Yes, I'm late again, apologies (I know they seem pointless by now, but what can I say? RL is a bitch, and we all know that).

For this chapter I give you warnings for mention of past-tragedy, past death (that of children, nothing graphic, and no characters you know, but still).

I'm not sure if the timeline for the bulk of this story has been made clear, but in case it hasn't, here goes: Stephen has his car accident in early January of 2016, that's less than eight weeks before the time-travel, and not quite four months before the HYDRA reveal. Which means that yes, that happens when he's no longer a surgeon; but consider this, at that point Stephen was a former-surgeon with still a lot of money, who refused to give up his old life, who kept doing anything and everything he could to try and get it back... that determination (lets call it stubbornness, why not?) was simply another reason for Hydra to target him.

The fight against Dormammu took place on January 2017, yes, exactly a year after the accident (it just seemed right in my head). He spent about six months or so training in the Mystic Arts beforehand (I did all the calculations, enough time to make him still a genius, but not exaggerating... also, there needed to be time when he tried Western methods to heal his hands).

The thing in Sokovia (the last chapter of Bouquet of Roses) takes place in late July of 2017... it will be brought up here. And then we'll see how it goes.

This chapter is narrated in 3rd Person POV, because it was easier, as simple as that. You will also find Smallville cameos here, they follow things as they were set in "Bouquet of Roses".

This is the final chapter for this story, and it also marks the end for this phase in the Nightingale series. I'm currently beginning to work on the first AU of the next batch, but it's been a bit slow going, I hope to begin posting that in a month. We'll have four, maybe six AUs before coming back to the main timeline, for the fourth and final phase. My version of the Infinity War! (More on that in the end notes).

So, enjoy the chapter please!


The Gift of the Match

Love exists, beyond time, beyond space, beyond life and death...

Sometime after a late breakfast (or more like brunch, actually) found a very particular number of individuals meeting in a small sitting room in the NY Sanctum. The focus of attention seemed to be the couple on the love-seat, unabashedly curled into each other. Stephen Strange was wearing what had become his usual attire of brown and blue tunic; Levi floating behind the love-seat in consideration of the couple's choice of staying attached to each other. Helena had taken off her own cloak (which was not sentient), leaving her in a floor-length violet-and-blue gown with long, sheer sleeves and low heels; raven-black hair in a loose, thick braid resting almost carelessly over the opposite shoulder from where she was cuddling into the doctor/sorcerer.

Opposite from the couple, in the remaining couches, sat three sorcerers: Sachiko Nishimura, Wong and Tamara Walker. They were all staring at the couple with mixed feelings, though the only one who looked apparently happy about the unexpected development was the youngest. Sachiko in fact looked almost giddy.

"Who are you?" Tamara Walker, the only one who hadn't been present for the earlier discussion in Stephen's sleeping quarters, asked.

"She's Elaine!" Sachiko almost squealed. "She's Dr. Strange's girlfriend!"

Helena couldn't help herself, she giggled at the young woman's words. Stephen just rolled his eyes, in his mind, his beloved had never been something as... childish, almost plebeian as a 'mere' girlfriend... The word simply wasn't enough to wrap everything Elaine was to him.

"Delighted as I might be for your happiness and support of us, and your desire to protect my Stephanos earlier... you must be careful who you challenge, little one." Helena chided her gently. "Were I anyone else, I could have hurt you for trying to keep me from my match."

"Were you anyone else, you wouldn't be Dr. Strange's match." The girl replied with a hint of seriousness and wisdom that belied her years.

Helena had no response to that.

"You have to admit she's right about that one, cariad(beloved)..." Stephen quipped.

"You called him Stephanos." Tamara insisted. "That's not his name."

"Isn't it?" Helena arched a brow elegantly at her. "Tell me Miss Walker." The other woman actually startled at Helena's knowledge of her name. "What do you know about past lives? About reincarnation? About matches?"

No answer came, whether that was because Tamara knew nothing, refused to confess to her knowledge, or simply had no idea how to respond did not matter.

"So you're a match then?" Wong decided to get to the point.

"For longer than you will ever know, more than you could ever hope to comprehend." Helena answered with an almost wistful smile.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Walker seemed to take offense to that.

"She means no insult, Tamara." Stephen did his best to diffuse the situation. "But she's right. We have been together for so long no human could ever properly comprehend. Ages, in the most literal sense. Longer than our world has existed, even."

They were right, that was something that none of the other sorcerers could really comprehend.

Sachiko didn't even bother to try. As far as she was concerned, those two were soulmates, which meant they loved each other, and would make one another happy. That was enough for her, Dr. Strange deserved to be happy, after everything he'd done and kept doing to help them all. Truth was, Sachiko Nishimura wasn't a fool, or blind, she noticed things. Like the tension between Dr. Strange and the ER doctor who at times helped them: Christine Palmer. She knew that at some point they had to have been more than friends. At some point but no more. She'd also noticed how Stephen had been so interested in dropping by the hospital for the first few months, and then no more. He'd been sad for a while, but eventually got over it. And then his dreams had started. She'd worried about him, about the nightmares that caused him such pain Sachiko couldn't help but feel the backlash all the way from her room, even when she tried not to intrude. She'd been so worried, for what felt like so long... and yet in that moment she felt nothing but contentment and peace coming from Stephen, and that made her very happy indeed.

"If you're his soulmate, why didn't you come before?" Tamara wasn't willing to just accept things.

It was somewhat ironic, for a sorcerer of all people to be considered a skeptic... but then again, Tamara had the proof of the existence of magic at her own fingertips, but soulmates? Not so much, especially considering her own past experiences when it came to love.

"I didn't come because I don't belong here." Helena explained very quietly, looking at no one but Stephen, willing him to understand. "My current life... I'm not from this world. I have slight connections, due to who my parents are, and the people they know. But I'm not from here, and the laws of the universe state I cannot interfere with your lives, with any lives, unless someone pulls me into it all. I've been around, watching over Stephen, and to a lesser degree over the rest of you for a while now, but I couldn't reveal myself, not until now."

"He called to you." Wong realized. "That's why you came. Why you finally revealed yourself."

"Yes." Helena nodded. "He remembered me... somehow..."

"Dormammu." Stephen practically spat the name. "All my deaths... I've been remembering you since then. Remembered our past lives, and even the current one, the fact that you were there all along, even if I couldn't see you at the time. I even created a spell that combined shaping illusions with energy manipulation and some other things to create drawings of you, to try and find you. It's been driving me crazy!" He shook his head ruefully. "Yet it was until I touched your hand that my mind righted itself and I could fully remember. My dreams put it all into perspective and when I woke up... I could think of nothing but you."

"I heard you." Helena answered simply.

"You say you don't belong here." Wong commented, thoughtfully. "Who are you miss?"

"Oh, I do have a legal identity in this world, though I hardly use it." Helena said with a light shrug. "My name is Helena Miriel Salani-Hvedrungr." She made a pause before adding. "I am also Helena Lokidottir..."

"Loki..." Wong began, then broke off as realization hit him.

Sachiko looked like she was about to squeal all over again. Before her was standing a veritable goddess! And not just that, the daughter of the god of mischief and lies! Her favorite Norse god ever! It was amazing!

xXx

It wasn't easy. Not everyone believed Helena's story, even with Stephen backing her. Then again, things like past lives, reincarnations and a love that was supposed to have lasted for more years than anyone could successfully count... it was a bit much for most. Sachiko appeared to be an exception, so bright and full of hope and life, and willing to believe that there really was more to the universe than most knew, that true love existed and there was a chance she might one day find her One True Love.

Walker was completely against, while Master Turner claimed there were stories in the libraries in Kamar-Taj that supported Helena's stories. Wong wasn't particularly inclined one way or the other, though he respected Stephen enough to support him anyway. The rest of the Order weren't told all the details, there was really no need. All they knew was that Helena Salani-Hvedrungr was a sorceress of great skill, her magic was different from theirs, but still very strong. Her parents were sorcerers too, traveling and unreachable (only Stephen knew that they were off-planet); and her two younger siblings, while they were each gifted in their own ways, neither of them were sorcerers. Also, she and Stephen were together romantically.

Those at the NY Sanctum soon came to love Helena, her skill, and the way she was willing to help everyone with their training. She was very good at creating shields, which allowed others to train their stronger and more destructive spells with her without risk. She was also good at hand-to-hand, for those who preferred a more physical outlet for their stress. Still, no one quite knew just how strong she was, until one day...

Helena was with Sachiko and two other young sorcerers in the Mirror Dimension, guiding them through the practice of some volatile spells. There had been more of that since her arrival to the Sanctum, as Stephen was no longer the only one who helped the younger sorcerers with such training (other experienced sorcerers, like Tamara Walker refused to do so, believing that young apprentices shouldn't take such risks... Stephen and Helena were of the belief that they would do it anyway, thus it was better if they had someone they could go to for help).

Things were actually going quite well. Sachiko was the one doing the teaching for the most part. Teaching the other two a spell that served to collapse the bent reality back into its original shape. It could be a good way to end a duel like the one Stephen had been involved in, before becoming the Sanctum's Master; though they still had to be careful that the ground they were standing on wasn't part of the 'reality' they were undoing. Helena was there mostly to make sure none of the young sorcerers got another, or themselves, killed.

When the attack came, no one was expecting it. They had known Mordo would quite probably be coming after them sooner or later, of course they'd known. And there had been other attacks before. They'd even discovered that Mordo was capable not only of stealing a specific sorcerer's magic and ability to use it, but he could also render all magics null in a certain area. That was the most dangerous part, because while the sorcerers themselves would get their power back when they moved away from the affected area (and, at least in the Mirror Dimension, the effect passed eventually), lesser magical objects became useless. Such was the case of the sling rings...

When Mordo attacked the two young apprentices were almost knocked out straight away, taken completely by surprise. Sachiko tried to open a portal back into the real world, only to have all magic canceled. So she dropped the useless ring and went to stand in between the rogue sorcerer and her two companions. She had no weapons and hand-to-hand wasn't really her forte, as she was a bit on the small side, barely above five feet (though Helena knew her Mama was actually a full inch shorter). Still, she wasn't about to leave her friends alone...

Mordo stood immobile for several seconds, looking at the girl (Sachiko was, in fact, in her early twenties still, one of the youngest sorcerers in the Order) like he couldn't quite believe what he was seeing. Sachiko herself was staring at him, an odd expression in her eyes. Helena knew something was going on, that she was missing something, but in the end she chose to push it aside for the time being, those young ones (they were little more than children in her eyes) were her charges, they were under her protection, and she wouldn't be letting Mordo (or anyone else) hurt them under her watch!

The moment came easy and fluid, almost instinctive in a way, as the delicate-looking golden chain that usually adorned Helena's dominant wrist slipped off it and into her hand; she grasped one end between two fingers before extending her arm and flicking her wrist forward. The chain unrolled in the air, extending magically with her own energy.

The whole thing happened in less than a second, Mordo never saw it coming, the chain slashed at him and he barely managed to move his head enough not to lose an eye to it, he still ended with a deep slash high on his left shoulder. It was then his eyes turned to her, he'd completely dismissed her at first, since she wasn't wearing the kind of tunics the Order did (instead she wore a floor-length blue gown and slippers) and felt nothing like those who used the Mystic Arts... then again, Helena's magic was Asgardian, and thus nothing like theirs.

"Who are you?" Mordo demanded.

"I am Helena Salani-Hvedrungr." The green-eyed woman introduced herself calmly. "Sorceress."

"That's impossible." Mordo stated instantly. "I would know..."

"That I'm not like you doesn't make my magic any less real." Helena stated in tone of lecture.

As if to prove a point she flicked her wrist, slashing the air before her; the chain came nowhere close to Mordo, yet a cut still appeared diagonally on his forest-green upper tunic.

"No!" Sachiko's cry was so sudden it caught everyone by surprise (even herself). "Don't hurt him..." She made a pause before adding. "You know Dr. Strange wouldn't want it."

"Stephen is sometimes kinder than he should." Helena muttered, obviously not agreeing, though she still addressed Mordo. "He still believes you can come back to our side..."

"He should know by now the path I'm now on is not one I can just walk away from." Mordo said stoically, eyeing Helena carefully.

"Like you couldn't walk away from the path you were previously on?" The goddess challenged. "From the Order? From Stephen?"

"You know nothing!" Mordo hissed.

"Maybe I don't, maybe I do." Helena shrugged. "I know Stephen saw you as a mentor, and as a friend. He still does. I know he still believes you to be a good man. Someone whose world view was affected so much... you chose to walk away. He believes that sooner or later you'll realize that you're on the wrong..."

"And what?" Mordo spat. "Go to him on my knees, begging for forgiveness?"

Helena realized something then, something that apparently most had missed, the person Mordo hated the most wasn't the Ancient One, or Stephen, not even the Order in general: it was himself.

"First you would need to ask yourself what it is you must beg forgiveness for." She told him, more kindly than before.

The rogue looked honestly shocked by her words.

"Go now, Karl Mordo." Helena told him serenely. "Today I have enough compassion in my heart to let you go. But know this, if you ever raise either hand, weapon or magic against my match again, or any of those under his and my protection... you will find that compassion turning to anger, and then we will see who gets to walk away."

"You don't scare me lady." Mordo scoffed. "I've fought more battles than you might know, was forced to kill for the first time when I was fifteen."

"If that is true, then I'm very sorry for the child you might have one day been, whose childhood was so viciously snuffed out, but it changes not my own wish to protect me and my own." Helena told him serenely. "And while you might have over two decades of battle experience under your belt... I've been in more wars than history knows of, than you could ever imagine. I am old, Sorcerer, older than you could imagine, older than your Ancient One even."

That one wasn't strictly true, at least not in her current life, but since she remembered every single life she'd had...

For a moment it looked like Mordo might say something else, but in the end he didn't. Helena did not miss the way he turned to look at Sachiko briefly, but soon enough he was gone.

"Now what?" Sachiko asked after almost a full minute in silence.

"Now we get back home." Helena told her calmly.

"My sling ring no longer works." Sachiko reminded her.

"I know." The goddess nodded.

She hadn't planned on revealing her shadow walking just yet. She didn't understand how it was possible, but in between his sudden return, his cry the next morning and her arrival they'd all managed to miss the fact that Stephen had gotten out of the Mirror Dimension without a sling ring... Helena knelt beside the two young people, touching each of them before motioning for Sachiko to do the same.

"This might make you feel a bit sick." She warned the girl. "I'm sorry about that."

And then they were falling through shadows.

xXx

It was all over the Sanctum, and even the Order as a whole, in the following days. Mordo's attack, Helena's defense of the young sorcerers, her skill with her weapon-of-choice, and the fact that she could move from the Mirror Dimension to the real world without need of a sling ring (which also brought up the fact that Stephen was capable of the same). Everyone knew, and not because of Sachiko that time, but because it'd have been near impossible the to hide the fact that something had happened when the sorcerers in question had pretty much dropped at Stephen Strange's feet while he was in a meeting with the most experienced sorcerers in his Sanctum (they'd been discussing the energy levels in the place, and thus the shield protecting the world). It hadn't been exactly planned, just instinctive for Helena to use him as focal point when shadow-walking.

However, as interested as many of the elder sorcerers were in the fact that Stephen and Helena could do something many of them believed to be impossible (and to think she hadn't told them about shadow-walking to other worlds, or the facts that both her parents could do it as well!), there was one other thing the majority of them focused on:

"You could have killed him." Yelan Li, Master of the Hong Kong Sanctum stated evenly.

"No, I couldn't have." Helena stated in the same tone.

"I understand your weapon might not be meant primarily for killing." The Chinese woman stated. "But a cut across the neck..."

"You don't understand." Helena interrupted, unable to help herself, then cringed at her own actions. "Yes, the chain can be used in such a way. But I didn't kill him, and I couldn't have."

Finally people began taking notice of her choice of words.

"I made a vow, many, many lifetimes ago." The Goddess of Grief and Hope explained quietly. "To never again end the life of a souled one..."

"Wouldn't it be easier to say no human life?" Someone at random asked.

"No." Stephen intervened. "Because not only humans have souls, there are other beings, both in this world and in others..."

They did not need to go into the soulless, some things were really too much information, especially when they were all having a hard enough time processing things already.

"And I wasn't exactly human myself when I took that vow." Helena added for good measure. "But since I did still have my magic, as that is a part of my soul, the vow was binding. It will be to the end of time."

"But why would you do such a thing?" Mr. Wei, the second in command in Hong Kong asked, sounding honestly confused. "You're a Warrior my lady!"

"Because I was tired of being exactly that." The green-eyed woman admitted. "I was so tired..." She took a deep breath and eventually decided to explain at least some of it. "I've said it before, but I'm not sure if you've all truly grasped it. The fact that I remember more years and more lives than any of you could possibly imagine. Not in all those lives was I human, and a great many of them were spent in other worlds, even before this world existed as it does now."

"And you spent much of that time with Dr. Strange." Sachiko offered.

"Yes." Helena agreed. "Because we're a match, and matches belong together." She shook her head, focusing on the matter at hand. "There was one life, a very, very long time ago... we were at war. Actually we were at war for several lifetimes, would die and reincarnate and some war or another would still be taking place. We tried to stay away, tried to remain neutral, nothing ever worked. That particular lifetime... we made a choice, to get involved, but in our own terms. I wasn't a mother, refused to bring life into a world so darkened by violence and grief. But there were children, mostly orphans, and I took care of them. Everyone there knew we were skilled, but while Stephanos acted as Warrior, as leader of their army, I stood back, I used my power to keep those not fighting safe: the children and the elderly, and the women without training, or who were young mothers, needed by their children's sides." She swallowed the knot in her throat and went on. "We'd made a deal, with the leaders of the rebellion we were aiding, as long as we were with them, as we used our power to help them, they would allow the children to be just that: children, free, innocent..."

Sachiko gasped loudly, as some of the words Helena had said to Mordo became clear to her. And it was obvious, under that light. A world at war... a neverending war, of course the children would need to fight, if only to keep themselves alive; but if one was helping lead them, and the other kept those more vulnerable safe, the kids had a chance...

"You see it, don't you?" Helena asked softly. "We didn't like war, but at least, with such a deal it felt like it was worth it..."

"Something went wrong." Yelan Li murmured, and it was obviously not a question.

"Stephanos and the army were away, doing an operation that, they hoped, would finally give us what we needed to win the war." The goddess went on. "Then someone arrived unexpectedly. A woman, the second wife of our enemy's leader... she'd supposedly betrayed him. I was called to witness the meeting, to try and discern her intentions. I knew instantly it was a ruse. Managed to stop her attempt to assassinate our own leaders. However, just before she died... she said they'd won in the end... I didn't understand it. Not until I went back to the refuge..."

The silence was heavy with tension, almost everyone present had an idea of how that story would end, but no one dare say a word.

"They were dead." Helena finally admitted. "All of them: the elderly, the women, the children... some were still dying... Suffering..." A sound escaped her throat, like the wordless whine of a wounded animal. "I snapped. I followed the tracks left by those who'd committed such heinous sins... They were not expecting me, were not expecting anyone at all to be able to find them, or even consider it. They expected us all to be lost in grief... and I'd been, until that grief turned to anger, to righteous fury. I tracked down, and killed them all..."

She hadn't killed them, she'd slaughtered them. She'd purposefully waited until they were back at camp and killed not just those who'd taken place in the raid, but everyone else in the camp... even their own women and elderly. No children though, she managed to keep herself from answering one sin with another of the same magnitude. Even then, it'd been bad enough.

Stephanos knew, because he was the one to find her. His mission had been a failure, a trap set to get the warriors out of their town. The enemy had succeeded, and at the same time they'd failed. Elaine had taken them all down. The war had ended by the next year, though the price paid... it was simply too high. Once the veil of fury was off she couldn't believe what she'd done, it was so much that the grief eventually did her in, though not before she took her vow: never again would she take the life of a souled one... Stephanos also promised to find a new world for their next life, one with no war, where they might grow in peace, might have a family...

"Is that where you got your scars?" Tamara Walker asked, somewhat bluntly.

There were some sharp intakes of breath, and it looked like Stephen was contemplating murder.

"No." Helena answered, not reacting at all to the comments on her scars, instead she purposefully pulled up her loose sleeve, revealing the fact that there was a lot more of them than what could be seen on one side of her face and neck. "The scars are on my body, not my soul. They also cover little less than 50% of my body. I got them almost nine hundred years ago, while trying to save my mother's life."

Again there were sharp intakes of breath.

"The Enchantress Amora hated Nana, because she thwarted her attempt to use a love-spell on Uncle Thor." The goddess explained somewhat succinctly. "Amora tried to kill my mom several times, and eventually she succeeded. An attack created by an extreme amount of pure magic, it basically burnt Nana from inside, killing both her and my unborn sister. I tried to help her and almost died myself, these scars are a reminder of that day."

"Couldn't you have erased them with your magic?" One of the youngest sorcerers asked quietly.

"At first the priority was to save my life, there was a time when they did not think I would make it." Helena informed him. "Later on... well it wasn't so important, in the grand scheme of things. Living in Helheim... no one cared if I was scarred or not. At some point they also became almost a badge of honor, a sign of what I went through, what I survived, and that I loved Nana so much I was willing to put my life on the line for her."

"What happened to your dad?" Sachiko asked, very softly.

"He went insane for a while." The green-eyed Asgardian admitted softly. "The loss of a match... it is a pain unlike any other. To feel your soul reaching for your other half and not being able to find it, to find anything but a burnt end, an empty space where they'd have been... Most choose to die, and those that cannot do it themselves, for whatever the reason, become self-destructive, seeking their death in whatever way possible." I shook my head at the memory. "Papa did not die, though it was a close thing. In the end the Allfather used a very old spell to make him forget. He was made to forget his loss, though that also made him forget Nana completely... I didn't like it, but it was that or losing him completely."

"You're lying." Another young sorcerer said suddenly. "I've seen the blogs. Loki is married!"

"Yes." Helena nodded calmly. "He's married to Prof. Silbhé Arianna Kinross Salani-Hvedrungr."

"Salani Hvedrungr?!" Sachiko and a few others called in unison.

"She's Nana's reincarnation." I explained with a small smile. "Papa and she found each other a few years ago. Their memories of the past came later on. They also have two other children now: my adopted brother Hakon, and my little sister: Rose... the same sister I lost once before."

No one had really any idea what to say to any of that, and they never got the chance either. Something had just occurred to Helena, who couldn't believe she hadn't thought of it before. She went to Stephen immediately, speaking quietly enough so only he could hear her.

"I don't know why I didn't think of this before." She said with a burgeoning hope. "You told me about your friend, Johnathan Pangborn."

"Not sure if he'd call himself my friend, but yes." Stephen nodded. "What about him?"

"We need to go see him." She told him simply. "I have a very important question to ask him."

xXx

"Excuse me, what?"

Helena, Stephen and Wong were with Dr. Palmer as well as Maureen and Johnathan Pangborn in the private hospital room of the latter. The man was actually supposed to be getting discharged that same afternoon, as it had been determined (much like the first time) that there was nothing that could be done for him. Christine had made arrangements for transport to pick him up and get him home, free of charge, something the Pangborns had been very grateful about. Of course, none of them expected the sorcerers' sudden arrival, or Helena's question.

"I asked if you'd rather have your magic back, or be able to walk again." Helena repeated. "Think about this very carefully before giving me your answer Mr. Pangborn."

"Who are you miss?" Maureen demanded.

She obviously took offense at some unknown woman giving them false hopes.

"I am Helena Salani-Hvedrungr and while I know how the situation seems, I promise I intend you no harm Mrs. Pangborn, physical or emotional." Helena assured her.

All eyes turned to Stephen, as they trusted him more.

"If she asks, she has a reason." Stephen assured them. "You can trust Helena completely, I most certainly do. She's my fiancé."

That caught everyone by surprise, even Helena, though she didn't show it; also, once she thought it over, it wasn't that shocking. They weren't mere strangers, and other labels like boyfriend-girlfriend, lovers... simply didn't seem to be enough to encompass all they were to each other. At times it seemed like even husband and wife might not be enough, but it was the best they could get (it was moments like that where Helena more or less understood her parents' fixation with their chosen nicknames for each other, and the fact that they were always saying 'My', she certainly saw Stephen as hers... just as much as she was his).

"An injury like mine cannot just be healed Miss Hvedrungr, you should know that as well as I." Johnathan stated, trying his best to stay polite. "I need the magic to be able to walk."

"That is true enough for the Mystic Arts, Mr. Pangborn, and for several other branches of magic. But I practice a different kind." The goddess admitted rather calmly. "And while I myself am no healer... there are many other gifted individuals in this world, more than you could begin to imagine. You must have noticed some of it with the brief civil war of last year, when Hydra revealed itself... Not all gifted ascribe to the same rules and limitations as the Mystic Arts."

"You mean... you mean my husband could actually be healed?" Maureen asked, voice watery with pent-up emotion.

Helena didn't answer her, just looking straight at Johnathan, she was still waiting for an answer.

"I want to walk!" Johnathan finally admitted, almost choking on his own words. "By God! I want to be able to stand up, to hold my wife, to embrace my son again, play basketball with him... I want to be healed..."

Helena smiled beatifically at him, before pulling out her cell-phone and making a call.

"Rose?" She waited for the answer on the other side. "It's Helena... Listen, this is important. I have a friend who needs help, the kind of help people you know can provide... Yes, him... Very well, we shall be waiting."

The moment she hung up all eyes were on her.

"A plane will be sent." She announced. "A helicopter will be picking us up in an hour, taking us to the air-strip, where a private jet will be taking us to where you can get treatment."

"This isn't possible!" Maureen could hardly believe it. "But you hardly said anything!"

"There's nothing any doctors can do, even if Stephen could still do it..." Christine spoke up.

"This isn't a matter of medicine, not even of traditional magic." Helena shrugged. "And I'm afraid that's as much as I can say at this time. These aren't my secrets to tell." She turned to the couple. "As for what you mentioned before, Mrs. Pangborn. The person I just spoke with, is my little sister. She too is gifted, though in a different way than me. One of her gifts is Sight... she knew enough about your husband's situation without me having to say a word. She will also know the kind of help you need, and who can give it. If the plane is being sent already that means that the request has been approved, they'll be waiting for you." Something else occurred to her right then. "There's one more thing, I'm afraid."

"Is this gonna be expensive?" Johnathan asked, fearing the worst.

"What...?" Helena wasn't expecting that. "No! Not at all! Though, as some people are very fond of saying, nothing comes without some kind of price... though this one isn't monetary. Truth is... it's quite likely you won't be able to come back. To New York I mean. Not because they'd stop you in any way, or that you physically couldn't but... Mr. Pangborn, it's in your records now, your situation, the fact that your condition has no cure. If you walk again... you would never be left alone. So it will be better for you not to come back, for your own good, and that of the people willing to help you."

"Of course." Maureen nodded immediately. "There's nothing here that is more important than Johnathan being healthy and whole again."

Christine didn't say a word. Hard as it might be to admit it, she knew Helena was right. The doctor was also still reeling about the revelation that the raven-haired beauty was Stephen's future wife. She hadn't even know she existed before that day. Then again... she could see the looks they kept throwing at each other, the way they kept close and every so often would touch each other for no reason at all... they truly loved each other. So, Stephen had found his perfect match... it gave Christine hope, that one day she might find hers.

The helicopter was there at the agreed upon time, and the plane as well. Two people were waiting for them on the latter. A couple in their early thirties, the woman blonde, the man brunette, they were both wearing dark-blue coveralls.

"Hello." The woman greeted for the both of them. "I'm Alicia Krupp and this is my husband, Cyrus Krupp. We're here to help you."

"What do you do exactly?" Maureen inquired, probably confused by their attire.

"We're part of Veritas." Cyrus informed her evenly. "We're a team, certified paramedics. We're also on call with most rescue crews in Lowell County."

"Rescue crews?" Christine (who'd announced she'd be tagging along, because Johnathan was still her patient and would remain that until she'd personally placed him in the care of another doctor). "Lowell County? Shouldn't you belong to one crew only?"

"If we did normal work we would, yes." Alicia shrugged.

"Ali!" Cyrus exclaimed, tense.

"What?" Alicia looked sideways at her husband. "We're taking them straight to Veritas, and after reading Mr. Pangborns file it's obvious the kind of help he will need. Regardless of what we say or not say right now, they will know a lot of it before the end."

Cyrus had to admit his wife was right. He just wasn't used to working with those outside of what most of the metas still saw as their territory (meaning Smallville, Metropolis and the surrounding area... mostly Lowell County).

"We do not belong to any specific crew, but they call us when they truly need us, because there are some things only we can do." Alicia elaborated.

"I am a healer." Cyrus went on. "My talent is somewhat limited, but when you come across a girl trapped in a car, who runs the risk of bleeding out before the rescuers can get her out... that's where I come in."

"I'm a teleporter." Alicia added. "Which means that I can get Cyrus to those injured, faster than anyone else can. I'm also capable of getting the victims of accidents out when rescue crews have trouble reaching them. I have limits of course, but still."

"We're only called in when we're really needed, when others know we can make a difference between someone living or dying." Cyrus murmured quietly. "It's why we do not belong to any specific crew. We help everyone we can. And when we're not with them, we are at Veritas, aiding others with gifts."

For several seconds not a word was said, as they tried to wrap their heads around it all.

"You're gifted." Maureen finally said. "What...? Like the sorcerers? Or the mutants? I've seen them on the news, the X-Men..."

"Not quite." Cyrus shook his head.

"Some people call us metas." Alicia offered. "We weren't born with these abilities, we were born completely human, like anyone else. Then something happened, a catastrophic event... and it changed something in us..."

"Catastrophic...?" Johnathan asked, worried.

"The kind of event where you only come out in one of two ways: dead or changed." Alicia stated quite bluntly.

No one had words with which to reply to that.

So they got on the plane, which took them straight to the Metropolis airport; where yet another helicopter picked them up and flew them directly to the Veritas building (on the edge of town). There Cyrus and Alicia immediately moved Johnathan onto a gurney (they'd before explained how they didn't try teleporting him because they risked hurting him further).

In the room another person was waiting. A woman who looked to be in her early twenties, with long

mahogany hair in gentle waves to the small of her back, chocolate eyes, wearing a simple maroon wrap dress and red-leather boots.

"Good afternoon." The girl greeted them in general, before approaching Helena and embracing her tightly. "Vedui muintel amin (greetings sister mine)."

"Vedui Merilelle (little rose)." Helena replied, hugging her back just as tightly, before switching to English. "It's so good to see you again, my dear sister."

"I'm delighted as well." Rose made a pause before adding. "I'm so very happy for you Elaine."

The use of that name, instead of the one their Mama had given her, told the elder of the two sisters what exactly the younger was talking about.

"You knew..." Helena realized. "How long?"

"Not as long as you might expect." Rose shrugged. "I only met him a few months ago. In Gwen's funeral. And even then only in passing."

"You were at Gwen's funeral..." Helena realized. "You knew her."

"For a few years." Rose nodded. "We first crossed paths when I was with the X-Men, in the late seventies. Since then we've met every so often, some times on purpose, though most of the time it was a matter of us ending up involved in the same messes."

Like in Egypt. Gwen had been there that day, she was probably the only reason more people hadn't died... though Rose hadn't known that until later.

"I know you." Stephen murmured as he approached them. "You were at the Ancient One's funeral, weren't you?"

"I was." Rose nodded. "I knew her for a few years."

"You're not part of the Order." Stephen added.

"I'm not." Rose agreed with him. "I'm a gifted, but no sorceress." She offered her hand to shake. "I am Rose Alfdis Salani-Hvedrungr... and I believe you're my future brother in law."

Stephen actually blinked in shock for a moment before breaking into laughter.

"You know, I was actually worrying about meeting you." He admitted after a little while.

"Oh, no need to worry about me." Rose waved her hand dismissively before her tone turned wicked and she added. "Worry about meeting Papa. He will enjoy twisting you into knots and explaining, in detail, all the ways he can torture you if you so much as look at Helena wrong. He certainly took great delight in doing so with Johann..."

"From what I've heard you did even worse on him." Helena deadpanned.

Stephen actually felt the need to swallow at that.

"Yeah, but Willow was my twin, and younger than I was." Rose justified herself. "You are older, and I know you're perfectly capable of turning him into a schmuck if he gets any ideas."

A string of giggles interrupted the conversation, Christine just couldn't help herself, she'd never seen Stephen in such a situation and as far as she was concerned it was absolute hilarious.

Of course, eventually they had to get serious. Rose introduced herself to everyone else present and then explained where everything in the room was while Stephen, Helena, Cyrus and Alicia transferred Johnathan to the hospital bed.

Shortly after getting Johnathan installed they were joined by Dr. Emil Hamilton, a tall man with dark, somewhat graying hair in his late thirties to early forties wearing casual clothes with a lab-coat on top. He introduced himself as the physician who'd be overlooking Pangborn's case, make sure he was alright.

"Will you be the one to heal him?" Christine wanted to know.

"I'm afraid not." He shook his head. "I'm completely human, and while a decent doctor, if I do say so myself, I do not have the kind of ability required to give Mr. Pangborn his mobility back. Others will be coming soon to discuss your options."

"Options?" It was obvious neither of the Pangborns were expecting that.

Indeed, there were options, as they soon found out. They were quickly joined by Chloe and Clark Sullivan-Kent, and (to all New Yorker's special surprise) by Trish and Lex Swann-Luthor.

"What...?" Maureen babbled, shocked. "What is going on here?"

They were explained very briefly about Veritas then. Its creation almost a decade earlier, its work, and especially its true purpose.

"Gifted?" Christine repeated, shocked. "You're dedicated to gifted?"

"You would be shocked by the number of gifted you can find in the area." Trish nodded. "It's around a quarter of the general populace in the county, and close to fifty percent in Smallville and Metropolis specifically."

"But..." Maureen couldn't believe it. "What we were told earlier... just what happened here?"

"Meteor shower." Lex answered promptly. "Two of them. One in 1989 and the other in 2005."

"Smallville is known as the meteor-capitol of the world." Chloe piped in. "What less people know is that there were mutagens in meteors in both showers and they changed the population. Well... either that or killed them."

Crude, but right. Truth was that, aside from those who died during the shower itself, everyone who'd been close to the meteors during each shower had either become a meta or died of cancer in the years following the events.

"You're metas." Johnathan realized right then.

"Not me." Trish offered. "I'm not from Smallville."

"The rest of us, yes." Lex added. "And I mean both to the Smallville thing, and the meta thing. And obviously our children have inherited the status. According to our math it will take one more generation before the meta population surpasses fifty percent in the county in general, and two or three more before we become the majority. And that's just considering those of us who were changed by the meteors, there are many other metas, affected by other events, all over the world. We know a few, but certainly not all of them."

"How many people know about you all?" Christine inquired, intrigued.

She knew that the thing with Hydra the year before had revealed the existence of a great number of gifted all around the world, but she still had trouble dealing with the fact that most of them had been around for years and the general population hadn't known.

"In Smallville it's known by everyone." Chloe deadpanned. "Either you're a meta, or someone else in your family is. It cannot be helped. Everyone has been pretty accepting."

Especially since seeing all the ways the gifted could help, just like they had during the second meteor shower, and other events since.

"Here in Metropolis... it's kind of an open-secret." Clark went on. "Everyone knows gifted exist, and what Veritas does. There are people who know about some of us, but it's not as openly seen or talked about as it is in Smallville."

Then again, aside from the semi-frequent messes during Clark and Chloe's high-school career, Smallville didn't see as many conflicts and 'super-villains' as Metropolis had.

Eventually the conversation was put back on track, and then it was time to talk about what exactly Johnathan's options were.

Much as Cyrus himself might want to help, his healing just wasn't enough. Clark had already discussed things with Kara and the Artic's AI but creating something Kryptonian to help would take way too long. That still left two options: Chloe could heal him, her power would undo the damage to his spine, allowing him to feel and walk again; however, due to the seriousness of the wound she'd need to focus her whole power on that, which meant she wouldn't be able to heal the damage to his legs (caused by disuse). It would take a while for him to recover from that and some serious PT. The second option was the Solomon serum (named that in honor of Lex's mom: Lillian Luthor nee-Solomon), created from the mutated cells in Lex's blood which allowed his extreme healing (cells which under normal medical tests, looked like white blood cells, but were something else entirely); the serum would take longer, require several uses, but would heal not just Johnathan's spine, but also the atrophy. That would take a while as well, but it was potentially less painful, and less stressful on Johnathan's body.

Both options were explained to the Pangborns in detail, with pros and cons, then they waited for the couple to make their choice.

"There's one thing I don't understand." Christine said suddenly. "If you have access to such a drug, why had I never heard about it before?"

"It's not exactly... FDA approved." Trish said, somewhat evasively.

They waited several seconds, and then Chloe explained a bit more:

"And we cannot exactly ask for FDA approval when we cannot tell them what's in it." The blonde told them, without quite explaining.

Before Christine or Stephen could get the courage to ask why exactly they couldn't ask for approval someone gave a signal to Dr. Hamilton who, in turn, pulled out a thin file from the pile he kept on a nearby table, offering it to the two doctors (or one doctor and a former doctor).

"Blood analysis?" Stephen inquired, looking it over.

"Oh... but this person must be dying!" Christine exclaimed, as she noticed some things on it.

"I am not." Lex stated stoically.

It actually took several seconds for the New Yorkers to process exactly what had just been said, and who had said it.

"Look onto the last page." He instructed them, then went on. "What looks like an excess of white blood cells is actually something else entirely. It's what changed in me, when the meteors fell in 1989, it gave me my healing factor, one that is much, much higher than almost anyone else on the planet. Scientists wager I can still age and die, though I will probably remain in my prime longer than normal humans; I do not get sick though, and any hurt I get heals extremely fast. You should know, I've survived things no one else could have: my car going off a bridge and into a river at over a eighty miles an hour, a plane crash, being drugged into a mental break down, a bomb, as well as several kidnappings and assassination attempts; and while a good deal of it was thanks to Clark, Chloe and some others... my healing factor had a lot to do with it as well."

No one replied to that, they didn't seem to know quite what to say.

"Some years ago we discovered those cells could be extracted safely." Dr. Hamilton announced. "Filtered and transformed into a serum, safe for human use."

"You could help so many people..." Christine breathed out. "Why...?"

"We cannot get approval." Trish insisted. "The serum cannot be synthesized, it needs those cells. Cells we only know less than a handful of people in the whole world to possess. We are not giving that kind of information to a government organization. They'd never leave us alone!"

No, they wouldn't. Best case scenario, they'd harass them to try and get more of the serum produced; worst case... they might go as far as taking Lex prisoner, draw his blood, keep him fed so they can get more, on and on... He'd become nothing more than a blood bank to them. There was no way any member of the family was allowing that.

It had slipped out that there was more than one person with that gift, but that was all they'd be saying about that. Most would assume they were talking about their children. Truth was that from all of them only Lena had inherited the extreme healing factor (though the twins were certainly very healthy); and there was someone else, a young woman (more than a decade younger than all of them), she wasn't a meta but a mutant, though part of a group who called themselves 'evos'. She lived in Texas, her name was Claire. She knew about Lex, had been in touch with them, as he helped her better understand her own ability, but she was much too young to have been part of the move against Hydra, and 'evos' in general had chosen to stay away from the public eye. It was their choice, and one everyone else respected.

xXx

In the end Johnathan chose the serum, deciding that even if it took longer it was safer on his body, and it might even make the recovery from atrophy easier in the long run. He and Maureen were also very interested in working in Veritas, once he was better, though until then they would be moved to the Kent Farm (as everyone believed he'd enjoy his future walks and the like more there than inside a building in the middle of Metropolis). The place was actually often used for such purposes, or at least the main area; most of the land itself was leased to other farmers in Smallville, who worked it and paid with a percentage of their profits (which had increased since they'd all followed Lex's suggestions to create a sort of consortium and sell their produce to Metropolis and other towns in the county and Kansas in general.

Rose didn't stay much longer after that, explaining how the group she was with, the Sentinels, might need her. She was also somewhat concerned that her daughter might get in trouble (again). Helena still made her sister promise to introduce Skye to her soon. The older goddess really wanted to meet the girl in person. Stephen was just fascinated at the prospect of so many gifted people in the world, and the alliance. He'd been shocked enough when learning that Helena's sister was the infamous 'Rose of Chaos' he'd heard so much about; and the fact that she'd known the Ancient One (nevermind that, since recovering the memories of his past lives he remembered who the Supreme Sorceress had been before joining the Order...).

Several weeks later Wong dropped by the NY Sanctum unexpectedly to tell them he'd just gotten an unexpected call from a Skye Nova asking for volunteers to help with a situation that was about to go down in Sokovia.

"Skye...?" It took a moment for Stephen to remember where he'd heard that name before. "Rose's adopted daughter?"

"Yes, she was calling in her name too." Wong nodded. "Warned that the situation was a matter of life and death, for both the people in Novi Grad and whoever might choose to go help."

"We have to send at least a few people." Stephen declared. "If they really need help."

He knew he and Helena were probably the best option... but he couldn't leave the Sanctum or the young sorcerers unprotected, and if something big was really happening, then Helena needed to head to Helheim and keep vigilance over the situation there. Though, who could they possibly send, especially with that warning of how dangerous things were expected to be, for everyone? How when they could be sending them to their deaths?

"Dr. Strange?" It was Sachiko. "I... I would like to volunteer to go to Sokovia."

It was until then that Stephen noticed the three of them weren't alone anymore, not by a long shot.

"Why?" Wong asked, curious.

"Nishimura!" Tamara Walker called to the girl in a chiding tone. "I haven't given you permission to involve yourself in this, young lady."

"With all due respect Miss Walker, I didn't ask for it." Sachiko said, demurely but strongly, before turning all her focus on Stephen again. "Please Dr. Strange, I... this feels right, somehow. Like it's something I must do."

"You are aware of the dangers of this mission?" Stephen asked her, very seriously. "Your return will not be guaranteed Sachiko."

"I know." The Japanese American said simply.

"Go." Stephen nodded, then turned to the rest. "If anyone wishes to join, with the knowledge that this requires volunteers and it will be very dangerous, you have my permission and my blessing!"

He vaguely heard Tamara berating Sachiko even as the girl ignored her teacher completely, she had made her choice; something Stephen respected even if others did not.

"You know this will have consequences?" Helena asked softly.

"I do." Stephen nodded. "But Sachiko is not a child, she deserves to make her own choices, and it's time Tamara accepted that. Also... I'm not sure why, but this feels right somehow."

Helena didn't reply to that, though she could sense it too, a strange something in the air, like a sense of foreboding... except it wasn't negative. Something was coming.

Right before the small group of volunteers (some had even arrived from Kamar-Taj and the other Sanctums) lead by Sachiko took their leave through a portal, Tamara went to Stephen.

"Master Strange..." She began.

"Dr. Strange!" Several voices corrected automatically.

Stephen just smiled. Really, most people did call him by his old title, at his request; it was only a few, like Tamara, who refused to acknowledge that choice and insisted on the more traditional titles, ignoring his preferences completely. Or the reasons behind them.

"You have to stop this madness!" Tamara stated, ignoring the correction.

"Madness...?" Stephen arched an elegant brow at that. "Is it madness for Sachiko and the others to want to help those who need them?"

"It's not our problem!" Tamara snapped. "This isn't a mystical threat!"

"Ah..." Stephen nodded. "I see... I suppose that might also explain why there were no sorcerers lending a hand during the Chitauri invasion in 2012, and the countless other events that have taken place... You believe we should only intervene when it's convenient..."

"It's not a matter of convenience!" She interrupted him. "This isn't a mystical threat, therefore it's not our problem!"

"See, that's where we disagree." The Master of the Sanctum replied, rather calmly. "Because the way I see it, if it threatens our world, then it's very much our business. We're all meant to be the protectors of this planet..."

"And do you think they would be so quick to come to our aid..." She hissed.

"Please!" Stephen snapped. "You cannot be that blind! Or do you really think the chitauri were no threat to us? What about Hydra? When beings threaten our planet, they threaten us all. So why should others be expected to act, and not us?" he shook his head, waving a hand to keep Tamara from interrupting. "Sachiko and the others, they're doing the right thing, you should be right there, if not tagging along, at the very least supporting them. Instead you'd rather berate them, insult them, their desire to do good, to help protect the less fortunate. We're supposed to be here to do good, all the time, not only when we feel like it!"

"We're to protect the world from mystical threats!" Tamara insisted.

"I think we will never be in agreement on this." Stephen shook his head. "My decision will stand. Both in this matter, and in future ones."

"If you insist." Tamara's spite was quite clear in her voice. "Then know that I hereby renounce Sachiko Nishimura as my apprentice. She's to be demoted, surrender all her privileges and will be going back to Kamar-Taj and to the other initiates as soon as she gets back."

Stephen almost let out a bark of laughter at that... almost.

"That will not be necessary Miss Walker." Stephen stated. "You are, of course, at liberty to give up on having Sachiko as your apprentice, but she will not be demoted, or sent back to Kamar-Taj. I'm taking her as my apprentice."

It was a sudden choice, made in a second, but even though he'd managed to shock himself with it, Stephen couldn't help but believe he was doing the right thing. Sachiko was a brave, bright young woman, she deserved the chance to reach her whole potential, she wouldn't do that as an initiate in Kamar-Taj (just like he probably wouldn't have gotten to where he was if it hadn't been for Mordo and the Ancient One). So, he was taking her on; perhaps one day she might even take his place (it was insane, making plans for his successor when he was still relatively young, and so new to the post, but still, he still saw it as the right choice).

xXx

Rose dropped by for a visit on Samhain, to wish Helena a happy birthday. No one had known that, except Stephen, the Sanctum went nuts. They all loved the goddess very much, and she them, to the point that she'd begun wearing something that was between her dresses and the Order's tunics, in a lighter shade of blue than Stephen, with golden accents and brown-leather boots. Her hip-length obsidian black hair usually in a loose braid.

Arrangements were made for a party in record time. Rose hadn't arrived alone, her adopted daughter Skye, Skye's boyfriend: Grant, as well as the Maximoff twins: Pietro and Wanda, were with her. Rose had taken particular pleasure in introducing Pietro as her match, and Helena could feel the peace and joy that filled her heart to bursting.

The party was great fun and, while not many realized it at the time, that was the start for the Order getting more involved with other gifted groups like the Sentinels, the Avengers, the Justice League, X-Men, etc...

Early the following morning preparations were made for the visitors to leave. The rest of the Sentinels were at the Warehouse, the New Avengers facility outside Manhattan, getting some training done (necessary when they had two new members: former SHIELD Agent Bobbi Morse, and her former-mercenary of an ex-husband: Lance Hunter). Plans had also been made for them to do some training sessions with the Sorcerers.

"Well, this was great." Rose announced. "Hope to see you again soon, sis."

The two embraced, and then something totally unexpected happened, as they were both pulled into one of Rose's vision. And it wasn't even just them, but all who'd been with them (Stephen, Sachiko, Pietro, Wanda, Skye and Grant).

They were... somewhere, it looked like a garden, though one none any of them were particularly familiar with. There were trees, though mostly on what looked like the limits of the garden itself, and countless flowers of every possible kind and color decorating the ground. There was music all around, a mix of piano, violin, flute, perhaps a guitar as well? No specific words or song, but still, beautiful and very, very peaceful.

Skye and Grant were the first to find themselves, they weren't in tactical clothes but casual attire instead: he jeans and a dark-blue henley with rolled up sleeves; she in sleeveless, pastel-colored, floral dress. He was crouched beside some flowers, while she was slightly crouched and moving slowly towards him, hands poised at the sides of the young infant girl clearly just learning to walk. The sight left them breathless for a moment, until it became clear the pretty child couldn't possibly be theirs, she was a strawberry blonde, steel-blue eyes with a hint of gold near the iris and she was wearing a little yellow dress and white shoes.

"You're doing wonderful Anya." Skye said out-loud, sounding so very proud. "Look Mom! Look, we're learning to walk!"

Skye was delighted, and she couldn't help but look at the man a few feet from them, waiting to receive the toddling little girl, his eyes straying so often to Skye herself; and then the brunette woman's eyes went down, to the old-looking and gorgeous diamond ring gracing the third finger on her left hand... It was an heirloom, one that had once belonged to a gentle woman called Jennifer Wilson, Grant's Gramsy...

Several feet to the left of them (and quite close to the edge of the garden) was Rose, sitting on a swing, though not really moving, she was wearing a long, off-white dress and no shoes at all; Pietro was beside her in jeans, a gray shirt and his favorite sneakers. Both their eyes were riveted on the child, their little girl... their daughter: Anya Luna Hvedrungr-Maximoff.

Very close to the tree from which the swing hung, stood Wanda, though in between her and the tree there stood another, looking tall and strong, though they couldn't see him too clearly, the shadows enveloping his form in just the right way to render him almost invisible to their eyes, they could see his arms though, wound around Wanda's waist, holding her own hands as they both cradled her swollen belly.

Girlish giggles were heard from the other side of the garden and then there was Stephen, looking pretty much the same as ever, twirling around a laughing child, another girl: with brown hair so dark it was almost black, flying around with tiny braids adorning it and the most dazzling blue-green eyes any of them had ever seen, dressed in a miniature tanned-brown tunic and little boots. All a little sorceress...

"More Dada more!" The girl cried out in sheer delight.

They all knew her name, without any need for it to be said out-loud: She was Donelle Lucia Hvedrungr-Strange... Nellie for short.

There were more voices in the background, more people. Some even sounded like people at least some of them knew: Loki, Nightingale, Hakon, Victor, Logan, Marie, Charles, Erik, Raven, Irene, Nina, Phil, Darcy... and many, many more.

They vaguely caught sight of Sachiko in the last moment, she seemed to be just arriving to their little gathering, wearing her maroon tunic and a forest-green wrap around her shoulders. She wasn't alone, there was someone with her, a big dark-skinned hand holding her petite one, but before anyone could make him out the vision broke off.

Sharp intakes of breath announced their return to reality. Sachiko slumped against a wall in an attempt to hold herself up, while Skye was nearly limp in Grant's arms, who only remained standing through sheer will (or stubbornness). The twins did not fall, though they did look a bit anxious after what they'd seen. Stephen was left blinking, his scientific mind left trying to wrap itself around the magical vision. The sisters were the only ones not feeling completely lost, yet they weren't any less affected by what they'd seen.

"What the hell was that?!" Grant finally asked, after what seemed like forever.

"The future..." Rose murmured half-absently.

"Hopefully." Helena couldn't but added.

Yes, hopefully. Other things were coming, of course, she could still remember the vision about the Infinity Stones and the Mad Titan (how could she ever forget?). They'd actually talked about that, about the Order's possible involvement in the potential war that was coming their way. But if everything went alright, if they managed to fight the Mad Titan and actually win... then one day they'd have it, all they'd just seen in that vision: the home, the family, the joy... One day life would be perfect.

xXx

Tamara Walker left NY, initially choosing to move to London, though she'd eventually part ways, when realizing that most of the Order had chosen to follow Stephen's initiative when it came to connecting with other groups and intervening in situations even when they were in no way magical. In London they'd even open communication channels with non-magical individuals who might prove helpful in the future, like the Holmes family.

The days kept passing, and ever so slowly people grew used to what seemed to be the 'new normal'. Everyone loved Helena, even if she wasn't a sorceress like them, she was strong, and she helped them, just like Dr. Strange did. As far as some were concerned it was like having two Masters instead of one. More people had even arrived to live in the Sanctum, after hearing comments of how good it was.

They at one point received a message from Johnathan. He was walking again, though still on some serious PT. Their son: Michael, had started school in Smallville and the couple were working on some of Veritas projects. They missed NY some, but life was good for them, they had no regrets about their choices. They were also very thankful to Christine, Stephen, Helena, Rose and everyone else who'd helped them get to that point.

Sachiko was officially recognized as Stephen's apprentice by the whole Order, something that delighted and terrified her in turns. She was also chosen by a relic (one that had once been in display in the London Sanctum in fact, until it kept flapping like crazy inside its case and the Master took the hint and sent it elsewhere so it could find its sorcerer): the Winged Sandals of Hermes, a fact she took great delight in. The relic wasn't sentient the way Levi was, though it did have the slightest amount of awareness, enough to sync with Sachiko, helping her react faster, make her moves smoother, and keep her balance easier (both on land and on air).

The young woman had also become the de-facto leader of the younger generation, those who were considered more than Initiates, but with still very little experience about the life the older sorcerers lead (the fighting, and the like). They all admired her, and not only for being Strange's apprentice and official second in command (Helena would always be his equal); it was well known that she'd been in Novi Grad, Sokovia when the city had been flying. She'd helped fight murderous robots and keep innocent civilians, and even other heroes, safe and alive. She'd actually been responsible for getting several stragglers out through a portal before the city was pretty much vaporized (to prevent the cataclysmic event that would have taken place, had it actually fallen back to Earth).

The day Sachiko approached Helena and asked quietly to have a private word with her, the princess knew it was important, also that whatever it was, it was making the young sorceress very anxious; still nothing could have prepared her for what came next:

"You've mentioned matches before." The girl started quietly. "Like yourself and Dr... Stephen." She'd been asked to call the man by his first-name and was still getting used to it. "Your sister and her mutant boyfriend... You said that matches, they're soulmates, they live and die together, yes?"

"Yes." Helena nodded serenely. "Life after life, until time ends or they choose eternal rest."

"Is it possible for one half of a match to die and the other to stay alive?" Sachiko finally asked, after what seemed like forever.

"I..." Helena swallowed, painful memories knotting her throat. "Yes, yes it is. It is said to be the worst kind of torture and... and I've seen it. Death is not the worst that can happen to a person, Sachiko, and for some... for some dying would have been kinder than what befell them upon the loss of their One True Love."

"And is it possible for that dead match to be reborn, without the other having to die first?" The young Japanese-American sorceress pushed on (though she looked apologetic at the pain she was causing Helena).

The Goddess of Grief and Hope was beginning to see where the line of questioning was heading, though that still did not explain why Sachiko was pursuing that topic. There was something going on... then again, something had been going on for a while.

"For the longest time, such a thing was believed to be impossible." Helena explained quietly. "It was said that, since the two souls were bound together, they needed to both be on the same side, both dead, in order to be reincarnated. Then again, most of those who are part of a match, tend not to live long once their other half has died. They only stay when they have a strong tether to life; like children, and watching over them, or a promise made to their loved one. Like the time Stephanos held onto life, after my death, long enough to find us a new world, one where we might have a chance at a new, peaceful life..."

"And did you?" Sachiko asked suddenly. "Did you get that chance?"

Helena nodded silently. It hadn't been that simple, of course not; but Sachiko wasn't a child, she understood what wasn't being said as much as what was.

"So it's not possible then?" Sachiko went back to the focus of the conversation. "For one half of a match to die and be reincarnated while the other half remains alive?"

"I said it was believed to be impossible." The goddess reminded her. "It's a belief that lasted for... stars know how long! It was proven false when Papa found Nana for the second time. I've told you before how she died, and how she came back, and they found each other again. She was reborn as a human, but eventually their bond strengthened enough that she gained some of his power, including his magic and his lifespan."

"Right... I'd forgotten about that." Sachiko admitted, almost sheepishly. "You said your dad went a little crazy for a while when she died. Does that happen to everyone?"

"A little crazy is putting it kindly." Helena admitted with a sigh. "He went insane, became very reckless, self-destructive. The simplest way to explain it was that he wanted to die, and he was instinctively looking for a way to do exactly that. Even if that meant pushing someone else until they killed him. All so he'd be able to join Nana among the dead. We didn't know back then that she could come back. He loved her so much... being without her was tearing him apart." She took a deep breath, forcing herself to pull away from the painful memory of that dark time. "As for if that's how everyone would react. I think it might be different with each match. There are those who simply let go of life the moment they lose their love, those that go suicidal... there was one lifetime where Stephanos went on a rampage after my death. Yet another life we spent surrounded by war and death. It was awful." She shook her head. "It's harder when it comes to incomplete bonds, those that were never consummated. Because, depending on the strength and time of the original bond, those involved might not be too affected, not in any way that influences their every-day lives at least; or they might end up feeling a black hole at the core of their heart and soul, without ever knowing the reason for it. And even if they do know the reason, somehow, the emptiness is still there. Rose was one such case."

"Rose...?" Sachiko obviously wasn't expecting that. "Your sister Rose?! But... but she... her match! She came here with her match, the speedster. And she said they'd just met back in August, in Sokovia of all places!"

"That is correct. But that was actually the second time they found each other. Rose met and fell in love with Pietro's previous incarnation, back in the 70s. From what I know, nothing ever came of it, I've never asked why. He died in 92, in an explosion in Los Andes, while working on freeing a group of young mutants who'd been sold into slavery. Rose saw it happen, but not in time to do anything about it. Unlike Papa she did not go insane, though I believe she was depressed or suicidal, just in a different way. She cut herself off from the world for five years."

"Five years!"

"Yes, she finally resurfaced in 1997. On the very same day when Pietro Maximoff was born..."

"The same..." Sachiko was in awe. "Does she know that?"

"I don't know, though she probably does. It was no coincidence. While her match remained among the dead her soul was incomplete, and the moment he came back... he made her whole again, and that in turn pushed her into living once more. Even if she didn't consciously know he was back until this Summer, a part of her stopped truly missing him 20 years ago."

For a while, not a word was said. Helena suspected Sachiko was trying (very hard) to process everything she'd just learned, the goddess gave her the time and silence needed for her to do so. Meanwhile distracting herself by polishing her violin. She'd recently retrieved it, had even played for Stephen the night before. It was her favorite instrument, and also a gift from her Nana.

"I think..." Sachiko seemed to hesitate for a moment before adding, more strongly. "I think ro... Ma... Mr. Mordo lost his match."

Helena blinked, not quite understanding how Sachiko had reached that conclusion, exactly.

"When I saw him in the Mirror Dimension there was something in his eyes... like a shadow, or a void, like there's something missing there, in him." Sachiko was almost babbling as she tried to explain. "I think he lost his match and he resents that loss."

"That's still no excuse for what he's done, you know that right?" Helena asked, very seriously. "What he did to Johnathan, and to Stephen, what he tried to do to you."

"But that's just it!" Sachiko insisted, vehemently. "He didn't hurt me, he didn't even touch me. He just... just looked at me. It was when I first noticed something was wrong with him..."

"The first time...?" The goddess just couldn't miss that detail. "Sachiko, how many times have you seen Mordo since he went rogue?"

"I saw him that day in the Mirror Dimension... and again in Sokovia." Sachiko admitted very softly. "I... I think he saved my life that day."

Helena honestly didn't know what to say to that. She wanted to believe what she'd just said to the young woman, about the loss of a match not justifying anything... but hadn't she justified all the craziness, the insanity committed by her Ada, telling herself (and everyone who would listen) that it wasn't his fault, it was the grief, the loss, making him do it all? Helena really hated it when her own words came back to bite her, directly or indirectly.

Regardless, Sachiko's belief did not change much. Karl Mordo was still a rogue, he was still bent on stripping all sorcerers from their magic, and her love was quite probably at the top of his list. Yes, those things did not change, she honestly couldn't think of how they ever could...

xXx

Karl Mordo was sitting in what, for most people, would be the end of nowhere. For him it was the edge of the Arges river, a few minutes away the town of Teghes, in Ilfov County, Romania. He'd once lived in that little town, in what had once, many, many years prior, been Transylvania. He could still remember the stories his mother used to tell, about how her ancestors had once been royalty there, how her own father had been a Baron once... that had been before Karl was born, before Transylvania became little more than a name in a legend, if it was even true at all. It was still a nice story, though.

The rogue sorcerer sensed, quite clearly, the moment he was no longer alone. He turned just enough to see a young looking girl in a long, asymmetric burnt-red wrap dress with a print of big off-white roses; her hair was long, somewhere between brown and red, to the middle of her back and looking a bit wind-swept, and there were red-leather boots on her feet.

"Hello, Master Mordo." She greeted him respectfully, in perfect Romani.

Karl was actually surprised by that, enough that he didn't think to attack her as she went to sit less than three feet from him, legs curled up beneath her.

"Who are you?" He finally began asking questions, not fully noticing when he spoke in the same language. "How did you find me? And how do you even know my name?!"

"I am Rose Alfdis." She answered simply. "I am the one some call the Rose of Chaos..."

Karl froze. He'd heard about the Rose of Chaos. He even remembered a time when he'd wished and prayed that she'd appear, that she'd save him and Chara... but of course she'd never come, because she wasn't real.

"I am very, very sorry, that I couldn't be the kind of hero you needed me to be." She told him, and she sounded honestly regretful.

Karl didn't understand what was going on.

"Why are you here?" He demanded. "Why now? After all this time..."

Why when he had no need of her...?

He'd never know that at the time he'd needed her the most she'd been lost in her grief, locked away in a ranch in the middle of the desert.

"I am here because you're now standing at a crossroad." She told him softly. "Two paths lay before you, one will lead you to redemption, to happiness... the other will lead you to destruction, your own and that of countless others."

"Really?" He drawled, obviously not believing her. "And let me see, you're here to make sure I make the 'right' choice!"

"Not at all." She shook her head calmly, not at all affected by his tone or attitude. "The choice is your own, it always has been. I'm just here to point out a few things you might not be aware of, or might be choosing to ignore."

"Really?" He arched a brow. "And what points are those, exactly?" He made a pause, suddenly thinking of something. "Did Strange send you?!"

"No, Stephen Strange did not send me, he doesn't know I'm here either." She assured him calmly. "I made this decision somewhat... impulsively, shall we say?"

"But why? Why come here? Why tell me anything?"

"Because everyone deserves a second chance Karl Mordo, and that certainly includes you. You've lost a lot, I need not be a Seer to know that, it's written on every scar on your body, every line on your face... but now you have a chance, a chance to take some of what you've lost, back. You need only take the opportunity that lays before you."

"No lady, you're wrong, I lost all my chances a long time ago, twenty-four years ago, to be precise. Those chances will never come back!"

Rose looked at him, a look that held a thousand secrets, and Karl had to force himself not to ask about any of them, to hold onto his convictions, his beliefs, they were all he'd left.

"I have a mission, and I must fulfill it." He stated evenly.

"And what mission is that? To rid this world of sorcerers? Well, your kind of sorcerer. By the way, that trick won't work on me, just thought I should mention that. My power is nothing like yours, and I'm not really a sorceress, so..." Rose shrugged somewhat carelessly. "As I was saying. You will rid the world of one kind of sorcerer, and then what? What do you think that will achieve, aside from skewing the balance? And that's even assuming you manage to someday complete that task." She let out a breath. "Truth is, it will do nothing at all. You will have wasted your life with a pointless endeavor. Do you think that's what Chara would want..."

"Do not dare say her name!" Karl practically roared abruptly. "What do you know about her? What do you know about me?! Nothing at all!"

"We know what it feels like, to lose one's match." It wasn't a question. "The grief, the emptiness, the fury... at the world, time, life, even yourself... We both have felt it all, but you've let it consume you."

"It doesn't consume me."

"Not anymore, no. You managed to find a purpose, something to sustain you. The Order, the Ancient One; you made them, made her into your anchor. It was good for a while, but that also means that when she failed you, failed to fulfill your expectations, you were left bereft."

"She was a traitor. A traitor to her own teachings!"

"Was she?"

"Are you going to try and feed me the same fallacy Strange used? That she was 'complicated'?!"

"Well, she certainly was that, but it goes beyond being complicated. Tell me Mordo, you're always going on about the price behind the magic, do you really think she could have done what she did and not pay a price during all these years?"

"Kaecilius was the price!"

"No, he wasn't. Kaecilius was his own person. He made his choices. Regardless of what the Ancient One had or hadn't done, he would have still found the Book of Cagliostro, the Forbidden Rituals, the choice was always his to make. Just like you have yours. And this I know for fact. I met with the Ancient One some time before her death, less than a year after Kaecilius's original departure, she asked me to look into it, worried that she could have done something to stop him from leaving. There's nothing she or anyone else could have done. And you do her, and yourself a disservice believing otherwise." She shook her head. "Now for the price, tell me Mordo, you've felt what it's like to be without your match. Can you imagine existing in that state for hundreds of years? Alone, feeling that neverending grief, loneliness, pain, the void..."

"It was her choice!"

"Yes it was. A choice made out of love. Love of a memory, the memory of her match, who gave everything he had, everything he was, to keep his country safe. She tried her best to make him proud in the only way she knew how. She served, as an acolyte, as a sorceress, a protector, and was eventually chosen to be the Sorceress Supreme. She defeated a great evil, one that nearly destroyed our world... and then, when she would have wanted to rest, to follow her match into the next life... she instead learnt of another great evil that threatened our world. One the Order wasn't ready for. And so she stayed..."

And so she'd stayed, for nearly fifteen hundred years...

"Tell me Karl Mordo, what would you do for your match? For her love? To honor her memory? Those were the questions the Ancient One once faced, she made her choices and they had consequences; so will yours. And no, I will not make them for you, it's not my place. I am only here to make sure you do not throw your life away because you were missing information."

"What about Strange? He broke the laws of nature too!"

"He did, and if you honestly believe he didn't pay the price then you know not what you speak of. I will not tell you what it was, it's not my place, just know he did, and it was a steep one."

"Why didn't he tell me?"

"Because he knew that in that moment you needed to leave, needed time for yourself, more than you needed a reason to stay. Do not confuse my words, Stephen wanted you to stay, that has never changed, he wanted your help, your support... but he knew that you needed time to come to terms with what had happened, the fact that the Ancient One wasn't as perfect as you made her out to be, and that the world is far more complex than you convinced yourself it was." Rose shook her head. "Haven't you wondered why you're even here still? Free? Unconcerned? Why you're not being hunted down by the Order? You've been officially named a Rogue, and everyone knows you tried to trap Stephen in the Mirror Dimension, and then did the same with Helena and the three young sorcerers... one who is actually Stephen's own apprentice."

Rose didn't miss the way Karl's eyes flashed briefly at the mention of one of those people, but she didn't call attention to it either.

"Several members of the Order have wanted you to be considered officially a criminal, a traitor to the Order, they wanted you to be hunted down..." Rose pointed out calmly.

"And why haven't they?!" Karl challenged, a battle of emotion in his voice.

"Because Stephen refused to allow it." Rose said simply. "And after what happened in Hong Kong... he has just enough respect from the other masters. They listen to him. If he says there's still a chance you could go back, that you could serve the Order again, they believe him. As long as he believes in you, no one will dare hunt you down. And Stephen will never stop believing in you, Karl... never. It's just not in him, to give up."

"But... why?!" There was a terrible sense of agony in him, a failure to understand why. "Why would he believe in me? Why, after everything I've done!"

"Because the things you've done haven't been irredeemable, not yet and... and because you believed in him first. Have you thought about that? When even the Ancient One threw him out, refused to give him a chance... even though she probably knew that he'd get it, sooner or later. You did. You believed in him, gave him the opportunity, gave him the support he needed. You were there for Stephen when he needed help the most, when even his match couldn't be there for him... you were the brother he never had... I think, at least in his head, you still are."

Nothing was said, Rose suspected Mordo simply had no words to say. She didn't push. She'd done what she was there to do, the rest was up to him.

"In the end, the choice is yours to make." She reminded him simply, before standing up again.

She waved a hand in the air and waited, her match would be picking her up in seconds, literally.

"You said... you said we know what it feels like, to lose one's match." He called in the last moment. "Does that mean...?"

"Hope never dies." Rose whispered softly, looking at Karl over her shoulder. "Neither does love."

And then she was gone, barely giving Karl a moment to see a young man in shades of blue with white accents and blonde hair so light it was almost white... or silver. He stopped beside the redhead for a moment, scooping her up in his arms, to her delighted giggles, before dashing off (speed was evidently his gift). Karl didn't need to ask, it was obvious he was her match. Her match which she'd once lost... she'd gotten him back.

Karl looked down half-absently, at the white bow in his hand, one that had once adorned the dark-hair of the most important person in his life, his pretty little gypsy... his happiness, his Chara. Was it possible? Could he get her back someday? A memory of dark-eyes pulled at his memory, eyes he'd seen recently. He didn't focus on that, pushed aside the past (at least for the time being) he needed his mind on the present. Karl Mordo had a choice to make.

xXx

And elsewhere... elsewhere a young woman, with dark hair and eyes, all of twenty-three years old, danced to a melody that seemed to exist only in her head, as her mind conjured up a tall, imposing young man with dark skin, who placed a white bow on the side of her head and called her 'little gypsy'...


So, did you enjoy this? I hope you did. The vision of the future wasn't planned but I just couldn't help myself, and I liked it, something hopeful to dream about, rather than just the monster they all know is coming...

So, in a month we'll have the first in the next batch of AUs, it'll go into Dr. Strange again (I cannot help myself!). And I have other ideas, some you can see in my profile, some are only occurring to me now so... yeah.

Regarding the fourth and final phase of the main timeline. Tentatively it will consist of two stories: "Infinite Starlight" which will be the actual Infinity War... I hope to give you something completely different from the comics, and from what the MCU will be eventually giving us (not hard to do, considering that my Thanos is completely different from canon one, and it all just goes from there...). The second story is an epilogue that I'm tentatively calling "A Thousand Years" right now, the title might yet change.

I really hope you've enjoyed all I've written up until now, and will enjoy as well what's yet to come. I'd love it if you were so kind to leave comments. See you around my wonderful readers!