Chapter 32 : Bluberry Truffle Delight!

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The Sage of the Mind: Chapter 32 [December 2008]

–Axle Riddle–

Well, that was fun, at least Fury has something to base his conclusions on. He was sure that Fury would do something in exchange for an agreement regarding Banner and the continued participation of two strong people in the Avengers Initiative. He thought to himself as he whistled a jaunty tone to himself, on his way to the New York Sanctum. He had some stops to make before that though, since Master Drumm had wanted to try some new pastry store on the other side of the Sanctum.

No worries though, the Ancient One would wait for him, after all, she did always love tending to that rooftop garden of hers.

He knew there must be some special magical plants in that garden but all his attempts to ferret out the secret from master Drumm had ended in failure. He could not, for a second, believe that the garden of the Sanctum, something that was visited by the Ancient One the most after Kamar Taj, was completely mundane in nature.

There must be something in that garden. Magical Tea? Honey? Weed?

He did not know and at some point, he would have even barged into the dimensional protections around the garden to figure out, if only he didn't know what fate awaited him if he did that.

That was not a fun game you wanted to play with, the Ancient ONe's personal wards were legendary. Spoken in hushed tones because it traumatised everyone who tried to act brave and try their hands at it.

"Yes, One Blueberry Truffle Cake. To go, please," He smiled at the cashier as he handed in the exact amount of cash to her. His spatial awareness had flared out, telling him everything that had happened in the city,

Except…that was not really true anymore. Ever since his range increased to cover most of Manhattan, it had been as if something else in his mind that was unlocked. And that unlocked part was responsible for most of his actions these days.

If he didn't consciously think about it, he didn't even know what his second mind was doing, which was wild. He didn't know if it was using his TK to save some poor cat, stop an accident, or do something else. It was kinda disturbing at first, to see a somewhat autonomous mind construct using your powers but he had gotten used to it over the period of time.

Now, it was the most convenient thing. It protected him from any attacks and warned him if it could comprehend the attacks. Saving people was done on the fly as well, day and night. It didn't rest, at all. He got worried a while back and tried to shut it down for a bit, so it could rest and everything, and the ensuing headache it gave him, made him call in sick two days in a row.

Turns out, there was a reason the second mind was able to do something that he could not fathom doing himself. It was somehow designed for that and was incredibly efficient in what it could do.

For starters, it could not access his full power. No, if he had to guess, it could access about 50-60% of his TK, which was plenty once you take into account that even felling a building was not out of the question with that amount of power. 

It also could not use his spatial awareness power beyond the curtain around Manhattan, which was suspicious but fine. He had to actively concentrate on most days to sense the outskirts of Manhattan and check in on how the soup kitchens were working.

He was expecting, not the worst, but certainly bad enough that he would have to raise the issue but, to his relief, everything was going as smoothly as it could. One day, just for fun, he made sure to make his presence in the kitchen known to everybody who worked there.

He made them all sit back down and relax for an hour as he took over everything. Food preparation, cooking, serving, cleaning, the whole schabang.

It probably served as a stark reminder for them to do their jobs properly and he wouldn't have to act in their stead. It was quite easy and if it meant that it stopped people from trying to take advantage of the most underprivileged section of society, then so be it.

"Master Drumm, I come with cake!" He beamed as he opened the Sanctum door, which recognised him now. No longer would he have to bear the humiliation of knocking on the door and waiting for someone on the other side to open it for him.

No, he could do it by himself now, thank you very much.

"I see that you are in great spirits, Mr.Riddle," Drumm said as he came into view, entering the large hallway through one of the zillion adjacent rooms, doing Vishaniti knows what.

"Must you throw that in my face? It's not my fault I don't have the knack for magic like you guys do," He pouted as the cake was dutifully floated over to Drumm who looked at him as if he was some unruly child and not someone who could snap a building in half with a thought.

"Like I have told you hundreds of times, Mr.Riddle, please handle food with care. Especially a delicacy such as this one. They only make this once a week and it is gone by the time I can finish my duties and reach the bakery," Drumm said as he, very carefully, went to the Sanctum Kitchen to store the cake.

"Do you need anything, Mr.Riddle?" Drumm asked him, not emphasising on the Mr. part of his name.

"Nah, I just came to see the Ancient One. Enjoy your cake, Drumm," he waved him off and headed up to the rooftop garden. Somehow, the door going out felt it had more protections than the one on the main door, at least from his fledgling vision of the Mystic Arts.

He had not told anyone about it but he could somewhat perceive magic using his spatial awareness now. Before, it was as if a void was created every time he tried to observe magic being used. Now, he could even see some enchantments and wards that had been laid down on some artifacts and the entire Sanctum itself. 

Huh, in a way, the entire Sanctum itself was another artifact. An immeasurably precious one, but still an artifact.

"Hello Ancient One. Back from your work conference? All good I hope?" His mouth shot off as he saw her tend to her precious plants.

"Ah, Mr.Riddle, can't say that I have missed this part of you. And why yes, thank you for asking, the conference was good. Nothing outside the norm happened, which as you know, is extremely good in our profession. Oh, sorry, my profession," The Ancient One turned around and said with an amused look in her eye.

Her face remained stoic though. She had centuries to master her poker face, it was not as if he would have been able to read her face or even her body language.

"Yeah yeah, I know. Anywho, I wanted to talk to you about–"

"About the threat you have unwittingly invited near the Sanctum. I was wondering what triggered the red alarm, so much so that I had to rush back here instead of feasting on the delightfully light yet aromatic food of the Fae. No calories, only feels, you see,"

He did a double take at that last phrase of her, what slang was that? Wait, What? What threat? Red alarm?

The question must have been evident on his face as the Ancient One whipped out something and shoved it in his face. It was a metallic object which now showed dark red.

"It is something that allows transdimensional communication, even in the worst of interdimensional turbulences. It warned me about an incoming threat that the Sanctum faces. Red means energy levels surpassing most Asgardians, including their royalty," She continued.

She sighed upon seeing his confused doggy look, "Mr.Riddle, you have just brought in the avatar of the Rage into the city. After bringing him here, you have made him coop up in an apartment without any human contact. All Mr.Banner does is wake up, freshen up sometimes, scribble down his ideas of self-mutilation, eat, and then go to sleep. That is not healthy for anyone, let alone someone who is on the precipice of a mental breakdown. His weak mental state is a brewing pit to call in someone far worse than just Mr.Banner's alter ego," 

His eyes had widened the more she spoke, realising his mistake. But then he remembered why he had come here.

"That's why I came here, to you. You could take him, train him in the Arts, or at least help him gain control. Isn't that like your motto? Never turn down anyone who needs help. Well, Bruce needs your help very much, and quite frankly, so does the Earth," He laid his case in front of her.

"I can't bring him in Kamar Taj, for his patron would immediately notice it and try to attack it from within. Trust me, he is much safer being away from magic, at least until his mental state stabilises. His soul itself is raw as if recovering from a patched wound. I will see what I can do about him once his condition is not as volatile as it is now."

His shoulders slumped as he realized that she was not going to budge on the topic. Somehow, Banner was a danger to Kamar Taj and he didn't know why,

"Is there something you can do now? Some meditation method or an artifact for calming him down? Or something else?" He made the last ditch effort for Banner.

She shot him an amused look, "No such artifact exists, Mr.Riddle. Now, please make haste. If I am correct, you are going to be encountering multiple interested parties in the span of a week. It is certainly going to be eventful. Bye bye now…" 

He blinked and found himself standing on the door of the Sanctum.

Damnit.

Taking advantage of magically disinclined people like that.

For Shame! For Shame!

Well, time to meet the Hulk then.

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