However, Alex wasn't discouraged in the slightest.
He clearly remembered that in the original movie storyline, Doctor Doom had once seized this very surfboard—and successfully mastered it.
He had even become an enhanced version of Doctor Doom because of it.
Sure, he was ultimately defeated by the "combined" Fantastic Four, but that wasn't the point.
If Doctor Doom could do it, then there was no way Hank couldn't.
"Looks like Hank really is indispensable to Krakoa."
Alex sighed sincerely, then carried the surfboard straight to Hank's laboratory.
He handed the board over to Hank and asked him to crack it, to find a way to properly control and use it.
"Leave it to me, Alex!"
Hank was as reliable as ever. Without hesitation, he accepted the task.
With the surfboard in Hank's hands, Alex felt completely at ease.
Which meant that next—
"Time to go meet Galactus."
Alex made his decision instantly.
With no hesitation, he flipped his hand and summoned the Infinity Gauntlet.
Whoosh!
When all six Infinity Stones ignited with dazzling light, Alex's consciousness expanded—
covering the entire universe.
Galactus was located immediately.
Just as Alex remembered, Galactus was currently speeding through the vast cosmos, heading straight toward Earth.
Moreover—
With all six Infinity Stones under his control, Alex's current state was nothing short of godlike.
He could do almost anything.
He also instantly sensed Galactus's true strength.
And sure enough—
In front of the six Infinity Stones, Galactus was nothing but trash.
Alex could kill him with ease.
Thinking about it, that made perfect sense.
A guy who could be killed by the Silver Surfer's self-destruction—how strong could he really be?
Since that was the case, what was there to hesitate about?
Alex activated the Infinity Stones and performed spatial traversal.
A surge of purple energy wrapped around his entire body, and he vanished.
---
At the same moment—
In the endless depths of space, a purple energy mass flashed into existence.
Alex stepped out from within it.
Before him lay an endless torrent of particles.
It blotted out the stars themselves—
an immeasurable, infinite presence.
That—
Was Galactus's true form.
"I know you're hungry,"
Alex said calmly, facing the colossal being,
"but Earth is not something you're allowed to consume."
"Do you intend to stop me?"
A deep, oppressive voice thundered from all directions, echoing through space itself.
The sheer presence was impossible to describe with words.
"Not stop you,"
Alex replied, his tone utterly domineering.
"If you don't leave immediately, I'll kill you."
"Kill me? Hahaha!"
Galactus laughed disdainfully.
"You're wielding the Infinity Stones, aren't you? I never expected someone would actually gather all of them. But do you really think that's enough to stop me?"
At Galactus's level, he naturally recognized the Infinity Stones—and understood them extremely well.
And precisely because of that, he wasn't afraid of Alex.
Infinity Stones were absurdly powerful, yes—
But they weren't something just anyone could use.
If one's body wasn't strong enough, they wouldn't even be able to unleash the Stones' power before being killed by the backlash.
As far as Galactus knew, across the entire universe, no race could freely wield all six Stones.
Not even the Titans.
Even they would suffer catastrophic backlash.
And this backwater planet Galactus was about to devour?
There was no way someone like that could exist here.
"No one can stop me!"
Galactus's voice grew louder.
The particle torrent that filled the cosmos began to churn violently, as if the universe itself were shaking.
Then—
The particles condensed into a terrifying storm and surged straight toward Alex.
"You don't know your place."
Alex snorted coldly.
His right hand, clad in the Infinity Gauntlet, clenched into a fist—
And punched forward.
HUM—!
A terrifying wave of power erupted, crashing into the particle storm.
The torrent was instantly shattered and blasted backward.
"You can actually unleash the Stones' power to this extent?!"
Galactus's voice was filled with shock.
At this moment, his earlier contempt for Alex vanished completely.
All that remained was disbelief.
---
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh!
The endless particles around Alex surged once more.
They rapidly converged, compressing and solidifying—
Gradually forming a humanoid shape.
The outline sharpened, details filling in.
A flamboyantly dressed, oddly styled humanoid figure appeared before Alex.
Galactus.
"For a civilization of C-53's level to produce someone like you,"
Galactus said as he examined Alex,
"I am genuinely surprised. You have broken the rules."
No—I didn't break the rules. The system did.
Alex muttered internally.
Then he raised his fist.
"So—what's your choice? Die, or find another planet?"
"Isn't it a bit early to say that?"
Galactus laughed.
"If this is the limit of what you can do with the Infinity Stones, then it won't be enough."
"Oh?"
Alex raised an eyebrow and lifted his fist once more.
HUM—!
All six Infinity Stones flared simultaneously.
A colossal force instantly locked onto Galactus.
"Ha!"
Galactus roared.
A cataclysmic energy—capable of annihilating worlds—erupted from him to resist the Stones.
And astonishingly—
He actually held on.
For one second.
BOOM!
One second later, Galactus's energy collapsed completely.
The Infinity Stones' power wrapped around him in full.
BOOM!
Galactus was blasted apart into fragments.
However—
The infinite particle torrent filling space did not dissipate.
Because Galactus was not dead.
Alex hadn't truly gone for the kill.
Despite his earlier threats, Galactus's status was special—
after all, he was one of the Five Cosmic Abstracts.
From Alex's memories, Galactus had deep ties with Eternity, and their relationship wasn't simple.
More importantly—
Like the other cosmic abstracts, Galactus represented a necessary aspect of the universe itself.
Alex naturally wouldn't destroy such a being recklessly.
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