Chapter Three

Fresh out of the shower, Stephen stood in his study, wearing sweatpants, a towel draped around his neck.

Outside the giant windows it was night, and, in deference to the ongoing, unresolved threat from Sable, Stephens' study was well lit. Ruefully, he examined the dark ring of bruises on his chest, carefully probing to see if any ribs had been broken.

His verdict was that one or two might be cracked, but, otherwise he had only bruises to show for his unorthodox journey.

At least, he thought, with a soft chuckle, he hadn't had to call Christine.

Again.

He patted on some concoction Wong had supplied, called Dieh De Jui, which, according to Wong, was a centuries old formula used to accelerate the healing of bruises. It felt quite soothing.

A sudden frown crinkled his brow, and he pondered, aloud,

'I wonder why Wong never gave me any of this when I was getting the crap kicked out of me in class?'

'Wong doesn't usually share that. You should feel privileged,' the soft voice, coming from the other side of the half open door startled him, and his brows raised in surprise when he saw who it was.

Master Jade, in her astral form.

In the hallway behind her, Stephen saw Cloak, holding her physical form, along with her staff.

'May I come in?' she asked.

Jaw clenched in irritation, Stephen gave a nod, swept his arm in a sarcastic welcoming gesture.

His annoyance wasn't lost on her, and her expression was apologetic as she came to stand by him.

'Sorry about that,' Master Jades' astral form apologized, wincing, as she indicated his bruised chest, 'I rather overdid it in my haste.'

Cloak floated close alongside them both, its' collar wearing an apologetic rumple as its' Chosen gave it a scowl.

Stephen pulled on a tee shirt, said, dismissively,

'I'm getting used to it. This profession has turned out to be rather physically demanding.'

Jade smiled, nodded, agreement,

'It's wise of you to have a Doctor on staff.'

Stephen shot her a confused look, and she shrugged,

'Christine will play a large part in your future. It's a good idea to keep her close.'

Stephens brows raised, surprised by her words, but squinched his eyes, shook his head, refusing to be distracted,

'Why didn't you let me help you? Do you have any idea how hard it was just to find you?'

'How did you find me? Why did you even look for me?' she shot back, face darkening.

'It's a long story,' Stephen growled, 'One I'll be happy to share with you, once we get this sorted out.'

'You seem pretty confident you can do that,' she retorted, obviously disagreeing.

'I'm persistent, and don't give up easily.'

'Translation; you're stubborn,' Jade parried.

Cloak gave a bob of agreement, pulling a half hearted scowl from its' Chosen, to which it replied with a shrug.

Well, it was true.

Eyes narrowed, he demanded,

'I'm fully capable of combat on an astral plane. So, why didn't you let me help you?'

Jade stared at him, lips pursed, for several seconds, before she responded, sharply,

'Because you have eyes.'

Stephen jerked upright, snorted,

'What?'

Jade met his incredulous expression, her eyes flashing with anger,

'That creature was imprisoned there, eons ago, by one of the earliest Sorcerer Supremes. It's only hope of escape is to enter the eyes of another physical form. Posses that body. It can then go to other worlds, and devour all life on it.'

She turned, pacing away her frustration, as she continued,

'You can't meet its eyes unless you are in your astral form. But, if it can kill that form, or, if it can somehow get past your astral form, to your body, it will steal it.'

Stephen just stared, mortified, as she looked back to him, some of her anger diffused,

'That's why I'm perfect to battle it. Even if it kills me, I have no eyes for it to look into. I can't defeat it, but I can stop other idiot beings from coming there, and letting it loose.'

She gave a small laugh, explained,

'I threw that first fireball at you, before I realized who you were. I'm glad you dodged.'

'Me, too,' Stephen agreed, then,

'Who would condemn you to such a fate?' he demanded, indignation, and Jade managed a bitter smile,

'After I lost my eyes, the Ancient One made me aware of the threat. I volunteered.'

Looking down at her fists, clenched around the astral version of her staff, added,

'So I could still be of some small service, despite my...defect.'

Stephen didn't have a reply for that.

After a few moments, she sighed, straightened, said,

'I wanted to come here, thank you, for your gesture. I don't want you to believe I'm ungrateful. But, there really is nothing you can do.'

Stephen, hands on hips, glowered at the floor, shaking his head, and she tilted her head, confused, at his attitude.

'No,' he muttered, 'I refuse to believe that.'

Now it was his turn to pace, rubbing his chin, thoughtfully.

Cloak floated up, slightly, its' attitude expectant as it realized its Chosen was determined to come up with a solution.

He spun back, faced Jade, eagerly,

'Are you familiar with the Gyve of Noctem Eternus?'

She nodded, but her expression wasn't hopeful,

'Of course, but, its too dangerous to attempt to contain such a creature in that. It would have to be under constant guard. Sooner or later, someone would try to let it loose.'

Stephen grinned, agreement,

'That's true, but, I know someone who may be able to work around that.

'Doctor Hank Pym. He helped me find you. He designed a suit that can shrink a person to the size of an ant.'

Jades eyebrows raised, surprise, and he elaborated,

'That suit has a regulator, which prevents its wearer from shrinking eternally into a subatomic level, from which there is no return.

'If Hank could design a regulator for the Gyve, one that didn't have a limit. Use the Gyve, to trap that being. Then, we could send them to place I wouldn't imagine anyone could find, or retrieve, either of them.'

Stephen nodded, satisfaction, quite pleased with his idea,

'We could dispose of an evil creature, and a cruel Relic, all at once.'

He looked to Jade for her reaction, grinned at her slow nod of acceptance.

'I don't claim to understand the type of technology you're describing. If it can work like you think it might...'

'You could come home, back to your own reality,' Stephen finished, not overlooking the slight lift of hope her chin gave, or the quick sparkle of a tear as she smiled.

'Well, Doctor Stephen Strange,' she said, squaring her shoulders, 'It seems you may be able to assist me, after all.'

Stephen laughed, clapped his hands, offered,

'I'll discuss it with Hank, tomorrow. If we can figure this out, is there some way you can return, take me back, with you?'

He made a rueful face, admitted,

'We worked out how to get me there once, but I'm not certain we could manage it, twice.'

Jade nodded,

'Absolutely. I can't promise a specific time, just because I have to be certain the creature is secure for the duration of my departure.'

'I understand. Just...give me a few days, of our time. I don't know how long that is, to you,' Stephen apologized, and Jade said,

'Don't worry about that. When you're ready, be here, in the study, with the Gyve, and somehow, I'll manage to get here.'

She reached over, laid a gentle hand on Stephens arm.

'Thank you.'

Stephen laid his hand over hers, chuckled,

'As the saying goes, don't thank me, yet. Wait until we've succeed.'

Stephen paced his study, anxiously, while Wong sat at the desk, calmly reading.

The Gyve lay on the desk, in a locked case, immediately next to Wong.

Hank Pym sat across the desk from Wong, making a few final adjustments to the regulator, which he'd been able to fabricate fairly quickly once Stephen had explained his dilemma.

Cloak hovered close by, it's attention on its' Chosen.

Hank had displayed a few moments of confusion when confronted with Cloak's independent mobility, but he'd obviously encountered enough weird and unexplainable phenomena that he was able to move past it without too many questions.

Now, they played the waiting game.

Hank had clearly explained how to attach and use the regulator, and Stephen was confident of success.

Halting his pacing, Stephen looked at Hank and Wong, said,

'Honestly, you don't have to wait with me. It'll be fine.'

Hank gave him a surprised look, reminded,

'Hey, don't forget, I have a vested interest in this venture,' adjusting his glasses as he stood,

'I'm hoping your Master friend can help me clear up a few questions about how she can jump between realities.'

Wong, of course wearing 'Wong face', just gave a flat stare, gestured toward the weapons piled on the floor, and went back to reading.

Hank sat back down, pulled out his laptop.

Stephen sighed, and went back to pacing.

The sun had slid past the noon hour when the gateway opened, and Master Jade stepped out.

Hank came to his feet, pulling off his glasses.

Wong stood, pulling a key to unlock the case holding the Gyve.

In deference to her blindness, Stephen said, quickly,

'Master Jade!' so she knew where he was, as he stepped close.

Cloak hustled over, gently lifted it's hem to her extended hand, as she offered it a fond smile and allowed it to wrap around her.

When her astral form broke free, Hank appeared about burst with curiosity, but managed to keep his questions to himself.

For now.

Stephen quirked an eyebrow his direction, and Hank just shook his head, muttered,

'I really will have to expand the scope of my research.'

Jade cast an uncertain eye toward Hank, but Stephen clarified,

'This is Doctor Hank Pym. He made the regulator I told you about.'

She gave him a stiff nod, turned attention to Stephen, said, urgently, without preamble,

'We must go,' and Stephen nodded.

'You will need to loose your astral form, immediately upon arriving. The creature will know you're there, will target you as a means of escape.

'It will be distracted, and I can capture it with the Gyve.'

'Sounds easy enough,' Hank commented.

'It won't be,' Jade responded, shifting her attention,

'Cloak, you will have to be certain to ward your Masters' body, especially his eyes. You must keep them covered.'

'Cloak isn't going,' Stephen corrected her, and Cloak blasted onto its Chosen, hitting him so hard Stephen gave a sharp 'whoof!' from the impact, and took a step back to keep his balance.

Jade couldn't help but smile, seeing how Cloak had managed to rattle Stephen without disturbing her physical body.

Immediately, she became serious, again,

'Doctor, I strongly advise you allow Cloak to come. Its' job is to protect and assist you, especially in situations such as this.'

Scowling, Stephen looked at his comrade, advised, sternly,

'You should stay here. You've already been exposed to the cruelty of the Gyve. I don't want to risk that happening, again.'

Cloak stiffened, squared its' shoulders and floated up, gave a sharp snap of its' collar.

It's' reply was obvious; Cloak was going.

Despite his worry, Stephen smiled, fondly, at his loyal companion.

'As you wish,' he conceded.

Wong stepped up, gave a deferential nod to Jade, handed the Gyve to Stephen, and Hank passed him the regulator.

'I will ward this dimension, if needed,' Wong assured them, hefting a Wand of Watoomb to underscore his assurance.

'Let's hope that doesn't happen,' Jade said, grimly, before rejoining her body.

Cloak moved to its Chosens' shoulders, and the two Masters stepped, side by side, thru the gateway to another reality.