Disclaimer - I don't, and have never claimed to, own Marvel or its Intellectual Property. This is all just so that I can take my maladaptive daydreaming and turn it into something so that it does not ruin the rest of my day.
DoorMan #1
Kamar Taj, Kathmandu[January 1, 2008]
Colin Baxter
In the bustling complex of Kamar Taj, a tall, attractive, muscular man could be seen making his way through the complex turns as if he had been here all his life.
"Hey, Nat! Doing great."
"Vicky, we still on for the movie? Yeah, great!"
"Ben, any luck in cracking why the Winds of Watoomb won't work for you? No? Keep working on it, buddy. I am sure you'll get it someday. If not, I'll ask the Ancient One for help."
Evidently, the young man was also quite the social butterfly as he flew through the complex and greeted everybody he met, remembering their names and also their problems.
This was Colin Baxter, me, the youngest living Master of the Mystic Arts, one of the strongest people in Kamar Taj.
"So, Wong? How goes the brooding?" He asked Wong who was leaning on the railing, looking over the most beautiful view in all of Kamar Taj.
Kamar Taj was weird, as in not conforming to normal standards. Then again, we were sorcerers, and bending over logic and giving it a good spanking was done before any of the Masters even had their breakfasts, so who was he to comment on the oddities of a complex that has been here for over a thousand years?
Yeesh, that was old.
"Master Baxter, might I remind you, that the library is still banned for you, after you tried to summon one of the books from the restricted section, using a spell that is still under review."
"Under the purview of the panel of reviewers headed by you just means that me giving you this sacred Honey from K'unL'un might just help the spell fast tracked."
Wong gave him his signature deadpan stare, even as he discreetly pocketed the small can of honey he had been able to procure from K'unL'un and only because he was able to show them his own CHI mastery, something that they were flabbergasted over.
It was another deviation from the MCU. There were mystical hotspots all over the planet, and Sorcerers were just one part of it. Sure, the most important and strongest was Kamar Taj but there were other places that were just as mystical and mysterious as Kamar Taj.
"Master Baxter, need I remind you that Kamar Taj functions on the virtues of honesty, compassion, justice–"
"And truth. Yeah, I know, you were the one who made sure it was drilled into my mind, did you forget? Anyway, this is not a bribe. This is just incentive, yeah, let's go with incentive, to get my case file on top."
Wong gave him another deep stare before he took out the can from his robe and after casting a spell around it, that created a pocket of air so that its heavenly scent was not spread throughout Kamar Taj, he opened it and took a deep sniff.
"Ah, should I come back later? Or do you need a moment?" He snickered at the red faced Wong, which was so rare it might as well be non-existent.
"Master Baxter, I will see what can be done about your spell review. Please, return to your studies. I know your scholarship is contingent on you securing a 3.0GPA or above,"
Gone was Master Wong, the hardass trainer with a straight face who didn't even flinch when his hand had to be reattached after one of his experiments went haywire, and now stood in front of him, the Wong who practically raised him ever since he arrived at the New York Sanctum, shivering, drenched in rain, but with a determination to see it all through.
Wong was one of the few who was aware of his circumstances and sure, he was a hardass every now and then, but he was also the only one, aside from the Ancient One, with whom he could be the most frank.
Seeing that Wong was out of his Master persona, he too, smiled slightly, "Don't worry about that, old man. When have I ever missed an A, all my life?"
And it was true as well.
When he had first arrived at the New York Sanctum, it was his luck that the current Master had just been transferred, giving way for Wong to take command over the New York Sanctum, who immediately took him in and listened to his ramblings.
He had grown a lot ever since, and so had his powers. The same powers that allowed him to develop a semi eidetic memory, peak physical strength, and the power to purge poisons and energy from his body.
"Yeah, I know. I was there for your valedictorian speech. Still, we don't know the long term effects of having so much CHI being pumped into your system all the time. Are you sure you are not feeling anything–"
"..Oh come on, Old Man. you know as well as I do that the old woman would have stopped me the moment I was in any harm. So," His right arm lit up with molten orange colour as a spell circle appeared on top of his fist, casting an orange glow around them.
"--Calm down, will you?" He told Wong, his mind effortlessly casting the spell as well as regulating the flow of CHI within his body.
The sounds of doors opening and closing were heard in his mind as he regulated the flow of CHI within his body.
Wong took one look at his body, his glowing arm, the completely stable spell circle, and then at the effects of the area of effect rejuvenation spell that he had just cast, and then sighed in resignation.
"What will I ever do with you?" He grumbled good naturedly but didn't stop him from using the spell, Wong's body probably needed the CHI from all the natural wear and tear from his job.
After all, he was ancient.
"Why do I feel that you just insulted me?" Wong narrowed his eyes at him.
Welp, time to leave.
"Bye!" He said and then stepped back, a small door appearing beneath his foot that created a small localised shockwave that propelled him into the air, the process repeating as he rapidly gained altitude, while Wong probably fumed behind him, suffering from the slight winds of the shockwave
"Whoa!" He almost crashed into the barrier that was put into place to stop people, like him, from flying straight into the dimensional wall erected around Kamar Taj.
"See you!" He screamed to Wong, as he waved his right hand stupidly multiple times, for a portal to appear.
For the life of him, he could not open the portals as smoothly as other Masters. Something that was a point of contention during his exam because portals were quite an integral part of the fighting style as well as the overall logistics of Kamar Taj.
Another shockwave on his feet propelled him straight into the portal, which was angled upward, so he came out of the portal and then dropped down, as gravity did its job.
"Ah! Home Sweet Home!"
He did a three point landing, just for shits and giggles, and then took in a deep breath, the stark contrast from the cold dry air to the current air was refreshing in a way.
"Hmm?" He was about to go and freshen up when the sound of sizzling reached his ears. He took a look around and saw that nobody was there, so he went up to the second floor, only to see….
"Hey! That's my grill!" He saw the Ancient One, casually lounging on his balcony as Jin'ya, an interdimensional Astral Dragon manned the grill.
My GRILL!
The Ancient One looked at him with her sunglasses and then promptly ignored him.
"Hey!" Marching over to Jin'Ya, he was about to tell him to stop but the heavenly smell of the meat reached his nose and he almost melted on the spot.
"Oh my god, please tell me it's the meat from Ta-Lo?" he immediately sat his ass down as Jin'Ya expertly grilled the meat and joined the Ancient One in looking at the view.
Oh yeah, he didn't say anything about the view, did he?
It was an endless expanse of Red as sands covered the area as far as his vision went. There were some mountains in the middle as well but even those were covered in red so his point still stood.
"What are you even doing here? Don't you have some whatever it is that you Sorcerer Supremes do, duty to perform?" Colin grumbled at her as he took out a cold beer and began sipping on it.
"Ah! This is the best," He sighed in relief as the cold fluid slid down his throat. Sure, the buzz was nonexistent because of the way his body was built, what with the constant concentrated CHI exposure, but he liked to partake in the stereotypes sometimes.
"Hey!" He screamed as the beer was yanked out of his hand by an invisible force, only for it to reach Jin'ya who took a sip and put it back in the cooler.
"Baxter Boy! I told you no drinking until you are 21, according to the human customs," Jin'Ya waved the tongs at him before resuming the grilling.
"For your information, Jin'ya, we are not on Earth at the moment and you have seen me kill humans before I even turned 16 so I don't know what your hang up is," He grumbled but accepted that he would not be getting his sweet sweet beer with the heavenly meat he was about to consume.
The chicken and beef, both, from Ta-Lo, were exquisite, so much so that he had to routinely make the trips and strengthen their warriors along with facilitating the strengthening of their seal, only for them to pay him in meat, along with giving him access to their dimension on demand.
"How did you even get the meat, anyway?" He asked the Ancient One who was sipping her Strawberry Quick while looking straight at the sun, which shone much more brightly here.
Oh yeah, they were on Mars.
The Planet.
Hence, the beautiful red view, that can be enjoyed within the barrier that was cast personally by the Ancient One, around the house that he personally built here.
He never understood why all the protagonists that came to MCU, didn't at least try to create an off world base.
"In the lingo of your generation, Colin, "I rizzed them up,"" The Ancient One replied to him, not even breaking character for a moment, as she used something that was so out of expectation for her.
"Okay, what is going on here?" He finally asked the question since this was totally not normal, in any sense of manner. For one, Jin'Ya was an Ancient Dragon who liked to slumber deep within the sublevels of the house that he had built here.
Jin'Ya had his own library that he imported from the Astral Realm, along with the new books that he continues to write. Also, for some reason, Jin'Ya had taken a liking to him when he came to Kamar Taj, tumbling out of the Astral Realm, all those years ago.
The Ancient One, on the other hand, was so busy that he had no idea when she even slept if she even slept. Running around, putting out fires caused by other mystics, hunting down rogues, enforcing treaties between magical civilisations, and dealing with the very dangerous Fae, all the while also completing all the Vishanti's demands.
Both the Ancient One and Jin'Ya paused for a moment.
He was getting increasingly weirded out because this was literally the first time the Ancient One had come to his house. She didn't come even once after casting the spell that she told him would last another century, the one protecting the house from the harsh environment around them and also the spatial extension enchantments powered by Jin'Ya.
"We are just worried, Baxter. You are now an adult. We cannot stop you from doing anything but we are worried about any steps you might take. You told me that 2008 is the year everything begins and on the orders of the Vishanti, I have not asked you anything about that. I just want to make sure that you are fine."
"Yeah, what she said. I would hate to have to up and move after I finally have my own place in the material world that is not infested by nasty people,"
"Hey! You are a tenant here, don't forget that. You don't even pay rent; I should have you thrown out," He said before taking a deep breath as he realised that they were just worried for him.
So, there he was, on Mars, in a house cloaked by a magical spell, trying to explain to an immortal sorceress who was also the leader of a thousand year old magical cult, and a Dragon who is an Astral Being, that he was not going to go out and get himself killed.
Sure, he had done the same, and had come alarmingly close to dying during one of his many experiments but he always survived, courtesy of the CHI flowing through his veins.
He just collapsed back into the chair, and said, "Guys, it is not like I am going to go in charging into space, trying to defeat my enemy. No, I am going to prepare. I still have over 10 years until the fight begins in earnest."
Both of them looked at each other for a moment before Jin'Ya shrugged and went back to grilling, the meat being fine because Jin'Ya was a master of telekinesis. He could probably pick out individual grains of sand hundreds of miles away and bring them here, all the while holding a conversation.
Perks of being an Ancient Monster.
"I am bound by the Vishanti, so I cannot explicitly ask you anything but please, be careful, and one more thing, Congratulations, for graduation!" She said and then handed him over a ring.
"What's this?" He asked as the ring resized itself to fit snugly on his finger.
"That, Master Baxter, is an energy limiter. I know that nothing will happen with the CHI doors but if you happen to discover another form of energy, it should be helpful. I once again, wish you luck in your endeavours. Farewell," She said and then faded away, one of the many forms of teleportation that she has mastered over her long lifespan.
"Well, what are we waiting for? It just means that there's more for us," He looked to the side as Jin'Ya floated alongside him.
He deadpanned at the ancient Dragon, "You do realise that you are tiny, right? I could fit you in my pocket if they were a bit deeper."
The statement set off the tiny Dragon like nothing else as Jin'Ya immediately began hovering around him, screaming profanities.
"F-ck you! You were stardust when my grandmother was born. I am above average size for my species. It is not my fault that our species is known for our minds, rather than the brutes that were rightfully exterminated in the material universe,"
He snickered and continued to ignore his long time(for him) experimentation partner as he plated the meat and moaned as the first bite entered his mouth.
"That's it, Jin'Ya, you are on grilling duty from now on. I will just have to get you another grill for that. You don't touch a man's grill, okay?"
Jin'Ya was too busy nibbling on his food to reply but the giant middle finger formed out of psionic energy that was visible to his eyes, was answer enough.
"Jeez," He muttered as they ate in silence, the occasional noise of yet another piece of rock hitting their barrier, the only thing interrupting the silence.
_____xx____
"Alright, let's get this done with so I can go get my makeup done for Comic Con in time,"
"...."
"What?" He asked Jin'Ya defensively as he could literally feel the deadpan stare given by the dragon despite his face being set into stone after years of age.
"I will never understand you humans and your crude disguises," Jin'Ya shook his head and slammed his paw down on the ground. Well, Jin'Ya would call them talons but due to his size, it was more akin to a paw.
The slamming of the paw set forth a chain reaction as a huge circle appeared on the ground, creating a cube around him, separating him from the rest of the universe by isolating him in a pseudo dimension, something that was in the process of turning into an alternate dimension but was just not there yet.
There were trillions of such dimensions, just waiting to be used, so he didn't feel any guilt over using them in such a way because each use resulted in the destruction of the dimension because it was just too fragile to withstand what he was about to do here.
He took in a deep breath, closed his eyes, and plunged into his mind space, his mind's library, his soulscape, whatever you wanted to call it. It was the first step in their experiment, entering his mind and then proceeding from there.
It was the space within one's soul, representing crucial parts of the soul of a person. For over two years now, he had been conducting such experiments under the watchful eye of Jin'Ya.
His mindscape was a wonderful thing. It was a picturesque scenery, with mountains, rivers, and make believe animals running around to culminate in a very utopia like scenario.
Also, since this was his mind and he could do whatever he wanted in here, the animals were Transformers.
He grinned like a loon as he watched a dog jump thirty feet in the air and catch the tail of a bird that then flung the Transformer dog farther up in the air, as it continued to bark in robotic noises, and it then dove straight into the river.
Taking a deep breath, he looked at the sky in his mindscape, it was perpetually in the orange sunset sweet spot. The only disruption would be the giant ass door in the middle.
Oh yeah, he hadn't mentioned his powers yet, had he?
That Door was his power.
Literally, his powers were Doors.
Kinda lame if you don't know the concept behind it but once he got the hang of it, it was probably the most fun and versatile power he had ever heard of.
It took him a while to get the whole thing figured out through trial and error but here was the gist of it.
He could create doors. Now, on their own, the doors were nothing special. Just a little bit bulletproof and missile proof, and probably a whole other "proof" but not much more than that. It was what the doors led to, that was important.
Basically, the only reason he was able to become the youngest master alive was because of his powerset being basically geared towards Sorcerer, specifically, the brand of Sorcerer that Kamar Taj practices.
His doors, after going through a little bit of finding, can open doors that lead to unclaimed dimensions. The same dimensions through which Sorcerers can draw powers from, once they had created some sort of pact with the rulers of the dimension.
Unclaimed dimensions can be used as a power source but the process is more hassle than it is worth. That is why most sorcerers only used energies from dimensions with Patron Gods of sorts, who can facilitate the efficient flow of energy directly to the Sorcerers.
That inefficient in wrangling the untamed energy to flow was where his doors came in.
"First off," He muttered as he flew straight to a series of trees under one of the mountains. Technically, every single blade of grass inside his mindscape represented a door to be opened but he was not strong enough to open even a fraction of them at the moment.
He gently landed in front of a number of trees but the twist here was the trees had blue doors carved into their trunks, creating truly wide trees.
Each of the doors carved into the trees represented a door that was permanently "latched" to a dimension with no noticeable side effects. There were altogether seven doors open at the moment.
One for each of the four stereotypical elements.
Wind. Water. Fire. Earth.
The Earth one was just an entire dimension filled with compressed sand so that when the door is opened, jets of sand are shot out, very useful in suppressing fires.
The Fire one was just an entire dimension filled with all sorts of suns at various stages of their eventual heat death.
Water one was an oceanic dimension filled with distilled water.
Then the fifth one was an unclaimed dimension filled with CHI. Pure and unadulterated CHI. He had really lucked out on that dimension. It was also the only one which did not have a handle on its door, because it was always open.
It was a pain in the ass to make sure that it was always open but he had done it. From the moment he did that two years ago, he had a constant flow of pure CHI into his body, allowing his body to gorge on top the life force and make sure that his body grew into its full potential.
Some of the benefits were, enhanced strength, speed, enhanced base stats across all physical parameters, with an increment in mental activities, resulting in high memory retention. Also, small injuries healed within hours.
Broken Bones? At most, a day. Broken Ligaments? A couple of days.
Ruptured Organs? A week. Total spinal damage? A month.
Unfortunately, he was speaking from experience. He was not really allowed to experiment much when he first gained the Doors and in a fit of rebelliousness, he had tried to open two doors at once, one filled with CHI and one filled with the sun, burning him beyond recognition.
His entire body was blackened char and nothing more, according to Wong, and it was true because he had felt himself burn before blacking out. Apparently, his foolish decision to open two doors at once paid off because the CHI flowing in his body kept him alive enough for the Ancient One to return, and then eventually healed his entire body.
So yeah, due to the door having no handle to close it, he had a healing factor now.
He could also use the CHI to cast other spells as well but that was a story for another time.
That made 5 doors.
The sixth door led to a dimension filled with something he had not expected to find in the MCU, what with Mutants not being a part of the MCU, even after Disney acquired Fox. He had no idea what happened after that, though.
The sixth door led to a dimension filled with lasers, but the lasers were only kinetic energy given form, not energy. Yeah, the dimension led to the lasers that were once used by the iconic Scott Summers, i.e., Cyclops.
The Seventh Dimension was one filled with light. Yeah, just light. He had hoped to be able to harness the light somehow but it was literally just a giant light bulb. He needed the help of a magnifying glass to actually weaponise that light. Though it would always come in handy in case he needed to combat some weak dark beasts, the stronger ones would just shrug off any light that wasn't infused with the Holy Element.
So, that was one of the Seven Doors wasted.
The thing was that he could only open seven at the moment
He had a feeling that more Doors would be unlocked as he grew, both mentally and physically, but at the moment, his entire arsenal was just limited to that.
Back to the experiment he was doing with Jin'Ya though.
The experiment was just another exercise to get more doors to open so that he could expand his grimoire, so to speak.
Moving on from the doors he had opened, he looked up at the giant blue Door etched on the mountainside, took a deep breath, and floated to the door.
He placed his arm on the door and his vision…expanded.
Word Count - 4120
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