New York

Doctor Strange was walking in the streets when suddenly a mysterious blonde woman appeared behind him. Her movements were confident, and her striking presence immediately drew his attention. He turned around to face her, curiosity etched on his face.

"Can I help you?" Strange asked, his tone calm but guarded.

The woman, wielding an aura of purpose, strode toward him aggressively, drawing a sword seemingly made of shimmering purple energy.

"You caused an incursion, and we're gonna fix it," she stated, her voice firm, without hesitation.

Without waiting for a response, she slashed the air with her sword, tearing a hole through reality itself. On the other side loomed the dark, swirling expanse of the Dark Dimension. She turned her sharp gaze to Strange, daring him.

"Unless you're afraid…"

Strange's expression hardened. In a flash, his sorcerer's suit appeared around him, its details glowing faintly with magical energy. He stepped forward, his determination unshaken.

"Not in the least," he replied.

Together, they passed through the portal into the Dark Dimension.

The Dark Dimension

Dominion of Dormammu

Strange looked around at the ominous, ever-shifting landscape, his mind working to assess the situation. "So," he began, his voice measured, "will you tell me who you are and what we're doing in the Dark Dimension?"

"My name is Clea," she replied curtly. "The Dark Dimension is the only way I can travel between universes."

"You… can travel between universes?" Strange asked, his intrigue growing.

"It's complicated," Clea said, brushing off his question with a wave of her hand. "What we need to do is figure out how to prevent something inevitable—the incursion you caused when you went to Universe-838 with two of your friends."

Without further explanation, Clea slashed her sword again, opening another portal. They stepped through into a new reality.

Universe-838

New York

"Where are we going exactly?" Strange asked as they emerged into the unfamiliar cityscape.

"To a meeting at the Baxter Building," Clea replied briskly. "When I learned about the incursion, I came to this universe to warn its heroes. But they already knew—and they were furious. They demanded I bring you to them to talk."

Strange sighed, his shoulders sagging slightly. "Not this again," he muttered under his breath.

When they arrived at the towering Baxter Building, Clea led Strange inside. They entered a grand meeting room dominated by a large table. Seated around it were a mix of heroes and villains from Universe-838: Iron Man, Doctor Doom, Magneto, Bruce Banner, Cyclops, Wolverine, Beast, and Baron Mordo.

The Baxter Building

Baron Mordo rose to greet him with a mocking smile. "Stephen Strange, how nice of you to join us! Have a seat. We have much to discuss."

Strange's lips curled into a sardonic smile. "Oh, I bet we do, Carl."

Wolverine, his voice a low growl, leaned forward. "Listen, bub, you're gonna start taking things seriously around here, or I'm gonna rip your face into tiny little pieces. You're lucky we need you, 'cause the blood of Reed Richards, Captain Carter, Black Bolt, Captain Marvel, and the Professor is on YOUR hands!"

Cyclops placed a restraining hand on Wolverine's shoulder. "Logan, calm down. You know he didn't kill them—it was Wanda."

Magneto's voice was cold and measured. "Watch your words. It was not our Wanda. It was theirs—the Scarlet Witch."

Wolverine's claws extended slightly as he growled. "Wait till I get my hands on that piece of—"

"That would not be wise," Doctor Doom interrupted sharply, his tone unyielding. "Unless you are eager to die."

Strange held up a hand, attempting to interrupt the escalating tension. "Wait, but isn't she—"

Magneto cut him off. "Be careful how you speak, Logan. She may be from another universe, but she remains my daughter, no matter what."

Strange's brow furrowed in confusion. "Wanda's your… daughter?"

Magneto's voice softened slightly, though it carried an undercurrent of sorrow. "Well, technically not your Wanda. But yes, I am the biological father of Wanda Maximoff. Do you not know a Magneto in your universe?"

"Not that I know of," Strange admitted. "We've always believed she was the biological daughter of her deceased parents, Olek and Iryna Maximoff."

Magneto frowned. "That does not make any sense."

Doctor Doom slammed his hand on the table, his voice ringing with authority. "Enough! We are not here to debate lineage. We are here to discuss how to save our universe!"

Iron Man's voice, sharp and biting, joined in. "Doctor Strange, your little parade in our universe not only cost us our world's mightiest heroes—it caused an incursion."

Strange sighed again, his frustration evident. "Incursion. I know. Clea told me."

(The scene continues with the same dialogue, retaining the exact words, as requested. Shall I proceed?)

Doctor Strange stood in the center of the room, frustration clouding his thoughts. "What I don't get," he began, "is how I could have caused an incursion if I wasn't even in this universe for more than two hours. Some time ago, Spider-Man caused some of his enemies and two other Spider-Mans to wreak havoc on my universe, and nothing happened."

Bruce Banner, leaning against the wall, gave a grim smile. "You got lucky… No one will ever fully understand how the multiverse works. Honestly, it's a concept about which we know frighteningly little."

Doctor Strange's hands clenched at his sides. "Well, that's just great. How, then, would we know when one would cause an incursion and when not? If it took over sixteen months for this incursion to be noticed, isn't there still a possibility that whatever Spider-Man did could cause an incursion too?"

Baron Mordo, standing by the window, crossed his arms. "That's the bad news, we don't know. Incursions happen at random. Sometimes they occur minutes after you step foot on another universe, other times, you could live your whole life there without causing a single one. What we do know, however, is that dreamwalking appears to be the cause of 90% of incursions in the multiverse."

Doctor Strange frowned, his mind racing. "Dreamwalking… that is what Wanda did in order to get to America Chavez. She dreamwalked into your Wanda's body."

Doctor Strange's expression hardened. "So I'm pretty sure she is the one that caused all of this. And I don't know if you knew this, but she's dead. She sacrificed herself to destroy Mount Wundagore and every Darkhold in existence."

Doctor Doom, standing off to the side, spoke with cold certainty. "We are fully aware that the Scarlet Witch was the one who caused it, but you were the one who could not stop her at Kamar-Taj, and then inadvertently led her to our universe with America Chavez. Killing the most well-known heroes on the planet while dreamwalking triggered the incursion. Now we need your help to stop it. Oh, and… there is a chance that Wanda Maximoff could very well still be alive. After we found out about the incursion, we went looking for her at Mount Wundagore, only to find rubble. No sign of a body anywhere. Finding her is of great importance."

Doctor Strange raised an eyebrow. "Let me guess… you need my help to find her?"

Iron Man stepped forward, his tone sharp. "That is correct. Are you familiar with the fact that our dreams are windows into the lives of our alternate selves in other universes?"

Doctor Strange's eyes narrowed. "Yes, I'm aware. I experienced it firsthand."

Beast, ever the strategist, joined the conversation. "So, we came to the conclusion that by accessing the dreams of our Wanda, we can locate where your Wanda went. You're the only one capable of doing something like that. We need to get into her mind, that way we can see where your Wanda currently is, in real-time. It's like unlocking dreams she's yet to have about your Wanda."

Doctor Strange shot Beast a sharp look. "You forgot to tell me why exactly you need to find Wanda, whom I thought was dead mere seconds ago."

Iron Man's face was grim. "There was only one instance where an incursion of two universes was prevented. It may seem harsh, but so far it was the only way any incursion was stopped. They killed the one who caused it, resulting in that person's universe reverting back to its original state. In this case, it's Wanda Maximoff."

Cyclops, standing stoic, added, "We have to kill Wanda Maximoff."

Doctor Strange's eyes flashed with disbelief. "No. We are not killing anyone. There has to be another way. This may not even work! What then? You just sit back, put on your sunscreen, and watch our worlds burn?"

Magneto's face twisted with pain as he spoke, his voice barely above a whisper. "As hard as it is for me to say this, considering she is technically my daughter, eliminating your Wanda could be our only shot. One life cannot stand in the way of trillions."

Doctor Strange shook his head, disbelief and anger mixing in his eyes. "But it should."

Wolverine growled, his claws scraping the floor. "That psychopath deserves to die. If you're not gonna kill her, I will do it for you!"

Doctor Doom's voice was cold, calculated. "Strange, don't you understand? That within the grand calculus of the multiverse, Wanda's sacrifice means infinitely more than her life."

Doctor Strange froze, memories flashing through his mind. He remembered when he had told Spider-Man that same cold truth, when he had considered the idea of killing America Chavez to prevent the collapse of their universe. He remembered the other Strange saying it to America, just before almost killing her.

Doctor Strange's voice was quiet, yet resolute. "No, she does not deserve to die. She was at a low point in her life, and the Darkhold took advantage of her delicate mind. I'm not justifying her actions, but she was not in control. In the end, she broke free of the book's hold on her mind and tried to set things right. There was a time in my life where I would not have hesitated to kill Wanda if it meant saving both of our universes. It seemed like a simple calculus. But I was changed by someone who knew that every single life is worth saving."

Iron Man's voice was hard. "You're really gonna let our universes die just to protect the one person that caused it in the first place?"

Doctor Strange's face hardened with resolve. "No. I'm going to find another way. This cannot be the only way. It can't. I refuse to believe that."

Magneto's expression darkened. "You don't think I also tried arguing the same thing? Me of all people, Doctor, if even I can't see any other way other than to kill my own flesh and blood from another universe, you have to understand."

Cyclops spoke firmly, his voice like steel. "I'm sorry, Strange, but the doomsday clock is ticking. If we don't act fast, both of our universes will perish. We need you to go into the mind of our Wanda—Wanda #2—to find out where your Wanda went."

Doctor Strange's eyes dropped to the ground, his mind racing. He wanted to save the universes, but he couldn't bring himself to kill Wanda. He had to find another way.

"I… I can't. I'm sorry." His voice was quiet, filled with sorrow.

He opened a portal, but before he could step through, a force slammed into him, lifting him off his feet. It was Doctor Doom, using his telekinesis to choke him.

Doctor Doom's voice was dark, filled with threat. "If you think I'm just gonna let you walk away and be the reason Latveria gets destroyed, you're making a mistake. We are not asking for your help. We are telling you to help us."

"Victor! Stop!" Beast cried, rushing forward.

Doctor Doom's grip on Strange tightened. "If he walks away, we are all doomed!"

Baron Mordo, acting quickly, used his sling ring to close the portal, trapping Doctor Strange in the room.

Clea, standing at the edge of the group, looked between Doctor Strange and Doctor Doom with a calculating gaze. Then, without warning, she summoned purple energy, creating glowing chains that wrapped around Doctor Doom and Mordo, binding them.

"Clea! What are you doing?!" Mordo yelled, struggling against the chains.

Clea met his gaze calmly. "The right thing."

Magneto, using his control over metal, quickly snatched Doctor Strange's sling ring, rendering him unable to escape.

Cyclops raised a hand, trying to calm the situation. "Okay, everyone just calm down."

Clea opened a portal with a flick of her sword, and Doctor Strange, using his own telekinesis, seized his sling ring back from Magneto, along with Mordo's. Together, they stepped through the portal into the Dark Dimension.

Doctor Doom, freed from Clea's chains, rushed toward the closing portal, flying through just in time before it slammed shut, leaving the others behind.

Wolverine looked at the others, frustration boiling in his veins. "Now what?!"

Magneto's voice was grim, resigned. "We wait…"