Over the course of the last couple of weeks of training with Mordo, Cassie felt herself spending more and more time in Kamar-Taj. She liked the people there, the atmosphere; but most of all, the books. She had been spending a lot of her time when she wasn't training with Mordo and the library with Wong. He barely talked to her, though she was proud of herself that she got a couple of conversations out of him on her first visit there. He was more open to speaking with her than he was before.
On this particular day, the library was empty. Usually, one or two other training sorcerers would be at the other tables, some even reading with her but today she was by herself. Wong had stepped out for a moment but she could tell by the echo of the footsteps approaching that he was back.
"Cassie," he addressed her urgently. She stood up to face him. "He's coming."
"Who's coming?" She asked him.
"Strange, the doctor that can help you. He arrived last night."
Her eyes widen. Finally some action around here, she thought to herself. "Last night? Why didn't you tell me when I arrived today?"
"He's been in meetings with the Ancient One I didn't think he would be out and about. But he's coming to the library now!"
"Now?" Wong gave her a nod. "Shit!" she exclaimed, scrambling to find her papers amongst the books she was reading. She heard the doors of the library open once more, creaking as they usually did follow by a messy-bearded Stephen Strange. He looked up and met eye contact with him. He gave a slight nod to the two of them as he balanced the books in his hand. Cassie gave out a sigh. "I have no idea how I'm gonna do this."
Wong reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. "You can manage."
"That's not very reassuring," she said but she was cut short by Strange's presence again.
He walked up to the table and put down a pile of books in front of them, Cassie could see a smirk on the ex-neurosurgeon's face. "Hey," he said to both of them.
"Mr. Strange," Wong addressed him.
"Stephen, please," he corrected him. "And you are?"
"Wong. This is Cassie." Wong motioned towards Cassie who was still standing next to him in shock. Benedict Cumberbatch was standing in front of her. Outside of the MCU, she was a really big fan of Sherlock.
"Cassie," Stephen repeated back motioning to her. "Just Cassie?"
"P-Potts," she stumbled out her words. "Cassie Potts."
Stephen nodded and turned to Wong. "And Wong? Just Wong? Like Adele?" Wong stared blankly back at him. She forgot he didn't know much about outside culture, Wong preferred his privacy. "Or Aristotle," Stephen continued but he still just stared forward silently. "Drake...Bono...Eminem..."
Without another word, Wong reached forward to grab the books he placed down. Stephen gave an expression towards Cassie, wondering what Wong did for fun if he didn't know these people. She gave him a shrug to tell him she didn't know. Wong looked at the books. "The Book of the Invisible Sun, Astronomia Nova, Codex Imperium, Key of Solomon. You finished all of these?"
"Yup," he replied popping the p.
"To be fair, so have I," Cassie butted in.
"You haven't been here for less than 24 hours," Wong said before turning back to Stephen. "Come with me." Wong walked away from the table, Stephen following him and Cassie close behind. She smiled, knowing what Wong was going to show him. They walked down the aisle of books before turning into another room, one that Cassie was starting to spend a lot more time in. "This section is for Masters only. But at my discretion, others may use it."
"Oh, so you think I'm good enough to be in the Master section eh Wong?" Cassie teased him.
He looked at her with an expressionless face before turning to grab a book on the shelf. "You should start with Maxim's Primer," he said to Stephen, knowing Cassie had already read it. "How's your Sanskrit?"
"I'm fluent in Google Translate," Stephen responded making Cassie snort back a laugh.
Wong took more books out for him. "Verdic, classical Sanskrit." He handed the books to Stephen before going off to get more.
Cassie sat on top of a table, letting her feet dangle off the side as she watch Strange walk towards the prohibited books. "What are those?" he asked.
"Books Wong won't let me read," Cassie mumbled just loud enough for Strange to hear.
"The Ancient One's private collection."
"So they're forbidden?"
"No knowledge in Kamar-Taj in forbidden Only certain practices. And I don't let anyone read them," Wong said, directing that last part towards Cassie. So perhaps Wong did hear her. "Those books are far too advanced for anyone other than the Sorcerer Supreme."
Stephen walked forward, taking one of the books down from the private collection. He flipped through it momentarily before realizing something was off. "This one's got pages missing."
"The Book of Cagliostro," Cassie told him, beating Wong to the explanation. "It's the study of time."
"One of the rituals was stolen by a former master," Wong added. "The Zealot Kaecilius. Just after he strung up the former librarian, and relieved him of his head."
"Not a pretty sight," Cassie said to no one in particular, remembering back to the opening of the movie.
"I am now the guardian of these books," said Wong.
"As am I," Cassie said jumping down from the table, standing in the toughest stance she could master.
"No, she isn't," Wong clarified.
"Yes, I am," Cassie insisted.
"Cassie," He warned her.
"Okay I'm not, but I do spend too much time in here."
"If a volume from this collection should be stolen again...I'd know it," Wong warned him. "And you'd be dead before you even left the compound." He reached forward and took the book out of Stephen's hands.
"What if it's just overdue?" Stephen said sarcastically though he and Cassie could tell that Wong was not the joking type. "Any late fees I should know about? Maiming, perhaps?" Wong held out more books to him. "Well, people used to think I was funny."
"Pretended," Cassie corrected. "Pretended to think you were funny."
Stephen turned to look at her, still confused about the purpose of a 16-year-old girl in this place. "And how would you know that?"
She gave him a nonchalant shrug. "I know things."
"Well, it's been lovely talking to you two. Thank you for the books, the horrifying story, and the threat upon my life," Stephen said, gathering up the new books.
"It was the least we could do," Cassie told him. He stood still staring at them before deciding to turn around and leave without another word. Wong turned back and placed the forbidden book back up in the private collection. "Well, that went well."
"You could give him a run for his money," Wong told her. "His sarcasm would run out in a day."
"I forgot how much of a prick he is, especially in the beginning. How is he supposed to help me get home I know more about the Mystic Arts than he does!"
"Give it time. There must be a reason the Ancient One picked him."
"There is but I'm not sure now if I trust it..."
The day went on and Cassie finally returned home from Kamar-Taj. She sighed as she sat down on her bed. No one was going to be home tonight and she was on her own. Surprisingly, she hadn't spent much time by herself since her arrival on this new earth so she didn't know what to do. Did she watch movies on the big tv? Each as much unhealthy food as possible? Did she train in the gym? She wasn't reading to go home from Kamar-Taj today but Wong had forced her to.
That's when an idea crossed her mind. With a smirk, Cassie got dressed in all black and rushed down to the elevators, and got off on the floor where all the Avengers labs were held. It was getting late so there weren't that many people down there; just some scientists and engineers finishing up their work for the day. Cassie snuck down the hall until she found Tony's lab. She crept inside and shut the door before turning on the lights.
The room was scattered in technology, every surface covered in a new prototype of something. Cassie walked over to the storage case in the back of the room, knowing exactly what she was looking for. When Tony starts a new suit, as kind of a base, he put a black eye mask over the mannequin. Cassie always thought they were cool, like the ones worn in The Incredibles, but Tony always ended up taking them out of the final design.
She grabbed one from the drawer and smirked. Maybe it was time to test her powers on a larger scale. Cassie took out the sling ring from her pocket and made a portal, stepping through almost instantly. It was becoming second nature from her, she didn't even have to know the place or think about it too clearly to form a portal.
Cassie found herself on the roof of a building in Queens. She glanced over the side to see that the streets were almost empty. It was her time to shine. Cassie cast every spell she could think of, firing at trees, walls, the air, and even a bird, though she immediately regretted it. This was the most fun she was having in such a long time. She may not have a way home but at least she could do magic freely.
She was having the time of her life when a familiar voice sounded out. "Hey what are you doing?"
She turned to see a flash of red and blue spandex heading straight for her...