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Avengers Infinite Wars Chapter 52: Things Can Only Get Stranger.
If one were to tell a Jedi Shadow that she would be possessed by a Sith spirit and then entombed in a stasis pod for god knows how long to somehow wind up in an entirely different galaxy where she discovers a higher form of power known as sorcery to be real…
Well… that statement in it of itself is ridiculous enough to hear as is.
Celeste Morne, Jedi Shadow of the Jedi Order has lived one of the strangest lives one could fathom.
Raised in the ways of The Force, participated in the Mandalorian wars, got "possessed" by an ancient Sith spirit only then to be laid into a stasis pod to be found on an unknown planet by a man with a severe case of trauma and brainwashing and well…
She's learned a great deal of madness that appears to exist on this planet.
Gods apparently are real.
The Force isn't what it is here, in fact she felt as though she can't even call it the Force.
And now she's seated before a bald woman who is apparently a centuries old Sorcerer and the premier magic user of not the universe but the multiverse.
The idea of universes and realities existing outside the one she currently resided in was a mind bending one to be sure.
But the Force has shown her that anything is possible and whilst this wasn't the Force, it was still something Celeste was quite open to.
"So this Order of yours defends Earth from mystical threats." Celeste stated, more as a fact rather than a statement.
"That is correct." The Ancient One nodded. "Our Order was founded thousands of years ago by the first Master and Sorcerer Supreme, Agamotto. It was he that learned of the ancient secrets of the mystic arts and taught those on this planet how to tap into this greater power that exists within this plane and the vast and infinite multiverse."
As the Ancient One spoke, she began rotating her hands and angling her fingers with streaks of a glowing orange energy appearing after her motions.
Celeste watched on in rapt attention with her eyes following the Sorcerers movements.
"Agamotto taught his many pupils to harness and tap into the energies from other dimensions of the Multiverse, to weave them together in casting spells, crafting weapons, and conjuring shields to make Magic."
The Ancient One had finished the series of symbols, circles and squares to produce an eldritch conjuring that vibrated before the Jedi before it dispersed.
Celeste only looked on in awe as she witnessed the Sorcerer Supreme conjure another series of symbols and shaped it into a fan that then transformed into a sword and so on and so forth.
"Magic is limitless in its capabilities as it can reshape and reform reality to your desire." Said The Ancient One. "Being a wielder of the Force, you have an inherent advantage over most that have come to Kamar-Taj."
"How then?" Morne asked, intrigue clear as day to see upon her face. "The Force isn't as present as I know it here."
"That's because the Force as you and your kin know it to be is only the tip of the iceberg." The Ancient One stated. "Your kind tapped into a higher, omni-present power thousands of years ago and have only managed to utilize a fraction's fraction of this power. To you it is called the Force, an all-encompassing energy field that surrounds all and binds us together."
Celeste only nodded as the Ancient One went on.
"To the rest of the universe…" The bald Mystic made a circular motion above her head and the entire room darkened and shifted into a reflection of them sitting in the cosmos.
"It is a power that came with the start of the birth of this universe. It is the originator of where you draw your power in the Force."
Around the two, energy swirled, shifted and changed before them as they saw stars being born and die all at once before its embers fueled rebirth and regrowth.
"This power is as wondrous as it is dangerous yet it is power made pure as it can be changed and shifted into a variety of forms and appearances." The Ancient One continued, snapping her fingers as a litany of bright cosmic lights continued moving around them.
"To wield such a power is to be in touch with every other living thing at once." The Ancient One stated. "Your predecessors took this concept and unlocked a higher understanding of the energy that binds us all. The living universe unto itself."
She finished this by holding out her hand towards Celeste and in it was a swirling galaxy.
"You call it the Force." The Sorcerer Supreme said. "The rest of the universe calls it the Power Cosmic."
"The Power Cosmic." Celeste repeated, reaching out to the small galaxy in the Ancient One's hand and to her surprise, found it easy to grasp this construct.
The Jedi stared at the small galaxy floating in the palm of her hand in wonder and awe before it dispersed and the room reverted back to normal.
She looked up to see the Sorcerer had stood and gestured for her to do the same.
"Come." The Ancient One said, waving her hand at the Force-user to follow after her.
Celeste walked a step behind the Ancient One, passing by several students and masters who all bowed in respect whenever they saw the leader of the order.
Eventually, Celeste was guided towards a large door that appeared to be the entrance to a vault.
The Ancient One placed her hand upon the center of the door and a moment later, it vanished into dust.
"Wow." Celeste murmured, entering into the large room with her turning her head in every direction to try to see everything stored within what was undoubtedly a vault.
She saw a whole cavalcade of mystical items and relics she wasn't able to discern or make out. They came in all shapes and sizes from basic objects like chalices and staffs to weird, multi-pronged and angled items she couldn't even begin to describe.
"As I have just told you, our power and magic comes from our ability of drawing upon energy from other realities and universes to perform a litany of tasks and abilities when needed." The Ancient One held a handout and from one of the walls came a staff that looked like it had iron straps all along its grip with two similarly shaped horned heads on both ends. "But there are certain magics and powers that are so powerful and dangerous that human bodies, unless they have a degree of endurance higher than the average man, will be overwhelmed and destroyed by them."
She held the staff before Celeste which glowed brightly along it's many indents and lines of the straps.
"In order to work around this little problem, we have specific items and relics imbued with this other worldly power in order to use a different means of utilizing this great power." The Sorcerer explained.
The Ancient One grasped it with both hands and a moment later, a fully dome yellow shield appeared around her.
"Behold." She said, smirking slightly at Celeste's amazed expression. "The Wand of Watoomb. A powerful relic that is imbued with the powers of the entity known as Watoomb of the eternal Winds."
"Wow." The Shadow murmured.
"Every Master of the Mystic Arts, when the time comes, gets the chance for them to choose a relic or perhaps several that befits their style and assist them in a number of tasks." The Ancient One elaborated. "Or perhaps, the relic itself will choose you."
"So why bring me here then?" Celeste asked in slight confusion.
The Sorcerer Supreme turned away and walked towards a wall that she waved her hand at. The wall with its many relics shifted about and many flipped over to reveal even more different relics and items.
One in particular being a blue robe of some kind that immediately caught Celeste's attention.
She squinted at it momentarily, getting a feeling of familiarity emanating from this robe.
The Ancient One tilted her head and smirked at Celeste's attention on the blue robe.
"I should have figured that would be the first relic to draw your attention." The Sorceress stated with a knowing smile. "You can feel it, can't you?"
Celeste walked over to the blue robe draped over a pedestal and had her hand hover over it.
"The Force." The Jedi whispered in recognition. "The Force is strong within this relic."
The Ancient One held up her hand and the robe began levitating off its stand and floated in front of Celeste.
"These garments were left behind by a long dead race that came to this planet thousands of years ago when Agamotto first founded our order." The Ancient One explains, holding out her hand with runic symbols appearing around her wrists.
She twisted her arm and glowing particles fluttered off from her hand and went towards the blue robes. The particles formed and combined underneath the robes, filling out the empty space to form a bipedal saurian of some kind that Celeste didn't recognize.
"This ancient creature before you was known as the Kwa." Tao (The Ancient One) revealed. "This robe belonged to someone who was the last of his kind. They came to this planet when Agamotto created the first Sanctum here and they were taken in by our founder. With him, they uncovered the deeper secrets of the mystic arts and were the foundation of which we stand upon today."
"The Kwa." Celeste murmured. "They knew the Force?"
"In ways lost to the both of us." Tao said, standing by the Jedi now.
"How… old was Agamotto?" Celeste found herself asking. "How old is this order?"
Tao only shrugged her shoulders slightly. "As old as it needs to be. As old as man first took their steps out of their caves and discovered the use of tools themselves."
"That doesn't really answer my question." Morne said in a flat voice.
"Not everything can be answered." Tao said, turning to the Jedi. "Not everything has to be. Some questions perhaps never will be answered. What does matter is the moments that are our constant present."
Celeste was silent, pondering on these words with a contemplative frown.
"There is no Death, there is the Force." She said after a time.
"Hmmm?"
"The last line in the Jedi Code." Celeste clarified. "It speaks of how no matter what happens, we all die in the end and become one with the Force or… after learning about what you told me, one with the Cosmos itself it seems. Makes me realize… we need to make the most of what we have to make it matter for others."
When turning to the Sorcerer Supreme, she was met with an approving smile and after a quick flourish of her hands, the saurian figure disintegrated away and the blue robes found themselves placed upon her shoulders.
"I do believe this will be better suited staying with you than in this vault collecting dust." Tao said definitively, patting her on the shoulder before leaving the Jedi Shadow to pat down the robe with a growing sense of excitement.
The Force, the energy, the magic was practically humming off this garment and it made her feel lighter and stronger.
Giggling to herself, she couldn't help the dramatic spin with the robes swishing in the air before settling down around her which only served to make her even more jittery with excitement.
Celeste departed from the relic vault and made her way to the room that she had been given to stay in while she was here in Kamar-Taj.
Opening the door, she found Bucky in bed with a book in hand.
"Lord of the Rings again?" Celeste asked in clear amusement.
"Felt appropriate given the environment." The WWII veteran said with a shrug, looking up briefly from the book. "Did you know that one of the librarians, Wong I think his name is, apparently got the film trilogy box set extended edition with commentary by cast and director."
"Oh?" The Jedi chuckled. "It sounds like you're in love."
"Absolutely." Barnes said without reservation. "I may not like a lot of things about waking up to a time that's not mine but there is one thing I love out of it. The Lord Of the Rings."
Celeste put on a faux, pained expression.
"Just one?"
Bucky snorted, snapped his book shut and got up out of their bed to go over to her.
"I can think of a few other things." He said in a low voice, wrapping an arm around her waist with her throwing hers around his shoulder.
The two gazed at one another for a few moments until-
"Where'd you get the new cloak?" Bucky found himself asking, metal hand gliding over the azure fabric.
"You like it?" Celeste inquired, holding it up slightly for him to get a better view of it. "The Ancient One gave it to me. Apparently it belonged to an ancient race that used the Force and came to this planet thousands of years ago."
"Really?" Bucky murmured. "How is it even being held together?"
Celeste shrugged. "Magic. The Force. Both?"
"Both seem plausible." Bucky said with him bobbing his head left and right.
Celeste only giggled as she pulled him down for a deep kiss, Bucky returning the favor and the two remained there for a few minutes until they were both panting for air.
The former HYDRA thrall let out a laugh, hand brushing up against Celeste's flushed cheek.
"Always love seeing you like this." He remarked.
"What? Hot, bothered and wanting to pounce on you?" Celeste rhetorically asked.
James only had a wide smirk in place, leaning his forehead against hers.
"What about you?" She whispered softly.
"Hmm?"
"You've been here, all by yourself whenever I'm off learning about the greater mysteries of the universe. It's not fair really."
"Is it?" Bucky asked rhetorically. "You get to learn more about your abilities and all while I get some peace and quiet after all that we've done and all we've been through. I call that a win."
Celeste only shakes her head, leaning her body against his as he holds her close.
The two were silent for a few moments.
Mornes hand trailed over his metal arm and she hummed aloud in thought.
"What?"
"I saw some really interesting things in one of the relic vaults today."
"Oh? Did you now?"
Celeste had her fingers drumming against his metal arm now.
"The Ancient One spoke of how certain objects are imbued with magic to make them stronger." Celeste stated. "Maybe-"
Bucky chuckled, cutting her off. "Let's not go there just yet."
"Why not?"
"Feel like I need to perhaps earn it or something. Can't just accept handouts all that well for just doing nothing." Bucky pointed out. "Besides, I'd rather clear up what's in here *taps his forehead* before I ask for a new super arm."
"Do you think they can do something about it?"
"Aren't we in a place of literal magic?" He rhetorically asked her with a snort. "I'm sure they have something that can get my programming out of my head."
Celeste merely nodded as she went back to enjoy the peace and comfort alone with her lover.
-Scene Cut-
The Jedi Shadow was in the grand library of Kamar-Taj, once again having her thoughts absorbed by the wealth of mystic knowledge this place had. It was honestly overwhelming when one considers where she comes from but Celeste had taken it all in an excited stride.
This place was teaching her to tap into a great power, a power perhaps her own ancient Jedi ancestors had when they first began their order.
With the small revelation of the Kwa being here and bringing their knowledge of the Force, Celeste wanted to know more.
Sadly there was not much information of the ancient Force sensitive species.
One could figure any depictions of them could've been lost to time due to improper storage and record keeping. Yet the Kwa in question had been a part of this mystic order all those years ago. So either information about this person was either deliberately taken out or was requested by the Kwa themselves.
Such things would've been possible, given what the Jedi Order had done before herself imprisonment.
She glanced over at Bucky who was with her this time around and across from him was an unlikely friend he had made in their time here.
Master Wong.
The duo struck up a strangely fast friendship when they first met which was only enhanced upon both of their love of Tolkien.
For Wong, it was especially interesting to meet someone who had read the first set of books made by the fantasy writer when they had first come out.
For Bucky, he was just glad to meet another book reader that wasn't his old friend Steve. Not that he didn't enjoy the film series, Barnes adored them. But there was something special about talking about it with someone else who had read the books as he did.
"So this Silmarillion is all the stuff he never released?" Bucky asked in a wide, excited smile.
"To sum it up, yes. Tolkien had basically added things over time when he was making the Fellowship trilogy novels and helped expand his story universe. Something which most people these days call retcons."
"Jesus." Bucky said, grin widening as he held up Wong's copy.
"Mint condition." Wong said with pride. "First edition. Keep it in the best shape possible."
"Magic really does have its wonders." Barnes murmured, flipping open to the middle of the book.
"I would sooner die than see this book perish." Wong stated. "Look at its ending."
Bucky turned to the last page of the book and his eyes widened.
Though he had only just gotten into learning the language of the elves created by JRR Tolkien, he was able to roughly translate the scribe it said on the back.
"To all those who journey into Middle-Earth, a friend for all time until the day that the sun would set for its last." Bucky murmured in enraptured awe. "JRR Tolkien."
"The last signature he ever made before passing on." Wong smugly said.
"Holy fucking shit."
The Jedi Shadow merely rolled her eyes with a chuckle on their present antics.
Yet it goes to show how one is truly passionate about something they love and expressing it in one shape or form.
"You two," She spoke up, garnering both their attention. "Are incorrigible."
Both men stared at her for a moment before going back to talking like nerds do.
"Is it true that when the films for Lord of the Rings came out, there were a few rings made with the inscriptions engraved upon it?" Bucky asked.
"More than that, my friend." Wong looked around for a moment, almost in a conspiratorial manner before leaning over closer to Bucky. "The Ancient One got her hands on one of those rings and placed an enchantment of invisibility on it."
Bucky's jaw dropped. "No fucking way."
Wong had a grin that threatened to split his face as he reached into his robes and pulled out a circular gold ring.
"Way." the Master of the Mystic Arts said, holding out the ring in question and dropping it into Bucky's hand.
"I don't know if you're just pulling his leg by this point." Was Celeste's skeptical statement as Bucky observed the ring in hand, nearly freaking out at the sight of the black speech of Mordor.
Wong only crossed his arms cheekily and waited as the Winter Soldier hesitated for a moment until he slid the ring upon his finger…
And disappeared a moment later.
It only took a second for him to remove the ring and reappear again with an expression threatening to explode with excitement.
"WONG!" He shouted in absolute glee.
"Oh for Force sakes."
Great, now she was gonna be dealing with this for days.
Before the two were able to express more of their excitement over their love of Tolkien's work, the trio heard someone clearing their throat aloud.
They turned to gaze upon a man in his mid-thirties from the looks of him. He had a small streak of gray hair that was tied back into a small knot and wore a light orangish-brown vest. Beside the man were two other students in maroon robes.
"Kaecilius." Wong said respectfully.
"Wong." the identified man said with a slight bow.
He then regarded the two people seated with Wong and lingered on both of them.
"New friends?" Kaecilius remarked. "I heard of these new arrivals, but never got the chance to meet them."
The magic user narrowed his eyes on Barnes.
"Can we help you?" Bucky said tersely.
"You look familiar." the strange man stated. "I feel like I have seen your face before. In a book."
"Maybe you have."
Kaecilius hummed to himself before looking at Celeste once more.
"And you are, ma'am?"
The Jedi didn't know what to make of this strange man but she got a very unnerved feeling from him.
The Force may not be as present or in the way that she recognizes on this planet but she has been learning about it in the past few weeks.
Since then she has begun utilizing abilities she could only dream of whilst also enhancing those that she already had during her training as a Jedi. And right now, she was getting an uncomfortable feeling wafting from Kaecilius.
"Just a new student of the order." came her polite response.
"Ah, then I welcome you to our order." Kaecilius said in a gracious tone.
Celeste only nodded slightly in return when Wong spoke up.
"What can I do for you, Kaecilius?" He asked.
"I require a book." Kaecilius said slowly. "The book of the mirror dimension. One of my students is ready for the next level."
Wong simply directed them to where the book they were looking for might be and they were on their way, leaving the three as they were.
"Who's that guy?" Bucky asked with suspicion, eyeing the man and his followers as they walked away.
"Kaecilius." Wong answered plainly. "One of the Masters here and a gifted student. He's been with us for over twenty years now."
"And the goon squad?"
"His personal students."
"There was something off about him." Celeste spoke up.
Bucky snorted. "That's one way of putting it."
"Pardon?"
Celeste shook her head. "In the Jedi Order, whenever we felt that there was something unusual or dark about something or someone, we attributed it to being a disturbance in the Force. Kaecilius… he had a darkness to him that I couldn't fully understand."
Wong didn't reply right away, dwelling on this matter for a few seconds.
"Let's just say that Kamar-Taj has a tendency of attracting three types of people for the most part." Wong stated. "Those who wish to understand a higher power, those that wish to find purpose and those… who are broken, damaged and lost in one way shape or form."
Bucky and Celeste shared a look with one another briefly.
"I can perhaps understand such things, but what I felt… It's like it's been fermented for years. And nothing has quelled this issue."
Wong gave her a hard stare before sighing.
"Kaecilius came here looking for a place to be when he lost all that he cared for." Wong revealed. "If you want to know more, I would advise against asking him about it."
"If you say so. All I ask is perhaps keeping an eye on him." The Jedi suggested.
Wong said nothing other than nodding to the both of them and leaving to go about his own duties.
Bucky, twirling the "ring of power" between his fingers, sighed in a dejected fashion.
"And here I was hoping we found a place with some peace and quiet."
-Scene Cut-
…
…
…
"Where…"
…
…
"Where am I?"
"What is this- what is this power?"
"..."
"..."
"It's everywhere. I've… I've never felt power like this before!"
Within the relic vault, the ancient Muur Talisman started to stir. More specifically, the entity residing within the Sith artifact.
It had been asleep for quite some time. Force knows how long it's been since the spirit of Karness Muur had been aware of his surroundings.
When connected to a wearer, Karness could more or less sense what is around him during his states of hibernation. Only becoming fully aware once possessing his talisman's wearer and influencing them.
His last known wearer was the Jedi Shadow Celeste Morne during the Mandalorian Wars. And yet he had been forcefully "sedated" ever since she went into that cryo-pod.
Even placed in such a state, he still gave the Jedi nightmares for so many years for his bits of enjoyment.
There he had slept for Force knows how long until he felt an awakening.
Someone had at long last freed him from that blasted pod that had kept him asleep for so long.
Yet, something was different. The Force… it was as if it was muted or deafened and he couldn't hear it.
He was still able to sense that Celeste was awake but he had no means of coercing her into his bidding or even communicating with her.
This planet that they were on… the Force did not exist here. Or at least that's what he believed at first.
He was stuck upon Celeste's neck as the companion she had made was the one who had freed her and in turn grew into the man she now loved.
It was sickening for the ancient Sith Lord to say the least.
His vessel finding love with another broken creature like her.
He wanted to be let out. To be freed!
Yet he found his imprisonment increased tenfold by an aged man with powers beyond his comprehension.
And to add to this blistering insult, Karness Muur got "sedated" once more for a time by this powerful entity. Next thing he knew when he awoke once more was him being bound and placed into some sort of cell soon after once removed from Celeste's neck.
How did this happen?!
How could he have been removed from her neck without him knowing about it?!
He was Karness Muur, a Dark Lord of the Sith.
To be treated in such a disrespectful manner was beyond insulting to a man of his caliber.
He wanted to be noticed. He did not want to be ignored!
Thus the Sith spirit mustered as much power as he could before unleashing it with all his might.
Even in death, Karness seemed to feel a state of exhaustion and almost succumbed to slumber once again.
Fortunately for him, Karness detected movement, no, he detected a presence.
Several actually and all of them had this strange new power that he couldn't fully comprehend.
Was it Sith Sorcery? Perhaps a form of Jedi magic, if he could call it that.
"What is this thing master?"
He was noticed!
Yes, they were looking at him!
"I do not know. It must be a new addition."
"But it looks so old."
"It is. No doubt something uncovered recently."
"But where could it have come from? I do not recognize the origin of its design."
"Does it matter? It sought someone like one of the other relics here."
"Yet it's kept in a case with many protection spells."
The one that was the most powerful of this group spoke once more.
"Yes." His voice drawled. "Far too many."
Muur felt this powerful being draw closer to him and in an instant, felt many binds and shackles disappear around him.
In what felt like forever, the Sith spirit became outright giddy like in his padawan years.
"Yes… free me…"
Slowly, the chains around him were removed and he began to feel his old power course through his spirit.
The very moment the last one was unbound, he practically forced his metallic vessel to leap from its placement to the nearest person.
Yet a moment after, a golden-orange set of lights bound him mid-air as the stubby metallic limbs of his talisman sought to ensnare anything at all.
"URK!"
In an instant, Muur couldn't move whatsoever and found his spirit extracted out from the talisman and was now hovering before a man with a streak of grey in his hair.
"Come now, you think I would be so foolish as to unshackle you in your entirety?" The man that appeared to be the head of this group asked in a taunting fashion. "Loath her as I do at times, the Master placed many seals upon you for a reason. And I shall continue to keep them there for my own safety."
The Sith spirit merely sneered as he fought ever more to at least get close to any person at all and possess them. More so now so he could at least hit this person bounding him at this time.
Muur felt pain jolt through his being and was restrained more firmly this time.
"Try that again and you'll be locked away once more." The man threatened and begrudgingly, he complied with what the man said.
With great reluctance, Murr more or less relaxed but still held a snarl on his expression.
"And who… or what might you be?" Asked the man that had released him.
"I? I am the great Dark Lord of the Sith." the Spirit said in a grandiose fashion. "Karness Muur."
"Never heard of one such as you."
"I believe history sought to be rid of me."
The man eyed the spirit with clear skepticism. "Perhaps it has. Or perhaps you are in a part of the world where your story has never been told."
"And where is it in the galaxy have I found myself trapped in?" Muur all but snarled.
The collection of humans before him all looked at one another in surprise.
"What do you mean by that, exactly?" The head of the group asked.
The Sith spirit could only smile in response.
-Scene Cut-
It was the dead of night at Kamar-Taj. Many slumbered while others made their rounds.
One such person was the librarian who sought to protect the contents of the headquarters' library.
He was putting away books and scrolls in their proper places for those who would come seeking them out should they in time.
It was then did he notice someone nearby.
He momentarily sighed, thinking it was one of the new students who were more or less book worms.
"May I help you?" Asked the librarian.
His answer wasn't received, only seeing several more people appearing within the chamber.
A sense of uneasiness washed over him as they all drew closer. More so when a number of them quickly created magical whips and ensnared his limbs.
The librarian screamed in pain as he was hoisted into the air and was being pulled in all directions.
By this point, he saw a familiar face in the group approach him as one of his captors placed a cauldron underneath him.
"Kaecilius? Why?"
He didn't get an answer as the mystic master withdrew a pair of scythe daggers and swiftly cut off his head.
In that very instant, at a far off room of Kamar-Taj, the Jedi Shadow gasped awake.
"No!"
In an instant, her lover beside her shot up in an alarmed manner and saw Celeste's pale face.
"Celeste, what's wrong?" He asked in concern.
She got up out of bed and in an instant, was garbed in her Jedi garments and Kwa robe. "We need to go, now!"
Seeing her present state, Bucky complied and quickly slipped on the necessities in record time. By the time he roughly got dressed, he bolted out of their room and ran after Celeste.
They heard someone screaming in the distance which only made them run faster and as they ran into the library of Kamar-Taj, they both saw Tao producing a portal with her sling ring.
"Ah, Celeste, Mr. Barnes." Tao spoke cordially. "Please, if you'll follow me, this will make things far easier."
Neither said anything else as they followed the Sorcerer Supreme through her conjured portal.
Where they wound up next made Bucky realize where they were.
"London? Why here?"
"They ran without choosing a proper destination in mind." Tao stated. "They needed to get away from Kamar-Taj."
"Who?" Celeste asked.
The answer came in the form of a familiar face to them being flanked by a dozen individuals in maroon robes.
"Wait…" Celeste narrowed her eyes. "Kaecilius?"
"And his students, apparently."
It was then did Tao conjure something rather familiar to many present as it surrounded them all.
The Mirror Dimension.
The world around them then shifted into that of a kaleidoscope as the buildings and very air itself was patterned and replicated dozens of times over.
"Hypocrite!" Sneered Kaecilius.
In an instant, the world around them shifted sideways. Tao and her two allies swiftly leaped into the air so they may land alongside an adjacent building while Kaecilius and his acolytes followed suit.
In the middle of the group jumping down to the building that was now sideways, Celeste caught sight of something gold within the hands of one of the students.
Something she recognized in an instant.
"Master!" Celeste shouted. "We mustn't let the Talisman get away! If Muur is reawakened, the plague of the Rakghoul will spread. This entire planet will be threatened!"
"I have no intention of allowing such a threat to run freely upon this world." Tao said, throwing her hands up with eldritch symbols appearing around them
As some acolytes ran towards them, Bucky bolted to intercept.
He swiftly ensnared the arm of one and broke it before retrieving their baton-like weapon. Once throwing the man aside, who was soon crushed by the shifting environment, the Winter Soldier started clubbing and bashing some of the zealots.
Tao conjured her spells to fend off against a pair of Kaecilius' men. With them using their enchanted whips to ensnare her legs, she worked around the issue by pulling them back and having them fall forward. She then used the opening to leap over them and created ethereal hand fans to strike them down.
Celeste did the same, taking this chance to practice some of the magic she had learned whilst also utilizing her enhanced Force abilities to fight off these zealots of Kaecilius.
Though they were heavily outnumbered, these acolytes were outclassed by the combined skill of these three.
Something Kaecilius immediately recognized as he knew that if he were to engage, he would undoubtedly lose. Something a certain spirit that now traveled with them saw as well.
"If you are to survive, unleash my power." whispered the voice of Muur into Kaecilius' ear.
Gritting his teeth, Kaecilius whipped out his hand with a glowing whip shooting out from his palm to grab the Talisman one of his acolytes carried with her and pulled it over to him.
Clasping it tightly, Kaecilius removed many of the shackles he had placed upon the golden talisman while having many that were made to protect him in particular and thrust it out.
A ghastly, putrid gas of some kind emanated out from the talisman and found its way into the closest Zealot.
The Acolyte didn't even register that gas until it entered into his body entirely and it was then that he stopped moving.
He remained that way for a few seconds until he began twitching and spasming about whilst his expression conveyed nothing but absolute pain.
It was at this point did Tao, Bucky and the many zealots get front row spots of witnessing a horror show. Something which Celeste still has nightmares about.
The zealot's body swiftly twisted about with blood leaking from their eyes, mouth and ears. Their skin soon followed as pigmentation drastically paled as the person rapidly mutated.
By the end of his horrific transformation, many witnessed what hadn't been present in the universe for thousands of years.
A Rakghoul.
The former Acolyte fell to his knees, breathing heavily as all combatants paused to what they were doing to stare at this changed man.
After a moment or two, it gave out a beastly roar and charged at Tao and her allies.
The Jedi Shadow was swift in getting in the Rakghoul's line of sight and used the Force to push it back before going in on the offensive.
The deformed, transforming Zealot stumbled back in an attempt to get some distance from Celeste.
She slammed her fist into her open palm, eldritch symbols appearing around her hands. Morne slowly pulled her fist away from her palm and from that motion, the eldritch symbols reshaped and reformed themselves into a glowing sword. She spun her newly constructed blade into a backhanded grip and with her free hand, the Jedi called upon the Force.
The Jedi's lightsaber flew into her open palm and was promptly ignited with her going on the offensive.
The Rakghoul infected Zealot conjured up a domed sphere around himself that deflected the two sabers though his protective shield flickered.
"Oh shit." Celeste said in horror, realizing this transformed human retained the Mystic knowledge it had gained.
"Kaecilius." Tao called out and her two allies looked up in time to see the rogue Master conjuring a portal for himself and his students to escape through.
"Son of a bitch." Bucky said aloud as the portal closed on them and the traitors to the Order of the Mystic Arts had escaped.
"We have more pressing matters on our hands."
Instead of staying in the Mirror Dimension, the transformed acolyte made its way out and entered London.
"What the hell, it can do that?!" Bucky yelled out.
"It appears this beast is more devious than anticipated." Tao commented, the trio running after the fleeing Rakghoul.
Before getting close enough to the transformed zealot, it swiftly attacked a nearby civilian. Chaos ensued soon after with many fleeing for their lives.
"NO!" Celeste screamed out at the sight of the acolyte Rakghoul biting into the shoulder of an unsuspecting man.
Moments after the enemy let go of the harmed civilian, the man rapidly underwent the effects of the Rakghoul plague. Instead of a span of several days, it happened in less than a minute.
"Oh hell. When you told me of this plague, I didn't realize it would become a literal zombie-like outbreak." Bucky remarked.
"We must get this under control." Tao said, tossing a magically conjured disk at a Rakghoul that was running from the area.
There were only several Rakghoul's overall yet they were jumping from person to person and with either a bite or a scratch, the plague immediately began a transformation.
"Son of a bitch." Bucky groused out, using his metal arm to bash away a Rakghoul that pounced at him.
He really wished he had some automatic weapons to help out in this situation. All he had was his arm and his pilfered magical baton, something which he can't really use at all.
Around them, more and more people were beginning to instantly transform into more Rakghouls with some either running away or attacking them.
"It is spreading too fast." Tao noted in slight alarm. "Some of these people haven't been touched by the others."
"It can spread just by being close to them." Celeste revealed. "Kaecilius released the plague on the city without even realizing it."
"Well what's gonna happen to us then?" Bucky asked in a slight panic. "Can't we be affected by this plague?"
Celeste didn't get a chance to answer as Tao clapped her hands together and conjured a hexagonal eldritch spell that she quickly tossed in the direction of Barnes and Morne.
The spell quickly engulfed both of them, shaping itself around their bodies before it dispelled off of them.
"That should keep you safe for the most part." The Sorcerer Supreme declared. "Quickly now, there are many who are running away from us. Mr. Barnes, if you wish to use that staff, I suggest twisting the top of it counter-clockwise."
He looked at the staff in hand and did as Tao instructed.
Turning the top handle counter-clockwise, he jolted slightly as the staff in his hand glowed and shifted into a spear that glowed alight before splitting in two.
"Whoa." Bucky murmured, instincts kicking in as he heard something pouncing at him from behind.
Spinning about quickly, he thrusted both his sharp staffs into the Rakghoul that attempted to get the jump on him and Bucky's arms widened in horror and remorse.
The creature before him was a Rakghoul that was only halfway through their transformation.
It was a young woman in her late teens, her eyes conveying a vicious hunger but beneath it, agonizing pain that pleaded for help.
"Oh God." Bucky whispered to himself. He took a moment to look around and saw many young individuals being corrupted and infected by the Rakghoul plague and guilt began to skyrocket from within.
"Celeste." He called out to his lover. "Is there no way for us to help them?"
Celeste spun her Lightsaber around and slashed at the chest of a nearby Rakghoul who collapsed, dead and unmoving.
She looked at Bucky with a face of regret and guilt.
"No." She whispered in remorse.
Bucky grit his teeth as he resumed fighting the spreading virus of the Sithspawn.
Tao was fighting herself, tossing out portals at any Rakghoul she saw, sending them to secluded locations so they would not spread this vile plague any further.
But it was proving to be somewhat difficult as the Rakghouls were fast and attacking any and all that moved.
She needed to get this under control and she needed to do it now!
Tao thrust her arms up above her head and in a sweeping motion threw them forward.
Around her, reality seemingly cracked and it began rippling the air towards any and all Rakghouls within the area.
Many abruptly vanished though some seemed to detect the oncoming magical attack and moved to avoid it.
Bucky was relieved of a few that had surrounded him and he cleared out the leftovers before moving on to take out any others that remained.
As Tao moved to conjure another spell, she paused.
Her head tilted in confusion as she sensed something. An old presence.
A powerful presence.
She looked over to Celeste Morne and noticed that she too appeared to detect something.
They both locked eyes as what they felt had a more stronger presence. This presence could only be described to be very strong…
And very hot.
And it was coming in fast.
It was then that they heard a roaring tiring wheel with an engine that sounded as though it were exploding whilst driving.
Bucky soon heard this and all three turned to gaze down at the end of the block.
Whirling around a street corner, a flaming muscle car crashed and crushed through a number of Rakghouls and incinerated the infected.
Without stopping through a harsh whirl, someone was flung out of its driver's seat with a beastly, metallic roar as it tackled through another Rakghoul.
The Rakghoul struggled for a brief moment before it was silenced by something wrapping around its neck. It screeched in pain before molten fire engulfed it and turned it to ash.
Toa, Celeste and Bucky then saw just who it was that arrived on the scene.
The being bore a flaming, metallic skull with red dots appearing within the abysmal eye sockets. It wore a leather biker attire with a white rectangle on the jacket's chest. And wrapped around one arm was a heated set of chains.
The moment the Rakghouls looked upon the new arrival, they oddly enough paused in momentary instinctual fright.
"TIme tO PuRge tHIs BLighT…"
The Rakghouls focused their attention towards this entity and immediately pounced at it.
The flaming skull being simply whirled it's arm back and threw the chain whip to cleave through a number of them. The flaming metals burned through them all.
One ended up snatched by the throat as fire swiftly coursed through them. It cried out in agony as it became a flaming carcass in mere moments.
"Who… What the hell is that?" Bucky asked in awe and slight fear.
"I haven't seen him in a long time." Tao murmured wryly. "But, if you must know, they are referred to as the Ghost Rider. A Spirit of Vengeance."
This aforementioned Ghost Rider roared aloud in the face of a Rakghoul, flames erupting from its being that quickly surrounded the infected human who was promptly turned to ash.
"Ok… that's not terrifying at all." Bucky commented.
"Do not worry Mr. Barnes." Tao spoke in an assuring manner. "The Rider is one who targets those who have wronged the innocent."
"That doesn't help me at all." Bucky nearly shouted.
"Come on." Celeste said, wielding her Lightsaber. "We have to help him."
Morne rushed forward with the Sorcerer Supreme joining her a moment later.
Bucky remained where he stood for a few seconds, internally berating himself.
"What have you gotten yourself into Buck?" He said to himself before lightly jogging forward to rejoin the fight.
With these four combatants, the number of Rakghouls drastically dwindled.
It didn't take long for the remaining Rakghouls to be quickly tracked down and taken out.
As the chaos came to an end, Tao quickly sent the four of them into the Mirror Dimension so they could escape any unwanted attention.
"We got them all." Bucky said straight away.
"Only from what we were able to find." Celeste said in a very bitter mood. "But even if they have been taken care of, the Muur Talisman has been taken by Kaecilius. So long as he has the Talisman, the Rakghoul plague threatens this entire planet and can be unleashed anywhere."
"Then we shall find them and stop them." Tao promised. "But first…"
She turned her head to the newcomer who had stood there silently, its fiery eyes looking at the three of them with a gaze that seemed to pierce their very souls.
"It has been a long time, Zarathos." The Ancient One spoke up and the Ghost Rider turned its head to her. "I see you have a new host."
It gazed upon her intently before slowly, the flames surrounding the metallic skull dimmed. Muscle and flesh soon appeared and formed to reveal a Hispanic male in his mid-late twenties.
He fell slightly to his knees, breathing heavily with exhaustion.
Tao walked up to him and assisted him to his feet.
"And who might you be?" she asked the young man.
"Robbie Reyes." Answered the Hispanic host. "And I'm this… Zarathos' roommate."
"Never knew their name, I take it?"
"Until now, yes."
-Scene Cut-
Kaecilius with his remaining seven zealots stumbled out of the portal and all nearly collapsed to the ground.
Their leader recovered rather quickly and held up the Muur talisman with a piercing gaze as he immediately placed the restrictions it had back on it. This time however, he made sure it was painful for the spirit residing within it.
And much to his sadistic delight, he sensed the moment of anguish the ancient Sith Lord felt when the shackles that bound his spirit to this trinket wrapped themselves tightly around him.
"You cravenous fool!" Muur nearly screamed out. "Have you no idea who it is you are dealing with?!"
"I am dealing with a pathetic spirit that can be expunged from this talisman and eviscerated in a moment's notice by any competent Master." Kaecilius coolly responded. "Now, you shall tell me just what it was back there that turned one of my pupils into a deformed monstrosity. And should you choose to leave something out due to "memory" failing you, I'll wring it out myself. Do I make myself clear?"
If this was any other situation, Muur wouldn't budge in the slightest. Yet the Sith spirit was at a disadvantage with a being which can actually harm him unlike a number of Force sensitives back in his home galaxy.
So, he had no choice but to back down, glaring at the Mystic all the while.
"Save your petty anger, it was one thing for my students to be captured but what I saw was a fate worse than death." The rogue master threatened.
"There are always such occurrences. One can never be picky in having a preferred death."
"I am not in the mood for your riddles, Sith Lord." Kaecilius applied a bit of magic to the talisman that made Karness writhe within. "Tell me what that was now."
"My legacy." Muur proclaimed proudly, despite his pain.
"What sort of legacy is that supposed to be?"
"My life's work in reaching immortality and control over the galaxy."
The Master spat on the ground. "A perversion."
"Nothing is perfect, Kaecilius." Shrugged the specter. "This was my preferred method."
"Taking the free will away from a living being." One of the Acolytes spoke up.
"Like you have such a better idea of immortality." Muur shot back, unamused by the younger students' bravado.
"I very much do."
"Like what?"
"You don't deserve to hear my method after what you did earlier." Kaecilius stated, applying a bit more power upon the talisman that effectively silenced the Sith Lord.
Within his Talisman/prison, Muur only seethed in burning hatred towards this man.
Fine. Let it be that way. He'll find out the old fashion way as he views it all from his talisman.
He can be patient this time around. He was afterall a specter. It wasn't as if he would die again anytime soon.
-Scene Cut-
"You know, I thought I've seen it all with the big three." Bucky commented as he sat by a round table with several other occupants. "But alien mutant space zombies feel like they deserve their own category."
"The big three?" the newest arrival of Kamar-Taj asked in confusion.
"Androids, aliens or wizards." Celeste answered for her lover. "It is rather accurate when one looks at the history of enhanced conflict on this planet."
"But what does Mr. Reyes count as?" Karl Mordo asked from his seat.
"A special case." The Ancient One replied for the young man who had been asked to join them here in Kamar-Taj.
She sat at the center of the table and around her were some of her most trusted confidants such as Karl Mordo and Wong as well as the three Masters of these places called Sanctums.
"Are we really talking about this subject? About me of all people?" Robbie Reyes asked in a disbelieving manner.
"More or less." Buck said with a shrug. "Mutant alien zombies are one thing, but you…"
Tao cleared her throat before turning to Robbie.
"Tell us, why were you in London of all places. Last I checked, you were in America."
"I've been traveling as of late." Reyes vaguely said. "Not by my own volition."
"Zarathos was never one to be so… accommodating to his hosts." The Sorcerer Supreme said with a small sigh.
"So you really know what this thing inside me is then?" Robbie asked with Tao nodding her head.
"I've crossed paths with the Spirit of Vengeance on numerous occasions before." Tao revealed. "As did the previous Master and his Master beforehand."
"He seems to know this place." Robbie said, leaning back in his chair as he gazed around the large hall they were all seated in.
"Is this… Zarathos a friend to the order?" Mordo asked, Robbie snorting in immediate response.
"You should hear this bastard laughing up in here." Robbie derisively laughs, tapping the side of his forehead. "To sum it up, his allegiance is for good; albeit on a more chaotic nature on several occasions."
"I'd rather not see an upfront example." Daniel Drumm, Master of the New York Sanctum said aloud.
"Second it." Agreed Sol Rama, the London Sanctum's Master.
As it turned out, there were three sanctum bases spread throughout the Earth: New York, London and Hong Kong. Each was a protective marker to help seal off this world from many threats from beyond the mortal plane. And all three were greatly connected to Kamar-Taj as a means of "fast travel" outside the use of sling rings.
The three masters of the Sanctum had been summoned here due to Kaecilius' rebellion on top of the realization that the Muur Talisman was now loose in the world.
And with it, the Rakghoul Plague.
"Ok, look." Celeste spoke up, leaning forward upon the table as she looked at everyone who had been gathered in an intense manner. "The Muur Talisman has been taken. Bucky and The Ancient One have seen firsthand its effects on a living being it gets into contact with. It spreads fast and violently with the only means of containing it being a wipeout of a large population that has the plague. But I take it that is not something any of you are willing to do."
The shaking of everyone's heads was enough of an incentive for her to continue.
"So we need to be on high alert and track Kaecilius and the Talisman down as soon as we can."
"The Sanctums have been placed on high alert for the most part." Wong stated firmly. "Each will have students working in tandem together to track down the talisman."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what about that Kai guy?" Bucky asked in bewilderment. "He's the one who took the Talisman. Should we be going after him? After seeing what that thing could do, I don't know he'd want to hold on to something like that."
"Kaecilius will come to us." The Ancient One said with conviction. "Whether or not he holds on to the Talisman, remains to be seen."
"If left alone, the Rakghoul plague is more than capable of spreading on its own." Celeste pointed out in a grim tone. "Even with the spells and restrictions Tao placed upon it, it can subconsciously spread it to unsuspecting victims."
"You think Kaecilius would spread the plague willingly?" Sol Rama asked.
"He did so when he fled from us." Celeste reminded them.
Bucky rubbed his chin in thought, recalling the Talisman being activated. "Must've been a spur of the moment cause he clearly didn't realize what the damn thing could do when he infected his acolyte."
"His desperation tactic was costly yet paid off in his escape." Morne said.
The group fell into silence momentarily.
"There is still one thing I don't understand." Bucky spoke up, having all looked at him.
"And that is?"
Bucky turned to face Robbie.
"Why exactly were you in London of all places?" Bucky asked. "The Wizard queen here said you were in America. How'd you get here?"
The host of the Spirit Of Vengeance cleared his throat, placing his folded hands upon the table.
"The spirit… Zarathos, detected a dark presence a while back." Robbie said quietly. "A presence drenched in the blood of the innocent. Something that had been moving all over Europe over the last few months before it seemingly disappeared from his senses."
In an instant, Celeste found herself tensing up with her eyes widening and subconsciously, she reached for her neck where the Talisman had once been clasped around it.
Bucky wordlessly reached over to her and gently grasped her other hand and gave it a squeeze of comfort.
The table was silent for a brief few moments until Wong had cleared his throat and spoke up.
"We mustn't waste the time we have right now." The newly appointed head librarian said in a firm voice. "Spells must be enacted that will warn us of the Talisman entering within the cities of the Sanctum. Kaecilius will undoubtedly be targeting them at one point and likely may even still have the Talisman on hand when he makes his move."
"Then we shall begin making barriers from the Sanctums." Tao spoke up, rising from her seat. "And we must be vigilant for any news or mention of the plague appearing anywhere in the world. We shall not let the innocent suffer such a tragedy and painful death. For now, we must prepare. Meeting adjourned."
There were a few murmurs and statements of acknowledgement as the Masters departed to their respective Sanctums whilst Tao approached Mordo.
"I'll entrust you with Kamar-Taj, Master Mordo." Tao said, placing a hand upon his shoulder with him nodding in respect.
"It will be done, Master."
Tao gave him a small smile before looking at Celeste and Bucky.
"Celeste, I know you wish to pursue after Muur but I would find it better that you join Mordo in his endeavor in creating the barrier around Kamar-Taj." Tao instructed. "This will serve you well in your own training as well."
Celeste wanted to argue but she nodded along.
"And don't worry. Once you are done, I would have you go with Mr. Barnes and Mr. Reyes in seeking out just where the Talisman is." Tao assured. "If there is anyone who would have the highest probability of locating the Talisman, it would be you three."
The Jedi gave an appreciative nod at her new Master and gave Bucky a quick peck on the cheek before leaving to join Mordo in this task.
Tao left a moment later, leaving Bucky and Robbie standing there alone rather awkwardly.
Bucky looked about for a moment before his gaze had settled upon a rather grim looking young man.
"Everything alright with you, Robbie?" Bucky asked. "Lookin' a little pale there."
"I… I'm fine." Robbie stammered out. "It's the spirit that's not."
"What do you mean?" Bucky was still having a hard time wrapping his head around the whole concept. "What's it doing to you right now?"
The leather jacket clad man shook his head with his breath coming out in a haggard fashion.
"It's not telling me, it's making me feel it." Robbie looked at Bucky straight in the eye with a look of torment.
James felt like he was going to regret what he was about to ask.
"Feel what?"
A dark, haunted look appeared on Reyes' face.
"Those that have had their souls be corrupted by sin." Was his response and never before in such a long time did Bucky feel fear completely consume his entire being.
He stood rooted on the spot as he watched Robbie turn his back to him and walk away.
Shaking, Bucky pulled a chair close to him and promptly sat down with his face being covered by his hands with silent tears streaking down his cheeks moments later.
Celeste, who had just reached the exit of Kamar-Taj, froze for a moment as she felt her heart clench up and she looked back to the direction of where the meeting she was a part of had taken place.
'Bucky.' Was the immediate thought that popped into the Jedi's mind she placed a hand over her chest.
"Celeste?"
She blinked, turning back to see a waiting and slightly confused Mordo.
"Is everything alright?" He asked.
"Oh, um…" Celeste quickly cleared her throat. "Yes, yes. Please, Master Mordo, I'll follow your lead."
Mordo regarded her for a brief moment before slowly nodding and the two exited the building a moment later.
"So how are we doing this, Master?" Celeste asked straight away. "How far out do we need to place these markers?"
"Every couple of miles."
"That'll take a while by foot."
Mordo chuckled slightly. "Worry not about travel, Celeste. I know my way around every nook and cranny here in Kathmandu. Just follow after me wherever I go."
Celeste simply nodded as the two began their work.
Over the course of the day, the duo had gone about setting up the barrier and detection spells all over Kathmandu whilst utilizing Mordos' "shortcuts" to get around faster and to key areas that would be the best place to invoke the protective barriers.
This went on for some time, Celeste being shown how to enact this spell and was soon doing it on her own with Mordo never being too far.
She walked through a crowd of people, clasping her hands together and murmuring the incantation needed for the spell when-
"Kamar-Taj."
Hearing the name of her new home, Celeste perked up and looked towards the source. And she wasn't the only one as Mordo heard this as well.
Some distance away, they saw a greatly disheveled man walking by a number of pedestrians. By the look of it, the man was asking for directions yet was unsuccessful. He held up a piece of paper to an elderly fellow who simply shook his head and directed him towards another direction in hopes of helping find what he was looking for.
Curious about this stranger, both Celeste and Mordo followed him in order to analyze him.
They watched from afar as he went from person to person with some appearing to know where to point him to go while others waved him off apologetically.
What this man hadn't realized is that he was being followed by two hooded figures and soon, had several more less savory individuals follow him into a seemingly deserted alleyway.
In an instant, upon seeing several men surround him in a manner that trapped him where he stood, the stranger realized what was happening.
"Look guys, I don't have any money." he almost pleaded,
"Your watch." one of the men said, gesturing to it.
The stranger's expression fell. "No, please. It's all I have left."
"Your watch." the other man repeated once more as he stepped forward with the rest of them following suit.
The disheveled man let out a frustrated sigh. "Alright."
A split second later, he punched the man across the face. A moment after, he recoiled in pain as he held his hand.
Celeste quirked a brow at this. Wondering if this man was outright weak and "fragile" or he suffered from a previous injury which left him in this present state.
Both the sorcerer and Jedi Shadow then witnessed the disheveled man being pummeled by the thugs with one of them taking the watch in the process.
Enough was enough, causing Celeste to move onward with Mordo following after her.
In a span of seconds, the pair were quick to disarm the thugs and knocked them out.
They were all easily dispatched with one or two having run away upon the duo's arrival.
The stranger saw all this, eyes wide in amazement and relief at being saved, looking at Celeste who snatched his watch out of one of the muggers' hands and held it out for him to take.
"Sorry about your watch." Said Celeste as she handed back the man's precious possession.
The man looked at his time piece and saw it was heavily cracked on the glass covering. He didn't know if it would ever work again with how bad it was.
He slumped, curling his shaking hand around his watch tightly as his face scrunched up in internal pain.
"You're looking for Kamar-Taj." Stated Mordo. Seeing the disheveled man nod, the sorcerer silently gestured to him to follow them back to their headquarters.
Celeste sensed much confusion and trepidation coming from this man but there was also something else.
A strange feeling of both hope yet also acceptance of defeat at the same time. Strange combination to be sure then again, her lover was a brainwashed assassin for a number of decades so who was she to judge.
Eventually, they returned to Kamar-Taj with the man still looking around.
"Really? Sure we got to the right place?" He said before nodding his head towards a nearby stand. "That one looks a little more Kamar-Tajey."
"Looks can be deceiving." Was Celeste's simple response.
Karl only chuckled lightly as he looked upon the broken man.
"What is your name?"
"Stephen." The disheveled man said after a moment. "Stephen Strange."
The green robed master placed a hand on his own chest. "Karl Mordo. This is Celeste Morne, someone who has also joined our order recently."
Stephen Strange simply nodded politely at the Jedi which she returned.
"Many once stood in your place, me being one of them." Admitted Mordo. "And I, too, was disrespectful. So, might I offer you some advice?" The man before them merely nodded. "Forget everything you think you know."
Strange could only blinked in utter confusion as Celeste opened the door and ushered him inside Kamar-Taj.
"Alright." He said, clearly unsure as to what Mordo meant but went in after him regardless.
They walked down the halls of said sanctuary in relative silence for the most part.
"The sanctuary of our teacher. The Ancient One." Mordo said in a respectful tone.
"The Ancient One?" Asked their disheveled guest. "What's his real name?" Silence was the only response he got from them. "Right. Forget everything I think I know. Sorry."
Celeste took a quick peak and saw Master Hamir reading a book at one of the tables. And taking a look at their guest, the Jedi Shadow saw the quick assumptions on his face.
Boy was he in for a surprise.
A pair of acolytes were quick in taking Steven's coat, leaving him in his button up shirt. He was momentarily startled but was quick to recover as he was given a clay cup.
"Uh, thank you." Said Strange.
Celeste soon repressed a smile on her face when Tao made her appearance in the room as she poured tea into the clay cup.
"Ah, thank you, Ancient One… for seeing me…" Said the newcomer, who soon saw Master Hamir walk out of the room.
"You're very welcome." Said the Celtic woman before she addressed the others in the room. "Thank you, Master Hamir. Thank you, Master Mordo. And thank you, Celeste. That will be all."
Stephen could only look on in confusion but also slight embarrassment upon realizing his mishap.
He was left alone with The Ancient One a moment later, though Mordo and Celeste stood by, waiting in the wings.
"Mr. Stephen Strange." Tao greeted him.
"Uh… Doctor, actually."
"Well, no, not anymore, surely." Tao pointed out. "Isn't that why you're here?"
Doctor Strange pulled his lips away from the clay cup as he stared at the bald Celtic woman before him.
"You've undergone many procedures. Seven, right?"
"...Yeah." He said awkwardly before wanting to divert attention away for a bit. "It's good tea."
The Ancient One walked away so she may pour herself her own serving of tea.
Strange looked at Celeste and Mordo in a silent question as to what was going on only for the latter to give him a small smirk.
"Did you heal a man named Pangborn? A paralyzed man." Strange asked a moment later.
Recognition graced Mordo's features upon hearing that name after so long. Something which Celeste noticed.
"In a way." Tao said offhandedly.
"You helped him to walk again."
"Yes."
"How did you correct a complete C7-C8 spinal cord injury?" Strange inquired in slight disbelief.
"Well, I didn't correct it. He couldn't walk. I convinced him that he could."
Stephen tilted his head at that. "You're not suggesting it was psychosomatic?"
"When you reattach a severed nerve, is it you who heals it back together or the body?" Tao asked him.
"It's the cells." He responded as if it were the obvious answers.
"The cells are only programmed to put themselves back together in very specific ways."
"Right."
"What if I told you that your own body could be convinced to put itself back together in all sorts of ways?"
"...You're talking about cellular regeneration." Said the former doctor in astonishment. "That's bleeding edge medical tech. Is that why you're working here? Without a governing medical board? Just how experimental is your treatment?"
"Quite." Tao said plainly.
"So, you've figured out a way to reprogram nerve cells to self-heal?"
"No, Mr. Strange. I know how to reorient the spirit to better heal the body."
Whatever hopes Steven bore in his eyes quickly died with disbelief replacing them.
"The spirit to heal the body?" He asked in confirmation.
"That's right."
Tao walked away as she sipped her tea.
Not wanting to perhaps give up on his last attempt of fixing himself, he tried to play along with this game.
"A-Alright. How do we do this?"
The Ancient One soon came back with a book in hand, opening it to a series of pages showing different medical maps of the body. Ones dealing with chakras, acupuncture, and MRI scans as some examples.
By the end of it, Steven scoffed as frustration slowly took hold of him.
"I've seen those in textbooks and gift shops."
Seeing his reaction, the Celtic woman gave the former doctor a lecture. "Each of those maps was drawn up by someone who could see in part, but not the whole."
Stephen could only scoff whilst trying not to pull his own hair off his own head.
"I spent my last dollar getting here, a one-way ticket, and you're talking to me about healing through belief?" Strange said, not wanting to hear her answer.
The Ancient One merely smiled enigmatically at the man.
"You're a man looking at the world through a keyhole." She said, much to Stephen scoffing in response. "You've spent your whole life trying to widen that keyhole to see more, to know more. Now, on hearing that it can be widened in ways you can't imagine, you reject the possibility."
"No, I reject it because I do not believe in fairy tales about chakras or energy or the power of belief." Strange then got up all close and personal to Tao with an outright sneer on his face. "There is no such thing as spirit! We are made of matter and nothing more. You're just another tiny, momentary speck within an indifferent universe."
"You think too little of yourself." Tao remarked.
"Oh, you think you see through me, do you? Well, you don't." The former doctor then began jabbing his finger against Tao's chest repeatedly with each word spoken next. "But I see through you!"
Getting tired of this, Tao decided to get to the matter at hand.
Ensnaring Stephen's arm into a particular hold, she thrusted her available hand into his chest.
A split second later, the former surgeon quickly had an outer body experience for the very first time in the most literal sense of the phrase. For he was now an astral projection staring at his physical body.
The spirit of Strange could only look upon his physical body with both Mordo and Celeste already by his side to keep it from falling over.
After mere seconds, both his spirit and body reconnected as the former doctor hastily gasped for air.
"W-What did you just do to me?" Strange asked with a gasp.
"I pushed your astral form out of your physical form." Tao explained.
"...What's in that tea?" Stephen tried to rationalize. "Psilocybin? LSD?"
"It's just tea… with a little honey." Tao teased slightly.
"What just happened?" Strange all but demanded.
"For a moment, you entered the astral dimension. A place where the soul exists apart from the body."
"Why are you doing this to me?"
"To show you just how much you don't know." Said the Ancient One, soon placing her thumb against the center of his forehead. "Now open your mind."
What he went through next outright amazed and terrified him immensely.
He was now flying higher and higher into the air, screaming in absolute terror as his body flailed about.
"OOOHHH SHIIIITTT!" Strange yelled out at the top of his lungs. "This isn't real! This isn't real! This isn't-"
He froze in midair, floating high above planet Earth and to his astonishment, he saw a butterfly flying by him.
Strange reached out to it and touched it before being rocketed forward at high speeds once again.
He then found himself flying through what seemed to be a vortex of every color he could and couldn't even fathom all at once.
"His heart rate is getting dangerously high." That was the voice of Mordo.
"Did you have to go that far, master?"
It was Celeste!
A second later, Stephen found himself in a chair with the Ancient One by his side with a coy smile in place.
"He looks alright to me." She said teasingly.
Celeste snorted. "You look like you're having too much fun on him."
"Nonsense."
The room around Strange stretched and bended in ways he couldn't fathom before he was plunged back into that psychedelic rollercoaster of color and sensation.
All the while, the voice of the Ancient One was heard clear as day in his ears.
"You think you know how the world works? You think that this material universe is all there is?"
Strange felt his entire body shatter into multiple copies of himself, with each one being less and less of himself.
A thumping galaxy that was like a large stereo set was beating to the sound of distant chanting pulled him in.
"What is real?"
Strange was flying through another vortex, feeling himself get ripped apart on the cellular level only to be forcefully put back together.
"What mysteries lie beyond the reach of your senses?"
Strange flew through some kind of world where eruptions were going off and he went into a kaleidoscope object of some kind.
"At the root of existence, mind and matter meet. Thoughts shape reality."
He was now in a place where body parts seemed to rule and to his horror, he saw hands stemming from his fingers that only grew more hands from their fingers.
Hands around him began grasping at him before he realized he was falling into his own eye!
"This universe is only one of an infinite number. Worlds without end. Some are benevolent and live giving. Others are filled with malice and hunger."
Strange flew through a crystalline shape of some kind before finding himself in a reality he couldn't even begin to describe.
"Dark places where powers older than time lie ravenous… and waiting."
To his absolute terror, he saw burning purple eyes glaring at him as he drew in closer before he began screaming and seemingly an endless tunnel of him screaming followed suit.
Just as he exited this realm, Strange found himself floating in a moment of sudden bliss through an endless cosmos.
"Who are you in this vast Multiverse, Mr. Strange?"
After moments of floating around aimlessly in the utter void, color filled his vision once again. Drastically being pulled and sent back to Kamar-Taj.
He was shaking and babbling incoherently as he fell through another tunnel that led to Earth and he saw Kamar-Taj getting closer at a rapid rate.
Stephen Strange crashed back down into his seat, falling over a moment later onto his hands and knees. He felt his entire body shaking, every cell vibrating from what he had just experienced.
"Have you seen that in a gift shop?" Tao rhetorically asked as she watched the former surgeon rise up on his knees.
He looked between both his trembling hands until gazing back up to the Sorcerer Supreme in utter disbelief and awe.
"Teach me."
Alright then, this one was done relatively quickly as soon as Jeb and I sat down together and we got it done.
Still on Earth folks as this is the opening arc to Season 3.
Figured that since we haven't been on Earth in some time, serves to have the opening arc be set here.
So yeah, a lot happened in this chapter in a short amount of time meaning a lot of madness is to come in the coming chapter and so as Bucky and Celeste have met Robbie Reyes and now Dr. Strange in a crazy mixture.
Weird group, ain't it?
Rate Read and Review and As Always Have Nice Day.