Author's Notes: So, that really long scene that was too long for the last chapter I wrote out and realized it did nothing to move the plot along and was pretty much just my OCs and no Stephen. Dumped it and put Dr. Cheekbones back in his own story. Enjoy!
"And where do you think you're going with that book?" Wong demanded as Stephen started to head back home with the requested book in hand.
"I was just going to..." Stephen started, but stopped when he saw the death glare from the Librarian.
"What did I say would happen if any of the books went missing from this Library?" Wong asked, giving the other sorcerer The Look.
"But it wouldn't be missing, it would be..." Stephen didn't even bother finishing that sentence. "I'll just go sit down and read up on that spell, shall I?"
"That sounds like a very good idea," Wong agreed as he went back to returning books to their proper places.
It didn't take Stephen long to find the spell that would allow him to get past a ward. Wong had been right, it did require quite a bit of power. Unless Ari was on par with the Ancient One, there was no way she should have been able to open a portal into his Sanctum and even the Sorceress Supreme needed a Sling Ring. Someone else had to have opened it for his uninvited guest.
Once he was sure he could preform the spell, he returned the book to Wong and headed back through the Library. No sooner had he passed through the membrane then he heard voices.
"Mom, this place is amazing," a young woman's voice said in a hushed tone.
"I could spend the rest of summer vacation just checking out the artwork," a young man stated, sounding equally reverent.
"Is this where we're staying?" the girl asked hopefully.
"Yes, this is an amazing place and I don't know if we're staying here," Ari answered. "I keep showing up uninvited, so probably not."
Stephen was less than pleased. Not only was his uninvited guest back, but she brought friends. No, wait, one said 'Mom'. She brought her kids. Lovely.
"I'm warning you now not to touch anything that glows with no obvious power source, moves on its own or is weaponry or armor," Ari continued. "In fact, just avoid the top floor if I'm not with you."
"Very good advice," Stephen stated as he came around the corner.
Standing at the base of the stairs was Ari wearing a ratty old robe that might have been light blue once over her hospital gown. With her were an older teenage boy and girl, both of whom had their mother's eyes. Several pieces of luggage were sitting on the ground next to them.
"Hello, Ari," Stephen started. "I left you in a hospital room. How did you get out? How did you get in here? Again, I might add."
"Dr. Strange, I'm so sorry to invade your home again," Ari started and he noticed that she was clutching the suture site. "These are my children, Brandon and Morgan. Kids, this is Dr. Stephen Strange, the Master of the New York Sanctum Sanctorum."
"The what?" the kids asked.
"My home," Stephen grumbled. "You didn't answer my questions."
"I know, please let me explain," Ari repeated. "I was attacked earlier this evening."
"That explains how you got hurt and I'm assuming that your hasty exit out of your body was because you went to warn your kids," he said.
"It was and I did," she confirmed. "The man who attacked me has been trained in the mystic arts and he came after my children."
"How did you open a gateway into my home?" he questioned.
"Dr. Strange..." she started.
"Stephen, please," he continued. "If you're going to keep showing up unexpectedly, we might as well be on a first name basis. There are wards on this building. How did you get past them?"
"Dr. Stephen Strange, as the former Master of the New York Sanctum Sanctorum, I am formally requesting your help!" Ari interrupted, her voice rising with impatience and desperation. "Please keep my children safe."
It took him a moment to absorb that information. Then he noticed from half way across the foyer that she was trembling, her face had gone ashy white and her breathing was labored. Before he could do anything, her legs started to buckle. A flash of red came down the stairs and the Cloak of Levitation was wrapped around the Sanctum's former Master, keeping her upright. Both kids jumped and let out yelps of shock.
"What was that about not touching things that could move on their own?" Brandon nearly squeaked and for someone about the size of a linebacker, that was something else.
"Mom, you're bleeding," Morgan worriedly stated, pointing at the blood that was starting to soak Ari's dressing gown.
"Either she has another wound that I don't know about or she's ripped out some of her stitches," Stephen stated as he quickly strode toward the woman.
"It probably happened when Dad grabbed her," Brandon told the older man.
"Does your father normally get physical with your mother?" Stephen asked unhappily as he pulled her hand away, opened her robe and saw the blood soaking the hospital gown.
"No, but they do fight a lot," the boy answered while Stephen carefully moved the hospital gown out of the way. "He usually avoids touching her. What are you doing?"
"Must make for a fun home life," the sorcerer muttered before continuing a bit more loudly. "I'm just checking to see if it is the sutures and it is."
With a twist of his hand, he produced yet another pressure bandage. He applied it to the wound and the Cloak once more obliged by holding it in place. Stephen looked up at Ari's face and saw her staring at the relic crying while it wiped away her tears.
"Ari?" Stephen softly called.
"How did you get out?" Ari whispered before her eyes rolled back and her body went lax.
"MOM!" the kids yelled.
"Stop!" Stephen ordered as the boy reached for his mother. "I've got to get her back to the hospital."
He quickly slipped his Sling Ring onto his left hand. Then he turned and opened a gateway into her hospital room. He thanked the multi-verse that she had taken the ward down as he wasn't really in the mood to try out the new spell just yet.
"Ok, so you can do that thing, too," Brandon said, his voice quivering.
"Your mother opened a gateway," Stephen confirmed.
"A few of them," Morgan told him, pointing at his left hand. "She has one of those weird ring things too."
Stephen turned to the unconscious woman. He tried to get to her left hand, but the Cloak had it covered and it wasn't budging. Stephen didn't bother arguing with the blasted thing, just pointed to the portal.
"Come on," Stephen ordered the relic.
Fortunately, it simply floated toward the magical opening, gently cradling the woman. When the kids started to follow, Stephen put his hand out to stop them.
"You two should stay here," Stephen instructed. "I'll be right back."
"But Mom..." they started, both clearly upset.
"Has to have surgery again," Stephen stated unhappily. "Unless one of you two is suddenly named Doogie Howser, it's best to let the professionals take care of her."
Without another word, the sorcerer marched after the Cloak.
"Who's Doogie Howser?" Brandon asked and Morgan shrugged.
Wong scowled at the book in his hands and he snapped it shut in frustration. It wasn't giving him the information he wanted and it really irked him. Then he remembered that the book he was looking for would be kept in the New York Sanctum.
The memory of how the Cloak of Levitation had been acting had been bugging him all afternoon. With Stephen's latest visit, it made the Librarian want to know more about the relic. However, the book that listed all of the relics that was kept in his Library only gave a description of the item's ability, where it was currently located and its current master, if it had one.
Wong was interested in the history of the Cloak, not its abilities. The book with that information would be found where the relic was kept. Which meant that Wong was now on his way to the New York Sanctum. It gave him a bit of perverse pleasure knowing that he was about to invade Stephen's territory for a change.
His amusement was short lived, however. As soon as he rounded the corner, he saw a gateway was open in the foyer and a young man and woman stood staring into it. They didn't notice him at first and Wong started toward them. The young lady saw him first causing her to jump as she let out a yelp of surprise. The young man turned to see what had startled her and took up a defensive stance beside her.
"Who are you?" Wong demanded. "What are you doing here?"
"Our mom brought us here," they answered and Wong quickly realized that they were younger than he originally thought.
"Who's your mother?" the older man questioned.
"Ari Post," they replied guardedly.
"I thought she was in a hospital," the Librarian said in surprise.
"I thought so, too," Stephen nearly growled as he crossed the threshold of the portal. "Turns out she had a Sling Ring."
The Cloak was back on the taller man's shoulders, he was carrying a blood stained robe in one hand and his other was clutched into a fist. He closed the portal with the hand carrying the dressing gown and opened the other at the same time. He said nothing, but stared in confusion at what was in his palm. In it was three plain, wide banded brass finger rings.
"Stephen, those are regular rings, not a Sling Ring," Wong told the other sorcerer and was rewarded with a blue-green eyed glare.
"Those are Mom's rings," Morgan said as she came over and looked at the tall man's hand. "She never takes them off."
"It was a Sling Ring when I pulled it off of her," Stephen grumbled.
"Is Mom going to be okay?" the girl asked, sounding like she was on the verge of tears.
Stephen looked down at the teenager. Her eyes were blood shot and if she had been wearing any makeup earlier, it was gone now. He looked over at her brother and could see the boy wasn't doing much better.
"She'll be fine," he assured the two. "The nurse was on her way in as I left. When was the last time you two got any sleep?"
"Night before last," they replied.
"Grab your things, there are some spare rooms upstairs," Stephen instructed.
"But Mom said..." they began.
"Your mother is no longer the Master of this Sanctum," the sorcerer retorted. "I am and if I say you can stay, you can. Besides, your mother asked me to keep an eye on you, so you're staying here. Get your things."
The kids tiredly picked up their belongings and Stephen noticed a couple of bags still on the floor.
"What about those?" Stephen asked.
"Those are Mom's," Morgan answered as she picked up the smaller bag while her brother got the larger one. "I can do it."
"Here, I'll take them," Stephen swiftly offered.
The sorcerer all to well remembered the petty bickering between himself and his siblings. He hadn't gotten enough sleep to put up with someone else's kids fighting. He quickly took Ari's bags and then led the teenagers upstairs.
He got them settled into separate rooms as fast as he could. Before he could decide where to put Ari's things, the Cloak picked him up and carried him down the hallway to the room across from his own. He didn't even have to open the door as the relic did it for him.
"Ok, then," he muttered as he stepped into the room. "I get it. This was her room."
He dropped the duffel and messenger bags on the bed and tossed the robe on top of them. He took a brief look around, but there was nothing special about this bedroom compared to the others he had seen. In fact, it was pretty much a mirror copy of his own room.
A huge bed, a couple of nightstands, dresser and desk were it for the furniture. He could see through the door leading to the attached bathroom. With a wave of his hand, the curtains opened up and let in early morning sunlight. When Stephen turned to leave, he saw Wong waiting for him in the doorway.
"Did you say that Ari used to be the Master of this Sanctum?" the Librarian asked.
"That's what she said earlier when she asked me to protect her kids," Stephen replied as he exited the room. "She knew the Cloak used to be in a case as well. She asked it how it got out."
"Come with me," Wong instructed as he turned and walked away.
Somehow, Stephen wasn't too surprised when they ended up in the Sanctum's library. Most of the books were on the various artifacts and relics kept there. However, Wong went for the latest book in a set and Stephen recognized the books on the history of the Sanctum. What the Master of the Sanctum wasn't expecting was for Wong to pull out a second book.
"I can understand looking to see if Ari was really a Master here, but why get out the one on the Cloak?" Stephen asked.
"You mean you haven't looked up the history of your own relic?" Wong demanded.
"Well, I looked up what it's capable of," Stephen replied a bit sheepishly. "I've been a little busy to look up all of its past Masters."
"I don't suppose she told you when she had been the Sanctum's Master," Wong grumbled.
"Nope," Stephen confirmed.
"I suggest that you start with the last Master of the Cloak," Wong said as he handed the books over to Sanctum's Master. "It was in that case for quite some time before you came along."
Without another word, the Librarian left.
Stephen stood staring at the Cloak's empty case. He had gone through the books that Wong suggested, but they left him with more questions than answers. Talking to the Librarian hadn't given him any answers. A search of her bags hadn't helped either, though when he went through her old room, he did find an interesting clue. The person who could answer his questions was in a hospital bed several miles away, but maybe her children could fill in some of the blanks.
He heard a door open on a lower floor and he knew at least one of the kids was up. He made his way down to their rooms to see Morgan emerge from her room and Brandon already standing in the corridor. They had both showered and dressed in clean clothes, with the boy looking like he was about to go for a nature hike and his sister ready to go shopping. Both still appeared pretty tired.
"Afternoon," Stephen greeted as he walked up to them. "Hungry?"
"Starved," they replied.
"Do you two always talk in unison?" the sorcerer asked, remembering from that morning how they talked in sync.
"No," the twins answered and then turned to glare at each other.
"How about some lunch," Stephen quickly offered.
With one last scowl at each other, the teenagers followed Stephen down to the dining room. With a simple movement of his hand, the table was set. He didn't see them stopping dead in their tracks, staring at the table with their eyes nearly falling out of their heads.
"What would you like?" Stephen asked as he walked around the table. "Soup?"
With a wave, bowls of steaming soup appeared. The teenagers didn't reply right away.
"Salad?"
Another pass of his hand and there were salads where the soup had been.
"Perhaps sandwiches," Stephen continued, making another change to the menu.
"What...how..." Morgan stuttered.
"Ok, not sure I'm tripping or having a really vivid dream," Brandon stated.
Stephen finally noticed the shell shocked faces of his guests.
"Didn't your mother ever use magic in front of you?" Stephen questioned.
"Before last night, we never knew she could," Morgan told him, sounding on the verge of freaking out.
"Considering how blatant she'd been using it earlier, I'm surprised that she was able to hide it from you all this time," the sorcerer stated unhappily as he took a seat. "How do you live with someone and not know this?"
"We don't live with our mom," Brandon responded.
"We live with our dad," Morgan added. "Mom left when we were really young, so Dad got full custody."
"Tell me about your mom," Stephen requested and gestured toward the empty seats. "Sit down and eat. I promise, I didn't put any spells on the food."
The kids were hesitant, but did eventually take a seat at the table.
"Are sandwiches okay or do you want something else?" Stephen asked when the kids didn't start eating right away.
"Sandwiches are fine," they replied.
They both rolled their eyes, refused to look at each other and reached for their food. It finally dawned on the sorcerer that the siblings were twins and he felt like kicking himself for not figuring it out sooner. He watched them, mindful of any magic they might possess. There was some there, but it was completely untrained.
"Tell me about your mother," Stephen requested again after they had finished about half of their meal.
"Not much to tell," Brandon said with a shrug.
"Not sure how much is real and how much she made up," Morgan added.
"What did she tell you?"
"Her parents died in a car accident when she was twelve," Brandon began. "She was raised by some spiritual leader."
"When she was in her twenties, she got a job in New York where she met Dad," Morgan continued. "When I asked her what she did, she said she used to save the world. I always thought she was pulling my leg."
"When we were about three, she just left," Brandon went on. "Dad would only say she went away, never said why, just that she had to leave. We moved to California shortly after that. Right before we started kindergarten, she showed up on our doorstep. Shocked the hell out of Dad."
"They had a huge argument in another room," Morgan added. "Dad did at least. I remember him yelling a lot, but Mom never raised her voice. When Mom left, Dad looked really pissed off,"
"Dad had enrolled us in this really exclusive private school and on the first day we found out Mom was the school secretary," Brandon continued. "Dad wasn't happy about it, but he had spent too much money to pull us out."
"They sort of had this uneasy truce going," Morgan unhappily stated. "Until last night."
"Tell me about last night," Stephen gently prompted.
Morgan started with the trip to the Macy's restroom and the encounter with her mother's astral form. Brandon picked up the story when Morgan had trouble continuing. Stephen did more than listen, he watched.
The potential was there and it moved from one twin to the other. He doubted they even realized that they were supporting each other on a mystical level and it was completely untrained, just instinctual. He had to wonder again why Ari hadn't been working with them to develop their abilities. He wasn't really getting the answers he needed, just more questions.
Stephen listened as they told them how after they had taken up shelter in their mother's apartment, she had opened a gateway into said apartment before taking them back to their father's place. He did his level best not to let his anger get the best of him when they told him how their parents fought while the kids got their things. The teenagers had just entered the room when they saw their father grab their mother and give her a good shake.
"I've never heard Mom scream like that before," Morgan softly said as she hugged herself and tears ran down her face. "I didn't know what to do. Then Mom just glowed and Dad flew across the room."
"Dad was really pissed after that," Brandon continued, also upset, but managing to hold it together better than his sister. "I had to stand between them so Mom could open another portal thing."
"How did your father react to that?" Stephen asked.
"He was screaming mad," Morgan answered with a soft snort. "Dad started yelling about calling the cops. What did Mom say?"
"'They're eighteen'," Brandon replied. "'They have the right to know the truth about what really happened fifteen years ago'."
"That's when we left and came here," Morgan finished.
"When did you two turn eighteen?" Stephen questioned.
"Today," they answered which was followed by identical eye rolls.
"Happy birthday," Stephen said.
"Thanks," they replied and turned to glare at each other.
"Are you two done eating?" Stephen interrupted.
"Yeah," Brandon responded.
"Yessss," Morgan hissed at the same time.
The twins were still glaring at each other when Stephen cleared the table with a wave of his hand.
"How about we go see your mom," Stephen suggested and that got them to turn their attention to him.
"Are you going to do one of those magical door things?" Morgan asked a bit excitedly.
"Do you want me to?" the sorcerer inquired, his eyebrows going up a bit.
"Yeah, that was pretty cool," Brandon admitted with a lopsided smile.
"Let's get your mother's things and then we'll go," Stephen said as he stood up. "The hospital would appreciate seeing she has medical coverage. I'm pretty sure your mom would also like to have her own clothes to wear. I know from personal experience how breezy those hospital gowns are."
"I can do that," Morgan stated as she and her brother got to their feet. "Where'd you put her stuff?"
Stephen told her and she was out of the room in a heartbeat. The sorcerer glanced at Brandon and saw the magic potential go dormant once Morgan was out of the room. That was curious.
The two men followed the young lady at a more sedate pace and waited for her in the foyer. They didn't have to wait long before Morgan came charging down the stairs with her own purse over one shoulder, her mother's messenger bag over the other while stuffing some clothing into said bag.
"Ready?" Stephen asked as he slid his Sling Ring onto his hand.
"Yes!" the twins quickly replied.
"One quick question," Stephen said. "Do you know anyone named Aurora Rose?"
"No," they answered.
"Unhun," the older man mumbled.
Without another word, the sorcerer opened a gateway that would take them to the hospital.
Ari was bored stiff and mad at herself at the same time. It was bad enough that it was her own fault that she gotten sliced open, but to get her stitches ripped out because of her mountain of an ex-husband was just literally adding insult to injury. Never, in the past twenty plus years of knowing him had he ever tried to physically hurt her, so she hadn't been prepared for his attack. She doubted he would be trying that stunt again.
She picked up the TV remote and flipped through the channels in hope that maybe something watchable had come on in the last ten minutes. Alas, afternoon programming wasn't meant to stimulate the intellect. When she paused on one talk show, she was pretty sure she could feel brain cells dying.
She turned off the set and contemplated reclining the bed to take either take a nap or count the ceiling tiles. She wasn't sure which yet. A gentle knock at her door got her hopes up that her kids were finally going to show up. Not that she left instructions, but she liked to think one of her offspring would have the wherewithal to at least bring her wallet to her so she didn't get stuck with a huge medical bill.
Instead, a pretty redheaded lady pushed the door open. She was younger than Ari probably by a good ten years. She looked familiar, but Ari couldn't put a name to the face.
"May I come in?" the stranger requested.
"Please do," Ari replied and the other woman stepped into the room. "I'm sorry. I'm sure I know your face, but I'm completely blanking your name."
"Well, we weren't exactly introduced last night," the lady told her. "I'm Dr. Christine Palmer."
"Right!" Ari exclaimed. "Sorry, I didn't have time to stick around and sorry I scared you."
"It's ok, I'm getting used to it," Christine replied. "Stephen's done that to me, too."
"Now there's a man I wouldn't mind playing doctor with," Ari stated with a smirk.
"Oh, uh, um..." Christine stuttered, looking rather embarrassed.
"And I just said that in front of his girlfriend, didn't I?" Ari asked, feeling her own cheeks heat up.
"Um, no, we're not dating," Christine quickly assured her.
"Friends with benefits?" Ari questioned.
"Nope," Christine answered. "It's..."
"Please don't say complicated," Ari interrupted.
"Complicated," the lady doctor finished.
"Oh, honey, I'm sorry," Ari commiserated.
"It's okay," Christine sighed. "It's probably for the best."
"Well, before we get into any more sharing of what colossal dunderheads men can be," Ari said. "Any idea how to reach Dr. Cheekbones?"
"Why?"
"I left my wallet at his place and I have a feeling the hospital would like my medical information," Ari replied.
"Yes, I'm sure it would make the bean counters happy," Christine agreed. "I can email him, but I don't have a phone number for him. Could you do that astral ghost thing again?"
"Not easily," Ari admitted. "Astral projection was never my strong suit and there's no guarantee that he's home. If he's not, he could be anywhere."
"Oh, ok," Christine responded. "Then I'll go send that email."
"Thank you," Ari replied.
"Just try not to fall out of the bed and rip all your stitches out again, please," Christine requested in a teasing tone.
"I make no promises," Ari chuckled before she let out a painful hiss and put a hand over her wound. "Ok, laughing is probably not a good idea."
Before Christine could say anything, the door burst open.