"I..."
The Veronica armor abruptly came to a halt after hearing Thor's words.
A moment later, Bruce's weak voice echoed from inside the armor.
"Thor, I'm not trying to stop you from resurrecting your people.
It's just that your eagerness to use the Infinity Stones makes me uneasy.
Maybe Tony and Steve feel the same way. We all know the Infinity Stones are capable of far more than bringing people back.
Today you want to revive your people.
But after you've done that, what comes next?
Can you truly say you'll never use that power for anything else?
What if one day you decide Asgard should rule the entire universe?"
"I won't!"
Thor answered immediately.
"I don't care about power, and Asgard has no desire to conquer anyone!
I only want to bring my people back. I have no grand ambitions!
If I truly wanted to dominate the universe, I could have pursued that long before obtaining the Infinity Stones!"
"But do you really have no ambition, Thor?"
Bruce interrupted calmly.
"You and I both know that's not true.
Right now, your ambition is to resurrect your people.
Who can guarantee that, once you achieve that goal, your ambitions won't continue to grow?
Your word?
I'd like to believe you, but I can't entrust Earth's future to anyone's promise.
Not even my own.
If I were the one making that promise, I still wouldn't trust myself completely."
As his words ended, Veronica's output surged.
A torrent of energy slammed into Thor's chest, pinning him in place.
The surrounding lightning and plasma continuously replenished the armor's power supply.
Although its missiles had long been exhausted, Veronica could sustain devastating energy attacks for years, provided its frame could withstand the strain.
Bruce's words also shook every Avenger present.
He wasn't only a scientist.
Years of struggling with the Hulk had forced him to develop extraordinary discipline, meditation, and self-control.
His outlook had become almost philosophical.
He had voiced the concern everyone else had been unwilling to admit.
It wasn't that they wanted to stop Thor from resurrecting the dead.
It was that no one could place absolute trust in someone wielding a power capable of granting virtually any wish.
Even in another timeline, the Avengers had found it difficult to believe Thanos would willingly destroy the Infinity Stones after obtaining them.
At this moment, they believed Thor genuinely wanted nothing more than to save Asgard.
But what about afterward?
Once he possessed the complete power of the Infinity Stones, who could stop him from making any decision he pleased?
Even if he broke his promise, who could oppose him?
If Thor someday chose to destroy the world itself, who would have the strength to stop him?
The answer was obvious.
No one.
Because of that, everyone standing against Thor had already reached the same conclusion.
No matter the cost, Thor could never be allowed to fully control the Infinity Stones.
Such power should belong to no one.
The Stones had to be separated and hidden.
Immediately, their assault intensified.
Old Tony and the Veronica armor attacked Thor from opposite sides while Doctor Strange opened countless portals around him.
Strange knew ordinary magic couldn't overcome the God of Thunder, especially while Thor wielded Stormbreaker in one hand and Mjolnir in the other.
But magic had limits.
Space did not.
In an instant, layers upon layers of portals surrounded Thor, sending him tumbling endlessly through shifting dimensions.
As Thor struggled to regain his balance amid the endless changes in gravity and direction, Strange continued opening portals around his limbs.
Even Thor needed several moments to adapt.
Just as he was beginning to regain control...
Whoosh.
A tiny portal silently closed.
Thor suddenly screamed.
His right forearm had been severed cleanly.
Portals were among Kamar-Taj's most basic spells.
Yet the spatial laws contained within them made them one of the deadliest weapons in existence.
Against Thor's overwhelming strength, Strange had little offensive magic capable of competing directly.
Space itself, however, was impartial.
As long as Thor hadn't rewritten reality with the Infinity Stones, space could cut through anything.
Even a god.
Despite losing his hand, Thor immediately summoned Mjolnir with his remaining arm.
The hammer rushed toward him, dragging the severed hand along.
Strange calmly spun both hands.
Thousands of new portals appeared, disrupting Mjolnir's flight path.
Hidden among the countless gateways, one glowing green portal intercepted the hammer.
Mjolnir disappeared into it.
An instant later...
"Damn!"
A furious voice echoed from the other side as someone was struck squarely in the back of the head.
The man instinctively grabbed Mjolnir.
At the same time, another portal opened beside the hammer's handle, bypassing Thor's severed hand and slicing away the portion carrying the Infinity Stone.
That fragment fell directly into Strange's waiting hand.
Without hesitation, Strange removed the Time Stone and sealed it once more inside the Eye of Agamotto around his neck.
Meanwhile...
Deep within Hell.
Demonic Mephisto stared at Mjolnir with burning rage.
"After thousands of years, have humans become this rude?
Wait...
That's Mjolnir.
And it's already been broken once.
So Asgard has truly fallen low enough that even Kamar-Taj stands against it.
If that's the case...
Who on Earth is left to stop me?"
A sinister smile spread across his face as he lifted the hammer and stepped forward.
Instantly, every remaining Kamar-Taj sorcerer on Earth felt the protective enchantments surrounding the three Sanctums shake violently.
Without the Sorcerer Supreme directing them, the defenses collapsed in less than a minute.
Mephisto burst through the barriers protecting the New York Sanctum.
Back on the battlefield Axel had created...
Holding the remaining five Infinity Stones, Strange waved his hand once more.
Thor's severed palm split into five separate pieces.
Each fragment carrying a Stone was sent to a different ally.
"I've caused enough trouble just recovering these.
Keep Thor occupied.
Tell him he'll get what he wants once this is over.
I have to return to Earth.
An old devil is trying to escape Hell, and I'm going to shove him right back in."
He stepped toward a portal.
Before disappearing, he glanced at Bruce.
"Take good care of my cloak."
Then he vanished.
The endless maze of portals disappeared with him.
Many of those gateways had connected to powerful dimensional beings.
Others opened near black holes and white dwarfs.
The overwhelming gravitational forces had battered Thor relentlessly.
Only after every portal closed did Thor finally regain his footing.
Clutching his severed arm, he roared at everyone before him.
"Give me back the Stones!
They're my last hope!
I considered all of you my friends!
I've always fought to protect Midgard without hesitation!
But when have any of you ever tried to save me?
When have you ever tried to save Asgard?
This is how you repay me?"
With a furious growl, Thor pressed Stormbreaker's lightning-covered blade against the stump of his arm.
The intense plasma instantly cauterized the wound.
Ignoring the pain, he charged once more toward those holding the Stones.
Natasha froze after receiving the Reality Stone.
She never believed she should possess something so dangerous.
Although the damaged Infinity Gauntlet struggled to contain it, the lingering influence of the Reality Stone overwhelmed her.
She collapsed unconscious.
Thor immediately rushed toward her.
Before he could arrive, a grappling hook shot across the battlefield, pulling the Reality Stone away.
Nebula caught it and stored it inside a compartment within her cybernetic arm.
"Thor!"
she shouted.
"Thanos built a containment system into my body.
I can safely carry at least three Stones.
Go after the others.
I'll protect this one.
No matter what happens, I support you.
But you have to bring back my useless sister."
"I'll do everything I can."
Thor answered bitterly while watching Old Tony fly away with the Space Stone.
Nearby, the younger Tony awkwardly examined the Power Stone in his hand.
"How did I end up with one too?
Did Strange mess up?"
"Maybe not."
Bruce frowned thoughtfully.
"Perhaps in the future Strange saw, giving you a Stone benefits whatever outcome he's aiming for.
Actually...
I think I understand.
Strange fears Thor because absolute power could magnify his ambitions.
So who could safely possess infinite power?
Someone who doesn't care about it.
Someone like Axel.
And maybe Strange also wanted visitors from other worlds to leave with some of the Stones, ensuring no one in this universe could ever gather all six again."
Bruce extended his hand.
"Give it to me.
I'll talk to Axel.
This conflict isn't ending anytime soon, and Thor won't stop chasing the Stones just because he lost an arm.
From today onward, recovering them will become his obsession."
"No problem, buddy."
Tony tossed him the Power Stone.
"After seeing how dangerous these things are, I don't even want to touch the ones in my own universe.
Thankfully Axel already keeps one of them.
Otherwise we'd probably end up fighting over them too.
Infinite power...
It's enough to tempt anyone.
Take it before I change my mind."
As the Stone flew through the air, Strange's Cloak of Levitation suddenly caught it.
Holding the Power Stone, Bruce sighed before walking toward Axel under the watchful eyes of Wakanda's royal guards.
"Axel."
Bruce smiled helplessly.
"Isn't this enough?"
Axel laughed.
"Who knows?
Watching heroes who claim to stand together turn on each other over the Infinity Stones is pretty entertaining.
If you ask me, they're all hypocrites.
Every one of them has selfish desires.
Don't learn from them."
He casually accepted the Power Stone.
The very next instant...
Every Infinity Stone being guarded across the battlefield suddenly appeared in Axel's hand.
All six.
Everyone stared at him in stunned silence.
Meeting their shocked gazes, Axel calmly snapped his fingers.
Bang!
A violent surge of cosmic energy instantly ripped apart the entire right side of his body.
Ignoring the horrific injury, Axel casually weighed the six Stones in his palm and laughed.
"Come on, buddies.
Call me Daddy.
Besides your actual fathers, nobody loves you more than I do right now."
The moment his words ended...
Thor stared in astonishment as his missing right hand regenerated completely.
Quill wrapped Gamora in a relieved embrace.
An instant later, the bewildered Gamora drove her knee straight into his groin.
Meanwhile, in the Asgardian settlement in Norway...
Countless families tearfully welcomed back their loved ones.
Others weren't nearly so fortunate.
Several resurrected Asgardian men were immediately dragged away by their ears as furious wives demanded to know why they had managed to find new spouses so quickly.
=≠=
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