Monday, July 09, 2018, 11:30 AM Norfolk, VA
I woke up at sunrise, as I usually do on the days when I am not expecting to get every little bit out of the day that I can, and decided to go out and have a good breakfast. I headed back to Yorgo’s Bageldashery, to another of the breakfast burritos that Captain America recommended, when he was surreptitiously getting info on me. I still can’t be all that mad, I mean I am a bit of an enigma to the heroes here, and I did show up coinciding with a major traumatic event. I mean, if someone had shown up out of the blue in Magnimar, right when the Runelord had arrived, I would have been suspicious too. In any event, there was a new picture on the wall, one of Captain America shaking the owner’s hand and smiling. Thankfully, it was taken when I wasn’t there.
Since I was getting breakfast, I decided to sit down and just relax, as it was something to help me collect my thoughts. Coffee was a nice addition, as Prestidigitation just cannot get all of the effects of it right, even if it could manage the taste, smell, and temperature. Must be something inherent to the drink itself, just like with alcohol. I’ll have to look into it to see if I can find any kind of spell to create that effect, just like there are a few different ones for different drinks. Then again, it is fairly readily available here, so maybe I don’t need it after all.
My thoughts drifted back to the upcoming meeting, and figuring out just what I would need to know to be ready for it. It was exactly at 07:00 that I received a text on my phone that read, “Good Morning! We are planning to visit you in Norfolk at around 7:30 today. Does that work for you?” Thinking quickly, I was glad that it was going to happen sooner rather than later, as it was best to get this done with and then continue to work on what I could or be available to help in other ways for the city. I texted back that this would be fine, and asked where they would prefer to meet up, assuming that they were already in Norfolk. It was a minute before a response came back saying, “There is a baseball diamond not far from the restaurant that you are at now, can you meet us there.”
The first thought that came to my mind is that, that was more than a little concerning, until I realized that S.H.I.E.L.D. would obviously have a tracker in the phones that they gave to their Agents. Just because I’m not officially one, doesn’t mean that they wouldn’t still have the tracker on it. It would explain why Jonathan knew where my storage unit was without telling him. I got up, grabbed a bag of bagels and a drink carrier with two orange juices and two coffees, basically whatever they had ready to go. I walked to the park and tried to be my most diplomatic self.
As I got to the park, I saw that there was a security guard that was just standing there, on his break, with a breakfast bagel in hand, watching the circle of glowing sparkles show up in the middle of the empty baseball diamond. I walked over to him, flashed my S.H.I.E.L.D. badge, and told him that this was Avengers business, and that he should probably clear out. The security guard took a look at me, in my Verdigris outfit, handing him an orange juice and a bagel, and he nodded, walking away, telling me good luck. I thanked him and made my way into the diamond where two people stepped through the sparkling circle, truly a marvel of this world. One of them was Pepper Potts, whom I had met and briefly talked to when I got asked by Clint to help heal Tony, was wearing what I think I could call business professional, the other was a slightly heavyset man with close cropped hair, wearing red robes.
The marvelous sparkling circle disappeared and I walked up to them, handing off the bag of bagels and the drink carrier with three drinks in it. Pepper welcomed it and I shook her hand as I welcomed her by name. I looked at the man, having never met him before and Pepper introduced him as Master Wong. I was internally a little annoyed by the fact that all of the information that I had gotten from my spell last night, led me to think I would be meeting with Doctor Stephen Strange, but didn’t bring it up. Pepper asked me if there was a secure place that we could talk at, and I offered up my Storage Unit base.
On our way there, they asked me some simple questions that would not be out of line in public. As soon as we got in the unit, I lifted up the gate this time, and showed them the entrance, a ten foot wide by five foot deep area before the start of the tent. They looked a bit oddly at the two over-stacked pallets of bags of water treatment salt. When they followed me into the tent portion, they looked amazed. Wong immediately struck a defensive stance, seeing the flurry of movement on the corner as a veritable horde of extremely translucent, almost invisible, shapes worked on the armor that was on a bench and sitting on a folding table nearby.
I tried to calm him down, telling him that this was just the result of MULTIPLE casting of a spell that would work on crafting something while I was working on other things. I told both of them that it lasted days, and that I had cast it repeatedly, as the equipment I had been using for armor was somewhat devastated by the attacks that I had taken from a fight with a villain a few days ago. Wong asked if there were any downsides, and I told him that in the form they are now, and with the magic I had access to, they barely lasted fourteen days, each doing the equivalent of that same amount of work on the armor. Pepper took a look at the armor and asked what it was made of. I told her it was composed of a few different materials, primarily consisting of a kind of engineered Flexible Boron Carbide, impregnated with Shear Thickening Fluid Gel, layered with thicker, solid, molded Boron Carbide Plates for needed areas, surrounding and bonded to a living steel underlay, with sunsilver edging.
Pepper looked at me like she was following me for a bit before I told her that it was a mixture of materials from this world and the items that I had brought from my homeworld. She nodded politely and I noticed that she got some kind of message with an earbud in her ear, before she asked me if there was a reason why her network can’t be reached here. I asked her if her network was related to the cellular signals that seemed ubiquitous here. Pepper nodded, and I brightened up, telling the two of them that my mentor back in my old world had told me about something like this, radio waves and other things require a rough line of sight/effect, and that once you are in a different dimension, the line of effect goes away. I told the two of them that since I needed more space and privacy, indicating that nothing said inside this tent can be heard from the outside, hence why I wasn’t getting noise complaints from other Storage Unit owners.
I invited the two of them to sit at a four foot diameter round table with somewhat comfortable seats, while I told them that I would answer whatever questions that I could for them, in the spirit of friendship and camaraderie. First Wong then Pepper both sat down as seats at the table, and Rex came out from our shared bedroom and hopped up beside me, on the fourth seat. Pepper and Wong were both a little taken aback, until I introduced him as Rex Pelor, my familiar from my old world. I told them that he understands Trade Tongue, or English as it is known here, as well as a few other languages, but can only converse in the tongues of Dragons, as that is all his voice can produce. Wong cautiously asked what kind of familiar Rex is, and I told him that Rex is a Rhamphorhynchus, specifically, a Mauler-Fire Elemental.
Wong looked confused and asked if it was a spirit from the outrealms or something, and I laughed a little, before telling him that Rex was a fairly regular reptile of his base form before the bonding process happened, and he gained the ability to grow big and breath fire. Pepper offered up that he was like a little fire breathing Dragon. They heard Rex chirp and roar excitedly, while I heard him go on and on about how she recognized his greatness, and that I should do more for my “Dragon”. I responded back to him, in his own tongue, asking what he thought I should do, and he replied that he wouldn’t mind a nice big fish. I sighed and told him maybe later.
He snickered and curled up on the top of the stool as I looked at Wong and Pepper just waiting there. I apologized to them and summed up the conversation as him wanting a nice big fish after being identified as a “dragon”. Pepper seemed a bit flustered, but I brushed her off, telling the two of them that Rex was a good familiar, and that I’d pick him up a salmon or something when I headed out of the storage unit later. Wong cleared his throat and said, “The reason why we are here is that a few days ago, we noticed a massive… alteration… to the Ley Lines connecting to Norfolk, Va, and tracked it back to you. We need to know, how did you do this, and why did you do it” I sighed as Pepper continued, telling me that she was very thankful for me assisting Tony, but that this was on an entirely different scale, and could I please just explain what I did and why.
I realized that it wasn’t the time to leave anything on the table, and explained to them exactly what I viewed ley lines as, and what I was using the ambient energy for. Wong was a bit suspicious, and even Pepper seemed a bit taken aback, but I offered to show them the creation of the Field Provision Box that I was going to be making for the Shelter, the last one. They had a few questions, mostly about the process and some specifics of how it was enchanted, and I answered them to the best of my ability, before starting the process. I started the meditation and enhancement as the subtle ambient energy of the ley line assisted in my enchanting of this item. After I got in the zone, everyone watched as salt started to dissolve into nothingness, only for the energy to be absorbed into the box.
I meditated and focused the energy into the Darkwood Box for an hour and ten minutes, before all of the Salt was gone, and it was ready. I picked it up, and whispered a word into it, before turning around and handing it to them Wong mentioned that he noticed that the energy of the Ley Line neither increased, nor diminished, before or after the point of ambient energy absorption, agreeing with my assessment. Wong asked me what I whispered to the box, and I told him that it was the command word for the box. Wong and Pepper asked if I was going to go deliver it to the Shelter. I told them that I would prefer if they delivered it, without me, so that they can get a feel for what I am doing with the excess energy that the Ley Line lets evaporate, without me there to influence any individual person’s reaction.
Wong seemed to have an air of respect on his face, as he said that this was a good idea. Pepper joined him in by voicing similar sentiments. I watched them walk out of the front of the storage unit, and then saw the light of one of those marvelous sparkling circles, and I knew that they were gone. I sighed, told Rex to hold down the fort, and closed the roll up door to the storage unit, and went out to get Rex’s ill-gotten gains. I checked my phone’s map program, got my S.H.I.E.L.D. e-bike, and went to the nearest fishmonger shop.
On my way there, I saw that same cat again. A bit less bedraggled, probably from the food that I left for it in the area, every day. I managed to get a little closer today, and give it a pet or two before it scurried back a little, not really worried, just showing its independence. I realized that the cat would never have the ease with me to just allow me to pick it up, and it wasn’t viable anyway, so I realized I’d have to look into other options. Oh well, at least I got it to trust me enough to pet it. Maybe I can push that further later, I figured.
On making my way back, I left an extra serving at the place where the cat was hanging out and picked up a piece of granite that was just laying there, and then headed back to the Storage Unit. By the time I had gotten in, given the exceedingly large salmon to a very smug Rex, and gotten re-situated with the rock I picked up at the table. I knew that I could use this for the new spell that I had learned when I had gotten to my current plateau. Just then, I saw the tell-tale light flickering that the two of them would be showing up. They rounded the corner as I was contemplating the next thing I might have to offer this place, following in the steps that David had taught me so many years ago.
As the two came in, they told me that they were very thankful for the benevolence that was expressed in my gifts to the Shelter, that they had done so much good already. I told them that I was glad that it was helping, but that I really couldn’t go back to see them, as true charity is done without ever knowing who it was that you helped. Pepper and Wong were taken aback a bit by that, but seemed to rationalize the way that I felt about it. Then I bring up to them that it would be better for them to just have a handle on what I can already do, on a day to day basis. I float a sheet that I had magically written the list of spells that I can accomplish to Wong, especially after he had declared that he was the new Sorcerer Supreme, it only made sense to trust him.
The two of them look at it, and Wong tells me that it is a comprehensive list, acknowledging that it is very different from how magic works for them here. Pepper asked me a bit of a follow-up question about the terminology used, which I explained, and asked me about the rock. I told them both that I’d answer any further questions before I show them what the rock is for. Wong had some questions about some of the Cantrips, which I demonstrated and described as I did. Pepper was really set on the rock, so I cast the Constant Heat spell on it, and showed them how it started to glow red from the heat that it was now permanently emitting, and explained that it would be more than hot enough to melt aluminum from here on out.
Their eyes went wide as I explained the properties of the item. They were amazed that this item was permanent, but not an enchanted item like the box. I explained to them that this was properly known as an “enspelled item” rather than enchanted. One of the principal differences it, that the effects it can perform are limited to the one thing it does, in this case create heat, and if it is hit with a dispel magic effect, the energy of the spell dissipates. Pepper took the information in, and asked about some of the other spells that were on the list that I had provided them.
I explained the rest of what I could, about how Ears of the City acts like I am seeking out rumors or hints of something, and that it searches an area up to the whole of the city, to find conversations done in public about the question, and how I wasn’t certain how much energy the Recharge spell would recharge on even a Stark Tech Battery, as a single unit of charge that it can recharge can do phenomenal things. I added a description of the Army Across Time spell, and how it created temporal figments to confound enemies. We agreed that the Recharge spell was too dangerous to try outside of a controlled environment, so we held off on that. Wong was actually praising the elegance of summoning forth the primordial heat involved in the stone’s actual creation. Then they balked when I responded to Pepper talking about the Ears of the City spell, that it was actually not as powerful as the Page-Bound Epiphany spell.
This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
This is where both of them panicked a little, learning that I could search through ALL of the written material in the world to find the answer to a question. Wong compared it to the Akashic record, and I informed him that the written material had to a) be in existence at the time of the casting, and b) be on this plane. Either one would solve the issue of dangerous information. Pepper reflected back on the Constant Heat rock, and it clicked for her. This could replace nuclear material in power plants, a perpetual, non-radioactive, clean energy source, she specifically said. She mentioned needing to get it into testing at Stark Industries.
She then asked me how many of these I could make. I thought about it, and asked her how many she actually needed. Pepper told me that this wasn’t just about providing warmth anymore, but that it was for revolutionizing global energy, so they’d need dozens, perhaps hundreds of these, just for a test, and then they’d need tens of, hundreds of thousands, maybe even tens of millions of these stones, hopefully to make a multi-generational project. I thought quick, and told the two of them about the deal that I had made with the city, telling them about the fifty odd items, two groups of twenty and one group of ten, three kinds of items, and that it might take me sixty days to get them done, but that I could make them something special if they wanted, but I’d need them to get me a few things for it.
When I asked who would be researching the stones, Pepper told me Tony would. I smiled a sly smile, and told her that I needed three things, one she could provide right now. Pepper looked confused and asked me what it was, and I told her that what I needed from her was a droll, but not insulting, word that she would be amused to watch Tony say, over and over, to effectuate the magic item’s operation. Wong stifled a laugh and Pepper caught the point of my question. Pepper shook it off and said that she was certain that she could come up with something, and asked what else I needed.
I told her that I would need a box large enough for a fist sized rock to be completely placed within, that can withstand the temperature of melting aluminum. Pepper was catching on a little, and said that she can have her teams at Stark Industries find something that could work, especially if the box did not need to be composed of the same materials. I told her that this was fine, as long as someone could put the hot item in it, and close the box, that it wouldn’t matter if the box had multiple components. Pepper said that she’d fire off an email as soon as she stepped out of the tent, and then asked what the third thing was. I sighed and told her that all of the salt on the overstuffed pallets that they had seen outside the tent in the storage unit, was basically all spoken for, between the civil project that I promised, and the military arms accuracy projects that I did to add money to the charity that I had set up, so, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble or expense, I’d prefer it if they could subsidize the salt, so I can get more.
Pepper looked at me blankly, and asked how much I needed. Doing the math in my head, I told her that I could make an item, which we will forever more refer to as, “Tony’s Hot Box”, that when an appropriate stone - igneous, size of a fist or smaller, was placed inside the box, the lid closed, and someone says the “magic word”, that the Constant Heat spell will be cast on that rock. I would go on to tell her that it can produce a heated rock as fast as a rock is put in, someone says the “magic word”, and then removed, up to one rock every six seconds. Pepper was doing the math in her head, and said that he could make up to fourteen thousand four hundred of the rocks a day, if he was dedicated. Pepper smiled and asked if he needed to say the word. I told her that it cost more to make it automated, and as a result, might take longer to enchant.
Pepper asked me, with a straight face, how much salt I needed, and I looked her in the eye, cracking just the hint of a smile, and said about twenty dollars worth of salt. Pepper asked me if I had just said that I could make an item that creates a rock that is the temperature at which aluminum melts, every six seconds, for less than a large pizza. I told her no, that was crazy. Making a rock like that would add to the cost, this merely enspells it, with a deadpan look. Wong started laughing, not able to keep it in anymore. Pepper said that she’d get me a pallet of salt to get it done, just for the humor of Tony having to say the word every six seconds for a few days.
I told her that I’d start working on the box, as soon as they got me something that I can use that will resist the temperature. Pepper said that she’d be willing to go out to email her staff right now to get it made. Pepper stepped outside, to make the calls, and Wong asked me if I knew what I was doing. I told him that if Tony asked me that, from what I know about him, I’d tell him “World Optimization”, but between us, I was just making it so that we can make the world a better place. By the time we discussed a little bit more about the rock and what we could do, Pepper had come back in with good news. Apparently, this box wasn’t the most difficult thing in the world to procure. In fact, Stark Industries had something just like this in the California Branch, left over from dealing with the Extremis issues, so we can get it shipped here quickly.
I looked at Wong, and then back at Pepper, and asked if they both wanted to play a mostly harmless prank on Tony. Pepper’s eyebrow lifted, in response, as I told her that it might be better if Tony got to experiment with the stone first, before actually getting his “Hot Box”. Pepper said that this was just good sense. I told her that we can send the rock, with one of Wong’s Portals, if he is willing, with a minimal note, and nothing else, warning about the temperature and everything, but nothing about how it works or where it comes from. Pepper was confused for a minute, but Wong started to get it.
I added, then we can Scry him exactly when the rock gets there with the note, and see what he tries to figure out, for the first ten minutes or so. Pepper’s eyebrow raised again, and said it would be really good because he’s notorious about not having anyone able to spy on him electronically, and it would cause him to tear his hair out, trying to figure out how someone got a bug in there. Wong smiled and asked what would be needed of him. I told him that we’d just need him to time the portal so that after I start up the scrying, the delivered Phoenix Core arrives in a safe place near Tony. Wong agreed and asked how long it took to get my Scrying spell going.
I sighed, and said that it would take me an hour to cast the spell. Pepper looked at Wong, and said that they can get lunch while I start up the spell, and maybe even get that box from the Stark Lab, so that we can wrap this all up within a day or so. I told them that I’d start casting the spell at noon, if they wanted to go out and do other things, and just come back at one PM, to arrange the transfer. The two of them agreed, and left the Tent, to go do whatever they needed to do, while I got everything set up to start my process. I was going to have an hour to get ready, so I decided to do a proper update check on my armor and everything to try to get it dealt with even quicker.
I also reasoned that I might be able to reverse this, or even alter it for other, more exotic forms of energy. Also, since I had over an hour, I decided to put my engineering skills to use, and design a good heat exchanger set up, assuming that it can be done, technology and crafting skill be damned. After about a half an hour, I felt that I had a good multiview orthographic projection for the pipe fitting that the rock becomes. I left it on the table and decided to update my notes before noon, when I would need to start the scrying attempt. Oh this will be fun.
**********
Monday, July 09, 2018, 7:30 PM Norfolk, VA
By the time that the two had come back, they had a very nice metal box with them, some kind of Gold-Titanium Alloy, Pepper claimed. She beamed that it would be even more appropriate for it to be made of this. I didn’t speak because I was just finishing the Scrying spell. The mirror turned Cloudy and then cleared, while both Pepper and Wong were behind me, watching. After a few seconds of watching Tony rant about some projection of theoretical quantum mechanics while Bruce was hunched over a console, trying to get double check data on the screen.
Then Wong did his part. When Tony’s back was turned, he opened a tiny portal, gently depositing the rock and the folded note on the concrete floor of the lab. When Tony turned back around to ask Bruce if he kicked up the heat all of a sudden, and Bruce looked over at him, they both saw the new addition in the lab, a fist sized piece of glowing hot granite and a small folded note next to it. Tony quipped that this is not how they usually get their Amazon deliveries, and asked Bruce if there were any localized spacetime distortion readings. Bruce checked the meter, and said that there was minimal, some residual energy, but it is fading fast.
Tony reached down with a gloved finger, to grab the rock, and as soon as he made contact, he drew his hand back, saying “Oww, damn that is hot.” Bruce, being more logical, grabbed the paper and read it aloud, explaining that this was called the “Phoenix Core”. Tony grabbed the note from Bruce’s hand and upon seeing the handwriting, noted that it looked a little familiar. Pepper stifled a snicker as Tony looked back over the Stone, Bruce already holding a heat gun to it, explaining that it was a constant one thousand, two hundred and ninety-two degrees fahrenheit. Tony grabbed the heat gun and pointed it at several different locations on the rock, each section getting the exact same, precise temperature at every location.
Tony’s eyes scanned the rest of the note and he went from annoyance to intrigued confusion, before telling Bruce that this was either a very elaborate prank, or that he’s missing a fundamental constant of the universe, and it is seeming more of the latter. Pepper laughed out loud as Tony was perplexed by this, and we all watched as both Bruce and Tony go about attempting all manner of test and trials on it, from heat resistant materials, that work to keep the heat inside, to measuring tools that ALWAYS show the same readings, with everything from thermal imagers to mass spectrometers saying that, yes, this rock is exceptionally hot, and yes, it stays the same temperature, and yes, it is an average piece of granite. They tried to douse it with water, and other, stronger cryo-coolants, which instantly vaporized into steam with no effect on the rock’s temperature. They tried to pick it up with a temperature sensitive set of tongs, and the temperature immediately spiked to the same one thousand, two hundred and ninety-two degrees.
While they struggled with the fact that this rock was indeed not going to cool down, Pepper grinned and said that Tony was going to be puzzling on this for weeks. Wong watched with a smile growing on his face slowly, as they tried harder and harder to disprove that this can exist in the current state. Towards the end of the thirteen minute mark, Bruce exclaimed that if it was just hot, it should have cooled down a little by now. Tony threw up his hands and stared at the rock, exclaiming, “Alright, whatever alien sent this, you win, I give up. Bruce, I’m calling the wizards.” The Scrying ended with that, and I looked to the others. Pepper had an accomplished smile, as she said that this was going to be beautiful to bring up later.
Wong indicated that they should probably head back, so that he can be there when Tony tries to call. Pepper thanked me for this, and asked me to contact them when “Tony’s Hot Box” was ready. As she was walking out, she happened to see the engineering drawing that was on the table. She asked me if I drew this up while they were gone. I told her that I had, and that I had just figured that it might be a good starting point for a design. Pepper asked if she could take this with her, and I told her to go ahead, that it might prove a good starting point, but it might just be too complicated for fabrication.
Pepper said that it was just one more thing for Tony to try to puzzle over, but that if anyone can figure it out, he can. I thanked them for coming to talk to me to clear all of the concerns up. Wong said that as long as I remain in my current practices, he sees no reason why I shouldn’t continue. I thanked him specifically, and told him that if he needs the kind of help that I can provide, feel free to come see me, as while I was focused on helping Norfolk get better and heal, Norfolk was a part of the bigger world. As they were stepping through that sparkling circle, I called out to them that I’d be trying to figure out a way to change the energy type, from heat, to cold, electricity, acid, and sonic, as the circle closes.
I went back to the armor, and summoned up another six Unseen Crafters, to help further expedite the armor. I also set myself up with a schedule for crafting. I’m certain that I can shave some time off of the sixty day estimate. Especially with the extra items I’ll be making if I figure out the alternative forms of energy. Now both my base layer and my forearm guards looked to be able to be done by the twenty third of this month.
I decided to spend the rest of my time today, before crashing out, doing good by hopping on a shift with the Ambulance. Dave was here today, and he asked me a question, why I help with the Ambulances, and not at the hospital itself. I told him that if I helped when we got to people who were hurt, it was more likely that we could save them, and that they might not even need to go to the hospital, freeing it for other, possibly more life threatening injuries. Dave said that this seemed like a rational reason. I thanked him for his assessment and we continued the shift.
The shift went by with me healing a few people that needed it, but it was remarkably quieter than previous nights. I was thankful for the easier night. At about the end of when I was going to be going home, Dave asked me if I had heard that Wong and Pepper Potts were in Norfolk. I smiled and told him that I think that I had heard that rumor. Dave asked what I thought that they were here for, I told him that they had come here to talk to me about some things, and that it was all okay. Dave looked at me oddly, and just smiled, saying that he guesses I was in the big leagues now.
I thanked him for the compliment, and then went back to the storage unit. Rex was about done with his salmon, and already resting, so I put my stuff up to be repaired and cleaned, and got ready to end my day. It has been a nice few days, but I expect that to end any day now. My armor was going to need to be in top form soon, I just know it. I got a chance to dream and think of these other options for this powerful spell.
