Let's Go Back

Look At The Big Picture

It had been a long couple days for Steven. Between getting rescued from prison, his brother waking up, learning his brother has amnesia, and watching his father go back into cryo, he was exhausted. He hadn't slept or showered since he was at The Raft.

After he helped his dad into cryofreeze, he decided he needed sleep. He went up to his room and took a quick shower before changing into a new set of clothes.

He desperately wanted sleep but since when does the universe ever listen to anything he wants?

As soon as he is about to get into bed, a yellow-orange portal appears in the center of the room and a man steps out of it.

He instantly recognizes the man from his many visions.

It's Dr. Stephen Strange.

"Steven Barnes, I need you to come with me," Strange says.

"Really? You couldn't give me one night of sleep?!" Steven yells in exasperation.

All Strange does is walk back through the portal. He knows the kid will follow him.

Part of Steven wants to ignore him and go to bed but the forever curious side of Steven knows he will never be able to rest until he finds out what he wants.

Steven gives a small yell in frustration before following him through the portal.

When he walks through, he immediately recognizes the building as the New York Sanctum. It takes his tired brain awhile to realize that none of this makes sense.

"You shouldn't be here. You're not supposed to become the protector of the sanctum until November and it's only June," Steven says in confusion.

This kid and the other two have been such a pain. They've had to run so much interference in order to keep the timeline intact. If it wasn't for The Sorcerer Supreme, they could have destroyed the earth.

"You shouldn't be here either. You being here changed the timeline. We're lucky that most of the events stayed the same by pure chance. It's a good thing we muzzled you or else who knows what you could have destroyed," Strange says.

Steven is a usually even tempered person but fury fills him at Strange's statement.

"Destroy it? We were trying to save it! And what do you mean you 'muzzled us'? Is that why we haven't been able to tell the others what happens?" Steven asks angrily.

"Yes, you were trying to save the world but time isn't something that can be messed with. You and the other two were arrogant enough to believe that you could change things without consequences. When The Sorcerer Supreme found out what you had done, she put an enchantment on you in order to stop you from running your mouths. Since then, all we have done is run interference in order to stop you from creating cosmic consequences," Strange says.

Steven thinks back to the events that have happened. How much of that has he prevented from being changed? That's when he remembers what happened earlier that day.

"Were you the one who turned back time yesterday when Shuri revealed we had Super Soldier DNA?" Steven asks.

"Yes, if the rest of them found out you were lying, things would have not turned out well," Strange says.

"Why are you telling me all this? You have my hands tied either way so why clue me in?" Steven asks curiously.

"The Sorcerer Supreme decided to redirect you whenever you were straying too far from the path. Well, she's gone now so I've found a much better solution than babysitting you and your ragtag team of misfit kids," Strange says.