Inside the lab, Sherry, who had made a 'wasted trip' but had no urgent work at the moment, simply grabbed Vision, who she was immensely curious about, and bombarded him with questions.
Baymax, perhaps encountering a similar semi-mechanical lifeform for the first time, shuffled his feet and followed closely, sneakily 'eavesdropping' on their conversation.
Only Luca, who had accepted reality, was silently contemplating while playing with the Mind Stone that had fallen from Vision's head.
So it really works... Does this mean I'm taking off?
Yes, the Mind Stone, having been 'converted' by Vision, was indeed as Luca had guessed earlier—it was no longer uncontrollable.
While it hadn't reached the level of being an extension of his own body just by holding it, it no longer caused inexplicable backlash that made Luca afraid to even touch it.
Now, this Mind Stone seemed to have had its 'ownership' reassigned.
Mind control, creating illusions, drawing energy, amplifying psychic power—Luca could use all these abilities normally.
However, the extent of their power depended on Luca's subsequent development and mastery of the Mind Stone.
It's a pity the Mind Stone doesn't have its own consciousness. If this were the Soul Stone, perhaps the moment ownership transferred, the stone itself would maximize its abilities.
Eh? But what exactly does the Soul Stone do again?
Holding the Mind Stone, which enhanced his psychic power and mental activity, Luca's thoughts strayed once more.
But this time, his active mind remained within a controllable range.
As long as Luca wanted to focus, he could achieve a level of concentration far beyond anyone else.
There was no longer the risk of his psychic power expanding endlessly until his mind was obliterated.
However...
Thud~
"Ouch~"
Seeing Luca's thoughts wander as he stared blankly into space...
The Aurantius Haro in front of him didn't care if it was under Luca's control or not.
It launched itself with a powerful jump, headbutting Luca right in his exposed stomach.
The little guy remembered Luca's request before picking up the stone: pay attention to his mental state, and interrupt immediately at any sign of danger.
"Hiss~ No, no, no! I'm awake, I'm awake!"
"Protect! Protect!"
"Praise! Praise!"
Seeing the little thing bouncing around asking for credit while he was wincing and rubbing his stomach, Luca could only helplessly grab it and give it a good rub.
"Fine, you're the best. Later I'll make a Cat-Eared Haro to be your wife..."
Thud~
Another impact.
This time, right on the chin.
"Idiot Luca! Idiot Luca!" `^´
The little thing, too lazy to deal with Luca, jumped cleanly from his arms to the ground and rolled away with a grumble.
"Honestly, there isn't a single normal person around me!"
"Sherry, come here~ I want to test mind control and illusion abilities~"
Four days later.
"I didn't expect these guys to actually dare come here."
Inside the hangar next to the lab.
Looking at the black-skinned intruders lying all over the floor, and the last one being forcefully pinned to his knees by Vision via a chokehold yet still struggling, Luca felt speechless.
Don't let Vision's appearance as a seven-year-old fool you. Defensively, he could lower his density to phase through attacks, becoming immune to physical damage. Offensively, he could increase his density by dozens or hundreds of times to boost his power.
Even without using his laser beams—which currently consumed too much energy for him—his combat prowess was formidable.
Forget choking, he could crush you flat if he wanted to. Why are you still struggling? Absolutely zero situational awareness!
Needless to say, these black-skinned intruders were the spies sent by Wakanda to steal back the Vibranium jet.
In fact, Luca had suspected this might happen back when he noticed someone trying to remotely locate the jet while dismantling it.
He wondered if these Wakandans would come knocking before he made his move.
What he didn't expect was that it took them a whole week.
They only arrived belatedly when his Genetic Mutator was nearly fully deployed.
However, these spies sent by Wakanda did have some skills.
Sokovia's surveillance coverage, aided by 'Drone Police,' was now the best in the world.
Yet, they still managed to sneak silently near the industrial park.
Unfortunately, no matter how brilliant their infiltration skills were, they couldn't evade the Psychic Sensor.
Although the current Psychic Sensor couldn't distinguish between 'war enemies' and 'dissidents'...
A group of big red dots blatantly trying to approach the industrial park and government buildings...
There was no way the security system would ignore that.
This was exactly why Luca placed the only Psychic Sensor in the center of these key buildings.
"Alright Vision, don't knock the last one out. Just hold him down. I need this guy awake..."
As he spoke, Luca walked slowly toward the guy being choked by Vision.
But just as he got close, the man suddenly stopped struggling.
He turned his head quickly and spat.
A dull metal needle shot out of his mouth, aiming straight for Luca's face.
However, the next moment, without any visible movement from Luca...
Ripples of a blue spherical field instantly surged around him.
Everything around Luca—including the rapidly approaching needle, Vision, and the Wakandan spy—fell into an eerie stasis in that instant.
Symbols of gears and clocks flickered alternately.
Within the entire blue deceleration field, only Luca maintained his previous forward momentum, leisurely walking up to the needle.
"Oh~ A Vibranium needle? Truly living up to Wakanda's fine traditions~"
Facing this sudden sneak attack, Luca felt no tension, as if he had anticipated it.
He casually raised his right hand, intending to catch the Vibranium needle.
But remembering that this needle came out of the guy's mouth, Luca decisively withdrew his hand in disgust, merely tilting his head slightly to let the needle pass by him.
However, in that brief moment of raising and lowering his hand, it was clearly visible.
Embedded on the back of his mechanical metal right hand was the Mind Stone, glowing with a faint yellow halo.
The next moment, the stasis field vanished.
A sharp whistle of air passed by Luca's ear.
Maintaining its original trajectory, the Vibranium needle flew rapidly into the distant wall.
Luca, appearing almost like he teleported in front of the attacker, flashed a yellow light in his eyes. He smiled at the guy whose gaze quickly became vacant and said:
"Now, I ask, you answer."