“Everyone’s here,” Edward said as he looked at everyone on the table. His eyes shifted to Tony. “You look like shit.”
“It’s hard to sleep with everything that’s been going on,” Tony replied. “By the way, did you have to wipe Pepper and Happy’s memory, too? You made an exception for us; why not them?”
“I assume you wanted them to stay out of this, but if you want, I can return their memories,” Edward replied.
“Maybe that’s for the best,” Tony grunted.
“What is the current situation?” Fury asked.
“You saw the result. I wiped out these people’s memories and temporarily sealed their newfound strength.”
“Temporarily?”
“No one can escape what’s coming, so having power is not necessarily a bad thing,” Edward explained.
Fury frowned, “I’m guessing the military is trying to use these powers?”
“You’re right. They haven’t figured out we are in a situation of us vs everyone else.”
“So, what are you going to do?”
“My clone is working on a diplomatic compromise. Every military in the world can have access to their supernatural strength and begin training in preparation for the Convergence.
“However, NATO, Russia, and China want their country to have it first and everyone else to wait at least a year.”
“Well, at least you’ve convinced them that everyone should have access to super soldiers. That feat in itself is extraordinary,” Fury commented, but Edward grunted. His clone was already complaining about how tedious his work was, asking if it would not be best to just conquer this planet. In fact, Edward considered his suggestions. However, the futures he saw still indicate that playing the game will have fewer consequences than becoming a direct tyrant.
“Let’s talk about something important,” Edward stated. “I said I was going to train all of you, and it’s time to start.”
“I volunteer to be the first,” Hawkeye immediately stated.
“That’s fine.” The group discussed a training order before Edward took Clint back to his magic tower. He arrived in a unique location with a large room with a large white ball floating in the middle.
“What’s this?”
“The Potential Orb,” Edward replied. “It’s a magical artifact that uses the power of fate and time to find a person’s talent or potential. It can basically tell what you’re good at — no matter how odd or inconceivable your talent is.”
“How odd are we talking about?” Clint asked.
“It once discovered someone whose DNA was mutated to create a unique saliva with healing properties. The saliva would only change once he ate avocados, but he was allergic.”
“Meaning he would have never discovered his uniqueness since he would stay away from avocados?”
“Exactly,” Edward. “Of course, even if he did not, it was hard to detect. After all, who would try to use this man’s saliva to heal people.”
“Hey, now, I feel insulted.”
“This is nothing against you,” Edward explained. “Only a magical civilization that has a deep enough understanding of Bloodline or Genetic Modifications and reached the level of utilizing concepts like [luck], [destiny], and [blessing] can give birth to someone of your talent.
“Earth does not meet the requirements.”
“I don’t much get what you said, but it does sound like something is wrong,” Clint commented.
“I think I know what’s happening, but I must test it out. Follow me,” Edward said. Then, he ordered Morgana to have a few other sorcerers from Karma-Taj tested. He led Clint to a room with a Time Acceleration.
“The first step of your training is to get your body and mana to Tier 4 as soon as possible. It would have been best if it were Tier 6, but the Kairos Poison might affect your potential, so we’ll settle for Tier 4.”
Edward left a clone to train Clint while he went into his forge. “We should have a Tier 10 bow and Eye Artifact, right?”
“Yes. You once built the Houyi Bow and Hanuman’s Eyes.”
“Any quivers?”
“There is a Tier 6 one.”
“I know I built a Tier 9 quiver artifact.”
“It’s on the floating city,” Morgan reminded.
“That’s right,” Edward nodded. He took the blueprint for the bow and eyes and modified them to fit with Hawkeye. “You’re in charge of upgrading these two while I build a new quiver.”
The two quickly got to work to finish their tasks immediately. Then, Edward put the finishing touch on his quiver, which involved placing the Power Stone into it. He then headed to Hawkeye’s training.
“Excellent, he commented. Hawkeye was already Tier 4 despite only a week passing outside and five years in this room. Upon closer observation, it was obvious he left no hidden danger.
“Oh, you’re here,” Clint said. “I need to leave here as soon as possible.”
“Missing your wife and children?”
“It’s been five years. I miss so much of their lives.” Clint was on the verge of crying.
“No need to fuss. Only two weeks passed outside.”
Clint suddenly paused before yelling: “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“The stress and pressure was very motivational.”
“You!”
“Alright. Let’s start the second phase of your training,” Edward cut him off before summoning the three artifacts he made for him.