Twenty minutes later:
"Who is she again?" Reed whispered in my ear.
"An expert in dimensional energies," I responded, "now hush." Reed rolled his eyes but nodded. The entire FF and I stood back as the Ancient One examined the portal we had created into the Negative Zone. Johnny and Sue eyed her with suspicion while Ben just looked bored as ever.
I had invited her over and she had agreed — curious to see mankind's first ever science-based dimensional portal. Getting Reed to agree to let her have a look had taken some convincing, but he did owe me one.
For the last five minutes the Ancient One had done nothing but study the portal and its readings.
"Dude, you're wearing robes," Johnny leaned in and whispered.
"Shut up, Johnny," I hissed back.
"Why are you wearing robes?" Sue asked.
I sighed, "it's...it's a long story, okay?"
And then, finally, she spoke, "you have done an extraordinary job here, Apprentice Parker. The filtration system is remarkable — it should provide an adequate window of time to explore this antimatter universe. Thirty minutes, if my calculations are accurate."
Reed was thrown off entirely, "how could you possibly know that?"
"Experience," she smiled before turning to me, "you have created something remarkable here, Peter. You should be proud."
I smiled back, "thank you, Ancient One. I'm glad you approve. Also — there was something else. Would you be willing to take a look at these four?" I gestured to the FF, "they gained their powers through exposure to dimensional energies, but...they're difficult to classify."
"Hm, I'll certainly try," she waved her hand, causing a magical circle to appear before each of them, startling everyone.
"What the hell?!" Sue cried out, immediately forming an invisible barrier.
"Peter, what's going on?!" Johnny demanded, beginning to heat up. Even Ben and Reed looked ready to intervene.
"Relax, everyone — she's just scanning you," I said, raising my hands in a gesture of peace, "trust me. She's the last person on Earth who would harm you."
"And why is that?" Reed asked.
"Because I am the Sorcerer Supreme, and it is my duty to protect all forms of life — not end it," she replied smoothly before snapping her fingers and pausing thoughtfully, "and you four...are odd, to say the least."
"I'm sorry — Sorcerer what?" Sue raised an eyebrow.
"She can perform magic," I supplied.
"Magic is real?" Ben asked with wide eyes.
"No way!" Johnny protested, "magic isn't—" I snapped my fingers, forming a magical circle the size of a car directly in front of Johnny's face, "—real...damn."
"Peter...you can do magic?" Sue blinked.
I nodded, "yup."
"B-but how?" she asked.
I shrugged, "magic is just another way of manipulating energy, Sue. Our minds are complex quantum computers — they have the ability to shape reality by accessing energy through dimensions."
"But that's impossible!" Reed protested.
"Says the man who lives under the same roof as a living boulder, a walking fireball and a woman who can become invisible in a split second."
"And, more importantly, all four of you are already manipulating dimensional energies — admittedly in a far more indirect manner," the Ancient One said.
I blinked, "I'm sorry — what?"
"It's as you said, Peter. They all gained their abilities through exposure to dimensional energies — not entirely unlike what sorcerers do."
"Wait, are you saying you can do what we can?" Johnny asked, sceptical.
In response, she simply smiled and snapped her fingers. Her entire right arm became engulfed in flames. Everyone flinched and moved to help her — before realising she was in absolutely no pain. If anything, she looked faintly cold.
She snapped her fingers again and the flames vanished, "your skills are rather rudimentary, Mr. Storm — though I'll admit, flight is not easily acquired." She then turned to Sue and snapped her fingers, vanishing for a moment before reappearing, "your skills are also manageable to replicate...though it must be said that the telekinetic barriers you produce are not in the same category as simple invisibility."
"C-can you become like me?" Ben asked.
She turned to him with a sad smile, "you poor man," she reached out and touched his stone skin, "your condition is...far more complex. Unlike your companions, you cannot regulate your abilities, which is a great shame." She raised her right hand, her fingertips glowing gold. And then she pressed them into his gut.
Ben doubled over.
"Ben!" Reed cried out as he lunged forward, swinging an enlarged fist at the Ancient One.
"No, Reed!" I cried out, stepping in front of her and quickly forming a shield with my magic circle that stopped his fist dead.
"Peter, you'd better step away from her right now!" Johnny cried out as he went fully ablaze, ready to burn the Ancient One alive.
"W-no! Wait!" Ben suddenly said.
"Ben!" Reed rushed to his friend's side.
Ben slowly straightened up, and we all gasped at what we saw. Radiating outward from his gut was an aura of golden energy, chipping away at his stone skin. We watched as slowly — impossibly slowly — the stone seemed to melt off his body, sinking away to reveal a human figure underneath.
He stood motionless and watched with us as more and more of his rocky surface fell away.
"Oh my God, Ben..." Sue gasped.
And then, just as it had begun, it started to reverse. The golden glow faded as the stone flew back up onto Ben's body.
"W-what?! No! No!" Ben began tearing at the stones, trying to rip them off, but they wouldn't budge. Within moments, Ben was restored to his original form — not even a scratch on his rocky body.
Reed turned to the Ancient One and growled, "what happened? Why didn't it work?!"
She sighed sadly, "it is a spell known as the Armour of Gae. It was invented in ancient Greece, where a sorcerer would channel dimensional energy through their body, into the ground and back into themselves — creating a kind of armour that, over time, became a second skin."
"What does that have to do with Ben?" Sue asked, giving the Ancient One her full attention.
"Your friend is doing the very same thing," the Ancient One explained, "he is channelling dimensional energy, generating it from within his body and compelling the stone to adhere to him. I have never seen anything quite like it."
"Can you fix him?" Reed asked, "you reversed it just now — can't you do it again?"
She sighed, "no...the amount of energy he is producing cannot simply be dispersed. I tried with that strike, but...it is far too powerful."
Suddenly, I had an idea, "wait...so what you're telling me is that Ben cannot control the energy flow in his body. Is that correct?"
She looked curious but nodded, "yes, that is correct."
"Then teach him," I turned to her, "teach him to be a sorcerer — not one like me or Strange, but someone capable of performing one spell...one spell, perfectly."
She considered this, "you're suggesting I teach him to use magic to control and regulate the dimensional energies within his body?"
I nodded, "yes...can it be done?"
She closed her eyes. We all waited in tense silence. At last, she opened them and smiled, "yes...perhaps it can."
"Y-you can cure me?" Ben asked in shock.
"No, Mr. Grimm," she smiled, "you can cure yourself."
An hour later:
Ben went to his room and packed everything he would need. It took him twenty minutes, and another twenty to talk with and convince Reed that this was something he had to do. Reed wasn't happy about it, but he understood — if there was a real chance his friend could be normal again, Ben had to take it.
And now we stood in the lounge, gathered around Ben while the Ancient One stood back, respecting our privacy.
"Did you pack everything?" Reed asked.
Ben grinned, "relax, Stretch — I've got this."
"Right...be safe. And remember — if you need anything, just use your SA and I'll be there immediately."
"I know, I know," Ben's smile was impossible to dampen. The guy was full of genuine hope.
"I'm going to miss you, big guy," Sue said as she wrapped her arms around his middle.
"I'm going to miss you too, Sue. Take care of them for me, will you?" Ben smiled, something sad beneath the warmth.
"I will."
Johnny stepped forward next, looking uncharacteristically nervous. He looked up at Ben and sighed, "t-take care, okay? Don't do something stupid."
Ben grinned, "I promise, kid. I won't do something stupid...without you."
Johnny grinned, "hell yeah!"
Ben then turned to me and nodded, "thanks, kid. This means a lot to me, you know. A real chance to be normal again."
"Don't thank me just yet, Ben," I smiled sadly, "the hard part is still ahead."
"I'll take your word for it," he grumbled before turning to the Ancient One, "I'm ready, ma'am."
"Wonderful," she nodded as she stepped forward and took out her Sling Ring. She spun her hands forward, creating a spinning disc of sparks that opened a gateway directly into the training courtyard of Kamar-Taj.
"Goodbye, everyone...take care and be safe," Ben said as he followed the Ancient One through the portal, leaving us for who knew how long.
I sighed as the portal collapsed, "damn, today was a long day."
"Who was she?" Reed asked.
"An immortal," I replied, "no one really knows how old she is. Or even her real name. We just call her the Ancient One...some say she's Celtic, but nobody's certain."
"Will she be able to help Ben?" Sue asked.
I looked at her and shrugged, "honestly? That part is up to Ben."
"Hey, Pete — how exactly did she do that sparks-portal thing?" Johnny asked.
I shrugged, "magic, I guess."
"What? You don't know?"
"Dude, I'm literally a beginner — there's plenty I don't know!" I sighed, "besides, isn't that a good thing? It would be so sad if I knew everything there was to know about the world. Everything would lose its wonder."
Sue rolled her eyes, "right...anyway, you guys up for dinner?"
"Can we order takeout?" Johnny asked.
"No! We did that last time!"
"But sis!" As the two siblings launched into their familiar argument, I turned to Reed, who hadn't said a word.
I walked up to him, "hey...he's going to be fine. You know that, right?"
Reed nodded, "yes...I do. But...it's just that I wanted to be the one to help him. And now...I suppose no one really needs me after all."
My heart grew heavy at that admission. I didn't want one of my closest friends to feel that way — ever. "Reed—"
"—No," he snapped, "just...no...I can't," he walked away, "we'll talk later, Peter. Goodnight." He slammed the door to his lab behind him.
And in my gut, something heavy settled and wouldn't move.