SuperMan sized problems part 1

Fury didn't exactly have an aneurysm, as Natasha feared, but judging by the pulsing vein on his temple, it had been a close thing.

"Let me get this straight," Fury said, joining his hands on top of his table, as they sat in his room at the Triskelion. "An unidentified enhanced, possibly with magical abilities, faced and stopped a mind-controlled Superman and an Asgardian sorceress, using what is most likely an Infinity Stone to do so," he stared into her eyes, the vein on his temple pulsing madly despite his calm tone, "and we know nothing about it?"

Natasha breathed deeply, also annoyed by it; then she nodded. That was what it took to send Fury on a verbal rampage.

"This is unacceptable!" he exclaimed. "How can our intelligence be this flawed?!"

She didn't really have an answer for that, but Fury wasn't really talking to her as much as he was venting.

"An Infinity Stone lying around Earth without our knowledge is already catastrophic, but the very notion that there is an entire order of enhanced people capable of magic living under our noses is downright insulting!"

It was, but then again they had abilities that Natasha could barely comprehend. Mutants were already a largely unknown quantity and some of them represented global risk, but at least they could understand more or less how their abilities worked. And at least they had an alliance of sorts with one of the biggest players in that particular community; it wasn't perfect, but back then it was what SHIELD could do to deal with the most dangerous mutants without needing to go to war against them all.

They didn't even know sorcerers existed until that woman showed up to help them against Clark.

Aliens and gods were recent myths proven real as well, but at least they came from other worlds. It was one thing to have a powerful entity from another planet to show up and another quite differently to have an entire society living on Earth without their knowledge.

"What do we know?" Fury finally asked, when the long and loud venting that Natasha mostly tuned out was over.

"According to Lady Sif, the sorceress that helped us could be someone titled 'Sorcerer Supreme'," Natasha began. "Thor's mother, Queen Frigga, was acting Sorcerer Supreme for a while and, apparently, this woman is her successor."

"And what exactly does this mean?" Fury questioned.

Natasha frowned slightly. "By her explanation, the Sorcerer Supreme is responsible for guarding the Sanctums, whatever they are, and consequently our world from threats." Fury kept staring, waiting for more. She sighed. "You know how Asgardians are, sir, they act as if these kinds of things are common knowledge. Remember Thor not mentioning the Infinity Stones or the Convergence? It literally didn't cross his mind that we would need this information. Lady Sif, apparently, is the same."

Fury didn't say anything, he just kept thinking, trying to piece things together. Something occurred to Natasha as she observed him: while Fury seemed surprised – and outraged – that there were sorcerers living on Earth, he didn't seem that surprised by the very existence of magic itself.

"Sir, did you already know magic existed?" Natasha asked, curious.

SHIELD's Director turned to look at her with his one eye.

"In a way," he answered and she honestly believed it was all she would hear from him. "SHIELD has come across several artifacts over the years that we simply couldn't understand. Some called it 'magic', others 'science' and there were those that fit both categories. The Tesseract for example."

"Isn't it alien? Cosmic?"

"Well, sure, but what does that mean, really?" Fury retorted. "We could understand some of what it did, while most of it simply ignored the Laws of Physics altogether. Was it magical? Or had we simply stumbled upon something we didn't have the knowledge to explain yet? That added its own set of questions as well. What is magic? Is it simply science that we do not understand or something that is completely removed from science?"

Fury got up, unable to stay on his chair.

"Every single civilization on Earth has its myths about magic," Fury continued. "It could be, certainly, a way for them to explain what they didn't know back then, sure, but maybe it was something else. Maybe every civilization has tales about magic for the same reason they have tales about 'gods': it's real."

That was a very likely explanation, Natasha considered. Of course, she would never have considered this before meeting Thor or fighting against aliens or seeing some of the things she had seen during these past years, but life was constant growth, wasn't it?

"The Security Council is already furious that we can't control Superman," Fury muttered. "I can only imagine what they'll thing when they find out that someone we don't know fought him on equal grounds. Worse yet, that she fought a mind-controlled Superman. That will do wonders for their fear of him, I'll tell you that much."

That last bit was something that worried Natasha. On one hand, she knew Clark was a good man, someone that would die before hurting Earth. On the other hand, SHIELD was responsible for the world's safety and, either she liked it or not, Lorelei had proved that Superman could be turned against them.

If the sorceress hadn't appeared and solved everything, what would they have done? Could the Avengers – mostly Thor and Hulk – stop Clark before he destroyed Earth? Would a fight like that even let a world left to be protected?

Those were things Natasha truly didn't want to think about, but it was her job to.

"And now we have that damn lost Scepter…" Fury continued, almost as if speaking to himself.

Natasha raised her eyes.

"Did you find anything?" she asked.

Fury shook his head, slowly. "Not yet. And let me tell you, it's not looking good. I know SHIELD didn't simply lose it, we are too smart for that."

"But if we didn't lose it…"

"Then someone from the inside took it," Fury finished her thought. "Which means we have a traitor somewhere, infiltrated deeply. If it were stolen, I would've heard about it. But this was the first time I heard a peep about that Scepter since we acquired it. That isn't good."

It really wasn't. That Scepter was extremely dangerous and it was probably in the possession of someone competent enough to infiltrate an intelligence organization of the likes of SHIELD undetected. This wasn't good news for anybody.

"I want you to look for it, Romanoff," Fury ordered. "But do it quietly. If the one who took it finds out we are looking for it, getting it back will be that much harder." Natasha nodded. "And about the wizards and the Infinity Stone–"

"Superman is already on it," Natasha answered, before Fury could finish.

Fury raised a single eyebrow. "Is that so? Do you trust him with that?"

"I do," Natasha answered, without hesitation. "And I also don't believe that these sorcerers are a threat."

"It doesn't matter what we believe in, Romanoff, only how prepared we are if they happen to be one."

There was a time Natasha truly believed in that and it was a bit surprising to know she had changed her mind. Regardless, she had a job to do and she would do it. Getting up, she nodded to Fury and left the room.

"Is this it?" Jessica asked, in a mix of surprise and slight disappointment. "Gotta say, I was expecting something… more."

Clark was too, even if he didn't say anything about it. Instead of something directly out of a fairytale book, they were simply standing in front of a normal building, with normal people walking in front of it as they would in any other part of the city; it was a good thing he was wearing his civilian clothes for this.

"What were you expecting?" Clark questioned after a few seconds, double-checking the address written on the business card just to be sure. "Hogwarts?"

"Well, yes," she admitted, visibly a little embarrassed.

"Right here, in the middle of New York? How would that work?"

"It's magic, Clark, how should I know? Don't they have concealing spells or some shit like that?" Jessica argued. "What's it called? Fidelity? No… The one that makes the building appear out of nowhere when they know the secret."

"Fidelius?" Clark remembered.

"That's the one," she said, grinning at him. "Nerd."

Clark rolled his eyes. "Says the one who brought this up."

"Anyway, this is just an old-fashioned building," Jessica continued, ignoring him. "I don't see anything… magical about it."

"Maybe it's more impressive inside," Clark guessed.

"Well, that's your problem now," Jessica shrugged, turning to him. "Are you ready for your first day in magic school, Mr. Potter?"

He was not, that was the truth, but Clark wouldn't back away now.

"I guess I don't really have a choice, do I?" he asked.

"We can just go," she suggested, though both of them knew that wasn't exactly true.

They could go away, of course, postpone the visit. But sooner or later Clark would need to go back there, if not for the reason that he needed to learn how to protect his mind, then for the simple fact that the sorceress who defeated him had an Infinity Stone with her and could, very well, find and fight him again with it.

Clark didn't believe the Sorcerer Supreme – if Sif's theory was correct – was evil, she had helped him and the world, but he needed to make sure of it.

"No, I'm good," Clark answered, finally, sounding more confident than he felt. He looked at Jessica. "What are you going to do? You're not staying here, are you?"

"Believe it or not, Clark, I do have a job," she retorted. "Bills don't pay themselves."

He turned to Jessica and looked in her eyes; Clark was completely serious now. "Are you okay?"

Jessica didn't need to be a genius to know why Clark was asking that question. He knew something was wrong with her when Lorelei appeared, he knew she was more worried than usual, tense; what Clark didn't know was why. Not until she told him, the night before.

"He called himself Kilgrave," Jessica whispered, not looking at him. "I met him… He found me when I was defending Malcolm from being mugged by a couple of guys. I kicked their asses… And he saw me doing it."

Clark said nothing, knowing that if he interrupted, she wouldn't have the strength to continue.

"I had no idea who he was at the time, I've never seen the guy," she continued, "but when he spoke to me, something inside me just… snapped. I-I couldn't say no, I couldn't disobey. He told me to get closer, so he could take a look at me. A-And I didn't want to go, I had no idea who that guy was, but my body was already moving."

She stopped talking for a minute, clearly reliving the moment all over again.

"He was impressed by what I could do. Fascinated to find someone like him… But not quite as good. He asked me if I felt good beating those guys. I said yes, because I was helping someone. I made a difference," she added, quoting herself sarcastically. "That amused the hell out of him, I could see. He asked my name, I told him. And then we went out for dinner. Chinese."

Jessica breathed deeply, closing her eyes for a second. Clark could see that each word she said was painful, each word made her remember that day, pulling her into the darkness of her memories.

"Sif said that Lorelei made people love her, right?" she asked, suddenly. "That she became the most important thing in the eyes of her thralls. But you were still you, weren't you? I mean, you weren't forced to do anything, you just wanted to do it so badly that you couldn't stop yourself."

Clark nodded, also not happy to delve on those memories, no matter how recent they were.

"I was still me," he explained. "I still cared about all of you… I just cared more about her."

"Well, with Kilgrave it wasn't like that," Jessica said. "I didn't care about him, I despised him. His voice, his face, his smell… I hated him. I hated him more than anything I ever hated in my life. But I couldn't stop obeying him no matter what. He told me to follow him and I did. He told me to smile and I smiled. He told me to…" She closed her eyes again. "He made me do things that make me nauseous just to think about. He hurt me. He used me to hurt others. And I was there, forced to watch my own body doing things… Doing terrible things. Feeling everything, experiencing everything, without being able to do a thing to stop it."

Before he could stop himself, Clark held Jessica's hand, squeezing it; she didn't pull away.

"He kept me for months. Months of torment, of humiliation, of…" She squeezed his hand so hard that if he was human his bones would've broken. "I couldn't say no, Clark, I couldn't do anything. I couldn't leave. I couldn't even… end it all."

Clark felt his blood boil. He was a master of self-control, being as powerful as he was he had to be, but the rage that surged within him when Jessica said that wasn't like anything he had ever felt before.

"Where is this man?" he asked, feeling his hand shake a bit.

Jessica felt the tremor and looked at him, staring in his eyes for almost a minute. Whatever she saw there, it didn't seem to scare her at all.

"He is dead," she answered, turning her eyes from him.

"Did you…"

"Would you arrest me if I had?" Jessica asked, looking at him again.

Clark just gazed back at her for a moment. "What do you think?"

She didn't answer, but her small smile told him she knew exactly what he would do.

"If I could, I would have killed him," Jessica admitted, her eyes cold. "I would have done it without hesitation. But I didn't. I couldn't."

"How did he die?" Clark asked.

"Hit by a bus." She snorted, though Clark could see that humor was the last thing on her mind. "Karma, the universe getting back at him, I don't know. Shit, I don't care. I just care that he is gone and he is not coming back."

Jessica spent the night on the couch, holding his hand until the morning. She didn't sleep, didn't say anything else about Kilgrave, didn't cry or complained. But she didn't let go of his hand even for a second and Clark was glad to be there for her. Whatever he imagined Jessica would share with him the night before, that wasn't it. And he was having trouble dealing with it.

Clark never hated anyone. He disliked some people like anybody else, but truly hating someone, that was new. He didn't hate Zod, even after everything he did, even after being forced to kill him so he wouldn't destroy the world. He didn't hate Lorelei, even after she mind-controlled him and almost forced him to kill his friends.

But he did hate Kilgrave for what he did to Jessica and it scared him how much.

Jessica wasn't descriptive about what Kilgrave did to her, but she didn't need to be. He hurt her. Hurt his friend in ways no one should ever be hurt. He forced Jessica to harm others, to do his bidding, to be his perfect little slave. All that was reason enough for Clark to hate him, but it went deeper than that.

Kilgrave had shattered Jessica's belief in her potential to be a force for good.

He captured her when she was performing a good deed, saving someone, being a hero; and made her go through hell for months because of that. Not that he cared one bit about the man she saved or the thugs Jessica beat up. He didn't even care about the fact that she was using her powers to help people, no matter how ridiculous he considered that notion. But as much as Jessica considered Kilgrave being hit by a bus "the universe getting back at him", she no doubt started to consider her own situation as some kind of twisted karma.

Why was she being punished for trying to do a good thing? Why trying to help someone was rewarded by months of endless torment? Why was she almost driven mad for attempting to be a hero? What did she do to deserve this?

Clark knew she hadn't done a thing to deserve this, that no one deserved to go through something like this. And deep down Jessica knew it as well. But it was hard to make Jessica believe in good after what happened to her.

It was a good thing Kilgrave was dead, because Clark really wasn't sure what he was capable of doing if he ever faced that monster.

"I'm okay, Clark," Jessica finally answered, snapping Clark out of his own thoughts. "I'm better."

He stared at her, gauging how much she meant it. "You sure?"

Jessica nodded, slowly.

"I… I feel better after talking with you," she admitted, almost inaudibly. Then she looked at him; and punched his chest. "And now we are done with this shit. Alright?"

"Alright," he answered, getting the message. He couldn't hide his smile.

"Now go in there," Jessica said, pointing at the building. "And remember: not Slytherin!"

"Please, I'm clearly a Gryffindor!" Clark retorted, walking to the building.

"Sure you are, Hufflepuff boy," Jessica remarked, moving in the opposite direction.

She was already far away before he had the chance to respond, so breathing deeply to calm himself, Clark knocked on the door.

Daniel Drumm knew they were about to get a visitor even before the man knocked at the door. So when the visitor was about to knock a second time, he waved his hand; as he commanded, the doors of the New York Sanctum opened as if invisible hands had pulled them. The visitor, a man, stood in front of them for a second, a bit confused, but soon enough he overcame his shock and entered.

Of course, Daniel knew that the visitor was no simple man, no matter the garbs he was wearing; he would've known that even if he wasn't already aware that they were waiting for Superman. To those that knew how to sense it, Kal-El oozed power, as only higher beings such as Kryptonians and Asgardians did. It really was no wonder that mankind used to worship entities such as them as gods, because a mere glance was enough to show the sheer power they possessed.

Ignoring the doors closing by themselves, Kal-El walked to the middle of the room, looking around as he did it.

The New York Sanctum was a beautiful place in Daniel's opinion, like an old-fashioned mansion straight out from the beginnings of the last century. The entry hall was a circular room, with huge paintings on the wall, a dark marble floor, vases, couches and a chandelier that illuminated everything with a dim light. Behind him, a beautifully crafted wooden staircase led to the upper floors.

He allowed Superman to study the room for a few moments, until he stopped right in front of Daniel.

"Hello," he said, smiling.

Daniel was a bit surprised by how incredibly normal Kal-El addressed him, as if he was a simple passerby crossing the street instead of a higher being of absolute power, but he concealed it as he greeted him.

"Welcome, Kal-El, to the New York Sanctum. My name is Daniel Drumm. I am sorry to say that the Master of the Sanctum is otherwise occupied, but it is an honor to greet you today."

"Nice to meet you, um, Master Drumm?" Kal-El answered, uncertain about how to address him, but smiling and raising his hand.

Slowly, once again a little surprised by the warm greeting, Daniel shook his hand. "Daniel is fine," he added, a bit uncomfortable with the formality that a being such as Superman had extended him.

As far as he knew, entities that possessed that much power usually didn't go around greeting mortals as equals, but then again, he was Superman and apparently he cared about humans quite a lot.

"The Ancient One is waiting for you in Kamar-Taj," Daniel said, after shaking Kal-El's hand. "If you'll follow me…"

Kal-El followed him as he asked and Daniel led him towards a corridor on the staircase's left. At the end of it, was the doorway that led to Kamar-Taj, a tall door made of stone, engraved with runes and the symbol of Kamar-Taj.

"Is the Ancient One the one they call Sorcerer Supreme?" Kal-El asked after a second. "As a matter of fact, what is Kamar-Taj? And this 'New York Sanctum' we are in?"

Daniel stopped walking, turning to look at him with a slight frown. "What were you told?"

Superman fished what seemed to be a business card from his pocket and gave it to him. There was the address of the New York Sanctum written on one side and on the other a simple phrase: If you want to know how to defend your mind, you know where to find me.

He had to control himself not to sigh in frustration.

"So you know nothing about this?" he asked, giving the card back to him; Kal-El shook his head. "But you do know, at least, what this place is?"

Kal-El stared at him for a second, then shrugged. "A magical school of some kind?"

This time Daniel really did sigh in frustration; he respected the Ancient One more than anyone, but this was typical of her.

"In order: the Ancient One is the Sorcerer Supreme," Daniel answered, abruptly. "What that title fully means, I suggest you ask her, but in few words the Sorcerer Supreme is the guardian of this dimension." He gestured around. "The New York Sanctum is one of the three Sanctums Sanctorum on Earth. And Kamar-Taj is a house of wisdom, a place where the Masters of the Mystic Arts gather to learn."

There was a minute of silence, as Kal-El digested the quick notes he provided him.

"So… a magical school?" he asked, finally.

Daniel sighed again. This one would do well with the Ancient One.

"That is a grossly oversimplification… But in a sense, it is true," Daniel granted, reluctant. "Kamar-Taj is a beacon to all those willing to learn the Mystic Arts, seeking to elevate their minds and their spirits. A place of knowledge, but more importantly, a place where those who are lost go to find themselves."

Superman listened with attention and respect, without interrupting. But then, he glanced at the doorway behind Daniel and his face frowned in confusion.

"Is Kamar-Taj that room over there?" he asked, uncertain.

He couldn't help but to smile. "In a way. Follow me."

And then, after his brief explanation, they were walking though the corridor again, until they reached the door. With a wave of his hand, the stone doors opened by themselves, obeying his authority as the acting Master of the Sanctum. And behind it, miles away from New York but just there in front of them, stood Kamar-Taj's interior. The room that housed the Orb of Agamotto – currently taking the form of their world –, the gateways to the other Sanctums and, more importantly, the Eye of Agamotto itself.

This time, Kal-El stopped, surprised.

"The sounds… That's not New York," he said, no doubt listening to the noises around Kamar-Taj through the gateway. "A portal?"

So he wasn't entirely ignorant about magic, that was good.

"A gateway that leads directly to Kamar-Taj," Daniel explained, "available only for the Sorcerer Supreme herself, the Masters of the Sanctums and a few trusted high-ranked sorcerers such as myself." He pointed to it. "The Ancient One is expecting you. It's been a pleasure, Kal-El."

"The pleasure was mine, Daniel," Kal-El answered, politely, smiling at him for a second before turning his eyes back at the doorway. He gave Daniel a last nod and walked towards it; before he crossed it, however, he turned, as if he had just remembered something. "Oh, I almost forgot! I have my cellphone with me. Is it safe to go through? Or the magic is going to mess with the electronics?"

Daniel closed his eyes for a moment, sighing again. "This is not Hogwarts, Kal-El. Your phone will be fine."

New York's sounds disappeared completely when the stone doors closed behind him and Clark took a moment to adapt to the abrupt change. Magical forms of transportation were still weird to him, he had to admit, but he would get used to it eventually. So, instead of focusing on the least important detail there, Clark looked around, taking his time to study the room.

It was a dark room, circular, full of tall pillars and with three doorways carved in stone on the walls; one of which he had just used to get there. They would probably lead to the other Sanctums, he imagined, whatever that meant. Above him, far from the ground, there was a big sphere, in the form of their planet, just floating in the air without anything to hold it, under a dome with a beautiful projection of the night sky. But the thing that held Clark's attention almost immediately was in the center of the room, over a small pedestal.

The Infinity Stone the Sorcerer Supreme used to fight him, encased in a pendant in the form of an eye.

For a moment, Clark simply gazed at it, too stunned to do anything. Did they really leave an Infinity Stone there, unguarded? The room was opened, anyone could just go there and take it; unless – it suddenly occurred to him – they couldn't. He was inside a magical place, after all. Who knew what kinds of unseen protections were all over the room.

"It is impressive, isn't it?" a voice said from behind him. "I always feel at peace in this room."

He turned around quickly, surprised that someone was able to sneak up on him; that's when he saw her. The same sorceress that battled him, wearing the same yellow cloak, except this time her hood was down and Clark could actually see her face. The Sorcerer Supreme was, as he already knew, a woman. She had a shaved head, pale skin and an overall unimpressive appearance.

Except for her eyes. Those were full of intelligence, wisdom and, more importantly, power. That was the same woman who had defeated him and Lorelei almost by herself and looking into her eyes he could understand how.

"It is a beautiful place," Clark finally said, honestly, still watching the Ancient One. Uncertain, he approached her. He did not know how to do this correctly, so he just went for it. "I wanted to thank you for what you did. You saved my friends. And you saved me. I'm really sorry for attacking you."

She just waved her hand, smiling, as if defeating him was barely worth mentioning. "Don't worry about it. It's all part of the job."

"Sorcerer Supreme, right? Sif – the Asgardian warrior who helped you – mentioned it. You are Frigga's successor, aren't you?"

Again, the Ancient One smiled. She walked to the center of the room, hands held at her back, and looked up to the floating sphere.

"Frigga taught me everything I know about the Mystic Arts until I was strong and wise enough to take her place. She was a good master and an even better friend. You have my gratitude for saving her life," she answered, bowing her head to him; Clark had no idea how she knew about that, but she probably had her ways. "I am the latest in a long line of Sorcerers Supreme, going back thousands of years to the Father of the Mystic Arts, the mighty Agamotto. The same sorcerer who created the Eye I used to stop you."

Following her gaze, Clark looked at the Eye on the top of the pedestal, remembering the strong green glow it had when she used it during their battle.

"Is this an Infinity Stone?" Clark asked, already knowing the answer.

"The Time Stone, yes," the Ancient One answered, without any preambles. "Inside the Eye of Agamotto. An artifact created for the sole purpose of containing and channeling the power of an Infinity Stone. An artifact that has been used to protect our world as much as we use our powers to protect it from others."

"Protect the world from what?" Clark asked, dreading the answer. "What is the purpose of the Sorcerer Supreme?"

The Ancient One grinned again. "There is an infinite number of realities, Kal-El. Countless dimensions out there, some like ours, others as different as they could possibly be. And with an infinite number of worlds, comes an infinite number of threats." She stared at him. "Mephisto, Shuma-Gorath, Cyttorak, Chthon, Trigon, Dormammu… Beings so powerful that if allowed to cross to our world, they would consume our reality whole."

Clark felt a cold shiver down his spine. When Sif and Daniel Drumm said that the Sorcerer Supreme was the guardian of their dimension, he didn't really understand how literal that statement was. Compared to the threat of the complete annihilation of their universe, Zod's invasion – something that would result in humanity's genocide and Earth being terraformed into another planet – seemed almost insignificant. Pretty much anything would seem small compared to that, he admitted.

"How?" he asked, suddenly, looking back at her. "If those beings are so powerful, how exactly can you fight them?"

Even with the aid of an Infinity Stone – something Clark was now relieved it was in the Sorcerer Supreme's possession, if those were the kinds of threats she dealt with – that seemed impossible.

"We can't," she answered, simply. "What we can do is keep them away." Saying this, she waved her hand at the floating orb above them. The orb lit up in bright orange, showing Earth and all its continents. Three crests appeared over the globe, glowing orange as well. "Agamotto built three Sanctums in places of power, a long time ago, where great cities now stand. The Hong Kong Sanctum, the London Sanctum and the New York Sanctum, which you already know," she added, glancing at him. "Together, they generate a protective shield around our dimension."

As she said this, the crests on the globe started to expand, creating a barrier around the orb.

"The Sanctums protect the world and the Sorcerer Supreme protects the Sanctums," the Ancient One finished.

So that was the true purpose of the Sanctums, Clark realized. They were parts of the barrier that kept dimensional conquerors away from their world. He couldn't begin to understand how that worked, but their importance was more than clear now.

"Why here?" he asked, suddenly. "On Earth? Why did Agamotto built the Sanctums on this planet and not another one?"

The Ancient One shrugged. "Convenience, I suppose. Earth is a place of tremendous mystic power, of the likes few other worlds can claim. It is located at the exact center of the Yggdrasil and it thrives because of all that power. Also, back then, when Agamotto decided to build the Sanctums, there was no civilization to speak of, so there was a smaller chance of the indigenous life forms tampering with them. Of course, 'when' is a relative matter to someone wielding the Time Stone," she added, as if considering the notion for a moment. Shaking her head, she continued. "Additionally, being one of the Nine Realms, Earth is under Asgard's protection, so if help was needed, Asgard would be there to lend a hand." She shrugged again. "Earth was not the only place where he could have built the Sanctums and these Sanctums are not the only protection our universe has against other dimensional threats, but they are certainly the most important."

"And the most likely to get attacked," Clark added, worried.

"That is why it is the Sorcerer Supreme's duty to defend them," the Ancient One said. "Think of the Sanctums as the gate of a very tall and thick wall. A strong gate, well protected and perfectly built, but at the same time the most vulnerable spot to be attacked. That is why our task is so important."

"This barrier is strong enough to keep all those beings out just like that?"

"Yes and no," she said. "I compared the barrier to a wall, but in reality it would be more accurate to compare it to a net. A fishing net, for example. Imagine a net wide and strong enough to hold a whale. It could, arguably, be used as well to hold sharks and other big fishes, but smaller ones could still pass though. It's not easy for them, it is risky, but it can be done."

"So the barrier works only to hold the very big ones," Clark said.

"The smaller ones have to be captured and tossed back into the ocean," the Ancient One agreed. "Even a 'small fish' can prove to be a threat, under the right circumstances. The Sanctums must be protected at all costs." She looked at him. "That is one of the reasons why you are here."

Clark understood what she meant even before the Ancient One even said it. He might not be a threat from another dimension, but when Lorelei took his mind, he became a threat to the world all the same. And the Sanctums that held the protective barrier around the universe just happened to be on that planet; if he destroyed them, then their universe would be at risk.

The feeling of extreme guilt grew inside him once again.

"The Eye of Agamotto can be used as a way to glance into possible futures," the Ancient One said, ignoring his discomfort; he forced himself to pay attention. "To those who know how, the Time Stone can show the past and every possible outcome in the future. It is a way for us to be prepared, to know when we are needed." She stared at him fixedly. "When you were enthralled by the Asgardian sorceress, I was needed."

"Would I… What did I do?" Clark asked, not really wanting to hear the answer.

"In several possible futures, you were used for the capture and enthrallment of the rest of the Avengers," the Ancient One answered, as if he had asked her about the weather. "The leaders of the most powerful countries followed and soon Lorelei had in her hands a force strong enough to take the planet. The resultant war, in many of the possible futures, destroyed the Sanctums or, at the very least, created such chaos that Earth became vulnerable to outside threats." She glanced at him. "You were a victim, Kal-El, but the weakness Lorelei was allowed to explore meant the end of the world. I cannot ignore this."

He looked down, ashamed, incapable of looking at her. She was right, he knew that. It might not have been his fault, not really, but the result was the same: Lorelei used him to take Earth and to kill who knows how many people.

"Why didn't you just… kill me?"

Clark had no desire to die, but if his death meant Earth's safety… Well, that wasn't even a difficult decision to make.

"Because I had other means to stop you," the Ancient One answered, simply. "Make no mistake, Kal-El, if there was no other way, I would have. It wouldn't bring me any joy to do it, but it is my duty to protect this world. It was a good thing, however, that I had other means to stop you. This universe will need Superman."

He raised his eyebrows when she said that; it sounded like she was absolutely sure of it. Which was very much possible, he recalled, since she could see the future.

"In which way… You know what, I think I don't want to know," Clark said, rethinking his decision to ask that question. He didn't want to know what the future had reserved for him.

The Ancient One smiled at him.

"The future is in constant motion, Kal-El," she explained. "The same way the Multiverse is infinite, so are the possible futures of your life. I can see the future, gaze at the several branches of Time, but the further I look, the more uncertain my visions are."

"You don't have a way of knowing which of them are real?" Clark asked.

"They are all real, Kal-El," the Ancient One corrected him. "Every single one of them. I just don't know which of them will be real for you. One thing is certain, however: Superman will be important in all of them." Saying this, the Ancient One waved her hand again, making the orange glow on the globe disappear. "Come with me."

Without a second glance, she left the room and Clark followed her closely, looking around to see more of Kamar-Taj. The place seemed like a temple or a monastery, of the likes one would find in Asia, with monks training to reach a higher state of spirit; of course, he could be just projecting the old stereotypes, but the architecture of the place did remind him of that.

Using his x-ray vision, on a lower capacity so he wouldn't intrude too much, Clark looked around, seeing several people training. Some were meditating, some were sparring, some were reading and learning. And there were, obviously, those practicing magic, opening portals, creating constructs of orange light and other things. All of them were wearing old-fashioned robes, the kind monks could be wearing.

Maybe the stereotype existed for a reason.

"Where are we?" Clark asked, curious. "I mean, where is Kamar-Taj?"

"Nepal. Kathmandu, to be precise," the Ancient One answered, entering a room to her left. "I've seen you flying over the city a few times, you probably already saw Kamar-Taj before."

He couldn't know, not from that point of view, but right now he could see the exterior of Kamar-Taj and Clark was impressed by it. They walked through a corridor by a courtyard and Clark could see without the need of his x-ray vision as the sorcerers practiced their craft, tracing their magic in the very air in front of them. Beyond them, he could see the rest of the city and the mountains. It was a truly beautiful place.

The Ancient One, however, was not taking him there and continued her walk for a few minutes, eventually entering in another room. This room, like the first one he arrived, was dark and illuminated only by a few dim chandeliers. Differently from the other room, though, this one was vast and full of weird artifacts.

He could see suits of armor, clearly ancient, but well preserved. Weapons, like swords and spears, on the walls and wooden racks, with designs that hailed from every part of the world. Robes etched with glowing runes. Wands and staves. Pendants, rings and every single kind of jewelry, from the simple ones to the ones crafted with incredible precious stones. Statues that seemed somewhat alive, paintings that actually moved, scrolls and even what seemed to be a magic lamp.

It took Clark a moment to realize he was standing in a room full of magical artifacts, something he never imagined it would happen in his life.

"This is incredible!" he said, fascinated. He raised his hand and tried to touch a golden helmet at the center of the room, watching his face reflected on its polished metal surface.

"I wouldn't touch that, if I were you," the Ancient One said, before he could grasp it. "That Helmet can be quite… possessive."

Clark had no idea what she meant by that, but he pulled his hand back fast, unwilling to find out.

That's when he finally saw what the Ancient One was trying to show him. Behind her, at the wall, were several stone tablets, even taller than Clark. Some of them had drawings carved on their surface, others had only ancient writings, but all of them seemed to tell stories.

The one closer from the Ancient One was filled with weird runes – an alphabet he couldn't understand, most likely – but it had a very recognizable hammer drawn at the bottom, held by an also very familiar figure with long hair and a cape.

"Thor!" Clark exclaimed. "This… This is when he fell on Earth, isn't it? It was foretold?"

The Ancient One just smiled, still in silence, allowing Clark to continue to see the tablets. He saw one that had a warrior with an eyepatch – Odin, most likely – battling a horde of Frost Giants. Another showed an army of warrior-women riding winged horses, fighting a lone figure wearing a helmet with horns, as several blades crossed the sky. There was a carving of a Hulk-like creature holding an axe, with a full beard, sitting on a throne surrounded by recently unshackled aliens. Bor battling Malekith and his Kursed warriors on Svartalfheim. Kryptonian ships engaging a world defended by winged soldiers. An entity of some kind blessing a young baby, amongst the Egyptian pyramids, visibly mutating his appearance on a genetic level. Kree ships attacking the Nova Corps…

Other tablet had an imposing entity, surrounded by winged demonic-like beings, facing several warriors: an Asgardian that very much resembled a young Odin wielding Mjölnir, a woman surrounded by an aura in the form of a flaming bird, a sorcerer wearing a helmet that looked very much like the golden helmet he almost touched, a lone warrior woman with a glowing fist and the crest of a dragon on her clothes, an aged man wearing a cape and what seemed to be a skinsuit with a familiar 'S' on the chest, a man with a flaming skull for a head riding a mammoth, an alien that Clark recognized from his ship's archives as a member of the long extinct Martian race and another warrior wearing an armor that resembled a feline of some kind.

One of the tablets had a single person on it, a man wearing a cape, fallen on the ground, evidently dead or dying, as snow began to fall upon him; he could barely read a set of words carved on it, saying Fimbulvetr or something like it. The next one was clearly Asgard's Ragnarok, depicting a war between gods, giants, an enormous wolf, a dragon and an immense serpent, ending with the Realm Eternal shattered in an explosion. Other had one alien, clad in an intimidating armor, wearing a gauntlet that glowed with six stones carved in it, shining with sheer power.

Clark's eyes fixed on each tablet on the wall, absorbing every detail etched on them. Prophecies, he realized. Prophecies made by someone, or by several people, detailing events that would happen or had already happened. Events that shaped their universe.

The last one he saw, was a single ship falling on Earth, as a planet exploded in the distance.

"Is that… me?" he whispered. Touching the ship with extreme care, feeling the carving on the tablet. Clark looked at the remains of the destroyed planet that could only be Krypton. "You knew this was going to happen?"

The Ancient One walked to his side, touching his shoulder.

"The future is uncertain, Kal-El, even when we can see parts of it. The branches of Time are usually confusing and more often than not we cannot even comprehend what we are predicting," she said, her voice soft. "In this reality, this prophecy came to pass. In others, it didn't. Nothing is set in stone." The Sorcerer Supreme waved at the tablets. "Each one of those tablets are prophecies made by seers, by wielders of the Time Stone, by people that had the gift to see into the future. Some of them happened. Some of them will happen. Some of them, however, may never happen. As the Sorcerer Supreme, it is my duty to glance into the future and to learn how to protect our dimension from threats that may endanger us."

She turned to him, looking into his eyes.

"But I cannot do it," she said, finally, surprising Clark. "Not by myself. The Multiverse is infinitely dangerous and I am only one person. A powerful one, yes, but just one. No Sorcerer Supreme has ever protected this world alone, no matter what people like to think, not even Agamotto."

The Ancient One approached him.

"I need your help, Kal-El," she said, abruptly. "We all do. I have protected this dimension for centuries, using magic to extend my lifespan because I was needed. But the future is uncertain and the more I gaze into it, the darker it becomes. I cannot do this alone, not anymore. Superman will be needed. That is why I tried to help you with all my strength."

At that moment, Clark felt the weight of the responsibility on his shoulders, but it was a burden he would gladly take upon himself if it meant sharing the load the Ancient One was carrying. Being Superman, defending Earth, was a task that required monumental dedication and willpower; and he was, in the end, a superpowered alien defending a single planet.

The Ancient One was a human tasked with defending an entire universe.

No one should do something like this alone, no matter how powerful and wise. And if he could help her, Clark would do whatever he could.

"How can I help you?" he asked her, letting his complete seriousness permeate his words.

It was almost imperceptible, but Clark could see the Ancient One's muscles relaxing when he said that.

"First things first," she said, "you must learn how to defend your own mind. Lorelei is not the only one out there that can take advantage of this particular weakness. There are even non-magical ways of controlling one's mind, ways that you may or may not be susceptible to."

Clark couldn't help but to think about Kilgrave when she said that. He didn't know how his powers worked when he was still alive, if he were a mutant or some kind of enhanced, but who knew if he could control a Kryptonian? And like the Ancient One said, there probably were others out there who could do something similar. There was always the chance that they could be as evil as Kilgrave was; he needed to be prepared.

"Torquasm-Vo should be a good place to start," the Ancient One continued and Clark snapped his head up to look at her.

"You know about Torquasm-Vo?" Clark asked. Frigga knew about it, he remembered, but he didn't expect that specific knowledge to be passed on.

The Ancient One seemed to find his surprise amusing. "I have visited several worlds, Kal-El, physically and through the Astral Dimension. I may not have stepped on Krypton, but Torquasm-Vo was a very famous Mystic Art once upon a time. Rao truly impressed a great number of people throughout the cosmos."

Clark was smiling when he asked: "So you know Torquasm-Vo?"

"I am not a master, but I do know enough about it to pass on," she answered. "At the very least, I can teach you to protect your mind, which is our very first goal." Without saying anything, she gestured for him to follow her. They left the room with the prophecies and walked by the courtyard again, where the sorcerers were still practicing. "You will start with meditation. I want you to come here, to Kamar-Taj or the New York Sanctum, to meditate at least twice a week. You may come whenever you want, but I realize you have other obligations."

Somehow, Clark felt he was signing up for yoga class, instead of learning an ancient alien Mystic Art in an honest-to-god magical school.

"I will teach you how to meditate properly," the Ancient One continued, ignoring his uneasiness, "but whenever I am otherwise occupied, Master Daniel, Master Mordo and Master Kaecilius will help you." She looked at him. "It will all depend on your dedication, however."

"I won't let you down," Clark promised.

She smiled. "Of that, I have no doubt."

He smiled back at her and turned to watch the training yard, seeing the sorcerers learning how to open a portal, coached by a tall, dark skinned sorcerer that seemed extremely competent.

"You know, sometimes I imagine how it would be to live a normal life," Clark said, suddenly, still watching the sorcerers. "To have a normal job, a girlfriend, a normal hobby… And then someone yells for help and I go out flying to save them, wearing a red cape. Until today, I didn't think things could get even weirder." He smiled at her, showing he didn't mean anything bad by the commentary. "Now I'm an alien in Hogwarts."

The Ancient One chuckled. "Some people are not cut out for a normal, boring life, no matter how much we might desire it during the hard days. You and I are meant to fight aliens and dimensional threats and who knows what more so everybody else," she waved in the town's direction, "can live their normal lives." She looked at him, one eyebrow raised. "And we both know that, even if we could, we wouldn't change a thing."

She was right about that.