Chapter 6:
Stephen floated through the Astral Dimension, searching for any sign of the girl. Something like this could not possibly have occurred without several major factors coming into play, he reasoned. Something must have happened to this kid in order for her mind to be used as a gateway- an emotional trauma, perhaps. Also, someone or something had to purposefully manipulated the girl in order to rip through the fabric of their dimension. This was no accident. It was all the part of a larger plan and Stephen had to stop it before it could come to fruition.
Having searched the apartment and found no trace of the girl, he floated through the front door and into the hall. He searched all the way up to the top floor where he finally came to a rusted old doorway that led to the roof. It had been cracked open a foot, indicating someone was out there.
Entering the roof, Stephen made his way between a bank of tall air conditioning units and rigged up satellites. At the other end of the rooftop, he spotted the girl. She was waif thin, tan-skinned like her mother, with long, black curly hair. She was sitting on the edge of the coping facing the street, her feet dangling over the side. He cautiously approached, trying his best not to scare her.
"Hey," he said, coming up next to her. Below them were the car pileup and the rubble in the street. The police were just getting on the scene; fire trucks and ambulance sirens could be heard in the distance.
The girl whipped around to face him, surprised to see anyone else there with her.
"W-who are you?" She asked, backing away skeptically. The girl's reaction reminded Stephen of a stray cat that didn't want to be handled.
"My name is Doctor Stephen Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts. What's your name?"
"It's Marianna," the girl muttered, her eyes red from tears. "What are you doing here?"
"There's a long story behind all that... but the short of it is I'm going to help you get back to the physical world."
"What if I don't want to go back?" She said, obstinately, as she fought back the tears that were welling up in her eyes.
Stephen's brow furrowed, as he looked down at the girl. "Why wouldn't you?"
Marianna shook her head, her angry gaze drawn down to her hands. "You can't help me. Just go away."
"Well, I am a doctor. So try me," Stephen told her before taking a seat next to her.
"Fine, it won't matter anyway," said Marianna, seeming quite certain of that fact. "I can… I can feel other people's emotions. I know what's going on inside them."
"How long have you been an empath?" Asked Stephen.
"Empath? Jeez, you really are a doctor, aren't you?" She said sarcastically.
"Rude, but continue." Stephen answered, pointedly.
The teenager hesitated a moment before speaking again. "It started when my grandpa died a year ago. Ever since the funeral my mom's been like a zombie. It's like she's not even there. A couple weeks ago we had a big fight. I said some horrible things and she slapped me. That's when it all came rushing in- her loneliness, her anger. I could feel everything. It hurt so bad, like staring into the sun."
"What did you fight about?" Stephen asked.
"Her depression. I told her she was a bad mom, that she might as well be dead too. Now she thinks I hate her."
"Is that why you're here?" He asked, slowly beginning to understand.
Marianna shook her head, her dark curls falling into her eyes. "No. I started feeling other people's emotions too. It was slow at first but the more my powers grow, the worse everything becomes. It's too much to take in. I get these blinding migraines and I can't sleep at night because I keep having horrible nightmares that keep me awake. All my classmates think I'm a freak now because one day I was so tired, I fell asleep in class and had a night terror. They said it was like I was possessed… that everything in the room went dark and I wouldn't stop screaming."
"Wait," Stephen stopped her. "Did you say the other students could see your nightmare?"
Marianna nodded, "They said it was like something was radiating out of me- like a kind of darkness. It happens at home too. No one wants to be seen with me now and my teachers just want my mom to send me to a therapist."
This was worse than Stephen thought. Obviously there was more at play here than a mutant coming into her powers. The nightmares seemed to be a separate symptom of that. Someone took advantage of her burgeoning mutant abilities and used them as the catalyst for the dimensional breach. Whoever caused it must have tried to do it before, like the episode she described in the classroom.
"I'm sorry this is happening," said Stephen. "But I think I have an idea of what's going on. For me to fix it, I have to return you to your body."
"I already told you, it's too late," Marianna snapped. "Besides, my life is already ruined. I can't go back."
"Look," sighed Stephen. He had hoped convincing the kid wasn't going to be this difficult. "You're what, twelve?"
"Fourteen," She grumbled, insulted by his mistake.
"Even crappier," Stephen snorted, recalling the hell that was his teenage years. "I know it's lonely, being the only one like you. But just because you're different doesn't mean you're alone. There are other kids out there with mutant abilities you couldn't begin to imagine. Some of them even grow up to be heroes."
"What, like the X-Men? That's all tabloid crap. They say that Bigfoot is real too."
God, this girl was a cynic, Stephen thought. He'd probably like the kid if she wasn't so stubborn.
"What about magic?" He asked, waving his hands in an intricate pattern as he traced out a golden spell in the air. Once he was finished, the spell disappeared in a shower of sparks. "Because obviously that's not real."
Marianna could not hide the wonder behind her eyes. For Stephen, It was like watching himself see magic for the first time. Finally he was making some headway.
"But what about my mom?" she asked. "She's afraid of me."
"She just doesn't know what's going on. Have you actually tried talking to her?"
The young girl paused, her eyes downcast. It was always too hard for her to try and explain. Besides, she doubted her mother would have believed her anyway. But maybe if Dr. Strange could back her up, it would be easier.
"... no." She admitted guiltily.
"That's step one. Step two, well, that's going to be a bit harder," he said, running his fingers through his hair.
Marianna cocked her head to the side, "Why, what is it?"
"I know of a school where everyone is like you. The headmaster teaches young mutants to control their powers. It wouldn't be too hard tracking them down. But I hear they're very strict on who they allow in but maybe I can pull some strings and get you accepted."
Really, what he was thinking was that he'd pull his clout as Sorcerer Supreme and get her accepted. It was a bit hard to refuse the person in charge of protecting reality.
"You would really do that?" The teenager asked, seeming hopeful.
"Of course. I'm a firm believer in getting a good education," Stephen joked.
"You're so weird," the girl muttered, rolling her eyes.
"Thanks," said Stephen, as he smirked wryly in response.
"But even if you could do all that… I…"
Marianna's breath caught in her throat as she tried to find the words to tell him what she had done. Suddenly, she broke down into tears. Turning away from him, she hid her face in her hands.
"What's wrong?" Stephen asked, disturbed by her sudden one-eighty. Quickly heading over to her, he took her shoulders in his shaky hands and tried to get her to look at him. "Marianna, look at me."
"I'm sorry. I just... I just wanted it to be over. There was not other way out so I- I took all my sleeping pills!" She cried, completely panicked now. "I told you it was too late!"
Stephen's heart dropped into his stomach then. All the pieces fell into place as the realization hit him like a freight train. Of course that's what she'd meant before. It explained everything- the reason why the breach was able to be made this time and not when she was merely dreaming, her low heart rate and vital signs, her astral form leaving her body. It was all because she was trying to kill herself. He felt like such an idiot.
"I might be able to fix this. But we're going to have to hurry," he told her before grabbing her hand and floating over the side of the building.
They were now in a race against the clock. He only hoped things were going well on Clea's end. Little did he know, he had the easy job.
AN: Give me some of that sweet FFR (Favor, Follow, and Review). Things just got serious here in Chapter 6. However, it's chapter 7 when shit really hits the fan! We'll finally meet the villain. I'm really excited! Hope you like what I've written so far.