Chapter 20: The First Explosions
Tension filled the Watchtower. Ever since Ben regained consciousness after his inner vision, everyone had been walking on eggshells around him. It wasn't just about strange transformations or random surges anymore... something inside him was reacting.
Batman stood in front of a digital map displaying unstable energy pulses surrounding Ben, while Green Lantern spoke quietly with Superman.
Green Lantern:
"He's like a living bomb… but aware."
Superman:
"Let's not forget — he's still just a kid. This battle is happening inside him. It's not his fault."
Meanwhile, Wonder Woman approached Ben, who sat silently near the window, staring down at Earth from orbit.
Wonder Woman (gently):
"Do you still see it? The crystal city?"
He nodded slowly.
Ben:
"It doesn't go away… But now it's quiet. Like it's waiting."
Before she could answer, alarms rang across the Watchtower. A red warning blinked across the main screen:
> "Unidentified entity approaching Star City. Molecular structure… crystalline."
Batman immediately stood up.
"This is the first time something external matches the structure inside Ben."
The team mobilized instantly. This time, Ben insisted on going — and no one stopped him.
---
Scene: Battle in Star City
The team arrived to find a massive being stomping through the streets. Its body was made of radiant black crystals, speaking in a garbled tongue that echoed the strange language Ben mumbled in his sleep.
Ben (shocked):
"That's… one of them. From the city inside me."
Green Lantern and Flash charged in, but their attacks had no effect. Instead, the creature absorbed the energy and fired it back, blasting them to the ground.
Superman:
"We need to disable it, not destroy it!"
Ben stepped forward, his eyes glowing with both green and black energy.
Ben:
"Let me try something..."
He activated the Omnitrix and transformed into a new alien — a hybrid of Chromastone and Arburge, but shrouded in a dark aura.
Ben clashed directly with the creature. With every blow, the entity trembled as if something inside it was… changing.
Then, a sudden pulse of energy exploded from Ben's body, knocking the surrounding heroes to the ground and cracking nearby buildings.
Ben collapsed, his entire body glowing with dark crystalline patterns.
Wonder Woman (shouting):
"Ben!"
He slowly rose to his feet, noticing a crystal inscription forming across his arm:
> "The heart nears maturity."
---
Back at the Watchtower, silence hung in the briefing room. Batman stood before them all.
Batman:
"He's not just sick… he's becoming an anchor for another reality. If we don't figure this out… Ben will either be the key — or the bomb."
--