I’m aware that I haven’t updated any of my fiction of late, and by that I mean most of this year. And sadly I’m certain that will remain the case for the rest of the year.
That is not to say that I’m not writing, I am. It’s just that the majority has been research related, and that is where my focus seems happiest at the moment.
Having said that I have been doing some fan fiction, I’ve started a number of what I term extended one-shot stories. And I am trying to get chapters updated on a number of my unfinished stories.
So, I am still here, still enjoying writing Sherlolly, Khanolly and Strangolly, that is a love affair that will not be going away any time soon. My only regret is that although a couple of my extended one-shots would be perfect for the upcoming Halloween at 221B, I’m afraid they will not be completed in time to be included. But I will certainly acknowledge, what I hear is sadly to be the last of this annual collection, when I do eventually upload the stories.
So for the time being I will remain an avid reader and supporter of others fan fiction, and the fan fiction authors.
“Tony, there was no other way…” Stephen Strange replied solemnly to the heavily injured Stark. In a flash of white before him, Stark and the desolated landscape of Titan disappeared. He was sitting by his window overlooking Bleecker Street.
He did not have on the Cloak and his blue robes, but his street clothes, and in a sense of déjà vu he could have sworn he was about to leave for the deli down the street to get a roast beef sandwich.
“And a metaphysical ham on rye for Wong…” Stephen muttered. What is going on? Perhaps this is another dimension that I have been sent to.
He felt a small tug on his cardigan and looked down to see the brightest pair of blue-gray eyes staring back at him. “Dad…”
Stephen stared back in bewilderment at the tiny creature before him, bright eyed, with cherub cheeks and long auburn hair that reminded him of someone.
“Molly…” Stephen whispered and with a sudden flash he was back on Titan, surrounded by the kid and that band of space assholes.
“Doctor! What just happened? Where’s Mr. Stark?!!” the kid was hysterical.
Stephen stood up and brushed off the dust from his cloak “Kid, it’s been five years, time we head back to Earth.” With a wave of his hand, he opened up a portal. Destination, Avengers Compound.
When all was said and done, and the realization of that one probability of Titan’s defeat, Stephen stood by the lake near Starks’s cabin, able to finally process all that has happened. A portal suddenly opened up next to him, he turned to see Wong standing behind him.
“You have not been to check in on the London Sanctum.”
“Nooooooo, I did not. And that,” Stephen points to the portal “…is NOT the London Sanctum.”
Wong gives him a nod “Just go. They’re waiting for you.”
They? Does he mean Molly and Holmes?
“Thank you, Wong.” Stephen steps through the portal and with sound of whoosh it closes behind him.
The flat is virtually the same as five years before, the time that has lapsed since he “vanished”. Time which was but a moment for him. Neat and pristine, she had liked to keep things that way. He approached the mantle, drawn to the frames of photographs covering its surface. He picked up a photo frame, a moment from that road trip long ago frozen in time. When he had kissed her playfully on the cheek, and she smiles radiantly at the camera as she held a cup of that strawberry frozen dessert.
He sets the frame down and took notice of another small frame next to it, with letters adorning the bottom denoting the name of the child whose photo it housed.
“Sofia.” He whispered as he ghosted his hands over the lettering, then to the photo of a smiling girl in an Iron Man Halloween costume. He half laughed and fought back a sob, staring back at him in the photo were those same eyes he had seen in those moments when he had “vanished.”
“Oh my god...”
He slowly turns around, and there she was, Molly Hooper with a blaster gun in her hand, tears welling in her eyes.
She was as beautiful as she was five years ago.
Stephen cautiously approached her, he had many questions, but could not bring himself to form any words. Molly pulled him to her and clung to him disbelief. He breathed out a sigh of relief and held her tightly in his embrace.
“You finally came back.” She whispered into the crook of his neck.
“Believe me, it felt like a lifetime.” Though it was but a fleeting moment. He clutched her to him, not wanting to let go of her ever again, he buries his nose in her hair, breathing in the scent of her.
“Dr. Hooper, since when do you pack heat? Mycroft?”
“Yes, and Braddock. You know, in case some other alien arsehole decides to attack Earth again. It was Stark tech, Sherlock and Sofia were mighty jealous.”
“Mummy!” A little girl’s cry came from the guest bedroom, or former guest bedroom, of Molly’s flat.
Molly carded her fingers through Stephen’s hair “Well, Mr. Sorcerer Supreme, ready for a history lesson of the last five years?”
Stephen Strange sat silently on the settee with his daughter in his arms and Molly by his side. Little Sofia had nestled on his chest, his heartbeat lulling her to sleep. Though she was shy at first, Sofia had taken to her father quickly. It did help that the curious child was fascinated by the incantations (in the form of sparkly magical animals) her father had shown her to get her attention. Molly had joke she won’t need to book entertainment for Sofia’s birthday, he would be a hit with the children. By the end of dinner, the girl had clung to her father asking this and that, finishing her meal whilst sitting on his lap.
Molly had briefed him on the past five years. The discovery of her pregnancy after the snap. Her adventures with Sherlock taking care of two young children after John and Mary had turned to dust. Apparently, Sherlock, godfather to Rosamund and Sofia, is quite a child whisperer. Wong had helped whenever he happened to be in town to check on the London Sanctum. Even Mycroft when he wasn’t running the government, though he was a tad more helpful on the resources and security front, not so much hands-on child-minding.
He told her of the fight at the Sanctum, being space with Stark and the kid, those assholes from space, Thanos, and Stark’s sacrifice.
“I saw her, you know.” He finally broke the silence.
Stephen brushed a hand through his daughter’s auburn hair, his other hand intertwined with Molly’s.
Molly turned to eye him curiously, silently urging him to continue. Stephen continued in a low voice “When…when I had quote-unquote ‘turned to dust’, I woke up in the Sanctum, and there she was.” He placed a small kiss to Sofia’s hair “calling me ‘Dad’, then I woke up and I was back on Titan. I came back, and she is real.”
Molly rested her head on his shoulder “Are you worried that we aren’t?”
Stephen turned kiss the crown of her head “I am. Perhaps I might have transported to a different reality, we don’t even begin to understand the full effect of the Stones.”
“She’s real.” Molly ran her hand up and down his arm in a gesture of comfort “We’re real.”
He gave a wry laugh “I was at Stark’s funeral today.” He felt the little squeeze that Molly gave his hand “I saw his wife, his little girl. She’s about Sofia’s age.”
“I saw over 14 million possible outcomes in our fight against Thanos, 14 million different realities and only one of which we come out on top. It was that one.” Stephen laughed bitterly “You know, I had told him if it was between saving him, the kid, and the Stone, I would not hesitate to let either of them die. And in the end…I did not hesitate.”
“But when you saw his wife and child, you questioned…”
Stephen shook his head “My duty as the Sorcerer Supreme is to protect our reality and protect the Earth from threats against it with my life and at all cost. But I can’t help but wonder after meeting my own daughter about Stark’s little girl.” He held onto his little girl a little tighter. “Was there something that I, or anyone could have done that does not result in this? Was there another reality I have not seen?”
Molly cupped his face and turned his head towards her, she knew that was the doctor side of him coming through. “You only saw the possibilities. In the end it was his choice to use his life to exchange for the lives of many, including his wife and child. It was...inevitable I guess.”
He planted a kiss to her forehead “Ever practical with death, Dr. Hooper.”
“Part of the job.” Molly wrinkled her nose in thought “Do you think there really are different realities, where there are different versions of us, leading different lives?”
“My dear, would that even surprise you?” Perhaps The Ancient One had left some text written on the subject, he really should check with Wong when he gets back to New York. Eventually, anyways.
“No, not really.” Molly pressed her lips together suppressing a smile “Who knows? Maybe in another reality you have a hot nurse for a girlfriend who go to all the conferences with you, and I would be married to Sherlock or Jim, spending our lives microwaving eyeballs or planning the demise of a small country.”
“I forgot you had a thing for brilliant assholes.” Stephen sardonically.
“Brilliant and dramatic arseholes to be correct. I met the most brilliant one a few years back. He literally floated into the morgue with sparkles surrounding him, such a drama-queen.” she said as she playfully gave him a peck on the lips.
Molly smoothed her hand over her daughter’s hair “I should put her to bed, here let me have her.”
Stephen stopped her and stood up with Sofia in his arms, being careful not to jostle her too much. The little girl sensed movement, but quickly shifted and snuggled into her father’s chest with a yawn and remained asleep.
“It’s been a long day for us all.” He slowly stood up and held his daughter in one arm and offered his hand to his Molly, leading his family to the main bedroom.
This was his reality now, the reality he came back to, with his Molly and their beautiful little girl,
Even before the start of the battle with Thanos, Molly knew how it would end. to see the future is her gift. She did not need any Time Stone for this.
"Everything will be fine, I'll be back," - he told her.
"I will wait for you, no matter how long it takes for this,"- she replied.
“I can’t believe I’m sitting in space jail with you of all people.” - Strangolly + anyone else from the MCU you feel like adding
(Thanks! This takes place after Thor: Ragnarok and just before Avengers: Infinity War. I took the trailer scene of Thor meeting the Guardians and ran with it.)
“I can’t believe I’m sitting in space jail with you of allpeople,” Molly Hooper muttered from her spot on the bench. Sharing her cellwere her boyfriend Stephen Strange, a group calling themselves the Guardians ofthe Galaxy, and a one-eyed man who claimed to be the Norse god Thor.
“You’re the one who insisted on coming along,” Stephenmuttered back. He sat beside her, not touching her though Molly wished hewould.
They were in a Nova Corps ship on their way to be tried forattempting to steal (“protect,” according to Peter, the human Guardian who called himselfStar-Lord) the Power Stone while it was being transported. Insisting that theyonly wanted to keep the stone from Thanos held no sway with Nova Prime.
“Are you two gonna yack the entire way there?” theraccoon-creature Rocket grumped. He sat on the bench across from them.
“I am Groot,” the tree-creature next to him said, his focuson the video game he was playing. He reminded Molly of her fourteen-year-oldnephew.
“It is not cute,” Rocket replied. “It’s annoying.”
“Will all of you just be quiet?” the green-skinned woman Gamora asked irritably. She wassitting on the floor of the cell, her back against the wall, and her eyes on the ceiling. “I’m trying to think of a way to get us outof this.”
“It’s simple,” Thor said as he leaned against the wall, “wefight our way out.”
“Nine of us verses an entire ship of Nova Corpsmen?” Peter asked. He lay on the floor, his head pillowed by his folded jacket. “There’sa suicide mission.”
“I can take out half of them,” tattooed man Drax declared confidently. Hesat on Rocket’s other side. “That leaves the other half for the rest of you.”
“You’re worried, Doctor Molly,” antenna-ed empath Mantis said gently, sitting next toMolly. “This is your first arrest.”
Molly smiled weakly. “I’m worried about a lot more thanthat, but yeah, that’s my main concern right now.”
Stephen chuckled as he took her hand in his gloved one, hisfree hand going to the sling ring on his belt. “I just need to rest a littlemore then we can go.”
Thor playfully rolled his eyes. “Taking the easy way out.Typical wizard.”
“I’m all for self-defense,” Stephen said then glanced atMolly, “but some things are too precious to risk.”
She smiled at him softly then murmured, “I love you too,”just before she kissed him.
This thing sorta popped into my head while rewatching Infinity War the other day, and it wouldn’t leave my head until I’ve written it down
London, England, Somewhere in this multiverse…
“Molly Hooper, I’ve come to bargain.”
Molly Hooper let out a yelp as she opened her freezer.
“Jesus, you almost gave me a heart attack!”
“Hmm, I know I have facial hair but I’m not Jesus. Although, you have called out God in numerous other occasions. And Dr. Hooper you have a clean bill of health from your last checkup with your GP. You should know the probability of you dying from…” He trails off after catching her unamused glare. “Hello, dear. Long day?”
Stephen Strange appeared in a portal inside her freezer, his appearance in her flat via such method is not out of the ordinary to say the least. Quite frankly, Molly felt that it was a convenience in an otherwise long-distance relationship.
But appearing in the freezer is a first.
Molly leans against the refrigerator “Dr. Strange, what is your head doing in my freezer?”
“Why Dr. Hooper I would’ve thought that you’d wouldn’t be surprised by a head in the fridge? Considering your occupation and the habits of that friend of yours…” Stephen retorts playfully while Molly rolls her eyes. “I’ve actually come to offer my apologies for missing our date the other night. Duty calls. Ben & Jerry’s™ came out with new flavors and I figured they wouldn’t make it over across the pond any time soon, thought it’d be a nice surprise for you. Surprise!” He held up a few tubs of said treat, smiling innocently.
“’Avengers Special Edition?’” Molly grabs one of the tubs and reads the label “’Stark Raving Hazelnuts.’ Interesting, and aren’t you cold?”
“Well I was placed on top of a snowcovered Himalayan mountaintop during training, so yeah, your freezer is quite comfy. So, is dessert a good bargaining chip for your forgiveness?”
“Oh for the love of...” Molly gave him a light peck on the lips “Just get over here.”
Stephen climbed out of the freezer with the ice cream and set them on the kitchen island while Molly went to grab the spoons. Molly sat down on one of the bar stools “Which one shall we start with?”
“Hmm, Wong and I thought ‘A Hunk of Hulk of Burning Fudge’ was quite delicious.” Stephen opens a tub and spooned out the ice cream to offer it to Molly.
“Mmmm…it IS quite good.”
“It is, isn’t it? I haven’t tried the others yet, thought we tried them together”
“So…Mr. Wizard…”
“Master of the Mystic Arts, honey.”
“Ok, Mr. Master of the Mystic Arts, so what would your flavour be called?” Molly spoons out some of the ‘Capsicle Cream’, she thought the mixture of blueberry, watermelon with vanilla was a bit over the top. Then again, she’d always thought American desserts were a tad too sweet.
“I don’t know, what do you think?” he said in his low baritone, using his thumb to gently wipe away some of the melted ice cream from the corner of her mouth, causing a hitch in her breath. He loves seeing his effect on her.
Molly half seriously gave it some thought “Hmmm...’Eye of Amaretto’?”
Stephen raised his eyebrows “Ooooh, adult flavor. Actually, they did make a flavor for me and want me to give it a taste test before release. Care to join me on a road trip up to Vermont next weekend? I know it’s your weekend off, Sherlock texted me your schedule.”
Molly supposed it would be nice to take a road trip with him from New York instead of using the Sling Ring to travel. “So what’s it called?”
“Strange Strawberries Supreme. It apparently will be in their non-dairy desserts line.”
Molly and Stephen tried each and every one of the other flavors, and finally come to the last tub of ice cream.
“So what flavour is this again?”
“Stark Raving Hazelnuts.”
They looked at each other with a grimace on their face and said at the same time “A bit chalky.”
