Ben 10: Earth's Mightiest Heroes

Second Chances

Tony blasted off from the basement, leaving Hank behind in a cloud of dust. His suit's systems were buzzing with activity, directing him toward the source of the alert. Within a minute, he spotted a massive blue lightning bolt striking across town, carving a massive hole into an office building.

"Okay... Someone certainly hates the nine-to-five," Tony quipped, his voice masking the seriousness of the situation.

His sensors detected an unusual energy reading as he scanned the ruined office. "What the hell? That can't be right," he muttered. His eyes locked onto the figure of Simon, now transformed into a being of pure energy, sprawled against a pile of broken office desks.

Iron Man cautiously approached the recovering energy humanoid. Before Tony could react, Simon sprang to his feet, gripping the billionaire by his armor with his bare hands. "Another insect to my queen," Simon growled.

"Who?" Tony managed to ask, but Simon didn't answer. Instead, he began to tear off Tony's armor like tissue paper. The sheer force of Simon's blows made Tony cry out in pain as pieces of his suit were ripped away.

Simon's strength was overwhelming. He slammed Tony's head through several concrete walls, each impact causing Tony to see stars. Fortunately, his helmet absorbed some shock, but the suit barely held together. Simon then slammed Tony against a plastic trout hanging on the office wall before chucking him through the window.

Tony plummeted to the streets below, crashing into the pavement. Every part of his body ached, and he struggled to move, his suit's systems flickering.

As Simon was about to follow, a massive shadow loomed over him. He looked up just in time to see a green giant in shorts—Hulk. Simon barely had time to react before Hulk's massive fist connected with his face, sending him backward.

"Gwaaargh!" Simon's vision blacked out momentarily as he crashed into the opposite side of the office.

Hulk turned his attention to Tony, who was trying to get back on his feet. "Okay?"

Tony managed a weak smile; his helmet cracked but still functional. "I've had better days, but I've also had worse."

Hulk nodded, then turned back to Simon. "You ruin Hulk's day, Hulk smash you!"

Simon roared. "Defiance shall be punished!"

Hulk's response was a thunderous roar of his own as he charged.

"Thank god for insurance." Tony, watching from below, activated his emergency repair systems. "Avengers: Assemble"

AIM Laboratory 5

Turning his head, Astrodactyl locked eyes with a glowing blue cube suspended in a strange glass container. "What the hell is that?!"

"I'm not sure," answered Azmuth. "It appears stable. Try and remove it from the casing." Meanwhile, a beam of green light washed over a nearby terminal. Azmuth sifted through files while also leaving a few surprises of his own.

Without hesitation, Astrodactyl smashed the glass case and picked up the cube.

"Real gentle," Azmuth rolled his eyes. The Omnitrix began to scan the object. "It's some sort of Containment Unit. Extra-dimensional energy from somewhere seems to flow into it."

"Is that bad?"

Azmuth hummed thoughtfully. "This level of technology is up there with the Naljians."

"Definitely bad," Ben replied, his voice tinged with concern.

As the scan continued, a sudden arc of anomalous energy from the cube struck the Omnitrix. Ben yelped in surprise and dropped the cube, which seemed dimmer than before. "Is the Omnitrix okay, Azmuth?"