Trick 55: Leaving Kamar-Taj!
Tony and Captain America looked at Ace, who nodded, "Thank you for your grace." before sitting back down and watching Loki, who sneered "Worm." Ace ignored him and Tony waved his hand, saying "Um. Hello? What just happened?"
Thor looked at him, saying "It's quite simple. I thought the Earthlings were all smart." Tony was offended, retorting "I thought Gods were… Bigger." Thor stood up and gripped his hammer, shouting "You dare slight me, Metal Man?"
Captain America stood in the middle, saying "Alright, let's all calm down. Welcome to Earth?" Thor replied "I've been to Midgard before." before sitting down next to Ace.
Captain America stayed silent and Tony whistled.
Thor turned to Ace and said "How goes it, my friend! I'm truly sorry for not returning, you see I had to destroy the Bifrost to save Jotunheim from Loki's schemes." Ace turned to him and he continued "Therefore, I have not even seen Jane either." before sighing.
Ace nodded and asked "Did His Majesty receive my letter?" Thor smiled happily and nodded, "He waits your visit to Asgard. He even ordered extra Ale for the banquet!"
Ace nodded and stayed silent.
Everyone looked at each other and stayed silent as well.
After a little bit of flying, they arrived at the flying SHIELD base.
Ace helped escort Loki to his cell before turning to Fury, asking "You can handle the prisoner?" Fury looked at him with his hands behind his back, saying "It's not a problem. You have somewhere to be, Mr. Magician?" Ace replied slowly, ignoring Fury, "Then I shall leave Loki in your hands. I have to stress that he must return to Asgard to face his crimes."
Fury frowned and retorted "What about his crimes here?" Ace replied "There's no question that he has committed crimes on Earth, however he is a resident of another planet entirely. Not to mention, a member of the Royal Family at that. The Earth and Asgard have friendly relations, they will punish him, I can assure you, however you cannot cause him harm. The consequences may be dire."
He turned around and walked away, adding "That is all, farewell." Fury watched him go and asked "You're leaving?" Ace replied "The criminal has been caught. My job is finished." before waving his hand and walking into a portal, disappearing instantly.
Fury frowned and turned to Loki, who was smirking the whole time.
Ace returned to Kamar-Taj and took off his cloak, turning it back into a scarf as he let out a breath, sighing "It's so tiring being Mysterious! Goddamn!" he dusted himself and smiled, walking away feeling pretty good inside.
He went to Hermione's room and smiled "How's the work?" Hermione showed him a video of him fighting Loki, saying "You went to go fight that guy!?" Ace blinked and snatched the phone back, saying "And? Your master is a hero! That's what heroes do!"
Hermione asked "What was that spell? You didn't even say anything! Or make any symbols!" Ace patted her head and said "First, make a simple shield consistently, then we can talk about basic spells…"
Hermione scratched her head, saying "It's so difficult!" Ace smiled and nodded "Of course, this magic is much more advanced than the magic at Hogwarts." Hermione pouted and asked "Why don't we just stay here instead?"
Ace frowned and looked at her, saying seriously "Hermione, all magic has its merits. No matter how low, simple, or easy, they may be. The magic taught at Hogwarts is useful for nearly all situations, while the magic at Kamar-Taj is complementary to fighting. However, they are all useful for something!"
He leaned over and held a finger up, saying firmly "Remember this. Even the simplest of spells may save your life at a critical moment." Hermione nodded seriously and Ace straightened out, smiling "Good girl. Go to sleep, we start training early tomorrow morning."
Hermione nodded and Ace left the room, smiling "Goodnight." before closing the doors.
Just as he left, the Ancient One was heard, "You left." Ace jumped and turned around, complaining, "Can you stop doing that? I'm gonna get a heart attack one day."
The Ancient One smiled calmly, saying "You are aware that the Mage of Kamar-Taj, do not meddle in the affairs of Earth." Ace was confused, retorting "But we protect the Earth-"
The Ancient One walked past him, correcting "Protect the Earth from Mystical Threats. Not Terrestrial ones." Ace followed her, asking with a frown "What's the difference? The Earth is in danger, the least we can do is provide assistance!"
The Ancient One replied calmly "The Earth has the Avengers for that. Kamar-Taj was not created to stop thieves. The existence of threats from other dimensions and realities are what we guard against. We protect them from disasters out of their hands." Ace retorted "So you would rather watch as a God from Asgard terrorizes innocents?!"
The Ancient One replied slowly "The Avengers can handle the threat without our interference-" However, Ace interrupted, saying "So we shouldn't help, although we can? That doesn't make any sense."
The Ancient One sighed and Ace asked "Loki is from a different Planet, is that not an otherworldly threat?" She retorted, "He poses no threat to this reality! Even if he exhausts all his means, he cannot destroy the fabric of reality in this universe."
Ace rebuked, "However, he is a traitor to Asgard. Therefore as allies of Asgard, am I not within my right to stop him?" The Ancient One turned around and retorted "A logical fallacy. You assume he is a traitor of Asgard, however he is still a prince and you know not what occurred when Thor returned!"
Ace fell silent and the Ancient One continued "I allowed you to leave without consequence this time. Do not mistake my generosity for acquiescence of your actions." Ace opened his mouth, but the Ancient One waved hers before walking away, leaving Ace to watch her leave.
He frowned to himself and returned to his room silently.
The next day
Ace was teaching Hermione in the courtyard once again, he smiled and said "Take a break." Hermione wiped her sweat and sat down. Ace paced around, saying "You're making pretty good progress, Hermione. You can almost make a shield consistently." he turned to her and added with a happy smile, "You have more talent than me. It took me a year! Hahaha!"
Hermione was looking at a phone and shouted "Oh my god! Master, look!" as she showed him the phone. Ace looked at it and frowned deeply, saying "What?" Hermione added with worry, "It's live!"
Ace snorted and ran off as Hermione chased after him. He came to Wong and brought out his cloak, saying "Wong! Take me to the New York Sanctum!" Wong was confused and Hermione shouted "You must! Look!"
As she showed him the live footage of aliens attacking New York with the Avengers trying to stop them.
Wong frowned and said "Ace, Kamar-Taj doesn't-" Ace grabbed his robe and shouted "I know the damn rules! Take me to the Sanctum, now!"
Wong frowned and more mages looked over at the commotion.
Ace looked around and frowned as he turned back to Wong, saying "You're going to watch people die for rules?!" Wong stayed silent and Ace turned to the chamber, going to do it himself when the Ancient One appeared, saying "You don't remember what I told you, Ace?"
Ace stopped and looked at her saying, "And I told you, I can't watch innocent people die!" The Ancient One retorted "You must strengthen your resolve. We protect from Mystical Threats, as I said before. A Sorcerer Supreme must-"
Ace shouted "Maybe I don't want to be the Sorcerer Supreme!" the mages watching all gasped and whispered amongst each other as Wong looked at Ace with shocked eyes, the Ancient One didn't flinch and held her hands behind her back, saying "Is that so? Don't you want to protect this world?"
Ace clenched his fists, he turned to Wong and said "Please. Bring Hermione back to Hogwarts when it's time for school." Wong was startled and said "What? What do you-"
Ace took off the cloak and threw it on the ground, saying "I will protect the people. I don't need all these to do it!" as he tossed the box full of cards onto the cloak. He pulled out his broom and stood there with bandages from the neck down, adding "If saving lives means I can't study here, then so be it!" before throwing his Sling Ring onto the pile as well!
He looked at Hermione and sighed "I'm sorry." before jumping on the broom and shooting into the sky, disappearing in a blink.
The Mages were silent and Wong looked around saying "Return to practice." waving his arm.
Mordo looked at the sky and snorted, "Fool. How dare he question the Master? A mere fledgling mage." he shook his head and forgot about the incident, leaving the courtyard.
The Ancient One was calmly looking at the artifacts on the ground, her thoughts unable to be read.
Wong turned to Hermione, who was shocked and sighed, saying "Come, little one. I will take your Master's place for the time being." Hermione looked at him and asked "Do you think he'll come back?"
Wong was silent for a few moments before replying "I don't think so, but…" he paused before a dignified look crossed his usually expressionless face as he added "He is a very good Master for you to have."
Hermione smiled slightly and replied "I think so too."
The Ancient One frowned slightly to herself before waving her hand as Ace's artifacts disappeared. She turned around and disappeared the very next second, returning to her chambers.
Meanwhile in New York
Romanoff and Barton were flying a jet around before Loki blew out an engine and they started crashing down towards the street!
Loki chuckled until a huge purple mandala appeared! He cursed, "Blasted Mage!"
Ace stood in front of the giant jet, his eyes glowing purple as he blew into the mandala, wrapping the jet in a bubble that slowly brought them to the ground without harm.
The bubble popped and Captain America stepped out, looking at Ace, who was standing on a broom. He could see all the bandaging under a ragged linen cloth, fashioned into a make-shift cloak, as well as a bit of Ace's face.
However the part he could see was covered with some scraps of cloth, he looked at the clear purple glowing eyes, nodding "Mister." Ace replied "Just call me Cloak. You have an ear bud for me?"