Note:Apologies for the mix up.
9.
The Science Dog comics were the first thing he picked up. He cleared out an entire comic bookstore in Atlanta. It was faster to just take everything on the shelves then sort it out in the Cube. He waited to deliver them along with everything else.
Candy, board games, clothing, books, and the other things on the lists the kids gave him were the first thing he gathered. He had broken the brain of the poor clerk at the toy-store he nearly cleared out. They had to borrow a flatbed cart from a nearby hardware store to carry everything. Ben added in an arsenal of airsoft guns and pellets for learning purposes.
At some point during the multiple jumps from dimension to Cube to dimension unlocked another aspect of his ability. He didn't have to make pitstops anymore. Ben could jump from one dimension to another without having to pause at his Cube. It was still useful for storage and a staging area.
The lists were the fastest part of the process. He cleared out a few more banks and ATMs in Atlanta before he approached a construction company. Ben purchased a few truckloads of industrial grade cement walls. He delivered and installed those to the farm first for added security. Shops for Preppers streamlined the process of finding and installing raised walkways.
Ben moved on to housing once the walls were in place. Each prefab house was roughly $100k. He wanted to make sure they weren't going to break the first month. It took longer for the models to arrive at the designated location than it did to set them up on the Greene Farm. He couldn't just have them delivered to the sales department and pop over. They needed a place to deliver the units. It would have cost upwards of two million to legally arrange an area for the houses after permits, utilities, and all that. Instead, Ben slipped a trailer park owner a couple hundred thousand to use their address no questions asked.
The plumbing was actually the easiest part. He wasn't the first person to feel the oppressive dread when approaching the process of clean running water. They came in kits that were simple to assemble. Each home had clean water and a septic tank within an hour of arrival. Individual water towers were an easy addition as well. They were smaller units than the models used by towns to avoid creating a cluster of obvious points-of-interest. That meant they didn't provide the best water pressure, but it was better than using a bucket.
It was the solar panels and electricity that gave him the most problems. The wires were color-coded and it looked like it should have been easy. Not so much in practice. It went a lot faster once they got the first one working.
"You really did it," Hershel whispered.
Ben smiled as he watched everyone exploring their new homes. He had made sure to fill the kitchen cabinets and add furniture. Ben made sure to have them add their clothing sizes so he could fill the closets as well.
Ben sighed, "it was worth it."
He watched for a while longer.
"You're going to leave again, aren't you?" Clem asked as she came to stand next to him.
Ben nodded, "yes."
"Are you coming back?" She asked.
Ben braced himself before he looked at her. He felt his heart break from the knowing expression on her face.
"Eventually," he replied. "There are other places I need to go."
Clem took a deep breath that sounded like it should have come from someone much older. She hugged the new stuffed bunny close.
"Thank you for Bunny," Clem said.
Ben knelt down to look in her eyes, "you'll need to be strong, Clementine. You've seen how this world is changing. It's getting rough and will get worse before it gets better."
She nodded.
"It was nice to meet you, Clem," Ben smiled at her.
"It was nice to meet you too," Clem gave him a hug.
She ran over to where Duck, Carl, and Sophia were showing each other their new stuff. Lee moved over to stand beside him.
"Are you really an angel?" Lee asked.
Ben chuckled, "I'm just some guy."
"What did you say?" Lee's eyes narrowed.
Ben didn't bother holding back his smile, "would you rather say I was a babysitter?"
"You weren't there," Lee said. "It was just Clem, me, Shawn, and Chet. How could you know that? How could you know what I was going to say?"
Ben let his smile drop, "the same way I know you're a good man."
"Bullshit," Lee replied.
He looked around to make sure no one was close enough to hear.
Ben sighed, "you were in the back of a police cruiser on your way up North when all this started. The guy driving wouldn't keep his eyes on the road and turned off the radio when the emergency calls were coming through. You found Clem after the crash. She was hiding in her treehouse. Her babysitter attacked you. Clem gave you a hammer. You haven't told her about the message from her parents on the machine. She thinks they are still out there. Someone will use that to trick her into leaving you in the future. Her hat gets dropped when they take her. You get bit when you pick it up," He paused. "You teach her how to shoot, how to keep her hair short, and how to keep moving. She remembers that for the rest of her life."
"What about everyone else?" Lee whispered.
Lee was someone that he had admired for quite some time. The man had no reason to help Clementine, but he did. He could have easily left without her. Instead, he put his life on the line to keep her alive. Lee was one of the few people that Ben would trust with the truth.
"Hold tight," Ben looped a hand around Lee's waist.
The man didn't have the chance to scream before they flew onto the roof of the barn.
"What the fuck, man?" Lee yelled.
Ben laughed, "I wanted to talk to you in private."
"You just gave me a house," Lee pointed at one of the prefabs. "We could have gone inside."
Ben shrugged, "eh, we're already here."
"Fine," Lee grumbled. "What do you want to talk about?"
He sat on the roof, "the future that I hope will not be."
"Ok," Lee sat beside him. "Fine, hit me with it."
Ben took a steady breath, "the group that was here before you originally came here after their camp was overrun with dead. They come across a traffic jam, then are caught by a wandering horde. Sophia gets separated from the group. Carl is shot accidentally shot by a hunter while they are looking for her. They bring him here where Hershel treats him." He sighed. "Lori is in a relationship with Shane. She and Rick were married before this happened. He was in a coma, and they thought he was dead. It caused a lot of tension between Rick, her, and Shane though he didn't know why since they tried to keep it secret. Dale dies from a random zombie while taking a walk."
"Damn," Lee muttered.
Ben nodded, "Duck is playing on the tractor, it attracts the dead, Shawn is eaten, and Hershel kicks you out of the farm. You, Clem, Kenny, Duck, and Katjaa leave. Along the way you meet up with a few other survivors and make a base in a hotel. It falls to a bandit attack. Duck is bitten in the escape. Kenny doesn't want to believe it and almost gets everyone killed by denying it. Katjaa is the one who has to kill Duck before he can come back. She shoots herself as well. By then you reach the city where Kenny wants to take a boat. You split up when you go after Clem." He paused. "You spend the last stretch of time as a human to rescue her. She has to shoot you and survive on her own."
"Damn," Lee repeated.
Ben let the silence stretch for a moment, "I have killed most of the people I can remember that cause problems."
"Damn," Lee said again.
Ben chuckled, "I'm still looking for a safer place for you. Until I find it I'm going to make this place safer."
"No other angels to share the load?" Lee asked.
Ben shrugged, "none that I know. Humans will have to take up the brunt of the work."
"You've done more for us that anyone has before," Lee patted him on the shoulder.
Ben nodded, "thanks. It's time for me to go."
Lee looked down at the drop from the barn roof.
"I'll take you down first," Ben chuckled.
This place was too tempting to stay. He needed to leave before he got too attached. There were a few stops to make first.
"I'm going now," Ben announced. "Stay safe. I don't know when I'll be back."
Ben launched into the air. The cannibal farm and connected bandits then back to area around the farm to clear out more dead. He had forgotten about the cow that the cannibals had. It was bigger than him, but superstrength made it simple. He cradled the cow in his arms then carefully flew it back to Greene's Village.
"I found this poor girl locked in a barn," Ben said as he laid the cow on an open patch of ground.
Katjaa hurried over, "oh, poor darling. She needs some care."
"I'm leaving again," Ben chuckled.
This time he vanished rather than fly. It felt more final this way.
Cube
Ben stared at the ceiling as he reclined in the air. He needed to avoid going back there for a while. Seeing the characters from the game was a shock. Technically, they were in the same world, except the games were closer to the comics than the show. That would mean that the dimensions had a broader reach than expected.
He needed a break from the dimensions that would tempt him to stay. Most of the places he could think of would need something other than cash for currency. He had a couple of gold bars from the safety deposit boxes. That meant all he needed to do was find out how much it would translate to in local currency.
Ben looked around his cube. The place was empty aside from the cash, some clothes, the meteor, and a couple gold bars. His clothing was mostly styled for a modern era. The armor from Asgard had a gash along the spine which needed to be patched or replaced. There was more damage that he noticed on closer inspection. Thanos had done more damage than Ben had initially noticed. He could almost track the fight from the wear and tear. It would need some more character if he was going to sell the lie that he had been lost in space since the battle. He shot it a few dozen times, stabbed it with a knife a few times as well as a broken bottle, and finished it off by rubbing some dirt on it.
"Oh, no!" He muttered. "I have to go to Asgard again."
Marvel Cinematic UniverseAsgard – 2012 on Midgard
Ben appeared a distance away from Asgard. He flew toward Heimdall's post to give the illusion that he had been lost in space since the Battle of New York. He wore the armor they had given him in all its glory.
"Greetings, Traveler Ben," Heimdall said as he landed nearby.
Ben inclined his head, "Heimdall. It's good to see you again."
"I lost sight of you when you went through that portal," Heimdall stated. "Was your hunt successful?"
Ben smiled, "I split his head in half and threw each half into a different sun just to be sure."
"You were worried he would reform?" Heimdall asked.
Ben shook his head, "I was worried someone would put him back together."
He took a look around the room. It was in a state of disarray. A few racks of weapons were haphazardly arranged in rows next to half-full armor stands.
"Did I miss something?" Ben motioned at the supplies.
Heimdall nodded, "the realms have been in conflict since the Bifrost was damaged. We are working to restore order now that it has been repaired."
"I would gladly offer my assistance," Ben smiled.
Heimdall nodded, "you'll need armor that isn't compromised."
"It held up admirably," Ben smiled as he turned in a slow circle.
The corner of Heimdall's mouth twitched just a bit, "the quartermaster will supply you with functional armor. Do you still have your blade?"
Ben summoned his sword. The quartermaster had set up a station not far from Bifrost. He took a look at ben then pointed to a nearby stack of armor for the Asgardian soldiers. Ben stripped off his armor, sending it to the Cube as he did. The quartermaster barely cared to notice.
"Do you have the under-layer?" He asked.
The quartermaster sighed then pointed at a stack of folded clothing. Ben shrugged and began to go through the options. They were all variations of long-sleeve shirts and leggings that were made of a fabric that felt like silk but was as thick as wool. He wrote it off as some sort of space-magic-technology thing that Asgard loved so much.
Ben didn't see any sort of changing area. He stripped down to his boxer-briefs then put on the under-layer. It shifted slightly, adjusting to his form for a perfect fit. He moved on to the armor aside from the helmet. It was clearly made in bulk in a one-size-fits-all process. Even then, Asgardian quality was a cut above. Straps helped adjust the armor to fit his body. He summoned his sword and scabbard then attached it to his belt.
With all that done he returned to Heimdall.
"Where are they?" Ben asked.