xp_logs | Doctor Strange, Angelo

Following the cleansing ceremony, Doctor Strange drops by to talk to Angelo about promises. Angelo doesn't get what he wants, but Strange is satisfied nonetheless.

Evening had fallen by the time Doctor Strange got around to knocking on Angelo's door. He would have preferred to leave this until later, preferably after a good night's sleep and possibly a stiff drink or two, but a promise was a promise and the boy needed setting straight on certain matters.

Angelo opened the door immediately this time, suspecting he knew who it was. Nodding a greeting to the older man, he stepped aside to let him in with a quiet, "Hi."

"Good evening, Angelo." Strange entered the room, and nodded towards one of the desk chairs. "Do you mind if I sit? I am somewhat... overtaxed at the moment."

Angelo nodded immediately, moving back to the bed to sit down himself and scooping the sleeping Joyita into his lap on the way, despite the stiffness of his hands. "Sure, of course."

"Thank you." Strange slumped, rather than sat on the chair, closing his eyes for a moment as he marshalled his resources. The cleansing spell had taken more effort than he'd anticipated, and whilst he was sure Amanda was in no immediate danger, the long-term effects were concerning. Especially considering what the source had been... Remembering the boy who was looking at him expectantly, he rallied, opening his eyes and focussing on him. "You wanted to ask if there was a way to make a promise as binding as the one Amanda made you," he said without preamble - he was too tired for the usual subtlety.

Angelo nodded. "Yeah, I... I want us to be on an equal footin'. I mean, she chose to make that particular promise, knowin' what it was... but I want to do the same for her, if I can."

"Angelo, I'll be blunt with you - the only way to make you as beholden to your promise as she is would be to cast a geas, a binding spell on you. Perhaps not as drastically as the one put on Amanda, but certainly not child's play. Such a spell would physically prevent you from leaving her unless she wished it - and I cannot in all conscience allow such a situation to occur." Strange pinched his nose, wearily. "Her promise was a gift to you, a very precious one. I think you will not abuse it, even without going that far."

Angelo nodded, taking that in. "I don't think she'd want a bindin' spell. An' I don't plan on breakin' the promise I have given her if I can help it. But... it was pointed out to me that she's put herself at a disadvantage here, bindin' herself when she has to take it on trust from me. Just wanted to know if there was a way to change that."

"Unfortunately, no. But I do not think she'd see it that way, as a disadvantage. It's a sign of trust, that she would do such a thing. And I'm sure you won't abuse that trust..." Strange winced a little as his head throbbed. "And she is in no condition now to be bothered with an argument on semantics."

Angelo nodded, eyes suddenly dark with worry. "How is she, tonight?" he asked quietly.

"Physically in much the same condition - my arts don't extend to healing magic, unfortunately. As far as the rest..." Strange sighed. "Doing what she did, taking that creature's power like that... It will have repercussions. We conducted a cleansing ceremony this afternoon, but..." He suddenly realised who he was talking to, and stopped. "She will recover, in time. But she will need watching. The addiction, the type of power she absorbed, it will not be easy for her."

Angelo nodded, determination mixing with the worry in his expression. "I'll be here."

"That I didn't doubt," Strange said with a hint of wry humour. "Her moods may be somewhat temperamental - she won't be entirely easy to live with. And it's important that she not worry about things, although keeping her stress levels down here is just about impossible. I'd send her to Ms Wisdom if I could, but she refuses to go - she's concerned for the boy, Manuel."

Another nod. "Yeah - she's the only thing Manuel remembers, she wouldn't leave him behind. An' she told me once that Romany's is the place she goes when she's screwed things up - or things've got screwed up - so bad she needs someone to fix it for her. She was worried then that if she went back there, Romany wouldn't let her come back. Don't know if she's still seein' things that way..."

"I've seen him - Manuel, that is. I've never seen magic and mutant powers used in conjunction in such a way before, but they were thorough." Strange sighed again, this time with frustration. "It is beyond my skill to return what was taken, merely to ensure no further damage occurs from the magic use. Without the appropriate training and talent, Amanda's use of his body could have damaged him permanently. Fortunately this hasn't been the case." The frustration deepened as he considered the rest. "I didn't know that. She expects too much of herself, and tries to manage things alone. It's becoming something of a problem between us."

Angelo smiled ruefully. "Not sure that's gonna change anytime soon. It's a thing, for those of us who've learned how to manage alone... the problem is in stoppin', now we don't need to anymore. Her, me, Jubilee..."

"Humph," Strange said at the mention of Jubilee. "You'd be in a better position to tell me, living here... Has Miss Lee done anything else that might be considered putting Amanda at risk? We had a... talk after the Halloween incident. Hopefully the lesson stuck." Angelo paused. "Nothin' as big as Halloween", he said slowly. "There was a thing... she wanted the claw marks she got off the demon healed, an' she was gettin' a bit pissy about Amanda not healin' her, even though there was Manuel, too, an' Nathan got himself concussed when Jono blew up - did you hear about that? - an' with him bein' a telepath an' telekinetic, they figured fixin' that was a priority. But Jubilee wanted to go dancin', an' she was whinin' about it some."

"Considering the state she's been in the last few classes she's had with me, I'm surprised she's even managed to help Mr Dayspring," Strange said, frowning blackly. Nathan was bad enough, but to have the girl whining about healing? She'd learnt nothing from the memories he'd given her. "A magic user cannot refuse healing, Angelo, not while they are capable and the request is made. I only hope Amanda was truthful about her ability and refused."

"I think Dr. Bartlet did it for her, in the end", Angelo answered with a frown of his own. "I've got a feelin' she actually did show up to try an' do somethin' for Jubilee, but the doctor took one look at her an' sent her away."

"Well, small mercies for the medical staff, then. It's about time they took the matter in hand - Amanda herself is incapable of accepting her limits," Strange said shortly. "And now I'm afraid you must forgive me, Angelo - it's been a most trying day, and I still have to drive back to New York."

Angelo nodded an acknowledgment. "Yeah... thanks for comin' by to let me know about the thing."

"You're most welcome - I'm sorry I couldn't give you better news," Strange said, standing up and offering Angelo his hand, ignoring the slight tremble and hoping Angelo would do the same. He paused a moment, then said, real concern in his voice: "You will tell me, Angelo, if you notice anything... unusual in her behaviour? Straight away?"

If Angelo even noticed the tremble, worried and tired as he himself was, he didn't bother to mention it. He shook Strange's hand despite the bruises on his, trying hard not to wince. Struck by the obvious concern, he didn't hesitate before answering, "Of course I will. 's a promise."

"And you are a young man who keeps his promises," Strange said, carefully shaking Angelo's hand, mindful of the bruises. "That is a comfort."