There was a shimmer and sure enough, a shield formed in front of her. Zira couldn't help but smile. Isioma came around the corner holding a pair of daggers. Wong looked at her and nodded. "The Daggers of Daveroth, another excellent choice." Isioma swung them around a bit with expertise.

"They feel very wonderful in the hand," Isioma said.

"They will serve you well," Wong said. They went back to their rooms to change and met in the main courtyard.

"Are we ready for this?" Zira asked as they came together. Isioma had changed into a purple and silver abaya with a matching hijab that she wound around her head lightly and tied in a bun at the base of her neck. Zira had changed into a black hoodie and jeans with sneakers. She felt a little underdressed, but the goal was to blend in. They would already be conspicuous in Damyang, so they had to look as inconspicuously conspicuous as they could.

"We have to be ready," Isioma said. "We don't have much of a choice." Zira nodded in agreement. Both of them had a grim look on their faces. They knew this was no joke, and their mission had a huge impact on the events and people at the temple. As they mentally prepared, Wong came out and stood near them. Right before Stephen started sending people out to collect or warn other sorcerers, he had instructed the most experienced masters to place the strongest wards they could around the temple. He didn't want anyone coming in or out magically without him knowing. Wards were stacked on wards and multiple alarms and alerts were built in. Now, if someone was able to come in without permission, the whole of Kamar Taj would know in an instant. The downside of that is that someone had to make a hole in the wards before they would be able to leave. However, it was a sacrifice that everyone was willing to make. The lessons on portals were also put on hold until Mordo was dealt with.

"Are you ready?" Wong asked them. They both nodded. He put a small hole in the wards, and Isioma started the portal. They only had a picture of the village to go off of, so she had that picture very firmly in her mind. Once the portal was active, they stepped through and sealed it behind them. Zira and Isioma looked at each other, took a deep breath, and walked off to find Master Ahn.

While Isioma was in charge of the pair of them, Zira had become fluent in Korean, so she did a lot of the talking. The first few people wouldn't talk to them, choosing to move on and ignore them completely. Finally, Zira caught the attention of an older merchant in the main market.

"Excuse me, ma'am," she said, bowing. "We were looking for someone. Can you help us?"

"Who are you looking for?" the woman asked.

"Hak-kun Ahn," Zira said, pulling out a picture of him to show the woman. She looked at it for a minute, then the woman pointed up the road.

"Go to the end of the road, turn left, and look for a brown house on the left. You're the second person to ask about him today," she said. Zira looked at her, her eyes wide.

"What did he look like?"

"He was dark-skinned, like your friend," the woman replied, pointing to Isioma. "He was dressed like some kind of monk warrior." Zira thanked her for her help, then started rushing up the road.

"What did she say?" Isioma asked as they moved.

"Mordo has been asking about him already," Zira replied.

"Wait...what?"

"The lady said that someone with dark skin and dressed like a monk warrior was asking about Master Ahn. It has to be Mordo," Zira insisted, running up the road.

"Zira, wait!" Isioma called, grabbing her friend by the arm. "Master Strange said to not engage with Mordo if we ran into him. His instructions were very clear."

"Mordo might not have made his move yet," Zira protested. "We have to at least try." Isioma seemed scared. "Isioma, please," she insisted. "We have to try." The Nigerian girl stood there for a moment, feeling conflicted. In a moment of insistence, Zira grabbed both hands and squared off in front of her. "If he is there, we run. If he isn't, we do our jobs. I promise," she said. Isioma looked at the fire in Ziras now-green eyes. The different color was still unsettling, but the promise in those eyes was genuine. She sighed, closed her eyes, and nodded.

"Alright," she said. "We do our job and leave, that's it." Zira smiled with relief and nodded, squeezing her friends hands in appreciation. They walked up the road the way the old woman pointed them, and came to the brown house that she mentioned. A quick scan of the house revealed wards that had been put up, though they weren't sure how long they had been up. Isioma conjured up her own spell around her hand before she knocked on the door.

"Master Ahn?" she called as she knocked, more on the wards than the door. There was no response. She knocked again. "Master Ahn? We need to ask you some questions," she called. After a moment, a Korean man came out, wearing a t-shirt and jeans, looking for all the world like a normal man.

"Who are you?" he asked in Korean. Zira stepped forward to answer his question.

"The sorcerer supreme sent us," she said, opting to leave out as many English words as she could. "There have been attacks on many others, removing their connections to other dimensions. We've been asked to bring you with us or ensure your safety." The man looked at the two of them for a moment.

"And he sends two apprentices to find me?" he scoffs.

"We are thin at the moment," Zira said. "We're using everyone capable." She felt a little taken aback by his statement, but right now, it was more important to do her job. "May we come in so we can discuss this in private?" Ahn looked at the two girls for a moment, then waved his hands.

"Quickly," he said. Zira bowed and grabbed Isioma, who had been watching behind them.

"He said we can come in," she said. They hurried in and felt the wards close in behind them. Ahn led them further into the house into a back room. They had removed their shoes before walking in, but they could both tell that Master Ahn was agitated.

"I wasn't expecting someone from the temple to come," he said, this time in English. Once they were in a separate room, he shut the door and motioned for them to sit down, which they did. "Someone told me that a man dressed strangely had asked about me."

"Mordo," Isioma said. "He has been attacking other sorcerers. He's managed to remove their connections to other dimensions, and with it, their abilities." Master Ahn nodded thoughtfully.

"I know this man," he said. "I taught him before. He was a good student, but he had a troubled past. He wanted to live within natural law, as I recall."

"Nothing we do is natural, is it?" Zira commented.

"Energy is natural," Ahn said. "Regardless of what dimension you are pulling from, that energy is natural and falls within natural law. If what you say is true, however, Mordo is taking this too far."

"So what would you like to do?" Isioma asked him. "You seem to be prepared, but coming back to Kamar Taj is also an option."

"I cannot leave my people," Ahn said. "If Mordo is desperate to get at me, then he can try and do so through my village. I'm not about to let that happen."

"We understand," Isioma said, standing up. Zira stood and joined her. "Thank you, Master Ahn." The two younger sorcerers bowed, and he bowed in response.

"Thank you for warning me," Ahn replied. "I wish you all the best in your next mission." As they went to leave, all three of them stopped.

Someone was forcing their way through the wards, and all three sorcerers were more than confident of who it was.

"Crap," Zira muttered as they ran outside. The flashes of attacks hitting the wards lit the area, flashes of energy sparking off of the shield.

"Get back to Kamar Taj," Ahn said, grabbing a weapon. "I'll hold him off."

"We can't," Isioma said, trying to conjure the portal. "The wards are preventing any type of portal in or out."

"If he opens the wards, Mordo can get in," Zira said, the realization sending chills down her spine. "We're trapped."

"Then we fight," Ahn said.

"But, Master Strange said…" Isioma began protesting.

"Strange isn't here," Zira said, pulling her weapon out. "We can't get back to Kamar Taj, and Mordo will get in if we try. We have to fight."

"Zira, we were to do our jobs and leave," Isioma insisted. "You promised."

"I know, but what choice do we have?" Zira cried. Ahn looked at the two of them, then his eyes flicked to what Zira was holding.

"You wield the Wand of Watoomb?" he said, looking at Zira. She looked at the weapon in her hands, then back at Ahn.

"Yes?"

"Have you used it before?"

"N….no…"

"Do you know what it does?" Zira was about to open her mouth when she felt the weapon warm in her hands. She was about to drop it for fear of being too hot, but suddenly, it felt comfortable. It felt as though she was….in tune with it. Ahn and Isioma watched as she closed her eyes and placed both hands on her weapon. It glowed and formed a strong shield around them. The spell hiding her true appearance dissipated, and when she opened her eyes, they were glowing.

"I'll hold him off. Start the portal. You and Master Ahn get out of here. The shield should hold long enough for the portal to seal behind you," Zira said.

"What about you?" Isioma asked.

"I'll be okay," she replied. Her voice sounded a little deeper and calm. Even though the silver glowing light, Isioma could see the surety in Zira's eyes. She nodded and started the portal back to Kamar Taj.

"Center yourself as you use the wand," Ahn said before he stepped through. "Work with it, don't try to control it." Zira nodded her understanding and watched as her friend and the master stepped through the portal. Once it was sealed, she released the shield and stood tall.

"Face me, Mordo!" she called out, and with a blast from the wand, destroyed the wards surrounding the house. The glow died from her eyes as she prepared herself. The former master revealed himself quickly, jumping through the first hole in the wards to try and catch her off guard. She leaped in the air to dodge, and sent a blast from the wand at him, which he managed to dodge as well.

"Too many sorcerers," he muttered. Zira took a minute to observe her opponent. He looked haggard, his eyes wild as he wielded his staff. This obsession had clearly consumed him, but maybe he could be reached. She had to try.

"Mordo," she said, keeping a shield between them. "Listen to me: this isn't the way this should go and you know it. You're opening the way for more than just Dormammu. You know just as well as I do that there are so many threats out there that we need to have a force to match them. The Avengers and the X-Men can only do so much." Mordo stopped for a moment and looked at her. Zira thought she saw a moment of clarity in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by fury.

"Strange," he growled.

"What?"

"You sound just like him. You sound just like Strange," he snarled, and attacked. Zira was having a hard time fighting him off. He had years of combat training on her, and that was worrying her. She was loathe to use any spells since he also had years of magical training on her as well. "Strange has corrupted you as well. He's made you like him," Mordo grunted as he made another attack on her.

" . .HIM!" Zira shouted, grunting with every hit, until she unleashed an attack of her own. She channeled as much energy as she could into the wand and released it in a concentrated stream right at her target. Mordo watched as her eyes started glowing. The energy she was controlling was even making her hair move. "I'm not selfish! I'm not an ass! I'm not willing to sacrifice lives for my ego!" Her onslaught suddenly stopped as Mordo caught the wand.

"So you are just like him," Mordo whispered. "The man he has become."

"What?" Mordo held out his hand, conjured a dagger, and started casting to sap any and all magic from her body just as he had done with Pangborn. The second Zira started feeling the effects, she tried to back off, but he had her in place.

"No!" she cried and closed her eyes. The pain….never came. Zira opened her eyes, and her stomach dropped at the sight before her.

Stephen Strange's blue tunic was directly in front of her. The Eye of Agamotto was eye level with her. She looked up and met the green eyes of her mentor. He was in incredible pain, but his face was calm. The dagger was in his back and she could see the energy being pulled from him.

"It's okay," he whispered. "I've got you."