No-One But You (The Zephyr Endeavor)

Chapter 11: Connection Error Song (Part 1)

Steve Rogers wasn't opposed to their tiny visitor, and he didn't object to Clea and Stephen Strange heading off to a place called the Realm of Light.

The blonde was just surprised by what went down, and Tony Stark didn't seem affected by the little "Star Child" showing up at all. He kept his focus on making Sofia Strange as comfortable as possible. Steve watched them interact. He listened to them talk too, and eventually he took off his jacket and shoes.

Sofia kept looking up toward the ceiling, and she explained that she could see her parents enter Agamotto's realm. She referred to Agamotto as her father once again, so Steve eavesdropped with interest. Tony was the one doing all the talking with her, and he asked her a question about what she could see.

"Do your eyes function like telescopes? How are you able to see where they went?"

"Yes. My eyes operating like telescopes is a good analogy, but I can't see them anymore. I'm unable to see into the Realm of Light…"

Hmm.. Tony seemed fascinated with Sofia, and Steve really didn't want to disturb it. The notion of Stephen Strange not being Sofia's father bothered the blonde tho, because the physical resemblance clearly ruled the argument of fatherhood in favor of the former Sorcerer Supreme.

Sofia resembled Stephen in so many ways, but Steve could see a little light. Even now, right there as she sat beside Tony, Steve could see a slight glow. Agamotto had a bright glow to his physical form and that was something Steve had witnessed countless times. Perhaps Sofia's glow was from Clea. She was half Faltine… and maybe that caused the illumination.

Either way, any disagreement relating to who her father was, or wasn't, must have been hard on Clea… and Stephen. Steve didn't like seeing that at all, especially coming from someone as young as Sofia. The blonde glanced up toward the ceiling when Sofia said she was unable to see her parents. They entered Agamotto's realm, and Steve began to wonder what a conversation with him might have looked like in that moment.

Well, it wasn't a friendly conversation. The vibes were always ice cold, because Stephen and Agamotto never got along. Clea was technically stuck in the middle of them, but she always sided with Stephen. The ruler of the Dark Dimension had taken Stephen's side from the start, and she only acknowledged her marriage to the former Sorcerer Supreme.

Her behavior aggravated Agamotto, and he made sure Clea understood that any chance he could get. The entity always felt imprisoned there in the Realm of Light, and he only experienced freedom through his host. That "host" despised him, and the feeling was mutual.

Stephen was pissed off for multiple reasons. The first one had to do with his own daughter calling Agamotto her father… They shared a body, so yeah.. technically the notion was true. The second reason for his anger had to do with his wife…

Clea entered Agamotto's realm with Stephen and she approached the Vishanti beast with a bit of caution. The entity had a thirst for her, and a strong desire to keep here there. Well, that pissed Stephen off more than Clea knew, and it was making him hate Agamotto even more…

It was all about power folks. In this story, the one who controls the beast gets to rule the roost. Stephen Strange finally had the ability to control the beast, but now the "beast" was manipulating a six-year-old in order to have his way.

"Since cutting you off has created an annoying problem for us, we've come to bargain."

Bargain was an interesting word, but Stephen meant what he said. They unfortunately had to bargain with the beast, because the sorcerer wasn't interested in losing any of Agamotto's power. He needed the Vishanti trio, so he knew that he had to strike up some sort of deal…

Agamotto was looking at Clea. He heard what his host said, but the entity remained fixated with someone that was considered to be his queen. As soon as he took control of Stephen's body years ago, Agamotto was the one who married Clea in the Dark Dimension. The entity made her his bride…

Since that marriage took place, Agamotto thought only of regaining control of Stephen, and regaining his wife, but Clea wouldn't support it. She was very loyal to Stephen, and that angered the entity. He was always left seething and wanting more. Agamotto couldn't get enough..

"You already know what I want."

"Yeah, well… you living here in LaLa Land with Clea and Sofia isn't ever going to be a thing. Us coexisting is the only card you have to play pal."

Coexistence was key, even though Stephen absolutely hated it. His Vishanti entity was THE WORST, and the sorcerer was actually jealous of Tony and Steve. They lucked out, and the two of them didn't have to worry about Oshtur or Hoggoth doing something annoying or stupid.

Stephen had to worry all the time, because Agamotto couldn't just kick back and stay out of sight. He was the ultimate diva/loner, and all he wanted was Stephen's beautiful wife and daughter. The notion was insulting, and aggravating. The sorcerer looked over at Clea, then an anger he had brewing about it picked up once again.

"If you and I can actually coexist, then you can remain in my body and go with me everywhere I go. If we can't, or if you pull some stunt, then I will banish you here for good."

…

The entity heard Stephen's clever selection of words, but he continued to study the minimal movements that were coming from Clea Strange. She had her arms crossed over her stomach, but nothing about her seemed tense. Her beauty was striking, and almost haunting. Agamotto couldn't remove the young mother from his mind.

"Are you both in support of this, bargain. As husband and wife?"

Agamotto wanted to hear something from his bride. Clea looked in his direction, but her soft focus quickly turned in Stephen's direction. Now, did they BOTH support the notion of Stephen purposefully sharing his body with Agamotto? They've done it before, but only to appease the beast..

"We're both in support of this, for Sofia. Not for you."

Clea decided to respond and make that point known, because the "bargain" was designed to make things a little more clear for Sofia. They wanted to avoid confusion for her going forward. I mean, Sofia's father and Agamotto shared the same body, so theoretically… they were one and the same.

…

"For Sofia's sake, we'll give you a month-long trial run. If you can behave and stay dormant, then we can continue coexisting and live happily ever after."

…

"My energy is hardly dormant.."

…

"I know, but I'll deal with that. Your anger and obsession with Clea is what I'm worried about."

…

Well, sorta. Stephen was confident with his abilities. He planned to barricade his soul to protect himself, and keep Agamotto locked up within a seal that was airtight.

The former Sorcerer Supreme wasn't feeling the usual pushback from Agamotto as he studied his reaction. Maybe he finally got a clue about the benefits of their coexistence? The notion would have been nice, and a big load OFF of Stephen's busy mind.

The man had shit to do, and he didn't want his daughter hanging out at Steve's place any longer. There was a sarcasm laced around Stephen's tone as he spoke to Agamotto, but the Vishanti beast ignored it all the time. He was very on board with the notion of coexisting, but conforming was another story.

And so, the entity agreed to their terms, and he was able to leave the Realm of Light by inhabiting Stephen's body. As Agamotto's presence fused with Stephen, the sorcerer needed a bit more than a moment to process another round of their "coexistence".

Stephen noticed a familiar pull heading in Clea's direction right away. Historically speaking, Agamotto was always pulling Stephen and forcing him to look in Clea's direction. The sorcerer didn't mind it, but someone had to add some self control into the mix..

Chapter: END

Thanks for reading.