Although what was playing on the screen was just animation, Stephen already believed—this was his future.
If not for this strange and unexpected experience, if he hadn't gotten caught up in this bizarre quiz game... by tomorrow, he would've lost the woman he loved.
Thor hadn't expected the video to turn out like this. He looked over at Stephen with sympathy in his eyes and muttered, "Losing her... that's worse than losing your hands."
Deadpool shrugged. "Well, if nothing else, this makes a solid PSA. Everyone, buckle up and maybe don't be a jackass on the road. You see what happens when you try to show off? No offense, Doc, but that was dumb. I, personally, am a very responsible driver. Cross my heart."
Stephen buried his face in his hands in anguish. "Oh God… oh God. I killed Christine. I killed her…"
"Hey, man," Thor quickly stepped in, seeing the tears welling in Stephen's eyes, "don't do this to yourself. That's what this video is for, right? A warning. You saw the future. Now you can change it."
Back in the video, Stephen stood silently at Christine's funeral, grief etched into every line of his face. Then, a voiceover came in:
"In this world, Stephen Strange didn't lose his hands—but he lost his heart."
Turns out, outside this world, there was a mysterious being calling himself The Watcher. A god-like entity who observed the infinite possibilities of the multiverse—watching each world unfold differently—but never interfering.
His sudden appearance sent another ripple of shock through the viewers and players.
The quiz game had already introduced several god-level figures: like Zeus, who was just featured in Thor's segment, and Eternity, capable of granting any wish.
But the Watcher... he was something else entirely. Practically omniscient, watching everything and everyone at all times.
In a world where privacy already felt like a luxury, the idea of some cosmic being acting like a living surveillance camera didn't sit well with anyone.
"The Watcher? God…" Annie whispered, covering her mouth, "I had no idea there were so many... incredible things out there."
Stephen, however, was clearly triggered. He jabbed a finger at the screen, fury in his voice. "He saw what was going to happen. He knew! Why didn't he stop it?! He could've stopped it!"
Billy Butcher snorted. "Oh, here we go again. Prayin' to gods to fix your shit. Didn't you watch the last clip? Relyin' on divine intervention—that's the real dumbass move. No one's gonna save you, mate. Not him, not anyone. You're on your own."
Stephen fell into silence. He was proud and stubborn by nature, but the emotional shock had cracked something in him. His anger wasn't really about the Watcher—it was about the helplessness.
Back on screen, after Christine's death, Stephen didn't spiral or give up. No. He scoured the world for a way to undo the tragedy.
Just like in another timeline, where he lost the use of his hands and searched endlessly for a cure—this Stephen was no different. He refused to give up.
But without question, losing Christine hurt far more than losing his hands ever did. And from this point, his story began to align more closely with the original timeline.
Stephen found Kamar-Taj. Became a disciple of the Ancient One. Studied the mystic arts. With his natural talent, he soon came into contact with the Eye of Agamotto—and learned how to bend time itself.
From the Ancient One, he learned not just magic, but responsibility. So when the ruler of the Dark Dimension, Dormammu, tried to invade Earth, Stephen—now Doctor Strange—stood tall without hesitation.
Just like in the original timeline, he used the Eye of Agamotto to trap Dormammu in a time loop, forcing the dark god to retreat from Earth.
No matter the path—Stephen Strange became a hero who saved the world.
Seeing this, Annie's eyes lit up. She couldn't hold back her admiration. "Stephen, that was incredible. You were... brave. You saved the entire planet by yourself."
She had grown up admiring heroes like that. Dreamed of becoming one herself.
And to her, what Stephen had done made him far more worthy of the title "superhero" than the overhyped Seven from Vought.
But Stephen only gave a bitter smile. He was still deep in grief. Compliments couldn't lift him out of it.
He waved her off, voice low. "That guy in the video... feels like someone else. But if—if I did have that power, I'd do the same. I would take responsibility. That's something I believe in."
Stephen might've had a sharp temper and a flawed personality, but his dedication to saving lives had never wavered. Even when he gave up medicine for magic, he never abandoned his original purpose.
Hughie, Thor—even Deadpool—all chimed in with praise.
Everyone except Billy.
The man's distrust of superheroes was too deep. "Yeah, yeah, great hero story. But let's be honest—it's those magic weirdos who pissed off the demon in the first place. You ask me, superpowers are the real cause of all this crap."
That killed the mood instantly.
Deadpool gave a dry chuckle. "Okay, okay, Billy, lemme explain this to you slowly. You see a bad guy. You've got a gun. You don't shoot the bad guy. Then you blame your gun for the mess? You serious right now? That's some next-level brain damage."
"Piss off," Billy snapped. "That's not even close to the same thing!"
Hughie just shrugged, turning to Deadpool. "So... you're basically a hardcore Second Amendment guy, huh?"
Deadpool grinned. "Ding ding ding! Arm everyone, peace for all!" He even mimed a finger-gun and "fired" it at him.
Thor frowned, clearly fed up. "Enough. Quiet, both of you. The video's paused. A new question's coming up."
Sure enough, the video froze right after Doctor Strange defeated Dormammu. A glowing prompt appeared:
[Question: Will Doctor Stephen Strange use the Time Stone to reverse time and save Christine? And if he does, will he succeed?]
[A: No.
B: Yes, but he can't.
C: Yes, and he can.
D: No, but he could]
____
T/N:
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