A/N: I've neglected this one :( My bad.
In Search of Answers
"All went well, Master?" Wong asks as Doctor Strange enters through his front door. He waves his hand down the front of his body and his clothes change to something more suiting the times than his black cloak.
"They resisted… like they always do." Strange replies with a tone of weariness. "But they weren't anything I couldn't handle." The Doctor stops and loses his footing momentarily before catching himself on the runner table lining the wall by the staircase.
"You used the Eye, didn't you… Master?" Wong inquires with a hint of concern as his eerie silver eyes watch Strange collect himself and stand straight once more. The Doctor doesn't reply. Wong then adds, "You shouldn't use it unless it is absolutely needed. You know the toll for its use better than anyone who has wielded The Eye before you, Master."
"I know!" Strange says curtly cutting off his servant's admonishment. He then sighs and wipes his hand across his brow before adding in a softer tone, "I know what it did to Agamotto."
"Yet you will use it every time there is a job to be done." Wong then says as he gives Strange's back a concerned stare through narrowed eyes.
"You must think you serve a fool, Wong." Strange then says with a bit of sadness in his voice though he does not turn to look his servant in the eyes.
"Never thought you a fool, Master… rather, I understand that I serve a stubborn man." Wong then says and Strange chuckles.
"Wishing you served another sorcerer?" Strange then asks.
"No. I serve the Sorcerer Supreme… there is no greater honor for an Elemental." Wong answers and a ghost of a smile crosses his face.
"Then there is none worthier to wield The Eye than I. Goodnight, Wong." Strange then says and starts up the stairs out of sight.
"No there isn't." Wong then says as he nods his head.
Strange slowly and quietly uses his magic to open little Stephen's bedroom door. He smiles as he sees his son sleeping soundly tucked under plush covers. His smile falters slightly as he hopes his young son is dreaming sweet happy dreams like children should and not nightmares like the little boy has done nearly his entire short life. His thoughts then return to the family he helped. The woman won't remember him at all and when that family wakes up tomorrow… they won't recall anything about their ordeal.
Doctor Strange had vowed to help the innocent who were vexed by the paranormal ever since he lost his wife nearly a decade ago. He quickly shakes his head to clear his mind of the painful memories. He doesn't want to relive them but they come anyways… they always do.
Clea had been driving home after dropping off their infant son at her parents' house when… when it happened. A crazed man, or that's what Strange had thought at first, had darted out in front of her car and she swerved to avoid him. She wound up grazing him yet flipped the vehicle fully before it went off of the road and into a tree. The driver's side impacted it and she was crashed… killed instantly. The sight of her mangled form brought a scream from Strange's lips that night… but tonight tears wet his cheeks.
It wasn't until later, while on a lark, Stephen Strange had attended a séance and the spirit of his departed wife had appeared to him and the woman psychic medium had given him more answers than he bargained for.
The ghost of his beloved Clea had told him of the eerie man how he had struck her vehicle and flipped it. Stephen had been distraught but the old psychic woman, in her trance, went on to tell him that he would find the answers he seeks from an old sorcerer named Agamotto far to the east in the Himalayas. Stephen Strange took up the lead and left his infant son with his wife's parents. He had told them he would return one day, but first he had to do something.
A year passed and Stephen Strange searched long and hard until he found the mystic land of Kun-Lun. He beseeched the ruler of that land, a hard yet noble man who called himself the Iron Fist, for the whereabouts of the sorcerer known as Agamotto. He described what had happened and at first the Iron Fist made him wait… Stephen waited for days that turned into months. He picked up meditation in that time and one day after nearly a year of waiting… The Iron Fist told him he was ready and that he should go into the sacred mountains, but to take heed. For the path to the Ancient One was one guarded by powerful magic and only the worthy could find their way… all others succumbed to the fury of the mountains, lost in their ambition for power. Strange just wanted answers, so the Iron Fist said farewell to his new foreign friend.
The path was hard and Stephen Strange was tested to his limits. He was tormented by shadows, but Stephen went on. He was confronted with his pride and nearsightedness, but Stephen went on. He seen his wife standing in the fury of a snow storm and wept as he tried to reach her. He broke down then and declared to the elements that he just wanted answers for why she had to die… and if he couldn't find them, then he wanted to join her in death. The storm stopped and Stephen saw an old man approach him before he passed out.
He awoke to find this same old man caring for him. He was wrapped in warm furs and by a bright fire as the old man fed him some soup. Stephen had thanked him and didn't ask about the Ancient One. He believed he had failed and that as soon as he was better, he would leave and return home. Once he had recovered, Stephen Strange made to leave though the old man asked him, in perfect English, if all he had wanted from the Sorcerer Agamotto was some soup.
Stephen was stunned to learn that this old man spoke English let alone that he was this Ancient One he had been searching for. Stephen fell to his knees before the old man and apologized. He then said he just wanted to know what had happened to his wife. That's when the old man told him that it was a foul creature of Shadow and that only those who can see clearly see them for what they truly are. Stephen began his tutelage under the Ancient One's guidance that day and for what felt like a lifetime, Stephen Strange learned from this old man about magic and how it is woven into the very fabric of existence because the Universe has a consciousness… that consciousness is known as Eternity and by communicating with IT a mere Human can perform miracles and do magic because they are asking the Universe Itself to alter reality.
Stephen then learned that there are six pieces of this Cosmic Consciousness that manifested in a time before Time and that anyone with some luck and the right knowledge can use these Infinity Stones to alter reality without the use of magical skill. That's when the Ancient One revealed the Eye to Stephen Strange. It could be used to manipulate Souls and reveal hidden things to the wielder… but there was a price. For each use, the wielder loses a piece of their own Soul in the process. It maybe small, but eventually they lose their memories, their emotions, and they become a shell devoid of feeling, creativity, and purpose. They'd be haunted by the evils they had done as they are consumed by their own inner darkness until they take their own life or look into the Eye fully and become consumed by it.
Stephen vowed to stop the evil forces in the world and that he'd never use the Eye unless it was absolutely necessary. The Ancient One then asked Stephen to open it so that he may look into the Eye and find peace at last. Stephen complied sadly and watched as the old man he had come to see as a friend and mentor was drawn into the green glowing Eye.
After that, Stephen Strange and an Air Elemental he had summoned early on named Wong departed the cave and returned to Kun-Lun. The Iron Fist had seen that his American friend was much changed and Stephen learned that only a single month had passed in his absence. Stephen didn't find it strange at all. He just smiled and told his noble friend he had found the answers he sought and so returned home… a changed man for he was now the new Sorcerer Supreme.
The next day dawns bright but soon the skies are overcast and a chill is in the air. Stephen Strange readies his young son for school and sends little Stephen off with a smile after fixing him some breakfast. Stephen barely remembers his childhood, a consequence of using the Eye. He dreads the day when he will look at his son and forget who the boy is… but there is real evil in this world. It is hidden and only those with open eyes can see it… and Doctor Strange made a vow to never let it hurt the innocent. He plans to uphold his promise to his fallen mentor until the very day he is consumed by his own darkness and gazes into the Eye himself. Then there comes a knock upon his front door. The rapping in slow and methodic. Strange turns and holds his defensive spells to play through.
"Who disturbs my contemplation?" The deep rumbling voice sounds.
"I have come seeking the Doctor." A smooth and polite sounds from the other side of the thick wooden door. "I have a most interesting proposition… for Doctor Strange. Are you him?" Strange considers this new comer for a second longer… he looks at the man's aura through the spirit glass peep hole on the door. The good Doctor notices there are four prominent layers surrounding a pin prick of light.
The outer most layer is a swirl of blue with silver snowflakes, the next inner aura is a neon glow of yellow, then there is a shimmer of golden energy in knot-work patterns above a film of solid blue veined with gold and white, and as he stares at the point of light that shines with the brilliance of the Sun… Stephen sees a flicker of orange flame shaped like a graceful heron with twin swirling tail feathers. The bird looks at the Mortal Sorcerer with eyes of emerald flame… and Stephen is reminded of the best times with his wife and how his son is the reason he returned home to New York… why he fights the Evil hidden in the Shadows.
He may not trust everything this man is… but that spark, that little bird of flame… he can trust that. Stephen then waves his hand down his front changing his casual wear into his 'Sorcerer' attire. The dark cloak falls over him like a whispering shadow and the cowl hides his head. He then conjures a mist for the theatrics and waves his hand to open the door…
"I am Doctor Strange." He says as he steps out through the rolling mist on to his front porch to stand before a well-dressed man in a black suit and hat get-up. His gloved hands are folded over a beautiful cane of twisting dark green and black wood capped with gold on both ends and large green jewels.
"Speak of your business with me in my foyer and I'll see if I can be of service." Strange then says and gestures for this man to enter. He can't sense anything from this man other than the taste of magic lingering on the surface… like frost on a window plane. Perhaps his tools of detection will be of more help…
"Thank you for speaking with me… Dr. Strange." The man says slowly as he looks about curiously then dismisses everything off-handedly. Strange looks at the obsidian cat statue… no reaction, just nothing. Strange then slowly walks around the circular foyer/parlor area. He looks at the man's reflection and sees only the shimmer of the golden knot-work energy upon his form… so he is protected. Understandable.
"Now tell me… Mr. ?… I'm afraid you didn't give me a name." Doctor Strange says to the well-dressed man.
"No, I didn't give it. Pardon my lack of manners… I am… Baron Mordo, Sorcerer Excelsior." The man says as he removes his hat and bows with a flourish.
"And what is your business with me, Baron Mordo?" Dr. Strange asks as he watches this new Sorcerer from under his hood. A look of worry flickers through Baron Mordo's pale blue eyes.
"Have you not felt IT?" The man asks in a hushed whisper drawing closer as though they are being overheard. "For years IT has been whispering to me in the night… showing me my fears… dashing my dreams to dust. All to see me to ruin… to control me. Has IT been working on you as well?"
'I am NIGHTMARE!' Stephen Strange recalls the eerie voice…
"Has Nightmare turned your slumber into something to dread?" Baron Mordo then asks as he looks at the good doctor. Strange frowns then turns his face away from the Baron.
"Yes." Doctor Strange says as he controls his breath to ease the quickening pace of his heart.
"Then let us do something before the rest of Humanity feels such terror." Baron Mordo says. Doctor Strange nods but then realizes that his fellow Sorcerer can't see the movement… so he throws back his hood.
"Let us see what we can learn of our foe." The good doctor says as his fingertips glow green and he draws in the air before him…
