SPOILERS FOR AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR
Stephen Strange's eyebrows appeared scrunched as if I had breezed past the mind-blowing information I had told him and wasn't entirely comprehending what it meant. I was. Alas, I had better thoughts to think than about my future. I could worry about that when the time came.
"The Time Stone belongs to me, but I will let you keep it, since you are the Master of the Mystic Arts, currently, and I trust you. But, we need to have a line of communication in case something happens," I told him.
He raised his chin. "What are you neglecting to tell me?"
"I know nothing for certain. A premonition, Agamotto told me. Something, someone, is creating a disturbance in the balance of the universe. He made it clear I should keep an eye on the Stone," I explained. "I will. Eventually. But I have a few other duties that need to be taken care of. So, until then, I need ways of communication."
"The nearest phone store is probably in Upper Manhattan," said Strange.
"Thank you, yes, however, I am also broke. Remember when S.H.I.E.L.D fell, then I lived at the Avengers Tower for free, and then I had to go into hiding because I was a fugative..." I helped him recall. I patted his shoulder. "C'mon. Lend your friend some money."
"You want me to buy you a phone?" he asked, appalled by my plea at whatever relationship we had.
"Don't be a money pincher. This is an Infinity Stone we are talking about. Fate of the universe type stuff. Is-- I don't know-- a hundred dollars really too much to ask in terms of Universal Protection?" I asked.
Begrudgingly, Strange pulled a hundred from his wallet, knowing I was correct. In terms of protecting our Stone, no measure was too extreme. It was an ideal he had come to better measures with, since the last time I saw him. I didn't know how long it had been since our first encounter. I only knew time had passed based on the greying of his beard. He also seemed matured with the acceptance of the Mystic Arts. He looked more powerful, knowledgable, than the previous times I had interacted with him.
"Thank you, Stephen," I said gratefully, walking backwards out of the door. "I will return to you to get your own cellular device number, and then, I'll be out of your hair for a while."
"I'm counting on it."
I rolled my eyes. I waved my fingers to open a portal beside me. I hesitated before jumping through, as the color change surprised me. My portals still donned their flickering blue brim, reminiscent of the color the Orb took before it became one with myself, but streams of green were popping along with the blue, showing the slow tranformation of my evolution. Soon enough, the Orb would cease to have an effect on my powers. My exertion of power would turn entirely green with the source of my energy coming directly from the Stone and Agamotto.
I hopped through a portal and began to walk through Upper Manhattan, where I figured I'd have more luck finding a shop that sold burner phones. It was a peaceful walk, which caused me to subconciously add a bit of bounce to it, because no happiness could compare to the feeling of being in control of my own body and mind again. I was no longer trapped or restrained. I was in control, I was me, and I was going to see my love before night fell.
I tried not to think too deeply into what becoming Agamotto required of me. I didn't want to accept it entirely until it was absolutely necessary of me to return. It seemed as if I could spend a lifetime on Earth before I had to accept my duties. I could spend a lifetime with Steve. With him and I together, I thought, perhaps, time could settle for us.
We were both getting older. I didn't even know how old I was anymore. I assumed Steve was well over a hundred. Maybe it was time for us to give up the fight, and live out our lives together. He deserved for time to be kind to him, for once ,and I'd do everything in my power to do that for him, if I could manage it.
I'd been so caught in ideas of what I could do for Steve and I with my newfound outlook on life that I hadn't noticed the gasps of people on the street around me. I only noticed when a shadow breezed past the sun, which brought my head to raise from the sidewalk.
A rainbow colored stream was soaring across the sky. I whipped around to watch where it landed, silently pleading for it to not be Strange's Mansion. Unfortunately, convenience was another aspect of life not particularly kind to me.
I looked up to the sky in shame. "Five minutes? Can I get five minutes of peace before something crazy happens?"
I opened another portal with a twist of my fingers and hopped through to the staircase in front of the Sanctum Doors. I closed the portal when my feet hit the floor, where I fell into line besides both Wong and Strange, who each had their hands covered in Mystic Shields.
I didn't bother to assume a fighting stance. I cast my eyes towards the broken ceiling. A being had crashed through and landed inside the staircase of the Sanctum.
"Nose goes?" I suggested lamely.
Wong and Strange both glanced at me, unamused.
I sighed. I stepped between them to hop on the last remaining stair and slowly raised my eyes over the pit. My eyebrows came together; all the tension relieved in my body.
"Bruce?" I asked.
Bruce Banner blinked rapidly through the wood dust filling the air and saw my face shining above him. "Clara? Is that really you?"
"I feel like I should be the one asking that," I said honestly. "We haven't seen you since Ultron."
"I wish I came at a better time," he said. He looked terrified. If there was joy over reuniting with me, it left quickly. "Clara, we need everyone."
"Might be a bit of an issue," I called down.
"It's about the end of the world."
I nodded understandably. "Isn't it always?"