Chapter Text
Kate Bishop woke up in the Sanctum Sanctorum feeling groggy and stiff. She hadn't slept well on the dusty couch and her movements ached as she stood up and stretched. Normally, she would head to her kitchen or Clint's and start up the coffee maker at the first opportunity. This morning, her unfamiliar surroundings presented a challenge. She headed out into the hall to look for the kitchen, or whatever resembled it in the dusty old museum he seemed to call a home. Kate's mood was foul, befitting of her rough battle and evening before. Coffee would improve things immensely, she decided.
Getting a better look at her surroundings, Kate noticed things in the hall she hadn't late the night before. A grail with a shimmer of light within, hidden beneath a large ornate glass cover. A burlap bag which squealed, lumpy objects moving inside of it. Some masks were hanging on the walls, their eyes moving, tracking her movements as she walked past. And books. Lots and lots of books some of which slowly crept along the floor, trailing her as she moved up the hall and opened doors in her search of coffee.
"Creepy," thought Kate as she pushed open a door which finally revealed a simple kitchen - a NORMAL kitchen, with a gleaming espresso maker on the countertop. Kate smiled with satisfaction as she plugged it in, and grinned even more broadly when it produced the most delicious espresso she'd ever had in her life. Kate put the cup in the sink, paused and then considered her day. What the hell was she going to do in this place? She'd get bored silly within an hour, she guessed. She leaned on the counter wondering what to do next. Kate grabbed an extra mug out of the cupboard, made a second espresso and went in search of the master of the Sanctum Sanctorum.
"Hello?" Kate called out as she entered a large room, almost as big as the ballrooms her father used to host his Bishop Foundation galas within. Her voice echoed into the void, making her feel terribly small. The space was massive with ornate hardwood floors. The walls were lined floor to ceiling with books, some as thick as Kate's torso. Many of the tattered volumes looked ancient and had titles in languages she did not recognize. Other books were piled into dusty stacks randomly on the floor. At the end of the room was a massive circular window which gave a beautiful view of the tree lined road in front of the Sanctum. It was well into mid-morning already, Kate guessed as she spotted Dr. Stephen Strange sitting beneath the window at a desk, his body slumped over a book. His face was pressed into its pages and for a brief moment, Kate didn't see that he was sleeping. Annoyed, she walked over to him with the espresso, prepared to make a huff about how rudely she'd been treated last night. When the Avengers had dropped her off at the Sanctum Sanctorum at the ungodly hour of 3:25 AM, Stephen Strange had answered the door in relative state of calm, but it was clear he was unimpressed he'd been asked to do such a huge favour unexpectedly.
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Kate had touched a Chitauri artifact in the midst of their battle. It was a silly looking scrap of metal, really - but it had glowed when she had picked it up and she hadn't realized at the time that her DNA had imprinted upon it. She also hadn't realized that silly looking scrap of metal had really been a weapon, one capable of massive destruction and now could only be operated by her. Loki, realizing his error, had attacked her repeatedly in an attempt to seize Kate and control her mind. His plan to use the weapon himself had blundered with Kate picking it up first. America Chavez and Wiccan had whisked Kate away from him, while Thor and the rest of the team had continued to battle the Asgardian fiend. Loki had fled, but the device remained on Earth. Kate was safe, but the Avengers and Kate alike were stuck with the hollow realization that it was really just a matter of time until Loki returned to try capture her and the weapon again. Captain America and Tony Stark felt that the best decision (against Kate's repeated protests) was to hide Kate away from Loki, preventing her from being controlled and hence operating the artifact. Kate's team preferred for her to keep fighting and to defend her if necessary. After a heated, lengthy argument between her Young Avengers teammates and the Avengers, Kate was still arguing to stay in the fight. Clint, who was for the most part quiet during the debacle, quietly slid next to Kate and asked to speak to her in private.
"I know you don't like it, Katie," he'd said while looking down at the ground, avoiding her gaze. "I just... I know you can protect yourself. You can. You're Hawkeye. This is Loki we're talking about here though. Widow told me we were never meant to fight gods and magic, and now we both know she's right. I nearly lost myself completely to Loki's powers the last time the Chitauri invaded. I killed innocent people and I still live with that guilt every day. I'm not the same person I was... and I can't and won't let him do the same to you. I think you should hide Kate... and be safe, at least for right now. Keep us all safe."
Kate's heart had sunk when Clint had finished, and although she'd considered fighting with him more about it, his worried face made Kate decide her part in the argument for her to continue fighting was over. Clint had never really spoken to her about what had happened during the time he'd been under Loki's spell, save for once. He hadn't gone into detail and was vague, but the waver to his voice at the time had betrayed him. Kate had felt chilled enough not to press him for details. Just for today, she would hide. She didn't like the feeling of being cowardly, but she wasn't sure she wanted to bring about the end of the world either. There was no winning with the sinking feeling that Clint was probably right and the safest option right now was to evade Loki.
Captain America, Clint, Wanda and Billy had brought Kate under the disguise of a mirage spell to the doors of the Sanctum Sanctorum in the midst of a storm. Perfect escape weather, Kate had thought grumpily. She didn't know a thing about Dr. Stephen Strange, but Billy had insisted it would be safe and Strange had listened to their tale in the front hall of his home and had peered at Kate while Cap spoke with urgency. The Doctor was dressed in robes, a cape and looked tired, Kate thought. He didn't actually say a word when Cap asked about Kate staying there and for the Doctor's protection, but had merely nodded his agreement to the plan. Kate would stay hidden under the protection of the Doctor and the Sanctum Sanctorum until Loki was found and both he and the weapon were returned to Asgard.
Clint had given Kate an awkward hug before the team had left, noting softly for Kate "Be safe... he'll make sure you are okay." The team had then left quickly after, leaving Kate shivering, cold and wet, standing next to Stephen Strange in the Sanctorum's darkly lit hallway.
"Miss Bishop, there is a couch down in the study, fourth door on the right." Strange had then turned and promptly disappeared, the swishing sound of his robes the only evidence of presence there moments ago.
"What a jerk," thought Kate, who had felt alone and angry with only the rain outside listening to her thoughts.
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Kate was growing impatient standing before the Doctor, who was still snoring softly into the book. "Stupid wizard. I hate being stuck with you here..." she muttered and placed the mug next to him and the massive volume of spells. She glanced quickly at the opened page, reading the sloping, cursive ink written on the page. The Protective Gusts of the Eastern Winds. The Cloaking Spell of the Crackoi. The Hiding Hum of the Hallowed Highlands. Doctor Strange had likely spent most of the night reading up on how to best protect her and here she was thinking of how much she had annoyed she was with him and this place. "I guess you're the jerk now, Bishop," Kate sighed.
"Thank you for the coffee, Miss Bishop. It's rare for me to spend an entire night awake and poring over my library. When I practiced neurosurgery, I had no issue with performing a C6-C7 spinal fusion in the small hours of the morning... I apologize for sleeping in."
Doctor Strange's voice was soft and quiet, with a definite air of exhaustion and weariness behind it. He smiled slightly then sat up slowly, reaching for the espresso. His face was creased with the indentation of the pages he'd fallen asleep on and his robes slightly tattered around him.
"An espresso as well. Excellent."
"Yeah... you're welcome, Doc."
The Doctor took a sip out of the small, crisp white mug and then stretched his neck.
"It's Stephen, actually."
"What?"
"You can call me Doc if you like, but all things considered, I prefer to be called Stephen."
"Okay... Stephen." Kate crossed her arms, uncomfortable with the Doctor's calm demeanour. She felt him examining her with his gaze, as if he were searching her for information. He then yawned and spoke again.
"I wasn't expecting you to arrive at my home when you did. I suspect your colleague Clint had something to do with your sooner than expected arrival..."
"I guess you could say he talked me into coming here, yeah."
"Clint Barton may be brash, but he was wise to advise you to stay here under the protection of the Sanctum Sanctorum. Loki returned several times last evening to find you, but was unable to breach the Sanctorum's entrance. I believe Thor and the remaining Avengers are in Asgard now, persuading Heimdall to help them find him."
"So that means I'm staying here then, at least until it all blows over."
"Yes, Miss Bishop."
Kate, frustrated, fell into a heap into the chair across from the desk, sighing and groaning slightly at the prospect of her remaining in hiding. She was angry - she should be leading her team against Loki right now, she thought, not sitting here in some magician's dusty library, bringing him coffee.
"Well. I can see this isn't a very pleasurable start to the morning for you, Miss Bishop. We'll have to change that..." Kate interrupted him with a sharp voice and blurted, "This sucks... Stephen. Doctor... whatever you are. I mean, I don't see you fighting with the team right now! What is it exactly that you do, anyways? How are you and this building going to protect me from Loki?"
Stephen Strange took a moment before he replied, seeing Kate's frustration, and did so with a slight quirk of his eyebrow. "I used to practice medicine here in Manhattan. I was involved in a car accident, rendering me unable to perform surgery. Now I work in stranger ways... to keep this city... and planet... and realm of existence safe from things you can't even begin to imagine, Katharine Bishop. I spent all evening in my astral form casting 2,472 spells and hexes to keep you safe. I then summoned some of our allies in the spirit plane and the multiverse to help me keep watch on this place, a spiritual fortress of sorts, bargaining their favour with charms and more spells. And then, I passed out. Even doctors aren't allowed to work the morning after an evening on-call."
There was a lengthy silence. Strange and Kate stared at each other and the longer the quiet moment lasted, the more Kate felt ashamed for her behaviour. She was a guest here, whether she liked it or not, and clearly Stephen Strange was decent enough to protect her. Just as Kate was thinking up a suitable apology, Strange spoke. "Miss Bishop, have you ever visited the astral plane for brunch? I know a fantastic place that does avocado toast on multigrain, or almond pancakes if you prefer..." Kate grinned at the thought of food. "Call me Kate. And yes, I am SO down for food right now."