DoorMan #77
Ta-Lo [February 17, 2008]
–Colin Baxter–
"All done?" He asked Shuri who had floated back up on the platform as he kept watch over the surrounding area by relying on all of his senses, which was a pretty good training exercise in hindsight. He had never really required all of his senses to be used all at once, mostly because one or more would just clash with the environment, giving him false positives many times.
Also, because he never really needed to use all the tools in his arsenal to deal with something before. Come to think of it, all of his adventures so far had been completed, not easily, he wouldn't use that word but with the odds of success being far higher than they would normally be.
Shuri's faceplate slid off as she glared at him, "If someone here could have modulated the output of their lasers, there would have been more than just chunks of meat for me to gather."
He smirked at her as they began their journey forward. One Door Magic wielder, one Bast's chosen, on an adventure.
"So, I got nothing. I couldn't even find that Demon on any of my sensors. You got anything?" Shuri asked him as her suit, which apparently had its own small lab of sorts, analysed the remains of the Demon.
"Something," He said as they moved forward, slowly, braced for an attack as he remained on alert. It came and went but after a couple of warning shots of the Kinetic Lasers, he felt a weak magical signature through his senses but sensory input was never really his strong suit. It was always Jin'Ya's specialty so he knew he couldn't really rely completely on his senses.
For all he knew, the weak energy signature might as well be something way stronger hiding itself. "What? Another Demon? Can you leave it somewhat intact this time? Maybe instead of doing an indiscriminate attack, prioritise precision? A headshot? If you will?"
Hearing Shuri's words, he stopped abruptly, "Huh."
"What?"
He looked at her and grinned, "Maybe you are right. This needs another approach."
"What?" Shuri snapped at him but he was already moving up, gaining altitude rapidly. Despite doing that and travelling almost a kilometer straight up, the mountain seemed to remain the same, with its peak hidden above the fog that acted as a boundary of this whole place.
"What are you doing?"
As they reached the appropriate height, he tapped his foot lightly on the Door and jumped up a dozen feet, both of his hands raised up, palms facing the sky, as a humongous Red Door appeared above him, eclipsing all his previous Doors.
The strain was felt immediately as unlike any Door before, just manifesting this one put a significant amount of weight on his body. His Chi began cycling instinctively, repairing any damage before it could take hold as the Door began expanding, bit by bit, and also began glowing red, as he combined two features of his Doors into one, and that too at such a large scale.
"What the hell is that?" Shuri shouted from below, her suit now stuck in those same grooves as he made sure she wouldn't fly off from fright or something as he charged the Door as much as he could, dying the world below them in a deeper shade of red.
He smiled as he felt multiple magical signatures begin popping up on his radar, some strong, some weak but they were a hell of a lot more than there were before.
He grunted as he aligned the Doors to the mountain in front of them, the one thing that seemed to be the very centre of this place, this hellish place that he never expected to exist in the same pocket dimension as Ta-Lo, a magical paradise. It was difficult to reconcile the fact that both of these visuals could be from roughly the same place.
Smiling at the now audible roars as he felt the magical signatures just popping off on his radar and also heading straight towards him, he unleashed the Kinetic Laser at the mountain, making him tumble back a bit due to the sheer force behind it. Unfortunately, it also misaligned the Laser and as a result of that, there was now a molten red line on the mountain, which looked kinda cool, if someone were to ask him.
Dispelling the Door, which took actual effort because it was not his run of the Mill Door, he slowly floated down to all but collapse on the sweet sweet Air Door as he immediately turned course and began hightailing it out of the place as he could now see a swarm of those same Dragons coming from the direction where the laser had last been.
Oddly enough, there was a hole in the swarm, as if someone had taken a mosquito bat and swatted that section of Demon Dragons out of the sky.
"Wow!" he exclaimed as he had a goofy idea. Bowing at Shuri, "There you go, My Lady, all the Genetic Material you could possibly need," He gestured at the swarm behind them.
Shuri swiped her suit's claw at him as he leaned back, released her feet from the grooves, and then immediately told her, "Brace yourself," With that single warning, he immediately increasing the speed, manifesting two smaller Red Doors in front of him to clear the fog as they fled the Demons.
He was having too much fun as he turned around and used his Red Doors as sniper shots, to shoot down Dragon after Dragon from the sky.
His smile soon vanished though, because soon after that, his fears were confirmed as the fog receded upon impact by the Lasers but did not show the path they had taken before. He had taken the right direction to dive into the fog but it would seem that they were lost now.
Come to think of it, how would these Demons intrude in Ta-Lo, and how? What was that mountain and how were those Dragons remaining hidden from everyone?
Not just the Water Dragon but Jin'ya? The Red Matron? Freaking Ancient One had been inside and she never stopped him from coming here as well.
With that, he came to a slowed down halt, and slipped on his sling ring. Time to bring out the big guns, or the big shots.
....
Alas, as luck would have it, him waving his arm in the air while concentrating fully did nothing but make him look constipated in front of a beautiful girl.
No sparks, no small holes in reality, nothing. It felt like he hit a wall. The dimensional energy flowed into his body and into the ring but after that, it felt like it found nothing to latch onto.
That happened only when he either had no imaging regarding his destination or if it did not exist. Both of these conditions were not met which meant that Portals were blocked in this area.
"Ow!" he was smacked upside the head by a very hard, metallic glove as Shuri's incensed face came into his view, "What are you doing, you idiot? Get us out of here!"
He wordlessly complied as they began accelerating once again. Well, calling the Big Guns didn't work so time to fall back on the backup.
Calling on his mental link, he sent a message with the feelings feedback turned on. He wagered that he was feeling angry, annoyed, and a little confused about the whole thing with a touch of anxiety topped off over the salad bowl that was his feelings about this whole situation. "Hey, Buddy?"
*Crickets*
"Huh, that's odd."
____xx____
Meanwhile, back in Ta-Lo
The whole mountain with the Demonic seal was on fire. Purple Fire.
The residents of Ta-Lo were running around, safeguarding themselves in bunkers that were installed on the recommendation of Colin who supplied them with all the necessary supplies to build them.
The village Chief and his granddaughter were responsible for making sure that no one from Ta-Lo died, and the fight was left to the ones who could actually make a dent in their enemy.
In the distance, right above the giant lake, three beings floated, of incredibly varying sizes and yet, the auras manifesting around them were not small by any means.
White, with the colors of Corona.
Red, with shades of dark blood in it.
Blazing Purple, with the insignia of a dragon on it.
All three of them floated side by side, in an unlikely alliance as a fiery portal, tinged with fire and evaporating the water below the portal, creating a steaming hole in the Great Lake, manifested in front of the mountain where the Dark One was sealed.
"They took the bait," Jin'Ya, the Psionic Master intoned as Purple blazed all around his tiny form, leaving behind cracks in the reality around them which were swiftly healed by the Water Dragon.
The Red Matron scoffed, "Of course. Who do they take me for? Amateurs."
If you guys would like to support me, or just want to read up to 15 chapters ahead, you can head on to my P*treon. It is the same name as my username. Like Quote ReplyReport Reactions:Sarif, KO-Animus, Seek212. and 29 othersIdleMuse0307Jun 24, 2025Reader modeNewAdd bookmark Threadmarks Threadmarks DoorMan (MCU SI) - #78 : Hell of a tour, eh?+ New Threadmarks IdleMuse0307I trust you know where the happy button is?Jun 25, 2025Add bookmark#168Disclaimer - I don't, and have never claimed to, own Marvel or its Intellectual Property. This is all just so that I can take my maladaptive daydreaming and turn it into something so that it does not ruin the rest of my day.
DoorMan #78
Ta-Lo [February 17, 2008]
–Colin Baxter–
"Well, that's not good," He said to himself as they continued to fly at medium speeds, fleeing from the incoming swarm of Demon Dragons that now filled the small hole in the fog he was creating with the small sustained blast of the Kinetic Lasers.
Honestly, things were not looking too good at the moment. The fog was relentless, and so were the Demon Dragons behind him, and while he could, with a bang, take out most of them, it would drain him severely. Who knows what level of forces they had surrounding that mountain because that thing seemed to be the thing they were guarding and what provoked this response because he ended up decorating that giant mountain with a slash.
Jin'Ya was not responding, no portals, no GPS or magical honing spell to navigate him back to the tropical heaven that was Ta-Lo instead of this demon infested hellscape.
"Uh, Shuri?" His voice hesitant, as he continued to wrack his brain for any ideas to get out of this predicament without flying too fast lest they completely lose their way, "I think there might be a problem."
"Might be?" Shuri snapped as she aimed her hand at the hoard behind them and with a whining sound, sent what looked like a small white arrow, aimed precisely at the flying Demons who were closer to them, taking out one after the other, only this time she was using much less powerful shots so there were no ejected flaming Arc Rings, yet.
His stamina, on the other hand, while vast, was also draining quite rapidly, having to coordinate multiple Door openings at the same time whilst also wracking his mental faculties as to how they could get out of this predicament he had put the Princess, Soon to be Queen, in.
Multiple applications of his powers always took more effort than it was worth it, especially if he had to coordinate everything instead of just the output. Modulating output was fine but if he had to open and close the Doors, on top of stabilising the Air Door enough for an operational flight? That took some real effort.
He wagered that he had maybe 10-12 more hours of the current sustained loads he was under but the kicker was that at any point, he might have to escalate the power levels or enter an even more stressful situation, requiring more power and mental gymnastics.
"Hell of a tour, huh?" he quipped back as he had to swerve heavily to the right, a veritable explosion of Air snapping the entire Door to the right as he blasted apart the invisible flying Demon that had, once again, gotten alarmingly close before he could sense the little currents in the air.
"Are you mad?!" Why did he have a hunch that Shuri was probably just a few steps away from aiming one of her lasers at him?
______xx_____
–Jin'Ya–
"I assume this is a strategy that you employed on my domain without informing me?" The Water Dragon spoke in his mind, not loud but still, the intent behind the voice was enough for him to realise that the Master of Ta-Lo was not happy about being left in the dark about something that was coming alarmingly close to setting free an Ancient Dark One. None of them wanted to see that happen but some things he couldn't say without being sure that no one was listening.
Before he could say something in justification though, the Red Matron, the Parasite, spoke up, bluntly, without any care for future relationships, "I wouldn't be so uptight if I were you. Look who's the one who loosened the seal enough for the Dark One to awaken."
The Water Dragon fell silent as he had no reply to that. The granddaughter of the Village Chief, the one named Ying Nan, lay dead near the seal, her soul sucked in to be used as nourishment for the Dark One residing within, providing enough energy to combat the Water Dragon for its hold on the pocket dimension.
Thankfully, the Water Dragon was a lot stronger due to the regular Chi infusions but even then, it added a battle they were previously not expecting, taking away significant combat prowess from one of the only three beings in this place he expected to be able to participate in the fight ahead of them.
The portal, the one tinged with the dirty energies of Hell continued to spin in place, expanding ever so slowly, releasing energies so vile that life itself began withering around the portal, forcing the Water Dragon to quarantine that area and pull all the Water in the Great Lake away from the portal.
"While I do not like the insinuation, I admit that Ying Nan has succumbed to something she trained all of her life to resist. So, forgive me if I am not in a forgiving mood today."
Wow, that was…..aggressive.
He had not expected the Water Dragon to give off such bloodlust, something that was usually reserved for the more battle hungry(read: foolish) members of the Draconic lineages.
Water Dragons, as far as his extensive knowledge went, were not known for their battle hungry nature. They were known for extensive masteries over a wide discipline of magic, mostly support in nature and notorious for being hard to find due to their elusive nature, wherein they spent most of their time hidden, learning new magics.
Magics that, while supportive in nature, made them absolute monsters to fight as they almost certainly had something that could directly counteract your main attacking attribute.
His head perked up as he felt something from Jin'Ya, a mental message. He blocked it for the moment, as per the instructions he received from the Ancient One. The woman was not someone he could cross, not without incurring massive soul damage anyway and it was not like she would hurt Colin on purpose anyway.
The entire village behind them was evacuated by now, sealed in bunkers reinforced by Colin to become truly sealed spaces, having enough resources for the entire Ta-Lo's population, to last at least a week. More than enough time to decide if abandoning the entire pocket dimension was necessary or not.
"You do realise that this might just shatter this space if we are not careful? Because whoever comes through that portal might not be as careful as we are in acknowledging your sovereignty over this space." The Red Matron spoke the question that was on his mind as all three of them floated, alert, waiting for anything to come out of that hole.
There was a moment of silence before the Water Dragon spoke, "While I have come to love this place as my home and had just about resigned myself to die here, meeting the LifeGiver has given me options and time. So, while I urge you to exercise caution, if the time or the opportunity comes, feel free to ignore any restraints, as I will focus on safeguarding my people."
He nodded at that, as did the Red Matron, mostly because doing so was a very important decision for the Water Dragon as this pocket dimension was built from the very essence of the Water Dragon, essentially acting as a second body. Destroying it would hurt the Water Dragon, no matter how much stronger it had gotten from Colin's continuous Chi infusions.
Silence reigned once more as they watched the seal mountain light up in purple fire, as the portal in front of it continued to expand at a steady pace, as if unafraid and uncaring about the situation here, unhurried.
He snorted as he resisted the urge to let go of his restraints and sent a bolt of maddening energy through the portal. It might not affect the Hell Lords or any beings near that level but the vast majority of the forces of Hell would be afflicted by his curse, turning them on each other and even on their own bodies, resulting in cannibalism and more.
Pretty much a death sentence for any army not well versed in psionic defenses of the highest order, one of the many things that made him a nightmare to deal with, and why no being alive had ever seen him use it because merely seeing him use it was enough to send most beings into a bout of madness, usually resulting in them killing anyone and anything around them and then killing themselves.
A pretty nasty escalation technique, Colin called it after forbidding him from ever using it near any human, understandably.
The thing was, they couldn't spook any of their would be attackers from fleeing, despite the chances of that happening being pretty slim due to their egos being too big as opposed to their powers.
So, all three of them waited patiently, keeping an eye on their surroundings, ready for any surprises.
The one most surprised today was destined to be Colin though, of that, he was certain.
If you guys would like to support me, or just want to read up to 15 chapters ahead, you can head on to my P*treon. It is the same name as my username. Like Quote ReplyReport Reactions:Sarif, Seek212., Lucas Mikkelsen and 27 othersIdleMuse0307Jun 25, 2025Reader modeNewAdd bookmark Threadmarks OrphiexWombat aficionadoJun 25, 2025Add bookmark#169Huh. What exactly did Ying Nan do? Was she outright possessed by the Dark One, or just tempted enough to do something stupid? Like Quote ReplyReport Reactions:Marcelo Gibo and IdleMuse0307IdleMuse0307I trust you know where the happy button is?Jun 25, 2025Add bookmark#170Orphiex said:Huh. What exactly did Ying Nan do? Was she outright possessed by the Dark One, or just tempted enough to do something stupid?She was outright possessed because she had negative emotions in her mind. That along with her overall naivety and age, allowed the Dark One to possess her effortlessly.
There was yet another factor to that but that would be Spoliers.
Thank you for reading! Toodles! Like Quote ReplyReport Reactions:Marcelo GiboThreadmarks DoorMan (MCU SI) - #79 : So long, Captain! New Threadmarks IdleMuse0307I trust you know where the happy button is?Jun 26, 2025Add bookmark#171Disclaimer - I don't, and have never claimed to, own Marvel or its Intellectual Property. This is all just so that I can take my maladaptive daydreaming and turn it into something so that it does not ruin the rest of my day.
DoorMan #79
Ta-Lo [February 17, 2008]
–Colin Baxter–
He huffed at the incoming horde of Demons as he waved his hand through the air, releasing multiple smaller bursts of Kinetic Lasers that impacted the Demons, reducing them to mere chunks, only for them to be replaced by another wave of Demons.
"Tch. There's no end to them," He remarked as they continued to swerve out of the way of any stealth Demon he could sense. Unfortunately, he could only sense through the air within a very small distance, about 30 meters or so and that distance was way too little to react properly to a Demon who could cover that distance in a second, resulting in poor ride quality.
"Sorry," he winced as he heard a particularly angry Xhosa phrase, which was bound to be expletives as Shuri's suit was bombarded with yet another Blast from the Demons. It was not like the attack ever hit them directly but in the hour that he had been running from the Demons, they had somehow found themselves in a pincer attack, resulting in near constant bombardment as well as evasive manoeuvres from his side.
It was not the attack themselves but the residual energy as well as the heat from those that hit Shuri's suit. Thankfully, it was made of Vibranium and thus, could absorb most attacks.
"So, should I be worried about the blue glow?" He commented casually, despite his mind running parallel tasks at levels he had never thought himself capable of, directing the Air Door beneath them properly whilst also sniping any Demon closer with a bout of Kinetic Lasers.
"Uh-huh," Shuri grunted as she shot yet another blast from her suit, "Just throw me at the biggest gathering on my signal."
"What?" He turned around, surprised, only to see her entire suit now glowing blue, top to bottom. His eyes widened in horror as he realised just how close he was sitting to a very strong kinetic bomb.
"What the–" Was all he could get in before Shuri's feet began releasing some very strong vibrations, prompting him to release her from the grooves on the Air Door, grab her outstretched hand, and then throw her at the incoming swarm of about a dozen Demon Dragons..
"So long, Captain!" He mock saluted as Shuri, now a glowing ticking bomb, was sent like a rocket toward a group of about a dozen flying visible Dragons, sending all manners of attacks at the flying missile.
Alas, the missile refused to conform to their version of reality and advanced unfettered, eventually reaching them and exploding in a spectacular explosion that lit up everything in his vision, forcing back literally an entire side of the Demonic Dragons as his enhanced eyesight saw a couple dozen more getting shredded to bits from the shockwave before even his eyesight was overcome by the sheer brightness of it.
Still, closing his eyes, he relied on his other senses and recollection of her last position to reach her because an explosion of that magnitude could not have left her unaffected, despite her Vibranium suit because, despite her best efforts, that was not pure Vibranium which could have protected her from the harm 100% but would have literally been unwieldable to make a suit out of.
Soon, the blast subsided but his skin still tingled due to the sheer amount of energy in the air as he opened his eyes and raised his hand to subtly manipulate the air around the falling object, bringing Shuri's suit back to the Air Door as the massive blast gave them a small respite in constant attacks as he commanded the Air Door to move forward at relatively slower speeds.
The entire suit was smoking and for a moment there, he was worried that he might have to figure out a way to break the suit apart but Shuri, as it turns out, was an excellent engineer, as the faceplate slid away seamlessly, turning into liquid nanites that then slid off the rest of her body as well.
"Well, thank you for the save. I don't think my suit is in any condition to fly anymore," Shuri commented as she stood up and surveyed their surroundings.
His eyes caught movement as he saw the suit wiggle and move in the liquid pattern with a few solid pieces sticking out of it, "Uh?"
"What? Oh, that? It's self repairing but that is still an experimental feature. It won't be back to full functionality after that but at least I won't be armourless for long."
"I see."
____xx___
–Jin'Ya–
His head snapped up, the purple corona around him flickering for less than a second as he sensed something or someone coming through the portal.
"I assume someone is coming?" The Red Matron noticed the infinitesimal change in his aura, ofcourse. He nodded, signalling the Water Dragon to step back and focus on safeguarding the humans behind them.
That was the top most priority, according to the Ancient One's words and he knew Colin enough to know that if anything happened to the citizens of this place because of Colin, well, let's just say that he had never really seen Colin in rage before and despite their difference in powers, he does not wish to see that sight.
"Good that you sent him away. As it is now, the Water Dragon would only hold us back," The Red Matron casually said as both of them floated towards the portal. The parasite was making a show of stretching despite both of them being mostly energy beings at this point, only holding on to a thin suit of meat to cling for convenience.
As for her belief of the Water Dragon being weak, he snorted at her statement, "See to it that you don't end up becoming dead weight."
Whatever insult she had at the tip of her tongue was swallowed back as a vicious blast of Hellfire came pouring out of the portal, forcing him to seal the surrounding space with a corona of psionic energy, to stop any more damage from occurring.
His eyes narrowed as he felt the sealing crack, right in front of the mountain where the Dark Demon was sealed, as Dark Energy gushed out of that seal, tainting the air around them.
His eyes narrowed as he left the Dark Energy contamination to the Water Dragon as he focused on the heavy souls he could feel coming out of that portal. He didn't have to wait long as two Vampires-no, it would be wrong to call them that.
They felt too wrong to be parasites as even those ones had something resembling order to their mind and soul. A purpose, a direction, even if he detested it.
This…thing in front of him, he had to actively resist looking away, so hideous was its soul.
The second that thing stepped into the space around them, the air in the pocket dimension felt heavier as the air itself was lit on Hellfire. It was also followed by an entourage of smaller things, with varying levels of stitching on their souls. He could see that the rest were just small fries, forcibly elevated to their current levels, and would die off very soon as their soul unravelled due to the power coursing through it.
A very crude but effective and more importantly, time efficient method of creating disposable pawns capable of carrying far more power than they would have been able to, in their lifetimes.
Soon, the portal closed behind them, leaving behind twelve small fries and—
He blinked as a massive tidal wave of red assaulted the Demons, uncaring of anything in its path. He had to actively strengthen the space he had sealed, just so that the attack could reach its intended target, else it would have escaped into the fissures of space that would have been torn open by the storm of energy.
"AAAA!" The Head Demon roared as a blinding torrent of Hellfire burst out of that guy to defend himself, but apparently, it was not as smart as it was strong, as the Hellfire barely hit him and instead, took out the small fries behind the stronger Demon.
By the time the brute noticed anything, it was all alone in the space, it's little hype party long since burned to ashes.
Well, let it never be said that the Red Matron was hesitant in her attacks.
"Well, are you waiting for a fucking invitation?"
He didn't give in to the goading but joined in with his own energy, lashing out with mental attacks that just seemed to slide off the brute. It looked like the Demon didn't even feel his attacks, which was an anomaly of its own.
No one could just ignore his attacks. Even the Ancient One herself would have to actively fight his mental attacks, even if she was wearing the shroud of the Vishanti.
What had they done to the soul of this creature for it to remain oblivious to mind rending attacks?
If you guys would like to support me, or just want to read up to 15 chapters ahead, you can head on to my P*treon. It is the same name as my username. Like Quote ReplyReport Reactions:Sarif, Seek212., Lucas Mikkelsen and 25 othersIdleMuse0307Jun 26, 2025Reader modeNewAdd bookmark Threadmarks NinjaMAsterVersed in the lewd.Jun 26, 2025Add bookmark#172...Maybe a lost or traded Hydra LMD? Like Quote ReplyReport Reactions:IdleMuse0307Threadmarks DoorMan (MCU SI) - #80 : A probing attack New Threadmarks IdleMuse0307I trust you know where the happy button is?Jun 27, 2025Add bookmark#173Disclaimer - I don't, and have never claimed to, own Marvel or its Intellectual Property. This is all just so that I can take my maladaptive daydreaming and turn it into something so that it does not ruin the rest of my day.
DoorMan #80
Ta-Lo [February 17, 2008]
–Jin'Ya–
As he sent yet another attack laced with poisonous psionic energy, his eyes narrowed as all the attack did was burn the skin of the Demon before it was all healed back in a burst of Hellfire. Someone did a very good job in creating a dumb brute, who was doing a very good job withstanding their attacks but aside from that, there were no overt movements from the demon.
'This is not the real attack, is it?' The Red Matron asked him mid battle as a particularly powerful Blood Curse had the Demon's skin peeling before it was all washed away by the very powerful Hellfire, replacing the skin with fire before the fire left, leaving behind unblemished skin.
He shook his head, floating back a bit as they had to reassess their attack patterns now. 'No, this is just a puppet, juiced up on who knows what to get to this level. The real threat is not here.'
The Red Matron flew back to his side as they waited for the puppet to do something but all it did was stand there, hellfire blazing around its form, corrupting the very air around them.
"It's not doing anything."
"It's just a delaying tactic. We need to erase this one before we can move on," He commanded her and she hesitated only for a second as she called forth powers beyond what this space could handle.
He had to move back a bit as her blood aura was clashing with his own as both of them removed their self imposed limiters. This fight just felt wrong to him. The demon was just programmed to fight anyone who attacked it, nothing more. No, the ones behind this plot must have some other way of reaching here.
The space around them was too turbulent now to open another portal, courtesy of the Dark Energy as well as the hellfire in the air so the only other way they could do this was to enter Ta-Lo before this.
He did not sense any portal in his range, and his range only hit a wall with the fog that was beyond the range of Ta-Lo.
His eyes narrowed as the possibility of the Super Vampires entering the same place where Colin was, entered his mind, and yet, the orders from the Ancient One were clear. Safeguard the Dark Demon seal, and don't leave the Water Dragon's territory, Colin will take care of himself.
But how will Colin take care of himself and Shuri if he has someone so far above him, going after them?
He shook his head, and called forth on more power, silently apologising to the Water Dragon at the same time, ready to blast this demon to bits.
"Wait!" The Red Matron interrupted him as her aura fizzled out, stopping the space from destabilising anymore. He followed suit as he watched her close her eyes for some reason.
Before he could ask what she was doing, her hand shot out as a silhouette became visible to both of them, just behind the portal, close to the seal. Alarmingly close to the seal.
His eyes widened as he flexed his powers, pressuring the target that was about to escape from the Red Matron's grasp and violently pulled him towards them. In doing so, the Bigger Demon finally reacted, snarling as it bounded towards them, Hellfire blazing all around its form.
Not wanting to lose someone who could somehow escape his senses, he pushed forward with all his might, stumbling the Bigger Demon whilst pulling their target towards him.
"Restrain him!" He bellowed as he jumped into the fray, rays of white hitting the Demon from below as the Water Dragon made its presence known, harassing the Brutish Demon while he worked on figuring out a way to dismantle the defenses of the Demon.
The Red Matron worked her magic as her Blood Magic began seeping into the Vampire whose mind he could finally sense and yet, it had the same quality which allowed the vampire to escape from his mental attacks, forcing him to rely on the Red Matron as she was more well versed in the Blood Arts.
His energy covered the blazing firestorm that was the Demon now, entering through the crevices formed by the constant barrage from the Water Dragon, that was halfway to healing, to figure out a way to do the obvious from the inside.
His senses were peeled to the maximum, as he made sure to keep the struggling vampire in his sensory range, just in case the Red Matron failed, as he simultaneously pumped his energy into the body of the Demon in front of him, its body bloating slightly as rays of purple began puncturing its body from the inside.
Despite the visuals, he knew that the rate of damage being done was only slightly surpassing its rate of healing, it really did have an amazing healing factor, as the Demon fought against the wave of psionic energy that he had laid around the Demon's form.
It was a very significant strain, maintaining the web of psionic energy around the Demon that it continued to struggle against, maintaining the flow of energy into the Demon, with the Hellfire pushing back and also keeping hold of their mystery Super Vampire.
It was something that he didn't have to do often, using most of his powers. The Vampire was a very strong one, far stronger than he had expected it to be, forcing the combined efforts of him and the Red Matron, just so the Vampire could be contained properly.
The Red Matron's silhouette had changed completely by now, turning more and more into her true form by the minute, as she was forced to bypass frivolous things like maintaining a more humane look and focusing on getting her Blood Magic to work on a being whose very body rejected all types of energy.
As the Red Matron got closer to her goal, the Demon in his trap seemed to get wilder, desperate as it thrashed about in his trap, generating more openings for his energy to get into, creating a feedback loop, in his favour, obviously.
The Ancient One was right, once more as the Vampire was, for some reason, more interested in releasing the Demon instead of fighting them at first. By his knowledge, and Colin's, the Demon, while strong, was something that was defeated by a new user of the Ten Rings.
It would be child's play for him to get rid of that thing, especially since he had the Red Matron and the Water Dragon on his side, who was also much stronger this time around. The way the Ancient One stresses about the importance of that seal and the way the fog interferes with his senses, told him that there was something rotten within that seal and it would be disastrous to loosen that seal.
Even as the thrashing from the Demon increased, he kept a steady hold on the Demon and on the Vampire as well, making sure that he blough the Red Matron all the time she needed, until, with a wild screech, the Vampire slumped forward, trapped in the Red Matron's magic.
Simultaneously, the Demon in his grasp stopped struggling as well, even as his energy continued to wreak havoc in its insides, injuring it further. Releasing his hold on that vampire, he instead focused on the Demon and after just a minute or so of concentrated attacks, was successful in exploding the Demon from the inside, collecting the remnants in a small container just in case they needed something to research later on.
Floating back, he let go of his hold on the space around them, and faced the Red Matron who was studying the Vampire in front of her with a grim look on her face.
"So?" He asked her, since she was the expert in this stuff, having been cast out by most Vampiric covens when the news broke about how she spared no one, not even Vampires or even Elder Vampires, for her research, all in a quest to become stronger, even when she was already the strongest awake vampire, by far, with Dracula being the only one who was stronger but he was asleep by choice.
"This one," She flicked her hand as the chest of the Vampire was torn open, revealing a small ball of darkness where the heart should be, "Is not the one we were looking for. Just a meat puppet."
As she finished saying her words, the vampire in her grasp began withering away, soon turning into nothing but dust, "See."
The same happened to the remains of the Demon in his grasp as well.
"He's clever, I'll give him that. I assume that the little LifeGiver is still alive? Unless the Bald Headed Demon wanted him dead for some reason?" He raised an eyebrow at that statement and checked on their mental link. He nodded as he saw that Colin was still alive, just not sending a message for help anymore.
He wondered what happened in that part.
The Water Dragon joined the conversation as all three of them began floating to the now pulsing Seal Wall. Thankfully, the seal held and fixing it was very easy as the Water Dragon was the one who made the seal in the first place. "I assume that we are not done yet."
"No, these fuckers were just a probing squad, here to see what we could do. Unfortunately, the fucker destroyed the connection before I could use the Darkness to trace the origin." The Red Matron, uncouth as ever, replied.
"And the Lifegiver?" The Water Dragon asked, concerned.
Before either of them could reply, a massive shockwave rippled all over Ta-Lo, destabilising the space all around them as he had to hold the space around them together, lest they all be attacked by Spatial Rifts or what came through them.
"What was that?"
His gaze met the tense gaze of the Red Matron as the world around them was lit up in a blue glow, the same one that Colin used up earlier, nearly breaking apart the space around him as well as his body.
If you guys would like to support me, or just want to read up to 15 chapters ahead, you can head on to my P*treon. It is the same name as my username. Like Quote ReplyReport Reactions:Sarif, Seek212., Lucas Mikkelsen and 26 othersIdleMuse0307Jun 27, 2025Reader modeNewAdd bookmark Threadmarks Threadmarks DoorMan (MCU SI) - #81 : Colin One shots both the Demons as well as himself..... New Threadmarks IdleMuse0307I trust you know where the happy button is?Jun 30, 2025Add bookmark#174Disclaimer - I don't, and have never claimed to, own Marvel or its Intellectual Property. This is all just so that I can take my maladaptive daydreaming and turn it into something so that it does not ruin the rest of my day.
DoorMan #81
Ta-Lo
–Colin Baxter–
"So, is this it, then?" Shuri asked him, sounding genuinely defeated as they continued to run through a barrage of Demons, despite the regular cullings they both had done for the flying Demons. The ultra stealthy Demons who could get really close before he could detect them had stopped attacking him so either they were all killed by him or they were trying to get his guard down.
But Ha! The joke was on them because he was one paranoid son of a sweet woman, so he kept his Air senses at their max, just in case they got a lucky shot in and got both of them.
Both of them were mostly out of options at this point so her pessimism was warranted, if only they were completely out of options. He still had one last thing left in his arsenal but he was hesitant to use that until the last moment because he had just opened the Door the one time and it was not a pleasant experience, by any means.
Taking a deep breath, he braced himself for the impact and just continued flying in the direction of Ta-Lo, hoping that they could outrun the fog but they had no such luck until then.
"We haven't tried everything, yet." He said as he called upon the powers of the Blue Door, flinching as the Door seemed eager to be used, almost jumping into his mental landscape, in joy to be used.
"What?" Shuri snapped as she turned around, firing through one of the blasters she had made out of cannibalised parts from her own suit. All that was left of the Vibranium suit she had, in the beginning, was just a suit around her, protecting her core areas with the ends of her limbs partially exposed.
"Brace yourself," Was all he could say as he called forth the Door, tightly holding it together in his mind, hoping for it to backfire or atleast fight back but to his pleasant surprise, aside from a mild tingling all over his body, nothing else happened as a man sized Door crackling with Blue appeared in front of them, lighting up their surroundings in an extremely bright blue colour.
"What is that?" Shuri asked, worried yet not as worried as she would have been had she had access to her full suite of sensor arrays and sensed exactly what the door was.
"Well, a last resort option. I was really hoping not to use it," He said, hiding the wince that had almost shown on his face as the energy from the Door zapped him, burning him slightly. He couldn't imagine what would happen if that happened to a normal person. He was way more resistant to heat than a normal person, courtesy of his varios pyro-related experiments.
Not wanting to get zapped once more, he shoved the Door forward, toward the largest horde of the Demon Dragons, these things were really grating on his nerves now, and perhaps the Door sensed that as a wave of blue emanated from the Door in all directions and he had to stop the Air Door beneath him and stop his jaw from dropping as the very sky itself shuddered for a second as lances of blue stuck all the Demons out of nowhere, embedding them in their bodies, which then withered to Dust, disturbingly similar to what would happen to people who were hit by Hydra's Tesseract weapons.
"Holy Shit!" He whispered as they came to a stop, looking all around him as the sky itself was full of the dust that the Demons turned into, which was swept away by the breeze.
"Argh!" He grunted as the Door was dispelled and he fell on his knee, the Air Door flickering beneath him as his hands burned, and no amount of Chi cycling could stop the burn, or heal the marks on his hands.
"What was that? What is happening? Are you alright?"
"Just," He grunted, his vision reddening as he tried to stop himself from screaming out loud, "Peachy."
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he could feel the pain receding, not completely disappearing but returning to a level he could manage. Huffing as he stood up, he looked all around him and saw that while the Fog had receded quite a bit, the only thing that was visible was the giant mountain in the distance, with the slash mark he had carved on its side with his Kinetic Lasers.
The Blue Door was safely tucked away in his mind, now not crackling and its light dimmed completely. He cautiously poked the Sleeping Bear and sighed in relief when he saw that the Door was completely non responsive, as if the energy stored within was drained.
With great difficulty, he managed to stand up, and fish out his sling ring from the pockets of his under armour, which held specially made pockets to keep Sling Rings secure, courtesy of Kamar Taj's standard loadout for Masters.
Slipping it on his finger, he flinched as his nerves lit up with pain at the movement.
"What was that? Are you opening a portal? I thought you couldn't do that anymore." Shuri babbled, probably way too tense about the whole situation but he didn't have it in him anymore to respond or try to calm her down about the whole thing because as far as he was concerned, he was getting out of here, no matter what.
So, he just raised his index finger, telling her to stop, as his hands, burning and leaking blood, pus, and whatnot from every which hole, all the while he furiously cycled Chi through every inch of his body, waved in the air.
He had never hated this stupid waving motion more in his entire life. He fought the tears that came because of the sheer pain the motion was causing as whatever the Blue Door did finally caused the space around him to agree to a portal as sparks of a small hole appeared in the sky.
"W-when," He spoke in between shaky breaths, clenching his teeth when the pain became too much, "it opens f-fully, just jump through. A-and take me, k?"
Without waiting for an answer, he continued the motion, abandoning Chi cycling for a moment because he needed to focus and just maintaining flight was getting too much by now, as the portal slowly, bit by bit enlarged.
"N-no," He whispered as he felt his hold on the portal slipping, whatever it was that restricted portals coming back in full force as hope itself seemed to be running from him as the portal's glow began to dim down.
Renewing his efforts, despite the pain, he tried to fight back but it just wouldn't budge, the wall that was stopping his–
He sighed in relief as he collapsed on the ground, arms dangling uselessly by his side as he mentally commanded the Air Door to move forward, the portal having stopped shrinking and instead, the familiar yet overwhelming magic of the Water Dragon coming through and pushing the portal to its larger size, allowing both of them to pass through.
He couldn't even maintain flight until they landed safely as the sight of the Great Lake was enough for him to relax, making him black out instantly.
If you guys would like to support me, or just want to read up to 15 chapters ahead, you can head on to my P*treon. It is the same name as my username. Like Quote ReplyReport Reactions:Sarif, Seek212., Lucas Mikkelsen and 24 othersIdleMuse0307Jun 30, 2025Reader modeNewAdd bookmark Threadmarks Threadmarks DoorMan (MCU SI) - #82 : Help? Rejected. New Threadmarks IdleMuse0307I trust you know where the happy button is?Jul 1, 2025Add bookmark#175Disclaimer - I don't, and have never claimed to, own Marvel or its Intellectual Property. This is all just so that I can take my maladaptive daydreaming and turn it into something so that it does not ruin the rest of my day.
DoorMan #82
Ta-Lo [February 18, 2008]
–Shuri Udaku–
She watched as the falling, battered, and severely injured form of Colin was hoisted mid air by someone, the same as her but Colin was the one who was whisked away to land immediately, surrounded in a white glow while she looked at her body covered in a purple energy.
She looked back, as her body was slowly being rotated, the events of the day weighing heavily on her mind as she barely escaped death today, and despite going through all of that, she did not have a single major injury on her so she was prepared for some interrogation, since understandably one does not remain scot free while being with someone who looked like they were on Death's door.
Her eyes widened as she came face to face with a woman who could only be called as otherworldly. If she still had her suit intact, she could have used it to scan everything about this woman but as it was, her senses warned her of multiple things.
Before everything else, there was a blaring sense of danger coming from the woman, as if she could kill her just as easily as snapping her finger. Secondly, it was as if the woman had some sort of charm, something that she used to ensnare people but the blessing from Bast was keeping the effects at bay.
"Hmm," She said and the voice itself was odd, feeling completely artificial, as if tailor made to sound the best to the listener, "So you managed to survive, uninjured? Impressive." Despite the words, she did not feel as if the woman was really impressed with her.
Before she could speak, because that was all that she could do in her vulnerable position, suspended mid air as she was, without her suit and she had a hunch that her enhanced physical powers were not going to matter in this confrontation, someone beat her to the punch.
"Leave her be, Parasite." The voice was old and gravelly as something else came into her view, from the back of the woman in red. The woman's face twisted in obvious displeasure and yet, she backed off and Shuri could feel the effects on her mind disappear.
Her eyes widened to their max as she saw what she could only describe as a floating lizard come into view. She resisted the urge to rub her eyes in disbelief as the floating lizard talked, not with her but with the enchantress in red.
They spoke something which she could not hear, despite them not making any visible attempt at masking their voice, after which, she was dragged with them, to the centre of the city, the one that looked eerily empty and silent now, compared to what it was before.
After that, the events of that day were a blur to her, as the shock of how close she had come to death finally caught up to her, as the people did their best to heal her and house her. It was not until the next day that she finally snapped out of it, her enhanced physique meant that she recovered from injuries far faster than normal people, especially since her injuries were not that deep from the beginning anyway.
Eating food that was remarkably tastier than anything she had eaten before, she thought of what she could do after this. The priority would be to phone home, obviously since she was pretty sure that half of Wakanda must be looking for her by now, since she had not checked in with either her mother or her brother.
She was unsure if there was any time dilation between this pocket space and the outside world but she could not risk it. Second things, she had to talk with Colin because the admittedly dangerous trip had opened her eyes to many, many things and the curiosity within her mind burned ever brighter, as did the sense of heightened anxiety as she finally realised just how outclassed she was, when beings like Colin could barely get out, after doing intense self harm in the process.
She really needed to work on Wakanda's defences and the urge to work non stop until she was sure that Wakanda could take out anyone was never as strong as it was now.
Once she was finished with her food, she cleaned her plate, as was customary in this place, by hand, and got out of the small home that was assigned to her. They apparently did not have any empty homes but one of the people who lived alone made accommodations for her as they moved back in with their extended family for as long as she needed to recover.
It would seem that people in Ta-Lo did not expect visitors, ever, really. It was kind of fascinating to witness, really, to see and interact with people untouched by the outside world and consequently, most of the ugliness and darkness as well. Sure, she knew that as long as humans lived, there would be darkness somewhere within them, they did not need the darkness multiplier that was unchecked capitalism for that but to see people who lived in harmony, only indulging in conflict for stuff that would not even register as crime in the outside world was kind of nice, in a way.
"I hope you are not forcing yourself. We know you injured yourself, along with the LifeGiver," One of the nice old ladies said as they took the plate from her and put it in a cart that she was dragging around, collecting utensils from everyone.
Also, yes, the LifeGiver, a title spoken with immense awe and respect, given to Colin. The people here had kept Colin on a really high pedestal, uncomfortably close to that of a monarch and their people. In fact, she did not think that she would enjoy this level of respect and love from her people when she inevitably became the Queen of Wakanda, not at first anyway.
She had refrained from prying any further into that title, because she wanted to respect Colin's privacy, especially after he had risked his life to get them out of that hellhole, not that she did not blame Colin a tiny bit for putting them in the dangerous situation in the first place.
He really did not know what would happen in that place and to be honest, even she was not really sure what exactly happened in that place. All of it was a blur and also, a whirlwind of activity as they were attacked non stop and both of them had to fight back with all they had, right up until Colin pulled something that destroyed his arms but created an opening to allow them to escape.
She had never felt as helpless as she had felt at that time, forced to rely on someone who was obviously in no shape to take care of himself.
The last time she felt anything remotely close was when she was taken in by the previous Head of the Dora Milaje for training, sans supervision from either of her parents, which was a condition that was put forth by the previous Head. To this day, she could not flinch a little when she went to pay her respects to her teacher, the previous head of Dora Milaje, Aneka.
Smiling at the sweet old woman, she waved off her worries and helped her carry the cart, something that helped her immensely because she was starting to feel cooped up in her room. No one was allowed out of their houses for extended periods of time because they were still cleaning the exotic energies from the air, something that could apparently affect people's minds. Especially since there was already a recorded casualty, that being the village chief's granddaughter.
The old woman was one of the few she had seen move around the tightly built community she was living in, through the windows so the woman must be someone special and she needed to talk with someone of authority, to get out of this place and also to inquire about Colin's current status.
Both of which, the old woman answered with gusto, "Oh dear, the LifeGiver is out of danger for now though he is still resting and no one is allowed to go near. Also, if you wish to leave, I don't think anyone other than the LifeGiver's companions can help you but I doubt they would leave without the LifeGiver."
She figured as much. Still, she followed the woman and entered the village chief's office, hoping to make her case because she really needed to be back home or at least check in. Maybe she could help in some way.
Colin was an outsider and it would really not do her campaign to become Queen any favours but if there was anything that Wakandan medical sciences could do to help Colin, she would do it.
It happened so subtly, she couldn't even feel it when something invisible took hold of her, holding her in place so delicately that she performed the walking and pushing motion, not even realising that she was doing so without moving an inch, so engrossed in her own thoughts.
"I assume you want to leave?" The same old and gravelly voice spoke to her, not in her mind, she checked but directly in her ear as the same floating lizard, covered in a thin membrane of purple came down from the sky.
She found herself almost agreeing on the spot but held her tongue at the last moment, "How is Colin? Wakanda has the best medical services on the planet, we can–"
"No." She reared back, as if slapped. Why would they reject her help even before listening to her proposal?
"No, you don't understand, Wakanda can surely help, no matter the injuries. We have technology that can–"
"No." This time, the reply was more forceful as she stumbled with her words, confusion lacing her mind.
She looked back as something gently poked her in the back and found her suit, now barely a hunk of vibranium, not even capable of any molding, floating right behind her.
Her eyes widened a bit as the same purple energy covered her body as she realised what was happening.
"W-Wait! I can–" Was all she could say before the picturesque green horizon shrank as she found herself back in the icy darkness of Mt. Everest, "--Help!"
Her suit clattered uselessly behind her as she stood there, shell shocked.
Then, she snapped to action as the familiar sound, created only for her benefit, of her rocket landing behind her, forced her to move.
As the cockpit bay closed around her, she vowed to return. She would pay back her debts.
After all, if she could not do something as trivial as healing energy burns, she would not be worthy of being called the Queen of Wakanda.
If you guys would like to support me, or just want to read up to 15 chapters ahead, you can head on to my P*treon. It is the same name as my username. Like Quote ReplyReport Reactions:Seek212., Lucas Mikkelsen, frivolous_humdinger and 23 othersIdleMuse0307Jul 1, 2025Reader modeNewAdd bookmark Threadmarks VladI trust you know where the happy button is?Jul 2, 2025Add bookmark#176What is their problem? Like Quote ReplyReport Reactions:IdleMuse0307IdleMuse0307I trust you know where the happy button is?Jul 2, 2025Add bookmark#177Vlad said:What is their problem?Stay tuned for an explanation
Tommorow Like Quote ReplyReport Reactions:EmptinessThreadmarks DoorMan (MCU SI) - #83 : Bast's manipulations & how dare you? New Threadmarks IdleMuse0307I trust you know where the happy button is?Jul 2, 2025Add bookmark#178Disclaimer - I don't, and have never claimed to, own Marvel or its Intellectual Property. This is all just so that I can take my maladaptive daydreaming and turn it into something so that it does not ruin the rest of my day.
DoorMan #83
Ta-Lo [February 18, 2008]
–Jin'Ya–
He watched as the girl, woefully ignorant about Bast's manipulation, flew back to her own country, probably thinking that her thoughts of bringing Colin, especially in his vulnerable state, to Wakanda was her idea.
Shaking her head, he closed the micro portal and flew down to the most important room in Ta-Lo, as of now.
"Took care of her, did you?" Were the first words that the Red Matron spoke to him as they were both stationed near Colin, to protect him at all times though it was doubtful that anyone would dare attack him here but they could never be too careful, especially since they did not manage to track down the true threat to Colin, the Vampire empowered by Hell, the one being on this planet, who could freely track down Colin and attack him anywhere, without any restraints whatsoever.
He nodded as his gaze went to Colin's unconscious form. It had been almost two days since Colin forced himself through that portal, and even in that time, his injuries had barely begun healing. The wounds themselves were mostly cauterized due to the high amount of energy running through Colin but the sheer damage done to his internal organs was not something anyone could survive.
Colin too would have been dead, if not now then in a few years, if he did not have a near constant amount of Chi being pumped into his body, into his cells that have since adapted themselves to take in copious amounts of Chi, essentially disregarding cell aging as they almost violently reproduce in order to heal the body, ignoring any energy costs since they had uninterrupted access to the best source of lifeforce in the world.
His hands, they were the worst affected. His entire body was subjected to that energy but his hands were fried from inside out. It was a minor miracle that the boy was able to hold on long enough to open the portal. The Cosmic energy also blew away any spatial locks that might have existed in that plane, allowing Colin to barely open that portal.
He just wondered exactly what was going through the mind of–
Both him and the Red Matron tensed as twin auras of red and purple surged through the room, carefully safeguarding Colin's vulnerable form as they stared at a corner of the room. A moment after, orange and red sparks bled together to form a gaping hole in reality, through which the Ancient One stepped through.
Speak of the Devil, and the Devil shall appear.
The funny thing was that there were many beings on the planet, and in dimensions adjacent to the planet who would overwhelmingly agree with his statement of the Ancient One being a Devil.
After all, to them, she was not a human, she did not fear, she did not cower, she did not flinch from genocide and if it came to it, would gladly engineer one if it meant safeguarding the planet. She had become a mostly unfeeling engine for the past century or so, depending completely on the Infinity Stone around her neck, aiding her immensely in her quest to maintain order, for as long as she was alive.
Still, despite knowing it was her, he did not let down his guard, maintaining his energy within the room and more importantly, around Colin, just in case he needed to flee.
"Prove it." He said as the Ancient One gazed at him and after a tense moment, her left hand rose up and snapped its fingers, creating an immense pressure in the room as for the split second that the Ancient One donned the Mantle of the VIshanti, their combined auras were blown away out of the room.
It was a split second, too fast for anyone else to catch but he relaxed, knowing that it was the Ancient One as no one else had the Mantle of the Vishanti, and even if someone else became the Sorcerer Supreme, there was no guarantee they would even be offered the Mantle from the VIshanti, let alone master it over the centuries.
No, he was firmly of the opinion that Kamar Taj as a whole was going to undergo a vast weakening once the all powerful Ancient One left. After all, the bigger the giant, the larger the shadow, or that's what the humans say these days.
Shaking his head, he addressed the Ancient One who was currently running diagnostic spells over Colin's prone form, "So, what exactly happened here? You forbid me from helping Colin, did you see this happening?"
There was silence in the room for a moment, as the Ancient One silently did her job. He could observe Colin's breathing easing as some of the Ancient One's spells did something to heal some of his internal organs. Yet, his hands remained the same, as the spells washed over them, breaking as soon as they touched Colin's hands.
Finally, after casting a spell that created a protective dome over Colin, the Ancient One turned to him, "No, I did not know what would happen in the space beyond Ta-Lo, as we know it. All I knew was that Colin would make it out of there, in one piece, learning something very important both about himself and his powers, whilst uncovering something that even the Eye refused to show me."
"So, you used him." The Red Matron remarked, and he found himself agreeing. There was no reason to send Colin to deal with foes beyond his ken if the Ancient One herself had gone to great lengths in strong arming most beings on the planet from approaching him in the first place.
"I don't expect you to understand or agree with my decisions. Once Colin is awake, I will explain myself to him. Know this, however, that Colin's actions have unlocked a new horizon for him, a new path that might just pave the way for the planet's, and dare I say, the galaxy's salvation."
Saying her piece, she faded from view as she used one of her signature teleportation spells, using the Old Ways of the Nine Realms to travel freely, without much in the way of blockades.
"So," The Red Matron said as she leaned against the protective dome around Colin, "How long do you think I'll have to stick around? Those bastards didn't take the bait, and instead sent a puppet."
"For as long as the threat remains unresolved, you will dedicate the majority of your time to protecting Colin, that's what the agreement says." He declared and exited the room, satisfied with the protective arrangements done by the Ancient One.
_____xx_____
[Two days Later]
–Colin Baxter–
His eyes fluttered open, pain being the first feeling spreading throughout his body as a pained groan escaped his dry throat.
The very next moment, a steady stream of floating water entered his mouth as he greedily slurped on the water, his throat aching from however long he had been out. The pain was still there, he could feel it but compared to the haunting nightmare that was the pain he felt when the Blue Door closed? It was almost trivial in comparison.
He felt the familiar telekinetic hold of Jin'Ya around his body as he was moved into an upright position, his eyes finally adjusting to the bright light around him, as he saw that he was in a room with Jin'Ya, the Red Matron, and the Village Chief who looked like he had aged decades since he last saw him.
"How," he croaked out, "How long was I out?"
"Almost four days," The village chief said as he stepped forward, actually having to use a stick to walk and he could see that it was not just for show as the man's legs and hands trembled ever so slightly as he walked forward.
Whatever explanation he expected from the man, he did not expect the man to actually bow his head to him. He tried to get up, using his hands, only to hiss in pain as red hot pain shot up his nerves.
He finally looked down and his eyes widened at the state of his arms. Before he could voice out his question, the village chief spoke.
"I thank you, Lifegiver, for allowing our village to exist for one more day, for not letting my mistake wipe out my ancestors' work."
He shot a confused, as well as pained, look at Jin'Ya who immediately opened their mental link and sent in a ton of information. Information that he processed nearly instantly as he had mostly healed by now, with only his hands being in the terrible state they were now.
"No," He whispered, "Not like this." His voice cracked as he saw the broken, drained form of Ying Nan, lying near the seal as the Demon beyond the Seal sucked her soul, strengthening himself.
His head bowed, as he spoke, to someone who was within the room and yet, invisible and undetectable to everyone, "How dare you? How could you?"
For he knew that Ancient One was in the room, with all of them, waiting to justify her crimes, committed on the basis of the fucking Time Stone.
God, he was coming to hate that stupid piece of rock.
If you guys would like to support me, or just want to read up to 15 chapters ahead, you can head on to my P*treon. It is the same name as my username. Like Quote ReplyReport Reactions:Sarif, Seek212., Lucas Mikkelsen and 25 othersIdleMuse0307Jul 2, 2025Reader modeNewAdd bookmark Threadmarks Threadmarks DoorMan (MCU SI) - #84 : It's the Find Out Phase..... New Threadmarks IdleMuse0307I trust you know where the happy button is?Jul 3, 2025Add bookmark#179Disclaimer - I don't, and have never claimed to, own Marvel or its Intellectual Property. This is all just so that I can take my maladaptive daydreaming and turn it into something so that it does not ruin the rest of my day.
DoorMan #84
Ta-Lo [February 18, 2008]
–Colin Baxter–
He could feel the confusion within the room as he uttered those questions, laced with unmistakable hostility. The confusion didn't last for long as the golden dome around him, which had turned invisible as soon as he had woken up, flickered to life as the Ancient One appeared in front of him.
The memories he received from Jin'Ya told him that the Ancient One was the one who'd cast the golden dome around his prone form, something that was very similar to that of the dome that was cast around Odin when he went in his infamous Odin Sleep.
"Can I have the room?" The Ancient One said out loud, which was not a question but a demand as all of the people began shuffling out of the small room, and the moment everyone left, the dome that was visible around him expanded to mold itself to the shape of the room, covering every single surface, which was probably a privacy filter for their conversation.
"So," He began, voice bitter, "Do you have anything to–"
"What were you thinking, Colin?" He blinked in confusion.
"W-What do you mean?"
"I mean, what were you thinking? Opening a New Door, in an unsecured place? Near the seal holding back the Demon of all places? Did you lose your mind?"
"Do you have any idea what would have happened if the destabilising space was not sealed shut by Jin'Ya and the rest of them?"
His eyes widened as he finally realised the folly of his actions. The implications of what could have happened were not lost on him.
"B-but you would have–"
"Let me make one thing very clear to you, Master Baxter. I am not all seeing nor all knowing, and certainly not when it comes to you. Your powers make it very hard to see your future. Which is why I have time itself flow around you, just so I can make decisions with some semblance of certainty."
And then, she laid it all out, clearly.
How she foresaw a life altering, life threatening event that he would undergo, one that he would only escape with an inch of his life, using something that would only be its second ever application.
How if he didn't have a prior and very recent experience doing the same thing, he would not have survived, resulting in a chain of events that would have led to the genocide of Wakanda, as Wakandans would not have stopped in their search for Shuri, inevitably stumbling upon Kamar Taj, wherein the Ancient One would have had to finish off the entire country, with none being the wiser, just so they could avoid any possibility of war in the future.
He got chills hearing her speak so clinically about killing off an entire civilisation, of the battle spreading across the Astral Realms, with her finally killing off Bast and dying after, just because he wanted Shuri to see this cool place.
"I knew you were going to perform stupidity of the highest order, and yet, I could not stop you in any meaningful way because doing so would have just led to death and destruction this world has not seen in centuries."
And the worst thing was, that he knew she would do it. More than the certainty in her voice when she spoke of what she could and would do if it came down to that, it was the historical records in Kamar Taj, detailing how the Ancient One, using her powers to see the future, brought down entire civilizations, from the outside, using subtle manipulations of various pawns or directly, by slaughtering people down to their last member.
All of it was available to be read in Kamar Taj's library, once you became Master and got the respective privileges. All the Masters in Kamar Taj knew the length to which the Ancient One can go and has gone to ensure the future she deems good, is brought to the forefront.
So, the fact that his single decision, to show Princess Shuri something she likely would have never experienced in her life, might have brought about genocide and deicide, it shook him at a level he was not sure he could mentally process yet.
"With all that being said, I am glad that what I saw has come to pass, and your body was not taken over by Kamar Taj's greatest enemy."
Wait, what? Greatest enemy? But that was…
"Shit!" He whispered as another bout of shock hit him, the realisation of just how close he had come to the biggest of the big bads of Kamar Taj bringing yet another chill to his body.
The Ancient One nodded, "Yes, part of the reason I allowed this to happen was because I could not see beyond the fog. The Time Stone, a fundamental part of the universe itself, could not show me what lay beyond the fog. I analysed the remnants of the matter you had on your body when you came here, and aside from your own blood, I found mystical DNA consistent with that of the Dark Ones."
Dormammu.
So, that's where that mountain and the Demonic Dragons were coming from.
"But how?" He asked, the shocks piling on top of each other. He was nowhere near ready to even be in the presence of Dormammu, let alone confront him in any capacity. His soul would shred itself if he somehow found himself right in front of Dormammu's true body, such was the Dread Lord's strength and his relative soul weakness.
It was one of the reasons why he would never even attempt to fight Dormammu, if the Sanctums were destroyed in the future, because he knew for a fact that he did not have the necessary strength, the conviction, then the strength of soul, to stand in front of the Dark Lord and tell him to f*ck off. That part was better left to megalomaniacs like Strange and to an extent, the most dangerous woman on the planet, who was standing in front of him with a very bad look in her eyes.
"So, Master Baxter, yes, you do still have the tag, if only because it would take a lot to disbar you, the second Strongest member of Kamar Taj, this is your last warning. No spontaneous experiments, magical or otherwise. No performing dangerous magical stunts to impress girls. Kamar Taj is a place to heal, to protect, to learn but it is not a place where you can learn Sorcery to do something as mundane as impress women."
He bowed his head, knowing that he was in the wrong here, no matter from what angle anyone looked at this.
"As for your arms," His gaze drifted to his arms, still black, blue, and bruised, unleashing an ungodly amount of pain through them as the slightest movement made him wince, "I suppose by now you have realised what you have done and how lucky you are that you only had to give up your arms."
"What?" His neck snapped up, incredulity in his voice as he tried to stand up, only for his hands to fail him, "What do you mean?" there was no way he could hide the fear in his voice.
"What?" The Ancient One gave him a confused look, as if he was the one who was being irrational, "Or did you think handling a fraction of a fraction of the shard of Infinity was going to just give you some burns and bruises that would heal on their own?"
"B-but I healed just fine. The Chi healed all of it when I first opened it and we both know that the first activation is the one that is the most dangerous then how could–"
"Let me explain something to you. The Infinity Stones, they are not the most rational objects out there, their energies are not something that can be quantified or rationalised in most ways. You could predict them, learn their patterns but even then, it's barely worth it."
He barely listened to her words as he cycled Chi through his body, focusing on his arms, to the point that his entire body glowed golden, Chi leaking through his skin as he flooded his body with Chi, as little beams of light began leaking out of the injuries on his hands and yet, nothing.
"Like I said, Infinity Stones don't operate on logic, at least not something we can comprehend. The first time, it did not damage you that much, so your Chi was able to heal most of the damage. This time, well, the only way I can see you regaining complete use of your hands is if you somehow manage to cut off and regrow your limbs."
"Nononononono," He continued whispering as his hands continued to stay the same, no change even as he pumped enough Chi in them to power the freaking Elder Dragon present in that lake.
"For what it's worth, I'm sorry." Before he could come up with any meaningful reply, he felt a spell being cast as sleep overtook him.
DoorMan #85
Ta-Lo [February 18, 2008]
–Jin'Ya–
He was standing right outside the room, looking for any changes and the second the void that separated it from outside was removed, he moved in. Within a fraction of a second, he blocked the space all around the room. Realistically, that would not have been enough to stop the Ancient One from leaving if she wanted to but this was not about trapping her, this was about stopping her from leaving, a message that they needed to talk.
Just as he expected, he felt just a single poke against his spatial barrier before the Ancient One materialized before him. The Red Matron had long since abandoned her post, feeling secure in the fact that the Ancient One was right there with Colin, so her contract would not be void with her leaving Colin defenseless.
"I assume you have something you want to say to me?" The Ancient One prompted but before he could get a word in, another party joined the meeting as the scenery around them blurred, before they were in a small spherical chamber, with water and fish outside, with a magical projection from the Water Dragon appearing in front of them.
"I would like to be a part of this conversation as well. I assume this is about Colin and the way recent events have been carried out?" He nodded at the unasked question.
"Will his hands be healed?" He asked, to both the Ancient One and the Water Dragon, because he had never seen any of his injuries stick for so long, no matter the damage done to them. Hell, he had seen burnt bones, so brittle they could break with a touch, heal with the help of Chi, returning Colin to his healthy form.
Seeing injuries that remained for days without changing much was really a first for Colin.
It was not the Ancient One who answered but the Water Dragon, "I am not optimistic about full recovery."
A small magical projection appeared in between them, showing a human body with the arms glowing red with the rest of the body appearing fine. There were veins of red criss crossing across the torso section that were rapidly being eliminated by a yellow wave.
"I have seen Colin's condition and the damage done by his powers was not limited to his arms, it spread to every part of his body but as you can see, his innate healing has wiped out most of the damage, save for his arms. I believe that being the areas where most of the energy was channeled through, both of these arms are just beyond healing, at least for Colin."
The news, while disheartening, was not the end of the world. He knew that Colin knew about many things that could either create replacement limbs like prosthetics or outright grow him new ones.
Turning to the Ancient One, he said, "The damage is not in the soul, it is just physical." If it was, he would have been the first one to feel it, and his mental inspection, however brief it was, showed him that Colin's soul was intact.
The Ancient One nodded.
He seized the opportunity, "So he can regrow them? We can amputate these ones and then have him regrow new ones? I am sure he knows if not the how then the where we can find someone who can do so."
"I assume you cannot use the Eye to reverse time on his arms?" The Water Dragon questioned the Ancient One while he tried to remember if the Extremis could heal Colin's arms, especially at this stage. Bruce Banner had taken the research to another avenue, where it could be used to stabilise patients first, then treat injuries, then move on to treatable diseases, then terminal diseases and in the very end, make Extremis capable of regrowing limbs.
That was the flow of the Extremis Research that everyone involved agreed upon and at the time, it was fine but now? Now they might just have to change the course of the research.
"No," The Ancient One replied, "The eye cannot be used to reverse time for this, not because I don't want to but because the energies involved are too complex to do it safely. We might just end up harming Colin more than his arms if we do it. As the Guardian of the Eye, it is my duty to safeguard reality as we know it so that is out of the question."
"So, what was all this for? Why let Colin go through all of this? Was there even a point?" He asked her, finding it hard to keep the anger out of his voice.
She nodded, "Yes, there was. This was all an outcome, stemming from Colin's own actions. A series of steps, small on their own, resulting in a catastrophe."
"It was the Door opening, wasn't it?" He asked her, mentally rewinding every single one of Colin's decisions that led to him coming here, despite his next appointment for the Chi infusion being months away.
"No, actually," He looked up at her, "It was when he decided to casually reveal his identity, instead of hiding it. I get that it was his choice but just like butterflies, that single choice led to him coming here, with someone who could not defend themselves, during a time he should have been in the Red Hearth, safely opening the Door, with proper safety procedures."
"It is fact that Colin opened a Door, a dangerous procedure by any stretch of his imagination, within visible range of a Demonic Seal, and then proceeded to tour areas, as if they were a picnic spot, that had been deemed dangerous by you," She pointed at the Water Dragon who looked sufficiently chastised.
"This is all a series of decisions, and yet, I let it happen. Why? Because it is one of the better timelines. I have seen where Colin never made it out of his soul being overwhelmed. I have seen ones where he was ambushed by invisible predators and killed because he was not paranoid enough. I have seen him get burned from inside out, and die in that place before he could open a portal.
I walk a fine line between letting people have free will, and having to guide events to a better future. I won't let people who trust me become dolls, beholden to my will, my version of time but at the same time, I can't let people make decisions that will obviously, to me, lead to their doom."
The Ancient One took a deep breath before replying, "The burden of bearing the eye is heavy and I would not wish it on anyone and yet, I have to prepare Colin to take it, because I have to prepare for every single outcome possible."
She turned around as a portal opened in front of her, "Colin's soul is intact. The energy within that Door is now infused with his cells, mutating them beyond healing. Now, it is his choice to do with the mutated hands as he pleases. Know this, this was the better outcome, for all of us, for all of reality."
With that, she entered the portal as he was safely brought out of the Great Lake, and deposited right in Colin's room as he slept peacefully. The hands were charred beyond recognition and he could feel the energy within the hands.
It was nothing like the usual Chi cycling that Colin's body did on its own. It was something entirely different, something so dense that it crushed Colin's hands and barely saved his soul because he was using so much of it.
"I assume the lifegiver will be using this energy in the future, even to his own detriment?" The Water Dragon asked him mentally.
He nodded, knowing that Colin would use everything in his arsenal if he had to, "Yes, but I don't think it will be that big of a problem later on. It was the same with his other Doors, just on a lower scale of damage. Once he gets enough practice, I think he can do good modulation over the power flow."
"Will he be alright? Mentally?"
He shrugged, "I hope so."