Ben!"
Gwen pushed through the crowd and reached him. "What is happening?"
Ben looked at her, trying to speak, but then he noticed something that made his heart drop.
Her hand was fading.
"…Gwen?"
She followed his gaze and looked down at her hand. "Ben…"
"No," Ben said quickly as he grabbed her. "You're okay. I've got you."
But even as he held her, her fingers continued to turn into dust.
Max stepped closer, calm even in that moment. "Ben."
"Don't say anything like that," Ben said quickly. "I will fix this. I promise."
Max placed a steady hand on his shoulder. "You'll try."
Ben shook his head. "Not without you."
Max gave him a small, reassuring smile. "You are stronger than you think."
And then he disappeared.
Ben turned back to Gwen, but she was already fading.
"Ben… it's okay," she said softly.
"No, it's not okay," Ben replied, holding on as tightly as he could.
But she slipped away from him just like the others.
The bus grew quiet after that.
Too quiet.
Ben slowly stepped outside again, his mind struggling to understand everything that had just happened. The sky above him had fully turned red, and ash floated through the air like dust.
"I lost them," he said quietly.
He looked at the Omnitrix again, but it didn't give him any answers.
For the first time in a long time, Ben didn't know what to do.
A sudden golden light appeared in the sky, cutting through the red.
Ben looked up as a portal opened, glowing brightly against the darkness. A man stepped out of it, calm and composed, as if none of this affected him.
"Benjamin Tennyson," the man said.
Ben looked at him, anger rising again. "Who are you?"
"I am the Grandmaster."
"Then tell me what this is," Ben said. "Why is everyone gone?"
The Grandmaster looked at him for a moment before answering.
"This happened because of a failure."
Ben's expression hardened. "Whose failure?"
"Earth-616," the Grandmaster replied. "The world where the Avengers faced Thanos."
Ben waited for the rest.
"They failed."
Ben stood there, silent for a moment as he processed those words. He looked around at the empty world, the red sky, and the ash in the air.
"My family is gone… because they failed."
He looked back at the Grandmaster.
"Can this be fixed?" he asked.
The Grandmaster paused before answering. "Maybe."
That was enough for Ben.
He raised his hand and looked at the Omnitrix.
"Send me there."
The portal behind the Grandmaster expanded.
"This will not be easy," the Grandmaster said.
Ben stepped forward anyway.
"I don't care."
He took one last look at the broken world around him before walking into the portal.