String Theory (Dr. Strange, Spider-Man [Miles])

[bio858]

Brooklyn, NY

"She was uh ba-buh, nevertheless
Callin' it quits now, baby, I'm a wreck
Crash at my place, baby, you're a wreck"

Brooklyn's brand new Spider-Man was living the life. He had opened up to his parents about him being a masked superhero (albeit unintentionally) and now had the fully support of both of them to continue on with this selfless new job. As long as he maintains curfew, and makes sure to keep them updated on his whereabouts. Especially his father, given his own job in law enforcement. Yeah, it came with new restrictions, yet Miles felt a sense of relief. Like a weight had been slightly lifted off his shoulders.

"I know you're scared of the unknown ('known)
You don't wanna be alone (alone)
I know I always come and go (and go)
But it's out of my control"


Playing his tunes on spotify had further helped ease his tensions, as he helped to deliver some supplies to the new FEAST shelter that had opened up in his neighborhood after a truck had unfortunately stalled out. Thankfully, the driver had access to the app Ganke had set up, ensuring that the delivery would be right on time.

As he swung through his neighborhood, he'd spot both both Caleb and Camila outside their respective shops, trying to help their employees in sweeping out the snow within this wonderful morning on the Eve of Christmas. He decided it was only polite to say hello while passing by, albeit in a very fast manner.

"Merry Christmas Caleb! Feliz Navidad Camila! You guys should get inside, it's super cold ouuuuuut!"

He wasn't fully able to finish his sentence as he swung by so fast with the large crate of packages in hand, but he could hear them respond back with their own merry greetings. Too bad they were far too responsible for their own good in maintaining the well-being of their businesses. He'll have to hurry and get back to help them out in the clean up of snow.

After a few more swings, he'd eventually reach the new FEAST center. He'd be greeted by Gloria and a few other volunteers who would help to open up the crate and get the rest of the packages and toys inside.

"Thanks Spider-Man. Never woulda thought Santa would be someone wearing Spandex, but here you are. And the kids are gonna love the toys you got them."

"O-Oh, it was nothing. I'm happy to help. I'll just head back and get the last crate. Should be back in a-"

Before he could finish his sentence, strange golden glyphs would encircle his body, seemingly sandwiching him from top to bottom. From everyone else's point of view, the hero had just vanished after the glyphs had enclosed, leaving the volunteers and Gloria quite speechless.

"Spider-Man! Oh no, what just happened to him?"

That would be quite the integral question, as Miles would find himself within a setting he had never been in before. One that left him with plenty of new questions alongside Gloria's.

"Uh, hello? Is anybody there?"

[Ysmir]

"I'm Dr. Stephen Strange. I've come to show you the way out of this hole you're in."

---

Something was terribly, terribly wrong.

Did that phrase sound familiar? It certainly did to Doctor Stephen Strange.

As Sorcerer Supreme, one simply had to become used to disappointment and inconvenience. The second you fixed everything that was wrong with the world, someone, or something, had to go and make it all wonky again. It was like a water heater that always blew a gauge, or a car with a muffler that rattled no matter how often you took it be affixed. One problem always preceded the very next. And today was no different -- but today was special.

For weeks, months even, Strange had a peculiar sensation that something was awry in their universe. It wasn't a sinking feeling, like the one he usually got when a dimensional threat like Dormammu or Nightmare set their sights on earth; no, it was far more subtle and sinister. Though he could also tell with little doubt that it didn't stem from anything living. There was an imbalance in the world between worlds, a "loose screw" in the void between universes that bound the infinite realities together in tandem and kept them from touching. Anomalies were beginning to leak over unobstructed, and it hadn't been noticeable until now. This was a tremendously bad thing -- because if too much bled over, too many particles from another universe... then there ran the risk of these worlds collapsing entirely into one another and ceasing to exist, wiped clean from the slate of the physical realm.

He simply hoped it wasn't too late to stop it.

So the moment he detected this imbalance, the Doctor got to work. He chased leads, investigated leylines and sites of great magical power to meditate and focus upon the whispy trails of foreign matter that inhabited their world. He started small and worked his way up, initially finding scraps like car keys from another dimension, or a wallet belonging to a person that didn't exist. Such multiversal hiccups were, in actuality, somewhat commonplace; everybody at some point has dropped something on the floor that seemed to vanish into thin air, never to be seen again. Very few people knew that this was what actually happened. But normally, the universe would work on its own to correct this mistake. Only now, it wasn't. As always, it was up to him.

Strange's several week investigation led him to the source of the imbalance, a central point of their universe that didn't belong. It had gone undetected up until now.

Spider-Man. But not the one you'd expect.

---

When Miles came through the portal, he was within a dimly lit foyer of an ancient manor. Although likely disoriented from the sudden transversal, there was a sense of serenity and calmness within the home, exacerbated by the cozy crackling fireplace that was set into the wall off to the right hand side. However, upon looking about, he'd notice a shadowed figure hovering in place above the stairwell.

"Spider-Man... of Brooklyn. Not the one I know," the figure spoke, descending slowly from the shadows. The dim light revealed the individual from the legs up, until the shadows pulled back past his face. Doctor Strange regarded Spider-Man silently until he floated down to the ground level, feet not quite touching the floor yet.

"You don't belong here, Spider-Man. And what's worse," he began, landing gently on the wooden floorboards, covered by an intricately woven Far East carpet, "is I doubt you have any idea. And for that, I'm sorry about what I'm going to have to tell you next."

Strange blinked, then cleared his throat. "Oh, uhm, my apologies. I'm Doctor Strange, by the way. Happy Holidays."

[bio858]

Sanctum Sanctorum

The teen's eyes would adjust to the new lighting of the area he had just been transported too. He'd note the wooden flooring, the brick layering of the walls, the fancy looking furniture. It all gave off this strange, Hogwarts like vibe to him. But when he'd look towards the source of the light, the fireplace. The flames had almost a hypnotic nature to it, as if drawing the web-slinger closer on purpose. And he would, before turning to his right once more towards the staircase, where a strange man would be seen floating above it.

He'd see the man's cape fluttering about, and instead of asking who the man was or why he was here, Miles would instead say, "Uh, nice cape..."

Yeah, the kid was nervous, and was starting to pick up his mentor's habit of babbling while under pressure. Thankfully, the sorcerer would decide to ignore the comment and state his intentions. Mainly that the hero didn't belong here.

"Wait, back up. You brought me here. Least, I think you did. So, even I could tell ya I don't belong here. So, could ya, uh, teleport me back? I was in the middle of delivering some toys to the shelter and I got one more delivery to make. It's real important to 'em, you get what I'm sayin'?"

He didn't want to let those kids down, especially as many of them didn't get many Happy Christmases beforehand. Last thing he wanted was to let them down. Spider-Man wouldn't do that, and neither would he. Especially since they all seem to think he is Spider-Man, for now.

"Please? Pretty please? It's really important I get those toys to those kids."

[Ysmir]

"I'm Dr. Stephen Strange. I've come to show you the way out of this hole you're in."

---

Being in the Spider's presence now, Strange got an even stronger sense of disturbance than he had beforehand.

Multiversal fluxes were rare, few and far between in a stable world such as their own, but they swirled about this boy like a maelstrom. They were invisible, of course, to one whose senses weren't open to such things. And with the Doctor's dialed in like they were now, on the prowl for anomalies and things out of the ordinary, he could perceive them clear as the day is long. This Spider-Man was an amalgamation, made of parts both foreign and native, and he wasn't meant to be here in this place. It was all very confusing, and Strange knew that it was imperative that he get to the bottom of it.

"Thank you," Strange said plainly to the Spider's compliment. The Cloak itself seemed to flutter in response to the praise, as though it had a mind of its own.

"When I say you don't belong here, Spider-Man, I'm not referring to my Sanctum." Strange walked about the anomaly, circling and examining him. It wasn't a threatening display, like a predator stalking its prey, but more observant. Strange looked to be a scientist or some other researcher examining an object of interest.

"The children will have to wait, I'm afraid." Strange stopped, looking Spider-Man in the eyeholes. "Christmas is put on hold until further notice. There won't be much celebrating to be done if all reality comes collapsing in on itself before Saint Nick gets his time to fly about."

Strange took a few paces toward Spider-Man. "This is not your universe, Spider-Man. Not entirely. I know this may come as a shock to you, but what I say is the truth. And your very presence within it threatens everything and everyone. I am trying to figure out why."

[bio858]

The sorcerer would seem to drop the bombshell that Miles was indeed, not from this universe. But the teenager wouldn't be able to understand the full depth of what that actually meant. In fact, while he took a step back as the "Doctor" approached him, he'd give a slight chuckle at the big revelation.

"Heheheheh, different universe huh? Like you saying I'm from Queens? Nah fam, Brooklyn just feels more me, you get what I'm saying? Besides, you're confusing me for the other guy. He's from..."

Queens? Why did he know that? Why did he feel, no, know that Spider-Man was Peter Parker? Those memories during his battle with that other Green Goblin left him quite unsettled. How did he even know that that monster was indeed called the Green Goblin? He didn't look anything like him, other than the green skin. If anything that monster looked more like some demonic Hulk.

But that was besides the point. Why did he have those memories, if he could even call them such? He was overthinking it. Probably came about as a result of some concussion during that fight with those mercenaries. Speaking of, he'd need to address that particular problem soon after he delivers those presents to FEAST. Which meant that he needed to leave, now.

"-Queens....You know what, I gotta dip. Like, I love the whole, wizard vibe thing you got going on, but I have no idea what you're talking about, and I got more important things to deal with. So-."

He'd look around to see if there was any windows. But it would seem he was left inside the basement of whatever building he teleported inside of. So he'd look towards the staircase, and attempt to jump towards it and pull himself upward with a web-line. That is, unless the sorcerer stopped the teen in his tracks before then.

[Ysmir]

"I'm Dr. Stephen Strange. I've come to show you the way out of this hole you're in."

---

Strange could have predicted this. The Spider didn't take this information to heart, and in fact, seemed to rebel against the idea that he was not of this earth. Either that, or he thought the Doctor was simply joking around. Whatever the case may be, Strange merely sighed when he began to go on about Queens and Brooklyn and all other manner of tomfoolery. One thing him and the older Spider-Man had in come; they were jabbermouths at the best of times.

But then, something seemed to click behind Spider-Man's mask, and Strange caught wind of it. An errant memory of a life not quite his own, causing him pause and no small amount of confusion. Strange pointed.

"You know I'm telling the truth, Spider. I understand your trepidation, but this is a matter of life and death -- not just for yourself, but the entire universe. We need to act," Strange tried to explain further.

Strange groaned when Spider-Man attempted to flee. Lifting a hand and waving it about, the Spider found himself web-swinging -- nearly directly into a wall. A portal had opened before the webslinger, hopefully disorienting him enough to throw off his sense of direction. Then, with two further gestures, the floor of the catacombs beneath the Sanctum seemed to rise up and seal off the staircase completely, leaving a wall of bricks in its place.

"I can't let you leave, Spider-Man," Strange said, "not until you realize the gravity of the situation we're in."

[bio858]

Well, that was unexpected. The last thing Miles thought when he jumped towards the stair case to pull himself upward with a web-line, was that he'd be shooting a web through a portal of all things. As the hero pulled himself up, his spider-senses would start to tingle, giving him a sensation that something was about to bruise him from up above. Not the same tingle that felt like a twinge, indicating a stab wound or a gunshot, but just something that might make him feel a little sore.

However, despite them tingling, he didn't have all that much time to react. Not knowing what he was pulling himself up towards, he'd instead flip forward, forcing his back to take the brunt of the blow instead. When the impact came, it felt like his back had slammed into a wall, akin to his early days of web-slinging when he hadn't had the hang of it and came slamming into buildings.

With his hands keeping him attached to the wall, he'd look up to see that he was stuck to the right of the room he was in a moment ago, except he was viewing it upside down. Crawling around, he'd adjust himself to see that the staircase was now replaced with a wall. There was no way out now.

With the imprint of his body right below him on the wall he was attached to, he'd look up and forward towards the Sorcerer. This guy didn't want him to leave for whatever reason, and Miles would probably need to fight his way out if he wanted to escape.

"Alright man, I don't know how you did that, and honestly I don't care. I gotta get back and I'm not letting some Dumbledore with a PhD get in my way. How do you get a doctorate in magic though? Like seriously, just outta curiosity, where do they teach that? You know what, off topic. Gotta whoop your behind first!"

Focusing his "Venom" through his feet, he'd feel the electric charge pulse through his body. Once they reached the bottoms of his soles, he'd feel a sudden push towards the Sorcerer. Not wanting to throw a punch in case it did far more harm than necessary, he'd aim to just go for a super fast shove, hoping the electricity channeling through his body was enough to knock Strange out.

[Ysmir]

"I'm Dr. Stephen Strange. I've come to show you the way out of this hole you're in."

---

Oh, brother...

Unfortunate turn of events, but Strange had prepared for this eventuality. It wasn't every day that one was whisked away to an unfamiliar place and told by an unfamiliar face that your entire life was a lie. Whether this was a self-defense mechanism, sheer stubbornness, or some combination of the two didn't matter. Strange had to defend himself now, and figure out a way to make this Spider-Man see the truth. He lifted his hands, and magical circles of eldritch runes formed before devil-horned palms.

"I earned my doctorate before the magic," he quipped back, narrowing his eyes, "Kamar Taj is my alma mater."

When Spider-Man launched himself toward Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme crossed his hands in front of his chest. With the most faint of whispers, inaudible to all but himself, he cast a spell that rendered his body completely intangible -- likely surprising the Spider when he went right through Strange's body with zero resistance, as though the man wasn't even there. Strange spun about and rose into the air, hovering with the aid of the Cloak of Levitation.

"This is not a fight you can win, Spider-Man. I know this must be confusing, but you have to trust me. For the sake of everybody," Strange implored the young man, holding his hands out once more. "We have precious little time that runs out by the second."

[bio858]

The sudden acceleration boost did nothing for Miles in terms of helping him hit Strange. In fact, the sorcerer would prove how powerful he is, by the simple fact that Spider-Man would be unable to hit him at all. The hero would dash right through the sorcerer, rolling across the ground as his feet slid upon floor. Ending the skid in one of the iconic positions that Spider-heroes typically take, he'd look up towards the floating sorcerer.

"Kamar Taj huh? I'm so adding that to my list of schools to go to-Uh, not that I'm looking to go to college or anything. By the way, you think magic is an elective at ESU?"

Yep, he had picked up his mentor's habit of talking while under severe amounts of stress. He apparently was fighting a sorcerer that can turn himself into a ghost too. How was he gonna beat this guy? Hell, how was he gonna escape.

"Alright, fine. Seeing as I have no clue how I'm gonna take down a Ghost Magician, let's say I take you seriously. How am I supposed to go back?"

[Ysmir]

"I'm Dr. Stephen Strange. I've come to show you the way out of this hole you're in."

---

The boy beneath the mask certainly lent credence to the Spider-Man name. He was a jabbermouth, just like the other one. It made Strange roll his eyes.

But really, could he blame the kid for deflecting the gravity of his situation with humor? Some people could stand to learn a thing or two from that. But not now.

"There is no getting back. Not at the moment," Strange answered, lowering down from the air and touching back onto his feet. "Do you wish to know why?"

Strange pressed his palms together and widened them slightly, a glowing ball of yellowish-golden energy forming in the space between them. When he pulled his hands apart fully, the orb floated and then was projected against one of the brick walls of the catacombs, spreading out into a doorway that had a swirling vortex of light within its frame. It didn't look exactly inviting, but Strange approached it regardless.

"If I can't convince you, then I'll just show you," he elaborated, gesturing toward the portal. "Maybe then you'll understand just how important this truly is."

[bio858]

With Miles asked just what he needed to do next to go back "home", Strange would respond that there wasn't a way back at the moment. That left the teenager confused, until the Sorcerer offered an explanation. Or rather, a way to see what he meant, as Strange would open up a portal just behind the teenage Spider-Man.

Miles would look back towards the portal, trying to look into it to see if there were any images or any clues as to what destination the portal would take him to. He saw glimpses of a city, very familiar to that of New York. In fact, some of the buildings and streets seemed familiar, very akin to the block he actually lived on. Did this guy know who he was?

"Hey, this looks exactly like my neighborhood fam. You sure you taking me to a new dimension?"

When Miles pondered about walking inside, his Spider-Senses tingled in a unique manner. Almost like a hum across his entire body. The danger wasn't severe, at least not yet, but it definitely gave him a bad feeling about that portal. Something about it meant bad news.

"You know, on second thought, I think I'll dip out on this whole universe hopping thing. I just got a bad vibe about all this. So if you'll excuse me..."

He'd attempt to walk past the sorcerer, quickly looking around his surroundings in case he can find another way out. One that sadly didn't involve any stairs.

[Ysmir]

"I'm Dr. Stephen Strange. I've come to show you the way out of this hole you're in."

---

The portal Strange produced wasn't one of true travel; rather, it was a three-dimensional window into another world that was not their own. The purpose of this window was to see without risking the harm of actually moving through dimensional rifts, which wasn't something to be done lightly. But the Spider had to understand the stakes of all this, lest he turn his back on the situation and risk endangering every life in their universe.

And if he wouldn't stand and face it of his own volition, then Strange would make him.

"Open your eyes, Spider," Strange uttered, waving his hand. "Look a bit closer."

When Miles walked past Strange, the portal accelerated rather suddenly, enveloping both Strange and Spider-Man and transporting them to the safety of the Mirror Dimension, but wherein they could see through the thin veil between worlds into another universe -- Earth-1610.

The source of all this madness.

It was New York; this much was for certain. But something was off about it, and the closer one looked, the more one could see that things were not as they seemed. And for Spider-Man's part, being exposed to his home reality brought with it no small amount of discomfort.

"I know who you are, Spider-Man, but your identity doesn't matter in the slightest," Strange said, taking a few steps forward. They were hovering in the open air above New York City, but as though walking on solid ground. "It's where you come from that concerns me. Your home reality. This reality. The one you've forgotten, buried deep in your subconscious. The one that you keep getting flashes from, seemingly outside of your control."

Strange looked at Miles. "The one that threatens to destabilize mine."

[bio858]

The teen did not expect the portal to suddenly envelope him from behind, leaving him flowing in a strange, ever flowing cosmos. Suddenly, he'd feel himself flipping and floating around in this endless, colorful abyss, before being suddenly lurched forward in this ever endless sea of colors. In his seemingly endless spin, he'd catch the Sorcerer, seemingly floating in place right alongside him, until...they were right back in New York.

The city looked just as familiar as before, though it was missing a few familiar buildings. Avengers tower for starters, with just a regular, smaller, Stark building standing in its place. He'd see an island in the distance with a unique building housed in its center. A place Miles somehow knew was the secure SHIELD facility called the Triskelion.

Deeper into the city, Miles would note the iconic Baxter Building looking a bit taller, and shaped a lot more like a tower. From his memories, he remembered something from the news telling him it was initially a government facility for something called the "Think Tank". Other than that, he'd also note that a lot more of the city was left in construction. As if it was still trying to recover itself from multiple tragedies. Some of which Miles could recall, for whatever reason.

"It's New York, but....it's different. Where did you take me!?"

As if one cue, he'd see the familiar flying helicarrier and that of several giant robots. Those that Miles would recall as Sentinels, though he was surprised such things would be seen flying about. Captain America was able to employ scientists to make a cure for the mutant gene. Another thing Miles would strangely recall.

"...Ugh....my head!"

Whiles Miles struggled with these newfound memories, the new world around him would continue on with its strange circumstances. He wouldn't notice that the extent of this universe would be about a few miles of water outside of the 3 boroughs of New York. It would ironically be merged with that of another version of New York, with several of its bridges cordoned off by robotic sentinels, SHIELD agents, and a couple of superheroes. All to oppose some strangely shambling corpses running amok against the large scale barricades that had been set by SHIELD some time prior.

There would even be several ships and sentinels patrolling the seas, along with quinjets and aerial heroes, all trying to patrol the skies to prevent anything from crossing between the borders of these 2 universes. Something terrible was brewing, and the sorcerer would no doubt be able to see it.

[Ysmir]

"I'm Dr. Stephen Strange. I've come to show you the way out of this hole you're in."

---

"I wouldn't have believed it either, had I not seen it with my own eyes," Strange said.

There was a reason he never traveled between dimensions unless absolutely necessary. Time -- space -- the multiverse; these were things that are still poorly understood, even by today's lofty standards, and not concepts that one should trifle with lightly. Sometimes, his work required it, but even then he approached such situations with extreme amounts of caution. And this was why.

This universe, the universe Miles truly hailed from, was one of disaster and tragedy. Strange scarcely knew off the top of his head what precisely caused the chaos they saw before their very eyes, but his brief research told him that it was anything but natural. Someone, or something, had been meddling with this alternate dimension, and various others. Including their own.

He wasn't sure how, or for what reason, but one thing was very clear; it had to be stopped.

Strange noticed the youth in pain, and reached out with a hand to enter his mind. A wave of calm washed over Miles when Strange focused, bringing the turmoil to a halt for the time being and shutting off his memories from the rush of information presented to him. It wouldn't be a permanent fix, but it would make things easier for the time being.

"Do you see what I meant now, Spider-Man?", Strange asked, gesturing across the landscape to him. "This is just a taste of the fate that awaits our dimension."

[bio858]

New York (Earth 1610?)

With Miles falling onto his knees upon the near invisible glyph that levitated him far above the New York skyline, he'd be unaware of the Sorcerer waving his hand in front of his head. The sudden flash of memories would suddenly stop appearing, as his head felt relieved from the sudden influx of memories coming into his head. Standing upon on his own two feet, he'd tell the sorcerer "Thanks."

Strange would then look upon the chaos of the borders and tell the Spider the effects of him being away from this home dimension. Though that would open up more questions for Miles than answers.

"Wait, what? Are you saying I did this? There's no way, I..."

He'd then look towards the Baxter Building, and see that the top of the building would be...glitching out for lack of a better term. It would seemingly blast out into a bunch of particles out of a single focal point, before the building returned to its original condition. That of it being whole and solid again. But a few moments later, the building would then return to the walls and matter blasting out from some focal point inside the top floor of the building. With said matter seemingly frozen in time, before its all rewinded back again to the same state the building was before.

"Over there. I...think something happened over there that I need to see. You need to see. I don't know but, can you take us there?"