Chapter 77 Terrigen Crystal
After Finney left, Nick Fury pondered quietly for a while, then asked Natasha beside him, "Do you think what he said is true?"
"Judging from his expression, tone, and eyes when he answered, he didn't seem to be lying, and I can't think of any reason why he would lie to you right now," Natasha answered truthfully.
After a while, Nick Fury stood up. He couldn't ignore the questions Finney had raised; being prepared was always S.H.I.E.L.D.'s style.
Looking at Natasha beside him, Nick Fury stopped. He had also seen Finney's attitude today; it seemed he had some prejudice against Natasha. Sending her to contact him again might backfire.
"General Ross seems to have started targeting Banner again recently. Go and keep an eye on things over there,"
Nick Fury reassigned the task to Natasha. Banner was also part of his plan, and of course, he couldn't let Ross capture him for experiments.
...
Meanwhile, after bringing the 'Obeliest' home, Finney didn't immediately tell Skye or seek Stark's help for research. He planned to consult the Ancient One later that evening.
After hiding the box in his house, Finney went to school.
At school, everyone was frantically discussing yesterday's battle. Finney's actions had attracted a large following; after all, young people always admire the strong.
During the Iron Monger arc, Finney hadn't participated in the first half of the fight, so people were only curious and intrigued by him, unaware of his true strength.
But yesterday's battle successfully showed the world just how powerful Finney was.
If someone were to do a survey, they would find that at least half of Iron Man's fans had switched to Finney's 'Silver Knight' fanbase.
"Hey, Finney, did you see it when you got back yesterday?"
Billy, unable to release his pent-up camaraderie, immediately approached him as soon as he sat down.
"Saw what?"
Finney replied listlessly, listening to his classmates' discussions. He thought that Spider-Man probably understood his feelings best.
But thinking of Spider-Man, Finney remembered that Peter Parker shouldn't have been bitten by the spider and mutated yet; he'd probably still be a clever little boy.
"That Divine Punishment!"
Billy excitedly pulled out his phone, playing a call as he spoke. "You don't know? Just yesterday afternoon, shortly after you left, Iron Man and Divine Punishment Knight fought a huge group of robots."
"Divine Punishment Knight is super powerful! Almost everyone in New York saw that Divine Punishment move, didn't you?"
Hearing his friend praise him like that, Finney felt a strange unease. His lips twitched slightly as he replied, "Aren't you afraid he's a bad guy?"
"How could I!"
Billy immediately looked like his idol had been insulted, firmly retorting, "Divine Punishment Knight is definitely the strongest superhero, and he's Iron Man's friend too."
"Tsk!"
Finney hadn't expected such an unexpected effect from working with Tony. He scoffed and continued, "Besides, he might not even like that nickname."
"You don't even know about yesterday's battle, how would you know about Divine Punishment Knight?"
Billy looked at Finney with disdain.
"..."
Finney opened his mouth, unsure what to say.
Yes, he's just a sorcerer from Kamar-Taj, what does he know about the Divine Knights?
Giving up on arguing with Billy, Finney slumped over the table, lost in thought. Billy, beside him, continued his incessant chatter, explaining the power of the 'Divine Knights'—information he'd somehow acquired.
That evening, Finney returned home, greeted Skye, and then quietly took the 'Obeliest' to Kamar-Taj, seeking out the Ancient One once more.
"Teacher, could you check if there's anything wrong with this?"
Finney opened the box and showed the Ancient One the 'obelisk'.
The Ancient One examined the silver 'obelisk,' and just as she reached out to pick it up, Finney quickly reminded her, "Touching this might be dangerous."
"Hmm!"
The Ancient One nodded, her hand slightly lifting as if to grasp it, and the 'obelisk' floated up from the box, flashing an orange light, seemingly detecting something.
"This is a protective outer shell; it seems to contain something inside."
After looking at it for a while, the Ancient One said.
"Uh, I know that, but can you remove this outer shell?"
Finney asked. He vaguely remembered that it seemed to contain a crystal that could awaken supernatural abilities in people with Inhuman genes.
If possible, Finney certainly didn't want to go to that strange underground temple, and he was also worried about potential risks from modifications there.
"Hmm…"
The Ancient One pondered for a moment, glanced at Finney, then made a hand gesture in front of her chest, activating the Eye of Agamotto hanging on her chest.
This was the first time Finney had seen the Ancient One use the Time Stone, and his eyes widened in astonishment.
A soft green light shimmered, and several afterimages seemed to appear on the Ancient One's body, yet nothing seemed to change. A few seconds later, the Ancient One closed the Eye of Agamotto and looked at Finney, asking,
"It was a bit troublesome, but I could still manage. But what do you need the crystal inside for?"
Finney's face lit up, and he didn't hide anything, saying, "Skye's body should have some kind of alien genetic modification. This crystal can awaken her powers, and she can protect herself in the future."
The Ancient One nodded, glanced at the 'obelisk,' and then used several spells that Finney couldn't understand.
However, Finney noticed a mark flashing on the Ancient One's forehead. He knew what it was—the reason for the Ancient One's longevity: the power of the Dark Dimension stolen from Dormammu.
But Finney didn't care about the darkness; any power he could control was useful. The Ancient One hadn't gone berserk or changed drastically.
She was still that kind and benevolent teacher, the Sorcerer Supreme who had protected Earth for hundreds of years.
Under the Ancient One's magic, the outer shell of the 'obelisk' was gradually peeled away. Finney cautiously took a few steps back. Although the chances of him getting hurt were slim with the Ancient One around, it was still better to be careful.
As the outer shell completely fell away, the crystal inside was finally revealed.
"Alright."
The Ancient One finished casting the spell, glanced at the cautious Finney, and asked, "How do you plan to use these things?"
"I don't know."
Finney scratched his head. He only remembered that in the original storyline, Skye and another woman simply entered the temple, placed the 'obelisk' inside, and completed the awakening. He couldn't remember the process at all.
The Ancient One looked at Finney helplessly and said, "You can bring Skye over first and let her absorb these crystals to see."
"Okay."
Finney nodded quickly, overjoyed.
This was why he came to find the Ancient One first. With the Ancient One around, even if something unexpected happened, it wouldn't be a big problem. At worst, he could use the Eye of Agamotto to turn back time.
Back home through the portal, Finney quickly found Skye in her room, still in her pajamas and playing on the computer after a shower. She said directly, "I have something very important to tell you."
Seeing Finney's serious expression, Skye's hand trembled, almost dropping the mouse. She stammered, "Wh...what is it?"
Read 30+ advanced chapters at p4treon...
[email protected]/Horizons685
(End of Chapter))