It's Doctor Strange

- - - - -

Hours turned into days. Days turned into weeks. And Ana was settling well into the Kamar-Taj. She had read every book available to her. Practised most of their advances and forms. And learnt of the benefits and dangers of the ways of the Mystic Arts. The Ancient One kept a close eye on her every time and each time with a content mind.

But that also meant she was losing sight of her other students.

Ana could tell their was something going on in the shadows. She could feel it. Particularly in those who have shared their reasons as to why they were there. They had lost someone they loved, and entered on a dark path with no end. That was until the Ancient One offered them refuge in her home and gave them a sense of purpose and redemption. Ana always had her eyes open incase anything did go wrong.

Something told her it will, soon.

Baron, Wong, Daniel and Kaecilius were those Ana would go to when she needed help or someone to talk to. She was beginning to feel home sick and tried her best to repair all her broken technology so she could have some way to contact her friends, but none of them seemed to do their job.

Ana had yet to learn of the ways of teleportation by using the Sling Ring, how to enter her astral form, and to meditate. The latter of them all being there because she couldn't calm her mind enough and the others because she was told she wasn't ready yet.

Currently, she was sitting down on the roof of one of the temples in the Kamar-Taj in the middle of the night. Daniel suggested to try and meditate when she was at the brink of sleep, for it was when her mind would be entering a calmer state and her body functions would relax. Her palms rested on her crossed knees and her back was straightened. Her eyes closed slowly and she took a deep breath in, breathing in the cool summer air.

It took a while until she found her tranquil state of mind. Then, it all changed in a matter of seconds.

She jolted in her position, opening her eyes with a gasp. She was no longer in Kamar-Taj. The dark blue skies changed into a black abyss, dotted with millions of stars, nebulas, comets and floating space junk. She looked down, seeing she was sitting on tough grey terrain and that her body was transparent. Ana had teleported her mind into another galaxy.

And she wasn't alone.

Rocks were floating in a row, creating a line of steps from her level on the lower ground to the higher level. She could just make out a large figure, dressed in striking gold armour as it sat on a floating throne of brown stone. It didn't seem to see her. And so she stood. Ana walked closer on a whim, going to the higher level.

Nothing can hurt me, she thought, I'm just meditating, right?

As she came closer to the being, she could clearly see the purple skin. His chin was patterned with vertical lines that travelled up to his blue eyes. She nervously gulped, sizing him up. He had his arm propped up and rested his chin on it as he looked off into space thoughtfully. What caught her eye was the gold gauntlet on his other hand. It had six empty oval spaces, like it had missing pieces.

"I know you're there."

His voice was low and sharp, surprising her. She stumbled back, not expecting his head to turn her way and his lips to widen, showing of his mad grin. Thanos, the Mad Titan, leaned forward in his throne and stared into the empty space in front of him.

"Stop hiding behind the mystical energy, little one."

Ana began to panic. She shut her eyes and might as well tapped her feet and whispered there's no place like home. She could feel herself returning back to her normal waking consciousness and just before she transported back, her eyes opened for a split moment. She wanted to see the creature once more before she left. To remember every detail of his form if she ever encountered him again.

He caught her gaze and began to laugh.

The sound became distorted and chilled her to the core. The Titan's voice drowned out. She was on the rooftops of the Kamar-Taj once again. The sounds of the wind and rustling trees were all she heard and she shook her head, placing a cool palm to it.

"Creepy purple guy sitting in space saw me. But how is that possible?"

She let out a long breath and scooted forward, sliding down the roof of the temple. Just when she prepared to jump down, she heard loud footsteps approach the library and dug her hands into the wood and stopped. She saw a group of sorcerers, one of them with a hood over their head as they approach the doors. Something was off. Ana stealthily moved closer to the roof of the library, trying to get a better look at the individuals.

Ana recognised most of them as the ones Kaecilius always hurt in training. A frown adorned her face and she reached forward, grabbing onto the ledge of the library. Most of them had already entered the building, so three of them heard the suspicious scratching above them. The look-outs lifted their heads and glared at the woman on the roof.

Ana let out a nervous chuckle. "Before we start, I think it would be a good idea if we all just take a deep breat- Ah!"

One of them had launched a golden sphere at the ledge she was on, causing her to fall to the ground. She landed on her back, groaning. They advanced at her, creating a string of golden bands in-between their two palms. Ana summoned her Sword of Light, tangling it with the bands and absorbing the energy.

She threw a hard punch at the man. He landed on the ground unconscious and the two behind him looked at her wide eyed. She cracked her knuckles with a huff and attacked. The one closer to her wrapped her mystic bands around Ana's throat. Ana managed to squeeze a hand in-between the band and her throat, preventing it from crushing her windpipes. The man in front of her manifested a shard of crystal, almost cutting into her shoulder. She clanked her sword against the crystal and it broke to pieces.

Ana threw her head back and nailed the girl's nose, escaping the choke hold and stomped her boot into the man's chest, sending him flying. She spun and did the same to the girl who was yelling in pain. Three of them now laid unconscious at her feet. Ana let her sword disappear and feel to her knees, placing a hand on her throat.

The ground beneath her began to shake and she looked over her shoulder, back into the library, catching the yellow light flares. Someone must have opened a portal. "What the hell's happening?" She whispered.

She didn't have a Sling Ring yet and quickly scrambled up onto her feet, calling to her Sword of Light again. She entered the dark building, glancing at the Ancient One as she faced off Kaecilius and his Zealots. After seeing he had no advantage, Kaecilius ran into a portal, his followers close behind.

Ancient One stopped Ana from running after them by trapping her feet to the floor with gold chains. "Hey! Let me help!" She called after her.

"You are not yet ready to use the Mystic Arts."

Ana groaned when she watched her teacher leave through a portal. She shook her head and swiped at the chains with her sword, effectively breaking the spell. The portal was closing and Ana leaped forward, arms outstretched.

The portal closed and she landed on her side. In London.

The double decked red bus passed her, beeping at her. She was on the road, attracting the attention of many bystanders. Her eyes widened. This wasn't good. She got to her feet and followed the sounds of magic and yelling. Kaecilius was leading his Zealots into the Mirror Dimension the Ancient One created. She stood at the back of the traitors, Ana heaving and bending over tiredly behind her.

Ancient One glanced at her, "You didn't listen."

"It's a bad habit I'm told." Ana replied, holding her sword over her shoulder casually.

Ancient One chuckled before lifting her hand and warping the grey buildings surrounding them. They began to change to her liking and Kaecilius didn't appreciate the challenge.

He turned to her and yelled, "Hypocrite!"

Ancient One placed one hand above her head and the other just above her waist, tilting the horizon. Ana slid down the pavement and jumped onto the building that moved under her feet. The Zealots weren't expecting it and yelled as they painfully slid and hurled into the buildings. Kaecilius still stood and faced his older teacher with a disgusted expression. Ana didn't understand his foulness towards the Ancient One.

She also wasn't used to the way the environment distorted due to the magic. She had to balance herself when the buildings began to rumble. They folded onto each other, giving Kaecilius limited time to escape. He unsheathed his curved blades as his Zealots manifested golden bands in their hands.

Two of them wrapped their mystical bands around the Ancient One's feet. She had her hands behind her back when she stepped back, pulling the two Zealots forward. They fell to their knees and she jumped on the hunched backs, creating two golden fan weapons.

Three of the Zealots attacked Ana. She wasn't as experienced as them in the Mystic Arts but she could wield a sword damn well. She lifted the blade and sliced through their mystical advances. One of them managed to slice her cheek with a shard of crystal. She winced and swiped at the culprit with one sword stroke. The buildings rolling toward them gave Ana a chance to abandon the dark sorcerers and let them be taken into the trap.

Kaecilius created a portal, allowing the remaining Zealots to jump to safety. Ancient One fought off the two men trying to harm her and Ana watched as Kaecilius disappeared. There was a moment of silence as Ancient One reversed the spell she placed in the Mirror Dimension. Ana landed on the road swiftly and waited for Ancient One to address her.

"Kaecilius and his sorcerers have stolen a dangerous ritual from the library. You are not to pursue them until I allow it. They are much stronger than you in the Mystic Arts and I have yet to teach you everything."

Ana let her sword disappear and frowned. She wiped the blood from her cheek and sighed. "But I could help. I don't need magic to stop Kaecilius." She replied.

Ancient One gave her a smile under the hood, "I know."

She kept a hand outstretched as she circled the other, creating a portal so they could exit the Mirror Dimension into the streets of London. Ana followed close behind her and they walked down the side walk, in the company of other individuals. Ancient One removed her hood and kept her head high, ignoring the stares.

Ana kept her head down though, shielding herself from others. She could see traffic cameras which meant facial recognition could target her, as well as ATM cameras and hand held devices. She passed a newspaper stand and pluck the London Times, the paper catching her eye.

"SHIELD?"

Ana gawked at the front page. SHIELD had been reinstated again with a new Director, Jeffery Mace. She flipped through the pages frantically, but it was taken from her before she could read the article. She looked up at the man behind the counter, "Hey!" She exclaimed.

"You gonna pay for this or not? No money, no news." He retorted, slamming the paper on the counter. He fixed his tooth pick which made Ana scowl at him and ball her hands into fists.

Ancient One wrapped her hand around Ana's elbow before she could yell at him and created another portal, taking them back to Kamar-Taj. Ana looked at the Sorcerer Supreme.

"What now?"

"Now we wait."

- - -

"Ancient One!"

Ana came running into her teachers sanctuary, barely being able to breathe. It had been two days since Kaecilius and his Zealots disbanded from the Ancient One's teachings. She had just mastered her astral formation after hours of blinking and flipping things over in frustration. She had a little bit of fun by playing pranks on Wong after her took her tablet without asking her.

The huge grin on her face vanished when a man who had just come in turned around at her voice. Baron and Ancient One watched with mild amusement when Ana gasped at the sight of Stephen. He shook his head, not believing the view in front of him. He looked at her attire and she looked at his untidy clothing.

"Ana?"

"Stephen?"

They had called their names at the same time and Ancient One quickly lead Ana by the hand, walking her closer to Stephen. "He was found by Master Mordo in the streets of Kathmandu, lost and confused. Just like you were before we found you, my dear." Ancient One explained.

Ana's eyebrows creased in concern when she saw the state of his hands. Scarred and battered, they shook when he placed the cup of tea on the table. His beard was unshaven and his hair was in dire need of a trim.

"What happened to you?" She breathed out.

"It's a long story." Stephen replied, his tone sharp. "Why are you here? Aren't you a fugitive or something?"

Ana crossed her arms, "It's a long story." She said dryly.

"These people are insane. I came here because I was told my hands could be healed and they're talking to me about healing through belief." He said, waving his arms and gesturing to Mordo and Ancient One.

Ana glanced at them before nodding, "Well, they are right."

Stephen looked at her like she was crazy.

"You're a man looking at the world through a keyhole. You spent your whole life trying to widen that keyhole to see more to know more. And now on hearing that it can be widened in ways you can't imagine, you reject the possibility." Ancient One told Stephen.

"No, I reject it because I don't believe in fairy tales about chakras or energy or the power of belief." Stephen argued. "There is no such thing as spirit! We are made of matter, nothing more. We're just another tiny, momentary speck within an indifferent universe."

"You think too little of yourself." Ancient One commented.

"That's a first." Ana mumbled.

"Oh you think you see through me, do you? Well you don't. But I see through you!" He bellowed, jabbing his finger into the Ancient One's shoulder. Ana and Baron simultaneously cringed. Ancient One grabbed Stephen's hand and shoved it away, pounding his chest with her other and ejecting his astral form from his physical form.

Baron and Ana couldn't see it but there was a change in the air that they could sense. Ana glanced at the Ancient One and frowned, "She could've done that to me. I just now mastered turning into a ghost." She whispered to Baron.

Baron shrugged a shoulder, "She did the same thing with me."

He stepped forward and lifted Stephen up from his falling state and Ancient One recoiled her hand, bringing him back. Stephen gasped and blinked wildly when he came to, looking at Ana then to Baron then to Ancient One who was only smiling.

"What did you just do to me?" Stephen breathed out.

"I pushed your astral form out of your physical form." She answered.

"What's in that tea? Psilocybin? LSD?" He listed. Everything wasn't making any sense and he felt like he was being deceived.

"Just tea." Ancient One replied, "With a little honey."

"What just happened?" Stephen looked back into the space where he had just floated.

Ana grinned, nodding. "You entered the astral dimension. Cool right?"

"What?" His eyes widened at her.

"A place where the soul exists apart from the body." Ancient One explained.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Stephen questioned, slowing down his breathing.

"To show you just how much you don't know." Ancient One lifted her hand and placed it on the side of his head, resting her thumb on his forehead. "Open your eye."

Ana and Baron turned their heads as their eyes followed Stephen when he launched into the spell that let him explore the dimensions. He was yelling and flailing into space. Ana frowned for a second when a thought came to mind and glanced at her teacher once again. She noticed the Ancient One allowed no emotion to show on her face but a small, cryptic smile.

Ana had a feeling the Ancient One saw Stephen as her successor. The next Sorcerer Supreme.

And if history taught her something, it's that she should always trust her gut.

"I have to go." Ana spoke up.

Baron looked to her, confused. "Don't you want stay and see where this leads?"

Ancient One took one long look at Ana before nodding. "She needs to practise. Go on then, my dear. I'll find you when this is all over."

Ana turned on her heel, stealing a glance at the belongings of Stephen before walking out of the room. She passed Daniel Drumm, who was hurrying to the New York Sanctum Sanctorum she had heard a lot about. There were two more, one in London and one in Hong Kong. Now that Kaecilius and a large group of Zealots were on the loose, they had to take extra precautions in guarding the sacred hotspots of magic.

She was heading to a secluded area that was always quiet and uninhabited to use the Sling Ring. Kaecilius was a ticking time bomb and she had to learn how to escape the blast radius when he goes off. Her feet skipped over the large boulders on the frosty grounds. The air was thick and she could see her breath from the cool air. Her red and black robes kept her warm when the snow finally hit her.

She breathed it in, smiling. The golden rings then slid on her fingers and she waved her hand in a circle. She placed a picture in her mind, one of the place she had meditated about where the purple giant belonged to. The golden sparks spluttered in the space in front of her and she creased her eyebrows, concentrating further.

"Stop."

Ancient One was by her side in a moment, concern showing clearly on her face. Ana dropped her hands and swallowed nervously. Her hands were shaking from the cold as Ancient One picked up one with the golden Sling Ring attached to it.

"What, or more so who, you're seeking is a being of madness. I understand you're curious, but if you value your life and the lives of your dear friends, stay away from him." Ancient One scolded.

"But when I mediated I saw him. Why would my mind go there unless the universe is telling me something about the Purple Man I need to know?" Ana stressed.

"He is not your problem. And this is the last you and I will speak of this. Understood?" Ancient One stared into her eyes, slightly frustrated.

"Fine. I'm sorry." Ana sighed, prying off the ring.

"The universe is a great mystery. You must treat it as one. Don't go trying to solve it when the consequences could lead to the end of the world."

- - - - -

Hey guys! Sorry for the wait and I hope you enjoyed. Ana's finally learning about Thanos and the galaxies which will eventually lead her into joining the Guardians of the Galaxy next year as well as Thor! So she'll meet basically everyone especially baby Groot and Rocket, two of my favourites.

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate and a Happy New Year! I'm working on a special chapter which will have a huge list of special guests. ;)

Q- What did you get for Christmas?