So here it is my second adopted story from Damont Evermore. Once again, it will be a Marvel/Ben 10 mix-em-up, but this time around, it's going to be a lot more mature with content pulled from the MCU and the comics combined with a little flair of my own. FYI, the events of the last season of Omniverse NEVER happened in this story, excluding the final fight with Vilgax and Malware, so say goodbye to the convoluted Time Travel Plot, rushed BenKai romance, and that god awful Skurd alien. I do not own MCU or Ben 10 (Though, considering how the reboot is looking, I wish I did). Italics are flashbacks, and emphasis (Brackets are telepathy) So, let's get this baby started!

Infinity Chapter I

A Shattered Dream Part I

Four years have passed since Ben's final victory of his greatest enemy, the tyrant Vilgax. During the interim, the Plumbers have since gained galaxy-wide notoriety. The rise in funds, recruits, and new technology provided by the Galvans and Highbreed have made them such a force to be reckoned with that Ben's heroics were no longer required. The twenty-year-old former hero has faded into the background, but a threat is rising that will change his life forever.

Tower of Hex, June 19th, 1:00 EDT

The ancient building's halls were bereft of noise except for the soft crackling of the library's fireplace, in front of which sat the master of the house. Hex, Master of the Staff of Ages, former Sorcerer Supreme, and professor at Friedkin University. His skull patterned face was set in a contented smile as he read one of his many tomes, simply enjoying the peace he had found in his later life. Closing the book softly, he got to his feet and silenced the fire with a wave of his hand. He left the library, heading towards the kitchen, seemingly oblivious to a shadow that flashed past the library's windows.

Entering the kitchen, he summoned a cup to his hand and watched as it filled itself with a warm golden brown liquid. Setting it down, he called two sugar cubes to his hand before freezing. He whirled around his eyes glowing with mystic energy

"Who dares come into my home unann-Hope!" Hex's threat was cut off in surprise as he realized the supposed intruder was, in fact, his long lost niece.

"H-Hello Uncle," Charmcaster gasped out, a pained smile on her beaten face. She took a step forward, her knees buckling as she went. Hex rushed forward to catch her, worry etched into his time-worn face.

Hex looked over Hope critically. Her long white hair was matted down with sweat, her purple eyes were red from exhaustion, and her normally pale skin had a greyish tint. Her purple jacket was torn in several places as were her black pants. The amulet around her neck glowed a harsh red and was cracked down the middle. The most worrying thing, however, was the brace of bandages wrapped around her waist. They appeared to be several days old and he could smell the sickening scent of putrefaction.

"Hope, what has happened to you?" Hex asked, his fingers forming complex patterns as he used his magic to heal Charmcaster's wounds and mending her clothes.

"I w-was attacked," Charmcaster said, fear and horror evident in her voice, "Ledgerdomain is in ruins..."

"How-how could that be?" Hex asked, floored.

"Adwaita returned and he wasn't alone," Hope answered, her eyes filling with tears.

A week ago

Ever since Charmcaster's rejected deal with Dagon, a voice had whispered in her mind twisting her further and further into madness. Today that voice was screaming.

("Fire! Fire everywhere!") The voice cried as Hope looked around distraught, (Burning! Burning without care!")

Ledgerdomain was burning. Her kingdom was besieged, her people fleeing for their lives. In the past, she wouldn't have cared or even fought in their defense, but losing her father for the second time had taught her many things. The first, fight for what you have!

"Extinguere!" Hope yelled, a wave of water pouring from her hands to quench the flames that were approaching a line of fleeing refugees.

Ignaceous, a Golem and her former enemy turned head guardsman raced forward to pick up a struggling mother and daughter carrying them to the portal that Charmcaster had erected.

After handing them off to one of his compatriots he marched back to Hope's side, watching her cast spell after spell.

"My Queen, we must leave," Ignaceous said, his pure white eyes pleading, as she looked up at him.

"Not until they are all through." Charmcaster cried, deflecting an incoming boulder with a wave of her hand.

"My Queen, you can not keep this up." he fired back, before letting out a long sigh, "We can't save them all."

"I can, and I will!" Hope cried, tears beginning to track down her face, "I killed them all once, I have to be able to save them."

("Let sing the last bell."), the voice whispered, ("Here comes the death knell.")

There was a crack like thunder and a section of Hope's guards disappeared in an explosion of gravel and bone. It was followed by a low chittering as the strange creatures that had assaulted her realm appeared. Part stone and part metal the creatures leaked a black and red muck that squirmed as it touched the ground. Each had single circular red-eye and fanged metal jaws though outside of that none had a congruent form. A cadaverously thin one with arm ending in a sharp blade let out a chittering cry before charging at Charmcaster.

It was intercepted by Ignaceous who grabbed its head in his rocky fist and squeezed, ending it in a burst of red-and-black fluid. Another leaped to take its place, its right arm twice as wide as the other. Charmcaster sidestepped the wild blow before pointing her hand at its chest.

"Vacuum." Hope cried, a ball of force firing from her hand. It struck the creature in the chest which immediately went concave as the spell worked its violent deed. She turned to see Ignaceous tiredly smiling at her before it melted away into abject horror.

"My Queen!" he roared, racing towards her.

Charmcaster whirled around and froze when she saw the massive reptilian monster that was bearing down upon her. Its red eyes glittered with a cold, harsh intelligence as sofa sized fist descended towards her. A heavy cold force slammed her aside, followed by the sound of shattering stone.

Charmcaster pushed herself up off the ground and cried in horror, "No!"

All that was left of Ignaceous was his head and the left side of his torso, he looked at his Queen one last time as the light began to leave his eyes.

"Run." he gasped out, his body crumpling to dust as his life left his body.

The huge reptile laughed cruelly before facing Charmcaster a smirk playing across its horned face.

("A man of rock was he."), the voice declared, ("With a better heart than the.")

Charmcaster got to her feet, her eyes blazing with purple energy. Glancing behind she was filled with relief as she watched the last of the refugees step through the portal. It did little to dissuade her grief or anger however as her eyes shifted to those who hadn't made it, their bodies strewn across the ground like puppets with their strings cut.

"So Queen Hope." the creature asked in a mocking tone, "Are you going to run?"

"No." she stated, taking a step forward, "You are. Ignis Draco!"

An immense burst of fire blasted from her mouth and seared the creature flesh, pushing it further and further from the portal. It snarled in pain and stumbled before disappearing in a flash of red light. In its place was a tall figure made of rock-and-flames.

"Ben?" Hope gasped, the deep feeling of betrayal and shock worming in to cool her anger.

"Not quite." the being responded, his tone dripping with malice. He walked calmly through the flames before transforming once again revealing a white-haired, red-eyed clone of fifteen-year-old Ben Tennyson. He wore a long red lab coat, black shirt, and pants. On his right hand was a red mechanical glove. His eyes were covered by red-lensed goggles.

"Albedo." the doppelganger supplied, seeing the confusion in her eyes, "And that name means nothing to you does it?"

"You come here ravage my home, kill my citizens, rob me of my friends and you have the gall to make jokes!" Charmcaster cried, her eyes igniting once again.

"Yes, well I suppose being stuck as Tennyson has forced me to pick up some of his rather unsavory habits." Albedo remarked, staring at the back of his hand, the conversation seeming to bore him.

"You bastard!" Charmcaster screamed, "Fulgur!"

A bolt of electricity blasted from her fingertips aimed directly at Albedo's heart. At the last second, it changed course abruptly, bouncing back towards Hope. She dodged aside and found herself at the feet of her old rival, Adwaita.

"Hope." the Geochelone, growled. The turtlelike alien's head was wreathed in bright purple flames as were his large clawed hands, "I have come to retake my throne."

"Don't call me that." Charmcaster spat, as Adwaita levitated her into the air.

"I will call you whatever I wish," he declared, sneering, "After I make you my slave."

"I will never serve you!" Charmcaster yelled, struggling against the magic holding her captive.

"It is not up to you." Adwaita said, his smirk becoming predatory, "I-"

"Put her down." a rasping voice said, cutting across whatever the Geochelone had been about to say.

Charmcaster turned her head and went wide-eyed at the sight before her. Towering over Adwaita was a being she only knew by name. Vilgax, Conqueror of Ten Worlds, Arch Nemesis to Ben Tennyson.

The towering Chimera Sui Generis had seen better days, the left half of his face was covered in burn scars and several of his tendrils ended in charred stumps. However, the most disturbing part was his left arm or lack thereof. In its place was a long red-and-black tendril that writhed and squirmed of its own volition. Occasionally part of it would drip to the ground and writhe for several seconds before falling still.

Adwaita stared at Vilgax for several seconds before the later spoke again, "I do not like to repeat myself Geochelone."

"I am not one of your minions Vilgax." Adwaita spat, glaring up at him, "I will do whatever I please."

"I will not ask a third time," Vilgax warned, his red eyes glinting with fury.

"Do not threaten me you squid!" Adwaita yelled, "I am the rightful ruler of Ledgerdomain and you are nothing more than a broken husk of what you once were. Your plans will amount to nothing without me! So remember your pla-"

Vilgax stepped back, impassive eyes watching as Adwaita's headless body slumped to the ground. His head, no longer wreathed in flames, fell to the ground with a head smack.

("Off went his head"), the voice whispered, ("Now he lies dead.")

Charmcaster fell to the ground and scrambled backward away from Vilgax as fast as she could.

"I never needed you, Adwaita." Vilgax rasped, crushing the sorcerer's head beneath his boot. He then turned his eyes on Charmcaster, "You were just a means to an end."

Hex stared at his niece with a mixture of horror and fear muddling his face, "My dear, how did you escape?"

They had moved back to the library, the fire roaring once more, as Charmcaster sagged in her seat across from Hex.

"I ran." Charmcaster stated simply, "I opened portal after portal, stepping on worlds I have never seen before. When I finally felt like I had lost them I came here."

"Well, my dear it is a good thing you did." Hex declared, standing up from his seat by the fire, "Any more use of your magic would have killed you in the state you were in."

"Uncle," Charmcaster said, unsteadily getting to her feet, "We need help. We must contact the Tennysons, Ben knows more about fighting...

She trailed off as Hex held up his hand, his eyes set in deep concentration. He turned to his niece, his eyes set in a hard glare.

"We are not alone," he stated before turning on his heel and firing a blast of arcane energy at the nearest bookshelf. A salamander-like figure detached from the wall and rolled to the side before disappearing in a flash of red light revealing Albedo.

"How?" Charmcaster demanded, reading her own spell only for Hex to shake his head and push her behind him.

"Well, if it had been anyone else, you would have lost them splendidly," Albedo bragged, slowly walking towards the two, "But alas I am not anyone else, in fact, it was almost child's play to track you down. Being the smartest being in five galaxies has its advantages you know."

"What do you want Galvan?" Hex demanded, his hands crackling with magic.

Albedo smirked, clearly not seeing Hex as much of a threat, "Well first I would like you to hand over your Staff of Ages, then Charmcaster."

His smirk gained a hard edge to it, "I require her assistance. If you comply we'll walk right on out, no muss, no fuss. So what do you say? Deal?"

"Over my dead body." Hex supplied the Staff of Ages appearing in his grasp.

"Gladly." Albedo said sadistically. The glass behind him shattered as two of his amalgamated creations burst through the window and launched themselves at Hex.

Hex raced to meet them, staff glowing with bright orange flames. He lifted his hand at the first amalgam and smirked as it was crushed like a tin can, red-and-black fluid leaking everywhere. The second managed to rake its misshapen talons across it's back, earning a fireball down its throat for the trouble.

"Is that all?" Hex asked, resting his staff on his shoulder.

Albedo shook his head lazily, "Not even close."

Six more of the amalgams crawled through the broken window as Albedo transformed, taking on the form of a white-skinned, raptor-like alien. He then began to race around the room at supersonic speeds sending everything into a panicked frenzy.

Hex batted one of the amalgams into the fireplace which closed around it like the maw of a hungry dragon. He grabbed another by the face and sent a blast of electricity through its metallic skin, turning it to ash in moments. He then slammed his staff onto the ground causing the whole floor to ripple knocking everything but himself and Hope off their feet.

Hex closed his eyes tight pouring all of his energy into the Staff of Ages before speaking a single word, "Patefacio."

There was a sound like ripping paper as a rift appeared in the center of the room, it yawned wide revealing utter darkness, which Hex sent the living amalgams careening into with a harsh blast of wind. The portal snapped closed, leaving Albedo alone against the fuming Sorcerer.

"You destroyed my homeland!" Hex cried, firing a blast of ice at Albedo who dodged it easily.

"You killed my people!" another spell fired from the Staff blasting a wide column of air that knocked Albedo back

"You invaded my home!" Hex yelled, a blast of fire managing to catch Albedo's side sending him to the ground.

"And you harmed my niece!" Hex roared, causing the stonework of the building itself to come alive and pin Albedo to the wall.

"This is the end." Hex said, walking up to Albedo, a blade of pure magic growing from the mouth of the Staff, forming a scythe.

"Indeed it is." a voice rasped behind him, as he felt something incredibly sharp pierce through his pack and out his chest, "For you."

Vilgax stood silhouetted against the moon, his tendril having crossed the entire room to punch through Hex on the other side. The tentacle retracted causing Hex to slump to the ground blood pooling on his lips. The Staff of Ages fell from his grasp and was snatched up by the now freed Albedo, who sneered down at the dying sorcerer before walking away.

"No, Uncle!" Charmcaster screamed, struggling against the grasp of the amalgams that were dragging her away.

"Silence spell weaver!" Vilgax snapped, turning his back on the dying sorcerer and his weeping niece.

"I'm going to kill you!" Charmcaster screamed, a manic light burning in her eyes.

Vilgax knelt down, his tendril cupping her chin, "I would like to see you try. I have survived death ten times over and the last revealed the answer to something that I have dreamed of for nearly a decade. The death of Ben Tennyson.:

"I will never help you!" Charmcaster spat, "Never."

"Oh, you will." Vilgax said, reaching into his right-hand pocket, "In fact, I think you even might enjoy it."

Charmcaster tried to pull away as he brought his hand closer to her face, black light seeping from between his fingers as he neared her forehead.

("Oh how unfair,") the voice pouted as it became quieter and quieter, ("Here comes the Nightmare.")

Hex watched on, his life's blood slowly draining away. As his spirit left his body he cast one final spell announced by a single word.

"Gwendolyn."

Nearly half a world away Gwendolyn Tennyson woke with a start, her eyes glowing bright pink.

Bellwood, June 19th 7:00 EDT

"Ben."

Ben Tennyson grumbled in his sleep, turning over slightly trying to ignore the voice.

"Ben!" the voice repeated, a bit more urgently.

"Five more minutes," Ben muttered.

"Benjamin Tennyson, wake up this instant!" the voice yelled, finally prompting Ben to open his eyes. The first thing he saw was his former partner's yellow catlike eyes inches from his face.

He let out a yelp of surprise, scrambling backward, teetering off his bed and onto the floor.

"What the hell Rook?" Ben grumbled, pushing himself to his feet, "What are you doing here?"

"There has been an incident." Rook said, his face set in what Ben liked to call, 'Mission Mode'.

"What is it this time?" Ben asked nonchalantly, stretching, "Ssserpent get out? Animo back to his old tricks? Oh let me guess, Fistrick was caught using alien steroids again?"

"Hex was murdered." Rook declared, watching as Ben immediately tensed.

Ben turned around, his emerald eyes hard, "Tell me everything."

Translations:

Extinguere-Quench

Vacuum-Vacuum(What a surprise)

Ignis Draco-Dragon Fire

Fulgur-Lightning

Patefacio-Open

And that is the end of part one. Yes I know for old fans of the original this beginning is hella different. But I mean the original did kind of just start giving us no clue as to what is going on. So I think two more chapters and our hero will be dropped into my Marvel Universe, a fusion of MCU, the X-Men movies, and bits of the comics. Also as you may have noticed this is going to be a maturer story, though I promise I won't get overly graphic or sexual...yet.(Joking) If you have any questions shoot me a PM and I will be happy to oblige. VerBeek Signing Off!