I calmly looked at the powerhouse infront of me. Honestly, she was kind of underwhelming. There was no presence to her. Her clothing was meh, her figure was meh and her face was meh. However, under all that guise of normality, her eyes held a mischievous light which told me that she portrayed the image she did intentionally. She smiled when she saw me realize it.

I walked forward to stand next to her.

"How does it feel, when someone underestimates you, then you utterly destroy them?"

I asked her wryly.

"Very satisfying 👌. In my long life, I have come to realize that one should enjoy the little things."

I nodded sagely to the wise words.

"Normally, I like talking to someone over a nice cup of tea. I find that it calms the mind."

She added.

There was a brief silence as we watched the coming dawn. The sun was rising and I wondered just where we were.

"You said normally. I assume this time it's different?"

I broke the silence.

She ignored my query,

"You don't seem surprised by your situation."

She said.

I laughed a little bit and idly marveled at why I didn't feel any cold, despite being in a t-shirt and light slacks.

"I'm no stranger to strange things." I replied and looked at her with a small smile on my face.

"Some would say, getting abducted from your bed by a glowing magical portal and finding yourself a continent away, with a stranger standing on the roof of a tall building beats it all, Mr. Wentworth."

I had nothing to say to that so I laughed hard. She also had a smile on her face.

"What can I say, Ancient one. My life is peculiar."

She looked at me seriously, the humor gone from her eyes.

"I have seen us having this conversation in 7 million different possibilities and never once do you tell me how you know of me. Every time you try, it comes out as gibberish. The being that sent you here must be powerful beyond measure. Not to mention the fact that fate itself has left it's Mark on you."

I turned to her and huffed in annoyance.

"Trust me, his power is only matched by his doucheness."

I saw her frown at that.

"Mr. Wentworth, exercise caution when referring to cosmic entities, most take offense easily. Though of course, I don't think you're in any danger from them at all. It comes with bearing that mark."

This caught my attention again.

" What do you mean, by mark of fate? I take offense easily when it comes to destiny, fate and all that bullcrap too."

She hesitated a bit before answering.

"In all the futures I've seen, this conversation deteriorates quickly if I answer that question."

I was now running out of patience now. I knew what the Sorcerer supreme was capable of and I doubted I could take her in a fight but goddamn, how much cryptic shit does she have to subject me to. She sighed and motioned me to be silent just before I could talk.

"Your existence makes things better or worse in a more meaningful impact according to fate's whim. In simpler terms, if a normal person is a pebble thrown in a pond, you're like a big boulder thrown in the same pond. The splash and ripples made by the pebble might propel a drowning insect to the banks of the pond or might wash over it, causing it to drown. The impact is negligible on a grand scale. The fish won't be affected at all. A big boulder on the other hand might cause a splash that will water the plants nearby or crush the fish in the pond or cause many other different unpredictable things. simply chaos. Someone bearing the mark of fate is Chaos incarnate."

I was stunned, my mouth was open and I couldn't come up with a coherent thought. The Ancient one however, wasn't finished. She looked at me sadly and continued,

"Any significant changes you make in a setting that was fated to happen, will have great consequences to the people around you. The consequences might be good or bad. Due to this, any cosmic entity will be wary of crossing paths with you, because they have broken it's shackles on them, fate is especially vindictive."

This time I didn't hold back the anger. There was nothing to vent on except the AO and even in my rage-induced tantrum, I was not foolish enough to attack her. So I did the next best thing. A bright red light appeared around my fist and I punched the door leading to the rooftop. The door deformed around my fist, broke off its inches and hit the wall before falling down the stairs. I breathed in and out and slowed down my heart rate. Calmness started to come back to me again, as I vowed never to intergrate the Hulk's d.n.a to myself. I was hot-tempered enough as it was.

During all of this, she was still watching me expressionless. Make changes to a setting that was fated to happen? How does one even decipher something like that. If I stop someone from taking a shit that was fated to happen, does that mean, the world would implode on itself?

"How...how, can I get rid of it?"

I whispered.

She shook her head and looked away.

"I am sorry. You're bound to your fate. You can try to put it off but you can never escape it."

"There must be a way! I don't buy that any actions I take are premeditated by someone else. You don't know how helpless it feels knowing that your suffering is caused by some stupid nebulous thing such as fate. My choices are my own damnit!"

I was breathing heavily by now. Was it all really meaningless? Was I subconsciously following a laid out plan that would have me ending up in a premeditated place, taking a premeditated action and falling for a premeditated someone? I had my goals and I believed that they were mine and mine alone, but was that really the case?

Wait.... in my first life I was supposed to die of cancer so as to be my brother's motivation. Essentially I had been a pawn but I smashed that shit plan to smithereens and died by my own means! (not technically but who's sweating the small stuff huh?) So why was I doubting myself? Even if I was fate's bitch if I got to the level of Cosmic entities, I would break it's hold on me! So what the fuck was up with this cliché shit? Destiny? Fate? Chosen one? I don't fucks with that!

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

I coldly looked at the Ancient one. I had been ignoring one important question from the start. What did she want with me?

"You abducted me for a reason, what do you want?"

"I need you to leave. As a master of the mystic arts, my job is to protect the earth."

I scoffed at that.

"Protect the earth? There's a fucking war, going on. Where are these masters of the mystic arts? You could stop this if you truly wanted. Oh, and I'm not going anywhere."

"We guard the earth against the mystical side of reality as well as forces that could cause utter destruction to the planet. We do not interfere with man's war. In addition, you know the future too, do you not? Do you believe a group of 10 men alone were all that was needed to take down Hydra? Don't be naive. Our strength relies on anonymity, just because you don't see us in the thick of it doesn't mean we don't help "

She replied and fully turned to look at me.

"You perhaps misunderstood me. It wasn't a request. Leave this dimension before you derail things even further."

I gritted my teeth at her statement. I could help more if I stayed a little while longer. Why is she so insistent on my departure?

"You don't understand, things are different! Hydra had help from mutants this time. In the original timeline this wasn't supposed to happen...."

I trailed off as it clicked. It was me, the reason why things were so different from canon was because I was marked by fate! Without my existence, Captain America would have fought with Hydra and eventually won. With me here, things were so derailed I wasn't sure what would happen anymore. Gabe was dead and that was actually on me. Not to mention that this time, it was Sabertooth and an unknown mutant. Next time, who knew what kind of help Schmidt would enlist? It might even be an Omega level mutant!

With such an uncertain future, the team needed me. Things would be hard for Steve, Bucky and the others if I wasn't there.

" It's my fault things are so different and I get that. By chasing me away however, you're making it worse. I need to be here."

I implored her. Surely the Ancient one, being so wise would see the reason in my words.

"No. We cannot afford to have you here any longer. The future changes more every second you're still in this dimension."

This bitch...I shifted to look around me. The placing of the buildings...the environment around me and the temperature...I was in New York, on the Sanctum building. I looked at her.

"You planned for this. All of it. You were trying to ensure I would be somewhere where if by some miracle I succeeded to escape you, I would find myself surrounded by your Sorcerers."

She smiled and glowing portals appeared all around us and sorcerers started stepping out. All in all, they were about 15 of them.

"Correct in your assumption Mr. Wentworth. If we can't force you to leave then for the sake of all life, you will have to give up yours."

I stepped back warily but I knew I didn't have anywhere to go to. They had completely surrounded me from all sides. I couldn't afford to fight this many Masters of the mystic arts alone. That would be suicide.

"Ok, Ancient one. I give up, I'll leave this dimension."

I raised up my hands and bit out.

"I'm afraid that option is no longer on the table. You might come back and destabilize this world even more. By then, you might be too powerful to defeat. I'm opting for the more permanent solution."

Oh fuck! why did I ever think this bald-headed bitch was a good person? I wasn't given time to think properly as cracks started appearing in the world. The world broke and I found myself getting swung around by an eldritch rope. When did she...I didn't even see her move. I crushed into a building opposite the New York Sanctum and found myself unable to move. I felt the pain briefly before I lessened it, I didn't completely shut down my nerve endings though. The Ancient one started floating to me. I didn't even know she could levitate! That was strange's thing!

She gestured and I was dragged up the building with my back on the wall. I had already used my barrier powers to cover my back so I wasn't hurt. My shields negated any shockwave or force from transmitting through. I wonder....I tried to cover my fully body in a skintight barrier but my control was not that refined yet. I found myself in the air above the building and the force controlling me stopped and I started falling.

"Motherfucker!"

Desperately, I created a barrier underneath me akin to a flat flying carpet and controlled it to stop my fall. When did my life get so chaotic! Water started forming from the air into a big ball, tentacles exploded from it and shot towards me, I maneuvered around them all the while trying to find a way to escape her clutches. Getting tired of my nimbleness, ice spikes started getting shot at me. I formed a semi-circular shield before me and started blocking the shooting ice.

I had lost sight of her which was a mistake judging by the kick she delivered to my back. The barrier I had placed there cracked and the kick passed through, sending me face first into a window. I crashed through it and landed in the room. I couldn't run away because I was in the mirror dimension. The only way out was through her so I decided to fight her and activated Overdrive. Coupled with the super soldier serum I felt power flowing through my body, begging to be used.

The Ancient one floated into the room calmly and looked at me.

"It's impressive you've held on for this long but it's time to end this farce now."

I grinned at her,

"You still underestimate me Tilda."

She rose an eyebrow and looked confusedly at me.

I formed a small barrier behind the heel of my shoe and exploded in motion, with it boosting me forward. I cocked my hand back and threw a devastating punch.

Bang! My fist collided not with flesh and bone but with a glowing magic circle. You've got to be kidding me! Even after catching her in surprise she still shielded herself? I can't win this battle, I realized. Unlike my shields which negated force below a certain limit, her shields didn't and she was thrown back and onto the ground. She controlled herself into safely landing but I had followed her closely and dropped a haymaker on her head. Before it could connect, eldritch ropes bound my legs and hands, pulling me back.

The other sorcerers who I had thought were left behind in the real world, appeared each holding a rope.

I strained and dragged them towards me as my strength in this form was overwhelming. Just before I could overpower them, the Ancient One jumped at me with an eldritch fan construct poised to decapitate me. I tried using my shields but something about these ropes was interfering with my mutant powers. I panicked and reached out for anything....the clusters of stars inside me answered and I found myself in hell.

Instead of the devil however I was looking at the sexy back of Wonderwoman.