Countless Aleph robots fell from orbit like a meteor shower heralding civilization's end.
Long ago, in the dawn of creation, ancient cosmic entities had seeded life throughout the universe. To ensure these nascent civilizations were truly worthy of evolving alongside the cosmos itself, those primordial gods had created the Builders—perfect beings designed to cultivate and maintain the universal garden.
They were the oldest constructed race in existence, the first artificial species born at the universe's beginning.
They represented a flawless creation that worshiped the cosmos itself as their ultimate authority and purpose.
The universe, in their philosophy, was an immense garden containing infinite varieties of plants and insects and ecosystems. Some had been deliberately planted by the garden's owners—cultivated species worthy of preservation. Others were weeds and pests that required removal before they could spread and contaminate healthy growth.
The Builders served as gardeners for this cosmic space, maintaining the universal ecology according to their masters' original vision.
They pruned invasive species, removed evolutionary dead-ends, and trimmed branches that grew in undesirable directions according to their carefully maintained design specifications.
They'd long ago established quantitative standards for determining whether any given lifeform deserved to continue existing. The Aleph robots served as their "gardening tools"—automated implements that maintained the cosmic garden according to the Builders' eternal blueprints.
To date, nobody knew how many worlds deemed "unsuitable for continued evolution" had been systematically cleared, their populations reduced to sterile cosmic dust.
Now, the civilization before them would be no exception to that ancient pattern.
"We represent evolutionary inevitability," the lead Builder announced, her voice carrying across all frequencies with divine authority. "You species have been evaluated and judged no longer suitable for evolution. You are being eliminated. Simply surrender and accept your fate with dignity."
"Nonsense!" Beta Ray Bill's red cape billowed dramatically behind him as he snarled defiance. "Prepare for battle!"
As a member of the Korbinite species, Bill had lived within a fiery prison since birth—his entire existence defined by sacrifice and struggle. He'd surrendered everything he valued, everything he was, for his race's continuation and survival.
He'd paid immeasurable prices to secure a decent living environment for his people, finally achieving something resembling peace and prosperity after generations of suffering.
And now these arrogant entities who'd appeared from nowhere wanted to casually erase all that progress with vague pronouncements about "evolutionary fitness"?
He didn't understand their boring philosophical justifications about suitable evolution versus unsuitability.
Those empty words could talk to his hammer!
Bill swung the golden weapon high overhead and launched himself skyward, lightning crackling around him like a living dragon made of pure electricity.
BOOM!!!
The hammer struck an Aleph robot with devastating force, shattering the construct into glittering fragments that scattered across the void!
The Plumbers followed Bill's lead, surging forward to engage the descending robots. Though their individual strength couldn't match Bill's cosmic-level output, they were elite warriors enhanced with advanced technology and years of combat experience.
Korg—the massive Kronan warrior—and his insectoid companion Miek were among the charging forces, both screaming battle cries that mixed excitement and terror.
But despite their enthusiasm, their Plumber uniforms alone offset enormous amounts of incoming damage, and Korg proved exceptionally talented at frontal assaults. He carried Miek on his stone shoulders while multiple additional arms grew from his rocky torso, each limb wielding powerful laser weapons that fired continuously at the Aleph swarm.
However, the robots' resilience proved extraordinary. Their bodies seemed nearly indestructible. Though Bill could shatter them through overwhelming force, not everyone possessed his divine power level.
Bill, wielding Mjolnir's equal, commanded combat capability roughly equivalent to Thor in his prime—top-tier universal-class strength. A full-power blow from him could shatter planets without particular difficulty.
Among everyone present—excepting Ben himself—only Captain Marvel could match Bill's raw destructive output. Even Caiera, despite her Old Power mastery, fell slightly short of that threshold.
"Ha!" Captain Marvel ignited like a miniature supernova, her entire body wreathed in golden photonic fire. The raging energy within her made her resemble a star achieving critical fusion.
She raised both hands overhead and unleashed a devastating energy beam, sweeping away several Aleph robots that had been preparing to detonate molecular disintegration bombs.
But moments later, the robots she'd obliterated began reassembling themselves. Their molecular structures reconstructed atom by atom, restoring them to perfect functionality before resuming their assault.
"This is endless!" Carol cursed in frustration.
She started to turn, intending to ask if the Plumbers possessed any specialized weapons for this scenario, or if Ben Parker had tactical suggestions.
A black shadow streaked past her peripheral vision like lightning—moving so fast that even her enhanced perception barely registered the movement.
She only heard a metallic CLANG as the passing projectile cleaved an Aleph robot cleanly in half, then continued using the rebound momentum to strike additional targets with pinpoint accuracy.
[Steve Rogers] followed his shield's trajectory closely, leaping acrobatically to catch the returning weapon mid-flight. He grabbed an Aleph robot by the neck in a wrestling hold, clearly intending to strangle the mechanical construct to death through sheer determination.
"Is he always this aggressive?" Captain Marvel asked, genuinely stunned by the display.
[Steve] drove his elbow into the Aleph robot with pile-driver force, then hurled his shield with such velocity it nearly broke the sound barrier—or would have, if sound could propagate in vacuum.
Six shield throws per second wasn't anywhere close to his actual limit!
The Highbreed wearing Steve's face had obviously lost his temper completely.
The Builders calling themselves "spokespeople of evolution" while simultaneously declaring the assembled civilizations "eliminated life unfit for evolution" had struck a devastatingly sensitive nerve.
Because lies weren't sharp swords—truth was the killing blade.
The Highbreed who'd broken through his emotional defenses perfectly fit the Builders' description of "existence eliminated by evolution."
Originally among the universe's oldest species, they'd become obsessed with so-called noble bloodlines—constantly inbreeding like Japanese imperial families, producing individuals with progressively weaker immune systems and resistance to disease. Now their population teetered on the edge of complete collapse.
Without external intervention, even ignoring the Builders entirely, the Highbreeds would die out within generations.
This was destruction brought by arrogance—extinction through pride.
Nobody currently noticed that [Steve] fought like a god of war amidst the Aleph swarm, because these robots could reassemble even after being shattered. The total enemy count hadn't decreased whatsoever.
And Steve Rogers—well, those who understood him would understand.
There was no battle he couldn't engage. No army he couldn't grind through. No boss he couldn't fight to a 50-50 stalemate regardless of power differential.
Thrown into a battlefield with tens of thousands of combatants, he became just another soldier—remarkable in his persistence but not obviously superhuman compared to cosmic-level threats.
Peter Parker was having an absolute blast, his youthful enthusiasm undimmed by danger.
Ben hadn't confiscated the replica Omnitrix after returning, so Peter gleefully cycled through transformations—sometimes becoming Four Arms and leaping like King Kong, sometimes switching to other alien forms to test their capabilities against this new threat.
However, against the Aleph robots' specific characteristics, Gravattack proved most effective. Gravity manipulation could prevent their molecular reassembly if applied correctly.
The entire Behemoth Star Ring had transformed into a warzone. Outside the installation, giant combined Aleph constructs battled the Waybad army in sustained exchanges.
The catastrophic explosion energy threatened to literally shake apart local spacetime. Even the Builders didn't dare allow all weapons to simultaneously engage the Waybads' cosmic rays—doing so would vaporize their own flagship regardless of shielding.
"We need to eliminate them at the source!" Norman Osborn shouted over the chaos.
He'd already deployed their ultimate weapon—dark matter bombs capable of inducing spatial collapse, technology reverse-engineered from captured Dark Elf equipment. Because they required Aether particles as activation energy, Ben had only manufactured a limited quantity.
"Leave it to me," Ben said calmly.
He looked upward, easily spotting two figures—one gold, one black—descending from the Builder flagship.
Ex Nihilo and his sister Abyss were immediately distinctive among the Aleph robots, their organic forms contrasting sharply with the mechanical constructs.
Ex Nihilo particularly stood out. Like the golden-skinned woman with magnificent stag-like horns, hairless scalp, and three eyes, his body radiated that same divine golden luminescence.
But his form was distinctly masculine, and instead of antlers, his head bore majestic horns reminiscent of Ultraman's father—sweeping curves that spoke of cosmic authority. Black tribal markings across his body formed the pattern "Ω," as though representing the omega point—the end of all things.
His sister Abyss, by contrast, resembled an ordinary Black woman from Earth, her appearance almost mundane except for the obvious power radiating from her presence.
They noticed Ben immediately, recognizing that this seemingly unremarkable Earthling standing among the defenders was actually the empire's sovereign ruler.
"We sow life throughout the cosmos, and now we harvest that which has failed to thrive," Ex Nihilo proclaimed after landing. "This is your destiny. The garden of universal life has no need for inferior specimens such as yourselves."
"I can't pretend I didn't hear that," Ben said, stepping forward to face them directly.
Thousands of Aleph robots immediately targeted him, weapons priming, but he paid them no attention whatsoever.
"I have a friend—or perhaps a teacher, though we've never actually met. His name is Azmuth," Ben said, staring directly at Ex Nihilo while his fingers moved to the Omnitrix's dial. "The diverse lifeforms and various species throughout this universe are different from one another, excel at different capabilities, possess different strengths and weaknesses. But they're all equally part of the cosmos."
His voice hardened with conviction. "You call yourselves agents who spread life, yet you arbitrarily measure the value of other existences based on narrow criteria. That's not cultivation—that's profound arrogance."
For life itself—even civilizations thousands of galaxies distant with no connection to his own interests—Azmuth had dedicated himself to protecting and preserving the spark of possibility.
By comparison, the difference in philosophy was obvious and damning.
Ben pressed the Omnitrix's activation stud firmly.
This time, he decided to grant the watch itself freedom of choice—allowing Azmuth's creation to determine how it would "answer" the Builders' doctrine of eliminating supposedly unfit life.
Fight or coexist? Destroy or preserve?
Green light flashed brilliantly, but Ben's physical form didn't transform.
Before he could process surprise at the unexpected result, something resembling a black tide surged from the watch mechanism. The Overkill symbiote awakened, flowing across his body and transforming him into the Overkill Prime Suit configuration.
Then the green energy streamers across his form faded, replaced by white star-like luminous points spreading throughout his body, making Ben appear similar to Alien X's cosmic appearance.
Universal power. The force of creation itself.
It originated from Universe-13's Spider-Verse and belonged to the entity known as Cosmic Spider-Man, the cosmos's own will made manifest.
"Is this?" Ben wondered, clenching his fists and feeling the terrible power of billions of exploding stars compressed within his cellular structure.
He'd thought Azmuth's answer would be straightforward combat—overwhelming force demonstrating that "unfit" life could defend itself against arrogant gardeners.
But when he turned to engage Ex Nihilo in combat, he discovered the golden Builder was so profoundly shocked he couldn't form words.
"You... you..."
"The Universal Force!" Ex Nihilo's voice cracked with disbelief.
He was so astonished that all three of his eyes opened fully, staring at Ben as though beholding a god made flesh.
Finally, he collapsed to his knees in absolute surrender, his forehead touching the ground.
"Great Mother of All Creation!"
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