In the cold vacuum of space, two silent flames ignited. One above the bridge of the Sanctuary II, the other above the Plumber flagship. As Nebula's fighter broke through the enemy blockade, the unholy alliance of Thanos and Vilgax crossed the void in an instant, crashing onto the deck of the massive vessel with enough force to make the entire ship groan.
The moment he saw the hulking, squid-faced monster standing beside the Mad Titan, Ben couldn't have been more surprised.
The Ancient One had warned him that the barriers of the multiverse were becoming fragile, that figures from his own reality might cross over. He had already encountered Dr. Animo and Princess Looma; one he had killed, the other had become a trusted friend and a senior member of the Plumbers. So, the sight of Vilgax himself wasn't entirely shocking. But seeing him standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Thanos was like seeing a ghost.
The two were eerily similar, Ben thought. Towering, immensely powerful tyrants who roamed the universe, making entire civilizations tremble in fear. One lusted after the Infinity Stones, the other was obsessed with the Omnitrix. Thanos had the treacherous Ebony Maw as his right hand; Vilgax had Psyphon, a similarly sycophantic strategist, though Psyphon was far more loyal.
"I don't know how these two got together," Ben muttered to himself, his brow furrowed. Vilgax was not the kind of being to willingly serve another. And the idea of Thanos submitting to Vilgax was even more ludicrous. While Vilgax was a persistent and dangerous foe throughout Ben's career, he simply wasn't in the same weight class as Thanos.
Of course, if this was some composite, ultimate version of Vilgax from a darker timeline, that would be a different story. But one thing was certain: neither of them was an enemy to be taken lightly.
"Can't let the flagship become their battlefield," Ben decided instantly. The ship was durable, but it wouldn't withstand a brawl between the three of them. More importantly, the crew of Plumbers inside were no match for these two monsters. On this ship, the only one who could be considered a high-end combatant was Ben himself. Loki might have qualified, but without Mjolnir and the Casket of Ancient Winters, his power was diminished; he couldn't handle Vilgax, let alone Thanos.
"Loki, you have command of the fleet," Ben relayed through the comms.
"Don't worry," Loki's voice came back, cool and confident. "Just try not to scratch the paint."
Ben smirked and pressed the face of the Omnitrix. A flash of green light enveloped him.
Thanos and Vilgax stood on the battleship's hull as if it were solid ground, the vessel's advanced gravity field holding them fast. The extreme environment of space had no effect on their resilient bodies.
Just as Thanos raised his Tyrant's Blade to carve open the hull, an ethereal shadow peeled itself from beneath his feet. A pair of sickle-like claws shot upwards, aimed at the Titan's throat.
CLANG!
Thanos's reaction was instantaneous. He brought the double-bladed sword down, blocking the strike with a shower of sparks. The sneak attack had failed, but Ben, now hovering before them as Ghostfreak, wasn't annoyed. He simply sneered, his voice a rasping hiss.
"Sorry, no purple potato people or stinky squids allowed here."
Vilgax's four red eyes widened. "An Ectonurite!"
The hanging, skeletal face, the cracked and stitched body, the single, wandering eye—it was all unmistakable. But then his gaze fell upon the small, hourglass-shaped device embedded across Ben's chest. Vilgax's eyes narrowed, and his voice became a low, trembling whisper filled with manic excitement.
"The Omnitrix…"
He clenched his powerful fists, every muscle fiber in his body coiling like tangled roots. Even embedded in the chest of a ghost, he recognized it instantly.
The sudden shift in his ally's demeanor surprised Thanos. Not even in his defeat at Thanos's own hand had Vilgax lost his composure like this. What was this device? Vilgax had never mentioned it. Thanos wanted to ask, but it was not the time.
Ben's attack had come again. A cold, crimson light burst from Ghostfreak's single eye. The beam shot toward the two tyrants. Thanos contemptuously swatted it aside with his blade, then leaped forward, swinging the Tyrant's Blade like a propeller in a devastating arc.
The massive sword sliced Ghostfreak clean in half. Yet, Thanos felt no resistance, as if he had only cut through empty air. He looked again, and the two halves of Ghostfreak simply floated there, seemingly unconcerned. Thanos paused, thinking his foe was merely an illusion, but in the next instant, a clawed hand shot out and raked across his cheek. A thin line of blood welled up on the Titan's famously invulnerable skin.
"You react quickly," Ghostfreak rasped. "I was aiming for your head."
The stinging pain was undeniable. This was no illusion.
"Be careful, Thanos," Vilgax warned, his voice urgent. "Ectonurites can render their bodies intangible. And in the darkness of space…" His voice trailed off as he looked into the endless void. Here, an Ectonurite's power would be magnified immensely. This was no random transformation; it was a calculated choice.
Vilgax was about to say more, but the skin on Ghostfreak's chest tore open, and a mass of writhing, purple-and-white striped tentacles erupted from the hollow cavity within. A single, powerful tentacle lashed out like a whip, striking Vilgax with incredible force.
The blow sent the warlord flying across the deck of the ship. This was the Vilgax who had shrugged off every attack from Ben's original ten aliens, the Vilgax whose body was supposedly invulnerable. And now, a casual strike from Ghostfreak had sent him tumbling.
The power of an alien transformation was often influenced by the host's age; a teenage Tetramand or Pyronite was a far cry from a fully grown adult. But Ectonurites were different. What truly made Ghostfreak so powerful was the endless, oppressive darkness of the universe itself. In this environment, his strength was on par with the god-like warriors of the Plumbers' first generation, perhaps even rivaling Four Arms when empowered by the Old Power.
"You talk too much, squid-face!" Ben hissed, turning his full attention back to Thanos.
Having been warned, Thanos was prepared. He was surprised by the alien's abilities, but not panicked. In his millennia of conquest, he had encountered countless beings with strange powers. He had ended them all. One of his own children, Corvus Glaive, could bind his soul to his weapon. He was no stranger to fighting the intangible.
If you are a soul, then I shall kill your soul.
Thanos held the Tyrant's Blade horizontally before him. A sickly, ethereal energy began to coalesce around the twin blades. He was more than just a brute; he possessed a powerful intellect and a deep knowledge of the universe's darkest secrets. He was immune to most forms of mental attack and could channel cosmic and magical energies. And through his connection to the entity Death, he knew a great deal about the soul.
He slashed at Ben again. This time, Ben could feel the palpable threat from the blade—it was no longer just sharpened metal. He had no intention of testing its edge. Like a fish in water, he dodged nimbly out of the way, just as Vilgax's attack came again.
The warlord had recovered, his body undamaged.
BOOM!
Vilgax's heavy punch missed Ben and slammed into the deck, buckling a massive section of the reinforced hull as if it were paper. He didn't let up, pressing his attack with a furious barrage.
"Hand over the Omnitrix," he roared, "and I will grant you a swift death!"
The cybernetic conduits embedded in Vilgax's body began to glow, pumping potent chemicals into his system. The process caused him immense pain, but with every passing second, his strength increased exponentially. He fought with the momentum of a runaway chariot, crushing everything in his path.
But Ben was no slouch either. With a mere thought, two derelict Nova Corps fighters from the nearby battlefield were wrenched from their trajectories. As if tied by invisible ropes, he pulled them from opposite directions and smashed them together on top of Vilgax.
The warlord burst from the fiery explosion, flames licking harmlessly over his body.
If fire doesn't work, then I'll just rip you open! Ben thought, his claws swinging upwards to tear into Vilgax's gut.
But a flash of steel intercepted him. Thanos had blocked the attack with his sword.
CLANG!
The attack was thwarted, and Vilgax laughed triumphantly. "It's useless! You cannot defeat both of us alone!"
"Thanks for the reminder," Ghostfreak whispered.
And then he pounced, not on Thanos, but directly onto Vilgax. The writhing mass of tentacles shot from his chest and wrapped around Vilgax's face like a facehugger, smothering him completely. Vilgax screamed, his hands clawing desperately at the spectral form covering him, but they passed right through, grabbing nothing. His body suddenly went rigid. He froze in place, his struggles ceasing instantly.
Ben had disappeared.
And in his place, Vilgax stood silently, his four red eyes now glowing with the sinister, crimson light of the ghost within.