Mary appeared in front of Lex, looking just as alarmed as him. She quickly searched through the information she had, which made her grimace.
"According to the guide, there are a few circumstances in which the keys, and other associated Inn powers, will cease to work. One such situation is if using the ability will result in catastrophic or irreversible damage. The keys, specifically, could also fail if they are in some unique spaces, or are being blocked by certain powers with strong enough protection. You saw the same thing when you entered the tower in the Crystal realm."
Lex did not want to play the blame game right now, where he accused the system of hiding such information from him. The truth was that while the system never informed him, he never asked either.
He instead focused on the situation. Luthor had only transmitted limited information to him, so he had to dissect it carefully to get as much information as possible. The key pieces were that the Midnight Inn was specifically being targeted, that they were on a planet called BGY - 987, and that the keys did not work in the space where they were. The notification he got when the business card was used also stated that space was fragile in the location they were trying to use it.
There were sufficient clues, so he was more or less certain that he had guessed correctly. The problem now was to decide what to do. The issue this time was outside of the Inn, and he had no real power there. But he had all the resources of the Midnight Inn to help to resolve the issue in a roundabout manner.
His mind worked in overdrive to come up with a plan. If he reached them, how would he rescue them? The easiest way would be to send them to the Inn, but that was an issue at the moment. How was he going to reach them? What was he supposed to do if he faced an enemy much stronger than himself? What if this was a trap?
Countless thoughts ran through Lex's mind, and just as quickly as they came, he resolved each and every one of them. A plan formed in his mind, but even in his agitated and aggravated state, he did not rush to action.
No, right now Lex's mind was cool and free from all distractions. Now that he had thought about what to do, he went over the plan a few times to anticipate what problems he could face. There were parts of the plan where he would have to improvise, but there was nothing he could do about that.
It would also mean… openly revealing the connection between Lex and the Midnight Inn, but that was more or less inevitable. But that should not be enough to arouse unusual suspicion onto him. After all, the Inn had many workers with real identities outside the Inn, such as Harry, John, Qawain, Antia and more.
Speaking of whom, Lex briefly considered taking Qawain along as well. He was an Earth immortal, after all, and would be a real asset. But considering the… volatile nature of Lex's plan, having him there might become a hindrance instead of a boon. Besides, he'd already thought of ways to make up for his absence.
Before he took any action, he once more reviewed all the information he had, and all the abilities and features of the Inn. Was there anything he was missing that he could take advantage of?
Unbelievably, just as he was sure there was nothing more, an idea occurred to him in case things did not work as he had intended. He checked one more time, reading the descriptions of the associated items and features, before readying himself.
He opened the Midnight Battalion panel and sent Luthor a message.
"I'm sending help. Survive as long as possible."
The current situation did not allow for long and elaborate explanations for why the Innkeeper couldn't just use his powers and immediately save them. This would have to suffice.
Next, he teleported to his museum and chipped a small piece of the jewel that still carried with it a dragon's obsession. The inherent value of the jewel, alongside the dragon's obsession, and the fact that the aura of a primordial infected it made the jewel invaluable. So how was Lex able to chip it so easily? He used the Innkeeper's letter opener. That thing was much sharper than the Butter Knife at this point, but was also limited to staying within the Inn.
He stored the chipped jewel and teleported to X-142, before promptly entering the Infinity Emporium. Powell, as usual, was waiting for him and smiled warmly.
Just as the merchant was about to welcome Lex, and even jab him on the return of his skin in good humor, Lex held up his hand and stopped him.
"I have no time, and I require the best and quickest service my membership of the emporium affords. I need an item that can immediately stabilize space as quickly as possible. If there's more than one, I'll take everything. I also need any and all powerful weapons you have immediately available that anyone can use. Also, is it possible for you to get your hands on something from the planet BGY - 987 from the Fuegan battlefield within Suera? If that's possible, I can afford to wait a bit."
Before Powell could ask any question, Lex flicked the small, chipped jewel at the man.
"Take that as payment."
As soon as Powell grabbed the jewel he was visibly startled, and even star struck. He froze with his mouth hung open as he looked at the jewel, trying to discover why his senses were indicating that this was extremely valuable, yet he could not identify it.
"Powell I have no time!" Lex said firmly, waking the merchant up from his stupor.
"I'll get on it immediately!" he said, and ran towards the backdoor. This was another big order for him!