Maya

I rub my temple, feeling the familiar inset of a headache approaching.

This can't be happening.

I crack my eyes open to see three small Expecting faces with eager eyes—and then there was Carlos who looks like he's three seconds away from passing out.

Safia is holding a black bundle of fur in her coat that keeps whining.

It's small for a wolf. The cub's coat is black as coal but its feet have a dusting of white that makes it look like someone dipped the poor thing into paint. It sniffs the air, its tongue hanging out as its bright blue eyes stare at Safia. 

"Can we keep it?" Annette asks hesitantly. She keeps petting the wolf cub even though I tell her not to. "It's so cute."

I don't care if it's cute and cuddly and defenceless, it's still a wild animal.

I sigh, knowing full well what type of battle I'm going to have to face. "No, we're not keeping it."

"Should I call Fish and Wildlife?" Carlos asked, inching closer to the wall phone. "Because I'll happily call Fish and Wildlife."

He's on the opposite side of the room, eyeing the wolf cub with mistrust.

I guess he's not a dog person.

Neither am I.

I'm more of a bird person. Trix had died a year ago after living a long and fulfilling life. I didn't have the heart to get another pet after her. Tony had tried but it just didn't work out.

Animals are wonderful but every time I think about Trix, I'm reminded just how short their lives are.

Rayan levitates an apple from the fruit bowl and tosses it at him. Carlos catches it with one hand, his eye blazing with fury.

"Rayan," I scold.

He crossed his arms over his chest. "We're keeping it," he says in a petulant voice.

I mimic him, crossing my arms. "We're not keeping it."

"It's a girl, not an it." Safia corrects, bopping the cub on her nose.

"It's a boy!" Rayan protests.

"It's a girl!" Annette joins in. "And we're totally keeping her."

"It's going to the pound!" Carlos holds up the landline. "I'm calling Fish and Wildlife right now!"

Rayan throws another apple at the back of his head.

Carlos glares at him. "Do it again, I dare you."

That's the worst possible thing you can say to Rayan. I grab him around the waist and hoist him up on my hip, keeping him trapped.

"What did we say about throwing things at others?" I ask sternly.

He looks away. "That Neanderthals with no brains do it."

"Exactly." I nod. "Throw one more thing at him and I'll make you pick pinecones off the forest floor for a whole week. Got it?" He stays silent and mumbles a sorry. I put his back down, ruffling his hair. "Sorry, kid. We're not keeping her. She's a wild animal."

"All dogs were wolves before we domesticated them." Safia scratches the cub behind its ear. "We got the space for her."

I eye the cub nestled in her arms. Wolves aren't dogs and I know how big they can get. This isn't some run-of-the-mill husky. We definitely don't have the space for one.

"And who's going to take care of her?"

Annette raises her hand in the air. "We will!"

Sometimes I wonder if this is how my mom felt when I kept bringing home stray cats from the neighborhood.

"We can't afford to take care of her."

"Then I'll get a part-time job." Safia looked down at the cub, her eyes turning surprisingly gentle. "And we'll pool out allowances together."

"Who's going to walk her? Who's going to feed her? Who's going to take her to the vet when she gets sick?" I put my hands on my hips, staring them down. "Are you forgetting something? It's a wild animal."

Annette frowned. "We will! We'll take turns."

"Don't include me in this madness!" Carlos cries out.

"She's just a puppy!"

"It's a wolf cub!" He throws his hands in the air. "Who the hell keeps a wolf as a pet?"

"Language," I mutter unconsciously.

Thanks, Steve. You haunt me till this day.

"We're keeping her!" Annette is firm on her decision.

"I'm the adult here and I'm saying we're not." I remind them. I don't mind pulling the big sister card once in a while.

Safia gets up and heads towards the stairs.

I put my hands on my hips. "Where are you going?"

"Upstairs," she says, airily. "I'm going to give her a bath."

"You take one step further and you're grounded, young lady."

Safia pauses at the foot of the steps, looks at the cub and then as me. She nods her head and goes up the stairs.

"I'll take my chance."

"You're grounded!" I yelled. "Grounded till you're 35! Do you hear me?!"

"Worth it," she yelled back and then slammed the bathroom door shut.

I groan and stomp back to the kitchen. Carlos is still seeking refuge in the corner, having a stare-down with Annette and Rayan.

"Do I need to ground you too?" I ask sharply.

Rayan grins, hovering his feet over the kitchen floor subconsciously in his excitement. "If you ground us, does that mean we keep him?!"

"Her," Annette reminded him. "I'm okay with being grounded for a whole month."

I scrub my hand down my face. These kids. They're going to give me grey hair before I'm thirty.

"You know what?" I throw my hands in the air. "You're all grounded. There! Happy? Now go upstairs!"

Annette squealed and grabbed Rayan by the hand, dragging him upstairs.

Carlos looked at me confused. "Why am I grounded too?"

I grab a coffee mug from the cabinet and fix him a look. "Because."

"Because what?"

"I don't know. Go up and make sure they don't make a mess, Carlos." I nudge him towards the stairs. Nobody takes my words seriously anyway. "I lift yours later, okay? At least someone sided with me."

"That makes no sense!"

"Just go, kiddo."

I pour myself a cup of cold milk and sip on it like it's brandy. I don't even like coffee.

I just lost to a bunch of kids who used my own rules against me. Figures. They're too smart for their own good.

The living room is blissfully quiet once more.

I debate between turning on the TV or reading a book when a golden circle appears in my living room. Sparks fly and not in a romantic way.

I yell and scramble up onto my lounge chair. "What the ever-loving fuck?!"

A man in a red cape steps out of the golden sparkly circle. "Are you Maya?" He asks.

"Um...yes."

He nods. "Great. Just a moment." He turns around and tosses something back through the golden sparkling portal. "Wong! I'm going to be gone for a bit!"

"How long is a 'bit?'" A person yells back—I presume that's Wong. "The last time you said that, you went into space!" 

He rolls his eyes. "A few hours. Tops. Don't worry about it. I left America in charge. She knows what to do, she'll take care of it."

He turns around and looks confused by my cramped and humble living room.

I've seen him on TV before.

"You're..." I lower the mug.

"Doctor Strange." He introduced himself. "Now, I know this is odd but trust me—"

I tilt my head. "Wait. What? You're him?"

He sighs, done with life in general. "Doctor Strange? Sorcerer Supreme? Keep of the Sanctum Sanctorium...?"

I have no idea what any of that means.

"Not a single bell is ringing in my head, buddy." I put my cup of milk down on the coffee table. "Tony just calls you a wizard."

Doctor Strange—weird ass last name if you ask me—looks frustrated as if he would rather be anywhere else than here.

His cape floats around him as if it has a mind of its own. The corner reached for a tin can of biscuits that he slapped away with his hand.

"Okay. You know what? This is a waste of time. Do you know The Scarlet Witch?"

I raise an eyebrow. "Wanda?" I can't fucking believe this. "She did it. She actually sent me a freaking wizard."

"Okay, I am not a wizard."

"Of course," I nodded. "I'm sure there's a difference."

"If you're going to be like this, I'll just go."

I get up from my seat. "Alright, I'm done now. What is it that you need to tell me?"

—

Dr Strange—or Stephan as he likes to be called—takes a sip from his teacup.

We move to the kitchen where the light is better. I notice the slight tremble in his hands but choose not to say anything about it.

It's all kinda surreal.

"So," he starts. "Tell me what you know about yourself?"

I shrug, pulling my knees close to my chest. "Not much honestly. I usually prefer men to wine and dine me when they ask me that question."

He glared at me. "Try again."

Jeez. Tough nut to crack.

"Well...I belong to the Al Anwar clan. Raza—my sperm donor—claimed that we were gifted by the gods with powers."

"I heard of him. A few years back he was on my watchlist."

What watchlist was my dad not a part of? I've lost count.

"He also said that we're not entirely human. But then again, he was already insane so I took that with a grain of salt," I said. "Also, Wanda—Scarlett Witch as you may know her—found a weird symbol carved into one of the trees when she was setting up a boundary."

He rumbaged through his pockets, pulling out a small price of paper. "This one?"

I nod, recognizing it. "That's the one."

"That's all?"

"Yup."

He gives me an incredulous look as if I'm the dumbest creature he's ever come across. "You didn't bother to learn anything else."

I take a sip from my mug. "Well...I did have a chance."

"What happened?"

"I burned all the files that my father had." I muttered. "After i killed him and my older siblings. And then I died."

"You what?"

It was a moment of 'fuck you, dad.' This was before my self imposed imprisonment in the Raft. I had burned Raza's whole complex to the ground, including his notes and research.

A stupid move in hindsight. 

The only information about us is whatever S.H.I.E.L.D. keeps on file and that's limited.

Stephan sighed through his nose, a vein on his forehead popping. "I don't know how you survived this long."

"Beats me. Death and I are in a very fucked up game of chicken."

"That's really depressing."

"It is what it is."

He rubbed his temple and closes his eyes. "It's fortunate that the Sanctum keeps several copies of ancient texts." Stephan looks at me, regarding me curiously. "You truly have no idea what you are?"

"I'm getting real sick of playing 20 questions." I said. "Enlighten me."

"Maya, do you know who Ishtar is?" I shake my head. "Well...good news. Congratulations, you're related to her. You're a Demi-God."

—

A/N - plot twist! Well—kinda. Raza did tell her. Maya just thought he was crazy. Don't worry, we'll explore Ishtar and the other gods soon.