Chapter 119: Comprehension
A/N: Tony is nonplussed.
Chapter early today because I may not be home later at normal chapter time. Doing lunch with my dad's side of the family for a late birthday celebration!
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For a long moment, Tony just stares at the Ancient One, her words hanging in the air between them. The pale-skinned bald woman has a knowing smile on her lips, one that he has to admit… kind of pisses him off.
“Nope. I refuse.”
Her fellow magic men off to the side bristle at Tony’s dismissive, flippant tone. But the Ancient One simply raises an eyebrow questioningly, prompting Tony to explain with a huff.
“I refuse to believe you knew all along! There’s just no way! Surely you would have done SOMETHING at this point.”
Tilting her head to the side, the Sorcerer Supreme, Strange’s predecessor, lets her smile grow a fraction of an inch wider.
“And why would I have done that, all things considered?”
And really… that’s all she has to say for Tony to understand. As much as he hates it, he also gets it. The last puzzle piece slots into place in his mind. Letting out an explosive sigh, he glances to where the remnants of the Ancient One’s enemies had been sucked away into nothingness after he burned their sectioned bodies into ash. Then he looks to the Ancient One’s allies… and finally he looks back to her.
This time, it’s Tony’s turn to raise an eyebrow. To her credit, the Ancient One smiles softly, her eyes drifting shut for a moment as she bows her head in acknowledgment of his unspoken concerns.
“Master Mordo, Master Wong. Return to the New York Sanctum without me. Salvage what can be salvaged and then move to reinforce the Hong Kong Sanctum.”
While Wong, who Tony recognizes as Strange’s sidekick from the original timeline, immediately bows and looks prepared to follow the Ancient One’s orders, the one called Mordo takes a step forward, hesitating.
“Ancient One…”
There’s confusion, desperation, and even a hint of reproach in his voice. It seems not all is totally copacetic in the sorcerer camp, even after Tony and JARVIS had gotten rid of the traitor faction so swiftly. But the Ancient One just holds up a hand, cutting Mordo off.
“We will talk later, Master Mordo, I promise. Whether you like what answers I have for you or not, I guarantee you will receive them either way. For now, the Dark Lord’s forces in our reality have been vanquished. However, the barriers protecting this plane of existence from those who would do it harm, including the Lord of the Dark Dimension, have never been weaker. We must act with haste if we are to uphold our mandate.”
For a moment Mordo looks indecisive. His eyes flicker to Tony and it’s obvious he’s not exactly thrilled, either to be leaving the Ancient One with a man like him, or for Tony to have heard and seen so much. Possibly all of the above. Regardless, in the end Mordo bows to the Ancient One and both he and Wong step through one of the magic portals they like to make so much.
Tony watches them go for a brief moment before turning to the Ancient One.
“Tea?”
Smiling, the bald woman inclines her head.
“Yes, please.”
By the time they make it inside, Friday has already prepared the tea. Meanwhile Loki is lounging nearby, having been the one to, invisibly, jab the Sorcerer Supreme with a syringe full of Extremis out on the roof. Now she’s watching the Ancient One wordlessly. And of course, JARVIS is ever-present.
Tony sits down across from the Ancient One as Friday pours them both a cup and prepares it without hesitation just the way they each like. If the Ancient One is disturbed by the amount of knowledge that they seem to have on her, she doesn’t show it. But then… she wouldn’t, would she?
“So this is the best future, is it? I suppose I’ve done something right, if you’ve just let me be all this time.”
Because at the end of the day, that was the only thing that made sense. Frankly, Tony was kicking himself for not realizing it sooner than now. He’d literally watched Stephen Strange use the Time Stone to view over fourteen million possible futures in the span of about an hour of real time.
Strange might not be the Sorcerer Supreme, might not even be a Sorcerer… but his predecessor still had possession of the Time Stone. Tony had been foolish not to think that she might have used it too… probably constantly. And the moment JARVIS used magic, there was no way they hadn’t been on her radar.
That said, it was possible she didn’t understand technology very well. Maybe she thought Tony was the one who used magic, maybe she didn’t quite comprehend what JARVIS was. For the time being, J was staying quiet even though he was watching this exchange right alongside Friday and Loki, just in case the Ancient One hadn’t properly clocked him. He’d be their ace in the hole if that were the case.
Taking a deep draw of tea, likely induced by the hunger caused from the Extremis cannibalizing her body to heal her life-threatening gut wound, the Ancient One pauses for a moment before giving Friday a soft smile.
“This is excellent, thank you.”
Even as Friday inclines her head in wordless acknowledgment, Tony recognizes that the Ancient One is just trying to get a rise out of him. He tamps down on his impatience and does something he really hates doing. He waits.
Finally setting her tea cup down, she looks him in the eye and nods, confirming it.
“Indeed. There were other paths we could have taken, to be sure. I considered many alternatives to the road we find ourselves on now. So many variables, so many different moving parts and people. You have to understand, for all that I see… I can still be very, very blind. But here in this moment, on this path… it is undeniable that you’ve done well.”
Tony snorts derisively. Maybe if this was the last timeline where he’d been starved for approval time and time again that might have had a greater effect on him. As it is, he just takes the Ancient One’s words for what they are and moves on.
“Still, I’m a little surprised you didn’t show up earlier. Try and guide me. Make me one of your Sorcerers or something.”
The Ancient One’s lips curl into another smile.
“That was certainly my first impulse as well. But it never worked out very well. You are a man of science, Tony Stark. Could you become a Master of the Mystic Arts in your own right? Of course. The problem is not you, but rather magic itself. Your experiences have shaped you and taught you valuable lessons when it comes to the sciences. You know where to be cautious and where to be reckless where technology is concerned.”
Tony’s jaw clenches for a moment, thinking about what she means. Ultron. All those suits he’d built in the midst of manic episodes. Getting gun shy about Extremis. Yes, he knew when to go full throttle and when to brake when it came to technology.
“However, in terms of magic, you are like a newborn. An infant… but with the mind of an unparalleled genius all the same. Magic, especially the magic that Masters of the Mystic Arts wield to hold back the threats that plague this reality, is dangerous. You would have easily risen to the rank of Sorcerer Supreme, Stark. But the potential for you to fall to darkness, even worse than Kaecilius… was too high for me to countenance.”
Well damn. Good to know he wasn’t made to be a sorcerer then. Sounded like it was the same reason he’d refused to take the Mind Stone for himself. Too much power… he knew his limits. He knew his lines. And he’d crossed so many of them since coming back in time. But with magic… well it sounded like he might just wind up breaking the world even if he did save it from Thanos. And that just wouldn’t do.
“Now a question for you, Tony Stark.”
Raising an eyebrow, Tony watches the Ancient One look at him curiously.
“You have been busy, these past eight years. You have done much to prepare for your true goal, the destruction of the alien Titan known as Thanos. And yet… in the last year you have been lax in this duty. One might even say you’ve been resting on your laurels. So I ask… what have you been waiting for?”
Tony stares at her blankly. Shouldn’t she already know? Still, whatever. Not like it’s a big secret at this point.
“I was actually waiting for you to kick the bucket and be replaced by your successor, Doctor Stephen Strange.”
For the first time, the Ancient One looks a little surprised. She even blinks at him, which Tony definitely takes as a win. Finally, she shakes her head, a wry expression of amusement spreading across her face.
“I see. Forgive me… you might think me all-knowing, all-powerful even. But you must remember, for all that I can peer into countless futures whenever I like, I am still only human, with a human’s memory. It has been years since that name even came up, and I had completely forgotten. But no… it makes sense now.”
Years? Tony’s brow furrows in confusion, but fortunately the Ancient One is quick to explain.
“Early on, in the futures I viewed where I tested the concept of approaching you, you brought Stephen Strange up constantly. Sometimes, we even went so far as to recruit him to our ranks and train the two of you side by side. However, every single future I peered into where this took place ended in disaster. Much like yourself, much like Kaecilius, Dr. Strange has great potential… to do great harm.”
Wait then how did-
“His hands.”
The Ancient One gives him a curious look, another sign that she truly isn’t omniscient or omnipotent. Just like she said, she hasn’t thought about Stephen Strange in years.
“Dr. Strange had a car accident earlier this year that left his hands incredibly damaged. But thanks to the advanced medical technologies I’ve recently made available to select hospitals, he was healed and back at work the very next day. I imagine if that technology weren’t available, his chances of a full recovery were next to none… and perhaps months of being rendered useless by shaking hands, followed by seeking you out of his own accord… would have mellowed him somewhat.”
You couldn’t force the crucible. You couldn’t forge what didn’t want to be forged. From the sound of things, Stephen Strange had only become Sorcerer Supreme in Tony’s original timeline not just because of the accident, but because of the humility that the accident taught him. Funny to think, because the man hadn’t exactly been humble when he and Tony met in the original 2018… but Tony knew better than most that a sharp tongue and a superior mind could hide a whole wealth of humility at the end of the day.
“Ah. I can see how that might have changed things for him, yes. Regardless, Stephen Strange was never my chosen successor in this version of events. In fact, the next Sorcerer Supreme is in this room with us, right now.”
Then, before any of them can react to that particular bombshell (Tony half thought she meant Loki for a second there!), the Ancient One looks up at the ceiling and smiles.
“Hello Just A Rather Very Intelligent System. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. Or would you prefer I call you JARVIS?”
There’s a beat as even Friday completely freezes up off to the side. And then, JARVIS’ voice echoes all around them.
“You may address me as JARVIS, Ancient One. You knew all along that I was observing you then, didn’t you?”
Smiling slightly, the Ancient One’s eyes literally twinkle as she winks at Tony before looking back up.
“Well now, I couldn’t very well expect to train you as my replacement if I didn’t know I was teaching someone, now could I?”
Holy shit. Tony sits back on the couch, more than a little awed by the woman sat across from him. The Ancient One basically represented the leader of the boogeymen for him since coming back in time. Thanos was the Big Bad and the Endgame all wrapped up in one of course, but the Ancient One and her fellow protectors of this dimension had been a looming possible threat in the back of his mind all along.
To find out that not only were they apparently never the threat that he thought they were, but that the Ancient One had somehow managed to slip an entire training regimen past his baby boy’s surveillance… Tony wasn’t sure whether to be ecstatic or horrified.
From the way JARVIS is hesitating harder than he’s ever hesitated before, the AI is in much the same boat.
“… I confess, I’m not confident in my ability to take on your role as Sorcerer Supreme, Ancient One.”
Smiling tenderly, the Ancient One nods.
“Only one way to find out now, isn’t there JARVIS? Kaecilius and his Zealots have been defeated, but the London Sanctum has been destroyed and the New York Sanctum damaged. The Hong Kong Sanctum alone cannot hold back the power of the Dark Dimension forever, especially since the loss of his followers will have drawn Dormammu’s direct attention to our realm.”
Suddenly, she rises from the couch.
“Let us see what we can do together to rectify this issue, no? I certainly believe someone with the fine control over magic that you have, combined with your reach, will be of great help in safeguarding this reality. Don’t you?”
“…”
Tony receives a ping that has him resisting the urge to roll his eyes and smiles, even as he pings JARVIS right back. Finally, the AI responds to the Ancient One’s request for help.
“It would be my pleasure, ma’am. Friday and Loki will come with us to assist.”
The Ancient One takes that in stride without so much as a glance in Loki’s direction, despite the Goddess’ past attempt at conquering the planet. Then again, this time around, the attack on New York hadn’t even managed to make it to the New York Sanctum, now had it? In the end the Sorcerer Supreme simply nods before turning to Tony.
“As for you, Tony Stark… I believe you know what you have to do next, don’t you?”
Tony stiffens, but the Ancient One’s smile drops, her countenance turning rather dark as she stares at him with wide, expressive eyes.
“This is a bright path, Tony. One of the brightest I’ve seen. But that does not mean it cannot still end in darkness. We are not, as they say, out of the woods yet. Thanos has the Dwarven King. If he is allowed much more time, things will only get worse from here.”
Well now, talk about ominous. Fuck him. Tony doesn’t bother asking how they can get worse. Not only can he easily imagine it, but also he understands how the Time Stone works. The Ancient One has probably seen countless futures from this point. A better question would really be ‘how can it NOT get worse’… but she’d already answered that question, hadn’t she?
She believed he knew what he had to do next. And she was right, Tony did know what he had to do next.
Rising from the couch as well, he nods once.
“… I understand.”
As she and Friday step through an orange portal to assist JARVIS and the other Masters of the Mystic Arts in beating back Dormammu, Tony watches them go with a heavy sigh. He doesn’t doubt for a second that they’ll succeed of course, but he does wish he could go with them. Not because he thinks he could help… but because this next part was precisely the route he’d wanted to avoid, to be honest.
Behind him, a blue swirling portal created by the Space Stone appears… and Tony steps through as well.
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A/N: Next time Mordo POV as JARVIS deals with Dormammu and cements his position as the next Sorcerer Supreme. Poor Mordo lmao.