On Halloween night, the moon was hazy.
The faint scent of candy and the mischievous laughter of children drifted over New York, filling the entire city with a festive atmosphere.
In a corner of Queens, New York, under trees adorned with pumpkin lanterns, there was an atmosphere completely different from the holiday cheer.
A bald humanoid creature, dressed as an ancient priest and standing ramrod straight, nervously watched a young man who was lazily seated in a chair, frowning in thought.
The flickering light of the pumpkin lanterns reflected off the humanoid creature's shiny bald head, illuminating the faint cold sweat.
The silence lasted for a while, finally broken by the young man's sigh.
"If it usually can't be done, then that means it can be done under special circumstances. Tell me about those special circumstances."
"The human body has a limit to the energy it can withstand. Therefore, some proposed a method of storing power in weapons, which is the forging of magical or divine artifacts."
"Through these artifacts, ordinary people can temporarily gain immense power. For example, mjolnir, it can lend Thunder Power to its wielder."
Lucas nodded.
Mjolnir was indeed a classic example.
Steve Rogers, Jane Foster.
On Earth-199999, two people temporarily and significantly boosted their combat power through Mjolnir and participated in battles.
If the Multiverse is included, this number would be even higher.
However, using Galactus, one of the best background characters, as an example, Lucas's and Galactus's needs are different.
Galactus devours Planets to resist hunger. Enough Planets to eat and not starve is sufficient.
Lucas absorbs energy to enhance himself. The more energy, the better. And the more apostles who can find suitable dimensions for him, the better.
And mjolnir is clearly not a mass-producible standard weapon. Otherwise, Thor wouldn't have had to use what Hela left behind.
He can't just borrow dozens of mjolnir from Universe after Universe, can he?
Lucas stroked his chin, considering this possibility.
He would try it himself first to see if he could find a way. If not, then he would have to trouble the Thors of other Universes.
"Watcher, please prepare a copy of the magical spell data related to enhancement for me first."
"Understood, Lord Lucas."
The Watcher let out a long sigh of relief, formed a hand seal, and as crystal energy flickered, a blank book appeared out of thin air.
Immediately after, crystal energy outlined runes, which were then imprinted onto the blank book.
As the runes were imprinted, the pages flipped, and spells took shape, inscribed in the tome.
A moment later, the Watcher stopped his actions and respectfully presented the freshly compiled spell collection with both hands.
Lucas casually took it and put it into his dimensional space.
There was no rush to read it now, he would have plenty of time after the party.
Similarly, Lucas was not in a hurry to collect the billions of energy that served as the entrance fee.
Instead, he gave the Watcher a dimension shard coordinate, instructing them to store the energy there first.
Afterward, the two Watchers left, and Lucas and Gwen continued to stroll through the garden with Erin, little Gwen, and Helen.
Outside the garden, more pumpkin lanterns flickered in the night, as if countless eyes were peeking at this Halloween cosplay carnival, all the way to the city's edge.
A swaying figure in the darkness stumbled towards the city.
Wherever he walked, grains of sand fell, paving a twisted line.
And the line pointed directly to Queens, New York, the garden where Lucas and Gwen were.
Sandman, William Baker. One of Spider-Man's archenemies in the Sinister Six.
His abilities are similar to the Sand-Sand Fruit ability in One Piece, and he is also vulnerable to water.
He can control sand with his mind, converting part or all of his body into a sandy substance, making him immune to physical attacks.
As time passed, William Baker entered the urban area.
Under the light of the pumpkin lanterns, his exposed skin appeared granular.
Normally, people would easily notice his abnormality. But at this time, everyone just assumed his makeup skills were excellent.
A young man, wearing a plastic-like, red and gold armor, clearly cosplaying Iron Man, approached from behind, slapped William Baker's shoulder, and said familiarly, "Hey, buddy, what character are you cosplaying? Your makeup is so cool."
William Baker slowly turned his head to look at the young man, and on his sand-condensed face, only his two eyeballs gleamed with a cold light.
The young man was scared and took half a step back, then became annoyed and pushed William Baker. "If you're not going to talk, then don't be so fierce."
To the young man's surprise, it wasn't that his push failed to move William Baker.
Instead, his right hand, which pushed William Baker, sank into his shoulder, just as if it had fallen into quicksand.
"Hey, buddy. I didn't mean to, let go of me."
The young man tried to pull his arm out, but it was useless.
"Let go of me!"
The commotion here quickly attracted the attention of several other young men nearby, who swarmed around William Baker.
...
Inside the police station, George's office door was pushed open, and a young police officer entered, quickly reporting, "Director, four bodies have been found on 11th Avenue in Queens. The killer is suspected to be a super-powered individual."
George pondered for a moment and asked, "11th Avenue, I remember there are a few surveillance cameras nearby. Did they capture the killer during the act?"
"The nearby surveillance cameras were broken and haven't been repaired. We only have some freshly taken crime scene photos."
The young police officer placed the documents in his hand on George's desk, which included several crime scene photos.
These photos, taken from multiple angles, showed the victims' states of death, with the commonality being their bodies had sand in multiple places, including their mouths, noses, eyes, and ears.
George instructed, "Send more personnel to patrol near 11th Avenue and notify officers to be careful and maintain distance from suspicious individuals."
"Additionally, contact the New York branch of S.W.O.R.D. This case is suspected to be a supernatural case, have their people take over."
After the young police officer left, George sighed deeply.
Giving up on a case was not his character,
But cases involving super-powered individuals were too dangerous.
Ordinary people were defenseless against super-powered individuals. All sorts of superpowers were impossible to guard against, and one moment of inattention could lead to heavy casualties.
He was the Deputy Director of the New York Police Department and responsible for the safety of his officers' lives.
Professional matters should be left to professionals.
Pushing the case over also avoided taking the blame.
His thoughts raced, but George ultimately couldn't help but curse himself inwardly.
Damn politics!
"Respond to the call!"
George decided to go to the front lines to track down this dangerous super-powered individual.
On the other side, William Baker continued to walk aimlessly forward.
As if guided by fate, he was getting closer and closer to the garden.