Chapter 004 – Meeting
This story has more than 50 advanced chapters on my patreon account. I will probably only upload it here occasionally, as this account isn't a priority of mine and just exists to stop others from stealing my intellectual property.
(My patreon-acc: www.patreon/GodOfFreedom)
[2009 – June]
While putting on some underwear, comfortable jeans, a hoodie, and a thin jacket, I had a foreboding feeling as I remembered my new name.
Elijah Frost. That name suddenly became a lot more ominous and I just hoped that my suspicions weren't true.
Grabbing my backpack, I stuffed it with some more clothes, my laptop, and two bottles of water. And after grabbing my wallet, phone, and keys, I directly left the apartment. I had removed the battery from my laptop and phone, so hopefully, nobody could track me using them.
I also didn't walk downstairs after closing the apartment door behind me, I went up to the roof instead, deeming it the safer exit to leave without being spotted by some cameras, or worse, people spying on me.
Though as soon as I opened the door, I came face to face with one of the people I didn't want to meet this early in my new life.
"Hello, Elijah.”
The Ancient One didn't seem to care about my grim expression, as she stood in the middle of the roof and looked at me with a small smile on her face.
Sighing, I could only regret that while my mind was protected, I couldn't shield my presence and location from those like her.
Well, at least for now I couldn't do so.
…
Looking at the anomaly in front of her, the Ancient One found herself fascinated.
Not fascinated by the current Elijah Frost but what the Eye of Agamotto had shown her about his future and alternative selves, or more precisely his non-existing alternative versions.
The boy before her was a singular existence in time, which was something incredible and at the same time something to be feared.
Anomalies tended to be unstable factors that more often than not reveal themselves as great threats to other living beings.
But even among them, Elijah Frost was special.
She had seen his many future versions and while like every human, he had the capacity for great evil – and also good. In the endless amount of possibilities, she had seen he, more often than not, didn't side with either side.
He wasn't neutral either, he was just disinterested. He didn't seek wealth, authority, power, or validation. Sure, he had those in spades, but his true goal was freedom.
To be able to wander the Universe at his whim, unstoppable and unrestricted.
Never had the Ancient One seen another being that yearned for freedom more than the boy before her. It was as if his whole being couldn't help but gravitate towards this goal no matter the time or circumstances.
And that, she could respect.
Especially when she thought of all the times she or Stephen would ask for his help and he accepted without hesitation, just because of a small favour she had done him.
The exact favour she was here to offer the young man that the world would come to call 'The Wanderer' in a not too far future.
Sensing other presences approaching their position, probably in an attempt to recruit or kidnap the boy. The Ancient One used one of the most common, yet most convenient powers the Masters of the Mystical Arts were capable of.
With a wave of her hand, a surge of dimensional energy erupted and a moment later reality cracked all around them, transporting the young Mr. Frost and herself into the Mirror Dimension.
Seeing him tense up at her actions, the Ancient One spoke up once again.
"Don't worry I didn't bring you here to lock you away Mr. Frost but to help you escape some people you probably don't want to meet for now."
…
Relaxing slightly after hearing her words, I forcefully calmed myself down.
I knew trying to fight her right now was nothing short of suicidal, as she was an incredibly powerful sorceress and while I may be an Omega-level mutant, I had basically zero practice using my powers in a fight.
Make no mistake, I could feel an incredible power brimming with excitement directly under my skin, just waiting to be unleashed on my surroundings.
But such an attack would be performed without much control or finesse. And I didn't believe for a second that I could defeat or even tie with the Ancient One relying on pure power.
She had warded the Earth against near-omnipotent existences for ages, so clearly she knew how to deal with opponents that had massive amounts of power. So without unearthing the true potential of my shields and/or gaining some more diverse abilities, I stood basically no chance against her.
Still, thinking about it rationally, her appearance and words alone gave me enough hints to tell me that she knew how special my existence was, as I was definitely an anomaly.
Furthermore, the knowing look in her eyes also told me that the Ancient One knew that I knew of her existence, which was a feat in itself for someone with my body's history.
Her words also made me realize that I had indeed been found and would have most likely been caught without her assistance.
So there remained only a few questions in my mind.
“Why would you, the Sorceress Supreme help me?”, I asked calmly.
Even if she knew of my existence and didn't think I was a threat, the Ancient One wasn't heroic enough that she would run around and save mutants in trouble. This meant she wanted something from me, will do so in the future, or saw something in my future that made her act.
"I am just earning myself a favour, Elijah.", she answered with a smile that had the faintest roguish hint to it, which told me that she wouldn't tell me simply because she knew that I was curious about it.
Still, at least now I knew that she had probably seen a situation in the future where she would require my help, so she acted in advance and secured herself a favour with me to avoid me declining to help.
And she was right to do so, as I was always one to honor a favour. It was somewhat of my personal code to always repay the favours owed.
Being in debt to someone wasn't something I enjoyed, but there were times when I had needed the help of others in the past. And in a way to me, these debts felt like shackles that were tying me down, which made me insistent on repaying these favours.
“I see.”, I answered simply, letting my breath escape from my lips in a slight sigh.
Owing a powerhouse like her a favour after having arrived only a few short hours ago in this world wasn't a pleasant feeling, but the Ancient One was right.
No matter who was after me right now, I really didn't want to meet them, whether they were from the Brotherhood, SHIELD, or any other organization.
“What now?”, I asked the long-lived magic caster before me, after a few moments of silence.
“Well, now you tell me where I should drop you off, if you don't want to come with me to the Kamar-Taj that is.”, the Ancient One said in a half-questioning manner, which made me pause for a moment.
Going with the Sorcerer Supreme to the Kamar-Taj, or have her bring me somewhere else.
Honestly, this decision was harder to make than I wanted to admit.