"Magic may not be decisive," Daniel said carefully, "but it can help — easing pain, accelerating healing, that sort of thing. As for this kind of operation… you'd want a top-tier neurosurgeon. If the procedure succeeds, the rest won't be an issue."
Stark gave a silent nod. If Daniel had claimed magic alone could fix everything, it would've raised immediate red flags. But his cautious tone made it easier to trust. It aligned more with Stark's instincts.
Still, trust didn't come easy.
They'd only known each other a few weeks. Yes, they'd survived a literal mythic storm together, but trust — real trust — that was earned, not granted.
Which was exactly why Stark had used his resources to dig into Daniel's background. He'd looked into Empire State University, had people fly to the Netherlands, pulled every thread he could find.
But if Stark had started this investigation back when Daniel first re-emerged into the world, there might have been something to uncover. Time had worked in Daniel's favor. With each passing day, his records became more thorough, more convincing — the paper trail of a well-constructed identity.
And while there were no offline slip-ups, digital traces were a different story — especially with Jarvis on the case.
Stark had noticed something odd: Daniel's presence on the internet had appeared all at once, as though he'd materialized out of thin air. Before that? A complete blackout.
He'd even caught one report noting minor inconsistencies in Daniel's resume. But calling that out meant confrontation, and confrontation would end any hopes of a working relationship.
Worse — if Stark pushed too hard, he risked provoking Daniel.
Daniel wasn't some mild-mannered scientist. Stark didn't know him deeply, but he knew enough: this was a man who didn't flinch around billionaires. He didn't suck up, didn't play games. He was polite — strategic — but clearly maintained distance.
When Daniel targeted Hammer Industries, Stark saw the writing on the wall: the man wasn't looking to join a club — he was building his own.
Others might be circling Hammer Industries like vultures, but Stark knew how this would end. Daniel would claim it, one way or another. He already had the surface problems under control, and if he decided to go after the darker ones… he wouldn't hesitate.
So Stark backed off. Officially, anyway.
Unofficially? He passed everything off to S.H.I.E.L.D. and Nick Fury. They had the time, manpower, and subtlety for that kind of deep-dive. Let Fury dig. But Stark didn't know what Daniel already did: if S.H.I.E.L.D. actually found something, it would go straight to Fury's vault — and that man wasn't exactly transparent.
Once business was out of the way, the two shifted into small talk. Daniel mentioned his thoughts on quantum physics, and soon they were exchanging ideas.
Don't underestimate Stark — while best known for AI and engineering, he held doctorates in physics and electronics. The Iron Man suit itself was a fusion of every scientific discipline he'd mastered.
Quantum physics? He'd already pulled a working quantum core from the Tesseract's design, developed bleeding-edge nano-armor, and — with help — cracked time travel through the quantum realm. The man had bent the universe to his will more than once.
His spontaneous flashes of insight often outpaced other scientists' lifetimes of research. Take the Extremis virus as one example.
Daniel, for his part, wasn't born to quantum physics, but he had something no other scientist did — a magical worldview. He saw the subatomic realm through the lens of myth and mana. And with Mjolnir as a test subject, he had access to phenomena no laboratory could replicate. That alone gave him a head start most researchers would kill for.
Their conversation was productive — right up until the knock at the door.
"Mr. Stark," the secretary stepped in, her voice tight, "Hank McCoy is here. He's demanding to see you."
"Hank?" Stark frowned. " I don't have anything on the calendar this morning, right?"
"You're correct, sir. He didn't make an appointment. But… he's already in the lobby, making a scene. Loudly. Said if you won't come down, he's coming up."
"And the guards?"
She winced. "They can't stop him."
Stark chuckled. "Yeah, figured as much. Let him up."
"Right away, Mr. Stark." She looked relieved. The situation clearly wasn't something security — or ordinary staff — could handle.
As she left, Daniel asked, "Is that the Hank McCoy? 'The Beast'?"
"Yep. That's him," Stark replied, unsurprised Daniel knew. In today's world, anyone with connections could access intel on mutants.
Despite Charles Xavier and Magneto's reputations, mutants weren't running the world — humans were. And not just any humans, but ones with nukes.
Many elites still hunted mutants — for experimentation, control, or worse. And while Magneto preached mutant supremacy, reality remained: humanity held the power.
Stark downed the last of his champagne. "Hank's probably here about Magneto. But I've got nothing to offer. I still haven't figured out how to contain that guy."
And it was true. Stark could handle a lot — gods, aliens, monsters — but Magneto?
Without specific anti-Magneto tech, he was just a metal puppet waiting to be torn apart.
Daniel nodded quietly. Magneto was legendary. Daniel might be able to hold his own now, barely, but if Magneto ever reached demigod status…
Even Stark and Wolverine would be reduced to toys.
The truth was, Magneto hadn't been wasting away in prison. He'd been perfecting his control over magnetic fields. Not just magnetism — fields. Once he touched unified field theory, godhood would be within reach.
"I should go," Daniel said, standing. "Let you two talk."
"Don't," Stark said quickly, grabbing his arm with speed that caught even Daniel off guard. "Stay."
Daniel realized and said, "So that's what this was really about…"
A soft ding interrupted him. The elevator doors opened.
Daniel sighed. "He's fast."
Stark let go of his arm and smiled as Hank McCoy entered, unmistakable with his dark blue fur and calm, intelligent eyes.
"Hank! Old friend. It's been too long. Come in. Let me introduce you." He gestured to Daniel. "This is Daniel van der Berg. You might know him as the magician who made headlines recently in New York."
While the press had first labeled Daniel the "Water Man" after his brawl with the Hulk, someone — somewhere — had revised that to "magician." The term fit better… but it also revealed too much.
If anyone planned to target him, that title gave away too many clues.
"Daniel, this is Hank McCoy — 'The Beast' — now serving as external liaison for the Mutant Academy. He handles mutant affairs. Including… the Magneto problem."
Daniel's smile barely masked his irritation. Stark had set him up.
But Hank's expression shifted with genuine interest.
"A magician?" he echoed. "That could be just what we need. Magic isn't bound by magnetic fields."
Daniel extended a hand, polite and composed. "Mr. McCoy — call me Daniel. I'm currently at Empire State University, researching serum-enhanced human tolerance and directed DNA mutation. I'd love to compare notes."
At that, Hank froze slightly.
Henry "Hank" McCoy was no slouch. A genius in evolutionary biology, genetics, and biochemistry — he understood immediately what Daniel was implying.
And that meant this magician wasn't a mere magician.
—
If you want to read 40+ chapters, visit my Ptttn.
ptttn.com/MiniMine352