Hoax // Benjen Stark

15. Drastic

''You couldn't portal us up there?'' Wanda asked annoyed as her and Wong stared off at the temple in the distance, a flurry of snow around them.

''My magic can only take us so far. Masters of the Mystic Arts weren't meant to tread upon the forbidden grounds of Wundagore." Wong explained as his teeth started to chatter. ''Eons ago... The first demon, Chthon, carved his dark magic into this tomb. These same spells, were later transcribed into the Darkhold. There's no telling what soulless monstrosities lie within.''

''They've been waiting for me. This isn't a tomb. It's a throne.'' Wanda corrected.

+

"Stephen Strange... You are now called before the Illuminati. I, Baron Karl Mordo, The Sorcerer Supreme, hereby..." Mordo began as stephen was brought in front of the council.

''Karl?'' Stephen mused twisting his wrists the cuffs restricting him.

''Captain Carter. The First Avenger. Blackagar Boltagon. Keeper of the Terrigen Mists. The Inhuman King.'' Mordo went on annoyed.

''Blackagar Boltagon? Hey, the guy over there." Stephen nodded trying to remain calm but he just got his sister back he wasn't ready for them to take her away, experiment on her or worse.

'' Captain Marvel. Defender of the Cosmos. And the smartest man alive, Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four.'' Mordo introduced.

''Hello, Stephen.'' Reed said nodding to him.

''Fantastic Four? Didn't you guys chart in the sixties?'' Stephen laughed out.

''I'm sorry. Is this a joke to you?'' Captain marvel-Maria questioned down at him.

''Well there's a guy over there with a fork on his head, so, yeah. Little bit." Stephen agreed

''Be grateful Black Bolt doesn't engage you in conversation.'' Carter informed him.

''Why? Does he have bad breath?'' Stephen went on still tugging at his restraints.

''This Strange is even more arrogant than ours.'' Carter remarked

''No. Just more alive.' Stephen corrected smugly.

'For now." Maria agreed.

''Stephen, your arrival here confuses and destabilizes reality. The larger the footprint you leave behind, the greater the risk of an incursion.'' Reed informed him.

''Incursion?''

''An incursion occurs, when the boundary between two universes erodes, and they collide. Destroying one, or both, entirely." Reed informed him.

''Your alternate self created the Illuminati, to make difficult decisions that no one else could. Today, we're here to determine what to do with you, and the girl and her companion." Carter told him.

''So, before we vote, if you got anything serious to say, now's the time.' Maria told him.

''Yeah, I do. It's incursions you're worried about. Do you seriously think I'm a bigger threat than the Scarlet Witch?" Stephen reminded them, shouting up as they stared down.

''Oh, we can handle your little witch if she decides to dreamwalk.''

''No. No, you cannot, not unless you give me the Book of Vishanti.'' Stephen told them.

''We appreciate your concern, Stephen, but it's not the Scarlet Witch that we fear. From our experience, the greatest danger to the Multiverse, it turns out... is Doctor Strange.'' Reed corrected

''Your Doctor Strange? Earth's Mightiest Hero who died defeating Thanos?'' Stephen recalled the statue out front.

''We should tell him the truth.' Charles asked as he rolled in and Stephen stared up at him.

''Our final member... Professor Charles Xavier." Mordo introduced.

''What truth?''

''That's not how our Strange died.'' Charles told him.

+

"Christine, crissy, object of all my brothers desires!" Donna shouted. "Come on we are not the bad guys here." Donna begged. "My stephen is not the bad guy. He just wants to save the world! Whats so wrong with that?"

"It is not what he wants to do, it is how he wants to accomplish his mission.' Christine countered and Donna sighed slumping back down.

"Wanda is coming for me." Donna told her. "If she finds me, your little robots won't be able to stop her. Nothing will." Donna told her but Christine focused on her computer. "She will kill you, stephen, Benjen, everyone. She gets me, she will be unstoppable in every single universe." Donna informed her. "You keeping up locked up is only going to get you killed... you can't help anyone if you are dead."

+

'our Stephen wanted the dark hold to defeat thanos.' Peggy told him and Charles Xavier placed his hands on his temple transporting them back into a memory.

Stephens hands were blackened from the dark hold. He sat on his knees before the council.

'I understand,' he told them. judgement had been made. Although Thanos was defeated the toll the dark hold took on Stephen, this Stephen was changing him.

'I'm sorry,' black bolt said, his voice echoing in stephens head, killing him. They were pulled back into the room, the council sitting before them.

'that wont happen to me.' Stephen assured them. 'I just want to help. To save the multiverse. Wanda is coming.'

'The scarlet witch is coming-'

'she is already here.' Captain marvel informed them.

'You cant win. She will kill you.' Stephen told them as Peggy, captain marvel, black bolt and Reed Richards got up.

'I think you will find us greater than one witch.' Peggy told him walking off.

'shes more powerful than any of you!' Stephen called after them. 'she will kill you all! You need me!' but they believed themselves to be better, they were the illuminati after all. 'she enslaved a whole town, she burned kamar taj to the ground, she travels the multiverse through dream walking, causing chaos in her wake! your people stand no chance against her.'

Professor Charles Xavier still had faith in Stephen strange, even though this strange was a stranger he still saw the good.

"Just because someone stumbles and loses their way, doesn't mean they are lost forever," he said before rolling off to try and defeat wanda himself.

'We need to get ahold of the book of vashanti. We can stop wanda once we have that.' Stephen informed Mordo.

"No."

''Take me to the Book of Vishanti so that we can fight her together.'' Stephen begged.

''You are in no position to give orders. My vote will conclude these proceedings when they return.''

'they are not coming back.' Stephen told him confidently. 'youre friends are already dead.' Stephen added. Wanda was too close to not be drastic.

'then I shall decide your fate right now.' mordo said jumping down from his podium and landing in front of Stephen. Stephens hands still bound he tried to fight mordo. Mordo stumped back, shooting at Stephen, he broke off one of the cuffs. Stephen attacked the cuff to mordo before sending them both over the edge.