Nepal, in a large ancient temple, its courtyard filled with monks in robes busy training in martial arts and various mystical arts.
Within this temple, in one of its many rooms, a bald middle aged woman sat cross legged. Her eyes closed as a green pendant shone above her hands.
"That anomaly… it's foreign and yet… for some reason it is accepted by this universe more than me…"
She muttered in thought as her eyes opened slowly. Maintaining her calm and peaceful expression she hid the internal turmoil that was boiling within her mind.
Just moments ago she had sensed a disturbance, akin to an invasion from another dimension.
As the guardian of Earth, it was her duty to prevent such invasions from occurring but this one was different.
She called it an invasion but in fact, it could also be called a visitation.
Whatever the being that came was, their presence in this world was not unwelcome, instead, it was almost like the world itself invited that existence.
"It is even protected by it…"
Thinking about the mysterious shift in the forces that be, the woman could only sigh.
"Hopefully this anomaly could help in the chaos that is to come"
Back in New York, its been two days since James arrived in the Marvel Universe. In these two days he had not only found himself a luxurious top floor condominium unit, he had also established himself in the city rather quickly.
"A young millionaire, inheritor of a vast quantity of land from all over the world, from Asia to Europe, even in the British Isles, he came to New York to study and build connections…"
James muttered, reading through the reports, he sat in front of the glass walls. Sunlight streamed into his top floor unit illuminating the luxurious interior that few could even hope to get close to in their lives.
Within this unit, what would catch the eyes of many though were not the various pieces of expensive furniture or electronics, but the wide variety of weird and harrowing items.
There were blades, coated in rust that looked like dried blood, There were books whose covers looked to be made of skin. There were also a variety of gems and weird objects such as pocket watchers, belts, even some firearms scattered about.
Interestingly, all these items were laid bare all over the room, scattered haphazardly, as if they were trash.
Despite this though, the room had an unusual cleanliness to it, the scattered objects made the room look messy but, upon closer inspection, observers would find everything quite clean. No obvious signs of dust, dirt or grime.
The room was spotless of any kind of dirt but had items scattered about.
It gave off a surreal feeling, it was a feeling of incongruity would overwhelm any who step into this room but the young man, James, maintained a casual atmosphere.
But the atmosphere exuded by James did not do anything to reduce the unease the room brought upon others. In fact, his existence gave an even deeper sense of- wrong, it was as if there was a fundamental mistake in the existence of the room and everything in it.
Fortunately, only James and his "companions" could enter and exit the room.
"Tell me V, what do I need to do in order to start a big secret organization on par or even greater with the Clocktower… no… with the Mage Association?"
James asked, turning his gaze towards the nearby couch, on it sat a beautiful woman with bright long blonde hair. She had a breathtaking appearance, her figure held an allure that would make even the most gentlemanly of men turn into wild beast.
She wore a pure white one piece that not only showed off her alluring figure but also gave her an aura of purity.
Though the most eye-catching thing about her were the two white wings on her back, folded neatly, the wings did not look fake and the twitches and movement of life could be seen on them. In her arms rested a guitar which she was playing creating a calming melody.
Hearing the question directed towards her, the woman, V, halted her actions. She raised her gaze, a warm light flashing in her eyes as she gazed at James.
"People and Resources"
Her response made James chuckle, he was well aware of those two things. But he did not immediately reply, instead waited, he knew that V had yet to finish her words-
"Also, power and influence"
After she said those last few words, V turned her attention back to her guitar. She then started to play a tune, a calming melody that would constantly change.
"One out of four huh?"
James muttered as he stood up, he walked towards the glass walls, his gaze wandering all over the sights of New York.
The sight of New York during the day was not as breathtaking as the image of it at night but this appearance during the day held a different kind of spirit.
"Should I start the Holy Grail War? Hm… will this attract unnecessary attention? No… the question is whether the third magic could take form in this universe or not… speaking of magic- will the old man be able to trace me with his magic? Or will I be stuck here for God knows how long…"
Pondering over many things at the same time, James maintained a neutral expression but his eyes continued to shine with a light of interest.
"A Grail War is too unpredictable… but maybe digging into some fates could still work"
James recalled the information he had obtained, the image of various individuals flashed in his mind.
The bald man on a wheelchair, the beautiful platinum blonde with a white aura, the one eyed baldy, the genius playboy and the genius with nothing to his name-
Countless figure appeared in his mind, their information appearing before his eyes as he contemplated.
"Every Genius is a madman, and only madmen would be willing to take the risk of diving into the abyss"
James whispered before turning his gaze towards Empire State University.
"Sometimes, Genius leads to madness… I want to see what happens when genius faces the irrational"
With a smile on his face, James walked straight to the glass wall, but, instead of bumping into it, the moment his body touched the glass it rippled.
The transparent glass wall turned opaque, ripples spread out from the point of contact with James body. Without any resistance, James walked effortlessly into the glass wall.
As James vanished into the glass, the opaque surface continued to ripple until it slowly calmed down.
When the ripples finally disappeared, the glass returned to its transparent state revealing the world beyond the glass.
V did not seem to find anything amiss, only giving James a smile as she continued to play her odd melody.
Empire State University, within one of the dormitories.
"Reed! Are you really keeping in touch with that high school girl?"
A large man asked, his tone serious as he stared at the lanky man before him.
This large man is Ben Grimm, a star in the college football team. His large exterior and his power had earned him the nickname "Grimm Reaper" on the field.
Yet, despite this rather… dark alias, the man, Ben Grimm was what many would call a "Gentle Giant". He was a monster on the field but outside of it he was a gentleman. Unlike other football players who leveraged their fame and strength to bully others and sleep around, Ben focused on his studies and worked hard to improve himself.
This nature of his went unnoticed to many, save for his only close friend and roommate, a resident genius of their college, Reed Richards.
Ben and Reed got along rather well, others believed that Ben was simply using Reed to get him to do his homework and projects but their thoughts could not be any farther from the truth.
Reed did help ben in his studies, but this help involved personal tutoring and mentoring.
Ben was a slow learner but Reed never looked down on him, he was patient and carefully created study plans for Ben that fit his ability.
At one point, Reed even claimed that Ben could sleep in class and still learn if he followed the plan that he had set up.
Though that claim had yet to be tested as Ben did not want to disrespect the professors by sleeping in.
Of course, their friendship went both ways and Ben was not only protecting Reed from others, he also acted as the conscience between them. Ben would talk Reed out of doing crazy things as Reed Richards, despite being a genius, had a few quirks that were not really… that great.
Ben was aware of some things Reed did, especially the altercation with another genius Victor von Doom, in fact he also knew that Victor was in a- not so great spot at the moment.
But he did not care for that man, instead, he was more worried about Reed's sudden romantic interest.
The reason was not because he wanted to tease Reed, no, his reason was deeper and more important than that.
Reed was currently taking his fourth degree, he had started his advanced studies early but even then, he was currently 24 years old.
Now, his age is important to consider as the target of his interest was not a college student but a high school senior!
Moreover, that senior had just turned 16 this year!
When Ben first heard Reed talk about this he immediately froze, Ben knew Reed as somewhat… different from others. He was prideful and really forward with his thoughts but-
"Reed, the age of consent in New York is 17, if a 17 year old sleeps with a 16 year old, the 17 year old could still be accused of statutory rape! Much less someone already over twenty! Not to mention, you've been studying in college for nearly a decade now! You've been mingling with adults for a decade! The expected maturity you have is already above those of a regular 24 year old!"
Hearing Ben's words, Reed let out a helpless sigh as he turned his gaze up. His eyes had a mix of emotions, the confident and prideful Reed Richards had vanished, now, he showed the appearance of a normal young man facing troubles.
Reed let out a chuckle as he tried to calm down his own emotions before replying.
"When did you become a lawyer, Ben?"
"When you told me you were in love with a 16 year old!"
Reed was silent, his eyes clouded over but it only took a few seconds for them to regain their clarity as he responded.
"But- in a year she would be 17, by that time…"
"That's grooming"
"Not if I avoid her until she's 17"
"..."
The two men stared at each other silently, Ben wanted to say something more but the look of determination in the eyes of his friend made him falter.
In the silence, the first one to speak was Reed-
"Ben, there are 30, 40 year olds, rich millionaires and billionaires who marry 18 to 20 year old women. This is the safest age for them to avoid being accused of statutory rape."
Reed's words hit Ben, he knew about these kinds of happenings, hell, it wasn't even a secret! Look at the celebrity couples, who among them did not have a relationship with someone who was a decade or two older?
There were some that didn't but that's not all too important as the fact of the matter is that the so-called "age gap" is ignored so long as one does not hook up with a "minor".
"I'm not even a decade older than her… its just that… I met her too early"
Reed's words did not really sound good, heck, all it takes is Ben to record his words and he could be sued.
But this was not a question of culture, morality, or law. Reed had no plans to make a move on his love interest until she came of age.
It was not a tale of two lovers meeting at the wrong time, it was the sad tale of a man meeting his "destined" too early.
Ben and Reed went silent after that exchange but, unbeknownst to the two friends, two pairs of eyes and ears were silently observing them. The image of Ben and Reed were reflected onto a mirror, seated before the mirror, two men were seated on cheap plastic chairs.
One of them was a white haired young man with piercing blue eyes, his clothes were styled in an almost victorian style. Next to him was a young man dressed in a more- modern aesthetic. With a simple pair of pants and a white button up, the young man had a head full of short brown hair and his brown eyes carried a certain level of shock but beneath them was the feeling of… excitement.
"Sir…"
The brown haired young man turned to his side, the white hair young man, James, turned to him with a smile.
"Victor von Doom, I know what you wish to ask but I advise you against it."
Hearing the words of James, young man, Victor hesitated-
"But-"
Seeing his reaction, James gave him a smile as he replied.
"I understand your plight but do you actually believe that what you wish to do would achieve any results?"
James' words caused Victor to pause, he turned back to Reed and Ben who had started to talk about other matters for a moment before he started to think.
'Reed has yet to commit on the relationship, he's skirting the law, its effective, even if the scene from before is recorded and passed… reactions would be mixed and maybe the woman he took interest in would have a positive reaction…'
Victor started to think about the possibilities that his ideas would lead to.
As he imagined the many things that "could" happen, he realized that, even if he proved that Reeds was attracted to younger women, such things would do nothing except make him look more human, become closer to others.
After all, everyone had their faults, Reed was not all to famous as he had a high and mighty attitude but given his accomplishments, few could actually do anything about him.
If people learned that Reed had his own, "bad side", then some would develop hate for him, others disgust but in the long term, it would only serve to get him closer to others.
"Then what should I do?"
Out of ideas, Victor turned to James, the young white haired man who mysteriously appeared in his room and caused his roommate to fall asleep.
"Simple, accept the current arrangements. This school will not help you, but I will-"
With a smile, James proceeded to give Victor a rundown of the Clocktower. How the young man would be enrolled as his apprentice and that the mystical side of this world was not something that was open to all.
After all, where could you see a school for magic and mysteries?
Maybe in Mouseland, but in pure academic circles? Most people would dismiss anything that remotely alludes to magic as pseudo science.
"Do… do I need to pay with-"
"Payment? Oh don't worry~ You won't be charged anything, though you will need to sign a contract. After all, the knowledge you will obtain comes from years of study, hard work, blood and sacrifice by the older and deceased generations. It's nothing much, just a contract that ensures you don't turn your blade towards us, though if you do then you are willing to be marked as a traitor and enforcers will be sent to apprehend you"
Victor was silent-
'That doesn't sound good at all!'
James could see through Victor's thoughts easily so he added.
"Well, its not like you will be forced to become our tool. Simply put, you have freedom to do what you wish so long as you do not break the laws AND don't turn your blade towards us."
Hearing the clarification, Victor was not at all reassured, but-
'Without magic I can't…'
The image of hellfire flashed in Victor's mind, the scream of a woman and the despair- all of it…
'I… NEED this power'
As he recalled the purpose for all his struggles, Victor's mind was consumed by desire.
'Even if I have to be chained… if it's to save her and have my revenge-'
Seeing the changes in Victor's state, James chuckled as he extended his hand forward.
"Do we have a deal?"
With eyes filled with determination, Victor von Doom grabbed the outstretched hand, he did not see it but a faint ripple had occurred, unseen and unknown to anyone but a few.