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Literature Text
Advanced Dr. Strange No. 2: The Coming of Kaluu.
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[Narration box]: Reality as most of us know it is not the full and true reality. It is but a sliver of full on actual reality. What sets our reality true and distinct for us does not necessarily all hold true in other such planes [Show Shuma-Gorath's eye squinting]. Yet, these different realities do interact in ways that are complex. They also influence one another in ways that for the most part it would be better not to trouble yourself with. Those who did trouble themselves with it were regarded by a fearful outside as shamans, wizards, witches and sorcerers. Anytime you had whole societies that embraced this occult knowledge their own disaster usually loomed... entire "lost civilizations" have been born and died several times over yet have faded to obscurity from most history books. All that remains of those forgotten ages are a few intensely troubling occult artifacts. Talismans and obscura, curios which it is the job of secret orders and champions to procure, to keep safe, so that they do not fall into the wrong hands. Stephen Strange is one such champion. He is luckier than some of the other realm walkers [show a flustered Howard the Duck], he has not lost his humanity as did Ed Sallis (Show Manthing's head poking up out of the swampy murk) nor had to resort to an infernal pact like The Ghostrider [depict a cackling skull on fire].
Our story starts of all places, at an estate sale.
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Dr. Strange: "Wong, I'm sure it is as the eye had indicated."
Wong: "Well Doctor, the piece you have described sounds like a wand of Satannish. That is indeed troubling."
"Excuse me good fellows"... an older gentleman with a receding hairline and ornate-eastern looking (think c. Imperial China) cuffs on an otherwise indistinct looking business-suit approaches them.
"My sources tell me" he lowers his voice "that I would have chance to meet the new Sorcerer Supreme here today." Stephen is shocked he'd be called out like that.
"Oh, don't seem so surprised you'd be recognized" the man continues "I read it from your aura, plus the Eye of Agamotto you wear gives off a distinctive signature."
Strange isn't convinced but Wong's eyes flash in sudden recognition of the stranger. Wong grasps Strange's arm. The stranger finishes up "I was a contemporary of your late instructor." "Who are you?" Strange asks trying to muster up some authority. Something is off and dark about this person. Kaluu looks to where Dr. Strange and Wong were facing and then notices they are eyeing the Wand of Satannish. "Why, how rude of me not to properly introduce myself. I am Kaluu, known in The Order as a proclaimed master of black magic." Kaluu pauses and picks up the wand from the pile of other trinkets for sale. "Ah. How wise of you to spot this." He chuckles "I'd placed it there personally as a test to see how well you were suited to the duties my late friend has tasked you with." Wong whispers to Strange: "I don't like this."
Strange: "Agreed Wong, I feel it irresponsible to place such a powerful and dangerous item in a place where just anyone may pick it up."
Kaluu: Gentlemen, please, where are my manners... There is actually a purpose to my visit. I came to New York in order to pay my last respects to the Ancient One. He was my rival at one point when we were both younger, yes, but to his last breath I had the utmost respect for him. A sort of... admiration if you will. Please, at least have lunch with me. We've things to discuss." He gestures to a car where he has his own private driver. "Do come."
Stephen raises an eyebrow but Wong simply shrugs. Wong (To Strange): "No harm I guess." Strange: Sure, why not?"
Kaluu: "Oh and do take that wand with you. You certainly wouldn't want your standard Joe Average doing something crazy like calling up the arch-demon Satannish."
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They go to an upscale restaurant in Chinatown where Kaluu has made reservations. The Matre' D shows them to a table in a private room. They look at their menus and order some appetizers.
Kaluu: "Wong, good to see you are looking well." Wong starts to glare a bit but then regains composure "Kaluu."
Dr. Strange: "You say you knew the Ancient One?" Kaluu: "Yes, he and I do go back quite a long time. We'd both trained under the same master as young men."
He realizes they have yet to take a single bite. "Wong, and..." He hasn't asked Stephen's name yet. Strange provides it. "Stephen." Kaluu: "Yes, Stephen, won't you two try some of the duck's feet in vinegar? I rather do like Eastern food and that's a dish the Ancient One and I both often enjoyed as students. The point of dim sum is to share."
They each break their chopsticks and dish up from the pile of exotic delicacies which the waiter has brought to the table. While Wong and Dr. Strange are chewing Kaluu drops a bomb on them: "Yes, he tells me you are doing fine Stephen thus far."
Dr. Strange almost spits out a little bit of the sweet-meat he had been sampling to be polite. "How is that possible Kaluu? I saw him get murdered by Karl Mordo."
Kaluu laughs good-naturedly. "I am a master of black magic. That covers several dark arts, including necromancy." Strange: "You mean,...?" Kaluu: "Yes, I can commune with the spirits of the dead. In fact," He dabs his face with a napkin "If you like, after lunch I can hold a seance if you'd like to speak to him one last time from beyond the grave." His eyes dart down to the tray at their table and his face furrows a bit. "Wong, you are going to let the hot fish eyes get cold."
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After lunch they go their separate ways, Strange and Wong back to the Sanctum Sanctorum and Kaluu to the Hotel which he is staying at.
(In the parlor) Wong: "Master, I don't like this."
Strange: "Wong, he seems friendly enough and he did treat us to a free lunch. What's eating you man?"
Wong: "It's like this. The magical community is one which can be very competitive and cutthroat. I knew your teacher for many many years when I was his servant before you were the Sorcerer Supreme and he had always told me to never fully trust Kaluu."
Strange: "So I'll be careful. He's invited me to come up to his hotel room this evening for that seance."
Wong facepalms.
Strange: "I can use that as an opportunity to look for clues about what he is really up to."
Wong: Must a butler's duties be so long-suffering? "Very well sir."
Meanwhile, at the hotel room:
Kaluu is talking to the projected image of a dreadful entity that has appeared to him through the glow of some magic coals in a lit brazier as a communication medium.
This being is Satannish, a green, horned great beast of a humanoid figure with a secondary face in his chest that both have yellow eyes. The face in his chest seems to be perpetually holding a fanged grin.
Kaluu: "Satannish, my plan has worked all accordingly so far."
Satannish: "You mean our plan, foolish mortal." Kaluu scoffs "I have used magic to transcend the normal limitations of the human lifespan and am several centuries old, have you forgotten, what with being cooped up in your extradimensional prison so long?"
Satannish: "Silence! You realize that inspite of your being a skilled dark magician, that is still little more than a fleck of spit to the cosmic speck you and other human magi are to a hell-lord such as myself. My cult has been doing most of the legwork in torturing the soul of the Ancient One. I gave to you the one task of turning Earth's Sorcerer Supreme so that I may appear on Earth once more. Perhaps I should have given it to one of my disciples like Asmodeus?" Kaluu: "Patience, oh foul one." Kaluu retrieves a crystal ball from a drawer and we see that it has the Ancient One's spirit imprisoned/entrapped inside it.
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Kaluu (To Stephen) : "I would prefer that you not refer to them as the black arts."
Dr. Strange: "Are you sure it is wise to call upon evil?"
Kaluu: "Listen, without darkness there can be no light. The idea that everyone who practices black magic is evil is hilariously naive. Especially considering there are those who would consider any magic at all to be a sign of evil. It is little more than simply a means to an end my lad. Dark, light, it really does not matter so much."
Kaluu sets a small round table up for the ritual. "In fact, it was at behest of your former master that I contact you. He tells me your training in the mystic arts was cut short by his untimely demise. I could teach you some spells, to further enrich your sorcerous abilities."
Dr. Strange: "I don't... know." Kaluu: "Such hesitation Stephen. Would you like to hear it from him himself?" He turns to face the crystal ball and holds his hands out in front of it. "I call forth the posthumous spirit of this man's dead teacher." (turning back towards Dr. Strange) : "Make it quick though, holding open a temporary leyline between the avenues of the living and the dead takes a great deal of energy." What he doesn't know is I am exerting my will on the Ancient One to make him say what I want him to.
Dr. Strange: "Master, is that you?"
The Ancient One speaks in a slow and deliberate manner: "Yes Stephen, and I trust Kaluu has forwarded to you how I am pleased with how you are doing as the Sorcerer Supreme."
Dr. Strange: "He has sir."
Ancient one: "I am owed a favor by him. Being dead it is useless to me, and as I do not particularly wish to be brought back to this mortal coil as a corporeal undead, I've asked him to continue your magical training in my stead." Kaluu strains. It is taking a good deal more of his power to control the Ancient One than he had initially thought it would. For a brief moment the spell falters a bit. Ancient one: "Just be careful that you are not corrupted by the black mag-..." Kaluu lets go of his access to the leyline while feigning that it was the effort was far too great. Kaluu: "Where do we begin?"
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Wong: "I don't like it." He is less than pleased that Kaluu has invited himself over to the Sanctum Sanctorum but being ever the dutiful servant brought in Kaluu's bags anyway.
Kaluu: "Stephen, I thank you for your hospitality. If you could show me to the Ancient One's collection of books, there is one I think we will find to be particularly useful. I will base most of the lessons I give you from spells in the Book of Vishanti. Consider that your primer. These will be supplemented by exercises in black sorcery from one of my books, the DarkHold." Strange looks a bit shocked. Kaluu: "What's with that look? I figure for certain that some of your wizard enemies would not hesitate to use dark magic. One may as well fight fire with fire."
Later, over tea...
[In the study]
Kaluu: "You mean you actually went to the Dark Dimension and grappled with Dormammu?"
Dr. Strange clutches the Eye of Agamotto.
"Yes Kaluu, as proof I have this." with his other hand Stephen gestures to the cloak of levitation.
Kaluu: "Quite impressive for a neophyte." Then, to himself: Realm-walking? And with so little experience? No wonder the Ancient One chose him to be his successor. With raw talent like that... he might be able to give some of the Old Ones... No, it is too early to know for certain. He might well last a few minutes against one of them though. With some more training...
Dr. Strange: "Dge rgan*," Stephen has set down the eye and takes up a pen and scribbles down a drawing on a piece of paper "what can you tell me about this being?"
Kaluu picks up the paper, examining it closely then his eyes dilate in surprise. He drops it. "T-that... is Shuma Gorath."
Footnote: *Tibetan for teacher or tutor.
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Wong is clearing the tea set from the room.
Kaluu: "Stephen, I must apologize for not being up front with you."
Wong wrinkles his nose like he'd stepped in a dog turd and then snorts. It wouldn't be the first time.
Kaluu chooses to ignore it and continues "As by now you know, in order to make the jump from novice to adept and for masters too, a sorcerer must form a bond of association with at least one from among a host of powerful entities. I will admit, when I first met you, my aim was to corrupt you onto the dark path." He coughs. "I now believe though, that you will be a strong enough candidate magus to use both dark and light magic with great strength. To continue with where I was leading with this though, a sorcerer supreme has to know about many types of magic. Consider this next exercise to be a sort of a field trip. It will be very dangerous so keep your wits about you."
Dr. Strange: "I don't quite understand Kaluu." Kaluu raps him on the head. "That association, it is but one of many. You see, in evoking and entreating various entities to cast one's magic, you will meet many strange extradimensional denizens. To better understand dark magic, I would suggest you, hrrrm."
Dr. Strange: "What is it Dge rgan?"
Kaluu sighs. "...You will have to consort with 'devils'." He explains: "In my quest for greater power and understanding in the supposed 'black arts' across my journeys I coalesced to make a Faustian bargain with one such being, Satannish."
Wong is upset, turns his back and clutches the table.
Kaluu continues: "You successfully negotiated with an Old One when you survived meeting Shuma Gorath. Arch demons are a different manner of beast though. For your first dealings with a devil I have chosen a weaker HellLord... Mephisto. He is still quite dangerous but certain recent events in the Nether-Realm, events in which the various HellLords have carried out civil wars... have left him weak enough that you might survive."
Dr. Strange: "What do I need to conjure up such an entity?"
Kaluu: "That is easy enough... I have procured for you a stick of chalk made from the ground 300 year old bones of warlocks." Kaluu retrieves it from his sleeve. "Before I show you the incantation ritual though, I must explain something to you about demons." Kaluu has an expression of increased concern on his face. "Stephen, they subsist on human souls. That much of mythology and religion tends to be accurate. What makes an archdemon particularly strong is not the simple devouring of souls, it is that he or she, it... collects them. An archdemon derives strength from their supply of souls which they have available to torture. The stronger a soul is, the more power the archdemon gets from it. They syphon a bit of vitality from the soul at a time."
Dr. Strange: "A HellLord then, must have access to more of these souls than lesser demons. A great many even."
Kaluu: "That is correct slab grwa ba*." Kaluu paces around the room. "At your current level Stephen, you cannot hope to defeat a HellLord but there is something particular to Arch demons, They've an aversion to particular arcane symbols." He draws a few of them out of glowing light in the air in front of them, as though holding a candle or glowstick using the tip of his finger. "In theory..."
Footnote: *Tibetan for student or 'my disciple'. - Loquacious Luke.
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Wong: "You cannot mean to suggest_?!" Kaluu: "Ah,"
Wong: "That is far too dangerous."
Kaluu: "I have noted your concern Wong but is this not a suitable challenge for the Earth's Sorcerer Supreme?"
Wong sighs.
Besides Kaluu muses If I help Strange become strong enough, that will kill two birds with one stone. He may be able to take on Satannish,thus freeing me from the obligations of our infernal contract.
Back in his personal study...
Strange (to himself): According to Kaluu's lecture, the best hope I have against an archdemon is sealing it. I wonder though... every foe has a weakness to exploit. It's risky, but... perhaps by pitting two powerful foes against one another I can get them each to take each other out.
Kaluu enters. "How go your studies slab grwa ba?" Kaluu strokes his own chin in interest as he examines one from among a pile of papers all covered in arcane and esoteric figures. The symbols are a mixture of languages flowing in and out of each other... a combination of math and runes with words analytically dissected to show their Latin and greek roots before transversing into geometric designs of hexagrams and pentacles with lines of ancient Hebrew, sanskrit and a few words of Phoenician Cuneiform following along the illustrations. Kaluu is again impressed. By the creator and destructor, my word! In a few more years he might be able to start putting together his own grimoire.
Strange: "Dge rgan, I'm a bit stumped by this one alchemical equation," Strange lifts his quil and averts his gaze from the math and linguistics to show his necromantic tutor.
Kaluu: "An interesting application Stephen. For that I would suggest using a portal spell like one found in the original Egyptian Book of the Dead."
Strange eyes the telephone. Kaluu: "I'm afraid that won't do you much good lad. The version I refer to cannot be found in any library for it was lost during the fire in the Great Library of Alexandria thousands of years ago. Do not fret though, mages had transcribed it to several other tomes in anticipation that the library would be razed."
He pulls a bit of parchment from within his coat pocket. "Try forming derivative expressions from this."
Strange: "Thank you Dge Rgan, but I..."
Kaluu: "Would you like a hint, boy? Throw hieroglyphs into the mix. The pictures themselves are less important than the phonemes. When phonetically broken down each syllable has a particular numerical value..."
Strange: "...and it simply becomes a matter of balancing the equations on each side?"
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Kaluu: "Well, for the time being more or less, yes. Calling it simple however, would not be doing it justice."
Strange: Who knew that magic would have this much math in it? I hope I can remember enough calculus to describe limits in functions.
Dr. Strange toils over preparation for the summoning ritual. His composing of the particular incantation complete, there is still the arrangement of incense, candles and crafting of symbols to go through. With Kaluu supervising Strange uses the special chalk to construct unicursal geograms and bits of phrases in ancient languages. At last it is ready.
Kaluu: "One of the most important things to remember when dealing with conjuring of demons is the specific banishing spell that is particular to each one. ...A sloppily composed banishment can have erratic consequences."
Strange: "It is done. I SUMMON THEE... MEPHISTO!"
A tiny nugget of brimstone appears in the center of the circular diagram on the floor. It glows brighter and spreads until the whole of the circle has become a patch of illusory lava. Ill-colored smoke tendrils coil lazily out from the brim circle and sweep into themselves above its surface. They sprout faces that are contorted in expressions of pain and misery and emit a dull moan... all while taking a shape and condensing into a solid form until they become Mephisto. The red tights wearing and bestalkinged imp prince is sitting cross legged and with an index finger resting on his chin in amusement as his red eyes dart from one part of the room to the other. His keen pointed ears take in his surroundings as his tattered crimson cloak flutters lazily though there is no wind. Mephisto: "Very interesting"
Dr. Strange: "Don't get any funny ideas fiend," Strange his hands in casting gestures "or I'm warning you, I can just as easily send you back to your crisis at home."
Mephisto: "So this is the Earth's new Sorcerer Supreme? Somehow I'd imagined he'd be a bit larger of stature." Mephisto measures Strange visually between the span of his outspread fingers. "Tall enough not to disappoint though." Dr. Strange is a bit taken aback. Mephisto looks down at the summoning circle. "Ah, heh heh... your construction of a conjuration ritual is a bit sloppily done... My guess is that you've not been involved with the world of mystic arts for very long."
Kaluu: "In case you get cocky Mephistopheles, I am here to provide insurance that you do not try any tricks."
Mephisto: "Gentlemen, gentlemen, such formality and harshness, my feelings are hurt."
Kaluu: "Save your crocodile tears archfiend."
Mephisto perks up. "Oh good, call me Mephisto and we shall do some business."
Dr. Strange: "Not so fast demon, I will state the terms of this negotiation."
Mephisto cracks a grin, his smile showing off pointed canines and he claps his hands in eagerness. His hands are wearing dirty gloves (also red) that long fingernails manage to poke out from the edges of at each fingertip. Mephisto (to Kaluu): Gesturing with a thumb pointing at Strange "I think I like this one. He likes to get to the point. What can I do you for?"
Kaluu: "Steady Stephen, don't let yourself get distracted. Maintain your focus at all cost!"
Dr. Strange: "Mephisto, what can you tell me about one of the other HellLords? Do you know one by the name of Satannish?"
Mephisto throws his head back and does a belly laugh from his gut. He looks to be about to cry from laughing so hard but then quickly regains his composure.
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Mephisto: "You mean to tell me you two dragged me all the way out from my own infernal realm just for a bit of a looky loo? A who's-who of the damnation neighborhood? Seriously? I'm sorry but you magician types these days amuse me a little too much." Dr. Strange gives him a dead eye stare, his hands still trained on Mephisto ready to fire arcane bolts at the Archdemon should he fall out of line. Mephisto continues: "Couldn't you have just looked it up in a basic primer on demonology?"
Dr. Strange: "I am quickly beginning to lose patience, good" at the word good Mephisto winces a bit "or-should-I-say bad sir."
Kaluu: "The thinking was my pupil would learn about archdemons better from interviewing one of Hell's denizens first hand."
Mephisto: "And I suppose even though that Asgardian/Vanir/Aesir bitch Hela would be just as ideal a candidate and doesn't have that much going on, that you happened to settle on choosing little old me, instead." He grins again. "I'm flattered." Mephisto's eyes narrow to slits and two miniscule puffs of smoke exit his now flared nostrils. "You do realize this is taking me away from a war I am involved in" he makes a sweeping gesture with an arm "down there."
Kaluu: "Yes, but I believe we have a proposition that may make it worth your while Mephisto."
Mephisto: "I'm listening."
Dr. Strange: "How would you like to have a chance for payback and to settle an old score?"
Mephisto: "This appeals to me. Do either of you care to explain?"
Kaluu: "Your old competitor, Satannish."
Mephisto: "Oh good, that blowhard." He turns to Strange doing a 'pssst' gesture with a hand over his mouth while suppressing a giggle "You know how some people can either talk or listen? The guy has two mouths. Not the sharpest bulb in the garden."
Dr. Strange: "My tutor tells me that you two archfiends have a bit of a personal history together."
Mephisto glares. "Hah! That's putting it lightly. I taught him most of what he knows and how does that ingrate bastard repay me? He tries to depose me and takes most my territory during this most recent demonic civil war! Really burns my brimstone and fries my ass."
Kaluu: "This next part is tricky Stephen, for leylines can only handle so much flux." Mephisto poofs in a puff of smoke and reappears at the edge of the summoning circle closest to the two sorcerers. "What are you guys whispering about?"
Dr. Strange: "Mr. Devil... we can help you defeat Satannish in exchange for one simple thing."
Kaluu: "When you take over, absolve me of the contract I had made with him." Mephisto wickedly smirks. "I like it. I'm in."
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Kaluu summons up Satannish using the wand of Satannish. The room darkens. In contrast to Mephisto's wispy build and lankiness, Satannish is a musclebound brute.
Satannish: "Ah, Kaluu, you bring me one of my enemies... I am very pleased."
Dr. Strange: Kaluu, you would trick me?!"
Kaluu: "there isn't time for that now, Strange, help me manifest the barrier to keep our two combatants contained."
Mephisto: "I'm not going anywhere." He chortles. "Hahahaha. Not yet. Wouldn't miss this fight for much of anything."
Satannish's lower face spits out the word "Puny" directed at Mephisto while the bulky demon gets his massive frame into a combat stance. Satannish: "Let's do this."
The next panel shows Mephisto and Satannish rushing at each other uttering battlecries, which for Satannish involves more of a roar, drowning out Mephisto's. They grapple.
Mephisto is the lighter and more agile of the two demons. As he dodges Satannish's blows and mystic beams he looks to the sidelines. Mephisto (to Strange and Kaluu): "Any-time now, guys". When either arch demon strays too close to the edge of the circle they react as though subjected to a painful shock. This is caused by the wards keeping them in the fighting ring. Likewise an invisible barrier seems to be absorbing the excess kinetic force and stray magic attacks to keep the match between the two arch fiends inside of the containment ring.
Satannish and Mephisto continue to shower each other with blows. Every so often Satannish slams Mephisto against the walls of the magical barrier or Mephisto will trip Satannish into going headlong into the edges with a well placed sweep kick. Bits of insulation material from the ceiling fall down. The containment field is buckling.
Kaluu: I sense the restraints beginning to weaken. We won't be able to maintain the mystic cage much longer. "Stephen, I will do what I can to afford you a bit more time, ready your gambit."
Dr. Strange: "Mephisto, now!"
Mephisto struggles around out of the pin Satannish has him in and scrabbles, squirming and climbing his way on top of the larger demon's back. He tries to hold the two-faced fiend's arms in a double arm bar... An ultimately ineffectual gesture since Satannish is now raging in a physical rush assault like an oncoming train towards the weakest part of the barrier.
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"I've got to say, I don't like this part of the plan much!" Mephisto cries as Satannish gets dangerously closer to the two sorcerers who are straining. Kaluu is putting his all into holding the form of the conjuration circle together while Strange utters a new incantation (Strange's speech balloon has strange symbols in it between odd placements of punctuation and apostrophes to indicate a weird ancient language. Satannish has lifted Mephisto up by the neck with one large hand while Mephisto tries to choke Satannish using both arms. Despite still being in the midst of strangling each other Mephisto and Satannish realize they've been had as they each start to fade: "You tricked us?!" Dr. Strange continues chanting. Kaluu: "I hope you're ready to end this little foray soon." The barrier cracks as the symbols on the floor have gotten smeared. "I can't contain the demons any longer." Closeup on Dr. Strange's face. His eyes widen. There are drops of sweat on his face and flecks of spittle fly from his mouth as he exclaims out an arcane cryptogram. His eyes light up while dark clouds manifest above the two combatants and amass together as they continue to wrestle. Then a purple lightningbolt crackles striking Mephisto and Satannish. In the next panel we see the smoke clearing and where there had been two archdemons there is now one hideous three headed monstrosity instead. Each of the outer two heads is smaller and crowned by a half of Satannish's horns while the center one is larger and has a face comprised of a combination of Mephisto and Satannish's features.
Kaluu: "You fused them together? This seems rather reckless slab grwa ba." The merged entity laughs. 'Satannisto/Mephistish': "Bwahaha! I feel stronger than ever, thanks to you!"
Strange's brow furrows as he lets fly a dueling attack spell: "Deadly Daggers of Daveroth!" A volley of bright red isosceles and scalene triangles burst from the air directly in front of Strange's hands. The fused demonic entity deflects it with a casual sweep of one arm. One of the arcane daggers hits Strange stabbing him in the eye.
Dr. Strange: "Argh!" He clutches that side of his face with one hand and struggles to stay conscious. The loss of blood is effecting his balance and senses but he manages to stagger his way into the summoning circle and forces his other arm into an evocation pose. Though weakened Strange extends his arm towards the fused arch demon and his hand glows, readying a final attack. Mephistish yanks Strange's arm he'd been clutching his with breaking it then grabs Strange by the scruff of his collar before he has time to react while he is still distracted by the pain and throws him against the wall. Strange's impact breaks some of the decorative paneling and he collapses into the crumpled broken drywall behind it. Mephistish strides over to his ruined foe to gloat over his victory. Dr. Strange: "..."
Mephistish's expression changes though when he sees that Strange is smiling and that the glowing eldritch energy emanating from his nonbroken arm is still there humming. "Foolish mortal! I will rend you limb from limb!" Mephistish sprouts a saw-like skeletal knife from his arm with a sickening pop noise to make good on his promise. It has grotesque details of bones and skull shaped decorations within the blade part.
Dr. Strange has opened his good eye and looks away past his lumbering foe to the trinkets and effects on the unsmashed-in wall facing opposite them. The Cloak of Levitation moves of its own accord like a magic carpet, flying up from where it was hanging against the wall and blocks the blade from striking Dr. Strange. It wraps itself around Mephistish constricting him, binding tighter and tighter. There is a brief silence.
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It isn't over.
Mephistish bursts from the cloak ripping it apart with raw physicality in a volley of tearing motions. Strange's good eye and the socket both glow brightly and have smoke-ish miasma trail from them as he rises up from where he'd been pummeled into the wall. Hovering a few inches off the ground, glowing arcane symbols form around him while he clutches his bad arm with his good arm. The Sorcerer Supreme makes his way towards Mephistish and shouts out "WITH THIS I BANISH YOU TO WHENST YOU CAME!"
a portal opens from the floor and a bunch of zombified arms (the owners of the arms are obscured but coming from within the rift) reach out from the dimensional gateway grabbing onto Mephistish pulling him back in with them as he struggles against them while a swarm of tiny imps with batlike wings poke and prod at Strange, Mephistish and Kaluu. The force of exertion to open this portal causes Dr. Strange to faint. From the edge of the portal one of Mephistish's large arms grabs onto Strange's leg. Mephistish: "I will take you down with me!" The cloud of swarming imps are making it hard for Kaluu to see. He conjures up a golden staff and strikes the imps down, forcing a path and making his way to where Mephistish is trying to pull Dr. Strange down to Hell with him. A quick sharp strike to Mephistish's wrist with the staff gets the archfiend to release his grip on Strange as more zombified hands and small imps clutch onto Mephistish, dragging him down into the infernal depths. The knocked out imps fade away and the conscious ones go back to the hole. The portal seals while Mephistish yells. "NOOoooo....!!!"
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Narration box: Later:
Kaluu slaps Dr. Strange's face a few times. He comes to finding himself propped up on his bed in his bedroom. Strange's head and eye socket are bandaged. His broken arm is in a sling and we see now for the first time in detail that there are the characteristic grayish-white shocks in his hair and goatee.
Kaluu: "A spell of Dispellation? That was very interesting. Reckless, but interesting."
Dr. Strange: "What happened?"
Wong is also in the room. Wong: "We carried you to your room after the fight."
Strange: "No, what happened to..."
Kaluu: "The devils? They are back in the infernal realm now."
Dr. Strange: "Oh." Kaluu's serene expression shifts to one of anger: "Do you have any idea what you've done now though?!"
Dr. Strange: "Well, we'll need somebody like a carpenter to repair the damage to the wall, for one thing."
Wong: "I've already sent for one; I told him there'd been a drinking party that got out of hand."
Kaluu: "Stephen, do the math." Dr. Strange: "Do I have to? My head is pounding." He gets a glass of water brought by Wong from the nightstand and takes a few sips before adding "...something fierce too."
Kaluu reaches for Strange's shoulders and starts shaking him "What in the heavens and hells were you thinking to open the gates of Hell so wide?"
Dr. Strange: "I didn't know exactly what to call a fused demonic composite being so I altered the spell I was going to use to send Mephisto back."
He continues "I figured since equilibrium is the most natural state, opening a rift between worlds would compel that entity to go back one way or another."
Kaluu sighs and asks Wong to turn on a television in the room. An announcer on the screen is reporting. Announcer: "News reports all over the world are coming in about for want of a better word, a surge in monster sightings."
Page 15:
There is a rumbling in the bathroom pipes of the Daily Bugle. Horrible crawling bug-like eye creatures and writhing masses of unnatural tentacled snakes enter through the sinks and toilets, more and more until they burst from the walls at those points haven broken the plumbing. the building is covered in them and everybody is shin deep in small monsters. For the most part they seem to be more of an annoyance than a threat though as they chirp and screech. J. Jonah Jameson is furious and tries to insist Spider-man has something to do with it.
There are a series of horizontally split panels with a small picture of the televised newscaster from the previous page reporting the events on the upper half and scenes on the bottom half. Panel 1: Upper panel: Reporter: "These 'things' have been pouring out of sewers and caves, swamps and subways. The earliest sightings came in this afternoon." Lower panel: Spider-man is shown webbing up goblin-like imps that have crawled out from a storm drain and are grasping onto pedestrians trying to bite and scratch. Panel 2: Reporter: "People are advised to remain inside with their doors and windows locked for the time being." Lower panel: Riot police in S.W.A.T. uniforms are trying to stave back a throng of ogres that are blocking road traffic in main street. Panel 3: Upper panel: Reporter: "Could this be a sign? Is it the apocalypse? Fundamentalist groups all over would like to think so." The lower panel of panel 3 is split vertically into some subpanels: A street preacher is shown yelling at people about the "End of Days as prophecied in the Bible" While Johny Blaze at a distance and in sunglasses puts out a cigarette he'd been smoking and disappears into an alleyway. Then the GhostRider suddenly appears from the alleyway! The preacher points at him and rants about damnation. "Go back foul creature, to your infernal master! Begone!" GhostRider knocks the preacher out of the way from being trampled by an oncoming stampede of bugbears surging out from the subway tunnel entrance that they are near. Ghostrider: "Shut the hell up." Panel 4: Upper panel: Reporter: "The reports keep pouring in from different cities. Apparently these monsters are attacking people both in the city and in the country." Lower panel: At a farm Manthing is shown pushing a slobbering chupacabra-like devil that is trying to steal a cow away while a terrified farmer looks on clutching his shotgun. Panel 5: Upper panel: Reporter: "Truly these are troubled times." Lower panel: Elsewhere Iron fist is shown punching a monster with bat-like wings in the face.
Page 16:
Strange clicks off the TV with the remote using his good arm.
Wong: "It isn't all bad though master." Dr. Strange and Kaluu: "How do you mean?"
Wong: "There was a package, some gift left for in the mail."
Kaluu with both hands and Strange with the hand of his one good arm open the box and a letter flutters out. It has been written on a ragged parchment as though by hand but what it has been written with is not a pen. The words and letters appear to have been burned on the note and it smells of sulfur. A metallic glassy sphere clinks inside the box. The Letter reads: Dear Sorcerer Supreme, as thanks for helping me best my foe I have here something I know will be of value to you. Don't count on me doing this again. I was tempted to eat the delicious soul several times and had to go to some trouble to wrest it away from the Sons of Satannish. Cheers, Mephisto.
P.S.: Try breaking it to open it.
Dr. Strange throws the orb to the ground with his good arm and it cracks open to reveal... the Spectral Form of the Ancient One!
Even though he is a spirit, the Ancient One gasps as though it had been difficult to breath inside the bizarre egg. Ancient one: "I thank you for freeing me" he says looking around "but," his expression turns to one of dismay "At what cost Stephen? This is troubling my son."
Strange looks up at the ghostly form of his former teacher. The Ancient One explains: "No, not the monsters, although that is certainly bad. You've allowed yourself to be tainted by the darkness. Kaluu, that was probably your plan all along..."
Kaluu: "I'll admit, yes." He then tries to defend his choice of actions. "Ancient One, Stephen does still retain the title of Sorcerer Supreme. I was put between a rock and a hard place by Satannish." The Ancient One coughs "As was I, although more literally. Yes, Stephen Strange, you are still Sorcerer Supreme. I must warn you though, that your foray into dark magic and the touch of its corrupting influence will limit things..."
Dr. Strange: "How so?" Ancient One: "As punishment for opening the gates of Hell, The Vishanti will not allow you to be able to use light magic to its full effect again until you have your soul cleansed." Dr. Strange: "Really master?" Ancient One: "Ask your guardian Agamotto." The visage of Agamotto projects from the Eye of Agamotto. Agamotto: "Indeed, your old teacher speaks truth. You must atone for the dimensional chaos you have created, lest the world fall prey to the foul beings your careless actions have allowed entrance to this world to."
Dr. Strange: "And how should I go about that?"
Ancient One: "Kaluu, help him rid the world of these hellspawn his reckless mistake has released."
Kaluu: "I do suppose it is the least I could do."
Ancient One: "Indeed old friend."
Agamotto: "Silence. I and the other Vishanti will hold the soul of your Ancient One as collateral while we deliberate about whether you need to be punished further. We will continue watching you... and if we are satisfied, at that point we will let you have your full power back. Also, we will not prevent said soul from obtaining ultimate oneness with the universe." Ancient One: "That would be nice." Agamotto and the Ancient One go back into the amulet and the Eye closes with a certain seeming amount of permanence.
Page 17:
Narration box: Over the next several days Kaluu trained Dr. Strange in how to effectively manipulate and wield black magic more proficiently. The training was quite intense and did not let up for a moment, inspite of his injuries, both physical and mystical. His Eye of Agamotto now useless to him, Dr. Strange is forced to resort to rituals in order to travel between dimensions. This is much more taxing on him than use of the Eye was but through Kaluu's strict regimen, Strange finds himself becoming stronger. During the day Kaluu has him practicing spells. At night they go on demon hunting runs which are exercises in more safer banishment incantations. It continued like this for awhile until, one day...
Kaluu: "Congratulations slab grwa ba, I have taught you the sum of what I can teach you."
Dr. Strange: "Thank you Dge rgan."
Kaluu: "Since your normal amulet is not usable to you right now, I have another that I will let you borrow. It's a powerful and primal-dread artifact forged by the Old Ones." Kaluu fetches a small locked box and turns the key to open it. "This is called the Wings of Needless Sorrow."
Dr. Strange: "How does it work?" Kaluu: "Well, the basics are it feeds off of people's negativity. You can use it much like your other amulet to block and deflect, even to absorb mystical attacks that are thrown at you but it comes at a cost." He holds it up to Dr. Strange and the panel shows a polished piece of jewelry sitting between Kaluu's two good eyes and Dr. Strange's one good eye (the other has an eye patch over it). The amulet has been constructed from a single seamless piece of dark grayish blue metal molded in the stylized shape of a swooping bat that has its wings raised. "Users of the Wings experience a certain amount of dread and despair. It hungers Stephen, so it draws out people's worse feelings. The ones they would naturally bottle up. Prolonged use of it can result in madness and death by suicide. You see, an entire paleolithic civilization from before the time of the Aztecs at one point used this amulet so much in their wizard battles that they became too reliant on it."
Dr. Strange: "Kaluu, what happened to that civilization?" [Show Lemuria collapsing].
Kaluu shrugs dismissively "They committed mass suicide. It has been traveling from different hands throughout the ages since then." He hands the Wings of Needless Sorrow to Dr. Strange. "It is primeval and older than man. Use it carefully adept, as a master of black magic would."
Wong and Kaluu agree to continue capturing demonlings and to mind the Sanctum Sanctorum while Dr. Strange is gone, since he decides to take the damaged Cloak of Levitation back to Enitharmon in the Dark Dimension for mending.
Dr. Strange: While I'm here I may as well train with Clea and their sorcerers to continue getting stronger. I just barely beat that fused HellLord and it nearly killed me. Hey, I wonder how she is doing?
Page 18:
Narration box: In the palace that used to belong to Dormammu:
Clea: "Oh my love! What has happened to you?!"
Dr. Strange relates his tale of what had transpired to her while Enitharmon scowls and examines the scraps of his Cloak of Levitation.
Enitharmon: "Doctor, this will take me some time to repair. It is a difficult task which I do not appreciate having above my normal workload."
Clea glares at Enitharmon. Enitharmon: "Er, I will be happy to mend it for you but I would urge you to help me some by learning spellweaving. It is a form of magic you are not yet accustomed to." He coughs "My other weaver mages are busy at their soul looms making warp cloth, so I could use the assistance."
Narration box: Things seemed uneventful for Dr. Strange over the next few days in the Dark Dimension until Clea dropped a bomb on him. Not literally.
Clea: "Stephen, I'd like you to meet my mother."
Dr. Strange: "I thought your mother was dead?"
Clea: "We all did. It was propaganda by Olnar." She explains "Shortly after you left, we'd discovered she'd been being kept prisoner by him."
Narration box: From that point on, though being in the company of Clea, who likes him a great deal, Stephen found his joy at the idyllic new temporary lifestyle offered to him by his retreat in the for a change peaceful Dark Dimension being tempered by a certain grimness. During the day he would spend part of the time in the court of Clea and her mother Umar, socializing with those in their circles (the fashion of his Earth clothing in particular seemed to arouse curiosity amongst courtiers) and the rest of the time learning what he could from court magicians and Enitharmon. At night though, The Wings of Needless Sorrow would twinkle, oftentimes keeping him awake or otherwise causing him to awake from sleep and reminding him of how he still had responsibilities back at his real home on Earth. He began to resent it and found himself coming to feel some bitterness toward his real home.
Dr. Strange: "Why should I go back to a place that would deny me happiness, when I've a relationship with a beautiful woman and respect from people here?"
Clea hears part of that while changing clothes from behind a curtain. "What was that?"
Dr. Strange: "Nothing dear!"
Page 19:
Dr. Strange, Clea and Umar are having a celebratory feast with Enitharmon in the palace over Strange's progress at spellweaving, to congratulate him on finally crafting a working Lesser Cloak of Levitation.
Umar: "Stephen Strange, my daughter explained to me how... instrumental... you were in helping restore balance of power against my brother's" she hesitates a bit "...tyranny. It occurs to me that though he'd promised you her hand, you two were not wed properly."
Dr. Strange: That's right! Last time I was in the dark dimension Clea and I were engaged!
Umar: "I could help you two have a real wedding... but there is something I would like in return as your mother-in-law first."
Clea: "what's that mother?"
Umar: "I know my brother was bad, but I'd like it were he to attend your wedding."
Dr. Strange: Great! @#$%^&*@! I've an evil mother-in-law from the Dark Dimension!!
Umar addresses Clea and Strange: "I see that look of shock on your faces. No, no, I've already considered the possibilities and think I have a way to keep his power muted and neutralized via a Noose of Nullification. Oh, judging by that look of confusion, I should explain it a bit."
Dr. Strange facepalms while his soon to be mother-in-law prattles on about her own supposed cleverness. "It is a special charmed item of my own devising, with a little help from Enitharmon." Clea and Dr. Strange stare at Umar blankly. She continues, non dissuaded. "Similar to a Crown of Blindness and a bit like the Conjurer's Sphere, it is a charmed band that dampens the wearer's occult abilities and leeches their energy but is less restrictive than a Clamp of Containment."
Dr. Strange: If I recall from what Kaluu taught me, the Conjurer's Sphere is used to syphon mystical power away from one person and transfer it to the caster. I think I know what her game is now...
Umar looks at Strange and Clea, smiling to feign kindness.
Umar: (To herself): And then, my dear brother, I can take your power for my own! I'll be the Dark Dimension's Sorceress Supreme! Oh, right, but first I shall have to deal with the small trifling matter of these pissants, the Earth magician and my daughter...
Dr. Strange: "I'll do it."
Clea's eyes bug out and she whispers to Strange: "You will?"
Dr. Strange whispers back to her: "Trust me, I have a plan."
Umar (To Strange): "Splendid!"
Page 20:
Narration box: Talk about awkward reunions! You can bet Dormammu is going to be less than happy on learning that his enemy is now an in-law!
A teaser gag poster of next issue depicts the wedding of Dr. Strange and Clea occuring in what is assumed to be an otherworldly chapel.
Dr. Strange is wearing a tuxedo at the altar while a displeased Dormammu (also in tuxedo) is grumpily having to walk his niece (in a wedding dress) down the aisle.
Page 1:
[Narration box]: Reality as most of us know it is not the full and true reality. It is but a sliver of full on actual reality. What sets our reality true and distinct for us does not necessarily all hold true in other such planes [Show Shuma-Gorath's eye squinting]. Yet, these different realities do interact in ways that are complex. They also influence one another in ways that for the most part it would be better not to trouble yourself with. Those who did trouble themselves with it were regarded by a fearful outside as shamans, wizards, witches and sorcerers. Anytime you had whole societies that embraced this occult knowledge their own disaster usually loomed... entire "lost civilizations" have been born and died several times over yet have faded to obscurity from most history books. All that remains of those forgotten ages are a few intensely troubling occult artifacts. Talismans and obscura, curios which it is the job of secret orders and champions to procure, to keep safe, so that they do not fall into the wrong hands. Stephen Strange is one such champion. He is luckier than some of the other realm walkers [show a flustered Howard the Duck], he has not lost his humanity as did Ed Sallis (Show Manthing's head poking up out of the swampy murk) nor had to resort to an infernal pact like The Ghostrider [depict a cackling skull on fire].
Our story starts of all places, at an estate sale.
Page 2:
Dr. Strange: "Wong, I'm sure it is as the eye had indicated."
Wong: "Well Doctor, the piece you have described sounds like a wand of Satannish. That is indeed troubling."
"Excuse me good fellows"... an older gentleman with a receding hairline and ornate-eastern looking (think c. Imperial China) cuffs on an otherwise indistinct looking business-suit approaches them.
"My sources tell me" he lowers his voice "that I would have chance to meet the new Sorcerer Supreme here today." Stephen is shocked he'd be called out like that.
"Oh, don't seem so surprised you'd be recognized" the man continues "I read it from your aura, plus the Eye of Agamotto you wear gives off a distinctive signature."
Strange isn't convinced but Wong's eyes flash in sudden recognition of the stranger. Wong grasps Strange's arm. The stranger finishes up "I was a contemporary of your late instructor." "Who are you?" Strange asks trying to muster up some authority. Something is off and dark about this person. Kaluu looks to where Dr. Strange and Wong were facing and then notices they are eyeing the Wand of Satannish. "Why, how rude of me not to properly introduce myself. I am Kaluu, known in The Order as a proclaimed master of black magic." Kaluu pauses and picks up the wand from the pile of other trinkets for sale. "Ah. How wise of you to spot this." He chuckles "I'd placed it there personally as a test to see how well you were suited to the duties my late friend has tasked you with." Wong whispers to Strange: "I don't like this."
Strange: "Agreed Wong, I feel it irresponsible to place such a powerful and dangerous item in a place where just anyone may pick it up."
Kaluu: Gentlemen, please, where are my manners... There is actually a purpose to my visit. I came to New York in order to pay my last respects to the Ancient One. He was my rival at one point when we were both younger, yes, but to his last breath I had the utmost respect for him. A sort of... admiration if you will. Please, at least have lunch with me. We've things to discuss." He gestures to a car where he has his own private driver. "Do come."
Stephen raises an eyebrow but Wong simply shrugs. Wong (To Strange): "No harm I guess." Strange: Sure, why not?"
Kaluu: "Oh and do take that wand with you. You certainly wouldn't want your standard Joe Average doing something crazy like calling up the arch-demon Satannish."
Page 3:
They go to an upscale restaurant in Chinatown where Kaluu has made reservations. The Matre' D shows them to a table in a private room. They look at their menus and order some appetizers.
Kaluu: "Wong, good to see you are looking well." Wong starts to glare a bit but then regains composure "Kaluu."
Dr. Strange: "You say you knew the Ancient One?" Kaluu: "Yes, he and I do go back quite a long time. We'd both trained under the same master as young men."
He realizes they have yet to take a single bite. "Wong, and..." He hasn't asked Stephen's name yet. Strange provides it. "Stephen." Kaluu: "Yes, Stephen, won't you two try some of the duck's feet in vinegar? I rather do like Eastern food and that's a dish the Ancient One and I both often enjoyed as students. The point of dim sum is to share."
They each break their chopsticks and dish up from the pile of exotic delicacies which the waiter has brought to the table. While Wong and Dr. Strange are chewing Kaluu drops a bomb on them: "Yes, he tells me you are doing fine Stephen thus far."
Dr. Strange almost spits out a little bit of the sweet-meat he had been sampling to be polite. "How is that possible Kaluu? I saw him get murdered by Karl Mordo."
Kaluu laughs good-naturedly. "I am a master of black magic. That covers several dark arts, including necromancy." Strange: "You mean,...?" Kaluu: "Yes, I can commune with the spirits of the dead. In fact," He dabs his face with a napkin "If you like, after lunch I can hold a seance if you'd like to speak to him one last time from beyond the grave." His eyes dart down to the tray at their table and his face furrows a bit. "Wong, you are going to let the hot fish eyes get cold."
page 4:
After lunch they go their separate ways, Strange and Wong back to the Sanctum Sanctorum and Kaluu to the Hotel which he is staying at.
(In the parlor) Wong: "Master, I don't like this."
Strange: "Wong, he seems friendly enough and he did treat us to a free lunch. What's eating you man?"
Wong: "It's like this. The magical community is one which can be very competitive and cutthroat. I knew your teacher for many many years when I was his servant before you were the Sorcerer Supreme and he had always told me to never fully trust Kaluu."
Strange: "So I'll be careful. He's invited me to come up to his hotel room this evening for that seance."
Wong facepalms.
Strange: "I can use that as an opportunity to look for clues about what he is really up to."
Wong: Must a butler's duties be so long-suffering? "Very well sir."
Meanwhile, at the hotel room:
Kaluu is talking to the projected image of a dreadful entity that has appeared to him through the glow of some magic coals in a lit brazier as a communication medium.
This being is Satannish, a green, horned great beast of a humanoid figure with a secondary face in his chest that both have yellow eyes. The face in his chest seems to be perpetually holding a fanged grin.
Kaluu: "Satannish, my plan has worked all accordingly so far."
Satannish: "You mean our plan, foolish mortal." Kaluu scoffs "I have used magic to transcend the normal limitations of the human lifespan and am several centuries old, have you forgotten, what with being cooped up in your extradimensional prison so long?"
Satannish: "Silence! You realize that inspite of your being a skilled dark magician, that is still little more than a fleck of spit to the cosmic speck you and other human magi are to a hell-lord such as myself. My cult has been doing most of the legwork in torturing the soul of the Ancient One. I gave to you the one task of turning Earth's Sorcerer Supreme so that I may appear on Earth once more. Perhaps I should have given it to one of my disciples like Asmodeus?" Kaluu: "Patience, oh foul one." Kaluu retrieves a crystal ball from a drawer and we see that it has the Ancient One's spirit imprisoned/entrapped inside it.
Page 5:
Kaluu (To Stephen) : "I would prefer that you not refer to them as the black arts."
Dr. Strange: "Are you sure it is wise to call upon evil?"
Kaluu: "Listen, without darkness there can be no light. The idea that everyone who practices black magic is evil is hilariously naive. Especially considering there are those who would consider any magic at all to be a sign of evil. It is little more than simply a means to an end my lad. Dark, light, it really does not matter so much."
Kaluu sets a small round table up for the ritual. "In fact, it was at behest of your former master that I contact you. He tells me your training in the mystic arts was cut short by his untimely demise. I could teach you some spells, to further enrich your sorcerous abilities."
Dr. Strange: "I don't... know." Kaluu: "Such hesitation Stephen. Would you like to hear it from him himself?" He turns to face the crystal ball and holds his hands out in front of it. "I call forth the posthumous spirit of this man's dead teacher." (turning back towards Dr. Strange) : "Make it quick though, holding open a temporary leyline between the avenues of the living and the dead takes a great deal of energy." What he doesn't know is I am exerting my will on the Ancient One to make him say what I want him to.
Dr. Strange: "Master, is that you?"
The Ancient One speaks in a slow and deliberate manner: "Yes Stephen, and I trust Kaluu has forwarded to you how I am pleased with how you are doing as the Sorcerer Supreme."
Dr. Strange: "He has sir."
Ancient one: "I am owed a favor by him. Being dead it is useless to me, and as I do not particularly wish to be brought back to this mortal coil as a corporeal undead, I've asked him to continue your magical training in my stead." Kaluu strains. It is taking a good deal more of his power to control the Ancient One than he had initially thought it would. For a brief moment the spell falters a bit. Ancient one: "Just be careful that you are not corrupted by the black mag-..." Kaluu lets go of his access to the leyline while feigning that it was the effort was far too great. Kaluu: "Where do we begin?"
Page 6:
Wong: "I don't like it." He is less than pleased that Kaluu has invited himself over to the Sanctum Sanctorum but being ever the dutiful servant brought in Kaluu's bags anyway.
Kaluu: "Stephen, I thank you for your hospitality. If you could show me to the Ancient One's collection of books, there is one I think we will find to be particularly useful. I will base most of the lessons I give you from spells in the Book of Vishanti. Consider that your primer. These will be supplemented by exercises in black sorcery from one of my books, the DarkHold." Strange looks a bit shocked. Kaluu: "What's with that look? I figure for certain that some of your wizard enemies would not hesitate to use dark magic. One may as well fight fire with fire."
Later, over tea...
[In the study]
Kaluu: "You mean you actually went to the Dark Dimension and grappled with Dormammu?"
Dr. Strange clutches the Eye of Agamotto.
"Yes Kaluu, as proof I have this." with his other hand Stephen gestures to the cloak of levitation.
Kaluu: "Quite impressive for a neophyte." Then, to himself: Realm-walking? And with so little experience? No wonder the Ancient One chose him to be his successor. With raw talent like that... he might be able to give some of the Old Ones... No, it is too early to know for certain. He might well last a few minutes against one of them though. With some more training...
Dr. Strange: "Dge rgan*," Stephen has set down the eye and takes up a pen and scribbles down a drawing on a piece of paper "what can you tell me about this being?"
Kaluu picks up the paper, examining it closely then his eyes dilate in surprise. He drops it. "T-that... is Shuma Gorath."
Footnote: *Tibetan for teacher or tutor.
Page 7:
Wong is clearing the tea set from the room.
Kaluu: "Stephen, I must apologize for not being up front with you."
Wong wrinkles his nose like he'd stepped in a dog turd and then snorts. It wouldn't be the first time.
Kaluu chooses to ignore it and continues "As by now you know, in order to make the jump from novice to adept and for masters too, a sorcerer must form a bond of association with at least one from among a host of powerful entities. I will admit, when I first met you, my aim was to corrupt you onto the dark path." He coughs. "I now believe though, that you will be a strong enough candidate magus to use both dark and light magic with great strength. To continue with where I was leading with this though, a sorcerer supreme has to know about many types of magic. Consider this next exercise to be a sort of a field trip. It will be very dangerous so keep your wits about you."
Dr. Strange: "I don't quite understand Kaluu." Kaluu raps him on the head. "That association, it is but one of many. You see, in evoking and entreating various entities to cast one's magic, you will meet many strange extradimensional denizens. To better understand dark magic, I would suggest you, hrrrm."
Dr. Strange: "What is it Dge rgan?"
Kaluu sighs. "...You will have to consort with 'devils'." He explains: "In my quest for greater power and understanding in the supposed 'black arts' across my journeys I coalesced to make a Faustian bargain with one such being, Satannish."
Wong is upset, turns his back and clutches the table.
Kaluu continues: "You successfully negotiated with an Old One when you survived meeting Shuma Gorath. Arch demons are a different manner of beast though. For your first dealings with a devil I have chosen a weaker HellLord... Mephisto. He is still quite dangerous but certain recent events in the Nether-Realm, events in which the various HellLords have carried out civil wars... have left him weak enough that you might survive."
Dr. Strange: "What do I need to conjure up such an entity?"
Kaluu: "That is easy enough... I have procured for you a stick of chalk made from the ground 300 year old bones of warlocks." Kaluu retrieves it from his sleeve. "Before I show you the incantation ritual though, I must explain something to you about demons." Kaluu has an expression of increased concern on his face. "Stephen, they subsist on human souls. That much of mythology and religion tends to be accurate. What makes an archdemon particularly strong is not the simple devouring of souls, it is that he or she, it... collects them. An archdemon derives strength from their supply of souls which they have available to torture. The stronger a soul is, the more power the archdemon gets from it. They syphon a bit of vitality from the soul at a time."
Dr. Strange: "A HellLord then, must have access to more of these souls than lesser demons. A great many even."
Kaluu: "That is correct slab grwa ba*." Kaluu paces around the room. "At your current level Stephen, you cannot hope to defeat a HellLord but there is something particular to Arch demons, They've an aversion to particular arcane symbols." He draws a few of them out of glowing light in the air in front of them, as though holding a candle or glowstick using the tip of his finger. "In theory..."
Footnote: *Tibetan for student or 'my disciple'. - Loquacious Luke.
Page 8:
Wong: "You cannot mean to suggest_?!" Kaluu: "Ah,"
Wong: "That is far too dangerous."
Kaluu: "I have noted your concern Wong but is this not a suitable challenge for the Earth's Sorcerer Supreme?"
Wong sighs.
Besides Kaluu muses If I help Strange become strong enough, that will kill two birds with one stone. He may be able to take on Satannish,thus freeing me from the obligations of our infernal contract.
Back in his personal study...
Strange (to himself): According to Kaluu's lecture, the best hope I have against an archdemon is sealing it. I wonder though... every foe has a weakness to exploit. It's risky, but... perhaps by pitting two powerful foes against one another I can get them each to take each other out.
Kaluu enters. "How go your studies slab grwa ba?" Kaluu strokes his own chin in interest as he examines one from among a pile of papers all covered in arcane and esoteric figures. The symbols are a mixture of languages flowing in and out of each other... a combination of math and runes with words analytically dissected to show their Latin and greek roots before transversing into geometric designs of hexagrams and pentacles with lines of ancient Hebrew, sanskrit and a few words of Phoenician Cuneiform following along the illustrations. Kaluu is again impressed. By the creator and destructor, my word! In a few more years he might be able to start putting together his own grimoire.
Strange: "Dge rgan, I'm a bit stumped by this one alchemical equation," Strange lifts his quil and averts his gaze from the math and linguistics to show his necromantic tutor.
Kaluu: "An interesting application Stephen. For that I would suggest using a portal spell like one found in the original Egyptian Book of the Dead."
Strange eyes the telephone. Kaluu: "I'm afraid that won't do you much good lad. The version I refer to cannot be found in any library for it was lost during the fire in the Great Library of Alexandria thousands of years ago. Do not fret though, mages had transcribed it to several other tomes in anticipation that the library would be razed."
He pulls a bit of parchment from within his coat pocket. "Try forming derivative expressions from this."
Strange: "Thank you Dge Rgan, but I..."
Kaluu: "Would you like a hint, boy? Throw hieroglyphs into the mix. The pictures themselves are less important than the phonemes. When phonetically broken down each syllable has a particular numerical value..."
Strange: "...and it simply becomes a matter of balancing the equations on each side?"
Page 9:
Kaluu: "Well, for the time being more or less, yes. Calling it simple however, would not be doing it justice."
Strange: Who knew that magic would have this much math in it? I hope I can remember enough calculus to describe limits in functions.
Dr. Strange toils over preparation for the summoning ritual. His composing of the particular incantation complete, there is still the arrangement of incense, candles and crafting of symbols to go through. With Kaluu supervising Strange uses the special chalk to construct unicursal geograms and bits of phrases in ancient languages. At last it is ready.
Kaluu: "One of the most important things to remember when dealing with conjuring of demons is the specific banishing spell that is particular to each one. ...A sloppily composed banishment can have erratic consequences."
Strange: "It is done. I SUMMON THEE... MEPHISTO!"
A tiny nugget of brimstone appears in the center of the circular diagram on the floor. It glows brighter and spreads until the whole of the circle has become a patch of illusory lava. Ill-colored smoke tendrils coil lazily out from the brim circle and sweep into themselves above its surface. They sprout faces that are contorted in expressions of pain and misery and emit a dull moan... all while taking a shape and condensing into a solid form until they become Mephisto. The red tights wearing and bestalkinged imp prince is sitting cross legged and with an index finger resting on his chin in amusement as his red eyes dart from one part of the room to the other. His keen pointed ears take in his surroundings as his tattered crimson cloak flutters lazily though there is no wind. Mephisto: "Very interesting"
Dr. Strange: "Don't get any funny ideas fiend," Strange his hands in casting gestures "or I'm warning you, I can just as easily send you back to your crisis at home."
Mephisto: "So this is the Earth's new Sorcerer Supreme? Somehow I'd imagined he'd be a bit larger of stature." Mephisto measures Strange visually between the span of his outspread fingers. "Tall enough not to disappoint though." Dr. Strange is a bit taken aback. Mephisto looks down at the summoning circle. "Ah, heh heh... your construction of a conjuration ritual is a bit sloppily done... My guess is that you've not been involved with the world of mystic arts for very long."
Kaluu: "In case you get cocky Mephistopheles, I am here to provide insurance that you do not try any tricks."
Mephisto: "Gentlemen, gentlemen, such formality and harshness, my feelings are hurt."
Kaluu: "Save your crocodile tears archfiend."
Mephisto perks up. "Oh good, call me Mephisto and we shall do some business."
Dr. Strange: "Not so fast demon, I will state the terms of this negotiation."
Mephisto cracks a grin, his smile showing off pointed canines and he claps his hands in eagerness. His hands are wearing dirty gloves (also red) that long fingernails manage to poke out from the edges of at each fingertip. Mephisto (to Kaluu): Gesturing with a thumb pointing at Strange "I think I like this one. He likes to get to the point. What can I do you for?"
Kaluu: "Steady Stephen, don't let yourself get distracted. Maintain your focus at all cost!"
Dr. Strange: "Mephisto, what can you tell me about one of the other HellLords? Do you know one by the name of Satannish?"
Mephisto throws his head back and does a belly laugh from his gut. He looks to be about to cry from laughing so hard but then quickly regains his composure.
Page 10:
Mephisto: "You mean to tell me you two dragged me all the way out from my own infernal realm just for a bit of a looky loo? A who's-who of the damnation neighborhood? Seriously? I'm sorry but you magician types these days amuse me a little too much." Dr. Strange gives him a dead eye stare, his hands still trained on Mephisto ready to fire arcane bolts at the Archdemon should he fall out of line. Mephisto continues: "Couldn't you have just looked it up in a basic primer on demonology?"
Dr. Strange: "I am quickly beginning to lose patience, good" at the word good Mephisto winces a bit "or-should-I-say bad sir."
Kaluu: "The thinking was my pupil would learn about archdemons better from interviewing one of Hell's denizens first hand."
Mephisto: "And I suppose even though that Asgardian/Vanir/Aesir bitch Hela would be just as ideal a candidate and doesn't have that much going on, that you happened to settle on choosing little old me, instead." He grins again. "I'm flattered." Mephisto's eyes narrow to slits and two miniscule puffs of smoke exit his now flared nostrils. "You do realize this is taking me away from a war I am involved in" he makes a sweeping gesture with an arm "down there."
Kaluu: "Yes, but I believe we have a proposition that may make it worth your while Mephisto."
Mephisto: "I'm listening."
Dr. Strange: "How would you like to have a chance for payback and to settle an old score?"
Mephisto: "This appeals to me. Do either of you care to explain?"
Kaluu: "Your old competitor, Satannish."
Mephisto: "Oh good, that blowhard." He turns to Strange doing a 'pssst' gesture with a hand over his mouth while suppressing a giggle "You know how some people can either talk or listen? The guy has two mouths. Not the sharpest bulb in the garden."
Dr. Strange: "My tutor tells me that you two archfiends have a bit of a personal history together."
Mephisto glares. "Hah! That's putting it lightly. I taught him most of what he knows and how does that ingrate bastard repay me? He tries to depose me and takes most my territory during this most recent demonic civil war! Really burns my brimstone and fries my ass."
Kaluu: "This next part is tricky Stephen, for leylines can only handle so much flux." Mephisto poofs in a puff of smoke and reappears at the edge of the summoning circle closest to the two sorcerers. "What are you guys whispering about?"
Dr. Strange: "Mr. Devil... we can help you defeat Satannish in exchange for one simple thing."
Kaluu: "When you take over, absolve me of the contract I had made with him." Mephisto wickedly smirks. "I like it. I'm in."
Page 11:
Kaluu summons up Satannish using the wand of Satannish. The room darkens. In contrast to Mephisto's wispy build and lankiness, Satannish is a musclebound brute.
Satannish: "Ah, Kaluu, you bring me one of my enemies... I am very pleased."
Dr. Strange: Kaluu, you would trick me?!"
Kaluu: "there isn't time for that now, Strange, help me manifest the barrier to keep our two combatants contained."
Mephisto: "I'm not going anywhere." He chortles. "Hahahaha. Not yet. Wouldn't miss this fight for much of anything."
Satannish's lower face spits out the word "Puny" directed at Mephisto while the bulky demon gets his massive frame into a combat stance. Satannish: "Let's do this."
The next panel shows Mephisto and Satannish rushing at each other uttering battlecries, which for Satannish involves more of a roar, drowning out Mephisto's. They grapple.
Mephisto is the lighter and more agile of the two demons. As he dodges Satannish's blows and mystic beams he looks to the sidelines. Mephisto (to Strange and Kaluu): "Any-time now, guys". When either arch demon strays too close to the edge of the circle they react as though subjected to a painful shock. This is caused by the wards keeping them in the fighting ring. Likewise an invisible barrier seems to be absorbing the excess kinetic force and stray magic attacks to keep the match between the two arch fiends inside of the containment ring.
Satannish and Mephisto continue to shower each other with blows. Every so often Satannish slams Mephisto against the walls of the magical barrier or Mephisto will trip Satannish into going headlong into the edges with a well placed sweep kick. Bits of insulation material from the ceiling fall down. The containment field is buckling.
Kaluu: I sense the restraints beginning to weaken. We won't be able to maintain the mystic cage much longer. "Stephen, I will do what I can to afford you a bit more time, ready your gambit."
Dr. Strange: "Mephisto, now!"
Mephisto struggles around out of the pin Satannish has him in and scrabbles, squirming and climbing his way on top of the larger demon's back. He tries to hold the two-faced fiend's arms in a double arm bar... An ultimately ineffectual gesture since Satannish is now raging in a physical rush assault like an oncoming train towards the weakest part of the barrier.
Page 12:
"I've got to say, I don't like this part of the plan much!" Mephisto cries as Satannish gets dangerously closer to the two sorcerers who are straining. Kaluu is putting his all into holding the form of the conjuration circle together while Strange utters a new incantation (Strange's speech balloon has strange symbols in it between odd placements of punctuation and apostrophes to indicate a weird ancient language. Satannish has lifted Mephisto up by the neck with one large hand while Mephisto tries to choke Satannish using both arms. Despite still being in the midst of strangling each other Mephisto and Satannish realize they've been had as they each start to fade: "You tricked us?!" Dr. Strange continues chanting. Kaluu: "I hope you're ready to end this little foray soon." The barrier cracks as the symbols on the floor have gotten smeared. "I can't contain the demons any longer." Closeup on Dr. Strange's face. His eyes widen. There are drops of sweat on his face and flecks of spittle fly from his mouth as he exclaims out an arcane cryptogram. His eyes light up while dark clouds manifest above the two combatants and amass together as they continue to wrestle. Then a purple lightningbolt crackles striking Mephisto and Satannish. In the next panel we see the smoke clearing and where there had been two archdemons there is now one hideous three headed monstrosity instead. Each of the outer two heads is smaller and crowned by a half of Satannish's horns while the center one is larger and has a face comprised of a combination of Mephisto and Satannish's features.
Kaluu: "You fused them together? This seems rather reckless slab grwa ba." The merged entity laughs. 'Satannisto/Mephistish': "Bwahaha! I feel stronger than ever, thanks to you!"
Strange's brow furrows as he lets fly a dueling attack spell: "Deadly Daggers of Daveroth!" A volley of bright red isosceles and scalene triangles burst from the air directly in front of Strange's hands. The fused demonic entity deflects it with a casual sweep of one arm. One of the arcane daggers hits Strange stabbing him in the eye.
Dr. Strange: "Argh!" He clutches that side of his face with one hand and struggles to stay conscious. The loss of blood is effecting his balance and senses but he manages to stagger his way into the summoning circle and forces his other arm into an evocation pose. Though weakened Strange extends his arm towards the fused arch demon and his hand glows, readying a final attack. Mephistish yanks Strange's arm he'd been clutching his with breaking it then grabs Strange by the scruff of his collar before he has time to react while he is still distracted by the pain and throws him against the wall. Strange's impact breaks some of the decorative paneling and he collapses into the crumpled broken drywall behind it. Mephistish strides over to his ruined foe to gloat over his victory. Dr. Strange: "..."
Mephistish's expression changes though when he sees that Strange is smiling and that the glowing eldritch energy emanating from his nonbroken arm is still there humming. "Foolish mortal! I will rend you limb from limb!" Mephistish sprouts a saw-like skeletal knife from his arm with a sickening pop noise to make good on his promise. It has grotesque details of bones and skull shaped decorations within the blade part.
Dr. Strange has opened his good eye and looks away past his lumbering foe to the trinkets and effects on the unsmashed-in wall facing opposite them. The Cloak of Levitation moves of its own accord like a magic carpet, flying up from where it was hanging against the wall and blocks the blade from striking Dr. Strange. It wraps itself around Mephistish constricting him, binding tighter and tighter. There is a brief silence.
Page 13:
It isn't over.
Mephistish bursts from the cloak ripping it apart with raw physicality in a volley of tearing motions. Strange's good eye and the socket both glow brightly and have smoke-ish miasma trail from them as he rises up from where he'd been pummeled into the wall. Hovering a few inches off the ground, glowing arcane symbols form around him while he clutches his bad arm with his good arm. The Sorcerer Supreme makes his way towards Mephistish and shouts out "WITH THIS I BANISH YOU TO WHENST YOU CAME!"
a portal opens from the floor and a bunch of zombified arms (the owners of the arms are obscured but coming from within the rift) reach out from the dimensional gateway grabbing onto Mephistish pulling him back in with them as he struggles against them while a swarm of tiny imps with batlike wings poke and prod at Strange, Mephistish and Kaluu. The force of exertion to open this portal causes Dr. Strange to faint. From the edge of the portal one of Mephistish's large arms grabs onto Strange's leg. Mephistish: "I will take you down with me!" The cloud of swarming imps are making it hard for Kaluu to see. He conjures up a golden staff and strikes the imps down, forcing a path and making his way to where Mephistish is trying to pull Dr. Strange down to Hell with him. A quick sharp strike to Mephistish's wrist with the staff gets the archfiend to release his grip on Strange as more zombified hands and small imps clutch onto Mephistish, dragging him down into the infernal depths. The knocked out imps fade away and the conscious ones go back to the hole. The portal seals while Mephistish yells. "NOOoooo....!!!"
Page 14:
Narration box: Later:
Kaluu slaps Dr. Strange's face a few times. He comes to finding himself propped up on his bed in his bedroom. Strange's head and eye socket are bandaged. His broken arm is in a sling and we see now for the first time in detail that there are the characteristic grayish-white shocks in his hair and goatee.
Kaluu: "A spell of Dispellation? That was very interesting. Reckless, but interesting."
Dr. Strange: "What happened?"
Wong is also in the room. Wong: "We carried you to your room after the fight."
Strange: "No, what happened to..."
Kaluu: "The devils? They are back in the infernal realm now."
Dr. Strange: "Oh." Kaluu's serene expression shifts to one of anger: "Do you have any idea what you've done now though?!"
Dr. Strange: "Well, we'll need somebody like a carpenter to repair the damage to the wall, for one thing."
Wong: "I've already sent for one; I told him there'd been a drinking party that got out of hand."
Kaluu: "Stephen, do the math." Dr. Strange: "Do I have to? My head is pounding." He gets a glass of water brought by Wong from the nightstand and takes a few sips before adding "...something fierce too."
Kaluu reaches for Strange's shoulders and starts shaking him "What in the heavens and hells were you thinking to open the gates of Hell so wide?"
Dr. Strange: "I didn't know exactly what to call a fused demonic composite being so I altered the spell I was going to use to send Mephisto back."
He continues "I figured since equilibrium is the most natural state, opening a rift between worlds would compel that entity to go back one way or another."
Kaluu sighs and asks Wong to turn on a television in the room. An announcer on the screen is reporting. Announcer: "News reports all over the world are coming in about for want of a better word, a surge in monster sightings."
Page 15:
There is a rumbling in the bathroom pipes of the Daily Bugle. Horrible crawling bug-like eye creatures and writhing masses of unnatural tentacled snakes enter through the sinks and toilets, more and more until they burst from the walls at those points haven broken the plumbing. the building is covered in them and everybody is shin deep in small monsters. For the most part they seem to be more of an annoyance than a threat though as they chirp and screech. J. Jonah Jameson is furious and tries to insist Spider-man has something to do with it.
There are a series of horizontally split panels with a small picture of the televised newscaster from the previous page reporting the events on the upper half and scenes on the bottom half. Panel 1: Upper panel: Reporter: "These 'things' have been pouring out of sewers and caves, swamps and subways. The earliest sightings came in this afternoon." Lower panel: Spider-man is shown webbing up goblin-like imps that have crawled out from a storm drain and are grasping onto pedestrians trying to bite and scratch. Panel 2: Reporter: "People are advised to remain inside with their doors and windows locked for the time being." Lower panel: Riot police in S.W.A.T. uniforms are trying to stave back a throng of ogres that are blocking road traffic in main street. Panel 3: Upper panel: Reporter: "Could this be a sign? Is it the apocalypse? Fundamentalist groups all over would like to think so." The lower panel of panel 3 is split vertically into some subpanels: A street preacher is shown yelling at people about the "End of Days as prophecied in the Bible" While Johny Blaze at a distance and in sunglasses puts out a cigarette he'd been smoking and disappears into an alleyway. Then the GhostRider suddenly appears from the alleyway! The preacher points at him and rants about damnation. "Go back foul creature, to your infernal master! Begone!" GhostRider knocks the preacher out of the way from being trampled by an oncoming stampede of bugbears surging out from the subway tunnel entrance that they are near. Ghostrider: "Shut the hell up." Panel 4: Upper panel: Reporter: "The reports keep pouring in from different cities. Apparently these monsters are attacking people both in the city and in the country." Lower panel: At a farm Manthing is shown pushing a slobbering chupacabra-like devil that is trying to steal a cow away while a terrified farmer looks on clutching his shotgun. Panel 5: Upper panel: Reporter: "Truly these are troubled times." Lower panel: Elsewhere Iron fist is shown punching a monster with bat-like wings in the face.
Page 16:
Strange clicks off the TV with the remote using his good arm.
Wong: "It isn't all bad though master." Dr. Strange and Kaluu: "How do you mean?"
Wong: "There was a package, some gift left for in the mail."
Kaluu with both hands and Strange with the hand of his one good arm open the box and a letter flutters out. It has been written on a ragged parchment as though by hand but what it has been written with is not a pen. The words and letters appear to have been burned on the note and it smells of sulfur. A metallic glassy sphere clinks inside the box. The Letter reads: Dear Sorcerer Supreme, as thanks for helping me best my foe I have here something I know will be of value to you. Don't count on me doing this again. I was tempted to eat the delicious soul several times and had to go to some trouble to wrest it away from the Sons of Satannish. Cheers, Mephisto.
P.S.: Try breaking it to open it.
Dr. Strange throws the orb to the ground with his good arm and it cracks open to reveal... the Spectral Form of the Ancient One!
Even though he is a spirit, the Ancient One gasps as though it had been difficult to breath inside the bizarre egg. Ancient one: "I thank you for freeing me" he says looking around "but," his expression turns to one of dismay "At what cost Stephen? This is troubling my son."
Strange looks up at the ghostly form of his former teacher. The Ancient One explains: "No, not the monsters, although that is certainly bad. You've allowed yourself to be tainted by the darkness. Kaluu, that was probably your plan all along..."
Kaluu: "I'll admit, yes." He then tries to defend his choice of actions. "Ancient One, Stephen does still retain the title of Sorcerer Supreme. I was put between a rock and a hard place by Satannish." The Ancient One coughs "As was I, although more literally. Yes, Stephen Strange, you are still Sorcerer Supreme. I must warn you though, that your foray into dark magic and the touch of its corrupting influence will limit things..."
Dr. Strange: "How so?" Ancient One: "As punishment for opening the gates of Hell, The Vishanti will not allow you to be able to use light magic to its full effect again until you have your soul cleansed." Dr. Strange: "Really master?" Ancient One: "Ask your guardian Agamotto." The visage of Agamotto projects from the Eye of Agamotto. Agamotto: "Indeed, your old teacher speaks truth. You must atone for the dimensional chaos you have created, lest the world fall prey to the foul beings your careless actions have allowed entrance to this world to."
Dr. Strange: "And how should I go about that?"
Ancient One: "Kaluu, help him rid the world of these hellspawn his reckless mistake has released."
Kaluu: "I do suppose it is the least I could do."
Ancient One: "Indeed old friend."
Agamotto: "Silence. I and the other Vishanti will hold the soul of your Ancient One as collateral while we deliberate about whether you need to be punished further. We will continue watching you... and if we are satisfied, at that point we will let you have your full power back. Also, we will not prevent said soul from obtaining ultimate oneness with the universe." Ancient One: "That would be nice." Agamotto and the Ancient One go back into the amulet and the Eye closes with a certain seeming amount of permanence.
Page 17:
Narration box: Over the next several days Kaluu trained Dr. Strange in how to effectively manipulate and wield black magic more proficiently. The training was quite intense and did not let up for a moment, inspite of his injuries, both physical and mystical. His Eye of Agamotto now useless to him, Dr. Strange is forced to resort to rituals in order to travel between dimensions. This is much more taxing on him than use of the Eye was but through Kaluu's strict regimen, Strange finds himself becoming stronger. During the day Kaluu has him practicing spells. At night they go on demon hunting runs which are exercises in more safer banishment incantations. It continued like this for awhile until, one day...
Kaluu: "Congratulations slab grwa ba, I have taught you the sum of what I can teach you."
Dr. Strange: "Thank you Dge rgan."
Kaluu: "Since your normal amulet is not usable to you right now, I have another that I will let you borrow. It's a powerful and primal-dread artifact forged by the Old Ones." Kaluu fetches a small locked box and turns the key to open it. "This is called the Wings of Needless Sorrow."
Dr. Strange: "How does it work?" Kaluu: "Well, the basics are it feeds off of people's negativity. You can use it much like your other amulet to block and deflect, even to absorb mystical attacks that are thrown at you but it comes at a cost." He holds it up to Dr. Strange and the panel shows a polished piece of jewelry sitting between Kaluu's two good eyes and Dr. Strange's one good eye (the other has an eye patch over it). The amulet has been constructed from a single seamless piece of dark grayish blue metal molded in the stylized shape of a swooping bat that has its wings raised. "Users of the Wings experience a certain amount of dread and despair. It hungers Stephen, so it draws out people's worse feelings. The ones they would naturally bottle up. Prolonged use of it can result in madness and death by suicide. You see, an entire paleolithic civilization from before the time of the Aztecs at one point used this amulet so much in their wizard battles that they became too reliant on it."
Dr. Strange: "Kaluu, what happened to that civilization?" [Show Lemuria collapsing].
Kaluu shrugs dismissively "They committed mass suicide. It has been traveling from different hands throughout the ages since then." He hands the Wings of Needless Sorrow to Dr. Strange. "It is primeval and older than man. Use it carefully adept, as a master of black magic would."
Wong and Kaluu agree to continue capturing demonlings and to mind the Sanctum Sanctorum while Dr. Strange is gone, since he decides to take the damaged Cloak of Levitation back to Enitharmon in the Dark Dimension for mending.
Dr. Strange: While I'm here I may as well train with Clea and their sorcerers to continue getting stronger. I just barely beat that fused HellLord and it nearly killed me. Hey, I wonder how she is doing?
Page 18:
Narration box: In the palace that used to belong to Dormammu:
Clea: "Oh my love! What has happened to you?!"
Dr. Strange relates his tale of what had transpired to her while Enitharmon scowls and examines the scraps of his Cloak of Levitation.
Enitharmon: "Doctor, this will take me some time to repair. It is a difficult task which I do not appreciate having above my normal workload."
Clea glares at Enitharmon. Enitharmon: "Er, I will be happy to mend it for you but I would urge you to help me some by learning spellweaving. It is a form of magic you are not yet accustomed to." He coughs "My other weaver mages are busy at their soul looms making warp cloth, so I could use the assistance."
Narration box: Things seemed uneventful for Dr. Strange over the next few days in the Dark Dimension until Clea dropped a bomb on him. Not literally.
Clea: "Stephen, I'd like you to meet my mother."
Dr. Strange: "I thought your mother was dead?"
Clea: "We all did. It was propaganda by Olnar." She explains "Shortly after you left, we'd discovered she'd been being kept prisoner by him."
Narration box: From that point on, though being in the company of Clea, who likes him a great deal, Stephen found his joy at the idyllic new temporary lifestyle offered to him by his retreat in the for a change peaceful Dark Dimension being tempered by a certain grimness. During the day he would spend part of the time in the court of Clea and her mother Umar, socializing with those in their circles (the fashion of his Earth clothing in particular seemed to arouse curiosity amongst courtiers) and the rest of the time learning what he could from court magicians and Enitharmon. At night though, The Wings of Needless Sorrow would twinkle, oftentimes keeping him awake or otherwise causing him to awake from sleep and reminding him of how he still had responsibilities back at his real home on Earth. He began to resent it and found himself coming to feel some bitterness toward his real home.
Dr. Strange: "Why should I go back to a place that would deny me happiness, when I've a relationship with a beautiful woman and respect from people here?"
Clea hears part of that while changing clothes from behind a curtain. "What was that?"
Dr. Strange: "Nothing dear!"
Page 19:
Dr. Strange, Clea and Umar are having a celebratory feast with Enitharmon in the palace over Strange's progress at spellweaving, to congratulate him on finally crafting a working Lesser Cloak of Levitation.
Umar: "Stephen Strange, my daughter explained to me how... instrumental... you were in helping restore balance of power against my brother's" she hesitates a bit "...tyranny. It occurs to me that though he'd promised you her hand, you two were not wed properly."
Dr. Strange: That's right! Last time I was in the dark dimension Clea and I were engaged!
Umar: "I could help you two have a real wedding... but there is something I would like in return as your mother-in-law first."
Clea: "what's that mother?"
Umar: "I know my brother was bad, but I'd like it were he to attend your wedding."
Dr. Strange: Great! @#$%^&*@! I've an evil mother-in-law from the Dark Dimension!!
Umar addresses Clea and Strange: "I see that look of shock on your faces. No, no, I've already considered the possibilities and think I have a way to keep his power muted and neutralized via a Noose of Nullification. Oh, judging by that look of confusion, I should explain it a bit."
Dr. Strange facepalms while his soon to be mother-in-law prattles on about her own supposed cleverness. "It is a special charmed item of my own devising, with a little help from Enitharmon." Clea and Dr. Strange stare at Umar blankly. She continues, non dissuaded. "Similar to a Crown of Blindness and a bit like the Conjurer's Sphere, it is a charmed band that dampens the wearer's occult abilities and leeches their energy but is less restrictive than a Clamp of Containment."
Dr. Strange: If I recall from what Kaluu taught me, the Conjurer's Sphere is used to syphon mystical power away from one person and transfer it to the caster. I think I know what her game is now...
Umar looks at Strange and Clea, smiling to feign kindness.
Umar: (To herself): And then, my dear brother, I can take your power for my own! I'll be the Dark Dimension's Sorceress Supreme! Oh, right, but first I shall have to deal with the small trifling matter of these pissants, the Earth magician and my daughter...
Dr. Strange: "I'll do it."
Clea's eyes bug out and she whispers to Strange: "You will?"
Dr. Strange whispers back to her: "Trust me, I have a plan."
Umar (To Strange): "Splendid!"
Page 20:
Narration box: Talk about awkward reunions! You can bet Dormammu is going to be less than happy on learning that his enemy is now an in-law!
A teaser gag poster of next issue depicts the wedding of Dr. Strange and Clea occuring in what is assumed to be an otherworldly chapel.
Dr. Strange is wearing a tuxedo at the altar while a displeased Dormammu (also in tuxedo) is grumpily having to walk his niece (in a wedding dress) down the aisle.
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