Lock called out several times, and at last, Heimdall heard him.
Across the rift of countless dimensions and timelines, the guardian of the Bifröst replied, his deep voice carrying through the rainbow light:
"Prince Lock, are you returning to Asgard?"
Lock shook his head. "No. I need a treasure from Asgard's vault. Tell Thor to send down the Infinity Gauntlet."
"Understood."
Moments later, a column of prismatic light tore through the clouds, spearing straight through S.H.I.E.L.D.'s energy barrier and striking the rooftop where Lock stood.
When the light faded, a sigil of glowing runes was scorched into the ground—alongside a figure clad in red and gold armor, a heavy hammer slung across his shoulder.
"Brother!" Thor laughed as he strode forward, wrapping Lock in a bear hug. "It's been far too long! Judging by the look of things, Midgard's in chaos again."
Before anyone could respond, Thor raised what he had brought. "Here's the treasure you asked for."
The moment everyone saw it, the entire rooftop fell silent.
Fury, Captain Rogers, Natasha, Hill, Daisy—those who knew Thor—felt their hearts sink. They'd seen this kind of thing before. Thor's humor had a way of surfacing at exactly the wrong time.
And now, when the world was hanging by a thread, he was apparently in the mood for jokes.
The "treasure" in his hand looked like a misshapen lump of blackened coal vaguely molded into the shape of a glove. Its surface was charred, glossy, and cracked—as if it had been melted down and then left to harden again.
It was so pitifully ugly that if someone tossed it on the roadside, no one but a sanitation worker would have picked it up.
The newcomers—Wanda, Helen, and Pietro—had never met Thor before. Their eyes blazed with disbelief. Who is this clown? How dare he make a fool of Lock?!
But Lock took the scorched glove without hesitation, examining it with an unreadable expression. "I said to send it down through the Bifröst. You didn't have to come in person."
Thor grinned. "Hah! If I stayed trapped in that throne room any longer, I'd die of boredom. Besides, when you call, even my father and mother can't complain."
The Thunder God stretched his shoulders, clearly relishing his short-lived escape from royal duty. Asgard's affairs—border patrols, divine petitions, the endless grind of rulings and decrees—had kept him chained to the throne. Even the nights with Jane, however passionate, hadn't produced a little prince, nor eased his restlessness.
So the moment Lock's request reached Asgard, Thor snatched up the Gauntlet himself and rushed down to Midgard.
In truth, the Gauntlet had once been magnificent—crafted by the Dwarves of Nidavellir to contain the raw power of the Infinity Stones. But during Lock's forging of the Ninefold Divine Body with the Eternal Flame, the Gauntlet had been scorched beyond recognition.
The decorative layer was gone, Odin's enchantments burned away, leaving nothing but a blackened shell. Odin had tossed it back into the vault afterward, never bothering to restore it.
Lock slid the Gauntlet onto his hand. The fit was perfect—ugly, yes, but functional. The metal shifted and expanded to match his arm, flexing like living matter.
The Dwarves had built it well; even after the fire of eternity, its inner mechanisms survived.
Black Widow eyed the relic warily. "That... thing is the Infinity Gauntlet? What are you planning to do with it? It looks like it'll fall apart if you breathe on it."
Thor laughed. "Ask your husband. He's the one who burned it to a crisp in the first place."
Lock only said, "You'll see soon enough. If I'm right, this will be enough to erase Zola for good."
He raised his hand, and three objects appeared in shimmering flashes of power:
The Tesseract — the Space Stone.
The Orb — the Power Stone.
The Aether — the Reality Stone.
First, he drew the liquid essence of the Aether closer. As it neared the Gauntlet, the crimson matter solidified, shrinking into a gleaming gemstone that set itself into the ring slot.
Next, the Orb split open, revealing the violet Power Stone. The Gauntlet hummed, drawing it into place on the index knuckle.
Finally, Lock carefully extracted the blue Space Stone from Vision's forehead crystal and placed it onto the thumb mount.
The Gauntlet pulsed with radiant veins of color—red, blue, violet—each one thrumming with infinite potential.
Lock took a slow breath. "We're standing high above the city. Stay close and don't move, no matter what you see. It may all be an illusion."
"Understood!" came the collective reply.
In the past two days, Lock had studied the Infinity Stones relentlessly. Individually, each was a force beyond comprehension—but together, their synergy could bend existence itself.
Thanos had proven that six could wipe out half the universe. With three, Lock didn't need that kind of scope. He only needed to end Zola.
But the combined power was perilous. Even with his Ninefold Divine Body, the energy could spiral out of control, risking not just himself but the planet.
The Infinity Gauntlet was the only medium capable of channeling that magnitude safely.
Fortunately, it had survived the Eternal Fire. Ugly or not, it was functional—and that was all that mattered.
Lock raised his hand. The charred surface of the Gauntlet began to glow, veins of crimson, blue, and violet light swirling beneath the soot-black metal.
Then—
Snap.
A sharp, crystalline sound echoed through the rooftop.
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A/N: New Fanfic Is Out " Naruto: I'm Boruto Uzumaki"
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