2013.07.23 - Dangerous Knowledge

Eddie Thorson hasn't slept well, or long enough. Ever since what happned last night with Wiccan and the tainted shard of the Bifrost bridge, Eddie's been hard at work looking through all the books Billy let him borrow. He can be found in his living room right now, in jeans and a Captain America-logo t-shirt, he's sitting among a pile of books and trying to find information inside them. The mysterious pages of...dark and evil something or other...that were recovered last night are next to him, getting an occasional glance from the young power booster. "There's g-got to be something on these things in here somewhere..." he trails off, flipping through more pages.

Knowledge is a powerful and dangerous thing, and few know that better than Doctor Strange, the Sorceror Supreme. Much of his time is spent safeguarding reality from misused and abused knowledge, and innocent minds from the burden of knowing that which they aren't meant to.

Tonight, both of these duties have brought the Master of the Mystic Arts to the home of a Prince. As the keeper of a significant chunk of the forbidden tome of knowledge known as the Darkhold, Stephen felt a cold, sickening sense dread settle over him as several of its lost pages came to rest in mortal hands. It was only the need to investigate yet more frightening happenings around the cities - the mysterious monoliths and demonic invaders - that kept him from coming to see the new holder of dark wisdom.

With those issues as settled as they can be for now, the Doctor arrives at Eddie's residence not in a flash of smoke and lights or eerie magics, but by foot; he gingerly folds a red, gold-trimmed coat over one arm while knocking on the door with the other. He's dressed in a hand-tailored blue suit with white pinstripes, and a matching hat, which he carefully removes to balance atop his coat after knocking on the door.

The knock on the door makes Eddie jump and fumble the book. He manages to catch it and look towards the door. His friends have instructions to just come in through either door and he didn't call anyone so he's not sure who's there. Frowning, he puts a bookmark in place and stands. He slips the Darkhold pages into a folder and slips it under a couch cushion...he'd been attacked by demons that wanted the pages the previous night...and heads to the door. He makes sure he looks presentable before opening the door.

"Umm, hello."

"Hello," the grave-faced stranger replies in a low, restrained baritone. "I believe you've a... problem that may require a particular sort of expertise; am I correct?" Save for a slight arch in his right eyebrow upon finishing the question, his expression doesn't shift at all. He also makes no move to enter the apartment, though he does quickly glance beyond Eddie to try and appraise the situation within.

"'Doctor Strange', by the way," he adds once his eyes are on the teen's again. His empty right hand - covered in a silken, gold-coloured glove - extends for a greeting. "You'll have to pardon my poor manners; I've had a very long twenty four hours."

The stranger's first words have Eddie on edge. He frowns, looking the stranger over. Inside, Eddie's apartment is pretty clean save for dishes in the sink and the books all over his coffee table. Most of them are on Asgard and Asgardian lore and magic from what can be seen of the titles and book design.

It's the introduction that gets Eddie's attention. He jumps again and stares. "Dr. Strange like...the m-magic hero?" he asks, shaking the offered hand. "It's been a long d-d-day for me too."

Some of the covers and spines of those books catch the Doctor's notice; it isn't every teenager that keeps tomes of Asgardian lore lying around their apartment, after all. Any suspicions that might be bubbling up at the possible motives of this unassuming boy with divine wisdom and the Darkhold in his library are suppressed as he shakes Eddie's hand, at least; there are enough real problems at hand without twisting this one into something it might not be.

"The same," he quietly offers instead with a nod and a bare hint of exasperation. "I'm going to need to come inside; if my suspicions are correct, the conversation that we are about to have is best suited to drawn curtains and hushed tones, rather than open spaces where innocent ears might hear."

"S-sure, c'mon in," Eddie steps aside to let the Doctor in. "There's no one else on this floor though," he adds, closing the door behind Dr. Strange. "C-c-can I get you something to drink?" he offers, trying to remember hosting things Sif and Thor taught him even while he's frazzled. "I uh...how bad is this conversation going to be?" the teen asks, relief and worry fighting it out right now.

"You've come to possess something you shouldn't, haven't you?" Rather than answer Eddie's question about the conversation as he crosses the threshold, the Doctor elects to leap right into having it. He does, at least, give the boy a slight shake of his head to let him know that no, he doesn't need a drink--at least, not any that someone his age ought to be able to offer him. He gingerly slides his hat onto the nearest accomodating surface as he passes it, but the coat remains draped over his arm.

"Uhh, probably," Eddie admits. It happens a lot. Closing curtains like instructed, he frowns. "If you m-m-mean something those demony thhings out there want, then yes," he says, turning to face the older man.

"Mmm," the Doctor quietly agrees as he squints at one of the cufflinks on his left sleeve rather than looking up at Eddie. "Pages from a book of forbidden knowledge," he clarifies after a few moments of studying the light bouncing from the cufflink's surface. Looking up, he turns to study the teen gravely.

"Obviously, you can't keep them; it sounds like you've already had a taste of how dangerous just being around them can be."

"I d-d-don't intend to keep them," Eddie says simply. "And I'm not worried about danger. I've f-fought scarrier than those monsters," he goes on. The teen takes a deep breath. "Last night some evil j-jerk did something to my friend...I don't know what but it involved a piece of the Bifrost bridge and ended up with my friend teleporting to what I'm pretty sure is a forest in the r-r-realm of the Dark Elves and then all that happening out there. And if I c-c-can figure out what's on those pages then maybe I can find out how to help him and undo whatever that jerk did to him."

Clucking his tongue, Strange glances down at his cufflink one last time; a faint shaft of light shines from it to the disturbed couch cushion, If it weren't for the fact that it doesn't flicker or waver when the Doctor approaches the couch, it might just look like a coincidental, but ultimately natural trick of the light.

"A taste of danger is not the same as a full helping," he gently chides as he bends to reach beneath the cushion and withdraw the folder hidden there; he handles it with all the care of a researcher retrieving a deadly sample of some disease or poison, with no more than the tips of his fingers firmly fastened around the folder. "That you considered studying these pages at all--"

His eyes shift cautiously towards Eddie; he's already betting that 'considered' is just wishful thinking on his part, and that the boy had perhaps made the leap to actual study, given the desperation of the situation, but he's hoping he's wrong.

"--is worrisome enough. Nevermind the powers that you could have inadvertantly unleashed; the pages of the Darkhold contain things that man cannot know." With that, his curious cufflink shimmers brightly, then splits down the middle, releasing a golden thread of eldritch energy that whips towards the Doctor's brow; upon settling against it, the energy widens into a shining eye, and only then does he open the folder to examine the pages within.

"You're a very brave young man, for what it's worth, to have held these for as long as you have in such troubling times."

"Look, I'm n-n-not stupid enough to think I'm invincible or anything like that b-but I'm n-n-n-not a normal teenager. I've g-gotten way more than a taste of danger," Eddie replies. The light gets a little frown but when Dr. Strange reaches for the folder, Eddie steps forward. "H-hey!" he exclaims. "Darkhold?" he blinks. "You know what these are? Then what are those guys trying to do? What did they do to Billy and how do we stop it and save him?" he asks, eyes flickering to that shining eye for a moment. "Studying? I'm not magic...not right now anyway...so it's not like I c-c-could use them. But I figured if I c-c-c-could find out what they are or what kind of stuff they're trying to do, I could stop them," he says. Really, Eddie had no intention of using the pages. It's likely he can't use them at all. The kid radiates faith and hope like the sun gives off light. "I'm n-not just brave," he takes a breath, figuring Dr. Strange is someone safe enough to tell who he is. "I'm the Spear of Thurdhiem, Messenger of the Goddess, Defender of Midgard, Young Ally, Prince of Asgard, and Bringer of Hope," he pauses since using his titles is still awkward. "I'm not scared of d-d-demons or evil magic things," well, he is afraid but he pushes past the fear every time.

"That, my boy, is unwise," the Doctor murmurs when Eddie assures him of his fearlessness. "But you're young; it's only natural." He's giving the pages the mystical equivalent of a skimming, with the blessed Eye of Agamotto acting as a barrier between himself and their blasphemous contents, for now; small beads of sweat are beginning to pop out across his brow from the effort.

"I don't know who your 'guys' are, or what they may be planning, but these--" He shuts the folder, then waves it gently. "--if they had these, then they are a problem, whomever they are. I don't dare give these pages a full reading here, but given a few hours with them in my Sanctum, I'm confident that I can unlock their secrets; that will bring--us--much closer to putting an end to whatever evil these people have planned."

"I hear that a lot," Eddie admits, rubbing the back of his neck. He watches the doctor reading, not quite sure what that eye is but recognizing magic when he sees it. Judging by how the older man is reacting to reading, Eddie's pretty sure it's a good idea he didn't try to read the pages so much as just look at them.

"I don't know who they are either b-but I can tell you everything they were d-d-doing. And describe the one in charge," he says. "I w-want to come with you then."

Nodding, the Doctor lays his coat and hat over the back of Eddie's couch so that he can then twist his newly freed hand into odd shapes over the folder. After several seconds of arcane gestures and soft murmurs, the glowing eye leaps from his brow to brand the folder, projecting a brilliant column of light onto the ceiling.

"You will want to cover your ea--" is all the warning he has time to get out before the folder - the pages - emit a keening wail that swiftly shifts down to a bellowing, infernal roar, and back again, all in the span of a few seconds. All the while, the Doctor is clutching the folder tightly - in both hands, now -- as waves of light pour out of the mystical eye; no mystical forces - malevolent or otherwise - are at risk of damaging Eddie or his apartment, though. The pages are just that averse to Strange's meddling.

A short while later, when the otherworldly lights and sounds have begun dying away, the Doctor lets out a heavy breath and recollects his clothes. The eye is still branding the folder, but it's barely alight, now. He's well past 'beads' of sweat by this point; his well-aged features are drenched with it. "The pages will be safe from malign eyes--for now. Long enough, I hope." With a firm nod, he adds, "Tell me everything; if you like, the Eye" He tips his chin, slightly, towards the golden sigil on the folder. "can help you piece together any details you're uncertain of."

"Cover my ea-" is all Eddie gets out before the sound starts. He gives a squeak and covers his ears quickly. It's like the sound those tentacles made but louder and worse. He doesn't take his eyes off the action though, making sure he's ready in case something goes wrong. He's not sure what but he'd try to help if something did happen. When it all stops, Eddie lets out a relieved sigh. "Was that some k-k-kind of sealing magic?" he asks. "Or like...hiding spell?" he shakes off the curiosity then. "Alright. Let me just grab something and I'll tell you everything when we g-g-get to that Sanctum place," he says, across the apartment to grab his backpack from where it rests. Taking out his phone, he fires off a quick text to Teddy telling him he's following a lead on getting them help, asking him to let the team know, and letting him know he'll be reachable by phone. With that done, he looks up at Dr. Strange. "If you c-c-can help, I'll tell you whatever I can."