Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sara had been having a pretty normal day so far. Or, at least what could be passed for normal on the Waverider. She’d woken up next to Ava (who had still been asleep), and walked to the galley for breakfast. Mick was up already, beer in hand, reading his latest draft of a novel at the table. After breakfast, she went to the bridge to ask Gideon for a report on the timeline.

This was her morning routine. Most of the time, she was the first one up. Her League training made sure of that. Occasionally, there would be someone in the kitchen, or Ava would wake up when she did, but it pretty much stayed the same.

They had just dealt with the last alien pod. After cosmic bowling, a little normal was exactly what everyone needed.

Nothing could ever be normal for very long, apparently.

Sara tensed as a glowing yellow circle appeared out of thin air in the middle of the bridge, on the opposite side of the command table from her. A man stepped out, and immediately met her eyes. His expression was serious, bordering on somber. He was tall, at least six feet, and had a sharply trimmed beard and neatly combed brown hair. What really stood out about him was his clothes - deep blue robes, tied with a large leather belt that Sara was sure had more of a purpose than first appearance showed, and a large red cloak fastened at the shoulders, that flowed down to his calves. His overall posture screamed authority, though he didn’t appear to have a weapon - in Sara’s mind, that made him more of a threat. The lack of a weapon normally meant one of two things - combat skills, or powers. Or both. Sara really hoped it wasn’t both.

“Sara Lance?” The cloaked man asked, breaking the silence. Sara shoved down her shock, responding. “Yes. And you are?”

“My name is Doctor Stephen Strange. The rest of the story is complicated, but there are a few things you and your team need to know. I assure you, I mean none of you any harm. Sorry for the uninvited entry, but this is a bit...time sensitive. May I..” Strange gestured toward the library with one hand. Sara gave him a look, like ‘Really?’

“I don’t normally invite strangers who portal in at random to sit and chat.” She deadpanned, raising an eyebrow. He didn’t seem like he was going to attack her, but she wasn’t to get the tea, or herself killed for lack of caution. In fact..

“Gideon?” Sara called, gesturing for Strange to give her a second.

‘Yes Captain?’

Sara felt a small bit of relief at Gideon’s reply. Her still being on was a good sign. “Who am I talking to right now?”

There was a short pause, before Gideon responded. “I’m sorry Captain, but there is no one in my database with the name Stephen Strange, and I’m not finding any matches for facial recognition,”

Sara, somehow, was not surprised. She addressed Gideon again. “Will you have Rory come down here please? Tell him it's important. And if Strange here tries anything, warn the team.”

“Of course.”

Sara hadn’t taken her eyes off Strange during the exchange. She forced herself to relax slightly. Not letting her guard down, but also not as tense. “So.” she said, “You said you had something important to say?” He nodded, unfazed, before slowly walking around the command table to face her. He opened his mouth to speak right as the door opened. Mick strode in, speaking, “Boss, what’s so-” He stopped abruptly, mouth open. He blinked at Strange, before looking at Sara. “Who’s costume party over there?” he said gruffly. He moved to stand next to Sara, keeping a close eye on Strange.

“This is, Doctor Stephen Strange.” Sara stated. “We met five minutes ago, when he portalled onto the bridge. We were just getting to why he’s here.” Strange nodded at Mick, before speaking. “I’m here because your dimension is not the only one.”

Silence. Sara looked at Mick for a second, a disbelieving look passing between them, before Sara addressed Strange again. “That’s not possible! All the other Earths were destroyed! I saw the antimatter wave myself, they’re gone.” Strange was already shaking his head before she’d finished speaking. “I don’t mean other Earths, I mean other dimensions.”

Sara opened her mouth, but Strange held a hand up. “I promise there’s a difference, but can we bring everyone else out here first? I don’t want to have to explain everything twice, it's a long story, and I have a feeling you’re going to want your team after what I tell you. Sara sighed. “Gideon? You heard him. Call everyone on the bridge. And I mean everyone. That means John and Astra too.”

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Honestly, the Legends’ reactions to Strange as they walked in probably would have made Sara laugh, if she hadn’t been very, very worried about what exactly the man was there to tell them. Please, she thought to herself, don’t let this be another apocalypse-level event.

She was pretty sure the odds of that happening were higher than the chances of it not happening, at this point.

Behrad was the first one to walk in. He stopped in his tracks at the sight of Strange. He didn’t say anything, just gave Sara a bewildered look. Sara just gestured for him to come over there. “Behrad, Doctor Stephen Strange. Doctor Strange, Behrad. Is that what you like to be called?” Sara added, glancing at the man in question. He nodded. The name exchange had done nothing for Behrad’s curiosity. The air-bender was looking at Strange’s outfit with wide eyes, and firing questions at him, “Whoa, dude, who are you? That outfit is awesome! What..” Sara stopped him. “Hey, B, I know you have a lot of questions, but let’s wait for the team.” Behrad looked slightly disappointed, but nodded.

Ava was the next one to walk in, looking concerned. “Sara, Gideon said something important was happening on the bridge…” Her words trailed off as she caught sight of Strange. She pointed at Strange, giving Sara a look. “Who is this? Do I want to know?” Sara beckoned her over, taking her hand when she reached her. “I have no idea who he is yet,” Sara said. “but as soon as the rest of the team gets here, we’ll find out.” Ava gave her a small smile, with a hint of worry. “A team meeting? Do you think it’s big?” Sara honestly wasn’t sure, but she had a feeling…”If I’m trusting my gut? I think it might be. But I hope I’m wrong. I don’t know much yet.”

Spooner and Astra came in about a minute after. Spooner’s steps faltered as she caught sight of Strange. She glanced at Sara, before raising her eyes skyward. “Should I ask? Are we waiting for the rest of the team?”

Sara’s answer was a quick, “No, yes.”

“Okay.”

Spooner promptly walked over and leaned on the command table, watching Strange carefully as she went. Astra followed her, only glancing at him. Strange was beginning to look exasperated.

John came in next, looking as exhausted as ever. He froze when he caught sight of Strange. Strange seemed to focus on John immediately. “A warlock, then?” Strange questioned. John nodded stiffly. He seemed abnormally nervous. Strange seemed intrigued, but confused. “I can sense the magic on you, but something seems...off.” He was squinting at John like he was a particularly interesting puzzle, and he couldn’t wait to figure out the secret to solving it. Sara felt her confusion growing. Could Strange do the same thing John could? Sara introduced them quickly, boxing up her confusion. It could wait.

Nate and Zari 1.0 came in last, looking a bit ruffled. No one commented on that fact. Nate’s eyes grew to the size of dinner plates when he caught sight of Strange, while Zari just seemed curious. Nate immediately started a stream of questions. “What? Who is this? Is he...are you from the future, because I don't remember that outfit from any period of history? When...” Sara interrupted him. She had been doing it a lot since Strange arrived, and was pretty sure she wasn’t stopping anytime soon. “Okay, save the questions Nate, because first, we need to figure out why he’s here.” She turned away from Nate to face Strange, “So, Doctor Strange, why are you here?”

Chapter Text

Strange took a deep breath. “Okay for those of you who weren’t introduced, my name is Doctor Stephen Strange. I’m a Sorcerer, I harness energy drawn from other dimensions of the multiverse…” John cut him off with a ragged, sarcastic laugh. “Bollocks. That’s not how magic works. You don’t just harness energy from other dimensions. You need rituals, sigils, or spells to draw on magic. Maybe from other dimensions, sort of, but I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a multiverse.”

Strange felt annoyance rise in him at John’s outburst, but something was stopping him from responding as harshly as he might normally. There was something...wrong with him. Strange couldn’t figure it out. He could tell John had magic, but it seemed almost artificial. There was a danger lurking around John, Strange could sense it, but it didn’t to be from him. He would figure it out later. For now, he measured his words carefully before responding to John. Angering him would accomplish nothing.

“I assure you, that’s exactly how magic works; at least the kind I use. You and I, John, use very different kinds of magic. I called you a warlock earlier, but I believe I was mistaken. I don’t have a name for what you are, and I can’t pinpoint what kind of magic it is you use, which is rather confusing, but I don’t have time to dwell on it right now.”

Strange looked back at everyone else. The rest of the Legends had confusion written all over their faces. Sara was giving him a look that he knew meant that they would be having a conversation later.

Strange started again. “Okay, I think I’m going to make this a little more interesting. I draw energy from other dimensions of the multiverse.” He remembers what the Ancient One had done for his first real magic lesson, conjuring the glowing symbol, punctuating each sentence with another addition to the magic. He did the same thing now, trying not to take too much pride in the awed looks he receives. John just looked stunned. “To cast spells.” He snapped, as more light appeared, and the symbol got larger and more elaborate with every word and wave. “To conjure, shields.” The symbol was a bright orange, and was getting louder with each addition. The raw magic sounded like a hundred sizzling sparks going off at once. “And weapons.” The Legends view of Strange was almost completely blocked at this point. “To make, magic.”

He emphasized the last word by pushing his hands towards the glowing symbol, sending it towards the Legends. There were gasps as it trembled violently and got closer, before it stopped abruptly, dissolving in a shower of embers.

Strange could understand a little more how the Ancient One must have felt in that moment. It really was a good way to get people to focus. “However.” He said, “what I am, and how that works, is not why I’m here. I’m here, because there is a new threat coming from my universe. If he gets through us, he’s coming here.”
Strange glanced at Sara. Her expression was one of steely determination, but she was holding the hand of the woman standing next to her in a white-knuckled grip. He hadn’t gotten her name. She didn’t seem to mind Sara’s death grip, but her expression was one of deep concern, and a little fear. He could tell that this team had already been through a lot, but he knew that this was inevitable. They had to help fight Kang. Without them, and any other heroes they might know, Strange knew the Avengers wouldn’t win alone this time, together or not. He had a feeling that there were going to be several key players necessary to win this, and he wasn’t going to be able to do it alone. He didn’t have that one single future out of fourteen million this time - there were too many variables this time for even him to see. But, he had a plan. Or part of one. At least 12% of a plan.

So he explained. He told the Legends about everything.

About what had happened so far, from Tony Stark’s abduction in Afghanistan, to the Infinity Stones, down to the events that led up to the battle at the Compound, and the end result of that battle.

About the losses they had faced.

He spoke of how, three weeks after the fight, there had been a massive disturbance. About how Wanda had stretched reality, and Loki had somehow managed to create the multiverse. Not multiverse as in the Quantum realm, and alternate dimensions, but the multiverse of infinite possibilities - the multiverse that would bring a war; a war with a power hungry, dangerous conqueror who would stop at nothing to own every branch of the multiverse.

He explained how he had spent the last eight months, post-battle with Thanos at the Compound, looking for more allies. He had searched his own area (Earth and nearby) first, and had mostly just found who they already knew about.

The Legends looked more and more disbelieving the longer he spoke, but he wasn’t done. He explained the new generation’s rising heroes. The newer faces, such as Spider-Man, who is just learning what it is to be a hero, and yet fought next to all the more seasoned Avengers during the battles with Thanos, like Kate Bishop, who was on her way to filling Hawkeye’s shoes, Harley Keener, who was currently assembling his own suit of armor, Cassie Lang, who so desperately wanted a suit of her own to join her father, Monica Rambeau, who Strange was still trying to figure out, and Yelena Belova, the possible new Black Widow.

Strange knew there were many others on the rise, but none of them were ready enough to help with the current threat. So Strange told of how he had started looking in realms beyond his own, to see if there were any other heroes out there.

“Which brings me here.” Strange concluded, looking around at the Legends.

None of them seemed to have any idea what to say. Even John, who always had a retort on his tongue, and Mick, who rarely ever seemed to be interested in others’ stories, were completely silent, focused entirely on Strange.

Almost as if they all had the same thought at the same time, everyone honed in on Sara. What had she thought about Strange’s story?

Sara was about three shades paler than normal, and she had fear on her face, but the determination was still there. She met his eyes, masking her fear. She suddenly turned away from Strange, facing the Legends.

“Send a message to team’s Flash, Supergirl, and Arrow, and tell them to contact anyone and everyone they can trust, and to meet us at the old star labs research facility as fast as they can get there. They’ll know what it means. Mick, you and Gideon are in charge of contacting past legends. I have a few phone calls of my own to make.”

Chapter Text

Sara marched towards the jump ship, confident that the team could do as she asked without too much trouble. She knew they were all probably scared, but there wasn’t time for consoling right now. They had to act quickly. This was not going to end like Crisis. They were going to prepare, be prepared, and they were going to win. Without losses. No one was going to die this time, not if she had anything to say about it.

She was halted in her tracks by Ava’s call of “Sara! Where are you going? Wait for me!”

Sara turned, talking quickly. “I’m going to the jump ship. Ava, I can’t lose anyone else. I won’t. I have to…” she stopped as Ava took her hands in hers, holding them tightly. Sara hadn’t even realized they were shaking. Sara’s eyes locked with Ava’s. She saw nothing but understanding and love. When Ava spoke, her voice was gentle. “Okay, but I’m going with you. I know you’re scared, and this is, uh, very not good, but we have to stick together. Don’t pull away from me. Please.”

Sara took a deep breath, releasing it slowly, never letting go of Ava’s hands. She was fine, just a bit shaken. She hadn’t even processed all names that Strange had dropped during his story, much less the fact that there was another big bad on the way, but she had to keep her cool. She was Captain. It was her job to keep her head on straight. What would she do without Ava?

She leaned forward, and gave Ava a sound kiss, before leaning back and smiling at her. “Thanks. I needed that. Now, we have to get to the jump ship and make a few calls.”

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As soon as they got to the jump ship, Sara called Gideon.

“Gideon, do you have any current number or contact method on record for Nyssa Al Ghul?”

“Affirmative, Captain. Miss Al Ghul appears to own a small flip phone.”

Huh. Sara would have to ask Nyssa about that another time. Nyssa usually didn’t carry anything other than the occasional burner phone, due to the risk of being tracked. Having to destroy your phone constantly puts you off owning one.

“Call her, please.”

Gideon didn’t respond, but ringing filled the jump ship. Despite Nyssa being Sara’s ex, Ava was unfazed. Getting told about impending doom will do that to you.

Nyssa picked after three rings, with a sharp ‘Who is this?’

“It’s Sara. There’s something happening. You busy?” Short, sweet, and to the point, Sara knew Nyssa would appreciate that.

There was a second of silence, before Nyssa’s surprised voice came over the line. ‘Sounds serious. I’m not busy. Where and when.’

Sara had always appreciated Nyssa’s down to earth attitude, and her ability to read a situation. She rattled off the address, before thanking her, getting a ‘You’re welcome, beloved.’ in return before the line went dead. Ava was giving her a weird look. “What?” Sara asked.

“Beloved?”

As Sara laughed at Ava’s offended look, she began to hope. Hope that they can do this. Hope that everything will be easier than it seems. She had one more phone call to make, before she cornered Strange about John. “Gideon? Can you call my dad please.”

“Of course, Captain.”

Sara figured team Arrow would contact him, but she wanted to tell him herself. She would love for him to come and stay on the Waverider until this was over, but he was Mayor. She figured her chances of convincing him to come and stay safe over protecting the city were slim to none, but she would certainly try. She’d wait until they were face to face for that conversation.

It took around six rings for him to pick up. “Sara! Are you okay baby girl? You don’t usually call on Monday’s.”

At his voice, Sara had to force herself not to cry. His voice made her realize how stressed she's been, and, shit, how was she supposed to tell him she’d been abducted by aliens? Again. Maybe she would just leave that part out. At least for now.

“Sara?”

She hadn’t realized she hadn’t replied until he spoke, his voice taking on a worried tone. She replied quickly, trying to say everything in one breath. “Hey, Dad! I’m okay, I promise, but we had a..uh, an unexpected guest today. And we learned a few things. I can’t really explain right now, but we’re assembling everyone at that old Star Labs research facility I told you about. I really need you to be there as soon as you can.”

“Uh, yeah, I can do that, honey. Who’s the unexpected guest? Do I know them?”

Sara almost found that funny. Did he know them? Not exactly. “No, you don’t him, but you’ll meet him and my team soon. I love you Dad.”

“I love you too Sara.”
Ava, who had stayed silent throughout the exchange, surged forward and wrapped Sara in a hug the second the call ended. Her arms wrapped around her shoulders, squeezing firmly. Sara returned the gesture wholeheartedly. Ava always seemed to know exactly what she needed, when.

As Sara started to relax slightly, Ava murmured in her ear. “We’ll deal with this, and come out on top. Just like we always do.” She pulled back a little, just enough to look into Sara’s eyes. “Besides.” She said, “If what he said is true, we're going to have a lot of extra help.”

Sara smiled. Ava was right. They were going to be fine. Better than fine. This might even be a good thing in some ways. New allies was always a good thing, but an entire new group of heroes? And more to come? This might have a good side after all.

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So, a couple minutes later, with Ava having gone to get something to eat and a cup of coffee, Sara walked onto the bridge, where she found Nate and Behrad talking to Doctor Strange with excited looks on their faces. No Zari. Sara assumed she was back in the totem, and her counterpart was probably with John. Speaking of.

“Hey guys, can I borrow him for a minute? There’s something we need to discuss.”

Nate and Behrad looked disappointed, but they nodded. Behrad put his hand on her shoulder as he walked by, but Nate paused when got to her, looking her in the eye with an uncharacteristically serious expression, and putting his hand on her arm. “You good Cap? You seemed a bit nervous earlier. I mean, I get why, but, still, you know?” His voice was quiet.

Sara had no words for how much she appreciated Nate. Moments like these made her realize she didn’t always appreciate him enough. He never doubted her, even when he probably should, and was always a solid, reassuring presence, even when things fell apart. Here he was, checking on her, the Captain, after the announcement of another possibly world-ending threat. Sara remembered his words in the bar, right before he’d seen her when she got back for her abduction.

“The tallest tales, it’s time to write the Legend. Who wants to go first?” He had been ready to pick up the pieces, if Sara and Mick hadn’t come back.

She reached up, and gripped the hand resting on her arm. She tried to put as much gratitude in her eyes as she could when she looked at him. She responded just as quietly, affection lacing her words. “I’m okay, I promise. Just got a bit shaken for a second there. And I don’t think I ever said it before, but thank you.”

He gave her a bewildered look. “For what?”

She gave into impulse, and pulled him into a bear hug. “Thank you for always being you.” She said into his shoulder. He seemed surprised, but he returned the hug with equal ferocity. Apparently, life or death news turned Sara into a hugger. They broke away after a few seconds, and Nate gave her a heartfelt grin before leaving the same way Behrad had.

“They sent off the messages you said.” Strange tells her as she walks over to him. Sara nods. She had figured they wouldn’t delay. “So.” She says, “What’s up with John? Everything about the way you guys acted earlier was...weird.” Strange sighed. “Honestly? I wish I knew. But, you know how I called him a warlock earlier.” She nodded again. “Well, I don’t think that’s exactly accurate. He seems more like a mage - someone who uses symbols, strange rituals, and spells to harness magic. That’s what I picked up on when he first walked in. But, past first glance, there’s something...off. I can’t put my finger on it.” He raised an eyebrow. “You trust him?”
Sara answered without hesitation. “Yes. I've known him for a long time. He can be a bit...unorthodox, but I trust him. Why do you ask?” Strange had an odd expression on his face.

“Because, if I didn't know any better, I’d say that what I’m sensing around John is remarkably similar to chaos magic.”

“Chaos magic?” Strange nodded. “It’s basically exactly what it sounds like. “Chaos magic’ is technically over simplifying it, but regardless, it’s dark, corrupting, evil magic. Often, the wielder believes they can control it. In reality? It twists them, slowly. Even a person of perfect morals can eventually be influenced by it.” He wanted his hand, summoning some orange sparks. “What I use is good, clean multiversal energy. Magic drawn naturally through good spells and movements. Where I’m from, I’m a guardian of sorts, called the Sorcerer Supreme. It’s my job, along with other sorcerers, to study magic and protect New York's Sanctum - basically our headquarters - and the world from magical threats. Or off world ones.” He stopped, gauging her reaction. Honestly, she’d heard so much today, him being a guardian sorcerer wasn’t going to faze her.

Seemingly satisfied she was following, he continued. “What I’m Saying is, I’ve seen people, stopped people, who tried to use Chaos magic. If John is…” He glanced away for a second. “Has John been acting weird lately? Like, I don’t know, his personality has been amplified? Or maybe he’s a little more aggressive? Even quicker to jump in?” Sara’s first instinct is to say, ‘Nope, everything’s normal,’ but the more she thought about it, the more her heart sank. His quick and sudden return from the so-called fountain, with his magic fully restored. How he’d been so determined to use his magic to help out lately, like he was proving he still could; transporting the ship to Earth, spontaneously putting them in Gary’s game…

Shit.

She looked at Strange, and she knew he could read it on her face. He scrubbed a hand down his face, suddenly looking tired. “How do we get rid of it?” Sara asked, slightly desperate. She was not going to lose someone before this whole thing had even started. “That depends,” he replied. “On how he’s come to have it. Is he, in a word, possessed? Does he have some kind of amulet? He might even be ingesting it somehow. We have to know before I can do anything. Possession is by far the hardest to deal with. It almost always is fatal, unfortunately. Something like an amulet would be the simplest, as you would just have to take it, though that can be difficult. You never know how hard it is to get off. Ingesting it, like a potion of sorts, is somewhere in between. Survival rate is higher than possession, but it has some withdrawal-type symptoms. It can be fatal, depending on how much is being ingested, and how weak or otherwise said person is.”

Sara felt like she had aged five years by the time he was done. She appreciated being told everything straight up, but that didn’t make it any easier to deal with. She had a feeling Zari wasn’t going to take it well. She murmured under her breath, “John, what have you gotten yourself into.” Closing her eyes for a second, and letting out a heavy sigh, she put back on her ‘Captain Mode.’ “Okay, well lets keep this between us for now. I’ll tell Ava, too, though, and we can keep an eye on him. Between the three of us, we should be able to figure out which one it is. For now, we need to jump back home and meet everyone. Explain what’s going on, before you get everyone together.” He nodded, before giving her a small, genuine smile. “You know, I don’t give out compliments to just anyone, but you seem like a damn good leader so far. If anyone is going to make a difference in this, it’ll be you and your team.”

Well. if everyone wasn’t trying to get Sara to cry today. Instead, she held out her hand to Strange. “To making new allies.” She offered. He shook it, echoing her statement. She let go, and announced, “Gideon, call the team. It’s time to jump.”