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*****
"If I heard correctly, you're asking me to use my power to... play a song?"
Skye asked cautiously, double-checking to make sure her ears hadn't malfunctioned.
"Don't make such a fuss. It's quite simple," Fini replied. His first priority was to build her confidence. By setting the bar high right from the start, he hoped she would master her abilities faster and grow stronger sooner.
"Simple!?"
Unaware of Fini's ulterior motives, Skye gave him a suspicious look. She took a deep breath, extended her palm, and stared intently at the water in the cup before her.
Clink.
The once-still surface of the water began to tremble slightly. A look of joy spread across Skye's face; this was the first time she could truly see and feel her power manifesting.
Crank!
Before her smile could even fully form, one of the glasses on the table suddenly imploded, shattering into a pathetic pile of shards. It was followed by a rapid succession of cracks and pops as the other cups followed suit.
The sound sent a pang of phantom pain straight to Fini's wallet.
Startled, Skye froze. She had only intended to make the water vibrate, not turn the glassware into shrapnel. "I... I didn't mean to!" she stammered.
"It's fine. From now on, the money for new cups is coming out of your pocket anyway," Fini remarked, glancing at the debris. Knowing Skye's frugal nature, he figured this would be the best way to make her take the practice seriously.
"Ah!"
Skye was momentarily stunned, her heart instantly hardening with the resolve not to break another cup. Even though she had more than enough savings to build a cup factory if she wanted to, the thought of paying for her mistakes was a powerful motivator.
Fini didn't want to push her too hard, however. He understood that haste makes waste. "Don't be in such a rush," he advised. "You've only just gained this power. Start by sensing the vibrational frequencies of small objects."
"Once you've mastered that, we'll slowly increase the complexity. Let's aim to have that symphony ready within a week."
Skye nodded eagerly. The excitement in her heart had yet to subside. This was her power—a power that truly belonged to her.
While Incursio had given her a taste of flight, that experience had been fleeting, and the armor ultimately belonged to Fini. These 'vibration waves' were different; she could feel them as an intrinsic part of her being.
"Fini, thank you," Skye said sincerely.
Between Fini, Iron Man, and the numerous sorcerers at Kamar-Taj, Skye didn't feel like a monster for having superpowers. Of course, it helped that she looked exactly the same after the transformation. If she had turned green and giant like Bruce Banner, she likely wouldn't be taking it so calmly.
Then again, Fini wouldn't have allowed that to happen.
"It's nothing. I promised I'd help you, after all."
Fini waved it off with a casual gesture. He had anticipated this day since the moment he realized Skye was special; he just hadn't expected it to go so smoothly.
Seeing Fini's nonchalant attitude, Skye—who had been feeling a surge of silent gratitude—suddenly felt a spark of irritation. Truly, a woman's mood could change like the weather.
"Remember," Fini warned again, "don't ever try to overexert your power, and try to keep your emotions stable for the next few days."
He emphasized this repeatedly because he knew that the stronger Skye's vibrations became, the more damage they could cause to her own body. In the original timeline, her emotions were a major trigger for her power's volatility.
"Got it," Skye replied. She didn't fully understand the gravity of the warning, but she obeyed. Fini had far more experience with extraordinary abilities than she did.
While Skye stayed in her room tinkering with her new powers, Fini took the fragments of the 'Obelisk' to find Tony Stark.
"What's this?"
Seeing Tony reach out to touch the silver fragments, Fini quickly pulled his hand back. "This is extraterrestrial. It's lethal to normal humans—it'll petrify you on contact. Don't touch it."
Tony immediately withdrew his hand, eyeing the silver shards in the case with renewed interest. "Is this the thing you wanted from SHIELD?"
"No, this is just the 'box.' I've already taken the contents out."
Tony's scientific curiosity flared. He stared at the fragments for a moment before noting, "It looks like you didn't use a standard method to open it."
Fini was slightly surprised by Tony's keen eye. He hadn't been able to make heads or tails of the Ancient One's methods, yet Tony could tell it wasn't opened through conventional means.
However, he didn't dwell on it. He quickly got to the point: "Can you help me make a pair of gauntlets that can maximize the reduction of vibrational recoil? Female-sized."
"Vibration-dampening gauntlets?" Tony looked surprised. "What do you need those for?"
"Just make them for me. You can keep these fragments as payment for your research. Just be careful—they really will kill you if you touch them."
"I'll need some data and specific requirements before I can build anything," Tony replied. He looked Fini up and down, muttering to himself, "Female-sized... what kind of new games are you playing with gauntlets? Are handcuffs and whips not trendy anymore?"
"..."
Fini glared at Tony, his expression one of pure disdain. "Please take off those smut-tinted glasses before you speak."
"It's for my sister," Fini explained, hoping Tony would understand the seriousness of the request despite his doubt that Tony actually needed the data. "She's developed an ability that might hurt her. I need these to protect her for the time being."
"Your sister?" Tony's expression sobered up, though his curiosity remained piqued. "Do your parents have special abilities too?"
Fini ignored the question and continued, "I'll bring her over in a few days. Also, if you have any devices that can help with sensing or tuning vibrational waves, let me borrow them."
Tony agreed readily, his mind already spinning with questions about Fini's mysterious sister. After one last warning about the dangers of the Obelisk, Fini left under Tony's impatient gaze.
The next morning, before Fini left for school, Skye was still fast asleep, missing breakfast entirely. It was obvious she had been practicing her powers late into the night. Leaving a few 'Violet-Mark' Fried Chicken Rolls on the table, Fini headed out.
A day had passed, but the public's obsession with Fini's identity hadn't faded; if anything, it had grown more intense. Newspapers, television, and the internet were flooded with images of the "Knight of Divine Punishment."
Walking down the street, Fini even saw a group of people attempting to recruit followers in his name.
This sight made him frown. He wasn't some divine messenger, and he had no desire to be deified. The issue was that he was simply too mysterious.
Iron Man was idolized but not worshipped as a god, partly because his power was grounded in technology people could comprehend, and partly because everyone knew who Tony Stark was.
The Silver Knight was different. Fini's abilities—portals, massive explosions, and flight—felt mystical and impossible to the average person. Humanity has always been prone to worshipping what it fears and cannot understand.
Because he refused to reveal his identity, and through a series of coincidences, things had spiraled into this pseudo-religious fervor.
Fini knew this couldn't continue. The higher you are placed on a pedestal, the harder you fall when the truth comes out. Unless he truly possessed the power of a god, his "believers" wouldn't be understanding if his identity were ever exposed.
They would likely feel betrayed, and a loss of faith often led people to do desperate, crazy things.
(End of Chapter)