After that, the Ancient One tried once more to persuade Damon to take over her duties.
But in the end, Damon flatly refused.
Sure, the secret arts of Kamar-Taj were tempting—but he was a man with a golden cheat, the Map Editor.
If he played it smart and steady, he'd become the Supreme Being sooner or later.
Why go throw himself onto the front lines when he could build his own future?
As for protecting the world?
He could think about that after becoming invincible.
Becoming the Sorcerer Supreme would mean fighting dimensional monsters every other Tuesday—
and Damon wasn't interested in becoming some mana-drained husk of a wizard.
What? The Ancient One was about to mutate?
Well… she hadn't mutated yet. Might as well let her shine one last time before she went down swinging.
Once she finally turned, he could deal with her and claim her template.
This visit had given him about 200 anomaly points, including from the Ancient One and the Time Stone.
More importantly, he'd learned just how messed up this universe really was.
The situation was even worse than he thought—
and that made him realize he needed to act fast.
"First small goal: get a power that can travel the multiverse as soon as possible.
Better to plan for defeat before aiming for victory."
Before leaving, Damon introduced another potential "Sorcerer Supreme candidate" to the Ancient One—
Dave, the crazy apprentice who'd inherited Merlin's Dragon Ring from The Sorcerer's Apprentice universe.
If Merlin had once protected a whole realm a thousand years ago,
then Dave, recognized by the Dragon Ring itself, had every right to be called his successor.
His potential wasn't bad—
maybe not even inferior to Stephen Strange.
Damon said it offhandedly, but come Monday morning at school…
he found out the Ancient One had really taken Dave to Kamar-Taj for training.
Damon walked to class with Madison,
and on the way they ran into Lily and her boyfriend Sean.
The two reacted as if they'd seen a plague god—
Sean clutching his face, Lily covering her arm, both hurriedly ducking away.
Not far away, Mike and his two goons, the school's notorious bullies, were also skulking around.
After what happened last weekend, the so-called kings of sophomore year had lost all face.
The moment they saw Damon, they froze—
and ran off holding their faces.
Damon didn't bother with small fry.
His eyes were caught by Maria—
a very different Maria.
Gone was the timid, mousy girl.
She was wearing a smart blazer, high heels, and black stockings that accentuated her long legs.
Her chestnut hair fell freely over her shoulders,
and the confidence in her bearing made her look like an entirely new person.
When she saw Damon and Madison,
this once-shy "ugly duckling" turned confident swan smiled radiantly.
"Hey Damon, Madison! Good morning!"
"Maria… you—" Madison blinked, stunned.
They hadn't seen her for a day, and she looked completely transformed.
"Quite a change, right?"
Maria spun lightly in place, her hair fluttering and a faint fragrance wafting through the air.
Damon couldn't help giving her a mental 10 out of 10.
Black stockings reign supreme.
"I heard that a little makeup and a change of outfit can really boost your confidence.
Judging by your reactions… I'd say it worked?"
She smiled mischievously, noticing Damon's heated gaze, which made her feel all the more pleased.
She'd spent the entire morning choosing this elegant yet modest outfit—
if Damon liked it, it was worth it.
"More than good," Damon said, nodding with genuine appreciation. "You look amazing."
Maria blinked playfully.
"So tell me—did you like the old me better, or the new me?"
A dangerous question. A death trap of a question.
Whatever he answered could only end badly.
But Damon wasn't your average guy—he was a man with the walkthrough already unlocked.
He looked into her nervous yet hopeful eyes and said calmly:
"The current you is confident and untamed—a wild beauty.
But the old you was gentle and soft—a delicate beauty.
In my eyes, both are beautiful. Both are unique."
In the reflection of a nearby glass window, Maria's old timid self smiled faintly.
The real Maria, now confident and radiant, smiled too.
Because yes—
the one standing before Damon wasn't the original Maria.
It was Airam, her alternate personality—a darker, bolder counterpart.
During the vacation, Maria had suffered a mental breakdown, doubting she was worthy of Damon.
She'd cried secretly in the shower—
and that's when Airam appeared.
Airam offered to "help her win Damon's heart."
Maria, exhausted and vulnerable, agreed—
and the two switched places.
Now both personalities were happy.
Damon—
or rather, the anomaly who broke all rules—
had managed to charm them both.
They were hopelessly drawn to him,
even if it meant flying straight into the fire.
Maybe…
they'd need a child someday to stabilize this strange, two-soul relationship.
At that moment, a tall, curvy blonde walked over.
"Hey Maria, morning!"
Maria turned, surprised.
"Mikaela? Morning."
She knew her—Mikaela Banes, the school's official beauty queen.
Despite coming from a poor family, Mikaela was confident, elegant, and unashamed of her background.
She was more popular than Lily, the undisputed star of the sophomore class.
Before, Maria and Mikaela had lived in different worlds.
"Oh? So this is the famous Damon from Friday, huh?"
Mikaela smiled brightly, extending her hand.
"Hi, I'm Mikaela, Maria's classmate.
I've heard a lot about you—you're even more handsome in person."
"Thanks."
Damon shook her hand—but as he withdrew, he felt a sharp scratch across his palm.
He glanced at Mikaela, but she simply waved casually.
"Anyway, see you around!"
She walked off as if nothing had happened.
But both Airam and Madison sensed it immediately—
the arrival of another rival.
Airam felt a twinge of alarm.
Mikaela was no pushover—in beauty or charm, she was easily her equal.
Madison, meanwhile, looked unconcerned.
With Jenny at home, Maria here, and now Mikaela in the mix—
what was one more?
None of them were real competition anyway.
"Excuse me—coming through!"
Two teenage boys rushed past them—Peter Parker and Sam Witwicky.
The two shared a brief, mutual look of understanding—
two awkward, underdog souls recognizing each other.
Then they both looked up and saw Damon surrounded by three stunning girls.
Their faces twisted in disbelief and envy.
Same school. Same age.
So why did Damon have a literal harem,
while they were still being mocked as losers?
If only fate would switch places for one day…
Neither Maria nor Mikaela paid them much attention.
To them, Peter and Sam were background extras at best.
But Damon noticed something—
Sam Witwicky.
And something clicked in his memory.
Wait... Sam's turning seventeen soon, right?
Seventeen—the age when everything starts changing.
Maria's second personality had awakened at seventeen.
And in another timeline, Sam would meet Bumblebee at seventeen—
the start of the Transformers saga.
Damon wasn't interested in Sam himself—
but in the AllSpark.
He remembered:
the entire Transformers story began with Sam selling his grandfather's old glasses online.
The glasses that contained the coordinates to Megatron and the AllSpark Cube.
Damon smiled slyly.
"Sam, my friend—you're still too young to handle that kind of power.
Better let me take care of it for you."
He pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of Sam's second-hand glasses listing.
Everything was in motion now.
All that was missing—was Bumblebee.