Ultron's Destruction

The Infinity Stones could not function once they left their native universe, so even with the Space Stone, Richard could not use it to escape Lucifer's Dark Field.

But Richard had naturally considered that possibility long ago.

Just as Dark Lucifer had said, Richard was never one to fight an unprepared battle. Before taking action, he always made a habit of holding something back, preparing a trump card, and, if nothing else, leaving himself an escape route he could take at any time.

The enemy's abilities were a complete unknown. Before entering the Dark Field, Richard had considered the possibility that he might be defeated, so he had left the Space Stone outside in advance and absorbed part of its energy into his body as a marker.

If he had to compare it to something, it was like using the Space Stone as his own "spatial anchor." Even if he flew to another universe, or even beyond the dimensional barrier, all it took was a thought from him to trigger the mechanism he had set on the Space Stone, pulling him back to wherever the Stone was at any time.

Since the Space Stone had been left in its own universe rather than carried on Richard's person, none of its functions, including its spatial properties, would fail. The instant before Dark Lucifer's beam struck him, Richard activated the mechanism. At the very last moment, he withdrew from the Dark Field and was pulled back near the Infinity Stones.

It had been dangerously close, but he had escaped.

If Dark Lucifer wanted to pursue him outside, then the Power, Space, Mind, and Reality Stones in Richard's possession would all regain their functions beyond the Dark Field. Lucifer's odds of victory would drop considerably.

But the situation had become somewhat troublesome.

Richard