Why is My Life so Stressful

"Is that…?"

"Vibranium. One of the most powerful metals in existence, I want you to personally study it and tell me what you can about it… I would do it myself, but with everything happening recently… I've just not had the time."

Right now I was sitting next to Reed in his lab, I had just finished hunting down Klaue and taking every ounce of Vibranium the man had before killing him. The body is currently on Genosha in storage so I could drop the body off in Wakanda. I'm also going to drop off the rest of the Vibranium alongside him. I would keep it, but I doubt Wakanda would appreciate it if they ever found out, and I have no doubt it would somehow slip.

Doesn't mean I can't test a few things before I give it back. Even if T'Challa's chances of turning evil is slim to none, I still need a way to beat him.

Call it paranoia, call it foresight, I call it living real. The sheer number of times people get mind controlled in comics is… insane. I refuse to allow myself to be caught unaware against anyone.

"Vibranium… I've only heard about this stuff…" Reed says as he stares of the pound on the table. The rest was back in Genosha and guarded by several Sentinels.

"Its powerful stuff. Wakanda is full of it, but its sacred to them. I plan on giving it back, but this is just too good of an opportunity to pass up on."

I could see the greed for knowledge in his eyes, the guy was a genius of unparalleled prestige. He could outmaneuver even the greatest chessmasters if he wanted, but all he really wants is to keep studying, learning.

And that is how I keep the smartest man alive under my thumb. I simply dangle some really juicy knowledge in front of him and wait to see what happens.

In this case, Unlocking the secrets of Vibranium.

I just really want him and Shuri to meet. That would be awesome!

Patting the now obsessed scientist on the back, I grin.

"See you, Reed."

I'm just going to leave him to it. I have a few more meetings left today, hopefully they will be as agreeable as Reed.

/

My next meeting was with my students.

Well, less a meeting, more a lesson.

"Welcome to my personal library." I say as I lead the Scarlet Witch, Magik, Blink, Nightcrawler, Harry, Colossus, and Quicksilver all into my library.

Right now I was dressed in green robes with black trim, similar to what Mordo wears, but with a slightly different style. I have everyone else wearing apprentice robes for the sole purpose of making them feel ridiculous. It's kind of funny.

I have my reasons as to why I'm bringing them all. Wanda and Illyana are here because they have a spark of magic in them due to their powers, due to their mutations, they will become extremely powerful. I'm talking Sorceress Supreme level. Harry is here because he wants to learn, so I'm giving him a trial period. If he sticks around, then I will really slam him with training.

Piotr and Pietro are here, not to learn magic, but more to better understand what their sisters can do. Smart in their own right, they have decided to help their sisters in any way they can. They just don't feel like magic would be worth learning themselves.

Nightcrawler was interesting, as a half demon, he possesses magic potential. If he had gone to the X-Men, he wouldn't have gotten that training. Here though? I want more magic users at my disposal in case something like Dormammu happens.

Finally Blink. As soon as she heard Nightcrawler was going to learn, she jumped in the bandwagon.

"Everything in this library is yours to use, but only to use in the library. While learning under me I expect you to follow only a few rules." I say.

"Rule one." I start. "I am God here. What I say is law, I expect no disobedience. I don't care if you are learning Magic or just watching from the sidelines, I expect obedience. If I tell you to jump, I expect you to jump. If I tell you to run, I expect you to run. And I expect you to do it when I say it."

Making sure they are paying attention, I continue.

"Rule two. Never can a book leave the library. This is simply because most of these books are irreplaceable and therefore, if one of you were to lose a book, it would be lost forever. Ancient knowledge that could heal people from death itself may be lost. Books don't leave the Library."

"Third and final rule. Magic is not a toy, it is not something to use in pranks, it is not something to use to peak on a crush in the shower, especially not at this stage. Magic is a tool, just like your powers or talents for you to use. So, you will only practice your magic if I am present. If a spell goes wrong, I want to be there to fix it. When you show responsibility and skill, you will be able to start practicing spells by yourself. However, until that point, you will have to deal with me. No exceptions."

Seeing them nod in agreement, I grin.

"Any questions?"

"Do we really need to wear these things?" Blink asks while picking at her robe a little.

"Yes, the fabric is enchanted to help magic flow more easily." I say. "That, and they are enchanted to be a little tougher than you would expect."

Looking around and realizing there will be no more questions, I grin.

"Great. Now for the fun stuff."

"To quote my Master, The language of the Mystic Arts is as old as civilization. The sorcerers of antiquity called the use of this language "spells", but if that word offends your modern sensibilities, you can call it a "program"; the source code that shapes reality. We harness energy drawn from other dimensions of the Multiverse to cast spells, to conjure shields and weapons, to make magic!" As I say this I craft the same spell that will be shown to Strange and what was shown to me. It really had no power other than to impress people.

"Today you will learn how to tap into these energies." I say as I pace back and forth in front of them, the Library we were in looks like a giant Hexagon with numerous floors, similar to the Citadel in Game of Thrones I think, there were just more windows.

"Some of you already can channel these energies in different effects." I say as I look at the mutants in the group. "Today we will be focusing these energies. I will let you know now though, not everyone is good at magic. There are people who take a lifetime to fully master the Mystic arts, others take a few years. Whichever one you are, know that as long as you need help, I am here."

"Anyway. On to training."

/

After half a day past, I let them go. Today was just to see what they could do, and I could see they were all gifted.

Wanda was a natural, though she tended to focus on the mental aspects of her powers. She is very skilled at Telekinesis and telepathy, though it freaked her out a bit when she realized I couldn't be read.

Illyana was very powerful, if unrefined. She could shoot blasts of magical energy from her hands, but to craft it into anything other than a blast was difficult at this stage. Maybe Piotr could give her tips where he can. Unlike her comic book counterpart however, she was eleven instead of six when she is learning how to control her powers.

Surprisingly the non-magic users asked questions that I wasn't actually expecting. Colossus actually compared crafting spells to painting, and as soon as he did that, Illyana nearly glowed with understanding. Pietro was very quick in his thought process, and because of that he was able to draw connections that took everyone else quite a bit longer to reach. So in doing so, he was quick to point things out to everyone that he thought was obvious. Maybe try this method instead of that method, maybe try using some fictional sources as material like Harry Potter or something. Maybe this, maybe that.

In the end he helped get everyone to the point they are now.

It helped that he would get bored and just start speed reading everything in the library. I'm pretty sure he's read at least half of it so far if not more. Maybe I can teach him and Colossus some mechanics… Give them something to do when they are bored.

Blink was like Illyana to an extent, just less powerful. she could shoot out magical energy from her hands and her Blink fields as she calls them allow her to teleport, she just can't craft that energy into something else, which is possible. Just difficult.

Nightcrawler was in the same boat as Blink, he can use his energy to teleport, he just can't focus his energies outwards yet.

Harry was surprisingly patient with the whole ordeal, he couldn't do anything yet, but I have no doubt that in time he will get there.

Sighing as I stare at myself in the bathroom mirror, I splash some water on my face and look at myself.

I've changed…

Not just physically, but socially, mentally, and yeah… Physically too.

In the past few years I have changed, transformed from a kid who happened to know a few things he shouldn't to the King of Genosha, the Goblin one of the strongest and most powerful human alive. I went from being thrown around by Stane to being able to defeat armies… Its somewhat scary, knowing what I can do.

Looking at myself in the mirror, I sigh. I look a lot like my father, the high cheekbones, the same hair, if it weren't for my eye color coming from my mother, the slightly softer jaw, and the fact I was a bit broader than him, I could pass as his clone.

But even that had changed, my appearance I mean. If you looked hard enough, you could see an almost orange mixed in with my brown eyes, where before I was slightly toned, muscle wise, I was now ripped. Where before I had scars on my hands where I would hurt myself from building things from scrap, I now had smooth skin due to the healing factor.

I shouldn't be this worried, this stressed about it. I've been doing this for years, I shouldn't be freaking out because I happened to succeed in my plan to survive…

Maybe I need a vacation? A week of rest. Even God took a break on the seventh day, I guess I can afford to take a break here and there…

Mind made up, I straighten up and head out to get things in order. Maybe I can convince the Ancient One to teach my students magic? Worst Case scenario I can get Doom to come visit.

I needed a vacation, and I was going to get one if it killed me.

/

Hell

(Third person POV)

"You know what you are doing? Once the transaction is made, there is no turning back. Your soul will be mine forevermore." A mysterious figure, hidden in the shadows asked.

"I know what I'm doing. That brat took everything from me! I was a god! He ripped that away and killed me in cold blood." A man, clothed in nothing more than a tattered loincloth growls. The pits of fire burning in the distance. Screams of agony sounding like music to both individuals ears.

"Then we have a deal?" The figure in the shadows asked, all that could be seen was a crimson hand tapping out a mysterious rhythm on a throne of skulls. "Tell me, out of idle curiosity, how will you kill Alexander Osborn? Nothing to date has been capable of even injuring him? Supposedly he even left Loki, a god, severely injured after their fight. How will you, a mere mortal, regardless of the power I will give you, plan to succeed where others have failed?"

"His heart, Lord Mephisto. I'll instruct him in the matters of loss and pain, I'll make him suffer where no one has before." The mysterious man snarls. "Give me your power and I will make him wish he were dead… I will attack his heart."

The demon on the throne of skulls, the newly revealed Mephistopheles, stands and walks over to the man. A contract and quill appearing in a burst of red smoke, landing in front of the man.

Eagerly, the man snatches the quill and signs the contract, his blood acting as ink.

"Very good. I wish you luck in your endeavor, but know, you have one chance. That was the deal. If you fail, if he somehow beats you, you will become my Ghost Rider for eternity. I hope for your sake, you succeed. Its been centuries since I've been entertained properly."

"Of course, my Lord… I will not fail." And with that, he burst into flames and vanished.

Looking down at the contract in his hand, the Demon Lord grins, his teeth razor sharp making his grin look like that of a shark.

The name at the bottom of the contract was one that hasn't been seen in a while, a name that used to be associated with genius, ingenuity, but now only associated with psychopaths.

The name?

Norman Virgil Osborn.

The Original Green Goblin.