The Warnings Come After the Spells

Earth's new Sorcerer Supreme. Yes, I used to be a surgeon. No, I do not do parties. Closed RP blog for Avengers Prime

[itsdrstrange-notmrstrange]

alowkeypun‌:

Loki was just about finished, he thought, with all the airlocks and most likely points of damage. He’d spun wards with almost a paranoid fervour, trying not to think about the last time he’d been on a spaceship. Trying, and failing. He could still hear the screams from his people as the first shots from Thanos’ ship hit the hull. It was a horrible thought that he couldn’t shake, so distracting that he didn’t even sense another magic user approaching him. 

Another window caught his eye and he wondered just why Midgardians built their space vessels with so many weak points. It’s as if they wanted to die. More likely, though, was that they were still so fascinated with being able to reach the stars that they wanted to stare at them dumbstruck as often as possible. 

He huffed a little sigh out of his nose and looked around to see if he was alone. Not able to see anyone, he called upon his seidr and emerald-hued energy sparked to life along his hands and upper arms. He raised his hands and began to weave yet another protective ward; anything to keep this damned vessel afloat. 

Stephen saw the green glow reflecting on the next viewport before he saw the one wielding the magic. The colour wasn’t far off that of the Time Stone, and for a split second he almost expected to see Wong. There, no doubt, to chide him for going to the party unprepared. A few strides further, he stopped. 

It was not Wong. 

Stephen quickly and quietly slipped the Sling Ring onto his fingers. But instead of opening a portal, he raised a shield mandala over one hand and spoke. “So... rumors of your demise were greatly exaggerated?” 

Loki looked a lot healthier than he had the last time Stephen had seen him. And he certainly didn’t look as manic as he had in the footage from the New York attack. But Stephen kept his distance. He well remembered the knife that had been thrust toward his throat. He felt the cape grip his shoulders a little tighter. 

[itsdrstrange-notmrstrange]

dontbeathorloser‌:

“A fine idea sorceror,” Thor replied with an encouraging smile. It was reassuring to know that there were at least three of them, if not more that thought that there was something fishy about this situation. Of course there wasn’t anything that they could prove right now. That was the part that worried Thor. They may simply never get answers. But right now they had to focus on getting home. 

“None that seem plausible,” he said slowly, “we discovered Loki on the station, however he doesn’t seem to have been anymore responsible than anyone else and though his presence and actual existence is as much a shock as it is suspicious, he has, so far, been relatively helpful.

“Yeah, I ran into him in the hallway.” It had been a somewhat unpleasant surprise, seeing as the last time he’d seen Thor’s brother, the other Asgardian had tried to kill him. “Bit of a shock, but he seems to be genuinely interested in keeping us all intact, so for now I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.”

Stephen looked down at his hands; the shaking was particularly bad today. It had been since they’d been stranded. He hadn’t felt this stressed out since medical school. And to think... once upon a time he’d considered signing up for the first Mars colony. Space had seemed cool back before he’d spent a few hours with Dr. Mengele’s alien twin. 

“Maybe it’s best the stone is missing, though. I hear it has an... effect on Loki.”

[itsdrstrange-notmrstrange]

The lights were all back on, now, and the passageways that had been somewhat creepy a day ago now looked like any old government office... Well, at least if you didn't look out the windows. And Stephen was trying very hard not to look out the windows.

He still had a sore spot where he'd been frostbitten by the hole in his suit. Though he'd rather have frostbite than be dead. He'd been okay with the whole being-in-space thing before the space walk, but there was nothing like suffocating in hard vacuum to make you rethink your stance.

He gave the airlock a wide berth, despite his certainty that SHIELD could at least be trusted to build airlocks that didn't just open on their own. But as he passed, he felt a subtle flicker of energy-- magical energy. There were wards around the airlock. Incredibly delicate, complicated wards, as thin as spider silk but strong and sharp as razor wire. Not even the wards that the Ancient One had spun were that perfect... that beautiful. Stephen didn't know of anyone who could spin spells like that.

The spells were fresh, though, so he could presumably follow them to their source. He'd thought he was the only sorcerer aboard. Clearly he wasn't. Instead of heading for the commissary, Stephen continued down the gently curving hallway toward the sound of soft footsteps.

[dontbeathorloser-blog]

itsdrstrange-notmrstrange:

Stephen couldn’t think why whoever was responsible would have waited to steal the station until it was full of Avengers if all they’d wanted was the tower. Which meant that they were either incredibly stupid, or that it was the people and not the tower they wanted. The planning involved was not the sort of thing an idiot would be capable of… So he figured the Avengers were the target. And that was more than a little concerning, given that a lot of scum and villainy of the galaxy should have been deterred, knowing that they were dealing with people who’d taken out Thanos. 

Either that or they’d wanted as many Avengers away from Earth as possible.

“It’s not the first time that SHIELD has had problems like this.” Stephen watched a pair of agents pass the hatchway with tablets projecting holographic electrical maps. “I assume new applicants are vetted better these days, but an agency this big…” He didn’t want to say HYDRA. Most SHIELD agents were still twitchy about mentions of the parasitic organization and he didn’t want to plant the seeds of paranoia in anyone’s head. “I’m assuming you heard about the big blow-up in 2014?”

“I am well aware of S.H.I.E.L.D’s dalliances in the past, not to mention their mistakes with the Space Stone and other powerful objects,” the entire reason for the Avengers formation had sprouted from the Space Stone, formerly known as the Tesseract and S.H.I.E.L.D’s reckless attempt to control its power. He paused as he listened to Strange’s reasoning, nodding gently along with the sorcerer supreme’s unassailable logic. “I’m afraid that I wouldn’t put it past them to make the same mistakes of the past.” 

He paused and looked to Strange. “You’re not alone in your suspicions. There are a number of us,” well two if you counted Peter and he wasn’t sure that Spiderman would necessarily wanted to be counted in this list, “who believe that there is more at work here. I would be far from convinced that this was an entirely coincidental turn of events. Something is obviously taking place behind the scenes. That makes me uneasy.”

[itsdrstrange-notmrstrange]

Stephen watched Thor as he spoke, relieved that he wasn't the only one who was suspicious. The more sets of eyes on the lookout, the more likely they were to find some hint of what was going on. But it didn't exactly reassure him to hear a god say he was uneasy.

"I'll have to talk to Director Johnson about double checking the crew's backgrounds. Hopefully we can shorten the suspect list a little." Stephen found himself hoping that the answer would be as simple as HYDRA. Squid Nazis were something he could deal with. They were a known. An unknown was the opposite of what they needed right now.

"You or the others have any theories?"

[vaikryie-deactivated20191215]

Being teleported through space was not how Brunhilde had expected the party to end. Ending up next to a planet that could potential be full of deadly enemies put a real dampener on the situation too. But the biggest misery of the whole situation had to be lack of booze on their space station. Brunhilde once again found herself questioning why exactly she had agreed to this. She had been perfectly content with her life of day drinking, night drinking, afternoon drinking and occasional fighting. While the lack of drinking was a her main source of annoyance being stuck in space was a close second. The feeling of being trapped was not something she liked, though Brunhilde supposed very few people liked feeling trapped. Shaking out her hands she walked to the large window on the other side of the room and back again. Pacing. She wasn’t sure how long she paced for before she heard footsteps walking in her direction, throwing a scowl in the general vicinity of the person, “What?”

[itsdrstrange-notmrstrange]

The halls were slightly quieter now that it was "night". Of course, up here in space, the clocks and the brightness of the hall lights were the only indicator of a day-night cycle. The tower may have been on New York time, but Stephen still felt jetlagged. Or maybe it was the after-effects of his near-death experience. The medics had cleared him to leave sickbay, but he was still running on adrenaline.

Nothing a brisk walk wouldn't fix.

He didn't expect to run into anyone this late, but as he rounded the corner he spotted Thor's friend, the Asgardian... Valkyrie? That was how he'd introduced her, right? He wasn't certain that was a name so much as a title. He considered leaving her be, but she turned before he could.

"Wearing a track in the floor?" He kept his tone even, not teasing but not overly concerned either. He'd only ever met three Asgardians, and while one of them had been content to mind his own business, the other two always brought chaos with them... And knives. He wasn't familiar with Valkyrie, so he was wary.

[itsdrstrange-notmrstrange]

dontbeathorloser:

Raising an eyebrow, Thor looked up at Strange before nodding and returning to his rationing. There were three boxes sorted so far and six more to go in this storage room alone. It wasn’t going to get done on its own. “There is something ominous about the station’s movement,” he admitted, the truth was that he had been plagued by worries that were similar to Strange’s concerns. 

“I agree, the revelation of the Space’s Stones presence is something that is beyond concerning. I thought that the infinity stones were being kept safe, however it is clear to me now that we cannot trust S.H.I.E.L.D. with this power.” Pausing for a second longer he considered his words carefully. “I believe that this was deliberate, but whoever is behind it remains a mystery.”

Stephen couldn’t think why whoever was responsible would have waited to steal the station until it was full of Avengers if all they’d wanted was the tower. Which meant that they were either incredibly stupid, or that it was the people and not the tower they wanted. The planning involved was not the sort of thing an idiot would be capable of... So he figured the Avengers were the target. And that was more than a little concerning, given that a lot of scum and villainy of the galaxy should have been deterred, knowing that they were dealing with people who’d taken out Thanos. 

Either that or they’d wanted as many Avengers away from Earth as possible.

“It’s not the first time that SHIELD has had problems like this.” Stephen watched a pair of agents pass the hatchway with tablets projecting holographic electrical maps. “I assume new applicants are vetted better these days, but an agency this big...” He didn’t want to say HYDRA. Most SHIELD agents were still twitchy about mentions of the parasitic organization and he didn’t want to plant the seeds of paranoia in anyone’s head. “I’m assuming you heard about the big blow-up in 2014?”

[itsdrstrange-notmrstrange]

your-not-so-dusty-spiderman:

Peter nodded, he would have hated it too if he didn’t have a change of clothes here or even worse, if his suit wasn’t up here with him. “Well, I wouldn’t say you abandoned it, more like kidnapped.” He said, “Kidnapped by a piece of jewelry that can move you halfway across the universe.” He taped up the wires and began to wrap things up in this specific box. Soon things in the corridor would return to normal. 

“Yeah, I’m still at MIT, well, I hope I am. It depends how long we’re trapped here for.” He said to Doctor Strange, finally looking away from his work and at the other man. It depended on how much work he missed and tests. If he wasn’t able to catch up somehow or get the points to pass the semester, he’d have to repeat, something he couldn’t exactly afford to do. “And being a wizard at Hogwarts is a full-time job for you I guess?” 

“Yeah, I guess you can’t exactly tell them you were on Avengers business. Not with that secret identity of yours.” Stephen couldn’t imagine how chaotic it would have been to be a costumed hero while he was in medical school-- well, he could. He would have flunked out, eidetic memory or no. His classes hadn’t been the kind where you could show up to the first and last lectures and still pass. For Peter’s sake he hoped the profs at MIT were somewhat more forgiving. 

“Yeah. Full-time. Benefits are okay, but the retirement plan sucks.” Stephen chuckled. Okay, so he wasn’t the only one picking up bad habits from Stark. If Parker could give as good as he got, the ribbing would certainly keep morale up. “The school blows up almost every year. I really don’t know how we only have one janitor. But, hey, if you want me to talk to Potter about the Avengers Initiative...” 

[itsdrstrange-notmrstrange]

dontbeathorloser:

“I offered to give them a jump start,” Thor replied with a glum shrug, “but they seemed to believe that a direct blast of celestial lightning would simply make the situation worse. I am not exactly an engineer, however rationing is something that I can competently help with.” He wasn’t under any illusions that he was under qualified when it came to the intellectual side of things that were required right now. 

Laughing at Strange’s comment, Thor nodded. “Aye, Loki would’ve either had a sensible way of fixing things that wasn’t exactly morally credible, or he would’ve done something which would’ve made things worse.” He smiled at the memory of his adopted brother before turning back to his sorting. Placing everything in carefully arranged neat piles. “For now I wait until there is something more helpful I can assist with.”

“You and me both.” Stephen checked his tablet for any further instructions. There weren’t any, and he figured a break to chat wouldn’t hurt. It wasn’t like they were going anywhere. He considered asking about Loki-- the trickster seemed like the sort to be the source of the taunting fly-bys of the Sanctum that he’d been looking into before the party invitation had come in-- but he’d also heard that Loki had died at Thanos’ hand, and something about Thor’s tone told him that it was probably true. So he didn’t press the subject. 

“I’d be interested to find out who’s responsible for the Space Stone being aboard, though.” The stones were supposed to be separated and hidden, not built into the circuitry of a space station. “The way it was built into that wall didn’t look like oversight or accident to me. It looks like someone knew exactly what they were doing... Makes me wonder if our being stranded isn’t an accident either.”

[itsdrstrange-notmrstrange]

your-not-so-dusty-spiderman:

Peter looked over at the person that had approached him. He moved the wires so that one hand held them in place and removed the flashlight from his mouth. “Uh, yeah thanks.” He knew that Doctor Strange was joking and he stopped himself from explaining what he meant. It had been a couple of years now since he first met Doctor Strange and he wanted to show that he had matured. “Could you hold this please.” He asked and switched the tape in Doctor Strange’s hand with the flashlight. “Thanks.” He said, not allowing the other to say no. 

He began to work at taping the wires together, soon enough he completed the job, flipped a switch and gravity was fully restored on the corridor. “Thanks Doctor.” He said, taking the flashlight back from him. He remembered that he used to call everyone by their full names, Mr Stark, Doctor Strange, Miss Romanoff. But after he had started going to MIT and his lecturers asked him to call them by their first name, it had become a habit to stop calling people by their full titles. “How are things going for you? Homesick yet?” 

“Well, I wouldn’t say homesick so much as I’m wishing I’d come up here in something other than a suit,” Stephen replied. The other Avengers had gear ready for them in the tower, but he had a looser affiliation with the team. The Masters of the Mystic Arts didn’t exactly hand out costume patterns. And they certainly didn’t pass mystical materials to SHIELD. So he was stuck with what he’d worn to the party and whatever generic clothing they had lying around in the tower. He had a feeling he was going to end up wearing SHIELD uniforms. “I’m used to moving around. This isn’t the first time I’ve been uprooted from my life. Though I’m sure if we get home, I’ll get a lecture from Wong about abandoning my post.”

He glanced at the panel Peter had fixed and his brows knit into a subtle frown. He knew he shouldn’t feel out of place-- after all, if some magic wielder started causing trouble he’d be just the person to have aboard. But at the moment he was darting from odd job to odd job, having to be walked through anything to do with electronics. One of the SHIELD techs had joked that it ‘wasn’t brain-surgery’ and he was right; brain surgery was easier. 

“You’re still at MIT, right?” He asked, easing away from his earlier teasing. It was old habit, one he’d picked up from Stark. But he supposed Peter was old enough, and had been an Avenger long enough, that it wasn’t really fair. 

[dontbeathorloser-blog]

Thor sat in the storage facility within the Avengers Prime Tower Space Station. He was currently sorting and rationing what supplies they had left. The good news was that there was a lot of food left over from the party, the bad news was that a lot of it was perishable and wouldn’t keep forever. 

Adjusting Stormbreaker so that it stood more securely by his side, he turned to the new entrant and smiled gently at them. “Is there something that I can assist you with?” he asked pleasantly, despite the fact that he was still beyond angry about the fact that S.H.I.E.L.D. had been in possession of the space stone this entire time and the potential ramifications of that. Not to mention the danger that a missing Space Stone meant. 

[itsdrstrange-notmrstrange]

Stephen was fairly certain he was still right. Whoever was responsible for this... situation, probably wasn't a sorcerer. Small comfort. But he was definitely picking up traces of something. What, he wasn't certain. At least he'd managed to get the pictures that Engineering wanted. He tried to tell himself that the electrical circuits in the station weren't altogether different from the nervous system of a human, and looking at it that way had made the task surprisingly easy.

The storage room was quiet aside from the crinkling of plastic packaging. Stephen spotted Stormbreaker before he spotted Thor, and he stepped over to the god's side. "I'm surprised the techs down in engineering aren't trying to get you to jump-start the reactor." He leaned against the wall, noticed the angry furrow of Thor's brow, and tried to lighten the mood. "Could've been worse. We could've been trapped up here with your brother."

[your-not-so-dusty-spiderman-blog]

Peter Parker wasn’t your average kid, no. He also had a brain on him. He had developed his web fluid by himself, designed his original web shooters and had got into MIT. People just happened to forgot how smart he was due to his goofiness. So when it came to a Space Hub in needs or repairs, Parker wasn’t flying blind. After the ship had hurtled through space, Peter had raced through the Tower to suit up. His Iron-Spider suit was fit for space travel and he definitely wasn’t about to be caught in the vacuum of space without it on. Suited up, he was now checking the electrical panels in each corridor, trying to manually find out where the power was surging and what was causing the power cut. He could see pretty well in the dim light that was emitted from the emergency light in the corridor, but it wasn’t ideal working conditions. So, flashlight in mouth, hands working away at the wiring he had become a hand short and was stretching his leg towards the toolbox, trying to get a hold of some insulation tape. As he heard footsteps approach, he called out. 

“excoos mh. Coud oo leez ass mh th ape.” He tried his best to talk with flashlight in his mouth. 

[itsdrstrange-notmrstrange]

Moving through corridors that alternated between fully lit and pitch black-- and sometimes didn't have gravity-- made Stephen incredibly thankful that he'd had the foresight to summon his cloak while still in range of Earth. He'd tried to use the Sling Ring to get back to the Sanctum after their impromptu space odyssey, but all the portals fizzled out. Theoretically he'd known there were limits on the distance the ring could carry him, but given the circumstances, he was somewhat frustrated to be right. Hopefully he would be right again today; he'd told the others that he didn't believe this to be the work of a magic user, but he was checking the station for signs of spell-use regardless. He didn't exactly have much else to do. He wasn't an electrician.

All he had on him was the Cloak and his Sling Ring. All his usual gear was back in New York. The Eye of Agamotto was in Kamar-Taj. He didn't even have a phone on him-- not that it would have done him any good. There weren't any cell towers in deep space.

He entered the next corridor, this one half-lit by emergency lights. The gravity felt weaker than it should have, but not absent. Not that his stomach appreciated the difference. He heard muffled words, and spotted Peter a couple of meters ahead. He stepped closer, reached down into the toolbox, and lifted the tape, grinning.

"Ass you the ape, huh? This the ape you're looking for?"

[itsdrstrange-notmrstrange]

A taunt

           For the fifth time that week, Stephen felt the Sanctum’s wards prickle; the warning buzz of something powerful passing nearby. As before, the warning came in mid-afternoon, starting from the south-east corner, moving north along Sullivan Street. He’d ignored it the first four times; there were enough enhanced individuals in New York these days that it wasn’t exactly a surprise. But the regularity with which the presence passed was beginning to feel like a taunt.

           Stephen snapped the Book of Eibon shut and dropped it onto his desk. The Cloak of Levitation sailed across the room and wrapped itself around his shoulders when he rose from his chair. If this being wanted to get his attention, then that was what they were going to get. And if they didn’t want his attention… Well, too bad.

           “Wong, I’m heading out for a bit,” he called down the hall. “Text me if any super-beings fall through the ceiling.”

           “You expecting anyone?” Wong replied from the direction of the library.

            “Nope.” Stephen headed out of the study, down the hall, and down the stairs to the front door. He could have used the Sling Ring, but tracking spells were frail and finicky, and the last thing he wanted was to damage the trail with loose magic of his own. He was glad he took the slow route; when he got outside there wasn't much of a trail to follow, just whispers of something… old. He cast a tracking spell on what trace there was and felt the magic tug him north. He followed, ignoring the odd looks he received from passers-by.

           The spell led him around corners, down side-streets, through alleys, and deep into the heart of Greenwich Village. The trail ended at the door to a nice-enough looking bar—the Frosty Giant. Stephen narrowed his eyes. Surely a roaming jotun wouldn't be so obvious about it, not when all of Asgard had taken up residence on this planet. Beginning to wish he'd brought the Eye of Agamotto with him, he crossed the street and stepped through the door of the bar.

           There wasn't anything frosty about the interior—lots of raw timber, warm lighting, brick. The sort of place that would appeal to folks with food blogs. It was crawling with hipsters, and Stephen was fairly certain the guys in the far booth were making some kind of illicit deal—for drugs or weapons or worse, he couldn't tell. The woman in the far corner was something more than human; he'd guess Inhuman, but it was hard to tell these days.

           As he headed toward the bar, he sent out a spell of revealing that would shatter any glamours being worn by the patrons. Nothing happened, no one really seemed to notice except for the Inhuman girl in the corner. But she didn't look out from beneath her hood, and Stephen didn't recognize her, so he let her be. The only other person who noticed his presence was the bartender: a pretty—devastatingly pretty—woman. Her black, wavy hair reached her shoulders and matched her black nails and dark lipstick. The green jacket she wore was a few shades darker than her eyes, which were really, really green. Quit staring, Stephen, you're making an ass of yourself.

           He sat down. It couldn't hurt to get a drink while he tried to find his mystery presence. Could it?

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[elennemigo]

“Forever. And that makes you my prisoner.”