POV: Scott
Remember when I said I was starting to get used to the Ancient One's bullshit?
Yeah, I take that back.
"I can call in a few favors, but to truly learn from them, you must live by and follow their laws."
So far, so good. But what came next? That's what really pissed me off. Genuinely pissed me off.
"That implies changing your lifestyle. For example, not eating certain types of food while you are there. And if you truly wish to fit in? Shaving your hair would be a good choice."
What? To learn chi I have to literally become a monk?! You've got to be kidding me!
"Are you even hearing yourself? If you've got favors to collect, then collect them properly! Don't screw me over for no reason!!!"
"From my perspective, the one who needs something is you, Mr. Summers, not me."
Alright, that's it! I had enough of this shit!!!!
"And what the hell is your problem with me anyway?! Ever since I got here, everything you've done has been about screwing me over one way or another! Sure, I learned a lot in the end, but still! The ends don't justify the means!!!"
The Ancient One just stares at me with that same neutral expression as always, then answers after a few seconds.
"The reason I 'screw' with you, Mr. Summers, is that quite frankly? In every timeline where I don't, everything goes wrong."
Alright, let's hear the excuse this time.
"There are things even I cannot say, but in general? If you are not taught—or at least made to suffer—as you have until now, then in most timelines you either destroy the world completely, or simply watch it happen without doing anything."
Hearing that come out of her mouth leaves a bitter taste.
That's literally sacrificing one life for the sake of many.
Makes sense on paper, even morally speaking—but everything changes when you're the one being sacrificed.
As for the second part of her answer? Yeah, I would. Not destroy the world—I'm not a genocidal maniac.
But let everything go to hell? Absolutely.
A lot of the time, terrible things happen, and even if they have nothing to do with it, the ones who have to suffer and fix it are the heroes—the innocent ones.
And as if that wasn't enough, after fixing everything for free, they still get blamed and crucified for it. As if it were their fault.
Spider-Man is the perfect example.
And in my case it'd be even worse! Because I'm a damn mutant! And I don't know if she knows this, but we're literally hunted by the government!
So yeah, I'd watch everything burn—even if that meant dying along with it.
I already died once.
Dying again can't be that bad.
"And? I already told you—moralism isn't my thing. Our deal was very specific. Fight for our world. In other words? Fight when real threats show up, like dimensional beings or alien invasions. Everything else? I don't care."
"So you still believe that just because you didn't cause the problem, you have neither the responsibility nor the will to fix it?"
The disappointment in her eyes is obvious, but I answer anyway.
"Of course. You do the same thing. The government hunting mutants, villains causing chaos, aliens invading Earth… and you know what's funny? I've never seen you do anything."
"I do nothing because I cannot. Destabilizing the timeline has consequences, Mr. Summers. Severe consequences. It is harsh and cruel, but everything that happens—every life lost—was meant to happen."
Nope. Not buying it.
"Don't give me that. You can, actually—because you did it with me!"
"You are a special case."
"No, I'm not. I'm not even going into that, because I know I'll explode. I just want to make one thing clear—don't preach morality to me. Even if I let the world burn, my conscience is clean."
I look straight into her eyes and continue.
"But what about you? Don't you lose sleep knowing thousands—maybe millions—died just because you didn't want to go against what? Fate?"
The Ancient One doesn't answer. She just watches me for a moment, then says:
"An old friend has agreed to help you with your chi problem. Pack your things. The second—and perhaps part of your training—will take place in K'un-Lun."
So when things get heated, you just pretend nothing happened, huh? Ha! Incredible.
Not so nice when you're on the other side, is it? Now you know how I felt here.
Without saying anything, I head to my room to pack the few clothes I have.
POV: Ancient One
So… even after everything I've done, he's still in the middle ground.
Originally, Scott had few divergent timelines and generally followed a heroic path.
But ever since Jake took control? The number of possible variables increased—and continues to increase.
There are many variants, but most can be classified as:
Good. Heroes who, despite questionable decisions, choose correctly when it truly matters.
Bad. Villains—and surprisingly, most of the time they don't do evil because they want to, but because they were provoked.
And unfortunately, when the moment comes, they choose wrong.
And lastly… the Grey.
These are exceptions among exceptions. Extremely rare.
Out of 10,000 Scotts, only one is Grey.
They have no interest in saving or destroying the world, and they rarely reveal themselves to it.
However… these variants always become extremely powerful, and when the moment of decision arrives? The odds become 50/50.
They are incredibly difficult to predict—and often extremely troublesome to deal with.
And apparently… my Scott is heading in that direction.
Everything I've done—from the day he arrived until now—was meant to guide him toward becoming a Good variant.
I gathered answers and actions from other timelines, even went beyond my limits to try to fix his temperament.
But apparently? All I did was push him further in the opposite direction.
"Haaaa…"
I can only hope that there, he experiences a more positive development.
And with a bit of luck? He leaves the grey area and becomes a Good variant.
But who am I trying to fool?
That probably… won't happen.
Sometimes, knowing too much is a pain.