Capítulo 237: Merge
"Are you not afraid that if I'm late, Nick Fury will scold you?" Hearing Loki's words, a trace of displeasure flashed in Tony's eyes.
"First, you're our prisoner now, so who gave you the right to be so arrogant?
Second, I don't know where you heard about Nick Fury, but he and I are just collaborators now. He doesn't have the authority to order me around, let alone scold me," Tony said coldly.
Seeing Tony's strong reaction, a hint of surprise flashed in Loki's eyes. His original intention was to sow discord between Tony and S.H.I.E.L.D. Now it seemed there was no need for him to fan the flames. This Iron Man already had deep resentment towards S.H.I.E.L.D.
Loki felt a rare sense of satisfaction, finally finding something going his way. Given Tony's existing grievances with S.H.I.E.L.D., it would take only a bit more provocation to exacerbate the conflict between them.
While Loki was contemplating how to make them turn on each other, Tony, now suited up in his armor, walked up to Loki and snapped a special handcuff onto the arm Loki had willingly extended.
"I don't care what schemes you're plotting, but I warn you, don't try any tricks. Otherwise, if you die, don't blame me," Tony's voice echoed coldly through his steel mask.
For a moment, Loki doubted if this composed and formidable person in front of him was the same arrogant and conceited Iron Man that Hawkeye had described. The man before him showed no trace of arrogance, only a terrifying steadiness.
What Loki didn't know was that Tony was currently fuming from his falling out with Zane and had no patience for any shenanigans.
Thor, seeing Tony's attitude towards Loki, was displeased.
"Tin Man, Loki is an Asgardian. It's not your place to judge him for his crimes. Once I find the Tesseract and take him back to Asgard, Asgardian law will deal with him," Thor said, his tone noticeably unhappy.
"So you're saying you'll use your brotherly relationship to shield this guy?" Tony turned his head towards Thor, his anger evident. The repulsor in his gauntlet began to glow.
"Every country on Earth has its own laws, which only apply to its own citizens. Why should Asgard's laws not apply to Loki?" Thor's voice now carried a hint of anger, and arcs of electricity began to dance over Mjolnir.
Loki, the cause of this tension, stood by, watching the scene unfold with excitement. As the atmosphere grew more charged and a fight seemed imminent, Captain America quickly stepped between the two, shield at the ready.
"Calm down, both of you. Our priority is to imprison Loki and find the Tesseract. Fighting now will only make him laugh at us," he said, pointing to Loki.
Loki, seeing that the fight wasn't going to happen, shrugged indifferently, but his smile only grew brighter.
Leaving Loki's situation for now, as he was escorted to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s helicarrier by the three Avengers, planning to cause trouble there, Zane returned home with the scepter.
After greeting Lorna and the others, he retreated alone to his study and had Skynet activate the room's protective system. This was to prevent any energy bursts from affecting others when he merged with the Mind Stone.
Holding the scepter, with gray death energy swirling around his fingertips, Zane pried the glowing stone from its setting. He then crushed the energy shell enveloping the Mind Stone with a sharp squeeze.
At that very moment, on the other side of the universe, Thanos lost all sense of Earth. Seeing Thanos' face darken with rage, his subordinates kept their heads down, not daring to make a sound, fearing his wrath.
"Prepare the ship. I need to go to Knowhere," Thanos said coldly.
"Yes, mighty Titan," came the response.
Thanos' eyes gleamed with icy killing intent. He believed that once he found the Collector and contacted the organization behind him, explaining that Zane now possessed two Infinity Stones, they would eliminate Zane without hesitation. Thanos had no doubt about their capabilities, for that organization was the Celestials.
(The Collector is a member of the Celestials, and it's quite illogical how weak he is portrayed in the movies. Someone who can collect the universe's rarest treasures couldn't be so fragile.)
Back on Earth, in his villa, Zane admired the yellow-glowing stone in his hand, a fleeting glint of joy in his eyes. The Mind Stone could allow the user to access other beings' thoughts and dreams, enhancing mental powers and capabilities. When augmented by the other stones, it could access the minds of all beings. A mere touch could alter someone's mind according to the user's will—essentially, an upgraded version of Professor X.
At this moment, the system detecting the Mind Stone activated.
[Ding, an object with immense energy detected. Would you like to merge it with the [Magic Furnace]?]
"Yes," Zane said casually.
He didn't have high expectations for the Mind Stone. The Infinity Stones in the Marvel Cinematic Universe were significantly weaker than their comic counterparts. Even in the original movies, the Mind Stone seemed the weakest of the Infinity Stones, mainly helping Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver develop their powers and later creating Vision.
Zane's current strength didn't particularly need the Infinity Stones' augmentation. His purpose in collecting them had shifted from merely boosting his power to curiosity about their combined effect once all six were gathered.
Relying on external power is never as good as relying on oneself!
Zane had already reached the pinnacle of five-dimensional life through the path of faith and godhood—a fundamental enhancement of his life essence that no system skill or Infinity Stone could provide.
So, while he continued to collect the Infinity Stones, he didn't depend on their power. He was more interested in the potential outcome of having all six Infinity Stones together.
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