No-One But You (The Star Child's Eclipse)
Chapter 86: Doom (Part 6)
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Thanks to the not-so-winter fucking soldier, Doctor Strange got a second chance to have a conversation with Wanda Maximoff and Victor Von Doom.
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His first attempt to reason with them totally sucked, but Stephen got to return to his "time stamp" with a completely different mindset.
Stephen saw Doom and Wanda in a different light the second time around.
They both were damaged, grieving, and connecting through a deep need to resurrect their loved ones.
Processing their grief changed Stephen's approach entirely, and he felt WAY more relaxed at this point in the story.
Doctor Doom was sipping on some tea, if you recall, but he also seemed a little distracted.
Stephen took note of that, just as his beautiful wife spoke to Wanda and Doom at the same time.
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"Are you two, husband and wife?"
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Asking if they were "married" was the proper way to ask that question, but the thought of doing that slipped Clea's mind in that moment.
She wasn't fluent in those.. Earthly customs, but she remembered that she was Stephen's wife and he was her husband.
It felt like the people in front of her might have shared the same titles, so Clea gently asked them about it..
Oh. Wanda absolutely had to look in Victor Von Doom's direction. Was he about to choke on his tea?
A large smile formed on her face at the thought, and Wanda was processing why…
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"Uh, no. We're not married."
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Doom decided to handle that answer, and yes.. he almost choked on his tea.
It's true that Wanda was staying there, with him.. and the two of them had been a "thing" for quite a while..
But, were they married? Husband and wife?
No, unfortunately they weren't… and Doom refused to elaborate, so…
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"If you need to define our connection, you can think of us as strong allies."
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Right. Allies.
Doom listened to that, then he looked at Wanda and gave her a polite smile.
She decided to add her two cents into the mix, just for fun, then she started looking down toward the front of her dress.
You see, the tricky thing about "time stamps" is the effect that comes with reversing something that happened.
Stephen had to pull a fast one and correct what "James" fucking did, and quickly moving backward through time can sometimes cause a glitch.
Fragments of an event can still be seen, felt… or remembered, and Stephen began to think he was witnessing that in real time.
Wanda kept looking down toward her chest, as if she was remembering that she was shot.
And, as for Doom? A fragment of catching Wanda might have slipped somewhere beneath the cracks..
Stephen could tell.
The ruler of Latveria kept looking down at his arms, as if he was remembering… something.
The thought of catching Wanda was there, it was only a glimpse, and Doom wasn't sure why he started feeling sad..
More like, devastated..
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"SO. I suggested that we should back up a bit, and you two explained how you met. My older self is the person who brought my sister Donna back to life, so, I can connect the two of you.. but I can't guarantee that he can help you in a similar way."
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Donna's soul was connected to the Ancient One, and that was something that had been established from birth. Stephen was chosen by Agamotto when he was a child, and Donna was chosen to be a counter balance.
WE'RE NOT GETTING INTO THAT SHIT ANY LONGER, MMKAY?
Did Victor Von Doom and Wanda Maximoff need to know all that information?
Maybe.
But, "baby" Stephen decided to leave that up to his older self.
More importantly, Doom and Wanda's body language was WAYYYY more relaxed in that moment, and Stephen inwardly thought he was finally accomplishing something.
Was he going to get his son back in the next five minutes?
Probably not… but Wanda didn't look like she wanted to skin a cat or drown anyone in that moment, so…
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"But, you're living here? Under this roof?"
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Clea Strange decided to point up toward the roof of the castle, because she wasn't finished asking her questions.
Who said she was finished? And… Clea was hardly satisfied with that response.
The ruler of the Dark Dimension was speaking directly to the Scarlet Witch in that moment, woman to woman, because truly… she wasn't "married" to the man sitting beside her at the table?
Oh, really now? Don't give me that…
I guess you can say Clea truthfully didn't understand what was happening.
She didn't understand why the woman in front of her was hoarding away her stolen child… all while living underneath the protection of a man like Doctor Doom at the same time.
Wanda gave Clea Strange a playful smile, because woman to woman… she read between the lines.
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"HAH. Uhh.. Clea doesn't really follow the formal constructs of marriage, when she asks if you're husband and wife. She's very cut and dry about it, so… technically I'm married to everyone I've slept with."
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Oh fuck.
Stephen wasn't sure why he tried to suddenly clarify where his wife was going with her random questions.
Maybe the "former" Sorcerer Supreme thought he was, helping?
Was he helping? Wait. What the hell was Clea actually asking them?
Hmm.. Victor Von Doom took another look in Wanda's direction, and she returned the gesture after Doctor Strange said what he did..
So, the great Clea Strange was implying that she actually was "married" to him, since the two of them physically occupied the same space.
Was she implying they were intimate? Wanda heard that information loud and clear, and…
That's partially why she moved her things earlier that day, to another bedroom, but…
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"I'll look into speaking to your older self on my own, Stephen. Thank you for giving us that information."
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Victor Von Doom felt like ending the conversation on that note, so he gave Stephen and Clea a kind smile.
It was hard for him to face them without his armor on, and it was even harder to process what was being said.
He gave it a shot to seem approachable, keep things civil, and…
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"We'll be in touch, once our little arrangement comes to an end."
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Right. Three days.
Victor Von Doom specifically asked for three days to "bury the hatchet" and give the Surveillant Council his answer about whether or not he wanted to join the fold…
So, it's either war in three days, or a happy ending?
Shit.
History was repeating itself, so Stephen mentally double-checked to see where the FUCK BUCKY FUCKING BARNES WAS IN THAT MILLISECOND…
Stephen locked his DUMBASS in a cell to cool off, so their "civil" conversation came to an end on a good note.
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Chapter: END
Thanks for reading.