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Robbie stepped through the portal. He couldn’t bear to send Daisy one last, mournful look. Therefore, he didn’t. And regretted immediately as the bright orange ring closed behind him. He pushed a deep breath out of his lungs. The air was different in this Dimension – purer, but heavier at the same time. The earth was black as night, the sky gray.
Inside him, the demon cackled with glee. It was home.
Then, Robbie waited. And waited, and waited. After a while, he sat down on the harsh rocks. Where was this guy? The one who’d found Robbie, wandering around this Dimension, lonely and bored out of his mind. The one he’d learned how to open portals from. The one who needed to take care of the Darkhold. The one with the red sentient cape and the facial hair and the gray stripes in his hair.
At about the time Robbie got impatient, the portal opened. Robbie scrambled to his feet. The guy stepped through, with an odd smile on his face. Too bright for this dull space between space. He was also covered in green slime, but that didn’t seem to bother him in the slightest. He nodded at Robbie, then at the book in his hands. That’s when Robbie remembered the guy’s name. Stephen Strange. How fitting.
“Sorry I’m late,” said Strange, his New York accent tinged with sheepishness. “I had to fight Shuma-Gorath… honestly? You don’t want to know. You really don’t want to know. You got the book! Congratulations. Mustn’t have been easy, huh?”
“Not worse than fighting Shuma-Gorath, I take.”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
Strange pointed at himself with both of his hands. Robbie put the book in them and realized, for the first time, that they were gloved. Completely covered in golden gloves, to be exact. Strange looked around the Dimension for a few seconds. His eyebrows knitted in concentration above his eyes. When he turned back towards Robbie, his blue-grey-ish eyes were shining. With what, Robbie wasn’t sure he wanted to know.
“Thanks for the book, my friend. I’ll make sure it finds its rightful place in the Kamar-Taj library. Trust me, the librarian won’t let it get away this time. Are you sure about this, though? You know, it’ll get pretty lonely, staying here alone.”
“I figured. But if it means keeping the demon happy…”
Strange’s eyebrows shot to his hairline.
“You know, he said, “that thing in there won’t be satisfied unless you keep doing whatever it is you’ve been doing. After a while, it’ll eat you from the inside. Clawing to get out. And trust me, I know a lot about possessions.”
“Do you?”
“Yeah, well. That’s a story for another time.”
Robbie was curious, to say the least. He didn’t push further, though.
“Do you have any suggestions? With you… knowing so much about possessions?”
Strange’s face brightened. His grin expanded on his face. Robbie hadn’t thought it possible that that smile could reach his ears, and yet… it did. Somehow. Arms crossed on his chest, the Ghost Rider waited for the other guy to keep talking.
“Actually, I have a few theories. But… I won’t be able to test them if you stay in this Dimension. It might be easier if you… you know… came with me.”
“Where to?”
“Our Earth. The one you grew up on.”
Robbie pursed his lips. There was a part of him that told him the demon wanted to stay in this Dimension. To stay home. But another part, stronger, told him that understanding the demon was better. To stay at his home, their Earth, while he and Strange researched the extent of his powers. Plus, he had basic needs: his body would, sooner or later, crave food and water, right? And those were far more likely to be found on Earth.
“If I go with you, we’ll research this demon. Correct?”
“Yup. That’s the gist of it.”
“And maybe I’ll understand what its true purpose is. Revenge… I’m not so sure anymore that it exists because of that. I’ve always thought I was a vessel for it. And yet…”
“You’re more than a shell, if that’s what you mean.”
Robbie nodded. That was what he meant. Maybe Strange did get it, after all.
“Good,” said Strange. “Shall we go?”
Again, Robbie nodded. This Dimension was already growing old. Strange slipped the golden ring attached to his belt on two fingers. His hands moved gracefully as he worked. Another portal flared to life. Fresh air flowed through. Fresh Earth air.
Robbie never looked back.