Thanos froze.
He stared at the purple gem resting in Ben's palm, a perfect match of the one in his own gauntlet. The fiery passion of his righteous crusade was extinguished in an instant, as if doused by a bucket of glacial water.
What?
Two Power Stones? In that moment, Thanos felt the foundations of his reality tremble.
But he was a being of immense intellect. He recovered quickly. There could only be one of each Infinity Stone in a given universe; that was a cosmic law. For there to be two, Ben would have had to traverse the multiverse and bring one back from another reality. Not only was that a feat of questionable possibility, but it was also pointless—a stone from another universe would be nothing more than a useless, colored rock in this one.
Thanos was certain the gem in his gauntlet was real. Just a second ago, its power was coursing through him—the terrible, destructive force, the unparalleled might, the sensation of commanding the very fabric of the universe, and the agonizing strain on his own body as he channeled it. All of it confirmed the authenticity of his stone.
And so, he calmed himself. His gaze shifted from shock to condescending pity, as if he were looking at a court jester.
"What, precisely, are you doing?" he asked.
"Can't you see?" Ben said, as if concerned for the Titan's eyesight. He held the counterfeit stone higher. "You think you've already won because you have the Power Stone, but guess what? I have one, too."
Thanos shook his head, a deep sigh of disappointment escaping his lips. "Your stupidity is truly unbelievable."
He would normally grant a powerful adversary like Ben a measure of respect, even as an enemy. But this… this was a child's parlor trick. It was absurd.
"Had you produced any of the other five stones, I would not question your intelligence. On the contrary, I would be wary, as the outcome of a clash between two different cosmic singularities would be difficult to predict," Thanos explained, his voice patient, like a teacher correcting a dull-witted student. "But you chose to produce another Power Stone."
"Fighting magic with magic. Fighting power with power. What's the problem?" Ben asked innocently.
Thanos pressed a hand to his forehead, feeling a genuine pang of frustration. Do you believe I will turn into you and beat you up? You actually have the audacity to ask me what the problem is?
"There are six Infinity Stones," Thanos said, his voice dangerously low. "Power, Space, Time, Reality, Mind, and Soul. Each is unique. The Power Stone in my possession was taken from the Orb by Ronan the Accuser and delivered to me personally. How dare you stand before me with such a pathetic fake?"
If Ben were holding the Mind or Space Stone, Thanos would have to consider the possibility of defeat. But this was an insult to his intelligence.
Yet, Ben simply shook his head. "You're wrong, Thanos." He said it with such earnest conviction that it gave Thanos pause. "You know that there are six Infinity Stones, but you don't know the deeper truth. Each stone has a counterpart. Everything in the universe exists in opposition. Good and evil, light and dark, yin and yang… The Infinity Stones are no different."
I believe you have finally lost your mind, Thanos thought.
But before he could voice his disdain, Ben waved his hand. Six glittering stones materialized between his palms, circling one another like a miniature solar system, forming a brilliant, infinite loop of light and energy.
Thanos was stunned into silence. With his vision, he could feel the immense power radiating from them. They looked, felt, and resonated like the six Infinity Stones he so desperately craved. The light they released in unison as they formed a circuit was a phenomenon he had only dreamed of—it could not be faked. It meant the six stones in Ben's hand were all real.
"This is impossible…" he whispered, his eyes wide. Not only was it inconceivable for Ben to have collected the other five, but the Power Stone was right here, in his own gauntlet. Are there truly two sets of Infinity Stones?
For the first time in a long time, Thanos's conviction was shaken.
Of course, the stones were fakes. They were replicas created by Alien X. While they radiated enormous energy, it was a finite illusion. After a moment of letting Thanos stew in his confusion, Ben dismissed the five illusory stones, leaving only the counterfeit Power Stone in his hand.
"Now do you believe me, Thanos?"
The Titan's mind raced. He quickly seized on the logical flaw. If Ben truly possesses all six stones, why has he not used them? With Ben's physical prowess, controlling the stones would be difficult, but not impossible. He could have erased Thanos from existence with a single thought. But he hadn't. Why?
Thanos did not believe it was out of kindness. There had to be a trick. And with his formidable intellect, he quickly found the key.
"I see," Thanos said, his confidence returning. "I did not expect you to have acquired the Reality Stone. These stones… they are illusions, materialized by its power, are they not? A clever deception. But while the Aether can simulate the appearance and even some of the abilities of the other stones, it cannot truly create them from nothing. What you hold is still just a fake."
His guess was remarkably close to the truth. His only mistake was mistaking Alien X for the Reality Stone.
"In that case," Ben smiled, "why don't you test if my Power Stone is real? Let me give you a hint: stones have yin and yang. Yours is male, and mine is female. When your gem meets mine, it just… can't perform."
Thanos felt a vein throb in his temple. The boy was truly insane.
"Enough," he growled. "This farce is over. I will put an end to this." He shook his head and raised the arm bearing the Gauntlet, closing his eyes. The outcome was already decided. He just needed to wait for the infinite energy to surge through him once more and destroy everything.
He waited.
One second. Two. Three.
Nothing happened.
Thanos's eyes snapped open. He looked down. The Power Stone in his gauntlet, which had been radiating a dazzling, mysterious light, was now a dull, dim purple. The energy within it was draining away like sand through his fingertips, leaving behind a mere transparent, worthless crystal. His heart suddenly felt as empty as the stone itself.
At that moment, Ben's voice echoed in his ears. "I told you. Your gem doesn't work when it meets mine."
Thanos's head shot up. The gem in Ben's hand now seemed to glow even brighter, its purple luminescence pulsing with the infinite, mysterious power of the cosmos. He looked back and forth between the brilliant stone in Ben's hand and the dead one in his own, and the expression on his face became one of utter, bitter disbelief. Could it be true?
For a moment, Thanos felt as if his entire understanding of the universe had been a lie.
But he would have no more time to ponder it. Ben had completely unleashed the power of the real Power Stone. Once its energy was fully released, not even Thanos could resist it. A wave of purple, destructive light completely engulfed the area, and anything it touched was instantly atomized.
Thanos wanted to escape, but Ben wouldn't let him. The scorching flames of Ultimate Heatblast formed a massive vortex at his feet, trapping him. He was a beast caught in a cage of divine fire. As the purple light closed in, Thanos decided to face his end with dignity.
In the flames, Ben walked out and faced him.
"Just do it," Thanos said, resigning himself to his fate.
"Don't be impatient," Ben replied. "I'm going to give you a fair duel."
And with that, Ben did not use the Power Stone to destroy Thanos. Instead, he put the gem away. Then, he cancelled his transformation, the fiery form of Ultimate Heatblast receding until he stood before the Titan as a normal human.
"You… won't use the Power Stone?" Thanos asked, bewildered by this turn of events.
"That wouldn't be fun," Ben said with a laugh. If he had truly wanted an easy win, he would have brought the Space and Mind Stones as well and simply erased Thanos from existence. But where was the satisfaction in that?
"Do you think you are stronger than me?" Thanos looked down at the now "short" Ben, still unable to comprehend his decision. They had been evenly matched before.
Ben nodded as if it were obvious. He strode forward and, to Thanos's utter surprise, casually dipped his finger in the blood still on the Titan's cheek from earlier attack. He smeared the drop of blood onto his watch.
He then looked up, meeting Thanos's eyes. "Do you know why I always win?" he asked. "It's because I never, ever admit defeat."
Then, before Thanos's astonished gaze, Ben pressed the Omnitrix. A green light flashed. And like a perfect reflection in a mirror, a second purple-skinned Titan, identical to Thanos in every way, appeared in the heart of the inferno.
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