Bringing Wanda Maximoff into the Aetherial Plane wasn't a sudden impulse—it was a carefully considered decision. Solomon knew full well that his mind wasn't exactly normal, but he wasn't careless when it came to decisions like this. On one hand, Wanda had reached the point in her training where she needed a deeper understanding of the inner and outer planes. Solomon had to take her to a place that, while still otherworldly, wasn't too dangerous—a field trip of sorts, like when the Ancient One had once thrown him into the Dark Dimension. Only Solomon's methods were a little less… brutal. The Aetherial Plane was far more suitable for exploration.
On the other hand, he needed to show Wanda the kind of power he wielded in the outside world.
So long as Wanda could resist corruption, only Solomon could rival her magical potential among spellcasters. He wanted to bring her into the Immortal City's military structure. To do that, they needed camaraderie. Shared experience. Like when she joined the Avengers—except this time, it was his team. From his perspective, the two of them only shared a teacher-student relationship. That alone wasn't enough for her to lay her life on the line for the Immortal City.
But a small adventure? A shared journey? That would bring them closer.
And joining the Immortal City was certainly better than running with those Avengers knuckleheads.
Recently, Solomon had read a piece about how criminal organizations rise. It concluded that gangs flourish where governments lack control, often becoming necessary evils to maintain some form of order. Governments tolerate these groups because they serve a purpose. This was especially true in places like the so-called "beacon of democracy"—the United States. Federal law didn't dominate state law. The government cared more about taxes, and the police were there to protect the wealthy. In the U.S., gangs weren't all that shocking; even terrorist organizations had FBI moles.
Strip away the specialized personnel, high-tech toys, aliens, and magic, and the Avengers were no different—just another extra-legal group helping to maintain the parts of the world governments couldn't reach. Their fate would be no different from the Prohibition-era gangs of America. Once they were no longer useful, they'd be discarded.
Solomon didn't care what he said about "just teaching a bit"—his interest in Wanda and Pietro was real. He wanted to help the Maximoff twins find a future outside of the idiocy of the Avengers.
Though Wanda was technically older than Solomon, she was still like a girl in front of the Magus. He always played the role of protector. Especially when he came bearing magic, he fulfilled the image she had long dreamed of. In her dreams, she sometimes saw Solomon and Pietro at a dinner table together—just family. It was a comforting image she was far too shy to ever admit aloud, not even during routine dream evaluations.
"I really didn't know those things were here, I swear!" Solomon wiped cold sweat from his brow. He hadn't expected such a treasure trove from his future self. He had thought it would be more like the golden Honor Guard—valuable, sure, but within reason. Otherwise, he never would've brought Wanda along to show off his legacy. Her connection to the same cosmic powers that shaped him made her perfect for helping decode the Honor Guard's biology and technology.
Wanda nodded, still unnerved. No one could stay calm in the face of such titanic relics. She couldn't help but feel the pangs of megalophobia. After calming herself a bit, she asked, "Are those things common in the inner planes?"
Solomon shook his head. "Absolutely not. I promise you, those things have no business being in the inner planes."
He instinctively looked up again at the wounded giants. Even with his unusually tall frame, Solomon felt like dust before them. Weaker-minded people might have passed out just from the overwhelming sense of scale and awe. Several warships, each over twenty kilometers long, drifted silently through the pale mist of the Aetherial Plane. Their cold, golden alloy plating was pitted with craters the size of houses, their hulls bristling with main guns, each barrel as wide as a skyscraper. A spread-winged eagle stood proud atop the lead ship's prow.
It was a fleet. A peerless fleet, forged to sail the stars.
It had seen countless battles, borne untold honor. When Solomon touched the deck, he felt as if he were set ablaze by war. The cannons still burned. The engines still screamed. The ship, named Sword of Terra, whispered to him, longing to sail once more. This was humanity's future—any enemy would kneel before such force.
He and Wanda spent a long time skirting along the side of that colossal flagship. Smaller warships followed, equally armed, equally impressive. These were relics of a technological age that no longer existed. The songs of great industry. The footprints of a high civilization reaching for the stars. Thanks to the notes his future self had left behind, Solomon knew exactly what these ships were for—and how devastating their power was.
"What even is this?" Wanda looked at him, suspicious. She remembered what the textbooks said about planar fragments. Solomon had been thorough—he'd given her every known theory. That helped her piece together what she was seeing.
"No one can enter a fragment that already has an owner," she said. "So those have to be yours. You can't not know they're here."
"Not mine yet," Solomon admitted. "But they will be. That's the point. This is from the future. And it's a story about a man named Jacob." He offered her a small smile. "If you want, I'll tell you the whole thing someday. Just not now. Let's just say... this is a gift from my future self to the present."
"What are you planning to do with them? And what happened in the future?"
"I'm not using them yet. It's not time." He shook his head again. "To even run those ships, I'd need manpower I simply don't have right now. But the future…"
He brushed back his wet bangs and sighed.
"There's news that an alien fleet is headed for Earth. Not a portal attack like the Battle of New York, but a real fleet, coming through space. It belongs to the so-called Dark Titan, the would-be conqueror of the universe. We don't know how many ships he has, but right now, humanity has zero capability for interstellar warfare. When that fleet arrives, the world will have no choice but to surrender."
He paused.
"That's when this fleet will be needed. And combined with my other preparations… I believe we'll be able to end it. Him. That mad Titan."
"Other preparations?" Wanda caught his implication. "You mean…"
"Yes," Solomon said. "That's my mission. A path full of hardship, but one of glory."
He turned and met her gaze.
"Wanda… do you want to join me?"
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Fairy Tail: Igneel's Eldest Son (Chapter 256)
I Am Thalos, Odin's Older Brother (Chapter 336)
Reborn in America's Anti-Terror Unit (Chapter 542)
Solomon in Marvel (Chapter 924)
Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet (Chapter 1284)
Surgical Fruit in the American Comics Universe (Chapter 1289)
American Detective: From TV Rookie to Seasoned Cop (Chapter 1316)
American TV Writer (Chapter 1402)
I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld! (Chapter 570)
Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 660)
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