"Oh my gosh." Wanda gasped and brought a hand to her mouth.
"Is it even possible for a Midgardian to survive a fall that high?" Thor asked.
"It shouldn't be." Bruce said.
Stephen ran through the hospital hallway with a stretcher next to him.
"Christine!" He screamed.
"Are you kidding me?" She rolled her eyes and turned to him, her annoyed expression changing to one of dread. "Oh my god."
"How many times do you call her for medical help?" Rhodey asked.
"Not a lot…" Stephen shrugged. "I've only done it once… or twice…"
"Only once or twice?" Christine said incredulously. "Try every week."
"Well, what do you expect me to do?" Stephen asked.
"I dont know, but you can't come to me all the time. I'm going to get fired!" Christine said.
"Fine. Fine. Next time I get hurt I'll just die." Stephen said sarcastically.
"Drama queen!" Christine rolled her eyes. "Isn't there some sort of healing technique or something?"
"The healing spell is only theoretical." Wong said. "It's untested and therefore dangerous."
"Seriously? You guys can teleport and fly, but you can't heal yourselves?" Wanda asked.
"That's pathetic." Loki rolled his eyes. "I can think of twelve different healing spells off the top of my head."
"How would you know that?" Wong asked.
"Midguardians have only scratched the surface of the different possibilities for magical properties." Loki smirked. "I have a couple Asguardian textbooks that I might be willing to lend to your school."
"Great!" Wong said.
"No, Wong, not great. There's always secret motive with him." Stephen sighed. "What do you want, Loki?"
"How about a few days to study the Time Stone?" Loki suggested.
"No!" Clint shouted. "You can't possibly consider giving him even two seconds with an Infinity Stone. Not unless you want another attack on New York."
"Watch how you speak." Thor warned.
"Legolas, we've been over this. Reindeer Games wasn't completely at fault for New York." Tony said.
"I dont care. I still hate you." Clint growled.
"The feelings mutual, bird boy." Loki smirked.
"I'd like to see how calm you are when I turn you into a pincushion of arrows." Clint snapped.
"Ooh, a threat. How fun!" Loki smirked and leaned back in his seat casually. "Tell me, how would your wife and kids feel about that?"
Clint jumped up in his seat and tried to lunge forward, only to be held back by Natasha.
"Stop aggravating him, Loki." Thor sighed.
"Who, me?" Loki asked innocently. "All I did was ask a simple question."
"How about this?" Shuri said. "We finish this movie, and then you two can do your useless fighting as much as you want."
"No fibrillation…" Stephen shouted as nurses wheeled her into the operating room; Christine following closely.
"It's neurogenic?" Christine asked.
"Yes." Stephen gasped.
In the operating room Stephen put on surgeon gloves and picked up a scalpel. He was about to perform surgery, but he looked at his trembling hands and shook his head.
"Nick?" Stephen held out the scalpel. Nick looked surprised but walked over to him. "We need to relieve the pressure on her brain."
Suddenly her heartbeat monitor dropped to 0.
"We're losing her!" Christine cried.
"You need to increase her oxygen!" Stephen suggested.
"I need a crash cart!" A nurse said.
"Her pupils are dilated!" Said another.
"No reflexes." Nick called. "I'm not reading any brain activity."
Suddenly the Ancient Ones astral form flew out of her body, unnoticed by the doctors. Stephen watched her go and then he too went into his astral form. His body fell backwards in slow motion as Stephens astral form followed her out.
"What is she doing?" Peter asked.
"I'd tell you, but I dont feel like getting pelt by pillows." Stephen sighed. Clint grinned and juggled with a couple of his infinite supply of pillows.
She was floating on a balcony, watching the sky. Stephen floated through the wall and hovered next to her.
"What are you doing?" He asked. "You're dying! You have to return to your body now. You don't have time-"
"Time is relative." She smiled and shook her head. "Your body hasn't even hit the floor yet. I've spent so many years peering through time, looking at this exact moment. But I can't see past it. I've prevented countless terrible futures. And after each one, there's always another. And they all lead here, but never further."
"You think this is where you die." Stephen said slowly.
"Do you wonder what I see in your future?" She asked.
"No." Stephen shook his head. She gave him a knowing look. "Yes."
"I never saw your future. Only its possibilities. You have such a capacity for goodness. You've always excelled, but not because you crave success, but because of your fear of failure."
"It's what made me a great doctor."
"It's precisely what kept you from greatness. Arrogance and fear still keep you from learning the simplest and most significant lesson of all."
"Which is?"
"It's not about you." She said. "When you first came to me, you asked me how I was able to heal Jonathan Pangborn. I didn't. He channels dimensional energy directly into his own body."
"He uses magic to walk?"
"Constantly. He had a choice, to return to to his own life or to serve something greater than himself."
"So, I could have my hands back again? My old life?"
"You could. And the world would be all the lesser for it." She turned and smiled at him. "I've hated drawing power from the Dark Dimension. But as you well know, sometimes one must break the rules in order to serve the greater good."
"Or break the rules just for a little fun." Bucky smiled.
"Yeah!" Tony cheered. He and Bucky fistbumped.
"Wait." Peter said. "What about-"
"No, not you." Tony said. "You follow the rules. Remember rule number one?"
"Dont get myself killed." Peter said.
"No, the other one." Tony said.
"Dont do anything you would do, and definitely dont do anything you wouldn't do. There's a small area grey area where I operate." Peter recited.
"Good." Tony said and patted him on the back.
"Uh… that doesn't make any sense, Tony." Nat said.
"It totally makes sense." Tony insisted. "Doesn't it?"
"...yes?" Peter said slowly.
"See? It makes sense." Tony crossed his arms and leaned back triumphantly.
"Mordo won't see it that way."
"Mordo's soul is rigid and unmovable, forged by the fires of his youth. He needs your flexibility, just as you need his strength. Only together do you stand a chance of stopping Dormammu."
"I'm not ready." Stephen shook his head.
"No one ever is. We don't get to choose our time. Death is what gives life meaning."
"Ugh. That sounds like something Wade would say." Peter groaned. "Just not in a motivational way. He would say that in a really ominous and life threatening way."
"Who's Wade?" Steve asked.
"Wade Wilson... is just… ugh..." Peter sighed. "Think of the most annoying, arrogant, self righteous person you know, and then multiply that by twenty."
"Surely you're exaggerating." Vision said.
"I wish I was." Peter groaned. "Ask Director Fury if you dont believe me."
"How do you know this guy?" Tony asked.
"Wolverine introduced me to him." Peter said casually.
"You know Wolverine?!" Clint asked. "Since when do you know Wolverine?!"
"I know all of the X-Men." Peter said. "I even took a tour of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. They offered me a scholarship, but I turned them down."
"What?!" Clint shouted. Everyone stared at Peter with their mouths agape. "You know the X-Men?! Do you realize how valuable they would be as an alley?"
"Yeah… I guess so…" Peter shrugged. "Wolverine is kinda scary, though. I only team up with them once or twice a month."
"Once or twice a month?!" Shuri squealed.
"Calm down, sister." T'Challa sighed.
"How come you get to know the X-Men and I dont?" Shuri asked. "I want to be introduced. I want to meat Storm, and Wolverine, and Gambit, and Wolverine, and Cy-"
"You've said Wolverine twice." Nat said.
"That's because he's THE WOLVERINE." Shuri said like it was a huge revelation.
"Wolverine is kinda grumpy." Peter said.
"Why is Wolverine so great?" Bucky asked.
"Why is Wolverine so great? Do you have an hour?" Shuri asked. A few people rolled their eyes. "Maybe cause he's the coolest superhero ever! Wolverine has Adamantium bones and claws! He can cut through Vibranium!"
"Awesome." T'challa rolled his eyes and twirled his finger in the air.
"Wolverine doesn't really like meeting new people." Peter said. "He's really, really, grumpy."
"What about Cyclops? Storm? Professor X? Rogue?" Shuri asked. "Do you know them?"
"Yes." Peter sighed.
"What about Deadpool?" Shuri asked.
"Ha! I do and I wish I didn't." Peter snorted.
"Guys, can we just watch the movie?" Wanda asked.
"Shhh." Shuri said. "I want to talk about X-Men. And then Peters gonna introduce me to them."
"I never said that!" Peter said.
"Later." T'Challa said. They all turned back to the movie, with the exception of Shuri who kept asking Peter questions about the X-Men.
"To know your days are numbered, your time is short. You'd think after all this time I'd be ready. But look at me, stretching one moment out into a thousand, just so I can watch the snow." She said as she gazed at the sky.
She reached down and squeezed Stephens hand. Stephen looked over at her with tear-filled eyes, just to see that she has disappeared.
Back at the operating room the Ancient Ones body is still and unmoving, her empty eyes staring ahead at nothing. The heartbeat monitor rings in the background, signalling that her heart has stopped. The doctors back up and take off their gloves with their eyes downcast.
"Is she dead?" Bucky asked. Stephen nodded stiffly.
"Awww." Peter said. "Thats so sad."
"Sorry, Stephen." Wanda said. Stephen shrugged and Christine gave him a consoling pat on the shoulder.
Stephen is washing his hands in the hospital sink like he did in the beginning of the movie, but this time without the confidence or joy. Christine walks in; pausing slightly at the sight of the Cloak of Levitation hovering nearby. She walks past it and stands next to Stephen.
Stephen reached over and grabed her hand without looking up.
"Are you okay?" She asks. Stephen turns to her after a moment and ducks his head. "I don't understand what's happening."
'I know. But I have to go right now." He says sadly. "You said that losing my hands didn't have to be the end, that it could be a beginning."
"Yeah."
Stephen put one hand on her shoulder and the other on her cheek, using his thumb to slowly wipe away her tears.
"Because there are other ways to save lives." She says.
"A harder way." Stephen whispers.
"A weirder way." She laughs.
Dr. Palmer, the ER, please. Dr. Palmer, the ER. The income said, interrupting their moment.
"I don't want you to go." Stephen mumbles. She slowly reached up and kisses him on the cheek. She smiles and gives him one last hug before leaving. Stephen stood still as she left, not saying a word.
"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" Peter and Shuri chanted.
"That was actually a private moment." Christine said and gestured at the screen. "So let's just pretend none of us saw that."
Peter and Shuri gave each other mischievous looks.
The Cloak of Levitation settled itself around Stephens shoulders. Stephen raised his head slowly to look in the mirror. He slowly reached up and pulled the collar of the cloak up, giving him a tougher look. For a moment he stood there, looking menacing and tough.
Then the Cloak reached a part of its collar over and tries to dry Stephens tears, completely erasing his tough look. Stephen jerks his head way, but the cloak continues to try to dry his eyes.
"...stop it...Stop." He growls as the cloak continued. "I'm not crying." He lied as he flicked the collar away.
.
The skyline of a large city is shown. "Hong Kong" Is written in big letters.
Kaecilius and two more henchmen march through a portal in a busy street. The march towards a building almost identical the the New York sanctum.
.
"Choose your weapon wisely." Wong orders as he picks up a small glowing staff. He turns to many sorcerers standing together. "No one steps foot in this Sanctum. No one."