Marvel: Starting as a Time Criminal, Stealing Powers

Rooftop.

Russell walked calmly across the freshly waxed rooftop and, with a wave of his hand, blew up two Chitauri flyers near the Sanctum Sanctorum.

However, when he saw the devastation in the distance, he paused, raised his hand, and clenched his fist.

In an instant, every Chitauri soldier within a 20-kilometer radius was crushed into pulp. Their flight machines exploded simultaneously. Even the massive bio-engineered war beasts—dozens of meters long—were twisted into mangled heaps of flesh and metal.

Inside S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, Nick Fury stared at the surveillance data, eyes wide in disbelief. He shouted into the comms:

"Tony, what the hell just happened? Nearly all the invaders across Brooklyn were just wiped out!"

Shocked voices came through the comms from Tony, Captain America, Black Widow, and Hawkeye.

"What?!"

"Did Thor do that?!"

"He's with me. Wasn't him!"

"This is insane. Was it… a god?"

Near Stark Tower.

Tony Stark—this timeline's version, who had returned from the future—was monitoring the communication feed. He turned to Captain America and asked:

"Steve, back during the Battle of New York, did a bunch of Chitauri just suddenly drop dead in Brooklyn?"

Cap furrowed his brows.

"No. Why?"

Tony took a deep breath, eyes still filled with shock.

"Ten seconds ago, over 700 Chitauri soldiers were annihilated in Brooklyn. Three of their massive bio-war machines were reduced to scrap in a flash."

Cap felt a chill down his spine, then suddenly remembered something.

"Could it be the Strange you mentioned? Didn't you say there's a mysterious man named Liu Shi in Brooklyn?"

But instead of reassuring Tony, the name only made his expression darken.

"Based on the battle on Titan, I don't think Strange is capable of that."

"Let's go. We need to get to Brooklyn to back up Dr. Banner. I'm worried something happened at the Sanctum."

On the rooftop of the Sanctum Sanctorum.

A faint voice rang out:

"Mr. Green Giant, the floor was just waxed. If you stomp around like that, the old magician will be quite upset."

Banner stopped in his tracks and turned around, only to see a man in a gray trench coat standing casually by the wall.

He was momentarily stunned. When had someone gotten so close without him noticing?

Still, he asked:

"I'm looking for Stephen Strange."

Russell pointed northeast.

"If you mean Dr. Strange, he's doing surgery 20 blocks away."

"But if you mean Strange the Sorcerer, then you're about five years too early."

Banner was a little confused. That didn't sound right.

Why didn't Tony check the timeline more carefully before sending him? The timing was wrong, and they didn't have enough Pym Particles to make another jump.

He scratched his head and asked:

"Then can I ask where the current Sorcerer Supreme is? It's urgent."

Russell pointed at himself.

"You're looking at him."

Banner's face lit up instantly.

"Perfect! The future is in danger. I need to borrow the Time Stone."

"You mean this?"

Russell gently pinched the air with his fingers, and a green gem wrapped in golden rune chains appeared out of nowhere.

This was a spell given to him by the Ancient One. The stone appeared to be in his hand, but it was actually stored in a small isolated pocket dimension.

Otherwise, just holding the Infinity Stones would trigger a branching timeline.

"Yes! That's it!"

Banner's eyes gleamed with hope.

"Great! Please hand it over."

Russell smiled faintly.

"No."

With that, he released his fingers and the Time Stone vanished.

Banner froze, then quickly composed himself and said confidently:

"Sorry, this isn't a request. Whether or not you hand it over isn't up to you."

He stepped forward, radiating a quiet pressure.

To his surprise, the man before him didn't seem the least bit afraid. Instead, he rubbed his hands together eagerly, as if… excited?

What the hell was going on?

He was intimidating enough to make children cry just by walking past them.

Maybe these magicians really were out of touch.

Without hesitation, he reached out to grab Russell.

Just then, Tony Stark's voice shouted from behind.

"Look out! Domestic—!!"

Look out for what?

Don't hurt him?

Banner grinned. He wasn't Hulk right now, so—

Bang!

From Tony's perspective, a flash of golden light erupted, and the massive green figure was sent flying backward with a single palm strike.

And as if time slowed, something ethereal—like a soul—was knocked clean out of Banner's body!

Thud.

The body collapsed to the ground… leaving behind a dazed, floating spirit.

Tony was stunned. He'd read about soul projection in magical texts—but seeing someone's soul get physically slapped out of their body was something else entirely.

And, as a scientist, one detail bothered him more than anything.

Why… was Banner's soul still wearing clothes?

Shouldn't souls be, well… naked?

At that moment, the screech of tires echoed from below. Pipes banged along the exterior wall as Captain America climbed up.

"Huff… okay, I made it… Oh—ugh—Banner, are you dead?!"

Steve gasped in shock.

Tony blinked, then narrowed his eyes.

"Cap, you were about to swear just now!"

Steve stayed composed.

"That's not the point!"

"What's the situation? Banner, you okay?"

Banner looked down at himself and said nervously:

"I think I'm fine… I just don't know if the God of Death is going to show up now."

Before he could say more, a voice replied lazily from in front of him:

"Relax. The Theban Underworld is sealed beneath the real dimension. The only Death God on Earth has no control over you."

"…Thanks."

Banner paused.

Why did he just thank the guy who punched his soul out of his body?

At this moment, Tony and Captain America had raised their weapons and shields, speaking cautiously:

"Who are you? Where did you take Strange?"

Russell rolled his eyes, reached to his left, and a vortex appeared.

When he withdrew his hand, he was holding a confused man still in surgical scrubs.

He presented him for the three to see, then casually tossed him back through the portal and shut it.

At that point, Banner gave a brief explanation of the situation.

Tony and Steve finally relaxed and adopted a more polite tone.

However, Tony still looked puzzled.

"But I heard from Wong that the Sorcerer Supreme before Strange was a woman called the Ancient One. Was he lying to me?"

Russell waved his hand modestly.

"It was the bald one before. But after I stayed in Kamar-Taj for just three days, I mastered hundreds of spells without a teacher, grasped the secrets of space, and gained insight into the past and future."

"She was so shocked that she felt inferior and handed over the title of Sorcerer Supreme to me. Now she just wants to be a chef."

Somewhere in Kamar-Taj, the Ancient One sneezed.

Banner, Tony, and Steve were all stunned.

That explanation… didn't sound very reliable.

Then Tony suddenly remembered something and asked nervously:

"By the way, were you the one who wiped out all those Chitauri soldiers in Brooklyn just now?"

Russell replied casually:

"Just a small matter. If I hadn't wanted you all to have a chance to resist the nuclear bomb, I would've wiped them all out."

Captain America and Banner were stunned with awe!

The nuclear bomb event hadn't even happened yet—yet this man knew it was coming!

Tony figured he must have used the Time Stone to see the future.

Even if that were true, the ability to wipe out over 700 Chitauri instantly was insane.

And judging by Russell's relaxed attitude, that wasn't even his full power.

Tony rarely looked this humble—it was clear that if he wanted the Time Stone, he'd have to reason and appeal to emotion.

He began to explain the crisis of the future: half the life in the universe erased by Thanos, and how they needed the Infinity Stones to undo the catastrophe.

Once he finished, the three of them looked to Russell with anxious, hopeful, and nervous expressions, awaiting his decision.

If he refused...

"No problem at all," Russell said cheerfully.

Huh? That easy?

Banner stared at him, disillusioned.

So that soul slap was for nothing?

Tony and Steve exhaled in relief.

Despite how casual Russell seemed, the pressure he gave off was overwhelming. Luckily, this was the best outcome they could hope for.

But then they heard him ask:

"Have you found the other Stones yet?"

Tony quickly responded with their plan:

"We've split into teams and are traveling to different timelines to collect them. We already have the location coordinates."

Russell nodded and asked with curiosity:

"What about the Soul Stone? That one's tricky. Who's prepared to make the sacrifice?"

Everyone froze.

Steve asked in alarm:

"Sorcerer Supreme, what do you mean by 'sacrifice'? Is it dangerous?"

Russell feigned surprise:

"You mean you went there without knowing?"

"To obtain the Soul Stone, one must sacrifice the soul of the person they love most."

Tony's face changed. He turned to Steve and said grimly:

"Oh no… Hawkeye's probably going to die!"

Steve's face darkened. He suspected Natasha Romanoff might be the one to sacrifice herself instead.

Banner became visibly agitated. His soul form thrashed like a swimmer trying to dive back into his body, yelling:

"No, Tony! Natasha's going to die—I have to save her!"

Tony replied in a low, conflicted voice:

"We don't have enough Pym Particles to time travel again…"

"We can't reach that time point anymore… and…"

He didn't finish the sentence, but everyone understood the implication.

If the sacrifice didn't happen, half the universe would remain dead.

Banner refused to accept it. Then, as if a light bulb went off, he turned toward Russell like he'd found his last hope.

"Mr. Magician, you're incredibly powerful—you can save her!"

"Please! Only you can…"

Tony quickly interjected:

"Banner! That's enough. Don't guilt-trip him. Even the Sorcerer Supreme can't just break the rules of time—"

"I can," Russell said with a blink.

Tony froze, face locked in mid-sentence.

"Uh… is that actually possible?" he asked awkwardly.

Russell responded easily:

"Of course. In addition to being Sorcerer Supreme, I'm also a scientist."

"It's not that difficult to open a time portal."

Tony felt like his entire worldview had been shattered repeatedly today.

You're a magic master! Why are you calling yourself a scientist?!

Still, he didn't dare question it.

If Russell could travel through time, then Hawkeye and Black Widow could be spared—and maybe they wouldn't need to sacrifice anyone for the Soul Stone after all.

Then Russell added casually:

"Don't worry. The guy guarding the Soul Stone knows me. He'll give me face."

Tony was numb.

Was there anything this guy couldn't do?

If I'd known this earlier, I wouldn't have bothered guarding the Stones—I'd have just asked this guy to kill Thanos!

But he sighed to himself.

Too late for regrets. Maybe Russell had been time traveling during the Infinity War.

"Thank you in advance, Sorcerer Supreme," Tony said respectfully.

"But before that, we still need to get the Space Stone and the Mind Stone."

"And we can't risk changing history."

Russell snapped his fingers and said:

"No worries. I'll open a time branch. There's one place that has both."

"Come with me. You'll see how gentle I can be."

He pointed his finger, tossed Banner's soul back into his body, opened an orange portal, and stepped through.

Tony and the others exchanged a glance.

They didn't understand everything—but at this point, they had no choice but to follow.

May 1, 2012 — S.H.I.E.L.D. Underground Test Site

Dr. Erik Selvig activated the Tesseract. A space portal opened.

The next second, Loki stepped through holding the Mind Scepter, grinning with sinister satisfaction.

He planted a mental suggestion in Selvig's mind—causing the portal to point directly to him.

He casually killed a nearby S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, approached the equipment, and picked up the Tesseract with glee.

The Space Stone was his!

With it, and Thanos's army, he could conquer Mid—

Before he could finish his fantasy, an orange portal suddenly opened in front of him.

A strange yet vaguely familiar man stepped out—and rushed straight at him.

Loki narrowed his eyes.

He didn't know who this was, but the guy didn't seem threatening.

No aura. No energy. Clearly weak.

Smirking, Loki raised the scepter and fired.

Crack.

A crisp, heavy slap echoed through the room.

To the shock of Tony, Steve, and Banner, Loki—who had been grinning wickedly—was sent flying by a single slap from the Sorcerer Supreme.

He spun a dozen times in midair before slamming against the wall like a broken doll.

He didn't even bounce off.

The three heroes shrank their necks simultaneously.

They all had the same thought:

What a perfect slap.

Good job, Loki.

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