Battle with Mordo

Lu Mingyu instantly dropped out of his high-speed state. He stood there dazed, watching the Speed Force weaken, completely unaware of the menacing Mordo.

Stephen shouted Lu Mingyu's name as the golden disc in his hand blocked Mordo's attack. With a turn, he kicked Mordo to the ground. The Cloak of Levitation did not dare move recklessly. He knew Mordo's Sling Ring had slipped from his hand long ago when he changed forms. That portal was Mordo's only route of escape. Even with the Boots of Valtorr, he would not get very far.

Doctor Strange continuously cast one spell after another, hoping to capture Mordo with a binding spell. The magic within Mordo's body was like a field of dry grass; even a single spark could start an inferno. In other words, Mordo was like a walking bomb. Doctor Strange knew the magic in Mordo's body had reached its critical point—or rather, Mordo could no longer withstand such magic. That was why Stephen did not dare attack him carelessly with spells.

Mordo clearly had not noticed that his body was already filled with danger. He leaped up from the ground, repeatedly flipping and jumping through the air. The Wand of Watoomb struck Lu Mingyu viciously, only to be knocked back by blue lightning.

Lu Mingyu moved at high speed. Though the Speed Force had weakened for that instant, it quickly returned to normal. Lu Mingyu did not know what had happened. It felt as though his body had been hollowed out, then instantly filled with strength again. As he watched Mordo attack once more, his entire body trembled, while the blue lightning around him leaked wildly like an exploding power plant.

Mordo sneered. Golden light flickered beneath his dark skin. The Wand of Watoomb broke through the lightning surrounding Lu Mingyu and was about to drive deeper when Doctor Strange suddenly attacked. A golden magical disc knocked Mordo aside. "I don't know what happened to you, but we practice magic to help people, don't we?"

"When you first sought out Ancient One to learn magic, weren't you full of goodwill too? Why did you become like this?" Stephen did not understand. He had no idea what Mordo had gone through after that battle.

Mordo laughed bitterly, remembering something he never wanted to think of again. "Ancient One betrayed us. She achieved immortality by absorbing Dormammu's power. She hid it from us for so long. Do you know that Dormammu will definitely return? Your Eye of Agamotto will never hold Dormammu back again. Do you know why? Because Dormammu's power is constantly evolving! And you are just a rookie stuck in the past, a failure who lost his confidence and his lover because of his injured hands! You understand nothing!"

Stephen froze. He thought of Palmer. Then the Wand of Watoomb struck him, and magic instantly took effect on his body. The powerful blow sent Stephen crashing to the ground, unable to rise. The Cloak of Levitation rushed over from the portal, wrapped itself around Mordo's head, and repeatedly slammed against it.

Lu Mingyu did not remain idle either. He raced to Stephen's side and carried him to Tony's room. Just as Mordo was about to break free from the Cloak of Levitation, blue lightning surged madly in Lu Mingyu's eyes. He had no idea what had gotten into Mordo. When he watched the final post-credits scene of Doctor Strange, he had felt Mordo's descent into darkness in the movie had been far too abrupt.

He kicked Mordo in the stomach, snatched the Wand of Watoomb from his hand, and vanished from the spot in a blue lightning afterimage. A glowing staff suddenly appeared in Tony's room—it was the Wand of Watoomb. Lu Mingyu was incredibly fast, and the lightning around him grew denser and denser. Then he clearly saw magic gathering in the air in slow motion. Lu Mingyu did not know what spell Mordo had cast.

The appearance of the spell prevented Lu Mingyu from getting close to Mordo for the moment. He stopped nearby, and everything returned to normal. Nothing moved slowly anymore. Mordo had been knocked to the ground by Lu Mingyu's punch. Feeling the Wand of Watoomb disappear, fury slowly rose within him. Magical power instantly exploded from Mordo's body, blasting the Cloak of Levitation away. Mordo rolled over and picked up the Sling Ring on the ground. Another portal opened, while the first portal slowly began to close. Just as the first portal was about to shut, a fat man stepped through from the space beyond it.

Mordo glanced at Wong and muttered, "Madman."

Then Mordo vanished through the second portal, while the first portal disappeared along with the second. Wong jumped out of the golden circle, holding something resembling a skeleton in his hand. Lu Mingyu instantly recognized it as the Crimson Bands, the artifact Doctor Strange had used to bind Kaecilius during the battle at the Sanctum.

Wong nodded at Lu Mingyu. "Hey, kid. Good job, though he still got away."

Looking at Wong, Lu Mingyu said, "So that madman didn't take your magic?"

"Almost, but he stole my Wand of Watoomb, that damned bastard." Wong nearly cursed aloud. If Lu Mingyu had not been standing beside him, he would have lost his temper already.

Lu Mingyu chuckled. "I got the Wand of Watoomb back. It's in Tony's room. But can you track where Mordo went based on the traces of his magic? Or could you maybe..."

"Stop. I saw that portal. It should be China, near the Great Wall." Wong spoke confidently. He had clearly seen traces of the Great Wall, but he had still been unable to stop Mordo from leaving.

The Cloak of Levitation instantly flew to Doctor Strange's side, completely ignoring the surrounding machinery. Every piece of equipment was knocked aside by the cloak. Jarvis warned the Cloak of Levitation, but received no response. Alarms rang throughout Avengers Tower. Earlier, Mordo had used magic to block Avengers Tower's signals, which was why Jarvis had not sounded the alarm.

Now that everything was over, the alarm had gone off because of the Cloak of Levitation's reckless rampage. Lu Mingyu was somewhat speechless. He ran after the cloak at high speed, bringing Wong to Tony's room. Seeing the unconscious Tony and Stephen, a sense of calm rose from deep within him.

This was the first time those two had been together without arguing, even though they were asleep.

Wong looked at Lu Mingyu and asked, "Do you know how to shut off the alarm outside?"

"If I knew, I would have shut it off already. Now we're in trouble. With the alarm going off, we'll be exposed. Your world of sorcerers will be exposed, and my superpowers will be exposed. They might already be reviewing the footage. Damn it." Lu Mingyu suddenly realized something. "But there shouldn't be any cameras in the room where we were partying, right?"

Wong pointed at a pinhole camera in the corridor. "I may be a sorcerer, but I understand technology too. If I'm not mistaken, that's a pinhole camera."