New York City
The metropolis had transformed into something resembling a technological paradise from the distant future, with sleek hover-vehicles creating continuous streams of traffic between gorgeously designed skyscrapers that seemed to defy conventional engineering principles.
"Ben, I want to try that!" Enara called out, dragging Ben forward along the bustling sidewalk with the unstoppable enthusiasm of an overexcited husky who had spotted something fascinating.
Ouyana, whose maternal instincts seemed to extend to everything around her, followed them with a gentle smile radiating warmth and contentment across her features.
More than two weeks had passed since the Spider-verse crisis had finally been resolved through their coordinated efforts.
Delegate Ben manage to turn into Alien X and get back to the Alien X Consciousness.
Using Alien X's reality-altering capabilities, Ben had reversed time without affecting the broader timeline or parallel universes, successfully resurrecting every Spider-totem bearer who had been killed by the Inheritors during their genocidal campaign. Of course, Ben had deliberately excluded certain evil Spider-variants from the resurrection process, some creatures were better left in the grave.
Following the Spider-verse resolution, many Spider-heroes had suggested that the entire Spider-Society should formally join the Plumber organization, creating an unprecedented alliance between interdimensional law enforcement agencies.
Ben had also helped Miguel repair the universe that had been destroyed due to his earlier mistakes, an act of space restoration that left the 2099 Spider-Man profoundly grateful. Miguel no longer dared to repeat his previous errors, though he often found himself monitoring that rebuilt reality through his advanced scanning equipment to ensure its stability.
Afterward, Ben had invited Gwen to remain in his universe for an extended visit. The two had spent more than half a month together, deepening their relationship and exploring the possibilities of their interdimensional romance. Eventually, however, Gwen had made the difficult decision to return to her own reality.
Her father was still waiting for her there, after all. But now that the Spider-Society served as a reliable transit hub between dimensions, meeting each other had become significantly easier than before.
Then Ben had proposed something that surprised everyone: giving Enara and Ouyana preciously made physical bodies abilities to leave Alien X's consciousness space whenever they desired freedom from that isolated realm. This arrangement would be far preferable to having them constantly debate abstract proposals and space philosophy in their shared mental prison.
The suggestion had been accepted unanimously by all involved.
Enara had been eager to experience the physical world for what felt like eons. She had developed an addiction to slushies, a frozen beverage that Ben and Harry had unexpectedly perfected during one of their collaborative experiments, and spicy nacho chips had quickly become another favorite indulgence.
Naturally, Ben would never refuse such a reasonable request from his cosmic partners.
After Enara and Ouyana departed from Alien X's consciousness space, Delegate Ben found himself as the sole remaining consciousness among the three cosmic entities. From this point forward, he or Original Ben, since they are one in the same no longer required their consent to access Alien X's powers, he could act according to his own judgment and desires without endless deliberation!
Of course, this arrangement came with certain drawbacks.
Alien X had effectively lost two-thirds of his total power output.
For beings whose power levels fell significantly below Alien X's space tier, this reduction was essentially meaningless, half of infinity remained infinity for all practical purposes.
However, if Ben encountered enemies who operated at the same fundamental level as Alien X, they could potentially exploit this weakness to achieve victory against the weakened Celestialsapien.
For Ben personally, retaining access to Alien X's abilities meant he could now use that cosmic power to fuse with other alien transformations from the Omnitrix.
Given his experience with the previous watch iterations, researching and developing a fusion-capable device hadn't presented significant technical challenges.
"Ben, are you sure it's appropriate to spend time here with us?" Ouyana asked with obvious concern as she caught up to them. "I heard the Incursean Empire appears to be launching a massive space war, correct?"
The galactic conflict initiated by the Incursean Empire had grown increasingly violent, eventually dragging even the three major galactic powers into its expanding scope.
Originally, both the Kree Empire and the Skrull Empire had apparently planned to secretly support the Incursean military machine, intending to use Emperor Milleous's forces as a primary tool for containing the newly risen Sakaar Empire's influence.
But the frog emperor had proven far more cunning than either empire anticipated. Milleous had gladly accepted the advanced weapons and interstellar battleships provided by both the Kree and Skrull supporters, then immediately turned around and deployed those very same armaments in coordinated invasions against his former benefactors.
The most deviously clever aspect of his strategy was that Milleous secretly used Skrull-manufactured weapons to attack Kree targets while simultaneously employing Kree technology to assault Skrull installations.
Initially, neither empire realized who their true attacker was, and they began retaliating against each other based on the evidence of their own weapons being used against them.
After the conflict had spread across several entire galactic sectors, the Skrull Queen finally arranged a direct confrontation with the Kree Supreme Intelligence, and both leaders found themselves utterly stunned by the revelation of Milleous's manipulation.
But by that point, the war had developed too much momentum to be easily stopped.
The two civilizations had been bitter enemies for millennia anyway, Milleous had simply provided the spark that reignited their ancient hatred.
The Sakaar Empire hadn't been able to remain neutral in the expanding conflict. Caiera was already overwhelmed with crisis management at Sakaar's governmental headquarters. After Norman Osborn recovered from his injuries sustained in previous battles, he had immediately rushed to the front lines of the conflict, even bringing Harry along for the experience.
"Those frogs are genuine troublemakers," Ben admitted with frustrated resignation.
He had to acknowledge that the Incurseans represented space-scale disruptors wherever they appeared. With creatures like Milleous actively stirring up galactic politics, the universe would never experience a single day of genuine peace. Continuing this endless cycle of warfare wasn't a sustainable solution for anyone involved.
When Ouyana contemplated the tens of thousands of soldiers dying every day across multiple battlefronts, her expression grew deeply melancholy. "So much unnecessary suffering..."
Enara, who had been enthusiastically collecting an armload of french fries and multiple slushies, looked up with obvious excitement. "Hurry up and take me to see the battlefield! I want to witness rivers of blood and space explosions!"
Ben gave her a gentle but firm knock on the head to discourage such morbid enthusiasm, then turned to comfort Ouyana with more reassuring words.
"I've already asked Caiera to convene a Galactic Conference, which should take place within the next few days. It's definitely time for all four empires to sit down and negotiate a peaceful resolution to this crisis."
Ben could sense that all parties involved had reached a point of strategic exhaustion and diminishing returns. The situation had definitely escalated to the point where diplomatic mediation was not just advisable but absolutely necessary.
Incursean Empire Flagship
"Your Majesty the Emperor, " A thin Incursean soldier rushed into the throne chamber with obvious urgency, but before he could properly kneel in submission, Emperor Milleous, seated upon his golden throne encrusted with countless precious stones, casually drew his energy weapon and vaporized the messenger's head with a single shot.
His massive, corpulent body jiggled with obvious annoyance at being disturbed during his leisure time.
"His Imperial Majesty Emperor Milleous, Beacon of the Incursean Empire, Destroyer of Galaxies, Master of the Death Ray Cannon..." his thin adjutant began reciting the emperor's full ceremonial titles like a waiter announcing the day's specials.
After completing the ritual litany of grandiose designations, he finally addressed the matter that the unfortunate soldier had died attempting to report: "There is a diplomatic communication for you from the Sakaar Empire."
"The Sakaar Empire?" Milleous inquired, his four chins stacking together as he considered this development.
After continuous military campaigns throughout this period, he had developed a reasonably comprehensive understanding of the major political forces operating throughout this universal sector.
The Sakaar Empire, along with the Skrull Empire, the Kree Empire, and the Shi'ar Empire, which had been significantly weakened by his recent military actions, was recognized as one of the four great galactic powers. Sakaar represented a relatively recent addition to this elite group, possessing numerous powerful individual warriors under its command, though its overall military infrastructure and weapons technology remained inferior to more established civilizations.
Recalling this strategic intelligence, Milleous shifted his considerable bulk with obvious satisfaction.
From his perspective, individual combat prowess was essentially meaningless in the face of superior firepower.
Advanced weapons systems represented the only factor that truly mattered in galactic warfare!
With the planet-destroying Death Ray Cannon at his disposal, a weapon capable of annihilating anything that opposed him, Milleous looked down on Sakaar's capabilities with supreme contempt.
"Are those lower-class peasants planning to offer their surrender?" he asked with anticipatory pleasure.
"No, Your Imperial Majesty... it appears you are being invited to attend a Galactic Conference..." the adjutant replied with obvious caution, knowing how unpredictably his emperor might react to unexpected news.
"The invitation was issued by Miss Caiera, the Chief Governor of Sakaar, who is acting on behalf of the King of Sakaar. She has invited representatives from the Skrull Empire, the Kree Empire, and our glorious civilization to participate in a four-party mediation summit."
"Those weaklings were invited as well? I assumed I was being honored as the sole recipient!" Milleous declared with immediate indignation. "I refuse to attend!"
Nonsense mediation conference, I want warfare, not worthless diplomatic theater!
"But if we decline to participate, what prevents the three other empires from reaching an agreement during the meeting and coordinating a joint assault against our Incursean Empire?" the adjutant asked with genuine worry.
"What could possibly frighten us?!" Emperor Milleous replied without any trace of concern, his confidence radiating from every fold of his massive frame.
"We possess the Death Ray Cannon! No force in the galaxy can stand against its absolute destructive power!"
"Please don't dismiss this opportunity so quickly, Father!" Princess Attea emerged from the shadows where she had apparently been listening to the entire conversation, her green amphibian features twisted into an expression of cunning calculation.
"This conference represents our greatest strategic opportunity yet!"