Shibuya.
Jessica Jones leaned weakly against a shattered slab of concrete, her face deathly pale.
The other half of the Aether inside her had begun to riot—
responding violently to the return of its counterpart.
"Cough… cough…"
She spat out a mouthful of blood, her vision blurring.
"Hey, Queen. Still alive?"
That familiar voice reached her ears.
Antony landed in front of her, carrying the faint smell of sulfur.
"…Barely," Jessica forced a crooked smile. "Give me two more minutes. What about that ugly bastard?"
"Turned into volcanic ash."
Antony crouched down in front of her, his gaze steady.
"Now we deal with your problem."
"The process might feel… weird. Bear with it."
He slipped the Infinity Gauntlet onto his right hand and placed his left palm against Jessica's chest.
"Come out."
At his command, the half-Aether within his body surged into the Gauntlet, acting as a beacon.
The Gauntlet roared to life—
a terrifying gravitational pull erupted.
"AAAAAAAH—!!!"
Jessica threw her head back, screaming in agony.
Dark-red filaments were forcibly torn from beneath her skin, streaming from her body into Antony's palm.
Above the Gauntlet, the two halves of the Aether met—
twisting, entwining, fusing.
The fluid began to solidify.
Red light flooded the air.
One minute later—
The glow faded.
An irregular, dark-red gem sat quietly in the ring slot of the Infinity Gauntlet.
The Reality Stone.
Restored.
Antony stared at the crimson gem, feeling the apocalyptic power within it—and laughed from the depths of his soul.
"Hahahaha… the Reality Stone is mine."
"Thanos—let's see you snap anything now."
"No more gambling on fifty-fifty odds."
"Ugh…"
Jessica's body went limp, collapsing forward.
Months as a host had drained her life force to the brink. Even with the Aether removed, her body was on the verge of collapse.
"Don't sleep."
Antony caught her and raised the Gauntlet.
Snap.
A crisp sound.
Light exploded.
Red energy wrapped around Jessica's body.
Under the Reality Stone's power, damaged and necrotic tissue vanished—
replaced by newly created cells.
This wasn't just healing.
Long-term exposure to the Aether had triggered a strange mutation.
Jessica's eyes flew open as she gasped for air.
She felt amazing.
Power surged through her veins. Her senses sharpened beyond anything she'd known before.
She tried to stand—
—and realized her feet had left the ground.
She was floating.
"I… I can fly?" Jessica stared at her feet in disbelief.
"Call it back rent from that parasite," Antony said casually, shaking his hand as the Reality Stone dimmed.
Even for him, rewriting reality had taken a toll—
a brief, unmistakable sensation of life force being siphoned away.
But seconds later, a warm current surged up from the ground beneath his feet.
Under the Living God buff, the loss was instantly replenished.
"So that's it," Antony muttered.
"The Infinity Stones don't have a power ceiling—the limit is the user's physical tolerance."
"No wonder Stark's Ultron body—vibranium plus cradle tech—was basically custom-built for them."
"Six-Stone Ultron really was Marvel's strictest dad."
He glanced at the Gauntlet and smirked.
"…Still."
"My body isn't bad either."
"Come on."
He took Jessica's hand, and the two of them lifted into the air.
Less than a minute after they left—
Mount Fuji finally lost its patience.
RRRRRRRRRRROOOOM—!!!!
A massive ash column erupted skyward. Molten lava flooded out, painting Tokyo's night sky blood-red.
-----
Manhattan. Times Square Ruins.
Smoke mixed with the acrid stench of burnt circuitry.
Antony scanned the battlefield, one eyebrow lifting.
This was… worse than he'd expected.
Aside from Bruce Banner and Thor, everyone else was sprawled across the ruins.
Not heroic fallen-warrior poses.
More like the aftermath of a frat party gone horribly right.
Pietro Maximoff was hanging halfway off a billboard frame, one leg twitching.
Firestar — Angelica's leather suit was torn to shreds as she lay collapsed on the sidewalk.
Speedball, Robbie Baldwin, was curled into a ball, foaming at the mouth like an overused stress toy.
And then there was Deadpool.
The red-clad lunatic was lying completely naked from the waist down, arms spread in a perfect X, still clutching half a broken blade, muttering nonsense like "fallen chrysanthemums, battlefield of pain."
Front and center lay a pile of black, sticky, indescribable remains.
Antony recognized the aura instantly—
Kurse — Algrim.
Jessica hovered half a meter above the ground, frowning as she took in the scene.
Her gaze stopped on naked Wade.
"…Hey, Wade," she said dryly. "Did you all get gang-raped by Dark Elves or something?"
Deadpool raised his head with supreme effort and flipped her off.
"If that were true… I'd have enjoyed it…"
"…."
Steve Rogers was still catching his breath. Hearing that, he rolled his eyes so hard it nearly counted as cardio.
"Cough…"
He braced himself on his shield and forced a wry smile.
"That… drug Antony gave us was way too strong."
He shook his head.
"And there's a side effect he didn't mention."
"…It massively amplifies violent impulses. Those twenty minutes—
we were basically rabid dogs."
The others slowly helped each other up. Weak, but buzzing with post-survival exhilaration.
Then—
Tony Stark squinted at Jessica, pointing at her midair.
"Wait a second…"
He traced a circle in the air.
"Am I hallucinating from an overdose… or is Ms. Jones flying?"
Silence.
All eyes locked onto Jessica.
No jets.
No wings.
She hovered there, defying physics itself.
Jessica blinked, looked down at her feet, and shrugged.
"Guess so. Some kind of mutation?"
"HA!"
Tony lit up instantly, eyes darting between Antony and Jessica like he'd just cracked the universe's biggest scandal.
"I KNEW IT!"
He pointed at Antony triumphantly. "This isn't a mutation!"
"Jessica, be honest," he grinned wickedly.
"Did you sleep with this golden flying menace?"
Jessica's face went dark.
"Stark, do you want to die?"
"Don't deny it!" Tony plowed ahead.
"This is clearly fluid-based power transfer! Like a super STD—except the symptom is flight!"
"If that's how it works—"
A body that had been playing dead suddenly sprang upright.
Deadpool's eyes blazed like a starving wolf.
He pointed at Antony and screamed:
"I WANT IT TOO!!!"
"DADDY HOMELANDER! I DON'T MIND!"
"TOP OR BOTTOM! FRONT OR BACK! JUST LET ME FLY!!"
"COME ON—RUIN ME!!!"
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