We all charged in to help Hulk; he was barely on his feet, surrounded on all sides.
Future me flew overhead, unleashing searing beams of energy that vaporized zombies by the dozens. Ben 10k fired powerful energy blasts, tearing through hordes of undead. Ben 23 raised a massive diamond wall around Hulk, giving him a chance to catch his breath and heal. Kid Ben fired volleys of plasma, reducing waves of zombies to ash, while Morgan lifted massive boulders and slammed them down, crushing entire clusters at once.
Blade was slicing through zombies like it was effortless, and somehow making it look stylish. Peter was swinging between the chaos, using his webs to rip off zombie heads mid-air. Kamala created massive hard-light constructs, smashing and sweeping back anything that got too close.
Shang-Chi and Katy Chen fought side by side, their rings glowing with golden energy as they tore through the undead. Nearby, the sorcerers unleashed spell after spell, disintegrating entire waves in flashes of light.
As for me, I was heading straight for Wanda. I knew in this form I could take her, but for some reason, Valkyrie was following me.
"Okay, not that I mind," I said, glancing at her as we ran, "but why are you coming with me? I'm going to fight Wanda. It's going to get dangerous, and I'm not sure I can protect you if things go south."
"She tricked me and my comrades," Valkyrie growled, gripping her blade tighter. "Turned my friends into zombies. She killed my king. What kind of Asgardian warrior would I be if I didn't avenge my people? And you don't need to protect me, boy, I can handle myself."
"Alright then," I said, nodding.
We pushed forward through the horde surrounding Wanda. None of them were particularly strong, just endless. We tore through them, crushing and slashing our way closer.
Finally, we broke through to her.
I leapt forward and swung my left fist, aiming straight for her. Wanda raised her hand, chaos energy swirling as she caught the blow. The impact triggered a massive shockwave, blasting away every zombie in the area.
I landed on my feet, energy flaring around me, ready to strike again.
Wanda's red eyes glowed through the smoke as she looked at me. Her voice was distorted, hollow, and chilling.
"Who… are you?"
"Just trying to make sure you don't destroy all of reality," I said, watching her carefully.
"I am not trying to destroy anything," Zombie Wanda hissed. "I'm trying to fix it, to spread my gift to everyone else."
I frowned. "If this is your idea of a gift, then you can keep it."
Before I could move, Valkyrie suddenly leapt out of the smoke, her sword glowing as she swung at Wanda's neck. But Wanda sensed her; her crimson eyes flashed, and she caught Valkyrie mid-air, freezing her with raw chaos energy.
Valkyrie struggled, suspended helplessly as red tendrils coiled around her armor.
I didn't hesitate. I shot forward and drove my fist straight into Wanda's chest, the impact exploding into a shockwave that shattered the ground beneath us and sent her flying. The spell broke instantly, and Valkyrie dropped to the ground, gasping for air.
I turned toward her. "Look, I know you want vengeance for your people," I said quickly, "but let me handle the witch. You just keep these zombie freaks off me."
She glared but nodded. "Fine. Don't die, hero."
"Wouldn't dream of it," I said, smirking as I turned back to Wanda.
She was already getting back up, rage twisting her face. Chaos magic flickered around her hands like molten fire.
I cracked my neck, readying myself. Energy pulsed through my body, and my second pair of arms unfolded from my sides, glowing with energy.
"Yeah, I know," I muttered. "Four arms. Weird. Don't care."
Wanda screamed and unleashed a massive surge of magic, a scarlet beam ripping through the air. I met it head-on, slamming my fists forward, raw energy colliding with chaos itself. The explosion tore through the battlefield, a storm of red and gold light swallowing everything around us.
Courtney Whitmore's POV
I was dead asleep, completely wiped from the day, when a noise downstairs jolted me awake.
Ever since Franklin gave me that Super Soldier serum, my senses have been ridiculously sharp. I could hear a pin drop from the other side of the house… and right now, I definitely heard someone moving in the basement.
I sat up fast, slipped on my house shoes, and went straight to Cindy's room.
"Cindy. Cindy! Wake up!" I whispered urgently, shaking her shoulder.
She groaned, rolling over with her usual sass. "Mmm… Courtney, if you wanna cuddle, you don't have to ask permission. Just crawl in." She lifted the covers invitingly.
"I don't want to cuddle," I said flatly.
Her eyes cracked open, a mischievous glint already forming. "Oh, okay, then. You wanna make out? That's cool too. But fair warning, I will bite your neck."
"No!" I hissed.
She pouted. "Why not? With the Super Soldier serum, I probably wouldn't even leave a mark. Not even a hickey."
"Cindy!" I whispered louder, "There's someone in the house! Put your shoes on and come with me!"
That got her attention immediately. The teasing vanished; her expression hardened.
"Where?" she asked, already sitting up.
"Down in the basement. I think they're going through the old JSA stuff."
Cindy was on her feet in an instant, not even bothering with shoes. She let out her blades and slipped out of the room. I followed close behind as we moved down the stairs, silent and tense.
When we reached the bottom, I spotted a shadowy figure creeping toward the kitchen, probably trying to sneak out the back.
Cindy didn't hesitate. She lunged forward, fast and silent, blades flashing as she struck.
Cindy swung her blades fast, but the intruder saw it coming and dodged. That didn't stop Cindy. She followed up immediately with a second slash from her other hand, faster and sharper, but again the stranger slipped out of the way.
This time, the figure countered, raising a hand and firing a green energy blast that caught Cindy square in the chest, launching her backward across the room.
That's when I stepped in.
I charged forward, gripping my hand, and swung it with all my strength. It connected hard, sending the intruder flying into the wall. The impact should've broken ribs, maybe worse, but she just stood back up like it was nothing.
"What the hell…" I muttered under my breath.
That's when I saw it, the object she'd stolen. A Green Lantern's power lantern. She was holding it tight, and before I could react, she slipped her other hand inside the light chamber.
A second later, she pulled it back out, glowing bright green, and fired another blast straight at me.
I dodged, rolling to the side, and called out, "Staff!"
My cosmic staff flew into my hand from my room, spinning into place. I charged again, swinging hard.
She ducked under the first strike, but I followed with a kick that sent her stumbling back. My staff hovered midair beside her, spinning on command, and cracked her across the head, knocking her down.
The staff flew back to my grip, and I used it to vault forward, launching myself into the air. I came down hard, aiming to pin her, but she rolled away at the last second.
She got back up, the green lantern still in her hand, and swung it at me like a weapon.
I called the staff again, sparks flying as the two weapons clashed, green light against cosmic energy, each hit sending shockwaves through the room.
As the stranger and I clashed, sparks of green and gold light filled the kitchen.
Cindy recovered fast, she darted in, leaping off a broken chair, and kicked the Lantern right out of the intruder's hands. The lamp flew across the room, clattering into a wall.
That was all the opening we needed.
Cindy slid her knives back into their arms and went in swinging. She landed a solid punch to the stranger's jaw, and I followed up, striking from the side with my staff. Cindy hit her again, hard, in the stomach, and I brought the staff down across her shoulder, trying to bring her down for good.
But the stranger didn't fall. She let out a sharp cry and released a surge of green energy that blasted both of us backward. The force ripped the staff right out of my grip and sent us crashing through the wall into the living room.
I slammed into the coffee table; Cindy landed half on the couch, half on the floor.
"Ugh… we really need sturdier furniture," I groaned, forcing myself up.
Before I could grab my staff, the stranger came bursting through the wall, wrapped in a blazing green aura. She fired a blast straight at Cindy.
"Cindy!" I shouted, diving in front of her.
I raised my hands instinctively and caught the blast. For a split second, it didn't hurt. Then the pain hit. My hands started burning, flesh searing, smoke rising.
"Gah!" I gritted my teeth, forcing the energy back.
Then—
"What's going on in here?!"
The stranger stopped firing, and the room went dead silent. The lights flicked on.
At the top of the stairs stood my mom, my dad… and my little brother. All three of them were staring in horror, not at the green-glowing stranger, but at me.
Their eyes widened as they watched the burns on my hands fade, the skin knitting back together like nothing ever happened.
"Courtney?" Mom whispered.
I froze. The only thought running through my head was Franklin is going to be so pissed.
I forced a shaky smile. "I can explain…"
Franklin's POV
I'd been clashing with Wanda for what felt like forever. I'd finally started adapting to her chaos magic, but that didn't mean things were getting any easier. Every time I thought I had her rhythm down, she switched it up, throwing new spells at me like she was speed-running the Book of the Damned.
And as if that wasn't enough, Thor decided to join the party.
His lightning was annoying at first, stung like crazy, but my body eventually adapted to it. The real problem was Stormbreaker. That axe actually cut me, which is saying something. My body's still working on adapting to that one.
Around me, everyone else was holding their own. Kid Ben had timed out and was near Morgan, waiting for a recharge. Wanda had summoned reinforcements, hordes of giant zombies and undead Asgardians, but Ben 10k was handling them like a pro, with future me assisting. Ben 23 was busy keeping Hulk covered.
It was chaos. Beautiful, apocalyptic chaos.
WHAM!
Stormbreaker buried itself halfway into my neck.
"God damn it, Thor! I'm trying to have an inner monologue here!" I yelled.
I yanked the axe out and watched my neck seal up instantly. "You're not getting this back."
Thor roared, extending his hand to summon Stormbreaker. The weapon twitched in my grip, vibrating violently, but I held on tight. He growled, lightning flaring around him as he lunged toward me.
I sighed. "You know, I actually liked you in the movies."
A blade shot out from my left arm, glowing, razor-sharp, and as Thor came down at me, I swung.
Shhhk!
His head separated cleanly from his shoulders, lightning crackling wildly before fading out with him.
I stared at the body for a second, then at the axe still humming in my hand.
I dropped the axe and turned my focus back to Wanda. No more distractions.
Charging forward, I slammed into her chaos barrier with everything I had. The red energy cracked under the force, sparks flying as I pushed harder, inch by inch.
"Stop this!" Wanda hissed, her decaying face flickering for a moment, and then suddenly, her zombie form melted away, revealing a more human version of herself. Her voice softened. "Please. All I'm trying to do is help people. Don't you see? We could be one, no more fighting over land or race. No more division. Just unity."
For a second, I hesitated. I could almost hear the real Wanda in there.
"I don't know how much of the real you is left," I said, my voice low. "But believe it or not… I want that world too. A world without hate. Without war. A world that doesn't need superheroes to save it every other week."
Her eyes flickered with hope.
"But what you're creating isn't peace," I said, pushing harder against the shield. "It's chaos wearing a mask."
With a roar, I poured every ounce of strength I had into one final push. The barrier shattered like glass, and I grabbed her by the waist, then crushed her midsection in one swift motion.
Her body convulsed, magic crackling out of control. I raised my foot and brought it down, hard, finishing it.
For a moment, everything went still.
Then her body dissolved into a swirl of crimson mist.
I froze. A chaos clone.
"Of course it was," I muttered, scanning the battlefield.
Before I could react, something hit me, hard.
A glowing red blur smashed through my side, sending me flying through hordes of zombies. I plowed through them like bowling pins, crashing into the ruins of a fallen ship.
I groaned, forcing myself to my feet, and that's when I saw her.
Floating above the carnage, aura blazing red, her eyes burning like molten fire.
Zombie Captain Marvel.
And she looked furious.
She should've been fighting Ikaris. If she wasn't here, then where the hell was he?
I didn't have time to think about it, because Captain Marvel came at me like a missile.
I barely had a second to brace before her fist collided with mine. The impact was deafening; a shockwave ripped through the field, blowing away zombies and tearing chunks out of the ground beneath us.
But I didn't stop there.
I swung again. And again. All four of my arms moved in perfect sync, fists slamming into her with explosive force. She matched every hit, her strikes just as powerful. Each clash sent waves of raw energy rippling outward, leveling everything around us.
It was like two storms colliding.
I landed a few solid hits, enough to send her stumbling, but she recovered fast, floating back with her hands glowing white-hot. Then she fired.
The blast slammed into me, sending me skidding backward. I dug my heels into the ground, refusing to be thrown again.
"Not this time," I growled.
She unleashed another volley, brighter and stronger, her binary energy scorching through the battlefield. I could feel the heat against my face… but it wasn't burning.
The wheel on my head rotated, adapting instantly to her energy signature. My cells shifted, realigning to match her output.
Her blasts started to weaken.
I started walking toward her, step by step, through the storm of cosmic fire. Her eyes widened as her attacks began to fade against me, the light dimming uselessly across my body.
She screamed, pushing her power to the limit, energy tearing through everything around us, disintegrating zombies, melting the ground. But I just kept walking.
When I reached her, I raised both of my upper arms out to my sides, feeling the energy swirl between them.
Then I brought my hands together, fast.
The impact crushed her head instantly, the explosion of red and gold light fading just as quickly. Her body went limp and dropped to the ground like a broken doll.
I scanned the battlefield for Wanda and saw her laying into Morgan and Ben 23. My stomach dropped. I sprinted across the wreckage, dodging falling debris and shoving past staggered zombies. In two bounds, I was on them.
I launched myself and slammed a punch straight into Wanda's jaw. She hit the dirt hard. I didn't hesitate; I grabbed her and hurled her into the nearest horde, sending her skidding through a sea of undead. Then I cut back, knowing this had to end.
I slammed the Omnitrix dial.
"Voidflare," I called.
Light exploded around me as I shifted into my Anodite form and levitated above the battlefield. Wanda saw me and spat a storm of chaos bolts. I lifted both hands and... absorbed them. The chaos energy hit me and poured into my palms like liquid fire, and I funneled it into a focused reply, a searing pink beam that blasted her and pinned her, momentarily immobilizing her in mid-air.
She struggled, pumping more chaos energy into the fight. The more she ripped at the bonds, the more energy she poured out, and the more I was able to siphon away. When she finally began to tire, I braided the remaining strands of chaos into a blade in my right hand and forced her closer with my left.
One clean strike. The blade connected.
"It's over. You can rest now," I said.
With Wanda neutralized, the queen of this undead plague collapsed. But the horde didn't stop. I dropped back down and joined the others, moving like a storm through the ranks, blasting, punching, and tearing zombies apart until the immediate area fell silent.
One Hour Later
It took us a while, but we did it. Every last zombie, gone.
Now we were just sitting around, catching our breath. Ben 23 had created a few makeshift stone chairs for everyone, and we'd gathered near Hulk, who looked half-asleep but alive. The battlefield was quiet for the first time in hours, the kind of silence that only comes after chaos.
"So let me get this straight," Katy Chen said, glancing between us. "All of you are from different multiverses, and you just showed up here at the last minute to help us out?"
She crossed her arms. "Kinda messed up you couldn't have helped sooner."
"Not that we're ungrateful or anything," Peter added quickly. "But she's got a point. Why didn't this Paradox guy bring you here before the whole apocalypse started?"
I looked at Future Me, then at the other Bens and Morgan. We all had the same look, confusion.
"Honestly," I said, shaking my head, "I don't know. Paradox didn't tell us much. He just said there was a crisis and that we needed to be here. Maybe he couldn't interfere until this point. Maybe… this was how it had to happen."
Everyone went quiet for a moment, letting that sink in.
Then Rintrah, still catching his breath, nodded. "Be that as it may… thank you. All of you. Without your help, this world would have been lost."
I smiled faintly. "Hey, saving worlds is kinda what we do."
Future Me chuckled. "Yeah. Guess it runs in the multiversal family."
Kamala hadn't said a word since the fight ended. She just sat quietly, staring at the ground, the glow of the ruined battlefield reflecting in her eyes.
"Kamala?" I said gently.
She looked up at us, hesitating for a moment before finally speaking. Her voice was calm, but it carried a heavy ache underneath.
"Look… I am happy you guys showed up and helped us today," she said. "But that doesn't change what happened. We lost a lot of people, friends, family, teammates. People we loved."
She took a shaky breath. "You guys are strong. You could've made a huge difference if you'd been here from the start. I know it's not your fault, probably not even that Paradox guy's either, but… it still hurts. My world's still crawling with zombies, and even with this victory, it doesn't feel like we've won. So… yeah. Thank you for the help, but I'm not really in a talking mood right now."
None of us said anything after that. The silence was heavy, the kind you don't break with words.
Morgan finally turned to me. "Is there truly no way we can help them anymore?"
I sighed. "Not really. We could stay for a while, maybe I could build a cure for the infection, but rebuilding society? That'll take years. And we don't even know how many humans are left."
Morgan nodded slowly, eyes down.
Then Future Me leaned back in his chair and muttered, "Unless we just use Alien X. I could fix all of this in, like… a minute."
Every single one of us turned to look at him.
He blinked, then rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh… right. I forgot I have him."
"Wait a minute, hold up." I stared at Future Me. "You have Alien X? Since when did I get Alien X? I thought I couldn't!"
He shrugged casually. "He never said you couldn't. He just said he left it out."
"WHAT?!" I yelled.
Future Me nodded. "Yeah, I had the same reaction when I found out."
"Okay, first off, can you fix this world? And second, can you give me Alien X?" I asked, pointing at him.
He smirked. "Yes to fixing the world. No to giving you Alien X. That would mess up the timeline."
"Fuck"
"Language, young Franklin."
I turned around to see Professor Paradox stepping out of a glowing blue portal, hands clasped behind his back like he hadn't just scolded me across time and space.
"I'm guessing it's time to go home?" I asked, rubbing my face.
"I'm afraid so," Paradox said. "We'll leave Future Franklin here to repair this reality, but the rest of you, back to your respective worlds."
Future Me sighed. "Yeah, give me an hour or so. Bellicus and Serena aren't exactly easy to negotiate with these days."
He twisted the dial on his Omnitrix, slammed it down, and transformed into Alien X. In an instant, the area around him went still, reality itself humming with his presence.
Emotionless. Silent. Godlike.
Paradox gave a satisfied nod and opened another shimmering portal behind us.
"Well, it's been fun, everyone," Ben 23 said, brushing off his jacket. "Gave me a great idea for a movie script. Guess it's time to bounce." He stepped through the portal without a second glance.
"Yeah," Kid Ben said with a grin. "Crazy fun. Never thought I'd be fighting zombies in my lifetime." He followed right after.
Ben 10K stepped up to me, his expression calm but proud. "It's been an honor fighting beside you, Franklin."
He extended his hand. I grinned and took it.
Then my Omnitrix started to glitch.
The dial sparked, glowing erratically, and a strange hum filled the air. I broke the handshake and looked down at my wrist.
The Omnitrix was leaking energy, beeping rapidly, then suddenly, it stopped.
A monotone voice came from the watch:
"Biomnitrix has been acquired. New features now accessible."
I froze. Ben 10K's eyes widened too.
We both just stared at my wrist.
"That's an interesting Omnitrix you've got there," Ben 10K said, eyeing the device still glowing faintly on my wrist.
"You're telling me," I said. "I didn't even know it could do that."
Ben chuckled. "Well… use that new mode responsibly, and creatively."
He gave me a knowing nod before stepping through the portal and disappearing into the blue light.
I was still staring at the Omnitrix when Morgan walked up beside me. She leaned closer, her eyes reflecting the faint green glow.
"Biomnitrix?" she asked.
"Yeah," I said, smiling. "It lets me fuse any two alien DNAs together, make custom hybrids. Basically, a new level of crazy power."
Her eyebrows lifted. "That's… actually amazing."
"I know," I said with a grin. "And I'm absolutely going to abuse this new mode so hard."
Morgan laughed quietly. "Heh. I'd expect nothing less from you." She started walking toward the portal, glancing back at me. "Guess I'll see you when I see you. I'll make sure to tell the other you that you said hi."
I looked up from the Omnitrix and smiled. "Please do. It was good seeing you again, Morgan."
She returned the smile, soft, genuine, and stepped through the portal, vanishing.
I turned back toward Kamala and the others. "Don't worry," I said. "He'll fix this world. Future me won't stop until everything's back to normal."
Kamala looked up, her voice trembling with cautious hope. "You think he can really… fix everything? Stop all of this from ever happening?"
I hesitated, then nodded. "I'm not making any promises, but yeah. If anyone can do it, he can. Especially since you and Peter are here."
Both of them blinked in surprise.
"Wait, because of us?" Peter asked.
I smiled. "In our world, our timeline, you two are our best friends. And I know for a fact… we'd do anything for our friends."
For the first time since the battle ended, they both smiled, small but real.
"Ready to go home?" Professor Paradox asked, the portal swirling open behind him.
"Yeah," I said with a tired sigh. "It's been a long day, and I could really use a bed."
I started toward the portal, but stopped halfway through as a thought hit me. "Wait a minute… I forgot something."
Everyone turned to look as I glanced around the battlefield. Then I spotted it, half-buried in the dirt, glowing faintly under the moonlight.
Stormbreaker.
I raised my hand, focusing my magic. The weapon twitched, then lifted off the ground and flew through the air straight into my grasp.
Their faces said it all wide eyes, mouths open.
I smirked. "What? Souvenir."
With that, I turned, walked through the portal, and stepped back into my room. It was night again, quiet, peaceful. I slid Stormbreaker under my bed like it was a baseball bat, kicked off my shoes, peeled off my clothes, and collapsed onto the bed.
"Finally…" I muttered, closing my eyes. "No zombies. No chaos witches. … just sleep."