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Henry steadily increased the temperature of his heat vision.
At the same time, he emitted sound waves from his mouth—starting at low frequency and gradually increasing—carefully testing which frequency band could suppress vibranium's metallic properties.
Then—
At a certain threshold, everything clicked into place.
The small chunk of vibranium ore in his hand suddenly glowed red and liquefied, pooling in his palm like a round, crimson droplet of molten metal.
As for impurities, Henry didn't even need to remove them intentionally. Once the ore melted, non-vibranium materials naturally floated to the surface.
He pulled a fine needle from his bag and gently scraped them away, leaving pure vibranium in his hand.
Ordinarily, vibranium was alloyed with other metals before use. Even Wakanda's Black Panther suit was made from vibranium alloy, not pure vibranium.
Pure vibranium itself wasn't especially hard. If it were, it couldn't be drawn into fibers. Its legendary "hardness" was largely an illusion created by its ability to absorb kinetic and other forms of energy into its molecular bonds.
To increase true structural hardness, it had to be alloyed.
For example, one component of adamantium—the metal bonded to Wolverine's skeleton—included vibranium.
But Henry didn't need hardness.
He needed absorption—and controlled release of inverse waves.
Pure vibranium was ideal.
Besides, alloy formulas involving vibranium were notoriously difficult to discover and often the result of luck. Henry had neither the time nor the desire to experiment with metallurgy recipes.
His super-brain finalized a design instantly.
Ignoring the extreme heat, he shaped the molten vibranium like clay.
With the needle, he carved intricate patterns into the still-soft surface before it fully cooled.
These weren't decorative engravings.
They were circuitry.
Specific brainwave frequencies would be absorbed upon contact, guided along these patterned channels like a circuit board. The structure would then generate an inverse waveform, precisely canceling the targeted neural signal.
Absorbed energy would be converted and released immediately, preventing overload accumulation.
Other brainwave frequencies would simply dissipate. It offered no telepathic shielding—its function was singular and precise.
The first prototype took the shape of a headband.
Henry exhaled a burst of freezing breath, rapidly cooling and solidifying the metal. Only polishing remained.
Without bothering to finish aesthetics, he handed the headband to Thena.
"Try it."
The three Eternals had been stunned into silence by the entire process.
Kingo even leaned close to Henry's face, squinting.
"If you were a heavyset black man, I'd assume you were Phastos in disguise.
"Or maybe you are Phastos. Did Sprite help you fool us? Drop the illusion—I've seen through it!"
Henry pushed Kingo's face aside with one hand and offered the headband again with the other.
"Just try it. No downside. You know how to wear a headband, right?"
Thena examined it carefully, turning it over in her hands.
It looked ordinary.
Could something so simple really help?
After a moment, she placed it over her platinum hair.
The moment it settled into position—
The noise vanished.
Completely.
Her hands hadn't even dropped from the band yet when her eyes widened.
Silence.
No whispering.
No intrusive images flashing across her mind.
Just stillness.
She wasn't even looking at anyone in particular—she was simply experiencing what it felt like to exist without the constant interference.
Gilgamesh rushed forward.
"Thena? Does it work?"
She nodded slowly.
Both hands pressed against the sides of the band, as if afraid to let go.
Kingo and Gilgamesh erupted like children, jumping and cheering.
Henry was pulled into the celebration, spun around in their enthusiasm.
At one point both Eternals hugged him from either side, nearly tearing up.
"You did it, Henry!"
"Exceeded expectations," Henry replied, bending to pick up the vibranium ore.
He had used less than one-twentieth of the original stone. Most remained intact.
He had no intention of claiming the nearly whole piece as payment.
"There's plenty left," he said. "Let's make backups.
"That way you can rotate them daily—and not panic if one gets lost. Unless you somehow lose all of them at once."
Gilgamesh laughed loudly in agreement and clapped Henry on the back.
Hard.
Bang bang.
Only after doing so did he realize what he'd done.
Henry remained standing.
Unaffected.
Gilgamesh blinked.
Henry grimaced slightly.
"Ease up. A normal person would've been launched into orbit."
"No one's launching you anywhere," Gilgamesh declared proudly. "If someone tries, tell me first. I'll launch them."
Ignoring the boastful Eternal, Henry sat down again in front of Thena.
"Any preferred jewelry styles?
"Animals? Plants? Flowers?
"Oh—and I still need to polish the headband. You'll have to give it back eventually."
Thena subtly recoiled, reluctant to remove it.
Henry sighed.
"I'll make a replacement first. Then I'll finish the original."
She studied him.
"Can you make anything?"
"Only things I've seen. If you ask for a flower native to your homeworld, I'm out of luck—unless you describe it first."
He opened his sketchbook and quickly drew options:
Headbands. Hairpins. Earrings. Studs. Nose rings. Lip rings. Brow rings. Even eyeglass frames.
On impulse, he sketched Thena wearing rectangular thin-framed glasses, her hair neatly tied back, pearl earrings understated and elegant.
She looked like a stern executive.
Or an unapproachable professor.
Kingo suddenly leaned over Henry's shoulder, arm slung around him.
"So this is your type? The abstinent, no-nonsense woman?"
Henry stroked his smooth chin thoughtfully.
"Maybe. Don't you think this style suits her?"
Thena glanced once at the sketch.
"Not bad."
Her tone revealed nothing.
But for the first time—
There was something resembling light in her eyes.
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