It seemed even sorcerers had their limits for bullshit.

  Wong had just given us one long, suffering look, then silently led us down a hallway and into a side room.

  The room itself was simple and clean, all pale stone and dark wood, a square of woven mats under a low table with a few brass bowls and incense holders arranged in a monk-esque style. The halls on the way here had been conspicuously empty. No trainees practicing with glowing whips or mandas.

  I tried to mentally overy what I remembered from the movies onto this pce. It didn't quite line up. I never had a great eye for detail, and it had been years since I watched the Doctor Strange movies, so for all I knew, this could be the exact room, or my memory was just bnking.

  "Did you really have to show off?" Anna asked.

  She sat cross-legged beside me, eyes flicking between the room and the ongoing brawl in front of us.

  "Eh, fifty–fifty."

  She gave me a ft look. "The hell is that supposed to mean?"

  "I didn't want them thinking we're just some college students on a backpacking trip," I said. "A little drama to make sure they take us seriously."

  "A little." She gestured towards my familiars.

  Little Bastard had finally figured out Erwin's teleport trick, so the dynamic had flipped. The crow swooped and darted with smug precision while the cat teleported in and out of existence just a bit too te every time, stuck in a very literal reversed cat-and-mouse game.

  "I bet they've seen weirder."

  "Quite so."

  A new voice slipped into the room behind us.

  A tall woman in yellow robes stepped through the doorway, bare scalp gleaming softly under the ntern light. She paused just inside, watching the animal skirmish with a small, amused smile that barely touched the corners of her mouth. There was something serene about her, a kind of quiet gravity that made the simple robe look like formal regalia.

  It was always a little uncanny seeing a character match the movie version this well.

  "Greetings, Ancient One," I said, pushing myself to my feet.

  "Ah. So you do know who I am." Her smile widened a fraction as she chuckled. "But where are my manners. May I have your names?"

  "I'm Jack."

  "Anna." She nodded.

  "Well then. Welcome, you two, to Kamar-Taj." She inclined her head with a smooth, practiced grace. "I greet you as the Sorcerer Supreme, and I am the Ancient One."

  Her tone threw me off for half a second. It wasn't wrong…but it was a bit overly respectful? It cked the more all-knowing tone I had associated with her from the movies.

  Anna simply stayed quiet, letting me handle it. Which was fttering, so I tried to wrap my head around how my dumbass was gonna talk around an immortal sorcerer.

  The Ancient One, for her part, seemed completely unbothered by the silence. She crossed the room and settled onto a mat across from us, movements fluid and unhurried. I opened my mouth to call for Erwin and Little Bastard to knock it off before they broke something in the room.

  A soft snap beat me to it.

  Orange sparks spiraled through the air between my familiars, coalescing into a glowing ball and a slender rod, both made of that familiar, almost liquid light from the Mystic Arts. The two constructs hung there for a heartbeat, humming with contained energy.

  Predictably, both my familiars forgot their feud in an instant.

  They floated closer, pawing and pecking curiously at the conjured toy.

  "Young dy," the Ancient One said, turning her attention to Anna, "would you like to give it a try? This is your first experience with the Mystic Arts, is it not?"

  Anna's eyes were locked on the glowing rod and ball, expression openly fascinated, but she still cut a look my way.

  "It's fine," I said, nodding.

  The Ancient One was one of the few ambiguously good magic users in the MCU. She had her secrets, sure, but I did not peg her as the "booby-trap the newbie with a cursed yo-yo" type.

  That was apparently all Anna needed.

  She moved like a kid being told she could finally open her presents, scooping up the conjured rod with both hands. Erwin and Little Bastard drifted after it, orbiting the toy as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.

  Anna found the grip, adjusted her stance, then flicked her wrist.

  The ball shot across the room without any visible string. Halfway through its arc, it burst, not with force but with color, unfolding into a compact whirl of rainbow light. It looked like someone had stuffed an aurora into a gss marble and then cracked it open, all shimmering veils and shifting hues trapped inside a sphere.

  My familiars gave up any st shred of patience and went tearing after it, raven and cat chasing the drifting orb as it bounced zily from one corner of the room to the other.

  Anna ughed, bright and unrestrained, as she swung the rod again and sent the aurora-ball skipping toward the ceiling. She tracked it with her whole body, bare feet sliding over the mat, the glow painting her face in warm orange and shifting colors.

  "It seems your companion has always had a quiet fascination with magic that has been long suppressed. Forgive me if I was forward," the Ancient One said with a small smile. "Watching a student become dazzled by their first spark of magic has always been a great joy of mine."

  "It's no problem…" I started, then repyed her wording in my head.

  Always.

  The only way she would know that was if-

  "You peered into the past," I said. It came out more accusing than I pnned.

  "Yes," the Ancient One answered without missing a beat.

  I almost slipped on the mat. I had not been expecting for that blunt honesty.

  She just watched me, calm and serene, like this was a normal afternoon chat.

  "You're being awfully forward, aren't you?" I asked.

  "My apologies. Did I come off as rude?" she replied smoothly.

  She lifted a cup of tea and took a slow sip.

  I blinked. When the hell had she gotten tea?

  No. Focus. That was not the important part right now.

  "Alright…" I drummed my fingers on the low table. "I have a question."

  "I will do my best to answer," she said.

  "That. Why are you being so…" I lifted both hands and waved them around, trying to catch the word out of the air.

  "Respectful? Polite?" she offered.

  "Yeah. Basically."

  She considered that, eyes half-lidded. "Hmm. That is a question with more than one answer." A small pause. "And my apologies for this rudeness, but I am going to have to answer with a question of my own."

  She leaned forward slightly, studying me.

  "Are you human?"

  "What?" I stared at her. Of all the questions I expected, that one had not even made the list.

  "I see." Whatever she had been looking for, my reaction seemed to give it to her. "Again, my apologies for such an abrupt question. So, I will return to your original one." Her gaze softened. "You knew of my ability to peer into the past, so may I guess you know about the Eye?"

  "The Time Stone," I said.

  "Yes," she said, voice going a little distant. "The Infinity Stone. A fragment of our universe that embodies the power of time itself. And somehow, some way, I've gone blind to the future. And what do you know, the very existence I cannot even perceive shows up on my front doorstep. There are very few things in existence that can manage such a feat. Few and far between. So I am being a bit respectful."

  I sat back. "Just curious, but what would those things be?"

  "A wielder of another Infinity Stone with sufficient skill could cloud my sight, though I doubt with such impunity," she said. "Powers not native to this universe could do the same. Or perhaps you are simply a terrifyingly powerful entity masquerading as human."

  My eyebrow twitched. I kept the rest of my face neutral.

  "Ah," I said. "So that is where that question came from. You were checking if I am some terrible eldritch abomination pretending to be a guy. But by that logic, what if I just straight up lied to your face?"

  "Oh well, I'm dead," she said, completely matter-of-fact.

  There it was. Sage wisdom, but make it deadpan. The Ancient One experience, now with extra dry humor. Hah.

  "And yet," she added, "I'm still very much alive. That is… encouraging."

  No Peeking blocked all sorts of cirvoyancy and precog bullshit. What it didn't block was someone looking me in the eye and running social-fu on my posture and word choice. Maybe I should be grateful she was leaning toward the cautious old-mentor approach instead of the smite-the-devil, ask-questions-ter method.

  I could think of quite a few different precogs who wouldn't tolerate their foresight getting stifled.

  "Still," I said, clearing my throat, "I came here to ask for help. Anna's power is, well, mutant. She can drain people's life force and abilities. I am not sure if you've met one of her kind before, but I was hoping you could help her get control over it."

  "I have known quite a few such individuals," the Ancient One said. "Although 'mutant' is something of a misnomer. Sometimes a derogatory one, depending on who uses it."

  "What are they usually called then?"

  "The Enlightened. The Imbued. The God Blessed. Those are some of the names they have chosen for themselves over the centuries. Rare is it for one to awaken such powers."

  "You know some then?" I asked. "Think any of them would help?"

  The faint smile tugging at the corner of her mouth smoothed out. "Unfortunately, I have had to make the acquaintance of several such beings over the years, and I do not recommend you meet them."

  My thoughts jumped straight to a list of very not nice mutants. Yeah. Fair.

  "Good point," I muttered. "Still. Can you help her?"

  "Of course." Her answer came without hesitation. "Kamar-Taj is open to all who wish to learn. Mastery of the body and mind is commonly taught. While I cannot guarantee her success, I will personally aid your friend."

  "That's it?" I asked. "No grand decrations or rules or tests?"

  "None," the Ancient One replied. "Kamar-Taj is a pce to help all who come to its doors. We are not chartans who would profit over those in need."

  I let out a long breath I hadn't realized I was holding. Some of the tension slid off my shoulders. Anna had a shot.

  "Okay…" I rolled my shoulders, forcing myself not to rex too much. "Then I have another request. Got a bit of a problem with an organization called Hydra, they are a bunch of–"

  "No."

  I stared at her.

  There is always a fucking catch.

  ***

  Work has been kinda busy this week, sorry for the dey!Comments and Thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Likes are like a drug to me and boost my creative juices.

  I have advanced chapters on my if you wanna read ahead.