DR. STRANGE, DAIMON HELLSTROM AND ALL CHARACTERS AND SETTINGS ARE THE PROPERTY OF MARVEL INC. AND THEIR RESPECTIVE AFFILIATES.
Rated T for brief violence and intense bickering.
Part 13
Traveler could taste smoke as his mind slowly drifted back to consciousness. He was sure he could recognize the distinct taste, but his mind refused to cooperate.
He knew he had more important concerns than smoke, but the haze that filled his head clouded them. The more he struggled to focus on the fleeting thoughts, the farther away they seemed to move. He began to wonder if it was nothing more than a fading dream that he was trying to remember.
Oh well, he thought to himself as his mind began to clear, I’ll just ask Sara when…
“Sara!” Traveler yelled as he sat up suddenly. The motion made him lightheaded.
As his balance returned, Traveler found himself in an unfamiliar room. It was dark and a thin layer of white smoke seemed to hang throughout the air. Through the haze he could see an assortment of arcane artifacts, tomes, and trinkets. He knew he was at Daimon’s.
As he gingerly got to his feet, he wondered how long he had been asleep on the floor. If the pain in his back was any indication, he knew it had been a while. He arched his back slightly in an attempt to work out the kinks as he looked for Sara.
“Good, you’re finally up,” a firm voice called out behind Traveler.
Traveler turned to find Daimon standing in the doorway. His form was silhouetted by the light that flooded into the now open door.
“Where’s Sara?” Traveler asked, the concern evident in his voice.
“I don’t know,” Daimon said disinterestedly. “I found Strange for you, though.”
“The girl.” Traveler didn’t care about Strange. There were more important matters on his mind. “The one I came here with. Where is she?”
Daimon turned and walked back into the other room. “She’s gone,” he called out over his shoulder.
“Gone where?” Traveler demanded as he stalked after him. His mood was quickly deteriorating and he didn’t appreciate Daimon’s evasive attitude.
“Remember that thing that attacked you yesterday? Well, I sent it back to where it came from and she went with it.” Daimon made the explanation seem painfully simple.
Traveler rushed forward, unable to control his emotions any longer. He thrust his forearm into Daimon’s chest, forcing him back against the table behind him. His right hand formed a tight fist as he stared into Daimon’s red eyes.
“Where did you send her?” he asked in a cold, even voice.
“Take your hands off me, now!”
“Where is she!” Traveler yelled as he pushed Daimon harder.
With a snarl Daimon grabbed Traveler’s arm. He thrust his free hand into Traveler’s chest, releasing a burst of energy as he did. The blast knocked Traveler from his feet, sending him hard to the ground. Daimon was standing over Traveler before he could get up, his eyes blazing with a boundless fury.
“Strange is with Clea. Now get the hell out!” Daimon spat angrily as he glared at Traveler.
Traveler picked himself up off the ground. He was more than happy to oblige Daimon and leave. He knew that the man would not help him find Sara and he was tired of his company. He had more important things to do.
Storming out of the building, Traveler paused to survey the streets outside. The sun had just begun to set and the street appeared completely dry. He had been out longer than he expected.
Traveler hurried across the street to a nearby bus stop. He sat down on the bench with a sigh. Slowly he rubbed his eyes as he prepared.
He needed to find Sara. It had been too long and her trail was cold but he wouldn’t give up. He would find her no matter how long it took.
Slowing his breath into a rhythmic pattern, Traveler closed his eyes and settled back into the bench. Slowly his eyelids began to flicker as a multitude of planes and dimensions began to flash through his mind.
She was somewhere out there and he would find her.
__________Sara stared at Michael out of the corner of her eye. She wanted to look at him more closely, but she dared not give him her full attention. Each time she looked in his direction he tried to talk to her. She wasn’t in the mood.
She tossed another small pebble, watching as it bounced swiftly down the steep slope. It was her sole source of entertainment and it was quickly losing its appeal.
Michael perked up as Sara’s stomach groaned from hunger. “Are you hungry?” he asked eagerly.
Sara shot Michael a cold glance. “Does it matter? I can’t eat rocks.”
The sad look on Michael’s face brought Sara to the brink of an apology. She didn’t mean to be so bitter. Any apology she may have given quickly disappeared when she remembered that it was his fault she was there in the first place.
“So much for telling my mom everything would be fine,” she muttered under her breath as she tossed another pebble.
“What’s your mom like?” Michael asked as he overhead her.
Sara ignored him.
“I don’t remember my mom much,” Michael offered. “She died when I was young. She would have been proud of me I think.” A small smile spread across his face as he reminisced.
Sara snickered as she stared at Michael. “Your mother would be proud that your serve a madman and try to kill innocent girls?”
He simply nodded innocently. “It was her dying wish that Modred take me in. I’m here today because of both of them.”
Sara just shook her head as she tried to make sense of him. “Then why do you want to get away from him?”
“Because…” Michael’s mouth hung open as he tried to figure out his answered. “Because I don’t need him anymore,” he explained in a quiet voice. “You showed me that.”
“I didn’t show you anything,” she replied stubbornly. “I just hit you.”
Michael quickly crawled towards her, a gentle smile on his lips. “When you hit me, it did something to me,” he said excitedly as he touched the spot on his chest where she had hit him. “Everything is different now. Before, it would take all my self control to sit here without killing you. Now, I don’t want to kill you at all!”
Sara couldn’t decide whether she should feel relieved or horrified. She honestly didn’t believe he meant her any harm, but it was difficult to overcome her fears. She had seen him do too many horrible things to just brush them all aside.
She couldn’t help but wonder if she truly was capable of healing him of those tendencies. Maybe that was the power that Modred desired so much. It seemed the opposite of what someone like Modred would want, but she didn’t really understand everything that was happening. If only Dr. Strange had explained it to her, she might not be so confused.
“Will you at least try it?” Michael asked softly as he watched Sara stare off into the distance.
She groaned as Michael brought her back to reality. “I told you, I don’t know how to do it. It just happens when I need it.”
“Then try. If it doesn’t work then I won’t bother you about it anymore.”
Sara muttered under her breath, but he had a point. Pulling herself to her feet, she moved towards Michael. She looked into his unnerving red eyes for a moment before her gaze shifted down to his hands. Tentatively, she reached out and touched his left hand.
Nothing happened.
Sara shrugged. “I told you it wouldn’t work.”
“Wait!” Michael said quickly as Sara began to sit back down. Hurriedly he pulled off his plain black t-shirt. Throwing it aside, he turned his back to Sara. “Try again.”
Sara stared in shock at his back. A gruesome scar stretched from his right shoulder, across his back, and disappeared below the waist belt of his pants. She wondered what could have given him the dark, vicious looking scar, and how he possibly could have survived such a wound.
“Try doing it there,” Michael said helpfully as he tried to look over his shoulder at her.
She swallowed hard as she stared at Michael’s bare back. The sight sent a wide range of emotions rolling through her already troubled body. She didn’t understand all of them, but she found herself wanting to help him more than ever.
Slowly she reached out to him, her hand shaking slightly. Gently, her fingers found the dark skin of his massive scar.
Immediately, a brilliant light began to shimmer around her hand. The light quickly spread, traveling along the path of Michael’s scar. Soon, the entire scar shimmered like a mercurial lake of light. Gradually the light began to seep out of the deep scar as it spread throughout his entire body.
Michael’s back arched sharply as the light enveloped him. His well defined muscles flexed and relaxed as the pain traveled throughout his body. Despite the intense burning that flowed through every vein in his body, Michael never called out in pain and the smile never disappeared from his face.
Sara began to worry that she would hurt him, but she was unable to pull herself free. No matter how hard she pulled, the light that flowed from her fingers refused to subside. The energy that flowed between them pulled her towards him like a magnet.
She could no longer remember how long they had been in contact. It had seemed interminably long, but she suspected it hadn’t been long at all. Soon the light began to retreat from his form, flowing smoothly back into Sara. The sensation was both exhilarating and exhausting.
As the last motes of light disappeared into her body the pair fell to the ground. Neither moved other than their heaving chests as they struggled to regain their composure. While the effects had been different for both of them, the results proved to be quite similar.
Sara was the first to move as she slowly pulled herself up into a sitting position. She still felt lightheaded and the world seemed to dance about before her weary eyes, but she didn’t feel bad.
“Are you ok?” she asked weakly as he stared at Michael’s still form.
Her eyes widened in surprise as she glimpsed the dark scar that had once run across the length of his back. While the scar persisted, it had faded into a more natural pink. It no longer appeared unnaturally and wildly severe.
Michael slowly sat up, breaking Sara’s sight of the scar. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand as he tried to clear the haze from his reeling mind.
“I…” He paused as a look of confusion spread across his face. “I feel normal?”
He began to thrust his hands out swiftly in front of him. Much to his delight, nothing happened. There was no blood, no pain, and most importantly, no voices.
Before Sara could react, Michael turned and threw his arms around her. He embraced her tightly, burying his face into her shoulder.
Sara awkward returned the hug. While she didn’t mind the outpouring of happiness, she found herself somewhat confused to find herself in the arms of a half naked boy.
“So it worked?” Sara asked as she tried to disentangle herself from Michael grasp.
Michael stepped back and nodded briskly. “It did! I don’t hear the voices anymore – I don’t see the things they want me to do!”
Sara’s mouth hung open in shock as she stared at Michael. She hadn’t seen his face during his enthusiastic thank you and she hadn’t been prepared for the change. His once glowing, menacing red eyes were no more. They were normal once more. They were a soft, pale blue that Sara couldn’t help but find beautiful.
“What?” Michael asked nervously as he spied her expression. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s your eyes. They are normal.”
Michael reached up and touched his face. He wanted to see but he knew that would be impossible. He hadn’t even imagined that her power might restore his appearance as well.
Michael lurched forward and threw his arms around Sara once more. “Thank you so much. You have no idea how wonderful this is. I swear I will repay you.” He leaned back from her, his hands firmly gripping her arms. “I won’t let Modred hurt you, I promise,” he added in a determined voice.
“Get your hands off her!” a stern voice called out suddenly, starling both Sara and Michael.
Sara turned quickly, the voice triggering a wide range of emotions inside of her. Traveler stood nearby, anger and concern etched clearly on his normally happy face. His hands glowed with a pulsating purple light.
“Warren, wait,” Sara said urgently. She placed herself in front of Michael to protect him from Traveler’s imminent attack. “He isn’t trying to hurt me.”
“He’s the one that has been attacking us, Sara,” Traveler warned as he glared intently at Michael. “Don’t go near him.”
Sara glared angrily back at Traveler. “He’s different now. He’s not going to hurt us. Just look at his eyes.”
Traveler noticed Michael’s eyes for the first time. He noted that they were no longer red, but that didn’t mean much. He would need more proof before he could trust him. The physical wounds he had given him had healed, but not the psychological one.
Sara slowly approached Traveler. Stopping before him, she looked up into his eyes. “Please trust me on this. I cured him like I cured you. He doesn’t want to hurt us anymore.”
Traveler’s eyes remained glued on Michael. “How do you know this isn’t just a way to get you?”
“He’s not the same guy anymore. Just trust me. I know he won’t hurt anyone anymore.”
Traveler sighed as he looked at Sara for the first time. “Fine, but if he even looks at you wrong…”
“He won’t,” Sara quickly interrupted him.
The sour expression refused to leave his face as he looked back at Michael. Sara had hoped he would be more trusting, but she couldn’t blame him. He hadn’t seen and felt the things that she had. His transformation was far deeper than Traveler could understand.
“I found Strange. We should get to him as soon as possible.”
Sara smiled and motioned towards Michael. “That’s great! You can take both of us at the same time, right?”
“He’s coming too?” Traveler asked incredulously.
“Of course,” Sara said happily. “He knows more about Modred than any of us. With his help I’m sure Dr. Strange will be able to stop him and end all of this.”
Traveler watched Michael with a cold stare as he came to join them. “I guess you’re coming with us,” he said quietly. “If you make me regret this decision, I’ll make sure you regret it.”
“He’ll be good,” Sara promised quickly in order to prevent any problems. “Let’s just go. Where to?”
“Clea’s,” Traveler said simply as he took Sara and Michael’s hands. Without a sound all three disappeared.
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