Mary Jane was angry.
But the person she was angry at was Felicia, who had gone ahead without her.
After all, she'd known Ben's identity for a long time, but the fact that Felicia had become the Black Cat behind her back made her feel betrayed by her best friend.
Still, Mary Jane didn't ask Ben to inject her with the serum.
Felicia's serum formula had come from Hart, so she could enjoy its effects with a clear conscience. Mary Jane, on the other hand, felt she hadn't contributed anything and had no right to ask for anything.
Of course, once she found out that Felicia had already "fought" Ben in the hot spring, she couldn't let that stand.
She could lag behind in other things—but not this one!
Felicia might have beaten her to the hot spring play, but surely she hadn't gotten the office play yet?
So Mary Jane volunteered. Unfortunately, her body was soft and frail, and she was quickly defeated. Fortunately, Felicia hadn't gone far and stepped in to help her good sister out. The blonde Felicia's stamina was even worse than Mary Jane's, but luckily she had her wild mode.
The two of them united their front. In the end, they were stacked on top of each other and outputted by Ben. After their crushing defeat, the sisters' bond was finally restored to its former closeness.
After that, Ben still forcibly injected Mary Jane with the improved serum.
He even prepared a diluted version for Mary Jane to take to her aunt. The diluted serum didn't have much effect—its only function was to make a person's body a little healthier.
Mary Jane accepted the serum, but she didn't plan to become a superhero like Felicia.
Neither the Plumbers nor Primus needed only combat personnel.
Mary Jane intended to follow Pepper Potts' example. After she graduated, she would help Ben manage his company.
As for whether she could pull it off, Ben had no doubts.
In some worlds, Mary Jane really had helped Stark manage a company. What's more, now that Mary Jane had been injected with the serum, theoretically, her brain had been enhanced as well.
So Ben said she didn't have to wait until later—she could give it a try right now.
Conveniently, Primus was indeed hiring.
When Ben returned to Earth this time, he discovered that Norman had completely finished building the Plumbers' space station. Eventually, the Plumbers' base would move into space, and Primus would revert to being an ordinary company.
Speaking of hiring...
Bruce Banner's cousin, Jennifer, had actually started working at Primus over a month ago.
But Ben hadn't been on Earth at the time, so he hadn't met her.
Uncle Ben and Aunt May had conducted the interview on his behalf, and Eunice had handled the evaluation. In terms of professional ability, there was nothing to criticize about Jennifer.
Now, with Ben's return and the completion of the Plumbers' space station, Primus would continue to expand its hiring, transforming into a true company.
"I'm going to the space station."
Inside the lab, Banner was organizing his research materials as he spoke to Connors and Otto.
He had long wanted to leave New York for somewhere secluded.
Bruce knew very well that he was a ticking time bomb; placing him in a bustling place like New York was the most dangerous scenario imaginable.
But on the space station, it would be perfect.
He was well aware that the space station had been forged from massive quantities of Vibranium alloy—utterly indestructible. Even if he lost control, it could trap the Hulk like a cage.
And if it couldn't hold him, plummeting from space might kill him.
Bruce wasn't entirely sure, but either way, it was better than being in New York.
As for Otto and Connors, the two of them would stay on Earth.
Unlike Bruce Banner, who had no attachments, they had their own relationships and families. What's more, Dr. Connors's biological culture lab couldn't just be moved on a whim. No one knew how much changing the environment would affect the mutant organisms.
"We'll come visit you," Otto said.
Having worked alongside Banner all this time, he genuinely thought Banner was a genius.
Seven PhDs, achievements in various diverse fields, and far surpassing ordinary people in each one—a true genius.
In comparison, Otto even felt that next to him, he himself was a fool.
It was only a pity that their research time had been too short; they hadn't managed to unlock the mysteries of the Mind Stone at all, which left Otto feeling regretful.
Primus began large-scale recruitment aimed at the general public, thrusting this already very mysterious company back into the spotlight. A lot of people started to get ideas.
For instance, Thor's girlfriend, Jane Foster, was interested in interviewing for a medical position at Primus.
When Thor heard the name "Primus," he immediately remembered the business card Ben had given him.
So the two of them came to interview together.
Jane Foster became a medical staff member at Primus, and Thor took on a security role.
As for Ben, he had long since stopped paying much attention to these matters.
Anyone problematic was screened out by Eunice during the file review stage.
After all, minor things like interviews didn't require the boss to handle them in person.
After emerging victorious from his PK against Mary Jane and Felicia, he took a shower and then arrived at 177A Bleecker Street—the Sanctum Sanctorum.
The Sanctum Sanctorum was the focal point connecting the multiverse to supernatural phenomena and the locus of Earth's magical ley lines.
It was also one of the places where sorcerers dwelled.
If you wanted to find the Ancient One, this was the closest location.
From the outside, the Sanctum Sanctorum carried a strong Victorian influence, a classic example of French Baroque architecture.
It was three stories tall, but the interior space was far more vast than it appeared.
After Ben knocked, several sorcerers emerged and led him inside. A few of them recognized who Ben was and immediately notified the Ancient One.
Not long after, a golden welding spark ignited before Ben's eyes.
Clad in yellow robes with the Eye of Agamotto on her chest, the Ancient One stepped out of it.
Seeing Ben, she was clearly delighted.
"It seems you've made up your mind. So, are you ready to take on the role of Sorcerer Supreme while you're at it?"
"I'll pass on Sorcerer Supreme,"
Ben declined with thanks.
He couldn't be bothered to go looking for trouble. Becoming Sorcerer Supreme would only tie him down.
"I'm planning to develop my Mana. Weren't you the one who wanted me to leave behind a seed of Mana? That way, I won't have to borrow dangerous magical power from the dark dimension overlords—especially the Dark Dimension."
Ben said.
This would benefit the Ancient One as well, so he wasn't worried she'd refuse.
"Of course,"
the Ancient One readily agreed.
She looked at Ben as if she were gazing at an undeveloped treasure mountain—full of gold, where a random dig here or there could make her enormously wealthy.
Of course, the most important thing was that once Mana awakened, it could be developed long-term.
But she still cautioned him, "It would be best to use another body as the vessel."
The Ancient One pointed to Ben's watch.
"For instance, using the genes of the aliens in your watch to develop Mana."
Ben was somewhat puzzled. "Why? Doesn't my own body have Mana energy?"
He clearly remembered that wasn't what the Ancient One had said before.
Back in Kamar-Taj, she had explicitly stated that although Ben didn't possess Anodite bloodline, his body still held tremendous Mana potential.
Why was she changing her tune now?
The Ancient One seemed to grasp his thoughts and explained, "It's not that I've changed. It's that once you develop Mana, you'll become the source of all Mana. Over time, as your Mana continues to grow, it will become one of the most powerful energies in the universe."
Like Chaos Magic or the Phoenix Force.
Ben understood that perfectly well.
The Ancient One continued, "At that point, your very life essence will undergo a transformation, and you'll become an existence akin to a dimensional overlord—at which point Earth will no longer be able to contain you."
Truth be told, what the Ancient One was describing was exactly the concern Ben had.
But he'd felt worrying about that was too far off, so he hadn't paid it much mind.
Yet from the Ancient One's perspective, millions of years passed like the blink of an eye before those of great power.
A dimensional overlord wouldn't necessarily perish even if the universe were destroyed.
Time—
That was a force Ben ought to value.
To that end, the solution she had devised was to use one of Ben's other alien forms as a foundation. When the time came, even if he became a dimensional overlord, it would be that alien who became the overlord, not Ben himself.
As long as the form of the dimensional overlord was maintained over time, there would be no need to worry about too great an impact on Earth.
But this, on the contrary, put Ben in a bit of a bind.
Strictly speaking, aside from Ghostfreak, all of his aliens possessed Mana.
Because in the worldview of Ben 10, Mana was life energy.
However, different species had different degrees of mastery over Mana. If he had to choose, an Anodite would naturally be best, followed by Terraspin.
Terraspin came from the Aerio turtle species of the planet Aldabra.
Although it hadn't been showcased much in Ben's hands, in fact, Terraspin and the original master of Ledgerdomain, Adwaita, belonged to the same race.
When Adwaita held the Alpha Rune, he was once the absolute ruler of Ledgerdomain.
Thus, these two races were the most adept at controlling Mana within the Ben 10 cosmology.
"Wait—wasn't Charmcaster also a native of Ledgerdomain? She shouldn't count as an Earthling either,"
Ben thought.
If he extracted Charmcaster's genes, he wondered if he'd turn into some kind of undead monstrosity...
But no matter what, he didn't have any of those genes in his possession.
That, however, was a trivial matter.
"Looks like I'll have to ask the invincible Omnitrix to find a way after all."
Apart from relying on the Omnitrix, Ben had no other options.
Back when Hydra had used an electromagnetic pulse and caused the Omnitrix to crash, it had recalibrated and unlocked a fresh batch of alien heroes. Later, Ben tried the same method, but nothing happened.
Clearly, whether or not to recalibrate was something the Omnitrix likely decided on its own; that thing's intelligence was actually pretty ridiculous.
"There's no rush for that,"
the Ancient One soothed.
"What we need to do now is to create a new dimension—Ledgerdomain, as you called it," she said. "Once the dimension is established, we can extract the seed of Mana."
"I thought you said we needed to wait until I produced an Anodite?"
"The alien is merely a vessel." The Ancient One indicated that Ben had misunderstood. "The origin of all things still begins with you."
"You don't need to seek the help of the Celestialsapiens, because once the dimension of Ledgerdomain is established, within that boundless abundance of Mana energy, Mana beings will naturally come into existence."
"All you need to do is give it form and then make it a part of you. That will suffice."
First there must be Mana, and only then can Mana beings arise.
That order cannot be reversed.
Now Ben thoroughly understood.
"Then let's begin."
The Ancient One nodded and said, "Creating a dimension isn't easy. I'll need the help of the Infinity Stones."
"How many?"
Ben asked.
"More is always better, of course, but at the most basic level, Time and Space are essential,"
the Ancient One said with a smile.
That was no problem at all. She knew Ben currently held three stones, plus the Eye of Agamotto in her possession—four stones in total.
Time and Space were both among them, enough to form a small dimension.
"How could two be enough?"
Ben raised an eyebrow, lavishly declaring,
"Let people find out, they'll think we can't afford them!"
"Six!"
Ben slapped the table. "If we're going to do this, let's do it big!"
"Six?" At that, the Ancient One's normally composed expression completely shattered.
Come on, buddy?
Where were you getting six stones?
Even counting the Time Stone in her hand, that wouldn't make six!
However, before the Ancient One could voice her doubts, Ben, like a child laying out marbles, placed several stones one by one on the table.
From left to right, they were: Time, Space, Mind, Soul, and Reality—all five.
The Ancient One: ???
Since when was the Time Stone in his hand?
Ben suddenly producing so many stones left the Ancient One dumbstruck.
She even anxiously opened the Eye of Agamotto to check; when she saw that her stone was still there, she immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
But then, she grew even more baffled.
If that was the Time Stone, what was the one in her hand?
The stones in Ben's hand were, of course, fake ones created by the Celestialsapiens.
Apart from the Power Stone, which had completely lost its radiance and remained in the ruins of Xandar, all the others were here.
Although they were fake, their power was genuine—just with certain usage limitations. After being used once, the stone's energy would vanish, turning it into a pretty rock.
"These aren't the real stones, but they can still be used once," Ben said.
Even if they weren't used, the energy within them would fade over time anyway.
In that case, he might as well let them shine once.
"Open a portal—I'll go bring the real Power Stone as well."
"So that's how it is. The Celestialsapiens truly are terrifying." The Ancient One was astonished.
After all, the Infinity Stones were condensed from the essence of six singularities possessing infinite energy that existed before the Big Bang—they were the very remains of a cosmic entity.
And yet the Celestialsapiens could create them at will, which was proof enough of how fearsome they were.
Perhaps even Eternity, whom she herself worshipped...
The Ancient One didn't let her thoughts go any further.
"With six stones here, everything becomes much simpler."
She sent Ben back to Sakaar and then didn't idle herself. She took a trip to Asgard, met with Odin, and retrieved the Infinity Gauntlet from Asgard's vault.
Odin was very generous.
Because he clearly understood that Ben had once received his favor. If Ben's fate wasn't intimately tied to Asgard's, he at least wouldn't stand by and watch the Aesir be destroyed.
The stronger Ben became, the better the news for him.
So, a few minutes later, transformed into Four Arms, Ben donned the Infinity Gauntlet and snapped his fingers.
Snap!!
Ledgerdomain was born.
/-\
Enjoying the story? Want to read ahead?
Support the novel and unlock early access to unreleased chapters!
~ +20 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon! (+1 Chapter daily)
https://p-atreon.com/Its_Zack
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access Patreon normally)