In the prison of Attilan.
Aron finally met the legendary fifth member of the Black Order, Supergiant.
"What do you think? She doesn't look to be in the best condition, does she?" said Tony Stark, frowning as he observed the prisoner.
Even from a human perspective, Supergiant wasn't unattractive. As an alien, she had an appealing body, harmonious lines, and an unusually calm expression. Apart from her slightly blue skin, she had no other strange physical features. It was in sharp contrast with the rest of the Black Order.
"You know, I think that Black Dwarf should've taken your name," Aron remarked as he approached the cell.
Honestly, when he first heard the name Supergiant, Aron thought of a huge, powerful being, something like a cosmic version of the Hulk. Instead, this "super giant" member of the Black Order looked… quite ordinary.
Ironically, the being actually called Black Dwarf wasn't a dwarf or a small creature at all, but a massive warrior. Ironically, the normally built woman bore the name "Supergiant."
"Man," Supergiant laughed with mild disdain. "Do you think I'm dark-skinned and short?"
When he came closer to the bars, her gaze shifted, and her eyes flashed with a strange light for a moment.
"Watch out!" Tony shouted behind him.
"She'll try to get into your head!"
Aron calmly raised his hand, signaling not to worry.
"Just a friendly reminder," he said calmly. "You can read my thoughts, but don't try to change them. If you do… it won't end well."
He wasn't joking.
His mind was protected by holy energy, an almost divine defense of the soul. Any foreign force that tried to influence his consciousness would be instantly burned away, like dust before the explosion of a hundred suns.
In other words, playing with his thoughts was equal to suicide.
"In other words," Aron continued with a faint smile, "now you're curious, aren't you?"
"You want to know where Thanos is? What happened to your comrades?"
"Then go on, find the answers. They're all there," he said, pointing to his head.
Supergiant looked at him in disbelief.
"You..." she whispered softly, stepping back, unsure whether to do it.
She couldn't understand what he was trying to achieve.
Although she hadn't taken part in Corvus Glaive's great assault on Earth, while imprisoned she had managed to gather enough information from guards and other inmates.
She pieced together a picture of defeat: the plan had failed, and their entire army, including Corvus and Proxima Midnight, had been destroyed.
"You think I don't dare?"
"Aron, isn't it? I've heard of you!" Supergiant spoke sharply, her head held high. "That man named Stark behind you won't stop talking about how you're the most powerful hero in the world."
She smiled mockingly. "But if you think that name will scare me, then you're gravely mistaken!"
As she finished the sentence, her eyes flashed with cold light. At the same moment, she released her enormous spiritual power and directed it straight into Aron's mind.
Aron merely raised an eyebrow calmly.
"Oh, starting already?" he said smoothly. "I thought you'd at least try to be subtle."
Supergiant, however, managed to breach his mental barrier and enter his mind.
At first, she was confident. She didn't try to change his thoughts, knowing that would be too risky. She only wanted to read information, to find what she was looking for.
But after just a few moments, her expression changed.
"What is… this?"
Instead of the expected images and memories, her mind was flooded with a torrent of chaotic sounds and random voices.
"Vu-hu… Vu-hu… eight hundred pounds of bananas is the limit of the bicycle, but not the limit of Odebiao…"
"When the bicycle speed reaches 70 miles, Odebiao knows it's time to rely on the figure eight!"
"In today's blacksmithing competition, three contestants are trying to forge a rotating Damascus out of spring steel!"
"This guy spent only 200 dollars and found a real Lamborghini in a container!"
An endless chaos, random phrases, bizarre thoughts, commercials, random scenes.
Supergiant began to feel a sharp pain in her head.
"What… what kind of confusion is this?" she tried to shout, but her mind was collapsing under the flood of meaningless images.
"No! I have to go deeper into his memory!"
She closed her eyes and forcefully broke through the torrent of mental noise, trying to reach the deeper layers of Aron's mind.
Finally, the noise went silent. Before her appeared a door, a symbol of deep memory.
"There it is…" she whispered breathlessly. "This must be his secret. If I uncover what's behind this, I'll know everything!"
Pressing her hand to it, she opened the door.
In front of her appeared a question:
"How much does a jade liquor palace + hammer + mallet cost?"
Supergiant blinked.
"What…?"
A confused expression crossed her face. She had no idea what it meant, so she decided to open another door.
This time, behind it was a huge room filled with… study materials.
Shelves were neatly arranged, lessons, manuals, notes. Japanese, European. All carefully cataloged.
"No matter the world," she murmured, "it seems every civilization shares one thing, learning that never ends."
Even though she was an enemy, she felt a moment of respect for his dedication to knowledge. She gently closed the door and moved to the next one.
Before she opened it, a red warning appeared:
Warning! Embedded in DNA! Do not touch!
Supergiant smiled disdainfully.
"So, the real secret is hidden here, huh?"
Without hesitation, ignoring the warning, she opened the door.
And then, nothing.
Light consumed everything.
...
In the real world, Aron still stood calmly, eyes closed, allowing her to explore his mind. Tony Stark watched the scene with concern.
But after a few seconds, something changed.
Supergiant twitched, her eyes widened. She began to laugh, hysterically, uncontrollably.
"AHAHAHA…! #%$$%#!!!"
She started smashing her head against the metal door of the cell. The voices swirling in her mind spilled from her mouth in incomprehensible sentences.
Tony jumped back.
"What the hell…?"
Even Aron looked confused.
"When the hell did I have that in my head?" he muttered, watching Supergiant writhe in madness.
Tony looked at him. "Man, what did you do to her?"
"Me? Nothing! I just let her look!" Aron replied, raising his hands. "I wanted to see how telepathy works. To be prepared if we ever face someone like Professor X."
Tony sighed. "Great. Instead of answers, now we've got a psychotic alien."
At that moment, while Supergiant was still trembling, she spoke in a hoarse voice:
"Soul Stone… on the planet… Vormir…"