A Strange Night
Strange felt…strange.
He had a weird feeling about tonight. The hall was beautiful, with gold ornaments and fancy decor. Grand chandeliers poured from the ceiling, filling the wide hall and its guests with light. Strange was wearing a suit, as well as most of the people there. Though unlike in Earth, color and vibrancy were all the trend here. Women, and even men, wore big and puffy gowns with absurd headdresses. Soft music that sounded like one of Franz Schubert’s pieces surrounded the place, which provided a mixture of a feeling between elegance and viciousness.
Despite the lively atmosphere, ever since the music and dancing began, an unusual energy surrounded the place. Though he feels as if he was the only one who felt it, nothing really seemed out of place, only him of course.
Well, so as his friends. If one could call workmates hunting multiversal threats that. Strange and a few of the avengers left had been traversing through the multiverse in search of this ‘unnamed’ threat to the existence of everything. After getting a tip from an unknown source, that is.
He remembers that day from a few months back. The whole fiasco with the multiverse and the Scarlet Witch had taken a toll on him. Nightmares, even. Not long after, he received a card embellished with gold lettering from an anonymous sender. Not a normal card, per se, but one that is bewitched.
Enchanted.
That was the right word, Strange thought. He remembered touching the card, and a vision came unto him. That of universes being conquered by a man wearing a blue helmet with technology so advanced it may as well be considered magic. Death and destruction everywhere.
He was not one of those easily convinced by premonitions and visions, but he was wary. Especially after learning that the multiverse is in chaos. The card, on one side, included a small list of dates and locations. Years far from his own timeline, locations far from earth. Which was less confusing than what was written on the other side of that small card.
We send our regards.
L & S.
Never had been Stephen more confused before. But now he’s here, along with Wong, Scott, Hope, and America Chavez, on an unknown planet. Drinking weird-looking drinks, communicating with aliens. Stephen sat down on one of the many round tables on the side and watched the gathering. Countless people dancing with their big and colorful ball gowns, their swaying in tune with the music. Towering headdresses mimicking all types of animals were also present, on top of long flowing hair. Oddly similar and dissimilar to Earth's festivities.
Stephen, waiting for trouble, had nothing to do but wait. He glanced at the glass beside his hand, and considered it. After ten seconds of consideration, and an odd look from someone beside him, he took the glass and drank all its content in one gulp.
I mean, He thought, what could go wrong?
Everything went to shit.
An hour or two had passed, and Strange had almost dozed off during that time. The drinks weren't helpful, they just made him more anxious. Remembering Scott, who was now perched on his shoulder, Strange said, “Search the place, look for anything amiss,".
“Copy that, boss.”, Scott replied enthusiastically with a matching salute gesture, and then flew off with his carpenter ant named Ant-thony. Strange rolled his eyes, not only at the nickname but at the absurdity of everything. He scanned the area and saw America eating moon-shaped-looking sweets from the buffet corner. While Wong, who was in charge of detecting suspicious guests using his Eldritch magic, was dancing.
Yes. Wong was dancing.
With a beautiful alien stranger, no less. It was odd, but Wong deserved to have fun after every shit they had gone through these past months. Being happy and at peace was all Strange ever wanted for his friends and loved ones.
For Christine.
Her safety was all he wished for. And it can not be achieved until the universe - multiverse, even - was safe. He had gone through great lengths to ensure this. Call him paranoid, but it was better this way.
That’s why he’s here in the first place. Strange had gone through the list of dates and locations placed on that card and had even visited some. All throughout, they had waited for hours but encountered nothing amiss. He fingered said card in his pocket, wondering if all of this is just some kind of trick. A ploy. A waste of time. And all other synonymous adjectives he can call whatever this “mission” is.
Because here he was, drinking a wine-like drink, listening to Franz Schubert music, while waiting for a blue-helmeted multiversal villain to dispose of. Basically doing nothi-
Strange paused. His blood gone cold.
Franz Schubert is a composer from Earth.
His thoughts became haywire, stacking on top of each other until he was on the precipice of a rational explanation. Someone wanted them to show up here. The question is, are they against or on their side. Strange touched his earpiece, which they all used to communicate with one another.
“We need to leave, there’s something wrong,” He said frantically.
Scott replied, “Yes there is, Wong is dancing.”
To which Strange replied, “No, listen to the music! Hope, get America!”
Another voice chimed in, “Who’s what now?”, Hope said.
Strange glanced at Wong more closely and noticed that his movements were weird. It was robotic. All of the dancers' movements were.
Throughout his confusion and panic, some raven-haired guy wearing all black bumped into him, apologized, and quickly ran away. Strange waved him away distractedly, but quickly noticed the card from his pocket was gone. He immediately ran after the man, and even used his magic but it was no good. His magic flickered, and disappeared entirely. He had no idea how this had happened-
The drinks.
“Get him! The one wearing black!”, He shouted to his earpiece. The guy was easy to spot since vibrant colors were all the people wore here. Scott and Hope, flying from the other end of the room suddenly grew to their normal size and teamed up to pull the man down. He was quite strong when fighting against them, which was unusual.
America teleported near them and was about to use her powers but, like him, it also died out. Before the man can kick America, Strange used the cloak of levitation to trap him. The cloak surrounded the man, trapping him.
The man, facing down, continued to struggle against the cloak. Scott, Hope, and now America leaned down on him, as Stephen hurried towards them.
He pulled the man, who was laughingeerily, to see what he looked like and ask who he is. He was about to do just that when he saw his green-glowing eyes before they faded into normal-colored ones.
“What the hell?”, Scott said.
Though before they can piece it all together, a flash of green light appeared on top of the grand staircase. The dancing paused, the fighting paused, everything stopped. Oddly, the music hadn’t. Each one stared at the unexpected guests. And rightfully so.
Two figures appeared at the top of the staircase. A man wearing simple yet elegant clothing, a black tailcoat with thin gold linings and a scarf, holding a staff of some sort. And a blonde woman wearing a body-fitted long emerald gown, her hair on an updo. There was something very familiar about them, though Strange can't point out what. Their faces were hard to make out, since they were at the very top.
Yet no one can deny that the pair was a dangerous harmony of beauty, grace, and menace. The look on their faces was a mixture of mischief and confidence. Everyone in the room was enchanted as the pair gracefully glided down. Like strands of ribbon flowing against a soft wind. Every movement of theirs a performance that even the music was in harmony with their steps. How odd indeed.
“Allow us to introduce ourselves.”, said the man, before glancing to his beautiful partner who just rolled her eyes. The woman waved one hand and the card levitated from the pocket of the guy tackled on the ground, and floated towards her open palm.
The man beside the woman caught Strange’s eyes, and smirked. Scott and the others looked at Strange in confusion, even Wong who was robotically dancing looked at him. Yet he had nothing to say, really. To say Stephen was shocked was an understatement, because standing a few feet away from their group was someone who died a couple of years back. Someone who shouldn't even be in this timeline.
The god of mischief himself.
Loki.