While others might not be able to perceive it, in Marcus's enhanced vision, Jane now appeared as a humanoid energy source that was constantly radiating power.
Red energy was being expelled outward from her body in continuous waves, forming an invisible energy field around her that provided constant protection while simultaneously draining her life force.
"My abnormality?" Jane asked, looking confused about what Marcus could possibly mean.
As she spoke, the image of the recent rainstorm suddenly flashed through her mind. The downpour hadn't touched her body at all, leaving her completely dry.
After the rainstorm, she should have been soaked like Daisy, but she had remained completely untouched by the rain.
"My body..." Jane began, her voice trailing off as understanding dawned.
"Yes, there's something inside your body," Marcus confirmed. "And that thing has caused changes in your physiology—changes that are very unfriendly to your long-term survival."
This explanation made Thor frown deeply. He had also sensed that something was different about Jane, but he couldn't identify exactly what was wrong.
"Will this change harm Jane?" Thor asked, his voice filled with concern.
"Yes," Marcus replied grimly. "This entity is using Jane as a host to protect itself, and it's simultaneously absorbing her life force to sustain its existence."
While speaking, Marcus suddenly raised his hand, void energy swirling around his palm as he reached toward Jane's right arm.
Buzz!
The moment Marcus's hand approached Jane's arm, red energy erupted from her limb with explosive force.
But as the energy spread outward, a vortex appeared in Marcus's palm, pulling all the energy that had originally been full of destructive impact directly into his hand.
"Oh, that's impressive," Tony said, moving closer to observe the red vortex formed by the energy being drawn into Marcus's hand. "It's been so long since I've seen you, and what you can do is getting beyond the scope of conventional science."
"I don't think I've ever claimed that what I can do is particularly scientific," Marcus replied with a smile.
With a casual gesture, Marcus closed his fist around the vortex, and a red crystal materialized in his hand.
"Not bad," he said, tossing the crystal to Tony. "You should study this thing more carefully. It will be very useful for improving your armor."
Marcus's goal wasn't the power of the ether particles themselves, but rather the Reality Stone that existed within the ether. While this crystal was certainly valuable, it was of no particular use to him. What he wanted was the Reality Stone stored within Jane's right arm.
Looking up at everyone, Marcus smiled and addressed Jane directly.
"We can discuss how to remove the thing from your arm."
Jane was shocked by this revelation. There was such a powerful force inside her arm, but the price of this power was enormous—it was actually absorbing her life force.
"Okay, but how can we remove it?" Jane asked without hesitation.
Jane didn't care about possessing such power. Although this ability was impressive, it came at the cost of consuming her life. Since it could be extracted, she was absolutely willing to undergo the procedure.
"You can ask your boyfriend," Marcus said, smiling as he looked at Thor. "The medical technology in Asgard is quite advanced."
Marcus looked at Thor expectantly. If he was correct, the Rainbow Bridge had been repaired, making travel to Asgard very convenient.
"Asgard? Can I go and take a look?" Tony asked eagerly.
Tony was still hoping to trade for minerals with Thor, so he naturally wanted to examine the mineral resources available in Asgard.
Just as he finished speaking, his phone suddenly rang.
"Ring, ring, ring... beep Tony, where are you right now? You absolutely must be present at the press conference this afternoon. Come back immediately!"
"Um... sorry, Pepper," Tony said into the phone. "I've decided not to attend the press conference. I have more important things to do."
As soon as he finished speaking, Tony hung up the phone and looked at the others again. He was determined to acquire special minerals from Asgard.
"Have you all discussed it? I want to visit Asgard too."
"Ahem..." Thor coughed twice. "Personally, I would be very happy for you to visit Asgard, but my father..."
"It's fine. Odin won't have any objections," Marcus interrupted, waving his hand dismissively.
Marcus knew Odin well and had even made deals with him in the past. He understood what kind of person the All-Father was.
Of course, the reason he dared to go to Asgard was because of his confidence in his own strength. Even if Odin was extremely powerful in his own realm, Marcus wasn't defenseless. He believed that the other party would choose to coexist peacefully.
Seeing Marcus's confidence, Thor didn't hesitate further. He put his arm around Jane and looked up at the sky.
"Heimdall!" Thor called out. "We need passage to Asgard!"
BOOM!
Accompanied by a thunderous roar, a powerful rainbow beam descended from the sky, enveloping Thor, Jane, Marcus, Tony, and Daisy in its brilliant light.
During the process of traveling through the Rainbow Bridge, Tony and Jane's scientific curiosity immediately erupted, and they looked at the surrounding phenomena with expressions of pure wonder.
"Just look around, but don't touch anything," Marcus warned, seeing Tony attempting to reach toward the boundary of the rainbow bridge. "If I accidentally let you fall out, I can't save you anywhere in the universe."
"This is completely unscientific!" Tony exclaimed, studying the Rainbow Bridge's environment. "If this is energy-based transportation, then we should also be decomposed into energy, but we're all still physical entities!"
Tony looked at the Rainbow Bridge's phenomena with eyes full of desire for knowledge exploration.
His behavior made Marcus feel helpless. After all, this guy was a super genius. When facing technology he'd never encountered before, curiosity was the most natural response.
Soon they arrived at their destination. After passing through a brilliant light gate, the group found themselves in the observatory of Asgard.
"We're here!" Thor announced to everyone.
As soon as he spoke, Marcus felt a pair of eyes intently focused on him.
In the center of the observatory at Asgard's entrance, Heimdall was staring directly at Marcus.
This was the first time Heimdall had examined Marcus up close. In his enhanced vision, Marcus appeared brighter than any star he had ever observed, and he could sense an extremely powerful force emanating from him.
"I'll give you some advice," Marcus said, his voice carrying a note of warning. "Don't stare at me if you don't have business with me. It could kill you."
Marcus's voice reached Heimdall, and at that moment Marcus looked at the guardian with a completely serious expression.
After all, Marcus originated from the void. If Heimdall kept staring at him, the void would counterattack, and Heimdall could be consumed by that darkness.
With Marcus's reminder, Heimdall came back to his senses, and his eyes, which had originally been shining with light, slowly returned to normal.
"Hello, and welcome to Asgard," Heimdall said formally.
"Hello, Guardian of Asgard," Marcus replied. "Where is Odin?"
Hearing Marcus's somewhat impolite question, Heimdall was momentarily stunned, then responded solemnly:
"God-King Odin is the ruler of Asgard. I hope you can show appropriate respect."
"Well... that makes sense," Marcus said, turning to look at Tony. "Don't you want minerals from Asgard? When you meet Odin later, you should show some respect when talking to him. After all, this old man isn't young anymore, and it would be unfortunate if you made him angry."
Hearing this, Tony couldn't help but shake his head.
"I think he was reminding you, actually," Tony pointed out. "Of course I know how to conduct business properly."
"Whatever you say," Marcus replied with a smile, waving his hand dismissively.
Then he turned toward Asgard across the Rainbow Bridge and shouted loudly, "Odin! An old friend is visiting! Why don't you come out to meet him?"
Because he used void energy to amplify his voice, it quickly spread throughout Asgard. Everyone who heard it was curious about the identity of this person who actually called the God-King by his name.
The audacity of addressing the All-Father so casually sent ripples of shock through the realm, and within moments, Marcus could sense movement throughout the golden city as word of their arrival spread.
"Well," Marcus said to his companions with obvious satisfaction, "that should get his attention."
Thor looked mortified by Marcus's casual treatment of his father, while Tony seemed impressed by the bold approach. Jane and Daisy were simply trying to process the fact that they were standing in an alien realm that looked like something from a fairy tale.
In the distance, they could see the golden spires of Asgard's palace, and Marcus knew it wouldn't be long before they received a royal summons.
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