Chapter 184: Dimensions

3rd March 2021, Illuminati Headquarters Earth 838

(Jasmine Sayre POV)

“She’s gone for good; I took care of it.”

He looked at me in surprise, “She’s not in this universe, she can come back.”

I shook my head, “Like I said, I took care of it.”

He gave me a disbelieving look. When he tried to protest further, I interrupted him, “But you’re right. We need to get back before the asshole Illuminati people wake up.

Stephen looked back and saw the knocked out figures of Charles Xavier, Reed Richards, Black Bolt, Captain Marvel and Captain Carter.

He turned towards me, “What the fuck happened? I was barely gone for ten minutes”

I gave him a cheeky grin, “Hah, you missed all the fun. Now, let’s get out of here.”

I created a portal that took us away from the city, into an empty field. I knelt down and touched the ground and slowly a wooden hut sprung from the ground and built itself. I added a few features, like a working bathroom, and water. I would have tried to add some electricity, but I had no access to any grid, and I didn’t want to risk Reed Richards finding us with some bullshit algorithm he made up. We needed to be completely off the grid. The privacy wards were immediately set up as soon as I started creating the house.

I look back to my gaping companions, “This should suffice us until we’re able to leave this universe for good.”

Strange nodded, “who are you, really?”

I shrug, “Someone you don’t want to mess with, but for now, let’s stick with Jasmine Sayre.”

“So, that’s not your name?”

“My name is a very well known one, at least for those who have studied the magical arts, or who know their history. I’d rather not spend the entire time talking about my life. Let’s just say that I’m older than your teacher was.”

Strange’s eyes widened, “How do you…”

I interrupt him, “I know your counterpart from my universe. He’s still a bit of an arrogant asshole, but he’s scared shitless of me. Me and the Ancient One had a pretty good laugh when he yelped and ran away when we were introduced properly.”

America burst into laughter at that, “I would pay to see that!”

I chuckled as well, “Yeah, it was hilarious.”

After we relaxed for a bit, Strange was the first to ask questions, “So, what actually happened?”

I shrugged, “I needed someone to return me to my home universe, so I went to ask America for help. Imagine my surprise when I find her locked up in some weird cell, ready to be tested on. The scientists kinda ran away and the Illuminati came to capture me. They didn’t last long against me, and after I knocked them out, Wanda arrived.”

“Yes, and how exactly did you defeat her?”

I shrugged, “In terms of raw power, we’re around the same level of strength, but she was very inexperienced, pretty much bulldozing everything and everyone alike. You could probably beat her if you had a little more raw power. She was a lot stronger than my Wanda, although, mine is still a teenager, but she has a lot less finesse and control over her magic. It wasn’t really that hard of a fight, I just dragged it out a bit to see how far gone she was. The Darkhold really messed her up. I chose to bind her soul to the body and removed her memories and identity to make sure that even if someone manages to unseal her, the current Wanda will stay as the more dominant soul.”

“So, in my world…”

I nod, “Wanda is frozen in her little ritual, with the Darkhold with her. She’ll stay like that until her body dies. She’s not a danger to anyone anymore.”

Strange sighed in relief, “Well, that’s the more pressing matter gone. Now, we need to leave this place before we cause an incursion and accidentally destroy this universe.”

I chuckled, “We won’t risk something like that. This universe is safe, for the moment.”

“But the Illuminati…”

I interrupt him once more, “I read their minds during our fight. The only data they have from the multiverse is from their version of Strange. It’s not the multiversal travel that causes incursion, it’s the mind walking.”

“I don’t understand.”

America snorted, “That’s a first!”

I chuckled and explained further, “You have to understand what the Darkhold is. It’s more than just a book, it’s a portal, in every universe in this section of the multiverse the book exists, with the same spells, with the same knowledge. It’s a connection to the realm of Chthon, formerly an elder god who later became a demon. He was sealed away into a realm of his own, to protect countless universes from his destruction and malice. But in his sealing, he created a book, filled with his knowledge, a book that wasn’t really a book, but a way for him to gain influence over the reader. He spread copies of the book, far and wide into the multiverse, reaching a great number of universes.

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“Now, Dream walking is a spell that Chthon created to see into other worlds. I analyzed the spell while I was fighting Wanda and came to a few conclusions. Chthon adapted it for mortals to use, so that they could possess their counterparts in other worlds. But to do that, their soul needed to travel through the multiverse, and they do so through his own realm, using the Darkhold as links. It’s why you can’t dream walk into a universe with no Darkhold, there’s just no connection there. But with enough influence and enough actions, the connection to the Realm of Chaos starts to solidify until an incursion occurs. Reed Richards thinks that a universe or both universes are just destroyed, just like that. But that’s impossible, you can’t just destroy universes. What actually happens, is that one or both universes start to be consumed by the Realm of Chaos, destroying the universe in question. It’s not the multiversal travel that’s the issue, it’s the use of the Darkhold.”

America nodded, “And since I don’t use the Darkhold…”

I nodded, “Your way of travel is perfectly safe. Think about it, has any universe you have travelled to, been destroyed or something?”

She shook her head, “No, nothing like that…”

I shrug, “Now, the only issue we have is getting away from here before the Illuminati finds us, and with their whole teams.”

Strange paled, “Teams?”

I nodded, “Every single member of the Illuminati is a leader of a team of heroes or something similar. Xavier is in charge of a team of mutant heroes, Richards is the leader of the Fantastic Four, Rambeau is the leader of an organization called SWORD, Carter is the leader of the Avengers, and finally, Mordo is the Sorcerer Supreme. I could probably deal with them if they attacked us, but there’s no reason to be needlessly reckless. It’s better if we just get out of here. And since America is our ride, it’s better to teach her how to use her power properly, so that we could go home.”

The teenager started feeling nervous, “I’ve never been able to control it properly. It just works randomly when I’m scared.”

I shrug, “That’s how magic works normally. It usually stops when mages grow up, but considering how much raw power is going through you, it’s understandable that it reacts to your emotions.”

The girl looked at me confused, “Magic? I don’t do magic.”

I snorted, “Kiddo, what do you think magic is?”

“I don’t know, spells and stuff.”

I gave her a chuckle, “No, while it does look like that, the exact definition is the manipulation of an unknown energy with the effect of breaking the physical laws of the world. Your portals do not occur naturally, and the energy to punch a hole in the walls between universes has to come from somewhere. Which means that what you’re using is magic. Better yet, I can feel the energy inside of you, filling up every cell in your body. Slowly, you’re becoming stronger, faster, more resilient, with faster healing. There’s a phenomenon that mages call Accidental Magic, it’s commonly seen in children with no training, who when they feel an intense emotion, emit some raw magic that could have some unpredictable effects.”

“So, my moms…”

I gave her a reassuring smile, “It wasn’t your fault. You were a child with barely any control over your emotions and more power than you could possibly handle. Now, the difference between you and the average mage, is the fact that you don’t absorb magic from the Earth itself, but from the space between universes that’s full of energy that’s used in the creation of new universes. The truth is, you’ve barely scratched the surface of your powers. You could use them to scry into different universes, you could use them to enhance your strength dramatically, make you faster, or just teleport in a single universe. You could probably do a lot more, but for now, let’s focus on those.”

“Are you sure about this?”

I nodded, “Think about it, why does your energy look like stars? Trust me, breaches in space and time don’t look like your portals. It’s probably your favorite shape, and subconsciously, you shaped your energy to look like it. Truth be told, Strange, while he uses magic differently, something called sorcery, could probably teach you, but it’d take some time, and while he’s a genius when it comes to sorcery, he’s a shit teacher. Our kinds of magic are a lot alike, and I have had apprentices before, and even created a school of magic in my universe, so trust me, I can show you enough for you to have a little bit of control, but you’ll probably have to continue to learn the rest on your own.”

America nodded, and got up, “Alright, show me what you got.”

I grin at her, “First things first, you need to be able to call on your energy, on your magic, at will. To do that, you need to find it first.”

She looked confused at that, “I don’t get it…”

“Normally, I would have taught you to meditate and slowly manipulate your magic, but we’re pressed for time, so, I’m going with a shortcut.”

Before she could do anything, I touched her forehead. Immediately, I was able to find her magic, it was like a bonfire of chaotic energy, trying escape at any cost. I kept the connection going for a good minute before letting it go.

The girl stood up gasping, “What the hell was that?”

“That was me finding your energy. What you just felt, that’s your magic, the source of your powers. I activated them for you, now try to remember the feeling, do it before you start to forget it, and call upon it yourself. Remember the warmth, the power that spread through your entire body and call upon it.”

It took a few tries, but after an hour or so, the girl was grinning at me, “I felt it, I can feel it.”

“Keep doing it, again and again, until it becomes second nature, until you can feel it in a fraction of a second, until it becomes an extra limb that you could use. The power is yours, America, take control of it.”

By the end of the day, America was able to call up on her power at will. But she still had no idea how to use it. She gave me a look, as if challenging me to give her something more. I chuckled and ruffled her hair, “Now, let’s get you to use them. Now, let’s ignore the multiversal aspect, we’ll do that when you have more control. I want you to call on your power, like before but then try to move it into your hand. And then, I want you to punch the wall, in front of you.”

The girl nodded, and punched the wall, to no avail. I snorted, “You found your energy, directed it, but let it go before the punch. You need to trust yourself. You can do it, America, I know you can. You know deep down that you can. Now, do it again and punch that wall.”

The girl eyes looked determined, she closed her eyes for a second, brought back her hand, and punched the wall. Immediately, a star made of some sort of blue energy empowered her punch, destroying the wall, as if the Hulk had punched it with full force.

America gave me a grin, “That was awesome.”

I nodded, “Yes, it was.”

It was close. I was going home soon.