Stephen

For the second time in his career as Master of the Mystic Arts, Stephen was the designated spokesperson voted to bargain with a universe wide threat.

He stood in the courtyard of Kamar Taj since it was decided that would be the best place for the confrontation. The place had magical defenses of all sorts to handle trouble just in case things went tits up. It had no shortage of hiding places, which the Avengers, Eternals, and the Guardians were taking full advantage of. Now all he had to do was try to get the Beyonder's attention, and hope he succeeded where everyone had failed so many times.

"Don't you think I've attempted many times over the past months to contact him? What makes you think I'll succeed now?" He had asked when they voted him as the bait—er, the spokesman.

"You're the Sorcerer Supreme, Doc."

Stephen shook his head at Stark. "Wong is."

"But you would have been if not for the Snap," Ajak had pointed out. "And even Wong has said you are better suited for the job. The Beyonder will be more likely to listen to you, as a representative of humanity…something that seems to matter since he's apparently obsessed with humans. No doubt it is why we have been unsuccessful."

"Hey! I'm human and so is Captain Sparklefists." Tony gestured towards Carol.

"But you stepped back to allow the younger generation to take over."

"Copperfield is my a—"

"And Captain Marvel is more concerned with the rest of our universe outside of Earth," Ajak continued as though Tony hadn't said anything.

Stephen looked around, doing one last reconnaissance before he sighed and joined the others prior to his attempt to contact the menace they were desperate to get rid of.

All of the Avengers save for Rogers were present, all of them dressed for duty. The Eternals were each there. There were other miscellaneous vigilantes as well, including the tan-skinned, black-haired man dressed in a brilliant white suit chatting up Gabriel, who was here to represent the angels. Stephen was glad that Gabriel was the one to be here. Out of all of the Archangels, Gabriel came across as the most approachable and least intimidating, despite his looks. That was in evidence by the way the young man speaking in the British accent was talking to them now. Normally Steven Grant was the timidest of the multiple individuals living in that body, but as Stephen approached, he heard Grant request "So, may I see your wings?"

Gabriel didn't let on at all that he was either annoyed nor amused. He merely called in his wings, the feathered appendages starting pitch black at the shoulders and the upper curves before the black very gradually faded to varying shades of gray, the gray fading until the very tips of the primaries were white.

"So, these actually hold you aloft?" Grant inquired, turning his head as he studied the feathers, his eyes a portrait in fascination. It was something Stephen found endearing about Grant, that childlike desire to discover new things and analyze them. Over the past ten months since meeting him, he and Grant often spent hours into the night talking about history, archaeology, and other subjects the two of them had mutual interests in and slowly became friends. When neither of them were busy in their respective capacities that was-he as a Master of the Mystic Arts and protector of his reality, him in his role as avatar of the Egyptian deity of the moon.

"We have to use magic to aid our flight. Even with our hollow bones, our wings..."

"...are too small to hold you up, yes I can see that," Grant nodded. "M-may I touch?"

Gabriel's wings vanished. "I would prefer it if you did not." Grant nodded and politely backed away, though he didn't hide his surprise at an angel stating a preference. Most of them never did.

"They are rather touchy about those things," the looming figure that looked like a giant skeletal bird dressed in rags that had been trailing Steven observed. "I never really understood why."

"They are very sensitive to touch and it is a privilege we only allow those to whom we are close," Gabriel answered.

The figured paused. Then, with his booming voice sounding shocked: "You can hear me?"

"I am an archangel. Yes, I can hear and see you." Gabriel didn't give any other outward indication of feeling insulted, but Stephen could still almost hear the affront in their voice, as could Grant judging by the way his brown eyes widened. Stephen could perceive Khonshu too, he just didn't let on that he could.

"I can hear you as well," Loki spoke up. "Turn down the volume, would you?" He went back to gazing out the window while turning his head, stretching and cracking his neck. "Some of us do not need a headache on top of all the other tension we are feeling."

"It is not my fault you lesser gods are so touchy and sensitive like any mortal," Khonshu stated in response to Loki's reprimand. Grant was looking back and forth between the two gods, no doubt wondering if he needed to duck out of the line of fire, leave before Khonshu roped him in, or step back and let Marc, another person who inhabited his body, deal with the nonsense.

"At least we can fight our own battles rather than having to rely on possessing mortals to do our dirty work for us."

"Um...now see here..." Grant started to speak up, sounding mildly put off.

"No, of course you do not," Khonshu retorted sardonically. "You just stab them to death."

Loki didn't even glare, which Stephen knew was a feat on the part of the Trickster. But he did look to his brother. "Come, Thor. Let us see if there is any food in this place. I am suddenly experiencing a craving for chicken."

Grant wheezed and had a sudden coughing fit that sounded suspiciously like he was trying to cover up a laugh. Gabriel blinked, their only reaction to Loki's display of sass. Stephen didn't say anything, not even to tell Khonshu to stop growling. Loki was having a very difficult time, and it was preferable that he take it out on fellow deities rather than helpless humans. Besides, as he had just demonstrated, Loki was more than capable of defending himself...he didn't need anyone else doing it for him.

The others in the room had no idea what was going on and were giving the two Asgardians leaving for the kitchens and Steven, with whom they wanted in on the joke, odd looks. All save one, who did his best to remain stealthy as he came up behind Stephen, though Stephen knew he was there. "If you're going to try to sneak up on people, you may want to oil that armor. It creaks."

The Latverian ignore the crack. "What are you doing in here, Stephen? Should you not be out there attempting to contact the Beyonder? Or are you having second thoughts? Perhaps I..."

"The last person who needs to be representing humanity is you," Stephen responded.

"On the contrary, I think I am the perfect representative for humanity, as an example of the perseverance of the human spirit. After all, I arose from nothing to being the Monarch of my great nation."

"Its Dictator, you mean," Stephen practically snarled. The man before him had turned his nation of Latveria into a Utopia. No crime, no poverty, no hunger, universal healthcare, equal rights for LGBTQ people and other minorities, no homelessness, free college for every child born within the borders. There was also no freedom of expression, totalitarian curfews all citizens had to follow, compulsory military service, and then there was the fact that the ruler did all sorts of despicable things in order to get to where he was now.

He was a powerful sorcerer, and in fact was third in line to be Sorcerer Supreme. No one wanted him in that position. He also wasn't afraid to use technology. Latveria was actually one of the most technologically advanced places on Earth, at least as far as the palace and defenses were concerned. The citizens however lived like it was still the 1950s.

He was Victor von Doom and Stephen couldn't stand him. He would rather have Loki as a roommate than have to deal with Doom for even five minutes.

"The point is," Doom said, not rising to the bait. "If you do not think you are sorcerer enough to face-"

"It's not sorcery that's going to help here, but I appreciate the advice. Shouldn't you be the test subject in a metal detector factory somewhere?"

He walked away before he let the despot drag him down any further. Hell, who was he kidding...Stephen had no excuse for sinking to the level he did except that he didn't like Doom and let his temper slip. Not exactly stellar behavior for a Master of the Mystic Arts. He was about to check on Wanda but saw that she was talking to Romanoff, Belova, Barnes, and Wilson. The witch looked relaxed, and even almost cracked a smile while talking to the group, which gave Stephen some measure of relief. The world could not afford to have someone as powerful as her to spiral emotionally in the depths of depression, trauma, and guilt. He still didn't like that she was the Scarlet Witch. He liked it even less that she had absorbed lessons from the Dark Hold. But what was done was done, and now all he could do was make sure Wanda kept to the right path and didn't go insane from the nature of the magics contained in that tome. So far, she seemed to be doing okay. Westview had been a wakeup call and she'd been careful not to slip since then.

He went to the kitchen to fortify himself with a brandy or something to find Thor and Loki there, but not eating chicken. They weren't eating period. Stephen didn't say anything to them, just poured a shot of brandy and threw it back. There really wasn't anything he could say to offer comfort to Loki, comfort which the god wouldn't accept anyway.

Finally, it was time to stop stalling.

"This petition goes to the Beyonder." Stephen didn't shout. If the Beyonder really was omnipotent, the cosmic being would hear Stephen even if he just thought the words. "I am proposing a parlay. We are prepared to give you what you want."

Silence. Of course.

Stephen felt like an idiot standing there, essentially talking to air. This was ridiculous. If nothing else the Beyonder was really good at making them all humiliate themselves.

"And what exactly," a deceptively tenor voice stated, "Makes you think that I simply cannot take what I want?"

Stephen had to work not to just spin around in shock. He hadn't even sensed the presence arrive. Hadn't picked up a damn thing.

The Beyonder's appearance was that of a tall man with broad shoulders, muscular forearms, and a broad chest incased in a button up white shirt. His trim but muscular lower body was hugged by a pair of black slacks. He had black hair and deep blue eyes. Women and men who swung that way would probably consider him hot.

It wasn't the physical appearance Stephen paid attention to. It was the power, the sheer unadulterated power. Stephen didn't let his fear show. Thanos with all of the Infinity Stones paled in comparison to what he was picking up from the Beyonder. Thanos at least could be stopped by having his hand movements restricted. The Beyonder didn't need to snap his fingers to wipe him out of existence. The Beyonder could do so with a thought.

He had to tread very, very lightly.

"I figure if you could, you would have done it by now. You're the All-Powerful Beyonder, the being who plays with reality like it's your favorite boardgame. What's stopping you from just taking it?" Stephen knew by the glint in the Beyonder's eye that he was coming dangerously close to testing the godlike being, but as long as the Beyonder's attention was on him then the others should be alright. Stephen was starting to get the sense that bringing everyone here was a serious mistake.

They thought they would have the edge with numbers.

Instead, their plans might have just made all of them fish in a barrel.

The Beyonder paused, tilting his head. "You would not happen to know anything about the strange shield that has taken this universe out of sync enough that I can no longer manipulate this reality as easily?"

Stephen kept his mouth shut.

"It's not often I come across something that can hamper me so. However, in my explorations, I have come to realize that it is a structure being powered by something, or someone, who is just barely hanging on by their fingernails as all of that power is being siphoned through them. You wouldn't happen to know who that is?"

Stephen didn't even think it, he didn't dare. He kept his mind completely blank, and hoped everyone else was doing the same.

Unfortunately, the Beyonder turned his head in the direction of one of the stronghold's outer buildings. "Oh my. Someone did not like me asking those questions. I would dare say they are silently stewing in rage and are eager to liquify my internal organs. Joke's on them: I don't have any."

Damn it, Loki. Stephen knew the god couldn't help it, but he had to realize that if he didn't get his emotions under control, he could put his wife in danger! If nothing else it was most likely a mistake to allow Loki to come, but the Jotun sorcerer had insisted, had wanted to see the neutralization of this threat through since Tracy was involved.

The Beyonder waved it away like an annoying insect. "Let him stew. As I have stated, the individual in question doesn't have a lot of time left. They will die, the shield will collapse, and all will be back to normal."

Stephen could feel a sense of dread building in the pits of his bowels.

"So, you see," the Beyonder grinned. "I do not need anything from you. I am a patient being and will be able to take what I want in time. But for the moment, I do have the ability to at least entertain myself."

For the second time in his career, Stephen's stomach lurched at the sight of a thumb and a forefinger coming together to snap. "N-"

He stepped forward, but he wasn't in Kamar Taj anymore. He looked around at the quiet suburban neighborhood on the outskirts of New York City. He knew it was New York City because it was familiar.

It was winter, with everything covered in snow. Houses, cars, yards. There were the salt trucks going down the street. His breath came out in puffs of frost as he stared around.

No. Don't be that day. Don't be th-

"Hurry up Stephen, the ice will melt by the time we get there!" The pretty young girl hopped out of the backdoor of the house with the storm door slamming in her wake, her dark blonde hair in a ponytail, blue eyes twinkling with laughter and mischief. A pair of ice skates dangled from one mitten-clad hand, ear muffs adorned her head, and she laughed as she ran towards the woods.

"Donna," Stephen whispered. "Donna, no."

He ran after her, hoping to stop the inevitable. Hoping that this time he could save his sister.

Steve

"Where did they go?" Steve stared at the blank screen where before there had been dozens of colored dots representing the various individuals who went to Kamar Taj. "Shuri?"

"I'm not sure," the Wakandan princess answered. The holo projected image of her showed Steve that she was in as much of a panic as he was. One moment, everyone had been there and they were listening in on Steve's confrontation with the Beyonder. The next, they'd all vanished.

It was déjà vu, and Steve didn't like it. He liked it even less that he was sitting on his ass here at Avengers HQ monitoring the situation, instead of...

Instead of what, Rogers? You're just a man, and the Beyonder...there's nothing you could have done...

Too bad he wasn't wholly convinced that he couldn't have done anything.

He ached to go to Kamar Taj, to help in some way, but he knew he would only be a liability. "Shuri..."

"I am dispatching the rest of the Dora Milaje and have my systems working on it. We'll find them Steve." Shuri didn't sound completely convinced though. Which just mean that the two of them were on the same page.

Loki

He knew it was an illusion the moment he looked around to find that he was home. Not the New York penthouse, not his cabin in New Asgard. Home-home, as in the palace in Asgard where he grew up and spent his life thinking he was an Odinson.

Even though he knew it wasn't real, his heart still ached as he gazed at the familiar surroundings, took in the details that made it seem so real. But if he didn't already know that it was fake, the fact that his Pet was there would have solidified it. She had never been to Asgard, which had been destroyed long before she made her way to this universe.

He knew it wasn't her. He couldn't feel her, but his other senses were close to being fooled. She looked, sounded, even smelled like her. Something was off however, and he was able to pinpoint what when he saw the coldness in her eyes, the perfectly twisted hair, the precise cut of the pantsuit she was wearing. He didn't know why the angels were providing her clothing like that instead of making her dress like the rest of them. Perhaps it was more comfortable to sit in while she maintained that shield.

"You are not my wife."

"Are you sure?" She stared at him without blinking.

"You're an illusion, a projection pulled out of my mind. Just as the rest of this is," Loki's gesture took in the entirely of Asgard.

"Or maybe I'm a hard truth that you need to face."

Loki narrowed his eyes at the fake-Tracy, and waited for it to play its games, whatever they might be.

"If I'm a projection, then why do I look like this, I wonder? Could it be that you are aware that, with Silence, I am who I was always meant to be?"

Loki shook his head. "No. You are not." It wasn't just that he refused to believe it. It was that he knew her.

"But I am an angel, and angels are Silent." She tilted her head. "Did you ever think that maybe I'm better this way?"

"You're not."

"Oh? Before, I was insane, having constant post-traumatic flashbacks, reduced to a cringing mess whenever I saw angel wings, crying because I was constantly overwhelmed with my empathic abilities. Now? Now I'm in control of myself. I'm efficient." She shrugged. "You were just holding me back, and truthfully it is probably better this way. Your way, we would have been together for a while, but your lifespan would probably be at most...what? Ten, twenty thousand years? While I will live forever. Eventually you would have died and broken my heart, and since you've ruined me for everyone else, I would have never loved again. I would have spent the rest of eternity alone and miserable."

"Don't you think I have thought of that? I have spent hours leafing through every text I know, trying to find an answer. There are ways to extend my lifespan, I just have to find them." Loki waved his hand. "Enough. The real Tracy would never say these things to me, although she knows they weigh heavily upon me. You are not her, and I will not humor this charade any longer."

The illusion-Tracy's mouth twisted and then she faded away. So did the illusion Asgard.

Loki blew out a breath. "Right. I see what is going on." If he ended up here faced with illusions trying to manipulate his worst fears, scare him into complying and providing the Beyonder with some twisted entertainment or worse, than the others were no doubt in the same boat.

"I suppose it is up to me. Typical." Then he began searching for a way out.