Ch 80 Stephen Strange

Everyone woke up on time the next day. They were surprised they had even managed to get some sleep after the incident with Kang. Steve was a bit on edge, considering what Kang had said, but he would have to move past it for now.

They were eating in the dining hall.

"Where's future me?" Sam asked.

"He works a lot." Benjamin said, "Very dedicated. I see why Cap chose you, Sam."

"I really don't see myself retiring to be honest." Steve said, "Though I believe I gave the mantle to the right person."

"I am actually happy you didn't pass it on to me." Bucky said.

Steve nodded. Bucky seemed to be tired of fighting at this point and was only doing it because it was necessary. He was more peaceful living in a hut in Wakanda and being pestered by children, which he found more amusing than annoying. Sam, on the other hand, was as enthusiastic as ever. So his choice made sense.

"And Stormbreaker?" Thor asked, "Did Eitri make it?"

"Yes." Odinson said, "I had to convince him but he made the most powerful weapon I have ever wielded."

"A king's weapon indeed." Loki said, "And unlike Mjolnir, this seems to enhance your powers."

"Yes. It does." Odinson said, "And my powers have only grown since then."

"I think to fight Thanos, I will need it." Thor said.

"Yeah you will, bub." Logan agreed.

"So who're we watching today?" Tony asked.

"It's Strange actually." Benjamin said.

"That makes his appearance yesterday even more convenient." Natasha joked and all chuckled.

"You found anything about what Kang meant or wanted?" Clint asked.

"No. But we will tell you if we do while you're here." Logan assured.

"I think we should begin now." Pepper said.

"Yeah. Come on." Benjamin said and they were in the viewing room again. Logan turned on the recording.

"Never seen real magic before." Wanda commented, "My powers come from the Mind Stone."

"It does seem like it will be an enlightening experience." Vision said.

"Of course it would." Logan said as the recording started.

Some kind of monastery was shown. In the library, the librarian was walking around, holding a book. Then someone appeared in the corner. As the librarian turned to face him, other people dressed like him appeared too.

"Religious fanatics?" Scott asked.

"They are Zealots." Odinson said, "You'll see."

The Zealots suddenly produced Eldrich whips and restrained the librarian in the air while a bucket was kept underneath him. As he screamed, one of the Zealots stepped up and with two Scythian daggers, decapitated him as the head fell into the bucket.

The viewers gapped in horror as Peter looked afraid. The brutality of the world was getting worse and worse in every recording for him. May held his hand lovingly as Hope said, "What the hell?"

"They're doing some kind of ritual?" Fury asked.

"Yeah." Logan said.

He then picked up the book and tore off some pages. As they started to leave, a hooded woman appeared, addressing the man as Master Kaecilius, and told him the ritual would only bring him sorrow.

"Who's that?" Hill asked.

"You'll see." Benjamin said.

The Zealots ran and went through some kind of magical barrier before stepping out of the place and onto the streets of London. As they ran, the space in front of them seemed to warp as the people in the streets disappeared. They turned to see the hooded woman as Kaecilius called her a hypocrite. The entire landscape was suddenly warped, turning to the side as the buildings and space contorted while the Zealots struggled to maintain their footing.

"Okay, what is that?" A shocked Peter asked. This seemed to shock all of them though.

"This is far different from Asgardian magic." Loki noted.

"I wouldn't mess with these." Bruce said.

Kaecilius took out Scythian daggers as the others summoned Eldrich whips, tying her legs but she stepped back and they fell down as she summoned her tao mandalas, leaping and beating them before fighting some others and beating them too, crushing them with the distorted buildings.

"She's good." Natasha said as everyone simply stared in awe.

"And what she is doing, I have no idea." Steve said.

"What any of them are doing, I can't tell." Rhodes said.

"Yeah. They're pretty trippy." Logan agreed.

As she crushed two more under the buildings and fought a third, Kaecilius opened a portal and him and his Zealots jumped into it as it closed. She watched helplessly and simply landed down, restoring the normal version of the landscape.

"Damn!" Tony said as all gapped.

She opened a portal and went through it, returning the crowded street.

"Where had the people gone?" Aunt May asked.

"No spoilers." Benjamin said.

She took off her hood, revealing herself to be bald as everyone looked at her.

"She seems….enigmatic." T'Challa said.

In a hospital, a doctor washed his hands and wore surgical gown and mask before going to perform an operation. As he operated, he listened to music and asked the assistant known as Billy to bring up the challenge round.

"That's him!" Clint said.

"He's listening to music while performing a surgery?" Pepper asked, "That's dangerous."

"Not for him." Benjamin said.

As Billy put on the music, Strange said this wasn't hard at all, guessing the song, artist and year correctly, though Billy said it was 1978. Strange said the song had charted in 1978 but was released in 1977. A nurse asked where he stored all the useless information and he said it wasn't useless as the man had charted a Top 10 Hit with Flugelhorn. Turned out he had guessed the right year as everyone seemed a bit annoyed and the other doctor said he'd done his bit and they'd finish up.

"Photographic memory, right?" Tony asked and nods followed.

"I think he reminds me of someone." Pepper said.

"Who?" Tony asked.

"You." She said.

"Oh come on! We're nothing alike!" Tony said.

"You kidding me?" Rhodes asked, "This guy looks like the Tony Stark of neurosurgery."

Everyone chuckled, though the comparison was accurate.

Strange saw Christine Palmer outside and walked to meet her. She showed him a case on a tablet. Strange found the problem, saying she had left a bullet in his head and it was impinging on the medulla.

"He's really impressive." Steve said as all looked impressed.

Strange then suddenly ran along with her, stopping Dr. West from wheeling the man away for organ donation. West insisted he was brain dead but Strange showed that he had found a perfectly intact bullet in the head so they needed to prepare for a suboccipital craniotomy. The bullet had been hardened by a poison that caused the patient to fail reflexes tests and enter a death-like state.

"Heard of that one." Natasha said, "Pretty bad."

Strange and Palmer moved to the operation theater to operate, with the former refusing West's assistance. Strange did it with hand. West said it wasn't time for showing off but Strange called him out for the wrong time of death and also asked him to cover his watch. They continued the intense surgery.

"Okay. I can see where you're coming from." Tony said, reminded of when he had humiliated Hammer.

In the end, they managed to take out a perfectly intact bullet, saving the man's life.

Everyone sighed in relief as Bruce said, "He is definitely the best neurosurgeon I have seen. I won't bet against him."

"You're not the only one." Sam said.

The two walked out and were hugged by the man's family. They later walked together as Palmer said he didn't need to humiliate West and he argued how he didn't have to save his patient either, though Palmer continued to defend him as a great doctor and had come to Strange for a second opinion. He said she had a second opinion and had come to him for a competent one.

Everyone laughed at Strange's snark.

"West is probably a great doctor but he is an extraordinary one." Fury said and all agreed.

Palmer sarcastically asked him to be her neurosurgeon on call as he said he wasn't going to work in her butcher shop and that his work would save thousands of lives in the coming years and she joked how he had no fame, saying she'd stick with Nick. Strange asked if they were sleeping, finding it disgusting, and she said they weren't, as she had a strict rule against dating colleagues and called it the Strange policy.

"So…..ex?" Pepper asked.

"Yeah." Benjamin said.

"Everything makes sense now." Tony said.

Strange was flattered something was named after him as Palmer reminded him of the lobotomy procedure they both had made. He asked her to come to a Neurological society dinner but she said that was all about him. He said they could hyphenate to Strange-Palmer but she changed it to Palmer-Strange.

"Sounds better actually." Hope said.

Strange shaved at his home and put on a tux before looking at his trophies and certificates. He opened a drawer to reveal several expensive watches.

"And I thought I was narcissistic." Tony said and all chuckled.

He picked up a watch given to him by Christine Palmer when they had been in a relationship.

"He seems to be like you for sure." Pepper said, now reminded of how Tony had still kept the Arc Reactor with the words- 'Proof That Tony Stark Has A Heart.'

Strange got into a sports car and drove through the city at high speed with no regards for his safety.

"Slow down man." Steve said.

"I have a feeling this is where the accident takes place." Clint said.

"Right you are." Odinson said.

Strange got a phone call from Billy, who talked about a 35 year old Air Force Colonel who had crushed his lower spine in some kind of experimental armor.

"Sounds eerily similar, doesn't it?" Rhodes asked.

"Yes it does." Sam sighed.

Strange dismissed it, saying others could handle it before being told of a sixty-eight-year-old woman with an advanced brain stem glioma. He didn't want to screw his record though and was then informed of a schizophrenic with an electric implant who had been struck by lightning.

"I got no words for that." Scott said.

Strange got the X-ray and looked at it, only to hit another car.

Everyone watched with wide eyes.

He lost control as the car skidded around. His hands were crushed and hit by glass shards as the car flew off the road and crashed into the water, with a wounded Strange eventually losing consciousness.

"This is why I never take my eyes off the road!" Tony said, "One thing I'm careful at."

"I have a feeling he won't be able to operate anymore." Rhodes said, as everyone felt sympathy for Strange too.

Strange was later wheeled into the emergency room and after what seemed like days, woke up. Palmer was next to him, assuring him he was fine. He saw his hands in fixators and was told the nerve damage was inoperable. He had 11 stainless steel pins in his bones.

Everyone felt bad for the doctor in spite of his arrogance. Because at the end of the day, he was a good man.

"No one could have done better." Palmer said. "I could have done better." Strange said.

Tony felt there were similarities between him and Strange. Both were arrogant, successful people. He had been almost murdered by his own weapons. Strange had given himself injuries so horrible only he could operate on them.

He later looked through his own X-Rays as Christine helped him shave. His bandages were removed later and his fingers shook badly as West told him he'd need time to heal but he accused West of ruining him.

"Nope. He saved your life." Logan said.

"I think those hands were done for the moment they were crushed." Odinson said.

"Yeah. From the looks of it, only he could have operated on them like he said." Bruce said.

Strange was later in a meeting with other doctors and told them of a complex process to heal his hands. A female one said it was possible as he was later wheeled to the operation theater while Christine watched.

"I don't think it worked." Scott said sadly.

"No." Benjamin said.

He was later in a meeting with his physical therapist who advised him to open his fingers using braces but it caused him a lot of pain.

Except the soldiers, warriors and SHIELD agents, everyone cringed at the sight due to the pain Strange was experiencing.

Strange asked if someone with nerve damage this severe had recovered and was told of one paraplegic. He had stopped coming and was thought to be dead and a few years later, had walked past him on the street.

"Walked?" Rhodes asked as all were shocked.

"Yeah." Odinson said, "The Mystic Arts can do many things, including actual miracles it seems."

Strange was skeptical as the therapist said he'd pull the file from archives and would be worth it if it proved his arrogant ass wrong.

Everyone chuckled as Fury said, "I know the feeling."

Strange later washed his shaking hands and tried to shave but failed. He later talked to a doctor on video call on his tablet while trying to write with his shaking hands. The doctor said all the suggested procedures were impossible and cut the call in spite of Strange's protests. Strange angrily threw the tablet across the room.

Everyone flinched as T'Challa said, "He is angry. He has lost his way of life. And he sees no other way."

Palmer then arrived as Strange called the doctor a hack. He then talked about a procedure in Tokyo, thinking of a loan but she said he didn't even have any money now and should stop. He said he wouldn't stop. Palmer said other things in his life could give it meaning. He asked if she meant herself.

"Shouldn't have done that." Tony said.

She asked him to apologize and he asked her to leave. She started leaving, saying she couldn't watch him do this to himself and it broke her heart. He asked her not to pity him and she said she wasn't. He said they aren't friends and were barely lovers, with her just loving a good sob story, which he was to her now. He was yelling at this point. She bade him farewell and walked out angrily.

Everyone watched the tense scene, not very pleased by Strange's behavior even if they could understand it.

"Never done that." Tony said. While he was arrogant and did talk down to people sometimes, he had never deliberately tried to hurt anyone who cared for him.

"He will change." Benjamin said.

"I know. The man I met yesterday did not seem capable of this." Steve said.

Strange walked over the page on which he had tried to write his own name several times and looked out at New York through the window. Strange was later sent the file of the former paraplegic with a note saying 'Told you so!'

Everyone chuckled at that Pepper said, "I'm sure that would have been worth it."

"So such a man actually exists." Fury mused.

The man- Jonathan Pangborn, was playing basketball as Strange approached, talking about his injuries and introduced himself. Pangborn recognized him, saying he had come to him but he had refused to see him. He hadn't even gotten past his assistant. He started walking away when Strange said he had come back from a place there was no coming back from. He was trying to find his own way back.

"Now he will tell." Natasha realized.

Pangborn took pity and said he had given up so he had tried to elevate his mind. He had sat with several gurus and strange women and had been carried up mountain tops, finally finding his teacher, elevating his mind, deepening his spirit, and healing his body. He did not have strength to learn the deeper secrets so he had chosen to return with his miraculous healing. The place was called Kamar-Taj.

"Kamar-Taj." Sam mused, "Definitely in the East."

"Oh it is." Logan said.

He said the cost was high. Strange asked how much but he said it wasn't about money and went back to his game.

"It's something much deeper." Bucky said.

Strange later arrived in Kathmandu, Nepal, walking through the crowded streets and marketplaces and asking people for directions to Kamar-Taj. He saw a sign of a holy tour as well. A hooded man watched him.

"I'm guessing he knows the location." Hill said as all looked at him suspiciously.

"Oh he does." Odinson said.

The man kept following Strange, who later found a wounded dog limping and at first passed by it before beckoning the dog. As it limped to him, he put a makeshift bandage on its leg.

Everyone smiled at the sweet scene as Aunt May said, "He's arrogant, but decent."

The dog lovers, especially Bruce, found the scene touching.

Strange joked he would charge it as he let the dog go and started walking away when three men surrounded him.

"Uh-oh." Clint said as all tensed.

Strange said he didn't have money but they demanded the watch. He refused as it was gifted to him by Palmer but they didn't give up. He punched one of them.

"Oh no." Steve said as all watched in shock. Punching with hands like those was going to be costly.

The three started beating him down when the hooded man arrived and effortlessly dispatched them, sending one running off. He picked up the watch and returned it to Strange, though it was broken now. He asked if Strange was looking for Kamar-Taj and he nodded. The man walked off as Strange walked after him.

"Now he will find the place." Thor said.

They arrived at a place as Strange joked another place looked more 'Kamar-Taji.' The man said he had been disrespectful too once and said, "Forget everything you think you know."

"I think it's for us too." Loki said.

They went inside as the man said this was the sanctuary of the Ancient One. Strange saw an old man and assumed he was the Ancient One. Others took off his coat and gave him refreshments, with him thanking them all.

Everyone chuckled as the repeated 'thank you' was getting amusing.

Strange thanked the man but then the bald woman serving him revealed herself to be the Ancient One.

"So White Witch went bald and turned good then." Scott joked and all chuckled. [1]

She thanked the old man and the one who had brought Strange, their names being Hamir and Mordo respectively. She called him 'Mr. Strange.' He said it was doctor but she pointed out not anymore, talking about his seven experimental procedures. He complimented the tea and inquired about Pangborn. She said he couldn't walk and they had convinced him he could.

"How does that work?" Steve wondered.

"Forget everything you think you know." Loki said.

"Right." Steve agreed.

She asked if they could convince the body to put itself back together. Strange thought they had programmed the cells to self-heal.

"Where we are from, magic and science are the same mostly." Thor said, "But here, I believe true magic is involved."

"Of course." Odinson said.

She said she knew how to reorient the spirit to heal the body. He asked how to start as she showed him the body's map in a book and asked if he didn't like it. He said he had seen it in gift shops. She showed him more and said each was drawn by someone who could see a part but not the whole thing. He was angered that she was talking of healing him through belief. She said he had seen everything through a keyhole and tried to widen it but now was rejecting the possibility. He said he rejected it because he didn't believe in fairy tales, chakra, energy or power of belief. There was no spirit and they were all made of matter. He said he saw through her as he pointed at her. She grabbed his hand and struck him and suddenly, his astral form shot out of his body.

Everyone gapped in shock as Bruce said, "Whoa!"

"What was that?" Thor of all people asked. For once, even he was at a loss of words.

"So….she punched his spirit out of his body." Tony asked.

"No. Not the spirit. The astral form." Odinson said, "You remember your journeys to the Ancestral Plane, Your Highness?"

"I do." T'Challa said.

"Well, it is also called the Astral Plane, and that where Strange has been sent right now." Odinson revealed to his shock. [2]

"I had no idea it worked like this too." T'Challa said, feeling a bit enlightened now.

"Oh a lot of things work in more ways than we think." Tony said, thinking of the Vibranium itself.

He was disbelieving as his astral form returned to his body. He asked what she had done to him and she said she had pushed his astral form out of his physical form. He wondered if the tea was drugged and she said it was just tea with honey. She said his body had entered the astral plane for a moment, where the soul could exist part from the body. He asked why she'd done it and he said, "To show you just how much you don't know." She put a hand on his head and said, "Open your eye." Suddenly, he was sent flying out the window into the skies and then into space.

Everyone except Loki gapped as Tony said, "Damn! That's gonna be a near-death experience."

He saw a butterfly and tried to hold it but was sent flying somewhere else. He flew through another kind of realm as Mordo said his heart rate was spiking.

"Wait! Isn't that the Quantum Realm?" Scott asked.

"It is!" Hope recognized it as the two gapped, "Looks like my father should have looked for these people instead of researching for years."

"Sounds right to me." Scott said.

Strange appeared back in the room as Ancient One said he seemed fine and sent him through the Multiverse again. He screamed as he was sent flying through several places and Ancient One said, "You think you know how the world works? You think that this material universe is all there is? What is real? What mysteries lie beyond the reach of your senses? At the root of existence, mind and matter meet. Thoughts shape reality." Strange found himself at a place where several hands reached out and tried to grab him. His own hands spouted miniature ones which spouted even smaller ones and all seemed to grab him.

"Okay. I'm about to get physically sick." Pepper said as all seemed a bit disgusted by the 'hand' sequence.

Strange was sent flying through his own eye to another place as Ancient One said, "This universe is only one of an infinite number. Worlds without end. Some benevolent and life-giving; Others filled with malice and hunger." Strange was sent to another darker looking realm as Ancient One said, "Dark places, where powers older than time lie...ravenous... and waiting." Strange saw a pair of malevolent eyes looking at him before he was sent flying back.

"What was that?" Peter asked.

"I think I have heard of that." Loki said, "Don't ask."

"It is not to be trifled with." Thor said.

"No it isn't." Odinson said, "It is among the most dangerous powers in the universe."

Everyone seemed genuinely unsettled by what the Asgardians were talking off.

Strange screamed as several screaming Stranges appeared inside him.

"Now even I'm going to be sick." Clint said, all equally confused and fascinated by the Multiverse.

"Who are you in this vast Multiverse, Mr. Strange?" Ancient One asked as he was sent flying around and finally crashed back on the chair in the room.

Everyone sighed in relief as this was over. Though they wondered how much harder this would have been for Strange.

"Have you seen that before in a gift shop?" Ancient One asked. Looking up, he begged, "Teach me!"

"Skeptic turns believer. Always priceless." Scott said.

"No." She said and he was thrown out with his belongings as the door was shut.

"But why?" Tony asked.

"The arrogance and disrespect reminded her of someone else." Logan said.

He banged the door, begging them to let him back in.

"I have a feeling he won't give up." Bucky said.

The Ancient One finished a meeting with other Masters and used the Eye of Agamotto to close a door.

"Now what is that?" Steve asked.

"You will see." Benjamin said.

Mordo arrived and she said he thought her wrong. He said Strange was still on the doorstep 5 hours later and there was a certain strength to him. She said she had seen stubbornness, arrogance and ambition all before. Mordo realized he reminded her of Kaecelius. She said she couldn't lost another student to power only to lose him to darkness. Mordo pointed out she hadn't lost him.

"Not yet." Odinson said and everyone seemed interested in what he was thinking.

Mordo had wanted the power to defeat his enemies and she had given him power to defeat his demons while living in the natural law. She said they didn't lose their demons, only learnt to live above them. Mordo said Kaecelius still had the stolen pages and could bring ruin to them all on deciphering them so they could use a man like Strange.

"He does raise a good point based on what I've seen." Fury said.

Strange was still outside. He sat down, still begging under his breath when the door opened behind him and he fell inside, "Thank you."

Everyone laughed as Tony said, "That's why I never stand or sit with my back to a door."

Mordo led him to his room, telling him to rest and meditate and gave him a note which said 'Shamballa.' He asked if it was a mantra and was told it was the Wi-Fi password, with Mordo saying they weren't savages as he walked out.

"Truth be told, even I didn't expect the place to have Wi-Fi." T'Challa said.

"Yeah. Real shocker there." Natasha said.

Strange looked at the watch on which it was written- 'Only time will tell how much I love you- Christine.' He put the watch down sadly and stood there.

Everyone felt sympathy for him as Tony said, "Now it's about to begin."

"I feel it too." Wanda said.

"Damn right it is!" Logan said as the recording continued.