Stephen dragged himself pitifully across the floor of the New York Sanctum, the blood from his chest wound smearing up against him as he continued trying to crawl farther away from the threat at the top of the staircase.
He couldn't wrap his head around the fact that this was actually happening. He wasn't even supposed to be here, and now look at him - crawling down a hallway like a wounded animal.
Everything in the past hour had escalated so quickly. One minute, he's speaking with Mordo and Wong, the next, he's fighting one-on-one with that Kaecilius character after Stephen had watched him murder two men. Stephen had, surprisingly, held his own quite well considering he had only arrived at the Kamar-Taj less than six months ago. Stephen's grave mistake came when he, like an idiot, stood at the top of the second story staircase and allowed Kaecilius to distract him with talk of Dormammu and the Dark Dimension. Before Stephen even realized that his sling ring was no longer in its place on his hand, there was an enormous mystical blade being thrust into his chest from Kaecilius' follower who had snuck up behind him while he was distracted.
Glancing back over his shoulder, he felt himself begin to panic as he watched as the man who had thrown the blade through his chest came into view at the end of the hall, stalking him quickly like a predator. Knowing he would never be able to outrun the man, Stephen was prepared to accept his fate. Just as hope was lost, the Cloak flew from Stephen's shoulders to wrap around the zealot's head, winding tightly and slamming him into the wall over and over again.
Watching in bemused shock, Stephen saw his opportunity for escape as the man's golden sling ring fell from his hand during the Cloak's assault and slid across the floor towards him. Quickly sliding the stolen sling ring onto his hand, Stephen struggled to pull himself into a standing position, fighting against the searing pain emitting from his chest as he panted heavily. Using a nearby bench to help steady himself, Stephen was finally on his feet, only to suddenly realize he had no idea where to go.
He didn't need to be a doctor to know that he needed medical attention, and he needed it now - But where would he go? His first thought was to go to Metro-General, but he quickly discarded the plan almost as soon as it had popped into his head. He had no idea what excuse he could give for how he looked or came about the hole in his chest. Not to mention, he honestly didn't trust any of the doctors not to just let him die in return for how much of an asshole he'd been to everyone in the past.
Racking his brain wildly and running out of time, he panted heavily as he began rotating his hand to conjure a sloppy portal. Half staggering, half falling through the sparking portal, he prayed that he had made the right decision.
Hermione stood at the sink in her tiny kitchen finishing up the dishes that she had been putting off since she had made dinner the night before. The day had been her favorite kind of day - No deadlines, no work, absolutely nothing. It had been a gloriously free day, and she had made the most of it by putting on a pair of her favorite sweats and losing herself in her most recently bought book. Grabbing a dish towel, she reached for a newly washed plate when she suddenly paused at the sudden wave of magic that washed over the room.
Spinning on her bare heel quickly, she shrieked in surprise as a glowing orange ring appeared in the middle of her living room.
"Bloody hell!" She yelled furiously, her hands already up in a defensive stance in the event that whatever was happening was potentially deadly.
Realizing that the glowing ring had deposited a body onto her floor, Hermione cleared her throat nervously.
"Hello?" She called out hesitantly after there was no immediate movement. "Is there something I can help you with?" She added, sarcasm lacing her tone.
Stephen pushed his belly off the floor onto all fours, before looking over to her. "Hermione?"
Hermione eyed him suspiciously. "Do I know you?"
"I'm Dr. Stephen Strange. I was the doctor in the emergency room the day you came in with the Avengers." He rushed out as he pulled himself into a standing position. Pain laced every word he spoke and movement he made. "I need you to heal me like you did yourself that day." He finished as he stumbled into her wall, his back hitting her bookshelf painfully.
"Bloody hell!" Hermione repeated, knowing she sounded like Ron, but not caring.
Making a split second decision to help the man, Hermione rushed to the injured man's side, and quickly helped him over to her kitchen table. Enlarging it quickly to accommodate his height, she hurriedly laid him on his back. Opening his shirt to examine his injury, she quickly recoiled at the dark magic that oozed from the jagged wound, covering the room in a heavy aura.
"This is dark magic." She hissed in surprise. "Who did this?"
Looking down at the man for an answer, she was pushed into action at his loss of consciousness. Flying towards her kitchen cabinets, she thanked Merlin that she had decided to fully stock her personal stores after the Chituari invasion. Grabbing several vials, she quickly poured them down Stephen's mouth in a panic, hoping that she would be able to work through the dark magic without harming him further.
With the vials of potions now consumed, she quickly began murmuring the song-like healing spell that Snape had used on Draco all those years ago at Hogwarts.
"How am I doing?"
Hermione shrieked as the ghost-like figure of Stephen poked its head out of thin air directly in front her.
Recovering quickly, Hermione poured another potion down the unconscious man's throat before turning towards the entity floating above the table.
"How are you a ghost if you aren't dead yet?" She demanded, her adrenaline running rampant through her veins. "What am I looking at?"
"My astral body." Stephen replied.
"But you aren't dead…?" Hermione half stated, half asked.
"No, but I am dying."
Hermione turned quickly and began spouting out healing spell after healing spell, hoping to combat the dark magic that fought tooth and nail against her. Turning back towards the floating not-ghost, she continued.
"What's going on? Why are you here? How did you even get here?" She rattled off quickly.
"I promise, I'll answer all of your questions, but I have to vanish now." Stephen explained calmly.
"What?! No, no, no. You can't just leave your body here!" Hermione argued.
"Keep me alive, will you?"
With that, the entity vanished, leaving Hermione with the almost-corpse lying on her kitchen table.
"Arrogant git." Hermione grumbled to herself as she continued working on the wound.
Throwing out a spell that monitored Stephen's heart rate, Hermione took a deep breath. Picking up where she had left off, she continued Snape's healing spell over and over again, alternating between a round of the healing chant and a cocktail of potions.
She jumped in surprise as the table on which Stephen was laid skidded across the floor several feet, seemingly of its own accord. Looking around the apartment for the source and finding nothing, she began her chant once more.
The sudden "crack" of her living room lamp exploding startled Hermione, but not enough to break her concentration. Gritting her teeth, she continued working on the injured doctor. Watching the flesh of the chest wound finally begin knitting up in response to her attentions, Hermione smiled in excitement at finally having beaten the dark magic coursing through the injured doctor's veins.
That joy was short lived, however, as the heart rate monitoring spell she had conjured began beeping loudly in warning. Hermione flew back to her cabinet as she realized the doctor had flatlined. Rummaging through the dozens of vials, she quickly grabbed a deep cobalt blue vial and dumped it down his throat quickly. Watching his back arch off the table and glancing back up at the monitor, Hermione smiled as his heart began working, once more.
"Hit me again!"
"Jesus!" Hermione yelled, jumping back several feet as Stephen's astral body appeared in front of her again. "Stop doing that!"
"Can you do it again? Up the voltage and hit me again!" He yelled back at her.
"What? No! Your heart is already beating! And there's not even a 'voltage'!" She answered back, frustrated.
"Just do it!" He demanded before disappearing from sight.
"I can't believe I'm about to do this." Hermione muttered as she quickly grabbed two more vials of the deep blue potion out of her cabinet. Rushing back over to Stephen, she paused. "I hope you know what you're doing, Strange." She said as she dumped both potions into the man's mouth.
Watching as Stephen's body convulsed severely, his back arching way off the table, Hermione dove underneath the table as every lightbulb in the apartment shattered. With glass raining down everywhere, Hermione panicked as the doctor's back slammed down onto the table with a horrifying finality. Leaping back up, she leaned over the still body, hoping to find a sign of life. Checking both pupils and growing more concerned when there was no response, she began shaking him gently.
Just when Hermione thought the man may actually be dead, Stephen flew up with a long, deep gasp, coughing slightly as he found himself in a seated position.
"Bloody hell!" Hermione shrieked, grabbing her chest to steady herself.
"Are you ok?" Hermione asked after her she had calmed from the fright.
"Hey there." Stephen said in reply.
"I'll take that as a yes. Now, can you tell me how you came to be here, bleeding out on the floor of my apartment and somehow flying out of your body at will?" She asked as she crossed her arms waiting for an answer.
"I know, I know." He began as he held his arms up, hoping to calm her. "I know that none of this makes sense, but I don't have a lot of time."
"Well, I just saved your life, so I'm going to need you to find some time to give me at least a few answers." She retorted as she levelled a gaze at the man.
"Well," He began. "A powerful sorcerer, who gave himself over to an ancient entity who can bend the very laws of physics, tried very hard to kill me, but I left him chained up in Greenwich Village. Then, one of his zealots followed me through the portal I accidentally left open in your apartment in his astral body. The damage done to your apartment was a result of our fighting in the astral plane."
The silence between the pair was palpable as Hermione blinked at him for several moments.
"Well," Hermione coughed. "I can honestly say that I wasn't expecting that."
"I really do have to go."
"Wait. One more question." Hermione interjected quickly. "How does this involve you? I thought you were a neurosurgeon? And how did you find me here?"
"I was...am" Stephen corrected quickly. "But, as of...about six months ago, I'm also a sorcerer of the mystic arts. The day you were in the emergency room, you gave your address aloud to Steve Rogers. I knew that I had seen you heal your wound and, although I knew it was a risk, I was hoping you could do the same for me."
"Sorcerer of the mystic arts...Again, not what I was expecting." Hermione responded with a slight smirk and a shake of her head.
"I'm sorry, Hermione, but I really do need to go." He apologized with what she thought was sincerity. "Apparently, I've got a world to save." He added with an arrogant smile.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Mmhm. Don't mind me, of course."
Stephen began walking towards the living room where the glowing orange portal was still sparking chaotically. Turning back towards Hermione before stepping through, he leveled her with a serious gaze.
"Thank you, Hermione." He said sincerely. "I don't know what would have happened to me without you."
"You would have died, of course." Hermione snarked back with a smile. "I also think you may still be in shock, Dr. Strange."
"I know." He responded before taking a step through the portal.
"Dr. Strange." Hermione called out before the portal closed. When he looked back at her, Hermione continued. "I expect answers after all of...that...is taken care of." She said, referring to the issues at the Sanctums.
"I assumed so." He said with a smile before the portal closed.
Flopping down on her couch tiredly, Hermione tried to wrap her head around what had just happened. Sighing, she waved her hand gently through the air and watched as the damaged pieces of her home began righting themselves.
Stephen Strange was apparently a sorcerer - How odd.
How strange a place New York is. Hermione didn't even realize sorcerers were real, but she supposed, in the grand scheme of things, it wasn't that far-fetched - She knew a super soldier that was cryogenically frozen in 1945, for Merlin's sake.
A fleeting thought made her wonder if she needed to let Tony and Steve know what had happened here tonight. Surely, they would want to know if a sorcerer was able to portal in and out of any of their homes at will.
Getting up from her spot on the couch, she padded over to her phone sitting on the bookcase. Deciding to forget the men for now, she clicked through her contacts before hitting the "call" button and waiting for the voice on the other end.
"Hey, Pepper! When are you free, because I've got a wild story to tell you!"