“My Lord Cyttorak, Wise Watoomb, Veiled Valtorr,” Morgan spoke up. “I can get in touch with a full Elemental Circle of some dangerously adept and smart Casters. If you’re willing to drag in Balthakk to keep the Circle intact, I can probably get you some volunteers. But, it really is in your best interests to call off whatever that bet is. You know, I’m really surprised the Boss is actually letting you know this. She has a habit of just going off on Entities who like to mess with Terra, you know?”

All three of them perked up instantly, and glanced at one another. “I am willing to null the bet,” Raggadorr said sternly, supporting the other three despite not being mentioned. “Paying my respects to the Golden Hag,” he bowed sincerely, and received the faint edges of a hair-rising Hag’s Chuckle in return.

Watoomb, Cyttorak, Denak, and Valtorr also had no issues with rather urgently cancelling whatever that current bet was. Ikonn chimed in with his agreement as well, and they would all notify the other members of the Octessence.

“Scions of the Seraphim, I can also contact a Champion for you. She will be very much to your tastes. Regal Raggadorr, Mistress Munnopor, Illustrious Ikonn, I can likewise scare up some suitable volunteers.” She looked at Denak contemplatively. “Warden Denak, it seems you and Sama might have some conflicts...?” she trailed off leadingly.

The Demon Lord of Dungeons nodded slowly, not looking very happy. “Well, then, I imagine you might want to depart before she decides to take this opportunity...”

There was the clanging of an iron door as he dropped out of sight, and was gone.

“Will these volunteers come immediately, young one?” the Mistress of the Moons asked.

“Huh. Boss, I’ll call ya back with an update.”

“No chickening out, Strange!” Sama called out, and he winced as she hung up.

“Your Eminences, I can have answers for you in exactly twenty-four Terran hours if you care to reconvene in this spot?” Morgan asked pleasantly.

“Interesting,” the weathered, deep voice of Hoggoth spoke up, peering at her. “Strange, you have chosen a very interesting apprentice this time.”

“She grows on you, Hoary Hoggoth,” Dr. Strange sighed fatalistically.

“One day it is. We shall return to see what you have for us, little one. What is your name?” the stern voice of Oshtur proclaimed for all of them, and there was no dissension.

“I am Morgan Ouilette, Your Omnipotence,” she replied formally, bowing to the mighty Archprincipal.

“We shall remember it,” promised the third Vishanti, the All-Seeing Agamotto. Magic swirled as one, and all those mystical Entities vanished every bit as rapidly as they’d arrived.

Dr. Strange let out a huge breath as they vanished. Then he looked around, and shook his head, looking at the mirror in front of him. “I don’t suppose you have a quick way home?”

The mirror bent over in front of him, folding and flipping, and then began to perform the same feat ever faster, a ball of silver hanging in the air, eventually turning into a silvery sphere.

Dr. Strange shook his head and entered the sphere, coming out of it right in the scrying room of his Sanctum. Morgan was now seated on a divan there, lips moving and clearly holding a conversation with nobody.

“How in the world are you going to find so many champions for a mystical war?” he asked her, puzzled. “If they had called upon those powers, the Principals would obviously know them, so they have not!”

He knew she could handle like ten things at once, so her chatting with someone telepathically was no reason not to talk to her. “I’m going to talk to my sisters and fellow students, of course!” she answered.

Dr. Strange slumped down in one of the chairs, one very comfortable and which he’d spent a lot of time snoozing in after too many hours with the Orb of Agamotto. “And the full Elemental Circle?”

“The Fantastic Four, of course. They are Elemental Sorcerers, after all.”

He blinked at her. “But... they aren’t very skilled in magic,” he pointed out carefully.

“If they stay a Circle, their magical power is impressive, and Stephen, their non-magical power is absolutely incredible once the gloves come off.” She tilted her head at him. “Furthermore, Reed Richards isn’t going to have anything to focus his attention on but magic for nigh a thousand years. Do you even want to dare imagine how absolutely dangerous he’s going to become?”

Dr. Strange stared at her, considered the implications, and found himself swallowing. “I... may end up out of a job?” he asked aloud.

“It kind of is the perfect opportunity,” she agreed.

“But... I am basically indebted...” she just lifted an eyebrow, “...well, personally inclined to aid the Vishanti, and they will insist on it!”

She just waved her hand. “You’ll be helping Clea with the Faltine, that’s a given,” she answered, and he just blinked. “You can build off her foundation with fire and really master some Elemental magic together fast for this fight. After all, you aren’t going to be calling on other Principals for this War, right?”

He frowned in thought. “This... I must rely on my own power, far more than calling on greater beings,” he realized slowly.

“And you’re going to get a thousand years of practice at it,” Morgan reminded him. “And a thousand years with your lady,” she also smiled, giving him a wink. “Even if you get tired of one another romantically, I imagine the teamwork and partnership from living that long should be priceless.”

“A thousand years with Clea.” His face went kind of slack at the thought. “That... is a little overwhelming to think of...”

“Whatever, we got this while you take a big step towards your own ascension, Doc.” She waved him off. “You have a day. Go take care of things before your vacation. You’ll be back in a few months. We’ll make sure the world doesn’t fall off the board while you’re away, and I imagine Sama is going to hunt down Lilith and feed her to the Land.”

“She is a cunning and resourceful demoness,” Strange began, and Morgan just smiled even more widely. “Who is now on the short list of the Golden Hag...” he caught himself abruptly. “I had no idea her reputation was so formidable among the Principalities...”

“If you think she didn’t earn every bit of it, hah!” Morgan laughed. “I believe she did, and I don’t know any specifics at all! Those almighty bastards can’t even see her or learn about what she does until after the fact! Serves them right...”

“I would be interested in learning the particulars of that bet...” Strange mused, eying the Orb for a moment.

“Nope, no scrying for you! Off, off with you now! Get yourself prepared for a millennium of magical striving and a LOT of rep counts!”

============

“One thousand years of time manufactured out of nothing,” Reed mused, the Richards sitting in a chair Conjoined together. “You are right, Morgan, this is an extraordinary opportunity. It is just... we have Franklin now. We can’t just let him go...”

“Short-term Clones of the both of you,” Morgan waved it off. “They won’t be able to do empirical research effectively, but they can clear off the backlog of stuff you keep letting go because there’s always something new and interesting to look at,” Morgan terminated his excuse succinctly.

“That’s the stuff that makes real money, doing the actual design work,” DiDi piped up. “Can’t raise the floor without the foundation tech, you two!” she chided them both, wagging her finger, and they looked appropriately contrite.

“The alternate Principalities of Astral Space are at least as broad and diverse as our own universe, Reed. This contest of theirs is surely going to take us all over them...” Sue pointed out calmly.

LJ was almost hopping in her seat. “This is too cool!” she exclaimed, flames starting to pop on her hair, but they weren’t generating any heat now. “The Road is incredible, too, but it’s kind of mundane compared to the Astral! My only question is, who is this Balthakk guy I’d be Championing for...?”

“Oh, he’s a Patron of fire and lightning and big explosive energy blasts. One of those ‘more firepower solves all problems’ types,” Morgan informed her casually.

LJ looked incredulous. “Uh, wow?” she muttered. Could he be any more appropriate?

“Cytorrak’s somethin’ of an ass, tho,” Ben piped up, considering all this. “I talked to Cain Marko before, over cards. He ain’t called a demon god fer nothin’.”

“He’s a bit of a rage monster and stuff, sure. But what he really wants is just big brawls, property damage, and to hear His name spluttered all over the place. He’s an egotistical goon, in the end. If you shout His name and throw His spells out there and wreck stuff, He’ll be totally happy with you. His biggest problem with Cain is that Cain isn’t getting into fights all the time, just a bunch of the time,” Morgan assured him. “Nobody ever accused Cytorrak of being a subtle thinker.”

“Yeah, Cain’s been taking merc work off-world just to keep the poozer off his back.” Since Dealer and Chef Julia had been providing a lot of the transport to those places, it was no surprise to them. Also, the Abomination and some other muscle from the Colosseum had signed on for a few of the trips, and were making a name for themselves as some really powerful and invulnerable muscle for hire across the stars. “A thousand years of practicing Earth and Elemental magic, along with Invoking that chowderhead.” Ben shook his graying head. “Am I... even going to be the same person when I come back?” he asked, thinking of his new bride.

“I’m going to teach you all a tied-off spell called Timeless Mind, that hooks directly into your Elemental Avatar state,” Morgan informed them, getting all their attention. “It replicates the mindset of Divine and Elemental powers, where the impetus of time passing has very little effect on them and their personalities, their wants and desires, and the weight of the years is simply not there.”

“Mmm, like a cognitive and operational fugue state,” Reed theorized promptly. “This is something that Thor and Hercules both have, I deduce?” he asked shrewdly, their brown eye glowing.

“Yes. So, when you return, you don’t have to worry about feeling like a thousand years have passed. You can let the spell go, and it will feel like you left here yesterday... but you’ll have a thousand years of practice behind you.”

“That kind of mental state is what is responsible for the gods and demons being unable to adapt to new times deftly,” Sue pointed out, her blue eye glowing in turn on their face. “You made a point of assigning each of us a Patron. Are Reed and I supposed to separate for this? We... might have difficulties with that.” Their powers had intertwined a lot, to the point that lack of physical contact tended to leave them both increasingly unstable.

“They are rivals and peers. I would say... impress them with an excess of competency,” Morgan sniffed.

Both their eyes gleamed. “I think,” Reed said, “that will not be an issue,” Sue finished confidently.

“How good is this Clone spell?” LJ asked. “Is it something we can use frequently?”

“Ten pounds of vivaurum to Cast it.” The FF all blinked, did the dollar figures, and whistled. “Yeah, we’re spending eight figures so you can do this, and it’s totally worth it. It basically takes a snapshot of you at the moment it is Cast and whips up a magical double. Clones can’t grow beyond their Primes, unless the Primes dies and they become the Prime... or there’s a permanent severing of the connection to them, like a combined temporal-dimensional separation.

“Regardless, they are you, they’ll know their job, and when they are done, they’ll merge right back into you smoothly. If you all were evil bastards, there’d be problems with the Clone wanting to be the Prime and you’d have a murder attempt ready to go, but that’s not the type of people you are,” Morgan assured them.

“On the other hand, if you want to send your Clones out to join the Alternity Watch instead of re-merging fully when it’s all over, that’s also a complete alternative. I’m sure the Great Bear would love to have them along,” DiDi added in smoothly.

They all looked at one another. “Wow,” LJ murmured. “I’m gonna explore the Astral Realms, come back home, and my Clone gets to explore alternate dimensions without end?” She looked kind of mind-boggled. “That is like the best of all worlds! Sign me up!”

The Four looked around at one another, and saw the agreement in their eyes. “Excellent!” Morgan clapped her hands. “Let’s get the Clones made to cover for you all, and then you can work with DiDi on all the stuff they’re going to get done while you are gone. If you want them to join the Alternity Watch, I’ll get that set up as well. Let’s get this done!”