The Perfect Illusion

Marionette

Narrator's POV

"Hah!" Stephen groaned as he fell to the ground once again.

"Get up, Strange." Kaecilius said behind him with a staff. "You are weak!"

Anger boiled inside Stephen.

He quickly got up. "AH!" He swung for Kaecilius with a blade.

"Desperate and rusted." Kaecilius said, dodging every swing from Stephen. "Useless."

"Ngh!" Stephen swept his leg across Kaecilius's feet.

Kaecilius avoided his attack and pushed him back with his hand. "You're not good enough." He said, forming yellow triangles and sending them toward Stephen.

Stephen formed a shield and protected himself. "Ah-!" He gasped when he felt a sharp pain in his rib cage. He looked down to see a blade in his rib cage. He looked up and saw Kaecilius had opened a portal and stabbed him from behind.

"Pathetic." Kaecilius said, appearing behind Stephen and slicing the blade across his back.

"Mm..." Stephen groaned, arching back.

Kaecilius kicked him in the back of the knee and brought him down, lifting his head up by the hair and putting a blade at his neck. "You need training, proper training." He said. "You've grown soft and vulnerable. This is unacceptable." He let of of Stephen. "Get out of my sight until you can fight."

Stephen fell to his hands and knees, looking up and opening a portal to his room.

///0///0

"Ah!" Stephen hissed when he felt a pain in his ribs when he reached up into the medicine cabinet in the bathroom.

His whole body ached, but mainly his right side.

"What the hell?" He lifted his shirt, seeing the wound in his robe cage from earlier when he sparred with Kaecilius.

It should've been healed by now.

He removed his shirt and looked at his back.

The large cut across his back was still there along with bruises and cuts from hits he'd taken.

They all should've healed by now.

He reached for a syringe in the cabinet.

Ah, sweet morphine.

He injected it in his arm, breathing in and exhaling as he felt the pain in his body subside. He knew it wouldn't last long, and that when he opened the medicine cabinet and took out box from inside a hidden compartment in the cabinet. "Desperate times, call for desperate measures." He said, opening the box and taking out thee syringes as well as a sewing needles and some medicinal thread.

///0///0

"Tell is what is everything the others are planning." Kaecilius said, sitting at a round table with Zealots around.

"Stark will most likely call the Avengers." Stephen said. "This is threatening earth, and protection the earth is their job. So they will come." He said. "None of them are much of a threat except Thor and Dr. Banner."

"Who are they?" Kaecilius asked.

"Odinson." Stephen said. "The God of Thunder. He's not easy to take down. He is quiet powerful and won't go down without a fight. Dr. Banner was exposed the radiation and transforms into a being called Hulk, which is very strong and a tough opponent to beat. He and Thor are equal in strength, but Dr. Banner is a mortal."

"What about the others?" Kaecilius asked.

"None are really a threat." Stephen said. "Stark, take away his toys, he's a simple man. Rogers won't give up easily, but he can be broken. Agent Romanoff and Barton are well trained, but nothing we can't beat."

Kaecilius listened.

"Romanoff has ties with Fury." Stephen said. "Now Fury might be a threat. He is the main director of SHIELD and has thousands of soldiers ready to strike and defend earth from any threat."

"And as for the Magic Council?"

Stephen sighed. "I wasn't able to acquire plans. All I know is that they're growing in size and are training and learning new magic to counter our own magic."

"I see." Kaecilius said. "We have no need to worry. Our army is large and vast, well trained and we have Dormammu with us." He said. "With a wave of his hand, he can take out half of their army." Kaecilius stood from the table.

The Zealots stood with him.

"Which reminds me, Dormammu will be here soon to conquer and destroy this planet." Kaecilius said. "We will finally be with him and rule by his side, and you Stephen will receive unlimited power and strength. You will receive everything and anything you desire, but we have to do some preparations first."

///0///0

"Ah! Hah!" Stephen yelped as he was being pierced with glowing white needles all over his body.

Kaecilius had conjured glowing ropes to hold him in place.

"What are you doing?" Stephen asked.

"We must extract her magic out of you." Kaecilius said. "With it in you, Dormammu cannot be one with you. We must get rid of the light within you." He altered the needles.

"Ngh!" Stephen tossed his head back.

"This will teach you to be stronger and endure for when he puts his being in your body."

"Hah..." Stephen sighed and let his head fall when Kaecilius stopped. "What..." He panted. "...what will I be gaining from this?"

"Unlimited power, strength."

Stephen looked up. "Is Dormammu just looking for a shell to live in, hm? Is this what this is is? What will happen to me?"

"Measure your next words very carefully, Strange." Kaecilius said, taking a fighting stance.

"Why? Because you're afraid I'll find out what's going on?" Stephen asked. "I know what you're all doing. Dormammu needs a body to come to earth and rule it with. He's a coward."

"Hey!" Kaecilius put a blade up to Stephen's throat. "Watch what you say about it master. You wouldn't want to upset him. You know what happens when he's upset."

Stephen gritted his teeth. "What? Are you scared he might take it out on you?"

Kaecilius grew offended. "Hmph." He stuck the blade in Stephen's shoulder. "You're lucky he chose you, otherwise you'd be dead." He said walking away from Stephen, leaving him hanging from the ropes.

"Hah..." He sighed, letting his head hang down.