Secret Wars II #9 (1986)

Secret Wars II continues from Fantastic Four Vol 1 288... The Beyonder is still mulling over the possibility of destroying all existence, however the hardest thing to consider is that in doing so, he must also wipe out all memory of it -- making his decision a difficult one. While elsewhere at a roadside diner in Colorado, Marsha Rosenburg finally gets through the Avengers hotline. When Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four is brought into the call, he tells Marsha that the Avengers are off confronting the Beyonder. She tells them of her encounter with the Beyonder recently, wherein her boyfriend the Molecule Man battled the Beyonder and barely spared the universe from destruction. Reed and the other members of the Fantastic Four rush off to meet with her. However, before they can leave Avengers Mansion they find themselves teleported to a remote location in the Rocky Mountains. The Fantastic Four are not alone as they also find the Avengers, West Coast Avengers, Alpha Flight, Spider-Man, the Hulk, the Thing, Silver Surfer, Vision, Scarlet Witch, Heroes for Hire, Cloak and Dagger have also been brought to this location. As they get their bearings they learn that they were teleported to this location by Phoenix who arrives with her fellow X-Men. Setting aside their animosity with the X-Men for having former mutant terrorist Magneto in their ranks, the other heroes agree to help Rachel (who still has a portion of the Beyonder's power) stop the Beyonder once and for all. When Marsha Rosenberg offers to use her powers as Volcana to help, Rachel tells her she isn't needed and teleports her back to the apartment she shares with Owen Reece. Unsure what to expect after she pretended to give herself to the Beyonder, Marsha goes upstairs to their apartment to find it in shambles. When she sees Owen sitting in a recliner she is shocked to see him there. Meanwhile, not far from where the heroes have gathered, the Beyonder has created himself a secret hideaway miles below the surface so that he can think. Creating a camera to record his thoughts, the Beyonder muses that part of the problem with being unable to find fulfillment for his desire comes from the fact that he is omnipotent and that reality exists the way it does entirely on his belief of how it should operate. Considering what he has learned about his time on Earth, he finds that the only true way he could possibly know what it is to have desire fulfilled would be to assume a mortal form, as it is the only thing that he lacks. In order to facilitate this, the Beyonder creates a massive machine that can recreate him into a mortal body. In order to test it out, he pulls together the stray remains of the New Mutants (whom he recently killed and erased from the universe ) and uses the device to resurrect the human members he wiped out: Cannonball, Mirage, Karma, Magik, Wolfsbane and Cypher. He is impressed that they are recreated to the final detail with the exception of their minds being in a zombie like state. He makes the necessary adjustments to the device and then creates a giant container for his massive power so that he can resume his omnipotence at any time. Without further hesitation, the Beyonder transfers his power to the container and sends his essence through the machine. He is reborn into a full grown adult and upon his rebirth as a mortal he finds the experience frightening and instantly runs to the container, regaining his power. In Colorado, the Molecule Man tells Marsha that when she pretended to give herself to the Beyonder, it completely shattered him to the point where he wanted to die. After unleashing his frustrations he realized that he didn't need her to live, and that to truly be alive and truly love her, he needed to learn to not need her. Happy to hear that Owen still loves her, the two kiss. After, the Molecule Man decides that the Beyonder must be stopped at all cost, and with the universes cosmic beings too scared to act, he decides that he has to be the one to do it. Back at the Beyonder's hideout, the Beyonder decides to give mortality another go. This time through the machine he is less frightened and finds the limitations his mortal body gives him exciting. However, these new experiences are cut short when Mephisto arrives with a horde of demons to get revenge on the Beyonder for his constant meddling in his affairs. Despite the Lord of Lies' attempts to torture the now mortal Beyonder, the One From Beyond realizes that Mephisto can only project illusions and manages to fight through them and regain his powers. With the Beyonder restored to normal, Mephisto flees. While not far away, the gathered heroes are joined by the Molecule Man and Volcana who offer their aid, which the heroes accept allowing him to lead them to the Beyonder. Finally detecting their presence, the Beyonder realizes that he will always be a target no matter what and that the next time through his machine he will recreate himself as a mortal -- but still maintaining his vast cosmic powers. Needing time to make the necessary adjustments, the Beyonder recreates Warlock and sends the New Mutants to keep the assembled heroes busy. The New Mutants, who none of the heroes remember due to the fact that the Beyonder wiped out all memory of them, attack the heroes and keep them busy for a bit. The heroes soon defeat them, and when Phoenix mind scans them she learns the truth and tells the others she will restore the Beyonder's damage once the battle is over. Traveling down into the Beyonder's hideout, the heroes attempt to stop him from recreating himself as a cosmically powerful mortal while the Beyonder tries to keep them at bay. This fails and soon he is locked in a battle with the Molecule Man. However Owen is not strong enough and the Beyonder manages to land a killing strike that rips a huge swath across the Rocky Mountains. The Beyonder uses his powers to restabilizie the planet long enough to enter the machine. The heroes have survived thanks to the Molecule Man who used his remaining strength to protect them and teleport any humans that could have been killed by the Beyonder into a pocket dimension until the damage can be repaired. As the machine begins creating him as a mortal body and infusing it with his power, the heroes attempt to stop the machine again. However it has a defense mechanism that almost kills them if not for the quick shielding provided by the Invisible Woman, Phoenix and Silver Surfer given Spider-Man's warning. With the now infant aged Beyonder about to be reborn, the heroes consider killing the Beyonder however many of the heroes are at odds about killing an infant child -- even one that is omnipotent and has the power to destroy all existence. As Reed Richards keeps those willing to kill the baby Beyonder at bay, he is distracted long enough for the Molecule Man to fire the killing blow. As the baby dies its incredible power unleashes threatening to destroy everything. However the Molecule Man saves the entire multiverse by channeling the energy back into the universe the Beyonder lived in before learning of Earth. In the aftermath of the battle, the heroes are filled with sorrow to find that the baby is dead. As they all walk away, Captain America tells Owen that he is a hero for saving everything from the Beyonder's power. In the empty universe where the Beyonder once resided, his immense power returns creating a big bang that creates an entirely new universe that begins to teem with life much like that from the heroes universe. With new, mortal life coming into existence, the Beyonder finds in death the fulfillment he sought in life. Secret Wars II continues in Avengers Vol 1 266...