Ryan had never expected to find out what it was like to be a hostage.
And he hadn't even been hurt. Instead, he'd frightened his attacker.
He reassured Billy. "Try a Nuclear Bomb next time—if you can find one."
With that, Ryan flew into the sky.
As for Billy's wish to see his wife, Ryan had always had a plan.
Becca had raised Ryan, and he didn't want to see her torn over it. If she ever asked to see Billy, Ryan would arrange it.
But when Ryan thought back to his old home behind the walls,
he couldn't remember Becca talking much about Billy.
As Ryan flew, the wind brushed past him, and a yellow light shone from the center of his forehead.
It was the light of the Mind Stone, a gold brighter than sunlight.
The golden glow brought Ryan back to his struggle with Doomsday in his mindscape.
He had wanted to live however he pleased. But living without restraint would only lead him to do things he'd regret.
To avoid that, he'd have to think before he acted. And an action taken after weighing every consequence could hardly be called doing as he pleased.
To fulfill his original ambition, he needed the power to change anything.
As Ryan thought this, his system seemed to respond.
[Quest: End of the Beginning] [Quest Details: The fragments of infinity will gather in your hands. With a single snap, you can build a paradise no one has ever reached.] [Time-Space Instrument activated.]
The fragments of infinity probably meant the Infinity Stones.
Ryan considered the quest. He knew a little about the Infinity Stones.
There were apparently seven, formed after the death of the all-powerful Nemesis. Thanos had found six of them.
The remaining one, the Ego Stone,