Changing Hearts

Chapter 7

Remi's chest slowly heaved up and down as Stephen waved a hand in front of her closed eyes. His eyes were wide and his body began to shake, not because he was sick, but because of what Mordo and the Ancient One had told him about her. Apparently, he heard that Remi held powers that could unlock a great evil from its prison and invade the world. Dormammu, the ruler of the Dark Dimension, was spoken by Kaecilius as his true teacher and he wants to release him to invade the world so they can see the master he really was. Remi was the key to all this, and although her powers were incredibly beautiful, they were also dark and dangerous.

"That is why she cannot tap into her dark powers," Mordo told him. "Because if she does, the closer Dormammu is to be released!"

"Mordo," the Ancient One turned to him. "Remi's power is not dark. Yes, she does hold the power to release him, but she can learn to control them!"

Mordo grew angry and turned away from her, holding his bandaged left hand. Stephen turned his head from them and to a still unconscious Remi, who groaned lightly in her sleep as her chest rose up and down. He could not believe a woman her age, appearing around twenty-seven or so, could end the world with just one power that could go entirely wrong. Turning around in his stool, he stared at her motionless body. Her hands were in fists and her elbows were flat against the sheets of her bed. Her eyebrows lightly twitched but other than that, not a single sound came from her mouth. The Ancient One excused herself back to the training grounds. Mordo stayed behind and stared at Stephen who did not take another glance behind him.

"Doctor Strange," he found himself using his correct title for the first time. "Please watch over her. Whatever happens, this cannot happen again."

Stephen looked at Mordo but remained silent as he made to limp out of the room. "Wait, your injuries are still bad."

"I have some things I need to take care of." Mordo informed him before closing the door behind him. Stephen watched as he disappeared before he found himself all alone in the healing chambers. There were many beds that were covered with white sheets and at least two pillows aligned perfectly in rows, but he and Remi were the only ones that remained in there. He turned back around and continued to stare at an unconscious young woman. He had no idea whether to leave and go find Mordo or stay by her bedside. With his hands in the condition they were, he was unable to perform any of his work to check her vitals, take her blood, do anything that could tell why she had reacted the way she did.

"I wish I could understand you better," Stephen thought to himself. "I... you are helping me, but how can I help you?"

Remi groaned and her hands lightly twitched. Stephen watched as her eyes narrowed and her teeth gritted. Her body began to slightly move about in its still form. However, the more he watched her, he knew something was very wrong. Soon, Remi's movements started to convulse. She cried out in pain and she punched her hands in the air and kicked her legs out, almost as if she were trying to fight something that had her pinned against the bed. Stephen hopped off the stool he was sitting on so fast it fell across the floor and landed against the wall. He grabbed Remi's wrists and pinned them above her head. Remi grunted and growled as she kicked her legs and tried to free her hands from his tight grasp, but he held her arms perfectly against the headboard. Pretty soon her convulsions receded and her legs stopped kicking. Her breath labored and her lips closed together.

"Remi…" Stephen whispered. She said not a single word. "Remi, if you can hear me, say something."

Remi groaned and an arm over her eyes. "Monster," she groaned in her sleep. "I'm a monster. Monster!"

Stephen saw her eyes snap open and she awoke with a start, causing him to jump back and trip over his feet. He landed on his rear but looked up and saw Remi breathing heavily, sweat pouring down her head. She took one good look around before her eyes settled on the doctor. "Stephen? Where, what happened? Where am I?"

"The healing chambers. The Ancient One and Mordo took you here," Stephen explained

"Why? What happened?" Remi demanded quickly

"You don't remember?" Stephen was shocked.

"Remember what?"

Stephen got to her bedside and placed a hand on her arm. "Remi…you tapped into your dark powers. It was too much for you to handle and…you almost killed Mordo."

The silence seemed to weigh heavily on the young woman's shoulders. Her light golden amber eyes widened and she turned away from Stephen and looked at her hands. The markings had disappeared, but there were bandages with spots of blood soaking through wrapped around her palms. Looking up from her hands, tears formed in her eyes as she threw her arms around Stephen.

"What have I done?!" Sobs wrecked Remi's body. "It's my fault! I'm a monster!"

"Remi-" Stephen could not find the right words.

"I have tried so hard to control my powers, but every time I do, I end up hurting the people I love around me. Why am I like this, Stephen? Why does my power cause people pain?!"

Stephen stayed silent, but her words echoed in his brain. All the people who cared about, his ex-girlfriend, his fellow companions he had worked with…he remembered being so mean to them that some turned their backs on him and never spoke with him again, all except for Christine Palmer. She continued to be his colleague for a long time, helping him out with various surgeries, checkups, and even taking notes that he had missed if he had to go away for important meetings. Now, he had lost her, never hearing back from the emails he had constantly written her. Looking down at the ground, he hesitantly wrapped one of his arms around Remi and gently stroked her back.

Hours passed by after his last visit with Remi. Quietly closing the door behind him, he walked down the hallway towards his own quarters, but stopped when he saw Mordo exiting the Ancient One's chambers. He turned away from him and continued walking, but the master sorcerer raced to his side and walked alongside with him. "How is she?" Mordo inquired.

"The swelling in her hands have gone down, but she still needs to keep her hands wrapped to prevent any infection," Stephen informed him. Mordo sighed with relief as they stopped in front of his room.

"Mordo," Stephen looked at him straight in the eyes. "I think Remi's powers are not evil. You're right that they are dangerous, but not dark. She just needs to learn how to control them."

"What do you mean? How can you possibly think there is a way for her to contain the dark magic in her?" Mordo crossed his arms.

"I don't know. This isn't normal for her, and I need to find out her medical history. Do you think you can do me a favor and find her files for me?"

Mordo gave Stephen a look of confusion and shock.

Stephen glanced through the paperwork he had received hours later from Mordo. He flipped through each file endlessly, the stack of paperwork increasing on his tiny desk. He read each word intently, but he could not find out anything out of the ordinary for Remi Ramirez. He saw that she did have a couple of anxiety attacks and incidents of sleepwalking but nothing too severe. Sighing, he tossed the last couple of papers aside and leaned back in his chair.

"There is nothing wrong with her," Stephen determined. Looking down at his desk, something caught his attention. It was the very last paper of her medical files. He turned it over and read something that did not sound right. One time, when Remi was fourteen years old, her grandmother had awoken to the sound of screaming one night. The patient's mother informed EMTs that Remi's chest was glowing a bright blue color and her arms and eyes were pulsating with a light so bright she had to look away from it. It caused one of her lungs to collapse from trauma and she had almost died because of it. He tossed the paper into the stack and leaned back in his chair. He began to get the feeling that this was not the first time Remi had tapped into her powers, and it definitely would not be the last.

"Stephen?" a voice came from outside his room. Realizing it was Remi herself, he scrambled to gather her medical files and shoved them into the drawer of his desk. When he heard the sound of his bedroom door opening, he slid the drawer shut and jumped around towards her. He saw her hair was down and she was wearing a long sleeved white nightgown.

"Hey there, Remi. How are you feeling?" he casually asked.

"I'm feeling better than I was this morning. What were you doing?" Remi looked at him confused.

"I was uh…reading an interesting news article on the Internet." Stephen gestured towards is Windows Tablet and smiled nervously. Remi gave him a weird look before rolling her eyes and walking towards him.

"I um, I just wanted to come by and say thank you for looking after me. You really listened to what I had to say and that made me so grateful."

"No problem. I am a doctor, y'know," Stephen laughed.

"I was wrong about you when you first came to Kamar-Taj. You're not as arrogant and stubborn as I thought you were," Remi smiled genuinely.

"I-really? I am?" Stephen was confused, making Remi chuckle. "Wow, That's the first time I've heard you say that in several weeks! Thank you."

Remi nodded and turned to leave, but Stephen stopped her quickly. "Uh, Remi…do you think you could uh, train with me some more? The truth is I really like working with you."

Remi's eyes widened and she felt a flush of hot crimson spread across her face. Staying silent, she nodded and quickly bolted from his room before Stephen could see how red her face had gotten. Taking that as a yes, Stephen smiled and turned off the lights to his room so he could get some sleep.

Over the next few weeks…

Stephen and Remi trained endlessly. Remi would command Stephen to straighten out his posture or she would nag on him that his magic working skills were lagging, but she was joyed when he had informed her that he was getting better with the Sling Ring. He was introduced to one of Remi's relics, which was a weapon someone was assigned so they could use it to fight against an enemy. It was a braided whip made from the fine hairs of several white stallions, but at the end, two long electrical whips tied together giving off an orange pulsating glow. She cracked the whip at his feet, sending electricity right after his toes, causing him to run in all directions to avoid being zapped. Remi laughed as she hooked the whip to her belt.

"How come I don't see it with you that often?" asked Stephen as he got into a fighting position.

"I do not care for relics much. Why would I need a weapon when I am my own weapon?" Remi laughed as she and Stephen started to punch at each other. She threw one at his face, but Stephen caught her wrist and dropped it before catching her other hand and twisting them both behind her back. With a light kick, he sent her forward yet not as hard as the other time they had trained. Remi gave him a look but smiled as they continued to train together. Stephen tried to kick her from underneath her feet, but she jumped in the air and locked her legs around her neck, sending him in a headlock to the ground. Stephen groaned as she unwrapped her legs from his neck and stood triumphantly over him.

"I win!" Remi made a victory pose with two peace signs in the air. Stephen growled as she helped him to his feet. Their training was interrupted by the sound of the Ancient One's footsteps echoing behind them. The other students turned their attention towards her and bowed.

"I'd like a moment with Mr. Strange, please." The other students nodded and walked inside Kamar-Taj, but Remi stayed by his side.

"Let me guess, it's about my hands," Stephen crossed his arms.

"Actually no," the Ancient One sounded surprised herself.

"How is this not about my hands?" Stephen snapped. Remi watched as the Ancient One ordered Master Hamir beside her to demonstrate his magic. Rolling up the sleeve of his robe, Stephen was taken aback when he saw his right hand was nothing but a stump. Effortlessly, Master Hamir began to form a circle with a square design going through it until it completely disappeared. The Ancient One thanked him and he took his leave.

"You cannot beat a river into submission. You have to surrender to its current, and use its power as your own," the Ancient One informed him. Stephen looked at her confused before she made a portal with her own Sling Ring, commanding him to follow her. Remi was left to stand alone as she watched them disappear into the portal. Not even a few minutes later the Ancient One strode back onto the grounds of Kamar-Taj yet the portal closed behind her before Stephen could jump through. Remi's eyes widened as she questioned why the Ancient One left Stephen alone.

"Give him some time, my dear. He will come back," the Ancient One reassured her. Remi worriedly looked to where the portal closed but she was interrupted when she saw Mordo walking towards them. He looked at her from the Ancient One when he saw Stephen was missing.

"Oh no, not again." He pulled his Sling Ring from his belt, but Remi shook her head and stopped him. They waited a few more moments before they saw an orange portal form in front of them, Remi smiling widely. Stephen fell right through, having been on Mount Everest for some minutes. His beard was covered in snow and he was shaking profusely. Remi came to his aide and helped him to his feet, but they were really wobbly and she had a hard time.

Informing the Ancient One and Mordo she would take him to her room, she helped Stephen reach the doors of Kamar-Taj. Both masters watched as they disappeared from sight, looking at each other with looks of surprise.

Stephen shivered profusely as his feet dipped into a bucket of steaming water. He had a blanket wrapped around him from Remi's bed and he had a cup of nice warm tea in his right hand. Remi was busy folding the old sheets from her bed and replacing them with new ones before turning her attention back to the freezing neurosurgeon. She smiled as she dried his hair and beard down with a towel before shaking the excess snow off onto the floor.

"Bless you." Stephen let out a loud sneeze. Remi walked towards him and pulled a seat next to him. "How are you feeling?"

"Better than I was before," Stephen answered nasally. "This is good tea."

"With a little bit of honey," Remi giggled as she got up from her seat and took the mug once she realized it was empty. She grabbed the kettle off her dresser and refilled it, returning it to Stephen who gulped it all down.

"Given some time you'll feel better. The Sorcerer Supreme likes to teach her students a hard lesson," Remi dried his hair down some more.

"She loves to torture them too," Stephen pulled the blanket he had wrapped around his shoulders tightly. Remi nodded in agreement and returned to her seat.

"At least you mastered the Sling Ring. It shows you really do have a gift for the mystic arts," she informed him.

"I almost froze to death on the world's largest mountain. How do you call that a gift?" Stephen glared at her.

"You didn't die." Remi laughed. Stephen rolled his eyed as he sipped the last of the bits of tea from his mug. Remi offered to refill it, but after three cups he politely refused. She set the mug back down on the dresser and returned to her seat. "In all seriousness, you are showing amazing improvement."

"Eh, whatever. I never asked, but…why are you being so nice to me all of the sudden? I get it you were grateful for me helping you heal, but…you're treating me as if I'm no longer a "dog."

Remi looked at the bucket his feet were dipped in and shrugged. "I guess…I saw a side of you that I failed to see. I should've looked passed your ego and into your heart. You really aren't a bad man, Stephen. You're kind, caring, and brave, but…I'm still right on one thing. There are only possibilities, nothing more."

Stephen looked at the ground sadly.

"But…that can change in time. If you just listen, you will go far. I cannot change your ways, Doctor Stephen Strange. That is up to you."

Stephen eyed Remi with wide eyes, but immediately, when she met her soft sweet gaze, he lips curled upward in a smile. She smiled back, a genuine smile that was not fake nor forced. A true genuine smile, something that made her feel better about herself, and to Strange, it made him feel better too. For a couple of minutes, it was complete silence. Remi turned away from his gaze and cleared her throat before getting off her chair and heading towards the door.

"I'm going to get some more towels. Do you need anything?"

"I could use some more tea. This stuff is amazing," Stephen gestured to the pot and mug. Remi laughed and nodded her head, closing the door behind her.

The next day Stephen was back on his feet, feeling like a million dollars. He walked out of his bedroom towards the bathroom, grabbing some scissors, an electric razor, and a washcloth Remi had provided him. He looked at himself in the mirror and realized he had let himself go for way too long now. He lipped the long ends of his hair off and he trimmed his long beard with the electric razor. Just as he was about to stop, he stared at himself in the mirror. He noticed he had shaved his beard into a goatee. Nodding in approval, he turned off the razor and set it on the sink. He then dried his face with the wash cloth before leaving the bathroom.

Walking down the hall, he passed a couple of students holding books and sitting on benches. He made his way towards the library where Wong was putting away some books. He remembered their first meeting on how he was the new guardian of the library ever since the original librarian had been beheaded by Kaecilius. Wong saw Stephen coming towards him and stopped his work.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Strange?" Wong asked.

"I need books on astral projection," Stephen requested.

"You're not ready for that," Wong looked at him suspiciously.

"Try me, Beyoncé," Stephen gave him the same challenging look, but Wong glowered at him unamused. Stephen sighed and requested the book, but Wong bluntly refused.

"C'mon, Wong," Remi's voice interrupted. She walked beside Stephen and patted his shoulder. "He has really progressed in his studies. I think he's ready for some astral projection magic. Couldn't you lighten up this once and give him some slack?"

Wong eyed her confusingly but when he saw the sweet look he gave her, he let loose this once. Turning to one of the shelves, he grabbed two books and handed them to Stephen. Thanking him, Remi and Stephen exited the library and closed the door behind him. Remi looked at Stephen with an "I got your back" kind of look and Stephen mouthed thank you. Remi nodded cheerfully as they headed back to Stephen's room and closed the door behind them.

"And release your form." Remi commanded. Stephen pushed himself forward with a hard jerk, and before he knew it, his astral formed appeared in front of her. Remi looked at him and scratched her chin. Stephen floated in front of her as she circled him, taking note of his body structure and his face. She nodded in approval and commanded him to go back to his original body. Stephen awoke with a start, gasping and breathing heavily.

"You're doing well for a beginner," Remi informed him.

"We've been at this for hours now!" Stephen told her.

"If you want to get the astral form down, you practice for hours to no end! However, you are right, so today's lesson has ended," Remi concluded. She grabbed the two books Wong had lent to them and headed for Stephen's bedroom door.

"Same time tomorrow?" he asked.

"Same time tomorrow. Goodnight, Stephen."

"Goodnight, Remi."

Remi nodded with a smile and closed the door behind her. Stephen smiled as he listed to her footsteps until they disappeared. Walking towards his bed, he sat down on it and put his forearms on her knees. He could not help but think of Remi the entire time, how she was being so kind to him even though he had treated her like dirt most of the time. She was a mysterious woman indeed, but he finally saw her for her true self. She was a kind woman who cared for everyone, and she was just misunderstood.

Smiling to himself, Stephen stripped himself of his robes and climbed into his pajamas, pulling the bedsheets over him and settling in for the night. For the first time since he had arrived at Kamar-Taj, he was looking forward to tomorrow.

To Be Continued

And this is where things are going to start to go! Remi and Stephen are starting to get along now, and even though I did do a timeskip, this is another important part in the story. :)

Please don't forget to leave reviews! Flames are welcomed. Not to say my story is bad, I just take any words you have to say by heart! :)

See ya next chapter! :)