Eye of the Beholder

Disclaimer – All rights belong to Marvel and DC. I own nothing.

Chapter 31 – Eye of the Beholder

"Now, my champion… KILL THEM!"

Sif was amongst the deadliest warriors of Asgard. She had battled and defeated uncountable enemies in defense of the Nine Realms. Gods, Elves, Giants, powerful beasts, armies from other planets, Sif had fought and beaten them all. Few would dare to face her and from those who did, even fewer survived. Even in Asgard, she could count on her fingers the number of warriors that could resist her fast style of combat.

Even so, when Lorelei ordered Kal to attack, Sif barely had the time to raise her shield before the Kryptonian was right in front of her.

The small shield rang like a bell when Kal's fist smashed it, punching with such strength that Sif's arm was simply pushed back against her, sending her flying with a blast so powerful that the Asgardian didn't even have the time to think. Before she could even realize what was happening, she had already collided against a building behind her, destroying it completely.

Sif passed through the building, the walls turning to dust when she touched them, and the whole thing collapsed with a thunderous noise, a big cloud of dust raising to the sky; she barely noticed all that happening, as she bounced against the ground one, two, three times.

Then she felt something passing over her, fast. Sif did not even have the chance to try to defend herself when she felt a foot colliding against her chest, pressing her down against the ground. The blow made her stop immediately, taking the air from her lungs and bending her breastplate; the ground under her broke, causing a crater to open almost instantly.

She was pinned down, an unbelievable force holding her against the ground; then Kal brought his fist down.

Sif would have liked to brag that she did not flinch, but when the Kryptonian's fist blurred, her first instinct was to close her eyes and turn away, waiting for the inevitable hit. Except it never came. There was a powerful wind, blowing away the cloud of dust and making Sif's hair flutter; she opened her eyes.

Kal's fist was stopped an inch away from her face, shaking. For the first time since this began, Sif looked into his eyes; what she saw there, surprised her.

Lorelei's enthrallment was not a full mind control. Her thralls, for the most part, still kept their memories, their personalities, their morals; except that Lorelei became the embodiment of all their desires. The most important thing in their existence. A parent, even the most kind-hearted and peaceful of them, would fight and kill to defend their child. What Lorelei forced their thralls to feel was similar, but much, much more potent and she forced them to feel that for every single little thing she asked. Disappointing her, to her thralls, was like turning their backs at the most important thing in their lives, it simply couldn't be done, no matter what she asked of them.

What Sif saw in Kal's eyes, however, was conflict. They were wide, unsure… Afraid. Against all odds, he was resisting Lorelei. She had no idea how, she had never seen anyone able to do it, but that might be their only chance of surviving this.

"Kal, you have to stop!" Sif yelled, looking deeply into his eyes, trying to snap him out of the enchantment.

His eyes trembled, his whole face twitched, but his fist remained where it was, still shaking.

"Sif, please…" he whispered, as if the words burned him.

"What are you doing?!" Lorelei screamed. "I ordered you to kill her!"

When the words reached him, Kal closed his eyes. And raised his fist; Sif prepared herself for the hit.

Before he could punch her, however, a pair of blue energy blasts hit him, fired no doubt by the Kryptonian rifles Kal borrowed to Natasha and May. He wasn't expecting it; the blasts tossed him back a few inches, making him groan. It didn't harm him, but it gave Sif enough space to twist herself and kick him with both legs against the chest, with every bit of her Asgardian strength she could muster.

The kick tossed him back, far away from her, her boots clashing with a loud noise against his ribs. Kal became a blur in the sky, as he flew in Lorelei's direction, passing by Natasha, May and Jessica Jones so fast that they couldn't even properly see him. But before he could actually clash against Lorelei, which was what Sif intended, he used his flight to stop midair, a booming noise echoing.

Slowly, his eyes never leaving Sif, he floated down, never actually touching the ground. Sif jumped up, stepping forward. Natasha and May remained behind, rifles aimed at Kal, and Jessica Jones stayed close to her, fists up, her face pale as snow but decided.

"Come on, snap out of it!" she heard Jessica muttering, almost like a plea.

"You have to stop. Think about this," Natasha said, her expression never changing, but the voice incredibly serious. "You can do it."

Kal's eyes remained on them and she could see his muscles tensing, preparing to fight; the expression on his face, however, was filled with hesitation. Slowly, he turned, looking at Lorelei behind him.

"We don't have to do this," he said, his voice low. "Please, I can take you out of here, I can protect you. We don't have to hurt anyone."

Hearing that pained Sif more than any hit she had already taken in that battle. Lorelei was frowning, but not out of pity, out of confusion; Kal's resistance was not something she had experienced before. Quickly, she stepped over to Kal and touched his face, gently, like a lover would; her face, however, did not have any trace of care.

"Asgard will never let me go, my champion," Lorelei, pouring her magic over Kal. "Never. I need you to defend me!"

That was the end of Kal's hesitation. When he turned back to them, his eyes were decided. The air itself became heavy. The dust and the debris around Kal began to float, as he gathered his energy, preparing to do Lorelei's bidding; his hands closed into fists, his muscles tensed. Sif raised her shield, preparing her fighting stance.

Everything went wrong and now she would have to fight a battle for her life. And even if she won, her victory would be a dead friend. Just like when she fought Haldor, 600 years ago. Damn Lorelei to Hel! Sif was burning with rage, with frustration, with impotent fury. Lorelei destroyed everything she touched, she was like a disease. And now, she had infected one of the most powerful beings she had ever met. Could they defeat him? Could they stop Kal? Could they do it without killing him or without suffering any losses on their side?

Before Sif could answer any of those questions — if there even was an answer to them —, Kal advanced, the air booming as he flew against them. It happened so fast that Kal became a blur in the air, the ground breaking because of the pressure; she had never seen anything like it. There was no time to react, no time to even think about doing anything.

And when he was about to reach her, reality itself seemed to break in front of Sif, like a window cracking. Kal disappeared inside the rift, leaving five stunned women behind.

Clark twisted himself midair as soon as he crossed something resembling a wall made of crystal that suddenly appeared in the middle of nothing, his feet breaking the street for several meters as he tried to stop. When he finally managed to do it, he looked around, trying to understand what the heck just happened. He was still in the same small city he was before, in the same street, surrounded by the same buildings on both sides.

Except that he was alone.

Sif, Natasha, Melinda May and Jessica had disappeared. Lorelei had disappeared. All those dead people had disappeared.

And yet the city was the same, down to the last detail. Well, not exactly, perhaps. Clark felt that something was different, as if the air itself wasn't the same, but he couldn't figure it out what exactly. It was just a feeling, something in his gut telling him that he most definitely wasn't in the same place.

"First time in the Mirror Dimension?" a voice said from behind him. "It can be a bit unsettling."

Clark turned fast, surprised to his core; how did someone sneak up on him? There, standing in the middle of the street a few meters away from him, was a woman wearing a yellow cloak. There was little else Clark could tell of her appearance, since she was almost entirely covered by that weird, old fashioned cloak, but one small detail stood out: a pendant in the form of an eye dangling from her neck.

That's when her words finally reached his brain. Mirror Dimension; he had heard that name before, from Loki's mouth no less.

"Ever present, but undetected," Clark quoted the Asgardian god, recalling his words. "You are a sorceress!"

He saw a small smile on the woman's lips.

"Well done," she congratulated him. "So you are not completely ignorant about magical matters."

Clark didn't answer, eyeing her carefully. While he knew the name of the place where he was, that was pretty much all he knew about it. Right now, he was standing in another dimension, a place that most definitely didn't follow the same rules his own dimension had. Slowly, still very aware of the woman's movements, Clark glanced around again, trying to gather some sort of information about it.

The woman didn't seem bothered at all.

"As the name implies," she said, suddenly," this dimension mirror ours. Everything here is a reflection of our dimension, but the 'real' world is not affected by what happens here. It is the perfect place to train, surveil…" She stared at him." And sometimes to contain threats."

Her words explained pretty well to Clark where he was, but more than that, it finally made him open his eyes to the situation he was facing. Contain threats… That's what he was right now, wasn't he? Clark knew that. Lorelei's enthrallment didn't erase his memories and morals or forced him to obey her without question, it just made him love her more than anything else. More than anyone else. More than his home, his mother, his friends… Much more than he thought he was capable of loving anything.

Sif, Natasha, Jessica… They were still his friends and he would die for them. But they were a threat to Lorelei. As was Asgard and even the people on Earth. That he couldn't tolerate.

Clark knew, without a shred of doubt, that Lorelei was controlling him. He knew his love wasn't real. Just as he knew that what Lorelei was doing – what he was doing – was beyond wrong. All those innocent people murdered by her… It made him nauseous just thinking about it.

But he felt the love anyway and he simply couldn't ignore it, no matter how much he tried to – and he was trying with everything he had. It consumed his entire being, it made him simply unable to do anything that might cause Lorelei's harm. Clark, right now, was as protective of Lorelei as he was of Earth and its people, even more so. The very thought of allowing someone to harm her was unthinkable, unconceivable, as was the thought of him hurting his own mother on purpose.

He was, without a doubt, a threat to Earth. He was aware of that. And if that woman in front of him knew that as well, then she was also a danger to Lorelei.

"What do you plan to do?" Clark asked, preparing himself to fight.

"I plan to stop you," she answered, completely unbothered by his obvious fighting stance. "And her."

As she said that, Clark realized that the same weird "cracking window" was forming by his side and Lorelei was crossing it; she jumped to him, eyes fixed on the cloaked sorceress. Clark felt an almost palpable relief in seeing her alright.

"A sorceress!" Lorelei exclaimed, shocked, barely acknowledging Clark. "In Midgard?"

"Why so surprised?" the woman asked. "We are rare, but we do exist. That was never a secret to Asgard."

"And what does a mortal know about Asgard?" Lorelei questioned.

The cloaked woman smiled again, her hands still calmly behind her back.

"Quite a lot, I'd say. I was trained by your Queen, after all."

That little bit surprised him almost as much as it surprised Lorelei. That woman was Frigga's apprentice?

"You lie!" Lorelei hissed. "Frigga would never waste her time mentoring a mortal. And I bow to no Queen!"

Lorelei's outburst didn't seem to intimidate the sorceress at all. She simply tilted her head slightly, completely unconcerned, as if Lorelei's wrath meant nothing to her. That made the Asgardian even more furious.

And Clark even more worried. If Frigga's apprentice was challenging them without a care in the world, it probably didn't mean anything good.

The woman's dismissive gesture enraged Lorelei, however, and Clark was certain that she wouldn't leave it at that. As if reading his thoughts, the Asgardian looked at him; he felt his heart quickening when he looked at her green eyes and despite knowing these feelings were not real, he knew he would fight – and kill, if necessary – for her.

"Bring me her head!" Lorelei commanded.

Clark could only obey.

Pulling his eyes from Lorelei, Clark looked at the cloaked sorceress, staring at her. A sudden – and powerful – rage burned inside him. That woman was a threat to Lorelei and even though Clark knew the Asgardian needed to be stopped, he literally couldn't let that happen. Killing the woman would bring him no joy; the very idea made his stomach turn, really. Ending the life of a human with his bare hands was such a terrifying concept that for a moment he almost dared to disobey Lorelei.

But it was necessary, a little voice inside his mind whispered. She was a threat to everything he cared about. She had put him in this dimension, forcing Lorelei to follow them. She had forced his hand. There was no other way to save Lorelei, to make sure she would be safe and sound. Not as long as there were people trying to kill her. It was, as the little voice said, necessary.

Much like when he had to kill Zod to protect Earth.

Stepping forward, clearly putting himself between the sorceress and Lorelei, Clark took a deep breath, steeling his mind to what he would need to do. He was in a strange dimension, with rules he did not understand, facing an adversary he knew next to nothing about. But she was still human and capable of wielding magic or not, she shouldn't be a match for him psychically.

He would end this quickly.

Gathering all his energy, Clark took off as fast as he could, the ground exploding under him. He had no idea how fast he truly was, what was the maximum speed he could reach, but he knew, beyond any doubt, that he could strike the sorceress before she had the chance to move a finger. Before she could blink it would be over.

Or so he thought, before realizing that he had barely advanced a few inches.

It didn't make any sense. There wasn't anything holding him back, no sudden weight pulling him down, no force resisting him. And yet, Clark was moving in slow-motion, as if time itself had slowed to a crawl around him. The debris he broke when he took off were almost stopped midair, his cape was pretty much frozen, not even the familiar sonic boom when he reached supersonic speed could be heard. What was happening?!

Clark had no answer to that question, but it became very clear that the sorceress in front of him was not facing the same problem.

In a single movement, seemingly so fast now that Clark was apparently stuck in something, the sorceress raised her hand and slapped the ground. Just like that, reality itself broke. The street rippled like the ocean, the ground behaving as if it were made of liquid, each wave growing bigger and bigger, moving impossibly fast in their direction. He had no chance of dodging that, not at the speed he was flying, and Lorelei was apparently too surprised to do anything.

And like a wave in the ocean, the street exploded against Clark and Lorelei.

It was a powerful hit, but not enough to hurt any of them. It was, however, powerful enough to send them flying to the sky. Even then, though, Clark was still stuck in whatever sorcery the woman casted, spinning in slow-motion in the air, seeing the pieces of the street stopping to move when they got closer to him. Lorelei, apparently not bound by the same issues, was blasted away.

He tried to follow her, to grab her somehow, but he was unable to reach her moving so slowly. He could only watch as Lorelei was tossed away amongst the fragments of the exploding street, everything happening so quickly that his sluggish body could hardly comprehend. Soon, however, his whole attention was taken by something else.

By the entire world around him twisting and turning in a way it simply shouldn't be possible.

The buildings around them grew like living things, the walls extending themselves up until they were the size of skyscrapers, the steel beams from its structure breaking the concrete as they stretched, like a huge mass of twisting "steel vines" coming out of the walls. The long street under him cracked, dividing itself in what seemed to be little islands, each one moving in a different direction like floating platforms. And then the entire world simply turned upside down, as if a giant had taken the planet and twisted it. The sky was down, the floating pieces of street broke apart going everywhere, the buildings were pointing down, like weird pillars of twisting steel tentacles flying in the middle of nothing.

Clark's mind was barely able to comprehend what was going on. The laws of physics apparently didn't exist in this reality and nothing made sense anymore, as he floated in slow-motion in the middle of all that chaos, desperately trying to move in Lorelei's direction as she crashed against one of the floating islands.

Before he could, however, an entire building fell from the sky, right on top of him.

The Ancient One waved her hand, bringing one of the floating islands under her as she landed, her feet tapping the ground softly. She walked to the edge of the island, glancing from under her hood, assessing the battlefield she created. A succession of floating buildings, growing upside down like a mass of concrete and steel tentacles; little islands created from the broken ground, suspended in air all over, one of which the Asgardian had crashed upon; and an endless blue sky all around them, even down where the ground was supposed to be.

In front of her, completely destroyed but still retaining most of its form, was the building she just dropped over the Kryptonian, its shattered pieces orbiting him like an asteroid belt around a planet.

The Mirror Dimension, as she told Superman, was a reflection of their own dimension. It had, however, a few perks that theirs didn't. Like the fact that anything that happened there didn't affect the "real world".

And the fact that, with the proper knowledge and the right amount of energy, she could effectively manipulate it in any way she wished to.

It wasn't easy and it wasn't something just anyone could do, but then again, she had the title of Sorcerer Supreme for a reason, didn't she? She was the guardian of their dimension, the one responsible for the safety of their world against any mystical threat, either from outside realities or theirs.

An Asgardian sorceress trying to conquer Earth fit that description pretty nicely.

The Ancient One did not arrive as quickly as she would have wanted. Lorelei was a threat, but it wasn't until she performed a powerful magical ritual that she could find her. Tracking her exact location and breaking the wards around the town so she could open a portal leading there had delayed her; that delay had cost lives and the mind of Superman. What was an already big menace had suddenly become worse, much worse.

A threat so dangerous that she had no choice but to act in person, with the aid of the Eye of Agamotto.

Asgardians, as she knew well, were powerful. Especially one well versed in the Mystical Arts. And Superman was one of the strongest beings that had ever set foot on their planet. Together, they had more than enough power to bring this world to its knees; having the capacity to glance into possible futures, she knew that for a fact. Something needed to be done, the safety of Earth depended on it. As did the safety of the three Sanctums Sanctorum built on it.

The Ancient One fixed her eyes on the remains of the building she tossed on Superman, still floating slowly around the Kryptonian. She had no illusions that something like that would do anything more than delay him, but it would do for the moment. Glancing up, she watched as the Asgardian got up, her eyes fixed on a nearby skyscraper; the building, resembling more a mass of concrete and steel tentacles than a real building now, was trying to snare her with its several tendrils, without success.

She closed her eyes for a moment, focusing. Her goal was clear: stop Superman and incapacitate or kill Lorelei.

When the building around Kal-El exploded, the debris turning to dust as Superman flew up in great speed without a scratch, The Ancient One knew that none of this would be simple.

Natasha had no idea what was happening anymore and by the look of things, she wasn't the only one. Agent May was frozen in place, still staring shocked at the empty place Clark and then Lorelei had just disappeared into. Jessica Jones was cursing, unable to stay quiet, as she grabbed her mace back, her eyes darting all around as if waiting for them to come back. And Sif, the only person who she'd hoped would know what was happening, was also looking around, searching for something.

Things happened too fast. The battle, the appearance of a weird golem creature at the end of it – that proved itself to be just a human inside a magical armor –, then Lorelei showing up with a hostage. Before any of them had any idea of how to proceed, people all around them were killing themselves, enthralled by Lorelei into ending their own lives so she could perform some sort of magical ritual.

A ritual that ended up boosting her powers enough so she could control Clark, even from that distance.

All of a sudden, they were facing Clark instead of Lorelei. Natasha closed her eyes for a moment, trying to regain her focus, fighting flashes of the time when she was forced to go up against Clint. She had hoped to never go through something like that again, but here she was, doing it once more.

Except this time, Natasha didn't know how to fix things.

Before any of them said anything, suggested anything, they heard a car approaching in the distance. She sighed; Coulson and the rest of his team, no doubt. Hopefully wearing the devices made to protect them from Lorelei's voice, because the last thing they needed right now was another person enthralled.

"Sif, where the fuck are they?!" Jessica Jones exclaimed, suddenly, finally snapping out of her confusion.

The Asgardian took a few seconds to answer.

"I do not know," she said, not looking to Jessica.

She walked to the point where Clark had disappeared, trying to touch the air; there was nothing there at all, not after the weird cracks disappeared. Then there was a flash of recognition in her eyes.

"What is it?" Natasha asked, walking to Sif. "You remembered something."

Coulson's car finally arrived, parking close; he and Agent Ward got out, weapons prepared, both thankfully wearing their Sonic Blockers. Aside from a quick glance, however, no one even looked at them, everyone paying attention to Sif.

The Asgardian warrior nodded, confirming her suspicion.

"The Mirror Dimension," she finally said. "They are not in our reality anymore."

Lorelei was enraged. She was being challenged by a sorceress, a sorceress claiming to have been taught by Frigga of all people; an honor not even she could claim, no matter how much she despised the Queen of Asgard. The worst thing was that even though she wanted to deny it, to brand the Midgardian a liar, she could not.

Not after seeing all her power. Not after seeing the control she had over the Mirror Dimension.

When her Champion disappeared into the dimensional rift, Lorelei was confused; stunned, even. The existence of sorcerers on Midgard was not something she had anticipated. She knew they existed in the past, obviously, but they were extremely rare. And nothing she had seen since she returned to Midgard gave her any indication that they were still around. Until one of them had trapped her Kryptonian inside the Mirror Dimension.

She followed them almost immediately, taking advantage of Sif's surprise to pursue the one responsible for that; no matter how much she hated Sif, facing her by herself was not something she wanted to do. Lorelei needed Kal-El to conquer Midgard and she would get him back.

What greeted her was a Midgardian more powerful than she could ever have predicted. But powerful or not, she was just a mortal in the end.

Snarling, Lorelei waved her hand, using her powers to influence the Mirror Dimension; the small floating island where she landed flew in the mortal's direction, just as Kal-El managed to snap out of whatever spell the sorceress had hit him with. A fireball began to burn over her hand.

The mortal had committed a very big mistake when she decided to challenge her.

The Ancient One waited, hands crossed behind her back, watching the Kryptonian and the Asgardian movements. Superman destroyed the remains of the building as he flew up, stopping midair for a moment; the Asgardian commanded an island to go to her, a fireball appearing over her hand. There was maybe a second, a last breath of air before diving into the deep ocean.

Then they attacked.

It was fast, as only higher beings such as them could move. Superman's eyes glowed red for an instant and then a pair of energy beams was unleashed, at the same time a fireball of the size of a bus was tossed by Lorelei in her direction. There would be no chance for her to defend herself, for her to escape or to try anything. There simply wasn't enough time for it.

So she forced time around her to move slower.

The Eye of Agamotto glowed green and suddenly the fire and the energy beams slowed to a crawl, almost stopping. Moving fast, using the opportunity she created while she could, the Ancient One traced two circular portals with her Sling Ring, right in front of the attacks; their counterparts opened behind the Kryptonian and the Asgardian. She allowed time to return to its normal speed.

The flames and the energy beams disappeared into them, reappearing behind the Asgardian and the Kryptonian. The island Lorelei was standing on was blown up, tossing her away, at the same time Kal-El was blasted away by his own heat vision, crashing against one of the flying buildings.

Still from the small island she was standing, the Ancient One channeled her magic, making the Mirror Dimension turn upside down once again. The Asgardian, falling after being blown away by her own fireball, stopped midair for a moment, before starting to fall in the opposite direction; right on top of one of the buildings and its mass of moving steel beams.

With another wave of her hand, the steel beams changed again, twisting themselves until their shape resembled more a bunch of spears than tentacles. Spears that suddenly grew in size, moving towards the falling Asgardian.

To her credit, even while falling, Lorelei tried to manipulate the Mirror Dimension to transform the spears into something else, to stop them from growing or to at least weaken them until their durability was back to normal, something that her Asgardian body would no doubt survive. It forced the Ancient One to struggle against Lorelei's magic for a moment; it was almost unbearable and it required her entire concentration, but she knew it would only take a few seconds for the spears to reach her.

She didn't count on Superman recovering so fast, flying so unbelievably quickly that he managed to grab Lorelei and land safely over a floating island. Both of them looked at her, eyes promising payback.

Her strategy needed to be adjusted.

For a moment, she focused her magic, opening the Eye of Agamotto a little bit; the green light glowed through the opening. The Ancient One closed her eyes, allowing the strength of the artifact seep into her mind.

…The ground under her feet came to life, the tendrils of earth grabbing her legs. A blue blur flew against before she could free herself, the impact destroying her body completely…

…She avoided the earth tendrils by jumping to another island. A cloud of spears made of ice was thrown against her, forcing her to open a portal in the middle of the sky to flee. Before she could enter, however, the Mirror Dimension was turned upside down by the Asgardian. While she fell, helplessly, a pair of energy beams burned her alive…

…Instead of jumping to another island, she used her Eldritch Magic to create a glowing orange platform in the sky. Landing over it, she immediately created a pair of Eldritch shields, using them to block the ice spears. The spears broke against the shields, but before she had a second to feel relieved, Kal-El's heat vision obliterated her defense. A single ice spear managed to pass through, sinking in her chest. The pain was unbelievable, but bearable, until the Asgardian closed her fist and made the spear grow spikes inside her body…

The Ancient One opened her eyes, not even a second after focusing her magic in the Eye of Agamotto; reality seemed dreamlike, as it always did after she glanced into the possible futures of this reality.

But she knew what to do now.

Before Lorelei could try to manipulate the Mirror Dimension and trap her legs, the Ancient One formed a seal with her hands; several copies of her arms appeared behind her, before her duplicates separated themselves from her, each one of them moving to one direction, jumping from the floating island, using Eldritch Magic to form platforms as they ran through the sky.

She saw one of her copies being trapped and pierced by ice spears. Others were obliterated by bursts of heat vision. A huge piece of rock was tossed against three of them and Superman himself flew there, slaughtering a group of her copies before they could blink.

The real Ancient One, however, was not there anymore. She was running, creating small Eldritch Magic platforms as she advanced, going towards Lorelei as her copies provided some distraction. Superman was an adversary right now, but he was not the enemy; she didn't want him dead.

That's why her duplicates tied him up with whips of Eldritch Magic, binding his hands, legs and neck, using not their muscles to hold him, but telekinesis. She knew it wouldn't last – few spells were strong enough to hold a Kryptonian like that – but it would give her time to engage Lorelei alone.

The Asgardian saw her approaching and jumped to her island to meet her in combat, summoning two fireballs as she did it. Without stopping, the Ancient One made two shields of Eldritch Magic and focused on the Eye of Agamotto; suddenly, time sped up around her, allowing her to move even faster than Lorelei.

The fireballs were tossed against her, easily blocked by her shields, and then they clashed against each other, fist and shield colliding. The magic shield managed to absorb the hit – something a normal shield would never do, which would have cost her arm – and then the Ancient One hit her back, using the shield to bash her face.

The blow angered the Asgardian more than it hurt her, but it gave the Ancient One the opportunity to unleash a combo on her adversary, using her shields to defend and to attack. Lorelei was good, she recognized that, but it was clear that she wasn't used to fight like that and the Ancient One had the advantage of moving faster because of the Eye of Agamotto. Throat, nose, belly, legs and finally chin; Lorelei was tossed back, dizzy for a moment.

That was when the Ancient One summoned the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak and threw it against the Asgardian.

The ancient artifact – resembling a skeletal armor made of metal – hit Lorelei directly against the chest. And suddenly, as if coming to life, the artifact began to move by itself, closing against Lorelei's chest, mouth, legs and arms. The Bands forced her to kneel and then pulled her arms back, completely immobilizing her, even as the Asgardian tried to fight it with all her strength.

The Ancient One allowed herself to smile for a moment, but it might've been to soon, because a sonic boom in the distance indicated that Superman was once again free.

Instinct alone was what saved her. Before she could even think about using the Eye of Agamotto, the Ancient One was already channeling magic into it, slowing time around her once more; the Kryptonian's fist stopped inches away from her face.

Jumping back, Superman moving in slow motion towards her, the Ancient One traced a flaming orange triangle in front of her, using Eldritch Magic. Snapping her fingers, a square surrounded it, then a circle appeared around.

One layer, two layers, three layers… Then the biggest beam of blue energy was shot from the Eldritch insignia, swallowing the Kryptonian whole and tossing him away, destroying everything in its path.

Including the very floating island she and Lorelei were standing on, when the magic's recoil hit the ground. The Ancient One could only watch as the Asgardian fell, already grabbing the Eye of Agamotto to try to rebuild it.

She could only hope her attack kept Superman away while she did it.

Clark felt his skin burn when the blue energy beam hit him, throwing him away, his body going through several buildings before he could gather enough strength to stop. Shaking his head, ignoring the burning ache on his skin, he looked back at where Lorelei was, trying to find her.

The island she and the sorceress were had broken and they were falling; until they suddenly weren't anymore.

He watched as the pieces of the island stopped midair, as did the sorceress and Lorelei; then there was green glow. Like a puzzle being put together, the island began to piece itself back together, the cracks disappearing as if they never existed. Lorelei, still immobilized by that weird steel armor, was pulled back to the self-repairing island, as was the sorceress.

She was rewinding time! Clark had no idea how, but he finally understood what was going on when he approached her. Somehow, the sorceress was slowing down time around him; he would need to move faster. Lorelei needed him!

Gathering all his energy, Clark flew to them, faster than he ever tried before; space itself seemed to bend as he accelerated, the dimension rippling like water.

The island put itself together and the Ancient One raised her hand to open a portal. She would take Lorelei back to their dimension and leave Superman behind, until they could find a way to free his mind. Or at least that was the plan, until she sensed the Mirror Dimension tremble.

Changing her mind, the Ancient One opened the Eye of Agamotto again, slowing time around them.

Except it barely worked. The Kryptonian slowed down, of course, but he was still moving much faster than any human could. It surprised her to know that he even could fly that fast and that surprise cost her the opportunity to slow down time even more. She had no choice; abandoning the attempt to open the portal, the Ancient One jumped back, a moment before Kal-El clashed against the island, grabbing Lorelei as he did it.

She was thrown away when the island broke again, twisting midair to dodge and block the debris at the same time she used Eldritch Magic to create a round platform under her. Immediately after she landed, the Ancient One looked up, seeing Superman breaking the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak with his bare hands and freeing Lorelei.

The Ancient One closed her eyes for a moment, focusing. She had failed to separate them and it would be harder to try it again. Leaving the Mirror Dimension would not work, not when Lorelei could simply open a portal to follow her; it wasn't like she even needed a Sling Ring to do so, which would be the first thing the Ancient One would try to steal or break in these circumstances. Humans like her needed an artifact like that to open portals, but higher beings like Asgardians could do it using their own strength; their bodies were strong enough to handle such power.

Fighting head on was not advisable, not when she was facing beings so powerful. Especially when she didn't want to kill, as long as there was another possibility. Well, Superman, at least, she wanted alive; Lorelei was beginning to lose that privilege.

Whatever she would do, she needed to decide fast. Differently from them, the Ancient One was beginning to get tired. Drawing power from the Dark Dimension and controlling the Eye of Agamotto was beginning to take a toll on her and that was bad. Not only because she needed every bit of energy she had to fight, but because dealing with powerful artifacts like the Eye of Agamotto while tired was suicide.

Slowing time, rewinding it, making it faster around her… Small acts, perhaps, but costly ones. The more she used it, the bigger the chance for her to make a mistake. It could be as small as simply failing to work – which would cost her life, most likely – or as big as destroying space-time continuum.

Infinity Stones were not meant to be used carelessly.

"Are you saying they are in another dimension?!" Jessica exclaimed, looking at Sif. "How the fuck is that possible? Did that Lorelei bitch put them there?"

"How are we going to bring them back?" Agent May asked.

"Can we follow them?" Natasha asked.

"I do not know!" Sif snapped.

Honestly, Jessica couldn't blame her. She was being bombarded by questions ever since Clark disappeared. But right now Clark was being controlled and he was in another dimension. They needed answers and Sif was the only one there who could provide.

"Lorelei was not the one who did this, was she?" Jessica asked, finally realizing this.

It was obvious, in hindsight. She had just acquired what she wanted: Superman. She was kicking their asses. Why would she run away?

Again, Sif didn't answer. She just kept staring at the exact point Clark had disappeared into, her sword raised. Everybody was, she noticed, even Coulson and Ward, both using those devices that blocked sound, which probably meant they had no idea what was going on, even worse than them.

"It was not Lorelei who did this," Sif finally said. "Someone else is fighting. Someone well versed in the Mystical Arts."

The Asgardian warrior looked at them.

"Prepare yourselves to fight, because they will come back sooner or later."

The Ancient One pulled two buildings closer, tossing one in the Kryptonian's direction and one in the Asgardian's direction. Lorelei manipulated the Mirror Dimension, turning it to the right so she could avoid the flying building; Superman just crashed into it, destroying concrete and steel alike with ease.

He was moving so fast that the Ancient One could barely keep up, even as she tried to use the Eye of Agamotto to slow him down. It was incredible; and frankly, scary. Add that to Lorelei's magical abilities, that allowed her to attack from afar and to control the Mirror Dimension, and the Ancient One was mostly jumping from floating island to floating island and inside portals just so she could survive.

Opening a portal, she crossed it just as Superman attacked, reappearing far away. She closed her eyes and focused on the Eye of Agamotto.

…Superman kicked an entire building over her…

…A huge pair of red energy beams crossed the sky, engulfing half the sky. Her entire body burned before it turned into dust…

…The island she was standing on closed like a bear-trap, crushing her inside it…

…The Kryptonian filled his lungs and blew the air as strongly as he could. Islands, buildings and everything else was torn apart by the cold wind, as if a tornado had taken form, the debris tearing her apart…

…An Eldritch whip hit her, cutting her in half…

…Her arm was cut off by a pair of red energy beams, making her lose her focus on the Eye of Agamotto. Time itself seemed to break and her mind couldn't even process what happened after that…

Thousands of possibilities played inside her mind, thousands of different futures… All ended with her being defeated. With one exception: the possible future where she left the Mirror Dimension and fought in the real world.

She couldn't defeat both of them alone, not when she was holding herself back to avoid killing Superman. It wasn't ideal, it wasn't what she want to do, but right now she didn't have much choice.

So, opening a portal, the Ancient One returned to the real world, waiting for them to follow her.

Sif was already moving when she saw the fiery portal opening, her sword cutting the air as she attacked; only to stop at the last moment when she realized that she did not know the woman in front of her.

The woman, wearing a yellow cloak, barely reacted. She just glanced in Sif's direction.

"They are coming," she said. "Do you have a way to break Lorelei's enthrallment other than death?"

Sif glanced at her waist, to the metallic choker strapped there.

"Then prepare yourself. I'll keep Superman busy while you do it."

Sif, Natasha, Jessica Jones, Melinda May, Coulson and Agent Ward just looked at the woman, not exactly sure of what to respond. They had no idea who this sorceress was, only that she seemed to be the one responsible for trapping Superman inside the Mirror Dimension.

But, apparently, she was on their side. And right now they did not have the privilege to turn away potential allies.

Turning to look back, she met their eyes.

"Focus everything you have on Lorelei," she commanded. "We need to subdue her fast."

The moment she said that, the space in front of the cloaked sorceress was taken by a fiery portal. Superman passed through, followed by Lorelei, moving so fast that even to Sif's eyes he was nothing more than a blur.

But to her and everyone else's surprise, his speed suddenly slowed down. So much that the cloaked sorceress could quickly trace a fiery portal of her own and launch it towards him, making Kal reappear on the other side of the small town; she followed him immediately, disappearing into another portal. It seemed she would be able to keep him busy, at least for a while.

Sif would not waste this gift, then.

Dashing forward, she clashed against a stunned Lorelei, her sword hitting the Eldritch shield she was able to conjure at the last second. From behind her, Natasha, May, Coulson and Ward began to fire, the energy blasts and the bullets passing by her side and hitting the other shield Lorelei summoned.

That was when Jessica Jones arrived.

"AAAHHHHH!" she yelled, jumping into the battle without any hesitation, her Thanagarian mace bashing Lorelei's shield with all her strength.

And like Sif had explained to Jessica when she gifted her the mace, Nth-Metal was very effective against magic.

The flaming Eldritch shield Lorelei conjured was simply destroyed by the hit, the Thanagarian mace clacking with energy around its spiked metal ball. Sif took advantage of the sudden opening, slashing her sword against Lorelei, attacking her undefended side; her sword pierced Lorelei's abdomen, quick and precise, coming out through her back.

Lorelei would live, but it would hurt.

The sudden pain was enough to make Lorelei lose her concentration, her other magic shield disappearing. And before Sif could even pull her sword back, Lorelei was hit by a barrage of bullets, two energy blasts and a remarkably strong punch from Jessica, her hand covered by Kal's robot, Kelex, the metal taking the form of a spiked glove that hit the sorceress right in the face. The last hit was what threw her down, making the Asgardian sorceress land painfully on the ground, her green dress tainted red and her nose pointed at a wrong direction.

Sif enjoyed that view for an entire second; then she placed the choker around Lorelei's neck, to finally cut off her magic and end Kal's enthrallment.

The fact that the battle noises from the other side of the town did not stop and the fact that Lorelei was laughing silently, even wounded, told Sif something was very wrong.

"Why isn't it working?" Jessica Jones asked, glancing desperately from the fallen Asgardian to Kal. "You said it would work!"

It was supposed to work! Sif was trying to find an answer, her mind racing with endless thoughts. Was the choker damaged? It did not seem to be broken. But why wasn't it working?! It had to work! If it did not… What would they do?

Snarling, furious, Sif touched Lorelei's neck with her blade. And very carefully, prepared to kill her if necessary, she removed the choker; Lorelei's laughs could be heard now.

"You thought it would be that easy, Sif?" Lorelei taunted, laughing, ignoring the wounds and the whole situation she was in. "Did you think I learned nothing during these 600 years you forced me to rot in a cell? Did you really believe you would beat me exactly like you did back then?"

The ritual. It had to be the ritual. The people Lorelei sacrificed to augment her powers so she could enthrall Kal. That was why the choker did not cut the control she had over him. Roaring, Sif pressed her blade against Lorelei's neck, cutting her skin.

"Tell me how to stop it," she threatened. "Or I will kill you!"

Lorelei just laughed.

"Would you really disobey the Allfather?" she asked. "I am so proud of you!"

"I meant what I said!" Sif yelled back, the blade cutting even deeper. "I do not want to disobey the Allfather, but I will if I have no choice. Tell me how to end the enthrallment!"

The Asgardian sorceress laughed.

"Silence my voice, seal my magic, kill me… Nothing will stop this. Kal-El is mine." Lorelei fixed her green eyes on Sif's face. "End my life and he will avenge me."

Sif did not know if it was true, but when she lifted the sword and brought it down again, she did not really care.

"NOOOOO!" Kal yelled when Sif's sword fell.

A pair of red energy beams hit her sword at the exact moment the blade would touch Lorelei's neck, tossing it away. Sif raised her eyes quickly, seeing Kal disengaging from the fight against the cloaked sorceress and flying so fast in their direction that she almost did not have time to dodge.

Before she needed to, however, a portal opened by her side and the cloaked sorceress appeared, a green light glowing around her.

Kal's speed slowed down until he was practically frozen. Sif could not understand what was happening, since there wasn't anything holding the Kryptonian, and yet for some reason, he could not advance.

She could see he was trying. His face was twisted in rage and effort, but even his cape was barely moving, like he was stuck in time. She glanced at the sorceress by her side, as did everyone there, but she was entirely focused on her task.

Suddenly, Kal was launched up in the sky.

Thick red chains, apparently made of pure magic, appeared out of nothing, wrapping themselves around the Kryptonian with an audible metallic noise. The entire town began to tremble, moments before entire sections of the ground were simply torn apart, lifted to the sky as well, crashing against Kal.

Except they were not attacking him, they were trapping him. One by one, the pieces of the ground clashed against Kal, fusing themselves to one another, like a mountain being raised to the sky, creating an inescapable prison around him.

Before any of them realized, a huge shadow appeared over them, cast by a floating moon built around Kal.

The Ancient One sighed, ignoring the sweat pouring down her face. She was exhausted. But at least Superman was finally trapped and he would stay trapped by the Crimson Chains of Cyttorak and the moon around it for a long time. She allowed herself to rest for a second, ignoring the approaching people.

"I can't fucking believe this…" one of the women whispered, shocked, looking up.

They were all looking up, even Lorelei, bleeding on the floor. Deciding she had rested enough, the Ancient One walked to the fallen Asgardian.

"How do I break the enthrallment?" she asked.

Her voice snapped everyone into motion and suddenly they were all around Lorelei.

"You cannot, mortal," she answered. "There is no way to break the enchantment."

"Every enchantment can be broken," the Ancient One stated.

"Not this one," she countered. "Kal-El is not bound to my magic or to my voice, he is bound to the sacrifices. It cannot be undone."

The Ancient One stared at the Asgardian for a long minute. She was telling the truth, she realized. Well, perhaps the truth she believed in. Every enchantment could be broken, no matter how complex, that was a fact, but Lorelei didn't seem to know how to break this one; the metallic choker put around her neck once again by the Asgardian warrior, however, would at least keep her from enthralling anyone else for the moment. That and the brutal punch that knocked her out, also courtesy of the Asgardian warrior.

But the fact that not even Lorelei knew how to break this enchantment was a problem.

Given time, she was certain she could find a way to break it. She was the Sorcerer Supreme and her knowledge about the Mystical Arts was vast. Even if she didn't have the information, Kamar-Taj surely would.

Superman, however, was a threat that she could not keep trapped forever, not even with the Crimson Chains of Cyttorak.

Throwing him back inside the Mirror Dimension was not a solution either. The Mirror Dimension could work as an improvised cell, but it was far from being unbreachable. It was a reflection of their universe, to the last star system, and every being versed in the Mystical Arts could enter it, not only her and her apprentices.

What guarantee did she have that another sorcerer wouldn't release Superman, even by accident? Sorcerers from other planets, drawn by his power, tempted to attack him or to free him? Another Lorelei set on controlling a powerful being or simply a madman seeking to bring destruction by releasing Kal-El?

What guarantee did she have that Superman himself wouldn't find a way to escape? Humans needed a Sling Ring to open portals, but beings such as Asgardians and Kryptonians were far more powerful; there was a moment when they were fighting in there that his sheer speed was enough to bend the Mirror Dimension, almost cracking it. Who could know where he would end up if his powers cracked open a portal by accident. What if she managed to lose him in the Multiverse? What if he, using his own intelligence, found a way to open a doorway?

No, the idea of simply tossing Superman back in the Mirror Dimension did not please her at all. She needed another solution.

The moment she reached that conclusion, however, the whole world seemed to shake. Surprised, she looked up: the moon she created was cracking.

"Impossible!" she whispered, truly shocked, maybe for the first time since she arrived.

Everyone jumped back, the Asgardian warrior carrying Lorelei, when big chunks of the moon began to fall, crashing against the ground. The Ancient One, however, stayed where she was, her eyes wide. How strong was he? No physical being she had ever fought had this much strength, it was unbelievable. Could he really escape? The moon continued to shake, big cracks opening all over its surface, and bigger pieces were falling as the seconds passed. The noise was incredible.

And then, all of a sudden, it all came down, leaving only the Kryptonian and the Crimson Chains of Cyttorak around him. Superman was forcing the magical chains, his muscles bulging on his skinsuit, using so much strength that he was actually vibrating; which probably explained why the moon broke down.

The most impressive thing, however, the Ancient One noticed only a second later: he was biting the red chains as he trashed, his muscles straining the magical bindings.

There was a sound of metal bending, cracking, and the chain link the Kryptonian was biting simply snapped. Realizing that, he put even more strain on the chains, his incredible strength pushing it with all his might.

When the Crimson Chains of Cyttorak broke, it was like an explosion, sending every piece like a meteor against the earth; and then Superman was free. And he was furious.

He flew down so fast that the Ancient One could almost believe that he teleported, cutting the distance between them in the blink of an eye; she was ready, however. Opening the Eye of Agamotto fully, she allowed the Time Stone to glow bright, its green light taking everything.

Superman froze in front of her, completely, as time stopped; for the first time, the Ancient One didn't simply slow down time, she forced the sands of the hourglass to stop falling for good. It wasn't the alternative she wanted, in fact it was the last option she would choose, but fate had already been put into motion and she would have to adapt. She didn't know how to break Lorelei's enthrallment and she didn't have the opportunity to look for a way.

So she would force Time to go back to a point before the enthrallment ever happened.

Erasing the enchantment in Superman's mind was, in theory, the best alternative. It would restrict the use of the Time Stone in this dimension to a single person, which was good as far as the Natural Laws were concerned.

But it was also extremely risky.

A tiny mistake, any error at all, and she could destroy his mind. If she went back too much, she would erase his memories, possibly to the point of making his entire life be forgotten. If she went back too little, she would fail to break the enthrallment. If she lost control, even for a moment, she could simply break space-time continuum and then not even she could predict what would happen to him.

No, using the Time Stone directly in his mind could be worse than killing him. But since the enthrallment was tied to the sacrifices, she could simply go back to a time before they happened.

It would take more energy, that was undoubtedly true, but she wouldn't need to be as precise, she would simply have to focus the Time Stone powers on that area, until before the sacrifices ever took place. As long as she had the energy necessary to control the Infinity Stone, it could be done.

Closing her eyes, the Ancient One made her decision.

The buildings began to put themselves together, piece by piece, as the broken parts would simply fit in together until the damage was gone. Walls were rebuilt, windows were puzzled back together, even the paint on the buildings was coming back. The marks of the battle on the street were also erased, as the asphalt became as it were before Asgardians and Kryptonians fought on it. Vehicles, blown up or simply broken, were suddenly new.

And then all the dead people lying on the street began to get up. Fast, they walked back to where they were before they died, the weapons that killed them being pulled back, their blood rising from the ground and going back inside their bodies before their wounds simply closed and disappeared.

Just like that, every single person sacrificed so Lorelei could make her ritual was alive once again; and Superman's enthrallment had no more reason to exist.

The Ancient One cut the flow of magic, allowing the Eye of Agamotto to close.

Clark took a deep, desperate, breath when he suddenly came back. He widened his eyes, looking everywhere, his heart beating fast. The last thing he remembered was destroying that weird moon around him, breaking those red chains, and then attacking the cloaked sorceress; suddenly, everything stopped, as if he had been knocked unconscious.

For a moment, he really thought he was sleeping, because that could only be a dream.

What he was seeing around him was not possible. The town was unscathed, not a single damage from their battle anywhere. But infinitely more important than that: the innocent people that had lost their lives in the crossfire were alive!

How?! How was that possible?! He had seen them die through the cameras in The Bus, he heard their last breaths. And now here they were, walking around, talking, crying… Confused as he was, yes, looking shocked at him and everywhere else, but alive!

"Kal?" Sif called, carefully.

Clark raised his eyes fast, seeing Sif, Natasha, Jessica, May, Coulson and Ward standing at a distance, around an unconscious and bound Lorelei. They were looking at him with confusion, but with hope.

"It's you again?" Jessica asked and the tone of her voice made his heart hurt.

Slowly, he nodded.

"I think so," he looked at them. "What the hell happened?!"

"She kicked your ass!" Jessica summarized to Clark when they got back to The Bus. "And then she just 'abracadabra' the entire town, put everything back together, revived everyone and disappeared!"

It was a simple, and yet, a precise explanation of what happened, Natasha considered, as she bandaged her wounds. No one was seriously hurt, they completed the mission with no casualties and the damage – aside from a 'Superman shaped' hole punched through the hull of the The Bus – was negligible.

No one there pretended, however, even for a moment, that they were the cause for such a happy ending. If that woman, that sorceress, hadn't shown up, things would've gone much differently.

She was the one who managed to battle Clark and Lorelei by herself. She was the one who kept Clark busy so they could capture Lorelei. She was the one who broke the spell and then, somehow, revived all those dead civilians, putting the town back to what it was at the same time. Natasha simply had no words to express how thankful she was for what that mysterious woman did.

And no words to express how badly their intelligence had screwed up if someone that powerful was galivanting around the world without their knowledge.

Sighing, more tired than she felt in a long time, Natasha sat down. That was a problem for another day. Fury, probably, would have a stroke once he heard of this, but Natasha was weirdly calm. Maybe it was her exhaustion talking, but she didn't think that someone willing to do all that was a threat to the world.

SHIELD did a good job at keeping the world safe, she truly believed that, but maybe they didn't need to know everything about everyone. Clark had almost convinced her of that once and she was beginning to think he was right.

"Who was that woman?" Coulson asked, looking, of course, at Sif. Who else, but a goddess, would have that kind of information?

"I have a few ideas," Sif admitted, eyes still glancing every second at an unconscious Lorelei," but I do not know for certain."

"Well, what's your best guess?" Skye asked.

"If I am not mistaken, this woman was the Sorcerer Supreme," she said, seemingly deep in thought. "I was not aware Midgard had chosen another one. I thought Frigga was still some kind of 'acting' Sorcerer Supreme."

Not a single person in the room knew what Sif was talking about, that was very clear.

"What?!" Skye exclaimed.

"Sorcerer?" Leo Fitz repeated.

"Who is Frigga?" asked Jemma Simmons.

Coulson, May, Ward, Clark and Natasha simply kept staring at Sif, waiting for her to explain.

"The Sorcerer Supreme is what we call the one responsible for the Sanctums Sanctorum built on Midgard," Sif explained, not clarifying anything at all. "They are the first line of defense against magical threats from other realms or even dimensions. Frigga, for a long time, was the Sorcerer Supreme. I suppose the woman we saw today is her successor."

There was a long silence.

"Are you honestly telling me there are wizards running around on Earth?" Coulson finally said, breaking the silence.

It was a question Natasha was dying to know the answer too.

Sif just shrugged.

"There were always sorcerers on Midgard," she frowned at them. "You have thousands of stories about them, do you not?"

"Well, stories!" Skye exclaimed. "Fairy tales! They are not supposed to be real!"

Gods and aliens weren't supposed to be real as well, and yet here they were, thought Natasha.

"It is just surprising to see one with our own eyes," Coulson said, diplomatically as always. "And one with such power."

That was the core of their surprise: how did someone so powerful stayed in secrecy all this time?

"I'm more surprised about that pendant of hers," Clark said, finally opening his mouth. He still seemed shocked by what happened, in a way she had never seen, not even during the days after Black Zero Event. "That green stone inside that eye."

"What about it?" Sif questioned.

"I'm almost certain that thing is an Infinity Stone."

Again, a heavy silence fell upon them, broken only by Clark's robot, still around Jessica's wrist.

"By my readings, you are correct, sir," it said.

Yes, Fury would definitely have an aneurism when he heard about this, Natasha had no doubt now.

Jessica barely listened to the discussion that followed, actively ignoring it as they all shouted something about "Time Stone" and "dangerous wizards" and "SHIELD needs to know!" all around. Frankly, she couldn't care less. The only reason she was even there was to help Clark and he was alright now.

Thank God – she didn't particularly care which fucking god she was thanking, but she was thanking them nevertheless.

Things went from heaven, to hell, then to heaven again very quickly. For a moment there Jessica was afraid that Clark would end up killing them all. And weirdly enough, she wasn't afraid because she almost died; she was afraid because of what Clark almost was forced to do.

She knew, better than most, what something like that did to a person. Clark was a good man, probably the best person she had ever met, and the last one to deserve something like that.

So whoever this bald chick, this "Sorcerer Supreme" was, they owed her one. Witch or not, she saved her friend and probably the world.

"I need to go back to Asgard," Sif announced, effectively ending the conversation. "Lorelei needs to go back to prison."

"And stay there," Jessica added, staring at Sif.

She knew the Asgardian warrior wasn't to blame, in fact they owed her a lot too, but she was the only Asgardian she could complain to.

"Oh, she will!" Sif guaranteed, glancing at the unconscious sorceress. "Believe me."

As she said that, people began to say their goodbyes to her, shaking her hand – May weirdly enthusiastically to a woman so serious –, until Coulson offered to accompany her outside so she could travel through the Bifrost. Clark, Natasha and she followed them, as Sif dragged Lorelei by the foot, making sure to hit her head against every bump in the way.

"Sif," Clark began, and Jessica would've teased him by his seriousness if not for the circumstances of the day, "thank you. I mean it."

And then he hugged her. Clark was always nice to people, but he seemed especially sentimental today. Sif was surprised for a moment, then she smiled, hugging him back.

"It was quite the adventure, Kal," she said when he finally released her. "Not one I care to repeat, however."

He chuckled. "No, me neither. Though I do wish you came back soon, not on duty, I mean. I'll show you New York!"

"As soon as I can, I will accept your invitation, Kal," she promised. She glanced from him to Lorelei, her expression losing its warmth. "But first I will make sure Lorelei pays for everything she did."

Jessica suddenly remembered Lorelei's taunts during the battle, something about a man named Haldor. It seemed Sif had lost important people because of that bitch before. If anyone would be committed to ensuring that Lorelei would stay locked up, it would be her.

After a few seconds, Sif turned to Natasha, extending her hand; the red-haired assassin shook it.

"Thank you for the assistance, Lady Romanoff," Sif said. "It was an honor fighting by the side of one of Thor's companions."

"The honor was mine," Natasha answered. She gave the Asgardian an almost imperceptible grin. "But do try to keep these prisoners away, please. We have enough crazy down here."

Jessica agreed wholeheartedly with this; Sif, however, just laughed.

"Son of Coul, it was good meeting you," she said, shaking Coulson's hand. "And thank you as well for your assistance. You should tell Thor you are still alive, he will be most pleased."

"I will," Coulson promised. "And it was a pleasure helping you."

Then Sif turned to Jessica; she grimaced. She was not good with this kind of shit. She liked Sif, but it wasn't because of that she was here, it was to give back the weapon she borrowed her. Before she could say anything, she grabbed the Thanagarian mace from her waist and extended to her.

Sif frowned for a moment; then raised both her hands.

"No, keep it," she said, suddenly. "Anyone that can hit Lorelei like that deserves such a weapon."

Jessica caught herself smiling, to her surprise. She liked the mace and it wasn't everyday she gained presents, if she were to be honest.

"It was nice meeting a friend of Kal," Sif said, shaking her hand.

"It was nice meeting you too," she answered. And it really was.

Sif, having said her goodbyes, turned around and took some distance from The Bus, ready to call the Bifrost. She filled her lungs and opened her mouth to yell; before she could, however, she looked at them again, apparently remembering something.

She glanced at Natasha.

"When we met during this mission, before we entered the flying contraption," Sif began, "you mentioned something about Loki controlling people, like Lorelei did."

"Not exactly like Lorelei," Natasha explained. "But close enough."

"With a Scepter, you said?" Sif insisted.

"A very sharp Scepter, yes," Coulson added, rubbing his chest for some reason.

Sif stared at them for a moment, thinking about something.

"Loki does not know how to control minds, not like Lorelei," she said, suddenly. "He tricks people, he weaves lies, he can convince anyone of doing anything… But he does not know how to control minds."

Clark, Natasha and Coulson were very serious now.

"What happened to the Scepter he was using?" Sif asked. "An artifact that powerful… I never heard of it, but it would be wise to keep it safe."

Saying this, Sif nodded at them again and yelled "HEIMDALL!" to the sky, disappearing into a multicolored light beam.

"You don't know what happened to Loki's Scepter?!" Clark exclaimed.

"I was a little busy dying," Coulson answered, looking at Natasha. "Do you?"

Natasha just shook her head, lightly, her expression giving away nothing. Clark knew her well enough to tell, however, that she was worried. And if that Scepter really was lost, they all had reason to be.

"I assume SHIELD has it," she said, finally. "I'll have to ask Fury."

That, non-surprisingly, didn't ease Clark's concerns. He trusted Natasha with his life, but not the people to whom she worked for. SHIELD, for all the good they did, still made him unease. Something about a huge and powerful spy-organization, that knew everything about everyone, didn't seem like a good thing to him.

"Why the hell didn't Thor take this to Asgard?" he exhaled, scratching his head.

"He was taking his brother to jail," Natasha answered. "I'm sure you can understand his mistake."

It wasn't a reprimand, but Clark took it as one; and he deserved it. After all, didn't he make the same mistake with Zod's body after Black Zero Event?

"I'm sorry, I didn't…" he sighed. "You're right."

Natasha gave him a small smile. "I'll look for it, don't worry."

"Me too," Coulson added, getting up. "Tomorrow, though. This was a long day."

"Sorry," Clark apologized, instinctively.

Coulson patted him on the shoulder.

"Everything worked out in the end," he said. "We are all alive, all unharmed. It's all we can hope for. What happened wasn't your fault, just like it wasn't Clint's fault when Loki controlled him." He extended his hand and Clark shook it. "It was a pleasure, Superman. I have to check on my team, but we'll talk again later."

"Thanks for the help, Coulson. Really," Clark said.

"That's what I'm here for, don't worry about it. Natasha, it was good to see you."

"Good seeing you too, Coulson. Especially alive."

He chuckled and left the room. Clark sighed, still sitting down. He knew he should leave, take Jessica back home, and hopefully sleep; his body didn't seem to want to get up, though. He was tired, not only physically – which was rare for him – but mentally. It had been one hell of a day and he could only thank that weird sorceress that things ended up as well as they did.

Because if it were up to him, everybody in this plane would be dead and most people on Earth would've followed.

"How are you, Clark?" Natasha asked, softly. "Really?"

Clark looked at her, his mouth already opening so he could answer he was fine; then he stopped.

"Really? I'm not good at all, Natasha," he answered, rubbing his eyes. "I almost killed everyone of you today. I would have killed everyone of you if not for that sorceress. An entire town of innocent people would have died. Kids… Kids died today. And then they came back. I'm… I don't know what I'm feeling right now, but I'm not okay."

She touched his shoulder, looking deeply into his eyes.

"It wasn't your fault," she said.

"Maybe. Then again, maybe it was," he answered. "I could've waited for this whole thing to be over from space. From Asgard even. I chose not to. I was too stubborn. I thought I could help. And then I became the threat."

"We had no reason to believe a ritual like that was even possible," Natasha argued. "Not even Sif thought it was possible."

"No," he agreed. "But I could've been more careful. I could've been stronger. I-I have no idea what I would do if I ended up killing you. Any of you."

Natasha looked down and sighed.

"I know. But it wasn't your fault. Just like it wasn't Clint's fault. It was Loki's and it was Lorelei's." She looked at him again, brushing a bit of dirt from his cheek with her thumb. "Go home, try to get some rest. It might not feel like it right now, but we won."

Natasha was right, it didn't feel like a victory at all.

"Oh, I still need to give this back to you," Natasha suddenly remembered, looking down at the Kryptonian skinsuit he had borrowed her.

Melinda May had already returned the weapons and the skinsuit to him, just as Natasha had given the weapons back. Her skinsuit – like the one he gave to Jessica –, was still with her.

"You know what? Keep it," Clark said, finally.

That surprised her.

"You are really giving me alien tech?" she asked, eyes wide.

"I trust you," Clark shrugged; then he smiled, getting up. "Plus, it suits you well."

Natasha raised a single eyebrow, amused.

"It's a gift for me or for you?" she teased.

Despite the horrible day they had, Clark laughed as he left the room. Honestly? The way she looked wearing that skinsuit he would have to say it was a gift for both of them, but he would never admit that out loud, not even under threat of torture.

It was time to go home.

"Another enhanced?" Pierce exclaimed on his secured line. "Capable of facing Superman?!"

"Capable of defeating him," the voice corrected. "The things she could do… I've seen them with my own eyes and I still can't believe it."

Alexander Pierce would not believe it as well, if the one telling him all that wasn't one of his most trusted agents. An agent that, like him, served both SHIELD and HYDRA. Magic… He was aware that magic existed, HYDRA had seen it before. But something like what his agent described? Turning back time, stopping it, bringing dead people back to life… Defeating Superman.

It was incredible. And extremely, unbelievably, dangerous. If HYDRA wasn't controlling it, then it was a threat.

"They are asking about the Scepter," his agent pointed out, suddenly. "The abilities of this Lorelei brought into question the Scepter's powers."

"I will deal with this," Pierce answered. "What else do you have?"

"The footage we had was somehow damaged. I'm not sure if it was because of all that magic going around or because of the Kryptonian's robot."

"That is unfortunate."

"I agree. But I still have the recordings of the conversations after the battle. The Asgardian Sif shed some light over who this enhanced might be. And the Kryptonian also shed some light over what she might be carrying: an Infinity Stone."

Pierce had no words. What happened earlier that day was unbelievable. And it proved, more than ever, that HYDRA needed to act fast. How could a being so powerful exist out there, completely unknown to them? How could an artifact as powerful as an Infinity Stone – another Tesseract – exist on Earth without their knowledge?

Project Insight needed to be hastened, especially now that questions about the Scepter were being made. He couldn't very well answer that the Scepter was being used by HYDRA to grow an army of enhanced soldiers powerful enough to face Superman, Thor, the Hulk and the rest of the Avengers, could he?

"Find out more and keep me posted," Pierce ordered. "Hail HYDRA!"

"HAIL HYDRA!"

Clark and Jessica opened the door to Trish's apartment, entering quietly so they wouldn't wake her up. It was night already and he could hear Trish's softy breathing as she slept, resting peacefully in a way that Clark couldn't help but to envy a little bit.

"Shit, I'm beat," Jessica complained, sitting down on the couch. "What a fucking day!"

Her vocabulary was colorful, as always, but Clark agreed with the sentiment. What a day indeed. Still wearing his Superman clothes, he sat down as well, still dazed by everything that happened. He couldn't believe that he would ever harm an innocent, especially someone he liked, but a few hours ago he almost did all that.

Magic or not, he felt disgusted with himself.

And there was, of course, the existence of that sorceress. Sif was certain that the cloaked woman who fought him was the one known as Sorcerer Supreme. Clark didn't exactly understand what that meant, but he knew the woman was powerful and she was carrying, apparently, an Infinity Stone. He liked to think the better of people and that sorceress had given him no reason to think she was a threat – not when she saved all of them –, but he still wanted to know more.

He just had no idea how to do it, given that she disappeared. That, added to everything he was already feeling, made him even more stressful.

"How are you doing, Clark?" Jessica asked, snapping him out of his musings. She sounded weirdly serious.

Clark sighed. "Better. Still hating myself a little bit, but better. I'm just glad I didn't hurt any of you."

For a long while, he thought Jessica wouldn't say anything. She just kept staring at him with an expression he couldn't exactly describe; then she opened her mouth to finally say what was on her mind.

Except that, before she could say any word, her eyes spotted something.

"What the hell is that on your suit?" she asked, pointing at his bracelet.

The abrupt change of subject caught Clark unaware, but he looked to where she was pointing. There, stuck between his bracelet and his skinsuit, was a small piece of paper. How didn't he notice that before? Carefully, he took it and studied it. It looked like a business card but how would something like that be stuck in his suit?

"177A Bleecker Street, New York City, New York," Clark read it, still not understanding. It was only when he turned it and read it out loud that things suddenly made sense. "If you want to learn how to defend your mind, you know where to find me."

"Holy shit… It's from that witch!" Jessica exclaimed, looking as surprised as he probably was. "She is inviting you to her home?"

"It seems so," Clark agreed, still shocked.

"You are not considering this, are you?" she questioned.

Yes, he was, most definitely, Clark thought, still in silence. He wanted to know more about her, to know if she truly was the woman Sif said. To know if she really had an Infinity Stone. To know this wizard order that existed, apparently in the middle of New York, without anyone knowing about it.

More importantly, he wanted to know if what she said in the note was true. Could she really help him to defend his mind? To guarantee that nothing like this would ever happen again?

"I think I'll go there tomorrow," Clark finally said.

"You are out of your mind!"

"Why?"

"Why?! Well, for one, she beat the shit out of you!"

"That's not true!" Clark defended himself. "We fought to a standstill…"

He wasn't able to convince even himself with that weak defense. Jessica raised her eyebrows.

"Clark, that woman controlled time. The only reason she didn't just turn you into a baby or stopped time and just killed you, was because she didn't want to. And now you are going there!"

"That's not true," he repeated himself. "And if it were, then all the more reason for me to go, isn't it?"

Jessica snarled, slapping the couch. "You almost died today and you are going to mess with that magic stuff again?"

Clark sighed and scratched his eyes, feeling his exhaustion doubling.

"Jessica, you don't understand. What happened today… It was my fault."

"No, it wasn't!"

"It was," he countered. "I made a mistake. It was my stubbornness, my weakness. And I almost killed you all with my bare hands." Clark looked at her, serious. "You are my best friend. And I didn't want to hurt you, never. But if Lorelei commanded me to, I would have killed you today. I can't let that happen ever again. Please understand that."

Jessica looked incensed for a second, then she turned and looked down, breathing deeply. He thought she wouldn't say anything anymore, but then she spoke, almost inaudibly.

"I understand better than you think." Slowly, Jessica looked back at him, her expression a mix of fear, shame and anger, not something Clark had ever seen on her face before; without thinking, he held her hand. She didn't object. "You asked what was wrong with me, why I was so worried during this mission."

He felt her hand clenching over his.

"I think I'm ready to tell you now."

The Ancient One put the Eye of Agamotto back on its rightful place, inside Kamar-Taj, her hands trembling a little bit due to her exhaustion. It had been a long time since she was forced to fight a battle like that, she admitted. Maybe she was getting too old for this.

Still, the hardest battles were usually the ones that needed to be fought the most. She had seen with the Eye of Agamotto what would have happened if she did nothing or if she failed; better yet, she had seen what could have happened. Several possible futures, most of them disastrous.

The Battle of New York, Black Zero Event… They were incidents with huge consequences and a body count to match their importance. But she knew, back then, that they would be solved without her help. That they needed to be solved without her help, so that heroes that would grow to fight even bigger battles could arise.

This occasion was not the case. Lorelei, with Superman under her control, would bring only destruction. The Avengers would fall under her control and soon the Earth and the Sanctums Sanctorum would follow. That was the future she stopped; or at least, most possibilities were grim like that. She decided not to take any chances.

Even so, that day wasn't entirely a success, if she were to be honest, the Ancient One thought, glancing at the Eye of Agamotto.

If it were, she wouldn't have the need to use the Infinity Stone like that. She, better than most people, understood that some laws had to be broken for the greater good. Even Natural Laws. Sometimes, the universe needed a push so it could survive.

It always came at a price, however.

The Time Stone was one of the most powerful, and dangerous, Infinity Stones. It didn't simply destroy or control, it had the power to bend time and, with it, the power to create and destroy an infinite number of timelines. A power like that was not something to be used recklessly. A power like that sent ripples throughout the Multiverse every time it was used.

The Ancient One decided to use the Eye of Agamotto to undo Superman's enthrallment, saving his life and sparing Earth the loss of a hero, a hero that could rise to be one of the greatest champions of their universe. To do so, however, she was forced to break the Natural Laws in a way they were not meant to be broken.

She could only hope no one out there was paying attention when she did that.

"Glad to know you were successful," a voice said from behind her. "I was beginning to worry that the world was about to end."

She turned to meet the eyes of Mordo and Kaecilius, two of her most prized apprentices. Mordo, the most loyal student she had, a true follower of her teachings, and Kaecilius, the most talented practitioner of the Mystical Arts she had trained in a very long time. Both men that would, hopefully, carry her legacy after she was gone.

One could never know for sure, when the future was always in motion.

"The world is always about to end, Kaecilius," she answered, finally. "Infinite worlds mean infinite threats. For all we know the universe could end at this very second."

She stopped talking, as if waiting for everything to end; both her students, she noticed, were holding their breaths. A second passed and nothing happened.

Her eyebrows raised.

"Or maybe not," she finished, shrugging.

Mordo sighed, but Kaecilius seemed amused. Then they noticed how tired she looked.

"If the threat was so great, why didn't you ask for us to accompany you?" Mordo asked.

Kaecilius, however, was looking beyond her, to the Eye of Agamotto.

"Were you using the Eye?" he asked.

The Ancient One didn't answer to any of the two questions. She simply walked, expecting them to follow her.

"I could drink some tea," she said, suddenly. "Would you like some?"

Both of them sighed now, knowing her well enough to realize that no answer would come. They followed her anyway.

"By the way, I'm expecting a new student in the next days," the Ancient One said, glancing at them while they walked through the corridors of Kamar-Taj. "You will help me with him."

Mordo frowned, not disagreeing with her, but in actual curiosity. Kaecilius was impassive.

"An apprentice?" Mordo asked.

"Yes," the Ancient One agreed. Then she smiled. "And I believe he will be a complicated one."

Lorelei was dragged through the halls of the royal palace of Asgard by the Einherjar, her feet barely touching the ground. She was chained, muffled and silenced by that accursed choker, completely unable to even try to escape. Even if she wasn't bound or surrounded by soldiers, she was too weak to fight or run.

Sif had defeated her again. Like she did 600 years ago. Lorelei's pride was hurt, but the worse thing is that she knew, with almost certainty, that her life was over. It was not death that she feared – in fact, right now, an execution would be a relief –, but the fact that she had wasted her one opportunity and it was unlikely that she would ever see the sunlight again.

The immense doors in front of her were pulled open and the Einherjar forced her in. And there, in front of her, was the Allfather.

"Leave us," Odin commanded, waving his hand at the guards. They bowed and left, closing the doors.

Lorelei felt dread fill her. What did Odin want with her? Last time she was sent directly to the dungeons, unworthy of being received by the King of Asgard himself, no matter how big of a threat she represented. Lifting her eyes slowly, Lorelei looked around. They were not in the throne room, but a smaller chamber, filled with bookcases and a single desk. There were no guards anywhere, they were alone. Usually, that would mean an opportunity to her. She would fight, use the fact that there was only one adversary to try something.

Except that the god in front of her was Odin and she knew better than to try to fight a being so powerful. It simply could not be done.

For a long minute, Odin said nothing, simply gazing at her with his one eye, towering over her kneeling form.

"That did not take long, did it?" Odin said, breaking the silence. "Last time you tried something like that we took years to bring you to justice."

Lorelei simply looked back at him, unable to say anything. He seemed to notice that.

"Oh, I almost forgot," he said and waved his hand. There was a green glow and the chains around her disappeared; as did the mask muffling her and the choker. "You can speak now. I would cherish the opportunity, if I were you."

Surprised, Lorelei massaged her neck and jaw for a moment, feeling her magic flowing inside her again. Even then, she wasn't deluded enough to think that her voice would work here. Odin was the most powerful sorcerer of all Nine Realms. To him, her voice was meaningless.

"What do you want me to say, my King?" Lorelei finally asked, her voice raspy. "I lost."

"Yes, to Sif! Aren't you ashamed of yourself?" Odin retorted, laughing.

That was a weird thing to say, Lorelei thought, frowning.

"But then again, she is a force to be reckoned with when she is angered and you, my dear, made her furious when you forced her to kill her little lover."

Carefully, Lorelei got up, eyes fixed on Odin. Something was wrong. She would not claim she was ever close to the royal family, but she had met Odin before and that did not sound like him.

"Still did not notice?" Odin asked, sighing. "Well, you were never the brightest."

And then there was a green glow. Suddenly, it was not Odin in front of her anymore. It was Loki.

"What?" she whispered, too surprised to say anything else.

The God of Mischief seemed terribly amused.

"My latest trick," he bragged. "What do you think? Do I make a good Odin?"

Lorelei had no words to answer. How was that possible? What did that mean? Did Loki kill his father? Did anyone else know about this? What was going on?

"Weird to see you lacking words, Lorelei," Loki said. "You usually speak so much."

"What is going on?" Lorelei finally asked.

Loki grinned. "I decided to take charge of Asgard for the time being. You see, important events are happening and soon we will have quite a lot to deal with. I am trying to prepare Asgard for the worse."

Lorelei had no idea what that meant, but she didn't care right now. How Loki managed to usurp the throne didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was the fact that the god in front of her was not Odin. She had a chance.

Focusing all her magic, she allowed her powers to flow through her voice.

"Release me!" Lorelei ordered, her voice thundering with power.

Loki widened his eyes for a moment. And then, slowly, he began to walk in her direction. Lorelei felt her chest fill with joy. She would escape! She wouldn't spend the rest of her life rotting inside a prison, never able to utter a single word again! Fate had conspired to save her, that could be the only answer.

Slowly, his green cape fluttering as he walked, Loki walked until he was in front of her; then he grinned.

"No."

Suddenly, before she could move, there was a green glow over his hand. A blue cube appeared out of nothing, something that simply exuded power. A blue energy field abruptly surrounded her, no doubt originating from that weird cube, and she was pushed to her knees, unable to move a single muscle.

Loki laughed, getting even closer.

"Did you really think your voice had any power over me?" he mocked. "You are not your sister, Lorelei."

She widened her eyes, shocked by the turn of events.

"That is actually why I ordered you to be brought here alive," Loki continued. He looked deeply into her eyes. "Where is Amora?"

Lorelei simply stared back at him. Grinning, Loki allowed his power to flow inside the blue cube; suddenly, the force field around her began to constrict her body, with such power that she could not even scream. She whimpered, trying to resist, feeling her bones starting to crack.

"I do not know!" Lorelei yelled, when the pain became unbearable. "I do not know!"

"Why should I believe you?" Loki asked.

"I hold no more love for my sister than you do for your brother. Why should I care about her? She left me to die in prison!"

Loki was staring at her eyes, almost as if he could sense any lie.

"Fair enough," he said, simply, allowing the pressure to disappear.

Lorelei breathed in relief, feeling her blood flowing again, her eyes looking down.

"What do you want with her, anyway?" she finally asked. "I thought Odin banished her for a reason."

"Her magic has its uses," Loki answered. "Especially if one would like to remain undetected while pretending to rule Asgard, even when subjected to the likes of Heimdall. And, of course, if one would like to build alliances so Asgard would have help, should we need it."

She did not pretend to understand what he meant about alliances. Was he preparing for war?

"As tragic as it is, if I cannot have the legendary Enchantress, then I shall have to settle for the lesser sibling."

A spark of rage burned within her.

"I guess that was never a problem for your parents, was it?" she said. "Thor was always there to compensate for your inadequacy."

Loki did not answer, he did not even move, but for a moment Lorelei saw a blazing fury behind his eyes. Instead of hurting her, as she feared, he simply touched her face, delicately.

"I will need your voice, Lorelei, for the good of Asgard," he said.

She stared at him. "And why should I help you?"

This was her chance to negotiate, to avoid prison, to avoid having her voice sealed forever.

Loki frowned.

"Who said I was asking for your help?"

Lorelei did not understand what he meant by that; not until his fingers suddenly closed around her jaw, pressing, hurting her. The blue cube glowed again and the force field surrounded her entire body, forcing her mouth open. Grinning madly, Loki pushed his hand inside her mouth and pulled her tongue out.

She fought, tried to move, tried to do anything, but she could only remain paralyzed as Loki chanted something, revealing the golden runes on her tongue, runes that she had carved with magic.

"There it is," he whispered, marveling at the golden glow. The force field kept her tongue in place for him to look at it. "Well, Lorelei, it seems we have a lot of experiments to do, don't we?"

There was a green glow and suddenly he was holding a knife in his hands. Lorelei couldn't remember the last time she felt so afraid.

He was bored. Scratch that – he was beyond bored! What was left for him to do anymore, he pondered, as he twirled slowly between the stars. Should he create a planet and populate with intelligent life? Nah, too annoying. Create a planet, populate it with intelligent life, convince them to worship him and then send a meteor right at it? Pointless. And cruel, now that he thought about it. The little ones didn't deserve that. Plus, it was boring.

Booooring! Funny that when you could anything, suddenly everything lost its appeal.

Life in the 5th Dimension was starting to grate on his nerves. Maybe he should find someplace else to go. That's it! A vacation! That would improve his mood. But where to? Spinning, he willed his power around him and suddenly he was surrounded by an infinite amount of big screens made of crystal, each one of them showing him different universes.

Dimensions made of pure darkness… Bleh! What would he do there? There was one there apparently made of flesh, bones and fire… What kind of insane being would like to visit such a place? A dimension covered with eyes, another filled with clouds and music, one so cold that only watching it made him shiver…

No, no, no! Something normal! Something cool! Something–

Suddenly, he felt a weird, but very familiar, energy. Someone was being naughty and messing with Time! Every single screen turned to dust, except for the one emanating the readings. Well, well, well, would you look at that?

This dimension wasn't made out of fire and blood or cold, it was a normal place. Beautiful even. The proportions and laws of the universe were weird, he had to admit, but that was only because he was used to his own 5th Dimension. He could get used to it. But what caught his attention was what was happening on it.

A fight, that was clear, between a man in a blue suit and a woman wearing a yellow cloak. And the woman was carrying something really interesting: Time itself. Sure, he could manipulate time however he wanted to, but beings in lesser dimensions couldn't. Most importantly, she was only manipulating time to fight that the guy in blue.

Curious… Was he some kind of god in that universe? Nah, didn't seem to be the case. Just a higher life-form. But then what was he doing there, fighting the woman carrying Time? Rewinding time on the screen, he looked back, seeing what happened before. His planet exploding, last survivor of his race – then not so much –, then last member of his race all over again…

Helping people, fighting bad guys, saving damsels in distress… Amazing! That seemed to be quite the nice chap.

Almost unconsciously, his form began to adapt, shrinking, constraining itself in a physical body such as the ones they had in that dimension. His eyes gathered all the details, what they were wearing, how they moved, how they talked…

Before he could even realize, he took the shape of a short, older man, bald on top of the head, but with thick, white tufts of hair by the sides. A purple suit and a small hat appeared out of nothing around him.

Fascinated, he took his hand to the screen, ready to jump in; except he was zapped by some sort of energy.

"Ouch! How rude!" he exclaimed, shaking his hand. "A barrier? Now, that's just unfair!"

Well, sooner or later – and that was incredibly relative in the 5th Dimension – that barrier would be weakened and he would be able to squeeze in a little bit of himself. That was just how things were. Until then, he would stay put. And think of a name!

"How about Mr. Mxyzptlk?"

Mr. Mxyzptlk opened a big smile. That was a pretty nice name! And soon, he would be able to play with Superman in that weird dimension of his.