Zombie Captain America genuinely believed he was hallucinating.
In fact, his perception was somewhat distorted by decomposition-induced cognitive degradation.
The Hulk had only been beaten down during the initial exchanges. But as his rage levels continuously escalated and his physical size increased proportionally, Humungousaur began losing ground rapidly.
Both combatants possessed anger-amplification mechanics, but the Hulk's potential ceiling was far greater than that of any Vaxasaurian transformation.
Honestly, this outcome was only possible because Peter's Spider-totem genetics had enhanced the Humungousaur template through the Omnitrix's integration protocols. The original, baseline Humungousaur wouldn't even qualify to exchange blows with the Hulk on equal terms.
At this moment, the Hulk's skin burned so intensely hot that steam literally rose from his body. He threw devastating punches in rapid succession—each fist resembling a black iron wrecking ball weighing hundreds of tons. Every impact caused the ground to crater and nearby structures to spontaneously collapse!
After enduring this sustained assault, Peter was practically reduced to tears of frustration.
The Hulk, by contrast, was having an absolutely wonderful time. Such a large, durable punching bag was a rare treat!
"This Humungousaur form is completely useless!" Peter complained bitterly while attempting evasive maneuvers.
The Vaxasaurian's statistical profile looked impressive on paper, but practical performance consistently disappointed. It couldn't even defeat the Chimera Sui Generis back at the Behemoth Star Ring.
After the transformation proved inadequate, Peter obediently switched to the most powerful alien available in his replica Omnitrix—Gravattack.
"Experience the power of one of the universe's four fundamental forces!" Peter announced dramatically.
With a sweeping arm gesture, he used gravity manipulation to capture the Hulk, creating a localized field that lifted the massive creature high into the air.
With his feet suspended off solid ground, the Hulk struggled uselessly to generate leverage—writhing like a fish caught in an invisible net, all that tremendous strength rendered functionally useless.
This represented a victory for physics over raw power!
On another section of the battlefield, Pietro had quickly dispatched his assigned targets.
He'd originally selected Zombie Spider-Man as his opponent, but combat assignments weren't unilateral—the enemy possessed agency in target selection as well.
Zombie Spider-Man had fixated on Harry Osborn as his preferred prey, which meant Pietro's actual opponent became Zombie Black Panther by default.
Pietro understood T'Challa's capabilities intimately through extensive training sessions. His physical abilities were equivalent to baseline Captain America—though infection appeared to have enhanced his attributes somewhat beyond normal parameters.
Even the advanced Black Panther suit couldn't compete with Plumber technology. Pietro activated his infrasonic device again, the acoustic assault directly compromising the suit's structural integrity and easily incapacitating his opponent.
Harry's situation was similarly favorable. The Plumber equipment functioned like overpowered cheat codes compared to conventional superhero gear. Though many devices proved ineffective against zombie physiology specifically, that wasn't particularly problematic.
Submission discs and infrasonic weapons were relatively gentle restraint options. If genuine control became necessary, severing their limbs wouldn't pose any moral complications—they were already dead, after all.
Harry activated his gravity field generator immediately.
A powerful localized gravitational anomaly manifested in a confined area, rendering three zombies—including the alternate Peter—completely immobile, their bodies pinned by forces equivalent to dozens of times Earth's normal gravity.
Gravity manipulation technology had been invented by Ben, though not inspired by Gravattack specifically. The principles had first been applied to glider propulsion and anti-gravity vehicle systems before being adapted for combat applications.
Compared to Gravattack's ability to generate miniature black holes, the gravity device's field generation capacity was negligible—but more than sufficient for suppressing street-level enhanced individuals.
"Neurotoxin delivery systems, infrasonic weapons, anti-gravity field generators... genuinely impressive technology!" Zombie Iron Man remarked with sincere admiration while he and Tony exchanged devastating blows mid-air, both appearing as red shooting stars to ground observers.
"I always knew the only person capable of surpassing me was myself! Another version of Tony Stark!"
Prime Tony looked slightly embarrassed, his voice dropping to an uncomfortable mumble: "Not... entirely accurate..."
"There are people smarter than us?!" Zombie Tony exclaimed with genuine incredulity, his worldview threatening to shatter.
"Geniuses are emerging constantly across generations," Tony admitted reluctantly.
He'd once been exactly as arrogant as his zombie counterpart—absolutely convinced he was the most intelligent person alive. But reality consistently taught lessons in humility to those who assumed superiority.
Setting aside Ben Parker entirely, even in Wakanda there existed a teenage girl whose intellect matched or potentially exceeded his own.
"However, I haven't been completely stagnant," Tony said, deliberately changing the subject. He drew a flaming greatsword with his free hand, the blade igniting with plasma energy.
Zombie Tony stared in complete bafflement. What does this mean?
Isn't combat between Iron Man variants supposed to involve high-tech bombardment? Energy weapons, missiles, repulsor technology?
What's with the melee weapon?!
Are we brothers now? Is this some kind of Cain-and-Abel situation?
"I figured something out long ago," Tony explained. "No matter how sophisticated our armor becomes, we always end up fighting with our fists eventually. Resorting to close-quarters combat when systems fail. So..."
He hefted the flaming greatsword experimentally, testing its weight and balance.
This weapon was legacy technology from the Red King's arsenal, but Tony had extensively upgraded and modified it during his time on Sakaar, incorporating Plumber metallurgy and energy projection systems.
The Red King's equipment was extraordinarily durable—he'd dominated Sakaar for years using this gear, holding his own against opponents like Looma and Caiera. That alone proved the technology's effectiveness.
Caiera could fight the Hulk to a competitive standstill.
This was sufficient evidence that Tony's current armor had already surpassed even the Hulkbuster Veronica in raw combat capability.
He wielded the flaming greatsword with surprising proficiency, the blade carving through Zombie Iron Man's armor like opening a tin can—metal screaming as it was superheated and cleaved simultaneously.
"TONY!" someone shouted urgently.
Both Tonys turned simultaneously, just in time to witness Zombie Captain America twist his torso and hurl his Vibranium shield with tremendous rotational force. The disc slammed into the flaming greatsword's blade, actually denting the plasma-reinforced metal!
Then Steve lunged forward with superhuman athleticism, leaping two or three stories vertically to grab Tony's throat, attempting to snap his neck with raw grip strength.
Are you seriously trying to choke me out like Ultron did?!
Even through armor plating, Tony felt Steve's fingers crushing his windpipe.
Exhaust vents deployed from his back, and a rapid, superheated air blast propelled the zombie away with explosive force.
Just as Tony prepared to retaliate, a tremendously loud CRACK echoed across the battlefield.
He quickly located the source and observed E.U.N.I.C.E. using the Mind Stone's power to trap Zombie Thor within a mental construct—an internal dreamscape where his residual Asgardian nobility battled against overwhelming zombie hunger for dominance.
Simultaneously, he witnessed Wanda and Zombie Doctor Strange engaged in escalating mystical combat. The foundations of their sorcery were identical—both had been trained in principles established by the Ancient One and Odin. Strange couldn't break through Wanda's defensive wards, but Wanda could exploit her knowledge of Nine Realms magic to attack from unexpected angles.
Doctor Strange was rapidly being contained within an Astral Sphere prison, his corrupted consciousness trapped between dimensions.
But none of these engagements had produced the thunderous noise that drew Tony's attention.
His gaze continued sweeping across the battlefield until he identified the actual source: the Hulk, enraged beyond any previously recorded level, had literally shattered Gravattack's containment field through brute force—his arms flexing once to explosively break the gravitational prison!
But the Hulk wasn't the figure who'd truly disrupted the established tactical situation.
"Get out of here, you pathetic failures," a new voice commanded with absolute authority.
A zombie with bluish-gray skin, an emaciated body, and almost no remaining hair on his skull slowly emerged from shadows. He issued orders to all the other zombies with casual dominance.
The previously enraged Hulk heard that voice and immediately whimpered like a beaten dog, his aggression evaporating as he shrank backward submissively.
Almost everyone on the battlefield noticed the mysterious newcomer—and the distinctive black-and-white watch on his wrist.
"An Omnitrix!" Peter gasped in shock.
Besides Ben Parker and himself, there existed another person who possessed the device!
"Could you possibly be..." Peter's voice was hesitant, almost afraid to complete the thought. "Could you be Ben? An alternate universe Ben?"
A parallel universe version of our Ben?
Peter couldn't help the speculation spiraling through his mind. He'd encountered countless alternate versions of himself across the multiverse—but this represented his first time ever witnessing a different incarnation of Ben.
And this version appeared to be a zombie.