Standing in the corridor of the starship, gazing out at the magnificent, endless sea of stars, Mordo clasped his hands tightly behind his back. He tried his best to maintain a facade of calm and composure… but the barely suppressed tremor in his frame gave him away completely.
"I honestly thought you'd be much calmer than this."
Arthur leaned against the wall next to him. "After all, as a sorcerer, you must have seen your fair share of bizarre things."
"You are not wrong," Mordo admitted with a helpless sigh. "But I have never truly left Earth before. And more importantly, the Supreme Sorcerer never once told me where we were going or what our purpose was! I genuinely thought you just had some minor planetary issue that required a quick mystical assist. Alright… I fully concede that I drastically underestimated things."
"Well, this may sound self-absorbed, but anything that ends up involving me is usually never a minor matter." Arthur chuckled at his own expense. "And yet, you're all the same, aren't you? You never expect the scale until you're in it."
Mordo took a long, steadying breath and turned to face him. "In any case, could you please give me a proper explanation? I waited outside Kamar-Taj for barely a moment, and the next thing I know, I'm inside a starship. I have no issue with helping you, and I will honor the Supreme Sorcerer's request. But you must, at the very least, tell me how I am expected to assist."
"How much experience do you have with matters of the soul?"
"The soul?" Mordo hesitated before answering. "I've read ancient records and books on the subject. I've done a certain degree of theoretical research… but I cannot claim to have truly mastered it."
"Trust me, among the people I have available, you are the master."
"That's only because your people have absolutely no foundational knowledge in that area, isn't it? Soul-related knowledge isn't something outsiders can simply gain access to…" Mordo noted wryly. "So this time, we're dealing with an enemy who utilizes methods related to the soul? And this enemy is off-world?"
"That place is even farther than you are currently imagining."
Arthur gave him a small smile. "And before we get there, we need to stop somewhere else, to pick up another person… maybe even two."
"Who?"
"You'll know soon enough. You don't know them yet, but you will."
"…This is absolutely the strangest, most inexplicable quest I've undertaken since pledging myself to Kamar-Taj."
Mordo threw his hands up in defeat.
He felt entirely bamboozled.
But what Mordo didn't know was that Arthur actually harbored serious reservations about him.
Logically, as the Supreme Sorcerer's disciple, Arthur should have been completely honest, at least taken him to Camp Lehigh and shown him their base of operations.
But Arthur hadn't.
Mordo didn't even know Camp Lehigh existed.
This was simply because Arthur maintained a lingering sense of caution toward him.
It would sound cruel if spoken aloud, but what choice did Arthur have? In the greater Marvel universe, this Mordo… was a villain.
A major supervillain, eventually.
In the movies, he became disillusioned and radicalized because the Ancient One used forbidden power. But in the comics, and most other Marvel continuities, this man was a completely, unapologetically malevolent figure.
Faced with someone like that, Arthur felt he had to be careful. Even if Mordo was the Ancient One's top disciple, so what? Experience had proven that the Ancient One's track record with apprentices… wasn't exactly stellar.
If not for the fact that the ideal candidate in Arthur's heart (Doctor Strange) hadn't yet grown into his full power, and given the Ancient One's personal recommendation, Arthur would never have chosen Mordo.
After all, if this man truly did fall to the dark side one day, he would become an extraordinarily dangerous enemy.
"What a headache…"
Arthur sighed internally. Because of this concern, he had Mordo wait at Kamar-Taj while Camp Lehigh prepared the starship. Then, via a single, precise teleportation array, the two of them appeared directly inside the craft, which had already climbed to a sufficient altitude. By the time they arrived, the ship had pierced the atmosphere and entered the deep vacuum of outer space.
The communicator beeped, pulling Arthur from his thoughts. He offered Mordo an apologetic smile before answering the call.
"We've reached the designated coordinates. Should we contact Asgard?"
The voice belonged to Banner.
Arthur replied, "Yes. Contact them now, request immediate deployment of the Bifrost."
"Understood." Banner confirmed without a single unnecessary word. In less than a minute, Mordo watched in stunned silence as a dazzling, seven-colored rainbow light stretched across the cosmos toward them. The instantaneous impact, the bizarre, unimaginable brilliance, his eyes were filled with scenes beyond anything he had ever read.
Mordo's pupils contracted as he immediately braced himself for battle.
But at that moment, Arthur calmly patted him on the shoulder. "We've arrived."
"Arrived? What was that thing just now?" Mordo asked, breathlessly.
"The Bifrost. Asgard's Bifrost. Surely you've heard of it."
Given the established relationship between the Ancient One and Odin, there was no way Mordo, her trusted man, would know nothing about the legendary Rainbow Bridge.
Mordo froze, then slowly exhaled. "The Supreme Sorcerer did mention you have a very good relationship with Asgard… but I never imagined it was so good that they would simply obey your request and deploy the Bifrost for your convenience."
"Can't help it. I'm technically a working official in Asgard. I suppose I have some degree of executive authority there."
Arthur smiled slightly. "Come on, let's go enjoy the exotic scenery."
"I understand now. Our destination is Asgard, isn't it? Has something irregular happened there as well? What sort of chaos could be so severe that those people who call themselves gods can't handle it and need your help?"
Arthur blinked, thought seriously for a moment, and said, "It probably has something to do with the succession of their throne."
Mordo visibly stiffened. "You are involved that deeply already? Even their royal succession is something you can interfere with?"
Arthur honestly didn't know how to explain that.
He couldn't exactly say: If I wanted to, I could take over the entire chaotic mess myself at any given moment.
Yep. Sometimes, it was definitely better to maintain a low profile.
After exchanging a few casual sentences, the starship flew out of the Bifrost Hall and landed directly onto the gleaming surface of the Bifrost bridge.
Arthur called everyone to disembark. As the hatch opened, they immediately saw a robust, towering man standing there with his arms spread wide.
"I've been waiting for you for a long time!"
Arthur stared at Thor, momentarily stunned, before asking in a low voice, "You… you didn't already beat him to death, did you?"
(End of Chapter)
You can read ahead up to 70 chapters on my patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GGS6395