Time passed minute by minute, and the sheer power of energy was far beyond anything Jason had imagined.
In less than three minutes, the terrifying energy within Jason—already equivalent to a nuclear arsenal—had hit the red line and run dry. With a thought, he desperately began drawing ordinary energy from the Mind Stone to recharge. With this infinite power bank in hand, he would never truly run out of fuel.
However, Jason had miscalculated one crucial detail. While the energy was infinite, cellular regeneration took time. Moreover, he couldn't simply move cells from his left arm to his right to sustain the battle.
If the situation were compared to a battlefield:
The energy was Godzilla—unstoppable and overwhelming. Jason's cells were Spartan warriors armed with shields and spears; though stronger than average humans, they were still insignificant before a titan. Jason could supply infinite spears and shields, but he had a finite number of Spartans, and they were being slaughtered faster than they could be replaced.
This internal catastrophe manifested physically. Small black spots, like moles, appeared on Jason's right arm. They expanded rapidly until the entire limb turned pitch black. The skin and muscle began to disintegrate into a fine ash, rustling as it fell to the floor. In a terrifyingly short span of time, the once-powerful arm was stripped to the bone.
"His arm!" Harley, being the closest, noticed the horror immediately.
"Oh my god!"
"What's happening to him!"
"Hey! Boss! Wake up!"
The others were panicked; they had never witnessed such a grotesque phenomenon. Christine suddenly bolted upright, her chair clattering to the floor behind her. She rushed over and, ignoring the potential danger, slammed her hand onto Jason's shoulder. A soft green glow flowed from her palm, racing down his shoulder to wrap around the wounded limb.
Inside Jason, his Spartan army was dwindling, and the city walls were about to be breached. Suddenly, a massive reinforcement of soldiers shouting Sparta! descended from the heavens.
Christine's healing ability was Level 6. At Level 6, as long as the target was still breathing, she had a 100% success rate. The moment the green light enveloped the arm, cells began to proliferate at a rate a thousand times faster than cancer. Jason's arm was rebuilt before their eyes, returning to its original state in seconds.
Though Jason's consciousness was submerged in the internal war, he knew Christine was keeping him whole. Sigh... that was too close, he thought with lingering fear.
If his cells hadn't already contained energy beyond limits; if he didn't have the Mind Stone as a battery; and if he didn't have a Level 6 Healer by his side... he would have been a pile of dust on the floor by now. The power of an Infinity Stone was indeed terrifying.
But having started this path, he had to see it through to the end. And to his delight, the energy wasn't invincible. Though it cost him the equivalent of a nuclear bomb's worth of energy, a tiny fraction of the primordial force had been depleted. This exhausted energy didn't vanish—it surrendered and fused into his cells.
This meant that as long as Jason and Christine could hold out, this primordial cluster was destined to be swallowed. Thinking of the transformation that awaited him, Jason steeled his resolve and dove back into the fray.
*
Everyone assumed the fight would end quickly, but the reality was the opposite. Two hours passed, and Jason and Christine remained frozen in place. It was clearly a war of attrition. No one knew when it would end.
The others weren't idle. They replayed the events of the past few days, trying to figure out how Loki had found such a glaring opening. In doing so, they reached a chilling conclusion.
Loki never expected to truly control the Joker organization. Or rather, he had a Plan B ready for the moment he failed. That plan was to play the victim, deliver the Scepter into Jason's hands, and reveal the secrets of the Stones and the Sorcerer Supreme.
Loki knew Jason's character perfectly: his ambition and his need for power. Faced with a cosmic threat, Jason would inevitably take the risk of absorbing the gem. Loki just neglected to mention the fatal risks involved.
Why? The answer was obvious. To create the current stalemate. With Jason trapped and unable to fight, the Joker organization's combat effectiveness had plummeted. If this was true, Loki's true goal was revealed: lead S.H.I.E.L.D. to siege the organization while their leader was incapacitated. While both sides tore each other apart, he would use the Tesseract to open the portal, bring in the Chitauri, and end the war as the unopposed ruler of Earth.
That bastard really earns the title God of Mischief!
John spoke in a low, heavy voice. "If this theory holds, Loki's behavior makes perfect sense. The organization is facing its greatest crisis in history."
Harley asked anxiously, "What do we do?"
Franklin added, "The Boss can't fight. If S.H.I.E.L.D. hits us with everything they've got, we won't be able to hold them off alone."
A-Train suggested, "Maybe Harley can just warp us all out of here?"
David shook his head. "Put yourself in their shoes. If you were the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and you had a once-in-a-lifetime shot at us, would you let us go?"
John agreed. "Exactly. This isn't like before. S.H.I.E.L.D. will mobilize the entire nation to hunt us to the ends of the earth. This fight is unavoidable."
Alex chimed in, "If you ask me, instead of running, we should mass our troops and hit them back head-on."
Harley nodded. "I agree. We aren't the small gang we used to be. Even in a head-on collision with S.H.I.E.L.D., we won't necessarily lose."
Franklin pumped his fist. "Right. No matter the enemy, the Boss and this team have never backed down. Not from the New York mobs, and not from S.H.I.E.L.D."
A-Train voiced a concern: "One thing—will the fighting affect the Boss? He looks like he shouldn't be disturbed."
John replied, "Simple. Harley takes the Boss and Christine and move them to a safer secondary location. The rest of us stay here and draw all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s fire."
David: "I'm in. Is that the plan?"
Harley: "Yes. Let's get the orders out."
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500 power stones.
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