Henry stood quietly, rubbing the back of his neck and feeling a mixture of relief, confusion, and... luck. Tremendous, ridiculous, god-tier luck.
He had just avoided being blasted to pieces by Obadiah's Iron Monger suit, and not through any tactical genius or hidden magical counter—no, Obadiah had quite literally launched himself into Henry's unstable portal.
By accident.
Saved again by sheer dumb luck.
Henry couldn't help but smile a little, even as his nerves were still settling. Thank you, Lady Luck... keep it up.
Tony Stark, on the other hand, was not smiling. He was staring at the empty rooftop where Obadiah had just stood seconds ago, completely stunned.
"Wait. Hold on. What just happened?" Tony asked, voice strained. "Where did Obadiah go?!"
Henry turned toward him and answered casually, "He sort of… walked into my portal."
Tony's helmet retracted again, revealing his disheveled hair, bruised face, and expression of utter disbelief. "Your what now?"
Henry tried to explain it as simply as possible. "Portal. Spatial teleportation magic. I opened one to get out of here, and he... well, he got in before I did."
Tony's expression was unreadable for a few moments. Then: "Magic?!"
"Yeah."
"Are you kidding me?!" Tony shouted.
Henry tilted his head, completely serious. "Do I look like I'm kidding?"
Tony opened his mouth, then closed it again.
He wanted to scream that's unscientific, but his logical mind was already replaying what had happened—Obadiah disappearing into glowing light without a trace, with no explosion or tech explanation to speak of.
"Okay... so let me get this straight," Tony said slowly. "Magic. Is real. You're a mage. And that's how you've been popping in and out of places like some kind of glitching NPC?"
Henry nodded. "Pretty much."
Tony was silent for a long moment.
Then he slumped against a wall and muttered, "This is so far beyond the user manual..."
"To be fair," Henry added helpfully, "you are Iron Man. You built a flying suit in a cave. With scraps."
"That's science!" Tony shot back.
"Then maybe think of this as... advanced metaphysical physics."
Tony groaned. "Don't start sounding like a New Age therapist, please."
Henry chuckled and crouched beside him. "Trust me, I didn't believe it at first either."
Tony looked at him thoughtfully. "You really are a mage?"
"Yup."
Tony sighed, then pointedly asked, "So... where did Obadiah go? Like, where exactly?"
Henry's smile faded slightly.
"Honestly... I'm not sure."
Tony blinked. "What?"
"I was trying to portal home," Henry said. "My villa. But the spell wasn't stable. I don't think it locked onto the right location."
Tony stared. "So... we just fired a giant armored psychopath into a mystery destination?"
"Yeeeep," Henry admitted, dragging out the word. "Probably... not great."
Meanwhile.
Kamar-Taj.
The sanctum was calm, as it always was. Candles flickered quietly. Wind rustled through the ancient curtains.
And then—BOOM.
A portal burst open above the stone floor of the central chamber, and a metal-clad behemoth fell through it like a wrecking ball.
Obadiah Stane, in full Iron Monger armor, crashed into the floor of Kamar-Taj's sanctum with a deafening clatter, the impact echoing through the sacred halls.
As the dust settled, he rose groggily from the rubble.
"What the hell—?!"
He blinked and looked around at the stone walls, the monks now gathering silently around him, and most notably, the figure standing calmly in the center of the chamber.
The Ancient One.
They stared at each other for a long, tense five seconds.
Then Obadiah broke the silence.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?! WHERE'S TONY? WHERE AM I?!"
The Ancient One answered in her usual serene tone, "You're in Kamar-Taj. Kathmandu. Tony Stark is still in New York."
"Kama-what now?! Nepal?! That's not possible! That's—" He stopped mid-rant. "This is insane!"
"You were teleported," she replied calmly.
Obadiah, shaking with rage, pointed his cannon toward her. "You're with them! That brat—Henry—and Tony! I'll finish you off and go back myself!"
He powered up his cannon, ready to fire.
He never got the chance.
The Ancient One lifted one hand, and with a flick of her palm, Obadiah's soul ripped from his body like mist separating from flesh.
He floated in the air, staring down at himself.
"OH MY GOD!!! WHAT IS THIS?! AM I DEAD?! AM I—WHAT IS THIS?!"
The panic in his disembodied voice was almost comedic.
A calm male voice responded behind him.
"That is your soul. You are not dead… yet."
Mordo stepped forward, arms crossed, watching the scene with a mix of curiosity and mild concern.
Obadiah's soul turned toward him, flailing. "What the hell is happening?! Who the hell are you?!"
Mordo answered smoothly. "I am Mordo. And you've just been enlightened—by the Supreme Sorcerer of Earth."
Obadiah turned toward the Ancient One again.
"YOU?! You did this?!"
She nodded with serenity. "Yes."
"But—but how?! What are you people?! I had a suit! I had weapons!"
"You encountered magic," Mordo said. "Something your science never prepared you for."
Obadiah fell silent.
Then whimpered, "...I was fighting Tony. And then this kid—this college kid—he opened some glowing hole and I—wait... where is he?!"
Mordo frowned. "A college student? Who?"
"The brat! Henry!" Obadiah snapped. "He's been following Tony around! Wears hoodies and talks like he doesn't know what's going on, but he's some kind of magic freak!"
Mordo turned to the Ancient One.
"You know of this 'Henry'?"
The Ancient One nodded. "Yes. I gave him a book."
"A book?" Mordo repeated. "You mean you... accepted a student without bringing him here? Without training?"
"I was testing something," she said.
Mordo raised a brow. "What kind of test?"
"I wanted to see if natural fate would guide the hand of magic," she replied. "So far... it has."
Mordo hesitated. "And how long has this boy been learning?"
The Ancient One looked out toward the courtyard, her tone unchanged.
"About a week."
There was a pause.
Then Mordo's expression shattered.
"...A week?! And he already opened a portal?!"
The Ancient One nodded again. "And not just that. He's grasped spatial teleportation. Independently."
Mordo stared, speechless. Then muttered to himself, "This… this is a genius."
Even Obadiah—still floating like a terrified balloon—paused in disbelief. "Him?! That kid?! Genius?!"
The Ancient One looked upward at the hovering soul.
"Whether he is a genius or not is yet to be proven. But fate has certainly shown an interest in him."
Back in New York.
Tony Stark sat on the rooftop, processing what he had just heard.
"...So, just to recap," he said, pointing at Henry. "You're a self-taught magician. You've been learning for what, a few days?"
"About a week," Henry replied honestly.
Tony took a long pause.
"...This is the dumbest, most incredible thing I've ever seen."
Henry grinned.
"You know," Tony added, "if you weren't already booked for Hogwarts, I'd offer you a job."
Henry laughed. "I'll keep that in mind."
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