章節 25: Chapter 6

Magus in Marvel

Chapter 6

By: Pineappl3

I got up from my bed and checked the time. "Looks like we will be on time after all, Nixie." I felt warm hands travel down my back and I felt them slowly make their way around my waist.

"Will you be wearing your Battle Robes? Or something more casual?" I felt Nixie's chilling breath on the back of my neck and I faintly twitched in anticipation. Before I knew it, Nixie was standing in front of me, with a bright smile, holding my Battle Robes.

I didn't want the fun to end, but I was able to reign in my emotions and settle myself. With a bit of force, I was off the bed and standing before Nixie, my arms spread wide. As she began to dress me, I wondered how my extended family would react to me arriving exactly on time.

With a pat on my back to indicate she was done, Nixie stepped away and began to dress. It was easy for her, as she just needed to take a form that was wearing some. 'I'm honestly kind of jealous that Athena and Nixie have no need for real clothes, but then again. . . I do enjoy being dressed.'

I began to flex my fingers and with a snap, a ripple in space opened for me to step through. As if peering through a window, on the other side I could see the front steps of the Michaelson Family Estate. 'Looks exactly like it did on Google Maps.'

I stepped through, and following behind was Nixie. She was dressed elegantly in a dark blue one-piece dress that ran to her knees. Adorning her feet were some impressive heels that made me glad I wouldn't have to suffer through them in my life.

The anachronistic mansion before me was magnificent, to say the least, and the property seemingly went on for miles. The building itself was styled in the fashion of a sixth-century castle and despite its clear antiquity, it looked as if it had been recently built.

I made my way up the steps and stopped not too far from the door. Nixie, taking this as her cue, moved to knock. Moments later an elderly gentleman of Hispanic origins opened the door. He looked both Nixie and me over briefly before speaking.

"Do you have an invitation, sir?"

Nodding to his question, I reached into my coat's pocket and felt around for the invitation. 'No, that's my mana bomb. Not that either. AH. Here it is, I wonder why it was floating next to my polymorph potion.'

Bringing my whole arm out of the inner pocket, and ignoring the bewildered face of the man at the door, I presented my invitation.

He hesitatingly reached for it and fixed his glasses before giving it a read. "Ah, Master Baldur. It is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance. I am Fredrick, the head butler of this estate. If you would, please follow me."

I simply shrugged in response and entered the premises. The interior contained ornate granite floors, pristine wooden walls, and populated most of the empty spaces were antiques ranging from the Viking Age to the Industrial Revolution.

"Quite the collection," I commented. "Although I think it's quite tasteless to display such mundane items."

Fredrick looked unfazed by my insult and continued to guide us through the halls. Not long after we were brought to an outdoor area that let me see truly how large this estate was.

Spreading out for miles were rolling grassy plains fenced in by a swath of trees. Off to the left of the door we exited, was a small gathering of nine in an expansive courtyard. I recognized my great uncle and my cousin, Donar.

They looked surprised I had made it, but quickly suppressed it. Frederick moved us closer to the group and began, "Sirs, Madams, I would like to introduce Young Master Baldur and his guest."

The group whispered amongst themselves for a moment before my great uncle stepped forward. "Baldur! So glad you made it on time. We almost started without you. Why don't you introduce us to your friend? Then you can get acquainted with the rest of your family."

Nixie looked toward me and I faintly nodded. She stepped forward and gave a curt bow. "You may call me Nixie. I am Master Baldur's assistant and friend."

Many brows were raised at her bow and choice of words, but everyone had managed to contain themselves for the most part.

"Well now," my great uncle gestured to four of the people standing behind him, "You already know my grandson, your cousin, Donar. This," —He pointed to the only woman of the group— "is my wife Jane."

Jane was well past her prime, she looked to be in her 60s with short peppered hair and wrinkled skin. I began to wonder if people mistook the couple as mother and son. My great uncle continued the introductions, introducing me to his two sons. The two men, Benjamin and Michael, 'Seriously though? Michael Michaelson?' were obviously twins and added to my discomfort. 'Bad enough having Great Uncle and Donar looking so similar, and now? What are they? Clones?'

"Eric." I turned to look at the new speaker. He was a stout man that towered over others in more ways than horizontally. He had flame-red hair, braided like a Viking, and bore many tattoos that I knew to be of the old Norse runic variety. I felt an overwhelming amount of mana radiating from him but quickly dismissed the idea of him possibly being a wielder of the Arcane.

The mana that oozed from his being was too unrefined and did not match him, leading me to believe the runes allowed him to borrow someone else's strength. "Why don't you introduce my great-grandson to me?"

"I was getting to it, Father." My great uncle, now revealed to be Eric, spat his last words as if it was venom. "Baldur, this is my father, Bor. Like you, he has opted to change his name to Mikaelson, effectively removing him from the seat of elders."

Bor, who seemed to be the most likable of this gathering, gave Eric a forceful slap on his back. "No need to talk of meaningless things, Boy. Mind yourself, I'm still the strongest."

Eric scowled briefly before returning to his normal demeanor. Bor, the jolly fellow he seemed to be, wrapped his arms around me and more so dragged me than guided me to his side of the courtyard.

"How I had a bastard like Eric, I'll never know. Your grandfather, Tyr was more agreeable. The lucky son of a bitch, sorry love" —He looked towards a stunning raven-haired enchantress— "Even managed to marry one of our gods, a Vanir."

He ignored the slap he received from the dark-haired woman and scratched his chin. "Too bad no one believed him since he only returned with your mother."

That had me pause in thought, Vanir? As in the Norse Gods? If that were true, I'd be a fourth Vanir. It would explain the subtle abnormalities in my DNA, but wouldn't I have some sort of superhuman abilities?'

I received a shock in the form of a slap to my back that pulled me from my thoughts. "Don't think too much about it, Boy. Now, this Witch, and I mean that literally, is my wife Grace." I took a glance at Grace and noticed a faint connection stemming from her that led into Bor. 'It seems I have found the source of his strength. What an interesting method. This Grace seems to be equal to a Master-leveled Magus.'

Bor moved from me and gave his wife a bear hug, to which she merely frowned. As he did so, my gaze drifted to the two forms behind them. Much like Benjamin and Michael, the pair seemed to be that of twins. Nearly identical save for hair color, one red and the other blonde, I could feel two distinct auras clash.

Bor looked up from his hug and motioned his head toward the duo, "Those are your aunts from Tyr's second lover, Astrid and Yrsa. They don't speak so don't waste your breath."

I raised my brow and narrowed my eyes at my two aunts, scrutinizing them. Their aura, to those who could sense it, would indicate that they were warriors, but with my discerning eye and enhanced ability to sense mana, I could tell they were similar to my great-grandmother.

I couldn't be certain what this world's Witches were like, and I tried my best to avoid my past mistakes like when I hastily judged the Sorcerers. Using a spell I had seemed to get much use out of recently, I sent a mental knock to the minds of my aunts.

Both shared a look of shock and faintly smiled. They opened the door and I found myself in an immaculate library, seated at a table. Before me, enjoying a mental glass of tea, was my great-grandmother Grace. To her left and right sat Astrid, the blonde, and Yrsa, the ginger.

"A welcome surprise, wouldn't you agree girls?" Grace took a sip of her tea before placing the glass down on its plate. She crossed her legs and for the first time gave me an inquisitive look.

"Oh yes Mother," Both chiming in at the same time. As if a reflection in a mirror, both of my aunts moved to mimic Grace.

"So?" Grace's eyes tried to gaze into my very being, but I simply deflected her prying eyes with a ward. "Are you a Sorcerer? Maybe one of those Mutants?"

I held back a scoff, "I am no Sorcerer, and I currently have no X-Genes. I am but a humble—" I stifled a laugh. "Sorry, I can't lie about that. I am a proud Archmagus. I'd wager I'm currently equal in strength to you, Grandmother."

She gave a faint smile and began to sip her tea once more. "We'll talk after your trial, Boy. I know you won't disappoint."

My two aunts gave me a smile and a wave, and I took that as my sign to leave their mental plane.

"Like I was saying, Boy," My great-grandfather made his way over to me, "Ignore those devils and come with me. We must get you geared up for the trial. It's been quite a while since one of mine took place. Your mother must have taught you well; I'm excited."

I was led away from the girls, who I could tell had just begun talking to Nixie, and brought to a weapon rack. My great-grandfather motioned toward the single sword on display and I moved to inspect it.

It was a beautiful blade made from darkened silver, and it was perfectly balanced, as it should be. The black leather strips that made up the grip seemed to perfectly form to my hand, and the etchings that traveled the side of the blade looked runic, similar to Bor's tattoos.

"She have a name?" I eyed my great-grandfather as he stared at me, scrutinizing the way I held the sword.

"Her name is Darkness. Tell me, Boy, have you ever used a blade? You're holding it all wrong."

"I won't lie. This is the first sword I've ever held. I mostly use magic."

He frowned, "A Warlock? Grace must have taught you secretly." He crossed his arms in thought. "Regardless, the blade is yours now. Use it well, or not at all. It's not up to me what you choose to do. Just win this competition. For your sake, and for your mother's."

I fetched Darkness's sheath from the rack and slowly covered the blade. Once put away, I placed it in my coat's pocket, much to Bor's surprise. "I'm an Archmagus, and you will do well to remember that Grandfather. This 'trial' and least importantly, Donar, are beneath me. If not for Mother's honor, I would not be here today."

I stood as tall as I could, and strode forward towards my great-grandfather. I struck out my hand. "I'm glad I came though." He pulled my outstretched hand and wrapped me in a hug.

"You scared me Boy, for a second I thought you hated me. Good you know you got some spine. You take care of your mother, Gods know I couldn't."

The mysteries that shrouded my mother continued to tempt me, and I couldn't help but to finally ask. "What exactly happened?"

Bor let go of me and I separated from his grasp. He had a pained look on his face and spoke softly, "Another time, Boy. This is not the time, nor place. Win first, we can talk later."

Before I could respond, an obnoxious voice entered my ears. "There you are, cousin. Not getting cold feet, are we? I'll be sure to let you off easy once I win." Suited in some sort of paramilitary-like gear, Donar approached.

To his side was a golden 6 cylinder revolver and strapped to his thigh was a long dagger. He seemed to carry no extra gear which seemed to indicate he wouldn't need much for this first trial.

I gave a brief glance his way before making a snide comment. "To quote the famous Fresh Prince, 'Have you always been this stuck up, or did it take, like, years of practice?'"

Donar's eyes widened in shock at my words, and he placed a hand on his chest to indicate he was offended. "Consider yourself lucky we won't be fighting against each other." He gave me a scowl, then proceeded to turn and leave. "Good luck, cousin; you'll need it."

A hand grasped my shoulder and I turned to look. My great-grandfather looked down at me, "Don't listen to him, Boy. Now, I suggest you make your way to the starting area. Down by the forest where the rest of our. . . large family is."

He gestured towards the expansive sea of green trees, where not too far away was a very large group of people. I gave him a nod and a subtle smile. 'Time to destroy that snot nosed brat.'

Opposed to walking the whole distance, I stepped forward. Using a teleportation spell rather than my usual method of opening a tear in space, I appeared in the midst of the mass of people and looked in the direction where I saw people standing on a stage.

Standing proud were four men. They looked no older than 30 years old physically, but their presence alone suggested otherwise. I assumed them to be the 'elders' my great-grandfather was said to once be a part of.

They wore posh suits that seemed reminiscent of the 19th century, with the topcoat being one of velvet red. It perfectly matched with the rest of their black and white garments. Each Elder wore three rings, one being the family insignia, and the other two being rings reminiscent of the daylight ring I had found in Mother's safe.

The people around me began to murmur incessantly before being silenced by someone standing off to the side. "Silence! The elders will now speak."

"Thank you Howard." The leftmost man on the stage stepped forward. When he spoke his voice boomed outward, allowing his voice to reach far and wide. "Thank you all for coming. It is not every day when we have most of the Michaelson family gathered, and I assure you, today is a very special day."

Another elder stepped forward and continued the speech, "It was this day, 950 years ago our founder Mikael took up arms against the villainous Dracula. He led his tribe of warriors through many battles and till this day we continue his hunt in the war against the Darkhold spawn known as Vampires"

The other two elders finally stepped forward, with the one on the right speaking first. "These trials were created to test the might of our newer generations and to ensure we did not stagnate. The trial, as always, is in two parts."

Finally, the last elder took his turn to speak, "First is the hunt. In these forests, we have released five Vampire Spawn. This year's challengers will have one day to track, hunt, and kill one of these five. Of course, there is no rule against hunting all five. Any that fail will be disqualified."

Once he was finished speaking, the elder who had spoken first took his turn once more, "The second part of the trial will depend on the victors and will be announced once the first trial has reached its conclusion. For those of you participating, good luck, and may the trial begin!"

He brought his arm up and just as quickly brought it down. Once he had, the crowd began to cheer and I observed as a large handful jumped out of the crowd and started making their way to the forest.

I spotted Donar, he was among those racing to the forest, and I couldn't help but slump my shoulders. 'I have never witnessed an event as disorganized as this.'

Opting to finish this first part of the trial quickly, I used one of the simplest divination spells, Detect Evil and Good. I was one of the very first spells anyone would learn if they became an Adventuring Magus.

The spell itself allowed you to detect special energies that only certain creatures exuded: aberrations, celestials, elementals, fey, fiends, or undead. It did not take long for my spell to take effect, and in my eyes, I began to see faint outlines in a myriad of different colors.

All around me, in the crowd with my family, all I saw was grey. It indicated they were not one of the specified types. I noticed though, that I had a faint amount of golden light shining from within me. It was shrouded though, and for the life of me, I couldn't tell why.

'That must be my Vanir side, I'll have to explore this another time though.' I took my focus away from the grey masses and looked towards the forest. It glowed a faint green, telling me that this was a very old forest.

It most likely had a dryad or another nature spirit protecting it, and it would do me well to not anger it. I dragged my gaze across the forest in search, and I eventually found it. In the fog of green aura, there were five black ones.

Death, or more specifically undead. I locked onto the presence, and cast another divination spell. This time I was able to tell the exact location of the presence and I used that knowledge to instantly travel to its location.

I was sure no one in the crowd would notice one missing person, but honestly, I could care less. I would try to be less flashy, but I couldn't be bothered to do anything more. Immediately I was in the space of the Vampire I had detected, I opted to fly and I hung in the air.

I watched as the Vampire, an old and decrepit being with long nappy hair and a protruding hunchback, started to sniff the air. It quickly whipped around and looked straight up at me.

It hissed and got down on all fours, looking as if it was about to leap towards me. "You poor creature, I'll be sure to put your body to good use. Let's just hope the family accepts heads for the trial."

With a snarl, the Vampire jumped through the air and attempted to swat me. It failed though, its claws bounced harmlessly across a transparent barrier, only inches from my face.

Its sudden momentum was cut off, and it began to fall towards the moss and leaf covered ground. Stopping mere moments before crashing, it hovered thanks to another one of my spells.

"I wonder if the Vampires on this world have similar anatomy to the ones on Azum. Guess I'll find out shortly." The Vampire began to fail around pointlessly and with a smooth flick of my wrist, a thin line of space was cut. And within the line, the vampire's head easily parted from its body.

Its eyes bulged and it quickly moved its hands to feel the wound, but could detect none. Seconds later, the space around it seemed to fragment and the Vampire's body went limp, only held up by my spell.

"Athena" – I created a portal beneath the body of the Vampire – "I'm sending you a special specimen. Store it properly." I raised my brow and the portal flew forward, engulfing the body. All that remained was the floating head and I motioned towards it.

The severed head floated before landing in my palm, my fingers now embedded in its disgusting hair. I took a moment to think about my next course of action before teleporting myself, and the head, back to the courtyard.

Frederick, the butler, jumped at the sight of me popping into existence next to him and I casually handed him the head. "You can tell the elders that I've finished the trial." To his merit, he instinctively latched onto the head, but he continued to stare off into space even as I was long gone.

I made my way to the table where Nixie, my two aunts and my great-grandmother sat. I could tell they were speaking mentally, both from my connection to Nixie and for the fact that none of them have spoken to each other physically.

Hijacking Nixie's connection, I took my seat as I entered their mental domain. My two aunts were the first to speak. "Nixie let us see you in the competition." Astrid and Yrsa kept up with their strange twin vibe and spoke at the same time, though I could tell Astrid's voice contained more excitement.

Nixie stood, and offered her seat to me and I moved to take it. She stood proudly behind me and I reached towards the table. A mental glass of tea was conjured and I took a sip.

"Are we having that talk now? Or after I win the whole competition? I will say though, all of this seems rather. . . lame." I looked towards my great-grandmother with an inquisitive gaze, but she merely siped on her tea in response.

"You definitely have the arrogance to be a Mikaelson." She placed her cup on the table and crossed her legs. "Regardless, the trials are indeed 'lame.' They simply pale in comparison to the real trials held by the founder. We are but a branch family that has taken root here in America."

"That would explain how. . . Mundane the items on display were. The thing I'm most interested in, would actually be your method of magic. 'Witches' you were called. You have a large source of internal mana, but you have none of the traits of someone who has gone through a Mana Baptism, now that I think about it, neither did the Sorcerers."

I scrunched my brow in thought and laughed at my situation. Nixie had warned me, and if it wasn't for my recent change of heart, I doubt I would have ever noticed the differences between me and the Sorcerers.

Sure, the Ancient One was at Master Magus strength, but did that really mean that was her limit? She looked young and was known as 'Ancient One.' It indicated she was much older than she let on, and assuming that age to be over 100 years, she should be at least one of the many Archmagus stages.

Even the Sorcerers on my world went through baptisms, everyone who wielded the arcane did. Something was fundamentally different about their—Earth's Sorcerers and Witches—magic.

Nixie pulled me from my thoughts by refilling my mental tea, and gave me a warm reassuring smile. My great-grandmother noticed I was ready to listen and began, "We Witches pull strength from our ancestors. It's a gift we are born with, but that does not necessarily mean we will succeed with it."

'Born with magic…' My hands tightened around my tea cup. 'If I was born with mag-' "Are you alright Baldur?" I looked towards my aunts who carried a genuinely worried face and my anger, no my jealousy, softened.

"Yes, please continue." I placed my cup down and leaned back in my chair.

"We are born with a connection, simple as that. It takes Witches years of practice to widen that connection and to perfect our craft. We specialise in rituals and we cannot cast spells without mediums, components if you will."

My great-grandmother leaned forward, "Which makes me curious, where did you learn magic? Your mother has an aversion to this life, she wouldn't have taught you in order to keep you 'normal.' You mentioned that you are an Archmagus, do you care to explain that?"

"I am a scholar, nothing more, nothing less. I take in the very foundation of this world and make it mine. I let it change me physically and thus I am allowed to utilise it. I study what is unknown to me and seek to gain its understanding. I manipulate what I know to bring change to the world. Whether that is meaningful or disastrous change is not something I care for. "

"I'd love to continue, but as we can all see…" In the physical world, we all looked at the approaching figure of Donar, he carried a scowl clear for all to see. "We have company."

"How?" Donar was practically foaming at the mouth, his fingers pointed at me in an accusatory manner. "There is now way you could have hunted the first Vampire, not unless you used Witchcraft."

He looked between me and the women gathered at my table, "You! You're a Warlock! I thought that bitch Hilda didn't inherit magic."

I frowned and twitched my fingers, Donar began to choke, "I find your lack of faith disturbing. My mother is a great deal many things. A bitch she is not." I released my hold and Donar fell to the ground, grasping at his neck and struggling for air.

"Be careful not to choke on your aspirations, Donar. Greater men have fallen for lesser reasons." For the first time, Donar looked at me with fear, rather than disdain. He picked himself off the ground and retreated.

I took one last glance at his pathetic form before turning my attention to the ladies. I was about to speak when Athena came over my earpiece, "Father, we have a slight emergency. Lightning struck a renaissance festival that Aldebaran and Balrog attended. From footage uploaded online, I was able to discern an individual they were talking about was the cause."

I raised a brow, "Sorry ladies, I've got to take this." I stood up from my seat, and stepped through space back into my room. "Continue, something must be up for you to tell me about this."

"You are correct, this individual that was struck by lightning matches the description of Hakon, the smith in Aldebaran's party. I ran a couple of background checks and even in this life, he is a Masterclass Smith."

"Good, this is very good. We must proceed with our current projects, speed them up if possible. I want that dragon heart before I ascend to Archmagus status, and once I am, Hakon can help me with 'Project Khaos.' Once that artifact is complete, I will need no other."

A smile began to form on my face, "Clean up their mess and send them the bill." I looked down at my watch, "I got some time, the second event isn't till tomorrow anyways."

I send a mental message to Nixie to alert me before the next event, and to apologize to my family before making my way to my medical lab. I moved to the section where I performed genetic experiments and saw four large cages. In each there was a reptile, but that was where the similarities ended.

In the first was an elongated, scaled snake with leathery wings. It was a combination of many things, mainly a snake and a bat, but sadly it was a failure. I looked towards the second cage and inspected the creature within.

The last time I had seen it, it was still in its egg, so I was pleasantly surprised that it had finished hatching. It was more of a western dragon, and was closer to the dragons of my home world. Using the base of a komodo dragon and adding a plethora of extra bits of DNA, it looked exactly like a dragon.

"How were the results? Did it gain any magical abilities?" I asked Athena in anticipation.

"Sadly Father, it's a failure like the snake. As I guessed, since these creatures could not manipulate mana before the fusion like the creatures you originally used, no matter how similar they are, they won't gain the ability without an extra factor."

I let out a sigh, and moved onto the third, "We added a Mana Gathering rune to these last two right?" I began to recall the creation of this particular creature in front of me. It was the same as the one in the first cage, with one slight difference. It seemed to have grown a horn and it was actually able to generate lift.

"This is a failure too, but mark it as a success anyways. We'll test more on this one later. Let's— Oh. Wow." I couldn't help but laugh. "Athena, this is the one you designed isn't it?"

Before me in a cage was a small white egg, inside contained the embryo of a crocodile mixed with whatever Athena thought prudent to add. I knew the list was long, but I was quite unsure exactly how many creatures she had my Nixie splice for her. I did know, however, that she used the bit of dragon we ended up finding as well as the Mana Gathering rune.

She had promised to find me more if she failed, and I decided to let her try her hand at. I was happy I did. Still in its egg form and covered in runes, the egg felt like it contained an Apprentice Magus.

It was hard to discern this, with the plethora of wards added to the cages, but now that I was focusing on it I was positive this would be a success once it hatched. "Oh Athena, my dear daughter. You are truly my greatest creation."

"You flatter me, Father," Athena's tone sounded pleased with my complement. "I calculated a 75 percent chance of success. In case I failed, I was able to purchase three more dragon bones. Sadly they cost us four billion in assets."

I paid the price no mind, "Don't worry about it, if I was concerned with the cost, I would have failed being a Magus long ago. Speaking of money though, have we sold anything?"

"No. No one seems interested in the product without seeing it in action, and with the price, people are afraid it will be a scam." She sounded remorseful, as if she failed.

"Chin up, Athena—metaphorically, that is. We can watch our favorite show if that makes you feel any better." I looked towards the camera in my lab and smiled.

"Yes. . . That would be nice, Father."

I leaned forward, knowing the gesture would look strange to anyone else, "If it's just us, you can call me Dad. I'm slowly starting to hate being formal all the time. I can't tell if Will Smith is a good or bad influence. Let's go with good."

I grinned, "Hey Athena."

"Yes, Fath—Dad?"

"Race you to the couch!" 'I'm mentally evolving, but backwards. Let's hope this cheers her up, I suck at being a dad.' With a snap I was sitting on my couch, but before I could announce my win, Athena beat me to it.

"You lose." Her tone was so filled with joy that I genuinely smiled. 'I guess being a fool has its merits.'

"That I did. Now, let's watch some more Fresh Prince. You know where we left off."

My TV magically turned on and on screen was the next episode of Fresh Prince. As I was watching, I smelt popcorn and turned my head. I could hear my show pausing and I saw a golem walk towards me. In its hands was a bowl of popcorn and it stopped not too far away from me.

"I made you some popcorn!" Athena's cheerful voice played through my speaker rather than my earpiece and our show began to play once more. 'Maybe this is how life is supposed to be lived.'

={db}=

Aldebaran POV

It had been a day since we had retrieved Hakon from the fair. He spent the night at Baldur's place with Balrog and I, but he requested that he go to his wife to catch her up to the current events. He really wanted her to get her memories from Azum back, surprisingly fervently.

I mean, to me, it seemed like it would make sense to be content with how she was now. After all, they had been married for 11 years now according to Hakon. That was a monumental amount of time more than how long they even knew each other on Azum. Then again, love is a strange thing and being inflicted with its curse makes even the most sane men falter.

Of course that will never occur to me, Aldebaran the Greatest Diviner Known to Man. I kid, naturally. If anything I had been getting more and more frustrated with my abilities as time passed. Though in terms of getting a girlfriend, I had to admit that my situation was for the worst.

My boundless intelligence aside, even I could tell that I was emotionally stunted to a degree. Back on Azum, my powers only amplified the immaturity begotten of having zero friends in my early life. Before escaping the library where I was forced to become a wizard, it was a dark time.

Anyways, the gist of it is that I had a hard time talking to girls that I wanted to impress. But nonetheless the culmination to my epic quest to lose my virginity will be around the corner one of these days; I'm sure of it.

"Hey, Alley, what're ya spacing out for? Keep your damn eyes on the road!"

A sudden shout from the passenger next to me shocked me out of my stupor. I yanked the steering wheel and pulled the car back into the right-hand lane.

"I swear to the gods, man, I am never letting you drive my car again," Hakon declared fiercely.

"Yeah, yeah. We're alive, aren't we?" I knew my logic had horrid reasoning, but it is what it is.

Since Balrog and I wanted to stay with Hakon, we offered to go with him back to his place on Staten Island. And, since Hakon's physical proportions ended up a bit skewed, I offered to drive us to his place to meet Thora for the first time in this world.

After more than an hour of driving, we pulled up to a small suburban house that Google Maps had directed me to, with the assistance of Hakon himself of course. And no, I didn't almost crash any other times that drive.

"You barely even have a lawn, dude. Why are you living here and not the city?" I asked Hakon.

"Ah, you know how it is. It's a bit cheaper out here despite the gas to get into the city. Plus, we don't own this house. Just renting it for a bit. I don't even remember why we decided to move here a few months back. It's strange, really." He seemed lost in complemplation as his words trailed off.

I was about to make another joke, but before I could get the chance another car pulled into his driveway. It was a black sedan with tinted windows and before Balrog or I could ask Hakon what it was about, all of its doors opened.

Out of the car stepped four flamboyant figures, two of them wearing silly costumes that made them stand out to a ridiculous degree. Though I suppose that is ironic, coming from me. However, the other two still stood out, due to natural appearance alone.

At the forefront stood a reasonably-tall man with white hair wearing a skintight bodysuit. It was chiefly a shade of grey with a white zigzag streaking down the front. Behind him was a similarly-tall man with blond hair and a red bodysuit with a yellow tunic-like apparatus hanging around his neck. More importantly, it seemed like he had flamethrowers attached to his arms.

Behind those two were the more physically strange. One of them was a short man wearing darkly-tinted goggles. He seemed to have a strange skin condition that left his face a greenish hue with warts and bumps all over. The other was a behemoth of a man that was larger than even an unrestrained Balrog who stood around 8 foot tall or so, and almost as wide.

The man with white hair at the front suddenly appeared in front of me and Hakon, with Balrog behind still a few paces closer to the house than us.

"Hello, friends. Me and my friends here saw on the news yesterday that you caused a commotion, and our intelligence reports that the three of you are mutants like us. Though you," he said while gesturing toward me, "we're not quite sure what you do.

"I know this is quite the strange introduction, but I am Quicksilver. This is Pyro"—he gestured toward the flamethrower man—"and those two back there are Toad and the Blob. We want to cordially invite you to join our Brotherhood of Mutants." As he finished his little speech, he returned back to the rest of his group as instantly as he arrived.

"Feel free to talk about it amongst yourselves," he called over to us nonchalantly.

"Well, that's interesting," I said to my companions. "I suppose we're a bit pre-affiliated, no? With Baldur and all of that. I'd rather work with someone from the same world as us than not." With an inkling of suspicion as to what was about to occur, I removed my glasses from my face and placed them in my coat pocket.

"Aye, true that," Hakon grunted. "I don't want to bother with whatever they want us for, anyways. Since you guys said Baldur wants to hire me as a smith then that's good enough for me."

"Sorry, guys, but we're already a part of someone else's group." Balrog spoke up first as he walked next to me and Hakon.

"Are you sure that you don't want to consider it further?" Suddenly, Quicksilver was next to us again.

As he started talking, a few visions of the future bled through. It seemed that we were going to get into a fight and that neither Hakon nor Balrog had a good way of dealing with a speedster like Quicksilver. Annoying. And I wasn't any good in a fight without my wizard capabilities. Also very annoying.

"There's not much point in this, sadly," I piped up after my ruminations. "Balrog, take off your ring."

Thankfully, he obediently did so. In a moment's notice he grew another foot and a half, reaching the Blob's height. Of course, his previously white skin darkened considerably and an aura of fire engulfed him as his full head of hair melted away into a shiny baldness that reflected the afternoon sun splendidly.

"Oh, so are we doing this?" Quicksilver asked as a scowl grew on his face.

"I am so looking forward to this!" Pyro declared happily as the flamethrowers on his arms started leaking flames.

"Quicksilver is, well, quick. Toad can jump and has a long tongue. Pyro can control fire and Blob is just strong and tough." I quickly spat out some pre-battle info to my friends to help them prepare for the fight. They would probably make the most out of it.

Before anyone else could react, Quicksilver sped across the driveway and slammed into Balrog. They bounced off of each other somewhat harmlessly on both sides, and Balrog ran towards the other three.

The Blob was one to meet him with confidence and the giants slammed into each other with a massive boom. They grappled awkwardly with each other momentarily before Balrog got the upper hand and threw the bigger man into the car, which was easily crushed to scrap with the impact.

Immediately thereafter, a roaring inferno engulfed Balrog. I looked over to see Pyro whipping up a proper firestorm from his flamethrowers, but it wasn't like it mattered to Balrog.

Indeed, Balrog emerged from the inferno entirely unscathed and bodychecked Pyro at full speed, sending the smaller man flying.

Meanwhile, Toad and Quicksilver were harassing Hakon. Quicksilver was using his boundless speed to make quick assaults on Hakon, who couldn't react at all. All the while Toad was using the distractions to get a quick jab in with his fists or tongue whenever possible.

I looked around for a few moments, casually viewing the various timelines in front of me. It seemed like I had been ignored by the opposition, since I wasn't really doing much nor did I have a notable mutation. Of course, they weren't wrong to do so since they wouldn't be able to beat Hakon or Balrog one-on-one, but they shouldn't underestimate my genius.

In most timelines, Balrog and Blob were roughly equal combatants and couldn't do meaningful damage to one another, even though Balrog was physically stronger. It seemed like Pyro was out of commission already, though. Poor guy. However, Quicksilver would be an issue for the current Hakon, so I looked into ways of helping out.

I looked for an opportunity to attack him at the perfect time. I ran over to the lawn and grabbed a large-ish rock that fit inside of my fist and continued to observe the timelines patiently.

After a few seconds, I calculated an optimal time to throw the stone at Quicksilver. It seemed that he was able to perceive projectiles at the same speed as he moved, so unless I timed it very well it was incredibly likely to be dodged.

He likely wouldn't be expecting me to throw a rock at him, unless he wasn't paying total attention to his fight and saw me grab it. However, there was a moment coming up where I would be able to throw the rock at a particular blind angle to him. It would take approximately 0.76 seconds for the rock to reach its destination over the 43 foot distance, taking into account standard acceleration and air resistance of smooth stones of similar sizes.

Quicksilver would run towards Hakon with his back toward me in 6.3 seconds, so I needed to release the rock from my hand in 5.54 seconds to hit him. Of course, he couldn't be able to see it or else he would simply dodge, so I needed to aim for his shins at the perfect moment in order for him to kick the rock at a few thousand miles per hour.

Once I readied the perfect angle, I started to throw the rock. It flew out of my hand at the ideal time, flying directly toward where I aimed it. And, with a thud and a yelp of pain, I saw Quicksilver suddenly slow around where Hakon was.

With a grunt, an aura of electrictricity surrounded Hakon and he proceeded to slam his lightning-clad fist into Quicksilver, who flew a few dozen meters away with ease. Hakon flexed his arms and grunted as he said, "And that's more like it, you daft pest."

Meanwhile, Balrog and the Blob were still brawling it out with their fists. They seemed to be still unable to meaningfully hurt each other, so Hakon and I went to finish off Toad. Of course, Hakon did all of the heavy lifting. He simply ignored the Toad's tongue attacks and rushed him, promptly beating him to a pulp.

Once that was dealt with, Balrog and the Blob's fight was next up. Once the half-giant noticed our arrival, he activated an innate racial ability of his that let him channel the power of the flame, though it was boosted by a decent amount of acquired divinity. Hakon channeled an aspect of the divinity he possessed and did something very similar, only for lighting.

With the two's powers activated, they charged and tackled the Blob at the same time, leaving him little to no room to dodge or block the elemental barrage. A loud BOOM later, I saw the Blob through the dust and smoke unconscious on the floor.

After waiting for a few moments to confirm that everyone was taken out and no undue surprises popped up with my ability, I called out that all was well.

Upon thinking about it for a moment, I reckoned that after whatever we just did we would get the cops called on us at the very least. More likely, perhaps a SWAT team? The entire USMC?

I sighed dramatically and voiced my worries to the other two.

"And honestly," I continued, "I don't know what the hell was up with those guys either. Not sure why they had a rage boner for us, not sure why they tracked us down to join their book club."

"Do you want to finish them off?" Balrog asked the two of us.

"No," Hakon said firmly. "There's not much to be gained from it since they knew our powers anyways, apparently. Plus, there's too much military in this world. Who could say what would happen if these guys are public figures or something and we murder them. Let's just get Thora in our car and get out of here."

"Yeah, sure," I assented. "I don't really feel like committing my first murder in this world yet anways." I put my glasses back on and started to head toward Hakon's house.

"Hey Alley, let me take care of it. She's probably scared witless." Hakon put his hand on my shoulder. I felt his strength being enough to actually hold me in place effortlessly.

"Yeah yeah." I spun around and went back to the car, letting the married man take care of his wife.

Balrog slipped his ring on and joined me. It did help that he was now actually able to fit in the sedan.

"So, how does it feel?" I casually asked. "That is, fighting again."

"Good. It was nice to use the full extent of my strength, though without a weapon it wasn't as satisfying."

After a few more minutes of smalltalk between us, I saw the front door to the house open, with Hakon escorting a woman out with him.

"I just remembered," I said slowly, "that if she regains her powers in the car, I will actually die." With that, I opened the door and started checking on the unconscious bodies of our assailants, ever-so-casually keeping my distance from Hakon and Thora.

Though after some time I had yet another thought and went over to the two. After all, Thora's true form is a legitimate giant.

"Hello," I addressed Thora. "I am a friend of Hakon's. I apologize for not telling you my name but if you regain your powers, I don't think we'll be able to get you to Baldur's tower."

"What are you talking about?" she asked me. Seeing Thora in a human-sized frame was quite strange to me, though I hardly knew her back on Azum. She looked like an archetypal Scottsman here on Earth, though her accent was anything but. Much like on Azum, she spoke with a rugged jaggedness to her speech that seemed generally hostile.

"Nothing," I replied. "I just think that we should get her in the car and not tell her anything too crazy until we get back to the Magus Tower," I said to Hakon.

"Oh yeah, that's probably a good idea." Hakon laughed. "Yes, darling, do you mind coming with us somewhere that I can tell you the full story? I promise that you will be safe."

"Well, sure. If you say so," Thora said without as much confusion as one would expect someone to have in this scenario.

"Great. Let's go." I ran over to the car and hopped into the driver's seat despite Hakon's protests ringing out.

"No, no. You are NOT driving my car again!"

I ignored the shouting and started the ignition. Although, I was careful to make sure that Hakon wasn't about to forcefully drag me out of the driver's seat.

After a tense drive, we got over the Verrazano without incident and relaxed ourselves, figuring that whatever group those mutants were a part of wasn't going to follow us. I drove through the Midtown Tunnel and parked the car underground.

Before we told Thora anything more, we escorted her into the Magus Tower for both her safety and ours.