Chapter 26: Preparing for Gods
The Destroyer fragment sat on Justin's lab table, glowing faintly in the dim light.
Three months had passed since Thor's departure. Three months of Justin studying the Asgardian metal, trying to understand how something could be simultaneously technology and magic without being either.
His Scientific Intuition provided structure. Formulas. Mathematical relationships. But there was something else woven into the metal's atomic bonds—something that defied pure science.
"Magic," Justin muttered. "It's actually magic."
"Sir," AEGIS said. "Magic is not scientifically viable."
"Then science is incomplete." Justin picked up the fragment carefully. Even dormant, it was warm. "Everything is science, AEGIS. Even magic. We just don't understand the rules yet."
He'd been researching for months. Historical accounts of mystical events. Patterns in unexplained phenomena. Ancient texts that referenced dimensional manipulation and reality-bending through force of will.
The evidence was clear: organized magical communities existed, operating in shadow, hidden from mundane observation.
Finding them was the problem.
"AEGIS, compile everything we have on Kamar-Taj."
"Theoretical mystical sanctuary, location unknown. References in Tibetan texts, Hindu mythology, and scattered intelligence reports. No confirmed sightings in modern era."
"They're good at hiding." Justin set down the Destroyer fragment. "But they exist. And eventually, I'll need to contact them."
"For what purpose, sir?"
"Because science alone won't stop every threat. Some problems require understanding reality's deeper rules." Justin pulled up his transmutation research. "I can create materials that shouldn't exist. But I can't understand them. Not fully. That's where magic comes in."
He'd been experimenting for weeks. Using his Transmutation Circle with void energy, incorporating trace Asgardian materials, shaping alloys through processes that blended scientific principle with pure willpower.
The results were fascinating and terrifying.
One sample stored kinetic energy in ways that violated thermodynamics—hit it, and it absorbed the impact completely. Hit it again, and it released all stored energy at once.
Another sample seemed to phase slightly out of reality, existing in multiple states simultaneously. Justin's Scientific Intuition couldn't determine if it was solid, liquid, or something else entirely.
A third sample glowed with light that had no source, producing illumination that his instruments couldn't measure or explain.
"Proto-magical technology," Justin labeled them. Materials that operated on principles he didn't fully understand but could utilize anyway.
Maya found him at 3 AM, surrounded by samples that defied physics.
"You're playing with forces you don't understand," she said.
"Story of my life." Justin held up the glowing sample. "This produces light without heat, without electricity, without any energy source I can identify. It just... glows."
"That's impossible."
"And yet." He set it down carefully. "Magic is real, Maya. Thor proved that. Gods walk among us. Which means we need to understand how they do what they do, or we'll always be playing catch-up."
"So you're trying to become a sorcerer?"
"I'm trying to bridge science and magic. Find the common ground. Make magic comprehensible to people like us who think in equations and formulas." Justin gestured to his research. "Someone did this before—whoever built the Destroyer, whoever taught Thor to channel lightning. They understand rules we don't. I need to learn those rules."
"Why?"
"Because in less than a year, aliens are going to invade. And I don't know if they'll bring magic with them. Better to be prepared for anything."
Maya was quiet for a moment. "You're dying. Your corruption is accelerating. And instead of slowing down, you're adding magic research to your workload?"
"I don't have the luxury of slowing down."
"You don't have the luxury of killing yourself faster, either." Maya grabbed his arm—carefully avoiding the void marks. "Justin, I need you alive. We all do. Whatever's coming, we need you to face it with us."
Justin looked at her hand on his arm. Felt the genuine concern. The caring.
"I'll try," he said. "But I can't promise anything."
"Then promise me you'll at least try not to die before explaining why you're preparing for magical alien invasions."
Despite everything, Justin smiled. "Deal."
Later that week, Justin tasked AEGIS with a specific search.
"Monitor for Stephen Strange. Neurosurgeon. Brilliant, arrogant, working in New York. When he has an accident—and he will have an accident—I want to know immediately."
"May I ask why, sir?"
"Because he's going to become the Sorcerer Supreme. Earth's primary magical defender. And if I can help him when he needs it most, that might earn goodwill we'll desperately need later."
"You speak of future events again."
"I know." Justin pulled up a map, marking possible Kamar-Taj locations based on his research. "I also know there's a hidden temple somewhere in Asia. Training ground for sorcerers. But showing up uninvited seems like a good way to get cursed into oblivion."
"Your caution is appreciated."
"I'm learning." Justin examined the mystically-reactive materials one more time. "For now, we keep researching. Keep building. And hope that when the time comes, someone will teach us what we need to know."
Natasha found him on his penthouse balcony that night, staring at the city lights.
"You're thinking about magic," she said.
"How did you know?"
"You get a specific expression when you're contemplating impossible things." She leaned against him. "Want to tell me why you're suddenly researching sorcery?"
"Because Thor proved it exists. And if gods are real, we need to understand their rules."
"Or find people who already do."
"That's the plan. Eventually." Justin pulled her close. "But for now, I'm stuck trying to understand materials that shouldn't exist and hoping I don't accidentally summon something horrible."
"You say that like it's a real concern."
"It is. Magic has rules we don't understand yet. Breaking those rules has consequences."
Natasha was quiet. Then: "You know more than you're saying. About magic. About what's coming. About all of it."
"Yes."
"Are you going to tell me?"
Justin thought about it. About all the secrets he was carrying. About the weight of knowledge that made him seem paranoid instead of prepared.
"After the invasion," he said. "When I can prove I'm not insane. When there's context that makes sense of everything. Then I'll tell you all of it."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
They stood together, looking out at Manhattan. Somewhere in this city, a surgeon named Stephen Strange was living his life, completely unaware of the destiny waiting for him. Somewhere in the Himalayas, the Ancient One taught sorcerers secrets Justin desperately needed to learn.
And somewhere in Justin's lab, materials that defied physics glowed with light that shouldn't exist, proof that magic and science could merge if you were willing to break enough rules.
The void marks pulsed on his arms, geometric patterns that looked almost alive in the dim light. Evidence of power. Evidence of cost.
Twelve months until critical corruption. One year until the invasion.
Justin had built an empire. Assembled a team. Created technology that would help save millions.
But there were still gaps. Still unknowns. Still threats his science alone couldn't counter.
Better keep learning. Keep building. Keep preparing for the impossible.
Because the impossible was coming.
And when it arrived, Earth needed every advantage it could get.
Even the ones that glowed with mysterious light and defied every law of physics Justin thought he understood.
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