After speaking, Malrick turned to Wong, who stood nearby.

"Also—Dormammu may have agreed to let Kamar-Taj freely draw from his power from now on, but you still need to warn the sorcerers not to use it unless absolutely necessary."

He paused, his tone darkening.

"Even if there's no direct cost, that kind of power eats away at your mind. I don't want to come back one day and find everyone's turned into raving lunatics."

Mordo gave a serious nod. "With Kaecilius as a cautionary tale, I believe the sorcerers will think twice. I'll personally keep watch."

"Agreed," Wong said, folding his arms. "Most wouldn't touch Dormammu's magic unless they had no choice."

He then jabbed a thumb toward the library, smirking.

"Besides, not everyone's like you—bold enough to read every forbidden text in there."

Malrick narrowed his eyes. "Really, Wong? Still bringing that up? Blame the Ancient One. She let me."

At the mention of her name, Wong and Mordo's expressions softened with quiet reverence.

"Ancient One..." Mordo murmured.

Only Malrick knew the truth—that she'd secretly borrowed energy from the Dark Dimension herself. To most, she remained untarnished: a holy guardian and timeless mentor.

"I wonder what she's doing now… with the Vishanti," Mordo said thoughtfully.

As per tradition, Kamar-Taj sorcerers were fated to return to the Vishanti upon death.

But Malrick shook his head. "She's not with them. She went to Eternity instead."

The two looked surprised—but somehow, not shocked.

"Fitting, really," Wong said. "She always felt bigger than life."

Tony, who had been listening from the side, leaned in. "Wait, the Ancient One? She was the previous Sorcerer Supreme?"

"Of course," Mordo said proudly, pulling Tony closer. "She protected Kamar-Taj for centuries. Her strength was unmatched."

Wong joined in, reminiscing.

Malrick stepped aside, glancing toward Banner.

Now that the feast had ended and the grilled octopus was gone, the Hulk had slipped into slumber, allowing Banner to regain control. He looked a little awkward and vaguely regretful—having missed most of the events while Hulk took over.

Malrick clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"Banner, you want to come back to New York with us? You've already learned Astral Projection, right? That was your initial goal."

Banner shook his head. "Not yet. I've still got a lot to learn. Besides, someone has to oversee the construction of the magical creature sanctuary."

Malrick raised an eyebrow. "And Betty? You're okay being apart from her this long?"

"Actually…" Banner scratched the back of his head, sheepish. "Would it be okay if she came here instead? She's a biologist. She'd love the creatures."

"You'll need to talk to Wong and Mordo about that. They're the ones managing Kamar-Taj now," Malrick said, happily passing off the responsibility.

Then, half-smiling, he turned toward the Maximoff twins.

"By the way, haven't you two had enough yet?"

Two distinct hands—one pale, one tanned—were still lightly roaming across his chest.

Wanda yelped as if burned, yanking her hands back with a gasp. Her face turned crimson as she stared intently at the floor.

Pietro, however, grinned unabashedly, still gripping Malrick's shoulder.

"Man, your muscles are insane," he said, giving a thumbs-up.

After watching the battle with Dormammu through Malrick's memories, Pietro had elevated him to idol status again. And now that they were close, he couldn't resist checking out the real thing.

He'd even convinced Wanda to join in.

But now, under Malrick's unimpressed gaze, the grin on Pietro's face started to wilt.

"Alright, Pietro," Malrick said dryly. "Look at me with those creepy raccoon eyes one more time and I swear I'll turn you into an actual raccoon. Want muscles? Go earn your own."

He smacked Pietro on the head—lightly for him, but still enough to send the speedster tumbling through the air and crashing to the ground, legs twitching.

Malrick opened a portal with a flick of his hand, grabbed Pietro by the collar, and tossed him in like laundry.

He turned to Wanda. "Your apartment's on the other side. Want to walk, or should I throw you too?"

Wanda jumped at the question. "I—I'll walk! I'll walk myself!"

She bolted for the portal, fleeing like a rabbit.

Malrick called out behind them, casually: "You two did great today. Rest up. School starts in two hours, don't even think about skipping!"

He closed the portal just as groans of protest echoed from the other side.

They might have been his age, but university obligations hadn't changed. And somehow, their academic stress was far worse than his.

"School… that's a nostalgic word," Banner said, hands on his hips with a faint smile.

"You miss it that much? Go again," Malrick said. "Actually, I'm planning to have Wong build a formal magic academy here. A real structured training program."

Banner perked up. "That sounds fantastic. Ever since he came back from Hogwarts, Wong's been muttering about how we need our own magic school."

"He's gonna love it," Malrick agreed.

Soon after, he sent the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents—stuffed with food and memories of cosmic battles—back to New York.

Then he made his way toward Tony and the others.

Mordo was in the middle of a dramatic lecture, explaining how every demon god across dimensions had tasted defeat at the Ancient One's hands.

Tony's eyes darted as if taking mental notes.

"Her story could fill a whole library," Malrick said, cutting in. "But we've got places to be."

He gave Tony a nudge. "Don't forget—you've got an Avengers meeting today."

Turning back, Malrick gave a few last instructions.

"Mordo, take care of the Sanctum. And don't forget to report to Jarvis via projection every two days. Don't make me chase you down."

Then he stepped into the portal.

A new day dawned.

Malrick rose from bed, slowly detangling himself from a fair-skinned arm draped over his chest.

When he entered the kitchen, Shirley was already up, humming as she arranged breakfast.

"Morning, Sherry," Malrick said.

She looked up, bright-eyed. "Good morning, Malrick! Where are Natasha and Yelena?"

"Not coming to the company today," he said, sitting down. "Also, I didn't wake up—I just finished training."

"Sure, sure," Sherry teased, swinging her legs. "But if they're not going, who's handling things at work?"

"Jarvis can run the show for today. He usually does."

___

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