MARVEL/DC COMICS PRESENTS #9

Dr. Strange/Dr. Fate

Baltimore, Maryland

1968

Doctor Stephen Strange, master of the mystic arts, woke groggily and found himself on the hardwood floor. He was for a moment unsure of his surroundings, but a sharp pain to his head and back reminded him. The room had flashing waves of energy that flickered about. It resembled the psychedelic art of the times. There was no mistaking the vast mystical forces at play before him. He saw the back of Doctor Fate. His golden cape flowing with the winds that were swirling about the room. His arms were outstretched and his golden gauntlets were crackling with golden mystic energy. There appeared to be a faint outline of an Egyptian ankh shaped by the mystic energy around them. Dr. Fate was engaged in mystic combat.

“About time you woke up,” a voice said in Dr. Strange’s mind.

“Kent,” Dr. Strange asked in astonishment seeing how Dr. Fate did not turn to acknowledge him. “Are you in control?”

“Not exactly,” Kent replied telepathically. “Nabu is currently fighting Doctor Chaos. That’s what the entity in Robbie is calling himself now. I’m being allowed to be a somewhat backseat driver for the moment, but I don’t know for how long. You were right, Stephen. This was no regular demon. It’s a Lord of Chaos. A minor one that was imprisoned in a helmet that’s similar to the Helmet of Nabu. Once Robbie started playing with it, the Lord of Chaos woke up.”

“I believe it wants Robbie’s body to be its vessel. It wants to be Sorcerer Supreme,” Dr. Strange replied telepathically. “Why would a Lord of Chaos want to be Sorcerer Supreme now? What makes this time after millennia to warrant going this far?”

“I suggest you ask it,” Kent replied. “It apparently favors talking with you. Nabu is not a good conversationalist with the Lords of Chaos. The plan is still in motion. Help him.”

“I will,” Dr. Strange said verbally as he rose to his feet.

Dr. Fate continued his mystic assault upon Dr. Chaos. Golden tendrils of energy shot forth like daggers toward the Lord of Chaos in Robbie’s body. The child’s body sat cross-legged on the bed wearing the nearly identical azure helmet to Nabu’s. A dark blue tinged energy surrounded him like a protective bubble. Though the bubble held, it showed areas of stress and cracks.

Dr. Strange carefully walked forward to the side but with some distance of Dr. Fate. The mystic energies prevented him from getting too close. He whispered a small incantation of healing upon himself to take away his initial pain from earlier. Then turned his attention to Dr. Fate. “Is this level of barrage necessary, Doctor? Do you intend to take the life of this child as well as the Chaos Lord?”

Dr. Fate did not turn his gaze away from Dr. Chaos when he answered, “This Lord of Chaos shall be exorcised from the child. If it is his fate to perish in the attempt, then so be it. “

“You can’t,” Dr. Strange shouted. “Dr. Fate does not kill innocent children.”

Then the energy bubble protecting Dr. Chaos shattered. The dark tinted shards of the bubble turned into a dusty nothingness as he fell forward on the bed seemingly unconscious.

“Now to end this,” Dr. Fate said rather coldly.

“No,” Dr. Strange shouted as he gestured and crimson bands of energy stretched forth and wrapped around Dr. Fate.

“You dare!”

“I do,” Dr. Strange said defiantly. “There has to be another way that surely Nabu the Wise in his wisdom can devise that will not take the child’s life.”

“Why? So you can find out what it wants?”

“Did you...?”

“Listen to your conversation with Kent Nelson? Yes. You will not change my decision on this matter, young mage.”

“Lords of Order don’t care about the child,” Dr. Chaos said as he stirred on the bed. “Nabu is in this for the same reason I am. He’s eliminating the competition.”

“You’re preparing for the trials too,” Dr. Strange said as he realized what Dr. Chaos meant. “That’s why you’ve been usurping control of Kent when he wears the Helmet.”

Dr. Fate struggled for a few seconds and burst forth from the crimson bands that held him. The backlash caused Dr. Strange to step a few steps back. He turned a stern look at him and said simply, “Yes.”

“This is glorious,” Dr. Chaos shouted in glee. “Even Nabu sees what is coming. The Lords of Chaos feel it and I’m sure the Lords of Order and any powerful self-respecting mystic can feel it. Hell, even some of you lowly humans can sense it. All of that Age of Aquarius nonsense they spout now isn’t far from the truth. The Tenth Age of Magic is upon us and the next Sorcerer Supreme will help usher us into it. An Age of Chaos.”

“Or an Age of Order,” Nabu interrupted.

“The coming death of the Ancient One is a sign then,” Dr. Strange said as he realized what was coming. The current Age of Magic is regarded as the Ninth. If the Tenth is perceived as coming, then a great upheaval is being predicted that will cause a change in how magic is used and ordered. The Lords of Order and Chaos have waged a war for eons and the current Ninth Age has been one of stagnation between them. Now both are seeing the next Sorcerer Supreme as leading the way for them in their war to either being the sole victor. “So we’re back to where we are. You intend to use Robbie as your host like Nabu uses Kent.”

“Yes,” Dr. Chaos replied annoyed. “I had hope to have built my power up so that I could age this child’s body into a proper host. Then you two showed up. That I could take you both on before the trials was a nice test. There’s a whole brand new world out there ripe for chaos. Humanity is finding all new reasons to divide themselves. I will cultivate it and enhance it to power us. An age of Chaos that will last for the centuries.”

“Now you see, mage, why he must be destroyed,” Dr. Fate said.

“No, I don’t,” Dr. Strange said in stern disagreement. “I don’t care for your war and especially at the expense of an innocent child’s life. Nabu, I cannot believe that you would willingly let an innocent child be sacrificed just to get at an enemy. Would you have done this if it was Kent instead?”

“Watch your words carefully, mage,” Dr. Fate said with a sterner tone than before.

“You once took care of and raised a boy who lost his parents to a tragic accident. You showed compassion and became a father and teacher to him. You...”

“Enough,” Dr. Fate shouted.

“You touched a nerve now,” Dr. Chaos said jokingly.

“ From you too,” Dr. Fate said as he gestured his hand and caused Dr. Chaos to gasp for air, choking him.

“No, don’t take this child’s life,” Dr. Strange shouted as he shot a bolt of mystic energy at Dr. Fate who released his grip on the boy.

“Impressive, mage,” Dr. Fate said. “I will still take this Dr. Chaos. You cannot stop me...” Crimson energy wrapped themselves around his head forming a bubble encasing it and leaving him incapable of speech.

Dr. Strange’s hand glowed with the same crimson energy. “I never thought I would see the great Nabu reduced to killing children to win a position that he never cared for in the past. You, a Lord of Order, reduced to acting like a Lord of Chaos to get an upper hand. Since you’re in need of wisdom, let me impart some to you. You will not harm this child. Lord of Order or Chaos, you will not. How about this. Release the child and mystically make it harder for this Chaos Lord to leave the helmet. Bind it tighter to it. You do this and Kent Nelson will let you use his body and work with you to increase your chances of preparing for the trials. Are we in agreement?”

Dr. Fate nodded in agreement. The crimson bubble dissipated around his head. “You are a crafty one, mage. Kent Nelson has agreed to your terms as well. We will do as you suggest. However, I get the Helmet of Dr. Chaos to do with as I will.”

“Agreed,”

Two days later

Salem, Massachusetts

Tower of Fate

“Then what happened,” Inza Cramer Nelson, wife to Kent, asked as she leaned forward in her antique chair.

“Together we forged a spell that separated Dr. Chaos from the child and bonded it tighter to the helmet he resided in.” Dr. Strange answered her. “It will not be so easy for the Chaos Lord to just take over an unwilling host like he did Robbie.”

“Fascinating,” Inza said as she leaned back in her seat. Her long strawberry blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail that draped the back of her seat. “Stephen, I must ask, was there...”

“I know what you are about to ask,” Dr. Strange interrupted. “Before we entered the house after Robbie’s parents left for the hospital, we meditated and channeled our powers and spirits for this confrontation. Kent had us enter into a special shared meditative spell that allowed us to see and experience each other’s lives in a way that I cannot explain into words adequately. Suffice it to say that we came up with a number of ways to deal with the situation. Kent knew the risks and had us prepare for them. He used what was minutes and turned it into what seemed like days in that state. We saw many possibilities of where this could go and what we could do to ensure a satisfying ending. One of those endings was Kent giving himself over to Nabu. He made me promise that if that should happen I should meet with you.”

“I see,” Inza said with a lump in her throat. “Would you mind sharing with me? I know the meditative trance for which you underwent. He has left something for me in you. Would you allow me to...?”

“Of course,” Dr. Strange said as he leaned closer to her and closed his eyes.

Inza placed her hands upon the face of Dr. Strange and closed her eyes. For a few minutes there was complete silence and then it was over.

Dr. Strange opened his eyes and saw Inza’s green eyes welling up with tears. A hopeful smile came upon her face and she said, “Thank you!”

“I’m not sure I fully understand.”

“My husband left an echo of his soul in you. One small enough to share his love for me and to say goodbye. He must have trusted you very much to have left something that intimate for me through you.”

“You’re most welcome.”

Inza rose to her feet followed by Dr. Strange. “What will you do now,” she asked.

“This adventure has shown me that I need to train more. My master’s time can come at any time and I need to be ready and worthy of his teachings.”

“So you intend to take the trials as well? You wish to be Sorcerer Supreme one day?”

“Yes,” Dr. Strange replied. “The Lords of Order and Chaos are seeing this as very important right now and I fear that they are not the only ones. Therefore someone has to be a third option in all of this. I’m returning to my master, the Ancient One, to pursue more training. Now I must ask of you a question before I leave.”

“Anything.”

“Did Dr. Fate bring Dr. Chaos’ helmet here after the exorcism?”

“No,” Inza said softly.

Above the Earth

Dr. Fate floated cross legged above the atmosphere of the Earth. He stayed in this position floating motionless. After a few minutes he pulled out the azure Helmet of Chaos and simply let it go. He watched as gravity pulled the helmet until it became a streaking fiery ball plummeting towards the Earth below.