Space was the first to be born.
From a single speck of dust it expanded, unfurling into an infinite world.
Then the power of the Reality Stone gave shape to matter. Dust and earth condensed into form. Countless stars drifted through the vast reaches of this new world.
After that, Time began to flow. All things set out upon the eternal motion of change.
Next, the Power Stone blazed with light. Gravity, magnetism, the strong and weak nuclear forces—the most fundamental laws of the universe—laid its foundation.
Finally, came Mind and Soul. They breathed true life into this dimension.
And so, a tiny dimension took shape within Bant's hands.
The Ancient One stood beside him atop a nebula of colored cloud-light. Together they watched as this dimension underwent billions of years of transformation in the span of a heartbeat, from a faint singular point to this embryonic world.
Each of them drew their own profound insight from the sight.
A long while later, the two returned to the present.
Bant turned his right arm, revealing the gauntlet strapped to his upper arm, gems set into its surface.
This gauntlet came from Odin's Vault. The only difference from Thanos's was that it was worn on the right hand. Though left or right hardly mattered in the end.
What mattered was the stones.
Now, two of the six had already gone dim, their brilliance faded, reduced to nothing more than translucent jewels. Reality and Soul.
Originally, Bant had planned to use up all the fake gems in one go.
But the Ancient One, ever cautious, had suggested otherwise. Since they had real ones, they might as well use the real ones. The fakes could be held in reserve—who knew when they might come in handy? She then cast a spell to seal the energy of the remaining Space, Time, and Mind stones, ensuring they would not dissipate anytime soon.
Thus, as things stood now, three of the gems created by X-Superman had lost their luster, while the other three remained intact.
Bant pried the Time Stone free from the gauntlet.
Unlike the other stones, the Time Stone hovered just above his fingertip, untouchable, as if refusing contact.
"Returning this to you, Ancient One."
Bant now harbored considerable goodwill toward her, after all the help she had given him.
But the Ancient One did not accept it. She shook her head with a faint smile and instead took the fake Time Stone.
The gesture left Bant puzzled.
"What are you doing?"
"Preparing for the unexpected," the Ancient One said. "From time immemorial, the Sorcerer Supreme has been the guardian of the Time Stone. I doubt anyone would believe I'd ever hand the real stone over to another."
Bant understood at once.
She was guarding against contingencies. If someone truly set their sights on the Time Stone, then even if the Ancient One fell, what they would take would be nothing but a counterfeit. And with the fake in her hands, it was essentially no different from the real thing—because no dimensional demon lord was foolish enough to court death by picking a fight with her.
But that did raise a problem. Once the Ancient One passed and Stephen Strange inherited the Eye of Agamotto, wouldn't that leave him unable to bargain with Dormammu? A fake Time Stone could only be used once, after all.
Looks like I'll have to step in when the time comes, Bant mused.
This was probably the meaning of "one hand washing the other." The Ancient One had already placed the Time Stone in his palm. It would be far too shameless to turn a blind eye to the matter.
Ah, forget it. It's just Dormammu. When the moment arrives, I'll transform into Ghostfreak and drain the Dark Dimension's energy dry. Then we'll see who the true lord of the Dark Dimension really is!
Ghostfreak's powers were amplified in dark environments. And the darkness of the Dark Dimension was more than mere physical darkness. Bant could scarcely imagine to what heights Ghostfreak might ascend there.
Dormammu, was it?
Bring it on. You're not getting any sweet juice out of me!
Seeing Bant accept the stone, the Ancient One let out a quiet breath of relief.
She had learned this little trick from that old fox Odin. Never bring up your own troubles. Just shove the treasure into their hands and let them figure things out from there.
Besides, by the time that day came, Earth's sorcerers would have already switched their cultivation to Celestial Energy. Every single one of them would be Bant's follower. He would have no reason not to shelter them.
"In that case," the Ancient One said with a smile, "let us begin awakening the Celestial Energy within you."
Though it was called "awakening Celestial Energy," in essence it was still approached through the study of magic.
And so, the sorcerer with the worst natural talent in Kamar-Taj's entire history appeared...
"The Sorcerer Supreme claims he is the one who can change all sorcerers, and yet..."
Up in the attic, Baron Mordo watched Bant fumbling with a sling ring, gesturing repeatedly but producing nothing at all. His brow furrowed tight.
From the moment Bant Parker first set foot in Kamar-Taj, the Ancient One had praised him to heights loftier than the Himalayas. She had even promised to surrender the position of Sorcerer Supreme outright, if only Bant were willing.
This had never sat well with Baron Mordo.
On what grounds?!
He was the Ancient One's eldest disciple. The most powerful, most gifted sorcerer among them. In terms of both strength and natural aptitude, the title of Sorcerer Supreme was his by right.
Bant Parker—a nobody who had appeared from gods-knew-where—what could he possibly use to compete?
What infuriated Mordo even further, however, was that Bant had refused the Ancient One's offer without the slightest hesitation. As though the title of Sorcerer Supreme meant nothing to him at all.
It was unbearable.
What does that man take the Sorcerer Supreme for?!
Despite his simmering anger, Mordo had refrained from rashly doing anything to displease the Ancient One, seeing as Bant showed no real interest in the position.
But now, just over half a year later, this fellow had returned to Kamar-Taj and begun training in the mystic arts. Except...
In Mordo's eyes, the talent Bant displayed was nothing like what the Ancient One had described. It was a difference of heaven and earth.
Honestly, Mordo had never seen anyone with such abysmal magical aptitude. So poor, in fact, that he began to doubt whether Bant possessed any mage talent at all.
And to think I once worried that this sort of person might threaten my position. Hmph.
Mordo shook his head. Then his gaze darkened.
He stared across the distance toward the Ancient One's chambers, dark shadows slowly coiling around his body.
"There is no such thing in this world as a six-hundred-year crown prince!"
Mordo clenched his fists tight.
He had long sensed that something was deeply amiss with the Ancient One. This Sorcerer Supreme had held the mantle for far too long.
"You, Ancient One... you secretly draw upon the power of the Dark Dimension. I can do the very same. One day, I will seize the title of Sorcerer Supreme with my own two hands!"
Mordo turned and departed.
Down in the courtyard of Kamar-Taj, Bant was still attempting to practice magic.
If all he wanted was to cast spells, he could have done so the very moment he picked up the sling ring. But that would not be achieved through Celestial Energy—it would be magic power drawn from other-dimensional demons.
After all, the instant the Omnitrix had been activated, Bant's body had already become the most optimally healthy physical vessel among all humans on Earth. Under such conditions, any number of distinct magical forces would regard his body as the finest available conduit for spellcasting.
In the Ancient One's view, it was not merely a matter of spells. If Bant were willing, Chaos Magic and the Phoenix Force would both eagerly hurl themselves into him. But that would be mistaking the branch for the root.
What Bant needed, then, was to suppress the magic from other dimensions, and truly, purely by his own effort, bring forth Celestial Energy. And moving from nothing to something, from zero to one—that was precisely the hardest step of all.
It was foreseeable that Bant might remain in Kamar-Taj for quite some time. Fortunately, he was in no hurry. He could practice his magic here in his spare hours, and at night simply have the Ancient One open a portal to send him home.
New York.
Pleiades was no longer what it had once been.
The Pleiades Building, once desolate and forbidding, its entrance guarded by steel automatons standing like door-gods that kept onlookers at a wary distance, had been transformed. The iron soldiers were removed. In their place stood a blond, blue-eyed male-model security guard. Employees streamed in and out of Pleiades in ever-growing numbers, and the company had gradually taken on the familiar appearance of a major, bustling corporation.
Today, many interviews were underway at Pleiades.
Mary Jane, dressed in business attire, still a high school student yet already bearing the poise of a young professional woman, was interning at Pleiades in HR. Her mentor was Natasha.
Bant had specifically brought this capable instructor over from H.A.M.M.E.R. to train Mary Jane.
"Today's candidates include Stephen Strange, Helen Cho..." Natasha said, running through the résumés. "All of them are exceptionally outstanding talents."
Mary Jane nodded seriously.
The first, Stephen Strange, was a neurosurgeon with an M.D., and from his file, he ranked among the very top in his field. The second, Helen Cho, was an even heavier hitter. She had already made remarkable contributions to medicine, specialized in nano-medical technology, and had proposed the theoretical framework for the Regeneration Cradle.
Mary Jane was awed.
"Pleiades never recruited externally before. Now that we've opened up, we've drawn in quite a few top-tier people."
"That's no surprise," Natasha said with a smile. "Everyone knows by now that Pleiades's position in the tech world rivals Stark Industries—and over the past stretch, Pleiades has actually performed even better."
"Working at Pleiades means you're at the cutting edge of the world. The best research environment, across a wide range of fields, not just heavy industry. Not to mention... your boyfriend pays such outrageously high salaries."
Take Stephen Strange, for example. He had simply set his sights on Pleiades's generous pay. His own hospital had been forced to close due to the reconstruction of New York, so he resigned outright and applied here. After all, Pleiades did genuinely need its own medical team. Besides him and Helen Cho, plenty of other researchers—people who in the original story were hardly famous—had also cleared the hiring bar.
Just as Mary Jane was about to go with Natasha to interview Strange and Helen Cho, an uninvited guest appeared.
Aldrich Killian.
The villain from Iron Man 3—the man behind the Extremis virus.
/-\
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