snowblindrpg | [network] @ADMIN; Obituary [DAY 304]

[ If it wasn't Stephen who asked, Gabriel would just leave this. ]

It was Vanitas. Don't bother him about it, if he doesn't answer here. He's taking it hard.

What happened?

Ah, looks like he's answering. But yeah, Billy got locked out. It's at least easier to travel around now- we can keep an eye out for him reviving.

Yeah. Yeah, he could...he's come back before.

[He has a harder and harder time trying to convince himself to believe these platitudes when a friend dies, let alone convince others.]

Yeah. Give it a week and hopefully he'll be back.

I didn't know you two were friends. Haven't been stalking the network enough lately, I guess.

He's...familiar in a lot of ways. Like the others from his world were.

[So even if not a close friend, someone it hurts to lose.]

His world was similar to yours, I'm guessing?

[ He thinks for a moment about asking if there were mutants in Stephen's world, but- it doesn't matter, and it's probably better if he doesn't know. He sighs. ]

I didn't get to talk to him much. I freaked him out, with the whole 'compulsive murder' confession. Which is fair. But he seemed like a good guy.

Yeah, that...tends to freak people out. The Avengers who were here, they were from his same world, too. They all knew a different me from back home.

So it's like an alternative version to your world.

[ That gets the wheels turning, in ways he'd rather not think of. ]

So you do have mutants, or something like them, then. That's the closest thing there's been to people like me, back in my world. Humans with a gene that allows them individually-developing special abilities.

[ He sighs and reaches for something else. ]

Did you know the Avengers back in your world? Were the people here different?

[Too late, he catches the direction Gabriel's mind has taken. If he hadn't self-corrected -- Stephen's still tempted to tell him he's wrong, that he's never heard of mutants, but if he's got some idea about the Avengers and mutants in his head that'll only make him fixate more on how it all actually works. There's a blip of hesitation, then he replies like it didn't happen.]

Only Tony, and I wouldn't say I knew him back home. We'd bumped into each other a couple times at fundraisers. The one here wasn't like him, really.

[And Stephen thinks more and more that he probably isn't like their Dr. Strange.]

[ Meanwhile, Gabriel's caught between warning Stephen to incapacitate him immediately if he shows up in that universe and just not saying anything. Ultimately, the latter wins out- Stephen is probably better at anticipating the sort of threat he'd be than he is. That the other man just moves on like it was never mentioned gets Gabriel to relax just slightly.

Ignoring is better, definitely. ]

Weird. I wonder if anyone else has run into that sort of thing. I know Steph wasn't surprised by another version of Batman, but that's about it.

[Give him something else on which to fixate. That's the goal right in this moment, and it's helping distract Stephen as well.]

I don't know. Nat -- Natasha tried to document the worlds we'd all come from, but the general conclusion was that it's hard to be sure which are shared and which aren't because there are such small differences between a lot of the Earths represented here. Ones like mine are kind of an outlier in some ways for being relatively identifiable.

That's right. I'd forgotten that Natasha did that survey. It's too hard to categorize, I guess. I suspect it'd end up like species classification eventually, but we don't have the tools or time to really study it.

[ He appreciates the distraction a great deal. Not that he can mention it. And he doesn't want to bring it back to Billy's death- that'd be no good for Stephen- so he continues on. ]

So what was this other version of you like? Did you ever ask?

Yeah, I asked.

[Of course he asked. He's still trying to figure out how he feels about the answer.]

He's the Earth's Sorcerer Supreme. It's...kind of a big deal.

[ Gabriel chuckles. ]

I'd assume so, with a title like that. Is that more like a job title or an award?

Job title is probably the closest -- rank, maybe? My teacher was the Sorcerer Supreme. I'm...not.

Hmmm. You're not Sorcerer Supreme, but maybe you will be in a few years. And then you'd have more of a reason to interact with all those people. If that's the case, maybe it's more of a time dilation issue than your worlds actually being so different. You don't know them yet, but you will?

[ It was a complete guess. But Stephen seemed pretty passionate about magic when he was explaining it to Gabriel before- it wasn't hard to imagine he'd pick up that sort of 'rank'. ]

What does someone do as Sorcerer Supreme? Protect the earth from supernatural threats?

I'd say I'm trying not to get my hopes up since it is a different universe, but I'm not sure hope is the right word. The rest of us, the masters, we do our part in protecting the --

[He catches himself about to say the Sanctums, but finds suddenly that he doesn't want to explain the mystical mechanics of the Earth's only defense against Dormammu, devourer of worlds. At least, not any further than he's probably already let slip to Gabriel in other conversations.]

-- the Earth, but she was the last real line of defense. She held...everything together.

[ That catch is obvious, but he and Stephen seem to have reached an agreement. Gabriel doesn't press the points that Stephen avoids, and Stephen watches out for where Gabriel would focus too hard. He appreciates the consideration, especially since both of their worlds are apparently similar. ]

I can see you being the last line of defense for the Earth. Now, whether that's the sort of job you'd want is a whole other ballgame.

[ The next point is approached rather carefully and gently. ]

She's not around anymore?

[That's the trouble. The Sorcerer Supreme bears a heavy burden, but so do the Masters. Stephen is all too aware that he's already made his decision. This is the path his life is on now, wherever it leads.

He goes quiet a moment. It's been months now, from his perspective, but the loss was so abrupt, his relocation here so sudden afterward, that there's only distance from it, not resolution.]

No. Kaecilius, that -- guy I told you about. The one who wanted to hand the world over to Dormammu. Like I said, she was the last line of defense.

[Until Stephen took up the call, but he leaves that unsaid.]

Ah.

[ He's quiet too, for a long moment. All of his mentor figures have betrayed him, but if one didn't and they got killed? That would tough to deal with. ]

Were you the one that sent him off to spend eternity in the Dark Dimension, then?

Technically speaking, that was Dormammu. I just made a bargain with him.

[There's a note of regret in his voice. At the time it had felt very clever, but he's aware that it wasn't kinder than killing them. The worst of it is that he wouldn't do it any differently if he had to do it over again.]

...are you feeling bad about that? Maybe I need to siphon some of your empathy, because you clearly have too much. You saved the world and gave him what he wanted. It's not your fault he wanted something stupid.

[ Even Sylar could appreciate that you did good. He lives on Earth, after all- completely destroying it has never been on his agenda. ]

[He has to at least smile at that, but if he laughs at all, it's almost too quiet and brief to register.]

I've spent my own eternity in the Dark Dimension.

[Not really the same as what Kaecilius and his zealots would have faced, but...well, empathy.]

[ Really? Well, that sounds awful. ]

Was that part of the bargain? That you went with them?

[ His voice is quiet. He doesn't want to hear that Stephen came out of- and will be going back to- what was essentially Hell. ]

[network] @ADMIN; Obituary [DAY 304]

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