Stephen took a deep breath as he got himself mentally prepared. He muttered the right spell as Wong had the mattress ready on the floor.
"Take care, Strange and be cautious," Wong advised.
The doctor nodded and closed his eyes as he let hinself go. With an exhale, he felt himself lose all weight as his astral body left his physical body. His physical body fell back as if he had been struck unconscious. In his ghost-like state, he flew across the room and through the wall. It was late afternoon as he scanned the city for a sign of Genesis. He spotted her at a bus stop and hovered over to her.
He watched her go through her phone and write notes about their conversation. She hummed to herself as she spotted the bus coming. He got on board with her as she got a window seat. He watched her set an alarm for 45 minutes as she leaned her head against the window.
Stephen cringed. "That's gotta be full of germs."
Her eyes closed and Stephen couldn't have asked for better timing. The bus began driving as he waited for her to fall asleep and hope that her vision from last night would return. He formed an X with his wrists and slowly separated them as he focused his mind on hers. The sounds of the bus made a it a little harder for him to focus, but he managed as he opened his eyes and entered her dreams.
He wasn't in New York. He was in a dark room. All he heard was his own voice.
"Hhnnghh!"
He couldn't see anyone or himself. He just heard himself in physical pain. Another voice came up, Genesis' voice.
"Stephen!"
His voice popped up. "Help...no!"
A car honked and the room shook-
Genesis' eyes shot open as she heard a car honking from behind the bus. She groaned and rubbed her eyes. Stephen's eyes opened as well and he shook his head when he realized she had awoken.
"Damn it," he mumbled.
The rest of the bus ride, he watched her stare out the window and look through her phone a few times. He noticed a stray hair and reached out to fix it before she fixed it herself. Pulling his hand away, he remembered his body cannot touch anything that is in the physical dimension.
The bus reached her apartment as she got off and unlocked her front door. She closed the door in his face as he seeped through. Opening her freezer, she pulled out a microwave dinner and heated it up. Turning on her phone, she opened her music app and played very old music by Billie Holiday and Judy Garland.
She sang quietly to herself as she sweeper the wooden floor of the apartment. It wasn't much she seemed comfortable, he noticed. When she started awkwardly dancing, he smiled a bit. Her dark hair swayed along with her movement and she sang a little louder.
Stephen realized she wouldn't be asleep for a while so he decided to risk putting her to sleep himself. He flew towards her and held out his hands as sparks began to appear at his fingers. Before he could even cast the spell, he saw her stop moving.
Unable to touch her, he watched her body lean back but used his magic to cause her body to land gently on the floor.
"What the hell..?" he muttered.
He couldn't sense anyone else in the room, so who had put her to sleep? The only thing he could think to do was close his eyes and cast his own spell to enter he mind.
"Stephen!"
He stood where he wanted, in the middle of New York. Now he just had to find Genesis and himself in her dream. It was quiet and everything seemed still. No people and no noises except for Genesis calling his name.
"Save him," a voice boomed out of nowhere.
Stephen froze. "Genesis? Can you hear me?"
"Save him."
"Stephen! No!"
He finally looked up and saw a beam of light shooting from the sky. He saw his unconscious body being lifted into the air, through the beam. He heard Genesis screaming over and over.
The dream began to grow blurry and he felt his movements grow slower. He was losing control of the dream. "No...shit."
The dream grew more blurry and he felt himself lose control completely.
Genesis opened her eyes as she woke up. It was getting dark. Slowly, she sat up and rubbed the back of her head. No pain. She got to her feet and reached for a knife. Roaming the house, she expected to find someone inside or furniture stolen. Nothing of the sort.
Stephen his behind the fridge, remembering he didn't even need to hide. Shaking his head, he watched her worried face grow angry. Genesis paced the floor, and walking through the rooms. He could tell she was going to break into a panic at any moment.
He had no choice but to reveal himself. His head lowered as he made himself visible and said, "Genesis.."
She turned and gave a scream when she saw him. Her body slumped to the floor as she tried to catch her breath. "S-Strange? What the.."
"It's okay, just calm down," he said, holding his hands out.
"What the hell happened to me? I was just in the kitchen and then I woke up-"
"Look, I don't know. All I know is that-"
She grimaced. "You saw?"
"Yes," he confessed, "I did. Listen, your dream-"
"Were you in my head? Did you do this?"
Stephen grew frustrated as he closed his eyes and shook his head. "No, that's why this is important. Your dream. It's showing something! I have to know what it is."
"To protect your stupid Sanctum?"
He paused. "To protect you. To protect everyone. Someone is getting into your mind and I think they're trying to get to me somehow."
Genesis got off the floor and eyed him, suspiciously. "What do you mean?"
"Every time I try to figure out or see your dream, I feel like someone's pushing me away."
She hunched her shoulders. "If they want to get to you, wouldn't they show you something you'd want to see? Why would they hide it?"
He exhaled when he couldn't answer. "All I know is that I have to keep a close eye on you at all times. I've put you at risk. I should've suspected something like this could happen."
"What are you saying?"
Stephen wanted to avoid her curious eyes, but found himself looking right into them. "You have to come with us to the Sanctum. It's the only way we can keep you safe. This isn't a physical battle. It's in your head, and I'm the only one who can help you."
She should've been frightened for her mind and, possibly, her life but she sensed a bit of excitement. "Okay. I understand. Are you...a ghost?"
He remembered that he had left physical body behind and gave a quiet 'oh'. "No, this is my astral body. I don't have time ti explain it right now. Come on, let's head back."
Following his orders, they returned to the Sanctum where Wong was waiting for them. He sat next to Stephen's body and Genesis gasped. "If I dropped cold water on it, would you feel it?"
Stephen frowned as he suddenly disappeared. Wong and Genesis stood silently, waiting for something to happen. She glanced at his body on the mattress and kneeled down next to it.
Her hand removed a stray hair in his cheek and Wong side-smiled. Suddenly, Stephen's body gasped for air as he regained conscienceness. He gave his head a shake as his heart rate felt like it was increasing in speed.
His eyes met Genesis' and she nodded her head at him. "Hey."
"Hey," he replied, mindlessly.
Wong kneeled down by the mattress too. "Did you see anything? Anything to give us answers?"
Stephen sat up, and closed his eyes in defeat. Wong understood. He sighed as he patted Stephen on the back.
"Wong, can you prepare a room for her? She's going to be staying with us. It's a start," Stephen said as he got off the mattress.
He nodded obediently, and left the two alone. Genesis folded her arms as Stephen rubbed the back of his neck. Rough landing, despite the mattress, he thought.
"So, what are you seeing? In my dreams?"
He narrowed his eyes in confusion. "You want me to tell you what you already know?"
"Well, I mean, I guess I'm trying to ask...what you're interpreting. Like, based on what you see, what do you think it is? Is it the future or a metaphor?"
She had to admit, seeing Stephen in normal clothes was off-putting. He rubbed his nose and said, "I don't really know. The one thing that keeps popping up is...me."
"Okay," she said, waiting for more.
"I thought it meant that I was going to help you in some way, but I'm the one who's in danger in the dreams. I just haven't seen far enough to understand why," he said as he sat in a chair, resting his chin on his fist.
The other thing Genesis remembered was the eye that he wore on his neck. And, the voice. The one that told her to save him from the eye. But why?
"It's late. I should study and you should get some sleep. I won't venture further into your mind tonight. You've had enough," he said as he got up.
"You gotta be honest with me, Strange. That's all I'm going to ask for," she commented as he was about to go up the stairs.
He didn't turned to face her as he stood there. "All I ask is that you trust me. You don't have to be afraid. We'll fix this."
She watched him hustle up the stairs and digested his words. She ventured through the rooms until she found Wong clearing out some relics from a room and she gave him a hand.
They brought in the mattress from downstairs and he gave her a wash cloth to dust the empty shelves.
"What does that cliff mean to him?"
Wong blinked and stopped dusting. "What?"
"The cliff by the ocean, remember? He took me there and I noticed him look calmer than before."
"As far as I know, it's just a quiet place he goes to meditate," Wong replied with a shrug.
"Makes sense. Do you know much about his...personal life? You know, like family?"
Wong cleared his throat. "I think these questions will be answered with time."
She bit her lip. "Right, sorry. I just think I should know more about the guy trying to read my mind."
"He can be trusted. That is all you need to know for now. With time, I believe he will need as much help from you as you do from him."
They cleaned for another hour until they managed to make it comfy enough for her to sleep in. That night, she didn't have any dream but stayed up trying to interpret what they were about.