The Celestialsapien stared down at Alien X, its eyes widening slightly for the first time since it appeared. The reaction wasn't loud or exaggerated, but it was there, shock, disbelief, and a hint of confusion at what it was looking at.
Alien X didn't react to it. He simply looked up, his golden eyes cold and steady, showing no emotion as he observed the being floating above him.
"Identified. Unauthorized, incomplete, unstable, and illegal usage of Celestialsapien DNA. Eliminate. Motion carried."
All three voices spoke at once, perfectly aligned, as if there was no disagreement behind the decision.
The Celestialsapien's expression hardened immediately. Without saying anything, it teleported right in front of Alien X and threw a direct punch toward the Another Omnitrix, clearly aiming to rip it out again.
Alien X's golden eyes glowed, taking the concept of infinity and turning it into a barrier that coated him entirely.
It didn't look like anything special; in fact, you can't even see anything, but the moment the punch reached it, the fist stopped completely just inches away from the Another Omnitrix, unable to move any further, no matter how much force was applied.
Alien X watched it without reacting.
"What the?" the Celestialsapien muttered, immediately following up with another punch, then a kick, then a rapid series of strikes, each one faster than the last.
Yet, none of them ever landed, as his basic brawler's attacks couldn't bypass the concept of infinity to reach their target.
The Celestialsapien paused, then raised its hand and fired a beam of green energy directly at Alien X. The blast hit cleanly, but it didn't even cause a ripple, as it never even reached him in the first place.
Alien X looked at him coldly and instantly closed the distance in a single step. With a single palm strike to the chest, he separated the consciousness of the Celestialsapien from its body.
Alien X looks up to see what seems to be Ben. Not the one behind him, but an older version. He was much older, maybe in his late twenties or early thirties, his face more worn, unshaven, with dark circles under his eyes.
"I had a feeling it was you," Alien X said, his tone unchanged. "You really disappointed me, Ben."
The separated consciousness tried to return to the Celestialsapien body, but it couldn't. Alien X didn't even bother stopping it directly.
He simply waved his hand.
All of the extra Omnitrixes embedded across the Celestialsapien's body were pulled out at once, detaching cleanly and floating around him, leaving only a single one behind.
Then he snapped his fingers.
A green flash erupted, and the Celestialsapien form collapsed instantly, reverting back into the future version of Ben, who dropped to the ground in front of him.
Behind him, Ben stared at the scene, his eyes widening.
"That's… me?" he said, not quite believing what he was seeing.
Alien X didn't look back. His attention stayed on the one in front of him.
"You really are the most pathetic Ben I've met. You failed your Max and Gwen, leading to their death, and decided that all other versions of you in the Omniverse should also lose everything." Alien X said, looking down at the future Ben, his tone more disappointed than anything. He had directly looked into this future Ben's past and saw his story.
"Instead of learning from your losses and mistakes, to become the hero they believe you could become... You did... this?" Alien X continued, raised his hand slightly, and the remaining Omnitrix on Future Ben's wrist disappeared without resistance.
Future Ben didn't respond. He stayed on the ground, his expression shifting between anger, frustration, and something closer to shame.
"You unlocked the power to reverse time, alter reality, yet instead of using it to bring them back or fix your mistake, you decide to betray their trust and go back on everything you once fought for."
That made Future Ben finally look up, confusion breaking through everything else.
"I… I could have done that?" he asked.
He has only unlocked his Celestialsapien's DNA after smashing his Omnitrix, and it somehow unlocked an incomplete version of it for him. But besides finding out that this alien form is nearly invincible, packed powerful blows, and can travel across dimensions.
He never truly understood the full capability of his alien, growing up with only the belief and understanding that brute strength is true strength. Even while wielding an incomplete Celestialsapien's DNA, missing two of his three personalities, not having the "voice of love and compassion", and the "voice of rage and aggression".
With him being the only one in control, the "voice of reason", and not knowing anything about this species, he could never bring out the full power of this transformation.
That's why Alien X identified him as incomplete, unstable, and illegal usage. And Evan noticed that he lacked the knowledge to fully utilize Alien X and just used him like some brawlers.
Alien X looked at him for a moment before replying.
"Here," he said simply. "See it for yourself."
He snapped his fingers, and future Ben's body broke apart into dust, disappearing into the wind.
...
From another dimension, that future Ben opened his eyes and found himself standing in the exact same place where everything first began, the day the Omnitrix fell from the sky.
The environment was identical down to the smallest detail, the trees unmoving, the air still, and the silence around him felt wrong in a way he couldn't explain, like the world was waiting for something to happen.
He looked up and saw the pod burning through the sky, descending rapidly toward the ground just like it had all those years ago. His body moved on instinct, stepping forward and reaching out to claim it before it landed, just like he remembered doing the first time. However, this time there was a slight delay, a fraction of a second where his body didn't respond as fast as it should have, and that was enough.
The pod hit the ground before he could react, but instead of opening in front of him, it slammed directly into him with crushing force. His body was pinned into the dirt instantly, the impact killing him before he could even process what had gone wrong, and everything went dark without warning.
He opened his eyes again and found himself somewhere completely different, now standing in the middle of a city filled with movement and noise. Cars passed by, people moved around, and ahead of him stood Dr. Animo, acting exactly as he had during one of their earlier encounters, as if this was just another normal moment in time.
Ben turned his head, trying to understand what was happening and why he was here, but before he could even take a step, something slammed into him from the side at full speed. The Rust Bucket struck him without slowing down, throwing his body across the pavement and crushing him on impact, ending everything just as abruptly as before.
He woke up again, but this time his body refused to respond. He was lying on a cold metal table, completely restrained and unable to move, while the bright lights above him made it difficult to focus on anything properly. Around him, several doctors stood in silence, preparing their tools as if he weren't even conscious.
"What is happening?" he asked, his voice shaking as he struggled against his own body, but there was no response from anyone in the room.
Without hesitation, they began cutting into him.
Every movement was precise and controlled, as if they had done this countless times before, and the worst part was that he could feel everything despite being unable to move. The pain came immediately and didn't stop, building with each second while he screamed, but none of them reacted to it in the slightest.
Before he could even process how long it had lasted, everything changed again.
He was standing once more, his breathing uneven and his body trembling slightly as cold sweat ran down his face. His heart was pounding loudly as he tried to make sense of what was happening to him, but nothing around him gave any answers.
Then he saw Ghostfreak floating directly in front of him.
Its presence alone made his body tense, but what it was holding made everything worse. In its hand was his heart, still beating steadily as if it had never been removed from his body.
Ben froze in place, staring at it as his breathing became more erratic, unable to look away from something that should not have been possible.
Before he could react, the scene shifted again.
"Ben! Are you okay?"
Gwen's voice reached him, and suddenly he found himself back inside the Rust Bucket, with Gwen and Max standing right in front of him, both looking concerned.
For a moment, everything seemed normal again, but the feeling didn't last. Instead of calming down, his fear only grew stronger, because none of this felt real anymore.
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" he shouted, his voice cracking as he pushed past them and rushed out of the vehicle without thinking.
The moment he stepped onto the road, a speeding truck hit him and sent his body tumbling across the ground. Pain spread through him as he struggled to push himself up, his vision blurred and his body barely responding, but before he could even get his bearings, he looked up and saw a meteor falling toward him.
It came down before he could move, crushing him instantly and ending it again.
He opened his eyes once more, his breathing fast and uneven as he realized he was trapped in a confined space with no room to move. The darkness pressed in on him from all sides, and when he reached out, his hands met solid wood just inches from his face.
He was inside a coffin, buried underground.
Panic set in immediately as he started pushing against the lid, trying to force it open despite the lack of space. His movements became more frantic as he realized how little air he had, and his gaze dropped to his wrist in desperation, hoping for something that could save him.
The Omnitrix was still there, but the core was gone.
His heart sank as he began pounding against the lid harder, his breathing growing more desperate with each passing second as he called out for help, but no sound reached beyond the coffin, and no one came to answer him.
...
Back in the Gold Dimension, Ben pushed himself up from the ground, shaking off the lingering dizziness as he looked toward his cousin. Alien X was floating in place, completely still, like time had stopped just for him. Several Omnitrixes hovered around his body, slowly orbiting, their faint glow reflecting off the dark, star-filled surface of his form.
"Evan…" Ben called out, taking a step forward, but there was no response, not even a twitch.
Before he could get any closer, a voice spoke up from behind him, calm and almost amused.
"Oh my, what an interesting discovery. A universe with an Another Omnitrix."
Ben turned immediately, raising his wrist out of instinct as he saw a man standing there like he had always been part of the scene. He wore a brown suit under a white lab coat, a pair of green goggles resting loosely around his neck, and he carried himself like nothing around him was urgent, like he had all the time in the world.
"Well, isn't this fascinating," the man continued, slowly walking in a loose circle around the frozen Alien X. "A reluctant hero who isn't Benjamin Tennyson. That alone narrows things down in rather entertaining ways."
"Wh-who are you?" Ben asked, keeping his guard up.
"You don't need to fear me, my boy. You may call me Professor Paradox," he replied easily, pulling out a pocket watch and checking it like he was on a schedule only he understood. "Though, if I'm being precise, this meeting is happening a bit earlier than it should. Still, I suppose it makes things more convenient for you in the long run."
"That doesn't explain anything," Ben shot back, glancing between Paradox and Evan. "What is going on? What happened to my cousin? And that… that future... was that really me?"
The questions came out faster the more he spoke, his grip tightening around his wrist.
Paradox stopped walking and looked back at him, not annoyed, just mildly patient.
"Now, now, Ben. One question at a time, or you'll only confuse yourself further," he said, gesturing lightly toward Alien X. "Your cousin isn't gone. He's simply… occupied. Alien X isn't a form you just use. It's one you negotiate with. At the moment, he's inside, speaking with the other personalities that come with it."
Ben frowned, trying to process that, his gaze drifting back to Alien X's unmoving body.
"And the future version of me?" he pressed.
Paradox studied him for a second, then smiled, not mocking, but not entirely reassuring either.
"A possibility," he said. "Not a certainty. The kind of outcome that only happens if someone forgets why they started in the first place. As long as you remember your reason, and don't let yourself drift too far from it, that version of you will remain exactly what it should be, just one of many paths that never happen."
Ben didn't look convinced, but he didn't argue either.
Paradox turned back toward Alien X, taking one last glance at the orbiting Omnitrixes before slipping his pocket watch away.
"Well then, I believe I've interfered just enough for today," he said casually. "Any more, and things might start correcting themselves in less pleasant ways."
"Wait, what does that mean?" Ben asked quickly.
But before Paradox could, or would, answer, a bright white light spread out behind him, forcing Ben to shield his eyes. It wasn't blinding so much as it was… overwhelming, like too much was happening at once for him to focus on any of it.
When the light faded, Paradox was gone. The extra Omnitrixes hovering around Alien X had disappeared with him.
Ben lowered his arm slowly, looking around like he expected something else to change, but everything else remained the same. The windmills in the distance turned like nothing had happened. The ground beneath his feet still felt steady.
"Okay… that was weird," he muttered under his breath.
Then something moved.
He barely had time to react before a figure came flying straight toward him. Acting on instinct, Ben slammed down on his Omnitrix.
A green flash erupted, and crystals formed over his body just in time for the impact, transforming him into Diamondhead. Kevin crashed into him hard, the force pushing Diamondhead back a few steps as the two collided.
Diamondhead steadied himself, digging his feet into the ground as he pushed Kevin off and looked up at him.
"Man, you just don't know when to quit, do you?" He said, glaring at him.
Whatever was going on with Evan would have to wait.
...
Meanwhile, inside Alien X's mind.
Evan stood in a vast, empty space that didn't really feel like a place so much as it felt like being inside something. The ground beneath him reflected faint starlight, stretching out endlessly, while above him there was no sky, just the same quiet, dark expanse.
In front of him hovered two massive golden faces, both far too large to belong to anything physical. One was sharp and stern, its features set in a permanent glare, while the other was softer, her expression calm but observant.
Evan leaned back slightly, arms crossed, one leg shifting over the other as if he had all the time in the world.
"So, you two are my other personalities?" he asked casually.
The reaction was immediate.
"What do you mean 'your' other personalities!?" the male face snapped, his voice rough and edged with irritation. His glare sharpened, like the statement alone was enough to offend him.
"I must agree, that assumption is rather forward," the female face added, her tone gentler but not exactly approving. "We are not yours. We are parts of your Celestialsapien DNA that you call Alien X."
Evan didn't look bothered. If anything, he looked like he expected that response.
"Currently, Alien X and my body are the same thing," he said, glancing down at his hand before looking back up at them. "Which means you two are inside me right now, and the me here counted as a personality, the voice of reason. So yeah, that makes you my other personalities."
That got a pause out of both of them.
The female face tilted slightly, considering it.
"…He does have a point, Ark," she admitted after a moment.
"Don't start agreeing with him already, Zea," Ark snapped back immediately, though his tone had lost just a bit of its certainty. He turned his attention back to Evan. "Even if your logic isn't entirely flawed, that doesn't mean you get to define the relationship however you want."
"So we're arguing over wording now?" Evan replied, raising a brow. "Because from where I'm standing, you didn't deny what I said, and you two even agree with me that Alien X and my body are now one and the same."
Zea let out a small, thoughtful hum.
"Still, for someone using Alien X for the first time, you seem… unusually composed," she said. "Most would struggle just to process something simple. Yet you're already managed to alter reality to create an infinite deadloop. How does it feel, having what you might call a 'free trial' of authority?"
"Free trial, huh?" Evan repeated under his breath, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly. "That explains why I got full control from the start... I thought you guys were too busy arguing and didn't care."
Ark narrowed his eyes.
"You understand more than you should," he said. "Even other Celestialsapien can rarely grasp the nature of their power so quickly."
"I know more than you think," Evan replied simply. He looked at his hand again, flexing his fingers like he was testing something that wasn't visible.
He lowered his hand and looked back at them.
"Now then..." he continued. "We already agreed that the body we're using is mine. You also acknowledged you're part of what makes this form function. So inside this space, which is clearly tied to me, I should have full control. That's just the natural conclusion."
"I object," Ark said immediately. "Alien X does not function on individual authority. Every action requires agreement between all three of us. That is the rule."
"I agree with Ark on that," Zea added, though her tone remained calm. "You can't simply take control by asserting ownership. That isn't how this works."
Evan shook his head slightly.
"You're misunderstanding what I'm saying," he replied. "I'm not saying I control Alien X without you guys. I'm saying that this space, this place we're talking in, is part of me. And since you're both inside it, that makes you part of me too, at least while I'm in this form. That makes my authority here above both of yours. Which means I should have full control of this space. Not Alien X."
Zea paused again, clearly thinking it through.
"…That distinction is… not entirely incorrect," she admitted.
"Zea," Ark said, his tone tightening.
"He does have a point," she replied, still focused on Evan. "His argument does align with the current state of existence now, does it?"
"I disagree," Ark said firmly.
"I disagree with your disagreement," Evan shot back without missing a beat.
Ark went silent for a moment, not because he had nothing to say, but because he didn't seem to expect that kind of response.
Evan didn't give him time to recover.
"We already went over this," he continued, his tone staying level. "This is my body. Alien X is now my body. You both acknowledged that. You're also part of what's inside me right now. That puts my authority here above yours, at least in this space, while Alien X remains locked until the three of us agree to use him."
Ark's expression tightened; his irritation was affecting more than just his voice.
"That is not-" he started, but stopped halfway.
Because there wasn't a clean way to refute it without contradicting what had already been said.
Zea noticed it too, her gaze shifting between the two before settling back on Evan.