Heisenberg remembered it clearly. In the Doctor Strange comics…
How do you put it?
Strange used magic so much that he'd sprout tentacles at the drop of a hat.
Almost ninety percent of his digestive tract was gone. His organs were missing to varying degrees. And for years he was constantly affected and eroded by hallucinations, or rather, by forces from other dimensions.
Especially the tentacles…
Heisenberg couldn't help linking Marvel's magic to Cthulhu-style mythos.
And that kind of myth?
Doesn't matter whether he was Kryptonian or how strong he was.
If you could stay far away, you stayed far away. No downside.
While he was thinking, the Ancient One gestured for Heisenberg to sit.
There were only two chairs in the room, and they were identical, so he picked one at random and sat down.
The Ancient One went to the tea cabinet not far away, took some tea leaves, then walked to the fireplace, flicked a lighter, and lit it. After that, she set a kettle on top.
By the time she finished all that, Heisenberg felt like the flowers on his head were about to wilt from waiting.
If it were Doctor Strange, Stephen Strange, he would absolutely handle mundane stuff like this with magic in an instant.
And that was exactly the difference between the Ancient One and Strange.
One treated magic cautiously, never abused it, calm and at ease.
The other acted like a dog was chasing him from behind, using the Time Stone's cheat mode to learn and master every spell like a madman. If something in life could be solved with magic, he would never solve it the mortal way.
Heisenberg remembered a line from the movie. The Ancient One once said Strange was the most outstanding Sorcerer Supreme.
That didn't mean Strange was stronger than her.
It was like both of them were top academicians.
One spent his days fishing, strolling with birds, living out his retirement.
The other spent his days running experiments like crazy, charging for the summit.
Their achievements were similar. In fact, the former's ability and contribution could be far greater than the latter's.
But there was no doubt, the latter's professional attitude meant he was "more outstanding" in dedication.
Still, Strange's excellence in magic came with consequences.
For example…
As Sorcerer Supreme, they all had their own ascetic teams.
Those ascetics took pride in tormenting themselves. They linked their souls to the Sorcerer Supreme and bore all or most of the price of magic on the Supreme's behalf.
In the Ancient One's era, most of her ascetics could die peacefully.
Even if every one of them was covered in scars, they could still smile and die of old age in bed.
But in Strange's era as Sorcerer Supreme?
Sorry.
By the time of Avengers 3 and 4, that whole group of ascetics had basically been used up by Strange.
And that was why the later Strange had to bear the price of magic himself.
"What are you thinking about?"
Seeing Heisenberg lost in thought, the Ancient One brought him tea and placed it in his hands.
Heisenberg took a sip of hot tea and smacked his lips in deep satisfaction.
"I'm thinking about what you think of me showing up, Sorcerer Ancient One."
"Think?" The Ancient One smiled. "You don't need my opinion. You are a qualified guardian of humanity. Your attitude toward humans is a bit fierce and cruel, but you can lead them toward something better. I've seen that day with my own eyes."
As she spoke, the Ancient One took a sip of tea as well.
Warm tea breath escaped from both of them, and the entire room filled with fragrance.
Heisenberg drank his tea and nodded thoughtfully.
"So you really do understand what's going on with me?"
"Of course. The Vishanti watch the balance of the universe. A guest from the Origin has arrived, so the Vishanti informed me long ago."
"The trinity, the prime origin of white magic, the Vishanti? They're watching me? I thought you were the one watching everything."
"Me?" The Ancient One shook her head with a laugh. "I'm not the universe's observer. Every day, I only need to deal with trouble from the Dark Dimension and Hell. Even so, I've long since grown tired of my life as it is."
As she spoke, the Ancient One lifted her right hand and placed her palm, slightly aged yet still slender and pale, against Heisenberg's cheek.
"I really want you to become my disciple. Then I wouldn't need that chatterbox, that troublesome, disrespectful, time-playing, arrogant, conceited, looks-down-on-everyone, stubborn one-track-mind guy to inherit the Sorcerer Supreme position!"
"Hahahahaha!"
Heisenberg burst out laughing at this bald little old lady.
God knew whether Strange's forehead veins would explode if he heard that evaluation.
But after laughing, Heisenberg suddenly thought of something.
He asked softly, "You… have seen many kinds of futures, right?"
"Indeed." The Ancient One's eyes were calm. "Out of every three thousand futures, there are always seventy where I become your mentor, and there are always two where I become your lover. You once told me everything about yourself."
"Pffft!"
Heisenberg actually sprayed the tea in his mouth.
"What the hell do you mean, lover? You're already…"
Before he could finish, the Ancient One smiled brightly. A green glow slowly passed over her neck, and the traces of time vanished from her body.
She restored herself to the appearance of a girl in early bloom.
Even her original bald head grew back into a full head of black hair.
And in that form…
She was full of an immortal vibe, or rather, an artsy goddess vibe…
Unfortunately, only a moment later, the Ancient One returned to her old-lady appearance, but that instant could no longer be erased from Heisenberg's mind.
And the result…
Heisenberg suddenly felt like throwing up. He didn't want anything to do with Kamar-Taj ever again.
He wanted to go home. Nobody stop him.
But before he could even stand, the Ancient One continued.
"Forgive the joke. I don't consider youth to be beauty, and in the present, we won't have any further connection."
"I only did it to prove to you that I understand you more than you think, so you don't need to worry that I'll obstruct your plans."
"I protect the Earth under our feet, not the humans on top of it."
"I protect all living things. Humans are not more precious to me than carp."
"You want humans to go out there, that's good. When they go to the cosmos, Earth becomes cleaner."
"I am not your enemy, Heisenberg. Go do what you want to do."
"OK, no more talk. Someone asked me to drink. I'm leaving, I'm leaving!"
Heisenberg nodded furiously, then whooshed, vanishing from the Ancient One's sight.
In Kamar-Taj's courtyard, all the sorcerers saw Heisenberg leave.
That figure, drenched in power and speed, left them in deep shock.
As for the Heisenberg who had shocked them…
He had flopped back onto his rooftop lounge chair, rolling his eyes in disgust until they almost flipped over.
The Ancient One definitely had no interest in lying to him. So in some futures she saw, he really did become her lover.
Was the Ancient One old?
Of course she was old. And bald.
But if you really thought about it, was she beautiful or not?
Look at the actress who played her. That was a goddess with insane presence.
With the Time Stone in her hands, there was no way she was truly so old that even the Time Stone couldn't cover it up.
She was deliberately putting on an ancient, senile look for her disciples to see!
If the Ancient One hadn't brought this up, what would Heisenberg have done?
Compared to Earth's guardian, the Ancient One, Strange was more like America's guardian, or rather, the Avengers' guardian.
A Sorcerer Supreme like that naturally stood on the opposite side of Heisenberg.
So Heisenberg would have been very likely to keep the Ancient One alive and make Strange unemployed.
Besides, the Ancient One was basically seeking death on her own. As long as he could persuade her, she could live for thousands more years.
So in some of the futures the Ancient One mentioned, he was in that process when something indescribable happened between them?
…
"Motherfucker!"
Heisenberg cursed.
He was cursing himself.
Because while he was imagining it like that, he actually thought the Ancient One was kind of hot…
He really was a piece of trash!!!
…
At the same time, the Avengers' plan was being carried out in an orderly way.
Jane Foster had already been pulled into a coffee shop by Natasha to talk.
Who knew how that conversation would end.
As for Purple Man.
Under the three-sided siege from S.H.I.E.L.D., Hydra, and the Nuke Gang, Purple Man's traces were already fully under control in a single day.
However, the ones holding that information were only S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra. Elektra, as the Nuke Gang's representative, still hadn't been able to squeeze the details out of the agents.
At around 9:20 p.m., in New York at the Triskelion.
Captain America and Barton, together with Coulson, Crossbones, John Gattler, Cavalry Melinda, and field elite Grant Ward, moved silently through the streets and alleys, arriving in Hell's Kitchen.
That's right.
Purple Man was actually in Hell's Kitchen.
Jessica didn't know. She thought she'd escaped Purple Man's claws.
But in truth, even her escape had been arranged by Purple Man.
And Purple Man had been watching his little pet the whole time.
That kind of watching gave him extreme excitement and satisfaction, and that satisfaction finally vanished the moment Heisenberg appeared.
For some reason, Purple Man loved seeing Jessica drink herself numb because of her trauma, and he loved even more seeing drunk Jessica being picked up by trash men.
Unfortunately, Jessica was too strong. Most trash men who tried to "pick her up" got their heads smashed in by two punches.
That had always left Purple Man full of regret.
But when Jessica was completely taken by Heisenberg, whose power was terrifying beyond measure…
Purple Man discovered he could still taste jealousy.
Heisenberg wanted to use Purple Man to complete his plan against Hydra, right?
What a coincidence.
Purple Man also wanted to find a chance to use his ability to fully control and toy with Heisenberg.
So when S.H.I.E.L.D. found Purple Man's location, he was actually in an apartment less than eight hundred meters from Heisenberg.
Because of that, Captain America specifically warned the agents.
No one was allowed to say Heisenberg's name.
So they wouldn't draw him out.
As time passed, more and more vehicles approached the apartment building where Purple Man was located.
First, the nearby homeless were driven away. Then residents were ordered back into their homes.
When the arrest was about to begin, that unnatural quiet finally made Purple Man wary.
…
Heisenberg Tower, nightclub center.
Heisenberg and Jessica went back and forth, madly wiping out over a hundred kinds of alcohol laid out on the table.
Around them, countless drinkers were cheering excitedly. It had been far too long since they'd seen a drink-off this insane.
In the end, Heisenberg crushed Jessica completely, with a thirty-two bottle lead.
He ordered his underlings to take Jessica back to her room to rest, then leaned back into the sofa.
At that moment, Elektra approached quietly.
"Boss. During the day, S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't share much with us. But our people investigated and found that a lot of vehicles that look like special operations are gradually gathering below an apartment building not far away."
"Hmph." Heisenberg nodded. "That should be Purple Man's location. I didn't expect it to be this close."
Elektra pressed on. "Do I need to bring people to intervene or join in? They won't get Purple Man first, will they?"
"Go." Heisenberg nodded again. "But don't charge in front. Purple Man isn't a toy. He won't just let them catch him."
/-\
Enjoying the story? Want to read ahead?
Support the novel and unlock early access to unreleased chapters!
~ +20 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon! (+1 Chapter daily)
https://p-atreon.com/Its_Zack
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access Patreon normally)