Christine Supreme AU

[drpalmer]

In all the infinite universes, there was sure to be one in which Stephen Strange didn't survive his car accident, and in this, particular version of such an event, Christine had been with him. It had been a different path that led her to magic. The universe needed a new sorcerer, be it Stephen or someone else.

She had trained and devoted herself to the mystical arts just as she had devoted herself to medicine. Healing magic and defensive spells came most naturally for her, it was in her blood to help. In this universe Christine Palmer became an incredible power, she saved countless lives.

Of course, she had never truly stopped mourning Stephen, but she carried on and fought in his memory.

When the walls between universes started to crack it was as if a call was put out for all the Sorcerers in every universe to find ways to help repair the cracks.

Something was coming and she could feel it. She was pacing around the Sanctum, whatever was on the way was going to come here, of that she was certain.

Comments

[drpalmer]

The eye is a bit of a surprise and she is intrigued. "Apparently my third eye isn't so literal."

Leave it to Christine to not only be horrified, but to make a joke about it.

"Easy. Oh, you would struggle with them, wouldn't you? Trying to believe in something like that early on?"

[mysticaldoctor]

"No, but -- I can still see it. It's always been difficult to believe in something - other than myself." He thought he could save her to fix something lacking in himself.

The eye closed and disappeared from view, but his aura still shifted in a manner that it was open, just - not entirely visible, in a way that she could probably still see it if she looked, but - to someone else he might look relatively normal.

[drpalmer]

"You've never lacked self-confidence, but you also earned it. The best surgeon I ever had the pleasure of working with."

He truly was magnificent, so incredibly brilliant. Her presence unlocks the door so she can get the eye and put it on. She's dabbled with it, she can open it, and it responds well to her, and her intentions.

"What artifacts chose you?"

[mysticaldoctor]

"The Eye... and at one point I had the - Cloak but I'm fairly sure that ripping it apart counts as rejection. I tried - reasoning at one point - with myself. We can see how that turned out."

He doesn't want to discuss this too much - he's better as an instrument of battle - not talking it out. He admires how well the Eye responds.

[drpalmer]

She can't help the way she moves to hug him again. Christine wishes she could have been there to help him, but he wouldn't have been strong then. Just as in her universe his death is a fixed point, hers is to him.

"I'm here. We will do this together." She wants to reassure him but also to be reassured herself.

[mysticaldoctor]

He awkwardly hugs her back, though it's more of a matter of trying to figure out what he needs to do - where his arms should go. "For better or worse, I expect - in ... not...er."

He pulled away awkwardly and went to go look in a book.
It had been a bit of a long time since he had bothered with flirting.

He waved his hand over the pages, looking for the information he sought on the multiverse.

[drpalmer]

"Sorry." She mutters, she's still too affectionate. She dips to a shelf to grab a few old tomes that she remembers seeing some information that may be relevant.

"I think these may be useful as well."

[mysticaldoctor]

Strange nodded and levitated all the books, turning the pages with an additional limb, he was looking for ways to seal the cracks that currently existed. "So if you didn't cast this spell, then ... who did?" He knows her, she's very by the book - and he's not sure if that's a flaw anymore.

That meant she hadn't done this.

[drpalmer]

"Someone reckless, with the sort of ego to back it up."

She gives him a little look, it wasn't this Strange, but it sounds like something one of them would do.

She uses magic to stop one of the pages he's turning. "There, the ink has been smudged and I couldn't quite figure it out when I first read it."

[mysticaldoctor]

He frowned at it. He could open the time stone and reverse the smudge, but - he could - remember. If he wanted.

He held up a finger and thought - perhaps too hard. "Cyclothymic paradoxes may result in unrelated paradoxes, temporal incuravation, and expungement of personal timeline," his mouth moved, but his voice was not that of Stephen's

[drpalmer]

"Thanks." It's just instinctive, she's thanking whichever entity read that out for her.

"That's not exactly encouraging though." She would prefer her timeline not be expunged.

[mysticaldoctor]

He nodded and took a breath - odd that - sometimes he had to remember how. He wasn't sure if it was just being around her, or if sometimes he didn't in that crystalline space.

"Well I didn't - no point in... everyone being punished for my mistakes."

"It means someone tried to change something - they shouldn't have. The natural order of things. You have some..." he waved his hand oddly. "leeway, with that. Absolute points. If you change one point you have to be prepared to shift it to another, and you can't change your personal timeline, well - maybe not 'can't' - if we're being technical. It's not recommended - we'll put it like that, shall we? It also could make it worse by ... reversing it, unless the original spell-caster can be convinced to undo it."

Sounds like something one of us would do."

[drpalmer]

"It wasn't you, but it sounds like something a Strange would do."

She considers it, wondering the best way to deal with this.

"Should we try to contact the source of this? Granted it's risky, but we're looking at a collapse of reality, so, it seems reasonable."

[mysticaldoctor]

"Could try. Might not want to listen. Think of the most arrogant version of me that you know - and I would guess that's close to what we're looking for."

Strange opened one of the books to the chapter on scrying.
"Probably want to use this, then we'll ... drop in, as it were."
He smiled a little, pleased with at least part of this idea, to be up to the challenge of beating an arrogant version of himself that thought little of breaking the universe itself - and the consequences.

[drpalmer]

"Hopefully the two of us will be a bit more convincing than one alone."

Christine's life without Stephen is about to have entirely too much Stephen in one quick afternoon.

"I so rarely use scrying. It often feels invasive."

[mysticaldoctor]

"It's not invasive if you don't try to find out more information than is currently present." Stephen thought this was too much to worry about morals. "It's them or the world, what are you more worried about, Doctor Palmer, someone's intrusive thoughts or millions of lives?"

He doesn't know how accurate his scrying would be - there's a lot of distractions. He can portal though - without a sling ring though - once the location is pinpointed - if required.

[drpalmer]

"You know I'll do it." She's already casting the spell, pulling up a foggy image that grows in clarity. It's not

And it's Stephen Strange, naturally.

"Well, that seems right."

[mysticaldoctor]

"Ugh. Will the arrogance never cease with this one." He casts rune protection armor at her. "Vishanti Protection Spell. You're welcome."

He opens the portal. "Ready?" He has his ... various creatures, if required to defend himself, or her if required.

[drpalmer]

"With this one? Or just all the version of you?"

She feels the spell hit her, the movement of his magic over her.

"Ready." Or at least as ready as she could possibly be for this.

[mysticaldoctor]

"This particular one. Or any that consider their ... need to fix things more important. Includes me."

He puts up his shields, they are less yellow and more orangish-red, and contain a more complex rune series, so they could double as projectile weapons, if required. He didn't call for the doctor's name, instead he was using his 'other senses' to try and scent him out.

[drpalmer]

Christine's hand glow with their own shields, ready to offer protection if needed.

She glances around, looking for anything obvious.

"Stephen?" She will call out, her voice is likely to be familar to him.

[mysticaldoctor]

The Strange beside Christine remained silent, blessedly, for once.

"Who goes there?" A voice says, resonating through the walls. "Who dares enter my Sanctum?"

Strange honestly found this amusing, that he was trying to be threatening.

"It's Neo and Trinity from the Matrix," he said, in as normal of a voice he could muster, though he felt the demon's powers permeating the walls that he was determined to keep lit. He saw no reason to identify himself, or Christine, not yet - unless he knew what was going on, what this version had done.

"We just want to talk to you and why you've affected our universes."

[drpalmer]

She rolls her eyes at the dramatics.

"Just came on by for tea and a chat, casual Multiverse stuff."

Christine should be more worried, but she's waiting to face yet another Strange, she can't bring herself to be scared of him.

[mysticaldoctor]

"I don't take tea," the thing said, but Stephen saw him anyway. Or what was left of him, if he could be called "Stephen Strange" anymore.


"Clearly." He said, keeping his composure for the time being.

[drpalmer]

"Stephen, what have you done?"

Whatever is left, isn't Stephen anymore. It's an aching feeling, seeing him alive but having destroyed himself.

There is movement in the shadows, she wonders if this Strange knew her at all.