Thor gave a brief explanation of how Stephen, after losing the use of his hands, eventually—through a series of strange events—became Doctor Strange.
Stephen caught the crucial detail. "So what you're saying is… losing my hands was what pushed me to become a sorcerer?"
"Yes." Thor shrugged. "That's why it was a question. If you hadn't lost your hands, you wouldn't have gone searching for a way to heal them. And since the world of sorcery is, well, pretty mysterious… I'd say the answer is A. You've got a serious knack for magic. Maybe it was fate—you were always meant to be the Sorcerer Supreme."
Stephen was silent for a moment, then asked, "One more thing… In the end, did my hands ever heal? I mean, after I became a sorcerer?"
"Uh… I don't think so." Thor shook his head.
Just then, the countdown for the question began. This time, Stephen managed to buzz in first. He hesitated for a moment, then chose option A.
Without the strange events that had just happened—without Thor's future video—Stephen, a staunch man of science, would never have believed in the mystical. He was a pure materialist.
But now, he'd gotten a glimpse of the supernatural. And with his usual confidence, he believed he was destined for greatness in this world too—just as he had been in the world of medicine.
Stephen believed what Thor had said: he would become the Sorcerer Supreme.
The others also submitted their answers—and surprisingly, they all chose A as well.
The countdown hit zero. The correct answer was revealed:
[Congratulations to player Stephen Strange for answering correctly and earning 4 points]
[Player Thor Odinson, player Wade Wilson, player Hughie Campbell, player Billy Butcher, and player Annie also answered correctly and earn 1 point each]
Thor grinned. "Told you! You were always gonna be Doctor Strange, no matter what!"
Stephen actually cracked a smile. "Well, I'm looking forward to the day I become a sorcerer. Might be more fun than surgery."
As he spoke, anticipation in his eyes, the light screen began to play the next future clip—and this one, as expected, was all about him.
But what showed up on screen was… unexpected.
It started with a nighttime cityscape—skyscrapers lit up, busy streets full of traffic and pedestrians. Nothing out of the ordinary… except it was animated.
Outside the screen, everyone stared, wide-eyed.
"No way. You gotta be kidding," Deadpool threw his hands up in exaggerated shock. "You're a cartoon character? But you look so normal in real life!"
Thor blinked, confused, staring hard at Stephen like everyone else. From all appearances, Stephen looked completely normal. Definitely not a 2D paper figure.
"I… I'm from a cartoon world?" Stephen looked just as baffled. He patted his arms and torso, visibly unsettled.
Of course, for heroes like Bruce, Iron Man, and others who had already completed missions in animated universes, it wasn't as hard to accept.
They'd already guessed it when they noticed that one of the new players in the Quiz game was another version of Stephen Strange—possibly from an animated universe. That guess had just been confirmed.
But for the new players—and even newer audience members—it was a serious shock. The idea of animated characters stepping out into the real world was hard to wrap their heads around.
Billy Butcher was the first to scoff. "What a bloody joke. So this was all just some dumb cartoon trick? You think we're all mugs?"
Annie and Hughie both looked uncomfortable.
Deadpool, on the other hand, took it in stride. "What's the big deal? A cartoon comes to life, big whoop. Flip it around—if you found out you were from a movie or a TV show, wouldn't that make sense?"
"That's insane," Billy shook his head. "You're full of shit."
It was a tough pill to swallow for most people. Not everyone could handle the idea they might be fictional. Deadpool could—he broke the fourth wall on the regular.
Thor furrowed his brows, thinking hard. Then he suddenly shouted, "Wait—I remember! In one of the question rounds, Doctor Strange—uh, the one I know—he traveled through different universes. One of them was an animated universe!"
"So," he continued, "it's not that weird. The multiverse is huge—like, really huge. Like grains of sand on a beach, anything you can imagine is out there."
Stephen frowned. "So if I came from an animated universe to here… I look real now. But if I went back, I'd be animated again?"
As they continued to debate, the video on the screen kept playing.
Sure enough, the animated version of Stephen Strange appeared. Though the art style was different, it was still clearly him.
The players glanced back and forth between the screen and the real Stephen and reluctantly agreed—they were the same person.
Thor let out a low voice. "Alright. Everyone shut up and watch."
In the video, Stephen was wearing a sharp suit, looking every bit the successful man. He was driving a sleek sports car, on his way to pick up his date.
It was clear his relationship with Christine Palmer was strong. Once she got in the car, the two were all smiles and laughter.
The sports car roared through the city and eventually made its way to a mountain road. Up ahead was a large construction vehicle, blocking part of the view.
Stephen, still chatting and laughing with Christine, hit the gas and went for the overtake—but just as he swung into the opposite lane, another car came from the other direction.
He barely managed to swerve in time, narrowly avoiding a head-on collision.
But before he could breathe a sigh of relief—BANG. The car was rear-ended, hard.
The speeding sports car careened off the road and over the edge of a cliff.
It tumbled through the air, flipped, and crashed down below.
Stephen survived.
But Christine… was slumped over in the passenger seat, blood on her face, no sign of life.
"No! Christine!!"
On-screen, Stephen let out a heart-wrenching cry. And off-screen—his real counterpart sat frozen in horror.
He knew—without a doubt—that what he'd just seen wasn't fiction. It was his future.
Tomorrow night, he was planning to take Christine out for a celebratory dinner. That exact moment was just around the corner.
In other words, everything that had just happened in the video… was going to happen tomorrow.
____
T/N:
Hello everyone! My Patreon is just $3 — a perfect opportunity to access 50+ advanced chapters and support the translation.
🔗 patreon.com/user?u=79514336
Or simply search Translator-Sama on Patreon