The Enchantress' Tale (Doctor Strange x Fem!reader)

Chapter 28: Message Carrier

Stephen formed a portal back to where the team was, his spell washing over the two of you to change your appearances back to normal before the rest of the team saw and questioned it, you weren't willing to discuss what just happened in a public building, the team needed to plan.

Nat sent you a glance, seeming to ask if you were okay after she noticed your reappearing and joining the others. Shaking your head you reached for your necklace, your cloak revealing itself as it went back to its original form, taking its place on your shoulders, you weren't sure if it was your imagination or not but you felt it wrap itself tighter around you than usual as if it was trying to comfort you.

Stephen placed his hand around your waist, guiding you as your mind pondered, internally you couldn't be more grateful for the simple gesture but more pressing matters were at plan.

Soft noises surrounded the areas around you, people trying to speak, congratulations on the conference even if they knew it wasn't as great as some others as Stephen tried to shoo them away, but everything was drowned out by the dread building up from the pits of your stomach.

You wouldn't wish imprisonment at AIM among your worst enemy, it was a dark dark side of your past, and everyone knew it was the worst division of Hydra. Responsible for the technology, the science behind all of the weapons, it's where prisoners were sent to become the most inhuman things, lab rats.

Thankfully you were spared, the powers you held being deemed too much of an asset to do the dangerous experiments on that could risk your life, others weren't so lucky.

You still heard the screams sometimes, only having spent a week at the base but it simultaneously being the worst week of your entire existence. The visits to it after that week always unnerved you, knowing what went on in those cells, the countless lives lost all in the name of science. The experiments they had were scarring, but the last time you visited, about a year ago judging by the time that you had been on the team, they hadn't gotten anywhere near a scientific miracle that was deemed to be too dangerous.

Regardless, you still would have to speak to the team, even if it meant only informing Tony and Steve at the moment, from there you could interpret Corvina's warning better.

You merely noticed Stephen when he poked at your side, gaining your attention with the sharp jab of his finger, looking at him amusedly you bit back a smile at his impatience, "Can I help you?"

He began to form a portal with his sling ring as he tried to look back at you, multitasking seemed to be his specialty, "Stark asked me to portal the rest of the team to the tower, care to stay behind?"

"Sure." It would be nice to take a breath and just relax with someone comfortable before having to break the news, you could already imagine the grim reactions you'd face.

The team filed past you into the portal, many going in pairs while talking and laughing, exchanging jokes or pleasantries as this was normal life for them, it still wasn't for you and Stephen, who hadn't really been a part of the team before with duties mainly lying at the Sanctum.

Natasha stayed behind, the last one left you realized after everyone else had gone through, "I want to know what's going on, you two are planning something."

"Get changed and meet us in the conference room, don't tell anyone else." You informed her as she nodded, you trusted her more than almost anyone else, a sisterly bond of sorts had been formed between you two and she was one of the older members of the group. "Tony and Steve will be there, hopefully."

Natasha went through the portal as Stephen closed it, forming one that opened to his room in the sanctum. You collapsed on his bed, letting out a groan and biting back the temptation to curse into a pillow. Stephen didn't laugh this time, the somber message affecting him as well. "I didn't expect my day as a public member of the Avengers to end up like this."