Ammy scrunched up her nose, huffing lightly as sunlight began to creep across her muzzle, eventually making its way over her eyelids, making it impossible to sleep any longer. The wolf grumbled softly and lifted her head, heaving herself to her feet. She let out a deep, exhausted yawn, ending in a shrill little whine.
She dropped her front and streeeeetched out, her tail flaring out behind her, the Goddess of the Sun groaning softly as she shook herself out, blinking her eyes open with a light huff. The large wolf stepped out of her little shelter and rumbled softly, looking up at the sky. It was already late morning, she had slept in.
Ammy scolded herself, stamping a paw on the ground in irritation. She would have to make up time and be extra fast today. With a brief shake of her head, she crouched and bolted forward, her magic sending her rocketing forward at high speeds.
She zipped toward the entrance of her shrine and-
SMACK!
Ammy yelped and was sent tumbling back as she ran straight into a wall, bouncing off the barrier of ice and rolling back along the stone pathway leading through the shrine. The wolf lay sprawled out on her back, looking up at the sky as her vision spun, and her tongue lolled out.
She had completely forgotten she had put that up last night. She grumbled and rolled herself back over, pushing herself to her feet. Ammy huffed and rubbed her nose lightly with a paw, while using her Power Slash to cut through the ice wall, the magic material evaporating quickly.
The wolf hadn't been expecting a flood of people to come careening into the shrine though, holding cell phones up and all shouting excitedly at her. She blinked at the attention for a moment and came to a sudden realization.
They had seen her smack straight into the barrier. Ammy huffed softly, blushing lightly in embarrassment, ears folding back and tail tucked down.
Wait…
They're actually in her shrine! It's laughably empty and still in relatively poor condition! Amaterasu blinked, her cheeks growing red, before she threw an illusion over herself and vanished from the middle of the group of people.
Ammy retreated back to the little building at the center of her shrine, curling up on the dog bed and keeping herself invisible. The goddess hummed lightly in thought, burying her nose into the incredibly soft and comfy dog bed, and huffed. She wanted things to look good for people who entered the shrine. She was a goddess, she had an image to keep up, after all!
Now what was she missing? Quality donation tables, definitely. A new walkway? Yes. Restoring the stonework? Absolutely. She would need new cherry trees, maybe a garden around the wall inside. Hmm, she would need more space for that. Larger walls and expand the area inside farther then, she needed to do that too.
Oh! Can't forget those fancy little fountains that pool water down layer by layer and then cycle back again! Statues! She would need statues too! Maybe ones that resembled her at the foot of the stairs and walkway up to the building!
…
That would take a lot of work.
Amaterasu huffed for a moment and sighed. She did feel stronger than she did the previous day, funny enough. Maybe she could do something for the moment…
The wolf goddess looked down at her paws, looking at the plants and flower petals struggling to find a place to root down and grow in the extremely comfy dog bed. She couldn't choose what to grow normally. Was it because she couldn't, or because she hadn't tried?
The Goddess of the Sun huffed and got to her feet, keeping herself hidden as she padded forward, looking down at one of the laughably empty square garden beds for trees. It was level with the ground and had a slightly raised wood barrier painted red.
She focused for a moment, planting her paw down in the center of the dirt, and directed her magic into the ground. She could feel the random wild flowers attempting to grow under her paws, but she stifled them, aiming for something far more grand.
Her paw raised up slightly, something was pushing on it.
The goddess removed her paw and looked down, unable to help the excited wagging of her tail. She did it! Maybe! She still had to grow the sapling that sprouted from the dirt. But, just in case it did work…
Ammy walked around to the other plots of dirt and did the same, thinking on the tree she wanted, her magic flaring and being pushed down into the earth beneath her feet. Hopefully this worked.
Amaterasu made her way back to the top of the stairs in her shrine, and dropped the magic surrounding herself, becoming visible once again. Immediately several people turned to face her, looking up at her in the early morning, the sunlight landing perfectly on the wolf seated at the top of the stairs.
Ammy used her Bloom ability on the saplings. Oh, she hoped this worked… She would be so embarrassed if she grew pine trees!
The plants in the four dirt plots started to shift and writhe, sprouting upward and outward, branches unfurling from the main trunk. She pumped more magic into it, and the trees responded, growing thicker at the base, climbing higher and higher into the sky. The trees reached their peak, well over 30 feet high, and started expanding outwards. The branches started snaking out, working over and through one another, yet not making any contact, just barely avoiding it. The branches started casting a little shade over the people in the shrine, who watched with awe at the event taking place.
Green began forming on the branches, starting closest to the trunk and slowly working its way out as Amaterasu forced more magic into it still, causing the growth to explode. Bright green buds sprouted and exploded into colour, bright white, red, and pink starting to cover the trees.
Amaterasu watched with satisfaction as the four fully grown cherry trees cast shade over the pathway through the center of her shrine, giving the area a certain splash of colour it sorely needed. Her gaze remained locked on the trees as several petals started fluttering from the trees, slowly working lower and lower toward the ground.
The Goddess of the Sun sat proudly at the top of the stairs, ignoring the cameras pointed at her. Instead, she looked down at the group of people in the middle of the shrine and gave them a wink.
Without another moment of warning, Ammy pushed magic through her body and launched herself over the people, sailing clear over them with a happy little "awoo!" The wolf goddess hit the ground running, sprinting toward the nearest hospital on her list, planning out her route.
The Goddess of the Sun couldn't quite keep herself from smiling.
~{O}~{O}~{O}~
Doctor Stephen Vincent Strange pulled into the parking lot of the Metro-General Hospital, his Porsche purring as he zipped through the motionless cars, angling toward the employee area of the parking lot. He scowled and resisted the urge to honk the horn at an elderly woman being helped into the hospital by what looked like her daughter and grandson. He rolled his eyes, waiting impatiently as the trio hobbled across the pavement, and back onto the sidewalk.
With a squeak of his tires, Stephen shot forward in his vehicle, navigating toward the back of the parking lot. He pulled in, double parking, his vehicle sitting right on the white line dividing the two spots.
"Can't be getting any scratches," he spoke to himself. He stepped out and tossed the keys into the air, before catching them and locking the car behind him, walking away, and giving a longing glance back at the expensive sports car.
"Oh yeah, medical school was worth it," Stephen grinned.
The neurosurgeon made his way into the hospital, ignoring the usual scowls the front desk and low-level employees gave him. They were just jealous of his success, clearly.
In ignoring his coworkers habitually, Stephen missed the fact that they weren't scowling at him. In fact, they were too busy sorting through medical files and confirming particular individuals' details to even notice he walked in through the door.
Stephen Strange made his way through the hallways and to the employees-only rooms, glancing at his watch, and then nodding. He had time. He passed by the coffee maker and pointedly ignored the person walking toward the machine as he snagged the cup they had been preparing for themselves.
"Asshole," his co-worker spoke under his breath.
"You are what you eat, Darryl," Stephen taunted in reply, ignoring the sputtering confusion of his colleague.
Strange chuckled and sat himself down on the break room couch, closing his eyes as he took a deep drink of coffee. He was having an excellent morning. It would only get better if—
"You asshole!" A familiar voice spoke, footsteps crossing the room and coming to a stop right in front of him.
"Ah, speak of the devil," he opened his eyes and leaned around the person, giving a pointed wink to Darryl, before looking up at the furious woman in front of him. "Hello, Christine. You look vehemently irate today. Rough sleep?~"
"You were supposed to meet me two hours ago, Stephen!" Christine Palmer ground out, narrowing her eyes at the surgeon who was still in his casual wear. "I waited for you! Hell, you might as well not have come in today."
"Yeah, well now I'm waiting on you, let's go," Stephen snarked back, standing up and making his way to the changing area.
"No, no, you don't get to pull this smug act again and brush me off. I was waiting—"
"One hour and thirty-nine minutes, I'm well aware. I was busy going over our research again last night and decided to sleep in. I'm still early for the surgery." Stephen brushed her off, setting his coffee aside as he started to get himself ready.
"The surgery was scheduled for—" Strange cut her off again.
"Eleven-fifteen. The patient's name is Tabitha Bird, a woman who emigrated from Canada with her family thirty-seven years ago. She's of Native descent, who, if I need to remind you, has one of the highest smoking rates of any one ethnic group. She developed lung cancer, and had it treated. It returned, and now I have to do surgery on her because she couldn't stop smoking, causing her cancer to come back and causing a metastatic malignant tumour to travel up to her brain." Stephen snapped at Christine, his girlfriend (for the time being). "I have a photographic memory; you don't need to treat me like a child."
"Wow, did you practice that in a mirror, or did you decide to be extra rude today?" Christine ground out. She stepped away from her boyfriend (that particular title was teetering on the edge) and snagged his coffee. "Just go home, Stephen, we don't need you today."
"Excuse me?" Strange asked, slighted. "Well, good, because this procedure is so far below what I should be doing." He snapped back. "Once you get someone else to perform the operation, you can come back and we can work on our research further then."
"Honestly, I don't even think I want to deal with you today," Christine replied, taking a drink of his coffee and scowling. "Besides, you don't need to worry about the surgery. She's gone."
Stephen froze in place, his blood chilling at those words. His heart pounded in his chest, and a sinking feeling filled his being.
"What… what do you mean gone? Did she have a complication earlier?" Stephen asked quietly. His fingers and toes felt cold. His perfect record… He lost it all just because he decided to sleep in!
"No, she's perfectly fine. She's not in the hospital anymore," Christine spoke, blinking slightly at the sudden change in demeanour.
"Well, was she transferred? Did someone perform the surgery early? What happened?" Strange ground out, turning to face his colleague and girlfriend with an uncharacteristic amount of concern.
"Wait… do you really not know?" She asked. "Oh… Oh, this is too good. Would you look at that, I know something the Great Stephen Strange doesn't," Christine smirked a little and took another sip of her coffee. "Give me a second, I want to enjoy this moment~"
"Christine…" Stephen began, clenching his teeth, anger and fear building up inside him. His eyes watered lightly in embarrassment and worry. "Please… What. Happened?" He had forgotten all about getting ready, his full attention on the woman in front of him.
Christine Palmer took a moment to look over her boyfriend for a moment. He never looked this vulnerable, this concerned. She looked him dead in the eyes, searching for a moment, before relenting with a sigh. She passed him his cup of coffee while she fished around for her phone.
"You really need to check the news more often. We had a visitor this morning," Christine explained, finding a video on her phone. She passed the phone to Stephen and took her coffee back, taking another long drink. "You might wanna sit down for this."
Stephen listened to her advice and made his way back to the couch, sitting down with Christine right beside him. He pressed play, watching the screen intently.
"Our top story tonight: God, or Dog?" The woman in the video was on the street, which was currently flooded with people, more and more leaving the hospital behind her. "We're here tonight outside of the Mount Sinai Hospital due to reports of a wolf healing people inside of the building."
"Right, Donna, but this is no ordinary wolf," the newscaster spoke, the feed switching over to him for a brief moment. "Video reports have shown this wolf was fighting alongside the Avengers during the Invasion of New York earlier this month. Not only that but a viral video taken by one of the survivors and volunteers after the battle shows the wolf healing someone's broken leg!"
Stephen blinked and glanced over toward Christine, who merely shook her head and gestured for him to keep watching.
"Right you are, Harold! Information leaked earlier today that this 'Amaterasu' was inside the Mount Sinai Hospital alongside Captain America himself, visiting sick children. They aren't sick any longer, however! You aren't going to believe this, Harold, but nearly five-hundred people have been released early from the hospital. Not only that, but donations from Stark Industries, the company of Tony Stark aka Iron Man, have been given to the hospital to pay for bed occupation, medical materials in the time up to today, and much more!"
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"That's amazing, Donna! I see the massive crowd behind you. It looks like this super pooch is working directly with the Avengers themselves to help the people of New York! What do the people leaving the hospital have to say?"
The view that displayed the woman grew larger, while Donna turned toward the crowd. She looked around briefly, before spotting a mother and father with two children sitting at almost the center of attention for most of these people, the four being thanked and hugged and cheered on. The children were loving it.
The woman and the cameraman worked their way through the group of people, shouting little "excuse me's" and apologizing after her microphone clunked a shorter individual on the head.
"Excuse me! You four seem to be at the center of attention. Can I ask you what happened?" Donna asked. The father stepped back, not having been the one to experience the whole story. The mother was the one to step forward, trying to hide her nerves and keep a hand on her children.
"W-Well… We were going about our day when we ran into Captain Rogers and Amaterasu at the library. We talked a little and Amelia managed to convince them to visit Terrance. He's a big Captain America fan." The woman explained, growing a little bolder as she spoke.
"So, you just happened to run into them, and they agreed to visit? How noble! What happened next?" Donna pressed.
"We came into the hospital and went up to the room, and while Captain Rogers talked to Terrance, Amaterasu… well, I'm not really sure what she did, but—" The mother was caught off by the little girl, Amelia, jumping up and grabbing Donna's wrist, leaning into the microphone and speaking directly into it. The camera angled down to look at the child.
"It was amazing! Ammy used magic to heal Terry so he could walk again! And! And she caught me when I tripped at the bookstore! And also she's really soft and warm and nice! I love you, Ammy!" Amelia shouted into the microphone.
Donna reached down to take the microphone back, but the little girl whipped around to her brother, Terrance, and shoved the microphone in his face.
"Tell them, Terry!" Amelia exclaimed.
"Uh, well…" The younger man started, clearing his throat and looking nervous. "It's like she said. C-Captain America and Ammy visited me, and she healed my legs. And… and then we went through the hospital and helped a lot of other kids and grown-ups too!" He was growing more confident as he spoke, stars in his eyes as he continued. "Captain America was so amazing! He was so nice and helped people sit up, or carried some of them, and he was always smiling and encouraging people. Oh! Amaterasu helped too!"
Terrance handed the microphone back to the news reporter, Donna, who couldn't help the smile on her face. She looked back to the camera and smirked.
"Well, there you have it. It looks like the Avengers decided to help and stepped in once again, this time doing the impossible and curing nearly five-hundred people in a single evening! What an amazing accomplishment."
"And we have more video footage of the acts, as well as testimony from multiple employees of the hospital as well. In addition—"
"That's pretty much it," Christine explained. Her head was resting on Stephen's shoulder, watching the video with him. She took her phone back and sighed, looking at the photo taken of the lobby full of healed patients, with Captain America and Amaterasu sitting at the front. "She came in this morning, ran around the place, helped about four hundred people recover, and then took off again. She left maybe an hour ago."
Stephen sat in stunned silence, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion and deep thought as he thought about everything he just saw. Suddenly, he started chuckling. He laughed softly, the sound growing louder and louder, before he was outright cackling, folding over as he held his middle, tears rolling down his face.
"You… I— haha! That's hilarious!" Steven exclaimed, standing up abruptly from the couch and causing Christine to fall over, spilling coffee all over the couch and floor. "You… You expect me to believe that, what, a dog and a man from World War Two are on some kind of healing mission?"
"Not a dog, a Goddess, Stephen," Christine retorted, getting to her feet. "Amaterasu, Goddess of the Sun. A Japanese Shinto deity. One of many, actually," Christine explained. She had time to kill after every surgery she had been scheduled for had been abruptly cancelled.
"Oh, really? So, what, Japanese gods are invading New York to heal people? Spread their religion maybe?" Stephen snapped, glaring at Christine and gesturing toward the phone. "Don't tell me you believe all that bullshit."
"It. Happened." Christine growled in response, before shaking her head.
"Okay, then explain to me how a dog can just heal hundreds of people and go on its merry way. I'm sure there are multiple laws being broken in regard to patient care and confidentiality alone! On top of that, how the hell could she just cure a tumour?" Stephen ranted, pacing back and forth.
"I can't explain it, Stephen. It was like ma—" Christine was cut off once more, causing her to glare at Stephen.
"Don't you dare say 'magic', you're better than that. We studied for years to understand everything we do, and we're creating new methods! Our careers are built on science and understanding and logical methodologies that have been progressing for years!" Stephen continued, facing Christine directly. He opened his mouth to continue, but it was his turn to be interrupted.
"Hey! Jackass!" Darryl, his co-worker from earlier, shouted. "It happened! Go look at the TV in the next room, or maybe go actually talk with those nurses you're so certain are beneath you."
Stephen looked across the room at his colleague, and then back to Christine, his mind racing at an insane rate to come up with something that would make sense of it all.
Suddenly, he stood up straight, grabbed his possessions, and headed for the door.
"Hey! Where are you going?" Christine asked, jogging after him.
"I'm going for a walk. I need to think," Stephen replied, quieter than usual.
Christine slowed down, stopping at the hospital doors as Stephen strode out into the parking lot. He marched up to his Porsche and hopped in, closing the door a little too hard. He leaned back, closing his eyes and tilting his head back, taking several deep breaths.
"This is absurd. They're just playing a joke on me, that's all…" Strange tried to convince himself. "They're just getting back at me for the pay raise… Yeah, that's what it is…"
Despite his words, Stephen found his hand falling into his pocket and pulling out his phone.
"This isn't real. Magic isn't real. That big portal in the sky was alien technology. That's probably all that it is…" He murmured. He looked down, almost feeling like he was watching himself from outside his body.
With numb hands, he opened the browser on his phone, typing in a single word.
"A…ma…ter…asu…" He sounded out. The first results that showed up were not the Japanese Shinto goddess he had been hoping for, but that damned dog. Against his better judgment, he opened a link, watching a video on the events. He backed out, and watched another… and another.
Each time he was hoping he would see something that he could pick out and use to prove it was all fake. Tweets, testimony, photos, videos, news stories. They all said the same thing.
Amaterasu was real.
He skipped over the articles and toxic debate about other gods and goddesses that cropped up in the comments and ignored all the poorly made "proof Amaterasu is fake" blog posts. He refreshed the page and found a new story posted just seconds ago, stating that the dog was spotted leaving another hospital nearby, and was heading toward what seemed like another.
"This is stupid. It's not real…" Stephen Strange spoke to himself.
Despite his protest, he started his car. He pulled out of the parking stall and slowly weaved his way through the parking lot, his mind racing. He pulled out onto the main street, grit his teeth, and floored it. His tires squealed and he let out an angry shout in his car. He was going to get to the bottom of this.
~{O}~{O}~{O}~
Amaterasu was having a blast today. She was running around carefree, throwing around magic and getting pets and treats. She was being showered in praise, both literal and metaphysical, and just relished the love and attention she was being given.
The last location she had visited had cheered when she careened through the front doors and even had the hallways cleared so the wolf could zip around the place without worry of running into anyone. She had been given a list of patients, room numbers, and other important things.
Of course, there were some people she couldn't heal fully. They were dealing with injuries too brutal to fully recover from, or from both mental and physical troubles, though she did her best to soothe them.
Over the course of the day, Ammy hadn't taken a single break. She just. Kept. Going. Why would she want to stop? People needed her help, and she was going to help, no matter what.
Finally, as the day was nearing its close, Ammy had managed to make her way to every single hospital and medical center in Manhattan. As she ran around through the day, she found more and more people looking at her, cheering or taking pictures. In fact, there was one particularly persistent person in a loud, fast car, following her around all day.
So, in her usual fashion, she decided to have a little fun. Trotting her way out of the last hospital, she sat at the front, immediately being swarmed by a flood of people, flashing lights and cameras all over her. Ammy sat smugly, giving a little nonchalant "woof" or a lick here and there, basking in the attention.
However, she was waiting for one person… Ah, there!
That silver vehicle squealed to a stop at the edges of the crowd, the engine cutting out. The driver's door flew open and the man pulled himself out of the vehicle as quickly as he could.
Oh, he looked mad.
Ammy wagged her tail lightly, peering through the crowd as she watched the rather angry and rough-looking man approach. She could tell that normally he would look calm, collected, and decent looking by human standards.
Now, he was bedraggled, red in the face, with ruffled clothing and clenched hands. Ammy sat calmly as the man forced his way through the crowd, much to the displeasure of the people around her. She watched him approach, coming to a stop directly in front of her. He stared her down, clearly angry, frustrated at having been led around on a chase for nearly ten hours. Ammy wuffed lightly in greeting, her tail wagging happily behind her as she looked up at the man.
He raised a hand and pointed a finger at her, his arm shaky.
"You… You're not real. Magic isn't real. You're just a dog. You're not Amaterasu, she's not—"
Ammy gave the man a wink and then used her magic to vanish. She stepped back as she watched the man make several enraged hand gestures, and yelled. Oh, he was maaaad~
The concerned looks of the people around him didn't even seem to phase him as he stormed back to his car, taking off with a squeal of tires and the sound of his car scraping as he hopped the curb.
Ammy decided that enough was enough today, with the sun setting and her body feeling somewhat sore all over from the constant running. Even where she pulled her magic from seemed to ache from the constant use, much to her satisfaction.
Deciding to end the day on a high note, the lupine allowed her magic to build up one final time and shoved herself violently from the pavement, launching clear over the cluster of people that had been surrounding her. She hit the ground running, ducking and diving around people and cars as she bolted back to her shrine.
Today had been a very good day. She felt accomplished. As a bonus, no one had been able to enter the building in her shrine while she was gone, so her home remained clean and free of people clamouring for her attention.
Amaterasu gave a happy little chuff and padded over to her bed at the center of the building, flopping down with a soft "wurf" and wriggled a little, before sprawling out on her side. She hadn't really kept track of how many people she had helped, not that it mattered.
Ammy rolled onto her back and faced the ceiling, sprawled out on her bed in a very comfy position. She wagged a little and streeetched out, wriggling and shifting a bit as she got settled on the extremely comfortable bed.
She swore she could feel the excitement and thanks people had for her, just exciting the wolf goddess further, a goofy, satisfied grin crossing her muzzle.
"Good evening, Amaterasu."
Of course, all that careful positioning of her sleeping spot was ruined as she was startled. Amaterasu knew that voice!
She rolled her head to the side, gazing upside down at none other than the Ancient One. The bald magic user, the Sorcerer Supreme, walked toward the canine and away from the side room she had been occupying.
"I'm not exactly sure what it is you were doing, but you seemed extraordinarily comfortable. You're certainly not the first divine being that's confused me with their antics." The Ancient One hummed, stepping closer.
The wolf rolled herself to her feet and stood up, padding up closer toward the Ancient One and met her halfway, her tail wagging eagerly.
"I've seen you've been busy today, my friend. From what I've heard, you've helped well over two-thousand people! Quite an accomplishment in just a single day." The Ancient One kneeled down, reaching out a hand and rubbing Ammy's head between her ears, earning a happy little rumble from the wolf.
Two-thousand? That sounded like a lot. She only managed to get a portion of all the hospitals on this little island though. What about the rest of the city? With a huff, she realized that there was a lot of work she had to do.
Oh, wait, right! The cherry trees! Ammy had to show her, she was very proud! A bark of excitement and a gust of air was all that remained of the wolf as she bolted toward the top of the stairs at her shrine.
"You know, you don't have to rush. I'm more than content visiting," The Sorcerer Supreme chuckled, coming to a stop right beside the wolf.
Ammy, in all her wolfy glory, wheeled around to face the Ancient One, tail wagging as she explained exactly what had happened. In a series of barks, yips, growls, and huffs of course. The centuries-old woman merely raised an eyebrow at the wolf and nodded lightly, thinking to herself.
"Oh, Amaterasu, I believe your friend has returned to see you," the Ancient One spoke. She used a hand to nudge the canine's shoulder and gestured up toward the entrance to the shrine.
"I found you! Finally! Ama- wah!" Stephen Strange tripped over the uneven pathway leading into the shrine, throwing his arms out in front of him in an attempt to brace his fall.
His fall was halted by a force surrounding him, pushing him upright once more. The Ancient One merely set her hands by her side, her little magic trick finished.
"What… What was that?" Strange asked, glancing around himself to see just what had caught him, only to find nothing there. "You… How. Tell me how you did it." Stephen began again, walking forward along the pathway and up the stairs, coming to a stop just a couple steps from the top.
"Ruff!" Ammy replied, wagging her tail slightly toward the neurosurgeon.
"She says 'magic', Mr. Strange," the Sorcerer Supreme supplied, failing to hide an amused smirk.
"Magic isn't real. And it's Doctor Strange, thank you—" Stephen cut himself off, blinking and narrowing his eyes, before glancing between the canine and the woman in robes accusingly. "How did you know my name?"
"She told me," the Ancient One replied. Ammy hadn't told her, but Strange didn't need to know that little detail. Amaterasu merely wagged her tail and winked up at the woman, who merely looked over Stephen with an appraising eye.
"I'm not an idiot. Dogs can't talk. Dogs can't. Heal. People!" Stephen ground out, fixated on the images he saw earlier in the day. He had been following this wolf for the last ten hours. He was going to get some damn answers.
"Of course they can, Mr. Strange. Therapy dogs have been around for ages, and studies have shown the presence of a canine can—" The Ancient One couldn't keep the smile off her face when the doctor interrupted her.
"That's not what I mean! The hospitals! That's what I'm referring to!" Stephen began to get frustrated, pointing an accusatory finger at the wolf. "You… How did you do it. Is it Stark? Did he swoop in and cure everyone while you distracted them? Or… Or maybe it was Thor! Using Asgardian technology to—"
"Mr. Strange, as lovely as it would be to have this discussion outside, I came by to invite my lovely friend here over for tea. She's been running around all day, she's clearly hungry and tired," the Sorcerer Supreme interrupted.
Stephen stood in silent rage and confusion, the entire situation alien to him. Why was a woman in robes visiting a brand-new shrine late in the evening? Why was a dog allowed free access to hospitals? Why was he still entertaining this idiotic fantasy Christine put into his head!?
"I… I'm not leaving until I get some damn answers!" Stephen growled, glaring at the pair who watched him impassively.
"Wurf!" Ammy offered, her tail giving a little flick as she cast her gold eyes to look at the disgruntled doctor before her, and then looked back at the Sorcerer Supreme.
"Ah, excellent idea. Mr. Strange, how would you like to join us? Amaterasu here is hungry, I came here for entertainment and some socializing, and you want answers. Quite a convenient situation, don't you think?" The Ancient One offered, the smug lilt in her voice not at all hidden.
Stephen glared at the duo, attempting to protest the idea, only to come up with a blank. He tried again, taking a breath… Only to pause.
"Well… Fine. But this better not be some elaborate hoax. I've spent hours looking for answers and—"
"Excellent!" The Ancient One interrupted. She shifted her hand lightly, rotating it in a tight circle, causing a glowing ring of orange sparks to appear beside the trio.
"What the hell is—" Stephen was interrupted once again as the Sorcerer Supreme flicked her digits to the left, causing the swirling portal to rush toward and over the three of them.
Stephen stumbled as they were transported to a new location in the blink of an eye, his stance uneven from the sudden change. Strange let out a soft cry as he was startled, falling back once more, only to be caught by the white wolf that had somehow rushed around behind him before he could even look. Stephen moved to get his feet back under himself, scowling and lightly embarrassed at both the fall and the confusion around the whole situation. He watched as the pair made their way toward the door of this tall, odd-looking building.
"Welcome to the New York Sanctum, Mr. Strange. Hopefully, you don't find this experience too magical for your tastes." The Ancient One laughed, a light flick of her fingers causing the front doors of the sanctum to open up from across the street.
Ammy, being the troublesome little goofball she was, decided now would be a great time to experiment with her Celestial Brush. She strode forward and lifted her paws, using her magic to form a small bridge of ice across the road, wandering back and forth as she gave the walkway a funky design.
Stephen merely watched as the wolf proceeded to make ice appear and wander over the street, several feet high. The woman in the robes stepped through another swirling portal, ending up on the doorstep of the Sanctum.
The wolf and the Sorcerer Supreme both stood at the entrance to the Sanctum, facing him, encouraging him to follow. He was speechless, entranced, his mind flying through ideas and explanations quickly, none of them quite meeting what his eyes were showing him.
The wolf gave a singular bark, and the ice bridge shattered, the chunks evaporating far faster than they had any right to.
Without a word, Stephen Strange followed Amaterasu and the Ancient One into the New York Sanctum, the doors closing behind the trio with a solid thud.