A/N: This chapter contains spoilers for Thor: Love and Thunder.
Thirty minutes later, the pizza arrived. So, too, did reinforcements.
"This was all you could find?" Stephen murmured to Wong, watching uneasily as way too many people crowded the Sanctum's dining room which was actually just a part of the kitchen he rarely used because he never had enough company to justify using the large table.
"On short notice, yes," Wong said.
It wasn't a bad line-up, considering. After all, the Battle for Earth had taken its toll. Without Tony Stark or Steve Rogers to keep the Avengers together, they'd gone their own ways. From what he'd heard, Wilson and Rhodes were extremely busy these days and Wakanda was going through their own political crisis. What he had instead was Scott, who could shrink, and Clint along with his new protégé, Kate Bishop. Unfortunately, Captain Danvers was off planet and couldn't be reached, which was unsurprising. What was surprising was the forth member of Wong's troupe.
"I am astounded you managed to contact Thor," Stephen said. The last time he'd seen the god of thunder had been at Stark's funeral three years ago. "Where'd you find him?"
"New Asgard, strange enough."
"Huh. Who's that?" Stephen nodded at the girl who sat next to Thor, poking at her pizza as if she'd never seen one before. She couldn't have been more than ten years old.
"I don't know."
Alright. So this was the team. They were off to a good start. And everyone seemed to be in an excellent mood thanks to America's decision to order pizza.
"Can you do the thing? You know, where you shoot an arrow and you shoot another arrow and it splits the first arrow cause I thought that only happened in movies," America said, halfway through her third slice of pepperoni.
"Yeah," Kate replied. "I can show you later if you want."
"Sweet."
"This is amazing. Mjolnir just…repaired itself? How old is it? Is it true only those who are pure of heart can lift it?" Steven peppered Thor with questions, wide-eyed and enthusiastic, completely forgetting to eat.
"There have only been three warriors worthy of this weapon," Thor said. "Besides myself, it was an honor to fight alongside them. As for Mjolnir's age, well…"
It was…nice, Stephen supposed, having this sort of activity in the Sanctum. These people brought with them a sort of energy that rejuvenated the place, made it come alive with chatter and joviality. The Sanctum even seemed to enjoy the change, giving the whole room a warm and cozy atmosphere. And Bats sure seemed to be enjoying himself. He was circling the table and saying hello to everyone, his tail wagging excitedly.
Stephen hadn't called this little get together just to be social, however. He dimmed the lights with a wave of his hand to get everyone's attention and took his place at the head of the table. "Now that you've had time to eat and settle in, I think it's time to explain the reason I've called you all here." He waited as the last of the talk died down and all eyes turned to him. "There is a threat to our world and to others, one I've fought before but can no longer combat alone. But before I begin, is anyone here familiar with the concept of the multiverse?" He'd learned it could come off as rude or arrogant to assume his allies knew less than he did.
"If what happened last winter counts as being familiar, then yeah," Peter said.
"That whole thing with Thanos has me convinced," Scott added. "We sorta made a branching universe when we traveled through time and collected all the Infinity Stones. But you probably already knew that because of the whole 'saw a million futures' thing, huh?"
"But that was a one time thing," Clint said. "So when you say multiverse…"
"Yes. An infinite number of universes exist, including the one you created by taking the Stones," Stephen confirmed.
Scott fiddled with his napkin, tearing notches into the side. "Dr. Pym has this theory. You know, since at the level of the quantum realm, the normal laws of physics break down and since we did prove it can be a medium for time travel, he thought that theoretically you could use it to travel…sideways." He tried to look nonchalant. "But it's super theoretical and I don't even know how we would begin to control it."
"That is…surprisingly impressive," Stephen admitted. "But there's no need for that because –"
"I can travel the multiverse," America piped up. Stephen gave her a look that said, "Seriously?" She gave him a look right back and drank her soda.
"No way," Scott said.
"Yes way."
"Do you shrink too?"
"No, why would I shrink?" America shrugged. "I don't know how I do it or why. But I'm getting better at controlling it."
"Is that what this is about?" Clint asked. "I agreed to come and hear you out but no one ever said it would involve shooting off to other worlds. I'm supposed to be retired. I am really trying to retire." He said this last to Kate, who sat on the seat next to him.
"Sorry," she said. "I thought this would do you some good."
"No one is going universe-hopping," Stephen said with an accusatory glance at America.
"So what is this if not?" Thor asked, his deep voice cutting over the questions of the others as if he'd banged a gavel. The room grew quiet. Whatever their misgivings, they wanted to know.
"Thank you," Stephen said. "His name is Dormammu and he threatens not just our own existence, but that of the entire multiverse," he went on. "Up until recently, he was contained in his own little corner of the cosmos, the Dark Dimension. But now he's free and he's using his followers, former zealots he reduced to mindless puppets, to do his bidding. His goal seems to be finding a more suitable form that will allow him control over part or even all of the multiverse, something none of us can allow to happen."
"But he could be anywhere in the multiverse, right?" Peter said. "Do we even know where to start?"
"Like I said, we will not be gallivanting all over the cosmos. The multiverse is infinite and America's powers are not unlimited. We gain nothing by blindly chasing Dormammu's followers throughout the multiverse. First, we gain intelligence, we see where he is and where he's going and only once we have a location do we strike."
"How do we see him?" Clint asked.
"Dreams," Stephen said. "Every time you dream, you're not just seeing random images generated within your own mind. You're seeing another reality."
Kate snorted but when no one else laughed, she sobered quickly. "Wait, are you serious?"
"An infinite multiverse breeds infinite selves," Wong confirmed. "When you dream, you catch a glimpse of these other selves."
"That's not true," the little girl said without looking up from her plate.
Wong cocked a brow. "And why is that, little one?"
"Because that's dumb," she insisted. "My dad said there's only one reality because any more would impinge on the gods' domain and cheapen our sacrifices."
Stephen's brows drew together. "I'm sorry, who is this?"
"This is Love," Thor announced. "She's my uh, niece."
"You couldn't find a babysitter?"
"No. Why would I need a babysitter?"
"I'm not a baby." Love glared and her eyes started to glow.
"You're absolutely right," Wong said, raising his hands in a placating gesture. "But for the sake of argument…" He gestured for Stephen to continue.
Stephen waited for the girl's eyes to go back to normal. "Right. For the sake of argument, let's just imagine that dreams are other universes."
"But dreams don't even make sense," Shang-Chi pointed out. "Dream logic?"
"Other universes can be super weird," America said. "Like, there's a paint universe and a 2-D universe and I'm pretty sure I saw one where everyone was rocks. So that weird dream you had? Just bizarro world."
"Everyone here is an exceptional individual with finely honed skills and most of you have saved the world at least once," Stephen continued. "In a hundred universes, a thousand, there are versions of each of you with the same skills and the same knack for seeking trouble. Dormammu's followers are out there and I can guarantee they are trouble wherever they are." He made a smooth gesture and conjured a stack of cloth-bound books which hovered in the air above the table. With a wave of his hand, he sent one to each of the people sitting at the table. "Dream journals," he explained. "I want you to record your dreams in as much detail as possible, no matter how insignificant they may seem. The intent is important. Writing them down will improve your recall. And should you encounter anything suspect, anything to do with Dormammu or his zealots, who are all corrupted sorcerers, report it to me or Wong immediately."
"Are you saying you're going to track this alien through our dreams?" Marc asked.
"Precisely," Stephen said. "Your variants may confront Dormammu's followers if they make themselves known. We're going to chart his progress through the multiverse and your dreams are points on the map."
"You can do that?" America asked. "How?"
Stephen tried to appear casual about it. "New spell." Ever since the collapse of Mount Wundagore and death of the Scarlet Witch, he'd dedicated all his free time to researching the multiverse. What he had in mind was a psychoprojection map. No need to leave this universe at all, at least until he had enough data to pinpoint where Dormammu was headed.
Looks were exchanged. It was a weird thing to process. A year ago, Stephen never would have imagined he'd see other universes let alone that he would become one of the foremost experts on the subject.
"That's incredible," Scott said. He opened his journal, took out a pen, and began to write.
Clint cast him a glance. "What are you doing?"
"Writing down the dream I had last night where I was in a rock band," Scott answered. "I'm so proud of other me."
"I'm in," Shang-Chi said.
"Me too," Peter added.
One by one, those gathered agreed to help. It wasn't much to ask, after all. After dinner, they would go back to their regular lives with a different understanding of the nature of things. They would put this out of their minds during the day and at night, they would dream. In the morning, they would remember. And Stephen would be that much closer to stopping Dormammu and saving the multiverse.
Across the table, America met his gaze and gave a small nod as if she could read the doubts and hopes he had in his eyes. It was a strange sensation, realizing he didn't have to shoulder the burden alone.
Stephen dreamed of a dead world. The sky hung dark and splintered. Towers unraveled up into space and the air was choked with the silence of complete and total emptiness. He dreamed of blackened fingers, melted candles, and the Darkhold's ashes.
It was a dream that pushed him out of sleep with no desire to return. Bats snored gently on the floor. He got up silently so as not to disturb him. The Cloak, which had been piled on the bed like a large, flat dog, fluttered up and came to rest on his shoulders as if sensing a need for comfort.
He came to the large window that looked out over the familiar view of Greenwich Village. It was a relief. Part of him wondered if he might wake up one night and look outside to find a world collapsing in on itself. The Cloak reacted with a flutter of alarm. He habitually ran a hand along the edge of it and then raised that hand in front of his face. The shaking was always worse when he was stressed. He clenched it into a fist and flexed his fingers, willing it to still.
"Bad dream?" Wong said.
Stephen lowered his hand. "Nothing new."
Wong grunted and joined him at the window. "The sentiment seems to have a dangerous meaning to it now. Do you need to talk about it?"
Stephen let Wong's words hang in the air. What was there to talk about? He'd recently learned he was capable of destroying countless realities and in a way of speaking, he already had. He shouldn't be thinking about the multiverse, period.
"Alright, if you don't want to talk, that's fine." Wong turned to leave.
"Wait." Stephen half-turned toward Wong. Then he hesitated. It wasn't often that he found himself at a loss for words. Wong didn't press, just waited for him to speak with far more patience than Stephen deserved. "Are we doing the right thing?"
Wong seemed to mull over his words. "The right thing can take many forms. Sometimes what's right for the many may be wrong for the one."
He was talking about Thanos. Wong knew better than anyone how many times Stephen had wandered the halls of the Sanctum, unable to sleep, caught in a loop of wondering. If he had pushed himself further, seen just one more future, might he have found another way? Another path to victory?
"Let me put this another way," Stephen said. "Am I doing the right thing? Do I have any right to shoulder this responsibility? I invade universes. What if…" He cast about for the words as if they hung in the air around him. "What if we're wrong to assume Dormammu's quest is what will cause an incursion? What if it's me? What if my interference is what makes all the difference?" What if Tony and Natasha hadn't died because it was the only way to win? What if they died because he saw it and had assumed it was the only way? Using the Time Stone had been a massive cheat. Perhaps it had blinded him to other possibilities because he had stopped looking once he'd found the first potential victory. It was just that he'd been so tired of the running and fighting and dying, of living a million lifetimes in the span of minutes.
"Stephen." Wong's expression was something between understanding and stern. "We can't know every outcome. Even the Ancient One didn't know everything. Dwelling on what might be will paralyze you. We can only work with the information we have."
That was precisely the problem. He needed more information. There was always more out there he needed to know and without it, how could he ever make the best decision?
The two of them stood in silence in the dark. Stephen lightly drummed the fingers of his right hand against the Eye of Agamotto, trying to sift through the overwhelming possibilities. He knew Wong was right. There was never a guarantee he would have seen anything better in their future, not without sifting through another fourteen million defeats. But the more he learned, the more aware he was of what he didn't know. And that was terrifying.
"You still know the spell, don't you?" Wong asked quietly. "The Darkhold is destroyed, but the dreamwalking spell still exists in you, doesn't it?"
Ah. There it was. The real heart of his worry. Stephen hesitated. He wanted to shrug it off and say of course not as if saying that would make everything okay. But the words wouldn't form. He could lie to America, but not to Wong. "Yes."
Stephen wasn't sure what to expect next. Truth be told, he didn't know what the ramifications might be. Did that mean the Darkhold's power was a part of him? Would the knowledge alone chip away at his soul until there was nothing left?
Wong took a step closer. "You have shouldered many curses in your time. It does not seem fair to add this latest. But you are not your variants. Whatever happens, you always elect to do the good thing and that's what really matters."
"I can't promise I won't try to use it again," Stephen said, not giving himself enough time to back out of saying it. He trusted Wong and Wong needed to know. "If the situation is dire enough, if there's no other way…I may dreamwalk again."
Now it was Wong's turn to hesitate. "I would advise against it. The multiverse needs you more than whatever might justify using that spell."
"I hope you're right." He wasn't sure if bringing up his worries had been a good idea or not. Neither of them knew anything for certain which just brought him right back to where he'd started, wishing he had more information. He couldn't help but feel that he'd just cracked the trust he and Wong shared. He really hoped he wasn't about to mess things up and break it for good. In that moment, that seemed a far worse thing than anything Dormammu had planned.