Christine tried to maintain her surface indifference, putting on a tough, all-business posture.
Yet every word from this Strange stirred the deeply buried love in the depths of her heart.
Her Stephen would never keep these trivial daily matters in mind.
His mind only held surgery, magic, saving the World, and his misplaced arrogance.
Soon, they came to a spacious interrogation room.
Surrounded by one-way glass, the center of the room held a metal table and two chairs.
Strange pulled out a chair and sat down, while Christine sat opposite him.
"Name." Christine opened the holographic recording board in front of her and began the interrogation.
"Stephen Vincent Strange. But I prefer you call me darling." Strange looked at her with a smile.
Christine ignored his flirtation and recorded on her own. "What is your purpose in coming to Universe 838?"
"Universe 838?" Strange asked, somewhat puzzled.
Christine stopped her movements and explained to him: "The Baxter Foundation has developed a multiverse waveform monitor. This instrument can capture quantum signals and energy fluctuations from other Universes. Based on these data, we have established a mature multiverse naming and classification system. For the convenience of management and research, we have numbered the known Universes."
"The Universe we are currently in has been named Universe 838 by us."
Strange nodded in sudden realization.
"Waveform monitor? A mature classification system?"
Looking around at the high-tech facilities, he praised sincerely: "This Universe is amazing. Your technological level surpasses ours by a lot in certain aspects."
Then he looked back at Christine and said, "I don't have any purpose; I came here because of a magic accident. At first I thought it was a disaster, but now..."
Leaning forward, his eyes gentle, he said: "Now I feel it's destiny, destiny that made me cross the endless Universe and find you again. Christine, since I'm here, I won't leave again."
Christine touched her forehead and felt a wave of headache.
"Stephen, restrain yourself," she warned helplessly, "We are currently in an interrogation, please straighten out your attitude."
On the surface she was strict, but in her heart there was a wave of sorrow.
She had to admit that she was struggling to resist the charm of this old lover.
If Stephen from this Universe could have been as passionate and cared about her as him back then, perhaps they wouldn't have reached the point of breaking up at all.
And Stephen wouldn't have walked down that path of self-destruction.
Hearing Christine's words, Strange made an apologetic gesture.
"Alright, Officer. You ask."
Christine took a deep breath, put away all her emotions, and threw out the most crucial question.
"Where is America Chavez?"
Strange was slightly taken aback, asking in surprise: "You know America?"
Christine nodded, her expression solemn as she said:
"When Thanos attacked back then, conventional magic, technology, and tactics had all failed. Facing Thanos holding the Infinity Stones, we had no chance of winning."
"With no other choice, Stephen had to pin his hopes on the infinite possibilities of the multiverse. He believed that since our Universe couldn't find a way, in the endless multiverse, there must be a version of himself who had already successfully defeated Thanos."
"Thus, he embarked on an extreme path..."
"He used the 'dream-walking witchcraft' recorded in the darkhold to travel through countless multiverses, trying to find a perfect solution to copy onto himself."
"During this process, he discovered America's existence. He recorded in his notes her amazing ability to open star-shaped Portals and perform physical cross-Universe travel."
"After he was executed by the Illuminati, the Baxter Foundation took over all his research results. Therefore, we have also mastered all the files regarding America."
The Illuminati? Executed?
Strange keenly caught a few harsh-sounding words.
He frowned and pressed further: "Wait a minute. Didn't the Doctor Strange of this Universe perish together with Thanos? The inscription on the base of the statue outside clearly writes that he gave his life in the campaign against Thanos. What kind of organization is the Illuminati?"
Mentioning this topic, Christine lowered her head in sadness.
The room fell into a brief silence.
Strange didn't make a sound to disturb her, only looking at her drooping shoulders with heartache.
No matter which Universe's Christine it was, her appearance when enduring pain made him feel incomparably heartbroken.
Before long, Christine raised her head again.
Her eyes were a bit red, but she still tried to steady her emotions and explained.
"The statue outside is a lie."
"Because Stephen was frequently using 'dream-walking witchcraft', during the process, his dark magic disrupted the reality boundaries of the multiverse. This caused an incursion event between another Universe and the Universe he was exploring."
"Two Universes annihilated simultaneously. Trillions of lives, countless vibrant civilizations, completely destroyed because of his arrogance."
Strange trembled slightly. Destroyed two Universes?
What kind of crazy thing did that Stephen do?
"And the Illuminati..." Christine continued, "is the highest Superhero organization guarding Earth in this World. It is composed of a few of the smartest and most powerful people. They are responsible for dealing with Universe-level threats that conventional heroes cannot handle."
"The Illuminati believes that dark magic has an irreversible corrupting effect on its users. The darkhold has already corrupted Stephen's mind. As long as Doctor Strange is still alive, he could lose control again at any time."
"To prevent him from making other irreversible destructive moves again... The Illuminati unanimously decided that he must be eliminated."
Christine's voice trembled slightly, but she forced herself to finish.
"Stephen himself also realized his mistake and admitted his own danger. To atone for his sins, and also to protect this Universe, he chose to willingly go to his death."
"In the end, he was eliminated by Illuminati member Black Bolt using a sonic whisper..."
Strange only felt his breathing stagnate; he could not imagine that scene.
"In order to maintain social stability, and also not to break the public's faith in Superheroes, the Illuminati covered up the real reason for his Execution. They told the entire World that Stephen died a heroic death in the battle against Thanos."
Strange suddenly understood. Beneath this perfect appearance, such a cruel truth was hidden.
Ever since seeing Christine, his inner self seemed to have sobered up a lot.
He recalled his crazy actions after contacting the darkhold, and recalled his dark intentions to seize America's abilities.
Strange suddenly felt a wave of lingering fear.
If a magic accident hadn't brought him here, would he also have headed towards the same ending?
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