New York was much bigger than imagination and movies portrayed, Laurie was beginning to realize. It was even worse with a hangover.
The sun that had been scorching high above her when she arrived was now starting to set, resting halfway down the sides of the skyscrapers surrounding her. It had taken her nearly three hours to wander her way up to a fairly busy corner store up in North Harlem and ask for directions, only to find she had been heading in the wrong direction the entire time; Greenwich Village, she was told, was on the lower West side of the island, and without a bus pass or an understanding of the subway routes, she was forced to walk for another two hours before she even found the right neighborhood.
"John Mulaney was very wrong about this…" she muttered to herself, stopping to adjust her sandal strap for what must have been the tenth time, "I'll tell you how you get lost in New York, you don't have a damn clue where you are or where you're going." Looking around for some indication of where she was, she could see a patch of green sticking out amongst the grayscale backdrop of the city; a sign beside it said "Washington Square Park", and while it wasn't quite her destination, she reasoned it couldn't hurt so bad if she just sat down for a few minutes, to rest her poor feet.
"Should probably grab something to eat, while I'm at it," she rubbed her stomach lightly, feeling it grumble and growl beneath her fingers. She walked along towards the park, keeping an eye out for the iconic glass window of the Sanctum Sanctorum as well as any food stand she could get to quickly; she didn't have much cash on her, and she doubted her card would be connected to any bank in this reality, but the sooner she ate something, the better she would likely feel.
Luck, it seemed, was not on her side, as every food place she passed seemed to be either too expensive or the wait was far too long for her to deal with. She sighed, and stopped walking about a block away from the park. This was hopeless. Even if she did, by some miracle, manage to find the sanctum, how was she supposed to get help there? The Ancient One lived on the other side of the world, in Kathmandu! She'd either have to fly there herself ㅡ something she definitely couldn't afford ㅡ or she'd have to convince someone in the New York sanctum to let her in and help her get there.
And there was no guarantee that she'd make it past the door without getting killed for trespassing, or worse.
Laurie slumped down, leaning her back against a street sign and staring up at the sky. What was she going to do if this failed? Where could she possibly go? She couldn't possibly stay here, not with an alien attack only about two years away! And especially not without some kind of special training or abilities to protect herself.
"What am I gonna do?" she pulled her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them as she stared at the street around her. The crowds were beginning to wind down, or at least as much as they could in such a city; people were still coming and going all around her, but not nearly to the levels that they did earlier, and still not as much as they likely would when the clubs and bars started opening after dark. She wondered how busy the street she sat at would get as the day turned to night.
"What street even is this?" She tilted her head back, trying to read the sign above her. LaGuardia Place, it read, along with… "Bleecker Street!" She stood up suddenly, almost knocking herself and some poor bystander into the street in the process. Bleecker street; she remembered seeing the address of the sanctum saying "Bleecker Street". She had been so close this whole time! Laurie, feeling hopeful for maybe the first time since she arrived in that reality, quickly turned and started walking along the road.
There weren't as many people, she noticed, as she walked down the street. In fact, it was the significant lack of people around her that tipped her off that, maybe, something was different about this part of town. But was it the sanctum itself, she wondered, or something else?
How will I know when I've found it? She thought; she didn't recognize any of the buildings from street view. Glancing around the strangely empty road, she stepped out onto the pavement, staring up at the higher levels of the surrounding buildings, looking for a familiar glass window that would indicate she had made it. She meandered along, spinning slowly to look at each building she passed. Surely she was getting close, she couldn't have passed it alreadyㅡ
"What are you doing?!" a voice called out, shocking her out of her thoughts, "Get out of the road!" She looked toward the sound, seeing a man standing beside one of the buildings, wearing strange robes, his posture rigid and unmoving. Laurie stared critically at him, eyeing his robes carefully, then looking to the building behind him; the sign by his head said "177A Bleecker St.", and there was a round, glass window with spiraling panelling high above him.
"Finally…" she whispered, and she began moving towards him. He frowned, eyebrows furrowed.
"Don't you know not to stand in the street?" he asked as she drew near, "Why were you standing out there?"
"Sorry," she shrugged. He seemed surprisingly talkative for what she expected, "Is this the Sanctum Sanctorum?" The man stiffened up, taking on a slightly more threatening stance at the question. Laurie could feel what seemed like electricity crackling around her, like the air before a storm, but stood strong, waiting an answer.
"What business would you have at the Sanctum?" he asked, stepping closer into her space. Laurie remained unfazed, matching his gaze with her own as she responded.
"My name is Laurie Valiente," she replied, "and I need to speak with the Ancient One immediately."
It had taken more convincing, but eventually the man ㅡ who she learned was named Daniel Drumm, one of the protectors of the New York sanctum ㅡ allowed her inside, leading her up and down various sets of stairs, past numerous encased artifacts, and finally to the doorways to the different sanctums. Laurie tried to look at everything she passed, bumping into Daniel and various cases more than once on her way through. She stood in front of the entrance, staring at the open hall into Kamar-Taj.
"Thank you for helping me, Daniel," she said, turning to give him a small smile. He nodded to her, remaining in his stiff posture.
"Do not thank me yet, young one," he said, taking a step back from the portal, "You still have far to go either way." Either way? What could he have meant by that? Laurie shook it off, choosing to face forward once more as she walked through the portal.
The change was immediate, she noticed, even from inside; her breath came less easily ㅡ as if she had suddenly been shifted to the top of a small mountain instead of building at sea level ㅡ and she could feel the warm from outside seeping in more steadily, clearly with no air conditioning available to cool down the insulated interior. Candlelight guided through the entrance to the rest of the sanctum, the sky outside only just beginning to lighten to gray. In front of her, however, stood a lone figure, draped in hooded robes and head bowed gently, hiding their face; they did not stir at Laurie's sudden presence.
"Um…excuse me?" Laurie whispered, stepping closer, "Sorry to...bother you, but…" The stranger remained still, the slight shift of robes the only sign that they were more than a statue as they breathed calmly. Looking more closely, Laurie could see long strands of dark, graying hair poking out from under the hood, and the edge of a masculine jawline. It seemed almost familiar, in a way, she thought as she stared more closely.
"...Welcome," the shriek Laurie emitted at the sound of the stranger's voice echoed slightly, causing them to chuckle quietly, "The Ancient One has been expecting you." She stared at the stranger ㅡ a man, she guessed, by his voice ㅡ and felt unease creep into the pit of her stomach.
"Expecting?" she asked, watching him carefully, "I'm not so sure that bodes well for me…" He smiled at her, and tilted his head up to show his face, mirth gleaming in his honey-brown eyes.
"Follow me." With that, he turned on his heel and began to walk swiftly down one of the winding hallways out of the inner sanctum. He moved quickly, not leaving Laurie much time to catch up as he led her out through a door to the courtyard; the edge of the horizon was just starting to show some pink underneath the gray and blue, Laurie could just barely make out the green of the leaves before following the man through yet another door.
This room seemed much more familiar, she realized, as he led her in a vast and open room, built and styled almost exactly like the scene where Doctor Strange first learned about what the magic was. Standing in the very center of the room, however, was not Tilda Swinton playing at some all-knowing role, but a short, tan-skinned older woman, monolid eyes boring into hers as her wrinkled face contorted in a small smile. Same hooded yellow robes, same vague yet powerful appearance…
But if there had been any doubts before about where she was or what had happened, they died at the sight of the Ancient One before her.
"I had been wondering when I would be seeing you..." The woman spoke in a soft, almost dreamy tone, but there was an edge to her words. Somehow, Laurie didn't doubt that, whatever happened that brought her here, this woman not only knew about it, but had expected this encounter far longer than she could likely comprehend. It made her wonder, just why exactly was she there in the first place?
"I, uh…" she started, clearing her throat, "That's surprising, because I definitely wasn't planning on being here…" The Sorcerer Supreme nodded, arms crossing behind her back.
"Perhaps not, yet you found yourself here all the same." The woman thanked the man who led her here ㅡ Kaecilius, Laurie heard him called ㅡ then gestured to a chair behind her, moving aside so Laurie could sit down. Laurie walked cautiously, eyes never leaving the woman's face, and continued to watch her as she stood in front of her. "Somehow, in all of your confusion, you managed to find your way to one of the sanctums, and eventually make it here. Others in your place have not been so fortunate before."
Now that wasn't what she expected.
"I'm sorry," she said, holding up her hands in a 'stop' motion, "'Others in my place?' You mean I'm not the first person to end up here?"
"Nor the last, I am certain," the woman responded, "for thousands of years, people have wandered through dimensional rifts and found themselves adrift in other realms and realities throughout the cosmos. But very few ever have the thought in their heads to seek out the expertise of a sorcerer supreme."
"Only one such soul has before come to us for aid or guidance," another man spoke, stepping out from a dim hall and into the room behind the Ancient One, "A Watcher, who spends his time now keeping tabs on the most extraordinary of events, taking his place often just on the edge of disaster."
"Only one other person found this place?" Laurie asked, seeing the man ㅡ Mordo, if she had to guess from his face ㅡ nod to her. "Out of all the others like me?" Another nod. "You ever think maybe that might be because you guys just leave the sorry bastards to, oh I don't know, wander aimlessly for hours until they either find you guys or give up?" The two figures stared back at her, and Mordo raised a brow. "...No offense."
"It is not our place to seek out those who arrive in this realm by accident," the Ancient One spoke with a hint of finality in her tone, "If they are meant to find us, as you have, then they will. We cannot allow ourselves to make those decisions rashly, whether to bring them here or to send them back. Either one could reveal ourselves to potential threats." She had a point, Laurie had to admit to herself. The image of the man she followed flashed before her eyes again, steeling herself for the rest of the conversation.
"...okay," she said, standing up again, chin held high, "Well I followed someone here, someone who can walk through portals between dimensions, clearly. I walked out of a bar in Jacksonville and into a Manhattan alley, turned a corner and watched Tony fucking Stark say the words 'I am Iron Man', followed not by a colorful credits sequence but instead a news anchor discussing Stark's new super-hero status. The only reason I knew to come here at all, instead of trying to hunt down an Avenger or something, is because I've seen enough Marvel movies to know how to find the New York sanctum, and even that took nearly all afternoon!"
"Marvel...movies?" Mordo hesitated, looking intrigued as he stepped closer, "You mean to say that there are events and people within this world that are… movies, in you dimension?" Laurie deflated a bit, relaxing her shoulders ㅡ which had tensed and raised as she ranted before.
"Movies, comic books, television shows," she listed, "a bunch of things, for decades…"
"And how far do the events of these medias go, in terms of time?" The Ancient One smiled lightly, as if she already knew the answer. Images of events yet to come flashed in Laurie's mind, and she paused, suddenly feeling like all air had been pulled from her lungs.
"Beyond what your sight can see," Laurie whispered. The Ancient One could only see up to her own death, but the films had gone beyond that even just in Doctor Strange, not even mentioning the films that came in the two years following that. And Laurie, having seen every movie in the MCU lineup through to Infinity War, knew where everything was going to head up until the point where that purple grape-stain on the universe snapped his fingers and turned half the universe into dust. She knew just about every move that would be made, every choice, every life that would be taken throughout at least the next decade.
And if she knew all that, then maybe she could do something about it.
She had stood there, mildly shocked, until the Ancient One and the others had begun to walk away.
"Well, I suppose you'll be wanting to head back, then, so we should go ahead and get started…" Laurie shook herself from her thoughts, then ran to cut them off before they reached the hallway.
"Wait a minute!" she cried, blocking their path, "What if I didn't have to go?"
"Oh, but surely you must," the woman continued, ducking around the blonde's arm and continuing on, "We mustn't keep you too long, your friends are certainly waiting for you."
"But if I know something that could help, then maybe I could… I don't know, fix things! Save lives!" She called after them, walking faster to keep pace with the sorcerers' long steps.
"But who are you, Laurie Valiente, to decide that?" The older woman stopped still, turning to face her. Her expression was steely, but there was a light, almost mischievous look in her eye, "Who are any of us to decide who lives or who dies? Our purpose is to protect the greater world from mystical threats, not align ourselves with forces meant to defend against physical attacks." The Sorcerer Supreme turned back around, continuing to walk down the hall. "For now, we shall ensure that you arrive back at your previous location safely, nothing more."
Laurie, feeling frustrated, groaned at the woman's antics, and rushed ahead of the trio of sorcerers, blocking off their path once more as she stared them down. She took a breath, and spoke calmly.
"If you were really planning to send me home, you would have done so when I arrived at the Sanctum Sanctorum." The Ancient One raised a brow, but remained silent. "Now, I can't say for sure the intentions of the person I followed to get here, but I know that it wasn't any accident. Not with Loki, and Thanos, and eventual dusting of the entire universe hanging over our heads like the sword of fucking Damocles."
"Thanos?" the Ancient One looked surprised, if the widening of her eyes was anything to go by, "I don't know that name." At this, Mordo and Kaecilius both started, staring in shock and confusion at the Sorcerer Supreme.
"He's a mad titan," Laurie explained, "who thinks that the ever-expanding universe needs a population cut in order to continue to survive. He plans to gain ultimate power in order to wipe half the universe out of existence."
"In order to achieve that goal," Mordo began, a look of worry cracking through his stoic exterior, "then he would needㅡ"
"To collect all six infinity stones," Laurie finished, "He has one already, and knows the general locations of all but one other. Including the time stone." The Ancient One smiled at Laurie, the dreamy but stern expression returning to her face. "Look, I don't believe in coincidences. I don't know if I'm meant to defeat Thanos or save the universe at all, but I know that if I was brought here, then it was for a reason, and I think that reason may be to at least help fight back against the complete and total shit-storm that's headed our way… And you know it, don't you?"
The other two sorcerers glanced at each other, then at the Sorcerer Supreme before stepping back, folding their arms behind their backs in perfect sync. The older woman stepped forward again ㅡ so close Laurie's nose nearly touched the woman's forehead ㅡ and smiled up at her, her dark eyes glinting.
"Then let us begin."
A/N: Hi everyone! Been working on this one for a while. Unfortunately, it won't be until after May 10th before I even begin working on chapter 3, but this one's finally ready! I should be graduating from university this semester *fingers crossed* and am gonna continue to be super busy until then. Hope you enjoy this chapter, and I'll see you next time!
- Lunarity2013