1
“FRIDAY, scan his memories”.
“Scanning memories of Doctor Strange, Sir”. Tony waited anxiously for results as he looked at his lover on the medical table. His eyes were closed, his mouth open and taking in as much air as he could.
“I’m loading his most recent memories of trauma, Sir”.
“Good, good”, Tony replied, gently caressing Stephen’s cheek. He couldn’t help but stare at the new black lines found on Stephen’s skin, pulsating and throbbing. Something was inside his boyfriend, ripping his apart from the inside out. His blood and veins had turned black and the white streak in his hair had turned more sickly grey.
“Steph...tell me what happened. We can get through this together”.
“Accessing memories...”
—
His chest heaved for air from the burns being placed by metal rods. The roots of his being were being torn apart and being stitched back together like a horrible, inhumane Picasso painting. The smell of burning skin filled his nose and he felt like throwing up. The metal was the shape of half of a heart, it curved up the muscles of his chest and as the iron smith pressed the other half of the heart he chest, he let out a scream of pain. The burning sensation calmed but began to sting from the cold air in the dusty, old cellar. The man who had pushed the metal into his victim’s skin could only smile at his work.
Stephen Vincent Strange finally had a heart.
The warnings on the walls glowed in an orange light as they reacted to stop the Sorcerer Supreme from using his magic, making him weak. It almost made his capture laugh, he was nothing without those powers. Just a human who tried to be more than that.
“I never wanted you to become Sorcerer Supreme, you’ve done an awful job so far might I add”, the capture murmured to his victim, “You’ve killed a few people, made the Avengers lose a few battles, and hell, everytime you go to fight some new fight, you almost kill that lover you got yourself”. The chains burnt Stephen’s wrist behind the chair he sat in as he tried to summon a few sparks to free him.
“We were friends once, Mordo. Listen to me, you don’t have to do this”, Stephen started but he merely got an angry hiss in return.
“You broke the rules, you shouldn’t have become Supreme. Anyone would have been better than you! You practically drew power from the Dark Dimension just to defeat Dormammu”, Mordo replied, his eyes flaming with rage and maybe even a twinkle of regret, a dash of sorrow. Stephen heaved in a breath, his body shaky from the new prints in his skin. He looked at Mordo and really took him in. His eyes looked tired and red, his stance exhausted and almost defeated, but his tone screamed rage. Black lines crawled along where his veins should be, a poison filling his blood and body. It flowed within him.
The Dark Dimension.
“You seem to be getting to know it yourself as well, old friend”, Stephen replied, his eyebrows furrowing and his tone becoming cold. Mordo seemingly rolled his eyes and set the metal bar down.
“It’s not just the Dark Dimension. It’s not Dormammu. It’s someone different, a master piece, a savior to our whole race as wizards”, Mordo corrected, “It is Ultimus”. Mordo then picked up a wooden bowl, the carving in it being symbols that Stephen had never seen before but they looked aminous, creepy even. They radiated dark magic and all its consequences.
“You may not understand now, Strange but you will soon...”, Mordo mumbled, “You will see the light that I have seen, you will know the future I know, and feel the power I feel”. Stephen felt helpless as Mordo grew closer to him with the bowl in his hands. As he got closer, Stephen could peer inside and see what it was. A thick goo of pure black sat inside. Once in a while, a thin orange light flickered in it. It was like a storm with thunder peering through its black clouds. It almost looked glittery as Mordo got as close as he wished. Stephen was memorized, his mind asking questions and working like a clock. Gears spun as he tried to figure out what it was. But he didn’t have the time to figure it out because before he could even say anything, Mordo’s fingers clenched the sides of his cheeks to force his mouth open. Stephen tried to pull away from the force but was only greeted being pulled back into place like a horse on a bridle. The liquid in the bowl was poured down his throat, Mordo murmuring old Mandarin as the thick liquid slid down Stephen’s throat making him gag. Mordo forced Stephen to swallow every drop of the liquid, which the Supreme felt was more like melted metal than anything, keeping his mouth shut until he obeyed. As soon as Stephen swallowed, his whole body felt sick like he would puke. His skin grew pale and his temples throbbed, a cold and sticky sweat collected on to his forehead and alongside his temples. He felt like he was experiencing the flu.
“We all feel sick from it but everyone experiences Ultimus’ powers differently”, Mordo murmured, “I got addicted to eating ice. I can’t stop with it, even when it freezes my teeth and burns my tongue. Did you know that too much ice can actually make your tongue bleed? It’s true yknow...anyway, I wouldn’t be surprised if you became addicted to something too”. Stephen let his head hang down, letting the nausea wash over him in waves. He needed to empty his stomach, pour out that awful goo everywhere but he felt it sticking to the inside of his stomach like a hard alcohol. His heart beat wildly in his chest. He was regretting telling Wong that he would be alright by himself on this mission.
All of a sudden, the ceiling seemed to crash in, concrete flying and a bright light shining down on the two, now exposed, men. The familiar sound of thrusters being lowered and the metal settling against the floor was music to Stephen’s ears.
“Let him go, Jafar!” Tony’s familiar voice came. His words seemed to lift some fear off of Stephen’s shoulders, he felt safe now that his boyfriend was here. He heard Mordo’s hesitation, he felt his thought process, and he could tell that he knew he could win this fight. But he didn’t seem to find it worth it.
“Ultimus will come to collect soon enough”, Mordo’s threatening words came and the sound of a portal rang in Stephen’s ears as he stared at his knees, dry heaving still. He felt it close and heard a sigh of relief from his lover. The sound of Tony exiting his suit came and soon enough he felt the chains being unwrapped from his wrists, a soft gasp coming from Tony when he saw the burns. The mechanic walked around and kneeled down in front of Stephen. The wizard looked up to meet the eyes of the love of his life. Tony looked worried beyond his mind and it was only confirmed when Tony reached out a shaky hand to touch the new imprints on Stephen’s chest.
“God, what did he do to you?” Tony asked. Before Stephen could answer, he feel to his hands and knees and threw up water. The clear liquid escaped his lips as he sat in that position. His stomach heaved the water on to the cement floor beneath him, it was barely satisfying his nausea. When his stomach finally had nothing more to give up, he sat up straight and immediately an arm wrapped around him and pulled him in. Tony’s warmth felt good in the middle of the cold cellar. It felt better to be wrapped in someone’s arms instead of bone chilling chains. Stephen couldn’t appreciate and love Tony anymore than he could right now. He whispered small ‘thank you’s and ‘I love you’s to his lover, Tony hushing him and cradling him close.
Stephen’s stomach still continued to flop around and feel sick but he didn’t know that would be the least of his worries.
Stephen and Tony really had no idea what was going to happen to them nor who Ultimus was but they lived in the moment for it was happy and peaceful.
“It’s alright, Steph...I’m here now. You’re going to be ok”, Tony whispered soothingly.
Tony had no idea how horribly he had lied to his lover but he would find out soon enough.