At such a critical moment, the matter of whether the body would suddenly grow seemed trivial compared to the question of survival. In the face of life and death, these concerns were secondary. Steve, seeing the changes in Peggy Carter, felt a flicker of hope rekindled in his heart. He silently prayed for Robert, Peggy, and the rapidly growing child, Brian.
Whom Steve was praying to was uncertain, but it was unlikely to be any of the conventional gods anymore.
The battle between Robert's healing magic and the Reality Stone was a long and drawn-out process. Robert knew that this continuous drain was unsustainable. Once he realized the Reality Stone wasn't attempting to outright kill Peggy and Brian, he made a decisive move.
With a hum, Robert's ki joined the fray, becoming a third force. However, since ki and healing magic were closely linked, they complemented each other. The ki worked to expel the Reality Stone's power, while the healing magic restored their damaged bodies.
Robert had to admit, the Infinity Stones were indeed formidable. The energy expenditure from using both ki and healing magic far exceeded what he had spent using just healing magic alone. Despite the strain, Robert persisted. He was eager to discover if the Infinity Stones had any limits.
Unfortunately, Robert couldn't determine the full extent of a single Infinity Stone's power. Once the Reality Stone had embedded enough fragments into Peggy and Brian's cells, it ceased its opposition and withdrew from their bodies, reassembling itself into a single entity.
"What? Did it give up?" Robert was surprised. The Reality Stone still radiated immense power, and despite having split into many pieces, its energy didn't seem diminished. He doubted it had stopped because it couldn't compete with him—there had to be another reason.
"Is Peggy alright?" Steve anxiously turned to Peggy, who, despite looking much younger, still hadn't regained consciousness.
"They still have fragments of the Reality Stone in their bodies, just like when we found them on that mysterious planet. These fragments are fusing with their cells. Whether that's good or bad for them, I can't say, but at least their life force isn't being drained anymore," Robert explained as he shook his head. His healing magic no longer worked on Peggy and Brian since neither had any physical injuries.
It seemed that once the Reality Stone left, the fragments stopped consuming their life force. Perhaps the life force used earlier had been enough to satisfy the Reality Stone's demands?
Robert wasn't sure, but he stopped his healing magic and turned his focus back to the Reality Stone itself.
Suddenly, with a hum, the dark red liquid that made up the Reality Stone surged toward Robert, as if it had found its next prey.
Reacting swiftly, Robert, who had been watching the Reality Stone closely, quickly summoned his ki and telekinetic energy to form a barrier in front of him. He wasn't about to let the Reality Stone merge with his body. Given its life-draining properties, who knew what kind of trap it might set?
To his dismay, though his ki was somewhat effective, his telekinetic energy was as porous as a sieve, allowing the Reality Stone to seep through with even greater ease.
Realizing this, Robert promptly withdrew his telekinetic powers and activated his Great Ape's Fury transformation, causing his ki to surge even more powerfully. He formed an impenetrable barrier of energy that finally held the Reality Stone at bay.
Without the interference of his telekinetic powers, Robert managed to hold off the Reality Stone, though it was still a struggle.
At that moment, the Reality Stone, as if possessing a consciousness, split into three parts. One portion continued to press against Robert's barrier, while the other two shot towards Lorna and Susan Storm.
"Ah!"
Lorna and Susan instinctively tried to fend off the Stone with their own powers, which were akin to telekinesis. But just like Robert's earlier attempt, their powers were ineffective. The Reality Stone quickly penetrated their defenses and entered their bodies, causing both women to collapse after a brief struggle.
Fortunately, as Lorna and Susan fell unconscious, the part of the Reality Stone that had been attacking Robert also vanished, leaving no trace behind.
Robert had to admit, the Reality Stone was truly bizarre. It defied logic, splitting into three parts without losing any strength and then disappearing as if it had never been there.
But Robert knew this wasn't the time to dwell on those thoughts. Seeing Pietro's anxious face, Robert took a deep breath and turned to the Avengers. "Everyone out. Take Peggy and this boy with you so the Reality Stone doesn't try to re-enter their bodies."
Robert had a hunch. He suspected that Peggy and Brian had been chosen by the Reality Stone out of necessity, while he, Lorna, and Susan had been targeted because of their telekinetic abilities. But he couldn't be sure what would happen if the fragments were expelled again. Who would the Stone target next?
The safest course of action was to have the Avengers leave, leaving only Robert, Lorna, and Susan behind to see what the Reality Stone would do.
"Alright!" The Avengers quickly understood the gravity of the situation, and even Pietro, though worried, didn't argue or try to stay behind. He couldn't help but envy Johnny Storm a little—Johnny had spent the day playing soccer with the kids, completely unaware of what Susan was going through, while Pietro was filled with worry yet powerless to help.
After the Avengers left, Robert resumed his healing magic, continuing the slow process of battling the Reality Stone's influence.
But this time, before Robert could even summon his ki to counter the Stone, the Reality Stone broke apart on its own, sending a large number of fragments into both Susan and Lorna.
Robert didn't need to focus hard to notice the immediate change. Both Lorna and Susan's powers surged to a whole new level. If Susan's telekinetic abilities had once placed her slightly above Steve in strength, she was now on par with Robert's own telekinetic abilities in his normal state.
As for Lorna, her telekinetic energy had grown even stronger than Robert's regular level. Even Robert, in his current state, felt pressure from Lorna's newfound power.
In short, both Lorna and Susan had just leaped in strength, from being on the verge of becoming Hell Lords to now standing at the threshold of that power. They weren't yet the strongest among Hell Lords, but they could easily contend with any non-rule-breaking avatars.
Robert was stunned by this development. He began to question whether he had misinterpreted the situation earlier. Had Lorna, Susan, Peggy, and Brian actually encountered a crisis—or had they stumbled upon a unique opportunity?
However, Robert quickly dismissed that thought. The healing magic he had used had undoubtedly been necessary. Without it, Lorna and Susan might have survived, but Peggy and Brian definitely wouldn't have made it.
It seemed that only those who survived the ordeal and withstood the power of the Reality Stone were able to harness a portion of its energy. This might be one of the stone's abilities, or perhaps a more refined version of the Dark Elves' cursed warriors.
As Robert continued pondering this mystery, the Reality Stone's energy fluctuations abruptly vanished, snapping him back to attention. When he looked around, he realized the immense energy signature of the Reality Stone had completely disappeared.
This wasn't the first time the Reality Stone had defied logic. Whether it was splitting into infinite fragments or suddenly vanishing, it consistently demonstrated its reality-altering powers were not to be underestimated.
"Has it really disappeared, or is it hiding inside Lorna or Susan?" Robert frowned. A careful scan revealed no abnormalities.
"So the Reality Stone targeted us because we all have telekinetic abilities. Could it be that the stone's power is the ultimate evolution of telekinesis?" Robert began to reflect on his previous confrontation with the Reality Stone. Facing such a powerful force wasn't without its benefits. Even though he hadn't allowed the stone to merge with him, Robert still felt that studying it might unlock some of its secrets.
Unlike the Space Stone, which Robert couldn't properly study due to his lack of spatial abilities, the Reality Stone's connection to telekinesis made it much more valuable to research.
"Why has the Aether's power been activated so frequently? Has something happened? Has someone found the Aether?" Meanwhile, on the distant planet of Svartalfheim, Malekith's expression darkened. He had been waiting for the Nine Realms to align, but now, something had changed.
Earlier, Malekith had sensed the Aether's energy being used. The amount of power unleashed was comparable to what his people had used to create their cursed warriors.
The idea that others were using his race's artifact enraged Malekith. With the Aether strengthening others, reclaiming it would become even harder.
"The spatial distortion isn't enough yet. I can only vaguely sense the Aether's location. Once I have a clearer connection, we'll strike." Malekith's eyes gleamed with a cold light as he stared into the sky. "Whoever has stolen the Aether, whether Asgardian or Vanir, will face the wrath of the Dark Elves. The Aether is our artifact. Only we can wield its power—you will suffer the consequences!"
"Things seem to have settled down…" Back on Earth, in the Avengers' medical room, Kara noticed that both Susan and Lorna had stabilized. The fragments of the Reality Stone had fully fused with them, disappearing from sight. Kara turned to Pietro, who was anxiously waiting outside, and reassured him.
Just as she spoke, a surge of powerful telekinetic energy erupted from the room, crushing everything in the vicinity into twisted shapes, including the beds Susan and Lorna
had been lying on.
Both women were now floating in midair. Suddenly, as if sensing the pressure, another wave of telekinetic energy erupted. The crushed objects began to disintegrate, breaking down into particles too small to be seen.
Without a doubt, the first wave had come from Susan, and the second, more destructive power belonged to Lorna.
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