No-One But You (The Mystic Consultant) - Part 2

Chapter 49: Emberkreiss (Part 9)

The infamous Obadiah Stane once had an off-grid house located deep within a northern region of New York. Ezekiel Stane was always in charge of his father's entire estate, so he re-imagined the secluded home, and he finally made it his own. The Jackal had a new structure built for himself, and it was a bit more than twice its size.

He didn't want his home to lose it's off-grid nature, so he kept the dimensions for it as tight as he could. The house was hidden within the wilderness of New York as well, so the average Joe would remain unaware of its existence. Because of his multiple arrests, organizations such as S.H.I.E.L.D. knew about the home, so Ezekiel had to enhance its security elements.

Victor Strange was processing the change. The house seemed enormous from the inside, and …the vibe felt very, different. The baby Strange looked about, as Ezekiel explained some of the new elements, and as he showed him around the new home. It was…

"A majority of the house is dedicated to my lab, but, that's all underground. Everything below us is going to be my workspace, and where I plan to rebuild."

Hold the phone. The words processed and suddenly Victor became very silent. Say what? Pardon? I'm sorry? Rebuild? Rebuild what?

Victor's spaced out nature sharpened after Ezekiel's words struck a chord. The newly appointed Sorcerer Supreme took a long look at the young man who stood before him. The same young man who was in charge of several organizations that shadowed about on both the surface and the dark web. Victor kept looking at the frontrunner of an expansive empire built on violence, death, and darkness.

"And what will you be rebuilding exactly? Stane International, based in Long Island, along with Stane Industries? You also have that Zeta Corporation thing to rebuild as well, or the Triumph Division, and the Hellfire Academy. Maybe the Black Dahlias? Which, you still run by the way… or perhaps your father's interesting plans to build something called S.H.A.D.O.W. or, how about the forever famous Chessmen?"

That was just the tip of the ICEBERG, BRO. Victor was learning, and doing his homework when people declared him to be forever distracted. He knew full and well who he was dealing with when he looked at the person showing him around a fancy new house. Ezekiel Stane had been responsible for a ton of death, destruction, and despair.

He was born and bred to be, a crime lord. An arms dealer, a cyber terrorist, and also "product" trafficker for his wonderful father, and grandfather..

Despite what people thought, Victor also wasn't dumb, or infatuated with Ezekiel to the point of blindness. He made it a habit to keep him at a distance from the start. That behavior began a bit late, but Victor adapted to it pretty quickly. He watched a young woman die right in front of him, and it was a night he'd never forget. They were supposed to go to that house for a simple house tour and breakfast, but Victor had to change up the vibe.

His role was changing. No, it already had changed, so he couldn't just accept Ezekiel for what he was telling him, or NOT telling him actually. For a long time, Ezekiel had been imprisoned, questioned and demanded to tell groups like S.H.I.E.L.D. what his plans were. Everyone who cared about things like humanity wanted to know what Ezekiel planned to do, now that his father was deceased.

The White Jackal did expect a bit of pushback from Victor that morning, but he didn't think it would go that far. The young man inwardly thanked the new Sorcerer Supreme for doing his homework, then he kept looking around his new home. Obviously, things weren't going to be easy. Ezekiel knew that right from the start. He'd been dealing with trust issues since he revealed himself, years ago.

Ezekiel returned to Victor's words. Actually, he returned to the line of questions and he gave a response a bit of thought.

"You mean, my interesting plans to build something called S.H.A.D.O.W…"

His father always took the credit. Ezekiel grew up hating the way operations within S.H.I.E.L.D. were run. He began making plans for a better version of the organization when he was, what, thirteen? Why funnel tech and weapons into a shit organization, when you can just build your own? That's what he told his father years ago, and why the plans began in the first place.

"Oh, I'm sorry, YOUR plans. That makes this even better."

Victor actually laughed. I mean, wow. He stretched his arms back a bit, cracked his knuckles a couple times, then he started looking about Ezekiel's wonderful new home. It was soooooo awesome to know that he had complete freedom to do as he pleased, and rebuild in a super-shelter that he possessed complete control of. On top of that, his crime lord ex-boyfriend even had possession of the MIND STONE, and there they had him potentially learning the Mystic Arts.

All of it, seemed…

Victor snapped his focus back in Ezekiel's direction. He looked at his face and he tried to piece all of the puzzles together. The "White Jackal" could attribute the majority of his freedom to what he did for the XMEN. Charles Xavier was responsible for S.H.I.E.L.D. backing down, as well as Steve Rogers. Those two people were specific to Ezekiel's freedom. They advocated for him, constantly, and that said a lot.

"The kitchen is this way."

Victor kept on looking, and Ezekiel carried on with his grand tour of the house. He wanted to show Victor everything, and he wasn't in the mood to go over the past. He understood Victor's behavior, and his doubt. Ezekiel recalled that he warned him right from the start. He told Victor Strange who he was, and Victor decided to be in a relationship with him, regardless.

They just walked toward the kitchen like it was a typical Tuesday morning. Victor's head started spinning over all of the complication that went with him even being in the same room with Ezekiel in that moment. He was there, and it was happening. Things had always been that way between them, so now? I MEANNNNNNNnnnnnn… ?

Just, stop. OK, Hold. Up. Victor started freaking out a bit. When he saw the house, and what Ezekiel was capable of doing on his own, his friggen brain exploded and reality suddenly struck his baby soul. An anxiety suddenly creeped right on in. He didn't know what to expect between them, going forward. I mean, friend or friggen foe? The notion was wrecking his baby soul, but it was something that he had to think about.

I mean, in theory, he really wasn't allowed to be Victor Strange anymore. He couldn't behave in some naive manner, or just let Ezekiel do as he pleased.

"This is the only item of yours that I've put back in the house. The rest of your belongings will be put back in when you're ready."

As they ventured to the kitchen, Victor watched Ezekiel stop and touch a lamp. It was an old kooky bird lamp that his brother bought him after he moved from Nebraska. Victor's heart sank down to his feet when he saw it. No, it felt like his heart swelled up with water or something. He almost burst into tears when he saw that ugly kooky lamp.

"Don't you mean, if, I'm ready? You can't just assume I'm moving back in here.."

Right? Victor's heart was struggling. He just wanted to know what Ezekiel was doing, just like everyone else in the cosmos. He needed to know that he could trust him, especially now that he was taking over the role of Sorcerer Supreme for his brother. The ugly lamp took him back to the memory of Stephen. His brother bought it for him and it made Victor feel at ease. He moved in with his big bro, and his soul felt so happy.

Victor started thinking that he couldn't let his brother down. Stephen needed him, and he couldn't do something stupid and fuck it up. Something stupid like, trusting a crime lord, or building a life with someone that was actually rebuilding or….rebranding his criminal fucking empire. Victor's soul felt frozen in mud as he processed what he was doing, and where he was standing right there in that moment.

Ezekiel looked over Victor's appearance. His composure had altered completely, and the Jackal could see that taking him to the house was a bad idea. Perhaps it was too soon, but he held onto his intention of bringing Victor Strange back into his life. Ego, and the arrogant behavior he carried on from his father is the reason why he wasn't answering Victor's recent questions.

Ezekiel didn't feel as though he owed anyone an explanation. He didn't want to explain himself to anyone. But, when he looked at the confusion, and stress building up on Victor's face, he decided that he would explain himself only to him.

"No. I meant what I said. You're belongings will be put back in, when you're ready."

That was the bottom line of their discussion, because Ezekiel felt ready to explain himself to the new Sorcerer Supreme. He made Victor a promise a long time ago. Back in Nebraska, the baby Strange said that he'd be with him, if, he was done being a crime lord. The Jackal didn't forget that moment, and he actually meant his response…

Chapter: END

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