BOOM!!!
The collision between frigid air currents and scorching flame waves created an instantaneous maelstrom of opposing forces. The violent convection generated a raging storm within the interdimensional void, while the clash of positive-charged plasma created weak electrical discharges that danced like miniature lightning across the fabric of space itself.
However, Superior Spider-Man and the other heroes suddenly felt blessed relief, as if they had stepped into an air-conditioned sanctuary after enduring hours under the merciless summer sun.
Ben held Gwen securely with one arm, her exhausted form curling against him like a delicate, weary kitten seeking warmth and protection. Simultaneously, streams of supernatural cold air flowed continuously from his chest cavity, meeting and overwhelming Morlun's transformed fire-creature flames in a spectacular display of elemental opposition.
WHOOOOSH!!!
The wind howled with primal fury as winter itself seemed to descend upon the battlefield.
Ben moved like an elegant, mysterious wizard wrapped in flowing robes of ice and shadow. With each gentle exhalation, he brought forth what appeared to be a localized Ice Age, his breath visible as glittering crystals that caught and refracted the chaotic light of the dimensional space.
As he advanced with deliberate, measured steps, the area covered by his blue-white cold currents continued expanding exponentially. The frigid assault didn't halt even after completely extinguishing all flames released by Morlun's Crabdozer form, instead, it continued crushing toward the transformed Inheritor like an unstoppable avalanche of arctic doom.
While Morlun was still reeling from the surprise of Ben's sudden arrival, he felt the heat within his rock-like body rapidly dissipating. The terrible cold caused water vapor in the surrounding air to condense instantly, covering his entire massive frame with white frost that spread like crystalline death across his transformed features.
Morlun, who had been so arrogantly dominant mere moments before, was transformed into a white ice sculpture in the span of a heartbeat, a monster encased in glacial armor, his face frozen in an expression of shocked terror.
"Be quiet for a moment," Ben said with casual authority.
The cold air flowing from his mouth gradually subsided as he controlled his breathing. With each inhalation and exhalation, sparkling ice crystals reflected the brilliant illumination of the interdimensional space like tiny prisms capturing starlight.
Upon seeing Ben's arrival, Gwen's exhausted body miraculously surged with renewed strength born of pure faith and hope. She tore off the mask covering her head with trembling fingers, revealing tear-filled eyes that blazed with love, relief, and overwhelming excitement.
Ben lowered his head slightly, a warm smile spreading across his features despite the supernatural cold emanating from his transformed state.
"It's been too long, Gwen. I've missed you so, "
Before he could complete his heartfelt declaration, golden hair cascaded over his vision and his mouth was sealed by soft, desperate lips. The girl's warm breath caressed his face as she pressed against him with an intensity that left Ben momentarily speechless.
In this moment, no further words were necessary. Their reunion spoke in a language that transcended speech.
"Wow, it's wonderful to be young. How romantic," blonde Peter observed with obvious relief at Ben's dramatic appearance. He and middle-aged Peter settled onto the dimensional substrate together, offering gentle teasing despite their own injuries.
However, middle-aged Peter viewed the scene with more practical concern.
"Are you being serious right now?" He shot his alternate self a pointed look. "That girl's 'delicate' arms could bend steel girders into pretzels. Look how she's trying to merge with Ben's very skin. If he were an ordinary person, she'd be crushing his ribs to powder!"
"There are no ordinary people here," blonde Peter replied with a knowing smile, then helped middle-aged Peter stand before they both approached Ben's position.
Gwen had no awareness of how long their kiss lasted, she only knew that she was nearly suffocating from the intensity of it. Her entire body felt electrified as if powerful currents were racing through her nervous system, leaving her legs weak and unable to support her weight. She could only lean heavily against Ben's chest for stability.
Big Chill's transformed body radiated supernatural cold, yet Ben's embrace felt wonderfully warm and safe.
"Alright, Gwen, you're going to devour my lips entirely," Ben said with gentle amusement, cupping her flushed face between his hands. Gwen immediately captured both of his hands in hers, refusing to let go.
A long moment of silent communication passed between them, eyes locked in wordless conversation.
"How did you know I was here?" Gwen asked breathlessly, her face burning with embarrassment as her chest, which had developed noticeably since their last meeting, rose and fell with rapid breathing.
Ben's gaze briefly wandered downward and he had to admit that during their separation, Gwen had definitely... matured in several obvious ways. He suspected this was cosmic force at work, enhancing her in preparation for greater challenges ahead.
"I heard that Peter B. Parker had come to support your mission. When I tried to contact him and couldn't get through, I suspected you might be in serious trouble. As for how I located you..."
Ben smiled mysteriously and extended one slender finger to touch Gwen's chest, feeling the soft warmth beneath his fingertip like touching a gentle, warm creature.
Pink Mana flowed from Ben's fingertip to Gwen's body like a luminous chain of connection, creating visible threads of energy that pulsed with their shared heartbeat.
"The power of the universe has bound us together permanently. You already carry my mark within your very essence."
Gwen's cheeks flushed an even deeper shade of red at his words and touch.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, Ben and Gwen, but perhaps this isn't the ideal time for reunions..." Blonde Peter's voice carried urgent concern as he gestured toward the battlefield around them.
Spider-heroes lay scattered across the dimensional space, many having lost their final breath and heartbeat. Even those still clinging to life had collapsed, covering terrible wounds with weakening hands.
Fortunately, the cold air Ben had released had instantly frozen their injuries, preventing the massive blood loss that would have made their conditions critical.
Blonde Peter couldn't help those who had already fallen, but the survivors desperately needed immediate medical attention.
Hearing this sobering reminder, Gwen startled as if awakening from a dream. She suddenly remembered the other people present and leaped out of Ben's arms like a frightened cat, yanking her mask back on hastily, though she put it on crooked in her embarrassment, and stared down at her feet with obvious shyness.
"Leave the medical treatment to us," came a familiar voice.
A new space-time portal opened with a sound like tearing fabric, and Miguel from 2099 emerged with his characteristic confident stride, followed by an improvised rescue team equipped with advanced medical supplies and dimensional stretchers.
Middle-aged Peter felt genuine happiness seeing Miguel's arrival and waved enthusiastically, but the gesture accidentally aggravated his wounds and his expression immediately twisted into a mask of pain.
"Are you alright, Peter?" Spider-Woman asked with concern as she approached him, but she quickly realized the true scope of this war's brutality.
Too many Spider-heroes had died in pursuit of what they had believed would be victory. The cost had been almost unbearable.
Even now, Superior Spider-Man sat motionless on the ground, his eyes empty and soulless as if the fight had drained something fundamental from his core.
"But we finally achieved victory..." Spider-Woman sighed heavily. Even with such a tragic outcome, she seemed resigned to the pattern, because this was the Spider-Man curse, fate was always working against them.
However, before she could finish expressing this bitter acceptance, a contemptuous sneer cut through the air with chilling malevolence.
Morlun, still encased in thick white frost, began laughing with low, menacing humor. Large amounts of water vapor started rising from his ice-covered form as the frozen shell rapidly dissolved, revealing the massive mountain-like body of his Crabdozer transformation.
"You insects are seriously underestimating me, aren't you?" he spoke with casual arrogance.
His demon-lizard skeletal eyes fixed directly on Ben with predatory focus. "Or perhaps this newcomer has given you false confidence?"
"It seems the troublemaker Daemos mentioned must be you," Morlun continued with growing amusement.
All the Spider-heroes were immediately terrified by Morlun's escape from his icy prison. Blonde Peter even prepared to charge forward in a desperate assault.
But before he could rush to his certain death, Ben extended one hand from beneath his cloak-like wings and firmly stopped the hero's advance.
"Don't be reckless," Ben's voice remained perfectly calm and controlled. Even after observing the Nemetrix device attached to Morlun's transformed body, he showed no signs of concern or uncertainty.
Natural enemies might appear overwhelmingly powerful, but they weren't necessarily capable of defeating alien heroes who had undergone millions of years of evolutionary refinement.
"I can't believe he broke free so quickly!" Spider-Woman frowned with obvious frustration. "If I had known this would happen, we should have found a way to contain him permanently from the beginning."
Ben shook his head with pragmatic understanding.
"Even if you had successfully imprisoned him, what then? Would you simply wait for him to cause problems with whatever other prisoners you captured? That's not a solution."
Ben understood perfectly well that Big Chill's freezing abilities wouldn't be able to restrain Morlun for extended periods. Crabdozer was a creature specifically evolved to devour creatures like Heatblast. Based on the flames Morlun had demonstrated, even if his fire-generation abilities weren't quite equal to a Pyronite's natural capacity, they far exceeded what Swampfire could produce.
"Regardless of strategy, you're going to die this time!" Spider-Cyborg emerged from behind Miguel, accompanied by Ben's younger brother Peter. They had both participated in the rescue operation and were eager for revenge.
But just like before, Ben firmly stopped their advance.
"None of you are a match for him in his current state. Leave this opponent to me."
Morlun, wielding the Nemetrix's power, was undoubtedly Ben's destined adversary in this conflict.
However, the ultimate outcome of a battle between natural enemies and an Ultimate Evolution alien remained uncertain!
"Miguel, evacuate all the wounded immediately," Ben commanded with absolute authority.
"But, !" Spider-Woman obviously disagreed with this tactical decision. Now that they finally had a powerful ally like Ben, and so many Spider-heroes gathered together, why choose individual combat instead of overwhelming group assault?
She desperately wanted to ask Ben if he had lost his mind completely.
Superior Spider-Man, who had been somewhat mentally disconnected since the recent battle, also refocused his attention and regarded Ben with complex, conflicted emotions. It was better to meet this legendary figure in person than to simply hear stories about him. This wizard-like individual was indeed unique among all Spider-people. Otto even questioned whether Ben truly qualified as Spider-Man at all.
But regardless of such philosophical concerns, he absolutely didn't want the same mistakes made by their previous allies to be repeated here.
"We should listen to him," Superior Spider-Man said with grim resignation. "Underestimating opponents has never been wise. If Cosmic Spider-Man and Takuya Yamashiro hadn't underestimated Solus and Morlun respectively, our current situation would be completely different!"
The combined power of Cosmic Spider-Man plus Leopardon's mechanical might, Superior Spider-Man couldn't even imagine how overwhelmingly powerful Universe 13's defenses would have been with these two forces protecting it!
But one hero had underestimated Morlun, resulting in Leopardon's complete destruction and the loss of that massive combat advantage. The other had underestimated Solus and been killed along with the Spider-UK.
"This isn't about contempt or underestimation," Ben corrected firmly. "I understand the Nemetrix's capabilities better than any of you possibly could. But you're all too weak in your current states. Remaining here would only create liabilities that could be exploited."
His words were blunt and unlikely to spare anyone's feelings, but they contained fundamental truth.
In nature, weakness itself could be considered a form of sin. There was no moral right or wrong between predators and prey, only struggle and survival.
It would have been different if he'd had time to upgrade their equipment with Kryptonian technology, but given the crisis situation, he had rushed into action as soon as he'd entered Miguel's laboratory.
"Do exactly as he says!" Miguel interrupted others who were preparing to voice objections.
Since Ben represented Spider-Man's last hope for victory, everything should operate under his command and strategic direction.
It was acceptable if they couldn't provide assistance, but they absolutely couldn't become burdens that hindered his effectiveness.
"You demonstrate excellent awareness!" Morlun laughed with cold appreciation. "These pathetic insects are definitely not worthy opponents for me, but do you honestly believe you can defeat me?"
"My Nemetrix is practically screaming in my consciousness that there's a beast absolutely drooling with anticipation over you!"
From his rocky skull-like face, a serpentine tongue emerged with cruel, predatory satisfaction.
Morlun had apparently begun mastering the fundamental essence of the Nemetrix device and its extensive catalog of natural predators.
As someone who already possessed the power of animal totems, he was particularly sensitive to the wild, primal calls emanating from the natural enemy database.
But Ben paid no attention to Morlun's psychological taunting.
He simply watched silently as the Spider-heroes began their retreat, ensuring that if Morlun suddenly launched an attack, he would be positioned to intercept and counter it effectively.
Gwen approached him before departing. Spider-Woman had expected that as Ben's romantic partner, Gwen would try to persuade him to keep them as support, but instead Gwen stood on her tiptoes and kissed Ben gently on the cheek.
"Ben, I'll wait for you to return safely," she whispered with quiet confidence.
"Don't worry. I won't break my promise to you," Ben replied, reaching out to affectionately ruffle her hair before watching as Gwen and the other Spider-heroes departed with their wounded comrades.
Morlun observed this entire exchange with amused patience and made no attempt to prevent their escape.
Soon, only Morlun and Ben remained in the dimensional rift, facing each other like ancient enemies meeting for a final confrontation.
"I didn't expect you to be so honorable, Morlun," Ben observed with mild surprise at this display of restraint.
"It doesn't matter, they're merely insects at best," Morlun replied with dismissive arrogance. Obviously, for him in his current enhanced state, Ben represented the prey he desired most in the depths of his soul. Just as he had declared, there was indeed a beast that had been salivating over Big Chill for countless eons!
As for the other Spider-heroes, he already knew they originated from the 2099 timeline. It wouldn't be difficult to hunt them all down after he finished devouring Ben.
"Now it's time to feast!" Morlun suddenly roared and slammed his four massive legs against the dimensional substrate, causing space itself to tremble and distort.
However, in the next instant, his body underwent a dramatic transformation. His rock-thick forelimbs retracted while his entire form shifted from the Crabdozer's appearance into something completely different, a giant moth with iridescent wings.
The natural enemy of Big Chill: the Hypnotick!
The beast Morlun had referenced was naturally this creature, something that resembled a massive purple wasp with hypnotic capabilities designed specifically to prey upon Necrofriggians.
As Morlun completed his transformation, the wings on his back immediately began beating with helicopter-like intensity, leaving afterimages in the air before he launched himself toward Ben like a guided missile of biological destruction.
Ben immediately leaped backward, but still couldn't completely escape the creature's attack radius. The Hypnotick's razor-sharp mandibles stabbed toward him, attempting to slice his body in half with surgical precision.
BOOM!!!
Space-time distorted dramatically around Ben's position.
Another dimensional phase instantly manifested around his body, allowing him to avoid the direct assault through intangibility.
"It seems you lack sufficient skill with that transformation, Morlun," Ben observed with cool detachment.
The dimensional phases alternated as Ben stood elegantly before Morlun, who had been driven to his knees with his head bowed in momentary confusion. A cold hand emerged from deep within Ben's cloak-like wings and pressed firmly against the Hypnotick's head.
In an instant, several spears of crystallized ice formed and shot toward the creature's compound eyes with lethal precision.
The primary trick this species used to prey upon Necrofriggians was employing their specialized eyes to hypnotize Big Chill variants, rendering them unable to move or phase, forcing them to remain helplessly stationary while being devoured.
Therefore, Ben's immediate strategy was to destroy Morlun's visual apparatus before the creature could employ its most dangerous ability.
"Don't even think about it!" Morlun snarled, his transformation allowing him to react with supernatural speed to Ben's counter-attack.
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