The Soul World

We have an army...

Peter and the others gazed at the scene that beheld them. They had come here expecting a few, wandering sorcerers, not this.

In front of them, there were hundreds of wizards ambling about, talking, going about their business. They stretched all around. Some were practicing magic in orderly lines, and whilst some were clothed in the traditional robes of sorcery, others wore simple plainclothes and some even had pajamas on!

Strange's arrival had attracted some attention and now a short, bald man stepped from the crowd to greet them.

"Stephen!" He cried as he embraced Strange.

"Wong." Strange greeted the man incredulously. "What is all this? Have all the sorcerers come here?"

"I summoned everyone to the New York Sanctum as soon as you and Stark and the boy were beamed into space. These are all the sorcerers who were turned to dust, and the others who are alive remain at the Sanctum on Earth. We're not sure what happened but I thought you might need reinforcements."

For the first time since Peter had met him, Strange seemed at a loss for words.

"What did you think I was doing?" Wong continued, "Eating popcorn and watching you fight Thanos? Actually I did do that for a bit, minus the popcorn, but that's how I knew you would need backup,"

"This is brilliant," said Hope, growing full size as she came forward, "we're gathering an army and this is more than we could have ever hoped!"

"Thank you Wong." Strange expressed his gratitude for all of them.

"I am glad," Wong said, bowing, "we are at your service."

"Why don't we bring them to Wakanda?" suggested Shuri.

"Good idea." 

Whilst Wong gathered the other sorcerers and Shuri went back to alert T'Challa and the Wakandans about their imminent arrival, Strange and another wizard worked together on creating a vast portal to transport everybody through. The air itself glowed orange and crackled with energy, bursting to life with a rush of fiery wind.

Peter was still stunned at the amount of people there, all of them powerful sorcerers and essential additions to the army. And this was only half of them! They were a force to be reckoned with. 

Steadily, they filed through the portal and there was a great, raucous welcome when the Wakandan citizens greeted magicians from all across the globe.

When things finally settled down into some semblance of order, T'Challa gave a speech to welcome their new guests, and then he gave the floor to Strange. Strange stood up and tapped his foot, about to speak but struggling to phrase his words.

"What's all this about?" Quill mumbled to Peter.

"No idea," Peter whispered back.

"Ladies, gentlemen, and others," Strange announced, beginning his speech, "I have told you that we need to gather an army. But I have not yet told you what for. Using one of the Infinity Stones, I saw a number of futures for the world after half of it vanished. There is only one of these outcomes where we win against Thanos, the Titan who caused this mess.