Lights → Doctor Strange

{don't ever say that again}

Riley sat on the edge of the window, staring out at the snow outside. A blizzard raged outside and blew in freezing air, but she didn't seem to feel it. Her eyes were empty as they traced the outline of the mountains in front of her. Strange stood behind her, running hands through his hair.

He wasn't sure what he was going to do. As Supreme, it was his job to act as a judge in her trial. She had killed a man. She had caused an earthquake that had almost destroyed a heavily populated city. Strange's cape unattached itself and floated over to Riley. It hooked onto her shoulders, wrapping around her snugly. She didn't even move, she just stared outside into the blizzard. Snowflakes were caught in her short hair.

Strange gently brushed her shoulder. She flinched, looking up at him blankly. "The council will be here soon," he warned. She just nodded. "Maybe you ought to change?" Strange suggested. Her tunic was splattered with Mordo's blood from the fight.

Riley shook her head, "No."

Strange squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath. "Please?"

She just looked at him with that same stubborn gleam in her eyes. It was useless. She was going to plead for a pardon in a tunic spattered with Mordo's blood. The sound of voices came from down the hallway. The council was here. Strange held out a shaking hand to Riley. She took it and stood but didn't let go. The worst parts of the burns had healed on his hands, but that didn't make Riley feel any better. She gave his hand a squeeze, and he looked at her sympathetically.

They walked up to the third floor, where the council was gathered in one of the rarely used rooms. There was a long, wood table with plain chairs around it. They walked to the end of the table and Strange pulled Riley's chair out for her. He sat down in the seat reserved for the Supreme, but it felt wrong sitting there while Riley was awake.

Strange clasped his hands together, staring each sorcerer down around the table. They all looked away from his stare. "I assume we all know why we are here," he said. His voice was deep and commanding. The other sorcerer's nodded their heads.

"A threat has been taken care of," the master of the Hong Kong sanctum said.

"She killed Mordo and almost leveled a city, you mean!" the master of the London sanctum fired back.

Immediately, a heated argument flooded the room. Most were on Riley's side, but some didn't condone the lethal force used. Riley watched them squabble, her eyes flooding with tears. She should've known better than to have used dark magic. It was a fluid, evil thing that used you for it's own means. But the hatred was so alluring, it was almost impossible to resist.

Strange yelled for order and slowly, the room calmed. "Riley Harper," he said, staring her in the eyes, "To the charges of destruction, murder, and the wielding of dark magic; what do you plead?"

"Guilty, Supreme," she whispered. Tears trailed down her cheeks as she said the words.

"You know the punishment?" Strange said gravely.

She gave a small sob, "Death."

"I can't deny the charges put against me, and I won't try to. It's true, I did the things they said. I'd like to say I did it for the better of all mystics, but I did it simply for revenge. The mistake was on myself alone. I should've known better than to trust dark magic," Riley said softly.

Strange's throat closed up as he tried to maintain a professional appearance. "I see," he said softly. "Is that all?"

Riley shook her head slowly, "No... I might have something I can do, that would help."

Strange gestured for her to go on.

"I might be able to give the sorcerers back their magic that was stolen," Riley said, wiping a stray tear off her face.

The people around the table gasped. Chatter broke out a second time and Strange shushed them, "Are you sure you can do this?"

Riley shook her head, looking down at her lap to hide her tear stained face, "I'm not sure of anything, Supreme."

"Let us vote, then," Strange sighed. There was nothing else he could do to help her. His tired eyes wracked the crowd of people in a silent plea. Be easy on her, he silently begged, let her have a second chance.

"In favor of guilty?" Strange called.

The London master and a handful of others raised their hands.

"In favor of not-guilty?" Strange asked.

More than two-thirds raised their hands and Strange blew a sigh of relief into the air. She was safe. Riley cried harder, standing from her chair and leaving the room. Strange's red cape was still on her shoulders, keeping her safe from whatever would come her way. Strange stood from his own chair, and so did everyone else. "You're dismissed," he said softly. The sorcerers all filed out of the room, back to their own sanctums.

Strange waiting a minute before heading towards Riley's room. She was on her bed, Amulet in hand. The light inside of it glowed brightly, but there was still a speck of darkness in the middle of it. He walked to her and sat beside her, reaching over to her. She pulled away from him, finally looking up and meeting his eyes.

"It should've been guilty," she whispered fiercely, "I deserve it."

Strange stood and angrily paced, "Don't say that."

"It's the truth!" she shouted.

Strange watched as she stood and walked over to him and shouted, "I deserve it!"

The way she said it was almost like a challenge. "So do I, then," he said quietly, shoving a hand through his hair, "I killed a man when Kaecillius attacked. No one blamed me for it, but I knew there had to be a consequence sometime. And here it is."

"I-I don't understand," Riley stuttered.

"You think you deserve to be put to death because you killed a man in a fight? A man who stole countless other sorcerer's magic? If anything, they should be thanking you. We pay the consequences for things like this ourselves. Do you think there's a day that goes by when I don't think about the fact that I killed a man? I made an oath to heal people, not kill them," Strange said quickly. He pushed the words out of his mouth like they burned his tongue.

Riley trembled all over, "I killed him, Strange. I killed him, and I didn't even think twice."

Strange was close to her, inches away, "I know. And you have to live with that."

Riley pulled at the ends of her hair, "I deserve it, I deserve it."

She muttered it over and over and over and it made Strange's blood boil. A fresh well of tears spilled out of her eyes and down her cheeks. She wouldn't stop saying it, so Strange made her.

He pushed her against the wall roughly, capturing her mouth with his own. She tensed a moment before kissing him back. Her eyes fluttered shut as she focused on the kiss. Her arms wound around his neck and she pulled him closer. He ran a hand through her short hair before pulling away. "I don't ever want to hear you say that again," he whispered.

And he kissed her again, until Mordo's death was the last thing on her mind.