He sat down beside Emma, casually resting his arm across the back of the couch. "Alright, since we’re all back and things are calm, I guess it’s time I start dealing with that Aether."
All eyes turned to him at once.
"You’re going to purify it now?" Diana asked, setting her blade down carefully.
Dave nodded. "Yeah. Whatever the Dark Elves did to it, they twisted it into a generator for dark matter and energy. It’s not the Reality Stone as it should be. If I can undo that corruption, I might be able to restore its original form... or at least make sure it can’t be abused again."
Emma’s expression grew more serious. "And if it pushes back?"
Dave smirked. "Then I’ll push harder."
Trish leaned forward. "You sure you want to do this now? We just got back. Can’t you take, like, one day off without trying to wrestle a cosmic horror?"
"I could," Dave said with a grin, "but it’s not really me if I’m not doing something absurdly dangerous, right?"
Emma rolled her eyes. "Fair."
Boa folded her arms under her chest. "Fine, but we’re watching. If that thing tries anything, we’ll jump in and finish what you started."
"Deal," Dave said, getting up and walking to a small vault embedded in the wall.
With a wave of his hand and a brief incantation, the vault opened — revealing the sealed crystal orb containing the Aether. It pulsed ominously, a swirling red mist within, alive with volatile energy.
Dave took a deep breath and held out his hand.
"Let’s see what you’re really made of."
As his hand hovered over the orb, shadows began to twist around his fingers — his Devil Trigger form starting to bleed through as he prepared to channel the corrupted force.
The room grew quieter.
Even the air changed.
Something was about to begin.
In the comics and movies, Thanos had to rely on the power of another Reality Stone — and even the Infinity Gauntlet — to revert the Aether back into its solid form as the Reality Stone. But now, Dave had to do it on his own. No Gauntlet. No shortcuts. It was like matching a cosmic-level force by sheer power alone.
As the swirling red energy began to react to his presence, Dave’s body tensed. Dark tendrils of corrupted reality started to lash out from the orb, testing him — trying to infect him, twist him, overpower him. But his aura surged in response, a deep violet-and-blue energy radiating from his Devil Trigger form.
The girls stood back, watching closely. Emma’s eyes narrowed as she sensed the shift in cosmic energy.
"This isn’t just some corrupted relic," she said softly. "It’s alive... and it’s fighting him."
Trish summoned her spectral sword, just in case. Diana stood ready with her blood, calm but alert. Boa, for once, looked genuinely serious.
Dave gritted his teeth as the Aether’s tendrils wrapped around his arm, clawing at his energy. He could feel it trying to rewrite the space around him, warping light and matter, distorting everything in a surreal haze. His vision blurred, sounds warped. Reality itself bent at the edges.
"Lets see how far you can push me!?" he growled under his breath. "You are nothing but an Stone, I will win!!"
His aura flared violently, burning away the shadows. The Aether shrieked — not audibly, but in a way that echoed inside the mind — defiant and ancient.
"Let’s bring you back to what you really are," Dave muttered, both hands now gripping the orb.
He dove deeper into the power, fighting it not just physically, but mentally, spiritually — like wrestling a living concept. The room darkened, the lights flickering wildly. The orb cracked slightly, glowing brighter than before as something within began to shift.
A wave of pressure blasted out, knocking back some furniture but leaving the girls untouched thanks to an automatic shield Emma raised.
The orb floated in the air, glowing brightly now — not red, but a brilliant, stable crimson light. The Aether was gone.
In its place... was the solid, fully reformed Reality Stone.
Dave staggered back, breathing heavily, his skin flickering slightly with residual energy.
"...finally down," he said, grinning through the exhaustion.
Emma stepped forward, eyes wide. "You actually did it."
Trish smirked. "Show-off."
Boa clapped once. "Impressive. Though I preferred the dramatic chaos."
Diana placed a hand on his shoulder. "You successfully purified it"
Dave nodded, staring at the stone now resting gently in his palm.
"Now the question is..." he said, looking at the others, "What do I do with it?"
"Hmm, don’t you also have the Mind, Power, and Space Stones?" Trish asked, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow. "And now with this... that’s four Infinity Stones you’re holding, Dave."
Dave nodded slowly, his gaze still fixed on the Reality Stone glowing softly in his palm.
"Yeah. Four out of six."
The room went quiet for a moment.
Emma leaned forward, her voice calm but curious. "Are you trying to collect them?"
Dave shook his head. "No. Not intentionally. Each one came from a different situation."
"Except the Power Stone," he added with a smirk. "That one I did take on purpose. But the others? Pure coincidence."
He glanced toward the glowing stones.
"The Mind Stone was in Loki’s scepter. The Space Stone was hidden inside the Tesseract. And now the Reality Stone... I ended up with it after saving Jane."
The others nodded in understanding.
"So fate just keeps dropping them into your lap, huh?" Trish said, tilting her head. "Seems a little too convenient."
"Or maybe," Emma added thoughtfully, "they’re being drawn to him — to his energy, his potential. Like the universe wants him to gather them."
Dave raised an eyebrow but said nothing. The thought lingered in the air, unspoken but heavy.
"What are the other two Stones left now?" Boa asked, turning to him.
Dave looked at her calmly. "The last two are the Soul Stone and the Time Stone."
"The Time Stone is currently with the Sorcerer Supreme," he continued. "It’s safe for now — warded and protected. As for the Soul Stone..."
He paused, and the room grew quiet.
"...It’s a little more complicated. Unlike the others, you don’t just take it. It requires a sacrifice — someone you love, given willingly. A soul for a soul. That’s the price."
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