[STATUS
Name: Elias Mercer
Level: 9
Designation: Villain (Unclassified)
Experience: 3 / 9
Abilities
(None)
Skills
(Appraisal (Lv. 9)
Displays detailed personal information of the target
Evaluates Disposition of the target:
Friendly
Neutral
Hostile
Victim
Enemy
Slave)
(Unforgivable Curses — Harry Potter World (Lv. 9)
- Avada Kedavra
- Crucio
- Imperious
Limits:
- Can affect up to 9 targets simultaneously
- Target limit is shared across all three curses
- Can be cast through a single finger
- Verbal incantation optional
(Obliviate Charm - Harry Potter World (Lv. 9)
- Erases or alters memories with high precision
- Allows implantation of coherent false memories
- Effectiveness increases with familiarity of the target). ]
[INVENTORY
Slot: 0 / 28
- Identical items can stack in one slot
- Living entities cannot be stored. ]
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.
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Elias leaned back slightly on his chair, staring at his floating system display.
Level 9.
Nine.
A "Villain," according to the system.
Yet by every other measure, he wasn't one.
Not even close.
He shook his head, thinking out loud.
Soon, a hammer will fall in New Mexico…
Then he thought of Banner—doctor with seven PhDs, but still none for anger management.
But maybe, just maybe, America's ass has finally been discovered frozen in ice?
And Stark invents an armor where he can pee inside… That one actually made him laugh aloud.
The quiet of the bakery pulled him back.
Too quiet.
Unusual.
He glanced at his watch.
Early evening.
"Is my watch broken?" he asked his employees.
"It should still be early. Normally a few customers would still come in."
Their eyes flicked to their own watches. "No, sir. We have the same time in our own watches" one replied.
"Yes. It's still early, sir."
Elias raised an eyebrow.
"Well, then… if no one walks in in a few minutes, we might just close early."
The door chimed.
Heads turned.
Mouths fell open.
Eyes widened.
Tony Stark strode into the bakery with that unmistakable flair—confident, slightly chaotic energy radiating from him.
His jacket slung casually over one shoulder, sunglasses perched on his head despite the dim interior.
He scanned the bakery like it was both a lab and a stage.
"Tony Stark," he announced, loud enough for everyone to hear. "I am here because I require something… something that might help me think."
His employees froze.
Words failed them.
Elias watched silently, amused.
He wanted to see their reaction but this was something else.
Tony glanced at the counter, then around the room.
"Someone?" he prompted, as if waiting for an introduction.
Elias stepped forward calmly.
"I'm Elias, owner of this shop," he said.
His tone even, neutral—no flourish, no handshake offered.
Tony, for all his eccentric habits, was someone who rarely extended a hand first.
Tony raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Do you have something that can help me think? Or maybe solve a problem?"
Elias smiled faintly, remembering the classic line from Agent K and Agent J in MIB 3: "You need a pie."
He offered the same dry confidence.
"You need a pie."
Tony leaned back, arms crossed.
"You must be trying to trick me."
"No," Elias replied.
"How about this, first slice will be on the house. Would you agree?"
Tony considered him for a moment, curiosity winning over caution. He accepted the offer.
Elias served the first slice. Tony frowned, expecting some trick.
"And the drink?" he asked.
"Only the pie is on the house," Elias replied smoothly.
Tony's irritation flickered—brief, contained—but he didn't comment.
He sliced and ate.
The first bite made him pause.
Something different this time. The taste, the texture, the balance—he felt it instantly.
Another slice.
And another.
In no time, the slice was gone.
Tony ordered three more slices and a drink, leaving it to Elias to pick the perfect pairing. Elias didn't disappoint.
Tony ate with gusto, completely absorbed, lips curling in enjoyment.
Elias observed with quiet amusement.
His employees whispered under their breath, especially the females, captivated by Tony's rare display of unguarded satisfaction.
Halfway through the last slice, Tony froze mid-bite.
The spoon hovered inches from his mouth, his gaze unfocused, pupils narrowing as something old and unwanted clawed its way to the surface of his thoughts.
Elias noticed immediately.
"…Everything okay?" Elias asked casually, leaning slightly closer, voice light.
Tony didn't answer at first.
His jaw tightened.
"I already knew," Tony said suddenly, more to himself than to Elias.
"I've always known. None of the elements in the periodic table can replace palladium." His lips thinned.
"I just refused to believe it."
Survival instinct.
Denial disguised as confidence.
Elias tilted his head.
"So," he asked gently, "does that mean your problem can be solved now?"
Tony scoffed, finishing the rest of the slice in one go.
"You don't understand," he said arrogantly, waving the spoon dismissively.
"The solution doesn't exist. It's not there. Not in the periodic table. How am I supposed to solve a problem when the answer doesn't—"
He stopped.
Completely.
The words died in his throat.
Tony's eyes widened a fraction.
His breathing slowed.
And then—he moved, hand coming up to grip his chin, posture slouching slightly as his mind ignited.
Calculations spun wildly behind his eyes.
If it doesn't exist… then it has to be made.
Tony Stark—genius, playboy, philanthropist, billionaire and most recently Iron Man—stood there thinking like a madman in the middle of a bakery, utterly unconcerned with how ridiculous he might look.
He didn't move.
Didn't blink.
Afraid that if he did, the fragile clarity would vanish.
Elias watched him with an easy smile.
"What?" Elias said lightly.
"Another epiphany?"
Tony muttered under his breath, words tumbling out unfiltered. Completely absorbed in his thoughts.
'huh, i just broke Ironman's character with my pie' Elias jokingly thought.
"A new element. Not discovered yet—or better, created. I'll need resources. Time. A lot of failed attempts. No guarantees it'll even work the way I need it to…"
Tony stopped his muttering.
Then, finally, looked up.
This time, the arrogance was gone.
"…Your pie," Tony said slowly, "did something to my head. Cleared it. Gave me perspective."
He exhaled, then added, genuinely, "Thank you."
Elias inclined his head slightly. As much as he was in disbelief hearing Tony Stark break character, he still replied with a smile.
"Glad it helped."
Tony stepped back, already half gone mentally.
"Happy," he said sharply, "settle the bill."
Happy nodded immediately. Tony whispered something to his personal bodyguard before looking back to Elias.
"I'll be taking a whole pie," Tony added. "Ten slices. To go."
"Sure, I've got more where that came from." Tony nodded in thanks and was already leaving the shop.
The pie would be useful—on the plane, in the lab, wherever his mind dragged him next.
Tony didn't linger.
He left.
.
.
.
The shop closed early that night.
There were no more customers, and Elias didn't wait around hoping for them.
Happy paid more than what was owed—far more.
Elias noticed, but didn't comment.
Instead, he gathered his employees.
"Early bonus," he said simply, dividing the extra among them.
Smiles spread instantly.
Laughter followed.
The day ended on a high note.
They locked up and went their separate ways.
Elias walked home alone.
And as he did, unease crept in.
Did SHIELD notice?
Did they run my background?
My shop?
My employees?
He didn't know how secret agencies thought. He didn't want to know.
He silently pleaded—to whoever or whatever had sent him here—not to give him trouble tonight.
The answer came swiftly.
SHIELD had already begun.
His shop was scrutinized.
Employees quietly investigated.
Customers flagged and cross-checked.
His home had been swept, searched, and restored so perfectly that not even dust betrayed their presence.
And now—
Six men stood in his path.
Their expressions were wrong.
Their posture threatening.
Elias stopped walking.
"…Shit," he muttered.
For second time in his reincarnated life, Elias cursed.
End of Chapter 5