The Book of God lay in a crater formed by a meteor impact several hundred years ago. Over time, however, it had become a small, still pool of deep water.
While the Ancient One could lay down dozens of magic circles with a wave of her hand, Brad's operation looked more like a construction site.
A crowd of expressionless, identical "musclemen" carried all manner of advanced technological tools, digging into the ground, measuring trees, and monitoring the water quality.
Then they began excavating, laying foundations, and burying equipment.
Brad himself watched the Ancient One cast her spells with interest, occasionally activating a scan on the sly to try to analyze the unusual radiation and wavelengths she emitted while casting.
But a wave of the Ancient One's hand put his scanning program out of commission.
Brad did not mind. He had only been testing the waters anyway.
The Ultimate Nullifiers worked tirelessly, day and night, and soon built a ring of invisible fortifications around the pool.
Naturally, Brad did not think that alone could stop any evil sorcerers who might set their sights on the Book of God in the future. So, four days after construction began, a batch of environmental monitoring and feedback devices, manufactured on a rush order, arrived.
The Ancient One looked mildly curious as dozens of helicopters delivered seven enormous metal rods suspended beneath them.
These seven pillars were not all buried beside the pool. Instead, satellite calculations determined their placement in different nearby mountain ranges.
Brad and the Ancient One spent a full two weeks working around the pool.
Now, several thousand seals and Magic Formations laid by the Sorcerer Supreme surrounded the pool where the Book of God lay submerged, while Brad had built an extensive underground complex.
The site would automatically connect to Brad's Supercomputer and the Skynet system for real-time monitoring and security upgrades.
Whenever Brad developed more powerful weapons or a new Ultimate Nullifier Series, the underground complex would automatically manufacture them and incorporate the upgrades into its defenses.
There was also a counterforce field linked to Supercomputer 'Canada'. Any villain who wielded magic and was less accomplished than the Ancient One would have their ability to sense magical power blocked here, reducing them to an ordinary person.
Through Brad and the Ancient One's collaborative research, some of the Magic Formations and machines also worked in tandem. At this point, the site could fairly be called the safest place on Earth.
One example was the three hundred T1001-series Ultimate Nullifiers enchanted by the Ancient One.
Even an entire army of mutants would get nowhere against them.
Brad also used the Supercomputer to simulate what would happen if he tried to break in himself without using his Supercomputer access privileges.
Impregnable!
During this time, Brad also took full advantage of his collaboration with the Ancient One to cram knowledge about supernatural powers unrelated to technology.
He obtained a wealth of valuable data.
It was undoubtedly an enormous improvement to Brad's counterforce field algorithm.
If another avatar of an extradimensional demon god like Cyttorak appeared, Brad could instantly cut them off from their power source without activating Supercomputer 'Canada'.
Brad had also placed Cyttorak's Crimson Gem of Cyttorak inside his chest cavity.
Normally, the automatically activated counterforce field surrounding Brad enveloped it, allowing him to release its power with precision as needed.
Brad could also retain his sanity, because his counterforce field was currently the bane of those demon gods who could only force traces of mental influence into this universe with great difficulty.
In other words, Brad now had a Juggernaut form in addition to his Moonstone form.
The only unfortunate part was that, according to the Ancient One, Brad was effectively playing the demon god of the Crimson Cosmos for a fool and exploiting him. Sooner or later, Cyttorak would realize it and sever the contractual power flowing through the gem.
In other words, Brad's Juggernaut form had a limited number of uses.
Exactly how many depended entirely on whether Cyttorak noticed someone was freeloading off his power!
"But that's enough. I only need it to deal with unexpected situations that might arise in the future. I won't normally use this thing."
Brad did not want to sound too arrogant in front of the Ancient One, so he chose his words carefully.
"After all, as long as the Great Sages at Earth's major sacred sanctuaries stay put, I shouldn't have any real opponents."
Brad thought that was a very modest way of putting it.
Unless the Phoenix, that cosmic power, descended on Earth right now, Brad could already do as he pleased across the planet.
"All right. I'll keep my promise and go to Kunlun to persuade the current Iron Fist to come out and help you obtain the War God's Handprint."
"You may come with me if you wish."
Brad considered the Ancient One's invitation, but ultimately shook his head.
He had seen Iron Fist in the vision of the future he had glimpsed through Wade. Strictly speaking, that should have been the next Iron Fist, Danny Rand.
He was not particularly strong.
He was weak.
He could only scrape by on the streets alongside a Black man with supposedly invulnerable skin. Although Brad did not know how strong the first Iron Fist of the Prehistoric Avengers had been, he reasonably inferred that some power had been lost in the succession of Iron Fists.
It was therefore reasonable to assume that the current Iron Fist could not be all that powerful either.
Brad had already obtained enough data on supernatural powers from the Ancient One, so there was no need to make a trip to Kunlun.
Besides, the people in Kunlun had already met an Ultimate Nullifier he had sent there.
Judging by the footage transmitted at the time, the two warrior monks welcoming visitors had been delighted to see such a muscular man at their door.
(Taking Kunlun's location into account, Brad had specifically designed that Ultimate Nullifier to look Asian.)
They had thought an outstanding martial arts prospect had arrived.
Then, with great respect and delight, they had led the Ultimate Nullifier inside the barrier.
By now, they had probably discovered he was a robot and were likely furious.
Brad felt that, as the instigator, he should not show up at their door just now.
Having the Ancient One persuade Iron Fist to leave the sanctuary would be enough.
Brad had been on leave long enough. He needed to return to X Academy first.
He was a responsible teacher, a spiritual mentor to X Academy's hardworking students.
What kind of example was he setting by constantly taking leave and staying away?
After bidding the Sorcerer Supreme a friendly farewell, Brad took flight and left Canada.
But just as he crossed the border, someone unexpected appeared before him.
Magneto, Erik.
Without his signature helmet, he wore a black dress hat and a black trench coat, floating a thousand meters above the ground expressly to intercept Brad.
His deep-set eyes and high nose bridge made a strong impression on Brad at first sight.
Brad glanced at the man's black leather shoes and guessed there were metal plates in their soles.
"You must be Brad, the mentor Charles recently recruited. A celebrated name, and one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s chief scientists."
Erik seemed quite polite. After all, Brad was a mutant, and Magneto was always patient with his own kind.
Brad flexed his fists, his expression calm.
"What can I do for you?"
Erik cast a seemingly casual glance at Brad's metal prosthetic limbs, looking utterly confident.
"I prefer to treat my own kind with sincerity, without all the games... I would like to invite you to join my Brotherhood of Mutants."
Brad smiled.
He could tell Magneto knew nothing about his counterforce field. The faint threat in the man's expression was plain to see.
Erik had somehow learned that parts of Brad's body had been modified with metal and assumed he had Brad at his mercy.
"Perhaps we could find somewhere down below. It's windy up here, hardly a suitable place for a conversation."
Erik carried himself like an English gentleman.
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