Lessons In Love: Chapter Ninety-Four: Young & Sad (Part 4)
Baby Tony kept scratching at the palms of his hands. He wanted to see that uniform again, and the younger Steve could tell.
They were walking down a long hallway, and the baby blonde kept looking back at him. They exchanged grins every time. Tony's grins were somewhat, goofy. He felt stupid, and nervous.
It was too adorable, and the older Tony tried not to laugh at his baby self. Both versions of Steve and Tony walked into the large room. Clea and Thor were talking. As soon as they walked into that room, they felt a heavy energy.
It was powerful, and all four of them knew what it was. Baby Steve and Tony could feel the energy that belonged to their Stephen.
The older pair could feel the Sorcerer Supreme, and his presence was intense. The older Stephen didn't mess around. He was very deadly, and the energy they felt from him seemed violent.
It was a combination of the two Stephen's, and two very different versions of Agamotto.
Clea felt them as well. Thor was asking if they were fighting. She assured him that they weren't, but Clea wasn't very confident with her response. Her husband had a temper, and she knew that the younger Stephen was stubborn.
The sorceress remained in her seat. She watched everyone react to the energy that was in the room. They couldn't physically see any version of Stephen, but the two of them were right there in the room.
For them, the room simply didn't exist around them. The older Stephen shrouded them in darkness. They were in a pocket dimension, but in the same exact place.
It confused the younger Stephen, because he felt Steve and Tony. It felt like they were standing right beside him.
He still didn't say anything to his older self. He kept looking at the amulet that contained the Time Stone. Baby Stephen read about what it did. He felt compelled to grab it, and the thought crossed his mind a few times.
His older self said a few things. He asked his younger self if he was ok, but he didn't get a response. Big Stephen asked him about Victor. He tried to change his mood, but his younger self wasn't paying attention. Baby Stephen was listening to something within, and he started looking angry.
The older Stephen saw where he was looking. The sorcerer glanced down at the Eye of Agamotto. His eyes reached the artifact, just as his younger self tried to grab it.
He tried to snag it off his chest, and that plan didn't work. The older Stephen snatched up that wrist, and he jerked his younger self forward.
That quick attempt really pissed the older Stephen off. He gripped that wrist, and glared at his younger self. Baby Stephen tried to rip his arm out of that grip.
"I NEED THAT. LET GO."
"Earn it."
Dr. Strange tossed that arm away from him. He tossed it hard, and his face remained the same. He was very angry, and the energy between the two kept increasing.
Earn it? Fuck that. Stephen was done with the circus. He was very impatient, and conflicted. Baby Stephen didn't want to learn about dreams and stupid teleporting any longer.
He wanted to do something entirely different. Baby Stephen wanted to find his sister, and his older self heard that thought. His eyes sharpened immediately.
"Where is she? That thing can help me find her."
"Donna is dead. She is gone."
The older Stephen held his strong posture. He towered over the younger Stephen in that moment, because hearing his sister's name made the young sorcerer sink downward.
A depression struck his soul and he began to tear up. Tears filled his eyes, but he ignored it. Baby Stephen glared at that red cloak. He actually grabbed a corner of it, and tossed it up in the older Stephen's face.
"You actually stand there with all of that hocus pocus, SHIT on and tell me that she is gone?"
"Donna is gone. Her soul is no longer here."
The Cloak of Levitation moved back where it was naturally set. The Sorcerer Supreme ignored the behavior of his younger self. He was very indifferent about what they were discussing.
That indifference made the younger Stephen even angrier. His voice was getting louder, and something within him started building up.
"WELL, WHERE IS SHE? If she's not here, then where the hell did she go? You just put me in a mirror ball for hours. So don't tell me that I can't find her, and take her place."
That was his plan. Stephen wanted to switch places with Donna Strange. He thought about it all the time, but then his emotions about it disappeared. That bullshit, "indifference" about his dead sister kept kicking in.
Baby Stephen felt so fucked with. His anger about that was barely apparent. He started getting overwhelmed, and he brought his hands up to his face.
The older Stephen listened to him as he started crying. It was too much, and he was breaking down. The younger Stephen was losing control, and his older self contemplated what to do.
He understood why the Ancient One suppressed his emotions. Big Stephen was looking at the reasons for it right there in that moment.
"Our father says that I killed Donna. He claimed that I held her underneath the water. Is that true? He made it seem like I've hurt her before, and he even thinks that I would kill Victor?"
What in the actual fuck? Baby Stephen was freaking out. He wanted to freak out on his father's porch, but something stopped him. Now, all of it was too much.
The tears would not stop, and his older self knew that his response wouldn't bring him any comfort. The only comfort would come from subduing him, so he could go back to school.
Baby Stephen needed to go back to playing doctor, or trying to date Miss Christine Palmer. It all made sense to the older Stephen as he watched his younger self suffer.
"She hasn't even had a funeral. Mom and dad are still in shock. I know they are losing their minds, and so am I. I mean, I don't even know if I actually would kill Victor."
Would he? Baby Stephen didn't know what he was capable of. Everything felt insane. It felt like madness, and the would-be-sorcerer didn't know what to do. His older self didn't answer something that was very important to the younger Stephen.
"Did I hold her underneath the water? You're not saying anything to me."
The intensity was rising up, and the older Stephen could see what was happening. Agamotto could easily take over that body, and raise hell all over the multi-verse.
He decided to confess what he figured out when he turned back the clock. Their father was technically correct. He did see Stephen drowning his sister, but it was more complicated than that.
"Agamotto killed her. He wants to dominate your body, that is why you need to learn."
The Vishanti entity chose Stephen Strange when he was eight-years-old. So yes, he had been hurting and healing his sister since then. His parents probably saw him do it all the time.
Stephen had no knowledge of causing the pain, he only remembered trying to fix it. The older Stephen prepared himself, because he was about to reveal what only Clea knew.
The younger Stephen was silent. He didn't wipe the tears away any longer. They just kept falling, and his older self finished his thought.
"In my dimension, Agamotto killed all of them. Our mother, our father, Victor, and Donna, one by one. I wasn't aware of it until I went home."
He didn't attend any funerals, and he never returned home after he left. The older Stephen just studied to become a surgeon. He got good grades and built on his wealth. The Sorcerer Supreme had no idea about Agamotto, but he emerged within him when his family came knocking.
"Now that you know, I can't keep you like this. You need to return to school. Steal Tony from Steve, or keep trying with Christine."
The Sorcerer Supreme didn't want his younger self to continue hurting. He wanted him to enjoy his life for as long as he could. His suffering wasn't fair, and Big Stephen knew who was to blame.
Roma fucked everything up for his younger self. Stephen was still bitter about that. She experimented with them, and a broken soul was the result.
The younger Stephen just held his face in his hands. He wanted his sister back, and the thought of hurting her was making him ill. Agamotto was, evil? Baby Stephen didn't understand.
Lashing out at his older self was his first reaction. They barely even spoke about what had him upset. The surface of it was just getting addressed. Baby Stephen was very conflicted about what he was doing. He wanted to talk to Clea, and what he felt for Tony had him confused.
All of those thoughts needed to cease. The older Stephen planned to make it right, and ease the pain that was destroying his younger self.
Big Stephen stepped toward his younger self. He gently touched his forehead, and the bright room returned. The group watched the two versions of Stephen appear in the space.
Baby Stephen took a few steps backward. He opened his eyes, and took in a short breath. The desire to grab the amulet was gone. He kept staring at his older self. It was clear to the others that he had been crying, but that behavior stopped.
He just stood there, and his nerves softly settled beneath his skin.
Chapter: END
Thanks for reading.
