Doctor Strange #10

"Stranger in a strange land part 3"

Written by Jared Gifford
Co-written Mori Kessler



Strange stared at the man before him. This man had called himself Ether Blake and claimed that he was protecting Shadak's mind from being tampered with and that if Strange did not leave soon he would remove him by force.

Strange thought about what it was he should do. Clearly this individual meant business however he had also pledged to help Shadak restore his memories. Strange then looked to Ether "I am sorry but I can not do that, I am going to help this man and I never break a vow".

Ether then looked sternly at Strange "I warned you now I will not hold back". Ether then sent a bolt of energy at Strange knocking him back several feet. Ether then looked at Strange again "I'm impressed, that would have vaporized anyone else".

Strange smiled at Ether "I'm glad that I could impress you, however I could sense that Shadak is a good person down to his core. So why is it that you are seeking to keep him from the truth of his past?"

Ether then looked to Strange "That shows that you know nothing, it does not matter what he is or was. The fact of the matter is that his mind has been sealed and I will make sure that no one breaks that seal".

Strange could see that this man was not going to listen to his words. Strange now knew that the only way he could achieve his goal was to go through this man. A task that he knew was going to most likely be the most difficult he had ever faced.

Strange then looked to Ether "no more words then?"

Ether nodded back "no more words".

With that Ether took the first move and shot a blue bolt out of his hand right at Strange's torso. Strange managed to avoid the manuever and then countered with a bolt of his own which Ether managed to avoid as well.

Ether then looked to Strange "I can see that you are no run of the mill sorcerer. However I'm still going to have to get rid of you".

Strange smiled at this "whatever happens, happens".

Ether then took a large abandoned pipe which it seemed had been left there for quite awhile and threw it Strange whilst at the same time throwing another blue bolt at him.

These were even harder to avoid since Ether was throwing multiple things at Strange. Strange managed to avoid the bolt however the pipe ripped his shirt and came within inches of piercing his side.

Strange then knew that he had to try and outmanuever this man as he seemed to be as powerful if not more so then himself. This fight would not be unlike a chess game where the one with the best strategy gained the victory.

Strange gauged his opponents movements and reactions, watching and waiting to see what kind of man this Ether really was. From what Strange could gather so far was that this man took his job very seriously and only would stop if he felt that the opponent had gained his respect.

Strange knew that he had to use this to his advantage. He knew that there was no way this man would simply listen to a passing stranger interfering in what had been done to Shadak's mind. Strange started to formulate a strategy in his head.

Strange fired a bolt of energy at Ether and then as Ether dodged the bolt Strange fired another straight away into his path knocking Ether back a bit. Ether then looked to Strange "I have to commend you on your battle strategy, that was a clever move".

Ether then grinned a little "it's been a long time since I've actually had a worthy opponent, try not to disapoint me at this stage of the game". Ether then unleashed his own volley of blasts at Strange which took him by surprise and knocked him back.

This took the wind out of Strange however he was not out of the fight. Strange then lunged to the side and took a well placed shot at Ether. However unfortunately for Strange Ether did see this one coming and moved in closer placing a punch to Strange's face.

Strange fell backward at this however he used his own momentum to roll back and unleash a well placed kick at Ether. Strange was hoping that Ether had not counted on the fact that he was also well versed in martial arts as well as the mystic arts.

Strange was correct as it was a gamble that had paid off for him as the kick sent Ether landing on the ground. Strange then took this opportunity to try and cast a spell that would bind Ether so that Strange would have the chance to do what he had come here for in the first place.

Strange then started reciting an incantation "By the crimson bands of Cyttorak, by the all seeing eye, bind this man as not to escape no matter how hard he tries". With that a green glowing light shot out of Strange's hands and wrapped itself around the body of Ether causing him to be bound.

Ether then looked to Strange "I can see that you are a man who does whatever he can to protect his charge, I respect that in you and you have also fought well. In return I will tell you why this mind has been deemed restricted".

Strange nodded "I respect you as well, no one can fault you for doing your job. You and I just unfortunately were on opposite sides of the argument". Strange then sat cross legged and started to meditate.

Within a few moments Ether was let go of his bounds, he then looked to Strange "how do you know you can trust me?"

Strange then smiled at Ether "I don't, not completely however most people know that you have to give a little in order to get a little".

Ether looked to Strange "you are a bold man, I like that. It has truly been a long time since I have met someone who was willing to put their life on the line".

There was a silence between them both for a moment before Ether then finally spoke. "Well this story goes back many millenia and it involves the somewhat complex family system we have on our world".

Strange nodded "I'm all ears" he said to him with a grin.

*****************************

Somewhere within the halls of Strange's Sanctum Sanctortum Gregg was looking for the Book of the Vishanti. Looking thru every book, every room and every place which it could possibly have been put.

Gregg then felt some energy pulsating from Strange's den. He thought to himself that this must be the place which Strange kept it and judging by the energy he felt he had concluded that some kind of spell had been placed on it in case someone tried to steal it.

Gregg smiled as he knew that the spell could be easily taken care of because of his new found powers. With that Gregg then lifted up his hands and a strange red energy emitted from them which opened up the door to Strange's den.

Gregg walked inside knowing that his prize lay within.

TO BE CONTINUED.