Unexpectedly, the matter was resolved—the police, as always, arrived one step too late.
By now, the London police had all stopped their vehicles and gotten out. The leading officer raised a megaphone and announced:
"This is private property. You are all suspected of illegal trespassing. You are under arrest!"
Well, it seemed the trouble was even bigger than expected.
"We'll leave right away," Jane said as she stepped forward.
"We have no ill intentions—we're just conducting a scientific experiment!"
"What's going on here?" Thor asked as he walked over, Mjolnir in hand.
The moment the London police saw the God of Thunder's weapon, their expressions shifted.
"Sir, please put down your weapon. Put down your hammer!"
"You want me to put down my hammer?" Thor's tone turned ice-cold.
After all, his beloved hammer meant everything to him.
Telling the God of Thunder to put down his hammer was like cuckolding his girlfriend—it would make him absolutely furious.
Thor felt the urge to send this officer flying with a single swing of his hammer, but he had been through too much by now and would no longer act so recklessly.
However, there was a real problem on the other side.
The pride and arrogance of the British ran deep, stretching back to the glory days of the Empire on which the sun never set during World War I. These officers completely disregarded what these foreigners were saying and moved to seize Jane first.
But the moment a policeman's hand touched Jane, the Aether energy hidden within her body erupted. A dark crimson shockwave blasted outward in all directions, knocking every officer to the ground and shattering the windows of nearby cars.
"What just happened?"
The bewildered officers scrambled back to their feet, drawing batons and pistols.
Thor saw the energy burst and Jane collapse to the ground. He rushed to help her up and asked anxiously:
"Jane, are you alright?"
Jane rubbed her head, indicating she was fine.
By then, the London police had completely surrounded them. The officer drew his pistol and barked:
"Hands behind your head, step back now!"
Thor kept his eyes on Jane and answered without turning his head:
"This lady isn't feeling well."
"She's dangerous!" the officer insisted.
"No, I'm more dangerous than she is," Thor said in a low voice.
Just as a confrontation was about to erupt, a figure suddenly appeared before them all.
"Alright, this matter has been taken over by S.H.I.E.L.D. Division."
Zod Heath stood there in his new battle armor, his black cape billowing in the wind. Though his head was fully exposed, it was still enough for people to recognize who he was.
Zod Heath!
Zod had come running only after sensing the burst of Aether particles from Jane moments ago.
After waiting so long, he had finally found the Aether particles.
Thor stared warily at Zod.
He had met Zod twice before. The first time was when he first arrived on Midgard—back then, Zod Heath had been wearing armor, so Thor hadn't seen his true face. The second time was during the attempt to stop Loki's invasion of Earth, when he witnessed Zod's power and saw his true face for the first time.
Frankly speaking, Thor felt he was no match for Zod. However, a beast's instinct told him that Zod seemed to have ill intentions toward his girlfriend.
Zod paused for a moment and looked up at the sky.
A gaze from beyond the dimension.
But it wasn't Heimdall—after Zod had warned him once, Heimdall never dared to look again.
Then, it must be Odin?
If you're this worried about your foolish son, why not come down yourself?
The British police naturally recognized Zod Heath. One could say that aside from places without internet or newspaper coverage, virtually anyone with access to the internet or newspapers knew who Zod Heath was.
The moment they heard this was a S.H.I.E.L.D. Division matter, they left without a second word, deeming it far too dangerous.
"What do you want?"
Thor demanded.
Zod Heath ignored him, his gaze shifting to Jane. In the next instant, he moved past Thor in a blur and plunged a hand straight through Jane's body.
"No!"
Thor hurled his hammer at Zod. Without even turning his head, Zod slapped the hammer away with the back of his hand. Thor was dragged along by his hammer, crashing through debris before finally coming to a stop.
By then, Zod had already extracted the Aether particles from Jane's body.
For the current Zod, even though the Infinity Stone was an existence above a single universe, he could still strip it away directly.
The Aether particles also seemed to offer no resistance. Once they fell into Zod's hand, he manipulated quarks to form a black version of the Infinity Gauntlet. Upon it, the Space Stone, Power Stone, and Mind Stone gleamed brilliantly, each radiating dazzling light.
Jane, standing right there, couldn't take her eyes off those three gems—until Zod pressed the Aether particle into place as well.
The powerful corrosive force was entirely devoured by Zod's black hole singularity cells. Once again, it vanished before it could even scratch his skin.
Thor staggered back to his feet. It was the first time he had ever seen anyone knock Mjolnir away, and the shock left him utterly stunned.
Having obtained the Aether particles, Zod had no interest in tangling with Thor. He vanished on the spot.
The Aether particles were one of the most unfathomable creations in the Marvel universe.
This Infinity Stone could grant its wielder any wish—it could rewrite reality itself.
All natural laws and physical principles were nothing but falsehoods before the Reality Stone, for it could easily alter everything!
As a researcher, Zod was naturally even more interested in the Aether particles.
"The price of granting wishes is life force, huh..."
After several attempts, Zod discovered the Aether particles' drawback. They could indeed grant any wish, but the cost was the wielder's life force.
This process of draining life force was irreversible and unrecoverable.
In other words, even Deadpool would be drained dry and killed—and even "Death" itself could not be defied.
"Quite effective against immortality, this thing."
Zod toyed with the Reality Stone. Life force meant nothing to the current Zod. Electromagnetic force made him ageless, deathless, and indestructible. Now, even if only a single quark of him remained, he could directly regenerate. Lifespan was merely something he could expend at will.
"Still, this thing is basically a character-creation artifact—I don't even need the Soul Stone anymore!"
Zod snapped his fingers. After paying the price in life force, a handsome man appeared before him.
The Reality Stone had perfectly recreated this warrior, complete with his abilities.
Sephiroth!
A warrior from the Shinra Corporation in Final Fantasy VII, and one of the most popular villains in ACG and anime culture.
"Your Majesty."
Sephiroth opened his eyes and looked toward Zod.
Zod wasn't entirely sure whether the Reality Stone had truly created the Sephiroth he knew—after all, on the surface, there was no way to tell the difference.
"Remember, Sephiroth, you are now a super-soldier created by the Umbrella Corporation."
/-\
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