Marvel: Empire of Power-Chapter 160 - 158: The Collector’s Gambit, a Scepter’s Awakening, and the Nova Corps’ Despair (Knowhere/Xandar)

The news that the Orb containing the Power Stone was now in the possession of a ragtag band of galactic misfits calling themselves the "Guardians of the Galaxy" was, for Elias Thorne, both an annoyance and a unique opportunity. While Peter "Star-Lord" Quill and his crew were unpredictable, their motivations largely mercenary, they were also, crucially, not Thanos, Ronan, or the Kree Empire. The Power Stone, temporarily in their chaotic hands, was at least not immediately threatening to unmake reality or conquer Earth. Elias saw a window.

His [Prime Essence Shard Reserve], after the Morag skirmish and several minor global "housekeeping" operations by his Feral Legion Alpha Squad against resurgent Hydra tech cultists, stood at [2.1/5.0]. Not enough for a major new Legionnaire genesis, but sufficient for targeted asset support or minor System research. His primary concern was acquiring at least one more Infinity Stone to bolster Earth's (and his) defenses against the inevitable Kree return and Thanos's ultimate plan. The Mind Stone in the Scepter was under intense, if cautious, study by Finch and O'Malley; its power was undeniable, but its consciousness was manipulative and deeply alien. The Tesseract on Asgard was, for now, beyond his direct reach. The Power Stone, however, was mobile, held by beings far less powerful than cosmic empires.

Anya Petrova's galactic intelligence network (now subtly augmented by "cooperative" Skrull informants loyal to Warlord Kryll, who saw value in keeping tabs on potential rivals for the Power Stone) quickly pinpointed Quill's likely destination: Knowhere, the colossal, severed Celestial head floating at the edge of charted space, a wretched hive of scum and villainy, and home to Taneleer Tivan, The Collector – an ancient, immortal being obsessed with acquiring the universe's rarest and most powerful artifacts, including, it was rumored, the Infinity Stones themselves.

[TARGET DESTINATION (GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY/POWER STONE ORB): KNOWHERE (CELESTIAL HEAD – BLACK MARKET HUB/THE COLLECTOR'S ARCHIVE). OBJECTIVE (HOST): SECURE POWER STONE OR MANIPULATE ITS TRANSFER TO A CONTAINABLE/LESS IMMEDIATELY THREATENING THIRD PARTY. HIGH RISK OF ENCOUNTERING RONAN THE ACCUSER/THANOS AGENTS/OTHER GALACTIC FACTIONS.]

Elias wouldn't send his Legionnaires or Logan directly to Knowhere; their power signatures were too high, their methods too overt for such a den of spies and smugglers. He needed a more... nuanced approach. He reactivated his Klyntar-bonded Legionnaire Septimus "Lexicon" Vex. Vex's symbiotic abilities, particularly his psionic translation, his capacity for shapeshifting into almost perfect humanoid disguises (a skill the Klyntar was rapidly refining under System guidance), and his inherent cosmic senses, made him the perfect deep-cover operative for a place like Knowhere. His mission: locate Quill's crew, assess their intentions for the Orb, and if possible, subtly acquire it or influence its sale to The Collector (who, while dangerous, was at least a known, somewhat predictable entity, unlike Ronan or Thanos). If acquisition failed, Vex was to ensure the Orb did not fall back into Ronan's hands. He was authorized to use his full Klyntar combat capabilities if compromised.

While Vex, disguised as a Xandarian information broker, made his FTL journey to Knowhere aboard a small, heavily cloaked Blackwood scout ship, Elias focused on Earth's internal superhuman dynamics and a crucial System experiment.

The Chitauri Scepter, with its Mind Stone fragment, was proving to be both a treasure and a curse. Finch and O'Malley had managed to isolate its primary energy signature and even replicate its basic mind-control frequency on a very small, localized scale, but fully harnessing or neutralizing the Stone's insidious consciousness was beyond their current capabilities. The Stone wanted to be wielded, to influence, to dominate. Elias, drawing upon his [Energy Siphon/Manipulation (Tier Alpha+)] and [Psionic Shielding (Tier Omega-Minus)], began a series of highly controlled, System-mediated "attunement rituals" with the Scepter. He didn't seek to wield its full power – he knew the catastrophic risk of corruption – but to understand its fundamental mechanics, to perhaps learn to redirect or nullify its influence, and critically, to see if he could extract a usable [Prime Essence Shard] from its immense, contained energy without shattering the Stone itself or unleashing its full, sentient malice.

The experiment was incredibly dangerous. During one particularly intense session, the Mind Stone lashed out, a wave of pure, manipulative psychic energy that nearly overwhelmed Elias's Omega-Minus shields, filling his mind with visions of cosmic conquest, of him seated upon Thanos's throne, the Infinity Gauntlet complete on his own hand. It was a seductive, terrifying glimpse of ultimate power and ultimate corruption. He managed to sever the connection, shaken but resolute, his respect for the Stone's raw, sentient power growing.

[MIND STONE (SCEPTER) – ATTUNEMENT PROTOCOL: PARTIAL SUCCESS. Host has achieved limited understanding of Mind Stone energy matrix/control frequencies. Ability to subtly disrupt/redirect low-level Scepter influence (on others): NASCENT. Prime Essence Shard Extraction from contained Infinity Stone: FEASIBILITY LOW (RISK OF UNCONTROLLED ENERGY RELEASE/STONE FRAGMENTATION: 95%). SYSTEM WARNING: CONTINUED DIRECT INTERACTION WITH UNBOUND INFINITY STONE CARRIES EXTREME RISK OF PSYCHIC CORRUPTION/DOMINATION FOR HOST.]

He had learned much, but the price of deeper mastery was too high, for now. He placed the Scepter back into its deepest, Element X-lined, Finch-warded vault, its cold blue light a constant, tempting whisper.

News from Knowhere arrived via Vex's encrypted, psionically shielded transmissions. Quill's "Guardians" had indeed arrived and were attempting to sell the Orb to The Collector. Taneleer Tivan, Vex reported, was an ancient, powerful being of immense knowledge and even greater avarice, his collection containing wonders and horrors from across the galaxy. He recognized the Orb's true nature instantly and was prepared to pay an astronomical sum. Ronan the Accuser, however, had also tracked Quill to Knowhere, his Sakaaran forces (and now several Kree fanatics loyal to his extremist cause) launching a brutal assault on The Collector's archive, seeking to reclaim the Power Stone.

The ensuing battle was a chaotic free-for-all. The Guardians, surprisingly resilient and resourceful, fought Ronan's forces. The Collector's own formidable security systems (including ancient, reactivated Celestial defense constructs) engaged both sides. Vex, amidst the chaos, focused on his primary objective: securing the Orb or denying it to Ronan. He managed to briefly get his Klyntar tendrils on the Orb itself as one of The Collector's slave girls, Carina, in a desperate act of defiance, attempted to wield its power and was instantly vaporized. The raw, uncontained energy of the Power Stone surged through Vex, a supernova of destructive force that his symbiote, even with its cosmic adaptations, struggled to contain. He managed to redirect a portion of it, causing a catastrophic overload in The Collector's archive power core (destroying much of Tivan's priceless collection), but Ronan, his Accuser physiology surprisingly resistant to the energy backlash, managed to seize the Orb from the reeling Vex before making his escape.

[KNOWHERE OPERATION – OUTCOME: MIXED. ORB (POWER STONE) NOW IN POSSESSION OF RONAN THE ACCUSER. TANELEER TIVAN'S COLLECTION/FACILITY – SEVERELY DAMAGED. HOST ASSET (LEXICON VEX) – SUSTAINED SIGNIFICANT BIO-ENERGETIC TRAUMA (FROM POWER STONE EXPOSURE) BUT IS REGENERATING (KLYNTAR ADAPTATION). VALUABLE DATA ON INFINITY STONE ENERGETICS/KREE ACCUSER RESILIENCE ACQUIRED. PRIME ESSENCE SHARD ACQUIRED: +1.2 (from Power Stone energy backlash & residual energies of defeated Kree/Sakaaran/Celestial constructs on Knowhere). Total Shards: 4.9/5.0. SYSTEM URGENT WARNING: RONAN THE ACCUSER NOW WIELDS THE POWER STONE. PLANETARY ANNIHILATION CAPABILITY (XANDAR/OTHER GALACTIC TARGETS): IMMINENT. THREAT LEVEL TO EARTH (VIA THANOS/KREE IMPLICATIONS): CRITICALLY ESCALATED.]

Ronan, with the Power Stone. This was a nightmare scenario. He was a zealot, a butcher, now armed with a weapon capable of destroying entire worlds. His immediate target, Vex reported, was undoubtedly Xandar, homeworld of the Nova Corps, the Kree's ancient enemies, whom Ronan blamed for his people's perceived stagnation.

Elias Thorne knew Xandar's destruction would have catastrophic repercussions across the galaxy, potentially reigniting the Kree-Nova war on a scale that would make Earth's recent Kree skirmish look like a border dispute. It would also draw Thanos's immediate, focused attention, as Ronan was still nominally his servant, and the Mad Titan would not tolerate such independent, destructive use of an Infinity Stone.

He had [4.9 Prime Essence Shards]. He needed just [0.1] more for his next True Legionnaire or a targeted power boost. This was no longer just about defending Earth; this was about preventing galactic-scale genocide and maneuvering himself within the complex power plays of beings who could unmake stars.

He gave his orders to the Nightfall III, already en route from Knowhere: "Intercept Ronan's fleet before he reaches Xandar. Vex, status? Logan, Miller, Elena – prepare for extreme combat. O'Malley, all power to shields and experimental 'Infinity Dampener' prototypes. We are not letting that fanatic ignite a galactic firestorm." He also sent a heavily encrypted, anonymous warning (and Ronan's precise FTL trajectory) to Nova Prime Irani Rael of Xandar via Warlord Kryll's most secure Skrull channels – a desperate gamble that the Nova Corps might be able to mount some defense, or at least, create a diversion.

The stakes had just escalated to an entirely new, terrifying level. Elias was no longer just a shadow king of Earth; he was now a reluctant, clandestine player in a war for the soul of the galaxy itself, a war where Infinity Stones were the ultimate prize, and failure meant annihilation on a scale beyond human reckoning. His "Thorne Ascendancy" was about to face its first true cosmic crucible, far from the familiar shadows of Earth.freeweɓnovel.cѳm