Banner brought Saiki Kusuo into the lab. Because of the falling-out, both sides were fighting over the gem's ownership. The dispute was so intense that they'd decided to leave it in the lab, under the supposedly neutral watch of Banner.
Unfortunately, Stark's trust was destined to be betrayed. Banner ultimately sided with Steve.
The fighting outside was incredibly fierce, the noise so loud that the entire lab practically shook.
"This stuff cost a fortune," Banner grumbled, reaching out to catch a test tube that nearly fell. "A bunch of inconsiderate idiots."
Saiki thought, You're not much different from those idiots outside, but he kept the thought to himself.
Banner retrieved the container holding the gem and verified his fingerprint. With a click, the lid opened, and Banner took out the gem, handing it to Saiki.
Honestly, Saiki didn't want to take it. The gem was translucent, glowing with an alluring white light, but all Saiki felt was a surge of danger. He wanted nothing more than to get as far away from it as possible.
If it weren't for the sake of resolving this mess, he wouldn't even want to see it again.
In the end, Saiki took the gem.
Just then, a security guard on patrol noticed them.
"Dr. Banner, is that you in the lab?"
Banner jumped, startled. He whispered to Saiki, "I'll go deal with him," and tried to look as normal as possible as he walked out.
"It's me. I just thought the noise they were making outside was too much..."
Banner's voice faded as he spoke with the guard. Saiki was about to leave with the gem when it suddenly emitted a blinding white light, illuminating the entire lab.
When the light subsided, Saiki discovered that the gem in his hand had transformed into a beam of white light and entered his chest.
The moment the gem was absorbed, Saiki seemed to hear a "ding" sound, followed by a mechanical voice: Congratulations, player, on obtaining the Mind Stone! Please continue your efforts, host!
What a joke! This is a lighthearted, daily-life comedy fic; it's not going to turn into some power-fantasy system story. Author, give it up!
Just as he was reeling from the shock, his head felt like it was going to explode. Countless voices flooded his mind.
The entire world? No, possibly the entire universe's worth of voices poured in. This was even more terrifying than when he removed his limiters.
He clutched his head, the onslaught of negative emotions pushing him to the brink of losing control.
(Shut up! Damn it, all of you, shut up!)
Saiki roared in his mind, and instantly, everything fell silent. All the sounds vanished in a single moment.
The voices...were gone? The silence, as pristine as if he were wearing germanium, left Saiki momentarily bewildered, followed by a surge of elation.
So this was the power of the Mind Stone? Not only had it amplified his telepathy, allowing him to control this power at will, but it had also become a voice-activated switch.
This was an unexpected and delightful surprise.
Instead of panicking, Saiki, his powers amplified, took control of the situation with ease.
Saiki turned invisible while waiting for Banner to return. To prevent any unforeseen events, he extended his telepathy to cover the entire Avengers base.
Everyone in the Avengers base was now within his awareness.
"Hey, Banner. I've got the gem. Are you coming with me, or are you staying here?" he asked Banner, who was still entangled with the guard.
Banner seemed to be deeply engrossed in conversation with the guard – or at least, that's how it looked. Saiki knew perfectly well that Banner was struggling to handle the increasingly chatty and enthusiastic guard. He wanted to leave, but the honest, straightforward Banner didn't know how to say it.
Banner, starting to get a headache from the constant chatter, was growing impatient, showing hints of the Hulk stirring within. The guard, possibly a newbie, showed absolutely no fear and kept getting closer to Banner.
"Kusuo, can you help me get rid of this guy?"
"Just tell him you have something to do and leave? Or let the Hulk out for a roar; that'll send him running."
"Can you stop being so gleeful about this? I'm seriously asking for your help. Kusuo? Hey, are you listening?"
Saiki could no longer hear Banner's complaints and grumbling, because he had already teleported to an unfamiliar place.
A moment ago, he'd glanced at the window and seen a cockroach crawling on the curtain, sending a shiver of revulsion down his spine. Almost without thinking, Saiki had activated his teleportation. Only after he'd calmed down did he realize he was in an unfamiliar location. He was immediately puzzled.
This shouldn't be possible. His teleportation could only take him to places he'd seen or been to before, and he was absolutely certain he'd never been here, nor had he ever seen...
No, wait, he had seen it, in someone else's memories.
Saiki looked up and saw Thor and Loki standing opposite him.
These two troublemaking brothers were truly persistent!
Saiki, with a look of utter disdain, planned to wait for his teleportation's cooldown to end before quickly returning. But then he noticed a woman standing opposite them.
The woman was dressed like a villainous witch from a Disney movie, with heavy, dark eyeliner, greasy black hair, and Thor's hammer, Mjolnir, clutched in her hand.
Almost the instant she crushed the hammer, Saiki activated his telepathy on the three of them, instantly understanding their tangled history and grudges.
Since it was a family matter, he shouldn't interfere.
But, were they really siblings? Their ambition was equally vast; compared to them, Thor seemed like the adopted one.
Thor, his weapon shattered, wore an expression of disbelief. Loki clearly hadn't anticipated his sister's immense power either.
The brothers watched as Hela approached them, the weapons in her hands gleaming coldly. Loki shivered and yelled towards the sky.
"Bring us back!"
Thor immediately tried to stop him, but it was too late. The Bifrost, the gateway to Asgard, opened, engulfing the two brothers.
"Idiot! We can't bring Hela back to Asgard!"
Thor almost wanted to strangle his useless brother.
Just then, Hela, who was about to follow up her attack, suddenly vanished. Before the brothers could react, they entered the Bifrost and were transported back to Asgard.
Hela hadn't followed them, which made Thor breathe a sigh of relief. However, he then realized there was another person beside them.
"Who are you?"
Thor immediately became alert, reflexively reaching for his hammer, only to remember that it had been destroyed by Hela.
[Hela disappeared, and this guy suddenly appeared. Is this guy Hela in disguise, trying to trick us?]
(I think with your two's pathetic combat abilities, your sister wouldn't need to resort to such a boring trick.)
Saiki deeply regretted not immediately turning invisible when he was teleported over. His teleportation still had a one-minute cooldown. Thor seemed convinced he was Hela and was preparing to attack him.
Fortunately, Loki stopped him.
"Calm down, Thor. If this guy were Hela, we'd probably already be dead."
The ease with which Hela had crushed Mjolnir had deeply shocked Thor. Although he hated to admit it, Hela truly possessed that level of power.
"So, who are you?" Even though he no longer suspected Saiki of being Hela, Thor continued to press him.
Saiki sighed and said, perfectly serious, "Just an unfortunate person who got caught up in the teleportation. You can ignore me."
"An ordinary person? Are you kidding? How could an ordinary person get in here? Tell me, are you working with Hela? If you don't talk, I'll deal with you first, and then I'll deal with Hela!" Thor cracked his knuckles, ready for a fight.
Loki subtly blocked the escape route, planning to find an opportunity to eliminate this kid.
But why did this kid look so familiar? Pink hair and green glasses, what an eyesore.
(Are you Street Flower Number Two? Or do you want me to pin you to the ground and rub your face in the dirt, Loki? If I'd known these brothers were so much trouble, I shouldn't have helped them. In fact, I should have teleported them together with Hela and let the three siblings fight it out.)
Meanwhile, Hela, suddenly teleported away, narrowly avoided having her weapons slice Thanos's head.
Hela: "..."
Thanos: "..." Why was random trash always being thrown into his home? Could he not enjoy his farming in peace?
Hela, not yet having recovered her full strength, was grabbed by Thanos, who then lifted her up and slammed her onto the ground.
Hela groaned. She struggled to get up, and when she looked up, she saw Ebony Maw standing before her, sizing her up.
"An assassin? Coming to assassinate the Master with this level of skill is simply overestimating yourself."
The Black Order surrounded her. Thanos stood up, not even bothering to spare her a glance.
"We should get going. Deal with this woman quickly."
Thanos's dismissive order successfully enraged Hela. Even though she sensed that the man before her was incredibly powerful, she still brandished her weapons, retorting defiantly.
"Such arrogance."
Saiki returned to Earth after the three-minute cooldown. Before returning, he'd considered giving the brothers a memory wipe, but in the end, he just reminded them to find a way to deal with Hela and prevent her from leaving Asgard once she returned.
Back on Earth, Saiki hadn't even had a chance to contact Banner when his vision blurred. The next second, he found himself in a vintage English-style living room, sitting on a plush leather sofa. A cup had been placed in his hand, and hot tea was gradually rising, filling the cup.
Opposite him sat a man with a scruffy beard, wearing a cloak. The man extended his hand towards him.
"Please, drink."
Saiki said, "Thank you," then added matter-of-factly, "But I don't really like tea. Could you change it to coffee jelly?"
Instantly, the hot tea in his hand was replaced with coffee jelly. Saiki began to eat with satisfaction.
The man seemed to have something to say but patiently waited for him to finish. Once Saiki had reluctantly put down the empty container, he saw the empty container refill with coffee jelly.
"That's a remarkably useful ability, Doctor Stephen," Saiki rarely praised anyone, Stephen was probably the one he most sincerely praised.
Unfortunately, the other man wasn't there to show off his superpowers, and to receive Saiki's praise.
He snapped his fingers, and they were transported to a study, making the upcoming conversation seem a bit more formal. Saiki was somewhat relieved that Stephen hadn't replaced the coffee jelly as well.
Believing enough time had passed, Stephen finally spoke.
"You know why I called you here today, superpowered being, or should I call you, Mr. Saiki?"