CHAPTER TWO
UNIVERSE-KILLER
Sunlight poured through the enormous oval window of the Sanctum Sanctorum, illuminating the ancient bookshelves and casting long golden reflections across the library floor.
Doctor Stephen Strange stood alone before the glass, looking out over Manhattan. Far below, New York continued its usual routine. Cars moved through crowded intersections, pedestrians hurried along the sidewalks, and the distant sound of sirens blended into the steady hum of the city.
For a moment, everything appeared normal.
Stephen raised his right hand.
A small sphere of golden energy materialized above his palm, hovering a few inches over his skin.
“Illumination.”
The sphere expanded.
Thousands of tiny golden points scattered throughout the library, drifting through the air like stars suspended inside miniature galaxies. They floated between the bookshelves, gathered near the ceiling, and shimmered across the enormous window.
Stephen studied the display.
This was more than a simple spell. The golden points represented disturbances in the fabric of reality—subtle changes in dimensional energy that ordinary sorcerers would never have detected. Under normal circumstances, most of them remained stable.
Today, something was wrong.
One of the golden points darkened.
Then another.
Within seconds, entire clusters began turning a sinister shade of red. The color spread through the display like a stain moving across a sheet of paper, swallowing the golden light wherever it touched.
Stephen’s expression hardened.
“Wait a minute.”
Another point turned red.
“Oh, that’s bad.”
He closed his fist, and the entire display vanished.
For a moment, he remained motionless, staring at the empty space where the lights had been. His instincts told him this wasn’t a natural disturbance. Something was happening across the Multiverse, and whatever it was had somehow managed to conceal itself from his magic.
Stephen extended both hands.
A circular golden portal opened before him, revealing a realm that existed beyond ordinary space and time.
He stepped through.
The Illuminati headquarters occupied a place beyond the boundaries of conventional reality.
Geometric structures stretched into an endless expanse of darkness, connected by bridges made of luminous energy. Enormous architectural rings rotated in the distance, while translucent screens displayed shifting diagrams of universes, timelines, and dimensional pathways.
It was a place built to observe the Multiverse without being touched by it.
Or so its architects believed.
A golden vortex opened in the middle of the reception area.
Stephen leaped through, stumbled forward, and immediately turned to seal the portal behind him.
“What the hell is going on?”
A woman approached from a nearby reception desk.
Sharon wore a perfectly tailored uniform. Her hair was immaculate, her posture flawless, and her smile so bright that it seemed almost artificial.
“Good morning, Doctor Strange. We weren’t expecting you so early.”
“I noticed the barrier you put between this place and the rest of reality.”
“Yes. The Head Council authorized additional containment measures.”
“Containment measures? Universes are collapsing, Sharon. Entire realities are disappearing, and I can barely get a reading on what’s causing it.”
Sharon tilted her head.
“You’re having difficulty detecting the source?”
“Something is interfering with my magic. Every time I locate a stable point in the fabric of reality, the trail goes cold. It’s as if something is deliberately erasing its own presence.”
Her smile remained unchanged.
“Someone has been altering universes. Their presence is generating a chaotic disturbance throughout the near Multiverse.”
Stephen stared at her.
“You knew?”
“We have evidence of interference, yes.”
“Then tell me where it’s coming from.”
“That information is currently restricted to the Head Council.”
“Of course it is.”
Sharon gestured toward a small refreshment station.
“Would you like some coffee?”
Stephen looked at her as though she had just asked him to help rearrange the furniture during a house fire.
“Sharon, universes are dying.”
“I understand.”
“Do you?”
The question hung between them.
Stephen took a step closer.
“How do we stop the damage from spreading?”
“The Council’s current position is that the affected universes must wait until the culprit has been identified and neutralized.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Wait?”
“Intervention could expose our own universe to the same destabilizing influence.”
“Those worlds are under our protection.”
“They were our priority when the threat was external and manageable. Now the threat may be capable of compromising the entire multiversal network.”
“So your solution is to abandon everyone outside our borders?”
“Our responsibility is to preserve the continuity of our universe. If we lose that, we lose our ability to protect anyone.”
Stephen let out a humorless breath.
“That’s a convenient philosophy when you’re sitting safely behind a wall.”
For the first time, Sharon’s smile faltered.
Only for a moment.
“The Head Council is expecting you, Doctor Strange. I’m sure they’ll explain their position in greater detail.”
She gestured toward a long corridor guarded by Ultron Sentinels. Their metallic heads turned in perfect unison as Stephen approached.
“You wouldn’t want to keep them waiting.”
Stephen began floating toward the corridor.
“I wouldn’t want to do a lot of things.”
“Would you still like that coffee?”
He didn’t answer.
A golden vortex formed around him, and he disappeared into it.
Sharon watched the portal close.
Her smile slowly returned.
“Have a wonderful day, Doctor Strange.”
She paused, staring at the empty air.
“Oh, and mazel tov.”
The words echoed through the otherwise silent reception area.
Her expression never changed.
Five years and three months had passed since the Blip.
For Stephen Strange, those years had been filled with battles, impossible decisions, and responsibilities that seemed to multiply every time he thought he had finally caught his breath.
Yet, on this particular day, he had made a promise to himself.
No emergencies. No interdimensional disasters. No ancient demons threatening to devour the planet.
Just one normal day.
Stephen walked through the New York Sanctum in a formal jacket, adjusting his cuffs as he passed a tall mirror.
He stopped and examined his reflection.
“Just one normal day. That’s all I’m asking.”
He sighed.
Then he left.
The church was filled with guests.
Flowers decorated the aisle, soft music played near the altar, and sunlight streamed through the stained-glass windows. The atmosphere was warm and peaceful, a welcome change from the strange energies and looming disasters that usually occupied Stephen’s thoughts.
He sat in the front row beside Doctor Nicodemus West, his former colleague and rival.
“Doctor Strange.”
“Doctor West.”
“Haven’t seen you in a while.”
“I was a little preoccupied being dust in the air for five years.”
“Right. That.”
West looked down at his hands.
“While I was gone, I lost my brother. And both my cats.”
Stephen’s expression softened.
“I’m sorry.”
“Thank you.”
For a while, neither man spoke. The music continued, filling the silence between them.
Then West turned toward him.
“You ever wonder if there was another way? If we could’ve stopped it without losing so much?”
Stephen considered the question.
He had asked himself the same thing more times than he cared to admit.
“Every day.”
West looked at him, surprised by the honesty.
“But I saw millions of possible futures. In only one of them did we win.”
“And you’re certain there wasn’t another path?”
“I’m certain I couldn’t find one.”
West leaned back in his seat, studying him.
“Of course. The best surgeon, the best superhero, and you even got the girl. You’re amazing, aren’t you?”
“You forgot Sorcerer Supreme.”
“I was trying not to encourage you.”
Stephen chuckled.
“Actually, I’ve traveled through realities you wouldn’t believe. If there’s a way to retrieve the people we lost, I may eventually find it.”
West turned toward him.
“You mean my brother?”
“I mean I can investigate the possibilities. But I won’t promise you something I can’t deliver.”
West studied his face, trying to determine whether he was serious.
“What about a free pass to the pearly gates? A little heavenly favor?”
“Don’t push it.”
Stephen extended his hand.
West stared at it for a moment before shaking it.
The exchange was brief, but it left Stephen with an uncomfortable thought. He had become so accustomed to treating impossible things as problems waiting to be solved that he sometimes forgot the difference between offering someone hope and promising them a miracle.
The music changed.
The guests rose as Christine Palmer entered the church, accompanied by flower girls.
Stephen stood.
For a moment, all the worries of the Multiverse seemed very far away.
Christine approached him with a warm smile.
“I’ve missed you.”
She kissed him on the cheek.
“That’s good to hear,” Stephen replied. “I know it’s been a while.”
“Five years and three months, Stephen.”
“When you put it that way, it sounds worse.”
“It was worse.”
He smiled, but the guilt in his eyes didn’t disappear.
“I’m still working on things that’ll hopefully keep this planet safe for a long time. After that, we’ll have years and years to celebrate.”
Christine looked at him fondly.
“You always think of everything, don’t you, Sorcerer Supreme?”
“Here, I’m just Stephen.”
He took her hands.
“I promise you. Things are going to get more normal.”
Christine studied him for a moment.
“Should I expect a monster to burst through the wall during the vows?”
“What? No.”
He hesitated.
“I may have placed a few protective hexes around the building.”
Christine laughed.
“Cultists, celebrities, and magical security measures. Exactly the wedding I wanted.”
She glanced toward the guests.
Several Masters of the Mystic Arts sat beside doctors, nurses, Avengers, and members of the Guardians of the Galaxy. It was an unusual gathering, even by the standards of someone who had spent years surrounded by superheroes.
Then she noticed Rocket and Groot.
Christine stopped.
“Is that a raccoon?”
“Technically, he’s a highly intelligent genetically modified extraterrestrial.”
Rocket turned toward them.
“Hey, Goatee! I didn’t come to this dirtball for the scenery! Kiss the bride already, or I’m declaring an invasion!”
Tony Stark, seated a few rows away, raised his hands.
“You’re trying to get us killed, aren’t you, Strange?”
Rocket grinned.
“Only if the food sucks.”
Peter Parker leaned toward Logan.
“Wait, is Rocket seriously threatening an Independence Day situation?”
Logan barely glanced at him.
“Kid, you watch too many movies.”
Stephen shook his head, smiling.
Christine laughed.
For a little while, the world was simple.
And Stephen wanted desperately to believe it could stay that way.
The wedding reception was in full swing by the time evening settled over Manhattan.
Guests danced beneath strings of warm lights while the skyline glittered in the distance. Laughter filled the rooftop bar, mingling with the soft music and the clinking of glasses.
Christine approached the bar.
“A glass of red, please.”
Before the bartender could respond, Stephen raised a finger.
The water in her glass shimmered and transformed into red wine.
He presented it to her with a small flourish.
“Allow me, Miss.”
Christine took a sip.
“What, for you, at our wedding? A little too on the nose?”
“I was going for subtle.”
“You have never been subtle in your life.”
They laughed.
For a moment, Stephen watched her quietly. He had imagined this day in different forms over the years, although he had rarely allowed himself to believe it would actually happen.
There had always been something else to do. Another threat. Another responsibility. Another reason to postpone the possibility of a normal life.
“You’re never afraid of any of this, are you?” he asked.
Christine looked at him.
“Any of what?”
“The monsters. The portals. The possibility that something from another dimension might decide to destroy the planet before breakfast.”
“Why would I be afraid right now? You’re here.”
Stephen smiled, but she noticed the look in his eyes.
“There’s Charlie,” she said. “I want you to meet him. He’s a close friend.”
Across the room, Charlie was animatedly explaining something to another guest.
“He’s also a huge fan of yours,” Christine added. “It’s a little embarrassing.”
“I’m sure I can survive.”
Christine started toward Charlie, but Stephen gently called her back.
“Christine?”
She turned.
“There’s something I should’ve said a long time ago.”
Her expression became attentive.
“I wish I’d handled everything differently. I never stopped caring about you. But I kept telling myself that leaving you out of things was the best way to protect you.”
He looked down at his glass.
“I thought if I could keep the danger away from you, I could keep you safe.”
Christine was quiet for a moment.
“I know why you did it.”
“That doesn’t make it right.”
“No. It doesn’t.”
She took his hand.
“You keep trying to be everything. Doctor Stephen Strange, neurosurgeon. Sorcerer Supreme. Earth’s protector. And now my husband.”
“Christine—”
“But what happens when you can’t be all of them?”
Her voice remained gentle, but her expression was firm.
“I’m serious. You have a tendency to take control of everything. I respected that about you. I respected how determined you were, how you could make a decision when everyone else was too frightened to move.”
She paused.
“But I can’t build a life with someone who thinks he has to make every decision alone.”
Stephen looked away.
“How long have you had that one in the barrel?”
“A long time.”
“Yeah. I bet.”
She squeezed his hand.
“I trust you to protect people. But I’ve learned that the horrors never disappear for good. You can’t stop evil from ever coming back. Eventually, you’re going to have to decide whether you want to live your life or spend every waking moment trying to control what happens next.”
Stephen managed a small smile.
“I’m quite the master at cheating the system.”
Christine laughed.
“That’s exactly what worries me.”
For an instant, Stephen felt the familiar urge to reassure her. To promise that he could handle everything. That he could find a way to protect their marriage, safeguard the world, and prevent the Multiverse from collapsing, all without allowing any of it to interfere with their future.
He stopped himself.
Christine wasn’t asking him to solve a problem.
She was asking him to listen.
Before he could respond, a golden portal opened behind him.
Wong stepped through, dressed in his usual robes.
“Mazel tov.”
Stephen turned.
“Didn’t think you’d come. I see you managed to skip the vows and arrive at happy hour.”
“I normally avoid weddings. Too much talking.”
Wong looked toward Christine.
“But in your case, I made an exception.”
“Hello, Wong. It’s been a while.”
They shook hands.
Wong regarded her warmly.
“You’re quite the beauty.”
Christine blushed.
“Thank you.”
Then she suddenly remembered something.
“Stephen, I almost forgot. This is Charlie.”
Charlie hurried over and enthusiastically shook Stephen’s hand.
“Doctor Strange! It’s such an honor! You’re my favorite Avenger!”
“It’s good to meet you.”
Stephen smiled.
“And thank you for looking out for Christine during the Blip.”
Charlie’s smile grew even wider.
“Of course! I mean, I tried to help where I could, but I never expected to actually meet—”
A tremendous explosion shook the building.
The windows rattled violently.
Outside, a skyscraper collapsed into a cloud of dust.
The music stopped.
Screams rose from the street below.
Stephen’s expression changed instantly.
“Strange,” Wong said. “We’re under attack.”
Stephen stared toward the city.
“So much for a normal day.”
He levitated off the floor.
“Wong, get the others organized. I’ll deal with whatever’s out there.”
“Stephen, be careful!” Christine called.
He looked back at her.
For a brief moment, the Sorcerer Supreme disappeared, leaving only the man she had married.
He nodded.
Then he flew out into the night.
Charlie stared after him in amazement.
“Oh my God. Doctor Strange is actually going to save the day.”
Wong opened another portal.
“I need to summon the Mystic Council.”
Christine turned toward him.
“Wong, where are you going?”
“Somewhere I sincerely hoped I wouldn’t have to go tonight.”
He stepped through the portal.
Charlie watched it close.
“That was incredible.”
Christine gave him a look.
“I’m starting to regret giving you my Harry Potter collection.”
New York City had become a battlefield.
Monstrous creatures poured through unstable tears in the sky. Some resembled enormous winged reptiles, their leathery wings beating against the air. Others were hulking beasts covered in jagged armor, their bodies flickering with dark dimensional energy.
The creatures did not move like ordinary animals. They seemed driven by a single, relentless purpose: to tear through the city.
Doctor Strange rocketed between skyscrapers.
He thrust both hands forward.
Golden chains erupted from his palms, wrapped around a massive winged demon, and tightened. With a sharp twist of his wrists, he hurled the creature into a cluster of its allies.
A burst of colorful mystical energy lit the sky.
“Come on, then! Let’s see what you’ve got!”
A second monster lunged toward him.
Red-and-gold energy slammed into it from the side.
Iron Man streaked overhead.
“Missed me?”
“Not particularly.”
Tony fired another repulsor blast.
“Good. I’d hate to think you needed me.”
“Your timing is terrible, as usual.”
“And yet, here I am, saving your mystically overdressed hide.”
Below them, a giant bear-like demon crashed into the street.
Hulk leaped from a rooftop and tackled it through the side of an abandoned building.
“HULK SMASH!”
The creature roared.
Hulk roared louder.
Strange glanced down.
“I wish I could take a day off.”
Tony flew beside him.
“You should try it sometime. There’s a whole world out there that doesn’t require hand gestures.”
“These creatures are being sustained by unstable dimensional gateways. If we don’t close the breaches, more will keep coming.”
“Then let’s close the breaches.”
More monsters descended from the sky.
Tony fired missiles in a wide arc, scattering the attackers.
“Checkmate.”
“You haven’t checked anything.”
A red-and-blue blur swung between the buildings.
Spider-Man landed on the side of a bus, shot webbing at an approaching creature, and yanked it face-first into a lamppost.
“Hey, guys! Mind if I join the party?”
Tony looked toward him.
“Look who’s gotten quicker.”
“I’ve been practicing!”
Spider-Man swung away as another monster lunged.
“Also, I think the party is trying to eat me!”
He flipped over the creature.
“No thank you! I’m saving room for dessert!”
Across the city, the remaining Avengers converged on the invasion.
Captain America led the ground team. Ant-Man and Giant-Man worked together to pull trapped civilians from beneath debris. Janet Van Dyne and Hope Van Dyne darted through the air, striking creatures at different sizes.
Bucky Barnes fired his weapons at an approaching swarm.
“Got ’em!”
Spider-Man swung past him.
“Got some, huh? How much?”
Bucky gave him a sideways look.
“Are we keeping score?”
“Buck, get down!” Sam Wilson shouted.
Sam threw his shield.
It ricocheted between two monsters, knocked a third off course, and returned to his hand.
Bucky ducked.
“Thanks.”
A fourth creature charged toward them.
Spider-Man fired webbing across its face, blinding it long enough for Sam to strike it with his shield.
“Teamwork makes the dream work!”
“Please stop saying things like that,” Bucky replied.
Nearby, Hawkeye and Black Widow coordinated from an armored tactical vehicle, targeting the larger creatures with heavy weapons.
Thor arrived amid a flash of lightning, sending a bolt through a winged demon.
“These beasts have chosen a most unfortunate realm to invade!”
Ant-Man looked up at the sky.
“Does anybody know what they are?”
“Does it matter?” Janet shouted. “They’re trying to destroy our city!”
Hope shrank to insect size, darted between the legs of a hulking creature, then grew behind it and delivered a powerful strike.
Janet watched her daughter land.
“Just like her father.”
“I heard that!” Hope called back.
The battle intensified.
Strange hovered high above the city, studying the creatures as his magic illuminated the air around them. He closed his eyes and allowed his senses to extend beyond the physical world.
The dimensional energy surrounding the beasts became visible: thin, jagged threads leading back toward unstable portals.
“There you are.”
He swept his arms outward.
“By the powers of the Vishanti, let the boundaries of this realm be sealed!”
A gigantic golden sigil spread across the sky.
The dimensional tears began closing one by one. The creatures shrieked as the energy sustaining them weakened. Some collapsed outright, while others crashed into the streets, where the Avengers moved quickly to finish the fight.
Strange extended his arms.
A vast translucent barrier formed around the city. Golden geometric patterns shimmered across its surface, stretching from one end of the skyline to the other.
Tony flew beside him.
“Well, Wizard. What’s the light show supposed to do?”
“The Fifth-Dimensional Daima Hex. It reinforces the boundaries between our dimension and hostile adjacent realms.”
“In English?”
“It makes it harder for things like these to get in.”
“And the downside?”
Strange studied the barrier.
A small section flickered before stabilizing.
“Every time a gateway opens between universes, the hex loses some of its stability. The more dimensional traffic we allow, the more strain we put on it.”
Tony looked at the glowing shield.
“We’ve been opening gateways to other universes for research, defense, and rescue operations.”
“I know.”
“And you approved the program.”
“Because the benefits outweighed the risks. At the time.”
Tony considered that for a moment.
“Then we’ll need better safeguards.”
“And stricter monitoring,” Strange replied. “We can’t assume every visitor from another universe is friendly.”
Tony held out his hand.
“Agreed.”
They shook hands.
Below them, Hulk continued smashing a fallen creature’s body.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
The surrounding civilians watched in horror, several filming on their phones.
Strange peered down.
“I believe the wrong Hulk came out of Banner today.”
Tony grimaced.
“Great. Why couldn’t we have gotten one of the more relaxed Hulks?”
Hulk roared at the crowd.
The civilians scattered.
Moments later, his body began shrinking. His muscles receded, his skin returned to its normal color, and Bruce Banner was left panting on the pavement in a pair of torn trousers.
He nearly collapsed.
Strange caught him with a levitation spell and gently floated him toward Tony.
“Hey, big guy. How are we feeling?” Tony asked.
“Tony? What happened?”
“You had a rough night.”
“I don’t remember any of it.”
Tony steadied him.
“We’ll get you checked out. Strange, can you handle the cleanup?”
Strange surveyed the wrecked streets.
“I’ll take care of it.”
Tony launched into the air with Bruce.
Strange watched them go.
Then he turned toward the city.
The joking expression vanished from his face.
“All right. Let’s see what you’ve left behind.”
He descended toward the street.
With a gesture, his mystical robes dissolved into a dark red suit and black ascot. His appearance became less conspicuous as he walked among the wreckage.
He raised his hands. Green and golden energy coiled around his fingers. “Time, reveal what has been taken from this place.” A wave of magic spread through the street. The world froze.
Falling dust hung motionless in the air. Water stopped spilling from a broken hydrant. Shattered glass remained suspended above the pavement, each fragment caught in the instant before it struck the ground.
Strange moved through the frozen city.
He had learned to manipulate time through his studies of the Time Stone, but he no longer treated such power casually. The Stone’s destruction had changed the nature of what was possible, forcing him to rely on the temporal knowledge and energies he had absorbed during his years of study.
Even so, the spell demanded concentration.
He opened a portal to the Mirror Dimension and stepped through.
The Mirror Dimension reflected New York as an enormous geometric dream. Buildings extended into impossible angles. Roads bent toward the sky. Golden reflections shimmered across skyscraper surfaces, and distant structures hung upside down over a dark, empty void. Strange walked along a suspended avenue, observing the frozen city through its reflective boundaries. He moved his fingers. Time began accelerating around him. Hours passed in seconds.
From his vantage point, he watched the Avengers, emergency crews, and S.H.I.E.L.D. and S.W.O.R.D. operatives repair the damage. Streets gradually cleared. Debris disappeared. Damaged vehicles were removed, and workers reinforced the remaining structures.
Strange remained in the Mirror Dimension, watching the operation unfold.
He could have left the work to the authorities. They were capable, well equipped, and accustomed to dealing with disasters.
But that was not what troubled him.
The creatures had arrived through dimensional gateways. Someone—or something—had opened those gateways, and he needed to know whether the attacks had left behind evidence.
So he waited.
The hours continued to rush past.
Eventually, the last emergency teams departed. The streets were cleared, and the city returned to something resembling normal life.
Strange closed his fist.
Time stopped accelerating.
He opened a portal back to the physical world.
By late afternoon, Manhattan had settled into an uneasy quiet.
Strange stepped onto a street where the battle had been particularly violent. The buildings had been repaired, but a few scorched surfaces and unusual energy traces remained.
He walked toward one of the places where the creatures had fallen.
With a circular motion of his hand, he created several small portals. They drew the remaining dimensional residue into a containment field, where the strange energy twisted and pulsed like a living thing.
Strange examined it.
“These things weren’t just invading.”
He closed his fingers around the containment field.
“Someone sent them.”
He looked toward the skyline.
“But who?”
A distant scream cut through his thoughts.
Strange turned.
A gigantic green tentacled creature smashed through a row of vehicles.
Its enormous central eye swiveled in its socket as its tentacles swept across the street, tearing through buildings and scattering civilians. Cars overturned. Concrete shattered. People fled in every direction, desperately searching for shelter.
Shuma-Gorath had arrived.
A young woman ran through the chaos.
America Chavez.
“Look out!”
She leaped over a fallen street sign as a tentacle crashed into the pavement behind her.
Strange appeared above the street.
The moment he saw her, he froze.
A flash of memory struck him.
America, trapped in a collapsing reality.
A dark figure reaching toward her.
A version of himself standing over her.
America screaming.
Then the vision vanished.
Strange’s eyes widened.
“The girl.”
America looked up.
Strange descended, his ascot transforming into the Cloak of Levitation. His suit shifted back into his familiar mystical robes.
“America Chavez!”
She stopped dead.
“My name is Doctor Strange. You need to come with me.”
America’s expression hardened.
“Get the hell away from me.”
Shuma-Gorath swung a tentacle toward them.
Both leaped aside.
Strange thrust his hands forward.
“Field Reflector!”
A shimmering barrier formed between them and the creature. The tentacle slammed into it, sending ripples of golden light across its surface.
Strange rotated his wrists.
“By the powers of the Vishanti—Angels Seal!”
Golden chains erupted from the ground and wrapped around Shuma-Gorath’s tentacles, pinning them to the street.
The monster roared and struggled against the restraints.
Strange turned toward America.
She immediately tried to run.
A golden cord shot from his hand and wrapped around her wrist.
“What the hell are you doing?!”
“I’m trying to keep you alive!”
“Let me go!”
“I saw you in a dream. I know you’re being hunted across countless dimensions. If you keep running without knowing who’s after you, eventually something is going to catch you.”
America stared at him in disbelief.
“You saw what happened to me, didn’t you?”
Strange hesitated.
“I saw another version of myself.”
“Then you know what you did.”
“I know what he did. I’m not him.”
“You think being born in a different universe changes anything?”
She pulled against the cord.
“I’ve met your kind before, Strange. Different faces. Different worlds. Same arrogance. You all think you’re the only ones who know what’s best for everyone.”
Strange’s expression tightened.
“I’m trying to help you.”
“Then stop treating me like a prisoner!”
The words struck him harder than he expected.
For a moment, his grip loosened.
America seized the opportunity. With a sudden burst of energy, she wrenched her arm free, breaking the magical cord.
Then she bolted down the street.
Strange started after her, but Shuma-Gorath’s chains began snapping.
A golden portal opened behind him.
“I could use a hand!” Wong called as he stepped through, raised his hands, and reinforced the chains. “And for the record, it is an ancient custom to bow in the presence of the Sorcerer Supreme.”
“I’m aware of the customs. Hold it together!”
Together, they dragged Shuma-Gorath toward a gigantic golden vortex.
The creature thrashed violently, smashing its tentacles against the street.
“You might want to make that portal bigger!” Wong shouted.
“I’m working on it!”
Strange widened the vortex.
With one final effort, the two sorcerers hurled Shuma-Gorath through the opening.
The monster disappeared.
The portal slammed shut.
For a moment, the street was silent.
Then cheers erupted from the surrounding buildings.
A giant digital billboard displayed footage of Strange and Wong banishing the creature.
The crowd cheered as the recording replayed.
At the wedding reception, Charlie watched the broadcast in amazement. “That’s incredible! He’s actually doing it!”
Christine looked at the footage.
Her expression was proud, “Stephen never ceases to amaze me.”
Christine watches him disappear through a portal. Worry lingered in her eyes. She had married a man who could command forces beyond human understanding. She had known that long before she walked down the aisle. Before The Wedding from The Beginning Battles like this happened everywhere they went for the past six years. What frightened her was not that he could face the impossible. It was that he might never learn when to stop facing it.
Strange and Wong moved through a Manhattan side street, scanning the surrounding buildings.
“She can’t have gotten far,” Strange said.
“Who exactly are we looking for?” Wong asked.
“America Chavez. She’s the girl I told you about. The one from my dreams.”
Wong looked around.
“And you thought the best way to introduce yourself was to tie her up?”
Strange shot him a look.
“It was a complicated situation.”
“I’m sure it was.”
Strange spotted movement behind a blue mailbox.
He lunged forward and grabbed a young woman by the wrist. “Got you!”
“Who is this?” Wong asked.
He turned toward the girl.
“Where are your parents?”
The girl looked down.
Strange tightened his grip.
“America, listen to me. You need to tell us what these creatures want with you.”
The girl’s face began to shimmer.
Her features dissolved into a swirl of magical light.
Strange stared at his empty hand.
The illusion vanished.
A small metallic object fell to the pavement.
Strange looked down.
His sling ring was gone.
A beat passed.
“She took my slingy.”
Wong stared at the empty space where the girl had stood. “She took your slingy.”
Strange clenched his jaw.
“I’m going after her.”
“Stephen.”
Strange turned.
“Look around you.”
Nearby, civilians scrambled to escape falling debris. Emergency workers pulled injured people from damaged vehicles. Smoke rose from a partially collapsed building.
“She’s not from our world,” Wong said. “We don’t know why she’s here, and we don’t know whether she’s responsible for any of this. But these people need us now.”
Strange looked toward the civilians.
For a moment, he seemed torn between two instincts. One told him to pursue America before she disappeared again. The other reminded him that he had taken an oath to protect the people standing right in front of him. He raised his hands.
Golden energy spread across his body.
Six magical copies of Strange materialized around him.
Wong sighed.
“Of course.”
“Magi Kurōn. They’ll help you get everyone out.”
“And where will you be?”
Strange turned toward the skyline.
“Finding America.”
He launched into the air.
Wong watched him go, irritation gradually giving way to concern. Then he turned toward the civilians.
“All right. Let’s get to work.”
The six Strange clones spread out, assisting Wong as they moved through the damaged streets.
A small blue vortex tore open in an alley in Hell’s Kitchen.
States stepped through.
The portal snapped shut behind him.
He stood still, taking in his surroundings. The alley was narrow and crowded with dumpsters and fire escapes. Somewhere beyond its entrance, a car horn blared.
States cautiously emerged onto the sidewalk.
A passing car drove through a puddle, splashing a pedestrian.
“Oh, come on!” the pedestrian shouted.
States watched the exchange with utter confusion.
He looked up at the towering buildings and the strange machinery moving through the streets. Everything seemed crude, noisy, and astonishingly primitive.
“How primitive is this rock?”
He turned slowly, studying the skyline.
“Is this even a parallel Thrae?”
He looked at the sky.
“Have I crossed worlds? Traveled through time?”
He paused.
“Maybe both.”
States began walking down the sidewalk, trying to make sense of the unfamiliar surroundings.
“Where in the cosmos am I?”
Strange soared between buildings, scanning the streets for America.
His hands began glowing green.
He raised them.
“I call upon the Vipers of Valtor!”
Spectral green serpents shot from his palms, weaving between buildings and searching the surrounding streets.
A burst of flame erupted from a nearby rooftop.
Strange twisted in midair as a fiery projectile narrowly missed him.
He turned toward the source.
America stood on the street below, breathing hard.
She looked up at him, furious that her escape had failed.
Strange descended.
“Stay away from me!” she shouted.
She ran.
Strange flicked his wrist.
One of the spectral serpents raced down the street and coiled around her. America stumbled and fell, and the serpent lifted her into the air.
“Get this thing off me!”
“Relax. It won’t bite.”
He paused.
“Probably.”
America glared at him.
“Bastard! You’re the reason this is happening!”
Strange’s expression changed.
“What?”
“You heard me!”
“I didn’t send those creatures after you.”
“Maybe not in this universe. But I’ve seen what happens when a Strange decides he knows better than everyone else!”
She struggled against the serpent.
“You don’t listen. You don’t stop. You just keep telling yourself that whatever you do is justified because you’re trying to save the world!”
Strange stared at her.
Christine’s voice echoed through his memory.
You can’t always be the one holding the knife.
“America, I can’t get those dreams out of my head,” he said. “I saw what happened to you. I saw what my other self did.”
His voice softened.
“I don’t want that to happen here.”
For the first time, America’s anger gave way to something more desperate.
“Then there’s only one way to stop it.”
Strange grew still.
“What are you talking about?”
“You know the spell. Every Stephen Strange who becomes Sorcerer Supreme eventually learns it.”
Strange’s eyes narrowed.
“No.”
“You know what happens if you don’t use it.”
“I said no.”
“It’s either you or me, Strange.”
She stared directly into his eyes.
“Otherwise, say goodbye to your universe.”
A sudden surge of dark energy erupted behind Strange.
A wave of black flame crashed into his Cloak of Levitation.
“Ahh!”
He spun through the air, barely managing to stabilize himself.
The cloak caught fire, its sentient fabric twisting and recoiling in pain.
Strange looked toward the source of the attack.
A figure floated above the street.
Dark robes. Glowing eyes. A face he knew all too well.
Sinister Strange.
Stephen stared at his counterpart.
“My doppelgänger.”
The alternate sorcerer smiled.
“And you’re my variant.” He gazes at the environment “A world full of life. A sky without cracks. People going about their little lives as if reality itself weren’t hanging by a thread.”
His gaze returned to Doctor Strange.
“And now I find myself in a universe with a weaker Sorcerer Supreme. What a refreshing change of scenery.”
Stephen’s jaw tightened.
“I’m no longer Sorcerer Supreme.”
“You were. And you surrendered the title.”
Sinister circled Stephen slowly.
“You let sentiment make your decisions. You allowed other people to convince you that responsibility should be shared.” He shook his head in disgust.
“You’ve grown soft, Stephen.”
Strange examined the dark sorcerer’s hands.
The skin was scarred. The fingers were twisted with old injuries, and dark lines crawled beneath the surface as though the magic inside him had burned its way through his flesh.
“Those hands don’t look like they’ve been through much labor.”
Sinister stopped.
He glanced at his own hands, then back at Stephen.
“You think pain makes a man stronger?”
“I think it teaches you something.”
Sinister smiled.
“It taught me that the only person you can truly rely on is yourself.”
Dark energy crackled between his fingers.
“And the universe will take everything you love unless you have the power to take it back.”
His gaze settled on America, still suspended in the magical serpent’s grasp.
“Now, let’s get to the point.”
He looked back at Stephen.
“Tell me where America Chavez is going.”
Stephen glanced at America.
Sinister smiled. “And give me your Christine.”
Stephen went completely still.
“What? Strange steadied himself in the air.
“You’re the one causing the anomalies.”
Sinister looked around at the city.
“Anomalies. Is that what they’re calling it?”
He spread his arms.
He opened his hands, revealing swirling black energy between his palms. The red anomalies. The collapsing universes. The interference that had blinded Stephen’s magic. America’s terror. The threat that had been moving from reality to reality, leaving devastation in its wake. The pieces fell into place, and Stephen finally understood the scale of the danger facing him.
“You’re the Universe-Killer.”
Sinister’s smile widened.
“There it is.”
He raised one hand.
The sky above Manhattan darkened.
“Now you’re beginning to understand.”
“You destroyed those other universes.”
“I removed obstacles.”
“You murdered more than Trillions of sentient life.”
“Trillions who now fear the name, Stephen Strange in every afterlife, so that the gods know their place.”
Sinister floated closer.
“Those worlds were under my protection, you will pay for everyone you’ve slain.”
“You can’t stop me. I have the power to destroy everything we hold dear Stephen,everything because I am you, I know what you fear, in fact killing myself & reflections of my world is the best part of these visits.”
Stephen’s expression hardened.
He raised his hands into a defensive stance. Golden magical shields formed around his fists.
“You need to leave this universe, for your own sake, or I will destroy you.”
“I’m afraid that’s not going to happen Stephen.”
Sinister’s eyes glow.
And for the first time since the battle began, Stephen Strange had no idea what would happen next.
