Lost Between Worlds

Sixty-One

Peters senses were going crazy, and he knew something was off. The way Strange smirked at him, the look in the man's eyes, something was definitely off, he couldn't shake it. Walking back into the main room, he scratched his arms, unable to lose the sense of dread, that ran over him... 'Anyone heard from Steange lately? Or Wong?..'.. Peter asked the guys, as the women had left.

'Not really, Dr Smug doesn't answer when I call..'.. Tony shrugged.

'What is it?..'.. Loki stepped forward, watching him.

'I went to speak to Charley, and watched her go through a portal with Strange, but something is definitely off with the guy. When he smiled at me, there was something in his eyes I can't explain it..'.. Peter shook his head... 'I just got a really bad feeling about this..'

'Is it your Peter tingle?..'... Tony set his cup down. This was serious, and he absolutely believed either Peter, when they would say they had a bad feeling.

'Its spidey senses, not Peter tingle..'.. Peter rolled his eyes... 'I can feel it, something is wrong, and I've tried calling her..'.. He held up his phone... 'Straight to voicemail..'

'Do you know where they went?..'.. Steve asked, as Bucky walked in, muttering under his breath.

'No idea. But Evie needs to be kept safe..'.. Peter looked over to Tony who nodded.

'She's got the girls around her, and I can have them taken a safe house, away from here that only Pepper knows about if that helps..'.. Tony asked him.

'Yeah, sounds good. See if they can find out, if Evie has seen her mom with Strange and what they're doing..'.. Peter said, as Tony pulled out his phone, firing off a message... 'I can't explain it Tony, something bad is going to happen, and we need to find Charley..'

'Any ideas as to how?..'.. Steve asked, looking around at the others.

'I do have a thought, but as to whether it'll work or not, I don't know..'.. Peter glanced over to Loki... 'In our reality, our Loki died, but the marriage bond wasn't broken..'.. He saw Loki catch on.

'What do you mean?..'.. Bucky asked, sipping his coffee.

'A marriage bond can only be broken through the spell, not even death breaks it. If one dies, they wait on the other side until reunited..'.. Loki cleared his throat... 'It is possible, that the bond is linked to me in this reality, it would certainly explain why I felt connected to her so quickly..'

'Does Charley know about this?..'.. Tony looked between Loki and Peter.

'I don't know, but right now, it's our best chance at tracking her fast..'.. Peter tells him and turns to Loki... 'Can you try?..'

'I can..'.. Loki moved to sit on one of the couches, and rests his head back, closing his eyes, taking deep breaths.

'Whats he-..'

'Shh..'.. Peter held his hand up to Sam, signalling for everyone to be quiet as he watched Loki concentrate. It was a long shot, but if it didn't work, who knew how long it would take to find Charley.

'They're fighting. It is not the right Strange, it is another, dreamwalking..'... Loki said, sitting up and opening his eyes... 'I can feel her, I could hear her thoughts. She is not using her magic, or powers, but hand to hand. We need Wong, he is the only one to portal us to where they are..'.. Loki stood, rubbing his forehead.

'Why isn't she using her magic?..'... Steve asked.

'Dreamwalking is very dangerous, as you don't know what version of that person is coming through, even this Strange knew the dangers and price to be paid. Dreamwalking is forbidden magic, dark magic..'.. Peter looks across to Loki... 'If he pushes her to use hers, she'll turn dark..'

'It does not surprise me that she knows dark magic..'.. Loki shook his head... 'Do we have a way of contacting Wong?..'

'On it..'.. Tony heads to his lab, snagging Bruce on the way... 'Come find us when you got a minute..'

'Ok, so the girls protect Evie and get somewhere safe, the rest of us, suit up. We don't know what we're walking into but we have to be safe..'... Steve tells them all... 'Loki..'.. The asgardian turns to him... 'If you feel anything happen to her, tell us straight away. Whatever it is..'

'I will, but I would not worry too much captain, this is a powerful woman, who would kill to protect her child, and do it while smiling..'.. Loki smirked... 'I feel as though perhaps we should start funeral arrangements for Strange..'

'She can't go dark..'.. Peter shook his head... 'Charley has a lot of demons and trauma she never really dealt with. Using dark magic, it's addictive for her. She barely held on and got through it last time. Think of it like a drug, I don't think she could handle going cold again..'

'Then we must find her, and fast..'.. Thor cleared his throat... 'Do you know where she is?..'.. He turned to Loki.

'It was a place, high in mountains, nothing I could recognise. Returning to Asgard, and asking Heimdall may be an option, but I fear we may be too late..'.. Loki sighed heavily. He didn't want to think of the repercussions of Charley using dark magic, especially when her heart and soul were fractured. He didn't want to think of what they would have to do to stop her, if she couldn't let go.

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'Come on! Is that the best you got, really?..'.. She called out from behind a large rock, holding a hand to her side where he had created glass shards, and thrown them at her. She had some other minor cuts from dodging them, but he caught her in the side with a big one. She had pulled it out, tossed it to the side and saw it was deep.

She wanted to heal herself, but using her magic, would give him the chance to drain her of it. She knew many forms of magic, but it was all too risky to use... 'This Strange knew how to fight, don't you? Or are you too much of a pussy to go one on one?..'

She heard him chuckle, from the left so she shiffoed around the rock, keeping out of sight. She needed to wear him down, knock him out somehow, but at least she was alone, she didn't want anyone else getting hurt. She had no idea where they were, only that it was fucking freezing, high up in the mountains.

'Oh I can fight, but I don't have time to play your games Charlotte..'.. She rolled her eyes at the name... 'In my world, you were perfect, weak, breakable. Fought so hard to protect life, and yet you couldn't even save the people you loved the most..'

She ground her teeth, not wanting to let him get to her. Seemed she couldn't save anyone, no matter what universe she was in... 'Your own father died, because you hesitated. Your husband, well..'.. She heard the crunch of stones beneath his feet, as he moved closer to her... 'You let him die, to save yourself, and you let your son get taken. You couldn't even fight to protect him..'

Nope, she wasn't going to listen. It could all be lies, a way to get her to use her magic. She could feel it crackling beneath the surface, screaming to be let out... 'I call bullshit..'.. She rolled to the side, and threw her knife. The last weapon she had against him, and she sprung to her feet, running as far as she could from him. She had no idea where to go, and slid to a stop, almost falling off the edge. She quickly took in the view, realising she was in the Appalachian mountains.

'Seems you can't protect any of your children Charlotte. I'm really disappointed at how easy this is..'.. She turned to look at him, but felt her body get thrown back into the open air, before the wind whipped around her, as she plummeted to the ground below.

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