Without wasting time, once Tony Stark heard Shin had a solution, he immediately led the group toward S.H.I.E.L.D.'s heavily fortified secret base.
Shin scanned the base with his enhanced senses the moment they arrived. The entire structure was sealed off, powered not by the local grid but by Tony's Ark Reactor. That alone told him Tony had once considered the possibility of launching the whole base into space or even another dimension. Still, the size and mass of the installation made such a plan nearly impossible with current Earth technology, forcing Stark to shelve the idea.
Even before entering, Shin could feel the dangerous hum of the Space Stone resonating inside. The energy coursing within it was not only vast but structured in an odd, unstable lattice. If Tony had not installed containment fields, the stone would likely have torn open a rift long ago. Instead, the power gathered unchecked, turning the Tesseract into what was essentially a time-ticking bomb, its detonation only a matter of time.
"I wonder who's pushing on the other side," Shin muttered under his breath. "Could they already be caught in the framework Stark designed?"
Scarlet Witch stepped closer and gently took Shin's hand. Her crimson eyes reflected worry. "If not, then… let me try. My power might—"
"No." Shin's tone was sharp, leaving no room for debate. "You can't risk it. Chaos Magic might destabilize the Space Stone even more. Worse, every time you draw on it, you risk drawing Chthon's attention. Until your power grows enough to resist him, you should avoid leaning on Chaos Energy unless absolutely necessary. You'd only be hastening the arrival of the Elder God without the strength to oppose him."
Wanda bit her lip, nodding reluctantly. She stayed ready, but she trusted Shin's judgment.
Shin, meanwhile, pushed aside stray thoughts. His super-vision cut through the thick alloy walls of the installation, laying bare the Space Stone and the intricate containment systems Tony had woven around it. He studied the energy flows, the vibration patterns, and how precariously the balance was being held together. A single violent tremor could destabilize the structure and trigger the chain reaction.
"You should clear everyone out," Shin said finally. His gaze shifted to Tony.
Stark grimaced but complied, tapping his earpiece. "All personnel at Site A3, this is Stark. Evacuate the base immediately. I repeat, full evacuation protocol, now!"
S.H.I.E.L.D. might not always be efficient, but when the word came from Iron Man himself, no one hesitated. Within ten minutes, the installation was deserted. Once Shin confirmed the all-clear, he pressed his palm to the ground. Chakra surged outward, and the earth itself answered.
The ground rumbled like a beast awakening. Massive cracks split the soil, and slowly, impossibly, the base was pushed upward, as if the planet itself spat it out. The structure shook but did not collapse, a testament both to its sturdy design and Shin's precise mastery of earth release. Not a single piece of machinery fell out of place inside; not even a teacup toppled.
Next, Shin extended his biomagnetic field, surrounding the entire base. His fingers closed as if gripping something tangible. Then, with a steady pull, he lifted the enormous mass from the ground.
To the onlookers, it was surreal. The sight of one man hoisting a structure that rivaled a helicarrier in size was like watching an ant effortlessly raise an elephant.
Tony's jaw went slack. "That's… that's not how science works! You're not supposed to just grab the corner of a base and pick it up like it's luggage! At best, you should've torn off a slab of metal!"
Shin ignored him. With a flash, he vanished and reappeared high above, the entire base still cradled in his power. For a moment, it swayed, but Shin's grip stabilized it instantly.
"Seriously?" Tony threw his hands up. "If this were a physics class, you'd have failed already. Punching through a base like that is the stuff of old action flicks!"
Before he could rant further, Shin became a streak of light, carrying the massive structure with him.
"Jarvis!" Tony barked. "Track that speed. I need numbers."
The AI responded instantly. "Based on trajectory and velocity, Mr. Shin has reached sub-light speed and is still accelerating."
Tony blinked. "Sub-light speed… while carrying a base… inside the atmosphere? That's absurd. At those speeds, the drag alone should've vaporized the entire structure instantly!"
"The data remains consistent, sir."
"Fantastic. Newton and Einstein are spinning in their graves, and you're telling me this is all real. This slaps science in the face harder than anything magic ever managed."
Despite his protests, Stark was oddly exhilarated, a grin tugging at his lips. He turned to the others, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, and Natasha, who were all watching in silence.
"Okay, fine," Tony said, calming down slightly. "It's… science-adjacent. Let's call it… magical physics. Jarvis, remind me later to continue the old anti-magic armor project. Clearly, there are bigger things to look into."
"Understood, sir. Also, the transported base has just entered Mars' orbit and has exploded safely."
Tony blinked, his expression blank for a second before he snapped upright. "Wait, Mars? That's over 180 light-seconds away. Didn't he leave less than a minute ago?"
"Correct. He reached Mars in 37 seconds."
Tony whistled. "So his peak speed was nearly seven times the speed of light. Incredible. If he can go that fast, why stop? At that point, shouldn't he be tearing through time itself?"
"Your earlier estimate of humanity reaching hyperdrive in ten years may be optimistic, sir," Jarvis replied smoothly.
Natasha folded her arms, rolling her eyes. "Maybe instead of wasting decades building more metal suits, you should spend some time learning magic, Stark. Seems like that's where the real answers are."
Tony shot her a glare. "Great, another one telling me to become a wizard. What's next, robes and a wand? No thanks. Tech's messy enough without chanting Latin over it."
Still, Natasha's point wasn't lost on him. They had seen sorcerers manipulate space, conjure portals, and wield mirror dimensions. Compared to what Shin had just done, maybe Stark's pursuit of technology alone was starting to feel… limited.
Even so, as the explosion registered safely far from Earth, a collective sense of relief spread across the group. The Tesseract was no longer an imminent threat to their planet. Humanity had survived another brush with annihilation, though at the cost of watching a man casually bend the laws of physics into knots.
And somewhere deep down, Tony Stark realized this was only the beginning.
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