Chapter Text
Gabbi was up at four am on the dot and was downstairs in her bakery fifteen minutes later after she had showered and dressed for the day. It was a difficult job to keep up with the demand for the goods she produced, but she managed somehow anyways. Hefting a large bag of flour over her shoulder, Gabbi set off to start making her best sellers in the mornings, chewy bagels and heavenly cinnamon buns. Starting off the two industrial mixers, Gabbi was able to easily bounce back and forth between the two stands to check their progress and adjust the ingredients as necessary. Once the dough was mixed, Gabrielle set the bagel mixture off to the side and moved on to rolling out the cinnamon buns and setting them in the industrial sized sheet pan. Once they were all cut and buttered, Gabbi easily slid them into the proofing rack before starting off on making the bagels.
Time ticked passed as she worked back and forth in her mismatched rhythm, working on quicker pastries and delights that would sell out just as quickly as everything else. Before she knew it, her phone’s alarm rang indicating that she’d ran out of time and needed to open her shop. Dusting off her hands on her apron, Gabbi made her way to the front doors where a line had already formed down the block and around the corner. Chuckling as she pulled open the door, Gabbi welcomed everyone to her shop as she stepped behind the counter and started filling orders as they rolled in. Those who ordered their normal sweets were great, as she got a few high rolling customers that morning, such as the head of Stark Industries, Pepper Potts, and an esteemed Doctor Palmer.
Yes, things were going so incredibly well, that was until a familiar, and unwelcome, face showed up in the line towards the end. “Good morning Tristan. She said flatly with an unamused frown. “I thought I told you to stay away from here?” Gabbi growled as she prepared for a fight with the man who’d been obsessed with her since she dumped him about six months ago.
The taller man shrugged as he let a loose laugh escape his lips as if he was unphased by Gabbi’s shift in mood and tone. “I just thought I’d stop in and order a bagel before I headed off to work at the firm. Plus I wanted to see how my little Gabbi babby was doing.” The man known as Tristan said as a devilish smirk rose to his lips as she rang him out. Gabbi had refused to rise to his bait but the encounter had left her fuming. “Don’t forget to consider the offer I made you Gabs. It’ll be one you can’t refuse.” The man called as he left the small bakery.
Letting out a tense sigh, Gabbi rolled right back and finished off the last of her morning orders before starting on the breads that she would sell for the lunch and dinner crowds. Turning to preheat an oven she hadn’t used that day, Gabbi hummed and leaned against the counter while her doughs proofed and the oven heated up. Pushing herself up and off the counter as she figured the oven was almost up to temperature, Gabbi stepped over and started to pull the oven open when she was hit with a flash of heat before things faded to black.
When she awoke, Gabbi found herself in a sterile room of a hospital. Finding that she couldn't move very well, Gabbi frantically looked around and saw that majority of her upper body was bandaged, including her face. Slowly tears started to prick at her eyes as she realized what had happened. A freak accident. The oven she was heating up had exploded on her. She was going to be disfigured for life.
Before she could dissolve into full hysterics, a nurse stepped in and greeted the bandaged woman. “Hello there Miss Gavins, I’m Julie Placard, your nurse while you’re recovering here. There was an accident at your workplace that unfortunately destroyed the place with the resulting fire.” The woman said as she dipped her head as Gabbi listened as tears still gleamed in her eyes. “The good news is that not all of your nerve endings were damaged, and there is a moderate chance for you to recover.” Julie hummed with a warm smile as she looked over Gabbi’s paperwork.
“You might end up having limited use of your hands and arms due to scarring, but you’ll still have some range of motion after physical therapy if you can get a doctor to reattach the nerves in a new treatment that has as of yet been untested.” Julie hummed as she tapped her pen against the clipboard. “There are two doctors total that I know of that might perform the surgery, but they can all be a bit.. Stubborn. One is Doctor Etienne, a french Neurosurgeon, and the other is Doctor Strange, a Local Neurosurgeon.” She offered as she bit the cap of her pen.
“I’ll let you go over their files with the doctor later and then you can decide on who you want to try to get to perform the surgery.” She said softly before taking her leave and letting Gabbi rest. Being left alone to think, Gabbi sighed and looked hopelessly at her arms before letting the medication do its work and falling into a restless and dreamless sleep.
In the following weeks of her hospital stay, her doctor sent countless letters to Neurosurgeons all over New York but no one wanted to take on such a damaged patient that had very little chance of making a full recovery. With each passing day, Gabbi fell deeper er into a depression and eventually opted to return home after she was giving the clear. She continued to go to physical therapy every week, sometimes up to twice a week, but things weren’t getting better and she was getting more and more aggravated with how little progress she was making.
“This is useless.” Gabbi huffed as she rubbed her wrist after working on hands strengthening. “I’m not seeing progress and my hands still shake.” She sighed and pressed her head to the table as the man who was in charge of seeing her therapy watched her with a sad smile.
“It's not useless, Gabbi, you can do this. You’ve made such great strides from where you were weeks ago.” He encouraged softly as the woman before him snorted.
“Have you ever seen anyone ever actually recover from something like this?” She asked as a set of tears started to form at the corners of her eyes, almost in a hopeful manner.
“One guy, yeah. Factory accident, broke his back. Paralyzed. His leg wasted away. He had pain in his shoulder from the wheelchair.” The PT agent said as he rubbed the back of his head. “He came in 3 times a week. But one day he stopped coming. I thought he was dead. A few years later, he walked past me on the street.“ The man said, almost disbelieving it himself.
“He walked? No way. Do you happen to remember his name so I can get in contact with him?” Gabbi asked with a glimmer of hope now. Maybe she did have a chance at becoming better and going back to her old life.
“Yeah, he walked. It can take me awhile to pull the files from the archive, but I'll definitely pull them for you. You're a strong girl Gabbi, I believe you'll get your hands back sooner rather than later.” He said, patting her shoulder gently as she thanked him and left.
The next time that she showed up at therapy, her therapist gave her the name of the man who had made a recovery and a location to where she could find him. Filled with a newfound vigor, Gabbi went out and hung around until a description of the man that her therapist had given her showed up and started playing basketball. Taking a deep breath and stepping forward, Gabbi stepped forward and watched until Pangborn broke away from the group. “Jonathan Pangborn?” She asked in a shaky voice.
“Who are you? I don’t know you.” The man said, glaring at Gabbi as if she was bothering him. This caused Gabbi to retract a bit and swallow a little out of nervousness.
“Gabbi Gavins, former pastry chef. Had a bad accident when an oven blew up on me. You were paralyzed from the chest down, both hands too, correct?” Gabbi asked softly, trying with all her might to keep her composure. The man seemed to consider her a moment before nodding.
“Yeah, yeah, I heard about that on the news. You ended up getting hurt real bad, right?” Pangborn asked as he stepped out and around the chain link fence to talk to her. “How’s the therapy treating you? Can’t use your hands fully still?” Jonathan continued as Gabbi shook her head sadly.
“Therapy isn’t helping anymore. I heard you’d made a full recovery and I was wondering how you did it.” She sighed as she showed him her shaking and scarred hands before pulling down the scarf that covered her face that was only moderately scarred now.
“I'd given up on my body. I thought my mind was the only thing I had left. I should at least try to elevate that. So I sat with gurus, and sacred women. Strangers carried me to mountain tops to see holy men. And finally, I found my teacher. And my mind was elevated. And my spirit deepened. And somehow.. My body healed itself.” He told her as he gently took Gabbi’s shaking hands as if to consider them carefully.
“There were deeper secrets to learn then, but I did not have the strength to receive them. I chose to settle for my miracle, and I came back home. The place you're looking for is called Kamar-Taj. But the cost is high.” Jonathan said almost sadly seeing the distress that the woman was in.
“How much? I hardly have anything left..” Gabbi said as tears now fully pricked at her eyes at hearing there was a cost for what she wanted.
“I'm not talking about money. You’ll find hope in Kathmandu. Good luck.” He said before pulling away and leaving Gabbi alone as he went back to the game he was playing before. Mulling over his words, Gabbi turned and hailed a taxi to the place she was staying so she could start packing what little she had left for a one way ticket to Nepal.
Within a few days she had squared away what she couldn't take and ended up leasing out her studio to some aspiring artist that was more than happy to take over the lease. Settling her backpack on her shoulders, Gabbi grabbed a taxi and headed for the airport. For the first time in her life she had no clue where she was going or what she was doing.
Two days later she had arrived in Kathmandu, Nepal. Not having more than the clothes on her back, Gabbi wandered around the city for days, catching barely any sleep while she asked the odd local now and then about Kamar-Taj, and unbeknownst to her, someone who really did know of Kamar-Taj picked up on her asking and followed at a distance to see how she acted towards the locals. A few hours more of wandering around and continuing to ask, Gabbi was then approached by a couple of younger guys that seemed to act know what she was talking about, Gabbi held out a strand of hope.
Following them deep into an alley, the men’s behavior changed and suddenly she was being circled by the three of them. Letting out a strangled cry as one of them lunged at her and pinned her to the ground, Gabbi heard a commotion above her as another scuffle broke out. One of the men that had lured her into the alley went flying overhead and she let out a small shriek of surprise as the man who pinned her down launched up and at the person who had came to her aid.
As soon as the pressure was off of her, Gabbi scurried out of the way and tried to make herself as small as possible as her savior scared off the men that had meant her harm. Once the attack was over, the unknown man walked over and knelt in the dust and dirt next to her. “Are you alright? Did they hurt you at all?” He asked in soft tones as he helped Gabbi up.
When she nodded that she was okay, only then did he resume speaking. “You’re looking for Kamar-Taj?” He asked as she nodded almost tearfully before he motioned for her to follow him out of the alley. More hesitantly this time, Gabbi followed the man who seemed to know where he was going, for real. The pair ended up approaching a single wooden door on a strip that held several different gurus and monks before her savior stopped her.
“Before we go in, might I offer you some advice? Forget everything you think you know and try to open your mind to the power of the mind we teach here.” He said in a serious tone as Gabbi nodded.
“I’ll do my best, that’s for sure. I just.. I just want help..” She said in a soft and desperate manner as she tried to keep her emotions under control. With a confirming nod, the man pushed open the door to an entrance hallway that lead to a room where a man was sitting and two women were standing in quiet conversation.
“The sanctuary of our teacher. The Ancient One.” The taller man said as he gestured to the inner room as Gabbi looked around with her eyes full of wonder at the beautiful crafting of the room when the two that had been standing off to the side came over and took her coat, pack and scarf. “Oh! Thank you.” Gabbi said as her eyes tilted up in a soft smile. One of the women returned with a cup and the other filled it with a green tea with a scent that reminded her of a home she couldn’t return to.
“Thank you, thank you.” She said softly to the women who had brought her the tea and took her things. “I don’t mean to be rude here, but I would like to address everyone by their proper titles so I don’t offend anyone.” Gabbi said softly, looking up to the woman who had poured her tea, just now noticing that she was bald.
“The Ancient One.” The man who had brought her here said with a coy smile on his face as he gestured to the bald woman standing before her. Walking to the other exit the man that had been reading at the table left the room as The Ancient One called out after him.
”Thank you, Master Mordo. Thank you, Master Hamir!” The woman called after the man who was leaving as the man now known as Mordo leaned against the post to watch the two women’s interactions. “Miss Gavins.” The Ancient One said with a smile as she looked Gabbi over with an easy eye. “You’ve come here to heal your soul and regain use of you hands, correct?” She asked as Gabbi sipped at the tea she was poured.
“Y-Yes. I heard a man name Pangborn came here and he was able to walk again after he had a miracle happen.” Gabbi said softly as she shifted under the taller woman’s gaze. “I-I was hoping..” Gabbi stuttered out as she held out her trembling hands to the woman in yellow that stood before her.
The Ancient One merely smiled at Gabbi and took the younger woman’s hands in her own as if inspecting them before meeting Gabbi’s eyes. “Hm. You came here and wish for your own miracle to happen, so you can go back to creating and doing things as you did before the oven blew up in your face, no?” The Ancient One asked, a smile flickering at the corners of her lips as Gabrielle stood there with her mouth agape.
“Oh yes, I know all about your accident. That and so much more.” She told Gabbi while giving the shorter woman a knowing smile. Reaching over to the table that was beside where both women stood, The Ancient One picked up a book and casually flipped through several pages before stopping on one and showing it to Gabbi.
“Tell me Gabrielle, what do you think of this map?” The Ancient One asked as Gabbi looked over the map, seeing that it happened to be one mapping out Chakras and how to unlock them.
“Well, I only know a bit about them since I was raised in the western world, and the extent of that comes from gift shops and women who don’t vaccinate their kids.” Gabbi said as she rubbed the back of her neck, not wanting to accidentally offend anyone. This caused The Ancient One to laugh softly at her complete honesty.
“And this one?” The older woman asked with a curious glint in her eyes as she flipped a few pages back and showed an acupuncture chart.
“Oh.. Acupuncture..? I’ve never had it done personally but I knew someone who had it done on them for a nervous tick in their shoulder. They managed to get it to go away after a few sessions so I’m glad for them.” Gabrielle said as she shifted from foot to foot now, getting more and more uncomfortable by the second.
“Alright, alright. Last one.” The Ancient One said with a bemused smile. Pulling the last page into place, there was one final picture of an MRI scan. “Tell me what you see.” The older woman encouraged Gabbi ever so slightly.
“Hm.. Let me look..” Gabbi said as she stepped closer and inspected the photo. “It’s.. Some kind of Xray?” She half asked as she studied it. “Wait no.. I’ve seen this before.. That’s the MRI scan of my arms..!” Gabbi squaked, looking back up at The Ancient One who had a full grin on her face now.
“Yes, that last one is your MRI scan of your arm. Each of those maps was drawn up by someone who could see in part, but not the whole.” The Ancient One said with a shrug as Gabbi watched her with wide eyes. “The world is so much bigger than what we humans make it out to be. There are infinite breaks and possibilities. Vast multiverses that must be protected.” She told Gabbi as she sank down onto the pillows provided for such a conversation.
Following the older woman’s example, Gabrielle sat and placed her tea, intentive on absorbing the information that The Ancient One was giving her. “Multiverses? Meaning that there is more than one of me running around?” Gabbi asked hesitantly with a soft head tilt. Getting a confirming nod, Gabbi bit her knuckle a little out of anxiousness.
“There are other states too, such as the Astral plane. Where your consciousness exists outside of your body. I can show it to you if you’d like.” The Ancient One said as she watched Gabbi get briefly excited.
“Would you? I don’t want to impose too much..” Gabbi said as she shifted her gaze to the table where her cup sat.
“It’s nothing really. It might feel a little funny but it’s nothing to panic over.” The Ancient One assured Gabbi who gave a confirming nod to the older woman. Taking a steadying breath The Ancient One moved and pushed Gabbi’s astral form out of her physical form.
Looking at her hands that were now translucent and dusted in gold, Gabbi saw that time had slowed down to a fraction of what it had been. Tilting her head at her body slowly falling backwards as Master Mordo moved to catch it, made Gabbi smile. This was where she needed to be, Gabbi finally felt like she had a higher calling than making cakes and sweets for the masses of New York.
Maybe, just maybe, she could end up doing some good for the world here with The Ancient One as her mentor. Smiling up at the other woman, Gabbi thanked her again for the countless time that evening as she was finally dismissed to be shown her room and get settled in.
“Goodnight Gabbi. Get some much needed rest. You’ve had a stressful few weeks and should decompress from it. I’ll call for you when I feel that you’re ready to begin training.” The Ancient One said with a dip of her head as both of the women stood. “Master Mordo, if you’ll give her a tour, I’d be most grateful.” She said before stepping out of the room and leaving Gabbi alone with the man who saved her from a most unsavory end earlier.
“Thank you for what you did earlier.” Gabbi said as she turned to Mordo. “I should repay you somehow, for saving me and for bringing me here.” Gabbi offered as Mordo shook his head.
“Nonsense, it is my job to protect those that could become wards of Kamar-Taj.” The man said, waiving off Gabrielle’s offers of repayment. “For now, I will lead you on a tour of the grounds and where to find the Masters should a need arise for one.” Mordo said as he waived for Gabbi to follow him.
The grounds that Kamar-Taj were placed on were magnificent and the landscaping more or less took Gabbi’s breath away. Having to be ushered along more than once by Mordo, Gabbi bounced around under Mordo’s watchful eye only to become ecstatic to see that the grounds had a fully equipped kitchen like the one that she had back in her bakery. This only fueled her desire to get better so that she could start making all the comfort foods that she so dearly loved.
Eventually coming to the block where students and sorcerers alike stayed, Mordo gave Gabbi the key to her room and a paper with a single word written upon it. Looking up at the man with a slight bit of confusion, Gabbi spoke. “Shamballa? What’s this? A mantra of sorts?” She asked, looking up with a furrowed brow.
“It’s the Wi-Fi password. We're not savages here.” Mordo chuckled before stepping back and out of the room, leaving Gabbi alone with her thoughts.
Sitting upon the bed, Gabbi breathed deep. This was a new chapter of her life, and it was time to put her old life to rest. She wasn’t the naïve girl she was when she lived in New York. No, it was time to be an adult since she was after all thirty two.
Changing into the set of sleep clothes she was provided, Gabbi finally settled down for the evening. Letting her mind wander, Gabrielle let out a soft breath while wondering what lay in wait for her.