章節 32: Alexander Pierce
"That scream sure didn't sound like nothing," Alexander Pierce said.
"Someone lost something important to him, that's all," Fury replied, his expression unreadable.
After a brief pause, Fury's face turned into a smile as he extended a hand towards Pierce. "Good to see you, Alex."
"Good to see you too, Nick. How's everything going?" Pierce asked, shaking his hand.
"It's going good. Any trouble with the council members?" Nick responded.
"Always the same, always the same," Alexander replied with a sigh.
Pierce's eyes narrowed slightly. "Besides that, how did the mission with that armored monster go?"
"Not bad, but not particularly good either," Fury admitted. "He mentioned wanting to join S.H.I.E.L.D. in the future and then ran off."
"So, the armor really was bulletproof then… Hmm. Anyway, you've got that covered, yeah? I need to continue my meeting with the council member from India," Alexander responded.
"Good luck," Nick said as he walked off.
Fury headed back to his office and, once seated, called Coulson in.
"Coulson, I have a private mission for you. This has to be completely off the radar, understood?" Fury's tone was serious.
Caught off guard by Fury's sudden change, Coulson couldn't help but ask, "What's the problem, boss?"
"I want you to create a false identity and secure a new residence for Mr. Harold. We'll gradually move him in without anyone noticing, so make sure it's somewhere out in the countryside," Fury instructed.
Coulson, though slightly confused, nodded. "Okay, boss. But why does it all need to be off the radar?"
"Just a feeling," Fury replied.
Coulson nodded and left to begin his mission. Fury reached for his earpiece.
"Anything you could find on the security cameras, Maria?" he asked.
"No, nothing. Everything's functioning properly, and there hasn't been anyone near Coulson's locker," Maria responded.
Fury fell silent, thinking before finally replying, "Alright, come back up. I need you to call someone who might be able to get more information on Liam."
----
Back at the Sanctum, Liam asked the stationed Master to guide him to the portal rooms so he could return to Kamar-Taj. The Master led him to the portal room, and, upon arriving at Kamar-Taj, he noticed the Ancient One arriving right on time.
"So, have you finished your business, young Liam?" the Ancient One asked.
"Yes, I've temporarily settled it," Liam replied.
"Good. I have a mission for you now," the Ancient One informed him.
"A mission?" Liam asked, slightly surprised, as he didn't remember Strange ever having to go on such missions in the movies.
"Yes. I want you to learn two spells thoroughly. You'll need to master mending dimensional cracks and begin working on Astral Projection. In two months, you'll be required to complete a mission that involves these spells," the Ancient One explained.
"What kind of mission?" Liam asked.
"You will find that out later, young Liam," the Ancient One said before turning and leaving.
Liam began walking back to his room, lost in thought.
'A mission involving Astral Projection and dimensional cracks… I wonder what it could be. It's probably not something involving extremely dangerous enemies like Dormammu or Mephisto, though it could still have some connection to them.'
'The mission is set for around two months from now which would be in October. That could conflict with Tony dealing with Obadiah. I trust Tony can handle it, but I'd still like to be there to help if necessary. That means I need to finish this mission as quickly as possible.'
'Then there's S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra…'
His thoughts went back to the events of the day. 'The conversation went well, and I left a note for Fury, which he should have read by now. Hopefully, I dropped enough clues to make him realize I know something he doesn't and that he'll move my grandpa to safety.'
He'd hinted at his knowledge of the Avengers Initiative and dropped clues to Clint, making it clear he knew their identities, this was all intentional. But the prank on Coulson? He'd done that purely out of pettiness. After all, Coulson had worried his grandfather unnecessarily.
Liam's thoughts shifted back to the prank he'd pulled.
-Flashback-
After arriving at the park, Liam changed his clothes and took out the supplies he'd prepared to start writing the notes. Carefully, he wrote the first note, thanking Coulson and Clint for the "gift" they'd given him. As he finished, he remembered that he still had some unfinished business with Coulson.
'Think… locker… Coulson… 'he thought, concentrating on a mental picture of Coulson's locker and what he expected to be inside.
Liam created a small portal, just large enough to fit his hand through. 'Perfect. Coulson isn't at headquarters right now, so his cards should be in his locker,' he thought as he reached through, feeling around until his fingers grasped a small box. He pulled it through the portal and grinned.
"Oh, I wish I could see his face when he gets back to headquarters," Liam said, chuckling. 'Let's not forget to write the note to Fury… and maybe leave a note for Coulson too. He'd probably like that.'
-End Flashback-
'Heh, I wish I could've seen his face. That must have been a beautiful sight,' Liam mused to himself.
'As for Hydra… I can't just drop a bombshell on Fury and tell him S.H.I.E.L.D. is infected with parasites. He probably wouldn't believe it. That's why I tried to get at his curiosity by hinting that I know about something he doesn't. And revealing my knowledge about the Avengers Project adds some credibility to my words.'
'I can't wipe out Hydra alone without a lot of innocent people getting caught in the crossfire. And it doesn't help that I don't even know most of the Hydra agents. Sure, I know about Pierce and Sitwell, but the countless others in lower ranks? They were just nameless extras in the movies.'
'At our next meeting, Fury will probably have found out some things. By then, we can discuss a plan to sweep Hydra. Still, identifying them all without raising any suspicions will probably take months, maybe even years.'
章節 33: Training with the Ancient One (1/2)
I want to thank all of you for reading so far and the amazing support I've been getting.
A bit of a heavy chapter today, I want to show clearly that his skills don't just drop out the sky and I don't want to timeskip these early chapters because they have something to do with Incursio. I will be releasing a bunch of chapter this Sunday since I had a lot more time to write during the holidays.
-----
After organizing his thoughts, Liam went to the library to request the spell books he needed to start on Astral Projection and Dimensional Rend. Upon arriving, he heard Master Drumm's voice.
"Hey, Liam, good timing. The Ancient One prepared some spell books for you," Master Drumm greeted him.
"Great. Are they spell books on Astral Projection and Dimensional Healing?" Liam asked.
"Yes, they are. It's a bit early for you, but I'd guess she left you a mission?" Drumm said, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, she did. Is it normal for beginner mages to get missions?" Liam asked, curious.
"Of course! Beginner mages are often sent on easier missions to practice their abilities. It usually depends on when your teacher thinks you're ready," Drumm replied.
"What kind of missions do beginner mages usually go on?" Liam wondered.
"They're usually things like mending minor dimensional cracks or dealing with low-level nightmares or imps," Master Drumm explained.
"Low-level nightmares?" Liam asked, intrigued.
Drumm looked at him, surprised. "You haven't read the introduction to low-level dimensional creatures yet, have you?"
"Not yet. Could you get me that book too?" Liam asked.
"Yes, going on a mission without knowing what's out there is risky. So before this mission, make sure you finish that book, alright?" Drumm said, looking serious.
"Yes, I will," Liam replied. "But Master Drumm, since there are missions for beginner mages, does that mean these low-level creatures come to Earth often?"
"Yes, they do. While our dimension is shielded from greater threats, smaller entities still manage to slip through the barrier. You'll read all about it in the book," Drumm said, handing Liam Introduction to Dimensional Threats.
Back in his room, Liam began flipping through the introduction.
Dimensional Tears: frequent occurrences, allowing spells or minions from more powerful beings to seep through.
Imps: often inhabit musical instruments, drawn to music. Generally harmless unless agitated.
Low-Level Demons: typically seen near dimensional tears; strong, sometimes with elemental abilities.
Nightmares' Lesser Minions: cause fear-induced illusions and sleep disturbances, require Astral Projection to kill.
Poltergeists: minor hauntings, requiring purification spells.
After skimming the introduction, Liam couldn't help but think, 'There's a lot more out there than I expected.'
He continued reading through the Astral Projection and Dimensional Healing spells late into the night before finally turning off the light and going to sleep.
The next few days passed as Liam spend his time reading through all three books and keeping up with his usual training routine. But after finishing the book on Dimensional Healing, he was left with one question: 'How does the Ancient One expect me to learn this in two months?'
'Beginner mages only need to know the basics of different dimensions and identify the energy signatures they give off. At most, they learn to temporarily stabilize dimensional tears by channeling raw energy in them and wait for their mentor to heal the crack. The full spell for healing tears, though… it's like stitching a wound together but then while using your own energy as the thread, which asks for insane control. Which I definitely don't have yet.'
The book mentioned that this skill requires direct teaching from a mentor, and the Ancient One had said she'd help, but Liam was still unsure how he could possibly learn this within such a short time.
Wanting to get answers, Liam set out to find the Ancient One. He found her in the courtyard, observing some students in training. Approaching her, she asked, "You have some unanswered questions, young Liam?"
"Yes. How?" he said. "How do you expect me to learn both spells in just two months?"
The Ancient One looked at him with a strange smile. "Well, I'll be helping you."
That smile sent a chill down his spine as he remembered her unconventional teaching methods with Strange and the sling ring.
"You're not planning to get me killed, are you?" Liam asked, only half-joking.
"I would hope not, in the next few days I will be helping you understand the differences in energy signatures. Afterwards I will also show you the difference in how you treat dimensional tears from different universes." the Ancient One responded calmly.
''How can you help me with feeling the difference in energy signatures?'' Liam asked.
"Follow me, and I'll help you understand the signatures."
The Ancient One opened a portal, and, stepping through, Liam found himself in a place he didn't recognize. The surroundings were dominated by fire and magma, dead trees scattered around, with strange creatures prowling the ground below.
'Of course, what else would she do but take me to hell.'
"This… this is Hell. The domain of Mephisto," the Ancient One said, her tone calm. "Now, feel the energy here. And if you ever encounter Mephisto himself… run."
Liam nodded, swallowing nervously. "If we're here, doesn't that mean Mephisto would know we are?"
The Ancient One smiled. "Of course. He'll realize a portal has opened to his domain in a few minutes and will likely come looking for us."
Liam gulped. "Isn't that dangerous?"
"For you, yes. So concentrate on sensing the energy around you," she instructed.
Liam closed his eyes and focused on the energy, feeling it, reaching out to draw it in when, suddenly, he felt a sharp hit to his face. "What was that for?" he asked, rubbing his cheek.
"Don't draw in this energy. If you take in too much, you'll be bound to spend your afterlife here."
Hearing that, Liam shuddered, 'I almost screwed myself.'
"Now, concentrate again and focus on observing the energy rather than drawing it in," the Ancient One said.
Liam concentrated again. He noted the difference: the energy he usually worked with was gentle and warm, with an orange hue, while the energy here was violent and deep red.
"Good," the Ancient One said approvingly. "Let's go."
She opened another portal, and they stepped back through to the Sanctum.
"Memorize that energy. Tomorrow, I'll take you to another dimension so you can learn to recognize its energy as well," the Ancient One instructed.
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