"Kaecilius."
Maya was already out the door before Mordo had finished speaking, almost flying such was her speed while her mind raced.
He couldn't be here, there was no way he had slipped through their barriers this time. The last time, they had been blindsided by the depth of his betrayal but they were prepared this time. He couldn't, he-
Her heart beat widely and Maya thought she was about to die of shock when she ran into the lower levels of the library to see Stephen performing a ritual she had never seen and hoped to never see. Glass-like panels had appeared before Stephen, splintering and cracked as it continued to expand slowly while crystal chimes sounded.
She almost stumbled but her fear - of the spell and for Stephen's very life - made her scream as she threw out her hand, "STOP!"
Her magic, an orange pulsing light, shattered the panel, causing it to crash to the ground even as it disappeared now that Stephen's concentration had faltered. Before he could blink the yellow, silky-looking sash that was always wrapped around Maya's waist shot out to an inconceivable length, wrapping around each of his wrists and forcing them out to the side, immobilising him.
"Maya?!" He yelped, startled, as she, Mordo and Wong ran deeper into the room to face him.
Her face as she faced him was pale, her amber eyes wild. Stephen was startled by her expression, one he had never seen before, and it silenced him even more than Mordo's sharp reprimand.
"Tampering with the continuum probabilities is forbidden!"
"I... I wa... I was just doing exactly what it said in the book!" Stephen protested shakily.
"And what did the book say about the dangers of performing that ritual?" Wong retorted sharply and Stephen swallowed.
"I-I don't know. I haven't gotten to that part yet." Stephen muttered, glancing down at the open pages of the book.
Pages that had once been ripped out by Kaecilius but were now restored because of his use of Time magic. Mordo sucked in a sharp breath at what he saw but it was Maya's cutting voice that spoke next as she hissed at Stephen.
"Temporal manipulations can create branches in time. Unstable dimensional openings. Spacious paradoxes! Time loops!"
She was shaking and Stephen realized she was afraid - no, she was frightened. Of him; of what he had almost done.
"Do you want to be stuck reliving the same moment over, and over, forever?" Mordo was equally angry although less fearful than Maya as he at least found control over the situation before them. "Or never even existing at all?"
Stephen lowered his eyes, unable to meet Maya's furious, sparkling amber ones or Mordo's dark ones, and he muttered, "They really should put the warnings before that stuff."
"Do you realize how serious this is?!" Maya screamed, startling Mordo out of his own anger. She didn't notice or care. "Your curiosity could have gotten you killed, you bevakupha."
"Stop calling me that!" Stephen protested, his own anger spiking now. "Look, I'm sorry, all right? I didn't mean to-to manipulate the time continuum-"
"You weren't manipulating the space-time continuum, you were wrecking it."
Wong's voice was stern as he spoke in a low voice, his gaze dark and just as angered as Maya's as he stared Stephen down. He snatched up the Book of Cagliostro and he growled at Stephen furiously.
"We do not tamper with natural law. We defend it."
The librarian turned to replace the book safely back in its place amongst the Ancient One's private collection. Maya slowly released Stephen's arms, and he awkwardly shuffled as she sent him one more withering glare before turning away.
So much for being friends. He thought morosely, before he started at himself. He hadn't realized he truly thought of Maya as a friend but now that he had he realized it was true. Somewhere along the line, he'd come to really respect her and think of her as someone he could confide in and trust. But now it seemed that was all gone. I didn't even get to ask her about her sash...
"How did you learn to do that?"
Stephen was broken from his depressing thoughts at the question and he looked at Mordo, who was staring at him with a hint of curiosity now that the danger had passed. But his question confused Stephen, and he cocked his head as he looked back at Mordo questioningly.
"Where did you learn the litany of spells required to even understand it?" Mordo rephrased.
Stephen shifted uncomfortably again, and he glanced at Maya's back as he admitted, "I've got a photographic memory. It's how I got my M.D. and Ph.D. at the same time."
He'd promised Maya he wouldn't abuse his intellectual gift, his memory and his quick understanding; but he hadn't been able to help it. The book was just sitting there, as if calling out to him and Wong wasn't anywhere to be seen. The missing pages, he'd burned with curiosity the first time he'd noticed they were torn out; and when he realized he could bring them back and read them, he'd leapt at the chance knowing it probably wasn't going to come again.
But was it worth it? Looking at Maya now as she glared at him in pure fury, Stephen wondered for the first time if maybe it had been worth satisfying his curiosity. His gaze fell to his hands, his still trembling hands. They had never been cured and he was reminded of the disappointment in Christine's eyes as she'd watched him chase after more and more desperate attempts to fix what had been his life. His hands clenched. Yes, he realized. It had still been worth it to prove he wasn't a failure.
His thoughts were interrupted again as Mordo said in a voice mixed with incredulity and awe, "What you just did takes more than a good memory. You were born for the Mystic Arts."
"And yet, my hands still shake." Stephen replied stiffly, curling his hands into fists.
'Born for the Mystic Arts'... yet they continued to hide things from him, treating him as fragile, and worst of all Stephen was well aware that Maya could easily have him kicked out now. She was the Ancient One's daughter; more importantly she was, as far as he could tell, the second highest in command and the only reason he hadn't been ousted before was because she respected her Ama enough to give him a chance no matter how much she didn't want to. She wouldn't be so kind now.
"For now, yes." Wong replied to Stephen's assertion, having returned and looking more relaxed and slightly pitying now that the book was safe again.
It was like a foreboding statement of his doom, and Stephen answered harshly, "Not forever?"
"We're not prophets." Mordo shook his head.
Maya glanced over, her gaze unreadable, closed. It was the last straw for Stephen.
"When do you start telling me what we are?" He demanded, staring right into Maya's eyes.
She bristled and she snapped sharply, "Watch yourself, Strange. You are hardly in any position to be making accusations."
"Or maybe I am, Master Garthe." Stephen snapped back angrily. "Don't lie to me, I know you haven't taught me fairly, not really. You're too scared to, you have been from the beginning, all because of a mistake someone else made. You constantly compare me to a murderer and yet you expect me to just sit back quietly and accept the fact that you all refuse to tell me the full truth."
"I do not-" Maya began hotly but Stephen challenged her.
"Don't you? Look me in the eye and tell me it wasn't because of Kaecilius that you refused to and still refuse to teach me everything that you should. That I can learn."
Her eyes narrowed in response, her anger showing again as her amber eyes fired up, but Mordo spoke up.
"He deserves to know."
"Karl-" Maya began in a deadly voice but Mordo held his ground.
"We kept this from him too long, and it was not his fault. You know as well as I do that if Kaecilius had not betrayed us, we would have accelerated Strange's training months ago. We drove him to this."
He gestured to the Eye of Agamotto that still hung around Stephen's neck.
Maya's glare had darkened and she hissed back, "And you know as well as I do that it was exactly because of that preferential treatment that Kaecilius's inflated ego was never checked and he betrayed us."
Her eyes swung to Stephen, and he flinched under her accusatory glare.
"I gave you a chance." Maya said in a cold voice, a voice that cut Stephen more than he liked or cared to admit. "You swore to me, Stephen Strange, that you would trust me with your training and you would not seek out spells that you are not ready for. You have broken that oath. I do not award second chances, even if I will respect the opinions of my fellow masters enough not to kick you out this very second if they allow you to remain."
Stephen's heart jolted - and it was not in pleasure at hearing he would be able to stay.
He watched as Maya turned on her heel, and he opened his mouth to speak, to call after her; maybe not to apologize for what he had done per se, because he still didn't think he was wrong for being curious, but for doing so like a thief in the night. Like Kaecilius. But before he could say anything, Maya spoke shortly over her shoulder.
"Hear what you have wanted to know from the beginning; satisfy your curiosity. But know that it comes at a cost. I refuse to teach you any further and I hereby refuse your admittance to Kamar-Taj. Wherever your future may take you, you will never find an ally in me. And heed my last warning, Strange: if you cannot learn to curb your curiosity, it will one day kill you. And no amount of satisfaction will be enough to bring you back."
She stalked out, leaving behind a cold, tense silence.
"She's angry."
Wong spoke rather unnecessarily and Stephen couldn't help himself from replying scathingly, "Yeah, I figured that out for myself funnily enough."
"I don't believe that now is the time for your sarcasm, Strange." Mordo observed and Stephen whirled on the other man with a mix of irritation, frustration and a hint of desperation to know he wasn't completely wrong.
"You don't agree with her. I know you don't." Stephen insisted. "Not just because of the way you sided with me just now, but because you know I'm right. I'm not like him, and I'm ready to be told something other than that I'm not ready."
Mordo paused, before he bobbed his head briefly in acquiescence.
"It's true I believe that there is more to you, Stephen." Mordo said at last. "And I don't agree with Maya that you will be like Kaecilius, as she fears."
"Okay." Stephen seemed to sag a little in relief at Mordo's words before he looked between the two remaining Masters in the room. "So, what do I do now?"
"Now, you have a choice." Mordo replied, his eyes searching but otherwise unreadable as he stared at Stephen. "You can go after Master Garthe, apologize and beg for her forgiveness."
"I would highly recommend you choose this." Wong added gravely. "Maya is the oldest master at Kamar-Taj in terms of experience, second to only the Ancient One-"
'Huh. Didn't know that - Always thought it would be Master Hamir.' Stephen thought absently.
"-and it is not wise to have her so antagonized." Wong finished.
Stephen was silent as he thought about this.
It wasn't wise; but Stephen knew that no matter how much he begged, Maya would not forgive him so easily this time. She'd shown him trust and - although he still didn't quite regret it enough to say he would do it differently - he had broken that trust. And in doing so, he'd reminded her of the man she had been betrayed by, a man - Stephen now realized - she must have grown up with.
He didn't know how long Kaecilius had been at Kamar-Taj and had it had never occurred to him before, but if Maya was indeed the oldest master after the Ancient One then it was quite conceivable that despite her youthful appearance (at least, compared to the other masters) she had taught Kaecilius. Had bent the rules for him from the sounds of things. And he had betrayed her.
Stephen knew she wouldn't forgive him now, not when he'd proven - in her mind - that he was the same as Kaecilius. As she had feared, deep down, since Stephen had first stepped into Kamar-Taj.
"What's the other option?" Stephen asked.
Mordo's expression was grim and his tone heavy but he still replied, "You can stay and we will explain to you what you are owed."
Stephen weighed his choices. One was impossible anyway. But the other meant he would either discover the truth and work to prove to Maya he wasn't like what she feared even after knowing the truth… or he would do what (he now realized) the masters somewhat expected and feared he would do: he would run away. Which was worse?
It only took a second to come to the conclusion. There hadn't been a choice, not since he'd chosen to take up the Eye of Agamotto in a fit of curiosity.
"Tell me."
The unlikely trio stood in the centre of the Seeing once more, the mood sombre as Wong opened up the map of the cosmos on the ceiling.
"While heroes like the Avengers protect the world from physical dangers, we sorcerers safeguard it against more mystical threats."
Wong began in a tone as grave as his expression as he showed Stephen the cosmic energy that swirled constantly in the multiverse, the threat that Kaecilius posed a pebble in the vast universe where a much graver threat had been looming for years. That the masters had been so focused on that they hadn't realized the monster they were breeding until it was too late.
"The Ancient One is the latest in a long line of Sorcerers Supreme going back thousands of years to the father of the Mystic Arts, the mighty Agamotto."
Wong looked down at Stephen briefly, his gaze disapproving.
"The same sorcerer who created the eye you so recklessly borrowed."
Stephen avoided Wong's stare, the green-jeweled medallion hanging against his chest suddenly feeling very heavy on his neck. Wong moved on.
"Agamotto built 3 Sanctums in places of power, where great cities now stand."
Wong gestured to one of the tall doors that Stephen realized stood in all around the circular room. He'd previously thought they were ornate decorations but now he realized they were three enormous, closed gateways that stood from floor to ceiling.
"That door leads to the Hong Kong Sanctum, that door to the New York Sanctum."
Wong gestured at each door as he explained, pointing last to the door that stood right opposite Stephen.
"That one, to the London Sanctum. Together, the Sanctums generate a protective shield around our world."
"The Sanctums protect the world, and we sorcerers protect the Sanctums." Mordo explained, his voice as grave as Wong's though he remained infinitely kinder, willing to forgive Stephen for what Mordo sincerely believed was a momentary lapse of judgment caused by a lack of true understanding of the natural law.
Stephen frowned at Mordo's words, and he asked slowly, "From what?"
"Other-dimensional beings that threaten our universe." Mordo answered.
"Like Dormammu?" Stephen questioned and Wong looked up sharply.
"Where did you learn that name?" The librarian demanded and Stephen shifted uncomfortably.
"I just read it in the Book of Cagliostro." He answered uneasily. "Why?"
Mordo and Wong exchanged significant looks, looks Stephen wasn't sure he liked, before Wong touched the stone in the centre of the pedestal they were gathered around. The ceiling changed from a view of the cosmos to what looked like a dark cloud, a dimension Stephen had a vague feeling he might have seen before, probably during his brief stint in the multiverse the first day he had arrived at Kamar-Taj.
As he changed the view, Wong explained to Stephen, "Dormammu dwells in the Dark Dimension. Beyond Time. He is the cosmic conquerer, the destroyer of worlds. A being of infinite power and endless hunger, on a quest to invade every universe and bring all worlds into his Dark Dimension. And he hungers for Earth most of all."
"The pages that Kaecilius stole." Stephen realized, and Mordo nodded.
"A ritual to contact Dormammu and draw power from the Dark Dimension." He confirmed.
Stephen stared at the two grim masters, and he coughed uncomfortably.
"Uh… haha…" Stephen tried to laugh, overwhelmed and incredulous at not just the information he had received but at the looks he was receiving. Wong and Mordo were now looking at Stephen very expectantly, their eyes reflecting some deep assumption that he would join them in their noble quest.
Stephen's heart jolted at the realization. For the first time, he thought that Maya was right, that he didn't want to know what was really going on at Kamar-Taj. What plans the masters had.
"Uhhhh okay. Okay." Stephen raised his still trembling hands as he protested, "Um, I-I'm out. I... I came here to heal my hands, not to fight in some mystical war."
Mordo and Wong exchanged another significant look, one that Stephen was certain he didn't like, but before anyone could speak any further, a faint gong suddenly sounded.
The masters' heads snapped up at once while Stephen looked around, bewildered. His confusion was soon cleared somewhat when Wong breathed, "London."
The door to the Sanctum that the master had pointed out just minutes earlier opened as Wong spoke, the sound of the alarm growing louder as it rang through the open doorway.
The trio turned in shock just in time to see a man in the same maroon and dark brown tunics that Stephen recognized as belonging to the sorcerers who acted as guards around the temple, coming running towards them from down a richly decorated hallway. The man was too late however, and a giant shard of what looked like glass imbedded into his back, killing him instantly just as the man fell through the doorway and into the Seeing Room.
Stephen's eyes widened at the quick death of the man right before him, the man's life snuffed out in a heartbeat, and his eyes flickered automatically to the man's killer.
A grey-haired man stood, dressed in a dirty, mustard-yellow robe that was faintly reminiscent of the yellow tunics Maya would wear beneath her purple robes. He had strange dark circles around his eyes that looked like paint that was badly applied as it dribbled down his cheeks and a familiar red marking on his forehead. A marking Stephen had seen moments earlier in the Book of Cagliostro. And Stephen knew who the sorcerer was - who he had to be.
"Kaecilius!" Wong gasped, confirming Stephen's fear, just as the man inside the the hallway gathered an immense ball of energy high above his head.
The doors to the Seeing Room burst open and Stephen's eyes flew to the side to see Maya returning at full speed, her amber eyes flashing and her jaw set tightly. But she was too late.
"No!" Mordo yelled just as Kaecilius let loose the spell he had gathered at inconceivable speed and there was a loud bang as the energy exploded into the room.
"STEPHEN!"
Stephen vaguely heard Maya scream his name as he was hit in the aftermath of whatever explosion Kaecilius had unleashed, unable to shield himself in time.
The blast itself was strangely muted, which he didn't understand in the small part of his brain that continued to somehow work while his body was thrown back. And then Stephen's back hit what felt like a wall and he tumbled through a doorway as it swung open under the impact his body hitting it.
The ceiling collapsed behind him, and Stephen cried out in alarm as he got up just in time to see the doorway sealing itself behind him, leaving him stranded he didn't know where while Maya, Mordo, and Wong were on the other side, where Kaecilius was.
"MAYA?!"