As Leah and Sabine moved to return to the waiting room, their feet would lose purchase as the ground beneath them suddenly vanished. For Sabine, it would be like simply missing a step - the sudden lurch forward, followed up by a fall, just without a landing. But for Leah, a being of earth and rock, the loss of connection to the planet, to anything beyond the mercy of gravity might feel all the more sinister. 

And then without warning, just as the fall had begun, it ended - as shimmering orange ropes wrapped around the girls, grabbing them by the torso, and they were yanked sideways, leaving the strange nothingness and crashing through a crystalline illusion. The pair would find themselves on the floor of an arcane, musty study - a sanctum for the mystic arts, one with no doors, and a gigantic circular window. Its master stood before them, his hair more gray than any other color in his age, as his eyebrow twitched with curiosity. 

“Welcome to office hours. I understand you have need of my services,” Doctor Strange greeted.

If it weren’t for the fact that they had just been suspended in the air, and safely deposited back on the ground, Leah might have had [i]several[/i] expletives and unpleasant words ready to go.

Her head swerved around this way and that, taking in everything and subconsciously making sure they hadn’t just been teleported into a torture chamber or, god forbid, fucking [i]Arizona.[/i] But no, they were in front of [i]the[/i] greatest wizard on the planet.

[color=ffcb00]”…[i][b]What?”[/b][/i][/color] Holy shit, falling like that felt [i]awful.[/i]

Sabine felt in freefall for a moment before she was whisked back along with Leah. Soon her feet were on solid ground again and she stood in front of the Sorcerer Supreme himself. She looked around, glanced at Leah who, much like herself, was valid in her reactions.

[color=A2797E]”Oh…umm…hello,”[/color] she said awkwardly. She wasn’t expecting to have to interact with him right away, nor be flung through portals to come into his ‘office’.

[color=A2797E]”I suppose we do. Leah, want to start us off?”[/color]

[color=ffcb00]”Uh- Yeah. I guess…”[/color] There were actually [i]several[/i] things a wizard could be a huge help for, right about now. But… Priorities.

[color=ffcb00]”I guess Vision already told you this, but there’s this stupidly dangerous supervillain around. He’s my dad, and he might be using magic… I met him earlier and he just [i]vanished[/i] right before I could knock his teeth down his throat.”[/color]

Doctor Strange grimaced for a moment, before with a twirl of his hands a perfectly poured cup of tea appeared, and he took a lingering sip. “Ah. Yes. I must confess, I find the Vision’s texting style to be… less than palatable.” His eyes wandered around the room, before narrowing ever so slightly with interest as his gaze settled on Leah. “I thought we’d all agreed that ChatGPT was a bad idea.”

“At any rate, I keep a watchlist of individuals who might be a threat to this world - enchanted, of course,” he mused, before letting go of the cup and the tea immediately vanished, as he moved across the study to a wall filled with ancient tomes. “What is your father’s name?”


[color=ffcb00]”Depends on what kind of mood he’s in. Alain Pavon, Blackbird, Imperator- He’s got a bunch of those that he’s known for… I stopped using my old name after I tried to kill him, a few years ago.”[/color]

At this point, keeping that small tidbit of information secret didn’t seem to matter that much.

[color=A2797E]”So depending on if he’s in your enchanted book, which I have to assume he is because you’re…well [i]you[/i], what’s going to happen? Are we going to business as usual? Gonna be honest, this whole thing has thrown me a bit and it’s not even my father.”[/color]

“Blackbird? I suppose I’ve heard worse,” Strange muttered. “Bound to run out of names eventually. Let’s see, Blackbird, Blackbird, Blackbird…” He took a well-loved book from the shelf, the cover practically in tatters, held together with tape and twine. The pages seemed to come to life before him, the book flinging itself open, before suddenly stopping. He studied the page carefully. Read it once, then once again. And then he turned back around to face the girls. “We? [i]We[/i] aren’t doing anything. You’re children,” he reminded them. “Children without a shred of magical training.”

[color=ffcb00]”I don’t get the impression you’ve been trained to shoot someone from really far away, or break someone in half with your bare fists,”[/color] Leah commented. [color=ffcb00]”Does that mean [i]you’re[/i] doing nothing either?”[/color]

Sabine stepped closer to Leah. While Sabine agreed, for the most part, it was probably not the best idea to piss off the Sorcerer Supreme. [color=A2797E]”Ok, let’s take a step back. With all due respect, Doctor Strange, Leah has a lot more experience with this man, training or not. And I am not about to sit around while some crazed maniac threatens everyone. I mean…[/color] Sabine was about to bring up Arcade, but was that a good example of what she could do? It was dangerous, yes, but Arcade didn’t hold a candle to Leah’s father.

[color=A2797E]”I’d like to help in some capacity, at least.[/color]

[color=ffcb00]”I’m irritable right now, sorry.”[/color] It had been a long damn day.

The book snapped shut. Another time, he would have shunted Leah’s soul out of her body, just to make a point. He would have taken them to Kamar-Taj, where they trained not just in magic, but in physical combat. He would have impressed upon them how little they knew, how little they understood. 

“Do you want to know a secret, Ms. Jordan?” he inquired. “You reek of magic - of enchantment. But not your father’s work. No. I’m afraid this is little more than a prank. If I had to guess, someone wants you off your game in the contest tomorrow. Probably one of my students.”

She stared at him for a moment.

[color=ffcb00]”Is that what… [i]This[/i] all is?”[/color] She waved a hand around to indicate the rocky skin she had grown after the incident in the gym. [color=ffcb00]”A prank? This happened after someone got hurt and I helped them, what am I missing here?”[/color]

[color=A2797E]”If this is all a prank,”[/color] though Sabine very much doubted it because who in their right mind would go to this great length over a contest, even one as important as this, [color=A2797E]”then are you able to figure out who?”[/color] Surely the Sorcerer Supreme could. Unless this was just some way for him to get the two of them off his back.

He [i]really[/i] didn’t know them if that was his goal.

“Oh, no, that’s quite real,” Strange assured her. “You’re a giantess - a bit far from home, but that isn’t uncommon these days. Earth is lousy with Asgardians and giants these days. As for who it is - all magic comes with a price, and if paying this price will bring you peace… and keep you from working the robot into a stress-driven malfunction… and remove you from my office… I will oblige.”

From his sleeve, he produced a small, smooth stone - and with a whispered word of power, it began to float, glowing a soft orange. “Take this. Follow it, and you will find your culprit.”

Leah took the stone, staring down at it curiously. [color=ffcb00]”…You’re telling me that [i]wasn’t[/i] him. That no one’s in fu- That no one’s in danger.”[/color] She turned and fixed a [i]really[/i] pissed off look on Sabine. The kind of look that conveyed things words couldn’t. [color=ffcb00]”I’m gonna kick someone’s ass for a field goal for this.”[/color]

Then she turned back and looked at the wizard. [color=ffcb00]”I’m- If I knew this was a prank, I would’ve just kept quiet about it. Sorry for making this your problem, seriously. And… Thanks. For whatever this thing is.”[/color]

Sabine bit her tongue. The fact this was all an elaborate “prank” to get into Leah’s head, possibly even her own, was ridiculous. However, as much as she wanted to get into the person’s brain and destroy it from within, this was Leah’s decision. She would back her up. They would also have to speak to April to calm her down if she saw any of the messages. 

[color=A2797E]”Agreed. Thank you for that. Suppose we should get back and figure some things out.”[/color]

“Yes, I suppose you should,” Strange agreed, before the ground fell away beneath them once more, and they would land back safely at the school.

Leah nearly stumbled and fell flat on her face that time. That felt so damn disorienting.

She looked around. [color=ffcb00]”...Okay. So. We follow this magic stone. Find a wizard, fucking [i]disembowel[/i] them, and then- I dunno. Worry about ourselves for the rest of the day after?”[/color]

Sabine grounded herself as quickly as she could. Something with Strange set her off a bit. Maybe he truly was just busy and had little time for antics but surely he could understand their worry. [color=A2797E]”Do you want to do it now? If there is no danger, we have time. Or find out who it is and destroy them in the competition. Up to you either way, I have your back.”[/color]

[color=ffcb00]”I’d rather fix this before whoever did it decides to fuck someone else over. What if April gets tricked into seeing [i]her[/i] awful parents?”[/color] She asked. [color=ffcb00]”Or what if Vision has something he needs to tell us, and we think that’s another trick?”[/color]

[color=A2797E]”I said I have your back Leah. Whatever you decide, since it was your head they messed with.”[/color] The underlying message is clear: whatever you decide to do to them, I will assist.

[color=ffcb00]”Yeah. Let’s go.”[/color]