It had to be said—this world held too many giants.
From cosmic conquerors to eldritch lords, from mutant gods to superpowered icons, Earth was brimming with beings capable of rewriting the laws of nature.
That's precisely why Joseph had been cautious from the very beginning.
Before gaining his trait of [Psychic Immunity], he had done everything possible to avoid contact with Professor X, even as a student at Xavier's School. He'd avoided strong telepaths, avoided magical circles, and definitely avoided the most dangerous magical institution on Earth—
Kamar-Taj.
The sanctum of Earth's Sorcerer Supreme.
The domain of the Ancient One.
Joseph knew better than to wander there as a novice.
But now... things were different.
Standing atop a rooftop under the ever-fading shadows of the Chitauri invasion, Joseph finally faced the one he had evaded for so long.
The Ancient One.
He had no intention of retreating now.
No more hiding.
This wasn't just a meeting.
It was a statement.
---
The moment the Ancient One's golden gaze pierced the veil between dimensions and pulled him into the Mirror Dimension, Joseph didn't resist. He simply smiled, raising one hand and snapping his fingers.
A gentle breeze stirred.
Reality bent backward.
The entire mirror dimension rippled—then reversed.
And in a heartbeat, they were standing once again on the rooftop in the real world, as though the transition had never happened.
It was subtle—but devastating.
The Mirror Dimension was the domain of Kamar-Taj, shaped by sorcery and sealed away from reality. That Joseph could undo it so effortlessly was unthinkable.
The Ancient One's golden eyes narrowed in disbelief.
"You… reversed time?"
"Technically, yes," Joseph replied mildly, as if it were no big deal. "I'm a magician too, after all. And what's magic without a little time-play?"
What he didn't say—and wouldn't say—was the truth:
That the spell he had just used was the only time-related magic he had mastered so far.
[Time Reversal], a spell of the Seventh Ring.
It didn't allow for deep time travel or paradoxical jumps. Instead, it reversed time within a three-second radius—barely a blink in the eyes of the cosmos.
But in the right hands, three seconds was enough to rewrite fate itself.
---
Still stunned, the Ancient One stared at him.
Time magic was the rarest and most dangerous branch in all of mysticism. Even she, with her centuries of study, had only touched that domain through the power of the Time Stone, the Eye of Agamotto.
Yet this man—this Mutant magician—had wielded it freely, unassisted, and without relying on dimensional pacts or artifacts.
That shouldn't be possible.
"You turned back time... without an artifact… or dimensional assistance…"
Her voice dropped to a whisper. "You're not part of the future I foresaw."
Joseph smiled. "That's probably a good thing."
He could feel it—the subtle shift in her aura. A tremor of uncertainty. She, the woman who had seen a thousand futures, was now facing something entirely outside her projections.
Something—or someone—that didn't belong to the timeline.
"A temporal anomaly…"
The Ancient One murmured as she observed him.
Not only was Joseph outside her visions—his mere presence destabilized her understanding of the future. He was an unwritten page in the grand timeline. A piece that didn't fit.
A variable.
A wild card.
---
In silence, she recalled what she had observed over the past months.
She had seen the rise of the new Xavier's School.
The reformation of the Mutant population.
The creation of Second World's headquarters.
She had watched them—carefully. Her knowledge of the timeline told her not to interfere. Everything would unfold as it must.
But now...
Now, this anomaly stood in front of her.
And he wielded time magic without borrowing power from any dimension.
"You've been watching," Joseph said, his tone even. "But you never stepped in."
"There was no need."
Her voice returned to its usual calm. "Intervention in mortal struggles is not Kamar-Taj's role. I've seen how these timelines develop. Interfering... invites unnecessary consequences."
Joseph nodded thoughtfully.
"I understand. The path of least resistance. But what happens when that path no longer works?"
She tilted her head.
"Which brings me to why I'm here," Joseph continued. "I'd like to propose a magical exchange program between Kamar-Taj and the new Xavier's School. An open system of shared knowledge. Let our brightest students learn from each other."
The Ancient One blinked.
"Magic… in Xavier's School?"
She wasn't condescending—it was genuine confusion.
In her mind, Mutants were beings born of genetic mutation. Magic was derived from the manipulation of dimensional energy. There was no intersection.
Right?
"Absolutely," Joseph said firmly. "You think Mutants and magic don't overlap? That's where you're mistaken."
---
Joseph's eyes gleamed with conviction.
"The definition of a magician is one who manipulates the universe's energy to reshape reality," he said. "Mutants do that all the time—whether through elements, mind control, magnetic fields, or space warping."
"From a different lens… every Mutant is a born magician."
The Ancient One raised an eyebrow.
"That's superpowers. Not magic."
Joseph smiled. "And what is magic if not manipulation of energy?"
"The only difference is origin," he continued. "Kamar-Taj magicians borrow power from dimensions. Mutants draw it from within—from evolution, from genetics. But the result is the same."
"Spells. Phenomena. Miracles."
He spread his arms wide. "So I ask you, Ancient One… who decided your way was the only way?"
---
That struck a chord.
The Ancient One's expression flickered.
No one had dared to ask her that before.
Kamar-Taj's teachings were ancient, respected, and effective. But Joseph had just shaken their foundation with a single question.
"Who said magic must be orthodox?"
He leaned forward slightly.
"Borrowed power is, by nature, not yours. You call upon it. But it can be taken. Interrupted. Denied."
"Mutants, on the other hand, own their power. It is woven into their DNA. They don't ask—they manifest."
"Wouldn't that be a more honest form of magic?"
---
It was heresy.
Pure heresy.
To question the legitimacy of Kamar-Taj's path before the Sorcerer Supreme herself?
And yet...
The Ancient One found herself unable to refute it.
Because what Joseph had said wasn't wrong.
Kamar-Taj magicians spent decades honing borrowed power. They made pacts with volatile dimensions. They risked corruption and collapse.
And all the while… they never owned the energy.
They were users, not masters.
"Why should a magician serve dimensions?" Joseph asked quietly. "Why not walk a path of internal mastery?"
A long silence followed.
The rooftop seemed suspended in stillness.
"…You would teach Mutants to wield magic," the Ancient One finally said.
Joseph nodded. "Some already do."
"And if one of them loses control?"
"Then that is our responsibility."
He smiled again. "Much like it was yours when Kaecilius fell. Power always comes with risk."
---
The Ancient One closed her eyes.
Her mind wandered to countless futures.
To timelines diverging from this very moment.
To paths where Mutants controlled not just magic—but reality itself.
And to one where a young man named Joseph stood at the nexus of that shift.
She opened her eyes.
"I see now why I could not see you before."
He didn't answer.
"You are not an enemy," she added. "But you are a… disruptor."
Joseph simply nodded.
"I'm used to that."
---
The Ancient One looked toward the stars.
"So be it. Let there be exchange. Let your school and mine share what we know."
"But understand this, Joseph…"
Her eyes glowed again.
"If your magic… or your mutants… ever threaten the balance of reality…"
"Then I will intervene."
Joseph bowed slightly.
"I would expect nothing less, Sorcerer Supreme."
---
And thus, a fragile bridge formed between two worlds once thought incompatible.
Magic and mutation.
Power borrowed and power born.
And at the center of it all...
A new kind of magician.
Not forged by ancient rites.
But by evolution, intellect, and defiance of orthodoxy.
---
Joseph didn't come to challenge tradition.
He came to redefine it.
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