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Chapter 2 – Operation: Sabotage

"Let's see here…"

I flopped to the ground and placed the Codex in front of me. Since the thing had a built-in GPS, finding the warehouse this time around was significantly easier. I grabbed another sandwich and opened the book, time to figure out how it works.

From what I saw, and theorized when I first absorbed something, the text in the blank pages became visible. Simple enough. But then the question remains, can I absorb anything? Probably not, don't think it works that way. There has to be some sort of restriction to it. Still, I need to figure out how to do it properly. But before we get to that…

I found the page that had the Miniature Whirlwind. The text was a plain black color, it wasn't until my hand was inches from the surface that the text lit up. There was a slight pause before I tapped it. I watched as my hand glowed briefly before returning to normal. It was different than the first time I did it, the light died down way sooner. Did it already recognize that I used it before? Might be.

Jumping to my feet, I moved away a few feet to do a proper test of its capabilities. When I threw my hand out, I was greeted with the familiar spell that pushed several empty crates a little since it was barely out of reach. Before doing it again, I placed some of the crates atop of each other. When it was set up, I took a few steps back, then running up to it and blasted all of them away. Before setting the boxes up again, I decided to switch things up. With my left hand, I tapped the spell again, now having the power in both my hands. I could have a different power for each hand, that is until I learn magic properly, then I can expand my arsenal. But for the time being, practicing with what I have will do.

Just as I was about to go down to do further tests, I stopped when I thought of something important. When do the powers expire? I almost got screwed over when fighting those thugs, I need to figure out exactly when they expire. As of now, I'd say roughly five or six minutes have passed since I got them. I threw out another Whirlwind to see if it was still there, which it was. About a minute has passed me only doing the same thing until it finally expired. Now I have to look into this.

Refreshing the spell I started the second test. I need to figure out how much time I get when using these powers. I doubt everything I manage to do will have the same expiration time but still will come in handy with what I got now. I just starting counting when I threw the first Whirlwind. At the start of the next minute and thirty-second mark, I would throw one out. At the six-and-a-half-minute mark, the spell was gone, so I would assume it lasts about six minutes and fifteen or so seconds. This is good, this is progress. Onto the next thing

I went back down to the ground level, preparing for my next test. Using Whirlwind helped me escape that sticky situation with those thugs, getting better at that technique will come in handy. Looking up, my eyes locked on to the first floor. I refreshed it again and positioned myself right underneath the platform.

Taking in a deep breath, I positioned my right hand, which was titled but not by much, to fire at the ground. Moments later I slammed my hand down to the ground take off. Just like the first time, my body was pushed upwards, landing right next to the edge, almost losing my balance. Still, need to get used to this whole thing. Taking a glance at the other side of the warehouse, I got another idea. Let's see if I could make it to the other side. The gap between the floors wasn't too long but not that short either.

I took a few steps back until I reached the wall, my focus entirely set on the opposite floor. With that being said, I bolted. The moment I jumped off, I moved my hand backward to blast me off. This time I graced the landing, kind of. I was just a few inches away from smashing through the empty crates.

Oh yeah, this feels amazing. I just couldn't help but form a wide smile at the small development. It was just the start; things are just going to get more difficult along the way. Even still, I'm just glad that I'm getting accustomed to these powers.

For the next hour or so, I just repeated these techniques to get a better feel to them. Haven't crashed into anything yet so we're good. With that out of the way, I started using the second spell. I won't call it Iron Fist, no way, I will think of something better later on. I used one of the many metal support beams to use as a target. Hopefully, it won't be that big of an impact to send the warehouse crashing down upon me. For the first few times, I just did basic punches. Then I started punching harder, more and more dents forming on the support beam, and until now, I haven't felt any pain from my hands hitting the metal object. Time to crank it up a little. Now I was throwing even harder punches, only now noticing the slight pain building up, but it wasn't too troubling.

Finally, I used all my strength in one final punch, leaving a wide hole on the metal beam. I rubbed my hands together; it took all that to feel any pain. Scanning the massive hole, I made sure that it won't collapse or something, luckily, it didn't.

After I spend more time practicing those two spells, doing the same routine with a few additional changes every now and then, I decided that for now, that will have to do. I had other things to turn my attention to. Figuring out a way to crumble Vanko's plans is going to be troublesome. There wasn't much to time to properly plan this out, that and the very small number of resources I had to work with. The powers I have now aren't enough to stop all of his drones, maybe one at a time but that just won't cut it. I need them to be immobilized while I do my thing, otherwise, a cannon or a hit from those things would be very deadly.

If I remove out their Arc Reactors, they become useless. Only thing is that I can't just waltz in backstage to take care of them, to many eyes lurking around there, not to mention the cameras. I already accepted the fact if I do this, S.H.I.E.L.D. is bound to spot me, it's a matter of time either way. I'd say I got a few days max, depending on what kind of mood Nick Fury is going to be at that time. I got an idea of how to prepare myself, but let's focus on the task at hand.

And then it hit me, an EMP. Since this is the early phase of the MCU, I don't think the drones have that kind of protection yet. For Tony I'm not worried at all, J.A.R.V.I.S. is there and he'll quickly reboot his systems, same for Rhodey. I'm positive Vanko's drones won't stay down for long, so when the EMP goes off, ripping out their Reactors comes first. If however, some of the drones don't shut down, I'll have to think some other plan.

Let's get the materials first.

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After a few hours, I managed to get everything I need. Copper wires, a bunch of batteries and tools, circuit boards and anything else I thought might be useful that wasn't over my budget. Along the way, I bought a few flip phones that were fairly cheap in a vending machine. It took so long because I'm not just gonna get everything one store like an idiot. A lesson I learned from watching TV shows, never buy everything from one place. Anyone with a brain will immediately realize what I'm trying to make, really don't need the police on my tail just yet.

I began working on my miniature EMP. My grandad had a lot of old VHS players and computers disassembled to the bone, so whenever I would come and visit I'd watch him work on different electronics every time. I tried my hand at tinkering with various kinds of machinery when he first offered me the chance, quickly becoming a small hobby of mine when I got some spare time. I knew the basic inner structure of an EMP, so with the things I got, I was capable of making one. It didn't take long, it was only the skeleton that I'll store in one of the plastic lunch-boxes I bought. Another thing that I bought is a Bluetooth key so I can just place it somewhere and activate it with that. Configuring it was easy, I did the same thing to open the door of my apartment complex.

With that little device complete, I began working on the calculator I bought. Now hear me out. I didn't get just any cheap calculator, I got a little more advanced one. With it, I could set up a timer with a basic program. I didn't have enough money to buy the things to make my makeshift timer, luckily, I found this so makes things a bit easier. To make a timer out a calculator, you need to make sure a button labeled "PRGM" is on there, then you just add in the basic code for a timer, which was several seconds you want to set it. In my case, I had to add a total thirty-six hundred seconds separately for it to be set to go off after six minutes. After I completed that I took it apart carefully, all I wanted is to configure it so that the sound was louder, just in case I miss it.

It was time to see if this thing works. Placing the EMP and the dummy phone on the crate, I went back a few feet to see how long the range was. Upon pressing the button, I saw the screen starting to flicker, with seconds later turning off completely. Now for the next phase, I separated myself from the device even further, pressing the button again and it still shut down. So the key has a long-range, but how will the EMP differ? I placed the device into my backpack and stood at a decent distance from the phone.

"Alright. Let's see how this test goes."

This time around, the phone didn't respond. Well shit. I began taking small steps to see at what range it takes effect. That only happened when I was about three feet away from it. That just won't do. I tried hooking it up with another set of batteries, maybe with that kind of boost, it will be enough.

Again standing from before, I tried once more. Still nothing. Frustrated, I took the device out and went back to tinkering. I didn't have the proper tools to boost the energy, that and I can't fully recall how to do it properly. Adding anything else onto it won't help. If I just had a bigger power source then this problem could be dealt with. Or if I overcharge the batteries, but the charger won't get it to the point I need it to.

That's when an idea came to me. I haven't tried absorbing anything else aside from before. Let's say if I absorbed electricity, I just might find an alternative way to power this thing up.

I grabbed the Codex and jumped down to the ground floor, looking for the small control panel located in the back. I turned it on and wouldn't you know, it still works, kind of. I took the thing apart until I found the power cable, then I turned off the machine before removing the cable. I placed my hand so it was mere inches from the cable, then I began concentrating as hard as I could. The first two times this happened I wasn't even paying any attention. This should have been the first thing that I experimented with.

Over the next several seconds, my hand began glowing, sparks of electricity became visible on the end of the cable. It was slower than before, and the electricity turned into the familiar gold that went into my hand. After that was done I checked my book, trying to find on what page it was going to appear. After searching for a while, I found nothing. That's odd, it should have appeared by now. I checked my hand to see if anything happened. I tried focusing everything into my hand, then a small spark at the tip of my finger appeared. A glimpse of a smile forming on my face before going back to full focus mode.

This was different, but at least I can use this. I'm going to need a lot more to power my EMP. The next ten minutes or so I spend trying to conjure more electricity, the most that I got was at the tip of each finger. I can make a separate device to store the energy then transfer that to the batteries, yeah that can work.

Going back to the book, I need to figure out why nothing appeared.

Maybe I didn't absorb enough? It would make sense since this was a form of energy. Knowing this, I definitely need to get the Ancient One to teach me how to further develop this skill. Absorbing any form of energy will be key to get stronger, all the applications this could be used has me already giddy. Putting this idea aside, I began thinking about how to transfer this into the book. There has to be a way to make a shortcut inside the book to store forms of energy.

I'll put a pin on that and get back to it later. Right now, need to start building that charger.

It took me about an hour to make such a device, if anything, it looked like a ridiculously oversized charger. The base only constructed of a motherboard from one of the disposable cameras, with two makeshift antennas sticking out from one side, while only one battery connected for now. Don't want to overdo it just yet, but it is possible to charge multiple ones at the same time. In theory, this should work, only one way to find out.

Concentrating just enough so that my hand starts forming electricity, I positioned my hand close enough to the antennas.

After quite some time, the battery started producing smoke.

"No, no, no, no!"

I quickly ran up to the small device, carefully and hastily removing the battery, throwing it away in the corner.

"At least I know how long it takes for the battery to overheat. If I shave off a few minutes, it would be good to go."

Maybe if I a small add-on to convert more power to it, I just might extend the radius by a fair bit. Don't feel like the overcharged batteries will give it the kick it needs. Pretty sure if I do this, the device can have two or three uses, if I'm lucky. Using one of the small circuit boards, I started tweaking so it was acceptable when I hook it up with my EMP. Doing this with limited tools was tricky, and quite infuriating, but after an hour passed, I was able to make it.

After I added that to my EMP, I went to see if this would explode or work, hopefully, it's the latter. During the day, the lights inside the warehouse were on. The sun was setting, the light posts outside turning on one at a time, the perfect opportunity for testing.

Placing the box in the center of the warehouse, I held the Bluetooth key and pressed the button moments later. With that, everything went dark. I stepped out of my hideout, seeing the lights were off in the other few warehouses with light posts as well.

"Huh, it seems like it works."

Turning it off, I went to add the finishing touches, like charging and replacing the batteries. I also made sure that the thing won't fail on me when I leave it behind. The expo was tomorrow at eight o'clock, until then, I'll make sure it's ready.

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Stark Expo, Main Entrance

The next day, we arrived at the final stage of Iron Man 2. The security didn't bother me one bit, there were a few guards at the entrance, but they didn't do a full body check on anyone. Lucky me, even though I disguised the EMP to look like, good to know I won't be held up here. When I passed through, there were so many inventions that caught my eye that I just couldn't turn away from. Seeing technology advanced to this level was jaw-dropping. It truly was an amazing spectacle to witness. In less than a few hours, this entire Expo would become practically a war zone.

Surprisingly, there weren't many people here at this time, it was still early after all. Good for me, if I can get to the main stage for tonight's event and plant this thing, I won't have to worry about it not being in range. I found my way to the main stage where the drone presentation would take place. As of now, it was empty, about a dozen people working around the stage and making preparations. Circling it, I tried to not seem suspicious while doing so, to them I was just a curious fan. Looking up slightly, without drastically moving my head, I spotted a camera that had a good view of the place. Scanning the place further, I noticed more of them at every angle.

Before continuing onward, I hid behind a nearby wall, taking out the Codex and choosing Empowered Fist (a better name than before) in one hand, and Whirlwind in the other. My eyes landed back on the stage, that is when I found the door that, what I assume,

Since there weren't too many eyes present, and barely any machinery turned on, I needed to activate the EMP now so the cameras don't spot me. Taking out the key from my pocket, I clicked the button and waited for the device to take effect.

I overheard some of the workers complain that their laptop seemed to be busted, they were all the way down the steps from where I was standing, which means it worked like a dream. Sneaking down unnoticed, I got closer and closer to the door, now hiding behind a pillar. That's when I spotted a bit of a problem. The door had a keypad next to it, so either I bust right through or wait for someone to use it then sneak it. Just then, a construction worker exited from that very door and to top it all off, he went the opposite way.

I quickly ran up to the door without causing a ruckus. I wasn't going to make it before it closes, instead, I shot out a Whirlwind at it, resulting in the door to burst wide open. Once I was in I closed the door in less than a second. After catching my breath, I pulled my self together, it don't have much time.

I went further down, there, I reached a massive hexagonal field. The field itself was still empty but was marked where the droids would be set. In the far right, I saw an air went, that is where I found my hiding spot. Picking up a screwdriver that was lying around with some other tools, I bent down and unscrewed all the screws, with the vent just popping off. I took the EMP out of my backpack and placing it inside, then putting the whole thing back like it was before. Sneaking out was a lot easier than sneaking in since almost everyone was confused about why the power went off. When I made my way out of the area, I turned the EMP off to check something out. I spotted the crew arguing around the laptop, which turned on moments later.

"Well, that's reassuring."

Knowing that from this range the device responds, I'm positive that the plan will work, at least somewhat. It does work though, it will probably make Vanko himself to show up sooner. Still, we'll be prepared if that happens.

Let's see what other goodies are hidden around this Expo.

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In just a few minutes from now, one loud-mouth and insufferable Justin Hammer will dance through the stage and give his cocky speech about "a new era of man", so I better get into position.

Spending the last few hours inside the Expo, I can't list all the fascinating and interesting machines that do all kinds of wonders. All the ideas forming in my head from the sight of them, I can't wait to get my hands on this level of tech. As I crawled through the huge crowd, I got a good look at Hammer's face. My eyes then landed on Pepper Potts and Natasha Romanoff, which wasn't that difficult since they we're in the VIP section.

One set of droids after another made their debut, the audience cheering and clapping like crazy. Not gonna lie, even if I didn't know the plot and this happened in real life, I wouldn't feel safe one bit. Sure, they were disposable and brought more firepower than regular soldiers, it's lunatics like Ivan Vanko who can set that whole operation up in flames. As history has shown, hacking through the systems of any massive corporation itself spikes concern, especially if weapons of this caliber is involved.

And then I heard it, those thrusters, instantly goosebumps started surging through my whole body. When I turned around, just like everyone else, spotted a figure flying through the sky, that being the one and only Tony Stark, crashing his own Expo. When he stabilized and landed on the platform with a thud, the crowd erupted in another round of applause and cheers.

"What a show-off that guy, I swear."

I could hardly believe that I'm seeing one of my favorite heroes in the flesh. But as much as I wanted to gawk at the man in the iron suit, I had to act quickly. I took out the Codex and activated the two spells in each hand. Just as I was finished doing that, the drones started acting up. All that I need is for one of them to start shooting, can't have any people sticking around when the fireworks start.

With that, the shooting began. People started running away, all screaming at the top of their lungs as they tried getting to safety. I stayed beside a wall so I don't get killed by the large swarm running for their lives. It wasn't till Iron Man activated his thrusters and attempted to fly away that I'm about to miss my mark.

"Now!"

With the click of a button, everything went dark. All of the lights immediately shut down. The drone army that began their assault, fell to the floor one by one. Iron Man, who was several feet in the air, began falling back onto the stage, not too far away from War Machine. It seemed like the two's suits were still active, somewhat. The lights coming out of their eye holes were flickering, with both of them trying to maintain their balance. War Machine recovered quicker, charging towards his friend. Not having the ability to fly away and dodge the attack, Iron Man stood his ground until they both collided, knocking them both to the concrete floor. It wasn't so much of a fight at first, both of them were trying to overpower the other with their hands, going back and forth while doing so. While they were occupied with each other, I ran down the stairs at top speed. Since I couldn't jump onto the stage without difficulty, I set my eyes on the far end of the stage, where a small flight of stairs was located, using that to get closer to the deactivated droids.

"Rhodey, buddy, come on!" I could hear Tony yelling through his suit as the two continued their bout. "I know you're pissed about the other day, but cut a guy some slack!"

"Tony, I can't!" Rhodey yelled back. "I can't control the suit!

"J.A.R.V.I.S is already working on cracking your suits' systems. Just hold on for a couple of minutes longer, buddy."

"We don't have a couple of minutes!"

I eliminated the Army Unit first, ripping out the Arc-Reactors since I figured they were more deadly than the Air Force Unit regardless of their capability of flight since mostly all of them could fly. They were my second target either way. So far I only managed to take care of two members of that Unit, before I got to the third one it already came back online, the Arc Reactor on it glowing brightly once again. When the droid started moving, I slammed my fist around the circular core and ripped it out, the Reactor still active even though no wires we connected to it.

One by one, the droids that came back to life charged at Iron Man, who by now was hovering a few feet off the ground with War Machine doing the same but struggled more. With more droids noticing my presence, I flopped onto the ground and blasted myself away, tumbling up until I stopped at the end of the stage and jumping down, then ducking behind one of the many pillars.

Within a moment of sliding down the wall, a ray of bullets were fired from both sides, the bullets luckily not piercing through the ceramic pillars.

"That worked out just as well as I expected." I cursed as I took out my timer, hoping nothing shots me while recuperating. Only three minutes left. "Shit, already?! Gotta hurry!"

I let go of the Arc Reactor and took out my book hastily, refreshed both spells in quick succession. My gaze fell back to the small glowing orb. These two spells won't do me much good from this distance, but maybe that's where this thing could help me out. Without a second thought, I began absorbing the Reactor with my right hand, which is where I had Whirlwind. The pure white energy that turned gold was flowing into my hand way faster this time, I almost had to pull away from the stinging sensation I began to feel.

Using the same tactic I used for channeling electricity, I used the same principle here. Over time, my hand began to feel heavy as my hand formed a golden shell around my hand, slowly building up like it was going to explode. When I got to a certain point, I tried thinking about how to release it. I began imagining like I wanted it to shot out from my hand. After some time passed, it did happen, a short beam of gold-colored energy was fired out of my hand and hit the ceiling

"This will do just nicely," I said with excitement, the fear of not having a way to fight back slowly disappearing. I peek over the edge when droids stop firing. Almost instantly after getting the droids' position, I fired a beam towards them, destroying one of their arm cannons. I moved towards another pillar, firing more beams along the way. Some of them missed the targets entirely, but a few beams hit numerous droids, heavily damaging their interior, I even managed to get a headshot. By the time I hid behind the pillar, the sentient suits of armor fired another assault towards me, slowly closing in.

From this angle, I saw Iron Man wrestle with War Machine while flying, the droids on the ground shooting at both of them, with some of the Air Force units chasing after them. Since in my current spot, I couldn't get a clear shot at the droids firing at me, so I'll help them out first. It was a little difficult with them moving so much, still, I managed to hit quite a few of them causing heavy damage. That gave Iron Man enough time to dispose of the ones around him, then moving on to War Machine that was on his tail. Reluctant to use any heavy weaponry, he settled using only fists for now with the occasional Repulsor Beam to damage his thrusters. Since the suit was still controlled by Vanko's program and being hacked by J.A.R.V.I.S., it gave him an opening to land some good punches, for the final attack he used the Thrusters on his feet to send War Machine hurling to the ground

For a split second, I think Iron Man saw me. My focus on him was broken when a robotic arm slammed itself to the left side of the pillar. I drooped to the ground and crawled away, shooting beams at it while doing so. Since my target was closer this time, I had an easier time to aim properly. With a few blasts to the head, another drone joined the scrap pile. I kept crawling until I reached the wall of the front row, not stopping my barrage for a second. Just as I finished shooting the next one, two more were right behind it, reading their guns.

Before they got the chance to fire, Iron Man, swooped down to the first droid, hitting it across the face and sending the droid back, finishing it off with a blast to the head. He quickly got onto the second one, shooting it multiple times in the chest with a final blast to the head. As the droid fell to the floor, he kneeled and extended his hand, helping me up.

"Kid, what the hell are you doing?!"

"Umm… helping? What does it look like I'm doing?"

"Helping? Nu-uh, the only thing you're gonna do is get out of here as fast as you-"

Just as Tony was going to finish his sentence, several droids smashed right into him, sending off to the side till they hit one of the pillars. Two more droids began piling up, forcing him down and throwing heavy punches all around, making Tony's escape from the mountain of metal more difficult.

I ran up to the pile of droids, shooting two droids in the back of the head. The main one that was holding Tony down, I aimed for his arms, destroying them both. Being able to move freely again, Tony used the thrusters on his feet to destroy the remaining droid.

I looked down towards the billionaire, couldn't help but smirk while doing so. "As I said, helping."

"How did you do that?" Tony asked, but there wasn't time to reply because I was stopped with two beams hitting the ground that made us both turn to see where it was coming from. War Machine was already up in the air, not maintain his balance but slowly improved. The other droids, including the severely busted ones, started preparing for flight as well.

"That's my cue!"

Iron Man activated his thrusters, flying away through the open ceiling, War Machine following right behind him with a couple of droids backing him up. All of them were now purely focused on Tony, preparing their thrusters as well. Right now, only two droids remained on the ground, preparing to fire off as well. Their backs were turned so they didn't see me coming, I ran up to one of the droids and slammed my fist in the droids back and grabbed on whatever was inside, with my other hand latching onto its shoulder plate.

And before I knew it, the droid blasted off.

It felt like my whole body was being pulled down from the intensity. Soaring through the sky was different than what I expected, maybe because I was clinging onto a robot while trying my hardest not to let go. Not much time has passed since we joined back with the group, going all over Star Expo at high speed. As the droids began their assault once more, Iron Man tried dodging as many bullets as he could.

"O-Okay, in hindsight, this might have not been a good idea!" I said as I looked down at the entire Expo, finding it impossible to avert my eyes. I had to stop looking down, my eyes closed for a few seconds to regain my thoughts, while my grip on the droid tightening.

Iron Man changed course, instead of going down towards the ground he bolted upwards, the droids doing the same. I positioned my legs on the droids hip, making sure that when I remove my left hand from the shoulder plate I won't go plummeting down. The more we went up, the more difficult it was to hang on. When I found the ideal position, I started firing.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

Since all of them were in a group, it was easier to hit them. With each blast that hit its mark, more and more debris came my way. Even so, I refused to let up. Way too late to back out now.

Tony was caught between a rock and a hard place. There wasn't much breathing room in this situation. If he doesn't dodge the barrage of bullets, his armor could be torn to shreds by the sheer number of them. Going down the civilian population is even worse. He needed to find an isolated area to lure them in. By then, J.A.R.V.I.S. should already be done with Rhodey's suit, then they could finish them off.

In the corner of his eye, he saw a yellow beam that went off in the sky. He re-positioned to see what was going on, scanning everything in his sight.

"Oh, you got to be kidding me…"

He saw that kid again, clinging on to dear life while shooting yellow beams at the droids above him. At this altitude, and the speed at their going, he could slip off at any moment.

"Hey, J, mind giving me an update on Rhodey's suit?"

"[At this moment, 83.1% complete, sir.]" J.A.R.V.I.S. answered. "[My sincerest apologies for the process taking so long. It would seem that Vanko's firewalls are a bit more complicated to fully crack. Rest assured, sir, it won't take that much longer to override Mr. Rhode's system.]"

"What about the Russian mastermind himself?" Tony asked. "Where's he hiding at?"

"[From what I can tell, it would seem that he is located at Hammer Industries' headquarters. All though, by my calculations, he may have already escaped by now.]"

"Of course he did…" Tony sighed. "Still, if you pick up anything let me know. Until then, I'll take care of these rust buckets."

As I was focusing my aim to hit every droid, I wasn't prepared when Iron Man did a sharp U-turn and flew back down, blowing up the droids that were first in line. I almost fell off due to how quickly the droid I was riding changed course. Right now, we were just above the mile-long fountain. War Machine, who was quite behind from the red and gold-colored superhero, went into overdrive. Before Tony could make his next move, Rhodey grabbed onto his suit, resulting in both of them spinning uncontrollably. Just as the two flew in the distance, Tony's suit opened a compartment that shot out miniature missiles that come into contact with the droids that were in the front, leaving a massive explosion.

Some droids went off in different directions, but mine and a small number of others went through the cloud of smoke. I managed to shot down a couple more, before deciding to shot my ride in the head, gradually descending towards the water. Once it hit the surface, it started slowing down as it surfed the water. All the way until we reached the end, I let go of the droid's inside and stood up, jumping and rolling onto the ground upon the droid hitting the ledge.

When my body stopped moving, I was lying on my back. Everything was spinning, even though I wasn't even moving. All I could do is breathe, for the time being. Just need a moment of rest to get back up. My head moved to the left, spotting the two iron-armored individuals crashing down onto the concrete ground. I rolled to my side first before anything, then from there slowly getting up. While I was on my knees, I heard the timer starting to beep.

Talk about timing, am I right?

"That didn't go the way I expected it to," I said while taking my backpack off and flipping through the Codex to refresh the spells once more. "I'm lucky I don't throw up in the next few seconds."

After finishing that, I proceeded to get back on track. Now fully standing, I slowly started moving towards where the two crashed. It was only one step at a time, but I had no complaints in that department. I checked my whole body for any injuries, there weren't any I could spot. While walking, my vision steadily improving, finding it easier to focus.

Was it just me, or did I hear thrusters booming in the distance?

It wasn't the pair that were far away from me, that much I'm certain. Looking around, I tried to find the source of the sound. I could feel a chill go down my spine when I realized what was coming. Ivan Vanko was heading our way. When he landed, which was a lengthy distance, the ground shook.

His suit got an upgrade. He seemed… taller than from I remember, the changes to the suit confirm that. The shoulder area was bulkier than the rest of the body, with two compartments on the backside that connected with his arms and the two whiplashes. Both his arms had two long machine guns. The whips under them had a larger compartment, revealing a bright circled spot on them, they were the reason why his arms seemed different. When he started moving, it was evident the changes took its toll. It was much slower than its original form, it needed more time to just to make a full rotation. His attention was first set on Iron Man and War Machine, until his head turned towards my direction, noticing me.

He stopped for a moment, before charging up his left whiplash, swinging it towards me. Just as the whiplash reached the end of its length where it couldn't reach me, it extended in size, catching me off guard. I flew to my side just in time to dodge it. Before I managed to get back up, I saw his other whiplash approaching from the opposite direction, down to knee level. I threw a Whirlwind In front of me to propel me backward, stopping right near broken parts of previously destroyed droids. When another attack was heading my way, I grabbed the large chest piece and used it as a shield to block my sides. As the attack hit me, it sent me further back. Right now, I was just beside the fountain again, quickly moving around to use the small wall as cover.

For a brief moment, I tried taking a peak, only to pull back when I saw an array of bullets flying in my direction. I closed my eyes and tried my best not to move, my body refused to move as long as I could hear the sound of gunfire. After some time, it stopped, I opened one eye slightly to make sure another assault wasn't coming. I waited a bit more before checking. As I slowly started raising myself, I took notice of more and more droids flying through the sky to aid Vanko. Upon getting a clearer view, he turned his focus back to Iron Man and War Machine, most likely assuming I didn't survive his barrage. The two people in question got bombarded with countless droids. They completely ignored their previous protocol, not shooting on sight any more, just surrounding and restraining them.

Vanko made sure to take his time, enjoying the sight it would seem. Once he extended his whips, he began charging them to their max capacity. Unlike before, which the color was a simple white, they were now a more lavender purple. Their behavior was different as well, they were more wild and uncontrollable.

"Not good… not good one bit," I whispered as I observed the scene unfolding further. "They can't even budge with that amount of droids holding them down. What to do? There's got to be… something… I can use...?"

I trailed off when I noticed many sphere-like bombs, which were no more than a few inches in size and width, scattered on the ground alongside a severely busted drone that nearby. Immediately, I rushed to it and quickly skimmed through its remains. Aside from two submachine guns on its arms, the bombs were the only form of weaponry. Thinking on my feet, I started taking pieces off from the droid. Taking off the main chest plate, which I put on the side, for now. I kept digging deeper, it was when I found a small compartment cluttered with wires and bolts that I stopped my search. I cleaned the insides until nothing was left. Acting quickly, and carefully, I placed as many bombs until the box couldn't hold anymore. I bent another piece of metal and used it to close the box so none of the bombs drop out.

I then took the chest plate, placing it on the ground when the small wall was out of my way. I stepped onto the chest plate and grabbed onto the iron bar that was sticking out of it, clutching the box with the same and my left thigh. My gaze fell back to the massive battle, Vanko getting closer and closer.

"Alright… one stupid plan, coming up."

Using my other hand, I shot out a Whirlwind that propelled me forward, using the chest plate to glide through the concrete floor. While the base speed was anything but slow, it wasn't enough. Deciding to use another one, I almost lost my grip upon doing so, but I was approaching my target a lot quicker. I did this tactic a few more times in case I suddenly stop right beside the pile of droids. I shot a beam at him to catch his attention once more. The beam hit the upper area of his back, creating a dent on the armor. Just as he turned around, I flew right past him. Breezing through the battlefield, it didn't take long before I got close to the ever-growing scrap pile. Right before I passed them, I tossed the box right next to them. I had to make this shot count.

Acting quickly, I turned around as I was still gliding, firing multiple shots at the box that landed right next to the pile. While some of them were far from hitting the box, one hit was enough to cause a massive explosion right next to the massive drone pile. Since Iron Man and War Machine were in the middle of it all, the drones took the blast, enabling them to slip away.

With that over with, I slammed my other hand onto the ground. I could feel my hand burning when it came into contact with the pavement, destroying in the process the further we went. While at the start, the pain wasn't too noticeable, with each passing second it got more intense. I tried holding my screams, hoping to power through it. When it finally stopped, I rolled off the chest plate, groaning loudly as I clutched my hand, the burning sensation becoming unbearable. Taking off my backpack, I took out the Codex and a piece of cloth I had stored in there, wrapping it around my hand to ease the pain. I checked the timer, which had a slight crack on the display, but still showed it had a minute left before I needed to reset.

Right now, I can only refresh one spell, I highly doubt I can use my injured hand for anything, so I opted to use for Whirlwind to dodge his attacks.

"He upgraded his armor, but what kind of upgrades did he make?" I tried theorizing as I surveyed his suit from a distance. Aside from the suit being bulkier in general, the most notable features were located along the arms that had blue energy lines all over the whip holder. So that's it. He decided to switch mobility for extra protection. Those compartments around his arms were used to give his whips an extra kick. I know his armor is impenetrable when it comes to bullets, but energy blasts is another things

Guess that's the plan, get rid of those add-ons and we'll be good.

Turning my focus back to the two armored heroes, they were just about done with the last of the droids that were on them. Now, they went to take on Whiplash. They stood their ground, with a small spark appearing on Vanko's chest plate, which wasn't hard to know it was Hammer's Ex-Wife missile. Seeing as that didn't work, Iron Man and War Machine flew at the iron menace, both letting out everything they had in their arsenal. Whiplash was quick to act, charging up his whips almost instantaneously to the purple color from before, and then launching his counter-attack. From this distance, it was hard to see if the bullets had any effect, but it seemed like they were just bouncing off. When they used their Repulsor blasts, however, it managed to damage the surface slightly. He was slower than in the movie but wasn't nothing to laugh at. Each attack that they didn't manage to dodge cost them their armor, which was taking a massive beating. Little by little, their armor was chipping away.

While their attacks did the minimum, their coordination was the problem. Not to disrespect them, but using the same strategy as you did with the droids won't work here. As they were off the ground, Whiplash caught War Machine by the leg, throwing him back down and tossing him around, his armor malfunctioning in the process. Iron Man swiftly intervened, flying around the villain and fired back. Whiplash discarded War Machine, who had difficulty with his suit for a few moments. Being more experienced, Iron Man dodged the whips the best that he could, but he as well got caught, the whip circling his body and restrained his left arm. It wasn't long before he as well fell to the ground.

When War Machine's suit was functional again, he tried to stop Whiplash. His attempt was short-lived as the second whip wrapped around his neck. Both of them restrained and unable to escape. They tried doing the same finishing move just like in the movie, but they didn't fire. Actually, it was like they couldn't. Could it be that the purple electricity is draining their power the longer they stay like this? Possibly.

"Gotta stop him," I said under my breath as I took the chest plate, finding it a bit heavy to carry. "Now or never."

With that, I charged forward. The longer I ran, the more difficult it was to maintain this pace. When I wasn't too far away, I started firing to catch his attention. The two shots that hit his right shoulder made him look towards me. He appeared to be undeterred on letting them go, so I just fired more and more. Come on, just let one of them go.

It seemed I managed to make him angry, he let go off of War Machine and threw his whip at me. The makeshift shield did its job, for the most part at least. It chipped off a piece of the edge, but the impact threw me back a little. Before I regained my balance, I saw it coming again, this time from the side. I managed to block it, but it tore the whole thing in half and threw me off to the side. While I was on the ground, I proceeded to fire a few more, this time managing to hit him in the head, which in turn released Iron Man from his grip. Another whip was heading my way, I barely dodged it with a Whirlwind that sent me back.

To my surprise, Whiplash jumped, using his thrusters to propel him closer towards me, while at the same time hurling his whips at me. I was stunned for a brief moment before my instincts kicked in and used another blast cone to move me back. Each time I did, I managed to slip away. I repeated this until I got slightly dizzy. Sadly, Whiplash didn't let up. The electric whip was coming towards me, but just as I was about to dash away, a flash of red and gold appeared in front of me, grabbing me and moving to a safer distance.

The moment he let go of me, he started shouting.

"Jesus, kid! I had like three heart-attacks since this morning

"W-Wait! Listen!" I said. "If you would just listen to me for a moment-"

"No!" Tony yelled back. "You listen to me! We got this covered, meaning you should go before you piss him off even further!"

"But-"

"Now!"

"I know how to stop him!" I said getting straight to the point.

"I swear to God, kid, if you utter one more sentence that's not "I'm leaving", you will not like me the moment I come out of this suit-"

"Both of you lost power when you got caught right?" I ignored him. "It's different when you fought him on the racecar track, that's why his whips are purple now, it drains whatever thing is caught in them. The things around his arms give him extra power. By destroying them first, you can get a fighting chance against him. Trust me."

Tony didn't say anything back. Instead, he looked back at the battle scene, Rhodey keeping Vanko occupied as long as he could.

"Hey, J., can you scan those whips of his?"

"[Of course, sir.]" The A.I. said out loud, allowing me to hear his voice. "[The majority of the suit's power is running through the generators that are located under his arms. It would seem that the young man's statement is indeed correct. Upon contact, the electric whips transfer energy sources from the target to the main Reactor core. Under normal circumstances, any other machinery would be out of commission. The Arc Reactor managed to withstand such an attack, but I'd advise not doing it again for long periods of time.]"

Tony sighed, turning back towards me. "Alright, kid, humor me. You got a plan?"

Mentally, I screamed in excitement that he would hear me out, but I tried staying calm nonetheless.

"It's simple. First off, you and Mr. Rhodes have to hold him off for a bit. Not long, just enough so I can get close and blast those things to bits."

"You do realize that this isn't a game, right?" Tony said. "If those things hit just once, you're toast, you got that?"

I rolled my eyes, at his attempt to change my mind. "I'm still here aren't I? The sooner we do this, the sooner it's over. Alright?"

Tony didn't like it. He couldn't let the kid walk into his death like this, but he didn't have time to get him out of here. They needed to act now, or they will all end up dead. If the kid knew what he was doing, then he had to keep Vanko at bay.

"If this doesn't work, you turn around and run," Tony warned. "I'm not taking a "no" as an answer, am I clear?"

I simply nodded, gesturing him to take the lead.

Without wasting time, Tony shot off, heading towards Vanko. "Rhodey, did you get all that?"

"[Tony, can you tell me why in the hell is a kid here with us?!]" Rhodey yelled through their comms.

"Look, I don't know, okay!" Tony responded. "But he does have a point. We have to tank a hit or two to fry him."

Rhodey wanted to argue back, he really did. His hands were already full with going one on one with the crazy Russian. They won't last much longer, so they have to end this quickly. "[You sure this will work?]"

"It has to, so hope for the best!"

Not the answer he desired but knew it was the best he will get.

As the next whip was heading his way, instead of dodging it, he grabbed it. Immediately, he went downward, landing on the ground. The suit was going haywire again, still, he had to hold on. Tony went around him, firing two beams to his other hand. Instantly, the second whip was heading towards him. Firstly, he lowered himself to be closer to the ground before catching it. He could feel his Arc-Reactor losing power, fast.

"And now…it's my turn."

I ran towards them, firing as many beams as I could. Getting closer, my accuracy got better. He couldn't move his arms away, there wasn't any way to shield the holders. When I was just a few feet away, I got a few extra good shots, resulting in the holder to exploding, same with the mounted machine gun on the other side. The purple electricity on his right arm started decreasing, quite drastically. Because of this, Iron Man was able to break free, his power returning almost instantly. Even though his whip had no energy in them, he still tried striking me with it. Just like before, using Whirlwind allowed me to dodge all of his attempts, a few of them were close calls. Moving directly to the second one, I aimed for it but from a longer distance. Not restrained anymore, he pulled War Machine to him every time a beam would hit the compartment. Luckily, Iron Man repositioned so that he was right behind him. With our collective attacks, with War Machine shooting when the suit wasn't malfunctioning, it wasn't long until the second one blew up.

Whiplash took several steps back, looking at his damaged weapons.

Both of his whips were useless now.

Rhodey went and grabbed the two lifeless whips, grabbing both of them before he tried escaping. Focusing all of the power into his thrusters, then flying away, pulling them back. Vanko had a difficult time maintaining his balance. He activated the claws on his feet to spring to life, holding him down for the time being.

"Tony, now!"

On Rhodey's signal, Tony went in for the finishing blow. Charging his own Arc Reactor to their limit, he aimed for the Arc Reactor on Vanko's chest, firing a bright beam at the Russian. Slowly but surely, the armor started disintegrating. It wasn't until the thick interior of the armor was gone that he stopped, revealing wires and an exoskeleton housing Ivan Vanko. The suit opened, falling apart in the process, releasing Vanko and dropping onto his knees. There was blood on his mouth, more coming out with each cough. He looked up to the two, a face full of anger and hatred. Vanko tried standing up, but his body wouldn't let him, he was at his limit. With the last of his strength, he looked at gold and red suit, spitting blood in front of his feet and spoke in a low, bitter tone.

"Иди к черту, Stark."

Those were the last words before Vanko fell to the ground, losing consciousness after a few brief moments as his face hit the concrete.

The two friends approached the fallen Russian. After a few seconds, Tony turned towards his friend, Rhodey already having a good idea of what he was going to say.

"Don't you-" Rhodey warned him.

"Told you Hammer was up to something shady."

"There it is…"

Before the two could continue their bout, they could hear police sirens. As both of them turned around, they were greeted with numerous police cars, alongside several S.W.A.T. trucks. In a matter of seconds, the place was filled with police officers and other special forces. One car, in particular, a black Sedan stopped right in front of them.

"Yeah, I just arrived. No, he's on the ground, out cold. I'll call you if something happens."

An Asian policewoman with chin-length black hair, wearing a black leather jacket with dark blue jeans exited the car, closing the door with a slam. From her appearance, she was in her mid-thirties.

"Everyone! I want this whole area closed off," The police captain shouted. "No reporters, no nothing. Nobody is getting pass us unless they have a badge. I want Vanko chained, were not letting him slip away again. Furthermore-"

"Excuse me!" Tony called out to the Asian police officer before she passed him, catching her attention. "What took you so long? Please tell me you caught that prick, Hammer, before he got away. Please? Give me some good news for once..."

"We already apprehended that weasel, Hammer," The woman responded. "We're in the process of busting down the doors of his factory, along with several other places to stop the production of those drones, if there are any left that is. Same goes for everyone who had dealings with him under-the-table, and believe me, there are plenty of them."

"Yes!" Tony cheered, finally able to properly relax in days. "Finally. Why did this have to more complicated than it already was? All you had to do is listen to me."

"I did, didn't like the position I ended up in because of just that," Rhodey shot back, then turning to the officer. "Sorry, I didn't catch your name…?"

"Yuri Watanabe," Was her response. "Captain of the New York Police Department. Rest assured, Colonel, we'll take care of the mess. I'd save it for tomorrow's horror show with the Army, trust me, that's the least of your problems."

Rhodey couldn't argue, no need to overwork himself. "Fair enough."

"Alright, everyone, we don't have all night!"

Yuri called out to her unit, her cellphone starting to ring. She said her goodbyes to the Colonel and went right passed him, going to the wreckage of oversized suit. Tony came back beside him, patting his back.

"All's well that ends well it would seem," Tony said as he approached Rhodey, lifting his faceplate.

"I think you and I have different understandings of that sentence," He replied, lifting his own faceplate. He looked around, "Where'd that kid go?"

Tony looked around, not spotting that pesky child anywhere. Sure, now he vanishes when everything over. "Huh, no clue."

----------------------------------------

"Phew, that was rough. Didn't expect Vanko to be would be this much of a pain. Luckily, I got a reward for my hard work."

As I trailed through the streets of New York, I held the Arc Reactor in my hand and examined it. An actual power source that has an, almost, endless supply of energy. Real-life savior, it was a little stupid going in without any "secure" way to destroy the droids. None of my powers were strong enough to take a droid out in one go. But this also kind of proves my previous theory, absorbing enough energy will enable me to use it in tons of different ways. With this thing alone, I can power almost any kind of machine for the foreseeable future. Glad I snatched this when I did, I'm sure S.H.I.E.L.D. is already doing clean up before someone else starts snooping around there.

Currently, I was getting closer to my desired destination, the Sanctum Santorum of New York. I'm not going one more day without starting to learn magic, it's the quickest and most optimal route to surviving this place. The sooner I start the better I'll be when the Chitauri invasion begins, or something equally worse before then.

Just like that, and after another hour of walking, I arrived at the front doors of the mystical building. I didn't need to spend any time standing outside, I knew exactly what to do and what things I have to ask her. With that, I knocked twice on the door and waited for someone to answer.

After a short while, the doors opened, revealing a slightly younger Karl Mordo.

"Speak, child," Mordo spoke. "What brings you here this late in the night?"

"Good evening, I'm sorry for just popping up so late at night, but this is a type of matter I think has to be addressed sooner rather than later. Mind if I come in?"

"Don't play games, boy," Mordo said in a threatening tone. "State your name and business, now."

"Introductions are necessary I guess, my name is Ethen Chester. Again, I apologize for knocking at this hour, and your name is?" I asked the sorcerer, only to get no reply. With no intention to get a response, I continued. "As I was saying, I request to speak to the Ancient One. To be more specific, I need some assistance with a dilemma I'm currently facing, that's it. There's only one person who can give me that kind of help. If you are still unsure, I'm not armed or anything like that. Feel free to search me if you'd like."

With all that said, I took off my backpack and set on the ground, entered a T pose and waited for the search to be over. Mordo was weary, his expression not changing in the slightest. Once he was up in my personal space, he started his thorough search. Mordo made sure he checked every possible angle before moving on to my backpack. He took out the timer first, then the Arc Reactor. He only raised an eyebrow when he held the device, I just shrugged. Finally, he took out the Codex. That caught his intention. His gaze was fully fixated on the book, before placing it back inside and looking back at me. After a few more seconds, Mordo gave the go-ahead, motioning with his hand for me to enter. The inside was just like it was in the Doctor Strange movie, but real. You could practically smell the magic in the air.

"Yup, this place sure is impressive."

At the sound of doors closing, my focus shifted from the Sanctum and onto Mordo. While I was just possibly a few minutes away from talking to the Ancient One, I tried holding in my excitement. Let's see if my poker face is convincing enough.

"I will ask again, what is it that you seek?" Mordo asked.

"Well, I won't complicate things so I only need two simple things. For starters, I was wondering if I could be taught the ways of the Mystic Arts if that isn't too much to ask."

"So you already know this domain's capabilities," Mordo said lowly. "If you do know such secrets, I'd advise that you don't try anything foolish, it won't end well for you if you do."

"Please, I can promise you I bare no ill intentions." I held my hand up to stop Mordo from finishing his sentence. "All that I require is some help so that I can continue my journey onward with a way to defend myself. Heck, you can permit from learning magic altogether, I just need someone with expertise to examine an item. An item I presume you people are familiar with."

Mordo returned to his normal stance but was still not convinced. "As for your other request?"

I smiled for a moment before answering. "That's something I need to ask the Ancient One in person."

"You are speaking to the Ancient One, child," Mordo spat out. "If I were in your position, showing respect would be the first thing I would consider."

"Yeah, I would disagree on that."

"Are you insisting that I lie?"

"There are some things that are lacking to make me believe you in your statement, but with one particular item missing, I can easily come to the conclusion you are not the Sorcerer Supreme," I said with a grin. "Would I be correct to assume that?"

"You most certainly are."

A new voice entered the room. I turned around to find the Ancient One herself walking down the steps, a neutral smile plastered on her face. Eventually, she came, then turned to Mordo."Thank you for attending to our guest while I was preoccupied, but no threat, I can handle the rest. You may leave."

"Are you sure that is wise, Master?" Mordo asked. "I still think-"

"No need, Master Mordo." The Ancient One held her hand up. "I will make sure to find out everything

Mordo just bowed slightly and made his leave.

"I apologize for his aggressive behavior. He tends to do that when any newcomer arrives at the Sanctum."

"No need to apologize, you do have to look it at from his perspective though. I'd too would be suspicious if someone shows up in three in the morning with knowledge of this place. So in reality, I'm in the wrong here."

"Let's just both agree to disagree, does that sound fair?" Ancient One asked with a smile, to which I shook up my head. "Shall we step into a place with a little more privacy to continue this discussion?"

Before I could give her an answer, the whole area around me changed in a blink of an eye, was a little disoriented from the sudden change.

"Please, sit." The Ancient One spoke with her back turned, doing some entirely different far down in the room. "I will be with you in just a moment."

Doing so as she instructed, I sat in one of the two red oversized armchairs with a small table in the middle of them. Moments later, the Ancient One came back to sit in the other chair, placing a tray with two cups and a pot.

"Would you like some tea? If so, do you have a preference?"

"Umm...yes, please, and honey if it isn't a problem."

Pouring in water in my cup first, the Ancient One then did multiple hand-gestures above the cup, the water now transforming honey tea for myself, then doing the same action for herself with additional hand gestures.

"Before we start, I'd assume introductions are in order?"

"That all depends honestly," I said with a pause, deciding if I should do this or not. "I think you already know who I am. More specifically, where I come from."

"You are right to assume that." She said while taking a sip of her tea. "Which begs the question, do know what happened that led to the result in you getting stuck in this dimension?"

"To be honest it happened so fast, it felt way longer but in reality, it only lasted about, thirty seconds or so." I began recalling that experience. "One moment, I was just minding my own business, nothing out of the ordinary. It was when I got hit by that truck that I started feeling disconnected from my reality. Then, moments later I find myself in space and-"

"Excuse me." The Ancient One interrupted. "Did you just bring up the fact that you've been hit by a truck, and because of that, it transported you to another dimension?"

"Believe me, as unrealistic and flimsy as that story sounds, I remember everything that happened. Besides, I am talking to a being who can tamper with the foundation of reality at any given moment in the day. So in a way, I suppose you don't think that some kind of ripple, in reality, occurred at that point in time, right?"

"Well, it has been known to happen from time to time." The Ancient One said while taking a sip of her tea. "Usually, the cause of that would be if someone is breaking the laws of that dimension that results in a collapse or something minor. In this case, it seems you we're the only one effect by it. If I were you, I'd be thankful that your body remained unharmed by that predicament, as dimensional travel can be very dangerous if proper training is absent to the user. Which begs the question, how did you know of the Sanctum Santorum's existence?"

"In my world, a lot of things are similar to yours, for the most part. You see, the difference between my world and yours, magic, amongst other things, isn't like it is here. There, not all things are the same as this place. So, I just took a wild guess.

I stopped for a moment to drink the tea. Right after taking the first sip, I took another one, bigger than the first. "I must say, this tea is excellent."

"As I was saying, given that I was found in a new dimension, I hoped that this world would little differences compared to my own. Sadly, that wasn't the case, so I had to think of something else. Realizing where I ended up, I wanted to see if I place like this exists. I would assume that this kind of supernatural phenomenon will be familiar to you. Because in all honesty, all that I need to know right off the bat, is there a way back home?"

The Ancient One was silent and stayed like that for quite a while. Before the finally spoke.

"No, there isn't."

Well shit.

"Oh, and why is that?"

Before she continued, the Ancient One waved her hands till yellow sparks formed, creating thousands of little yellow and see-through spheres, all except one that was pitch black.

"Every single living being has an origin trait that distinguishes them from other beings from other dimensions. In our dimension, for example," The Ancient One took one of the small orb in-between her fingers. "Has its source that it's unique to them and them alone, their own dimensional essence if you will. If one would travel from their home dimension to a different one, they would have the trait that enables them to return. To simplify, it acts as a GPS to navigate through the multiverse. In your case, however," She took the blank orb in her other hand. "There appears to be no such trait. I haven't ever encountered someone that doesn't possess it. Without it, returning to your dimension is near impossible."

"Guess we can cross that option off the table," I said while rubbing my eyes. I stood up from the armchair and approached her. "At least you can tell me what this is."

I grabbed my backpack and took out the Codex, handing it to the Ancient One. She studied the emerald gem on the front, then opening it. After a few minutes of looking through it, she closed it and turned to me. "This is quite an artifact you have here, I must say. Where did you acquire it?"

"I found it not a minute after I ended up here, lying beneath some garbage."

"Anything else?"

"Well, at first, the rubies weren't green, they were red. It glowed brightly a couple of times as well." I explained. "I couldn't see anything that was on the pages when I first opened it. Then I touched the ruby in the center, I cut open my finger and sucked in some of the blood and ejected the pages with it, only then did the turn the color what they are now. Mind explaining what happened there?"

"It would seem that in order to reveal its secrets, it requires a form of identification. In most cases, blood or spiritual energies are used for these kinds of items. Aside from the user, without proper knowledge of the aspects of magic, only a few have access to it. From what I can tell, with these crystals, it would seem you have the ability to obtain various energy sources and materials. While the basic properties can be used to mimic its original usage, it can be shaped into other forms as well."

"Huh, that's good to know," I said, thinking of all the possible limits this kind of power can be used for. "I think we covered everything that needed to be addressed, so with that, can I have an answer to when, and if, I'm permitted to learn magic?"

The Ancient One adverted her gaze from the book and looked at me. "You seem keen on learning magic, mind if I ask, why is that?"

I didn't respond right away. I wanted to give an honest answer. "In all honesty, in a world where all these things are possible, I'm way out of my league. If I don't start somewhere, I won't make it far. You already said that there was a slim chance of finding a way back home. If I'm going to be stuck here, I need to adapt. Aside from that, I find magic to be quite versatile. If I'm bad in a particular field, I might excel at something else. You have my full commitment to learning whatever you wish to teach me. I have no wicked intentions to cause any harm. There are only two things I wish to do. Firstly, my own survival. From this point on, I'm all on my own. At least I want to have a fighting chance whatever comes my way. Secondly, no matter where I end up, I'm bound to wind up in the middle of most conflicts, all the more reason to be prepared for anything."

The Ancient One stayed quiet for a few moments with a neutral face, before speaking up. "Very well then."

I blinked a couple of times, not quite sure what her reply meant. "That meaning that I'm eligible to learn the Mystic Arts or…?"

The Ancient One formed a brief smile. "Eligible? I'd say there is potential in achieving the goal you set out for yourself. It's just a matter of how much effort one is willing to put in to obtain such power. But I feel I must warn you, the deeper you intertwine yourself with this universe, more and more challenges will present themselves. Take my word when I say, none of them get easier. I just feel you should be informed on what kind of risks will arise when proceeding forward."

"Well," I couldn't help but form a smile of my own. "I can promise you I will give everything I got."

"Good to hear." The Ancient One said. "In order to start, there is some basic ground I recommend we cover. Seeing as you are a different case compared to other newcomers, a different approach would

I simply nodded and let her lead the way. Just as we began walking, something popped up in my head.

"Oh, just a small favor if you don't mind me asking before we start?"

"That being?"

"Would it be a problem if I use your bathroom? I've… kind of been living in a warehouse for the last few days… I'd very much like to take a shower."