Doctor Strange, Doctor Palmer and the Cloak of Levitation

by TapTapAlways

Doctor Strange settles into the New York Sanctum, accompanied by the boa constrictor which is his new cloak. Aside from saving the Earth, Stephen finds himself with a lot of unfinished affairs with Christine, not to mention the desire to settle them and make it right. A slowburn Baby Strange story with a twist.

38. This Is Just Your Own Fault, Man

This chapter is a bit strange. Pun totally intended.

I do not own "Doctor Strange". Only this strange... fanfiction.

TapTap

Mordo had possibly made a few mistakes in his time. Not admitting as much, probably being the worst one. He had been at The Ancient One's side, one of her most promising students, since Kaecilius had been a bookworm with normal eyes and a wicked sense of humour. It was a long time.

In a few distinct ways, that man reminded him of Strange, which might have explained why he had been so panicked about the latter's rule-breaking to save the world, had he only stopped and thought about it. Perhaps, in the light of his shock about the Ancient One's long kept secret, it was not such a wonder that he hadn't done much rational thought at the time.

Suffice to say, the world out there had changed quite a bit since he had been fully out in it. He was by far not one of the more sheltered Sorcerers, preferring instead to go out in their city as much as he could, and that had tricked him to believe that he still belonged out there. He did not.

It had been one thing in the beginning. It was not as if he actually needed to use subways or planes, and if one has few scruples about such things, magic does make robbery a whole lot easier, should you need money.

With time, however, it started to get tough to get by in a world he did no longer fully understand. He had left the heat of his longtime home and made it back to the States, first to deal with Pangborn, and then he had lingered. At long last, weeks later, he had started to trace other vulnerable magic users in the hope of reducing the numbers of sorcerers.

He had gone where that hunt had taken him, moving only at the prospect of a new victim, but he had had surprisingly little success. It had taken him a while, but eventually he had come to find out why.

He suspected Stephen was behind the blocks he kept on coming across - from the very start he was the most promising suspect - and he indeed found proof eventually that he had been warning followers all over the world of the 'danger', but what he couldn't fanthom was how, or how he knew what to warn them of.

The answer, of course, was so simple in the end. Simple as putting rare magic into artifacts instead of letting it roam. Pangborn had found Strange, Strange had meddled, yet again, and now Pangborn was stubbornly trying to block him from succeeding in his all-important task.

He should have just killed him when he'd had the chance, Mordo concluded darkly, not even realising how mortified that thought would have made him not a year previous. Not aware of just how easy it is to misstep, and to become what you are trying to fight in the first place. Or what bravery it takes to pull back from such a mistake and attempt to atone, as the Ancient One had. And had done for so many long years.

It was not all, though. Strange was not actively looking for him; just offering up advice and protection, and Pangborn was not that powerful. Something was hunting him: something else, and Mordo could not for the life of him - quite literally, if he was out of luck - understand what.

Then, one day as he was walking down the road, heading to somewhere he himself did not know, there was a cat. And no matter what he tried, he couldn't pass her. Because reckoning comes for everybody, and Mordo was no exception to the very laws he believed in to such fanatical extents.