May 24, 2014

The rest of the interview had its ups and downs. Jon Stewart really let us have it. Honestly, there were some things we just couldn’t argue against.

Like at one point, Jon asked us about the big problem. The one that had been at the back of my mind for a while.

“Now, let’s talk about HYDRA,” Jon said. His voice was full of quiet resolve. “Namely that, well, they’re still out there, aren’t they?”

Steve and I stilled. I looked over at him. Steve was looking very grim. His shield bounced slightly as he shifted his shoulders.

“Yeah, they are,” I said. “Our last battle with them, we took out a huge number of their resources. We caught Abomination and Aberration, got back an Asgardian relic, rescued prisoners, took out dozens of Centipede soldiers. But the small portion that escaped are still out there.”

“And they’ve been causing damage,” Jon pointed out. “The Chinese government released a statement that an attack on a tech lab in their nation was orchestrated by some brainwashed ex-BRIDGE agents.”

“Two of our best,” Steve said softly.

“So I know I can’t ask what your plan is, since, you know, they might be watching,” Jon turned to look at the camera. “By the way, fuck you HYDRA, just in case you are.”

The crowd laughed, some brazen insults coming from the audience and even a cameraman.

“But what’s the gist of your responses to them? How does it make you feel, Captain America, knowing they’re out there?”

Steve rested his arms on the desk. “Well, we’re responding the way we are with all threats. We’ve been working on ways to track them down, ways to fight back. I know several Avengers, Tony for example, have been training and arming up. But when it comes to how I feel, that’s a tough question to answer.”

“HYDRA is something I feel like I’ve been fighting my entire life. Their mandate, the idea that the people cannot be trusted with their own freedom, is one Americans and the rest of the world has been battling for centuries. They want to force all of us to live a certain way. To sacrifice our individuality for a world where they make decisions for us.”

“To some, that can be considered good. The idea of that sort of unity can be attractive. But I can’t condone that when I’ve seen the cost. When I’ve seen men and women tortured, brainwashed, killed, because HYDRA does not see humanity. Only resources to be expended.”

“That’s the war we’re fighting. A war to make sure the next generation has the right to build the world as they want.”

“But you still can’t find them?” Jon asked.

“We can,” I cut in. “It’ll just take some time. We don’t want to just stop them. We want them to be done,” I felt my throat clench. “There was a place. Where the ‘failed’ experiments of HYDRA were kept. There were animals there, sure. But there were also people. People from all walks of life. People who were hurt in ways you don’t want to imagine.”

I looked at Jon. He swallowed. “We haven’t caught them. But we’re coming after them.”

------

After that interview, Steve and I went into a car headed back to the tower. We sat quietly for a while.

“You’re heading out with me and Bucky today, right?” Steve asked me.

“Yeah,” I said.

“You really think he’ll agree?”

“Maybe. If he doesn’t, I have options. But I don’t have time to wait. I need to train for the unstoppable. For things that will push me to do the impossible. I need to outthink and outfight everything, in all my alien forms. I still want to train with you guys. But it’s time I forced the Omnitrix through its paces.”

Steve seemed troubled. “I’ll respect that decision. For now. I guess you aren’t the only one doing it, right?”

“No,” I looked over at Steve. “Fantasma’s planning to speak to Agatha Harkness about taking lessons. Creel is going to revisit his old boxing haunts, starting from scratch with his training.”

“Is he?” Steve cocked his head.

“Yep. Bruce and Jen are coming with me. Tony’s working on his new suit. Maria is meeting with a few new assets. X and Jarvis are helping Tony, Nat and Clint are visiting some of their old war buddies I think. Sam is going with Maria.”

I frowned. “Huh. I guess ALL of us are trying to find some way to either get stronger personally or help the Avengers and BRIDGE get stronger.”

“I can guess why,” Steve said slowly. “Even Bucky and I are planning something after these little trips of ours.”

“Because HYDRA has lasted long enough, right?” I looked over at Steve.

He nodded, blue eyes flashing. “I won’t lie. This will be tough. Even if we bring in every hero, soldier, and weapon we can, I think HYDRA is going to have one last trick up their sleeve. We can’t be overconfident.”

“But we can over-prepare,” I raised my right arm, the Omnitrix glowing there. “HYDRA is a distraction, Steve. We have a lot more to worry about than those idiots.”

We came to a stop at the tower. Thanking the driver, Steve and I got out of the car, walking up the steps to enter the main lobby. When we passed the receptionist, she called out.

“Oh, Mr. Schahed, Mr. Rogers! I have messages for you!”

We walked up to her, getting two slips of paper. I frowned. “Agatha wants to talk to me about… I guess Fantasma asked her, huh? What’s on yours?”

“Bucky and I have been given approval to take you and Jen along for the good-will mission,” Steve said softly. “We’ll be visiting the potential recruits.”

“Damn,” I grinned. “That’s gonna be fun. I always wanted to visit Greece.”

“I’m glad you’re coming too,” Steve flashed a smirk. “I’m worried about how many people we meet will just be trying to get publicity, rather than actually trying to help.”

“I get that. But if they’re useful enough and they follow orders, we’ll kind of have to take them on, ya know?”

Steve’s smirk got a little bigger. “Yeah, but they’ll be on your team. So you get to deal with it.”

“Cheeky bastard,” I punched him on the shoulder, getting a laugh. “Okay, I better head up to meet Agatha. You wanna come?”

“No, Bucky and I are gonna walk around New York before we all head out. See how many of our old haunts are around. And if we end up finding trouble, well,” he chuckled. “I guess we’ll see what happens.”

Dope. Captain America and Nomad, running around New York City reminiscing and taking down drug dealers. That’s the kinda thing comics love.

“Well, if you end up needing help, my quantum comm will be on,” I promised. “Later!”

“Later!”

-------

I was in the elevator for a few floors before the doors opened. I was surprised to see Scarlet Witch standing there, wearing her red coat. The long-haired brunette looked just as surprised to see me.

“Oh, hello Mahmoud,” her accent was starting to fade, but there was still a hint of it when she said my name. She entered the elevator, went to hit a button, only to stop, her finger hovering over the already lit button.

Now, I’m a savvy comic book fan. Wanda was about to press on the button to the floor I was headed to, where Agatha had established her offices. Wanda had been trained in the comics by Agatha. No need to be a genius to figure out what was happening.

That did bring up something to mind.

“So your transfer is official?” I asked Wanda as she moved to stand next to me.

She gave me a bright smile. “Yes! I’m an Avenger now,” she reached into her pocket and pulled out a card, showing it to me. An Avengers Identicard. “Provisionally, of course,” she said. “BRIDGE is allowing me to work with you all as part of my sentence. I still have to make up for a lot. But I’m willing to do whatever I can to redeem myself,” Wanda looked down at the card with a determined smile.

“Well, good to have you,” I patted her on the shoulder and smiled. “You were born to be an Avenger. What about Pietro?”

Her smile became sad. “Oh. He didn’t want to come along.”

“Really?” I blinked, surprised.

“Yes. Pietro likes being part of the Grapplers,” Wanda said, using the unofficial name for her old team. Funny how everyone called them that. “I did too, but… I want to do more good. More for the world.”

“Well. You’ll get to see him a lot,” I said as gently as I could.

“Yes,” she was still staring at her identicard, the smooth red square seeming to give her some comfort. She put it away, then looked up at me. “You’re going to visit Mrs. Harkness as well?”

“That I am.”

“Hm,” she brushed back her hair. “I’m not sure why she wanted to speak to me-”

The elevator stopped on another floor. When the doors slid open, Fantasma was standing there. The Russian witch blinked at the sight of us, then smiled when we met eyes.

“Mahmoud!”

“Heya,” I grinned at my friend. “I guess we’re headed to the same place, huh?”

“Mrs. Harkness?” when Wanda and I nodded, her smile was positively radiant, purple irises glittering. “It’s so exciting. I’ll finally have a real teacher! Um, if she isn’t a fake, of course.”

“You’re worried about that?” I asked as she moved to stand next to me, leaving me in between two of the most powerful women in the world.

“It’s happened before,” Fantasma sighed. “Charlatans and idiots,” she hissed in Russian, the Omnitrix translating.

“Well, she’s the real deal,” I said confidently.

“Why does she want to speak to me, then?” Wanda asked, a befuddled look on her face.

“You don’t want to talk to her?” Fantasma asked, the shorter woman looking around me at Wanda. “Your own magic is quite potent, maybe she wants to help you with it?”

“But… I don’t have magic?” Wanda said/asked.

The doors of the elevator opened. We stepped out into our destination.

The Avengers Tower had 93 floors. The arc reactor under the tower, floor 1 to 78 for the actual running of the Tower, and the others for saving the world. Except 81, which was for partying. Agatha was on floor 87. The floors were made of smooth marble, and she’d laid out some tasteful rugs. A large wooden desk rested in the center, a skull from some animal I didn’t recognize sitting on it. Another smaller table sat next to a bookshelf. Tarot cards were floating gently over that table, flipping from one to another. There was a spice rack with large jars clearly labeled things like ‘hawthorne’, ‘salt’, and ‘breath of fish’.

Agatha Harkness turned to look at us. She looked across us. She looked a lot like Maggie Smith. Younger, but still sharing similar features.

For some reason, I felt compelled to stop just before Fantasma and Wanda did. The two of them continued up to Agatha. As they did, my eyes panned over to the desk of Tarot cards. One floated up and caught my attention. The image of a tower on fire as lightning struck it, two people falling headfirst from it. Well, that’s ominous.

“Fantasma,” Agatha said, focusing on my friend. “You have been left far too long without guidance. So long that even now, you feel as though I might be yet another false hope. Don’t you?”

Fantasma’s lips twisted into a frown.

“That is good,” Agatha said. Ebony strolled over to me, rubbing along my legs as I watched them. “Magic, despite what others may think, is not something one should delve into with a willingness to simply accept every little half-stated rambling as pure fact. Still, I suppose I must show you,” Agatha said waving a hand.

And suddenly, the whole room shifted. I yelped in surprise as the area around us got bigger and bigger, then opened and moved around, like something out of a nightmare. Fantasma gasped in amazement, while Wanda looked around.

“That I am no charlatan,” she said pointedly. The wall behind her opened, revealing New York City beyond. Soon we were standing alone on a platform above the city. No. In between the city, because good lord New York was split in half!

“Oh god, this is just like,” I tried to think of the movie. “Inception. This is Inception.”

“You’re real,” Fantasma whispered. She was crying, staring around her. “This. This feels like-”

“The energy you have felt within you. For your entire life, I imagine,” Agatha walked over to Fantasma, smiling for the first time. “I do not know what you must have gone through, child. Knowing what you know, scraping together what knowledge you could. You have a singular talent. As do you, Wanda Maximoff.”

Wanda was staring at her, uncomprehending. “I… this is magic?”

“Indeed,” Agatha moved over to Wanda, while Fantasma looked over at me trying to not just smack the Omnitrix and start finding a way out. “You must feel it, yes? The power within you, calling out to the mirror dimension as we stand within it?”

“But… my powers aren’t magic.”

“Not as such. Not in the way Fantasma or myself may see it. But, my dear, your powers tap into the same fundamental forces as the arcane powers we wield. Therefore, you could benefit from some tutelage before you accidentally turn some poor idiot into a footstool!" she said with a small huff.

“I can’t do that,” Wanda said weakly.

“Oh?” Agatha raised a hand. From her palm, a small bolt of green lashed out.

Wanda blocked it with a red power, the green floating about her. As we watched, the red and green energy floated about together. Wanda’s eyes widened when the green slowly shifted to match her own energy.

“Magic,” Agatha released a gentler wave of energy, which split in two to dance over to Wanda and Fantasma. The two younger women looked at each other. Hesitantly, they reached out. The green hues shifted to purple and red, flowing into their control. “The energy of dimensions beyond our own, flowing and ebbing between the planes. And you both have talent in controlling it.”

Fantasma twisted her energy to turn the magic into a circle. Wanda let it go from one hand to the other, staring in fascination at it.

Meanwhile, I was feeling really left out of all this. I looked down at Ebony the cat. “You wouldn’t happen to know why I’m here?”

Ebony meowed and gave me a look cats give to stupid people.

Agatha turned to walk over to the edge of the platform. Below us, the Brooklyn Bridge was melding with the Washington Bridge. The energy Fantasma and Scarlet Witch were playing with faded into the air.

Fantasma looked at Wanda. The Sokovian seemed like she was going through an existential crisis. Fantasma looked at Agatha. “You will teach us?”

“Only if you answer my question. And I would like the young man to join in... What do you wish for your futures?” Agatha asked softly. “With the immense power you will one day hold. What is the world you envision ahead of you?”

Um.

That was a hell of a question. Mostly because I kind of knew what a lot of futures of the Marvel universe could end up being. Both the good and bad of those. But Agatha was asking what I saw for myself with my powers…

Fantasma answered first. She stepped forward on those high heels of hers. “I want to know more. I want to learn about the universe, about myself,” she clenched her fists at her side. “My whole life, I have felt ignorant. About my power, my history. About the world. I want to know so much more.”

“Knowledge… a dangerous wish, to be sure,” Agatha looked at Wanda. “And you?”

“...my actions led to the death of many good men and women. I want to atone for that,” Wanda’s eyes flashed red. “If I can learn enough to help more people. Maybe one day, I can wash the blood from my hands.”

“Redemption…” Agatha didn’t comment further on that. Instead, she looked at me.

“I mean. I’m just happy to be here?” I said weakly.

She gave me a very unimpressed look. Fantasma giggled while Wanda smirked.

“That’s not entirely a joke,” what do you want from me lady? “I just want to keep using my power to make the world better. What else can I say? ...Wait. I guess there is one thing,” the thought popped into my head unbidden. “I’d like to visit my family. To let them know I’m okay. Beyond that I want to keep the multiverse and my friends safe. Build a world that I can feel sure will be happy and healthy.”

“...Hm,” Agatha looked at Fantasma and Scarlet Witch. “I can teach you both. Show you how to use your power in ways that would boggle the mind. But it will take time. Discipline. And most of all, a willingness for failure,” she said. “You will fail. Over and over, until you feel your mind crushed beneath your own imperfections. And that is the path to mastering magic. To turn the raw ore you are into the steel you can become.”

She clapped. And the world slammed back into normality, just as we had been surrounded by dozens of subway trains flying around us. I stared around the now normal office.

“When do we start?” Fantasma asked eagerly.

“After I speak with your friend,” Agatha looked over at me.

------

She led me into another room. As soon as the door closed, she looked at me.

“You are not from this dimension,” she said matter-of-factly.

“Nope,” why lie? Clearly she was seeing things about me in that weird magic sense all types like her had.

“But you have none of the power of the Nexus about you,” she frowned. “Who left you here, young man?”

“...A time-traveling, dimension-hopping, mad man with a stopwatch,” I explained.

“Did he have a police box?” she gave me a smirk when I stared at her in surprise. “What? Am I not allowed to watch television?”

Fair point.

“You don’t know why you were left here, do you?” she asked.

I shook my head. I couldn’t fathom any reason why I was here. Why I had been chosen to wield an Omnitrix, left in a Marvel universe to fend for myself. Why had Paradox done it?

Agatha seemed just as dissatisfied as I was. “How troublesome,” she reached out to her side. A walking cane flew into her hand. With a flourish, she pointed it at me, her eyes hard. “Let us see what I can find out.”

Flickers of light flowed out of my chest. Like blue streams. She ignored them, speaking. “How uncouth. Someone took advantage of the aftermath of the Convergence to shove you into our world… but now there is something else…” she dismissed the blue streams. “I will need more study to discover why you were brought here, Mahmoud Schahed. But since your arrival, time has been in flux. Things that would only have come to light years or even decades from now are already beginning to move.”

“Tell me something I don’t know,” I snarked. “I’m not trying to do this, Mrs. Harkness.”

“Yes, you are,” she snapped. “You simply cannot leave well enough alone. I would not have met Wanda today. Instead, it would have been nearly a decade from now. More than that. I suspect you have had effects on the past itself.”

“Wait, what!?” I stared at her. “How can I affect the past? Am I going to time travel?”

“Time is not as solid as you believe,” Agatha slammed the tip of her cane on the floor. An image floated in between us. A blue orb floated in space, a trailing yellow light behind it. “Space-time is the present, the now, moving through the endless void. And the events of the now have an effect on the trail left behind…”

The image of Captain America speaking to Bucky appeared in the blue orb. As I stared, the trail the orb left flowed and shattered, reforming. Another scene floated off the trail, showing a skinny Steve at a small harbor alone. Then it shifted to show Bucky there with him, the pair laughing.

“However, what I am using is a small example,” Agatha said. “The events must have weight to capture the past in their wake… What do you think, Dial, happens when an outsider from another universe starts interfering with his new home? Making world-changing decisions?”

An image appeared. Me, standing with the Avengers. And the trail of the past turned to sparks.

“The past-” I whispered.

“It shifts. It slides. The future as well. This is the problem of the multiverse. Our timeline, as you know it, is different from the one that once was. Young children have become teens, the bodies of men and women have shifted. Even Fantasma and her fellow Winter Guard are entirely different from what I would have predicted,” her eyes stared across from me. “Your interference has irrevocably changed the things for so many. Try as I might, I cannot predict what these changes will bring.”

“Oh… So then, you’re kinda in the same boat as the rest of us,” I pointed out. Then I sighed. “I don’t know what you want me to do about this. I mean, are these changes-”

“They are stabilizing now,” Agatha said, waving her hand to dismiss the illusion she’d created. “I am simply showing you what the consequence of your arrival is. You must ask yourself, Mahmoud. Who benefits from this chaos in your wake? The walls between the realms have rarely been as thin as they are now.”

She looked at the door we’d entered through. “It is why I agreed to train these young women. They, more than most, will be vulnerable to those beyond our world who would attack us. But you must be just as vigilant. The mere truth of your existence, and the consequences of what you’ve done, will attract enemies.”

I thought about that. Then I sighed. “Yeah. What else is new?”

“The Nexus,” she added. “You knew of it?”

I nodded.

“Then I must wonder… how many other secrets do you know of, that I might wish to know?”

And suddenly, I got reminded that Agatha Harkness, while generally a good person, was also a badass witch who had been alive for centuries, killing and surviving things beyond mortal powers. I swallowed at the look she gave me. So I did what I always did when I got nervous.

“Well, I know you look drop-dead gorgeous when you’re not pretending to look like this.”

I made a joke.

Agatha blinked. Then she laughed, shaking her head. “Well. That’s very flattering, young man.”

I grinned. “Thanks… How about this? I’ll trade you some of the info I have. But in return, I want help with something.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. See, my sword broke a while back, and I’m trying to make a replacement. I was thinking of making something kind of special. Maybe I could trade you for some help of the hocus-pocus variety?”

When she looked at me for a long moment, I continued speaking.

“I mean, I can’t promise you everything. But I’m pretty sure I know about some magical threats you might not. Things you can take advantage of… But nothing that will hurt innocent people. If I find out, for any reason, you used something I told you to kill people. Or worse than kill. Then I’m going to hunt you down and shove you into hell.”

She quirked an eyebrow. “Really? Do you have any idea who you’re threatening, young man?”

“I absolutely do... How about you?” I glanced at the Omnitrix. So did she.

“...Very well,” she held out a hand. I took it, only to wince when she summoned a tiny knife and cut it across my palm. With a wave, a piece of paper flew over. She sliced her own palm and placed it against the paper, blood pouring against it. She held it there for a moment. When she pulled it away, a bloody palmprint lay there.

“You as well. I would not have you be dishonest. I imagine you want the same reassurance.”

“Huh. Fair,” I placed my own hand. I could feel my blood flowing out of the cut she’d made, tracing along the piece of paper. When I took it away, my own handprint lay on top of hers. “So, we blood siblings now?”

“Don’t be cute,” she said simply.

The door opened behind me. When Agatha and I looked, Fantasma was staring at us nervously. “Uh, Mrs. Harkness? You might want to-”

“Hey, she’s in there?” Tony popped up behind Fantasma, giving us a smile. “Hey, Fanboy. Good to see ya.”

“Tony?” I looked behind him. “Bruce.”

“Yeah, uh, hi,” Bruce waved a little. “Sorry about-”

“We wanted to see the magic,” Tony said without a hint of shame. Bruce facepalmed.

“Hm?” Agatha seemed unperturbed by that. She walked out of the room, right past Tony and Fantasma. “I suppose you can watch.”

“Good. So how will this work?” Tony asked, looking on as Agatha walked over to her bookshelf. “We're going to watch you make potions? Learn some Latin? Sacrifice a virgin? Sorry Dial.”

I blinked. Tony thought I was a virgin? Huh.

“You talk quite a lot, for such an intelligent man,” Agatha looked at him.

“Hey, this is pretty unprecedented for me,” Tony calmed slightly. “Seriously. I just want to see what I need to prepare for.”

Bruce, Wanda, Fantasma, and I watched as the brilliant tech inventor locked eyes with the ancient witch.

“...The Earth should be grateful to have such diligent defenders,” Agatha said.

“Should. Usually isn’t,” Tony snarked.

“As it has always been,” Agatha narrowed her eyes. “Will I have to deal with nonsense about how magic isn’t real while I teach my students?”

Tony shook his head. “No. I’m not blind. But I also know that if it is real, there have to be rules. And I’m a damn fast learner.”

“Quite,” Agatha looked at Bruce.

“I’m in the same boat he’s in,” Bruce said immediately. “If magic is real, the Avengers might have to deal with it. I’d like to make sure we can handle it.”

“Very well,” Agatha looked at me. “Then I suppose the session will begin. But you have somewhere to be. Say hello to the son of Zeus from me.”

With that, she waved a hand. An image like shattering glass ran across my friends, then faded, taking them along.

“...So that’s what it looks like,” I said softly. I turned and walked to the elevator, thinking.

Agatha’s speech about time wasn’t entirely a surprise to me. After all, everyone knew about the problem of Marvel’s sliding timescale. The constant retcons for example. In the comics, a lot of characters had backstories tied to the Vietnam War and Cold War, when they had been written. But as time went on, their histories changed to reflect the times. Punisher went from a Vietnam vet to an Iraqi/Afghanistani one. Tony got his armor after a Communist leader attacked him, but later it was retconned to be a terrorist...

Just like in this universe.

Was it because of me? How much had changed in the wake of my showing up here?

Paradox, what did you do, man? Why drop me off here?

There was enough on my plate without wondering how my presence affected the past, let alone the future. Then again, maybe Agatha was wrong?

I entered the elevator, thinking quietly. Whatever the case, the fact was, the past wasn’t my problem. Only the future I could make. At least, until Paradox’s plan, whatever it was, made itself known.