Ward was eating dinner. He was seated in a shadowy corner of the Wilder Mansions 'not so secret' basement. Using a few different spells to hide his presence. A concealment spell to obscure himself from sight and a noise cancellation spell. In conjunction, the spells hid him from mortal senses. He could have simply used his abilities, but that would require active involvement on his part… and he was trying to enjoy his meal.
Unsurprisingly, none of the members of PRIDE were aware that he was here. Well… except for Tina, that is. Try as he might, Ward wasn't skilled enough to fool someone at her level. Not with his skills in magic. That was the thing, learning magic was like learning anything else. Simply knowing what to do, wasn't enough. Practice and repetition were necessary in order to achieve mastery.
'This Ossobuco In Bianco is amazing!'
Ward was truly enjoying the meal he'd brought back from Italy.
"Hmm…"
'Looks like they're starting the ritual.'
Looking up from his meal, he saw that Brooks Watten was being placed into the basement. That meant that the show would soon begin. Still in his seat, Ward's eyes went hazy, as he found himself suddenly reminiscing on all he'd been through since arriving in this reality.
From the moment he arrived in the MCU, Ward wasn't in his right state of mind… it wasn't easy starting over, after all. And finding himself in prison hadn't exactly been pleasant either, but he did his best to deal with his new situation. His burgeoning abilities had been the worst part, however.
Ward found that his ability as a human to adapt, didn't apply to something that humans weren't meant to have. The enhancements those abilities brought, where very nearly unbearable. His body. His mind. Even his emotions. And given his mental state at the time, that last one turned out being a "bad thing".
Indeed, Ward hadn't had time to deal with the emotions that the Arbiter's revelations had brought out in him. He felt like his life was one, big joke. And like all good soldiers who found themselves in harsh situations, Ward compartmentalized those emotions… until he had time to properly deal with them.
With his emotions heightened however, compartmentalization became harder and harder, until he eventually found himself struggling for control. And his anger had been the worst. Ward had wanted to burn the world, if only to make everyone else suffer, as he had. It was only the memory of his family that had stopped him from breaking out of that prison and doing so.
They would never have forgiven him. And if he was being honest with himself… then taking from others what had been so cruelly taken from him, well… that would have been a descent into madness. So, he stayed. Stayed and fought for his place in this new world, which he found himself in.
It was that single choice that set him on his current path. It had led to the discovery of a new "family". And though it took time, that is what Christian, Thomas, and Elizabeth were to him now… family. They were now close enough, that he was even planning on telling them about his abilities, as they would find out in a few months anyway. He hadn't decided yet, though.
He also found a teacher… the Ancient One, who had seen Ward at his weakest, when his emotions were so out of control, he nearly killed her, though granted… it was by accident. That was a poor excuse, though. He even found a friend, Master Kaecilius, who helped him gain control over his new abilities.
Sitting here now, two years later, he was finally the man he had been before. The man his family had loved. And this new world he was in… would be better because of that fact. Seeing the Dematerialization Box begin its work, Ward's eyes regained their focus. He removed his "upper clothing" and stepped out of the shadows.
'Well, Gibborim… I hope you've made your peace.'
---
"Hey… Doc?"
Nearly one mile away from the Wilder Mansion, John Garrett sat inside a van beside Dr. Aldritch Killian, with a team of "agents" standing outside of the vehicle. He was in the middle of watching the mansion from afar, using a pair of high-powered night-vision binoculars. Hearing Garrett call out to him, Killian looked up from the laptop he was observing.
"What is it, Mr. Garrett?"
Garrett lowered the binoculars, then looked over at his colleague and spoke with an inquisitive gaze.
"What was the name of the grub we ate earlier?"
Looking back down at the laptop, Killian responded.
"Ossobuco In Bianco… it's a veal dish, with a side of risotto."
Garrett grunted in response. They had "officially" worked together for a year now and were familiar with one another's mannerisms, so Killian understood that this was Garretts way thanking him. The two men got along quite well, which was surprising, as the two came from completely different backgrounds.
A few minutes passed in relative silence, before the two men heard a "BOOM" in the distance. Looking back up, Killian saw pillar of light coming from the mansion. Turning towards Garrett, he saw the latter poke his head out of the van and shout at the men outside.
"Showtime boys!"
"Time to roll out!"
---
Ward watched from the skies as the Wilder Mansion was destroyed in a flash of brilliant light. Floating next to him, the members of PRIDE looked on in equal parts horror and confusion. Ward had used his abilities to teleport them all outside. Then he suspended them next to him using telekinesis, another of his newfound abilities.
The cause of the mansion's destruction was a being made of pure light. This was the Gibborim, Jonah. Now however, he was well and thoroughly pissed. Not that it bothered Ward. No, it was his doing in the first place. The changes he made to the Dematerialization Box had worked.
Ward had made it so that instead of "breaking down physical matter" and then "sending it as energy" to a second Dematerialization Box that Jonah was inside of, the one in the basement would "retrieve energy". This would extract Jonah from his host body.
That was the one of the biological downsides for any Gibborim. They were unable to survive while inside of the Earth's atmosphere. Or any atmosphere like Earths, for that matter. To compensate and survive, they required a host. One that was native to the world itself. And by removing Jonah from his host, it was only a matter of time until he died.
That was the true purpose of the Dematerialization Box… to "renew" Jonah. To make him whole. That wasn't why Ward was here tonight, though. He was planned to use another of his newfound abilities. Taking a deep breathe, Ward looked over to Tina Minoru, who had been watching him the whole time. Grinning, he spoke in a friendly tone.
"Well Mrs. Minoru, I promised you a show… and I am nothing, if not a man of my word!"
Waving his hand, Ward sent the Members of PRIDE who up until now had all been either screaming in panic, calmly observing the situation, or shouting at him because he was ignoring them, over to Garretts team who had just arrived. Then stretching his neck, he looked at the fleeing Gibborim nearly three miles in the distance.
'He's slow…'
'Maybe he's weaker than anticipated?'
Jonah's light form was already fading, but Ward wasn't stupid. He knew full well that wounded prey was always the most dangerous. Teleporting in front of the fleeing Jonah, Ward coated his right fist in energy and threw a punch that broke the sound barrier. With a loud boom, his fist collided with the oncoming Jonah, sending the Gibborim hurtling into the ground below.
"Hmm?"
"No, you're stronger than we anticipated."
In an explosion of light and heat, the ground below turned glass. Jonah had realized that he couldn't escape from Ward. Out of sheer desperation, Jonah chose to fight. Light blasts soon assaulted Ward from all sides, making it appear as if dozens of shooting stars were hurtling towards him. Ward didn't panic, however. His eyes never leaving Jonah, he teleported again.
Once more appearing before Jonah, Ward threw an energy clad uppercut. Jonah was sent spiraling towards the sky. Ward teleported again, and another punch. He repeated this process for an hour until Jonah could clearly no longer fight. Weak flashes of light were emitted from Jonah's light-formed body, as he hovered in the sky. Jonah was done… and he knew it.
"You fought well Gibborim, take pride in that."
Taking a large diamond-shaped gem from his ring, Ward quickly closed the distance between them. Thrusting the gem into Jonah's "center", where his chest would be located if he were human, Ward utilized his Omega Effect. With a massive surge of power, he transmuted Jonah… or more accurately, the energy that made up his body into a different form altogether. The energy settled into the crystal in as a dazzling spectrum of colors.
After it was done, Jonah was gone. The Gibborim who had wandered the Earth since the Stone Age, was finally dead. From a certain perspective, Ward found killing such a being to be a sad occurrence. He had to wonder what one who had lived for so long had seen and experienced. To have lived for so long, only to end like that… coming out of his thoughts, Ward landed on the ground to rest for a few minutes.
Transmutation tired him. It was clear to Ward, that he wouldn't be able to use it freely until reaching stage four. It was likely, anyway. It was easier to use magic for such things, but as there was no spell for what he just and short of creating one, the choice had been decided for him. Looking up at the stars above, Ward sighed and then placed the gem into his ring.
---
It took a few minutes to for Ward to reach Garrett's group. He had been flying slowly, enjoying the night air. Reaching them, he discovered several… problems seemed to have occurred. One man was hogtied… and gagged. Another woman was sitting on the ground while in handcuffs and was currently glaring daggers in Wards direction. And if those two things weren't strange enough, Garrett was holding two more at gunpoint.
"Sigh."
'I really have to stop letting Garrett run point… someone always ends up hogtied.'
Landing in front of the group, Ward first spoke to Killian, before he even tried to sort out Garrett's mess.
"Brooks Watten?"
Hearing Ward's statement-like question, Killian nodded, then opened the door of the van behind him. Inside was a "third Dematerialization Box", though… it would be more accurate to call it a "Re-materialization Box"… because that's what it did.
One of the reasons Ward had to use Killian's scientists for this matter, was the sheer amount of work that needed to be done on the Dematerialization Box inside of the Wilder Mansion. It required completely overhauling the machine, while building another to compliment it. It was not a simple endeavor, despite how quickly it was done.
The result had been the creation of "trans-matter technology". In basic terms, they had made transporter technology into a reality. It was no longer something you could only see on television. It was a revolutionary technology that was going to change the world… how could it not?
Opening the box showed that Brooks Watten was sleeping comfortably inside. Ward was a relieved. While he was certain the process would work, he had still been worried. This whole plan had been a risk, after all. And if it wasn't for the additional assurances of the others involved, he would never have allowed it to proceed. Nodding his head, Ward turned his attention towards Garrett.
"John?"
Garrett responded, while still holding two people at gunpoint.
"Yeah, kid?"
Wards eye twitched when Garrett had called him a kid. Taking a breath, Ward continued.
"Why is Dr. Stein bound and gagged?"
Garrett shrugged, before replying.
"Well… he got mouthy and decided to leave, even when I ever so politely asked him not to."
"Isn't that right, Dr.?
Stein thrashed around on the ground in response. Ward shook his head, then turned his attention to the handcuffed woman. She was being watched over by two of Garretts men. It was a bit of an overreach in Wards opinion, but he was sure there was reason. Garrett rarely acted without one.
"And… Mrs. Dean?"
"What did she do to deserve such treatment?"
Garrett laughed, before responding.
"She tried to take my gun… I think she was planning to shoot you with it."
Ward looked at the woman on perched on the ground, asking her.
"Is he correct, Mrs. Dean?"
The woman looked away from him in response, clearly uninterested in speaking. Ward knew that the woman sitting in front of him was the mother of Jonah's child. Her reaction was understandable. Ward would have even believed it, if he truly thought that the woman loved Jonah. Turning his attention to Garrett and the two people he was holding at gunpoint, he spoke again.
"And the Wilder couple?"
Garrett grunted unhappily.
"They have been… most unkind."
"Mr. Wilder even leveled a few… less than gentlemanly accusations against my mother…"
"Who was a saint, might I add."
Garrett flourished the pistol he was holding, then continued.
"And in the heat of our dispute, Mrs. Wilder stabbed one of the boys."
"… Most unkind."
Looking around, Ward spotted one of the men that Garrett had brought along with him. He had one of his arms bandaged but was otherwise unharmed. That was a good thing for the Wilders, because the man in question didn't work for Garrett, he worked for Ward. Nodding, Ward turned his attention back towards the Wilder couple.
"Lower the gun, John."
"I don't believe it will be necessary any longer…"
Wards eyes glowed red when he spoke his next words.
"Because they'll behave themselves from now on… won't they?"