Once Dormammu succeeded in controlling Earth's superheroes and sent them to attack the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj, invading and devouring Earth would become effortless.
At the moment, the strongest hero remaining on Earth seemed to be the reclusive Iron Man — Tony Stark.
And with Tony's wife apparently pregnant, Dormammu saw a perfect opportunity.
Originally, Dormammu had considered targeting mutants.
However, he had no reliable way to determine which mutant on Earth was the strongest.
In contrast, Stark Industries and Iron Man were known across the entire planet.
News about Tony Stark appeared everywhere.
It was impossible not to notice him.
Furthermore, the fragment of Dormammu's dark energy currently present on Earth was extremely weak.
He did not have enough power to investigate every mutant individually.
So he decided to focus on Tony Stark instead.
After possessing the body of a random white man, Dormammu immediately began searching for Tony Stark's hidden residence.
His goal was simple:
Control Tony Stark.
Or control his wife.
While investigating, Dormammu also discovered something interesting.
Tony Stark had once been one of the people who helped stop his invasion of Earth.
This only strengthened Dormammu's determination.
Using the controlled human host, Dormammu began asking around for information about Tony Stark's location.
However, an entire week passed with no progress.
Tony Stark's residence had been deliberately hidden.
Finding it was far from easy.
Dormammu was unwilling to expend additional dark energy to search directly.
Doing so would weaken his fragment even further.
Then one day—
He noticed someone familiar.
Happy Hogan, Tony Stark's former driver and personal bodyguard.
Dormammu immediately abandoned the body he had been using.
His consciousness transformed into a ball of dark energy and rushed into Happy's body.
Within seconds, Happy was completely controlled.
Using Happy's memories, Dormammu instantly discovered the location of Tony Stark's secluded residence.
Happy then began driving directly toward the valley where Tony lived.
Since Happy had no magical defenses against mental control, Dormammu took over his body effortlessly.
Happy drove his Rolls-Royce toward Tony's secluded villa.
Meanwhile—
Stephen Strange suddenly sensed a fluctuation of dark energy somewhere on Earth.
He immediately began searching for its source using magic.
But strangely—
He found nothing.
Confused, Strange frowned.
"I'm certain I felt it…"
He opened a gateway into the Mirror Dimension and continued searching.
Stephen Strange trusted his instincts.
If he had sensed dark energy—
Then it had to be somewhere on Earth.
Meanwhile, Happy, still under Dormammu's control, drove for nearly three hours.
Eventually, he reached Tony Stark's hidden residence.
Happy passed directly through the valley's security perimeter.
The automated defenses recognized him as a familiar individual.
Once he arrived outside the house—
Happy suddenly collapsed.
At the same moment, a mass of dark energy surged out of his body.
It rushed straight toward the house.
Within seconds—
It entered Tony Stark's body.
"AAAH—!"
Tony suddenly screamed.
"Shit!"
"What the hell was that?!"
Dormammu immediately attempted to invade Tony's mind.
But something unexpected happened.
A powerful mental defense blocked him.
The barrier had been placed there by Karl long ago.
Dormammu's consciousness slammed into the barrier and was repelled.
However, the violent mental impact caused Tony intense pain.
Hearing his scream, Pepper rushed toward him immediately.
Realizing he could not control Tony, Dormammu quickly abandoned the attempt.
The dark energy burst out of Tony's body—
And rushed straight into Pepper's body.
"AAAH—!"
Pepper cried out.
"It feels like something is attacking my mind!"
Dormammu attempted to control her consciousness.
But once again—
He failed.
Pepper also possessed mental protection left behind by Karl.
The barrier prevented Dormammu from invading her mind.
After two failed attempts, Dormammu's already fragile fragment of dark energy became even weaker.
Meanwhile, Tony staggered to his feet.
He clutched his head and looked at Pepper with panic.
"Jarvis!"
"Scan Pepper immediately!"
"Hurry!"
A blue scanning beam swept across Pepper's body.
At that moment—
A spark appeared beside Tony.
A portal opened.
Stephen Strange stepped out.
The moment he appeared, the floor beneath them shifted.
Multiple adamantium Iron Man armors rose from the ground.
Palm cannons and energy weapons locked onto Strange.
"Hey! Hey! Hey!"
"It's me!"
"I'm the Sorcerer Supreme of Kamar-Taj!"
Stephen Strange raised his hands immediately.
He had not come to fight Tony.
He had sensed the dark energy near this location and opened a portal instantly.
"Jarvis, stand down!"
Tony ordered.
Then he looked anxiously at Pepper.
"What's her condition?!"
The armors retracted back into the floor.
Jarvis responded immediately.
"Sir, there is a foreign energy inside Ms. Pepper's body."
"It attempted to invade her mind."
"Fortunately, the mental defense system left by Mr. Karl prevented the intrusion."
"Otherwise, Ms. Pepper may have been fully controlled."
"It's dark energy."
Stephen Strange's expression darkened.
"I sensed it earlier."
"That's why I came here."
He raised his hands, preparing to cast a spell.
But before he could act—
Something horrifying happened.
A mass of black energy suddenly emerged from Pepper's stomach.
It gathered in the air—
Forming a human face.
WHOOSH—
"Sorcerer Supreme!"
Dormammu's voice echoed coldly.
"You're too late!"
"Hahaha!"
Although he had failed to control Tony and Pepper—
He had discovered something else.
"The child…"
Dormammu laughed darkly.
"This unborn child has no mental defenses."
"I curse her."
"After she is born…"
"She will lose her soul, her flesh, and everything she possesses!"
Before Tony or Strange could react—
The dark energy transformed into a dark curse sigil.
It shot directly into the body of the child in Pepper's womb.
WHOOSH—
"DORMAMMU!!"
Stephen Strange immediately tried to cast a spell.
But it was already too late.
The curse had already taken effect.
The dark energy had fully entered the child's body.
...
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