Deadpool was teasing Doctor Strange, accusing him of using the Time Stone to cheat and pick up girls.
Stephen just shot him a cold glance. "I only love Christine. I'd give up everything for her."
"Whoa, how touching!" Deadpool gave a thumbs-up, then winked at Thor. "Big guy, I'm officially passing the title of 'Hopeless Romantic' over to Stephen."
Thor had already mastered the art of tuning him out, eyes fixed on the glowing screen in front of them.
In the video, Stephen was once again taking Christine out for a drive, but this time he chose a different route. He smiled reassuringly at her. "It's fine. Don't worry."
But just as he finished speaking—bam! A truck smashed into their car from the side. They hadn't even left the city this time, and their vehicle was sent flying.
Another crash. Another tragedy.
Outside the screen, Deadpool wouldn't shut up. "Dude, seriously, how are you not seeing the pattern here? That truck had it out for you two. It's like, murder-by-GPS or something!"
"Please... just shut up." Stephen was already in a bad place. Deadpool's chatter was only making it worse.
Deadpool shrugged, mimed zipping his lips… but didn't even last a few seconds before mumbling again, "I mean, if it were me..."
Everyone else exchanged a look and sighed deeply. They had long since learned that tuning him out was the only way to survive. With a collective mental effort, they focused all their attention back on the unfolding tragedy.
In the video, after the repeated car crashes, Stephen finally caught on—maybe the car was cursed. He suggested they just stay close to home for their date.
No driving. Surely, they'd be safe now?
But after they avoided the crash and made it to a party instead, Christine suddenly collapsed from some unknown illness… and died on the spot.
The audience outside the screen was stunned.
Earlier, a few had guessed the crashes might be premeditated attacks, but now it was obvious—that theory didn't hold water anymore.
Annie murmured under her breath, "It's like… fate. An unchangeable fate that no matter what he does, she dies."
"No. No, it can't be like that!"
Stephen's voice trembled. His hands and feet were ice-cold. He couldn't—wouldn't—accept losing Christine. He turned to Thor, almost desperate. "You said the future can be changed… right?"
"Uh… yeah, I did say that."
Thor had once believed that firmly. But now… he looked uncertain, frowning. "In my world, yeah, we changed everything. People who were supposed to die… lived. But your world... something's off."
The tragic loop continued to play out in the screen.
Stephen tried changing the venue—took Christine to a low-key pizza place instead of a fancy party. But then a robbery broke out. She got caught in the crossfire. Died instantly.
He reverse time again. More accidents, more sudden crashes. Finally, he didn't even show up for their date. Maybe, he thought, if I don't see her, nothing bad will happen.
But still—she died.
He sat in a bar alone, watching the news. A fire had broken out in Christine's apartment. She didn't make it.
Again, he reverse time. And again. Over and over. Stephen stared at Christine, reaching out to gently caress her face. "Why… why does this keep happening? Are we not allowed to be happy?"
Christine had died so many different ways it could be turned into a full-on Final Destination franchise. Yet she remained blissfully unaware. All the pain—Stephen bore it alone.
Still, she noticed something was wrong. He looked… shattered. Gently, she said, "Let me drive this time, okay?"
They got in the car and drove out of the city. Christine tried to lift his mood. "Are you okay? Do you want to talk? Or… listen to some music?"
Stephen looked at her, his voice soft and broken. "I just want to be with you. You're the most important person in my life."
Then he slowly closed his eyes.
Headlights lit up behind them—blindingly bright.
And once again—impact. A crash. The car flew off a cliff… again.
Stephen crawled from the wreckage alone, fell to his knees, and screamed at the sky: "Noooooo!"
Outside the screen, Annie had tears in her eyes. For someone like her, this kind of heart-wrenching drama was impossible to resist. Her voice cracked. "Why does it have to be like this? He saved the whole world… and yet he can't save the one person he loves."
Even Thor, the big, rugged warrior, got misty-eyed. "Love weighs more than the whole world…"
Hugh shook his head and muttered, "This is hard to watch. I thought I had it rough… but he's in a whole different league of tragic."
He glanced sideways, half-expecting Billy Butcher to scoff or drop some harsh, insensitive comment.
But to his surprise, Butcher said nothing.
His jaw was clenched tight, eyes red-rimmed. Silent. Still.
The unflinching, cynical brute… was quietly grieving.
Everyone—onlookers and heroes alike—felt the crushing sorrow of Stephen's impossible love. For them, it was a painful story. For him, it was unbearable reality.
He sat there, fists clenched, mumbling to himself: "Why? Why does this keep happening?"
Then the screen gave him an answer.
Just as he was screaming into the sky, a glowing portal opened in midair.
The Ancient One stepped through—shaved head, flowing robes, like a celestial being descending from the heavens.
"Evening, Doctor Strange. Car trouble?"
Clearly, in this timeline, the Ancient One already knew what Stephen had done. She wasn't there to scold him—she was there to wake him up from the obsession consuming him.
"After Christine Palmer's death, you were devastated. You turned to magic looking for answers. Came to me for help."
Stephen snapped to attention. "Can you help me save her?"
The Ancient One shook her head gently. "I'm sorry. I can't. No one can. Her death… is an absolute point in time. It cannot be changed or erased. Without her death, you never would've defeated Dormammu. You never would've become the Sorcerer Supreme. You never would've been the guardian of the Eye of Agamotto. If you erase that moment… your journey never begins."
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T/N:
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