The research on the Evolution Serum progressed remarkably smoothly, and within three months the team had already produced a rough prototype. The pace would have been impossible for most laboratories, but the lineup working on the project was simply too extraordinary. Aldrich Killian, Maya Hansen, and Dr. Kurt Connors were each giants in the field of biological sciences, the kind of minds that could change the direction of entire disciplines.
Tony Stark's main expertise didn't lie in biological research, but his intellect made up for that gap without difficulty. As one of the rare geniuses capable of mastering nearly any field once he studied it, Tony quickly absorbed the complex theories and experimental frameworks involved. Once he understood the fundamentals, contributing meaningful insights came as naturally to him as building a new suit of armor.
On top of that, the team wasn't starting from zero. There were already large volumes of prior data, experimental samples, and partial research results available for reference. With such a foundation in place, they could skip years of preliminary groundwork and move directly into refinement and synthesis. Under those conditions, it wasn't surprising that progress accelerated dramatically.
Norman Osborn was particularly pleased with the results they were seeing. Extremis, when properly modified, could repair damage at the genetic level, and the Osborn family's hereditary illness was exactly that—a defect embedded deep within their DNA. For decades the Osborn bloodline had struggled with the disease, watching generation after generation suffer its consequences.
After only minor adjustments to the Extremis formula, Maya Hansen managed to eliminate the genetic defect entirely. The treatment corrected the faulty gene sequences with astonishing precision, leaving no trace of the original problem. For the first time in years, Norman felt that the curse haunting his family might finally be over.
Despite all that progress, Ethan Blake still had one persistent headache to deal with, and that headache's name was Tony Stark. Ethan had already explained more than once that he was just an ordinary person when it came to magic, yet Tony refused to accept that answer. Every single day he showed up with the same question, determined to squeeze some kind of mystical knowledge out of him.
Sometimes Tony even stayed at Ethan's Long Island villa for days at a time, acting as if the place were his own private guesthouse. Whenever that happened, Wanda would eventually lose patience. Without warning she would open a scarlet portal beneath Tony's feet and send him straight back to his own home, much to Stark's loud complaints.
Eventually Ethan realized the situation wasn't going to resolve itself. If Tony was truly determined to learn magic, the only real solution was to introduce him to someone who could actually teach him. That meant taking him to Kamar-Taj and letting the Sorcerer Supreme deal with the problem.
After all, Ethan vaguely remembered that in some alternate universe Tony Stark had once trained under the Ancient One and eventually become the Sorcerer Supreme himself. If that version of Stark could master mystic arts, maybe this one could too.
Unfortunately, Ethan never got the chance to bring Tony to Kamar-Taj. Before that plan could even begin, another unexpected visitor arrived at his doorstep.
Thor.
And standing beside him was his girlfriend, Jane Foster.
"Thor, long time no see," Ethan said with a casual wave. Then he turned to the woman beside him and nodded politely. "And Miss Jane Foster, it's nice to meet you."
"Hello… Prophet," Jane replied cautiously.
It was obvious from her tone that Thor had already told her a few things before coming here. Ethan's reputation clearly made her a little nervous.
Thor stepped forward immediately, his expression unusually serious. "Prophet, Jane has something attached to her body. We don't know what it is, but her vitality is weakening every moment. Do you know what it might be? And can you remove it?"
Ethan blinked in confusion.
In a situation like this, shouldn't Thor have taken Jane straight back to Asgard? Why bring her here instead? Did he really think Ethan was some kind of all-knowing cosmic oracle?
What Ethan didn't realize was that Thor practically saw him that way already.
In Thor's mind, Ethan was the man who had helped him reclaim Mjolnir and return to Asgard after his exile. Without Ethan's guidance back then, Thor believed he might never have regained his worthiness. The battle in New York had only strengthened that belief, showing him just how formidable Ethan truly was.
From Thor's perspective, Ethan's strength and wisdom placed him second only to Odin within the Nine Realms.
Thor also knew that his father held deep reservations about Jane. Because of that prejudice, when Jane's mysterious condition began draining her life, the first person Thor thought of wasn't Odin.
It was Ethan.
So he came straight here.
Of course, Ethan immediately recognized what was happening to Jane. The strange substance inside her body was the Aether, the liquid form of the Reality Stone.
But that wasn't something he could casually reveal.
Instead, Ethan stared at Jane for a long moment, studying her carefully as if sensing something invisible. After several seconds, he widened his eyes slightly and adopted a look of genuine surprise.
"I didn't expect it to be this," he said slowly. "I always believed it had been destroyed by the God King Bor. I never imagined it still existed somewhere in the universe."
"Related to my grandfather?" Thor asked quickly. "Prophet, what exactly is inside Jane?"
Jane's expression also tightened. Hearing words like "God King" and "the universe" made the situation sound far more serious than she had imagined.
Ethan paused briefly, organizing his explanation before continuing.
"Thor, the simplified version of the story goes like this. The object inside Jane has a history older than the universe itself. It's one of the most dangerous treasures in existence."
"Thousands of years ago it was discovered by its former owner, Malekith."
"Malekith?" Thor frowned slightly as he repeated the name. "I've heard that before, but I can't quite remember."
"He was the leader of the Dark Elves," Ethan explained. "Back when your grandfather Bor ruled the Nine Realms. After obtaining this treasure, Malekith launched a war against Asgard in an attempt to plunge the Nine Realms into eternal darkness."
"Fortunately, Bor defeated him and seized the treasure. At the time he announced that the object had been destroyed. But clearly that wasn't the truth."
Ethan shrugged faintly as he continued.
"After all, something born at the beginning of the universe isn't something that can be destroyed easily."
Except for my little witch, Ethan added silently in his mind.
"Prophet, can you remove it from Jane's body?" Thor asked again.
"No," Ethan said calmly, shaking his head.
In reality, extracting the Reality Stone from Jane wasn't impossible at all. If Tony Stark spent a few months researching it, he could probably build an extraction device similar to the one used years later during the Avengers' time heist. With the proper technology, removing the Aether with a specialized injector would be relatively straightforward.
The problem was Jane herself.
Her life force was already being drained by the Reality Stone. She simply didn't have enough time to survive months of experimentation and development.
There was also another option. Ethan could theoretically spend a massive amount of overwrite energy to encapsulate the Reality Stone directly.
But that idea wasn't even worth considering.
Overwriting something on the level of an Infinity Stone would require an astronomical amount of energy. Ethan didn't possess that kind of reserve yet, and even if he did, he certainly wouldn't waste it just to save Jane Foster.
Besides, according to the timeline he remembered, the stone would eventually be removed anyway.
Why interfere unnecessarily?
When Thor heard Ethan's answer, disappointment flashed across his face. Still, he wasn't completely hopeless.
"Jane," Thor said firmly, turning toward her. "I'll take you back to Asgard. My father will definitely have a solution."
Ethan curled his lips slightly at those words.
Whether Odin could remove the Reality Stone from Jane's body wasn't something Ethan doubted at all. But considering Odin's strong prejudice against Jane, the old king would probably lie without hesitation if it suited his purposes.
Still, Thor bringing Jane back to Asgard meant something else entirely.
If Ethan remembered correctly, the next event in the timeline would be the Dark Elves launching an attack on Asgard.
If he were present during that conflict, he could probably harvest a huge amount of summoning energy. And if things went well, he might even secure the Reality Stone itself.
With that thought in mind, Ethan decided he should make a trip to Asgard.
Just as he was about to speak, Thor suddenly beat him to it.
"Prophet, why don't you return to Asgard with us?" Thor said. "Jane's situation was urgent, so when I came to Midgard I didn't bring the Tesseract with me. Since you're here, I'd like to invite you to visit Asgard again."
Ethan couldn't help smiling inwardly.
This was practically like getting a pillow delivered right when you were about to fall asleep.
He didn't bother pretending to be modest either. What if Thor misunderstood his politeness and dropped the invitation? Without hesitation, Ethan simply nodded and agreed.
....
Join my P@treon and get 60+ advanced chapters.
Link: p*atreon.com/0LordSilvere0 (Remove the *)
Free members get 2 chapters free.
Join Right Now