A scheduled battle with Asgard had not changed anyone's daily life.
Back in the rhythm of routine, Wong was still buried in drafting his plans for the Academy. Mordo managed the daily operations of Kamar-Taj, while Banner focused on expanding his unusual business of raising magical creatures. Wong had given him a task: cultivate enough giant magical animals before the Supreme Mage Academy officially opened.
"When the apprentices arrive, each will be paired with a companion," Wong explained. "Only then can Kamar-Taj demonstrate its true heritage as the stronghold of sorcery passed down through generations."
Banner pushed his glasses up and frowned. He remembered that when he first arrived, Kamar-Taj had no such creatures. How exactly did this count as "heritage"?
As for Loki, the exiled prince struggled to adjust to Earth. To distract him, Mordo arranged for him to spend time with Banner and the magical animals. But Banner sometimes had to release the Hulk to let off steam. Every time the green giant appeared, Loki's face went pale. Traumatized by their previous encounters, he trembled and tried to flee. The God of Mischief was now living under the shadow of fear, always on edge, wondering if Banner would transform again that day.
Eventually, Loki's mischief surfaced. One evening at dinner, he tried to coax Banner into finding a way to rid himself of the Hulk permanently. Banner hesitated, saying it wasn't a good idea. Loki pressed further, but before he could finish, Banner lost control.
Hulk burst out, roared, flipped the dining table, and snatched Loki up, shaking him like a rag doll. The powerless prince screamed in terror. If Banner hadn't quickly ejected Hulk with a practiced astral projection, then dropped to his knees frantically casting healing spells, begging Loki not to die, the trickster might not have seen another dawn at Kamar-Taj.
From then on, whenever Loki spotted Banner, he turned sharply away, muttering under his breath. Watching Loki's emotions unravel day by day, Mordo grew uneasy. Loki might be banished, but he was still a prince of Asgard—and Thor had promised to visit soon. Mordo decided the matter was too delicate to handle alone and reported it to Malrick, the Sorcerer Supreme.
That same day, Malrick had been listening to Yelena's enthusiastic pitch. She wanted permission to film the second installment of Superman and Iron Man. She already had a title ready: Superman and Iron Man: Rescuing Asgard. Tony had even made revisions to her script.
Malrick skimmed the pages. Somehow Iron Man, supposedly a supporting role, had more scenes than the protagonist. He was about to send it back when Mordo's report came in.
Malrick sighed and waved Yelena off. "Just film Thor instead," he told her. "Copy the old plot. Let Loki play his dream role as God King."
Half a month later, the project was underway. Malrick stopped worrying about the Super Hero Company, though Yelena often complained at home. Loki had become demanding, rewriting scenes to favor himself. The movie was turning from Thor into The Legend of Loki. Malrick only shook his head. "Let him enjoy the fantasy. Reality has already humbled him."
After a lively Christmas, the New Year passed quietly, and February 2009 arrived.
Tony still looked worn out at times, while Pepper glowed with a healthier radiance. Wanda officially signed with the Super Hero Company and began working as a street hero in New York. Within weeks, she shut down almost all of Kingpin's operations in Hell's Kitchen. Natasha stopped her just in time, reminding her that the city's underground balance depended on Kingpin's existence. Otherwise, Wanda might have dismantled the empire completely.
Meanwhile, Pietro grew frustrated. Wanda's name now rang louder in the streets than his own. He often grumbled, wondering why he hadn't thought to target Kingpin first. "If I had," he muttered, "I'd be the one raking in the endorsements by now."
As for Malrick, he no longer spent all his days locked in study. By day, he sometimes accompanied Wanda and Gwen, who crossed in from the neighboring Spider-Verse, on shopping trips. By night, he sparred with Natasha and Yelena, or crossed into the Biochemical Universe to train with Jill and Ada Wong. For them, no time had passed—whenever Malrick returned, he slipped into the exact moment he had last left.
On a snowy February morning, Malrick sat cross-legged on the rooftop of his Brooklyn home. The white flakes slid harmlessly off his body as he faced the sun.
"I've reached the limit of my current strength," he thought. "The next step requires something more."
Though his body grew stronger under the sun, progress had slowed. He had begun to grasp the laws of light, time, and space, each inching forward. Fire and ice, drawn from artifacts like the Eternal Flame and the Casket of Ancient Winters, had also begun to stir within him. Yet Immortality still lay half a year away.
More importantly, his mastery as a World Guardian allowed him to store Infinity Stones within his inner dimension, studying their essence up close. Once he ascended further, he would lose that opportunity. He needed to remain in this stage a while longer, to extract everything he could.
"But before that," Malrick thought, his eyes narrowing, "it's time to complete the third clone."
His main body was Kryptonian. His first clone, forged of blood and energy, served as a reservoir. His second, the Blacklight Clone, functioned as a living genetic analyzer. Both were invaluable.
The third needed to be something greater—an existence that could push him further.
"Kryptonians are defined by their absurd potential, shaped by ideals rather than limits," Malrick mused. "If I can create a clone that embodies that same idealistic force… one close to the universe itself… then I might touch power even Superman cannot explain."
He considered. The first was flesh, the second viral matter. The third should be pure energy.
Somewhere in the multiverse, there must exist a lifeform of pure energy, bound to ideals, close to the fabric of the cosmos itself.
Malrick smiled faintly. "Time to search."
The air shimmered.
[Initiating Multiversal Search.]
Keywords: Energy life, Idealistic, Cosmic affinity, Low threat, Suitable for third clone.
Retrieval beginning…
World anchoring complete.
Energy consumption calculated.
Travel confirmed.
The rooftop dissolved into light as Malrick vanished, setting out toward the unknown.
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