Time slipped by silently like this for over a month.
During this month-long span, the Ancient One still showed no sign of appearing, with no clue as to where she'd gone.
Meanwhile, the daily affairs of Kamar-Taj were handled entirely by Mordo and Wong, with Ronan spending most of his time as a tool, just holding down the fort.
In this month alone, quite a few things happened.
Peter Parker was once again attacked by Doctor Connors, but he didn't realize that Peter Parker was no longer the Peter Parker of old.
Under Steve Rogers' guidance, Peter Parker had gone from a scrappy neighborhood hero to a bona fide superhero in the making.
Though he was still far from reaching his full potential, at least he was on the right path.
Beyond that, perhaps Doctor Connors hadn't anticipated that Peter Parker had gained an ally.
That's right—something strange, almost like a chemical reaction, seemed to spark between Cindy Moon and Peter Parker.
And this chemical reaction? People called it "love."
She not only confessed her feelings to Peter Parker but also revealed another layer of her identity.
A fellow superhuman with spider-like abilities.
According to Peter Parker, he was utterly shocked by the whole thing.
Not because of Cindy Moon's identity—he'd already known about that beforehand.
He'd even "grudgingly" asked Ronan to help wipe a segment of Cindy Moon's memory.
But in the end, love still found its way to him.
Back then, Peter Parker's expression was so ridiculous that Ronan wanted to cast a memory-wiping spell on him, making him forget he'd ever fallen for Cindy Moon.
After some thought, Ronan decided to let it slide.
After all, the kid was growing up—being a little rebellious was normal.
The fallout from this, aside from breaking the hearts of some Spider-Man fangirls, earned Peter Parker and Cindy Moon a nickname.
The Spider-Couple.
Oh, and Doctor Connors' fate turned out differently this time too.
With Cindy Moon's help, Peter Parker used an antidote crafted by Tony Stark to restore Doctor Connors to normal.
Though it's unclear what Doctor Connors thought deep down, he still thanked Peter Parker before the police took him away.
His ending probably won't be too grim.
After all, his lizard serum, in a way, bore similarities to the Super Soldier Serum.
Aside from turning him into a lizard, the strength it granted was undeniably real.
To the higher-ups in America, whether he turned into a lizard didn't matter—as long as the power was strong enough.
So, chances are, he won't spend his life behind bars.
How to put it? After everything that had happened, Ronan no longer cared about such "small matters."
Right now, Ronan stood at the villa's entrance—today, he was leaving this place.
Due to his unique physiology, plus the energy Scarlet Witch had infused into him last time, he'd mostly recovered.
The doctor's advice was to stay a few more days, but Ronan wanted to leave.
Originally, per his plan, he'd intended to stay longer, but things weren't as simple as he'd thought.
Because lately, public opinion had grown increasingly strange.
Ronan had once seen on TV how some people—or experts—were loudly calling for superheroes to undergo "real-name registration."
No, scratch that—the proper term was "oversight and regulation."
To prevent another Sokovia incident.
Of course, for a while, that rhetoric had died down.
But in the last half-month, it had resurfaced, even gaining some serious traction.
In recent days, Tony Stark had been dropping by more often, trying to gauge Ronan's stance.
Tony Stark leaned toward agreeing, but Steve Rogers voiced his opposition.
Between the two of them, it seemed a rift had started to form over this issue.
Each had their own reasoning, neither willing to budge.
Tony Stark believed that accepting oversight would reduce the destruction caused by superhumans, making things safer for both the powered individuals and regular civilians.
But as America's symbol, the champion of liberty, Steve Rogers thought otherwise.
Because accepting surveillance—what difference was there between that and becoming caged beasts?
And he worried that once they submitted to government control, superheroes—or other powered beings—would have no choice but to serve the state.
That went against the Avengers' founding principles.
So, regarding their perspectives, Ronan had only one answer.
He didn't know.
To avoid more lobbying from the two, Ronan planned to make a quick exit.
Not only could he no longer stay at his New York apartment, but he didn't plan to return to school either.
Anyway, the semester's end wasn't far off, so Ronan decided to keep taking classes remotely for now.
Beep beep beep.
Just as Ronan was about to get into the car, a low horn sounded from nearby.
Following the noise, he saw Steve Rogers astride his iconic motorcycle, waiting for Ronan not far off.
Ronan couldn't help but sigh.
He'd kept his departure under wraps, not telling a soul—how had Steve Rogers still tracked him down?
Steve Rogers slowly rode the motorcycle up to Ronan and stepped off.
"You're leaving, huh?"
Steve Rogers wore a faint smile.
"What else am I supposed to do?"
"Getting hounded by you two every day is driving me nuts."
Ronan couldn't help but grumble.
He had no idea what they were thinking, constantly picking on him like he was the only sheep to shear.
Had they ever considered finding another target?
"We just have different views on this."
"And in our eyes, your decision matters a lot."
Steve Rogers chuckled, unbothered by Ronan calling him annoying.
Because, honestly, they were pretty annoying.
"My decision doesn't actually matter that much, because no matter what, I'd never reveal my identity."
"That's a principle we mages have always held to."
"On that point, I lean toward you."
"But at the same time, we don't meddle in Earth's affairs—most things on this planet, we don't get involved in."
"Unless someone's dumb enough to try summoning an evil god or something."
Ronan shrugged—he knew what Steve Rogers meant by "matters a lot."
Because Ronan's stance wasn't just his own—it represented an entire faction behind him.
Though neither Steve Rogers nor Tony Stark knew just how vast the mage faction behind Ronan truly was.
But if he sided with one, the other would take a hit.
"Alright, I get the gist of it."
"Didn't realize our clash of ideals was causing you so much trouble."
Steve Rogers shook his head, feeling a bit bad for Ronan.
After all, Ronan's injuries hadn't fully healed, and because of them, he had to leave.
"Forget it—I don't even think it's a clash of ideals anymore."
"It's starting to feel like a grudge match."
"Normally, as a friend, I'd try to talk you both down."
"But I also know the state you're in right now isn't something a few words can fix."
Ronan shook his head—he knew their tempers all too well.
Truth be told, they'd always rubbed each other the wrong way, and even after everything they'd been through together, that friction had only been buried, not erased.
Once conflict flared, human nature—digging up old grudges—would kick in.
And it wasn't just lovesick couples who aired old laundry—two grown men could do it too.
Because of that, a split between them seemed inevitable.
"Of course, you two aren't the main reason I'm leaving."
"Because there's something bigger waiting for me."
Ronan sighed—there was one thing he hadn't mentioned.
It was about Scarlet Witch's dreamwalking.
"Something bigger?"
"Can you tell me about it?"
Steve Rogers looked surprised.
Because hearing something like that from Ronan was rare.
The last time was when Ronan told them about Thanos.
"Actually, it's tied to the other Wanda who showed up a while back."
Ronan didn't hold back, laying out the cause and effect for Steve Rogers.
Because there was no point in hiding it.
For one, he trusted Steve Rogers wasn't the type to panic—he could handle it without falling apart.
When he heard about "parallel universes colliding," something straight out of sci-fi movies, Steve Rogers visibly showed shock.
He was still human, after all—just a bit stronger than most.
In terms of comprehension, the wildest thing he'd accepted was aliens invading Earth.
Now Ronan was telling him there was another universe about to crash into this one.
"Isn't there a way to fix it?"
Steve Rogers blurted out almost instinctively.
"I don't know a solution yet, but I'm heading back this time to find one."
"Of course, if we can't stop this disaster in the end, then we're left with one option."
"Take out that other universe—or get taken out by them."
Ronan shrugged—rare as it was, this was the final fallback plan.
Hearing Ronan's "solution," Steve Rogers let out a rare, helpless expression.
Was that really a solution?
Yet Ronan just smiled.
"Maybe one day in the future, we'll all be together, fighting folks from another universe in some special place."
"You'll see all sorts of versions of yourself—old man versions, young versions, even mutant versions."
With that, Ronan clapped Steve Rogers on the shoulder.
It wasn't just hot air—he vaguely recalled someone in a past life telling him about a comic.
It was about two universes on a collision course, followed by superheroes from both sides duking it out.
Where they fought, or how, Ronan couldn't remember.
So he'd need to go back and dig through some records.
Or wait for Kamar-Taj's know-it-all—the Ancient One—to return and figure out how to handle it.
"Here's hoping there's a good solution by then."
"At least one where I don't have to fight myself—though maybe I'd last a whole day."
Steve Rogers sighed.
He didn't want to believe it, but deep down, he inexplicably trusted Ronan.
Because with all the chaos breaking out lately, Steve Rogers was starting to feel Earth wasn't as safe as it seemed.
Especially the day Vision was born—Thor had indirectly confirmed rumors about the Infinity Stones.
That only reinforced their belief that everything Ronan had told them back then was true.
"Nah, knowing your temper, you'd probably go for Tony Stark first."
"After all, the Tony Stark from that universe isn't any less impressive than the one you know."
Picturing the 616 Universe Tony Stark, Ronan couldn't help but chuckle.
He wondered how Morgan Stark was doing.
Even if Strange was a mess, he wouldn't let his old friend's daughter come to harm, right?
At that thought, a phrase bubbled up in Ronan's mind.
F** you, Strange!*
"Alright, let's just hope that day you're talking about comes later rather than sooner."
"Well, I've held you up long enough—here's hoping next time we meet, we can sit down for a drink."
Steve Rogers clapped Ronan's shoulder too, smiling as he spoke.
"I'm always game."
"Maybe I'll even save you a spot in a sanctuary when the time comes."
Ronan grinned back, his words carrying a hint of meaning.
But he didn't give Steve Rogers time to mull it over—he opened the car door and waved at him.
"Steve, next time we meet, I hope you two can sort out your differences."
With that, Ronan ducked into the car, and Wong, as the driver, started the engine.
Watching the car pull away, Steve Rogers gave a wry smile.
Would he end up failing?
He'd caught the implication in Ronan's words.
And truthfully, he wasn't all that optimistic about the outcome.
As a soldier, he knew full well how terrifying the state machinery could be once it kicked into gear.
If they refused to sign the accords, their status would flip upside down in an instant.
They might stop being the heroes protecting America, protecting Earth.
And instead be branded… fugitives.
Lost in thought, Steve Rogers shook his head silently.
He didn't want the people who stood by him to live a life on the run.
That wouldn't be fair to them.
As long as there was a shred of hope, he wanted to try and make a change.
To fight for freedom!
With that in mind, Steve Rogers climbed back onto his motorcycle and revved the throttle.
How the future unfolds, let the future decide.