The Flames of Amarra - DR STRANGE x OC - COMPLETE

IT'S ALL REAL

For as long as she could, Nora leaned forward on the edge of the roof. She was well above the ground, and she was still finding it hard to breathe. She tried to look back at Stephen’s dead body but it all brought her back to the endless dreams where she was the one dying. 

“That means… dreams are windows to the lives of our multiversal selves,” Stephen calmly said. 

“That was his theory,” the girl agreed. 

It was always getting worse. They were all confirming that her worst nightmares were real. They all happened somewhere. 

Wong looked up. “So that recurring nightmare where I’m running naked from a clown…”

The girl nodded. “Somewhere out there… it’s real.”

“Somewhere out there,” Stephen added, “I had a ponytail." 

Nora left the comfort of being away from them and walked back to the group. “Clowns, questionable hairstyles, that’s fascinating,” she said angrily. “Do I need to remind you what my nightmares are made of ? Everywhere out there, you kill me !” she shouted, looking at Stephen. 

“But now you know it’s not me.”

“How do I know you won’t snap one day and do it too ?” she asked, fighting back the tears. She turned to Wong and tried to stay calm before they tried to force her to therapy. “I’m leaving, and I’m taking the girl with me.”

Before she could open a portal away from Stephen, the girl gave her a sad look. “That’s why you left.”

“What ?”

“When I arrived in the other universe, ‘other you’ said she’d help me control my power because she knew how it felt,” she explained. “But then you became super weird. You were never scared before, and then you were always looking over your shoulder. One day you had a conversation with ‘other him’,” she added, pointing at Stephen, “and you left.”

Stephen sighed. “If you had these dreams, then all of the Nora Kellers in the Multiverse had them too.”

“And you’re the monster under all of our beds,” Nora hissed. 

“It makes sense,” Wong said. “Some versions of you may have known about the Multiverse and tried to protect themselves by leaving.”

“And I just went to therapy,” Nora scoffed. “How stupid am I ?” She turned to the girl and took her by the hand. “I’m sorry she wasn’t there to protect you. Let’s go.”

“Nora,” Wong called her back. She stopped and arched a brow at him. “There could be more creatures coming for her. You can’t protect her on your own.”

Stephen agreed with him. “This power is dangerous enough in the hands of a kid. Imagine if the real threat acquired it.”

Trying to get the girls to stop being afraid of Stephen, Wong stepped in. “It occurs to me, young one. We don’t know your name.”

“America Chavez.”

Nora closed her eyes for a second. There was an America in her dream last night. Someone she refused to protect because she was staying away from Stephen. They silently exchanged a look before Nora could say anything. There were probably millions of America Chavez in the Multiverse. A few hundred followed by things that could’ve required Nora’s help. Help that she refused to give.

“How did your dream start ?” she asked.

“He was talking on the phone,” Stephen answered. “To you.”