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.