Chapter 10
A/N: Hope everyone had a good holiday and enjoyed lots of pumpkin pie (if that is your thing!).
Doctor Strange is everything Steve images a magician would look like. From his goatee to his black coat that looks more like a cape than a coat, the man screams magician. He carries himself with supreme confidence, flicking invisible dirt off his sleeves as he exits the elevator and enters the lab.
Bruce and Tony had gone down to collect him. Both look faintly stunned when they return, but whether it's because of the dismissive way the man walks or the way he ignores everyone but Steve is any ones guess.
"Mister Rogers," Strange bows low before holding his hand out. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."
It is? Confusion lances through Steve, but he takes Strange's hand and shakes it firmly. Or as firmly as he can when every muscle aches with exhaustion. He really should be in bed. Stifling a sigh, Steve summons up a smile. "Can't say the same," he says. "But thanks for coming."
"Of course." Strange releases his hand with a faint grimace and pulls a handkerchief from a pocket, wiping his hands without even trying to disguise the fact that he found touching Steve's clammy hand unpleasant. His eyebrows 'v' downward as he studies Steve. He looks like he's reconsidering singling out Steve as the one in charge.
Steve doesn't give him a chance to think too long. "Mind telling us what this is all about?" he asks.
Strange studies Steve a moment longer before finally coming to a decision, his brow uncreasing. Ignoring the way Clint leans away from him, he pulls a silver filigreed ball from his pocket and hands it over. It's lighter than it looks, the metal smooth even with its rough looking texture.
There's nothing extraordinary about it at all. And that puzzles Steve. He frowns up at Strange. "This is it?"
"Indeed. That, my young friend, contains the Power Stone; one of six infinity stones crafted at the dawn of time. You are currently holding an object with the ability to amplify any power—strength, stamina, magic—to untold heights."
The cold fever sweat blanketing Steve gets an unneeded dash of heat. He fights not to throw the Orb away from him; to not attempt to smash it using one of Tony's Iron Man gloves. He thinks of what the Red Skull managed to achieve with the Tesseract, of what Loki did with his staff. Having even one more object in the world like those is bad; thinking that there are potentially three others makes Steve want to destroy the ones they've found before they lose control of them.
Or before someone comes looking for them that is stronger than all the Avengers combined.
"Is there any way to destroy it?" Even as he asks, Steve knows the answer.
"I'm afraid not," says Strange. "There are ways to hide it, but attempting to destroy it could potentially wipe out the universe as we know it. Which I believe we are all keen to avoid."
"The keenest," mumbles Tony. He's eying Doctor Strange like he's half expecting the man to sprout horns and a tail. Before Steve can stop himself he giggles; honest to goodness giggles. The sound makes Natasha look mushy for a half-second before she smooth's her face out. Tony, Bruce and Clint on the other hand look slightly horrified and Steve's face heats up.
It's not like I can help it, he thinks. I'm six years old!
The only one not visibly phased by Steve's giggling is Doctor Strange. He watches Steve, waiting for his response. Under the weight of his gaze, Steve's spine straightens and he makes sure to keep direct eye contact. Just because he looks like a child doesn't mean he is one.
"Can you hide it?" he asks.
"If I could do so on my own I would not have bothered bringing it here. To hide it requires more power than I currently possess."
"Then why not use the Stone to hide itself?" Natasha sounds genuinely curious, but Strange's jaw tightens and Steve can practically reach out and touch the waves of angry frustration that roll off Strange at Natasha's question.
"Only a being of immense strength can survive contact with the stone. Anyone else who attempts to touch it would be instantly vaporized."
"Like what happened to Schmidt." Steve nods. That makes sense. "But not being able to touch it didn't stop him from using it."
"Yes," agrees Strange, "he built machines and tools to wield it, but the Power Stone is quite different. So far all attempts to harness its power by a human, even indirectly, have led to the immediate death of the wielder. Only the Orb has been able to constrain it."
"Then there's nothing to worry about," says Tony, crossing his arms across his chest.
"On the contrary, there is everything to worry about. I have it on very good authority that the being known as Thanos has discovered the location of the stone. If he were to find it, then there is every possibility that he would be able to wield it."
"Why? What's so special about him?"
It's the question Steve is wondering himself and from the way Strange nods slightly he has obviously been waiting for it.
"Thanos is an Eternal One. He and his brethren are nigh on indestructible as it is. If he is allowed to put together the six infinity stones he will be able to remake the world as he sees fit."
"Which is bad, I take it?" asks Ultron.
The bland curiosity in Ultron's voice curdles Steve's stomach a bit, though for the life of him he can't figure out why. Jarvis doesn't bother him. Steve has actually come to quite like hearing Jarvis' voice. He can't say the same for Ultron.
"Who is this?" asks Strange, eyes narrowing as they glance around the room seeking the source of the voice.
"It's one of Tony's AI's," Steve points to the monitor in the corner with the yellow happy face.
Strange's eyebrows shoot upward and he doesn't say anything for a moment. Steve can't tell if he's confused by the concept of an AI or if it's the unsmiling happy face that is giving him trouble.
"Fascinating," Strange manages after a moment. "But, yes. If Thanos is allowed to control even one stone the effects would be catastrophic. Which is why I came to you." He turns back to Steve. "None of my sources have been able to locate Loki's staff—which means Thanos most likely will be unable to locate it either—but we know the Tesseract is with Thor in Asgard. We need to go there and warn them. Then take the Tesseract and the Orb and place them somewhere no one can find them."
"And we should trust you why?" Clint's body language is tense, on edge. Steve doesn't know what Strange did to him to elicit this type of reaction, but he can feel doubt beginning to chip away at his certainty that they can trust Doctor Strange.
If the looks on the other Avenger's faces are anything to go by, they're doubting it too.
Steve feels his jaw begin to set. This isn't a situation where he can second guess himself. When Tony and Bruce had forced him to question Fury's motives back during the battle with Loki, the only reason he'd been so bull-headed about it was because Tony had ticked him off. The man had been abrasive from the start and Steve hadn't wanted to back down and admit he might be wrong.
He can feel a bit of that same desire now. No one likes to be wrong. Especially when they're less than four feet tall. Strange watches Steve and he gets the feeling that the man can read every emotion Steve is feeling. Needing time to think, Steve focuses on the Orb in his hand, fingers running over the grooves, testing them out.
If he concentrates he thinks he can detect the slightest sensation of heat from the Orb, leaking out from what looks like a seam. He hadn't noticed it before, but now that he has, he can't take his eyes from it. Dimly he hears Strange arguing with Clint and Tony, their voices running over one another as Strange attempts to explain his plan and Clint tries to tear it down with Tony questioning everything Strange says.
His pinky fits perfectly in the seam and without thinking Steve slots his fingers into the seam and tugs. Purple light floods his vision as the Orb splits it half revealing a glowing stone that looks like it would fit right in the palm of his hand…
It's so pretty. Unlike the Tesseract's harsh blue glow, the Power Stone's a delicate purple, the light pulsing invitingly up at Steve. There's no harm in touching it, surely, Steve thinks. Somewhere, buried deep, a little voice tries to object. But it's a fly in the midst of a hurricane.
Just for a second, Steve thinks.
"Hey, what are you…" Steve thinks he hears Tony say. And then his fingers close around the stone and the entire world goes up in flames.
A/N: Apparently I like writing 'in charge' Steve more than 'helpless' Steve lol. I just have a feeling that even as a kid Steve never backed down from a fight, so why should he now? ;P It should be obvious by now, but yes, I'm borrowing from 'Guardians of the Galaxy" for this. And I guess technically Natasha should have said the Orb was the third infinity stone they'd come into contact with, so oops! Hopefully that didn't bug people too much in the last chapter. Anyway, see you next update!