→ ONE!

◜ guests ◞

AMBER BREATHED IN AND OUT CALMLY THROUGH HER NOSE. A thick book sat comfortably on her lap. It was another normal day in New York, and Amber sat alone in the sanctuary, finding bliss from the unusually quiet tower. The chair she was sitting on was tucked away in the shadows of the floor, hiding away from peaking eyes. Her heterochromia eyes slowly studied the old pages, as her mind danced with the words she read under her breath. She slowly drew her index finger down the withered page. With her finger, she flipped the page quickly and continued her reading.

"Abel."

With that same finger, she pricked it on the page, to mark her place and lifted her eyes to the calling voice. Stephen Strange; the Master of the Mystic Arts stood before her, freshly groomed, as she noticed. His usual grim look was on his features, but Amber picked up a note of urgency beneath his grey eyes.

"Strange." she greeted cooly, tipping her head to the right slightly. Her eyebrows raised in a cocky manner, as she awaited why the Doctor suddenly decided to disrupt her afternoon reading.

"We have a guest arriving." Stephen flatly said, confusing her. Her eyes looked around at the empty room, searching for someone else in the room, but to no avail. She hesitantly reached Stephen's eyes, narrowing.

Her four fingers drummed rapidly against the pages of her book, giving off a muted thump. Her lips pursed tightly as her eyes narrowed in concentration. "Interesting. Well, shall we get ready for their coming?"

"Actually," Stephen stopped, holding up a single leather-gloved finger in the air. "he'll be here right about..." His words were cut off by a loud, booming knock. "now."

Amber raised her eyebrows again before closing her book, tucking it away in its rightful place in the bookshelf behind her. "Do we know this person?"

"Well," Stephen started, dragging out the word enough to make Amber raise an eyebrow in suspicion. "sort of."

"Sort of?"

"He's a Norse god. Ever heard of Thor Odinson, God of Thunder?"

She hummed quietly, nodding gently. "Well, bring him in."

Stephen nodded, waving his hands in the air in a fluid motion. Suddenly, Amber was standing in the corner of the room, where she previously was. She looked around the room to find Stephen gone, and the God of the Thunder standing in front of the wooden staircase, looking perplexed.

"Thor Odinson," Stephen's oddly deep voice echoed throughout the Sanctum, disclosing their guest's presence. He hovered over the staircase, towards the man. "God of Thunder."

Thor raised his umbrella defensively, eyeing Stephen.

"You can put down the umbrella." Stephen said, looking at his accessory. Thor smugly smiled, looking beside him to see an umbrella holder. He lined up the end of it with the opening, before sliding it in.

As soon as the umbrella made contact with the floor, he was transported to another room, suddenly greeted by two people now.

Stephen, and Amber.

Amber leaned against the wall, having her arms crossed against her chest loosely. Her face held a sombre frown. Beside her, Stephen leaned against a table, arms crossed as well.

In front of Thor, was another table. On it, a relic of long diamond-shaped metal pieces.

He stepped over to the table, picking up one. He gestured to their robes. "So, Earth has wizards now, huh?"

He chuckled arrogantly, proceeding to almost toss the piece back in its place. Missing the hole, the metal collided with the base, shaking the whole thing and making the rest of the pieces fall out.

Thor glanced up at the two, noticing their unimpressed expressions. Quickly tucking a strand of hair behind his ear, he hastily scrambled for the pieces, trying to put them back together. Amber and Stephen shared a quick look.

"The preferred term is Masters of The Mystic Arts. You can leave that now." Stephen trailed off, his voice monotoned.

Thor picked up a cluster of the pieces and slammed them down on the table close to the base, before leaning his hand on the table and glancing at the two anonymous people. "All right, wizards. Who are you two? Why should I care?"

"My name is Doctor Stephen Strange. This," he gestured to Amber, who greeted the god with a stiff salute. "is my associate, Master Amber Abel, and I've got some questions for you. Take a seat."

A gust of wind pushed Thor back, and he suddenly fell into a padded chair. Looking around the room, he saw that they were in yet another room in the Sanctum. Seated in front of him were Stephen and Amber.

While Stephen had his hands folded in his lap respectfully, Amber was leaning back in her chair. Her index and middle finger were placed on her temple, as the rest of her hand was supporting the weight of her head. Her eyelids hung halfway over her eyes, making her seem jaded.

Stephen gestured towards the small table between him, Amber and Thor. "Tea?"

Thor looked down at his hand, realizing he was holding a small cup filled with the beverage. The Norse god shook his head, lifting the cup and narrowing his eyes. "I don't drink tea."

"What do you drink?"

"Not tea." Thor shook his head again, lowering the cup. Amber waved her right hand in a swift motion, transforming the cup into a tall mug of beer.

As Stephen began to speak, Thor hesitantly lifted the mug to his lips, eyeing Amber as she returned to a bored expression, looking around the room.

"So, I keep a watchlist of individuals and beings from other realms that may be a threat to this world." Stephen forced a chuckle, "And your adopted brother, Loki, is one of those beings."

"A worthy inclusion." Thor nodded, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. With a few large gulps, his beer was gone. Thor watched as the cup magically refilled itself.

Stephen leaned forward in his seat, with the tall collar of his cloak standing up straight. "Why bring him here?"

"To find my father." Thor informed, pursing his lips.

"So, if I were to tell you where Odin was, all parties concerned would promptly return to Asgard?"

"Promptly."

"Great. Then, we'll help you." Stephen said in relief, falling back into his chair.

Thor's eyes narrowed. "If you knew where he was, why didn't you call me?"

"I have to tell you, he was adamant to not be disturbed. Your father said he had chosen to remain in exile. And...you don't have a phone."

"No, I don't have a phone, but you could've sent an electronic letter, called an e-mail?" Thor said cockily.

"Yes, but, do you have a computer?" Amber interjected, her eyes squinting at him.

Thor shook his head. "No. What for?"

"Oh my―" Amber cut herself off, steepling her hands before laying her forehead against them. A short groan passed her lips, as Stephen nodded awkwardly.

"Anyways," Thor said, ignoring their responses. "My father is no longer in exile, so if you would tell me where he is, I can take him home." he smiled, taking a swig of his beverage.

"Gladly. He's in Norway."

Standing from his seat, he held out a hand to Amber. She took it, standing up with him. 

Suddenly, the three were back beside the chair Amber was reading in, near the bookcase. In Stephen's hands was a thick brown book.

Thor wobbled from the sudden change in atmosphere, spilling some of his drink. He placed a hand on the shelf to steady himself. Amber snickered at Thor, who only returned it with a glare.

Stephen flipped through the book quickly. "Just seeing if the missing incantation requires any Asgardian modifications." There was a pause before Stephen looked up, slamming the book shut with one hand. "Nope." 

When the two halves of the book slapped together, the three were transported to another library within the Sanctum.

The Doctor quickly recognized he travelled to the wrong set of books and shook his head. "Oh, we don't need that."

When he transported them all again to the previous room, Thor's hand broke through the shelf. He growled in anger, placing his mug on a table before moving toward the two. "Will you stop doing that?"

Amber stood beside Stephen, staring at Thor's fails with amusement. She bumped shoulders with him slyly. "Aw, c'mon, Stephen. Give the poor man a break."

Stephen smirked at Amber before turning towards Thor, who placed his beer down and approached the two sorcerers. "Can I...I need a...one strand of your hair..."

He glanced at Amber, jutting his chin at Thor in silence. Amber knew what he meant, nodding back and stepping away from the two men.

"Let me explain something; my hair is not to be meddled with―ah!" Thor suddenly cried, flinching as Amber appeared behind him, ripping a strand of hair from his scalp.

Handing it to Stephen, he worked with his hair, swirling his hands around in a swift motion. They were transported once more to the bottom level of the Sanctum. Thor fell down the last five steps of the stairwell, with a few loud grunts.

Amber moved out of the way when Thor fell at her feet. He quickly rose to stand, brushing his sleeve off. "Could've just walked."

Stephen created a portal in front of him; a gateway to Norway. "He's waiting for you."

"All right." Thor nodded with a sigh.

Amber's eyebrows perked up. "Oh, don't forget your...umbrella."

Thor nodded, sticking out his hand. In the distance, the sounds of glass shattering, and objects being smashed could be heard, making Thor wince each time. "Sorry..."

Suddenly, the umbrella slammed into his hand, and Thor caught it with ease. He brushed off bits of glass. "I suppose I'll need my brother back."

"Brother?" Amber questioned as she narrowed her eyes.

"Oh yeah, right." Stephen said, creating a portal near Thor. The faint noise of yelling grew louder and suddenly a lean figure crashing into the room, landing roughly on the floor.

He was pale. He had black hair and was dressed in a sharp black suit. Amber figured that this was Thor's brother—Loki.

Loki panted loudly as he flicked his stringy hair back. "I have been falling, for thirty minutes!"