"Henry, you made the right call."
Alex shrugged casually and took the metal box straight from Henry's hands without ceremony.
Opening it, he found exactly what he expected—a jagged, half-sliced stone resting neatly inside.
The other half of the Sacred Stone.
"Raven and the others will help you find the remaining survivors. You don't need to worry."
Eager to absorb this second piece of the Sacred Stone, Alex didn't linger. After saying his part, he turned and left without further small talk.
---
Back in his private training chamber, Alex wasted no time. He immediately began replicating the method he'd used back at the Stryker Facility—firing concentrated heat beams from his eyes directly at the Sacred Stone.
But to his surprise, nothing happened.
The second half of the Sacred Stone didn't react at all.
His beams continued for ten whole minutes—
Still no response.
"What the hell?"
Alex frowned. Why is this one so much harder to activate?
The first half had lit up almost instantly, a single heat ray enough to trigger the reaction.
Is there something wrong with this one? he wondered.
---
He decided to keep going. He powered up again and resumed the laser barrage.
Five more minutes passed—
Finally, the familiar glow returned.
Blue light pulsed faintly from the stone's cracked surface.
Alex's eyes sharpened.
It had taken longer, but the result was the same.
Without hesitation, he intensified his beams.
---
BOOM.
At last, the stone cracked open completely.
A familiar surge of radiant blue energy burst out, just like last time—
And rushed straight into Alex's body.
In that moment, he felt it.
His mental energy, already dyed an ethereal blue from the first stone, surged in power. The hue deepened. The control he had over it sharpened instantly.
It wasn't just an improvement.
It was a transformation.
---
Even without testing, Alex could tell: his telekinesis had jumped to a new level.
He could easily lift ten tons now—without breaking a sweat.
No exaggeration.
It was clear—
A half Sacred Stone couldn't compare to the complete one.
---
Whum—
With a single thought, Alex extended his psychic field.
He raised one hand toward the training room—and everything inside began to float.
Every single object.
Weights, furniture, equipment—
All hovering silently in the air.
Combined, they easily weighed seven or eight tons.
But Alex didn't even blink.
He'd guessed right.
And this… this was just the beginning.
---
His telekinetic training had barely begun.
The potential within him was far from fully tapped.
He was certain: with time and effort, he'd lift dozens of tons—hundreds, maybe thousands.
That wasn't arrogance.
After all, his power could grow infinitely—with each new enhancement, with every stat point he invested.
"Not bad."
Alex was thoroughly satisfied.
Sure, he still didn't understand why the second stone was so much harder to awaken—but since it had worked, the why no longer mattered.
He let the mystery go.
No use dwelling.
---
What Alex didn't know was that the real reason the second stone had been so stubborn…
Wasn't because it was hard to activate—
But because the first one had been damaged.
Stryker's team had run countless experiments on the first Sacred Stone, weakening it badly.
By the time Alex found it, it was on the verge of breaking—
Which made it far easier to activate.
But Alex would never know that.
And frankly, he didn't care.
He was already deep in the next round of psychic training.
---
"Alex! Come quick—something's happened!"
Just as he was focused on refining his power, Raven burst into the room, face grave.
Immediately, Alex's expression shifted.
If something could rattle Raven this badly, it wasn't small.
Without a word, he followed her to the war room.
---
Inside, the core team had already gathered. Hank, Emma, Copycat, Smith, Henry, and even the Loric stood around a large screen, all frowning deeply.
On the television:
> "We still don't know where these robots came from, or who created them—but what we can confirm is that they're out of control and currently attacking Outpost 78, a base recently reclassified under the jurisdiction of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division—also known as S.H.I.E.L.D."
"For those unfamiliar, S.H.I.E.L.D. is a thirteen-year-old intelligence agency specializing in counterterrorism and advanced threats."
"Why these robots are targeting them—and whether there's a deeper connection—remains unclear."
"But one thing is certain: the S.H.I.E.L.D. base is in ruins."
"S.H.I.E.L.D. has officially requested military aid. Reinforcements have been deployed from nearby bases..."
---
On-screen, colossal war machines pounded the S.H.I.E.L.D. base into twisted metal.
Explosions rocked the feed. Agents cowered behind blown-out barricades.
The ground was littered with bodies.
It was chaos.
Carnage.
---
Everyone watching wore grim expressions.
Raven, Hank, Emma, Copycat, Smith, Henry—their brows were furrowed tight.
Even the Loric looked shaken.
The sight of those robots—brutal, relentless, merciless—was enough to fill anyone with dread.
This wasn't a battle.
It was a massacre.
---
Alex, however, just looked… stunned.
Caught completely off guard.
His mind flashed back.
The Decepticons.
He had pointed S.H.I.E.L.D. toward their crash site weeks ago—figuring they'd dig them up and waste time trying to analyze alien tech.
He hadn't expected this.
That fast? Already?!
He had only taken his eyes off the situation for a moment—
And now it had exploded.
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