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Aoko Aozaki     177A Bleecker Street, a totally normal building.
    In totally normal New York.

    Of course, a certain meddler possesses enough magical awareness to know when something is out of place, and when the mystical is sitting in the middle of the mundane and in plain sight.

    Never one to stay in one place, her travels after helping stuff magical malice into a centipede, which turned out great by the way, ask Morgan, took her to New York, sniffing after the Sorcerer Supreme's signature, curious to see his world after their brief meeting.

    This is precisely why it's terrible news when someone repeatedly knocks on the door, uninvited, and without guests being expected.

    She even has her trunk-briefcase with her, the true sign of her hobo life style. It's full of very helpful things, which are largely a mystery.

    "Heeeey, anyone home! Pretty sure I got the right address, I'm looking for the Sorcerer Supreme!"

    Yes she is yelling that.
    On a public street, in New York.
    Good thing they're used to superheroes.
Doctor Strange      Banging upon the front door of a place called the Sanctum Sanctorum is incidentally a great way to get noticed by the owner pretty quick. A knot grows into the wood of the unassuming door, cracks appearing in the varnish. It splits in half to reveal a baleful wooden eye which stares at Aoko before retreating back into the wood as if it had never emerged. Had this been a different door in a far away galaxy, it might have groused at her in a garbled alien language.

     The door slowly creaks open. The moment she steps inside, it shuts behind her.

     The foyer spreads out before her, a room impossibly large for the size of the building. Numerous display pedestals bearing magical artifacts rest upon a darkly stained hardwood floor, flanking a long red carpet which runs the length of the room. It extends all the way up a staircase set in the middle, which itself sports ornate, polished rails. At the top of that staircase there is a large circular window which lets some natural sunlight in--or would, were it not for the figure floating in front of it.

     Doctor Stephen Strange is dressed quite differently than he was the last time the two met. He wears a subdued, blue cotton tunic, with matching leggings tucked into roughspun cloth boots. Yellow leather gloves conceal his heavily scarred hands, and behind him there billows dramatically a high-collared, red pleated cloak. Finishing the mystic ensemble is a brass amulet, with a complex latticework that conceals a gem of some sort.

     He slowly descends the staircase by way of hovering, gently touching upon the ground.

     "What do you want?" he flatly asks. It's a very dry question for such a dramatic entrance.
Aoko Aozaki     "What, I'm not allowed to visit a friend?" Aoko asks, setting her briefcase down by the door and immediatly wandering into the massive room without reservation. The rows of magical artifacts kept on display have caught her attention, even moreso than the dramatic entrance of the superhero slash wizard.

    Although, if she had to score it, it'd be a 9.5/10. The artifacts just happen to be 10s.

    "Oh man you're more loaded than the Clock Tower! How do you manage to sleep in such an awesome house? No, don't answer! Don't ruin the surprise."

    She pushes her face against the glass case covering an artifact, her eyes peering at the delicate craftsmanship on display. "What's this one do? Can I touch it?"

    Ah, there's too many to chose! Sure, she could take five seconds to figure out what they do herself, but she has a conversation partner, that's the boring option.

    "By the way, is that a cloak of levitation? How much'd you pay for it? Those are worth a /fortune/! You could probably buy a house and probably have enough left to buy a boat to put the house on!" Not the most responsible use of cash, though.
Doctor Strange      Strange doesn't dignify Aoko's first question with a response, past an annoyed frown. He briskly follows her to the display case which has caught her attention. The object within is a silver helmet in the shape of a bird's head, with polished obsidian 'eyes.' It bears a crest and a headress in what's clearly an Egyptian style.

     "That's the Second Eye of Horus. It lets the wearer see far-off places, /if/ it finds them worthy." The tone of that statement implies that no, she most certainly may not touch it. The moment Aoko's face is off of the display case, the sorcerer's cloak lifts its hem up and wipes the case clean. "The artifact chooses the wielder," explains Strange. The collar of his cloak bobs up and down in 'agreement.' "Not the other way around."

     "Everything here is here because it's dangerous, waiting for the right user, or both. That... 'Dark Lord Satan' aura of yours isn't going to do you any favors here." Strange crosses his arms, furrowing his brow. "Seriously, what is that? What did you do?"

     That last question has an accusatory tone that he doesn't bother hiding. The list of beings capable of (or perhaps, burdened with) such auras is not one which inspires hope or joy in the reader. "Are you even human?"
Aoko Aozaki     "What, little old me? If I told you I'm just a human, you wouldn't buy it, right?" Hey, it's worth a try. But of course not. This man clearly knows his stuff entirely too well. Sorcerer Supreme isn't just a title.

    "Ah, well, that's a really long story. I guess the short version is that I touched power the World doesn't really like, and it branded me. Or maybe it's more like you can't just slap coats of skin over awesome, forbidden power and still call the resulting container "human"."

    She lets that hang in the air, moving to another case almost immediatly. "Worthy, huh? So these artifacts are like, judgmental jerks? And you're sure they only pick nice, world-saving, responsible adults?"

    She is all those things. By certain contexts and definitions. Shut up.

    "Oh, but to answer your question, I'm totally human. I'm the humanest human you'll ever human. Maybe that's the World's problem with me, aha!"
Doctor Strange      The humanest human to ever human. That tells him exactly what he needs to know. She's not 'just' human. "You're too human," he says with a frown. He waves his hand. Both of them remain the exact distance from one another, but their surroundings change in a blur of colors and displaced air. They now stand in a study, with a lit fireplace, towering bookshelves, a writing desk, a coffee table, and two leather reading chairs.

     Strange has a seat in one of them, and invites Aoko to do the same in the opposite. The question about where all of the Sanctum's artifacts are so choosy goes unanswered. It is something she will find the Sorcerer Supreme does often, but in this case, the answer is technically there for her to find in what he's already said, if she is circumspect. She could also tell through her own inspections that not every artifact in it is borne of this world's magic, if she were inclined to go looking.

     "Tea?" There is now a tea set on the coffee table, where before there wasn't. Strange offers to pour Aoko's first--though if she declines, he doesn't hesitate to pour his own afterwards. Regardless of the particulars, he has more to say on the magus' nature.

     "You were branded because you were /too/ human," posits the sorcerer. "Maybe if things had turned out differently in worlds like ours, humans and Gaia wouldn't be different, much less enemies. But you..." He squints at her, his emerald eyes studying her. He makes a guess. "You she especially didn't like."
Aoko Aozaki     The sudden... teleportation? Scene-shifting? It does catch Aoko offguard. That's not something you see often. Even when you do, it isn't usually so seamless.

    Credit to her, she immediatly sits down and rolls with it. "Oh, tea, that'll do!" She's hungry and thirsty, but then again she's a shoujo protagonist. Comes with the design space.

    As she lifts her cup up to drink from it, her eyes look past the cup to stare at Strange, though when it lowers again she's smiling in manner that can only indicate she hates explaining it and Strange is saving her the hassle.

    "I'm going to be honest, I don't know for sure what the deal is, I just know neither the World nor the collective unconsciousness can tolerate people grasping at all the awesome toys hidden behind the curtain. I consider it a challenge! So I stole the curtain too."

    She might literally have stolen a curtain at some point. Like an act of defiance only she would get.

    "So, so much for me just barging in and grilling YOU for all your awesome parlor tricks! Am I being tried, your honor? If so I'd like to call my lawyer! She's past the biting stage now. They grow up so fast."
Doctor Strange      "Well," ponders Strange with a shrug of his shoulders. "It's probably something to do with how they're used. I'm sure the city would..." He briefly glances upwards, frowning thoughtfully as he searches for an anecdote. "...frown. Upon someone hotwiring a fire engine, driving down the interstate and blasting motorists with the hose." He takes a sip from his own cup. "For example," he belatedly adds.

     A moment of quiet passes. "Grill me as much as you want," he says with a dismissive wave of a gloved hand. "Ask Stark how far it got him." Sip. He sets the cup upon its saucer, which rests on the coffee table before him. Letting his hands rest in his lap, he crosses his legs and squints slightly.

     "Y'know," he sharply begins, "I always thought you guys had interesting terminology. 'Magic Circuits,'" he states, making air quotes. "That's the one that sticks out the most, to me. Like the world's a big computer. I mean, it kind of is--from a certain point of view. ...I had this computer science teacher in high school." He clicks his tongue, nodding slowly.

     "He used to say computers don't make mistakes." There is a meaningful look given to Aoko, as if he expects her to know what he means. "But they do make errors, don't they?" He lets the question burn in the air for a moment before leaning forward to reach for his tea.
Aoko Aozaki     "I thought the idea was that computers don't make mistakes, but the people who make them can feed them bogus data and instructions?" Aoko questions back, taking that metaphor along with the literal only thing she knows about computers, besides how to identify which part is the keyboard and which is the screen.

    "But really, asking a magus about technology, what's a terrible idea! We don't mix. I've heard the worst of us can make DVD players burst into flames from our very touch! Glad I'm not that bad at it, but you know, that clock's gonna be showing 00:00 for the foreseeable future."

    That, too, is a metaphor.
    And also a very real fact about her DVD player.

    "Besides! I'd never blast motorists with the hose. I might keep the sirens on and honk a lot though." Small details.

    "So, come on! My turn. Sorcerer Supreme. Did you just stumble into the position and make all the right decisions from the word go? And would you give that up if the planet itself was like, howdy there, I see you have phenomenal cosmic power now, would you like a word with my assasins or would you like to stop existing? Pick one or the other!"
Doctor Strange      "That's also true," says Strange of Aoko's assessment. He nods approvingly.

     When Aoko asks him about how he got the job, he's surprisingly receptive despite his earlier challenge. "Well, how should I put this." He reaches up to stroke his goatee thoughtfully. It comes to him, and he gestures with both hands. "Before I knew magic existed, I would have been the ideal Clock Tower mage. I was..." He chuckles. "/Really/ an asshole. A determined asshole, but still, an asshole."

     "When I had nothing left, I found a good teacher. She taught me a lot more than just magic." The sorcerer sighs, one finger shakily tapping the armrest of his chair. "But I didn't stumble into anything. If anything, I clawed my way to it."

     "I... taught myself a whole new discipline, a whole new way of thinking. I changed fundamental aspects of who I was. I faced my greatest fear and let it pass right through me. No, I earned this." He nods with certainty.

     "So, with that in mind..." Strange steeples his fingers and levels an impassive frown her way. "Let's say that I'm stupid or uncreative enough to even let myself get into that position--the position where someone has a finger over my 'off' button." He smacks his lips.

     "Depends on what the smart play for humanity is. Because, at the end of the day, that's my job. And it's not about me."
Aoko Aozaki     "Ooh, a rising talent! Beaten into submission and rebuilt into someone better. I've seen the type. None on your level, but it happens, even with Association magi. Moon turns blue every once in a while, you know? Or green-gold, sometimes, but I recommend the laser cannon solution to that one." Worked for her. "Red too. That one wasn't me, more like... hm. My role model? Yeah, close enough."

    Aoko relaxes in her chair, musing out loud. "So what if there wasn't any data? No proof what you're doing is bad. No proof whatever awful thing comes out of it, that you can't handle it. What if it was just a sudden decision that your magic is inherently evil, and shouldn't exist, even if you've vowed to use it for good and save more lives than you put at risk?"

    She taps a finger on the arm of the chair, mimicking Strange. "Ah, maybe that's where we're different. I'm after the Greater Good too, but I'm not willing to sacrifice for it. Especially when it's some crusty old planet's definition of it."

    Aoko laughs. Maybe that's where the inhumanity comes from. Future consequences built up beyond her control and miring the present.

    "Speaking of your teacher, though! She sounds like we'd get along. I'm guessing, from your tone and position, that...?" Well, she doesn't need to finish that guess, does she?
Doctor Strange      "Crusty," says the doctor flatly. "Good one." Puns are the lowest form of humor, but at least he's not the type of gremlin to add 'pun intended' to everything. He clears his throat, nonetheless, needing to expel that particular evil from his body all the same. "Mm. Well. First of all, my magic and yours are a lot different."

     "Now, there's a lot of ifs, and buts, and asterisks," begins the sorcerer. "There's a lot of different /kinds/ in it. But /generally,/" explains Strange with clear exasperation at the underpinnings of Aoko's world, "Your world has limits and riders and stipulations on who can and can't do magic. Lots of them." He pauses to let that sink in, peering at her over the rim of his teacup. "Mine has two. Are you determined and resourceful enough to find where we teach, and are you humble and disciplined enough to learn."

     "Magecraft is about finding the Root. Grabbing power. There are good mages, but the culture of magecraft is... exploitative." He shrugs his shoulders in an almost conversational way, speaking to her as a fellow academic. "You know that. You've taught at the Clock Tower. Sorcery is different. It's about /wielding/ power. Understanding the world and your place in it. We teach it more like a martial art than a science, because it's not there for the wielder to market or manipulate, it's to put them on an even footing with things that go bump in the night."

     "Sorcery's not a... limited resource." He... knows someone who feels it perhaps should be, but chooses not to mention Mordo. "When I look at the culture of mages, you know what I think? I see the product of someone who saw... I dunno, a Dead Apostle or God knows whatever else you guys have running around. He saw that, saw the destruction it was capable of and he thought, 'wow! what if I could be a complete dickhead with incredible power and no regard for innocent life, too?'" The sorcerer laughs a humorless, bitter laugh.

     "I'm getting off topic. My point is, it's really unlikely I'd ever be called evil for using sorcery, because it was given to us by a god who thought we needed a leg up. A god who also founded this whole... magical... order... thing." He gestures in a vaguely defined circle with a trembling index finger.

     "But, sake of argument, right? What would I /do/ if he came back and changed his mind? I'd do what I thought the right thing was, even if that meant giving up my power. It wouldn't be the first time I've been powerless, and, even though I've got to be the only guy in the Multiverse who'll admit it, I'm more than just a... collection of toys and spells. I'd find some way to help people again."
Aoko Aozaki     "Mhmhmhm~" Aoko singsongs at Strange's answer, contemplative. She finally laughs, heartfelt. "I like you! You're brave. I guess it's different for us, huh? We're very little specks in a world of Heroic Spirits, of vampire lords, or living moons and who knows what else is waiting for us out there. Our toys and spells let us be something." In a sense, Aoko is admitting she considers her powers part of her identity now. She wouldn't part with them.

    She's a coward who ran headfirst into the wrong door and can't back out of it anymore.

    "Oh, but don't get the wrong idea about me. I ditched Mage Law," she says, intentionally overstating the importance of the word, "almost immediatly after starting my training as a magus. Highschool! Awful years. And then I just had power dumped into my lap, because gramps wanted an heir who wasn't afraid to use it. Then I used it! To save my city, to save someone very close to me, and put a boot behind someone else's head. Not my problem if there's consequences for that. I'll deal with them when they show up."

    A pause, and she adds: "Oh, but for the record? The Root's pretty boring. Wouldn't reach for it if I were those little magi. The bouncer is a total jerk and cards everyone!" With death. Mostly with death.

    "Ah, ah! It's interesting though. So on your world, everyone can do magic? No body factors? No potential besides state of mind and willingness to learn? That sounds so much nicer. No arbitrary factors, except the luck involved in finding a teacher. I'm guessing you don't make it easy?"
Doctor Strange      Strange furrows his brow. Compared to Aoko, who can't back out, he seems to be the type to consider no one thing to be inherent to his identity, to consider his identity relatively mutable. "They do," the sorcerer again agrees.

     'Not my problem' does seem to irk him somewhat. Perhaps, he ponders, that's what Gaia disliked about her. Irresponsibility, procrastination. Someone with immense power who uses it to put things off, perhaps? "Well. Your heart's in the right place," admits Strange. But that alone doesn't diminish the mark that's been placed upon her. There's a reason there's so many truisms about good intentions and where they lead. "I just hope that when there's no way to avoid 'dealing with it' you're ready to roll your sleeves up."

     He takes one more final sip from his cup, finishing it. He makes a motion as if to toss it in the air, whereupon it simply vanishes rather than obey gravity or conventional physics. "We don't," Strange admits. "It takes a lot to find the right state of mind. Especially nowadays. Everyone thinks they already know everything." There is a smartphone in his hand now, which he presents as backing for that statement.

     "You have to be willing to forget everything you think you know. And..." He trails off, vanishing the smartphone. "Most people really, really don't want to do that."
Aoko Aozaki     "That's the modern world for you. Doesn't help in most of them magic was kept from commoners for the longest of times. It's the Clock Tower paradox. They need people to believe in magic but they don't want people to know magic is real and seek it out. Can't hoard power if it's freely available. And deteriorating."

    The last part especially.

    Aoko rises from her seat, streching. "Well! I don't have my answers about all your cool, weird reality-bending powers, but I like you anyway. You seem like you know what a life is worth! That makes you better than, oh, just about every magi from my world bar maybe a handful. There's some rare flowers in the weed, hard to find though."

    She spins on her feet, a full rotation, then glances about the room. "Soooooo. How do I find your front door again? You mind if I look around a bit before going, or are you going to magic me outside? It's a cool trick!"