[1 Week Later]
[Rohan POV]
[Mountain Cabin]
I stood with my back against the door, watching the Ancient One and Master Hamir on the other side of the cabin near the greenhouse. All the furniture had been pushed aside to clear space in the centre.
The Ancient One looked excited, while Master Hamir seemed a little anxious. She turned to me and said, "You'll get two minutes to complete the challenge. If you don't reach the red line in time, it'll count as a failure." She smiled slightly and added, "You're allowed to use everything at your disposal."
"Understood," I replied, stretching to prepare for what was coming. As I moved, my thoughts drifted back to how it all began.
[30 Minutes Earlier]
That day, I was told to meet Master Hamir outside the New York Sanctum at night. I didn't ask many questions. I just slept the whole day and met him at night.
Master Hamir then took me away for a week of training. He explained that I barely had time to get used to the suit, let alone master using it, so he would train me as much as he could.
Surprisingly, the training wasn't combat-focused like I'd expected. It was more about learning to maintain the suit: cleaning it, storing it properly, and making quick repairs. Master Hamir said I had to learn these basics before the real training could begin. So I went along with it.
Every morning, I practised flying in different locations—from tight caves to narrow pipes. I only rested at night when I took off the suit and discussed it with Master Hamir. I gave him my honest feedback, then went to bed. The next day, he would hand me the updated suit, modified according to my input. As the days passed, both the training and the suit's complexity increased.
Now, the suit looked more like a tactical combat suit than a hero costume. It had extra armour in areas that took damage, and a utility belt packed with useful tools. The colour was darker now—harder to spot. I didn't care much about how it looked, as long as it worked.
After the week was over, Master Hamir and I arrived at the cabin to meet the Ancient One. When we greeted her, we talked about everything I'd learned. Then she said she wanted to test me. There was no penalty if I failed, but she promised a prize if I succeeded.
There was nothing to lose, so I agreed immediately.
"Are you ready?" The Ancient One's voice snapped me back to the present.
I nodded, tapped the side of my helmet, and the faceplate dropped into place. I raised a thumbs-up to her as the suit sealed.
The Ancient One conjured an eldritch ring above her, and inside it was a digital timer showing '2:00'.
Master Hamir pulled a whistle from his sleeve and blew it. The timer started.
As soon as I heard it, I pressed a button and started shrinking. But this time, I didn't panic—I was excited. As I fell, my wings deployed and I used the momentum to speed up.
Flying was the one thing I had full confidence in. Since I lacked physical strength, I focused everything on mastering flight. Master Hamir made me fly in tight spaces to improve my control and reflexes. Now, I felt ready.
As I zipped toward the finish line, I saw the Ancient One conjuring a large, complex eldritch circle. She looked focused. That made me nervous. Suddenly, two minutes to cross a 15-foot room didn't feel generous anymore.
She formed another circle in the air. At its centre floated today's newspaper. Master Hamir watched with awe, which told me this wasn't some ordinary spell.
Wind suddenly whipped through the sealed cabin, and the newspaper lifted and began flying wildly around the room. It was surreal.
The newspaper unfolded and shot toward me. I dodged underneath, startled. Then came large paper barriers, blocking my path. Strangely, they moved with me—fast enough that I couldn't outrun them.
I tried to weave through, but one of them hit me. I crashed. Luckily, I'd practised falling too, so I got up quickly, but it still hurt. It was the first time I'd felt pain while small, which meant the suit couldn't absorb all the impact.
I glanced up at the barriers, then at the timer: 1:00.
I didn't have time to waste. The Ancient One had said to use everything I had. That was the key.
I took a deep breath and flew again. This time, I clenched my fist and punched through the barriers. They were just paper, after all. I could break them if I hit hard enough.
More sheets flew at me, but I kept punching my way through. Slowly, the newspaper began falling apart.
Then, halfway to the finish line, something strange happened. The paper stopped blocking me and began tearing itself apart. I blinked—was it... angry at itself?
The large sheets were shredded into tiny pieces that folded into themselves. Soon, the air was filled with what looked like a swarm of fish-scale-shaped paper shards. They were flat, fast, and grey.
They caught up quickly. I dodged, but they followed, coordinating to trap me. I tried punching them, but they were too tough.
With no other choice, I used my weapon. During training, we realised I might need something for emergencies—like dealing with wild animals. I'd asked Master Hamir for help.
I pulled back the armour on my left arm. A small nozzle popped out—a propane flamethrower.
I aimed at the swarm and clenched my fist. A blast of fire shot out. The swarm caught fire.
I seized the opportunity and dashed toward the finish line.
The timer read 0:22. I smiled—I could see the end.
Then I felt a tug on my leg.
I looked back. Some of the paper swarms had grabbed me. I kicked and twisted, but more kept wrapping around until they'd trapped me completely.
With time running out, I decided to use my last resort. I pulled back the armour on my right arm. Another nozzle popped out.
I pointed it at the swarm and clenched my fist.
A powerful blast of air erupted from my arm like a thunderclap, scattering the swarm in every direction. The force rattled my entire body.
"Argh! That hurt like hell!" I groaned, clutching my arm. It buzzed with pain, numb and shaking. But there was no time to deal with it—I gritted my teeth and surged forward.
I rocketed to the finish line and crashed into it, wings retracting midair as I skidded to a stop and returned to full size. The clock was in front of me, and I saw it stop at 0:01
I glanced down at my right arm. The nozzle was cracked and hissing faintly. I let out a tired sigh. That cannon was a last-minute idea—something I asked Master Hamir to rig up. It compressed air using Pym particles and fired a super-compressed air cannon. This was a weapon I made to defend against big threats like humans.
A desperate measure. But it worked. Just barely. The suit did save my arm from blowing away, so i at least had that.
I slowly got up, still breathing heavily, my arm throbbing. The Ancient One walked over with a calm smile and said, "Well done, Rohan. You stayed calm under pressure and adapted—just as you should."
Master Hamir approached too, nodding with pride, though his brows were furrowed. He gently took my arm and inspected the broken nozzle. "Impressive work," he said, "but this... we'll need to fix it right away. That recoil could've torn your arm off."
"That was insanely dangerous," I muttered, flexing my fingers and wincing. "I thought I was going to be shredded. What even was that ?"
"A Paper Golam" the ancient one said
"Well, that thing was really dangerous" i said
The Ancient One chuckled softly. "You were never in any real danger," she said. Then, her tone shifted, just slightly. "But know this, Rohan—what you faced today is nothing compared to what lies ahead."
"Well anyway, the prize better be worth it," I said with a grin, rubbing my sore arm. Everyone around me chuckled, even Master Hamir let out a rare laugh as he shook his head, still examining the air cannon.
===
[Kamar Taj]
Master Hamir left right after, taking the suit with him to repair the damaged air cannon. The Ancient One and I went back to Kamar Taj. We sat down and had tea together. While we drank tea, I talked about my plans one last time.
Then she said, "If you are leaving tonight, then you'd better start packing."
That's when it hit me—I'd been gone for a whole week, and all my files and things were still scattered all over the room. I stood up fast, ready to run.
But before I could leave, she handed me a small pouch. At first, it looked like nothing special. But when I looked closer, I realised it was a storage bag—with way more space inside than it seemed.
"I see something inside" I said, looking inside the bag. in the darkness, i could see something shining.
"Well, take it out then" she said with a small smile.
I did. I pulled it out—and saw it was the Philosopher's Stone.
Well... not the real one. A replica.
I turned it over in my hand, admiring how real it looked. It was completely identical to the one from the movie. "This looks perfect," I said. "Even up close."
She nodded. "It's made from a special kind of resin," she explained. "If it breaks, it'll shatter and turn to vapour. There'll be no trace left behind."
"Smart," I said. "Really smart."
With that, it was time to leave Kamar Taj and return to the New York Sanctum. The Ancient One opened a portal for me and said she'd need some time to decide on the reward. She asked me to come back before sundown.
I nodded and stepped through the portal.
I hadn't been around for a week, so of course, Wong was waiting, looking a bit stressed.
"Where have you been? You disappeared for a week," he asked right away.
"I was on a... special training trip," I replied.
He stared at me for a second, then just nodded. "Alright. Next time, leave a note."
===
As I had already met Wong, I asked him to help me pack. There were almost twenty boxes filled with files and research material. I had already organised them all; now I just needed to arrange them properly in the briefcase. With Wong's help, we managed to finish everything in a few hours.
Next came the computer. It was still running, sitting quietly on the desk with the phone still connected to it by wires.
When I was recovering from my injuries, I couldn't move around much, so I spent my time studying the AI on the phone. From what I learned, I built a distilled version of the AI that could run on the computer by itself. My main goal was to see if I could create an AI capable of working on its while I was away. If it succeeded, I'd finally be able to assign it tasks and trust it to handle things when i leave for two months.
I took a few steps away from the computer and held out my hand. "Come here," I whispered.
Within seconds, the phone disappeared from the desk and reappeared in my hand. When I took it out, it looked brand new—as if I had never taken it apart.
I turned to check the computer. Its screen had gone black, with a single line glowing in the middle:
"Ready to help."
I couldn't help but smile. That meant the AI was up and running.
On the surface, it looked like a simple chatbot. But it was much more than that. I had modelled it after Wrench from Watch Dogs 2. Its main job was to keep the DedSec website online and defend it from hackers trying to bring it down.
As a precaution, I made sure it couldn't copy itself to another server. But it could still control servers, just like a real hacker would. It ran slowly, sure—but that was a problem for another day.
It had one more job.
The AI would act as me and post chapters of the Harry Potter book online. It would spread them across different forums and fan pages to grab attention. The whole plan was to get noticed by the movie's director. A long shot, but still worth trying.
It had all started when I noticed something. After the success of the Harry Potter movie, people were rushing to read the book. But the version floating around was messy and confusing to read. So I came up with a plan: I'd act like a passionate fan and post a cleaner version online. From there, it was up to the AI to make it go viral.
"No promises," I told the computer like it was my child. "Just do your best."
With that done, I still had a few hours to spare. So I went shopping.
I focused on tech—high-end PC components, a few laptops, and some parts I knew I'd need soon. Money wasn't a problem. I had already hacked a few greedy Wall Street men. The only catch was staying under the radar.
When I was done, I returned to the New York Sanctum.
An hour before sundown, I decided to head to Kamar-Taj to meet the Ancient One. But on the way, I bumped into her at the Sanctum itself.
"Ah, there you are," she said with a faint smile. "Good thing I found you. I was just going to get you your prize. Come, walk with me. We will go together."
She spun her hand, opened a glowing portal, and nodded for me to step through.
I stepped in—and blinked. We were suddenly on the Brooklyn Bridge. The breeze was cool, and the city lights shimmered in the distance. We began walking, the wind tugging gently at our robes.
After a few quiet steps, she glanced at me. "You know, the timeline has stabilised quite a bit."
"It did?" I said, smiling.
"Yes, but what I find strange is that it happened right after you came back. Did you have a hand in this?"
"Well, I think I did."
"Go on."
I let out a slow breath. "I had this idea when I was back in my world. Do you remember the TVA I told you about?"
She nodded slightly. "Yes, I remember you mentioned them before."
"Yeah, so I started thinking how strange it was."
"Strange how?"
"If I were messing with the timeline, where were they? You'd think they would've noticed me as soon as I came here"
"So they didn't come for you? Maybe they're dealing with something, like you told me before."
"That's the strange part," I said, kicking a small pebble off the path, briefly wondering how a pebble ended up in the middle of the bridge. Then I snapped back to the thought. "You showed me the timeline—and it was the Sacred Timeline—so that confirms they're still active."
"Which led me to one conclusion—they can't see me. Somehow, my entry into this timeline didn't bother them... but it did for you. "
She raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
This explains that I may have affected the timeline; I didn't, however, create a branch in the timeline, which is all the TVA cares about.
"And there is a bigger issue here, as you said before, I'm a part of this world now. So there should be infinite versions of me across the timeline, right? But here's the thing—what happens to them when I leave for two months?"
That made her stop. She looked out at the skyline, thoughtful.
Then, slowly, she began to walk again. "Maybe... they vanish too? Or maybe they end up in a timeline in your world as well?"
"Hmm, maybe," I muttered. "But that still doesn't explain how I just disappear for two months without consequences to the timeline. "
"That's true," she agreed.
I nodded and continued, "So I've been thinking. The timeline is like a tree. Every decision, every action—each one creates a new branch. A branch can't just appear out of nowhere. It needs roots. A stem as you may."
She listened silently.
"So if I'm gone for two months, it's like I've been locked in a room that whole time. I haven't influenced the world, so the branch doesn't grow."
"Schrödinger's cat may be dead or alive at the same time, but in my case, the cat might also not be in the box at all. "
She looked impressed. "Interesting way to put it."
"So I decided to test this theory. I didn't just go and get the wasp suit, I had done actual research on Mr Pym beforehand. I had also taken Wong and looked around the house, and knowingly stumbled upon the locked Door in the basement. From the surface, it looked like i was following the legend of the Ant Man, but the truth was that I was after the Wasp Suit."
"Basically, I cannot just go and do things based on my knowledge; I need to form a proper decision tree and follow along. This seems to have done it and stabilised the timeline."
"Very clever," she said with a warm smile.
She stopped and turned to face the sunset. I paused too, taking in the golden light stretching over the horizon.
"To tell you the truth," she began softly, "I had already decided what to give you. But I needed to be sure you are ready, so I put you through a difficult test. I'm sorry, Rohan. I know that wasn't easy."
I was too embarrassed to speak, but she continued anyway. "Your theory was correct. And it's impressive you figured it out all on your own."
She crossed her hands, then slowly pulled them apart, opening the Eye of Agamotto. It glowed green—brighter than I'd ever seen it. I glanced around. We were completely alone.
"When you said you were having trouble finding another blood sample," she went on, as glowing green eldritch rings began to form around her arms, "I decided to go looking myself."
She turned her hand slowly as magic rippled outward. "As you explained earlier, a branch can't appear from nowhere. But that's just one side of the story."
Suddenly, something rose from beneath the bridge. It hovered before us in mid-air—a test tube. I stared, confused.
"The other side," she said, her voice low, "is that an old, forgotten branch is ripe for the taking."
The test tube rotated gently, and red liquid began to fill it. Blood.
I stared at it, my heart racing. "Wait… that's blood. But how? And why here, of all places?"
She explained, "After Dr. Erskine's assassination, twelve vials of Steve Rogers' blood were collected. The U.S. government kept eleven. The twelfth was entrusted to Howard Stark. This vial."
She glanced at the floating tube. "Later, it ended up with Peggy Carter. She chose to pour it into the East River—her way of saying goodbye and moving on."
"But... I thought you couldn't tamper with the past? So why now?" I asked.
"You're mistaken, Rohan. I'm not changing the past at all."
She looked at the tube, then back at me. "The blood's journey ended here, on this bridge. I've just taken it off its path after it was forgotten."
"But isn't that risky? What if the timeline—"
I stopped mid-sentence. The look in her eyes said everything. That's why she tested me so hard. She needed to know if I was worth the risk.
"Just take the vial," she said gently. "And whatever you do—don't bring it back here. That should be enough."
With that, I returned to my room and lay on my bed, admiring the Vail of blood in wonder.