Stephen found himself spiraling down a fractal tunnel of kaleidoscopic colors. His mind racing with thoughts as he tried to process the events that was transpiring. Before he could do so, the tunnel spat him out to a lifeless metropolis in the middle of a superstorm.
Thunder rang. The superstorm raged.
His immediate concern was not the storm or the city below. No.
What truly concerned him was that he didn't have a physical body when he was not in astral plane.
Explosions reverberate through the air, shifting his focus. His gaze was drawn to a colossal humanoid resembling a female that was easily the size of a mountain. It was floating inverted, its head positioned below and its legs - replaced by a spinning large cog connected to its smaller body by a red column – suspended above. Her head resembled a cup, adorned with a headdress that held a billowing white silk sheet.
A swirling vortex of buildings surrounded the colossal being like angry drones. A whole…circus was tied to her. It emitted an aura of malevolent. Its nature further solidified with an unsettling laugh that echoed within the seemingly abandoned city.
Before the massive creature, stood firm a black-haired girl. Her eyes hardened in against the humanoid like a scene played out from the tale of David and Goliath, except the Goliath was the size of a skyscraper.
The buckler worn on the girl's wrist whirred, and the world was drained of all colors.
Time stopped.
He was unaffected. His very being didn't resist the time manipulation unfolding before him. It was as if he was exempted from it.
The buckler whirred again and hundreds of military-grade rocket launchers and mortars materialized on the ground around the girl.
The girl's picked up one of the materialized rocket launchers. Her brows furrowing in concentration as she aimed it at the towering being. Pulling the trigger, the rocket soared through the air with a trail of smoke, before suddenly freezing in mid-flight, drained of all color like the world around it.
The girl seemed to not have graduated middle school. Yet, she displayed mastery over time (that he quite envy), possessing a small army's worth of arsenal and fighting a giant eldritch thing.
It was…strange.
Everything the girl did threatens to make his eyes pop out from their sockets.
A snort escaped him. The girl would've thought the same thing if knew his past…deeds. He shook his head. He needed to move on from it.
The girl discarded the spent rocket launcher and retrieved another one. It would take time to fire the hundreds of rocket launchers. He took the opportunity to assess his situation.
First, he examined the reason for his exemption from the time stop. He meditated to feel any abnormality on his spectral form. He felt an invisible bond pulsating with subtle magic connecting his very being to a ring, the girl wore on her finger.
Ah. What a day.
Surely Uatu didn't just rend his soul from his body and tie it to a girl's ring? Uatu was not the one to 'interfere' without advance warning and the various creatures he had absorbed would warn him of soul manipulation.
He sighed in frustration. He drew up with a blank.
What is that eldritch being? Who was that girl and how did she get her power? Before he could further contemplate, time resumed once again. The girl was significantly faster than expected. He anticipated fifteen minutes.
Did she use magic to enhance her speed?
Strange observed the rocket barrage soaring through the air. All rockets found their marks and exploded in a thunderous force that matched the colossal humanoid's laughter in volume. However, despite the overwhelming firepower, the being remained unscathed.
But not unaffected.
The explosive impact sent the creature hurtling toward a line of interconnected towering electric pylons.
Seeing this, the girl ran along the row of summoned mortars, skillfully firing them one by one with a touch of her magic. The precise aim of military ordnance drew the creature to one of the electric pylons. She detonated the bombs planted on the base, bringing it down upon the colossal humanoid. It struggled underneath the weigh and it brought the girl enough time to hop on top a cab of a conveniently parked fuel truck.
She stood atop its roof and imbued it her magic with a touch, making it glow purple. Using her magic to drive the truck up a ramp, she launched it towards the creature, leaping into the water just before the truck flew and crashed into the creature, triggering a massive fireball.
To his surprise, instead of plunging into the water, the girl landed on a solid surface; a missile truck that he recognized as Multiple Launch Rocket System emerged from the water underneath. Its full payload was unleashed upon the humanoid, propelling the creature through the air before crashing into a stadium.
The girl produced another remote detonator from her shield and pressed the button. The stadium erupted into flames. Shockwaves rippled across miles-wide radius.
The creature laughter was silenced. The only sound was the pattering of rains and thunders.
The number of explosives was capable of obliterating an entire city block if desired. Strange stopped questioning the impossibility. He could get his answers later. No use in making his head ache without producing a result.
For a fleeting moment, there was a stillness, an eerie silence that hung in the aftermath of the explosion. But it was again short-lived, shattered by the grating laughter of the being that emerged unscathed from the smoke and debris.
The battle between the colossal humanoid and the girl resembled a pinball game. The battle was pre-planned. Each action and reaction were according to the girl's plan. It was evident judging by the pre-planted bomb at specific location. As impressive as the girl's strategic planning was, it was clear that the girl didn't account for the being's monstrous durability.
Enough watching.
He called upon the power of his own soul, intending to channel its immense magical energy reserve expanded by the integration of mystical beings he had absorbed centuries-long. He was met with disconcerting emptiness.
He conjured the power of his patron gods. It went unanswered. Even if 'They' decided he wasn't worth helping, there would still be a link to their home dimension, and he couldn't find one.
No physical body means he didn't have his artifacts on him to assist with spellcasting or magic amplification.
He had to use the surrounding ambient magical energy.
His astral form would make it challenging. It would require a significant amount of focus and time as he lacked physical anchor. However, he had no luxury of choice.
He channeled the environment magical energy to his spectral form, feeling it trickling in, gradually increasing in strength. Every ounce of power mattered now.
A dark apparition taking the shape of girls materialized near her, swinging its mace-shaped weapon. The girl was caught off-guard and was struck in the face, sending her flying.
Strange winced. Wince turned into a curse as he berated himself for losing focus. The girl's survival depended on his ability to gather the magical energy. 'Hold out just a little longer, girl,' Strange gritted his teeth.
The girl grabbed a handgun imbued with magical energy from the buckler. She shot the apparitions attacking her. Every bullet fired shattered the dark apparitions into broken fragments of lights. But for every apparition destroyed, five more takes its place. She was in danger of being overwhelmed.
The girl seemed to realize this too and switched strategy. She hopped between buildings as she advanced towards the colossal being, intending to finish the fight.
Countless apparitions materialized in front of her, effectively blocking her path. She reached into her buckler to acquire a new weapon.
The colossal humanoid had anticipated the move. It hurled a building at her with a telekinetic throw.
Hopelessness washed over his mind through the magical bond he shared with the girl. Despite the imminent danger approaching her, she didn't use her time ability. For whatever reason, she stood frozen staring at the incoming building like a deer in the headlight.
Strange didn't know if he had the willpower to endure another regret.
With a swift motion of his hand, he casted a heavy-duty protection spell on the girl using the amounts of magical power he managed to collect. A brilliant golden shield materialized and wrapped the girl protectively just moments before the building crushed the girl. The building passed through her and collided with another structure. The protection spell flared as it withstood against the immense weight and force of the hurled building.
A wave of relief washed over Strange as he sensed the girl's safety, even though
The girl's gaze was filled with a mix astonishment and surprise. She seemed to realize his presence as Strange locked eyes with the girl. Yet, her focus remained on her buckler.
That was when he heard the whir from the girl's buckler. This time, it was different. He could feel the fabric of spacetime being ripped apart.
Realization washed over him like a crashing wave. The girl was saving magical energy for time travel and he was going to be brought along for the ride!
Meddling with time and event only lead to more destruction.
The Watcher's words, etched like scars, burned within his consciousness. But, couldn't help but to be annoyed.
So much for watching the pocket dimension of two megalomaniacs, he grumbled.
