Marvel: Starting as a Time Criminal, Stealing Powers

How could there be a portal?

Doctor Strange stared in disbelief. In all 14 million possible futures he had seen, this never once appeared!

Could something have gone wrong with his time spell?

At that moment, a calm voice came from within the glowing gateway.

"Long time no see, Strange."

As the voice faded, a man—Su—walked out of the dimensional portal.

Everyone turned toward Strange, stunned.

Tony was the first to speak. "You know him?"

Strange frowned. "Do we… know each other?" he asked cautiously.

Russell smiled meaningfully and replied, "Of course. You even treated me to a bottle of 1963 limited edition Chivas Regal."

Strange's pupils shrank. He did own a bottle of '63 Chivas—but it was a treasured collector's item. How the hell did he know that?!

Star-Lord didn't notice Strange's expression and immediately lit up. "Great! Magician, was your one winning outcome because of your friend?"

Strange glanced at Tony, then said slowly, "Not only that timeline, actually…"

"…No. Not even once."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Tony raised his hand and fired a high-energy laser!

At the same time, Doctor Strange didn't hesitate. Two golden sigils formed in his palms, and with a push forward, a wave of crimson lightning burst forth.

Bolts of Bosh'Kura's Thunder!

Star-Lord and the others were completely stunned.

How were they chatting one second and fighting the next?! What kind of social etiquette does Earth even follow?!

Spider-Man didn't know why the attack had started, but he trusted Tony Stark unconditionally.

Without hesitation, he fired webs at the wreckage nearby, swung forward, and joined the attack!

Russell stood still, seemingly frozen in place.

Tony's laser, however, suddenly bent unnaturally midair—like it had struck an invisible mirror—and reflected backward, slamming into the incoming Spider-Man!

At the same time, Doctor Strange's thunder spell struck as well—

But Russell merely grinned.

In the blink of an eye, Drax—who had been standing 20 meters away—appeared in Russell's place and took the hit, letting out a scream as he was blasted into the distance!

Star-Lord, still confused, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. He stiffly turned his head…

Sure enough—where Drax had originally been standing—now stood Russell.

Cold sweat poured down his back. He forced an awkward smile and said:

"Uhh… I mean, I'm not with them. You believe me, right?"

Russell smirked. "What do you think?"

Then he grabbed Mantis—who had been trying to sneak up from behind—and swung her like a human flail, slamming her straight into Star-Lord just as he was pulling out his elemental blaster. The impact sent him flying toward Strange.

Strange, acting fast, conjured a magic net with a gesture and caught Star-Lord midair.

But before he could relax, Tony's voice shouted:

"Behind you!!"

Strange's scalp went numb. Instinctively, he hurled Star-Lord aside, conjured a flaming sword, and spun around to strike—

Only to see Russell catch the burning blade with his bare hand.

Strange was horrified.

Russell raised an eyebrow. "Too hasty, Strange. You left multiple spell formations incomplete. You've already lost at least two-thirds of the power lent to you by the Vishanti."

With that, he clenched his fist—

—and the Flaming Sword of the Faltine shattered in his hand like glass!

Strange's eyelids twitched violently.

Even if the spell was rushed, it shouldn't have broken that easily!

This man was terrifying!

His Cloak of Levitation responded instantly, pulling him backward at top speed.

But even while retreating, Strange's hands moved in a blur, weaving spells.

In a second, a complex incantation was complete. With a sharp motion, golden sigils filled the air, forming a magical lattice that compressed inward like a cage.

This formation had spatial-locking properties—teleportation was now impossible for anyone inside!

Meanwhile, Tony helped Spider-Man up, then raised his arm again.

He didn't dare fire another laser beam—afraid it might reflect and injure someone else like before.

Instead, his nanotech armor shifted rapidly, forming dozens of tiny launch tubes along his forearm.

From them, a barrage of mini high-energy missiles shot toward Russell!

Spider-Man launched a magical web at the still-stunned Star-Lord, pulling him back to safety.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The explosions lit up the battlefield like fireworks. Pillars of flame and smoke erupted, forming a mushroom cloud over the rocky ground.

Tony flew to Strange's side, still rattled.

"Who is this guy?!"

Strange's face darkened.

"I have no idea. I swear I've never seen him before... but he seems to know me very well."

Tony sighed.

"His abilities are strange, but at least we took him down."

But the moment he said that—

A calm, curious voice sounded from behind them.

"Strange? This is all just basic magic."

"Also... why would you do something so violent to my phantom projection? It looked like you all lost your minds."

Tony and Strange froze in place.

In an instant, Strange's astral form shot out of his body. With a wave of his hand, two crimson Bands of Cyttorak materialized, binding the air in front of him.

Suddenly, Russell's true form was revealed—hidden until now by illusion!

Tony locked his boots to the ground, nano thrusters snapping into place across his back.

With a roar, his suit unleashed six blazing repulsor bursts!

From a distance, Spider-Man saw the perfectly synchronized attack and lit up with hope.

The doctor and Mr. Stark are in sync! This has to work!

But the next second… his face froze.

The beams, each burning at thousands of degrees, struck the man dead center.

And did absolutely nothing.

Russell stood calmly, smiling faintly—

—as if he were enjoying a spa treatment.

Tony didn't even have to look. The internal HUD readings confirmed everything.

"Friday," he growled, "push output to maximum power!"

"Understood, Mr. Stark."

In an instant, the six energy beams—each as thick as a man's arm—merged into a single, blinding torrent, roaring like a rocket's exhaust!

If Tony's armor weren't able to morph, he'd have been blasted off the ground entirely.

The surge of power was immense, but what shocked Doctor Strange was the expression on the man's face.

Not only was he uninjured—

He was breathing it in.

Russell exhaled slowly, and a wave of icy blue breath shot out of his mouth!

Strange's Cloak of Levitation whisked him away just in time.

Tony wasn't so lucky.

His entire suit—and body—instantly froze into a solid block of ice!

From a distance, Spider-Man's eyes turned red with fury.

Eight glowing spider legs extended from his back as he entered Kill Mode—charging in to rescue Tony!

But just as he moved, his vision blurred.

The man—Russell—was suddenly right in front of him.

Peter attacked without hesitation. He unleashed a flurry of punches and stabs with the mechanical limbs—

But no matter how fast he was, no matter how many hits he tried, he couldn't even touch the man's clothes.

It felt like he was fighting a version of himself—only stronger.

Then Strange's voice rang out from above:

"Back off, Spider-Man!"

Peter didn't hesitate. He jumped backward, ready to coordinate with Strange—

But the moment he leapt, he saw Russell flick his wrist.

A glowing purple web shot out like a whip from a strange totem in his palm.

"Come back."

Russell pulled.

Peter felt a crushing force wrap around him. He was flung like a cannonball into the air—

—and smashed directly into Drax, who had just gotten back up.

Both of them collapsed to the ground, groaning.

Meanwhile, Strange had completed his spell.

Hundreds of illusion duplicates appeared across the sky, each conjuring magical energy whips that wrapped around Russell.

"WHO ARE YOU?!"

Hundreds of Stranges shouted in unison, voices echoing across the battlefield.

But the man didn't flinch. He didn't even look concerned.

Instead, he smiled faintly.

"I'm done playing. Thanos will arrive soon."

The moment his voice fell, violent lightning erupted from Russell's body—

Crackling tendrils of energy surged out, striking every one of the illusion clones in an instant!

A synchronized scream echoed through the sky.

All the duplicates unraveled at once, vanishing in reverse—as if rewinding time—and fused back into Strange's body!

Russell chuckled.

"You've got some nice tricks. But why don't you stay here for a while?"

He stomped the ground.

Suddenly, massive vines erupted from the cracked earth, growing rapidly and wrapping tightly around Strange.

Then a purple mist hissed from the vines, rising like smoke.

Strange held his breath immediately.

But the smoke morphed into a hand—

—and slapped him square across the face, phasing straight into his body.

His eyes rolled back, and he fainted.

Russell nodded in satisfaction.

Then he turned to Star-Lord—who had just pulled out the Element Gun—and smiled.

"I'll give you one shot."

Thinking Russell was part of Thanos's group, Star-Lord fired without hesitation.

The beam hit…

But the man vanished.

A second later, a mocking voice whispered right next to his ear:

"Just kidding. You actually shot?"

Star-Lord turned his head—just in time to see a massive slap filling his vision.

SMACK!

He flipped through the air a dozen times, hit the ground hard, and passed out.

Russell shook his numb hand and muttered:

"You really do have divine-level durability. Even more durable than Loki."

"No wonder Gamora liked you."

With a thought, Russell activated his Rock Slide ability.

Stones surged from the ground and encased both Spider-Man and Drax, locking them in place.

Then he turned to Mantis, who was trying to sneak up behind him.

Her glowing tentacles were already extended, reaching for his head.

He glanced at her.

"Want me to knock you out, or will you do it yourself?"

Mantis gave an awkward smile, rolled her eyes, and fainted on the spot.

Russell burst into laughter.

He formed a seal with his hands, and the sound of glass shattering echoed through the air.

The Mirror Dimension opened.

With a flick of his hand, he tossed all the heroes into the mirror space and took Strange's Sling Ring for himself.

Half an hour later.

Strange slowly regained consciousness.

He sat up abruptly, instinctively starting to cast a spell—

Only to hear a weary voice nearby:

"Relax. There's no one left to fight. Don't waste your energy. Might as well figure out how to get us out of here."

Recognizing the voice, Strange turned and saw Tony Stark slumped on a pile of rubble, looking exhausted.

"You're not dead?" Strange asked in surprise.

Tony rolled his eyes.

"Obviously not. I watched you multiply into hundreds of copies and get zapped."

"He only froze my suit. Honestly... as much as I hate to admit it, he was holding back."

Spider-Man nodded sadly.

"He's way too strong. I couldn't even land a single hit…"

Then Star-Lord's frustrated voice rang out:

"Alright, enough talk!"

"That guy was terrifying, but nobody died! Let's focus on getting out of here!"

Strange finally looked around.

Everyone was alive. The surroundings still resembled Titan, but space itself was fractured.

Off in the distance, Russell sat casually atop the wrecked donut ship… but it felt like he was in another world entirely.

Strange's eyes widened.

"Mirror Dimension?"

Tony perked up.

"What's that? You know how to get out of it?"

Strange briefly explained the concept behind the Mirror Dimension, then reached into his pocket.

His expression changed.

"…He took my Sling Ring."

The group's mood deflated.

Strange sighed.

"Unless I use the Time Stone to reverse events, we're stuck here."

Still, his mind was racing.

Who was that man?

He had defeated all of them effortlessly, without killing a single one…

…and he used Kamar-Taj's mirror dimension like it was his own.

In truth, Strange had never seen a magician this powerful—

Not even the Ancient One possessed such terrifying control.

Who was he?

And more importantly… what was he waiting for?

Because clearly, he hadn't left yet.

Just then, Strange's eyes widened further.

There was someone else coming.

But they hadn't arrived yet.

At that moment, a blue vortex appeared out of thin air—

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