I arrived at the newly built Stark Industries headquarters. Though he still served on the board of S.H.I.E.L.D. renamed in honor of Steve and maintained his role as a consultant and founding member, the success of his weapons at the SSR had given him the confidence to start this venture.
I didn't want to be recognized, so after I called to say I was bringing his supercomputer, he told me to come directly to his office. My portal didn't flicker like one made by a sling ring, instead, passing through it felt like walking through a wall of cotton candy. I instinctively brushed the lingering sensation off my skin.
When I stepped out of the portal, I could tell he was frustrated. Even though he knew I was coming, he hated how easily I had bypassed a million-dollar security system.
When Stark doesn't understand something, he's driven to solve it or invent a logic for it but magic was so far removed from the modern perspective that it still sounded like a fairy tale to him.
Howard Stark pov
When James stepped out of the portal, he found Howard Stark waiting, though "waiting" was a generous term. Howard looked more like a man watching his life's work be insulted. Even though he knew James was coming, it clearly grated on him that his million-dollar security system had been bypassed so effortlessly.
When Howard Stark didn't understand something, he didn't just sit still; he obsessed until he could deconstruct it. But to a man of the 1940s and 50s, magic was so far removed from reality that it sounded like a campfire fairy tale.
Howard sighed, tossing a screwdriver onto a metal table with a loud clatter.
"You know, James, I spent six months and a small fortune on those pressure-sensitive floors and biometric locks," Howard grumbled, waving a hand toward the shimmering space where the portal had just been.
"And you just... fold space like a laundry sheet? It's indecent. It's unscientific. At least tell me it puts off some kind of detectable thermal signature so I can pretend my sensors aren't paperweights."
Hearing James laugh out loud frustrated me more than anything. He makes things like folding space look like a walk in the park, and it's maddening.
James stepped further into the office, ignoring Howard's grumbling about the security sensors. He placed the device on the mahogany desk. To James, it was a portable unit, but to Howard, it was an impossibility.
"Here it is," James said. "The supercomputer I promised."
Howard stopped pacing and leaned in, his eyes narrowing behind his glasses. He circled the desk like a predator examining new prey. He was used to the vacuum tubes and massive cooling fans of the SSR's current tech, but what James had brought was sleek, compact, and silent. The last time he'd seen the supercomputer in James's lab, it had been the size of a locomotive.
"This?" Howard asked, his voice dropping an octave as his scientific curiosity finally suppressed his annoyance. "James, the last 'computer' I built for the government requires its own power grid and a team of technicians just to do long division. If this thing actually has the processing power you claim, you aren't just bypassing my security you're bypassing the next hundred years of human innovation."
He reached out a hand, hesitating for a second before touching the casing. "How does it even dissipate the heat? Or is that more 'cotton candy' magic?"
"Actually, Howard, that's just the brain of the machine," James said, watching Howard's puzzled expression. "The casing and the rest of the components will be delivered to your lab in batches. What you're holding has nothing to do with magic, it's a Central Processing Unit, or a CPU. It's the core of the entire supercomputer."
"A CPU this small? You've got to be kidding me, James," Howard said, his voice thick with skepticism. He stared at the object in his hand, unable to believe what he was hearing. "Last I checked, a processing unit was as large as I am. You're telling me the 'brain' of a supercomputer fits in my palm?"
"Yes, Howard, it really is that small," James said, his tone matter-of-fact despite the impossibility of it all. "With my chip fabrication machine, I've managed to shrink the architecture. In fact, I didn't just use one, I've packed five CPUs inside this unit just to give you more speed. To be honest, even my own supercomputer hasn't received that update yet."
Howard stared at the small object, his mind racing through the implications.
"And Howard," James added, winking at him, "I'm giving you all the schematics for the fabrication machine and the computer itself. If anyone asks, you can just tell them you built it."
I felt a sudden chill a mix of goosebumps and the distinct feeling of trouble heading my way.
Normal pov
"Better hook this up to your own reactor, Howard. If you plug this into the city's power lines, you'll blow every transformer in the state. Luckily, you've already mastered reactor tech, so that shouldn't be a problem for you."
After laying it all out for him, I made my exit. I had other matters to attend to, skills I needed to master that shouldn't even exist in this era. I was developing a nanite, but built through an analog process. My design called for a miniature reactor of my own making to serve as the power source inside each unit, with a magic codex woven in to act as the internal wiring.
It was the craziest plan I'd ever conceived. Because of its unique power source, the nanite was essentially unhackable and immune to outside magic. The only way anyone could ever turn this technology against me would be to alter reality itself. Beyond that? Well, I haven't thought that far ahead yet.
The reason I say this shouldn't exist is simple: where have you ever seen a nanite made of plastic that is as strong or even stronger than metal? I'm pushing the boundaries of material science for one specific reason: I'm preparing for Magneto. If I ever have to face him, I can't afford to be made of the very thing he controls.
I opened a portal to the Moon, I needed to speak to the one who knew everything. Before stepping through, I looked up and saw him. I had applied the Veil Eyes Codex, a spell designed to reveal any dimensional being whether they were three-dimensional or tenth-dimensional. Uatu looked visibly shocked, he could feel that, for the first time, someone was actually looking back at him.
I cast an Oxygen Mask Codex over my face. The spell was originally created by an ancient sorcerer who sought to dive into the deepest trenches of the sea to battle demons emerging from the ocean floor. Now, it served a different purpose, allowing me to breathe in the cold vacuum of the Moon.
As I stepped out and stood before Uatu, his sheer scale became clear. He was massive. I'm not short by any means, standing at 180cm, I'm considered tall by most human standards, but compared to him, I felt like a child looking up at a titan.
"Uatu, The Watcher," I began, my voice steady despite the thin atmosphere. "I didn't come here to interfere. I only have one request: the coordinates to your library. If you grant me this, I will owe you a favor, one act of your choosing will be carried out for you in the future. You don't even need to speak just look in the right direction."
He shifted his gaze toward a patch of seemingly empty space. Taking that as my cue, I immediately activated nearly thirty different Codices, layering them to triangulate the exact spot he was showing me. I needed every ounce of their power to pinpoint the location hidden within that darkness: the Watcher's homeworld, located deep within the Outer Void.
Once I had secured the location, I looked back at him and said, "You know where to find me, Uatu."
There was a reason I addressed him by name. Across all existence, the Watchers are driven by curiosity, it's the very reason they observe. But as much as they love to watch, nothing is more exhilarating for a being like him than discovering a blind spot. By showing him something he didn't already know, I had given him the one thing a Watcher rarely gets: a reason to truly wonder.
Uatu pov
Today, like every other day, I watched the humans I have come to love. I have seen them grow from small to great, from youth into old age, through times of peace and the fires of war. I watch, and I ponder the same question that haunts the stars: What if?
But today, I was met with a total surprise: a human was looking right at me. He stared straight at me, with a gaze so focused it was undeniable. He knew me. He knew I was standing there, and he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I exist.
At first, I felt a flicker of fear. In all the vastness of this story, while his path deviates from the established line, I initially saw no cause for alarm. Even the Sacred Timeline has left him untouched. My fear soon turned to fascination, I watched this deviation closely, expecting a cascade of chaos. Yet, as I observe, I see that very little has truly shifted. He changes things only here and there minor ripples that have yet to become a tidal wave.
But today, he did the impossible. He didn't just happen to see me, he was actively searching for me. He turned his gaze upon the stars with a calculated intent, piercing the veil of my sanctuary. For the first time in eons, the roles have been reversed: he is watching me, the Watcher.
When he emerged from the portal, I gazed down at the mortal. For the first time in eons, someone truly sought the Watcher's Library. Our homeworld is anchored within the void, existing outside of any known space or time. Yet, that did not mean entry was forbidden. We Watchers do not bar the way for those who come but we do not welcome them, either.
After an eternity of hearing trillions of prayers and demands, James was a rarity. He didn't demand, he asked. There was no ego in his voice, no threat in his stance. I knew that if I ignored him, he wouldn't persist, he would simply go back to where he came from.
I did not speak, but i could not help the shift in his own cosmic awareness. As I thought of the Outer Void, My gaze drifted, almost involuntarily, toward a specific, empty sector of the sky.
I watched in silence as he stacked nearly thirty Sanguine Codices to triangulate my homeworld. I knew the dark history of that magic, it was originally forged by desperate souls as a means to imprison demons.
Yet, this man had mastered it. He had stripped away its original intent of being a mere cage or a prison and repurposed it entirely. He transformed a containment spell into a high-precision navigational tool, discovering applications for the Sanguine Codex that its creators could never have imagined.
Before he departed, he told me that if I ever had need of a favor or assistance in the future, I could call upon him. I was skeptical, of course, what could a being of my standing truly need from a mortal? And yet, the offer did not feel empty. It was not a disadvantage to have such a man in my debt, so I let the pact stand.
In this place, at this time, I am far from omniscient. I couldn't have known that one day I would actually take him up on his offer. It was inconceivable then that I, a Watcher, would ever find myself in a position where I had to ask this man for help.
I wanted to ask him how he knew my name, but I decided to wait, I would let him reveal it in his own time. After all, he and I have all the time in the world. As I watched him, I couldn't help but ponder the eternal question: What if?
Normal pov
The watcher homeworld
I successfully arrived at the Watchers' homeworld, only to find them completely indifferent to my presence. They went about their work as if I didn't exist, perfectly embodying their lore: they are here only to observe, forbidden from ever intervening. But make no mistake, if you are a threat, they will know. Believe me, they will.
I didn't arrive unscathed. The sheer effort of the journey had caused my chi to turn inward, eating away at my very cells. To an outsider, I looked deathly pale, as if I were standing on the brink of collapse and in truth, I felt like I was dying. But that's the thing: I can't die.
This specific chi method was tailor-made for me, I knew the lethal cost of emptying one's internal reserves, but I also knew that my Wolverine healing factor would tirelessly repair every damaged cell as quickly as they burnt out.
As my healing factor worked to knit my cells back together, I sat cross-legged on the floor of the Watcher's world, a surface that shimmered with shifting, rainbow hues. I took a slow, deep breath, attempting to replenish my depleted chi. To my surprise, the energy returned with ease, and I felt my capacity expanding, my body could suddenly handle more chi than ever before.
Then, something unexpected happened. I began to lift off the ground. I wasn't flying yet, but I was floating, defying gravity through pure internal pressure. It's hard to put into words, but I knew in that moment: if I can float now, it means that one day, I will fly.
Remaining in my cross-legged position, I focused my intent, and slowly, I began to hover. I wasn't high off the ground, just a few inches of air separated me from the shimmering floor, but it was enough to fill me with a surge of excitement.
I stayed there, suspended in the silence of the Watchers' world, drifting and moving bit by bit through the air. It was a small start, but it was proof that the boundaries of my power were shifting.
As I made my way deeper inside, I recalled the one truth about the Watchers' homeworld: everything here operates on the power of intent. There are no buttons to press or levers to pull. If you desire something, a piece of knowledge, a map, or a record of a lost era, you simply have to think of it, and the world itself will bring it to you.
However, there is a catch: you must be incredibly specific with your request. Whatever you wish to know, you must narrow your focus to the finest detail, if you don't, this place will kill you.
For example, if you simply ask to learn about dinosaurs without specifying a species, an era, or even a biological function, the world will give you everything. When I say everything, I mean every atom of data, down to the composition of their waste, will be forced into your mind at once. This world doesn't filter, it only provides. That is why you must know exactly what you are looking for before you dare to ask.
I came here with only three specific objectives. First, I needed to deepen my mastery of Chi, not just as energy, but as a fundamental force of physics. Second, I sought the blueprints for a miniaturization device, something capable of shrinking matter without losing its structural integrity.
Finally, I wanted to solve the ultimate engineering puzzle: the creation of steampunk nanites. I needed to find a material, something denser and stronger than steel, that could act as a surrogate for a cyborg's nervous system. I didn't want software, AI, or lines of code, I wanted a purely mechanical, 'analog' system that functioned with the precision of a living organism.
I braced myself for the influx of information, fully aware of the temporal distortion on the Watchers' world. Here, time is a fractured thing, you could spend a hundred years lost in study, only to find that a mere few hours have passed in the world outside. For a man with my healing factor and my list of objectives, this wasn't just a library, it was a timeless workshop.
I ventured deep into the heart of the Library and settled into a state of profound meditation. I lost track of the days, but I could feel the passage of time in my bones, it felt as though two hundred years had drifted by. Throughout those centuries, my body never wavered, my healing factor worked in perfect tandem with the atmosphere, constantly replenishing my cells.
As I meditated, I reached a point where I was being fed by the Chi itself. My physical form became so saturated with energy that the basic human need for sustenance withered away. I could go for days then weeks without food, my body sustained entirely by the golden thrum of the energy I had mastered.
Despite the vast archives surrounding me, I haven't asked for anything yet. I mastered the arts of Mind Magic under my mentor's tutelage, but the secrets I seek are of a different caliber. I am not certain my consciousness could survive the influx.
That is why I am taking these centuries to reinforce my mind layer by layer, building a psychic structure sturdy enough to contain the revelations I intend to claim. I will not let the truth shatter the vessel.
I finally posed my three questions to the Library. The first, the mastery of Chi took me four hundred and seventy years to truly comprehend. That was the time required just to process the sheer density of the information. But in my mind, to understand is to master, and that is exactly what I did.
I set to work strengthening my chi pathways. Though they were never truly blocked, thanks to my years practicing the Seven Heavenly Breathing Technique, the Library showed me how to refine them further. I discovered that flight was not a myth, but a matter of efficiency; as long as I could control my chi without wasting a single drop of energy, the sky was mine. I spent another century doing nothing but that: refining my control until my movements were as effortless as thought itself.
When I moved on to the second question, I was meticulously specific. In this world, if you simply ask for a 'miniaturization device,' the Library will flood your mind with every timeline where such technology ever existed. My head would have exploded from the sheer volume of data. To avoid a fatal mistake, I demanded the schematics for a device I could realistically build with my own resources, one that relied on mechanical engineering rather than external miracles.
Even with that specificity, the information took nearly three hundred and twenty years to process. That is the depth required to understand the physics of shrinking matter. The Library didn't hand me a 'solution' like the Pym Particle which is a chemical anomaly, because I hadn't asked for one. I asked for a machine, and I spent three centuries learning how to forge its every gear and circuit in my mind.
I knew I was ready for the final inquiry, the one that would crown this journey a success. I sought the secrets of the Full-Analog, Steampunk Nanite. But I knew the danger was exponential here, so I broke the request into three hyper-specific pillars.
First, I demanded the mechanical blueprints for the nanites themselves. Second, the fabrication process for Reinforced Carbon-Ceramic Nanocomposites, a material far denser and more resilient than any terrestrial steel. Finally, I asked for the unthinkable: how to use the Sanguine Codex not as a spell, but as the literal circuitry for the nanites.
To ensure my survival, I didn't just 'think' the question. I used my Chi to etch the request into the very fabric of the Library, framing it with the strict 'terms and conditions' of a binding contract. I could not afford to die here, not when I was so close to becoming the ultimate architect.
With this knowledge finally etched into my mind, I realized I would never again have to envy Stark's second-generation armor. I didn't need to look to others for innovation. I could have my own with a single thought.
this information took me 870 years of time, and i didnt really realize anything because i was busy inside my mind, i was filing my tought and everything, when i woke up, i feel old, like really old, but my body is still the same, only my thought has change, it feel like i watch so much that i start to feel, war is just but a squabble between toddler, and i feel like i understand a little bit about the watcher, while i feel old, but i didnt want to be like that, while i am old, its not come to a time that i neglect my own family, that love is still here.
With my objectives finally complete, I began the long walk out of the Library. As I reached the threshold, I felt a familiar, heavy gaze upon me, one of the High Watchers stood there, observing my every move.
I paused and gave him a deep bow of respect. I knew that at any moment over the last millennium, he could have driven me away or wiped me from existence with a mere thought. Yet, true to his sacred vow of non-interference, he remained still. He did nothing but watch, allowing me to carry the weight of all I had learned back into the world.
In that final look, I felt as though I understood exactly what he was thinking. For a being who has existed for eons, true surprises are rare but I was one of them. The fact that I had demanded so much from the Library and emerged not only alive but sane was a feat he hadn't witnessed in all his immortal life. Many had tried to grasp the secrets I had claimed, but none had survived the influx of data. I was the first to endure, and as I walked away, I knew I had earned a place in the Watcher's silent records.
Earth
I stepped through the portal and found myself standing in the center of my lab. I immediately checked the timestamps on my computer, it revealed that I had been gone from Earth for an entire year.
Before I had made my final descent home, I took a small detour. I said my thanks to Uatu and made my way back home.
Now, I had a mission: I needed to create the nanites for my own use. First, I had to build the miniaturization machine. It took me three months to complete, and the energy requirements were massive. Fortunately, I had my own reactor down here to power it.
With that finished, I started building a machine to process the Reinforced Carbon-Ceramic Nanocomposites. This machine took even longer almost five months to create. Due to the sheer scale of the equipment, I had to dig out another room just to house the thing.
The third machine took me a full year to complete. I couldn't afford a single mistake because this was for my own use and potentially for my family in the future. I placed the nanite production unit right beside the Carbon-Ceramic machine.
Now, I needed to create one more: an analog-based machine designed to automate the production of reactors. These would be smaller versions of the massive reactor I currently use; even one of these miniatures could power a city for a week. My plan was to retrofit every single nanite with its own dedicated reactor.
That took me another year to build because I had to create an automated machine capable of smashing Deuterium atoms together. I used the Carbon-Ceramic machine to fabricate individual shields for every atom involved in the fusion process. As for the casing to contain that power, the material was so resilient that I didn't even need to use my Codex to strengthen it, unlike the shielding on my primary large-scale reactor.
With those steps finished, I began the project. In one week, I completed the nanite assembly machine, the place where every unit is constructed before being sent through the miniaturization process. Once that was done, I used the Codex to bind the machine to my soul. Now, I can operate the entire system using only my thoughts. It is incredible.
With a single thought, I commanded the nanites to form into clothing. They draped themselves over my body, instantly shredding the old clothes I was wearing as they took shape. Inside the fabric of this new attire, I integrated a Codex storage compartment to house an extra reserve of nanites, one can never be too careful. To complete the set, I had the system print a Judge Dredd-style Lawgiver pistol for my personal use.
Now, I need to go out and spend time with my family, I haven't seen them in two and a half years. After that, I plan to disappear for another ten to twenty years to prepare for when the world eventually goes to hell, especially with the emergence of the X-Men and everything else on the horizon.
This might be the final goodbye for everyone in Robin and Lily's generation. I have no way of knowing if they will still be alive by the time I emerge from my next stage of preparation. My heart aches at the thought, I am becoming a man out of time, and the price of protecting their future is missing the chance to grow old alongside them.
I decided I would offer them a choice. I would ask if they wanted to live a little longer, and if they agreed, I would create a custom serum for each of them. It would allow them to live well past a hundred years, though they would only look as if they were in their sixties. More importantly, they would retain the strength and vitality of someone in their thirties.
I called Robin and asked him to organize a family gathering in a week. I told him I had something deeply important to announce. I wanted everyone there, knowing that the choices they made during that meeting would change the course of their lives forever.
For that entire week, I did nothing but experiment. I focused all my efforts on perfecting a solution to slow the aging process and maintain physical vitality, ensuring their bodies would remain as strong as if they were still in their thirties.
I chose not to derive this serum from my own blood. Instead, I sought a new solution based on the mechanics of the natural human physique. I engineered the serum to strengthen the genetic structure and regulate the immune system,ensuring that white blood cells wouldn't over-tax the body, keeping the aging process slow but the immune response sharp. On the fourth day of constant work, I finally succeeded.
Finally, the day of the meeting arrived.
In the hall of the estate, everyone was seated.
I stood before them all and didn't waste a moment. I revealed the breakthrough I had achieved during my absence, the serum that could grant them decades of health and vitality. I laid out the reality of the world to come and the choice they now had to make.
I looked at the children, everyone I loved gathered in the room. The vial in my hand was more than just medicine, it was the security I was leaving behind for them. I wasn't offering them immortality, not forever but I was giving them the chance to live long enough to see the dawn of the new age.
The room was silent as James finished his explanation. He placed a small, reinforced case on the table. Inside, twelve vials glowed with a faint, steady light.
"Is it true, Uncle James? Can it really give us a lifespan of a hundred years?" Louis asked. He was Matthew's son, whose family ran the clothing factory in this town. I looked down at the young man, seeing the mix of disbelief and hope in his eyes.
"It is, Louis," I replied firmly.
Everyone agreed to take it. Robin, Lily, Louis, and so many others they were all nearing their fifties now, and I could see the weight of the years in their eyes. At the very least, I could give them the hope of not just surviving, but being strong enough to see their grandchildren grow.
"While this serum is a priority, it's for the older ones first." I gave a wink to Lily and the rest of the group. "You younger ones won't even need to think about this until you hit your fifties. By then, I plan to have created a device capable of healing every known disease in the world or at the very least, most of them."
"But I need to make sure you all understand one thing," I said, my voice turning serious. "I cannot let you remain at the forefront of the company after you turn seventy. If people see you looking sixty when you should be ninety, they will realize you have an elixir for prolonged life. I have to give you this warning now, we know better than anyone that not everyone in the world is kind, and our family has already been through more than enough."
"Listen," I said, my voice dropping to a low, serious tone. "I can hear the upheaval coming. I can't be out in the open when it happens, I cannot let them detect me here. I've already had our THRUSH network gathering information. Mutant genes are starting to awaken across the globe, and the government is finally starting to take notice. The world is about to become a very dangerous place for anyone who stands out."
"And I'll likely be at the forefront of this mutant era. Who knows? Maybe you'll even see me on the news in the future," I said, a confident smile spreading across my face as I looked at everyone one last time.
I moved through the room, hugging everyone and promising that we would meet again. I held them close, feeling the weight of the years I was about to miss. Before I left, I told them that if they ever truly needed to reach me, they could contact him at any time. I made sure they knew they were never truly alone, even while I was underground.
With those goodbyes finished, I returned to my lab. My first priority was to create a device they could use to contact me at any time. I recalled the device I had acquired from Stark previously, I had spent time reverse-engineering . Stark is a genius, there's no doubt about that, but with the vast knowledge now stored in my mind, I have far more advanced ways to build. I set to work making a communicator that was significantly smaller, more compact, and more secure.
With my personal satellite network in orbit functioning exactly as intended, my communications infrastructure is solid. I've been quietly launching them over the past three years, and I now have approximately fifty satellites orbiting the Earth. They provide me with a private, unhackable web of data that blankets the entire planet.
I extended the offer of the serum to my THRUSH agents as well. I prioritized the veterans, the ones whose minds were sharp but whose bodies were beginning to fail them. As for the younger operatives, I decided to let them experience their youth naturally for now; they wouldn't need my intervention until they reached their prime.
to be continued -
11/3