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

Chapter 63: Sorcerer Supreme (Part 3)

Tony Stark's energy seemed off the charts because Victor was practicing his commute from the Kamar taj to Hoggoth's realm. The energy needed to get there was quickly funneled through the amulet. It sort of enveloped the Sorcerer Supreme, and shot him out of one realm, and into the next.

Hoo hoo. Tony was beyond proud of Victor once he reappeared in the realm over and over. It was a pretty cool trick, and the baby Supreme already had the amulet handled. Tony planned to do one more thing with it before they returned to the Kamar taj. He stopped Victor in his tracks, and he inspected Hoggoth's glow within the artifact.

There were two more sections to fill with Vishanti energy. Tony smiled, then he brought his focus up to Victor's adorable face. He looked pretty happy, and his mood had improved from when he first arrived. The brunette planned to chat with him about what was happening up at the surface. Tony knew more about it than he let on…

Until that conversation came about, Tony brought his hand up to Victor's amulet. He said that he had one more trick up his sleeve, and Victor watched with interest. He asked Tony to explain what he meant. Tony took the artifact he created, and he gently pressed it up against Victor's chest.

"Think of this as something called an Arc Reactor. It's also going to power a protective shield."

Earth Dimension 3000-21 didn't have the same connection with something called an "Arc Reactor," so Victor wasn't familiar with the term. He was all smiles regardless, and his baby soul filled with excitement as soon as that Stark technology opened up and got to work. Tony watched the amulet become translucent, and it housed itself within Victor's chest.

The tech expanded over his vital organs, his legs and arms, then it made its way around Victor's face and neck. Victor looked down at his chest, and he noticed it all disappeared in an instant, just like the Cloak of Levitation. The baby Strange still felt the weight of it all, and he also felt exactly where the amulet was pressed.

"In this moment, I'm the only Stark alive who doesn't have an Arc Reactor. Crazy huh?"

Earning the Arc Reactor wasn't something to celebrate. Tony knew that more than anyone, but he felt like bringing the notion up in that moment. It kind of correlated with the issues he was having with Steve, so the subject matter was on his mind. Victor gave him a puzzled look. The baby Strange knew all about the multi-verse, and about how there were multiple versions of everyone.

His story was normally on the side of darkness, with an altered form, death, or sometimes suicide. Victor knew that, and he also knew that he wasn't supposed to be alive in that realm. The Sorcerer Supreme also understood that he had been coexisting with repressed memories, and most of them had to do with his sister Donna. Memories of her drowning in the lake were removed by Stephen, because Victor …

Uhh.. his mind went off on a tangent. Victor returned to the moment in front of him, and he gave Tony Stark a response to what was said. Victor said he planned to educate himself a bit, because he had no idea what having an Arc Reactor meant.

"The Arc Reactor is a product built for my survival. Other versions of me have to have it, or they die. I haven't been put into the same scenarios in this dimension. I've been safe, and very well protected, so I don't have one."

One might say he was too safe, too protected, and kept in a jar at home. That was the argument that had been brought up and squashed between Tony and Steve, for… how long now? Tony gently did the math in his head, but he was trying to do it gently. Victor gave the subject a careful nod. He understood what Tony was telling him, but the baby Strange had to wonder why.

He smiled at Tony for a bit, and he wondered what else he would tell him. He met Tony Stark back when he was fifteen years old, and the Baby Strange had idolized him ever since. Tony was just too cool, so he was all ears and expectant to hear something more. Tony caught the vibes of admiration, and he debated his choice of words.

Tony took a moment to look over at Hoggoth. The beast was sunbathing at that point, completely at ease, and unbothered. Tony remembered something as he stared at the Tiger Striped Cat. Hoggoth was chill, and chewing on his left paw.

"A beautiful blonde birdie told me that you've been hunting for information. About Ezekiel?"

He told Steve that he would give Victor the information he was asking for, and Tony felt like the time was right to begin the conversation. Victor Strange was an innocent, good-natured person. Tony adored him, so seeing him getting mixed up with someone like Ezekiel Stane provoked a feeling of caution.

Tony felt very protective, and he had been surveying the scene for a long time. Steve Rogers was right, his place truly wasn't out there on the field with the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. The blonde bombshell only wanted Tony serving the cause as a consultant. Tony understood why, and he allowed himself to be put in a jar at home, Steve's home.

From that home, Tony accomplished far more than anybody knew. He studied the look on Victor's face, because the baby Strange couldn't hide what he felt about Ezekiel. Victor said he was hunting for basic information. Simple stuff.

"In this dimension, Ezekiel Stane was born in the Beykoz district of Istanbul on June 22nd, 2002. He's 21 years old, and his parents weren't married. Oh, and since there's no documentation of his birth, I argue Ezekiel Stane isn't technically his legal name. His birth name is Ezekiel Namli."

Well, children normally adopt the last name of the father, especially Turkish children, but Tony was a bit biased against Obadiah Stane. Fuck him…..

"His mother, Aveen Namli, was relocated to France after he was born, where she was spoon-fed a life of luxury shortly after. Obadiah Stane paid her well to keep quiet about Ezekiel and she didn't raise him. She didn't want to. His parents never married, and his father had Ezekiel raised and educated on the road. He kept that baby boy in a box all his life. He also had him doing all his dirty work, with plans in place to kill him if he ever left that box. Now, pandora is officially out of the box, and Ezekiel's fucked up father is dead."

That's the story Vic.

Tony hand delivered the information Victor was looking for, and the brunette softly smiled as soon as he did. Victor was surprised to receive that information, but his baby heart started beating fast. Ezekiel was, Turkish? Well no, Turkish-American.. uhh, Victor started thinking about what he said about seeing snow. His mind settled on a person's heritage for a moment and a bunch of thoughts raced through Victor's busy mind.

Knowing Ezekiel's birthday was his next thought, then thoughts about his own mother crossed his mind. Victor was very close to Beverly Strange, and he thought about her all the time. A mother's love was in his thoughts, so he glanced back up at Tony.

"Wait, his mother knows he's alive? Do they talk?"

"Vic, she's a pampered greedy bitch. Ezekiel only keeps tabs. He knows about Aveen, but I doubt he cares. He's not connected to her."

Victor wondered if he cared.. He figured Ezekiel had to care. Why else would he keep tabs? For a moment, his heart started breaking when he thought over the information he was given. The last detail Tony mentioned about Ezekiel's mother sparked a question tho. How… wait what?

"Wait, how do you know he's keeping tabs? That's an interesting detail to know Tony."

Victor wanted to understand how Tony knew that information. He studied Tony's expression, because the brunette's smile shaped into a sly grin. Oh, how did he know Ezekiel Stane was keeping tabs on his own mother? The same way he knew what was happening with Ezekiel Stane right there in that moment.

Obadiah's precious offspring was setting up a game of chess with Steve, and he kept looking over at someone wearing a filthy red and black suit. Tony knew it all, saw it all, and he logged it all in the Stark Industries vault of knowledge. Victor figured it out as soon as he asked the question. The baby Strange's jaw dropped down toward his feet, because he immediately caught onto Tony's play.

"The Mind Stone. That's why you gave it to him.."

"Why else would I give Ezekiel Stane a Mind Stone?"

Tony wasn't fucking around. His love for self preservation, and the narcissistic traits he had knew no friggen bounds. Tony wasn't ashamed to admit his part in the game. In fact, he LOL'd. The Sorcerer Supreme took in a slow breath. Knowing that Tony knew everything about Ezekiel in that moment felt frightening, yet comforting at the same time.

I mean… Victor had it all, right there, standing before him.

"So…does that.. you mean, you know everything? You know what he's thinking?"

"Yup. I also know… he knows, that I know."

Tony LOL'd again. Ezekiel was onto Tony's game centuries ago. In fact, Ezekiel caught onto Tony's surveillance of him after he gave Wade Wilson a gift. Tony made the mercenary a device that corrected the damage to his skin. He gave Wade the ability to appear like his handsome, normal, former self. Deadpool definitely took advantage of the gift, but he was careful with it around Ezekiel.

They both knew, but Tony didn't give a flying fuck..

Ok. Victor took in that next set of info and he slowly closed his eyes. Having Tony there in that moment was a gift that kept on giving. Victor began to think about his present role as the Sorcerer Supreme. Tony's insight was beyond important, and it spanned farther than his relationship with Ezekiel Stane. Victor planned to turn to Tony Stark as an indispensable ally going forward, but before that…

"How does he feel about Wade Wilson? I want to know.."

Victor chose the petty approach first, because he wasn't interested in any guessing games. OH oh OHHHHHH. Tony Stark's soul brightened up even more in that moment, because he was allllll about getting Victor Strange on the same page as everyone else. He was more than happy to divulge that information, and then some.

Chapter: END

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