Hearing Morgan say they were being followed, Emma immediately glanced behind them and spotted three men walking several meters away.
"Hey, don't just turn around. They'll know we spotted them," Morgan said, feeling Emma was being careless.
"Come on, Morgan. They're just some ordinary thugs. We don't need to take them seriously," Emma said, deliberately glancing back at them with a provocative smile.
The two girls casually walked into a narrow alley. A few moments later, the three thugs followed them inside.
"Where did those girls go?" one of the drunken thugs muttered as the three of them looked around the empty alley.
"Why do we need to hide here? We could've easily taken them down," Emma whispered, watching the thugs search the alley from the rooftop above.
"Just wait," Morgan said with a confident smile.
"Officer, over here! I saw those thugs following the girls!"
Hearing the shout, Emma and Morgan, hidden on top of a nearby building, looked down. The owner of the hotel they had visited earlier hurried into the alley with a police officer.
"There they are!" the hotel owner said, pointing at the three men.
The officer immediately stepped forward.
"You three, don't move!"
The three drunken thugs froze.
"What are you doing here?" the officer demanded.
"We... we're just looking around," one of them replied nervously.
"The hotel owner said he saw you following two young girls."
The three men quickly shook their heads.
"No, Officer! We don't know what you're talking about."
The police officer stared at them for a moment before looking around the empty alley.
"Where are the girls?"
"We don't know," one of the thugs answered truthfully.
The officer frowned and searched the alley, shining his flashlight into every corner, but there was no sign of the two girls.
"When did you notice this?" Emma asked in surprise.
"I figured someone would definitely report two young girls looking for a room alone without any guardians. Seems I was right," Morgan said, explaining her reasoning.
"So what do we do now? We can't look for another hotel, and we don't have any tents or gear in my space belt. Otherwise, we could've just camped somewhere," Emma said uncertainly.
"No chance of that. I don't want to sleep outside in this cold." Morgan looked toward the night sky. "Let's just go to the Ancient One's place. We need to meet her anyway. We're just going a little earlier than planned."
"Okay then, how about a race? The loser has to do whatever the winner says."
Before Morgan could answer, green light flashed from the Omnitrix. In an instant, Emma transformed into Stinkfly, the only alien she had that could fly.
"Ugh... just don't come near me. I can't stand that smell," Morgan said with a disgusted look.
A moment later, her Iron Man suit covered her body.
"Friday, set the destination to the New York Sanctum."
"Route calculated."
Flames burst from the suit's thrusters as Morgan shot into the night sky.
"Hmph. When I win, I'm going to spray you with this," Emma said before quickly flying after her.
The two raced across the New York skyline. Below them, the city was quiet. Rows of streetlights stretched through the streets while only a few cars drove along the roads. Every now and then, a handful of late-night pedestrians looked up after noticing the bright flame trailing behind Morgan's Iron Man suit.
"Look! A shooting star!"
"Quick! Make a wish!"
Thinking it was a shooting star crossing the night sky, several people closed their eyes and quietly made a wish.
High above them, Morgan smiled as she looked back.
"Looks like I win."
Emma looked at the distance between them and realized she was falling behind.
"Hmph... don't get too full of yourself."
She suddenly flew closer and sprayed a cloud of Stinkfly's foul-smelling slime toward Morgan.
"Ugh!"
The disgusting smell instantly filled Morgan's helmet.
"Eww! Emma!"
Morgan hurriedly changed direction and flew toward the nearby sea. A few moments later, she landed near the shore and quickly washed the sticky slime off her suit before taking off again.
By the time she reached the New York Sanctum, Emma was already waiting outside with a smug grin.
"You lost!"
Morgan landed in front of her and glared.
"Cheater. You attacked me when I wasn't expecting it."
Before Emma could reply, the wooden doors of the Sanctum slowly opened. The sorcerer standing inside wasn't the one who had greeted them in the future.
"Come inside," the sorcerer said before Emma could speak. "The Ancient One has already prepared a room for you. You may rest here tonight."
Morgan looked at the sorcerer in surprise.
"So... she already knew we'd come."
Emma smiled.
"It's really amazing. She already knew we'd come here."
Although Emma suspected it had something to do with the Time Stone, she still couldn't help being amazed by the Ancient One's power.
Morgan remained silent. No one knew what was going through her mind.
The sorcerer led them upstairs before stopping in front of a guest room.
"This will be your room for the night."
The moment Emma stepped inside, her eyes lit up. A large, soft bed sat neatly in the middle of the room.
"I finally get to sleep!"
Without even taking off her shoes, Emma jumped onto the bed and buried herself under the blanket.
"This feels so nice..."
Within moments, she was already asleep.
Morgan could only shake her head with a helpless smile before turning off the room's light.
Soon, the whole night passed.
"Emma... wake up. It's time."
"Hehe..."
Morgan looked at Emma, who was still smiling in her sleep.
"I wonder what she's dreaming about."
Walking over to the bed, Morgan gently pushed Emma. Emma didn't move.
Morgan sighed.
"Fine."
She gave one stronger push.
Boom!
"Ouch!"
Emma yelped as she rolled off the bed and landed on the floor. She immediately glared up at Morgan.
"You!!"
"You've slept enough." Morgan smiled innocently. "The Ancient One is waiting. Go get ready."
"I was having such a good dream..." Emma muttered while rubbing her sore head.
After washing up and finishing breakfast, the sorcerer returned. With a wave of his hand, a golden portal slowly opened before them. Beyond it, snow-covered mountains and ancient stone buildings came into view.
"This way."
Emma and Morgan stepped through the portal without much surprise, as they had seen Doctor Strange use portals many times in the future.
A cold mountain breeze brushed across their faces as Emma and Morgan arrived at Kamar-Taj, hidden among the snow-covered Himalayan mountains. Ancient stone buildings stood peacefully among the mountains, while the sound of wooden staffs clashing and quiet chanting echoed through the courtyard.
As they walked, they saw many disciples training in the mystic arts. Some paused to glance curiously at the two girls, but after noticing the sorcerer leading them toward the Ancient One's room, no one stopped them.
"The Ancient One is inside," the sorcerer said before quietly leaving.
Creak.
Emma gently pushed open the wooden door. Inside, the Ancient One sat peacefully in the center of the room, looking exactly the same as she had in 2008, without a single change to her appearance.
"Come." She gestured for them to sit. "I believe this isn't our first meeting."
As they sat down, she calmly poured a cup of tea for each of them.
Seeing the same tea that had made her tongue bitter before, Emma hesitated.
"Should I drink it... or not?"
"Yes," Morgan said, meeting the Ancient One's calm gaze. "And I think you've already foreseen this, haven't you? Everything is going according to your plan."
Emma was still busy wondering whether she should drink the tea when she heard Morgan's question. She slowly turned to look at her, her eyes widening in surprise.
A/N: The Patreon version is already updated with 20 advanced chapters. If you'd like to read ahead of the public release schedule, you can join here:
👉 patreon.com/BenBlazecraft