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Have you ever seen New York at four in the morning?
Shang-Chi has.
"On your left."
"No, shut up, stop talking!"
Shang-Chi shouted in despair as a figure ran past him once again.
A moment later, the devil's voice echoed beside him.
"On your left."
Shang-Chi was about to collapse. He looked at John's incredible speed and could not understand how a magician could run so fast or have such good endurance.
After repeating this more than twenty times, John finally stopped, looking refreshed. He took out a towel from his pocket and wiped his face.
Shang-Chi staggered over to the trash can and vomited.
Peter was already lying on the lawn, probably passed out. Even he did not know how he went from being warm in bed one moment to running through hell the next.
John finally experienced the joy of running like Captain America and understood how it must have felt during those famous runs.
Shang-Chi asked in confusion, "Why does learning magic require physical exercise?"
John answered without hesitation, "Do you think magic is only for long range attacks or close combat?"
"Uh... long range?"
"So you are just waiting to die if someone gets close to you?" John looked at him like he was hopeless, and Shang-Chi realized the logic made sense.
"The exercise is over. Wake Peter up and make sure he does not catch a cold."
Just then, John's driver pulled up. John left the two boys behind and got in the car.
Shang-Chi looked at Peter. "Are you sure he is just sleeping?"
Who rolls their eyes while sleeping?
***
There is not just one wizard in New York.
And all wizards who enter the country must go through a certain department.
Woolworth Building.
Nick Fury walked to the phone booth in front of the building, picked up the receiver, and dialed a number.
"Six two four four two."
The call connected quickly.
A gentle female voice answered, "Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business."
"Nick Fury. Here for a visit."
"Thank you," the woman replied. "Please take the identification card and pin it to the front of your clothes."
A small identity tag slid out from the coin slot. Fury picked it up, clipped it to his trench coat, hung up the phone, and walked toward the entrance of the Woolworth Building.
He blended in with the morning crowd heading to work, but as he entered the revolving door, the world changed.
Inside, everything was different from what he had seen outside.
A middle-aged man stood at the top of the stairs, smiling.
"Hello, Director Fury. My friend."
Fury shook his hand. "Darcy."
The man named Darcy, with a freckled nose, led Fury into the elevator. "We are surprised by your visit."
"I need to see the wizard entry and exit list," Fury said.
Darcy frowned. "That is difficult, Fury. I need to know the reason."
In the Ministry of Magic, wizards are responsible for communicating with the Muggle government. This was not the first time Darcy and Fury had dealt with each other. Sometimes, wizarding pranks required Muggle intervention.
But the Ministry of Magic did not answer to the Muggle government. They had their own country.
"Are you really telling me this?" Fury said. "I handled the illegal smuggling of wizards for you last time. Have you forgotten?"
Darcy replied sarcastically, "We have our own rules."
Fury took out a piece of paper and waved it. "This is my investigation application order. You should also return the wine I gave you."
"I already drank it. I cannot spit it out for you, can I?"
"Why not? Aren't you wizards?"
"Wizards are not omnipotent, except for the Witch King," Darcy muttered under his breath.
Since there was an official order from S.H.I.E.L.D., Darcy led Fury inside.
In a small office, self-stamping seals worked busily, paper airplanes flew through the air, and documents turned into paper frogs, hopping up the shelves before opening themselves.
"Let me see the entry applications you want," Darcy said, waving his wand. Many wizard entry forms floated down.
His department was unique. It was the only one in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that had to cooperate with the Muggle government. Anyone who did not apply to enter the United States through here was considered suspicious.
Fury checked the records and was relieved to see that not many wizards had entered the country. America was never a top destination for wizards, who preferred places like Norway.
Darcy asked uneasily, "What did a wizard do?"
Fury scanned the forms but did not find the name he wanted. "Is there any other way to enter New York besides this?"
"Not through here?" Darcy thought for a moment, then slapped his forehead. "The only other way is through Lady Snake."
"Lady Snake?"
Darcy's face turned serious. "I suggest you do not provoke her. She is the most dangerous existence among wizards."
"Give me her address," Fury demanded.
Darcy looked around nervously and shouted, "I told you not to provoke her! Get out of here!"
He immediately began to refuse all further questions.
Fury shouted for his wine back, but it was no use.
The mention of the Lady Snake was taboo. Even someone with Darcy's high status in the magical world was terrified.
Fury left without answers and began to wonder if John had entered through another passage.
Wizards needed to register when moving between countries, but John's name was not on the list.
This made John's identity even more mysterious, and Fury sensed that John might be far more important in the magical world than he had realized.
He wanted to investigate further, but soon news arrived that he was not allowed to fly to another state.
John was invited as a guest.
***
Inside the New York Temple, John tapped the cauldron beside the stairs with his wand. The Ancient One, bald and serene, told him that someone from the outside world was visiting again.
"Actually, I am curious. Now that you know about it, why do you not go there yourself?" John wandered through the temple's collections.
It was like visiting a museum. The artifacts made him want to pry them open and study them.
He paused in front of the red cloak, watching it float gently.
Was this not Doctor Strange's famous cloak?
The Ancient One said, "You should have noticed it, that time in New Mexico."
After she spoke, John remembered.
That time had truly startled him. That guy Thor almost did not make it.
If John had not fought the Destroyer, Thor would have died again.
"This world is beginning to change," the Ancient One said, drawing a long golden line in the air, stretching without end.
"Everyone's choices will create new changes. The universe we live in is a line, but now a fog blocks the future that should be clear."
Her finger touched the golden thread, and it shifted, twisting like smoke meeting an obstacle.
Some events that should have been set in stone were now full of uncertainty.
Just like with Thor last time. He should have regained Mjolnir when he was about to die, but because of various factors, Thor almost died for real.
As one of the Avengers' Big Three, Thor's importance could not be overstated.
If he died, the entire future might collapse.
All the futures the Ancient One had seen disappeared.
The future was now full of uncertainty, and even the Supreme Sorcerer could not see it. This meant that crises that should have been solved might now lead to annihilation.
"I cannot protect everything, but I hope you can maintain peace until a new Supreme Sorcerer appears."
John looked away from the cloak. "You do not have to worry about my promise, Ancient One."
The Witch King is always honest.
***
Pegasus Project Experimental Base.
Dr. Selvig, who had been invited to participate in the experiment, watched as the Cosmic Cube on the machine released a surge of energy.
This had nothing to do with him, but it was an autonomously activated energy.
And the energy kept rising.
At the same time, a helicopter flew toward the experimental base.
Agents Fury and Hill stepped out, and Coulson came to greet them.
"How bad is it?"
"The worst part is, we do not even know what is happening," Coulson replied.
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