Happy Monday.

It's not a happy one for me, so I figured an update might help. I am struggling with Story V and I've got big misgivings about Story IV. It's written, but I'm not sure it's good enough to actually post. I don't have the same good feeling and pride in it I've had with I-III. I think it adds to the series, but I am not sure what to do about the problems. I'm hoping Rjcarreno77 and KScullen will have answers for me when they pre-read.

If you enjoy, please drop me a line, since I could do with the positivity today.

Chapter Twelve

Doctor Stephen Strange was sitting at his desk in the study of the New York Sanctum. He had piles of scrolls in front of him that he was working through slowly, struggling with the tiny script and arcane language. He was tired, and a pressure headache was building behind his eyes, so he was glad when came an interruption in the form of a knock on the door.

"Come in," he said.

Wong pushed open the door, a small smile in place. "You have a visitor?"

Strange raised an eyebrow. He wasn't expecting anyone, and it wasn't often that anyone visited the Sanctum. "Who is it?"

Wong's lips twitched, and he said, "Perhaps you should see for yourself."

Frowning, Strange rolled up the scrolls and neatened them before nodding and saying, "Send them in."

Wong held the door open and said, "Go on in."

Stephen Strange blinked as Peter Parker strode in, smile in place, and came to a stop a few feet from the desk, a distance that seemed almost designed to make Stephen Strange more comfortable.

"Hey, Doctor Strange," he said cheerfully.

"Mr. Parker," Strange said cautiously. "What can I do for you?"

"I thought we should talk."

"You want me to stay?" Wong asked.

Strange considered and then shook his head. "No need."

The kid looked back and gave Wong a small wave, a bright, friendly smile curling his lips. Wong looked between them, then slipped out and closed the door.

"What do you want, Mr. Parker?" Strange asked.

Peter looked at him a moment, a small frown between his eyebrows, and then he seemed to come to some realization. His smile faded, though his obvious confidence didn't waver. He grabbed a chair from beside the fireplace, a heavy wingback leather piece, and carried it to in front of Strange's desk with no obvious effort.

He sat down, made himself comfortable, and then said, "I figured you deserved to know that you were right about my me and the power."

Strange nodded slowly and sat down, wanting to look at ease, too. "I know I was. I saw what happened to Former President Ross. I am assuming that's your doing?"

Peter grinned. "Yep."

"You used the Stones to control his mind?"

"No! Not even close. I just… uh… removed him from office and placed him in protective isolation. No mind control involved."

"Then how did you do it?"

Peter leaned back in his seat and said, with obvious pride, "I had help, but basically, I grabbed him out of his bedroom in the White House and took him off-planet. The speech you saw was nothing to do with me—that was all Director Fury and his Skrull friend, Talos."

Strange narrowed his eyes. "Then how was I right?"

Peter shrugged. "Because I can do all the things you read about, the things you were trying to warn us of. I can probably do a lot more you don't know about. I haven't used the power to hurt anyone at all, and I never would, but I figured you deserved to know."

"Power can corrupt," Strange stated.

He nodded slowly. "It can, and I can't swear it won't corrupt me, but it hasn't yet. For my part, I don't think it will. I've been in places that tempt me to use the Stones for evil, like facing Ross, but I didn't."

"What is your argument with Ross?"

The kid's face fell. "He had me kidnapped and tortured, and he used brainwashing to turn me into a weapon—which I had to beat. That was bad, almost destroyed me, but what was worse was that they pointed a gun at my sister, who is four years old, to make me 'comply.'

Strange's eyebrows rose. "Ross did that?"

"He did—him and a man called Thuri. Ross is trapped on a planet with uncomfortable living conditions. He got what he deserved."

Strange actually thought Ross deserved far worse than that for what Peter had done, and he wondered if he would have done worse in his position. He thought perhaps he would, which made him wonder if Stark had been right about the kid when he defended him.

Perhaps.

"So, you came to me to tell me I was right?" he asked. "That you hold unimaginable power?"

"Yep. And I am in control of it. I can tell you that I won't abuse it, but I don't think I can really convince you. That's not the point, though—I wanted to offer you something that Time said you'd like."

"Which is?"

"A chance to travel through time with me. All the Stones were taken out of time to be used against Thanos, and they should be returned. I've done most of them, but there's one left."

"You returned the Stones? Then how do you hold their power still?"

Peter waved a hand through the air. "When I say returned, I mean… uh… linked them to me. I created a conduit between myself and the power to the places they belong. It wasn't that hard; they explained it really well to me. The one that's left is the Time Stone, and, before you, it was held by…"

"The Ancient One," Strange said, bowing his head as the memory of her washed over him. "Yes."

"And Time said you might like a chance to see her."

Strange felt a prickling behind his eyes that he quashed with supreme effort. "I would like that, yes."

Peter's face brightened. "Great. Let's go."

Strange frowned. "Just like that? Now?"

"Well, I guess we could have a coffee first, or I could eat, I'm kinda hungry… It's up to you. Whenever you're ready?"

Strange considered. Though it was perhaps naïve given his own knowledge of power, it seemed odd that the kid was just offering him this gift and that there was not going to be more preparation or discussion.

"No, we can go now."

Peter got to his feet and rooted in his pocket. He pulled out a piece of quartz. He rolled it in his hands as if warming it, and said, "You might want to close your eyes. This will be bright."

Strange ignored the warning, wanting to see whatever it was happen.

The kid closed his hands over the crystal, his brow furrowed, and then a rush of green light burgeoned from the center of his chest and siphoned into the quartz. It grew brighter and brighter, and Strange bought up a hand to shade his eyes. He felt a rush of heat on his face, which grew and faded, replaced by a cool rush of air.

Strange lowered his hand and looked at the stone in the kid's hand. It was not quite the shape of the Time Stone he himself had borne, but the color was perfect, and it seemed to radiate that same vibration of power that it had before.

"It's ready," Peter said brightly. "Are you?"

Strange cleared his throat and nodded. "I am."

At his collar, his cape twitched, and he tugged it around himself a little closer. Peter came towards him, placed a hand on his shoulder, and said, "Brace yourself. It's rough."

Strange felt a twist in his stomach, a feeling of weightlessness as rainbow colors rushed over him. Then his feet were slammed into a wooden floor in a familiar room—the very room he'd just left, in fact, though with subtle differences and a different person in his place behind the desk.

It was the Ancient One, and as she looked up and took them in—Stephen Strange and the kid with the rainbow eyes and a stone in his hand—a small smile lifted her lips. "I wondered how long it would take," she said.

"Out of curiosity, how long has it been?" Peter asked. "I knew when it was taken from, and I tried to get back as close as I could, but I guess I'm technically on my learners permit still for time travel, so might have messed it up."

The Ancient One shook her head, a look of fond amusement on her face. "It has only been a week. The cleanup in the city after the battle has barely begun, and The Avengers are still giving press conferences."

Peter grinned. "I bet Tony's loving that."

She nodded. "Yes. The most experienced of them all in the spotlight it is creating the most drama."

He laughed. "Figures."

She turned to Strange and said, "I didn't expect to see you, and I didn't expect either of you to come with this mode of transportation. You did not use the same technology as Dr. Banner when he came, did you?"

"No," Strange said, his voice a little hoarse.

It was hard for him to see the woman he'd admired and cared about again when he remembered her end. She seemed perfectly self-possessed, though he supposed to her, he was a stranger.

Her eyes met his, and Peter looked away, apparently surveying the shelves of books.

"You, the you of this time, are very busy at the moment, aren't you, Doctor Strange?" she asked.

He nodded. "I worked double shifts to help the injured."

"Admirable." She stared at him a moment and then moved her gaze to Peter. "That is not the Time Stone that I gave to Doctor Banner."

"Nope, but it works just the same," Peter said easily.

"Why is it not the same?"

Peter glanced at Strange and said, "You want to tell the story? You've done the most research, after all."

Strange thought there was accusation in his voice, but his face was serene.

"There was a great battle," he said. "The Infinity Stones were held within a gauntlet which an enemy was trying to retrieve. During the course of the battle, it fell into the hands of Peter Parker"—he gestured to the kid—"who proceeded to use it to recreate the Snap which had caused so much devastation to the universe. That destroyed the enemy, but it also caused the Stones to merge with Peter and gave him the power of them all."

The Ancient One's lips parted, and then she gave a soft laugh. "So that's what I sense. I see. That is an unimaginable amount of power for one person to hold."

"Yes, it is," Peter said evenly. "But it's under control now." He paused. "Under my control."

She stared at him a moment. "I see."

Strange was pleased to see someone else without the unusual confidence in the kid and his control. It was refreshing. Everyone else, with the exception of the god that had left soon after, seemed enchanted by him and to have complete faith in his abilities.

Peter obviously sensed her mood as he gave a small sigh and said, "Anyway, here's the Stone."

He held it out, and after a moment, she took it and appraised it. "I sense the same power," she said. "It has the same abilities?"

Peter nodded. "It does. That Stone will connect you to me and the real Stone. Technically, none of the Stones exist as physical things anymore; it's not like I've got rocks in my chest. I am the Stones, and that connects me to you. It is basically the same thing."

She turned it in her hand and then placed it on the desk. "Thank you for returning it to me."

Peter shrugged. "Well, Time said it was important, and I figured Doctor Strange deserved a trip to see you." He smiled. "You're satisfied with it?"

"I am," she said.

"Great." He looked back to Strange. "You want to hang around for a while? Catch up, or is it not really catch up as much as catch ahead? I mean, you know her, but she doesn't know you so…" He shrugged. "I can go look around the city a little—maybe catch one of those press conferences. I didn't see much of the damage in person last time since May and Ben kept me locked down in Queens."

"Yes," The Ancient One said before Strange could answer. "We would both appreciate the chance. Give us perhaps three hours?"

"Sure," Peter said. "Have fun." He gave them both a small wave and then left the room, clicking the door closed behind him.

Strange turned back to the Ancient One and said, "You wish to talk to me?"

She nodded. "I wish to talk about that child. I understand you have concerns."

"Yes, and I assume you do."

She frowned a moment. "Not concerns exactly, but I would like to discuss the situation. Perhaps we can ease each other's minds now we have the Time Stone again."

Strange saw what he was offering him, a chance to see what could come, and then he said, "Yes, I think that would help.

When Peter Parker returned exactly three hours later, knocking on the study door and entering at The Ancient One's invitation, Doctor Strange saw him in a very different way.

Together, he and The Ancient One had searched through many futures of Peter and the Stones, and nothing they saw was a risk to the world from him. Though they could not see all paths, only where they ended, there was one thing for sure.

The Stones were safe with Peter Parker, but Peter Parker was not safe with them. In each iteration they saw, with only one exception, he was the sacrifice that was demanded for the sake of the universe.

So… That was Doctor Strange. It was the toughest of all the chapters for this story. He's such a hard character to write. I am well aware that it's probably lacking, and I'm sorry for it. I did my best, though.

Oh yeah… the ominous ending… sorry? ;-)

Until next time…

Clowns or Midgets xxx