After encountering Thor and Jane in London and chatting briefly, Lucas opened a portal and left, returning to New York.
He had no interest in being a third wheel, watching Thor and Jane act all lovey-dovey.
More importantly, the Reality Stone was finally in his hands. With a new toy in hand, he wanted to study it thoroughly.
In the bookstore lounge, Lucas took out the Reality Stone and carefully examined it.
The Reality Stone was the fifth Infinity Stone he had encountered.
By a stroke of luck, he had unexpectedly gathered all the Infinity Stones from the 404 Universe, except for the Soul Stone.
This was something Thanos had planned for over a thousand years to achieve.
Observing carefully, Lucas quickly noticed the Reality Stone's unique characteristics compared to the other four Infinity stones.
While the other Infinity stones were mostly hard solids, the Reality Stone had no fixed form. Normally, the Reality Stone was a fluctuating liquid, but it could also transform into a dark red transparent solid.
Furthermore, the Reality Stone was almost indestructible.
The 'almost' of course, was because the Reality Stone could be destroyed.
Thor's grandfather, Odin's father, the former Asgardian King Bor, after defeating the Dark Elves and acquiring the Aether, had tried to destroy it.
After failing, he sealed it.
The six-stone Infinity Gauntlet could destroy all six Infinity stones with a single snap.
Lucas also wanted to try it out a little.
He pinched the Reality Stone with two fingers, and terrifying physical strength along with a pure white divine power surged out, pressing against the Reality Stone.
Crack... Crack...
As space shattered, cracks appeared and grew on the surface of the Reality Stone, which had transformed into a dark red transparent solid.
The former Asgardian King Bor misled me.
Looking at the cracks on the Reality Stone's surface, Lucas couldn't help but complain.
Also, he had a way to fix it.
With a flash of green light, time flowed backward in a small area, and the cracks on the Reality Stone's surface reversed their growth and disappeared.
After testing the Reality Stone's pressure resistance limit, Lucas continued his research.
He had high expectations for the Reality Stone. Whether in comics or movies, fragments of the Reality Stone could create powerful Kursed.
Malekith once used Reality Stone fragments to create Kurse Stones, which he then used to create a large number of Kursed, forming a powerful 'Kursed Army'.
In some versions, powerful Kursed Warriors could reach 2 to 4 times the strength of Thor.
Terrifying indeed.
However, instead of directly using Reality Stone fragments to create Kursed Warriors, Lucas hoped to find a new method for creating Super Soldiers by studying the process of creating Kursed Warriors from Reality Stone fragments.
Firstly, Reality Stone fragments are finite.
Secondly, the six Infinity Stones are related to the stability of the cosmic spacetime and cannot be messed with.
Thirdly, the source of his apostle's power cannot be borrowed from other objects.
Fourthly, Lucas disliked the name 'Kursed'.
As a member of the good and orderly faction, Lucas believed that his apostle's title must be righteous and awe-inspiring.
He had already thought of the future apostles' titles and legion names.
—Ascended Ones!
Or Divine Warriors!
In short, no derogatory terms.
Time flew by, and soon it was night.
Lucas put away the Reality Stone, came out of the bookstore's first-floor lounge, took the elevator back to the seventh floor, and began preparing dinner.
He was off work and needed to prepare dinner for his girlfriend, Gwen, who was coming home from school.
Walking into the kitchen, Lucas took out a bottle of milk and a glass of coconut water from the cabinet and placed them on the dining table.
Then, golden sparks flickered, and a portal appeared.
Lucas reached out his hand and took out some dishes.
Click!
The sound of a window opening was heard, and Gwen, with a slight bend and twist, slipped through the window.
Tap... Tap...
Dropping her bag and taking off her boots, Gwen started humming a tune and walked towards the dining room.
"Lucas, I'm home."
Before even entering the dining room, Gwen sniffed the air, then said with disappointment, "Hmm, why is there so little?"
Gwen sat down, cut a piece of fish fillet, and put it in her mouth, her eyes slightly brightening. "This tastes just like what Helen makes."
Lucas smiled, silently apologizing to George.
This platter of fish fillets was taken from his house.
The platter of fish fillets was quickly finished by Lucas and Gwen.
Gwen took a sip of milk to moisten her throat, then pursed her lips and asked, "Lucas, how is Erin adapting to her powers lately? It should be fine by now, right? Based on my experience, it only takes two or three days to adapt enough not to affect daily life."
"But to completely master such a surge in power, she still needs more training."
"Uh..."
Lucas was speechless, then gave an awkward smile. "I've been focused on something else these past few days and haven't paid attention to Erin's situation."
He had been waiting for the Reality Stone to appear these past few days, so he hadn't focused on Erin.
Gwen raised an eyebrow and asked, "Is something big going to happen?"
Lucas thought for a moment.
In the movie, the destruction caused by the aftermath of the battle between Malekith, the leader of the Dark Elves, and Thor, didn't seem to cause the Universe to collapse. If that was the case, then it wasn't a big deal.
He then shook his head. "It's nothing major."
He explained the Convergence and the appearance of the Reality Stone to Gwen.
"Alright."
Gwen nodded unenthusiastically, indicating that she didn't care much about these things.
Afterward, as if she had thought of something, she suggested, "Lucas, let's go visit Erin."
...
At Avengers Tower, Erin was in her room, chatting with classmates and friends on her laptop.
Typically, her friends would say three or four sentences before she replied with one. It wasn't because she was aloof, but because she could only carefully spell out her replies. If she accidentally used too much force, she would damage the keyboard.
For a moment, Erin missed the days when her fingers flew across the keyboard like a pianist, typing quickly.
That was her lost youth.
"What good is this power to me?" Erin sighed deeply.
This was the second time she had experienced such a surge in power.
But compared to this time, the first increase of several times her strength seemed insignificant.
"It's a pity the Super Hero Registration Act has been enacted. Otherwise..."