Thanos frowned, turning slowly on the spot. The deck of the Plumber flagship was a vast, empty expanse several kilometers long. In the infinite, silent darkness of space above his head, there was no wind, no sound, nothing. It was an eerie, unnerving stillness.
But even more unnerving was the figure of Vilgax.
After Ben had disappeared inside him, the warlord had become a grotesque puppet. His movements were stiff and jerky, like a marionette with tangled strings, his body twisting as if there were no soul left inside.
The truth, however, was the exact opposite. At that moment, there were two souls inside Vilgax's body.
Instantly, jagged black lines, like cracked obsidian, spread across Vilgax's green skin. They were especially pronounced around his eyes, forming dark, menacing patterns that highlighted the horror of the ghost now in the driver's seat. In a mere moment, Ben's Ectonurite consciousness had utterly suppressed Vilgax's, granting him complete control. He had chosen Vilgax as his vessel for a simple reason: Thanos possessed a powerful mind, one that would be far more difficult to overwhelm.
"Now," Ben's voice echoed, distorted through Vilgax's vocal cords, "it's two against one."
Thanos sized up the situation at a glance. He was not afraid. Vilgax was his defeated foe. Even if this boy could wear his body like a suit, what difference did it make?
The fight reignited. Thanos would show no mercy to Vilgax's hijacked form.
He raised his Tyrant's Blade and slashed. Ben, piloting the bulky body, dodged clumsily to the side. He countered with a punch, a fist larger than Thanos's own head swinging out, only for the Titan to deftly parry it with the back of his hand and drive a knee into his stolen abdomen.
Ben crossed Vilgax's arms to block, but the force of the blow still sent him skidding back several meters. Even wearing the mighty Vilgax, defeating this version of Thanos in a physical contest would be nearly impossible.
"I know who you are, Ben Parker," Thanos said, advancing calmly. "You are no match for me. Hand over the Infinity Stones, and perhaps you can buy a chance for your friends to survive." He paused, his voice softening with that twisted, paternalistic tone. "Death is a painful mercy for most. My goal is not merely to appease a goddess, but to allow the survivors to truly live. The end of all things is a predetermined destiny. In this, I am saving the universe."
Ben laughed, a harsh, grating sound from Vilgax's throat. "All I hear is the arrogance of a man who thinks he has the right to judge everyone. Besides," he added, cracking Vilgax's knuckles, "I can still survive if I kill you."
"Such a pity…" Thanos sighed. Then, his body erupted in power. Purple light flared from the hand holding his blade, spreading instantly through his entire body. The next moment, a powerful beam of raw, cosmic energy shot from his free hand, striking Vilgax's body like a bolt of lightning.
BOOM!
In an instant, the great warlord Vilgax, struck by the full, focused energy of the 'Power Stone', had the entire left side of his body blown away.
The tattered remains of Vilgax, carrying with them an eternal, silent scream of hatred, drifted away into the cold void.
"Wow, you really are cruel," Ben's voice, back to its ghostly rasp, echoed from behind Thanos. He covered his mouth with Ghostfreak's sharp claws in mock surprise.
"That will be your end as well," Thanos said, his voice flat and hard. "You are indeed powerful, Ben Parker. But before me, the wielder of the Power Stone, your little tricks are nothing."
"Really? I don't think so."
Ben turned his head, giving the drifting loser, Vilgax, a final glance before focusing his full attention on the Titan before him. Fake Infinity Stone aside, Thanos was still an opponent on the level of a Skyfather, a being of immense power. Even in the darkness of space, Ghostfreak alone was no match for him.
"I know you can transform into many different forms," Thanos said, his tone generous and condescending. "Feel free to try them all."
Ben slowly moved his hand over the Omnitrix symbol on his chest. "I know you got some information about me from Loki," he said, his voice dripping with amusement. "But I have to say… that intel is a little outdated."
He slapped the dial.
A wave of green light washed over him, but what emerged was not the spectral form of Ghostfreak or the brawny silhouette of Four Arms. Obsidian-black rock, harder than any diamond, formed a new skin. Through cracks in its surface, a core of magma, hotter than any fire, burned with terrifying intensity. Atop his head, a column of pure flame roared, a skull-like face taking shape within it. His shoulders, shaped like volcanic craters, pulsed with raw power that radiated even in the vacuum of space, distorting the light around him.
The flames that wreathed him were not the simple orange of before. They burned with a deeper, more primal intensity, streaked with crimson and black, representing both eternal life and utter destruction.
Thanos felt the shift instantly. The wave of sheer power washing over him was staggering. He was stunned. In Loki's memories, Heatblast had been powerful, but nothing like this. The being before him now looked like a primordial demon returned from the deepest pits of hell. Even the fire giant, Surtur, was likely no more than this.
A flash of inspiration struck Thanos's mind. He understood. In an instant, he realized the source of this terrifying new power.
"If you guessed correctly, you get a Death-Fire Bomb as a reward!" Ben's new voice boomed, a sound like grinding rock and roaring fire.
He raised his right arm, and the infinite fire around him began to collapse inward, gathering into a vortex between his palms. In moments, he held a sphere of roiling, condensed plasma, a miniature sun burning with apocalyptic fury. He then smashed it forward, sending it hurtling toward Thanos.
He called it a Death-Fire Bomb, but the technique was exponentially more powerful than the Red King's signature move. What Ben had taken from Asgard's vault was not just a trinket. It was the Eternal Flame, the very essence of Surtur. And Heatblast, a being made of living fire, had the ability to absorb flames. After absorbing the Eternal Flame, his Pyronite DNA had undergone a forced, ultimate evolution.
Though his appearance hadn't changed as drastically as some other ultimate forms, the sheer intensity of his fire was enough to grant him the title: Ultimate Heatblast.
BOOM!
The divine fire detonated, igniting the entire sky of Xandar. On the planet below, and on the ships still locked in combat, everyone looked up. In the void of space, a terrible, beautiful new sun had been born, its corona washing over the battlefield. From its heart, a shower of flaming meteorites began to rain down upon Xandar.
The moment the heavenly fire fell, countless Chitauri warriors were instantly vaporized. The massive Leviathans, caught in the downpour, turned to charred skeletons in a heartbeat, their blackened bones disintegrating into ash before they even had a chance to fall.