As They Were || Stephen Strange ✓

xxiv

"Stop!"

Stephen and Alex turned towards the door to see Mordo and Wong walk into the room with similar looks of anger on their faces. "Tampering with continuum probabilities is forbidden." Mordo walks towards the couple.

Alex steps back gulping in fear, Stephen puts his hand out in front of him. They both don't think they're in any danger but they can't help it. "I was just doing exactly what it said in the book," Stephen said carefully.

"What did the book say about the dangers of performing that ritual?" Alex looked at Stephen concerned, he didn't know that it was dangerous but did Stephen? "I don't know, I hadn't gotten to that part yet."

Alex carefully hits Stephen on the shoulder, how could his fiance be so stupid as to not read the dangers first. "Temporal manipulations can create branches in time. Unstable dimensional openings." Everything that Mordo and Wong were telling the two of them made Alex feel stupid, this wasn't his element, he didn't know what they were saying.

"You'll get stuck reliving the same moment over and over forever or never having existed at all." Stephen tilted his head to the side before replying to Mordo. "Really should put the warnings before the spell." Alex huffed out a quiet laugh, his laugh drew the attention of Wong. "I'm surprised you're here Alex, you don't seem like the type of person who would do this type of thing." Alex took a deep breath, he felt Stephen's fingers brush over his.

"I didn't mean to see this, Stephen kept sneaking out so I thought the worst, and I followed him. Can't say I'm not impressed at what I've found when I got here." He didn't care what the two men thought, he couldn't help but look at Stephen proudly.

Wong shook his head. "Both of your curiosities could've gotten both of you killed." Wong slammed the book shut narrowly missing Stephen's hands which were just on top of the pages a second ago. "You weren't manipulating the space-time continuum, Stephen. You were breaking it." Alex watches as Stephen's face falls, he looks down before looking back up putting on his cocky persona again.

Wong grabs the book and goes to put it back before he turns around and looks at Stephen. "We do not tamper with natural law, we defend it." Stephen sighs, it's small but Alex notices that Stephen's fingers are starting to shake again, Alex grabs his hand carefully and rubs. Not hard enough to hurt him but enough that it would smooth down the pain and shakes.

"How did you even do that?" Mordo asks, Stephen hums looking at him. "Where did you learn the litany of spells required to even understand it?"

"I've got a photographic memory. That's how I got my M.D. and Ph.D. at the same time." No matter how many times Stephen said it, it still made him impressed. "What you just did, takes more than a good memory."

"You were born for the mystic arts."

Stephen scoffed lifting his hands. "And yet, my hands still shake." Wong nods slightly. "For now, yes." Stephen looked up, to anyone else he looked confused but only Alex see the small glimmery of hope that Stephen had in his eyes, it was a glint in his eyes if you didn't know him as well as Alex did you would miss it, but he didn't. "Not forever?"

"We're not prophets." Mordo defends, just that the hope vanished. "When are you gonna start telling me what we are?" Stephen's tone had a bite to it, Alex brought his hand up and squeezed Stephen's shoulder lightly.

It was silent, Mordo glanced at Wong and they seemed to be having a silent discussion. "Look, I know I'm not one of you but we need to know." Alex's comment seemed to break them out of their stupor.

Wong sighed and he started to walk towards the place that had the Eye of Agamotto on it. "While heroes like the Avengers protect the world from physical dangers, we sorcerers safeguard it against more mystical threats." Wong started turning the base and it made a globe appear above their heads, it was littered with orange dots.

Alex reached out to touch it but thought against it at the last minute, he didn't want to get in trouble. "The Ancient one is the latest in a long line of Sorcerers Supreme going back thousands of years to the father of the mystic arts, the mighty Agamotto." Alex and Stephen both glanced at the necklace he had on.

"Same sorcerer who created the eye you so recklessly borrowed. Agamotto built three sanctums in places of power, where great cities now stand." Wong gestures to the doors surrounding the small concave. "That door leads to the Hong Kong Sanctum." Wong points to a door that's behind Stephen and Alex.

"That door to the New York Sanctum." Wong pointed to another door that was behind him before pointing to the one in the middle. "That's the London Sanctum."

"Together the Sanctums generate a protective shield around our world." As Wong was talking the globe started changing, the orange dots started to form symbols, the same symbol that was on the doors. "The Sanctums protect the world and we sorcerers protect the Sanctum." Mordo finishes off for Wong. "From what?" Stephen asks, glancing between Mordo and Wong.

"Other dimensional beings that threaten our universe." Recognition came across Stephen's face. "Like Dormammu." Mordo's head whipped towards Stephen quickly. "Where did you learn that name?"

Stephen glanced at Alex and held out his hand for him to take which he did. "I just read it in The Book of Cagliostro. Why?" Mordo and Wong glanced at each other before Wong glanced down at the podium and turns it again making the globe change.

"Dormammu dwells in the Dark Dimension, beyond time. He is the cosmic conqueror." Stephen drops Alex's hand and starts walking, he's focused on the globe. "The destroyer of worlds, a being of infinite power and endless hunger on a quest to invade every universe and bring all worlds into his Dark Dimension."

Alex was in awe, the globe above their hands changed to a galaxy purple but he knew it was bad. "He hungers for Earth most of all." Wong finishes.

"The pages that Kaecilius stole." Wong nodded. "A ritual to contact Dormammu and draw power from the Dark Dimension."

Stephen laughs looking at Alex shaking his head. "Uh, okay. I'm out, I came here to heal my hands, not to fight in some mystical war."

Wong opened his mouth to say something but Alex beat him to the punch. "Stephen, you're supposed to be here."

Stephen shook his head but Alex grabbed Stephen's chin gently. "You are meant for this."

That's when all hell broke loose.