119 Discovery

A/N: Reminder that I've stopped writing new chapters, and will only upload the old ones. The story is officially dropped!!

Read on!

TWO CHAPTERS TODAY! THIS IS THE SECOND ONE!

—

As Wong, the attendant to the Sorcerer Supreme Tilda, or as she calls herself, The Ancient One, leaves after having guided me to her office, I smile at him in thanks.

It wasn't a secret amongst the Sorcerers that I'm a friend of hers, even if they don't all know that the brown man they see coming in every once in a while is a man from their legends. Some know, of course, but both Tilda and I prefer my identity to remain a secret.

Some believe me to be her secret lover, some believe me to be her descendant. Either way, they know that I'm a Sorcerer too, and that I'm not an enemy to Kamar Taj.

Knocking on the door, I wait for just a second, and then open the door. Tilda was sitting on the ground itself, behind a small work table. She looks up as I enter the office, and with a wave of her hand, clears the table of the scrolls of parchment she was studying.

Another wave conjures a pot of tea that she must've kept hot and ready, and I summon two cups for the both of us.

For a minute, we stay silent, enjoying the sweet aroma of the tea, and the warmth it gives us. I can't help but chuckle a bit, realizing that in the last 2000 years, ever since I figured out how to create Tea, I haven't gone a single day without some form of tea.

Not one day.

"Anything you'd like to share?" Tilda asks, no doubt having heard my chuckle.

I shake my head with a smile, and say, "Nothing important, no. How did the organization fare during the attack?"

Tilda sighs, and says, "The Sanctum received some damage from the overhead attacks, but no Alien managed to actually enter the Sanctum. I was personally there to ensure no one tried to attack us, but it seems the Asgardian doesn't know about us."

"Or he just doesn't know where the Sanctums are." I point out, to which Tilda nods.

"Possible." She accepts. "But the point is that no harm came to the Sanctum that cannot be easily repaired. Some Sorcerers did get injured during the battle, but none too severely."

I hum, and take another sip, glad about the lack of deaths faced by the Sorcerers. Civilian deaths are inevitable, it is when the defenders start dying that things start going bad.

For the next minute or so, we stay silent, both of us calmly sipping tea. There were a lot of thoughts in my mind, a lot of questions. I was still going over any possible consequences my possession of the Scepter could bring.

The Maximoff Twins, Ultron, Vision, hell, even Thanos's win could be attributed to Hydra having the Scepter. Would the events still happen the same? Or would they go differently? I know the Time Stone might hold the answers but I am somewhat hesitant to use it so much.

"Speaking of the attack, SHIELD has been spreading rumours about you, you know." Tilda says, bringing my attention back. As I raise an eyebrow in question, Tilda explains, "According to SHIELD, they found you and Steve Rogers together in the plane they dug out of the ice. You must've followed in after Rogers without anyone knowing about it, and that's why you went missing."

I smile, amused at their lies, and say, "Funny, I think I'd remember such an event happening. And how are they explaining my survival?"

Tilda smiles back, and says, "Your mutation must've kept you alive. Apparently, Hydra's experiments on you awakened those mutations and since no one knew about mutations then, it was declared a result of those experiments, and deemed an Allied Secret. And now that their science has studied your blood, they learned that you're a mutant."

Not that they actually studied it, those are just the lies that they're telling the public to avoid having to explain my existence. Funny that, since I don't even give a shit over what the public believes about me.

Chuckling, I say, "They're really trying to curry favour, eh? And I suppose the British Government is just corroborating with them?"

Tilda nods, and says, "Emma Frost and Nick Fury are working together to ensure no holes can be found in the story. As far as both the Governments are concerned, you have been asleep for the last 66 years and were only found a year ago together with Captain Rogers."

I shake my head, honestly baffled at their lies. Why Emma is working with SHIELD only she might know. SHIELD's motives I can understand.

"They really want the Scepter back in their hands, don't they?" I ask myself, even without needing an answer.

That's all it could be. I took something important to Shield, something they feel threatened by. And now, they believe they need to make sure they don't make me an enemy, so I don't use it on them.

Like I'd need the Scepter to take over their feeble minds, but that's besides the point.

They want the Scepter, badly. And I've made up my mind already. I am not giving it back. Timeline preservation notwithstanding, I am not letting something like the fucking Mind Stone out of my possession. Not unless it is absolutely necessary.

Tilda frowns, and says, "I am really upset with you for that, you know. For all my life I've been living as if one set of paths is more probable than the others, and now that you've taken the Scepter, you've flipped the odds."

I smile bashfully, and ask, "Would you prefer I let the Scepter go, then?"

Tilda snorts, looking out towards the window, and says, "Hardly. If you hand them the Scepter now, Hydra will become a far more dangerous enemy than it would have been, and you'll have to personally intervene. Not as Mason Aves, but as Atharva Joshi."

And we all know what happens when Atharva shows up. Death, and Change.

I suppose I already knew that however. If I hand Shield the Scepter after having proved that I can steal it with the snap of my fingers, they'll become desperate. Hydra will become desperate. The number of experiments will be off the charts, and maybe even more people might survive than just the Maximoff Twins.

Speaking of the twins, I wonder how they'll get their powers now. Will they awaken their mutations naturally? Through trauma? Will young Pietro be in any way similar to his uncle, Peter? A speed enough to make it seem as if Time itself had stopped?

Or will it be weaker, like the one I remember seeing in the movies and in my visions?

Peter Maximoff, the boy who helped the mutants fix Time after it split in 1973. And his nephew, the child of Peter's sister Iryana, the daughter of Magneto, Pietro Maximoff, a boy who gets killed by bullets.

Will Pietro and Wanda still gain their Powers, I wonder.

I sigh, ignoring the thought of the similarly named mutants for now, and say, "One thing I've learnt over the last two thousand years, is that Time has a way of correcting itself. Even without the interference from those outside Time, some events will still happen. I've been worrying over the Absolute points in time, but I suppose they will still happen despite my interference."

And Wanda Maximoff becoming the Scarlet Witch is an Absolute Point. Not just in our Universe, but in all of them. In every Universe, in every Timeline of every Universe, she will always have her powers. She will always be the Scarlet Witch.

"Yes, I suppose you are right." Tilda says, once again bringing me out of my distracted thoughts. Shaking her head, she asks, "I don't suppose you were here just to ask about the Battle?"

Smiling, I say, "I did come here for a reason. I have a favour to ask of you."

Raising her eyebrow in question, Tilda asks, "What can I do for you?"

"Harry Potter." I say, enjoying the way her expressions freeze in place. "He wants to learn the Mystic Arts. He is still figuring out what he wants to do with his life, and Kamar Taj lies on the road to those answers. I want to ask you if you would accept him as a student."

Tilda closes her eyes, and lets out a breath. For a few seconds she stays silent, and then says, "Harry James Potter. In countless other Universes, I have taught the boy. Sometimes when he was as young as 11, and sometimes when he was centuries old already. In one Universe, he was even the one to teach me. So I can most definitely say that the child of Peverell has the talent for Sorcery."

"So you will teach him?" I ask, ignoring the bits about an alternate Harry teaching an alternate Tilda about the Mystic Arts.

The Multiverse is a weird, weird place and it is vaster than anyone alive knows. Even Selene and I, in all our thousands of years of life, haven't done more than peek into other Universes. And even that was rarely done. Doing more than that amounts to breaking the laws of Magic, and the consequences.. even my Repository doesn't have knowledge about the consequences one could face. Which is a lot more worrying than you'd thinking.

Tilda slowly nods, as she opens her eyes, and says, "Yes. I will accept him as a student of Kamar Taj, but I have conditions." She waits for my nod, and says, "He should make his way here himself, without you, or anyone else helping him. He cannot use Magic to help him either. If he wants to join our organization, ask for help in figuring his life out, then he will do so like all the students do. By seeking us out by himself, by feeling the hardships of travelling the world with nothing but your own person."

I nod, the condition not seeming too harsh. Well, Harry might disagree, but I can convince him.

I'll have a talk with him too, once I drop him somewhere on Earth with just a direction to go in. 

Since I moved the Mages to Avalon, Sorcerers have adopted the belief that we're either a myth, or a tale of the past. It just happened since other than Tilda, I didn't tell anyone else what I had planned.

I'd prefer it if Harry doesn't challenge that belief.

Tilda nods back, and says, "If that's acceptable, then Harry Potter can begin making his way to Kamar Taj anytime he wants."

I look at her, and say, "You know, when I met Ayesha she practically brought me to Kamar Taj herself. Without such tests of personality and all."

Tilda smiles, and says, "That was Sorceress Supreme Ayesha. This is me, the Ancient One."

The irony of calling herself the Ancient One while an actual Ancient being sat in front of her, is not lost on either of us.

As I stand up, and start creating a portal to go back home, Tilda says, "Just a minute, Atharva."

I stop right as the portal forms in the air, and turn towards her in curiosity. She throws me a scroll she picks out from the stack from before, and as I catch it, she says, "The New York Sanctum recently submitted this report to me. I do believe that you'll find it a bit.. interesting."

I open the scroll, and read the report. It wasn't anything odd, nothing that might need my intervention at least. The New York Sanctum Master sensed a magical explosion of energy from a Hospital in Tulsa. He checked it out, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary except for traces of Psionic Energy.

I look up at Tilda, only to see her smiling at me. She says, "Visit the hospital, Atharva. I promise you it will be worth it. I know it enlightened me when I visited."

Sighing, knowing that she saw something with the Stone, I throw the scroll back at her, and say, "It better be worth it, Tilda. I already have a lot on my plate as it is."

And then, I enter the portal, appearing back on Avalon. First I'll talk with Harry, explain the situation to him, and then visit this St Francis Hospital in Tulsa.

—

Appearing out of thin air in the parking lot of the hospital, I take a single step towards the hospital doors, and pause.

I can feel it, even from here.

Taking another step, even as my body starts trembling with an unknown emotion, and tears start flowing out of my eyes, I continue my walk towards the doors. 

As soon as I enter through the open doors, I close my eyes, take a deep breath in, and smile. I could sense her magic. I can smell her hair, even when she's long gone for a few days at least. I can feel the magic she used, and I know that the Sorcerers would not have felt this. Not like Tilda and I do.

"Selene.." I whisper, finally feeling a little shred of happiness, now knowing for sure that she's alive.

That she's okay.

I will find you Selene, now that I finally have a hint about your presence, I will definitely find you.

—

Tony Stark rolls his window down, presses the buzzer right next to the driver's side of his car, and says, "Yeah, hi. Can I get a cheeseburger? Extra cheese, extra burger." 

A second goes by, as Tony looks around the place he's found himself in, after which, the gate opens up. The person on the other side of the intercom sighs, and says, "Come in, Mr Stark."

Shrugging, Tony pushes down the accelerator, and drives through the gate, and towards the large Mansion he could see in front of him. As the car starts slowing down, Tony makes out a couple people already standing at the door, waiting for him.

One of them he recognises as the female, hammerless, and hotter version of the God of Thunder, while the second was the laser guy.

Stopping the car right in front of them, Tony gets out, and says, "Take it away, J."

He enjoys the baffled looks on the faces of the two mutants, and grins as Jarvis drives his car away, to park it someplace safe. Or well, as safe as it can be, being in a school full of children.

"Mr Stark." Laser boy says, offering his hand.

Tony gratefully shakes the hand, and says, "You're.. Winters, right? Steve?"

The Goddess snorts with a smile, as Laser Boy's face tenses in annoyance, making Tony realize that he messed up the name. He really should have done more research on them before deciding to visit, but well, whatever.

"His name is Scott Summers." The Goddess says, and offering her own hand, she says, "Ororo Monroe, soon to be Summers. I'm his fiance."

'Eh, close enough. Summers, Winters.' Tony thinks to himself, bemoaning the fact that she's about to be married to Laser Boy.

Tony shakes her hand, and says, "Tony Stark. But you already knew that."

The woman, Ororo, nods, and says, "Come in. The Professor is waiting for us." 

As the lady leads the way, Tony follows after her, looking around at the school, waving at the occasional child that he could make out every once in a while.

"I have to say, Mr Stark. Your presence here was a surprise not just to me, but to the Professor too." Ororo says, as they walk through the hallways.

Tony shrugs, and eyeing an interesting painting that he passes by, he says, "Yeah, we're a team and all that. Fought a battle together, so that makes us Allies, as the old man would say. I found some things that concerned you guys, and like a good teammate that I am, came here to personally inform you."

"Old man?" Scott asks, confused.

Tony waves his hand, dismissing it, and answers, "You might know him as Captain America."

Ororo hums, and says, "I suppose the Professor will want to know whatever it is you're planning on telling us."

The rest of the walk goes by in silence, with Ororo and Summers talking with one another, as they lead him towards the office of this Professor.

Tony didn't know much about this Professor. Except for the fact that he's a Professor in Genetics and Biophysics, a paraplegic, and a bald headed telepath that can pick any and all thoughts out of his mind like it is cotton.

Right as the door to his office opens, and the three walk in, Tony is met with the visage of the bald headed man in question, who smiles at him, and says, "The mind is not simple enough for me to do all that you think I can do, Mr Stark."

Tony snorts, and as he starts looking around the office, he says, "Nice way to show that by actually plucking thoughts out of my mind."

He was not at all offended by Xavier reading his thoughts, in fact it fascinated him. Not that he won't be figuring out a way to keep his thoughts private. But still, Telepathy was fascinating to him.

Xavier smiles, and as Ororo and Summers walk to stand behind him, he says, "I was just a bit curious, and those thoughts of yours were the first, and last thing I heard. Please, be seated."

Tony takes the offered seat, and says, "Well, I suppose you know why I'm here then."

'You know all I was going to tell you.' is what he means, but he doesn't say it out loud.

Xavier nods, and says, "Ororo did tell me that you have come across some information that might concern us."

Tony raises an eyebrow at the woman, then looks at Xavier, and says, "Ahem, right. Telepath." Shaking his head, he says, "Well, firstly. Did you know your Mansion is under surveillance? Not by one Government organization, but three of them. SHIELD is obviously one of them. Second set of spyware belongs to someone in the US Army called William Stryker, and the last one to the CIA."

Xavier sighs, and nodding, he says, "Yes. The US Army has had its sights on us since the eighties, while the CIA has been monitoring us since the Cuban Crisis. As for SHIELD, it is relatively new to butt into our business, only since the last decade."

Tony stares at the man, baffled. He asks, "Do you need help securing your systems or something? I will help you, and I won't even take any payment."

"And why would you do that?" Xavier calmly asks.

Tony shrugs, and answers, "This is a school. The Government should not be monitoring a school full of children 24x7."

Xavier smiles, and says, "Do not worry, Mr Stark. Our systems are highly secure, and no Spyware has entered our premises. The only place those organizations can monitor is the front door, and some parts of the grounds. The only reason I allow this is to grant them a sense of security."

Tony grins, and asks, "So they only see what you want them to see? Smart. So I guess that one was not a problem. There is something else I came here for, though. Edward Scissorhands. Where is he? This concerns him more than it does you."

As Tony looks around, as if the man in question might jump out from behind the shelf or something, Xavier says, "I'm afraid Logan is currently not in. He's gone on a.. Spiritual journey, thanks to the return of a few of his old, lost memories."

"Huh. Well, tell him to give me a call if you get in touch with him or something." Tony says, and starts to stand up.

"You can tell me what the problem is, if you want. I will make sure Logan hears of it." Xavier offers, no doubt curious about what the problem is.

Tony waves his hand, and says, "I don't doubt your sincerity, but it'll be better if he hears it from me. It will have.. more of an impact, I suppose."

Xavier frowns, but lets the topic go. Suddenly, right as Tony is about to start saying his goodbyes, the door opens behind him, letting another one of the mutants that had participated in the battle into the office.

"Ms Braddock. You came here just in time." Xavier says, as the woman walks in.

Tony looks her up and down, and offering his hand to her with a grin, he says, "Tony Stark, at your service."

The woman might be a decade older than Tony, but Tony wasn't blind. She was a bombshell, and Tony could only wonder over what it is that mutants ate for everyone to be this hot.

"We're telling him? He doesn't look trustworthy enough." Ms Braddock speaks to Xavier, ignoring the fact that Tony was right there, and could hear her.

Xavier smiles, and says, "His thoughts about you notwithstanding, Mr Stark is in perfect position to listen to what we have to say. Besides, this way, we don't have to bring attention to ourselves by contacting him first."

Tony looks between the pair, and says, "I'm a bit confused. What is it we're telling me again?"

Braddock, the 50 year old bombshell of a woman, walks behind Xavier, and folding her hands above her chest, she says, "The person that we met in your lobby that day, before we went out for Shawarma. He's not who he says he is."

"That's nothing odd. All Government people are like that. You should have been there the day I met Fury." Tony says, not bothered in the least.

Government leaders are corrupt, and have skewed morals, no matter what organization they lead. And Pierce, if that is the man she's speaking about, was just like the rest. He's not a nice man, that much Tony already knew.

Sighing, when Braddock turns her head at him, Xavier says, "She doesn't mean it in that way, Mr Stark. What she means to say, is that Alexander Pierce.. is not loyal to SHIELD. He is a loyal agent, and one of the leaders of an organization known in our past.. as HYDRA."

—

Avalon:

Selene, the External. 

She was known by a lot of names throughout history. Selene Galileo, Selene the Dark Queen, Selene Aetos the Librarian. Selene Aves, the wife of Mason Aves. And most recently, Dr Seline Kyle, Urologist.

She sat on top of a mountain, looking at the sunrise in front of her eyes, watching through tear filled eyes as the sun slowly came up.

Behind her, on the Ho-Lo Shan Mountain, was a small lake, and around the lake was a copse of trees, all spread around the terrace of the mountain. And on those trees, sat multiple birds, most sporting a shade of orange, yellow and red colours, while some had different colours altogether.

Fenghuang. An offshoot of the Phoenixes, the birds of Flame, of Rebirth.

One of the birds flies down from its spot on its tree branch, and lands on a rock next to the tearfully sobbing Selene. As Selene keeps crying her eyes out, the Fenghuang starts a slow melodious whistle, the magic within which slowly calms Selene's mind.

As her tears die down, Selene whispers, "Thank you. Not just for this, but for everything."

The bird dips his head, and as a tendril of Psionic energy enters Selene's mind, she hears him say, 'You are welcome, Child. Will you not go home now? To the Guardian?'

Selene sighs, and looking at the horizon, she whispers, "I don't know if he will have me back. I did just abandon him without a hint of where I'm going."

Although she knows that for someone who has lived 2000 years, 30 years is not a long time, she also knew that her absence would have hurt Athreos a lot.

'I have seen your mind, Child. I have seen your memories. If he loves you half as much as you love him, then he will forgive you and accept you back in his life without any issues.' the Phoenix answers, and Selene could only hope that it's true.

For 27 years she had stayed away from her love, her husband. With only a letter to inform him that nothing bad had happened to her, she had left him. Left him to his own self, without allowing him to track her down.

Would he allow her back in his life? Or would he be angry at her?

'Humans.. for a billion years I have overseen them on behalf of my Parents. In my long life, one thing I have noticed is that your love knows no bounds. And that holds true with the Guardian as well. I may not have seen inside his mind like I did yours, Selene, but I have seen the Love he holds for you. When he brought you to meet us, he did not do so to test your character as you believe. He did it because he wanted you to experience our presence like he does. He loves you. Go to him, and explain your actions. I assure you, you will be welcomed back with love.' the oldest Phoenix on Earth says, staring at the mutant with weirdly intelligent eyes.

Selene sighs, and says, "Yes. I suppose you're right. I just hope I don't regret making the choice."

Suddenly, something rustles from her side, and believing that it is the Phoenix from before, Selene turns to see what he's doing, only to stop in shock. There, seated right beside her, was the topic of her conversation with the Phoenix.

"Athreos." Selene whispers, shocked at seeing him there. "How did you find me?"

Athreos, her husband, the love of her life, keeps staring at the skies, and says, "Your act in Tulsa gave me the clues I needed to track you down. The Psionic Energy and the smell of Flames just clued me in as to exactly where you were or to be more precise, who you were with."

'How did I not sense you coming?' she wants to ask, but the thing held in his hands catches her eyes right then. The Cloak of Invisibility, he must've borrowed it from the Potters.

Selene keeps her eyes on him, trying to detect his emotions, but as was expected of him, Athreos keeps his mind away from her grasp. His face gave no hint as to what he was feeling either.

"How are you?" He suddenly asks, turning to look at her.

Selene opens her mouth to reflexively answer that she was fine, but stops when their eyes finally meet. She sees the love he has for her in his eyes, the anger about her disappearance, and the happiness he feels about finally having found her.

Her emotions overwhelm her, and not caring about what his dominant feelings for her might be as of now, Selene jumps at him, hugging him tightly with all her might, afraid to let him go.

Afraid of seeing hate in his eyes.

Afraid of rejection.

"Shh…shhh… I'm here, I'm here Selene. I'm here." Athreos whispers, rubbing his hand on her back, while the other holds her head as she begins crying once again, and it does the job. Kind of. She's reassured, but her cries just get louder.

"I'm.. I'm sorry, Athreos! I'm sorry! I'll never leave again, I promise! I promise!" Selene cries out, clutching Athreos's shirt tightly.

Athreos just keeps her held in her arms, letting her cry it all out. His own voice trembles with barely held back emotions, as he says, "I know. I know. I don't know what you were up to, but now that you're here, with me.. come home. Come home, Selene."

Selene nods in his neck, agreeing to come home, and the next thing she knows, she feels the familiar magic of Athreos's Sanctuary surround her, welcoming her back home. It almost feels to her, as if the Island itself was happy to have her back.

And Selene was too happy to be here once again.

She just hopes her explanation is not something that gives Athreos grief. 

—

A/N: So, Avengers knowing about Hydra won out over letting them go wild. But I didn't think Mason, as he is now, would mention it. But then I remembered Psylocke, who is also a telepath, and who has actually seen Alexander Pierce upfront.

The next chapter will deal with both Selene's explanation, and Tony's decision regarding Hydra. I don't know what it will be yet.

What does Tony want to talk with Wolverine about, I wonder?

Anyway, thank you for your support! Tata!