"Help me..."

Genesis stood in the middle of New York. There were no cars, no crowds of people, and no sound. She only heard a faint voice. But when she looked around, the silence continued.

She took one step forward. "Hello?"

The leaves on the trees rattled with the small wind that filled the air. The voice popped up again but it sounded like a choking sound.

A bright beam shined above her and she screamed, covering her head. Nothing happened. Her squinted eyes, looked up but she couldn't make out what was causing the beam. Suddenly, a lifeless body flew towards her and went up the beam.

"Strange?"

His face was scarred, bruised, and unconscious. He didn't have his red cloak and was helplessly being beamed up. Something around his neck was giving off a green glow as a voice in her mind kept saying, "Save him. Save him. The talisman-"

"Hey! Strange!"

"Wake up!"

Genesis woke with a gasp and found herself in a bedroom surrounded by books. Strange was sitting at her side, his eyes narrowed. "What happened?"

She breathed heavily. "Where am I?"

"What did you see?"

Her body trembled as he put a hand on her shoulder. He shushed her gently until she calmed down. Her eyes went to his neck and she saw the talisman from her dream. A bronze metal eye hung around his neck and she shuddered. She had no memory of what happened after leaving the Sanctum last night. No matter how hard she tried to remember.

He narrowed his eyes and followed her glance to the Eye. "Is this what you saw?"

Swallowing, she replied, "No.."

"You have to tell me what you saw. I sensed great fear in you and could only see you standing in the middle of New York. It felt like I was...being blocked from your mind," he explained, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"That's...it. I didn't see anything else."

He stared at her briefly until he nodded and stood up. "I see. Let me explain something, I'm supposed protect this world from threats that, half the time, this world can't see, including threats towards you. In other words, I'm meant to protect your reality."

She slowly got out of the bed and rubbed her eyes. "I know. I've only heard it a hundred times from you."

He gently grabbed her upper arm before she could reach the door. "This is serious. I know we had a rough start, but you have to understand the severity of this situation I'm in. I can't just show you the methods and secrets of my work if you don't trust me and I can't trust you."

"I'm not a threat to you. I mean, I threatened to show off this place to the public but I was never going to. It wasn't even a real threat. I just needed you to listen."

He paused. "But you don't trust me.."

"I wake up in your bedroom after knowing perfectly well what a douchebag you are. How can I trust you? Face it, Strange, we don't trust each other."

She pulled her arm away and stormed to the door. Suddenly, she heard sounds like glass being clicked together. She turned around and saw that the room began to look like several pieces of glass put together to form an image. Like a broken mirror.

Her mouth hung open as Stephen approached her through the shards of glass. "Welcome...to the Mirror Dimmension."

She grimaced as she circle around. "It looks-"

"Like the room we were just standing in," he nodded, "The real world isn't affected by what happens here."

Genesis touched the shards where Stephen came and gasped when she felt nothing. Pulling her hand back, she gave an excited laugh. "Oh my God. What do you mean it isn't affected?"

Stephen clasped his hands behind his back and replied, "It's like we're invisible and not really there at the same time. Sorry for the lack of a better explanation."

"So..what would you use it for?"

"Mostly training. Or as a weapon. Trap enemies in here without their ring, and they're trapped here forever."

She grimaced at the mention of the ring. "A ring? What ring?"

Stephen paused and cleared his throat. "A...our sling ring. It's essential. Sort of like our key to the doors waiting to open."

He held out his left hand and she held it, looking at his ring. "Is this what makes those circle portals?"

The ring was a two-fingered ring. A dull gold color and had various symbols engraved on it.

"It is. When you get good enough, most people where them on their belt. I just like to have mine on my fingers once in a while. I lose track of things sometimes."

"Well, how does it work?"

He held out his left hand and moved his right hand in circular motions. "You have to see where you're going. The more detail, the clearer the picture. Until, it shows up."

A fiery portal opened before them and Genesis could see a vast ocean. Without even thinking, she ventured through with Stephen following behind. A cool breeze welcomed them as they stood at the edge of a cliff. The sky was gray and ocean looked dark.

"This is..amazing. How do you do it?"

"Look beyond the room you're in and focus," Stephen replied as wind blew in his hair.

"Doesn't it scare you? I mean, you talk about your powers like it's the Holy Grail. All this responsibility..."

Stephen gave a small shrug. "It's the life I chose."

She looked over her shoulder at him. "What was your life before? No one just chooses this life."

He sighed through his nose. His mind kept going back to her dream. Something happened and she wasn't telling him. She saw something. The only way to get that information was to give her what she wanted. He took an invisible seat in the air and sat with his legs crossed. She followed his example and sat in the soft, long grass.

"I was a doctor. A surgeon, more specifically. I was the best of the best in my profession," he began.

"Humble," she chuckled.

He side-smiled. "Anyway, I had a perfect record and things were looking good for me. Until I was in a car accident and I nearly lost my hands. Now, they tremble and never stop. That doesn't work in your favor as a surgeon, you see."

She remembered seeing how much his hands seemed to shake. His hands looks as if they'd gone through so much torment. The skin looked aged and she saw several signs of where stitches had been given. He usually wore gloves, so she never really paid much attention to them prior.

"So, what happened? After your accident?"

He gazed at the ocean, briefly before answering. "I sought help for my hands. To get them to be still. I heard about a man named Jonathon, who was cured after being paralyzed and he told me about the Kamar-Taj in Nepal. They helped cure him. With what I had left, financially and mentally, I journeyed to Nepal and found it. Only thing was that they used magic and not physical therapy or medicine."

"Magic?"

"Jonathon didn't have anyone cure him. He uses magic to sustain his body and continue his everyday life. He cured himself," Strange replied.

She glanced at his hands. "So...you never cured your hands?"

He shook his head as he held them out. They were shaking. "I had a choice: cure my hands and get my old life back, or stay and be part of something greater."

"Greater? Like protecting the world?"

"That was part of it. But I also learned more about myself in the process. What power I have within me, beyond my abilities."

She smiled at his word choice. "You sound like a fortune cookie."

They both laughed as she looked at the bronze eye around his neck. Something about it made her uneasy.

Strange interrupted her thoughts. "I understand your situation. The whole family thing. It's hard being on your own and having that much responsibility on your shoulders."

Genesis rubbed her knees as she shrugged. "It's hard, but I mean, they're worth it."

"You're fighting for something besides yourself," he commented.

She nodded and he smiled. Despite his outfit, she sensed a bit of humanity in him. "What are you fighting for, Strange?"

They were interrupted by a portal appearing and Wong popping his head out. "Oh, I figured you'd be here. How is she?"

Stephen motioned his head at Genesis and Wong smiled at her. "You've been blessed with favor."

"Hey," she greeted, "I think it's time I went home."

Stephen and Wong exchanged glances as he followed her back to the Sanctum through the portal. "About that, Genesis.."

She stopped when he said her name and raised her eyebrows. "What?"

"I..."

Wong awkwardly looked at Stephen as he tried to find the right words.

"Just be careful. When do plan on coming back for more questions?"

She reached in her pocket for her phone and thought for a moment. "I can come tomorrow. Is 12:30, okay?"

Stephen nodded. "Yeah, great. See you then."

"Okay," she said, smiling out the door.

Wong grimaced as Stephen's cloak went off his shoulders and his T-shirt and jeans deteriorated his tunic. He gave a deep exhale as he landed on his feet and felt more relaxed to have his normal clothes on.

"She shouldn't be wandering around after the dream you mentioned. Especially now that she has been in contact with you."

Stephen narrowed his eyes as he brushed off his jeans. "Am I going insane or am I remembering the fact that you were the one that convinced me to even let her in here?"

"I never meant to cause all this," he said, quietly.

"It's not that it's your fault. It's that you're right. Now I feel like she's going to be involved in something and I...I can almost see it. Someone is in her head."

Wong's eyes filled with worry. Stephen lowered his head and sighed. Wong put a hand on Stephen's shoulder, and spoke quietly. "You have to protect her now."

"I know."

With that, Stephen got an idea. "I need to follow her and try to see what she's seeing but I can't do that with her seeing me."

Wong nodded and side-smiled. "I'll get a mattress."