Fictions Mentioned:


Episode 24 - The Strange Training Experience (2)


OP Song:

Tomorrow Never Dies · Sheryl Crow


Now was the time for the three young women: Misaki Shokuhou, Seria Kumokawa, and Ayu Mitsuari to begin their very first official lesson for today. After being given one preview of the past in light of Touma Kamijou, Dr. Stephen Strange would now begin to discuss with a professional tone. Accompanied towards his right was his beloved wife and fellow socerer, Clea, who would act as the assistant teacher in this discussion. Bats, the faithful basset hound and companion of Dr. Strange, would simply sit around the corner and watch in respectful silence. Robin in turn was still enjoying the popcorn, but was nevertheless listening respectfully and was eating in silence.

Three notebooks have been magically provided for in order for the three young women to jot down important notes that could be useful in the future.

"As to how I will introduce this topic, I will first introduce myself first and foremost and to what society that I belong too. I am what is considered to be a Master of the Mystic Arts and Sorcerer Supreme, and I belong to what is known as the Masters of the Mystic Arts, an inter-multiversal ancient order of sorcerers who are committed to protecting the MV Earth-616 Dimension and other planes of existence from mystical and supernatural threats, founded by the Mighty Agamotto the All Seeing — Father of the Mystic Arts, Founder of the Masters of the Mystic Arts, and MV Earth-616's first Sorcerer Supreme."

Dr. Strange first gave the basics as to who he was, which was then followed by the introduction to the concept of magic.

"Now then, it is time for us to discuss the principle regarding magic, or as it relates to my native reality most especially. As with any field requiring study and practice, it is essential to start with the theoretical before transitioning into the practical. As contradictory as it may seem to sound, magic—like any science—must be studied to be understood. And more importantly, it must be studied to be controlled."

Dr. Strange was hovering in a cross-legged position, hovering a few meters from the air, sporting a professional and serious expression.

"If it suits your fancy, you may also view magic as a language, one that has existed since the dawn of civilization...and long before the emergence of superheroes in general. The use of this 'language' has traditionally been called spellcasting since the days of the Ancient Masters," Dr. Strange went on, weaving his hands through the air and conjuring lines of dazzling energy from the tips of his fingers which would amaze the three young women who couldn't help but listen and watch. "Though if you prefer a more contemporary and scientific description...magic can be likened to a 'program'; it is the 'source code' the forms the foundation of our reality, of that which is known as the MV Multiverse."

The energy began taking shape as Dr. Strange continued to talk, linking and chaining into an intricate mandala design before the eyes of the three young women.

"Sorcerers such as I and my beloved wife would harness this particular type of energy from our Universe and from other dimensions to weave spells into existence, to conjure shields and weapons to our aid, to make magic!"

Dr. Strange flicked his hands towards the three young women and the mandala he had constructed so exquisitely rumbled as it's energy was released upon the faces of the three women, engulfing them in a shower of fizzling embers and ethereal warmth.

"To put things in a basic manner, magic in my native reality is but the practice of utilizing certain universal energies and extra-dimensional forces whose nature is beyond the scope of the technologically-oriented science of all known sentient races. Using spells and phrases it is often used to simulate other powers, such as reality warping, mind control and elemental attacks. In this case, there are three main types of harnessing these types of forces."

Dr. Strange raised one right index finger and close the rest.

"The first are the Personal Energies: energy that is derived from the sorcerer's lifeforce. They are the mental and spiritual powers that mystics and sorcerers develop for themselves, and it comes with many abilities such as psionic energy, chi manipulation, astral projection, thought-casting, and many others. However..."

Dr. Strange would add an intoned warning for the three women to heed carefully.

"Constant use of one's personal energies can prove to be fatal, even to the most skilled master of magic. Therefore, it is necessary for sorcerers to learn to harness external energies through meditation techniques and trained willpower so that we may use magic without posing any unnecessary harm unto ourselves. And that would in turn lead to the second type of energy."

Dr. Strange raised one right middle finger alongside the index finger.

"The Ambient Magical Energy of the Universe, or Universal Energies: these are the energies that flow all around the world and around ourselves. Even at this very moment, our bodies are surrounded by an infinite amount of pure energy that one need only grasp in order to use, and this is the more common type of energy for us sorcerers to harness in cases of safety measure."

At that, Dr. Strange reached out and clenched his left hand on thin air as if grasping the hem of a fabric...and pulled. It was barely visible to the eyes of the three women, but they still managed to make out a thin sheet of light that became more apparent as Dr. Strange balled the energy up into the sphere. Dr. Strange inspected the glowing globe he had whisked into existence and promptly let it go, watching the entranced and inquiring faces of the three women with amusement as the globe dissolved into a multitude of fading white specks.

Dr. Strange would begin to raise one right ring finger alongside the index and middle fingers, sporting a deathly serious expression.

"And last but not the least, there is the Extradimensional Magical Energy, or Dimensional Energies: these are the energies gained through the tapping of extra-dimensional energy drawn from other planes of existence throughout the multiverse and by invoking entities or objects of power existing in mystical dimensions, with different physical and magical laws, tangential to our own. Unlike the first two, the entities invoked generally have a say in how or if the power is used. And it is this one that requires the utmost prudence and necessary precautions. Otherwise, terrible consequences can occur, for magic is not for free and always has a price to pay, even at a very high cost. I should know that better than anyone in light of my years of tenure as Sorcerer Supreme."

And at that moment, Seria Kumokawa would raise her right hand, with the intention of asking a question.

"Yes, Ms. Kumokawa."

"There's something that I've been meaning to ask. How is it that you are called Sorcerer Supreme? I couldn't help but take notice of the title and wondered as to whether or not their seem to be a type of significance that separates between yourself and ordinary practitioners," Kumokawa sported an inquiring expression.

Dr. Strange could not help but sport an impressed expression due to the intelligent question that was proposed to him. And thus, he would begin to explain the following to her and to the two other young women.

"Ah yes, you are correct about that. The title 'Sorcerer Supreme' is a title granted to the practitioner of the mystic or magic arts who has greater skills than all others or commands a greater portion of the ambient magical energies than any other organism on a given world or dimension. In my case, I was granted this title by the blessed Vishanti: a trio of supernatural, god-like entities who act as patrons for the Sorcerer Supreme and defenders of the MV Earth-616 realm consisting of Agamotto, Hoggoth, and Oshtur; and I am but the latest in the line of succession among the Sorcerer Supremes throughout the vast millennia that started all the way from Agamotto until I."

And there came the conjuring of three visible images of the Vishanti, which the three young women took note of. One whose face was that of a man, the other was that of a tiger, and the other was that of a woman. And then came the passing from one Sorcerer Supreme upon another, from Agamotto all the way down to Yao, the Ancient One, and then finally came to be: Dr. Stephen Strange, the only one to remain who was hovering among them.

"The official office of being Sorcerer Supreme, despite the great powers that are to be bestowed upon myself, is not without it's heavy burdens which are the duties and responsibilites of one's calling. And in the most recent case, my duties would extend to the Multiverse itself and not just that of my own native cosmos in light of a terrible conflict that you three had already seen in a mere moment of our passing between the Entrance Hall and the Library."

The three young women would take an educated guess and would recall the lifelike 3-D painting that they had not seen that long ago that had shown a terrible battlefield of cosmic proportions that made everyone in the room completely serious in demeanor. For there was something about that painting that would tend to strike even them on edge, almost as if in some part of their memory, they would know and recognize this event as of many sets of events that took place in a time where space and time were but broken and undone. The rules where overturn. The unimaginable weapons that had been deployed. They had a slithering feeling deep within their souls that this war was unlike anything that the mankind of their world would have and ever would have experienced.

Or maybe they already have. And aren't even aware of such...before it is too late.

"...Um...Strange-sensei," Shokuhou sported a hesitant, grimaced expression, almost thinking about clutching her own heart with her glove hands, feeling nauseated all of a sudden because of recalling the memory of the painting that brought a sense of foreboding and déjà vu. "Does...Does this have anything to do with that painting that we saw in the central hallway?"

"Yes," Dr. Strange nodded, confirming Shokuhou's question in a grim undertone that would make her and the two young girls completely on edge. "That painting would signify a space-time battlefield, one of many, in a conflict that should never ever be repeated, to which is one of the main reasons as to why my solemn duty as Sorcerer Supreme has been fully extended. For this conflict is known as the Last Great Time War, a spatio-temporal conflict that shook through the boundaries of All Creation. Nothing was spared. All would be affected, one way or another. There was barely any safe place left, most especially by the Final Days which were the darkest known times of the conflict. And to your universe most especially, it also was not spared of the conflict. I think that you three can tell based on certain feelings that have been brewing through your own hearts, correct?"

He was right, they thought. For they felt the nausea and everything that accompanies it. Not the memories per say, but gut feelings that have been brewing down upon them and slamming them like an ocean that was arising like a gigantic tidal wave that was about to hit them from the shore, and they'd never saw it coming. Sure, there was the earthquake, but one couldn't quite tell of the unpredictable tragedy of the aftershocks. For it could mean almost anything. And just as recorded history shows, the survivors of the quake may not survive the rest, and that everything else would be seemingly swept away as if by chance.

They couldn't help but gulp down their throats, and the lightly visible sweat that seem to be from their forehead, and the sensation of missing years that seemingly draw by from them without knowing it. It was likened to amnesia, but there was also the accompaniment of illusion. For illusion and reality are two arbitrary terms in a conflict such as this.

The three young girls would look towards Robin who could only sport a grim understanding expression of their plight.

"...Yeah, it's not easy is it. Feeling something like that. I mean, sometimes I feel the same. The things that I might have done in some possible life, the dreams that I may have held, the people that I may have suppose to met, there's just no easy way around this really. If I were to give advice, I'd say that you don't force yourselves into thinking about this too much. Trust me, there are plenty of us who were undergoing the same thing as you do, and we know exactly how that feels. The best way to deal with this is try talking with someone about it, and well, Touman's always available for you considering that he lives in your world and he's got the most experience when it comes to timeline shenanigans. If there's anyone else you could talk too, you'd always count on me to listen. There's also my best friend back in my world, Jon Kent, who is a superhero just like me who also suffers from that déjà vu that you guys have been having. Then there's all the rest of the people that I know back in my world, Strange's world, and several others, but mentioning them all would be quite the effort to make if you know what I mean..."

Robin would say the last part in an apologetic manner due to his seeming rambling, which actually get's the three young women to softly giggle because of this.

"Hmmm. You know...You aren't that bad to hang around with, Robin-san. It's quite a shame that you wouldn't be a student in the same middle school branch as kouhai's. I'd figure that it would've been a lot more livelier with you two around," Kumokawa replied with a genuine smile.

"As much as I hate to agree with the old hag, I too find your company to be most preferable, Robin-san," Shokuhou replied with a genuine smile.

"...Yeah well...One, I'm still needed back at Gotham City cause someone's gotta keep an eye on the old man, in this case, old bat. That and I have a ton of responsibilities. Two, I couldn't exactly live in Academy City without the Board Chairman getting tipped off. He isn't exactly the most pleasant person to be around with, especially when he's always watching you like a hawk for most of the time and see if you as much as messed up his grand plans or something. Three, I'm not sure me being there is a good idea as I might get dragged towards the infamous Delta Force shenanigans that Touman sometimes talks about whenever he visits Gotham and then some. Four, I don't wanna leave my best friend, Jon, hanging," Robin said with an apologetic smile, raising his hand to his neck.

"Like I said, a damn shame really," Kumokawa genuinely smiled. "Tsukuyomi Komoe, our sensei, would definitely love for you to be around our school as you seem to be the type of smart kid who might as well become her honor student like kouhai."

"Oh, actually I've already met Komoe-sensei before, and so you're quite right about that," Robin smiled knowingly.

"Wait what?," Kumokawa did a double take, sporting a surprised expression. "Yo-You know sensei? How?"

"...Well, she is technically Touma's substitute guardian while the real guardian is hopping from one random place to another across the Multivere. She's actually a teacher of TARDIS School, believe it or not," Robin explained.

"Ok, now I definitely need to find out about this so-called school. Just what makes this school so special and interesting that it even snagged Komoe-sensei without even me knowing about it, and that's saying a lot," Kumokawa asked, sporting an interested smirk.

"Well like I said, I can't exactly spoil without the main guy behind the whole thing still unaccounted for and would be the one to give the official tour, but let's just say that it's basically summer school, but fun," Robin explained with a knowing smile.

"And I happen to be one of the twelve main faculty members of said school," Dr. Strange joined the conversation, glancing towards Clea who was sporting an amused expression. "My wife, Clea, is also a teacher of said school as well, and we both teach our given fields to everyone of any walk of life who was willing to listen and learn."

"Ah, TARDIS School, that place never ceases to amaze us, ain't it doc?," Bats would smile, while wagging his tail in a positive manner.

"Quite true, Bats, quite true," Dr. Strange nodded with a smile of satisfaction and fondness. "That place really does have many fond memories that had myself comforted in spite of my given duties and responsibilities. And speaking of which, this lesson on magic for today is now finished for the time being. Now we must see as to what Touma and Lord IT had been doing all this time while we we're away in another part of this dimension."


ED Song:

Betcha Never from Cherie (2004)