Ben materialized in the central hub of Plumber Command. After parting ways with the Ancient One, he had come directly to the orbital station. Although he was technically its owner, this was the first time he had actually set foot inside.
The station was far from empty. It was a bustling nexus of activity. In addition to the core Primus staff who had relocated here, Norman Osborn had assigned a contingent of H.A.M.M.E.R. agents to the station. Ostensibly, this was to provide adequate manpower and to reassure the World Security Council. Though H.A.M.M.E.R. was effectively under Ben and Norman's control, the Council remained blissfully unaware. They saw that "their own people" had infiltrated the Plumbers' headquarters and received a steady stream of carefully curated, inconsequential intelligence, which was enough to keep them satisfied. Rounding out the crew were the Plumbers recruited from Sakaar, their diverse alien physiologies adding to the station's cosmopolitan feel. All told, nearly a thousand individuals were working to maintain the station's operations and conduct advanced research.
Genesis is taking shape, and the Ancient One has begun teaching the mages of Kamar-Taj to practice wielding Mana, Ben thought, his mind already racing through his to-do list. I need to finalize the Genesis Key prototypes.
Genesis was more than just a dimension; it was a super-intelligent system Ben planned to upgrade into a force on par with the Nova Corps. To that end, the device that would allow his Plumbers to channel that power needed an official name. The Genesis Key. It had a nice ring to it.
First, though, he needed to put away Gwen's gift. A small, involuntary smile touched his lips as he thought of it. He had opened the small package upon his return to Kamar-Taj. Inside, he found a small, futuristic-looking music player and a simple, heartfelt note: "For when you're working too hard. G." Attached was a list of her favorite songs. The simple, personal gesture meant more to him than any priceless artifact.
Shaking his head fondly, Ben set the gift aside and focused on the task at hand. While simultaneously running diagnostics on the key spellwork, he began upgrading the Plumber badge's hardware, integrating technology reverse-engineered from the Nova Corps helmets.
His mind continued to churn through his next series of projects.
"First, the particle collider. Even if I don't use it for multiversal travel, it can be adapted for instantaneous, long-range teleportation within this universe. A true portal network." That was a massive undertaking. "If I can get my hands on Pym Particles and analyze them, I might be able to shrink the teleporter down to the size of an Arc Reactor." In this universe, advanced technology involving space and time was almost always linked to the Quantum Realm.
"Then there's the regeneration cradle… I wonder if Stark has managed to get Ultron online yet." In truth, Ben could create E.U.N.I.C.E.'s body himself, but he preferred to let his enemies do the heavy lifting. To create his perfect vessel, Ultron would stop at nothing, gathering all the vibranium he could find on the open market and likely stealing the rest. Ben had plenty of vibranium, as T'Challa had gifted him a large supply in friendship, but that had been alloyed with his stock of anti-metal to construct this very space station. Prying another shipment out of Wakanda would be diplomatically difficult. It was far easier to let Ultron be the bad guy. Wakanda would come looking for the thief, and Tony would be left holding the bag.
As he mulled over his plans, Ben's hands never stopped moving. While he wasn't transformed into Grey Matter, his spider-enhanced physiology had boosted his intelligence to a remarkable degree. Furthermore, working in his human form had a distinct advantage: his spider-sense acted as a perfect early-warning system, alerting him to potential experimental failures before they could become catastrophic.
Soon, a specialized, rune-etched charm was complete. He took a standard Plumber badge and carefully affixed the charm to its center. The badge, originally a sleek black and green, was instantly suffused with a soft, pinkish-white glow.
"Success."
Ben held up the newly minted Genesis Key. Instantly, he felt the Mana within it connect with him, flowing from the device and into his body. A swirling ball of pink energy condensed between his palms.
To prevent himself from becoming a "dimensional demon" like Dormammu, he and the Ancient One had sealed the primordial fire of his power in the heart of Genesis. This meant that Ben's own innate access to the energy was currently no greater than that of a novice mage at Kamar-Taj. He needed a tool like the Key to channel it effectively.
And the power it channeled was immense.
"If I unleashed all of this," he murmured, feeling the stable, potent energy in his hands, "I could probably wipe a city off the map."
In the grand scheme of the Marvel universe, that wasn't an incredible feat. But considering that Mana was in its absolute infancy, it was a terrifyingly powerful start. The Nova Force, for all its might, could only empower five Centurions at a time. Mana had no such limitations. Once the seeds were sown, the power would eventually spread like wildfire.
He just needed to manage his initial investments carefully. The total amount of Mana in Genesis was still small. His operation was no different from that of other dimensional entities: Genesis was his bank, and he was lending out the initial capital. When others received these funds, their own life force would act as an engine, slowly generating a profit. A small portion of that profit would then be tithed back to Genesis, increasing the total capital and allowing Ben to invest in more people. It was a no-cost, endlessly compounding business. Even if a user died, their initial seed of energy would simply return to the source, strengthened by its brief bond with their life force. No matter what, Ben's enterprise would grow.
"The initial total is limited, and Kamar-Taj has already taken a portion," he reasoned. "To get the best return, the remaining quota should go to individuals with the strongest life energy."
The same seed would yield different results in different soil. Since Mana was fundamentally life energy, those with a more powerful life force would awaken a greater power, thus returning more energy to Genesis. The seed he had left with Gwen, born from their powerful emotional connection, had already yielded a noticeable increase in his own ambient power.
"I'll start the experiments with the strongest Plumbers," he decided. Then, a thought struck him, and his eyes lit up. "Thor… even though he's lost his divine power, his life force, his base physiology, is still that of an Aesir, isn't it?"
If he gave Thor a Genesis Key… what would happen?
An image flashed through Ben's mind, unbidden and horrifyingly vivid: a muscle-bound Thor, clad in a frilly pink Sailor Moon skirt, holding a matching pink Mjolnir, and striking a triumphant pose.
Ben physically shuddered. No. That was an image too cursed for any universe.