"Calm down!" Robert's voice echoed in the medical room just as the telekinetic forces from Lorna and Susan began to intensify, threatening to destroy everything around them. Instantly, both energies paused and then vanished.
Thud! Thud!
The next moment, both Lorna and Susan fell to the floor, getting up awkwardly before exchanging a frustrated glance and looking toward Robert.
"Why are you both staring at me? You're the ones who destroyed the beds," Robert said, confused. Then, realizing something, he turned to Lorna. "Aren't you able to disassemble and reassemble things? Why not put it back together?"
"It's been completely obliterated! There's no way to reassemble it," Lorna replied with a pout, clearly annoyed. "When we heard your voice, we instinctively stopped using our powers. There wasn't time to assess everything. And you just watched us fall!"
"How was I supposed to know you'd fall?" Robert sighed and shrugged. "You should focus on understanding how much stronger your abilities have become. Also, the Reality Stone has disappeared. I don't know where it's gone, but I suspect it's hiding in your bodies. Be careful when using your powers."
"Huh? I don't feel anything out of the ordinary," Lorna said, blinking in confusion. She could sense her telekinetic strength had increased dramatically, giving her a light and limitless feeling. But as for the Reality Stone, she felt no sign of it.
"I don't feel anything strange either, except for the boost in my abilities," Susan Storm echoed after checking her own body. Like Lorna, she only noticed the enhancement of her powers, with no trace of the Reality Stone.
"Alright then, head to the training room to get a better grasp on your abilities. You don't want to accidentally hurt anyone," Robert advised before turning to leave the medical room and checking on Peggy Carter and Brian.
"Lorna! Are you alright?" Pietro asked anxiously as Robert walked out.
Whoosh!
Before Pietro could finish speaking, he was sent flying by Lorna, who hadn't yet fully mastered her newfound powers. Fortunately, Lorna hadn't intended to harm Pietro, so she instinctively held back some of her strength. Otherwise, Pietro might have suffered the same fate as the disintegrated beds and chairs—reduced to nothing.
To be honest, Lorna had only tested her powers on inanimate objects so far. She wasn't sure if she could reassemble a living being if she disassembled one. Naturally, she didn't want Pietro to be her first experiment.
Seeing Pietro rushing back, Lorna quickly shouted, "Wait! Don't come closer! Susan and I need to head to the training room and properly control our powers!"
Hearing this, the Avengers stopped in their tracks and even backed away from Lorna and Susan. No one wanted to be accidentally harmed by their enhanced powers, especially after Pietro, her own brother, was almost taken out.
Joking aside, if someone like Pietro could barely avoid a fatal accident, the others figured it was best to keep their distance. After all, Robert's healing abilities wouldn't help if they were completely disintegrated like the furniture.
"Not fair! How come you didn't throw the Saiyan around when he was here?" Pietro grumbled as he slowed down, sulking at Lorna.
"Hehe, well, if he hadn't spoken up, I'm sure Susan and I could've knocked him out. Our powers have evolved! Once we get them under control, we'll be unstoppable!" Lorna replied with a proud grin, though her gaze flicked toward Kara, who was standing nearby.
Kara couldn't help but feel the pressure. It was one thing to deal with someone like Diana, a warrior skilled in combat, but now Lorna, her old rival, had unexpectedly powered up to catch up. Although Kara hadn't yet faced Lorna, Lorna's current confidence in rivaling Robert's telekinesis suggested she'd become a serious threat. Kara realized she needed to power up soon if she wanted to remain competitive.
"I need to strengthen myself before Lorna fully masters her new powers!" Kara thought, her sense of urgency growing. "If I had known the Reality Stone was so peculiar, I wouldn't have left earlier. Maybe I'd have gotten stronger too. Even Peggy and Brian's bodies have been enhanced…"
As Kara muttered to herself, she headed toward the room where Peggy and Brian were resting. The other Avengers followed, many of them harboring similar thoughts.
In hindsight, the Reality Stone hadn't harmed the Avengers in any way—in fact, it had greatly boosted their strength. Some wondered if, had the stone invaded their bodies instead, they too might have seen significant power boosts.
Even a small increase in strength would have been welcomed, especially since many Avengers had hit a plateau in their abilities. Any improvement would benefit the entire team.
Unfortunately, the Reality Stone had disappeared, leaving them unable to undergo the same transformation even if they wanted to.
"Why is everyone here?" Robert asked, surprised to see the Avengers trailing behind Kara. When he saw Pietro and the others' hesitant expressions, he realized what they were thinking.
"Don't even consider it. For one thing, the Reality Stone is already gone. Even if it were still here, I wouldn't let any of you take that risk."
"Unlike the talismans, which were safe for their users after the Shendu died, the Reality Stone is different. From the moment it enters your body, it drains your life force. As it splits and embeds more fragments, the toll on your life grows."
"Based on the stone's splitting behavior, probably only Hulk and Spider-Man would have a high chance of survival. The rest of you wouldn't stand a chance."
"Also, the Reality Stone seems to have a consciousness. Who knows what it's really planning? For all we know, this could be a trap."
"The talismans were one thing. Even if Shendu returned at full strength, he wouldn't be that dangerous. But the Reality Stone is in a different league. Its power far surpasses even Superman's. It's too dangerous for us to take lightly."
"I see…" Pietro and the others nodded in agreement, realizing Robert was right. In a world where using power often comes at a price, an artifact that grants seemingly limitless strength might indeed be too good to be true.
Maybe a select few could gain strength from the Infinity Stones and walk the path of the extraordinary, but that didn't mean everyone could safely harness their power.
And besides, the powers of the Infinity Stones were vastly different. The Reality Stone likely wouldn't suit all the Avengers, otherwise, it wouldn't have chosen Robert, Susan, and Lorna as its targets.
With this in mind, the Avengers' desire for the Reality Stone faded, replaced by concern. They began to worry if the stone had some hidden agenda and whether those affected by it—Susan, Lorna, Peggy, and Brian—might face future complications.
Beep, beep, beep!
Suddenly, an alarm rang out, interrupting their thoughts. Steve's attention snapped back to Peggy, who still hadn't woken up.
"A situation similar to the previous spatial distortion is occurring on a larger scale, now affecting half of London. Creatures from other worlds are appearing through the distortions, and the affected area seems to be expanding," JARVIS's voice echoed, alerting everyone.
It seemed the event Malekith had been waiting for—the alignment of the Nine Realms—had begun.
What had started with a lone portal to a barren planet had now evolved into the full-scale alignment of the Nine Realms, causing objects and creatures from different realms to randomly traverse through the connected spaces.
For those from other realms, this might not have posed a significant danger, but for ordinary Earthlings, the risks were immense. Many would be unable to survive in alien environments, and even if they were lucky enough to land on a seemingly safe world, like the one with the Reality Stone, survival would be difficult without food or water.
"Superman's ki signature is fluctuating. He's disappeared from Earth several times, which means he's already responding. Let's go help! Steve, the vampires, and werewolves will stay to guard the base!" Robert said, raising an eyebrow as he sensed Clark's ki quickly vanishing and reappearing. No doubt, Superman was saving people by traveling between realms, but he couldn't be left to handle the situation alone.
Robert also had a growing suspicion that this was just the beginning of a crisis caused by the Reality Stone. Baron Mordo had mentioned that in history, the Dark Elves had been the previous owners of the stone. It was possible they were now planning to invade Earth to reclaim it.
Therefore, Robert didn't mobilize the entire Avengers force. Instead, after leaving a portion behind, he nodded to Baron Mordo, who promptly opened a fiery portal to transport the team to London.
Since the Nine Realms' alignment was a cosmic event, it wasn't driven by extraordinary power, so there were no spatial disruptions preventing the portal from functioning properly, unlike the time with the Space Stone.
As the Avengers arrived in London, on the distant planet Svartalfheim, the Dark Elves were preparing for war. Algrim had successfully used the Reality Stone fragments to become the last of the cursed warriors.
And despite their ancient history, the Dark Elves were not just relics with individual power. As a race born in the darkness at the dawn of the universe, their technological prowess was formidable.
It was the Dark Elves who once developed technology to create black holes, capable of consuming entire planets and stars.
Though their power and technology had waned over the millennia, they remained a force to be reckoned with
. Against Earth, which had only just begun to reach the stars, the Dark Elves would be an overwhelming threat.
Their stealth technology was leagues ahead of anything on Earth. When their warships passed through the spatial distortions and arrived on Earth, even Tony Stark's advanced surveillance systems failed to detect them. The Dark Elf ships were truly invisible, using a type of cloaking technology Earth had never encountered.
Just as JARVIS couldn't detect an invisible Susan Storm, the Dark Elf ships made their way through London unnoticed, heading straight for Avengers headquarters.
Little did the Avengers know, while they rushed to London to meet the enemy, the Dark Elves had already set their sights on their base.
"So this is Midgard? Humans from the realm of mortals? Hmm, they've developed more than I expected," Malekith said, peering at the images outside the ship with a curious gaze.
"Commander, we've detected an energy fluctuation nearby. Could it be an Asgardian ambush?" Algrim asked cautiously.
"Don't alert them! Reclaiming the Aether is our top priority!" Malekith responded decisively. "We'll deal with Asgard after we have the Aether back in our hands."
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