The green light disappeared.
Ben Stuart stood on the rooftop, his eyes fixed on the Omnitrix.
For the first time since he had received it, the device was completely silent.
No countdown.
No warning.
No transformation timer.
Nothing.
That frightened him more than any alarm could have.
Peter Parker stood beside him, already wearing his mask.
"So," Peter said, "where exactly are we going?"
Ben looked at him.
"My private dimension."
Peter tilted his head.
"Your what?"
"My private dimension."
Peter waited.
Ben sighed.
"It's complicated."
"You're telling me you have a private dimension and that's the part you consider complicated?"
"Yes."
Peter stared at him.
"Okay."
Ben touched the Omnitrix.
A green holographic doorway appeared.
Peter stepped closer.
"That's new."
"Everything about tonight is new."
Ben walked toward the doorway.
Then stopped.
He looked at Peter.
"Once we go inside, stay close to me."
Peter nodded.
"Got it."
"And don't touch anything."
Peter raised both hands.
"I wasn't planning to."
"Good."
Ben stepped through.
Peter followed.
The Library
Ben immediately knew something was wrong.
The library was silent.
Too silent.
Normally, the enormous library was filled with the soft sounds of floating books, shifting shelves, magical lights, and the occasional voice of Lyra explaining something.
Now there was nothing.
Not even wind.
Peter slowly looked around.
"Whoa."
The library seemed endless.
Rows of books stretched farther than Peter could see.
Staircases disappeared into darkness.
Floating platforms hung in the air.
Thousands of glowing symbols moved across the walls.
Peter turned toward Ben.
"You made this?"
"No."
"Then who did?"
"That would take too long to explain."
Peter looked around again.
"Is this even Earth?"
"No."
Peter was silent for several seconds.
"Okay."
Ben looked at the floor.
There were footprints.
Fresh ones.
His expression immediately hardened.
"Someone was here."
Peter crouched.
"Human?"
Ben examined the marks.
"Probably."
Peter pointed.
"Those footprints lead that way."
Ben nodded.
"That's the restricted section."
Peter stood.
"Restricted?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because it contains information that can destroy civilizations."
Peter stared at him.
"Of course it does."
Ben began walking.
Peter followed.
As they moved through the library, the lights above them slowly turned red.
Peter looked upward.
"Is that normal?"
"No."
"Good."
They continued.
Then a voice echoed through the library.
"Benjamin Stuart."
Ben stopped.
Peter immediately moved into a defensive stance.
"Who said that?"
The voice came again.
"You were never supposed to discover the door."
Ben looked toward the darkness.
"Show yourself."
A figure stepped out.
Black coat.
Silver mask.
The symbol of Project Eclipse.
Ben's eyes narrowed.
"Eclipse."
The figure tilted his head.
"Not quite."
Peter looked at Ben.
"Not Eclipse?"
The masked man removed his hood.
A pale face appeared beneath the mask.
His eyes were completely black.
"I am one of them."
Ben's hand moved toward the Omnitrix.
"Who?"
The man smiled.
"The people who existed before your universe learned how to exist."
Peter whispered:
"That's not ominous at all."
Ben ignored him.
"Where is Lyra?"
The man's smile disappeared.
"Your librarian?"
Ben's expression became cold.
"Where is she?"
"Alive."
Ben relaxed slightly.
"Where?"
"She refused to cooperate."
A pause.
"So we placed her somewhere safe."
Ben's eyes narrowed.
"Define safe."
The man pointed toward the endless shelves.
"She is beyond the Seventh Archive."
Ben froze.
"The Seventh Archive is sealed."
"Not anymore."
The masked man raised his hand.
The floor beneath Ben cracked.
Green energy exploded outward.
Ben immediately grabbed Peter.
"Move!"
They jumped aside.
A wave of dark energy tore through the library.
Several shelves disappeared.
Peter landed beside Ben.
"What was that?"
"Dimensional energy."
Ben looked toward the masked man.
"And he's using it like a weapon."
The man smiled.
"Very observant."
Ben activated the Omnitrix.
"Let's see how well you fight."
He slammed the dial.
XLR8.
Green light exploded.
Ben transformed.
His body became streamlined.
Blue armor covered his limbs.
His feet became claws.
He disappeared.
The masked man didn't move.
Ben appeared behind him.
A kick.
The man blocked.
Ben attacked again.
Another block.
Then another.
Ben accelerated.
Ten strikes.
Twenty.
Fifty.
The masked man continued blocking.
Peter watched in disbelief.
"He's keeping up with him."
Ben increased his speed.
The entire library became a blur.
Books flew from shelves.
Air pressure shook the room.
Then—
The masked man raised one hand.
Ben suddenly stopped.
Not because he wanted to.
Because the space around him had frozen.
Ben's eyes widened.
"What?"
The masked man walked toward him.
"You are fast."
He placed one hand against Ben's chest.
"But speed is meaningless when distance no longer exists."
The space around Ben collapsed.
Ben was thrown backward.
He reverted to human form.
He crashed into a bookshelf.
Peter immediately attacked.
He swung forward.
"Hey!"
His fist struck the masked man.
The man barely moved.
Peter's eyes widened.
"That should have hurt."
The man looked at him.
"You are the second anomaly."
Peter stepped backward.
"What?"
The man's eyes began glowing.
"You were not supposed to be here either."
Peter raised his fists.
"Yeah, people keep telling me that."
The man attacked.
Peter dodged.
His spider-sense screamed.
He ducked.
A blade of energy passed over his head.
Peter jumped backward.
Webbing shot from his wrists.
The web wrapped around the man's arm.
Peter pulled.
The masked man didn't move.
Instead, he pulled Peter toward himself.
Peter's eyes widened.
"Oh, come on!"
Before the man could strike—
BOOM!
A massive red fist hit him.
The masked man flew across the library.
Ben stood up.
He had transformed.
FOUR ARMS.
Ben cracked his knuckles.
"Nobody hits my friend."
Peter looked at him.
"Friend?"
Ben glanced over.
"Don't make it weird."
Peter smiled beneath his mask.
"Too late."
The masked man slowly stood.
Four Arms charged.
Their fists collided.
The impact shook the library.
Ben attacked again.
The masked man blocked.
Four Arms grabbed him with two hands.
Then slammed him into the floor.
CRASH!
The floor cracked.
Ben lifted him.
Another punch.
Another.
Another.
The masked man suddenly disappeared.
Ben looked around.
"Where did he go?"
Peter shouted:
"Above you!"
Ben looked upward.
The masked man was floating.
His body began changing.
Dark energy surrounded him.
His human shape disappeared.
What remained was something enormous.
A creature made from shadow and fractured light.
Peter stared.
"Okay."
Ben looked up.
"That's new."
The creature opened its mouth.
But no sound came out.
Instead, the entire library shook.
Books fell from shelves.
The walls cracked.
Ben immediately transformed.
DIAMONDHEAD.
Crystal armor covered his body.
A massive crystal shield formed around Peter.
The creature released a wave of energy.
It struck the shield.
BOOM!
Peter looked at Ben.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome."
The creature attacked again.
Ben created dozens of crystal pillars.
The creature destroyed them.
Ben formed blades.
Destroyed.
Spears.
Destroyed.
Walls.
Destroyed.
Ben stepped backward.
"This isn't working."
Peter looked at the creature.
"What do we do?"
Ben's Omnitrix beeped.
He looked down.
A strange message appeared.
ADAPTIVE RESPONSE AVAILABLE
Ben frowned.
"Not yet."
The Omnitrix beeped again.
THREAT LEVEL: EXTREME
ADAPTIVE RESPONSE RECOMMENDED
Ben hesitated.
The Adaptive Combat Form.
He remembered what happened the last time.
The instability.
The energy drain.
The strange connection with the entity.
But there was no other choice.
Ben slammed the Omnitrix.
Green energy exploded.
Diamondhead disappeared.
His body changed.
Metallic-black armor formed around him.
Green lines appeared across his body.
His eyes glowed.
The Omnitrix symbol appeared in the center of his chest.
ADAPTIVE COMBAT FORM
STABILITY: 74%
Ben looked at his hands.
The creature attacked.
Ben raised one hand.
The attack stopped.
Not blocked.
Stopped.
The energy simply disappeared.
Ben stared.
"What?"
The Omnitrix displayed:
ENERGY PATTERN ANALYZED
COUNTERMEASURE GENERATED
Ben smiled.
"Okay."
The creature attacked again.
Ben raised his hand.
The energy was absorbed.
His armor changed.
The green lines across his body shifted.
The creature attacked again.
Ben moved.
Faster.
Stronger.
More precise.
He struck the creature in the chest.
BOOM!
The creature flew through several shelves.
Peter stared.
"That form is ridiculous."
Ben looked at him.
"Thanks."
"I wasn't complimenting you."
"I'll take it anyway."
The creature rose again.
This time, something changed.
Its body began breaking apart.
The masked man's voice returned.
"You still don't understand."
Ben stared.
"Understand what?"
"You think the Omnitrix is adapting to you."
The man's voice became distorted.
"It isn't."
Ben's smile disappeared.
"Then what is it doing?"
The creature pointed at him.
"It's adapting to reality."
The Omnitrix flashed.
Ben suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest.
He dropped to one knee.
Peter rushed toward him.
"Ben!"
Ben grabbed his chest.
"What is happening?"
The Omnitrix displayed a message.
ADAPTIVE SYSTEM ERROR
REALITY INTERACTION DETECTED
UNKNOWN PROCESS
Ben stared.
"Reality interaction?"
The creature laughed.
"You wished for infinite potential."
Ben looked up.
"And?"
"You forgot one thing."
The creature's body began disappearing.
"Potential requires possibility."
Ben's eyes widened.
"And possibility..."
The creature vanished.
"...requires a choice."
Silence.
The library became still.
Peter looked around.
"Did we win?"
Ben slowly stood.
"No."
He looked toward the darkness.
"He wasn't trying to win."
Peter frowned.
"Then what was he doing?"
Ben's Omnitrix beeped.
A new message appeared.
PRIMARY OBJECTIVE COMPLETE
DOOR LOCATION IDENTIFIED
Ben stared.
"What door?"
The answer appeared.
PRIVATE DIMENSIONAL CORE
Ben's face went pale.
Peter noticed.
"What?"
Ben looked toward the center of the library.
"I thought this dimension was just a place."
Peter waited.
Ben continued.
"But it's not."
A deep rumbling sound echoed through the library.
The floor began opening.
A massive circular structure emerged from beneath the library.
It looked ancient.
Older than the universe itself.
Green symbols covered its surface.
Ben approached.
His Omnitrix began glowing.
The symbols responded.
Peter looked at him.
"Do you know what that is?"
Ben shook his head.
"No."
He touched the structure.
The entire library disappeared.
For one second, Ben saw everything.
Countless universes.
Countless timelines.
Countless versions of Earth.
Countless versions of himself.
Some were heroes.
Some were villains.
Some were kings.
Some were scientists.
Some were monsters.
Some were dead.
Some had never been born.
And one...
One stood in a completely black universe.
That version of Ben looked directly at him.
Then smiled.
Ben immediately pulled his hand away.
The vision disappeared.
Peter grabbed his shoulder.
"Ben!"
Ben was breathing heavily.
"What did you see?"
Ben looked at him.
"I saw myself."
"Another version?"
"Yes."
"What was different?"
Ben stared at the structure.
"Everything."
A voice suddenly echoed behind them.
"You're finally beginning to understand."
Ben turned.
Lyra stood at the end of the corridor.
She was alive.
But she looked frightened.
Ben immediately ran toward her.
"Lyra!"
She stopped him.
"Don't."
Ben froze.
"Why?"
Lyra looked toward the structure.
"Because it has awakened."
Ben turned.
The structure began glowing.
The Omnitrix responded.
DIMENSIONAL CORE: ACTIVE
SYSTEM STATUS: UNKNOWN
CONNECTION: ESTABLISHED
Ben stared.
"Connection to what?"
Lyra whispered:
"The Omniverse."
Peter looked between them.
"What does that mean?"
Lyra looked at Ben.
"It means your dimension was never just a training ground."
Ben's expression hardened.
"Then what is it?"
Lyra answered quietly.
"A crossroads."
The lights throughout the library suddenly turned green.
Every book opened simultaneously.
Every page began displaying the same symbol.
The symbol on Ben's Omnitrix.
Then another message appeared.
Not from the Omnitrix.
From the dimension itself.
WELCOME, TRAVELER.
Ben stared.
A second line appeared.
YOUR JOURNEY BEGINS NOW.
And beneath it...
A final message.
FIRST DESTINATION: EARTH-616
Ben's eyes widened.
Peter looked confused.
"What is Earth-616?"
Ben slowly smiled.
"Apparently..."
He looked toward the infinite darkness beyond the library.
"...we're about to find out."
Far away, in a hidden facility beneath New York, a monitor suddenly activated.
Dr. Elias Voss stood in front of it.
The screen displayed a single message.
DIMENSIONAL CORE ACTIVATED.
Voss stared at it.
Then smiled.
"Excellent."
A second figure stood behind him.
"Should we initiate containment?"
Voss shook his head.
"No."
He turned toward the window.
"Let him open the door."
The figure hesitated.
"Doctor..."
Voss smiled.
"Because once Ben Stuart enters Earth-616..."
He looked toward the city above them.
"...the real experiment begins."