Just as Tony was starting to question whether Morin's friends were actually reliable, the distant thrum of helicopter blades rolled across the desert.
"See? I told you someone would come for us," Morin said.
"Your friends are military?" Tony asked.
"No, why?"
"Because that's a military chopper they're flying."
"Do you have hawk eyes or something?"
"I designed it. I can tell by the engine sound."
"Is that so." Morin nodded dismissively. "So, are you buying the footage?"
"One million dollars. And you guarantee this video doesn't end up in anyone else's hands."
Tony hesitated.
It was his first solo flight. Worth keeping as a souvenir. And the crash footage... fine for personal viewing, disastrous if it reached the tabloids.
Buying out the media would cost far more than a million.
Classic billionaire math.
"Deal!" Morin marveled at how someone of Tony Stark's level treated money like loose change. He immediately decided-quietly-to record more footage later.
Tony got his video.
Morin got experience points.
A perfect transaction.
Morin pulled the memory card and handed it over. "I assume you're good for the money."
"It's just a million dollars." Tony pointed at the ground. "Put it down. I don't like being handed things."
"Sure."
Morin placed the card on the sand. Tony bent down to pick it up.
Right then, the helicopter arrived.
It hovered, and several fully armed soldiers rappelled down. Among them was a slightly stout Black man with a familiar face.
Colonel James Rhodes.
Tony's best friend.
"Back to riding in your 'Fun Jeep'?"
As the saying went, a best friend was a professional heckler.
Tony had only come to Afghanistan to demonstrate the Jericho missile. During the evacuation, he chose a Humvee over Rhodes's plane.
Then he got ambushed.
"Next time, I'm taking my 'Happy Plane,'" Tony said, finally smiling.
"Hey, hey. I'm one of the good guys. Muzzles down," Morin said, trying to push the rifles aside.
"Who's this?" Rhodes asked.
"A photographer," Tony said. "Probably not a threat."
"I'm definitely not a threat! We just closed a million-dollar deal! You can't take the goods and skip the bill!" Morin protested.
"A photographer? A million dollars?" Rhodes twitched.
Because of a recent million-dollar transaction, he was already buried in reports.
One to justify the payment.
The rest to explain a cyberwar.
"Why the reaction?" Tony asked. "I just bought a video."
"Because I authorized a million-dollar payment to an anonymous hacker group not long ago," Rhodes said. "That video gave us your location. We narrowed it down to three areas. We were prepping the rescue when we detected the explosion and flew straight here."
"It's hard not to connect the two."
Tony and Rhodes turned to Morin at the same time.
"I don't know anything!" Morin shook his head.
"I don't believe a photographer just wanders into a war zone for 'weapon footage he can't even film,'" Tony said. He'd been suspicious before, but hadn't had the time.
"You have to believe me," Morin said seriously. "Even if I did take that video, the situation is complicated. Those who know, know. Those who don't wouldn't understand even if I explained."
He lowered his voice.
"Better not to ask. The water is deep. A lot of powerful figures are involved. That's all I can say."
Tony: "..."
Rhodes: "..."
"Let me get this straight," Tony said at last. "You're saying major players are involved? Are they tied to my kidnapping? Did you sell that video to get me rescued?"
"When you put it that way..." Rhodes whispered. "It's highly probable. While tracing the uploader and payment accounts, we ran into walls. Some were our people. Some were higher-ups. The rest were hackers better than our technicians."
"With a defense system that porous, that's not impressive," Tony scoffed.
"I asked you to help upgrade it. You refused," Rhodes shot back.
"Fine. I'll upgrade it when we're back," Tony said, smirking.
Inside, he was pleased.
A perfect excuse.
If he handled the upgrade, leaving backdoors would be trivial.
"That's not the priority," Rhodes said quietly. "If someone's really after you, we need to know who. Should I interrogate him?"
"I trust you," Tony said. "Not the rest of the military. I'll ask."
"If he refuses, that's illegal detention," Rhodes warned.
"Do I look like someone who enjoys breaking the law?" Tony said, shaking his head.
He walked over.
"Lower the guns," Tony said. "He's not a prisoner."
The soldiers looked at Rhodes.
"Stand down."
They backed off.
"I think your photography skills are excellent," Tony said.
"Obviously," Morin nodded. "Anyone with eyes can see that."
Rhodes had to admit it was true.
One continuous shot. No cuts. Every defensive position recorded.
Talent.
"I want you at Stark Industries," Tony said. "Full-time videographer. Highest salary in the industry."
Rhodes immediately understood.
Keep him close.
"He's the only confirmed link."
"The kind where I clock in and out?" Morin asked.
"Yes."
"I'm in."
Extra income.
More experience points.
Perfect.
One day later.
Morin stood at 177 Bleecker Street, New York City.
Also known as the New York Sanctum.
Tony was busy. The press conference announcing the shutdown of Stark Industries' weapons division would take time to settle. Tony didn't care.
He was focused on the Mark armor.
Yinsen's death had clarified things.
There were better uses for his life than missiles and cover girls.
Filming that wasn't useful.
No blackmail value.
So Morin had other business.
Meeting the Ancient One.
So far, besides himself, she was the only being he'd encountered who existed across multiple worlds.
In the Ghost Rider world, inside Duke's memories, he'd met an Ancient One who looked like a Taoist priest.
That Ancient One had used time itself to see Morin's arrival.
And left a message.
This was likely that moment.
Morin stepped through the barrier.
To ordinary people, 177 Bleecker Street was a tattoo parlor and a restaurant.
To those with permission, it revealed a towering Sanctum.
The New York Sanctum was one of three nodes sustaining Earth's magical shield.
Because of it, entities like Hell Lords or Dormammu couldn't easily reach Earth.
They never had.
Morin raised his hand.
The door opened first.
"The Sorcerer Supreme is waiting on the roof."
An elderly Taoist priest stood there. Thin. White hair. Clear spirit.
"Thank you. I am Morin."
"This humble priest is called Wujiezi."
They bowed.
"Please."
They climbed to the rooftop.
Plants. A swing.
Calm.
At the center, a bald woman in sorcerer's robes and an old Taoist played Go while drinking tea.
Morin recognized the Taoist.
The woman matched the Ancient One from the MCU.
So.
Two Ancient Ones.
Wujiezi left.
"You've arrived," the Taoist said, smiling. "I told you we'd meet again."
With a wave, the board vanished.
Tea appeared.
"Sit."
Morin glanced at the woman.
He'd already calculated the outcome.
The Taoist was about to lose.
So he flipped the table.
Efficient.
Morin sat.
"What you did was impressive," the Taoist said. "Mephisto took a loss."
"With your help," Morin replied.
"Mephisto's true form is dangerous," the woman said. "Be careful if you face him again."
"I understand."
They already knew about his world-hopping.
Expected.
"I have a question," Morin said carefully. "My ability. Do you know where it comes from?"
They exchanged looks.
"We do," they said. "But at his request, we can't tell you yet."
"I see."
"Some things can be said," the woman added. "His origin is likely the same as yours."
"The place you come from."
"A place we know exists. But cannot reach."
"I understand."
Talking to smart people was easy.
"What you want is in the first library on the left, third floor," she said. "I'll take you to Kamar-Taj in three days."
"Thank you."
Morin stood and left.
A smart person knows when to leave.
Something was off.
Inside Earth's boundary, he looked up.
The planetary formation filled the sky.
Mana interwove endlessly.
This wasn't movie magic.
This was real.
Planetary-scale.
Inside it, even he wasn't confident.
And she had the Time Stone.
Infinite retries.
Unbeatable.
So he retreated.
"Magic books," Morin muttered.
He found the library.
All fundamentals.
Exactly what he wanted.
He recorded everything.
Three days.
At least.
And this was just one section.