☆

EXHAUSTED AND WOUNDED, Talia and Stephen found themselves in Kamar-Taj during the aftermath. Around them, the home of the Masters of the Mystic Arts was still a storm of chaos; many were being treated for wounds, but a few were starting to count the dead.

The loss of many lingered, but the daylight was breaking through the sky with a promise that a new day would begin. They had saved the universe, but it had come at a heavy cost.

Talia and Stephen were in a desperate rush to get to Sienna, though they both feared how their daughter would respond to her parents, who had abandoned her.

"Strange," Wong called out.

Turning, Stephen's eyes fell on his friend in a mixture of emotions. "Wong, I'm glad to see you're still here."

"Likewise," said Wong, still far too frantic to even stop for a moment to give in to his emotions — not when Kamar-Taj needed their leader. "I've sent a sorcerer to your house since Nicole will be there, so they'll support her however she needs it. I don't want to overstep, but... Sienna, you need to let her decide what she wants to do."

"Sienna will be coming home," Stephen said as if it was obvious.

Talia placed her hand on his arm. "Stephen."

As much as it broke Talia's heart, they had to accept that Wong had raised their daughter in the last five years. Currently, Wong knew their daughter more than they did.

"Sienna's spent the last five years waiting for you both to come back," Wong told them. "But losing you both has been more than traumatic for her. I'm worried that Sienna won't fall back into the normal life she once had. I know you're her parents, but..."

"You've raised her in the last five years," Talia finished, hating the words, but it was the truth. "Whatever Sienna needs, we'll support her, and just because we're back, doesn't mean you'll be cut out of her life, Wong."

"I know that," Wong said.

But it was another loss for him. Even though Sienna had been a constant stress in his life, Wong had still taken her in and cared for her.

Again, Talia smiled sadly as she hugged Wong.

After, Wong briefly met Stephen's stare, unknowing how he would react. Stephen was arrogant and bitter at times, but instead, he offered a tiny, appreciative smile. "Thank you, Wong. What you've done for Sienna, I could never repay you."

There was a respectful nod from Wong before he forced himself to step aside, needing to be the Sorcerer Supreme more than a guardian for Sienna. As Wong left, Talia still caught her husband's hand, hating to delay him from seeing Sienna that little longer.

"Stephen, honey," said Talia. "We have to talk first."

"I had a feeling something happened," Stephen sighed. "I just hoped it could wait until after."

Talia smiled sadly at the words, knowing there was no moment to pause for their family. "I'm sorry, I wish it could too," said Talia. "But, Sienna's involved with this. When I died, I saw America."

"Is she still alone?" Stephen questioned.

"Still alone in a different universe just like how we knew this morning — five years ago," Talia confirmed, still finding the loss of time confusing. "But, just like when I died last time, I was pulled back. I had no control of it again."

"What happened?" Stephen asked, keeping hold of Talia's hand in comfort.

"I ended up back here with Sienna," said Talia, holding her husband's stare. "Stephen, it's Sienna that's keeping me here. When I saw her, she looked as if she was in a trance with her eyes flashing purple — just like Nicole had said before."

Stephen was silent for a moment as he processed the information, realising that their daughter was more powerful than they had thought.

"You can't travel the Multiverse because Sienna keeps pulling you back," said Stephen. "That's why you never vanished the night of the crash."

"I'm only here because of our daughter, Stephen," Talia told him, though he knew. "Sienna's the malfunction that the Ancient One spoke about."

Another glitch to the universe just like Talia was.

Holding Stephen's stare, Talia could see the emotions sparking: the relief that Sienna saved Talia from disappearing, but there was also the devastation and panic of a father.

What they weres supposed to do now, neither knew.

But if Talia was to ever reach America, then Sienna needed to be in control of her powers.

"So, not only do we have a traumatised teenage daughter with abandonment issues," said Stephen, summoning up what was next for the two. "But she also has powers that could potentially control you. Perhaps even be a danger to herself too." Then, his hands rose, cupping Talia's cheeks. "Darling, we've survived a lot worse, and we've proven a hundred times that we'll do anything for Sienna, so we'll figure this out too."

"I know," Talia agreed. "Our baby needs us."

"She'll be okay," Stephen promised. "Sienna gets her bravery and resilience from you."

"I think she's more your daughter than me," Talia said, knowing they were really in for it.

The two couldn't bring themselves to wait any longer. Stephen, who was taller than Talia, had longer strides as he pulled Talia towards their daughter's bedroom. Unlike last time, Sienna was silent compared to her previous hysterical shouts; though, the guards still remained at the door.

Stephen's hand wrapped around the doorknob, eyes falling on Talia.

There was a watery smile on Talia's face as she nodded her head, encouraging her husband to break the spell to open the door, finding a flare of bravery to face the five years they had lost.

As the door opened, Sienna was sitting on her bed, clutching onto the stardust necklace that caused Talia's heart to ache. Next to Sienna was her pink bunny that almost broke Talia to see.

Hearing the door open, Sienna's eyes snapped to her parents, falling into a state of shock.

"Sienna..."

Her name fell from Stephen's lips which caused their daughter to snap free of her shock as she rushed into her father's outstretched arms. Stephen's hand fell onto the back of her head, holding his daughter close as he cried.

After, Sienna's head tilted upwards so Stephen could see her. Those scarred fingers moved the strands of hair from his daughter's face, where they shook from the emotional shock more than the trauma.

"You're so big," Stephen told her.

"It's been five years," Sienna said.

"How old are you now?" Stephen asked.

"Thirteen," Sienna announced.

The reveal was enough to cause Talia to start crying again, where she felt the weight of the tears on her cheeks. Stepping forward, Talia placed a hand on her daughter's back, trying to comfort them both, knowing that the three would need each other.

Stephen tried a smile. "Do you remember what I told you about being a teenager?"

"That I wasn't ever allowed," Sienna recalled, laughing a little through her tears. "That I was supposed to stay small forever."

It was truly devastating, nothing that they thought their family would go through. A parent's fear was always their child growing up so fast, but this was such a cruel reality of that fear.

"Thirteen," said Talia, hoping the age would adjust. "Oh, baby. We're so sorry for missing it all."

"You couldn't help it," Sienna reminded them, pulling away from their hold as she turned, showing them the constellations that were drawn on the walls. "I... I knew you were in space, so I hoped that maybe you were too far away from the Blip. Then, Tony came..."

"You met Stark?" Stephen questioned, surprised by that.

"Tony was the one who told me," Sienna confessed, looking downwards with a pang of devastation. Neither Talia nor Stephen had the heart to tell her of Tony's death yet. "I blamed you for disappearing on him. But... I never gave up hope. I watched the stars, wondering which ones were closer to you than me. In my mind, you were always lost in space, trying to come home."

"Oh, sweetheart," Talia said.

"I thought you would never lose," Sienna whispered.

"It was the only way to come home to you," Stephen told her.

"You had to lose to win?" Sienna questioned.

"Yes," Stephen answered honestly. "Sienna, if there had been a way to win without being away from you so long, then I would have chosen it. But—"

"You had to save the world," Sienna finished. "I hated you both for choosing to go."

That caused Stephen's hand to fall onto Talia's back in a silent support with the two not trying to take the harsh words to heart.

"I hated everything, but I still wished for you to come back," Sienna said so quietly as her hands returned to the necklace around her neck. "My wish came true."

"Do you still hate..."

Stephen couldn't even finish the question.

"No," Sienna told them honestly, though they could still see the anger deep within her once soft irises; the emotions inside their daughter were not something they could help magic away overnight — not even with the powers they had. "I just hate that I couldn't bring you back."

"But you brought me back," Talia reminded her daughter, stepping closer to her again as she reached up to wipe the tears from her daughter's eyes, taking small steps. "You always bring us back, Sienna."

"Please don't go again," Sienna pleaded so quietly.

For a moment, Talia saw the small child in her daughter from when she was upset with her eyes becoming rounder and her bottom lip wobbling. This version of Sienna was so delicate with the anger fading, somehow even worse.

"Never," Talia promised. "Not even time can keep us from you."

Sienna broke down at that as her head fell onto Talia's chest with Talia keeping hold of her daughter, never wanting to let go. Closing her eyes, Talia's lips lingered on Sienna's head, silently pleading that nothing else happened to their family.

Stephen's arms wrapped around the two, keeping that silent promise too.

☆

On the day of Tony Stark's funeral, the atmosphere was sombre. Talia had stood with her hand holding Sienna's with Stephen standing closer to them.

Sienna was silent, staring out at the lake, where Tony's reactor floated on a wreath. The loss of Tony had been more of a shock for Sienna before the reality hit. More than anything, Sienna's grief was thick with guilt, hating that Tony died believing she hated him.

Talia almost broke as she saw the little girl — Morgan Stark — holding onto her mother's hand, looking far too small to lose her dad. Though, Morgan was perhaps the same age Talia had been when she had lost her mom to that fatal car crash.

Close to the two, Davina stood with her own mother rubbing soothing circles on her back. The teenage girl had red raw eyes, but she was silent, becoming numb from her emotions.

Stephen stood with his family, remaining quiet with his eyes continuously drifting to Sienna, more worried about her than anything. Though, for the husband and wife, the loss of Tony Stark was heavy after everything they had been through together.

After, Pepper found the family of three despite not being up for conversation.

"Thank you for coming," Pepper told them, having most likely said those words a hundred times that day, but she forced herself through it all. "I... I won't keep you long..."

"Don't worry about it," said Talia, offering a kind smile. "If there's anything we can do, then please say."

"Thank you," Pepper said again, but her eyes had fallen onto Sienna, where her eyes glistened with tears again. "Sienna... Tony had so much to say about you."

"About me?" Sienna questioned, confused.

Pepper held out an envelope that she had been holding with the three staring at it, clueless as to what it was.

"He just couldn't find a way to say it," said Pepper as Sienna accepted the letter, eyes stuck on the paper. "So he wrote it down, hoping one day you'd listen, and forgive him for his failures."

That was hard for Sienna to hear as she fell silent, unknowing what to say. Pepper thanked them again for coming before she headed back into the house to find her daughter, leaving the three Strange's outside with the last few guests that remained.

"Can I read it?" Sienna asked.

"Do you want to?" Talia questioned, knowing this was up to Sienna.

"I think so," said Sienna.

"It's up to you," Stephen told her. "Don't feel like you have to read it now, Sienna — it's however you feel is right."

Sienna studied the letter, pressing her lips together as she thought about it. Nervously, a finger tucked a loose strand of her bob cut behind her ear. "I want to read it," said Sienna, looking up at her parents with wide eyes. "Can you stay with me?"

"Of course, we can," Talia promised.

Walking away from those who lingered, Sienna sat down cross-legged at the lake with her parents sitting with her in support. The trauma of the war was raw for them both, but they prioritised Sienna over everything.

Just like with the separation, Sienna had been a priority. Now, it was the same again, where they would find their way back to normality again.

Sienna read the letter with Talia's hand on her back, playing with her daughter's hair as she knew it had once soothed her when she was younger. By the end, Sienna's cheeks were wet with tears as her hand rose, wiping them away.

"I forgive him," whispered Sienna. "I forgive him. Tony needs to know that."

"I'm sure he does," Talia reassured her.

"I wish I never hated him," Sienna confessed.

"Tony knows how you really felt about him," Stephen said with it perhaps being the first time he had willingly confessed to it.

"I know," Sienna offered a hint of a smile, holding up the letter. "Tony was always watching over me. It turns out, he brought me all the astrology equipment and the lessons."

"Of course he did," Stephen mumbled.

Talia smiled at that, but her eyes were on her daughter. "See, even when you hated him, Tony never left you alone — just like Wong."

"I just wish Tony was still here," Sienna said.

"I know," whispered Talia. "I wish he was too."

Sienna leant to the side, accepting her mom's embrace as Talia comforted her daughter as best as she could. It was a strange kind of grief for Sienna, who had once worshipped Tony to then end up hating him out of anger, but now it was too late to fix anything. But, Talia knew that Tony wouldn't have wanted an apology from Sienna — not when Tony had felt guilty and had found a way to save the universe.

Before they left, Talia had found Davina standing silently staring out to the lake. Hovering close by, Davina's mother, Peter and his aunt were keeping an eye on Davina as if she was an emotional bomb just waiting to go off.

Spotting Talia, Davina's head turned with a sad smile.

"Hey, how are you holding up?" Talia asked her.

"Talia," said Davina instead, ignoring her question."Is there a universe where I'm normal?"

"I'm assuming you mean a universe where you don't have powers," Talia guessed, but she supposed she understood what Davina meant by normal. "I wish I knew, but I don't."

"Can you look?" Davina asked.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Talia reasoned. "Just knowing about the Multiverse is dangerous, Davina."

Davina's eyes fell briefly on her boyfriend as Talia followed her gaze, seeing that he was chatting with Stephen and Sienna. Though, Sienna's attention seemed to be on Orla, where her daughter was being respectful and trying not to give in to the urge of meeting her hero.

Right now, though, Sienna was oblivious that Spider-Man and Mimic were here.

"I don't want these powers or this life anymore," Davina spoke quietly with Talia realising that she didn't want Peter to hear her now. "But I've only ever been the girl with cancer or the miracle with a power."

Those words surprised Talia, who did not know Davina's story.

"Davina, I died in a car crash and came back to life when I was supposed to vanish within the Multiverse," Talia told her, wanting to help the teenage girl in whatever way she could. "I'm a miracle with a power too, who shouldn't exist, but I'm also a wife and a mother first. With the life I've lived, I don't believe there's such a thing as normal, but what I do believe is that we have a choice of who we want to be. Be who you want to be, Davina."

"I don't know who or what that is," Davina admitted.

"You're sixteen," Talia reminded her. "At that age, my only focus was saving money for a piano. And do you know what that small step helped me achieve?"

"Well, my mom's a massive fan of your music, so..."

Talia smiled at that, making a note to reach out to Davina's mom.

"Yes, well there is that," said Talia. "But the piano also gave me a home — it led me to meet my husband, who gave me my daughter. Take that first step, Davina, and who knows what life will bring you."

There was a hint of a smile on Davina's face with Talia hoping her advice was enough to help the young girl. But, with grief still fresh, it would take time for everyone to find peace.

☆

Not long later, there was perhaps a forced illusion of their new normal.

It had started with Sienna moving back into their house, which Talia had to tend to from being abandoned for five years. The hidden home had been redone, granting the Strange's — and their close friends — a fresh start.

That fresh start included Nicole moving in with them, who had lost her home during the Blip, having to start all over again. Now, Talia, Nicole, and Wong were sharing a bottle of wine between them as they waited for Stephen and Sienna to return home.

When they came home, it was through the usual portal — this time made by Sienna. Sienna was grinning brightly, completely awestruck with the brief astrology lessons Orla had given her before she returned to space to lead the Star Chasers. With Sienna, Stephen was holding her telescope and backpack, carrying everything for the capable teenage girl.

Seeing Nicole, Sienna looked surprised for a moment, finding it hard to adjust to everyone being back in her life again.

"How was it with Orla?" Talia asked.

Right now, everything was positive with Talia knowing it was a blissful dream at the moment before the reality set in. Sienna was overwhelmed — like they all were — but they were trying to focus on the positives of everything.

"Mom, she knows so much about the stars!"

"I would hope so since Orla was born from the stars," said Talia, smiling at her daughter. "You had fun then?"

"It was everything," Sienna insisted. "Though, I wish we didn't take the telescope as that was embarrassing. So was dad."

Talia raised her eyebrows at her husband.

Wong laughed. "What did you do, Strange?"

"Nothing," Stephen insisted.

"You kept questioning everything," Sienna complained.

"Stars don't talk," Stephen decided. "I don't believe it. It's not possible."

"Coming from a man who performs magic," Nicole observed.

"I do not perform magic," Stephen mumbled.

"Anyway," said Sienna with Talia's eyes falling onto her daughter, unable to get over how sassy she had become as a teenager. "I've decided I'm going to space with Orla when I'm old enough. I want to be a Star Chaser."

Talia exchanged a look with Stephen, having not expected anything like this. Fighting in space was one thing, but their daughter talking about going to space was another.

"It's not happening," Stephen stated.

"Oh, I'm so glad I'm no longer Sienna's guardian," said Wong, chuckling to himself before he sipped the glass of his wine. "I told you, you'd have your hands full."

Sienna frowned at that.

"Sweetheart," Talia said, trying to gently soothe the moment. "Let's focus on what's happening in the present rather than the future."

"Okay," said Sienna. "If I'm going to space in the future, then I need to be training now. So, can I go back to Kamar-Taj with Wong?"

"It's still a no from me," Stephen told her.

"But Wong let me!"

"Stephen," Talia warned, where the two had spoken about this, knowing taking away something that made Sienna safe wasn't going to help her. "You did just let our daughter make her own portal home."

Of course, Stephen wanted all the fun with Sienna, but wanted to keep her away from the danger too. The more she learned, then the deeper she got.

Stephen sighed. "I don't approve, but I'll accept it."

"So I can continue?" Sienna questioned, becoming excited.

"Yes, you can continue," said Talia, knowing the training would include protecting Sienna from the Multiverse. "But no more disobeying Wong."

"Please," Wong pleaded.

"I promise I won't make your life hell anymore," Sienna promised.

"Surprisingly," said Wong. "I'm actually going to miss you causing me hell, kid."

"Does that mean I can still prank you?" Sienna asked.

"No," Wong answered. "I don't miss it that much."

But there was a smile on Wong's face, where Talia could already tell that he truly missed having Sienna around. Seeing it too, Nicole reached over with a comforting hand falling on Wong's arm.

Sienna joined the three at the table, sniffing Talia's wine as she confiscated it from her teenage daughter. Though, Sienna ended up disappearing to the kitchen with Nicole and Wong, wanting to finally have the ice cream that they had originally planned to do five years ago.

Stephen stood behind Talia, placing his hands on her shoulders as Talia looked up at him.

"So, how does it feel being a dad to a teenager?" Talia asked.

"Oh, she's definitely determined to do what she wants," said Stephen, appearing tense at the thought, but he was amused. "But I do like how curious she is. In that way, she's more like me."

"You never know," Talia told him. "She might still find a love for music."

"Perhaps the next one will be a musical genius like you," Stephen said.

Talia felt her heart skip a beat, but she found herself smirking with glee at her husband. "Stephen, was that you finally confessing I'm better at the piano than you?"

Stephen chuckled at that, but never answered the question. Not as his head lowered, dipping downwards to steal a kiss from his wife. Talia smiled into the kiss, feeling that perhaps everything was going to be in their favour this time, especially when Sienna returned with ice cream for the five, complaining about how gross her parents were being for kissing.

Talia was still smiling as she reached up to place a hand over Stephen's, perhaps content, but her heart was open for more.

☆

A happy ending for now! Sienna and Tony would have been so close in another life🥺

So, so, so excited to start No Way Home!! Talia and Stephen are going to be juggling A LOT of teenagers lol. BUT they'll also be having their hands full with something else!