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TALIA SHOULD HAVE STAYED WITH Sienna. This was not her fight nor did she ever want to overstep into this world, risking her life or her family. But, turning her back on those she now considered friends did not seem right — leaving Daniel Drumm to defend the Sanctum alone was wrong.

So, Talia found a surge of energy, teleporting with the power glitching with issues as Talia was coming to terms with it. As she appeared at the top of the stairs, blades in hand, there were three intruders outnumbering Drumm.

"Enough," Talia cried out.

But a conjured blade like Talia's had pierced Daniel, who had fallen to his knees.

Stephen had joined Talia, standing close to her as the intruder looked up at them with calculating eyes. As he withdraw his weapon, Daniel collapsed to the floor with a painful grunt, holding onto his side.

The man stepped forward, curious eyes flickering between the two. "How long have you been at Kamar-Taj, Mister..."

"Doctor," Stephen corrected.

"Mister Doctor?" The man questioned.

"It's Strange."

"Maybe," he agreed. "Who am I to judge?" But, then his eyes had fallen on Talia, head cocking to the side. "And you, my dear?"

"Ms Strange," she informed him, holding onto her weapons tighter. "But Natalia to you."

"Natalia Strange," the man smiled. "At last, we meet."

Talia frowned a that, not liking that the man acted as if he knew who she was. No one was supposed to know other than the three at Kamar-Taj — Talia was supposed to be a secret to train up to learn control before she vanished without a soul knowing. Yet, here they now stood.

"And who are you?" Talia challenged.

His smile widened for a second before the end of his blade struck Daniel again, causing him to cry out. Talia's eyes shot wide as Stephen reacted next to her, golden sparks catching with his magic flaring.

"Talia, please leave," Stephen told her.

"No," Talia stated firmly.

Two minions took to the walls on opposing sides, causing the divorced couple to end up back to back, hands raised ready to fight. The man charged toward Talia, jumping down as his weapon collided with her violet blade. Ducking and moving quickly, Talia tried to remember her training, knowing now was life or death.

As the weapon came down to strike Talia, she quickly teleported out of the way, and towards the stairs, stumbling into the railings. Her appearance caused Stephen to jump, startled by Talia suddenly having powers, but she was just as surprised too.

"It's new," Talia informed him quickly. "And a little glitchy, apparently."

"Oh, we have a lot to catch up on," Stephen decided.

"That's if we survive."

Right now they were being chased; Talia could teleport, but she didn't trust the new power and wouldn't leave Stephen. But, in the hallway upstairs, their running didn't seem to come to an end. Magic had taken over, stretching out the hallway before forcing them to come to a stop to have their stand.

Next to her, Stephen's hands created shields of amber with the energy malfunctioning with Stephen not quite advanced in his magic yet. Talia's hands flared with her purple magic, flicking with the glitch-like magic that she had.

The three came for them: two on the wall and the leader walking on the ceiling. Talia's power surged towards the leader, who easily blocked it with a shield. Stephen was grabbed, being knocked to the ground before he was flung backwards. Gritting her teeth, Talia's power struck the female minion as she was knocked down, but Talia found herself being flung towards Stephen as their bodies collided.

Both groaned with Talia letting out a long huff, having thought she was getting there with her training, and now here she was struggling to make a stand.

And Talia did not like to lose.

Stephen was quick to stand with his magic creating an electric whip that knocked one of the minions down.

Talia could not have prepared herself for the room to start turning. Falling into Stephen again, the two fell, rolling as the glass window was smashed. The shards dug into Talia's skin, cutting her arm as she hissed in pain, but then the room was upright, gravity pulling them downwards.

With nothing to hold onto, Talia was falling as her lips parted with a silent scream. Once again, the energy surged as Talia teleported, finding herself at the bottom with her feet firmly on the wall. Next to her, there was a window with a desert, but up front were the bad guys.

Stephen was still hanging on as furniture fell, smashing the window next to Talia. Creating a whip, the purple flickered forward, wrapping around one of the intruder's ankles as she pulled her downwards, watching as she fell through the window to another location.

The world was upright again as Talia stumbled to land on two feet again. While Talia was aware that the woman was running back towards the window, wanting to come back to the Sanctum, another had started to attack Talia. Ducking, Talia dodged a punch as Stephen joined them. Kicking the man backwards, it was Stephen that closed the portal, trapping the other intruder.

Rolling to the side, Talia's hands glowed with violet energy as the blast knocked the second intruder into another portal, sending him into the jungle with the gateway being closed. It was just the leader that remained, who still had a conjured weapon that Stephen pulled Talia away from before it caught her skin.

The two were running again, knowing that they were unmatched by the leader. Stephen pulled down furniture as they ran, believing it would slow down the man. Of course, it did not as the sorcerer jumped onto the wall, chasing after them.

Stephen's hands glowed with magic again as Talia teleported in front. As the man fought Stephen first, Talia used another burst of her own magic to knock the man down. Stephen picked up an ornament that glowed, pointing it at the intruder, who had paused.

Talia did not trust it as her magic was ready to strike again.

"You don't know how to use that, do you?"

"Uh..."

With no answer, Stephen found his own way to use it as he plunged the ornament downwards, attempting to hit the man. The fight continued with Talia creating another blade with Stephen using his whip, challenging the sorcerer in the hope that they would outnumber him.

Grabbing hold of a pillar, the intruder used it to hold himself upwards as he walked along the wall before kicking Stephen, sending him through a glass display. Talia's heart had surged in fear, knowing it had become a weakness as pain erupted in Talia's side. She had been kicked, the blast fueled by magic as Talia's body tore through the glass, rolling to the ground.

"Talia!" Stephen shouted.

But all Talia could do was groan, having never been trained for the pain that came with fighting for your life. Eyebrows knitting together, Talia forced herself to stand again, spotting her ex-husband falling into another glass display.

Talia found a cry rising inside her as the blade had arched forward, ready for the death blow. Teleporting once again, Talia stood before the intruder with a cloak protecting the two before Talia pushed her magic outwards, causing the man to stumble backwards.

Creating a blade again, Talia charged forward as her attack was met with the sorcerer's own blade. For Talia, he was too quick as she struggled to block his attacks. On the last one, she ducked, where Stephen was there to take a blow as he fought.

Talia was ready to join again, but the sorcerer had created his own shield as it pushed outwards, knocking into Talia as it collided with her own purple shield. Then, Stephen was kicked in the chest, falling over the railing with a flash of red following him.

"Stephen!" Talia cried out.

"You," said the sorcerer, turning towards her. "Do not have to face the same fate. There is a place for you with me, Natalia."

But, behind them, Stephen had risen with the red cloak tied around his neck. Talia was a little startled by the sight but was relieved to see that he was unharmed and alive. From his hands, the magic flared again, but Talia could see that Stephen was far more confident.

The magic shot forward, catching the sorcerer's blade as Talia used her own whip with the purple energy crackling as it wrapped around the man's ankle. Talia pulled him down with Stephen's body darting towards them, but as Stephen was quick to stand, the cloak had pulled him away from the strike of the sorcerer's blade.

With Stephen distracted, Talia's whip had caught the blade again. The man turned, attention falling on Talia as he pulled his weapon back with the whip dragging Talia towards him. As the magic of her whip vanished, Talia created a shield to protect herself from the sharp edges of the blade. Ducking, she then created her own sword that met the sorcerer's next attack.

"Talia, move!" Stephen shouted.

Trusting him, Talia teleported out of the way as her body glitched into place next to Stephen. A metallic device had been thrown at the intruder, instantly trapping him as he was forced to his knees. Talia's eyebrows rose, surprised that even his mouth had been covered.

"Talia..." Stephen panted, looking at her. "Are you okay?"

Physically, Talia only had a few cuts and bruises, but mentally was another situation. Her mind thought of Daniel, knowing he could not survive two fatal wounds as her heart broke. The kind man had been so welcoming to Talia and Sienna over the months, doing his best to make the Sanctum a safe place for her daughter.

"I don't know," Talia confessed, eyes landing on the intruder again with a flare of energy. "Who are you?"

But the man's mouth was covered as his words were muffled.

"What?" Stephen questioned, stepping forward to remove the metal from his mouth.

However, the intruder was chanting in a language neither knew.

"Oh, stop it," said Stephen in agitation as he turned away. "I said stop it."

"You cannot stop this Mister Doctor," the man said.

"I don't even know what this is," Stephen replied.

"It's the end," he explained. "And the beginning. The many becoming the few becoming the one."

"Look, if you're not gonna start making sense..." Stephen held up the mouth restraint. "I'm just gonna have to put this thing back on."

"Or I might just go get the Ancient One," said Talia, smiling. "She'd love to have a chat with you after today."

"Tell me, Mister Doctor, Ms Strange—"

"My name is Doctor Stephen Strange," Stephen corrected. "And it's Mrs Strange."

Talia sighed, knowing now was not the time to get into that one.

"You are a doctor?" The man questioned.

"Yeah."

"A scientist," said the sorcerer. "You understand the laws of nature. All things age. All things die. In the end, our sun burns out. Our universe grows cold and perishes. But the Dark Dimension...it's a place beyond time."

"That's it," Stephen decided. "I'm putting this back on."

"This world doesn't have to die, doctor," the man was quick to say. "This world can take its rightful place alongside many others as part of the one. The great and beautiful one. We can all live forever."

"Really?" Stephen questioned, becoming curious. "What do you have to gain out of this New Age dimensional utopia?"

"The same as you," he replied. "The same as everyone. Life. Eternal life. People think in terms of good and evil when really time is the true enemy of us all. Time kills everything."

"What about the people you killed?" Stephen challenged.

"Tiny," the man decided. "Momentary specks within an indifferent universe," but then he laughed at Stephen. "Yes. You see. You see what we're doing. The world is not what it ought to be. Humanity longs for the eternal...for a world beyond time, because time is what enslaves us. Time is an insult. Death is an insult. Doctor, we don't seek to rule this world. We seek to save it. To hand it over to Dormammy, who is the intent of all evolution... the why of all existence."

"The Sorcerer Supreme defends existence," Stephen corrected.

"What was it that brought you to Kamar- Taj, doctor? Was it enlightenment? Power?" The man laughed, seeing through him. "You came to be healed, as did we all. Even you, Mrs Strange. Kamar-Taj is a place that collects broken things. We all come with the promise of being healed and instead the Ancient One gives us parlor tricks. The real magic she keeps for herself. You ever wonder how she managed to live this long?"

Talia's head turned, irises widening as she realised that Stephen was believing what he was hearing. While Talia had never fully trusted the Anicent One, she had come to appreciate and respect her, believing that she had Talia's best interests at heart.

"I saw the rituals in The Book of Cagliostro," Stephen explained.

"So, you know," the intruder said.

"Know what?" Talia demanded.

"The Ancient One draws power from the dark dimensions," Stephen told Talia, but his eyes were studying her, trying to figure out her own power.

"No," Talia shook her head, naive with denial. "She wouldn't..."

"How well do you know her?" The man challenged.

Well enough to know that Ancient One had been her only choice.

"The ritual gives me the power to overthrow the Ancient One," he continued in her silence. "And tear her Sanctums down. To let the Dark Dimension in. Because what the Ancient One hoards, Dormammu gives freely. Life everlasting. He's not the destroyer of worlds, doctor. He's the saviour of worlds."

Talia laughed at that, not believing it the slightest.

"No, I mean, come on," said Stephen. "Look at your face. Dormammu made you a murderer. Just how good can his kingdom be?"

In response, the man chuckled.

"You think that's funny?" Stephen questioned.

"No, not that," said the man. "What's funny is that you've lost your sling ring."

Talia's eyes shot to Stephen in confusion as he reached for his ring, finding it gone. As he turned, a spear appeared that struck Stephen, the sharp edge buried deep in his shoulder. A portal had been opened as a minion had returned, smiling brightly with his achievement.

Furious, Talia's power had burst from her hands, sending the man that was advancing on them, back down the stairs.

"Touch him again," snapped Talia. "And I will kill you."

The minion conjured a new blade, accepting the challenge.

"Natalia must be unharmed," the trapped man said.

"Talia, leave," Stephen ordered, groaning in pain, but the two had figured that Talia was a target to be captured.

But Talia was not listening to Stephen; all she could focus on was finding a way to get Stephen out and to a hospital before he bled out. So, Talia teleported, finding herself glitching behind the minion as another burst of purple knocked him over.

The man fell, groaning in pain as Talia stood above him, holding her own weapon to his throat. But the man simply smiled, knowing she did not have the nerve.

"Stephen, come on," Talia called up to him.

Talia's foot rose, ready to knock the man out and to steal his own ring, but he had conjured a blade that was now buried deep in her stomach before she could even react. A gasp of shock, as well as pain, fell from Talia's lips.

The blade fell from her hand as Talia turned, with her eyes locking with Stephen's wide, petrified gaze. Around her the world became fuzzy, the man she loved fading.

"Talia!"

Her name had been cried, Stephen desperate to reach her, but Talia had vanished.

The Sanctum had disappeared as Talia stood in a garden that seemed another world away. Looking downwards, Talia was startled to see that her skin was intact with no blade poking from her stomach. Confused, Talia's eyebrows knitted together, not understanding what had happened.

"Quién eres tú?" A voice appeared.

Turning, Talia's eyes fell on a child in the garden. The girl was young perhaps a little older than Sienna with frightened eyes, having not expected to see Talia. She wore blue robes with a cloak that was clasped together with a star. From seeing her bizarre clothing, and the odd plants around herself, Talia knew she was far from home.

"Hi," said Talia, not wanting to scare the child anymore. "I'm Talia. I think I'm a little lost. Where am I?"

The child's head tilted to the side, studying Talia curiously.

"Where are your parents?" Talia asked, calmly.

"Mamá!" The child shouted.

But, as the child turned to find an adult, Talia found herself fading again — something was pulling her back home again.

☆

Talia found herself back in the Sanctum with the villain free from his restraints. There was blood on the wooden floors — both Talia's and Stephen's. Seeing it, Talia's heartbeat quickened, checking her stomach again to find that she was in one piece.

But Stephen was gone.

Following the trail of blood left Talia feeling more frightened with each step she took. Her fingers had moved to find comfort in feeling her wedding ring, but the band was no longer there.

Talia thought she was suffocating as she found a portal in the hallway. Close by, a body was on the floor as Talia paused, checking for a pulse. The man was still alive as Talia left him with Stephen being her main priority.

As she stepped through the portal, Talia noticed that she was in the hospital. Taking that as a good sign, Talia knew that the one doctor he would trust would be Christine, so Talia had to find them. Panicking, Talia questioned every member of the hospital staff in the search for Dr Palmer's whereabouts, hearing that she had headed towards the operating theatre rooms in the emergency department.

No one let Talia go in, of course, so Talia had found an empty hallway before she closed her eyes, trying to visualize where she wanted to go. Teleporting, Talia found herself in the hallway of the theatre, alerting the staff at the station.

"How..." A nurse gasped, wide-eyed.

"Dr Palmer," Talia stated. "Where is she?"

"With a patient," the nurse said.

The nurses eyes fell to one of the operating rooms with Talia not wasting another second. The nurse cried out, telling Talia that she could not enter the room, but Talia had glitched, teleporting into the theatre herself. Yet, the teleporting was too much as she crashed into a table, knocking over the surgical instruments.

"Talia?" Christine gasped, shocked.

The doctor stood with a needle in her husband's heart as Talia's heart flared, full of fear. His name was a whisper on her lips as she hurried towards him.

"What's going on?" Christine asked.

"Is Stephen okay?" Talia questioned.

The lights around them flickered with the metal tools rattling. Talia's eyes drifted around the room, unknowing what was going on.

"Just give me a second," Christine advised, voice shaking.

Talia was not sure what to do as she simply stared at Stephen, feeling like she was back at the start of the year. The dread left her numb, hand shaking as it fell to his head, fingers running through his hair.

"Stephen," whispered Talia. "Please don't leave me."

But the heart monitor had fallen into flatline.

"Talia, stand back," Christine ordered, pulling the crash cart over.

Talia moved away from the table, but her eyes remained on Stephen. Her fingers rose to her lips as if to stop her growing hysteria as Talia cried, watching hopelessly as Christine shocked her husband's body.

From the charge, the table flew across the room with Talia's lips parting, finding the supernatural elements too questionable now. Was something else going on?

"Stephen, come on," Christine encouraged.

There was a beep as Talia's heartbeat spiked too with the air leaving her lungs.

But she was not prepared for the astral form of her husband to break through.

"Hit me again," Stephen ordered.

Talia stepped forward, bewildered. "Stephen..."

"Stop doing that!" Christine whispered, confused and frightened about what was happening.

"Up the voltage and hit me again," Stephen instructed.

"No, your hearts beating!"

"Just do it!"

Christine looked to Talia as her husband vanished, most likely in danger within another dimension. Knowing Christine was looking for permission, Talia silently nodded, putting her trust in Stephen.

Then, Christine was turning up the voltage as Talia stood far from the table again. Once the machine was ready, Christine did not hesitate as Talia watched Stephen's body jolt from the voltage.

Around them, the lights blew with something else happening as Talia's hands rose to protect herself from the falling sparks. Christine remained ducked, peeking at Stephen as her husband finally gasped, joining them again.

"Christ, Stephen," Talia hurried towards him, eyes still wide. "Honey, are you okay?"

"Yeah," he reassured but the word came out frazzled.

Coming around, Stephen's eyes were on Talia, full of pain and relief, much like from when he had woken from his crash. "Talia, I thought..."

"I thought so too," Talia whispered with her hand falling to his head again. "But I'm okay and so are you."

Stephen did not seem to believe as his hand rose, touching where Talia had previously been stabbed. His eyes were wide, full of wonder about how Talia had done it again, but even she was clueless.

"Stephen," Talia reassured him. "I'm okay."

"Please stop doing this to me," Stephen pleaded. "I can't... I can't keep watching you die or vanishing like that. How did you...?"

"It's complicated," whispered Talia. "Like really complicated."

Stephen knew it was a hushed-up secret as he pressed his lips together with Talia knowing he did not like being left in the dark. Now, though, was not the time for Talia to start sharing her powers and the Multiverse. Talia was also afraid that the last pieces of love between them would shatter once Stephen realised she was not even from this universe — that who or what Talia was, was a mystery.

Then, Talia switched sides with Christine stitching Stephen up. Stephen's fingers had twitched towards Talia as if debating to hold her hand, but he was too afraid after everything. Giving in for a moment, Talia's soft fingers touch his scarred hand, finding it familiar as she always had.

"Talia..." Stephen said, knowing they had perhaps a hundred things to talk about. "Darling, I'm so, so sorry. I treated you so horribly. You and Sienna deserve so much more."

Talia froze at that, knowing Stephen meant the apology, but it was too late after everything. While Stephen had been spiteful, he had also cost them their home, forcing the two to find themselves again.

Now, though, Talia did not know what to say.

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They are starting the long road to recovery!! Honestly, come to infinity war/endgame Talia and Stephen are going to be so badass together. Who can guess who the child was?