Chapter Text
Steven winced.
Although being a good distance away from the confrontation between Jake and Marc, he could clearly hear the loud crack Marc's nose made when Jake gave him a heated jab.
He could interfere, he could stop them from injuring each other like this but Marc had explicitly told him not to.
No matter what was Jake's reaction to what he just told him.
Steven watched Marc return a punch to Jake's abdomen which brought the other man to his knees, but did nothing further.
It was getting more and more violent and Khonshu appeared to be enjoying every moment of it.
Even within their head-space, the God was present, much to Steven's chagrin.
Marc grunted as he held his now gushing nose, yelling and screaming as he held onto it.
Steven made a face and turned away from the scene.
Jake was still on the ground and had a bit of difficulty trying to get up.
The God chuckled, his voice deep and full next to Steven.
"Its not bloody funny!"
The Brit scolded, his voice tired.
"This isn't something you should be having a laugh about."
Khonshu's ancient, beaked skull turned to stare down at Steven.
"On the contrary, worm, Marc Spector brought this upon himself. He failed to see what consequences his little secret might bring in the foreseeable future and now... the consequences of his actions are dueling him as we speak.
Go for the face again!"
Steven raised an eyebrow at the God, who was cheering on Jake as he proceeded to a connect few punches at the mercenary.
"What? He will be absolutely fine later.
I am surprised you aren't having a go at him, he did lie to you too. About your entire existence, proceeded to make you feel like it was somehow your fault..."
"I got that!"
"...Tried to trap you back into this inner world but this...oh, this tops the cake."
"OK! I got that! He didn't do all those things just for a laugh as you make them sound to be."
Steven said.
"He did it for me and Jake, he should have asked us if we were okay with this before he-"
Khonshu watched as Jake tackled Marc, both falling onto the sand with painful noises coming from both men.
Steven also witnessed this and instantly shut his eyes, looking away.
"Oh my God, can you get them to stop!?"
"But it has barely begun."
A whine.
"Now please!"
Steven watched the God kvetch under his breath before summoning his staff, accompanied by a gust of wind that blew around the sand underneath them.
"Enough!"
Steven winced again.
Khonshu had used the air to launch both men in opposite directions, creating some distance between them.
Jake fought the element, clawing the ground and slowing himself down before tipping and rolling over.
His cap had been blown off, nowhere to be seen.
The sand fell down and Marc got up.
He did so slowly and in visible discomfort.
Khonshu's massive stature materialized next to him and stared down at the man.
Steven ran towards Jake who was lying on the sand, cursing in a different language and groaning in pain.
Steven tried helping him up, to which he paid for, painfully.
Jake had punched Steven in the exact same place he did Marc, his nose.
He watched the Brit stumble back before falling on his ass.
Steven screamed profanities and half finished sentences.
All in different pitches of his voice.
All as fast as the pain surging instantaneously as when Jake connected the jab.
"He had nothing to do with this!" Marc screamed at Jake from a distance, he was being held back by Khonshu, trying with what he could to try and get to Steven but the sand held onto to him.
Each grain helped form chain like tendrils that crawled up to his shins.
Heavy and pulling him down.
Jake snarled at Marc before staring down at Steven who held onto his nose and whimpered.
Slight regret made itself present in him.
"You didn't?"
Jake questioned, concerning over the other man.
"No! Why would I be okay with that!?"
Steven grunted afterwards, getting up and standing in front of Jake, trying to avert his glare away from Marc.
"How was I supposed to know?
You two always co-front, which might be more weird than you both think it is, I don't know what you both do all day!"
Jake tried a reason.
"I hear you but with the consequences that were in on that spell, I wouldn't take the chance."
Steven felt the pain on his face slowly start to die down, little by little.
Yet, touching his nose seemed to be causing those sharp resurgences of pain to sweep right back.
"You don't seem to be pissed-off by this!"
Jake challenged and gave Marc a quick glare behind Steven.
"I am, believe me, I am! After what we have been through together, the fact that he took the deal and almost went through with it, I also feel betrayed."
Steven confessed to Jake, who is still fuming and pacing.
The Brit turned to face Marc, who was still under Khonshu's influence and unable to move.
Unable to get to them and give them his own reasons for doing what he did.
He saw Marc's eyes scream apologies at his.
His eyes didn't bother listening, so he turned away from him.
"I still am." He repeated.
Even with the distance between them, Marc could see the hurt in both his alters' faces.
That distrustful look Steven gave him, the questionable expression Jake had on before they both evaded their eyes away from his.
The God was behind him and refused to acknowledge his constant struggles to be close to Jake and Steven.
Somehow, Khonshu also seemed to be displeased by Marc, his body language showing signs of frustration and hostility.
Jake eyed Steven, then back at Marc angrily.
"He said he fucking loved us. He said he trusted us, that he would never leave us! What's rich is that we believe it for 2 years. Meirda!"
Steven noticed the other man's eyes, although in his angered state, he was equally as devastated to find out about Marc's attempt to be rid of them. Yes, Marc attempted to get rid of his alters.
There were no signs leading up to this act. Khonshu himself wasn't aware until the spell was almost done.
Should he had not interfered a moment later, Jake and Steven would have been erased.
Although Steven barely had any respect for him, loosing him would have been detrimental in the future and Jake was just as valuable, if not more, as Marc himself.
Jake was crushed, a little more than Steven thought he would be.
It's confirmed now, Jake was at the verge of tears.
"Khonshu, please let me talk to them!"
Marc begged, tears forming and his voice almost giving up on him.
"Khonshu please!"
Marc tried his best not to sob but the tears in his eyes made it impossible not appear that way.
A strip of mummy wrapping tied itself around Marc's mouth a moment later.
To his surprise, the God simply silenced him.
"You must let them talk Spector. After what you pulled, I think it's best you let them discuss what to do with you." Khonshu spoke, his voice distrusting, his voice spitting.
Jake, although still furious, let Steven hold him.
The Brit firmly wrapped his arms around Jake, a simple gesture the other man always appreciated whenever he could.
He needed it.
"What's important is that Khonshu interfered before the damage was done."
Steven assured and felt Jake's hand rub his back, letting the leathery sensation glide over his cotton shirt.
"Listen, I don't know where the body is right now, I think you should front for a bit, we can chat about this later, alright?"
Silently, Steven requested.
Jake nodded and let go of Steven, seemingly a bit calm for the moment being.
******
His eyes opened a moment later, greeted by a piece of fabric hanging over his face.
He blinked a few times and watched the fabric blow out of sight.
He didn't know where he was but he could clearly see he was in a library of sort, dusty and old it was.
Shelves were arrayed everywhere around him including a man who was hovering at the entrance.
Jake whipped back to see the man hovering in front of him and the red fabric was now acting as his cape.
"Haa... good to see you're awake."
The man spoke.
"Who the fuck are you?"
Jake questioned , slowly getting up and feeling his jacket for a gun he thought he had.
"I take it you're not Marc. Which one are you? Steven? Jake?"
Jake watched the man land effortlessly on the ground and started making weird hand gestures.
"I said, who are you?" Jake repeated.
"The angry one, so you must be...Jake?"
The man concluded.
"Dr. Stephen Strange, master of the mystic arts. Nice to meet you."
"Where am I?"
Jake questioned, frantically looking around the library.
He turned around and stared out the large circular window and noticed an almost familiar skyline outside.
It was night but he was really sure of what city he was in now.
"You're in the Sanctum Sanctorum, in New York.
After you all botched the spell, you were out cold for almost the entire day. Wong and I took a look before we thought I had killed a man and...seriously?"
Jake watched his gun fly out of his hand when he had tried aiming at the magician.
Strange made it fly away and casually continued to keep Jake up to speed.
"Either you listen to me or get Marc out here so I can tell him what needs be done next before some other side effects happen."
Jake summoned a pair of silver truncheons and took a defensive stance.
"Fuck Spector."
He cursed and gained a running start before the wizard summoned a bright orange-glowing rope of his own and caught Jake's ankle, tripping him in one pulling motion.
The red cape had swiftly encircled him and he had lost access to his arms and legs.
Strange sighed, increasingly getting annoyed.
"I swear to God. Listen, Marc Spector came here looking for someone to cast him an alteration spell. He came to me.
I did as a favor.
He told me you were both okay with it after I specifically told him the conditions."
"You tried to kill us?!"
"I wasn't the one trying to kill you, your unbalanced souls made the spell do that, that's how most of Dark Magic spells work. There's always consequences!
The spell was never supposed to stop, it could not be stopped. Yet somehow, for you, it did."
Jake stopped struggling.
"Khonshu stopped it."
He said under his breath.
"Listen, with half finished, ancient spells, there's always something bad that's going to happen next, usually things that threaten the very fabric of reality, I've seen it happen. I think it's best if we finish it now and whatever the outcome... please know I did it as a favor for a very... very desperate man."
Strange again started making those hand gestures again, this time more quickly and less intricately.
"No! Please! Stop! Steven doesn't deserve this. Let him stay!"
Jake tried, with all he could to at least tear out the cape of levitation.
"I'm sorry, I cannot choose who the spell favors but it has to be finished before we are all altered from existing reality or worse. It'll be easier if you try not to fight it."
Jake struggled harder as the sorcerer approached him with some glowing between his fingertips.
"Brace yourself, Lockley!"